Hope Frozen (2018) - full transcript

It was morning when we discovered
the aquarium's oxygen pump,

which supplied air to the aquarium,
had broken overnight.

Our mother announced,
"No school today. Save the goldfish!"

So we scooped out the floating fish

and put them in an ice bath.

Lowering their temperature
slowed down the death process.

And we found
we could revive them later.

We were very successful.

More than 50% were revived.

Come on. Let's go!

We named our daughter Einz.



In Japanese and Chinese,
"Einz" means "love."

-What kind of bed is this?
-My sister's crib.

Yeah.

Are you doing this for your sister?
Or are you just following my orders?

For my sister!

-Do you really love your sister?
-Yes, really.

-Do you really want a sister?
-I haven't even met her yet.

-Do you really want her?
-Yes, I do.

If she watches this video later,
what would you like to tell her?

I love you, little sister.

I love you, little sister.

Einz was born out of
Matrix's wish for a sibling.

Hello. Today is March 2nd, 2012.

I've brought my sister to the mall.



It's the first time she's left the house.

He was an only child then.

Why are you sitting
on the chair by yourself?

Such a gifted child you are!

One, two, three!

Einz brought

the whole family together.

Everyone had been waiting for her.

Here she comes!

Daddy! Daddy! You're 40 now!

Today is Daddy's birthday.

And you have your new daughter with you.

Our family today
includes my husband,

Dr. Sahatorn, nicknamed Top.

Then there's our eldest son, Matrix...

...and our daughter Matheryn, or Einz.

Such a pretty dress.

My little Einz.

I think that for the bottom bit,
just drill a little and put this in there.

For the upper bit,
we'll clamp it until it's flush.

Just a little effort, and it should fuse.

In our family...

we place a lot of importance on science.

That means,
if we know something, we say we know.

If we do not know something,
we say we do not know.

Just because we don't know something,
it doesn't mean it's not true.

My family knows that I always used

the scientific way of thinking
to solve problems.

We have a good head of the family.

I was once Sahatorn's student.

He is still my teacher.

A teacher for our children.

This.

Haven't used this in a while.

What happened was...

We were working on a project
in another province.

Matrix, being in Bangkok,
was the one taking care of his sister.

I had this bad feeling. A nightmare.

So I phoned Matrix in the morning
and told him to go and wake Einz up.

But he couldn't wake her up.

On that day, our daughter went into a coma
and was unable to wake up.

I wished I could take her place.

Take her pain away.
Be the one who's sick.

I've always felt
nothing could happen to her

because her mother is here to protect her.

It's gonna be okay, honey. It's okay.
It's gonna be okay.

The neurosurgeon said
it is probably ependymoblastoma.

No one had ever survived it.

Einz has the deadliest brain cancer
in the world.

Since the day she fell into a coma,
Einz underwent ten surgeries,

twelve rounds of chemo,
and 20 rounds of radiation.

She was in and out of comas.
Always in and out of the ICU and PICU.

But through it all,
she always woke with a smile.

Everyone waited for Einz's smile.

-Here comes Ei-Ei!
-Here comes Ei-Ei!

My heart was rebelling.
Maybe there was a chance.

So we had to keep fighting
until we were sure there was no chance.

I didn't have the right to decide.

She did. She had the right to decide
whether she would keep fighting.

I discovered
that my husband had this powerful love.

Throughout 100 days of illness,
he never got a full night's sleep,

because he was researching
the latest technology and treatments.

I've started collecting her cancer cells
from surgery to culture.

But I'm not an expert in this field
so I've experienced many obstacles.

But what's important
is that I don't give up.

Even if the chances of success are low,
I have to keep working on it.

I experimented
with around five kinds of chemicals

as well as other treatments

that had the possibility
of curing my baby.

You mean...

you will place this camera here
to observe the cell culture.

Yes, to see if the cells are normal.

Then when we're done,
we prepare the tissues here.

After that, we bring the different cells
to the hypoxia closet.

There's so much suffering in life.

We are under so much pressure
as we fight this.

As scientists, we know the chances

of finding the right medicine in time
are slim.

I began to think,
what if the doctors can't find a cure?

Can't find a way. What should we do?

That's when cryonics entered my mind.

I've always loved
this area of science since I was a kid.

I've always known what cryonics was.

Cryonics is a process

that preserves bodies of living things.

This was the way to keep her.
We must keep her.

When everyone learned about cryonics,

her grandparents wondered,
"Why we would do this? What is it?

That death is death.

What was the point of doing this?"

Can we stop the process of dying? Yes.

Can you believe that we can stop it?
This is what I have to show my family.

They asked, "Even if we can preserve her,
has anyone been brought back to life?"

Growing up in an Asian family...

I believe we have souls.

There was conflict within me about that.

I do believe that our souls can be reborn.

But we all still disagreed
with one another.

He said he wanted to give her

a chance at a life in the future.

I know in my heart
that she can be preserved.

The way my husband told me...

showed clearly

that he was doing this
out of love for his daughter.

I spent many months trying to
persuade my wife until she agreed.

She said we could do this,
not because it might or might not work...

but we'd do it because I asked to.

The one thing that helped
even those who have no knowledge

of the technology to understand us
is our love for her.

He knew well
from looking at the medical reports.

We knew in our hearts
that she would pass away.

She'd gone as far as humanly possible.

The doctors admitted
that she would not survive.

PEDIATRICS 2

We have reached the end.

The end of what's medically,
humanly possible.

There's no more.
We have reached the limit.

You are in our hearts, always.

If one day,
you wake up and watch this video,

maybe many hundreds of years from now,

we want you to know we love you.

On her last day, we were with her.
Everyone in our family was with her.

We asked for Einz to die at home.

We prayed over her
and told her we loved her.

And prayed that we will see her again.

Dear all beings, our friends in sin
who are born, age, suffer and die.

May you find contentment.
May you find contentment.

May there be no bad fate.

May you find contentment,
have no pain in your body and your heart.

May you be content in body and mind.
Take care of your mind and soul.

Find contentment in both.
Forever and beyond.

May you find so much happiness.

You can go now, little fighter.

Matrix has described that day as

being in slow motion.

Everything repeating itself,
creating a wound in his heart.

At the time that Einz passed,
the doctor examined her immediately...

and he pronounced her dead.

Then we began the cryonics process.

Einz's body temperature decreased...

until we closed the capsule
and sent her to America.

At that moment,
I was grieving beyond words.

I told her,
"Come back and be my daughter again.

Mommy loves you so much."

This is the dress my whole family loves,
especially her father.

When he saw it, he said right away
he wanted to buy it for Einz.

While awaiting her birth,
we named her Einz.

Einz was our beloved.

We bought this dress in two sizes.

A size for a one-year-old,
and a bigger one for a three-year-old.

Einz wore this white dress
even when it was too big for her.

She wore it nearly every day,
for every special occasion,

for her first and second birthdays.

But Einz didn't live long enough

to wear it on her third birthday.

On days we feel discouraged,

or exhausted and want to hug Einz...

we hug this white dress.

Because it feels like Einz is here.

In Buddhism, we believe
that when a body dies and disintegrates...

tangible elements will transform

into other things.

They are not permanent.

But there is the intangible.

It controls how things come to being.

Some call it the soul.

We cannot say Einz is truly dead,

but we now we have been parted...

and it will be very difficult
to meet again.

I told my son,
"Remember, your sister is there."

One day, technology will be able
to fix matter on a molecular level.

On that day,
Einz will have another chance.

-Did it hit the target yet?
-It has.

E and...

I haven't fixed it yet.

Go ahead and use one line
as the INT of the Y, okay?

And another line as the INT of motor X.

That way, you keep the code neat.

This is test number seven.

It's not igniting.

Test number 11.

Test number 44.

Test number 50.

Success! Success!

I don't need to adjust
the focus or anything, just look?

That's right.

Our body is like hardware.

And the soul is software.

It's like we had manufactured

a defective computer.

So we have to put it on hold...

We believe that
the computer could work again.

We know how to assemble the human genome,

assemble DNA.

That means we are bringing life
to something that wasn't alive.

For sure, we are heading towards...

deathlessness.

That will be Einz's time.

Einz will wake up in a world
without disease.

For our journey to visit Einz at Alcor,
in Arizona,

we've prepared CDs,
all the memories of her.

Like her first baby outfit,
shoes, bedding...

all her stories, her toys, clothes.

If she wakes up one day,
she will see the things

we've prepared for her.

It will be kept at Alcor.

I've already seen a lot of images
of the cryonic facility interior.

So, I think that,
through these images I've seen,

I have a vague idea
of how their facilities will look.

It's not a grave or burial place.

More like a place to have a rest.

We plan to visit her regularly.

We are lucky.

It's like fate. Right?

Because the facility where Einz is
and our close friend's house

are located close to each other.
Only 30 minutes away.

Tomorrow, if all goes according to plan,

we'll go to Alcor
along with our friends.

You're heavy.

FOREVER WITH US
EINZ, THE LITTLE FIGHTER

Let me see. What are you writing?

-Heart.
-One heart.

A heart. Draw a heart.

Do you want to wash it? Do you?

Matrix, did you take photos of the parts
that interlock with each other yet?

Here.

These parts here. They're all important.

I still feel like a scientist.

I don't feel like the father yet.
I'm still the scientist.

Okay, everyone, come hold this.

Here's Einz's dress.

Let's put her photo here.

We had thought that sending her
to America was the last of it.

We would return to school, return to work.

Alcor wanted us to tell this success story

of the cryonics process for a child
far away in Asia,

the first time in the world.

Our friends called us from abroad

to say our story had made headlines
in their country.

We were shocked
to see how quickly it spread.

Hundreds of outlets published the story.

It became global news.

For us,

we had no idea this would happen.

The program welcomes Dr. Sahatorn.

Welcome to our show.

Say hello to Dr. Sahatorn Naovaratpong.

Oh, dear, you froze her body?

And you sent her whole body overseas?
That can't be.

Please explain to us

what this is all about
and why you're doing this.

Cryonics is a process
that freezes you, right?

We don't usually freeze the human body.

Let me ask you this straight.
Forgive me.

Does she know
her father's done this for her?

She was the first in Asia?

She was the first in Asia
and the youngest in the world.

If Einz is revived, she'll have no one.

What will it be like?
Do you think about that?

We just say,

please see from the point of view
of a scientific family

who loves their daughter
with all their heart.

Twelve!
Twelve operations on a two-year-old!

Freezing her corpse...
Freezing her brain, or whatever it is...

Can you please explain this a bit more?

There's a human that's frozen

and that person will be thawed
in the future.

Is this something that can happen now?

This was really big news...

...that there was this father
who chose to freeze his own daughter.

The head in particular.

Actually, you also work
with cancer, right?

And you've also given
to various foundations

or funds for genetic research.

Publicizing the research in this area
and how you can contribute to this fund

are why I'm happy to be interviewed today.

The reason behind all of this...

is to preserve the parts
of Einz's soulless body

that would help her in the future.

Then there's all the critics
in Thai society asking,

"Are you keeping her soul
from resting in peace?"

Don't you feel like it's going
against fate, against destiny or karma?

Some might think,
and pardon me for saying this,

you are imprisoning her,
according to Buddhism.

Imprisoning her soul.

If they are just keeping her head
and don't cremate it with her body,

many will believe she left
to the next world incomplete.

She is still tied to this world.

Her parents haven't allowed her
to leave without worry.

So, I accept that
I have not been able to let go.

I don't care that people think
we cannot let go

and that we still hold on to her.

This is who I am. I can't let go.

She is in a refrigerator
where the temperature is -192 °C.

So she's still alive?

She's alive.

But without biological activity.

On the cellular level.

So you won't see her again?

If I only wanted to see her, it'd mean
I'm only doing this for selfish reasons.

But if you want
to give your child a chance,

to give life is to give opportunity.

Without life, you have no opportunity.

And that's why I'm giving her this.

What I return to is...

thinking about her body.

I refuse to believe that
I have the ability to trap her soul.

When I look at video clips
of Einz playing,

part of her soul is in there.

It's in the photons bouncing off her
into the camera through some process.

She's saved in there...

and in every atom
that has come into contact with Einz.

That's why I believe her soul is intact.
Her software is intact.

And she may come back
when those particles take a new form.

If she comes back to her old self,
is that reincarnation?

That's how science would explain it.

It would be her rebirth.

Actually, our minds must be unwell.

The minds of everyone
in our family are unwell.

But we willingly submerge

ourselves in our pain

so we can feel that

we still have her in our minds.

Today, I'm ordaining as a novice monk.

When my sister was sick,
I promised her I would ordain for her.

I haven't decided for how long yet.
I'm thinking two weeks.

Please take care of Matrix.

Let him go while he's here.

Matrix will cut out any longing.

He will share his problems with me only.

He can't call home and ask for things.

He will live like a novice monk.

I'm hoping that, by ordaining,

I will be able to send protection
to my sister in the afterlife.

So I can find some peace of mind.

On this day,

I give you my blessing, grandson,
that you will have luck,

be rid of sadness,
of disease and depression.

Okay?

My dear son,

I hope that you find happiness.

I'm so proud to be your mother.

When we lose, we weep.
We weep because we have lost.

Because we haven't accepted the truth.

Our minds haven't opened wide enough
to accept the real truth.

All life experiences
aging, suffering, and death.

There's no way to calculate

when or where you will die.

When they accept this truth,
their sadness will wane.

They will be able to turn that sadness
into strength.

I do miss my sister.
I'm sad because I miss her.

I miss

the songs she sings.

I miss her crying.

I miss the sound of her
calling our names. Calling my name.

Ordaining these two weeks means
I can think less about the outside world.

It also gives my family some relief.

So...

it will help calm my mind down.

I've only dreamed of Einz once
since she died.

I'm at this place where

the scientists there told me...

Einz's repairs are about to be done.

I walked over to her.

And I asked the scientists,

"Will she hear me, if I speak?"

They told me,

"She can sense that you are here."

So I went over
and called her name, "My little Einz..."

She moved a little.

Then I had this feeling.

This isn't real.

I know very well
the technology is not here yet.

He is sort of like...

in the category of a genius.

And his thinking is very different.

It looks like he's not that old.

That's right.

He's not even 30 yet.

Not even 30. Really?
This Robert McIntyre...

-Really?
-Yeah, I think he's only 28.

Matrix, sit up straight
and stretch your spine.

Otherwise, I can't cut properly.

So what do you want out of this?

When you go to America,
it is an investment.

And, in a sense,

it is... a trip

to develop yourself.

Okay?

In this self-development trip,

Robert is presenting you
with an opportunity.

Since he's giving you this opportunity,
you need to make some plans.

What will you ask him?

These questions...

When I read them,

I might say, "Oh, this question...

is it worth the journey all the way
over there to ask him?"

But Papa will not come up
with the questions for you.

Why? Because this is your duty.

Can you make the front a bit shorter?

Maybe cut it all off.

-Really?
-Yes.

When I don't comb it...
it falls in my face.

Then I break out.

Well, if we cut it so short in front,
it will look a bit nerdy.

All right. Look in the mirror.

Can you see us, Matrix?

I see you but the video is frozen.

-Is the image quality bad?
-Yes. Very bad.

-Hello, Dad.
-This works.

When you call, it works.
When I call, it doesn't.

Try not to make your face
so wide in front of the camera.

Maybe today is not good for this.

Why is your hair so messy?

Okay. Let's try tomorrow.

I love you, Mom and Dad.

Try and look more handsome, okay?

We love you, Matrix.

Okay. Bye, Dad.

Hello, Dad and Mom.

Hi, Matrix. How are you?

I'm doing pretty well.
I went to meet Robert.

-Did you ask him any questions?
-Well, I had prepared questions for him.

But...

-But you didn't ask him any?
-I did.

But I didn't ask all the questions.

However, my perspective
has shifted a little.

-How did it change?
-It changed...

The question I prepared was...

"How close are we
to bringing Einz back?"

But after talking to him,

I found out that he believed
in cryonics when he was younger.

He was sure it would work, 100%.

But now that he works in this field,
and tried using the standard methods,

he found out that

even though some cells are alive
and can function as cells...

Well, they've been dehydrated,

so the conditions of the synapses

and the connectome are broken.

Like a building...

that's been demolished.

Making the preservation of the memories

a very difficult thing.

For him, this means the probability
that we can bring a person back,

with all their memories intact,
is only 0.1%.

when he said that
the chance of bringing a person back

with their memories is only 0.1%,
I felt a bit disappointed.

-There has to be a reconnection process.
-Yes.

We have to wait for better technology
to reconnect everything.

Right.

Better technology.

It's a step further from just freezing.

Yes, Robert told me that it won't be easy.

Just for her to be thawed

at the right pace
for detoxification, it isn't enough.

They have to rehydrate the brain,
since it has been dehydrated.

And they have to reconnect everything.

Then, they have to give her a body
and cure the cancer.

It is difficult.
Especially difficult.

He said that it might not be accomplished

within our lifetime.

Don't think too hard about this.

If you believe humans
will one day travel the universe,

then this won't be a problem.

Right.

It won't be a problem.

It's okay. We can be patient.
We can wait a thousand years.

Hey, who knows,
maybe time machines will exist then.

You are that happy, huh?

Your face is full of tears.

Why are you crying?

Is it because you have a sister?

Come and see your grandchild.

I'm filming you and your mother.

So that when you grow up,
you will know that Mommy loves you.

When you do grow up,

you can't say,
"Mommy doesn't love me!"

Remember this video.
Papa is filming this as evidence.

Auntie Joy loves you, too.

You can't say,
"Auntie Joy doesn't love me!"

Is that true?

Brother Matrix.

I love you, okay?

Can't say, "He doesn't love me!
Daddy doesn't love me!"

Is that true?

It's okay if you don't
understand now, my baby.

I'm recording this.
Remember this.

I'm going to button up your shirt!

Perhaps reincarnation is real
and she is Einz reborn.

Whatever the truth is,

we love her the same
because she is our child.

She is healing our family.

But she is not a replacement.

I will always wait for Einz.
That hasn't changed.