Laundry (2002) - full transcript

My name is Teru

It's actually Teruo,
but everyone calls me Teru

I work at a coin laundry

I make sure no one steals any laundry

Grandma owns the place
But recently she's been worrying...

about bad people stealing
women's underwear

So she gave me this job

I have a scar on my head

When I was a kid, I fell in a manhole

People say I have a scar on my brain,
too

I'm opening shop again today
It's my first task everyday



I always forget where I put my keys

Grandma says I should hang it
on a string from my neck

But I won't do it

Only kids hang keys from their necks

" Coin Laundry "

Good

My eyes are always peeled
I'm a patrol officer protecting the city

Big gas tanks...
I get a bit scared seeing gas tanks

They get bigger little by little,
everyday

They'll swell up like big balloons,

and explode one day

Everyone will be blown to bits and die

Hello

God, my chest hurts



Must've been last night's dinner...

This old man comes everyday

He comes to wash just one tank top
and a pair of underwear

He lives with his son
and daughter-in-law

but she won't wash them for him
because they're filthy

People like that...

deserve to get sucked up
by a vacuum cleaner

Thing about tulips is...

the petals start to sag
like this during the day...

This lady loves photography

Every time she comes,
she brings photos she took recently

She took those, too

I said nice things about them,
and she brought them back framed

So I stopped saying nice things
about them

Can't have her
putting up any more pictures

And I feel like an insect
looking at so many flowers

This guy's a boxer. He has a match today

Hello

Hey man! Keepin' a close watch?

Yeah

Check it out! He's stealing something

Just kidding, man

Scared me

I did everything I could...
I can win this time

I'm feeling so good,
I'm surprising myself, even

All right

I think he'll win, too

I mean, he's already lost 18 times

And this lady...

I've never seen before

You forgot this

Oh...

Say...

Wanna come in for tea?

What do you do there?

At the coin laundry?
Right

I make sure no one steals any laundry

Lots of underwear thieves around

I see

Stealing is a bad thing

You're right

How old are you?

Don't look it
Figured you were younger

I'm 20

Cute hat

Grandma made it

I'd get spasms if I went outside
without a hat

Are you sick?
Not sick

Just a scar on my head
from falling in a manhole

You fell in a manhole?

Grandma said so.
I don't really remember it

I see...
So you live with your grandma

Just me and grandma

Alone?

Me?

Yup, always alone. It's a relief

... most of the time

Sorry, this is all I have

Here

I need to go. I have work

What's the hurry?

I'll pour some more tea

But I have work

I'm going now
Please

Just stay 5 minutes?

OK

Thanks

For 5 minutes, she didn't say a word

My heart was beating a bit faster

It was my first time
touching a woman's hand...

other than grandma's

That night, I casually told grandma
about what happened

Very casually

Grandma called her a minx

I'm a loser!
I'm a goddamn loser!

What on earth are you doing?

Come out man, c'mon

What's his problem?
Open up, man

What the...?
Hey, open up, come out...!

Sorry, excuse me, do you mind
getting out of the way for a sec?

Hey, let's go already

C'mon
Fine, fine

Hey

Was that an ambulance?

Wonder if someone got sick?
Or maybe a suicide?

I rode one yesterday
Really?

Pathetic, huh?
Knocked out in 2 rounds...

But you know, I was so close

In the first half, I was the aggressor

Couldn't believe
how many punches I landed

I just kept backing him into the corner

He was totally on the defensive

Must've landed at least 15 in a row

15, for sure

That wasn't my best shot, though

It's the left uppercut, man

I nail the body,
then the guard comes down

So from this angle here,
about 45 degrees,

from the hip here,
I go straight for his chin...

See? His guard comes down,
so I go from the hip here

and extend straight at his chin

So I popped him right on the chin!

His knee started buckling,
and I just went off on him!

1, 2, dodge, and a hook...

Say, are ambulances fast?

Mind if I stay a bit longer?

Go ahead

Sorry, man

I thought about what grandma used to say

Things work out for some people
and they don't for others

And then I remembered the minx

She looked so sad then

The minx is here

Say...

Will you come with me
when I'm done with this load?

Where?

Walk me to the bus station

No?

OK

Actually, I'm going back to my hometown

How come?

Mind if we take a detour?

OK

You don't say much, do you?

I don't?

But I know, people who don't say much

are actually saying lots inside

To tell the truth,
I'm not much of a talker myself

But I don't think it's a good thing

All it does is distance people

Right

Know what I mean?
Kind of

I'm going to change

Watch out for the puddle

Say...

Do you think
I can jump over this puddle?

No way

Just imagine it
It's a deep gorge

If I fall, I won't come back

I'd die

Imagine it?

No

Please

If I make it over this gorge,

I get to be in a whole other world

Imagine it?

Yup

Great

I'm gonna make it

Ready...

Go!

I did it! I did it! I made it!
I made it! I did it!

I did it! I did it! I did it!

What'd you do?

It's nothing
Just a scratch

OK, I can go home alone now
Good-bye

A long time ago,

I used to think the gas tanks
were always getting bigger

Thanks

No one came, man

The minx forgot something again

That's why I opposed it from the start

Paint her nails, dye her hair,

Like you can just dye anything...

My eyes are peeled again today

I'm a patrol officer,
protecting the world from bad people.

Pretty, huh?

The pansies came out so nice

But my eyes start hurting
if I keep them peeled too long

They get tired.

So I closed my eyes like this sometimes

I feel better with my eyes closed
since I don't have to see anything

I'll go do some grocery shopping first

Dirty everything, leave things scattered
all over the place...

You expect people to live in that?

" Property for sale "

People like that...

deserve to get sucked up
by a vacuum cleaner

My name is Mizue...

a name I'm not too fond of

I'm home

Good to see you, tired?
No, not really

You'll have to share the room
with your sister for now

Sorry about that
No problem

Mizue, you're not hungry yet, right?

I'll cook tonight

But you must be tired

I'm fine, really

I used to have a dream

Hello
Hello

One day, I'd leave this town
and work at a flower shop in Tokyo

That's it, that's all I wanted

When I turned 24,

I finally started living
by myself in Tokyo

Mizue
Yes?

I'm going to the bank
Thank you

And I fell in love

He came to the shop
just as we were closing,

and asked to have flowers
delivered that day

He kept begging me,
saying it was for a woman he loved

I gave in to his eagerness
and reluctantly accepted

He wrote the woman's name on a paper
and handed it to me

The name he wrote was
Yamada Mizue... me

He loved to flatter me,
and said I looked like Audrey Hepburn

I didn't know who Audrey Hepburn was,
so I rented a video with her in it

It was called "Always"

She was a very elegant... old lady

We were so happy together
Always meeting at the same place,

chatting about silly things

And time just seemed to fly

On my birthday

I waited for him at the usual place

Starting in the afternoon,
I waited for 8 hours, alone

Hello?

I can't go

How come?

You see, a baby...

Sorry, one more time...

A baby was born

Wow, whose?

I have a wife

Hello?

Hello...

For some reasons, I found myself
standing alone in a jewelry store

Mmm, it's good
Is it?

Never seen anyone put broccoli in curry

Really? A lot of people do it

Maybe in Tokyo

Nothing to do with Tokyo!

C'mon, it's pretty good, huh?

Nothing special

From that moment,
I started stealing like I was possessed

And then I would toss them
in the mail box

Sorry for taking the bed

I really don't mind
sleeping on the floor...

Say, are you into any boys?

No

I see

Good night

How long is sis staying here?

For a long time

I'm embarrassed. Everyone asks about her

Don't say that

Think about me, too.

You'll have to be a bit more tolerant

Why should I have to tolerate?
It's sis's fault

We can't help it. She's not normal

No need to be uptight.
We're all practically friends here

I'm looking forward to it

Honestly, we won't be able to pay much

but I think you'll get a certain joy
from working here

Yes

They'll be glad to have you
Why don't you start tomorrow afternoon?

Yes

We have so many old folks,
it'd be nice to have someone young

Thank you very much

Don't worry,
these folks won't mind that at all

Doesn't that four-eyed freak
in math tick you off?

Let's go to a karaoke
Yeah, let's sing!

Can I help you find something?

Something comfortable

Well, then, this one here
has some low heels

so it should feel nice
or this one here...

Excuse me
Yes?

What do normal girls wear?

I'm sorry... for embarrassing you

I'm going to start working tomorrow

I'll be making auto parts at Yasuda's

Wiring for engines and brakes

Once I start getting my paychecks,

I'll rent a room

So just be patient for a short while,
OK? I do feel bad

Not that I want to work there

Oh, but don't tell mom

Keanu Reeves is cute, isn't he?

I like him, too

Good night

Actually, I am
Huh?

Into a boy

Really? Going steady with him?
No

Told him how you feel?
No

How come?
I'm embarrassed

Is he cute?
No, he has a weird face

A weird face?

A really weird face.
Everyone calls him a camel

A camel?

Right, a camel

A camel, huh...

Sorry

So funny! A camel...!

I'll be going

Have a good day.

Thank you

So what do you do?

I made sure no one stole clothes
at the coin laundry

I mean your job
It is my job

That's not a job

It is

You're lying

I'm not lying. Grandma owned the place

Sound like a hell of a boring job

It's not there anymore, though
Grandma says she was tricked

She looked real sad

The entire place was taken away, huh?

Everything?

But there was one thing left behind

Something a customer forgot
It's not ours

Well, sure

So that's what I'm going to go deliver

That thing left behind?

The sea?

It's the sea, so what?
Can I open the window?

So who's this chick?

Her name's Mizue

No, I mean, what's she to you?

A customer?

But she isn't just another customer,
right?

I'm asking if you like this woman

Don't understand?

Think about it.
Who the hell would hitchhike...

Just to deliver a dress someone forgot?

All this way

Is that normal?

Is it?

No, right?

Of course it isn't

Right?
Yeah

It's love

That's what we call love

I don't know about Mars,
but on Earth at least,

we call it love, remember that

What're you writing?

So I won't forget

Well, it's nothing to write about...

Don't let me stop you, though

Wanna see?

I'll let you see it

A while back, I used to be a salaryman
Can you believe it?

Nope, not at all

And that's when she came along

At first, she wasn't anything

Just another colleague

Then one day, we decided to
have a welcome party for her...

in a tiny bar

At first,
everyone's just drinking and chatting

But then this drunk guy got up...

and told her to give them a talent show

'Course, she resisted.
Said she was embarrassed

I mean, what the hell is a
35 year-old lady supposed to do...

in front of a bunch of guys, anyway?

But everyone's cheering
and goading her on,

so she reluctantly gets up

What do you think she did?

She started cawing like a crow
Crow?

Yeah, and she didn't just open her mouth
and go "caw"

She did this weird thing with her mouth,
and...

... she went over and over...

... Iike that

A week later, she was gone

Never found out what happened

Probably had to deal with some crap

Then this guy in the office
tears up her resume and tosses it,

saying he doesn't need it anymore,
it's full of lies anyway...

So I kinda finished it out,
peeled this off

and took it home

I figure, even if the resume's a lie,
the picture's gotta be real

Beer

My beer isn't here

That was a long time ago

Here you go

You asshole!

Sorry, didn't mean to get you involved

Almost there

You can walk from here

Thanks

Hey

Take this

Don't need it
Take it for the thought

Hey

You ever need help, see me

Hey!

Don't get the wrong idea

I'm not some nice guy or anything

I just happen to like you a little bit

That's all

I'm really not that nice,
so don't get the wrong idea

So long
So long

Can I help you?

I'm looking for someone named Mizue

My sister isn't here
But...

Who're you?

Who?

What's she to you?

What's she...?

What're you here for?

She left it there, so I'm delivering...

What're you saying?

I need to give her something, so...

So you're looking for her?

Right

Where'd she go?

She left again

But I know where she is

Really?

I can tell you, but...

you have to tell her something for me

You walk fast

There's a bus stop straight up this path

Take that bus and it won't be long
Don't get off in the middle

Take it to the last stop,
and ask for her when you get off

OK

Weird hat

Grandma made it.
If I go out without it, l'd...

Tell my sister when you see her...

I told the camel how I feel

Told the camel...?

She'll understand. Bye

Camel...?

Camel...?

Hard day
Good work

Man, I'm beat

Something wrong?
A drunk

Did he get violent?

He's asleep
Still there?

Sleeping like a log.
Not a care in the world...

Say, you mind waking him up later?

Oh no, I can't stand drunks

Please
No, ask someone else

Oh, c'mon...
Um...

I'll go wake him

Will you? Thanks

Sir, time to wake up

Sir!

Sir!

Hey?

What're you doing here?

That's my question

Where am l?

What're you doing out here?

Asked someone at the apartment
'cause I'm delivering something, and...

Delivering what?

Your dress. You forgot it in the dryer

But I have to apologize

I washed it everyday after that

Now it's all tattered

Sorry

So funny...

Smells like detergent

Thanks

Can't see anything, right?

There's nothing around here

You're so strange.
Coming all the way out here...

But I'm happy
Don't think I've ever been happier

It's hard to put into words, but...

It's love. On Earth, we call this love.

I don't know about Mars, though

Say...

What?

Can I turn the TV on?

Sure

So weird

Sorry, did I wake you up?

Sick?

No, just can't get to sleep

Hey, tell me a story

What kind?

Anything, like about yourself,
or maybe a fairy tale...

You're like a kid

C'mon

How about a story grandma told me
a while back?

Sure

Heard it so often, I memorized it

Yeah? What's it about?

About a young man
who's good at whistling

Let's see...
Once upon a time, somewhere,

there was a poor young man

He was a very good whistler

Anytime he was happy about something,
he'd whistle

One day, he went to the sea

There, he saw a ship in the distance

and thought
how wonderful it would be...

if he could travel the world in it

Happy with the thought,

he gave a good whistle

Right then, a sailor walked by,

so the young man asked him,
"Will you please put me on that ship? "

The sailor told him,

"Sure, if you hand over that thing
you got there"

The young man had a silver cup
in his hand

He was torn

It was an important keepsake
from his mother, you see

But he finally gave the silver cup
to the sailor

He wanted to be on the ship
more than anything

And he was able to get on that ship

But all of a sudden

strong winds blew,
and it became a terrible storm

The ship was tossed, and it finally sank

And?

What happened then?

I can't remember...

What, is that supposed to be a sad story?
A happy story?

I'm not sure...

Can you sleep now?
Now with this on my mind

I'll ask grandma tomorrow

I got you!

The camel

Your sister told the camel

Said you'd understand

Oh!
That's the message

Almost forgot!

You there?

What's the matter?

I'll never find out the ending

I don't understand

About what?

They said grandma's dead

What does that mean?

Your shoelaces are untied

I'm not much good at this

What do you usually do?

Grandma did it every morning

You think I've changed?

I said I'd change that day...

Now that I'm back home,
you think I've changed?

A little bit

How?

Your hair's longer?

I'll be going now

Hey...

Can I go with you?

Why?

I haven't heard the ending yet...

The story about the good whistler

I guess she's down there

But she's not really there

Because she's dead

She's there, but she isn't

Weird

Can I ask you something?

What?

What about your parents?

Don't know

You don't know?

Don't remember

Grandma said...

my memories are frozen
in a big block of ice,

and no one can get them out

What should we do?

What's that?

Someone who drove me

Said I should come if I need help

I'm here

Hello

Hello

You really come

You see them flying at weddings
and sports events, right?

They don't just happen to be there,
you know

It's my job to make these pigeons fly

But it's not like you can
just throw 'em up there

You gotta time it right
and make 'em go at once

Must be amazing

It is, actually
Wanna see a little?

And then you do his

Why?

Pigeon hate the color red

So you wave this around to keep 'em up
in the air

Thank you for having us over...

Can't sleep?

It's nothing new, I'm getting used to it

I can never get used to it

I start thinking
I might age decades while I'm asleep.

and I get scared and wake up

Next time I wake up,
I might be an old man

Not that I'm afraid of getting older

It's just that...

I can't bear to think that this life
I'm living will soon be...

a thing of the past

Not making sense, am l?

What're you gonna do?

Stay with him?

If you wanna protect him,
you'll have to make some sacrifices

Actually,

It's just the opposite

Being with him is what's saving me

I'm the one that's depending on him

Can I ask you one thing?

A cawing crow
Can you imitate a cawing crow?

Never done it

Good, that's fine

What?

Even if you could,
don't do it in front of me

I can't bear to see you

Getting sleepy
Night

And so I'm a day older

Good night

When I do this, that's your signal,
all right?

Congratulations!

Wonder what Mizue's doing?

Probably got bored of waiting
and fell asleep

Yeah

Hey...

Just for a second,
suppose she isn't there

What would you do if she went away
and didn't come back?

Just assume

There's no way
Just assume, I said

There's no way
She said she'd wait

Don't say stuff like that

What's wrong?

She's not here

Welcome home

You're here!

You're here!
Sure am

Here

Seconds, please

Good?

Try it

Hands, use your hands

You can do it

Why don't you try it!

Listen up

I've decided, just now

Actually,
been thinking about it for a while,

but I finally made up my mind

I'm leaving Japan tomorrow

Why?

I've done a lot of things so far

Got no regrets as far as that goes

But there's one thing
I still haven't done

What do you think that is?

What is it?

Marriage

So I decided I'm going to marry

But there's one problem
And it's a serious one

What?

Women just don't dig me

But that's in Japan

Somewhere out there in the world,
there's a woman waiting for me

So I decided...

I'll marry a blonde with big tits

So I'll be leaving Japan

I'll give you everything

The pigeons, the house, the car...
It's all yours

But...
It's a done deal, final

So tonight's my farewell party

But don't get the wrong idea

I'm not being nice or anything,
all right?

I just happen to kinda like you two
That's all

OK, so let's toast

I thought you were going to leave

I thought so, too

Well, dunno what your feelings are,

but I can tell you
he's never gonna betray you

Not ever

Not too many people out there
you can trust not to betray you

I'll be the one to betray him, then

You won't betray him
You're here right now, aren't you?

So long

If you ask me, you're both hopeless
on your own, but...

You out of your mind?!

Get going

Together, you can do it!
You'll make it! Bye!

He's really gone

What'll we do?

We can do it if we're together

You're a good driver

Cut it out,
I've never driven one of these before

I'll give you a sign, OK?

Sign to let the pigeons go
I'll do this...

then you let them go, OK?

Just open it like this

I'm getting nervous

You sure you can do this?

Congratulations!

Dear...

Daddy...

The pigeons! Let 'em go!

C'mon, let 'em go!

That didn't go well

It was a good wedding, though

They were all crying

Yeah, they were

Hey
Yeah?

Let's get married, too

Let's have a wedding like that

No?

Don't be so casual
about something like that

But wait...

If we get married,
who's making the pigeons fly?

I know. I'll do it myself

I'll get married
and make the pigeons fly all by myself

I'll practice more,

and get better at using the flag,

so they won't come down too soon

I hope you get better

I'm sure I will

There

Hey!

Wanna go for a walk?

Let's go!

Hurry

Something on your face

Let's take a look
OK

I like this one

Me, too

It's expensive, though
Costs 240,000 yen

Then we'll save up
and come back to buy it

I like this one

Me too.

But it's expensive
Costs 90,000 yen

Can't buy anything in this store
like this

Well then, let's imagine it

Imagining again...

Imagine it
I know it's impossible now, but...

one day we'll buy these chairs
and put this table in front,

and then...

we'll get this bookshelf, and...

oh, and how about this curtain!

OK then, imagine it...

I'll get this clock here,
and this lamp, too

I like that

Imagine it

On the other side,
we'll put this clock and this lamp

The place would be full of clocks
and lamps!

This one, too

Yeah, it's beautiful

I'll go look in the front

Hmm, again...

It's untied again

Was it like this?

No...

Like this...

I did it!

Look!

I tied it myself!

That's good...

I know it's in your pocket
Take it out

I'm a patrol officer
Let's go inside

Call the police

Yes

So, what do you do?

I fly pigeons now

Before, I was at a coin laundry...

OK, whatever
And what's your relationship to her?

We're getting married

I see...
That's too bad

She'll be in there about a year
Prison, I mean

Looks like
she's done this many times before

A habitual offender with a record

Didn't know?

I see, that's tough...

You're lying

You're a cop but you're lying

It's no lie, she confessed
Don't lie!

Cops shouldn't lie!

Liar!

Hey, stop it!

I said stop it! Calm down!

My name is Teru

It's actually Teruo,
but everyone calls me Teru

I work at a coin laundry

I make sure no one steals any laundry

I have a scar on my head

When I was a kid, I feel in a manhole

People say I have a scar on my brain,
too

My eyes are always peeled

I'm a patrol officer protecting the city

My name is... Teru...

I fell in a manhole...
I have a scar...

On my brain, too...
I have a scar...

I keep watch...

So no one steals... I watch...

So no one steals any laundry...

So no one steals...

That's my...

My...

I saw a dream

It was the ending to the story
I told Mizue once,

about the young man
who was a good whistler

After he fell off the ship
during the storm,

he was washed ashore

That's when a beautiful girl walked by

She noticed the young man,

and tried to call for help,
but no one was around

But then she noticed the silver cup that
washed up together

She took the cup
and went to fill it with water,

and got him to drink from the cup

Over and over, she made him drink

When the young man was conscious again,

he quietly stood up

There was no one around

Not the beautiful girl,
not the precious silver cup

So was it a sad story after all?

Or a happy one?

I really don't know

The one thing I do know...

is that the young man was glad
to be alive

Because after he got up,

he faced the sea and gave a good whistle

A year later

I was thinking

The whole time...

In the end

did I change at all?

I'm getting off
Please, let me off!

Stop!

Welcome home

Figured you'd find me if I did this

I got really good at this

So let's have a wedding

Let's do it here right now

Imagine it

We're in a church

The bells are ringing,

the priest is here,

and everyone's smiling

Imagine it?

I did