All language subtitles for christopher.and.his.kind.720p.hdtv.x264-bia

This script was created by decoding a tv teletext stream to build coloured subtitles

This programme contains
very strong language

This programme contains scenes
of a sexual nature

It's 40 years since I first wrote
about my time in Berlin,

and the book I'm now writing is
perhaps an attempt to set the
record as straight as possible.

I destroyed my Berlin diaries,
you see, so have had to rely
a good deal on memory.

As to why I went in the first place,
my friend Wystan Auden was there
and encouraged me to join him.

I could also say I went because
of what was happening politically.

But, in fact, I went
because of the boys.

To me, Berlin meant boys.

Danke schon, mein Liebling.

# One man has hands that are tender

# One man has hands that are strong

# If I should choose to surrender

# My choices are bound to be wrong

# I might find my ideal lover

# If I search both far and wide... #

But, my dear, that simply won't do.

You're the very last
person who ought to go there.

Berlin isn't the right
place for you at all.

What on Earth do you mean?

It's German, darling.

Wystan Auden thinks it's
the most marvellous place.

Auden! Such an untidy boy!

And, besides, what
about medical school?

But, Mummy, I am not
cut out for medical school.

That's exactly what you
said about Cambridge!

Really, Christopher, you cannot
go through life shirking it.

It's time you buckled to.

I'm a published novelist!

Of course you are, darling,
but wouldn't it be so much
nicer to be a doctor, as well?

It isn't a hobby, you know?
Any normal mother would be proud.

And I am proud, my sweetheart.

You know I found your
novel most interesting.

I thought it was ingenious the way
you used your antipathy towards me
to such creative effect.

But you cannot expect life
to be one long holiday.

I'm not going there on holiday,
I'm going there to get away from you.

Couldn't you go somewhere a little
closer, like the Isle of Wight?

Mother!

# I don't know to whom I belong

# It would be such
a shame to end up on my own

# If I make myself true to one

# How another will surely be sad
and alone

Of course, you must do as you wish.
I fully intend to.

It's only natural, I suppose, that
you should want to flee the nest,

just as I am bound
to get more lonely.

When I think of what I went through
to bring you into this world!

Months and months of
feeling really quite seedy.

Oh well, so be it.

You won't forget, will you, darling,

that the Germans killed your father?

MACHINE GUNS

Take me with you.

You have to stay
and look after Mummy.

But for how long?

I'm afraid I can't answer that.

# If I make myself true to one

# How another
will surely be sad and alone

# Should such a beauty
belong to one person?

# No, surely, the sun
and the stars

# They belong to us all

# I don't know

# To whom I belong

# I believe

# I only belong to myself. #

APPLAUSE
Danke. Vielen Dank.

I was wondering...

Oh, do forgive me, dear boy.
I didn't mean to startle you.

No, no.
Could I trouble you for a light?

Yes, of course.

I seem to have mislaid my
lighter, I suspect it...

Thank you, dear boy.

It may have been...
Would you mind if I...?

No, no. How kind!

It may have been stolen. Oh dear.

One has to be so careful
nowadays, don't you find?

Are you going all the way?
Excuse me? To Berlin?

Yes.

Holiday? I'm hoping for
a little more than that.

Ah, yes.

Well, Berlin has so much to
offer, in certain respects.

Do you live there? For now.

One never knows what
a new dawn may bring.

I hope you don't think I'm prying,
dear boy, but do you have
accommodation in Berlin?

I do, as it happens, yes.
The reason why I venture such
impertinence is that my landlady,

dear, sweet woman,
is desperate for a reliable lodger.

Her landlords are ruthless
and if they knew she didn't

have the full quota,
well, turf her out in an instant.

I have a feeling, and though
perhaps I shouldn't say so myself,

I do have a nose for these things.

You might fit the bill perfectly.

My goodness, yes. Well, that's
most kind of you, but as I say...

I'll tell her, then, shall I?

Here's my card. Mr Hamilton.

Oh, Gerald, please.

And who shall I tell her to expect?

Isherwood.

Christopher Isherwood.

ANNOUNCEMENT ON TANNOY

Wystan!

So, here I am! Yes, here you are.
Good trip?

Fine, thanks.

Those seats are devilish.

I hardly noticed.

I thought we'd drop your case off,
then I'd show you the sights.

Best start as one means to go on.

I decided the Brandenburg Gate
could wait.

Don't worry, they won't bite,
unless you want them to.

They're very accommodating if you
have the cash, but it won't break

the bank, the exchange rate is
still very much in our favour.

Ah, Pieps! Hallo.

IN GERMAN

Guten Abend. Guten Abend. Niedlich!

What are you saying?

What was that?

We've been something of a feature.

Well, maybe more of a B feature.

I have no illusions of the
pitfalls of loving a whore.

Are they all on the game?

Most of them, yes. You can't imagine
what a state the economy's in.

They look very well on it.

Yeah, they like to
keep themselves fit.

It's good for business, of course,
and they're shamelessly vain.

The fact that we find them
desirable only proves how
very masculine they are.

What do you mean, "we"?

They're nearly all rampant heters
and use our money to pay for cunt.

But don't let that put you off,
they're frightfully good at it.

What name does he go under?

Caspar.

That's about the only
thing I understood.

Perhaps you'd better help me
trot out the odd German phrase,

else I could get myself
into the most frightful fix.

Perhaps I better had.

The question is, will you
understand the answers?

I might have found somewhere to stay.

Oh, yes? I got talking to this
man on the train. You little slut!

apparently his landlady's
rather desperate for a lodger.
Something about filling her quota.

Anyway, I thought there'd be
no harm in checking it out.

You're very welcome
to stay here, you know.

In fact I'd
very much like it if you did.

I need a room of my own, Wystan.

Once I start giving
lessons, which I'm going

to have to earn a bit of cash
and subsidise my writing, well...

And you can't write
poetry with me buzzing about.

Yes, you're right.

So, I expect you'll be seeing
him again, this Caspar chappie?

Well, yes. I hope so.

I have missed you.

I love English
gentlemen, Herr Issyvoo.

Herr Hamilton, such a charming man!
And you, a writer! What an honour!

You can
write many famous novels here.

Oh, Herr Issyvoo,
this room was made for you!

It's very nice, Fraulein Thurau.

Oh, Herr Issyvoo!

You English are so polite.
Well, you English men.

There is an English
woman across the hall.

She treats me like a slave.
"Fraulein Ross,"

I tell her, "I was a lady. I have
not always scrubbed the floors."

Ach, forgive me, Herr Issyvoo,
that was the lodger before you.

I don't know what he'd eaten
but it won't come out.

THEY SPEAK GERMAN

Morning, darling. I have
the most perfectly frightful head.

Who is it? Isherwood.

Who? Christopher Isherwood.

It's me, Christopher.
We met on the train.

I've taken the room.

Oh, Christopher!

Do forgive me, dear boy,
one has to be so careful nowadays.

Since my release from Brixton

I've rather lost touch with
the old country.

You were in prison? Yes, for
expressing anti-British sentiments,
though how, I ask myself,

could I be regarded as a traitor
when I have rivers of Irish blood
simply coursing through my veins?

So you're in business here?

One must have
fingers in many pies, dear boy.

Such alarming times we live in.

Ah! Heinrich! A young stevedore
I encountered in Hamburg.

And what were you doing in Hamburg?

What is one ever doing anywhere?

Passing through, dear boy.

That is our destiny,

forever passing through.

He does make rather an impression,
though, doesn't he? Well, I...

I have found, Christopher,
down the years, that I have

never been able to relax sexually
with a member of my own class.

That an affair with one's social and
intellectual equal is
well nigh impossible, mm?

I suppose.

You are in the right city, dear boy.

Quite the place to let your hair
down with some eager young prole.

Oh, dear, is it crooked?

Just a tiny bit, perhaps. Of course,
one must take a little care.

We're still illegal,
and should the Nazis come to power
they'll stamp us out altogether.

What's the current Communist line?

Well, as far as I know, Lenin
said nothing about buggery.

Dearest Heinrich!

Smelt exactly like a fox.

Delicious!

Haven't you gone yet, Ludo?

Oh, do put something on!

You'll frighten the horses.

He's Polish.

"He noticed I was staring at his
wig and asked if it was crooked.

"'Just a little', I said,
and he straightened it."

You like, ja? Ja. Spot on.

GASPING

Window. Good.

Good. Ah.

And this?

Fish. No, what is it?

Big fish?

No, this. What is this?

Whale.

No. It's a clock.

Clock! Ja!

Yes, good. And that's a dolphin.

Was? Never mind.

That...Fraulein Schmidt?

Well, what is that?

SHE LAUGHS

GASPING AND MOANING

Oh, Christoph! Oh!

This is how I'd like to die.

Ist gut? Ja? Ja, ja!

Guten Morgen, Herr Hamilton!

Oh, Guten Morgen, Fraulein Mayr.
Guten Morgen.

Danke.

ROARING BEHIND DOOR

Guten Morgen, Herr Issyvoo.
Guten Morgen, Fraulein Thurau.

How sweet love must be!

Tonight, yes?

Jawohl.

Morning, darling.

Of course I don't know half the
people who pass through this place,

but you've been here simply
generations.

I thought we really must say hello.
Would you like coffee or tea?

Well... I don't recommend the tea
much.

I don't know what Fraulein
Thurau does to it,
but it tastes just like slops.

Tell me, Chris, what do you do?

People tend not to call me Chris. I'm
an actress. Not at the moment.

I'm singing in a night club. But
you absolutely must come and see me.

What about tonight? I'm afraid
tonight's rather difficult.

Was that your boyfriend in
the hall or just a one off?

I find one offs so much less
of a hassle, don't you, darling?

I've been here for centuries,
getting on three months now.

I came here with a girlfriend who
assured me we'd get film work,

but then she was whisked off
to Paris by a fat banker and
left me utterly stranded.

How rotten. Oh, I don't care.

I can stand on my own two feet.

But don't you mind being here alone?

One's always alone, duckie.

Surely you know that.
How old are you?

I'm practically antique.

I'm nearly 21.

I'm frightfully bright, you know.

I got myself expelled from
school by saying I was pregnant.

There was the most terrible to
do when they found out I wasn't.

I got myself sent down
from Cambridge. I say!

Flunked my Tripos.

What a hoot!

I'm meeting a man in
The Adlon for lunch,

but he'll have to wait.

He has the most revolting
underpants, they're
like camel hair or something.

It's the sort of thing
John The Baptist might wear.

Oh, Mummy would nearly die
if she knew what an old whore I am,

but one has to keep that horrid
wolf from the door, doesn't one?

Guten Tag!

Really!

How do you manage, darling?

I've started giving English lessons,
but actually I'm a novelist.

A novelist! How perfectly
marvellous! Are you published?

My first novel, yes. I haven't yet
found a publisher for the second.

Has it sold simply thousands?

About 300, actually.

The one you write about me
shall sell by the million.

About you? Of course, darling.

Jean Ross, woman of mystery!

I'm not sure you're that mysterious.

Do you know, I think we're
going to get along famously.

You will write about
me, won't you darling?

Maybe.

One can't afford to wait, sweetie.

This whole thing is about
to collapse around our ears.

Carpe diem, darling!

Oh, damn!

I suppose I'd better
meet the old goat.

He's promised to introduce me
to Max Reinhardt, but I don't
believe him for a second.

Why are men always
such beasts, darling?

Chris, could you be an angel and
lend me 10 marks?

I haven't got a bean for the taxi.

"She said his underpants
were like camel hair,

"the sort of thing John The
Baptist might wear."

You're very quiet.

A touch of sunstroke.

You know, coming to Berlin
is the first honest thing
I've done in my life,

and it's all thanks to you.

I doubt your mother
sees it quite like that.

He's rather lovely, don't you think?

Caspar!

So tell me, Herr Isherwood,
have you come to Berlin
to sample the culture?

I wouldn't quite say that.
In fact, I'm rather anti-culture.

Like the Nazis?
Oh, no, not in that way.

It's just that I'm rather put off
by culture worshippers.

I find them somewhat
precious and prone to gushing.

Do you find me somewhat precious
and prone to gushing?

No, I'm sure you're not,
but the danger is that one
can use culture worship

as a substitute for engaging
with the messy business of living.

You see, I find all this so very
interesting, that you are a writer
but do not like culture.

It is my belief that culture
raises us from the beasts.

I wonder, Herr Landauer, why you have
employed me to teach you English.

You seem to speak it perfectly well.

One has to... How do you say?

..keep in practice.

Good. What exactly is it that you do?

I am a shopkeeper.

A shopkeeper?

That is precisely what I am.

As in Landauer's Department Store?

Yes.

That's where I buy my socks.

Do you engage with politics,
Herr Isherwood? Actually, no.

I'm not really a joiner. I seem to
be constitutionally incapable of
bringing myself to the required...

pitch of enthusiasm.

I have my sympathies, of course.

We can no longer afford
the luxury of sympathy.

I rather suspect I'm best equipped
to observe and record.
That will not be an option.

When the Nazis come to power,
we must take to the streets.

Not only Jews like myself,
but all of us, Herr Isherwood.

We must take to the streets
and stay there, even when
the Storm Troopers start firing.

I'm not sure I'd hack
it as a street fighter.

Forgive me, but are you not then
as guilty as your detested
culture worshippers

for refusing to engage
with the whole messy business?

I think, maybe, we should
all play to our strengths.

Perhaps we will practise
the irregular verbs?

You like that, huh?

It's like silk.

If you go to gymnasium,
Christoph, you be like me
and Johnny Weissmuller.

I'm not so sure about that.

And then you do this, ja?

No! No! Caspar!

Stop! Stop! Stop!

You like, ja? Nein! Ja?

Nein! Ja! Ja!

Christoph?

Yes? You got 10 marks?

Yes.
YODELLING

I pay you tonight, ja?

Of course you will.

Oh, dear!

Let us thank God, Christoph,

that we are both normal.

Aren't boys marvellous?

Their shape and their voices,
their smell and the way they move.

And they can be so...

romantic,

whereas girls...

No, I'm glad I'm like I am.

Thank God for public school!

He's not coming, is he?
As I've told you, my dear,
intimacy's just business to them.

So you think if I
stopped giving him money...?

No, no, Caspar and I,
it's more than just business.

They're desperate for cash
and they'll do anything for it.

But what he says to me... He'll
tell you anything you want to hear.

Still, what do I know about romance?

I'm a poet, not
a fucking journalist.

I've booked my ticket
back to England. Already?

Father's allowance has dried up
and I really must get this
fissure in my rectum seen to.

I hope that wasn't me.

I'm touched by your concern,
but really, Christopher,
you mustn't flatter yourself.

# Can't imagine why I
chose to leave him

# How could I have been so cruel?

# After all
he loved me without question

# Still I left him like a fool

# If I woke him late
at night complaining

# "I'm on my last cigarette"

# He'd say "I'll be
over in a minute

# "Darling, please don't get upset"

# Peter, Peter... #

Gute Nacht. Gute Nacht.

That's not what I was expecting at
all. I suspect that's a compliment,
so thank you, darling.

Oh, I'm so thrilled you're here.
Bobby, sweetie. Good job, hon!

Oh, I'm in heaven! Chris
darling, this is Bobby Gilbert.

He does something frantically
important in something or other.
I'm in steel.

And this is Chris Isherwood.
Christopher. Hey, Chris.

Any day now Bobby's going
to whisk me off to Hollywood,
aren't you, darling? You bet!

And I've told him all about you. Oh?

Chris is absolutely my best friend.
He's the writer. Oh, yeah, right!

Would I have read anything
of yours, Chris?

Oh, no, but I've told him if he
really sticks at it,

he could write something
really great like
Noel Coward or something.

Couldn't you, darling?

What's the matter, Christoph?
You don't like me tonight?

Eh, Christoph? What's the matter?

I don't like being taken for an
idiot, that's what's the matter.

You say you'll meet me,
then don't turn up.

You take money off me and say
you'll pay me back, but never do.

It's getting to the point where I
can't believe anything you tell me.

Yes, I understand. I understand.

Some of the girls I see,
they are like that.

They say things, then let me
down, and that makes me mad.

And when I see them, I always
pay them and never hit them
and still they let me down!

But you know, Christoph, some of
them, they are so beautiful,

and they make me so happy
and I just forget how mad I am.

You bastard!

Your eyes, Christoph.

They shine so bright
when you're hot for me.

Ah, Caspar. He gave
me a cheap gold-plated bracelet.

Probably an unwanted
gift from some admirer.

He fastened it around my wrist.

A love token, I fondly thought,

but then he disappeared.

I asked around, but no-one
knew where he was.

I should've listened to Wystan.

Perhaps it was just a
business transaction after all.

Zwei Minuten, meine Liebe.

It must be simply marvellous
to be a novelist. Why's that?

Because when people are utterly
foul to you, you can sit
down and write about them

and tell the world how perfectly
vile they are and make simply
pots of money out of it.

It hasn't quite worked out
like that yet.

Darling, be an angel
and light my ciggie.

Actually, I've been offered the
chance to earn a bit extra. Take it.

Writing the occasional letter from
Berlin and doing the odd book review.

Darling, that's marvellous!
Let's have champagne!

It's for a magazine called Action.
Oswald Mosley's rag?

Oh, you know it then?
Of course I know it.

I may wear green nail varnish,
but I'm not completely vacuous.

Why DO you wear green nail varnish?

Have you said yes? Not yet.
You won't. I wouldn't write
anything political.

Writing anything for that lot would
be making a statement of sorts,
even if it was the cookery column.

The money would come in awfully
handy. Christopher, you can't!

But, Jean... I wouldn't talk to you
again and that's an end to it.

I was just testing the water.
I wasn't really going to
write anything for them.

Honestly, I wasn't.

I'm one to talk. Gosh, you know
the things I've done for money.

People here are so strange.

They've simply no idea,
and the Nazis are getting

more and more of a foothold
and they just seem to accept it.

I've even heard some
talk of a brighter future

as if all this ghastliness
were a price worth paying.

They're going to get the most awful
shock unless they make a stand,

Which you and I must do.

We must not throw in the towel.

Why are you looking at me like that?
I don't really know.

WHIPPING, CRIES OF PAIN

Mein Gott!

Morning, darlings. Gott im Himmel!

HE CRIES OUT

Oh, dear! I do hope he
won't do himself a mischief.

He ought to be more careful
at his time of life.

HE CRIES OUT

Oh, Bobby darling!

You do that so well.

You must teach me one day
how to catch it in my mouth.

You bet, honey.

Thank you. To The Memorial.
The Memorial.

Yeah! So, do you reckon
I'd enjoy your book, Chris?

Well, I'm not sure what sort
of books you like, Bobby.
What do you think, hon?

I haven't a clue, darling, but I
expect it's astoundingly brilliant!

And the point is, it's published.
His second novel in print,

and he's even had a
letter of congratulation
from EM Forester. Forster. Wow!

It won't be long till our
Chris is just as famous.

Say, who's that guy in the wig?
BOTH: Gerald.

Well, I could swear that Gerald
was peeking through the keyhole
while I was in the john.

When I came out, he didn't know
where to look.

I expect he knew
exactly where to look.

Yeah. Right.

Bobby, darling. I adore champagne.

We'll have it every day, won't we,
once you' whisk me off to Hollywood?

Sure thing.

Bobby! Naughty Bobby!

SHOUTING

GLASS SMASHES

Excuse me.

Entschuldigung, bitte.

I was in a cafe and you were...
Do you remember?

No. Well, why should you?

Mein Name ist Christopher.

Perhaps you'd like
to go for ein Bier?

No. OK.

I'm sorry.

His name was Heinz. He was innocent,
vulnerable and uncritical.

A boy I could protect and
cherish as my very own.

Jean thought it was all frightfully
jolly and decided I was at last doing
my bit for the class struggle.

And as Heinz and I drew closer,

I had no hesitation
in falling in love.

SHE COUGHS

She need to be in hospital,
but there is no bed.

Mutti...
SHE COUGHS

Gerald! Come on out.
I know you are in there!

He's not here! Where is he, then?
Hamburg. Hamburg?!

Well, when he's back, tell him
if I don't get what I want,
he knows what to expect.

Don't you, Gerald?

Some people seem to be utterly
lacking in consideration.

Tell me what it's about, Gerald.

A business transaction, that's
all, that went slightly awry.
What sort of business?

You know, Christopher,
you're looking as joyous
as the first day of spring.

Gerald!

I was offered a small fee
to help someone get his
hands on a police dossier.

Yes?

Actually, it was a positively
glacial sum that would have
paid off my debts at a stroke,

and do you know what?

The wretched man simply vanished.

Disparu without paying
me a single pfennig.
So who was that at the door?

A philistine, my dear.
Claiming interest on a little loan.

A loan for what? Oh, do keep up,
dear boy! For the money I needed to
bribe the police to get the dossier.

What on earth were you thinking of?

The trouble is everyone's so
greedy nowadays. And dishonest.

Simply can't trust a soul.

Gerald. Yes?

Your wig's slipped.

Oh!

DOOR CREAKS

No!
THUMP

'My dear Christopher, I've had
to leave Berlin at very short notice

'which made it impossible
for me to communicate with you.

'Our friend at the door finally
lost patience and matters
got a little out of hand.

'Try not to think too
hardly of me, dear boy.

'That would be more
than I could bear.

'As always,
your affectionate Gerald.'

They give her bed at last.

Ah, that's very good
news, Frau Neddermayer.

She make dress to look
nice in sanatorium.

Oh, I see. Well, it would be, um...

SHE COUGHS

To see his Nazi friends.

SHE BREATHES DEEPLY

SHE COUGHS

The last Kaiser
always mistrusted Berlin.

He saw it as a centre of,
how do you say, dissidence?

Yes.
What with the leftist working class
and the intellectual avant garde.

I'm wondering if the working
class is as leftist as one imagines.

It was not that long ago, Herr
Isherwood, that we came close
to a communist revolution,

but they lacked a strong leader.

This is where Adolf Hitler

has been so very clever
and exploited the situation.

Ever since the Treaty of Versaille

and then the Depression brought
the country to its knees

with banks failing and savings
disappearing, the poor and
unemployed see him as their saviour.

And the Nazis organise everywhere -

in bars and clubs
and schools like a virus.

I see. Ja. Like a virus.

But I am sure
that all this you know.

Or do you spend
too much time at play?

Berlin can be very distracting.

We must all stand by our
own kind, Christopher.

Whatever the cost.

# I can't give you
anything but love

# Baby

# That's the only
thing I've plenty of

# Baby

# Dream a while

# Scheme a while

# We're sure to find

# Happiness

# And I guess

# All those things
you've always pined for... #

# I can't give you
anything but love

# Baby! #

Oh, bravo! Did your mother
teach you to cook? Ja.

She's not very well,
she is at the sanitorium. I did say.

Yes, of course.
So tell me, what exactly is this?

Pig.

Oh, pork! How lovely!

Ja. It is, er...

Pork rib? Delicious!

I think he means lung.
Ja! Schweinelunge!

Oh. Golly.

And then before my very
eyes I saw him turn from

prince to frog and I thought, "Did
I really let that make love to me?"

This is my brother Gerhardt.

Gerhardt, it's a
pleasure to meet you.

Won't you join us? We're having
the most perfect evening.

I think your brother
is simply divine and he's
cooked us a marvellous meal.

You are no longer
welcome here, Herr Isherwood.

He doesn't mean it.

May I ask why?

Before our father went to the
Western Front, he said to me,

"Gerhardt, look out for your
mother and your brother."

I have always tried to honour
his memory, but with no work and
no money, it's been difficult.

I'm sure it is. Yes. But now
there is hope, Herr Isherwood,

and Herr Hitler is the reason.

Oh, for goodness sake!

He understands men like me.

He wants to make us proud again,

hold our heads up high again. The
Communists, they had their chance.

The Nazis are the people's
party now. This is your friends

at night school talking, Gerhardt.

Did he just call me a tart?

We do not want you
here, Herr Isherwood.

You and your kind.

Oh, how frightfully rude!

So take your pick, Heinz.

Make your father proud...

..or shame us all.

But Gerhardt...

Honestly, darling, how you can
leave poor Heinz with that monster?

I'm sure he can stand up for himself!

We'll probably find him hacked
into little pieces at
the bottom of a canal.

And you didn't help matters
addressing Gerhardt like you were
Queen Mary at an investiture.

And after all the trouble he
went to with that pig lung hash.

You bastards, you bastards!
For Christ's sake, Jean!

Brutes!

Filthy rotten brutes!
Shut up! For God's sake!

You're just as bad, every one
of you! Don't worry, darling...

It's over now. Can we get a taxi?

Can somebody please get a taxi!

Cracken house, ja?

You get used to it,

that's the danger.

The uniforms and the raids,

the street-fights
and the beatings...

We can't just stand by, can we?

No.

We can't, you know.

We really can't.

Gerhardt...

Such a pity,

isn't it, that we don't make love?

After all, there's
nothing else to do.

We could go to the movies.

I haven't got two
pfennigs to rub together.

Jean?

Jean, what is it?

Hollywood's off.

Oh, Jean, I'm so sorry.

"Dear Jean, I have to
go back to the States.

"Some emergency at HQ.

"It was fun, wasn't it?

"Bobby."

What a complete bastard.

Typical bloody American.
Flaky as hell!

You fancied him rotten!

That's beside the point. Come here.

And he was a most marvellous lover.

He was the best...

Oh, Jean. Poor darling...

He did leave me a little something.

So he bloody should!

But I shan't be keeping it.

# Men say that they can be faithful

# Simply I smile to myself

# New love is always so novel

# Faithfulness is but pretence

# Now it is all but forgotten

# But yesterday I still possessed

# Love affords time that is blissful

# Loyalty still makes no sense

# I don't know to whom I belong

# It would be such
a shame to end up on my own

# If I make myself true to one

# How another will surely
be sad and alone

# Should such a beauty
belong to one person

# No surely
the sun and the stars

# They belong to us all

# I don't know to whom I belong

# I believe

# I only

# belong to myself. #

They come, they go,

and so it will always be.

Good morning, Herr Issyvoo.

Guten Morgan, Fraulein Thurau.

What a beautiful morning!

Even the sun seems to have
come out for Herr Hitler.

Oh, Herr Issyvoo?

The police have been round.

The police?
They were asking about my lodgers.

What did they want to know?

"Routine", they said.

RECORDING OF HITLER PLAYS

Hein, un Moment. Caspar!

I would remind you, sir,
that this is a Jewish store

and that there is now an
official anti-Jewish boycott.

Where have you been? I've been
looking everywhere for you.

You disappeared.
I didn't know what had happened.

Caspar!

I need to buy a pair of socks.

Shame!

Shame!

Beruf?

"Street-sweeper"? No. Maybe...

"domestic servant", or...

Yes, why not? "Domestic servant".

Heinz? I cannot come, Christoph.

But of course you can.

No, it is too dangerous...
for you, for me...

It's even more dangerous if you stay.

For Gerhardt. Gerhardt?

He's one of them, for God's sake!

He's my brother! We're brothers too,

Heinz, and more, much more besides!

And this is my country.
Not at the moment, it isn't.

It will be again one day, I've
no doubt, but in the meantime...

You do not miss home?
I have no home. This is home...

wherever I am.

We should be where we belong.

We are where we belong - together.
We must stand together.

We're responsible for each other,
as individuals. Don't you see?

You have to come with me.
I want you to.

Now you do, but in a week? A month?

I'll still want you Heinz.

Heinz. Of course I will.

YODELLING

I am sure I do not know,
Herr Issyvoo,

what makes you want to leave Berlin.

How can I best put this, Fraulein?

Adolf Hitler.

Ach, the Fuhrer!

One day it's Bruning, then von
Papen, the next von Schleicher,

then it's Hitler.

We must all make the best of it,
Herr Issyvoo. I am staying.

Most Germans are staying.

And besides, where else would we go?

Well, this is your homeland,
Fraulein. I understand that.

But Heinz and I, we want to get out.

We want to... Travel.

But why? To go here? To go there?

What is the point?

Soon no-one will be left.

Herr Hamilton has gone,
Fraulein Ross,

now you...

You get used to it.

You get used to anything.

CLOCK TICKS

Is your room...satisfactory?

Mummy, he's not retarded.

Where you sleep, is good, yes?

Yes. I sleep good.

Yes. Good. Thank you.

How long have you known Christopher?
Mummy... Shush!

I know Christopher
one year and one half.

Oh, that long, and he's hardly
mentioned you, if at all.

And how long are you staying
in our country? Two weeks.

I'm sure Heinz can answer for
himself, can't you, Heinz?

Two weeks.

You see?
What a shame it's not longer.

Two weeks is as long
as his permit allows.

Then maybe another time.

What is that?

Oh, now... Christopher!

That, Heinz, is Wyberslegh Hall,

part of the family estate.

It's in Cheshire
in the north of England.

I painted it, as a matter of fact.

You paint it?

Yes.

It's very good.

Thank you, Heinz.

That is the house where
I gave birth to Christopher.

Yes? And very difficult it was too.

I was in labour for 18 hours.

18 hours! Imagine that!

Mummy, please!

Oh, dear, that was rather
modern of me, wasn't it?

But it was worth it.
He was the most delightful baby.

I'm sure Heinz isn't
remotely interested.

He had the loveliest skin
and long slitty eyes...

just like a Jap.

You see, of course he's interested.

You live in the past, Mummy.

Perhaps I do, Christopher,
because it's always there
and never lets me down.

Do you have a mummy, Heinz?
She's dead. Oh.

Oh, I am sorry. Oh, dear.

Christopher's daddy's dead.
He was killed in the war.

He was my daddy too.

Yes, dear, but you hardly knew him.

He was killed by the Germans.

What are you thinking of, hmm!
I'm not blaming Heinz, darling.

I'm simply filling him in.

And for your information,
Heinz's daddy was also
killed on the Western Front.

Well, there you are, you see.
That's what wars do - kill people.

Toast?

He's a nice boy.

Well-mannered.

A street-cleaner, you say?

There's no reason a street-cleaner
can't be well-mannered.

No, dear. No reason at all.

How lovely to have a job like
ordinary people.

But who'd have you, my darling?

You seem to be inept at pretty much
everything. Don't speak to him
like that!

It's entirely your fault
he's like he is. Like what?

Richard, dear, we're talking.

It's terrible he has to go back,
and now Germany's withdrawn
from the League Of Nations.

Yes, that is rather troubling.

I must think of a way of
getting him out for good.

But why should that
be your responsibility?

Surely he knows people who can help.

He has absolutely no-one, Mummy,
except for a brother
who's disowned him,

and, besides, I want it to be my
responsibility.

So what will you do?

Get him another permit?

Or even another nationality.

Of course,
you could always adopt him.

Darling! I don't think so!

Are you sure he wouldn't
be happier in Germany?

It is his home, after all.

It's where he belongs.

And he isn't a Jew or anything.
You've no idea. It's Nazi Germany
we're talking about.

It's not just the Jews who
are being victimised.

I do read the papers, darling.

I'm fully aware that the
Nazis have done some bad things.

Although one hears that Herr
Hitler's done some good things too.

Dear God!

If it weren't for that wretched boy
Auden, dragging you off there...

I assure you, he
didn't need to drag me.

But you must do as you wish,
Christopher, as you always do...

so long as you realise
what you might be taking on.

Right. We're going to have to
mail money to him in Berlin... "We"?

..So he can support himself until he
comes back here, and if you write
a letter inviting him to stay...

Christopher! ..Then
I'm sure they'll give him a much
longer permit, maybe even for keeps.

You can't do that!
You'll find that I can.

But you haven't proved your case!
Mr Isherwood,

your mother invites a foreign
servant to her home without
the requisite permit,

you send the boy money telling
him to claim it was a bequest,

which could be construed as
an attempt to deceive His Majesty's
Immigration Service,

but then
we have the letter you wrote.

May I?

"I am counting the days
until your arrival.

"I've been so lonely without you."

A bit curious, don't you think,
the way it's written? A bit...

what's the word? Queer?

Thank you, Mr Auden.
What a boon to have a poet on hand!

You can't send him back!
Christopher... No!

God knows what they might do!
Not my responsibility.

So an alien has no rights
whatsoever in this democracy

that men have laid down
their lives for.

I hope, should the moment come,
that you too will be ready
to make the sacrifice.

Make no mistake, I shall appeal!

You can write to the Home Secretary
for all the good it will do.
Come on.

As soon as I saw that rat,
I knew we were done for.

They're all the bloody same!
Oh no, he's one of us.
It stands out a mile.

I'm sorry.

You seem out of sorts.

Do I?

It's Heinz, isn't it?

Goodbyes are always sad.

As sad as dying.

I'll be seeing him soon enough.

That's right. Yeah.

No need to be sad.

I suppose being a writer,
you want to tidy everything up
and make it make sense.

But things never do
quite make sense, do they?

Not really.

No.

This Sally Bowles character...

is she based on anyone?

Yes, in a manner of speaking.

And what about Mr Norris?

Yes, I suppose he is too. I thought
we might first meet him on a train.

Oh, yes. Trains are always good.

You can't go wrong with a train.
Where were we?

Full stop, close quotation marks.

Good. It must be very polarising,
this Nazi business.

Hard to sit on the fence,
I'd imagine. Yes, it is.

Berlin's fairly seething, what with
all the poverty and wounded pride.

I'd say communism was
the best hope for peace.

Then why not stay here
and join the Party?

I can't do that!
I have Heinz to consider.

Yes, Heinz. Of course.

So where will you go?

Amsterdam, probably.

For the time being.

That's all one can say, isn't it?

"For the time being."

It always breaks my heart
a little to see you leave.

You should be used to it by now.

Oh, no, I'll never get used to it...

..And how awful if I did.

I'll be back.

I always am.

'And so once again I cast off
from England and threw
in my lot with Heinz.

'Two lost souls wandering
around Europe on the brink...

'I have to admit I felt a little
guilty flitting from country to
country to save a single man,

'whilst others were
preparing to save the world.

'But then our luck ran out and Heinz
was arrested by the Gestapo,

'and that was that.'

Daily Worker, ladies?
No appeasement! Fight the fascists!

Excuse me, Miss...

I'm exercising my democratic right!

Only you would choose to sell
The Daily Worker in Knightsbridge.

I have no say in the matter.

I go where the Party tells me.

You're looking impossibly young.
Are you ever going to age?

I do hope not. My God! The varnish!

I somehow felt that red
was more appropriate.

I must confess
I carry it with me everywhere.

Isn't it funny, darling, that
you're the one that became famous?

And you know I must say
I'm rather enjoying it,

and meanwhile poor Heinz...

Well...I dread to think
what he's being subjected to.

A year labouring for the state
followed by two years in the army.

It's frightfully harsh.

It could be worse -
he might have got carted
off to a concentration camp.

You did all you could.

I wonder if I did?
I wonder if I did, really?

And what's worse,
I even feel relieved.

Hmm.

Do you ever miss Berlin? Oh, no.

I never miss anything.

Sometimes I wonder if I
shouldn't have had that kid.

I think I'd just about have
cut the mustard as a mother.

I'd tuck him in,
and I'd sing to him.

And then I'd go out and fuck
filthy old men to pay for the brat!

Then why not marry and have another?

Because I've lost my faith in men.

Well, that's a shame.

I have simply no use
for them any more.

Not even you, darling.

Oh, well,

back to the revolution.

Might we see each other again?

Goodbye, Chris.

Goodbye.

'It seems everyone's caught
communism like flu.'

I think it's fair to say that the
closest we've come to solidarity

with the workers is
sleeping with them.

Well, that's a cause of sorts.

The only cause you really care
about, Christopher, is yourself.

Isn't that rather unkind?

Hmm. But you've turned
it into an art form -

rather successfully, as it happens.

I used to be a little
in love with you.

You knew that, didn't you?

Yes, I thought you did.

You're lucky - you're not
burdened by the concept of sin.

And it is a sin, Christopher...

although I fully intend
to carry on sinning.

Please, don't start on about God!

You're going to have
such a conversion one
of these days, my dear.

I do loathe the sea.

It's so wet and sloppy.

I don't belong here.

I'm not sure I belong anywhere.

I rather like being a foreigner.

I wonder where we might end up?

'Wystan was right.

'I've never known about
anybody except me. You see,

'I was never able to commit - I only
ever sort of added to the chorus.

'And now, of course, politics are
more and more about the individual.

'The gay liberation movement seems to
have taken me to its heart.

'It's very nice of them, really.

'A cause at last!

'But then I think it always was
my cause. And somehow, you know...

'it makes sense of
what I was trying to do for Heinz.

'All those years ago...'

Christoph?

You write again about Berlin?

Yes, for a British newspaper.

A lot has changed, ja?

What's left of it.

When the city was cut in pieces,
we end up in the Russian sector.

Rotten luck, eh?

We all hate the Russians, Christoph.

We would much rather be here
in the West Zone.

Maybe one day.

My friend Christoph,
the famous writer.

I suppose you could say that.

Tell me,
there are skyscrapers in America?

Oh, yes.

And you see Hollywood?

I live near there, actually.
And the Grand Canyon? You see that?

Yes. It's...

very big.

And cowboys?
No, I haven't seen too many of them.

I feel guilty, Heinz.

All that I made you suffer. I should
never have taken you out of Germany.

But Christoph, you change my life.

What we had, what we did,

I would not miss for the world.

Look, Christoph...

My wife, Hilde.

Well, she looks...

very nice!

She's a good girl.

And she doesn't ask questions.

That's all right then.

And this is my son...

..Christoph.

Christoph?

Ja.

Well.

You know, Christoph,
you are not getting younger.

That's the way it tends to go.

You live alone, yes?

At the moment.

That is not good, to live alone.

You need a family around you,
to keep you company, to
look after you when you are sick.

Heinz, I'm not decrepit!

But listen, Christoph,
we could be your family. What?

Hilde, Christoph and I.

Out there in...California.

Ah, well...

Erm, I'm not so sure about that.

You see, the life I lead...

My, my plans are so uncertain.

I'd have to think it over.
Look, we'll see. See how it goes.

And I'll write you,
we'll keep in touch.

You do understand, don't you, Heinz?

You do...don't you?

Yes. I...I understand.

Fraulein!

Ho-ho-ho-ho!

Oh!

When the city was divided, we got
the Americans. Oh, I am so happy!

We are all so happy!

I thank God the Russians
didn't get us. Communism!

Oh, Herr Issyvoo,
you look like a child!

It's lovely to see you, Fraulein.

Herr Issyvoo, Herr Issyvoo!

Ach, the last year of the war,
Herr Issyvoo! Yes. It was terrible.

We were in the cellar nearly
all the time, holding each other.

We prayed so much,
we got quite religious!

Ah! Is the yodeller still there?

No, thank God! The Nazis shot her.

It's the one good thing they did!

Another survivor, eh, Fraulein?

Another survivor.

It was damaged a little,

but I mended it.

For you.

No, I couldn't.

Take it, please,

and when you look at it,
you will think of Berlin,
and Fraulein Thurau,

and smile.

Thank you.

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