Original subtitles

INNOKENTI SMOKTUNOVSKY in the film

THE BARRIER

Scriptwriter PAVEL VEZHINOV

Director of Photography ATANAS TASEV

Original Music KIRILTSIBULKA Sound Mixer LYUDMILA MAHALNISHKA

Editor ELENA DIMITROVA Script Editor ALEXANDER KARASIMEONOV

Production Design STEFAN SAVOV Make-up Artist MARIATARKALANOVA Costume Design VESELA KIRCHEVA

Featuring

VANIA TSVETKOVA

IVAN KONDOV

MARIA DIMCHEVA EVGENIA BARAKOVA

WITH MUSICAL MOTIFS FROM ALBINONI

Director HRISTO HRISTOV

- A gent at the bar for you, Comrade Manev. - Who?

Jean The Big - your tailor.

- Is he drunk already? - No, not yet.

Alright, I'll be there.

Did you see "Nightfall"?

No, I didn't.

- Ice? - If you like.

- Will that do? - Yes, thank you.

- What are you doing here, eh? - Nothing. I'm waiting.

What could you be waiting for? Interesting... in my car! Who? Why?

- Don't you recognize me? - How am I supposed to recognize you?

We were together in the restaurant - you even looked at me specifically.

But that's still not a reason... it's not a reason to sneak into my car!

- I waited for you outside, but I got cold. - Why? Why were you waiting for me?

I wanted you to give me a lift home.

- Where do you live? - Near the Central Prison.

- Where? - Near the Central Prison.

Look now, you've probably noticed that, tonight, I didn't have just one vermouth.

- What if the traffic police stop us? - Weren't you gonna go alone anyway?

Yes, but I was going to take less lit streets, and that is quite a distance...

Near the prison, it's not at all lit up.

Hey!

Come here! I'll take you to the taxi rank.

No.

If you've got no money, I'll lend you it. You shouldn't be walking alone at night!

- No, never mind. - Alright, let's go! I'll take you home.

- What is it now? - I can't go back home, I'm scared.

- Scared of whom? - My mother.

Besides, she won't let me in - it's late. I thought you were going to invite me.

- Invite you? Why? - I got the impression that you need me.

- Need you? Who, me? - Yes.

Great! Why didn't I think of that before? For 45 years, I've been looking for you!

- Where have you been all this time? - In the restaurant.

- You're not drunk, are you? - No, I don't drink.

Then what were you doing in the middle of the night in the restaurant?

I was watching people committing suicide.

- Did you come from the moon, or what? - No, I didn't.

- You weren't there; you're no astronaut! - No.

- Very interesting. So, what are you then? - I am a person.

- Well, I see it won't be boring with you. - No, it won't be!

I can do such incredible things only by thinking about...

Can't you be quiet while I speak, huh?

- How? - Like that!

Is that clear?

Come on, get in!

- What's your name? - Dorotea.

Sit in your place! Aren't you afraid that my wife will shove you down the stairs?

You don't have a wife, you're divorced.

- How do you know that? - From your tailor, Jean.

- He told us when you were not at the bar. - Did he, now!

- And what else did he say? - Everything!

So, now you know all my measurements?

He didn't say anything about your measurements.

Alright, let's go! I can't leave you in the street at night, can I?

The light is on. You don't think your wife is here, do you?

Well, don't you worry! In any case, It'll be my neck, not yours!

Come in!

- Well, what now... Dobrina? - It's Dorotea.

Yes, of course, Dorotea. Well?

What shall we do now?

- Some water? Why are you silent? - May I speak now?

Ah, sometimes, from time to time... on the Eighth of March!

- So, what are we going to do? - I don't know.

Ah, there! A fine old object - a present from my grandfather.

Catch!

Schweppes, mineral water, Coca-Cola - tell me what you want! Name it, go on!

- Yes. - What? All of them?

Incredible! More expense!

Oh, women will be the ruin of me!

- It's very nice here! - Well, it's nothing special.

- But there's not enough air. - Not enough! Well, should I offer you...

an oxygen bottle? 17th floor, the park, yet the air's not enough! How about that?

Is this piano yours?

Ah, it's the neighbours', only I drag it in here every morning!

- No, I meant do you do your work on it? - Yes.

- Isn't it very old? - So what?

The important thing is that it serves its purpose.

- Please, play something for me! - Three o'clock at night, are you mad?

Very quietly. Something short, but by you!

Ah..."Lady with an Ermine"!

Interesting...

- We might wake the neighbours. - Please, very quietly!

Alright.

Sit down!

I said, sit down!

I'll play you one of my latest compositions.

It is a miniature from the cycle...

but that's not important. You'll, so to say, be my first listener.

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That was "Castile Nights", wasn't it?

And how do you know it was "Castile Nights"?

- I just know. - Yes, but how?

- I posses that sort of gift. - What sort of gift?

Who told you that you possess that sort of gift?

- The psychiatrists where I live. - Trying to scare me you've escaped?

No, I just sleep there, otherwise I go to work during the day.

- I am "a resident", as they call it. - Ah...

You're probably under treatment there?

- Yes, with Dr. Yurukova. - And, does this often happen to you?

- What? - Like now...

- not to return to the hospital? - No, not very often.

Dr. Yurukova is not cross with me; she thinks it's good for my treatment.

So now, you are an entirely healthy person?

No, not entirely. I've also had fits.

And how did you land in the bar... the restaurant? Who invited you, anyway?

- Nobody. - What d'you mean - "nobody"?

Just that! I sat at the bar, and everyone thought someone else had taken me there.

- It's so easy... - Well, it's not all that easy, I reckon.

It's not easy for people like you.

- Why people like us, precisely? - Because you are people of proper...

- upbringing; people who have everything. - Aha!

Dorotea, how did you actually know that I played "Castile Nights"?

I don't understand. How?

I don't know, I don't know...

- Hey, hey! - Yes?

You can sleep on the sofa!

Sheets, blankets - they're in the chest.

The shower and toilet are over there. Alright?

- Did you hear me? - Yes.

Dorotea!

Dorotea!

Most of these drawings were done by patients of mine.

Hup! Ah, good reflexes!

- It seems Dorotea has taken you aback! - Take me aback? No!

- Judging by your "Castile Nights"... - So, has she told you everything?

Yes, everything.

I have no reason to hide anything from you. I have been observing Dorotea...

for 5-6 years. She has had minor fits of schizophrenia - periodically, of course.

She imagined she was the heroine of any book she was reading: Irina from Tobacco,

- Cosette from Les Miserables, Katerina... - What do you think provoked her illness?

As a girl, she suffered two extreme mental shocks.

First, a car ran her father over, literally before her eyes;

then her mother remarried.

Life for Dorotea in her new home became impossible.

She went to live with her uncle. He tried to seduce her.

- Interesting, isn't it? - Uh?

The drawings. That one there is Dorotea's.

- This one? - Yes...

And this one over here.

Some hereditary factors also play a role regarding her disorder.

But, now she is very well - touch wood, as they say.

Well, in that case, why don't you discharge her?

Where - to her mother or her uncle?

I'm doing my utmost to keep her here - she figures as a "scientific experiment".

But this cannot go on forever.

The situation at the hospital is becoming dangerous for her.

Yes, I understand.

Excuse this disorder, Comrade Manev - undergoing repairs, awaiting a check-up.

- I see. - It seems you had something to tell me?

Yes, indeed. I cannot understand how Dorotea guessed... Ah, folk art!

How did Dorotea guess the title of my "Castile Nights"?

There is nothing strange about that - she just read your thoughts.

And you're saying there's nothing strange about it!

Telepathy is not just nonsense. Who knows, after a time...

it may become a common means of communication between people.

Yes, but that will take centuries, and now, we're hardly in the 20th.

In fact, I'm not sure whether Dorotea knows anything at all about Castile.

Oh, don't you underestimate her! She reads a lot.

- Altogether, Dorotea is very interesting. - She seemed to me...

- She's got character. - Yes, but she seemed shy to me.

Well, she's not insolent, but if you think she is weak, you're mistaken!

She's physically tough, too.

Her colleagues are astonished how easily she handles the press.

And where does she work?

In a workshop of the Artists' Fund, press-forging parts.

Would you be able to help her find a more suitable job?

- Like what? - Something that would engage...

her imagination. She has the hand of an artist, as you've seen.

I'll try. Meantime, don't say anything, so she's not hurt if I don't succeed!

She won't be hurt. It's all the same to her, where she works or what she gets.

She has no sense of money - very impractical.

The other night, she found her bearings perfectly well.

- That's more of an instinct. - Really?

- The phone number for the workshop. - Right.

- Hello! - Comrade Manev, I'm at the foundry.

- Be off at once! I've found you a new job. - I can't right now, I'm at work.

I'll come over at five... Yes...

That's all for now. You're free to go.

- Have you been waiting long? - No, I just arrived.

- You said you'd be here at 5 o'clock! - Yes, but I couldn't wait.

You're all soaked. Come on in!

- So, what is it? - What's what?

- What's the job? - Ah, you're going to copy notes.

But first you have to get yourself warm. I'll make tea, and you take a hot shower!

-Dorotea, do you have any other clothes? - No, I left them at my friend's place.

- Then go and bring them here! - No, no... on Thursday,

- I'll get paid and I'll buy new ones. - Why wait until Thursday?

- I've got money, too. - Alright.

Excellent!

- Have you ever copied notation before? - No, never.

Alright...

carry on - I'll be back within an hour and a half.

"Archangel Michael, Saint Catherine, Saint Margaret,

"In vain are you silent! I was born the day you appeared to me;

"Not until the day I did what You bade me did I become alive -

"On a horse, with a sword in my hand!"

This, and only this, is Joan! Not the other...

not a Joan who would grow stout and settle down to a comfortable life.

"O flower mine, where are you roaming?

"O, stay and hear; your true love's coming,

"That can sing both high and low:

"Trip no further, pretty sweating..."

- Brother Latinio! - Ah?

- Brother Latinio! - Ha, are you comfortable there?

I thought they'd killed you!

- Who? - There are such people.

- Who would kill me? - The people from the Inquisition.

Ah! Dr. Yurukova is wide of the mark!

- Why are you looking at me as if I'm mad? - Who, me? No.

- Did Dr. Yurukova tell you everything? - Yes, but... everything? I don't know.

- At least the most important things? - Well, yes, I hope so.

- It's not that scary. - No, nothing scary, everything's normal.

It's better to imagine that there is something, rather than nothing!

- Have you eaten? - No.

Let's go out and grab a meal, then!

With me?

But of course!

I don't think you will feel comfortable... right?

There may also be something appetizing in the fridge.

- Did you find it easy to copy them? - Well, it's not like copying books.

Only, I don't understand anything... In the end, I memorize an entire row.

Please, teach me how to read them!

I want to try it.

Why, one doesn't start on a new job every day! It's not going to poison me, is it?

- May I drink some of that? - Of course!

- No, out of your glass. - Please!

Dorotea, tomorrow we have to get up early,

go to the publishers, and finalize the documents.

I'll get up...

I'll get up...

May I lie down? Oh, I really feel dizzy now!

Give me your hand! Tomorrow, after you sleep it off, it will all pass.

- Antoni... - You'll feel fine!

Antoni...

Antoni!

Antoni...

If you want to, you can stay with me tonight.

Dorotea remained living with me without our having discussed it -

so naturally, like the pigeons that had found a home on my terrace.

She talked to me about the flowers, the trees, about aeroplanes and birds.

It was just people she didn't talk about.

Now try to connect them and you'll definitely start hearing them!

Try it! Go on! Go on!

And, Number Three again... yes.

Where?

Look, here!

Excuse me for a moment. Start at page two and try reading to the end!

Hello! Alone, by myself... Who could I be with?

Absolutely.

Oh, I'm sorry. Alright, I'll be there.

Well, I can't say exactly when.

Hello, Nadia, I've brought you the money.

Come in!

Or had you forgotten where the door is? Let me put something on.

So, how is Kotsa feeling now?

Nothing unusual. She's constipated.

I don't feel like smoking.

- How's Jerry? - Sleeps by day, gads about at night.

Like his owner... How are you?

The usual, I'm not unwell.

You've picked up with some little slut?

- You're wrong! - Well, what is she?

I think she's an honest person. She is with me because she has no place to live.

Philanthropist!

You're lying! I know you very well.

- One can't be frank with you. - Is it true she's nuts?

- Isn't it all the same to you? - It is, but you do have a son after all!

I think this issue does not particularly matter to him.

Yes, but it will matter to him what brother or sister he may have one day!

Here's your support money - I'll come some other time to see my son.

You didn't even ask if he's well, you insolent bastard!

- I can hear it now! - What do you hear?

- Your music. - My music?

I was copying one of your concerts at the publishers today.

- Yes, and... Did you like it? - Yes!

Great...

- Today, you went to see your wife. - I did.

What you think about me is not true!

And what do I think about you?

That you've become the laughing stock of your friends.

"A great composer, but yet involved with some restaurant girl who's nuts at that!"

Can you actually read my thoughts?

Sometimes...

Earwigging on other people's conversation is bad enough, but on others' thoughts...

- is even worse! Diabolically unbearable! - But it's beyond my control, Antoni.

I know it's beyond your control.

- Try putting yourself in my position! - Awful!

You see? It's awful.

I can't decide anything, or think anything...

- I... Oh, my head is starting to ring. - The doorbell is ringing, Antoni.

- What did you say? - The doorbell is ringing.

Ah! Go and open the door!

Antoni!

- Do you have a minute? - What can I do for you?

Please excuse me, Comrade Manev, you know how much we respect you...

not only me, but my sons... I just don't know how to begin.

- Boldly, Colonel, as you do in an attack! - Look, there's talk... I haven't...

seen anything, but there's talk that some young girl is living here.

Look, Colonel, she's a human being. I couldn't leave her out in the street.

Yes, of course. And yet, there are laws in this country!

- What law have I violated? - She lives here without registration.

I see. I shall register her tomorrow. Is that all?

Yes.

Goodbye.

- Give me your passport now! - What passport?

- Your passport. Where is it? - I don't know.

And, who does know - me?

- Dr. Yurukova. - Go and get it!

- No... He... - Him to go? The caretaker...

- to the psychiatry unit? - Antoni, you go, please!

- Antoni! Please, Antoni! - Alright, alright! Cut and dried!

- So, how is she? - Very well, I think.

She asked me to apologize on her behalf for not calling you.

That's not important. For the time being, the more we disappear, the better!

- How's she doing in her new job? - Superbly. They're praising her...

at the publishers. She's become keen on music.

Yes, that's good... But Dorotea must not get overexcited -

music still provokes a lot of emotions.

How long do you intend on having Dorotea stay at your place?

I haven't considered that issue yet.

Well, you should. Dorotea mustn't become too attached to you,

because, to her, every parting will be extremely painful.

Be careful! If you have any doubts, come for advice!

What do you mean "doubts"? She literally shocks me every day, d'you see?

- Like how? - It's all nonsense, but...

She either imagines she's Joan of Arc, or something else.

I've already mentioned her telepathic gift to her.

No, that shouldn't worry you! That is a manifestation...

of her extremely sensitive soul.

Has she suggested to you to fly sometime?

- Fly? How? By plane? - No...

Like birds. That's one of her obsessive ideas,

or rather one of the dreams that characterizes her best.

- Have you ever dreamt that you're flying? - No, I haven't.

- Strange. - Why is that strange?

People fly in fairy tales or in imagination of artists like Chagall.

And as for me, I've flown in my sleep - like a bird over lakes and forests...

- Do you think that's a chance phenomenon? - I don't know.

Only, sometimes, we've climbed up on the terrace, in the cool.

Don't get scared by her minor relapses! You mustn't scare her, either!

- The human soul is something... - I thought you'd give me courage, but...

- I've scared you off, haven't I? - You could say that.

Perhaps I did it intentionally...

Although, deep inside, I'm sure you will never go beyond the barrier.

What barrier?

Just as the saying goes.

Dorotea's belongings.

- What are you doing out in the corridor? - I'm waiting for you.

- What time is it? - Half past eleven.

- You're supposed to be in bed by 11. - I was afraid.

That's not my concern!

I've never broken my habits and I have no intention of doing so because of...

- I'll get used to it, you'll see! - Go to bed!

Antoni!

- Antoni... - What d'you want?

- I hear the music! - Didn't you already tell me that?

No, it's not the same. I read it before, now I hear real sounds of an orchestra.

- You probably hear something different. - No, it's exactly what I'm copying!

- As if a transistor is hidden in my head. - Oh no, I forgot to buy cigarettes!

And, when you're not looking at the notes, does the music stop?

- Yes, of course, immediately! - Interesting...

You've no idea how interesting it is, Antoni! I hope tomorrow's the same.

God grant it's not the same anymore!

I intend to buy you 2 or 3 transistors to make the buzzing in your head stop.

- You shouldn't become so engrossed in it. - But, it moves me! I enjoy it.

I know. That perhaps is precisely the reason. Don't overdo it!

Dorotea, you must rest!

It's essential for you.

Plus, I've promised Dr. Yurukova, and it's not fair not to keep my promise.

Listen to a little anecdote, now!

"There were once two flowers- one bigger than the other.

"The big one confessed to the little one: You know, I love you very much!

"Can it be true you love me so much? - I love you, no doubt about that!

"Then, exhilarated with joy, the little flower shouted:

"So, the bee can come now!" - A "bee"?

- What do they need a bee for? - "What do they need a bee for"!

I don't know... I forgot the end.

You became acquainted with many things, lately.

- What kind of music do you prefer? - "Swan Lake".

Wonderful... Tchaikovsky.

And would you like to see it in the theatre?

- "Swan Lake" - in the theatre? - Yes.

With real swans!

Do you find this music different?

It's the same.

Which one is nicer?

It's nicer in the theatre, because the orchestra is larger.

And yet... what I hear inside me comes from within - that's why it's more alive.

Come! Come on!

I don't know if it's worth turning a swan into a person.

- A princess. - Yes, but swans fly!

Hey!

�����!

So stifling!

Go to bed! Tomorrow, we're going to a villa by a lake.

You have a villa, too?

- It belongs to a friend - a general. - No!

- Now go to bed! - I am afraid of generals.

I'm altogether afraid of all sorts of uniforms... and weapons.

Nonsense! A uniform is simply nothing more than a garment.

Yes, and Tsetso, too, simply had only a uniform.

Tsetso? Now who on earth is Tsetso?

Antoni!

Dear me! Have you gone mad? Didn't you say you couldn't swim?

- I can't! - Yes, but you're swimming!

- Naturally! - Yes, "naturally".

Come out quickly!

You swim like a little frog. Those who say that man has descended from...

- amphibians are probably correct. - No, he descended from birds!

Go and put something on! Go on! What are you waiting for?

- Don't you feel any shame in front me? - In front of you? Why?

What d'you mean "why"? You probably think I'm old?

No... you're simply Antoni.

- Oh, hold me! I'm cold. - Go and get dressed!

Tight, in your arms!

Yes... Bow-wow! Now you've got yourself a dog, too!

Only I don't want a muzzle and a leash - I hate those things!

Alright, alright. Now, go and get dressed! Come on!

- Someone might see us. - Ah, you're afraid?

That's why it would be very difficult for you to find the little meadow in...

the forest - bathed in the sun; a fire; an evening breeze buzzing with midges.

Bow-wow...

- But you'll find your little meadow. - Where?

Bow-wow...

- Antoni! - Yes? Oops!

- Yes, what is it? - Shall I tell you how my father died?

- Now? Tell me later! - I won't have the strength later.

As you wish - but don't get excited, d'you hear?

Dad's eyes constantly watered. At the time I didn't know...

That Mum had a lover, a fireman -Tsetso.

That morning, when we went out for Dad to buy me a coat, he was very upset.

It was just before New Year's Eve.

The previous day it had rained, and then a strong wind came up.

The drops froze as they fell - in little circles.

As we walked, we trod on them and they cracked under our soles like human eyes.

Dad bought me a new blue coat.

It started snowing, and we were walking along the festive, busy streets.

I don't remember how I got home and what I told Mum...

I just remember that her face turned as white as dough,

But her eyes remained blank.

I fiercely wanted to stick something sharp in her fat pot-belly...

so that all her inner filth would spill out.

- So, what happened after that? - What was there to happen?

- You know very well what followed! - No, don't ask me!

I understand, Dorotea, it's not easy for you, but try to tell it, it's essential!

It is essential for you alone.

Come on, Dorotea!

Soon after Dad died, they got married.

Tsetso was terribly stingy. He saved not only leva, but small change, too.

That's when I came to hate stingy people. I can't stand them, nor their money.

D'you know, Antoni, while money exists in this world, people will continue...

to be cheap and low, just like it - no matter what colour they dye it...

Money doesn't have its own face - it assumes that of the person possessing it.

There's filthy money, insignificant money, and there's miserable money...

But, there's also money that cannot buy you anything -

that's stingy money.

I remember the day we moved in to Tsetso's place.

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We started off. Tsetso's house was on the outskirts of the city -

a sort of a dwarfish one. I think it was somewhere near the old car scrap yard.

At the end of the year, the twins were born, too.

I lived in the kitchen with Tsetso's mum, granny, or great-granny - I don't know.

This is what I can't understand, Antoni; how can there be insignificant happiness,

or even repugnant happiness? But it seems they do exist.

And I thought the only happiness was to fly.

Then Tsetso beat me up and kicked me out;

so I went to live with Dr. Yurukova,

and then we met - and that's it!

- What, did I scare you? - No, you didn't scare me, but...

- I feel awkward washing like this. - Then turn the other way to wash!

- But I am a man - I'm not a child! - Yes, and so what?

It's natural, Antoni.

- I... I don't know... - Well, yes!

You talk this way, perhaps, because you've never seen a naked man before.

Says you, I've never seen one - I have!

Once, a boy took me to his home and asked me to get undressed - I don't know why.

Only I didn't want to, and then he started undressing...

to show me how I was supposed to do it.

And there he was, stark naked - that was really funny!

Well, what then, did you become close?

No, he was in the middle of the room, while I was next to the door and...

No, I mean a different thing - did you do it together then?

- How? - Like, close.

- Like man and woman? - Right.

Oh, no... I haven't loved a man yet.

He was so turned on that, in the end, he jumped on me...

and started pushing me towards the bed. I found that so repulsive, though.

And then, what could I to do... what could I do? I whacked him!

Antoni... do you want me to undress, too?

No...

No... when he ran off...

Antoni...

Antoni...

- Hold me like that time by the lake! - No, no... No!

We mustn't, Dorotea!

I saw the loony girl.

- Where? - I ambushed her at the publishers.

Well, there are another fifteen or so girls working there.

But only one of them is crazy.

Come on, go to your room! Go on, off you go!

Just be careful not to cause an accident!

She's not a bad looking girl, although her legs are bit skinny for your taste.

For you, a woman has only legs, and nothing more!

I don't know whether you notice their heads at all.

How could I notice in you something you have never had.

That's not amusing! Stop it, you're not a kid!

When she got off at your stop and started running, I ran after her.

As I was standing worn-out and exhausted, I think I grew a little fond of her.

- The wretched girl! - Why?

What could she expect of you?

I've never seen such a considerate and cautious egoist in my life.

And the law is also on your side. What? Am I not right?

You know very well what I mean.

The law won't allow you to marry her, and in that case, you're...

not risking much, except for a bit of juicy tickle for the nerves.

- Nonsense! - Then, why are you doing it?

I want to help her.

Philanthropist!

Actually, you've got your eye on the main chance!

Keep your hair on! For my money, you should draw the line now.

That's it! Enough! Dorotea, come and have breakfast!

Are you tired?

- Have some cake! - No, I don't want any.

Then, come inside! I'll get you some milk.

- Yes... Are you bored? - Oh, no.

She is a small... wonderful girl! Now, help yourself!

Why are you looking at me like that, Dorotea?

- Tell me! - Can you drive faster?

I can... I can do anything.

Your wife called this morning.

- How did you know it was her? - I recognized her voice - mild, kind...

Mild - yes, when she speaks to the cat!

She has a monstrous character!

So, she's the one who wouldn't let you have a dog at home?

Ah, no, on the contrary - she does love animals;

- Now, she's got a cat, too. - How come? Isn't the cat with you?

The tomcat is. But there were two - Jerry and Kotsa, a family.

- What? Did you separate them, as well? - Um, yes.

You walk me, too...

You are not a dog, and it's not morning now.

Can you drive even faster?

Faster!

What are you mumbling to yourself?

Silly girl! Why, I was doing 100 km!

Have you grown tired of life?

What if you'd hurt yourself?

You're not a kid!

Dorotea!

Dorotea, calm down!

Calm down, Dorotea! Don't be angry with me! Calm down - it's alright!

It's alright. You do understand that with the speed I was doing - it's dangerous.

Come on, calm down!

Come on, calm down, Dorotea!

Why are you behaving like this?

- I am not a horse for you to pat me! - Why, I didn't want to offend you.

I... didn't mean to pat you...

I love you, you silly, don't you see?

- What did you say? - Calm down, now!

- No, no, no, before that... you said? - I said you were silly.

- What else did I say - nothing! - No, you said that...

- What did I say? - "I love you." Right?

Alright, I love you. So what?

Come, come on!

Calm down, won't you! Don't be a child, now!

Give me your hand!

��� ���.

Antoni!

- Yes? - D'you want to hear about my uncle?

Yes, tell me!

- But I'm afraid... - I don't see why!

Afraid it may settle inside you.

Don't worry about me!

When... when Tsetso kicked me out, I went to live with my uncle.

So, what happened after that?

Try and tell me about it!

Uncle lived on his own.

Once in a while, there was a woman who came to tidy the house.

I was afraid of her.

Why, one might wonder - I didn't know.

Be calm, little dove, don't worry!

That's how my life passed - day after day in that dead house.

That day the sky was deep grey, and it was raining.

Then Uncle asked me to go upstairs with him to the attic...

to find some envelope with old receipts, in the suitcases.

And I knew straightaway what was going to happen to me.

Now you're thinking that I was simply hypnotized with fear,

that I didn't know what to do - it wasn't like that!

I wasn't so scared anymore; I could have screamed or run down the stairs...

And yet, I didn't do it.

Come, little dove, come!

Don't be afraid!

Don't be scared!

Here, look at this hat!

Now I think that's exactly what saved me, and he got even more scared.

He was a very miserable man, Antoni.

I thought I knew everything about people, out my own experience or from books.

But now I've realized that books and words do not tell the actual truth -

they dare not, about this...

D'you feel weighed down, Antoni?

- Now it's all passed over into you! - Why should I feel oppressed?

You are awfully good!

I don't wish to be good, the way you understand it!

Would you like to feel light, light, light...

Why should I feel light? I don't want to.

I just don't see how I could've lived until now, being so hollow and empty -

- a man without weight. - Stand up, Antoni!

I won't cause you any pain - stand up!

Give me your hand!

Look up at the sky - you have to get used to it!

In a moment, you will feel an extraordinary lightness.

There, we're off!

- Are you cold, Antoni? - Not particularly.

- But you're all trembling! - I don't know.

- Come, I can warm you up! - Up, up there...

Come!

What is it, Antoni?

You're as... cold as ice!

That force came out of me, Antoni, and it was supposed to hold both of us.

Don't be afraid! I am not a swan, I am a person!

I'll warm you up, here!

Antoni...

So, what happened?

We flew - Dorotea and I.

Tell me in more detail!

What could I possibly tell you?

We went on a visit to my friend - a general.

We came back to the city in the evening.

After that, we climbed up to the terrace.

And everything was wonderful. She told me about her uncle...

Then, all of sudden, she suggested that we fly and I agreed - like an idiot,

without thinking.

We flew like birds...

What day is it today?

- I'm asking what day it is today. - Ah, the 26th, but it happened on...

- the 25th, during the night - last night. - Wednesday or Thursday?

Don't worry! There's nothing wrong - you're absolutely normal.

Yes, but normal people don't fly!

There is no evidence that you have flown.

Sometimes, human hallucinations may seem...

more real than reality itself.

I have never had hallucinations!

But Dorotea is capable of suggesting a certain behaviour.

You think she hypnotized me?

- Perhaps. - So, you reject entirely...

the possibility of our flying?

It seems improbable to me...

although I don't rule it out entirely.

- How is that? - How else?

- But you... - Sit down!

Go on, sit down!

You are a perfectly normal person, and you're threatened by nothing.

Dr. Yurukova, do you know the meaning of the word "gravitation"?

No, I don't - even physicists don't know it.

This does not pertain only to a single formula.

Although, you must know what immense energy is needed...

to launch a rocket into orbit!

Well, do you think mankind knows everything about so-called "energies"?

I don't follow.

It's scientifically proven that there are different kinds of energy...

inherent in living matter. They cannot be explained by familiar physical laws.

There are cases of the mind moving objects in space.

But... man cannot fly!

Yes, but we still don't know everything about human consciousness.

No, no, please! Man was never endowed for flight!

- True... You're not prepared... - For what?

I am not acknowledging to you that you have flown - really, it's incredible!

But, if we are confined, do you think that's also true...

of all the varieties of worlds in the universe?

That is not within the capabilities of man and the likes of him -

if there are any such creatures at all in this universe of ours!

And in no way should you trouble Dorotea!

Don't dissuade her - what she's doing is natural!

We shouldn't contradict her!

But, if she suggests that you fly again, you must refuse...

no matter how much it may distress her.

- Don't worry! - I am worried!

Don't you see why she made this experiment specifically with you?

Two hands.

- Konstantsa, be so kind... - Yes?

- Play for a while - I need to make a call! - Alright... Alright.

- You leave me in a difficult situation. - Well, never mind, you'll manage!

- I hope so. - Pass!

- Pass! - Pass!

You win!

- Did you have dinner? - No.

Early tomorrow, I have to leave for Plovdiv.

There's going to be a concert, with my compositions.

I am needed for the final rehearsals.

We'll go together to the concert.

Have you been to Plovdiv?

I made a mistake!

I scared you.

I thought you would believe me, Antoni.

Let's not talk about this anymore.

I'm dead tired!

- Do you have any new drawings? - I stopped drawing; I can't, anymore.

Music is everything to me now.

One sees white pages with little dots, lines, dashes, while behind them...

Dorotea, Manev came to see me yesterday.

And yet, music brings a lot of emotions.

- So what? - Nothing.

You shouldn't get too excited.

But did he tell you everything?

You were up there...

- He was very confused and frightened. - He's very sensitive - maybe that's why!

True! Dorotea, he is a sensitive egoist.

I'm sorry for saying it, but you'll have to get used to that.

And yet, that night... No, I think he believed me!

I believe he's not yet ready for this.

So I've scared him off?

He wants me to be exactly like the rest - completely normal!

Dorotea, you are completely normal, my girl.

You just shouldn't scare him anymore. Come and stay with me tonight!

- There? Never! - No, not there - in my home. I'm alone.

- No! - We'll go to a concert...

- We'll listen to some beautiful music. - No, I don't want to. I've got to...

wait for him - he'll be back!

Dorotea!

Dorotea!

Since that starless night, when we first met,

a lot of time has elapsed.

She is now dead and I feel, with painful sorrow and horror,

that I cannot recollect her face.

How did it happen that her face has left no trace in my memory?

Even the smear of blood that I saw in the corner of her mouth...

She was an extraordinary girl;

anything could have been expected of her.

She became too engrossed in music, and that worried me...

because any hyperexcitation could have been fatal to her mental equilibrium.

But that wasn't the most important thing.

I think that something stronger, something deeper...

was probably planted in her pure human nature.

And, like most normal creatures, I took it as...

an abnormal thing, or something of the sort.

That is absolutely so, because I don't possess it -

through ignorance and mediocrity,

or perhaps even out of... envy.

Indeed, I was scared and, although I could pluck those damned notes...

out of her hands, I didn't do it, because...

how could one trample on...

what one cannot reach?

- You hid something from me! - No, nothing...

Then I don't understand why you left for Borovets so suddenly!

I've already told you - that night, we were close for the first time.

That shook me - I needed to get my thoughts together and calm down.

Yes, you've behaved in a stupid way!

And, didn't it occur to you that she also needed a kind word, and reassurance -

especially that night, as you say?

I understand it now, but what's the point?

What's that doing with you?

- Your name is engraved on it. - Yes, it's mine - it was my granddad�s.

- I gather you're interrogating me. - Of course I'm interrogating you!

But not at all in the way that is prescribed in such cases.

What do you mean? Please explain to me!

Something terrible has been perpetrated - Dorotea was murdered, not in any old way!

She was thrown out of somewhere - out of a very high window,

or off a very high terrace - like yours, let's say.

Her bones were all smashed; her internal organs ruptured...

Forgive me for telling you this!

She was found far from your home, having plunged into the roof of a car.

Why do you believe Dorotea was thrown, and that she didn't jump by herself?

Because, where she was found, there are no buildings.

She was evidently moved afterwards. Who could have moved her?

The person responsible for her death.

- What time did it happen? - Forensics are very precise -

between 11 and 12 - exactly the time that you arrived home.

I understand that suspicion falls on me,

and that's logical.

I didn't say anything like that.

There are certain facts that seriously exculpate you.

If she was thrown off your terrace,

she should have fallen onto the pavement that surrounds the entire building.

In that case, there would have been traces of her numerous haemorrhages -

and there are no such traces.

It's stupid to assume that it happened elsewhere, and that you moved the corpse.

- Will that be all? - That's all.

Still, the question remains - who is the killer?

I hid the truth from him - he wouldn't have believed it.

He would have thought I was mad.

Could a normal mind imagine that she had just fallen from the sky?

Maybe she deliberately folded her wings!

I brought her down...

And there's no force on earth that can bring back to life...

the only living creature that has flown!

Late that afternoon, I climbed up to the terrace with a sinking heart.

I wanted to watch the sky for a while.

The sky will never be mine again, nor will the stars!

I don't have the wings for them!

I will never pass beyond the barrier.

And I shall never be able to reach higher than this terrace, heated by the sun,

where lonely pigeons land from time to time.