THE LEOPARD
OCTOBER 1862
Your Excellency?
Your Excellency!
Help me to sit…
Sit down.
You haven't seen anything.
Yes, Your Excellency.
With or without the roses?
With the roses. With them.
With the roses.
-We'll miss you tonight, Mama. -I know.
Perhaps we should stay here in solidarity.
How will you find a husband if you don't go to the ball?
This is the last and most exclusive ball of the season.
And what about Caterina?
Caterina's too wise to want a husband.
Indeed, I'm not looking for one.
This looks amazing, Balsamo.
Take that off.
-Fabrizio. -Cesco, you're my heir.
You're not a peacock.
Yes, Papa.
Papa.
Yes?
He's here.
Prince.
Thank you for your hospitality.
You are welcome.
Princess.
Concetta.
Well, the Count has had a long, hard journey.
Come and eat something.
Let's go inside.
I can't tell you how anxious I was to see you again.
Your letters
sustained me over these last few months.
Tell me, Count.
Your friend,
Lieutenant Cavriaghi,
how is he?
He was married last year, Princess.
And he is expecting a child soon.
Prince. Princess.
My family have been patrons of Milan Cathedral for generations.
Good. We're happy for you, Count.
Therefore, the Archbishop of Milan would like
to honor our union by marrying us there.
No, thank you.
Count!
In Milan?
That's right, yes.
Afterward, there would be a reception in our family's palazzo.
You seem quite determined to mortify our own Father Pirrone.
I have no doubt this may feel
like a great disrespect to you, Prince.
But since your daughter's happiness is now my raison d'être,
I had to oblige her.
The promise of your blessing would be
a most valued gift.
I can promise no such thing.
Is it not enough for him to take our daughter off to Milan?
He's now robbing us of a wedding in Palermo.
He's not taking her anywhere.
She wants to go.
They may be Count Bombello's words,
but it's Concetta's will.
I don't want to go without you tonight.
Well, you must.
Do you remember our first dance?
It was a waltz.
By Strauss, I think.
You looked so beautiful.
You wore a cerulean dress.
And you wore…
You wore a sapphire necklace.
I was the envy of every man.
Do you remember?
But you chose well, didn't you?
What did you call me?
The prince of princes.
I'm getting dizzy.
Is your mother not coming to the ball?
Her son is dead.
She will never go to a ball again.
Don Fabrizio, I'm happy for this chance to spend some time together.
It's a chance for us to talk.
I hope you're not going to ask for a higher dowry.
Papa, please!
Let's hope there's a handsome count there!
Looks aren't everything, Chiara.
Is that Senator Sedara?
Yes.
Fuck!
These people have money coming out of their assholes!
Don't be a boor, Russo.
Prince!
Senator.
So,
this is your first Ponteleone ball.
All this thanks to you.
Being here, for me,
is a feast for the senses!
A word of advice.
-May I? -Of course.
Never a tulip with tails.
-Good evening, Prince. -Welcome.
Give our regards to the princess.
Would you grant me this dance?
You don't need to ask permission this time.
What magnificence!
You couldn't build this now, with the price of gold leaf!
How beautiful!
And here she is.
-Dearest duchess. -Don Calogero.
Senator.
I really am grateful.
I know he's not making things easy for you.
He is reluctant to let you go.
Who wouldn't be?
Well, I can't go soon enough.
-You look wonderful. -My Angelica!
You're the brightest star in the sky!
Shall we go and say hello?
You go.
I need a glass of water.
All right, Concetta.
Let's say hello to my uncle.
Cousins.
Welcome.
Tancredi.
Uncle.
I hear you're quite the dancer.
Promise me a waltz together later.
Oh, here comes the betrothed!
I am indeed, Countess.
You're the most fortunate of men, Count.
And the bravest.
You've come here to pry Concetta from the Leopard's hands.
I expect liberating Sicily was a less daunting mission.
Do tell.
Is that so?
No, the Prince has been kind and welcoming.
I'm proud to know you, sir.
And prouder still to be a part of this family.
See, Don Fabrizio?
Our revolution has brought us all great gifts.
You speak as though it's over.
Italy is still a half-finished nation.
I thought we were fighting for an Italy that belonged to all.
If I'd known so much blood would be spilled
so that a few profiteers
could wrap themselves in our flag…
Don Calogero, what do you think?
What do I think, Don Fabrizio? I think…
that every big change, every transformation
brings about some inconveniences.
I told the Senate this in my address last week.
Where there is banditry, we will crush it.
Where men are exploited, we will free them.
Where there is the stain of corruption,
we will clean it.
You really are the perfect man for this Italy.
You're too kind, Don Fabrizio.
As always.
Come, Angelica. I have some introductions.
-Please excuse me. -Of course.
-May I? -Thank you.
I imagine there's great anticipation for the Sicilian wedding
of the Leopard's favorite daughter.
Most likely it'll be a great Lombard wedding.
-Lombard? -Yes, but…
Look at them. They really are a fine couple.
Everything else is just an issue of geography.
Whether they marry in Sicily or Lombardy,
you know you made the right choice.
Which one?
I never deserved Concetta.
You wanted Angelica. I fixed it for you.
That’s all there is to it.
Rien ne va plus. How do you say it?
Rien.
The secret is in the "r". I take lessons every day.
Angelica, would you grant me this dance? Excuse us.
Don't forget our waltz, Uncle.
Francesco.
What are you doing here?
It's not like you to sit alone in a corner.
No. I suppose it isn't.
Well?
What's going on?
Papa, I…
I don't know what to do.
I'm terrified I can't do it.
Do what?
Be like you, Papa.
I'm sorry.
Go and enjoy yourself.
Find a nice girl,
dance, and forget about it.
Just try and find one
with a very rich father, huh?
Go.
Good evening, princess.
Angelica.
Can you imagine how hard it is
to escape who you are?
It was easier in Paris.
Sometimes I catch him looking at me.
And I know he is thinking of my grandfather.
Of the hut where my mother was born.
Our squalor.
I'm sure that's not true.
It should have been you, Concetta.
It's true.
A wife knows these things.
What did you talk about?
She spoke about Paris…
I don't know.
Paris.
What's Paris, compared to Sicily?
Do you miss it?
I miss you.
Bombello is a good man, Concetta.
You deserve a good man by your side.
Everything has worked out as it should have.
In Turin, I shouldn't have…
Prince.
If I may, there's something very important I would like to discuss.
Please, have a seat.
Thank you.
I am…
destitute.
Your man, Russo…
He's not my man. Not anymore.
But it was you
who told him to rob from the lands you gave me.
Am I right?
I resented the circumstances in which my land was taken from me.
Russo and his men…
They threaten me. They vandalize.
They are determined
to drive me off my land,
but not before they've reduced its value to nothing.
Why would they do that?
Because they want to buy it back.
Russo doesn't have the capital to purchase your land,
not even at its lowest price.
Sedara.
That's why I've come here, Prince.
To beg you…
to take this land from me.
Take it all back.
I cannot.
Buy it back. At market price, obviously.
I don't have the means to do that anymore.
Sell something. Goods, properties!
It would ruin my son.
Prince, I'm on my knees, begging you.
-What are you doing? Get up! -I'm on my knees. I beg you!
What do you want me to do? Tell me!
Stand up!
We are all bound for destitution.
You just got there first.
If you'll excuse me.
Angelica.
I was looking for you. I couldn't find you.
Careful!
You can't leave me just like that.
Excuse me, Miss.
-Oh, I'm sorry, Miss. -It's fine.
I've spent a month learning the polka, and now they're playing a mazurka.
Will you ever be satisfied?
I'm sorry?
-I need to ask you a favor. -Of course.
The former governor of Palermo, Leonforte, will approach you
proposing you buy his land.
When you agree to do so,
as I know you will,
ensure he is given a fair price, hmm?
Market value, and no less.
You see, Don Fabrizio…
if I do this for Leonforte…
I will earn a reputation as a…
compassionate man.
You said it yourself earlier.
We are plagued by banditry, corruption,
and extortion.
Aren't we going to fight this new type of person
who previously had nothing, and now want more and more?
Horrible people, aren't they?
-No, they can't be blamed. -Is that so?
No, they are beasts. It's their nature.
When they have a carcass between their teeth,
they have to strip it.
Right down to the bone.
You noblemen are…
To be honest, I don't know what you are.
However, I understand, I can understand how business
can feel onerous to you.
You tire of the many estates.
You find the raising of rents distasteful.
And so you feel nonchalant
in the face of ruin.
Yours and other people's.
But for those of us who have worked hard for what we have…
we have to treat every deal as though it's our first and last.
We can never take a single cent for granted.
That is why,
two hundred years from now,
my kind
will still be here.
I hate these things.
Anyway, you can tell
the former governor Leonforte,
and anyone else who is interested,
that with the deepest of respect,
I will pay whatever I choose.
And not a penny more.
Will you excuse me?
Colonel! Where were you hiding?
You promised me a waltz, Uncle.
As long as my husband isn't jealous.
When one has an uncle as elegant and handsome as mine,
one reserves the right to be jealous.
Please.
A waltz.
Oh my God, I'm falling!
Thank you.
If you'll excuse me.
May I?
These women…
so faded.
These stupid men.
They're nothing more than defenseless prey,
condemned to enjoy that tiny ray of light granted to them…
between the cradle and the last spasm.
We were
the leopards.
The lions.
Those who will take our place will be
the jackals, the hyenas.
Everything will be different, but worse.
And leopards,
jackals, sheep…
We'll all go on
thinking ourselves the salt of the earth.
It's time to go home, Papa.
No, it's still early.
It's late enough.
Marry your Bombello wherever you please, even in Greenland.
Just as long as I'm there.
Bendicò!
Do you want to see the roses that blossomed last night?
-Come. -Yes.
They are beautiful.
In one night…
they came out just like that.
Look.
So beautiful.
What about this one?
Isn't it wonderful?
-There are so many buds. -Beautiful.
One, two, three, four… There'll be more blossoming.
Look at this one, wonderful.
These are my pride and joy.
How wonderful.
Papa!
My God!
Help!
Mama!
Someone, help!
Papa!
-Fabrizio! -Your Excellency?
Open your eyes, Fabrizio!
Fabrizio!
Fabrizio! Look at me!
It's as I explained to him.
A tumor of the brain,
which I'm sorry to say…
is larger than I thought.
Why wouldn't you tell me?
Fabrizio!
Not you too!
It's all right…
It's all right.
It's all right…
Cesco, close the shutters.
Father, help him.
Fabrizio.
By this holy unction and by His own most tender mercy,
may God indulge thee…
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
I hope I can make you proud.
…and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Bye, Papa.
-Tancredi. -Aunt.
He needs you now.
Come.
We thought you had left.
I came back as soon as I heard.
Uncle…
I…
I don't want to mislead you.
You don't seem surprised.
How could I be, Princess?
I don't expect you to forgive me.
Just answer me this.
Did you ever intend to marry me?
Yes.
I did.
I will take my leave of you this afternoon.
If you'll excuse me.
I'm here.
The time has come…
to add up the sum of it all.
I have to search through
the ashes of my mistakes
for a few golden specks…
of happiness.
The day I married Stella.
Then…
All of our…
horse rides together.
My first silk tie.
The voluptuous scent of a beautiful unknown woman…
as I passed her by on the street.
A perfect sunrise, the other day…
with Concetta.
Oh, Concetta!
Take me outside.
I'm here.
I saw Bombello leave.
Will you go to Milan with him?
No.
So, what happens now?
Concetta.
What about us?
Is there nothing I can do?
Be my friend.
I will place you before all others.
Always.
Concetta…
Papa.
Listen.
Only you…
can…
protect…
our family.
Francesco…
will have the title.
But you must…
guide him.
Tell me…
you understand.
Only you.
I understand.
I understand, Papa.
Good.
Everything will be…
-All right. -…all right.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee.
Blessed art Thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus.
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee.
Blessed art Thou…
Prince.
Be strong now, cousin.
Angelica.
Get up.
Princess.
Prince.
My deepest condolences.
This way, please.
Russo, please.
Prince.
Miss Concetta.
Russo.
I'm afraid
you're too late, sir.
This property and all the properties that belonged to Leonforte
are now in our possession.
We had an arrangement.
We simply offered a higher price.
That's how this works, isn't it?
You may still have your name,
but we all know you don't have this kind of money.
Didn't you hear?
Our cousin married a very rich woman.
Or rather, a woman with a very rich father.
You may tell your employer
we outbid him with his own money.
Princess…
this will change nothing.
You lot…
are all sheep.
And here, we shear sheep.
That's what we do.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Giuseppe
Garibaldi!
Long live Garibaldi!
BASED ON "THE LEOPARD" BY GIUSEPPE TOMASI DI LAMPEDUSA
Subtitles: Luisa Zamboni