All language subtitles for 2_Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time

PREPARATIONS TO BE TOGETHER
FOR AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME

In America?

For twenty years, I think.

Or nineteen.

And I never,

I really never thought
I’d ever come back to Budapest...

For a longer time.

About 2 months ago,

I met somebody at a New Jersey conference.

He didn’t say anything at the lectures.
It was how he was watching.

I didn’t even know he was Hungarian.

But even the first time...

Even before the first time that
we spoke to each other,

I felt, this is it.

This is what I've been looking for.

This is who I've been looking for.

He’s right for me, just as he is.

I don’t know if you can call that "love".

Something that happens so fast, but...

I’m going to be 40.

But I’ve never felt anything
like that before.

5 PM. LIBERTY BRIDGE, PEST SIDE

Budapest Medical University.
How can I help you?

Hello?
I’m looking for János Drexler.

I’ll put you through.

I’m looking for János Drexler.

Dr. Drexler.

One moment, please.
I’ll check where to find him.

But... Is he in? Or...

I’m looking.

A little patience please.

Or where do I find him?

János!

Well, hello.

Why didn’t you show up?
We said we'd meet today.

Sorry, madam.

Excuse me?

Good afternoon!

János...

I think you’re confusing me
with somebody else.

We said today.

Sorry, but I've never seen you before.

Hello!

Can you hear me?

We should call a doctor.

She’s a foreigner.

Yes.

Your watch, too, please.

Please madam, stand here!

Raise your arms.

Please, turn around.

Thank you, we’re done.

Where are you going? Madam!

The rest of that day we spent together.

We arranged to meet in exactly
one month, at 5 PM

here in Budapest, at a specific place.

We didn’t exchange numbers or anything.

Romantic, isn’t it?

Romantic.

I really think it is.

Now you think that the man you came back for...

No, I don’t think he lied.

I think he really didn’t recognize me.

So?

I have no idea.

I’m not sure anymore.

Why do you want to move back home?

What about New Jersey?

I quit.

You're out of your mind.

I remember you well from university.

With your CV, I have to hire you.

My colleagues will tear you to shreds.

And they’re right.

You’re in a different league.

They won’t forgive you for this.

You know somebody in our department?

I don’t think so.

Well, from the Hungarian field...

Only János Drexler.

Drexler’s got smarts.
He got out.

He only teaches and writes.

He won't join in the rat-race over there.

He got out?

Would you look over there!

Yes, there!

That is the hospital you want to work in.

What the hell are you looking for here?

Go back to America while you still can.

I came home for personal reasons.

Are your parents having problems?

No, they died before I left.

It’s some guy.

Oh god, women are so stupid.

Even the smart ones.

Two months rent and that’s fine.

I think it’ll be perfect.

Fine, good, that’s everything.

Immediate occupancy, like I said...

Oh, yes, one last thing. We're flexible,
but please, no pets. No animals.

No chance of that. She just got home from America,
she’s moving in alone.

A very classy person.

Okay... We’ve got one last place today,
but I think this will be the one.

So I’ll get back to you within an hour,
I promise.

- Thank you so much.
- I’ll expect your call.

- Goodbye!
- Thanks, goodbye!

Super.

I guess my ex-wife sent you, too.

So. Apartment.

Living room.

Have you seen this apartment?
It’s falling apart.

You here to ruin somebody, too?

I’m hanging up.

It says here: good condition.

I don’t understand women either.

Let’s get out of here, Márta!

This will be fine.

You're joking, my dear.
This is a full renovation job.

I'm taking it.

BUDAPEST MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

HOSPITAL II.

Coffee machine is at the end
of the hall on the right.

We bring our own toilet paper.

Okay.

This was the doctor’s place,
but if you’d like, we can trade.

It’ll be fine like this, thanks.

Quite a crowd out there.
Should we call someone in?

They’re waiting for Dr. Freid.

All of them?

If they don’t get in,
they’ll be back tomorrow.

DEPARTMENT OF NEUROSURGERY

Budapest Medical University,
how can I help you?

Department of Neurosurgery,
Dr. Drexler, please.

Hold on, I’ll try to put you through.

Excuse me. May I?

Let me through, please.

Was there fever?

38.2 °C this morning.

- When did we operate? Wednesday?
- Thursday.

- Wound healing?
- Healing.

How are you feeling?

My left ear is completely gone, doctor.
It's not even ringing anymore.

I got your x-rays.

Your neck vertebra is severely deformed.

You’ll go for physical therapy. 20 sessions,
things will normalize. Your hearing will come back.

I’ll write the release form after rounds,
and you can go home.

You work at a desk, don’t you?

I sit in front of the computer all day.

Well, you’d better get yourself an exercise ball.

Yes, doctor. As soon as I’m home.

Was the tinnitus in one or both ears?

One ear.

Which side?

Left.

I’d do an MRI to rule out a pathology
on the eighth cranial nerve.

Look at the x-rays.

You can see that dislocation of the neck vertebrae
is sufficient reason for the buzz in the left ear.

I think they teach that in New Jersey, too.

Let’s move on.

Fehérvár hospital sent us
a 34-year-old male

with sudden sharp head pain
he got watching TV at 8pm,

then lost consciousness.

On arrival, the ambulance took
a blood pressure of 200/110.

They put him on an IV,
and took him to the ER.

A head CT scan confirmed
a massive sub-arachnoidal hematoma.

The bleeding was likely caused by a 5 mm aneurism
on the anterior communicating artery.

I asked that he be taken off sedation, and he was.
The patient is conscious.

He was Hunt-Hess grade 1,
so I took him to intensive care last night.

How is he now?

Awake, oriented. He can move everything.

He’s got a thin neck, good for an endovascular.

Dr. Dorogi will do that today.

Anything else?

Pediatric Clinic No. 1. called.

They’ve got a 9 year old boy,

brought in with dizziness, mobility difficulties,
nausea, vomiting.

Acute MRI found a large tumor
filling part of the fourth ventricle.

He’s on the way.

From yesterday, Barna Kriván, 48 years old.

Speech difficulties, dizziness,
mobility problems.

Head CT shows a left insular
contrast-accumulating growth.

No primary tumor.

I’d like to hand that to one of you.

I’ll take him.

Barna Kriván.

Come on, come on.

Good morning.

- Good morning.
- Morning.

Would the young man please wait outside!

I’m sorry, but as an exception...

I’d feel better if my son was here.

He understands these medical things.

Only if you don't mind, doctor.

No, I don't mind.

Thank you.

Márta Vizy.

Barna Kriván.

- Please take a seat.
- Thank you.

Sometimes, I... I can't find words.

I start a sentence and I don't know
how to get to the end.

Tell her about the driving.

I was driving a couple days ago,
and I felt something,

like a bug bit me behind my left ear.

Then as if some heat poured over my right hand...

And that hand is slower.

Yes, it is.

Ok.

Please follow my finger with your eyes.

Try to follow it, please.

I'm trying.

Good.

Now I’m going to ask something strange.

Grin at me, please.

Thank you.

Now close your eyes and try to touch your nose

with your right index finger.

You’re not using a reflex hammer?

Now with the other hand. No.

I’m afraid it’s a glioblastoma.

And you’ve come well-prepared.

I’m a med student.

Fourth year. Lucky I got sick.

He’s got somebody to practice on.

Dad, don’t talk like that.

A bright new star of our district,
János Drexler,

from class 4B at Petőfi Sándor Elementary

placed second in the finals
at the National Singing Contest.

Across a clear brook gentle,

There shot in eager haste

The trout, so temperamental,

Quite arrow-like it raced.

I on the shore was gazing

And watched the brook disclose

The merry fish's bathing

To me in sweet repose.

That’s him.

Your husband?

Yes.

If you’ve already got to chase him,
the whole thing is a bust.

I've been there, that’s why I’m telling you.

Just gotta let him go.

Happy Birthday.

- Are we really going in?
- Let's go, I'm freezing.

What comes to mind?

That I’ve lost my mind.

That I wanted this so badly,
that I made the whole thing up.

That I’ve filled in every detail
so even I believed it happened.

Why do you think that?

Because I know what that’s like.
It's happened to me before.

I wanted something so bad, that I forgot
that I dreamed up the whole thing,

and I lost myself in it.

Professor, pardon me.

Yes, Professor?

Fine. I'm happy to tell Dr. Vizy, also.

I know exactly what my father’s diagnosis means.

I’d like the professor to operate,
not Dr. Vizy, okay?

I don’t know whether you understand,

Dr. Vizy is the most qualified doctor
in our department.

She worked in the US citadel of brain research
before she ended up here with us.

Then why did you come back?

Come along, Márta.

The family asked for a second opinion.

Is the consultant here already?

No. They just spoke to him on the phone.

We can’t wait.

Can we start?

We can start.

Local.

How are you, Barna?

Good.

Scalpel.

A bit uncomfortable.

Barna, do you feel this?

No.

Suction, please.

Careful!

Bipole.

Good afternoon. Hi everyone.

Hey.

So, let's debate the case.

Not at all, no need.

But if you’ll let me, I’d like to stay
in case I can help.

Retractor.

Careful, you’ll injure the artery.

Okay, okay. Water, please.

The other end of that is in the brain.

Okay, okay.

Not "okay, okay".

Thank you.

Volkmann spoon.

Can you take over, please? No offense.

Fine.

Electrodes, please.

We can start the pictures.

I’ll show you some pictures,
just like yesterday, okay?

Go ahead.

Stand-up bass, or cello.

Very good.

Apple.

Backpack.

Yes?

American flag.

Police car.

Tennis racquet.

Lake.

Or... the sea.

Repeat that, Barna.

Se...

We’re stopping.

Congratulations, doctor.

Goodbye.

Excuse me, I forgot to introduce you at the start.

Or do you know each other?

No.

Last time, in the parking lot...

Sorry, I confused you with somebody else.

Márta Vizy.

János Drexler.

Thank you for the assist.

Goodbye.

A bra.

The upper red parts are the two straps.

The lower is a bow that holds them together.

Could you tell me on which part of the image
you see the bra?

I'm looking at the whole thing.

Or should I do it separately? In details?

Oh, no. It’s fine like this.

Just say what you see.

It’s mirrored.

A person pushing out their bottom
and arching their back.

It’s hard to tell – man or woman.

As if it has breasts and a penis as well.

And the person’s heart is right in front of them.

Out of their body, right there in front of them.

A heart just lying there.

WE CORDIALLY INVITE YOU
TO THE BOOK RELEASE EVENT

FOR PRIMUM NON NOCERE
BY JÁNOS DREXLER

You can’t imagine how grateful I am, doctor.

The words?

It's all back.

I’m a bit weak.

You can go down to the courtyard
for ten minutes, ok?

At first, no more than ten minutes.

Yes, yes.

With somebody from the family.

Thank you!

Goodbye.

Goodbye.

Dr. Vizy!

I’d just like to thank you,

and apologize for being a jerk.

Tell your father that I’ll come see him later.

Excuse me...

Would you know where the book release is?

Sorry, no.

Thank you.

...it is an accepted fact,
that thoughts and feelings...

I don't perceive my thoughts
as electrochemistry, yet they are.

We all accept that the Big Bang,

the universe are enormous
and exceptional mysteries around us.

But in fact, we all have an equally
large mystery in our possession.

It's just within us, within the microcosm
of our consciousness.

Good evening. I read your book yesterday,
and I’m still under its influence.

It's not just a scientific work, it’s literature.

I found it especially staggering
when you wrote about your surgical failures.

It’s brave and honest writing.
Heartfelt congratulations.

Thank you very much.

Allow me a small boast, with some fresh news.

A few weeks ago, one of the most highly esteemed
New York publishers bought the US rights.

They decided not to release it in their science series,
but as a literary work.

Any further questions, comments?

Dr. Drexler, do you believe in ghosts?

Sometimes, I see someone on the street,

and I feel that I know them.

That they are a long-dead patient of mine.

Would they be ghosts? I wouldn’t think so.

Let me put a question to you.

Can a surgeon abstract himself from the fact

that he is holding actual
human feelings or thoughts in his hands?

During an operation we’re obligated
to abstract ourselves from that.

We are doctors.

Let me start far away.

My father was a Danube tour-boat captain.

So, as a child, I spent a lot of time on boats.

Always on the same line, up and down...

I realized that the shoreline isn't
just the castle and the parliament.

There are a lot of ugly buildings, too.

I often played a game.

When we’d pass an ugly house,
I’d pretend to blow it up. Or burn it down.

No one would miss it.

And I imagined the empty spaces.

When I’m insecure in an operation,
I deliberately recall that game.

The brain is like a city,
with various neighborhoods.

They’re not all of the same value.

I might sacrifice one part,
because I have to go in.

In return, I’m saving the frontal lobe.

One or two face muscles will be paralyzed,
but the person remains.

Feels. Plans. Speaks.

By blowing up an ugly hotel,
I save the castle.

Can I take you home?

I’ve got a car.

Thank you.

Excuse me.

Good evening.

Good evening, professor.

How is your father?

Well.

The doctor did fantastic work.

Thank you.

Good evening.

Good evening!

I’d just like to congratulate you.

Thank you very much.
It’s a pleasure to see you here.

Let me get you a copy.

I thought you already bought one.

No.

Here you are.

Thank you.

Let’s go then.

Goodbye.

Bye.

Thank you for the lift.

Goodbye.

Good morning.

This is a little thanks.

Thank you. You shouldn’t have.

Come on, Alex, come on.

Come on.

Bye.

Please keep your money.
I’m happy that everything worked out.

We asked, and they said that’s the usual.

There’s no "usual".

Then let me take you out to dinner.

Son, don’t be rude with the doctor.

Goodbye.

One ex-boyfriend...

Zero kids...

Two good friends...

One house...

Half a summer place...

7 days work a week.

The best job in the world, though.

Do you miss it?

Aren’t you going to tell me the test results?

Based on my impressions of your case,

it is not likely to be a personality disorder.

But, I would need at least a couple more meetings
to establish a definite opinion.

So the test results weren’t enough.

On their own, no.

But... you have a feeling...

You are also a doctor.

You know exactly what feelings get you.

In my work, I respect intuition highly.

My intuition says that you would like me

to diagnose you with some kind
of personality disorder.

So you’d get a medical paper

saying that your love didn’t cheat on you.

The trout from line and rod

Would stay, I thought, secure.

At length, the thief lost patience,

And made the brook obscure

With crafty agitations...

Ninety-nine out of a hundred
would have kept going.

And damaged his speech center.

I almost kept going myself.

Dr. Vizy! Got a minute?

I’d like to introduce you...

Well... I’ll be right there.

I’d like you to meet
our American exchange students.

- I'm Fanni.
- It was really good, I mean it.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, but we’re off to dinner.

Bon appetit, you two. And congrats again.

- Bye now.
- Goodbye.

I was serious about dinner. Alex

May I take your plates?

Yes, thanks.

It was delicious, wasn’t it?

Yes, very.

What are you thinking about?

Nothing.

Thanks for the lift.

Can I come up?

You’re not offended, are you?

Of course not.

Sure I can’t come up?

I’m sorry.

CAN WE TALK? JÁNOS DREXLER
06 20 382 6683

János?

It’s Alex.

Please don’t call me anymore.

But why?

I’m sorry.

Please just forget the whole thing.

You were right about that tinnitus patient.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

A few days later she was back.
It was a tumor on the 8th cranial.

Luckily, it was benign.

I’d love to hear about New Jersey one day,
if you wouldn’t mind.

Of course.

The two of you should come over sometime.

My wife loves to cook.

Thank you.

You could introduce us to the lucky guy.

Fine. We’d be glad to drop by.

Goodbye.

Goodbye.

I gotta go to a dinner party.

What happened after you said goodbye?

Yesterday?

No. In New Jersey.

We didn’t say goodbye.

But you arranged a rendezvous
on another continent.

Whose idea was that?

I don’t remember.

He asked me what my favorite place
in Budapest was.

Yes?

I said, the Liberty Bridge.

The Pest end of the Liberty Bridge.

How was your dinner last night?

A little too ritzy.

And are you busy today, too?

I wanted to buy a couple things.

Couple things?

This and that for the apartment.

So you’re staying for a while?

I think I am.

I also have to buy a couple things.

- Greetings, doctor!
- Good afternoon.

G’day, madam.

Haven’t seen you in a while.

Thank you.

Wow.

To tell you honestly,
it was a bit disappointing.

Is it too analytic?

It’s completely unforgiving.

Wanna see my newest acquisition, doctor?

Of course.

That's something.

How is the 604 treating you, doctor?

Good, dry bass. You can listen to it
for a long time.

And the high ends?

Hard, but defined.

It’s better than what I left here,
but I see someone took it.

They did, thank god.

That thing had no highs and no lows.

I need another 604, if you can find one,
Mr. Hermann.

Another one?

It’s for the lady.

The little lady also appreciates music.

Just like you, doctor.

The x-ray shows pneumonia, so...

Let's start him on 1.2 grams
of Augmentin three times a day.

Intravenous.

Hello?

Would you tell me which window is yours?

I haven’t had time to start reading it yet.

János?

How could I forget it?

I know you love me, too.

I don’t love you.

Of course you do.

There’s somebody here.

I don’t believe you.

You’re alone.

Just as alone as I am.

We performed the two operations.

During the first, we...

G’day, madam.

Come on, grab it.

Wait. It’s not gonna work.

Put it down, open the door.

We’ll take care of it, madam.

Good.

It’s stuck pretty good. Give it a little!

Good. Forget it.

How long since you’ve seen him?

How did you feel in the time between?

Could you describe it?

Are they still doing rounds?

That’s long over.

Helen...

I LEFT ALL MY STUFF, MY PHONE AT YOUR PLACE.
PLEASE, CALL ME AT THE UNIVERSITY. JD

YOU'RE NEVER HOME

I’d like to leave these here.

No problem.

Good evening.

Good evening.

I’m looking for your husband...

Or your boyfriend.

I haven’t got a...

I’m looking for János Drexler.

Oh! He’s my dad.

He just got home.

I'll get him.

Come on in, if you’d like...

Thank you... No.

Sorry.

It’s a misunderstanding.

Come here. Here!

Márta?

Márta!

In America...

All I remember is...

Us looking at each other.

And that... We were standing
at the coffee machine...

And we talked...

That we should meet again.

But I didn’t think for a second...

that it was serious.

And...

When you showed up in that parking lot...

I got scared.

I had no idea what you were talking about...

I've got two daughters.

Fanni, the oldest is a med student.

But the little one...
Liza is just starting fourth grade.

And the thing is...

For a while now...

I'm alone with them.

And this whole thing is so hard.

But now, I’m really here.

Márta?

Are you there?

Afternoon!

Afternoon!

Put something under it, guys!

I had no idea they were this big.

Thanks.

And where do we put them?

In the larger room, away from the corners...
they sound best that way.

Pretty, huh?

Pretty.

They won’t fit through the door.

Dad! Folk dance starts in 10 minutes!

Keep it comin'!

More!