Original subtitles

[theme music]

JULIAN PRIEST: The highest spiritual plane

available to humankind is not grace,

nor peace, nor satisfaction.

It is, of course, love, emotional symbiosis.

Our greatest achievement.

To bask in the warm glow of adoration.

To love and be loved in return.

Easier said than done.

But to accept love one must accept oneself.

And if you find yourselfincapable of accepting love,

then love cannot heal you.

Cannot even find you.

You must find it.

[chatter in arabic]

[car door shuts]

[dogs barking]

Hello.

Is anyone there?

[giggle]

Foreigner.

Are you the one they call Sofia?

As you see.

Cigarette?

Thank you.

And now, are you Sofia the bottle maker?

If you have money, yes.

I have money.

Then, we have both found whatwe seek, I think, mademoiselle.

To Maris, my niece and namesake,

to whom I share so much and of whom I have

been allowed to know so little.

Having no children of my own andfeeling myself close to leaving

this particular form.

I have taken the liberty of naming you my heir.

I, therefore, leave you all I have to leave.

This house, if and when it may be useful to you,

and everything in it.

[blowing]

[cell phone ringing]

Maris D'Isquard.

Diehl, how'd you get this number?

DIEHL [ON PHONE]: Where are you?

Oh.

Some place.

DIEHL [ON PHONE]: I called the hospital.

Yeah.

Well, they released me. DIEHL [ON PHONE]: Yeah.

I figured that out by myself.

Look.

I know you're upset.

You've been through a lot.

Yeah.

A miscarriage, Diehl.

You can say it.

[sigh] I lost the baby, and I'm never going

to have any more children.

But other than that, I'm just dandy.

DIEHL [ON PHONE]: You'reshutting yourself off, Maris.

No kidding.

DIEHL [ON PHONE]: You're shutting me out.

That's what I want.

DIEHL [ON PHONE]: I'm your husband.

Well, not for much longer, you're not.

Maris, meet Maris.

AUNT MARIS [VOICEOVER]: Ourfamily, who treat me as pariah,

have no doubt tried to eraseall traces of my presence

from your life.

Should you wish to know more,should you desire to explore

the contents I have entrusted to you,

be sure to listen to the recording

I made when I was your age.

[record scratching]

AUNT MARIS [ON PHONOGRAPH ]:Maris. [cough] One, two, three.

Maris.

Testing.

Testing.

Maris D'Isquard.

My name is Maris D'Isquard,and the year is 1949.

I'm in a recording booth at theMagazine de Musique Modernes

in Morocco.

Preserving my story for posterity.

The strange tale of my meetingwith Sofia the bottle maker.

My narrative found in a bottle.

Merci.

Strange occupation for a beautiful woman,

the making of bottles.

But they are useful things, bottles.

Sometimes, one may keepoil in them or a perfume.

Or perfumed oil.

Absolument.

In my country, we believethat if the bottle

is of a particular kind,things may be caught within it.

Such as?

One will pay for the information of course.

Oh yes.

One will.

You have been traveling a very long time.

Yes

But you have not found that which you seek.

And who said I was searching at all?

SOFIA: There are those who come to my country

simply desiring pleasure,and there are those who are

running away from themselves.

And I don't even mention the profiteers.

And which am I?

You wish to be lost.

It is a dangerous destination.

I'm ready.

You do not appreciate the risks.

Not yet.

AUNT MARIS [ON PHONOGRAPH ]:The next time I came to see her,

Sofia looked at me.

Her eyes infinitely sad.

Have you ever heard of genies, mademoiselle?

Jinn.

Genie.

Ah, yes.

Like the tale in "The Arabian Nights"

of the genie in the bottle.

Jinn is real.

The story's not.

But what is true is that they can be captured

in a bottle such as this.

Genies are evil angels.

They come from the desert,from the empty places.

Creatures infinitely powerful, infinitely

malign with power to changeeverything and anything

at once like smoke.

And if one should buy one of these bottles,

with one of the genies trappedinside, will it grant me three

wishes?

We are not speaking of achildren's tale, madamoiselle.

Then, it will not be my eternal slave?

It is eternal.

What good is it to me?

No good at all.

Except if you wish to experiencethe greatest of pleasure

that the world can provide.

The genie can be yours, mademoiselle.

But only if you are ready topay the price for its ownership.

The price?

Oh yes.

For the genie demands muchin return for its service.

It will be your slave, anendless source of erotic power.

Worship you in life and dowhat you ask even after death.

And in return, you will bind yourself to it.

It will never leave you, never.

Unless you order it to do so.

But remember.

Once you taste the love of the genie,

you will never again be satisfied with the love

of any human man or woman.

[inaudible], mademoiselle.

A genie is a perfect lover and a jealous one.

It craves flesh, and itwill take it however it can.

And it can be yours, mademoiselle.

All this for the mere priceof a blue glass bottle

Can one really ask someone to believe

such a tale without proof?

Without proof?

Of course not.

In order to bind the genieto you, mademoiselle,

you must be truly transformed, not only

in mind but in body as well.

You must be cleansed.

Made over.

Made new.

And now, mademoiselle, your proof.

[air gusting]

MARIS: I must have it.

Then, you shall have it, mademoiselle.

And whatever you care to givewill be more than enough.

But why?

If you already had such a treasure, why?

I mean why would you sell it?

Why sell it at all?

Because I am afraid.

SOFIA [ON PHONOGRAPH]: I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid. I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid. I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid. - I'm afraid.

SOFIA [ON PHONOGRAPH]: I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am afraid.

I am--

[record scratches]

[air whirring]

[moaning] Yes.

Yes.

Come inside.

Come inside.

But remember once you possessthe genie, the one thing it

will beg and plead for, above all others,

you must never let it inside your body.

Or it will grow like a child.

And when it is done, it willpeal you back like a dead skin.

Steal your flesh and go outunchecked into the world.

For the sake of everyone,yourself included,

you must never allow this to happen.

You ask me why I'm afraid, mademoiselle.

Why would I sell my only chance at such pleasure,

even though I know I wouldnever again feel its like.

I am afraid, because I can feel myself

begin to listen to the genie'slies, to want to believe them.

I am afraid, because I am weakening.

Soon, I will let it come inside me.

I will welcome it.

AUNT MARIS [ON PHONOGRAPH]: This then, is my story.

And my warning if you are listening,

remember what Sofia said ifit's not already too late.

[knocking]

DIEHL: Maris.

Come on, Maris.

I know you're here.

We got to deal with this.

[knocking]

Some people who cannot cope with their present

state of being turn and flee.

Others don't run.

They explore.

And the two may be similar, but the journey

is far from the same.

For you can run to any countryin the world or beyond,

and you will find nothingnew, nothing changed.

You'll make no discoveries.

For the only undiscoveredcountry left to explore

is inside you.

[theme music]

THEME SONG: Love.

Obsession.

Power.

A possession.

Hunger.