Original subtitles

[muffled funk beat thumping]

[muffled music continues]

THE MUSEUM OF INNOCENCE

[muffled music continues]

[muffled party chatter and laughter]

[music playing unmuffled]

Oh!

[melancholy music playing over party sounds]

[melancholy music continues]

[old Kemal] We have now come to the confession scene.

[boisterous music playing]

[laughter and whooping]

Before my parents returned from the summer house,

Sibel threw an end-of-summer party for me, thinking it would be good for me.

You were all over her! You were all over her right in front of me.

[party chatter and music continue]

We're going swimming in Kilyos. Hey, does your mom have suits?

[groans softly]

[Kemal] Just take a look.

Hey, you know she was a lovely, interesting woman, your mother.

She's still alive.

[Nurcihan laughing]

[Nurcihan] Look, darling, I found the swimsuits. [giggles]

-[Sibel] Let's see. -[Nurcihan] This'd look good…

-[Mehmet] Kemal. -[Sibel] This one?

-Yeah, that's the one you should wear. -Kemal. Get up, come on, we're going.

You go, Sibel and I will join you guys later.

We'd better be going, I suppose.

Come on, guys, let's go.

Make sure you come.

[clock ticking]

[clock chiming]

[pensive music playing to the beat of the clock]

[faint laughter]

I got it, I got it!

[all clamoring and laughing]

[exclaiming and laughing]

[clock chimes and music ends]

[Kemal] This was my last happy memory with my fiancée.

[melancholy music playing]

Okay, hurry up, I don't want to be late.

So, where were you yesterday?

I tried to call you more than once,

and they said you weren't at the office.

If it's awkward, then I'm… Well, just don't tell me anything.

Kemal.

[Sibel exhales heavily]

This spring, when my parents took us both out to the Fuaye…

Of course, what about it?

Well, there was this purse you liked at a nearby shop on our way out,

so we stopped in to look.

Kemal, what is it you're trying to say?

The next day I came to the shop to get you that same bag as a little surprise.

That's when I met up with Füsun, a cousin.

[tense, ominous music playing]

And she came to our party, right? She sat at our table?

Mm-hmm.

You realized it was a fake purse and said to take it back.

Yes. To get your money back.

That's why I went back.

Like you told me.

Later on, Füsun brought the money to my mom's place at the Merhamet building.

[shaky exhale]

Merhamet Apartments? Are you serious?

[breathing shakily]

[old Kemal] So then I started to tell her the whole story,

right from the very beginning.

Really, it's just a pre-marital indulgence to me, Sibel.

She just brought money at first.

I tried to fight the urge.

-[Kemal's voice overlapping] -I couldn't resist. I kissed her.

-I fell for her. -I left everything…

-I was ashamed of what I did. -The glasses…

-I couldn't resist, so I went back. -I couldn't resist.

-I was so ashamed. -Ashamed.

-I kissed her. -Ashamed.

[tense, dramatic music playing]

[crying] God, you disgust me!

You're such a bastard! Why, Kemal?

God, I hope you burn in hell!

This is unbelievable! Goddammit, how could you?

-You're such a bastard! -[grunts]

-[coins jingling] -What's wrong with you? How could you?

-I can't believe you! -[crashing]

How could you do this?

-Cheating with some shop employee? -Sibel, calm down.

-Don't touch me, get off me! -This relationship is long over.

[Sibel gasping emotionally]

Do you still go and meet her?

I broke it off.

Don't you dare lie.

Once I got engaged, I said I couldn't see her anymore.

And then she up and vanished.

[breathing shakily]

[inhales]

[floorboard creaking]

[Sibel sniffles]

Are you still hung up on her, is that it?

[old Kemal] What man with a heart could have said yes to that question?

No, she's nothing to me.

What's made you unhappy, then, Kemal?

Everybody has been hurt by my choice.

I cheated on you, plus I treated a young woman horribly, it's…

crushed any happiness I had.

What are you trying to say?

[crying]

[clock ticking]

[suspicious music playing]

Then where were you yesterday?

Just say it!

Merhamet Apartment building.

[somber music playing]

How often did you meet with her there?

[Sibel sniffles]

Why won't you answer me?

[yelling] Answer me!

[whimpers]

[crying]

[crying continues]

[sniffles]

-[clock ticking] -[birds chirping outside]

[soft groan]

Sibel?

[grunts]

Sibel?

Sibel!

[soft clinking and clattering]

[quiet piano music playing]

[Sibel] Don't let the tea get cold.

[liquid pouring]

If you're hungry, I had fresh bread delivered earlier.

Maybe you'd rather have some slices that I've toasted?

[utensil clatters]

[stirring]

[spoon taps]

What you think you had with her was just a temporary distraction.

It isn't going to last.

I'll take care of you now.

If you let me help you, this mistake doesn't need to be the end.

[old Kemal] At that moment,

I realized only Sibel's determination could save me from my pain.

Anything you ask me, I'll do.

I think that we'd better leave.

This area should really be avoided.

Whatever could make you remember things.

How do we manage that?

My parents decided to go back to Ankara for the winter.

You and I can stay in their empty mansion together.

[gentle, hopeful music playing]

Okay, sweetheart.

Okay.

[old Kemal] I thought the excitement of starting a new life

would enable me to recover from my illness.

-[Sibel] Good morning. -I was rediscovering

the beauties of my life that I thought I had forgotten.

[Kemal] How are you?

Just look, this place is so beautiful, don't you think so?

I need a little help, my hands are full.

Hold on. Can you just get the key for me?

[laughs]

[indistinct chatter]

Sibel and I were like a happy couple, happy whose love was enough for them.

[laughing]

[Nurcihan] Hey! We're here!

The lovers!

Sweet lovebirds, aw! Having dinner?

It's amazing to see you guys! How are you both?

-[disco playing] -[friends exclaiming]

[serene music playing]

[old Kemal] We thought the pleasures of the mansion life

would make me happy again.

[laughing]

[distant ship horn sounding]

[Sibel kissing]

[uneasy music playing]

[uneasy music crescendos]

[heavy sigh]

[old Kemal] But due to the never-ending ache

that lived in the left side of my stomach,

I couldn't manage to make love to Sibel.

I could tell Sibel's feelings toward me were gradually shifting.

I sensed her contempt and hatred.

[tense music playing]

Kemal.

[crickets chirping]

-Kemal. -[exhales]

-Honey. -Come back to bed.

[grunts softly]

[thunder rumbling]

[pottery crashing]

[wind whistling]

[old Kemal] The sea grew cold with the north wind that came in October.

[glass smashing]

Our friends stopped dropping in as they had been.

[dramatic music playing]

[dish clattering]

[water splashing]

[sighs]

[desolate music playing]

[Sibel] Why are you so down again, Kemal?

[Kemal sighs heavily]

My brother and Mr. Turgay founded a new company with Kenan.

And they're going to bid on that lucrative bedsheet deal through it.

-[sighs] -[lighter clicks]

-Kenan… -[flint scraping]

…wasn't he the one who was such a great dancer at the engagement?

Mm.

So now is Kenan going to be

the successful manager of this brand-new company?

[heavy sigh]

They're playing and fixing the game to make themselves some extra cash.

[Sibel] Honey, this is more than just some extra cash.

In fact, it's a great deal more, you know?

You can't just let them disregard and exploit you like this.

-You need to fight for your share, Kemal. -Doesn't matter.

I don't like this side of you.

Retreating from everything, just letting it all go for nothing.

Like you actually enjoy getting beaten.

[soft scoff]

It's not that you're in love with another woman at this point, I'm sure of it.

Being in love with someone else isn't the problem here.

It's that you don't love me.

Then why am I still here with you, Sibel?

[Sibel] You tell me.

Why can't I even think of making it past a day without my hand in yours?

You're clinging on.

But not out of anything that resembles love.

You want to think you're a victim here.

But why? Do you really think that I'd play the victim?

I think that what you love most is indulging your pain

and acting like the rest is beneath you.

But, my love,

I think it's high time you truly came back to what matters, don't you?

This'll pass soon, these hard days.

We can have children.

[Sibel sobs quietly]

[melancholy music playing]

We're going to be one big, happy family.

And we'll enjoy our life together.

We'll have daughters who look like you.

[Sibel crying quietly]

We'll be very happy, Sibel. I promise you.

These days I'm struggling to believe it anymore.

Am I really that hopeless to you?

I guess maybe I seem hopeless to myself, honey.

I just worry that now I'm losing all my looks.

Hang on, you're prettier than anyone else.

[Sibel crying]

-You're gorgeous. -[sniffing and crying]

Sibel.

[crying and whimpering]

No, I want to go!

[crying]

[Kemal] To where?

[takes deep breath, sniffles]

Why not the Fuaye? To Nişantaşı, okay?

I thought we're not supposed to.

I don't want to sit here and cry anymore,

pitying ourselves as more of that rusty tap water drips out. That's enough.

[indistinct chatter]

[mellow music playing in background]

[man] They still haven't gotten married?

[woman] And they're living together in the mansion.

What happened, Kemal? Were you able to reach Nurcihan?

No, I wasn't. I guess the telephone here must be broken.

Oh-ho, hey, a romantic dinner, huh?

-That's so nice! -[Sibel chuckles]

We're all talking about you two lovebirds, y'know?

The word is the two of you are so in love that now,

apparently, you think that marriage might somehow kill all the romance entirely,

just like those modern Europeans do. [laughs]

Of course, some say the mansion is cursed.

[chuckles]

Well, enjoy your meal, I've gotta head out.

Want me to try Nurcihan again, or maybe order our meal?

Just wait a little bit.

Somewhere near here must have a phone.

Find one then, Kemal.

[rotary dial spinning]

-[Mehmet on phone] Hello? -Mehmet, it's me, Kemal.

Oh, Kemal, what's up?

Yeah, hey, listen. Sibel and I are in Nişantaşı tonight

at the Fuaye for some dinner now.

It'd be great to meet for some food, y'know?

We'd like to see you…

[Mehmet] Kemal, we miss you too. Let me talk to Nurcihan and we'll come over.

-[emotional music playing] -Be there in half an hour.

We'll be at the Fuaye, come by.

Okay, see ya.

[phone hangs up]

[emotional music continues]

[spool clatters and rolls]

[disturbing music playing]

[soft emotional music playing]

[soft chuckle]

It's so dull, right?

[laughs quietly]

[laughs]

[heavy sigh]

[thunder rumbling]

[rain pattering]

[thunder rumbles]

[shouting]

[shouting]

[Kemal's voice echoing]

It sounds so calming, like the sea is in my ear.

[thunder rumbles]

[inhales deeply]

[thunder rumbles]

[Zaim] Let's go somewhere else after this.

-[Mehmet] Let's go to a music hall. -[Nurcihan] A music hall?

-[Mehmet] Listen to some fasıl. -[Zaim and Nurcihan laugh]

We can drive to Bosphorus and have tea in the car.

-Tea? C'mon. -Yeah!

But the tripe at the Kasımpaşa joint is what I want now.

[all laughing]

[laughter dies down]

Sorry I'm coming late, everyone.

Something unexpected happened.

-[Mehmet] Just come and sit down. -[Zaim] Yeah, forget about it.

No worries, pal, sit here, sit. Sit. Yeah, c'mon, be happy now.

Oh, I'm happy already.

[dramatic music playing]

[old Kemal] Sibel had figured out what I'd been doing, and she was furious.

I could feel that she'd decided I was never going to get better.

Sorry, I need a second.

[dramatic music continues]

Kemal.

You really upset and hurt her.

Don't leave her sitting at a table all alone.

She loves you so much.

[old Kemal] I was expecting Sibel to take some kind of revenge against me,

one to reclaim her self-respect.

But if she broke off the engagement,

society would scorn her for some time for having lived with me before marriage.

[clinking]

[clinking]

[clinking continues]

Nurcihan has plans to go to Paris. I want to go.

Go to Paris?

She wants to shop before she gets engaged and married to Mehmet.

She was determined, so I promised.

So when will you go?

Immediately. She's looking at plane tickets.

I think that's a great plan.

A change of scenery might do us both good.

And once you get back, we'll start over.

[pensive music playing]

KUYULU BOSTAN STREET

[old Kemal] Once Sibel left for Paris,

I began looking for Füsun with everything I had.

[music continues]

[indistinct dialog]

I met with her friend Ceyda.

[paper rustling]

I begged her to tell me where Füsun was. I even offered her money.

Listen to me, please, Mr. Kemal. Let's pretend this never happened.

[old Kemal] But all I could find out was that she was somewhere in Istanbul.

[distant siren wailing, dog barking]

[children playing]

[snorts]

Hoping I might run into Füsun, I began wandering through all of Istanbul.

Neighborhood by neighborhood, street by street.

Füsun.

[emotional music playing]

[indistinct chatter, children playing]

[brakes squeal]

Füsun!

[panting]

[old Kemal] After that incident, I started to see Füsun in random crowds,

as if I was catching a glimpse of her ghost.

My next sighting of her happened in a movie theater.

[old Kemal whispers] Ah…

The delicate grace of her figure sent a jolt through me.

I wanted to call out her name, as if in a dream.

Of course…

it wasn't Füsun.

Whenever I walked the streets of Istanbul, I saw the fleeting ghosts of Füsun.

There for a brief moment, then vanishing again.

[panting]

[thunder rumbling]

I stayed to wait out a rainy night at the Fatih Hotel,

and there, for the first time in months, I slept peacefully.

[man in Turkish on radio] ♪ Being apart from my beloved is death ♪

CENTRAL HEATING IS WORKING

HOTEL LOUNGE

-[man] What's up, Şakir? -[toilet flushing]

[song continues in background]

Ah, Mr. Kemal.

Here, I brought your things from the mansion.

Please take them up to the hotel room, Çetin.

I'm going to be staying here for now.

Please pick me up here for work, all right?

Whatever you would like, sir.

♪ Such cruel fate, such oppression ♪

[soft, emotional music playing]

[dogs barking in distance]

DOWN WITH IMPERIALISM

[old Kemal] But I realized there was another reason I felt at peace

walking along the streets of Istanbul, apart from being closer to Füsun.

The European lifestyle my wealthy father curated for us

had kept me distant from the simple pleasures in life.

Hey, how're you doing?

And now, in these muddy outskirts,

I felt like I was seeking out some essential missing core of existence.

FULLY INDEPENDENT TURKEY

[emotional music continues]

Thank you, dear.

[typewriter clacking]

[Sibel on phone] They say you left the mansion, Kemal.

[Kemal sighs]

I have, yes.

But you're not going to your parents' house at night either.

Mm-hmm, I haven't been.

Then where are you staying, and why?

[phone ringing in background]

Have you gone back to her?

Please tell me the truth.

[tense music playing]

Kemal.

No, I haven't met with her.

Wait, I can't hear you, Kemal.

[loudly] I said I haven't gone back to her!

I said I haven't gone back to her, okay?

Can you hear me, Sibel?

[Sibel cutting out] Kemal, I can't hear you, please--

Kemal, are you there? Can you hear me?

I'm here, Sibel, I'm here, I promise I'm not back with her, I swear.

I just want you to be honest.

I swear I am, all right?

I see, then.

-Sibel! -[busy signal beeping]

Sibel?

Sibel!

[operator] The Paris line disconnected, sir.

Would you like me to connect you again?

No, that's fine, thank you.

[exhales]

[old Kemal] Sibel never called me from Paris again, not once.

[dark, dramatic music playing]

[Kemal] What do people say?

That you've totally lost it, and you're crazy into the nightlife scene.

[laughs]

[Kemal chuckles]

-Is that all? -[chuckles]

And you've joined some kind of a cult in Fatih.

[both laughing]

That you're a communist convert,

out there trying to prove yourself by living in a shanty town.

[laughing]

It's hard to see.

You're running away and turning into the type who wallows in depression now.

No, I'm fine, all right?

You seem unhappy, though.

Happiness isn't the point of my existence.

I prefer the kind of life that brings peace.

-Just talk to your friends, man. -Who do you mean, then?

Come on now, Kemal.

I thought you and I are close, man.

We are.

[utensils scraping]

We're going to Uludağ.

Which means?

Me, Mehmet, Nurcihan,

and Sibel.

So Sibel's back from Paris?

Ten days, yeah. And she wants you to come along.

That's supposed to be secret, so remember,

it wasn't me who spilled, and please don't act stupid, Kemal.

I'll just stay home, then.

Just come, man.

Really. You need this trip. You should forget all of this.

Sibel really loves you, Kemal.

She really loves you.

She'll help you pull it all back together.

Ah.

Is that so, Zaim?

Kemal, you aren't making great choices.

Anybody could end up in love with the wrong girl.

We all want love, you know?

But most people fall out of it again

before it ends up ruining their entire life.

But you love romantic stuff more than anybody, Zaim.

[chuckles] That's right, man.

So trust me on this one fact:

people in romance tales that pull this stuff don't end up on top.

How's that?

Kemal, it was just half a year ago that you got engaged at the Hilton

in front of almost the entire city.

It was a great night.

Then you started living together in that mansion,

throwing parties before you were married.

Everyone thought it was very modern.

But you've moved out of the mansion.

What's up with you, Kemal?

You breaking up with her?

You haven't explained anything, you're acting like a child.

I explained to Sibel.

No, you didn't.

She doesn't understand it, or know how to explain the situation.

Please come help her!

What can she say?

"My husband-to-be took up with a clerk, so we're on a break," really?

[melancholy music playing]

She's very upset.

Talk about it to her.

Go with us to Uludağ. I know that you two can kiss and make up.

I'm positive, come.

It's better I stay here, no matter the pain it brings.

But you're right.

It's time for me to speak to her.

[overlapping dialog and laughter]

[chatter and laughter continue]

Your parents all right?

They're fine.

They haven't heard yet about our situation.

Good, it's better to keep quiet.

Yes, it's better.

[laughter]

[Kemal sighs]

So what do we do now, then?

[sighs]

My father's been getting withdrawn lately, more and more.

[lighter clinks open]

[flint scrapes]

I see that illness of yours is still going strong.

What?

We've been waiting for that to pass for months, you know.

I guess all of my patience didn't help. It's too bad you won't recover.

There's no illness.

But we both agreed that you were sick at the mansion before,

do you remember?

Yes, we did.

So what happened?

Do you think treating your soon-to-be wife like garbage seems normal?

-Cheating with some silly shop girl? -And why is that what matters, Sibel?

What's it got to do with the store, or wealth, or poverty, anyway?

It's about being poor, Kemal.

You had a very easy time with her only because she was ambitious and in poverty.

If the girl hadn't been a shop clerk,

you'd have married her, no matter what anyone thought.

It's making you sick now.

[man in background] They have no soul. They have no adventurous soul.

You should suffer.

I don't love her like you think.

This isn't normal, acting like this over some girl at a shop.

-But now you've lost your mind. -[people laughing]

You're hiding out in Fatih

in that cheap, dingy hotel, Kemal, is that the dream?

-Let's talk to Hilmi before he leaves. -Just stop it.

-Why? Hilmi's such a good guy. -Please focus on us!

[exhales]

I'm sorry.

[dramatic music swelling]

[lighter clinks open]

[flint scrapes]

[light bang on table]

One more thing to talk about.

Though I hate to mention it to you now.

What is it now?

Virginity.

[exhales]

If we're modern, then it won't mean much to you.

But if any of our traditions still matter at all,

for example, wanting to marry a virgin, like me before I knew you…

how about treating us all with respect, then?

[melancholy music playing]

Kemal, there's one more thing I can never forgive you for.

Making empty promises to end it, but just to ease your conscience?

Why not just break the engagement?

And why carry on staying together at the house with me

when you never meant to get married?

I don't know.

But I really am very sorry, Sibel.

[Sibel sighs heavily]

[inhales]

[somber music playing]

[old Kemal] I wouldn't see her for 30 years.

[wind blowing]

[brakes squealing]

[distant dog barking]

[man singing in Turkish on radio]

[indistinct chatter]

[woman shouting indistinctly]

[man shouting]

[door hinges squeak]

[distant city traffic sounds]

[emotional music playing]

[old Kemal] My father died of heart failure at dawn,

as he lay between sleep and wakefulness during the morning prayer.

It felt like the very center of my life fell away,

and the earth swallowed up my past.

[dramatic, mournful music playing]

Kemal is here.

[crying softly]

[soft, wailing sobs]

[sobbing]

[sniffles]

[sobbing continues]

[mournful music playing]

[music continues]

[old Kemal] In spite of all the sorrow,

a secret excitement stirred within me that I couldn't deny.

Füsun might come to the funeral.

[melancholy music playing]

But the day I buried my father

was the day I understood that I'd never see Füsun again for the rest of my life.

[floorboards creaking]

[distant traffic noises]

[melancholy music playing]

Füsun and her family didn't come to the funeral because of me.

I knew this meant that they would go on avoiding me forever.

[glass clinking]

-[utensils and glasses clattering] -[footsteps receding]

I heard you claim Kenan's been ruining the company.

Osman, another time, come on.

You heard that?

I have ears.

You disgraced yourself in society,

-don't do it at the company, too. -Wait, why are you two arguing?

Let's eat dinner, stop fighting, now.

[Osman sighs heavily]

Kemal, coming home has really been nice, right?

[Vecihe] Yes, it has.

No matter what anyone says.

The most important thing in life is to be happy.

Something your father talked about, didn't he?

[sniffles]

[Vecihe chokes back a sob, inhales shakily]

[Vecihe sniffing]

[sniffs]

-Would you please, Mrs. Fatma? -[Fatma] Yes, ma'am.

[Vecihe] Come and take my plate away, thank you.

[sniffs]

[sighs] You shouldn't go on living in some cheap hotel, though, promise me.

On one condition.

Let me have both the car and Mr. Çetin.

All right.

[utensils clattering]

And stay out of the new business too.

Okay.

What, Mrs. Fatma?

Hey, Mr. Clawnails.

Guess you don't rip your socks anymore, huh? I'm thrilled, really!

[both laughing]

It means you cut your nails now. [laughs]

So here, I have a little present, and it's just for you.

Come here. It was months ago, I think.

[chuckles] I found it in the pocket of your jacket.

So I went and put it somewhere safe for you.

But then your mother found it first.

I guess she assumed it had something to do with your father's…

Well, it's no matter.

She went and she put it in the velvet pouch she keeps secret.

But when she lined it up with all the things

from the pouch on your father's desk,

I saw it and I took it back, because I recognized right away that it was yours.

[hopeful music playing]

[soft chuckle]

You are so smart.

You're exactly right.

You're the greatest.

-You have phone calls in an hour. -Got it, Mrs. Zeynep.

[Zeynep] These are the letters from the dealers.

Thanks.

[city traffic sounds]

[old Kemal] It was a busy day in mid-May.

Most of the letters were handwritten notes expressing thanks, complaints and threats.

Except for one.

[hopeful music crescendos]

[Füsun] Brother Kemal, we'd love to see you.

We'll expect you for dinner on May the 19th.

Our phone line isn't connected yet.

If you can't come, please send word with Mr. Çetin.

With our love and respects, Füsun.

[laughing quietly]

[old Kemal] On Wednesday, May 19th, 1976,

-at half past 7:00 in the evening… -[thunder rumbles]

…Mr. Çetin and I set off to go to Füsun's house in Çukurcuma.

339 days exactly.

[old Kemal sighs]

Finally, my suffering would end.

And as soon as I could be sure this was actually Füsun,

I was going to propose to her.

[hopeful music continues]

Come on in, come in! [laughs]

Good evening.

Welcome, Mr. Kemal.

-Thank you, Mr. Tarık. -[Nesibe] Oh, slippers, they're--

-Over there. -How are you, Aunt Nesibe?

Oh, just fine, Mr. Kemal. For you.

-Appreciate it. -Good to see you.

Come on in. This way, please.

We're living upstairs here.

[gentle, suspenseful music playing]

[emotional chord playing]

[soft music playing]

[exhales]

Those roses are so beautiful.

-Aren't they pretty? -[man] Mm-hmm.

[laughs] Brother Kemal, this is my husband, Feridun.

We got married five months ago.

[despondent music playing]

[thunder rumbling]

[music continues]

[intriguing music playing]

[dramatic music playing]

[gentle piano music playing]

[music stops]