"THE SECRET APARTMENT" "That's the department head." " On this tram?" "Could have been a handsome man." "I think someone scared him." "Scared?" " He's afraid of women." "He's too shy to look at me in his office." "Maybe so." "What do you mean by scared?" "From now on I'll have to use this tram." "Something new to get used to." "No more bed and breakfast." "Getting my own apartment." "But I'm not happy about it." "Something about it scares me." "I didn't want to buy it, but I did." "It started the last time I arranged our card game." "We played in my room." "It was crowded." "But I was happy." "Except when my friends were around." "They didn't understand me." "They found the food appalling." "And we had to be quiet out of respect for my neighbors." "Please, be quiet." "Sorry." "What can I do?" " Move out!" "It's not that bad." " It's much worse!" "A man in your position!" " You have more than enough money." "Isn't it true?" "You are his lawyer, after all." "Client confidentiality, like you doctors." "I don't give a shit about that." "You are obsessive compulsive." " Am I?" "You can't make a decision." " My boss can refute that." "I'm talking about you as a person." "You are a coward." "You have to be forced to make a decision." "Spades." "I know what I want." "Pass!" " That's your favorite." "Like when I had that apartment for you the other day." "He has wanted one for years, and by chance" "I found the perfect place." "But he wouldn't look at it." "One cannot just..." " Your first obsession." "And a maid is included." " Your second is women." "Why won't you consider it?" " I would like to know." "Come on!" " Two hearts." "It is just so sudden to change your life." "And there are many problems involved." "The previous owner is dead, and there is no knowing what he..." "I have told you several times, he did not have a contagious disease." "He was fit as a fiddle, but died from oyster poisoning in Paris." "He doesn't like oysters." "Is it by any chance the apartment belonging to the writer..." "Yes!" "Have you been there?" " Yes, at a party once." "The perfect bachelor pad." " You see!" "It is fully outfitted!" "Antique furniture, linen closet..." "And a maid to boot!" " You are getting a cut, I guess?" "I guess you work for free?" " Did his heirs...?" "His sister is married to a priest." "Didn't want anything from him." "He was a bit of a bad apple." "Exactly!" "I have heard that he was quite debauched." "But that isn't contagious, Mister Department Head!" "Be quiet!" "I can't sleep!" "Don't worry." "The department head will be right there." "Pass!" " Are you passing on that as well?" "I have a three." "Let's play." "The next day, I went to see the apartment with my lawyer." "Here it is." "I felt like just turning around when we got there." "Come on!" "Come on!" "Can we have a look around?" "What do you think?" "Well?" "A cute girl, right?" "An odd apartment." "A refurbished attic." "Furniture and lots of strange things." "Pictures and books." "Like an antique shop." "But there was something alive about it." "Something that brought it all together." "And there was something else." "Something with a life of its own." "And this indeterminable, untidy smell." "And there..." "There was an old bureau." "The bureau made an impression on me." "My father had one." "As a boy I used to sneak up to it when no one saw me." "I had found a secret drawer." "In it I found my fathers black notebooks." "Diaries about a life I didn't know and couldn't understand." "And my mother's letters to my father." "The horrifying letters about the secretive and intimate details that made me ashamed and scared." "It was like a secret force pulled me towards the bureau." "I felt anxious." "It was like opening up my own mind." "But maybe it's best to stick to what you know?" "Have a look at this set-up?" "Quite the commercial for a bedroom." "What do you say?" ""Gunn, come to me, only me"" ""Here it will..."" "What do you say?" "There was something indecent about such a bed." "So wide!" "He lay here, the diseased." "And others..." "Women!" "See!" "The famous, diseased robe!" "It is included." "Here!" " Ta Take it away!" "And this is the famous Polly." " Charming..." "Are you crazy?" "I'm talking about that one." "Polly?" "How are you?" "Won't you say hello, Polly?" "Polly!" "It's amazing when it impersonates the deceased." "What do you think?" "Perfect, isn't it?" "Of course, it is an excellent apartment." "It's quite nicely furnished, but..." "But what?" "Make up your mind by tomorrow at 3, or I'll let someone else have it." "Wait a minute." "I had to own that bureau." "Draw up the contract." "I'll buy it all." "What?" "Has the department head made up his mind about something?" "Congratulations to the department." " Thank you." "That's settled, then." "The bureau was mine." "I could move in right away." "But the previous owner had to be aired out." "I dropped by every day to see that everything was in order." "That's fine." "It had to be disinfected." "Purified." "Beaten, brushed..." "And cleaned." "I wanted to redecorate." "Remove pictures of strangers." "Arrange chairs and tables." "And replace them with my own." "No..." "Turn it around." "A bit further back." "There." "Thank you." "But it was no good." "There was a spell on this apartment that I couldn't break." "I was afraid to move something." "I was afraid it would be vengeful." "Today, I am moving in." "Eat, sleep..." "Live there for the rest of my life." "In an apartment that..." "I have a feeling, I know that something will happen." "This is my stop." "I have a feeling that something will happen." "Here I am." "At my own table." "No thanks." "I don't use cream in my tea." "I wanted the sugar." "I have had a sweet tooth since I was a child." "The food was really good." "Better than at the boarding house." "I mean a lot better." "Excellent." "First rate." "I must say, miss..." "What is her name again?" "Jensen ?" "Hansen ?" "I have to ask the lawyer." "It's as if everything stares at me." "Like her." "As if everything is alive." "It reminds me of him." "It doesn't like my presence." "It's awaiting his return." "You're dead, oyster poisoning." "And you're buried in Paris!" "The untidy smell is still there." "It's as if it's waiting for me." "Terrible!" "Boo!" "Scoundrel!" "Written a few months ago, by a woman." "To him, the deceased." "No, that wouldn't be gentlemanlike." "Such a death..." "He could be right behind me." "Quiet!" "You repulsive...bird." "What?" "God Al-mighty!" "Can a woman really write to a man in such a manner?" "So openhearted, about her yearnings, her joys her love?" "This..." "This is unheard of!" "No one writes like this!" "Not even an indecent woman!" ""Yours, and only yours, forever." "Dot."" "Dot..." "Dot!" "Do you love me?" "That's enough!" "Oh, is it you?" " I have an appointment at 11.30." "The head of department is busy." " Really?" "What should I do about the terrible letters?" "Burn them?" "Leave them in the bureau?" ""Dot"..." "Is she young or old?" "Pretty?" "The director of Nocafar is here." " One moment." "Thank you." "Hello." " Have a seat." "It's in regard to this matter." "It seems a shame to trouble you, but what can I do?" "It's a complicated matter." "Apparently." "It's basically quite simple." "It started..." " Could you please leave?" "I'm going home." "Not the boarding house and the other guests." "But to my own apartment." "Where I feel like the only guest." "An unwelcome guest." "It's as if he, the deceased, could return at any time." "He will open the door and say:" ""You have no business here."" ""This is not your apartment, like you seem to believe. "" ""It is mine."" "I beg your pardon?" "And that is correct, isn't it?" "Yes." "It sounds quite obvious." "Obvious?" "Yes, of course." "That's another way of putting it." "But there are those who can't see it quite as clearly as us." "I have to read these first, but I will do my best." "Thank you." "Good bye." ""Yours forever." "Your Dot. "" "What should I do?" "Give them to the lawyer?" "Goodbye, ladies." "Is the department head available?" " Are you looking for me?" "The deputy secretary told me to deliver these." "Could you please tell him that I am..." "I have a headache." "I'm going home." " Hope you feel better!" "I'll be okay tomorrow." " Tomorrow is Sunday!" "You'll be okay." " Pardon?" "Thank you." "Goodbye." " Goodbye!" "He has never left early before." " And because of a headache!" "He really looked scared!" "Do people really write to each other in this way?" "So openhearted about... that." ""I am going too love you forever."" ""Too" love!" "What should I do?" "What if she comes asking for them one day?" "It might have been here..." "No...no!" "Anybody there?" "Anybody there?" "I'm not really scared." "I expected something like this to happen." "Midnight." "The ghost hour." "It wasn't a burglar." "It was something secretive." "I have waited for it my whole life." "And the damned security chain kept it out." "Should I tell her?" "I have to ask my lawyer for her name." "No, she'll report it to the police." "This is not a police matter." "The deceased must have been vain." "Men do not need large mirrors." "I'll be..." "What are you doing here?" " I am looking for some letters!" "Oh..." "So those..." "So there are letters in that bureau?" "Yes, I think so." "But who are you?" "What are you doing here?" " I live here." "Do you live here?" " Yes, the apartment is mine." "I bought it from the estate." " Did you buy it...?" "Was the door open?" " No, I used a key." "A key?" "Who gave you a key?" "He did, of course." "Oh, of course." "Did you try to get in last night?" " Yes." "I used to come around that hour." "I work in the theatre wardrobe." "I have been away for a while, I have been ill." "Before he killed himself." "Who...killed himself?" " He did!" "I came to get a silver pill case as well." "What kind of pills are they?" "What are you talking about?" "Could I please sit down?" "I'm still weak..." "Of course!" "Be my guest..." "Would you like some water?" "We used to sit there at night." "Him by the desk and me in the chair." "I could never talk while he wrote." "Just sit there quietly." "If not, he would get upset." "He gave me books to read." "Corrected my speech." "And he taught me everything about paintings and music." "Why did he give you those pills?" "He didn't want to live any longer." "He was tired of living." "If he had killed himself, I wanted to die, too." "He gave me the pills and put them in a silver box." "That was the last time I was here." "But I forgot the box." "Then I was sent to the hospital." "I heard of his death yesterday." "I am here to get my letters and pills." "Are you really saying that you..." "Yes!" " He didn't kill himself!" "He died from oyster poisoning at a night café." "Didn't he...?" " No, it was poisoning." "I have solid evidence." "But..." "Oh no..." "No!" "So you have written to him?" " Yes." "I have just moved in." "So I haven't looked too closely." "If I find any letters, maybe you could come back and have a look." "Don't read them!" "What are you insinuating?" " I'm sorry." "Are you back to work yet?" " I am too weak still." "I will start next week." " Give me your name and address." "Dora Danielsen, 14 Haxthausen Street." "Dora Danielsen." "If I find any letters signed Dora, I will..." "Dot." "He used to call me Dot." "I see." "Dot." "I will look carefully." " Thank you." "Isn't it nice?" "But where's Polly?" " Oh, the parrot?" "It has been moved in to Miss, Miss..." "the maid." "Yes, it is quite nice here." "How can she have written those letters?" "She doesn't seem frivolous." "But I don't care for the paintings." "I can imagine." "But I have left them, as you can see." "But I don't care for them." "I'm serious!" "I'm sure you are." "Have you ever seen blue grass?" "Yes, but you have to be an artist or understand art to see it." "Oh..." "Hang on!" "That's not what I intended." "I need the key." "The key to the apartment." " Please." "I won't use it." "But it's all I have left of him." "Let me keep it!" " Well..." "No." "I'm afraid not." "So you have the gate key, too?" " Yes." "I had to have it." " Of course." "How do I get them off?" "You have to get the keychain back." "It's soldered." " Let me reimburse you." "No, it was just 75 cents." "75...?" " No thank you." "My dear lady!" "If I find any letters, I'll notify you." "Thank you." "Goodbye." "What if I let her keep it." "What if..." "No...!" "I told you." "How can you eat the gross animals who aren't dead!" "I told you it was dangerous." "I went to your house today." "It was nice to see the place again." "As if you were gone for a while, but were coming back." "But you didn't." "You are dead." "You were so kind to me!" "It should be against the law allowing an art imbecile to buy his apartment." "It was mean taking my key away." "As if I would steal." "I wish I could have him evicted!" "Yes!" "Yes..." "Odd." "I have never noticed her before." "She is quite pretty and looks quite decent." "But so does "she", so you never know." "What's wrong with you?" "Me?" "Nothing." "But the boss looked oddly at me." " What do you mean?" "As if he suddenly knew something about me." "What would that be?" " I don't know, stupid." "You're the silly one." "You say he looks at you in a strange way,- and that he knows everything about you." "She was so different from what I imagined" "Dismissive and wise." "And pretty." "But she's not the kind I can be seen with." "Not at all well-bred, and frivolous." "I'll burn the letters." "Then I'll never see her again." "Maybe I should send her letters to her?" "She really wanted them." "I'll send them with a note." "Maybe she'll come around to say thanks." "A young woman I have met, can write in this manner to a man." "So unscrupulously sincere." "She stood there when she was searching for the letters." "And over there when she asked to keep the keys." "And she sat right there!" "If I received such a letter... how would I reply?" "I don't want to send them to her." "Maybe she would write to thank me." "She has to get them in person." "Is she lonely?" "Does she have money problems?" "And she is employed at a theatre." ""I have found some letters I expect are from you."" "He has found them!" "I don't want to give her all of them." "No, this is mean." "And highly unwise." "Hello." " Hello, Miss Danielsen!" "You didn't have problems coming?" " Not at all." "I live alone." "So you are all alone?" " Yes." "A lonely child in the big and dangerous world?" "The letters!" " I found them in a secret drawer." "These?" " Yes, thank you." "But there were more!" "And the silver box." "Oh, the silver box." "I'm sure we'll find it." "I hope you haven't read them?" " Do you think I would do that?" "No..." " Would that be a problem?" "They were for his eyes only." " Of course." "Won't you sit down?" "Would you like a glass of port?" "No, thanks." "On the other hand..." " Yes!" "My friends should see me now." "They would think..." "Here you are." "Thank you." "Here you are." "Do you really like this music?" "Can't you hear how sophisticated it is?" "The voices countering each other?" "The solo in contrast to the orchestra?" "Maybe so." "Now that you mention it." "I'm afraid I don't have cigarettes." "I don't smoke." "She is really attractive." "That's the smell that lingers in this house." "I was only allowed to smoke these." "He smoked them himself now and then." "Did you know him long?" " Almost a year." "Is that all?" " I knew who he was." "I have worked the wardrobe for three years, and I often saw him." "Once, he was the last one who came for his clothes." "I couldn't find his scarf at first, and we started talking." "He had worn it into the theatre." "At first he was upset." "But he was sorry and asked me not to be insulted." "He once said: "Do you know how pretty you are?"" "I replied: "Of course I do." He laughed." "I had to beware." "But he grabbed my waist, and I said it plainly..." "He kissed me." "He once touched my chin and said:" ""I'm as alone as you are." "So..."" "Go for it - so that's the way to go!" "I used to sit in that chair." "He said it was my chair." "Nice figure." "Nice legs." "I'm glad I found your letters." " I'm just blabbering on..." "I don't want to chase you off." " I have to go now." "Can't you see how great they are?" "Feel how artistic..." "How the colors suit each other." "Do you have to know what music means to be able to enjoy it?" "True, true." "Excuse me, the phone." "Goodbye." " There's no need to leave." "Hello?" "Hello!" "Hi." "What is this new compulsion you have acquired?" "Oh, it's you." "What are you talking about?" "Are you scared of us, too?" "When is the house warming?" "I'm sorry." "I'm in the middle of an important project." "A committee that has to meet in the evening." "You're not on the slope, are you?" " I beg your pardon?" "That you have finally found a lady friend." "Congratulations!" "That's exactly what you need." "I am not on any slope!" "We will be there on Saturday, whether you invite us or not." "And we want to play cards!" " We'll see about that." "Don't let the girl go, we want to have a look at her." "If you mean my maid..." " The maid?" "Oh boy..." "That can be a scary business." "This Saturday, then." "Not now." "Saturday week!" "Casanova!" "I don't want them to come here." "They won't understand." "How could I have missed it." "It is a beautiful place." "These paintings are the only ones that can fit in here." "It's as if she were here!" "I live here now." "I have taken possession of all that was his..." "Maybe she would like to..." "I'm no older then he was." "I doubt he was an Adonis." "She barely gets by on her wages, and she is a reasonable girl." "I'm so glad I kept those letters." ""If it is convenient, you can come around to pick up several letters."" ""I found them in another drawer."" "He has been going through his drawers." "He has found my letters!" "And probably other things too." "Things of his!" "I wish he would die!" "Miss!" "I have them all." "If I lived here, I would never leave." "Just sit here and be." "But I can't come here without his invitation." "It's as if things are different when she is here." "As if everything has awaited her visit." "How do I say it?" "Ask if she would like to" "See, I remember the brand." " Have you taken up smoking?" "They're remarkably good." "Would you like one...?" " No." "He has stolen his habits, too." "He is a common thief." "I have to say it now!" ""Fear of making decisions. "" "Miss Danielsen, I..." "Cheers!" " Has he read them?" " She doesn't look frivolous." "He looks dishonest." "Did you find the silver box?" " You don't need it now?" "No, but I would like to see it." " Of course!" "Did he die from poisoning?" " I am quite sure!" "Can I keep it?" " Of course." "But not the pills." "Here you are." " She did write those letters!" " He has read them." "I have to go." "I have to go." "I have to work tonight." "Goodbye." "Now..." "Tell me..." "Do you make a lot of money?" " No, but I get by." "So there you'll be every night." "Without any friends coming by." "No one waiting for you." "No, but..." "Du you recognize these?" " Of course." "If you were to get them back would you..." "I mean, would you like to..." "I will never see her again." "How thoughtless of me!" "How mean!" "So proud, so full of contempt." "Not a word." "Just..." "She was the secret I felt." "She filled everything here." "I understand the letters now." "They weren't frivolous." "They were pure and innocent..." "Just like her." "This apartment does not concern me." "It is his and hers." "It will always be empty." "My life will always be empty." "My life has always been empty." "I have to move back to the boarding house." "To the room with the iron bedstead and the washbowl." "To the tepid food." "I was happy at the boarding house." "I am destined to be alone here." "The apartment wasn't enough." "He wanted me as well." "So you slapped him?" " Yes." "I would have knocked him out!" " Me, too." "What a lowlife!" "Report him to the police!" " Why?" "For assaulting you." " Breaking and entering!" "No." " But you said..." "He bought the apartment." "He had no right to do that." "Yes." "Anyone would have had the right." "But you said..." "And what he said when he was ﬂashing the key..." "That was reasonable." " What?" "That too?" "He's just a man." " You're saying..." "I have to talk to you, Miss Danielsen." "Will you..." "Will you... marry me?" "Cheers!" " Cheers!" "I can't recognize myself I" "I am sitting here..." "Quite relaxed." "With a woman." "A woman I have proposed to." "He wants to marry me!" "Even though I was his lady friend." " Even though I hit him!" " With her I want to learn how to live, be like everyone else!" "She must forgive me!" "I didn't hit him when he asked if I wanted a key." "I knew he would never marry me." "She loved him!" "But he is dead..." "I will give her everything I am capable of." "If I marry him, it'll be my apartment." "I can be there among all the furniture, paintings and books." "Everything he loved so dearly!" "He is quite handsome..." "I am sure he is kind." "Cheers!" "Cheers!" "The department head." "He has become very handsome." " Oh yes." "A bit chatty, perhaps." "That's the way an office works." "We're not typewriters, but ladies." "Wonder what he is thinking." " Probably something important." "It is strange that I have experienced all this." "But I did." "I have tangible evidence to prove it." "The apartment, the bureau, the paintings..." "The desk, the dining room..." "And the bedroom." "My friends were quite impressed." "They drank and rejoiced on my and their own behalf." "The food was first rate." "The fine Miss Olsen knows how such evenings are meant to be." "She was magnificent." "Tell me, how is your lumbago?" "They found the apartment wonderful, of course." "But they didn't like the paintings." "Especially the doctor." "Have a look at this!" "How appalling!" "What an anatomy!" "That's not the anatomy I studied!" "Look at this." "I agree." "And look at this." "Have you ever seen such colors." "The paintings are the only things here..." "You are blind." "You can't see." "Are we blind?" "The grass isn't green." "It is blue, gentlemen." "Is it blue?" "I have seen it many times." " When?" "Can't you feel the artistry in these paintings?" "Can't you hear how the colors are in opposition to each other?" "Maybe you have a point..." "Like music:" "You don't have to understand it to enjoy it." "No..." " Or do you have to?" "I've never thought about it." " Speaking of music..." "I will play a record for you." "It is obvious that it's art..." "I laughed at you, just so you know." "Isn't it sophisticated?" "Can you hear the parts moving towards each other?" "How the solo part contrasts with the orchestra?" "Yes..." "Yes, there's something..." " Rubbish!" "Good evening." " See you later." "Couldn't you go to the theatre another evening, Mrs. Dot?" "I would gladly give up..." " I would like to..." "Hush, doctor." "Save if for when we're alone." "If my wife has decided, that's how it will be." "Don't act like a henpecked husband." "He gave me strict orders- to leave when you are playing cards." "So that you can tell tall tales." "See you later!" " Enjoy yourselves." "He really shot the parrot, that old fart." "The parrot itself." "Shall we?" "Tell me how you made this happen." "Or did she come first?" "Have a seat, doctor." "Cream?" " Thank you." "Since you're curious, I might as well tell you how it happened." "I made the first move." "It started with an argument." " So you knocked her out?" "Easy, doctor." " I went to the theatre." "Did you?" " Yes, I went to the theatre." "When I left, I thought my wife, who tended the wardrobe had lost my scarf." "I was not pleased, I must admit." "But she noticed that I was actually wearing it." "Just like you!" " I had been wearing it." "You know I can be quite absent-minded." "What happened next?" "I had to make it up to her." "So I asked her out to a restaurant." "Then we came back here for a little night cap." "And then..." " Yes?" "Well, then..." " Really!" "You really surprise me." "You got the best woman in the world." "That's all that matters." "I envy her, and you deserve her." "To her." " On your feet, lads." "To her!" " Cheers." "No one could wish for a better wife." "So modest, grateful and peaceable." "An ideal housewife making her mark in our wonderful home." "And she has extraordinary interests." "She lets me have breakfast alone to read the paper in peace." "I am sure Miss Olsen would rather tend to the house on her own." "We have to keep her." "She is magnificent." "Thank you." "OK." "One more." "We have nice evenings, with her sitting in "her chair", which has so many memories attached to it." "Wonderful music." "Hush, Polly!" "I'm so glad you're wearing that robe." "What's on your mind?" "I am wondering whether you still have those letters?" "Of course I do." "I think we should put the letters back in the bureau." "Those letters brought us together." "I think they should be where they used to be." "You're so sweet." "Hang on, I'll get them." "It's no longer hiding something forgotten, sore and bitter." "Secrets about me and others." "About the parts of life I would never understand." "Here you are." " They were in this secret drawer." "Promise me that you never read them." "Promise?" "I have read them." "Have you?" " Don't be upset about it." "They're so..." "No, don't be upset about it, dear." "Come..." "Let's put them in the drawer together." "It was wrong of me to read them." "But I was so lonely." "You're a sweet and wonderful man I have grown very fond of." "By the way." "I would like to ask you something." "Promise me you won't be angry." "You can say no." " Tell me!" "You see..." "I have a photo of...him." "Can I put it on his desk?" "You can say no if you like." "I think it would be fitting there." " I don't mind." "It's an obvious place for it." "Just go get it." " Thank you." "How odd how everything changes." "I hated him." "It was as if he still lived here and wanted me to go." "But now..." "It's as if I have become a part of him." "No, not on the desk." "Put him on my bureau." "Over the letters." "What a strange man." "So sad..." "And all alone abroad." "Imagine, oyster poisoning." "I have a lot to be grateful for." "I owe him for everything I have." "We must protect his memory." "Subtitles:" "Jorn-Are Haugli Johansen Scandinavian Text Service, 2009"