Original subtitles

Another year.

Another Christmas.

Another tick of God's clock.

On Christmas Eve, I like to look at God's glories.

The sky tinseled with stars.

The moon, the silver ornament he hung in space.

The wonders of his creation.

And the wonders man creates.

From the great lights of a city to the smallest jewels twinkling inside.

A pocket watch.

In a little shop in old New York.

Green cheese, the Frenchman.

The Frenchman.

Pallet fork, I suppose.

Possibly. Possibly.

No, no, Christopher.

Let it be.

It's near day's end.

The clocks have struck five in all.

Yeah? I replace one more hand and then celebration.

Agnes, five o 'clock.

The hour for a ragtime song.

Oh, Oscar.

Agnes, so demure. In Brazil, we have a word that perfectly describes Agnes, but

it cannot be translated.

No, it cannot.

Yes, yes.

Finish off one more watch and then festivities.

Music of the season. More to come with comestibles.

Well, they're on their way. The pudding, the musicians, perhaps snow.

Deep and crisp and even.

I'll cover it.

Cover it all up like a blanket for Christmas.

Now that would be a gift.

It's like a shop from another time. Yes, isn't it?

Piltdown and Clowns has been here since my friend Millard Fillmore bought a

watch in here.

At Christmastime, there's nothing like the old things, the old friends.

The world changes so quickly.

It's nice when something doesn't.

Yes, the world does change quickly, especially in this neighborhood.

But Mr. Piltdown, he looks up and he sees what used to be here.

The Piltdown and Sons are still here, still making watches.

Well, at the 5 .04 p .m. they are.

But the clock moves on, baby.

And this Christmas Eve, the times are going to change for all of these people.

Oh, Gloria.

Bells have rung.

Many bells.

And they were lovely.

And two chimes also. But Gloria, on Christmas Eve, enough figures. Figures

wait. In a minute we will have food and music, Christmas, annual party and all.

You celebrate with us.

Oh, thank you. And I really am almost done.

I just, it's crucial to see exactly where your balance stands.

Ah, yes.

How does Piltdown and Sons balance?

A worthy question.

Piltdown. Now, if I'm not mistaken, quite a distinguished lineage.

I consider myself the original Piltdown man, still upright and walking the

earth. And for many more Christmases, I'm sure.

When your last number is rung up, it is time for wassail. Do you wassail?

Occasionally.

Very good. See, we have our little habits here, old habits.

Yes, like this calculator.

You know, it would go a lot faster with a computer.

That's what I've been told. But no matter what the machine, the figures

come out the same, don't they?

Yeah.

I'm afraid so.

Oh, they're here, they're here. Pudding music, ahoy!

Hello.

Let's set up over here and nobody gets burned by the pudding. Don't you worry

about my plum pudding. It hasn't killed anybody yet.

Let me give you a hand.

Oh, thank you.

Heightings of the...

Greetings and merry and all that. I'm Mr. Piltdown, Mr. P. Merry Christmas,

Piltdown. I'm Monica. We spoke on the phone.

Very distinctive voice.

Yes. Of course, and there's the harp.

Irish harp. Irish, quite, yes.

And I'm Tess with the pudding.

And the song.

Food and music of Morty and Nate.

Christmas in Rio, we had family, food and music. It was enough.

One last watch.

Final touches, final touches, my friends, to the year's final pocket

then the Christmas party.

Now, where are we? Oh, yes, yes.

Yes, a restoration job for Mrs.

Drake, eh?

Yes, yes, the fourth pivot wheeler was worn, so I debushed it, drilled a new

hole, and I deburred it. Then I chamfered both of them. And the steel

staled. All done.

I changed the hands, called the messenger.

Very good, very good. She wanted it engraved, didn't she, Agnes? Yes, golden

hours for her husband.

Oh, golden hours.

Set to... 5 .12.

Then to it!

Let's to it!

That's the setting chair.

Mr. P and his father and his father's father sat in that chair to set clocks.

5 .12.

All done.

Ah, here you are. Here you are.

Just in time for delivery to Platoon Street. Just in time to place under the

Christmas tree.

Here you are, sir, and a Merry Christmas to you.

Thank you.

Ah, yes.

All right.

Here's to the season. May it fill our hearts with joy, and God bless us.

Each and every one. Each and every one.

No! No for Christmas! Just in time!

Snow for the gift exchange!

Hop to!

Hop to!

It always smelled in Derry.

In my mind, anyway.

I was young when we left.

Do you remember those Irish Christmases?

I remember the family gathering.

Wherever you were, you always came home for Christmas.

Home for Christmas.

However far flung, we all went to home at Christmas.

The wind howled through the keyhole in our door in Derry.

Blue snowflakes three feet into the hallway.

Yet I've never felt quite so warm as I did on those nights.

I always put a candle in the window.

For Joseph and Mary, my mother. Yes.

If they were to wander these streets tonight, here's a light to guide them to

safe place.

I only wish it were.

Nothing feels so safe anymore.

I take the M104 bus every day.

I used to get here at 8 .30.

Now I get here at 10.

You never know, but some fool might copy the time the first plane hit.

There's a candle lit for you too, Christopher.

It lights every window that you walk by.

I don't see it.

I haven't seen it in over a year.

The annual mystery revealed.

Who did Agnes draw?

Every year, Agnes arranges the offer gift exchange.

And each year, we mysteriously draw the same name.

Well, look at us. The mathematical possibilities are limited.

So, whose name did you draw this year, Agnes?

How odd.

She drew Oscar. What could it be?

I don't know.

What could it possibly be?

Let's see.

Oh.

What a surprise.

She makes him a tie every year. He never wears ties.

Absolutely glamorous.

I'll tie it for you. Oh, like you do every year.

You, um... You loop it around like this. I've only worn a tie

once for the wedding of a Chinese pirate.

Oh, really? The one in Singapore?

Rangoon. I was on a tramp steamer with a load of silk for the Sultan of Brunei.

And then you draw it around again.

We're in the Java Sea, straight by AK -47. There he was, the Chinese gangster

a mosquito bullet.

All the things you've seen, Oscar.

And then you take it over like this, and you tighten it. Oh, after they looted

our ship, the Chinese captain invited us to his wedding.

Isn't that a little tight? Oh, sorry.

Where does a pirate get married? Borneo. Black tie nuptials. So I went. Why not?

Why not?

Is that better? Better. There he was with his bride, all in silk, fit for a

king.

There. You look fit for a king, Oscar.

You're sweet, Agnes.

Oh, Oscar, you're so dashing.

We have a world traveler in our midst.

I've crossed the equator twice.

Sailed a babbling gal in the Gulf of Guinea, and I have found a home in this

little shop. Yeah.

A home.

Yeah.

Maybe someday I'll get used to wearing a tie.

It's much too beautiful to wear.

I guess I'll...

I'll keep it in the closet with the others.

Does it have enough rum? Oh, yes, enough to make it delicious.

It could always be more delicious.

No, that's enough.

Are you an expert on plum pudding?

It runs in my family.

We have the touch, they say.

Oh, you have family here.

Long gone. No.

This is my family.

And a good one it is.

Oh, like thine. How old acquaintances.

Never forgot.

Somehow I think you're an old acquaintance, Monica.

We're kindred spirits.

They both work with their hands.

Days of auld lang syne, my grandfather told me Christmas Eve started with the

lamplighters. They walked down the street lighting lamp after lamp, like

lighting the candles on a Christmas tree.

How lovely.

And with the last lamp on his street, the party began.

Ah.

So he was the one who taught you how to throw such a splendid Christmas party?

I tried.

I try, if I can keep this company, one little corner of civilized life in a

world gone mad.

Ah, all done at last. Are the figures to bed, then?

Yes. Good, well, then you join us. You join us. You have some eggnog, you have

some wassail. You said... Mr. Peltdown, actually, I have some news. Could we

talk the day after Christmas?

Let's talk now.

I don't want to spoil your party. Can't stop the second hand.

I always say I tell.

Just tell. No, I really don't think... Yes, I insist.

Then you may want sale.

Well, I've gone over your books thoroughly.

Well, good.

I mean, it was far too long.

You see...

Piltdown and Sons is bankrupt.

Bankrupt.

Would you like to see the figures?

The last 18 months.

Hard times, hard times.

Yes, it's been a struggle for a lot of the small downtown businesses.

Yes, I've seen a lot go under, but Piltdown and Sons... I'd like

to see those figures.

Would you mind coming too, Monica?

I don't know anything about numbers.

But you understand how lovely the lamplighters were at Christmas.

And I... I need a kindred spirit.

There's the interest on the loan, though. You still have payments

for jewels and mainspring and the back taxes.

I'm sorry.

Do I have enough for final payroll?

If you liquidate everything.

Oh, green cheese.

How can I tell them?

On Christmas Eve, I can't do it. I'll wait.

You know, Mr. P, when you know that something's drawing to an end, it can

it sweeter.

We can savor it all the more.

If this is to be their last Christmas together, you wouldn't want to cheat

out of relishing it, would you?

Time for the angel.

Here's our crown.

Oh, Tess, will you do the honors?

Oh, I'm...

Happy to put the angel on the top.

A lot of time on this tree.

Time goes, you say.

Ah, no.

A lot of time stays.

We go.

Excuse me.

Merry Christmas, Mr.

P. Beautiful tree, yes?

Yes, yes, lovely.

I hope you like it.

Thank you, but, um... What is it, Mr. P.?

Ah, it's a day for comfort and joy, not... Well,

it seems, uh... Piltdown and Sons is

bankrupt.

Oh, no.

Saints preserve us.

I put off accounting for far too long.

It's all my fault, I suppose.

It was nothing that Mr. Piltdown did.

This whole area took a mighty blow.

A lot of shops have closed already.

And he kept things going, even while debt piled up. But the government needs

taxes, and the vendors' bills are overdue, and there's just no income.

No choice in the matter, having any.

So, I shuttered the doors tonight.

For good.

I'm afraid this will be our last Christmas party

We're out

of business

There was really nothing he could do.

He did his best.

I'm sure of it.

What will happen to these poor people now?

Time will tell, baby.

I thought that they should know, but now they may have had their Christmas

stolen from them.

There's time yet to celebrate and reason, too.

Now, I'm just a visitor here.

But I can see that this little shop held a lot of love for a lot of people. So

let's salute it while we can.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Piltdown.

Here, here.

Here, here.

Cheers.

Great. It's a party after all.

Would you like some more?

Sure.

What are you drinking tonight?

That's another first.

If there ever was a night.

Yes.

A night of nights.

You know, I never thought I'd see it.

No, I never thought it could ever happen.

So, what are you going to do? Get back up on the high seas?

Maybe.

I've landed on my feet before.

Yeah, you're good at that. Me?

No, no. New York is full of Jews.

Somebody must need an engraver, no?

I guess.

So you really think about leaving New York and go off alone?

It's been a long time since I saw Rio.

Is it beautiful?

Oh, yes.

I've never been south of Baltimore.

Oh, you poor child. No, no, no. You have to see Rio before you die.

Dancing a carnaval.

Oh, I don't dance to Lafitte.

Not just one samba.

Maybe one with the right man.

Agnes, you will find that man.

Or he will be lucky enough to find you.

Luck has never been my friend.

All things change.

Not for me.

You know, Agnes, you're always sticking inside, but...

The hands on the face, they never change.

You, you are Agnes the Untranslatable.

This is my life, Oscar.

I wake up at 6 a .m. and I turn on the TV because then there's another voice

inside the apartment besides my own.

I feed a fish, one flake, that's all I need.

It's a lucky fish, one flake, and he's happy.

Then I take the number one train downtown.

I get off on Chambers, and I buy a regular coffee and a bagel on the

then I come here, and my life begins.

And at five o 'clock, when the doors close, it ends.

And I have to leave.

I don't know what to say.

Do you want to know what I'd like you to say?

What would you like me to say?

I'd like you to say, Agnes, your eyes are deep and lovely.

And I get weak in the knees every day you walk through the door.

And I feel giddy when you smile at me.

And each night when you leave, a light goes out in my heart.

That's what I'd like you to say.

Nobody's eating the plum pudding.

Appetite went away somehow.

No business sense.

That was a problem.

Even a good businessman can fail.

We needed a catalogue. A catalogue of fine timepieces.

Let him buy through the internet.

He never had any business sense.

Did you ever tell Mr. P about your idea?

Oh, yes.

And he did.

Very nice, very entrepreneurial.

That's the word, isn't it? It's very... Oh!

And then he never did anything.

Or rather, he kept doing the same old things.

But I thought you liked doing the same old things, the old way of doing things.

You like it right up to the grave.

When it comes to it, he lets us all down.

Look at me.

Who's going to hire an old guy like me?

Christopher Murphy, there's a whole city out there full of jobs.

Whole city.

Who knows what's out there?

Hometown and sons.

I'm the last son.

I failed to marry, failed to have my own son, and now I've failed the business.

You were not the failure. There were things beyond your control.

You provided a livelihood, a service, and a home for many years. That's not

failure. I grew up here.

It's all I know, and now I've let everybody down, Monica.

A bad mainspring means a bad watch.

If you've come to buy a watch, I'm afraid we're closed.

No, sir. I'm not here to buy anything, and I'm sorry to disturb your Christmas

Eve. My name is Andrew.

I work for the city of New York, and we found something that we hoped maybe you

could help us with.

We're hoping the tilt down in the suns can help us drag down the owner.

It's from ground zero.

It's beautiful, circled within circles of time.

It's one of ours, all right.

Engraving on the back, so I'll scratch it up, but that's our teardrop case.

Model 3055.

So is there any way to identify the buyer? I always put a serial number on

perimeter of the movement.

I'll get the ledger.

Careful, careful.

Has to be preserved. Quite right, quite right. Careful as a relic.

Time stopped for this watch.

8 .46.

The exact time the first plane hit.

Which made us think that maybe the owner dropped it and was shocked and he left

the watch behind and somehow managed to escape.

So possibly he's still alive.

That's what we're trying to find out.

Wouldn't that be marvelous now?

Here we go.

It's 9 .47.

309, I think that's an O.

9473090, teardrop model 3055, sold to Joshua Wren seven years ago.

Engraved on back, Joshua's joy.

Joshua Wren.

I remember Joshua Wren. The young man with the new job. At the brokerage

Yes, he got the watch to celebrate.

A good job man, he'd have enough money to marry.

There's a phone number.

Oh, I'll call.

Wouldn't it be something?

We'd live in hope.

His address was downtown Liberty Plaza.

Maybe... Maybe.

A little late to be calling on Christmas Eve.

Well, it's only 627 by my watch.

And 629 by 83 others.

Say, that's one of ours.

Yeah, I bought it here some years ago, so I knew right where to come when they

handed me the broken one.

Yes, yes. I'm sorry to bother you on Christmas Eve. You see, I'm calling from

Piltdown and Sons Watchmakers.

Well, a watch has been found.

We sold it to Joshua Wren.

That's right.

It was recovered.

We would like to return it to you.

Oh.

I'm so terribly sorry, Mrs. Wren.

Oh, dear.

What a call for Christmas Eve.

What?

Why, yes, of course, we'll have it delivered.

Are you sure?

Are you positive?

We're at 48 St.

Anne Street.

Yes, of course, we'll wait.

His widow is coming to get the watch, insisted on coming right down.

Say it's Preserve.

So he did ask her.

She said yes.

Oh, it's beautiful.

Did I tell you what that's from?

Well, it's to celebrate your new job, right?

He who binds to himself a joy.

doth the winged life destroy.

But he who kisses the joy as it flies lives in eternity's sunrise.

Blake. I didn't know brokers read Blake.

Oh, some of us do.

This watch doesn't celebrate my job.

It means that I have enough money to get married. Or at least I hope she'll say

yes.

Oh, you're in love.

Oh, yeah.

It's a wonderful thing.

I've always imagined it would be wonderful.

I've never, um... Well, you know, I never thought it would happen to me

You know, I mean, look at me. Am I Prince Charming?

Well, to one woman, maybe I am.

But just you wait.

You're a sleeping beauty to someone out there.

Mark my words.

Live in hope.

I

suggest

a watch chain.

Adds a bit of security, you know?

Give the pickpocket another lock to get through.

Now, if I put two locks on everything I carry, I'd be wearing my own ball and

chain. Thanks, but I'd rather walk out there unafraid.

Right.

Well, good luck to you, Joshua.

No, I don't need any more luck. Life is already wonderful. Ah, yes, but wait

until you're married.

Well, what else is life for except to love and have children?

He just means it's a big change coming, Mr. Wren.

Every cell in our body changes all the time.

Everything changes every day whether we like it or not.

Might as well enjoy the ride.

Thanks.

Hello. Hi.

Welcome.

Hello, Mrs. Wren. I'm Monica.

I'm Joy.

Your name is Joy.

Joy Wren. Oh, I'm Agnes. I engraved your husband's watch.

And this man, Andrew, is the man who brought the watch to us.

I work for the city and we're trying really hard to identify and return

items. Yes.

We had breakfast together that morning before Joshua went to work.

I wheeled Daniel down in his stroller to a Greek diner.

Daniel spilled a glass of milk and I got mad.

Joshua said, he won't be spilling milk forever.

Enjoy it while he does.

I remember after breakfast, doing an errand downtown, wheeling

Daniel along when...

I tried to get home, but they were telling everyone to go north.

I didn't get home for five hours.

When I took Daniel out of the stroller, I saw it was covered in white dust.

I couldn't bring myself to wash it.

It sat like a sculpture in the hallway for the longest time.

Like, like snow had fallen that would never melt.

How is your little boy?

My mother came over tonight.

Daniel loves her.

He loves me.

There was no one like his daddy.

He used to crawl into Josh's lap every night and...

Josh would read to him and then sing to him and then Daniel would, he'd fall

asleep with his ear against this watch.

It had a funny tick -tock.

He used to say the tick

-tock.

He used to say the tick -tock was his daddy's heart.

fix it.

Can you get it running again?

Mrs. Ren, the works are badly crushed.

It'd be near impossible.

I'm so sorry.

Well, don't you think you could try?

It would mean the world to that little boy to wake up Christmas morning and

his father's watch go tick -tock.

It would be like hearing his heartbeat once more.

Let's get to work.

A candle in the window at the prometh in the night.

I remember the rows and rows of candles in Union Square.

I walked by, but I never lit one.

I wasn't ready to give up hope.

Nor are these good people.

I should get home to Daniel.

We haven't hung the stocking yet.

Do you want some company for the walk?

Thank you.

That'd be nice.

And thank you all. Merry Christmas.

My friends, in this room reside decades

of craft and devotion and ability. Now, we have before us a task of great

difficulty.

To some, it may seem like a small thing, but for one woman and her child, the

sound of a clock ticking means all the world.

This is the last watch we'll ever work on together. Let's make this Piltdown

Sons' finest hour.

There.

All that's left is besetting.

There's no other group of people in the world could have done this.

You know that, don't you?

You're the best a man could have wished for.

How many years?

Well, final touches.

Final touches.

Set it at?

846.

846?

When I set this, it's all over, isn't it?

We're through here.

We go out that door.

Out into the wide world.

I'm scared, Mr. P. I don't want to be alone.

Oh, why did it ever come to this?

God help me.

What did it become of us?

Wonderful things.

God has wonderful things in store for all of you. No, Monica, I think our best

days are behind us.

There's a world out there that God has created, a beautiful world.

Look at the morning sun, the beam of light through the window, even the

mote of dust floating in its ray. Look at the blanket of snow covering this

great city.

Deep and crisp and even.

Look at all the beauties of this world that man has created out of God's gifts.

Yes.

Awful things can happen.

Have happened.

But the world is still God's jeweled clock.

Tick him with joy.

But for us, I think our time is up.

Who knows how much time anyone has.

It's not for you.

To know.

It's for God to know.

And God holds time in his hand, just as he holds Joshua Ren.

Yes.

Think of Joshua.

He came into your lives for perhaps an hour, but he touched you all.

Agnes, because of what Joshua said to you, you haven't given up the hope for

love.

Oscar, he reminded you of life.

deepest meaning that it comes with a family.

Christopher Murphy, he said to you, fear not.

And Mr. P, he lets you know that change is inevitable.

Change is continuous.

Time stops for no man.

So set the clock for 8 .46.

And let open the doors to life.

Merry Christmas.

Thank you.

It was our pleasure.

Gave us much happiness.

Merry Christmas, Daniel.

Come on.

I think we'll be going, too. Wait a minute, we'll walk out with you.

Merry Christmas, Phil Dunham, sons.

It's a beautiful day out there.

God bless you all.

Each and every one.

Saints preserve it.

We sold that watch to Andrew 200 years ago.

Green cheese?

Could it be possible he was?

They were all?

Well, why not?

It's Christmas, isn't it?

There are miracles out there on the streets of New York. Let's go find them.

Another year, another Christmas.

We just came by to say, God loves you all, each and every one.