All language subtitles for Sex o phalsapheh (Mohsen Makhmalbaf, 2005)

Sex & Philosophy

Hello, Maryam?

It's me, John.

Pick up the phone if you are in.

If not, then listen to my message.

I wanted to tell you,

I turned 40 today

and decided to revolt against myself.

I celebrated my birthday
in the street.

Alone and all by myself.

I lit 40 candles,

and for an hour I've been
following street musicians

that remind me of my parents.

Hello, how are you?

Thank you, fine.

- I am celebrating today.
- Congratulations.

- Will you sing?
- With all my heart.

- We�ll go around the city.
- Ok.

- How much do you charge?

- Whatever you wish to pay.

- Will you sing with all your heart?
- Of course.

Get in.

- In yet?
- I am in.

Let�s go.

Can you hear the music, Maryam?

Of course you will when you wake up.

By the way

come to dance class at 2 o�clock.

Two hours before other girls do.

Don�t forget to bring your red rose.

With your heavenly love.

The key to dance class is
in the tree trunk as usual.

Come, I have a surprise for you.

For now, listen to this music

... For your soft feeling.

Hello, Farzaneh?

It's me, John.

It�s my birthday today.

Come to dance class at 2 o�clock.

Don�t bring your dog please.

The key is in the tree trunk.

If not just come to the room.

The door will be open.

I�ll be waiting for you.

Come but with no sorrow or crying.

I want to see a happy Farzaneh.

Come, I have a surprise for you.

John!

I'm here.

Hey! John!

I'm here.

Hello, it�s me, John.

Tahmineh, can you come to
dance class at 2 o�clock?

Not at 4, when they all come!
Come at 2:00.

If you come at 2:00,

I have a surprise for you.

No, our meeting has nothing to
do with my birthday.

It�s something else.

Something ordinary but
it will stun you.

I want you to see the
truth with your own eyes.

I am revolting against myself.

John!

Where are you?

Hello Malahat, it�s me, John.

How are you?

Feeling better?

I hope you are feeling better.

It would�ve been nice if you came
to dance class at 2 o�clock.

Do not forget to bring
our favorite wine.

I have a surprise for you.

John!

John!

Four girlfriends at the same time?
Is this love?

It�s a search, Maryam.

I found a piece of my heart
with each one of you.

I know this is the end for us,

but I want to talk to you all.

Let me start talking

to my first love.

Go back to rehearsing.

I can't believe

that this will be the last
time I�ll dance with you.

We were not meant to be together.

I�ll quit you and dancing forever.

Do you remember our first meeting?

Welcome!

Do you remember?
You said to me, "Welcome."

You were laughing

and waving your hands.

Why?

This was the first time in my life,

our plane flew with one passenger!

Dear passengers,

Bring your seat in vertical position.

Fasten your seat belts.

Thank you for your attention.
We wish you a pleasant flight.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If necessary, oxygen masks
will drop over your head.

Exit doors ...

Ladies and Gentlemen,

If necessary, oxygen masks
will drop over your head.

there are 2 exit doors at the end
and 2 in the middle of the aircraft.

Dear passengers, please get
ready for take off.

Remember, my love,

you said flight duration was one hour?

and passengers would be offered
cold and hot drinks?

I did not say it. It was a recording.

Ladies and gentlemen!
Flight duration is one hour.

During the flight we�ll be
offering cold and hot drinks.

Would you like some tea?

Remember I offered you tea?

And you said: "No"

Do you remember, I said:

"If I drink tea,

I would get heartbeats

and think I was falling
in love again?"

Remember I asked you
what you wanted to drink?

And I said: "I want your love."

And you heard what I
asked for coffee.

Hot coffee please.

You know what my mother
taught me in my childhood?

She said to refuse two things.

A cold look and a cold coffee.

What do you think about that?

Was your coffee cold?

It was cold.

I brought you hot coffee.

John,

when will you talk to me?

I will, later.

Come on, dance!

I had a heartbeat.

I was breathless.

Do you remember?

How do you feel?

Take all the air

Do not leave a drop for breath,

but leave your smile.

Do you remember I asked you:

"Why am I the only passenger
on the plane?"

And you answered:

"After the terrorist attacks,

passengers were afraid to fly."

Well ...

did you want me to find out
you had three other girlfriends?

Well I got it.
But all the other girls know too.

A man and a woman alone in the sky.

Like Adam and Eve and their first
meeting in heaven.

Until now all my loves were earthly

but now I feel a divine love.

Will you now say you love me?

I am a flight attendant,

and have to attend my duties.

We have are told to be friendly
to make our guests feel at home

but no intimate relationship.

I heard you.

A cold coffee and a
cold look please.

What do you want?

A cold coffee and a
cold look please.

What do you mean?

A cold look, please.

Was Maryam�s coffee hot?

Yes, I asked her out.

Whenever I fell in love

I made a statue out of a dry tree.

Did you make this for me?

I sculpted the other one for you.

You know every time
I find my house key,

it feels like a mystery unraveled.

What�s this? A watch?

It�s a chronometer.

What is it for?

I record my life�s
happy moments with it.

How much have you recorded?

I remember you said:
"Nearly nineteen hours.

and 21 more hours would add up

... to 40 hours of love."

"I would have been happy
for one hour every year."

You turned 40 today. Happy Birthday!

Thank you.

I am 40 years old

but i haven't lived for
more than 40 hours.

I remember you asked me why I
recorded time with the chronometer.

I remember, I told you:

"I want to measure the time
of my happiness."

Did you find it?

Not yet.

You know butterflies only
live for one day.

During this day, 24 hours,

they are born,

fall in love,

reproduce.

They don�t think of anything.

They only fly

and kiss their flowers.

Butterflies have more useful
lifetime than we do.

In all these forty years

I haven't lived a single day

I didn�t even live a
butterfly�s life.

What about you?

Me?

I mean,

how many romantic memories
do you have?

Did you find the chronometer?

It was in your hand.

Not yet.

Have you ever been in love?

No.

Perhaps this is because

when you are a stewardess,
your heart must be made of stone.

To be honest,

I once fell in love.

At that time, I didn�t even
realize that I did.

My mother knew it.

I remember as a child when I
played outside I used to see a boy.

He always looked at me

like a cat, about to catch a dove.

I was scared of him and my
heart beat: tap, tap, tap.

I was really afraid of him.

I told my mother I was
scared of that boy.

That every time I saw him
I got heartbeats.

And she said to me, if your
heart is beating,

This doesn't mean fear,
it means love.

"You're in love, dear."

Do you have a heartbeat now?

I want to hug you.

Why do men always want to
capture a woman�s body?

Because I want to prove
my love for you.

Does love mean
capturing the body?

I make love therefore, I am.
This is my philosophy.

I am loved therefore, I am.
This is my philosophy.

I wanted to hug you.

My body belongs to he
who captures my soul.

Rehearse girls.

Hands up.

One,

two, three,

four.

Turn.

Stand still like ice.

Maryam!

Every love is a result
of some ordinary incidence.

If I hadn�t flown on that airplane

or if you weren�t the stewardess there,

no love affair would have emerged.

Or maybe a different couple was
at the verge of breaking up now.

Wait a minute!
Listen!

I was searching the sky to
find an earthly love.

But your love on earth
is still a heavenly love.

You didn�t even let me kiss you.

You know how much happy
time we�ve had together?

2 hours and 20 minutes.

Listen!

I am 40 years old but never even
lived as much as a butterfly.

I have not spent a single
full day of love.

Wait a minute!

Take take this chronometer
as keepsake.

Ask your mum

how many minutes your heart beat
for that boy in your childhood.

Then record it in this chronometer.

Record all your happy
moments in it from now on.

Let your heart beat at least
once a year otherwise

this chronometer will die down.

Good luck.

John, why did you do this to me?

I thought you only drank wine with me,

but now I see that you did
with others as well.

Take this chronometer.

The 3 hours, 13 minutes of my
sweet memories are now bitter.

Dance.

Girls! The new dance.

Don�t you teach me how to dance.
I know dancing better than you.

I was inspired by your
walking for this dance.

That evening, my guest was a poet,

a famous poet.

"Fill up the cup,

that this fiery water,
has long since failed

to make me feel good."

These cups lined up one after another.

Are seas of fire that I
pour in my mouth.

The whirlpool steals me away
but the water won�t take me.

Thank you.

What kind of wine would you like?

And the wine does nothing
but make me fall asleep.

Fill up the cup.

Pour the wine.

Hello Sir, welcome to our city.

Thank you.

An autograph please.

All right.

Those young guys recognized the poet,

and wanted to stay with him.

But he was evading them.

What does the poet�s case
have to do with me?

How is it not related to you?

How is it not related to you?

You have to know what
happened to me before I saw you.

I asked this poet:

"Why do you not respect your fans?"

These young people idolize you,

give them 5 minutes of your time.

John, they love my poems ...

They love you.

But ...

unfortunately, they kill my time.

Had I given them these 5 minutes,

I would have lost my life.

In my life there comes autumn.

Minutes are called time

but in essence they are lifetime and

John,

life is short,

and in order to preserve it,

one shouldn�t compromise.

I'm sorry, sir.

John, don�t leave. It�s a warning.

Minutes are called time ...

What is your best poem?

The best?

The one I'll be composing now.

- In the name of love.
- In the name of lovers.

Wait a minute.
Will you let me speak in Russian?

There is a tradition for
romantic drinking.

Not only glasses touch but

whoever is more in love
has to hold his glass lower.

Second.

I want to teach you something.

Good night.

I - morning breeze,

in love with you,

as a pilgrim,

eager to see you.

Like a butterfly in flight,

flit admiring,

as a summer rain,

I soaked you to the bone.

When the sun comes up,

I will dance for you,
like the sea breeze.

Why don�t you sleep?

I don't know.

Do you have a heart?

Yes I do.

It�s easier for me to
speak in Russian.

Can you speak Russian?

Where is your heart?
I want to hear it beat.

It�s here. Come listen.

How come it is not beating?
Is it dead?

No.

Listen to my heart;
how it�s beating for your love.

Listen.

This is not a heartbeat.

It�s the chronometer ticking.

Why do you carry a chronometer?

I record my happy moments of love.

Have you ever been in love?

No. Others fell in love with me.

How did you know they loved you?

I used to hear their heartbeats
from behind this curtain.

What happened next?

When they came to this side
through this curtain

their hearts stopped beating.

Can you hear,
the beating of your heart?

I can hear it.

Come over here.

Where are we?

This is a dance class.
I am a dance teacher.

I am a dance teacher.

Do you know how to dance?

I'm shy.

This is not dancing.

Your walking is like a dance.

Go sit and watch.

This is how you dance.

Did you come after this color or this?

Your walking seduced me.

Feminine ...

... and crazy.

This drew me towards you.

Walk.

What�s behind this door?

A secret.

What secret?

First you tell me your secret,

and then I'll tell you mine.

I don�t have any secrets.

Why do you have shoes
in different colors?

Smell the red one.

Do you like crying?

No, I don't like crying,

Because my make-up starts running
and I look ugly.

Your heart is really beating.

Are you in love?

No. I don't fall in love.

When men are with me,
I don�t like them.

When they leave I start loving them.

Then I'll go.

You can�t walk with these shoes.

Good, good.

Did you forget that you
loved my walking

especially with these shoes?

Not only because of them.

Every love starts with
ordinary encounters.

Love depends on the most
ordinary circumstances.

If I hadn�t been touched
by that poet

who kept saying,that
life wasn�t to be wasted

perhaps, your shoes
wouldn�t have lured me.

If you hadn�t broken up with
your boyfriend

maybe you wouldn�t even notice me.

So this was not love. It
was just a romantic circumstance

And it will only last until
the next romantic situation.

Don't forget you fell in love
with me because of these shoes.

You told me you loved my shoes.

I love you.

Say it in Tajiki.

I love you. It can't be translated.

I like the Tajiki word for love.

I can�t feel the Russian
word for love.

I love you till eternity.

For how long? Only one month.

Until the end of life.

All men who said "forever"
did not stay longer than a month.

John!
John!

John! Wait a minute!

Take an umbrella, you'll get wet.

Wait a minute! John!

Thank you.

You're right.

Nothing lasts forever.

Even the heart of a man in love,

with the most beautiful girl,
will not last forever.

Where are you going?

Wait.

This is not love!
You loved me just because

I loved you.

It was a trade off.

Wait a minute, I�ll take you, sit.

- Sit down.
- No. Time our love was over.

Wait a minute!
I�ll take you not as a lover

but as a cab driver.

Where are you going, Ma�am?

To the past.

To a year ago, when we were happy.

Do you remember my birthday?

When you brought 39 candles
for my 39 years?

Sale!
Sale!

- Lenin�s portrait!
- How are you, Uncle Volodya?

Fine.

What do you have?

Lenin's portrait, painted during
his lifetime. Buy, please.

I had a portrait of Lenin.
I sold it ...

and bought a portrait of Jesus ...

and then sold it and bought
a stopwatch? Remember that?

I remember, I remember.

- Come, please, in our store.
- The chronometer?

Want a chronometer?
Here�s one.

It belonged to Tolstoy�s grandson.
See.

Take a look.

This one was Chekhov�s.

- Really?
- Yes.

- Really Chekhov's?
- Yes.

Do you prefer Chekhov or Tolstoy?

I like this one.

Whose is this?

This one? This belonged to the grandson.
No, it's Stalin's son.

- Stalin's son?
- Yes.

So, Tolstoy, Chekhov and Stalin's son?

- Do you like that?
- Yes.

All right.

- Are you bying it
- Yes.

Do you know how much
happy times we have had?

Do you know how much
happy times we have had?

Hello?

Hello it�s me, John.

This is Tahmineh.

Do you know how much
our happy times have been?

No, I don�t. I erased it.

Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?

Every love is the result of
a few ordinary incidences.

If I hadn�t come up with a
diarrhea to end up in the hospital

where you were on duty that night,

and if you hadn't asked me
what my profession was,

and if I hadn�t told you
that I am a poet,

if you hadn�t told me
that you love poetry,

we wouldn�t be breaking up now.

You've said yourself, that love
is the union of two hearts.

You don't have to turn love
into an ideology.

When two hearts meet in
this world, nothing changes,

and when they be separated,
nothing changes as well.

This is what happens
every day in our lives.

All the loves in the history
of mankind,

have not affected the earth
as much as the ozone layer has.

So don�t turn love into an ideology.

Love lasts only with love.
You can not love only out of loyalty.

What would you like to eat?

Milk.

How many times did you go
to the toilet?

Once.

Once? But that's natural.

Once, but from morning to evening.

Where do you feel pain?

In my stomach.

Is it severe?

What's your profession?

- Poet.
- Poet?

Is poetry a profession?

I like poetry too and

write poems sometimes,

but I am a doctor by profession.

What is your profession?

For now I am sick, but

usually when I am healthy

my profession is ...love.

Love? Is love a profession?

It's the best profession,

although it is not profitable.

Have you ever been loved by a man?

Many times. Some of my patients
still love me.

They say this hospital
has love viruses.

Then let one patient,
infected by these viruses,

invite you to a poet�s balcony,

that gathers all lovers and
makes love auguries with his poems.

Do you have time now?

Get well first.

Nobody thought about love anymore.

In the streets I hear only:

I'm sorry! Good-bye!

Not one thought of love, not one.

Winter came.

Not one thought of love, not one.

I hear only:
Farewell! Farewell!

In the streets of ...

John! It's me.

Why did you leave?
I wanted to talk to you.

Staying in dance class didn�t
mean anything anymore.

Are you coming to my place?

I'm coming right now.

No. Come at midnight, as usual.

- Will you come?
- Yes.

Thank you.

Let me introduce John.

It�s his birthday today.
He turned 40.

Happy birthday to you!

Sit down.

John, I ...
Excuse me, please.

I didn�t introduce anyone yet.
I was waiting for you.

This is Safar,

Lotfollah,
Nick.

We owe our meeting ...

... to John�s honesty,

I have learned a lot from him.

I want to ... I want to ... John ...

Would you like a drink?

I must say ...

take this ...

... and light a candle in honor of his birthday.

I made a revolution in my life.

I must confess ...

Our meeting owes it to
John�s honesty,

I have learned a lot from him.

How should I put it ...
Now ...

So, I decided to make a
revolution in my life.

And ...

I�ll tell you something
you have no clue of,

all four of you are my boyfriends.

I have relationships with
all four of you.

And ...

in short, I date,
I have a relationship ...

with you, Safar,

and with John,
and Lotfelo,

and Nick.

Whore!

Safar!
Safar!

What do you think about all this?

About what?

About love, about loyalty?

I think, when love ...

... ends,

it gets boring.

I am afraid of constant presence
of women and love.

You know what I mean?

Once a friend asked me,

how I feel about love,
tenderness and fidelity.

You know what I said?

I said love is hot at first

and cold at last.

Love is the miracle of one moment.

If this miracle does not
last on its own,

it won�t last with any contracts.

Why are you silent?

What can I say?

You look too serious.

- May I speak in Russian?
- Please.

All of the world�s serious stuff
seem ridiculous to me.

All important philosophies
are fallacious.

We are alone,

and loneliness is our fate.

We are alone.

But you did not mention
anything about loyalty.

We are incapable of eternal love,

we cannot survive a great love.

It's just a small outbreak of
passion, some interest.

In fact, great love does not exist.

What does it mean to love?

To become part of another person?

Or stay with a person until death?

I don't know.

But every lover has revealed to
me a part of love�s mystery.

I feel love is endangered
in the contemporary world.

I think it can happen

that true love will soon
die on Earth.

All my life I was searching
for love,

but found only loneliness.

So let everyone light their
own candle of loneliness.

- Hello.
- Hello? It's me.

Where are you?

Not far away.

Very close.

John,

I learned a lot from you.

Learned ...

... to love in a way,

that I forget the sufferings of life.

John, can I kiss you?

You know what I was just thinking?

I thought, if

we lived a 1000 years instead of 40,

how would our kiss taste?

Tales of Leila and Majnun,
Romeo and Juliet ...

belong to the past.

We can�t rely on these
stories any more.

We have arrived at liberty.
Sexual liberty.

But the scary thing is,
we lose the most important ...

... we lose love.

- Hello.
- Hello.

So we see each other again.

Sit, sit.

- All is well?
- Sit down.

Today, my loneliness was born.

- Will you sing a song?
- Of course.

Let�s go then.