A Quiet Place in the Country Page #2

It was this way.

It was an English fighter plane

that started strafing the villa.

You can still see all the marks there

that the bullets made in the wall.

Oh, god, I remember her

as though it were yesterday.

She was the most beautiful girl

I'd ever seen.

Leonardo!

Leonardo!

- Your witch is here!

- Hey, welcome!

Stop, you're making me dizzy.

How are you?

You were right. A fine place for working.

- Who is he?

- He's with me.

He's going to do an article

on you and the house.

The house, yes. The paintings, no.

We have to start thinking

about your publicity for next season.

Then you just do pictures

of the house. Come on.

He's always hated publicity.

I've got some equipment for the kitchen.

Even living in the country,

one can be civilized.

Good. This way.

No, no, the frigidaire

over in the corner, please.

Would you put that over here by the wall?

What organization.

Here's some food

for when you want to eat at home.

Then you won't

have to interrupt your work.

Where are you going?

What...

What's the matter with you?

- Come here.

- What the...

Are you crazy or something?

- Leave me alone.

- Give me the film. Give it to me!

- Stop. He's a friend of mine.

- Leonardo...

- Come on.

- Leonardo, what on earth are you doing?

Leave him alone.

Why do you have to behave like this?

- Wait for us outside.

- He's only doing his job.

We need these pictures for publicity.

It's his job.

- Do you want him to go?

- He was shooting the paintings.

You'd better go.

- What the hell's the matter with him?

- Forget it.

Be good. Be good, be happy.

I want you to be happy.

- Are you happy?

- No.

- Why not?

- I don't know.

- Are you unhappy?

- I think so.

Why?

I don't know.

I want you to be happy.

Do you want to be happy?

- Look, I don't think that...

- Answer me, yes or no.

- How will I know?

- Yes or no.

It depends.

Why did you cry out just then?

- Cry out?

- Just then, before.

Who knows?

Where are you going?

To work.

Yeah, well, that's it.

If you get me 22 canvases

done by the end of summer,

I'll leave you in peace for a year.

How much for me?

I'll write it down.

That's roughly what you'll get.

I've made a calculation

according to your point value,

on the average

in the Milan and New York markets.

Don't make them too big or I won't

get them through the door of the gallery.

Then they won't sell.

Flavia!

Help me up. Help me up.

Don't move.

Look out, look out! The roof is falling!

That's so strange. I suddenly stepped on it,

and it gave way under me completely

as if someone were pulling me down.

Would you like a drink?

Yes, some water.

I didn't go near it. It just happened.

It was as if it wanted

to hurt me deliberately.

But it's so late.

Why don't you wait till the morning?

I don't like the house,

and the house obviously doesn't like me.

- Do you want anything from Milan?

- Yes, something to read.

Egle, tonight you can have dinner alone.

With your little brother.

I'll eat in town.

Fee?

Es! Sh"?

Have you heard about the girl who

was killed in this house during the war?

No, sir, I wasn't alive then.

I was born in 1947.

If you want, I'll ask about her.

It happened during the summer of 1944.

One day an English fighter flew over,

and opened fire.

She happened to be there,

and she was mowed down.

Was she pretty?

Not pretty, beautiful!

She drove everybody a little mad,

even the priest.

- What was her name?

- Wanda, I think.

Yes, Wanda.

Permit me to present my wife.

- Our friend, Mr. paglia, Mrs. borsatto...

- Good evening.

...our mayor, Mr. coletti,

my niece, Francesca,

Dr. borsatto and Mrs. coletti.

Would you care to join us?

- You said Wanda?

- Yes, Wanda valier.

- Did you know her?

- She used to take her vacations here.

She would come down here

to have a good time.

- How old was she?

- Eighteen, I'd say.

- And pretty?

- Beautiful.

- She was really superb.

- I attracted plenty of men as you know.

Yes, but not in the same way,

because Wanda knew what she was doing.

I don't have to tell you.

After she died,

it took the butcher two years

before he could even look

at her house again. Two whole years.

- After all, he was her fianc.

- Fianc?

She amused herself with him

because he was young and strong.

Can you imagine a wealthy countess

being engaged to a bumpkin like that?

The truth of the matter is,

countess or no countess,

she was a nymphomaniac.

Yes, as long as the girl gets them,

she's got to be a nymphomaniac.

I find that your wit, as usual, is tasteless.

Wanda was a stupendous creature.

Stupendous.

I must go. Good night.

- Good night.

- Good night.

Wanda was certainly a beauty,

that's true enough, and a whore, too.

They all know it.

Ask any man in the village.

Maria! My wife likes to think

the worst about people.

May I ask just why

you're so interested in her story?

An old bit of dirt that doesn't

interest anyone anymore.

- Obviously, it interests someone.

- I just can't understand how,

-after such a long time, anyone would care.

- Are you going?

- Where does he live?

- I don't have any idea.

All right, get your hands off. It's mine.

Come on, get away from here.

Don't listen to that rubbish.

They don't know the truth about her.

- You busy?

- No, I was looking for you.

Every man here

who's now over 40 had Wanda.

Wanda took every man she could get.

The mother, I say it was her responsibility,

a haunted old woman.

She kept telling her how splendid she was.

It was part of a pattern. Fetishism.

She wanted to see her daughter

become a slut. It's a classic perversion.

What a story.

I'm going to write it when I get all the facts.

A study in neurosis.

It's Dante.

It's the spirit of Dante.

They brought back his spirit tonight

through a medium. Come with me.

We have a very gifted medium

called piva in town.

I want you to meet him. He's brilliant.

Just think! Dante alighieri himself.

Why don't you come with me tonight?

- No, no.

- Why not?

- No, I can't.

- We'll have him invoke Wanda.

- Another time.

- Wanda valier.

Wanda, it's you, isn't it?

Don't you want me in your house?

Then it's flavia you don't want?

Why?

You want me all to yourself, don't you?

Is that why you tried to kill her?

Wanda!

You put these flowers

against the wall, didn't you?

I don't understand.

I live in the house where Wanda died.

Does that mean anything to you?

If some madman is going around

putting flowers under your walls,

I couldn't care less.

It's not me.

Tony!

- What's going on?

- It's nothing!

It's nothing. Put that down.

- Who is he?

- I don't know. He asked for directions.

Mister.

- Excuse me for what happened before.

- That's all right.

You see, I have a wife and children.

Your questions reminded me

of an old story.

I'd like to talk about it

if you don't mind.

- No, no.

- Let's go for a ride. Come on.

Only a few minutes.

- Was she beautiful?

- Yes, to me she was.

And very, very warm.

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