"BLI ND CHANCE" "Written and Directed by KRZYSTOF KIESLOWKI" "Write." "1 7 - 9 = 8." "Good." "Your mother did her eights like you." "Daniel!" "I'm not going far." "Just to Denmark." "I'll write to you." "Let's see the names." " Kubin." " Inoffensive." "What was he?" "Prime minister." "He fondled a little girl." "It's easy." "Kaminski has three zeros." "Easy too." "Dlugosz was minister of health." " He's an orphan." " But he's got straight A's." "Including for behavior." "He's a ringleader, but we like him." "Screw her good!" "What's up?" "That woman was my teacher." "I hated her." "This is the first time you've noticed me, isn't it?" "I bought you skates and a bike, but I didn't like you getting such good grades." "You noticed?" "Know what I really liked?" "In sixth grade, you fought with your teacher." "After that, you didn't get get good grades anymore." "I had an aversion to good students." "And I took a sudden dislike to your school." "Still here?" "Meet my son." "Witek." "I have a room for an hour." "I have to call." "You call, but you never say anything." "Witek?" "Yes, Dad." "They're taking me to the hospital." "You mustn't..." " Mustn't what?" " Nothing." "Dad!" "My father..." "Are you pissing or puking?" "You're lucky this time." "Lost the vocation?" "Exactly." "So?" "My father is dead." "He wanted me to be a doctor." "He changed his mind on his deathbed." "I need time to think." "Of course." "Too bad." "Dean, sir, you have a mustache." "Look where you're going!" "Sorry!" "A beer." "Warsaw, student." "You're lucky." " You barely made it." " It was close." "Keep your damned feet down!" " Can I go to the restroom?" " Go on." "But no funny stuff." "Go for it." "Now's your chance." "I'll give you my sneakers." "He didn't want to escape?" "No." "Sometimes people don't want to run." "They refuse." "When they hit you on the bone, you limp for the rest of your life." "Vodka's getting worse every day." "At the trial, I owned up." "Not immediately." "But..." "I understood that I'd have to own up to something I hadn't done." "Krystyna... was waiting for me to be freed." " Did I tell you what she was like?" " Yes." "The palest white." "The odd thing about her was she had fair downy hair on her upper lip and here... and fat, ugly hands." "Maybe that's why I approached her." "Those ugly, fat hands..." "She couldn't get her wedding ring off." "When Adam was arrested in '49..." "Since he was arrested, he must've been a spy." "It took me a year to explain to her." "I was living at her place." "Did we call already?" "Yes." "There was no one home." "And today?" "I still believe it..." "and her, I don't know." "When I was arrested, she began to have doubts that she'd really been the wife of a spy." "Yet I tried to persuade her that I, too, was against the Party, opposed to Communism." "She stopped believing in the Party." "She lost faith in everything." "We were in the same prison." "She'd come to visit." "She seemed whiter than ever, ever paler." "She still had that down on her lip." "45-21 -95." "Ask for Krystyna." "I'm calling from a booth." "Is Krystyna there?" "Say you're from the Institute." "It's me..." "Krystyna?" "I got back a few hours ago." "But you weren't home." "Have you slept these past nights?" "The fridge is empty." "Since I'm leaving again, I haven't bought anything." "This late, I don't eat." "Well?" "Did I show you the picture?" "You'd recognize her." "This one was taken 30 years ago." "But that time cannot be... very clear in your mind." "What year did you get out?" "Too late, in '54." "The spies got out first, and the deviationists... a bit later." "When I got out, they'd already been together for a year." "And you?" "They gave me this apartment, which I'll likely never leave." "And here you continued to believe in all that?" "Here, as everywhere." "Yet it's perhaps easier..." "for me to believe," "precisely because I am here." "Here, I feel equal to others." "After being in prison," "I never wanted to be more equal than others, even though I was offered the chance." "I left prison with people who had a lot to offer." "But can't you see what it's become?" "It's simple." "Where we didn't succeed, perhaps you all will." "You, for example." " Want a blanket?" " Yes." "Go to bed." "I'm not sleepy." "There's a blanket on the bed." "I have several." "My father died 1 0 days ago." "I didn't get to see him in time." "At the last minute, he told me I mustn't..." "Come, Witek." "This young man's name is Dlugosz." "What does he do?" "He's taking time off, after four years of medicine." "Lost the vocation?" "Yeah." "So now we know." "Let's see if we can start." " Read it?" " Yes." "And?" "I agree." "You write well." "In fact, that's all you do well." "We can start." " Coming to listen?" " Yes." "Werner is leaving in three weeks?" "Yes, for some time, I think." "If you... need any help, feel free to come see me." "I will speak to you without notes, as I know what I have to say." "I intend to give you my point of view on an idea" "I've cherished for 40 years." "Every generation has need of light." "It needs to know, or to believe that the world can be a better place." "This need, which is older than Marx and younger than Marx, is like a drug." "Early in life, it brings joy, as light seems near, within reach." "At life's end, it brings bitterness, as the light has grown distant." "During those 40 years, I lived through many things, and today I see it more distant than before." "Thus, I should not encourage you." "But believe me, life without this hope, without this bitterness... wouldn't be worth living." "Don't worry." "Her sight is poor, and she doesn't wear glasses." "You'll wait here?" "Czuszka!" "Don't you recognize me?" "Hi." "May I kiss your hand?" " Can we talk?" " Yes." "Will you wait?" "Who's he?" "My first love." "I'll be right back." "Good-bye." "Don't forget to turn off the gas." "Just a second." "That guy, Adam, gave me his card and told me to come see him after you left." "And?" "I don't know what to do." "Do as you like." "A passport application?" "No." "An application to join the Party." "Pity we didn't sleep together when we were 1 7." "A farmer?" "Stanislawski." "A sportsman?" "Jacek Wszola." "What?" "Zimmermann." "No, no engineers." "I have a mechanic." "His name is Buzek." "Okay, boss, I'll check." "There's a problem with this list of young Poles." "They're asking me who " "Who's this?" "Witek." "Sit down a minute." "You see, we have this problem." "They've revolted at Miodowa Gora." "I don't understand." " The junkies!" " The drug heads!" "We'd even put young people in charge, changed the entire staff, the doctors, the nurses." "Got rid of the old, and they don't want the young." "They're threatening to set fire to the place." "The easiest thing would be to send in the police." "Someone has to go." "Know what?" "You know?" "He could go." "Could you?" "The green jacket, it's his!" "Listen, Witek, we can't go." "We'd only make things worse." "You could try." "Adam speaks so highly of you." "It's worth a try." "But what would I do there?" "What a question." "Calm them down, at all costs." "Calm them down." "We'll take turns here by the phone." " Got a car?" " And this list?" " Who are Buzek and Idziak?" " Who are they?" "Idziak, a film director." "Buzek, a mechanic." "Wear your jacket." "It's only 40 miles away." "He'll go." "Who is it?" "I'm from the Committee." "Your card." "We've already met, no?" "Dlugosz, from the National Committee." " We've got 1 0 more." " In five minutes, it's up in flames." " What's the prefix for Warsaw?" " Eight." "Like in America." "I'm on the spot." "The doctors are locked in a cage." "I just got in." "The director's office." "It's the counselor's bedroom." "The director's office is more chic." "Isn't it, Mr. Director?" "There are palm trees." "Listen, buddy." "Your guys in charge here cost us three lives." "A girl poisoned herself, and two guys hanged themselves." "One of them sat in this cage for four days." "And before?" "They didn't lock us up." "We have three demands:" "Withdraw your people, reinstate the former staff and hospital status." "I'm the director." "This is the staff." "The others made a run for it." " Can't I talk to them?" " Go ahead." "What should I do?" "Get us out of here." " Who was here before you?" " Old farts." "They believed in persuasion and permitted everything." " But no one hanged himself." " We saved one." "As for the others, the state prosecutor..." " Would they burn the place?" " Sure, they're crazy!" "We're not scared." "Like in America." "Call an assembly." "There's a morning roll call, they don't let us go out, they read our mail, visits are forbidden..." "The Gestapo!" "They made me a group leader." "Do I look like a leader?" "The former director liked us a lot." "He liked Staszek too." "They caged him because he made love to me." "The hanged guy's girlfriend." "We travel the world" "Searching for a new life" "Waiting for true love" "To swoop down upon us" "Telephone." "Yes." "General assembly." "Hold on." "They've escaped!" "Get the gas cans!" "The gasoline!" "All out in the corridor!" "I'm staying!" "Stop!" "Quit pouring." "I'll stay." "Grab him!" "Bring buckets and basins." "It's not going quick enough." "Pour some in the basins." "Lock him up!" "Did you get that?" "What?" "I'm staying, so they don't set it on fire." "Yes, the three demands." "They're right." "We'll wait till tonight." "Then, bonfire!" "It's only water.Just a tryout." "You've made a good start." "It's good you weakened." "I got scared." "One can take advantage of a moment of weakness." "You begin to resemble them." "They're no longer on their guard, and you regain the upper hand." " Only you shouldn't have sided with them." " But they were right." "And in their presence." "You have to negotiate these things first." "And justice..." "You were acting as a public figure." "If you'd gone in private, alone..." "But I was alone." "No, you had a phone, the police, the authorities." "Otherwise, you'd have been afraid." "Krystyna, this is Dlugosz." "Hello." "It was you who called us last year, with Werner?" "We were great friends." "I know." "He spoke a lot about you." " About prison too?" " Yes." "If he'd gotten out before me, he'd be in my shoes and I in his." "Yet it wasn't by chance." "He owned up because they beat him." "They beat me too." "Only afterwards, for 1 5 years," "I did gymnastics." "He thought, " Why bother?"" "How can one still believe in such an idea?" "Every idea has its period of error." "The Inquisition was worse, yet people died for their faith." "Then along cameJohn XXIII." "You're sure there'll be no more errors?" " From us?" " Yes, you." "Who can ever be sure?" "It's obvious here that of late everything's going to the dogs." "Those who govern us are impotent." "This system has to give." "It's only a matter of time." "You really think so?" "And you say so?" "Loud and clear." "So why to me?" "Those at the top don't want to listen." "I need some support." "You perhaps?" "So what's to be done?" "The scissors." " You were saying?" " What's to be done?" "You have to be on the inside." "From the outside, you can do nothing." "When it all comes crashing down, someone'll have to pick up the pieces." "You, me, or someone else." "We can't leave the country to them." "You'd leave it to them?" "What's scary is to lose one's freedom to such an extent, to have to subject oneself so totally." "That's how it's organized." "I know." "In my job, I'm closely watched, and I accept that." "I'm not watched, and yet you knew exactly what went on with the junkies." "Yes." "They were your first steps." "Let's take it from the beginning." "But why?" "I want to know everything about you if we're to be together." "You understand?" "So tell me." "The first was at a scout camp." "My panties were too tight." "His buddy pretended to be asleep, snoring his head off." "My panties were pulling on me." "Afterwards, my skin was chafed." "Did it hurt?" " My skin?" " No." "A little." "I had three abortions." "One out of love, two by chance." "The first was at the hospital." "It was awful." "They shaved me." "In private clinics they don't." "How many have there been in all?" " Exactly?" " Yes." "Six." "No, seven." "The seventh, only once." "He bit me." " Where?" " There." "I had sex with him in a hotel." "And the others?" "A bed, a bathroom, a car, a toilet..." "I love you." "Me too." "During those 1 8 months," "I wanted to find you." "I went to the university." "Me too." "I didn't dare call." "What's up, old man?" "They bring endless amounts, enough for two boats." "As long as they don't get caught." "Why?" "No, it'll be okay." "He's worried about your books." "" What will our homeland be?" "Better, more just, it will set an example for all Europe."" "They distribute them?" "No, we do." "In Gdansk, Krakow, Szczecin." "We hand them out there." "Good organization." "What are you doing here?" "I'm with my girlfriend." "I just bought some books." "Here?" "Right next to your boat." "Funny, eh?" "Why?" "Three hundred feet away, illegal goings-on." "Nice guys?" "And a lot of them!" "Better than we are." "Your girlfriend involved too?" "Well, I won't ask for names." "We need to know what's going on." "And have our own intelligence sources." "Think about that." "What?" "Think about it." "Seeing the French in July?" "I hope so." "Werner's back soon?" "Soon." "Bye." "It'll sail the seas!" "What are you doing?" "Getting drunk on vodka." "Still alive?" "Yes, but..." "What is your sign?" "The white eagle." "When were you born?" "In June '56, in Poznan." "Me too, but in Lodz." "In Poznan, there were tanks." "My father, a worker, didn't come home that night." "My mother went into labor." "Brought to the hospital, she gave birth to us and died." " Us?" " I had a brother." "Born first, I survived." "I feel I sometimes remember." "An image beneath the eyelids." "Intelligent." "And courageous." "He really let them have it!" "Thanks to you, I understood a lot." "That was my goal." "Very courageous!" "Can I have a word?" "I think you'll be elected." "I don't know." "It matters who you speak to in private." "To tell you about their system would take a whole lecture." "Look what they make." "In this position, it's a calculator." "It tells the time and the date." "It's a stopwatch." "To the hundredth of a second." "Press here." "Each number has its note." "There's an alarm." "Hear that?" "Ten different melodies." "And it's tiny." "I gather things are going well for you." "Yes." "I've been elected to the National Committee." "And what's this?" "Try it and see." "It's like it's dead." "I can't see you at my place." "Werner is back." "We'd better change our meeting place." "Why?" "The depot was raided." "Two of our guys arrested, the printing press seized." "Miss Olkowska?" "Your papers." "You too." "Ah, it's you!" "Please come with us." "The comrade is busy." "Fuck!" "Are you all asleep?" "Don't you have arms?" "Calmed down?" "Do we call the police?" "No, throw him out!" "And not a word!" "I'm out of here!" "You showed me we could believe, and I believed." "When my aunt saw my Party card, she was so proud of me, so happy, she bawled her head off." "Well, fuck her tears!" "Fuck your faith!" "It's an idea that only serves to keep you in power." " I'm not in power." " Even worse." "People are being arrested all over, girls too!" "Your buddy's made an informer of me." "So I just broke the cop's face." "I know." "He called me." "Wait." "You forgot... your ticket for Paris." "Dean, sir!" "Your newspaper." "Czuszka!" "To every question, I replied, " I don't know."" "Did they beat you?" "No." "The guy who questioned me was a cute guy in jeans... like him." "Be right back." "You got me out." "You want your reward." "Want me to drop my pants?" "I didn't get you out." "I'm totally lost." "You were supposed to go to France." "I don't want to." "Go." "When you return, marry the daughter of some Politburo hack." "When you become minister," "I'll spit in your face." "Now, I can't." "Bringing your globe?" "I moved and I don't know where to put it." "Hi." "Got any room in your bag?" "Take this, but be careful." " We've met." " Right, at Miodowa Gora." "I really owe you one for getting me out of there." " What're we waiting for?" " The passports." "Here they are." "I got them, but there's a hitch." "They've called a strike." "Ours are involved." "We have to go see them." "We all stay put." " Look where you're going!" " Sorry!" "A beer." "Warsaw, student." "Stop him!" "Call the police!" " Name?" " Wietold Dlugosz." "Born?" "June 26, 1 956, at Poznan." "Poznan?" "A student?" "Taking time off from studies." "He knocked me over, hit a policeman, and jostled my comrade." "The other week, he pissed in the station." "I didn't file a report, but it was him." "Is this true?" "No." "Declared guilty." "Sentenced to 30 days' parole with the obligation to carry out community work." "Get stuffed." " Sorry?" " Nothing!" "I hope this will serve as a lesson." "" 1 957..." "We are in fourth year." "In 20 years, we will be..."" "Is it wine?" "No, granddad." "" Wlodek, Vice Prime Minister, Staszek, Minister," "Karol, Editor-in-Chief," "Janek, businessman abroad." "In April 1 977, we'll dig up the bottle."" "They didn't do it." "This is May." "A pity there are no last names." "Why are you here?" "A fight in a station." " And you?" " The TKN." " What?" " The underground university." "I lent my apartment out for lectures." "My neighbor denounced me for making noise." "What'll we do with this?" "Leave it." "They'll dig it up one day." "Is there a Wlodek, Vice Prime Minister?" "I don't know." "Hold on." "There's something else." "" I dug it up in 1 97 5, and every day" "I thank God that you failed." "Janek."" "Marek." "Witek Dlugosz." " No last names." " Why?" "Who told you all this?" "My father." "Mine died two weeks ago." "I wasn't with him." "On the phone, he told me I mustn't..." "He had a doctor repeat it to me." "You mustn't what?" "He wanted me to be an honest man, a doctor..." "I don't know what he meant to say." "I was told he didn't want to die." "Even though, long beforehand, he seemed resigned." "Hi there." " Introduce yourselves." " Stefan." "Witek." "A new recruit?" "New and pure." "Here." "" The Worker" and other papers." "4,000 zlotys for the books." "If you could get me Burek on literature," "Gornicki on the church, and The Social State by Kowalik." "For the free unions." "The phone number's inside." "Couldn't he bring it?" "Why not?" " I call and... ?" " Make an appointment." " From Father Stefan?" " Call me Stefan." "I can't bring myself to." "If I hadn't missed a train one month ago," "I wouldn't be here with you." "It's not just the result of chance." "No, sometimes I think it is." "You forget something?" "No." "It's me." "I called." "What's going on?" "Stefan sent you?" "Yes, the priest." "What did they do to you?" "Nothing too awful." "I have 7,000 zlotys for you." "Thank you." "I saw the bastards." "They're only carrying out orders." "It's nothing much." "I'll tidy up." "Don't feel ashamed." "No need to feel ashamed." "We're all scared." "I'll help you." "Is this yours?" "How did it happen?" "They arrived with flowers." "Supposedly from the workers." "They thanked me for taking care of them when dismissed or persecuted." "They thanked me for the papers." "The atmosphere was very pleasant." "I was about to make them coffee when all of a sudden, the tall one overturned the table." "It only lasted about five minutes." "You weren't scared?" "No." "My life is a gift." "The doctors gave me three years to live, and that was 1 2 years ago." "If God has given me the gift of life, why feel afraid?" "For a moment, I felt afraid." "I didn't know such things went on." " And anyhow, feel scared for whom?" " That's better." "I have no one worrying about me." "Like me." "My husband, my parents, are dead." "So I have no one to worry about." "You really believe it was God who gave you this gift of life?" "Who else?" "You know, He can come to you, if you do what He expects of you." "He can come if you help others." "You can even ask Him into yourself." "Mother Teresa of Calcutta replied, when asked what we can offer a human being at the hour of death," "" The hope that they are not alone."" "One minute I was alone." "Then you came and I am no longer." "You did right to come." "Looking for someone?" "You're being followed." "By who, Auntie?" "Impossible." "What are you mixed up in?" "We must sow even if the earth is dry" "Even if to dig we have no plow" "We must sow, even if the wind scatters the seeds" "And the crows follow in the sower's furrow" "We are so few to share" "Our poor wealth with the destitute" "Even if we don't see the wheat grow" "We must sow, sow, sow" "Leave to the right." "You, to the left." "Don't leave together." "Daniel?" "Don't you recognize me?" "Witek." "Summer of'68." "You left for Denmark." "Witek!" "My sister Vera." "You're back?" "For a few days." "For my mother's funeral." "I'll go see." "We'll stay." "This is my apartment." "Any more of this carrying on and I'll call the police." "Want a smoke?" "My aunt is threatening to call the police." "Why?" "She's a prewar Communist." "When we moved from Poznan, they walled up the door, but it's her apartment." "There's a stairway here." "It's absurd." " Would she do it?" " No, she's a decent lady." "She just thinks I'm doing it to spite her." " You smoke?" "" Sports."" "The first thing I bought here." "Our parents were divorced." "She lived alone." "The neighbors saw the milk outside." "She was found dead." "What does your father do?" "He builds highways." "We want for nothing." "He got used to it." "Not me." "I feel so far from here." "What does that mean?" "It's Danish." "" I'm happy in this happy little land."" "And you, you didn't follow them?" "I didn't want to." "She was in love." "In love?" "Yes." "In '68... a guy shouted at her, "Jews, back to Israel!"" "Another guy broke his jaw, and she fell in love with him." "He was thrown out of the university." "She married him." "He's an aviation mechanic." "I didn't realize why you were leaving." "How old were you?" "Eighteen." "And us?" "Twelve." "I remember that moment so well." "You climbed the slope towards the car." "Your father was calling you." "There was no car." "You'll come back to Lodz?" "Soon." "Come see me." "What brings you here?" "I want to be baptized." "I want to be baptized." "Are you crazy?" "What for?" "To know why I'm alive." "It gives peace and comfort to others." "To you, for instance." "Yes, but you must have the faith." "I think I have it." "I want to act, to say I refuse all this." "Join the Party." "They wouldn't let me." "Do you ever pray?" "No." "Try someday." "My God... it is done." "I got baptized." "I'm here." "I've completed the formalities." "So now I'm asking You..." "Be." "I'm ready." "I only ask that You be." "I cannot go back on this, and never will I ask You for anything again." "Only that You be." "My God..." "A thousand." "Eggs!" " How many do you want?" " Two." "Wake up." "Your shift." "I'm frying eggs." "Want some?" "Yes, two." "Hi." " Stuff to take away?" " Two thousand copies." "You've never met?" "Introduce yourselves." "Staszek is my dean's son." "I brought you something to read." "And grub?" "Twenty eggs." "What is it?" "A rally for independence." "Your passport is ready." "Got the visa?" "Yes." "And a reservation." "What's the aim of your trip?" "To meet young Catholics in Taize." "Here's the passport, but there's more." "You have contacts, you're hawking illegal literature, you organize meetings." "I lent out my apartment." "Whatever." "We don't want information on your friends." "We have no lack of that." "But in France, you'll make new acquaintances." "We want to know with whom." "And what they're saying." "You'll have a phone number." "Call." "You do understand it's only the French we're interested in." "And if I agree?" "You'll get your passport." "Be careful!" "She nearly got run over." "Didn't see a thing." "Strange day..." "The first time that's ever happened to me." "What?" "I went to see my mother." "And?" "Nothing." "I was at her grave." "I have a grave to visit too, you know." "Everyone has." "I didn't." "I was from nowhere." "You can't understand." "You're fantasizing." "No." "You had a grandfather, a grandmother." "We all have." "Someone prior to you." "I don't know." "My mother never mentioned it." "I didn't have time to ask her who they were, where they came from." "Nothing." "My great grandparents were insurgents in 1 863." "My grandfather was with Pilsudski on the Vistule." "My father served under Kutrzeba in 1 939, and he was in Poznan in 1 956." "He died in his bed, three years ago." "You have them all so close." "Never thought about that." "Did he speak to you before he died?" "How did you know?" "He wanted to tell me something, but he waited until the last moment." "I called him whenever I had a chance." "He took several months to die." "When he'd answer, I'd hang up." "I couldn't bring myself to speak to him." "He knew each time it was me." "The tea is nice." "In fourth year, during an autopsy, a girl almost fainted." "We were dissecting her former teacher, whom she had hated." "She told me afterwards that she'd imagined cutting her up herself." "Why am I telling you all this?" "Because I told you about the movie Manhattan." "We've been talking for ages." "I think we've said all we have to say." "I don't." "There are things one cannot say to another." "You have things like that?" "Yes." "That you wouldn't tell me?" "Yes." " About fear?" " Yes." "And what else?" "Various things." "About my father." "About God." "God?" "And that one of my toes is short." "And something I don't know how to say." "But you want to or not?" "I don't know how to." "It concerns me, and you too, perhaps." "Feeling sleepy?" "No." "I want to show you something." "I'm cold." "Almost there." "It's here." "That's what you wanted to show me?" "There was a paper inside." "About the past, the future" "and how it all came together." "You were supposed to go to France." "They refused me my passport." "It would have been my first flight abroad." "My husband works on planes." "You told me." "Didn't you want to sleep with me?" "Yes." "You believe in God?" "Yes." "Really?" "Yes, really." "Baptized?" "Just recently." "What's it like?" "The priest asks you if you want to adopt the faith." " And what do you say?" " That you do." "They came?" "Where were you?" "Where are the guys?" "In jail." "You should've been here." "Where were you?" "You suspect me?" "The key." " And never come back." " Listen..." "Beat it!" "Don't you understand?" "The truth will out in time." " And until then?" " Pray." "Not to hate those who've accused you." "Don't forget that in the underground, responsibility is double-edged." "It's difficult to quell suspicion." "Come with us to France." "We'll have lots of time." " It'll calm you." " I'm not going." "Is this the stop for Praga?" "On the other side." "Yes?" " Is Vera in?" " No." " Know when she'll be back?" " No." "I'm a friend of her brother's." "She's gone to Lodz." "" I came by." "I waited for four hours." "Vera."" " Hear that?" " What?" "Listen." "That girl who stayed here for three days, is sheJewish?" "Yes." "There were many fine Communists among them." "What are you listening to?" "Free Europe." "Strikes have broken out in several Polish towns." "Three departments of the tractor factory..." "It's good you didn't go abroad." "Look where you're going!" "Sorry!" "A beer." "Warsaw, student." "What are you doing here?" "I called." "Your aunt said you were leaving." "I wanted to see you off." "Another five seconds and..." "I looked for you after the funeral." "The first time was on the floor too." "Leave it in the office." "I don't have time." "Did you want to see me?" "Yes." "I don't know where to start." "I'm listening." "You gave me leave of study." "Yes." "Should I not have?" "I want to return." "I'll catch up on what I missed." "I've thought about it." "You'd lost your vocation." "It's come back." "One wouldn't think so." "But I suppose..." "There's something I have to tell you." "I'm three months pregnant." "You really want to marry me?" "Yes." "Aware of the rights and duties that having a family implies," "I solemnly declare that I enter into marital union" "with Olga Matwijszyn." "I'd like a few words with you." "We'd like you to stay on at the Academy." "I was thinking of a hospital." "One doesn't exclude the other." "It's only a few hours per day." "You can practice your specialization." "They'll call me lucky." "Does that bother you?" "No." "Here's the prescription." "Can't you take her somewhere?" "I'll bring you the medicine." "I'll come back and see her." "Don't put her in the hospice." "She has another month or two to live." "What are they doing?" "They've been practicing for at least ten years." "Why?" "No reason." "Seems no one in the world can juggle like that." " Who spoke to you?" " The first secretary and another I don't know." "I could give lectures and do my doctorate faster." "I see." "So?" "I don't want to." "But how to tell them?" " Believe in God?" " No." "Tell them you're a believer and that it's incompatible with the Party." "Sure, they've no way of knowing." "I told them I didn't believe in the Party." "I wouldn't advise that." "They don't like it." "In fact, why don't you want to?" "I just don't." "You have a mustache." " They made you an offer." " How do you know?" "At the hospital they say you refused." "Want me to sing every night?" "Better?" "Compare the latest results." "The heart rhythm has recovered." " Yes." " May I have a word?" "Excuse me." "I'm listening." "We're collecting signatures." "What for?" "Students are being persecuted." "You know, the underground university." "And this one?" "Suspended." "Hawking illegal literature." " Who is he?" " The dean's son." "The dean hasn't signed." "You refused to join the Party." " But neither will I sign." " Why?" "I don't want to be involved in either." "You're afraid." "Good evening, dean." "No problem." "Fine." "At the station?" "I'll be right there." "Thank you for coming." "Only normal." "It's a personal affair." "My son's been arrested." "I have to go to Warsaw." "But it's not that." "The problem is, in a month, I'm supposed to go to Libya." "Now it's out of the question." "Hawking illegal literature?" "Yes." "I refused to sign a petition about it." "I said you were right." "Now I have my doubts." "I don't want to belong to anything." "You're an honest man." "The rest is of no importance." "I wanted to ask you to go in my place." "You know my methods." "It's only a few lectures." "They're already written." " Don't answer this evening." " I'll go." "Let me finish before you agree." "I'll find no one to help me right now." "I'm sure to be dismissed and run out of the Academy." "I think you'll get your passport, but it might be your last trip abroad." "Think about it." "If you decide to, call me." "If not, we never spoke about it." "Sir, I'll go." "It's for the 1 0th ofJuly, but as it's my wife's birthday, I'd like to delay it." "I see." "I love my wife." "There's a flight on the 1 1 th, but via Paris." "It's a foreign carrier." "I'm not sure if you can." "Nice lighter." "It's possible." "The ticket was paid in hard currency." "Leave it with me." "I'll sort it out." "When should I come back?" "In a few days." "We tidy up?" "You go to bed." "I'll take care of it." "Taking me to the airport?" "I'm on duty at the hospital." " Don't go." " Do you mean it?" "No." "I've made up my mind," "I want to go." "One night, I watched you sleeping..." "And?" "Nothing." "Write me what you're thinking." "I have something to tell you." " What?" " We're having a little girl." "A girl?" " Got a light?" " Sure."