Original subtitles

Good morning. - Good morning.

Leonard?

Leonard?

I stopped by the post office. - Oh, okay.

A telegram just arrived for you. Nikolas asked me to drop it off.

Thank you for bringing it.

I...

Do you want water? - Thank you.

I love you.

You're starting to sound like a real Greek.

If you ignore the fact

that I have the vocabulary of a two-year-old

or a three-year-old.

Oh, it won't take you long.

You know, I just told him, "I, I love you,"

the man outside.

I love you.

I love you. - I love you.

You're better than me.

Yeah.

Never said that in Greek.

What?

Well, my grandma, um...

She died.

I'm sorry. Were you close?

She was,

she was just almost like a Victorian figure.

Um, she was Lithuanian,

and she had this big house in, um, in Montreal.

You'd just show up.

You know, she'd, she'd find some activity for you to do.

She's always, um, loomed large in my heart

because she took care of my, uh, my family

when my father passed away.

Do you miss him, your father, still?

I dunno, I've always felt maybe I had a cold heart,

because I never felt

that that was the great, operatic tragedy of my life.

I didn't, um, cry or anything.

But I went into his closet,

and I found this old bowtie he had,

that he used to wear,

ugly bowtie, and I cut inside of it,

and I wrote some words down,

probably some nonsensical poetry.

And I put it in there and, um, buried it in the garden,

some kind of processing of the impossible thing

that had happened to us.

I have to go and give George his medicine.

You know, I saw him coughing up blood the other day.

It's tuberculosis. It's, it's what happens.

It comes and it goes.

Just gonna tell him I'm getting you coffee.

You know, he knows you're here, darling.

Yes, of course.

It's, it's just a little game that we play.

Oh, don't be silly.

Don't be silly.

♪ Ah ♪ ♪ Ah ♪

♪ Ah ♪ ♪ Ah ♪

♪ Ah ♪ ♪ Ah ♪

♪ Ah ♪ ♪ Ah, ooh, ah ♪

♪ Ah ♪ ♪ Ah ♪

♪ Ah ♪

♪ Ah ♪ ♪ Ah ♪

♪ Ooh ♪

♪ Ooh ♪

The hospital in Athens is supposed to be very good.

I'm going to Athens tomorrow. I can ask around.

See if I can find a place.

Fortunately, there's no rush.

Why are you going to Athens now?

I'm...

I have to go to the bank

and get my last advance for A Girl I Knew.

And make a copy of the script before I start proofreading.

And...

will you be back tomorrow night?

Maybe. I don't know. Depends on how long it takes.

Yeah, of course.

Now what?

Hmm?

What is it? - Nothing.

Come on, I can tell there's something.

If you take the morning ferry, you know you can make it back.

Marianne, I'm going to the bank.

To take out money.

So we can stay here. Pay our bills.

Eat. Live.

So you can do whatever it is you do.

And I can finish my book.

How much more security can you expect?

Thank you for that.

Or maybe I'm not the one you should be living with.

What do you mean by that?

You wanted freedom. Here, this is freedom.

All I want...

All I want is not to be responsible

for this child alone.

That we are in this together.

That we are together.

Mm.

Is that so hard for you to say?

Is that it?

You can bring the rest.

Children show scars like medals.

Lovers use them as secrets to reveal.

It is easy to display a wound,

the proud scars of combat.

It is hard to show a pimple.

I thought I'd find you here.

Urgh.

You okay?

How do I look?

You know, George and I have one rule:

never let anything get too serious.

And I, I don't think

that you really like it when things get serious, either,

and I'm still too old for you.

No.

This has got nothing to do with the room.

Y-you're welcome to stay there.

In fact, we'd love you to stay there.

Uh, George regards you as a friend.

That's great. I think he's a really terrific guy.

He, he is.

I know that this is the beginning

of the end for George and I,

but we work so well together,

and neither of us can afford to lose that.

It's strange, you know.

Hearts grow old

from touching others.

You know, Leonard,

friends, family, relatives, lovers,

everybody, everybody goes eventually,

and the only one that you can really rely on

is, is yourself.

Leonard, everybody is running from something on this island,

but you, you're,

you're running from you.

I think I've grown a little weary of the analysis.

I understand.

Ah, that's my cue.

What just happened?

Argh.

Argh!

♪ I was always workin' steady ♪

♪ But I never called it art ♪

♪ I got my shit together ♪

♪ Meeting Christ and reading Marx ♪

♪ It failed my little fire ♪

♪ But it spread the dying spark ♪

A GIRL I KNEW BY AXEL JENSEN

♪ Go tell the young Messiah ♪

♪ What happens to the heart ♪

Come on in.

♪ There's a mist of summer kisses ♪

♪ Where I tried to double park ♪

♪ The rivalry was vicious ♪

♪ The women were in charge ♪

♪ It was nothing ♪

♪ It was business ♪

♪ But it left an ugly mark ♪

♪ I've come here to revisit ♪

♪ What happens to the heart ♪

Look, your grandmother is dead.

When you lose someone close to you,

you also lose a part of your compass.

It would be unnatural

if you didn't feel like a fuckin' mess.

It's not grief I'm dealing with. It's not that.

And it's not Charmian, you know? I'm not heart-broken.

I'm just, I'm just broken.

It's always been there with me, you know. It's like a...

I find it incomprehensible

getting from one room to the next.

I find the room tilts and I, uh...

I just fall,

and I keep on falling.

And I can't form an, a, a coherent thought,

and I have to smash something to, to feel anything.

It's really...

It's an anxiety attack.

It's not an anxiety attack.

Yes, it is,

and you got reminded of your own mortality.

No, I'm reminded of mortality every day.

Uh, I'm not scared of death.

I'm scared of, uh, uh, failure.

I'm afraid of wearing the wrong tie.

This is boring.

We should talk about something else, really.

Uh, two men speak about death

as if we're the first.

Much better writers than us have discussed death.

Yeah!

And you know what they arrived at?

It's coming, and there's nothing you can do to avoid it.

This is your first day on the island?

I'm actually staying in Athens.

I'm just here for the weekend.

Uh, what about you? Have you been here long?

It's hard to tell. Actually, it's...

Sometimes, I feel like I just got here-

Mm.

others, a lifetime.

You're a writer, or?

No, I'm painter.

"Painter." - Mm.

It had to be one of the two.

There's a whole lot of us here.

You wanna go for a swim?

"A swim"?

Yeah. - Now?

Yeah, it's the best time of day.

The sun has been warming the bay since this morning.

I mean, we can just order a bottle of wine to go

from Nick, and...

Yeah, keep the glass. We can leave it here later, so.

Y-y-you, you know everyone here?

Oh, it's hard not to.

So-

Uh, ow.

do you know where he is now?

No, I don't know.

Answer this question for me.

Funny.

What do you want?

I came here

because we were going to do this together, s-so uh,

yeah. - Yes, well, I, I, I mean,

I think that your view of "this" is quite different.

It's not that bad, it's just that I, um,

I don't have a plan B, so...

Let's go.

No!

Yeah.

You know, in classical literature,

the muse is always described

as young and, and beautiful,

and when she ages,

she just loses her currency

and eventually just fades away.

Hello.

♪ La ♪

♪ La, la ♪ ♪ La, la ♪

♪ La ♪

♪ Da, da, oh ♪

♪ La, da, da, da ♪

♪ La, la ♪

Just imagine the absolute buffet

of overlooked, ugly w-women

with horrifying, disgusting personalities.

Like a sexual scavenger.

Like a scavenger!

For pussy.

"For pussy"!

I would like a sample of that buffet,

preferably a horrendous-looking woman

with extremely bad personality

but very rich.

You know, I'm inheriting money.

Well, I'm not gonna fuck you, Leonard.

Why not?

Oh, (retches) shit! Oh my God!

How much?

1,500 dollars.

Oh. - Not a lot.

I r-, I think I need to get a new house.

Living with your ex-lover and her husband and her children

has proved to be a bit claustrophobic for me.

If you need a new house, I'm your man.

- Good morning. - Is it?

Yes, I think so.

Is the coffee still hot?

- Where were you last night? - I was down at Katsikas.

Celebrating that I'm sending A Girl I Knew to my publisher.

You weren't interested in celebrating with me,

so I did it on my own.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

I was at Katsikas last night.

And you weren't there.

Put this in the closet.

Don't tell me what to do, Marianne.

I don't respond well to that.

"Line, you oddball, there's no need to blush.

You become more like a woman every day.

No need to be pregnant for that."

And then a page later:

"Her friend, Grete, had slept with two different men, where it had gone wrong.

So she had to scrape it out."

Let's make one thing clear, Axel.

I'm nobody's oddball.

It's a book. - And I know who the father is!

Scrape it out? What is this?

It's a book, Marianne.

Mm.

Of course.

You're very sexy when you read...

I find.

Hmm. Beautiful day.

Is it?

Not at all, no. Uh, I...

"Man Speaks to Woman about Weather."

You see the headlines.

No, but I always think

that, uh, the bad days make the beauty shine brighter.

Uh, would you like to join us inside?

I haven't been inside yet.

"Us"?

I suppose there is no us.

It's me, (tuts) but um,

I'm sure we can find someone to sit with: you know,

uh, a, a hockey team

or some members of Parliament

or the donkeys.

Right.

Okay, "Man, uh, Makes Bad Joke about, uh, Donkeys.

Man Invites Woman Inside.

Woman Says?"

Yes.

Oh, she replies, "Yes." Terrific.

And w-...

Do you want anything?

Just a coffee.

Okay.

Two coffees.

Coffee?

Two cups of coffee. - Two cups of coffee.

Telegram for you,

uh-huh? - Oh.

Arrived, uh, this morning.

This one, here.

- A retsina. - A communion...

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The s-...

Yeah.

The holy devil.

Thank you, Nick. I appreciate that.

Um, we'll, we'll, we'll do this another time.

I'm really...

I, (huffs) I have to go, yeah. It's...

I'm so sorry!

Oh, so long.

Axel, I need to go home.

- It was just a glass of wine... - No, no.

My father is dying. I have to go home.

I have to go home. - Of course.

- We can go home. - Can we?

Don't worry.

Mm? - Hmm.

Uh, I believe it's open.

I hope you're not leaving because of me.

No.

I'm gonna miss knocking on your door.

You know, soon, in a week or so,

there'll probably be some, uh, other young whippersnapper,

who's better looking than I am,

and you'll lather him up in olive oil.

Heh.

I am still gonna miss you.

Life goes on, huh?

Pain is inevitable, but the suffering's optional.

Where are you, where are you moving to?

I've bought a house.

Well, uh, you know, when the wire comes in,

I'll have bought a house,

but needless to say, I'm, I'm a house owner.

Wow,

your own house.

You're all grown up.

I'm so old!

What?

I said, "Do I look old?"

No, just a little tired.

Hold on.

Uh, I very much wanna rip your clothes off

with my teeth,

but I think the, uh, curtain's gone down on this show.

You know?

Oh, I'm sorry.

Nice, huh?

"Dear mother, I have my very own house,

and it's starting to feel like mine, as well.

I have a huge terrace

with a view of dramatic mountains and shiny white houses.

The rooms are large and cool

with deep windows and thick walls.

It's about 200 years old,

which, as you know, is the age I feel most of the time.

Hope everything's all right with you,

and I always miss you,

but right now, looking at the sea, I'm happy to be here.

Sincerely, L. Cohen."

Cheers, darling.

I thought you might want to say goodbye yourself.

Some call him a genius and the future of Norwegian literature.

Others dismiss the book as filth.

Welcome, Axel Jensen. - Thank you.

Nice to be here.

A Girl I Knew is described as a harsh and poetic love story.

Mm.

It tops bestseller lists and has garnered interest abroad.

But it has also attracted massive criticism.

What do you say to that?

I think it depends entirely on your point of view.

If you don't know this is reality for many people, you can dismiss it as anything.

For parts of a generation,

this life is all they know.

Closing your eyes doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

The condemnation comes from those

who have lost touch with the present...

You've never read anything he's written, so stop it.

...and delude themselves into thinking that my generation is just like theirs.

I read...

Icarus.

OK?

What did you think about it?

Be careful you don't get burned.

I don't know if I agree

with those who call it brilliant.

But from my point of view,

it's an honest book from my own generation.

Who is that? Is there a dog in here?

Hi.

Hi.

You're the most beautiful thing I know.

Congratulations.

Daddy.

This is daddy.

Hi.

♪ Sometimes, I find I get to thinking of the past ♪

♪ We swore to each other that our love would surely last ♪

"Dear Irving, most people would label me insane,

but you will understand perfectly.

I've watched 234 ferries now.

It become a ritual.

I don't know what I would do

if she actually was on one of them.

Still, there is a magic on the island

that can transform a person.

Here I can take responsibility for my own identity.

You would love it here.

Everything you see is beautiful:

every corner, every lamp, everything you touch.

Everything feels-

Oh yeah? - in its right place.

There are no distractions from work or love.

Life is engaging and there is order but also light."

Hello, Leonard.

"And what's even better is it's cheap,

which comes in handy,

since my last book sold all of 400 copies.

There's a sexual revolution on the island

that you would love

in which we feel we've won and lost a number of us.

No matter what,

having this house makes everything less frightening.

Sincerely,

L. Cohen."

Hi.

Hi.

Mm-hmm.

Thank you so much.

For what?

For everything.

The lovely crib.

Hmm.

The food, the wine...

Everything. Thank you.

My pleasure.

Mm.

- You look happy. - Happy?

I don't think I've ever been happier than I am right now.

Mm-hmm.

Hmm?

Hmm?

I have to go.

- Where are you going? - Just out to...

Uh.

To see someone.

Will you be gone long?

No, I'm just meeting someone. I won't be late.

But it's our first night.

I know. I'll be back.

OK, see you later.

Friend.

Hi.

Hi. - I'm going to Douskos.

You want to come?

It's on me.

I've gone down again.

That's why I'm here.

All right.

I'll get, uh, my shoes and, uh, and a samurai sword,

stab myself with.

Okay.

Good job.

The door and I are still getting acquainted.

What's going on in your head?

I realised that I pursue love like, um, a serial murderer.

Forget I asked.

But really, don't you ever get that feeling,

this feeling of pointlessness,

like everybody is in on some secret except for you?

I'm Scandinavian, son of a priest who died when I was 12,

and I write poetry.

Well, my father died when I was nine,

and I'm Jewish, so...

Holocaust beats pawn.

Wanna just call it a draw?

It feels like I'm standing on shards of glass,

and whenever I stay anywhere too long,

it starts to cut the bottom of my feet.

I'm looking at my wounds and just...

I'm going to be bleeding forever.

You win.

Yeah.

So, did you swim this morning?

Yes, I did.

You braved it?

Hey. - Hey!

Hello.

Oh, hi!

Hello.

Hello. Hey, hey, lover boy.

How's that great Australian novel coming along,

George? - Argh,

don't play the silly buggers, Goeran.

There's no such things as a bloody great Australian novel.

I'm writing pure, unexpurgated shit,

drivel, crime novels for credulous cretins,

like what's-his-face over there,

just to put cabbage on the table

and feed the little mouths

and keep the wife drunk enough not to walk out on me.

Cheers!

- Cheers. - Cheers.

Cheers, George.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Charm, Charm, I love your sweater.

Yeah, that's enough outta you, mate.

It's good.

Love it, and it gets you-

Ah.

Argh.

What did you say? - Hi.

Hi, Marianne. How nice!

Where's... Where's the baby?

What do you care?

Heh.

Wine?

No, thanks.

Hi.

Marianne, this is, uh, Patricia.

She's an American-

Hi. - uh, painter.

Studied art in Germany.

Hmm.

And this is Leonard.

He's a writer and a poet.

Goeran you already know. Also, a writer.

Patricia, this is Marianne,

and she's, uh, heh, heh, Marianne.

Ha, I'm also the mother of his newborn son.

Oh.

Really nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

Better title than, uh, than all of us combined.

Besides, I don't think you can call yourself a writer

if no one is reading what you write.

Goeran was just, uh, rejected by his publisher.

Mm.

Uh. - Mm.

I've never made a penny on any of my writing ever,

so can't call me a writer.

I've only made money in a factory.

I'm not sure you have a choice

whether you're being read or not.

If, if I didn't write, I would get, um...

Suicidal?

I get suicidal when I do.

Play a song, Leonard.

I thought you were coming for a kiss.

Speaking of, uh, suicidal,

might have to, uh, have to embark down that road, you know?

Um, there's a song...

about the ugliness, you know, inside.

Such a cliche. Hmm, sorry.

♪ It's true that all the men you knew were dealers ♪

♪ Who said they were through with dealing ♪

♪ Every time you gave them shelter ♪

♪ Well, I know that kind of man ♪

♪ It's hard to hold the hand ♪

♪ Of anyone who is reaching for the sky just to surrender ♪

♪ And sweeping up the jokers that he left behind ♪

♪ You find he did not leave you very much, not even laughter ♪

♪ Like any dealer, he was watching for the card ♪

♪ That is so high and wild he'll never need to deal another ♪

♪ He was just some Joseph looking for a manger ♪

♪ He was just some Joseph looking for a manger ♪

♪ And leaning on your window sill ♪

♪ He'll say, one day, you caused his will to weaken ♪

♪ With your love and warmth and shelter ♪

♪ And taking from his wallet an old schedule of trains ♪

♪ He'll say, "I told you, 'When I came, I was a stranger'" ♪

♪ Oh, I told you when I came, "I was a stranger" ♪

There's about 455 other verses,

but I have to stop.

No, no, no.

Whoo!

Whoo! - That was, uh (huffs),

beautiful, Leonard,

really. - Oh, it was terrible.

I can see why my wife would have enjoyed fucking you.

I used to fuck her occasionally.

It's a rare treat these days.

I'm unable, you see, but no,

that was beautiful, and I honestly mean that.

♪ Ah ♪

Hmm.

Mm.

Are you two OK?

You have to choose, Axel.

Choose what?

You can't keep living your life the way you have up until now.

Or you can, but we are not going to be a part of that life.

So you have to choose.

Choose between her and us.

I think I might be in love.

Really? How nice.

Or is it maybe that you haven't fucked her yet?

So you think you're in love?

Or is it something more than everyone else you sleep with?

That's pretty much your entire, tiny emotional register.

I thought you came back here to work on your damn book.

Instead you've abandoned your family and...

You wanted me to be honest. I'm being honest.

Okay, yeah.

You've never been honest with me or with yourself.

You lie to yourself every single day.

You are so pathetic!

Careful, Marianne. - Careful?

You poor little thing.

Poor tiny, little Axel who's never been loved,

and doesn't know how to let himself be loved, let alone how to love.

Hmm.

Go to bed. We can talk about this when you're sober.

Don't you fucking dare tell me what to do.

Oh.

You live in my house, off of my money,

and you act like a fucking appendage.

Who do you want to be, Marianne?

Hmm? - Hmm?

Why did you show up there tonight?

Why? Because I wanted to be with you!

No! - Yes! I wanted to be with you!

That wasn't the reason! Have some fucking self-respect!

Or is that too much to ask

of someone who's never had an independent thought?

You're the one who says you're in love! You figure it out!

At least she has a will of her own.

She has a life. Talent.

Huh?

Shut up! Don't fucking talk to me like that!

Don't talk to me like that! Don't talk to me...

Urgh.

What the hell are you doing? Let go of me!

Urgh.

What are you doing?

What are you doing, Axel?

- Axel! - Is this what you want?

Uh, uh.

Shh.

Marianne!

Marianne!

Shh.

Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh.

Please. Please, open.

Please, open up! Please, open up!

Please, uh. Shit!

He's, uh, he's, uh, he's out of his mind!

He's completely lost-

Go, go, go. - his mind.

Marianne!

Marianne!

Argh!

Marianne!

Gah. Gah!

Open the door!

Marianne!

Uh, argh, urgh, argh.

Gah.

What have you done?

Calm down.

Breathe.

Are you gonna calm down?

My children are in there.

My wife's in there.

Your baby's in there.

Now, you to listen to me, Axel.

If you hurt any of the women or children in there,

I'm gonna fuckin' kill you.

Do you understand?

Yes.

All right? - Yeah.

Now, I'm gonna let you in, but you gotta behave.

Do you understand?

Yes.

Do you understand?

Yes, yes.

All right.

I saw you there, that night.

Someone must forgive us

for the paths we take to love;

for we are ardent and cruel

on the journey.

I don't think there's anywhere in the world

we can live like we did on Hydra.

That includes Hydra.

You used to make me laugh-

♪ Mm ♪

and cry.

♪ Mm, mm ♪

F-...

♪ Ah ♪

I never thought I should get this old.

Oh, you're not old.

You, off.

You're beautiful.

You look beautiful.

Off, off, off. Mustn't say so, Leonard.

I can't keep my hands off you.

Oh, golly (laughs).

Listen. Can't you dance?

Hey, you want me to dance

for you? - Yes, make me a dance.

Okay, I'll make you

a dance. - Will you?

Yes? - Yes.

♪ Nah, nah, du-nun dum ♪

♪ Mm, mm ♪

♪ Mm, mm ♪

♪ Mm, mm ♪

♪ Ah, what happens to the heart ♪

♪ Mm, mm ♪

♪ Mm ♪