Original subtitles

A NETFLIX SERIES

[low murmuring]

- [Barbro] You've done a great job. - Thanks, Barbro.

[Barbro] I know this must be hard for you.

Lars was always so healthy.

But they say a heart attack is the best way to go.

No prolonged suffering, it's quick and...

- [Sofie] Would you like some coffee? - Please. Thank you.

[Sofie] Can you make coffee for Barbro?

There's cake as well. There's...

There's blueberry, there's chocolate and there's raspberry.

And... There's supposed to be...

Shouldn't there be a lemon cake?

[Barbro] Don't worry. There's plenty of tasty things to eat.

- I can't see it. - [Barbro] Thank you.

Sofie, hey... Why don't you sit down?

But... Fuck, the caterer forgot the lemon cake.

- What? - The caterer forgot the lemon cake.

The yellow one over there?

For fuck's sake! It shouldn't be here.

There's plenty of lemon cake left. If you want some, just help yourself.

[rock music plays]

Without art, there's no room to contemplate what's important.

Where we come from, where we're going, that's what art revolves around.

And to connect to those big questions, and the small ones.

Now you've lost the attention of real people again. I'm just...

You're wrong!

You're a part of society. I see myself as being outside society.

[man 1] I have to congratulate you on your new job.

Thank you.

It's a role that suits me well, if I do say so myself.

[woman 1] So what do you like to read?

Me? I...

I... I like all sorts of things, really.

But it's a team effort, of course.

Then we also have the new owners and the new financial plan to consider...

The new financial plan?

We're going to give the authors the opportunity

to invest in their own authorship.

- It's very exciting. - Wait a minute.

You're going to charge the authors?

No, yes... No.

It's an investment in... in literature.

It's a future... thing.

Yeah...

Ch... Cheers.

- [daughter] You lost all of them! - [son] I'm playing!

[daughter] So? My phone died just as I was about to check something!

- [son] I'm still playing. - [daughter] I'll just take it, then!

- [son] What the hell! - [daughter] Yeah!

- [son] I... - [daughter] It was you.

- [son] I'm taking it. - [daughter] Seriously!

- [son] You're so... - [daughter] Stop it!

- [son] You're so stupid. - [daughter] You've lost three chargers.

- [son]They're not lost. - [daughter] No, they're at Dad's!

But you... I can't use them!

[laughter and conversation]

- Hi! Is this where you're hiding? - Hey.

Huh? How are you?

- It's been a while. - I'm just fine.

Hey, there's a rumor going around,

that Lund & Lagerstedt is becoming a hybrid publisher.

I've got nothing to do with that.

I've got my own la... my own imprint. Jägerstedt Publishing.

That sounds good.

And you? Are you here to listen to a particular author?

Yeah. Vivianne.

Vivianne?

She wasn't on the...

list.

No, she's the evening's surprise.

Most people don't even know that she's back in Stockholm.

- Was it '96 that you two...? - Yeah.

But we've occasionally bumped into each other

over the years.

She's not a woman you forget easily.

[laughter]

Singing in the shower isn't the same as singing at La Scala

and writing a shopping list isn't the same as writing.

Did you tell him that?

Of course I did.

[laughter]

Friedrich!

Hi!

Did you know I was coming? It was supposed to be a surprise.

It really was.

I heard you were in Stockholm to finish a novel.

A collection of short stories.

The stories take place in various European cities

and are conversations with a woman who symbolizes the city.

I saved Stockholm for last.

That sounds amazing.

I have my own imprint, Jägerstedt Publishing.

Okay.

I focus entirely on books that are of the highest quality, and...

We have to go.

Anna-Karin says I have to get ready. It was so nice seeing you.

You, too. Maybe we... could...

You might have thought the event was over, but no.

We've saved a small surprise for last.

Give a warm welcome to...

Vivianne Ivarsen!

[cheering and whooping]

"Moscow."

"You were so drunk that it had taken you an hour to realize

that the woman you were flirting with was your own reflection."

"The first time you caught her looking, you got annoyed."

"The desperation in her eyes was..."

What are you doing? Put that away.

This is my job.

"The pallid skin..."

Your job? Taking selfies and posting on Insta?

- Is that a job? - Mm.

Mårten Fridman, Expressen. Yes, social media is part of my job.

Jesus.

Put the phone away and listen!

We're getting an exclusive reading by the Nordic's biggest literary genius.

It's a huge gift.

[Mårten sighs]

"You despised and desired."

"'You self-conceited slut, ' I said, when you told me this story."

"Mostly because I wanted to see if I could make you blush even more."

"You were so beautiful then."

[applause, cheering and whooping]

I miss Grandpa.

[Sofie] Hmm.

Is Grandpa in heaven now?

I don't know.

What do you think?

I think Grandpa is a small seed...

in the earth.

Then he'll become a flower.

And then he'll become a tree.

And then, when he's standing strong, he'll become a whole forest.

[quiet, sad music plays]

[Sofie sighs]

[Sofie sighs]

[rustling and thumping]

[grunting]

Oh... Oh, God.

You scared the shit out of me, Dad!

There's no problem getting a sofa bed in here.

I slept on a sofa bed when you were little,

but what I don't get is why you've bought a tumble dryer.

Just put up a clothes line.

- In the living room? - That's what I had.

Hey, this thing... Oh, it's tasty. Have you tried it?

No, I had other things to do, at your funeral.

Yeah, I noticed that.

Heart attack? Was that the best you could think of?

What about,

"He didn't want to see his grandkids grow up"?

That's unfair.

Am I being unfair?

- You think so? - You look tired. Are you sleeping?

[Sofie scoffs]

You have to face the consequences of the choice you made.

It's a bit fucking rich coming here

and having opinions about me, my life, my apartment and how the hell I sleep.

I sleep fine, thanks very fucking much!

[melancholic music plays]

Good morning!

Good morning.

You can't use the photocopier.

- Why not? - It's broken.

[Sofie] Hi.

Well, the photocopier is broken.

You'll have to look at my papers for now. There...

Here I've divided the authors into two teams,

A-Team and B-Team,

and B-Team will be paying for their own publishing.

See if you think someone's ended up in the wrong team.

So... Er...

Something happened at the social at Rönnells last night.

- What? - [Sofie] What?

I may have accidentally said something about our new direction.

- What the hell, Ronny! - Ronny!

I don't think anyone noticed... No one noticed, I'm sure of it.

- So, do you like the allotment? - Are you kidding? I love that place.

Thanks again.

[giggles nervously]

- Can you hand me a screwdriver? - Yeah.

- It'd be nice to see how you're doing. - Sure, just swing by.

- Okay, I think this is the problem. - Yay.

- Hi. - [Max] Hi.

Is the photocopier fixed?

- Yes, the photocopier is fixed. - That's great.

I need to... need to make some copies.

- Now you can do that. - [Sofie] Hmm.

That's great.

Anything else?

Well...

Regardless of...

You and I need to be able to have a professional relationship at work.

You asked me and I answered you.

Isn't that... professional?

- Yeah, absolutely. - Yeah.

Anything else?

What about those shorts?

What's wrong with these?

Would you call those professional?

You're by the elevator. Your shorts are the first thing people see.

This is not a beach bar. We're not in Pattaya.

No, what the hell are you doing? Stop!

[Max] I'll tell you what, take them.

[clears throat]

[mischievous music plays]

[Friedrich] Max?

I thought I'd put a sign on my door, since I have my own label now.

What do you think?

Jägerstedt Publishing.

- Do you think it's silly? - No... It's super nice, really.

Yeah. Well...

Someone has to put it up. Can you help me?

- No, sorry. - What?

I've... I've got shin splints, so I...

- I can't walk. - [Friedrich] And how long will that last?

I don't know.

[Friedrich] Well, if you can't move, I'll have to put it up myself.

Where is that drill?

- Alright! How hard can it be? - It's really powerful, Friedrich.

- Try it in the air first. - [Friedrich] Yeah.

- [Caroline] You can't move? What happened? - Um...

[Friedrich breathes heavily]

[drill whirs loudly]

- [bang] - [Friedrich screams]

[drill continues to whir]

- [Max] Release the button! - [Friedrich] Help!

- Release the button, Friedrich! - Help me!

Help!

- [Caroline yelps] - [Friedrich] Help me!

[drill stops whirring]

[Friedrich breathes heavily]

[Max] The sign.

[drill whirs loudly]

- There. - Yeah...

- Isn't...? Isn't it a bit crooked? - No, it's perfect.

[Caroline giggles]

[Friedrich puffs air out]

[Denise laughs]

What is it?

Oh, that idiot.

He was at Rönnells yesterday. Do you know what he did?

He was tapping away on his phone throughout the reading.

- Tap, tap, tap... - [Denise laughs]

He must've heard something. The column is about Vivianne.

What does it say?

"No one embodies the cultural elite's disdain towards normal people

more than the Danish author Vivianne Ivarsen."

Vivianne demands a lot from everyone, no least from herself.

- It's not disdain. It's an esthetic ideal. - Wait, it gets better.

"Now her crusade against so-called political correctness

has reached Stockholm."

"To the joy of no one, except the sad excuse of a corduroy jacket

who shouted that Vivianne's writing was a gift to mankind."

"Well, here you have one person who wonders if that gift is refundable."

I'm posting this.

Your pain meds...

[muffled female voice] You mean that? One of the country's leading cultural...?

You are uninterested in my work.

You don't take me seriously. You want me to...

Like some whore?

Yeah, hi. Is Vivianne...?

[stutters]

- I can come back later. - Yes, that would be better.

[Vivianne] Who is it?

It's Friedrich.

[Vivianne] Let him in, for Christ's sake!

I hate the Swedish cultural life! Why should I read for cavemen?

It's not that bad. It...

That's great. Tell me, was the column about you?

- No, but... - [Vivianne] No.

So maybe you're not one to be critiquing my writing.

You can go now.

I mean it.

Friedrich! What a pleasant surprise.

- Are those for me? - Yes.

Oh. They're really nice.

[groans happily]

You shouldn't care about what they write in Expressen.

[laughs] I don't give a damn about that populist rag.

- You're... not angry? - No.

It's funny when Anna-Karin thinks I am. Sit down.

Yes... No, I should go. You need to write.

Are you hungry? I'm starving.

Let's order room service. You can tell me about your imprint.

Jägerstedt Publishing, right?

What do you say? It's been a long time.

- When did I see you last? - Louisiana.

In 2019. It was raining. We were waiting for Michel Houellebecq.

- He never showed up. - [laughing] Right, that was it!

[mischievous music plays]

- [Friedrich] Drop everything. - What?

This is big.

Jägerstedt Publishing has just added Vivianne Ivarsen to its ranks.

Come on! We have to publicize this, right away!

- Hi. - Hi. Maria Hamdin.

Maria, hi.

- Lawyer at the Writer's Union. - Yes...

- Thanks for seeing me on short notice. - No worries.

Er...

Do you want coffee?

- Yes, please. - Yes?

- With oat milk, if you have it. - Let me just...

[titters]

- [whispering] Put these on! - Why?

- [whispering] Did you invite the union? - Yes. They were keen on seeing you, so...

Right! Two coffees. One of them with oat milk.

Caroline... I'll get the coffee. It's...

- [Caroline] Are you sure? - [Max] Yes, absolutely.

[Sofie clears throat]

So, we received a call this morning

from some of our members who went to an author's talk last night.

The thing is, we have a new literary director.

He's still learning how we communicate here.

So there's no truth to these rumors...

that you're going to start charging authors?

We're always looking at ways to secure stable financing,

but this isn't something we're prepared to announce.

[door opens]

Here, coffee with oat milk.

And regular coffee for the CEO.

[Sofie] Thank you, Max.

- Anything else? - No, you can go now.

- [Maria] Well. - [Sofie] Hmm?

So... Lund & Lagerstedt have a long tradition of siding with authors.

We've always had a great relationship.

I'LL PUT MY SHORTS ON IF YOU DRIBBLE

It would be a shame if the new management didn't continue

in the same good spirit of cooperation and mutual respect.

Yes, exactly.

If we go through with these plans, we wouldn't charge all authors.

On the contrary, we would be able to invest more in authors

that we want to invest even more in.

That would be like dividing them into an A-Team and a B-Team.

I can guarantee you that no one here uses such terms.

It doesn't matter what terms you use. That's still the outcome, isn't it?

[Max laughs]

I have to remind you about the agreement Lund & Lagerstedt signed with the union,

regarding minimum royalty rates.

And... nowhere in that agreement does it say that you have the right to...

Should I interpret this as you deciding to cancel the agreement?

From our perspective, I'd say that the agreement is now moot.

This will have consequences.

[door opens]

[door slams]

[Sofie giggles]

Anna-Karin!

These are Vivianne's current projects.

- Apparently you're supposed to have them. - [Friedrich] Yes.

This isn't personal. I have all respect in the world for you.

For 20 years, Friedrich...

For 20 years, I've been Vivianne's publisher.

- Do you know how this feels? - I can imagine.

The relief!

- What? - Thank you, Friedrich!

Thank you for relieving me of that horrible woman.

[Friedrich] It can't be that bad.

A word of advice, don't make the same mistake I did.

Don't sleep with her.

JÄGERSTEDT PUBLISHING

[smooth music plays]

[Caroline] Hello!

- [Max] Hey. - Hi.

- I only get cold water here. - [Caroline] Oh.

- Was the bike ride alright? - Yeah, great.

I live in Örnsberg, super close.

- I'll just put something on. - Okay.

- [Max] Hey. - [Caroline] Hi.

[Max] What's this?

Housewarming gifts. It's nothing special.

Cuttings?

They're from my mom's garden.

Thank you.

- It's... - Thank you so much.

- Okay, how about a little tour? - Yeah, of course.

Let's go over here.

And this is where I sleep.

[awkward laughter]

Wow, Sofie! It's really... really charming.

[laughs awkwardly] It really is.

It's a bit small, but the most important thing

was for the kids to be close to Johan and school.

Of course, yeah.

- Who wants wine? Yes! - [cheering]

- [cork pops] - [slow ballad music playing]

- There you go. - Thank you.

- Have you changed things around? - I did some clearing up.

To bring out what was already here.

It was pretty overgrown.

But those green ones by the wall, I planted those.

You know so much.

Plants are easy to understand.

Not like humans.

Since you started...

work has been wonderful.

Because you're there.

[Max laughs]

Er...

That's... That's great.

Erm...

Well, ch... Cheers.

Cheers.

- Cheers! - Cheers!

[upbeat pop music playing]

Hey, have you started dating?

God, no.

It's the last thing on my mind.

- You haven't been on Tinder? - Tinder? No...

- No, Sofie is not going on Tinder! - [friend 1] Why not?

- [friend 2] Do you get to decide that? - Yeah, why not? Why wouldn't I?

No, listen. We're going to find you someone.

You can have my husband, for free.

- Have you seen the quality on Tinder? - No, have you?

- [friend 2] Busted. - I mean... No, God.

I love Nille, but I have to stay up-to-date for my podcast.

- [friend 1] So I'll get a raincoat. - [Sofie] Boo!

Murderer.

[laughter]

[friend 1] Oh, look!

If you get rid of the guy, at least the dog is really cute.

So, left or right?

- Left. - [Sofie] It's a no for me.

[friend 2] Left for the guy, right for the dog.

[laughter]

- No, I don't want to! - [friend 2] But it...

[friend 1] What's wrong with these people? They look totally uneducated!

[laughter]

No, what's up with the fish? Stop!

- [friend 3] What's with this picture? - [friend 2] Yeah...

- [Sofie] God, what a... - [friend 1] Come to mama!

- This is something to feast you eyes on. - [friend 3] Yeah, and he's new to Tinder.

- Take the chance while you can, Sofie. - [friend 1] No!

I don't think Sofie is the least bit interested

in a 22-year old garden gnome with... zits.

[friend 2] Those aren't zits. Those are nipples.

- Moving on. - [friend 3] Is he any better?

"Hi, I'm Jesper. I'm a metalhead.

I'll use all your shampoo because I've got such long hair."

- [friend 1] Oh... - No!

- No, what did you do? - [shrieking]

- What did you do? - [friend 1] She swiped right.

What does that mean?

- [friend 2] It means you really like him. - [Sofie] Oh, God.

- It's a match. - [Sofie] No...

- [friend 3] Yes, congrats. - I told you it would end like this.

[friend 3] Yes, congrats.

You know these lotions only exist to rip people off, right?

[sad piano music plays]

[Dad shouting] Are you going to ignore me?

[shouting] Huh?

[cell phone dings]

[Dad] Sofie?

[music intensifies]

Come here and let me talk to you.

HI! WHAT ARE YOU UP TO?

[banging on door]

CAN WE MEET UP?

I'M AT WORK

[Dad] Sofie!

- [banging on door] - [Dad] Come here! Let me talk to you!

WHERE DO YOU WORK?

[music fades out]

Hey.

That was quick.

Welcome.

Beer?

We're working on this.

That's almost finished.

Nice.

Watch your step, there's... shit everywhere.

- [can opens] - I don't usually work this late.

My kid was sick last week.

The kids are with their mom this week.

So I'm trying to catch up.

I have two boys.

One is seven and the other one is eleven.

It feels just like yesterday that I was changing their diapers.

["It Must Have Been Love" by Roxette playing on radio]

Oops.

- I spilled some. - That's okay.

I'm so sloppy.

[mechanic] That's okay.

Disobedient and sloppy.

I need someone...

to take charge and set me straight.

♪ Lay a whisper On my pillow ♪

♪ Leave the winter On the ground ♪

♪ I wake up lonely There's air of silence ♪

♪ In the bedroom And all around ♪

[song continues]

No, that's empty.

[Caroline] I should head home.

Hey, it's been a... Thanks a lot for tonight.

You're all right, easy to be around.

You're easy to be around. You don't act out, like some other people.

No, I'm not much for acting out.

Do you have to go home... now?

♪ But it's over now ♪

No, not straight away.

♪ Till the time had run out ♪

♪ Make believing We're together ♪

♪ That I'm sheltered By your heart ♪

♪ But in and outside I turned to water ♪

♪ Like a teardrop In your palm ♪

♪ And it's a hard Winter's day ♪

♪ I dream away ♪

♪ It must have been love But it's over now ♪

♪ It was all that I wanted Now I'm living without ♪

♪ It must have been love But it's over now ♪

[song continues]

Subtitle translation by: Josephine Roos Henriksson