Original subtitles

A NETFLIX SERIES

[heavy breathing]

[Sofie moans]

Okay.

- I'll be kicked out of the commune soon. - Already?

The new property owner is crazy, and we never had a proper contract.

What a shame.

- Yeah. - It's a bit early to move in with me.

Yeah. I haven't even met your kids.

[loud knocking on door]

[Sofie sighs]

I'm ready.

I'd prefer a place outside the city.

With a garden.

You know, to grow things and...

Can't you just rent an apartment?

There aren't any.

You have to be able to afford a co-op apartment to live in Stockholm.

I agree with that guy.

- Who? - [Max] The guy with the sign.

"Stop buying and selling."

So fucking good.

I have to run. I have that job interview.

- Okay. - I'll call you later.

[cell phone rings]

- Hello? - What are you up to, Dad?

[Dad through phone] No, nothing.

I'm sitting...

- I'm having a cup of coffee at home. - [Sofie through phone] That's strange.

- It sounds as if you're downtown. - No.

It's the new headset you gave me.

The connection is loose.

[Dad] So that's why.

Please, don't do anything too crazy. I don't have time for that.

Why would I do that? I'm sitting here,

trying to get to grips with reality.

[rock music plays]

- Sofie, I have to admit, I'm impressed. - That's great!

I think you're so...

awesome.

Thanks. Likewise.

Your background as a consultant and all this updated digital experience...

- It's great. - That's great! Good to hear.

I think everyone here at Bright Futures will agree.

- Great. - [woman 1] Hi.

- Hi! - I'm sorry.

- No worries. - I wanted to say hi.

Yeah, hi!

This is Sofie.

Yeah. Oh, God. It's you!

- Yes! Sorry, I don't... - [woman 1] I didn't pick up on the name.

You were married to Johan Rydman, right?

- Yes, exactly. - [woman 1] Yeah.

Yeah, we're separated now.

Yeah, I... I heard.

[woman 2] Wait, Johan Rydman?

- The guy who did the American Apparel job? - Yeah.

That was a huge success!

Hmm. That's great.

Johan's wonderful.

That must be really hard for you.

Er...

Well, it works really well with...

We have the kids every other week, so... So there are...

There are no problems.

Good to hear that it feels a bit better now.

Yeah, that's really...

Really great.

[melancholic music plays]

LUND & LAGERSTEDT PUBLISHING HOUSE

Hello!

- Hi! - Hi!

- I thought you quit. - I was in the area.

I thought I'd see how you're doing and if anyone would be up for lunch.

- Hi, Max! - Hi, Sofie.

Hi, how are you? Did you have a nice summer?

Yes, thank you for asking. I've had an amazing summer.

- Wow! - [Max] Yeah.

- [Sofie] Wonderful! What have you...? - Sofie!

- Hi! Hey! - [Denise] Hi!

- Damn, it's good to see you. - [Sofie] You, too.

- I wanted to see how you're doing. - Things are going south as usual.

But great timing. I was going to call you. We're having a meeting, can you join us?

Er...

Yes.

We have to get into digital audio.

Otherwise we'll have to start firing people.

We only have my publishing podcast.

It's our most successful product. Tons of people have been listening to it.

They should be reading, not listening.

People want to feel close to others.

It's lonely reading.

So let's arrange a literary evening, so people can get together in real life.

I re-read Proust this summer. We could have a Proust night.

It sounds exciting.

- Which one? - Both of them.

Say something.

I don't mean to sound harsh,

but you'll need an investor regardless of what you choose to do.

You should look around a bit.

Petter Stordalen, The Konsum Group... They've shown interest in the book world.

I heard about a shoe company working on developing audio content for jogging.

- Hmm? Super exciting. - Wow!

I can look around for you.

There are investors who stay out of the core business.

But you need someone who sees you as an investment for the future.

That's what I think. I... I have to go now, but I'll...

- I'll get back to you. - Thanks, Sofie.

- [Ronny] Bye. - [Sofie] Bye.

Let me treat you to something nice.

- Bye. - Bye.

I mean, if they only knew... They'd die.

[knock on door]

- Hi. - Hi.

Why is Friedrich here? You said you'd fire him before the summer.

Yeah, but I didn't want to bother him during his vacation.

Okay. So do it now.

- Now? - Yes, he's opposing any development.

He'll ruin us all.

- Yeah... - Fire him.

- Yeah, but just doing it might... - Why not? Tear off the band-aid!

- Tear off the band-aid, Ronny! Now! - Yes. [clears throat]

Hi, Friedrich!

Just a quick chat.

[clears throat]

Yeah, well... The business has been going in different directions.

And that can... It can put a strain on development.

I think many people feel that we're sending out mixed messages.

Yeah, I know.

It's not working.

- No. - I can't work under these circumstances.

I guess that's how we feel.

- All of us. - I've been thinking.

What I need is my own imprint.

- What? - My own imprint.

- Your own label? - Call it what you want. I...

I have to be able to work without constantly being opposed.

I'll take responsibility for my own label,

and you can do whatever you want with the rest.

- What do you say? - That's one idea, but I was thinking...

Is that a yes?

[awkward sigh]

[laughing] Ronny!

- It's going to... It's going to be great! - Great...

- [Friedrich chuckles] - [Ronny laughs awkwardly]

[Friedrich] I knew you'd come to your senses.

- Are you out of your fucking mind? - Denise...

- This way it solves itself. - Oh?

He'll get his own finances that he'll run into the ground.

Then we can fire him

without having to fight with the worker's union.

- [door slams] - [Denise shouts]

[Ronny] No, but...

Ah, she's too emotional.

[cell phone rings]

- Hi, Dad! - [Dad through phone] Hi!

I just wanted to see how you're doing in the new apartment.

Yeah!

Here.

- Nice, huh? - Yes, indeed.

How are you?

I'm alright, there's just so much going on.

There's just so much that should be different.

Like what?

The privatization of the welfare system? What is up with that?

You have the refugee crisis. You have climate change.

I can't for the life of me comprehend why no one does anything.

No... No, it's tricky.

- But you'll never be able to solve that. - No...

It sounds as if you're thinking about things too much again.

Why don't you just relax and take...

Go out for a walk in the park. Can't you come by here someday?

- I'd love to come over. - Yeah.

- Great. - [doorbell rings]

- The kids are here. - Hey, I...

- I love you. - I love you, too. Bye!

I love you!

Hi!

- [son] Hi. - What, not even a hello? Hi!

[Sofie] Hi.

Nice.

Super cozy.

Where are our rooms?

- In there. - Yes!

Yeah...

Nice kitchen.

- We can share this. Right, Frank? - But where am I going to play?

Is this a fucking joke?

I'm shocked. Why don't you just let me buy you an apartment?

Because I don't want your money, Johan.

I don't want it.

I might buy a sofa bed and sleep in...

Wait... What did you say?

- A sofa bed in the living room? - Yes.

Having to share a fucking closet is terrible for the kids' development.

And they have to see their mom sleep around.

Enough!

That's enough.

- Really? - Mm.

You're so fucking weird.

Everyone thinks so.

Everyone? Who's everyone?

Get your life together.

Get a real fucking job, not some storytelling bullshit!

I don't get why artsy-type idiots are the hottest thing right now.

Nille is investing in that now too.

"Cultural content".

- Is he? - What?

Nille?

Hi, Elin. It's Sofie.

Hi. Yes, it's been ages.

We just think it might be good

to not get carried away by all the emotions.

Instead, try to think logistically.

- Like, what's good for the kids? - Yeah.

[Elin] Do you even have a job right now?

- Johan said you were unemployed. - [Sofie] No, I have quite a few options.

And it's been a bit sad leaving the publishing business.

Storytelling has a huge potential for the future.

It's interesting that you mention that.

Because we've started investing in cultural content and storytelling.

- Really, is that so? - Yeah, for sure.

[Sofie] That's crazy!

With the proper development, it could explode into new markets.

We invested in an art gallery last week.

Really? My God!

The book industry is going through an interesting development right now.

I know, right?

- That's so funny. - What a coincidence. That's amazing!

Let me start by saying that I'm very excited for this.

Yes.

Me too.

I'm mostly here as an intermediary, so I'll hand this over to Denise.

Okay. Shoot, Denise.

Yes! We consist of, so to speak, stories.

If there's something the digital market is really crying out for it's content,

in all its forms.

The audio medium, especially, has completely exploded lately.

- Just the past years. - It's crazy.

Everyone has something in their ear.

- Elin is always listening to audiobooks. - [Denise] Yeah.

My wife, too. It's Jens Lapidus, Hans Rosenfeldt, and...

And this Norwegian guy, do you have him? He writes very candidly about his wife.

You mean Knausgård?

- Knausgård. - Right.

No, he's not with Lund & Lagerstedt.

But he's definitely someone we're having conversations with.

Jonas Hassan Khemiri is another author that I...

Let's see... Who's that again?

He's written about the hood, but he's not from there.

- Our kids go to the same daycare. - Okay.

- I thought Jonas was with Nordstedts. - Norstedts.

Anyway, we're having conversations with several authors about the future.

- It's an ongoing process. - So, which famous authors do you have?

Who could work in the audio medium and be a big market hit?

Sofie, you initiated this meeting. What would you do with this publisher?

- Me? - [Nille] Yes.

If you were given free rein.

You've had insight into this business and you say that you see opportunities.

I've always thought that authors who don't turn a profit

should pay for their own publishing.

Okay.

Why not just fire them and replace them with best-selling authors instead?

Because they are extremely expensive.

Lund & Lagerstedt can't afford to acquire them right now.

But also to save the narrow literature.

If the unprofitable authors pay for their publishing,

the company can still publish them.

They'd also be contributing an economic boom for the entire business.

And the authors who are already generating a profit

would not be affected by such a change.

- Mm. - [Denise] Yeah.

So that would divide them into an A team and a B team?

Mm, exactly.

I believe this is a good way forward, definitely.

This kind of cooperation is at the heart of our business.

It's time for the culture workforce to start contributing instead of just...

- ...living on welfare. - [Denise laughs uncomfortably]

Yeah, but the authors who don't profit off their books,

how will they, all of a sudden, afford to pay to publish them?

So... Excuse me. The beauty of this is that we have a bank.

So we could offer favorable loans to the B authors who need it.

- Oh. - That would be a win-win for everyone.

- That's great. - [Denise] Mm.

But it would be a scandal if the media got wind of it.

Yeah, you have to phrase it in a good way.

Why don't you run this, Sofie?

- No, I don't work here anymore. - So start working here.

You have full insight. It was your proposal.

I've known Sofie a long time, and I know what she's capable of.

- If you become CEO, we'll run with it. - But...

Erm...

The publishing house has had a really rough time lately,

but we have good news to share -

the publishing house has found new investors.

That means that we'll be able to keep our full workforce.

No one has to be let go, which is a big relief for all of us.

However, we want to present some changes in management.

To begin with, Friedrich now has his own label,

as most of you know, where he'll manage his own publishing.

It'll be very exciting to see what happens with that.

This means we have a brand new literary director -

- Ronny. - [Ronny chuckles]

Thank you.

And the new CEO of Lund & Lagerstedt is Sofie Rydman.

[Max cheers]

So, literary director.

- Mm. - Yeah.

How does it feel?

So good.

Being CEO is...

- There are so many decisions to make. - [champagne cork pops]

Everyone is mad at you, constantly, all the time.

I'm looking forward to diving deep into literature.

I've actually never read that much.

You might not know this, I come from a working-class background.

- Yeah. - Yes.

- [Max] Hey. - Hi.

- Congratulations. - Thank you.

- Cheers. - Cheers.

Now we'll see each other every day at work.

Will that be hard for you?

Oh, yes.

You're sexy when you're bossy.

[slow rock music playing]

Maja's Dad met a new girl right after he got divorced.

- Oh my. - Can you promise me that?

- What? - That you won't just meet someone new.

Maja hates her new stepmom. And I'd die if you did that.

- Yeah... - [doorbell rings]

[daughter] Who's that?

- [doorbell rings] - No idea.

- Should I get it? - Yeah, go see who it is.

Hi. I... I work with your mom.

- Okay... - I thought I'd check how she...

I mean, how you're doing in your new apartment.

Mom!

- Oh, hi, Max! - Hi.

Hi.

- How nice of you to... - Yeah, I was just passing by. So...

- Yeah, I brought this. - Yes. How nice. Thank you.

- We're just about to have dinner. - Ah, okay.

- [Sofie] If you want some dinner... - [Max] Only if it's not too much trouble.

[Sofie] No. God, no.

- Hi. - Hey.

- Max. - Hi.

- Can I try? - Yeah.

How does it work?

[son] You go forwards, backwards and then if you press that it does that.

[Max] Oh, like this?

Who is he?

He's someone from my work, a colleague.

- Whoa! - [Max laughs]

He's cute. How old is he?

He's...

older than you'd think.

At least 30, perhaps even older.

- Hey, can you make the salad? - Yeah, sure.

- [son] Can I have a go? - [Max] Yes, of course.

- I like P.E. I find it hard to sit still. - I get that. I have the same problem.

[son] I'm the fastest in my class.

I can climb up and down a wall bar before you've even blinked.

Wow!

I've never heard that.

- It's true! - Yes, of course it's true.

- I believe you. - It's true.

- So P.E. is your favorite? - Yes.

[Max] I also liked P.E. Do you do any sports?

- Yeah, quite a lot. - [Max] Really?

[son] I play a lot of football and even more ice hockey.

Yeah, that's fun.

[cell phone rings]

- [Max] What else do you like in school? - [son] Art and...

This is Sofie.

Mm. Yes, this is she.

[dinner conversation continues in background]

What's happened?

[sombre music plays]

[dinner conversation continues]

What is it?

No, nothing.

Who was it?

Mom?

Nothing.

It was nothing.

[Max] ...at your mom's work.

I think it's...

time to wrap things up.

[daughter] What is it, Mom?

It's getting late. It's time for bed.

- I'm not tired! - It's only 8 p.m. And we bought dessert.

You always got to bed too late. Let's wrap things up, so...

Yeah. Erm...

I'll be off.

It was great meeting you both.

- Thanks for the food. It was really good. - Good to hear. Thank you. Bye.

Yeah...

Bye.

Yeah...

Put your pajamas on and brush your teeth. It's important to stick to a routine.

[melodic sad music plays]

[melodic sad music fades out]

[rustling]

[footsteps]

[small thud]

[thud]

Hi, Dad.

Darling...

- What are you doing? - I'm looking for the nail clippers.

- Right. - Yeah.

Yeah...

There they are.

Thanks a lot.

- Dad... - Yeah.

It's not for your toenails that you want to be remembered.

[chuckles]

What have you done?

[Dad] Look, that's better.

You know I haven't been feeling well.

[Sofie holds back tears]

But you...

But you can't just... just go.

[sighs sadly]

- Why didn't you say anything? - [Dad] It's not like it was planned.

It hits you in waves.

It's like big, black waves.

This time one of them...

Well...

It just swept me away.

And I didn't want to bother you.

No, Dad. No...

- You didn't want to bother me? - No.

Do you know what bothers me? That you won't be around anymore.

[Dad] I'm sorry.

Forgive me.

There were too many thoughts going in too many different directions.

And finally it broke, my brain broke!

I couldn't go through it one more time.

I couldn't. I'm sorry.

You couldn't?

But we're supposed to?

What am I supposed to tell the kids? How am I supposed to think?

[elevator dings]

- Hi! - [Max] Hey.

- You're early. - Yeah, I had...

- I had some things to do, so... - You're looking for a place, right?

- Yes. - [Caroline] I felt a bit sorry for you.

I posted on Facebook. I might have found something.

- Seriously? - My old classmate's aunt has an allotment.

- She wants to rent it out. - Allotment?

- I sent it on Facebook. Have a look. - Yeah, of course.

- [Caroline] Good morning. - [Ronny] Good morning!

It's time to throw ourselves into the dark chasm of literature again.

Onward, soldiers!

- You could grow stuff here. - Exactly. You could grow a bunch.

It looks absolutely incredible. It's amaz... Thanks, Caroline.

It was nothing, really.

I'm happy to help.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

Good morning.

We need to take that.

Yeah. Sure, sorry.

How are you?

I'm fine. I think it's best that I'm alone today.

I'll go through the numbers. We can have a chat tomorrow.

- Yeah? - [Denise] Sure.

[elevator dings]

- Hello, I'm looking for Sofie. - Hi. Over there.

I've been trying to call you.

- Why aren't you answering? - I don't know.

The hospital called.

- What have you told the kids? - Nothing.

They don't know.

They can't know. They can't know that he killed himself.

No.

We'll say it was a heart attack.

We'll never tell them.

Or anyone.

No.

No one.

I don't know how...

I don't know what to think.

- Just don't go off the rails. - Okay.

What's most important is that you keep your shit together.

- I can't lose control. - No.

[door slams]

[Max] Sofie?

What's going on?

What do you mean?

- What was he doing here? - Who?

Well, your ex.

Oh.

He...

- I can't do this. I have to get some rest. - Sofie, you can't just stop talking to me.

Maybe you don't have to talk about everything all the time.

Okay... What?

I can't do this right now.

Because you're the boss now, or...?

Yes, exactly. Because I'm the boss.

We'll let this go now, so...

It's best for everyone.

Seriously, what can I say?

It would never have worked out between us.

Deep down, we both know that.

["Crash" by The Primitives playing]

♪ Here you go, way too fast Don't slow down, you're gonna crash ♪

♪ You should watch, watch your step Don't look out, gonna break your neck ♪

[music continues]

Subtitle translation by: Josephine Roos Henriksson