Daimler-Benz Limousine (1982) - full transcript
The events are set in Poznan, in late summer of 1939, at the onset of German invasion on Poland. It is a family tale involving two teen-age brothers of German descent, each of them taking opposite side in the events. One day they steal the car of a German consul, trying to take it for a ride in the country. They are arrested by the Polish police but then unexpectedly pardoned by the German consul, a liberal who reads Mann and Heine. The whole thing brings the brothers in contact with the 5th column. The question of national allegiance and family blood eventually divide the boys.
TOR FILM STUDIO
PRESENTS
DAIMLER-BENZ LIMOUSINE
STARRING
WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF
AND A GUEST APPEARANCE BY
MUSIC
EDITING
PRODUCTION MANAGER
CINEMATOGRAPHY
WRITTEN AND
DIRECTED BY
POZNAŃ, MAY 5, 1939
You’re out of shape.
You must exercise more.
Daimler-Benz.
Kaiser Wilhelm.
Adolf Hitler.
Now? Now!
-Just a sec.
-We’ll be late.
- We’ll make it?
- We will.
Why not a bridge
or a tunnel?
As minister Ciano said
to ambassador Wieniawa.
Professor, he’s bleeding.
Take him out.
A tunnel? Yes, a tunnel!
- yelled Ciano.
Sir, you’ve just uttered
an ingenious idea, mon cher.
Gentlemen?
Always together, huh?
- You’re in shape?
- Of course.
I’m counting on you.
Not so good.
You need to work.
When I was eighteen,
I was nothing but
skin and bones but now…
Chest of iron!
Let’s go, gents!
- You got something funny?
- Wanna hear it?
I can’t laugh twice.
Your uncle is upstairs in his
suite, gentlemen.
Engineer, meet my nephews.
Professor Hahn’s boys.
Nice to meet you.
Bohdański.
- Your mother...
- Gentlemen...
allow me to leave you
to finish my toilette.
You got something for me?
- I do, uncle.
- Talk.
Murder trial.
The judge asks a witness:
How was your first marriage
terminated?
By death, your honor.
-By whose death?
-Guess.
How much do you pay,
chairman?
I pay the most for those that are
anti National Democracy,
and the least
for antisemitic ones.
Chairman, I wanted
to thank you
for everything
you’ve done for me.
Oh, well…
You’ve been chosen
by the gods.
Act accordingly.
Adieu.
Oh, well. Life.
This cynical hunter
kills his victim at
the door
of great fame.
Bogdański?
He borrowed bills of exchange
from prince Hohenloh’s safe
and he doesn’t have them.
But Bogdański is
a man of honor and he’ll
have to shoot himself.
I told him
take your time,
there’s no hurry,
wait, there will be a war.
I can feel it in my bones.
Other things
will be important.
Other things.
Good morning, king-ding.
Good morning, scallywags.
Say good morning.
Good morning.
Scallywags. Where were you?
What did you do?
We were...
They were at the ZOO.
They were to see my brother,
Leon, to tell him jokes.
How much did he pay you?
I’m sorry.
I forgot it’s a secret.
The knowledge of life
which brings happiness
to the unprepared,
and us, the prepared
wise men,
sends to depths
of despair and doubt.
Your brother’s an idiot.
He thinks history can be
closed in a single gesture.
How about in
such a gesture?
We kindly ask
for dollars.
We kindly do.
I’m only doing this for you.
Jesus Christ,
Michał.
What happened?
Were you bleeding?
No, mother,
I got dirty eating cherries.
When the war starts,
I’ll join the Lancers.
So will I. Look!
- Look how gorgeous she is!
- Where?
Come.
I’ll put my head
between those tits.
What is it really about?
Is it about freedom
of the Germans in Gdańsk,
which is not in danger,
or about prestigious matters,
or is it about moving Poland
away from the Baltic Sea,
for which Poland
will never allow!
What are you doing here?
We came… you know.
Why didn’t you say so?
Mr. Jankowski!
Squirts are here
for the papers!
- Give’em papers.
- What papers?
- What are the papers for?
- What was I to say?
Didn’t I tell you
it’s a Daimler Benz?
You’re the baron
in such a limousine.
It’s better than the ones
the police have.
Quiet, slave. Go shine
your master’s shoes.
These are the international
affairs experts.
- Do you recognize them?
- Of course. The Hahn brothers.
They should join
the League of Nations.
I’m sure they will.
In jail.
They wanted to return the car.
It doesn’t matter,
professors.
Poles should have
more dignity.
My grandfather
was German.
- That’s ever worse.
- The Hahns.
When I first saw you, I had
a moment of genuine pride.
When I first saw you,
I thought:
Here are two Athenian youths
who will follow
the ideal of good
and beauty, Kalos Kagathos.
But hubris nestled in
your minds
and I have no other choice
but to expel you.
And to black list you!
You’re expelled. You can collect
their documents, professor.
What is it about?
What are you afraid of?
What am I afraid of?
That one phone call!
I wonder what the consul
will have to say about this.
What laws can
the consul revoke?
He can talk about
the 1907 Hague Convention,
about international scandal,
he can treat this event
as a provocation.
This was in the car.
In the car?
This is the local daily paper.
German Embassy?
Consul von Ziegler.
So tell me what you’re
going to testify?
It looks like they’re about
to tell the truth, sir.
This is the truth, gentlemen.
You were members of illegal
anti-German organization
which planned to kidnap
Consul General of the Reich
in Poznań.
This attempt was thwarted
by our counterintelligence.
Is that understood?
You planned to kidnap
the consul,
for you planned to demand the ransom
in the amount of 20 000 marks.
To continue the terror,
understand?
Of course, it’s all a lie.
I know that it’s a lie.
Your truth is beyond
the scale of your deed.
Sir, can you come here
for a moment!
Yes, I do identify them.
These two young men distributed
subversive leaflets around the city.
I followed them
and saw them do it.
I have them here.
Yes.
Yes, indeed.
Well? Do you
plead guilty?
Yes.
No.
All right, Toni Kruger.
Connect me
to the mayor.
The mayor already knows that
you allowed the boys to take the car.
And that they
should be released.
Come in. Come in.
Don’t pretend
to be shy.
Did you go to the German
printig house before you took the car?
Were you
to distribute the paper?
Then run home and quickly before
I tear your legs out of your asses!
And you’ll go
and cancel everything.
- Me?
- You were the one chasing them!
Listen and be quiet!
Then you’ll go to the consul
and apologize for the mistake.
There was no car theft.
It was a police provocation.
Do you hear me?
Our provocation.
The boys got the car from the consul
to distribute German newspapers.
And you prevented them
from doing it.
Then you’ll go to school and
tell them to accept them back.
They were never expelled,
do you hear me?
He’ll live.
And you learn from your
international experiences.
I understand.
- You don’t.
- I do.
You do?
They shouldn’t go back
to the same school.
What?
- They shouldn’t…
- Andrzej!
They shouldn’t go back
to the same school.
- I want to.
- Andrzej?
I want to go back.
Michał,
don’t go back to the same
school, please.
Mum?
What?
What’s there behind you?
- Books.
- Go there.
Top shelf.
In the middle.
Higher.
This one. What is it?
- What title?
- Vatican Cellars.
Who wrote it?
- André Gide.
- Next to it.
To the left.
- Which one?
- Lower, the first one.
- Short stories. Thomas Mann.
- Under it.
In the middle.
Where? Lower?
To the right, no,
in the middle.
Son, it’s Balzac.
Cousin Bette.
- And under the Cousin?
- What’s this about?
In the middle. This one
This one.
Marcel Proust.
Put them here by the bed.
All of them?
That’s what I said.
He demanded several
books at once.
You think it’s normal?
Why?
Not one book. Several.
Apparently, he wants
to read them all.
He’s always been
so systematic.
Kid,
what other devilish ideas
are brewing in this head of yours?
You took those clothes
from your father?
It’s a much more serious matter,
I’d say international.
I don’t understand.
Weren’t you the one telling me
to join the League of Nations?
I admit it was not
in good taste.
Why? I took it seriously.
And here I am.
Look Hahn, these few sympathizers
of the League of Nations in our school
are all future law students.
But I believe you have
different interests?
Interests can be changed.
Make me a chairman.
In two weeks, this room
will be full.
You stole the limousine
form the consul?
What was I to steal?
The consul?
What’s today’s subject?
Opinions of the
Court of Justice.
- What for?
- It’s in the League of Nations.
Does the League know
about your organization?
No. Why would they?
That’s a mistake. We must
let the League know
- and change the name.
- Why?
You know… I’ve always
associated a sympathizer
with an onanist.
- Watch it, Hahn!
- Why would it?
Because the name
is the most important.
The name is the idea.
For instance - the Union.
Ligue of Nations Friends’ Union.
Doesn’t it sound better?
England - London,
Argentine - Buenos Aires,
- Abyssinia - Addis Abeba.
- What was that?
Belgium - Brussels,
Brazil - Rio de Janeiro
This place was a mess
when you were gone.
The principal almost
got a heart attack.
- Why aren’t you saying anything?
- What’s there to say?
Why did he admit you back?
I promised I’d kidnap
the consul.
You do have a specific
sense of humor, Hahn.
Czechoslovakia? Berlin?
Entente.
Entente?
Entente?
That’s the primary cause. A much more
serious matter than the state.
Entente created
the League of Nations,
which rules all the countries
like Vatican rules the church.
And Abyssinia?
I’ve heard something.
Abyssinia is the colossus’
small stumble.
Now we run fast!
You’re making
a mess again?
You never put it back.
- I’m sorry.
- What are you reading?
In Search of Lost Time.
Sentences here are two pages long.
There I have an idiot
who can’t utter a word.
Simplification.
Make simpler...
And here are sentences that are
two pages long.
Will you attend the Union of Friends’
inaugural lecture?
I will.
If you invite me.
That’s great.
And will you announce that the
Union of Friends of the League
takes over foreign contacts
here, in the school?
Of course. That’s obvious,
isn’t it?
How’s Michał doing?
He’s gone mad.
Why is the League of Nations
such a weak organization?
Why is it unable to cope
with the growing crisis?
Why, gentlemen?
Why can’t it cope
with the growing crisis?
Because, just like any
international organization,
it is ruled by Jews and Masons.
Ruled by dark forces
of conspiracy,
which do not desire unity.
We want the strong
League of Nations.
We.
The Union.
We, the Union.
ANDRZEJ - ORGANIZATION -
MONEY
What now?
Something about
the Treaty of Versailles.
I’ll give you a very
interesting work.
Our university’s achievement.
The University which is
compared to Gottingen,
to Heidelberg.
To Heidelberg before 1933,
that is.
Analysis of international ties,
that I found in Europe.
It is terrifying in its purport.
Europe is a feeding ground,
on which something’s rotting,
something’s decaying,
something’s pulsating.
Only chaos, nothing but
decaying chaos.
I hate Europe.
You promised me something, sir.
You promised to introduce
me to the consul.
Bon apetit.
Someone looked through
my notebook again.
You’re overreacting.
Andrzej, please,
don’t come late for dinner.
He already knows.
I can read you what I wrote,
just tell me to.
Is it how it’s done?
- Some did it.
- Who?
Tolstoy, for instance.
Those dinners must
have been long.
Stefan!
Just think.
Stefan...
Think!
He read War and Peace
over dinner.
When did they sleep?
Will I be speaking as a representative
of my country or as a private person?
As a representative
of your country.
Berlin must agree to this.
And it’ll take time.
What if you acted
as a private person?
I think I still have that
kind of freedom, right professor?
Speaking of freedom,
why do you hate
Europe so much?
It has to do with age.
The older one gets,
the less tolerant
one becomes.
But today’s youth
isn’t at all tolerant.
Right, Andrzej?
Let’s go, professor.
Next year I’ll be driving a Horch.
I won’t be needing you today.
Get in, Mr. Hahn.
Don’t look so glum.
We’ll take professor home.
You’d better drive.
You do know how
valuable this limousine is.
Andrzej, call me
when you’re ready.
We’ll go for a ride.
I’m curious which route you took
when you borrowed my car.
Your police commissioner claims
that you wanted
to kidnap me for ransom.
Strangely, he’s convinced of it.
What should I talk about
to the members of your organization?
About the reasons which
led Germans
to leave the League of Nations.
Is that acceptable?
An interesting subject.
I need a week
to prepare.
Of course.
- You’re playing?
- I am.
Draw now.
There is no organization
without money.
- Does it work?
- No.
Order an entry fee
of 100 zlotys.
I’ll order 200
if I have to.
And you’ll become
a treasurer.
- Let’s play.
- Shuffle.
Who’s playing with whom?
Let’s play as we seat.
You’re shuffling.
- And?
- He wants 2 000.
- Is he crazy?
- He can’t sell it cheaper.
- Does it come with a clip?
- Sure!
Fuck! I told you there’s no
organization without money.
What about the consul?
It’s fine. He’ll let us drive.
We just need to eliminate the driver.
Fine.
Do you really believe
what you’re saying?
Do you believe
what you’re reading?
Beck believes
what he’s saying.
Bullshit. Neither Beck believes it,
nor Goebbels.
It’s a game.
- You won’t be playing?
- I’d rather look from a side.
- You’re missing out.
-Maybe I am.
But I’ll be there for
the consul’s lecture.
How do you know?
How do you know,
I want to invite the consul?
Don’t think about it.
Bad writers describe
the likes of you:
He was to become
a happy man.
And good writers?
Good writers?
Good writers observe.
- Who are you here to see?
- Mr. Feliński.
- He’s drinking on stage.
- Yes. Uncle!
This is Michał Hahn.
My godson.
The future of Poland.
And this is Poland’s past:
Michał Szik, a violinist.
Mikołaj Palasz,
a playwrite.
Andrzej Podchorski,
a fallen poet.
Franciszka Felińska,
my muse and inspiration.
And me. Your disinherited
godfather.
The most tragic person
of them all.
Come up to the stage.
What’s that you’re holding?
- My story.
- You finished it?
- No.
- Don’t.
Stay in the auditorium.
My tragedy is so great
that I have to drink on stage.
That’s the only proper scale.
Your tragedy is that you’re
pathologically jealous.
Write a play about it.
What’s funny
isn’t always dramatic.
You don’t know
how to suffer, Maks.
To create a masterpiece, one must
first swim in a lot of shit.
If so, I’m giving you Franciszka.
You can rape her.
But write a great poem!
Of course I’ll rape her.
Our world is dying
natural death, gentleman.
That’s about time.
I’m awfully tired with it.
Gentlemen, young
generation is listening.
Are you also so corrupt?
Leave him be, he’s from
a decent home.
So it’s time
to drop the shackles.
He’s already rebelled. He’s stolen
consul’s limousine.
He could have
started a war.
Where? Where are you going?
Where?
Fuck off, man.
Fuck off.
Why are you laughing at me,
gentlemen?
And you laughed the hardest.
Take a seat, man.
You laughed the hardest.
- We’ll fight.
- Sit down.
Come to the side,
we’ll fight there.
There are no sides here.
Just the wings.
Poland has not yet died
So long as we still live.
Come to the side,
we’ll fight.
Poland has not yet died
as long as we still live.
Guadeloupe seamen.
Come, come.
Mr. Michał Hahn.
Tonight’s mascot.
Nice to meet you - Bogdański.
We’ve already met.
Do forgive me but
I don’t remember.
It was...
in chairman Sobierajski’s suite.
Oh, yes, of course. I was
very distracted then.
Master!
You’re leading again.
Master!
And for the little one?
Just a smidge.
I’m an artist.
Sure you can.
You can do anything.
Anything.
There’ll be no punishment.
The final judgement
is to be a great surprise.
Of course, there’ll be bad people
who’ll ruin all the fun
by hiding in the darkest places.
Darkest places.
I know where to get the money.
From Bogdański.
How?
He’s a thief, a snitch,
and a drug addict.
Ask him to pay
for your silence.
Well…
Write to Bogdański.
You write.
You’re the author.
Fine.
Gentlemen. Gentlemen,
leave me please.
Just leave me alone.
Do not blackmail me anymore.
Please, gentlemen.
See?
Action - reaction,
action - reaction.
Acts on command.
You didn’t talk to us
about that.
I haven’t talked to you
about many things.
Many things aren’t
done here, Michał Hahn.
What brings you here?
Prose?
You were printing, weren’t you?
A Poem About Jesus, yes.
Am I to assess?
Are you here for the sake
of our old friendship?
You did the right thing.
I’ll give you
my honest opinion.
I’ll give you the whole truth,
man to man.
That’s what you want?
Yes.
Please.
You know very well that
nothing here happens fast.
Just think.
I’m teaching.
I’m waiting.
So what will this writing
give you, huh?
You find it funny, mother?
No. Sit.
I just don’t know,
what one feels.
I don’t know what one feels,
that’s all.
One feels power.
One feels fire. No. One feels
fervour that burns one out.
And one is jealous of everyone
else who just must succeed.
Will you succeed?
- Answer me. Will you?
- I don’t know yet.
You’ve changed.
Apparently this
changes people.
Well, Hahn,
you write...
long sentences.
Because the story is short.
You, Andrzej,
take on the manners
of a leader.
I hear you’re setting up
Hitler - Jugend.
I will if need be.
You show...
undoubted literary knowledge.
Yes, quite a knowledge.
What else can I tell you?
I don’t believe a single
word you wrote here.
But if that’s true…
No, it’s fiction.
You know what, Hahn?
Literature isn’t born
out of thin air.
Can I give it to someone
else so they could assess it?
I cared for your assessment
but if you want to…
In any case, you can safely
consider it
your first literary success.
You can see here
all the Polish kings.
My visit here is both
optimistic and symbolic.
The lecture which I give
standing under your eagle
shows that unnecessary tensions
between our two countries
won’t last long.
The great German writer talked
about the spirit of politics
and the spirit of art.
He talked about similarities
and about contradictions.
I would rather focus
on similarities.
I’m convinced by a writer
who says:
“You can disguise yourself,
dress up as an attaché,
as a Lieutenant of the Guard
on vacation,
but you can barely raise
your eyes,
you can barely
open your mouth,
- and everyone knows you’re a nobody.”
- He’s quoting Mann. Interesting.
“…that you are
someone strange...
someone weird...
someone else.”
But you’ll recognize the artist
at first glance.
I was asked
why Germany left
the League of Nations.
Well, in the last scene of
The Magic Mountain
Hans Castorp gets lost in
the trenches of the Great War.
What was the brave soldier’s
further faith?
Did he die or
manage to survive?
Let’s imagine,
he’s left his seclusion
to march with the others.
Let’s imagine,
that he didn’t die,
that he saved himself.
If he did, he saw
that victorious powers prevented
Germany from attending
the Versailles conference
and imposed a deal
that would make Germany
lose its importance
in Europe forever.
Disarmed Germany was to have only a
professional army of 100 000.
Brave Hans Castorp
would be surprised,
hearing about the 15-year occupation
of the Rhineland,
about the occupation of
the Saar Basin, about the fact
that only Germany was blamed
for the outbreak of the war.
This simple-minded Castorp,
a humble rationalist,
son of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck,
would certainly
be very surprised.
Mr. Andrzej Hahn
please come with me.
Do excuse me.
He’d have been amazed that the
provisions of the Versailles Treaty
were to be controlled
by the League of Nations,
which did not want to admit
Germany as a member,
but allowed the victorious powers
to exploit Germany
in the majesty of the law
that it should uphold.
I know that Hans Castorp
would not wring his hands.
He would not go back
to his seclusion,
to this sanatorium in Davos.
Rather, he’d roll up his sleeves
to show that Germany
cannot be exploited by force.
You fucking policemen!
You can do shit!
We’re not policemen
but they can be here soon.
All I got to do
is dial a number.
Who ratted?
Adam Hartwig.
That’s your name
in Michał’s story.
"Adam Hartwig was deeply affected
by the public humiliation
he was subjected to
by the police chief
in our seemingly peaceful
and sleepy town.
So he decided to do exactly
what the police chief accused him of
and to what he confessed. In a word:
he decided to kidnap the consul
and dot the i’s.
Contrary to the appearances
that he created around him
Adam was a weak and
insecure man,
but he never wanted
to admit his weaknesses.
Just as he would never
admit his immaturity,
for he wanted too much to be
masculine and bodacious”.
Should I go on?
Please.
“The fact that he managed to easily
gain control over school organization,
raised him up to the level
never before achievable to him”.
More?
Enough.
I understand.
No, no I don’t.
I’ll translate it for you.
Mr. Hahn,
do you know you’re German?
Do you know that
great Germany
will be here in few weeks?
And Germans will come to you,
they’ll address you,
they’ll address their countryman
and what will you tell them?
You are an intelligent man.
What will you tell them?
That you didn’t know?
What do you think
I should do?
The same thing you’re doing.
Just not here
and not now.
And not as a Polish brat,
but as German patriot.
Can I have the notebook back?
You’ll get it.
When you deserve it.
He would have noted, however,
that not even the thought of de facto
equal rights for Germany is allowed.
The proof was the League of Nations’
categorical refusal
to grant Germany equal rights
in the field of arms.
What is Hans Castorp
doing now?
To quote Adolf Hitler:
“In foreign policy,
the government's mission will be
to defend Germany's right to exist,
and thus to regain
our nation’s freedom.
The government will help to include
Germany in the community of nations
as a state equal to others,
thus having the same rights.”
Thank you.
It was brave of you to
quote Thomas Mann.
Have I managed to gain
a little trust?
Because I was also
quoting Hitler.
Not the first time,
I might add.
Wasn’t this your duty?
My duty?
Yes, it might have been
my duty.
But to whom?
To Hitler?
Gents, we’re looking for the driver!
To school, around the corner.
Are you mad? Why didn’t you
get in the car?
- You fucker.
- Don’t be hysterical.
I’ll get in the car
when the time is right.
Where have you been?
Hurry up, god dammit.
Your duty is to wait for me
by the car.
How did it happen?
That’s how they react when the German
consul speaks in a Polish school
to the friends of
the League of Nations!
Did you inform Berlin
about what happened?
Don’t you understand,
that this is Berlin’s reaction?
Get in.
Does a municipal court judge have
a right to philander in a brothel?
He doesn’t.
Does a magistrate clerk, a father,
have the right to screw in a brothel?
Does Adam’s father have the right
to philander in a brothel?
God! That’s my old man.
And who’s this?
He doesn’t have a right
to philander either.
I paid.
Treasurer!
All the money for the brothel.
Do you agree?
Yes!
Organization is disbanded.
Why?
I’ll come back to you after
the holidays. Do you agree?
Yes!
- Do you trust me?
- Yes!
Show me your cocks!
So? Shall we have fun?
We can.
Where was I? Where?
Where were you?
Come. Come.
Is uncle Maks here?
He is. Drunk and asleep.
I came to talk to you, uncle.
- To me?
- Yes.
So talk. Talk.
Nothing serves conversation
like a shared bed.
The boy has problems.
He wants to write.
He can’t do it. He’s not
very good at it.
So he wants to be an artist.
You took it out of my mouth.
I don’t remember.
Your relative wants
to be an artist.
- Does your father know?
- No.
So art is not a toy for children.
It starts innocently;
a letter to an editor,
a poem for a fiancée,
an innocent thought of plagiarism…
And just like with vodka,
you become addicted.
You become weird,
you think the world
doesn’t understand you.
Maks...
But you don’t understand
that he wants to be a great artist.
You have to do something awful.
Something, that will follow
you your whole life.
Like killing your own mother.
Have you read
Stavrogin’s Confession?
He wants to be great.
So be great.
This brave new world
awaits your greatness.
And write about us,
about her, about me.
Be great, be outstanding,
describe us.
Show me to the world.
Me and this whole bloody family
because I can't.
Don’t worry.
He doesn’t believe
in anything anymore.
He’s only waiting
for it all to start.
Do you have a gas mask?
They’re said to attack with gas.
For God’s sake!
For God’s sake,
someone took a piss here!
Shush, woman, shush.
Grab a cloth
and wipe it dry.
- Jesus.
- What are we paying you for?
- Jesus.
- Are you stunned?
Mrs. Hahn!
Mrs. Abramska,
leave that alone.
I’ll wipe it.
Ease yourself, you didn’t
make it with the consul.
I’m not done with the consul,
I’m not done
with the consul.
In our family, the stronger
never beats the weaker!
Don’t speak
for the whole family.
As far as I know, we have close
relatives in Germany.
Uncle Karol, uncle Grubisz,
the Hahn cousins in Essen.
Should I enumerate further?
- What are you reading?
- No reading while eating.
The Vatican Cellars.
You should read it.
What’s it about?
About a young man who commits
murder as an experiment.
He wanted to define
the limits of his freedom.
Have you defined them yet?
I have.
Writing gives me freedom.
I don’t understand a thing.
But no matter.
- So you feel free?
- Yes.
I can’t...
I don’t know how
to talk to you.
Maybe they decide against it.
Summer is a bad time for politicians.
Professor, this can’t be
connected to seasons.
Noel keeps hindering us,
Chamberlain doesn’t have a clue.
Let them finally make up
their minds and soon.
I don’t know. I don’t know.
I’m scared. Worried
about the boys.
I’m teaching him. Nothing.
So I’m waiting.
Demosthenes was also born
with a speech impediment.
What are you writing?
Michał,
you’re writing about us?
We don’t exist anymore.
I’m writing about myself, mother.
You’re too young for that.
Too young.
Why did you say you don’t
exist anymore?
Isn’t that obvious?
Scallywags…
- Michał?
- Yes?
Take your uncle
back to the hotel.
Fine.
We’re not seeing patients today.
Molar tooth is moving.
That’s different.
Mr. Andrzej Hahn.
Your great-grandfather
was a German,
born in Bavaria.
Came to Poznań
in 1877.
Establishes a branch of Hanh
China and Faience, LTD.
He marries a Pole
and stays.
- Is that accurate, Mr. Hahn?
- Yes.
Your father
will have to decide
but Mr. Andrzej Hahn
already has.
Is that right?
Yes.
These are your people.
My dear Hahn.
Were you in the prosectorium?
Lot’s of dead bodies.
Nothing to worry about.
You’ll go there and
help them load.
Can I have my notebook back?
You came here,
so you will.
These are IDs and Polish
mobilization cards.
Put those in their pockets.
We must feed
the German hatred.
Mr. Hahn!
This might come in handy.
Mr. Hahn!
So will this.
From a mental hospital.
50 per person.
Lift it, lift it.
Shirt, tie, pants.
Pants, shirt,
tie. We got them.
Come here and help.
Move it, quickly.
Zemanek told me
to give this to you.
He said that this other person
who read it
is delighted.
- You’re done writing?
- No.
Why?
Work is further away from me
than my fingernail from my eye.
As Rimbaud would say.
What would Rimbaud say
about dressing corpses?
I don’t know.
How did Rimbaud die?
His leg got rotten.
His leg got rotten?
His leg got rotten.
And I thought artists
have beautiful deaths.
You guessed right.
Gentlemen! You can begin!
Adam Hartwig
was deeply affected
by the public humiliation
he was subjected to
by his commanding officer
in our seemingly peaceful
and sleepy town.
So he decided to do exactly
what the officer accused him of
and to what he confessed.
In a word: Adam Hartwig
decided to kidnap the consul
and dot his i’s.
Contrary to the appearances
he created around him,
Adam Hartwig was a weak
and insecure man.
but he never wanted to admit
his weaknesses.
Just as he would never admit
his immaturity,
for he wanted too much
to be masculine
and bodacious.
Why me?
Translated by Emilia Puszczyńska
PRESENTS
DAIMLER-BENZ LIMOUSINE
STARRING
WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF
AND A GUEST APPEARANCE BY
MUSIC
EDITING
PRODUCTION MANAGER
CINEMATOGRAPHY
WRITTEN AND
DIRECTED BY
POZNAŃ, MAY 5, 1939
You’re out of shape.
You must exercise more.
Daimler-Benz.
Kaiser Wilhelm.
Adolf Hitler.
Now? Now!
-Just a sec.
-We’ll be late.
- We’ll make it?
- We will.
Why not a bridge
or a tunnel?
As minister Ciano said
to ambassador Wieniawa.
Professor, he’s bleeding.
Take him out.
A tunnel? Yes, a tunnel!
- yelled Ciano.
Sir, you’ve just uttered
an ingenious idea, mon cher.
Gentlemen?
Always together, huh?
- You’re in shape?
- Of course.
I’m counting on you.
Not so good.
You need to work.
When I was eighteen,
I was nothing but
skin and bones but now…
Chest of iron!
Let’s go, gents!
- You got something funny?
- Wanna hear it?
I can’t laugh twice.
Your uncle is upstairs in his
suite, gentlemen.
Engineer, meet my nephews.
Professor Hahn’s boys.
Nice to meet you.
Bohdański.
- Your mother...
- Gentlemen...
allow me to leave you
to finish my toilette.
You got something for me?
- I do, uncle.
- Talk.
Murder trial.
The judge asks a witness:
How was your first marriage
terminated?
By death, your honor.
-By whose death?
-Guess.
How much do you pay,
chairman?
I pay the most for those that are
anti National Democracy,
and the least
for antisemitic ones.
Chairman, I wanted
to thank you
for everything
you’ve done for me.
Oh, well…
You’ve been chosen
by the gods.
Act accordingly.
Adieu.
Oh, well. Life.
This cynical hunter
kills his victim at
the door
of great fame.
Bogdański?
He borrowed bills of exchange
from prince Hohenloh’s safe
and he doesn’t have them.
But Bogdański is
a man of honor and he’ll
have to shoot himself.
I told him
take your time,
there’s no hurry,
wait, there will be a war.
I can feel it in my bones.
Other things
will be important.
Other things.
Good morning, king-ding.
Good morning, scallywags.
Say good morning.
Good morning.
Scallywags. Where were you?
What did you do?
We were...
They were at the ZOO.
They were to see my brother,
Leon, to tell him jokes.
How much did he pay you?
I’m sorry.
I forgot it’s a secret.
The knowledge of life
which brings happiness
to the unprepared,
and us, the prepared
wise men,
sends to depths
of despair and doubt.
Your brother’s an idiot.
He thinks history can be
closed in a single gesture.
How about in
such a gesture?
We kindly ask
for dollars.
We kindly do.
I’m only doing this for you.
Jesus Christ,
Michał.
What happened?
Were you bleeding?
No, mother,
I got dirty eating cherries.
When the war starts,
I’ll join the Lancers.
So will I. Look!
- Look how gorgeous she is!
- Where?
Come.
I’ll put my head
between those tits.
What is it really about?
Is it about freedom
of the Germans in Gdańsk,
which is not in danger,
or about prestigious matters,
or is it about moving Poland
away from the Baltic Sea,
for which Poland
will never allow!
What are you doing here?
We came… you know.
Why didn’t you say so?
Mr. Jankowski!
Squirts are here
for the papers!
- Give’em papers.
- What papers?
- What are the papers for?
- What was I to say?
Didn’t I tell you
it’s a Daimler Benz?
You’re the baron
in such a limousine.
It’s better than the ones
the police have.
Quiet, slave. Go shine
your master’s shoes.
These are the international
affairs experts.
- Do you recognize them?
- Of course. The Hahn brothers.
They should join
the League of Nations.
I’m sure they will.
In jail.
They wanted to return the car.
It doesn’t matter,
professors.
Poles should have
more dignity.
My grandfather
was German.
- That’s ever worse.
- The Hahns.
When I first saw you, I had
a moment of genuine pride.
When I first saw you,
I thought:
Here are two Athenian youths
who will follow
the ideal of good
and beauty, Kalos Kagathos.
But hubris nestled in
your minds
and I have no other choice
but to expel you.
And to black list you!
You’re expelled. You can collect
their documents, professor.
What is it about?
What are you afraid of?
What am I afraid of?
That one phone call!
I wonder what the consul
will have to say about this.
What laws can
the consul revoke?
He can talk about
the 1907 Hague Convention,
about international scandal,
he can treat this event
as a provocation.
This was in the car.
In the car?
This is the local daily paper.
German Embassy?
Consul von Ziegler.
So tell me what you’re
going to testify?
It looks like they’re about
to tell the truth, sir.
This is the truth, gentlemen.
You were members of illegal
anti-German organization
which planned to kidnap
Consul General of the Reich
in Poznań.
This attempt was thwarted
by our counterintelligence.
Is that understood?
You planned to kidnap
the consul,
for you planned to demand the ransom
in the amount of 20 000 marks.
To continue the terror,
understand?
Of course, it’s all a lie.
I know that it’s a lie.
Your truth is beyond
the scale of your deed.
Sir, can you come here
for a moment!
Yes, I do identify them.
These two young men distributed
subversive leaflets around the city.
I followed them
and saw them do it.
I have them here.
Yes.
Yes, indeed.
Well? Do you
plead guilty?
Yes.
No.
All right, Toni Kruger.
Connect me
to the mayor.
The mayor already knows that
you allowed the boys to take the car.
And that they
should be released.
Come in. Come in.
Don’t pretend
to be shy.
Did you go to the German
printig house before you took the car?
Were you
to distribute the paper?
Then run home and quickly before
I tear your legs out of your asses!
And you’ll go
and cancel everything.
- Me?
- You were the one chasing them!
Listen and be quiet!
Then you’ll go to the consul
and apologize for the mistake.
There was no car theft.
It was a police provocation.
Do you hear me?
Our provocation.
The boys got the car from the consul
to distribute German newspapers.
And you prevented them
from doing it.
Then you’ll go to school and
tell them to accept them back.
They were never expelled,
do you hear me?
He’ll live.
And you learn from your
international experiences.
I understand.
- You don’t.
- I do.
You do?
They shouldn’t go back
to the same school.
What?
- They shouldn’t…
- Andrzej!
They shouldn’t go back
to the same school.
- I want to.
- Andrzej?
I want to go back.
Michał,
don’t go back to the same
school, please.
Mum?
What?
What’s there behind you?
- Books.
- Go there.
Top shelf.
In the middle.
Higher.
This one. What is it?
- What title?
- Vatican Cellars.
Who wrote it?
- André Gide.
- Next to it.
To the left.
- Which one?
- Lower, the first one.
- Short stories. Thomas Mann.
- Under it.
In the middle.
Where? Lower?
To the right, no,
in the middle.
Son, it’s Balzac.
Cousin Bette.
- And under the Cousin?
- What’s this about?
In the middle. This one
This one.
Marcel Proust.
Put them here by the bed.
All of them?
That’s what I said.
He demanded several
books at once.
You think it’s normal?
Why?
Not one book. Several.
Apparently, he wants
to read them all.
He’s always been
so systematic.
Kid,
what other devilish ideas
are brewing in this head of yours?
You took those clothes
from your father?
It’s a much more serious matter,
I’d say international.
I don’t understand.
Weren’t you the one telling me
to join the League of Nations?
I admit it was not
in good taste.
Why? I took it seriously.
And here I am.
Look Hahn, these few sympathizers
of the League of Nations in our school
are all future law students.
But I believe you have
different interests?
Interests can be changed.
Make me a chairman.
In two weeks, this room
will be full.
You stole the limousine
form the consul?
What was I to steal?
The consul?
What’s today’s subject?
Opinions of the
Court of Justice.
- What for?
- It’s in the League of Nations.
Does the League know
about your organization?
No. Why would they?
That’s a mistake. We must
let the League know
- and change the name.
- Why?
You know… I’ve always
associated a sympathizer
with an onanist.
- Watch it, Hahn!
- Why would it?
Because the name
is the most important.
The name is the idea.
For instance - the Union.
Ligue of Nations Friends’ Union.
Doesn’t it sound better?
England - London,
Argentine - Buenos Aires,
- Abyssinia - Addis Abeba.
- What was that?
Belgium - Brussels,
Brazil - Rio de Janeiro
This place was a mess
when you were gone.
The principal almost
got a heart attack.
- Why aren’t you saying anything?
- What’s there to say?
Why did he admit you back?
I promised I’d kidnap
the consul.
You do have a specific
sense of humor, Hahn.
Czechoslovakia? Berlin?
Entente.
Entente?
Entente?
That’s the primary cause. A much more
serious matter than the state.
Entente created
the League of Nations,
which rules all the countries
like Vatican rules the church.
And Abyssinia?
I’ve heard something.
Abyssinia is the colossus’
small stumble.
Now we run fast!
You’re making
a mess again?
You never put it back.
- I’m sorry.
- What are you reading?
In Search of Lost Time.
Sentences here are two pages long.
There I have an idiot
who can’t utter a word.
Simplification.
Make simpler...
And here are sentences that are
two pages long.
Will you attend the Union of Friends’
inaugural lecture?
I will.
If you invite me.
That’s great.
And will you announce that the
Union of Friends of the League
takes over foreign contacts
here, in the school?
Of course. That’s obvious,
isn’t it?
How’s Michał doing?
He’s gone mad.
Why is the League of Nations
such a weak organization?
Why is it unable to cope
with the growing crisis?
Why, gentlemen?
Why can’t it cope
with the growing crisis?
Because, just like any
international organization,
it is ruled by Jews and Masons.
Ruled by dark forces
of conspiracy,
which do not desire unity.
We want the strong
League of Nations.
We.
The Union.
We, the Union.
ANDRZEJ - ORGANIZATION -
MONEY
What now?
Something about
the Treaty of Versailles.
I’ll give you a very
interesting work.
Our university’s achievement.
The University which is
compared to Gottingen,
to Heidelberg.
To Heidelberg before 1933,
that is.
Analysis of international ties,
that I found in Europe.
It is terrifying in its purport.
Europe is a feeding ground,
on which something’s rotting,
something’s decaying,
something’s pulsating.
Only chaos, nothing but
decaying chaos.
I hate Europe.
You promised me something, sir.
You promised to introduce
me to the consul.
Bon apetit.
Someone looked through
my notebook again.
You’re overreacting.
Andrzej, please,
don’t come late for dinner.
He already knows.
I can read you what I wrote,
just tell me to.
Is it how it’s done?
- Some did it.
- Who?
Tolstoy, for instance.
Those dinners must
have been long.
Stefan!
Just think.
Stefan...
Think!
He read War and Peace
over dinner.
When did they sleep?
Will I be speaking as a representative
of my country or as a private person?
As a representative
of your country.
Berlin must agree to this.
And it’ll take time.
What if you acted
as a private person?
I think I still have that
kind of freedom, right professor?
Speaking of freedom,
why do you hate
Europe so much?
It has to do with age.
The older one gets,
the less tolerant
one becomes.
But today’s youth
isn’t at all tolerant.
Right, Andrzej?
Let’s go, professor.
Next year I’ll be driving a Horch.
I won’t be needing you today.
Get in, Mr. Hahn.
Don’t look so glum.
We’ll take professor home.
You’d better drive.
You do know how
valuable this limousine is.
Andrzej, call me
when you’re ready.
We’ll go for a ride.
I’m curious which route you took
when you borrowed my car.
Your police commissioner claims
that you wanted
to kidnap me for ransom.
Strangely, he’s convinced of it.
What should I talk about
to the members of your organization?
About the reasons which
led Germans
to leave the League of Nations.
Is that acceptable?
An interesting subject.
I need a week
to prepare.
Of course.
- You’re playing?
- I am.
Draw now.
There is no organization
without money.
- Does it work?
- No.
Order an entry fee
of 100 zlotys.
I’ll order 200
if I have to.
And you’ll become
a treasurer.
- Let’s play.
- Shuffle.
Who’s playing with whom?
Let’s play as we seat.
You’re shuffling.
- And?
- He wants 2 000.
- Is he crazy?
- He can’t sell it cheaper.
- Does it come with a clip?
- Sure!
Fuck! I told you there’s no
organization without money.
What about the consul?
It’s fine. He’ll let us drive.
We just need to eliminate the driver.
Fine.
Do you really believe
what you’re saying?
Do you believe
what you’re reading?
Beck believes
what he’s saying.
Bullshit. Neither Beck believes it,
nor Goebbels.
It’s a game.
- You won’t be playing?
- I’d rather look from a side.
- You’re missing out.
-Maybe I am.
But I’ll be there for
the consul’s lecture.
How do you know?
How do you know,
I want to invite the consul?
Don’t think about it.
Bad writers describe
the likes of you:
He was to become
a happy man.
And good writers?
Good writers?
Good writers observe.
- Who are you here to see?
- Mr. Feliński.
- He’s drinking on stage.
- Yes. Uncle!
This is Michał Hahn.
My godson.
The future of Poland.
And this is Poland’s past:
Michał Szik, a violinist.
Mikołaj Palasz,
a playwrite.
Andrzej Podchorski,
a fallen poet.
Franciszka Felińska,
my muse and inspiration.
And me. Your disinherited
godfather.
The most tragic person
of them all.
Come up to the stage.
What’s that you’re holding?
- My story.
- You finished it?
- No.
- Don’t.
Stay in the auditorium.
My tragedy is so great
that I have to drink on stage.
That’s the only proper scale.
Your tragedy is that you’re
pathologically jealous.
Write a play about it.
What’s funny
isn’t always dramatic.
You don’t know
how to suffer, Maks.
To create a masterpiece, one must
first swim in a lot of shit.
If so, I’m giving you Franciszka.
You can rape her.
But write a great poem!
Of course I’ll rape her.
Our world is dying
natural death, gentleman.
That’s about time.
I’m awfully tired with it.
Gentlemen, young
generation is listening.
Are you also so corrupt?
Leave him be, he’s from
a decent home.
So it’s time
to drop the shackles.
He’s already rebelled. He’s stolen
consul’s limousine.
He could have
started a war.
Where? Where are you going?
Where?
Fuck off, man.
Fuck off.
Why are you laughing at me,
gentlemen?
And you laughed the hardest.
Take a seat, man.
You laughed the hardest.
- We’ll fight.
- Sit down.
Come to the side,
we’ll fight there.
There are no sides here.
Just the wings.
Poland has not yet died
So long as we still live.
Come to the side,
we’ll fight.
Poland has not yet died
as long as we still live.
Guadeloupe seamen.
Come, come.
Mr. Michał Hahn.
Tonight’s mascot.
Nice to meet you - Bogdański.
We’ve already met.
Do forgive me but
I don’t remember.
It was...
in chairman Sobierajski’s suite.
Oh, yes, of course. I was
very distracted then.
Master!
You’re leading again.
Master!
And for the little one?
Just a smidge.
I’m an artist.
Sure you can.
You can do anything.
Anything.
There’ll be no punishment.
The final judgement
is to be a great surprise.
Of course, there’ll be bad people
who’ll ruin all the fun
by hiding in the darkest places.
Darkest places.
I know where to get the money.
From Bogdański.
How?
He’s a thief, a snitch,
and a drug addict.
Ask him to pay
for your silence.
Well…
Write to Bogdański.
You write.
You’re the author.
Fine.
Gentlemen. Gentlemen,
leave me please.
Just leave me alone.
Do not blackmail me anymore.
Please, gentlemen.
See?
Action - reaction,
action - reaction.
Acts on command.
You didn’t talk to us
about that.
I haven’t talked to you
about many things.
Many things aren’t
done here, Michał Hahn.
What brings you here?
Prose?
You were printing, weren’t you?
A Poem About Jesus, yes.
Am I to assess?
Are you here for the sake
of our old friendship?
You did the right thing.
I’ll give you
my honest opinion.
I’ll give you the whole truth,
man to man.
That’s what you want?
Yes.
Please.
You know very well that
nothing here happens fast.
Just think.
I’m teaching.
I’m waiting.
So what will this writing
give you, huh?
You find it funny, mother?
No. Sit.
I just don’t know,
what one feels.
I don’t know what one feels,
that’s all.
One feels power.
One feels fire. No. One feels
fervour that burns one out.
And one is jealous of everyone
else who just must succeed.
Will you succeed?
- Answer me. Will you?
- I don’t know yet.
You’ve changed.
Apparently this
changes people.
Well, Hahn,
you write...
long sentences.
Because the story is short.
You, Andrzej,
take on the manners
of a leader.
I hear you’re setting up
Hitler - Jugend.
I will if need be.
You show...
undoubted literary knowledge.
Yes, quite a knowledge.
What else can I tell you?
I don’t believe a single
word you wrote here.
But if that’s true…
No, it’s fiction.
You know what, Hahn?
Literature isn’t born
out of thin air.
Can I give it to someone
else so they could assess it?
I cared for your assessment
but if you want to…
In any case, you can safely
consider it
your first literary success.
You can see here
all the Polish kings.
My visit here is both
optimistic and symbolic.
The lecture which I give
standing under your eagle
shows that unnecessary tensions
between our two countries
won’t last long.
The great German writer talked
about the spirit of politics
and the spirit of art.
He talked about similarities
and about contradictions.
I would rather focus
on similarities.
I’m convinced by a writer
who says:
“You can disguise yourself,
dress up as an attaché,
as a Lieutenant of the Guard
on vacation,
but you can barely raise
your eyes,
you can barely
open your mouth,
- and everyone knows you’re a nobody.”
- He’s quoting Mann. Interesting.
“…that you are
someone strange...
someone weird...
someone else.”
But you’ll recognize the artist
at first glance.
I was asked
why Germany left
the League of Nations.
Well, in the last scene of
The Magic Mountain
Hans Castorp gets lost in
the trenches of the Great War.
What was the brave soldier’s
further faith?
Did he die or
manage to survive?
Let’s imagine,
he’s left his seclusion
to march with the others.
Let’s imagine,
that he didn’t die,
that he saved himself.
If he did, he saw
that victorious powers prevented
Germany from attending
the Versailles conference
and imposed a deal
that would make Germany
lose its importance
in Europe forever.
Disarmed Germany was to have only a
professional army of 100 000.
Brave Hans Castorp
would be surprised,
hearing about the 15-year occupation
of the Rhineland,
about the occupation of
the Saar Basin, about the fact
that only Germany was blamed
for the outbreak of the war.
This simple-minded Castorp,
a humble rationalist,
son of the Hanseatic city of Lübeck,
would certainly
be very surprised.
Mr. Andrzej Hahn
please come with me.
Do excuse me.
He’d have been amazed that the
provisions of the Versailles Treaty
were to be controlled
by the League of Nations,
which did not want to admit
Germany as a member,
but allowed the victorious powers
to exploit Germany
in the majesty of the law
that it should uphold.
I know that Hans Castorp
would not wring his hands.
He would not go back
to his seclusion,
to this sanatorium in Davos.
Rather, he’d roll up his sleeves
to show that Germany
cannot be exploited by force.
You fucking policemen!
You can do shit!
We’re not policemen
but they can be here soon.
All I got to do
is dial a number.
Who ratted?
Adam Hartwig.
That’s your name
in Michał’s story.
"Adam Hartwig was deeply affected
by the public humiliation
he was subjected to
by the police chief
in our seemingly peaceful
and sleepy town.
So he decided to do exactly
what the police chief accused him of
and to what he confessed. In a word:
he decided to kidnap the consul
and dot the i’s.
Contrary to the appearances
that he created around him
Adam was a weak and
insecure man,
but he never wanted
to admit his weaknesses.
Just as he would never
admit his immaturity,
for he wanted too much to be
masculine and bodacious”.
Should I go on?
Please.
“The fact that he managed to easily
gain control over school organization,
raised him up to the level
never before achievable to him”.
More?
Enough.
I understand.
No, no I don’t.
I’ll translate it for you.
Mr. Hahn,
do you know you’re German?
Do you know that
great Germany
will be here in few weeks?
And Germans will come to you,
they’ll address you,
they’ll address their countryman
and what will you tell them?
You are an intelligent man.
What will you tell them?
That you didn’t know?
What do you think
I should do?
The same thing you’re doing.
Just not here
and not now.
And not as a Polish brat,
but as German patriot.
Can I have the notebook back?
You’ll get it.
When you deserve it.
He would have noted, however,
that not even the thought of de facto
equal rights for Germany is allowed.
The proof was the League of Nations’
categorical refusal
to grant Germany equal rights
in the field of arms.
What is Hans Castorp
doing now?
To quote Adolf Hitler:
“In foreign policy,
the government's mission will be
to defend Germany's right to exist,
and thus to regain
our nation’s freedom.
The government will help to include
Germany in the community of nations
as a state equal to others,
thus having the same rights.”
Thank you.
It was brave of you to
quote Thomas Mann.
Have I managed to gain
a little trust?
Because I was also
quoting Hitler.
Not the first time,
I might add.
Wasn’t this your duty?
My duty?
Yes, it might have been
my duty.
But to whom?
To Hitler?
Gents, we’re looking for the driver!
To school, around the corner.
Are you mad? Why didn’t you
get in the car?
- You fucker.
- Don’t be hysterical.
I’ll get in the car
when the time is right.
Where have you been?
Hurry up, god dammit.
Your duty is to wait for me
by the car.
How did it happen?
That’s how they react when the German
consul speaks in a Polish school
to the friends of
the League of Nations!
Did you inform Berlin
about what happened?
Don’t you understand,
that this is Berlin’s reaction?
Get in.
Does a municipal court judge have
a right to philander in a brothel?
He doesn’t.
Does a magistrate clerk, a father,
have the right to screw in a brothel?
Does Adam’s father have the right
to philander in a brothel?
God! That’s my old man.
And who’s this?
He doesn’t have a right
to philander either.
I paid.
Treasurer!
All the money for the brothel.
Do you agree?
Yes!
Organization is disbanded.
Why?
I’ll come back to you after
the holidays. Do you agree?
Yes!
- Do you trust me?
- Yes!
Show me your cocks!
So? Shall we have fun?
We can.
Where was I? Where?
Where were you?
Come. Come.
Is uncle Maks here?
He is. Drunk and asleep.
I came to talk to you, uncle.
- To me?
- Yes.
So talk. Talk.
Nothing serves conversation
like a shared bed.
The boy has problems.
He wants to write.
He can’t do it. He’s not
very good at it.
So he wants to be an artist.
You took it out of my mouth.
I don’t remember.
Your relative wants
to be an artist.
- Does your father know?
- No.
So art is not a toy for children.
It starts innocently;
a letter to an editor,
a poem for a fiancée,
an innocent thought of plagiarism…
And just like with vodka,
you become addicted.
You become weird,
you think the world
doesn’t understand you.
Maks...
But you don’t understand
that he wants to be a great artist.
You have to do something awful.
Something, that will follow
you your whole life.
Like killing your own mother.
Have you read
Stavrogin’s Confession?
He wants to be great.
So be great.
This brave new world
awaits your greatness.
And write about us,
about her, about me.
Be great, be outstanding,
describe us.
Show me to the world.
Me and this whole bloody family
because I can't.
Don’t worry.
He doesn’t believe
in anything anymore.
He’s only waiting
for it all to start.
Do you have a gas mask?
They’re said to attack with gas.
For God’s sake!
For God’s sake,
someone took a piss here!
Shush, woman, shush.
Grab a cloth
and wipe it dry.
- Jesus.
- What are we paying you for?
- Jesus.
- Are you stunned?
Mrs. Hahn!
Mrs. Abramska,
leave that alone.
I’ll wipe it.
Ease yourself, you didn’t
make it with the consul.
I’m not done with the consul,
I’m not done
with the consul.
In our family, the stronger
never beats the weaker!
Don’t speak
for the whole family.
As far as I know, we have close
relatives in Germany.
Uncle Karol, uncle Grubisz,
the Hahn cousins in Essen.
Should I enumerate further?
- What are you reading?
- No reading while eating.
The Vatican Cellars.
You should read it.
What’s it about?
About a young man who commits
murder as an experiment.
He wanted to define
the limits of his freedom.
Have you defined them yet?
I have.
Writing gives me freedom.
I don’t understand a thing.
But no matter.
- So you feel free?
- Yes.
I can’t...
I don’t know how
to talk to you.
Maybe they decide against it.
Summer is a bad time for politicians.
Professor, this can’t be
connected to seasons.
Noel keeps hindering us,
Chamberlain doesn’t have a clue.
Let them finally make up
their minds and soon.
I don’t know. I don’t know.
I’m scared. Worried
about the boys.
I’m teaching him. Nothing.
So I’m waiting.
Demosthenes was also born
with a speech impediment.
What are you writing?
Michał,
you’re writing about us?
We don’t exist anymore.
I’m writing about myself, mother.
You’re too young for that.
Too young.
Why did you say you don’t
exist anymore?
Isn’t that obvious?
Scallywags…
- Michał?
- Yes?
Take your uncle
back to the hotel.
Fine.
We’re not seeing patients today.
Molar tooth is moving.
That’s different.
Mr. Andrzej Hahn.
Your great-grandfather
was a German,
born in Bavaria.
Came to Poznań
in 1877.
Establishes a branch of Hanh
China and Faience, LTD.
He marries a Pole
and stays.
- Is that accurate, Mr. Hahn?
- Yes.
Your father
will have to decide
but Mr. Andrzej Hahn
already has.
Is that right?
Yes.
These are your people.
My dear Hahn.
Were you in the prosectorium?
Lot’s of dead bodies.
Nothing to worry about.
You’ll go there and
help them load.
Can I have my notebook back?
You came here,
so you will.
These are IDs and Polish
mobilization cards.
Put those in their pockets.
We must feed
the German hatred.
Mr. Hahn!
This might come in handy.
Mr. Hahn!
So will this.
From a mental hospital.
50 per person.
Lift it, lift it.
Shirt, tie, pants.
Pants, shirt,
tie. We got them.
Come here and help.
Move it, quickly.
Zemanek told me
to give this to you.
He said that this other person
who read it
is delighted.
- You’re done writing?
- No.
Why?
Work is further away from me
than my fingernail from my eye.
As Rimbaud would say.
What would Rimbaud say
about dressing corpses?
I don’t know.
How did Rimbaud die?
His leg got rotten.
His leg got rotten?
His leg got rotten.
And I thought artists
have beautiful deaths.
You guessed right.
Gentlemen! You can begin!
Adam Hartwig
was deeply affected
by the public humiliation
he was subjected to
by his commanding officer
in our seemingly peaceful
and sleepy town.
So he decided to do exactly
what the officer accused him of
and to what he confessed.
In a word: Adam Hartwig
decided to kidnap the consul
and dot his i’s.
Contrary to the appearances
he created around him,
Adam Hartwig was a weak
and insecure man.
but he never wanted to admit
his weaknesses.
Just as he would never admit
his immaturity,
for he wanted too much
to be masculine
and bodacious.
Why me?
Translated by Emilia Puszczyńska