Original subtitles

They are laughing at us.

I know.

But I really...

I really don't know why.

It's too late for that. A bit too late.

I've read codes of honour.

That is how aristocrats behave.

That is how they behave.

The aristocrats.

Whoa.

Whoa.

Long live Baron Krzeszowski!

Here.

-It sharpens the senses. -Bloody well right.

I am sorry, Mr Wokulski. Luck is against you today.

THE DOLL

Teeth. My teeth!

Medic, come quickly!

-My teeth! -What?

Mr Wokulski hit the lock.

Teeth. He hit my teeth!

Teeth...

The lock wounded the baron!

-The lock. -He hit the lock.

He aimed at the lock to wound him. Just a scratch!

-You aimed at the lock? -No.

The lock wounded the baron.

-Bloody hell. -Let's go home.

Chopin! The Chopin of the gun. Good man! Didn't I tell you?

Good man!

A man shoots. Cocaine carries the bullet, one might say.

If only Napoleon had given cocaine to his troops,

everyone in Moscow would be speaking French today.

So, today is a day of indulgence.

First, the powder to focus.

Now, one shot of vodka to relax,

and the rest to celebrate the triumph of the Vistula Victory.

Fuck.

My nerves were so...

shot.

First of all, I'm so glad you survived that shooting.

Thank you. So am I.

Would you like a drink?

Perhaps a little one.

To calm the nerves.

Mr Wokulski.

I don't understand.

What don't you understand?

If you're willing to mortgage the house, why won't you simply sell it to me?

Why the auction?

When you have a daughter, you'll understand.

I cannot admit to Bela that I'm selling the tenement house.

At auctions, the identity of the winner can be kept confidential,

should the buyer so desire.

She could not bear to know that I am meeting you in secret

and you're buying our house.

Do you remember what happened with the silver set?

A ploy.

We'll handle it with a ploy.

You and I.

Together.

Quiet.

Very well.

Excellent.

I mean it.

The auction is looking promising!

Oh yes!

Oh.

Countess Zasławska's jubilee is coming up.

Bela and I are going to visit her tomorrow

at Zasławek.

Please come,

at our invitation.

Would Miss Izabela approve?

I would like to write a critical exposé on the idiotic tradition of duels.

Men shoot at each other like chickens, and women...

Mr Harnaś will write about the duel.

Opposing views, then.

Mr So-and-so and my womanly common sense.

The owner doesn't want

a woman's common sense.

In fact, it seems The Ivy is going to change.

The owner doesn't want women in The Ivy.

But it's a women's magazine.

Indeed.

-But it must be written by men. -The content will be simpler.

Not so radical.

Women don't read women, it seems.

I do.

We have to do something.

Convince him.

Find a way.

There is a way.

It requires a lot of money.

How much is a lot?

A great deal.

You are not expected to buy anything.

You are expected to bid, which is by no means the same as buying.

You are expected to drive up the price until they call out,

"One hundred and fifty thousand!"

One hundred and fifty thousand.

For a tenement house.

One property.

How much?

Just as I said. One hundred and fifty thousand.

How much will you pay me to bid for you?

I think I'll request a mass.

A funeral mass. For our finances.

It's a fucking disaster. We'll be bankrupt.

You spend too much. This marriage is too costly.

I'll buy the house, then spend no more.

Indeed, you will not since we'll be penniless.

Łęcki will use the money I pay him for the tenement house

to invest in our business.

He pays his debts, and our capital returns to us.

And we'll have a tenement house...

that you can manage.

That's using your head.

Stach.

It's not your head at work. You're thinking with the other.

How long will you keep me in the dark?

-About what? -How is Wokulski feeling?

Does he not hate me for that duel? Well? Is he coming to Zasławek?

I'll tell you everything on the way.

-Why is Florentyna not coming? -We need a break from one another.

I didn't order vodka.

You could use it.

I didn't ask you to join me.

I see that duel has given you the airs of a count, Romeo.

Piss off.

Ten thousand roubles.

Ten thousand what?

The sum you will pay me.

And I won't reveal that you paid Marianna for spying.

And that you offered me money for information as well,

which

I did not take, out of honour.

Bela might not believe that one.

I refuse.

A pity.

Stop.

Tomorrow, here, at 3 pm.

They are the last roubles you'll get from me.

Understood?

Our mother tongue is so complicated

that our minds have no leisure to dwell upon higher matters.

All that, merely to express oneself at all.

And that is why our homeland lacks philosophers.

I don't believe I told you

that Wokulski agreed to join us.

I can stomach anything,

but not that trouser salesman.

He is a salesman, but he's a salesman of the highest intellectual capacity.

Out of the question.

Auntie.

Cheers.

Excuse me.

Rest assured, I will convince her.

Wąsowska is the baroness of persuasion.

-At Hopfer's. Tomorrow at three. -I know. You've told me repeatedly.

The envelope.

Give Starski the money. It is all counted.

As you wish, Stach.

One more thing. Go to the auction with Szlangbaum.

-He will bid on my behalf. -Then why must I go?

To watch over him. He must bid until he wins.

No one can outbid us.

Send a telegram, as soon as the auction concludes.

Let's go.

Absolutely.

I have no intentions towards him.

Drinking bores me.

Morphine, on the other hand...

Or...

What?

Are you certain?

Absolutely.

I have no intentions towards him.

And as your relative, I have a duty

to ensure that you may

prey upon his fortune,

as his wife, for instance.

I will not prey upon anyone.

I am guided by ideas

of emancipation.

I'm sorry.

I thought it was typhus.

Sleep. I didn't sleep.

Eat.

I didn't eat.

And in my stomach, a feeling so strange.

Feverish.

You've fallen in love, my dear.

You've fallen in love.

That complicates matters somewhat.

Bang-bang, Mr Wokulski! We absolutely must go hunting together.

Bear or wolf hunting. Something with teeth, at any rate.

If your eye for business matches your aim at Krzeszowski's teeth,

we'd gladly trade with you.

Mr Wokulski, my friend is dying of jealousy.

-No one was shot on her behalf. -What say you? Is that gallant?

Not gallant.

-Mr Wokulski, one question. Oil. -Meaning?

-Yes or no? -I don't understand.

You'll die of boredom here. Luckily, you have me.

The right man to consult on oil and business.

I hear the gold rush is over in America. It's all about oil.

You can try your luck in Galicia.

They say the land is oil-bearing. I bought a plot there. I'll be drilling.

We'll talk.

That is the future, Mr Wokulski! That is the future.

-Have you not changed your mind? -I hope you don't mean oil.

The auction is tomorrow. Will you back me?

Yes, we already agreed.

And if you could just say one word, just one whisper,

how much cash do you plan to venture?

How much profit will you allot to Count Łęcki?

We must also consider the tax. Expenses.

Russians and their taxes!

They want to stifle the enterprise of the nobility!

Yes. We'll manage!

Stanisław.

Staś, my dear Staś.

I have been waiting for you here, and you,

what were you, so delightfully thinking, hmm?

Miss Izabela, I...

Won't you tell me...

Why are you so...

serious?

Oh my!

Have you an ache in your ear?

Shall I blow on it?

Please forgive us, Mr Wokulski.

Bela and I shall withdraw for a moment.

For a moment.

But do not run away, Staś.

I shall return.

I shall be back directly!

To the left!

To bed?

Won't Stanisław join me?

Why?

There are moments,

after drinking...

when one must seek one's bed.

Alone.

And how do you like Zasławek?

It's dark. I couldn't see everything. It's hard to judge.

And Bela?

She is your true obsession, is she not?

You're hurting your prospects.

You are trying too hard.

You lack patience

and moderation.

What are you talking about?

I know what I speak of. I am not without experience.

Seduction is an art, Mr Wokulski.

And you fail at it miserably.

Should I teach you?

Make no pretence.

And do not hurry.

Haste destroys all passion.

And the true art lies in moving slowly.

Seduction, Mr Wokulski, is an entire performance.

And you would like to go straight to the applause.

Be at ease.

There is much pleasure to be found along the way.

Step

by step.

Do you understand?

Mr Stach!

I think so.

Stanisław!

May I have a word?

Stach.

My dear Staś.

I am so happy!

Here, in my heart. Deep within my heart.

Touch it. Do you feel it?

How it beats with joy? In relief?

That you will take up the tenement house.

That the Łęcki family is saved!

I am happy.

I share your joy.

All will be well, Staś,

because I was right

to wait until Bela

should encounter... a man like you.

I was right!

Me!

That she ought to wait, and not marry just any fucking bastard.

I am the one who cultivated her discriminating taste.

She was right to listen to her father.

Bela sees it as well.

This moves me profoundly.

I am so happy.

I am so happy that our paths have crossed.

Mr Łęcki...

You will do me a great honour, Staś,

and it would be my privilege, if we were to address one another by our first names.

A fucking toast to brotherhood!

Tomasz.

Stanisław.

Well, good day to you.

I awoke in excellent spirits today.

Unfortunately, Aunt Wąsowska reminded me of last night.

Do you know what comes next?

Both you and I,

at my signal,

shall forget my recent indiscretion.

Now.

I too have, on occasion, said things I later regretted.

And what was it I said?

I cannot recall.

A fine day for a walk.

And without a chaperone.

I speak of The Ivy, about modern women,

and I wonder what you think of me then.

For a man such as myself,

who was brought up the way I was, these are novel and strange things,

and yet, intriguing.

A kind of modern world that's different from mine.

What is so strange?

For example, your desire to purchase The Ivy.

Yes, I know. I have no money.

That is not what matters most.

And what is?

Would you like to know what I, as, what you and the others call a merchant,

would ask a person who seeks to buy such a business?

Of course.

You wish to buy a magazine, a newspaper. Is that so?

Why? Do you consider me ill-fitted?

What is the price of paper on the open market? Of printing ink?

Of typesetters' labour? Of rent for the premises?

And to reprint from the French press?

I do not know yet.

I can assist with that.

What would you like, sir?

I would like...

everything.

The auction subject

is the tenement house of Count Tomasz Łęcki.

Three storeys.

Located on Piękna Street.

The starting price is 45,000 roubles.

The bidding is now open.

Fifty thousand.

-Fifty. -Fifty-five!

-Fifty-five. -Sixty!

-Sixty thousand roubles. -Sixty-five!

Sixty-five thousand roubles.

-Seventy? -Seventy-five!

Seven... Eighty thousand roubles.

Eighty-five!

Eighty-five thousand.

Ninety thousand.

-One hundred. -One hundred roubles.

105.

105,000 roubles.

-Anyone else? -110.

-110,000 roubles. Anyone else? -115.

115,000 roubles.

120.

120,000.

Anyone else?

120,000 roubles.

125.

125,000 roubles.

130.

130,000 roubles.

135.

135,000...

-140! -140,000 roubles.

-It's not worth that much. -Keep bidding.

140,000 roubles! Going once.

-It's not worth it. -Keep bidding.

Going twice.

145.

145,000 roubles.

150.

-150,000! -Fuck.

150,000 roubles. Going once, going twice...

155.

155,000 roubles!

Going once. 155,000 roubles!

Going twice.

And sold!

Mr. Szlangbaum has acquired the tenement house of Count Tomasz Łęcki.

-He acts for an anonymous buyer. -A wonderful finale.

Order, please.

Regarding the debts upon the Łęcki family's tenement house,

will all creditors of Count Tomasz Łęcki please raise their hands.

You shall be paid off before the transaction is completed.

I was terrified during the duel.

I did what had to be done.

At least, that is my belief.

Have I embarrassed you?

Honestly?

Honest talk is the only kind I value.

Had you withdrawn, you would be a laughingstock until Christmas.

But you silenced them.

I knew not if I liked it or felt embarrassed.

What do you think now?

Can't you tell?

Since we are asking about one another,

did you come here on business?

I am looking for capital, indeed.

This is a place for parties.

I am glad of it, as it leaves me free

to enjoy your company.

And that is why I came here.

To see you.

I think I suggested it last night,

but what would you say if we used our first names?

You have a beautiful name. It would be a shame to waste it.

I thought men propose such things.

So did I.

So, you understand wit.

Sometimes too late, but yes.

Izabela.

Stanisław.

I must say one thing.

I like you very much.

I know this is not an auction,

but I could outbid that sentiment with one deeper.

-Could you? -But I lack the courage as yet.

I feel as if I am about to faint, allowing myself to address you, miss...

Izabela,

like this.

Stanisław.

Come to me at night.

All of Mr Łęcki's debts are paid in full.

How much is remaining?

There is 20,000 yet to be paid.

And the profit? How much profit remains?

As I said.

I don't understand.

The debt has been paid in part. The funds from the auction of the house fell short.

These two gentlemen are yet to be paid.

I had no idea.

Would you like anything else, sir?

I'll pay now.

Open!

Excuse me.

May I?

Thank you. Here.

Please write. Be quick. I'll dictate.

Yes?

Ca-ta-stro-phe.

Mr Wokulski went out.

Mr Wokulski is not at home.

So this is how Mr Wokulski satisfies his desire to fuck a countess.

Please leave.

Please leave.

You dare order me about, you whore?

Sit.

Bend over.

Please.

Bend over.

Please tell Mr Wokulski

to deduct five roubles from the 10,000 he promised me.

I am sorry.

But business first, then more business, then problems, and then a catastrophe.

But I am here now.

I have a great deal of work.

Come to me at night.

Mr Wokulski.

A telegram.

Ca-ta-stro-phe. Tenement house bought.

One hundred and fifty-five thousand!

Twenty thousand in debt.

Five thousand... Ca-ta-stro-phe...

Mr Wokulski.

The auction is looking promising! Oh yes!

You will invest fuck all.

Fuck all!

Staś, what are you saying?

How many mortgages did you take out? How many promissory notes?

These are horrendous fucking debts, for God's sake!

Come here.

You never said the house was laden with debt.

Debts enough to buy a whole street.

You've paid one loan with another for 20 years!

Everyone does it. We all do it. Why are you shouting?

-We pay them off, there is some left. -Some?

-There must be something left. -There is nothing left!

-Twenty thousand in debt is left! -Stop shouting at me!

Debt is a normal thing. Fuck. For God's sake!

You forget yourself. Mind your tone.

Be warned.

You're expecting him.

Are you jealous?

How absurd.

A feeling like any other.

Must I be jealous of your dowager?

I am concerned for you, Bela.

I'm in love.

Then it may interest you to learn who has engineered your bankruptcy.

My father?

He also.

Did you know Wokulski paid Marianna for information?

Perhaps he was curious.

I accept that as a compliment.

He was interested only to see

how your father received the news when his business burned.

I wonder who gave the order.

How do you know this?

Because he paid me also.

For information.

And for my silence.

Leave.

-I'm sorry, Bela. -Leave.

Leave!

Is it true?

Tell me. Is it true?

I can explain everything.

-Get out! -Izabela.

Out!

Out!

Help!

Fetch a doctor.

Fetch a doctor.

-Help! -Fetch a doctor.

Fetch a doctor.

-Hurry! -Help!

Come along.

Hurry!

Quickly now!

-Fetch a doctor. -No...

No!

Get him into the carriage!

We must find a doctor. Quickly! Get him into the carriage!

We must find a doctor. Quickly!

Subtitle translation by: Mikołaj Kopczak