The Tortoise and the Hare Leonardo

BELL TOLLS PEOPLE SNORING

DOOR OPENS

'Milan will attack.

'And when they do, they will find us an easy target.

'Their army is bigger,

'their weapons superior.

'We can't beat them.

'Unless we have a secret weapon.

'A weapon of immense power.

'And there is only one person who can design such a weapon.'

BANG!

Leonardo!

Don't move, Tiberius.

Ai! Pazzo!

Totalmente pazzo!

There you go, Tiberius. Buon appetito.

# You can be addicted to a certain kind of sadness

# Like resignation to the end

# Always the end

# So when we found we could not make sense

# Well, you said that we would still be friends. #

FOOTSTEPS

Mi scusi. I have a fitting at my dressmaker's.

Sit down!

Why do women have to be so foolish?!

The Duke has been assassinated,

the city is in turmoil with his son's miraculous return,

and you would go swanning off to the dressmaker's!

Mi scusi, Excellency. I didn't think.

Precisely. Women never do.

You will remain in the palace.

-Lorenzo will entertain you.

-But, Father, I was...

It would be an honour.

-Your Grace.

-Rocco. Please, be seated.

There's no time for sitting! We must ride!

To Milan, to avenge my father!

Rocco! He has done nothing for Florence!

Five years away

indulging some childish notion of being an explorer!

Then waltzes back in and snatches it from me!

-He's nothing like his father.

-He's a hothead, always was.

We can't let him go to Milan.

We can't let him find out that this is all a lie.

INSECT BUZZES

Simple solution.

We kill him and blame the Milanese.

Oh, yes. Excellent idea(!)

That won't look fishy at all, will it?

Offing the new Duke, straight after we've killed the old one?

Why don't we have done with it and kill the whole of Florence?!

Imbecile!

Mi scusi, Excellency.

We can't kill him.

Not yet.

Nor can we risk him finding out that Milan does not intend to attack.

We stick to the plan.

We get Rocco to agree to the super-weapon.

And then...

when the time is right...

It's magnifico, eh, Cosi? Is.

The extremes of the natural world. Up there,

birds flitting, bright feathers glinting,

fast and free, swift and weightless.

And down here...

the slowest of creatures.

It's grounded,

muddy-coloured.

It's weighted to the earth with its shell and its short, sturdy legs.

It looks dull, but it's practically indestructible.

They make very good soup.

Aw! Don't you listen to him, Tiberius.

He needs to show respect to his elders.

-These beauties can live for 200 years.

-200 years?

Which is how old I will be

-before I get any work out of you!

-Mi scusi, Maestro.

You're summoned to the palace by Piero de' Medici.

-What have you been up to now?

-Nothing, Maestro.

Why do I find that hard to believe?

Go on, don't keep them waiting. Via, via!

-You're not taking that thing with you?

-Yep, I need him.

Besides, I'm not going to leave him here

for Cosimo to make his tortoise meatballs out of.

# Though their all their joy we know

# Youth and beauty don't endure

# If you want, be happy now

# For tomorrow's never sure. #

-What are you doing here?

-Been summoned. You?

Nothing.

-You're loitering.

-No, I'm not.

Oh, all right, I am.

-I've asked her to meet me.

-Who?

Angelica.

-I'm in love.

-With who?

-Angelica.

-Angelica?

-Yes, Angelica.

-Angelica, Lorenzo's fiancee Angelica?

-Yes!

-Ouch.

EXHALES HEAVILY

You so know how to invite trouble.

Do you think I planned this?

Look at the state I'm in!

I can't eat, I can't sleep,

I'm a shadow of my former self.

A dithering, mooning, weak-minded...

jelly.

Does Lorenzo know?

You're going to have to tell him.

-Well, it's not as if he likes her.

-That's very true.

-Does she like you?

Yeah.

No...

I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not.

Why would she?

She's rich, I'm poor,

she's an aristocrat, I'm a commoner...

She's beautiful!

And I'm...

I'm not bad-looking, actually.

Oh, who am I kidding? It's hopeless!

If you love her...

you should go for it.

Give it your best shot.

I will... Grazie.

Prego.

# Thus did a lady take my heart

# Nor she wants or gives it back

# A noose around it has she cast

# Sets me on fire

# She burns me black. #

You REALLY don't have to stay here with me.

Don't I? Oh, all right, then.

Ah, Angelica!

As you can't go out, I've had your dressmaker come here.

My father was murdered, Uncle Piero.

I will have my revenge! Our armies will ride on Milan

and I will drive my sword through the Duke of Milan's

black-hearted...heart.

Florence is not capable of withstanding

the military might of the Milanese.

Our men will be slaughtered.

And you will end up dead in the crypt next to your father.

It will be an honour.

If I am to die, it will be an honourable death!

A hero's death!

Why don't we give ourselves a chance?

Leonardo da Vinci is the city's most gifted inventor and engineer.

If he were to design a super-weapon,

we could crush these Milanese

like the treacherous cockroaches they are.

Super-weapon? I like the sound of that.

What are you waiting for?

Presto, presto! Show him in, then, this da Vinci fellow.

DOOR OPENS

-HE LAUGHS

-He's just a boy!

He's a genius.

Yes. Er, well...I, er...

Come on, then, genius, let us hear what you've got.

This tortoise... Well, not this ACTUAL tortoise,

but tortoises in general, they have an incredible life span.

They're practically indestructible - it's down to the shell.

-You see this dome?

-I'm not concerned with the anatomy of a tortoise.

Yes, yes...

but the shell is crucial for their survival.

It protects them from the jaws of predators.

-They are almost invincible.

-Invincible.

Perhaps, Leonardo, if you were to get to the point.

-No. I've heard enough.

-You've heard nothing!

I'm trying to tell you the shell is the ultimate defence.

The Romans knew it. They used a formation, the tortoise formation.

Take this ridiculous creature and be gone!

Your Grace.

The boy's a half-wit. Rabbiting on about reptiles.

It's lions we need on the battlefield, not tortoises!

And I shall be a lion...or a tiger. Whichever is fiercer.

-He was trying to say a weapon...

-Don't waste your time, Uncle Piero.

I ride on Milan tomorrow at dawn. To victory!

Victory(!)

Thanks.

LORENZO LAUGHS What are you doing?

-Why are you kissing letters?

-I wasn't.

-I saw you. And unbelievably soppy you looked.

-Me, soppy? Ridicolo!

How's Angelica? Is she, er... She well?

Completamente orrenda.

Can't believe I've got to marry her.

She's the most boring girl I've ever met in the whole of my life.

Boring?! Are you mad?

She's fascinating, beautiful, intelligent, smart, funny...

Funny? She's completely miserable. You don't know her like I do.

-Maybe she's miserable because she's marrying you.

-I'm a great catch.

-I'm in love with her.

-In love with who?

-Angelica.

-Angelica?

-Angelica.

-Angelica, my fiancee Angelica?

-Yes! How many Angelicas do you know?

This is an outrage! Have you no scruples?

You're Mac. Of course you have no scruples!

You've been going on about how much you don't like her. Why do you mind?

That's not the point. She is my fiancee,

and you have no right to go round willy-nilly falling in love with her!

That went well(!)

I know he's the Duke but he's a idiot.

He treated me like a two-year-old. I'll show him!

Is the Maestro out?

Ye-es. Why?

Santa Maria, you're going to set fire to the workshop again?

-Was that letter you were kissing from her?

-And?

-Let me see it!

-No!

-Let me see it!

-No!

-What's up with those two?

-You don't want to know.

-Are they arguing about Angelica?

-Do you know? I had no idea.

I saw how they looked at each other.

LORENZO AND MAC STILL ARGUING

You never see anything.

I need your help! Stand there. And you.

-She was telling me she couldn't meet me.

-I should think so!

-Lorenzo, you're starting to annoy me now!

-Me annoy you? That's rich!

You daren't tell your dad you don't want to marry her!

Shut up, you two! Keep still and concentrate.

This is dangerous.

What's dangerous? Oh, Leo?

Ow!

Santa Maria! No way, you have got to be kidding!

-You can't fire it!

-I'm not standing here while you shoot cannons at me!

-Leo...

-Oh, all right. Maybe you're right.

Let's test it out in the piazza.

-Ooh, eccitante!

-Andiamo!

What?

I'm deeply sorry about your father. He was loved by us all.

I would expect no less. He was your Duke, your leader.

-It was your duty to love him.

-Yes, your Grace.

I want to commission a painting. A battle portrait.

Paint me leading our noble army to victory on the battlefield.

The Milanese murderers bowed, bloodied and defeated.

And I at the centre driving my sword through the Duke of Milan himself!

Yeah. Very good. Eccellente.

-What the devil?

-Che diavolo?

Stand back, please! Stand right back.

Dio mio!

OK.

Uno...

due...

tre!

ALL SCREAM

Attenzione! The Duke's statue!

Mi scusi, Your Grace.

Farabutto!

You would despoil my father's shrine!

You would insult his memory!

The citizens of Florence built this to honour him and you destroyed it!

Traitor! Arsonist!

-No. I meant no disrespect.

-He didn't mean anything!

Silenzio!

The punishment for treason is death.

-Seize him!

-No...

No, you've got it wrong. I'm no traitor!

-You can't do this!

-You dare question your Duke?!

Get away, Tom!

-Please, you have to do something!

-They're going to shoot him!

Please, your Grace, the boy is my apprentice,

He gets carried away, but he's not bad. He's not a traitor.

-I say he is.

-He is not! You have to stop this!

-I'm begging you. He's my best friend. It was an accident!

-Go home, Lorenzo.

What are you doing? Get away!

-Stand aside, boy, or I will shoot you, too.

-No. I won't.

Move, Lorenzo.

No. You'll have to shoot me as well.

Lower your weapons.

Lock him up. I'll decide his fate later.

Go and tell your father. He's the only one who can help.

Get back to the workshop. I'll deal with you later.

And you, stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about!

KEYS JANGLE IN LOCK

I never wanted to see the inside of this place again.

I'm sorry, Maestro.

What's going on with you?

Making cannons, exploding and setting fire to things?

All this wanton destruction. Playing at war.

-It isn't a game, Leonardo.

-I know that! I'm not playing.

I'm not a child!

I'm trying to help Florence. Save lives.

By causing explosions?

His Excellency says said that Milan's army is superior.

That thousands of Florentine lives will be lost.

So...I've been designing a weapon.

Only Rocco won't take me seriously.

He dismisses me as a child.

He's not dismissing you now.

He thinks you are a traitor.

Your Excellency.

You seem to be making a habit of this.

Thank you for coming, Excellency.

Is that your design?

Yes.

A tortoise-shaped shell?

-A great defence.

-Strong enough to withstand any assault on it.

And its attacking power?

A cannon. On top of the turret.

Here.

It will be...invincible.

I'll talk to Rocco.

I'll make him see.

The boy meant no disrespect.

He loved your father.

I stayed away too long, Uncle.

I planned to return

but there was always another sea to sail, another mountain to climb.

And now it's too late.

I will never see my father again.

I wish I could have saved him.

I am heartbroken that he is dead.

But you mustn't blame yourself. He knew you loved him.

-Did he?

-Of course.

And he was proud, so proud of you,

his son...the great explorer.

He would be ashamed of me now.

I nearly had that boy shot on the spot without a trial.

If Lorenzo hadn't been there...

Your father was a great man.

I must avenge him.

Of course. His murderers must suffer,

must be made to pay.

But, my dear boy, I couldn't bear to see you die as well.

Family is everything to me.

-You're a good man, Uncle.

-And I am giving you good counsel.

Don't ride to Milan yet.

Give Leonardo a chance.

Let him show you what he can do.

Let him build you...a super-weapon.

Leave us.

HE SIGHS

My friend has been arrested.

I heard.

My other friend says he's in love with you.

So you feel the same way?

Yes.

Lorenzo...

I don't want to marry you.

And I don't want to marry you.

So...what do we do?

I'll talk to my father

I have seen many strange things on my travels through the world,

but none so strange as this.

It's indestructible. It will break through enemy lines.

No gun or cannon can destroy or even dent it.

Your test earlier... It failed.

-The ball tore through your structure.

-A miscalculation.

We can't afford miscalculations.

It's all part of the process.

You experiment, test things out. It's the only way to get it right.

You're very sure of yourself for one so young.

But then you can afford to be.

It is my soldiers' lives you are risking, not your own.

I will prove it to you. Fire the cannon. I will stand behind.

That's madness!

If the only way you'll believe me is to stake my life on it, I will!

Your faith is admirable. As is your courage.

-Va bene, I'll allow it.

-Surely that's not necessary.

I absolutely forbid it!

Uno...

due...

tre!

CLANG! ALL EXCLAIM

ALL CHEER

You see, Placidi, there is more than one way to skin a cat.

Aren't you glad we didn't kill him? This way is much more fun.

Yes, Excellency.

Da Vinci will build the super-weapon.

And once it is built, we will get rid of Rocco.

A bullet, straight through his heart.

Ingenious, Excellency.

I think so.

-KNOCK AT DOOR

-Entri.

-May I speak with you, Father?

-Avanti.

Alone.

What is it, Lorenzo?

Um...

I've been talking to Angelica

and, you see, the thing is, er....

Oh, spit it out, boy.

We don't want to go through with the wedding. We don't love each other.

You don't love each other?

Actually, we don't even like each other.

Oh. Well, in that case,

let's call the whole thing off.

Let's forget it.

Forget all the preparations, forget about the money we've spent.

Forget the alliance. I'll just send a message to her father

saying, "Let's not bother

"because Lorenzo and Angelica don't like each other."

You're being sarcastic, aren't you?

I don't give a fig whether you like each other.

This isn't about you.

This is about what's best for the Medici name.

You know that as well as I do.

You disappoint me, Lorenzo.

Yes, Father.

-You will be married.

-Is, Papa.

Oh, and, Lorenzo. I've seen you pussyfooting around Angelica.

A woman is her husband's property.

Never forget that.

Yes, Father.

-Well?

-We're getting married.

Attenzione!

We have just been given the biggest, most important commission

this workshop has ever had.

Our city needs us.

Our new Duke Rocco...needs us.

We are to build...

..a super-weapon.

Did he say a super-weapon?

This weapon will help us to victory in the fight against Milan.

It will save many lives.

And it is to be designed by our own Leonardo da Vinci.

APPLAUSE

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd