All language subtitles for Sunshine.1999-Ing

IVAN: This boy,
my great-grandfather,
Emmanuel Sonnenschein,

was only 12 years old
when he left his village in
the Austro-Hungarian empire.

He had to find work
to support his mother
and a brother

because his father,
the village tavern keeper,

died during an explosion
in his distillery.

(SCREAMING)

(BELLS TOLLING)

Sammy!
Emmanuel?

(WOMAN SOBBING)

IVAN: The tavern keeper
was much loved
in his village.

His tonic, distilled
from local herbs,

helped many of his neighbors
back to health.

The secret recipe
for the tonic,

written in a black,
clothbound book,
was found amidst the rubble.

(SOBBING)

(TICKING)

(CHIMING)

(CONTINUES CHIMING)

The black notebook hidden
in the lining of his coat

was my great-grandfather's
inheritance.

Emmanuel found a job
in a Budapest distillery

where he worked
endless hours.

By the age of 25,
he had built his own house
and distillery.

He brewed the herbal tonic,
following his father's recipe.

He called it
Taste of Sunshine,
using our family name.

"Sonnenschein"
means sunshine.

Emmanuel soon married
Rose Deutsch.

They had two sons,

my great uncle, Gustave,
and Ignatz, my grandfather.

Taste of Sunshine
was an instant success.

When Emmanuel's
younger brother died,

Emmanuel and Rose
adopted the brother's
orphaned daughter,

Valerie, my grandmother.

Good night, darling.

Sweet dreams.

You'll wake up
in the morning happy,
healthy and smiling.

God bless.
Good night.

(RAIN PATTERING)

(ALL URINATING)

(BOTH PLAYING PIANO)
One, two, three.

(POUNDS KEYS)
Gustave!

MOTHER:
One, two, three.

(PLAYING PIANO)

(BOTH PLAYING)

NARRATOR:
My grandmother Valerie
was raised

as if she were Ignatz
and Gustave's sister.

Valerie developed
a passion for the world's
newest miracle, photography.

Ignatz decided to study law,
Gustave, medicine.

None of Emmanuel's children
had any interest in taking up
the family business.

My great-grandfather
didn't mind.

He was proud of his children
and their ambitions.

Here, everybody.
(CLICKS SHUTTER)

(CAMERA TIMER WHIRRING)

Try moving away
from the tree.

Wait. Up. Go, go,
move back a little bit.

(STAMMERING)
Move back.

A little bit further.

Now... Now to your right.
Just a little bit.

Yes. Stop.

Don't move.

(LAUGHING)

My little sister,
I love you very much.

I love you very much
as well.

I love you differently
from the way I love Gustave
and Father and Mother.

I love you
differently too.

Your little sister
misses you terribly
when you're away at school.

Hmm.

So I'm glad
you're home.

I shall have to get back
to Vienna soon.

Take me with you.
I will.

MAN:
You didn't plant them?

They just blossomed
by themselves?

Yes, they did.
This morning.

Mr. Sonnenschein,
this is a miracle!

Really a miracle.

(BELLS TOLLING)

Could someone please
move that chair?

Oh!

(SHUTTER CLICKS)

(SCOFFS)

(CHIMING)

Where are they?

Probably
off somewhere kissing.

Gustave!

What are you saying?

I suggest looking
in the museum gardens.

They tend
to go in there.

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

Sorry we're late.
Sorry.

(GROANS)
There's too much salt
in this soup.

Then the cook must be
in love.

You must have
made the soup then.

What do you mean
by that, Gustave?

You and Ignatz kissing
in the museum garden
yesterday,

and Tuesday...
Have you gone mad?

(ROSE SOBBING)

Please don't cry, Rose.
I beg you.

Come with me...

Now.

(CONTINUES SOBBING)

I forbid you.

Almighty God
is great in nature
and the laws of nature,

and those laws
forbid marriage between
brother and sister.

But we're not
brother and sister.
We are cousins.

I had a cousin
that I loved.

Sarah Bettelheim.

Our grandfather
forbade us to marry.

He said there was a curse
on the marriage between
people of the same blood.

I love Valerie.
I want to marry her.

"Want" is not a word
for us, Ignatz.

God wants.
We wish for.

We must obey
what God wants of us.

I did.

God wants us to live
without power and lust,

two things that bring us
to destroy other people
and then to destroy us.

And in return,
he gives us knowledge,

the ability to read
and interpret...

And he gives us
family love.

I love you.
I'll always love you
because you're my sister.

I'll never abandon you
as your brother.

Don't love me
out of duty.

Ignatz, your mother
raised me out of duty.

Yes,
but you'll get married,
and you'll have children.

We'll always be friends.
Don't give me up
so quickly.

You give into them
like a good little boy.

I must leave.

I'll write to you.

No, don't write to me

unless you intend
to tell me you love me
and not your sister.

"But, darling,
I'm in a dreadful state.

"I can't stop hearing
what you said to me.

"When you went back
to Vienna, I cried
and vomited all afternoon.

"I can't help feeling that
you've had enough of me,

"that you find me ugly
and stupid and...

"I have to see you.
I have to speak to you.

"I have to know if you've
really stopped loving me...

"Or if you're
just obeying our parents.

"Why would you want
to love me as a sister?

"I would move
mountains for you.

"I'm in love with you."

IVAN: In Vienna,
Ignatz reread Valerie's letter
a dozen times,

but kept his promise
to his father

and never replied
to his cousin.

Ignatz threw himself
into his studies,

but lay awake each night
dreaming only of Valerie.

Mr. Sonnenschein,
a Miss Sonnenschein
is here to see you.

(RAIN PATTERING)

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

You may leave
your umbrella here.

(GASPING)

When I'm lying in your arms,
I feel like I've come home.

Like I've finally
come home.

I have to pee.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

So do I.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

IVAN: When he finished
his studies, Ignatz returned
to Budapest and his family.

For Emmanuel, my grandfather
Ignatz was the greatest
achievement of his life.

Whoa.

Ladies and gentlemen,
I give you
Dr. Ignatz Sonnenschein,

Doctor of Law
in the Austro-Hungarian empire
and kingdom of Hungary,

who has
graciously come home
to live with us.

Hurry up, son.
Your mother's waiting.
(APPLAUDING)

(PRAYING IN HEBREW)

(OTHERS SPEAKING HEBREW)

(CLOCK CHIMING)

We ask almighty God
to bestow his blessing
on you, my son.

We also remember
with gratitude
my dear father

who perished
in a tragic fire,

but left us with knowledge
that has enabled
the Sonnenschein family

to progress from
village tavern keepers
to city lawyers.

We are grateful
to almighty God

for having spared us
my father's recipe book
for his herbal tonic.

And now,
dear Mrs. Sonnenschein,

you first.

Last night I dreamt
we lost the recipe.

IGNATZ:
What happened, father?
My goodness.

I stood on a boat,
drifting.

You were all with me.

The boat began rocking
from side to side

and I sat in the middle,
just steadying the boat.

An enormous wave
washed over us

and the family's
recipe book was lost.

VALERIE: It was
only a dream, Papa.
Mmm-hmm.

(HUMMING)

Please, God,
may we always
go on singing.

(CHUCKLES)
(GENTLY CLOSES DOOR)

(VALERIE SPEAKING IN LATIN)

I invoke the right
for the first night.

Shh.

Don't be frightened.

We're already
doomed to hell.
We might as well enjoy it.

NARRATOR:
Success came quickly
to my grandfather.

He became a judge,
fulfilling a childhood dream.

(POUNDING GAVEL)
In the name
of the Emperor,

I hereby call this trial
to order.

(SHUTTER CLICKS)

EMMANUEL: When you
sit in judgment of people,
never forget who you are.

And to help you
remember,

this was your
grandfather's watch.

It's the watch
of a village
tavern keeper.

Now it's yours.

(WATCH TICKING)

(CHIMING)

(CHIMING CONTINUES)

And this is
for your desk.

"Take nothing on trust.

"See everything
for yourself.

"This is your father's
advice."

(VALERIE SIGHING)

(VALERIE GASPING)

(CHUCKLING)
What?

I was wondering
how it would be making love
with a district court judge.

You're judging a judge?
Your verdict, please.

(LAUGHING)
The judge is a hard man.

His sentences
are often stiff,

but always passionate.

The verdict
is a life sentence.

Come in, Sonnenschein.
Come in.

Sit down.

Cigar?
No, thank you.

You don't smoke?
Yes, I do smoke.

Then have a cigar.
Go on, please.

Everyone speaks highly
of you.

They say
you're incorruptible
and quite learned.

We're considering you
for the central court.

I'm honored, sir,
but perhaps
I'm a bit young.

No, not at all.

I must speak frankly
with you.

I hope what I say
will not offend you.

It's not possible
for the central court
to have a presiding judge

with a name
like Sonnenschein.

We'd like to promote you.
We trust you.

We need you...

But you will have
to change your name
to something more Hungarian.

I see.

Naturally, this is
just friendly advice,
man-to-man.

Nothing like
an official request.

Yes, of course, sir.

At the end of the day,
the decision has
to be yours.

Thank you, sir.
I'm honored.

(DOOR CLOSES)

IGNATZ: What do you think
of first when you hear
the name Sonnenschein?

VALERIE: My lover.

Suppose
it's not me?
Then me.

What if it's someone
not related to us at all?

Someone Jewish.
IGNATZ:
Not necessarily.

Well, definitely
not Hungarian.

The Chief Justice
told me that I'd have
to change my name

to something
more Hungarian

if I want to be
a central court judge.

What are you going to do?

(SOBBING)

Don't cry, please.
I beg you.

Does this mean you intend
to abandon the faith?

No, father.
Of course not.

I would never.
I swear to you.

Neither would I.

You want to change
your name as well?

Yes, Papa, I do.

And you?
A lot of other
young doctors have done it.

Not just Jews either.
Slovaks, Serbs.

EMMANUEL: I see.

Well, names are not
given to us by God.

May I have
a second serving of carp,
Mrs. Sonnenschein.

Beautifully prepared.

What about Solyom?

Solti?
Somlo?

IGNATZ: I have it. Sors.

It means the same thing
in Latin and
in Hungarian.

"Prophesy, fate,
destiny, task."

Dr. Gustave Sors.

Couldn't we pick
a more common name?

Sors is perfect.

The minister of the interior
has approved
your application.

The name
Dr. Ignatz Sonnenschein is
changed to Dr. Ignatz Sors.

Please sign
the declaration.

Dr. Gustave Sonnenschein,
your name is now
Dr. Gustave Sors.

Valerie Sors.

(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)

Oh, I'm sorry.
Just cross it out
and sign again.

(LAUGHING)

Good afternoon,
governor.

(SIGHS)

We're going to
have a baby.

But you're my sister.

I'm hardly your sister.
I'm your cousin.

(SIGHS) My mother
will murder me.

Me too.

I love you very much.

(GIGGLING)

Sorry I'm late.
You're always late.

(RINGING BELL)
My dear
Mother and Father,

I have an announcement
to make.

I'm asking for
Valerie's hand in marriage.

According to the law,
we are not doing
anything illegal.

We have been in love with
each other as man and woman
for years now.

Our feelings
haven't lessened and...
(GROANING)

She's only
fainted, Father.
She'll be fine.

You think your fiance
could give me a hand?

(SIGHS)

A glass of Sunshine Tonic,
please.

(ROSE SOBBING)

IGNATZ:
Here, drink this.
(SOBBING CONTINUES)

(TONIC POURING)

I don't know what to do.

I told you
not to take her in,
but you insisted!

"My brother's only child
is an orphan. This is
our responsibility."

Your responsibility
is to your real family.

So now I'm insisting,
get her out of the house.

Be quiet.
Why should I be quiet
in my own house?

Come to your senses
and forbid them to do it.

It's no use
forbidding them.

Our children aren't
interested in warnings
from a grandfather,

nor even in
God's curse.

She'll be interested
in my curse.

I curse her.
May her womb dry up.

May she never
have children!

No!
What do you want
from me?

I want
the mother of my children
to understand my children.

Well, then,
she is not your child!
Stop it!

If you can't keep
your mouth shut,
I'll shut it!

Maybe you can talk to
your Sarah Bettelheim
like that,

but not to me!
Not to me!

I'm your wife!

(SIGHS)

(CANTOR SINGING IN HEBREW)

(CONTINUES SINGING)

(IGNATZ SPEAKING HEBREW)

(RABBI SPEAKING HEBREW)
(REPEATING)

(RABBI SPEAKING HEBREW)

RABBI: Amen.

(GLASS SHATTERS)
GUESTS: Mazel tov.

(LAUGHS)

(GUESTS SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)

(CHILDREN GIGGLING)

Winds of spring
now swell the seas.

Flower,
my sweet, flower.

(BAND PLAYING)
(VALERIE LAUGHS)

(SCATTERED APPLAUSE)

I'll never forgive you,
you know.
What for?

Marrying him
instead of me.

(LAUGHING)

(CONTINUES LAUGHING)

NARRATOR:
My great-grandfather
Emmanuel

remembered an afternoon
when he, too, had hoped
for great happiness,

when he had
asked his father
for permission

to marry his cousin,
Sarah Bettelheim.

But permission
was refused,

and Emmanuel hadn't allowed
any real measure
of happiness

into his life since then.

Whenever joy approached,
Emmanuel would immediately
ask himself,

"What will come of this?
What terrible price
will I have to pay?"

VALERIE:
Here, everybody.

(CLICKS SHUTTER)
(CAMERA TIMER WHIRRING)

Honorable Minister,
may I introduce
Dr. Ignatz Sors.

Ah, yes,
your new favorite.

A most promising
young judge.

My pleasure, Minister.

I trust you've seen
this morning's newspaper?

Two members of
the Prime Minister's office
have been accused

of selling information
to property speculators.

I can assure you it's
a filthy political move,

fabricated entirely
by the opposition.

Well, from what I've read,
there are three points
in the case

which I find intriguing.

Do you think
the gentlemen are guilty?

I beg your pardon,

but if surprise evidence
was to turn up
in the courtroom,

then nothing can be done
except...

Except what?
Severe sentences
for all of them.

What would you advise?

Well, the case
could be sent back
to the prosecution

for further investigation
to ensure that no detail
is overlooked.

This could be quite
a time-consuming process.

You're a bright
young man, Sors.
I envy you.

One other small matter.
Five judges are about
to retire.

We'll need
replacements quickly.

I would like
your recommendations.

Young men
who think like you.

You think you're clever,
don't you?

Yes, I think so.

You are acting
like a coward.

You are helping them
to cover up the case.

I think the opposition
is trying to bring down
someone high up.

As far as I'm concerned,
they can bring down
the entire government!

Why can't you see
that corruption's at the
very core of the monarchy?

No, at the core
there is a liberal,
fair-minded ruler

who's able to keep peace
among many different
kinds of people.

The Emperor has
a lifetime of wisdom
behind him.

And a lifetime
of oppression as well!

Well, maybe sometimes
that's part of his wisdom.

Oh, tell that
to his victims.

My God, Ignatz,
you are selling your soul.

Who are you trying
to please?

"To please"?

Let's start with you
and your simple
Hungarian heart.

Then I have
to please our family

and the memory
of our rabbi grandfather
and his blessed Torah.

There's the Emperor,
liberal spirit, Roman law.

I have to please
the government
and its opposition.

What about my own
sense of justice?

I have to please
our brother,

who wants to
turn the world
upside down,

and our father,
who wants to keep
the world exactly as it is!

These are the people
I'm trying to please!

(PIANO PLAYING)

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)

Would you like some air,
my dear?

(GASPS)

(SIGHS)

(CLOCK CHIMING)

(CHIMING CONTINUES)

The 19th century is over!
Long live the 20th century!

(GUESTS CHEERING)

Happy 20th century,
Mama.

This is
your father talking.
(LAUGHS)

Can you hear me?
Long live
the 20th century.

(CHUCKLING)
Amen.

I predict this will be
a century of love,
justice and tolerance.

As long as
we have our health,

we can work
the rest out.

Happy 20th century.

I wish you
happiness always...

And may the child
be strong and healthy.

Thank you, Mama.

(MERRY MUSIC PLAYING)
Let's have a twirl
in the snow.

(GUESTS LAUGHING)

(GASPING)

(PANTING)
(BABY CRYING)

IVAN: Two days later,
Valerie gave birth
to her first son, Istvan.

(CRYING)

It's a boy.
It's a healthy boy.

(GASPS)

EMMANUEL:
It's all right, Rose.

Everything's all right.

The curse, Emmanuel.

The baby's perfect.

(SOBBING)

My dear Count,
please allow me
to introduce Judge Sors.

I've mentioned him
many times.
Oh, yes.

The man who warms
the cockles of your heart.
(CHUCKLES)

My pleasure, sir.
Forgach.
Ignatz Sors.

Are you
a hunting man?

I, um... I...
I'm afraid not. No.

You'll catch on quickly.

(BLOWING HORN)
(COCKING RIFLE)

(SQUEALING)

(GUNS FIRING)

(MEN SHOUTING)

(FIRES)
(ANIMAL FALLS)

(GROANS)
(FIRING CONTINUES)

Come in.
Delighted to see you.

Please, do sit.
Thank you.

Let me just get straight
to the point.

Would you like to stand
for parliament?

Seriously.

What are you suggesting,
Excellency?

We find
an appropriate district

and put your name
on the party's ticket.

I...
I don't think I could.

Why not?
You're young, ambitious.
Your hands are clean.

The people think
you're clever.

You're living proof
that the monarchy

is enlightened
and supportive
of middle-class values.

Frankly, it's a challenge
that's tailor-made for you.

IVAN: My grandfather
was fiercely tempted

by this invitation
to join the ruling class.

You must feel so honored
that refined, influential
gentlemen appreciate you.

Excuse me, Mother,
but thanks to the influence
of these "refined gentlemen,"

there has never been
such rampant corruption,

such miserable
living conditions
for working people

than there is
at this very moment.

You're exaggerating,
Gustave.

Exaggerate?
You come with me
to my clinic, Mother.

You see tubercular,
gout-ridden,
undernourished workers

and their emaciated,
half-starved children.

Come with me on house calls
to dank, musty rooms where
people sleep three to a bed.

Old people sleeping
on kitchen floors.

Ask bakers why people steal
crumbs from the floors
of their wagons.

Why people line up,
line up to buy
stale bread!

You're describing conditions
in the poorest slums.

You can't expect
the government to change
things overnight.

Why not?

I would be ashamed
if my husband were
to stand for office

in such
a corrupt government.

I mean, wouldn't you all
be ashamed of him?

I mean, honestly.
Wouldn't you be
ashamed of yourself?

All I said
is that I've been asked
to stand for election.

Nothing more.
They're getting
desperate.

The monarchy's
become so weak,

they'll grab anyone
that makes them
look respectable.

We are proud
you've had this offer, son.

It proves that
your education has
been of value,

that you do your work well,
that you're respected.

But our people
must never climb too high,

even when
they're invited to.

The man who comes
from somewhere else
is always suspect.

At some point,
we must stop
and accept this.

(SIGHS)

(EMMANUEL SIGHS)

If ever we expect
to find happiness
in this life,

we need to know
who we are.

Or change it.

(CRYING)

IVAN: My uncle, Istvan,
was barely a toddler

when his brother Adam,
my father, was born.

(CONTINUES CRYING)

(COOS QUIETLY)

(CHILDREN LAUGHING)

My family is against
my being a candidate.

And why is that?

They're not happy for me
to be involved in politics
in any way.

But who should involve
themselves in politics,

if people like you
and I don't?

I prefer to remain
an independent judge.

Independent?
Independent from what,
from the world?

All right, let it be.
I won't try
to argue with you.

Just have a look
at this list, please.

The chief of police
just sent it over,

names of members
of socialist organizations.

Excellency,
I'm obliged to point out

that my brother's name
is on this list.

Yes, it is.

Would you explain to me
why rich, educated Jews

are behind every attempt
to overthrow
this government?

Jews become doctors,
lawyers, teachers.

What more do they want?

I'm sorry I'm late.

What's wrong?

There's information that
you're part of a conspiracy

intent on overthrowing
the monarchy.

What conspiracy?
What information?

Oh, God.
IGNATZ: Well?

Well, what? I've no part
in any conspiracy.

Don't lie to me,
Gustave.

Keep your voice down.
Mama and Papa
will hear you.

Well, maybe they should be
invited in.

Their house
might be searched.

Their precious son,
the doctor,
might be arrested.

The only thing that's
keeping you and your friends
out of prison

is liberal tolerance.

"Liberal tolerance"?

Is that some sort of joke?

You mean tolerance
for misery and hunger,

for watching hundreds
of thousands of workers
sink into poverty.

Is this the kind
of speech you make
at rallies?

And where on earth
do you get the nerve

to go against the very empire
that allows a Jew like you
to become a doctor!

Or a Jew like you.
Exactly!

Without the Emperor,
you'd still be selling
herbal tonic

door to door
like our grandfather.

You only believe
in this fairytale Emperor
out of pure greed.

I believe in a strong
judicial system.

And the right to assimilate
into the country I love!

(WHISPERS) Assimilate?

You'll never be
accepted here.

You'll always be
treated with suspicion.

Only the workers' movement
will accept you.

Yes, the workers' movement.

You share
a common enemy,
exploitation.

And you dream of
a common goal,
revolution.

Look, Valerie,
a new Jewish prophet

who wants
to destroy everything!

No, I want freedom.

And for freedom,
one must fight.

Let the blood flow?

Yes, please, let it flow!

That is my wish!
Do you know
what I wish?

I wish that God
would rip that tongue
out of your mouth

so you would stop
spewing your sick, vile...

Ignatz! No.

Perfect.
You put a curse on me.

You're better off
silenced by my curse

than you are
by a prison sentence.

Stop it, both of you!
You're like two rabbis
fighting over the Torah.

Your husband's
in love with success.

Yes, and I lust
after power.

You're a loyal subject.

That's what
makes you happy.
You love the Emperor.

Exactly.
You're on his side,
aren't you?

The two of you,
you're together.

What do you mean,
"On his side"?

IGNATZ: Oh, please.
You don't think I've seen

the two of you looking
at each other.

You think I'm blind
as well as stupid?

Are you
completely insane?

Oh, stop it,
both of you!

Do you want to know
what I want?

I don't want to be
accepted by people
in power

or by people
who feel oppressed.

You want to know
what I do want?

I want to be proud
of my own language.

I want to look out
of the window

and see a country
that I know and love.

I want to grow
like a wildflower,
where it belongs.

Can either of you
understand that?

NARRATOR:
Gustave fell gravely ill

and lay close to death
for several days.

Ignatz was shaken,

believing his curse
had caused
his brother's illness.

As soon as
you're up and about,

you can go
and fight in a war.

"Assassination in Sarajevo.

"Archduke Ferdinand,
heir to the throne
is killed."

What's happening?

Emperor Franz Joseph
has declared war.

IVAN: It was this shot
that determined the fate
of 20th-century Europe

and every twist and turn
in this, my family's, story.

My grandfather
became chief judge
of the southern front.

Gustave became
a high-ranking
medical officer.

(CROWD CHEERING)

The empire seemed eager
to wage war against Serbia

to punish the Serbs
for what they had done
in Sarajevo.

Ignatz was called to Vienna
to appear before the Emperor.

For my grandfather, meeting
His Imperial Highness

felt like the most
important moment
in his life.

(DOOR CLOSES)

Come forward, Major,
please.

Your name...
What is your name?

Sonnenschein...
Sors.

Major Ignatz Sors
reporting, Your Majesty.

Please,
sit down, Sors.

I have been told
a great deal about you.

There's no need for me
to tell you how to render
just verdicts.

Essentially,
I wanted to meet you
face-to-face.

When you're handing out
a judgment,

I'd ask you to remember
that the soldiers standing
in front of you

represent
many different
nationalities...

Chief military judge
of the entire
southern front...

Firmness,
but, please, respect
the differences...

And exercise
tolerance.

NARRATOR:
The Emperor promised
the war would be over

by the time
autumn leaves fell.

He was wrong.
The war went on
for years and years.

Ignatz was stationed
as the judge
on the Balkan front

where he handed down
strict sentences.

Serving the Emperor well
was his highest priority.

Far from home,
he did not see Valerie
or his sons for four years.

Major?

(WHISPERS)
The Emperor is dead.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

(DOOR OPENS)

IVAN: That very night
Ignatz received
a telegram from Valerie.

Emmanuel Sonnenschein
was also dead.

(SIGHING)

(SOBS QUIETLY)

Ignatz took the coincidence
of his father's death
and the Emperor's death

to be a strange
and significant omen.

(RABBI CHANTING IN HEBREW)

RABBI: Amen.
CONGREGATION: Amen.

(RABBI CONTINUES CHANTING)

ALL: Amen.

(RABBI CHANTING IN HEBREW)

Major,
sorry to bother you.

Is the Major Jewish?
What is it, please?

I'm town clerk,
and I'm well-acquainted

with the officers
being court-martialed.

Lieutenant Branko Susinsky
is Jewish.

I... I thought the Major
would like to know this.

I am an officer
of the Emperor
first and foremost, sir.

Good night, sir.

(DISTANT EXPLOSIONS)

(SPITS)

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Major, sir? Major?

I beg to report, sir,
that we have surrendered.
What?

It's over, sir.

Why are you grinning,
man?

We've lost the war.

We've lost, sir,
but we're still alive.

(JUBILANT CHEERING)
(GUNS FIRING)

NARRATOR:
Everyone was overjoyed
that the war was over

and yet Ignatz felt that
a great time had passed

because the liberal empire
that had given him so much
had collapsed.

VALERIE:
Your babies have grown
into young men.

IGNATZ:
A very fat Adam.

These are very good.
Very good.

(CHUCKLING)

This is difficult
for me to say,

but I'm going
to divorce you.

I promise to raise our sons
to love and respect you
as I do,

but I'm forced to accept you
as a man far different

from the man
I'd hoped you'd become.

You are now a man
without feeling.

"Without feeling"?

(SIGHS)

I cannot allow myself
to show my feelings.

This is my job.

I have to control myself.

Gustave is
so completely different.

IGNATZ: Gustave?

Gustave is your lover,
isn't he?

Admit it.
(LAUGHS) You're mad.

How long have you
been lying to me?

I've never lied to you.

Then when did you
stop loving me?

I haven't stopped.
I'm your sister.

I'll always be
your sister.

You're not my sister.
You are my wife.

Some son of a bitch
has seduced you,

so you've decided
that from now on
I'm your brother.

No, I'm not your brother.
I'm your husband.

Well, neither my husband
nor my brother can
give me what I need.

I'll suffocate
without love in my life.

For you, it's enough
to love the Emperor.

All you need is the illusion
that he loves you in return.

Ignatz! I've made my...
I've made myself clear.

You never believed that
I was in love with you?
You never were.

Yes! Yes!
No. No, I loved you.

I seduced you,
and you let me because
you knew I was safe.

Because you knew
I'd always stand by you
because I'm your sister!

I love you, Valerie.
Stop it!

Valerie, I love you.
I do.

I love you, Valerie.

Stop it!

(RIPS DRESS)

I love you.

(GRUNTING)

I love you.
(GRUNTING)

(PANTING)

(SOBBING)

But I love you.

Put the teddy bear down.

(GLASS SHATTERS)

I'll do it.

Are you really
leaving?

Yes.

When?

I think it's best
if I go today,

before we break
our entire inheritance.

I love you.

And I love you.

NARRATOR:
The monarchy crumbled.

In Hungary, as in many
European countries,
revolution erupted.

In 1919,
the Communists took power.

It occurred to Ignatz
that the empire
and his marriage to Valerie

fell apart
in much the same way.

Ungrateful bastards.
Everything you have,
you owe to the empire.

They push us down!

IVAN: Gustave,
now known as Comrade Sors,

became a high-ranking official
in Hungary's new government.

What is going on
out there?

We have the power,
but we need new laws.
You can help create them.

You can play
an important role in shaping
this country's future.

(SIGHS)
Why is this still here?

Leave it.

I took an oath to practice
tolerance, but I won't
tolerate retribution.

Well, I'm sorry,
but people must
have their revenge.

Our people must be shown
they can conquer anything
if they have the will.

I can't conquer.
I can only convince.

Fine, then let me try
and convince you.

You sentence people
in the name of the monarchy,
so you're guilty.

First it was
my name on the list.
Now it's yours.

If you don't support us,
you'll have to account
for yourself.

Convinced?
I'd like you to leave
my room now, please.

You and your slut sister
can rot in hell.

(COUGHING)

(CONTINUES COUGHING)

Thank you, Mother.

(GUNS COCKING)
Judge Sors?

Up the stairs there.

Come with me.

I arrest you in the name
of the dictatorship
of the proletariat.

This house
will be searched.

Your braces
and your shoelaces, please.

You are under house arrest
until further notice.

IVAN: Valerie
heard the news and
returned home immediately.

Mother.
Adam. Istvan.

ROSE:
What do you want here?
Good morning, Mama.

IVAN: She was
allowed to visit Ignatz
in his room once each day.

"Dr. Gustave Sors,
government commissar,

"has organized health
services for the children
of the proletariat.

"Dr. Sors
distributes bread and jam
to working-class children."

I'm delighted.

Would you like
some bread and jam?

If you see me
as a proletarian child,
why not?

I'll bring it right away.
"The people ask,
the people receive."

Freedom's that simple.

The people
don't want freedom.
They want security.

I'm impressed
that you know
the people so well.

(SIGHS)

(COUGHING)

IVAN: A few months later,
with support from
foreign armies,

a military regime
overthrew the Communists.

Revolutionary leaders
escaped abroad.

Gustave fled to France.

Ignatz refused to preside
over retribution trials
against the Communists.

He was forced
into retirement.

His health
deteriorated rapidly.

There's no salt
in this soup.
It's not drinkable.

Give me the salt.
No, the doctor
has forbidden it.

No!

Give me the salt,
damn you.

You whore.

Kato,
give me the salt.
KATO: I can't.

Istvan, get it for me.

No, Papa, it's bad
for your blood pressure.

Just give me the salt.
Fuck this family!

I've wasted my life for you.
I can't even have
decent soup!

Why am I alive?

Here, my love. Please,
just take a little.

Do you want to kill him?

Do I want to...

Aren't you ashamed
of yourself, in front
of your children?

It's you who wants
to kill him,

so you can get back
to your lover!

VALERIE: Mama!

Stop calling me, "Mama"!
Shit.

I've had enough of you
ruining my family.

You seduced my son
and got tired of him!

Mama, stop, please!

No, you listen to me!

It's your duty
to listen when I speak.

I'm going to throw you
out of this house.

But, first, I insist
you return the recipe book
you took from my husband!

Give it to my son
this instant
because it's his!

What are you talking about?

ROSE: You know exactly
what I'm talking about.

My son's inheritance!

(SOFTLY)
My whole life is shit.

Fine!
There's no more factory,

but I'll find
the recipe book
for you, Mama,

if I have to tear
the house apart!

Help me. Come on.

We're looking for a black,
clothbound notebook.
Isn't that right, Mama?

ROSE: You know
better than anyone,
don't you?

(SOBBING)

(CLOCK CHIMING)

(MAMA SOBBING SOFTLY)

I'm so sorry.

(SOBBING CONTINUES)

(CANTOR SINGING IN HEBREW)

NARRATOR:
My grandfather, Ignatz Sors,
died within the year.

(CANTOR CONTINUES SINGING
IN HEBREW)

NARRATOR:
His grief-stricken mother,
Rose, died soon after.

Valerie was now
the head of the family.

(BELL TOLLING)
BOY:
Sors, come with us.

(VOCALIZING)

Is that the Jew boy
who's always smiling?
Yes, it's him.

On your knees.

On your knees, Jew.
(BOYS CHUCKLING)

Wipe that smile
off your face.

I thought the synagogue
stink left town
with the Communists.

(BOYS CHUCKLING)
(SNIFFING)
I still smell it.

(BOYS SNIFFING)
Me too.

This Jew stinks.

What sort of smell
is that?
It's cow shit.

It's Jew stink.

Apologize for polluting
our air, rabbi.

Apologize.

(SOFTLY) I apologize.

See this saber?

If I ever see you again,
I'll circumcise
your big head.

(BOYS LAUGHING)

You'll have that miserable
bastard on his knees
begging for mercy.

I promise you.
You just have to
learn how to fence.

When I let go,
grab this in the air.

Now.
(ROD HITS FLOOR)

Pay attention. Again.

Mr. Anselmi,
I'd like to introduce
my younger brother.

He would like
to train with us.

Catch this,
please, junior,
when I drop it.

Oh, bene, molto bene.
Again.

Oh, big brother
has prepared you well.

Go find junior
a clean outfit.

IVAN: Fencing became
my father's passion.

Years passed,
and my father Adam

became one of the country's
most brilliant swordsmen.

(LAUGHING)

(SHUTTER CLICKS)
My grandmother, Valerie,

became a successful
photographer.

Bravo, Sors!

(APPLAUSE)

My uncle Istvan lost
the thick reddish hair he'd
inherited from his mother.

Quatre partout.
Etes-vous prets?
En garde. Allez.

IVAN: Adam and Istvan
were the top fencers
in the Civic Club,

as skilled as any swordsmen
of the far more distinguished
Army Officers' Club.

Mr. President,
did you see it?

(SABERS CLASHING)

JUDGE: Halte.
(GRUNTS)

(CHEERING)

Attaque pas de droit.
Pare. Riposte.
A droite touche.

(CROWD BOOING)

(CHEERING)

I'm sorry, Mr. President,
but I was hit.

Les actions sont simultanees.
Pas de touche. En garde.

Etes-vous prets?

Allez.

JUDGE: Halte.

L'attaque sous la preparation
de gauche. A droite touche.

Vainqueur a gauche.
(CHEERING)

Mr. President,
I didn't win this match.

ADAM: Please, Captain,
don't be upset.

You fought
extremely well.

Good show.
Well fought.

Bene, molto bene.
Grandioso.

Everyone could see that
you were the winner.

Oh, you can be
a great fencer, Junior,
a national champion.

But if you stay
in the Civic Club,

you'll be a nice, proper,
young fencer,

but you will
always be second.

But my friends
are members here,
my brother.

I spoke with the General
yesterday.

You will be welcome
in the Officers' Club.

What?

I don't believe it.

He asked me if it's true
that you are a Jew.

What did you tell him?

I told him, "I don't know
things like this.
I'm Italian."

And what did he say?

No Jews can be
in the Officers' Club.

You have to convert.

"Convert?"
Si, si, Junior.

Jesus himself converted.

Look, when all is
said and done,
what do you want to do?

Fence.

At what level?
The highest.

That's the Officers' Club.
Do you want to convert?

I want to be Hungarian.

Do you think the gentlemen
of the Officers' Club
are Hungarian?

They're Germans, Serbs
and Slovaks.

I promise you, Hungarian's
not what you have to be.

ADAM: What do I
have to be, mother?
Christian.

It's insane somebody
can dictate your religion

just because
he wants you
on his fencing team.

Your father
and I were taught
by your grandfather

to be proud
of being Hungarian Jews.

So for me to convert...
I could never.

Although
I stopped praying
when I was a child.

GROUP:
Maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is seen
and unseen.

I believe
in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only son of God.

GROUP: I believe
in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only son of God.

Eternally begotten
of the Father.

GROUP: Eternally begotten
of the Father.

God from God,
light from light,

true God
from true God.

PRIEST:
Begotten not made...

Excuse me.
May I introduce myself?

Adam Sors.
This is my brother, Istvan.

Hannah Wippler.

May we
escort you home?

That's very kind of you,
but my fiance's waiting
for me.

Oh, well,
some other time perhaps?

Perhaps.

Who is she?

She's a conversion candidate,
one of our group.

Your brother's
interested.

Yeah, so it seems.

She won't have
an easy task
landing the champion.

I agree.

Another heart to win,
Junior?

Adam...

(SPEAKING IN LATIN)

Amen.

(CONTINUES IN LATIN)

Amen.

(CONTINUES IN LATIN)

Amen.

GROUP: Our Father,
which art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come...

(BELL TOLLING)

(TOLLING CONTINUES)

May I have a word
with you?

Yes, of course.

Well, it's quite personal.
I'd like to speak with you
in private.

Please.

So, how does it feel
to be Catholic?

Oh, I'm enjoying it.

My fiance wanted
me to convert.
He's from an old family

and it's important to them
to have a Catholic
daughter-in-law.

You?

I love you.

(GASPS)
Um, thank you.

But, I've told you,
I have a fiance.

But that changes nothing.

I am in love with you,
and I know that
you find me appealing.

I see it in your eyes.

What exactly do you see
in my eyes?

Your love for me.

You can't deny it.

I'm afraid you've
misunderstood my eyes.

I haven't misunderstood
any part of you.

I've never loved anyone
as much as I love you.

That's why
I would like you
to be my wife.

Sooner or later,
I think you'll say yes.

(LAUGHING) You do?

You think so?

I know so.

You see,
when I want to win, I win.

Win what? Who are
you planning to defeat?

Your fiance.

You're mad.

I love him.
I became a Catholic for him.

Well, then, consider that
you've done it for me.

I really must be going.

May I take your order,
Mr. Sors?

No, I won't be staying.

Please, stay for coffee.
Talk with me.

No, thank you.
Please.

Two coffees
with whipped cream.

You are really
much too aggressive.

No, I'm really
much too in love.

If you'd ever
really been in love,
you'd understand.

I'm here to see
Baron Felix Margittay.

Adam Sors.
Margittay.

Yes, sir, I know.

Gentlemen, I'd like you
to meet Mr. Sors.

He'll be training
with us.

Adam Sors.

MARGITTAY: Do we assume
that Captain Rossa doesn't
wish to meet Mr. Sors?

Not at the moment,
thank you.

MARGITTAY: Gentlemen,
I'll be back. Keep working.

Ilona, please
look after Mr. Sors.

You'll find
the General's instructions
in my desk drawer.

Tomorrow, 4:00.
Bring your gear.

Don't worry
about a thing.
Just fight well.

Name?
Adam Sors.

Religion?

Roman Catholic.

Rank?

I'm not a soldier.

That's unusual.

(SIGHS)

(LAUGHS)

Sir, it's well
past midnight.

That noise
is not allowed.

(LAUGHING)

Why do people
call you "Junior?"

My brother started taking me
to the Civic Club to train
when I was quite young.

He called me
Junior, so...

So then, Junior,
here it is.

You're now a member
of the Officers' Club.

You are not important.
It's the hits you score
and the team's victory.

Take this to heart,
and you'll have
our full support.

You made the right choice.

Assimilation is
the only possible way.

So... That's all, Junior.
Dismissed.

Wait. Stop.
Show me your wrist.

Have you ever
been left handed?

When I was little, yes,
but my father said
it wasn't normal.

Have you
ever tried fighting
with the left hand?

Just for fun,
not seriously.

Show me.
Sans masque.

En garde. Allez.

Stop.
So there's our answer.
Brilliant.

We build up your left foot
and your left shoulder.

You're going
to confuse everybody.

Being unpredictable...
That's what fencing's
all about.

(SABERS CLASHING)

(SOFTLY) Take it...

(CROWD APPLAUDING)

Your brother has
quite a following.
(SHUTTER CLICKS)

Sors a gauche,
Rossa a droite.

(APPLAUSE)

Tempo. Crosscut
to his chest at the end
and only at the end.

Where are you going?
This is not your side.

I have to go from the left.
Otherwise, it won't work.

For me?
Are you sure?
Thank you.

ADAM: You're here.
Now I shall win for you.

JUDGE: Messieurs,
en garde. Allez.

NARRATOR:
To win the National
Fencing Championship,

my father would have to defeat
a formidable opponent,
Captain Rossa.

JUDGE: Halte!
Sir, I took the hit.

(APPLAUSE)

JUDGE: En garde.

Allez.

Does he want to win
the championship or a trophy
for good manners?

He needs to
prove something.

Halte!
Bravo!

(APPLAUSE)
Bravo! Bravo!

Bravo!
Bravo!

JUDGE: Halte!
Sir, I took the hit.

Stop that nonsense!
Damn it, man, fight!

JUDGE: En garde. Allez.

(SOFTLY)
Perfect timing.
He's a born fencer.

Halte!

Attaque a gauche.
A droite touche.

JUDGE 2:
Vainqueur Sors.

(APPLAUSE)
First-rate, Baron.
Congratulations.

(SHUTTER CLICKS)

(ALL CHEERING)

(DOOR OPENS)

Well done, Junior.

I'm very pleased.

For after dinner.

Thank you, sir.

Next time, no tears.
Rather too Jewish.

(ORGAN PLAYING)
(APPLAUSE)

Would you hug each other,
please?

(BELL TOLLING)

(SHUTTER CLICKS)

My Jewish musketeer.

Happy?
I am.

Are you?
Yes, Adam, I am.

Congratulations.
Thank you.

Congratulations.
Congratulations.

IVAN: The following year,
Istvan and Greta
were married as well.

And, for the second year
in a row,

my father won the National
Fencing Championship.

(CRYING)
Hannah and Greta
gave birth to sons

within two weeks
of each other.

Hannah named her son Ivan.

Me.

(CRYING)

(RINGING)

(RINGING CONTINUES)

(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS)

(BAND PLAYING)

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS)

So, big brother
has brought you back

to Anselmi to learn
fencing, Junior?

It's the truth, sir.

(CHUCKLING)
Oh, I will teach you.
Stand up.

En garde.
Maestro.

Oh, not the right
body type.
No future.

Tell big brother
to bring a better
little brother.

(ALL LAUGHING)

May I steal a word with
the good counselor,
please?

Forgive me, maestro.

Junior, I can offer you
150,000 if you come back

and fence for us
At the Civic club.

It's hardly a matter
of money.

Two hundred thousand.
Please, Mr. Brenner,
you must realize

that every single man on
the national team comes
from the Officers' Club.

Two hundred and fifty thousand
is our limit.

We have
several bankers in on this.
It's a perfect tradeoff.

You get money
and full support,

and we get
a national champion.

The way I see,
a silver medal
at the very worse.

Mr. Brenner,
forgive me, but I...
Half a million.

No. My answer is no.
You need a team
for this sport.

That's a group of men
with a common goal.

And you have something more
in common with them
than you have with us?

Yes, we're a team.

And if we manage to buy
a few of your teammates?

You propose to
buy Royal Army officers?

Baron Margittay?
These men are gentlemen.

Forgive me, Mr. Brenner,
please.

(LAUGHS)
(LAUGHS) Why?

These people
are disgusting.

Shall we dance?

I've promised Istvan
the first dance. Sorry.

But the next dance
is definitely ours,
darling.

So you'll have
to be content with me.

They think
they can buy anybody.

Who?

The little man
over there, Mr. Brenner,
and his Jewish friends.

They think money's
the answer to everything.

Mr. Brenner specifically,
or Mr. Brenner
and his Jewish friends?

They're all the same.
It's a waste of time paying
attention to these people

or even bothering
to be polite to them.

Poor Junior.
I love you very much,
you know.

I love you as well.

We're lucky in this family.
Everybody loves
everybody else.

No, Adam,
I'm in love with you.

I wake up every morning
thinking about you.

I hope you're not angry
that I've told you.

No, I'm flattered.

I don't exactly
know what to do now
that you've told me.

Nothing.
Just let me love you.

In your opinion,
who is the best coach
in this country?

The best man
to prepare the team
for the Olympic Games?

Baron Margittay.
Exactly what I want to hear.

Next question,
who on the team
can win for us?

That's a difficult
question, sir.

But you have an answer.

I'm not sure I do.
I'm sure you do.
Go on, please.

I would prefer not
to answer, sir.

Damn it, man,
speak up.

The team will only be
strong if Tersikovsky
stops drinking,

if Saray
makes fencing practice

more important
than hunting and fishing.

And if Rossa gives up
his various plots
and intrigues.

I see. Please write down
the ideal team.

The members
of the Olympic team are...

Captain Lugosy,
Captain Saray,

Captain Rossa,
Captain Tersikovsky,

Mr. Sors.

This summer we have
only one objective,
to win the Olympic Games.

It is your duty as officers
of this magnificent
country's army

to inspire a strong
national spirit

and to prove to the world
that our nation lives now
and lives forever.

Thank you.

You'd do well not
to try to influence
the team selection, Sors.

Otherwise, somebody might
cut you down to size.

(LAUGHS)

Why are you
always smiling?

Am I smiling?

One day I'll wipe
that smile off your face.

(GRUNTS)

(GRUNTS)

(SHOUTS)

(SHOUTS)

What's going on?

What's going on?

What the hell is going on?
Somebody answer me!

What are you doing man?
Team practice is
still going on.

Practice is over.
The gentlemen have left.

You can't see me?
I'm invisible?

Beg pardon, sir,
but this is
a military club

and the military gentlemen
decide how long
team practice will go on.

The officers told me
to shut the lights
at 10:00.

Turn them back on.

No, sir, I will not.

Do you know who I am?
I don't care who you are.

I am a national saber
champion and a member
of the Olympic team!

Since you don't care
about these things,
I'm gonna make you care.

(CARETAKER GASPS)
Turn them back on!

You bloody Communist,
trying to sabotage
our training!

Sir, please...

Get out!

Get out. Go!

Adam.

Greta.

Is something wrong?
No, nothing.

I've been waiting for you
to wish you luck in Berlin.

What happened?
You're so upset.

The caretaker
was being difficult.
I lost my temper.

You must have had
your reasons.

I'm ashamed of myself.

Am I always smiling?

Not often enough at me.

I nearly killed him.
But you didn't.

No, I didn't.

Perhaps you'll kill me
one day when you've
had enough of me.

(LAUGHS)
(LAUGHS)
Perhaps I will.

How will you kill me?
Strangle me?

Good idea.
Try it.
Hold my neck, tight.

What are you doing?
I can't bear
not being with you.

You're my brother's
wife Greta!

I'm not anybody's wife.
I am myself.

Istvan is my brother.
I love him.

What makes you think
that I would steal
his wife?

You can't steal
what's already yours.

Why don't you
let yourself be loved?

You're the great love
of my life, Adam,
not Istvan.

No.

No, Greta.

(CROWD APPLAUDING)

(SPEAKING IN GERMAN)

(CROWD CHEERING)

RADIO ANNOUNCER:
Ladies and gentlemen,
Hungary's Adam Sors,

number 144,

and Italy's Stefano Sarto,
number 72.

This match decides
the Olympic gold medal.

JUDGE: Halte.

(CROWD CHEERING)

JUDGE: Touche, touche.

A gauche touche.
Messieurs, en garde.

Etes-vous prets?
(SIGHS)

Etes-vous prets?
Allez.

(SABERS CLASHING)

(SIGHS)

(SABERS CLASH)
(CROWD GASPS)

ANNOUNCER: Adam Sors'
saber has broken,
ladies and gentlemen

just when Sors looked
about to improve his chance
of leveling the score.

Venez, s'il vous plait.

Choisissez un sabre.

No, no.

Our Father,
who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done

on earth
as it is in heaven.

Give us this day
our daily bread

and forgive us
our trespasses...

Rimessa, Sors.
Undermine his tempo.

You are better
than he is.

JUDGE: Monsieur.

Messieurs, en garde.

Etes-vous prets?

Allez.
Rimessa.

(CHEERING)
JUDGE: Touche, touche.

A droite touche.

RADIO ANNOUNCER: Touche,
Adam Sors has made
a fantastic hit!

Maybe our luck
will change now!

There's only one more hit
required to even the score!

Halte.
Attaque par de gauche.
Remise. A droite touche.

(CROWD APPLAUDING)

JUDGE: Messieurs, en garde.

JUDGE: Etes-vous prets?
Allez.

RADIO ANNOUNCER:
They stand fixed,
still as statues.

The score is now four-four.
It needs only one more hit

to decide the match
and which country will take
home the Olympic gold medal.

(ADAM SHOUTS)

JUDGE: Attaque sous
la preparation de droite.

Pare, pare. Riposte.
Touche.

A droite touche.
Vainqueur a gauche...
Monsieur Sors.

Yes!

JUDGE: Hongrie.

(CHEERING)
Monsieur Sors.

(CHEERING)

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Yes!

Yes!

Yes.

Come on, let's go!
Sors!

(CHEERING)

(CHEERING)

Well done, Junior!
Thank you! Thank you!

Well done.
Thank you, sir.

Thank you.
Thank you, sir.

Congratulations, Junior.

RADIO ANNOUNCER:
The Olympic gold is ours!

Adam Sors,
the national treasure.

Our wonderful
national treasure.

Your father would have
been so proud.

RADIO ANNOUNCER:
Adam Sors, we owe you
our everlasting gratitude!

Well, dear boy...

You're disgustingly sweaty.

I've just telephoned
the Prime Minister.
He's ecstatic.

He'll make mention
of your victory during
tomorrow's cabinet meeting.

You're a national hero,
Junior. Happy?

(HUNGARIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM
PLAYING)

(FOOTSTEPS)

MOLNAR: Mr. Sors?

Your swordsmanship
is also a work of art.

Thank you.

I'm Laszlo Molnar,

president
of the Pen and Saber Club
of Boston, Massachusetts.

Ah, yes.
I left Hungary
after the war.

Would you have any interest
in living in America?

We could arrange American
citizenship for you.

I'm honored,
but I would never
leave Hungary.

And why is that?

Well, my family is there.
My club is there.

I fence for
the national team.

Are you
an army officer?
No.

Then why do you fence
with the officers
of a dictatorship?

What do you mean?
You travel the world,
making a good impression

for a dictatorship that
hangs innocent people.

In a way, you commit
the same crimes they do

whenever you bring glory
to their bloody regime.

Are you saying
that I fence for a regime
and not for my country?

Excuse me, sir.
You don't live
in Hungary. I do.

Things have become
quite civilized
in the past few years.

"Quite civilized?"

Mr. Sors,
listen to yourself.

Hungary courts disaster
by blindly following Germany.

Take this warning as a gift
from me in return for your
splendid Olympic victory.

Leave the country
before it's too late.

(MILITARY BAND PLAYING)

(CROWD CHEERING)

ADAM OVER MICROPHONE:
Your Excellency,
ladies and gentlemen,

and citizens
of our beloved country,

this victory reflects pride
in a country we dearly love.

(CROWD CHEERING)

Every member
of this team was guided
by a deep patriotic feeling.

We fought for the glory of
our magnificent motherland,

to show the world
that our nation lives

and will live... Forever!

(CHEERING)

Try to take some rest,
Junior.

You'll need
to rebuild your strength
for what's ahead.

GRETA: Adam.

Open it when
you're alone, please.

Oh, congratulations,
my darling hero husband.

Are you happy?
Happy? Am I happy?

Are you happy? Hmm?

I am very, very happy.
(CHUCKLING) Good.

(BOTH LAUGHING)

Ivan, my hero.
(CHUCKLING)

GRETA: "I prayed for you
while I pressed this flower.

"It worked. You won.
See? You do need me.

"If I'm in your life,
you'll always win."

When I listen to Adam's
speeches about a patriotic
spirit guiding his saber,

I often...
Are you
being sarcastic?

No.

It's just that
sometimes what you say
is a bit much.

Is it a crime
to love your country?

Then why are you talking
about moving
to America?

It's only talk.

All I've said is
that the Americans have
invited me, that's all.

Just be proud of me.

We're all proud of you,
Junior.

Aren't you proud
of your brother-in-law,
Greta?

Couldn't be prouder.
HANNAH: You, Mother?

Of course I am,
darling.

You, Istvan, are you
proud of your brother?

Astonishingly proud.

So am I,
"Astonishingly proud."

See, we're all proud of you.

(RINGING DOORBELL)

(DOOR OPENS)

Coming in?

Where's my brother?
At the summerhouse.

We're alone.
I wanted us to celebrate
your victory alone.

You don't want
to hear me, do you?
It won't happen.

I won't betray my wife
or my brother.

We've already betrayed them
with every thought
that we've had.

Whenever your brother
touches me,
I think of you.

Do you have
a mistress?
(SCOFFS) Are you mad?

Don't lie to me!
How dare
you call me a liar!

You're ready to lie
to your husband,

so you expect me
to lie to my wife,
my brother?

You want to ruin my family?
You'll be lying to me
soon enough.

What's all this
honorable behavior?

This so called honesty
of yours, it's only
coming out of fear.

I'm not afraid.
Yes, you are.

I'm not afraid
of anything.
Oh, yes, you are.

You're a hypocrite.

I'm ready to run away
with you, Adam,
anywhere you say.

I thought
you were a free spirit.
I was wrong.

You wouldn't know
how to love me.
You only love yourself.

Don't walk away from me.
Come here.

Why do you love me, Greta?

Because when
you found out you
were really left-handed,

you let yourself
be left-handed.

That was a miracle.

Fine. So I'll wait
for the next miracle.

You don't expect a miracle
from Istvan?

No.

(EXHALES)

Poor Istvan.
Don't feel sorry
for Istvan.

Istvan's a deeply
satisfied man.

He'll never change anything
about his life ever.

Oh, stop it, Greta.

It's how I feel, Adam.

You want me
to go home now
and say to Istvan,

"How was your day,
darling?"

And then slip into bed
next to him

and then
carry on having an affair
with you in secret?

Well, I won't do that.
I really can't.
Nor could I.

Fine. Now run along home
and tell Hannah a horrible
thing's happened...

So both of you
can hate me.

I'm not gonna
tell Hannah anything.

I certainly
don't hate you.

So what do you want?

Me to leave my husband,
you to stay with your wife?

Neither of us
leaves anyone?

Yeah. I suppose.

(SOFTLY) Go to hell.

"My family and I leave
for Algiers tonight.

"The Algerian fencing team
has been courting me
for some time,

"and I've decided
to accept their offer.

"My very best to you,
as ever, Margittay."

He wrote to me as well.

You can imagine
how astonished I was.

He's a traitor, sir.

It's not that simple.

The Baron's wife is Jewish,
so his children
are considered Jews.

He's a traitor, sir.

Anti-Semitism
is the creed of resentful
and unsuccessful people.

It's a shared madness,
which the Baron
couldn't accept.

But we have.

The worst thing
about anti-Semitism

is that it's a philosophy
of Philistines.

It's in bad taste.

I don't know
how much longer
I can go along with it.

ANNOUNCER ON RADIO:
Clause four of the law passed
in parliament this afternoon

limits Jewish involvement
in public
and economic circles.

Insofar as the new law
is concerned,

a person is deemed Jewish
if he is himself
or has at least one parent,

or has at least
two grandparents

who are,
at the effective date
of the legislation,

members of
a Jewish congregation.

Or who have been,
before the effective date
of the present law,

members of any Jewish
religious community.

As well as
and in addition to
the herein described,

all progeny born
after the effective date
will be treated as Jews.

For now,
the new law will not apply

to those who were decorated
with a silver

or gold medal for gallantry
in the war of 1914 to 1918.

Your poor father
would have been exempt.

Or those whose fathers were
decorated with the gold medal
for gallantry

or at least twice
with the silver medal.

As well as any person
who participated...
Then we're exempt as well.

...in the national movement
against the 1918 and 1919
revolutions.

If he risked his life
or suffered loss of liberty

as a result
of such activities.

As well as spouses
and children
of these people.

Mother's exempt.

(WHISPERING) Monsters.
ANNOUNCER: Further, those who
are active or retired priests

or ministers
of the Christian faith

and those who have
under the auspices

of the International
Olympic Committee

earned the title of champion
at the Olympic Games...

That's us. We're exempt.
We're totally exempt.
All of us.

Not me.
Yes, you are.

You're my wife,
wife of an Olympic champion.

All Jewish judges
and members of the royal
prosecutors office...

We're exempt.

...will be removed
from their posts.

No license to practice a trade
or craft shall be issued...
Kato, dear?

Bring us more tea,
please.

...to Jewish persons.
Right away.

ANNOUNCER:
In professional law
or medical associations

or organizations
of journalists, engineers,
theater and film artists,

Jews may only be accepted
in numbers not to exceed
6% of total membership.

A Jew cannot be
the managing editor,
publisher

or member
of an editorial staff

capable of
exerting influence on
the editorial direction

of any periodical
or journal.

A Jew cannot
be the director,

artistic director
or literary manager.

Or an employee,
however designated,

who is capable of determining
intellectual or artistic
direction of a theater.

I've asked to see you, Sors,
because I've been
given the task

of drawing your attention
to an indisputable fact.

This is the Officers' Club.

If you want
to continue fencing,

I suggest you return
to your old club.

The Jewish laws don't
apply to me, Rossa.

I'm exempt
for three separate reasons.

I know all this.
I'm Roman Catholic.

My father won a medal
for gallantry
in the Great War.

I'm an Olympic champion.

I was also awarded
the Signum Laudis.

That's four reasons.
Well done.

You'll probably be
promoted to General.

I'm only interested
in fencing, nothing more.

Go ahead, fence.

There is no law stopping you,
but you won't fence with us.

You do know, of course,
that you would never have
become the Olympic champion

were it not for the fact
that two of the judges
were Jews.

These people are either
criminal or insane or both.

I beg you, please,
let's move away from here.

If you want to,
we can all go.
Your whole family.

Hannah, Istvan,
your mother.

We owe it to our children
to get out while we still can.

I beg you, please.
We can get through this
if you just keep on loving me.

Hannah can't go and
leave her parents behind.

When will Hannah
get out of my bed?

It's you who are
in her bed.
You wanted this too.

I certainly did not.
You started this.
You wanted it.

What frightens you more,
Adam, me or this country?

You don't stop, do you?

If I'm going to choose,
I'm gonna stay with Hannah,

who's only exempt
because she's my wife.

You're going to have
to give this up, Greta.
I won't give you up

because I can't give you up
because that's what love
does to people.

Evidently not to you.
I don't care
about your family.

You want me
to kill my family?
Yes, yes, kill them.

I wish Istvan were dead.

Jesus,
you're monstrous.

I can't see
any other way out.

Fine.

I never want
to see you again.

(CLOCK CHIMING)

Happy New Year.

ALL: Happy New Year.

Happy New Year.
Happy New Year.

Happy New Year.
Happy New Year.

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year.
Happy New Year,
Mother.

Happy New Year,
Greta.

ADAM: Ivan,
happy New Year.

Happy New Year,
Father.

Happy New Year.

Please, God,
may we always go on singing.

Your grandfather,
Emmanuel Sonnenschein,
used to say,

"Be glad
that you were born here.

"This is the promised land."

These things
are only temporary.

Don't you agree
with me, son?
Yes, Father, I agree.

For God's sake,
Adam, open your eyes.
Don't delude yourself.

You're afraid to see what
they are, and you're afraid
they'll see what you are.

Don't be ludicrous.
I'm not afraid of anything.

I'm just not
going to stand here
Adam, we must leave here.

Hannah, talk to him.

We can go to America,
Australia.

We have to get our visas
before it's too late.

For the sake
of our children, please.

How could
we make a living
away from here?

We'll sell
the Taste of Sunshine.

You know how to make it,
Mother. You can teach us
how to make it.

We'll make it,
and we'll sell it.
No, I can't.

Your grandfather tried
to teach me, but I never
really paid attention.

I was only interested
in photography.

Where do you think
the recipe is hidden?
Here somewhere.

He always worried
it would get lost
or stolen.

Let's try to find it.

Now?
It's New Year's Eve.
Yes, now!

We can't just stand here
and do nothing!

Calm down, Greta.
You're hysterical.

Oh, don't say that.

Goddamn
your helplessness.

Goddamn your Jewish
cowardliness!

Greta!
Greta!

I want to stay alive.
I want my son
to stay alive.

If you all want to die
trying to fit in with
these people, then do it!

Stay here and die,
but not me
and not my son!

Greta, you must never say
anything that sounds like
a curse, not in this family.

(SOBBING)

(SHATTERING)

IVAN: For days on end,
they tried to get visas,

but quotas had been filled,
borders closed.

"Dr. Adam Sors,
graduate of law,
resident of Greater Budapest,

"born in 1902,
mother's maiden name
Valerie Sors...

"Sonnenschein.

"Is hereby commanded
to appear with three days'
food rations

"and suitable clothing
for winter weather
conditions."

Mrs. Sors, I'll try
to arrange for him

to stay in the regimental
barracks in Budapest.

I'll do
everything I can.
Thank you.

Please. No.

Sors, something
I once said to you

that assimilation
was the right choice.

I'd like to ask
your forgiveness
for having said that.

I was profoundly wrong,
and I apologize.

Do you still want
to be married to me?

ADAM: Yes.

Yes.

IVAN:
The German army
occupied Hungary.

My mother
and grandmother were moved
into the Budapest ghetto.

Twenty people were assigned
to each tiny apartment.

Mrs. Sors,
when they start to move,
get up to the attic.

(WHISPERS)
He says we should go
to the roof.

POLICEMAN:
Start coming up here
in groups of ten!

IVAN: A few weeks later,
ghetto Jews were
herded together

and marched
to an unknown destination.

My mother, Hannah,
was among them.

No one knows where
or how she was killed.

My grandmother, Valerie,
managed to escape

to a safe hiding place
in a friend's attic.

The General
couldn't help us,

and my father and I
were sent to a labor camp
close to the Russian front.

You...

With the white armband,
over here!

What's this?
Christmas tree decorations?

I am Dr. Adam Sors,
officer of
the Hungarian army.

What's this
white exemption rag
doing on your arm?

Where'd you buy it, Jew?
How much?

I am the national
fencing champion.

What are you?

I am an Olympic
gold medalist.

(GRUNTING)

Look at me.
Stand up.

Stand up.

I'm gonna teach you
what you are.

You're garbage.
You're a stinking Jew.
Strip, Jew.

All your clothes.
All your clothes off!

(GROANS)

I'm asking you again, Jew.
What are you?

Adam Sors, Doctor of Law,
officer of the Hungarian army.

(GROANS)

What are you, Jew?
Adam Sors,

Hungary's fencing champion,
Olympic gold medalist.

(GROANS)

Something must be wrong
with my ears.

What do you think
you are, Jew?

Adam Sors,
Hungary's fencing champion,
Olympic gold medalist.

Adam Sors,
Hungary's fencing champion,
Olympic gold medalist.

(ADAM GROANING)

Adam Sors,
Hungary's fencing champion,
Olympic gold medalist.

Adam Sors,
Hungary's fencing champion,
Olympic gold medalist.

Adam Sors,
Hungary's fencing champion,
Olympic gold medalist.

OFFICER:
Hang him on the tree.

(OFFICERS GROANING)

And now,
what are you, Jew?

(WHISPERING)
Adam Sors,

Hungary's Olympic
gold medalist.

(ICE CRACKLING)

(EXPLOSIONS)

IVAN:
Neighbors suspected
that Jews were hiding

in Greta's apartment
and called the police.

Hungarian Nazis
broke down the door

and dragged my uncle, Istvan,
Greta and their son
to the banks of the Danube,

where, like thousands
of other Budapest Jews,
they were shot

and their bodies thrown
into the icy river.

Five days after they died,

the Russians
liberated Budapest
from the Nazi rule.

And World War II was over.

(DOOR CLOSES)

(SIGHS)

IVAN: After my family
was taken away,

Kato packed up our belongings
and hid them somewhere
in her village.

It's me.

Gustave.

Your brother.

IVAN: The Communist Party
called Gustave home
from exile in France.

In spite of his age,
he returned to politics
with great enthusiasm.

(PLAYING PIANO)

(DOORBELL RINGS)

Ivan.

Your father?

(SOBBING)

(CONTINUES SOBBING)

VALERIE: (SOBBING)
They killed Adam too.

What happened?

He said he was
a Hungarian officer.

He wouldn't admit
that he was a Jew.

That's why
they killed him?

How many were there?

Three military police.

How many were you?

I don't remember.
Maybe...

Maybe 2,000.

And there were
only three of them?

There were 10 more guards
in the camp.

How could 13 guards
hold back 2,000 people?

They had guns.

Why didn't you run at them,
grab their guns?

One or two people
might be shot,

but you could have
had them.

You could have escaped.

And go where?
Anywhere.

There was no place to go.

People would
have hidden you.

In France, they hid us.

People either hated us
or they were scared of us.

If we... If we were going
to survive, we had to
stay together as a group.

And you just stood there
and watched them
kill your father?

No, I...

They didn't know
that I was his son.
They...

They had
to hold me down...
So what did you do?

Enough!

Nothing!

(SOBBING)
I just stood there.

That's all I could do!
I could do nothing!

He should join the police,
help them round up
the fascist bastards.

I can have a word
with the Comrade General.

He should study.
He hasn't
finished school.

It says here,
that your father
was a lawyer.

Did you know he has
exactly the same name

as the greatest
Hungarian fencer ever?

That was my father.

Adam Sors
was your father?
Yes.

I used to fence a bit,
but I never had
natural talent.

Your father
was unbeatable.
He was a magician.

Where were you
during the war?

I was with my father.

You've come
to the right place.

(WHISPERS) Sit down.

(PHONE RINGING)

We're going to get every one
of those fascist bastards.

There can be no forgiveness
for what happened here.

It cannot be fobbed off
on the Germans.

It was organized
by Hungarian authorities.

It was carried out
by Hungarian civil servants.

village mayors,
local police,
railway officials.

Nice, ordinary,
Hungarian people
did the dirty work.

Who came up
with the Jewish laws
in the first place?

Parliament.

Most people just turned
the other way.

You think
about your father.

It's your job
to find his murderers.

IVAN: Look under
the couch, Rosner.

Can you tell us how
this stuff got here?

I have no idea.
I've never seen
any of it before.

Ah, you were blind,
but now you can see.

I'm sorry.
Those things are private.

"Your kisses taste
of acacia honey."
That's private!

You wrote this?
Yes, I'm a poet.

You're just a poet?
I suppose you just stood
and watched and wrote poems

while your friends
did the killing!

Dr. Adam Sors
was the world's
greatest fencer,

a national treasure.

That he was swept away
by the storm

was not only
a loss to our country,
but the entire world.

What the hell does he mean
"Swept away by the storm?"
Sors was murdered.

Dr. Adam Sors
Fencing Center.

(ALL APPLAUDING)

Happy now?

How do you
like playing
cops and robbers?

I like it, thank you,
Comrade General.

Come and join
the Communist Party.

We need young people
we can trust like you.

You agree,
Comrade Sors?

Bring your application
to me directly.

MAN ON TV:
Now, you can see fully
how these partisans

have finally
been captured.

They terrorized the people
who had already suffered
appallingly

under a 25-year
Bolshevik rule.

Our army is fighting
a crusade against
the red devil,

and it is victorious.

Our prison camps are
a haven for the starving
Russian soldiers.

At least here
they have bread to eat.

Witness the horrendous crimes
of the red terror
now fleeing the villages,

the dying babies.

Well?
We were smack
in the middle of it.

There was no way
to say no.

We just watched.
It was horrible.

You managed
to watch all right,
didn't you?

You just stood there,
and you did nothing.
You just watched.

You just
fucking filmed it, yes?

Yes.

You went
to the Russian front
seventeen times.

How come?
Weren't you scared?

I've never been
to the Russian front.

Don't lie to me.
It's on film.

The real footage was
all classified, top secret.

I got orders to shoot films
that looked like it came
from the Russian front.

We built
the Russian village
stage set, scenery.

Everything was shot
20 kilometers
out of Budapest.

So whose idea was this?

(SIGHS)

Yours?

Yours?

You think you're an artist?
You're the worst kind.

You don't even think
what you did was a crime.

I've never hurt anybody.

After the war,
I shot the Communist
Party's first film.

I've never held
a gun in my life.

You've never held a gun?

Go on, pick it up.

It's a lot less heavy
than your camera,

here's your chance
to shoot me.

Finish off what your fucking
fascist friends started!

Come on!
Pick up the fucking gun!

Pick it up!

You shit!

(SOBBING)

Take this pencil.

Write down the names
of every single person
you ever worked with.

Everyone.

KNORR:
They all signed?

Even that film director
friend of yours?

He gave us 25 new names.

People will do anything
to survive.

On their first day
in Hungary,

the gestapo received
10,000 letters from people
denouncing each other.

They have nothing
to be proud of.

Number seven,
Fekete-Nagy.

He's written some
beautiful poetry.

He got some bad advice
from his friends.

Cross him off.
But he wrote
pro-Nazi articles.

He publicly denounced
several writers.

No, he's a great poet.
Great.

We won't let him
publish for a while.
Cross him off.

Done.

Fifteen...

Laszlo Pan.
Cross him off.

But there are
22 letters against him.

He turned down anyone
who came to him for help.

He advised people
who were being investigated
to commit suicide...

He was scared stiff.
He was a country boy
in a big city.

He's happy to have
an asshole that works.

What about
his racist speeches?
Tricked into it.

Look, we don't want
to hurt genuine talent.

It's enough to scare them.

In the end,
they'll work with us.

It's the dilettantes
we want to grab
by the balls.

Most of the real
fascist writers...

Are unreadable.

What about the fascists who
have come over to our side?
Do we just let them go?

Every new regime
demands betrayal.

Until it consolidates
its power,

it uses traitors
and then gets rid of them.

What is the matter?

I'm just thinking
about my father.

Don't be impatient.

(ORCHESTRA PLAYING)

(SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(ALL APPLAUDING)

AUDIENCE: (CHANTING)
Stalin! Stalin!

(STOPS CHANTING)

My dear comrades,

I have been given the honor
of speaking on behalf
of those of us

who have been decorated
on this special day.

Comrade Stalin's birthday.

We express our profound
gratitude to Comrade Stalin

for eliminating fascism
from the face of the Earth.

And freeing our land
from the Nazi's rule of evil.

IVAN: Comrade Stalin...

Comrade Stalin
has shown us the way.

It is our duty
to carry on his struggle,

to find all fascist cowards
wherever they're hiding
and destroy them.

I offer...

I offer our eternal gratitude
to Comrade Stalin

who leads us
into the world of tomorrow

where all men
will be equal,

where exploitation
and humiliation
will be unknown

in the world
of Communism!

Turn the light.

(CAMERA WHIRRING)

Congratulation,
Comrade Major.

Thank you.
(CAMERA WHIRRING)

Congratulations.
Thank you, Rosner.

Come over here, Ivan.

I want to introduce you
to a couple of foot soldiers.

This is Comrade Major Sors.

Take a good look at him,
comrades.

One day soon,
you're all gonna be
terrified of him.

Right, Ivan?
(MAN LAUGHING)

Any children yet?

Anybody who can make
such stirring speeches

should definitely
procreate, huh?

(MEN LAUGHING)

Why do you look so unhappy?
Everyone here adores you.

I'm not unhappy.

Look in there.
It looks like
a sad man to me.

Something's the matter.
Nothing's the matter.

Fine, but I won't waste
my time flattering you
like everybody else.

Even the Comrade General
said you'll be
a minister soon.

So...
Right.

Sorry
if I'm annoying you.
You're not.

But I would love
to talk with you
sometime.

I have time.

When?
Now.

Oh, I can't now.
I'm just leaving.
My children are alone.

I could walk you home.

So the sad man wants
to escape and needs someone
to show him the back stairs?

(BELL DINGING)

(SHIP HORN BLOWING)

I have to go.

Don't you like
to be kissed?

(MOANING)

I can't do this.
I have a family.
What am I...

I'm sorry.

Good morning, Comrade.

I saw you and Carole Kovacs
slip out of the opera
together last night.

I should warn you,
she's definitely
spoken for.

Fatherly advice.

She told me she had
a husband and two children.

Her husband's
in the foreign ministry?

Her husband
blew up gestapo
headquarters in Paris.

He's one of the heroes
of the French Resistance.

You don't want
to make an enemy of him.

Her husband belongs
to the Comrade General's
circle.

Life is full of surprises,
isn't it?

Back to work.

I saw your light was on.

I request permission
to enter, Comrade Major.

Granted,
Comrade Major.

(CHUCKLES)

I just came
to say good night.

Good night.

(PANTING)

(MOANING)

(MOANING)

(PANTING)

Am I the first?

Yes.

What have you
been doing since
you started shaving?

I was in a camp.

I think you might be
the first man I could
really fall in love with.

What about your husband?

Mmm... I admire him.

During the war,
in the Resistance,
he made me feel safe.

He's a very brave man.
But you don't love him?

I do, but...

I think I married him
because I knew
he would protect me.

They were terrible times.

He doesn't
protect you now?

(LAUGHS) I don't know.

We were in Paris
during the war.
It was different.

We all had the same aim.

Since we've been back,
I don't know.

Everything's
changed here.

Was it better in Paris?

Shh.

VALERIE: It belonged to
your great-great-grandfather.

Our grandfather,
Aaron Sonnenschein.
(WATCH CHIMING)

Perhaps you'll give it
to your own child someday.

(CHIMING CONTINUES)

So beautiful.

GUSTAVE: This fish is
beautifully prepared, Kato.

The thing I most missed
in my exile
was your cooking.

Gustave,
are you flirting with Kato?

Look who's jealous.
Why did you marry
Ignatz instead of me?

Because you were
far too crazy, my dear.

The way
your breasts bounced.

(LAUGHING) Yes, well,
they don't bounce
any longer, I'm afraid.

Your grandmother
was a beauty.

She still is.

(LAUGHING) Are you worried
I might seduce
your grandmother?

(LAUGHING)

Nothing would surprise me
in this family.

(ALL LAUGHING)

(SIGHS) Wasn't it
wonderful growing up
in this house, Gustave?

The most wonderful thing
was waiting...

To be touched by you,

day after day,
year in, year out.

No one can take
that memory away from me.

And now, the only
thing missing...

Is a Taste of Sunshine.

Was it really that good?

ALL: Gorgeous!

(ALL LAUGHING)
Did it
make you drunk?

VALERIE:
Oh, a little drunk.

A little drunk
and a lot happier.

VALERIE:
I found an empty bottle
the other day.

As soon as we find
the recipe,

Kato and I will brew up
a fresh batch.

Look, there's
a drop in there.

Oh.

Mmm. Mmm.

I got it. My God!

What a wonderful taste
in such a tiny drop.

VALERIE: Oh, let me see.

Oh! It's delicious!

Like some?

(CHUCKLING)

(ALL LAUGHING)

You know,
I had a dream last night.

I dreamt that
the courtyard was
filled with flowers,

and you know
what that dream means.

VALERIE:
It means that someone
in this house is in love.

(PIANO PLAYING)

Oh, you must learn
how to play the piano.

How am I going
to do that? When?

Well, your uncle and I
can teach you after work.

Gustave on Mondays,
Wednesdays and Fridays.

And I on Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays.

No lessons
on Sundays?

What am I going to do
with so much free time?
(VALERIE LAUGHS)

But you cannot live
without being able
to play music.

(MEN SHOUTING)

(GUNS FIRING)

(ANIMAL SQUEALS)

(GROANS)

(SHOUTING CONTINUES)

(ANIMAL SQUEALING)
Die, you son of a bitch.

(BELL RINGING)

(BRAKES SCREECHING)

(GASPING)

(MOANING)

(BOTH PANTING)

I don't care about
my work or my husband.
Nothing but you.

Leave him.
We'll live together.

You're not serious.
I'm very serious.
We can get our own place.

You don't know my husband.
He would find us
and shoot us.

We're grown up,
and we love each other.

And I love
my children.

He would never let me
take them with me.

Mmm.

And I could never
leave them.

It's easy for you.
You're just you.

For all I know,
you could change your mind

and leave me
after a couple of months.

How do you know?
How do you know?

How do you know
what we have together
isn't just...

No, I want you.
I know this.

I don't believe you yet.

I'll tell everybody.
I'll tell your husband.

Promise you'll never
speak a word about me
to anyone, not even Knorr.

Why do you
bring him up?

Because I know he's
a good friend of yours.

But good friends
with others too.

Promise me.

I will.

What's wrong?
Nothing.

You look strange.
I'm scared.

Of what?
I'm scared
we're being watched.

Who's watching?

Everybody.
I don't know you.

This is worse
than the Resistance.

Sit down, Comrade.
Sit down.

Sit!

We've uncovered
a monstrous conspiracy,
bankrolled by overseas money.

Guess where from.
IVAN: United States?

Wrong. From Israel.

The conspiracy
is completely Zionist.

Three central
committee members,

two generals,
a police major general,

a group of doctors,
university professors.

All Jews who should be
thanking the Soviet Union

and the Red Army
for their fucking lives!

These Jewish gentlemen

think they can hoodwink
poor, unsophisticated
workers like us

because they've read
their precious Talmud.

They're also
planning to take over
the workers' movement.

Not a one of them
has ever so much
as held a hammer.

Look at these hands!
These are worker's hands!

These people are only
with us out of revenge
against the fascists,

not because they believe
in the workers' movement.

So, okay.

They say
there are anti-Semites
in this country.

And whose fault is that?

Who's got all the best jobs?
Jews. Here we go again.

I believe more Jews
came back from the camps than
whatever sent off to them.

Your assignment is to
drag these bastards in

and indict
every one of them.

This won't be
so easy, Sors.

You've got a close,
personal connection in this.

Me?

Andor Knorr,
your beloved boss.

He's one of the heads
of the whole thing.
That's impossible.

We have film
of Knorr speaking
with Israeli agents!

Read this.

Here.

You yourself could be
highly a suspect because
of being so close to Knorr.

Keep Jews off your team.

(VOMITS)

(GROANS)

Tell me what
they're accusing me of.

A Zionist conspiracy.

Intention to overthrow
the socialist state.

(SOFTLY)
Are they crazy?

I have been ordered
to interrogate you.

Let's get started.

Thank you.

When did you first enlist
in the Zionist conspiracy
against the state?

Never. I've never
enlisted in any conspiracy
against the state.

We have filmed proof
of your meeting
with Zionist agents

in the museum garden
on the fifth of this month.

Made by
your film director friend?
Who played my part?

IVAN:
This is not a joke.

What connections
do you have
with Zionist agents?

None. I told you.

I've never met
with Zionist agents.

I don't even know
any Zionist agents.

Not even
before the war?
No.

What about
at your orphanage?

Have you ever heard
the word "Zionism"?

Of course I have.
Where?

At the orphanage,
I had a friend.

He and some of his friends
wanted to emigrate
to Palestine.

I joined
the Young Socialists instead.

So...

Why didn't you go to Israel
with the Zionists

if your best friend
was with them?

Because they were religious,
and I was not.

If there hadn't been
the Young Socialists,

I'd probably be living
on a kibbutz in Israel now.

Well, don't you see?

I didn't have to be
ashamed of my origins!

And I didn't have to be
proud of them either!

What happened to you
during the war?

I was caught and
put into Auschwitz.

Any Zionists there?

Sors.

Enough of
this nonsense.
No, it's not nonsense.

You better understand,
this is not a game.

I'm asking you questions
on orders from people
way up there.

As an officer
of this department,
you are a suspect.

You're under arrest.
Now, if you don't answer
my questions thoroughly,

things are
gonna get tougher.

And you know
what I'm saying here.

There's a lot
of evidence here
that singles you out

as one of the leaders
of this conspiracy.

So if you don't
give me a confession,

you aren't going
to leave here.

Don't hold your breath.

Why are Jews involved
in everything?

Wasn't Auschwitz
enough for you?

Even you will never
be free of Auschwitz.

Auschwitz
was our baptism.

But there is something
you must know, though.

Surviving Auschwitz
doesn't make a man
better or greater.

It's just burnt
into your brain!
It can never be erased!

That's the problem.

(HUMMING)

(CONTINUES HUMMING)

(CONTINUES HUMMING)

What was the purpose
of this miserable life?

Life itself,
that we are here.

A long time ago
we were happy.

No.

There are only
two of us left.

Only two Sonnenscheins.

Everything's become
so difficult again, Nana.

What the fuck do you mean
he's denying it?

Have the son of a bitch
slapped around!

The man's gone through
a lot of suffering,
Comrade General.

He survived Auschwitz.

Strange how the suffering
of Jews seems to touch you.

Don't you know that
other people suffered?

Ordinary people
were shipped off
to the front to fight...

Or else they stayed
at home and fought
on their own doorsteps.

Don't these kind of people
matter to you too?

With all due respect,
Comrade General,
after surviving Auschwitz,

I don't think a beating
is going to break him.

It's not the quality
of the man that
counts here, Sors.

It's the quality
of the beating.

I'm not sure that Knorr's
guilt can ever be proven
without a confession.

Then get one out of him!

He calls himself a Communist
and sticks to it.

Are you a policeman
or a fucking boy scout?

If he keeps saying
he's a Communist,

make him understand
that his confession's
important to the party.

Our number one priority
is to let the world know

that the workers' movement
is not under Zionism's thumb,

and that Marx and Engels
are not Jewish prophets.

By the way, you don't
know how lucky you are
that your uncle died.

"Reunion of veterans
at the Gellert Hotel."

These people lived
in the west, and they
must have been brainwashed.

We'll have these traitors
in our net in two weeks.

Another question...

Who does your grandmother
take pictures for?

My grandmother
takes pictures for herself.
She's just a photographer.

"A photographer"?

You're surrounded
by questionable people,
aren't you?

Do you have
a girlfriend?

If you do,
have her investigated.

Let's try to avoid
any more nasty surprises.

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

I have to ask you
something.
Go on.

The Knorr case...
I don't wanna
talk of it.

I don't wanna hear of it.
It's important to me.

I don't want to know
anything about it.

Why did you ask me here?

Don't get me mixed up
in any of this.
Please, don't.

Who benefits
from turning me
into the enemy?

Or is it we've just gone
back to anti-Semitism
as a solution?

No new ideas?

In October, 1944,
you were recaptured
by the fascists,

sentenced to death
and shot.

Your body fell
into the Danube under
the Margaret bridge.

So how come
you're still alive?

Touch it if you don't
believe your eyes.

They've turned you
against me.

We're children
of an unfortunate race.

Who is the traitor,
you or me?

How dare you bring me
this hopeless pile of shit
of a confession!

Is this a joke?

Comrade General,
I'm obliged to report

that the evidence
turned out
to be unfounded.

I am convinced that
Andor Knorr is innocent
of the charges

of Zionism
and of conspiracy
to overthrow

the People's Republic.

I believe that
we have been set up.

Watch out, Sors,
or you'll be next.

Captain Rosner!

Comrade General?

You're taking over
the Knorr case.

I want you to interrogate
Sors about his relationship
to Knorr right away!

As a suspect?

As a witness
to begin with.

You're lucky
I was involved so directly
in your spectacular rise.

(ACCORDION MUSIC PLAYING)

(MUSIC CONTINUES)

Leave the police
before it's too late.

That's why you called me?

I love you, Carole.
I'm begging you
to come away with me.

Where?
Into the bushes to fuck
with my skirt over my head?

I was wrong about you.
I was wrong to love you.

I thought
you were different.

I need someone safe,
someone calm and strong,
not neurotic like you.

Do you think
you're in danger
because of me?

So... It's over?

Yes.

So how do you want
to end it?

It's not that complicated.

Stand up, walk out the door
and close it behind you.

You're a cold bitch.

You only love a man
if he feeds your ambition.

That's the truth.

You want truth? Fine.

I'm pregnant,
and I don't know
who the father is.

Your husband?

Either him or you.

What are you going to do?

I'm taking care of it.

There's a man
under the window.

I think
I've seen him before.

Go to hell.

I left your
grandfather once.

I fell in love
with another man.

Your grandfather and I
hadn't been getting along.

He wasn't
the sort of person
I hoped he'd be.

The other man
was well...

Passionate,
a wonderful lover.

That is important,
darling.

He gave me an old medallion
engraved with the words
"I love you."

But when your grandfather
got in trouble
with the Communists,

I came back to him.

You must try to find joy
in your life.

Do you realize how
delicious this coffee is
with warm milk?

IVAN: In the spring,
Joseph Stalin died...

And a struggle for power began
within the Communist Party.

Soviet Communists exposed
Stalin's horrendous crimes.

And Stalin's victims,
men like Andor Knorr
were now acclaimed as heroes.

The Comrade General
was arrested,
but nothing really changed.

One gang replaced another,
and the Communist
dictatorship continued.

Because I'd worked directly
under Andor Knorr,

I was asked
to identify his body.

I learned that Knorr
had been beaten so badly,

he had died
from internal bleeding.

I'm sorry to bother you.
My name is Sommer.

Andor's widow
is my sister.

Andor talked
about you fondly,

and about your father,
of course,
the Olympic champion.

Would you mind
saying a few words
at the funeral?

As you know,
he was an atheist.
I can't ask a rabbi.

Honor guard,
prepare to fire
the salute.

Fire!

Fire!
Fire!

Shoulder arms.

Honor guard,
left turn.

Quick march.
Left.

Excuse me.
OFFICER:
Left. Left.

Left. Left. Left.

Andor Knorr...
One of your murderers
has come to your grave

to say goodbye to you.

I was your
first interrogator,

someone who you trained
to defend the cause
without mercy.

We believed that
we were going to
make the world

a better place
for people,

but, instead,
we made it so much worse.

As servants
of power-hungry criminals,
we, too, became criminals.

Our politicians lied
to the people by saying
they were doing good.

And then the people lied
to the politicians by saying
that they believed them.

I'm not just saying
goodbye to you.

I'm also saying
goodbye to myself.

I stood by and watched
my father be tortured
and executed,

and I did nothing.

And then I watched them
do the same thing to you,
and I did nothing.

I make a promise,
here at your graveside,

to do everything
in my power to punish those

who have turned
ideals into crimes.

Just after the war,
I found a framed quotation
on my father's desk.

It said, "We are afraid
to see clearly,

"and of being
seen clearly."

At the time, I couldn't
understand what it meant,

but now I understand perfectly
because this is precisely
what happened to us.

Andor Knorr...

My friend...

Goodbye.

Why are you crying?
Are you in mourning?

ROSNER:
I'm warning you.

You said things
in your speech

we tolerate from no-one,
not even if times
have changed.

Fuck you.

Do you know
who you're talking to?
Who's that?

Another incident like this,
and you'll be off the force.

Just say the word.
I'm happy to quit.

Do you know
the difference between
a worker and a Jew?

If a worker doesn't
like something, he leaves
without saying goodbye.

A Jew says goodbye,
but he stays.

Rosner,
go fuck yourself.

IVAN:
I quit the police force
right away.

I knew I had to work
against the regime,

that exposing their crimes
would help me to cope
with my crippling guilt.

(DEMONSTRATORS CHANTING)

(CHANTING CONTINUES)

ALL:
Never again Communism!

IVAN:
Confusion grew to chaos.

People took up arms
against the Soviet army.

And once again,
revolution erupted.

There were ten days
of initial euphoria,

during which time
freedom seemed attainable.

But then Russian tanks
appeared in Budapest.

People took to the streets
and fought against
the Soviet intruders.

MAN:
Shall we be slaves
or men set free?

That is the question.
Answer me.

By all the gods of Hungary,
we hereby swear...

That we,
the yoke of slavery,
no more shall wear!

Friends!

Friends,
Communism is crumbling.

They may roll
their tanks over us
and their kind of terror,

but Communist dictatorship
has been defeated!

We are together today.

The judge and the accused,
together.

This revolution
is not about politics.
It's about morality!

Let us show them
our strength!

The whole world
is watching us!

We must have no fear!
Come on! Show them!

Come on.
Come on!

IVAN: Ultimately,
the Resistance was futile.
The revolution failed.

VALERIE: Wait!

(TOILET FLUSHING)

Nice to have you back.

IVAN: A film of my speech
was used as evidence
against me in court.

I was sentenced
to five years in prison.

If you feel
you've done the right thing,
you can endure anything.

Are you sure of that,
Nana?

I have seen the collapse
of government
after government,

and they all think
they can last
a thousand years.

Each new one always
declares the last one
criminal and corrupt

and always promises
a future of justice
and freedom.

No political discussion
allowed. Your time is up.

My darling,
you are not in prison.

They are in prison.

GUARD: Stand up, please.

IVAN: I was released
three years later.

My watch is missing.

What are you
looking for?

My pocket watch
is not in here.

If you put it in the bag,
it's in there.

No, it isn't.
There's no watch in here.
Look, it's gone.

Then it was never
in there.

What do you mean,
it was never in there?

I put it in there.
It was in there.

Are you saying
we stole your watch?

No, I'm saying the watch
I inherited from my
great-grandfather is gone.

I put it in this sack.
It's not in there now.

Would you please go
into the back and see if
it's fallen out of the sack?

Nutcase.

Nothing there.

I'm not leaving
till I get my watch back.

Guard.
Get out!

(DOOR SLAMS)

(RINGS DOORBELL)

Yes?

Looking for somebody?

My name is Sors.

I'm looking
for my grandmother.

You must be the one
they locked up.

Granny Sors?

Your grandson is here.

See, Granny, I told you
they'd let him out
sooner or later.

Come into my room.
This is my grandson.

Ledniczky.
Ivan Sors.

Mama.
Hello.

Ilona Ledniczky.
Hello.

Who are
all these people, Nana?

Oh, I'm not allowed
to have such a big
apartment on my own.

But it's all right.
They're good people.

And Kato?
Kato's fine.

She's moved back home
to her village.

She couldn't stand
sharing the house.

Poor thing's
much older than I am.

Is there room for me?

Maybe we can get
the maid's room back,
but there are five of them.

(CLOCK CHIMING)

I lost the pocket watch,
Nana.

Never mind, dear.
Much more important
things have disappeared.

Love, people.
What's a pocket watch?

I thought that
great-grandfather came
and took it back from me.

Well, maybe it is good
to believe in something.

I've never been much
of a believer.

If there's no God,
and there never was a God,

then why do we
miss him so much?

Why did we become
Communists, Nana?

It was our fate.

The Jewish laws,
the camps...

After all,
it was the Communists
who liberated us.

I could never
have been a Communist
like you or Gustave,

but, even as a child,
I felt disgust

when I saw how poor people
fought for crumbs

on the floor
of the bread wagon.

Politics has made a mess
of our lives.

Still,
life was beautiful.

I've enjoyed waking
every morning.

I've always
tried to photograph
what's beautiful in life,

but it hasn't
always been easy.

What are you looking at,
Nana?

The light.
It keeps changing.

What do you want
to do with your life?

I don't know.

I have to report
to the police once a week.

Mmm. Difficult.

We should try
and find the recipe.

It's still hidden
in this house somewhere.

Search through
everything thoroughly.

Searching's the only job
I've ever done.

Are you sure
this recipe book exists?

Or have you
only heard about it?

I saw it as a girl.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Hmm?

Ilona dear, would you mind
letting my grandson look
through the bookcase?

We're searching
for something.
Come right in, Granny.

Start at the bottom?

(GASPS) No, no.

Look here. Behind.

(GASPING)

ILONA: Granny?
Can't breathe.

Granny.
Open the window.

(GASPING)
Oh.

I'm here.

What's your name, dear?

Can you say
your name, please?

Valerie Sonnenschein.

Nana...
Your name is Sors.

Valerie Sors.

Mrs. Ignatz Sors.

Valerie Sonnenschein.

(MOUTHING) Hello.

(SOFTLY) Hello.

How are you?
I'm fine.
Thank you.

And the children?
Very well.

Nothing's changed?
No, not really.

I'm sorry I couldn't say
anything else at your trial,

but my children
and family...

Oh, that's all right.

Wouldn't mind talking to you
if you wouldn't find it
too unpleasant.

No, of course not.

I need your phone number.
Excuse me.

WOMAN:
She didn't suffer.

Her walking stick's
in the corner.

Comrade Major,
how are you doing?

Glad that you're
finally out of prison.

Beautiful cane.
Hurt your leg?
No.

(CLOCK CHIMING)
(GASPS)

(PANTING)

I have no face.

(GARBAGE TRUCK CHURNING)

EMMANUEL:
My dear son, Ignatz.

You've now left
the safety of the house
in which you were born

in order to achieve
your life's goal,
to become a judge...

To create laws,
as Moses did.

To render justice,
like King David.

To exercise power,
from which the almighty
has barred us,

or, perhaps,
protected us for thousands
and thousands of years.

You are entering a new world
where you will certainly
be successful

because you have knowledge.

Study has always been
our religious duty as Jews.

Our exclusion from society
has given us an ability
to adapt to others

and to sense
connections between things
which seem diverse.

But if you feel
you have power,
you are mistaken.

If you feel you have
the right to put yourself
ahead of others

because you think
you know more than
they do, you are wrong.

Never allow yourself
to be driven into
the sin of conceit.

Conceit is
the greatest of sins,

the source
of all other sins.

Never give up your religion,
not for God.

God is present
in all religions,

but if your life becomes
a struggle for acceptance,
you'll always be unhappy.

Religion may not be perfect,
but it is a well-built boat

that can stay
balanced and carry you
to the other shore.

Our life is nothing
but a boat adrift on water,

balanced
by permanent uncertainty.

About the people
whom you will judge,
know this,

all they do is struggle
to find a kind of security.

They're just people,
like us.

Therefore, you mustn't
judge them on the basis
of appearance or hearsay.

Trust no one.
Examine all things yourself.

Do not join with power.
Despise all rank.

Do not be ostentatious
with what is yours.

Owning possessions
and property ultimately
comes to nothing.

Possessions and property
can be consumed by fire,

swept away by flood,
taken away by politics.

Do not undertake
what you do not know.

This causes anxiety
which makes you ill.

Exercise discipline.

(GARBAGE TRUCK CHURNING)

I think of you,
with all my love.

Your father,
Emmanuel Sonnenschein.

(PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

(WATER SLOSHING)

I'd like to apply
for a change of name.

You want to
change your name?
Yes.

From Sors?
Yes.

To what?
Sonnenschein.

Spell that, please.

S-O-N-N-E-N-S-C-H-E-I-N.

And what's your reason?

Why do you want
to change your name?

Family reasons?

Problems at work?

Legal problems?

IVAN:
For the first time in my life,
I walked down the street

without feeling
like I was in hiding.

My great-grandfather,
Emmanuel, must have been

the last Sonnenschein
to feel like this.

I knew the only way to
find a meaning in my life...

My only chance in life,
would be to account for it.

My grandmother's words
returned to me,

try to photograph
what's beautiful in life.

By the time
I finished this story,

the third tragic misadventure
of the 20th century was over.

After the monarchy
and fascist rule,

the Communist regime
also went up in smoke.

I remembered
the recipe book
that we had lost...

And suddenly realized that
the family secret was not
to be found on its pages.

It was preserved
by my grandmother,

the only one
in our family

who had the gift
of breathing freely.

(PIANO MUSIC PLAYING)

* Please, God

* May we always

* Go on singing

* Please, God

* May we always

* Go on singing

(VOCALIZING)

* Please, God

* May we always

* Go on singing

* Please, God

* May we always

* Go on singing

(VOCALIZING)

* Please, God

* May we always

* Go on singing

* Please, God

* May we always

* Go on singing

(VOCALIZING)