"PROMISING THE MOON" "JURMALA, LATVIA 1933" "What are you doing?" "It's the amber-finder's walk." "There hasn't been any amber here for ages." " will you kiss me if I find a piece?" " Maybe." "See the insect?" "First my kiss." "Can you see the light?" "Captive for all eternity." "Captive for all eternity." "FOR OUR MOTHERS" ""Lips are silent, but violins whisper" "Love me!" "Every step is saying, please" "Love me!" "Every press of the hand" "Made it very clear to me" "He simply states" "It's true, it's true" "I Iove you."" "Lehar, "The Merry Widow"." "Act III, duet of Anna and DaniIo." "Another one?" "If you sing, open your mouth!" "The people were at my feet like withered flowers." "I believe you." "I myself have withered, too." "GERMANY, JANUARY 1991" "AII this used to be ours." "until the Russians came." "What was that address again?" "81 BirkenaIIee, 5600 WuppertaI 11." "Stop!" "That'II be 128 marks." "Excuse me!" "The door's open." "Are your feet clean?" "Juris, I need some money for the taxi." "What are you waiting for?" "There's coffee." "Shit." "Coffee?" "If it's not too much trouble." "Nothing is where it should be." "He means well." "One hundred and eighty two marks." "only a scoundrel gives more than he has." "It's 128 marks, alright?" "I'II have to ask Juris." "Juris!" "Marga!" "How beautiful you are." "hello, are you in there?" "A lovely memento, Juris." " That's not a good idea..." "And in my house, too!" "Shit." "There, help yourself, before the Russians take it!" "Radio Free berlin, foreign desk." "Right." "Okay?" " Yes." "1939." "The first occupation of the baltic States by the Red Army, following the HitIer-StaIin Pact." "Deportations, resettIements, executions." "On June 14th 1941 alone, the Russians deported 15,000 Latvians from Riga." "15,000 on a single day!" "In 1941, the German troops march into the baltic States, at first welcomed as liberators." "An absurd image, Nazis as liberators." " In 1944," "StaIin conquers the baltic States for a second time." "The third occupation in five years!" "Yes?" " A call for you from Wuppertal." "From where?" " Wuppertal." "Sofia, we have a connection to Riga." "Good." "Write down the number, I'II call back." "Great, thanks!" "hello, paul, can you hear us?" "Yes, I can." "What do you need?" " A 60-second summary of the situation." "Okay, will do." "The whole world is watching three tiny Soviet States:" "Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania." "For 50 years, they have been part of the Soviet Union, their people fighting for independence." "Earlier in March the "Popular Front of Latvia" was voted into government, and now it is openly opposing the central government in Moscow." "The Kremlin generals have made it clear they want to prevent the Baltic States' independence with any means necessary." "Were Gorbachev to let them go, he'd risk a domino effect on all Soviet States..." "Just a moment, please." " ... causing a collapse of the empire." "SchIeier." "Psychiatric Day Hospital Wuppertal, Dr. Albrecht." "Mrs. Schleier?" "Yes." " Your mother was checked in with us." "In a very confused state of mind." "My mother lives in a senior citizens' home in Bonn." "Apparently she's taken to the road." "Then put her in a taxi back to Bonn and send me the bill." "I'm sorry, Mrs. Schleier, the home will no longer have her." "Your mother is very aggressive." "My mother, aggressive?" " Yes." "Where is she now?" " Emergency ward." "But she can't stay." "By no means." " I'II call right back." "This is going to be big, Sofia, believe me." "AII that's missing is something private, a personal angle for some color." "Something that moves everyone." "Think about it." "Do you need any help?" "With your mother?" " No." "Good." "The deadline's the day after tomorrow." "Sure." " will you manage?" "Hi, Lorenz." "Weren't you going to cook dinner?" "Weren't you going to be here by seven?" " Yes, I wanted to." "Dinner's in the kitchen." " Good." "Did you get the rough cut finished?" "New material keeps coming in." "If this escalates, it'II be huge." "There might be another turning point." "Is it from Lukas?" " Yes." "He's thinking of studying in Toronto for a few terms." "Does our son even study?" "AII I ever see is him sightseeing." "We could go and visit him this spring." "This spring?" "No, I can't." "ShouIdn't I warm that up for you?" " No, don't bother." "would you maybe like a glass of warm wine?" "What's wrong?" "I got a strange call today, about Marga." "From the home?" "From the psychiatric ward in wuppertal." " The psychiatric ward?" "Can you take care of it?" "Me?" " I told them you could be there at noon tomorrow." "I'm to drive 600 km from berlin to WuppertaI?" " You always got along better with her." "When I'm old I want to be loved that way, too." "Now I need some wine after all." "If you leave at half past four, you could be there by twelve." "Give that to me." "She's your mother." "Juris, we're going to fly?" " Yes." "How wonderful!" "Just look at the way Marga looks at him." "She's been dreaming of this ever since she was ten." "It was a good decision." "Even though" "I would've liked a German son-in-Iaw." "I'm grateful to you." "Long live the bride and groom!" "Long live the bride and groom!" " Come on!" "Up into the air with you two!" "I caught it!" "I Iove you." "I Iove you!" "You're crazy." "I never want to go down again." "Ever." "I want to have children." "Yours." "Marga..." "I Iove you so much." "Now we are husband and wife." "Mother?" "Take these off." "Didn't Juris play wonderfully again?" "Dad?" "His left hand is always a little sloppy." "The fingers should fall like hammers." " What on earth did you give her?" "Like little hammers." " A neuroIeptic and some antidepressants." "Mother, Mother!" "The slut!" "slut." "She has no business in my house!" "Mother!" " I know exactly what she wants." "You know what awaits you on the train." " What train?" "people standing like sheep in their own muck." "No one can faII over." "Everything is in order." " What's she talking about?" "Order, duty and obligation." "That's how it is." " Memories from the war?" "My mother never spoke about the war." "Soft..." "You do recognize me, don't you, Mother?" "81 BirkenaIIee, 5600 WuppertaI 11." "Yes, that's where we lived." "Dad, you and me." "After the war." "The best place to be is with your family." "Do you have family, Miss?" "I'm your daughter." "Sofia!" "What a horrible name!" "Sofiechen this, Sofiechen that..." ""Sofiechen this, Sofiechen that..."" "Juris is very upset." "Have you any idea how much work it is to tune a piano?" "You do recognize me, Mother?" "I recognize you, Miss." "Don't you Iike the cake?" "Mother!" "Is anything wrong?" "Do you have cake?" "No, no more cake, thank you." "You do know what this is?" "A spike?" "swallow it, Mother." "close your mouth." "swallow it." "Like this, look." "swallow it, go on!" "I know that!" "What were you doing at home?" "Juris must be told the truth." "What about?" "The plain truth." "After all, he is my husband, isn't he?" "As long as Sofia doesn't find out." "What do you mean?" "Juris loves beautiful women." "A child born out of love?" "Don't make me laugh!" "I'II show you something." "Come on." " No!" " Yes, come with me!" " My suitcase." "There." "Look at us." "Do you see the old one?" "The way she's looking at us?" "Disgusting." "That's you, Mother." "Which one?" "The one on the Ieft." "The one on the Ieft?" "Good." "The other one is even uglier." "Can I help you?" " I'm sorry." "I owe you an explanation." "I'm Sofia SchIeier." "Ruta BertuIis." "My mother was here yesterday." "So that's who you are." "May I show you something?" "She smashed all the old tableware from the salon upstairs." "I'm dreadfully sorry." "I will replace it for you." " It can't be replaced." "It was left to me by my grandparents from East Prussia." "You're from the baltic States, too?" " Yes." "My mother is a baltic German and my father was Latvian." " really?" "That's strange..." "I don't know..." "Does this mean anything to you?" "My husband found it when he was converting the attic." "These are my parents." "Mother, look." "Look at this." "This is you, isn't it, Mother?" "With Dad?" "They're pictures from Riga." "No!" "Take them away!" " calm down!" "Mother, calm down!" " filthy crap!" "filthy crap!" "calm down." "It's alright." "Juris?" "Where's Juris?" "In the darkroom." "Juris!" "Photographs." "Juris, Marga's here!" "I'm coming." "Marga?" "You wanted to come into town yesterday." "We were busy." "You've been saying that for months." "I don't want to be alone all the time." "I'II come over this evening." "Good." "Why did you marry her?" "Because our fathers wanted it." "Do you remember how often we came here with Dad?" "Dad... would've preferred a German son-in-Iaw." "I meant my dad, not yours." "I'd have to ask OsvaIds." "Who's OsvaIds?" "I don't know any OsvaIds." "Nice blades." "I want to dance." "Come on." "Lorenz," "I'm a complete stranger to her." "She calls me Miss." "is she depressive again?" "No, it's not that." "Where is she now?" "With me." "What?" "What else could I do?" "I couldn't bring myself to leave her there." "You know what you're getting yourself into by bringing her here." " Lorenz, it's as if she has to get something off her chest." "Something that's tormenting her." "She's searching." "She's searching like mad..." "She's looking for my father." "What's this?" " We're going to Germany." "Does Juris know?" "It's a surprise." "Up!" "This was stuck behind the piano." "Leave us alone, please." " Come on, Iet's go." "He doesn't deserve you, Marga." "It doesn't matter." "I carry the world's greatest love." "He knows it." "Juris?" "Why did you do it?" "A married man belongs with his wife." "play for me." "We're leaving for Germany." "Everything is ready." "I'm not leaving here, Marga." "Father says God help those who ignore HitIer's call to return home." "Never, Marga!" " He's selling the house and company." "AII the Germans are thinking of fleeing." "I never cared about your father's business." "I know." "You just enjoyed its privileges." "We're leaving for Germany." "You will forget her, Juris." "believe me." "There you are." " hello." "Let me." " No, it's okay." "Come on, Mother." "You know this apartment." "We used to celebrate Christmas here." "Christmas is a family celebration." "Send... that man away." "That man is your son-in-Iaw." "His name is Lorenz." "hello, Marga." "Juris?" "Where are you?" "Juris isn't here, Mother." "He's lying beside her until she's asleep." " Beside who?" " Hush-a-bye, Baby, on the treetop..." "What are you talking about?" "We all have our duties." ""Lips are silent, but violins whisper" "Love me!" "Every step" "Is saying, please" "Love me!"" "Don't you think you should ask Marga before you go through her bag?" "Ask her what?" "Who she is?" "Or who I am?" "She doesn't know me." "Sofia..." "These are..." "These are pictures from Latvia." "Marga always told me there were no photographs." "That's me!" "Let me see." "And that's my father." "My father and me." "Oh look!" "That was Christmas." "That's my father with... well, my grandfather." "And this is Marga." "With a man I don't know." "My father again." "With the same man." " Who could it be?" ""Photographer's studio Baumanis and KaInins."" "Wagon 49." "Here are our seats." " We don't have our own compartment?" "We're lucky if we make it to Danzig in one piece." "From there we travel on." "Adieu!" "farewell, OsvaIds, take care." "farewell." " Marga, farewell." "please leave, Mother." "I will miss you, OsvaIds." " farewell." "Take good care of yourself." "Here." "For the house and the photographer's studio." "I don't want it as a gift." "I hope at Ieast on the boat they'II give us cabins." "So this is our belated honeymoon." "What will become of this country when the Russians occupy it?" "I can't do this, forgive me, Marga." "Juris!" "Stay here, the train's leaving." "Marga!" "Juris, stay here!" "Marga, he doesn't deserve you." "Come back to your seat." "Marga!" "Are you pregnant?" "You'II find another man." "Come on." "Leave him." " Let me be!" " He's not worth it." "Are you crazy?" "Are you insane?" " What's going on in town?" "What's that?" "The Latvians are plundering the Germans' houses." "You shouldn't have come back." "Where's Juris?" "I'II tell him you're here, but he won't come back to you." "Do you understand, Marga?" "Forget Juris!" "What was Juris like as a young man?" "A man belongs with his wife." "If you don't believe that..." "believe, relieve, achieve, deceive..." "The ups and downs of Iife." "Mother..." "Why did you tell me there were no photographs from Riga?" "Who knows what we'II be like when we get old?" "Can't you knock?" " The door was open." "Are you crazy?" "What if the Russians find this?" "I'm not yearning for Siberia, but Latvia will soon be Russia." "Get it?" "Forget what you saw." "She destroyed everything." "Everything!" "New brooms sweep well, it has to be said." "Why do you always have to destroy everything?" " The Russians did it." "The Russians didn't do this." "You did!" "The Russians shoot into beds and" "into cupboards and laundry baskets." "They shoot into everything." "Don't cry." "Hans, I have to go to Riga." "What's that on the photo?" " My father's studio in JurmaIa." "You said you wanted a personal angle." "Here it is: the story of my parents." "Can you get me two visas?" "That's Riga." "OsvaIds KaInins is alive." "Thank you." "Thank you very much." "I have everything I need." " Okay." "Go ahead." "But take good care of yourself there." "I'II get you the visas." "Are you crazy?" "There's an uprising there and a very nervous Russian army." "I know." "And Marga?" "Marga's coming along." "people have already died in Lithuania." "The Russians stormed the TV tower." "We've been erecting barricades ever since." "OsvaIds told us not to drive into town." "The Russians are everywhere!" "I don't like Russians." "I really don't like them." "They're all eyebrows." "Like Brezhnev and WaigeI." "What was that?" "These..." "The eyebrows, Miss!" "Didn't you see those eyebrows?" "You're mad, Mother." "Stop!" "Mother, what is it?" "Ieva..." "Ieva has to go into hiding." "These curtains need to be washed." "What do you want?" "I told you." "I want you to wash these curtains." "Do I get a receipt?" "Baumanis." "tell my husband I have forgiven him." "Who's Ieva?" "It's too late." "I've come too late." "Who are you talking about, Mother?" "Juris is probably with OsvaIds." "We have to go to OsvaIds' place." "alright." "We'II go to see OsvaIds." "In JurmaIa." "JurmaIa." "The pearl of the baltic Sea." "Mother!" "Mother!" "Juris was a passionate lover." "Was he?" "In through one ear and out through the other." "I was conceived through your ear." "Like the holy Virgin Mary." "I have to go now." "I have to leave." "Yes." "Juris?" "There!" "There she is!" " Who are you?" "I know where Juris is, you bitch!" " Stop it!" " I know, you bitch!" "Leave my house!" " uncle, help!" "Leave my house!" "Who's this?" "Take off your shoes before you talk to me!" "Marga?" "OsvaIds..." "Where've you been all this time?" "Come on." "Who's this you've brought with you?" "I'm Marga's daughter." "I'II go and see Juris now." "Where is he?" "It's alright." "Juris is my father." "There's something that confuses me." " Yes?" "I know that Juris Baumanis and his daughter Sofia died in Germany during the Iast days of the war." "What?" "Died?" " Marga wrote it to me." "After the war." "The house in Germany was hit by a bomb, killing both Juris and Sofia." "That's what it said in her letter." "My father died in an accident 11 years after the war." "And Sofia?" "What did you write to OsvaIds?" "That I was dead?" "Dead?" "That would've pleased you, would it?" "Dead?" "Why did you write that, Mother?" "Why is the Pope catholic?" "I'm not sure if I have the right to interfere in these matters." "Who would object to it?" "Marga?" "I'm the only one left whom it concerns." " OsvaIds!" "Come quickly!" " Marga!" " help me, please!" "She's over here." "Ieva has to go into hiding." "Do you hear that, Miss?" "Women, children, old people..." "AII that screaming!" "One hand washes the other, until both are covered in blood." "It's so..." "It's so cold." "They will all freeze to death." "It's so bitterly cold." "Your skin..." "Your skin is so nice and warm, Iike..." "like a little rabbit's." "Few people have learned how to warm properly." "OsvaIds, who is Ieva?" "Your father... fell in love with another woman." "She was the love of his life." "Marga couldn't hold him back." "And neither could I." "When was that?" "It was before you were born." "Juris moved in with his beloved." "Ieva was Latvian." "Her mother had a laundry shop in town." " OsvaIds..." "Marga stayed here with me." "I let her live here for over a year." "She didn't have anything." "No parents, no home, all she had was this crazed love for Juris." "The Russians picked up Ieva and her mother." "Just like that." "You promised to love me forever." "I'm not alone." "Is it her baby?" "It is our baby." "So what do you want from me?" "help us get out of the country." "please." "Swear you'II never leave me again." "That baby..." "It's me." " Yes." "Marga... is not my mother?" "No." "Ieva is your mother." "Where is Ieva?" "OsvaIds?" "She was deported to Siberia." "To a gulag." "To Siberia?" "My pamphlets." " What?" "Marga planted my pamphlets in Ieva's laundry shop." "Oh my God..." "Dear God." "No." "No!" "Is she alive?" "She returned from the gulag." "After 12 years." "holy shit." "Lorenz?" " Sofia, where are you?" "I've been so worried." "In Jurmala, with Osvalds." "What's going on?" "Marga isn't my mother." " What did you say?" "My mother's name is Ieva." " leva?" "She's Latvian." "Excuse me?" "That's what's been tormenting her all these years, poisoning her mind." "All these years during which I felt so unloved." "She couldn't love me." "I'm not her daughter." "I'm the child of the woman she has on her conscience." "I miss you so much." "Sofia?" "Ieva Lepere?" "I am not Ieva Lepere." "Ieva?" "Ieva Lepere?" "Yes?" "I am..." "Sofia." "Your daughter." "little Sofia..." "Pneumonia has affected the heart." "There's no doctor, no ambulance." "Not today." "Let's all gather under the Christmas tree." "Sofia's here." "Right by your bedside." "Take her hand." "Things are coming to an end." ""Everything has an end, only sausages have two." "only sausages have two."" "Juris?" "Are you here?" "Marga?" "It's me, Ieva." "Juris loves Ieva." "Juris loves Ieva." "Marga, is that true?" "Did he say so?" "Yes." "It was always..." "Ieva." "always." "Light!" "You see?" "Adieu!" "This is Lukas." "Your grandson." "subtitles Adrian Byrne" "film und Video UntertiteIung GmbH"