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♪ Ave Maria, piena di grazia ♪
♪ Eletta fra le spose E le vergini sei tu ♪
♪ Sia benedetto il frutto, o benedetta ♪
♪ Di tue materne viscere ♪
♪ Gesù ♪
♪ Prega ♪
♪ Per chi adorando te si prostra ♪
♪ Prega pel peccator ♪
♪ Per l'innocente ♪
♪ E pel debole ♪
♪ Oppresso e pel possente ♪
♪ Misero anch'esso ♪
♪ Tua pietà ♪
♪ Dimostra ♪
♪ Prega ♪
♪ Per chi sotto l'oltraggio ♪
♪ Piega la fronte e sotto ♪
♪ La malvagia sorte ♪
♪ Per noi ♪
♪ Per noi tu prega ♪
♪ Prega sempre ♪
♪ E nell'ora ♪
♪ Della morte ♪
♪ Nostra ♪
♪ Prega per noi ♪
♪ Prega ♪
♪ Ave Maria... ♪
♪ Nell'ora della morte ♪
♪ Ave! ♪
♪ Amen! ♪
Morning!
Mm-hmm.
99% of your devotion is about food.
1% is about love.
How is your spine, Ferruccio?
As fragile as a twig, the doctor said.
Hmm. So you should be careful.
When I ask you to do something, you should occasionally tell me no.
I am careful, madam.
That is why I don't dare to tell you no.
Bonjour.
Buongiorno.
I slept until two,
and then he came into my room.
And I said in a very clear voice,
"I know you are dead."
And he went away?
And he went away, which is very unlike him.
Perhaps when... when men are dead, they become more manageable.
Perhaps.
Anyway, madam,
a doctor is coming today at 11:00.
Ferruccio made the appointment for you.
I cannot see a doctor today. I am busy.
You can tell him about the visions you are having,
and no doubt he will change your medication.
I'm perfectly happy with my medication and its effects.
I am happy with the theater behind my eyes.
Doctors often label revelation as illness,
when in fact it is a form of sanity they don't understand.
Right?
Madam, if I may ask,
you will be busy doing what?
Bruna, I want you to listen.
And I want you to be honest.
♪ Ca... ♪
♪ ...sta Diva ♪
♪ Casta Diva ♪
♪ Che inarge...♪
♪...nti ♪
♪ Queste ♪
♪ Sacre ♪
♪ Queste sacre ♪
♪ Antiche piante ♪
♪ A noi volgi ♪
♪ Il bel sembiante ♪
♪ A noi volgi ♪
♪ Ah ♪
♪ Il bel sembiante ♪
♪ Sen... ♪
♪ ...za nube ♪
♪ E senza vel ♪
So?
It was...
magnificent.
Thank you.
How is that for a position for the piano, madam?
Hmm.
It's not right.
But I'm nice, so leave it.
Oh, there is a television camera crew coming to interview me in about an hour.
Perhaps hide the ashtrays.
- May I come in, madam? - Only if you must.
What did you take?
I took liberties all my life.
And the world took liberties with me.
You know what I mean, madam.
This morning, I took only Mandrax.
How many?
Two.
I need to go somewhere and I want Mandrax to accompany me.
Mandrax is not a reliable companion if you are going out.
I will drive you.
- Where are you going? - I will walk.
'Cause you would laugh.
What did Bruna say about your singing?
She said it was magnificent.
She's a housemaid.
And housemaids, of course, cannot know opera?
They are not qualified to judge it.
I know where you are going.
She said it was "magnificent,"
and before, she said it was "excellent."
So...
And so "magnificent" means
you have decided to try?
Yes. On the word of a housemaid.
- Madam, this television crew... - Hmm?
Is it real?
I'd like you to move the piano to the other window.
And as of this morning,
what is real and what is not real
is my business.
Yes, madam.
Oh! And I won't be here for the doctor's appointment
you made without my permission.
Madam, you must...
Don't cancel. Have them look at your back.
You're becoming a little crooked.
In case the television crew are real.
- Madam Callas. - Mm.
My name is Mandrax.
I'd like to walk with you through your life.
Mm.
A handsome interrogator always gets the most honest answers.
Should I call you Maria or La Callas?
Either is perfectly fine.
I prefer La Callas.
Then that is perfectly fine.
Unless, of course, you feel you're a victim of that identity?
Oh.
So much has been written about me,
and many unfair things.
Stories that are... pure fabrication.
Shall we sit?
Okay, roll.
Rolling.
I am quite rebellious by nature.
I heard a story once that you burned all your dresses.
What dresses?
Your old theater costumes.
That is true.
Bravo.
This will be worthwhile.
I burnt my dresses before I left Milan.
May I ask why?
No, you may not.
Uh, then, when did you last perform on stage?
You really should be more persistent with your questions.
I burnt my theater dresses, because they were a part of the past.
And to answer your... less interesting question,
I last performed four-and-a-half years ago.
Because performing on stage is also a part of the past.
You'll never perform again?
No.
Then tell me how it felt to be on stage?
An exaltation.
An intoxication.
Sometimes I thought the stage itself would burn.
And on the bad days?
Well, there are two sides.
One side says to fight.
And the other says, "You are awful, and you should be ashamed."
I'm afraid audiences expect miracles.
I can no longer perform miracles.
Perhaps we could speak a little of your life away from the stage.
There is no life away from the stage.
The stage is in my mind.
I have to go.
- Go? - Yes.
No, we were promised three hours.
Then come with me.
Come with you where?
"Come with me," said the Diva,
and there was really no need to ask where.
Then I will come with you, wherever you're going.
Walk with me across Paris.
My butler says that Mandrax is a very unreliable companion, but
I think we're a perfect combination.
♪ Vedi! Le fosche notturne spoglie ♪
♪ De' cieli sveste l'immensa volta... ♪
You see?
When I am with you and your camera, Mandrax,
I don't have to perform, because everyone else is performing.
♪ All'opra! All'opra! ♪
♪ Dàgli, martella ♪
♪ Chi del gitano ♪
♪ I giorni abbella? ♪
♪ Chi del gitano ♪
♪ I giorni abbella? ♪
♪ Chi? ♪
♪ Chi i giorni abbella? ♪
♪ Chi del gitano ♪
♪ I giorni abbella? ♪
♪ La zingarella! ♪
I'm late.
You're Maria Callas.
You're not late. Everyone else is early.
Hmm.
You're casting breadcrumbs as if I were a blackbird...
...and the stage a bird table.
Hmm?
It won't work, of course.
Although I sang for Bruna this morning,
and she said she thought I was magnificent.
Who's Bruna?
Bruna is my housekeeper.
She was making an omelet.
She makes magnificent... omelets.
She knows little about opera.
And what she knows, she learned from me.
And what she has learned from me is to always be complimentary.
So I am here on the word of an obedient housemaid.
You know, blackbirds have a song.
If you buy a recording, on the label it just says,
"Blackbird Song."
There must be a song just called "Human Song."
I'd like to sing it before I stop.
Stop?
Maria...
You said you'd come here and at least find out if you still have a voice.
I'm not a répétiteur. I'm not here to teach you.
I couldn't teach you anyway.
But if I hear, I will know.
Puccini will know.
Puccini is dead, and he may be glad that he is.
Why don't we just stand here and look out as if it was the edge of the future?
What do you want to sing?
A love song.
- And who are you in love with? - Guess.
Ugly and dead.
- Mr. Onassis still? - Mm.
He comes to my bed every night.
He won't leave me alone. I... I love sending him away though.
When did you last perform?
A long time ago.
It made me sick.
I got a hernia and purple legs.
Everything swelled, except my ego.
I was in Japan,
and all the Japanese doctors said, "What is this thing?"
And my people said, "Well, this is La Divina, La Prima Donna."
And they said, "But then why does she look like a purple frog?"
So I came back to Paris.
And I sit in my apartment, look out the window, and I say,
"Ticktock, ticktock. The brute is dead."
"My voice has gone. What do I do now?"
I have my car.
I can drive you back to your prison cell
on Avenue Georges-Mandel if that's what you want.
Mm.
Bruna is my mother, my sister,
my daughter, my housemaid.
Ferruccio is my father, my son, my brother, my butler.
It is a terribly crowded apartment.
I don't want to go just yet.
Okay, so I have an idea.
You're evidently mad about something, or scared,
or bitter, or whatever it is,
so don't sing.
Shout.
Shout so loud even Puccini can hear.
So loud, ugly, dead Onassis can hear.
♪ O mio babbino caro ♪
♪ Mi piace è bello, bello ♪
♪ Vo'andare in Porta Rossa ♪
♪ A comperar l'anello! ♪
♪ Sì, sì, ci voglio andare! ♪
♪ E se l'amassi indarno ♪
♪ Andrei sul Ponte Vecchio ♪
♪ Ma per buttar--♪
Ugh.
That was Maria singing.
I want to hear La Callas.
It will not happen in one day.
Puccini and I will be here tomorrow, same time!
- Madam? - Mm?
I asked the doctor to wait for you.
Dr. Fontainebleau,
Maria Callas.
I'm a huge admirer of your work.
Hmm.
And how is my butler's back?
Oh, there is no cure for it
other than stop moving pianos.
Hmm.
I showed him the diary,
the medicines that you are taking every day.
Hmm.
I have a strange feeling sharing someone's medical information
is against the law.
- No? - Madame? Uh...
Mm?
I need to have a conversation with you
about life and death.
About sanity and insanity.
The piano is in a good place.
Thank you.
Madame, please.
I'm going to cook, and she will be better.
She's too skinny.
She hasn't eaten for three days.
Last time, she didn't eat for four days, so...
...we're still okay.
Hmm?
Yeah, but then you're going to prepare it, and she'll give it to the dogs, as usual.
Madam?
Leave me alone.
Madam, I have made coffee.
Mm-hmm.
Madam, also,
there is a message for you.
- Mm? - From the pianist.
He said, uh, no matter what happens,
you must go to see him again tomorrow.
He said he heard hope in your voice.
I thought that might be a good thing.
- I thought that, uh... - Mm?
It might make you happy.
The medicine cabinet is unlocked.
You can throw it all away.
Ah, um, that is not what the doctor told us we should do.
Was he even a doctor?
He's a specialist, madam.
And what does he specialize in?
Blood.
That is why he took a sample of your blood.
But he said, even before the result of the test,
we should get your medication under control.
It is under control.
It's under my control.
And doctors hate that.
I need you to make me an appointment with a hairdresser that doesn't speak.
And when I write my autobiography,
I will title it The Day Ferruccio Saved My Life.
And what day was that, madam?
Every day. Every single day.
That's why I hate you.
I fall into a river, and you always fish me out.
Yes, madam.
Book me a table at the café where the waiters know who I am.
I'm in the mood for adulation.
- Madame Callas. - Hmm.
I just wanted to say that once, in New York, you broke my heart.
What aria?
No, no, you broke my heart because I bought two tickets
and you failed to appear.
They said you were unwell, so...
- C'est la vie. - Then I was unwell.
It's okay. No hard feelings.
- I was unwell. - Madame, it's okay.
I forgot about it until I saw you just now.
People always said I was faking it. I was never faking it.
You have no idea, no idea of the pain
to pull music through your belly, out your poor mouth.
No idea!
Madame.
Perhaps we can find you a seat inside.
I'm not hungry.
I come to restaurants to be adored.
Please.
Thank you.
May I say that tonight you defined Violetta forever.
You are Violetta.
- Maria. - Hmm.
- Where have you been? - I think you know.
- Excuse me. - Mm?
My English no good, but flower says it.
Magnificent Traviata.
Mm.
- Tonight, everyone wants to worship you. - Mm.
Excuse me, Madame Callas.
There is someone who's just dying to meet you.
I wondered if you would make his day, his week,
his month, his life.
Excuse me, sir, may I borrow your wife just for a few moments?
- I think there is a queue. - No, I don't queue.
Who are you?
Aristotle Onassis.
This is my party, thrown in your honor.
And if you want to count them, I got a thousand pink roses just for you.
I was told it was a smart thing to do
to associate myself with the Prima Donna Assoluta.
So this party was a business strategy.
Hmm.
But then I fell in love.
- You fell in love with opera. - No.
I fell in love with you.
Hmm.
I'm ugly, but I'm rich.
I'm Greek, but I'm from Argentina.
I'm married,
but it's 1959.
So...
To falling in love through binoculars.
I watched you through these.
You love me,
and yet you've never set eyes on me before tonight.
Oh!
Now I'm offended.
- We met. - Hmm?
In Venice. At the film festival.
But I guess there were a lot of movie stars,
so you forgot the little ugly guy.
Well, I didn't forget you.
Do you want to dance?
I should get back to my husband.
You will never go back to your husband.
Hmm.
Sometimes this thing happens,
the thing... that's happening right now.
And what is the thing that is happening right now? Hmm?
A decision is made.
Not by anyone, but
it's how it's going to be.
I'm sorry, Mr. Onassis.
Am I supposed to be feeling something?
Yes.
For the first time in your life.
Well.
There's a point where self-confidence becomes a kind of insanity.
I crossed that border long, long ago.
I don't mean to be abrupt.
Oh, I think I can confidently say
you are being abrupt.
"Abrupt" might not even be a strong enough word for what you are.
- But there is a ship, my ship. - Mm-hmm?
- Called the Christina. - Yes.
Sailing from Monte Carlo to Greece on the 21st of July.
Mm-hmm?
I'd love you to be on board.
I get it.
There's a lot of people who want a piece of her,
and my time is up, I get it.
But I was just telling your wife
that I've arranged a cruise from Monte Carlo
and invited the most illustrious people.
And I was just telling her
that it would be an absolute honor
if you and your wife would join me on board.
And guess what she said.
And I said, "Yes."
"Why not?"
And my husband agreed.
Hmm.
There is a very common theory...
...that if you ask for something, it means that you want it.
It is not true.
I didn't want to go on his yacht,
because I knew where it would take me.
And it took me there,
to the place I did not want to go.
But when I got there,
I stayed.
Madame.
Madame Callas,
my son has called your apartment,
and someone is on their way to fetch you.
Hmm.
Uh...
Another, please.
Mm.
I know you...
I know you think my behavior is unusual.
I'm actually working.
Uh, writing something.
What are you writing?
An autobiography.
An aria.
A third act.
"The Human Song."
Something along those lines.
I didn't know you wrote.
Mm. Neither did I.
I don't, uh... I don't use a pen.
I use myself.
It seems the part of me that, uh, that dreams is
taking the wheel of the ship
and taking the ship into... safe harbor.
Why are you kind to me?
Because you're kind to us with this.
♪ E forse a te ♪
I never listen to my own records. Please turn it off.
This is my café, Madame.
And this is what I listen to when I am alone.
You are not alone. Please turn it off.
I cannot listen to my own records.
Why not?
Because it is perfect.
And a song should never be perfect.
It should be performed in that moment
differently to every other time.
That is why--
- Whenever you are ready, madam. - Hm.
Ça fait combien ?
Rien, c'est bon. C'est offert par la maison.
Que de ça pour le garçon, alors.
Let me help you with that, madam.
♪ ...della pia campana ♪
♪ Là fra la neve bianca ♪
♪ N'andrò ♪
♪ Sola e ♪
♪ Lontana ♪
♪ E fra le nubi ♪
♪ D'or ♪
Dr. Fontainebleau called.
He said the results of your blood tests have arrived.
He said you must call him in the morning.
He said I "must" call him?
I think, yes.
He might have said you "should" call him.
Perhaps he said I "can" call him if I wish.
He just wants you to call him, madam.
But you don't remember what word he used...
...which would decide whether I sleep tonight or not.
You're getting old.
And more and more crooked.
But you will call him, madam.
Yes?
Please.
♪ ...L’ombra mia! ♪
♪ Giusto ciel! ♪
♪ Oh terror! ♪
♪ Terra e ciel fiamme son! ♪
♪ Fuggiam, fuggiam L'arso ciel, l’atro duol! ♪
♪ Già l’abisso s’aprì! ♪
- ♪ Fuggiam da questo infausto suol! ♪ - ♪ Fuggiam, fuggiam ♪
♪ Fuggiam da questo infausto suol! ♪
♪ Fuggiam, fuggiam, fuggiam ♪
♪ Fuggiam da questo infausto suol! ♪
♪ Fuggiam, fuggiam ♪
♪ Fuggiam da questo infausto suol! ♪
♪ Fuggiam, fuggiam ♪
♪ Fuggiam, fuggiam, fuggiam ♪
♪ Fuggiam! ♪
Bruna!
Bruna.
Bruna!
♪ Pou einai ekeina ♪
♪ Mou ta kalli ♪
♪ Pou einai i tosi m’ emorfia ♪
♪ Stin Athina ♪
♪ Den eixe alli ♪
♪ Tetoia leventia ♪
♪ Imoun koukla ♪
♪ Nai, st’ alitheia ♪
♪ Me megalin archontia ♪
♪ De sas lego ♪
♪ Paramythia ♪
♪ Trelana ntounia ♪
♪ Ma m’ emplexe enas mortis ♪
♪ Ach, enas magkas protis ♪
♪ Mou pire oti icha kai m’ afinei ♪
♪ Mou pire tin kardia mou ♪
♪ Ta niata, ta lefta mou ♪
♪ Ki ap’ ton kaimo mou foumaro kokaïni ♪
That will be 100 drachma.
That one can dance.
But that one,
she can sing.
What else can they do?
No.
Not now.
Just sing.
♪ L'amour est un oiseau rebelle ♪
♪ Que nul ne peut apprivoiser ♪
♪ Et c'est bien en vain qu'on l'appelle ♪
♪ S'il lui convient de refuser ♪
♪ Rien n'y fait, menace ou prière ♪
♪ L'un parle bien, l'autre se tait ♪
♪ Et c'est l'autre que je préfère ♪
♪ Il n'a rien dit mais il me plaît ♪
♪ L'amour ♪
♪ L'amour est enfant de bohème ♪
♪ Il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi ♪
♪ Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime ♪
♪ Si je t'aime, prends garde à toi ♪
♪ Si tu ne m'aimes pas ♪
♪ Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime ♪
♪ Mais si je t'aime ♪
♪ Si je t'aime ♪
♪ Prends garde à toi ♪
Did you sleep, madam?
I don't know.
I was with my sister, which was part of the plan.
- What plan? - Until you woke me up.
How am I to sleep when Ferruccio has taken all my pills?
Ferruccio has gone for coffee and croissants.
Where is my medication?
Dr. Fontainebleau said we should keep them in the kitchen.
Even the ones I hid?
You went through my pockets.
Also, you are going to call the doctor today.
No. No, today I have an appointment with Bellini.
- Madam. - Mm?
You can still call the doctor.
Has a package arrived for me?
Yes. A parcel from Athens, from your sister, Yakinthi.
Good.
- Okay. - Mm-hmm.
Here is great.
It looks great. It looks La Callas.
Greek, grand, sad, framed by the past...
Now, am I calling you Maria or La Callas today?
Today, Maria.
- Here? - Please, okay.
- Okay, roll. - Rolling.
Maria.
I understand you're looking to make something of a comeback.
Not really. I have no intention of performing on stage.
I understood that you were seeking to find your voice again.
I am seeking something I lost.
And why do you want to sing again?
Oh, because music is so enormous.
It envelops you in a state of torture.
- That is a reason? - Mm-mm.
Music is born of misery.
Of suffering.
Happiness never produced a beautiful melody.
It seems, music is born of distress.
And poverty.
And you were born very poor.
Mm, yes.
I used to sing for money.
I just realized last night,
that is where it all began.
Do you want coffee?
No, I want courage.
I want courage to be able to go into this Mexican restaurant,
and order a plate of fajitas and cream and salsa.
Why courage?
Because the smell when I walk by here each morning with my dogs reminds me
of the day I finally told my mother to fuck off.
You should write a whole chapter about it in the autobiography.
You must call it The Day I Finally Told My Mother to Fuck Off
in a Restaurant in Mexico.
It wasn't in a restaurant in Mexico.
I asked Bruna to cook for her,
because Bruna can cook anything.
And my mother can ruin anything.
This is the part of the film where you're expected to sing, Maria.
So fucking sing.
La Callas is expected to sing.
No excuses. No diva-imagined sickness.
Not like Rome, not like Covent Garden, not like New York.
Fucking sing!
I will sing when I am ready to sing.
- Okay, so I had some thoughts overnight. - So did I.
La Callas needs a spotlight.
I asked one of the lighting guys. He's...
He's up there.
Pierre?
Bonjour, madame.
Bonjour.
Only La Callas could make a French theater technician miss lunch.
But it's just you and me and the piano.
- And sweet Pierre. - No, no.
I asked him to give us the light, then go away.
This is private.
But also, this is wherever the hell you want it to be.
New York, Covent Garden, La Scala...
Venice.
Venice, 1949.
I was fat.
Beautiful fat.
- No, you were never fat. - I was.
I arrived by gondola and thought I would sink it.
Venice, '49...
You were Elvira.
Mm.
Someone got sick and you learned it in one week.
And so it began.
Do you know I Puritani?
Do I know I Puritani?
Whoo!
♪ Qui la voce
♪ Sua soave ♪
♪ Mi chiamava ♪
♪ E poi sparì ♪
♪ Qui giurava ♪
♪ Esser fedele ♪
♪ Qui il giurava ♪
♪ E poi crudele ♪
♪ Poi crudele ♪
♪ Mi fuggì! ♪
I just felt La Callas in this room.
We just need to keep trying.
Mm.
♪ Ah! Rendetemi ♪
♪ La speme ♪
♪ O lasciate ♪
♪ Lasciatemi ♪
♪ Morir! ♪
Brava!
- Brava, brava! - Bellissima!
Let's try again.
Not today.
Great.
You haven't really explained.
What is this film you're making?
It's called La Callas: The Last Days.
Well, in that case,
roll camera.
Rolling.
Your child would've been that age by now.
Your baby.
The one he wouldn't allow you to have.
Well, that is true, isn't it?
He got you pregnant and then wouldn't allow you to have the baby.
Just now,
I was in Venice.
Before him.
Before love.
Slowly, slowly, I am looking back at my life.
Seeing the truth.
I won at roulette.
Perhaps he let you win.
You cannot cheat at roulette.
Everyone can cheat at everything.
Especially these people.
Hmm. What people?
He doesn't even try to hide his desire for you.
I spoke to Winston Churchill.
The girl from Athens.
For a Prima Donna, pleasure is unavoidable.
Are you quoting the bastard?
No. I am saying my own thoughts out loud.
It's a new thing.
My thoughts. Out loud.
The herald of the gods, Hermes.
Hermes is my god.
Hermes is myself.
It dates from the second century BC.
A rare beauty.
I have no consideration for beauty.
I myself am ugly,
and I'm loyal to my tribe.
You represent the opposite tribe.
I'm not a long a member of the tribe.
I used to be part of your tribe.
- I would have loved you then. - Oh, no.
I was unlovable. You can ask my mother.
- Hermes is a busy god. - Hmm.
He is the protector of travelers, merchants,
orators, and thieves.
And you are all those things?
- I'm a merchant. - Mm.
My ships travel the world.
I use oratory to get what I want.
And if it doesn't work, I steal it.
This statue, matchless,
priceless...
I had it stolen to order from a museum in Athens.
No one knows it exists.
Only those who come into this room know I have it.
Hmm.
So your wife.
If I want something,
I steal it.
And you think this would be theft?
You think I belong to my husband,
and after we sleep together, I will belong to you, hmm?
To be a possession in a cabinet
is not my ambition.
And why do you think Aristotle Onassis didn't marry you?
Because he knew he could not control me.
And it wasn't that he didn't allow me to have a baby.
Wait. Important truth. Mark it.
Go on.
I didn't marry Aristotle Onassis,
because he wanted someone he could control.
And I didn't have a baby because
my body declined the invitation to make another self.
Because my body knew I was a tiger.
♪ Sempre libera degg'io ♪
♪ Folleggiare di gioia in gioia ♪
♪ Vo' che scorra il viver mio ♪
♪ Pei sentieri del pia-- ♪
- Mr. Ferruccio. Mr. Ferruccio. - Good evening, Mr. Marcel.
Even my wife has complained, and... and... and she's almost deaf.
I understand. I understand. I'll see what I can do, Mr. Marcel.
♪ Sempre libera degg'io ♪
♪ Folleggiare di gioia in gioia ♪
♪ Vo' che scorra il viver mio ♪
♪ Pei sentieri del piacer ♪
♪ Nasca il giorno ♪
♪ O il giorno muoia ♪
What are you doing?
Preventing a visit from the gendarmerie.
Opera at this volume is bad luck.
Opera at this volume is American radio.
Madam, you never listen to recordings of yourself.
While on a bridge, I made a decision.
The dogs were afraid of the loud noise.
Did you buy what I asked you for?
Yes.
Unwrap it, please.
What decision, madam?
If I am to become La Callas, I need to listen to La Callas.
I have to record myself
and then compare myself to my past voice.
Does it have a...?
Yeah, there... there should be a cassette inside.
Mm.
Madam, today you said you would call the doctor.
Did you call the doctor?
Bruna? I don't, ah, machines...
Did you call Dr. Fontainebleau, madam?
Now it's recording, madam. You just--
Bruna, I would like you to bring this machine with you tomorrow and record.
Ferruccio, because of your obsession with doctors,
I would like you to stay back and clean the car.
And the piano is better near the other window.
Better for what, madam?
Better for my purposes.
Now it's recording, madam. You just--
Bruna, I would like you to bring this machine with you tomorrow and record.
Ferruccio, because of your obsession with doctors,
I would like you to stay back and clean the car.
Mm, don't spill.
- Oh. - No?
Oh yes.
- Here, I'll give you some. - Okay.
Ask your questions.
Why... Why be with such a brute like Onassis?
Because with him, I could...
I could be a girl again.
Piano, piano.
Did you give her her pills today?
No.
So who did, then?
There was a package from Yakinthi.
I find carrying out simple instructions a great comfort.
As if things were normal again.
When were they ever normal?
I think it was...
one day, once, in 1964.
It was a dull day, I imagine.
Good.
The piano is much better there.
Both of you, put on nicer clothes.
We're going out to celebrate my life.
I believe I'm expected.
I don't believe you are, madam.
Well, I believe I am, and that's all that matters.
Wait here.
Look, there. The king.
That's me, right?
Will President Kennedy be coming?
He's probably up in the Gossamer Suite fucking Marilyn Monroe.
His wife will be here, sure enough.
Why would you know that?
How do you like the places I take you to, hmm?
- I like the painting. - How do you like it, little Athens girl?
- Please don't drink too much. - Oh, baby, that bird has flown.
You might even say thank you sometimes.
I just took you to the birthday party for the President of the fucking--
Maria Callas?
Oh my.
I saw you at the Met, and oh my God.
Yeah, she is a goddess.
She had me in tears,
and my husband saying, "Okay, I get it."
Hmm, yeah. She's a bird.
She's a songbird.
I leave the cage door open, but she doesn't want to fly.
Excuse me, who are you?
Could you explain to this sweet lady
that I am the richest man in this fucking room.
Oh, here's the luckiest man alive.
Have you seen his wife? Man! Phwoar!
Mm.
My dream is to see you perform at the amphitheater in Athens.
I'm told the acoustics are better than anything in any modern theater.
Yes.
Do you have any plans to tour the States?
Hi, Mr. President. Onassis.
Um... uh, no. Not at this time.
I'm having some struggle with my voice.
Oh.
Well, maybe the songbird should leave the cage occasionally.
♪ ...birthday to you ♪
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
♪ Happy birthday, Mr. President ♪
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
Isn't it interesting the effect you can have
even if you don't have a real voice?
No one cares about her voice.
Just as no one cares about your body.
All clear.
This way.
Maria Callas.
Yes?
I hear you were born in the United States.
I was. New York.
Welcome home. May I?
Would you sing for us in the White House?
I don't think the White House would much like my voice right now.
So, Onassis...
He's your... whatever?
Yes, he is my whatever.
The father you never had.
And how do you know I never had a father?
The CIA has 17,000 college graduates with listening devices finding things out.
You look great, by the way.
Thank you.
You look tired.
Never too tired for beauty.
Your husband invited Jackie and me to take a cruise on his yacht.
I think you know he is not my husband.
He is my whatever.
Last night, he called you his wife.
Maybe he plans to propose.
Ari would look very funny on one knee.
It would be great fun to sail away with you.
Mr. Onassis told me he has an El Greco painting on his yacht
that he would like to show my wife.
Hmm.
Yes.
In his bedroom.
You seem quite sad.
Last night, before he fell to sleep,
Ari told me he loved me.
Considering where he'd been until 4:00 a.m.,
don't you find that sad?
Well, where was he last night?
Where's Jackie?
Inside her own circle.
Well, I don't have many people with devices finding things out,
but I do know that you and I
belong to a very, very small group of lucky angels
who can go anywhere we want in this world.
But we can never, ever get away.
Doesn't make us friends though.
Where to now?
We are tired, madam.
I'm not tired.
We are tired.
And we are worried.
What is he doing here?
I invited him.
I left a key.
I have news that can't wait.
No.
Bruna and I will... we'll take the dogs out.
Yes. Yes, we will.
And then we will return.
Apparently, tonight we had a little bit of a party, Doctor.
Oh. The gravity of it all.
Hm?
People always disappoint me.
Always.
I had a wonderful evening.
Madame Callas.
Do you know opera?
Of course.
In La Traviata,
Violetta is diagnosed with tuberculosis.
It is not tuberculosis.
It is not anything with one name.
Your blood tells a story.
An autobiography written in blood.
As well as, uh, the Mandrax,
the various sedatives and stimulants,
you are taking the steroid Prednisone?
To combat my body's attempt to turn me into a frog.
And now your liver is beginning to fail.
It is no longer taking out all the trash.
- Your heart is failing too. - My poor heart.
Your system is very frail.
Your wonderful Ferruccio tells me
you are planning to try again to sing.
My wonderful Ferruccio is very free with all my secrets.
In my opinion,
the extra stress it will cause to your body,
the medications you will probably need to get through each day,
they will kill you...
if you keep pushing yourself to sing.
And I say that as someone
who would dearly love to see you perform again.
Well, you see, I have no intention of performing again.
Not for you or anyone else.
So...
Then why are you rehearsing?
My mother made me sing.
Onassis forbade me to sing.
And now, I will sing for myself.
Well, your...
...your beautiful life--
Played before my eyes.
Meaning what?
Meaning now, finally,
I am in control of the end.
I'm begging you
to see reason.
My life is opera.
There is no reason in opera.
Your voice will not return.
Your voice is in heaven,
and on a million records.
Get out.
It took a great deal of effort for me to come into this restaurant.
I had to say a magic spell.
Since I sent you the medication,
I keep regretting it.
I have no regrets.
How do I look?
- Too thin. - Mm.
Well, a lot of me has been taken away.
- Maria? - Hmm?
I've come to Paris. I love Paris. I am happy.
My life is
floating on like a tight ship.
I don't want to be sunk.
In your message, you said you "needed" me.
You needed to see me.
I'm not gonna give you any more medication. I'm not.
I don't need any more medication. It served its purpose.
Thank you.
I suggested this restaurant
because it reminds me of her.
Of who?
The last time I saw Mama,
she asked me for money.
And she said, "I brought you into this world
so you could take care of me."
Then she said I was fat and unlovable.
Wonderful memories.
The time has passed, Maria.
You close the door.
Hmm.
I will end this with the beginning.
A toast.
To memories shared only by you and I.
Close the door.
German soldiers won't leave me alone.
Sometimes,
when you were crying,
I took your place so you could rest.
Remember?
I live my life looking like this.
And I live my life looking back,
writing an autobiography.
Look, if you're going to write your autobiography,
you will have to do it without my help.
It's already writing itself before my eyes.
I don't even know if you're real.
Okay.
Ay! Stop.
Maria, stop.
That hurts, Maria.
Stop.
- I'm hallucinating. - You're hallucinating?
Then see a doctor.
You are a doll.
I have seen a doctor.
Enough.
You have your driver waiting for you.
I don't have no debt to pay to you.
My advice?
Do not write anything about your life.
But if you do,
be kind to yourself.
Because
I was there in Athens with you,
and I know that
whatever your faults, whatever...
...wrong you did, whatever...
...it's...
...you're not to blame, baby.
You're really not to blame.
Thank you.
Sometimes I think it was all in my head.
Close the door, little sister.
I can't.
It's the only way the music gets in.
Fuck the music!
Baby, you... you're 53 years old.
You've never been free. Forget the music and live.
My God.
You're on time.
My audience awaits, full of hate.
What hate?
I'm going to sing the mad scene from Anna Bolena.
I performed it at La Scala.
- 1957. - Yes, the people of Milan hated me.
I had canceled. I was sick. They never forgave me.
And I spilt my venom across the poor innocents.
- But then you sang. - Then I sang.
Full of fury.
At the press.
Fury at the judgment,
my mother, the world...
Bruna, now.
Begin.
Light, please.
♪ Oh! Chi... ♪
♪ ...si duole? ♪
♪ Chi parlò di Percy? ♪
♪ Ch'io non lo vegga ♪
♪ Ch'io m'asconda a' suoi sguardi ♪
♪ È vano ♪
♪ Ei viene ♪
♪ Ei m'accusa ♪
♪ Ei mi sgrida ♪
♪ Oh! ♪
♪ Oh! Mi perdona ♪
♪ Mi perdona ♪
♪ Infelice... ♪
♪ Son io ♪
♪ Toglimi a questa ♪
♪ Miseria estrema ♪
♪ Tu sorridi? ♪
♪ Oh gioia! ♪
♪ Non fia ♪
♪ Non fia che qui deserta io moia! ♪
♪ Io moia! ♪
♪ Tu sorridi? Percy? ♪
♪ Oh gioia! ♪
♪ Oh gioi--! ♪
Brava! Brava!
Madam?
You were magnificent.
Oh God.
Let's go home.
Love is at home.
Madame Callas, I write a music column for Le Figaro newspaper,
and, for reasons connected to the duty of journalists,
I was in the theater just now.
I heard you perform the mad scene from Anna Bolena,
and it was pretty not great.
It was pretty terrible, in fact.
There are rumors you plan to make a comeback.
Would you care to give me a comment on your progress,
bearing in mind what I just heard and recorded?
- Why the fuck would you print this? - She's Maria Callas.
She is--
Hey, people want to know.
- Please, please. - Go ahead, Madame Callas!
You al-- You always had a reputation for having a terrible temper.
These photos will sell the story all over the world.
Madame Callas, why don't you calm down and give me your side of the story?
Our readers are very interested--
You have to leave us alone.
No!
- You have to leave us alone. - No!
Our readers want to know what the hell happened to you.
What a tragedy, eh?
I cleaned the car as you instructed, madam.
And I am ready to take you home.
Play it.
Madam, please.
Play it.
♪ Infelice... ♪
♪ Son io ♪
♪ Toglimi a questa ♪
♪ Miseria ♪
♪ Estrema ♪
♪ Tu sorridi? ♪
♪ Oh gioia! ♪
I'm guessing this film of yours is almost over.
Have I told you I've fallen in love with you?
That happens a lot.
Before the final scene,
there is something I want you to know.
Record, please.
I have no equipment.
Then remember this.
Because no one else will know.
When he was dying,
here, in Paris,
I went to him.
I love you.
Is that it?
Should I go now?
I have some things to say.
Hmm.
Number one...
Hmm?
...I still hate opera.
You don't have to say so much.
I know most things.
- Oh? You know most things? - Mm-hmm.
Okay.
- You never lacked confidence. - Mm.
Are you happy?
Well,
I found out in the newspaper
that Frank Sinatra makes ten times more than I earn.
Oh.
- You are poor. - Always.
I wish you could sing right here, right now.
I'd wake the whole of Paris.
Oh, they'd forgive you.
You know,
I think I'll go to Athens.
My spirit will find a chair on the harbor
and watch the ships.
And who will you be waiting for?
I thought you knew most things.
You know, I...
I found out you married her in the newspaper.
Sometimes you get married because you have a free day.
Well...
The morning I found out, I checked, and my heart was not broken.
You hurt my pride though.
Well, I guess that's something, right?
When it's your turn,
will you come to Athens to see me?
Well, I'm sure I have business there.
Yes.
So I'll make sure
I have two canvas chairs.
Yes.
I should never have tried to stop you singing.
That is correct.
I always loved you.
That is also correct.
Mr. Onassis, your wife is here.
Athens, Maria.
You and me... only.
And how was he?
We are Greek.
Death is our familiar companion.
Why did you visit him?
Because he asked me to.
Did you see Jackie?
I went out the back door.
Even in death, I was the secret.
Yes, but he wanted you.
Jackie was his wife.
But you...
you were his life.
- Eight. - Nine.
You always win.
- She cheats. - No!
- Yes, you do. - No, no, no.
- Yes, you do. - Oh, Bruna, we know. We know.
She is the sphinx, that one.
- Yes. - No.
- Yeah, you pretend to be... - "I'm so..."
- What's the score? You're winning. - Dangerous.
No, no. Maria is winning.
- Yeah, one. - Yeah, one more than...
- I'm losing. - I hope you always stay together.
- What? - I hope you always stay together.
When I'm gone. I hope you always stay together.
You're very good together. Good people.
If she keeps winning, it's gonna be difficult.
I don't know if I'm gonna be... staying.
Wait, wait.
Wait, wait, wait.
Madam? We have moved the piano again.
Come and see.
Madam, it is gone midday.
Are you okay?
Madam, please.
Er, we will buy all of your favorite food...
Oysters and salt beef
and... and those silly chocolates.
Tonight, we will sit down together, and, uh... and we will eat.
- Leave me alone. - Madam?
So, we are going to the grocery, madam,
to take what we need and, uh, we will be back soon.
♪ Vissi d'arte ♪
♪ Vissi d'amore ♪
♪ Non feci mai male ♪
♪ Ad anima viva! ♪
♪ Con man furtiva ♪
♪ Quante miserie ♪
♪ Conobbi aiutai ♪
♪ Sempre con fé sincera ♪
♪ La mia preghiera ♪
♪ Ai santi tabernacoli salì ♪
♪ Sempre con fé sincera ♪
♪ Diedi fiori ♪
♪ Agli altar ♪
♪ Nell'ora del dolore perché ♪
♪ Perché, Signore, perché ♪
♪ Me ne rimuneri ♪
♪ Così? ♪
♪ Diedi gioielli ♪
♪ Della Madonna al manto ♪
♪ E diedi il canto ♪
♪ Agli astri, al ciel, Che ne ridean più belli ♪
♪ Nell'ora del dolore ♪
♪ Perché ♪
♪ Signor-- ♪
♪ Perché me ne ♪
♪ Rimuneri ♪
♪ Così? ♪
Hello?
Dr. Fontainebleau?
Madam Callas has died.
Thank you.
They believe
it might have been a heart failure.
♪ Va', pensiero ♪
♪ Sull'ali dorate ♪
♪ Va, ti posa sui clivi ♪
♪ Sui colli ♪
♪ Ove olezzano ♪
♪ Tepide e molli ♪
♪ L'aure dolci ♪
♪ Del suolo natal! ♪
♪ Del Giordano ♪
♪ Le rive saluta ♪
♪ Di Sionne
♪ Le torri atterrate ♪
♪ Oh mia Patria ♪
♪ Sì bella e perduta! ♪
♪ O membranza ♪
♪ Sì cara e fatal! ♪
♪ Arpa d'or ♪
♪ Dei fatidici vati ♪
♪ Perché muta ♪
♪ Dal salice pendi? ♪
♪ Le memorie ♪
♪ Nel petto raccendi ♪
♪ Ci favella ♪
♪ Del tempo che fu! ♪
♪ O simile ♪
♪ Di Solima ai fati ♪
♪ Traggi un suono ♪
♪ Di crudo lamento ♪
♪ O t'ispiri il Signore ♪
♪ Un concento ♪
♪ Che ne infonda ♪
♪ Al patire virtù! ♪
♪ Che ne infonda ♪
♪ Al patire ♪
♪ Virtù! ♪
♪ Che ne infonda ♪
♪ Al patire ♪
♪ Virtù! ♪
♪ Al patire ♪
♪ Virtù! ♪