Damski interes z cyklu 'Opowiesci weekendowe' (1996) - full transcript
A woman whose passport was denied under the previous Communist regime by a vindictive party secretary is given a chance to confront the woman and take revenge.
THE SOUL SINGS
Starring
Music
Director of Photography
Written and Directed by
Did you knock?
No... Aren't you late?
Almost, but I'd like to
come there prepared.
You want a ride?
No, we'll walk slowly. Right?
Hurry now.
Bye!
It was me who knocked while you sang.
I wasn't louder than the radio, I hope.
One can play the radio here...
The walls are thin, though.
I know. But my dog starts howling.
- At your high pitch.
- I didn't hear it.
A low howl that sends a
shiver down my spine.
You have no other place to practise?
I have to do it home.
Did you rent for long?
Until the summer.
You can stand it, I hope.
Hey, mister!
An artist for you! Why there?
I have a rehearsal.
I don't care. Move on, or I'll ram you.
In an hour.
You won't in damaged goods.
NEW YEAR'S EVE CONCERT
Something happened?
Oh, nothing, really. I'm sorry.
Sit down, please.
You won't sing now.
Sit down, listen to the tempo, relax...
Hold it! Once again from the top.
Look, it's covered now.
It was printed all right.
We'll have a chance to see him.
You know who?
You're his replacement.
January 1, on satellite TV.
Live or playback?
The concert from Vienna
will be live for sure.
Ours - playback.
We're lucky anyway.
One can erase something if need be.
- May I come in?
- I think so.
- Boss angry?
- Why do you ask me?
May I come in?
Hello.
Come in, please.
I wanted to meet you.
I'm glad you came.
Please be seated.
As it happened,
you listened to me rather than I to you.
I couldn't let you sing,
as you came late, run-down.
One can't show one's potential, then.
Not a singer myself, I had to fake it.
I wanted to be one.
If I had a voice, talent,
I wouldn't conduct.
Please forgive me.
It won't happen again.
Wish I could trust you...
My intuition
tells me that you're often late.
I have shortcomings, but I respect my work.
Shortcomings, you say?
Go on.
I don't know. I may...
be careless.
You say 'careless'.
It goes with coming late.
When you're in earnest
about everything, you
can't stand the stress.
So I hardly chastise
myself for carelessness,
but I do for coming late.
Yes, but all of us need
to live under stress.
It defuses unusual situations.
We feel no pain then, for example.
It helps you to endure a
lot, show biz included.
We thrive under stress.
It is useful,
makes us more perceptive, more efficient.
Stress is useful.
Enough about it. A drink?
To change the topic...
I saw you struggle
with the bulldozer.
I didn't know it was you.
A stranger here, I don't
know my way around yet.
You have a flat?
When you signed me on a week ago.
I rented one.
No career opportunities in Białystok.
We signed you on,
because I heard that you'd won a contest.
That was when I was in college.
Now it's the sticks,
family, kid.
A girl, actually.
I teach music school, go
on the road, whatever...
Now that you're here, let's listen to you.
Sing, please.
What can you sing?
I don't know.
I'll play Caravadossi.
Okay.
You know it?
Let's go.
I have the feeling
it's overdramatised.
Just... easy does it.
You'd better...
Relax, defuse the tension.
Too much of it.
Again from the top.
Don't stretch it so.
Come on, leave this measure.
You lead me.
Why, what's that for?
- Till the last tune.
- Not from that point...
No, not only...
You stop the action.
Not necessary.
It begins to look...
That's not in the score.
Tenors' mannerisms.
That's not in the music.
From the top again.
A longer pause, please.
The pause is too long, isn't it?
Maybe...
Don't make such a pause.
The last try.
Okay, tomorrow.
This thing in your throat.
A sore throat?
Just in case.
Forewarned is forearmed.
You sure?
I guess so.
- Who heard you?
- The conductor.
That's something.
I wish critics came to concerts like that.
It'll be on TV.
Wonderful!
I'll see you then.
Aren't you coming?
I just wanted to tell you...
- Mum called.
- She isn't well?
Worse... I mean... better.
That New Year's Eve party.
She won't manage all alone.
Why doesn't she hire some help?
She wants me.
Will she pay you?
You crazy?
Why are you going, then?
Because my mother asked me.
I'd go to yours, too.
I know you feel bad, but...
Ever since you came, I've
been thinking how to...
I wish you'd be there.
I'd sing for you.
You can sing "Libi amo" in any company.
Besides, there will be five of you singing.
And you waited with that news!
- You, chicken?
- Yes.
You're so touchy.
You knew you were marrying a tenor.
Shouldn't you save energy?
I do it at rehearsals.
Over there, on that dirt!
You got me in a mess!
How am I to drive off?
Put something under the wheels.
How can you play like that?
The soloists lead.
Good.
Now the encores.
If I'm to emcee, what should I announce?
We'd better make it a surprise.
Or else I'll blather...
M'me sings Violetta,
you, sir, Barber of Seville,
and Adam, yesterday's piece.
Now Tosca, please.
Starting from the 12th measure.
Two measures before.
Bravo!
Bravo, congratulations.
Keep up the good work.
I wonder
why we never heard of you before.
I hide my light under a bushel.
Be serious, please. You
graduated some time ago.
Why did you settle in the provinces?
I'm a nature lover.
Truth is I had an accident back in college,
paused for quite a spell, next got married.
I'm waiting for my chance.
You don't seem to help your chances.
Why?
I guess I do.
I'm afraid,
you make it look far too simple.
You just blow in and expect
the red carpet hauled out.
It's not so.
A talent for singing is a rare thing.
Just like a trump card, but for a pro.
You must give it a chance,
and play your cards, but you
stand pat. You don't follow through.
I have to think about it,
since no one has ever told me that.
Who should tell you? When?
After a concert, in college?
It's not that way at all.
You have to think of your life yourself.
One may lose even with
an ace up one's sleeve.
There are artists, mediocre
talents, who went far.
But they took hard pains
to use their chances.
Others didn't do it.
Had everything going for them, talent...
Yet, they failed.
Stuck in the middle of nowhere
or vanished altogether.
It may seem like nitpicking,
but your coming late blights your chances,
which worries me, because you sing so well.
Do you, sir, still think I have a chance?
I think you do, but I don't know how many.
Perhaps as many as your fingers.
Your chance is tomorrow.
When you say that, my stage fright grows.
This profession also means
struggling with stage fright.
Okay, I have to go, or else I get a ticket.
- Aren't you sorry?
- A little.
So...
Stay.
Mum would feel bad.
So will I.
But you don't care.
Mum would take it to heart.
I've just made a resolution.
- I'll take things to heart.
- Yes? What exactly?
Life.
That you can do, but don't
take yourself too seriously.
Do you want daddy to grunt like a pig?
Now what?
A chicken?
Now a turkey.
What have we got left? A dog.
Christ! They're giving you a ticket!
- Too loud again?
- No, not that.
My bitch is sick, and I
don't know what to do.
Is this the first time?
Yes,
she's always been fine.
Please, help me.
How?
I know nothing about dogs.
A vet could help.
Why don't you call one?
They advertise.
They are sure to come.
Or just drive it there.
Where?
I don't know.
- She was always fine.
- Look in the paper.
I don't buy papers.
I got one.
Yesterday's, actually.
It'll do.
Here it is.
Call emergency.
Here's the number.
There's a pay phone downstairs.
I don't have a phone.
You'd need a card to use it, though.
You don't have one?
But I do.
No need to pay. Just take it.
The cabbie wouldn't take me with the dog.
Even a sick one?
The more so.
An ambulance?
They have none.
Told me to come over.
Can't this wait till tomorrow?
Well, it can...
I'd drive you there,
but I have an important
concert tomorrow.
I must be prepared.
It's cold. Too risky.
What if I caught a cold?
The concert is my only
chance, one in a lifetime.
Understand, please.
I tell it like it is.
The dog isn't dying yet.
That means my life, career, kids...
It would be reckless of me.
It isn't dying.
It doesn't seem to suffer.
It will recover.
Tomorrow, you'll call a vet.
If money is the problem, I'd be happy to...
All right, let's go.
Let me put on my coat.
God will reward you.
I'm not so sure.
God rewards good deeds, take it from me.
I heard right the opposite.
Punishment not reward.
Who says so?
Bad people,
who won't help anybody?
- Let me carry it.
- Not necessary.
You want me to help?
No, don't get out.
You may get wet.
Okay, I'll be waiting.
Home, sweet home.
They'll have to operate.
I'm staying here.
- Please go home.
- How will you get back?
I'll stay here.
They're open all night.
I'll have known by morning if they succeed.
What's wrong with her?
She ate something.
X-rays showed it stuck.
If it hadn't been for you,
she wouldn't have survived the night.
Thank you.
Let's go. You'll come back tomorrow.
No, I'm not leaving her.
Drive home. It's cold.
Oh, shit!
THANK YOU
Will I be OK by the evening, doctor?
No, you won't.
But I must.
Can't you do something
about it, a blocade...
That's what they told me.
Want to lose your voice forever?
The throat plays tricks.
- I know.
- You're to blame.
You got soaked through.
So, the throat's inflamed.
You should've been more careful.
That's what bothers me.
Vis major, I guess.
That flat tire.
How could you go out?
You should've known better
before the concert.
I'll write it down for you.
You can't sing,
although, I know, you've signed a contract.
You can do nothing at all?
Suppose I could.
But be reasonable, please.
You have a fine voice.
There will be another chance.
If we go for broke, you may
lose everything. Catch on?
And then what? Teaching school?
That's what I do already.
But you have hopes for the big time.
It was supposed to be tonight.
I don't know what to say to the director.
Just put this on the table.
No need for words.
You know what they'll say,
"He blew it, stupid tenor."
"unreliable, can't be trusted."
Isn't that true?
I thought everything would
be fine if I helped her.
Hell is paved with good intentions, right?
Can't one do a thing for anybody?
Only "Me first, and my career"?
If you talk so much, you'll get worse.
Any hope it will go by the evening?
I doubt it.
See for yourself.
The conductor asked me
to announce the encores.
The air of Caravedossi in Act Three?
Stage fright?
I hope you're in a good shape
Break a leg.
I have to change.
Wait a minute.
I wanted to change.
Something important?
Say it, please.
How could I know there's
a cable in the ground?
Well, that does it.
No concert tonight.
Bad luck. And yours is the worst.
I'm glad you keep quiet now.
Chin up.
If not today, then tomorrow.
With a voice like yours,
you'll have the big time.
Stop the hysterics, please.
Please be quiet!
No concert tonight because
of a power failure.
No concert. Cancelled.
You're like a bunch of kids!
Polish Subtitles: JERZY SIEMASZ
Subtitle Print Out:
LASER FILM TEXT
Starring
Music
Director of Photography
Written and Directed by
Did you knock?
No... Aren't you late?
Almost, but I'd like to
come there prepared.
You want a ride?
No, we'll walk slowly. Right?
Hurry now.
Bye!
It was me who knocked while you sang.
I wasn't louder than the radio, I hope.
One can play the radio here...
The walls are thin, though.
I know. But my dog starts howling.
- At your high pitch.
- I didn't hear it.
A low howl that sends a
shiver down my spine.
You have no other place to practise?
I have to do it home.
Did you rent for long?
Until the summer.
You can stand it, I hope.
Hey, mister!
An artist for you! Why there?
I have a rehearsal.
I don't care. Move on, or I'll ram you.
In an hour.
You won't in damaged goods.
NEW YEAR'S EVE CONCERT
Something happened?
Oh, nothing, really. I'm sorry.
Sit down, please.
You won't sing now.
Sit down, listen to the tempo, relax...
Hold it! Once again from the top.
Look, it's covered now.
It was printed all right.
We'll have a chance to see him.
You know who?
You're his replacement.
January 1, on satellite TV.
Live or playback?
The concert from Vienna
will be live for sure.
Ours - playback.
We're lucky anyway.
One can erase something if need be.
- May I come in?
- I think so.
- Boss angry?
- Why do you ask me?
May I come in?
Hello.
Come in, please.
I wanted to meet you.
I'm glad you came.
Please be seated.
As it happened,
you listened to me rather than I to you.
I couldn't let you sing,
as you came late, run-down.
One can't show one's potential, then.
Not a singer myself, I had to fake it.
I wanted to be one.
If I had a voice, talent,
I wouldn't conduct.
Please forgive me.
It won't happen again.
Wish I could trust you...
My intuition
tells me that you're often late.
I have shortcomings, but I respect my work.
Shortcomings, you say?
Go on.
I don't know. I may...
be careless.
You say 'careless'.
It goes with coming late.
When you're in earnest
about everything, you
can't stand the stress.
So I hardly chastise
myself for carelessness,
but I do for coming late.
Yes, but all of us need
to live under stress.
It defuses unusual situations.
We feel no pain then, for example.
It helps you to endure a
lot, show biz included.
We thrive under stress.
It is useful,
makes us more perceptive, more efficient.
Stress is useful.
Enough about it. A drink?
To change the topic...
I saw you struggle
with the bulldozer.
I didn't know it was you.
A stranger here, I don't
know my way around yet.
You have a flat?
When you signed me on a week ago.
I rented one.
No career opportunities in Białystok.
We signed you on,
because I heard that you'd won a contest.
That was when I was in college.
Now it's the sticks,
family, kid.
A girl, actually.
I teach music school, go
on the road, whatever...
Now that you're here, let's listen to you.
Sing, please.
What can you sing?
I don't know.
I'll play Caravadossi.
Okay.
You know it?
Let's go.
I have the feeling
it's overdramatised.
Just... easy does it.
You'd better...
Relax, defuse the tension.
Too much of it.
Again from the top.
Don't stretch it so.
Come on, leave this measure.
You lead me.
Why, what's that for?
- Till the last tune.
- Not from that point...
No, not only...
You stop the action.
Not necessary.
It begins to look...
That's not in the score.
Tenors' mannerisms.
That's not in the music.
From the top again.
A longer pause, please.
The pause is too long, isn't it?
Maybe...
Don't make such a pause.
The last try.
Okay, tomorrow.
This thing in your throat.
A sore throat?
Just in case.
Forewarned is forearmed.
You sure?
I guess so.
- Who heard you?
- The conductor.
That's something.
I wish critics came to concerts like that.
It'll be on TV.
Wonderful!
I'll see you then.
Aren't you coming?
I just wanted to tell you...
- Mum called.
- She isn't well?
Worse... I mean... better.
That New Year's Eve party.
She won't manage all alone.
Why doesn't she hire some help?
She wants me.
Will she pay you?
You crazy?
Why are you going, then?
Because my mother asked me.
I'd go to yours, too.
I know you feel bad, but...
Ever since you came, I've
been thinking how to...
I wish you'd be there.
I'd sing for you.
You can sing "Libi amo" in any company.
Besides, there will be five of you singing.
And you waited with that news!
- You, chicken?
- Yes.
You're so touchy.
You knew you were marrying a tenor.
Shouldn't you save energy?
I do it at rehearsals.
Over there, on that dirt!
You got me in a mess!
How am I to drive off?
Put something under the wheels.
How can you play like that?
The soloists lead.
Good.
Now the encores.
If I'm to emcee, what should I announce?
We'd better make it a surprise.
Or else I'll blather...
M'me sings Violetta,
you, sir, Barber of Seville,
and Adam, yesterday's piece.
Now Tosca, please.
Starting from the 12th measure.
Two measures before.
Bravo!
Bravo, congratulations.
Keep up the good work.
I wonder
why we never heard of you before.
I hide my light under a bushel.
Be serious, please. You
graduated some time ago.
Why did you settle in the provinces?
I'm a nature lover.
Truth is I had an accident back in college,
paused for quite a spell, next got married.
I'm waiting for my chance.
You don't seem to help your chances.
Why?
I guess I do.
I'm afraid,
you make it look far too simple.
You just blow in and expect
the red carpet hauled out.
It's not so.
A talent for singing is a rare thing.
Just like a trump card, but for a pro.
You must give it a chance,
and play your cards, but you
stand pat. You don't follow through.
I have to think about it,
since no one has ever told me that.
Who should tell you? When?
After a concert, in college?
It's not that way at all.
You have to think of your life yourself.
One may lose even with
an ace up one's sleeve.
There are artists, mediocre
talents, who went far.
But they took hard pains
to use their chances.
Others didn't do it.
Had everything going for them, talent...
Yet, they failed.
Stuck in the middle of nowhere
or vanished altogether.
It may seem like nitpicking,
but your coming late blights your chances,
which worries me, because you sing so well.
Do you, sir, still think I have a chance?
I think you do, but I don't know how many.
Perhaps as many as your fingers.
Your chance is tomorrow.
When you say that, my stage fright grows.
This profession also means
struggling with stage fright.
Okay, I have to go, or else I get a ticket.
- Aren't you sorry?
- A little.
So...
Stay.
Mum would feel bad.
So will I.
But you don't care.
Mum would take it to heart.
I've just made a resolution.
- I'll take things to heart.
- Yes? What exactly?
Life.
That you can do, but don't
take yourself too seriously.
Do you want daddy to grunt like a pig?
Now what?
A chicken?
Now a turkey.
What have we got left? A dog.
Christ! They're giving you a ticket!
- Too loud again?
- No, not that.
My bitch is sick, and I
don't know what to do.
Is this the first time?
Yes,
she's always been fine.
Please, help me.
How?
I know nothing about dogs.
A vet could help.
Why don't you call one?
They advertise.
They are sure to come.
Or just drive it there.
Where?
I don't know.
- She was always fine.
- Look in the paper.
I don't buy papers.
I got one.
Yesterday's, actually.
It'll do.
Here it is.
Call emergency.
Here's the number.
There's a pay phone downstairs.
I don't have a phone.
You'd need a card to use it, though.
You don't have one?
But I do.
No need to pay. Just take it.
The cabbie wouldn't take me with the dog.
Even a sick one?
The more so.
An ambulance?
They have none.
Told me to come over.
Can't this wait till tomorrow?
Well, it can...
I'd drive you there,
but I have an important
concert tomorrow.
I must be prepared.
It's cold. Too risky.
What if I caught a cold?
The concert is my only
chance, one in a lifetime.
Understand, please.
I tell it like it is.
The dog isn't dying yet.
That means my life, career, kids...
It would be reckless of me.
It isn't dying.
It doesn't seem to suffer.
It will recover.
Tomorrow, you'll call a vet.
If money is the problem, I'd be happy to...
All right, let's go.
Let me put on my coat.
God will reward you.
I'm not so sure.
God rewards good deeds, take it from me.
I heard right the opposite.
Punishment not reward.
Who says so?
Bad people,
who won't help anybody?
- Let me carry it.
- Not necessary.
You want me to help?
No, don't get out.
You may get wet.
Okay, I'll be waiting.
Home, sweet home.
They'll have to operate.
I'm staying here.
- Please go home.
- How will you get back?
I'll stay here.
They're open all night.
I'll have known by morning if they succeed.
What's wrong with her?
She ate something.
X-rays showed it stuck.
If it hadn't been for you,
she wouldn't have survived the night.
Thank you.
Let's go. You'll come back tomorrow.
No, I'm not leaving her.
Drive home. It's cold.
Oh, shit!
THANK YOU
Will I be OK by the evening, doctor?
No, you won't.
But I must.
Can't you do something
about it, a blocade...
That's what they told me.
Want to lose your voice forever?
The throat plays tricks.
- I know.
- You're to blame.
You got soaked through.
So, the throat's inflamed.
You should've been more careful.
That's what bothers me.
Vis major, I guess.
That flat tire.
How could you go out?
You should've known better
before the concert.
I'll write it down for you.
You can't sing,
although, I know, you've signed a contract.
You can do nothing at all?
Suppose I could.
But be reasonable, please.
You have a fine voice.
There will be another chance.
If we go for broke, you may
lose everything. Catch on?
And then what? Teaching school?
That's what I do already.
But you have hopes for the big time.
It was supposed to be tonight.
I don't know what to say to the director.
Just put this on the table.
No need for words.
You know what they'll say,
"He blew it, stupid tenor."
"unreliable, can't be trusted."
Isn't that true?
I thought everything would
be fine if I helped her.
Hell is paved with good intentions, right?
Can't one do a thing for anybody?
Only "Me first, and my career"?
If you talk so much, you'll get worse.
Any hope it will go by the evening?
I doubt it.
See for yourself.
The conductor asked me
to announce the encores.
The air of Caravedossi in Act Three?
Stage fright?
I hope you're in a good shape
Break a leg.
I have to change.
Wait a minute.
I wanted to change.
Something important?
Say it, please.
How could I know there's
a cable in the ground?
Well, that does it.
No concert tonight.
Bad luck. And yours is the worst.
I'm glad you keep quiet now.
Chin up.
If not today, then tomorrow.
With a voice like yours,
you'll have the big time.
Stop the hysterics, please.
Please be quiet!
No concert tonight because
of a power failure.
No concert. Cancelled.
You're like a bunch of kids!
Polish Subtitles: JERZY SIEMASZ
Subtitle Print Out:
LASER FILM TEXT