Original subtitles

He wanted to know where you first met her.

You don't remember anymore.

Coming off the metro? Or in a supermarket?

Or was it in a cinema, in one of those cramped little screens by the city hall?

Sometimes, you no longer recall her face.

It escapes you.

But it's there. You know it's there.

She's right there in front of you.

Too close for you to focus, too close for you to see it clearly.

You don't remember exactly, but it doesn't matter.

What you know is that the moment you met her, everything changed.

COPENHAGEN DOESN'T EXIST

Let me know if you need anything.

I can have it removed, but we don't really need this room.

Is it your father's flat?

We have two properties in the area. We need to leave this one empty.

They won't let us tear it down until it's decrepit.

So there's no Wi-Fi.

Are you coming?

So you have what you need.

I think I'll prepare.

Yes.

There's just one thing. The door will be locked.

From the outside.

Not that we think you'll run off. It's just to let you prepare in peace.

It's fine.

It's all fine.

Great. See you.

- Hello? - It's Viktor.

I just wondered if you needed something.

No, I don't.

All right. I'll see you later then.

See you.

Start from the beginning.

- The beginning? - Yes.

Anything. Just to get started.

How were you getting on with my daughter?

Describe a normal day when you lived together.

Aren't you supposed to close the lid?

- A normal day? - Yes.

- I want to see the... - The owls?

- It's eagles. - No. Ugler. Eagles.

- Ugler. - Owls.

She liked to listen to music.

- Okay. What kind of music? - All kinds.

She'd lie in front of the stereo for hours just listening to music.

And what did you do?

Nothing.

Nothing?

Yes.

I just watched her.

Did she know you watched her?

No.

What kind of music did she like?

Listen to this.

- Piano. - Piano?

Yes.

Which composers?

- Did she play for you? - No.

Her mother played, and she said Ida had talent.

If she'd kept at it, she wouldn't have had to listen to music in headphones.

I don't know.

I don't really know why I started with that.

It sounds as if she didn't do anything but listen to music.

- Perhaps we should start over? - No, that's fine.

Pick something you remember particularly well.

A special day.

There weren't that many special days.

We liked that one day was like the other.

She always got up before me to go to work.

It suits you.

And what would you do while she was at work?

Not a lot.

Okay.

I waited for her. I waited for her.

- Did she eat properly? - Yes.

She did.

So everything was fine?

Yes.

It was all good.

- Then why did she leave you like that? - She didn't leave me.

She disappeared.

Without a word.

Look at me while I speak to you. It'll make it easier.

- Sander. Sander? - What?

I need to ask you some questions about your girlfriend.

It'll help find her. A lot of people are out looking for her.

Why run off like that if it was all good between you two?

Bach.

That was her favourite composer.

- Bach? - Yes.

Okay.

I just remembered.

Enough.

Hi.

Hi.

Was it a good film?

Would you like to go out for coffee?

I'm Sander by the way.

Hi, Sander.

Come in.

- Have you lived here long? - No, not that long.

It's really nice.

Do you have any plans today?

No.

- You don't have to be anywhere? - No, I don't have any plans.

Okay.

- It suits you. - Yes, doesn't it?

What's wrong?

Are you all right?

You don't look too good.

I think you're ill.

You better stay at home tomorrow.

Yes...

- I feel a little warm. - Right?

I think...

No. We'll both have to stay at home tomorrow.

- It'll blow over. - What will?

- This will. - Yeah. What do you mean?

I was just thinking about it. You won't want me much longer.

Well, you'll...

You'll get old and disgusting at some point.

- So, of course. - And you'll be bald.

Yes.

Hi.

Are you nervous?

Just relax. It'll be fine.

Hi, honey.

Good to see you again.

- Are you expecting? - This is too much wine.

You brought your boyfriend.

Hello. Sander. Good to meet you.

Sander, welcome.

Cheers to you.

Sander, eat. It's a roast.

It's good.

- Viktor, I don't want more. - It's your favourite sauce.

- You got sauce in your glass. - Idiot!

- Viktor, go get a new plate. - Come on.

Go get a new plate.

It's fine.

I know some of you have accused me

- of becoming sentimental as I've grown old.

Still, I'd like to toast someone who can't be here with us tonight.

You know Anna hated attention -

- but she isn't here now to kick me under the table.

So here's to Anna, an amazing mother.

- Cheers. - Cheers.

He just said he thought you seemed very serious.

"Very serious," that's what he said.

I guess that's good.

- Is it? - Perhaps.

She looks like she's doing well.

It's good somebody's keeping an eye on her.

We're here if anything happens.

You just call us.

Do you have any idea why she broke it off with all of her friends?

She didn't break it off.

Nobody's talked to her in almost a year.

Not on Instagram or Facebook. She used to be active there.

I don't think they had a lot in common anymore.

Oh.

So you move in and suddenly -

- she doesn't have anything in common with her friends anymore, huh?

She almost never talked about them.

Almost?

No, I mean...

It wasn't important. They had nothing to do with us.

How about you? Did you see anybody during the day -

- while she earned the money?

No.

No. Oh, that's right. You just sat there waiting, right?

Yes.

But she saw people at work, at the hotel.

But when she came home, she...

I think she wanted it to be just us.

- Tell me why you moved in with her. - She asked me to.

- Was it that easy? - Yes.

Yes?

- I practically lived there already. - So it suited you?

After not having paid rent for months.

- No. That's not true. - Of course it is.

- No. - I have investigated.

- It was...? - Four months.

You owed four months' rent.

- What do you mean? - I want you to honour our agreement.

- Tell me everything. - Yes.

From the beginning.

I don't remember.

- I don't remember everything. - Try.

Well...

I don't think it's important, but there was one person.

A friend, or acquaintance. A colleague.

We had been together a few months...

She met her on the street and was invited for dinner.

I actually thought Ida would cancel it.

But she didn't.

Hi. Welcome. Thank you so much.

- Come on in. - Welcome.

We had it all torn down and remodelled, raised the floor and got floor heating.

The bath belonged to... Who do you think?

Female singer, operettas, Greece.

- Maria Callas. - That's cool.

We were on vacation. I only paid 100 euro.

Then we had to transport it, and it cost 2000 bloody euro.

So don't kid about Maria Callas.

And there's the bedroom. Do you want the tour?

I really wanted the dining room in here. Maybe I still do.

So now this is my place. I can go in here, and I have my jewellery here -

- and everything. I'm really happy with it.

- Everything you love. - Yes.

How about you? Don't you want kids?

No? That's a no, loud and clear.

- Did you think about it? - It comes naturally when you want it.

Well, it's easy enough to do, but it's hard to manage.

I mean, if you have sex.

Is that your spoon? We've missed it. She ate every lunch with it at work.

- What was it you did? - I didn't say.

I don't do all that much. Nothing really.

Great. So you're looking for a job? I was too about a year ago.

It's awful.

- I'm not looking for anything. - No?

No.

- That's wonderful. - Yeah, sounds pretty awesome.

But...

- What did you work with before this? - Right. What did you do before?

I was a writer.

Cool.

- Not really. - No?

We manage fine with just my money.

What's the point in working just to work?

So how did you meet?

Is it a secret?

No, it isn't. Sometimes, I think it was because of my dad.

We met the day he died. Well, not that day, a little later.

It was the day I heard he had died.

I didn't do a lot. I just walked around in the streets.

Then I was in a bookshop.

And she was out in front.

I thought we had eye contact -

- but she was just looking at her reflection -

- fixing her hair.

She couldn't see me, but I saw her.

How beautiful she looked.

When she left, I just followed her.

She went to the cinema. I sat behind her. I looked at her.

That's probably when I thought...

...I have to make a pass at her.

- I had to. - Of course you did.

So do any of you smoke weed?

You're hitting it pretty well.

Do you want to see some?

Yes. Why not?

What's up?

Are you all right?

- She was mad at me. - How come?

It was like I had reduced our meeting -

- to a funny story.

My words distorted everything.

She said she'd remember it differently.

- That's you. - It's me.

Why do I have to look at these? Look.

- Do you see it? - Yes, I do.

You're so naughty, honey.

She's so hot.

So that was enough to break it off with everybody?

No. It was like that long before we met them.

What sort of relationship is that, lying at home without seeing anybody?

- Those were the times... - Two times in one year!

That's not healthy. Try doing something. Live a little.

Not just sit at home and watch you.

- What do you think, Viktor? - My arse is getting sore.

Right. Viktor's arse is getting sore.

Turn off the camera.

Without her. Without her gestures.

The way she places a strand of hair behind her ear.

The way she looks at you.

You never understood.

When did you stop being in love with me?

I've never been in love with you.

I don't want those words define my feelings.

I couldn't hear you under the water.

I'm crazy about you.

If I want kids, it would be with you.

- But you don't. - No.

You don't love me.

What we have is greater than love.

My feelings for you will never cease.

That's why I'm being so honest.

I won't hide anything from you. Nothing.

I ran this stretch here.

I just ran and ran and ran.

Even if the knees hurt you keep going.

I loved it.

I would close my eyes.

You could feel the light...

So you closed your eyes?

- While you were running? - Yes.

I know this stretch pretty well.

And when I closed my eyes it was like...

The light was shining through. I could feel it.

I just keep going.

- Are you tired? - No.

Let's go.

Without her, you'd never have understood.

It's always been here. Freedom. So close.

It's been with you all your life.

But only in this moment, with her -

- did you discover how to take it on.

Enough.

- I have to get up soon. - What?

- I have to get up soon. - Me too.

- Why? - Why what?

Why do you have to?

But...

To make some money.

We don't need them.

Just stay with me.

Can I?

I'd rather do that.

Okay.

Okay.

Without her, you'd never have understood.

It was so easy to leave.

Leave everything you thought was important.

- What you thought was indispensable -

- was part of you.

All the stuff.

All the possibilities.

All the projects and the thoughts to be recorded.

Everything that still hadn't happened.

That was about to happen.

People you no longer know, who no longer know you.

Who will never know you.

But who will never cease to share their hope, their fears -

- their random impressions of the world.

It wasn't your world.

They weren't your friends.

Your friends no longer exist.

And you're here.

Here with me.

The food is in the kitchen. You put it in the fridge, all right?

What do you want, really?

Where are you going with this?

You are talking bullshit. I know and you know.

He's old.

We shouldn't waste time on this.

You know, when Dad had surgery a year ago -

- she didn't visit him one time.

Not even once!

Start with the day she disappeared.

We have talked about it.

That was three months ago.

- Have you remembered something else? - No.

We were going home, so we took the ferry to the mainland.

We had dinner and beer at an inn and ran to catch the ferry back to the island.

Did she eat properly?

Yes. She did.

She ate well because I didn't watch her all the time.

- Ida didn't like to be monitored. - Of course not.

Would it have been so hard to pick up the phone once in a while?

Not a word for almost a year.

Then suddenly, she calls me up saying -

- she's gone away and might get married or something -

- and I can't go looking for her.

It didn't make any sense.

She didn't want to say where she was calling from.

We went for a walk on the island.

It was quite far.

It was our last day.

On our way back, it was already getting light -

- even though it was the middle of the night.

Go on.

Yes...

It was quite late.

We came back and...

We went to bed.

And... When I woke up, she was gone.

So I went looking for her.

Ida!

What are we doing?

Yes. When I woke up she was gone.

Only hours later, when the ferry returned...

...I told them what had happened.

They called the police.

They took over from there.

That's all I know.

Was it your idea to disappear?

- She wanted to see my childhood home. - That's not what I meant.

She disappeared long before that.

It was your idea.

Just you two! You wouldn't pick up the phone.

It just rang and rang, and I knew you were there. It was you.

Hi.

Look, Sander. Sander?

- Huh? - Viktor is down there.

Ida...

Why is he down there?

Ida?

Ida.

They've probably broken in.

They're walking around in there.

You didn't mention that she limped.

- She didn't limp. - Bullshit.

She walked in such a way that you couldn't tell.

With that insole, it was impossible to tell.

- She limped. - No, not really.

She was born with a limp. It was clear to everyone.

- What do you mean? - Why do you think I'm here?

I know why you're here.

The deal is that you stay here until you've answered all my questions.

That's what I'm paying you for.

I know.

- And? - And?

Damn.

Don't think I'm keeping you here against your will. You're free to go.

Everyone could see she had a limp. You want me to believe you couldn't tell?

Close that damn door!

But you knew it. And you knew you could do anything to her -

- just because she saw herself as disabled.

What are you talking about? Ida wasn't disabled.

Do you like skinny girls? Do you like skinny girls, huh?

- What? - Skinny? Bony? Is that what you like?

Ida was healthy.

- Hello? - Give it to me.

Hi, Perro, old chum. Why don't you call me?

Damn.

Did she tell you what triggered her relapse before you met her?

She had just met a guy... They were crazy in love.

I never understood why girls starve themselves to be skinny.

But she gained weight even though she ate less and less.

When she found out what it was, it was too late.

She said it was a relief when she aborted.

A bit of blood and then it was over.

Dad was the one who noticed. He had her admitted.

She stayed with us after she was released. She was completely...

Did she still have that spoon?

She used to eat everything with this stupid little teaspoon.

Mum and Dad just let her do it, even when I had friends over.

You must have noticed that she wasn't well.

- You must have noticed. - Stop talking about it.

Do you think she'd have done all this with you if she wasn't a bit out of it?

Why can't you just tell him what he wants to hear?

Telling him all this shit just confuses him.

Do you understand?

He just needs to know that she's all right.

Who cares if it's true?

Of course I should have been told sooner.

But people aren't doing their jobs properly, as usual.

So, she had a bank account.

One I didn't know about in another bank.

Did you know? Did you know she had an extra bank card?

Two days after she left the cottage...

...she used her extra bank card -

- to withdraw money in a village - a few kilometres away.

She withdrew quite a bit.

So tell me, why would she run away like this -

- if not to get away from you?

- I don't know. - She wanted to get away from you.

She must have figured she could come back at some point.

And pick her life back up.

But that's not easy when you're hanging on to her flat.

- It wasn't like that. - It was... How was it then?

- Tell me. - I have.

It was...?

We're done, Viktor.

Put it away.

Sander...

"The only way out is up," you might say.

I didn't know what you meant by it.

"Who of us can fly?" you might say.

And I knew.

Who?

You.

You can fly.

You.

You know that we can never return, right?

Yes.

Let's go out.

Come on.

It's our last day.

It looks like when I was a kid.

I remember once I was standing by the counter.

I was looking at all the cakes.

And then I dropped a plate.

The waiter told me off. Really scolded me.

Hi, Dad.

We've left Copenhagen.

We're going to stay here.

Don't come looking for us.

I love you.

Come on.

Sometimes it washes over you.

The thought that you didn't want it as much as her.

Something in you held back.

Something in you held back when it truly mattered.

It didn't want to let go.

You have let go. You have let go now.

I'm done here.

All we can do is wait.

I'm glad my wife was spared all of this in any case.

Wait.

She often talked about her mother.

About her mother? What did she say?

She talked about her... with tenderness.

She always said that she was so beautiful.

Even though they'd argue, they were always close.

One day, she brought me to a café.

- She used to go there with her mother. - Where was that?

On Strøget somewhere. I don't remember.

She liked going to the city with her in the middle of the day.

They almost always went to that café.

I don't remember anything about that.

Hot chocolate, pastry with chocolate.

- Hot chocolate and...? - They always ordered that.

They liked pretending being friends of the same age.

Sitting there, talking together.

One time, she accidentally dropped a plate on the floor.

It broke, and a waiter started scolding her.

Ida grabbed mother's hand, as if she knew she'd protect her.

As soon as she grabbed it, she felt safe.

But it wasn't her. This lady was a stranger.

She said she'd never felt more scared.

I must've forgotten about that. I've forgotten it.

But it was you, right?

That your lives were like that. That was your idea?

- It was my idea. - It couldn't go on like that.

- No. - But you understand now?

Yes. I understand. I understand now.

Good. Good.

He thinks it's best you stay here for a while.

All right.

All we can do is wait.

Yes, we'll have to wait.

Are you coming, Viktor?

It's as if you don't exist.

As if you were never here.

You're just a faint memory.

Something you're not sure you really experienced.

Or just dreamt.

You don't exist.

You're just a faint memory.

You're unimportant.

Insignificant. Free.

Hi.

- Hi. - I'm, Sander.

Hi, Sander.