Christmas Eve

Giorgio, a disturbed young man, is introduced as he grapples with the emotional turmoil of his twin sister Emelia's death. He retreats from Turin to Milan, hoping that a change of scenery will help him cope with his profound loss. However, his mental health continues to deteriorate as Christmas Eve approaches.

While wandering the streets of Milan, Giorgio encounters a young prostitute whom he has been stalking for several days. To his dismay, she bears a striking resemblance to his deceased sister Emelia. Driven by grief and longing, he invites her back to his hotel room despite initial resistance from her.

Once in his hotel suite, Giorgio indulges in a lavish dinner with the prostitute, ordering delicacies and champagne. This indulgence provides a temporary distraction from his stomach pains and grief. As they eat, Giorgio becomes fixated on her perfect white teeth, which remind him of Emelia.

Driven by his obsession, Giorgio offers 500 lire to the young woman in exchange for one of her teeth. She laughs at the absurdity yet agrees, confident she can easily procure a prosthetic for much less. This transaction marks a disturbing intersection of Giorgio's grief and the objectification of the young woman.

As the evening grows darker, the atmosphere shifts, and the young woman begins to lead Giorgio into sex games. He participates, yet he starts to realize that his initial connection to her as Emelia was purely a figment of his imagination. The confrontation with reality begins to unravel his mental state further.

The prostitute, overwhelmed by the alcohol she consumed, suddenly passes out on the floor. This leaves Giorgio alone with his thoughts, and as his initial fascination wanes, he is left feeling nothing but disgust. The disillusionment marks a turning point in his psychological unraveling.

In a moment of twisted desperation, Giorgio uses a butter knife to knock a tooth out of the unconscious girl's mouth. He takes it as a gruesome memento and hastily pays the innkeeper 500 lire to care for her when she wakes. This shocking act symbolizes his descent into madness and detachment from reality.

After his harrowing encounter, Giorgio returns home to Turin, but his condition quickly worsens. The combination of depression and physical ailments leaves him bedridden, surrounded by the mounting shadows of his grief and deteriorating health. His mental state becomes increasingly fragile, revealing the depths of his pain.

While on his deathbed, Giorgio receives an unexpected and coarse visitor—a city girl who angrily declares he still owes her for his earlier encounter. This confrontation emphasizes the consequences of Giorgio's actions and highlights the dissonance between his reality and the world outside.

In his last moments, Giorgio looks at the visiting girl and utters his deceased twin sister's name, Emelia. He takes a necklace, once belonging to her, and places it on the young woman’s bare chest. The horrifying realization of her mismatched appearance finally overwhelms him, leading to a heart-stopping scream as he dies.