We Can Do That

MILAN, 1983

Nello, no!

You can't say the market is Leftist

in our book.

I said we have to stay in the market

but with our values.

If the Left goes against the market,

we'll be cut out.

- Fashion isn't Rightist.

- But Padella is.

He hires three, fires two,

so the third earns triple.

I like designing clothes,

what can I do?

You can do it at home.

Nello, you sold yourself out!

- I earn less than you!

- You defend the market!

I don't attack the market,

just its moral decay.

You want a woman

to keep the home fires burning.

You can't be living with me

and working for Padella.

Then I'll leave you,

you're too ancient.

You're too modern,

you can't stay in the Union,

but we won't abandon you,

a co-operative asked us for a manager

and we thought of you.

Is this Co-operative 180?

Much better.

I'm Del Vecchio, the president.

Sorry I'm late.

The new manager's here.

Luca is very good

but today he can't paste stamps.

Let's swap, you two stuff envelopes,

Ossi and Robby paste stamps.

Right in here.

We call ourselves Co-operative 180,

in honor of the Basaglia Law,

which frees the crazy.

If their families take them back,

they go crazy too

but if they don't take them back,

where do they go?

- I don't know.

- No one does.

I've kept some busy

with the Co-operative,

but I have no time,

I have 150 more

in the mental hospital.

- What does the Co-operative do?

- What can it do?

It begs.

We paste stamps,

put prices on olives,

one week with nuts, one without

or they get confused.

- What should I do?

- Get new contracts.

It's not hard, they listen to you.

- Why do they move so slowly?

- They're sedated.

Madness doesn't heal by law.

He's bad.

You're not eating the lasagna?

There's poison in homemade stuff.

I like poison.

We'll be working together,

we should get to know each other.

Nice, did you do that?

What's your name?

Don't want to tell me?

His name's Robby,

but he doesn't talk, he's autistic.

I'll introduce myself, I'm Fabio,

ex-patient, soccer fan and believer.

My father is a pilot, he's been

to Hamburg, Barcelona and Paris.

My expertise is at your disposal.

We're colleagues,

we can cut formalities.

- As you prefer, Mr. Manager.

- Call me Nello.

Thank you, Mr. Nello.

I thank you too, Mr. Fabio.

I'm Luisa,

I want to be called Ms. too.

Of course, Ms. Luisa.

Then I'm Mr. Goffredo.

- Want to introduce yourself?

- It's my turn?

I'm Ossi,

I have no preferences,

don't know anything,

I don't need anything,

it wasn't my turn, it was Gigio's.

Now he'll introduce himself too.

He's Luca, he's excellent,

he should get three salaries.

But who are you?

I'm Gigio, like the mouse,

I have the jitters because

I'm not getting the right medicine.

The right medicine is in America.

What can Mr. Luca tell us?

They call me Nicky Lauda

because I worked at the speedway.

I worked there for seven years,

it's very dangerous,

the cars zoom by you like this.

Seven years of that, it was fun.

I'm Miriam, I'm a lyricist,

I like all forbidden things,

but my life is simple.

Why do you look at me like that?

I'm engaged to a Spanish man,

Julio, he's very jealous.

I had a love affair too once.

He was in the can

and I was in the can,

then I got out and he got out,

we met, we hugged,

and loved.

We made a baby girl.

What a lovely story!

What's the girl's name?

I don't know,

they took her away from me.

I never saw her,

also because he ran off

with another woman

and my father whipped me

because I'm a filthy girl.

Okay, now back to work.

Good morning.

I'm Carlo and I was better off

with the UFOs.

We did introductions yesterday,

today let's hold a members' assembly.

What's that?

We'll talk together about

how we can work better.

Even the Japanese

have discovered that co-operatives

are the best way

to manage human resources.

Our problem is how to paste stamps

in the right place.

I mean you too, you can't leave,

it's work time.

Sudden violence,

now they'll give him Serenase,

he'll sleep 15 days.

Want to bet 15 cigarettes?

You can't have

a members' assembly here.

Mental illness isolates you

from the world,

even talking is tiring for them.

- I followed my instinct.

- This is your result.

- Who did it?

- No one, I fell.

I have to know who did it.

In factories problems

get resolved face-to-face,

you don't snitch.

You don't get it, know who Luca is?

I'll tell you.

His older brother

used to beat his mother

and one day he broke her arm

with a bat.

That day, Luca

slit his brother's throat

and put him on the rabbit cage

to bleed to death,

he was 16 years old.

hospital taught him all the rest.

You can't follow your instinct,

these people have hell inside.

I fell.

Tomorrow, nice and fresh!

I want the drawing, alright?

Go have fun.

- What'll we do?

- Let's have dinner.

Hi, Padella!

Who the f*** is it? Nello?

What happened to you?

I bumped into a door.

Hi, Sara.

Is it true you work with loonies?

- They're good workers.

- You wanted bad ones?

I hope you pay them under the table.

See you at the restaurant.

Nello, watch those doors!

Don't you see?

You can't work with Padella,

after what went on between you.

I kissed him when I was 18,

I'm 34 now.

- Since when are you jealous?

- Since always.

There's reflux now, I can tell you.

If I see a man looking at you,

I'd head-butt him.

Come back, I feel awful without you,

I miss everything,

even the occupied bathroom.

Really?

Do the job you want

but don't leave me,

a free bathroom is horrible.

It was fifteen?

Why didn't he get walloped?

I have the procedure here for...

Procedure for sudden violence:

ten milligrams of Serenase

three times a day.

Why didn't they give him anything?

It's written here: sudden violence.

Got a cigarette?

Mr. Nello,

I'll take this.

Hello, Mr. Gigio.

You do it wrong on purpose!

Know what I say?

Well done, it's not easy

to make designs like this,

this is artistry.

But we're not a co-operative of art,

we're a co-operative of work.

Why does the City

have us paste stamps?

Because we're mentally ill.

Okay, but the customer

must be satisfied,

the work has to be done well.

They pay us anyway.

Why do you stare at us like that?

We're crazy, not stupid!

Wouldn't you like

to have a normal job?

I get worked-up,

like my father,

he got so worked-up he died,

I don't know how to do a normal job.

Learn, you have the qualities,

doing designs like this isn't easy.

How much does a normal job pay?

Pretty well.

Let's review,

who remembers the two choices?

Fabio.

Welfare work:
it's not tiring,

but it serves no purpose.

Enter the market:

you bust your butt, but you're useful

to others and make money.

- Excellent.

- I wanted to say it.

Let's vote.

Who votes for welfare?

I think the market

is a very vulgar thing.

Three votes.

Who votes for the market?

- No welfare!

- We won.

Now let's decide what work to do,

anyone have an idea?

- Mr. Ossi.

- I have no ideas.

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