Original subtitles

''ALELUIA GRETCHEN''

ANY RESEMBLANCE WITH REAL PEOPLE, REAL PLACES AND REAL FACTS...

IS MERE COINCIDENCE

This is the first photo of the Kranz family...

taken soon after they arrived in Brazil. Unforgettable.

lt feels like yesterday.

Frau Lotte, irascible as always.

Professor Ross. Poor dear.

With their children, Heike, who was very tired...

Gudrun and little Josef.

On the right is their servant, Frau Minka, also from Germany...

and her son, Wilhelm.

And this is Repo, who wormed his way in.

This is me, lnge...

and there is father all proud and happy next to Werner, my brother.

THE SOUTH OF BRAZIL

This firepIace is originaIIy from Germany.

And does it work?

I did what I couId, Iike you asked me to.

The former owner was very sIoppy. You know how BraziIians are.

I thought of BraziI as if it were Africa.

I don't know why. It's aII so different.

Herr Oskar, my IittIe Josef suffered a Iot during the trip.

He threw up, and feIt sick, Iying in his bed.

And now that bus...

I had the room prepared. They're aII cIean and comfortabIe.

My Inge did it. She's worth her weight in goId!

-Did you have a nice trip? -Yes.

I haven't quite recovered yet from the thriII...

-the bouncing around. -When did you arrive in port?

-Two days ago. -That's fine.

God awfuI trip!

WiIheIm, take care of our bags. I'II take a Iook at the kitchen...

-and make some coffee. -I'II come with you.

Nothing has changed for mother.

Repo, take that trunk to Frau Kranz's room.

Yes, ma'am.

Oh, that boat. One month of torture to both Josef and Heike.

We have prepared a Iight meaI. You'II rest a IittIe and then...

Frau Kranz and Herr Ross, I'd Iike to introduce Dr. Aur�Iio to you.

Dr. Aur�Iio, these are the Kranz, Frau Lotte and Professor Ross...

the new owners.

-PIeased to meet you. -It's a pIeasure.

WeIcome to this house and to this beautifuI country.

The pIeasure is ours.

Weren't you supposed to arrive next week?

Our Iuck. Immigration formaIities took Iess time than expected.

Our bureaucracy was efficient? What a miracIe.

-I hope I can keep my modest room. -Don't worry, Dr. Aur�Iio.

-As I toId you, he is... -Part of furniture.

Frau Kranz, you'II Iike him. He's a good BraziIian.

-I appreciate that. -By aII means, the house is yours.

I understand you are a professor?

Oskar's very efficient. He took care of everything.

He had the powers and the money to do so. What did you expect?

Now reaIIy, Lotte. It was done through maiI.

I saw happiness in Heike's eyes today.

I Iiked that.

I fear for my unborn grandson. May God forgive me.

And we haven't even had a Iook at the hoteI.

Lotte, don't be ungratefuI.

He didn't do us any favor. We have paid for it.

And now, if you'II excuse me.

I did it, Ross. AII this is ours now.

I don't Iike BraziI and nobody wiII force me to.

Yes, but you'II get used to it.

Heike, keep your opinions to yourseIf! This pIace...

One idiot wastes time taIking, and the other one answering to it.

-Good morning, Dr. Aur�Iio. -Good morning.

-They're just Iike chiIdren. -Stay out of it, auntie!

Very funny! Get this into your fat head, Josef: we had no choice.

Some ideas have a high cost.

Dad made the mistake of saying what he thinks.

-In Germany these days... -You have to have courage.

And that's not the case of oId professor.

Josef, watch your mouth!

Good morning. Your breakfast.

Come on, Iazy bones! Hurry up!

-l'm at it, mother! -How is Honnef, Frau Minka?

This isn't the time to remember Honnef.

The Germans here are very shy.

-And poor Werner... -What's the matter with him?

He's the terror of the neighborhood.

You're trapped in his nets, aren't you?

Werner, that big hick? I'm above that.

No need to be rude. I prefer BraziIians.

I'm sorry, Inge, I'm sorry.

lnge, l'd like to see your face if an SS squad comes to Brazil!

And they will come, you'll see! Sooner or later!

A gigantic black mass of SS soldiers!

Josef! Josef!

Gudrun, I don't feeI weII.

What's the matter?

Hans? Hans?

Why did I faII in Iove with you? I was mad!

But I'II make you pay.

Hans? Hans?

Where are you?

What's the matter, dear? Forget about it aII.

The past is dead, Heike. It is dead.

Captain Hans. He was not worthy of Heike.

Josef, you have no girlfriend, right? Why is that?

AII you think about is war.

Josef... Josef is just Iike Hans. He doesn't have feeIings for anyone.

Admit it, Josef. Is your dream returning to the HitIer Youth?

-I'm a warrior, not a sweeper. -He's just a boy. Let him dream.

-Did you serve Herr M�IIer, Gudrun? -Yes, Frau Minka.

You don't care about me. I feeI so IoneIy it hurts.

Mother, l won't be an employee all my life. l hate this family.

Blood runs through my veins.

l'm a barbarian, and that's an honorable title!

An 80 year-oId man is abIe to kiss, but he cannot fight.

Inge, war is younger than Iove.

I don't ever want to grow oId!

You're just a siIIy boy, Josef. An airhead.

The F�hrer needs me.

HeiI, HitIer!

l don't even know why l did it.

Hans, such a sweet man, so gentle.

He told me l'd be one of the first mothers.

lt didn't scare me.

lt was such a love, such a devotion l had for him.

Gudrun, now l don't even remember why.

lt was an old palace, barely a castle...

with flowers on the windows...

a sweet perfume in the air.

Just like the movies, Gudrun.

l felt dizzy, and he laughed.

Then, he smelled my neck for a long time.

l felt an urge to kiss him.

He said the New Germany was to be born there.

The SS soldiers smiled at us. l felt that Hans was proud of me.

He was my man, my SS soldier.

Coming from somewhere, we heard dreamy music.

Hans took me into a room fiIIed with coupIes.

Guess who I saw in there? UIIa!

She pretended she didn't know me.

Some of the girls wore nothing but transparent night gowns.

They were drinking and dancing.

l started drinking too.

Hans talked on and on.

l danced, l laughed so hard that l lost track of things.

The next thing l know, Hans is inside me...

gently and violently.

l felt like screaming.

Then I surrendered to pIeasure...

and I feIt as if I was outside of my body.

Gudrun, I had never imagined such a thing. I started to cry.

And in the midst of aII my hazy thoughts, guess who I saw, Gudrun.

Mami, right there, watching aII we were doing...

with a strange, but happy Iook in her eyes.

And then, days later, Gudrun, it was Hans' friends turn.

He said the others were used to doing that...

that it wasn't immoral, that as long it was with an SS officer...

every pure blood mother is sacred.

A heir to the F�hrer.

And that l was conceiving a heir to the F�hrer.

Heike!

Hans, you bastard! Why did you do that?

-Hans? -Heike!

Hans?

-Heike! -My Iove.

My Iove.

I beIieve in Germany because I beIieve in God.

He has put Germany in the worId and sent us the F�hrer to Iead it.

Before this bIood-red fIag which represents our F�hrer...

I vow to dedicate my strength and my energy...

to the savior of our fatherIand, AdoIf HitIer.

I'm ready and wiIIing to give my Iife for him with the heIp of God.

My dear comrades, we have here a good exampIe...

that a good son returns to his home.

A warrior away from the battIefieIds is Iike a man with no ideaIs...

a patriot with no homeIand.

Josef, our brave friend...

has beaten the resistance of his famiIy front...

and now prepares himseIf to return to the side of great men.

Let us turn the sadness for his departure into happiness...

as he wiII take with him pieces of our hearts...

which aIso dream with a thousand-year Reich.

Go, friend Josef.

We'II stay here, training for the day you caII on us for the great fight.

Nothing and nobody couId diminish the wiII of the German youth power...

even though we are so far away from our homeIand.

-HeiI HitIer! -HeiI HitIer!

-HeiI HitIer! -HeiI HitIer!

-HeiI HitIer! -HeiI HitIer!

-HeiI HitIer! -HeiI HitIer!

-HeiI HitIer! -HeiI HitIer!

-HeiI HitIer! -HeiI HitIer!

Josef is a fortunate man.

I envy him. But I'II go too someday.

A cat born in an oven is not necessariIy a cake.

I'm a German, just Iike him, and just Iike Gretchen.

Don't be a fooI!

Sometimes, I think I'm not as German as I imagine.

But you, you'd change your name if you couId.

In Heike's case, it's the opposite.

So far, nobody has suspected it.

Gretchen is the daughter of an SS soIdier.

So her husband isn't dead?

I feeI sorry for Heike.

She beIieved in her Hans.

Mami wanted to Ieave her in Germany to have her chiId and educate him.

Heike didn't accept that.

That's probabIy why her and Frau Lotte fight so much.

When Heike got pregnant, Hans turned her over to his friends.

I don't beIieve that. She made that up.

Haven't you ever heard Frau Lotte's speech?

Pure race, pure bIood.

Werner, Heike toId me.

They breed peopIe Iike cattIe in Germany. Trust me.

WeII...

in order to achieve the Germany our F�hrer dreams of...

a new man has to be created. That's probabIy it.

And how's your fIirt with Gudrun, the IittIe German?

I don't Iike your manners. You'II put the servants against me.

-After aII, our famiIy is weII-bred. -I know that, and feeI sorry for it.

You insoIent! I don't want for us what happened to Herr Oskar.

He's a good man, but...

the more we spread the German cuIture, the Iess we'II be Iike him.

I won't condone that for our famiIy.

So that's why you're teaching Repo aII those Iies?

It's a matter of Iogic. We have to practice our superiority.

Thank heavens I was abIe to save Josef.

Poor Josef.

l thought coming to Brazil would save him from his fanaticism.

He's only a child. Even you, Lotte...

Don't use Josef to justify your actions.

l sent him back to Germany for his own good...

to strengthen his character, make him a real Nazi.

Gretchen, you're the first Arian child born in Brazil.

-Don't say that. -lt's true. Heike won't admit it.

We Iook Iike a bunch of deserters to me.

Deserters?

You shouId find a job. Or do you pIan to be an indoIent forever?

Is that what you want? To Iive off the hoteI and off me?

AII inteIIectuaIs are the same, a bunch of useIess peopIe.

I couId become a butIer. AIthough I feeI Iike one aIready.

Oh, stop it! I wasn't the one to come up with this safari idea!

When your money is aII gone, I'II seII my own shadow.

Do you think the shadow of a coward professor is worth good money here?

In addition to your cynicism, what strikes me in you...

is your caIm. You haven't changed at aII, have you?

Remember you couId be paying for your poIiticaI vaIor.

But, thanks to me, you hear...

and you'II hear it tiII you die, thanks to me...

you're sitting there, with that smirk on your face.

I took aII the risks, aII by myseIf!

I saved you! Don't you ever forget that, you hear me?

WeII, go on with your cuIturaI crusade.

Or am I inhibiting you with my subversive reading?

-Heike, dear, don't give in. -My daughter...

resign to the wiII of God.

Come, Iet's have a cup of coffee. What's the point?

Don't torture yourseIf Iike that.

I got you a sedative. What can we do for you?

Heike, oh, Heike...

oh, my chiId, can you forgive me? PIease, forgive me.

I can't understand.

I cannot understand...

why such a pure souI...

why such a pure souI.

Gretchen...

Gretchen, how couId you?

Mami, you were the one who sent me to those pigs!

-Heike, my chiId. -I want my Gretchen!

Was that what you wanted, Mami? Was it?

Have you Iost your mind? Have you? Never, never.

There it is, Mami. There it is.

The biggest proud of a German woman.

There it is, Mami.

-The Nazi chiId you dreamed of! -Don't taIk Iike that!

A hatchery. That's aII I've been. A hatchery!

What kind of a curse is this, dear God?

Heike...

Heike, my chiId, forgive me.

Mami. Take a Iook at what's Ieft, Mami.

Mami!

Take a Iook at what's Ieft, Mami!

Oh, Gretchen...

Why, of all people, l had to resist?

Perhaps because my ideas weren't strong enough.

But l have my beliefs. l thought of other people.

l meant to resist, l swear!

l knew beforehand that l'd be trapped too.

A whole generation against the wall, Professor Huller.

The next thing l know, they're burning the bodies of our masters.

We were deceived.

To accept it in siIence, to stand on the second row, in the corner...

Just words, Professor HuIIer. You think they'II forget it?

No, they won't.

Accepting it is worse than participating in it.

''We must accommodate, Professor Ross.''

But I won't. I can't!

How couId I keep my mouth shut, with peopIe disappearing around me?

How couId I stand the questionings, the confrontations with my pupiIs?

Boys...

IittIe boys in their uniforms accusing me...

pointing fingers at me. ''What about you, Lotte?''

Our own son, your IittIe Josef.

I faked, I Iied, I contradicted myseIf.

Professor HuIIer, my dear assistant Franz Schnurbusch...

young MathiIde... What were they guiIty of?

I shouId never had abandoned my post, but I did.

I was weak. Better yet...

I am weak.

Or are my ideas obsoIete?

Since when can't one disagree? Since when, Lotte?

Since when do we accept those camps, persecutions.

Is this to Iove our adored Germany?

The curse befeII you. Why?

You wanted to survive our shame. Nobody escaped.

A cob web of madness.

Even in Gudrun's eyes, isn't that so, Gudrun?

I see condemnation. What did you want?

My arrest? My death?

And am I not dead now, by any chance?

Didn't I try to save them aII?

And now the monster takes revenge on IittIe Gretchen!

Gretchen, come back. Don't Ieave. Your grandfather asks of you.

It's not his fauIt if he's a coward.

I sacrificed you. I know you're stiII aIive. Stay with us.

Can't you see that Heike is going mad?

You must Iive, Gretchen. For aII of us.

Come back, stay with me, stay with my Iast hopes.

I'II take care of you.

I won't Iet Lotte touch you, I swear.

I swear, Gretchen.

Gretchen...

Gretchen...

I want to show you something.

Have you ever seen such a marveIous thing?

Yes, in Germany. BerIin. Heike's husband had one.

He wouIdn't take it off even when he sat down for Iunch.

Mother used to say he Ioved the gun more than he Ioved Heike.

So? How do I Iook?

His uniform was entireIy bIack.

I think it was more beautifuI. He had two medaIs.

-Is this a German of BraziIian one? -You fooI! What's the difference?

You shouId see me...

-on a parade. -Frau Lotte is teaching Repo.

With this thing here, one can change History.

During the night...

Rio is reaIIy hot, aII year Iong.

We're going to save the PaIace, with our fingers on the trigger...

going over the waII, and taking the guards by surprise.

But we're not going to kiII anyone. We're more of the peacefuI kind.

My friends and I...

we got just to the front of the baIcony.

Everything had been weII prepared.

I was the first one to yeII:

''Come on out, dictator! Come face us with aII your courage!''

There was a moment of siIence.

And then I shot.

It was enough to Ioosen a whoIe array of shots.

Everybody started running around.

I threw myseIf on the ground.

My heart was beating so fast that I couId feeI the pebbIes touching it.

That's when I reaIized our faith has a strength...

I had never imagined. I ran, I shouted, I cursed.

It was our victory, WiIheIm. ''Murderer! Coward!

Come on out, you Iousy dictator!'' I feIt so happy.

And every shadow beIonged to a fighting companion.

Here we go!

Someone shouted: ''Our fIag!''

You see, my boy? It wiII be a gIorious night.

The onIy night those gardens wiII be trodden by reaI patriots.

Being a patriot. A terribIe thing in these days.

But, my boy, I have a Iot of faith in the future...

thanks to your country.

You have a great man there, a Ieader.

I am certain...

that the future wiII forgive us.

Our enemies today...

wiII be our imitators tomorrow. You'II see.

You'II see.

No one can change the course of the wheeI of time. No one.

WiIheIm, my boy...

forget everything I toId you.

I was deIirious.

I'm sorry.

Come here. Come.

Everything is so transitory nowadays.

Even the taste of dreams.

So, man, you finaIIy showed up?

Is there room for one more in this AdoIf HitIer show?

-Yes, there is. -Be carefuI now.

-My bread and butter is in there. -Don't worry about it.

Why did you say that about the name?

Look, boy...

haven't you ever had Ietter soup?

Haven't you ever speIIed words on the bottom of your bowI?

I wouId Iike a doubIe bed. And a damn soft one.

-Good evening. -Good evening.

I think I'II Iike it here.

-Thank you. -Mami, where's father.

In the bar.

Do you have anything to drink?

I swaIIowed 4 pounds of dust on the road.

-Right in there. Gudrun, show Mr... -Eurico.

Eurico.

-Thanks. -Thank you.

This way.

Look here. Here. Here.

-Good evening. -Good evening.

What wouId you Iike?

-A gIass of fresh currant juice. -Sure.

PIease, forgive me...

but I'm a IittIe surprised.

I've been on the road these past months...

and, to me, this is an isIand of peace.

-Sir? -Thank you.

My Iife has been on the run.

It's time to settIe down.

-WouId you Iike to join me? -Not me.

-Thank you. -Make yourself at home.

1 942 TO 1 945

Gudrun!

Gudrun, this time they are not kidding.

Godmother!

Godmother...

I'm scared.

You damn Nazis!

Mami!

Mami! Mami!

Mami! Mami!

You Nazi bastards!

What am I doing in this God forsaken pIace?

My WiIheIm must understand.

If he abandons me, if he Ieaves me with nothing in my oId days...

-ls it ready? -I'II wiII... In a minute!

Just a minute!

WiIheIm, you have to promise me. You're my son.

See how much your mother sacrifices herseIf.

It must be winter now in my Honnef.

Ah, that joy no one can take away from me.

I'II spit on it!

That one is for you, you vermin!

And they think I am the snake.

But when she gets my money, she doesn't mind.

She reaIIy doesn't mind.

Repo! Have you seen Repo? Repo!

He's got a lot work to do. Repo!

Yes! Yes, madam. See you Iater.

Repo! That damn nigger!

I've been having some bad feeIings, some omens.

Yesterday, I toId Ross:

''I feeI Iike canceIing the supper...

because I'II contaminate everything with my pessimism''.

But he was right.

To see aII of you sitting together...

may heIp me chase the ghosts away.

And the pain that runs aII over my body...

seems to be present in every gesture of mine.

I have to get rid of my anguish because I can't take it anymore.

No one, none of us...

can get used to the absence of IittIe Josef.

Not one Ietter...

in the Iast few months.

The siIence. The worst of it is the siIence.

I know.

It is a fake siIence that onIy exists in my head.

I suffered with the damn war in my sIeepIess nights.

But now, Iooking at you, Oskar, and at your son...

I am ashamed of my seIfishness.

Life is too short...

and it is too worthIess to Iearn and accept one's misfortunes.

WhiIe a whoIe country gave up its youth in the defense of an ideaI...

we sit here, crying for the absence of a Ioved one.

Therefore, this is not the moment for sentimentaIism.

Day and night, other young men are suffering for Germany.

But their fate does not matter.

Therefore, one must not wonder...

why men aIIow themseIves to be kiIIed.

In these moments...

I aIways remember my mother's face...

many years ago:::

and I see it cIearIy...

the day I came into the room, crying...

with a box of broken Christmas ornaments.

She Iooked at me, siIentIy...

waiting for my reserve of tears to run out...

and I was inconsoIabIe. And then...

she said, apparentIy unmoved...

that it wouId not affect the beauty of the Christmas tree...

that I had to get used to the fact...

that happiness and sadness are twins...

that they waIk hand in hand...

one hiding the other.

They are accompIices...

who mock peopIe aII the time...

Iike the fairies.

No, we shaII not surrender to meIanchoIy.

We shaII keep onIy the good memories.

It's a time of nationaI danger and saIvation...

and that's the price we pay for a gIorious future.

There's a war going on, and our peopIe are fighting.

No reason to despair.

Josef and Werner beIong to the F�hrer, to our beIoved Germany.

They don't beIong to us anymore, and we have to resign to that.

We have to understand we are at the dawn of a new worId.

Let's then drink to that with our thoughts on Josef and Werner...

our beIoved sons and soIdiers.

-Cheers! -Cheers!

-Anau�! -Shit!

WhiIe our IittIe Josef is away...

to me, he'II aIways be a boy.

Our famiIy is about to weIcome a new son.

Ross, we shaII not forget Pastor Tannenbauer here, and Dr. Aur�Iio.

It's my great pIeasure to announce the engagement of my dear Gudrun...

to the young Eurico Le�o.

May the Lord bIess our young coupIe.

Where's our Santa CIaus? He's Iate.

Minka, have supper served.

One thing's for sure, doctor. If you suffer in your own fIesh...

your whoIe outIook changes. That's my case.

Of course, professor, but onIy a few Germans compIain.

For me, HitIer is, undoubtedIy, the greatest statesman of the century.

Let's anaIyze BraziI's case: for 1 3 years, God heIp me...

we have been supporting Get�Iio Vargas, that stupid hick.

The harm he has caused to BraziI is immense.

It wiII take two generations to repair it. It's a shame!

This is my second country. I find it aII fine and good.

I don't get invoIved in poIitics. And the compIaints exist...

even in the instance of the best administration in the worId.

I feeI Iike a dead man. Nothing motivates me anymore.

I was besieged by my own famiIy, in a foreign Iand.

-I Iost my wiII to react. -Come on, Professor! PIease.

You see, Oskar?

It's not just a few unsatisfied ones. It's the entire peopIe.

AII of a sudden, Vargas decides to go against a regime...

he himseIf secretIy admires.

But he's so stupid that he onIy imitates the errors.

He sends our boys to war to fight beside the BoIshevists.

We have been fooIed. FooIed!

The Americans got him right.

Winds are changing. Have you read about StaIingrad?

HitIer's sIavering ended up uniting mortaI enemies.

Vargas does what he pIeases with our peopIe...

and pIays the roIe of father of BraziI.

You know what's the situation of our prisons?

How many companions have been tortured...

in the name of ''brown periI''?

He did the same with the German patriots, didn't he?

-Yes, out of envy and fear. -And why is aII that?

Not because of Moscow. We got orders from no one.

Our ideas come from here...

and from here.

Yes, Professor. They were not imported...

not even adopted.

I Ieft Germany with my cIothes on my back, and today I have my savings.

In my time, because of infIation, you needed a basket fuII of money...

to go to the grocer's. We aII went hungry.

Inge, Werner, poor kids.

In case of Herr Ross, it was different. He's educated.

I was just a peasant. But Germans in generaI Iove HitIer.

The war... The war spoiIed it aII.

The Jews made him do it.

I think you shaII not turn your back on your country.

Herr Oskar, Dr. Aur�Iio, isn't that ironic?

My Josef wasn't abIe to dissuade Lotte...

Yes, but that...

Werner went back out of his own wiII.

HitIer did more for Germany than Vargas did for BraziI.

-He Ioves to be sucked up at. -Yes, but peopIe Iike him.

He created the unions. If a worker gets sick, the government pays.

What eIse do they want?

-In my case, when Frida died... -But peopIe wiII regret that.

Sooner or Iater, they wiII.

BraziIians were spoiIed because they never had to fight for anything.

Even the RepubIic system was given to us.

We were the onIy ones to fight him. Organization and organization.

That's why I admire HitIer. Organization.

Vargas is frightened by that.

We are disorganized.

The Communists had it good. They were instructed by Moscow.

And those kiss-asses wave the fIag at him.

BraziIians are good, dociIe, confident...

very different from Germans.

And, in generaI, peopIe are poIiticaIIy Iazy.

They'd rather stay in the middIe of the road...

than anaIyzing extreme positions.

They are more interested in changing sociaI cIasses...

-than risking their asses. -I saw in a movie...

that in Germany even teenagers voIunteer for the front.

PIease, Dr. Aur�Iio, that's pure propaganda.

What about the pictures? I have to beIieve what I see and what I hear.

If we want to beIieve in something, we buy any expIanation.

Dr. Aur�Iio, Herr Ross says he's seen those things.

But so many years have passed. That happened in '34, '35, right?

-1 935. -WeII, things have changed.

HitIer had to cIean the house, puII down the cob webs.

The Kaiser's administration was coward and demoraIized the country.

He had to inject bIood into that hurt souI. Is that right, Professor?

Huh, Mr. Oskar?

NationaI pride. That's what we don't have here: sense of honor.

Vargas has turned this country into...

Everything foIIows him, Iike sheep.

-It's disgusting! -PIease, Dr. Aur�Iio...

I'd rather not mention my circumstance.

I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to.

-I hope I didn't offend you. -Ross, he didn't mean to do that.

HitIer made a mistake when he messed with the Jews and the BoIshevists.

They're aII the same to me.

Not so Ioud. I'm afraid they'II hear us on the street.

At this hour, the peasants are asIeep aIready.

Frau Kranz, what if a guest shouId arrive at the hoteI?

-Ross must be good for something. -Have you ever thought...

if this pIace was aII fixed up, the way we Iike it, our styIe?

-BraziIians have to Iearn to work. -I had enough. I'm going to bed.

Stay. You'II Iearn more here than with your conversations with Ross.

You think I don't know?

Ross is fine, but when he drinks, he's got the worst ideas.

-Don't taIk Iike that in my house! -Easy, Mr. Oskar!

You mother doesn't Iike me.

What does she want?

As Iong as the government doesn't bother me, I couIdn't care Iess.

-I see it in her eyes. -DarIing, you don't understand.

That's her way to charm you. She provokes peopIe.

Mother is one of the tough ones, but deep down she's reaIIy sentimentaI.

Why worry, Eurico?

Am I to bIame that I'm not an Aryan?

Poor thing.

I bet that if I start saIuting your F�hrer, you wiII...

My F�hrer my ass!

Sorry.

But am I not right?

I just want peace for me, for us.

And besides...

I am not marrying her.

Thank God! That's aII we needed.

If you're not rich by the time you hit 30...

it's not poIitics that's going to feed you.

In Honnef, Mami wouId take me to the party meetings.

She used to give speeches, and was very popuIar.

PoIitics is Iike any other business.

Enemies yesterday, friends today, accompIices tomorrow.

You end up reaIizing money is the drive of it aII.

-Mother doesn't see it that way. -That's what you think.

PeopIe aIways have an agenda. Your mother won't be an exception.

How wiII it be, if I stay here...

Iiving with her?

Every day, we face intrigues coming from Iower spirits...

infamous rumors wrongfuIIy accusing the German community...

of having no respect for the authorities and our country's Iaws.

We have aIready identified these accusations.

UnfortunateIy, it causes so much pain, but the accusations...

come from peopIe with bad moraI foundations...

and it's ridicuIous to accuse entire famiIies which I intimateIy know...

trying to invoIve them in the affairs happening overseas.

Even the jeaIousy, usuaIIy so strong in certain minds...

due to the priviIeged financiaI position of the German immigrants...

even that feeIing is theory rather than practice.

BraziIians feeI speciaI admiration for those successfuI peopIe.

To teII you the truth, some of the accusations...

are the resuIt of the inabiIity and errors...

of those who have not reaIized yet, after aII these years...

that their pIace in the worId has changed.

What we see is a wave of outrage that invoIves the German peopIe...

bringing injustice to their honest and democratic majority.

But you won't hear from me words to stimuIate hatred...

amongst the chiIdren of God.

As Iong as we are abIe to maintain the difference of opinions...

Iet us fight to end the incaIcuIabIe sacrifices...

which the immigrants and their descendants have been bearing...

for being mistaken for the foIIowers of a ridicuIous ideoIogy.

Nazism has nothing to teach us...

and its criminaI spokesperson is taking Germany to a painfuI end.

Let's repent if we've ever listened to those who have been fooled...

and let's forgive those who have succumbed to fanaticism...

for they were possessed by the doctrine that turns men in animals...

denying them racial equality and freedom of thoughts and creed.

Therefore, we have to get together to refrain the instigators...

the intriguers, the meddlers and those who poison...

and viciously work...

to turn into something suspicious anything coming from the Germans.

We give thanks today for our material and spiritual blessings...

that our new country has provided us.

Let us not forget our forefathers...

who have arrived here bringing elevated culture...

paying with their blood and their tears.

We cannot admit this heritage to be considered as a curse...

in a time when our world is swept by a dissolution storm.

Let's us be more united...

loyal to the believes of our fathers...

loyal to our church...

and gazing upon freedom and democracy.

Let us thank God...

for the bIessings upon those who have not surrendered to genocide...

and have remained as devout peopIe...

by not taking part in the hatred beIts who tried to turn...

Germans against Germans, Germans against BraziIians...

and BraziIians against the great German famiIy.

Let us be worthy of Jesus Christ so that, after aII...

we become worthy of Him...

and that from the height of His mercy, He may say to us:

''I shaII bIess you...

and you shaII become my bIessing''.

So you met during the war?

Sorry, I aImost burned my tongue.

You know, during the war, I got used to having coffee with no sugar.

He wants to know how we met. TeII him!

If you don't mind, I'd rather not taIk about that.

A series of faiIures to find each other, Herr Kranz.

-I understand. -I don't.

What about our weather, Herr Bruckner?

You Ieft the coId to come where the grass is green aII year Iong.

It took me a Iong time to get used to it. I even feII sick...

-didn't I, Ross? -Sure.

Do you get maiI reguIarIy? We are waiting on a Ietter.

Oh, it's a disaster. Most of the times, they're Iate.

I don't understand why you chose Buenos Ayres.

You couIdn't find a pIace here?

What did you do in Germany? You Iived in Frankfurt, right?

-Vienna. -Stop right now!

It sounds Iike a court in triaI.

How rude of us to bother them with questions!

We shouId taIk about BraziI instead.

-It's a matter of work opportunity. -Argentina, of aII pIaces...

Inge and Werner, I forbid you to go on Iike that!

You said you were from Honnef?

What a coincidence! Frau Minka's aIso from there.

So was my husband, Hans KeIIer. Have you heard of him?

He was a weII-known SS officer.

We had a beautifuI baby, but Hans...

disappeared from our Iives without seeing his chiId.

-Has any of you... -Dear Heike, how couId they?

-I'm sorry. When are you Ieaving... -Heike, you shouId bake them...

one of those deIicious strawberry cakes you make.

I've been meaning to ask you since yesterday, you know?

It's a joke we pIayed on him years ago.

During the service, it was aIways Josef. Josef WendIer.

Josef? Your name's aIso Josef?

I have a son named Josef. My IittIe Josef.

Where can he be now?

-I miss him so much. -Mami, forget about that.

I hope you don't mind, but I haven't had a breakfast Iike this in ages.

Sure. Our Kaput here...

was aIways the fastest, the most efficient...

and the most hygienic, because he didn't Ieave any traces.

A true soIdier. Where are your medaIs, Kaput?

-Everybody was jeaIous of him. -Great. I didn't know that, Kaput.

-For bravery? -Pretty much.

For foIIowing higher orders.

You have to do what you have to do, right, Kaput?

The truth is the BraziIian soIdier suffered a Iot in that war.

But he came back victorious.

I was Iucky not to be caIIed upon. But that's what counts:

-the victory. -No, no, no.

What counts is the force. Force is Iegitimate and efficient.

Why taIk about his now? Anyone wants some more cheese?

What's so good about weapons? The war is stiII going on.

Since you brought that up...

I beIieve one must understand the Iaws of the struggIe for Iife.

Those who are boId, strong, are the ones who conquer their ideaIs.

The weak, the conformists, on the other hand...

they don't deserve respect, in my opinion.

ShouId we weIcome our friends with arguments?

Lotte, this is no argument. PeopIe are entitIed to their opinion.

Werner, for your father, may God bIess his souI.

-My father was a patriot. -For him, for you...

For you, who reminds me so much of Josef...

we'II do our best to make your stay agreeabIe.

That's it, Mami.

-Eurico, don't be Iate. -I must go.

WeIcome, aII of you. I have some business to take care of.

I'II be back on Wednesday. See you then.

He's the Gipsy of the famiIy. He Iives on the road.

Sometimes we quarreI, but I Iike him.

I wonder why he hasn't given me a grandchiId yet.

The situation in Argentina is worrisome. Have you heard?

-Sure, sure. -Since Evita's death...

We heard about on the trip. Peron made a mess.

He Iost his charisma, and now it's over.

He's aIways heIped our comrades.

He got himseIf into a fight with the Church.

The BraziIians are a wise peopIe. They say that everyone in a skirt...

is worthy of caution.

I beIieve our deaI was not affected by the crisis.

-You're working for the government? -Not directIy, you know.

No.

Even if Peron has to Ieave, we have many friends over there.

Eurico...

how can you stand it, after aII these years?

I shouId ask that to my mother too, but she's different.

But you, who support aII those peopIe...

Did I say anything wrong?

I didn't mean to. I am very fond of you.

AImost 1 5 years in that house...

and they stiII treat me Iike a stranger.

But at the end of the month, they're Iike vuItures.

I abandoned my Iife.

Even Gudrun...

is changed.

And now this.

Everything on my shouIders, aII over again.

Eurico, may I ask you something?

Since I came back, I haven't been working.

I've aIways been rejected by the Kranz.

I'm inferior because I'm the maid's son.

The oId one, Miss Gudrun... I mean, Heike...

even that brown-nose nigger...

I got to the point of being ashamed of being German.

Eurico, I wouId Iove to have my own business...

so I can prove to them I capabIe...

that I won't spend the rest of my Iife Iiving off them...

depending on the Kranz charity.

Listen, my boy...

if you want to stay by my side, shut your hoIe...

and remember where you beIong.

This is no confessionary. We have work to do.

Here!

Here!

-We have to be carefuI. -I read that Ietter over and over.

It's just a matter of time, be patient.

I fear for our contacts, and our business went down the drain.

Who wouId have thought of that?

The organization shouId have warned us.

-They are not fortune-teIIers. -For the big ones...

they aIways find a way. The smaII ones aIways get screwed.

We have to be carefuI, Herr Bruckner. I'II kiII myseIf...

-before they catch me. -Easy, Mertz. The worst is over.

Who'II know we're at this God forsaken pIace?

I can't stand this idIeness any Ionger.

-I can't stand Eurico's hostiIity. -Don't worry about him.

It's just taIk, I know him. My fear is Heike.

Heike?

Before the war, we had probIems with her.

She Iost her chiId, and was never the same again.

Sometimes, she gets heartsick and says things she shouIdn't say.

Mami thought about putting her away.

-Kaput must vigorousIy warn her. -No...

Ieave her aIone. It's no good.

You can't trust it, Gudrun. Remember that Eurico heIped us.

Just be carefuI, very carefuI.

It wouId be nice if they stayed with us, wouIdn't it?

I got used to them.

They seem to be a sort of reincarnation of my IittIe Josef.

Things were much more gIorious those days.

-Godmother... -It's true.

How can I forget Josef?

We get oId, but we remain young in our memories.

-If it depends on Eurico... -That one? Don't even mention him.

A Iousy traveIing saIesman who has not a penny to his name.

God, I hate him!

That bastard must have bewitched Gudrun.

I shouId've known better, but I warned her, Repo.

I toId Gudrun. And the years proved me right.

Now, he behaves as if he's someone.

A tramp who wants to be the boss.

He and Mr. Ross wiII end up seIIing the hoteI, right, godmother?

Not without my signature, and I won't ever Ieave this pIace!

Eurico is sneaky. He bought aII the others.

It's just the two of us. I've aIways suspected...

that Eurico is Jewish.

Right.

I know that Eurico type.

He'II end up seIIing the hoteI.

And I don't want to be soId with it, once more.

My poor godmother.

Hans...

Hans, my darIing.

I'm not Hans. I'm Kaput.

Hans, WaIter, Erwin...

-Kurt, Hans... -Stop it, Heike!

Hans, you came back! You came back!

Hans! Hans, you came back!

Our chiId's dead, Hans. Mami has kiIIed her.

-She was an angeI, Hans. An angeI! -I'm Kaput. I'm Kaput!

Why did you Ieave me, Hans? Why did you Ieave me?

WaIter, Johann! You pigs!

Where are you? I want my Gretchen!

-Bastards! -Heike, my darIing...

Yes, yes, I'm Hans! I'm Hans!

Hans!

Hans...

my IittIe woIf!

My IittIe woIf!

My IittIe woIf! Hans!

-Good morning! -Eurico, how are you? Hi, there.

-This pIace Iooks Iike the hoteI. -We had a pIague.

But they won't bring me down. I'm having fun, in fact.

At the FIorida, it's cockroaches. You know...

if I had a dime for every roach I've kiIIed there...

By the way, I think that's why we've been having so few guests.

I don't think so. It's the times. Life is hard.

If I didn't seII on credit, I'd be gone a Iong time now.

Let's have a drink before we taIk business, Mr. Scheutz.

-You too, WiIheIm? -Two fingers, right?

What about professor Ross?

He never comes here anymore.

Don't teII me the oId woman has kiIIed him!

He's a smart man, the Professor.

And a desperate man. Scheutz, treat my assistant weII.

-He'II go far. -If you don't mind my asking...

who are those guests who never go out, never say a word. They say...

OId friends from Germany, Scheutz.

-WiII they stay for Iong? -Cheers, Scheutz.

If we don't decide today about what we'II do with them...

this is not the end of it for me.

You have to be more patient.

Patient?

First, it was the maiI. Then, the crisis in Argentina...

-then, the Iines were disconnected. -It's not their fauIt!

We don't even know who they reaIIy are.

What about the hoteI, Frau Lotte?

No one takes care of it anymore.

Have you any idea...

where the money for the grocer comes from...

and who pays for the Iiquor?

And who pays the taxes?

It aII comes out of my pocket! My pocket!

-This is not the time... -Right, not the time.

But when I bring tons of money and pay the biIIs, then it's time!

But not now. You don't have to say anything. I know what you think.

-You're an idiot! -Mami.

Lotte, Eurico is right. Neighbors are taIking, and what can I say?

They're guests? Boarders?

For aII I know, the poIice are aIready interested.

Since they don't taIk, I do they same.

They seem to be afraid of something.

A simpIe question, and they get upset.

They sureIy behave in a strange way.

You have to understand: they had probIems in Germany.

Now, they can't stand on their feet again, as they had pIanned.

Of course they wouId be distant. Eurico...

aII I ask of you...

is that you are a IittIe more toIerant.

It's a matter of days.

I'm sick...

exhausted.

Did Gudrun teII you that I used up our savings...

to bring them to BraziI? Did she?

Now, that's enough.

It's gone too far.

Some of my cIients make suggestions...

-and you know how peopIe taIk. -Eurico!

Let him bark, Gudrun. He Ioves that.

Since Werner and our honored guests...

don't show any consideration for our efforts, for my efforts...

-Come on, Eurico. ...you can keep your cynicism...

and your ''Iet's see what happens'', and I want my share of it!

When am I getting my share, Werner?

You know damn weII that a deaI is a deaI.

If I don't see the promised goId in a week...

I'II throw you aII into the street...

if not in jaiI.

One week. You got that, Werner?

-Gudrun, doesn't he know yet? -No.

My dear Eurico, I'm sorry I have to teII you this...

because that was Gudrun's obIigation...

but there never was any goId. It was aII a Iie.

It was a game we pIayed.

A game!

A game!

Gudrun! Gudrun! Gudrun!

At Iast our honored host is siIenced.

TaIk softIy. We're not aIone. Is everything ready?

An authentic bIitzkrieg operation.

What was that Iaw of our F�hrer?

Who doesn't want to be expeIIed must know how to expeI.

Dear Eurico. This poor bastard has no idea. They never do.

Remember how they wouId give themseIves up, Iike sheep?

Now I see that...

the ones who reacted were the best ones.

-Mertz, can we do it? -Yes. Just remember one thing:

show a Iot of cIass. A Iot of cIass.

We have here a very iIIustrious survivor, a guinea-pig.

A survivor...

I had practice with the eIectric ones, not with these.

Did you steriIize the needIe, Kaput?

We won't cross the boundaries.

Gudrun, Heike, Frau Lotte, the professor!

Things are never as we see them, but the way we remember them.

I want to Iive them again, remember.

I come from a Iong Iine of speciaIists.

No, he's mine. I go first, Herr Bruckner.

It wouId be better if each of us had his word.

I know: dirty Jew!

-You wimp! -Dog!

The man is the most dangerous of animaIs.

Therefore, Iet's be a roIe modeI. We've made too many mistakes.

-What a sexy Jew this is. -Rose, you're emotionaI now?

I just think he's sexy.

Professor Ross, things wiII be aIways difficuIt for us.

CouId it be that we Iost our strength?

Eurico, for exampIe. There's no point in rebeIIing with words onIy.

The ghost of Gretchen. We have to chase it away.

I'm tired of watching everybody's tricks.

I'm Ieaving.

NOWADAYS

-Where's our guest of honor? -Must be heId up in traffic.

On CarnivaI, BraziIians go nuts.

Who'd have thought I'd see my friends back to the FIorida again.

I feeI so happy.

Gudrun, how did you find me?

You're so important that it was not that hard.

Such a surprise won't cause any troubIe?

Don't worry. She wouId never guess.

Then again, it's onIy fantasies. ReaI ones, but fantasies stiII.

They Iike you so much.

Thank you.

-I can't stay Iong. -She deserves much more, Mertz.

Forget about your dogs for a whiIe.

Beer is above it aII.

-Proust! -Mertz, you...

Maestro, pIay ''Happy Birthday'', pIease.

What is this?

You are wonderfuI. I couId never think...

Dr. Aur�Iio, how do you do?

It's been such a Iong time, and you're stiII young.

When your mind doesn't grow oId, your body foIIows suit.

Sit here, Mami.

BIessed the peopIes who disappear whiIe fighting.

In this cruciaI moment of History...

BuIIshit. One of these days, I'II Iose controI.

I Iike the smeII of a cIean shirt.

FortunateIy, onIy my hairdo has changed. My head is the same.

Let's ceIebrate! Who's with me?

Who? Who's with me?

Why are the dead twice as heavy as the Iiving?

Don't beIieve in anything you say. Right, Professor Ross?

DarIing, no poIitics, no attacks, aII right?

Dear Werner, just Iook around you.

Those who gIorify our times sIept a IittIe Iess with Nazi Germany.

So what?

You moraIist!

-You're going at it again? -You shitty IiberaI!

May I Iive Iong!

Hey, professor!

History repeats itseIf, don't you think?

What a beautifuI HitIerIand, isn't it, Inge?

One thing is sure, professor. Many years have passed...

but the womb these peopIe came out of is stiII fruitfuI.

Repo!

It's Repo!

-Godmother! -You want to give me a heart attack?

How I missed you!

Pity the proclamations are gone. lt's all come down to an old film...

nobody saw without having died a little.

There are changes as imperceptible as a needle under the skin.

From afar, l hear the sound of hoofs.

By the thousands, old comrades return happily. The fear is gone!

lt was nothing but a gentle confetti storm.

lt's time to party!

-Long live the 4th Reich! -Shut up, Mertz!