Original subtitles

[suspenseful music playing]

[recites Yiddish prayer]

[door opening]

[Esty sighs]

[door opens]

[door closes]

- [in Yiddish] I don't think... - Move over!

[Esty gasping]

It hurts!

[Esty panting]

[Yanky sighs]

[both sigh]

[Esty sighs]

How can we do this if it hurts you?

Be patient.

It's only been three nights.

We'll keep trying.

I'm sure this happens to lots of couples.

Maybe you're right.

[knocking on door]

[knocking on door]

[Esty] Mother-in-law!

Is everything all right?

[Miriam] You tell me.

Yanky left for work half an hour ago.

[Miriam] I know. He called me from the street.

[Esty] Oh.

So, you didn't finish again last night?

Yanky told you?

Of course. He tells me everything.

I'm his mother.

It's only been a week since the wedding!

How many times have you tried?

I'm not sure.

Well...

I've brought something that will help you.

What is this?

Read the instructions on the box.

It makes things easier... down there.

You should figure this out

before that boy loses his confidence.

Do you understand?

- [Esty] I... - Yanky is... very sensitive.

- You have to make him feel... - Like a king.

I know.

A man should feel like a king in bed.

My Yanky should always feel like a king.

Does that make me a queen?

[Miriam chuckles]

Very nice.

[in English] Don't disappoint me, Esty.

[suspenseful music playing]

[exhales]

[sighs]

[knocking]

[Esty] Hello.

I submitted an application.

[secretary] I remember.

I'd like to withdraw it now and cancel my audition.

[Leah panting]

You think you are the first person to panic before a live performance?

No, but I...

When is your audition?

I don't know.

[secretary] You must have received a letter in the post.

Shapiro? Is that right?

[Esty] Yes. Esther Shapiro.

Do you know how difficult it is to get these experts in a room? Hmm?

Our professors are famous musicians.

Show some respect.

[man in Yiddish] Thank you for coming, Rabbi.

My wife is not herself.

[Malka] Mommy?

She's been like this all day!

With all she's lived through...

And now this business with Esther...

Heaven protect us.

What business with Esty?

What happened?

[rabbi] Don't worry. Please.

Her husband's gone to fetch her from Berlin.

And she's pregnant. That's a good thing!

- [Malka] Pregnant? - [Esty's grandpa] Pregnant?

Did you know?

If Esty's pregnant, then why did she leave?

They tried for so long.

We should have been kinder to her.

To Esty?

To the mother.

What was her name again?

[Malka] What do you mean, Mommy?

She was so young

when she came from England...

She was a dishonorable woman.

She abandoned Esty and left Motty in a scandal!

Motty's a drunk.

Leah Mandelbaum lives a non-Jewish life now.

And in Germany, of all places!

Why are you thinking about her?

Esty called me.

- When, Mommy? - From Germany?

Far away, she said.

And what else did she say, Mrs. Schwartz?

I don't know.

I hung up.

Did you know that during the war,

Jews hid from the Gestapo here?

In the vault of a famous singer named Schwartz.

Like your Esty!

They also hid Torah scrolls and ceremonial objects here.

Even if we find Esty in this city...

How do you know she'll come back?

They always come back.

Look at me.

You?

You can't even find the author of the holy vessel's grave.

We'll find the grave and pray for guidance.

[woman in English] So you're pregnant?

Um...

The pregnancy test at home was positive

and then I had a blood test last week.

But I left New York before I got the results.

[Yanky in Yiddish] Where to?

Wait a minute.

This is the largest Jewish cemetery in Europe.

There are more than 100,000 graves here!

What do you want?

I want to go back and speak with Leah Mandelbaum as soon as possible,

since you're so sure she's lying.

But I told you, she's at work.

I looked her up on my phone.

She works at an old folks' home.

So I'll go to the old folks' home.

[doctor in English] Let's check what's going on.

Afterwards, we can talk about your options.

Options?

Termination is only legal in Germany until the end of the first trimester.

But I don't wanna terminate the pregnancy.

I see.

Where I come from, children are the most precious thing.

[doctor] Surely that's true everywhere.

But we're rebuilding the six million lost.

Jews killed in the Holocaust.

[in Yiddish] It's around here somewhere.

There it is!

In this section. Next to the fallen tree!

[doctor in English] First, we'll do an ultrasound.

Open your jeans, please.

[sentimental music playing]

Thank you.

[in Yiddish] Rabbi Samuel ben Rafael.

[Moishe recites Yiddish prayer]

[both pray]

[in English] There it is.

[baby's heart beating over monitor]

[doctor] And that's the heartbeat.

That's the baby's heart?

[sentimental music continues playing]

[baby's heart continues beating]

[women chattering in Yiddish]

[woman in English] Hi, Esty.

[in Yiddish] Mazel tov! How's married life?

Good. Very good. Thank you!

- Have a good one! - [Esty] Bye.

[women continue chattering]

[Esty sighs]

Your mother was here.

That's nice!

Were you getting to know each other?

She came by to give me a few tips.

No one knows me better than my mother.

Are you ready?

Yes.

[recites a prayer]

[both pant]

I don't get it.

My brothers' wives had no trouble.

How do you know?

That's what my mother said.

Right.

Of course she did.

Well, she has proof.

They all had babies nine months later.

Didn't they?

[student in English] Hi, Esty.

Salim.

I didn't expect...

Yeah, I work here. It's my student job.

Robert went after you last night, but you had disappeared.

- It was late. - Mmm.

I guess Yael was too harsh.

But she didn't mean it the way she said it.

I think she did, actually.

But I guess I had to hear it.

Anyway, can I help you with anything here?

Yeah...

I need some... information.

How does this work?

You've never used a search engine before?

Well, it's not complicated.

Look...

You open this window and you type a question up here,

in this bar.

[Esty] Anything?

- Anything. - Okay...

Is there a god?

[sniggers] Start small.

There are too many answers.

Well, yeah, that's the thing.

You can ask, but you still have to choose the right answer.

Here.

In case you need to write anything down.

And, hey...

you should give Robert or Dasia a call.

They were worried about you.

[in Yiddish] Moishe, what are we doing here?

This is a tradition, Yanky.

First, you pay respects to Rabbi Samuel,

then you pay respects to Igor Idov!

[Igor in Russian] I'll call you back.

[in Yiddish] The good rabbi's ghost watches over this place.

[both men laughing]

[Igor in English] Oi! Good to see you!

My little cousin Yanky.

Your wife ran off to join the circus, right?

You've come to the right place.

[in Yiddish] On the road, there's a different Torah.

What do you mean by that?

[in English] What happens in Berlin, stays in Berlin. Don't worry.

[in Russian] Ah, Trine. Come over here, please, and meet Yanky.

[in English] Hi, Yanky. What's your pleasure?

- She will take good care of you. - Mmm... Yanky...

[Igor in Russian] Come on, Yanky! Hurry up!

[Igor and Moishe laugh]

[Trine] There we are. Nice.

- [in English] Let's take off some clothes. - Don't touch me. Please.

I can't do this.

[in Russian] Damn it...

Get up.

[in English] Stand up. Come on. Stand.

Stay.

[in Russian] Stand. You don't need to do anything.

- [in English] Don't do anything. - No, no! I mean it.

I cannot touch any woman but my wife.

[Trine sighs]

So how is the family?

I wouldn't know.

I didn't expect to see you again.

I try not to question God's mysterious ways.

So what can I do for you?

I want you

to call a poker game.

[Igor laughs]

- [laughs] Moishe... - [Moishe] Just do it.

[in Russian] No risk, no champagne.

[in English] I'm not sure.

I'm feeling lucky.

I don't know anything... about women.

If I...

could touch you...

what would you like?

I can do whatever you like.

No.

Yes, I mean...

[Yanky sighs]

Tell me what...

you like.

What gives you...

pleasure?

You need to touch her first.

To touch her face...

[in Russian]...there.

You touch her head

and then very slowly...

[in English]...her boobs.

[choir singing]

[in German] We'll do Mendelssohn's "Hebe deine Augen auf" next, please.

[singing continues]

POLICE

[in German] If we put the curls in, we can put it up a bit.

Did you take your medicine?

[Yanky in English] Mrs. Mandelbaum?

What are you doing here?

- I'm working. - I know.

- Yeah, then you have to go. - I'm alone.

[in Yiddish] Mr. Katz, I'll bathe you now.

Who is he?

I'm her son-in-law.

I didn't even know you had a daughter.

[Leah] All right, Mr. Katz?

Close your eyes!

[in English] You said you no longer speak Yiddish.

- Only at work. - [Yanky] Why?

What else was I to do?

No education, no skills...

I didn't speak Yiddish as well as everyone else in Williamsburg,

but I spoke it well enough to get me a job here.

You have no idea how the real world works.

You could have stayed in our world.

We take care of women in Williamsburg.

Do you? Really?

My husband was a drunk who could barely take care of himself, let alone a family.

I didn't see you people come running to help.

[in Yiddish] And the other side.

[in English] So...

you miss nothing?

I miss plenty.

But I thank God every day for my freedom.

God?

What? You think you own him, too?

So much damage done in Brooklyn in the name of God.

All the rules. All the gossip.

No wonder Esty couldn't stand it.

[children chattering]

[cups clattering]

[cutlery clattering]

[in Yiddish] I want to go home.

Your home is here with Yanky now!

You just got married a few months ago!

What would people say?

Please let me go back to Grandma's for a while.

Is it the marital relations?

It just doesn't work.

We try but it hurts so much.

Non-Jewish couples must get instructions on YouTube or something...

YouTube?

Jewish women have ten times as many babies as non-Jewish women.

And no one in Williamsburg has YouTube!

You think they had YouTube in the old country?

In Hungary?

In the displaced persons camp where Grandpa married Grandma?

What is wrong with you?

I don't know.

You're not going back to Grandma.

We can't have Miriam Shapiro telling the whole world you're defective.

What do you want?

To give Grandma and Grandpa more bad news?

In their old age?

And fragile condition?

You will have no leverage in this marriage until there's a baby.

Understand me?

You have to focus.

Okay.

I'll give up the piano.

You still take lessons with that non-Jew teacher?

[in English] No more lessons.

[Malka] This is the right attitude, Esty.

[in Yiddish] Now you're Yanky Shapiro's wife.

A man can derive great pleasure from these parts of his body.

By doing the deed, you can give him pleasure in a permitted way.

And pleasuring your husband's body

will get you what you want, which is?

[in English] A baby!

Exactly.

[in Yiddish] Now this machine will assess your anxiety level.

I don't have any anxiety.

We'll see about that.

Give me your hand!

[machine whirring]

[woman] Oh, my.

- [machine beeping] - What?

In fact, your anxiety is out of control.

You're saying it's my fault the sex hasn't worked?

[in English] Your mind and your body are not communicating with each other.

[in Yiddish] You have what I'd call vaginismus.

Is it a disease?

Not like the measles or anything...

Is there a cure for it?

[in English] Well...

[in Yiddish] Kind of. Where's your bedroom?

Close your eyes.

Now inhale through your nose and imagine

you are smelling a fragrant rose for four seconds.

[Esty inhales]

Then breathe out from your mouth for seven seconds.

[Esty exhales]

[Esty inhales]

[Esty exhales]

[woman inhales]

[woman exhales]

[in English] That's it?

[in Yiddish] I want you to do this every night before bed. Okay?

And I'm going to give you a series of exercises

to do at the same time.

We'll have you pregnant in no time.

I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Katz.

Have a good one, Leah!

- [in English] I want to believe you. - Then believe me.

Esty isn't staying with me.

And if you knew where she was, you would tell me?

Again. Yes. But you have to leave now.

I have things to do.

- But Moishe says... - Moishe's a schmuck.

[sighs]

- Just call me if you hear anything. - Sure.

[footsteps approaching]

[women chattering]

[women laughing]

[women whooping]

[whoops]

[whoops]

[speaks indistinctly in Yiddish]

- [Robert in English] Hey, stranger. - Hi, Robert.

We were really worried about you last night.

I needed some air.

Well, I'm glad you're back.

Me too.

And... I need your help with something.

My audition is Thursday morning.

You're going through with it?

I need this scholarship.

More than anything.

I can't go back where I came from.

[door opens]

[in Yiddish] I thought you were clean.

Didn't you go to the mikvah today?

Yes.

[Yanky] Come over here, then.

It's so hard, Yanky.

- I don't know... - Have you been doing the exercises?

Yes, of course.

What do you think?

And honestly?

They hurt.

They hardly make the idea of the real thing very appealing.

Appealing?

Esty!

We've been married for almost a year!

Procreation is the first commandment in the Torah.

We have to make a family, whether that appeals to you, or not.

So I'm selfish because I don't want it to hurt?

Even the Talmud promises

some pleasure from making a family.

The Talmud says very clearly

that a husband should make sure

his wife experiences pleasure.

Women aren't allowed to read the Talmud!

[Yanky sighs]

Look...

I'm sorry...

about the exercises.

I don't want to hurt you.

Really?

Then tell your mother and sister

not to check in on us all the time.

"Have they? Haven't they?"

"Will they seal the deal or is Esty defective?"

"Should they go straight for IVF?"

I hear their voices in my head, Yanky.

How will we ever do this successfully?

Your whole family is in bed with us!

They mean well.

[in English] Fine!

[Esty exhales]

[Esty inhales]

[Esty exhales]

[in Yiddish] Ready?

[Esty continues breathing loudly]

[Esty gasps]

[Esty breathes heavily]

[Esty] Keep going.

Are you sure?

- [Yanky groans] - [Esty gasps in pain]

[Esty panting]

- Push harder. - [Yanky groans]

Don't stop!

- [Esty gasping in pain] - [Yanky panting]

[both panting]

[in English] Wow.

[in Yiddish] That felt so...

amazing.

[Yanky breathes heavily]

[Yanky laughing]

[printer whirring]

Esty!

- [Esty] Hey. - [Dasia in English] How are you?

- [Esty] Good. - [Dasia] What are you doing?

[Esty] Big secret.

Thank you for dinner last night.

Sorry I rushed out.

Are you coming tonight?

Where?

Yael is performing...

at a club.

[Esty chuckles]

We've got to get changed first, though.

- [Esty] Here? - [Dasia] Come on.

[suspenseful music playing]

[chattering]

[techno music playing]

[in German] Hello. Our friend put us on the guest list.

- [bouncer] Her name? - Yael Roubeni.

- [bouncer] Here's your stamp. - [in English] Yep.

[Robert] Two beers and two waters.

[techno music continues playing]

[in English] Esty. It's just me!

Guys!

[Robert] Oh, hey! Are you okay?

- I've never seen anything like this. - [Ahmed] But isn't it splendid?

[Esty] I don't know yet.

All my life, I've been warned that all this would kill me.

Which part?

- [Mike] The sweaty people? Smoking? - Techno?

Sex?

[laughter]

- You're here! Hey! - [Ahmed] Hey!

- Yay! - I'm so excited for you to perform.

I'm excited... No, I'm not excited at all!

[Ahmed] Are you nervous?

- Ah... No, not water. - You get a beer.

To us! Yeah!

Cheers, guys!

- Cheers! - We'll cheer together, okay?

Hey, hey, hey!

Where's the eye contact?

Oh, Esty. Toasts are accompanied by deep and meaningful stares in this country.

- [women laughing] - [Ahmed] Cheers!

[chattering]

[techno music playing]

[woman sings]

- [in German] My assistant? - [woman] Your ascendant.

It defines how you affect your environment.

I'd prefer an assistant.

Nice haircut.

[in English] What?

[woman] Nice haircut.

Thank you.

I love your red lipstick.

You want some?

Looks good!

- [in German] Thanks! - You're welcome!

- [woman] Ready? - Coming.

[cheering outside]

[techno music playing]

[woman singing]

[Robert chattering indistinctly]

[woman in German over TV] You know what? The mermaids here are very dangerous.

One can appear at any moment and sweep a man off his feet,

pulling him into the deep water with her.

- [woman yelping] - [man over TV] Iris?

- [Iris] Robert! - [Robert] What's going on?

Robert!

[Robert] What?

[romantic music playing over TV]

[Iris] Didn't I tell you?

I'm a daughter of the Amazon,

a mermaid who takes what she wants.

[suspenseful music playing]