Original subtitles

in Andrzej Wajda's

PROMISED LAND

screenplay based on the novel by

Look out!

- No, no, no, no! - Karol.

camera

- Karol! Karol! - No! Come on! Look out!

Hold it! Hold it!

camera

Carefully! Moryc! Moryc!

- Oh, Moryc, Moryc. Get on. - Wait.

- Come on, get on! - Wait a second!

director

And now my turn!

And now from the other side!

And now straight in the head!

- Father hits with his cards like a thresher. - This is no flail but lovely trumps.

I am hiding one more queen to hit your king, Zajączkowski.

Oh, Holy Jesus, what are you talking about, reverend?

My good man, I will tell you this much, you are Zajączkowski,

of the noble clan of Ram's Pelt. Jasiek, fire!

Reverend father, you should give thanks to God that you are protected by your priestly status.

Otherwise, I would teach you my name and my coat of arms.

I would teach you!

He sings out of key so badly! Look out!

- Young master has arrived! - Oh, Karolek is here!

Go away! Go away!

Calm down, dogs, calm down!

- He is not just some Jewish peddler. - Good morning!

- It's Mr. Moryc. A friend of our Karol. - May God be with you!

Dear son, it's nice of you to come, I've missed you.

- So have I. - Good morning, sir, I am glad to meet you.

- We've missed you. - Welcome, reverend father.

- Welcome, welcome. - How are you, Karolek!

How was your journey?

- Let's sit down. - We haven't seen you for a long time.

You've grown into a man.

Anka!

Zajączkowski is ready.

Well... you'll soon see, father, what a game it's going to be,

- if you don't have clubs, father... - Excuse me.

- you're going to suffer. - Good morning, Miss Anka.

It will hurt or it won't, when Mr. Baum shows his clubs,

I will get an ace, and you won't even know what hit you.

Long live manufacturers...

Oh, my dear... Oh, my dear...

PROMISED LAND

music

film sets

- I think... - I can't agree with you.

Moryc!

- So what? - Karol, we are founding a factory!

I have nothing, you have nothing, he has nothing.

- Then together we have... just enough! - Just this much.

To found a big factory!

- Yes. - Yes, let's do it!

- We must write down the date. - Max, add a note,

that when one of us first tries to cheat another...

You, you, you, Borowiecki... You're a nobleman - von.

Do you know, Max, that he has his coat of arms on visiting cards,

- and still is the biggest Lodzermensch of us all? - And you're not?

But I don't have to talk about it, I need to make money.

God bless cotton from Łódź.

You and Germans are good nations, but good only for talking...

Let's go... dream about millions.

Come, Jew, come.

No, no, but I do believe in ghosts, father.

I woke up, opened the door, it stood in the middle of the corridor,

it reached towards me and said "Come!"

- It was a delusion... - No, no, no!

I was born here, I minded my father's geese here,

I was punished here as well.

- You're mistaken, dear neighbour. - Father Szymon could say something

on the subject.

Too expensive! Brauman charges 7,5 kopek less.

Thief! He pours water on the coal before dispatch.

And who can guarantee that you won't do the same?

I will accept the price offered by Brauman.

OK, come tomorrow, we shall talk.

- What a Napoleon... - Well, I should get going.

- Goodbye, goodbye, Zajączek... - I'm going, father, I'm going.

- Goodbye, goodbye. - May God be with you.

- It's getting late. - Come on, Waluś!

- Move on, move on faster! - Father, next time...

Eat, Wilczek, eat...

I will come to Łódź, bless your factory, and later marry the two of you.

And I won't let anybody else baptise your child.

- Oh! Anka is ashamed. She's running away! - Goodbye, all the best!

- How are you? - They all know you so well.

- All the village is proud of Mr. Wilczek. - All I got out of their love

- are dirty gloves. - Max!

Goodbye.

He will come back later and take them with him.

I didn't realize that your fiancée lives here.

She has since her parents died and I went to study in Riga.

- Your father is a great man. - Yes... mummified Polish nobility.

- I don't... - Please.

- Are you very bored here with us? - How could you...

I am not responding to such an innuendo.

I am amazed at your life, so quiet, so simple...

Superior, it seems.

You know... Miss Anka, ever since I've started coming here...

I understand Poles better... Karol...

Do you know if something bad happened to Karol?

- Did you notice anything? - I just had this impression.

Karol, I will not get in your way.

However, remember the four centuries of the tradition of our family.

You must live up to this tradition.

Father, what is the use of tradition in production of percale?

What can my ancestors do when I am building a factory and I need credit?

Jews offer money. I don't want to be anybody's farmhand.

So I must be free of the past - of nobility.

It gets in the way when I must face an opponent who knows no scruples,

because he has no tradition - a horrible opponent,

who is his own past, present, and future.

No, let's not talk about it! Goodnight.

no disaster will come near your tent for He will command his angels concerning you,

to guard you in all your ways they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

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...

Mendel, here is a rouble, a real rouble.

And you, Abram, will get only 75 kopeks.

Because you did not put your heart into it!

You only pretended to sing! You intended to cheat me, didn't you?

And God as well?

41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 150.

... 55, 56, 57, 58...

Bloody hell! 60, 61, 62...

51, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 300!

... 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56...

320, 21, 22, 23!

... 360, 61, 62, 63, 64...

- How many?! - 500!

- 628! - All right!

It all belongs to us!

I... I have nothing! You also have nothing!

Dear God, absolutely nothing!

I also have nothing which means that together we have just enough!

Just enough to build a huge factory here!

Just a moment, so what's the conclusion?

We're building a factory, right here!

- We are! We are! - We are!

Max! Max! Your cow is already mooing!

- Karol, your nightingale sings for you. - May it loose its voice!

Oh, the land of Poles! If your sons,

who now die for you, got to work.

If each took a handful of earth from their fa.. fatherland,

they would have built Poland with their own hands.

Quiet!

Come on!

Mr. Wilczek, can you lend me 10 roubles, you know that,

Ruchla Wasserman is a poor but honest woman, Mr. Wilczek,

if I don't have the money today, I won't make a trade!

I won't give money without a pledge!

Mr. Wilczek, I swear on everything holy, we have nothing to eat!

My small children, my husband, and my mother are waiting

for me to bring them something.

Let them all die, what do I care?

Mr. Wilczek! You said an evil word!

Mr. Wilczek, lend me...

Don't you understand?

- A charitable man. - Gitla, this 10 kopek coin is worthless, give another!

- I know that you are a charitable man... - This is a worthless coin...

- Only ten... - Gitla, you have to give another.

- I will give nothing without a pledge! - We have nothing to eat!

- My old mother... - You should see your son-in-law, Wassermanowa

- and borrow from him. - Don't you even mention that man!

- Do you know what I did? - Steinowa, 15 kopeks are missing.

... I gave with my daughter 40 roubles of dowry...

- You're 15 kopeks short! - Do you know what you did?

Steinowa, you always say it's all right but we've known each other for so long!

Count the money yourself, Steinowa!

Such a capital! You lent me!

I beg you, Mr. Wilczek. I will strike a deal, I will be able to live for a week.

- This much. - My children will have enough to eat!

- All right. - Mr. Wilczek...

I will give nothing without a pledge!

- What? - I have a pledge.

I'll take it.

- Oh! Goldberg is burning! - Rascal, he torched his own factory!

He had been struggling for a long time, I knew it from the beginning that

he needed to throw in the towel.

- ... count everything. - Stronger!

Max, you must stop quarrelling with everyone.

- And what do you care? - Ah! You get in the way of our business!

Where? What? How?!

You say in public that the majority of our manufacturers are thieves.

- I said it and I will repeat it! - But, Max, remember,

that we're here to make money.

And you're a radical!

Oh, Moryc, Moryc, you're just a mean Jew.

And you're a foolish, sentimental Fritz. Aren't you?

- German. - You're quarrelling about words.

I have to go to the factory. But Moryc is right, Max!

Aim for the roof!

Beautiful city! But can I make any money on it?

I have it all written down!

- Who wants to work! - Mister! Mister!

Stop pushing, guys!

Guys!

I came to beg because my husband's head was chopped off by machinery.

What will I do now, an orphan with children? We are poor.

I came to beg for justice.

Maybe you can help me some, noble sir. As my husband's head got chopped off

by the machinery.

Calm down, I will talk about it with a lawyer.

You have to go to court, otherwise, they won't pay you.

Oh! May Jesus and His Holy Mother of Częstochowa

- give you health and prosperity. - Have you lived long in Łódź?

I guess about two years... since we moved here

- to our peril. - And why did you come here?

I don't know... Everybody went.

Why don't you go back to the country?

I will, I will. When they pay me for my man, I certainly will.

Plague on Łódź!

May all the people here die, each and everyone!

Calm down.

- What's new, Mr. Szwarc? - Weber's gone bankrupt.

- Completely? - He will have to negotiate a settlement.

He made bad business, a common flop.

How much does the company stand to lose?

It depends on how much they will pay per hundred.

- Bucholc knows? - Not yet.

Mr. President hasn't been here yet.

Mr. Lachman, check the last table of fares, there must have been

some mistake, the railways charged too much.

You... call the warehouse, they should not

give even a rouble's worth of cloth to Frumkin.

He owes us too much. I was informed that he planned bankruptcy.

What kind of advice did you give to that woman, Mr. Horn?

I told her to seek a lawyer, she should sue the factory.

And is that any business of yours?

I don't understand, any injustice is my business,

- any poverty, any... - What do you do here?

Well... I am a trainee. You know best.

It seems to me that you're not going to complete this training.

- It's all the same to me. - But it's not the same to us, us!

The factory in which you're but one of a million cogs.

We did not hire you to show off your charity,

- but to work! - I'm not a machine, I'm a human being.

At home! Here you don't have to take exams in humanity.

That is not what we pay you for. You are a machine,

just like all of us. Do exactly what

you're expected to!

- Mr. Borowiecki. - Mr. von Horn!

Listen when I talk to you.

That is what I said. An error in the table of fares. Correct it!

- Director... - What? More, more!

They are printing 57, right?

- Yes, sir! - Good results?

- Traces of lacquer in the first few metres. - No!

The main office sent an order for 500 pieces of lamé.

- Yes. Celadon 24. - Someone from Becht company called

- with the same order. Will we do it? - Not today. We have more pressing orders

and the summer corduroys. Yes, all right!

Director, we had a call about fustian no. 7.

- It's being finished right now. I am going there. - Yes.

- What do you want? - Our foreman, Mr. Pufke, said

that as of next month 15 people less are going to work here.

Is it true, director?

- What? We're getting new machines. - And what are we to do?

Look for another job, only those who originally worked here are going to stay on.

But we have worked here for three years.

What am I to do? The machine does not need you.

Your father asked you to sign this.

- What am I to do with this paper? - Whatever you want.

Good afternoon!

- There is this business... - I'm busy today.

- Mr. Welt. Mr. Maurycy. - Good afternoon. Mr. Bum-Bum, go away.

Good afternoon, good afternoon.

Welcome, doctor, How is president... Bucholc's health?

- Have you read it? - I have, I have.

Mr. Rubinroth, is there anything?

- Mr. Rubinroth... is there anything? - Nothing.

Nothing? I should have known about it this morning.

There was nothing so I did not notify you as I thought that...

- Your job is to listen, not to think. - Ha!

This is not your business.

I told you once and for all that I need

to receive the news everyday - was there anything or not?

Your duty is to report to me, this is what I pay you for.

Calm down, don't scream, but I tell you every day.

Not enough!

You would still have the time for a cake and newspaper!

- I heard that you were founding a factory. - I've already said it, I have no time,

- no time. - What, wool, cotton?

- Ah! Who knows what it's going to be today? - And is there money?

- Even more! Credit! - A company?

Yes... with Borowiecki and Baum. Do you know Max?

- Oh, excuse me! - Mr. Welt, Mr. Maurycy!

- Do you adhere to the zwei koniak system? - Yes, I do have a system which demands

- that you should be thrown out. - I ordered it to be brought.

Yes, an old joke.

Bloody Jew.

And what do you need the Pole for?

- And what do you need the German for as well? - Oh no, Max is not a fool.

He just needs to sleep enough. And employment. He will work till he drops.

And Borowiecki?

And Borowiecki is the greatest Lodzermensch.

No!

I did not come to work for you, father, as a farmhand.

The time has come for my own business.

Will you give me the money or not? Father...

The factory is almost collapsing, and you keep borrowing money!

Instead of cutting down the time of work, firing workers,

you complain that people have nothing to eat.

If someone is so stubborn that he wants to compete with manual labour against steam machines,

he should be certified!

And right now

when all Łódź is trembling, even Bucholc and Müller!

I don't know Bucholc, Grünspan, Müller and any of the gang.

Once we all knew each other.

Once honesty ruled in Łódź, not millionaires.

Young people such as you know nothing of those times.

They have eaten you alive!

We were the biggest company. Steam machines, rails,

electricity, bills of exchange, bankruptcies, arson

were all unheard of.

No one even mentioned them.

Yes, yes. But this is the way it had to go.

I know. Why talk about it?

- Are you in a hurry? - Yes, I am.

It's a pity you did not found a factory in Łódź 50 years ago.

There is no room here today for honest people.

You will ruin us, father.

Back to machines! Come on... to your machines!

- So much cloth wasted! To machines! - Yes, sir!

- Karol! - Oh, it's you. What happened?

- I am down again. - What did you say?

I'm done!

I have bills to pay on Saturday. But I have only bills of exchange of those who went bankrupt,

which means I have nothing. If I don't pay on Saturday - it's over!

- How much are you to pay? - Come, let's talk.

No, I can't, I have to go to the machines. How much are you to pay?

15.000 roubles.

- You intend to go bankrupt for such a meagre amount? - I don't have it.

- Have you talked to Bucholc? - Oh no, I'm disgusted with him, it's beneath me.

- A nobleman's logic. - I have no other.

Don't forget you're in Łódź now.

Listen... listen... I'd like to ask you for a loan.

- I can't. Absolutely! - Give me a loan...

- and I will give as a pledge everything I have. - Listen...

I trust you but you have no luck, I can't make any deals with you.

I'm founding a factory, I will help you stay up for a year and you will bring me down.

- At least you're frank. - I am, do you have a grudge?

- No, no... - Have you tried to settle?

- What? - Have you tried some settlement?

No, never, I can only agree on a plain honest bankruptcy.

Are you insured?

Yes, very well, I bought a very high insurance this autumn.

You should have burned then.

- Are you serious? - Very serious.

Kalman is burning, Grosman burned yesterday.

Tomorrow Feluś Fiszbin will burn, Fusz, others, what do you think?

No.

- I'm not trying to persuade you. - Pity.

- I will just shoot myself in the head. - What?

Goodbye.

Mr. Borowiecki, do the Watsons work well?

They print almost 10.000 metres daily.

- Little. - Is it rheumatism again?

Yes, yes. Here you are.

Oh, new dyeing machines.

Why don't you go to Nice, Mr. President?

Will it help? Only Zucker and the others

will be happy. They all want me to kick the bucket fast.

I believe, Mr. President, that people who wish you dead,

- are very few in Łódź. - You think so?

Yes... You're building a factory?

- I don't understand you, Mr. President. - You're a Pole. You're a "von".

- You also have a factory, Mr. President - I am a Bucholc, Herr von Borowiecki.

I may have whatever I like.

Well, according to you, Mr. President, it's not like everyone can have a factory.

- I'm not listening to your babbling. - I will take my leave then, Mr. President.

Borowiecki, slow down! Don't forget that you're

- my man still... - Mr. President, you remind me about it

- too often for me to forget. - You think it's unnecessary?

I would give you horses but drive them without a whip and reins.

Nice comparison but it does not apply to all the employees

- in your company. - I don't apply it to you,

only to the black working mass. Do it right! You idiot!

They are animals. Why do you look at me like this? I am allowed to speak of them like this.

- They get their bread from me. - They work quite hard to get the bread.

Well, they earn it, I pay their salaries, what is going to happen

if I don't give them work? What then?

- What is it? - Nothing happened.

The telephone asks if Mr. Borowiecki is in, what shall I reply?

Borowiecki speaking! Who is it?

- I love you. - Lunatic.

- Will you be in the theatre? - I will.

Mr. Trawiński! You went out for a walk, Mr. Trawiński?

- Yes, for a walk. - Łódź is very nice.

You're a great fan, Mr. Halpern.

What else would you expect from one who has lived in the city for 56 years

and knows everything here.

Such a person must be a great fan.

- What's new? - Bad news, we'll have a nice rain

of unpaid bills of exchange, but it's nothing, Mr. Trawiński,

- it's not a problem. - What do you mean?

Good afternoon.

Rascals are going to end in hell anyway but Łódź will stay forever.

It is always a good time for the wise.

- And when will the time for the honest come? - Don't talk like this, Mr. Trawiński.

They have heaven. What's the use of good times for them?

I would like my Łódź to grow, to have magnificent palaces,

beautiful green gardens. And big traffic, big commerce.

Big money!

What do you think of this one?

Good enough for farmhands.

Fantastic shape! But no, she has this...

There is an offer, and what about... what about this one?

She has freckles.

She has beautiful white skin.

The offer is as follows - Adler und Sihne need a big shipment of wool.

Good business, isn't it?

We can get 15 percent profit for us.

- How much do you need? - 16.000 mark for Berlin.

10 percent.

No... 7,5 percent.

I heard you wanted to build your own factory.

We want to found a factory with Borowiecki.

The dark-haired one?

She is charming, she has worked here for a month.

Borowiecki, a wise man, but, well... uncertain.

- Why? - A Pole!

What do you need a partnership with Borowiecki for? Found your own factory.

- But I have no money. - It's not something to laugh at.

Come to me tonight, after the theatre.

Father! Father!

- Kessler took a note about our Zośka! - Did you see it?

Yes, I did. Kessler wrote and the foreman took her with him immediately.

- I'm going to him. - You're not going anywhere! It won't help.

Go away, Adam. Don't say a word to mother.

I will deal with Kessler myself.

Mongrel!

Good morning, Herr Borowiecki.

Mongrel.

Good morning, Mr. President.

You will help me with the mail, Herr von Borowiecki.

I want to entertain you a little. Yes, yes! With these letters!

You will see what people write to me.

Mongrel, give it here!

Office. Knoll. Factory. Headquarter.

Printery. Hospital. Meyerhoff. Private.

Private. Factory. Headquarter. Printery.

Printery. Knoll. Knoll! Look out, Mongrel!

Now, we shall have some fun.

Take one of these and read.

Most eminent Mr. President, emboldened by the fame and respect with which

all the unhappy remember your name, I address you with my

imploring plea for help. My paralysed husband is in agony

- Let him die... into the fire. - while I starve with my four children.

Into the fire!

Go on! Go on!

You see, people respect me. How they love my roubles.

- Leader of the gang of Łódź thieves. - How I like it when they spit on me,

at least it's honest and more funny than other letters.

You German pig!

Good, isn't it? He has a sense of humour!

Rascal and bandit, murderer, leach, bloody dog.

What a joker!

Unsigned.

And here somebody ratted on a warehouseman for theft.

This must be checked.

Read on!

Drink from this tub of human misery.

It helps to sober up.

Mr. Borowiecki, you know how to listen.

- You're a wise man. - It's very interesting what you're saying.

Mongrel, out!

Give me your hand, we understand each other, Herr von Borowiecki.

We fit well together.

My advice is this - you better stay with me.

German sentimentalism! My father is an old fool!

Get changed.

He may die if he wants to but why should I suffer as well?

- Mateusz, what's new? - Some peasants are waiting for you in the kitchen.

- Peasants? - Yes, from Kurów, with a letter.

Let them wait, fetch me the letter and give them some tea.

Wait, let them come here. I will go myself.

- Yes, what is it? - Praised be the Lord.

You're from Kurów and I guess you brought a letter from the young lady.

- We did. - Your name is Socha?

Yes, rightly so, Socha, tell him, mother.

It's true, he is Mr. Socha, and I'm Mrs. Socha, his wife,

and he wants to ask Mr. Engineer for some employment in the factory.

Yes, it's about a job, tell him, mother, from the beginning.

- Pietrakowa was the worst... - Come on... tell me what's going on.

This bloody bitch set dogs on me!

- May God leave her in her last hour... - So she took her by the hair and...

- threw her into the cesspool... she got her... - I kicked her. Like a bitch!

- When did she torch your cottage? - When we were in the court,

the usher comes and says: Mr. Socha! Your cottage is on fire!

Yes, I see, you want some job in the factory, am I right?

- Yes, yes! - Yes, yes, your excellence.

Come on Tuesday at one, I don't have the time now.

- Are you ready? - Yes, I am.

Look here what she writes about the roses: "What beautiful roses,

I guess they're not from Łódź. Maybe you imported them straight from Nice?

As you used to once. I look after them, there is not a single leaf to which I would not say,

touching it with my lips - I am in love".

Make haste.

"The money has been arranged, all the 25.000 in your... in our name".

Wonderful girl.

"I must finish writing, it's time for bed. Goodnight, my king. Goodnight. Anka".

And... a post scriptum: "Father has resigned himself to it all, made himself a whistle

he wakes us all up with and calls for breakfast".

I tell you, you should declare your father legally incapacitated.

Introduce your own rule in the factory. This is the only way to

- save anything. - Would you do it?

I don't need to think about it, my father doesn't have anything now.

So what, shall we go?

Don't touch me, you clown!

Three times 200 roubles!

Three times!

Father won't give me any money. I can only count on myself.

Lost case!

I will go and fetch Moryc.

- Fire! - Who?

- Albert Grossman. - It's the third fire today.

What do you want? They must make up for the losses left by recent bankruptcies, what else can they do?

- How much? - Some 200 thousand.

- If you pay cash... it's enough... - Moryc! Moryc! Let's go!

I'm coming, Max, I'm coming.

Moryc! Moryc!

I'll arrange it! I'll arrange it!

I can't. .. Ah, goodbye!

No... I'll make it, I'll make it, naturally.

- Good evening. I have an important... - Not now, later. Later.

I called you up at the factory but you had left early.

- Well, I regret it very much. - I even wrote to you.

- Myself. - I haven't received any letter.

- Have you got a place in the theatre? - I'm just going there.

I have a seat.

Well, let's go then.

I will offer you a thousand roubles more. Come work for me.

Well, Bucholc would give me 2000 more to make me stay.

I see.

I will give you 4000 roubles more. It means all

14.000 a year. Fair offer, isn't it?

Thank you very much for such an impressive proposal but, unfortunately, I can't accept it.

You're staying with Bucholz?

No, I'm not, I'll be honest with you, I'm founding my own factory.

Cotton?

Yes, cotton, as you see, I won't be a competition.

I don't care for any competition. How can you endanger me?

I'm a millionaire.

If you go bankrupt I will always hire you but for 8000.

- Now you would offer more. - Naturally.

You're worth more for me now.

- Thank you for your honesty. - I always speak my mind.

And I believe you. Let me just say that if I go bankrupt once I will do it only

in order not to do it again.

Herr von Borowiecki, I like you very much.

- We would make good business together. - But we have to do it separately.

Please, do come to our box.

Thank you very much. I will join you during the interval.

Karol, how many millions are in the theatre tonight?

Well...

- Maybe 200. - It does smell of millions indeed.

Rather of onion and garlic.

She is a lovely woman, that Mrs. Zucker, isn't she?

You think so?

Oh, she has lovely diamonds!

Diamonds... Miss Szajn has a whole jeweller's store on her.

She can afford two.

I paid so I can have my fun.

Karol, Madame Müller is watching us.

She looks like a pink plucked goose.

Well, she has some 50.000 roubles per year.

Oh, what a girl, I would enter this business myself.

Karol, I would take her, she has a big devil in her.

- And an even bigger dowry. - OK, OK.

Mr. Borowiecki, I'd like to talk to you, there is this business...

Dear sir, an interval is not a proper moment, how dare you!

Karol, are you mad? Every time and every place is good for business.

- Moryc! - Sit down.

- Why? - One must know who to talk to.

I realise that as the director of such a big factory you couldn't have spoken differently.

Mr. Horn, you must understand that you can't act against

- the best interest of the factory. - I do but I can't stand it

- in Łódź any longer. - What do you intend to do?

I don't know yet.

- What about your father's factory in Warsaw? - I'm not interested.

You are a magnificent fool... incomparable.

Mr. Borowiecki!

Mr. Borowiecki!

- Good evening, are you having a good time? - Perfect, excellent. And you?

Excellent, perfect, or perfect, excellent.

Mr. Karol, I would like to ask you to give me several Polish

books to read - the titles.

My Papa says that I am stupid and I should concentrate on running the household.

But why do you want it, what is it for?

Because I want it!

Your brother should have a library in his palace.

Wilhelm doesn't like books! Once he got angry with me,

and when I went shopping with my mom, he burned all my books.

Wilhelm doesn't like books, he is a good boy.

Well, I will send you the titles.

You are a good boy, come and visit us one day.

What was that! You spoiled my performance! And now you're crying!

Congratulations, ladies. Wonderful, charming!

I congratulate you with all my heart! So young, so young.

My name is Max Baum, Piotrkowska 90.

Congratulations. Yes... yes...

Leave me alone!

- Fine dancing, isn't it? - Yes, amateurish.

I thought you would perform as well.

I wanted it very much but... I wasn't invited...

Such an option was considered but they were afraid you would refuse.

Access to your house is so difficult. Excuse me.

Florcia, look at me!

You do, what do you see? I'm charming, do you agree?

You agree, but you do. So enough of these jokes.

I am the sweetest of all. Don't say no, love's your goal.

Florcia, make my dreams come true. Florcia, I want only you.

My heart yearns for the time, When you become my wife.

Because my heart dreams...

Something has happened, check the boxes.

I'll always love you. I give you my word so be mine, only mine.

Try not to. Try not to. Let marriage unite us two.

The time for a union of hearts has come. I dream of it day and night.

Florcia, make my dreams come true. Florcia, I dream only of you.

My heart yearns for the time, When you become my wife.

It's cotton! Wool and others are sitting still.

My heart yearns for the time, When you become my wife.

As a good husband, I...

Alpasow in Odessa is bankrupt. I will know the details soon.

Don't say no, love's your goal.

Ferdziu, make my dreams come true. Make my dreams come true, Ferdziu, you.

My heart yearns for the day, When you become my man.

I will be true to you.

True as a good husband.

So if you want to have me, you must be true to me.

Don't say no, take me for your man.

Florcia, make my dreams come true. Make my dreams come true, Florcia, you.

My heart says there comes the time, When you become my wife.

- What is it? - I know everything!

- Go on, tell us. - Frumkin in Białystok.

- Yes. - Lichaczew in Rostov.

- Yes. - In Odessa... Alpasov.

Bankrupt. All rock-solid companies!

- Why? - Well, I don't know!

- How much can Łódź lose? - Łódź loses two million!

- Will your father lose anything? - My father has nothing to lose

except his honour but nobody trades in this commodity in Łódź.

Bloody hell, but why?

My heart yearns for the time, When you become my wife.

My heart yearns for the time, When you become my wife.

Meyer allegedly invested a cool 100 thousand roubles.

Slimming down will do him good!

My heart yearns for the time, When you become my wife.

Mr. Karol! Mr. Karol! When will you come to visit us?

One of these days, excuse me.

Karl...

- I thought you had forgotten me. - Is it possible?

- For you.. it is. - But I did come, I had to.

- To the theatre. - To you.

Is it so? You have never spoken to me like this.

But I have always wanted to.

You were talking about me down there, weren't you? I could feel it.

We talked about your diamonds.

No other woman in Łódź has such beautiful diamonds, does she?

- And about your beauty. - You're mocking me.

- I never mock what I love. - Karl!

Come... come... Walk me to my carriage.

- Yes... yes... - We shall leave together.

To the end of the world. Let's go.

Oh, Karl!

I don't understand - it is in code!

Decode it then!

- The council decided today... - What is the decision?

- Custom duty on American cotton... - What? What?

Imported to Hamburg and Trieste...

increased to... 25 kopeks...

Introduction in two weeks' time. It will be announced in a week.

- When will it be introduced? - Introduction in two... weeks...

- And when... when will they announce it? - In a week...

You...

What are you doing?

- Welcome, director. - Was Mr. Welt here?

- He went to see president Kessler. - The Director comes here so seldom.

I live too far... What is it?

Blue threads on your arms, your back, everybody here is twisted somehow!

On your back as well!

Hey! Come on! Herr Welt!

Have you thought about it?

It is a great offer.

16.000 marks for Berlin. We will make 15 percent.

No, no, no. I have explained it already.

I have a better plan, Borowiecki is cornered.

He doesn't have any money, he spent all he had on the land and construction of the factory.

I will give you money and you will become a partner.

Perfect company.

Then you will arrange matters in such a way as to make Borowiecki a mere figurehead.

He will only be the director of the factory.

One or two years and you will get 40.000.

Mr. Kessler, thank you for such a magnificent offer...

- So how much do you need? - But Borowiecki is

is a bigger Lodzermensch than you.

It's filth, it's horrible filth!

Good evening. ls Mr. Moryc Welt here?

Ah... Mr. Borowiecki. You're building your factory, I will tell you something.

Not one, not ten factories make the machine industry in Germany.

First you must civilise, create an industrial culture.

Only then your attempts will stop being laughable.

Yes, I know, you are very gifted.

Your Arbeit, nobility, Kunst, Literatur, your life,

are all empty platitudes. You haven't started doing anything,

and you go bankrupt. You are kings of flirtation.

With all. I tell you this straight forward, I speak of what I see.

You are right and you are wrong.

A pig, if it ever thought of an eagle, would think this way.

Excuse me.

Naturally...

I am Moryc Welt, Piotrkowska 90.

I am Moryc Welt... Piotrkowska 90... go to hell...

Moryc, there is business.

You have some business?

Our incredibly important business.

- I am ready! - Come here, read.

Don't look at the address. Don't look!

I don't understand, it's coded.

Today the council decided:

Custom duty on American cotton imported to Hamburg and Trieste

will be raised to 25 kopeks in gold per pood.

To be introduced in two weeks' time. It will be announced in a week.

Karol!

So we have a future! Karol!

So we have... a lot of money!

Karol, this cable is worth a hundred thousand!

50 at least! We can kiss now!

I don't need your kisses, I need cash, come!

What a business! What a...

Why don't we do it just the two of us?

Leave him! We will do this magnificent business just the two of us.

Oh, Max...

You know, now I know you even less.

Well! We must wake Max up!

- Why wake him up? - We must confer.

Why can't we do it just the two of us?

Because we are going to make it just the three of us.

Do I say anything else?

I'm going to Hamburg. And if it fails?

It must work.

We must have a factory.

Listen to what I say - whatever happens we must have a factory.

Well, you, Karol, you will not get harmed in any case

with your recognised excellence, with your name, with your "von".

You can get millions with your face,

for example with Miss Müller attached to them.

- I have a fiancée! - What's the problem,

To have two fiancées, love both, and marry another,

- who has millions! - Max!

What's new in town?

Oh, nothing. Yesterday in the evening A. Weber burned.

- Yes, anything else? - Kolberg's factory also burned down

in Cegielniana street. Only the walls are left but the police got suspicious.

- Go on. - Oh, nothing, it's just that

they don't want to pay damages.

Mr. Moryc visited Grünspan today. And in Mr. Max's room there is...

I know, get going.

Sign me for 10.000 roubles, I can't give more, goodnight.

Bloody hell, come here! We must confer!

May the devil take all the conferences

I hardly ever slept during my three years in Riga,

because all Poles kept on conferring until dawn daily.

- And it's the same in Łódź. - As you wish, go back to bed.

- No, no. I'll stay. - Moryc, how much do you give?

I'm giving 10.000, at the moment I can't get more.

- So I will give the same amount. - Who's going?

Moryc has to go, it's his area of expertise.

- Moryc? - OK, I will go.

- How much cash will you give? - I have only 15 roubles,

I can add my diamond ring.

If you pledge it with my aunt,

you'll get more than I will, Moryc.

There is a solution...

You can make money without any risk.

- How? - Give the whole business to me,

and I will pay you 5... well, 10.000 compensation.

Even if I stand to lose. Cash. Cash in a few hours.

- Pig. - Leave him alone, Max.

He's doing it out of friendship.

- Yes, yes, out of friendship. - Oh, yes, friendship!

What will happen if I lose?

- I will give bills of exchange with good guarantees. - No, no, no, just a moment.

Let's not waste time on idle talk, we're all buying

and we share the risk, he's going today to Hamburg,

- enough! - No, no, no, no!

I want it in writing! Yes, yes. He will buy with our money,

- and later will say he bought it for himself! - How could you! Our friendship and my word

- mean nothing? What is he talking about?! - Your word equals gold,

your friendship is a good bill of exchange, but we need to secure it, it's business.

- We shall arrange it this way... - Just a moment!

Moryc will be buying and sending by express delivery.

- Just a moment! - And we will buy it all later on!

And how can I be sure you won't get rid of me?

- Pig! - Calm down!

Max... Moryc is absolutely right.

Which is why I made this written contract, here you are.

Let me see!

All right! Now we all know where we stand.

How much do I get?

- At the moment the standard commission. - OK, OK.

- Later we will come to an agreement. - Give me an advance if you can,

and I will present you a bill for the losses I made during

- my stay in Hamburg. - Well, isn't he a pig?

Karol! He has already called me a pig thrice,

so I will reply only once - idiot!

Remember that we are not to have a love affair, not a marriage,

but business! You would cheat the Lord himself if you could, you...

- I'm going to sleep, Karol. - All the best.

Don't disturb me.

- Moryc. Let me kiss you... - Go away, go away!

We shall see each other before your departure.

I will get the money, Karol, I will. All the best.

- Bye then. - And don't cheat on us.

- but one can smell a swindler from a mile. - You mean me?!

What? Karol, what does he...

Yes! I went to Kessler! I don't want to die in the spinning mill!

You can go to Kessler, and when you come back, I will throw you out like a dog

- and hand you over to the police. - Mother! I could not take it any more

in the factory! He loves me! He promised to marry me.

Don't punish me, Eternal Lord, for blindness.

Don't punish me, Charitable Lord, for my children's trespasses,

I am not guilty of them.

- I have no daughter now. - Dear mom, dearest mom!

Forgive me! Have mercy on me! I could not spend all my life

- in this factory! - Away!

Zośka!

Zośka, wait!

Zośka, don't cry.

The foreman said that if I didn't come, they would throw me out of the factory.

Don't cry. Mother will yield. I will talk to our father myself.

- Zocha is back? - Yes, today in the morning.

- Kessler! - Yes, but he belongs to me.

- Let him be, father. - You're a fool,

I have an important deal with him, Don't you dare touch him, do you hear me?

I do but I will not give up what's mine.

Don't you dare. Where is she now?

- Mother threw her out. - Take care of her. She's family.

He wrote to me, I want to respond.

Have you got a gun? He looked like a rabid dog.

He wants money for his daughter. I will deal with it.

- I'm going - Please, be careful, Mr. President.

Malinowski!

Malinowski!

You've written a letter to me, haven't you?!

- What did you do to Zośka? - What do you want?

Nothing. To pay you for her! You rascal...

Stein, did you play on Sunday afternoon?

- We did, wait a moment. - What did you play?

A fragment of Beethoven's sonata in C-sharp minor.

- We played better than ever before. - Did you?

- And you can't imagine... - Stein! Eichner and Peretz's account!

4, 17, 5, Distrained up to 6000.

To 6? Don't check it, you remember it well.

And later we rehearsed what I had recently finished.

- What is it: polka, waltz? - Stop joking, I don't compose

- music for barrel organs. - So what, an opera?

No... something which has certain formal elements of a sonata.

But it is not a sonata. The first part is an impression of a city which calms down

and slowly falls asleep, do you follow? Great silence, saturated with...

delicate murmurs played on violins.

Then flute begins its heartbreaking song,

as if of the moaning of freezing trees or of homeless people,

- Wilczek... - hard-working machines.

- Wilczek... - Animals that will be killed tomorrow.

- Stein, the president asks for you. - Have you worked on it for long?

Almost a year. Come on Sunday, you will hear all three parts.

What's new, Mr. Stein?

- Victor Hugo died yesterday. - Has he left much?

- Six million francs. - Big dosh. In what?

French 3% state bonds and shares of the Suez Canal.

Sound investment. What was his business?

- Literature. - What? Literature?

Yes. He was a great poet, a great writer.

- German? - French.

Ah, that's right, I forgot, Mary read to me some nicer parts

of his novel "Fire Against Sword".

I heard you play the piano?

I studied piano at the conservatory

and with Leszetycki in Vienna.

Excuse me, Mr. President, I have to go, I have a lot of work.

Work is not a goose, it will not melt.

I am annoyed with this constant clanking of glasses in the office

and the constant hissing of gas.

Mr. President... we came so early that we didn't eat breakfast at home.

They boil water with gas. And who pays for the gas? I do!

Does it make any sense? As of today you will pay.

- Well, I will tell my colleagues. - I am doing it for your own good.

Now they are ashamed to drink tea because they have pangs of conscience

that I pay for the gas. And when everyone pays

they will be more bold! They will be able to look me straight in the eye.

It is very moral, Mr. Stein, very moral!

Mr. President has been asking for me, and I was going to come as well.

Business, isn't it? Let's deal with it quickly, as I have

to talk to you on a most delicate matter.

Business is this: Adler and Company need

a large shipment of wool, they have approached me and I have the wool

- but I need money to pay for it. - I will give you the money,

- we will both get a profit, OK? - Well, as usual 15 percent.

- How much do you need? - 30.000 marks for Leipzig.

Is your factory growing?

We start in a month. The building will be complete in three months,

and we begin production in October.

I like this rush! This is Łódź style, beautiful.

I like Borowiecki very much. But I must hurt him.

And it is very unpleasant to me. So very unpleasant

that I would like to ask you to explain it to him for me.

- What happened? - I had to withdraw his credit.

- We will find it elsewhere. - I am very sorry,

that I can't do business with you.

But just between the two of us, as friends -

Mr. Maurycy, why do you need a partnership with Borowiecki?

Can't you found a factory on your own?

- But I have no money. - And it's neither a reason nor a cause.

People have the money and you have big talents and their trust.

Why did I give you 30.000 marks today just because you asked?

Why do I treat you like a son? What am I saying? Like a son?

Like a son and a daughter together. It is because I know you well.

And I know I can make some 10 percent on it.

- 7,5. - What does it mean to refine production?

What is it - to end with Łódź junk?

Oh! These are his own, very foolish words.

He wants to get in the way of Zucker, Szaja, Bucholc,

all the wool of Łódź. And do you know why?

So that Poles could say: they produce junk,

they cheat, they abuse workers, while Borowiecki, while we will do

our business in a serious, sound, honest way. Oh, I can see way ahead.

There is nothing to laugh about. It's an ill wind.

I am telling you, I am certain that we will not survive the competition.

Because they will have the support of the whole country.

And which is why Borowiecki must be destroyed.

Well, and if my capital brings more profit when invested with Borowiecki,

- I'm going with him. - It is a very merchant-like attitude.

But I can guarantee that the capital will yield nothing.

You stand to lose everything. I wish you all the best.

I am just saying what all Łódź is thinking.

Goodbye. Thank you very much for drawing my attention to these facts.

I will look into it. So Borowiecki does not get any credit from you?

But I could not lose our manufacturers because of him.

- Conspiracy. - What conspiracy? What are you talking about?

It's not a conspiracy. It's self-defence!

If it was not Borowiecki, but somebody else, we would

step on him discreetly and he would soon die.

But you know what kind of man he is.

Do you know how he supported Bucholc?

It's all true...

But he can succeed!

Where did you find the money?

Well... it's my secret and my reward.

Max! I can see it in your face, you have committed some new villainy.

Leave me alone, Moryc. I finally got the money from my father.

The factory will not survive a year, it must die.

And when the factory folds, my father will not survive it either.

He will die with it, I know him too well...

You are a sentimental German but... Give me the money.

Go.

You may comfort yourself that you had the most honest man in Łódź for a father.

Yes... yes... And here is my ring.

Come on, Moryc!

We'll keep... Bye!

Break a leg.

- Goodbye! - Goodbye! Good luck!

Pay that woman 200 rouble, or she goes to court.

Mr. President, Baron Oskar Meyer is waiting,

he claims he has very important business.

Baron Oskar Meyer. Oskar Meyer may have business with my dog.

Horn, I will dictate!

Move faster when I talk to you!

Don't sleep!

I don't pay you for sleeping.

Speed up!

I can't write with both hands.

You put too much stress in your words.

- I can't talk differently. - You must learn,

- I can't allow it otherwise. - It's all the same to me.

- Who are you talking to? - You, Mr. President.

Mr. Horn, I'm warning you, my patience does not last long.

I don't know if you're patient or not, I'm not interested.

Don't interrupt when Bucholc is speaking!

I can't see any reason why Bucholc can't keep silent

- when Horn is speaking. - You don't have a place with me here any more!

I find both you and this place grossly unpleasant.

I will have you thrown out!

- Try, you lout. - Mongrel, throw him out!

Let me be, August, don't even try,

or I will break your ribs and your master's as well.

Bloody hell! Take him away!

Shut up, you thief!

You lout! No, don't interrupt me, please!

I'm not interested in whether you are patient or not!

I don't need to know if you're patient...

Stop interrupting me! You German lout!

I am speaking now! Horn is speaking! And you will listen to me

as long as I am standing here and talking!

Shut up! Now I am speaking!

Please, don't...

I warn you, I don't need to know if you're patient or not!

It's all the same to me! Don't interrupt me!

I can see no reason why I should be silent when you're talking!

I'm not interested in whether you're patient or not!

Farewell!

- August. - Yes, sir.

- Where is Horn? - You have thrown him out so he left, sir.

I told you to throw him out. Why didn't you listen?

- But he left on his own. - Shut up!

What's new?

Work, Mr. President.

Good! Anything else?

- It is so quiet in the factory today. - As usual.

August!

And if our business fails? Everybody's going bankrupt.

The bankruptcies will end because business will improve.

Listen. Winter crop in Russia was perfect but the price of wheat

will not go down anyway because there are no reserves.

They are starting a huge programme of public works which will employ

and give money to hundreds of thousands of people.

- You'll see, - You're right.

In the autumn the textile industry will be back on its feet and growing.

And if it comes to the worst we will need the cotton for our factory...

- Hey! Moryc! - Moryc!

- How is cotton? - In Hamburg only

Zucker and Mendelsohn were buying. And the prices immediately went up by 15%.

Come!

The stock is low. The next shipment arrives in a few days.

- Well... - Karol! It all belongs to us!

- Here, faster! - Mother, Mr. Engineer!

- Ah... Sochas, good morning. - Praise the Lord.

Oh! Tomorrow we're going to Kurów! I'm taking you with me!

- Max! Max, come on! - I'm coming, I'm coming.

Do you feed all the poultry yourself every day?

- Daily and myself. - A lot of work.

You looked like... Zosia from Mickiewicz's "Pan Tadeusz".

Yes, but Zosia fed her poultry for pleasure.

- Good morning, father. - Good morning.

- And you? - Me?

- Good morning, sir. - To sell them well in Łódź.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

- Good morning. - Here you are.

Your father Szymon is good nature incarnate.

In Kurów you make the best business on good nature.

- Yes? - Yes... try to make a living here with swindles.

Mr. Borowiecki, it is so that in Łódź and here I have a different name,

and in the country yet another.

When in Łódź I was called Kaczmarek,

any Fritz or Jew called me: Kaczmarek, come here, you peasant.

Yes... and when I took a more noble name, they say:

Mr. Karczmarski, would you mind.

We're not going there. Why should they treat me like dirt,

those German farmhands, when I am

a son and grandson of a farmer

not just anyone.

Yes... so these pictures and furniture you take with you to Łódź?

Yes, yes.

When my forefathers already had their own farm, those Germans

walked in forests on all fours

and ate raw potatoes like pigs!

- Bravo, Mr. Kaczmarek. - I'm telling the truth!

All those Millers and Bucholcs of Łódź are such a nobility

that Karczmarski could be their king

and it would be an honour for them.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

I didn't know it was you. Karol said that someone wanted to buy Kurów,

but he mentioned a different name.

- Will you have some coffee? - Ah, thank you, madam, is it hot?

Very hot, almost boiling. Katarzyna.

Cold coffee is good for nothing.

- I see that you know a lot about coffee. - Ah, one needs to drink this muck all the time.

When you do business or just chat black coffee is the best.

I will not go back to the country. My son's getting married, it's for him.

He's no good at business.

I have no use for him Łódź. I will buy him a manor, he may become a squire.

If you want a funeral like this you would have to convert.

- But you don't like Protestantism. - I don't indeed!

And I would never convert to it.

- Why? - I am a man

who loves and needs beautiful things.

I want to have a better funeral than Bucholc.

Yes, when I have worked hard all week, I need a rest.

I want to go a nice place with nice pictures, nice sculptures.

Nice architecture, nice ceremony

and a bit of nice concert.

He likes our ceremonies, the colours, the smell,

- the bells, the singing, oh, Lord. - I do.

And when I am to listen to a sermon, it should not be boring.

- Well. - You have to listen to

delicate speech of higher matters, it is noble.

And gives a man humour and a will to live.

A what do I get in Kirche? Four bare walls and an interior so empty

as if the whole business was to fold in a minute.

The Minister speaks some unpleasant things about hell. Do I go to the church

to get annoyed? I have my nerves, I'm not a lout.

Anyway, I don't like to torment myself with boring talk.

And I like to see who I deal with.

What kind of company is Protestantism? What? Pope - that's a company!

I'll be right back.

I think you will end up as a simple Christian boy.

So many people are taking a day off for free today.

You're wrong, they were stripped of their salary for half a day,

so they can take some rest for free

out of gratitude to the deceased.

- Come closer, Karl. - Is it good enough?

- Karl... I must see you. - All right.

Absolutely.

This way they will recover a part of the costs of the funeral.

I must make an appropriate provision in my will.

What are you talking about? Bucholc was older than you.

Well, Bucholc is dead. You know he had a factory, millions.

He was a count - and he is dead.

And I have nothing and tomorrow I must pay for two bills of exchange

but I'm alive.

The Lord is good.

God is very good.

Do you know that Bucholc made major bequests for public institutions and charity.

You may laugh at it. Bucholc wasn't a fool.

Mr. President, a cable! Cotton!

Ay, ay! Turn back! We're going home! Fast!

- Be quiet! - Yes, yes, OK.

Mr. President, cotton, custom duty was raised!

What are you talking about? When? Turn! Turn, faster!

To the office, faster!

Zucker! Do you know what is going on with cotton?

And what do I care?

Have you read the new tariffs on cotton?

I am a little ill today. A little sad and you talk about cotton.

- Moryc, how are you? - As well as cotton today.

- You mean: well? - Brilliant.

Have you read the tariffs?

Oh, I've known them by heart since last week.

Stop lying, they've just been announced.

I'll stick to my guns.

So you knew and did not try to profit?

I did. Who do you think I am?

You better ask how much I and Borowiecki...

How much waits at the station and how much is on the way from Hamburg.

You are too smart, Moryc, you may not live too long.

I will. Because I need

to earn enough to get a better funeral than Bucholc.

Father, it's Łódź.

- Catch him! - Catch him!

- Good afternoon. - Good afternoon.

Welcome.

We're there, father.

Good afternoon.

- How are you, son? - Good afternoon. Come in, father.

Good afternoon.

- How was the trip? - Very good, thank you.

These are the walls of my... of our factory.

Why are you working so hard?

- You shouldn't, really. - Unfortunately, I must. Do come in.

- What is it? - Money, 2000 roubles.

- Where did you get it? - I had it, I just didn't say anything.

I don't know how to thank you. It couldn't come at a better moment.

- Stop it. Someone may come in. - You're such a child.

I am happy, I am in love.

Hush... who speaks so loud about love?

One should not be ashamed of love.

Karl!

Have you got a gun?

- I do, why? - It's well.

- I will feel safer. - Calm down, what are you afraid of?

I don't know but I'm afraid of something.

There are no criminals here,

- Hush! - this much I can promise...

Hush! Karl! I am so happy.

We will have a baby, our baby.

What joy!

Baby?

Karl, I must be with you now! Forever!

- It's madness. - Karl...

- Isn't love madness? - It is, it is...

Karl, I love you so much. Don't be angry with me.

Karl, I am so afraid that I will never see you again.

No, I am very happy.

Your eyes look day and night in the direction where

human weakness seeks your help,

human weakness seeks your help.

- Good afternoon, Karol. - Good afternoon.

Have you come from the city?

As usual.

Look out, madam.

Come here right now, Mr. Karol is very tired.

Aren't you hungry?

I will give you tea in a minute, very strong, right?

How much sugar?

Please, drink it.

Would like some preserves? I have them from Kurów, you know?

Try, you're going to like them.

I heard... I heard that you have very peculiar whims

to turn my factory into a hospital.

But he has no family, what was I supposed to do?

Anything but to turn a factory into an asylum.

But he had an accident in your factory.

- He wasn't working for free. - Are you serious?

So was I supposed to leave him in the street?

You like to bring sentiments into simple matters. It's nice

but unnecessary.

But... it depends on how one reacts to human suffering.

You can't expect me to sentimentalize over every

lame dog, wilted flower

or a crushed butterfly.

Yes, but... but he has three broken ribs, suffers and...

May he die with God...

Does this mean that everything I say is foolish,

ridiculous, that it is worthy of being treated with irony?

And you just say it so... so directly because... it can only hurt me?

You must forgive me, I am so tired today.

I can't, I can't.

I am dead. I am no longer living. But I can still tell you something.

You hurt Anka! And you will come to regret it!

Why don't you marry her? I can't stand

some money-lender's daughter

to be the lady of this house, among the souvenirs of four hundred years

of the glory of our family. What would they say?

You all laugh at the past,

you call tradition a corpse, nobility - superstition,

and virtue - foolishness!

You have sold your soul to the golden calf - go away!

Faster, faster!

- Moryc. - I will come I will take it then.

- Moryc. - More.

- They haven't sent dyeing machines. - Pass it there.

- Come on, now. - Attention, slowly.

I wrote to England.

They will arrive a little later, at a little higher price, but they will arrive.

- They don't want to sell on credit, do they? - Bloody Fritzes.

Karol! It is all too expensive! It's going to be a palace, not a factory!

But it's dough, not lime. I have counted

that everything here costs more than the usual price.

Let others build with sand, I don't want my factory to fall apart.

Even if it burns, fire won't destroy everything.

Sometimes to burn is not the worst.

Moryc, stop playing the wise guy. Keep on selling cotton.

There is almost nothing left and everything fails.

Are they conspiring against us or what? Wherever I ask for credit, I am refused.

There must be something to it! How can it be?

To invest 40.000 roubles in cash and to be unable to complete the construction?

Not to get credit - and where? In Łódź, where every bankrupt, every failure

builds a factory without a single penny?

And who would ever build a factory at his own expense?

How much do you need?

I must have at least 10.000 roubles by Saturday.

Karol! You seem to have forgotten Müller, he offered you a loan himself.

I remember, I know that one word of mine

will open his coffers.

But he won't hear this word from me.

Karol, but this is our future, our factory.

I would do it if I was in your shoes. If I were you.

But you are not. Remember about it, Max.

Moryc, sell all remaining cotton, otherwise, bloody hell, we won't last much longer.

And I am not going to moneylenders!

I tell you this factory will stand,

and as long as I live, it will last!

You speak like a poet, not a manufacturer.

- Good afternoon. How are you? - Thank you, very much.

How is your wife...

My God!

You see, sometimes I do keep my word.

Is this the list of books? Was it hard for you?

No, because it was you who asked me to do it.

- You will forgive me. - You're welcome.

- Aren't you lying? - And you think that

- all men lie, don't you? - I don't know...

You have very nice flowers here.

- There... and there... - I will tell it... to Gottlieb,

- he will be very pleased. - Naturally, and who is he?

Our gardener. But Mr. Stern...

our neighbour, does not like flowers. He said that if we grew potatoes

in these flower-pots, it would be more profitable.

- But he is stupid, isn't he? - Excuse me? Yes...

Mada! Why wasn't I informed that Borowiecki was here?

Papa! Come!

Mr. Borowiecki.

Mom did not want to interfere with your work, father.

- Leave us alone. - Good afternoon.

You know, I have a serious problem.

- Are you decreasing production? - I must produce less.

A lot of wares, small sales.

Mr. Müller, you don't have to be afraid of the worst season.

I will show you my cottage.

About which all the people in Łódź gossip.

It cost me a cool hundred thousand roubles.

But everything is new.

I don't buy old junk like Grünspan.

I have the money to buy new stuff.

Please, sit on the sofa. A cigar?

Take this one, please, they are strong, 75 kopeks each.

This one isn't as strong, it costs a rouble.

I will try one of the stronger ones.

Oh, excuse me.

Would you like to see the whole apartment?

With pleasure.

Oh... Mr. Müller...

You must have imported it all from abroad.

Everything, right.

Hüberman says that one can only find junk here.

Wonderful... Wonderful...

And this is our Spanish room.

This is not the Spanish room.

Papa is mistaken. It is our Moroccan room.

Did you design it all by yourself, Mr. Müller?

Herr von Borowiecki, I paid myself.

- Do you like this room? - Yes! It is charming and original.

It is very expensive!

Every decent palace has a Chinese room

or a Japanese one.

So you don't live in the palace?

What for... I feel much more comfortable in the old cottage.

Isn't it a waste to keep it empty?

Let it be.

Everybody builds a palace, so did I.

Everyone has a salon, I have a salon too.

It costs a lot but let it cost. I can afford it.

People should know: Müller has the money and he has palaces.

And it is for Mada, when she finds a husband.

Oh, indeed, a magnificent sleeping room.

You have a room like Goethe's Gretchen.

Mada is stupid. I will marry her to a Pole.

I like the way you have your salons.

I like to welcome guests like you do.

Mr. Muller, finding in Łódź a Pole rich enough to get your daughter,

will not be an easy task.

I heard you're in dire straits.

You guessed it. This is why I came.

You see, I do have problems. Which is why I wanted to ask you.

Well, I will give you money and we shall have a silent partnership.

You will get rid of your debts.

I don't know how to thank you.

I will secure the credit on everything I have.

Yes, but start thinking like a real merchant.

- Think in a merchant-like way. - I am all ears.

What do you need this marriage with Miss Anka for?

Excuse me, Mr. Müller, but this is a personal matter.

- I haven't said a word. - Goodbye.

- Is the president in? - He is...

I have been asking for you for a few days.

How are you?

How are you, my dear sir?

I was very worried about your health.

It is most improper to leave one's friends

in such a gross uncertainty. I missed you very badly.

Thank you, you are a very good man.

And can anyone say anything else about me?

Yesterday I gave 25 roubles for a summer camp for children.

Look here, it is printed. How is our wool?

Bought and sold at once for cash.

It's good because I need a lot of cash today.

Who doesn't need a lot of cash?

You will have it because you have a good head.

And your mother was my cousin, did you know?

She used to sell remnants in Piotrkowska street.

You are quite like her. She was beautiful, rotund,

large woman. Have you got the money on you?

- I don't. - So send it to me

absolutely before four p.m. I have bills of exchange to pay for.

- Are we making much? - Well, I'm doing OK,

- but you? - What do you mean? It's a partnership.

- My capital. - No, the capital is mine because I have it.

But we agreed on 10 percent minus costs.

So I will pay 10 percent but I will not return the capital.

What? What are you talking about? You have small fish in your head.

I am saying quite openly that I invested the money in my own business.

- My money? - Your money

which I took as a long-term loan.

Mr... Maurycy Welt.

Give me back my 30.000 marks immediately!

Mr. Grünspan, I will not pay back the money.

I am 30 years old and it is time for me to begin.

I will pay you 10 percent yearly interest.

- And I will pay you back when I make enough. - You're mad! You're sick!

Tired of travelling, of business, you need some rest.

Mr. Stein! Connect me to the police!

I will speak differently with you! You rascal! You thief!

- I will have you ground down! - Silence!

I will have you arrested for slander. And don't try to frighten me with the police!

Where is the proof that the money you gave me as a cheque for Leipzig,

were yours and not mine?!

Karol... my father went completely mad.

He walks at night through the shop floors and starts the machines.

Karol!

Max!

- Karol, I got the money! - Karol, he carries around your picture.

We are opening the factory!

We are.

Come, there will be snacks.

My factory. I got it and I won't let go.

Your happiness is my happiness, I am also glad.

Not as much as I am, not quite as much.

You're happy, Miss Anka, aren't you?

In the country such a day is a thousand times finer.

Certainly, but doesn't this day make you glad?

Quite the contrary, it makes me very glad, as does every

satisfied human yearning.

Your voice seems to suggest something else.

Let's go, Miss Anka.

"On the 6th of August a new factory of cotton produce was opened

by the company Karol Borowiecki and Co.

Karol Borowiecki and Mr. Moryc Welt are responsible for financial obligations."

- Let's drink to Mr. Director! - To health! Long life!

I am happy, I am happy. Because... we simply

finally have our factory, don't we?

Don't say "amen", my son, before "in saecula saeculorum".

What do you mean?

And he's a Fritz. Fritz is responsible for everything.

Yes, I... I think like this, Karol tells me what to do, and

I just do, do, do. I'm not interested in anything else.

And this is a huge, huge construction...

And he only deals with machines, machines and machines...

You also deserve credit, Mr. Moryc.

It must have been...

Good, good...

- To health, neighbour. - To health...

For luck, may it grow big and not burn.

Karol, we are taking a huge risk, we should buy insurance.

- Give money. - Stop prattling.

I said that the factory would be - and here it is.

Why would it burn?

Sir...

- Zucker waits for you in the office. - Zucker?

- Yes... - What does he want?

I am coming... I'll be right back.

I am very happy to see you, Mr. Zucker, in my office.

I regret that I can't spare you as much time as I would like to,

but as you see we are celebrating the opening of our factory,

good morning, sir.

Read this...

What am I to think about it, Mr. Borowiecki?

It's your business.

I wouldn't forgive...

Should I take this for your answer?

What other answer to such a horrible slander should I give?

What am I to do with it? What am I to think?

Find the author of this letter and send him to Siberia for slander!

Don't say a word about it to anyone. I can help in the search,

the whole matter touches me as well after all.

Mr. Borowiecki, I am a man like you.

I feel like you and I have my piece of honour.

I come to you now and by all, by the great God

I beseech you, I ask you, does this letter tell the truth?

Is this all true?

- Mr. Zucker, no! - I'm a Jew, a simple Jew.

I will not shoot you, I will not challenge you to a duel.

How can I harm you? I can't harm you in any way.

You know, she will have a baby in a few months.

Do you know what a baby is? I've been waiting for it for 14 years.

14 years and now such news. What do I know now? Whose child it is?

You will tell me the truth. You must tell me the truth!

Mr. Zucker! I have already told you that this letter is a horrible slander.

Men like you like to play with other men's wives!

Fetch wine and soda water. Take it, you know where.

I ordered Mateusz to bring some wine,

because I see that you're tired and upset.

I sympathize with you very much.

But as it is not true, there is nothing to worry about.

Let's have a drink.

Mr. Borowiecki, an oath is a big thing.

You will swear by this picture.

I know it is very holy to Poles.

You will swear by the picture that it's not true.

Well...

I swear by this holy picture that there is, there was and there will be nothing

between me and your wife, enough?

I believe you, I believe you, you have saved my life.

I believe you now as I believe myself, as I believe Lucy.

Dear Mr. Borowiecki.

Karol!

And speaking of Kurów, Miss Anka, it was something excellent.

I have never experienced any such thing in my life.

I felt there better than I did at home. I never believed...

Naturally, but let me tell you something.

It is a situation when...

I dreamt all the time about such a place.

Naturally, but...

- Green, calm... - I... don't...

- Welcome, Mr. Müller. - Good morning.

Thank you for coming, please, join us at the table.

In this little church, near Kurów, one day I will...

- Excuse me... - More, more.

Good morning, madam.

These are not the machines, no...

What was that, Karl?

- He came to see me. - I received your note.

He came to me strangely happy. He gave me

sapphires and made me put them on immediately.

Listen, I believe it will be the best for us to stop meeting now.

For some time, to allay his suspicions.

He said he would take me to his relatives to Berlin.

For all this time...

It's great, it is exactly what I had in mind, very well.

Oh, Karl, you will go with me, won't you?

Yes, naturally, I would love to but I can't.

The factory is in trouble, bloody hell.

Have they formed a conspiracy against us in Łódź or what?

I don't know, I need money.

- Karl! - Everybody refuses us credit,

- I need machines. - If you don't go with me,

I will kill myself.

But he is going with you.

He will only see me off.

Anyway, you must be there also later to see our child.

- When are you leaving? - The day after tomorrow.

Kiss me...

No, not this way... Kiss me... like you used to...

- Tereska, hurry up, dear... - I'm coming...

My dear, as soon as you are

in Berlin, visit aunt Rózia and uncle Heinz.

Look after yourself and our child.

Lucy, be careful, Lucy...

Bye! Bye, Lucy!

Attention! The train is ready to depart!

Be careful!

Be careful, Lucy, bye! Look after yourself and our child.

Lucy, bye!

Mr. President!

- Are you certain? - Yes, I saw him get on

- the same carriage. - You will torch his factory tonight.

Just be careful, I know nothing about it, do you understand?

I have torched twice already, I will do it again.

Well, Mr. Borowiecki, You should have taken out an insurance.

Ah, Karl...

Karl... I have always known that you really love me.

Come...

Move on! What are you staring at? Leave!

Father!

Dogs! Dogs, dogs!

- Max! - I'm looking for Karol.

He's not here.

- What happened? - Nothing, nothing, but...

I'd like to know what happened.

Yes... Please, go on...

Get married...

Don't be angry with me, miss Anka...

It must be rumours.

You know, such rumours may kill even the greatest love.

I am most grateful.

What rumours? Do tell me.

People in Łódź say, that...

Karol would gladly marry... Mada Müller, if...

If I wasn't in the way.

- So you know? - No!

You've just told me.

I'm sorry...

You know... I just... actually I don't care at all.

Anka, what happened there?

No, nothing happened.

Miss! Our factory is on fire!

- Jesus! - Anka, what is going on there?

Help!

- People! - Karol!

Water, more water!

- Moryc! - Here, faster!

Moryc!

God!

Karol!

Karol!

Water is coming!

Moryc! Moryc! Where is Karol?!

- What? What? - Moryc!

- What? - Where is Karol, tell me! Moryc!

- Where is Karol?! - In Berlin! I've just sent a cable!

Water, more water!

People!

Faster!

Mr. Borowiecki, a telegram.

- Karl, what happened? - Factory is on fire...

- What factory? - My factory!

Karl!

- To the right! - Stronger!

Faster! Faster!

It's OK now! Keep it on! Keep it on! More!

Very well, yes!

You rascal! You scoundrel, you bloody dog!

Tell me, who told you to torch the factory!

Why?! Why did you torch the factory?

Who made you do it?

Mr. Karol.

It will be better this way.

It is all because of you, Karol! Because of your affairs!

Max! No! Karol! Max!

What are you talking about?

You are resentful, You don't know what you're saying.

I am absolutely positive, it was not Karol.

Karol! Karol! Say it is not true!

Karol!

I have nothing! You have nothing!

Absolutely nothing.

Karol! Karol! It means that we have

- just enough! - Karol!

Just enough! Moryc! Moryc!

Karol...

Very well, so we have broken even.

Karol, you know very well that there is no such rascal

who would not like to turn into an angel.

There isn't, Karol, there isn't!

Yes. I agree. There is no other option.

Shoot.

Translation: Krzysztof Fordoński English language editor: Eric J. Isler

Subtitles: Cyfrowe Repozytorium Filmowe