i'll be right down.
would you like to see my profile?
well, what is it?
but your friend is waiting downstairs.
i have a feeling that you're not used to being alone.
don't be so humble.
but of course.  arrogant, haughty.  hasn't anna ever told you?
like this?
and that's what i say, too. we could have all been killed.
shall we go for a swim?
anna!
let's see you dive from the top of those rocks, giulia. that would be really sensational. come on, giulia .  your life is much too circumscribed.
i don't know.  it depends on ettore.  he's now in the process of negotiating for a contract here in sicily.
what a question.  because i want to be with you, naturally. i hope he doesn't close the deal so he'll leave me alone at least for a few days.  isn't this water wonderful!
what could be more restful than this?.  excuse me, what is it that you want to try?
ask her.
there too.
what kind of a fish is that?
my god, it's enormous.
anna.
here, drink some cognac.
how are you?
anna.  maybe it would be better to wait a while.
and why haven't they left each other?
could be. they're the kind of people who are capable of anything.
giulia, don't you understand that the more involved you become with people, the more difficult it is to speak with them?
i know we are. but as the years go by, we become even worse. isn't that so, corrado?
you'll get over it soon. it's the usual anxiety.
so, it will just take you a little longer to get over it.
there will be plenty of time to talk about it later. we'll get married soon. that way we'll have more time.
but why rattle your brains by arguing and talking.  believe me, anna, words never help at all. they only serve to confuse. i love you, anna. isn't i that enough?
but you just said that a month was too.
and what about yesterday.  at my house.  didn't you have any feeling for me, even then?
this is the kind of behavior that drives me crazy!
did you find her?
no.
me?.  i no longer have any interest in building.  and, then, where can you find boulders of rock like this in milan?
tell lady patrizia that we can't leave now. in fact, we'll have to make a tour around the island.
that doesn't make any difference! if we have to stay, we'll stay!
anna is an excellent swimmer. even with a cramp, she would have managed to reach shore somehow.
patrizia!
no. now that we're here, let's have a look around basiluzzo. when we were swimming, she swam out in that direction.
let's try to be practical about this. the best thing to do is for all of you to go to the closest island that has a police station, or something, and report the disappearance. i'll remain here.  because.  well, i don't know, but it seems to me that something may turn up. anyway, i just don't feel like leaving.
i'll go even further and say that her presence here -- i don't want to sound offensive -- could be a great hindrance.
and why do you tell us this only now?
nothing but the usual argument.  the only thing was -- if i remember correctly -- that she said she had a need to be alone.
are you the owner of this place?
but where did you come from?
nothing.  nothing at all!
and i suppose it's my fault.  why don't you tell him that too. that's what you believe, isn't it?
are you feeling better?
you're very fond of anna, aren't you?
has she ever spoken to you about me?
and yet, she seemed to feel that our love for her -- mine, yours, even her father's, in a certain sense -- weren't enough for her, or didn't mean much to her.
whose boat is that?
just a moment ago.  didn't you hear the sound of a motor?
and how come you're up so early?
unfortunately, no.
look, marshal, with those deep crevasses, you'll need some rope and ladders.
another thing; there's an old man who lives here on the island.
listen, patrizia.  the marshal says there's a current that passes by here and ends up at another island.  i don't know which.  he wants to send one of his men over to have a look.  one never knows.  do you mind if i ask raimondo to go with him?
yes, maybe that is better.
yes.  i'm going.  i'm going now.
it's already two hours.  what are we going to do?
and you say that came from lisca bianca?
look.  i'd like to get back to lisca bianca.
but even here we were supposed to find who knows what.  and all we bring back with us is a crate of cigarettes.
claudia, listen .  claudia.
that's true. but in the meantime, as far as i'm concerned, it's absolutely necessary to go to milazzo. i know that you have no desire to meet me, and i shall take pains not to impose myself upon you. but, besides you, i am the closest person to your daughter.
pardon me for being so frank, but there are certain things that a father -- especially a father like you --cannot understand. so don't be stubborn. i'm coming with you.
patrizia, what are you going to do?
i'll go and get my valise.
good. then i'll meet you there.
but what are you saying?.  what are you saying?
tell me, lieutenant, do you happen to know this f.z. who wrote this article here?
where can we locate him? don't you think that by offering a reward to anyone who can give us some information.
pardon me, sergeant, but when did you get back?
and the young lady who was with you?
where are you going?.  to montaldo's?
then i'll go with you.
yes. i had also thought of going there to talk with them.
but then when will we see each other?
i don't know why. i just couldn't help it.
i have no desire to sacrifice myself.  it's idiotic to sacrifice oneself.  why?.  for whom? if anna were here i might understand your scruples. but she's not.
i'm sorry. i didn't want to sound cynical. but isn't it better to look things squarely in the eye?
it takes even less.
i think the only way to help ourselves, claudia, is for us to be together.
and what about you?
claudia, listen to me.
but why, claudia?.  why?
even if you chase me away, i.  claudia, let's not wait any longer.  after, it will be too late .  come with me.
which one of you is zuria?
zuria?
i would like to ask you something.
you're kidding!
i read one of your articles regarding the disappearance of a girl. i'm that girl's fianc.
now listen, if i had any information, i wouldn't have come here to ask you. but i see that you, too, lack any information .
is that possible?
is that far from here?
yes.  of course.  but you should also print that in your paper.  but right away, tomorrow morning.  it's the local palermo paper, isn't it?.  i mean, it's widely read.
you really must do me this one favor.
then let's call it a business proposition. something to round out your salary.
but it even says what she bought: a bar of soap! so there's no point in making believe you can't remember.
you have to be precise. did this girl enter your store or didn't she?
was she blonde or brunette?
how was she dressed?
pardon me, but has anyone else been here asking about this girl?
thanks.
yes.  but it's all so conflicting.  however, there is some slight indication.
well.  thanks for the information.
it's better if we present a happy picture, no?
tell the signora patrizia that we are continuing the search. and that the signorina claudia will manage to survive somehow.
no. i only want some information.
we're searching for a girl of about twenty-five.  seems she boarded this bus two days ago, in the afternoon.  you should remember her because she was a stranger around here.
can you tell me where she got off?
okay, thanks.
and do you remember where she got off?
then you should also be able to tell me where a young girl might stay in noto; are there any hotels or rooming houses?
thank you.
who knows why they all left.
are you joking?
what is it, claudia?
does it please you to say such things?
then why do you say them?
good. it's better if it were absurd. that would mean nothing much can be done about it.
so, even if i did say them, i was sincere with her, as i am now with you.
i have never seen a woman like you, who needs to see everything so clearly.
at one time, all these houses were convents.
look! what a fantastic scene! what movement, what disorder! they were very much concerned with scenographic effects.  an extraordinary sense of liberty.
really, i've got to stop this business with ettore.  i would like to go back and start working on my own projects again. you know, i had many ideas.
once they gave me a job to draw up an estimate for the construction of a school. it took me only a day and a half to finish it, and i got paid six million lire. ever since then i've been doing estimates for other people's designs.
why are you looking at me like that?
i don't know about that. and then, who's interested in beautiful things nowadays?
claudia, let's get married?
yes. we'll get married. you and i. what do you say?
you look at me as though i had said something foolish.
that's why i asked you.
are you ready?
hurry up now, or it'll begin to get hot outside.
okay. i understand. see you later.
as soon as you're ready, you can come down and catch up with me. i'll be waiting for you right outside on the square.
but you know it already. why must i tell you?
then i'll see you later.
it's closed. isn't there any custodian or caretaker inside?
but it says it's open from 9:30 to 10:30., and it's ten o'clock now.  that's a fine way to greet tourists.
are you the custodian?
nothing.
why?
and aren't you pleased?.  that way you'll have a new kind of adventure.
i was only joking, really.  can't i make a joke? and now you've got to tell me why you don't want to.
but what?
yes, she started to but i didn't feel like staying to listen to what she had to say. if we had to listen to everybody.
i don't doubt it. but at a time like this we're the least suitable persons to be with him. and as far as telephoning him.  who knows where he is?
yes, we will.
they didn't seem too good.
ettore must be fed up with me by now.
your mother?
you see? just like a robot.
come in.
aren't you going to change?
sure, that's what i said.
wow, it's ice cold.
why?
sleep is something one must learn to overcome. i learned how to do it when i was a child. i never slept. and i had friends who even slept less than i did. the one who went to bed first, paid a penalty. and we really didn't do anything. after seeing a movie, we'd go to a cafe and discuss things for a while.  then we'd sit down on a bench somewhere.  listen to some drunkard.  watch them putting up posters or manifestoes. or look at the sheep passing by.  or go for a stroll around the market place.  or else we'd go and wake up some girl in the neighborhood by standing in front of her window and calling out her name.
you're that sleepy, eh? what time do expect to get up tomorrow?
did you know that when i was a boy i wanted to be a diplomat? can you imagine that! me, a diplomat? it's strange but i never thought i'd be rich. i saw myself living in a rooming house, full of geniuses.
instead, i have two apartments, one in rome and one in milan. as far as genius goes, it's a habit i've never formed. what do you think of that?
good night, my love.
i love you.
i don't love you.
that's not true. i love you.
i want to take a look around first.  i'll join you later.