(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)
OLDER WOMAN: Don't you wish you could paint like that?
Oh, I'm sorry?
I said, don't you wish you could paint like your husband?
Really. You must be so proud of him.
(MUTTERS)
So elegant.
RASMUSSEN: Yes, they're all Vejle, where he grew up.
Now, I don't say my client is the best landscape artist in Denmark,
but he is in the top one.
Yes. Oh, hello!
It's going very well.
Mmm. Yes. He'll be impossible.
Oh, my.
(LAUGHING LOUDLY)
Oh, thank you.
GERDA: And Rasmussen!
Oh, come on. Be kind. At least he agreed to see your work.
It was only because he was drunk.
I know.
Yes, you were loving it.
I was not! (LAUGHS)
"I don't say my client is the best landscape artist in Denmark..."
But...
"He's in the top one!"
Quiet! People are sleeping.
Sorry. (BOTH LAUGHING)
Do you know what time it is?
Time you came back to bed?
No.
I'm ready to start work.
Gerda. What?
Your face.
You think I can't resist you?
Do you want to resist me?
No.
But I'd like you to ask nicely,
so I don't feel such a pushover.
Gerda Wegener.
My life.
My wife.
(BOTH CHUCKLING)
Thorbjorn.
Mr. Wegener.
ULLA: Tighter.
(PIANO PLAYING)
Perfect.
Yes. More.
Einar Wegener.
Oh, don't worry about him.
He's only ever had eyes for one woman.
My guilty secret's out.
So,
when are you two going to brood me a godchild, huh?
Ulla, you're an atheist.
Have you tried drinking raw eggs?
No. Do it.
For my sake.
We're trying. Try harder.
Anyway...
(SIGHS) What are you doing in today?
I thought you had finished last week.
I wanted to check on the painting of the backdrop for the storm scene.
And give Gerda some space.
Ah. She's got a shy one?
(SNICKERS)
Well, you know I'm next.
Oh... So I heard.
(CHUCKLES)
I won't be shy.
I should imagine not.
She'll need all her colors for me.
Mmm-hmm.
Mmm!
Head up.
I wanted to say I appreciate our being alone today.
I hope your husband doesn't mind.
Not at all.
I could see his being here made you uncomfortable.
It wasn't personal.
It's not uncommon.
Ah.
It's hard for a man to be looked at by a woman.
Women are used to it, of course, but for a man to, um,
submit to a woman's gaze.
It's unsettling.
Although I believe there's some pleasure to be had from it,
once you, um,
yield.
Sit.
Good girl.
(BELL RINGING)
Morning. Morning.
Well?
Perfect.
(SCOFFS)
(CHUCKLES) Almost.
Ah.
(GROANS)
Good luck!
Toodle-oo! (DOOR SHUTS)
All portraits.
(SCOFFS) Is that bad?
Not per Se.
This kind of work is not really my...
Gerda, I don't think it would benefit either of us to show these.
It's not a judgment on your abilities.
I agree with Einar.
You could be a first-class painter
if you found the right subject matter.
(DOOR SHUTS)
How was it?
Fine.
I finally managed to get the color for the snow.
A bog in Vejle.
I don't know how you can paint the same thing over and over.
I suppose I just haven't finished with it yet.
Gerda?
Could you please not speak to Rasmussen about me again?
My work is my business.
Stay out of it. Gerda.
I have my period.
Sorry.
Are you? Of course I am.
I mean, you know I am.
Could you help me with something?
Anything.
Ulla has an extra rehearsal. She canceled again.
Oh.
Would you try on her stockings and shoes?
I'm just so behind, I don't know how
I'll be finished in time for her opening.
Yeah, I'll...
I'll do it.
It's fine, I'll do it.
They're there.
(DOG BARKS) Hvappe, no, not now.
He almost snagged it.
Hvappe.
Uh...
That's backwards.
I saw those in the window at Fonnesbech's.
Hmm.
Smart, aren't they?
I don't think they'll fit.
Well, you do the best you can.
No, I need the dress. No.
I need to see how the hem falls.
No, Gerda, I'm not putting it on.
Well, I haven't asked you to.
Just relax.
The sooner I start,
the sooner I finish.
(CHUCKLES)
Well, hello, there!
(ULLA LAUGHING)
Oh, don't worry, my darling.
We're going to call you
Lili.
(ALL LAUGHING)
Such concentration.
Sometimes I think you're going to slip
through the surface of the painting and vanish.
Into the bog.
Like your friend's kite when you were a boy.
Hans. Mmm.
Yes, Hans.
I bet he still sits on that rock,
sobbing his heart out.
Don't.
He's actually an art dealer in Paris.
Peddling old masters to rich Americans. Hmm.
So we don't need to worry about Hans.
No, we don't need to worry about Hans.
I didn't mean to disturb you.
No, it's okay. I'm finished.
And don't worry, I won't disappear into the bog.
The bog's in me, silly. (CHUCKLES)
What?
Can't a man watch his wife get undressed?
It's new.
That's very observant.
Oh, no, leave it on.
It's pretty.
I might let you borrow it. (CHUCKLES)
I might enjoy that.
Is there something you'd like to tell me?
Is there something you'd like to know?
No.
I'm your wife.
I know everything.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Those two, over there.
GERDA: Both of them?
And at the same time.
(SNICKERS)
Oh, married people are so delightfully easy to shock.
We just pretend to be shocked because it encourages you.
I know.
That is why you're the only married couple in my party for the Artists' Ball.
EINAR: No. Out of the question.
She can go without me.
Gerda without an escort? Why, it would be a scandal!
Gerda loves a scandal.
Look at the way she dresses.
Flaunting her ankles.
I don't think anyone is likely to be corrupted by seeing my ankles.
I was.
It was the first time we met, I was leaving the Academy
and she was sitting on the steps, flaunting said ankles.
And she propositioned me.
Is that true?
When I said hello to him, he actually blushed.
He was so shy, so I asked him out.
And you said yes.
Well, she made me.
She seemed so sure.
I was sure.
I still am.
NIELS: Please, enough.
ELSA: No.
What was it about him?
I don't know.
But we went for coffee, and after,
I kissed him.
And it was the strangest thing.
It was like kissing myself.
These two won't be staying much longer.
Unmarried people are so delightfully easy to shock.
(LAUGHS)
Leave it.
Were you really corrupted by my ankles?
(LAUGHS)
You were shameless.
I still am.
(HEAVY BREATHING)
(EINAR CHUCKLES)
Beautiful,
shameless Gerda.
Wait.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
Did I wake you?
(GRUNTS)
Sorry.
I couldn't sleep.
Why?
Wondering about things.
What things?
Wondering if we made a baby last night.
What do you think?
Wondering when you got so pretty.
I was always pretty.
But you just never noticed.
(BIRDS SQUAWKING)
GERDA: Hello? In here.
These are good, Gerda.
You think? Mmm.
Well, thank you.
I had a coffee with Ulla.
EINAR: Hmm. She asked me about the Artists' Ball.
I'm not going.
Don't worry.
I told her no.
You should go. You enjoy it.
With you, I enjoy it.
It's good to be seen at those things.
I do understand that. (SIGHS)
And that's why you hate them.
I feel as though I'm performing myself.
Giving them your Einar Wegener.
Mmm-hmm.
Why not give them something different?
Go as someone else?
Do you have someone in particular in mind?
(GIGGLES) No.
You'd be very convincing.
(LAUGHING)
That is outrageous.
Oh, you might even enjoy it.
No.
You'll have to shave closer next time.
Mmm? Mmm.
Close your eyes.
This is hard on someone else.
Well, let me try.
What do you think?
Better than I ever manage.
Lili.
I want to sketch you.
Sit. (HVAPPE BARKS)
Come on, Hvap. Come on, you.
Lean to the side.
Knee over.
Head up. Oh. (CHUCKLES)
Look at those hands. Relax.
(SCOFFS)
Don't make her a slut!
It's your fault.
You excite her.
My, Miss Lili.
You are forward.
You have no idea.
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Maybe bring out the hand.
Morning.
Morning, Thorbjorn.
Good morning.
(GERDA GIGGLES)
Forward.
(LAUGHS)
(CHUCKLES)
(DOOR OPENS)
GERDA: Hello?
I was wondering where you were.
It's getting late.
We have plenty of time.
I bought you these.
Ah.
Oh, they're perfect.
Are you sure about tonight?
(GERDA LAUGHS)
What is it?
Am I pretty enough?
Of course you are.
I'll never be as pretty as you.
You are so beautiful.
My darling!
Ulla, let me introduce...
It's Lili.
That's right.
Einar's cousin from Vejle.
My dear.
You're exquisite!
In, let's go in.
Come on.
You won't leave me, will you?
No, never.
(SNORTS)
People are looking.
Well, you're a pretty girl.
You'll have to get used to it.
It's fine.
You're just feeling self-conscious.
Gerda?
Oh...
(MURMURS) Go and talk to them.
GERDA: I'll stay with you.
No, go, I'll be fine. Please go before they come over.
All right.
Who's that?
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
Are you a reporter?
No.
A poetess?
(SHARP EXHALE)
Do you know the story of this oak tree?
No.
They say that if you eat its acorns, you can make a wish.
And become anyone you want for a day.
Why would they say that?
Henrik Sandahl.
At your disposal.
Lili.
Are you here with someone, Lili?
Yes, my, uh...
My cousin's wife.
Who's your cousin?
Einar Wegener. Painter.
Yes, he's rather a good one.
He's better than most people think.
Is that right?
Most people our age, at any rate.
Don't go back in there. It's, um... It's cooler out here.
Besides, I'm a romantic.
Really?
I prefer the shadows.
And I don't mean to presume,
but I've been watching you.
And I think you might be the same.
Come on.
Have you seen Einar? I can't find him.
Of course you can't. He isn't here.
(LAUGHS)
Cheers.
You're different from most girls.
(CHUCKLES)
That's not a very original line.
It's true.
You're old-fashioned.
Provincial.
I'm new to the city.
No, it's more than that.
I feel I'd need to ask your permission before I kissed you.
I should go and find Gerda.
Why don't you tell her I'll walk you home?
No, she wouldn't like that.
Lili... No, Einar... (CLEARS THROAT)
He might be waiting for us, and he wouldn't like this.
Wouldn't he?
No.
Lili...
You didn't ask permission.
I couldn't risk you saying no.
(GROANS)
What's the matter?
HENRIK: I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, I don't know what happened.
(INDISTINCT MURMURING)
How are you?
You were late home last night, so I thought I'd let you sleep.
How was it?
Did Lili have fun?
I think it would be better if Lili didn't come here again.
Fine.
Exactly what happened between you and Sandahl last night?
Nothing.
It was nothing.
Did he know it was you?
It wasn't as simple as that.
I watched him kiss you, Einar,
so could you please make an effort?
He may have known who I was, but I wasn't always me.
There was a moment when I was just Lili,
and I think that he could see that.
Do you see? But Lili doesn't exist.
We made her up.
I know.
We were playing a game. I know we were.
But then,
something changed.
This is absurd. We... We need to stop.
You need to stop, Einar.
I am going to try.
(BELL RINGING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Another headache?
It's nothing.
Can I get you anything?
I'm fine.
Maybe you should see a doctor.
Gerda...
I'm fine.
(DOOR SHUTS)
(PANTING)
(DOOR SHUTS)
I didn't think you'd come.
No.
Nor did I.
I thought you might not come back.
That's absurd.
Is it?
Come here.
(BREATHES SHARPLY)
The model...
Einar's cousin.
The resemblance is...
Are there others?
A series back at the studio.
These are different.
For these...
I don't know, there may be a market.
You're taking them?
Well, yes.
(DOORBELL RINGS)
Come in.
I haven't got long.
Gerda's seeing Rasmussen.
I don't like all these lies.
She's very protective.
Why don't you just tell her about us?
I couldn't do that.
Sorry.
I don't want to upset you.
Come here.
No. Yes.
Einar.
What?
Come on. Shh. It's all right.
I'm sorry, I don't understand.
I... Lili.
Please.
I don't know what you want.
I want you. I don't know what you mean.
I want you. No!
Lili. Lili. Lili, wait!
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(SOBBING)
Are you all right?
(SOBBING) No.
I've been seeing Henrik Sandahl.
I'm...
I thought perhaps you knew.
No.
Not this.
So...
Are you in love with Sandahl?
No.
No, I love you.
Gerda, only you. It's Lili, she...
Be honest.
I need you to believe me, Gerda.
You of all people to understand.
All right. You need to tell me when Henrik and
Lili
are together, they what? They...
They kiss?
Has it gone beyond that? No.
No, Lili has never gone further than that with a man.
She wouldn't. She's...
There have been other men?
Wait, there... (SIGHS)
There was another, yes, but it was a long time ago.
(STAMMERS) It was that boy, Hans.
In Vejle.
She fell for him, and
he kissed her. Just once.
But then my father came in and he caught them.
And he smacked Hans down.
He was so angry.
I don't know what to say.
(GRUNTS)
What?
(GRUNTS) I'm so...
Einar?
I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry, I'm not feeling well. Einar, what is it?
Einar, Einar, Einar!
Einar. What's happened? What's happening? I'm all right. I'm all right.
What? Do you have pain?
So, you saw Doctor Andersen after a bout of severe nosebleeds,
which you have come to believe
coincide with the stomach cramps, and on a
monthly basis.
Hmm.
So.
How long have you been married?
Six years.
Children?
No.
Is there regular copulation?
Yes.
Perhaps less now than before...
Than before you started to dress as a woman?
I'm a specialist, Mr. Wegener. You may be embarrassed.
I am not.
Tell me about Lili.
Where does she come from?
Inside me.
You know, the most likely explanation for all of this is a chemical imbalance.
Really? Mmm.
Onto the bed.
That would explain the pain,
the confused state of masculinity and the infertility.
Let's hope it is that, because that, at least, we can cure.
I don't need to do this.
There's nothing wrong with me.
That's not true. Gerda, this can't be right.
Radiation is a miracle, Mr. Wegener.
It destroys the bad and saves the good.
I'm sure it'll be over quickly.
HEXLER: Lie still, Mr. Wegener.
(MECHANICAL WHIRRING)
Mr. Wegener?
How are you feeling this morning?
You hurt Lili.
I'm afraid your husband's aberrant thinking persists.
Do you keep a lock on your wardrobe?
Of course not.
Mrs. Wegener, you're not encouraging this delusion?
You do understand that your husband is insane?
No.
That's not true.
We trusted you.
We came to you for help.
RASMUSSEN: Gerda!
Where have you been?
Away.
Why? What's wrong?
I sold the Lili portraits.
I have enough interest, now, to mount a full show.
That's wonderful. And there's more.
The Gallery Etienne Dufour in Paris wants to represent you.
In Paris? Yes, you must go.
I can't travel just now.
Gerda,
this is your moment.
You've waited long enough.
These art dealers can be fickle.
(GERDA LAUGHS)
Oh!
What are you doing?
I've been asked to exhibit in Paris.
That's wonderful.
Yes.
We have to go.
Rasmussen said it would make all the difference.
Gerda, I'm not sure that I can.
I'll take care of you.
Yes, but surely there's no rush.
Can't you just do this one thing for me?
What's happening?
I had a letter from Hexler.
He wants to lock me up.
Everything will work out for us.
Really. I know it.
You just have to trust me.
I do.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)
GERDA: Einar's a painter, too.
Oh. Do you exhibit in Paris?
I think my work's a little introspective for French taste.
Excuse me. Is the model here?
No.
She stayed behind in Denmark.
Oh, I was so hoping to meet her.
(SPEAKS FRENCH)
Madame Gerda Wegener...
(MAN CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
(GROANS) No.
I'm sorry.
Will you sit for me?
Just as you are.
We haven't done that since art school.
The teacher,
suddenly at the mercy of the student.
You found it exciting.
I can't just now.
I'm sorry.
I miss you.
I miss you working beside me.
I can't remember the landscape anymore.
I can't remember Vejle.
Well, you can help me with this background.
What does it need?
A kettle-hole lake?
A farmhouse? Far off?
Gerda.
(WOMAN SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
Merci.
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
(GRUNTS)
HANS: Well, he's playing with us.
He knows the price.
Look, I have to go, I have some Danish girl waiting to see me.
All right.
Madame.
Hans Axgil.
Hello.
Thank you for seeing me.
Don't thank me yet, I can't represent you.
I don't handle any contemporary art.
Of course. I know that.
The reviews for your show were terrific, but...
Perhaps if you would let me speak, things would be clearer.
So, when did you arrive?
Six months, almost.
I don't know why Rasmussen gave you my number,
but I'm happy he did.
I asked him.
I wanted to meet you to put a face to a name.
Hmm.
I believe you were a childhood friend of my husband.
You have a husband?
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
I'm married to Einar Wegener.
Einar?
You remember him?
Of course I remember him.
We were such friends. How is he?
He told me that you kissed him once.
I what?
You're right.
(CHUCKLES) You're right, I remember.
We were fooling in the kitchen,
and he was wearing his grandmother's apron.
You know, little boys, playing around.
He just looked so pretty in it. I had to kiss him!
So, yes, I kissed Einar.
The next thing I know, his father's chasing me out.
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
Einar, my God.
Why didn't he come today?
He doesn't know I'm here.
I don't think he'd like me asking for help.
We don't really know people here. And Einar is... He's...
He's lost his way.
He's not working.
He needs someone to represent him, someone who knows him.
He needs a friend.
GERDA: I have a new dealer coming over later.
I'd like you to meet him.
I don't want a new dealer.
It doesn't make sense to me. I'm hardly working.
That might change.
I don't think so.
I'm happy helping you.
(HAMMERING)
It's Hans Axgil.
Dinner at La Dauphine at 8:00,
then back here to see the paintings.
He remembers you with great fondness.
It was handmade,
and I've had it since I was four.
You know, Einar's still stricken with guilt about crashing your kite.
My kite? I'll tease him about that.
No, it's too cruel.
Well, if he ever gets here. Perhaps he doesn't want to see me.
No.
No, it's not that.
Maybe we should order without him.
Does he abandon you often?
Of course not.
I was joking.
I can come back another time,
if you think Einar would prefer it.
Really.
He's expecting you.
And it'll do him good.
I know this.
The fjord at Vejle,
not far from our houses.
Yes, he painted it just before we left.
Lili.
Hans.
May I introduce
Lili Wegener.
Einar's cousin from home.
You cannot imagine how happy I am.
We actually met once before, in Vejle,
but you probably don't remember.
May I take your coat?
Of course.
A digestif, Hans?
It's so chilly all of a sudden.
I feel the cold these days. I don't know why.
Here.
Thank you.
I'm so sorry that Einar couldn't be here.
He told me how, back in Vejle,
you were his great friend.
Both always plotting to get away. That's true.
Such a tedious place! (CHUCKLES)
He said that you would sit and you'd
look out together,
beyond the fjord, to the sea.
To the future.
We had big dreams, yes.
Yes.
And that you were the only one that would let him paint in peace.
Who told him it was all right to be a painter.
He used to sketch my portrait.
Take a stone and draw me on the rocks at the side of the road.
(CHUCKLES)
I didn't know that.
Yes.
Would you like to see more of Einar's work?
Yes. But do we have any?
Of course, Lili.
Could we not do it another time? Because I just...
I want to hear more about you, Hans.
Are you married?
Uh, no. Well, why not?
You don't mind, do you?
I've been on my own a long time now. I'm too set in my ways.
I think that marriage is the single thing
we should all hope for in life.
Really?
It creates someone else.
More than just the two of you.
Yes, I think it'd be terrible not to...
I think it'd be terrible... I'm so...
Will you excuse me?
Lili.
(SOBS)
You ought to go.
Let me help.
Please.
I'm sorry.
Good night, Lili.
LILI: Good night.
I don't think he noticed, do you?
I don't know.
I think I got out just in time.
Sleep now.
We'll talk more tomorrow.
Can I borrow a nightdress?
No, we've never done that.
Lili's never spent the night.
It doesn't matter what I wear.
'Cause when I dream,
they're Lili's dreams.
What? (LAUGHS)
(GASPS)
A new dress.
And this is for you.
Do you like it?
Yes.
It's perfect for you.
We're a little short of money at the moment.
I know.
But now that I'm back, I can sit for you again.
Well, it worked well before.
Didn't it work?
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
Come on.
Come on, Hvap.
GERDA: Looks good.
Head up.
Up. There.
No, back. Yes. Okay.
Is that good? Ring, up.
Thank you.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)
I didn't know you were coming.
It's a good crowd.
She's a popular girl.
Thank you for coming.
Thank you for inviting me. I thought you'd forgotten all about me.
We've been busy.
Is Einar here?
He hates this kind of thing.
That's a shame.
For you, I mean.
I don't mind.
Is he well?
He's excited.
Our friend, uh, is coming to town,
Ulla Fonsmarck, the dancer. You maybe know her?
No, I don't think so.
Can I take you to dinner?
To celebrate?
I think someone ought to.
No. Thank you.
Gerda.
Have I offended you?
No.
Gerda.
I'm still Einar's wife.
HENRI: Hans!
Oh, Henri!
(BOTH SPEAKING FRENCH)
At least take an umbrella.
Oh. No, I'm fine, honestly.
Well, if you just wait a minute, someone will drive you.
No, I'm fine.
My goodness, you're soaked.
Did it go well?
Tell me, how was it?
You'd know if you'd been there.
I've made us a supper.
You should have come.
A little sort of celebration.
This is not how it goes.
We do these things together.
That was you and Einar.
Stop playing that stupid, stupid game.
Please, Gerda.
Don't you think this is a game.
You should have been there!
How could I?
Look at me. Not everything is about you.
I need to see Einar.
Let me help, please.
I need my husband.
Go get him.
I can't.
I need to talk to my husband. I need to hold my husband.
I need him.
Can't you just get him?
Can you at least try?
No. I'm sorry.
Gerda.
What is it?
Are you all right?
Oh, my God.
Gerda, wait.
Wait!
I don't think I can
give you what you want.
I don't know how long we can go on like this.
No.
He needs to see someone.
You know what happened with Hexler.
But he's so thin.
Something's wrong with him.
(CHUCKLES) Lili watches her figure.
Look.
There's a doctor.
He runs the Women's Clinic in Dresden.
He's interested in men like Einar
who are
confused.
Men who are different.
He's often in Paris.
Just talk to him.
You're awake.
How do you feel?
Come.
Listen, I've got somewhere to go.
Where?
Sorry, I...
I don't know how to hold on to you any longer.
I know.
But I love you,
and I'm going to find an answer.
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
English? English.
Do you speak English?
Are you, um, a boy or a girl?
A woman? Do you have a...
(JEERING) (LAUGHING)
Or...
(JEERING)
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
Joking.
(GRUNTS)
(SPEAKING FRENCH)
(GROANING)
I can't hold the buyers much longer, I'm sorry.
Einar?
You're good at this.
I boxed for a while.
Shame you weren't with me earlier. (CHUCKLES)
I'm sorry I've not been to see you before.
That's all right.
You're here now.
I couldn't let Gerda see me like this.
She's had enough to put up with.
What's happened to you?
I don't understand.
Nor do I.
But I don't think it's anything new.
Even back in Vejle...
What? Ow. Sorry.
What?
I was different.
It didn't take much to be different in Vejle.
Surely that's why we became friends.
Every morning
I promise myself that I will spend the entire day as Einar.
But there's so little of Einar left.
You think these things because you're exhausted.
Sometimes I think about killing Einar.
But it's only the thought that I'd be killing Lili too that stops me.
You need to see someone.
A doctor. No.
Yes. No doctors.
I'll help you find someone.
You have to try.
DR. BUSON: A confused state of identity.
I drill small holes,
here and here.
I have listened to you very carefully,
and I'm afraid it's not good news.
You're a homosexual.
Well, I don't really know what kind of help I need, but I...
I can't go on living without knowing who I am.
Please excuse me for a moment.
Do you think I'm insane?
Did a doctor say that?
I'm sorry. I know we agreed no more, but...
Look at me.
You are not insane.
Did I do this to you?
What?
Sometimes, I... I wonder...
If it hadn't been for the paintings...
No. Gerda, no.
You helped bring Lili to life, but she was always there.
She was always waiting.
Now she's making you ill.
I don't know what to do.
The doctors can't help me.
Do you want to try one more?
...Warnekros, Einar. My husband.
Hello. Good to see you.
So, what do you think would explain
what you've been experiencing, Mr. Wegener?
Professor Warnekros, the fact is
I believe that I am a woman,
inside.
And I believe it too.
You probably think that I'm insane.
Or that we both are.
Well,
there are people who think that I'm insane.
But I think you're probably right.
I've met another man like you.
I pursued his case,
against the wishes of my colleagues, of course.
I told him I could operate
to make him fully a woman.
That was what he wanted.
Is that really possible?
What happened to the man?
Was the operation successful?
On the morning of the first operation, he ran away.
He was too frightened.
I wouldn't do that. I...
Perhaps he was the smart one.
The surgery has never been attempted before.
Never.
Professor Warnekros, what is the surgery?
Two operations.
The first, to remove the male parts entirely.
The second, once you're strong enough again,
to construct a vagina.
An irreversible change
and a high risk of failure.
Infections.
Complications.
It's too dangerous.
It's my only hope.
I leave for Dresden at lunchtime tomorrow.
Mrs. Wegener,
I do believe I can help your husband.
But he won't be your husband when I've finished.
(WHISTLE BLOWS)
I feel strange going dressed like this.
It's important.
Hans said the Germans might check your papers.
You're nearly there.
I won't be seeing you again.
I've only really liked a handful of people in my life,
and you've been two of them.
(LAUGHS)
Take care.
I wish you'd let me come with you.
I can't.
You love Einar,
and I have to let him go.
Here.
Take this.
(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS)
(MAN YELLING INDISTINCTLY)
(CONDUCTOR BLOWS WHISTLE)
(MUTTERS)
(TRAIN CHUGGING)
(ANNOUNCER SPEAKING GERMAN)
Hello.
Um... My name is Lili. I'm here to see Professor Warnekros.
Lili what?
Elbe.
Lili Elbe, like the river.
Of course. Please take a seat over there.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
Must I really wait?
It's only a week.
I need you to rest. Gain some weight.
We can't risk an infection.
For what we are attempting,
I'll need you to be strong.
This is not my body, Professor.
Please take it away.
You're having a baby.
And you?
Oh, no, no. I'm...
I'm ill inside.
But Professor Warnekros is going to make me better.
And will you be able to have children after?
Do you know, I don't know.
I hope so.
Gerda, why don't you go?
He asked me not to. He wanted to protect you.
You should be there. I'll go with you.
If I go, it will be alone.
Now you're sounding like Einar.
I am like Einar.
What do you want me to do?
I want you to go away.
Really?
No, I... Sorry.
She regained consciousness very briefly.
We're having to give her a great deal of morphine, of course,
so that's to be expected.
(LILI WEEPING)
You mustn't move, Lili. It only makes it worse.
Oh, God.
Breathe.
I'm here.
(GASPING)
It's all right.
I'm here now.
Lili.
I can feel myself getting better when I listen to your pencil.
You've always sketched me better than I was.
But what you draw, I become.
You made me beautiful.
And now you're making me strong.
Such power in you.
Shall we go back to Denmark, then, Gerda?
Shall we go home?
Lili!
You're late.
And your pills.
Every two hours, and I need to eat something first.
I have some macaroons in my bag all ready.
And these.
Only if you need them.
Good luck.
MANAGERESS: And remember,
making a purchase at Fonnesbech's
is not merely shopping. It's an experience.
You lived in Paris, yes?
Yes.
Let everyone know. The store is a stage.
We're here to perform.
(ALL GIGGLING)
In Paris, you see, a lady would never dream
of spraying the scent directly onto herself.
She... She would spray it in the air,
and then she'd walk through it.
Oh. Voila.
You try.
Ah. Voila. (LAUGHS)
(CHUCKLES) Thanks.
That's so unfair.
You've got the sweetest tooth and the narrowest hips in the whole store.
How do you manage it, eating so much sugar?
The trick is you eat nothing else.
See you tomorrow. See you tomorrow.
Bye, Lili. Bye.
Lili, are you coming?
You know, one night last week, I had the strangest dream.
What was it?
I dreamed you were getting married.
(CHUCKLES)
Do you think I ever will?
Who knows?
So many strange things have happened.
I do want to, Gerda.
It's not so long ago we were married, you and me.
You and Einar.
I know it was Einar.
But really,
it was you and me.
Lili.
Is it really you?
I believe so.
So, what you're suggesting
is that, uh, a doctor
intervened.
To correct a mistake in nature.
He made you a woman.
No, God made me a woman.
But the doctor... He... The doctor
is curing me of the sickness that was my disguise.
A real woman.
You're going to need a new notebook if you carry on like that.
When Warnekros suggested I keep a diary,
I thought I'd never have anything to write.
It does help,
just to make sense of things.
Maybe I should try it.
(CHUCKLES)
So,
do you enjoy working at Fonnesbech's?
For now, at least.
I do enjoy sort of being part of it.
You never think of painting?
You might be good at it.
Gerda, I want to be a woman, not a painter.
Well, people have been known to do both.
I'm curious to see what you would paint.
That's all. Sometimes it's hard to know what's in your...
Didn't you just take one of those a minute ago?
Gerda, I know what I'm doing.
I'm just going to get some fresh air.
You know, sometimes I do wonder why you let me go through all this,
if you thought that everything would be the same afterwards.
I didn't.
But I promised Einar that I would take care of you.
For goodness' sakes, Gerda, Einar is dead.
We both have to accept that.
You took care of me, but now I have to take care of myself.
I have to have a life of my own.
And you need to do the same.
Come on, Hvap.
Uh, yes.
(PHONE RINGING)
In London.
Uh, is it urgent?
No, that's fine.
Just tell him...
Just say it's a beautiful day in Copenhagen.
GERDA: Morning. Good morning.
It's not what you think. Henrik's homosexual.
There's nothing between us.
I should have told you that I'd seen him.
No, you shouldn't.
He's a friend, Gerdie, someone to talk to.
Because you can't talk to me.
I've made a decision.
I'm going back to Dresden for the second operation.
That's too soon.
No... No, it's time.
I need to finish what I started.
You're not strong enough.
Professor Warnekros thinks that I am.
Warnekros?
Warnekros hasn't seen you.
I've made up my mind, Gerda.
It could kill you.
I'm going on Friday. Will you come with me?
I won't help you to hurt yourself.
Gerda, will you come?
This will be harder than the first operation.
You understand that?
Yes, I do.
It's complex surgery.
And I will sleep all the way through it.
(BOTH CHUCKLING)
Yes, you will.
And you'll be there when I wake up.
Of course.
I want a husband who looks just like you.
Um...
Maybe a child one day.
Like a real woman.
One step at a time.
Get some rest. Good night.
(GRUNTS FAINTLY)
Are you still angry with me?
I'm not angry with you.
I'm worried about you.
You heard my wish, Gerda.
When no one else could hear me,
you did.
Come.
We both need our rest.
I'll sleep on the chair there.
No, off to your little hotel. I don't mind.
Here, take this.
Because there's a chill in the air.
No.
Please.
You have it.
For now.
I'm going to be fine.
Yes.
(LAUGHS)
Sleep well.
Good night.
(SOBS)
(SNIFFLES)
Good evening.
(SPEAKING GERMAN)
Uh, room nine, please.
Number nine, yes, of course.
Thank you.
(CHUCKLES)
Hans.
It's all right.
Everything will be all right.
NURSE: Miss Elbe.
It's time.
WARNEKROS: Good luck, everybody.
Swab, quick.
Professor Warnekros would like a word.
She lost a lot of blood.
Now we are struggling to keep the fever down.
There's a chance it might burn itself out, but...
I have to be honest.
The prognosis is not...
GERDA: Come here. Just lie still.
It's all right. Shh.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
Shh.
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
Lili.
How are you, Lili?
I am
entirely myself.
You had us worried there, you know?
Can we go outside, Gerda?
Into the garden?
You should rest.
Please.
You mustn't worry about me anymore, Gerda.
It's an old habit.
I'm slow to change.
How have I ever deserved such love?
There's nothing to be afraid of anymore.
No.
Last night
I had the most beautiful dream.
I dreamed that I was a baby
in my mother's arms.
And she looked down at me,
and she called me Lili.
Lili.
(SNIFFLING)
Lili?
Lili!
No, leave it!
Let it fly.
(LAUGHS)