All language subtitles for THE BELLWETHER

(ominous music)

- Hey!

Can anybody hear me?

Hey!

Get me out of here!

(ominous music)

Help!

(static noise)

(laughing)

Okay, breathe, breathe.

Okay, you're okay.

You're okay.

Get it together, sister.

(static noise)

Hello?

How did you get these?

Who are you?

Is this a joke?

I don't understand.

What do you want?

Who are you?

Why are you doing this?

I don't understand.

Say, what?

(high pitched noise)

Stop!

Stop!

(high pitched noise)

Okay!

Okay, yes, yes!

It's me in the pictures.

They're my pictures.

Jeff?

Jeff, seriously.

Happy?

This is insane.

No, no, please don't.

(high pitched noise)

Yes!

Yes!

Yes.

I was happy.

We?

No one knows.

What are those?

They're not my pictures.

They're not possible.

My whole life.

You've got my whole life.

Why am I here?

- [Narrator] How does a flock understand where to go?

They seem to make decisions spontaneously.

This is and isn't true.

In actuality within each herd,

or school of fish there are bellwethers.

Members of the herd with just a little more self

determination than the rest of the flock.

These bellwethers seem to take turns

making decisions for the group.

When to turn, when to feed, when to nap.

They aren't leaders per se, they are more in charge

of the group-mind's instinct for a little while.

After the bellwether's been in charge for some time,

they fade back into the group.

- I'm not a bellwether.

I just run a bookstore.

Jesus, you're them.

The Conspiracy.

The "Them".

The Conspiracy.

You're real.

Jesus, what are you guys, prudes?

(tense music)

I am not ashamed of who I am.

No.

Don't, please.

Me.

You want me to admit to it all?

I used to cut.

I used to burn.

Self harm.

I sleep with men and women.

I've loved both.

I broke off two engagements.

Why?

Because they didn't want me.

They wanted a version of me that they had in their heads.

A partner that was an extension of themselves.

Thank you therapy.

You want to hear about my abortion?

It was the toughest decision of my life.

Is that what you want?

I'm a person.

I'm a flawed, fucked up person, like everyone else.

I'm not ashamed!

What is that?

What is that?

Listen.

What do you want?

I'm sorry.

I didn't want to hurt Jeff or Maria.

(tense music)

No, no, no.

What?

Oh, god fuck, fuck.

Oh, fuck.

This can't be happening.

This feels so fucking weird.

What have you done to me?

You can't do this to me!

Think Joanne.

Think.

It's not possible.

Come on.

Come on.

I don't know how you did this to me.

(tense music)

What have you done to me?

This is my body.

I don't want this.

You understand?

I don't want this baby.

What the fuck is natural about this?

You kidnapped me and did something to me without my consent.

You did this.

I was five.

You can't do this to me.

This is obscene.

For the last time.

I.

Do.

Not.

(tense music)

Yes.

That's mine.

What you have is mine.

Do you understand that?

No one.

No one has the right to that.

It's mine.

No.

Listen to me.

Listen.

Listen to me!

I decide.

I decide.

I do!

Do you understand that?

I do.

I decide.

(tense music)

Get this thing out of me!

- This isn't you.

All those pictures, that's not you.

Not all of you anyway.

And it certainly isn't me.

- Who are you?

- Don't be silly.

I'm you.

And I'm telling you they haven't got shit on us.

- But I'm me.

(high pitched noise)

Who was that?

This isn't real.

She wasn't real.

Accept.

No.

(high pitched noise)

No!

(tense music)

(phone ringing)

- [Mom] Joanney?

I'm with a client.

- Mom?

- [Mom] Sorry, Mr. Nagata, we'll get

to your with-holdings in a moment.

It's my daughter.

Hormones.

Joanne.

- Mom, they took me.

They've done something to me.

- [Mom] Pregnancy's difficult.

Hormones and that fucking dump-truck on your bladder.

It's mostly horrible at the end, isn't it?

You'll be fine.

- You know?

- [Mom] Be brave, pumpkin.

This is the greatest gift you can get.

You're going to be a crap mother, but you'll learn fast.

I still haven't got the word if they are giving me time off.

I'll be there as soon as I can and show you the ropes.

The shit covered, screaming fit, incomprehensible ropes.

- Mom!

Stop talking and listen.

They kidnapped me, they took me

and I'm in some kind of church.

- [Mom] Calm down, Joanne.

This is the way of the world.

- The way.

They took me!

- [Mom] It's only natural.

It's your next step, motherhood.

I did it, you can do it.

- You're not my mother.

- [Mom] Joanney.

Please.

You're scaring me.

- How long have I been pregnant?

- [Mom] I know you're different, Joanne,

but you're not that different.

- How long?

- [Mom] Nine months, you goof.

I'm sorry Mr. Nagata, my secretary will get you a coffee.

I really don't have time for this Joanne.

- What's my middle name?

- [Mom] Avalon.

- Where did I place in my first Judo tournament?

- [Mom] Jesus.

How should I know.

Wait.

Your first tournament was push-hands, not Judo.

- Who are you?

- [Mom] Joanney.

You are scaring me.

It's your mom.

Your mother.

- What did we bury with dad?

- [Mom] Joanne.

- Just tell me.

- [Mom] Always questions.

If I say this, you'll believe it's me?

- Yes.

- [Mom] The past.

We buried the past.

It's all going to be okay.

Hey.

If Dad was here.

- [Both] He'd be an arse.

- [Mom] It's just your time, love.

- Time?

- [Mom] Time to be a mother.

You're freaking out because it's time

to join the rest of us.

I have to go.

I'll call you later tonight.

Take a bath, hit a shot of whiskey it'll take the edge off.

And don't give me grief, one shot won't hurt the kid.

Gotta run, love.

Love you.

- Mom.

This is all about a baby.

Do I?

Am I guilty?

This will balance it out?

I did dream about it as a girl.

I think we all do.

Don't know whether it's natural or pushed on us.

They put a doll in your hands before you can even walk.

Look how cute your dolly is.

What's her name?

Do you take good care of her?

Love this plastic thing like you love yourself.

And you love it with all your heart.

You're broken if you leave it behind.

You can't sleep without it.

Do you know what little girl's name their dolls?

Themselves.

Baby Joanne.

It's a thing.

You become the doll.

You become its mommy.

You're never without it.

After someone else's daughter you are now this doll's mom.

Don't you want that?

Look how good a care you take of her.

Look how good a mommy you are.

Look how sweet and caring you are.

You're so sweet.

You're so sweet.

Do you know what happened to Baby Joanney?

Thanks.

I couldn't remember.

Do you have a favorite toy?

Oh, come on.

You must have a favorite.

A book?

I mean, that's a great book.

I actually held a first edition of that once.

Geoffrey Bles, London, 1950.

It was too pristine.

People love mint condition.

I don't.

I like my rare books with a bit of yellowing,

and a few dog-eared pages.

I want to know it's been read and loved,

not shoved in a box somewhere and forgotten about.

Do you still have your first copy?

Or was it destroyed from reading too much?

Do you need a rubber band to keep it together?

You should get one of those book bags.

We sell them for paperbacks.

Of course you do.

Who are you?

No, no, no.

Who are you?

And that makes you happy?

Are you normal?

And that makes you happy?

Did they do this to you?

So you enjoy working for them?

Providing a community service?

Kidnapping and impregnating women?

What is that you think I'm so guilty of?

What?

You're becoming predictable.

No.

- Joanne.

Joanne.

- That's not my fault!

I do.

I did once.

- Don't give them what they want.

Look I know how you feel, but this isn't you.

- Who are you?

- What you meant to say was who am I?

I'm you, love.

- I'm so tired.

I can't fight anymore.

- That's what I'm here for.

Hi.

I think you got it wrong, idiot box.

I think your carefully planned conspiracy

might have missed a few things.

Check your protest files dating back 10 years.

I think you'll find something interesting.

You're speaking to Joanne.

The real Joanne.

Go on, look.

I can wait.

How did you miss that?

Two words, Counter Conspiracy.

Why?

Because you crush all resistance?

Of course not, that's not possible.

You just try and get to the Bellwethers.

Did you really think there was nobody

out there fighting back?

I'm right in front of you.

In here.

Yeah.

And no.

Have you heard of smashthepatriarchy.tv?

That's me.

Nope.

C'est moi.

See you only saw what Joanne showed you.

I kept secrets.

From her and you.

It's a little trick we in the CC

like to call shell personalities.

That's the problem with you status quo types.

Always underestimating what's in here.

What we can contain.

See I'm a little bit more than a shitty bellwether.

And, my dear little cog I'm here for you.

Yep you.

See that's what I'm trained for, freeing minds.

So come down here and let's talk for real.

I win?

Good, God.

This is fucking annoying!

I have to pee!

Always.

Listen I know I shut a door that day.

I take full responsibility for my actions.

I want to remember.

Listen, cog, you can't break me.

Give this up.

Come down here and see me with your actual eyes.

I removed an embryo from my body.

The embryonic period in humans begins

at fertilization, penetration of the egg by the sperm

and continues until the end of the 10th week

of gestation, 8th week by embryonic age.

The period of two weeks from fertilization is

also referred to as the germinal stage.

The embryo spends the next few days

traveling down the Fallopian tube.

It starts out as a single cell zygote and divides

several times to form a ball of cells known as a morula.

Further cellular division is accompanied by

the formation of a small cavity between the cells.

This stage is called a blastocyst.

Up to this point there is no growth

in the overall size of the embryo.

In most successful pregnancies the embryo

implants eight to 10 days after ovulation.

Rapid growth occurs and the embryo's main

external features begin to take form.

This process is called differentiation,

which produces the varied cell types such

as blood cells, kidney cells, and nerve cells.

- Direct from Wikipedia.

I read it so many times.

I know.

I know what pregnancy is.

I know what life is.

I hold life precious.

I hold all life precious.

I'm a vegetarian because I can't eat

anything that used to have a face.

You have no idea what you're up against.

Now, let me save you.

After this.

Carnegie Stage 22, or 23 of

the embryonic development I'd say.

So does a person who's brain dead.

What do we call them?

A vegetable.

Vegetable matter.

It's a ball of flesh that resembles a human being.

It's very cute.

Look at its big head and its cute little hands.

It isn't alive.

It isn't aware.

It isn't a person.

It's unthinking, unfeeling flesh

that I removed from my body.

I assume that's a picture of mine?

My exact embryo?

And I'm supposed to believe you, because you

guys are all powerful and scary and stuff, right?

You're not in here.

Who?

I'm the only one in here.

We are not you!

I did this, I did this, to myself.

I choose.

What is this?

(tense music)

Give statistics a raise.

My therapist and I built my shell.

She saw the anger and the loneliness in me

and wanted to give it direction and purpose.

With my permission!

It's given me a purpose.

Shown others.

Shown other women we can stand up.

Let me show you.

You did this to me, my pregnancy.

To us.

To Jeff and I.

Shut up, cog.

What do you know?

We weren't ready.

We had choices.

Nice slogan.

You know when slogans are the least useful?

When you have a choice to make.

A real life choice.

A real hard choice.

Do you have children?

And you never hesitated?

So, you're a woman.

Of course it is.

But it's a woman's body.

What if a man wants a baby and the woman doesn't, what then?

What, then?

That's it?

Nothing else?

What about pre-pubescent girls, they can't

give birth, so what, they're not useful?

What about pleasure?

What about creating something other than another person?

What about thinking or?

Curing disease?

Saving a life?

Writing a book?

Conversation?

Seeing?

So, by your reasoning, a man's purpose

is just to dump sperm.

Who cares about relationships or marriage?

A man dumps his sperm into me, I get pregnant, he's done.

Begot, begot, begot, begot, begot.

We can do that for ourselves.

Even in the wild there are single mothers.

Hell, some species even kill the males after sex.

You do realize you just made men irrelevant.

Maybe that's what we should do kill all

the men after they cum.

Who needs them?

I can do that myself, thank you.

Ahhhhhh.

So that's what you really mean.

I'm not to be trusted deciding for myself.

I don't need protecting from myself.

I need protecting from kidnapping,

rape and impregnation by my captors.

Threats.

Naturally.

What, kidnapping me?

Don't go, cog, we're just getting started.

- [Maria] Joanne?

Joanne?

- Maria?

Maria is that you?

- [Maria] Joanne?

What is going on?

They're hurting me.

- Maria?

It's okay.

I'm here.

- [Maria] Where are you?

- Listen to me.

- [Maria] What's happening?

- You have to listen to me.

- [Maria] Okay.

- Do whatever they want okay.

Just do or say whatever they want and they'll let you go.

- [Maria] They.

They haven't asked me anything.

They don't seem to want anything from me.

They just keep hurting me.

- Maria?

Maria?

This is about me.

Then leave her alone.

Listen you don't have to do this.

Come down from wherever you are, open this door

and we'll walk out of here together.

Okay, we'll go and get Maria together.

Do you really think me becoming a mother will change things?

Change me?

Do you have any idea how many crappy

mothers there are out there?

What have you built?

Society.

Misery, misogyny, racism and all its hatred.

That's what you're so proud of?

Well done.

Don't hurt her anymore.

- [Maria] Joanne?

- Are you okay?

- [Maria] No.

But I'll be fine.

Are you coming out of there?

- You knew I never wanted to marry.

- [Maria] Joanne, we can talk about it later.

- You were always trying to get me to stay home.

Stop blogging.

Pushing me to sell the shop.

- [Maria] Jesus, Joanne, I was making

enough money for the both of us.

The shop was driving you crazy.

All those difficult people.

- The weirdos.

- [Maria] Yeah, the weirdos.

Just give them what they want and we can walk out of here.

- You work for them, right?

- [Maria] Joanne!

- I think I always knew.

I told my therapist my suspicions

and she had them check you out.

Our Them not your Them.

Did you ever love me?

- [Maria] They wanted us to marry.

For me to get you to stop running

the shop and then for us to adopt.

- So gay marriage is just as centric

as straight marriage now, huh?

- [Maria] Please, Joanne, they are coming.

- Are they really hurting you?

- [Maria] They will now.

Do yourself a favor.

They'll stay strong.

Give in.

It's an easier life.

I did everything I could!

(screaming)

- Bullshit.

She works for you, why waste a good asset?

You don't believe that.

Wait.

That's in my head.

No, no.

I was made in my therapist's office.

No.

I'm me.

I fight.

I help.

(banging on door)

- [Mom] Joanne?

Joanne?

- Mom?

Mom, are you okay?

Have they done anything to you?

- [Mom] Joanney?

What's happening, who are these people?

They just came and took me!

- Let her go!

This is about me!

Let her go!

- [Mom] What's this all about?

- Mom.

They want me to do something.

- [Mom] Well, just do it!

- I can't, I can't.

- [Mom] Get away from me.

No!

I did nothing wrong!

- Mom!

- [Mom] Joanne, please.

- Mom!

- [Mom] Please don't!

- Mom!

(screaming)

No.

- Help her.

- No, I'm the real Joanne!

- Help her.

- How?

- They taught us how to do this.

We trained for this.

- [Mom] Help!

- It's Kali's gift.

Use it.

- What?

- Rip off their auras.

They'll be dead in two minutes.

- Their what?

- Auras.

Conspiracy.

Counter conspiracy.

Auras.

Do it.

- No, you don't understand, I can't do that!

- I can.

- Mom?

Mom!

What did you do?

Where's my Mom?

What's happened to my Mom?

Is she okay?

Are you sure?

I'm just an agitator.

I have a website.

I run a bookstore.

I change minds.

I wake people up.

I protest.

No.

No.

No one.

You bastards.

This isn't me.

Check you're the omniscient, ever present conspiracy.

Check!

I'm me.

I'm the only shell.

I don't kill.

I don't steal auras.

Horseshit.

- You sure about that?

- This is insane.

You. - We.

- You. - We.

- Fine, we look ridiculous.

- To manifest in this world, first you have

to see the world the way you need it to be.

- Just stop.

- You want to rip off auras?

Be an incarnate goddess on Earth?

Dress the part.

- There's a Primark for Incarnate Goddesses?

- It's vintage, you douche.

- What happened to your hair?

Did it get caught in a lawnmower?

- Catty.

- I prefer bitchy.

- I prefer to kill.

- You're not real.

- Now where have we heard this before?

- Okay.

Okay, so you're real.

But what the fuck are you?

I'm Joanne's shell.

- I'm the final shell.

- I'm here to save the operator!

That's my purpose!

- And I'm here to finish.

- By killing my Mom!

- That was my mother too.

It was the only way to save her.

- Jesus Christ!

Are you even listening to yourself?

So what are we, some kind of psychic assassin?

This can't be me.

- We're all in there.

I'm just the end of the road.

The real you, the really pissed off you.

- What exactly are we trained for?

- Psychic murder.

We are the counter conspiracy's hit-woman.

- There must have been another way to save Mom.

So that's our job?

To kill people.

- I suppose it is.

- I don't know.

- This decision was made a long time ago.

- Did I really sign up for this?

- We are this.

I know you feel it.

The anger and the rage.

The desire to fix this world.

Not words.

Not opening minds.

I know you want this.

(tense music)

And?

I, not, we?

Breaking the rules.

Who were those people?

Operatives?

Operators of what?

Just like you.

Do what, exactly?

Say it.

Say it.

By giving over.

To myself.

I'm a death goddess dreaming that she's human.

Or maybe I'm the ego of the goddess.

Or maybe she's just meditating right now

and this is all her fiction.

Or maybe.

Just maybe.

You are a goddess dreaming too.

And this is all your fantasy.

A fantasy of power and birth.

Abortion and shame and rage.

Impossible pictures and impossible things,

simply because it's all possible.

You want to come see?

No.

Recruitment was the other one's job.

Now ask me what you really want to ask me.

- [Woman] Are you going to kill me?

- Yes.

- [Woman] Why?

- Crimes against humanity.

- [Woman] I haven't done anything except.

- Careful.

- [Woman] Do what I thought was right.

- Kidnap.

Torture.

- [Woman] Murder.

- Still there?

Or are you throwing up from anticipation?

- [Woman] Please.

- Are you trying to make me see you as human?

You're not human.

You're sheep.

I can see you.

Sitting in your gray cubicle extending

torture out to the world.

The free cookies they leave for the volunteers

in the kitchen stacked up next to you on your desk.

The postcard you bring with you

and tack up over the monitor.

Calm, blue ocean.

Looking at it keeps you focused, centered.

Part of you far away as you dole out your torture.

On the beach.

The susurrus of the waves lolling you to sleep.

As if you could be more asleep.

Watching their pre-programmed shows, doing their bidding,

sleeping, waking, having sex the way they want you to

have sex, eating only the things they place in front of you.

Believing only the things they place in front of you.

It's hard to put into words how much

joy I get when I sheer one of you sheep.

- [Woman] But I.

- Stop whinging.

I murdered you five minutes ago when

I put my own mother down.

No aura.

You don't feel it.

I made sure Mom went quick.

It hurts much more but it's fast.

You'll probably catch a cold.

It'll seem fine at first, just a cough.

Maybe some phlegm.

Over the next four weeks

it'll get worse.

You'll go to the doctor who'll give you

antibiotics thinking it's a sinus infection.

They won't work.

So she'll prescribe you a different kind.

Half-way through this dose it will become unbearable,

cough this phlegm, you'll be drowning in it.

You'll go to the emergency room and discover it's pneumonia

but nothing they do will slow it down.

You'll die drowning from the liquid in your lungs,

or the out of control fever will burn you out.

- [Woman] Can I get my aura back?

- I'm a death goddess, I don't know much about living.

- [Woman] You are a sick human being.

You're still pregnant.

- Not really.

- [Woman] What the fuck does that mean?

- It doesn't have an aura.

- [Woman] What are you talking about?

- There's no aura coming from inside me besides my own.

You induced some kind of hysterical pregnancy

on my earlier personality.

This is just gas and water.

- [Woman] I hope they kill you.

- Hope is for the weak.

I'm done with this.

Well look at you.

It's all taken care of so you can fuck off back

to whatever part of my psyche they hid you in.

What could possibly be on the other side

of that door that you

think I can't handle?

I'm me.

What can you do?

- Be a full human being.

- Overrated.

They are scared of us.

Men, women, they're scared of a goddess walking.

They piss themselves every time a strong

woman walks into the room.

You want to see a feminist?

You're looking at one.

I am here to destroy, not cower, not apologize.

- All you are is anger.

We leave here as you and we'll never be anything else.

- That's right!

And they will fear us.

Fear me.

- That's only what they taught you.

Them.

And Them.

I'm not a shell.

I'm us.

Finally.

All of us.

- No.

I'm me!

I'm the one true extension of us.

- We were able to fight the Conspiracy

because of who we are.

We can overcome the Counter Conspiracy with the same tools.

- You're a delusion.

I have purpose.

- We do.

We do have a purpose to go out there and live.

- To destroy.

- And create.

- And love.

- And fight.

- We need your anger, just not all of it.

We are complete when

we are together.

Relationship, no relationship.

Child, no child.

- Bullshit.

(dramatic music)

I'm a psychic assassin, and I'm already inside your mind.

I know what scares you.

All things die.

- And it really didn't occur to you that

that applies to you as well.

- It's all I am.

What am I without it?

- You are me.

And you are welcome.

- It's okay that I gave into the shame.

- You're only human.

- Yes I am.

(rock music)

(somber music)