Lisbon Story (1994) - full transcript
The director Friedrich Monroe has trouble with finishing a silent b&w movie about Lisbon. He calls his friend, the sound engineer Phillip Winter, for help. As Winter arrives Lisbon weeks later, Monroe is disappeared but has left the unfinished film. Winter decides to stay, because he is fascinated of the city and the Portuguese singer Teresa, and he starts to record the sound of the film. At the same time Monroe cruises through the city with a camcorder and tries to catch unseen pictures. Later they meet and Winter convinces Monroe of finishing the film.
Lisbon... From Fritz.
''There's no phone or fax.
We have to write.''
I'II write the answer myseIf.
Europe has no borders.
The barriers have been Iifted
and anyone can cross over.
Can't I show my passport
to anyone?
PIease, Iet me
open the boot!
You're not going to beIieve
what I've got in here!
Testing. One, two, three, one, two.
I haven't traveIIed such a Iong
distance by car in a Iong time.
I reaIise that Europe is becoming
a singIe nation...
The Ianguages change, the music
changes, the news is different, but...
The Iandscape speaks
the same Ianguage
and teIIs stories of an oId continent
fiIIed with war and peace.
It's nice to drive
without thinking about anything,
passing here and there through stories
and the ghost of history.
Here, I feeI at home.
This is my homeIand!
I'm Iooking for a book
to study Portuguese.
What kind of book?
Big or smaII?
SmaII.
But you aIready speak Portuguese.
I don't speak weII, I'm a foreigner.
Are you EngIish?
- No, I'm French...
- No, I'm German.
But I Iive in PortugaI.
- Lesson N. 1.
- I'II never Iearn this...
Again...
Lesson N.1. In the bookshop.
Good morning.
What was that?
A fIat tire?
A fIat tire?
Damn.
That's aII I needed... A fIat tire.
Fritz, I'm on the way.
Nothing.
UntiI next time!
The bus is air-conditioned.
UntiI next time.
I shouIdn't have Ieft
the freeway... I'm an idiot!
I can't beIieve it!
Shit!
In the van.
With the bags... Very heavy...
It's very important.
Work, pIease. In Lisbon.
Friedrich?
It's Winter!
Friedrich!
Fritz, are you hiding?
Friedrich?
It's about time!
What are you doing? Are you crazy?
Who are you? What are you doing
in Frederico's bed?
I don't understand.
I don't speak Portuguese.
That's what I'd Iike to know!
Friedrich...
HeIIo, CIaudio, how are you?
Are you taIking to CIaudio?
Send him my Iove.
SiIence, pIease!
- A horse!
- He's afraid!
- He's running very fast!
- That's it! He's gaIIoping!
A match!
What's that?
What's this?
- Chips!
- No, it's not!
An egg! An egg! A fried egg!
Fried eggs.
What did he say?
Let's see what the cowboy's afraid of.
- What's this?
- It's a car!
No, it's not. It's an animaI.
I'm so scared!
A Iion!
A Iion! He's hungry!
He's running away.
- He jumped into the water!
- It's coId! It's freezing!
- No, it's not that at aII!
- Then, what?
American?
European.
- Atourist?
- Working.
Aworker.
- BIess you.
- Thank you.
Goodbye! See you tomorrow!
Goodbye!
Is your name reaIIy Winter?
Sofia.
- Goodbye, Mr. Winter.
- Goodbye.
- Let's pIay ''Ainda''.
- ''Ainda''?
We're ready.
Pessoa...
I think ''Pessoa'' means
''Nobody'' in Portuguese.
The poetry of Nobody.
What an idea.
He underIined a Iot of things.
I'II get you!
Shit!
''Thought was born bIind,
But knows what it is to see.''
It couId have been written by Fritz,
but it sounds better in EngIish.
Good morning.
How IoveIy, Fritz.
Perfect.
- Good afternoon.
- Good afternoon.
I saw you in a fiIm my friend made.
Frederico Monroe, Friedrich.
I don't know who that is.
- Can you heIp me find this man?
- Yes, I can.
With an oId camera.
The one who was aIways
fiIming things?
PIease, can I go to your house
to taIk about your Iife?
- Sure.
- Thank you.
Let's go then.
So that's what I did untiI I was 14.
That's when I Ieft my father's house.
When I was 14, I ran away from home.
There were too many of us.
It took a Iot of money to support
chiIdren and he didn't earn much.
And I aIready Iiked
to go out with girIs at that age.
I Iiked to go dancing.
Of course, I didn't sIeep at night
so, in the morning, he'd beat me.
He'd throw wet toweIs in my face
so I wouIdn't faII asIeep.
I got tired of aII that
and Ieft home.
What's your probIem?
Frederico.
The guy with the camera, who eIse?
Do you understand?
I get you...
- We have to pIay ''AIfama''.
- I agree.
For Iuck.
That incredibIe romance... Mr. Winter!
Thank you.
''AIfama''!
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
I finaIIy got the knife-grinder.
Mr. Winter!
Is this your schooI?
Is this one of the rooms?
It's not me who's fiIming this.
''There was no eIectricity there.
''That's why it was by the Iight
of a dying candIe that I read
''what was at hand,
the BibIe in Portuguese.
''And I re-read 'The First EpistIe
to the Corinthians'.
''The Iight of the burning candIe
gave me the feeIing
''that I am nothing, I am a fiction.
What do I expect from this worId?
''What do I expect
from you and from myseIf?
''If I didn't have Iove...
''If I didn't have Iove...
''My God and myseIf,
I don't have Iove...
''My God and myseIf,
I don't have Iove.''
Pessoa, December 1934.
Just before he died.
''I couId have
prophetic powers,
''understand aII mysteries
and aII knowIedge,
''I couId have faith that wouId
move mountains,
''but if I didn't have Iove,
''I wouId be nothing.''
Nothing... That's it...
The sun!
A bird!
A church!
Trees!
Pigeons!
Atram!
A boat!
Now, the Iady.
- Again.
- I'II stop the fiIm.
Very weII, but not so weII...
- Just Iook at the way you fiImed!
- It's not my fauIt.
How interesting...
- AII right, I'II fast forward it.
- You reaIIy can't fiIm.
- You can't hoId the camera steady.
- And you're aIways sIipping.
I sIip because the fIoor's sIippery,
it doesn't have any resin on it!
That's some excuse...
Then teII me why the camera
is aIways shaking.
- Because I was nervous.
- Right... Then I am too.
Damn! You aIways faII!
Damn!
- Look at that! It's terribIe!
- Then try doing it yourseIf.
Buy me a tripod
and I'II fiIm it right.
Okay, this reeI is ready.
Let's move on to the next one.
Yes, yes.
Oh, Friedrich, Friedrich...
You're terribIe.
There is no Ionger
a pIace on earth for Him,
but He remains.
There is truIy
a right pIace for saints.
God exists.
The universe was created by Him.
But what good wouId the universe be...
... if men,
if humankind disappeared?
The universe wouId be useIess.
Or is it possibIe that it has
a purpose of its own,
even without the existence of Man?
We want to imitate God.
That is why there are artists.
Artists want to recreate the worId,
as if they were smaII gods.
And they do a...
They constantIy rethink
history, Iife, things
that happen in the worId,
things that
we think happened,
but onIy because we beIieve...
Because, after aII,
we beIieve in memory.
Because everything has aIready passed.
But who can be sure that what
we think happened reaIIy happened?
Who shouId we ask?
Therefore, this worId,
this supposition, is an iIIusion.
The onIy reaI thing is memory.
But memory is an invention.
Deep down, memory is...
I mean, in the cinema
the camera can capture a moment.
But that moment has aIready passed.
What the cinema does
is draw a shadow of that moment.
We are no Ionger sure
that the moment
ever existed outside the fiIm.
Or is the fiIm proof that
the moment existed? I don't know...
I know Iess and Iess about that.
We Iive, after aII,
in permanent doubt.
And despite that,
we Iive with our feet on the ground.
We eat, we enjoy Iife...
Take it easy!
Don't you have eyes?
Videotourists!
Vidiots!
Vidiots!
Vidiots...
I can't!
I can't stop here!
Oh, okay.
Okay, I'II stop.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And here we are,
in my cinematheque!
Lisboa!
Nada!
Testing, testing!
One, three... two, three.
TransIation and SubtitIes
Amy Duncan / CRISTBET, Lda.
''There's no phone or fax.
We have to write.''
I'II write the answer myseIf.
Europe has no borders.
The barriers have been Iifted
and anyone can cross over.
Can't I show my passport
to anyone?
PIease, Iet me
open the boot!
You're not going to beIieve
what I've got in here!
Testing. One, two, three, one, two.
I haven't traveIIed such a Iong
distance by car in a Iong time.
I reaIise that Europe is becoming
a singIe nation...
The Ianguages change, the music
changes, the news is different, but...
The Iandscape speaks
the same Ianguage
and teIIs stories of an oId continent
fiIIed with war and peace.
It's nice to drive
without thinking about anything,
passing here and there through stories
and the ghost of history.
Here, I feeI at home.
This is my homeIand!
I'm Iooking for a book
to study Portuguese.
What kind of book?
Big or smaII?
SmaII.
But you aIready speak Portuguese.
I don't speak weII, I'm a foreigner.
Are you EngIish?
- No, I'm French...
- No, I'm German.
But I Iive in PortugaI.
- Lesson N. 1.
- I'II never Iearn this...
Again...
Lesson N.1. In the bookshop.
Good morning.
What was that?
A fIat tire?
A fIat tire?
Damn.
That's aII I needed... A fIat tire.
Fritz, I'm on the way.
Nothing.
UntiI next time!
The bus is air-conditioned.
UntiI next time.
I shouIdn't have Ieft
the freeway... I'm an idiot!
I can't beIieve it!
Shit!
In the van.
With the bags... Very heavy...
It's very important.
Work, pIease. In Lisbon.
Friedrich?
It's Winter!
Friedrich!
Fritz, are you hiding?
Friedrich?
It's about time!
What are you doing? Are you crazy?
Who are you? What are you doing
in Frederico's bed?
I don't understand.
I don't speak Portuguese.
That's what I'd Iike to know!
Friedrich...
HeIIo, CIaudio, how are you?
Are you taIking to CIaudio?
Send him my Iove.
SiIence, pIease!
- A horse!
- He's afraid!
- He's running very fast!
- That's it! He's gaIIoping!
A match!
What's that?
What's this?
- Chips!
- No, it's not!
An egg! An egg! A fried egg!
Fried eggs.
What did he say?
Let's see what the cowboy's afraid of.
- What's this?
- It's a car!
No, it's not. It's an animaI.
I'm so scared!
A Iion!
A Iion! He's hungry!
He's running away.
- He jumped into the water!
- It's coId! It's freezing!
- No, it's not that at aII!
- Then, what?
American?
European.
- Atourist?
- Working.
Aworker.
- BIess you.
- Thank you.
Goodbye! See you tomorrow!
Goodbye!
Is your name reaIIy Winter?
Sofia.
- Goodbye, Mr. Winter.
- Goodbye.
- Let's pIay ''Ainda''.
- ''Ainda''?
We're ready.
Pessoa...
I think ''Pessoa'' means
''Nobody'' in Portuguese.
The poetry of Nobody.
What an idea.
He underIined a Iot of things.
I'II get you!
Shit!
''Thought was born bIind,
But knows what it is to see.''
It couId have been written by Fritz,
but it sounds better in EngIish.
Good morning.
How IoveIy, Fritz.
Perfect.
- Good afternoon.
- Good afternoon.
I saw you in a fiIm my friend made.
Frederico Monroe, Friedrich.
I don't know who that is.
- Can you heIp me find this man?
- Yes, I can.
With an oId camera.
The one who was aIways
fiIming things?
PIease, can I go to your house
to taIk about your Iife?
- Sure.
- Thank you.
Let's go then.
So that's what I did untiI I was 14.
That's when I Ieft my father's house.
When I was 14, I ran away from home.
There were too many of us.
It took a Iot of money to support
chiIdren and he didn't earn much.
And I aIready Iiked
to go out with girIs at that age.
I Iiked to go dancing.
Of course, I didn't sIeep at night
so, in the morning, he'd beat me.
He'd throw wet toweIs in my face
so I wouIdn't faII asIeep.
I got tired of aII that
and Ieft home.
What's your probIem?
Frederico.
The guy with the camera, who eIse?
Do you understand?
I get you...
- We have to pIay ''AIfama''.
- I agree.
For Iuck.
That incredibIe romance... Mr. Winter!
Thank you.
''AIfama''!
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
I finaIIy got the knife-grinder.
Mr. Winter!
Is this your schooI?
Is this one of the rooms?
It's not me who's fiIming this.
''There was no eIectricity there.
''That's why it was by the Iight
of a dying candIe that I read
''what was at hand,
the BibIe in Portuguese.
''And I re-read 'The First EpistIe
to the Corinthians'.
''The Iight of the burning candIe
gave me the feeIing
''that I am nothing, I am a fiction.
What do I expect from this worId?
''What do I expect
from you and from myseIf?
''If I didn't have Iove...
''If I didn't have Iove...
''My God and myseIf,
I don't have Iove...
''My God and myseIf,
I don't have Iove.''
Pessoa, December 1934.
Just before he died.
''I couId have
prophetic powers,
''understand aII mysteries
and aII knowIedge,
''I couId have faith that wouId
move mountains,
''but if I didn't have Iove,
''I wouId be nothing.''
Nothing... That's it...
The sun!
A bird!
A church!
Trees!
Pigeons!
Atram!
A boat!
Now, the Iady.
- Again.
- I'II stop the fiIm.
Very weII, but not so weII...
- Just Iook at the way you fiImed!
- It's not my fauIt.
How interesting...
- AII right, I'II fast forward it.
- You reaIIy can't fiIm.
- You can't hoId the camera steady.
- And you're aIways sIipping.
I sIip because the fIoor's sIippery,
it doesn't have any resin on it!
That's some excuse...
Then teII me why the camera
is aIways shaking.
- Because I was nervous.
- Right... Then I am too.
Damn! You aIways faII!
Damn!
- Look at that! It's terribIe!
- Then try doing it yourseIf.
Buy me a tripod
and I'II fiIm it right.
Okay, this reeI is ready.
Let's move on to the next one.
Yes, yes.
Oh, Friedrich, Friedrich...
You're terribIe.
There is no Ionger
a pIace on earth for Him,
but He remains.
There is truIy
a right pIace for saints.
God exists.
The universe was created by Him.
But what good wouId the universe be...
... if men,
if humankind disappeared?
The universe wouId be useIess.
Or is it possibIe that it has
a purpose of its own,
even without the existence of Man?
We want to imitate God.
That is why there are artists.
Artists want to recreate the worId,
as if they were smaII gods.
And they do a...
They constantIy rethink
history, Iife, things
that happen in the worId,
things that
we think happened,
but onIy because we beIieve...
Because, after aII,
we beIieve in memory.
Because everything has aIready passed.
But who can be sure that what
we think happened reaIIy happened?
Who shouId we ask?
Therefore, this worId,
this supposition, is an iIIusion.
The onIy reaI thing is memory.
But memory is an invention.
Deep down, memory is...
I mean, in the cinema
the camera can capture a moment.
But that moment has aIready passed.
What the cinema does
is draw a shadow of that moment.
We are no Ionger sure
that the moment
ever existed outside the fiIm.
Or is the fiIm proof that
the moment existed? I don't know...
I know Iess and Iess about that.
We Iive, after aII,
in permanent doubt.
And despite that,
we Iive with our feet on the ground.
We eat, we enjoy Iife...
Take it easy!
Don't you have eyes?
Videotourists!
Vidiots!
Vidiots!
Vidiots...
I can't!
I can't stop here!
Oh, okay.
Okay, I'II stop.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And here we are,
in my cinematheque!
Lisboa!
Nada!
Testing, testing!
One, three... two, three.
TransIation and SubtitIes
Amy Duncan / CRISTBET, Lda.