Original subtitles

Erika!

Bring the pigs into the barn!

Erika, the pigs!

Bring the pigs into the barn!

The coast is clear.

Berta?

You rascals!

Just you wait!

Hurry up, everyone's arrived.

For me?

Mother picked it out for you.

For All Souls' Day.

Come on, get dressed.

What should I do?

Watch what the others do.

Holy eternal God

Today, we remember the people

You have called from our midst

And also remember

That we, too, must die one day

Mother is gagging again. Her stomach does whatever it wants.

Everyone hears it in the silence,

but pretends not to notice.

Blinking once means: I love you.

Blinking twice means: I love you very much.

We keep a tally of who gets the most blinks from Mother.

Hedda is usually ahead.

But only because she's our cripple.

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those who trespass against us

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil, for Thine...

And?

Do you think next year your picture will be on the dresser?

I'm not afraid.

- You don't need to fear death. - No.

I'm not.

But I'm not getting in a box, I tell you.

Nobody knows

if you notice anything they do to you.

Nobody can say

if you don't notice anymore. What they do to you.

I've seen them all die.

I've survived them all.

Your mother, too.

- Yes, my Fanni. - I know, I know.

Bye.

Put a potato sack over Trudi's head

and do it for your country.

Looks like Mother.

It is Mother.

Who's the girl?

Alma.

That's not true.

It is.

It's Alma.

But I'm Alma.

She looks like you.

Maybe her spirit passed into you.

Perhaps you're not yourself, but her.

I think she's just asleep. She doesn't look like she's dead.

Maybe they thought she was dead and buried her alive.

She stole the sugar beet from the cellar

and is calmly eating it in her coffin.

How old was she when she died?

Seven.

Why did she die so early?

I don't know.

She was ailing.

At some point,

she just didn't wake up anymore.

Lia?

What did you mean by she just didn't wake up?

Sleep, Alma.

What happens when you're dead?

Nothing.

It was a dream.

Mama?

Yes?

- Know what I think is funny? - What?

When I see a door handle,

I know exactly what it tastes like,

though I've never licked one.

Isn't that funny?

Probably because you always put everything in your mouth as a baby.

Cigarettes from the ground, dog poop...

- That's not true! - Yes, it is.

But how did I reach the door handle as a baby?

Time to sleep.

Have you ordered the dumpsters yet?

Shit.

I forgot to call back.

Order two small ones instead of a large one this time.

And tell them to put them directly under the windows,

so I can dump the rubble out with Lenka.

Who was that?

This girl,

a few houses away.

The daughter of the...

one...

whose mother died.

Warm.

Nelly, move, it's heavy.

Wait, like this.

Gotcha!

Now cover your right eye.

- Like this? - Exactly.

And look at the X with your left eye.

Exactly, now move slowly toward it.

When the O disappears, you've found your blind spot.

- Crazy, right? - Yeah, it was gone, unbelievable.

- Simply gone? - That's literally your blind spot.

- The optician said so. - You wanna try?

- That's quite something. - How? On the left?

Keep that eye closed, and then... Wait.

- Like this? - Show me the glasses you chose.

For me, it doesn't disappear.

Because you're doing it wrong. I'll explain it to you later.

They're chic.

It's quite something when you consider

that the world is actually upside down.

The optician said so.

The brain mirrors everything

before it reaches our noggin.

But is it like that for everyone?

Everyone except you.

Come on.

Give it to me.

- What are you doing? - Go ahead.

Don't make such a face. There are worse things.

Did you thank Uncle Uwe for the ride into town?

No need to, I was happy to do it.

What, sit down.

What now?

Did you get the glasses? Let me see.

They look chic.

Did you make sugar cake?

- Give me a slice, please. - No, come in.

Angelika...

Say, Uwe,

I can't wrap my head around the hydraulics.

What's wrong this time?

- Can you look at it? - Sure.

You're getting crumbs all over.

Hold the stroke down to your hips.

Rainer, let's go!

You'll rest in a minute.

Two more weeks.

I'll manage it.

You have to manage it.

The others don't sleep, either.

With a bit more tension, I'll be fine.

Then get it from somewhere.

Practice the motions every day.

You have time now to go in once a day.

Excellent.

But you're still using too much energy.

Nice long strokes, and follow through.

You can't keep up that pace for the full distance.

You guys need to keep the movements in mind.

Go through the movements every night before you go to bed.

I often pretended I didn't notice how they looked at me.

As if I were immersed in thought.

But it was actually me

who was secretly watching them looking at me.

Mama, look. I can even do it with one arm. Look!

Mama, you weren't even looking.

I did, sweetie, it was great!

That's not true, you weren't looking.

How would you know? You were underwater.

Come on, show me again.

Great!

Look!

And one and two and three and four

A hat, a stick, an umbrella

And forwards, backwards, to the side, and one and two...

Nelly?

Nelly!

I love it when the skin smells musty like a river.

And the smell of cellars.

I love the smell of cellars. I'm addicted to it.

- And nail polish. - Yeah, but not as much as cellars.

First, the smell of cellars.

Papa's coming.

Then river smell on my skin and then nail polish.

Damn, it's so nice here.

Isn't it nice here, children?

Yes!

Now I can do an underwater handstand with one arm.

Yeah, really cool.

And I found black sand.

Muddy sand!

Are you hungry?

We have bread, cheese, sausage and wine here.

I saw a grasshopper.

Yeah, a big green grasshopper.

What are you doing?

Always up to some nonsense.

Too bad you never know when you're at your happiest.

Eight, nine, ten.

One, two, three...

That one counts three times.

At least.

Seven, eight, nine, ten.

Eleven.

I won.

Warm.

Does it hurt?

Nonsense.

First one to the oak tree.

Tie a knot.

Uwe, Uwe...

I'll show you how it's done!

That doesn't count!

This isn't my bike! I'll do it again!

Now I can do it.

Now it counts.

I got it!

Yes!

Into the tub!

Volker, Volker...

You can't do it!

Now it's Irm's turn!

Irm, Irm...

You can do it.

Come on!

- I'm unlucky at such things. - It's got nothing to do with luck.

Come on, someone else do it.

- Try it again. - I'll do it.

My turn!

Angelika, Angelika...

Now?

Now?

Now!

Now.

You've got a boner.

No, I don't.

- Get up. - Let's see.

Better not.

Stand up.

- Disgusting. - Get naked!

Get up.

Pull down your pants. Angelika, pull down his pants.

Not much to see, it's so small.

Come on, Rainer, get up.

Get up, get up...

Pull down your pants! Take them off!

Take it easy.

Just here.

Will you drive me to Gl?wisch today?

Gl?wisch?

What are you doing in Gl?wisch?

Disco?

Maybe.

Where were you earlier?

Drinking schnapps with the others.

Will you drive me to Gl?wisch now?

Sorry.

I have other plans.

How will you get to Gl?wisch now?

Come on, go home!

Today was good. Everything worked out.

Everyone had fun.

There was enough food.

Haven't laughed that much in a long time.

We have leftover pasta salad.

The children were funny, too.

I've never seen Anna laugh so much.

She usually just complains.

Good thing I baked another cake.

Or it might've been too little.

I remember how Mama never knew when to laugh.

Whenever something was funny, she never laughed.

She laughed when there was nothing to laugh at,

when something bad happened.

When someone died, she suddenly grinned.

She didn't want to, her body did it all by itself.

And the more she tried not to grin, the more she grinned.

Until she had a real laughing fit.

She covered her mouth with her hand so no one could see and turned red.

It's funny that you turn red when you're ashamed.

In your face, so everyone can see it.

We played a prank on Mom for her birthday.

It was Dad's idea. He always wanted to make Mom laugh.

It never worked.

Long may she live

Three cheers for her

Long may she live

Three cheers for her

Hip, hip, hooray!

All the best, Mom!

Let her grow old

Three cheers for her

I'm glad you got to know each other.

Lenka doesn't know anyone here yet.

Nobody lives here.

How's your papa?

Good. Hanging in there.

Can I sleep here?

Well...

Well, if you guys want her to.

Today?

We'll have to ask your papa first.

Nice cell phone.

Purple.

It was my mother's.

I inherited it.

Yeah, it's me.

The mother of my new friend wants to ask you something.

Yeah, this is Christa from house 10.

Yes, from Berlin.

So, your daughter is here right now...

Good night.

- Good night. - Sleep well.

Sleep well.

If anything's wrong, come wake us up. No matter what it is.

Could you maybe sing me a lullaby?

Did your mama sing to you at night?

I have to warn you,

I'm not such a good singer.

Doesn't matter.

Good evening, good night

Covered with roses

Adorned with cloves

Slip under the covers

Tomorrow morning, if God wills

You'll wake once again

Tomorrow morning, if God wills

You'll wake once again

Alma, let it go.

Alma, don't!

Work accident.

Work accident.

Work accident.

If you say a word too many times,

it loses its meaning.

Fritz had a work accident.

Work accident.

Are they gonna take off his other leg as well?

They're phantom pains.

The doctor said this could happen.

Now it stopped.

No.

He's silent because they put a stick between his teeth.

If you listen closely,

you can still hear his whining.

Hear it?

Funny how something can hurt that's no longer there.

Warm.

What's wrong?

Nothing.

Go back to sleep.

Were you at Uncle Fritz's again?

Mom knows things she shouldn't even remember,

because she wasn't even there when they happened.

She remembers, for example,

that her sister Erika always stole Uncle Fritz's crutches

to see if she could walk with just one leg.

But if you ask her where she was when all these things happened,

she doesn't remember.

Maybe because you only ever see others from the outside

but never yourself.

Weirdo.

Did you go to Gl?wisch?

How did you get back?

Hitchhiking.

And who drove you?

Your father.

Was he at the disco, too?

No.

But?

He drove by while I was leaving.

Rainer!

You're my cousin.

But my father being your uncle doesn't bother you?

What?

Everyone knows you let him bang you.

We always say, your actions are what count.

A person is what they do.

I don't believe that.

I think you are where you actually are,

while doing something.

When I was with a friend,

it didn't take long

for everyone to say I spoke just like them.

I even had to adopt things I didn't like:

the high-pitched laugh, the kind of emphasis...

I didn't set out to do it. My body somehow did it on its own.

Dad sometimes said that it was enough.

I should be myself again.

But being myself again?

My body couldn't manage that on its own.

Then I became dizzy

because I was trying to remember how I speak.

So I said my name in succession

until it seemed foreign to me.

Then I imagined seeing myself through Dad's eyes

and played the person

he must envision when he says I should be myself again.

How long can you act happy without anyone noticing?

Work accident.

It's been like this for days.

Suddenly, Mother could no longer walk.

The doctor couldn't explain it, either.

Said she was perfectly healthy and shouldn't make a fuss.

Mother did her best, but it was no use.

Her legs no longer obeyed her.

The doctor prescribed bed rest.

In the evenings, we prayed to God

that Mother would soon be able to walk again.

Alma, where are you?

Come out, you've won!

Alma, are you around here?

Right here! I'm right here!

Alma, that's not funny. Come out.

Here, I'm in the tree, Lia! Look up!

She's vanished.

Here I am! Here!

Can you see her?

No. Looks like she's gone.

Here I am, Lia!

I'm here!

Help!

Lia! Gerti!

Here I am! Here!

Here in the tree!

I'm here!

Lia!

Alma?

How you can tell if you're alive or dead?

I got such a high temperature, they wanted to call the doctor.

He wouldn't have known anything anyway.

Trudi put her hand on my forehead,

like she does to calm the cows when they have a calf.

She spent the whole night by my side.

Mother initially resisted

when everyone said Trudi should put a hand on her, too.

But in the end, she let it happen.

I'm sure that's why she was able to walk again soon.

The thing with Fritz was more complicated.

Trudi couldn't just conjure up his leg again.

Hedda was sure

that the dogs had long since eaten it.

But she was able to ease the phantom pain.

She put her hand on Fritz's center.

He calmed down and moaned much more quietly.

With fat Berta, it was easy for the men.

She couldn't have children by nature.

Trudi wasn't so lucky.

She first had to be 'made safe for the men.'

As a maid, you had to be quick

and hard-working and not miss work because you had a bun in the oven.

I don't know exactly

how they made Trudi become like fat Berta for good.

But right after Trudi arrived here,

she had to go away for a few days.

It must've been then.

When she came back,

the male servants lined up at her door at night.

I don't know if they put a potato sack over her.

She wasn't any prettier than before, thought Gerti.

She looked as if she'd been plopped down on earth

and didn't know what to do with herself.

Trudi once said Fritz's life was entirely in vain.

I think Trudi also lived in vain.

Maybe that's why she looked after him:

so that it wasn't so lonely, living in vain.

And?

I don't know.

Let me try.

And? Is the fly still inside?

I hear something.

The last one will be dragged into the realm of the dead!

The last one will be dragged into the realm of the dead!

Alma had been waiting all summer to drop dead or not wake up.

But somehow God must've forgotten her.

Instead, he took me.

I might still be alive if Alma had been the last one through.

Alma still wasn't dead by summer's end.

But our great-grandmother.

And then suddenly, me too.

Don't cry.

It wasn't for real.

Alma thought great-grandmother was the only person who wouldn't die.

As if dying wouldn't suit her,

because she was so afraid of it.

Then her time had come.

She simply toppled over one night

on her way to the outhouse.

She must've had urgent business to attend to.

Hedda laughed and said she must've been scared shitless

when she realized the end was near.

She had already pulled up her robe

so it would go quicker when she got there.

But she never arrived.

Father said it was the only time

he had ever seen his grandmother's bare bottom.

And just like that, it was the same with her

as with the other people who died.

The window was opened to let the soul out.

The clocks were stopped.

Stones against the evil eye.

HERE I LIE AND MUST DECAY

So that no flies crawl in.

So the good Lord believes she was a believer.

Twice a day, the village's woman of the dead came

to wash the body.

But because our woman of the dead

had passed away two weeks earlier in childbirth,

Trudi had to take over.

Vinegar rags and nettles are placed on the face of the dead.

I remember that at the end of the wake,

her hands were full of welts.

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory...

We pray

that she won't have to meet her mother again.

Whenever I try to imagine her face,

it's all a blur.

As if I hadn't been able to memorize it,

though I saw her so often.

But I still remember exactly what her hands looked like.

And the expression when she was dead.

Maybe because she never looked like that in her life.

She looked somehow astonished.

Trudi said she looked like that because she realized she was dying.

But to me, it looked like

she was seeing something she had never expected.

Hedda thinks she may be reborn in Africa.

Father said, then as a fly.

At least he never killed another one.

Warm.

Mom never talked about how her sister Erika died.

I knew it anyway.

Mom's uncle once told me.

I got to meet him once.

He visited us on the farm:

Uncle Fritz with his wooden leg.

Told me to knock on it. Brings good luck, he said.

ATTENTION: INTRA-GERMAN BORDER

Erika went into the river,

like many women when the war was over.

They had heard what happened to women in the other villages.

They feared what might come more than they feared death.

Mom gave Erika a pinky promise.

But when she was underwater,

the eels swam up and nipped at her.

She wasn't the only one to come back out of the river.

She was still ashamed of not having gone all the way.

Sometimes I think Mom is still underwater with Erika.

Lia!

I remember Nelly wanting to come with us.

I didn't allow it because I didn't want her there.

I remember thinking that my life was in vain,

because I hadn't taken strawberry like Kaya,

but rather vanilla.

I believe it was that summer

I began to think: if I were someone else,

I'd be happier.

I was even jealous of the misfortune of others.

Even that Kaya's mother had died.

I wished something like that would happen to me

so I could become like her.

Today I think:

If only I hadn't thought at that moment that my life was over

just because I took vanilla and not strawberry.

How did your mother actually die?

Lung cancer.

Why do you smoke, then?

Everyone dies of something.

You, too.

Were you there

when your mother died?

Come on, let's go swimming.

Come on!

Maybe we'll drown!

Kaya?

If I want to lift my leg, I can do it.

And if I want to lift my arm, I can lift it.

But when I command my heart to stand still,

then it doesn't.

It just keeps on beating.

Maybe I'm not deciding hard enough

just in case it does obey.

Would it stop beating now,

if I really, really wanted it?

Now.

Now.

Now.

Now.

When in reality you see everything upside down,

maybe in reality everything is the other way around.

Actually, you can then simply decide

that what's bad is really good.

After the solstice, Lia starts working as a maid on my farm.

Good.

Then it's a done deal.

You take care of the women's business.

I knew it:

You're a chicken.

- Come here! - Angelika, come here! Rainer!

There! Stand still, stand still!

That's good.

Yes, that's good. Closer.

Angelika, to the right.

- Let's get together. - Rainer, suck in your gut.

Now I'm curious about the miracle machine.

- The miracle machine. - Unbelievable.

What does the little birdie say?

- And now you can see the photo? - Madness. Now just shake it?

- Shake, shake. - Wait a minute.

Now I'm curious.

There's nothing to see yet.

If anyone said that's possible, we would've called them crazy.

But I look fat on it.

But Angelika looks like a ghost.

She's gone again.

- But I'm not that fat. Look. - Of course you are.

So, the camera is...

We looked for her for weeks,

but she was simply gone.

At some point, they said she had swum across to West Germany.

Not a word was spoken about her at home.

I never saw her again.

Sometimes I think she was just in my head,

and never really existed.

Angelika.

I remember taking off my soaking wet T-shirt,

because it was sticking to my body so much.

Only later did I realize

I was the only one running around topless and in panties.

I remember the smell of wet grass.

And this look

from my parents' friend.

I can't even remember his name.

I know he realized I'd seen the look in his eyes.

I can still feel myself blushing

and would've loved to cross my arms in front of me.

But that would've been too obvious.

When I pretended not to notice his gaze, it was

as if I was sharing a secret with him

that I didn't want to share.

Lia!

It rained a lot that summer.

We lost an entire harvest.

The neighboring farmer

reimbursed us for half of the lost grain.

In return, he asked Lia to be his maid.

After the solstice, she left us and went to him.

Before that, she had to see Elli, just like Trudi back then.

She couldn't start working for him for three weeks

because she almost bled to death.

Later, they asked me what had happened to Lia in the field.

I said: a work accident.

50, 49...

When I try to remember that one summer,

I always wonder what Nelly saw last.

And whether I should've noticed anything.

I think Nelly was playing "War" with the other children.

They sat by the fire,

pretending to eat rats and frogs' legs.

But I only remember this girl

that I met at the river.

I think her name was Kaya.

We listened to one song all summer,

her mother's favorite.

Want a popsicle?

Strawberry or vanilla?

Strawberry.

Here you go.

- And you? Vanilla, as always? - I'll take strawberry.

Strawberry.

Thanks.

I want strawberry, too.

Oh, man, sorry, sweetie. Only vanilla's left.

We can swap.

You're it!

Subtitle Copyright: Way Film GmbH Translation: Matthew Way