Original subtitles

The Szupermodern Stúdió presents

A Film by Peter Bergendy

Tomás...

Tomás...

That must’ve hurt.

Could be from the blast force.

SIX MONTH LATER

Pain? Suffering?

You only know if you’ve been to the other side.

Step right up!

Listen to the man

who came back from death!

Where did your loved ones go

after finishing their earthly life?

Are you plagued by curiosity and fear?

Find out the future of all mortals!

Just a few coins to hear

what the man who came back from death

saw in the afterlife!

We shed light upon the eternal mystery! Come find out

what happens after death!

Post...

mor-tem...

pho-to.

She’s so beautiful.

She feels no more pain. She’s found peace, tranquility.

Supposedly there are whole villages that got wiped out by the Spanish Flu.

In our village, only I got sick, and the girl.

You were lucky.

That I didn’t die?

You call that lucky?

I was levitating in bright light,

my body weightless,

and the air flowed through me,

even though I wasn’t breathing.

And then, the loveliest woman I have ever seen

was floating above me.

Lights trembled around us,

like the flames of a thousand candles.

Let’s arrange your hands nicely like this.

All pain and hunger were gone!

Everything was there for me.

I myself was the whole world.

It was quiet...

That’s perfect.

I was filled with calm and peace.

And were you there alone?

How could I have been alone in such terrible times,

when there are more dead than living?

When the earth is overrun with ghosts?

We’re done.

I’ll be right back.

What are you doing here?

You take pictures of the dead?

You saw for yourself, no?

We have dead too.

We who?

In our village.

Will you come?

If you pay me.

Can you take pictures of ghosts too?

You can’t photograph ghosts.

I’d better go. They’re waiting.

...life grabbed my hand

and yanked me out from the chasm of death!

Final photo of the deceased.

Well... A nice memento.

Such lovely pictures.

Jóska, wouldn’t it be nice if...

We can’t bring all those dead here.

Can I help you?

How many dead could they have?

That’s not why I’m going there.

Sure, you said... Because of the girl.

- But she’s just a child. - I never said she wasn’t.

You’re the one who said she was a beauty.

I’m only saying what you told me.

And then you added some more.

That’s what they pay me for.

If the story is plain, I don’t get such a big audience...

And will you be gone long?

A few days. I’ll catch up with the caravan later this week.

Such a fuss over a kid.

But it was her I saw.

You don’t understand anything.

The earth is frozen. If it hadn’t, we’d have buried them a long time ago.

What a disgrace, those poor dead, unburied for weeks.

Tibor’s poor widow, Jutka, talks nonsense too.

Her husband was in bad health anyway.

What a burden to care for the sick. So...

- what’d you say your name was, son? - Thomas.

Tamás?

Thomas.

Tomás, that’s a good name.

We’d say Tamás here,

but Tomás is good too.

Tomás...

Anna, the basket!

Auntie! Auntie!

No, no, never!

C’mon!

Get out of here!

The animals are nervous. C’mon then!

There’ll be a room at Marcsa’s.

He needs a room. Can he stay?

Just for a few days.

In there?

I’ll warm up the quilt later.

- Are you hungry? - Are you hungry, son?

- I am. - He is.

I heard him too. Off you go. I’ll feed him.

Have a seat.

Danke schön.

You’re not Hungarian.

No.

German?

Yes.

A photographer, I heard.

Yes.

You’re not a big talker.

Anna! Where are you going?

Can I come with you?

Only if you’re not scared of the dead.

It’s real nice here in summer.

I can imagine.

Your mother let you out so late?

I don’t have a mother, only Auntie.

And your father?

In the war.

The war’s long over.

I know.

- You haven’t heard from him? - No.

How old are you?

Twenty.

Ten.

C’mon!

Uncle Simon,

Aunt Anna, Gyöngyike, Uncle Árpi,

Uncle Zoltán,

Péter Tulipán,

Anna Tulipán, Marika Tulipán,

Ede Schwartz,

Zoltán Schwartz,

Mrs. János Beck, Mr. János Beck.

Little Feri and I used to smoke here.

- Did I scare you? - Yes.

- Who’s Little Feri? - A village boy.

He went off to the war too.

He and I smoked.

- Where did you get the cigarettes? - He stole them from his grandpa.

Have you ever been on a tram?

Yes. Even the kind that runs underground.

There’s no such thing.

Believe me, there is.

Let’s go. Auntie’s waiting.

Marcsa?

Is somebody here?

- Good morning. - Good morning.

There was noise in the night.

Are you scared of the dark?

If there’s something to be scared of.

I closed up the house when my poor sister died.

Well,

this is it.

- Shall we remove the boards? - No.

A dark room like this is perfect for me.

It’ll be fine.

Well...

They had all this nice furniture.

- You can sleep here too if you want. - Thanks, but Marcsa...

She’s the schoolteacher. Did she tell you?

Except there are no kids anymore.

But there will be, you’ll see.

And Anna?

Anna... Well, she has no parents.

Auntie takes care of her, but it’s Anna who really cares

for Auntie since her stroke. Anna’s a good child.

It’ll be nice and warm soon.

I’ll be off.

- I’ll let you work. - Thanks.

Imre allowed it.

Yes, I know.

Thanks.

Barely frozen.

Was she his sister?

No, we already brought her in, last night.

I didn’t even notice.

I also wanted to say...

Is this allowed?

Look this way, please.

You worked magic on my husband.

I never thought I would see him like this again.

- Thank you so much. - You’re welcome.

I’ll let you know when the photos are ready.

I’ll frame it.

Put it in a lovely frame.

Lower your hands.

- Like this? - That’s fine.

I already saw at the market. I know what you do.

She looks really nice. You can hardly tell she’s dead.

Auntie said that when I was born, I was dead too.

What do you mean, dead?

My umbilical cord strangled me.

And Auntie rubbed me until I came back to life.

Do you remember it?

Not like how the old man described at the fair...

not like that.

What was that?

I don’t know.

May I have a look?

Little girls are usually afraid of the dead.

I’m only afraid of ghosts.

I have to go.

Lacika, won’t you take it off?

- Mother won’t let me. - Does she think it’ll protect you?

- Are you scared of me too? - No way,

only of ghosts.

I’m no ghost.

Is your goat bloated?

No! She’s having kids.

She’ll just fart and that’s it. You’ll see.

- Blee-e-eh. - Blee-e-eh.

One, two, three.

Klári!

Klári!

Klári!

Get water!

Klári! Klári!

Klári!

She won’t come out!

They’re there, right?

They’re on it. They did it.

What do you want?

What do you want?

- No! - Anna!

Anna!

It’s okay.

It’s okay. It’s over. They’re gone.

Hey... calm down, sweetie, they’re gone now.

Don’t worry. I’ll take you away from here.

Where would we go?! They’re everywhere!

That’s not true. I’ve never seen such a thing before.

You shouldn’t have come here!

Now they’re angry at us too! This is all our fault!

- Why would it be our fault? - I don’t know,

but they’ve never hurt anyone before. Never!

And now everything’s changed. Go away!

- Anna! - You have to go away! Go away!

- Anna! - Go away!

- Then I’m taking you with me. - I belong here and you don’t!

Only you can leave!

Anna!

Anna, wait!

They’re everywhere.

Won’t you say anything?

What should I say?

What’s going on?

How long have they been here?

Say something already! You all must be scared too.

What do you want to hear, for God’s sake?

The war took the men.

We had to send even the very young ones,

and the Spanish Flu put the remainder in the grave,

and now here we are with the frozen earth and our unburied dead.

What do you want?

What more should I fear?

Why should I worry? There’s nothing left here.

I’m leaving tomorrow.

Good for you.

Just leave this mess behind!

You’re just making things worse instead of helping.

Tomás!

Tomás!

Tomás...

Tomás!

Tomás!

Anna!

Tomás!

Anna!

We’ll solve this.

We’ll solve this.

I’m going.

Okay. I’ll bring you some food.

Thanks.

Aunt Ilus, will you tell us what you saw?

Well, I didn’t really see much,

but someone seemed to run across the roof.

And the dirt fell from the thatch wherever they went.

- Did you hear sounds? - Not then.

I usually hear sighs, and I feel the cold too.

Then the ladder fell,

even though it had been standing against the wall for ages.

That’s all I know.

Oh, here’s Aunt Keresztes.

Right in time.

They’re asking about what happened here.

That’s why I came. Maybe I can help.

Good morning. For sure.

I don’t know much either,

except I was there at the start of winter, when all this began.

- It began at the start of winter? - I wouldn’t say so,

but rather, that’s when more of them appeared.

Please tell us!

And once...

Go on, say it.

They were in my house at night.

It grabbed my ankle with its ice-cold hand.

I felt only the bones, there was no flesh on it anymore.

And did it hurt you?

It didn’t, it just scared me.

It came another time. I spoke to it, but it didn’t answer,

I only smelled it, and...

the wall turned moldy by morning, as if...

it had rotted, pardon the expression.

And then it never came again.

Do you know who it might have been?

You mean, it could have been someone?

I don’t know. Maybe.

Many died around that time.

In the war too. My husband, two brothers.

Do you think it was...

one of them?

I truly don’t know.

Anyhow, they’d never do anything like what they did to Klári.

Annie dear, take the young man to see Emi, too.

Thank you.

Did you come back because of me?

Yes.

Good.

No footprints.

You’d see it in the dust.

Poor Aunt Klári.

We’d better get out of here.

May we come in?

Before the war, I was a servant nearby, in the city.

At the judge’s house.

His wife believed in ghosts.

There were three of us maids in the house.

Lots of children and relatives, visitors coming and going,

so they needed the help.

That woman summoned ghosts.

We just laughed.

People like us don’t believe in such things.

Some don’t even believe in God!

But one time, the judge fell ill.

They called the priest to him.

And then that woman summoned the spirits with her friends,

and asked them not to take her husband.

And he lived.

Even though we all saw that his life had been hanging by a thread.

But the ghosts remained in the house.

How do you know they stayed?

They broke the porcelain. Made trouble.

They pushed one of the maids down the stairs. They were evil.

- And then? - They called the priest to cast them out.

They burned sage in every room.

They sprinkled holy water on the ashes.

- Did it work? - No.

Only years later, when the master died, did they leave.

They don’t like people talking about such things here,

but I’ve been hearing them sighing for months.

I don’t know if any of this helps.

You said you heard them. And you hear them now.

Do they say something? Can you understand them?

They just whisper and moan.

They’re not human sounds.

I see.

Did you talk to Jutka already?

It’s chicory.

But better than nothing.

Will you tell us?

Nobody believes me,

and now even I don’t know if it really happened that way.

He was in that chair. Where you’re sitting now.

I was down in the cellar.

There was a whistling sound and...

his head...

it sunk... into his body.

I just stood here in the doorway, frozen.

And he died.

And everything was wet.

Water ran down the walls.

- May I look around? - Sure.

I have to go feed the animals anyway.

And thanks again...

for the photo.

Is anybody here?

If you hear us, answer!

If you hear us,

answer!

Who’s there?

There’s nothing here.

Tibor!

Jutka!

Tibor!

Tibor!

What are you doing?

Tibor!

Jutka!

Jutka!

Tibor!

Jutka!

What are you doing? Jutka!

Tibor!

What are you doing?

- Jutka! - Tibor!

Tibor! Tibor!

Anna, everything okay?

I’ve lost my mind, right?

I don’t think so. Where’s your husband’s body?

Poor thing is there. In the barn.

- Who are they? - People from here.

The baker, his daughter, his wife, Aunt Klári, Aunt Joli...

Slow down!

János,

Uncle Vince, Mari,

Father Gábor,

little Gergő,

Zolika,

Gabi.

And do you know why they died?

They died of the Spanish Flu. And them two.

The priest too?

So beautiful.

Spongy chest, grey face,

waxy skin. Suffocation.

How do you know so much?

All I did was work beside the old man, arranging dead bodies.

- Will you teach me too? - Certainly not!

- It’s not for little girls. - I won’t be a little girl forever.

But you are now.

Is he the priest?

Yes, Father Gábor.

Do you have a new priest already?

They didn’t call one. Everyone’s at church anyway on Sunday.

And the others?

Uncle Vince froze to death.

- How? - They don’t know.

He was the shepherd. He just fell asleep.

They’re frozen now too. So you can’t tell he froze.

- And Tibor? - He’s here.

Traces of blast force trauma.

Clear bruising on the chest, despite the livor mortis.

You see, Anna? It wasn’t our fault.

How do you know?

These bruises...

- Why, does everyone have them? - No, only them.

- The soldiers? - No, Anna, look...

Klári has it too.

And what causes it?

I had it too. From the blast force.

It feels like you get hit everywhere at once.

- Does it hurt a lot? - A lot.

And can you die of it?

Then they all...

Yes.

They do it.

The ghosts.

Good God!

They can move the air. Understand?

They move the air, like a blast force.

- We have to find out what they want. - But they don’t speak.

At Jutka’s it seemed like they talked.

I think they wanted to say something with that pushing and shoving.

They could have killed us, like Tibor.

But they didn’t.

Because they wanted to speak to us,

only we don’t understand.

That woman said too that she can hear them.

We’ll record it with the phonograph.

We’ll have photos of them, and hear their voices.

They’re on this one too.

It’s like the dead are attracting the ghosts.

Mein Gott!

There’s so many of them!

Thank you. Help scatter it!

- What are you doing? - I’ll record their voices.

You see this?

This thin panel vibrates from the sound,

the tip scratches the cylinder,

and when I switch this,

the scratches are traced and reveal the vibration,

which is the sound.

We just need to fasten it with something

so it’ll start when it needs to.

How’s this?

Perfect.

Wait here.

What’s this?

I’ve never met a girl more frightening than you.

What’s that?

A pinhole camera.

There’s a tiny hole in it. The light enters there

and projects an image onto the plate inside.

We’ll see.

So...

We have to come back for it before dawn.

- I’m cold. - It’s terribly cold.

Marcsa sent you some wine.

It was you there, right?

Where?

It wasn’t the old man, but you who came back from death.

Yes.

You seem dead.

The old man said the same.

It must have been a grenade or a mine.

And?

I don’t know.

The old man said he pulled me from a crater.

There was water everywhere.

He saw me among the other dead, and saw that I might still live.

That’s what Auntie said too.

What?

She saw I might still live.

She said I was suffocating, I was stuck,

but she pulled me out by force.

Then I didn’t cry.

She just rubbed me for a long time to warm my blood,

and then I cried out.

Sometimes she’s sorry she forced me back into life.

She thinks it was wrong.

I think it was right.

And you don’t remember anything either?

What it was like being there...

I remember something.

What the old man said at the fair about...

that floating figure...

he heard that from me,

but then he added things to entertain the people. But...

I remember.

So, I’m not the only reason you came back.

You came back for yourself too.

Because of you, and myself too.

Go on. Go. Run!

What are you doing there?! The heat will escape!

Lacika’s mother will be angry too, you’ll see!

They’re here!

Lacika?

Lacika!

Lacika!

Lacika!

It’s beneath us.

Anna!

Tomás!

Lacika!

Lacika! Lacika!

Stay close!

I’m scared.

Nothing...

There’s nothing here.

Wait here! I’ll get the camera.

Are you here? Don’t leave!

If you can hear us, speak to us!

Tell us what to do! What do you want?

Why are you hurting the people?

We want to help!

They’re gone.

Don’t step on the prints!

There are no prints.

What was that?

- I’ll go and fetch the things. - Shall I help?

Go and rest.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

I’d like to bathe.

I just boiled water.

Thank you.

Set it back!

Again.

There’s nothing on it.

And this?

That could be anything.

I’ll go develop the photos.

They’re here! They’re on it!

I didn’t hear you!

One of the photos... Wait, almost!

...take me... graaa...

Tomás! The voices!

It’s spinning too fast. Listen.

I can’t hear. What is it?

It’s unclear.

Wait, the photo...

Shut it off a moment!

But this is impossible!

- And this one? - They took these.

Look!

They’re only around one of the two.

What’s this on the boy’s forehead?

He got trapped under the ice, at the lake nearby.

When?

I don’t know, but Auntie always tells me not to go on the ice

or I’ll end up like the twin who fell through the ice.

- And what happened to him? - I guess they pulled him out.

You can only go on the ice with a ladder.

He doesn’t talk much since.

And the pinhole camera?

What’s this black streak?

I don’t know.

And the voices?

Listen! You have to slow it down.

...take... gr...

Tomás...

Take me to the grave...

Tomás... Take me to the grave...

Take me to the grave...

Tomás...

Tomás...

Do you know anything?

The photographer took pictures of the ghosts.

He recorded their voices too.

- Are there many? - Yes, a lot.

- Are they our dead? - There are way more than that.

I knew it wasn’t our folk. Our folk wouldn’t hurt us.

What do they want?

We don’t know.

But Tomás will find out. He’ll talk to them.

How?

That’s all I know.

But that’s my house.

Good day.

Aren’t you cold, Auntie?

This is blood.

Hello?!

Anybody home?

Hello?!

Anybody home?

Erzsi! Erzsi!

Oh, my God!

My God!

My God!

I knew he’d bring trouble on us!

May God forgive us! Let’s pray!

The stranger made them angry! Get out of here!

What happened?

Enough! Enough!

Oh, my God!

Get behind us, Satan!

Let the souls depart in peace!

Harmful beings, be gone! The Lord will protect us!

Move on to the afterlife!

Show the path for the lost souls!

Deliver us from Satan’s evil temptations!

May the Devil take you back from where you came!

Give us peace!

All souls praise the Lord!

- My God! - All souls praise the Lord!

- Dear, sweet Lord! - Give us peace!

May the Devil take you back from where you came!

All souls praise the Lord!

All souls praise the Lord!

All souls praise the Lord!

Auntie! Auntie!

Auntie! Auntie!

Tomás! Take me to the grave!

Tomás!

Take me to the grave!

- Take me to the grave! - Auntie!

Auntie! Auntie!

Auntie! Auntie!

Into the church! Everyone into the church!

You’ll give up the ghost!

You’ll give up the ghost!

Anna!

Anna!

Anna, are you here?

- Don’t open it! - No!

- Let me out! Let me out! - No! No! No!

No!

Let him out!

- Let me out! Let me out! - Don’t open it!

- Let him out! - Let me out!

Anna!

Anna!

Anna!

Anna!

Tomás!

Auntie!

Auntie!

Annie!

Tomás! Tomás!

Auntie will die. She’s dying.

They’ve got Anna.

- Anna! - Anna!

Anna!

Look at me, Anna! Anna, look at me!

They will let you go. I promise!

Auntie’s dying.

Auntie!

Auntie will pull them with her!

She’ll take the ghosts into the afterlife! Of course!

She’ll lead them! Understand?

They need the dying! Like I was, Anna, and the twin!

And the judge too!

They leave with the dying! We must gather all the ghosts here!

- But how? - We have to bring the dead here!

The dead attract the ghosts! All the unburied dead!

Bring all the dead! I’ll stay here with Anna.

I can’t...

- Help bring the dead here! - You heard him, people! Let’s go!

You’ve opened the door for the devil!

You are cursed!

Get out of here!

Hurry! Auntie’s barely breathing!

We’re going to die!

Hurry!

- Where are you taking him?! - They will help us.

- I’m not going in there. - Me neither.

Here!

Get out!

- There are still dead outside! - Go!

Tomás!

- Let her go! - Get me out of here!

Tomás! Don’t leave me alone!

Get back! Back!

Anna!

Anna! Anna!

Tomás!

Anna!

Tomás!

Tomás!

Tomás!

Tomás!

Tomás!

Tomás!

Tomás! Tomás!

What are you doing?!

You will take us across!

Help me!

Marcsa, be careful!

Marcsa!

Tomás!

Don’t die!

Get up!

Tomás!

Wake up!

Tomás...

Tomás!

Don’t die!

Tomás!

Tomás...

Tomás...

Have you ever been to that village?

-Not yet.

Directed by

Story by

Screenplay by

Produced by

Creative Producer

Director of Photography

Edited by

Set Designer

Costume Designer

Music by

Sound by

VFX Supervisor

Special Makeup Effects

Stunt Coordinator

First Assistant Director

Production Manager