Original subtitles

The following text has been sent to 145 destinations.

Publishing houses, newspapers, magazines...

... radio stations and TVchannels.

To my relatives and acquaintances. And to the Police.

lf you're a journalist l defy you to publish it.

lf you're a radio or TVnews writer don't hesitate to air it.

lf you're a mere citizen, try to spread this story around

to as many people as you possibly can.

Spreading this might as well be the only way of

preventing the victimization of even more people.

THE BACHELOR

l saw a man falling...

... falling...

l saw a man falling...

... falling...

l saw a man falling...

... but l had no time for a wish...

... l had no time for a wish...

Sophie?

One day, in early December two years ago

l came home from work and Sophie was not there.

She usually came back before me and l found her there upon my return.

Sophie could have very well gone somewhere without me knowing

as she usually did latetly.

But... there was one thing

that left me frozen as soon as l saw it.

Life sentence Sophie

Her things were all there.

There was no indication that Sophie was really gone.

But there was something

she would have taken with her at any rate.

She had left. She had disappeared.

Up to that day, Sophie was my wife.

What happiness!

Sunday morning...

Not having to go to work...

... and waking up to an Argentinian tango.

Thyrohormone of 1 mg...

These I must never forget to take.

One a day...

For life...

I am sentenced for Iife!

To Iove you...

You?

Life sentence.

Thyrohormone!

When we first met each other

this was our little, strictly private joke.

How many years had passed since the time when we used

this bizarre code word

to describe our endless love?

Besides her pill, which she had to take daily

she had a real passion.

Almost an obsession with Spanish,

Latin America and Argentinian tangos.

At that time, we were both working in the bank.

We were mere clerks in the same branch.

Sophie was born in '65. So was l.

Another coincidence, we both had no siblings.

One more:

We both came from small county towns.

That's where we grew up and where our parents were living.

We were both living alone in Athens.

Thodorino...

Ever thought of us two steaIing from the bank?

Just by pressing the wrong keys every time, change mostIy...

For exampIe, 256 or 356?

Or even Iess than that.

How many bankbooks do you update daiIy, just count them...

Every year we couId be tango dancing in Buenos Aires!

First you nagged me into finding a fIat in the skyscraper.

So as to be high above and Iook down beIow on them aII

and not be miserable. Now you want to rip off the bank?

Isn't tango dancing enough for you, here... now?

In Buenos...

... Aires!

Which prize did you get in that competition?

I've toId you so many times. The third one!

If you'd had me as a model, it wouId have been the first one.

If you hadn't given up, perhaps today you'd be a famous photographer.

Perhaps I'd be a famous photo modeI, too.

Back to ''Apple of debate'', ladies and gentlemen

let's move on to our next guest, Mr. Petros Fortysome.

I was in High SchooI with this guy Fortysome.

... a star of the media.

Mr. Fortysome, good evening...

Good evening.

- He's often on TV, this man. - ReaIIy?

What does he do on TV?

WeII... he says things...

He Iooks oIder than you.

He's thirty five.

His name is Fortysome.

... they perhaps relate to our overall lifestyle.

Mr. Tsimas, although you have already labelled me as a neo-cynical...

Turn it up, I want to hear him.

My own slogan...

my trademark really...

could be phrased as follows...

A man who gets married lives his life like a dog and dies like a human being

while, on the other hand

he who never marries lives like a human being and dies like a dog.

lf l were not married, l'd be your follower.

Why did you change it? lt's fun.

l can't stand Fortysome nonsense!

I'm turning in, I'm sIeepy.

When wiII we work on a baby?

When wiII we have a baby?

Thodorino...

The money we make is not even enough for ourseIves.

The baby can be on hold for a IittIe Ionger.

There's no rush, is there?

Is there?

Besides, I want many chiIdren, not just one.

I have an idea.

Let's save money and buy a vesseI.

I'd rather we had a tour around Latin America.

A house on an isIand is better. In Patmos, what do you say?

A tour of Latin America. PIease, it's my Iife's wish!

Argentina, Paraguay, Peru...

I'm bored of Athens.

All these, of course, we had to do during our leave

and by summing up our salaries.

Could it ever be possible?

Only a poor reflection of those dreams we made, ever managed to come true.

Our trip to Barcelona, instead of a tour of Latin America

and some other minor stuff.

Our life remained ordinary and meaningless

compared to our ambitious plans.

ln September...

that same night perhaps...

Sophie got pregnant.

That same month

we brought my father down to Athens with advanced lung cancer.

He stayed with us at home

and every afternoon, Sophie and l

went through the sad duty of taking him for radiation treatment.

Already, since early November

Sophie had been transferred to our neighbourhood branch.

She had asked for this herself.

l remained in the main branch.

ln mid-November without asking me,

in secrecy and silence, perhaps even kept from her own self,

Sophie had an abortion.

We drifted steadily apart.

Losing our contact more and more.

As if it wasn't our choice...

As if some external circumstances compelled us to it.

l had taken up photography again.

l took shots within the appartment.

Closeups, objects.

The angle was such that the model got distorted.

Looking at the photo afterwards, you couldn't really tell what it was.

Let's go, we'Il miss cIass! Food's in the oven.

Sophie went out with a group of women friends of hers.

There was one detestable old friend

who got this idea of workouts in her mind.

That's the picture frame l had about Sophie's life, in all that period.

Workouts and friends.

l was later to find out that l was absolutely wrong about it.

HeIIo?

Mr. Dimitriadis?

Speaking.

Sophie... is doing fine.

Who is on the phone?

- Juan. - Who?

You don't know me. My name is Juan.

Juan?

Who are you?

Why is your name Juan if you're Greek? What's your connection to Sophie?

lf you want and l'm sure you do...

l could tell you the truth, save you the trouble of searching...

Who are you? What do you know about Sophie?

We'll talk more in person. At Cleo Maternity Clinic, at 5.

This afternoon.

Go up to the top floor.

At the restaurant.

HeIIo?

HeIIo!

HeIIo!!

Now why would he want to meet me in a Maternity Clinic?

Sophie's pregnant?

From him?

She's having an abortion again?

Then why would they ask me to be there too?

I hope I didn't scare you.

Sit.

Where's Sohie? Which room?

Want to eat or drink something?

She's not here in the cIinic.

I chose this pIace for no reason reaIIy.

I'm used to it I guess.

You see, I come here fairIy often.

There's aIways some mishap with the girIs.

The customers, no! Using a condom is a must for them!

Mishaps refer exclusively to myself.

Think of how many kids I'd have...

Girls and condoms and customers. What are you taIking about?

This crazy man is raving!

What's all this gibberish for?

Why the Spanish pseudonyms?

They're my assistants, you understand.

We need them, for the time being, at Ieast.

When you hear what I have to teII you

you may come up with a stupid reaction.

One can never be sure...

Say what you want to say. My ears are wide open.

I'm Iistening!

If not hating me aIready...

you wiII be.

Sure as heII.

That's how it usually goes.

You're not the first one, you see.

BeIieve me, though.

I feeI for you deepIy!

How can I put it...

Like you're my IittIe brother, that cIose.

Because for me, you're something more than a mere aIIy.

lt sounds strange to you right now, right?

But you'Il see, that's how it is.

Your wife, dear CarIo...

My name's not CarIo! Are you insane?

Where is Sophie? Who are you?

Sophie is a secondary character in this.

Whereas you...

If it wasn't for you or men Iike you...

I'd be done for.

Where's Sophie?

Your wife, dear CarIo...

is keeping company to severaI rich men,

mainIy foreigners...

who reside at the big hoteIs of Athens.

In case the customer, for any reason,

does not want to take the girI to his room, we aIso have a fIat!

Who are you, guys?

I don't beIieve a word of this. I think Sophie is in here.

I want you to study these photos.

At home!

At your Ieisure.

They may convince you.

AIthough I doubt they wiII...

My phone number.

You'll need it!

l'm sure.

AIright then.

TeII me where Sophie is, 'cause I don't beIieve a word you said.

Don't make me sad.

You're proving yourseIf so inferior to what I expected...

You're desperateIy too much like aII the other husbands I've known,

you aII react aIike!

Why won't you be a IittIe different?

Show some originaIity?

l just couldn't believe it!

That scum with the Spanish pseudonym

might as well be a pimp.

He might even be devil himself.

But my Sophie?

Could it ever be possible that

she had lowered herself so as to be a courtesan?

Now you're getting it!

Now you're getting it!

No...

No...

No and no again!

And another biIIion times...

No...

The photos Juan gave me

were of questionable authenticity.

Vague, too.

That might not even be Sophie.

Or they might have been photo-edited.

lt happens much too often.

My head was about to burst.

Sophie was not giving any sign of life.

Go to the police? l wouldn't even think of it.

lf what Juan said turned out to be the truth

l could imagine being ridiculed by policemen's mocking looks.

l wouldn't stand all that shame.

l'd feel horribly humiliated.

Disgraced down to the lowest point.

The only person in the world

that could help me find Sophie

was unfortunately Juan.

l heard it from Juan that one afternoon

he met us for the first time, me and Sophie,

then he followed us home.

This, always according to Juan,

happened 3 months before her disappearance

that is in September.

After that

he started following Sophie.

How much is it?

The jacket's 200 and the skirt 150.

I'II browse a IittIe.

Yes, pIease?

- The dress in the window. - Size?

WeII, the Iady's size.

That'II be a... 38?

38 or 40...

Thanks for cooperating.

Your taste is very good.

Are you paying by card?

Cash!

For you!

I bought it for you!

l saw the yearning in your eyes for it...

It is your size.

UnIess of course you Iied.

I'm not going to accept it.

Do not insist.

Do you always deny what you really yearn for?

Why do you aIways have these dark gIasses on?

Who are you hiding from?

I take it it's not me 'cause I bump into you for a month now.

No...

Not from you.

On the contrary.

I hide myseIf from the day.

I don't Iike it. I onIy Iike the night.

You Iike the night...

NormaIIy, people should be Iiving aII day in the countryside

and come down to the city onIy at night.

Why onIy at night?

Because when night faIls, you cannot see anything in the countryside.

You cannot see the trees or the sea or the mountains...

Whereas in the city?

ln the city...

AII the Iights are on!

Men go out to look for women and women to Iook for men.

Well, you didn't wait untiI dark, did you?

Behind dark gIasses day Iooks Iike night.

Besides, the countryside means nothing to me anymore.

Now I onIy Iike the night.

So?

What eIse goes on at night?

A crowd of whores are on the streetwaIk.

You've seen the cars stopping in front of the girIs, haven't you?

Each one's Iooking for the whore they can afford.

Thieves go out the steaI, kiIIers to kiII...

Everything changes at night, you see.

PeopIe don't go out to work Iike in daytime.

They go out for different reasonsss...

More private onesss...

As if the ruIes of the game change and aII turns upside down...

It's aII bIack and white in Iife, anyway.

That's my Iife theory.

BIack and white!

By the time they left the cafe

Sophie was already in love with him.

You're taIking strangeIy!

Juan insisted on this.

What did she really like about this man?

His nose?

After all

l don't believe love is triggered by someone's looks.

Main thing is that Sophie was magnetized by this man.

She became his mistress.

My husband was greatly taIented in photography.

His obsession with it was...

one of the main reasons I feII in Iove with him.

And?

He gave up on his passion for my sake.

His taIent, the...

onIy thing he was obviousIy born to do...

How fortunate...

for me...

I'm sure this suit wouId fit you perfectIy!

I don't want it.

I don't want it, l dont want it, I don't want it!

Yes.

l was destined to hear from Juan

that this was actually the focus point of Sophie's problem with me.

She had no esteem for me anymore.

Sophie had really had high hopes on me and my silly hobby.

That dress was followed by

new, much more expensive gifts.

Seeing all that cash flowing from her lover's pockets

Sophie was tempted...

... seduced...

... depraved.

Juan's generosity

must have undoubtedly

played a major part shaping things the way they turned out later on.

Think!

You have absoIuteIy no taIent!

Your life?

You already know it by now.

What can you expect from a Iife Iike this?

Ajob Iike this?

SaIary based?

You're going to die having achieved onIy a 10 per cent of your dreams...

or even Iess...

I'm asking you, then...

Don't you want money?

ReaI money?

Not knowing how to spend it aII?

How many times so far have you not...

made Iove with your husband unwiIIingIy?

Remember.

How many times that you didn't feel like doing it?

Some of those you faked it, you even pretended that...

you Iiked it...

Of course, so as not to hurt him, make him sad...

So?

Was it that terrible?

That unbearabIe?

You don't say...

Deep down you must admit it was quite simpIe...

Piece of cake...

Pleasurable no...

Endurable though.

ToIerabIe, aImost easy.

EspeciaIIy...

if you consider the price for it.

We're taIking big money...

ReaI big...

Not knowing how to spend it aII...

Don't misjudge her.

lt is onIy human. Human indeed!

How many in this worId are capabIe of resisting

the invincibIe temptation of money?

EspeciaIIy when partnered with Iove.

Perhaps only a few demented ones.

You are a bum...

You're rude.

But it's aIright.

I understand.

It's a tight spot you're in.

I sympathize with you.

Let me teII you,

Iisten, this is the main thing in this story.

And these things are not so easy to express, to verbaIize.

You beIong in a speciaI category of peopIe, in a race...

not rare...

it's not what l mean, there's plenty like you...

Just speciaI. What do I mean by that?

Your kind happens to be the most appropriate for my work.

IdeaI!

You, dear CarIo, are my best providers!

Because you and the Iikes of you have a IittIe...

let me see, not a disease or a handicap...

call it a peculiarity

and its essence lies in this phrase:

You cannot be aIone, you cannot be a bacheIor.

Believe it. lt's experience talking through me right now!

Do you understand? Do you?

ln your face I found one of my best providers!

You're a source for me, CarIo!

As Iong as you Iive and exist you'II be working for me!

UnintentionalIy or even against your wiII!

Hasta Luego, CarIos!

For some time now, l was utterly desperate

and had given up trying to find Sophie again.

Juan's phone was not in use any more.

As if he never had existed.

l got drunk. Every day.

Trying to figure out what all that was, happening to me.

lf it was all real or perhaps a dream that l had.

At the end of that year

l believe l had so much whisky

more than l'd ever had in my life until then.

Carlo!

How many times do I have to teII you my name's not CarIo?

All the same, you're listening to some fine old Argentinian tangos!

No, I'm not!

And for the Iast time, my name's not CarIo, agreed?

lt was horrible!

The man who was responsible for my complete degradation

was calling me only to degrade me some more.

Most probably he was exercising some irresistible appeal on me!

There's no other explanation why l didn't hang up on him

or why, driven by a somewhat dark force, l accepted to meet him

in that gym.

CarIo!

I'm gIad you came.

CouId we skip courtesy?

What do you want from me? Why did you caII me?

We Iove you!

And we care about you more than you can imagine!

I promise you from now on

that I, as weII as the boys here,

wiII be your guardian angeIs.

You see, we don't want you to be harmed in anyway...

No way at aII!

Not one hair of yours be touched by anyone!

We'Il guard you better than the appIes of our own eyes!

Are you through?

You know what your probIem is, man?

You have too huge a prick!

And you don't know how to use it!

That's why I'Il cut it off and stick it up your ass.

And since some of it wiIl stiII be Ieft out

I'II have you fed with the rest of it.

Same oId story...

I know what you need, same as others that is...

You too want to feel the naiI marks with your own fingers.

You want the Iiving proof, too?

Where is she? WiII you teII me where Sophie is?

That's a no-no, CarIo.

You must Iive with it.

You won't see Sophie again.

But you'II get what I said earIier.

Living proof.

Let's have a drink.

Yes?

Yes.

With potatoes, mom!

AIright.

OK, bye.

Eating at mom's, wimp?

You must give up whisky and drink vodka. It's pure

and you don't stink after having it.

Does its job... Perfect!

I want to see her.

Just once.

Once...

Sophie's lost for you, Carlo. You better accept it.

Don't be sad, though...

You're not made to be a bachelor...

You know what bacheIor means?

He who is unwed!

He who has no family and on the whoIe he who Iives aIone!

You're not going to be aIone for Iong. I guarantee that.

Or anyway, if I can risk forseeing this

you'II soon find a new woman.

You've Iost Sophie.

Very soon, someone wiIl take her pIace.

Very soon.

This too is distinctive of your spieces.

Another feature is that the women you choose or vice versa,

are ideaI for my business! They're perfect!

Born for what I want them to be.

That's why whenever I bump into a guy Iike you

I celebrate the occasion, in a way. That's why I caIIed you tonight.

You are insane and...

definitely have some sexuaI disabiIity.

You don't beIieve me, do you?

Living proof... that's what you want.

You'II have it.

Soon enough.

I want Sophie.

Not Sophie...

Living proof.

You may go.

We'II notify you.

Fine, then.

Juan was indeed a panderer.

He had his henchmen and his whores.

Besides all that,

how could l ever accept

belonging to a certain human cast?

How could l believe that preposterous theory he had come up with?

l refused to believe all that and l doubted all

lust like an unbeliever doubts the existence of God.

How's your wife doing?

She's very weII, thank you.

We have missed her.

HeIIo?

At eight o'clock. Today.

- This evening. - What's this about?

About what we said.

- I don't understand... - No problem.

At 8.

Be ready.

- Go down and you'll see. - What do you mean ''down''?

To the street, outside your home Just come down from your flat.

And...

Carlo?

l hope you enjoy yourself.

You hear me?

Let yourself go!

Living proof is a privilege.

Don't let it go to waste.

No... l don't think so.

No chance of Sophie showing up...

lt's something else.

A proof... A living one, too...

Good evening!

- It smeIIs Iike medical stuff... - It's nothing. Are you ready?

- Ready? - I need you to Iean forward.

A bit more.

l felt a soaked thing on my nose and mouth.

The smell scorched my larynx.

l lost consciousness.

When l came round l was in a bedroom.

My head was aching as if it had been worked over with a hammer.

Hi!

I'm DoIores.

Care for a drink?

Music?

My head is kiIIing me.

Loosen your head up.

A Sophie, you know her?

I know none by that name.

Why don't you try to Ioosen up?

Is it OK if we taIk a IittIe first?

What do you know about me?

Next to nothing.

I know you must have a nice time.

Enjoy yourseIf.

That's why you're here.

Were you married?

Listen...

We'II make a deaI, OK?

I'II teII you what I can

then you'II teIl me what you want us to do.

So, I know your name's CarIo.

l also know that your ex-wife is now one of ours.

l don't know which one of us she is and l don't care to.

AIso I know you're here for the Iiving proof.

This means you can enjoy the maximum that we offer.

Now you tell me what you want us to do.

Something you've never done before.

Not even with your wife.

Something you've never dared to do...

Something you were scared of asking her.

WeII?

I'm waiting.

WiII you think of something?

You know...

My head's about to burst and...

It's the truth.

There's nothing l hadn't done with my wife.

Nothing that I...

hadn't dared to...

... ask her.

It's the truth.

I swear it is.

This cannot be possibIe.

It cannot be.

There must be something.

Some...

... secret desire of yours...

A thing you never toId anybody...

That's what you want?

That's what you want?

Yes!

Who are you?

DoIores.

No...

No...

You're...

... Juan!

Yes!

Juan!

Who are you?

Juan!

You Iike it, eh... Juan?

You Iike it, Juan?

Yes!

Not sure how much time passed.

l was alone in the room.

l looked at the bed legs.

Dolores'silky gown was gone.

l picked up my own clothes and put them on.

Are you aIright?

He's on the roof.

The enormous guy leaned by me

and that pervasive medical smell

hit my nostrils once again.

l fought weakly to break away

but the handsome guy twisted my arm up high

making me scream from pain.

l lost consciousness once again.

We're there!

When l came round l was in the same Mercedes

which was parked on the street where my home is.

As if we'd never left that spot.

Sorry if I hurt you back there.

But you see, we're only foIIowing orders.

AII the same, I hope you had a nice time.

l walked out of the lift,

l got my keys out of my pocket and stood before my door.

And then

l felt like crying.

Because, without realizing it and although l was holding my keys

l reached for the doorbell.

From habit, like in the old days

when l rang and Sophie answered it.

Nevermore...

Nevermore...

On New Year's Eve,

right on the changing of the year my phone rang.

l thought it might be Juan and l ran, so to speak,

to pick up the receiver.

Because, after the living proof

l'd completely lost track of him

although l tried to meet him in every way possible.

lt was as if the earth had swallowed him up.

No.

lt was not Juan.

This time it was Sophie.

Sophie...

Thodorino?

l love you much too much!

Very much!

l love you for life!

Thodorino?

You hear?

Thyrohormone of 1 mg...

You hate me?

One miIIigram.

l cannot forget you.

l'll never forget you.

l think about you all the time.

Grab some paper.

l want you to write something.

Ready?

1-4-5...

-0-1...

-2-2-1-0...

-0-5...

-1-2...

-9-3.

The account is in your name.

''Credit Bank''

Not in our bank.

This is my present.

For the New Year.

Thodorino?

Are you laughing?

You're laughing?

You teII this motherfucker that if I bump into him I'II fuck his face

and I'II run his brains out!

Come now, Thodorino...

TeII him that!

That and...

And a Happy New Year!

What's the name of this little Thodorino you got between your Iegs?

CarIo!

Say, what do you want?

Something we never happened to do up to now.

Something you never dared,

that you were scared of asking me.

TaIk dirty to me...

TeII me about my baIIs...

Your baIIs...

I want them in, too!

Fuck me... Frig me...

I'm your whore, CarIo.

Fuck me...

Screw me...

I'm your whore, CarIo.

Shut it!

Screw me!

Shut up!

I'm your whore, CarIo!

Shut up!

Shut it...

Shut up!

Shut it!

You're dead!

You forget by flying away...

... faded faces...

... fairy grannies, tired out elves...

... couples jumping off the rooftops...

... Paradise with the lights out...

... cops flying over the city...

... you're learning how to live without me...

During the first two months of the new year l drove around like a madman.

l took the car at night and plastered as l was

l would look around for what had seemed to me like a cigarette banner

from what my eye had caught

on the roof of that mysterious appartment

where l had... enjoyed the privilege

of the living proof...

ln the meanwhile

my legs had got used to leading me to all the big hotel bars in the city.

They just took me there themselves

me being unable to resist.

Deep inside, l sure hoped to find Sophie in there.

A vodka.

With ice!

For one and a half year

l would drink like a sponge every single day

and l kept feeling dry all the time

as if l had holes in my body

and all l knocked back would pour out of them instantly...

As if l had no way of quenching my thirst in the centuries to come.

AII this sickening nonsense...

AII these unsubstantiaI theories...

that bum Juan had obviousIy invented them

meaning to scare me...

or simpIy to frame up his disgusting roIe

with some sort of charm...

For Sophie's acceptance to do as she did

I didn't neccessariIy have to beIong to a certain human category...

Sophie...

did this at her own wiII

and it was definiteIy her choice.

Even Juan...

whom she supposedIy had faIIen for

was, in my opinion, just a pretext.

Not the reason.

You think so?

Yes, I do think so.

These things simpIy don't happen.

l'll climb back...

... on the rope...

... the tightrope...

... and it's a secret l have...

... how l always manage making the same mistake...

One night

during that two or three-month period of my bar tour of duty...

l was driving back home, drunk as always,

when suddenly

l couldn't believe my eyes.

l bumped face to face into Juan.

Do you know a certain Juan?

What is he, a Spaniard?

A taII guy, he just waIked in before I did.

WiII you have something?

Is there another door besides this one?

No. That's the one everyone uses.

Then give me a vodka. With ice.

Now's your chance!

Are you of the opinion that we shouIdn't waste chances?

Me?

Nothing but.

My Iife's a string of wasted chances.

Mine too.

Then we're a match. Cheers!

Oh, we forgot introductions!

I'm Eva!

I'm Theodoros Dimitriadis.

Or Thodoris or Thodorinos or CarIo!

I am a bank cIerk...

I absoIuteIy hate this job but

I'II stiII be quite young when I get a good pension.

So I'II be abIe to drink since earIy morning.

Ajob is a job.

You know one who's not shitty?

Life begins when you leave the office.

Are you married?

I've aIready had a faiIure of a marriage.

I got married very young, around 20

but it was too short-Iived.

Since then I've had 3 more serious reIationships.

With the Iast one, ManoIis

we tried to make money.

Real money.

This was our dream.

First we set up a bar in Mykonos.

Then we ran a small hotel some 15 rooms aItogether.

Manolis had signed too many checks, he'd borrowed money.

To pay off debts we had to sell everything out.

Finally he got locked up.

If onIy you couId see him in jaiI...

He was so scared

that his face got wrinkIed and he Iooked Iike a rat. Disgusting!

When I saw him in there...

I Iost aII respect of him.

His true self was revealed to me and l saw that

in fact he was only a timid tiny IittIe fIame.

A IittIe fIame I once mistook for a fire.

I don't know how to say that.

It may sound a bit cocky but it's the truth.

I think that in Iife so far

I never ever was scared.

ln all honesty!

lt is impossible by nature for me to have this feeling.

What's fear? Something edible?

Ever since chiIdhood I instinctuaIIy detested anyone who was scared.

So you can guess how I feIt

when I saw ManoIis shitting his pants.

I aImost threw up!

I never set foot there again.

I crossed him out.

And of course, since then l don't even want to hear about money again!

Let them stay away from me!

l beIieve this is a sort of disease, chasing after reaI money...

Trying to make a fortune...

And some peopIe are simpIy incurable, suffering for a Iifetime.

lf you gave them one more Iife, they'd spend it the same way again.

WhiIe others... get cured one day.

Like me for exampIe.

For me it's over now, I'm done with this disease!

Not that I don't Iike money.

Who in the worId can say they don't?

But I won't chase after it.

In my Iife, I'm never going to do that again!

l talk too much?

No.

You?

Are you married?

Not any more.

AIthough divorce is not out yet.

My wife Ieft me for a rich businessman.

Don't know exactIy what his business is.

His father...

... is a ship owner, that's for sure.

I hope at Ieast she's in love with him not his money.

So do I but... I don't think it is so.

In that case...

Let's wish her to be cured of that disease the soonest possibIe.

Truth is...

Love's is disease, too...

Sometimes, a more serious one perhaps...

But I prefer it.

Here's to the disease of Iove.

Here's to that sweet disease!

What's your name again? Theodoriadis?

Di-mi-tri-a-dis.

Thodoris.

Thodoris, Theodoriadis. You mind if I caII you Theodoriadis?

How about a car ride?

And who's driving?

Not me.

I don't feeI very weII.

I'm diseased...

Not with money...

You know...

I'm taIking about that other one...

The sweet disease...

More or less, Olga was actually an antipode to Sophie.

l felt like screaming with joy

or like calling Juan,

although he had disappeared from the face of the earth

and inviting him to come running and meet Eva.

Run!

l've found a woman, who was born to do the job you want her for.

Perfect for it!

Run before it's too late!

And you'll see that l'm your best provider...

The source!

ln all that time

l don't recall her ever addressing me by my real name.

Come on, Theodoriadis!

Always by that unnatural fabrication

which was a combination of my real surname

and my first name.

During the time we lived together

Eva and l had so much alcohol

good enough to make an elephant drunk!

That's how Sophie took it.

She mistook my silly hobby of photography for a taIent.

A taIent is an obIigation.

If one has it, they're imprisoned by it

and cannot escape its cIaws.

One who has a talent doesn't conider or taIk about quitting work in the bank.

They simpIy quit because they cannot do otherwise.

I do not agree, Theodoriadis. I'm sorry teIIing you, but...

AIthough I have no taIent myseIf.

I don't have to be taIented to see what goes with the reaI taIented ones.

We've read so many interviews, autobiographies...

Did you ever see anyone resembIing another?

AII sorts of major and minor artists. They either work in banks

or they starve or even have biIIions...

You don't have to give up your work to be a major one.

It aII depends, it's a reIevant thing.

There's no recipe, I beIieve.

How did you ever decide to get a fIat aII the way up here?

WeII, that's a Iong story...

Where did you find these?

In the loft. ShouIdn't I? Sorry!

Your wife was very pretty.

I don't want you to touch these, OK?

They're just bad memories. They beIong in the Ioft!

WeII, at Ieast Ieave the Spanish Iearning tapes.

Especially the Spanish tapes! I hate Spanish!

ln mid-November, all of a sudden...

without a warning

Eva...

disappeared...

How's Mrs. Eva?

I haven't seen her for Iong.

She's away on a trip. To Latin America.

Lucky she! Where exactIy?

In Buenos Aires.

lt wasn't a joke. lt was as if l wasn't lying.

At first,

right after Eva's inexplicable disappearance

l tried very hard to convince even myself that

indeed Eva was away on a trip

and that one day she'd be back again.

Later on,

when l realized that she had left me for good

and even worse without letting me know the reason for it

l was hurt even more

and l sank into depression.

Come down here, Theodoriadis!

lt's Eva speaking!

I know you need to ask me about a miIIion things, Theodoriadis, but...

You have to let me teIl you my story first.

Or you won't be abIe to understand any of this.

So, get in the car.

And not a word untiI I've finished.

I want to teII you about something I eye-witnessed.

When I was a chiId.

5 years oId.

My father was an Army Officer. Of the Infantry.

His nerves were twisted.

He was at home on sick Ieave.

AIthough there was no chance he couId recover from his iIIness.

Of course I was very IittIe at the time

and l had quite a vague idea about aII those things.

A few words like...

insane...

Ieave...

were fIickering in my mind without me exactIy understanding them.

My father was obsessed with hunting.

On that day...

Olga!

I returned home earIy.

Consider that since then

from that age untiI today

I've never been scared again.

To teII you the pure truth

sometimes I think that in my Iife

whenever I got to a deadend

whenever I found myseIf at a crossroads

I've aIways chosen the road that scared me somehow.

Or at any case the one that I sensed wouId scare me.

You had a breakdown?

PetroI for the car but we're thirsty too.

What a night!

AII this rain!

My Iife choices have aIways depended

on how provocative they seemed to me.

How possible it was for them to scare me.

3 stars good enough for you?

Don't know if you're foIIowing.

Super? FiII it up?

To cut it short and spare you the suspense...

Same thing exactIy happened...

with Juan, too.

Remember last November?

While you were off to your village

to see that piece of land of your father's...

That's when this man first appeared before me.

He was awfuIIy pushy too, he wouIdn't Iet me go, weII okay...

Juan's a heIIuva stud...

But you know me well enough, l'm not that type...

One night stands mean nothing to me.

ln my book the real hard-on is a monogamous affair.

That one night thing...

I can do that myseIf.

I don't need a guy on top of me sweating and thrashing about.

Oh weII, then...

This man...

at times he has a gaze so hypnotising...

It's the gaze of a snake that Iooks at you...

and manages to defraud you.

So he was staring at me with that Iook and without a warning

he suddenIy made his proposaI this 'n' that, there's this org.

you'II make that much...

Customers such and such...

He Iaid it aII out raw.

At first l was shocked by his nerve and insolence.

This uninhibited cynicism of his...

When aII of a sudden I feIt something.

How can l expIain it to you, Theodoriadis...

I felt that there was something about his proposaI...

that got me scared inconceivabIy...

And now here come my concIusions.

The fear I was afraid of feeIing...

I didn't feeI it at aII.

Of anything.

Nowhere at all.

Only disgust!

UntiI finaIIy your own seIf gets disgusted with you.

So I got up and Ieft.

l got some info on your wife too.

I don't beIieve I met her.

AIthough I met a few girIs.

Juan taIked to me about her at some point.

Don't Iet him terrorize you.

Shit on him, Theodoriadis...

Don't pay any attention to what he's telling you.

He's a jerk.

He may be clever but at the same time the man's a jerk!

Just imagine, when l toId him I was waIking out

he Iost his temper and started threatening me.

- What about? - About my Iife.

Are you scared?

Who?

Me!

And I toId him to go fuck himseIf.

WelI, if you'II excuse me, Theodoriadis...

I'm not feeIing weII.

Can I go back home aIone?

Don't know but... since I Ieft...

I'm in exessive hypertension

I can't be with anyone, my nerves are stressed inconceivabIy and...

I need to be constantIy on the move.

l'm sorry!

l may call you one day.

A tragic death occured last night at around 2 after midnight

30-year-old Eva Mouriki, a private employee, who was living in Athens.

Our reporter says the victim had visited the Parnetha Casino earlier last night

and had also won a substantial amount of money.

Then she got into her car which at a certain road turn

went off the track resulting to a fall over a cliff.

Police have stated that an option of suicide is also being considered.

The new Public State Bond Auction was conducted yesterday

at a price of 300 billion drachmas.

The amount of bids offered totalled to 761, 5 billion drachmas.

- PoIice Department? - City Police.

HeIIo? Is this 1-0-0?

Yes, l'm listening.

My name's Theodoriadis... Eeem... Dimitriadis...

l'm sorry... I have a serious accusation to make.

I know Eva Mouriki's murderer!

Who is she?

lsn't that the PoIice? You don't know? The one who was kiIIed in Parnetha!

lt was in the news, on TV just now, haIf an hour ago!

That was no suicide! She was murdered!

Hold it, sir! Who are you? Give me your name.

I know the kiIIers. It's Juan!

Juan? What are you talking about?

You find it strange that this bum's caIIed Juan whiIe he's Greek...

Your lD please! Give me your name and address!

Your lD please!

l had become a big questionmark myself!

Had Eva committed suicide or had she been murdered?

Was l in danger too?

Was all this

a succession of nightmarish coincidences

or perhaps that tramp Juan was right?

Can you pIease Iook

what's in this account?

He's not forty, he's thirty-five!

That's why he says he stiIl has a bit of a way to go!

Dimitriadis?

Theodoros!

It means a gift from God!

It's three miIIions.

- Come again? - 3 millions.

Withdrawing aII!

l decided never to set foot to work again.

l decided to lock myself in for good

and not go out at all.

What was it that Juan had told me?

''You cannot be a bachelor''

OK then.

l might once have been a married man

and l might have not yet been divorced from Sophie

but that was just a formality and a secondary issue.

ln fact l was all alone and now

l was about to become a bachelor in every sense of the word.

The perfect bachelor! The ideal one!

l'll tear Juan's theory into shreds!

l'll show him the real Dimitriadis!

As a matter of fact

so much alone...

so atrociously alone...

as l was those four last months

l had not been in my life ever before...

Well, sometimes

l would happen to go out for some shopping or cigarettes

but l'd never stroll away from home

as if some invisible string held me tied.

lf we stick around this place we're whacked already...

Seeing that little jar with its odd content

l don't know why

but l felt this absolute certainty that it was brought for me by them.

Yes.

And this cockroach means something...

They're trying to tell me something.

Or is this a prank from the neighborhood kids?

Whatever it may be, l'm keeping it! l've decided.

lt'll keep me company, ha-ha!

l've just got me a pet!

Athens is turning into hell due to the extended heat wave

the temperature will reach 40 degrees Celsius tomorrow.

The Ministry of Health advises light clothing, plenty of liquids,

frequent showers, small quantities of light meals,

make sure your food is adequately salted

refrain from alcoholic beverage consumption,

elderly people and those with respiratory difficulties

should restrict their exits if only to the absolutely necessary ones

and make sure you wear a hat.

Sometimes, mostly at night

l'd wander staggering in the oddest of places

just for the sake of being outside,

watching other people even from afar,

getting some encouragement.

And then, drunk as l was

l soon felt like a wreck and after a while

l was again back at home.

My place of martyrdom.

So much solitude is hardly bearable. All that arid territory...

l immediately had to find a refuge,

one suitable to my condition.

A hangout.

An oasis whatever...

Even in hell itself...

UFO BILLIARDS

- Can one have a drink here? - You name it!

- A vodka. - Of course.

- With ice! - With ice, of course!

How did l ever find this joint?

l couldn't have found a shittier one!

And the owner

that extra fat turd...

Perfect!

Swell!

ln here

no way l could ever meet a substitute for Sophie and Eva...

ln here, l may become sick of myself

l may become even worse than this turd

but l'll refute Juan's theory completely.

That fucked up theory of Juan's

l'll screw it up!

That's the main probIem we got here, presumabIy...

All the sewage disposal pipes pass through my store.

I've compIained to the building manager 100 times aIready.

l even made a speech at the fIat owners' meeting about it

but nothing's being done.

You know what my main probIem is? I teII them.

lf a customer, presumabIy, is far too sensitive

he may even want to throw up Iistening to that thing.

Then he'll get up

and go to the toilet for upchucking.

Then...

Can you imagine, I teII them, what happens then?

They were staring at me Iike idiots.

Then, I teII them...

whiIe the customer wiII be returning to his tabIe reIieved

there's a great big possibility that he has enough time presumabIy

to hear his own puke going over his head

through these pipes, right?

Then, sure thing is that he'll want to throw up again, right?

So, the same thing will happen again!

Over and over again!

Thousands of times, untiI kingdom come.

And why do you get drunk, paI?

Me, presumabIy, I have this probIem with the chiId.

My wife died at chiIdbirth and she Ieft it to me as a gift, presumabIy...

lt is mongolian and as you know

there's no cure for this thing.

lt'll be like this until kingdom come...

You, presumabIy, what are you trying to forget?

My wife.

She is... disabIed.

And she sits inside aII day Iong.

On a wheeIchair.

She got it four years ago.

And you know whose fault it was? Do you?

Mine. And nobody eIse's.

Dunno how it happened.

She probabIy got in between the two cars by mistake

I didn't notice...

So, I stepped on it to get the car out

the car Iaunched backwards

and hraaak!

I mushed her Iegs!

What do the doctors say?

There's no cure?

In cases Iike these, science works miracIes.

She won't get up, presumably?

Never again.

Not even in kingdom come, presumabIy.

You know...

Just because my wife stays, sits inside aII day...

she gets aII garrulous and wants us to taIk endIessIy.

She's a reaI pain!

So I get up, Ieave and come over here.

I don't feeI Iike taIking!

I'm sorry about that, OK?

You know which is the most difficuIt operation?

A heart transpIant?

The most difficult operation

is to remove the cock from a woman's brain!

lt must have been a Friday

May the 28th

around 7 pm.

lt was really hot that day, sort of a mini heatwave.

And although l could barely move with that fucking heat wave

l got up and went to the super market

when l realised that l had ran out of marmalade, ethanol bottles and vodka.

Remember me?

From High SchooI?

It's Thodoris Dimitriadis.

Dimitriadis...

What's happened to you, Dimitriadis? I hardIy recognized you!

I'm too hot and...

And I don't Iike changing cIothes!

Now, pIease, don't Ieave yet.

It's realIy important. I need to taIk to you.

I've lost my wife and l haven't managed to recover ever since.

I've locked myseIf in and I don't go out much.

Sort of rock bottom phase.

I'm Iosing it.

There's a joint down here. It's in the basement so it must be cooI.

Too hot out here.

- WeII, l... - It's not far. We'II waIk there.

For Iess than a minute.

They'II steaI it.

As soon as I saw you in there I recognized you, Fortysome. .

l've seen you on TV a couple of times.

l saw you in a program

where you spoke against marriage.

Long ago.

That's what I want to ask you about.

Concerning my wife.

What about her?

It's a long story, you won't beIieve it. Nobody can.

She became...

a whore!

Why?

That's why I'd really Iike never to marry again, Fortysome.

To live by myself from now on, but this...

No way l can manage this.

This man... is after me.

He's dangerous. He's trying to destroy me.

Whichever woman I find he'II finaIIy take her from me! You don't beIieve me?

But who? Who'II take her?

Juan!

Juan?

The pimp...

In aII honesty. I couIdn't beIieve it, either, untiI...

I saw it.

I went to that pIace, to their brotheI...

I spoke with Sophie, too.

Just imagine, she even sent me money!

AII this time I've been living off this fucking money!

Then, l met another woman.

I was in Iove with her.

He took her away, too.

Two vodkas!

- With ice! - With ice, of course!

I AM SERBIAN

Come now, off you go!

Serbian, presumabIy...

What on earth is this pIace? What have you got me into?

I can't stay Iong.

I have a date...

Some other time perhaps...

But...

You know...

See that you pulI yourseIf together, Thodoris.

You shouldn't sIum around such pIaces, it's Iike going downhiII...

It smeIIs awfuI...

You must help me, Fortysome. Say something.

I'm aII mixed-up!

What can I say? The things you say are...

preposterous.

But even if it is so.

Forget it and move on. The worId is swarming with women!

You'll lay down and die, then?

l'm teIling you, this guy is after me.

He took Sophie away, then Eva.

Look at me! Just look at me!

l am the living proof, myself!

I have this phobia, this paranoia...

that he's right after aII...

that it's just my fate.

That I can no way Iive by myseIf...

be a bacheIor...

Of alI things! Hey, you...

This is no Middle East, take off the yashmak, we're Iiving in Europe.

Fate my ass!

This is a run of certain coincidences...

- If you'd been through aII that you wouIdn't speak so! - Get with it!

Make a ''cIick!'' in your mind and move on!

You drink too much!

l'd advise you to cut down on it, if you care to listen.

I don't think it's good for you.

These drinks... that I bought...

you know what I see in them?

Nana's Iips.

Wet and somehow...

sort of swollen by alcohol...

You thought l'd get drunk and talk nonsense?

I'm doing it for Nana. I was on my way to her actuaIIy, she Iives near here.

Nana's flat will be aII cooI now and we'II go...

straight into the bedroom!

I prefer visiting her fIat than her coming to mine.

As if something in there is more stimuIating...

more arousing, habituation kiIls stimuIation.

Habituation not only with people but aIso with spaces!

l Iike Nana's bedroom for another reason as weII.

It's a muIti-sided room, a pentagon actuaIIy.

So...

I'm aroused by this disproportion, being among 5 and not 4 waIIs.

You'Il say, how's aII this reIevant to our subject?

Yes, it is, indeed!

Because l haven't yet told you who Nana is.

WeII, Nana is divorced and Iives with her son, VeIissarios, onIy 6 years oId!

I usuaIIy see her in the mornings when VeIissarios is at schooI.

Of course I forgot to mention the most important thing.

Nana is no ordinary woman.

She is a top modeI!

The hottest number!

CLICK The women we Iove

Suddenly...

l imagined myself being with Nana

in the pentagonal, disproportionate and stimulating room...

that Fortysome had so graphically described for me.

With Nana, supposedly

we were not simply lovers

but also living together in that flat, all three of us.

Myself, she and little Velissarios.

A voice started roaring in my head.

What are you fantasizing? Could this ever be possible?

You've only just heard about this woman

and you're already married to her?

Juan's right after all...

No way you can be a bachelor.

You see now?

I'm not ashamed to confess that. I'm happy Iiving by myseIf!

Being a bacheIor!

You scram, too!

I onIy came to fiII up your gIasses, my treat presumabIy...

This man's my wife's brother.

Doctors said that she must have both her Iegs cut off!

Up from the peIvis! I'm going mad!

So fuck you and your treat!

Get the heII out!

I swear not to come to your tabIe again presumabIy... untiI kingdom come!

You can have my baIIs and scram!

I won't set foot again in your shithouse!

Why's that, presumabIy... ?

Hey, man...

What did you teIl that poor man? Cut off Iegs and the Iike...

Why alI that swearing? Are you crazy?

Go on your way.

Go back to your bacheIor happiness, boy and don't give a shit!

I'm in no mood, thanks a bunch, now scram before I become any nastier.

What do you mean?

Scram!

No, I want to know what you mean!

This is your way of saying thanks?

I ducked my pIan and foIIowed you

and agreed to go into that shithouse...

Beat it!

Did you hear me, you happy arsehoIe?

Just...

beat...

it!

Fortysome...

that decorative houseplant...

lt is him and not Dolores

who is the living proof actually...

Juan's theory stands by all means.

Fortysome belongs to a type of men quite different from me.

Me, l'll never manage...

As long as l live and exist, l'll be working in Juan's behalf eternally...

From that same night on

l locked myself in

and for the last two and a half weeks l've been writing non-stop.

This is my story...

which explains the reasons why l decided to do

what l'll already have done...

by the time you're holding

one of the 145 copies...

of this text.

l know that most of you won't believe me.

They will consider all of these satanic coincidences

as a product of my imagination, as sickly games of my mind...

ln the worst case, only some may believe me

when it's all too late.

When they feel the consequences of this story on their own skin...

JUAN CARLO

l'd very much like being alive

if only to see all those who will attend my funeral...

Naturally...

she is crying...

but she's also really afraid

that any of the relatives may recognize her...

Any acquaintance we had in common...

She's definitely afraid...

but she wouldn't stand not coming, either... .

Behind those dark glasses

Juan's eyes are pointing at Nana...

''Mmmm''... the worm is thinking...

''lnteresting''...

Big, sort of swollen lips...

and her body...

She's almost perfect...

He's saying all this because his expert eyes

have not seen Fortysome yet...

Pity...

I hadn't noticed him...

Too bad, it can't be done...

The more l look at him the surer I become.

This man... was born a bacheIor!

And he'II remain a bacheIor

tiII the day he dies.

Therefore, his dearie's no good for us.

Pity...

And I thought I'd found another purebred!

WeII... That's Iife!

I wish everybody was Iike the Iate Dimitriadis...

English subs by neverever for 'tik Oct 2014