Karel, já a ty (2019) - full transcript

Don't smoke.

Don't say "Don't smoke".

A gym teacher who smokes.

You're sure setting them
a good example.

That's true.

It sure is.

- No one follows my example.
- And you mind that?

- Are you going to finish that?
- No, thanks.

- You can still change your mind.
- Me? Not you?

It was your idea.

And you didn't say you feel like
launching yourself into space?



- Yeah, I still do.
- Well then.

You can think about it here in peace.

Hey, if you think I'm the one
that's happy in this flat...

while you're depressed,
then that's not the way it is.

- I don't think that.
- Then why did you say so?

I didn't.

- Well you can't stay there forever.
- Not forever...

but at least for long enough for us
to see about things. Both of us.

You don't mind it's not me who's leaving?

You feel bad about it?

I do a bit, maybe.

I couldn't do that to Iva. She's really
happy we're going to be living together.

Could you imagine it?
Because I sure can't.

Don't say it like it's
the end of the world.



Do you know how many people
get divorced?

It sucks. Don't you remember
what it was like with your parents?

Of course I don't. I was twelve.

I thought you were supposed to
remember that kind of thing.

At that age.

No. I remember having to deal with them
not being together. That was hard.

But I can't remember the divorce.

Dad moved away and we would only
ever speak on the phone for a time.

That was before they got divorced?

That was worst.

Dad would talk on the phone
as if nothing had happened...

and I knew it had...

And him and Mum only saw
each other at court after that.

Could you imagine us meeting at court?

You'd have to say you feel an
insurmountable repulsion towards me.

Do you know what the physical unit
of repulsion is?

You know what I'm like with physics.

An Ohm...

- Ohm?
- Yes.

I thought that was the unit
of meditation: "ohm".

Oh yeah... That too.

- They're meditating...
- With repulsion.

They're meditating with repulsion.

- What about this?
- What?

- That wouldn't stand at court.
- You're crazy.

- Surmountable repulsion...
- What are you doing?

I can't even remember...

- But surely we aren't going to...
- Can you remember?

What sort of sense does that make,
us sleeping together now?

None.

KAREL, ME AND YOU

- What is it?
- Nothing...

- Will you eat now, or at lunchtime?
- Don't talk to me about food right now.

- You feel sick?
- Yeah.

- You really drank that much?

- What are you doing with the hair-dryer?
- I'm going to pack up, aren't I?

- You're taking my hair-dryer?
- It belongs to both of us doesn't it?

- Iva doesn't have one?
- You don't borrow that kind of thing...

- I'll take my own.
- But why?

- Because it's an item of personal use.
- Oh, sure...

Everything has some kind of
fucking reason like that behind it.

When are you going?

Dunno.

- Haven't you arranged a time?
- I'll call her.

- Is it really that important?
- I'm just asking.

- Do you have any other questions?
- No. And you?

- Take a nap if you want, before lunch.
- I told you I'm not eating.

And Iva isn't here?

My cousin lived here before us...
with her family.

Before they moved to Norway.

I thought Iva said
they had moved to Finland.

Well, she calls Norway Finland.

I think she was happy...
that they didn't have to sell the place.

That they can rent it out to
someone from the family.

Sure, It's always better
to hold on to a property.

- Iva always takes ages to shower.
- That's okay.

- I heard you work in an office?
- Yeah, in a law office.

That's what I meant.

I'm not a lawyer yet though.
I will be, in a year, if I pass my exam.

That should be no problem, right?

Listen,
you really don't mind me staying?

I know it's a stupid thing to
ask since I'm already here, but...

- It's just that it's really nice of you.
- No, it's fine.

- I'm glad.
- Glad?

Sure, I like having guests.

- Hey, so Saša's arrived!
- Yup.

- Saša... Hi!
- Hi...

- So, how are you?
- I'm alright...

- Were you waiting long?
- No, it's fine.

- You bought a melon?
- Yeah, for Saša.

A whole melon, we
haven't had that for a while.

I know you like them...

It's very good.

Karel always hated when
there was one half left over...

and I would take it out of the
fridge and eat it with a spoon...

because I couldn't be bothered
to slice it, and it drove Karel nuts.

- Was that the reason you broke up?
- Oh, yeah, that was the main reason.

- They didn't break up, Mára.
- Yeah, I know.

Unless she transferred
the translation rights...

which I don't suppose because...

But she can't do that, because...

the copyright still belongs to
Odeon, it just got privatised.

And this way she only has the authorship
credit and that's not worth much.

Are you sure she didn't buy the rights
back if she's making such a fuss?

I'd be surprised, some people
just make a fuss for hell of it.

It's kind of crazy that
we just left each other.

After four years... for the first time...

We spoke on the phone today and I
didn't even realise we aren't together.

I was going to ask him
what I should buy for dinner...

and he says "Why are you calling?
I thought we were on a break..."

"what sense does that make, us calling
each other?" You know what he's like.

But I could sense that he
was ok, that it's helped him.

That he's calmed down a bit.

Maybe I'm just telling myself that...

but it seemed to me that way.

I get the feeling people don't think when
they ask: "When are you having kids?"

It's like when you were a kid
and someone would ask:

"So, how's school going?"

How come? If you're looking at a
computer screen, it's not far away, is it?

Yes it is, like, long
distance glasses far away!

- My Mum has it like that.
- Really?

- Dušan! Dušan!
- Hi...

- Hey Saša, hi!
- What are you doing here?

We're going out for a few drinks.

- How about you? How are you?
- I dunno...

You don't know how you are?

- Probably how I deserve.
- That's good...

- Oh, this is Iva, this is Dušan.
- Yeah, "this is Dušan"... Hi!

Do you want to come
with us? Just for a bit?

And what about Iva?
Is she a close friend of yours...

- Yeah, she's a close friend of mine.
- That's good.

- She could have come with us.
- She has a boyfriend.

- And they even live together.
- Oh come on...

Do you think I'm on
the pull or something?

We first knew each other
as teacher and student.

And then a long time after that
we met each other at the pub...

and he knew that I play at
weddings and stuff... so he asked.

That his daughter is getting married
and whether you'd play at the wedding?

That's right,
and Saša was the daughter.

And when it was over,
we both got drunk...

And he started to have
a go at me - called me a cunt...

- Why?
- Because I had left the school!

And that pissed him off.

Would you write someone's thesis
for money? If I came along and said...

"I have a friend, she's
finishing her degree..."

"but she got pregnant..."

In that case I'd say no on principle.

Do your degree
and don't get pregnant...

What's wrong with getting pregnant?

It's wrong in the period when
you're writing your thesis.

- And Jirka doesn't know about it?
- No one knows...

- Except Iva.
- Except Iva... that makes sense.

And now you.

If, on a scale from one to twenty...

Or let's make it finer. On a scale from
one to a hundred, if you were...

to asses the severity
of the situation.

Am I at a psychologist?

And a hundred is a complete
fuck-up. A murder.

Okay, if a hundred is a murder...

then we're at say... five?

So that's a twentieth of a murder...

Okay, if a hundred is a murder
then it's 0.001.

Okay, then a hundred is a divorce.

A divorce, that's different.

Forty.

- Okay, thirty-five.
- Well that's a difference!

There's one memory
I have, that I think about...

We were in Greece
with some of his classmates...

everyone had their
girlfriend with them...

And we were walking from the sea back
to camp. Karel was going ahead of us

and all of a sudden he started running

and then he turned around
and started shouting at us:

"I'm so happy you're all here
with me! I love you all so much!"

And you really believed him.
He was like that.

And I realised how long it's
been since I've seen him like that

just spontaneously happy, you know.

- He wouldn't do that nowadays.
- He was in love with you back then...

I mean, that didn't sound right...

No, sure, of course we aren't
as excited about each other now...

You aren't full of endorphins anymore.

- That's a normal development.
- But he just used to be like that.

People who know him longer than I do
say that. I don't know what happened.

It'll work out somehow. I don't
want to overdramatise it.

Sure, but you are living apart right now
that's not great.

But we don't want to break up.

We still love each
other too much for that.

But it could have ended up
that way, if we had stayed together.

You had to break up partially, so you
wouldn't have to break up completely.

We couldn't even speak to each other.

We wouldn't say a word the whole day.

Karel slept over at his sister's a few
times, but you can't keep doing that.

- Did you try talking about it?
- Yeah, when there were good moments.

And?

I suggested I'd move to Iva's
for a bit and Karel agreed.

Continuous harmony and understanding
isn't possible. It would be...

if people stayed the same,
but they change.

So I suppose the only
solution is hibernation.

You could marry someone,
have yourselves frozen...

they wake you up in fifty years, and
you'd celebrate the golden anniversary.

A concept that would
guarantee a happy marriage forever.

- Is someone coming?
- No, no one's coming!

Except you wouldn't know
if the concept of marriage...

would even exist in 50 years time.
So you wouldn't know if there...

was such a thing
as a golden anniversary...

Wake me up if I fall asleep.

Do you want to sleep at mine
in that case?

No, that's okay.

We're only ten minutes away...
Given the state you're in...

You wouldn't have to
drag yourself to the bus stop.

Yeah. I'm at Iva's a few days and I'm
already spending the night at a friend's?

- Hi, good morning!
- Hi...

- Did you sleep well?
- Yeah, all good.

I'll make coffee then, shall I?

This is the... living room?

- I don't really know.
- Study?

Everything probably. It's
everything that isn't the bedroom.

- A guest room for example.
- Well that's a posh, a guest room!

Well what, then?

I thought that

you can only have a guest room
if you have a mansion or something.

No, you can always afford that.
You can have...

a tiny flat - a two bedroom flat.

One room and a guest room;
and it's a guest room!

- And what's that?
- I practice on that.

- I know, I mean that thing over there.
- That's a so-called ginger pillow.

- Daniela gave me that for Christmas.
- A ginger pillow? What's that for?

You can put it under your head,
that's how it works as a pillow.

...but I put in under my arse.
When I'm practising.

What's interesting is it's shapeable.
So If you sit on it...

your arse print stays there
until you sit on it or lie on it again.

What's his name?

No, I can't remember.

Isn't Maceo Parker a
trumpet player as well?

I'd be interested to know what you could
have spoken to each other about.

Just normal stuff, about life.

- She doesn't know anything about life.
- Yes she does.

She had you fooled.

Anything she knows
about life is second hand.

Why do people talk about their own
children that way? She's an adult.

I spoke to her yesterday - or was it
the day before? She didn't mention it.

She can't tell you everything, can she.

So she came home the day after.
Karel must have been pleased.

Of course you're not going to
make spread out of a fresh fish.

- I don't buy fresh fish.
- No? But they're best.

I couldn't. The idea that it
was alive just a minute ago...

- It's not alive when they sell you it.
- It still looks like a live fish.

You could buy it
vacuum packed then.

Mára, turn it up, it's
that song! "Uncle Mára"!

It's hilarious, listen...

...uncle Mára's getting angry...

Mára!

...hey honey, not now, it's dinnertime

I'll show you something.

hey honey, not now, I'm eating

That's good!

It's our favourite song.

- Go on, say something...
- I'm not saying anything!

Why not?
You speak German all the time.

It just seems daft to be speaking
German in front of guests.

- Saša's not a guest.
- I'm not a performing monkey. End of.

- And what does your Dad do?
- He teaches at uni. Molecular biology.

- Is he strict?
- I dunno...

But when it's the exam period
he goes to stay at his cottage...

and invites the students there.

It's not far from Prague
but it's really peaceful...

He renovated it himself
and he's really proud of it.

So they go there,
do the exam, drink...

and go back the next
day with a hangover.

Well at least they've
passed their exam.

- Fuck...
- Got the hiccups, have you?

Try holding your breath.

- I tried that already.
- It'll pass in a minute.

So everyone passes their exam, but
half of them can't remember doing so.

- When did you graduate high-school?
- I graduated in... 2003.

- I was twelve that year.
- Yeah?

What were you up to at twelve?
Had you decided to become a lawyer?

I had actually, or rather, it was a sort
of childhood fascination at first...

I always loved watching
courtroom scenes on television...

- I won't have anymore, I'm finished.
- Go on, have some.

- And where were you in 89'?
- I wasn't even born then!

- I was already jingling keys.
- That's awesome...

I feel like I was there as well now!

- Did he finish building the house?
- He did, but it's terrible.

It's that ugly type...
"šumperák" they're called.

- What is that?
- You don't know what a šumperák is?

Like only getting drunk
another 50 times or so.

- Fifty times? That sounds awful.
- Not in a row.

Fifty times in your life, and then stop.

Like, you'd only have
ice-cream another fifty times.

Okay. Let's change it to ice-cream...

You'd have ice-cream another fifty
times and then - stop ende schluss.

Now you're speaking German!

You can't name something you
do every day!

I don't have a bath every day!

- Okay, every other day.
- I don't have a bath every other day!

- Does Iva have a bath every other day?
- Leave Iva alone, she's asleep...

No, wait, I'm interested...
we never spoke about it!

So the last time you were
drunk was a month ago.

- Yeah, I'm not drunk now.
- What does it look like when you are?

You're still up?

- Yeah, we're talking.
- Sure, I don't mind...

- It's three in the morning.
- You want to go to sleep?

- Now, already?
- I dunno, it's Saturday tomorrow.

I know, but what if
the noise is bothering her?

Naah, she's just...

drinking water!

It's fine!

- Iva?
- Yeah?

- Were you moving my stuff around?
- No, I wasn't moving your stuff around.

I just needed to clear
the floor so I could vacuum.

- I left something on the floor?
- I always vacuum on Saturday, Saša.

Sure, I mean... thanks.

- And Mára's home?
- Yeah, he is.

- Hi Mára!
- Hi.

- Are you going to cook something?
- No, I already ate.

Saša?

This might sound a bit... It's just that
I'm not used to the smell of your perfume.

- Like, here.
- Like...

Like... I can smell it everywhere.

Maybe I'm oversensitive,
but when I come home...

it feels like I'm visiting someone.

I understand. I'm the one
visiting of course.

I don't mean it like that, Saša...

I feel like I should just
pack up and go. Right?

Come on, I told you I
don't mean it like that.

I know you and Karel need time.

- Are you in contact?
- Kinda.

I'm sorry, I'm just a bit wound up.

They're renovating our workplace.
There are drills going all the time.

And then you leave and
your head's like a balloon.

We'll manage.

We just need some ground rules.

What is he doing??

- Where are you going?
- In here, aren't I?

- You just carried on walking.
- I missed it, didn't I!

- How could you miss it?
- I don't know it around here.

I saw a kid from
school on the square.

- Did you speak to him?
- No, he didn't notice me.

He was holding hands with
some girl I didn't recognize.

She was holding her phone in
the other hand, staring at it.

- And?
- I just thought it was funny.

You're on a date and you're
staring into a smartphone.

Maybe they were looking
to see when their tram goes.

Probably, who cares.

I see it at school everyday. They're
losing their ability to concentrate...

losing the ability to learn. They don't
care about anything you have to say.

So you think - okay, school.
Maybe they have different interests.

Then you see them on a date and
they're still clawing at their phones.

They aren't living a real life,
it's insane

those toys are turning them into robots.

What real life are you living?

What real life am I living...
good question.

How about the plants? Still alive?

- I picked myself some basil.
- Yeah? What for?

- It's good.
- You just ate it by itself, or...

I was making minestrone.

- How are you sleeping?
- Well enough.

- Are you taking those pills?
- I'm trying them out, yeah...

- And?
- Yeah, fine.

It doesn't take me three
hours to fall asleep now.

I still wake up later in the night though.

- Oh dear.
- It's not that bad.

- How about you?
- What about me?

I'm sleeping alright. In
a strange bed surprisingly.

Sure, you've gotten used to it.

Yeah, but I slept at a friend's recently.

- Yeah?
- At Dušan's place.

The one who played at our wedding.

- Are you seeing each other a lot?
- You don't have to be jealous.

Is he gay or something?

He's not gay,
but you don't have to be jealous.

Not gay,
but I don't have to be jealous...

He's dad's friend for God's sake.

- Sure, it's fine.
- He knows I'm married.

You can't remember him?
Decent type.

So he's gay.

What about you? Are you gay
with that colleague of yours?

- Yes.
- What?

I said "yes".

You said something could happen.

No. Maybe could've happened.
I don't know.

And that's supposed
to calm me down, is it?

For God's sake, she's my
colleague, she has a small kid.

- It would be ridiculous.
- What if she tried something on you?

- She wouldn't.
- Why not?

- She's not like that.
- Like what?

She's not like that. She's...

inward looking...

Nevermind, that sounds stupid.

- It's fine, carry on.
- No, thanks.

The bill, please.

We could try it again,
this was a bit...

No, that's okay.

Well, I've done jazz a bit, and so on...

A bit of everything...

I'm sort of in the phase where
I'd like to be in band that plays more.

Or I mean... that's only one reason.

And, um...

The drums are quite
important because...

they're the only rhythmical
instrument we have...

we don't have a bass,
we have a tuba...

That's why our demands...
for the drums, are so high...

Who else is coming?

Some young guy
from the music school...

And the drummer from The Spankers...

Wow, you mean Tomáš Knotek?

He's awesome, he really kills it.

Yeah, hi?

Hi, I'm just calling because...

- I remembered what you said about...
- What?

The... guest room.

- Thanks, that's enough.
- Really? One more cube then.

I hope you didn't cook that because
of me.

Not just because of you...

- I already had some for lunch...
- So you eat goulash for a week then?

Not a week... but I often
cook food to last a few days...

Goulash is ideal, you can
make a lot of it in a big pot.

You save on everything that way.
Money, electricity...

Too much pepper.

- It's not too spicy, is it?
- No, it's good.

You have sauce here.

Where? On my face?

Here, or where?

- Here? Where...?
- There!

Thanks!

I felt like a child! She
kept talking about rules!

You know what, Saša,
why don't we take Iva

and throw her out of the window...

I know, I'm boring myself with it too.

We're best friends, or were best
friends, or I don't know what we are!

And I left my hair-dryer at her place.

Well that's a catastrophy.

Fuck!

How long do you think
you'll stand having me here?

As long I can stand the smell
of your perfume of course.

Here!

- What's this?
- A client gave me it.

The one from the farm,
they have it shipped.

What am I to do with it?

Eat it! It's healthy. And expensive!

You have it then.

Pavel would kill me if I brought
that home.

Is it some kind of mushroom?

I'm not sure if it's a mushroom
exactly...

Look how runny it is...

Well Saša can have it then.

I don't think so.

I thought you said Karel buys
this kind of stuff sometimes?

Yeah, but I don't know
when I'm going to see him next.

Oh, yeah.

That's those relationships.

Those relationships of yours...
How am I supposed to keep track?

- Once you've moved it's over!
- But I haven't moved.

What then?

- I dunno, I've just left for a bit.
- "Left for a bit"? Saša...

Either you're together and
try to solve some problem...

or you can solve it by breaking up.

But, leaving or what did you say?
"I've left for a bit..."

What does that mean?

How much stuff did you take?

You don't have anywhere else to go!

- Where's your postal adress?
- At home.

We've arranged with Karel,
that if there's something urgent...

The way I see it, anything could happen.

I just don't know what yet.

I don't want to make plans
or pretend that I have any...

All I know is that I can't
live at home a for a while...

I can stay with Dušan for a bit.
And if that's not possible later, then...

Who's Dušan?

You're living with some other guy?

- I thought it was a she.
- No, that was before.

Jesus...

- And are you together or something?
- God no, he's just a friend.

That's a pity.

- Maybe that would solve everything.
- Don't be daft.

...so the polenular signal is in the LTR.

So what they do is insert functional
promotors into the genome

and then something else can
happen, and I'll talk about that.

The fact that something
happens with those LTR elements...

has been known for years...

- In the 70's it was done all the time.
- What?

Holding a seminar at someone's flat.

You could still do that.
You don't need anything for it.

- Except a flat.
- Except a flat, of course.

- Do it then.
- I will then. Why not!

- Saša will be thrilled...
- Who?

Saša, she's an old friend
who's sort of living at my place now.

Oh yeah?

Just for a bit, of course.

So she's at home - at your place?

As I said, for a few days...

I know, but like...

you're here and she's there now?

Maybe she's still at work, I dunno.

I don't know what time she goes
home if it's the exact time you want.

It's funny, you saying "home"
when you mean "your place".

I didn't say that, you did.

No, you said it.

- No, you said it before.
- No I didn't...

You got a bit stuck on that!

Are you jealous, or something?

Sure, I'm really jealous right now!

- Why do you even say that kind of thing?
- I don't know.

I just find it strange you let
someone move in with you. That's all.

Why?

We're just buddies, okay? Nothing more.

Buddies?

Well if you're just
buddies then that's okay...

Thanks!

...he plays in the regional tournament
there, and he's quite good.

It's not a migraine, it's a hangover!

What's Bolt's first name?

- Usein.
- Husein! No...

If you respect someone,
you don't have to love them.

No, wait - you don't have
to be in love, that's different.

But you can love them.

But you have to respect them,
that's the most important thing.

Eight beats, okay?

Not...

You know, in unison.

Okay, how many of those were
good and how many bad?

Two.

- Two good ones?
- No, bad ones!

Is that yours?

Hi, could I ring you back
in half an hour, we're still...

Right.

It's just my period has
started, and I feel sick, so...

could you buy me some
ibuprofen or something.

I think I already have some...

There's a piece of furniture,
that wooden thing...

And there's a drawer
under that, at weist height...

just open that and
you'll find something.

Did you find it?

Yeah, here it is.

I'm sorry to ask, but could
you buy me some pads?

Yeah, sure. Do I just go into
the shop and ask for pads or...

are there different types of pads?

- No, just say "winged pads".
- Winged pads. Right.

Are you going to make
me that tea of yours then?

It's not my tea...

It's... special tea...

It's your tea!

Thanks.

I wasn't mean to you over the phone,
was I?

- Mean?
- Over the phone.

No, it's fine.

I don't speak to Karel
at all in these situations.

In case I say something mean to him.

I liked listening to him talk...

- You don't have that with everyone.
- Sure, that's true.

Yeah, Filip was nice.

He travelled a lot...

and he'd always learn some local
recipe and impress me with it.

How long were you together?

A year and a half.

It's not a long time,
but not that short either.

- You and Karel got married really soon.
- Exactly.

That was funny. When Karel asked...

and we had only been
together for a few months...

I knew it was the best
thing I could do.

And if Filip had asked me,
after that year and a half...

I would have said
we should wait a bit.

That's the difference.

But I wouldn't lie - I wouldn't say "no".

I would have married him
in, say, a year...

Sure, like an incubation period...

in which you think "okay, sure..."

- "I suppose it should be that way..."
- When you don't know anything else.

If you both fall in love,
then there's no question.

If you're a proponent of
marriage, you just do it.

You think, what more proof
is there than falling in love?

You think, what else, other than
to confirm that love with marriage.

And then there's the other type...

where the people are

older, more experienced,
been through something in life

and they're in a relationship that kinda
works, and they decide that it's enough.

Enough?

No, I mean...

Through experience you begin to
appreciate something that maybe

in terms of passion,
isn't the best thing you've had...

That can't work!
There has to be some heat.

It can't just burn out,
and then you "appreciate it"...

"Burn out"... I don't mean
that, I mean slowing down.

They reach some kind of, let's say
re-assesment of their priorities.

They're at the age where
they both want kids...

Yeah, that's what I'm scared of.

When you can't even
talk to each other

and have children, so
you have something to do.

That's not what I mean...

You can't think that you can live with
someone your whole life only halfway.

- With a child, our without.
- You're being too strict about it.

Then I suppose I am.

I dunno. It's not my case, is it.

I kept choosing and choosing,
until I ended up how I've ended up.

Then you just think about
where you're going wrong.

A huge part of the
attraction for me is that...

I can't take the girl for granted yet.

And I'm trying to change that, but...

I can't say I'm trying
that hard, because...

that's the thing I like about it.

And what happened with Daniela is that
as soon as I knew that she was...

unequivocally mine and
counting on me for ever...

then I got scared.

And I know that she's proud.

And that she'll never
really forgive me for that...

and won't let me near her again.

And now there's that
unavailability that I crave.

So what's happened
is that now I can...

look up to her and
adore her again...

In a sort of stupid platonical way,
like some kind of stupid troubadour.

Despite the fact that the way I
feel about her hasn't really changed.

I still like her a lot.

- Do you see each other?
- Yeah, sure... kinda...

Kinda.

People you know aren't detached.
That's the point of talking to...

someone who doesn't know you.
That's what therapy is about.

People who know you have
a biased interpretation

based on who they think you are
so even if they want to help you...

Did he tell you that?

- No, I'm telling you that now.
- I think it's nonsense.

So even if they want to help you
they can't because they aren't objective.

They're dealing with something
they're part of, which is your life.

It's obvious he told you that.

Dušan, who do you think I am?

Why should you have to
manage everything on your own?

- What's the reason? Why?
- Why...

I dunno, maybe...

people...

To sound proud, I suppose...

I dunno... given that nowadays,
two thirds of people shuffle...

between work, depression, and therapy,
it's not something to be proud of.

I want to feel like a human being and
deal with some things with own head.

Sure, I'll listen to a good friend,
whom I know and who knows me...

For free... If I need to...

But I don't want to be
dependent on some paid expert,

an expert on my life...

That's losing a part
of myself, I'm sorry.

To pay someone to
fix me up like a car...

It's not like fixing a car...

... like I'm some kind of machine!

You know what your problem is,
Dušan?

What?

That you only talk about yourself.

You derive everything
from your own life.

Then let's talk about you!

That's why we started
talking about it!

People get themselves in all sorts of
problems that you can only dream about.

Then why do it,
if they can't handle it.

Because they want
to experience something!

People should only go and
experience what they can handle.

That Saša of yours clearly doesn't,
since she ended up on your couch.

I think a good marriage councillor
would help her more than that.

For fuck's sake.

Why...

Why does everyone keep
imagining these extreme situations.

Someone has a marriage crisis

they're screwed and now
they've ended up somewhere.

Just that phrase: "Ended up"!

Someone's "ended up" somewhere.
Oh, now we have a problem...

a serious problem...

Is it not a problem?

Time to send the expert in. It's not
like he'll say "Think for yourself..."

"work on it."
He wouldn't make any cash.

Good thing you know it all so well!

You've never been in a real relationship,
so you've no idea what it's like.

You've never been to a therapist,
but you know how that works.

What do you consider
a real relationship?

Every one of my relationships
has been real in some sense...

more real than for a lot of couples who
go on to have a golden anniversary.

Or, what makes it real?

Is it years?

Like, this is where a non-real
relationship ends and a real one begins?

Or do you measure it in weight
five kilos twenty, perfect...

now it's real... or what?

Well this is a run-in.

A run-in?

- Yeah, I'd say so.
- Yeah?

Well, I wouldn't have expected
to meet you here...

- You... visit this place often?
- Sorry?

Do you visit here often?

Yeah, I visit.

I don't live here...

Yup.

I'm sorry, I'm not
very good at these...

swimming pool conversations.

Swimming pool conversations?

I'm usually here on my own,
so I'm used to swimming alone...

So I'm disturbing your privacy?

No, no, it's nice to have met you.

After such a long time.

And are you being good now?

- Oh, completely.
- Really?

- No more slander?
- None at all...

- It's toothless now, my writing.
- They let you write toothless articles?

- Yeah, they want it that way.
- Really?

No, only joking.

Well... I won't disturb you.

I have to go anyway.

I have some refreshments to gorge on.

Goodbye... and bon appetit!

Refreshments?

- It's an inside joke.
- An inside joke!

Where do you know him from
that you already have inside jokes?

- Oh, he's a journalist.
- A journalist?

We know each other from a case.
He was on the counterparty.

One film reviewer wanted to sue them...

as he wrote that at press
screenings she would...

go to the refreshments table
before the film had ended.

- Was it true?
- I dunno, maybe...

But he had no way of proving it.

- He lost.
- It was settled out of court.

But he messaged me afterwards.

Right...

- So I replied.
- He asked if you'd like to get a coffee.

What did you reply?

That I'd get back to him.

And he wrote back "Ok, so we've
arranged that we'll arrange something."

LIke a joke, that he's got it
that I've said no.

And I wrote "No, really
I'll get back to you."

- You remember all of that?
- Yeah, I remember.

And then I didn't get back to him.

Who does he write for?

Respekt, but I don't know
if he still works there.

- You don't read it?
- Sometimes...

And is he your type?

What does that mean "my type"?

You want me to explain
what your type is?

- I don't think I have a type.
- No?

- Surely you have a type.
- Do you mean looks, or...?

I'm not sure if it's only
about looks with women.

Women are more beautiful than men.

So if one them isn't,
it stands out more.

As one of my highly
intelligent friends says...

"All women are beautiful,
except for the ones that aren't."

- That sure is "highly intelligent"...
- Actually...

it's not as stupid as it sounds!

I'd like to go out with someone
who's not my type physically...

but I otherwise find
interesting, but I can't.

Whereas women are
better at that, I think.

That's true.

What men need in a relationship
is someone with good tits.

Ha ha ha. Yeah, that's what I meant.

Doesn't it work like that with you guys?

"Like that"...

A certain type of man maybe, but...

some women are the same,
aren't they?

As in, they want a man with good tits?

No, but a nice arse maybe.

No. It's definitely not
the first thing I notice.

No?

You don't look at
superficial stuff like that?

Sure, I look at how he takes
care of himself for example.

- What his shoes are like...
- His shoes?

You can tell a lot from shoes.

So you check out men's shoes?

Someone checks out shoes,
someone tits.

Dušan?

Yeah?

Do you have any whites?
I'm doing laundry.

Yeah, sure. Some
t-shirts, underpants...

- If you don't mind...
- Why would I mind? Where are they?

What are you doing tomorrow?

I have a recording... one in the
morning, one in the afternoon.

- A manual for tractors.
- A manual for tractors...?

Like, how to operate a tractor.
In fifteen languages.

One after the other...

Which one's tomorrow?

- Danish and Hungarian.
- That's awesome!

It's easy enough to understand
in Czech, let alone in Hungarian!

Karel?

If I stop to think
what my life is about...

a lot of it's about you.

I've realised that, and I just wanted
to tell you that. That I've realised it.

And I wanted to ask,
if it's the same for you.

Of course it's the same for me.

- Where the hell are you?
- At home.

You got drunk home alone?

It would've been
better if you were here.

- Is there something wrong?
- No, nothing...

I'm just having a think...

and I thought I'd like to speak to you.

But the only way to
do that was to call...

because you're somewhere else.

I realised that...

we're a family. Us two.

Whether we like it or not.

When you say the word
"family" you imagine...

more than two... you know...

You don't imagine two people...

when you say the word "family".

Saša?

Oh, you're there...

I might not remember I called
tomorrow, do you mind that?

I have full control of what I'm saying.

Are you at Dušan's?

Of course I am. Where else would I be.

And is Dušan at home?

Yes, he's at home
asleep like normal people.

Karel, in what sort of state will you
be going to work tomorrow?

Don't worry.

I'm glad to be hearing that
at three in the morning.

Look, I don't want to show off.

I just want...

for there to be more of us.

Because it'll change your life.

I know you don't want to.
In a year or two... Sure!

Then we'll see what
happens in a year or two...

or three...

I just wanted to say...

that I don't mind, that... I understand.

So don't worry.
Don't be sad.

Friend Requests

- And he had it connected to a bone.
- No he didn't...

And it resonated according
to what colours he was seeing.

So if he saw red for example...

I dunno.

I think I'll just end up getting

knocked up by someone
and I'll be happy...

I'll just sit around drawing.

I'll have talented kids and
they'll go to the art academy

and say they inherited
their talent from their Mum.

He was married.

It was all fucked up.

And when did you break up?

Two weeks ago.

- What did he say? Did you tell him...
- I don't give a fuck.

Sára... doesn't give...a fuck.

That's everything... here.

What are you doing?

- I want to see your palm.
- Why? Are you a palm reader?

- Naah. I'll write you something!
- What? A letter?

No, a postcard.

A kinda... "graphic shit".

I'll treasure that.
I'll display it somewhere.

It's a test to see how you can
co-ordinate your hand movements.

You're doing it wrong!

Slow down. Concentrate.

I am concentrating!

There we go.

Do you want to kiss?

Ok.

What is it?

It's just...

I'm a shy boy, I don't want
anyone spying on us...

What colour are your eyes?

Can't you see them?

They're kinda weird. Kinda different.

They're completely normal.

They're multicoloured. Green-Brown.

Van Gogh had that.

But they changed.

When he was calm, they were blue.

And when he was angry,
they were green.

- How do you know that?
- I know!

You can't know that.

- Did you know him, or what?
- Yeah, personally.

It's physiologically impossible for
someone's eye colour to change.

Do you know "Men About Town",
the film?

No.

How come?

I don't know a lot of films.

No?

Films are for teenagers anyway.

- Are you alright?
- Yeah, I'm alright.

Okay?

What are you doing?

- Stay where you are!
- What?

- I'll throw you the lamp.
- What?

I'll throw you the lamp,
and when I throw it...

You'll move towards it.

And I'll move away.

You want me to move
towards the lamp?

- I'll say when and I'll throw it, okay?
- Okay.

So...

Three... two... one...

go!

I'm going...

Okay. I've caught it.

Great.

- Now you.
- What?

Throw it back to me.

Okay then, ok...

Three - two - one - go...

I feel dizzy.

Sit for a minute then.

- Do you have far to go?
- No, I'll be there soon.

Really? Are you okay, Sára?

Yes, God, why are you
so worried about me?

I just want to know
you'll get home safe.

Why? No one cares about that!
Get stuffed.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

I'm not impressed by
your caring attitude.

- I'm glad to know that.
- You're just...

A scrap.

...so if the police are
dealing with some case...

the Opencard case for example, they
ask them "How did you vote on that?"

And the councillor says "I can't
remember, it was a while ago..."

hi

That wasn't much of a chat.

Why did you write hi
if you want to "chat"?

Don't let me disturb you.

Tell me what empathy is then.

Empathy is being capable of...

of putting yourself into
someone else's shoes.

Ok, let's see...

there we go, I'm in the shoes.

No, you're an idiot. I can't have a
normal conversation with you.

Not now! I'm
putting the shoes on.

- I'm serious!
- So am I.

Empathy is... the will to understand.

It's not a problem to share
something you know with someone...

and just apply your own
experience to someone else.

That's not putting yourself
in someone else's shoes.

Also, empathy isn't some
kind of magical way...

of jumping into someone
else's head. That doesn't exist.

Empathy...

Empathy...

is to love.

And did you fall in
love with Daniela?

Of course.

I was enthralled, completely...

But then it - so called - stopped
being enough...

You also keep looking
around yourself, you have that...

absurd need to want everything.

Which is childish. I know it's childish.

I should be beyond that at my age.

Did you have that
feeling with Karel, that...

all the important things are there?
That if one of them was missing...

No. It wasn't like that.

It wasn't.

I don't know If I found
everything I wanted with Karel.

I believe that there's
new stuff waiting...

in terms of the same relationship.

Because of how we grow
and develop as people...

Oh, that's good. I don't
think I can do that.

Maybe I make the mistake of
not waiting for what's next...

I have the feeling it's
like this and that...

and nothing new can happen.

- I think I've missed it anyway.
- What?

The chance to spend my
whole life with someone.

I don't have my whole life
in front of me anymore.

You count your whole
life from that moment on.

And that can happen at any time.

Not any time.

You can miss it.

Your whole life, that's like,
a golden anniversary.

That's fifty years.

So let's say you last
that long with someone...

Then you get divorced
and marry someone else...

- After the golden anniversary?
- Yeah.

So that wasn't for your whole life...

because that's till
death do us part, right?

Sure, so when I find
someone at seventy

there's a higher possiblity
it might last my whole life.

Yes.

I always thought that spending your
whole life with someone is from 18 or so.

That's the biggest
challenge I suppose.

I thought I would spend my
whole life with someone at eighteen.

Yeah?

Or maybe I didn't really think about
it like that, but I wasn't worried.

I just did it.

What did you do?

I tied the knot.

- You mean you got married?
- I mean I got married.

You mean you had a wedding?

Well you can't get married
without a wedding...

And when?

- As I said, at eighteen.
- Where?

Am I being interrogated?

In Panenský Týnec,
if you need to know.

- There's this partially built church...
- So you're married?

No, of course I got
divorced since then.

I don't believe it.

It lasted two years.

Two years before we
got divorced, I mean.

But really it fell apart a long time
before that. Or I should say...

before you realise it's not working out.

Which was much later than one would
have realised with more experience.

And the first bad signs
appeared even before that...

And the first time you met it was okay
or was there already some problem?

Hey, stop it...

I was really broken up about it!

Sure, from today's perspective...

I might not have bothered to get
to know her at all that first day.

I thought everything
would work out from then on.

As a teenager you're kind of shy,
you wonder what's going to happen...

And then it begins to work
out somewhat. All the...

milestones...
attributes of adult life.

You even get married quite early...

You think, wow,
it's easier than I thought.

And then you discover it's not.

That it was just a kind of...

false hope...

A sort of hint of how it would be...

if it was easy.

It seemed like the most beautiful thing in
the world at the time, marrying someone.

- I still think it is.
- Yeah?

Hey, I'm romantic,
though I might not look like it.

If you married your first girlfriend
then you're seriously romantic.

I've slowed down
a bit on the romance.

That's true.

What are you laughing about?

You were married...!

That can't be true.

I don't believe it.

Will you get in touch
with that girl? Sára?

What made you think of her?

I'm afraid I didn't
even get her number.

That's a pity, isn't it?

I don't think it matters.

She's a young girl, I'm an old boy...

It's always a bit of a miss...

live at Café Fra

Lido di Dante short stories
collection...

Interested

will you be coming to the book launch?

I think I'll just give my support
from afar.

from afar won't do.

- Don't let it burn.
- It's fine...!

Lido di Dante can illicit a response,
even from Czech and Moravian...

families with obnoxious children

such as:

"Never again!"

"I repeat, never again!"

"The beaches are far away,
and so dirty..."

"that Croatia deserves
three gold medals."

...of course, because my wife is Italian.

So I've been going there
for twenty years...

- Sonets for Laura...
- 100 Sonets for Laura.

- It's called "Sonets for Laura".
- "100 Sonets for Laura".

It's called "Sonets for Laura".

Bye.

The opinion among the highest levels
of the judiciary

can't be against the president.

The president himself appointed
the judges.

So it's that simple.

- What about judicial independence?
- Yeah, right...

I'm just saying it's better
to end some disputes in time.

It's better for both sides. Although
one of them always takes it worse.

- The one that was in the right.
- I'm not saying that.

The one that doesn't have the big guns.

She writes for a paper
that half the country reads...

and the fact that she doesn't bother
to watch the whole film is well known.

"Well known"...

To be honest, even if she did it wouldn't
improve the quality of her opinions.

Ok, so if it's so well known, then
why write about it in Respekt...

particularly when half
the country definitely, doesn't read it?

That's true...

Okay, maybe I'm envious
of the influence she has.

- And you've never left a cinema?
- Of course I have.

- But I try not to.
- Why?

Anyone can do that.
There's no art to that.

Does everything have to be an art?

I once left a cinema.

But then I went back in.

I was eight. I left during the
"Three Veterans" fairy-tale.

When the princess's nose starts
to grow...

I got scared and ran away.

We lived right by the cinema, but...

before I got there I got
annoyed at myself, because...

I realised that I never leave
my parents alone. Like if they want...

- To have sex?
- Some privacy...

And you could
sense that at eight?

Well I didn't think "I must return to
the cinema so my parents can have sex."

I'm just asking, because...

If I compare that with
my generation, then...

- I dunno what kids are like these days.
- Am I a kid?

Well... you were, untill fairly recently.

- What about your kids?
- My kids are great.

- Are you a happy father?
- Yeah...

I thought I wasn't the type
for dealing with children...

until I met my own.

Which is a great way of saying it,
that you meet your own children...

but it's true actually...

you gradually get to know them...

I dunno, maybe they just
turned out exceptionally well.

- So that's how it works with you.
- What?

You men...

you consider fatherhood as
getting to know your children.

Well that's me. I don't know
what other men are like...

I don't feel overcome
by the world of parenting.

The world of fatherhood then?

It's different for mothers. They
need to identify with others...

otherwise they'd go mad.

That's what the magazines are for.

Sure, there's a magazine
called "Mum"...

There isn't one called "Dad".

Or... "Father" !

- That's true.
- "The old man".

- What are they called?
- Alenka and Zuza.

Do you want to see them?

You have them here?

Yeah, I have them with me.

Girls?

Girls, come out!

- And you identified with the princess?
- What princess?

From the Veterans.
The one with the nose.

Sure!

It was awful. It was like
something out of a horror movie.

But she's a negative character, you're
not supposed to identify with her

you're supposed to laugh.

Well that didn't work.

When someone's been wronged,
I always...

empathise through some...

basic commonality ?

I've had it like
that since childhood.

I shouldn't be here, I was supposed
to return the keys ages ago.

I think he's forgotten that I have them.

- Wow, this is awesome.
- What?

Everything here!

Yeah?

You like books?

- They look nice.
- They look nice?

I'm always reading legal stuff...

loads of papers, a regular
supply of reading material.

The last thing I'd think of when
I get home is to read a book.

That sucks.

I know.

But I read a lot at uni...

and even more at school before that...

I read the complete Hugo for example.

Ah, Hugo.

What about - Eco?

- Sure, make fun of me.
- I'm not making fun of you.

- Yes you are.
- No I'm not. Why would I?

Because I'm behind on my literature.

I assume it looks just
like this at your place too?

I don't think I'll catch up now.

You like that one?

I'd like to purchase a book.
Where do you keep the till?

Yes?

Come with me, I'll
take you there directly.

I don't know how much it costs.

Nevermind, make a guess.

And why this one in particular?

Do you ask every customer...

why they're buying, what they're buying?

Not every one.

Do you know
I imagined you just like that?

Not much of a surprise then.

I imagined the surprise as well.

You sure are master of the situation.

- Come with me.
- Where?

Somewhere.

Hi, are you awake?

Yeah, of course...

I'm just a bit surprised you're calling.

- Yeah?
- Yeah.

You start work at eight today don't you?

Yeah.

- Are you still at home?
- Well...

I still have some time.
I'll be leaving in a minute.

What about you? Are you going to work?

Yeah, I'm also leaving in a minute,
so I thought I'd call before...

we both leave.

I see.

It's nice to hear you.

What's new at home, have
they done the shower yet?

Not yet, they have to get
some special sealing...

crap, some special...
I don't what it is...

Next week maybe.

- Idiots.
- They sure are.

Once more, and that's enough.

Like that...

- You're too fast for me.
- I am!

What about Karel? Couldn't
you have both come to visit?

Yeah yeah.

What?

Maybe next time.

Fuckin' hell.

And now you've
decided to go back?

I don't know if I've decided.

But I think so.

Kuba, I'll just say it like it is...

I don't think there was any
point in you coming here today.

Look...

your parents pay for these lessons...

so tell me what use that is...

if you do nothing the whole week?

Did you practice?

Did you go through it at least once?

- Yes.
- Yes? Really?

But just the once, right?

And without trying to play it.

Karel?

Hi.

What are you doing here?

I was... I was looking for Saša.

I wasn't sure if I
was at the right house.

You are...

She's not picking up her phone.
Do you know where she is?

- I need to speak to her.
- She's at Jirka's cottage right now.

Whose Jirka, what cottage?

Like shit.

- What, the coffee?
- No, the coffee's fine.

Everything else.
The coffee's great.

I'll just sit down for a bit and leave.
I don't want to disturb you.

You're not disturbing me...

- I glad you're here actually.
- Glad?

Saša's away so you need a stand-in?

Yeah, that's it.

Is that for drumming, is it?

It's for practicing, yeah.

Awesome.

You must have... good reflexes then?

I dunno, maybe...

I suppose so.

I don't. I haven't done
much exercise recently.

It's just me and my beer belly...

watching the kids run around the gym.

Could you imagine it
with someone else?

Who else?

Well... have you ever met someone...

and thought "He'd be a good father"?

Have you've ever had that thought
with someone else other than Karel.

- No.
- Never with anyone?

Never with anyone.

Then don't worry about it.
Don't worry and wait.

Do you know what this
psychologist said to me?

That I'm developing depression.
The early phases of depression.

Really?

That I should start taking pills
because...

if I leave it, it might get worse.

What will you do?

- You visited a psychologist then?
- Look, I...

I thought I might be
going mad or something.

Who are you to ask?

You go to that school everyday...

for seven years now, or how long...

you get home and you're there alone.

They're worst, the evenings.

It's bearable during the day...

But the evenings... are awful.

I don't know what's happening.
I just needed to ask someone.

Yeah, it's better when I'm
with people. Like at work.

The problem is the only time I
spend with people is at work now.

I don't really go
anywhere in the evenings...

I tried to today.

Awesome, pub talk.

I realised I can't go home,
that I have to come here.

I couldn't get through to her, you know?

It just sort of finished...

your Mother and I's relationship.

We both knew it had.

You, the children, had
to have sensed that as well.

But I thought it was fine,
that we both saw it that way.

And then when I met Zuzana...

I knew I didn't want to lose her
because of a relationship that's finished.

Though it hadn't officially...

and that I don't want to lose her
"because of the children" as they say.

You're an adult now,
that's why I'm telling you.

I'm glad you're telling me.

Well, your Mother was an adult
and she couldn't accept it.

She knew it was over...

but when I wanted to leave...

she couldn't accept it.

She took it as a betrayal. And
she wouldn't admit that to herself.

- She's a Taurus, you know?
- I know!

I like the kids, sure,
sometimes it's fun...

But to her it's everything, you know.

And if I can't please her...

then she finds comfort in her job.

And that's really important, sure!

Do you think she needs to be pleased?

Doesn't everyone? You don't?

Do you need to be pleased?

Well I can please myself!

You can have an affair,
that can help renew things.

But I don't want that.
I don't want to be unfaithful.

Or you can solve it by having children.
But she doesn't want that.

Because she doesn't
think it's a solution.

Are you her spokesman or something?

Look, I'm not an idiot.

Of course it's not a solution
unless we both want it.

It's not like I'm thinking about
the biological clock or something.

I accept that, I love her the way she is.

I know there's a reason
it's her that I'm married to.

- And don't tell her about the depression.
- Sure.

No, really.

The major metaphysical anxieties

have taken on the nature
of minor household sorrows.

- What's that?
- It's sort of a poem...

- Do you read poetry?
- Not really.

Saša doesn't either.

- Is that her room next door?
- Yeah, of course.

Could I have a look?

Fuck's sake.

Do you have any of those...

girls you had a crush on,
but you never told them.

But it was there. A sort
of "what if", you know.

And then you meet them
after some time, and...

you don't fancy them!

And it's not necessarily
that they've changed...

you just don't find
them attractive anymore...

It didn't stay with you somehow.

Or you yourself have changed...

And then you think...

What would have
happened if I had gone for it?

Now I'd be with her...

have kids with her...

Man, that's insane. Insane...

That's far worse than not
having kids and being with Saša.

People who are with someone
for a long time develop a certain...

aloofness or indifference...

which might look like a bad thing...

and probably is to an extent

but you can't be in a
long-term relationship without it.

Unless you find some kind
of "soulmate", of course.

Soulmate...

And I keep wondering if
there is such a thing.

There isn't. Can't be.

I dunno...

Karel Janeček
has a soulmate for example.

The newspapers are full of it.

Sure, if you're good-looking and rich

you'll find a soulmate in no time.

That's the worst thing: You've
fallen in love with someone...

you're completely enthralled

and then you start to notice things
that are different between you.

And that's a problem, because...

if you're still in love, and the
issues are important to you...

you start to behave like a teenager.

As if you hadn't learned
anything since then.

17 years of age again.

But if you aren't in love...

you don't mind those
things that much.

Which... I suppose...

is necessary
for a long-term relationship.

I suppose that means you have to
care a bit less about the other person.

It's necessary to not really care
about the other person somehow.

- And that sucks.
- It sure does.

Yeah, we have problems at home,
blablabla...

Everyone has problems at home...

Is that really important?
It's not important to me.

Do you know how many
problems there are in the world?

And they're insignificant
to people they don't affect...

because they have
other problems of their own...

and if the have any sense,
they don't worry about them

because it's all just one
big absurdity in the end.

The world is full of problems,
blablabla...

Do you find my wife attractive?

You mean, like... sexually, or...

As a woman! Do you find
her attractive as a woman.

Yeah, sure...

You don't have to be worried though.

I'm not worried, I'm just asking.

- Good morning! Hello Saša.
- Good morning.

How are you feeling after yesterday?

We were up rather late...

I'm fine!

That's my childhood mug!

I used to love that one.

- Can I make myself coffee in it?
- Of course.

Do what you like with it...

Just put it back aftewards.
It has to stay here!

Don't worry!

- It leaks as well!
- What?

It leaks, the mug.

It's cracked and it leaks a bit,
you have to put something under it.

Yeah? Like this, really slow tempo.

It's not even, can you hear?

Dream Theater were
looking for a drummer...

and it's unbelievable.

They have name after name
auditioning...

Where did you see yourself
in ten years, ten years ago?

Ten years ago, I
had just left that school.

I didn't know what I'd be
doing in a year, let alone ten.

Don't tell me that with your intelligence
you had all doors closed.

Well no, but...

maybe I just...
wasn't focused enough.

You have to make a
living full-time now...

So what are you supposed to do...

At that age people already have
some kind of foundation...

they can build on...

and I didn't have anything like that.

I couldn't say to myself
"I'll work on my drumming"...

It was too late to be at
the top of my game at that.

You'd like to be at the top
of your game at something.

Maybe that was the first crisis.

Not a mid-life one but...

a sort of mid-life
crisis at a young age

when you realise you can't
achieve everything anymore.

That you might have
missed something.

I was with someone for a bit...

maybe I still am.

Maybe you still are?

We haven't seen each other for a while.

How come?

Dunno.

It sounds like you might have made
the same mistake as with me now.

What mistake?

That you might have found someone
who doesn't know what they want.

I don't know if I know what I want.

Oh, that's new then.

Do I know him?

No, he's younger than me.

He finished medical school last year...

and now he's in Regensburg
on some Bavarian stipend.

He comes over here sometimes...

He'd like me to go and visit him...

We've seen each other
about twice since he left.

I heard some advice lately.

That if you want to
achieve at something...

you should only do what you find
fullfilling, and not do what you don't.

and very carefully apply that
and success is guaranteed!

That's true though.

Yeah. The sort of American way.

Most people, instead of
doing what they want give up.

And do something that
seems easier at the time.

They don't realise that it's easiest
to do what you want to be doing.

You must have some
coaching in that lab.

Don't be daft.

Listen, a blackbird.
Can you hear a blackbird?

I don't know. I can't recognize it.

How come? That's basic!

- I can't recognise them by song.
- I thought you said you listen to them.

I do.

I like it. It's nice.

I can't put it into practice though.

That I'd hear a great tit...

and say to myself: "Oh yeah,
that's the one from the CD."

It's not a great tit, it's a blackbird.

The most distinctive birdsong
in the world.

- The dodo.
- You won't find him in the recording.

He was too trusting,
and unafraid of people.

He had no sense of any threat, so when
he first saw people he didn't realise...

that they might want to kill him.

- Was there only the one?
- It was a whole species.

- I was joking.
- Very funny.

People drive a creature to extinction,
because he's too nice and trusting

and they call him a Dodo.

To feel better about
themselves, I suppose.

"He was a dumb dodo, it's his own fault!"

What?

Nothing...

I was going down Charles
square the other day

and I saw a phone booth, that I
thought wasn't there anymore...

The one I got divorced through.

What?

Or rather agreed
with Katka that it's over.

From a phone booth?

Yeah, we broke up over the phone.

- Didn't I tell you that?
- No, you didn't

I suppose not.

It's weird though.

It's so weird,
such a funny thing...

It was about an hour long conversation

that for some reason
happened over the phone...

Like you go into a booth and when
you come out you've broken up?

Exactly!

I go past it quite often, on the tram.

And I never noticed
that it's still there.

How come you never told me?

I've no idea.

That's odd.

It's odd...

that there are still things
we haven't told each other.

When you're singing, the
instrument is your own body...

Sorry to disturb you, last orders.
Can I get you anything else?

No, we're alright, thank you.

Now I'll feel sad.

When, now?

Can I go with you?

Pay you a visit...
just this once, it's been a long time.

I don't feel like saying goodbye yet.

Us both leaving in a different
direction, on a different tram...

I don't think so.

- What would be so wrong about...
- Everything, Dušan!

What are you talking about?
How can you say something like that?

Now, at this moment.

Well, we spent half the day
together and I'll remember it.

- It seemed...
- I don't mean today.

In general.

I dunno, we're both
single right now...

or at least that's how I understood it...

Dušan, stop it please.

Did I say something wrong?

Can't we just...

People fall out of love
in five, or ten years...

And that's a long time.

That's a difference in dimension.
You can say that it's "Him" by then.

Him for five, ten years, but...

There's some piece of fate in that.

And there never was a "Her" for me.

Never.

Every time I asked that, then...

The question immediately
ended the relationship.

It's the beginning of
the end until it's over.

And then I'm alone for a
while, because I'm scared...

that the same thing will happen again.

So you broke up with her?

I didn't want to break up with her,
but...

I realised I had done the cowardly
thing of deferring the decision to her...

and it was my fault we broke up.
Not hers.

I always think...

would that time have been
better with someone else?

You break up... spend five
years with someone new...

only to end up in the
same phase as now.

Yeah, but what if
those new five years...

are much better, for being new?

No. The next five years are
much better for being old!

The later years deepen the
relationship and it gets...

to a place it only could have
got to in such a long time.

So If you call someone
"the old lady"...

You're actually describing
the length of the relationship?

I never realised that.

Exactly. If you say
"the old lady", it's kind of...

an honour.

- Hi!
- Hi!

Were you waiting long?

They told her it was diabetes at the
hospital, but she was still in pain...

Then they said it's not diabetes...
So no one knows what it is.

- How is that possible?
- I don't know.

- What does he teach? Gym and...
- Gym and physics.

But he could teach anything really.
He's interested in history, literature...

There you go, he feels understimulated.

He told me he'd like to do something
else recently, for the first time.

Really?

A collegue of mine, Madla, she's
going out with a guy on wheel-chair.

- Is it working out?
- I think so...

It's a completely new world for her.

She said that, since they're
together all the time...

she's started to kind of
look at where he can and can't go

and where she can go with him.

And sometimes she'll walk
into a shop say

that doesn't have wheelchair access

and she has to turn
around a go out again.

She doesn't realise she's alone.

Funny stuff like that.

Thanks.

Oh, Saša, here's the hair-dryer!

You left it at my place.

Oh, that doesn't matter now.

- Why? Nothing gets lost at my place!
- I already bought a new one.

- A travel one, they're cheap.
- When?

Back then, when I realised.

I can't live without a hair-dryer.

Well now you have two!

Bye.

- Bye. See you soon sometime!
- Yeah, sometime...

Soon!

"Did I hurt you a lot, darkness?"
said the boy.

"You gave me a few nasty cuts,"
the darkness answered.

The boy was confused.
"How else am I to find my way..."

"when my eyes alone can't see?"

"What am I to do, to see the
way, without hurting you?"

What, why are you poking at me?

- You've got quite a belly.
- What?

- That you've got a belly!
- Are you even listening?

- Of course I am.
- What was the last sentence?

Stop it, I'm listening. It's nice.

Ok: "All you have to do is be
careful and move with purpose."

Did you only just discover
that now or...?

What?

- The belly.
- No, I didn't discover it now...

I just forgot.

We weren't apart
for that long, surely?

It has been a while.

- You haven't forgotten my belly?
- You don't have a belly.

- I do.
- Women can't have a belly.

- They're either fat or...
- They can have a belly.

A sexy belly.

- A sexy belly...?
- Yeah!

You don't think women
can have a sexy belly?

What does that look like?

Similiar to what you have.

No, I didn't!

That's not true, I
remember it clearly.

Okay, I noticed you
before you noticed me.

Exactly,
you were the one who came over.

Sure, but that was all. It
wasn't me who picked up you.

I never said that you picked up me.

Look. I just came over and observed
you having a conversation.

I stood and waited to
see if you would notice me.

So you made the first move.

Okay, I admit I made the
first move. What was I to do?

When I saw you there
I knew it had to mean something.

That I have to do something.

I wouldn't say I picked you up...

I just came over and waited for
you to pick up me, which you did.

Stop saying that. It's nonsense
and you know it!

Apparently "During it's production a
number of strange incidents occured..."

"such as two in which the prototype of
the robot allegedly atempted to escape."

That's bizzare, isn't it?

Are you joking?

You're heating coffee up
in the microwave?

And?

- That's perverse.
- It went cold.

Take it out immediately
and make a new one!

You've learned to live like that,
have you?

No, I always have.

I sure haven't noticed
you doing that before.

- That's a new invention, isn't it?
- You're an invention.

Who am I living with.

Get a divorce.

Thanks.

- Here's the stuff.
- Right.

Hello!

- Hi.
- Hi.

Time of the month?

Have you taken a pill?

It's fine.

Do you want...

Do you want a hug?

No, I don't want anything.

Okay, but gently.

Okay?

Or even more gentle?

No, this is fine.