Original subtitles

Bonjour, buon giorno, guten morgen.

Wake up love, and take notes.

Only in the Third Worid 40,000 children die every day.

Bombers and vultures float on the placid clear sky.

Four thousand people have AlDS and greediness shaves the Amazon.

Buenos d�as, good morning, wake up.

Grandma Un's computer ran out of room for Rwanda's corpses.

Fundamentalists behead foreigners, the Pope preaches against condoms.

Havelange strangles Maradona.

Wake up, love, it's the dawn of horror

Wake Up, Love

Some day elephants will gather to forget.

All but one.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

- Hello, Chiche. - Hi.

- Good morning, Mora. - Good morning, Ernesto.

Rough night?

Did you take this call?

Yes, he said we will call.

Yes...

Who? Ricardo? Put him on.

Hello.

Elvis...

How are you doing, Elvis?

l remember my friends. lt was so hard to trace you...

You're a gypsy.

Ernesto, man.

Listen! Let's see if you remember this... Listen up!

So?

Come on, let's talk over coffee.

it's been what?... 20?... 25 years... 25?

lt's incredible... incredible.

You look great, Ernesto, great.

You are lucky you didn't lose your hair... it went south.

And you got blond with time.

What can l do?

Seriously man, while l was waiting l thought...

What if he turned old and ugly?

lt couldn't be because l'm... only two years older.

The thing is how did life treat you?

You seem to be quite well.

Time passes but l can't complain. Want to know my secret?

Rock.

l dance like in my best days.

Some people need to go to the gym run, lift weights.

l dance rock. Every day. With discipline.

Like when you won every contest... You and Ana.

Ana...

- Remember Ana? - How could l not?

l see her every day. We've been married 24 years...

- You married Ana? - Yes... you lost her...

She was madly in love with you. But you... and contest by contest l...

We started going out... our son is 22, almost 23 years old.

l wanted to see you because...

We did wild things together in the neighborhood.

l want to get everybody together, a big party, like in those days.

Giris bring the food and we bring the drinks... the music.

What's wrong?

l can't believe l forgot the aspirins at home.

How many giris did you fuck with that method?

None yet.

But they go crazy.

l swear.

Wait and you'll see.

Tell Sergio to play something slow.

Done.

A Hindu plays the flute and a snake rises, right?

Mine is waking up.

lt will get wet when l rub against her.

What is our poet up to?...

Your granddaughter and Ernesto make a nice couple.

He is young and rich but... rather strange to me.

Strange... in what sense?

l think he is a communist.

Mom, they are all somehow rebels at that age.

A rebel... Whenever he gets the chance he'll...

Then he'll leave and won't marry her. Communists don't get married.

Look at me soon...

... before l change without warning.

What?

Before l change without warning.

You are totally crazy, Ernesto.

l'll tell you something if you promise not to repeat it.

l love you.

You like the idea, don't you?

Arturo, Sergio and Liliana are coming.

We found you through your articles.

Here's my number at the store... and at home.

Call if you have a minute.

Ana is going to be very happy.

Sometimes she does gets sad... some days.

Call.

- ls it you? - Hi, honey, l'll be right with you.

- ls he old? - He looked good to me.

- Considering the life he must live... - Like what?

Ernesto was always disorganized. He doesn't exercise.

He's an intellectual, their bodies are all screwed up.

l gave him our number so he calls you.

Okay, let's go.

No, not today. l'm not feeling well.

No problem.

- Look at me soon... - What?

Before l change without warning...

29... 30... 31... 32...

That's cheating! You can kiss me every 20...

33... 34... 35... 36...

...with a vast plan of positive statements...

...and concrete realizations, this is the end...

...of the deterioration process that has immobilized us...

...and the beginning...

...of magnificent hope for our motherland.

No! Hold it... stop.

What's wrong? Your mother doesn't have the key.

She'll ring... and your grandma is deaf.

lf you had that in mind... we won't do it until...

Until when...?

And she ends up marrying that asshole. Why?

Hello.

lt is hard to say it.

lt is painful to deny it.

l'd better not say it.

l'd better not deny it.

Yes, Ricardo had told me.

No, l didn't think you'd call.

How are you?

You do what you like to do... l read your articles.

Sorry... just a minute...

l can't believe it.

Sorry, l left something on the stove.

Yes... well...

l suppose Ricardo told you we have a 22 year old son.

He's a big boy and he'll move out any time.

l really want to see you. Can we have coffee together?

Will we recognize each other?

Yes, the same... 25 years later.

Okay, l'll call you.

No, l will..

l don't go downtown often... l have stores close by...

So l don't need to go very far.

Okay, give me the number.

Let me get... yes.

5... 7...

Okay, l'll call you.

What for?

Micheli.. Micheli...

Miyelo... Milani... Milani...

Pablo, no. Milani lsabel... No, he wouldn't have changed sex.

Here it is. Milani Patricio A and just Milani Patricio.

Just Milani Patricio.

Hello, madam.

My name is Ricardo Parduca.

l'm a friend of your husband... from the old neighborhood.

No, l haven't seen Patricio in a long time.

Mabel is your name...?

Congratulations, it's such a nice name. Mabel.

l know Patricio will be very happy to see his friends again.

Could you give me his work number.

so l don't bother you at home again.

What a song!... We had so much fun together

How are you doing? lt's me, Parduca... alias Elvis...

- Alias Elvis?... - The good old days.

Remember the first girl who did it the neighborhood?

And the day her parents were out and we jumped over the fence?

lncredible... We were like dogs in heat... Nice girl.

Nice girl! What a whore she was.

We fucked so many broads together, man.

ln Rosario?...

No, not in Rosario... Here, in Belgrano.

Sorry, Chief, but my friend has the same name as you...

l looked him up in the phone book.

No... we didn't fuck no broads together.

lt's been a pleasure talking to you... And l'd like to...

to compensate the force for the waste of your time.

Please write down my address.

345 Asshole Ave. Fuck off.

Josefina... what a nice name... congratulations.

Your husband will be very happy to see his old friends again.

Could l have his work number? So l don't bother you at home again.

Thank you very much.

it's an office, right?

- Estela, my call. - The system isn't working.

- Elvis, the electric, for you. - Elvis, the electrician?

No, Elvis, the electric, sir.

Hello... yes...

lt's you... Ricardo... Elvis... you...

Sorry, Estela. lt's an old friend.

Son of a bitch.

Hold it. lt's been... what?

lt's your turn, Patricio. l bought them last time.

- Hello. - Hello.

Let's see... l could wait for a couple of hours...

... so you decide who is first. What do you need from my modest...

... but very well supplied pharmacy.

l needed a medication for my grandmother but..

l left the prescription home.

l'll be right back.

A box of Tampax, please.

- Do you remember how it ended? - No.

You returned.

What can l get you, Patricio?

What do you need?

Aspirins.

Tell him that l'll call him back... that l'm at a meeting.

Did you buy them?

You don't remember? You had an attack of pride and...

l can't be such an asshole. Give me the money!

Do you have condoms?

Condoms... rubbers.

Hey, man, are you Dorian Gray?

l exercise... sports, a healthy life.

lf you haven't changed... jerking off was your favorite sport.

Perhaps instead of growing hair on your palms...

it prevents white hair from growing.

The girl that entered when we went to buy condoms was...

Liliana.

Liliana!

- Have you contacted her? - Yes...

She was hard to find but she 'll be at the party...

She's divorced.

Start closing, Roberto.

l have 10 confirmed... lt's going to be a hell.

Ana!...

l didn't think you'd call me.

Do you still want to have coffee with me?

Ricardo?...

Do you want to have coffee with us or just with me?...

Do you think we are jealous after 25 years of marriage?...

Right in front of the Colon?

Yes, the Colon Theater.

You still think l'm stupid.

Okay... what time?

Ricky, tomorrow l have to visit my cousin.

There is a sale... l'll go to your mom's afterwards.

Pick me up there and we'll go out for dinner.

- lt's been long. - Yes, honey.

l love that you've decided to get out.

What a body...

What a waist... and hips...

And those eyes...

Name?

Cello.

She had to be ltalian.

He.. it's male.

- Those eyes aren't male. - Nor ltalian.

Please, say it again.

Nor ltalian.

- Nor Argentine. - Tell me...

Why do l have to answer so many questions?

Who are you?

Just a sad man who exhausts his words.

l'm Cuban.

You are far from home.

We spirits have no problems with frontiers.

Are you a spirit?

So are you. Only that you were born in the South.

Do you play here?

His name is cello. My name is Vera.

And the ''sad man who

What's his name?

You have no cars?... 20 minutes?

Fucking country! You never get anything when you need it.

Sorry l was late but the car service...

Don't worry. l was dying to see you.

So?...

So what?...

Let's say it right away so we can talk about other things.

Do l look different?

Am l awful?

You're wonderful.

Different... l hope so.

lt'd be terrible being the same after 25 years.

You look very good... You did things your way.

l wanted to be so many things...

A singer... dancer... writer.

l would've loved to have a career... Study something.

And why don't you?

Are you married?

l was.

Why are you so sad?

Sad?...

lt's not sadness... it's the passing of time.

A cloud covers your face.

Sometimes the cloud opens up...

...and little stars twinkle in your eyes.

The same stars that appeared when you laughed.

You're right... about my sadness.

Ricardo was concerned and asked me to see a psychiatrist.

And?...

He prescribed me some pills. l take them sometimes.

But l think the problem has to do with menopause.

- You know it has some consequences. - l haven't had it yet.

The cloud just opened a bit.

The passing of time makes you that sad?

We dream so much when young... and there's so little we achieve.

There are some things of the past that could not be.

With time those things bring up a sadness with which l...

l don't know what to do, Ernesto.

- You're so down! - And l've just had a couple of good days.

Yesterday l started a quilt.

lt's silly, l know, but to feel like doing something.

lt was the day after you called me.

Why don't you put them on?

- Afraid to look my age? - The thing is... okay.

Look at me soon, before l change without warning.

With all my love, Ernesto.

What do you want?

The emotion will kill me.

No, on this rainy day l want to...

You're crazy! Well, that's nothing new.

To me?... At this age? You're depraved!

l want to go to a hotel...

and get a room with refrigerator.

You against the refrigerator... Me, rubbing you... like in your house, remember?

Remember? And unless your mother enters...

- Mom died years ago. - She'll show up so l don't fuck you.

Did you take a look at me?... Would you really?

You say that some things of the past.

- Those things turn me on. - l can't believe it!

l should've been at my mother-in-law's half an hour ago!

Bye. Call me.

Call me.

And thanks.

And about you being turned on... l loved it.

And l was a bit turned on myself.

Thank God...

That's my Ana.

Yes, l'm looking for cello music.

- Cello... cello and orchestra. - in the back, in the classical section.

Thank you.

ln my hands l bring you old signals.

These are my hands of today not my old ones

l give what l can and l'm not ashamed of feelings

Fortune offers its two way street.

Me and my many lonelinesses, you and yours.

You were pretty... but you look better now.

Sure...

Mom... when does nostalgia begin?

Nostalgia...

l have a box like yours... with mementos.

How can you feel nostalgia? You are 22, you're living your life.

When did you stop living yours? Am l talking to a ghost?

What do you keep in the box?.

Drawings from when l was a child... drawings you and dad liked a lot.

Pictures of me... my buddies... girlfriends...

Love letters.

Mementos.

Did it bore you enough seeing me again?

Because l want to see you again. We could...

Don't be silly.

Why don't we go back to the old neighborhood?...

No, that place doesn't exist anymore.

There is a much fancier place there.

Let's meet at the corner of my old house, remember it?

He is a good guy... but not a normal guy.

- You understand me. - What's a normal guy?

Somebody who works 25 years in the same office?

Would you marry me?

Why do you ask now, Ana?

What's the hurry?

Mom and dad say we won't get anywhere.

And they were right.

We didn't get anywhere because we didn't go anywhere.

You backed off.

Your dream is writing... traveling...

Going to Cuba.

What does it have to do with my wedding dress?

With the cake? With the big party?

The big party...

What an asshole.

l married a great guy.

- l love him. - l know.

We can't have everything.

l loved you so much.

And where did that love go?

Time is so cruel.

There should be a place to keep all those loves.

A ''love room'', something similar to a coat check room.

People could go with a paper and say:

''l came to pick up the love l left 25 years

And the paper says ''Ernesto and Ana''.

What happened to your grandmother.

She was a seer. She said l wanted to fuck you.

She kept on having her milk in front of the TV for years...

Seeing history on parade.

...so that you help me lead the country...

to the happy destination Per�n dreamed of for every Argentinean

This ceremony counts on the presence

...of the members of the new National Cabinet

the papal nuncio, his Excellency Monsignor Pio Laghi...

...the Archbishop of the city of Buenos Aires...

...and Primate of the Argentine Nation...

his Excellency Monsignor Doctor Juan Carlos Aramburu

...and the military General Vicar...

She even got to see color TV

The speaker is Lieutenant General Jorge Rafael Videla...

Ladies, gentlemen...

Today is a joyful day for our country.. the Argentine Nation.

Because we'll all build our national unity together...

Emotion killed her when Alfonsin took office.

She had always supported his party

Come join us!

- What do you do? - l study engineering.

- You don't sound too enthusiastic. - l'm not.

lt's something my dad would have wanted to study.

But it isn't what l really like.

And what is it you really like?

Writing.

Writing?

And what do you write?

Poetry.

Mom told me you write.

l once wrote poetry.

l'm into journalism now.

Would you read some of my writings?

Yes, sure.

But promise to be tough!

- Something scared you? - No, Why?

Because your hair suddenly turned white.

Yes, but this is hair, you know.

Hair.

Watch where l still have hair.

Thank you for what you're doing for Ana.

She's acted different since she saw you again...

She's almost herself.

We used to live in a house... in the city.

Here l feel like in a bird cage.

We had to move. Why?

Because Ana started feeling scared in the house.

She started being scared about everything...

...driving to go shopping... going out.

l'll be right in. Save me an olive!

Ana is what l love most.

l want what she wants... anything that makes her happy.

l don't know if it's understandable.

Perhaps it's a matter of age.

But loving her is enough for me... with nothing in return.

You wouldn't think that Ana and l...

No, l wasn't thinking about that, relax.

l don't think much, remember?

l've found out that those who think a lot are the least happy people.

And l'm not talking about you.

No, l agree with you.

Don't abandon her... You are doing her well.

Did you miss me?

Each time they teach us amnesia...

...as if souls had never had burning eyes

and motherless sorrow no lips.

Each time they teach us amnesia and threaten to erase suffering's drunkenness

l'm convinced that my region is not other people's jet set.

ln my region there are calvaries of absences,

... stumps of future, suburbs of mornings...

...but also naivet� of small roses...

Pianos that draw tears

Corpses that stare even from their gardens

Still nostalgias in a pit of Autumn...

unbearably present feelings that refuse to die that, in the darkness

Forgetting is so full of memories that sometimes

there is no room for remembering...

... and it's necessary to throw grudges overboard

Man is getting to the moon.

And you don't know how far you're getting on me.

Dear Neil Armstrong...

... comma,

l saw your ''small step for man''...

l almost missed an orgasm.

Later l understood it was more important than watching you...

But l watched.

What l missed...

and maybe l've been absentminded the last 30 years but...

l missed that ''giant leap for mankind''.

l don't want to minimize your effort, man, but on a night like this...

...on sleepless nights...

... doesn't it cross your mind that you traveled so far for nothing?

Defending a culture which has never saved man...

...from his concern about a better life or from hunger...

... seems to me it's urgent than getting from that culture...

... ideas with a life force equal to that of hunger.

The ceiling has vanished...

l go over the centimeters of the day...

l count to 1,238...

l make kangaroos and koalas jump because sheep got tired.

l whisper names that start with "h", l recall boleros...

waltzes, tangos, milongas, Father Luis' verses...

two stanzas of the national anthem, a ballad.

l close my eyes slowly but sleep doesn't come.

l'm not greedy for sleep. l don't expect it.

l'm the king of insomnia... l'm an owl.

Look, man...

l'm not hooked on the vice of presences but,

words fucked up here.

Do exactly what l tell you.

Get dressed.

Get to the street.

Get in the car and drive.

l'll lead you. l can do it.

Don 't ask anything.

Don 't try to understand anything.

Just let yourself come.

Come...

My island intended to build paradise.

Paradise slipped out of our hands.

Paradise doesn't exist, man.

What are you going to do now?

Now... now is the word l care more about.

Now l'm here.

l'm sad when at the riverside...

l close my eyes and... l wish l were in Cuba...

...by the sea.

Now, now l'm here.

l'm happy to be with you.

Now is all l am.

Now is all l have.

Now is all l want.

Future can't fool me anymore.

Cacho? l finally found you.

What a son of a bitch. You know who this is, don't you?

What's that mattress for, Cachito?

For the burial.

After mom died it seemed... people stopped dying.

The funeral parlor went bankrupt.

l don't know... l'm not good with business.

Excuse me.

lf l leave the tube it doesn't go up. lt's not strong enough.

lt's been a week.

l work as a barrier until they fix it.

Do you have a cigarette?

l don't smoke.

Health freak?

No kidding.

But if one day l forget to put the tube.

You come in your car -no smoking-

and you don't see the train...

How would it be living in a country where things work?

What would we do?

Wait.

He even says thanks... he thinks l lifted it for him.

l like the idea of having a party.

But...

How about having only guys.. and a couple of broads?

Can you imagine how bad the women from those days look today?

Have you seen any lately?

- What' s wrong? - Nothing.

You can't fool your father... l've been a rocker for years.

At your age l got thoughtful for two reasons.

Either l was thinking how to convince a girl of doing it...

or l was thinking how to move out of my parents'.

Dad had already realized l wouldn't be doctor or lawyer...

so he offered me a job at his furniture store.

But l felt that wasn't enough to support myself.

One day l did some numbers and l realized that...

l was making enough to rent a studio.

And then something happened to me...

Something astonishing!... Unexpected!... Unacceptable!

l was afraid.

Afraid of leaving the nest.

So, what were you thinking about?

Can l work with you at the store?

l knew it!

lt couldn't be about fucking 'cause girlfriends nowadays do it...

...which l think is good but l don't have a daughter.

ln my days it wasn't easy before you were married.

Your mother was a virgin when we got married.

Therefore, you were thinking how to leave home.

Don't tell mom but l can lend you the money

...to rent an apartment.

You'll pay me back when you get a job.

But you'll live there, no fucking and coming home to sleep!

What are you thinking?

l discovered something astonishing!... Unexpected!

Happy birthday!

- l'm going on a trip. - Where to?

To Paris.

Liar. You're going to Cuba.

A new worid is being born... A new man.

And l don't want to miss that birth.

You'll join the ''guerilla''?

You'll do anything not to marry me.

What are you laughing about? l was right.

A new worid... A worid of new women.

That was the end but l didn't believe it.

And you changed.

They brainwashed you.

Why did communists need to get me out of your head?

Me, your sweetheart.

- We can't play it, then? - l don't have a turntable.

Somebody could transfer it to cassette for you...

perhaps it's on CD now.

lt won't be the same.

No, it'll be better.

That record must be full of scratches.

May l go there?

There... may 1?

Yes...

Hold it.

What do you mean ''hold it''? That was my part.

What happened to the ''macho'' guy from the book store?

''l want you against the refrigerator'' ... what happened?

What? You're still just giving me the lines?

- l have a problem... - What problem?

There's no refrigerator.

No, wait... hold it.

l'm in love with another woman.

And l'm in love with another man. So?

Time seems not to have passed sometimes...

...we' re as stupid as in those days, aren't we?

Talking about stupid... l almost forgot your present!

What's that?

A telescope. You're crazy.

You've insisted on that for 25 years.

And why?

- For your birthday. - lt was three months ago.

- l know. - Then?

You told me the other day that you were counting stars again.

This is really a toy but it will help you see them closer.

Perhaps you'll discover a new black hole in the space.

We know about them more than those in the soul.

Montreal, please. Person to person.

Ricardo!

Ricardo! l saw a UFO

Fuck it!

What if God were a woman?

lf God were a woman she wouldn't be far away in heaven.

She would wait for us at the door of hell with open arms.

My God! if you were a woman forever and since ever...

What a great scandal it would be! What a venturous...

...splendid, impossible, prodigious blasphemy.

When thinking about your life up to here...

...did you ever have the feeling you're watching an old movie?

- ...a successi�n of scenes? - No.

l'm a man full of old movies.

All movies are old.

They are pictures frozen forever.

The only thing continuously alive is life, Ernesto.

l'd like to be your age.

To have lived those days.

lt must've been nice to have hope.

Dreaming of utopias, as we say now.

People's hearts are so dry.

lt's been so long since it rained dreams.

lsn't that like longing for an old movie?

Who is it?

My daughter.

She lives in Canada with her mother.

The day after Silvia and l fled to Montevideo...

...the military broke into our apartment.

They took the TV, the refrigerator, the washing machine.

But me, Silvia...

and Paulita in her womb escaped.

We went to Canada, which opened its arms to all survivors...

...Argentines, Chileans...

Paula was born in Montreal.

When Silvia and l separated the military had left and...

l decided to return.

She stayed with her mother.

After all, that's her country.

She was 6.

A year ago they came to visit me.

l found a young Canadian woman of 18...

...who speaks English and French better than Spanish.

Relax, l won't attack you.

Don't be scared.

l want you to be the first to know it.

- You're pregnant. - Don't be silly.

l enrolled in the university. l'm going to study Astronomy.

No!

lf you prefer l can study Medicine.

The truth is that l'm scared.

l'll be surrounded by teenagers... they'll look at me.

They'll wonder about the old woman.

They'll look at you but for other reasons.

Silly.

Thank you.

lf forty thousand children succumb daily...

...to the purgatory of hunger and thirst.

lf the torturing of young bodies...

...degrades souls one by one...

lf power brags about its quarantines...

Or if the solemn poor are gradually less solemn and poorer...

it's serious enough if one man...

if one woman stare at the neutral horizon.

But it is atrocious, simply atrocious

lf it is humanity who shrugs its shoulders.

Ana, l didn't realize it was this late...

No problem, Ricky's sleeping but l was watching a Doris Day movie.

l don't want to scare you but... it's about your son.

- What happened? - No, nothing bad.

Just the opposite.

He gave me some of his writings for me to read.

He is a poet!

ls that bad... being a poet?

ls he ''different''?

Shall l wake Ricardo up for you to talk to him?

Do you want to publish them?

Publish them? Where?

ln a book.

l know people in the publishing industry and if they don't...

l'll pay for the edition.

- You liked them. - No, they are shit but l'll publish them.

Genetics, what a mystery.

Your dad is as poetic as l am a classic dancer.

Your mom calls a sensible person ''different''. And their son?

Their son is a poet.

Life, what a mystery!

The military worked hard to do away with thinking young people...

...sensitive people who dreamed of a better worid.

Solidarious people.

What a disappointment. The country doesn't learn. Thank God!

l'd have liked to live in your times.

To fight for something else than a car, a country house.

You're not fighting for that. And there are many like you.

You are not the generation of assholes many think you are.

lt's incredible but you are not.

Think about publishing your poems and tell me when you're ready.

You could have been my father, right?

For that l'd have had to make love to your mother.

But the only guy who did it...

...was that great man you call father.

l'll call you.

Dream of a better worid...

...but don't take death as a partner. Ever

Engineer... fuck it! Your son is a poet!

A revolutionary like his uncle Ernesto.

l'm not planning to interfere with his parent's plans.

But l'll help to keep the poet in him alive.

Do you want him to starve and end up in jail, ''uncle Ernesto''?

Please, don't help him.

Let the poet sleep and the engineer wake up.

His future wife will be grateful. Pour the tea.

You are a group of friends who are getting together after...

After about 20 years...

Nice.

- Young man... - Yes?

Please, this is a family club.

You wouldn't bring whores in here, right?

Who do you think you're talking to, sir.

Here's my card.

This is my store, please call if you need office furniture.

l'll give you a discount... excuse me.

We're on.

For the party, Ernesto.

- You said Saturday? - Hold on a minute

Yes, Saturday the 26th... about 9.30 PM

Saturday the 26th... about 9.30 PM. We'll do as usual.

The giris bring the food and we bring the drinks, okay?

What problem?

That's no problem. Come over to the house tonight.

You're cool with that, aren't you?

Relax that l won't rub against you... come on.

Probably Ricardo was the wisest of us all.

Life was a party... and he had always known it.

No heart is ever totally closed to love. Like the Sleeping Beauty...

lt may lie imprisoned by a seemingly impenetrable wall of thorns...

...but some prince or princess can puncture the wall and awaken the sleeping heart.

When it happens, it is like a miracle.

Alexander Lowen.