"I've spoken to Uncle Chen Fu." "It's no problem." "Why now?" "You've got your audition coming up." "I don't have a long turn contract with them," "I can still do that later." "The food over there is terrible." "Plus, they speak German." "You'll get knots in your tongue." "I told you, Uncle will be taking care of me." "Your uncle's a businessman." "He won't have time." "Why are you so sure" "I won't learn anything about Dad there?" "He doesn't know anything." "He moved to Germany before your father died." "But it's so important to me!" "Mom, please let me go!" "Alright, do whatever you want." "You're getting on my nerves." "I used to run that one for your uncle." "How many restaurants he has?" "He used to have 5, now only 2 left." "The Vietnamese, the mainland Chinese and the Koreans are ruining the business." "You're only staying for 3 weeks?" "Well, it depends... on how much I like it here." "I'll get your bag." "Careful!" "This way." "Ai-ling!" "Uncle!" "Welcome!" "You're as slim as your mom." "Have you eaten?" "Yes, on the plane." "I'm sure that was dreadful." "Come in." "I've already told the chef to make something special for you." "Enjoy!" "Thanks, Dad." "Hello!" "You're all grown up!" "I'll get back to the kitchen." "Thank you." "Why are they staring at us?" "They're probably just wondering why our food looks different to theirs." "I suppose they think we're eating dog here." "Ai-ling, I'm sorry, but I have an appointment." "Of course, Uncle." "You'll be staying at Patrick's." "Get some rest." "I will." "Good to have you here." "Patrick, you take care of everything." "Who was that man?" "Nothing." "A man who wants to do business with your uncle." "Do you know why Chen Fu moved to Germany back then?" "Sure, when my dad was looking for a partner to open a restaurant here, he asked your uncle." "What he didn't know was that he'd end up as Chen Fu's cook." "Does he ever...talk about my parents?" "No." "Your uncle never talks about his Taiwanese days." "And if I were you," "I wouldn't ask him about it either." "Why not?" "You know his generation." "It's no use talking about anything personal." "5 months later" "We'll start any minute." "Thanks." "You're welcome." "Honored guests, thank you for finding the time to come to our opening night." "Ladies and gentlemen." "The ancient Romans used to say," "NOMEN EST OMEN" "Sophie Schmitt not only reminds us of the Greek word SOPHIA, which means knowledge and wisdom," "but by calling her video installation REMEMBRANCE we also realize how much we are controlled by memories." "I'm sure Sophie Schmitt can say more about this." "Because as an artist, she knows..." "Miss Schmitt." "Miss Schmitt, would you like to say a few words?" "Thank you for your kind words about my work." "First of all, I'd like to thank you for inviting me and my exhibition to Taipei." "This video work is not only a memory of my Taiwanese friend Chen Ai-ling." "It is dedicated to her..." "Thanks you, Miss Schmitt." "The buffet is now officially opened!" "Let me introduce you to Mr. Hsie, who sponsors our foundation." "Mr. Hsie, Sophie Schmitt." "Delighted." "I've heard a lot about you." "My pleasure." "It's a very poetic piece." "Mark." "Why don't you introduce us?" "Delighted to." "Mark, this is Sophie Schmitt." "Sophie Schmitt, this is Mark Manton." "Actually, it was his idea to invite you here in the first place." "Sophie, pleased to meet you." "Nice to meet you." "May I give you a light?" "Don't we know each other?" "No, this is the first time." "You must miss her a lot." "I'm sorry." "I didn't even introduce myself." "Wang Mei-li." "From the Taipei News." "You can call me Mei-Li." "I'd really like to do an interview with you, for our arts section." "I don't like giving interviews." "I know, but..." "I thought this could be something really unique." "Your interest in me is very nice, Mei-li." "But I have no desire to talk to the press about my private life." "Is there no way that I can convince you to make an exception?" "Perhaps, over dinner?" "Sorry, but..." "Can I take a photo with you?" "Sure." "I'm so excited!" "Thank you." "Thank you so much." "You're welcome." "Ms." "Wang, am I right?" "Yes." "I'm really looking forward to your first article." "Thank you." "Goodbye." "Goodbye, take care." "You must come, Sophie, really, we're all on our way to celebrate your success." "I'm not sure." "Actually I'd planned to go to bed early." "C'mon." "It's your night." "It'll put some life back into you." "Okay then, for one drink." "How did you like the exhibition?" "Excuse me, do we know each other?" "Don't you remember me?" "No." "She needs time." "Zie-tian?" "Yeah?" "The opening was great, but some people reacted strangely." "And why?" "Some weren't exactly thrilled..." "Are you even listening to me?" "Yeah." "You should go and see it too." "I might if I can find the time." "Thank you, Mr. Jaspers." "No, it's just jet lag." "Yes." "Pardon?" "Say hello to him." "I'll call you later, I promise." "Bye." "No." "Why not?" "I'm hungry again." "Keep going." "No, I haven't trained enough." "Please, one more time." "Mei-li" "Hey" "What are you doing here?" "I thought I'd give it another try." "Did you?" "Yeah." "Maybe I can talk you into going for a ride with me?" "I can show you a Taipei you won't find in any travel guidebooks." "And then publish the lot." "Of course I'll send you the article to you beforehand to get your approval." "Come on, a bit of a change will do you good." "It'll drive away the ghosts of the past." "And..." "Actually I already told my editor-in-chief that he can count on me on getting the article..." "Let me guess." "If you don't get it, then you're history." "At the very least." "Keep on going!" "Be brave!" "1, 2, 1, 2..." "Thank you." "You can speak Chinese!" "No." "Apart from "thank you" and "hello"," "I can barely say a word." "Don't blame yourself." "There was nothing you could've done about her death." "I'm not blaming myself." "It's good to talk about it." "Do you not like the food?" "I would try." "Here." "Good?" "How come you're no longer with your agency?" "When I came down with meningitis and was hospitalized" "The company fired me." "I was afraid I'd never be able to work again." "Are you cured now?" "Sometimes I get dizzy tremble when I'm under stress." "I still have to take my prescription drugs." "That's off record, right?" "Were you really so deeply in love with Ai-ling?" "Yes." "But I only really felt it when she wasn't there anymore." "How did you two meet?" "Excuse me, are these taken?" "No, go ahead." "Thanks." "It's your uncle." "I'll be right back." "Not very good." "I don't understand..." "Sorry, no German." "We can talk in English." "English is good." "Here, have a look." "Press this button." "The photos are great." "Thank you." "You're Taiwanese?" "Yes" "Ai-ling, we have to go." "Why?" "Trouble at the restaurant." "Do you really have to leave?" "Do you know her?" "The movie is only showing today." "Really?" "Yes." "Why don't you stay?" "No need for you to hang around and watch me work." "Get yourself a taxi later." "Have fun." "Goodbye." "Bye." "What's so funny?" "Tschus in Chinese means 'go to hell." "You have a very nice boyfriend." "No he's not my boyfriend, just a friend." "Did you like it?" "Yes, very much." "I know almost nothing about Taiwan." "I know almost nothing about Taiwan." "I only know the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, they put on a show here last year." "You know Cloud Gate?" "I used to dance with a small group and they performed with Cloud Gate" "Really?" "Yes." "Do you still dance with them?" "No." "Just for one season." "The competition is very strong in Taiwan." "Did you come to Hamburg for dancing?" "No." "Would you like to drink something with me?" "I'm not sure." "Come on, it's still early." "I don't drink..." "I mean, I don't drink alcohol." "Maybe a tea?" "You really have to tell me more about Taiwan." "I have to go." "See you soon, Al-ling." "Hello?" "This isn't what I ordered." "I don't like chicken." "That no chicken." "That pork." "What's taking my rice so long?" "Is table 5 ready?" "Almost." "Give me 2 plates." "Ok." "Can you manage?" "Yes." "Let me know if you need help." "Ok." "(You've put a spell on me,)" "(please release me and give me a call." "Sophie.)" "A message from an admirer?" "No." "Be careful!" "But that's outrageous!" "You should be ashamed of yourself!" "It's a fair price, considering your situation." "I won't be blackmailed." "Call me when you've come to a decision." "Goodbye." "Bloodsucker!" "Is everything alright, Uncle?" "Don't worry about it." "How are you settling in?" "Fine." "I just need to learn a bit more German." "And I'd like to thank you for letting me work here." "Well, we're family after all." "Uncle, why did you come to Germany?" "Well, it was a good place to do business." "Didn't my father want to come too?" "We did talk about it at the time, but he felt it was too risky." "And in retrospect, he was right." "You won't get rich here in Germany." "There's official rules and regulations for every little thing." "You slave away and life slips between your fingers." "You can finish for today." "One second!" "You're taking forever, missy!" "Water's expensive here!" "Sorry." "A messenger just left this." "What's so urgent?" "No idea." "Just leave it there, please." "And clean your hair from the plughole!" "How long is this going to go on?" "Does she want to stay here forever?" "Tell her we're expecting a visitor from Taiwan." "She'll have to move out." "Mom, how often do I have to tell you?" "Don't talk so loudly." "Hello, Sophie." "So big!" "You live here all by yourself?" "Yeah." "Belongs to a friend of mine who's gone to the US for 2 years." "What's that strange smell in here?" "Roast lamb a la Sophie:" "Burnt to a cinder and tough as nails." "I can offer you a pizza, as an option." "Sorry for that." "One second." "Hello Sophie." "Leon!" "Here's the CDs." "Thanks." "How about a drink?" "Sorry, I've got a visitor." "Do I know her?" "No." "Hello." "This is Ai-ling." "Leon, my neighbour." "Leon, Ai-ling." "Very pleased to meet you." "Hello." "Smells good." "She's a great cook." "Leon, bye bye." "Don't take him so seriously." "He's a little bit weird." "Watch out, that's sugar!" "This sausage is so salty." "It tastes better like that." "I have something special from Taiwan for you." "It will protect you." "What does it mean?" "It means you will be rich and have a long life." "Thank you." "Mei-li!" "?" "I'm sorry." "I feel so close to you." "I think I'm..." "Not a good time." "Ai-ling still means too much..." "And what about the thing you had with that English guy?" "You weren't thinking of Ai-ling then, now were you!" "That evening?" "all I wanted to do was forget everything." "With me you can forget everything too you know." "Really well..." "Sorry, Mei-li," "I gotta go now." "I'll leave some money." "No." "Sophie?" "(Sophie Schmitt)" "My back!" "Sorry." "Come here." "I give you a message." "Ok" "You know honey, you shouldn't smoke so much, your lungs are all tensed up." "Please don't answer it." "But it's my mother." "Hello Mom." "Yes, fine." "Yeah, my landlady is very nice." "No, the rent is reasonable." "Mom, I can't talk right now." "Can I call you back?" "Yes, I will." "Bye." "How come she has to phone you every single day?" "Sorry, that's just the way it is with us." "I think it's pretty weird, her phoning all the time." "I think it's pretty weird that you never talk to your parents." "We don't have much to say to each other." "And you think that's good?" "So what exactly do you tell her about me?" "Only the best, that you take good care of me well." "You liar." "Patrick, did you get everything ready for tonight?" "Yes." "Remember, they're important customers." "Uncle, I'd like to introduce you to my landlady." "Sophie." "My uncle." "Nice to meet you." "Patrick." "Hi." "(Paternity test)" "Ai-ling, you know it's illegal to make a DNA test against the person's will?" "What do you mean?" "I saw the biotech Website on your computer by accident." "I was thinking about taking some saliva from my uncle and tested." "Do you really think Chen Fu's your father?" "When I was small child, my father said to my uncle he'd kill him if he comes to our house again" "and I know that my uncle was always in love with my mother." "Why don't you just go and ask your mother?" "I did try, but it's like, talking to a brick wall." "What would you do when you got the result?" "Still not sure." "For me it's important to know where I come from." "I think it's far more important to think about where you are right now." "You don't understand me." "I don't want you to get obsessed with the whole thing." "You should be using your energy to make something of yourself." "Don't look at me like that." "You've never even gone out once by yourself, without me." "But I thought you like it when I'm with you." "I do, of course, but that's not what I mean." "So what do you mean then?" "You might be less dependent on me." "Sorry" "I'm late again." "Taking out a loan is out of the question!" "I thought I'd made that clear!" "Of course I have lots of other solutions." "Right." "Alright" "I'll be there at around 6:15 tonight." "Alright" "Ai-ling, you're so skinny." "Are you eating enough?" "Don't worry, Uncle." "Do you have to go away again?" "Yeah, I'm flying to Vienna." "Ai-ling, come over here." "You're working too much." "Take a few days off." "Go away somewhere." "But it's been so busy lately." "Here, take this, girl." "No arguing, okay?" "Take a break." "Thanks, Uncle." "Mom!" "Are you eating properly?" "Yes." "What's up?" "Nothing special." "The doctor says I need to have an operation." "What?" "Is it serious?" "No, no, it's nothing." "Of course, I'll come to be with you, Mom." "But I can't come right away," "I have to get this film finished." "What film?" "Sophie's making a film about me and other Taiwanese people here." "Sophie..." "Does she take care of you?" "Yes." "I like her very much, Mom." "I'm glad." "That's good." "Look after yourself, will you?" "I will." "Hello?" "Hello?" "Let me introduce, this is Sofie." "I'm Mrs. Sen." "I'm Hsiao-Chun." "Ai-ling." "Sit down, please." "Could you please introduce yourself?" "Yes." "My name is Judy," "I'm an internet-artist and filmmaker." "My new project is set in the years between 2030 and 2040." "Some of us are still very much connected to the spirit world." "My grandparents still believe in ghosts, but I feel that's superstition." "I'm a Catholic." "I've been living in Hamburg for 5 years now." "Spirits or ghosts play an important part in Taiwanese culture." "Especially female ghosts who come back after they die, to come back to avenge what people have done to them." "Tomorrow I'm going to Berlin for a few days." "Judy's introducing me to her agent." "But we'd said we were going to the North Sea tomorrow." "I'm sorry, I forgot about it completely." "Judy's agent has good contacts to Asia maybe I can even get a gig in Taiwan." "Really?" "Can I have a look?" "Sure, be a bit more patient," "I would like to finish the rough cut first." "Between 2030 and..." "Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm real or if I've disappeared into the net." "Maybe all I am is the product of some other person's imagination." "Don't think too much of it, Ai-ling." "Sophie travels all the time." "But isn't she crazy about this artist Judy?" "Nah, I don't believe that." "She's finally crazy about her work again, first time since she's out of the hospital." "Come on, Leon, let's go out, go dancing or to a bar!" "I never go out." "Excuse me..." "Excuse me, do you speak English?" "Yes, a little." "May I help you?" "I'm..." "I'm looking for tea." "Jasmine tea." "Tea?" "That'll be tricky here." "This bar is famous for its cocktails, not for its tea." "But they do have cocktails without alcohol." "Maybe a green Mai Tai?" "Can you make 2 Green Mai Tais for us?" "You'll like it." "I'm Katrin Bendersen." "Chen Ai-ling." "Ai-ling." "My treat, Okay?" "I can not..." "Of course you can." "So...the drinks." "Cheers." "And" "Nice." "Fine!" "So where do you come from?" "Taiwan." "Taiwan?" "Yes." "Next round." "You want to go?" "Yes, I have to go and thank you for your drinks." "Yes, sure." "Here, hold it." "The card." "My business card." "I'm alone." "This is my private number." "Call me, Ai-ling." "Thanks." "So I must drink them all." "Thank you." "Bye." "Nice to meet you." "So you're going on a trip?" "That's great!" "Excuse me?" "Hello?" "Hello?" "Zie-tian?" "What's up?" "I have to go to Germany!" "Why?" "The article on Sophie Schmitt went down really well." "The editor wants me to do a series." "Congratulations." "When will you be leaving?" "Soon." "Actually tomorrow." "Yeah?" "Excuse me." "I'm looking for Sophie Schmitt." "And who are you?" "Wang Mei-li from the Taipei News in Taiwan." "Miss Schmitt is not at home." "Could you tell me when she's due back?" "Far as I know, never again." "Sorry?" "She's still in Hamburg, but she lives somewhere else now." "But on the bell downstairs still says her name." "She doesn't use this apartment anymore, since..." "Since her friend died." "Mei-li?" "Your friend Leon told me where I could find you." "You never told me the end of your story with Ai-ling" "May I come in?" "Can't right now." "I'm about to have a meeting." "I just can't get you out of my mind." "Meet me tomorrow." "We're not open yet." "I know." "I'd like to see the owner, Mr. Chen Fu." "Chen Fu?" "I've taken over." "Do you know Chen Fu?" "I'm a friend of Ai-ling's from Taipei." "You do know she's dead, don't you?" "I do." "That's why I'm here." "Her mother asked me to talk to the people she knew." "Strange, she never mentioned it to me." "You must be Patrick." "Chen Fu went back to Taiwan." "But why?" "He'd been in Germany long enough." "What exactly do you want from me?" "You turn up here, like out of thin air." "What do you want me to do?" "Already have to go?" "There's something I have to take care of." "When can I get to see you again?" "I'm not really sure." "You are not able to forget her, are you?" "I don't want to forget her." "Call me, Mei-li." "(Katrin Bendersen)" "So what exactly are you doing in here?" "I just wanted to have a look around." "You were a good friend of Ai-ling's here in Hamburg." "I'd really like to have a talk with you." "Really?" "I want to know how Ai-ling died." "Because you want to write an article about it?" "I just want to know the truth." "Come." "Listen, were the police suspicious at the time that" "Sophie might've in fact..." "had something to do with Ai-ling's death?" "Not as far as I know." "I mean, she was on her way to Hamburg from Berlin." "How come you're asking?" "It's just -- a feeling." "I mean what if the 2 of them had just had such a big fight and..." "Come on, that's still no reason to assume that Sophie would have..." "But maybe..." "In the heat of the moment, anything can happen." "The police had a suspect." "A lawyer." "But they had no evidence." "And she was well connected." "Look." "LESBIAN DRAMA IN RED LIGHT DISTRICT" "Sorry, but I've still got lots of work to do." "That's the way out." "Hi Sophie, it's me." "Listen, I just had a visitor." "Do you have a date of birth for Ms. Wang Mei-li?" "No DOB, age about 28, lives in Taipei, works for Taipei News." "Early this morning, while dredging a canal in downtown Hamburg, workers found a body identified later as Katrin Bendersen, a 30-year-old lawyer." "The police currently assume it was a suicide." "Bendersen had been suspected of being involved in the death of Ai-ling Chen, a young Taiwanese woman who lived in Hamburg." "It's open." "Don't you touch me." "What is wrong?" "Nothing at all, except for the fact that you've been having a fun time sneaking around the place spying on me" "and every single word you've said to me so far is nothing but a pack of lies..." "What kind of lies?" "Leon called me." "Who are you?" "Answer me." "I don't know what you're driving at." "You have no orders to write an article about me." "You don't work for the Taipei News." "They've never heard of a Wang Mei-li." "Who am I supposed to be then?" "You're asking me?" "Who sent you?" "Patrick?" "Ai-ling's mother?" "No..." "Bye, Sarah!" "Bummer, my mother is staying at my house right now, can we go to your place?" "Why not?" "Okay, I'll drive." "No, you can't drive any more." "We're taking the train." "Okay?" "Okay." "And, where is your girlfriend now?" "Still in Berlin." "Well I'm real happy to hear that." "How far is it then?" "Not far, just around the corner." "Please put the cellphone down." "Ai-ling, please put the cellphone down." "Ai-ling." "Darling, it's me." "I'm so sorry that lately I've been so..." "so far away." "I miss you so much." "Let's go to the ocean tomorrow, okay?" "I'm on the train to Hamburg, in 20 minutes I'll be at the main station." "I can't wait to see you." "Ai-ling." "Let go of me." "What's wrong?" "Leave me alone." "Ai-ling, what's your problem?" "Zie-tian!" "Zie-tian!" "What's wrong?" "I was in Germany." "With a woman." "She pushed me." "I fell down in the road and was hit by a car." "It was only a nightmare." "Go back to sleep." "A Wang Mei-li neither entered Germany nor left Taiwan." "Immigration, customs: zero." "Hello." "Ms Chen it's Sophie Schmitt, from Hamburg." "How are you?" "You probably don't want talk to me, but..." "Yes?" "A few strange things happened here." "Things I don't really understand." "Ms Chen, can you hear me?" "Yes, I can hear you." "I've the feeling it's important if we could finally get to know each other" "I know so little about Ai-ling and her family." "The 7th month of the lunar calendar is coming soon." "And we have a memorial ceremony for Ai-ling." "May I join in?" "Ms Chen?" "Come in." "Come in." "Mr. Chen, I thought you were in Vienna..." "I changed my mind when Ya-ching told me she's having a memorial ceremony - for our daughter." "I should have talked about it with Ai-ling." "But we didn't have enough courage." "Here." "You'll be needing this soon." "What is it?" "You have to learn more about Taiwan." "Today's the first day of the ghost month." "In our tradition, we send money to our dead family members." "We burn it, for their journey." "It fends off ghosts who won't leave us alone." "Subtitles:" "Arigon" "Bon voyage, Ai-ling!" "Come on, let's go eat!" "Come." "Ya-ching has prepared a banquet."