All language subtitles for Me and Me Dad (2012)

[John] You need to learn
the language of film.

It's a language
that is very easy to understand.

You-- Anyone can watch a movie.

But to--

to tell a story
in cinematic terms is difficult.

["Dueling Banjos" playing]

[Katrine] I think everybody

should make a documentary
about their father.

So, I went to Dad…

and I said, "Well, can I shoot
a little portrait on you?"

To discover him as a man.

-[laughs]
-[laughs]

[Katrine] Will I be able to recapture
something that had been lost?

[music continues]

[music fades]

What we'll do is we won't do
a tight close, we'll just do a mid-close.

If you're making quick cuts to it,
you want-- better to be close, isn't it?

-Okay.
-Otherwise…

So, all we're gonna have then
is the ambiance of the river behind you.

-Well, have a look. I don't know…
-Okay, let me have a quick look.

…what exactly--

Well, I-- let me sit down here
for a minute and see if we can…

[Katrine] Here. Sit just sort of here,
you said, isn't it? There.

[John] If I'm here, say,
it's gonna be like this

-and you'll have the light there.
-Okay.

And then, you come about here
and see… [clears throat]

You have to be pretty low,
I should think.

And you probably need to be
over a bit, don't you?

-To get the background. I don't know.
-[Katrine] Yeah, yeah.

With him into right of frame…

And you've got
quite a nice backlight here.

If you were lighting this,
what would you do?

I'd just put a…

-Big--
-…polystyrene.

-That would be it?
-Put a light on the polystyrene.

Shine the light onto the polystyrene
and the polystyrene onto the face.

And would you put the polystyrene
under the camera here?

No, to-- Just to one side.

-A sheet of polystyrene…
-Right.

…and then shine a light
onto the polystyrene to make it brighter…

-Okay.
-…and then, get a soft light

onto the face.

But now, you've got
quite a lot of light on your face here.

-Yeah.
-Is that too much, do you think?

Well, it may be, I don't know,

-I can't tell from sitting here.
-Let me have a look in the camera.

[John] I thought you'd solved
this problem with a tripod. [chuckles]

-So, I'll--
-[Katrine speaking indistinctly]

-Both finished talking? [chuckles]
-[Katrine chuckles]

I'll start now.

-So, after I finished Point Blank, Lee--
-[Katrine] Hold it.

-Oh, for fuck's sake.
-[Katrine] Listen.

What?

-I started filming a bit with Dad.
-[Charley] Yeah.

-And he was quite impatient and--
-[Charley chuckles]

-[chuckles]
-[Charley laughs]

You know, and then he realized
that our camera was sort of tilted

because what Sophie and I didn't realize
was that there's that bubble in the tripod

um, that you have to set
like a builder's…

-[Charley] Yeah. Spirit leveler.
-…you know, planer thing. Spirit leveler.

And there's this bubble,
which we hadn't got that bit,

you know, and I'm just hoping maybe you
and if you don't mind,

-some of your blokes can…
-Yeah.

-…sit down--
-Well, I can get the guys to show you

some of the equipment that you might need.
I think, you know, having worked with Dad

and the extent you've worked
with Dad before…

-Oh, yeah.
-But long-- It was Excalibur, wasn't it?

But he'd always want
to tell you what to do as well.

Well, he's so controlling,
isn't he? He's a director.

But, I mean, the idea is
to do, maybe, a five-minute portrait,

but, you know, could-- Maybe it could
develop into a documentary, I don't know.

Um, but it's gonna be really exciting to--

It's gonna be wonderful to spend
that kind of time alone with him

and, uh, you know, really get
to the bottom of that secretive man.

-He's quite secretive, isn't he?
-Okay, good luck.

-Oh, thanks.
-I don't think he'll ever tell you

that much, will he?
He'll probably tell you just enough.

[Katrine] Holly, what's that thing
on top there?

That's to pick up, what, the sound?

[Charley] I used this.
I filmed-- You film--

So we'll put another tape in.

[camera operator] That's a pretty good,
all-round camera.

Now, don't let that drop.

-[Charley] No, that doesn't sort of--
-What about this one?

[camera operator] I don't know
what that is, actually.

[Charley] This should fit here.

[Katrine] What kind of camera
is that then, Charley?

-Is that the professional?
-No, it's a bit better than that one.

You know, more options for, um…

You can adjust the-- the image.

-[Charley laughing]
-I don't know.

[Katrine laughing]

Okay, sound is obviously
the most important,

-so, to have-- you can have a couple of--
-Channels.

You can have a couple
of radio mics on here.

And you know, good luck. [chuckles]

-[Katrine] Thanks, Charley.
-[Charley] With Dad. [chuckles]

[Katrine] Okay, Dad, let's…

I'd love for you to tell us
a little bit about, um, your first movie,

Catch Us If You Can.

So, I got Peter Nichols, the playwright,

and we sat in a room for three weeks
and wrote this story

about a young couple
on the run across England,

encountering all the things
you would expect to find in the '60s.

So, it was a very dyspeptic
kind of view of England…

♪ Catch us if you can ♪

…which was obviously aimed
at a young, pop audience.

So, it missed the mark.

It got, um, quite a lot of attention.

I think Telsche and I,
the first film appearance

was in his first film,
Catch Us If You Can.

I remember, we had to call
the actor "Daddy."

Run up and say, "Daddy, Daddy."
And I remember crying

-and saying, "But he's not my daddy."
-[laughs]

"That's my daddy over there."

-Can you remember that?
-I remember that.

-I can remember feeling…
-I can't even remember that.

…disturbed, you know?

This guy, John Bernard,
gave me this script,

and he also gave it to Lee Marvin.

We met for lunch and Lee said to him,
"What do you think of this script?"

I said, "It's really bad."

Well, typical Lee Marvin,
he picked up the script and he said,

"I'll do this flick with you
on one condition."

And he threw the script out of the window.

That's typical Lee Marvin, a gesture,
you know?

And, uh, meaning, you know,
rewriting it completely

and then we'll do it.
[chuckles]

But of course, your father
only went to America

to make a move with darling Lee Marvin,

who was the most unbelievably
intelligent person.

Lee Marvin was a remarkable actor.

And he was the one
who picked your father to do the movie.

And your father was just perfect for him.

You know, I didn't aspire to be
a film director or to be a novelist

or anything. I mean,
I just thought maybe I could write

some articles
and maybe some stories, you know?

I was very modest in my aspirations.

And then, of course, going into the army
was another phase altogether.

Um, and, you know, when I was in the army,

when I was, you know,
19, I met your mother.

[Christel] I met Dad in Morland.

He was in the army. He was doing
his army service for two or three years.

-[Katrine] What were you doing?
-[Christel] I was a nursing student.

-[Katrine] Sorry, but--
-And I went to Morland,

which was a kilometer or two away.
And that's where I met your father.

[John] For me…

it was a way of escaping

England…

and the English class system.

[Katrine] What do you think it was

that, um, made Dad so appealing
to you, as an Englishman?

Well, he probably, um…

I wasn't accept--
Perhaps, I was not unattractive.

And maybe that had something
to do with it, okay?

[John] There was something, you know,
sort of exotic about it, too.

And the fact that,
you know, she was German…

you know, it was like, in a way…

uh, courting the enemy.

[Katrine] Did they accept you,
Dad's family?

You were German and they were British,
just after the war?

There's no way I would've even
expected them not to accept me.

Christel Boorman, Christel Kruse.

I had never any problems
with people.

Funny, isn't it?
I was never nervous of that.

-[Katrine] Which was your favorite film--
-My favorite film was Hell In The Pacific.

-[Katrine] And why is that?
-Because it's about two people,

um, from--
Lee Marvin and Toshirō Mifune,

um, one Japanese and one American,

that's stuck on a beach island
and they don't like each other very much.

[John] And it was
the most difficult script

I've ever attempted
because there's no dialogue.

-[Daisy] That film…
-[Katrine] Yes.

…was actually a reflection

-of their marriage.
-[Katrine] Yes.

[Daisy] It was these two people
who didn't--

on some level, didn't get on.

-They clashed like the titans.
-[Katrine] Mm. Yes, they did.

[Daisy] But they resolved to get on.

[Christel] I think he was
really and truly--

I mean, he just pursued me.

Okay? Pursued me.

I fell for it. Left, right and center.

And had four beautiful children,
and made sure that marriage lasted.

You know, we had this tumultuous marriage.

And somebody described our marriage as

a continuation of the second world war…

[chuckles] …by different means.

I absolutely was determined
not to leave you four children

in a school.

I thought I don't care
about the education as such.

I'd take a tutor with me.

You know-- And he wasn't a great tutor
because, um--

That's it. And you did all very well.
It was okay, you know?

You did all right.

[Daisy] Although, we had
a wonderful childhood,

-travelling from place to place…
-[Katrine] Yes.

[Daisy] …going on the movie sets
with you and Dad,

and you created this homely atmosphere,
and you were the real Earth mother.

[Charley] As relationships go,
I think we were quite a close family.

We were a good family
as we were growing up,

we all travelled
around the world together,

we were always in a lot of his films.

But in Hell In The Pacific, for instance,

where we were making the film
on a very remote, south-sea island,

where there were no doctors or facilities,
um, it was really impractical to take--

Um, you were five or six, and the twins
had just been born, Daisy and Charley,

so-- so we left them behind.

They were only, uh, what,
seven or eight months old?

We left them with a couple
who were working for us.

[Daisy] I think Mom was put in
a very, very difficult position

because on the one hand,

um, you know, she had
two daughters; you and Telsche,

who were six and seven.
That's quite a young age, too.

You know, they needed--
you needed attention, obviously.

And I think she was in a tricky position,

and I think
that she had to make a decision.

She couldn't not leave Dad
alone out there.

And we came back four months later,

and they were just on
their first birthday,

and they were walking.

So, we missed out quite a lot there.

[Katrine] It's a big sacrifice.

-But eventually you went to Ireland.
-Oh, yeah. We went to Ireland

and I found a marvelous house…

to live in.

And, um, I worked on it for 12 years
to make it what it's worth.

[flute music playing]

[Daisy] I thought it was fairy-like.

You know, when you're little you think

that all the little fairies
live around in the trees and the woods.

Mom and Dad allowed us to be free,

very free, in terms of adventures.

All my girlfriends from school,
who came up to visit and stay,

um, everybody was--
I think everybody was very excited

because they knew they'd be
either going down a river

or going on a horseback,
up some mountain.

We had this privileged childhood
in the way that Mom and Dad hadn't.

You know, Dad had--
had quite humble beginnings

in a sort of lower, working-class family.

[John] My mother's father was, um--
had pubs.

Gin Palace in the Isle of Dogs.
That's where my mother was born.

And, uh, it's huge, Gin Palace,
which, uh, is in a slum.

[Daisy] And then we had
this upbringing that was in film.

And we all had each other,
we all had a very strong bond.

[music playing]

When you make a film,
it's like taking a mistress, really,

but it's worse than that
for a-- for wife

because she's-- she's, you know,
you've no time

and you're away. Even if you're there,
present, you're away.

When I was making Leo The Last
with Mastroianni…

and we were shooting the picture,

six-day weeks, and Saturday night
we went to dinner at Mr. Chow's

with my designer, Tony Willard
and his wife, the four of us.

And I was exhausted, I was so tired.

I didn't really want
to be out to dinner but…

Christel constantly,
constantly interrupted

everything that was being said.

She just was unbearable…

because she wanted attention.

And I said, "Okay, come on,
we're leaving." And I pulled her.

And she said, "No, I'm staying."
And she was sat there,

and I said, "Come on, we're going."
Pulled her again.

And just as I pulled her again,
she decided to get up and-- to get up.

And so, she flew over my shoulder.

It was a spiral staircase and she went
flying down this spiral staircase

and I thought, "Oh God, that's it.
That's it."

Everybody was watching.

And so, I dashed down the staircase
and lifted her up,

grabbed our coats and ran
and took her outside

and there was-- just a--
it was like in a movie, there was a taxi.

People just got out
and we jumped into the taxi.

And we sat back and I thought
this is finally the end of the marriage.

And we sat there for a moment
and she turned to me and said,

"You were magnificent."

And I looked at her and she said,

"When I was falling down those stairs,
I could see all these womens' eyes,

and I knew what they were thinking.
'I wish I had a man

who loved me enough to throw me
down the stairs.'" [laughs]

And she finally got the attention
she was looking for.

Um, they were great parents,
loving parents,

and I think that they really--
you know, by the time they--

I think-- I think that Dad, um…

you know, had maybe
a little bit of a wandering eye.

Our marriage broke up,

and then he wanted to go
off into the sun.

-Sunset. [laughs]
-[laughs]

[music playing]

[Katrine] A lot of things had happened
in the last 25 years.

Dad had remarried and had more children
who were wonderful.

And that had created a rift in the family.

This documentary coincided with Dad
separating from his current wife.

And in a way,
we both found each other again.

Nothing much has changed
and I haven't been here for 18 years.

[gasps] That's a new bridge.
I don't believe it. Wow.

It's nearly as big
as I remembered it to be.

There's Dad.

[sniffles]

I can't believe it.

[sniffles]

-Oh, my baby.
-[Katrine sobs] God, it's such a shock.

The house looks much smaller
than it used to.

-Smaller? [laughs]
-It looks much smaller.

[John] Well, you've come
at the right time.

Look at the blossom and…

It looks gorgeous. [sniffles]

It's amazing.

You see, if you had
a proper crew… [chuckles]

-What?
-[chuckles] If I was shooting this…

[clears throat] …I'd be sitting
in the other direction,

so we'd have
the beautiful backlight.

-Front light like this is, um…
-Harsh.

-…is always harsh.
-Yeah.

It's harsh and it doesn't--
And also, the landscape looks better.

It looks much better
if you're looking that way.

You might do a shot, looking up that way.

-Yeah, further down the river.
-Yeah. [clears throat]

It's okay.

Still got another hand, haven't you?

-Yeah. [chuckles]
-What do you need two for?

[both chuckling]

He was a bit of a risk taker,
I have to say. I mean,

you know, I wouldn't say health
and safety was at the top of his list.

It always had to be an extreme.
It always had to be--

And I was very interested in how
people respond in extreme situations.

Deliverance on the river…

how those actors, um…

responded to being pushed to limits.

[screams]

[dramatic music plays]

We had control of it with the sluices
up the dam, upriver.

Open the sluices to a certain extent
to bring the river rushing down.

And Voight was saying,
"You're a mad fucker, Boorman."

"I know what you're gonna do,
you're gonna open those fucking sluices

and we're all gonna be swept away."

He's looking for quite a lot of things
in life, he's looking for…

great love, he's looking for…

perfection.

He wants to be a good dad,
he wants to be the right-- the right--

you know, he wants to do good
by his children.

[John] It's fantastic when you feel
the force of the river.

It's like, uh…

feeling a strength of nature.

And, uh…

I find it very exciting.
It's a sacred place for me.

Yeah. I'm trying
to get across to the rock.

[Charley] I suppose you need
that kind of, sort of, character,

or the kind of character he is, to be--

'Cause he's not just a film director,
he's a script writer, he's a writer,

he's written many books
and he's very, um,

uh, competent in what he does.

[John] I wouldn't change a frame
of any movie I've made.

Not because they're perfect,
but simply because I'd be too bored

to go back and start doing it again.

You know, I've made films
in the way I have,

where I want absolute control.

You know, I write them, I direct them,
I wanna be my own producer,

I don't want anybody in authority
to tell me what to do

and possibly, there have been occasions
where I could've probably improved

the films with more collaboration.

But somehow, it was essential to me
to be-- for it to be my vision

and it to be, um,
exactly as I wanted it to be.

Um, a nightmare.
He's an absolute nightmare.

-He's a bully… [chuckles]
-[Katrine chuckles]

…he's aggressive,
he's mean to people, he's cheap.

-[chuckles]
-[Katrine laughs]

You know, I did Deliverance with him.
It was my first film

and I got a tricycle.

You know, and that's his own son.

I should have been given points.
If I had got points,

you know, points on the box office…
[chuckles] …I'd be so rich.

I've been very lucky
to be able to work with Dad

'cause I worked right from when
I was three years old

right up to not that long ago.

I cast my son Charley, he was 17,

for a number of reasons. First of all
because he has a beautiful personality.

It's a simplicity
and a purity at that age.

I knew I could work with him
in these difficult circumstances

and, uh, you know, there was
a lot of opposition to it.

And because of that, I suppose
I was very hard on him

because I was, you know,
desperately wanted him to work.

You know, there were a lot of people
who were quite negative towards the fact

that I was gonna play the lead role,
and so, I think in some ways

you know, when I was working with Dad,
it was always one take with me

and six or seven takes
with the other people,

so, you know, I had to really be on it.

And I think it was partly
to prove to people

that I could do the part
and stuff like that.

So-- So he used to put me
in these ridiculous situations,

where I would have to sort of
bounce down this waterfall

and Dad would do it all in one shot.

I remember I broke my baby--

-both baby toes four times on each foot…
-[Katrine] Did you?

[Charley] …running around
the jungle, yeah.

[Katrine] It's about this boy
the father finds eventually in the jungle,

and you see him go through
rights of passage in the movie,

and actually, you put your son through

a kind of right of passage,
father to son.

That's a statement,
not a question. [laughs]

-[Katrine] I prefer that you said it.
-[laughs]

["Dueling Banjos" plays]

[Katrine] People, to this day,

you know, they quote that line,
"squeal like a pig."

-[John] Mm.
-[Katrine] Um, how did that come about?

Oddly enough…

I was--
because everyone was very nervous

about this male rape scene,
and they want-- so, uh…

I, uh-- Warner said to me,
"You've gotta do some coverage

for television, for when they show it
on television,

you can do some coverage."

And particularly with the language.

So, there was--
you know, there was a lot

of foul language during the course
of this rape,

and so, we sat around and thought,
"Well, what can we say instead," you know?

And somebody, I think it was Rospo,
came up with "squeal like a pig."

And immediately,
I thought it was much better

than any of the swear words,
you know?

So, we cut them all out and used it
in the main version,

and, uh… And it kind of stuck.

You know, poor old Ned Beatty,

whenever he's walking on the street,
you know,

people say, "squeal like a pig."
[chuckles]

-[mountain man imitating pig]
-[Bill imitating pig]

-Squeal louder. Louder.
-[squealing]

-Louder! Louder!
-[squealing]

["Dueling Banjos" plays]

[Katrine] And Deliverance itself,
had you read the novel

and had you met James Dickey, the author?

[John] He was a very intimidating figure
for the actors.

And he called them all
by the names that they were playing.

You know, it was all real to him.

And Dickey was this sort of fantasist.

When I first met him,
he took me on one side and he said,

"I'm gonna tell you something
I've never told a living soul.

"Everything in that book happened to me."

I thought, "Fright. They buried
this guy up there somewhere. Oh, Jesus."

He made me promise
not to tell a living soul.

Of course, I wanted
to tell someone immediately.

And I said to Charles Orme,

I said, "Do you know what he told me?
Do you know what…

"Everything in that book
happened to him."

And Charles said, "Yes, he told me
the same when I went to the toilet."

-[chuckles]
-[Katrine laughs]

And he went on telling everybody.

And when I went up with him--
When he actually got into a canoe

and immediately turned it over,
I realized that nothing in that book

had happened to him. [laughs]

"Don't come up here anymore,
you hear?" [chuckles]

-Let's do one like this, okay?
-[Katrine] Let's do one like that.

-Ready? Rolling.
-[John] All right, everything you can see,

left and right here, we planted.

Something like ten
or fifteen-thousand trees.

-And did that take you all day?
-Yeah, most of the day.

[Katrine laughs]

[John] "I started planting
too late in life,

"but some acorns are now sturdy trees

"and I'm not yet too old to climb it.

"And I'd lie in its branches, um…

"watching the world recede
by one foot every year,"

which is how much they grow.

-It's quite a nice--
-That's lovely.

-Did you read the book?
-Of course, I did.

Well, there you are.
That's sort of the end of the book.

Well, forgive me if I didn't remember

-every single page. [laughs]
-[laughs]

But we could, if I could get up there,
I haven't tried it for a while.

-Okay.
-[Katrine] Ready?

[John grunts] Okay.

-I'm up, I'm up.
-Don't want you to fall.

[John groans]

-[Katrine] You up?
-[John] Yeah, I got it.

-[Katrine] I got you.
-[John] I'm okay.

-[Katrine] You okay?
-[John] Yeah.

I planted this tree with, yeah,
from an acorn.

I planted it the same time as--
Whoops. [chuckles]

-[Katrine laughs]
-Oh, look out. [laughs]

You might have to get
the fire brigade to get me down.

[Katrine laughs]

Rolling.

This is the Hamilton Wood,
it's an ancient oak forest,

and I've shot here several times,

particularly with Excalibur.

And, uh…

there's something
really magical about it.

Very healing and… uh…

I really love this place.

And of course, you know…

really, the way to shoot in a wood
is to move the camera

'cause then the trees move
in relation to each other.

You never quite-- It never quite
expresses itself

in a static shot like this.

When you were doing--
When we were doing Excalibur, you said--

-That was a long time ago.
-[John] …you kept saying

your lines so fast. So fast.

I said, "Slow down, Katrine.
Cut. Slow down. Do it again.

"You're still too fast.
Why are you saying your lines so fast?

"We can't understand what you're saying!"

-[laughs]
-And you said, "Well, I--"

You were only 17, I think, weren't you?

-Seventeen, yeah.
-"I'm-- I'm afraid you're gonna say cut

-"before I finish."
-[screams] No!

-[baby cries]
-No!

You know, I think that
if you're the daughter of the director

and you're working on the movie,
you're always so desperate

-to impress the technicians...
-[John] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Katrine] …that you're not
a pre-Madonna.

I know. Well, when I first started,
you know I was--

That's what I wanted to do,
I wanted to impress the crew,

more than I did anything else,
you know, that I knew what I was doing.

-Now… [clears throat] Yeah. Now I think…
-It's a youthful thing, isn't it?

-… give 'em a-- [laughs]
-Fiddlers. [laughs]

You definitely expect, you know,
this sort of 1000 percent from everybody

because you're giving
2000 percent yourself.

-Well… [clears throat] …no, I think--
-You're quite a taskmaster.

Well, I just-- I feel--
All I feel about it is this, is that

there's a tendency-- You know,
the best crew I've ever worked with

was on Hell In The Pacific,
it was a Japanese crew

and they always-- they di--
you know, they were so disciplined.

They didn't move. You know, a crew
in England or America,

they're always wandering around
or eating-- with their mouth full.

You go to speak to them,
and they've got a mouth full of food.

-[groans]
-[laughs]

And-- And-- Or they're chatting
or you know it's like--

The Japanese crew would stay--
They'd keep totally still

until they're required, you know?

-This is exactly why I like it. [laughs]
-[laughs]

[music playing]

[Katrine] Can you do that one more time
and turn to camera with the sword?

-[John] What if I don't and just stand--
-[Katrine] Just turn.

Pull it and draw it and just look

menacingly at the camera.

Okay, here's the shot, right?

Ready? I've got my left hand.

How about this?

-[John] You have a full-length figure.
-Yeah.

Like that.
It's mysterious, you know?

-And it's me. You're doing it to me.
-Okay.

All right, my love,
well, just do that, my angel.

Okay, Dad, great. Rolling.

And cut!

Was that all right?

Well, I think that, uh, Dad, in a way,
is a little bit like,

um, Merlin in Excalibur.

When Merlin says, "Sometimes a dream,
sometimes a nightmare."

I always identify with Merlin
because Merlin,

what does he represent? Magic.

And the movie's about magic.

And, you know, you sit back, you think,
"Well, somehow, you've made this thing,"

and there's a kind of satisfaction
in that.

I think the darkness of Dad is--
and his secrecy,

-all goes back to his childhood.
-[Daisy] Mm-hmm.

You know, what had a profound effect on me
was my mother's, you know, affair.

Unconsciously, that situation
has occurred in my films.

For instance, in Point Blank,
it's about

this man, played by Lee Marvin,
who's betrayed by his wife,

goes off with his best friend.

Again, in that triangle,
it's Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere.

[screams]

My father and his best friend, Herbert,
were both wooing my mother.

She favored Herbert, but my father
had a job and Herbert didn't.

She married my father, really out
of a kind of proxy, in a sense,

because he was-- she married the man
she loved, his best friend.

My father went off into the army

and Herbert didn't. My mother went to work
for him and they were together a lot.

Finally, reconciled
with the man that she loved.

I liked him very much.

In fact, in some ways,
I preferred him to my father,

but in the--
but I suppose it was a dilemma for me.

You know, I was either betraying my father

or betraying my mother.
It was a choice, in a sense.

But, you know, my father
was a disappointed man, in a way.

Because of the presence of this lover

who was, sort of, always there,
and somehow, he felt it,

and that-- and I was somehow…

a rival…

for my mother's affections.

So, he wanted me to succeed
where he had failed.

And at the same time,
he also wanted me to fail.

So, there was a terrible strain there,
between those two things.

[Katrine] And was your mother
somebody you could talk to,

or your sisters? I mean,
who did you--

Was there anybody
you confided in as a child?

No, I never did confide in anybody.

[Katrine] So-- And this is something
that obviously carried through your life.

Yeah, I think that, um…

uh…

Yes, I think it did. Yeah.

-This is all stuff I'm working on here.
-Right.

All these scripts and things here
like that, and then, um…

[sighs] …you know, my--

-My bookshelves are all full.
-[Katrine] Yeah.

There's no more room on my bookshelves
for any more books, and there's probably

no more room in my mind and memory.

Guess that's what happens when you…

become senile. You can, uh…

You've used up all your memory.
There's nowhere left to go.

Uh, I got a little bit left.

I always loved, um…

Blake.

There was a time when
I read nothing else but Blake.

[Katrine] Why was that?

He has this whole vision
of a kind of, um, England.

It was very, um…

It had a huge impression on me.

Um…

"The Sick Rose."

"O rose, thou art sick."

"The invisible worm that flies
in the night

"In the howling storm

"Has found out thy bed of crimson joy

"And in his dark, secret love
Does thy life destroy."

[Katrine] Does that make you think of--
It makes me think of, um, Telsche.

Makes me think of, uh,

-a beautiful, young woman taken--
-Yes, well, that's what it's about,

you know, every something--

beauty in nature
has within it the worm of…

of death, you know,
that's the nature of life.

And, uh…

-[Katrine] Where's Telsche's tree? There.
-There.

-[Katrine] So you planted that when she--
-That. Yeah.

We had a ceremony here.
All the village came and everything.

Telsche, my sister.

And Dad planted this when she died,
just after she died.

-It's lovely, isn't it?
-Yeah.

-So, it's been there 11 years.
-Eleven years.

-It was about this high when it went in.
-Amazing.

So it's grown.

[Katrine] What was
your relationship like with her?

Well, it was very…

very special, and you know, there was
this occasion when she was--

before she was one year old,

she walked very early
and she was, um--

She fell into a pond, face down
and, uh…

your mother found her.

And she couldn't do anything,
she was so-- she just collapsed.

I heard this wail.

And I ran out to the garden
and there she was lying--

and I took her out

and she-- there was no…

[sighs]

pulse…

no heartbeat, she was just white.

Dead and…

I-- this was the time--
this was before--

It was before
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation was…

widely known. And I'd read--
I just glanced at it in a newspaper.

And I--

Just like an illustration,
I didn't even read the article.

And suddenly, it just appeared
before my eyes…

and I read it.

And that's the extraordinary thing,
I hadn't read it at the time,

but when it appeared in front of me,
I looked at it and it told me

how to do it and I gave her…

mouth-to-mouth,
and she started to breathe.

[Katrine] There were four of us.
Telsche being the eldest.

She would've been 49 this year.

And she died in 1996 of cancer.

When you think of your children

and you see the two of them together
and then, your heart breaks

when you think about that.

Well, there is no way
of coping with it.

I mean, you-- you--

Part of you dies with the child.

And, um…

-[Charley] I miss Telsche every day and…
-[Katrine] Yeah.

…uh, you know, I remember
on The Long Way Round,

I think she was with me…

every step of the way.
I definitely felt her on my shoulder.

She died 12 years ago, and that just--
there was a kind of moment

where the whole family just collapsed.

I think it changes, doesn't it,
the dynamic of the family afterwards

because there's somebody missing

and there's always this feeling
of someone missing.

[John] Telsche always said, oh, um,
that…

"My mother and father
both gave birth to me."

[chuckles] And it was
an extraordinary thing.

And I think that made a bond between us,

which was, um…

so extraordinarily close and complex.

And she was very much
the working arm of Dad.

I mean, she wrote, did second unit
and co-directed with him.

-I suppose living in Paris--
-Well, she so wonderful with you.

You two were absolutely it
together, weren't you, really?

-Mm.
-Yeah. And I always felt that that was

the saddest thing, that you lost her.

[Daisy] It was unimaginable
that Telsche could die.

I think of her every single day
and she always helps me from above,

'cause I always think of her laughing

or how she would joke
or what she would say to-- to--

in a difficult situation,
what would Telsche do?

And so, I feel
that she always helps me out.

She and I were doing a comedy
live on French TV

-every week, do you remember?
-Yeah.

And we used to, kind of,
write the sketches

and we were the Boorman Sisters
on a kind of family show

that was comedy.

-[speaking in French]
-[male voice speaking in French]

Looking back, I think
maybe that was destiny,

-maybe it was meant to be--
-It was meant to be maybe

that we would have the time…

-With Telsche…
-…with Telsche…

-…before she died.
-…before she left us. Yeah.

And sometimes, the phone rings,
and for a second,

I think, "Oh, it's Telsche."

[music playing]

[inaudible]

[John sniffles]

The rain's done it enough.

[Katrine] Yeah. It looks pretty.

-Look. I love this, don't you?
-Yeah.

-Put the small ones at the front.
-[John] Put it at the front?

Well, she was so special, wasn't she?

-Yeah.
-And everyone-- And so loved. Um…

I remember… [clears throat]
…at the funeral,

there must have been
a hundred people there

who thought they were her best friend.

[chuckles]

-Well, she was their best friend.
-Yeah. [chuckles]

And, uh…

But, I mean, you know, I always had
this very special relationship with her.

-Yeah.
-I remember once,

when she was about 12
and she said to me,

"Dad, Dad, which of us do you love best?"

"Which of the four?"

And I said, "I love you all the same."

"When you arrived, I loved you dearly,

"and when Katrine arrived, I loved her

"and love is not something that you can
measure exactly, in that way."

"Yes," she said, "but it must be one of us
that you love just a bit more."

You know, she kind of knew
it was her, in a way. [chuckles]

And I said, "No, no, no."
She said, "Well…"

I said, "Look…

"Telsche, if I tell you which one it is,

"I want you to swear to me

"that you'll never mention it
to a living soul."

She said, "I swear, I swear."

-I said, "Katrine." [laughs]
-[laughs]

-She so knew that wasn't true. [laughs]
-[laughs]

But she's in good company here.
Stendhal is here, isn't he?

-[Katrine] Yes.
-[John] Truffaut.

-And--
-[Katrine] Dalida, the showgirl singer.

[both laugh]

[music plays]

-Is she here?
-In there.

-Hello.
-Hello, John. How are you?

-Fine. A present for you.
-How sweet of you.

Thank you very much.

So, the pan of the house,
let the family arrive.

Cut to me opening the door,
so we know we're in my house.

Then, I have two cameras in afterwards
just straight on the dinner.

Mm-hmm.

Tell me what you would've done…

to establish from my point of view.

Well, I would've been tempted
to do a pan down of the house

and discover everybody at the table,
and then straight into it.

-Okay.
-That's what I think.

-[indistinct chatter]
-I think--

If we could just wire Dad up
for sound.

Don't do anything
like where I have to talk.

'Cause I'm not very good on film.

[Christel] Brush your hair
and put lipstick on

-and then, you'll look great.
-Why don't you brush your hair

-and put lipstick on?
-I did.

I did.

-[smooches]
-[child laughs]

[laughs]

[indistinct chatter]

I was shooting a picture
and I had this huge fever

and a rash.

And this rash included
the palms of my hands, like…

-Not in the palms of your hands.
-[John] And I…

went to UCLA emergency.

They got very interested in this because…

a rash on the palms of the hands
is like one of the signs of syphilis.

[Christel] You couldn't even tell me.

I went back and Christel said,
"So, what did they say?"

I said, "Well, they think it's syphilis."

So, she said, "You'll have to have
your own knife and fork and plate…

-[chuckles]
-…and keep it separate

from the rest of us. [laughs]

You couldn't have gotten syphilis
from anybody--

Well, I think we can all gather that

that you don't get syphilis
unless you've been poking around a bit,

you know what I mean? Sticking it
in places you're not supposed to.

-But it was Dr. Elsie who--
-No, it was valley fever.

Valley fever,
when they took the blood test and…

Wasn't that-- Have I told you
Dad packed off

and left Daisy and I behind
when you went to, um--

-[John laughs] Yeah.
-[Charley] …when you went

to the South Pacific.

[Katrine] They were only, what,
three months old?

-[Charley] I am…
-You were not even--

-…massively fucked up because of that.
-[Christel] John,

little do you know you're their father
They were nearly two.

-[John] They were not nearly two.
-I left them…

-[Charley] We were tiny!
-[John laughs] Absolutely not!

[Christel] You left for 12 weeks.

And left them with Mr. and Mrs. Miller
who were like my grandfolks.

-[John] Okay.
-[Charley] You left us with two people

-you barely knew.
-[Christel] And I went--

I could not leave you
to go off by yourself.

Who knows what you might have done?

-[laughs]
-[Christel] You know that?

I wasn't gonna lose you
when the children were small.

-Let me tell you how old they were.
-[Christel] I'm sorry, dear--

Yes, we get it, we get it.
We understand.

You were just two irresponsible parents

made to make a movie when
they'd rather look after their children.

I did not want to lose a husband
to another woman.

-[Charley] It's a very L.A. thing to do.
-[laughs]

Just a minute, sweetheart.
When I came back

you walked and wel-- towards me.

Yes, we were walking already.
That's the whole point.

-[Christel] You walked towards me--
-'Cause I was going, "Look, Mum,

-"look what you've missed."
-No.

-[Christel] You just make me puke.
-[chuckles]

Puke to your list. Puke.

We were happy when you left us
with Mr. and Mrs. Miller.

We finally had a stable home.

-[Charley laughs]
-John, have an opinion.

-[John] What?
-Have an opinion while you're sitting here

about that, about your marriage.

-[Charley] What?
-You had a wonderful marriage.

-We had a wonderful childhood.
-We had a wonderful-- You were lucky.

-[John] No, we took--
-You were a very lucky man.

I'm just gonna make a phone call.

-[Katrine] Yeah, but I've given--
-Is Holly coming later?

-Say that I will bug you.
-I'll eat the rest.

[Katrine] Charley, sit in the window
with my sister.

Charley.

You love to bullshit
and take the piss out of me, dear.

What sort of son are you?

-A loving son.
-[chuckles] Yeah.

-[Katrine] You were very stressed--
-[Christel] Could you switch off this?

-[Katrine] It's off.
-It just drives me nuts.

Look at her. I can't stand it any longer.

-[Katrine] It's finished, it's off.
-Three, four hours.

-It's not off.
-[John] Holly's gonna take you home.

She is going-- What?

-Holly is gonna take you home.
-[Charley and Katrine chuckle]

-[Christel] What do you mean? When?
-Very soon, I hope.

[all laugh]

[Daisy] What about a sing-song?

[Daisy and Katrine] ♪ Take you home
Country road ♪

♪ Take you home, take you home ♪

[Daisy] ♪ Take me home to my family ♪

-♪ Who I love ♪
-What do you mean, are you her mummy?

[Daisy] ♪ Forever and ever ♪

♪ Through eternity ♪

♪ And Telsche will be with us forever ♪

[Christel] You've got a lovely voice,
Daisy.

Take me.

[Katrine] Oh, Daisy.

Telsche.

-Could you just switch that thing off?
-[Daisy] Sorry…

[Katrine] You know, more than
making a film or wanting to direct,

that was really secondary

to just wanting you back in my life.

I can cut away,

chop everybody out,
and there's just you and me.

That's how I feel.

This viewfinder, which was given to me
by David Deutsch,

when I made my first film,
he was the producer

and he inscribed it there and, um,

I've used it on many films

and I want you to have it.
I've inscribed it

-with your name. "Katrine, love Dad."
-Oh, my God.

Because I'm passing the baton

-over to you.
-Aww.

-I'm so touched.
-You have the shots.

It must belong to you, the images.

[Katrine] Thank you, Dad.

-[chuckles]
-So touched. It's amazing.

[John] For me,

I mean, I just enjoy, you know,
hanging around with you.

[chuckles] I don't-- I don't--
As long as--

You know, I'll be happy
about this film as long as

you don't release it
or put it on television or anything.

-[Katrine laughs]
-[laughs]

You know what Billy Wilder
said to me once?

He's-- He just finished
what was his last film, you know,

and I said, "How's the film then, Billy?"
And he said, "Well, John,

"You know, our movies
are like our children to us."

"When you have a kid, you hope
he's gonna grow up to be Einstein,

"but sometimes they turn out to be
a congenital idiot."

-[laughs]
-And it was pretty bad,

-that last film of his. [laughs]
-[laughs]

Anyway, I love you, Dad.

-Do you?
-Yeah.

I wish I could say the same for you.

-[laughs]
-I think we can cut. [laughs]

-[Katrine] I think that was very nice.
-[John] Yeah.

[Katrine] It was so much-- It was lovely…

[music playing]