"Who am I, my God?" "What am I?" "I don't ask you to believe in anything... but my heart." "But no one sees my heart." "No one sees me." "No one sees me." "No one sees me." "WE SEE THINGS NOTAS THEY ARE, BUTAS WE ARE." " Carlitos." " What?" "It's a graveyard out there." "Cancel it." "We go on in 6 minutes, even if it's for an audience of one." "There is only one person." "Fine, in 4 minutes we perform for our audience." "Let me see." "Mother, I want you to put the Devil in my flesh tonight." "In all great theatres, the props guy wants the star to break a leg on opening night." "Son of a bitch." "NOT EVERYTHING IS AS IT SEEMS TO BE." "Common saying" "Pity those who do not see!" "TO RENE CLAIR" "FOR THE ENDING THEY DID NOT LET HIM MAKE" "Time stands still in my chest if you are by my side." "Old wounds heal," "I am filled with love." "With you, I sense that the world sings to me in silence." "Its tender songs lulls me... like a madrigal." "What happened?" "Did the fat girl traumatize you?" "It's not worth it." "She's a fat nobody." "Why'd she leave just as I was about to speak?" "Javier, don't sweat over it." "If anything disappointed her, it was Angel's bit with me." "Or maybe she doesn't like nuns." "No." "She looked into my eyes like..." "I don't know." "What is this?" "Maybe the fat girl can give you an erection." "I can introduce you to her." "She's got a huge flat all to herself." "Don't get upset." "Joel's trapped inside." " Nothing will happen to him." " Yes it will." "He'll suffocate!" "Look, he's having some fun." "Oh, it's you." "Come in." "I thought you were different." "All the men who come in here have the same face." "I'm Luisa." "Coffee?" "Tea?" "Anything in particular?" "Wine." "But it has to be an '86 Rioja." "I'll go see." "Take a look around meanwhile." "Not everything is what it seems." "This doesn't look like wine." "It looks like cola." "It's not a Rioja, but it is wine." "I keep it in this because the bottle cracked." "Why'd you leave the theatre as I was about to speak?" "Because the music was over." "That song, "Madrigal", is my kind of music." "I thought it was because..." "I don't know..." "And you went there just for that?" "It is wine." "Want to go for a walk with me?" "On one condition." "You don't open your mouth." "When I was a girl, my mother worked in that building." "I imagined it was a hotel." "Now this is my place." "I'm going." "When it rains, I'll be waiting for you." "What's this for?" "Cigarettes?" "Cousin, when I have more, I'll give you more." "When you have nothing, as usual, you give me nothing." "And I'm not your cousin." "I'm the shithead who married your cousin." "One useless male here is more than enough." "Pay me for rent and laundry before the weekend or..." "The washer won't work tomorrow, you'll see." "Away from me, mediocre emotions." "Away from me, mean emotions." "But will I be able?" "When the rain comes, will my chest be cleansed?" "Or will my human heart be mean?" "Is something an inch from truth already a lie?" "What am I, God?" "What am I?" "I don't care to wear the grey gown of those who cannot see." "Away from me, mediocre emotions." "Away from me, mean emotions." "Did you see the place?" "I heard she collects porn magazines." "I got it from a friend who tried unsuccessfully to sleep with her." "What else did your friend say?" "She's all holier-than-thou, but actually she's depraved." "I'm sure you can win her over." "I've got a plan." "You make love to her, go live with her, poison her..." "Then I'll come live with you." "I'll have you every night in your "widower's palace", all night long, every night." "I'm on." "When the rain comes, will my chest be cleansed?" "Or will my human heart be mean?" "Don't open your mouth." "Only I will speak." "Look at me." "I'm invisible, and you men are transparent." "They come to me wanting only one thing." "My house." "They think lies are the path, but they're the end of the road." "I'm tired of men with no mystery." "I want to be your friend, Javier." "And I want you to be my friend, but on one condition... that you don't deceive me." "If you want to be my friend, never deceive me, Javier." "Never." "Star." "Not e-very-thing is what it seems." "It is." "I'll wait for you tomorrow at four." "In the Morgue." "Dress as a nun." "In the Empire of Eros..." "It could be two things, you're falling for Fatso or you're becoming impotent." "I'm inspired, Eva." ""Every minute without screwing is a lost minute."" "You know who said that?" "Nelson Mandela." "I'm inspired, Eva." "I'm going." ""Every minute without love is a lost minute."" "Mandela didn't say it, his wife did." "THE ARROW IN EROS' QUIVER." "THE BROKEN ARROW IN EROS' QUIVER." "Look, the soul is meant to leave the body through here." "Honesty, purity and feelings should be inside." "But there's nothing." "Look..." "Why are you so quiet, Javier?" "May I speak?" "Something must exist, Luisita." "And I'm not interested in your flat." "Luisita!" "Come on up!" "This is my flat." "I'm sharing it with my cousin and his wife until he finishes his house." "Coffee?" "Tea?" "Anything in particular?" "You don't have... a soft drink?" "But it has to be cola." "This is my special place." "I don't let my cousin or his wife in here." "I come here to meditate and to write." "You liar." "You bring women, don't you?" "I meditate." "Come on." "You were the one who lied today." "It wasn't a lie." "No?" "What was it then?" "An act of freedom." "Nuns often visit me because of my work." "It's normal at the Morgue." "If you hadn't worn the habit," "I'd have had to get authorization and fill in a stack of forms." "It wouldn't have been the way I wanted." " But I'm not a nun." " I didn't lie to you." "The only truth, Javier, is if there are no secrets between us." "Luisita, don't go." "Look." "As a kid what I liked most was bathing naked in the rain." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." "I don't want to keep secrets from you." "Or you to keep them from me." "I can't." "I feel sorrow taking my clothes off in front of you." "The persistent rain misted her view." "You've got a visitor." "Fourth row." "The men who come to me want only one thing." "They're all transparent." "And your soul?" "Where is your soul?" "No..." "Don't be afraid." "That first day," "I saw you that you had a porn magazine." "No secrets." "You're not going to say it's because you know one of the models?" "Well, I do." "The one in the centerfold... is my mother." "Here." "Take a look." "Open it up." "She left when I was eight." "She lives in Las Vegas." "She was appalled when said I wanted to be a nun." "She didn't call or write for a long time." "But now she often does." "At least you can see she loves her job." "One secret less, right?" "My mom got a Model Worker Award." "I hardly ever see her." "Only when she's in Bohemia Magazine." "Now another secret." "One of yours." "Why's that room always closed?" "That's my room." "I don't want anyone going into it." "Ever." "What's your greatest dream, Javier?" "To write a story." "It's always on my mind." "What's yours?" "To shut myself in that room... and play the harp." "Naked!" "I'm sorry, Javier." "I'm..." "I'm a stupid, repressed fat girl." "It doesn't matter." "I have to confess something to you." "You're the first woman in my life." "I'm invisible." "Now I really feel invisible." "Angel's after you." "He's not." "He felt my ass, that's all." "I love having my ass felt." "In 1969 I'd have asked to have it nationalized." "Down with private property!" "Has Fatso asked you to move in yet?" "I got you what you wanted." " Here's your laundry." " Thanks, cousin." "I mean, Elvira." "Don't thank me." "That's my problem, a soft heart." "You drank the cola I'd saved for when I got back from Pinar del Rio with Machi." "The theatre group is going on tour." "I'll make a few dollars and pay you what I owe." "I'll buy you all the soft drinks you want." "Don't get your hopes up." "You'll never earn anything or have anything." "You know what gets me down?" "Knowing I'll always have the same furniture, the same husband with the same temper," "the same pressure cooker every day..." "It's like running and running and getting nowhere." "You're the same too." "You always will be." "... sex for no reason." "This is for you." "I can't dance." "Me neither." "This sounds a bit weird." "It's very old." "You wind it up from underneath." "You're so good, Javier." "So beautiful..." "I don't know why..." "Not everything is as it seems." "Do you want to hear my story?" "The one you're writing?" "No, that's pure fiction." "The story of my trauma." "I've never told anyone." "Only you, now." "When I was 16," "I fell in love with a teacher." "And she with me." "My love was a fantasy," "I was 16." "But not hers." "She was a math teacher." " What happened?" " What?" "She taught me to make love as an exact science, without mystery." "It was a math exercise:" "1st movement, 2nd movement, theorem, 1st movement." "Everything exact and repeated." "It traumatized me." "Afterwards, I tried to make love to other girls, but..." "I couldn't." "What about you?" "I hate exact sciences." "You don't have to do it." "I want you, Javier." "I could only make love with you." "Me too." "But first..." "I want your mystery." "Want to go for a walk with me?" "But on one condition..." "When will you let me into your room?" "When I have my harp." "Good afternoon." "What do you want?" "We're here for the harp." "What about it?" "We wanted to know if it's for sale." "Nothing's for sale here." "Can we have a closer look?" "Keep your fingers off it." "Are you a musician?" "Do I look like a musician?" "I was a lute player, the best in Havana." "But now look what I do for a living." "Fix watches." "Music's finished for me." "The harp's a family heirloom." "It belonged to my father." "He really was a musician?" ""El Negrito" from the Alhambra Theatre." "What a coincidence." "I'm an actor myself." "Don't sweet-talk me." "The harp's not for sale, full stop." "Wait!" "How much would you give me for it?" "May I come in?" "No, Javier, no." "The windows aren't to be opened." "Here it is." "This will buy my harp." "I hope this will be enough." "If not, you can always pawn the chandelier." "Not the lamp, it doesn't work." "The necklace will be enough." "Do you like it?" "Say something." "You smell like a virgin." "I want it always to rain." "I want to speak the truth always." "Or at least sometimes." "Or at least once." "Why should I always follow Truth?" "Or should I only follow... my own truths?" "My love is above both Truth and Lies." "All I ask is that you listen to my heart." "My heart, my heart, my heart..." "Please, listen up." "The man from the Barcelona Festival came today." "You know what that means?" " No!" " No!" "Aside from this being a group of wanna-be's who can't act, is there any problem that can be solved right now?" " Yeah, why not?" " What is it?" "The props flunky has got me rotten papaya for three days." "Stay." "The whole night?" "Every night." "What's your story about?" "Superstitious?" "No, I'm a coward." "I don't know if I am a writer." "All I know is that I want to write this story." "Alright then." "It's a science fiction story." "It begins like his:" ""In 2020 the world had turned into smoke." "It was an eroticizing smoke that conditioned people." "No one could escape..."" "No." "Not now." "When then?" "When I have my harp." "Why a harp?" "Because you have to put it between your legs to play it." "Talk to me about the theatre." "The theatre?" "No." "I'd love to act, but I can't." "I'm nothing in the group." "The props guy." "This is the first time I've had a small part." "I studied acting, you know?" "But at teachers college." "Even there I wasn't any good." "I also know a bit about sound." "I make a little fixing stereos, small change really." "I think you've got talent." "I think you're inventive." " I think you're special." " Me?" "You're the special one." "I'm the same every day." "And I always will be." "You know what, Javier?" "Never tell me you love me." "This will be my only secret." "I chose you." "There was never any other." "I didn't go to the theatre for the music," "I went because of you." "I'll take care of you every night." "I'll watch over you every night." "If you have a nightmare, I'll be with you." "You're the only beautiful thing in my life." "I'm your angel." "An angel watching over you." "Now what?" "Look, we never asked you to pay for anything, right?" "Only to contribute to the house." "The best trait a person could have is gratitude." "Especially if they're family." "You can't just go." "You can go right now, for all I care." "But leave your crap here till you pay us some decent money." "Am I interrupting?" "Go and don't worry, cousin." "We won't let anyone touch your stuff." "Stupid cow." "You did it, didn't you?" "Fatso fell for you." "Luisita." "Fine, Luisita, Fatso." "Essential things are invisible to the eye, Eva." "The Little Prince spoke like that because he was ten." "I have friends that married fat Norwegians." "They puff up and explode in a month." "Fatso may win Nobel Prize in spirituality, but that's no substitute for pointy tits." "Mine, for example." "Luisita has more fantasy in her than all the roles you'll ever play." "This fantasy has four bedrooms and three bathrooms?" "Or is it five?" "We had no future, Javier." "Be careful with Angel." "He's always been an opportunist." "And stupid." "Angel feels me and sees me." "Angel takes care of me." "Angel watches over me." "Angel loves me, Javier." "I'm going to marry him." "I'll give him a lot of children." "Heaps of children." "It's that simple." "I came to say goodbye." "All those going to the fair..." "How much?" "Luisita!" "Thanks." "She told me the necklace was valuable." "See?" "Even my mother deceived me." "Everybody does." "Maybe she believed it." "The necklace looks genuine." "Maybe the harp's a fake too." "Sure, it's a drum in disguise." "No, I mean it may be out of tune, broken, have broken strings..." "Who cares?" "I wanted it so badly, to have it my room." "It's not for giving concerts." "It's my dream, don't you get it?" "It's not for anyone else." "Not even for you." "My story's not for you either." "Did I say there's a special meeting tomorrow at one?" "No." "Nobody told me." "Yes, it's been on the board for days." "The people going to Barcelona will be named." "I'm dying to work with Catalonian prop guys." "The ones here want to be Marlon Brando." "Just kidding." "Actually, for a prop guy... you still can't act." "Aren't you going to tell me to break a leg tonight..." "Sor-bete?" " I'm going for a piss." " God be with you, sister." "I hope he does break a leg." "No, not one, both of them." "I hope he's totally fucked up!" "Motherfucker." "Motherfucker." "Motherfucker." "Motherfucker!" "What am I, God?" "What am I?" "A beast or an angel?" "An angel or a beast?" "A beast and an angel at the same time?" "Don't judge my acts, but their meaning." "Only then can I be mistaken without feelings of guilt." "Only then..." "Lower the wire!" "Get him down, shit!" "Forgive me." "Don't judge my acts, but their meaning." "What am I, God?" "What am I?" "A beast or an angel?" "Angel and beast at the same time?" "It was terrible, eh?" " Was he a friend of yours?" " He hated me." "And I hated him." "How can you say that, Javier?" "Would you rather I lied to you?" "Look, I'm wound up." "Don't listen to me." "The last thing I want is to argue with you." "Alright?" "Don't open the window." "I wasn't going to." "But what if I did?" "Could you forgive me?" "I'm sorry." "How could you do that to me?" "My grandson was in love." "He needed money to buy the finest rings in the world, and he came to me." "I thought about you, but someone came with the cash and I couldn't refuse." "My grandson died last night." "Are you alright?" "No, no." "My Angel wasn't like other youngsters who forget old people." "He was tender, shy, passionate." "He'd stay here for hours, just to keep me company." "How could I say no the only time he asked me for something?" "You said you were an actor?" " Maybe you knew him." " No, I didn't." "I have to go." "Who'd you sell the harp to?" "A foreigner." "A skinny girl, European..." "I can't recall her name." "Young man!" "She said her name was Stella..." "Stella Maris." "The show must go on." "Angel would've wanted it that way." "We're off to Barcelona in a week, as planned." "The Festival rep is taking care of everything." "I've decided who's replacing Angel." "As of tomorrow, there'll be daily rehearsals." "We'll do a last performance the night before we go." "A triumph in Barcelona will be our best tribute." "Stella Maris." "I was worried." "I won't go to the Morgue anymore." "Why not?" "The ring your friend Angel was wearing disappeared." "His grandfather asked for it." "His girlfriend Eva says he was wearing it during the show." "Everyone's lying to save his or her skin." "The receptionist thinks she saw a nun leave at dawn." "The guard says he didn't authorize the body to be taken to the room." "They all lie, Javier." "That's why I left." "I don't care if they suspect me." "And you?" "Don't you have anything to tell me?" "I'm going to Barcelona." "They gave me Angel's role." "There's a performance in two days." "I want you to sit in the first row." "I'll bring you a harp from Barcelona." "I swear." "What am I, my God?" "What am I?" "An angel or a beast?" "A beast or an angel?" "An angel and beast at the same time?" "What am I?" "What am I?" "What am I?" "What am I?" "Hello." "This is where Javier lives, right?" "You're Elvira." "How do you know?" "I saw you in a picture at Javier's place." "Javier's place?" "You were in my house?" "No, in Javier's house." "Sorry, I'm in a rush." "They're waiting for me at the theatre." "What do you want?" "It's not just the deception." "He plays with people's feelings." "What did that girl look like?" "Blonde." "A real stunner." "She's an artist." "I saw her on TV once, playing a hooker." "It wasn't the first time." "Eva." "Yes, the witch." "So, what's your name?" "Luisita." "Luisita, I don't like doing this." "I love him... because he's family, but..." "I have to admit that Javier is sick." "Sick in his mind." "Now he's writing this weird stuff, some kind of porn." "He says it's a short story." "Literature!" "No, it's filth." "He even wanted to read it to me." "No way, no way." "Machi and I want to help him, but it's a real headache." "So many lies." "What can we do?" "Tell me what I can do?" "Why should I always tell the truth?" "Or should I only speak my own truths?" "My love is over and above Lies and Truth." "I only ask you to listen to my heart." "My heart my heart my heart." "You made me shudder, Javier, you really moved me." "Angel would've applauded your performance." "Luisita." "Is there anything you've lied to me about?" "Luisita, listen." "It's not what it looks like." "Get out there!" "Go on!" "Run after her, you shithead." "Luisita!" "Wait!" "Luisita!" "Luisita!" "Listen!" "Luisa!" "Luisita!" "Luisa!" "Luisita!" "Listen!" "Open up, Luisita!" "Open up!" "Open the door!" "Open up!" "Open up!" "Open up, Luisita!" "It's not what you think." "Please, open the door." "Listen to me." "You didn't want my house." "I was your first woman." "I was..." "Okay..." "I lied." "So what?" "Look at me." "Look at me, Luisita." "Can't you see what I carry around inside me?" "Go, Javier." "Leave." "I'm leaving tomorrow." "The airport bus will come past here at 4 p.m." "If you want to forgive me... open your window." "The window you never wanted to open." "If you open it..." "I'll be your angel... an angel watching over you." "I love you." "Lies." "Lies, lies." "Machi..." "Oh, I thought it was Machi." "What is this?" "I'm only here tonight." "The tour starts tomorrow." "Want some yoghurt?" "No, thanks." "Javier." "Zip me up." "Do you like it?" "They've been promising us these uniforms for years." "I was dying to put it on." "Elvira..." "I have to go." "... truth was in the fable  but she knew how to retain her mystery  and that sign guided me toward a purer light." "... it started to rain." "I searched for Stella." "We're almost there." "You know what?" "I was ready to give it all up for Angel." "If you really love her, get off the bus." "Whether the window's open or closed, get off." "Luisa!" "Luisita!" "It stinks of gas." "Are we there?" "Not yet." "Luisita!" "Open up!" "Luisita!" "Someone call the firemen." "How awful, my God." "Open the window." "She opened it, Javier!" "She did!" "Stop!" "Stop for a second!" "Javier, don't do it!" "Luisita!" "I love you!" "Here's your harp, Luisita." "And here's my story." "In 2020, the world had turned into smoke," "an eroticizing smoke that conditioned the senses." "Escape was as futile as rebellion." "This was the last city, the end of my journey in the empire of Eros." "It was also the end of a search doomed to failure." "Or so I thought, until I came before her." "You don't have to do it if you don't want to." "Are you mad?" "I'll have to report on you!" "No." "I can't." "Then why are you here?" "At first I thought it was another body without a soul." "But something in the depths of her gaze... betrayed her." "You'd better go." "Her eyes had the same tremor that for so long had dwelled in mine." "You remind me of someone." "You remind me of someone too." "Yes, really." "You remind me of my mother, the puritanical streak." "Fortunately, she left." "She disappeared." "I only heard about her once." "She became a nun." "How old are you?" "Go now." "Sixteen." "I've done this job since I was fourteen." "What's your name?" "Stella." "Stella Maris." "I'd seen the same scenes, the same neon lights, in a thousand cities." "The reign of the Empire of Eros was universal and invisible, its only law the right of each one to possess another." "There, I was everyone's and had no-one." "But that night, I received another sign." "I'll take you wherever you want." " I can't sleep with you." " I didn't say that." "Get in." "Will you take me to my hotel?" "I never give anyone a ride." "But I could see you're not from round here." "How could you tell?" "Your smell." "You smell like a virgin." "Join me for a glass of wine?" "Alright." "On one condition." "You tell me everything." "My name's Eva." "Angel." "What are you looking for, Eva?" "I'll go if you like." "Forgive me." "I've been here for three days and it's been rough." "Isn't it the same as where you come from?" "Yes." "Everything's the same everywhere now." "It's like running and running and going nowhere." "I'm revolted by what the world's become too, Angel." "That's why I chose you." "I've been watching you for three days, since you came to this hotel and I saw you by chance." "So running into me today...?" "Do you know why I chose you?" "Look at me." "Look at me, Angel." "I want you." "I've wanted you from day one." "I don't want your body now." "I want what's inside you." "I'm leaving." "Don't go like that, it's dangerous." "Will I see you again?" "When it rains again." "In the old morgue." "I don't remember how long I had to wait." "In the Empire of Eros, days were the same as nights." "In this soulless Sabbath" "Eva came into my life to bring me the chance of a new life." "Her apparition was like a music whose mystery only the rain could dispel." "Tell me about the story, Angel." "About "Madrigal"." "It belongs to my daughter." "I'm almost sure of it." "Why?" "I lost her when she was four." "Her mother... wanted to escape with her and me from..." "From this revolting world." "But she didn't believe in me." "She thought I lied to her when actually... she deserted me," "left me alone." "Two years ago... someone left the story at my place, with no other information." "I've searched for them ever since." "Now I have no hope." "In nothing, not even in myself." "Come with me." "Trust me." "Few people know about this." "But something tells me it's the beginning of Utopia." "98." "98." "98." "98." "98." "46." "Angel." "If your number's called, you can leave this place." "Some speak about virgin lands where everything is yet to be done." "Others say it's a far-off island." "21." "21." "21." "No smoke, no compulsory morality," "where we can see each other..." "Last number." "...over and above truth and lies." "66." "66." "66." "Has anyone seen it?" "Has anybody come back to tell about it?" "No-one." "For the next lottery." "It's a double, for me and you." "I couldn't..." "If it comes up, we'll both be saved." "You know why?" "Because that day, we'll make love for the first time... freely." "The hotel staff already eyed us with suspicion." "We were a furtive couple and thus, suspected subversives." "Where are they rushing off to?" "I need a moment of your time." "We've received stern complaints about the gentleman's... and the lady's behavior." "But we said no, it wasn't true." "A slander." "Or no?" "For me, Eva was mystery in a world designed to wipe out the last bastion of mystery." "I've never been a puritan, Angel." "I just can't stand doing it out of obligation." "They've made us invisible." "Stay..." "Tonight?" "Every night." "The pledge not to touch each other until our lucky day is as fragile as the Utopia Eva had promised me." "But within me was an awakening of desire and hope." "13." "Tomorrow a ship sails from the foggy pier." "What's it called." "Barcelona." "Last number." "Last number." "Last number." "This is our last chance." "Quiet." "44." "44." "Is that the number?" "Is it?" "Now it doesn't matter what you do, Angel." "There's a message in the story." "Your daughter left you a message." "It's for you to work it out." "Just listen to your heart." "That night we made love in Eros' World... as if it were the beginning of a new world." "I stayed the night next to Eva, feeling her infinite tenderness." "My search was reaching its end and I couldn't turn back." "Looking at her I found the strength I was looking for... and knew... the purest light was guiding me." "Oh, the puritan." "Did you change your mind?" "Take it." "Though it may find it hard to believe, there is a better life than the one you're leading." "Why are you doing this?" "Because... you remind me of someone."