Excerpt
the screenplay
for
"Seven Beauties",
a film by
Lina Wertmuller,
1976,
from the book:
"The Screenplays
of Lina Wertmuller",
translated
from the Italian
by
Steven Wagner,
Warner Books,
1977,
pages 293 - 295.
Setting:
Our "hero",
Pasqualino
(played by
Giancarlo Giannini)
is in
a German
Prisoner-of-War
Camp
during
World War II.
He has decided
that,
as a strategy
for survival,
he must try
to seduce Hilde,
(also called
"the Beast")
the woman
who runs the prison,
a huge, cold-hearted
Nazi Commandant,
played
by Shirley Stoler.
He gets the idea
when he has a dream
of his mother,
who, long ago,
gave him good advice
about girls.
We begin
with the dream,
that sweeps him back,
far away
from the Prison Camp
and its misery.
+++
Scene 24
(Ground floor
of
Pasqualino's house
-- interior
-- daytime.
Pasqualino's mother
is sitting
on a low chair
winding wool
into a ball.
We have gone back
many, many years.
The atmosphere is peaceful
in this corner of the world.)
PASQUALINO'S MOTHER:
Girls will be girls,
Pasqualino,
but
no matter
how wicked they are,
if you find a means
of looking
into their heart
you'll always find
some goodness.
(Pasqualino stops crying,
his face streaked by tears.)
PASQUALINO'S MOTHER:
There's even a song
that says the same thing.
SHE SINGS:
"When you
behave
like this
you are like
a cup
of black coffee.
On
the bottom
of the cup
there is sugar,
but
the coffee
is bitter
unless
you stir it...
So
I have to
stir you
until
the sweetness
rises up
and
I can taste it..."
(She laughs
and laughs.
His mother's
laughing face
disappears
and
in her place
we see
Hilde's
menacing look.)
+
Scene 25
(Camp
-- exterior
--daytime.
The prisoners
are being counted.
They stand
in the freezing Appleplatz,
lined up
in rows of five.
The block-elder counts slowly.)
BLOCK-ELDER:
Eins ... zwei ... drei.
(Pasqualino
stares at
the Beast.
He is softly humming
the song
his mother taught him.
In his look
we can read
passion and sexual lust,
we can picture
and
love-making
by the seashore.
In his brave attempt
to be noticed
by the Beast
as he tries
to seduce her,
of his serenade.
Francesco
hears the strains
of this inappropriate tune
and
is convinced
that hunger and fatigue
have finally
gone to his friend's head.
Pedro
notices
Pasqualino's
Casanova look
and
points it out
to Francesco.
There is no doubt:
The madman
has set out
to seduce
the Beast.
Pedro finds it
hard to believe,
but it's true.
Pasqualino
continues
serenading her.
Her ruthless stare
goes right over the heads
of the skeletons
standing in the cold morning.
During a pause
in the counting
she hears a few notes
of Pasqualino's song.
She turns her killer eyes
toward
the source of this sound
which has reached her ears.
Pasqualino is tense.
He puts
his whole being
into the gaze.
The Beast
slowly walks
toward him.
Pasqualino's feeble voice
gets weaker and weaker
as she approaches,
and eventually
it dies out completely.
He lowers his lids.
He's
far too frightened
to continue with
this love game.
The Beast
is almost
on top of him
now.
He lifts his lids
and with
superhuman effort
gives her
his most seductive
and warm look.
She stops
to consider the look
in these green eyes,
but
she isn't really
interested.
Her eyes
are diverted
to
the other prisoners.
Even though
he was noticed
for
only an instant,
he is happy,
it's better
than nothing at all.
As she walks off,
his gaze
follows
her imposing figure.)
+
Scene 26
(Barrack no. 23
-- interior
-- nighttime.
The naked light bulb,
which accentuates
the squalor of the room,
is never turned off.
Pasqualino
and
Francesco
are curled up
on the highest berth
of their bunk.)
FRANCESCO:
You're totally insane!
PASQUALINO:
What have I got to lose?
I want to give it a go...
FRANCESCO:
It's too dangerous!
She's a sadistic bitch!
(Pasqualino shakes his head.
He is determined to go ahead
with his crazy strategy.)
PASQUALINO:
I know,
but I've explained it
to you already.
I had a vision
of my mother;
no matter what
a ruthless bitch
this woman might be,
there's got to be
a little sweetness
tucked away
somewhere ...
perhaps
she needs some love ...
You see, Francesco,
I may not
have studied,
but when it comes
to women,
I'm something
of an expert.
(Francesco replies jokingly,
even though he is tired
and depressed.)
FRANCESCO:
I wouldn't have doubted it
for a minute ...
PASQUALINO:
Want to know
what they used to
call me
back home?
Pasqualino
Seven Beauties!
(Francesco is amazed.)
FRANCESCO:
That's what they called you?
PASQUALINO:
Can you believe that?
I know I'm ugly ...
FRANCESCO:
To say the very least!
...You're revolting!
PASQUALINO:
Well,
strangely enough,
even though I was
so ugly
the women
would lose their heads
over me
and the people
would look at me
and
ask how could I do it
when
I was so ugly.
They said
it must have been
because
I was charmed,
I had
the "Seven Beauties".
Do you understand me?
FRANCESCO:
No,
I don't understand,
but I believe it ...
PASQUALINO:
I'm not bragging,
women really like me,
or should I say
they really used to like me...
To tell the truth,
I haven't seen myself
in a mirror
in nearly two years.
So, then, seeing that I was
pretty ugly
in those days,
I am rather concerned
about how I look now.
(Pasqualino
is pathetic in his concern.
Tears are beginning
to fill his eyes.)
PASQUALINO:
How must I look
after all these years?
My teeth
are loose.
I can hardly
keep my eyes open.
I'm skin and bones
and I notice
my ass
is beginning to sag.
Please, Francesco,
take a good look at me
and let me have
your honest opinion.
(Pasqualino raises his head
and allows Francesco's wise look
to assess
the extent of the damage.)
FRANCESCO:
You really are
quite revolting;
I wouldn't bother!
(Pasqualino is obstinate.)
PASQUALINO:
No, I've just got to try it ...
I want to live, Francesco,
I want to have children,
I want to see my children's children
and I also want to see
my children's children's children ...
(Pedro's voice rises up
from the lower bunk.)
PEDRO:
What's all this shit
you're going on about?
(Pedro laughs.
Pasqualino leans over
and grabs the anarchist by his shirt.)
PASQUALINO:
You fucker, how dare you?
Who are you to make fun of me?
(Francesco rushes over
to split up the two.)
FRANCESCO:
Are you mad?
(Pedro doesn't react,
he just laughs
and lets Pasqualino shake him.)
PEDRO:
I've got nothing against you personally,
but you really are talking a load of shit.
(Pasqualino lets him go
and crawls back into his corner.)
PASQUALINO:
Piss off!
PEDRO:
You see,
the more children you have
the more you speed up the end.
(Francesco is interested
by what the anarchist is saying.)
FRANCESCO:
In what way,
what do you mean exactly?
(Pedro stretches out in his bunk
and speaks gently.)
PEDRO:
In the thirteenth century
there were
five hundred million people
in the world,
in the fourteenth century
they were
double that number.
We are now
so shocked
by twenty or thirty million
dead,
but in the next
two or three hundred years
we are going to be
ten, twenty billion.
Then
you'll see,
every corner
of this earth
will be worse
than this camp!
Man will
start killing
for
a piece of bread,
whole families
will be wiped out
over
an apple.
Then
the world
will end.
(Pasqualino and Francesco
listen attentively,
totally absorbed
by what the anarchist is saying.)
PEDRO:
It's really
a shame
because
I believe in mankind.
must hurry up
and appear ...
not the type of beast
which has
unbalanced the harmony
of nature up to now,
but
a civilized man,
a man
who would be able
to find
peace and harmony
within himself.
(Francesco
is surprised.)
FRANCESCO:
What are you saying?
That we must
put things
back in order?
PEDRO:
Order?
No, these barbarians
here
are very orderly ...
No, we need
the shadow of disorder.
That is
the only hope,
man
in disorder.
+++
the screenplay
for
"Seven Beauties",
a film by
Lina Wertmuller,
1976,
from the book:
"The Screenplays
of Lina Wertmuller",
translated
from the Italian
by
Steven Wagner,
Warner Books,
1977,
pages 293 - 295.
Setting:
Our "hero",
Pasqualino
(played by
Giancarlo Giannini)
is in
a German
Prisoner-of-War
Camp
during
World War II.
He has decided
that,
as a strategy
for survival,
he must try
to seduce Hilde,
(also called
"the Beast")
the woman
who runs the prison,
a huge, cold-hearted
Nazi Commandant,
played
by Shirley Stoler.
He gets the idea
when he has a dream
of his mother,
who, long ago,
gave him good advice
about girls.
We begin
with the dream,
that sweeps him back,
far away
from the Prison Camp
and its misery.
+++
Scene 24
(Ground floor
of
Pasqualino's house
-- interior
-- daytime.
Pasqualino's mother
is sitting
on a low chair
winding wool
into a ball.
We have gone back
many, many years.
The atmosphere is peaceful
in this corner of the world.)
PASQUALINO'S MOTHER:
Girls will be girls,
Pasqualino,
but
no matter
how wicked they are,
if you find a means
of looking
into their heart
you'll always find
some goodness.
(Pasqualino stops crying,
his face streaked by tears.)
PASQUALINO'S MOTHER:
There's even a song
that says the same thing.
SHE SINGS:
"When you
behave
like this
you are like
a cup
of black coffee.
On
the bottom
of the cup
there is sugar,
but
the coffee
is bitter
unless
you stir it...
So
I have to
stir you
until
the sweetness
rises up
and
I can taste it..."
(She laughs
and laughs.
His mother's
laughing face
disappears
and
in her place
we see
Hilde's
menacing look.)
+
Scene 25
(Camp
-- exterior
--daytime.
The prisoners
are being counted.
They stand
in the freezing Appleplatz,
lined up
in rows of five.
The block-elder counts slowly.)
BLOCK-ELDER:
Eins ... zwei ... drei.
(Pasqualino
stares at
the Beast.
He is softly humming
the song
his mother taught him.
In his look
we can read
passion and sexual lust,
we can picture
Spanish guitars
playing romanticallyand
love-making
by the seashore.
In his brave attempt
to be noticed
by the Beast
as he tries
to seduce her,
Pasqualino
raises the toneof his serenade.
Francesco
hears the strains
of this inappropriate tune
and
is convinced
that hunger and fatigue
have finally
gone to his friend's head.
Pedro
notices
Pasqualino's
Casanova look
and
points it out
to Francesco.
There is no doubt:
The madman
has set out
to seduce
the Beast.
Pedro finds it
hard to believe,
but it's true.
Pasqualino
continues
serenading her.
Her ruthless stare
goes right over the heads
of the skeletons
standing in the cold morning.
During a pause
in the counting
she hears a few notes
of Pasqualino's song.
She turns her killer eyes
toward
the source of this sound
which has reached her ears.
Pasqualino is tense.
He puts
his whole being
into the gaze.
The Beast
slowly walks
toward him.
Pasqualino's feeble voice
gets weaker and weaker
as she approaches,
and eventually
it dies out completely.
He lowers his lids.
He's
far too frightened
to continue with
this love game.
The Beast
is almost
on top of him
now.
He lifts his lids
and with
superhuman effort
gives her
his most seductive
and warm look.
She stops
to consider the look
in these green eyes,
but
she isn't really
interested.
Her eyes
are diverted
to
the other prisoners.
Even though
he was noticed
for
only an instant,
he is happy,
it's better
than nothing at all.
As she walks off,
his gaze
follows
her imposing figure.)
+
Scene 26
(Barrack no. 23
-- interior
-- nighttime.
The naked light bulb,
which accentuates
the squalor of the room,
is never turned off.
Pasqualino
and
Francesco
are curled up
on the highest berth
of their bunk.)
FRANCESCO:
You're totally insane!
PASQUALINO:
What have I got to lose?
I want to give it a go...
FRANCESCO:
It's too dangerous!
She's a sadistic bitch!
(Pasqualino shakes his head.
He is determined to go ahead
with his crazy strategy.)
PASQUALINO:
I know,
but I've explained it
to you already.
I had a vision
of my mother;
no matter what
a ruthless bitch
this woman might be,
there's got to be
a little sweetness
tucked away
somewhere ...
perhaps
she needs some love ...
You see, Francesco,
I may not
have studied,
but when it comes
to women,
I'm something
of an expert.
(Francesco replies jokingly,
even though he is tired
and depressed.)
FRANCESCO:
I wouldn't have doubted it
for a minute ...
PASQUALINO:
Want to know
what they used to
call me
back home?
Pasqualino
Seven Beauties!
(Francesco is amazed.)
FRANCESCO:
That's what they called you?
PASQUALINO:
Can you believe that?
I know I'm ugly ...
FRANCESCO:
To say the very least!
...You're revolting!
PASQUALINO:
Well,
strangely enough,
even though I was
so ugly
the women
would lose their heads
over me
and the people
would look at me
and
ask how could I do it
when
I was so ugly.
They said
it must have been
because
I was charmed,
I had
the "Seven Beauties".
Do you understand me?
FRANCESCO:
No,
I don't understand,
but I believe it ...
PASQUALINO:
I'm not bragging,
women really like me,
or should I say
they really used to like me...
To tell the truth,
I haven't seen myself
in a mirror
in nearly two years.
So, then, seeing that I was
pretty ugly
in those days,
I am rather concerned
about how I look now.
(Pasqualino
is pathetic in his concern.
Tears are beginning
to fill his eyes.)
PASQUALINO:
How must I look
after all these years?
My teeth
are loose.
I can hardly
keep my eyes open.
I'm skin and bones
and I notice
my ass
is beginning to sag.
Please, Francesco,
take a good look at me
and let me have
your honest opinion.
(Pasqualino raises his head
and allows Francesco's wise look
to assess
the extent of the damage.)
FRANCESCO:
You really are
quite revolting;
I wouldn't bother!
(Pasqualino is obstinate.)
PASQUALINO:
No, I've just got to try it ...
I want to live, Francesco,
I want to have children,
I want to see my children's children
and I also want to see
my children's children's children ...
(Pedro's voice rises up
from the lower bunk.)
PEDRO:
What's all this shit
you're going on about?
(Pedro laughs.
Pasqualino leans over
and grabs the anarchist by his shirt.)
PASQUALINO:
You fucker, how dare you?
Who are you to make fun of me?
(Francesco rushes over
to split up the two.)
FRANCESCO:
Are you mad?
(Pedro doesn't react,
he just laughs
and lets Pasqualino shake him.)
PEDRO:
I've got nothing against you personally,
but you really are talking a load of shit.
(Pasqualino lets him go
and crawls back into his corner.)
PASQUALINO:
Piss off!
PEDRO:
You see,
the more children you have
the more you speed up the end.
(Francesco is interested
by what the anarchist is saying.)
FRANCESCO:
In what way,
what do you mean exactly?
(Pedro stretches out in his bunk
and speaks gently.)
PEDRO:
In the thirteenth century
there were
five hundred million people
in the world,
in the fourteenth century
they were
double that number.
We are now
so shocked
by twenty or thirty million
dead,
but in the next
two or three hundred years
we are going to be
ten, twenty billion.
Then
you'll see,
every corner
of this earth
will be worse
than this camp!
Man will
start killing
for
a piece of bread,
whole families
will be wiped out
over
an apple.
Then
the world
will end.
(Pasqualino and Francesco
listen attentively,
totally absorbed
by what the anarchist is saying.)
PEDRO:
It's really
a shame
because
I believe in mankind.
A new type
of manmust hurry up
and appear ...
not the type of beast
which has
unbalanced the harmony
of nature up to now,
but
a civilized man,
a man
who would be able
to find
peace and harmony
within himself.
(Francesco
is surprised.)
FRANCESCO:
What are you saying?
That we must
put things
back in order?
PEDRO:
Order?
No, these barbarians
here
are very orderly ...
No, we need
the shadow of disorder.
That is
the only hope,
man
in disorder.
+++
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