Original subtitles

(bright orchestral music)

(wind whistling)

(metal clanking)

(ship horn blaring)

(paper rustling)

(chanting in foreign language)

(engine revving)

(dramatic choir music)

(chanting in foreign language)

(traffic whirring)

(chanting in foreign language)

(chattering on radio)

- [Announcer] Wednesday matinees beginning February 27th,

that should make you do it, (footsteps tapping)

Call for tickets that is, 944-9300.

That's the number for "Torch Song Trilogy."

I You know you made me love you. I

- [Announcer] Ah, you bet, and it's happening for you

at the Helen Hayes Theater.

IS Carol Mason on 97 I

- [Announcer] When a woman or a young girl is raped,

she feels afraid, ashamed, guilty, terrified, dirty,

disoriented, depressed, humiliated, defiled. alone.

- Okay, I'm gonna go.

Keep in touch, huh? - See you.

- [Announcer] New York Women Against Rape,

just call 212-1717. - Oh, don't forget

to put the key in the mailbox.

- Okay.

(door closes)

(suspenseful music)

(crowd yelling)

- Mark it down! Mark it down!

Faster! Faster!

- Trade! Trade!

Two to trade! Two to trade!

- 40, 40 plus five!

40 plus five!

(indistinct yelling)

(bell ringing)

We're closed now!

(indistinct yelling)

(rain pattering) (indistinct chattering)

(horn honking)

- Yeah, I'm really happy.

- And what do you do? Call the bank?

Oh no, they made these into a pattern.

- (chuckles) Judy, oh, why don't you?

- Because I know already. It's all over for me.

- You never know. Maybe she'll tell you to call it off.

- Oh, too late, the caterer is already paid for.

- (chuckles) Come on, try it?

- Okay. Hi.

- Hi. - Hi.

(both chuckle) - Hi, how are you?

- Here, she wants it.

(both chuckle) She does.

Give it to her. - I don't believe this.

Okay.

No.

- Coward.

- Maybe. (laughs)

Thanks.

- For you. (pen clicks)

- Thank you. - Come on.

(women chuckle)

(horn honking)

(siren wailing)

(Diane sighs)

(phone ringing)

- Hello?

Hey, Mom.

Hmm. It's been a long time.

I'm moving tomorrow.

Yeah. East 71st Street.

I'm fine.

Hmm, you wouldn't even have my new address

if you hadn't called now.

Yeah, sure.

(doorbell ringing)

Hold on. Hold on.

Who is it?

(suspenseful music)

(door closes)

Alicia?

Alicia?

(Diane whistles)

Be...

Here, come on, eat.

(kisses) Listen, I'm gonna go out

and I'll you back soon, okay?

Can you wait for me? Huh?

Come on, eat.

(bell tolling) (indistinct chattering)

(bride laughing)

- [Man] See, you should never try and catch the bouquet.

- [Woman] How are ya?

(guests laughing and chattering)

(indistinct chattering)

(guests laughing)

- I'm sorry.

Oh shit, I forgot my bag.

- You must have left into church.

Hurry up! The boat's leaving!

(wings flapping)

(dramatic choral music)

(boat horn blaring)

(boat rumbling)

Oh, come on! Come on, come on!

Diane, take the next boat!

I'll wait for you there!

- Okay! All right.

- Catch!

Oh, oh!

(party laughing)

Sorry!

(boat rumbling)

(gulls squawking)

(suspenseful music)

(coin clattering)

- You want a ride?

Liberty Island. 10 minutes.

- Do you speak to me?

- You wanna wait two hours for the next boat?

I'll take you there.

- How much?

- How much you got?

- Five bucks.

- Okay.

(suspenseful music)

(boat rumbling)

(gulls squawking)

Would you like some tea, Miss?

Like chilly.

- Thanks. - Cream or sugar?

- No, thanks.

(boat horn blaring)

(plane whirring)

(helicopter whirring)

(boat horn blaring)

(cup shatters)

(bird shrieking)

(waves crashing)

(door closes)

(women chattering) (water sloshing)

(suspenseful music)

- Shh, keep quiet.

My name is Massoud.

If you can, forget about before. Everything.

It's better that way.

There is nothing to fear. (ethereal choir music)

You're in the most beautiful place in the world.

No one has ever seen it but you.

No one, not even painters or artists of any kind

has had the opportunity to come here.

If you heard anyone saying that they have been

to this paradise, it's a lie.

This place is much more private than any private property.

This place is a garden, a hidden garden.

If you let it, it will nourish you

and you would bloom in it like a flower.

Let the water wash everything away.

Swim.

(water splashing)

(women singing)

(water sloshing)

(birds chirping) (indistinct whispering)

(cart clattering) (camel clopping)

(women whispering) (camel bellows)

(camel bellowing)

(vehicles approaching)

(women chattering)

(birds chirping)

(claps hands) (speaks in foreign language)

(ethereal singing)

(rooster crowing)

(rooster crowing)

(footsteps tapping)

(bright percussion music) (women chant and clap)

(door slams)

(footsteps tapping)

(soft piano music) (Diane panting)

(hay rustling)

(birds chirping)

(bell tolling)

(door creaking)

(wind whistling)

(Diane breathes uneasily)

(soft dramatic music)

(exotic percussion music) (flies buzzing)

(footsteps pattering)

- (breathes heavily) Hello.

Thank you.

(flies buzzing)

(footsteps pattering)

(Diane panting)

Oh no.

(flies buzzing)

(footsteps pattering)

(wings flapping) (soft dramatic music)

(water dripping)

- I saw you flee.

(laughing) The real walls of the palace are not these.

You have to build them.

- Who are you?

- I told you, Massoud.

Or Mariam or Massoud or Maria.

You understand?

Here, try these on. They're your size.

It's beautiful. I designed it myself.

- Where are we? - Home.

You're home. - Bullshit!

(Massoud laughs)

- No, no, it's true.

You can go wherever you want.

You don't have to worry about muggers, taxes, the rent.

(water splashing)

- I have a little money in New York,

and I can get more.

- We'll go slow, okay?

Come.

(soft dramatic music)

(insects and birds chirping)

(dog barking)

(harem chattering and singing)

- I was on a, I was on a boat.

I was late for something, but I can't remember what.

You understand?

A boat.

(harem chattering and singing)

Does anyone here speak?

Oh, do you think I wanna be alone?

Well what do you do here to pass the time? Huh?

I mean, huh, it's 50,000 minutes in a day.

No, 50...

50, a hundred, yeah,

150,000 minutes in day!

Oh, please.

(Diane breathes uneasily)

I'm moving, you know?

East 71st Street.

800 a month.

I just signed my contract.

Oh. (laughing)

Uh! Oh!

I don't even have vacation time until April.

Oh, I'm not...

I, I can't be sitting,

I can't be sitting around here!

Wa-Waiting for some phony sheik to come and rape me!

Pe-People will find me. You know?

I got friends.

I got friends.

(Diane breathes uneasily)

(cries) I was on a boat.

Talk to me!

(Diane sobbing)

Oh no.

(gentle music)

- I'm Zelide from the Atlas Mountains.

- I'm Diane

Just Diane.

- Diane.

I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance.

(chalk scratching)

- That's what he looks like?

- I don't know.

I never met him.

- It must be hard waiting for him, huh?

- It's him who waits.

- What for?

- To be ready.

(Diane sighs)

Sleep there, if you like.

(chalk scratching)

(group chatters and laughs) (metal clanking)

- This is a temple? (group laughs)

- That's right, mate. A temple.

(group chattering)

- What do they do? (chuckles)

- Oh, they wait like us.

- Got to take the aboard their own visitors, aye?

Give them an education. - Hey, right.

(exotic music)

(speaking in foreign language) (harem laughing)

(harem chattering)

(speaking in foreign language on TV)

(horse neighing)

(exotic music on TV) (harem chatters and laughs)

(monkey barking)

(harem laughing and chattering)

(tape fast forwarding)

(upbeat music)

(harem laughing and chattering)

(tool tapping)

(Diane blowing)

(drink pouring)

(chicken clucking)

- One of these nights, it's going to be me.

Is that what you're afraid of?

Hmm.

And then what's gonna happen,

won't be up to you anymore.

(Diane chuckles) (glass clacks)

(tool tapping)

(sheep bleating)

(jets whooshing)

(debris pattering)

(harem chattering)

(baby crying)

(water sloshes and splashes)

- Mm, Se...

Selima.

- Selim.

- That's his name? - Yes.

(harem chanting and cheering) (birds shrieking)

(intense percussion music)

(wings flapping)

(harem whispering)

(doors creaking)

(birds chirping)

- There are some paths to be walked alone in life,

like birth and death.

I leave you here.

(door opens)

(door closes)

(clock ticking)

(soft piano music)

(beads rattling)

- It's been a long time since the tuner came. Months.

The climate here is difficult.

Some things it preserves for hundreds of years,

the walls, for instance, 13th century.

Others require constant maintenance.

Time.

The great danger of living in a place like this,

one becomes obsessed.

Huh, excuse me for going on.

(Selim clears throat)

We have to talk.

It comes from Paris. It's a Gaveau.

- I'm from New York. I'm a woman.

- Waking up,

don't you ever wonder how long you've slept?

How long you've dreamed?

Here especially with the walls,

the desert.

This could be any time.

Sit, please.

I want to assure you that your cat is being looked after.

- Thank you.

Is that why you called me in here?

- It's Affaf who decides, not I.

She doesn't like you

- Should she?

- She's the oldest woman here.

One of my father's favorite wives.

She and my mother.

When I was young, she taught me how to listen to the desert.

It's not quiet, you know.

Some nights it won't even let me sleep.

That's when I play Schubert.

(mask tearing) (headdress jangles)

(Diane exhales)

(Selim swallows)

We should begin again.

My name is Selim Ben Tarak.

(beads jangling)

You must understand (sighs)

That in my country, (clears throat) we often choose

a wife from a photograph because of the veil.

It prevents unpleasant surprises.

(blade scraping) (photos fluttering)

(clock ticking)

(knife whooshing) (hand slaps)

(knife clattering)

You know,

I've watched you for a long time.

Your life was not so full.

I don't feel guilty.

There was no love.

- You can do what you want.

I don't...

You just have to tell me what it is that you want.

- You'll sleep in the natural chamber tonight.

- Hey.

Then

do I go home?

- One day

- soon

(door creaks)

(footsteps tapping)

(gentle guitar music)

(birds chirping)

(dishes rattling)

- Breakfast is served.

Chocolate, coffee or tea.

Did you have a good time?

Don't take it personally.

He is this way every morning, all the time.

It's not you, it's him.

I wanted to tell you before so you would not worry.

(footsteps tapping)

(door opens)

(clock ticking)

(birds chirping)

(soft dramatic music)

(footsteps tapping)

(head thuds)

(group cheering) (horses clopping)

(horse neighing) (soft dramatic music)

(indistinct yelling)

(jet whirring)

- Selim, nephew, this is not a time

to sit dreaming in the palace.

Our oil reserves are not limitless.

Petroleum is not the force it used to be.

A landing strip in the desert

would cut production cost by half.

We need the Americans.

- They shake my walls. - What?

- The planes shake my walls.

- Let them fall.

Leave preservation to the museum curators.

All of us are needed in Geneva.

We shall speak while there.

God is good.

(man sighs)

- Fatim as well?

And the children?

- After Geneva, maybe you'll come and see us.

- Yes, perhaps.

- He's an old man, Selim, and he's scared.

The numbers are bad this year.

- Are you getting fat, Haroud?

How can that be? You are two years younger than I.

- I'm not getting fat.

Don't you know the camera adds 10 pounds?

- Haroud who rode horses.

- Faster than you. - Mm.

- We will race if you like in Geneva.

Oh yes. There is someone I'd like you to meet.

Uh, Miss Green works for a ladies magazine.

And I told her that I was sure - Haroud.

- You wouldn't mind answering a few questions.

- Good morning, Your Highness.

- Well, I’ll leave you two alone.

Think about what I said.

In Geneva then.

- (clears throat) Go on.

Ask what you want.

- Oh, well, Your Highness,

I think most of my readers would like to know

about your lifestyle.

(clears throat) If you don't mind

answering my first question. (clears throat)

Do you see yourself living in the past

or as the herald of some new kind of sexuality?

- Now what?

- Your lifestyle.

- Well, my lifestyle.

Well, Miss Green, I don't really know what you mean.

I have a very simple lifestyle here,

looking after the family interests,

playing the piano, tending my sheep.

Do you think my brother's getting fat?

- You're what? (chuckles) Excuse me, Your Highness.

- Um, Haroud.

My brother. He seems to be getting a bit round to me.

- Excuse me, Your Highness.

Did you say you keep sheep in the desert?

- Of course.

That's what you have come to, uh,

talk with me about, isn't it?

My famous flock of sheep best wool in the world.

Do you know much about animal husbandry, Miss Green?

- (chuckles) I work for "Today's Woman", Your Highness,

not some farming- - The secret

is in the caring, living conditions,

proper diet, selection.

At first, it was just a hobby for me,

but I admit it, I've become obsessed.

My lifestyle.

I don't see myself as so different from any other man.

One is taught very young certain principles, certain rules

and spends the rest of one's life trying to honor them.

I hope that will do, Miss Green.

- Ms. Green

- Goodbye.

(birds chirping)

(piano lid clacks)

(soft dramatic piano music)

(waves crashing)

(feather scratching)

- Do you know what you have written? Translate it for you.

"God is the light of the heavens and of the earth.

This light is a crystal torch. (horse clopping)

This crystal, a shining star.

The star lit with oil from the blessed tree, the olive tree.

Neither east nor west.

Was oil since light without fire.

It's a light upon a light."

(harem chattering and chanting)

(upbeat percussion music)

(harem clapping)

(harem chanting and cheering) (upbeat percussion music)

(gentle music)

(chickens clucking)

(birds chirping)

(rooster crowing)

(pen clicks)

(door creaks and closes)

(liquid sprays)

(Selim sniffs and coughs) (monkey shrieking)

(table bangs)

(birds squawking and crowing)

(Selim continues coughing)

(water splashing)

(Selim continues coughing)

- You can see?

- Of course I can see. (water trickling)

- She did it to strike you.

- No, it was something for her protection in New York

- Protection?

- In New York, men and women.

- I don't understand. - Hmm.

(group cheering and chanting)

(soft dramatic music)

Ooh.

(Selim sighs and sniffs)

- You are leaving us again.

- Yes.

(group cheering)

(horses clopping)

(horse neighing)

(harem chattering)

(indistinct chattering)

- [Man] That's for me to know and you

to find out, my friend.

(indistinct chattering)

- [Man 2] Then let me repeat, the present!

- Aw, come on, man. That's not fair.

You let the guys from Totem Oil in.

- Come on, Jack.

(dog barking)

- Come. You take it easy.

(group chattering)

Sit.

- [Man] Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo!

(group chattering and laughing)

(car door closes)

(sheep bleating) (footsteps tapping)

(car door opens and closes) (engine starting)

- Morning.

(hat whacks)

Have you seen this? - No.

It's nice. - Mm-hmm.

Please.

- (exhales) How's it go?

(engine starting and revving)

(soft dramatic music)

(engine revving)

(engine revving)

(horn honking)

(camels bellowing)

(hoof whacks)

How many of these am I worth?

- On today's market? Uh, 36.

(both chuckle)

37.

(Diane chuckles) Yes, 37.

(both laughing)

(soft dramatic music)

(stick shift clacks) (door opens)

(waves crashing)

(indistinct chattering)

You have a room? - A room?

Yes, of course.

We have singles, doubles, twins.

What do you desire, the pool or the sea?

- A double by the pool.

- On the right, up the stairs, second floor on your left.

Have any luggage?

- Uh, no, no luggage.

Are they for sale? - You interested in buying?

- I'll take them.

(key scraping)

- Both? - Both.

- Just two? - Mm-hmm.

- What about records? - What?

- Records? - Records?

No, hurry up. (keys jangling)

- Thank you, Your Highness.

- [Man] Pennsylvania.

P-E-N

N-S-Y

(footsteps tapping) L-V...

(birds chirping) (plane whirring)

(keys clattering)

- You come here often?

- Did you say something?

- I asked if you came here often.

- Something to drink? - Uh, Perrier.

- This is my first time. - Uh-huh.

It's nice. - Mine too.

- What?

- My first time here.

- Really?

- I don't get out much.

- Where are we? - No place.

Where the desert meets the ocean.

- And what months are we in?

- Something for you? - What month?

- Just water.

- February.

- You were going somewhere today?

- Geneva.

- (laughs) How did you get here?

- Well, I don't know.

- Kidnap?

- Rescued.

- What's your name?

(glasses rattling)

(indistinct chattering)

(Diane sighs)

(both breath heavily)

(man chanting)

(metal clanking)

(footsteps tapping)

(exotic music)

(water running)

(switch clicks)

- Oh, yeah.

- You remind me of someone.

- Who?

- Nevermind.

- (sighs) Just what did you expect from all this? Huh?

- More. - Oh, well, I'm sorry.

You're so romantic.

- No. (chuckles)

When you recognize your last chance and take it,

it is not romantic.

I was born in 1368 AH after Hijra.

Some days I wake up in 1984, other days, it's 1404.

It gets harder and harder to reconcile the two.

To act.

When I saw you, I thought,

don't you understand?

It was you I recognized.

You I remembered.

You never felt this way for anyone?

(Diane chuckles)

- I did once

(chuckles) It was scary.

- It is frightening.

And what happened?

- I hurt him enough

until he went away.

(Selim exhales)

- You must have been quite a little bitch.

- Oh, I was.

(exhales) Maybe I still am.

- No.

(keys jangling)

(door opens and closes)

(guests chattering)

(engine revving)

(group singing in foreign language and clapping)

(gentle guitar music)

(Selim sighs)

(car approaches)

(soft dramatic music)

(gulls squawking)

(waves crashing)

(gentle music)

- Who are they?

- Who?

- Your wives?

Did you choose them?

- No.

- Well who did?

- No one.

- I don't understand.

- Most of them are daughters or sisters

or cousins of my father's.

Along with the palace, they're my inheritance, my family.

Some I grew up with or knew as children.

When I come back from Paris or New York,

I'm so happy to see them again.

I go up on the balcony and just listen to their whispers,

their laughter, their singing.

It warms me.

- But you don't go back to your bedroom with any of them?

- No

- Huh. But it's insane.

How long has it been like this?

- Always

- And those children?

- Not mine.

- Well who's are they?

- I often wonder if the women are content

or if they think of other places, do you know?

- It's not easy to know if someone is really happy.

I hardly spoke to them.

- You looked so lonely in those pictures.

And there was no other way.

I couldn't risk becoming another one of your strangers.

- I was lonely.

I was also happy a lot of time

being alone.

Do you understand that?

(thunder rumbling)

- It's going to rain.

- Yeah.

- We should go inside.

(soft dramatic music)

(rain pouring)

(footsteps pattering)

- How long will it rain like this?

- A day or two.

- And then?

- There's no reason to go back.

(Diane chuckles)

- We can't stay here forever.

- Why not?

Or New York?

(both chuckle)

I don't care.

- You do.

(Diane moaning)

(engine revving)

(group laughing and chattering)

- This was a great, great time.

What's it mean? What's it mean?

(crowd chattering and laughing)

- Shit, Bill.

She only wants me to do it at seven o'clock.

She wants me to meet her parents.

- You're kidding. - The whole family.

- You gotta, you gotta be shitting me.

(baby crying) - (laughs) It's unbelievable.

(crowd chattering and laughing)

(upbeat piano music)

(group laughing and chattering)

(man singing)

(group chattering and laughing)

(water sloshing)

(toothbrush scratching)

(man spits)

(water splashing)

(man spits)

(toothbrush scraping)

(water splashing)

(water sloshing)

(man spits)

(brush scratching)

(footsteps pattering)

(water dripping)

(gun fires)

(water splashing)

- He wasn't a woman or a child

A woman or a child.

I pay you to guard these places!

You see someone else in here, you shoot, understand?

Shoot.

(baby crying)

- Hmm?

(paper tearing)

Look, I have a present for you, huh?

(speaking in foreign language)

She's beautiful.

(speaking in foreign language)

(creaking)

(sewing machine clattering)

(man chanting)

- Your uncle called.

He left a message on the machine.

They know all about her.

Someone raised a stink at the embassy.

He wants you to call as soon as you get in.

I didn't think you were coming back.

- Neither did I.

Why have you done this to me?

- Difficult to maintain discipline without the master.

- Hmm.

That's not it.

- That's not it?

You think you are so kind?

The women are lonely.

You let them have lovers and even children.

We are all so happy here.

Such a prince.

And me.

What about me, Selim?

Mine is an honorable profession.

You want me to open the gates?

I will, but not, not anymore at night,

not five at a time like a pimp.

- Enough!

There is a body in the baths.

- "In the baths," you said?

(Massoud kisses)

(soft dramatic piano music)

(lid clacks)

(wind whistling)

(man chanting)

(tea pouring)

(man slurping)

(Selim blows)

(speaking in foreign language)

(speaking in foreign language)

(man chuckles)

(toy car buzzing)

(dramatic orchestral music)

(bottles tap and clink)

(dramatic choral music)

(clock ticking)

- You've never killed anyone?

- Never.

(Selim sighs)

- And them?

- Him? A hundred times.

He terrorized everybody for miles around.

Even his name made them tremble.

I don't why I'm telling you this.

- You're glad, aren't you?

- In some ways, yes. That it's over.

The charade.

- I didn't even know I had a family until I came here.

Can you leave?

- I have left

many times.

I always return.

- You still have something left to do.

- Yes.

- Your wives.

They're waiting for you.

- This theater I've been living in,

I'd like to see it become a reality for one night.

One last night.

You think it's wrong to want this?

- I don't care about wrong. I care about you.

It's a ceremony, isn't it?

- The prince claims a bride for the first time.

(Selim chuckles)

- Don't like giving you up.

Even for one night.

- Then forget everything I've been saying.

- You asked me before if I thought they were happy.

I think this would make them really happy.

- I miss you.

- I'm here.

- I miss you.

And after?

- Hmm, Mexico. - Hmm.

- I have this place on East 71st Street.

(Selim chuckles)

- Somewhere. - Soon.

(Diane cries)

(harem singing)

(festive music)

(dog barking)

(harem singing and cheering) (upbeat percussion music)

(crickets chirping) (wind whistling)

(harem chattering) (water dripping)

(soft dramatic music)

(crickets chirping) (wind whistling)

(birds chirping)

(pump clacks and whirs)

(engine idling)

(door opens)

(melancholy piano music)

- You know anyone in New York who needs an eunuch?

(both laugh)

- What will you do, Massoud?

- Oh, I'll stay.

This is my home.

- You know those things you said to me

the first day in the baths?

- Mm-hmm. - they were nice.

I'll always remember them.

- Last night, I dreamt of a third sex, just for me.

None of this half-and-half crap.

Completely different.

(Diane exhales)

Messages for anyone?

- Tell him that I love him.

(melancholy piano music)

(engine starting)

(car door closes)

Swim!

(soft dramatic music)

(soft piano music)

(door opens)

- Good morning, Monsieur Raoul.

- Good Morning, Mr. Tarak.

- And how are you today? - I'm fine, fine.

- Good, good.

- I brought you something more difficult this time.

Listen.

(record clacks)

(soft orchestral music)

And now the piano.

(gentle piano music)

- It's very beautiful, Monsieur Raoul.

This is the last time you'll be tuning the Gaveau.

- You are not satisfied with my work, Mr. Tarak?

- Au contraire.

- Such a lovely piano.

It will get out of tune.

Such a waste.

(lid clacks)

- I've given up trying to keep out the desert.

- So, it's my last time here today?

- I'm afraid so.

(soft dramatic music)

- Then, Mr. Tarak.

- Yes?

- Do you think I could see your wives

just to see?

- This way, please, Monsieur.

(harem singing)

(birds chirping)

- Thank you, Mr. Tarak.

(bright music) (harem sing and chatter)

(luggage zipping)

(harem chattering)

(gulls squawking)

(soft guitar music)

(boat rumbling)

(eerie music) (footsteps tapping)

(water sloshing)

(gun fires) (luggage thuds)

(water dripping)

(man chanting in foreign language)

(dog barking)

(eerie music)

(gulls shrieking) (harem sing and cheer)

(wind whistling)

(boat rumbling)

(boat horn blaring)

(horn honking)

(traffic whirring)

(footsteps tapping)

(soft dramatic music)

(siren wailing)

(woman exhales)

- Thank you.

(melancholy piano music)

(horns honking)

(traffic whirring)

(soft dramatic music)

- [Selim] I miss you.

- [Diane] I'm here.

- [Selim] I miss you.