Part 3 of 7
[Thunder and lightning]
[Man] The electricity's out.
[Val] Bishma's apartment?
[Man] The meeting's on the terrace.
[Speaks to another man upstairs] Show the ladies the way.
[Man 2] The elevator's broken.
[Juliet] Let's forget about it, Valentina.
[Val] Are there lots of people? Has it started already?
[Man 2] I don't know.
[Val] [To Juliet] Let's go. Got your questions ready?
[Juliet] Questions? What questions? I'm not asking any.
[Val] When I was little, my dad told me this hotel was for --
[Thunder and lightning]
[Juliet & Val] [Hug each other]
[Elena] Valentina. Julietta.
[Val] Elena!
[Elena] I was dreading this dark.
[Val] Hello, my angel.
[Elena] It has all come to pass.
[Val] Of course!
That same night, I dreamt of him.
No robe, though. What does it mean?
[Priest] [Conducting wedding ceremony] Love thy wife as thyself.
Those who love their wives love themselves.
Love one another
[Wedding Party] [Clapping]
[Priest] For better or worse,
for richer or poorer,
in sickness and in health.
[Val] Julietta, what are you staring at?
[Juliet] There's a wedding banquet going on.
[Val] How nice!
Love!
[Thunder]
***
[Bishma] That's the second step. It isn't real enlightenment, though.
So, what is this?
[Woman] The single spirit. The fruit is only appearance.
The real Buddha is beyond such differences. Is that right?
[Girl] [Wagging finger “no”]
[Bishma] That's the third step.
Now, though, the truth is close and far away at once.
So what is this?
[Juliet] Isn't it an apple?
[Val] Darling, you don't get it. Look beyond appearances.
[Bishma] The voice of the master will tell us what it is.
[Turns on a tape recorder]
[Maestro] It's an apple,
a humble apple,
a little red
and crushed on one side,
but at the same time
it is the Buddha and unity.
Things become things again,
and the enlightened being sees …
[Juliet] [Shakes her head]
[Maestro] multiplicity and unity all at once,
appearance and substance.
[American Painter] Is there a heaven and hell?
[Indian woman] Who are you?
[Man] An American painter.
[Juliet] Let me see.
[Indian woman] [Unsheathes sword] Cut my head off.
[American Painter] [Laughing]
[Bishma] Go on, cut off her head.
[Old woman] It's one of the fables of the great master Lao Tse.
[Bishma] Don't hesitate. Cut it off.
[Indian woman] Behold the gates of hell opening!
[American Painter] [Raises sword then lowers it]
[Bishma] And now the gates of heaven.
[Medical Man] Bishma.
[Whispers in his ear]
[Attendee] What's happening?
[Old Woman] [Speaking Italian]
[Indian woman] Please, quiet.
He's conversing with his god.
[Maestro’s Attendants] [Carry her out]
[Woman] I was expecting this. The same thing happened to her in Stockholm.
[Woman] [Crying]
[Thunder]
***
[Indian woman] There is a lady maestro who needs to see you.
[Maestro] Yes, yes. Send her in.
[Indian woman] The lady called Juliet may enter.
But on her own.
[Indian Woman] [To Juliet] Sit down.
[Juliet] [Bows assent]
[Val] [Sticks her head in door] Julietta. How is he? Where is he?
[Juliet] [Whispering] He wants me, alone. Go away!
[Val] But I brought you!
[Juliet] But he wants me.
[Val] Tell me where he is.
[Juliet] Well, the bathroom maybe. Wait outside.
[Val] [To Medical Man pushing her out] We've got an appointment.
[Medical Man] [Shuts door on Val]
[Rubs his temples headache]
[Fan buzzing]
[Juliet] [Wipes sweat off her brow]
[Maestro] [Speaking from bathtub] Juliet, do you know the Kama Sutra?
Sexual intercourse is a conflict.
To be happy, you must behave as if in combat.
The place to be fought over is the body.
[Juliet] The body?
[Maestro] And within the body, the shoulders
and between the breasts.
[Fan humming]
[Maestro] The sound that must be produced
to procure pleasure is the "Hin."
[Indian Woman] Hin!
[Maestro] The great sigh.
[Elena] [Sighs]
[Maestro] The sound "put."
[Juliet] “Put”?
[Maestro] The sound "fut."
[Indian Woman] Fut!
[Maestro] And the sound "plat."
[Indian Woman] Plat, plat, plat, plat, plat, plat, plat.
[Maestro] You might add sounds such as those produced by pigeons ...
[Indian Woman] [Making pigeon sounds]
[Bishma] [Holding Maestro up] I will help you with my will ...
I will give you strength.
[Maestro] ... ducks, green sparrows
[Indian woman] Quack, quack, quack.
[Maestro] flamingos,
quail and storks.
[Sighs and falls down to the bed]
Sounds that can be used
depending on the occasion.
Different kinds of bites.
[Indian Woman] [Making biting sound]
[Maestro] The blind bite,
the breathy bite,
the point,
the linear point,
the coral jewel line,
the torn cloud,
the wolf bite.
[Indian Woman] [Making wolf-bite sounds]
[Maestro] Love is a religion, Juliet.
Your husband is your god.
You are the priestess of this cult.
Your spirit must burn up
like this incense, go up in smoke,
on the altar of your loving body.
[Sputters out]
[Bishma] Now, if you have any questions,
the master will gladly answer.
[Fan buzzing]
[Juliet] Well, no, nothing.
Here's what's happening.
It's as if everything's been lost since last night.
I'm afraid my husband has another woman.
[Maestro] Learn to better please your husband.
[Juliet] I do please Giorgio.
[Maestro] Do you remember me?
I was born this way, donna d'amore.
Am I not beautiful?
Answer honestly, am I not beautiful?
[Juliet] Yes, very beautiful.
[Maestro] I think so, too.
Did you see my hair?
I never comb it, I simply caress it.
I love caressing it.
[Juliet] [Caresses her own hair]
[Maestro] My skin is so white.
If I am in a bad mood,
I go to the mirror.
I turn and look at my back, and I immediately feel happy again.
Did you buy those stockings?
[Juliet] No. What stockings?
[Maestro] The black fishnets.
Women want to be treated like angels, but they don't do their job --
[Juliet] Is love a "job"?
[Maestro] I didn't say "job."
I said "the art of love."
[Juliet] I got it right. You said "job."
Whoring -- some advice!
[Maestro] [Screams]
[More screams]
[Makes choking sounds]
[Medical Man] [Sleeping]
[Dancer] [Swinging in circles]
[Maestro] Who are you? Olaf, go away!
[Juliet] [Warding off invisible touching]
[Maestro] [Expostulating]
Become beautiful, like me!
Female sensibility ...
I want to kiss you.
[Throws a kiss, then pants]
[Juliet] [Covers her face]
[Maestro] Bite my breast. More, more!
[Juliet] [Experiencing the horror]
[Juliet] Please, stop!
[Maestro] [Expelling a demon in a large mouth explosion]
[Juliet] I want to leave. Let me out.
[Bishma] Calm down, signora.
[Juliet] I want to leave.
[Bishma] We shouldn't appeal to our inner forces
without the necessary preparation.
It could be dangerous.
But these spirits are generous, gentle and mild,
though at times they might seem teasing.
[Maestro] [Laughing]
[Laughing more]
Were your omens good?
[Juliet] Yes, thank you.
[Maestro] Happy?
[Juliet] Yes, thanks.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
[Maestro] Good luck.
[Val] What did he tell you? We heard –
[Indian woman] Please. There's another message:
Something new will come to pass tonight,
new and very beautiful.
[Maestro] Sangria!
It quenches the thirst of those who drink it.
It quenches our secret thirsts too.
[Voice dissolves and changes into Bishma’s] They call it the potion of oblivion.
[Val] Strange.
That wasn't his voice.
A soul speaking through him.
Did you hear that? An extraordinary meeting!
They told her she'd have an extraordinary meeting tonight.
Aren't you happy?
***
[Driving home in the car]
[Thunder and lightning]
[Val] Did you see her?
[Juliet] I thought so.
[Val] Did she say, "This is Iris"?
[Juliet] No, but I felt it was her.
It felt like the night of our session.
[Val] Strange.
Who do you think it was?
[Juliet] Maybe the dancer that ran away with my granddad.
[Val] A dancer and your granddad?
[Juliet] He was a professor and he fell for a dancer.
***
[Carnival music]
[Dancer] [Swinging on a swing]
[Horses]
[Dancer] [Exits]
[Strong man]
[Elephants]
[Dancer] [Coming down stairs] What a beautiful child!
What's your name?
[Grandpa] Tell her, Juliet!
See how brave this beauty is.
Such an act!
I wanted to express my admiration!
[Kisses her hand]
[Dancer] [Makes appreciative sounds]
[Grandpa] A beautiful lady makes me more pious.
[Native men making wild sounds]
***
[Juliet] I don't know why,
but I liked thinking they ran away on that circus plane.
[Headmaster] Professor, stop it in the name of God!
Come down at once.
That's an order.
You'll be accountable for this despicable behavior.
Professor De Filippis!
[Juliet] The headmaster had him expelled.
He vanished for two years. Then he came back as happy as ever.
Mother didn't allow him to stay with us.
I saw him at Christmas and always in secret.
He told funny stories. I was a little scared, too.
The bishop said he was one of the devil's disciples.
I was still a child at his funeral.
Mother didn't shed a tear. She wore a beautiful black dress.
[Elena] She's a beauty.
[Juliet] Yes, she is.
One night I saw her in the corridor. She looked like a queen.
Perhaps she was going to a ball with my father.
[Thunder and lightning]
[Grandpa] [Doing the Fellini winking]
[Everybody in car is asleep]
***
[Jose] Rosa Aurata.
A name like poetry.
I used to grow them, too.
My garden in Cordoba was famous.
You're very lucky.
Flowers are grateful when loved.
[Nightingales singing]
[Jose] These plants get lots of love. It shows.
You must be a very loving person
to give so much every day.
[Elisabetta] Is this right, sir?
[Teresina] Is this the one you wanted?
[Jose] Yes, thank you.
Three slices of lemon,
three of orange,
mineral water.
A glass, please.
[Teresina] Your glass, sir.
[Jose] Not a champagne glass. An ordinary one.
[Juliet] Teresina, get a large glass.
[Jose] Three teaspoons of sugar.
[Teresina] [Shows Juliet the glass] How about this, signora?
[Juliet] [To Jose] Will this do?
[Jose] Thank you. In Valencia they like to add a clove,
in Cordoba, a more delicate taste.
Tell me if you like it.
[Juliet] Delicious. What's it called?
[Jose] Sangria.
It quenches the thirst of those who drink it.
It quenches our secret thirsts too.
They call it the potion of oblivion.
[Giorgio] ... stay at least a week.
Ciao, Julietta.
[Juliet] Ciao.
[Giorgio] Have you already met? I told you about Jose, remember?
I was his guest in Spain.
[Juliet] When?
[Giorgio] Last year, in Castilla.
A fabulous palace! And his paintings!
Were they by Goya or Velazquez?
[Jose] Neither. Rivera.
[Giorgio] Beautiful. He wanted to go to a hotel.
Where can you find this peace, this quiet?
[Jose] What matters is the fluidity of the movements.
The balance.
A good toreador must have a pure heart and clear thoughts,
like monks or dancers.
[Giorgio] Jose owns one of the biggest bull farms.
Sometimes, at night, this madman puts on his own bullfight.
[Juliet] What courage! Isn't it dangerous?
[Jose] No. It's poetry. Poetry's never dangerous.
My best friends are toreadors.
They compose music, write verse,
and abhor blood.
Cordoba's style in the arena is pure harmony.
May I?
[Juliet] Please, wait.
I have something more suitable.
How's this for a muleta?
[Jose] Thank you. There's the bull.
He dies in his chimera.
He is not killed by the sword
but by the magic of an elegant illusion.
The beast falls into space and I kill it with thrusts of illusion.
[Julietta & Giorgio] [Clapping] Bravo!
[Jose] Miss one step, one measure, like a rhyme in poetry,
and you're faced with mortal danger.
A calculated spontaneity …
[Juliet and Jose] [Dancing]
[Jose] a pure sentiment, a clear mind, an exact gesture,
and the monster will be defeated.
[Juliet] [Holds up the muleta to the bull Giorgio]
[Giorgio] [Charges at Juliet like a bull]
[Juliet] [Turns away from Giorgio towards Jose]
[Jose] [Laughs and pats her head]
[Giorgio] I want you to see Jose's present.
I'll get it. It's magnificent.
[Jose] "No one understood the perfume of the dark magnolia of your womb.
No one knew you tormented a hummingbird of love between your teeth."
You love Lorca's poetry, right?
Destiny plays some strange games.
I was in Madrid and I didn't want to leave
because of a foreboding.
Now I am happy to be here.
There's nothing to life if you take away nights like this one.
I owe you a happy moment and hope it won't be the last.
[Juliet] For so little?
[Jose] It can be everything.
Yes, a sudden decision,
meeting an old friend by the sea,
and feeling a lost sense of peace.
Everything becomes clear, plausible.
[Kisses Juliet’s hand]
[Juliet] [Turns away]
[Giorgio] Juliet, what is it? Come here.
Isn't this a great gift?
It's a magic telescope.
Last year there was a scandal at their villa.
She organizes these parties.
The police were called in. They wanted to deport her.
There are some fascinating stories about them.
[Juliet] She's really beautiful.
***
[Juliet] Going to bed already? I wanted to chat.
[Giorgio] [Putting his ear plugs in] Did you say something?
[Juliet] It doesn't matter.
[Giorgio] [Putting his night mask on and getting in bed]
[Giorgio] Good night, darling.
[Juliet] I'm going to read for a while.
[Jose] [Smoking his last cigarette for the night]
[Juliet] [Turns out light]
[Juliet] [Wakes up to dog barking and Giorgio talking on the phone]
[Giorgio] I also changed the color of the interior.
Now it's red and the seats are brown.
Do you like it?
I told them: "Boys, it's for a goddess."
Sure I didn't wake you?
What were you doing?
About me? And what were you thinking?
Good night, little monster.
I'll wake you. Ciao. Ciao.
[To Juliet] I forgot to get my wake-up call.
Lucky I remembered.
[Juliet] Who were you calling?
[Giorgio] I told you. The phone company, to wake me up.
Want some? Let's go back to bed.
[Juliet] Who were you calling?
[Giorgio] What is it? Come on.
[Dog barking]
***