Original subtitles

[soft, intriguing music playing]

[traffic noises]

[man] Welcome, sir.

Welcome.

-[woman] Thank you. -Good evening, miss.

Welcome, Mr. Kemal.

-[Kemal] Good evening. -[Sibel] Thanks.

-[woman] Sibel! -Hi!

Thank you.

[man] You're welcome. Enjoy.

-[Sibel] Wine? -Sure. Mm-hmm.

[Sibel] You look very handsome tonight.

[Sibel giggles]

[woman exhaling deeply]

[both breathing heavily]

[old Kemal] If I was to continue my peaceful, beautiful life,

I couldn't fall in love with Füsun.

Therefore I couldn't get caught up in her troubles…

[laughing]

…her jokes…

or her joy.

[clock ticking]

But when Füsun was late for our rendezvous at the Merhamet building,

I immediately forgot all my resolutions.

[footsteps receding]

-Here you go. Thanks. -Yes, thanks.

[city traffic sounds]

[ringing]

[old Kemal] But Füsun wasn't at the store.

[somber music playing]

-[woman] Hey! Call the police! -[man] Is anyone here a doctor? Anyone?

A woman got crushed, she needs help! A doctor!

[somber music intensifies]

Doctor! She needs a doctor now!

[people clamoring]

YAŞAM FRESH WATER

Help!

THE MUSEUM OF INNOCENCE

[keys jingling]

[door unlocking and opening]

FIVE DAYS EARLIER

[door closing]

[footsteps approaching]

[paper rustling]

MATHEMATICS

[hopeful music playing]

[music box tinkling]

[door opens]

[both laughing shyly]

Come in.

I got some books.

Both classical and modern mathematics.

I think these two should be good.

Great, thank you very much, Kemal.

[books tapping on desk]

These are the two books that we've been assigned.

And I brought my notebook from class

so I can point out all the topics that I already know.

Sounds good.

[rummaging in bag]

[pages turning]

[laughs]

Math isn't what I have been thinking about.

I think about you too.

But now, doesn't it seem like time has stopped moving?

[emotional music playing]

[children laughing and shouting]

[old Kemal] As the linden-scented breeze blew into our room,

the way Füsun closed her eyes…

[exhaling]

…and clung to me with all her strength took my breath away.

[breathing heavily]

The fact that she gave herself to me, that she'd chosen me, touched my heart.

[Füsun breathing heavily]

[giggling]

[emotional music continues]

[Kemal] Same time tomorrow, all right?

[Füsun] All right.

[distant traffic noises]

-[city street noises] -[music continues]

[emotional music crescendos]

[music continues]

[music ends]

[old Kemal] We met three days in a row.

I was sinking into guilt.

Into the dangerous depths from which love rises.

Well, beautiful, I guess we should study, huh?

[Füsun] Of course.

[poignant piano music playing]

It's six over nine, or two-thirds.

But it's one of these options.

What? Wasn't my formula correct?

Yes, but then you made a mistake when adding the sums.

Oh, that's just a little carelessness.

[sucks air]

Remember. Being careful is part of being intelligent.

[soft music playing]

[laughs]

[old Kemal] I was so happy.

But not in a way that my mind could measure or comprehend.

It was something I felt on my skin.

Sometimes I forgot that it was Füsun who gave me this feeling,

and imagined I was feeling it with Sibel as well.

[laughter and chatter in background]

So, are you finished with the guest list now?

[laughs] You know Mother, she's meticulous.

[Sibel] That's an understatement.

She did say she'd give it to us at dinner tomorrow night, so yeah.

No, honey. Tomorrow night we have that party in Suadiye, remember?

Your family is coming over the night after.

Suadiye. Sorry, I completely forgot about the party.

Mm.

Oh.

I got this in Paris. It just came.

Sibel…

The best cologne in the entire world.

Wow, thank you.

I think it suits you.

Here, let me see it.

You just have to wear it at the party.

Are you confused?

Why don't we study more later?

[slurping quietly]

Did Sibel buy you new cologne?

I got it for myself.

To impress Sibel. Or no?

To impress you.

Sibel makes love with you too, doesn't she? Right?

[exhales]

No.

[laughs] You don't need to lie to me, Kemal, I get it.

But we don't.

Lies are more painful than the truth, Kemal.

Do you guys? Or not?

Then why don't you do it?

Sibel and I met in Suadiye last year.

She went to Paris in the fall.

I went to visit her over the winter.

You went on a plane?

[laughs quietly]

Yes, I did.

When she was done with university, she moved back so we could be together.

That's when we…

One or two times.

In this house in Suadiye.

But that's it.

Then only in Suadiye a few times?

[exhales]

Füsun.

Füsun.

That house was cold.

-[Kemal laughs softly] -[gentle piano playing]

[sad laugh]

And what about this spot?

It just never occurred to us.

I can see it never occurring to you.

But I imagine there are some who can adore their men

and yet never really make love to them.

'Course there are.

No, you still make love to her, don't you?

Füsun.

I really don't.

Swear to me that you don't.

I swear to you I'm not making love to her anymore.

Take your time to think it over.

But Füsun, I don't need to.

I'm not lying and I never will, I promise you.

I promise.

In this moment. What about tomorrow?

Never, Füsun.

We're at a place where there is no point in lying anymore.

Hm?

But actually, I'd prefer it if you'd lie to me instead.

Wouldn't you want to lie to a woman

if you were truly scared that you were going to lose her?

I have to go now.

[shuts book]

I'm late.

-Ms. Şenay will be furious. -[chair scraping]

-[Füsun exhales] -[footsteps receding]

Füsun.

Füsun.

[Füsun grunts slightly in resistance]

[Kemal kissing]

[continues kissing]

You can go. But not like this.

[kissing]

-[kissing] -[Füsun sniffles]

[sniffles]

[disco music playing]

[whistling, party chatter]

[man] Hi, how are you?

Honey, I can't believe you're not wearing the cologne.

Next time, sweetheart. I just forgot.

Hi!

[man 2] Hey, how's it going?

Hi!

How are you? Good?

[woman laughing]

Ah! Sibel!

Yeşim's calling.

Ha! See you soon, hm?

Have a good night.

[laughter and party chatter continue]

[woman 2] Hi, Sibel!

Hey!

-[woman 3] Hello! -Hi, honey.

-Hey! -[Yeşim] Welcome!

-[Sibel] Thank you! -Ah, Kemal, welcome!

[men laughing]

He's grounded for a month. He can't leave the house.

I dunno, grounded.

Who's that guy pacing around? what's his deal?

He can't leave his house right?

[Kemal] That's Suphi the Cold.

He collects every matchbox he finds.

-What? -Why?

I don't know, man, he went crazy after his wife left him.

They say he's got rooms full of matchboxes.

He'll come this way soon. Let's leave a few out for the old guy.

[laughing]

[women laughing]

-[waiter] Here you are, ma'am. -Great, thanks.

[Yeşim] Ah, the Consoling Angel is here.

The who?

Her name is Belkıs. But she earned that nickname

because she sleeps with all the heartbroken men in society.

I heard her story is quite sad, actually.

[Sibel] Oh yeah?

[Yeşim] When she was in high school, she fell in love with Faris,

the son of Istanbul's richest shipowner.

[woman] Mm-hmm. It was a real Cinderella story, you know?

The idiots. [laughs]

They went all the way, and they didn't even bother trying to hide it.

[dramatic piano music playing]

[Yeşim] Faris's wealthy family was against the marriage.

They were both sent to Paris to stop people from gossiping.

[woman] Oh, this next part is so sad.

He died in Paris. Due to a drug overdose, or who knows, maybe it was despair.

Oh, Yeşim…

Poor thing.

[woman] I know, right?

If she had come from a rich family,

no one would've cared that she wasn't a virgin.

They would've been allowed to marry.

[Sibel] So? What happened next?

[Yeşim] You're looking at it, Sibel.

Belkıs returns to Istanbul

and opens her arms and legs to all the lonely rich boys.

Hence, the Consoling Angel. [laughing]

You can see how the name stuck.

Yes…

But she does have another name too.

Women in high society who are jealous call her the Consoling Whore as well.

[laughing]

[laughter continues]

Nobody ever loved her enough to actually marry her, then?

Actually a lot of men fall for those particular kinds of girls.

But then, as everyone knows, marriage is a different story, Sibel.

Right? [laughs]

[disco music returns]

Cheers.

-[man] Hey, Zaim's here! -[cheering]

[applause and cheering]

[whistling]

-[both laughing] -[all chanting] Zaim! Zaim! Zaim!

What an entrance for "You-Deserve-Everything" Zaim

and his new fourth-rate girlfriend.

Who probably thinks we're a bunch of fourth-rate losers too.

[laughs]

[both laugh]

[cheering and applause continue]

Let's go, darling.

You go ahead. I saw someone I need to say hi to.

-I'll be right there. -All right. Mm-hmm.

[emotional music playing]

[cheering and applause continue]

[cheering continues]

[man] Bravo! Bravo!

[old Kemal] Every day we met and made love in secret.

[cawing]

-What was it that bound me to her? -[heavy breathing]

Why was it all so sincere with her?

Did our ever-renewing desire give birth to love?

[heavy breathing continues]

Or was that feeling nurtured by other things?

-[Kemal] Is it still there? -[Füsun laughs]

-[Füsun] It's made a habit of watching us. -[Kemal laughs]

There was one that would perch on the balcony when I was a kid.

And Mother would say, "Goodnight already, the crows are watching."

I tried to go to sleep as quickly as I could.

[Füsun laughs]

I was scared by a crow when I was a little kid too.

But of course, the older you get,

you realize it's not the crows that will hurt you.

Only other people can do that.

Men will try to hurt you.

[Füsun laughs]

-Not all of them, of course. -[Kemal chuckles]

My high school teacher was very nice, for example.

He wasn't anything like most of you.

What do you mean, "most of you"?

[Füsun sighs] Where do I begin?

[children playing outside]

[Füsun exhales]

The scumbag neighbor who would…

always watch what I was doing.

He molested me when I was little.

Or the bastard at the market who groped me out in the open, every time.

Is it really so bad to be a pretty girl?

It's not if you're wealthy.

But if you're poor like me, then you've got to deal with

a horde of men staring, or something even worse…

On the street, bus stops, from outside the schoolyard.

And that's not counting the men who walk into the boutique

and immediately fall in love with you.

Some walk around together, wanting to show their friends

all the women that they've been stalking for the last week.

They try to give you gifts, write you letters…

They push you into a corner, force themselves on you.

But how can they do that?

I don't know.

You ask some of them why they do it.

They say, "I'm in love with you."

Is that what true love is, Kemal?

I don't think so.

What do you think love is?

[laughs softly]

Something you'd risk anything for, no matter what.

You'll know when it happens to you.

You make it sound like you know.

Not really.

What's "not really"?

[sighs]

There was this man I knew who was obsessed with me not long ago.

He was married.

I felt close to him in a weird way.

I guess it was because I felt sorry for him.

[crow caws]

-[tense music playing] -[cawing continues]

What was his name?

He was a businessman who started coming into the store after he saw me there.

Of course, Ms. Şenay figured it out right away.

He started coming there more and more, it was a bribe, I guess.

-Turgay was a… good customer. -His name was Turgay?

[Füsun sighs]

A rich, handsome businessman in the textile…

You don't have to describe him. I know him very well.

[belt buckle jingling]

[pants zipping]

What happened next?

That winter,

when Ms. Şenay insisted, he picked us up in his red car one evening.

He took us to the opening of a boutique in Bebek.

After that, he and I sat in his car and had tea by the Bosphorus a few times.

We talked.

Did anything ever happen?

We kissed only once.

Then he started proposing constantly,

though he'd been married for years. [chuckles]

Telling me things like,

"I'll get you gifts. Anything you want."

I didn't care, I stopped seeing him.

Does he come to the store?

Not as much as he used to.

When I met you, I started acting like I was busy in the back of the shop.

And I only come out to the front after he leaves.

[tense music ends]

Why didn't you two go all the way when you kissed in his car last winter?

We didn't because I was 17 back then.

But when I saw you, I'd had my 18th birthday, two weeks before.

[ominous, heavy music playing]

[footsteps receding]

I'm going.

Tomorrow's Sunday. The store will be closed, so I can't come.

[heavy music continues]

[music stops]

[melancholy music playing]

[meowing]

ANT FLORIST

[city traffic noises]

-[Vecihe] Delicious, thank you, Sibel. -[Sibel] Oh, I'm so glad.

[Vecihe] You'll be happy to know I finally managed

to complete the guest list for the engagement party.

[Sibel] Thank you, ma'am.

[Vecihe] So, including those who I had to invite…

Let's grab our drinks and head inside there.

-Yeah? -Very good. Yeah.

…we now have 230 guests total.

-[Sibel] I'm sure you were meticulous. -[Vecihe] By the way, did you know?

[Sibel's dad] How about there?

All the high-society tailors, just to name a few…

Oh, Madame Mualla, Silky İsmet, Şazi don't have any appointments available.

They're all booked due to your engagement party.

And since everyone's designs are so demanding,

I hear that the poor apprentices are working day in and day out.

If we hadn't acted fast, they wouldn't have been able to make Sibel's dress

because of the other guests' orders.

[all laughing]

[Mümtaz] No party for Sibel.

[all laughing]

[Sibel] Oh, I was going to show you a design.

-[Sibel's mom] Oh, bring it. -[Vecihe] Show it to us, dear.

My love, you've had a lot to drink tonight.

Do you not like what we're planning for the engagement?

No.

And I'm very glad we're doing it at the Hilton.

But for some reason, my mother wants a… swarm.

-[Sibel laughs] -She's very happy, though.

Then tell me.

Nothing to tell.

[parents chatting in background]

Can I have a look at the guest list?

My mother has it.

[intriguing music playing]

May I take a look at the guest list?

Of course. Here.

[parents chatting in background]

[intriguing music continues]

MR. TURGAY AND HIS FAMILY

TARIK KESKİN AND HIS FAMILY KUYULU BOSTAN STREET

Ma'am.

Yes?

Don't tell my mother but…

The man whose name I crossed out

was indeed a friend of the family a few years ago.

And?

However, he betrayed us over a yarn deal, and the business suffered greatly.

[Sibel's mom] Respect for old friendships and for humanity is gone, Mr. Kemal.

-[Kemal] Unfortunately. -What a shame.

Yes, it is. It really is.

Let's just hope the guests in his place won't disappoint you like that.

Who are they?

They're relatives from my mother's side.

A history professor, his wife who's been a seamstress for years,

and their lovely 18-year-old daughter.

Wonderful. We invited so many young men,

and we were worried we wouldn't have enough girls for them to dance with.

[uneasy music playing]

LONG LIVE THE UNITY OF THE WORKING CLASS

OPPRESSION WON'T STOP US

[Vecihe sighs] They've done so much good work on the party.

They're decent people, very decent. So good, yes, so good.

And they're honorable.

Their kindness and humility are, if I may say,

quite simply beyond words, truly.

But the state of that old mansion, goodness.

I was thunder-struck. I was amazed.

You'd think they'd have the means, wouldn't you?

Bizarre. Well, I suppose they're civil servants, after all.

Oh! Kemal, listen, please don't misunderstand, my son.

Everyone in town knows

your bride-to-be is the most beautiful and well-bred girl of them all.

Perhaps after the engagement party they'll get the mansion fixed up.

It could fall into the sea with a single breath.

I was scared, you know?

I guess they just don't have anything left from their family, you know?

You go on home.

I have to get some things from Alaaddin's before they close.

Ah. Very well.

-[car horns honking] -[tense music playing]

[old Kemal] I didn't want to go home.

I wanted to see Füsun.

I walked and walked until I could see the glowing windows of her apartment.

On that moonlit night,

I'd come to see Füsun one last time, to talk to her.

But now, my heart was telling me I'd come because I was jealous of her,

that I had come to make sure she wasn't spending the night with someone else.

Because now, what was to stop her from going all the way with someone else?

[door opens]

You can't sleep either?

[Kemal exhales]

I get restless lately.

Don't worry, it'll pass. You're young.

In fact, you're too young to be so restless, my son.

[exhales]

But by the time you're my age…

Well, then you might have a few regrets in your life.

And you'll find yourself here, counting the hours till dawn.

[wistful music playing]

Kemal.

Yes, Father?

[sighs]

Don't have regrets, not if you can help it.

[old Kemal] On my way to work in the morning,

I thought about the intensity of my jealousy the night before.

If I kept acting like that, I would destroy the happy marriage that I wanted.

YOU DESERVE EVERYTHING…

[man on phone] But the shipment is very late.

Will there be further delays?

No, the launch has already been set. It'll take place the first week of June.

[man] Not until June?

Yes, sorry for the delay, but we'll make up for it.

-[frustrated sigh] I'll be waiting. -Right. Goodbye.

-[office chatter, phone ringing] -[traffic noises outside]

-[urgent music playing] -[watch ticking]

[drawer opening]

-[city street noises] -[police whistle blowing]

[old Kemal] But when Füsun was late for our rendezvous at the Merhamet building,

I immediately forgot all my resolutions.

-I started obsessing over Mr. Turgay. -[footsteps receding]

[traffic noises]

[bell rings]

Welcome, Mr. Kemal. How may I help you?

[Old Kemal] But Füsun wasn't at the store.

Mr. Kemal?

So in the end, Ms. Sibel and I decided to get that purse.

So you've changed your minds?

Yes, we did.

[paper rustling]

Mr. Kemal, since you've decided you trust us,

I hope you'll grace us with your presence here a little more often.

Of course. Yes, ma'am.

YAŞAM FRESH WATER

[honking frantically]

[ringing]

[old Kemal] I walked towards the Merhamet building, looking for Füsun in the crowd.

[honking frantically]

[tires screeching]

[truck honking continues]

[frantic honking continues]

[gentle music playing]

[laughs]

Where were you?

I was right here. But you weren't.

I left when you were late.

Something wrong?

Yeah.

That witch stayed at the store during her lunch break.

She sent me on a few errands.

That's why I was late.

I got worried and went to the store.

But you weren't there, so I got this.

[both laughing]

[laughs]

[both laughing]

-[brakes squealing] -[horn blaring]

-[distant crash] -[man] Oh my God!

[people exclaiming and clamoring]

[man] Oh man, is he okay? Somebody call the police!

[clamoring continues]

[man] Don't move them.

[clamoring continues]

-[man] Help! We need help! -[man 2] Look at her!

-Someone help her! -Call an ambulance!

What the hell are you doing?

[blowing whistle]

-[man] Somebody help this woman. -Police!

[man 2] Get an ambulance!

[officer] Back away, back away, keep a safe distance.

[dramatic music playing]

-[man 3] Over here, over here! -[man 4] Did anybody call 911?

[people yelling and clamoring]

[dramatic music continues]

-[woman] Help her! -[man] What happened?

[overlapping dialog and clamoring]

[woman] Has anyone called the police?

[people clamoring]

[woman] Somebody call the police, come on!

[man] Is there a doctor?

[dramatic music intensifies]

[man] Ibrahim! Get the crowbar! Go!

Is there a doctor? Get them some water!

Is anyone here a doctor, anyone?

-Water! Water! We need water! Water! -We need a doctor now! Please!

-Police! -[yelling continues]

Let's go, Füsun.

[crowd clamoring]

Füsun, I'm talking to you.

We have to leave before we see someone.

Let's go.

[man] Help, we need help!

[siren wailing]

[horn honking]

POLICE

[officer] Clear the area!

Outta the way!

Everyone clear the area! Now!

Stay back! Come on.

TARIFF FULL

PAYMENT

Are you all right?

UNFORTUNATE YOUNG WOMAN DECEIVED WITH PROMISE OF MARRIAGE

Füsun.

Füsun. Füsun! Look at me, what's wrong?

-[distant siren wailing] -Huh?

Are you all right?

[Kemal sighs]

Kemal. I, uh…

Forget the accident.

There is something I need to say.

But I don't know if I can-can trust you to take me seriously for once.

Füsun, please.

Trust me.

[laughs]

I don't know if I can.

But I'm gonna tell you anyway.

[distant siren wailing]

I'll die if I don't.

Please. What is it?

What is it?

[sniffles]

[sniffling]

I'm in love with you.

[gentle music playing]

I'm head over heels in love with you.

I think about you all day.

From morning till night, it's you. You're all I think about.

I've tried but I can't stop.

[old Kemal] Since Füsun had been first to confess the terrifying extent of her love,

she'd lost the game.

I believed that my jealousy would soon subside.

I love you too.

But there's nothing more ridiculous

than a girl this beautiful crying about love, Füsun.

[both laugh]

[sniffles] Why?

You don't think we can fall for anyone?

You can.

But you can't shed tears over it.

Is that so? [sniffles]

[sniffles]

Because apparently you know everything.

So tell me this.

Yes?

What're you going to do now?

[inhales]

I'm getting the feeling my answer's very important.

Well then?

And that's your answer?

Yes, it is.

-Oh. -Uh-huh.

The best you got?

That's right.

[romantic music playing]

[old Kemal] As I undressed her,

she transformed from a girl afraid of love into a confident woman,

ready to throw herself into bliss.

It was then that we entered what I call the happiest moment of my life.

[heavy breathing]

[clock ticking]

That wonderful golden moment that enveloped me in a deep, profound peace…

might only have lasted seconds,

but it felt like hours,

or even years to me.

Now my life is in your hands.

[romantic music intensifies]

[old Kemal] When we think about the happiest moment of our lives,

we're acknowledging that it is already in the past…

[siren blaring]

…and that it will never come back.

Therefore, it is also painful.

The only way to bear this pain

is to hold onto something that belongs to that golden moment.

-Souvenirs from our happy moments… -[women laughing]

…preserve the memories of those moments

more faithfully than the people who accompanied us through them.

There is still so much that has to unfold…

[inhaling shakily]

…before I'll reunite that pair of earrings…

in the Museum of Innocence.

[romantic music continues]

[intriguing music playing]

[somber music playing]

[soft, emotional music playing]

[music ends]