Original subtitles

Mandragora.

There is no night there now.

The daylight shouts in your ear.

Did night time hold you down by the wrist?

Where did you get those bracelet scars?

Prison.

Prison. Prison.

You have the look of a cornered animal.

Very menacing.

Did you go mad?

And what now?

Now that you're free?

Home. To Mandragora.

Oh.

Mandragora.

Oh, you know it?

There is no night there now.

It is so strange a place at this time of year, when the sun never quite leaves

the sky.

One keeps dreaming of the darkness and wondering where it's hiding.

I love the sounds of the long white nights.

You can hear the mountains, forests, and... see whispering to each other

for quiet people i'm too restless i dream of being lost in a cloud

of nights so thick that i could kiss a total stranger without either of us

seeing each other that's what i miss when the sun won't go down

being kissed in the dark i'll tell you something strange

see these hands

In the dark, with chains on, they were my lover's faith.

Sometimes I'd hook them to the wall, so my mouth could barely reach them.

Every tender image I could hold on to, I would try and see in shape of

my hands.

And if I so much as breathed on them, they would tremble.

Are these hands wild or gentle after so much love?

They still have their secrets.

Perhaps if we meet again, I shall dare to kiss one.

Please, don't laugh at me for asking this.

But am I imagining you?

What would be wrong with that?

You seem very young.

Have you had many lovers?

Already you're trying to tame me?

No. It would be horrible, you know, if you let yourself turn out ordinary. In

prison, I kept myself alive by clutching every ordinary memory for dear life.

Yes, but aren't you tired of thinking like a prisoner?

How about thinking like a criminal again?

Suppose I ask you to commit a crime for me.

Just a little one.

But the risk is very great.

Let's pretend a man I don't care about gave this necklace to me.

An anniversary gift for his wife.

And I can't accept it under those conditions.

Besides, I care about you now.

That's clear, isn't it?

You'll find the jewelry box, the keys under the pillow.

I'll knock if someone is coming.

Then, just get out of there.

Done. How brave.

The necklace was really mine, you know.

And whoever finds it in here won't know what to make of it.

Please, no more.

Just look at me.

My friend's waiting for me.

I shall tell her all about you.

Eat up. Eat up. Do you remember me?

That's right. It's Peter.

Come on.

You know me.

I'm back yet. I'm so glad you're still alive.

Let's go. Take me home.

Peter, is that you?

Oh, Amelia.

Caneball, come down and bring the sample chair.

Caneball? My brother Peter's come back from the dead.

Oh, Peter, Peter.

Oh, let me look at you.

Amelia, I made it home.

Oh, Peter.

Peter, Peter.

On the way here, I saw a giant old statue of Venus. Quite lovely, really.

lying out in the sun. That's Dr. Solby's work.

Yeah, that's right. Last week he got me and some others to haul her out of the

ground for him, and once we got her standing up, one of the supports came

and the hellish thing just fell right on top of the doctor's leg. Oh, the most

horrible thing. Snabbing it, like a dried twig. Nobody's gone back there

since. That's the price to be paid for stealing the devil's playthings.

Caneball has no use for the doctor because he can't talk about ostriches or

lungworm. He's a learned man who's traveled far and wide.

You'd never believe how much he's read.

Or how deeply he thinks about things.

Your sister's hoping this Dr.

Salty's gonna come by and take her pulse. And wondering whether he'd like

sight of spinster's breasts as well as those of Venus' sports.

Excuse me for speaking a little too freely for Iron Man.

What about this, Amelia? What sly schemes have you been hatching?

She should be thankful the statue fell on him.

A one -legged doctor can't run so fast.

All the times I've been the victim of cruel jokes, I still can't understand

where the pleasure is in making someone suffer.

She'll be teasing you.

You'll have to excuse me.

Just give me a few moments.

Should we go to her?

No, no, let her be. Let her be.

She's got a bit of mustard on her tail.

That's how we have to suffer.

Sometimes she goes out late and...

Scotches him, you know, for him.

Well, when he was poking around up in the hill there getting ready to dig up

goddess, well, he'd stop by here, you know, from time to time and spend the

night hoping to get fed. Boy, she'd feed him all right.

Does he show any feeling for her?

Any feeling? Well, no, not in that way, no.

How could he? Well, she's a smoked dried stick.

Grand thing to shove in no man's arms.

Dried stick, am I?

Well, I'm not as old or as ugly as you.

Well, it's not me who's playing the fool, huh?

You should use your effort to do some good. Anybody can see that love is just

big wart in a face like yours.

I see.

Well, now that Peter's back, I guess you can stop all your silly dreaming about

buying the farm cane ball.

Dream? Well, that's not dreaming. That's not dreaming. That's what I've been

promised. Plans are plans, and deeds are deeds.

More coffee, brother?

Well, you got no right.

When my brother Poorgrass and I get the money to beat your asking price, we're

going to buy this farm.

He's going to move down here to live. You agree to that? You shook my hand on

it. Can I speak for my brother?

The land is as much his as it is mine.

We thought he might be dead, but clearly he's come back.

Well, why was there no mention of this until now?

You seem to be in a mood for honest talk tonight.

So, you expect to show up here after four years just like that, right? To

these birds, huh? These birds I talk to?

These birds I've nursed and raised and all kinds of weather like they're my own

blood? I have no wish to be a farmer.

Even prison hasn't made this life any more tolerable for me.

Well, what are we talking about then? Well, after 45 years of tending this

place, I'm not getting my independence cheaply.

Are you opposed to selling the farm to me? Belongs to my sister, Caneball. I

won't interfere.

I guess then we still stand the way we were, right?

Once I get married and have some place to go, then of course I'll let you and

poor Grass take over the farm.

But who the hell said anything about marriage? Marriage?

I thought our plan was to get educated.

But to travel someplace strange and to be alone, maybe an unmarried woman

just keep the little she's got and count her blessings.

Because I speak harshly to you, that's it, isn't it? Sure, that's what it is.

I speak harshly to you and you lash back.

And like kids, we argue over trifles.

You think being called hideous and unlovable is a trifle?

Well, well, what do I know about such things? What do I know? I'm a gelding,

remember? Who ripped his manhood open on a chair now half a century ago. What do

I know about... Why don't we just have some wine, huh?

Amelia, why don't you just make up an agreement on a piece of paper, stick it

the drawer somewhere, wherever you want, and there'll be no more talk about it

until the time comes.

There'll be no paper tonight.

Yeah, but then when? When, when, when? When should I see one?

Peter and I have much to talk about. Talk that doesn't concern you.

Go back to your room, why don't you? And play on your pipe.

A man with no independence has precious little to call his own.

I'm sorry to have caused trouble between you. Yeah.

Come on up here.

The door to my room still belongs to me.

Suit yourself.

We can use the kindling.

Have you caught the pest from one of your birds, Caneball?

I ain't got the pest from one of my birds. I'm not going to be a licks

I want to get the slave taste out of my mob.

Ha!

Yeah!

How late is it?

It's hard to say.

See how soft the light is over there toward the high heath?

You can hear the mice ruffling down the bog.

Who's that?

That's Zephyr.

She's fond of wandering about late, collecting little things.

She's a brooder.

Mandragore is a country made for brooders.

What's she doing?

Dr. Salty says it's out of respect for the forest.

She binds her hands to let the forest know she'll take nothing from it but

it gives her.

Perhaps I'll run into her.

To comfort her, I suppose.

I hear she's with child.

One prisoner to another.

Dr. Salty says her husband's disappeared.

What about this Dr.

Salty?

I have no expectations.

We've all agreed, after all, how ugly I am.

He's been kind to me.

Don't see yourself as that bitter old cane ball sees you.

You deserve happiness.

You may find it.

I allow myself one daydream.

Meeting the doctor at a masked ball.

My hands are hidden by beautiful long gloves.

And only my lips are showing beneath this glittering mask.

My smile isn't so bad, really.

I shouldn't be telling you this.

Go on.

All the parts of me that are pleasing.

are perfectly visible to him.

Especially my legs, which are what first catches eye.

The rest of me is out of sight.

And before the ball is over, I've won his heart.

I've never done anything so strange in all my life.

Just in a jail, and I'm sneaking around in someone's sheep cabin.

When I could find that girl again.

Where?

Sometimes I have an odd belief that I could find my way to her by dreaming it.

But who can dream?

Who can sleep this time of year?

Forgotten how bright the summers were.

Daylight shouts in your ears.

Well, Aesop, looks like I've been sleep hunting again.

What do you say we go back to the hut and get some rest for a while, eh? Come

on.

Get in.

Ah, hello.

Who might you be?

Zephyr Eccle. I've been tired of walking. The sun is very hot tonight.

I'm a fisherman's wife.

What does that involve?

A lot of waiting.

My husband may have drowned.

How long's it been?

I lose track.

Weeks. It's like I'm between lives.

I hope my thumb's not infected.

Dog bit it this morning. Do you see how red it is?

He bit... I don't know why I said that.

I bit myself, actually. I'm embarrassed for talking so much.

What's Green Henry?

Pardon?

It's the name of one of your books. It's very thick.

Green Henry finds an orange cat with soft green eyes and...

And he's not so lonely.

I like that.

What's your dog's name again?

Aesop.

And Aesop, what's your master's name?

Peter.

I'm ashamed.

I don't know what you must think of me.

I haven't forgotten my husband, or that I'm three months pregnant with his

child.

No, I'm afraid I'm the one who's been forwarded.

Would it help any to say that I'm in love with someone, too, and I only met

once on a boat, and that, like you, I worry about never seeing this person

again?

What do you want, Zephyr?

To turn away and leave without a care just as I came.

Better know that you're watching me go a little bit sadly.

I'll watch you.

You have too much sincerity.

Too much confusion.

I'll take my berries and shells and be off.

You have a nice dog.

Yeah.

No good with birds either.

Two vagabonds.

Goodbye.

Here is my wedding ring.

Please give me Peter to lie with.

Let it be my fingers and mine alone that enclose his heart.

Lay low anyone else who takes claim to his love.

Sleep, Peter.

The sun is very hot tonight.

Peter.

Peter, are you awake?

You can't sleep.

The sun is very bright.

What are you doing out in this?

I was curious where you might be going.

You followed me.

I wanted to see you again, but the sun is so... I can't be sure even now.

I've been walking behind you for an hour, but I know what I'm looking at.

do you see?

It's like we're in a mirage together.

All I have to do is take a step back, and you dissolve into light.

When I close my eyes, you appear behind my lids.

Come into the shade.

You're shifting.

I think a fever's got a hold of me.

Do you ever think when you're chilled and soaked to the skin that further

deep inside your body, it's still comfortable?

If only we could get there, deep inside our bodies, we'd find all the shade and

relief we need.

Do you see that tide house?

I live there.

I'll take your word for it.

If only you could imagine me, you could see me.

Here.

Right there.

I'm glad you're following me.

It's like I'm blacking out.

Yes, my knees are shaking.

No, really.

You were eating and you fainted.

I brought you home.

How are you feeling?

Dithy, a little.

I carried you here.

My God.

You're pregnant.

My clothes.

Drying.

Do you want to put on something of my husband's?

No, I'd rather not.

It'd be unfair.

Besides, I'm superstitious.

Well, what then?

How about something of mine?

Um... Something fit for a honeymoon but never worn.

Deep purple negligee.

It'd probably fit you.

What would my hunter look like dressed in dainties?

I'll be your bride.

It'll amuse you.

Do you know why I want to laugh at you, Peter?

Please get dressed.

Let me see you standing behind me in the mirror. I want to see the look on your

face. What look?

Your expression while you hold me.

You're not feeling faint again, are you?

No. Good.

When I was a young girl living in Skaldor out in the country, another

much older, brought a cow to a neighbor's farm to mate her with a bull.

This bull seemed rather a sickly specimen.

He mounted the cow all right.

But she... But she was too high or too broad for him to enter by himself.

So this girl...

took the wool right in her hand, not the least bit afraid or awkward,

and she guided it up until it went in.

I was very disturbed at the time.

You know, to see this, it was shocking.

But when I think of her now... Ah,

you found me.

Tell me again where you followed me.

I wanted to see you again. Like this?

How easy it would be.

If I said I thought it would be easy, would you be insulted?

Do you want to insult me? Not for anything in the world.

So you did guess.

I'll tell you something.

It's not because I knew it would be easy to have you.

Because I don't love you.

Don't you?

No. I love another.

I suppose you know your own mind.

After all you've spent many years with your mind as your only companion.

How long have I been fucking you? Now you're not so afraid to insult me. Why

you use that word?

You're the one that said it.

Please don't repeat it.

Are you losing yourself again?

I forgive you for being suddenly alone like this.

If I were to tell you all my thoughts about white -plumed

hair... I should become tired from tears.

Tide's gone out.

I've heard so many people say that when you're pregnant, you become more

sensitive and caring.

It's true.

I've simply become more carnal, more careless.

I've just become more.

The afternoon I met you, I gave my ring to the statue on a whim.

I don't believe you.

Do you see it anywhere?

I'll fetch it back one of these days.

Why did you do that?

To challenge the gods to see what's out there.

Do you know what I asked for?

What? You, like this.

No, don't.

I'm superstitious. It gives me pleasure to frighten you.

I control my own fate.

The belly of yours said something else.

What do you know about it?

You can wear my clothes till doomsday, but it won't make you any more of a

woman.

Just less of a man.

The night cannon from the church table.

Why do you curl your fingers like that? Is something the matter?

It's the scars.

My hands, like they're back in jail.

What do they want to do?

I like them.

I dream

of being lost in a cloud of night so thick that I could kiss a total stranger

without either of us seeing each other.

I gave my ring to the statue.

You know, it's not always pleasing to have someone do everything you ask.

Do you know why I want to laugh at you, Peter?

Besides, I care about you now.

That's clear, isn't it?

It gives me pleasure to frighten you.

One keeps dreaming of the darkness and wondering where it's hiding.

Listen, Dr.

Salty called a while ago.

He's up and about and says he's ready to meet with old friends.

He's invited us on an outing to the islands tomorrow.

Does the doctor regard me as an old friend?

We've never met.

He's heard about you from somewhere, and he's anxious to meet with you. I feel

strange, and wouldn't you rather be alone with him?

That's unthinkable.

I'm not sure how many others are coming, and I wouldn't want it to seem like I

had any expectations.

I'll be so nervous.

I'm bound to embarrass him.

Well, all right.

I'll go.

I'm going to protest.

Oh, you're a kind brother.

After his accident, I went over one day with blood pudding and muffins to see

how he was getting on.

I may have offended him.

Don't hold yourself so cheap, Amelia.

Is it your fault?

He's rude when you do something insiderate?

I didn't say he was rude.

That's not at all what I meant.

I simply don't think he was ready for visitors.

I mean, who can blame him?

Such a tragedy.

What's Caneball doing?

Oh, right.

I haven't fed him yet either.

He's moved out of the house.

He's taken most of his things out to the barn.

Because you won't write up an agreement?

That's all he thinks about.

I hear him arguing about it with the ostriches.

Oh, he says he wants an egg sandwich for dinner.

There it is.

This quarrel saddens me.

Save your water.

Been a long time coming.

Amelia tells me you stuffed a squirrel's nest up the chimney.

She did now, huh?

Well, maybe there'd be a few more surprises yet.

It says nowhere on the hiring sheet that I am a house servant, so the work I've

done here with respect to that I have the right to take back again.

This sort of thing has to stop.

So says the young master.

You try to find someone to take over this job of keeping these beasts alive

the wages I draw.

Huh.

This isn't just an ordinary flock you find your way to overnight.

Maybe you ought to try your hand one of these days, huh?

With Aesop here.

Dog who's good for nothing but infecting.

Anything more? More?

Oh.

Your sister tell you about the deal that I found in dumplings last night you

tell about that, huh?

You tell her My eyes are open to her

I'm gonna have the last laugh though

I'm sure he said

Calm yourself, Amelia.

We're early.

Oh, maybe I misunderstood.

I wonder how long he's been waiting.

Hello?

He seems to be entirely recovered.

He looks exactly as before.

Who's that girl?

I don't know.

I'm not sure who else is coming.

Ah, we're all here then. Well, well, we can get started.

You must be Peter.

I am Isaac Salty. This is Julianna Crossell, my companion.

Julianna, Amelia, and Peter Klaus.

How do you do?

Amelia, did he say?

Forgive me, I'm not so good with names.

I hope my coming along won't make things too crowded.

I'm still a little shaky with this new limb of mine. I can't wait to be rid of

it. Oh, you look so well.

One would never know you'd been ill.

Oh, I've been ill, all right. Plenty of blood, rot, pus in this ordeal of mine

to turn a strong stomach. Two operations.

The first, a five -minute saw.

Below the knee, the second, another piece of leg. Higher up, goes to the

chopper.

I saw a drop into the sack.

Black spots on it.

Big as toadstools.

How horrifying.

He was remarkably brave.

Well, who'd show themselves weak to such a one, hmm?

You cared for him, then?

When he'd allow me to.

What are you saying?

She saved my life.

Nonsense.

Let's try this boat as I picked out.

We'll be lucky not to sink.

Peter, do you know anything about boats?

Have you ever seen anything less you're worthy?

Find me?

Oh, very diplomatic.

Peter, why don't I pull it out and you can bring it back, if that's agreeable.

Amelia and I might like a turn. Oh, yes, and Juliana will periodically remind us

of her ride.

But, Peter, it's affectation.

And take note, whenever she uses a big word, she's bound to mispronounce it.

Be careful, Doctor.

You'll hurt my feelings. Oh, I doubt that.

Peter, get off.

You're awfully quiet for once, Amelia, thinking your own thoughts.

I'm worried that the cheese I've brought is all right.

Oh, you know your way with food. I'm sure it will be perfect.

Thank you.

I haven't made anything too elaborate.

Just simple picnic things.

No blood pudding today, Amelia?

I must admit I was a bit startled at your choice of meal for an amputee. It

Juliana.

who made me see the width of your concoction.

Why not breaded ram testicles in parsley on the side?

I have been something terrible.

I had no intention of... I'm sorry.

Please, please.

I'm teasing you.

With a tongue that cuts like yours, Doctor, you hardly need a scalpel to

operate. Have I been rude?

Now it's Peter's turn.

Why don't you rest for a while?

Oh, please don't cry.

I'm far too sensitive.

I'm full in our outing.

Did you hear that we finally got the statue to stand up and no more

You should come and have a look at it.

You see if you agree with me that her faith, it's changing.

It's astonishing.

I hardly know what to make of her, Julia.

A clam.

I'm not having much luck.

I think I'll sit down the rest of it.

I'll join you.

You must come back with us afterward and make that some shadow you mentioned.

Well, I think I'm going to make myself useful by finding some seaweed to pat

clams in. Keep them moist and fresh.

Would you like some help?

Oh, no, dear.

There's not enough work for the two of us.

Peter.

When you've got a moment, there is something I'd like to ask you. I'm

What is it?

It's something private.

Sounds intriguing. Not fit for a one -legged doctor to hear.

I'll leave it up to Peter whether it's worth sharing.

Would you like to whisper it?

Your feet are muddy.

So are yours.

Walk with me a bit.

So you couldn't wait for me.

What do you mean?

It's only natural, I suppose.

After all, how often does one get a chance with the pregnant wife of a

fisherman?

Remember you warning me not to turn out ordinary.

Yes.

How well you understood that.

And what have you been waiting for?

What I have always been waiting for.

An exceptional being.

Someone worthy of my love. Perhaps the doctor will prove to be the jewel you

seek. You really think you mock me to say so? Glad you haven't been idle since

you've so pointlessly waited for me.

This might have been the day we first knew we loved each other.

And my kissing you now would not have meant goodbye.

Juliana!

Did she say where she was going?

Oh, she probably won't be far.

She'll keep us waiting until we look for her.

Juliana is full of extravagant gestures.

I see how well you know her.

My friend, you flatter me. Or perhaps you take a different view of her. After

all, you are the last.

one that she kissed.

Hmm?

I know nothing about her.

Someday she may shock you, as she did me with the tale of her parents. Her

father never met her mother. He was hanged before he had the opportunity.

A twisted man of science called Heisler collected the sperm that

Juliana's proud papa ejaculated on the gallows when his windpipe snapped. And

soon after, Heisler...

artificially inseminated a hardened prostitute named Vilma, who was

willing to try anything once.

No child coming into this world has ever had more to overcome.

Do you find this story plausible, Peter?

Boo!

As plausible as her attachment to you.

Why do I find it so hard to make you laugh?

I don't know.

I usually enjoy being ridiculed.

I fear that you're offended at the thought that a man like me should have

young mistress.

Our

lunch is

laid out whenever anyone's hungry.

Peter? Where's Juliana?

Oh, she went for a stroll. She can't be far.

Let's organize a search party.

Oh, I should stay near the food.

I wouldn't want the gulls to get it.

Perhaps later, I think.

We might have a chance to chat a little about Swedenborg.

I found a copy of one of his books since you last mentioned him, and I'm slowly

making my way through it.

Very interesting, but...

Difficult? I hate to think that you're reading on my account that wasn't meant

to be a serious recommendation.

Ah. Peter, let us divide up, and we'll try to find our wayward

Marquesa. I'll take the path by the rocks that is shorter, and you go

the woods, if that's agreeable. Actually, the path through the woods is

quicker. If you're worried about your legs, I'll take the path along the

Oh, I'm very familiar with this island. No, you're mistaken. I've taken both

paths many times.

I swear.

I'm right. All right, if you want me convinced. Let's put it to the test.

Even with my crutch, I will get there first.

Let's work up an appetite.

Hello, Jeffer.

You've resorted to witchcraft, Doctor. No, sir, I'm never wrong about

Juliana's been amusing herself with making a rag doll and filling it full of

pebbles. She had a clever idea of putting a live fly inside its head.

Listen to the buzz.

You've arrived just in time. The Doctor was about to crush my little friend's

head with a rock.

Uh -oh.

I found these green feathers in the woods.

Let me see.

They're beautiful.

May I keep them?

Give me a sweet.

You've had enough sweets, Isaac.

Peter, would you like some?

Tempted, I admit.

Chocolate from a lady's shoe.

God, Peter, what have you done?

Your brother seems to have gone mad.

Juliana, what do you think?

Why are you behaving like this?

I'm tired.

I was getting blisters.

I think I still see it floating.

Maybe we... Let it go.

The shoe belongs to the lake now. I have no more use for it.

Perhaps a little man will now row you back to shore.

Now, as I promised, I'd like to show you my treasures. The wine is all laid out

upstairs. Boom!

Oh, animal magnetism.

Ordinary.

Are you completely miserable?

No. For that, you'd have to look at my sister.

I was surprised she insisted on coming back here.

When this wretched evening ends, so will her tiny dreams of happiness.

She's merely postponing the moment.

She loves Isaac?

Are you completely blind?

Are you merely claiming innocence after a full day of torturing her?

My mind was elsewhere.

Oh, yes, I forgot.

There are two of us to punish.

These skulls belonged to two sisters who hated each other. Things

got so bad between them that one night when one of them passed out after a

drunken parade...

The other drove a long nail into her head. There, you can still see it.

The murderess did not escape punishment. Her head was chopped off in fairly

short order. And here, the two of them sit, prolonging their quarrel beyond the

grave.

Consider the mystery.

If one turns the two skulls so that they face each other,

Within a few minutes, they've changed position.

And they are once again back to back.

The antagonism between them is so absolute that even death cannot break

magnetic force of the warring wills.

Imagine a human being performing such an act.

Did she lack a soul?

It bit me! No, she's just being playful.

I've been nipped and bitten many a time.

Here's some salve.

This should take away the sting.

There, you see, there's no mark.

Amelia, you have my mother's hands.

They're farm laborers' hands. Yes, they're hands devoted to honest work and

caring for others. Hands where the struggle of life is plainly visible.

beautiful.

And if we could test your patience just a little while longer, I have two more

things that I wish to show you. Perhaps they will meet more with your approval.

Oh, look, the skulls are already halfway around.

Amelia, you ready to go?

I am very much interested in the doctor's collection, and I do have a

of my own to ask whenever we're through. My dear, why not ask it now?

Well...

These skulls make me think of the last judgment, when Jesus resurrects our

bodies to heaven.

What I wonder is, will the angels put us all back together again,

like bits of a broken statue?

Will we look as we did when we were young and healthy, before we were sick

fat or old?

Father's face still be covered with cancer?

Will we have teeth?

Will it be easy to recognize our loved one?

And what if during our lives we lost an eye or a leg or the cannibals ate us?

How much will we get back?

I find it hard to imagine that God cares that much about our bodies.

No. Well, I think he must.

I want him to care. Why?

Because some of us got cheated on Earth.

And there has to be a place where all our bodies have a chance to be loved.

Time will tell.

This next treasure may seem a trifle ordinary.

Nothing more than two globes filled with...

Iron filings and magnetized water.

Juliana, would you be willing to take this seat?

Good. She has been a cooperative patient for me more than once and had many an

ailment cured.

There you see, she's already taking hold of the iron rods.

The whole thing resembles a laden jar where electrical charges are stored.

In a few moments, please have a seat. Peter, come away from her. Stand behind

the screen. Good.

In a few moments, you will see signs. Signs of the magnetic crisis beginning.

I shall mesmerize Juliana with my hand as I did this afternoon.

And she shall speak to us all from a state of partial trance.

I draw the magnetic effluvia close to the surface of her body.

Could you repeat for us, Juliana, the words that I gave you to say to Peter

we were digging clams at our picnic?

This might have been the day we first knew we loved each other.

Am I kidding?

And my kissing you now would not have meant goodbye.

I put it to you, Peter, were these not the exact words that she spoke to you in

private.

This afternoon.

You can return to us now.

What's on your nose?

Here, let me. What are you doing? I almost got it.

Is that better?

Get up.

You heard me.

Get up.

Jump.

Jump. Wrong leg. You heard me.

I can't. You won't know unless you try.

Jump. Wrong leg.

Again.

Higher. Peter, no.

Why are you abusing me? Tell me something. Do you know what he's done to

Don't move.

In the mood I'm in right now, I could easily beat either of you to death.

One more thing, Doctor.

Here, let me whisper it to you.

Warm.

Ah,

I gather he's finished with us now.

None of this is your fault, Amelia.

I'm sorry if it means the end of our friendship.

Let me take you home.

Peter, are you awake?

What do you want?

To see you.

May I come in?

And what words has the doctor given you this time?

I don't understand.

You know, I believe that.

But in a way, it only makes things worse.

So you believe I am Dr.

Salty's slave? How could I think otherwise?

That I don't know my own heart or have any idea who I am. Why are you with him?

If I told you, what reason would you have to trust me?

Am I giving you my words or his?

Are you lovers?

No.

Are you sure?

I've wanted to be.

He's always refused.

What led you?

To pity?

Or mesmerism?

Love.

Can you have any idea how much he controls you?

How much of what you feel right now he's put inside you?

He won't be satisfied until he's made you his creature.

I am not his creature.

Nor anyone else's.

Do you see this necklace?

It's the most beautiful gift he ever gave me.

Gone. Just like my shoes.

You'll soon hate me for stirring you up like this.

Not at all.

Isaac's killed my trust.

His gift is worthless now.

Besides, I have something far more precious to put in its place.

Yes.

Do you suppose the tears in my eyes when you gave them to me were really his?

Or that he wanted me to place them next to my heart?

Whatever feelings I have for you belong to me.

Give me your hands.

Peter.

You see, I thought when we said goodbye that I'd just forget about you.

That I'd just been teasing and playing with you, but... You kept coming back to

me.

Who wants to be safe?

Your hand brushed against mine just once.

For a second this afternoon when you took the feathers from me.

I can't bear the thought of you naked under these clothes.

But first you must tell me, did that other woman give herself to you in this

dream? Is it where you had her?

No.

Then it can be our place.

And it's me you'll have in your thoughts when you see these white flowers

opening in the night.

Are you still fond of me?

Am I too tame?

It's like I've been waiting for you forever.

Filling in time until you arrived.

Everything else is just a boring dream.

Please.

You can't do this.

You must stop right now.

No, Zephyr.

It's you who must stop.

You have no place here.

I'm sorry if you suffer.

But see, I give myself only to Peter.

Others have no claim on me.

Surely you don't begrudge me my happiness.

Peter doesn't deserve me. Give me my ring back.

Oh, mercy me.

On a honeymoon, everything is permitted.

Oh, kiss my other shit on the tree.

I have no objections.

I'll pay the damages.

He means to kill me.

Cain Ball, let me in.

We have to talk.

Can't your workers get even a few hours' sleep?

Our quarrel must end now, before another hour passes.

Peacemakers don't come to a man's door in the middle of the night.

Let me in.

You won't regret it.

Well, you're not even dressed. Look at you.

Anybody would think you got something loose in your head.

Well, if I do, you'll still get what you want.

Tell me, why did you spread glass in my bedroom?

Well, you found out, did you?

I cut myself badly.

Well, I got to thinking about a broken bottle in the kitchen, and I picked up

all the pieces.

Then I figured, like I've been doing lately, if I put the pieces back, you'd

have to clean them.

Guess it wasn't fair to put them on the bedroom floor, but you heard that?

It was a shock.

You gotta admit, I got good cause to be angry.

No doubt.

Ordinarily, in most things, I'm a very reasonable man.

You have always said so.

Am I wrong to say so?

You can't talk reason to a woman.

It's clear sometimes where the right and wrong of a matter lie.

That's all I meant.

What do you got there?

The agreement you wanted.

You and poor grass can buy the farm whenever you like.

You want to be leaving, then?

There's nothing more to hold me here.

You, uh... Talk to Zo with Peter?

The decision is mine.

You heard him say so.

I'm surprised. You changed your mind quick.

When the bark is rotten, it's time to chop down the tree.

Peace then, huh?

Huh?

Huh?

Huh? Huh?

Uh -huh.

Would you care to celebrate?

There's some wine in the kitchen. Oh, I've got some stronger stuff in here.

we can have both.

For once, let's really treat ourselves.

Fair enough.

Give joy and pleasure.

Love should make us believe we can do something wonderful with our life.

Why do so many just give up once they've found love?

When I gave her the ring, I told her the name of the man I was in love with.

I asked her for him.

And? We became lovers.

Not your missing husband, I gather.

Well, she gave him to you as a kind of gift, and now she expects a return for

her generosity.

She is claiming you for herself.

I can't get my ring back.

Interesting. How can I free myself?

Ah, her magnetic force and her transformations depend entirely on

what is inside of you.

I saw you kiss her. Why did you do that?

Ah. Do you have to ask?

I am in love with her. A statue.

She is a goddess.

Venus herself, who better to submit to?

I look at her and I can hardly pull myself away.

I want to stand there for hours.

And it seems my whole life is dissolving the more I stare.

Before I found her, I'd lost my appetite for love.

I was perfectly impotent. and it was as if there was a fat white spider curled

up where my desire used to be.

She has revived me.

She crushed your leg.

Oh, no, she showed me that I wasn't strong enough yet to take her on.

I did not have your courage to give her the ring that she craved. I want my life

back.

Do you? Oh, how much of it?

This lost husband of yours, this child that you're carrying, how much of your

life have you really chosen?

How much of it really means anything to you? What are you saying?

Be brave enough, be strong enough to follow the goddess, to go where

she leads you. To give myself up, you mean? No.

I will have my life back and my ring. I'll break whatever claims you put on

Very well, then.

Know at least what you're up against.

This is what the statue knows about you.

And this is what she will fight you with.

Look at yourself, Saphir.

You tell me what you see.

I... Speak, Saphir.

Soon there'll be nothing left to say.

Let's astonish each other every day. You're afraid I'm not good enough for

Why do you say that?

You don't know anything beyond this.

And what I've just learned about you makes me as confused as you are.

Tell me.

What am I to make of this?

You meant for me to find it. What is it?

Pig's blood?

Why would I care whether or not you were a virgin?

And why choose such a shabby way of hurting poor Zephyr?

Poor Zephyr deserved a kick in the head.

My husband Matthew.

I'd run away from him. He followed me and he found me as he always does.

Anywhere you go, he says, I'll find you.

And he's right.

I pretend to forgive him.

He tells me again how alike we are.

He said he loves me, and that when the child comes, we'll be happier than we've

ever been.

I suggest we go for a swim.

I know a certain pond, the Bad Night Bulb.

It's full of snakes.

The snakes are as poisonous as our marriage.

Is this another triumph for the doctor?

He's found a new way of laughing at me, and you too, perhaps.

He's letting me know that he's had you first.

Why not go further?

I must have been in a trance when I came here and said I loved you.

There's the real insanity.

Let me hear one more time about your relationship with the doctor.

No matter what he's done to you, you're going back to him, I know it.

And even in bed with me, you still manage to play his games and do the

bidding.

Cripple, you call him?

Well, you may not walk with a limp, but even if you did, you couldn't compare

with him.

No, you couldn't.

He's your superior in everything.

You understand that?

In everything.

This might have been the day we first knew we loved each other.

Do you wonder, Zephir, what your future will be?

What is your worst fear?

Listen.

You shall be a mother, Zephir.

No husband, just Matthew's baby.

But Matthew will still find you.

The snakes of the bad night bog will flitter beneath your every footstep.

And most of your maternal instincts shall be very confounded.

A forgetful and delirious mother you shall be. The snakes of the night bog

poisoned your mother love.

Surely, this is not the way you thought you'd be tucking in your baby.

I'm already -

The egg?

Yes, I am taking care of myself, but it still seems that I'm ill.

These nights are very long.

I'm sorry for what happened.

You're hurt.

I shot myself.

By accident.

I don't think so. I saw myself doing it.

If only it could grow dark again. These dreams that come by daylight can't be

trusted.

I have to get home.

You need help.

The pain's good for me. I'm paying the price.

It wasn't so long ago since we were together.

I wish I'd loved you better.

Someone else was in the way.

What?

She laughs at me and strikes me along by the hair, but I let her do it.

Don't give her everything.

What I still have she doesn't want.

I see.

I have to go.

Where? I'd be like digging.

Oh.

I saved one of them anyway.

So, Doctor, has she told you everything, then? Make sure she does not omit any

details in her report.

Better be as accurate and unforgettable as the sun itself.

To brutally seize all without flinching. That sun in the sky.

That dripping red cyclops.

Juliana complained once of a stitch in her side. We laughed together, you see.

And later she bit her tongue and touched a nipple through a hole in my shirt and

then pulled a hair from my neck with her teeth.

Since there's so little of importance to relate, she must make a gift of every

last detail.

She called my name four... No!

Five times!

And wept tears of love.

Who are you, troubled soul?

Clearly you're in pain.

Are they us?

Can you help me? You, both of you, are a crime against nature and trees

that serve purely the great God and call the sun to lower at last in

shame behind their trembling dark hands.

Please, close in around this scene.

Gods of nature, grant me, I pray, this one request.

And stop. Suffocate everything that is false.

Descend!

Freeze!

Freeze!

Accept my office.

Now's the time for my command.

Obedient ranks of lace, bark, maple, and golden oak.

Descend!

Carnivores!

Oldest, tallest, and wisest.

Distant.

On film.

Staghorn sumac. Jewy budget. Halloweenia.

Sweet gum.

Horse chestnut.

Superterranean lignotubers.

Fearless and sturdy.

In this my time of need. I implore you.

Defend. The Satan.

A bit too neglectful of reality, Mr. Glan.

Yes, they move, Doctor.

You better run.

You see, Juliana?

I've carved your initials in my bark with my musket.

I can outrun the trees any more than you can.

Crush me or free me.

If I deserve punishment, I do not refuse it, but I'm not afraid of you.

Keep your eye on the leeches.

Now for the farmer and his nail.

Ah, the button don't fit the buttonhole.

The ring is not yours because I am not.

There is no marriage.

There's no worship.

Amelia.

You made me drop it.

He's handling ostrich eggs.

Glenn, he's hallucinating.

If we don't enter into his hallucinations with him at this crucial

consequences could be fatal.

I'm glad my husband's dead.

And I will do everything in my power to be a good mother to my child.

My ring!

Peter, take the rope.

We're going for a ride.

And bring Aesop and the chick.

Salty, you are welcome to come to bring your

charming friend.

Cast off, Peter.

Take me and Amelia for a ride.

Watch out. Watch out for that frog.

Watch out. Watch out.

Yes, there's a good chance that she will recover.

But her mind?

Oh, I can't say.

I'll look after her.

No one ever has. Well, there's no choice.

I'm sorry.

Now, how's the food?

Yes, we'll set sail immediately.

I don't know that we'll come back.

goodbye come say goodbye are you going away now

no you are as soon as the boat arrives

Juliana.

Juliana.

What?

What were you going to say?

To think you're going away so soon.

Who's going to come next to you, I wonder?

Another.

I'm sorry Dr. Salty isn't here.

I'll tell him you said goodbye.

Goodbye, Julianne.

You're still here.

I thought you were gone.

I, um... I should like something to remember you by.

Perhaps it's too much to ask.

Will you give me Aesop?

Yeah, certainly.

I'm going.