"You can't smoke here." "What, even outside?" "Not even inside." "Uh, well..." "Pardon me, Mr. Ballinger." "Or may I call you..." "Maestro?" " May I ask how your holiday is going?" " Very well, thank you." "You've been coming here long?" "I've been coming here for about twenty years." "I used to come with my wife and now I keep coming on my own." "Why...why Switzerland, Maestro?" "Well, it's close to Italy, and after London and New York I was director at the Venice orchestra." " Of course!" " For twenty-four years." "Silly of me!" "And are you still directing or composing, Maestro?" "No." "I'm retired." "Maestro, as I indicated you In my letter, I work For the Ceremonies and Events Office at Buckingham Palace." " You work for the Queen?" " In a sense, yes." "Good." "I find monarchies so endearing." "If I may, Maestro..." "Why exactly do you find the monarchy endearing?" "Well, because it's so vulnerable." "You eliminate one person And all of a sudden The whole world changes." "Like in a marriage." "Maestro, Her Majesty The Queen would be honoured to confer a knighthood upon you this coming June." " Good." "Her Majesty The Queen will be de-lighted to learn you've accepted." "Her Majesty The Queen has never been de-lighted at anything." "Well..." "What is more" "Your investiture, just so happens to coincide With the birthday of His Royal Highness the Prince Philip." "And the queen would very much like to give him a concert by the BBC orchestra." "I don't conduct any more." "I'm sure you have not forgotten how it's done." "No." "I haven't forgotten how it's done." "Prince Philip and the Queen will be simply ecstatic To hear you conduct your famous "Simple Songs"." "I wil not conduct my "Simple Songs"." "Why not?" "Personal reasons." "The great soprano Sumi Jo has agreed to sing." "Sumi Jo won't do." "Tell me which soprano will do and you should have her." "No one will do." "Very well." "I shall relay our conversation to the Queen." "Good day, Maestro." "Do you see that?" "Is that him?" "Why yes..." "It is!" "God!" "Angela!" "Melanie!" "Melanie!" "I was thinking today how you and I have the same problem." " Is that so?" " We've been misunderstood our whole lives because we are allowed ourselves to give in just once to a little levity." "Levity is an irresistible temptation." "I worked with all the great European and American directors But I'll be remembered forever for "Mister Q"." "For a fucking robot." "I had to wear suit of armour that weighted two hundred pounds." "You couldn't even see my face." "But every five minutes somebody has to come up and remind me I did "Mister Q"." "The same way they remind you that you did the "Simple Songs"." "And they forget..." "That you also composed "The Black Prism" "Life of Hadrian" and all the rest." "Because levity also..." "A perversion." "What are you doing in Europe?" "I'm doing a new film in Germany." "Starting in a month." " I am developing the role." " Is it a light-hearted role?" "That depends on your point of view." "And is all going well?" "We'll see." "Well, it's late for me." "Not for me." "Good night." "Did you take a piss today?" "Twice." " Four drops. you?" " Same." "More or less." "More?" "Or less?" "Less." "Look how beautiful they are." "Beautiful" "If you only knew how moving it is to see them working on the script." "They're so passionate." "You see these two?" "They are falling in love but they don't know it yet." " And how do you know?" " I know because I know everything there is to know about love." "Maybe you'll have to give me some lessons...one day." "It's late now." " Have you heard the latest?" " No." "Joyce Owens, Miss Universe, is coming to stay." "Apparently, one of her prizes is a free week in our hotel." "Yeah, I heard." "But it seems more like a punishment than a prize to me." "How's the script coming?" "It's going to be masterpiece." "And my testament." "And Brenda is going to be an unforgettable leading lady." "We came upon a title today:" ""Life's last day."" "What do you think?" "that's good, good." "I'm going to get some sleep." "Good night!" "Good night." "That guy who levitates is out here." "I've been coming here for years." "He has never levitated." "So, where did you decide to go?" "We're going to Polynesia for two weeks." " Julian might go overboard as usual." " Good." "You're going to be be glad to have the room to yourself now." "I've just been at your way." "Not at all." "You've kept me company." "Mick is working..." " And I get bored." " You're not gonna be bored for a minute Because I have arranged the full service for you:" "You're going to have a massage, sauna, check ups with the doctor every single day." "To help you get back in shape." "At my age, getting in shape is merely a waste of time." "And I will get even more bored." "You are victim of your own apathy, Daddy." "Why don't you guys go to Venice one of these days?" "You could bring flowers to Mommy." "I've been meaning to tell you..." "The French have emailed me every single day." "They..." "Insist that you write your memoires." "What should I do?" "Let them insist." "I'm going to call you as soon as I get there." "Bye Daddy." "Have fun!" "Would you mind turning on your back, please?" "After pain come pleasure." "And then...pain again." " How is it going, Mr. Ballinger?" " It's going." "I don't know where, but it's going." "My daughter says I'm apathetic." "Is it...is it that obvious?" "You've been watching too many movies, you idiot, you've forgotten what life is about." " Exactly!" " Well, movies are life!" "All you know how to do is criticize" "If you only has some inspiration for once..." "Exactly!" "Inspiration!" "Didn't they teach at the film school that inspiration does not exist?" "Inspiration is a lie." "There is no such thing as inspiration." "Only fermentation." " Exactly." " Inspiration exists, all right..." "You just don't recognise it because you have zero talent." " Exactly." " What the fuck are you doing?" " Agreeing with everyone?" " Yeah, of course!" "I am timid and insecure." "My parents never gave me any encouragement." "I've never had a girlfriend..." "And I have some serious doubts about my sexual orientation." "Stop it, you're not going to move me." "My aunt has polio." "Don't you dare to accuse me of having no talent again, you idiot." "Now there is not the time for fermentation." "You talentless parasite!" "That's enough, you're really getting on my nerves." "We have to come up with an ending." "And you're wasting time talking Philosophy and big ideas." "He is on his deathbed..." "He can barely talk..." "He whispers to his wife:" ""Don't cry, honey."" ""You know, I've always found women who weep frivolous and repulsive. "" " Nice!" " That's a totally asinine idea." "What else?" "You won't fool me!" "I know that you can't levitate." "That's everything?" "Don't you need anything?" " What do you need band-aids for?" " I don't." "I'm doing it out of solidarity with you." "Ah, fuck you." "You pay." "Do you remember Gilda?" " The film?" " No, Gilda Black." "The girl that we were both in love with." "Gilda Black?" "What are you..." "remember her for?" "That was a hundred years ago." "To me it's like yesterday." "I would have given twenty years of my life to have slept with her." "Well, that would've been a pretty stupid thing." "Guilda Black wasn't worth twenty years of life." "She wasn't worth a single day." "How do you know?" "Did you sleep with her?" "What?" "What did you say?" "You heard me." "Sixty years ago you swore you never slept with her out of respect of my love for her." "Now you've changed your tune." "Look..." " I have something to confess." " Fine, go ahead!" "The real tragedy..." "And, believe me, it really is a tragedy..." "Is that I can't even remember if I slept with Gilda Black." " Are you serious?" " I swear." "I'm wondering what happens to your memory over time." "I can't remember my family." "I don't remember..." "Their faces or how they talked." "Last night I was watching Lena while she was asleep." "And I was thinking about all the thousands of little things That I'd done for her as her father." "And I'd done them deliberately so that she would remember them When she grows up." "But in time She won't remember a single thing." "Tremendous effort, Mick, you know." "Tremendous effort, Mick." "With a modest result." "They're going to talk tonight, mostly." "I will bet you thirty Swiss francs They don't say a word the entire dinner." "I'm so sure they are going to talk." " I'll raise you to fifty." " Done." "Including the last few days, err You owe me 250 Swiss francs." "Today?" "Not today." "You?" "Nothing." "Let's hope we take a piss tomorrow." "That's great, Nick." "I'm glad you liked the second draft." "Sure, we will work some more on the ending." "I'll talk to Brenda, everything is all set." "She can't wait." "When is she ever going to get a part like this at her age, come on!" "If it's okay with you, I'd like to start scouting locations next month" " Perfect." "Bye!" " Yeah." "What happened to you?" "You look like you've been to a funeral." "Your son..." " Has left my daughter." " Fuck!" " What are you talking about?" " They were boarding a plane to Polynesia." "And right there, in the tunnel he stops And tells her that he's fallen in love with another woman." "Nothing like being in the tunnel to make you feel you are in the tunnel." "How profound!" "You're quite a magician of metaphor." "And he took this other woman on vacation?" "At least he had the good taste not to do so." "At least" "And Lena?" "Lena is in her room." "Crying her eyes out." "I've never seen anyone cry that much in my life." "I read somewhere that tear ducts can produce tears for three days without stopping." " Yeah, I heard that too." " Yep." " It was in that BBC documentary." "He's on his deathbed and he says to her:" ""Let's watch one more final BBC documentary together, darling. "" "Okay, guys, knock it off." "I'm not sure that's true, though." "About the tear ducts." "I read that somewhere in a popular magazine and they tend to exaggerate." "Better for sales." " I think you're getting off the mark." " I think you're right." "Julian is such a shit!" "Just like his mother." "Remember?" " Yeah." " I'm going to call my shithead son." "What are you gonna do?" "Try and convince him to get back with Lena?" "It's hopeless." "Julian, this is your father." "Even though, at this point, based on the evidence I'm not so sure you're my son." "How are you always so sure that they're not going to speak?" "I know something about them." " The waiter told me." " What?" " I'm not going to tell you." " Tell me right this minute." "Besides, I can always get the waiter to tell me too, with a bribe." "All right, I'll tell you." "They are mute." "You little shit!" "Give me back my money!" "All of it!" "You're so gullible!" "It was a joke." "They are not mute." "What the hell is going on?" "Well, that's really rather banal, Dad." "I fell in love with another woman." " It was all of eighteen, right?" " No, Dad, she is not eighteen." "She is thirty." "Reasonable age." "Well, however old she is, You've really fucked up." "That is your opinion." "Lena is an extraordinary woman." "At this point, of course, I've realized that she is completely wasted on you." "Perhaps." " She is far too intelligent for you." " Why did you make me come here?" " I'm not about to change my mind." " That's what they all say at the beginning." "Then eventually they wind up begging their spouse to take them back." "Mom left you." "She never begged you to take her back." "What did I tell you?" "You see now where he gets this from, this asshole?" "Well, are we allowed to know who this whore that you've fallen in love with is?" "Me?" "I am the woman Julian lost his head for." "And we're going to get married as soon as his divorce is finalized." "And who the fuck are you?" "I'm Paloma Faith." "And I'm not a whore." "I'm a singer." "Excuse me, miss..." "Would you mind giving us a moment alone?" "Okay, but not for too long." "Forgive me, Julian." "But I'm really trying to understand." "Lena is a beautiful woman, a dream." "And this one here is the most insignificant woman on the face of the planet." "What the fuck do you see in her?" " You really want to know?" " Yes, Julian, I really want to know." "She's really good in bed." " So who is this bitch?" " Her name is Paloma Faith." " And what does she do?" " The most obscene job in the world." "She is a prostitute?" "Worse." "She is a pop star." "Pop star." "What was that the Julian said about her?" "I've already told you." "No you didn't." "All you did was you babble something incomprehensible." "You didn't tell me." "No." "It was Julian who was babbling." "He's not right in the head." "Doesn't seem that way to me!" "He must've made twenty decisions in two hours..." "He moved out, He found an apartment" "He spoke on the phone to a divorce lawyer." "It does not really seem like a confused man to me." "You keep on saying to me that this woman is ugly and insignificant." "So what is it that Julian sees in her that..." "He didn't see in me?" "Now." "How should I know?" "Because you said that Mick asked him!" " Did I?" " Yes." "Yes, that's what you said." "So I wanna know what was Julian's response." "I don't remember." "Oh God, You're really pissing me off now, Daddy." "You remember perfectly well you're a really horrible liar." "I swear..." "He was just mumbling some idiocy." "If you don't tell me I swear I am going to scream right here and now." "I want to know what he said." "What the fuck does this bitch have, at least according to Julian, that I don't?" "I want to know." "I want to know what he said!" "He said..." "Yes..." "She was good in bed." "You didn't have to tell me that." "Believe me, Lena." "I can understand you." "Really, I can." "You can understand me?" "Like hell you can!" "Mommy would've been able to understand me." "Mommy found herself in the same situation I'm in now with you not once, but dozens of times..." "She always pretended not to know." "You had a stream of women, but she just kept going Not just for us children, but above all for you." "She loved you and so she forgave you." "No matter what happened, she still wanted to be with you." "But who were you?" "Who?" "It's what I've always asked myself." "You never gave anything..." "not to her, not to me, nothing." "You gave everything to your music." "Music, music, music!" "There was nothing else in your life." "Only music and arrogance." "Never a caress, never a hug, never a kiss, nothing." "You never knew anything about your children." "You never knew if we were happy, if we were suffering." "Nothing." "Everything was on Mommy's shoulders." "At home the only thing you would say to her were the two words: "Quiet, Melanie."" "And Mom would explain to us:" ""Quiet, Daddy is composing"." ""Quiet, Daddy is resting, he has a concert tonight. "" ""Quiet, Daddy is on the phone with someone important. "" ""Quiet, Daddy has Stravinsky coming to the house later tonight"." "He wanted to be a Stravinsky, but he never had a single drop of his genius." ""Quiet, Melanie!"" "Were the only two things you knew how to say." "You didn't know the first thing about my mother!" "You never bothered to take care of her." "And even now, you haven't brought her flowers for ten years." "And that letter!" "Do you think Mommy never read it?" "Well, you're wrong." "She found it and she read it and I've read it too." "But you probably don't even remember that letter." "But we do." "The letter we found in which you professed your love for another man." "Mommy had to enjoy that humiliation too." ""My necessary experimentation in sexual matters" as you put it." "So your musical experimentation wasn't enough for you." "No!" "You had to experiment in homosexuality too!" "You didn't give a fuck about all the anguish you caused her." "So don't you come telling me that you can understand..." "Because you don't understand a fucking thing." "Gracias." "Stop telling me what to do!" "If I want to bite my nails, I will!" "This morning I did this big, powerful piss." "I was so happy!" "I haven't been so happy in a long time." "Good." "I am happy for you." "No, it's only a joke, Mick." "I mean it..." "You know, it wasn't like that..." "Don't joke about these things, Fred." "The prostate is serious." "You are always fall for my jokes, Mick." "You've been believing my every word for sixty years." "I invent stories, Fred." "I have to believe in everything in order to make things up." "Do you remember the other day?" "When you told me you don't remember your parents any more?" "No, I don't remember." "Of course you do." "You made me realize that not only I do not remember my parents any more but my childhood, for example, I don't remember a thing about it." " There is only one thing I still remember." " What?" "The precise moment when I learned to ride a bike." "And this morning..." "As if by magic..." "I remembered the moment right after..." "When you fell off?" " How the fuck did you know?" " Well, that happens to everybody." "You learn something, you're happy and then...you forget to brake." " How is the work on the role going?" " Pretty well." "Actually, I've come up with some interesting details." "Good" "Maybe the problem is that Julian and I never had children." "I don't know what the problem is..." "But I'm not going to try and cheer you up by lying..." "Or talk about things I never knew about." "You were right..." "Music is all I understand." "Did you know why?" "Because you don't need words and experience to understand it." "It just is." "Your mother would've understood you." "I can't." "But your mother is not here." "What happened?" "Daddy, I have to tell you something." "It's Personal." "Tell me, Lena." "Julian is an ass." "Because I'm really good in bed." "I know." "What do you mean "you know"?" "You're my daughter." "And, in all modesty..." "I was a wonder between the sheets." "It's true!" "Do you know who composed the piece that you are practising?" "No, who?" " Me." " I don't believe you." "What's it called?" " "Simple Song number 3"" " And what's the composer's name?" "Fred Ballinger." " And you?" "What's your name?" " Fred Ballinger." "You can check at the front desk." "I am staying here." " Incredible!" " Yeah, it's incredible." "My teacher makes me play it." "He says it's a perfect piece to start with." " Yes, well he is right." "It is very simple." " It's not only simple." " Oh really?" " It's also really beautiful." "Yes, it is beautiful." "I composed it while I still loved." "May I do something while you still playing?" "Keep playing." "There." "Daddy, where you been?" "This man has been here for over an hour." " He says he is the Queen's emissary." " Shit!" "I told him to make himself comfortable in our room." "Be nice!" "I was just wondering..." "If we could maybe..." " Head out on the terrace?" " No, it's too cold." "But you can smoke those in here, if you like." " Are you serious?" " Yes, yes." "The hotel manager is a music lover." "And I get a very little privileges." "You have no idea... how much pleasure this gives me." " Are you feeling tense?" " Awfully." "There you go!" "We don't have much time so I'll skip the formalities." "But I'm having the thorough cleansing of my intestines." "Bloody hell!" "Right, I was unable to convince the queen." "I relayed your reticence about the songs to her." "I proposed an alternative repertoire." "An alternative musician, an alternative evening." "She doesn't want alternatives." "She wants you and only you and only your "Simple Songs"." "She says it's all that Prince Philip listens to." "Well, I don't want to be rude but it's impossible." " Why?" " I told you the last time we met..." "personal reasons." "Is there no way to resolve these "personal reasons"?" "Unfortunately, no." "I am begging you, Maestro." "I have a difficult job." "I simply have to return to London with a positive answer." "And my answer is...negative." "I don't understand." "What exactly doesn't work?" "Is it the date?" "Is it the location?" "Is it the orchestra?" "Is it the soprano?" "Is it the Queen?" "Please don't insist." "Personal reasons." "But what are these bloody "personal reasons"?" ""Personal" means I am not obliged to answer." "Let's see if we can resolve these personal problems." "I mean..." "What is it that's wrong?" "The soprano." "We'll get a different one then." "No problem." "It wouldn't make any difference." "What, even Sumi Jo?" "She is absolute best." "I mean, she's already expressed her enthusiasm at being directed by you!" "She's ecstatic!" "I am not interested." "What is it you have against her?" "Nothing!" "I've never even met her." " You've never even met her?" "So what..." " That's enough!" "I'm sorry..." "I just do not understand." "What exactly is the problem?" "The problem is that I composed the "Simple Songs" for my wife." "And only she has ever performed them." "And only she has recorded them." "And as long as I live, she will be the only one to sing them." "The problem is, dear sir... my wife can't sing any more." "Now do you understand?" "Do you?" "Yes, I do understand." "I beg your pardon, Maestro." "Lena?" "Yes?" "Stop crying." "Please." "OK." "I'm going to give you a different type of massage." "Because you are stressed." "No, to be precise..." "You are not stressed." "You are emotional." "You understand everything with your hands, don't you?" "We can understand all sorts of things by touching." "Who knows why people are so afraid of touching?" "Maybe it's because they think it has something to do with pleasure." "That's just another good reason for touching instead of talking." "Don't you like to talk?" "I never have anything to say." "Come, look." "Now, listen." "Do you see that mountain over there?" " Yes." "It looks very close." " Exactly." "This is what you see when you're young." "Everything seems really close." "And that's the future." "And now..." "And that's what you see when you're old." "Everything seems really far away." "That's the past." "Brenda..." "Can't wait to get started." "And I am so proud of having written this screenplay with you." "I made twenty films, but they all irrelevant." "This is the only film..." "That means anything to me." "It's my sentimental, intellectual and moral testament." "So, let's toast to the completion of the third draft..." "Of..."Life's last day."" "What about the ending, Mick?" "The ending?" "We'll come up with one sooner or later." "Cheers!" " Hello, Fred Ballinger." " Hi." "I wanted to tell you that I checked at the front desk..." " And you're really Fred Ballinger." " Good." "I am glad to see you've put your mind at rest on that score." "There is something else I wanted to tell you too." "You go right ahead." "I wanted to tell you that ever since you have corrected the position of my elbow I play better, the sounds comes more natural." "Good!" "You know why?" "Because you're left-handed." "And all left-handed people are irregular." " So an irregular position helps." " I'm sorry." "I am left-handed too." "Christ!" "The whole world knows you are left-handed." "Thank you." "I am Luca." "Luca Moroder." "Hello." "I am a mountaineer." "And I teach climbing." "I give lessons here at the hotel." " Oh" "And you?" "What do you do?" "I have two jobs." "I'm a daughter and I also an assistant to my father." " Two jobs..." " Yeah..." "This is a Forerunner 620." "It has a colour touch display." "It can estimate VO2max The maximum rate of oxygen consumption during maximum excursion." "I would like to give one to my cousin for a Christmas." "We always go climbing together." "He was supposed to be here too..." "But he slipped in the bathtub and broke his femur." "Bathtubs are more dangerous than Everest." "How true!" "Do you know what I found once on the K2 summit?" "No." "What?" "A bedside table." " That's not true." " Yes it is." "I opened the drawer." "But it was empty." "It is an amazing feeling - climbing, you know?" "A real sense of freedom." "All I feel is fear." "That is an amazing feeling too, you know?" "So who is the most talented actress you've ever worked with, Mr. Boyle?" "Brenda Morel, without a doubt." "A genius!" "She couldn't have read more than two books in her life..." "And one of them was an autobiography... written by a ghost writer, naturally." " A genius, in what sense?" " If you know how to steal you do not need training." "Stealing becomes your education." "That's how Brenda is." "Even when, thanks to my films, she became a diva She never forgot where she was from." "The street was her real home." "And that's where she stayed, stealing..." "Everything." "Which is how she created such unforgettable characters." "And won two Oscars." "Climb on my shoulders." "Okay." "Now, as we climb..." "Look down." "See how beautiful the world is from up here." "So the French called again." "They really want to do that book with you, your memoirs." "But they want the whole picture:" "they want your life, your work..." " What should I say?" " Tell them..." "Tell them what?" "To forget me!" "Tell them that I'm retired." "I'm done with work and with life." " Cut the crap!" "Your music conveyed surprising new emotions." "Emotions can be overrated too, Mick." "These shows are really pathetic." "All that's missing is a mime." "We usually get one of those by the end of the season as well." "Good." "Excuse me Mr. Tree, Miss Universe is here." "It's such a pleasure to meet you." "I am huge fan of yours." "I mean, I'm literally went crazy when you played "Mr. Q"." "I never miss robot movies." "But that one is - my favourite." "Thank you." "Do you ever watch any kinds of films other than robot movies?" "Of course!" "I've got my whole life ahead of me and I want to be an actress." "I don't want to just rely on my beauty." "Well, do you study?" "Or do you just watch reality TV?" "I appreciate irony." "But when it is deranged and poisoned it is a drained of its force" "And it reveals something else." "What?" "Frustration." "I am frustrated, Miss Universe?" "I am happy I took part in "Miss Universe" pageant." "Are you happy you've played "Mister Q"?" "She is not at all stupid, Miss Universe." "Not at all!" "I saw you in a film once." "So you like "Mister Q" as well?" "No." "I saw you in that film that you've played a father who never knew his son." "And he meets him for the first time in a highway diner when his son is already 14 years." "Nobody saw that movie!" "There was that dialogue that I really liked." "When your son says:" ""Why weren't you a father to me?"" "And you say:" ""I didn't think I was up to it."" "At that moment I understood some really important." "What?" "That no one in the world feels up to it." "So there is no reason to worry." "Bye." "See you at the hotel." " What do you do all day, Fred?" " They tell me that I am apathetic." "So, I don't do anything." "Don't you miss your work?" "Not at all." "I worked far too much anyway." " So what do you miss?" " I miss my wife." "My wife Melanie." "I read on Wikipedia That you hung out with Stravinsky..." " for a while when you were young." " Yes, I did." "What was he like?" "He was very..." "classy..." "Classy?" "That's all?" "Be generous with me, Fred." "I need a generous friend." "Tell me about Stravinsky." "He once said that" ""Intellectuals have no taste."" "From that moment on I did everything I could not to become an intellectual." "And I succeeded." "And you?" "What do you miss?" "Nothing..." "luckily." "Come on, be generous with me, Jimmy." "What I missed I discovered... four months ago while reading Novalis." "You read Novalis?" "Even actors from California when they're not getting drunk and snorting coke and hanging out with anorexic models occasionally read Novalis." "You're right." "I'm sorry." "I'm just an old man with prejudices." "And what does Novalis say?" ""I'm always going home."" ""Always going to my father's house."" "What are you thinking about?" "The future." "He is on his deathbed." "He murmurs to her:" ""I should've devoted myself to you..."" ""..and to our love..."" "".. instead of wasting my life trying to become the king of insurance policies."" "Maybe he says something banal to her." "Real simple like:" ""Take care of yourself."" "No, we have to stay with the physical pain right up to the end." "How about he says:" ""Not even morphine can help me now. "" "What if he focuses on some insignificant detail?" "If he said something like:" ""I wonder whatever happened to that key ring you gave me 25 years ago! "" ""The one that shaped like a horseshoe."" "No." "He doesn't say anything on his deathbed." "She's the one who talks." "Brenda." "She says:" ""I lost so much time because of you, Michael. "" ""I lost the best years of my life."" "Good morning." "I have never told you how sorry I am about How things ended between you and Julian." "I mean, I want to apologize for his behaviour." "You don't have to apologize, it's not your fault." "Let's face it." "As a father, I could've done more." "Let's face it, Julian picked up the scent." "I've started to smell it too." " What scent?" " Scent of freedom." "Oh, right." "I know this scent." "Daddy didn't really say anything to you about the Queen?" "About how she has asked him to conduct his "Simple Songs" in London and how he said "No"?" "He didn't tell me a thing." "Gosh, you guys have got a strange friendship." "Strange?" "No, it's not strange." "It's a good friendship." "And in a good friendships you only tell each other the good things." "He must've thought the Queen's concert wasn't one of them." "You know, he said the reason he couldn't conduct the "Simple Songs" was because my mother's the only person on Earth who could sing them." " He said that?" " He said that to the Queen's emissary." "It took him eighty years to finally say something romantic..." "And he goes and says that to the Queen's emissary." "You know sometimes when I'm asleep at night he watches me." "And last night, he stroked my cheek for the first time in my life." "Only I wasn't asleep, I was pretending to be asleep." "Parents know when their children are pretending to be asleep." "It's years, since you went to see Melanie." "Why don't you go?" "Venice is so close." "Don't you agree?" "There is something that keeps getting into my head." "What?" "What it would've been like to have slept with Gilda Black!" "Yeah!" "I wonder too." "Liar!" "You know the difference between you and me?" "What?" "Ultimately I never liked life well enough." "Brenda wanted to play Eva Braun a hundred years ago." "She spent six months working on her role." "I have been studying all the hotel guests for a weeks now." "I've been meticulously observing you, Fred, Lena,..." "The Russians, the Arabs, the young and the old." "And I have finally come to a conclusion." "I have to choose." "I have to choose what is really worth telling... horror or desire?" "And I chose desire." "You, each one of you you opened my eyes." "You made me see that I should not be wasting my time on the senselessness of horror." "It can't do this, I can't play Hitler." "I want to tell about your desire, my desire." "So pure, so impossible, so immoral but it doesn't matter because that's what makes us alive." "Who is she?" "God!" "What do you mean "Who is she"?" "Miss Universe." "But she looks all different." "Unrecognisable." "She's been transformed." "From watching all those robot movies." "Excuse me, Mr. Boyle." "There is someone here to see you." "Can't you see we are enjoying The last great idillia of our lives?" "Well, who is there?" "Brenda Morel." "Brenda Morel?" "Here?" "What the hell is this?" "It looks like an accident." "It's called "Alpine prison"." "By a local artist." "Human beings really know how to be pathetic when try to, don't they?" "Yes." "Brenda!" "What a fabulous, marvellous surprise!" "Hi, Mick." "You look fabulous, Brenda." "The very picture of radiance and sex appeal." "You're getting mixed up with the last millennium, Mick." "What?" "You just couldn't wait any longer?" "We just finished the latest version, you know?" "We were having trouble with the last scene" "But then, yesterday, eureka!" "It came to us!" "So now that you are here in the flesh..." "We can hand it to you." "But didn't you tell to me you're going to be in Los Angeles?" "What are you doing in Europe?" "Brenda?" "How many years we've known each other, Mick?" "Jesus, you put me on the spot!" " Let me count..." " 53 years." "How many films have we done together?" " Nine, ten..." " Eleven." "So after 53 years of friendship and eleven films together you don't think I am going to start to bullshit you now, do you?" "You of all people?" "No, I don't." "I wouldn't deserve that." "That's right...you don't deserve it." "You deserve me to call a spade "a spade"." "Which is why I dragged my ass here from L.A." " To talk to you in person." " Look, Brenda..." "If it's about the scene 21 Where you described as "ugly..."" ""..feeble, pale shadow of your former beauty "..." "Please, realize that's just a poetic license." "I want you to be extraordinary." "You still preserve intact..." "And you have to..." "That mystery with that allure you had when you first became a diva." "Stop licking my ass, Mick." "It just breaks my balls even more." "Especially, given what have I come to tell you." "Why?" "What have you come to tell me?" "I'm not going to be in the movie, Mick." "What?" "They offered me a TV series in Mexico with a three-year contract." "An alcoholic grandmother who suffered a serious stroke." "A character has got real balls, but with the money I can pay for Jack's drug rehab I can pay off the debts of my idiotic future ex-husband..." "And still have enough money left over to buy a house in Miami Which is something I wanted to do for 14 years." "That's why I've come to tell you this." "But this is cinema, Brenda!" "That's just television and television is shit." "No, television is the future, Mick..." "In fact, to tell the truth, it's also the present." "Look, let's be frank." "Because nobody ever speaks frankly in this fucking film world." "You're going on eighty And like most of your colleagues, you're getting worse with age." "You know, the last three films you made were shit, Mick." "I'm telling you, according to me, according to everybody," " They were real shit!" " How dare you?" "How dare you?" "So you want to be frank?" "Do you?" "53 years ago, if it weren't for me you'd still been crouching under sub-producers desks." "I pulled you out from under those big fat producers underpants I made you an actress." "You little shit." "I was just fine inside those producers underpants." "You know why?" "Because I wanted to be there." "I don't owe anybody anything." "I did it myself." " Really?" " I paid my dues." "I've gotten into the Actor's Studio and nobody pulled any strings for me." "I supported myself washing toilets all over Brooklyn." "My mother went into debt for me." "And in Hollywood When I walked through that front door I was all by my fucking self." "Marilyn Rita, Grace they'd all shit their pants when they saw me coming." "It's all written down in my autobiography." "Don't tell me you haven't read it?" "Unfortunately I have." "Except you didn't write it." " And it's a piece of shit." " The real shit is your film, Mick." "I understand cinema, you know I do." "You're the one who doesn't understand it any more." "Because you're old, you're tired..." "You don't know how to see the world any more, Mick." "All you know how to see is your own death, which is waiting right around the corner for you." "Your career is over." "I'm just telling you flat out because I love you." "Nobody is interested in this..." ""Testament" of yours?" "Is that what you call it, a testament?" "And you risk nullyfiyng all the beautiful films you have ever done." "Which is unforgivable, Mick." "It's only because of me they letting you do this movie." "So, if I pull out, I'm saving your life..." "And your dignity!" "You are ingrate." "An ingrate and an idiot." "Which is why you got ahead." "You're right, Mick." "You're exactly right." "Okay." " I'm going to make this movie without you." " Oh, come on, Mick..." "Life goes on!" "Even without all that cinema bullshit!" "You know how many actresses I worked with in my career?" "...Lots, I guess." "More than 50." "I launched more than 50 actresses." "And they've always been grateful to me." "I'm a great women's director." ""That way, Frank..."" ""That way you'll never forget me."" " Do you remember, Mr. Boyle?" " Sure, I remember." "I remember everything I ever shot." "Mr. Boyle you're not a great women's director." "You're a great director." "Period." "Okay, I've made up my mind." "I went to the ATM." "And what do you want to do?" "Go for a walk." "Would you like to try climbing?" "You know, I can make a man go wild in bed if I want." "Come on kids, What's with the long faces?" "Hitches, the lease, the shooting..." "There are constants in our line of work." "Get used to it!" "I've already talked to the producer." "Just the question of coming up with another actress and the shooting starts." "Just a matter of waiting a few more months." "What a bitch that Brenda Morel is!" "Don't talk like that about Brenda Morel." " Goes where the wind blows." " Which is what we all do." "And that's what you all will do In order to survive in this jungle." "It's not true That she came to Europe especially to meet with you, Mick." "I read that she's going to Cannes to some Charity ball at the film festival." "Now let's not get caught up in all this truth now." "Remember that fiction is our passion." "Your film Testament is worth a whole lot more than one more TV series, Mick." "My film Testament." "Let's..." "let's be rational here." "Let's not overrate things." "Most men die not only without a testament But without anyone even noticing." " Many men are not great artists like you." " It doesn't make any difference!" "Men, artists, animals, plants..." "We all just extras." "Mick!" "How am I supposed to say this line, Mick?" "I don't get it." "How do you want it, Mick?" "Sincere or smug, wicked?" "And my walk?" "How is my character supposed to move?" "Perhaps you do not know, James That I never even stepped foot on a yacht that is less than 20 feet." "Come on guys, where did you hide my lilac slippers?" "Enough already!" "Prince, I am the owner of six castles and twenty carriages." "But there is only one thing I can declare with certainty:" "Life is so tiresome." "If you suffer from sciatic pain being a police officer in L.A. is a real drag." "Oh, Albert..." "If only you knew how much it has costed me to guard my virginity All these years, until today." "Until I met you!" "The gamma reactor is malfunctioning." "Earth will explode in 5, 4, 3... 2, 1..." "Okay, you win I'll go to bed with you On one condition." "That you don't come." "That way, Frank..." " That way you'll never forget me." " Where did you hide my lilac slippers?" "So you...spoke to the producer?" "I've been in this business too long not to know that without Brenda This film is never going to be made." "Melanie is so beautiful in that picture." "You are right." "She is beautiful." "You know, I've come to understand something Fred." "That people are either beautiful or ugly." "The ones inbetween are merely cute." "So...another vacation almost over." "What will you do next, Fred?" "What am I supposed to do?" "I'll go home." "The usual routine." "Not me." "I don't do routine." "You know what I am going to do, Fred?" "I'm going to start on another film." "You say emotions are overrated." "But that's bullshit." "Emotions are all we've got." "No!" "Leave me!" "I have to get off this plane!" " Mick!" "Forgive me!" " Please, ma'am!" "You fucking bitch, You let me off!" "I know I should not land here." "Mick Boyle used to come by pretty often for a chat." "Why did you called me, Doctor?" "Did you want to tell me something?" "I have the results of all the check-ups you've been doing during your holidays." "And what did they say?" "You're as healthy as a horse, Mr. Ballinger." "My...prostate at least?" "Your prostate?" "You've never had a problem with your prostate." "And if you haven't had any problems so far..." "You certainly not going to start having them now." "So..." "I've grown old without understanding how I got here." "Do you know what awaits you outside of here?" "No." "What?" "Youth." "Anyway..." "Did he ever say anything about Gilda Black?" "He never talked about anything else." "Was she his girlfriend?" "Girlfriend is...way too much." "The only thing that ever happened was one time When they were kids They held hands and walked together for a few yards ...In some park." "He used to call it:" ""The moment I learned to ride a bike. "" " Didn't he ever tell you about it?" " No." "We only ever told each other The good things." "Fuck!" "I waited till the visiting hours to come and see you." "They don't know, Melanie." "Children, don't know their parents ordeals." "Sure, they know certain details, striking elements." "And they know what they need to know To be on one side or the other." "They don't know that I trembled the first time I ever saw you on stage." "All the orchestra behind my back were laughing at my falling in love." "And my unexpected fragility." "They don't know that you sold your mother's jewellery in order to help me with my second piece" "When everyone else was turning me down calling me a presumptuous, inelegant musician." "They don't know That you too, and you were right That you thought I was a presumptuous, inelegant musician at that time." "And you cried so hard." "Not because you sold you mother's jewellery But because you sold your mother." "They don't know that we were together you and I Despite all the exhaustion, and the pain, and hardship." "Melanie..." "They must never know That you and I despite everything Liked to think of ourselves As a simple song." "Look at me."