Original subtitles

The Immortal One

Anything new since yesterday?

Nothing new. Nobody's been in or come out.

The shutters have stayed shut.

Excuse me. Is it far to Beykoy?

- Are you going by car? - No. On foot.

And are you going to Beykoy?

Yes, I'm trying to.

- Have you come from Istanbul? - Yes.

Then you passed Beykoy a long way back.

It's back there.

- You've come all this way on foot? - No, I took the little steamer.

As far as Emirgan.

I must have set off in the wrong direction from there.

I'm going into town. If you like, I could drop you off on the way.

Yes, thank you. I think it would be safer.

- You're not from round here? - I've just arrived.

Are you French?

No. Why?

You're a foreigner.

You've got lost.

You have just arrived in the legendary land of Turkey.

Mosques, castles, secret gardens, harems.

Just like in the books!

And today you're going to visit the White Palace of Beykoy.

No, Beykoy is where I live.

A large empty house by the water's edge,

with trees overhanging it.

You'll be staying for some time, then?

A year, two years. Who knows? I'm a teacher.

But now you are on holiday.

Yes. I've got a month to settle in.

And do you like it, this country?

I've hardly seen anything yet.

I need a car. I haven't found what I'm looking for.

What kind of car are you looking for?

What kind... Well, I'd like...

Won't you come in for a moment?

There's one room that's almost fit to be seen...

- There. - I can't, I must be getting back.

Then come Sunday, about five o'clock.

I've invited a few colleagues

and their friends,

some people I hardly know, or not at all.

People like me, you mean.

That's right.

- So you'll come? - Why not.

But I don't even know your name.

It doesn't matter. Call me Leila.

- Catherine, that's right? - Yes, Sarayan...

- But... - We've already met.

How are you?

Istanbul is so small, you know.

One meets everyone sooner or later at somebody's party.

May I offer you a drink?

What's that chair doing there again? Did you take it out again?

Do you have to bring chairs out here?

You know I've told you not to. They're indoor chairs.

I need a chair to sit on!

Do you see me sitting down? It's always men who are sitting down!

Chairs are made to sit on!

- But what are they saying? - And women to stand up!

I don't know.

- Or lie down! - But what are they saying?

I don't know.

I don't know a word of Turkish, you know.

- May I offer you a drink? - Yes, if you would.

And what do you think of the women here?

I haven't had time to find out yet...

But weren't you going to take me to see the old seraglios, mosques and bazaars?

Did I say that?

Tea, please. Tea! - Chay?

Good morning.

I'll have to hurry if we're going to catch the half-past ferry.

Good morning.

We'll have to hurry if we want to catch the ferry.

- Won't you have anything? - No. No. There isn't time.

Leave 50 piastres and come quickly.

Look, there is the mosque of your dreams.

Tea... Tea...

Two glasses of tea.

- So today you do speak Turkish! - No.

Just Turkish for tourists... Like everything else...

All that's just your imagination...

You see... You are on the Bosphorous.

You are skirting the coast of Asia...

Below the minarets you can see the wooden houses with closed windows.

Where women are shut away... - They're not shut away any more.

What difference does that make...

Look, those boats are not what they seem...

They're bringing women prisoners from the coasts of Sicily and Portugal...

to serve the Sultan's pleasure.

Do you know the poems of Sultan Selim?

They are full of flowers and perfumes, bushes.

Cool fountains and slender jets of water...

- Which Sultan Selim? - I don't know... Any of them...

They were all called Selim. And they all wrote the same poems...

with the same stereotyped images that recur like fetishes

or passwords

that must be spoken before you can go through the gates of the park

and to enter the palaces of your sleepless nights.

Fragile constructions by the water's edge,

the magic east of the picture postcards. Stucco facades,

decorations painted in trompe d'oeil on stretched canvases all round your room.

Do you recognise them?

The columns and porticos...

You see the pool in the garden...

I see a hand, an arm, a bare shoulder, with a silver chain...

It's not silver, and it's not a real chain.

And Leila isn't of course your real name?

I'm called Lale. It means tulip.

It's a very beautiful name and it suits you.

It's like that building there.

You'll think it's a mosque.

Well, it isn't a real mosque at all, it's the naval museum.

What's the matter? Are you cold?

No... It's nothing... I must have been dreaming.

We must be getting back.

Do you understand French?

Did you see a woman waiting here?

Before I arrived.

Madame, here, waiting...

Beads two, postcards half a lira.

If you like I have excellent silver handiworks, handmade slippers...

No, no. Madame no. No madame came here today.

Make tour... Very beautiful... Very beautiful mosque...

Old Turkish ceramics... Very beautiful.

Hello.

- Were you praying? - No.

I was pretending.

Anyway women aren't allowed to pray here.

Why not?

Because they are impure. Didn't you know?

They are both inferior beings...

and devils.

All they're good for is making love.

Very beautiful mosque.

Very ancient... Very ancient...

Very old ceramics. Very ancient.

The foreigner was waiting for almost twenty minutes.

He waited in the courtyard, in the sun.

Then he came up to me and asked if I had seen a woman.

I told him: I've seen nobody.

Very old... Very old.

That's quite untrue, of course.

- What is? - What he said.

It isn't old at all. It was rebuilt after the war.

- But it's included in all the guides. - Oh, the guides, well of course.

What else did he say to you in Turkish?

I haven't the faintest idea.

You seemed to be listening very attentively.

Yes, out of politeness.

And you thanked him.

Yes. He must have been saying some words of welcome to foreigners

or something of the kind.

But didn't you also give him some money?

Yes...

For looking after your shoes.

By the way, did we arrange to meet in the courtyard,

or inside the mosque? - Inside.

I waited outside.

The old man said no woman had gone inside.

In what language? He couldn't have understood anything you asked him.

For Madame only 60 pounds. It is very old.

Yes, of course.

I assure you, Madame, I guarantee it.

Anyway, take it, if you like it.

- Can you wrap it up? - Of course, at once!

Did Madame find the piece of jewellery she was looking for the other day?

Jewellery?

Oh, yes... No... It doesn't matter.

That too is for the tourists, as you can see.

- But there aren't any tourists. - There's you and me.

But we aren't.

I'd like to know what you are doing in Istanbul

I go out walking with you. Et cetera.

- And the rest of the time? - I await your pleasure, master.

What can one do here? You can see that this city isn't real.

It's a setting for an operetta or a love story.

Not here. There are too many windows.

What does it matter if they're not real houses.

Who's that?

My maid.

She's pretty.

Yes... fairly.

And who's the fat man?

I don't really know...

He's always around... Her father, perhaps...

Or her husband. He probably beats her.

- Does she live here? - Yes, I think so.

She has a room at the top of the house. You know how big this place is.

- Is she a good maid? - I suppose so.

But when I need her I never know where to find her.

No, there's no one there.

Right.

Shall we go for a trip in a caique, then?

It's too hot.

But it was you who suggested it not long ago.

I don't want to any more.

Lale.

- Is it in Turkish that that means tulip? - Yes.

Why do you have a Turkish first name?

You're called Andre and that's a Greek first name.

Let's go out on a boat now.

You were first going to tell me what you were doing here.

Well, then...

I'm kneeling in front of you in the grass,

leaning on the ground with my left hand.

In life, I mean.

Oh! In life...

And also, where do you live?

- Why do you want to know? - So that I know how to find you.

At home? That's not possible.

And anyway I always know where to find you. So what does it matter?

Oh all right. I live at Vifakishlemezjitokayoliedokuz.

Are you satisfied?

Here, I'll write it down. Give me a bit of paper.

But you know everything about me already!

Don't bother looking. It's a false address.

- I shall have to beat you. - Ah, yes.

- Good afternoon, Madame - Good afternoon.

It's a fine day for a walk.

What did she say then?

Who knows.

But you knew her?

Yes... No... I see her in the street sometimes.

I live over there.

You can see that everything is false.

Byzantium! Look, they're still building it.

Restoring it, you mean.

Call it what you like, it's all the same.

My mother told me to tell you he's back.

He asked where you were. She said she didn't know.

Right. I'll be back in 10 minutes.

And was that also Turkish for tourists?

It wasn't Turkish. It was Greek.

And what did he want?

To show us the underground passages.

Didn't you want to see them?

They're of no interest. They were excavated last year.

You didn't tell me you spoke Greek.

- Do you speak Greek? - No, of course not.

Then why should I have told you?

It wouldn't have been of any use to us.

Now I must go home. Don't come with me.

Tomorrow? At my place?

No, not before Friday. I've explained where.

Give me a kiss.

No, not here.

- Oh, it's you. - Yes, monsieur.

Have you only just come in, it's very late.

But I've been in all the time, monsieur.

- This afternoon. - Yes, monsieur.

Or this evening, before I came in...

Didn't anyone call to see me?

No, monsieur, no one.

Are you sure?

Yes, monsieur. I was here all the time.

You know, the lady who comes here...

You know who I mean? You must have seen her sometimes.

She may have called while I was out.

No one called today, monsieur.

- There was something else. - Yes, monsieur.

What is your name? Your first name?

Lale, monsieur. It means tulip.

There are two letters for you, monsieur.

Where are they from?

- They're from France, monsieur. - Both of them?

Yes, monsieur.

Good. You know I'm expecting...

There was no other message?

No, monsieur. I don't know, monsieur.

- Hello. How are you? - Hello.

You remember who I am. You came to a party at my place with a friend.

Of course I remember.

- I must speak to you. - Yes.

What about?

- You remember that young woman? - No.

Look... Not here. Let's go somewhere quieter.

Perhaps she's away.

Away, or too busy. Whatever the reason,

she would have let me know.

Perhaps she's too closely watched.

There are young women, here...

who lead a rather...

strange life.

She seemed fairly free.

That could have changed.

Had you known her for long?

No... I can't remember.

But you saw her often?

No, no. Very seldom.

Occasionally... at friends'...

women's gatherings.

And what did she say?

What did she say?

I can't remember.

Anyway, you seemed to have a lot to say to each other that day.

No. I don't remember... That day...

I'm not even sure I spoke to her at all.

And you never even knew who she was, where she lived, or what her name was?

No, no. A first name, perhaps.

I think someone once called her...

Eliane... Or Liane... Or something like that.

But who? At whose house did it take place? Who knew her?

I don't know.

Listen, I know very well at whose house I saw her.

But, whatever happens, you mustn't speak to them of me.

I'll leave you their name and address.

Give me something to write with.

Yes, yes... I see... a fair-haired young woman, with a big white car...

But... Do you understand French? You understand who I'm looking for?

Yes, yes... A fair-haired young woman... French... white car.

No, I don't think she's French.

She is French. I know her. She isn't called Lale... or Eliane.

Her first name is Lucille.

Her surname... I don't know...

But...

I'll tell you how to find her...

Remember: Socrates Nikosakis.

He'll arrange it for you.

You'll have no difficulty finding him where I've explained.

Nikosakis... Any morning until noon...

Say Cornelios sent you.

That's not me, it's my colleague... Cornelios...

But I'll give you some advice:

Be careful... You don't know this country.

Well, well, you seem a nice fellow. I can help you. Cornelios, you say?

Which Cornelios? Oh well, it doesn't matter.

You're alone in Istanbul, eh? I understand, I understand.

I've got what you want. A pretty girl, eh?

Not too fat. No? Well, don't be angry.

You're a nice fellow.

Since you're so determined. Your Lucille, I know her very well.

She is not as tall as you say. And she's even younger.

But you are wasting your time.

As for the big car, no, I don't think so.

And then, it can be dangerous here.

But that's your business.

In any case, he isn't French...

No, the fellow with the dogs, he's nothing to do with it.

But be careful all the same.

Better to get in touch with her through one of her relatives,

who is a friend of mine.

Well, no! I don't see at all.

Nikosakis must have made a mistake.

This young woman is dark, very dark.

She is called Lale, not Lucille.

And anyway, it's not her.

But... all the same... is she tall?

No, she is small.

You're wasting your time, my dear fellow.

Well, thank you. There must be some mistake.

As for white convertibles, there are dozens of them in this city.

Every woman...

I saw another one on my way back here, only 10 minutes ago.

Could you tell me where?

If you like...

It was in front of the Selim mosque.

But you're wasting your time.

You'll have to wait again. The lady hasn't come yet.

Perhaps she'll come this time as well. We must be patient, mustn�t we?

Do you understand?

In front of the door, there...

A white car...

White... motor car...

No, no. White motor car, no... Only black motor car!

The same lady as the other day, do you know her?

Madame, here... know?

No! Madame no! No... No!

Isn't it very like the other one?

Which other one, monsieur?

The one I bought here some time ago.

Some time ago? Here? Perhaps it was some similar article?

It looks like the same one.

How could it be the same one if you bought it?

Yes, of course. Somebody might have brought it back to you.

I see that monsieur is joking. Madame was too pleased with her present.

Or... are they really old, these statuettes?

Very old, monsieur. Very rare. I guarantee.

Yes.

Tell me... About that young woman...

I have jewellery if you wish... Adornments...

Rather intimate... Oriental... Very pretty.

No. That's not it.

I hope Madame is still well?

Yes, yes. Very well. Thank you.

I don't know anything about it. I don't know what you are talking about.

A woman... here. With me. She lives in this district.

Do you know which house she lives in? - Woman... House?

So that's what you're looking for! I won't get mixed up in your business!

Do you know the lady? Her house?

You only have to look, it's over there! I don't know!

In this street? Further up?

I don't know, I tell you. I don't know what you are talking about.

Excuse me, do you speak French?

What do you want now? I've had enough. Enough!

Get out! I don't want to see another...

I can't stand it any more... I can't. I've had enough...

I don't want to see anyone!

Get out, I tell you! Get out!

Not here, please... I'll explain later.

- Where are you going? - I must go home. Now leave me.

Be careful. I beg you. We mustn�t be seen together.

No, I couldn't let you know.

It was impossible... I'll explain...

You were mistaken. There was no one with me.

I must go home.

But not here... Wait till we get into my car.

I waited for you. I looked for you.

I questioned strangers who seemed to have seen you...

Did you find anything?

No. Nothing. I found nothing.

Say something now. Explain.

Say something to me...

Let's go further out. I'll explain...

But not here.

But what are you frightened of? Who are you afraid of?

I'm not afraid.

I'm not afraid...

He hurts me...

At night...

I am free.

I'm not afraid...

Faster...

My body...

It's too difficult...

Here's my place. We can stop here if you like.

- Where are we going? - Further on...

You saw that...

We must go on.

Just file it, sir.

You think it's just an ordinary accident?

In any case, it's an accident.

You'll have no difficulty finding him if you want him for further questioning.

You didn't know where you were going at the time of the accident?

You say you didn't know where you were going at the time of the accident?

No, I don't know. I don't think she was driving anywhere in particular.

He doesn't think she was driving anywhere in particular.

- All right. She was mad. - Something like that, sir.

All right. Thank you. You may leave.

All right. Everything is in order. You may leave.

Couldn't you... Couldn't you tell me... Something about her?

Tell you what?

You say you hardly knew her.

And what good would it do you now she's dead?

What's he say? - Nothing, sir. He says he'll leave now.

All this is your imagination.

Look... The mosque of your dreams...

It's crumbling...

And there's the ship of your dreams...

A ship that didn't prove seaworthy.

Everything must start all over again.

Let's start again together.

You think you're strong enough? Don't be so sure of yourself.

Don't trust me too much.

It's nothing. I must have been dreaming.

- Did the barking frighten you? - I wasn't frightened. What barking?

There was no barking.

Who was that man with dark glasses who was with you when I first met you?

Was he your father?

What makes you ask that all of a sudden?

I've often wondered about it.

I don't know who you're talking about.

I was alone that day.

She must have been lying...

Have you never met this person?

Never...

You should have told the police about him.

I tried to... They just smiled.

They seemed to know who I was talking about...

Or as if I were attaching importance to absurd details.

Nor did they answer any of my questions.

I'm not surprised.

Like the man whose address I gave you last time.

They're probably all in league.

Strange things go on here, you know...

What sort of things?

Kidnappings, secret prisons. Girls sold as slaves...

All kinds of strange trafficking...

On behalf of foreign countries...

Good morning. We'll have to hurry if we want to catch the ferry!

I meant to ask you...

Outside... There, in front of the house.

Yes, monsieur.

Haven't you noticed there's often a fisherman sitting on a chair?

It's not a fisherman, monsieur.

What does he do, then?

Nothing, monsieur. It's him!

No, there's someone else... With a line.

Then it's probably a fisherman.

But you've seen him? You know him?

No, monsieur. I've seen nothing.

Because they are impure. Didn't you know?

Why didn't you wait for me by the fountain, as you said?

It was impossible. There was someone there.

- Are you afraid of being watched? - No.

I'm not afraid...

I'm free.

Very fine mosque... Magnificent. Foreigners always coming back here.

Very fine. Very ancient.

Wounded, monsieur? Hand wounded?

Accident? Battle?

Turkish husband very jealous.

The ladies locked up in harems.

Old... Very old.

Ladies very naughty, he make die.

You know something...

Perhaps.

Excuse me, to catch the ferry...

Which way is the nearest landing-stage?

Do you speak English?

But... aren't you?

Are you going to Istanbul?

- No, to Beykoy. - Then it's that...

Come in. Do you need a car, sir?

It's very clean. The owner looked after it.

If you want to buy, I'll offer you a good price.

Ready to drive, very clean. Get in and go.

Very clean. Its owner looked after it.

If you want to buy...

I'll offer you a good price.

Ready to drive...

Do you recognise me?

We have a mutual friend: Catherine Sarayan.

We all have mutual friends.

I wanted to ask you... You too knew the young woman.

who died in a car accident, didn't you?

It wasn't an accident.

She was with a man who made the car hit a tree on purpose.

But that's not possible. It was she who was driving.

Yes, so I've been told.

He was next to her and grabbed the wheel himself and made the car swerve.

But why? Why would he do that?

I don't know. Out of jealousy. I don't know...

And I shouldn't be speaking to you.

And the man... What became of him?

I don't know. I think he died too.

The wing... Has it been repaired?

Never, monsieur. New. quite new. Hardly been used.

It can happen quickly, an accident.

Never monsieur. No accident. Not the slightest one.

The gentleman has gone away on a long journey.

Yes... All right. I'll think about it.

Visit, sir. The crypt with the dungeons. Very interesting. OK?

Do you speak Greek or Turkish?

Eh? Greek?

Do you remember? The lady with the white car?

There... This is a cemetery...

Or what they call a cemetery here.

A piece of waste land, with goats grazing...

And children playing marbles on the paths.

There are graves too.

They're not real graves. They never bury anyone here.

They used to.

This cemetery must have been closed.

Then they've all been closed.

They're all the same. And there are hundreds of them... all over the city...

Stretching sometimes for miles and miles...

You think this one is very old because the stones lean in all directions.

They put them like that on purpose, just to make it look better.

When they're completely in ruins they use them to pave the streets...

Or as curb-stones.

And you walk over them, quietly...

Without giving them a thought.

The ramparts of Byzantium...

They are having to be rebuilt once more...

From the Marmara Sea to the Golden Horn, ruined towers, as far as the eye can see,

to the Castle of the Seven Prisons.

And you go where the mood takes you.

You're a foreigner. You're in the Turkey of your dreams.

Spurious prisons, spurious ramparts, spurious stories...

You cannot go back. And to escape...

Even the boats are unreal, as you can see.

Let's go further out, I'll explain.

Further on... You saw that?

We must go on...

Faster... Faster...

Oh, it's too difficult.

You're wrong. There was no one with me.

Go faster... still faster...