Synopsis
Night in Rome. An October evening of a precise year, 1943. A Young Man that works in a bakery shop grabs a Bakery Boy from behind and slashes his throat with a kitchen knife. To defend himself, the victim grabs the aggressor's face and scratches his cheek. Bleeding, the killer runs down the street, evidently looking for something. At a crossroad, not sure of where to go, he pauses a moment, then makes a decision and disappears along the road. But he isn't escaping from anyone. In spite of the deep wound on his face, he must absolutely carry out an important task. A mission.The wound on the boy's cheek has become a long scar on the features of an Old Man that wanders around the streets of Rome, today.. He crosses a bridge over the Tiber River, looking around as if he doesn't recognize the world surrounding him. He stares at the people who pass by, looking for someone who might help him. Among these, he individuates a young couple: Giovanna and Filippo, nearly 27, fighting.
While heading on, they cross the Old Man, who doesn't hesitate to stop them and ask for help. Giovanna doesn't even listen to him and continues walking straight on, until she notices that Filippo stopped.. Filippo explains to her that the Old Man is lost and can't find his house. He doesn't even know who he is, or his name, and doesn't have his personal documents..Giovanna tells Filippo to take the Old Man to the police station.. Giovanna's great passion is making cakes. Becoming a pastry baker is her hidden dream. At the beginning, the encounter with the Old Man, another protagonist of our story, seemed to be an eccentric episode destined to end there. Instead, from this encounter, Giovanna and Filippo's life starts changing. Neither of them knows that through the Old Man, the historical memory of passion and the concept of love as madness that changes and carries life away is entering their existence.
When Filippo comes back home, unexpectedly, the Old Man is still with him. All alone, Giovanna prepares dinner, while the Old Man takes an everlasting shower. Giovanna goes to see what's going on in the bathroom and discovers that the Old Man slipped while coming out of the tub and is now stuck with one leg in and one out of the tub. Giovanna has to help him out of that dangerous and humiliating position. To make things faster, she ends up washing him. While doing so, she notices that he has deep scars on his chest and asks him what they are but the Old Man doesn't answer. This is a first moment of intimacy between the two, although Giovanna is still defensive.
The first true breach in their relation is broken by the Old Man while he watches Giovanna bake the cakes she usually sells to the pub in town. He observes her with a disapproving expression, maybe because while preparing the batter she smokes. Suddenly and with competence, the Old Man dares to give her a couple of cooking suggestions. Giovanna doesn't follow them and does things her own way. But she gets curious of his competence on her favorite subject.
