Original subtitles

# And I'm doing the morning I'll kiss...

Jesus.

I'm out here, my love.

What is wrong with you people? Who? Jesus.

No men. What the fuck is wrong with men?

Well, how much time do you have?

What happened?

First, watching over the mistress

to the father of my baby.

And then he tells me that he has transferred the ownership

to his car to me, because he owes the Greek government money.

And now I have to drive the car back to Norway.

Well, how long does it take to drive there?

Uh, two weeks.

You know, two weeks is really not very long.

I think we could do that easy.

We?

I'm coming with you, of course.

How much money do you have?

Um. Uh, 200. But why would you do that?

Why would... You don't have to... Well, I'm in love with you.

I have, um, 200 or so.

I think 200 plus 200 is 400.

And that should get us there with gas and food.

And you know, that would only take us one way.

Oh, no. But I'm very good at oral sex. That's the whole thing.

That was part of the deal.

I would be turning tricks on the street,

which I was very good at doing in Canada.

Thank you.

You all right?

Anything I can do?

Get me out of here.

Okay. Where are we?

Well, we're still in Albania.

I think.

There should be a village.

A few miles ahead, so maybe we can stop.

And I can find a phone.

Because he should have landed by now.

I just need to...

It's fine.

And you?

I want to get drunk.

Great.

I can help with that.

# Hey, baby baby, don't you go.

# You going to leave me with a ragged soul? #

Okay, so it's five more miles to the village.

All right, we'll drive into town.

We'll find something to eat.

Find some place to sleep.

We can't afford that?

No, no.

So we either, um, eat at a restaurant, get some nice food

and sleep in the car, or we eat bread for the rest of our life

and we sleep in a motel.

I vote for restaurant and car.

Yes, boss.

Thank you.

Did you finish yours already?

Yeah. Wow.

I think it's an aperitif.

Well, you know, if it was an aperitif,

they should have served it before the food came on the table.

I come from a very strict home and if they serve it after the food,

it's a shot.

How strict is your home, really?

I think I was seven or something,

and my mother wanted to teach me table manners.

So she made me sit at the table with our finest porcelain plates

under my arms, so that I wouldn't put my elbows on the table

while we ate.

It's true.

It's so strange.

Like I can't remember the last time I just sat like this,

knowing that no one is waiting for me.

What was your mother like?

She's very much alive.

Very unpredictable.

I wouldn't want to give a paltry diagnosis, but I think she's, um,

maybe a manic depressive.

What was that like?

It was terrific.

Oh, it had its ups and downs.

No.

No joking. Just what was that like?

Well, she's refugee, so I think childhood was very complicated.

The contradiction of Monday mornings crying on the floor, the fits

and the Monday evenings baking of a cake was awfully confusing

for a young, burgeoning man.

I think every time you walk in the door, it's something different.

So you learn to adapt, you learn to read people, you learn to adjust.

No, I love her. It's great.

I'm not saying anything poor of her.

No. Just complex.

A lot of tears, a lot of laughter.

I don't really think that I ever, you know, had a home.

My only childhood memories are from my grandmother,

my grandmother's house.

She was my favourite person in the whole world.

And my room, my favourite drawer in the house was her drawer

with all her old stuff.

And it was filled, you know, with old ladies creams

and jewellery and it was like a treasure box.

And it all had the smell of her perfume of, of,

you know, different time.

I felt like a time traveller.

She made me a princess once, made a beautiful paper crown

and put it on my head.

And she said that only the finest, purest soul can be reached

by the speech of a golden tongue.

I fit that description.

You think you did, don't you? Quite golden.

My superhero name.

Oh, really?

Yeah. They call me the Golden Tongue.

The stars look like they're dancing to me right now.

They're washing their hair in the rain.

My maternal grandfather was named Rabbi Klenicki Klein,

and they had a large moustache like myself.

He was a very stiff man, very unhappy fellow.

And he spent his life writing in a thousand page thesaurus

for the Talmud.

Talmud was a Jewish document, and it doesn't mean anything to you,

but that's about the most Jewish thing you could ever do.

But isn't it strange, though,

that I feel like you can tell everything to one person

and then nothing to another?

You know, when I was...

A long story short, my father slapped me and called me a whore.

I left home and I wandered around the night

and I ended up at my grandmother's house in the city.

And she told me that Princess. Yes. She can't be a whore,

But a whore, she can be kind of a princess.

And after that, you know I wasn't scared of going home.

Mama? Mew Mew? Mi Mi?

I think I would have liked her a lot. I would have dated her.

You're Mr Ladies Man.

What did I do? Why am I Mr Ladies Man?

Saw the way that you were looking at that waitress,

the way she was flirting with you.

That's just my bad impulse control.

Right.

I think you should come here.

Why? Why?

I don't know.

What is this?

This is my bad impulse control.

What's it telling you?

It's telling me.

I should fuck your brains out.

What happened?

I really did cut myself.

You really almost fucked my brains out.

This is the worst ground I've ever felt.

I'm so sorry, Lenny.

I really, really, really would still like to make love to you.

I'm just... I know, not now.

How are you feeling? I'm all right.

My lips are a little sore from kissing you all night.

But other than that, I'm all right.

So are mine.

There you go.

Are you American?

Yeah. You?

No, man, I'm Canadian.

All right, well. It's close enough, huh?

Well, where are you guys headed?

Uh, Norway. Really?

Yeah, I was actually stationed up there for three months.

No, what? Yeah.

It's beautiful up there.

Landscapes, the fjords, the women.

Oh, well, thank you very much.

I mean everything's perfect up there.

Well, except for the weather. Right.

All right. You guys are all set.

If you just stick to the west side of the city.

It's a little bit, uh, tumultuous right now.

Okay. Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

I think he was flirting with me.

Oh, yeah.

Well, you're very beautiful.

Do you always drive so recklessly?

Uh, yes.

Okay. What are we getting?

A German Polse.

We have a little bit more of Germany.

And then after Germany, we go on to Denmark.

And then, um.

I guess that should lead into Sweden.

If we find any of them.

And then we're home sweet home, Norway.

Let's just find a place to sleep.

Oh, no. It's okay, I can.

I can drive through the night.

We can just... We'll just find a motel.

Okay. Why?

I mean, it's okay. I just...

I just.

I just don't know if I...

Want this to be over yet.

So...

According to the map, we're in Russia.

I'm eating. No.

I didn't know you had that kind of greed in you, though.

Hold on. No.

Then there's the ocean.

I have so much more to eat.

# I loved you in the morning.

# Our kisses deep and warm.

# Your hair upon the pillow like a sleepy golden storm.

# Yes, many loved before us.

# I know you are not new in city.

# And in forest they smile like you and me.

We made it out alive.

I was sure that was it.

# Hey, that's no way to say goodbye. #

Hydra's one place where I...

..when I arrived, I didn't have any kind of a culture shock.

You know, like, every cup that I saw,

I knew it would fit in my hand.

And every table I leaned on, it was the kind of table

that I always had wanted to lean on.

The 25 cent jug of wine was the kind of wine

that I'd always wanted to be drinking.

Well, mostly because of the price, I guess.

Because of the price.

And then I met silly old you.

You went and ruined everything.

I remember it was, um.

Yeah. Outside Katsikas.

And you had that green-worn wool sweater and...

Oh, no, that's not when we met.

No, no, we'd met when you were coming.

You were coming from the port

and you were carrying too many groceries.

I could barely see your head.

And, yeah, you had jugs of water, and you were coming up,

and there was a steed walking by, and it was making a whistling sound.

And there was a cat purring like,

like an angel playing a string, you know, like Babylon.

And I saw you, and the sun was shining out from you,

and you were coming from the monastery.

And I thought, it's Jesus Christ, the blonde, blue eyed Jesus Christ.

And you completely ignored me, as I suppose you know Jesus would.

I don't remember.

I know you don't remember, but I do.

I'd never ignore you.

You did.

I'll never forget.

Why did you come to Hydra?

Why? Well, I mean, I was, you know, Axel.

And I think when I met him, he was just so different

from everyone and everything I knew.

And it turned out it was all about him and not about me or us.

You can play anything.

It doesn't even have to be a song.

You can just whatever you feel like.

My voice is very ragged.

I've been drinking and my nails are dirty.

And I'm ugly and I'm hunchback.

You're beautiful. And I'm Jewish.

That's all the ingredients you need for to make a song.

Okay. Yes. It's perfect.

# Oh, the Sisters of Mercy.

# They are not departed or gone.

# They are waiting for me

# when I thought that I just can't go on.

# And they brought me their comfort.

# And later they brought me this song.

There's nothing like your body.

# Well, I hope you run into them.

# You who've been travelling so long.

# Yes, you must leave everything that you cannot control.

# It begins with your family.

# And soon it comes round to your soul.

# Well, I've been where you're hanging.

# I think I can see how you're pinned.

# When you're not feeling holy.

# Your loneliness says that you've sinned.

Where are we?

I'm not exactly sure.

I think we're somewhere in Denmark.

We should be in Oslo by tonight, though.

What kind of mother would rather sleep in a car, then go home

to her own child?

Did you know that when I, um...

When I, after I had given birth to him and I...

I left the clinic, I just I wanted to...

I wanted to leave him behind.

I wanted to leave my own child behind

because I felt like I wasn't ready

and I wasn't ready,

but that was because I knew that with Axel

it was all just ruined way, way before.

But I just I just pretended and I just pretended

and I just pretended because I knew that I would have no husband

and I would have no father for my child to be with.

And I just wanted to be me.

And the thing is that with you, I feel like I am me.

And so I just don't want to, I, I don't know, I don't know, I...

No one is born a mother.

Nobody.

You're a fantastic mother. I've seen you.

No, I'm not. You're fantastic.

It's true. No.

When you look at each other, it's like, uh...

There's no sea, there's no land, there's nothing.

Just the two of you.

See the birds?

They just fly without thinking.

That's you too.

The thing is, you and I, that car is a moon vessel.

You know, it's temporary. That's why it works.

Because we know it's not going to last forever.

And so every minute becomes valuable.

But after a while, you would miss...

You'd miss Axel, and you'd miss being a mother,

and you'd take it out on me.

I know that, you think my stories are old and worn.

Just like every relationship ever.

I mean, that's the problem with this kind of love,

is that sooner or later, the other person becomes habit.

And I'm not being pedagogical.

I'm saying that...

From my side of the scene where I am,

there's nothing more pure, loving and large.

There's nothing more special than what you have.

And we have a lot of things. We don't have that.

One more night.

Oh, one more night's not gonna do it.

Two more nights is not gonna do it.

It's gonna go on and on until it stops, you know.

I will never grow tired of your stories or let you become a habit.

It's a promise you can't make.

A promise I can't make either.

# Going home to fight.

# What I can't win.

# My heart is torn.

# That's where the light gets in.

# I'm feeling you in everything I find.

# What can I keep?

# What can I leave behind.

Yes. He's sleep.

Baby.

This is Leonard.

My mother. Hello.

Heard so much about you.

I'm meeting a celebrity.

I don't know what this is.

Do you like it? It's like matzo.

Matzo ball. Yeah. It's a...

Okay. Potato. Yeah.

Right. This is the best meal we've had in a long time.

That's Norwegian. That's Norwegian.

Very Norwegian.

Mother was just saying,

she thinks you're a bit too skinny and that you have to eat more.

Sounds like my mother.

You know, Jesus always said, it's more important

what comes out of your mouth than what goes in it.

Mother understands English.

She just doesn't speak it.

Oh, sorry.

Dear diary, that was a car crash.

Really?

She hates...

..me.

No, she likes you. She likes you.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, she loves me. No.

She hates me, possibly.

Axel, he didn't even make it through the hall downstairs.

You sat at her dinner table.

I'm flattered.

You should be.

Oh, my goodness, this is cracked.

Bad luck for seven years.

This is how I always see myself.

Broken.

# And no way to say goodbye.

Eggs and homemade bread.

That brings me right back home.

Oh, she asks, where are you from?

I'm from Montreal, Canada.

His family and relatives, his mother are there.

Condolences.

Oh, okay.

Um, you have work?

Um, yeah, I am, uh.

Leonard's a poet.

I'm a writer.

I am, I've written a few volumes of poetry

and I just, I've written written a novel.

I've written a few novels.

Um, one was, uh, rejected.

Uh, but another one is coming out soon.

Yeah, hopefully you know in Norway.

And I've been writing some songs as well.

Guitar?

Yeah.

Why didn't you just tell her what I did before we got here?

I didn't tell her because I wanted her to meet you first

and see what kind of person you are without just judging you

and what you do based on her impression of Axel.

Leonard, please don't.

Don't pay attention to my mother.

She's just very insecure. And that's...

Your mother's a lot of things.

I don't know if insecure is one of them.

It's just her coping mechanism.

And when you...

If you feel like she's judging you, it's not you. It's all...

She's judging me because she feels that I am ruining

and wasting my life.

Oh, you're ruining wasting your life with me.

Okay. Very nice.

No, you know that's not what I meant at all.

All right.

Let's not get nasty, okay?

Let's just, um. We'll go for a walk.

Yeah. That's a great idea.

Forgive me.

Do you know where your mother put my shoes?

I don't know, they're probably in the hall. Go look.

Thank you so much for the letter.

Great news about the book.

For the last two months, I felt gradually more isolated

from the world and from myself,

so I can't say how much it meant to me right now.

Unfortunately, we spent all our money getting to Norway

and Marianne has her son to take care of. At the same time.

Of course, I agree with you that all the endless hours of work

I put into it mustn't go to waste.

I don't know how much longer I can take it.

You know, actually, I was talking to her this morning and she did say

that we can we can stay as long as we like.

So I was thinking maybe I'll find a job.

And, uh...

I was wondering if there is anywhere else we could stay,

you know, just sleep.

We can sleep under a bridge, if that's what you want.

No. Just, um, you know, a friend.

I thought you had maybe a friend.

Well, my friends have families and kids, and, I mean, you...

You could find a job here as well, you know.

Doing what?

Journalist, maybe. In Norwegian?

Because I'm so fantastic at the language.

Pretty good.

You can just stay in and write like you usually do,

and we will be out of your way.

Do you want to come up or...?

Yeah, I'll be in. I'm just... I need to finish the cigarette.

Is there really anything left to cut off?

Sorry.

I mean, isn't that the second time in a row that you're shaving?

No.

You've been shaving for half an hour now,

so you can just go for a walk and it'll make you feel better.

I don't want to offend her.

Well, you won't offend her, because I'll just tell her

that you had an important errand to go to.

It's fine, really.

Hey, you look fantastic.

Thank you.

You too.

You shouldn't light the table on fire.

Where is little...?

My mother took him to the park.

Okay. The invitation was for him as well.

I know, but I think my mother felt that it was a little bit

inappropriate to bring a child here.

Because this place here is quite, um...

It's an institution, really.

But you do know that this place is, um, quite expensive.

That's okay, because Irving, um, Irving's lent me a little money.

Wire came in today.

Amazing. Yeah.

What?

I love you.

I love you, too.

I'm going to Canada.

When?

Just for a little while. I, um...

My book has finally come out.

Uh, so they're, uh.

You know, paying my fare and giving me the whole, uh,

Star Spangled Banner treatment.

Uh, if I go and I promote it.

So, um, I figured I'll, uh, you know,

just go away for a little while and make enough money

to send to you and a little micro,

and you all can come to Montreal and...

..come and enjoy the freezing cold.

I mean, why can't you just why can't you just stay here

and you can find a job?

Because that's not. I am I'm not...

I'm not completely well, you know,

I don't know if you can see it in my eyes, but but...

Every time I shave.

It takes a lot of self control.

Please don't say that.

I just...

I just really don't want you to leave.

You won't like what I become if I stay.

So you're going home?

Going to Montreal. Home's wherever you are.

Marianne. It's not the end. Okay?

Look at me. It's not the end.

How do you know that?

# Why must I be the one?

# To always be alone.

# My love.

# Oh, why?

# Why can't I be the one?

# To believe that love.

# Will go my way.

# So why?

# Don't you take me along.

Captions by Red Bee Media (c) SBS Australia 2024