The Painter and the Thief (2020) - full transcript
An artist befriends the thief who stole her paintings. She becomes his closest ally when he is severely hurt in a car crash and needs full time care, even if her paintings are not found. But then the tables turn.
[clattering]
[calm music]
[calm music continues]
[indistinct chatter]
[chattering continues]
[laughing]
Whoo!
[woman 1] Congratulations.
[calm music]
[ominous music]
[calm music continues]
[in Norwegian]
[reporter 1]
[speaking Norwegian]
[reporter 1]
[woman 1 in English] We have identified the thieves.
-So the painting is... Mm-hm.
-Unfortunately,
we have not found the paintings.
Um, the investigation
is now closed.
[chuckles]
[groans]
I don't know what to think.
[oöystein mumbling]
Did you have dinner?
[Barbora] No, I did not have
any dinner.
Well, I can buy something.
Okay, baby.
I love you and thank you!
Bye!
-Hi.
-Hi.
[Barbora]
So, they just leave it somewhere
leaning, I don't know, somewhere
leaning against the wall
or somewhere by a garbage place?
And five minutes later,
there comes a car
with a garbage man
and they take it all.
And that's gone!
It's unbelievable.
I think they are even hanging
on the wall.
And I think, uh, yeah...
-I think they're...
-So you think that this person
has some, like, secret room
in the basement?
Yeah.
With, like, arm chair.
Big arm chair...
-Yeah, yeah.
-and these two paintings.
-Yeah.
-Really?
I don't see them here, actually.
-It's very...
-I don't see the painting.
-They're behind the red pipes.
-Mm-hm.
That's, like, of course,
funny placement.
[Barbora] Uh-huh.
They even tied it with a rope.
Tape and rope
are on the canvases.
Thanks to this footage
the guys were identified.
-Both of the thieves.
-oöystein] Mm-hm.
[Barbora] But what I understood,
the trial will be with, uh...
the one who is supposed to be
in-charge of the robbery.
[oöystein] Do you know
something about him or...
[Barbora]
Only that he's Norwegian.
[oöystein] Okay.
[indistinct chatter]
[Barbora]
[woman 1]
[Barbora]
[Barbora sighs]
[footsteps]
[Barbora]
[thief 1]
[Barbora]
-[thief 1]
-[Barbora laughs]
[Barbora]
[thief 1]
[Barbora]
-[Barbora]
-[thief 1]
[Barbora]
[thief 1]
[Barbora]
-[Barbora]
-[thief 1]
[Barbora] He has been imprisoned
for eight years.
[oöystein] Yeah.
That's a lot of tattoos.
Oh, what's this written
on his chest?
Hmm.
-That' really...
-Something about snitchers.
"Snitchers are a...
dying breed."
[Barbora] I might just
never find out
where the paintings are.
I actually think that
I wouldn't presume too much.
[Barbora] Right.
[sighs]
[sniffs]
[Barbora] I think
I will be asking you regularly
to just sit here.
I really like to draw this way,
I'm realizing.
And I remember you said
at the court room.
That you will do whatever, uh...
Not whatever I want
but however you can help me
with my art.
So, actually,
you will be my model for free.
You will just sit here
for hours and hours.
It's okay, I can sit.
[chuckles]
[sighs]
[Barbora] I wonder, do you
remember every crime you make?
A robbery or...
Except of the one
that forgotten about.
-'cause you don't remember?
-No.
-No.
-[Barbora] No?
So you don't have
some sort of like a...
-Yeah.
-...diary of...
-No, police have them.
-[Barbora chuckles]
-Police has it. True. Of course.
-Hm.
Now, you don't need
to know them.
-[Bertil laughs]
-That I mean...
I can tell you some more
about how I got... got...
got like to be a criminal,
got, like, to be a drug addict.
-[Barbora] Hm.
-Mm-hm.
When I was 18,
we were 13 friends
from the same...
same environment.
Now, we're only two left.
What happened to the others?
Some were killed,
some killed themselves,
some OD'd, some, you know...
So... then I got into
much harder kind of guy.
-Hm.
-[sighs]
-And, um...
-So became a gangster,
sort of?
-Yes.
-Mm-hm.
[Bertil] And we started
pushing drugs, using drugs.
Potting from Wednesday
to Wednesday.
Better than from Monday
to Monday.
Yeah, it is, it is.
Much better start on Wednesday.
And, uh...
-I love your humor.
-[laughs]
I really do.
And then I got my first...
my first time in jail.
-And, uh...
-How was it?
-Oh... I loved it. Yeah.
-The first time...
[tranquil music]
[tranquil music continues]
[indistinct chatter]
I'm just a curious person
and I just so much wish
that you bring me to this day.
And you tell me all
that you remember.
And, just, as a person,
I'm curious as me, as Barbora.
I have told you
everything I remember.
I was so wasted.
And that's the truth.
-That is... No.
-Come on.
-That is...
-I'm sure you remember.
No. That is the truth.
Everything I remember
was told in court.
And you were saying something
that you actually have been...
-Yeah.
-...passing by these paintings
-several times.
-But never...
never planning anything
about it.
But do you remember how...
what...
what made you to actually
do it then at this one day?
I didn't know
when I got in the back door.
I didn't know that
I was in that location
where these pictures that
I have seen before was.
I absolutely believe
what you're saying, okay?
I don't have reason
to not to believe you.
It's I just want to understand
this very moment,
you know, how it was.
How can you understand a junkie
that's been awake for four days
and has used, uh...
-20 grams of amphetamine
-Well, I'm learning to...
and eating hundred, uh,
hundred pills?
[Bertil] But that wasn't me.
I hope it was.
[laughs]
Yeah, but it wasn't me.
-You know what I mean.
-Oh, I understand what you mean.
[keys jingling]
So, um, I hope you don't
get lost on the way
and see you here in 20 minutes.
[door opens]
-Hi.
-Hi.
Ooh.
It's not my fault I'm lost.
[Barbora] Yeah, yeah.
It's just started.
Of course, a lot of works still,
but, uh...
-Fuck me over!
-It's just started.
-What the fuck?
-[Barbora laughs]
You did that out of...
I...
[Bertil] You did this from...
No.
Whoa.
[heavy breathing]
[sighs sharply]
[Bertil whimpering]
[crying]
-Come on!
-No, no, no.
Oh, don't do that to me.
[cries]
[Barbora] I truly did not mean
to make you cry, Bertil.
I don't know if I should
take this as a compliment.
[crying]
[sobbing]
[gasping]
[sobbing]
Come...
[shushes]
[sobs softly]
-[Bertil] Welcome...
-Thank you.
...to my dungeon.
Cozy. Cute place.
Congrats, Bertil and Villa.
And, of course, I'll always
feel very good at places
where, you know,
the walls are covered
by things in frames
-and all that.
-[Bertil laughs]
So that, you know,
I can stand this kind of...
-... like minimal design.
-Neat walls?
[Barbora]
Minimalistic design thing.
This is...
This is what makes home.
[Bertil] We don't have any...
uncovered walls.
-[Barbora] Is it original?
-[Bertil] Yes.
-Oh, that's a graphic, isn't it?
-I love this picture.
-[Bertil] It's a...
-Vebjoørn Sand! Oh, god.
Yeah.
Okay.
[chuckles]
[Bertil laughs]
[Barbora] This might be
an original graphic, actually.
Whoa.
I mean, if it's original,
then it's a...
This is original.
Damn it.
-[Bertil] It should be.
-[Barbora] It is.
[Bertil] It should be original.
[Barbora] No, this is
a total great piece.
Absolutely.
[Bertil] You know,
these shoes...
[Barbora]
These were your first shoes.
[Bertil] Yeah, it was.
-[chuckles]
-Hm?
-Is that true?
-Yeah, that's...
[Bertil laughs]
It's a good souvenir
to keep from childhood.
I wrote you a letter.
And I want you to read it now.
[Barbora] From you to me?
[Bertil] From me to you.
Are you sure that
I shall open it now?
Mm-hm.
[Bertil chuckles]
Okay.
You should read it loud.
But then, I feel like, uh,
somebody is stealing it from me.
[Bertil] No.
[Barbora clears throat]
"I've thought for a long time
to write you some words.
And now, I finally found a pen.
You inspire me
and teach me so much
that I've missed in my
sometimes dysfunctional life.
If you only knew.
I'm so proud of being painted
on a piece of canvass.
You teach me art
in a way that...
that's new for me.
Art isn't just a painting
but so much more.
All the feelings, tears...
Nobody has ever
seen me vulnerable like you.
True, pure friendship.
You are an amazing person,
Barbora.
There's so much more
I should have written,
but now, I'm out of paper
for tonight.
So, next time.
Yours truly, Karl-Bertil."
[Bertil sighs]
Thank you, Karl-Bertil.
[light music]
[Barbora] I have been
finding myself quite often
thinking about him
while painting him.
I wonder if he has ever been
to Berlin
'cause I don't think
that he has...
ever really had like...
proper vacation or sort of...
kind of, you know,
touristic traveling.
He truly hates pickles
in burgers
and pineapple on pizza.
And he very much loves old, Norwegian, wooden churches.
Bertil's favorite film is Dugma,
and especially the scene
where the suicide bomber
is eating chicken
like as if nothing happens.
Personally, I truly believe that
in the several
different settings,
Bertil could be one of those.
At the same time,
I truly believe
in another different setting.
Bertil could as well be
a prime minister of Norway.
Bertil has been to
many accidents
and many...
often quite
self-destructive situations.
It feels like that
this is his way
how he shouts for attention.
To be seen.
[ominous music]
Bertil grew up in a farm
with his parents
and two siblings.
When Bertil was eight years old,
his parents took a divorce
and the mother took his siblings and moved away.
From then on, Bertil had no contact with them.
Living with his father only.
The father worked day and night.
He was gone all the time.
There must be a very long list
of trauma past
that this guy is carrying
inside of him.
Bertil got really
very good marks at school.
He was one of the
brightest students, it seems.
He used to work with kids
with special needs,
like ADHD or Asperger's or...
He helped a lot to these kids
to reach grades at schools.
These kids that
nobody else believed
that they would really make it.
I have been thinking about new painting for some time now.
Um, that shall be
a painting of Bertil
and his girlfriend.
Can you make...
Is it possible that you...
Yeah, so that we get
more light on your face.
[Barbora] That's, yeah,
very good.
Yeah, that's good. Wow.
Very nice.
Look elsewhere. Yeah.
-[shutter clicking]
-Super good. Very good.
[Barbora] Maybe we can
make this a little higher
so that they'll see
your message.
[Bertil groans]
And your fingers show "AMOR"
so it's clear that you love him,
don't worry.
[Bertil chuckles]
[dramatic music]
[dramatic music continues]
[knocks on door]
[Bertil] Hi, Barbora.
Good evening, star shine.
[Bertil speaks Norwegian]
[in English]
I feel like shit.
I'm sorry, I really...
guys, I don't know what to say.
I just don't feel
like saying anything.
Just to be here with you
for this moment, it's great.
[Barbora] Sometimes, I can
absolutely not understand
what's happening with Bertil.
What worries me a lot is that
it's also happening quite often
that, uh...
he can't be reached
for a very long period of time.
[operator speaking Norwegian]
[in English]
I'm fucking fed up
with this voicemail.
Come on, Bertil.
[groans]
I got a message that says...
[sniffs]
"Karl-Bertil stole my car
tonight when we slept.
Cops came after him
then he tried to drive
from them."
And here...
She also sent me two articles.
[reporter in Norwegian]
[indistinct chatter]
[EKG monitor beeping]
[unsettling music]
[unsettling music continues]
[Bertil speaking Norwegian]
[Bertil]
[heavy metal music playing]
[sizzling]
[smooches]
[Bertil]
[Barbora in English]
I really like to draw this way,
I'm realizing.
So, actually,
you will be my model for free.
You will just sit here
for hours and hours.
[Bertil in Norwegian]
Hm.
[in English]
And I also like this skull.
This one is very charming.
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[in English]
Like it was a real skull
with such carvings.
-Ooh.
-[Bertil laughing]
Yeah.
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[inaudible]
[Bertil]
[dramatic music]
[Bertil]
[in English]
I have told you everything
I remember. I was so wasted.
And that's the truth.
[overlapping dialogue]
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[in English]
Do you know anything
-about like
-[Bertil] I have no...
-black market with arts?
-No.
-Do you know anybody who...
-No.
And I don't mean, like,
that you would snitch, no.
-Not at all.
-No, no, no.
I don't know anything about...
[Bertil chuckles]
I don't know nothing...
So you don't even know
what you're planning,
what were you thinking
to do with the paintings?
No, you asked me that
a thousand times
-and I still don't know.
-[Barbora] I did not ask you
a thousand times. Screw you.
I only asked you twice
because I was so afraid
to ask you.
I was afraid to have
to hurt you, okay?
I have no idea, it was just...
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[dramatic music]
[Bertil in Norwegian]
-[receptionist] Hi.
-Hi.
Yeah.
[receptionist]
[Bertil] Hm.
[receptionist
speaking Norwegian]
[Bertil's girlfriend]
[sniffs]
[train horn honking]
[clattering]
[indistinct chatter]
-[dealer]
-[Bertil]
[Bertil]
-[dealer]
-[Bertil]
[dealer]
[Bertil's girlfriend]
Huh?
Hmm...
[Bertil]
-[Bertil]
-[Bertil's girlfriend]
[crying]
[Bertil's girlfriend]
[Bertil gasps]
[knocks on door]
[Bertil] Hi, Barbora.
Good evening, star shine.
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[Bertil in English]
I feel like shit,
-Now, sit down.
-Hm.
[Bertil] She's pushing me.
Controlling me.
[Bertil muttering]
[in Norwegian]
[breathes heavily]
[line ringing]
-[Barbora] Señor?
-Hello, my dear.
[indistinct]
I'm moving out to the forest
for a couple of...
[Barbora stuttering]
And what...
Why are you moving?
They love arguing with me
early in the morning so I...
told her to fuck off
and I got out of there
and didn't come back in...
since she was at work
and now she's coming back home.
So I'm just packing
the most necessary things
-and leaving for the forest.
-Wait, wait, wait.
Wait, wait, my dear.
Come on, I mean, okay,
it's a drama.
It's a very big drama but...
She has packed all off my stuff
while I was away.
-She packed your things?
-Yes, all of my shit.
Even my socks.
-Socks?
-Yeah. Fuck her.
Maybe it's for the best
of the both of you.
I assume that you guys maybe
have a small break
from each other and should...
[stammering]
No, I have arranged to borrow...
a very fast motorcycle.
So I'm taking out
and I'm on the highway tonight.
Uh, yeah, well, that sounds, uh, like such a very strange idea.
-Not strange.
-Why does...
Why is it that you like to drive a very fast motor?
[stuttering]
No. Don't even try.
Don't even try, Barbora,
I'm serious.
I'm gonna have
this couple of kilometers
of trail today.
Okay, just don't kill yourself, darling, that's what I'm saying.
-No, I will not.
-We need you alive.
I never kill myself on cycle,
I kill myself on cars.
[chuckles]
You're so typical, my dear.
Okay, talk to you tomorrow.
Yeah, will do that.
Have a great evening!
-You too. Ciao!
-Ciao.
Bye.
[in Norwegian]
[door slams]
[flatlining]
[ECG monitor beeps]
[ominous music]
[indistinct chatter]
[sighs]
[in Norwegian]
[groans]
[sighs]
[moans]
[groaning]
[Bertil]
[breathing heavily]
[moans]
[sighs]
Close the eyes.
Don't open until I say.
[Barbora]
There's a special therapy
that you have for the time
that you are in need
of this medicine.
-Hm.
-You can open your eyes now.
[giggles]
Hmm.
[Barbora] I think it's better
than smart TV.
[Bertil chuckles]
-It's much better.
-[Barbora chuckles]
I was thinking that since...
this is the time when your head
might be spinning
with thoughts and...
maybe it's not the best time
to look at yourself like that.
It's a nice picture.
-Isn't it?
-Mm-hm.
[chuckles]
I'm thinking about this
last year.
It's been...
fucking hard, right?
[laughs]
And now I have
to go back to jail.
-Yeah, most likely.
-Most likely.
[tranquil music playing]
[keyboard clacking]
[Bertil] Dear Barbora.
I published a picture
of my hips.
I wrote, "Feels like I just
got screwed or something.
You know, hips don't lie."
I don't like Shakira's music
but I love the CD you gave me.
I'm actually writing you
to thank you.
And I want you to know that I see what you're doing for me.
I know you don't have much money
almost nothing at all.
I know you sometimes prioritize to buy me lunch
and other things I need
when you can't afford
to buy your own lunch.
Bertil's gonna be moved again
at night to the jail.
This is insane.
[Bertil] When I don't get
the best possible treatment,
you are there to help me.
You fight so that I shall get
the best treatment
so that I can be able
to walk again. Thank you.
Yours truly, The Bertilizer.
Okay...
[mumbles]
[groaning]
[sighs sharply]
[in Norwegian]
[groans]
[chuckles]
Yes!
[laughing]
Oh!
[breathing heavily]
[Barbora in English]
But then, you also have some,
like, special spikes
for when it feels icy.
I do.
-I broke it now.
-Yeah.
-No?
-Yeah.
Hmm.
Wait, wait, wait...
Wait, wait, wait for me, please.
[sighs sharply]
Yeah?
I'm waiting, I'm waiting,
I'm waiting...
Thank you.
I'm waiting,
-And I'm waiting...
-So, my dear,
Merry Christmas!
[speaks Norwegian]
-Fucking shitless.
-To your health.
-For your health.
-Hm!
Ooh, oh...
-[sighs]
-Shush.
I will think you're the craziest
person I've ever met.
No.
[chuckles]
-That was your last cigarette.
-I know.
[judge in Norwegian]
[ominous music]
[judge in Norwegian]
[overlapping dialogue]
[Bertil]
[officer] Barbora?
[officer]
[knocks on glass door]
-[Bertil]
-[female officer]
-[female officer]
-[Bertil]
[indistinct chatter on TV]
[ominous music]
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[in English]
Trying to escape.
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[in English]
It's like over hand coming in.
[Barbora] Yes, I mean,
I could also...
[Bertil in Norwegian]
Have to be careful...
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[ominous music]
[somber music]
[somber music continues]
Come on, Bertil, just...
[tuts]
Oh...
Look at you.
Hm. You have to...
Hm.
[chuckles]
[Barbora] Wow, this is
something. You're standing.
Yeah, just on one feet.
Go. Go back.
-[groans]
-[sighs]
[mumbles]
You look great.
Dear, boy.
Compared to the last time.
How are you?
[sighs]
I'm doing good.
This is Jesus!
-[Bertil] Oh, yes?
-This is fucking Jesus' stigma.
Any idea? So you're stigmatized.
Want it or not.
[both laugh]
I have, uh, feelings now.
-You do or you don't?
-I do.
But this is really gorgeous.
I mean, you had big nail here
from the Romans, you know.
[Barbora stuttering]
You have, like, in the bones.
-You have like screws and...
-Mm-hm.
Titanium screws going...
holding my hips together.
But... Sorry but this
is just so amazing.
[Barbora] This is totally...
-[Bertil] That's deep.
-I have to take picture of this.
-This is...
-It's so deep.
I don't face your face now.
I just focus on your skin.
[Barbora] Do I have to explain
you that I love to
draw and paint hands?
If there's just few information
you should have by now about me,
then one of those should be
that you know
I'm obsessed with hands.
Don't you know that?
Yeah, I'm just...
I'm just curious
about the context.
You find your friend, uh...
destroyed by a car accident
and what you focus
is on the wound.
[oöystein] Don't you feel like
it's a bit uncomfortable
to use that to create art?
[Barbora]
No, because he survived.
Probably,
if he's not a survivor,
maybe I would have
very different feeling.
Maybe I would not make the
drawing at all or the painting.
Because he could not give me
his agreement
whether, uh, I could paint that
or draw that.
That would be different,
but now that
we know that he's out of that,
so...
I have absolutely
no more problems
towards anybody
working with this motif.
It's not a big problem
but I just think
it's interesting that
you don't find it problematic
at all in any way.
[stuttering]
Well, darling, don't...
-It's like you don't...
-No, you can't se...
-wanna hear...
-But, sweetheart,
no, but you did not hear
my answers.
Like how can you say
that I don't find it problematic
at all?
I never said that. Of course,
I find it problematic.
-Okay!
-But still, of course,
I go for it when I feel
that the person that
might be involved in it
-can handle it.
-Just, okay,
You are working in the world
and then you find some suffering
uh, you think,
"Whoa! That's beautiful!
I wanna bring it
into my studio."
It's not a way of dealing
with the world. It's not...
It's... Isn't there a paradox
here or some...
-I don't know. It's just...
-This suffering has to fulfill
one basic rule for me.
It has to be aesthetic.
-Yeah, I know...
-It has to have aesthetics.
Happy guy!
[chuckles]
-[Barbora] Who is gonna hug me?
-Yeah, but...
-Yeah?
-I'm handicapped.
-[Bertil] Okay, fuck off.
-oöystein] No, no.
Be careful. Be careful.
[both groaning]
[Bertil groans]
-You're such a...
-[Bertil] I love you!
-oöystein laughing]
-[sighs]
Then give me a favor
and sit down, okay?
-Okay.
-Good.
-Look at me now.
-Go.
[sighs sharply]
[oöystein laughs]
[Barbora] That's exactly
what you should be doing
-based on the papers
-Yeah.
-that we have read, you know.
-Yes... Yesterday...
Yesterday,
it was four weeks ago,
I broke my back three places,
-my hip eight places.
-Is it four weeks ago?
Yes, yes, they was.
And my... both shoulders,
and my ribs,
and now I'm here.
-Fuck, please. Please.
-[Barbora laughing]
-Please.
-And yesterday,
I walked one kilometer
with crutches.
[oöystein] But it's nice
to see you!
You look surprisingly, uh, okay.
-[Bertil] I am okay.
-Yeah?
[sniffs]
I'm trying to understand
whether you do understand
the practical
and emotional risk.
Not until you ask me.
-And so I'm trying to ask you
-Okay.
why don't you think so
because it's so obvious for me
that there is practical
and emotional risk
in getting involved
with somebody that...
so likely...
can happen to not be able
to take care of themself.
Which means that you,
as involved emotionally,
existentially, is...
in a relationship with somebody
that doesn't take care
of themselves,
you will have to take care
of it.
And I... It's not...
And I don't say that we should
stop taking care of people
when they need our help,
that's not what I'm saying.
So, it's not about what is
the good moral thing to do here.
I'm just...
trying to understand how you can
put yourself in that situation
without, sort of...
having like critical...
How you'll grade yourself.
That's what I'm trying
to understand.
I just haven't had such dialogue
with the critical myself.
Why?
It did not happen.
It hasn't happened.
[sighs]
I don't wanna sound
sort of pathetic or theatrical
but, really, the moment
I have met him at the courtroom,
I really, sort of,
fell in love with him
like there was no way
how I could...
how I could see the...
the thief in this guy.
Really, I just saw purely
like naked soul standing there.
-Don't... I don't have...
-Wait. I'm just coming to...
to... Okay?
I did not plan to start
a big friendship with this guy.
But I, at the same time,
did not plan anything at all.
I just let it flow.
For me, as a boyfriend,
this is very important.
Okay? This is very important.
[stuttering]
'Cause it... This is...
This is a possible
attraction toward...
something which is destructive.
Which, of course,
is relevant for me.
That's the reason
why I'm asking, you know.
[loud whirring]
Um, I guess
it did not work, right?
It's set.
Can we try once more?
[beeping]
Uh, can we maybe even
try it without, uh, grapes?
Okay.
There is, uh, actually,
certain chance
-that I...
-Okay.
-[humming]
-[clanking]
[Barbora] Shoot!
[groans]
[chuckles]
Okay...
[blows raspberries]
One thousand two hundred twenty.
Great. Where shall I find that?
Seven thousand? For what?
[clacking]
[Barbora] What really occupies
my life the most
is the painting.
When I close the door
of the studio,
I start to paint.
And that's my...
that's my universe.
I need to paint every day.
I really feel like I'm, um,
the painting junkie, sort of.
I know that I'm doing it
on cost of oöystein.
And that really doesn't...
uh, do any good
to our relationship.
-[clacks]
-Shit!
[oöystein] One thing is
her passion about painting
and like I wanna create this,
but when it turns unhealthy
in the way that you
could stand there and paint
and the whole world
falls apart around you.
That's her mechanism
that I find a bit scary.
I mean, when she moves from
Berlin, she moved for a man,
that, you know,
he was not just wanting
to kill her,
he wanted to kill me as well,
you know.
We fled Berlin, basically.
From a really crazy man that she
had broken off many years ago,
but continue to be in
a, sort of, relationship with
just because it made her
the space
the she needed to paint.
This is insane for me.
It's like, how can you put
yourself live in that situation?
It's like letting your kid
play in traffic.
You don't do that, you know.
I played in traffic in Prague.
There was no other way.
Yeah,
but there's something there.
What you're saying now,
that is actually...
-It's not just...
-That is the most funny thing
-to say.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. I agree.
It's funny on the one level.
But on one level, it's true.
You know, some part of you...
have the kid in you.
And you just place this kid
into the parking or the middle
of the motor road
and you just let her play there.
And it's scary to see
being a partner
that, okay, so something of you,
you really don't take care of.
And you don't care.
Hm.
There's little kid inside of you
you just don't pick up
and take care of.
That's the most scary part.
I feel that my kid
wants to paint.
Hm.
Thank you, Lord, for all the...
treasures you're giving us.
God bless.
-[female curator] Hi.
-Hi.
Sorry, okay.
Um, sorry for the late reply
but, um...
but we are
a very commercial gallery
so, um, so I don't think
it's for us.
And I think, um, we have already two exhibitions in October
so, um, so it's no way
we can do it, I'm sorry.
Okay.
[sighs sharply]
No after no after no after no.
Will anybody ever say yes to me?
[phone beeps]
[operator speaking Norwegian]
[Dian in English]
Barbora, it's Dian.
Um, I sent you an email
about two weeks ago
because, uh, you know
three payments are with you.
And I have not heard
anything from you.
And please stay contact.
[sniffs]
[sighs sharply]
[whimpers]
So stupid.
[sobbing]
[oöystein] What?
Something important?
Just would like to discuss
something with you
but we'd might need
little bit more time so, um...
- About...
-No.
-So about what then?
-About my rent in the atelier.
-About rent in the atelier?
-Mm-hm.
You didn't pay rent or...
I owe rent, yes.
How much of the owe left?
Three months.
So how much is in three months?
[breathes]
Um...
almost 15,000.
Fifteen thousand.
Okay, okay.
So, I will call you back when
I'm finished with meeting. Ok?
Thank you, darling.
-Okay. Ciao, ciao.
-Thank you. Ciao.
-[call dropped]
-[sobs]
[ominous music]
[ominous music continues]
[breathes heavily]
[sighs]
[beeping]
[operator speaking Norwegian]
[in English]
Hi, Barbora.
I'm just calling from jail
but you can't pick up the phone
so I'm calling you later.
[Bertil] Okay? Bye.
[foreboding music]
[metal thudding]
[speaking Norwegian]
[foreboding music]
[Bertil groans]
-[man 2]
-[Bertil]
[man 2]
[Bertil]
-[man 2]
-[Bertil] Hm.
-[man 2]
-[Bertil] Hm.
[Bertil]
[man 2] Mm-hm.
[Bertil]
[man 2 in English]
Not bad.
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[Bertil]
[man 2]
[man 2]
[Bertil]
-[man 2]
-[Bertil]
[device beeping]
[keys jangling]
[gate clanks]
[ominous music]
-[razor buzzing]
-[indistinct chatter]
[Bertil] Hm?
[Bertil]
-[razor buzzing]
-[indistinct chatter]
[Bertil]
[laughs]
[car engine sputtering]
[Bertil]
[sighs]
-[Bertil]
-[woman 2]
[Bertil]
[woman 2]
-[smooches]
-Hm.
[gloomy music]
[Bertil] Dear Barbora.
I'm looking at my hands,
they don't fit me.
Or do they?
My hands tell so many stories.
I just realized
how big they are.
Soon, I'll be 40 years old.
I can see the age of my hands.
Forty brutal years
that have scarred me.
All my defects grow in the dark
and die in the light
of exposure.
A fucking change. My mind
is clear, sober, and clean.
[indistinct chatter]
Today, I have a good life.
I began studying
to become a nurse.
I work part time as a carpenter.
My girlfriend is a associate
principal at a school in Oslo.
We met on online dating and we live in a big, nice apartment
with a view over the fjord
into Oslo.
[engine sputtering]
I just bought myself
the biggest dream of them all.
I finally got myself
a Harley Davidson.
I hope you're doing good.
Let's meet soon.
Can I come visit you
at your studio?
Love and all the best
from a decent criminal.
[Barbora] Hi, baby.
[Bertil] Hi, Barbora.
Just checking.
Maybe. I come for dinner?
Yes.
Okay. I'll see what I can find.
Okay, baby. Thanks a lot.
-Bye. Ciao, ciao.
-Thank you very much.
I don't like the corner
of pizzas.
'Cause it doesn't...
You don't like the corner
of pizzas either, huh?
Of course,
I already take the middle.
[Bertil] You just start with...
just start taking the pieces
in the middle.
[knocks on door]
-Hi.
-Hi!
We bring food!
-How are you?
-[both groaning]
Nice to see you again!
[Barbora sighs]
[both chuckle]
Nice to have breakfast with you.
-Mm-hm.
-[chuckles]
Did you have any dreams
that night?
-Hm?
-Have you dreamt something?
No.
When.. But, um,
I couldn't sleep. I was just...
I was just lying and thinking
about how good life was.
-Was?
-Uh, is.
-Is?
-Huh...
That's a dream good enough? No?
Hm.
When the heck did I think that
for the last time?
Hmm.
I really think that
the couple therapy
-is just fucking me up totally.
-[chuckles]
-That's not...
-The more visits I have there,
the more shitty I feel
about myself.
Yeah,
but that is just like for now.
-It's about...
-And this now,
it's already like
over two months.
No, it's about you...
And it's just getting worse
and worse.
Yeah, it will...
but it will get better.
That you feel like shit
is a good thing.
It means, because...
being in this therapy
talking to people, it's like...
you start to realize...
-How fucked up I am?
-think and...
and does, and enlighten you
in a way.
-No. I'm aware of that.
-And don't handle it.
I sort of, yeah, the handling,
that's the part here now.
And it takes time.
I just, sort of, never thought
that I am so fucked up.
-Mm-mm. You say fucked up.
-You know?
Thank you.
-I like honesty.
-[Bertil laughs]
You remember that I told you
that I met the other guy
name Mikel?
The other thief?
Hm?
No?
Wow. Um...
Then let me tell you now.
[Barbora] I started to search
for Mikel
when I was making
the painting of you.
We had is name
from the court papers.
Your gut feeling
got so much to tell you
-that this really could be...
-No...
73...
[clears throat]
[call disconnects]
[Barbora] But it was
impossible to reach him
because he was in prison
at that time.
And then time passed by
and many things happened.
[foreboding music]
[Barbora] And then when he got out of the prison...
I was able to reach him.
And when... And when...
But listen, Bertil, let me talk.
-Why can't I never talk?
-No.
Because you always step
into the middle of my sentence.
[overlapping dialogue]
Your sentence
is like eight minutes.
I have to talk somewhere.
Well, for somebody
who doesn't talk the whole day,
it's quite a good exercise
to have it sometimes
for eight minutes.
I like that.
Thank you.
-[Mikel] Hello?
-Hello, Mikel.
Um, this is Barbora.
-Hi. Hi.
-I guess you night know
who I am.
Yes, yes.
[Barbora] Hi! Um...
Barbora. So nice to meet you,
finally.
Listen,
can we go for coffee or...
I just simply would love to hear
as much as you can tell me
-because it's fascinating for...
-Yeah, yeah.
I would love to understand
as much as possible
-about that very day, you know.
-Yeah...
[Mike] I want
to be able to tell you
as much as I remember.
-Just tell me.
-Yeah.
I'm really open
with one big ear.
[Mikel] So, what happened...
[Barbora] So he told me all
that he remembered.
And he's quite surprised that
he really remembered a lot.
He told me that each of you
had taken one painting.
And that you have never met
since then.
And then he even told me
where he went
with the Swan Song painting.
[Mikel] I placed it in the
apartment of another gangster.
He hide it somewhere
or he has sold it to someone.
-Okay.
-And, um...
he know where it is.
He must know where it is.
It doesn't fly out the window,
you know?
This is a very sneaky guy.
Don't go there alone.
No, I won't. Of course,
I won't go there all alone.
This is a psycho, you know.
You will be killed.
I even got to know
where the Swan Song painting
was brought to.
-No.
-By Mikel.
-Really?
-Yes.
He's a very nasty mafia guy.
Sort of like he thinks
he's really big and maybe he is.
And he's also
like physically big, like,
you know, working out
and being really bad boy.
Like really bad boy.
[Bertil] You just went to this
and knock on door,
"Hi, do you have my painting"?
[chuckles]
-[Barbora] No, not really.
-But...
What kind of people live there?
Well, Mikel said that
this is rather dangerous place.
He really did not recommend me
to go there alone.
I'll be there, uh, before...
[Barbora] Therefore,
he put me in contact
with one of his friends who lives there in the neighborhood
in the same block of flats
like the mafia guy.
-[Barbora] That's the seller.
-Yeah?
Would that make sense
you think, too?
-[mumbles]
-[Barbora] Could we?
Could we take a look there
as well?
I mean, once we are here,
you know...
-[door slams]
-[sighs]
[muttering]
[mumbling]
[wood cracks]
Yeah. Wow.
[woman 2]
Still no sleeping here.
-There are people sleeping here?
-Yeah.
Shit.
[Barbora] How do they get here?
There's always a way
to get somewhere, yeah?
[woman 2 muttering]
Are you fucking kidding me?
Are you fucking kidding me?
Are you fucking kidding me?
Seriously?
[breathing heavily]
[woman 2] Oh, my god.
[sighs sharply]
[whimpering]
[moaning]
[sighs]
You did?
-You did?
-[Barbora] Mm-hm.
-Swan Song?
-Yeah.
It seems
it was just standing there
rolled as it was taken
from the frame.
-Okay.
-Where it was placed.
So you got it?
Well, I found it.
[Barbora] So now when
we have the Swan Song,
we're gonna put up
an exhibition.
[Bertil chuckles]
That's unbelievable.
[Barbora] It's absurd
as it sounded.
I really was willing to, like, suddenly, you know, you get this
-I get it.
-sea girl.
And like should've broke
to whatever there was...
[Bertil laughing]
[Barbora] Yeah, well, of course,
I was imagining.
Well, now, the police comes
and I'll get arrested
by searching
for my own stolen painting.
Why haven't you told me this?
Because, Bertil, at the moment
when I found the painting,
you were leaving Halden prison.
-Okay.
-And I could not really...
could not really imagine
how this information
would make you feel.
Uh, you, had really a lot of
your own things to put in order,
and I just did not dare
to risk that
in case you would find this
news a little bit disturbing,
I just did not want to
stir that up in you.
-You know, you understand that?
-Yeah.
It's not that I would...
Of course,
you were the first person
I wanted to call and say...
[gasps]
-[sighs]
-What happened?
It's just wasn't the right time
until now, I felt.
Now is the right time.
-All right?
-Yeah, good.
[thumping]
[Barbora] Have you seen that?
[Bertil chuckles]
-You do, huh?
-[Bertil] Hm.
[Bertil] This is, uh,
this is kinda special.
-[both laugh]
-[Barbora] Of course. Damn it.
Quite special to have you here
in that very moment.
[tranquil music]
[Barbora] It's called déjà vu.
[laughs]
[Barbora] Let's do it.
Yeah, yeah.
Hm.
[Barbora mutters]
[laughing]
[tranquil music]
[tranquil music continues]
Hm. I love the smell
of old paintings.
[Bertil] Mm-hm. Me too.
[sighs]
[Barbora] Waa!
Look, it's a bit weird though,
but... can you hold it
for a while?
And I'll turn to you.
Little... Little, little higher.
Just a little.
-Here?
-Yeas.
[Bertil] Can you...
I just wonder, uh,
if you see something
-connect a bit, uh...
-[Bertil] No...
[Barbora] Yes.
I sort of wanted to
make connection
between these two paintings.
You connected your masterpiece
with me?
[Barbora chuckles]
Balanced?
[dramatic music]
[dramatic music continues]
[dramatic music]
[dramatic music continues]
[calm music]
[calm music continues]
[indistinct chatter]
[chattering continues]
[laughing]
Whoo!
[woman 1] Congratulations.
[calm music]
[ominous music]
[calm music continues]
[in Norwegian]
[reporter 1]
[speaking Norwegian]
[reporter 1]
[woman 1 in English] We have identified the thieves.
-So the painting is... Mm-hm.
-Unfortunately,
we have not found the paintings.
Um, the investigation
is now closed.
[chuckles]
[groans]
I don't know what to think.
[oöystein mumbling]
Did you have dinner?
[Barbora] No, I did not have
any dinner.
Well, I can buy something.
Okay, baby.
I love you and thank you!
Bye!
-Hi.
-Hi.
[Barbora]
So, they just leave it somewhere
leaning, I don't know, somewhere
leaning against the wall
or somewhere by a garbage place?
And five minutes later,
there comes a car
with a garbage man
and they take it all.
And that's gone!
It's unbelievable.
I think they are even hanging
on the wall.
And I think, uh, yeah...
-I think they're...
-So you think that this person
has some, like, secret room
in the basement?
Yeah.
With, like, arm chair.
Big arm chair...
-Yeah, yeah.
-and these two paintings.
-Yeah.
-Really?
I don't see them here, actually.
-It's very...
-I don't see the painting.
-They're behind the red pipes.
-Mm-hm.
That's, like, of course,
funny placement.
[Barbora] Uh-huh.
They even tied it with a rope.
Tape and rope
are on the canvases.
Thanks to this footage
the guys were identified.
-Both of the thieves.
-oöystein] Mm-hm.
[Barbora] But what I understood,
the trial will be with, uh...
the one who is supposed to be
in-charge of the robbery.
[oöystein] Do you know
something about him or...
[Barbora]
Only that he's Norwegian.
[oöystein] Okay.
[indistinct chatter]
[Barbora]
[woman 1]
[Barbora]
[Barbora sighs]
[footsteps]
[Barbora]
[thief 1]
[Barbora]
-[thief 1]
-[Barbora laughs]
[Barbora]
[thief 1]
[Barbora]
-[Barbora]
-[thief 1]
[Barbora]
[thief 1]
[Barbora]
-[Barbora]
-[thief 1]
[Barbora] He has been imprisoned
for eight years.
[oöystein] Yeah.
That's a lot of tattoos.
Oh, what's this written
on his chest?
Hmm.
-That' really...
-Something about snitchers.
"Snitchers are a...
dying breed."
[Barbora] I might just
never find out
where the paintings are.
I actually think that
I wouldn't presume too much.
[Barbora] Right.
[sighs]
[sniffs]
[Barbora] I think
I will be asking you regularly
to just sit here.
I really like to draw this way,
I'm realizing.
And I remember you said
at the court room.
That you will do whatever, uh...
Not whatever I want
but however you can help me
with my art.
So, actually,
you will be my model for free.
You will just sit here
for hours and hours.
It's okay, I can sit.
[chuckles]
[sighs]
[Barbora] I wonder, do you
remember every crime you make?
A robbery or...
Except of the one
that forgotten about.
-'cause you don't remember?
-No.
-No.
-[Barbora] No?
So you don't have
some sort of like a...
-Yeah.
-...diary of...
-No, police have them.
-[Barbora chuckles]
-Police has it. True. Of course.
-Hm.
Now, you don't need
to know them.
-[Bertil laughs]
-That I mean...
I can tell you some more
about how I got... got...
got like to be a criminal,
got, like, to be a drug addict.
-[Barbora] Hm.
-Mm-hm.
When I was 18,
we were 13 friends
from the same...
same environment.
Now, we're only two left.
What happened to the others?
Some were killed,
some killed themselves,
some OD'd, some, you know...
So... then I got into
much harder kind of guy.
-Hm.
-[sighs]
-And, um...
-So became a gangster,
sort of?
-Yes.
-Mm-hm.
[Bertil] And we started
pushing drugs, using drugs.
Potting from Wednesday
to Wednesday.
Better than from Monday
to Monday.
Yeah, it is, it is.
Much better start on Wednesday.
And, uh...
-I love your humor.
-[laughs]
I really do.
And then I got my first...
my first time in jail.
-And, uh...
-How was it?
-Oh... I loved it. Yeah.
-The first time...
[tranquil music]
[tranquil music continues]
[indistinct chatter]
I'm just a curious person
and I just so much wish
that you bring me to this day.
And you tell me all
that you remember.
And, just, as a person,
I'm curious as me, as Barbora.
I have told you
everything I remember.
I was so wasted.
And that's the truth.
-That is... No.
-Come on.
-That is...
-I'm sure you remember.
No. That is the truth.
Everything I remember
was told in court.
And you were saying something
that you actually have been...
-Yeah.
-...passing by these paintings
-several times.
-But never...
never planning anything
about it.
But do you remember how...
what...
what made you to actually
do it then at this one day?
I didn't know
when I got in the back door.
I didn't know that
I was in that location
where these pictures that
I have seen before was.
I absolutely believe
what you're saying, okay?
I don't have reason
to not to believe you.
It's I just want to understand
this very moment,
you know, how it was.
How can you understand a junkie
that's been awake for four days
and has used, uh...
-20 grams of amphetamine
-Well, I'm learning to...
and eating hundred, uh,
hundred pills?
[Bertil] But that wasn't me.
I hope it was.
[laughs]
Yeah, but it wasn't me.
-You know what I mean.
-Oh, I understand what you mean.
[keys jingling]
So, um, I hope you don't
get lost on the way
and see you here in 20 minutes.
[door opens]
-Hi.
-Hi.
Ooh.
It's not my fault I'm lost.
[Barbora] Yeah, yeah.
It's just started.
Of course, a lot of works still,
but, uh...
-Fuck me over!
-It's just started.
-What the fuck?
-[Barbora laughs]
You did that out of...
I...
[Bertil] You did this from...
No.
Whoa.
[heavy breathing]
[sighs sharply]
[Bertil whimpering]
[crying]
-Come on!
-No, no, no.
Oh, don't do that to me.
[cries]
[Barbora] I truly did not mean
to make you cry, Bertil.
I don't know if I should
take this as a compliment.
[crying]
[sobbing]
[gasping]
[sobbing]
Come...
[shushes]
[sobs softly]
-[Bertil] Welcome...
-Thank you.
...to my dungeon.
Cozy. Cute place.
Congrats, Bertil and Villa.
And, of course, I'll always
feel very good at places
where, you know,
the walls are covered
by things in frames
-and all that.
-[Bertil laughs]
So that, you know,
I can stand this kind of...
-... like minimal design.
-Neat walls?
[Barbora]
Minimalistic design thing.
This is...
This is what makes home.
[Bertil] We don't have any...
uncovered walls.
-[Barbora] Is it original?
-[Bertil] Yes.
-Oh, that's a graphic, isn't it?
-I love this picture.
-[Bertil] It's a...
-Vebjoørn Sand! Oh, god.
Yeah.
Okay.
[chuckles]
[Bertil laughs]
[Barbora] This might be
an original graphic, actually.
Whoa.
I mean, if it's original,
then it's a...
This is original.
Damn it.
-[Bertil] It should be.
-[Barbora] It is.
[Bertil] It should be original.
[Barbora] No, this is
a total great piece.
Absolutely.
[Bertil] You know,
these shoes...
[Barbora]
These were your first shoes.
[Bertil] Yeah, it was.
-[chuckles]
-Hm?
-Is that true?
-Yeah, that's...
[Bertil laughs]
It's a good souvenir
to keep from childhood.
I wrote you a letter.
And I want you to read it now.
[Barbora] From you to me?
[Bertil] From me to you.
Are you sure that
I shall open it now?
Mm-hm.
[Bertil chuckles]
Okay.
You should read it loud.
But then, I feel like, uh,
somebody is stealing it from me.
[Bertil] No.
[Barbora clears throat]
"I've thought for a long time
to write you some words.
And now, I finally found a pen.
You inspire me
and teach me so much
that I've missed in my
sometimes dysfunctional life.
If you only knew.
I'm so proud of being painted
on a piece of canvass.
You teach me art
in a way that...
that's new for me.
Art isn't just a painting
but so much more.
All the feelings, tears...
Nobody has ever
seen me vulnerable like you.
True, pure friendship.
You are an amazing person,
Barbora.
There's so much more
I should have written,
but now, I'm out of paper
for tonight.
So, next time.
Yours truly, Karl-Bertil."
[Bertil sighs]
Thank you, Karl-Bertil.
[light music]
[Barbora] I have been
finding myself quite often
thinking about him
while painting him.
I wonder if he has ever been
to Berlin
'cause I don't think
that he has...
ever really had like...
proper vacation or sort of...
kind of, you know,
touristic traveling.
He truly hates pickles
in burgers
and pineapple on pizza.
And he very much loves old, Norwegian, wooden churches.
Bertil's favorite film is Dugma,
and especially the scene
where the suicide bomber
is eating chicken
like as if nothing happens.
Personally, I truly believe that
in the several
different settings,
Bertil could be one of those.
At the same time,
I truly believe
in another different setting.
Bertil could as well be
a prime minister of Norway.
Bertil has been to
many accidents
and many...
often quite
self-destructive situations.
It feels like that
this is his way
how he shouts for attention.
To be seen.
[ominous music]
Bertil grew up in a farm
with his parents
and two siblings.
When Bertil was eight years old,
his parents took a divorce
and the mother took his siblings and moved away.
From then on, Bertil had no contact with them.
Living with his father only.
The father worked day and night.
He was gone all the time.
There must be a very long list
of trauma past
that this guy is carrying
inside of him.
Bertil got really
very good marks at school.
He was one of the
brightest students, it seems.
He used to work with kids
with special needs,
like ADHD or Asperger's or...
He helped a lot to these kids
to reach grades at schools.
These kids that
nobody else believed
that they would really make it.
I have been thinking about new painting for some time now.
Um, that shall be
a painting of Bertil
and his girlfriend.
Can you make...
Is it possible that you...
Yeah, so that we get
more light on your face.
[Barbora] That's, yeah,
very good.
Yeah, that's good. Wow.
Very nice.
Look elsewhere. Yeah.
-[shutter clicking]
-Super good. Very good.
[Barbora] Maybe we can
make this a little higher
so that they'll see
your message.
[Bertil groans]
And your fingers show "AMOR"
so it's clear that you love him,
don't worry.
[Bertil chuckles]
[dramatic music]
[dramatic music continues]
[knocks on door]
[Bertil] Hi, Barbora.
Good evening, star shine.
[Bertil speaks Norwegian]
[in English]
I feel like shit.
I'm sorry, I really...
guys, I don't know what to say.
I just don't feel
like saying anything.
Just to be here with you
for this moment, it's great.
[Barbora] Sometimes, I can
absolutely not understand
what's happening with Bertil.
What worries me a lot is that
it's also happening quite often
that, uh...
he can't be reached
for a very long period of time.
[operator speaking Norwegian]
[in English]
I'm fucking fed up
with this voicemail.
Come on, Bertil.
[groans]
I got a message that says...
[sniffs]
"Karl-Bertil stole my car
tonight when we slept.
Cops came after him
then he tried to drive
from them."
And here...
She also sent me two articles.
[reporter in Norwegian]
[indistinct chatter]
[EKG monitor beeping]
[unsettling music]
[unsettling music continues]
[Bertil speaking Norwegian]
[Bertil]
[heavy metal music playing]
[sizzling]
[smooches]
[Bertil]
[Barbora in English]
I really like to draw this way,
I'm realizing.
So, actually,
you will be my model for free.
You will just sit here
for hours and hours.
[Bertil in Norwegian]
Hm.
[in English]
And I also like this skull.
This one is very charming.
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[in English]
Like it was a real skull
with such carvings.
-Ooh.
-[Bertil laughing]
Yeah.
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[inaudible]
[Bertil]
[dramatic music]
[Bertil]
[in English]
I have told you everything
I remember. I was so wasted.
And that's the truth.
[overlapping dialogue]
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[in English]
Do you know anything
-about like
-[Bertil] I have no...
-black market with arts?
-No.
-Do you know anybody who...
-No.
And I don't mean, like,
that you would snitch, no.
-Not at all.
-No, no, no.
I don't know anything about...
[Bertil chuckles]
I don't know nothing...
So you don't even know
what you're planning,
what were you thinking
to do with the paintings?
No, you asked me that
a thousand times
-and I still don't know.
-[Barbora] I did not ask you
a thousand times. Screw you.
I only asked you twice
because I was so afraid
to ask you.
I was afraid to have
to hurt you, okay?
I have no idea, it was just...
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[dramatic music]
[Bertil in Norwegian]
-[receptionist] Hi.
-Hi.
Yeah.
[receptionist]
[Bertil] Hm.
[receptionist
speaking Norwegian]
[Bertil's girlfriend]
[sniffs]
[train horn honking]
[clattering]
[indistinct chatter]
-[dealer]
-[Bertil]
[Bertil]
-[dealer]
-[Bertil]
[dealer]
[Bertil's girlfriend]
Huh?
Hmm...
[Bertil]
-[Bertil]
-[Bertil's girlfriend]
[crying]
[Bertil's girlfriend]
[Bertil gasps]
[knocks on door]
[Bertil] Hi, Barbora.
Good evening, star shine.
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[Bertil in English]
I feel like shit,
-Now, sit down.
-Hm.
[Bertil] She's pushing me.
Controlling me.
[Bertil muttering]
[in Norwegian]
[breathes heavily]
[line ringing]
-[Barbora] Señor?
-Hello, my dear.
[indistinct]
I'm moving out to the forest
for a couple of...
[Barbora stuttering]
And what...
Why are you moving?
They love arguing with me
early in the morning so I...
told her to fuck off
and I got out of there
and didn't come back in...
since she was at work
and now she's coming back home.
So I'm just packing
the most necessary things
-and leaving for the forest.
-Wait, wait, wait.
Wait, wait, my dear.
Come on, I mean, okay,
it's a drama.
It's a very big drama but...
She has packed all off my stuff
while I was away.
-She packed your things?
-Yes, all of my shit.
Even my socks.
-Socks?
-Yeah. Fuck her.
Maybe it's for the best
of the both of you.
I assume that you guys maybe
have a small break
from each other and should...
[stammering]
No, I have arranged to borrow...
a very fast motorcycle.
So I'm taking out
and I'm on the highway tonight.
Uh, yeah, well, that sounds, uh, like such a very strange idea.
-Not strange.
-Why does...
Why is it that you like to drive a very fast motor?
[stuttering]
No. Don't even try.
Don't even try, Barbora,
I'm serious.
I'm gonna have
this couple of kilometers
of trail today.
Okay, just don't kill yourself, darling, that's what I'm saying.
-No, I will not.
-We need you alive.
I never kill myself on cycle,
I kill myself on cars.
[chuckles]
You're so typical, my dear.
Okay, talk to you tomorrow.
Yeah, will do that.
Have a great evening!
-You too. Ciao!
-Ciao.
Bye.
[in Norwegian]
[door slams]
[flatlining]
[ECG monitor beeps]
[ominous music]
[indistinct chatter]
[sighs]
[in Norwegian]
[groans]
[sighs]
[moans]
[groaning]
[Bertil]
[breathing heavily]
[moans]
[sighs]
Close the eyes.
Don't open until I say.
[Barbora]
There's a special therapy
that you have for the time
that you are in need
of this medicine.
-Hm.
-You can open your eyes now.
[giggles]
Hmm.
[Barbora] I think it's better
than smart TV.
[Bertil chuckles]
-It's much better.
-[Barbora chuckles]
I was thinking that since...
this is the time when your head
might be spinning
with thoughts and...
maybe it's not the best time
to look at yourself like that.
It's a nice picture.
-Isn't it?
-Mm-hm.
[chuckles]
I'm thinking about this
last year.
It's been...
fucking hard, right?
[laughs]
And now I have
to go back to jail.
-Yeah, most likely.
-Most likely.
[tranquil music playing]
[keyboard clacking]
[Bertil] Dear Barbora.
I published a picture
of my hips.
I wrote, "Feels like I just
got screwed or something.
You know, hips don't lie."
I don't like Shakira's music
but I love the CD you gave me.
I'm actually writing you
to thank you.
And I want you to know that I see what you're doing for me.
I know you don't have much money
almost nothing at all.
I know you sometimes prioritize to buy me lunch
and other things I need
when you can't afford
to buy your own lunch.
Bertil's gonna be moved again
at night to the jail.
This is insane.
[Bertil] When I don't get
the best possible treatment,
you are there to help me.
You fight so that I shall get
the best treatment
so that I can be able
to walk again. Thank you.
Yours truly, The Bertilizer.
Okay...
[mumbles]
[groaning]
[sighs sharply]
[in Norwegian]
[groans]
[chuckles]
Yes!
[laughing]
Oh!
[breathing heavily]
[Barbora in English]
But then, you also have some,
like, special spikes
for when it feels icy.
I do.
-I broke it now.
-Yeah.
-No?
-Yeah.
Hmm.
Wait, wait, wait...
Wait, wait, wait for me, please.
[sighs sharply]
Yeah?
I'm waiting, I'm waiting,
I'm waiting...
Thank you.
I'm waiting,
-And I'm waiting...
-So, my dear,
Merry Christmas!
[speaks Norwegian]
-Fucking shitless.
-To your health.
-For your health.
-Hm!
Ooh, oh...
-[sighs]
-Shush.
I will think you're the craziest
person I've ever met.
No.
[chuckles]
-That was your last cigarette.
-I know.
[judge in Norwegian]
[ominous music]
[judge in Norwegian]
[overlapping dialogue]
[Bertil]
[officer] Barbora?
[officer]
[knocks on glass door]
-[Bertil]
-[female officer]
-[female officer]
-[Bertil]
[indistinct chatter on TV]
[ominous music]
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[in English]
Trying to escape.
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[in English]
It's like over hand coming in.
[Barbora] Yes, I mean,
I could also...
[Bertil in Norwegian]
Have to be careful...
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[ominous music]
[somber music]
[somber music continues]
Come on, Bertil, just...
[tuts]
Oh...
Look at you.
Hm. You have to...
Hm.
[chuckles]
[Barbora] Wow, this is
something. You're standing.
Yeah, just on one feet.
Go. Go back.
-[groans]
-[sighs]
[mumbles]
You look great.
Dear, boy.
Compared to the last time.
How are you?
[sighs]
I'm doing good.
This is Jesus!
-[Bertil] Oh, yes?
-This is fucking Jesus' stigma.
Any idea? So you're stigmatized.
Want it or not.
[both laugh]
I have, uh, feelings now.
-You do or you don't?
-I do.
But this is really gorgeous.
I mean, you had big nail here
from the Romans, you know.
[Barbora stuttering]
You have, like, in the bones.
-You have like screws and...
-Mm-hm.
Titanium screws going...
holding my hips together.
But... Sorry but this
is just so amazing.
[Barbora] This is totally...
-[Bertil] That's deep.
-I have to take picture of this.
-This is...
-It's so deep.
I don't face your face now.
I just focus on your skin.
[Barbora] Do I have to explain
you that I love to
draw and paint hands?
If there's just few information
you should have by now about me,
then one of those should be
that you know
I'm obsessed with hands.
Don't you know that?
Yeah, I'm just...
I'm just curious
about the context.
You find your friend, uh...
destroyed by a car accident
and what you focus
is on the wound.
[oöystein] Don't you feel like
it's a bit uncomfortable
to use that to create art?
[Barbora]
No, because he survived.
Probably,
if he's not a survivor,
maybe I would have
very different feeling.
Maybe I would not make the
drawing at all or the painting.
Because he could not give me
his agreement
whether, uh, I could paint that
or draw that.
That would be different,
but now that
we know that he's out of that,
so...
I have absolutely
no more problems
towards anybody
working with this motif.
It's not a big problem
but I just think
it's interesting that
you don't find it problematic
at all in any way.
[stuttering]
Well, darling, don't...
-It's like you don't...
-No, you can't se...
-wanna hear...
-But, sweetheart,
no, but you did not hear
my answers.
Like how can you say
that I don't find it problematic
at all?
I never said that. Of course,
I find it problematic.
-Okay!
-But still, of course,
I go for it when I feel
that the person that
might be involved in it
-can handle it.
-Just, okay,
You are working in the world
and then you find some suffering
uh, you think,
"Whoa! That's beautiful!
I wanna bring it
into my studio."
It's not a way of dealing
with the world. It's not...
It's... Isn't there a paradox
here or some...
-I don't know. It's just...
-This suffering has to fulfill
one basic rule for me.
It has to be aesthetic.
-Yeah, I know...
-It has to have aesthetics.
Happy guy!
[chuckles]
-[Barbora] Who is gonna hug me?
-Yeah, but...
-Yeah?
-I'm handicapped.
-[Bertil] Okay, fuck off.
-oöystein] No, no.
Be careful. Be careful.
[both groaning]
[Bertil groans]
-You're such a...
-[Bertil] I love you!
-oöystein laughing]
-[sighs]
Then give me a favor
and sit down, okay?
-Okay.
-Good.
-Look at me now.
-Go.
[sighs sharply]
[oöystein laughs]
[Barbora] That's exactly
what you should be doing
-based on the papers
-Yeah.
-that we have read, you know.
-Yes... Yesterday...
Yesterday,
it was four weeks ago,
I broke my back three places,
-my hip eight places.
-Is it four weeks ago?
Yes, yes, they was.
And my... both shoulders,
and my ribs,
and now I'm here.
-Fuck, please. Please.
-[Barbora laughing]
-Please.
-And yesterday,
I walked one kilometer
with crutches.
[oöystein] But it's nice
to see you!
You look surprisingly, uh, okay.
-[Bertil] I am okay.
-Yeah?
[sniffs]
I'm trying to understand
whether you do understand
the practical
and emotional risk.
Not until you ask me.
-And so I'm trying to ask you
-Okay.
why don't you think so
because it's so obvious for me
that there is practical
and emotional risk
in getting involved
with somebody that...
so likely...
can happen to not be able
to take care of themself.
Which means that you,
as involved emotionally,
existentially, is...
in a relationship with somebody
that doesn't take care
of themselves,
you will have to take care
of it.
And I... It's not...
And I don't say that we should
stop taking care of people
when they need our help,
that's not what I'm saying.
So, it's not about what is
the good moral thing to do here.
I'm just...
trying to understand how you can
put yourself in that situation
without, sort of...
having like critical...
How you'll grade yourself.
That's what I'm trying
to understand.
I just haven't had such dialogue
with the critical myself.
Why?
It did not happen.
It hasn't happened.
[sighs]
I don't wanna sound
sort of pathetic or theatrical
but, really, the moment
I have met him at the courtroom,
I really, sort of,
fell in love with him
like there was no way
how I could...
how I could see the...
the thief in this guy.
Really, I just saw purely
like naked soul standing there.
-Don't... I don't have...
-Wait. I'm just coming to...
to... Okay?
I did not plan to start
a big friendship with this guy.
But I, at the same time,
did not plan anything at all.
I just let it flow.
For me, as a boyfriend,
this is very important.
Okay? This is very important.
[stuttering]
'Cause it... This is...
This is a possible
attraction toward...
something which is destructive.
Which, of course,
is relevant for me.
That's the reason
why I'm asking, you know.
[loud whirring]
Um, I guess
it did not work, right?
It's set.
Can we try once more?
[beeping]
Uh, can we maybe even
try it without, uh, grapes?
Okay.
There is, uh, actually,
certain chance
-that I...
-Okay.
-[humming]
-[clanking]
[Barbora] Shoot!
[groans]
[chuckles]
Okay...
[blows raspberries]
One thousand two hundred twenty.
Great. Where shall I find that?
Seven thousand? For what?
[clacking]
[Barbora] What really occupies
my life the most
is the painting.
When I close the door
of the studio,
I start to paint.
And that's my...
that's my universe.
I need to paint every day.
I really feel like I'm, um,
the painting junkie, sort of.
I know that I'm doing it
on cost of oöystein.
And that really doesn't...
uh, do any good
to our relationship.
-[clacks]
-Shit!
[oöystein] One thing is
her passion about painting
and like I wanna create this,
but when it turns unhealthy
in the way that you
could stand there and paint
and the whole world
falls apart around you.
That's her mechanism
that I find a bit scary.
I mean, when she moves from
Berlin, she moved for a man,
that, you know,
he was not just wanting
to kill her,
he wanted to kill me as well,
you know.
We fled Berlin, basically.
From a really crazy man that she
had broken off many years ago,
but continue to be in
a, sort of, relationship with
just because it made her
the space
the she needed to paint.
This is insane for me.
It's like, how can you put
yourself live in that situation?
It's like letting your kid
play in traffic.
You don't do that, you know.
I played in traffic in Prague.
There was no other way.
Yeah,
but there's something there.
What you're saying now,
that is actually...
-It's not just...
-That is the most funny thing
-to say.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah. I agree.
It's funny on the one level.
But on one level, it's true.
You know, some part of you...
have the kid in you.
And you just place this kid
into the parking or the middle
of the motor road
and you just let her play there.
And it's scary to see
being a partner
that, okay, so something of you,
you really don't take care of.
And you don't care.
Hm.
There's little kid inside of you
you just don't pick up
and take care of.
That's the most scary part.
I feel that my kid
wants to paint.
Hm.
Thank you, Lord, for all the...
treasures you're giving us.
God bless.
-[female curator] Hi.
-Hi.
Sorry, okay.
Um, sorry for the late reply
but, um...
but we are
a very commercial gallery
so, um, so I don't think
it's for us.
And I think, um, we have already two exhibitions in October
so, um, so it's no way
we can do it, I'm sorry.
Okay.
[sighs sharply]
No after no after no after no.
Will anybody ever say yes to me?
[phone beeps]
[operator speaking Norwegian]
[Dian in English]
Barbora, it's Dian.
Um, I sent you an email
about two weeks ago
because, uh, you know
three payments are with you.
And I have not heard
anything from you.
And please stay contact.
[sniffs]
[sighs sharply]
[whimpers]
So stupid.
[sobbing]
[oöystein] What?
Something important?
Just would like to discuss
something with you
but we'd might need
little bit more time so, um...
- About...
-No.
-So about what then?
-About my rent in the atelier.
-About rent in the atelier?
-Mm-hm.
You didn't pay rent or...
I owe rent, yes.
How much of the owe left?
Three months.
So how much is in three months?
[breathes]
Um...
almost 15,000.
Fifteen thousand.
Okay, okay.
So, I will call you back when
I'm finished with meeting. Ok?
Thank you, darling.
-Okay. Ciao, ciao.
-Thank you. Ciao.
-[call dropped]
-[sobs]
[ominous music]
[ominous music continues]
[breathes heavily]
[sighs]
[beeping]
[operator speaking Norwegian]
[in English]
Hi, Barbora.
I'm just calling from jail
but you can't pick up the phone
so I'm calling you later.
[Bertil] Okay? Bye.
[foreboding music]
[metal thudding]
[speaking Norwegian]
[foreboding music]
[Bertil groans]
-[man 2]
-[Bertil]
[man 2]
[Bertil]
-[man 2]
-[Bertil] Hm.
-[man 2]
-[Bertil] Hm.
[Bertil]
[man 2] Mm-hm.
[Bertil]
[man 2 in English]
Not bad.
[Bertil in Norwegian]
[Bertil]
[man 2]
[man 2]
[Bertil]
-[man 2]
-[Bertil]
[device beeping]
[keys jangling]
[gate clanks]
[ominous music]
-[razor buzzing]
-[indistinct chatter]
[Bertil] Hm?
[Bertil]
-[razor buzzing]
-[indistinct chatter]
[Bertil]
[laughs]
[car engine sputtering]
[Bertil]
[sighs]
-[Bertil]
-[woman 2]
[Bertil]
[woman 2]
-[smooches]
-Hm.
[gloomy music]
[Bertil] Dear Barbora.
I'm looking at my hands,
they don't fit me.
Or do they?
My hands tell so many stories.
I just realized
how big they are.
Soon, I'll be 40 years old.
I can see the age of my hands.
Forty brutal years
that have scarred me.
All my defects grow in the dark
and die in the light
of exposure.
A fucking change. My mind
is clear, sober, and clean.
[indistinct chatter]
Today, I have a good life.
I began studying
to become a nurse.
I work part time as a carpenter.
My girlfriend is a associate
principal at a school in Oslo.
We met on online dating and we live in a big, nice apartment
with a view over the fjord
into Oslo.
[engine sputtering]
I just bought myself
the biggest dream of them all.
I finally got myself
a Harley Davidson.
I hope you're doing good.
Let's meet soon.
Can I come visit you
at your studio?
Love and all the best
from a decent criminal.
[Barbora] Hi, baby.
[Bertil] Hi, Barbora.
Just checking.
Maybe. I come for dinner?
Yes.
Okay. I'll see what I can find.
Okay, baby. Thanks a lot.
-Bye. Ciao, ciao.
-Thank you very much.
I don't like the corner
of pizzas.
'Cause it doesn't...
You don't like the corner
of pizzas either, huh?
Of course,
I already take the middle.
[Bertil] You just start with...
just start taking the pieces
in the middle.
[knocks on door]
-Hi.
-Hi!
We bring food!
-How are you?
-[both groaning]
Nice to see you again!
[Barbora sighs]
[both chuckle]
Nice to have breakfast with you.
-Mm-hm.
-[chuckles]
Did you have any dreams
that night?
-Hm?
-Have you dreamt something?
No.
When.. But, um,
I couldn't sleep. I was just...
I was just lying and thinking
about how good life was.
-Was?
-Uh, is.
-Is?
-Huh...
That's a dream good enough? No?
Hm.
When the heck did I think that
for the last time?
Hmm.
I really think that
the couple therapy
-is just fucking me up totally.
-[chuckles]
-That's not...
-The more visits I have there,
the more shitty I feel
about myself.
Yeah,
but that is just like for now.
-It's about...
-And this now,
it's already like
over two months.
No, it's about you...
And it's just getting worse
and worse.
Yeah, it will...
but it will get better.
That you feel like shit
is a good thing.
It means, because...
being in this therapy
talking to people, it's like...
you start to realize...
-How fucked up I am?
-think and...
and does, and enlighten you
in a way.
-No. I'm aware of that.
-And don't handle it.
I sort of, yeah, the handling,
that's the part here now.
And it takes time.
I just, sort of, never thought
that I am so fucked up.
-Mm-mm. You say fucked up.
-You know?
Thank you.
-I like honesty.
-[Bertil laughs]
You remember that I told you
that I met the other guy
name Mikel?
The other thief?
Hm?
No?
Wow. Um...
Then let me tell you now.
[Barbora] I started to search
for Mikel
when I was making
the painting of you.
We had is name
from the court papers.
Your gut feeling
got so much to tell you
-that this really could be...
-No...
73...
[clears throat]
[call disconnects]
[Barbora] But it was
impossible to reach him
because he was in prison
at that time.
And then time passed by
and many things happened.
[foreboding music]
[Barbora] And then when he got out of the prison...
I was able to reach him.
And when... And when...
But listen, Bertil, let me talk.
-Why can't I never talk?
-No.
Because you always step
into the middle of my sentence.
[overlapping dialogue]
Your sentence
is like eight minutes.
I have to talk somewhere.
Well, for somebody
who doesn't talk the whole day,
it's quite a good exercise
to have it sometimes
for eight minutes.
I like that.
Thank you.
-[Mikel] Hello?
-Hello, Mikel.
Um, this is Barbora.
-Hi. Hi.
-I guess you night know
who I am.
Yes, yes.
[Barbora] Hi! Um...
Barbora. So nice to meet you,
finally.
Listen,
can we go for coffee or...
I just simply would love to hear
as much as you can tell me
-because it's fascinating for...
-Yeah, yeah.
I would love to understand
as much as possible
-about that very day, you know.
-Yeah...
[Mike] I want
to be able to tell you
as much as I remember.
-Just tell me.
-Yeah.
I'm really open
with one big ear.
[Mikel] So, what happened...
[Barbora] So he told me all
that he remembered.
And he's quite surprised that
he really remembered a lot.
He told me that each of you
had taken one painting.
And that you have never met
since then.
And then he even told me
where he went
with the Swan Song painting.
[Mikel] I placed it in the
apartment of another gangster.
He hide it somewhere
or he has sold it to someone.
-Okay.
-And, um...
he know where it is.
He must know where it is.
It doesn't fly out the window,
you know?
This is a very sneaky guy.
Don't go there alone.
No, I won't. Of course,
I won't go there all alone.
This is a psycho, you know.
You will be killed.
I even got to know
where the Swan Song painting
was brought to.
-No.
-By Mikel.
-Really?
-Yes.
He's a very nasty mafia guy.
Sort of like he thinks
he's really big and maybe he is.
And he's also
like physically big, like,
you know, working out
and being really bad boy.
Like really bad boy.
[Bertil] You just went to this
and knock on door,
"Hi, do you have my painting"?
[chuckles]
-[Barbora] No, not really.
-But...
What kind of people live there?
Well, Mikel said that
this is rather dangerous place.
He really did not recommend me
to go there alone.
I'll be there, uh, before...
[Barbora] Therefore,
he put me in contact
with one of his friends who lives there in the neighborhood
in the same block of flats
like the mafia guy.
-[Barbora] That's the seller.
-Yeah?
Would that make sense
you think, too?
-[mumbles]
-[Barbora] Could we?
Could we take a look there
as well?
I mean, once we are here,
you know...
-[door slams]
-[sighs]
[muttering]
[mumbling]
[wood cracks]
Yeah. Wow.
[woman 2]
Still no sleeping here.
-There are people sleeping here?
-Yeah.
Shit.
[Barbora] How do they get here?
There's always a way
to get somewhere, yeah?
[woman 2 muttering]
Are you fucking kidding me?
Are you fucking kidding me?
Are you fucking kidding me?
Seriously?
[breathing heavily]
[woman 2] Oh, my god.
[sighs sharply]
[whimpering]
[moaning]
[sighs]
You did?
-You did?
-[Barbora] Mm-hm.
-Swan Song?
-Yeah.
It seems
it was just standing there
rolled as it was taken
from the frame.
-Okay.
-Where it was placed.
So you got it?
Well, I found it.
[Barbora] So now when
we have the Swan Song,
we're gonna put up
an exhibition.
[Bertil chuckles]
That's unbelievable.
[Barbora] It's absurd
as it sounded.
I really was willing to, like, suddenly, you know, you get this
-I get it.
-sea girl.
And like should've broke
to whatever there was...
[Bertil laughing]
[Barbora] Yeah, well, of course,
I was imagining.
Well, now, the police comes
and I'll get arrested
by searching
for my own stolen painting.
Why haven't you told me this?
Because, Bertil, at the moment
when I found the painting,
you were leaving Halden prison.
-Okay.
-And I could not really...
could not really imagine
how this information
would make you feel.
Uh, you, had really a lot of
your own things to put in order,
and I just did not dare
to risk that
in case you would find this
news a little bit disturbing,
I just did not want to
stir that up in you.
-You know, you understand that?
-Yeah.
It's not that I would...
Of course,
you were the first person
I wanted to call and say...
[gasps]
-[sighs]
-What happened?
It's just wasn't the right time
until now, I felt.
Now is the right time.
-All right?
-Yeah, good.
[thumping]
[Barbora] Have you seen that?
[Bertil chuckles]
-You do, huh?
-[Bertil] Hm.
[Bertil] This is, uh,
this is kinda special.
-[both laugh]
-[Barbora] Of course. Damn it.
Quite special to have you here
in that very moment.
[tranquil music]
[Barbora] It's called déjà vu.
[laughs]
[Barbora] Let's do it.
Yeah, yeah.
Hm.
[Barbora mutters]
[laughing]
[tranquil music]
[tranquil music continues]
Hm. I love the smell
of old paintings.
[Bertil] Mm-hm. Me too.
[sighs]
[Barbora] Waa!
Look, it's a bit weird though,
but... can you hold it
for a while?
And I'll turn to you.
Little... Little, little higher.
Just a little.
-Here?
-Yeas.
[Bertil] Can you...
I just wonder, uh,
if you see something
-connect a bit, uh...
-[Bertil] No...
[Barbora] Yes.
I sort of wanted to
make connection
between these two paintings.
You connected your masterpiece
with me?
[Barbora chuckles]
Balanced?
[dramatic music]
[dramatic music continues]
[dramatic music]
[dramatic music continues]