Mrs Midwife (1958) - full transcript
Lykourgos, a retired doctor, opens a clinic in his wife's village. There, he is faced with a midwife who blames the evil eye for everything. When her son comes to the village, he falls for the daughter of the doctor and changes everything.
FINOS FILMS Presents:
GEORGIA VASSILIADOU and ORESTES MAKRIS
In a new comedy by: ALEKOS SAKELLARIOS
OUR MIDWIFE
with DIMITRIS PAPAMICHAEL XENIA KALOGEROPOULOU
PANTELIS ZERVOS - ELENI ZAFIRIOU GEORGE DAMASIOTIS NITSA TSAGANEA - POPI ALVA
LAVRENTIS DIANELOS PERICLES CHRISTOPHORIDES NIKITAS PLATIS - LAKIS SKELAS COSTAS PAPACHRISTOS - MARY METAXA
NIKOS FERMAS - BEBI KOULA LOUISA BATISTA - COSTAS VOUTSAS ELSA RIZOU - CHARIS LOUKEA
SAPPHO NOTARA L. PAPAZAFIROPOULOU VICKY CONSTANTOPOULOU NIKOS FLOKAS and little VASSILAKIS
Songs and performance: "TRIO CANCONE"
Sets: MARKOS ZERVAS
Montage: D. KATSOURIDES - GEORGE TSAOULIS
Sound: M. ZERBAS - K. MICHALOUDES Make up: N. XEPAPADAKOS
Laboratory: EL. GIANNIKAGIANNIS TH. ASSIMAKOPOULOS
Photography: DINOS KATSOURIDES
Music: TAKIS MORAKIS
Script - Director: ALEKOS SAKELLARIOS
Well, doctor?
My lady, if you're married,
I have some very good news.
But if you're single,
I have some very bad news.
Well, doctor, I'm not married.
- But I'm not totally unmarried.
- "Not totally unmarried"?
What's that? Please explain it to me.
I mean I'm engaged.
- Engaged? - Yes, sir.
Then you rushed it, my dear.
Engaged girls first dance the wedding waltz...
...and then the belly dance.
Do you understand?
What's going to happen now?
You'll have either a boy or a girl.
That's what usually happens.
Child, crying won't help.
What's done is done.
Go find your fiance,
tell him of your condition...
and that you should get married
earlier than planned...
...to put an end to this.
- There's nothing to be done?
- Like what?
You see, my father is very strict.
You should have thought of that 2-3 months ago.
It's too late now.
This is the Social Securities Service...
...and not the Clandestine Affairs Service.
I mean, I am willing to pay extra,
not for free.
You're knocking on the wrong door, child.
I am a doctor and you are
looking for a murderer.
This is murder and I'm not
in that line of work.
Go find your fiance and set things in motion.
Well, I'm not exactly engaged.
Just promised.
You two didn't just promise.
You did much more than that.
You gave and received much more.
Go and make the arrangements.
I've brought the X-ray, doctor.
All right.
Very good, well done.
Should I still take the medication?
Of course, you should.
- When shouId I come back?
- In two weeks' time.
But don't ask for me,
ask for the gentIeman.
Costas, you are famiIiar with
the Katsinikas case, right?
Oh, yes, I am.
Come to me, Mr. Katsinikas.
Yes, thank you.
Are you Ieaving us, doctor?
- I've had enough.
- Are you Ieaving for good?
I guess so. I am retiring.
Goodbye, doctor and thank you so much
for aII you've done for me.
I've done nothing more than my duty.
So, you've made up your mind, eh?
I have and I'm very pIeased with
my decision, Costas.
And you'II go to that godforsaken pIace?
- Why shouId I stay here? - I admire your courage.
You shouId have toId me that
if I had decided to stay here...
...and try to make ends meet on my meager pension.
There I'II have a roof over my head for free,
I'II be abIe to practise...
as ever since my Iate father-in-Iaw
passed away...
...they have no other doctor
and my pension wiII tide us over.
Because the pIace is cheap and
it's money that costs there.
- And that... - What?
What sort of house is the one
you inherited from your father-in-Iaw?
It's a country house.
I've never been there and I've never seen it...
...but my wife who grew there teIIs me
it's a tidy IittIe house.
It's a two-storey semi-detached
and my father-in-Iaw used the ground fIoor
...for his practice and Iived upstairs.
Why don't you seII it?
SeII it? For how much, Costas?
Forty... fifty... sixty thousand?
And then? We'II spend the money in a year
and the next year...
...I'II be standing cap in hand
begging outside Saint Irene's.
It's the ideaI soIution for me.
- For you.
- Yes, for me.
But you're not going aIone.
You're taking your wife and daughter aIong.
Of course, I am. What shouId I do?
Leave and Iet them stay here on their own?
I mean, and I'm sorry to taIk about something
that's none of my business.
No, go ahead.
Your daughter is of marrying age.
Soon it wiII be time for her to marry.
I hope she wiII.
ShouId she marry a paIe faced man of the city?
Let her marry a strong viIIage boy
who owns fieIds and orchards.
We might have a nice meIon to eat in the summer.
- What about her job?
- What job? It's nothing much.
The poor girI works aII hours...
...for a mere 40 drachmas a day.
One at a time, pIease.
I cannot serve you aII together.
- EIeni, more cones!
- Right away.
- He's here again.
- Who?
- It's him.
- Where is he?
There he is.
Be carefuI!
He'II have dysentery from aII the
ice cream he's been eating.
Is he the one coming for Katy?
Yes, he's been here at Ieast
10 times this morning.
Has he said anything to her yet?
Nah! He eats his ice cream temporariIy
quenches the fIames...
...and when the bIaze rises again,
he returns.
PIease, gentIemen. One at a time.
Give me your receipt, sir.
He's onIy just arrived!
He's been waiting for haIf an hour.
She's made a mess of it again.
She no Ionger cares
as she's Ieaving tomorrow.
She's Ieaving?
Yes. Her father is a doctor
and they're reIocating to a viIIage.
- Which viIIage is that?
- A viIIage caIIed...
Lestinitsa.
Is it far, friend?
It's about two, three hours.
Look how beautifuI it is, Lycourgos.
Nice road.
Nice road.
Is the entire road to Lestinitsa
Iike this, my friend?
No, it's worse further on.
Oh, right. That's reassuring.
Goodness! What's this?
I never get seasick and yet I'm now carsick.
Patience, my friend.
There's an inn not far from here.
- So what? - There's going to be a stop.
Let's have some coffee...
...to take strength for the
shake-up up ahead.
It is far stiII, my friend?
It's two, three hours.
StiII? It was two to three hours
when Iast I asked.
It's two to three hours, maybe four.
Oh, it couId be four.
We shouIdn't be disappointed.
- Are you from this area?
- Not me, my wife is.
- Where are you from, Iady?
- From Lestinitsa.
From Lestinitsa itseIf?
Where couId she be from?
From beyond Lestinitsa?
From what I understand, there's nothing other
than pothoIes beyond Lestinitsa.
- Who was your father?
- Antonis StabaIos.
The Iate doctor?
Daughter of the Iate doctor
and MeIpomene Zafiritsena?
Niece of the Iate Thodoris BaItouros...
...son of Anestis Trenigas
and MeIpomene Zafiritsena?
Yes.
You don't say, girI.
Do you know who I am?
Take a good Iook.
Do you think he might be
Odysseus Androutsos?
- Have you found it?
- I can't imagine.
Aren't I VassiIis Danabasis,
son of the Iate Dimitros...
...the brother of DanaIis' wife, Aristea?
ReaIIy? PIeased to meet you.
- Your Iady and I are cousins.
- That's nice.
That and the road stiII ahead.
That's the good news of the day.
Won't you sit, sir?
Sit, cousin, sit.
Thank you.
The IittIe girI is your daughter?
Yes, our daughter.
I couId teII. She's the spitting image
of MeIpomene Zafiritsena.
- Waiter. - Yes, sir.
Coffees aII around.
- WiII you have some coffee, cousin?
- The occasion warrants it.
I don't want any coffee.
I'II waIk around a bit.
- AII right. Three coffees, pIease.
- Right away.
- A cigarette, cousin?
- No, thank you. I don't smoke.
- This is a nice pIace.
- Very heaIthy. See the pIane trees?
WiII you stay Iong in Lestinitsa?
We're moving here.
- For how Iong? - For ever.
My husband is a doctor.
And since my Iate father...
There's no other doctor in Lestinitsa, right?
- Oh, yes, there is.
- Who is it?
Our midwife.
The midwife treats the women.
Who treats the men?
Our midwife.
Do men, too, give birth in Lestinitsa?
No, we haven't seen anything Iike that tiII now.
What do the men do at the midwife's?
For a discenchantment or a herb.
She knows aII about herbs and
she's great at disenchanting.
Once, she disenchanted me
in under five minutes!
- Some had cast an eviI eye on you?
- Most certainIy, cousin.
- You shouId have some garIic on you.
- I do.
I have a bIue bead.
I've never taken it off since that time.
No, you shouIdn't!
Who knows, it might happen again.
Father!
The chiId from the bus is not weII.
PIease, come and take a Iook.
Why don't you bIess the chiId, ma'am?
I've aIready done so.
Jesus Christ wins over aII eviI.
Make room, pIease.
Let the chiId breathe.
- What's wrong with your chiId, ma'am?
- Someone gave him the eviI eye.
- Say what?
- I said, he's been given the eviI eye.
He's been given the eviI eye.
It's obvious he's been given the eviI eye.
What nonsense is this?
The chiId is iII.
Look this way, chiId.
He's running a temperature.
- Does your head hurt, sonny?
- Yes.
I'II give you something and
you'II feeI better in no time.
Open you mouth, my dear.
What's this?
What do you think it is, madam?
It's medicine.
In an hour or two he'II be fine.
No, sir, never mind.
When we get to Lestinitsa, I'II take him
to the midwife for disenchantment.
Listen to me and Iet the chiId take the piII.
Let him take the piII and if he's not better
then you take him to the midwife.
Come on, sonny. Open your mouth.
AII aboard!
Didn't you order coffee?
What are we to do with them now?
I'II give your address
and you can maiI them.
- Is the bus Ieaving?
- Of course, it's Ieaving.
- Anyway, how much is it?
- It's 5.40, pIease.
Here you are.
- You paid for the coffees, cousin?
- What eIse couId I do?
Then they shouId go to waste.
You may have them then.
Wait a second, I heard you.
The deviI take you!
Hey, sir.
What is it, Iaddie?
Aren't the coffees paid for?
The coffees, yes, but not the gIass.
- You thought I'd take the gIass?
- I don't know.
Go to the deviI, you wanker!
Wait a second, what's the rush?
- Come on, sir.
- Stop hounding me.
LESTINITSA BUS STATION
Oh, midwife!
I've been Iooking for you everywhere.
- Even in the sky? - Yes.
What am I to be up in the sky? Leika?
- Save me, midwife. - What's wrong now?
- It's my tooth. - Does it hurt?
It's kiIIing me.
- It's kiIIing you? - It sure is.
Then you don't need medicine,
you need an undertaker.
Don't joke, pIease, I'm dying here.
- Which tooth is it?
- The upper grinder.
- On the Ieft or on the right?
- On the right.
What can you expect from grinders...
- Say what?
- Anyway.
Go home and take some ouzo.
Then snort some from the right nostriI.
From the right!
The hand you use to cross yourseIf.
I understand.
- And I'II feeI better?
- Yes, you wiII.
What if I don't?
If you don't, drop by the surgery
for some cIove-giIIy fIower oiI.
AIthough its price has gone up again.
I'II pay, madam midwife.
AII right. Use some ouzo first
and if it persists, drop by.
Thank you. And aII the best for your son.
Amen to that.
Madam midwife!
HeIIo, Mrs. Sofia. What's wrong?
- It's my boy, Argyris.
- What's wrong with him?
- Someone cast an eviI eye on him.
- An eviI eye? Let me see.
Oh, yes and a bIue-eyed someone,
to be exact.
- BIue-eyed?
- It's obvious.
- Is that bad?
- If it's bad?
There's nothing to a bIack-eyed eviI eye,
Iike bIack-eyed peas.
But a bIue-eyed eviI eye is devious.
It cuts to the bone.
What now, madam midwife?
Won't you heIp me?
This can't be done in the
middIe of the street, Mrs. Sofia.
I'm not an itinerant peddIer.
I've got a surgery.
- Can I come now?
- Of course. Let's go.
The poor kid has it bad.
To the farthest mountain.
To the woods and the fieIds.
To the deepest sea.
It's very serious, Mrs. Sofia.
Someone's driIIed the poor kid.
My baby.
Leave them to me.
I don't want to put you to troubIe, cousin.
It's no troubIe, cousin.
These two are heavy.
You'II strain your back.
Never mind, I'II handIe them.
WeII done, cousin!
Spit on me, cousin, to avoid the eviI eye.
You're not at risk, cousin.
You're carrying a bIue bead.
Just to be on the safe side.
If you insist, cousin.
To barren trees.
To the deepest sea where no rooster crows.
I'm exhausted.
Was that aII?
You wanted more?
I've been taIking for an hour.
I've mentioned the deepest sea,
I've mentioned the rocks...
...the fig trees and the aImond trees.
I've used everything.
This was a first-cIass disenchantment!
WiII be better now?
Great Lord, of course he wiII.
He's aIready better, don't you see?
His eyes are wide open.
Look! He's great.
AII my best wishes for your son,
madam midwife.
Thank you.
When is he coming?
It's stiII earIy,
he's got two more Iessons Ieft.
He's attending the University and
that's no Iaughing matter.
May he do weII. I'm sorry to ask,
but what do I owe you?
You owe me nothing.
But since you opened your purse...
and it's bad Iuck to cIose it
without paying something...
Don't you know that? It's bad Iuck.
Pay whatever you wish and
if you haven't got Iarge denominations...
...you can pay me some other
time when you do.
- HeIIo, Mrs. Leni.
- HeIIo, Mr. MichaIis.
- Good morning, how are you?
- I'm fine, thank you.
- Everyone aII right at home?
- Yes, and they send their regards.
Cousin?
Remember teIIing me about eviI eyes
and such driveI?
There's the IittIe boy and he's great.
And you didn't want me to give him
a piII, madam.
- What did the piII do?
- What did it do?
What more than this?
He's much better.
- Is your head better?
- Oh, yes.
Of course it is.
The midwife spent an hour
casting off the eviI eye.
She did what?
What did you think cured him?
Your aspirin?
I was worried there for a second.
LYCOURGOS BEKOS
Doctor Surgeon PathoIogist
Obstetrician GynaecoIogist
Where shouId I put it?
On the stack.
CIimb onto the roof and pIace it on the stack.
What are you taIking about, father?
I know what I'm taIking about.
It's God's bread.
Put it in the bread bin,
put it on the tabIe...
...put it anywhere we usuaIIy put bread.
Where eIse couId you put it? In my eye?
I just asked, father, that's aII.
::Where shouId I put it::?
You're in a bad mood
and you want to Iet yourseIf go.
I know how to Iet myseIf go
and mind your tongue...
...because I'm ready to bIow up!
Lycourgos!
- What are you doing stiII Iike that?
- Like what? What's wrong?
You're stiII in your robes.
So what? I'II take it off,
put on my jacket and I'm ready.
I needn't put on a bra,
a corset or a garter-beIt...
...any of aII the trappings you women wear.
I'II take it off and put on my jacket.
Go on then, we're Iate.
How can we be Iate?
We've been invited to dinner.
Yes, but this is not Athens
and peopIe here eat earIy.
How earIy do they eat?
Do they eat dinner at noon and breakfast
the previous evening?
Piffle, Lycourgos! You're in a mood again.
Stop taIking and get ready.
It's impoIite to be Iate.
Stop pushing, woman.
PeopIe get pushed into jaiI,
not to go to dinner.
But it's Iate.
I shouId stay another 15 minutes.
Why is that?
Because the bIoody sign on the door...
...says visiting hours "5 to 8".
We can Ieave at 8 o'cIock.
What wouId happen if we Ieft at 10 to 8, eh?
- Someone might come. - At this hour?
You're right. If anyone were to come...
...they'd have come these 20 days
I've been waiting aII dressed up.
Things wiII get better.
- When? - Soon.
It's not the kind of business
that is profitabIe so easiIy.
As you very weII know,
a doctor needs connections.
Connections with the Mayor?
But it won't be just the Mayor.
You'II meet the manager
of the Bank, the teacher...
...the Post-Office manager.
He's invited many peopIe.
The aristocracy of Lestinitsa.
If you put it this way, yes,
the aristocracy of Lestinitsa.
These connections wiII be good for work.
Mark my words.
Oh, the great times we're having in Lestinitsa!
What are you waiting for?
What shouId I do?
Go upstairs and put on your nice bIue dress.
This dress is more than fine.
Why not wear such a IoveIy dress
to show off as a girI?
Show off where? In Lestinitsa?
What I have on is more than
good enough for Lestinitsa.
At Ieast comb your hair.
My hair is fine.
Let me comb it for you.
It's not proper to go Iike that.
Let me go, mama.
Katy!
What's wrong, chiId?
- I'm taIking to you. What's wrong?
- Leave me aIone, mama.
- What's wrong with you?
- What do you think?
What sort of Iife is this
at the end of the worId...
...that we have found ourseIves?
But such is your father's work.
What work? Have you seen any work?
In the month I've been here not
one person has come.
And what if my father's work...
were to expIore the North PoIe,
wouId you drag me aIong...
...to sIeep with the bears?
- Oh, come on, Katy...
I'm right! What am I doing
here in Lestinitsa?
Your father and mother are here.
Where eIse wouId you be?
You couId have Ieft me with aunt Marina.
AII aIone in Athens?
I wouIdn't be aIone.
I'd be staying at aunt Marina's.
I'd finish studying EngIish.
And I wouIdn't be a burden on anyone there.
- I had a job.
- We'II see Iater.
- When things get better.
- Yeah, right.
It's summertime now, anyway.
PeopIe Ieave Athens to come here
for the summer.
Wait untiI winter comes and we'II see.
Wipe your tears and freshen up a IittIe.
Why don't I stay here, mama?
Stay where?
I couId read a IittIe and go to bed earIy.
What shouId I do with the Mayor
and the President and such?
There wiII be young peopIe there, too.
You'II have a great time.
You'II sing and dance...
They even have a record pIayer.
Doesn't your IittIe girI dance?
Of course, she does.
But today she seems a bit out of sorts.
It's the change in environment, you see.
Oh yes, a new environment is very important.
Wait a second.
Sotiris, come here, son.
My son.
- A grown man. CongratuIations.
- Thank you.
- What is it, mother?
- WiII you do my a favour?
What kind of favour?
See that girI sitting on her own?
Go and ask her to dance.
The one sitting by the weII?
Yes, that's the one.
I asked her earIier and she
didn't want to dance.
- Why not?
- How shouId I know?
Perhaps because she's from Athens
she thinks we're beneath her.
Aren't country peopIe Greek citizens, too?
Don't they have the same rights
and obigations...
...as aII Greeks do?
Then how can the state that on one hand
tries to fight ruraI depopuIation...
and on the other aIIows the
heaIth issues of country peopIe...
of the most usefuI citizens, that is...
...to be at the mercy of quackery
and charIatanism?
Quite right.
The popuIation IeveI of Lestinitsa
shouId warrant...
...the presence of three doctors
and not just one.
And him a voIunteer.
That's quite right, doctor.
Mr. Mayor, I was shocked to hear
that in the age...
of peniciIIin and streptomycin,
there are sick peopIe...
...who seek the midwife to cast off
the eviI eye. It's the MiddIe Ages!
WeII, as to that, doctor.
Of course, you're right.
But as for disenchantment,
the midwife aces that.
What was that, Mr. Mayor?
I've seen it with my own eyes.
She did it to me in under five minutes.
Someone had cast an eviI eye
on you, too, Mayor?
Of course.
It's because of your roads, apparentIy.
What was that?
Nothing. The eviI eye is terribIe.
But I've been carrying this bIue bead
ever since and I'm fine.
- Sotiris, put Jealousie.
- No, no, a mambo.
I think a cha-cha is best.
Voula, come here, child.
My daughter.
Pleased to meet you.
How's things with you?
Great. It's what they caII
"an unforgettabIe evening".
WouId you Iike to dance, miss?
No, thank you. My feet hurt.
Why are you being so mean?
What do you want?
I'd Iike us to Ieave.
Leave? How can we be the first to Ieave?
Someone has to do that.
Not everyone can Ieave Iast.
And after aII that, Mr. Manager...
...what do you think he said?
- What?
She's great at disenchantment.
She's done it for me, too.
- She's done it for you, too?
- For me?
That's what you said.
No, not for me.
The Mayor said she'd done it for him.
Oh, yes, I know that.
She's done it indeed.
Has she cast off the eviI eye for you, too
and I'm taIking in vain?
Oh, no, doctor. I've got... where is it?
Oh, here it is.
I never take this off.
Hey, guys?
Is there a girI Ieft for me to dance with?
It's Dimitris!
When did you arrive?
WiII you stay Iong?
When did you arrive?
This morning.
- Have you come aIone?
- Who shouId I have come with?
Have you finished with your Iessons?
No, I stiII owe...
I stiII owe two Iessons.
- Where's your purse, mama?
- Over there, on the chair. Why?
What are you Iooking for?
I want to comb my hair.
Is that bad, too?
Good Lord.
Imagine what the Mayor said, Mr. President.
Yes, she cast the eviI eye off me, too.
It gets better.
I reIate the incident to the Bank Manager.
Oh, he says, so she did it for you, too.
No, no, I said.
The Mayor said "she did it for me, too".
And he says "Oh I know about the Mayor".
Oh, I see.
So he didn't know she'd done it for you, too.
I see, Mr. President.
Why didn't you teII you had one, too?
One what?
Never mind, never mind.
And she toId me that her feet hurt. Imagine!
WiII she be joining us tomorrow?
- ApparentIy. Dimitris toId her.
- About the excursion?
Which excursion?
The chiIdren thought they'd go
on an excursion tomorrow.
Go where? Aren't we aII on
an excursion here?
Where the heck wouId they go?
To VenezueIa?
They're just kids.
They'II go to Pera Chora.
And they'II go to AIyki from there,
to enjoy a swim.
- And our daughter wants to go, too?
- It's her I'm taIking about, Lycourgos.
Do you think I'd ask your permission
for the Mayor's daughter...
- Or the midwife's son?
- So, she's got a son, eh?
Yes, the young man who came Iast.
- The medicaI schooI student?
- Yes.
I didn't know they now teach
disenchantment at the University.
What are you taIking about?
For the midwife to send her son
they must have one.
What about Katy?
WiII you aIIow her to go, yes or no?
She can go.
There's someone at the door.
What couId it be at this hour?
What eIse, Lycourgos? You're a doctor.
They don't need doctors here,
they need someone for disenchanting.
Come on, get up.
Here comes the first patient
in the middIe of the night.
He's not coming, my friend.
He's a doctor.
He'II put on his shirt,
he'II put on his tie.
He's not Iike you and me.
HeIIo, cousin.
Get in, friend.
- But out here...
- Get in.
Go on, get in, finaIIy.
- This friend here, cousin...
- Yes, me.
He's godfather to the chiId
of Evdoxia DanaIis...
...who's your wife's cousin
and niece of the Iate BaItouros.
- And what shouId I do?
- We need you, doctor.
- What for?
- The Iate BaItouros...
Is Iate, gone. Whatever a doctor
couId have done, has been done.
I mean that KaneIIia of the Iate BaItouros...
- ... who's now with our friend.
- Mine.
- Is this about KaneIIia?
- Yes.
- What's wrong with her?
- Go on, teII the doctor.
- She's about to pop, doctor.
- Oh, she's in the famiIy way.
- No, no.
- Not a famiIy way, what famiIy?
- She's pregnant.
- Yes.
AII right, cousin.
I wouIdn't have understood
without your cIarification.
- What do you want from me?
- She's in Iabour, doctor.
- When did it start?
- She's been beIIowing for a few hours.
BeIIowing for a coupIe of hours
and you came to me this Iate?
Come on, cousin, make it quick
to avoid any catastrophe.
Come in and wait for a second.
I'II put on some cIothes,
get my bag and we'II Ieave.
What's wrong, cousin?
Guys, you shouId have toId me
to take my passport aIong.
What do you need it for, cousin?
We've been waIking for so Iong
we must be nearing Romania by now.
Is it far, friend?
We're here. It's that door over there.
- Here is KaneIIia, cousin.
- The gentIeman's wife?
What was that?
- You woke me up for your cow?
- Who shouId I have woken you up for?
The way you put it,
I thought she was your wife.
And what's a wife compared to a cow?
Women are free and you get
a dowry to marry them.
Have you tried getting a cow, though?
That is correct.
I went to the midwife,
to teII you the truth.
But she couIdn't come because VassiIiki...
...of VangeIis TrabaIos
is about to give birth.
- Is VassiIiki a cow, too?
- No, she's a woman.
- And TrabaIos? Is he a man or an ox?
- He's a man.
Thank you, Lord, for making a man
and a woman get together in this viIIage.
And what a woman, cousin!
She'II drop a strapping kid, cousin. NearIy...
Five and a haIf kiIos, Mr. VangeIis.
- WeII done.
- Thank you, thank you.
Listen to that! BareIy born
and aIready singing.
Wait, where are you going?
Let me prepare them first.
Is the water ready, Vasso?
I'm going to get it.
Make haste, because by the time
we get round to washing the chiId...
...the chiId wiII be up washing itseIf.
It was very tiring.
I broke a sweat puIIing it out.
Worse than a second vote count.
Is it Iike we said, madam midwife?
- Of course, it is.
- So, it's a boy.
- No, it's a girI.
- A girI?
And what a big girI she is. Next month
she'II be wearing a bra.
Wait a second.
You said you can see everything.
You toId me it wouId be a boy.
I didn't want you to feeI bad.
I knew it wouId be a girI.
You'd seen it?
Of course. If you don't
beIieve me, foIIow me.
Come cIoser.
See this caIendar?
What am I, crosseyed?
Of course, I can see it.
- The water is ready.
- Put it in and I'II be right there.
Look what is written on the underside.
Mr. VangeIis, you're going
to have a girI.
I haven't toId you not to
make you feeI bad.
See?
And if it had been a boy,
wouId have toId me about the caIendar...
...or wouId you have stuck it
firmIy to the waII?
Come on, madam midwife, come on!
AII right, aII right, I know my duties.
The mysteries of science.
I can go on my own from here on.
- We'II take you there, cousin.
- Right up to your door.
Don't go to the troubIe.
My house is very cIose.
It might be cIose, but it's dark, cousin.
You see, the Mayor hasn't
put on any Iights here.
- And he never wiII.
- Why not?
He's got a pIan.
You see, he thinks that if there is Iight...
...you wiII see and cast an
eviI eye on each other.
It's best if you're in the dark.
You think?
Mark my words.
It's possibIe.
Thank you, madam midwife.
WeII done!
- Thank you very much.
- Have a nice day.
Don't be sad it's a girI, Mr. VangeIis.
I'II bring you some orchis and
you'II have a boy next time.
Thank you, madam midwife, thank you.
Let them rest now and I'II be back
bright and earIy tomorrow morning.
- You come earIy.
- Don't worry, I'II be here.
- Have a nice day.
- Thank you.
Don't thank me.
I onIy did my scientific duty.
Mr. VangeIis did it aII.
I did my best, madam midwife.
You did much more than that.
Why don't you take the Iantern
to escort the midwife home?
No, there's no need.
My surgery is quite near.
Lo! Here come some others with a Iantern.
Who are they? I can't see very weII.
One of them is VassiIis Danambasis.
The other one is Dimitros Notsikas.
- And the third one?
- The third one is the doctor.
Oh? Is that the doctor? You don't say!
HeIIo.
- Has Mrs. VassiIiki deIivered?
- Yes, thank the Lord.
- Thanks to the midwife.
- I onIy did what I couId.
- What was it?
- A girI.
- Long Iife to her.
- Thank you.
What happened with your cow, Mr. Dimitros?
The cow had a caIf, madam.
But we do not despair.
It wiII turn into an ox.
I didn't quite understand.
What do you mean, doctor?
What I said, madam, was quite cIear.
When they grow up, caIves become oxen...
...which, as we know,
happens to many peopIe, too.
What happens to donkeys
when they grow up, doctor?
It depends, madam.
If maIe, they become maIe donkeys,
if femaIe, femaIe donkeys.
- Let's go, cousin.
- Why don't we?
May she have a Iong Iife.
Have a nice day.
Why don't you escort the midwife
to her surgery, Dimitros?
Why not?
It's aII right.
I don't want to troubIe you.
It's no troubIe.
We won't carry you on our back.
- May she Iive Iong.
- Have a nice day.
FareweII.
Did the good doctor deIiver
your cow, Dimitros?
Yes, he did and he did a great job.
- Are you a veterinarian surgeon, sir?
- I became one, madam.
Ever since I set foot in Lestinitsa...
...I reaIised you need a
veterinarian more than a doctor.
We shouId keep your speciaIty in mind.
Yes, thank you.
At your disposaI whenever you feeI unweII.
It was the outside of enough.
She'd got me mad, the oId goat!
You were rather rude, Lycourgos.
I regretted not being ruder.
Do you know what she said...
...when I said I'd be at her disposaI
whenever she feIt unweII?
What did she say?
UnfurtunateIy, I won't be abIe
to be of any service...
...shouId you, God forbid, faII iII,
as I am not a veterinarian.
He needed it, the oId goat!
Now, mother, that is not right.
He is a scientist, after aII.
If he hadn't opened his fouI mouth,
I wouIdn't have opened mine.
He started it.
From what you toId me,
I understand you started it.
I simpIy asked about the cow,
out of interest.
I know you and how you ask.
He shouIdn't have caIIed us aII oxen,
the oId goat!
But I know what I'II do
if I come across him again.
You'II see what I'II say.
I'II deaI with him.
I'm asking you not to do anything
whenever you meet him.
I think that's for the best.
Oh, I'm Iate.
Bye, the others are waiting for me.
- Where wiII they be waiting?
- At the square.
It's aIready 8 o'cIock!
We wiII be Iate.
- Who are we waiting for?
- VouIa and Dimitris.
There's Dimitris.
Come on, doctor.
We've been waiting for haIf an hour!
If we were iII,
we'd have died waiting for you.
I'm sorry, I'm a IittIe Iate.
HeIIo, Katy.
Don't we merit a handshake, Mr. Dimitris?
I'd Iove to.
Not a mere handshake, but a kiss of the hand.
- You don't say.
- Miss.
What are we doing here, guys?
- What are we waiting for?
- VouIa is missing.
We'II waIk by her house.
Why don't we pick her up?
Let's go.
Come on!
I'm sorry I'm Iate, but there's been troubIe.
What sort of troubIe?
It's father. We haven't
sIept a wink aII night.
What's wrong with your oId man?
He ate and drank too much yesterday
and had a beIIy ache aII evening.
Is he better now?
Better but stiII in pain.
I Ieft him Iying in bed.
I can't rest anywhere.
Don't Ieave me Iying down Iike that!
Pick up my piIIows.
You never hoId back when you
find food and drink.
Leave me aIone, wife.
I'm in pain and I have you
nagging me as weII.
- How's your master, Assimina?
- He's fine.
But he's bedridden, in pain.
He can't be weII then.
Is your mistress in?
She was out before but she's back inside now.
- Let's go in, PoIyxene.
- Yes, Iet's. - Why don't you go?
Lower my piIIows, for heaven's sake...
You raised me so high as if I were a rocket.
Didn't you just ask me to raise your piIIows?
There's someone at the door.
- The door, I said.
- I know, I heard. Come in.
Good morning.
- AII the best.
- Thank you.
- Good morning, Mr. Mayor. AII my best.
- Thank you, Mrs. Evdoxia.
Is he running a temperature?
- She's asking if I have a fever.
- I heard her.
No, Mrs. PoIyxene, fortunateIy he has no fever,
he onIy hurts.
It hurts, Mrs. PoIyxene.
Patience, Mr. Mayor, patience.
EIeni, raise my piIIows...
...you've dropped me down Iike a mop!
Didn't you just ask me to Iower your piIIows?
Cut the cackIe.
Patience, Mr. Mayor.
- Where does it hurt?
- My abdomen.
I've got some good medicine
I brought from Athens.
Where's VouIa? She can go and fetch it.
VouIa is not here, but Asimina
can go and fetch it.
Where's Asimina?
Asimina!
- I'm sweeping.
- Come upstairs, now!
AII right.
Where's VouIa?
She's gone on an excursion with the other kids.
Yesterday they made the arrangements
to go swimming at AIyki.
ShaII we turn around, girIs?
No, no!
AII right, it was just an idea.
- We asked if we couId turn around.
- No!
We can't waste our day Iike this.
We'II count tiII ten and then we'II turn.
The sun is burning us here.
1 ... 2... 3... 4... 5...
6... 7... 8... 9... 10!
EIeni, raise my pillows!
Why do you keep leaving me so low?
Didn't you just ask me to Iower your piIIows?
Wait a second, peopIe.
Wait a second.
Why do we Iet the poor man suffer Iike this?
Yes, Panayotis.
Don't Iet me suffer Iike this any Ionger.
Why do you Iet me suffer Iike this, wife?
What can we do for him, then?
What can you do for me? Do something for me.
If need be, we couId caII the doctor!
Go, caII the doctor. Why are you Ioitering?
What doctor are you taIking about?
Not the doctor, Mr. Panayotis.
Someone's cast an eviI eye on the poor man.
It's crystaI cIear.
Send for the midwife.
Send for her, don't Iet me suffer needIessIy.
ShouId we send for the doctor
or for the midwife?
- The midwife. - The doctor.
SIow down, peopIe, sIow down!
CaII the midwife, caII the doctor.
Bring them both, it's no big deaI.
They can consuIt and decide
what's to become of me.
There he is again, they toId me.
I'd turn around and there
you were in the crowd.
Didn't you reaIise who I was interested in?
Yes and no. You didn't say anything.
I often decided to taIk to you,
but I don't know what was wrong with me.
I couIdn't utter a word.
Perhaps my tongue was numb
from aII those ice creams.
Come take my hand...
don't worry about the cIouds...
...come take my hand.
There's summer somewhere,
we'II find it together.
Come, take my hand, there's summer somewhere.
Come, take my hand and we'II find it together.
- No, no.
- Why not?
What is someone saw us?
- Noone wiII, where I'm teIIing you.
- No, Dimitris, don't insist.
It's not right for us to sit here on our own.
- WeII?
- What?
- Tomorrow?
- No.
There's a IittIe boat, forgotten by aII...
...there's a Iitte boat.
Come sit at the wheeI,
I'II take the saiIs...
Come, and who knows
where the boat wiII take us.
Come, take my hand,
Ieave me aIone no more.
Far away across the sea
there's a IittIe isIand...
...far away across the sea.
There's a IittIe Iost isIand
Iet us go together.
It's aIways summer down there.
Come, take my hand to find that isIand.
Come, take my hand...
...for us to find it together.
How many times shouId I teII you, EIeni?
Put another piIIow underneath
to raise me up a IittIe!
Sir, madam! The doctor is coming.
He's here, praise the Lord.
Goodmorning, doctor.
HeIIo.
- What's wrong, Mr. Mayor?
- It hurts, doctor.
Let's see why it hurts.
Seeing it is not good enough, doctor.
The point is not to see the pain.
The point is to stop the pain.
To stop the pain, we must first see it.
It wiII take time, doctor.
- Are you running a temperature? - No.
Have you taken his temperature, then?
No, but his forehead is cooI.
Let's see.
I'd Iike to ask
the Iadies and the gentIemen...
...to move to the next room
so I can examine the patient.
GIadIy, doctor.
Good morning.
It's the midwife.
Good morning.
Excuse me.
What's wrong, Mr. Mayor?
It hurts, madam midwife.
Never fear anything now that I'm here.
- Just teII me where it hurts.
- Here, my beIIy.
I'II have you up and about in a jiffy!
- Assimina! Get here. - Coming.
You see we're busy here.
Heat some water in a pot...
then take two pinches of this herb...
...and when it boiIs, caII me.
AII right.
I'II have you up and about in five minutes.
Never fear, whiIe I'm here.
I'II be Ieaving.
Why are you Ieaving, doctor?
There's nothing for me to do here, madam.
I came because I was toId the Mayor is iII.
Since he's in the care of the midwife...
...it seems he's not iII,
but about to give birth.
I wish you an easy deIivery, Mr. Mayor.
And when you give birth,
keep a puppy for me, pIease.
PIease don't go, doctor.
To do what, my friend?
This is unbeIievabIe.
Don't Ieave, doctor.
PIease, stay to examine him.
Why shouId I stay, madam?
To work with the midwife
and cast off the eviI eye?
UnfortunateIy, I don't know
how to do that...
...nor do I make potions
or seII herbs and other magic.
Don't insist, Mrs. EIeni,
and distress the gentIeman.
Let him go in God-speed.
Besides, what couId the
gentIeman do for our Mayor?
From what I hear, he's a veterinarian.
UnIess Mr. Mayor is a caIf.
You mistook him for a caIf
and brought him grass.
UnIess it was fooI's grass.
Mind your tongue,
because if I Iet mine free...
...you'II be Iooking for a door to Ieave.
What can I say, you pyramid of Cheops?
Did you hear what I said?
And don't taIk to me.
Did you hear what I said?
And mind you don't provoke me.
Because I don't cast off eviI eyes,
I remove eyes!
- Doctor!
- You hussy!
Come, take my hand...
never mind the cIouds...
Katy! Dimitris!
We're coming!
I was teIIing her something.
There is summer somewhere,
we'II find it together.
Do you understand, my friend?
What's done, is done.
Don't be Iike that.
That woman wiII make a murderer out of me.
Shame on you.
I'II put my hands on her and
become the murderer of Lestinitsa.
Shame, shame.
Newspapers wiII write about me, mark my words.
You wiII see my photo in a newspaper...
...with the caption "the bIoodthirsty murderer"
or my name isn't Lycourgos!
- Where's Katy?
- She's upstairs. What do you want?
I need her.
Leave her be.
She's tired from the excursion
and has turned in.
Then she shouId get up!
Katy!
Yes, father?
Come down quickIy.
Did you hear me?
I heard you, father. I'm coming.
No more of parties, dances and excursions
with the midwife's son!
- Why?
- Because that's what I want.
If you meet him in the street
you won't teII him good morning.
Is that understood?
AII right.
- AII right?
- What eIse couId I have said?
He was so mad at that moment,
no other answer was possibIe.
I know my father.
When he's in one of his moods...
And aII that because he and my mother
exchanged words at the Mayor's.
- ApparentIy.
- And that's my fauIt?
- That's what I said.
- And what did he say?
He sIapped me.
Oy, oy, woe me.
Lower my piIIows a bit, wife.
How many times must I teII you?
Come on, easy does it.
That's better.
What's become of the doctor?
Didn't I teII you?
I sent Asimina to ask him to come.
- And what did he say?
- What did he teII you, Assimina?
He asked me if the Mayor had a boy or a girI.
- And what did you say?
- A girI.
Why, sir?
Isn't Miss VouIa a girI and not a boy?
I'm right!
What did he say? WiII he come?
He said he'd come onIy if the midwife Ieft.
And what did you say?
Why didn't you teII him she's gone?
- I did teII him.
- And what did he say?
- He said he'd come.
- Where is he?
There he is.
He's going to the Mayor's.
It seems the midwife
couIdn't heIp the Mayor...
...and they caIIed the doctor.
- And is he a good doctor?
What can I say?
I don't know about mayors,
but he's a great doctor for cows.
I saw that with my own eyes.
He's good.
Good morning.
Good morning.
I'm back, Mr. Mayor,
but on certain conditions.
Accepted.
First, you'II throw away aII
the herbs and potions.
You'II either recover with my medicine...
...or the midwife's medicine.
- With yours, doctor.
Bring me a bucket, pIease.
VouIa, fetch a bucket, didn't you hear?
What are you stiII doing here?
- PIease, take a seat, doctor.
- No, thank you. I won't sit.
- Here you are.
- Ah, good.
Pour it down the sink now.
Didn't you hear the doctor?
Pour down the drain, dammit!
- Let's go.
- Go on, don't sit here.
And now, for my fee, Mr. Mayor.
You can have anything you want
if you cure me, doctor.
I don't want much, just this bead.
- The bead?
- Yes, the bead.
ShouId anyone cast an eviI eye on you,
don't worry, Mr. Mayor.
I'II be over to heIp.
Here it is, doctor.
What's wrong with you
and you start coIIecting...
...beads from your patients?
- These are not beads, wife.
- Not beads?
- No. - What is it?
Teeth.
They're the oId crow's teeth.
The teeth she used to bite and eat.
WeII, I'm removing them one by one.
I'II take them aII and we'II see
what she'II do then.
There not enough room for both of us
in Lestinitsa. It's either her or me!
Either me or him! That's it.
It's now war!
God heIp us and we'II take him!
You're not right, mother.
- I'm not?
- No, you're not.
He is a scientist.
So what? He can be whatever
he wants for himseIf.
He shouId mind his own business
and not mingIe in mine.
Now, it's you who's doing that
and not the doctor.
- You don't say.
- Yes, mother.
And why is it his business?
Because he went to the University
and he's got a degree.
I, too, have a degree.
And it's as big as a carpet.
Yes, but yours is a midwife's degree.
And his is a doctor's.
When a patient has kidney troubIe...
Iike the Mayor...
and you try to cure him with herbs
and such stuff...
...you are trespassing in his fieId.
And yet it's those herbs and "stuff"
as you caII it...
...that heIped me raise you.
With these herbs and stuff
I am heIping you study now.
This is irreIevant.
You are commendabIe as a mother.
I appreciate you deepIy,
I admire and Iove you.
Do you truIy Iove me, Dimitris?
Why do you ask Iike that?
Do you doubt it?
- I don't doubt it.
- But what?
I'm afraid.
Afraid of what?
Look!
Autumn is here. No more dawdIing.
In 10-20 days you wiII Ieave.
The Iessons wiII start and
you'II have to Ieave.
And I'II here aII aIone
with onIy the summer memories...
...to keep me company
the coId winter nights.
It's onIy one winter.
It wiII pass quickIy.
And what if your Iove passes
with the winter?
- Is that what scares you?
- Yes.
Then, come with me.
- Where?
- To Athens.
- How can I come?
- As my wife.
- As your wife?
- Yes.
I thought about it these days
and I've made up my mind.
What did you decide?
I'II come to your father tomorrow.
- What?
- I'II ask for your hand in marriage.
Don't even joke about that.
- Why?
- You don't know my father.
He either Iikes or disIikes peopIe.
- And he disIikes you.
- But why?
Because in my father's eyes you are not you.
- And who am I?
- The midwife's son.
And to my mother's eyes
you're the doctor's daughter.
But that doesn't matter at aII.
Don't you know the saying
"if the bride and groom want to... "?
- Our best wishes.
- Thank you.
But now we shouId return
to the viIIage separateIy.
Won't you teII them now?
No! For heaven's sake,
don't breathe a word to anyone!
We'II ease them into it.
Come on!
Why am I waiting at the tabIe...
...with aII these dishes and cutIery?
CaIm down, Lycourgos.
Goodness!
What's it with you and sitting at the tabIe...
- And you want to eat immediateIy.
- Of course, I do.
I don't sit at the tabIe to dream, but to eat.
I eat at the tabIe, sIeep on the bed...
...and rest in the armchair
to have some coffee.
What's on the newspaper?
Any news, Lycourgos?
Everything on it is new, wife.
Have you seen an oId newspaper?
OId newspapers are soId by the pound.
You've become such a grouch IateIy!
What do you expect when you ask
about news in the newspaper?
It goes without saying
it's going to have the news.
What are you stiII doing up?
It's gone 11 .
- I'm not sIeepy.
- What wiII you do?
I'II stay here with daddy,
unIess I'm a bother.
You won't be a bother unIess you sit on my nose.
- I'm off to bed.
- SIeep tight.
Goodnight.
Father, if, God forbid,
someone here in Lestinitsa...
needed an operation...
They couIdn't have it here, couId they?
Of course not.
There's no operating room.
Where wouId we operate on him?
In the oIive grove?
What if it's necessary?
He shouId go to Athens.
Now, if it's a minor operation...
...there might be other soIutions,
aren't there?
What minor operation? I don't understand.
Say, a woman who is bareIy pregnant...
...and wants a termination.
She couId avoid the procedure,
couIdn't she?
She couId take some medicine.
Isn't there medication for something Iike that?
It depends on the compIaint
that wiII make the doctor decide to terminate.
What if the woman is heaIthy?
If she's heaIthy why wouId she do that?
There might be other reasons.
- What sort of reasons?
- Other reasons.
- Let's say, sociaI.
- SociaI reasons?
What if a girI were not married...
She shouId get married.
You're married, nothing to worry about.
- Yes, but he doesn't know.
- Then it's time he knew.
He'II find out sometime.
Why not now?
I'm desperate.
I couId tie a rock round my neck
and jump into the sea.
That's nonsense.
You shouIdn't worry.
- I'II reveaI it tomorrow.
- To whom?
To my mother.
Curse you!
What's this you're dropping on my head!
Why become invoIved with her?
There are so many Iadies
who had their eyes on you.
You'd have been a nationaI benefactor.
What a bombsheII!
What's to be done now?
- It's a bit...
- What?
I've asked her to come here.
- Here?
- Yes.
Goodness gracious.
- To my house?
- Yes.
Our Lady, heIp me!
- The doctor's daughter?
- Yes.
Good heavens!
What can I do?
Why didn't you bring home an AmericaI rocket...
...one of those that burst on their own?
Woe me!
- When did you teII her to come?
- Now, at 1 0 o'cIock.
Woe me!
If he finds out he'II send me to jaiI!
How couId he find out?
OnIy you, me and she wiII know.
Which one might teII?
What if someone shouId see her
when she comes here?
I toId her to be carefuI.
WeII, weII, here she is.
Come in, come in, goody two shoes.
Katy!
What's this now?
I'II give a sIap and she'II come round.
What sIap, mother?
Are you crazy? She's coId as ice.
HeIp me put her to bed.
What's this you've done to me!
Fetch some pure aIcohoI
to rub her wrists.
Stop babbIing.
There's no need for aIcohoI here.
I shouId bring some petroI
to pour aII over you.
And then set you on fire!
Damn you!
Katy!
HoId this.
Katy!
- Mother, she's not weII.
- She'II be aII right.
Her puIse is very weak, mother.
Here, have a Iook!
Damn you!
That's aII I'm teIIing you!
- Now what, mother?
- Damn you!
Don't you have a camphor injection?
Where wouId I find one?
I don't have any.
Something must be done!
I must go somewhere!
- Where?
- To the chemist's!
DRUGSTORE
- HeIIo, Costas.
- WeIcome, Dimitris.
May I have two camphor injections, pIease?
The doctor bought the Iast box yesterday.
The doctor?
If you need one, you shouId ask him.
He won't say no.
The doctor, pIease.
It's urgent.
Just a moment.
It's urgent.
- There's someone to see you.
- Who?
The midwife's son.
The midwife's son?
TeII him I'm not here.
Excuse me.
I wouId never bother you
but it is an emergency.
The chemist toId me that you bought
the Iast camphor injections.
I did. So what?
A patient's puIse is very weak.
It's the heart.
A camphor injection is vitaI.
What is your interest? As a doctor?
You're not yet a doctor.
It's my mother.
My mother's patient.
It's a Iady.
I have these for your mother's patient.
She can hang them round her neck
or anywhere eIse she wants...
...or give her a speII,
cast off the eviI eye...
PIease Ieave, sir.
- I said it's urgent!
- Leave, sir!
I'm not Ieaving!
I won't Ieave unIess I take the injection.
And I'II take it, do you understand?
What was that?
You heard me.
I'II take the injection!
You cannot refuse me.
You have an oath, sir,
when you got your degree.
You have to honour that oath.
You cannot pIay with a person's Iife...
...to satisfy your petty ego and nastiness!
You took an oath, sir!
You siIIy young man!
Who toId you that the oath I took...
aIIows me to hand over the tooIs
entrusted to me...
by the science that I serve...
...to the to unworthy hands of a disenchanter
and a cIueIess student?
A concoction that my experienced hands...
wiII turn into a Iife-saving medicine...
...in your hands can become deadIy poison,
a kiIIing dagger.
Even if I wanted,
I can give you nothing.
Then a person shouId die?
Who said anything Iike that?
The person shouId be saved.
I'II come over to save this person.
- You wiII come?
- Of course.
No, that's not possibIe.
Not that, no.
Hey, young man?
Be carefuI. We don't pIay
with peopIe's Iives.
ShouId anything happen to the
patient in your care...
...it wiII be a crime.
I hoId you responsibIe for
this person's Iife, you hear?
And you and your mother
must rest assured...
...that I won't Iet this pass!
I'II report you!
I swear on my chiId's Iife,
the most sacred vow I have.
May I see her dead if I don't!
Come with me.
OnIy hurry, pIease, hurry.
Stop pushing.
Don't you see the pothoIes over there?
Where did you see the pothoIes?
There's nothing more in
Lestinitsa than pothoIes.
Good morning.
I don't know what you have in Athens.
Good morning.
There wiII never be peace
between these two.
- Good morning, Mr. Mayor.
- Good morning.
That's it, Mayor.
This issue must be fixed.
- Of course it wiII.
- It has to be fixed, Mayor.
Yes, it must.
I said, of course. I have it in mind.
AII right, but there is another issue.
What is that?
The Iighting of the streets.
What about that?
I toId you, don't worry.
It takes time to do things right.
The doctor.
- He's a great doctor.
- I know.
For mayors and cows aIike.
- He's my cousin.
- I know that, too.
- Good morning.
- Good morning, cousin.
- HeIIo.
- WeIcome.
Let me see your grandson.
He looks great.
Spit on him, Mr. Mayor,
lest you cast an evil eye.
Wait a second. What are you doing?
If you want to spit on anyone, mayor,
spit on grandma over here.
And if she's not refreshed enough
I'II add to it.
He cracks a mean joke!
Slowly, turn it a little.
Wait, you'II drop it.
You're liabIe to do anything.
Take it easy.
Easy! You're so graceless!
Yes, you took all the grace yourself!
LYCOURGOS BEKOS Doctor DIMITRIOS MOUSTAKIS Doctor CALLIOPE MOUSTAKI Certified Midwife
GEORGIA VASSILIADOU and ORESTES MAKRIS
In a new comedy by: ALEKOS SAKELLARIOS
OUR MIDWIFE
with DIMITRIS PAPAMICHAEL XENIA KALOGEROPOULOU
PANTELIS ZERVOS - ELENI ZAFIRIOU GEORGE DAMASIOTIS NITSA TSAGANEA - POPI ALVA
LAVRENTIS DIANELOS PERICLES CHRISTOPHORIDES NIKITAS PLATIS - LAKIS SKELAS COSTAS PAPACHRISTOS - MARY METAXA
NIKOS FERMAS - BEBI KOULA LOUISA BATISTA - COSTAS VOUTSAS ELSA RIZOU - CHARIS LOUKEA
SAPPHO NOTARA L. PAPAZAFIROPOULOU VICKY CONSTANTOPOULOU NIKOS FLOKAS and little VASSILAKIS
Songs and performance: "TRIO CANCONE"
Sets: MARKOS ZERVAS
Montage: D. KATSOURIDES - GEORGE TSAOULIS
Sound: M. ZERBAS - K. MICHALOUDES Make up: N. XEPAPADAKOS
Laboratory: EL. GIANNIKAGIANNIS TH. ASSIMAKOPOULOS
Photography: DINOS KATSOURIDES
Music: TAKIS MORAKIS
Script - Director: ALEKOS SAKELLARIOS
Well, doctor?
My lady, if you're married,
I have some very good news.
But if you're single,
I have some very bad news.
Well, doctor, I'm not married.
- But I'm not totally unmarried.
- "Not totally unmarried"?
What's that? Please explain it to me.
I mean I'm engaged.
- Engaged? - Yes, sir.
Then you rushed it, my dear.
Engaged girls first dance the wedding waltz...
...and then the belly dance.
Do you understand?
What's going to happen now?
You'll have either a boy or a girl.
That's what usually happens.
Child, crying won't help.
What's done is done.
Go find your fiance,
tell him of your condition...
and that you should get married
earlier than planned...
...to put an end to this.
- There's nothing to be done?
- Like what?
You see, my father is very strict.
You should have thought of that 2-3 months ago.
It's too late now.
This is the Social Securities Service...
...and not the Clandestine Affairs Service.
I mean, I am willing to pay extra,
not for free.
You're knocking on the wrong door, child.
I am a doctor and you are
looking for a murderer.
This is murder and I'm not
in that line of work.
Go find your fiance and set things in motion.
Well, I'm not exactly engaged.
Just promised.
You two didn't just promise.
You did much more than that.
You gave and received much more.
Go and make the arrangements.
I've brought the X-ray, doctor.
All right.
Very good, well done.
Should I still take the medication?
Of course, you should.
- When shouId I come back?
- In two weeks' time.
But don't ask for me,
ask for the gentIeman.
Costas, you are famiIiar with
the Katsinikas case, right?
Oh, yes, I am.
Come to me, Mr. Katsinikas.
Yes, thank you.
Are you Ieaving us, doctor?
- I've had enough.
- Are you Ieaving for good?
I guess so. I am retiring.
Goodbye, doctor and thank you so much
for aII you've done for me.
I've done nothing more than my duty.
So, you've made up your mind, eh?
I have and I'm very pIeased with
my decision, Costas.
And you'II go to that godforsaken pIace?
- Why shouId I stay here? - I admire your courage.
You shouId have toId me that
if I had decided to stay here...
...and try to make ends meet on my meager pension.
There I'II have a roof over my head for free,
I'II be abIe to practise...
as ever since my Iate father-in-Iaw
passed away...
...they have no other doctor
and my pension wiII tide us over.
Because the pIace is cheap and
it's money that costs there.
- And that... - What?
What sort of house is the one
you inherited from your father-in-Iaw?
It's a country house.
I've never been there and I've never seen it...
...but my wife who grew there teIIs me
it's a tidy IittIe house.
It's a two-storey semi-detached
and my father-in-Iaw used the ground fIoor
...for his practice and Iived upstairs.
Why don't you seII it?
SeII it? For how much, Costas?
Forty... fifty... sixty thousand?
And then? We'II spend the money in a year
and the next year...
...I'II be standing cap in hand
begging outside Saint Irene's.
It's the ideaI soIution for me.
- For you.
- Yes, for me.
But you're not going aIone.
You're taking your wife and daughter aIong.
Of course, I am. What shouId I do?
Leave and Iet them stay here on their own?
I mean, and I'm sorry to taIk about something
that's none of my business.
No, go ahead.
Your daughter is of marrying age.
Soon it wiII be time for her to marry.
I hope she wiII.
ShouId she marry a paIe faced man of the city?
Let her marry a strong viIIage boy
who owns fieIds and orchards.
We might have a nice meIon to eat in the summer.
- What about her job?
- What job? It's nothing much.
The poor girI works aII hours...
...for a mere 40 drachmas a day.
One at a time, pIease.
I cannot serve you aII together.
- EIeni, more cones!
- Right away.
- He's here again.
- Who?
- It's him.
- Where is he?
There he is.
Be carefuI!
He'II have dysentery from aII the
ice cream he's been eating.
Is he the one coming for Katy?
Yes, he's been here at Ieast
10 times this morning.
Has he said anything to her yet?
Nah! He eats his ice cream temporariIy
quenches the fIames...
...and when the bIaze rises again,
he returns.
PIease, gentIemen. One at a time.
Give me your receipt, sir.
He's onIy just arrived!
He's been waiting for haIf an hour.
She's made a mess of it again.
She no Ionger cares
as she's Ieaving tomorrow.
She's Ieaving?
Yes. Her father is a doctor
and they're reIocating to a viIIage.
- Which viIIage is that?
- A viIIage caIIed...
Lestinitsa.
Is it far, friend?
It's about two, three hours.
Look how beautifuI it is, Lycourgos.
Nice road.
Nice road.
Is the entire road to Lestinitsa
Iike this, my friend?
No, it's worse further on.
Oh, right. That's reassuring.
Goodness! What's this?
I never get seasick and yet I'm now carsick.
Patience, my friend.
There's an inn not far from here.
- So what? - There's going to be a stop.
Let's have some coffee...
...to take strength for the
shake-up up ahead.
It is far stiII, my friend?
It's two, three hours.
StiII? It was two to three hours
when Iast I asked.
It's two to three hours, maybe four.
Oh, it couId be four.
We shouIdn't be disappointed.
- Are you from this area?
- Not me, my wife is.
- Where are you from, Iady?
- From Lestinitsa.
From Lestinitsa itseIf?
Where couId she be from?
From beyond Lestinitsa?
From what I understand, there's nothing other
than pothoIes beyond Lestinitsa.
- Who was your father?
- Antonis StabaIos.
The Iate doctor?
Daughter of the Iate doctor
and MeIpomene Zafiritsena?
Niece of the Iate Thodoris BaItouros...
...son of Anestis Trenigas
and MeIpomene Zafiritsena?
Yes.
You don't say, girI.
Do you know who I am?
Take a good Iook.
Do you think he might be
Odysseus Androutsos?
- Have you found it?
- I can't imagine.
Aren't I VassiIis Danabasis,
son of the Iate Dimitros...
...the brother of DanaIis' wife, Aristea?
ReaIIy? PIeased to meet you.
- Your Iady and I are cousins.
- That's nice.
That and the road stiII ahead.
That's the good news of the day.
Won't you sit, sir?
Sit, cousin, sit.
Thank you.
The IittIe girI is your daughter?
Yes, our daughter.
I couId teII. She's the spitting image
of MeIpomene Zafiritsena.
- Waiter. - Yes, sir.
Coffees aII around.
- WiII you have some coffee, cousin?
- The occasion warrants it.
I don't want any coffee.
I'II waIk around a bit.
- AII right. Three coffees, pIease.
- Right away.
- A cigarette, cousin?
- No, thank you. I don't smoke.
- This is a nice pIace.
- Very heaIthy. See the pIane trees?
WiII you stay Iong in Lestinitsa?
We're moving here.
- For how Iong? - For ever.
My husband is a doctor.
And since my Iate father...
There's no other doctor in Lestinitsa, right?
- Oh, yes, there is.
- Who is it?
Our midwife.
The midwife treats the women.
Who treats the men?
Our midwife.
Do men, too, give birth in Lestinitsa?
No, we haven't seen anything Iike that tiII now.
What do the men do at the midwife's?
For a discenchantment or a herb.
She knows aII about herbs and
she's great at disenchanting.
Once, she disenchanted me
in under five minutes!
- Some had cast an eviI eye on you?
- Most certainIy, cousin.
- You shouId have some garIic on you.
- I do.
I have a bIue bead.
I've never taken it off since that time.
No, you shouIdn't!
Who knows, it might happen again.
Father!
The chiId from the bus is not weII.
PIease, come and take a Iook.
Why don't you bIess the chiId, ma'am?
I've aIready done so.
Jesus Christ wins over aII eviI.
Make room, pIease.
Let the chiId breathe.
- What's wrong with your chiId, ma'am?
- Someone gave him the eviI eye.
- Say what?
- I said, he's been given the eviI eye.
He's been given the eviI eye.
It's obvious he's been given the eviI eye.
What nonsense is this?
The chiId is iII.
Look this way, chiId.
He's running a temperature.
- Does your head hurt, sonny?
- Yes.
I'II give you something and
you'II feeI better in no time.
Open you mouth, my dear.
What's this?
What do you think it is, madam?
It's medicine.
In an hour or two he'II be fine.
No, sir, never mind.
When we get to Lestinitsa, I'II take him
to the midwife for disenchantment.
Listen to me and Iet the chiId take the piII.
Let him take the piII and if he's not better
then you take him to the midwife.
Come on, sonny. Open your mouth.
AII aboard!
Didn't you order coffee?
What are we to do with them now?
I'II give your address
and you can maiI them.
- Is the bus Ieaving?
- Of course, it's Ieaving.
- Anyway, how much is it?
- It's 5.40, pIease.
Here you are.
- You paid for the coffees, cousin?
- What eIse couId I do?
Then they shouId go to waste.
You may have them then.
Wait a second, I heard you.
The deviI take you!
Hey, sir.
What is it, Iaddie?
Aren't the coffees paid for?
The coffees, yes, but not the gIass.
- You thought I'd take the gIass?
- I don't know.
Go to the deviI, you wanker!
Wait a second, what's the rush?
- Come on, sir.
- Stop hounding me.
LESTINITSA BUS STATION
Oh, midwife!
I've been Iooking for you everywhere.
- Even in the sky? - Yes.
What am I to be up in the sky? Leika?
- Save me, midwife. - What's wrong now?
- It's my tooth. - Does it hurt?
It's kiIIing me.
- It's kiIIing you? - It sure is.
Then you don't need medicine,
you need an undertaker.
Don't joke, pIease, I'm dying here.
- Which tooth is it?
- The upper grinder.
- On the Ieft or on the right?
- On the right.
What can you expect from grinders...
- Say what?
- Anyway.
Go home and take some ouzo.
Then snort some from the right nostriI.
From the right!
The hand you use to cross yourseIf.
I understand.
- And I'II feeI better?
- Yes, you wiII.
What if I don't?
If you don't, drop by the surgery
for some cIove-giIIy fIower oiI.
AIthough its price has gone up again.
I'II pay, madam midwife.
AII right. Use some ouzo first
and if it persists, drop by.
Thank you. And aII the best for your son.
Amen to that.
Madam midwife!
HeIIo, Mrs. Sofia. What's wrong?
- It's my boy, Argyris.
- What's wrong with him?
- Someone cast an eviI eye on him.
- An eviI eye? Let me see.
Oh, yes and a bIue-eyed someone,
to be exact.
- BIue-eyed?
- It's obvious.
- Is that bad?
- If it's bad?
There's nothing to a bIack-eyed eviI eye,
Iike bIack-eyed peas.
But a bIue-eyed eviI eye is devious.
It cuts to the bone.
What now, madam midwife?
Won't you heIp me?
This can't be done in the
middIe of the street, Mrs. Sofia.
I'm not an itinerant peddIer.
I've got a surgery.
- Can I come now?
- Of course. Let's go.
The poor kid has it bad.
To the farthest mountain.
To the woods and the fieIds.
To the deepest sea.
It's very serious, Mrs. Sofia.
Someone's driIIed the poor kid.
My baby.
Leave them to me.
I don't want to put you to troubIe, cousin.
It's no troubIe, cousin.
These two are heavy.
You'II strain your back.
Never mind, I'II handIe them.
WeII done, cousin!
Spit on me, cousin, to avoid the eviI eye.
You're not at risk, cousin.
You're carrying a bIue bead.
Just to be on the safe side.
If you insist, cousin.
To barren trees.
To the deepest sea where no rooster crows.
I'm exhausted.
Was that aII?
You wanted more?
I've been taIking for an hour.
I've mentioned the deepest sea,
I've mentioned the rocks...
...the fig trees and the aImond trees.
I've used everything.
This was a first-cIass disenchantment!
WiII be better now?
Great Lord, of course he wiII.
He's aIready better, don't you see?
His eyes are wide open.
Look! He's great.
AII my best wishes for your son,
madam midwife.
Thank you.
When is he coming?
It's stiII earIy,
he's got two more Iessons Ieft.
He's attending the University and
that's no Iaughing matter.
May he do weII. I'm sorry to ask,
but what do I owe you?
You owe me nothing.
But since you opened your purse...
and it's bad Iuck to cIose it
without paying something...
Don't you know that? It's bad Iuck.
Pay whatever you wish and
if you haven't got Iarge denominations...
...you can pay me some other
time when you do.
- HeIIo, Mrs. Leni.
- HeIIo, Mr. MichaIis.
- Good morning, how are you?
- I'm fine, thank you.
- Everyone aII right at home?
- Yes, and they send their regards.
Cousin?
Remember teIIing me about eviI eyes
and such driveI?
There's the IittIe boy and he's great.
And you didn't want me to give him
a piII, madam.
- What did the piII do?
- What did it do?
What more than this?
He's much better.
- Is your head better?
- Oh, yes.
Of course it is.
The midwife spent an hour
casting off the eviI eye.
She did what?
What did you think cured him?
Your aspirin?
I was worried there for a second.
LYCOURGOS BEKOS
Doctor Surgeon PathoIogist
Obstetrician GynaecoIogist
Where shouId I put it?
On the stack.
CIimb onto the roof and pIace it on the stack.
What are you taIking about, father?
I know what I'm taIking about.
It's God's bread.
Put it in the bread bin,
put it on the tabIe...
...put it anywhere we usuaIIy put bread.
Where eIse couId you put it? In my eye?
I just asked, father, that's aII.
::Where shouId I put it::?
You're in a bad mood
and you want to Iet yourseIf go.
I know how to Iet myseIf go
and mind your tongue...
...because I'm ready to bIow up!
Lycourgos!
- What are you doing stiII Iike that?
- Like what? What's wrong?
You're stiII in your robes.
So what? I'II take it off,
put on my jacket and I'm ready.
I needn't put on a bra,
a corset or a garter-beIt...
...any of aII the trappings you women wear.
I'II take it off and put on my jacket.
Go on then, we're Iate.
How can we be Iate?
We've been invited to dinner.
Yes, but this is not Athens
and peopIe here eat earIy.
How earIy do they eat?
Do they eat dinner at noon and breakfast
the previous evening?
Piffle, Lycourgos! You're in a mood again.
Stop taIking and get ready.
It's impoIite to be Iate.
Stop pushing, woman.
PeopIe get pushed into jaiI,
not to go to dinner.
But it's Iate.
I shouId stay another 15 minutes.
Why is that?
Because the bIoody sign on the door...
...says visiting hours "5 to 8".
We can Ieave at 8 o'cIock.
What wouId happen if we Ieft at 10 to 8, eh?
- Someone might come. - At this hour?
You're right. If anyone were to come...
...they'd have come these 20 days
I've been waiting aII dressed up.
Things wiII get better.
- When? - Soon.
It's not the kind of business
that is profitabIe so easiIy.
As you very weII know,
a doctor needs connections.
Connections with the Mayor?
But it won't be just the Mayor.
You'II meet the manager
of the Bank, the teacher...
...the Post-Office manager.
He's invited many peopIe.
The aristocracy of Lestinitsa.
If you put it this way, yes,
the aristocracy of Lestinitsa.
These connections wiII be good for work.
Mark my words.
Oh, the great times we're having in Lestinitsa!
What are you waiting for?
What shouId I do?
Go upstairs and put on your nice bIue dress.
This dress is more than fine.
Why not wear such a IoveIy dress
to show off as a girI?
Show off where? In Lestinitsa?
What I have on is more than
good enough for Lestinitsa.
At Ieast comb your hair.
My hair is fine.
Let me comb it for you.
It's not proper to go Iike that.
Let me go, mama.
Katy!
What's wrong, chiId?
- I'm taIking to you. What's wrong?
- Leave me aIone, mama.
- What's wrong with you?
- What do you think?
What sort of Iife is this
at the end of the worId...
...that we have found ourseIves?
But such is your father's work.
What work? Have you seen any work?
In the month I've been here not
one person has come.
And what if my father's work...
were to expIore the North PoIe,
wouId you drag me aIong...
...to sIeep with the bears?
- Oh, come on, Katy...
I'm right! What am I doing
here in Lestinitsa?
Your father and mother are here.
Where eIse wouId you be?
You couId have Ieft me with aunt Marina.
AII aIone in Athens?
I wouIdn't be aIone.
I'd be staying at aunt Marina's.
I'd finish studying EngIish.
And I wouIdn't be a burden on anyone there.
- I had a job.
- We'II see Iater.
- When things get better.
- Yeah, right.
It's summertime now, anyway.
PeopIe Ieave Athens to come here
for the summer.
Wait untiI winter comes and we'II see.
Wipe your tears and freshen up a IittIe.
Why don't I stay here, mama?
Stay where?
I couId read a IittIe and go to bed earIy.
What shouId I do with the Mayor
and the President and such?
There wiII be young peopIe there, too.
You'II have a great time.
You'II sing and dance...
They even have a record pIayer.
Doesn't your IittIe girI dance?
Of course, she does.
But today she seems a bit out of sorts.
It's the change in environment, you see.
Oh yes, a new environment is very important.
Wait a second.
Sotiris, come here, son.
My son.
- A grown man. CongratuIations.
- Thank you.
- What is it, mother?
- WiII you do my a favour?
What kind of favour?
See that girI sitting on her own?
Go and ask her to dance.
The one sitting by the weII?
Yes, that's the one.
I asked her earIier and she
didn't want to dance.
- Why not?
- How shouId I know?
Perhaps because she's from Athens
she thinks we're beneath her.
Aren't country peopIe Greek citizens, too?
Don't they have the same rights
and obigations...
...as aII Greeks do?
Then how can the state that on one hand
tries to fight ruraI depopuIation...
and on the other aIIows the
heaIth issues of country peopIe...
of the most usefuI citizens, that is...
...to be at the mercy of quackery
and charIatanism?
Quite right.
The popuIation IeveI of Lestinitsa
shouId warrant...
...the presence of three doctors
and not just one.
And him a voIunteer.
That's quite right, doctor.
Mr. Mayor, I was shocked to hear
that in the age...
of peniciIIin and streptomycin,
there are sick peopIe...
...who seek the midwife to cast off
the eviI eye. It's the MiddIe Ages!
WeII, as to that, doctor.
Of course, you're right.
But as for disenchantment,
the midwife aces that.
What was that, Mr. Mayor?
I've seen it with my own eyes.
She did it to me in under five minutes.
Someone had cast an eviI eye
on you, too, Mayor?
Of course.
It's because of your roads, apparentIy.
What was that?
Nothing. The eviI eye is terribIe.
But I've been carrying this bIue bead
ever since and I'm fine.
- Sotiris, put Jealousie.
- No, no, a mambo.
I think a cha-cha is best.
Voula, come here, child.
My daughter.
Pleased to meet you.
How's things with you?
Great. It's what they caII
"an unforgettabIe evening".
WouId you Iike to dance, miss?
No, thank you. My feet hurt.
Why are you being so mean?
What do you want?
I'd Iike us to Ieave.
Leave? How can we be the first to Ieave?
Someone has to do that.
Not everyone can Ieave Iast.
And after aII that, Mr. Manager...
...what do you think he said?
- What?
She's great at disenchantment.
She's done it for me, too.
- She's done it for you, too?
- For me?
That's what you said.
No, not for me.
The Mayor said she'd done it for him.
Oh, yes, I know that.
She's done it indeed.
Has she cast off the eviI eye for you, too
and I'm taIking in vain?
Oh, no, doctor. I've got... where is it?
Oh, here it is.
I never take this off.
Hey, guys?
Is there a girI Ieft for me to dance with?
It's Dimitris!
When did you arrive?
WiII you stay Iong?
When did you arrive?
This morning.
- Have you come aIone?
- Who shouId I have come with?
Have you finished with your Iessons?
No, I stiII owe...
I stiII owe two Iessons.
- Where's your purse, mama?
- Over there, on the chair. Why?
What are you Iooking for?
I want to comb my hair.
Is that bad, too?
Good Lord.
Imagine what the Mayor said, Mr. President.
Yes, she cast the eviI eye off me, too.
It gets better.
I reIate the incident to the Bank Manager.
Oh, he says, so she did it for you, too.
No, no, I said.
The Mayor said "she did it for me, too".
And he says "Oh I know about the Mayor".
Oh, I see.
So he didn't know she'd done it for you, too.
I see, Mr. President.
Why didn't you teII you had one, too?
One what?
Never mind, never mind.
And she toId me that her feet hurt. Imagine!
WiII she be joining us tomorrow?
- ApparentIy. Dimitris toId her.
- About the excursion?
Which excursion?
The chiIdren thought they'd go
on an excursion tomorrow.
Go where? Aren't we aII on
an excursion here?
Where the heck wouId they go?
To VenezueIa?
They're just kids.
They'II go to Pera Chora.
And they'II go to AIyki from there,
to enjoy a swim.
- And our daughter wants to go, too?
- It's her I'm taIking about, Lycourgos.
Do you think I'd ask your permission
for the Mayor's daughter...
- Or the midwife's son?
- So, she's got a son, eh?
Yes, the young man who came Iast.
- The medicaI schooI student?
- Yes.
I didn't know they now teach
disenchantment at the University.
What are you taIking about?
For the midwife to send her son
they must have one.
What about Katy?
WiII you aIIow her to go, yes or no?
She can go.
There's someone at the door.
What couId it be at this hour?
What eIse, Lycourgos? You're a doctor.
They don't need doctors here,
they need someone for disenchanting.
Come on, get up.
Here comes the first patient
in the middIe of the night.
He's not coming, my friend.
He's a doctor.
He'II put on his shirt,
he'II put on his tie.
He's not Iike you and me.
HeIIo, cousin.
Get in, friend.
- But out here...
- Get in.
Go on, get in, finaIIy.
- This friend here, cousin...
- Yes, me.
He's godfather to the chiId
of Evdoxia DanaIis...
...who's your wife's cousin
and niece of the Iate BaItouros.
- And what shouId I do?
- We need you, doctor.
- What for?
- The Iate BaItouros...
Is Iate, gone. Whatever a doctor
couId have done, has been done.
I mean that KaneIIia of the Iate BaItouros...
- ... who's now with our friend.
- Mine.
- Is this about KaneIIia?
- Yes.
- What's wrong with her?
- Go on, teII the doctor.
- She's about to pop, doctor.
- Oh, she's in the famiIy way.
- No, no.
- Not a famiIy way, what famiIy?
- She's pregnant.
- Yes.
AII right, cousin.
I wouIdn't have understood
without your cIarification.
- What do you want from me?
- She's in Iabour, doctor.
- When did it start?
- She's been beIIowing for a few hours.
BeIIowing for a coupIe of hours
and you came to me this Iate?
Come on, cousin, make it quick
to avoid any catastrophe.
Come in and wait for a second.
I'II put on some cIothes,
get my bag and we'II Ieave.
What's wrong, cousin?
Guys, you shouId have toId me
to take my passport aIong.
What do you need it for, cousin?
We've been waIking for so Iong
we must be nearing Romania by now.
Is it far, friend?
We're here. It's that door over there.
- Here is KaneIIia, cousin.
- The gentIeman's wife?
What was that?
- You woke me up for your cow?
- Who shouId I have woken you up for?
The way you put it,
I thought she was your wife.
And what's a wife compared to a cow?
Women are free and you get
a dowry to marry them.
Have you tried getting a cow, though?
That is correct.
I went to the midwife,
to teII you the truth.
But she couIdn't come because VassiIiki...
...of VangeIis TrabaIos
is about to give birth.
- Is VassiIiki a cow, too?
- No, she's a woman.
- And TrabaIos? Is he a man or an ox?
- He's a man.
Thank you, Lord, for making a man
and a woman get together in this viIIage.
And what a woman, cousin!
She'II drop a strapping kid, cousin. NearIy...
Five and a haIf kiIos, Mr. VangeIis.
- WeII done.
- Thank you, thank you.
Listen to that! BareIy born
and aIready singing.
Wait, where are you going?
Let me prepare them first.
Is the water ready, Vasso?
I'm going to get it.
Make haste, because by the time
we get round to washing the chiId...
...the chiId wiII be up washing itseIf.
It was very tiring.
I broke a sweat puIIing it out.
Worse than a second vote count.
Is it Iike we said, madam midwife?
- Of course, it is.
- So, it's a boy.
- No, it's a girI.
- A girI?
And what a big girI she is. Next month
she'II be wearing a bra.
Wait a second.
You said you can see everything.
You toId me it wouId be a boy.
I didn't want you to feeI bad.
I knew it wouId be a girI.
You'd seen it?
Of course. If you don't
beIieve me, foIIow me.
Come cIoser.
See this caIendar?
What am I, crosseyed?
Of course, I can see it.
- The water is ready.
- Put it in and I'II be right there.
Look what is written on the underside.
Mr. VangeIis, you're going
to have a girI.
I haven't toId you not to
make you feeI bad.
See?
And if it had been a boy,
wouId have toId me about the caIendar...
...or wouId you have stuck it
firmIy to the waII?
Come on, madam midwife, come on!
AII right, aII right, I know my duties.
The mysteries of science.
I can go on my own from here on.
- We'II take you there, cousin.
- Right up to your door.
Don't go to the troubIe.
My house is very cIose.
It might be cIose, but it's dark, cousin.
You see, the Mayor hasn't
put on any Iights here.
- And he never wiII.
- Why not?
He's got a pIan.
You see, he thinks that if there is Iight...
...you wiII see and cast an
eviI eye on each other.
It's best if you're in the dark.
You think?
Mark my words.
It's possibIe.
Thank you, madam midwife.
WeII done!
- Thank you very much.
- Have a nice day.
Don't be sad it's a girI, Mr. VangeIis.
I'II bring you some orchis and
you'II have a boy next time.
Thank you, madam midwife, thank you.
Let them rest now and I'II be back
bright and earIy tomorrow morning.
- You come earIy.
- Don't worry, I'II be here.
- Have a nice day.
- Thank you.
Don't thank me.
I onIy did my scientific duty.
Mr. VangeIis did it aII.
I did my best, madam midwife.
You did much more than that.
Why don't you take the Iantern
to escort the midwife home?
No, there's no need.
My surgery is quite near.
Lo! Here come some others with a Iantern.
Who are they? I can't see very weII.
One of them is VassiIis Danambasis.
The other one is Dimitros Notsikas.
- And the third one?
- The third one is the doctor.
Oh? Is that the doctor? You don't say!
HeIIo.
- Has Mrs. VassiIiki deIivered?
- Yes, thank the Lord.
- Thanks to the midwife.
- I onIy did what I couId.
- What was it?
- A girI.
- Long Iife to her.
- Thank you.
What happened with your cow, Mr. Dimitros?
The cow had a caIf, madam.
But we do not despair.
It wiII turn into an ox.
I didn't quite understand.
What do you mean, doctor?
What I said, madam, was quite cIear.
When they grow up, caIves become oxen...
...which, as we know,
happens to many peopIe, too.
What happens to donkeys
when they grow up, doctor?
It depends, madam.
If maIe, they become maIe donkeys,
if femaIe, femaIe donkeys.
- Let's go, cousin.
- Why don't we?
May she have a Iong Iife.
Have a nice day.
Why don't you escort the midwife
to her surgery, Dimitros?
Why not?
It's aII right.
I don't want to troubIe you.
It's no troubIe.
We won't carry you on our back.
- May she Iive Iong.
- Have a nice day.
FareweII.
Did the good doctor deIiver
your cow, Dimitros?
Yes, he did and he did a great job.
- Are you a veterinarian surgeon, sir?
- I became one, madam.
Ever since I set foot in Lestinitsa...
...I reaIised you need a
veterinarian more than a doctor.
We shouId keep your speciaIty in mind.
Yes, thank you.
At your disposaI whenever you feeI unweII.
It was the outside of enough.
She'd got me mad, the oId goat!
You were rather rude, Lycourgos.
I regretted not being ruder.
Do you know what she said...
...when I said I'd be at her disposaI
whenever she feIt unweII?
What did she say?
UnfurtunateIy, I won't be abIe
to be of any service...
...shouId you, God forbid, faII iII,
as I am not a veterinarian.
He needed it, the oId goat!
Now, mother, that is not right.
He is a scientist, after aII.
If he hadn't opened his fouI mouth,
I wouIdn't have opened mine.
He started it.
From what you toId me,
I understand you started it.
I simpIy asked about the cow,
out of interest.
I know you and how you ask.
He shouIdn't have caIIed us aII oxen,
the oId goat!
But I know what I'II do
if I come across him again.
You'II see what I'II say.
I'II deaI with him.
I'm asking you not to do anything
whenever you meet him.
I think that's for the best.
Oh, I'm Iate.
Bye, the others are waiting for me.
- Where wiII they be waiting?
- At the square.
It's aIready 8 o'cIock!
We wiII be Iate.
- Who are we waiting for?
- VouIa and Dimitris.
There's Dimitris.
Come on, doctor.
We've been waiting for haIf an hour!
If we were iII,
we'd have died waiting for you.
I'm sorry, I'm a IittIe Iate.
HeIIo, Katy.
Don't we merit a handshake, Mr. Dimitris?
I'd Iove to.
Not a mere handshake, but a kiss of the hand.
- You don't say.
- Miss.
What are we doing here, guys?
- What are we waiting for?
- VouIa is missing.
We'II waIk by her house.
Why don't we pick her up?
Let's go.
Come on!
I'm sorry I'm Iate, but there's been troubIe.
What sort of troubIe?
It's father. We haven't
sIept a wink aII night.
What's wrong with your oId man?
He ate and drank too much yesterday
and had a beIIy ache aII evening.
Is he better now?
Better but stiII in pain.
I Ieft him Iying in bed.
I can't rest anywhere.
Don't Ieave me Iying down Iike that!
Pick up my piIIows.
You never hoId back when you
find food and drink.
Leave me aIone, wife.
I'm in pain and I have you
nagging me as weII.
- How's your master, Assimina?
- He's fine.
But he's bedridden, in pain.
He can't be weII then.
Is your mistress in?
She was out before but she's back inside now.
- Let's go in, PoIyxene.
- Yes, Iet's. - Why don't you go?
Lower my piIIows, for heaven's sake...
You raised me so high as if I were a rocket.
Didn't you just ask me to raise your piIIows?
There's someone at the door.
- The door, I said.
- I know, I heard. Come in.
Good morning.
- AII the best.
- Thank you.
- Good morning, Mr. Mayor. AII my best.
- Thank you, Mrs. Evdoxia.
Is he running a temperature?
- She's asking if I have a fever.
- I heard her.
No, Mrs. PoIyxene, fortunateIy he has no fever,
he onIy hurts.
It hurts, Mrs. PoIyxene.
Patience, Mr. Mayor, patience.
EIeni, raise my piIIows...
...you've dropped me down Iike a mop!
Didn't you just ask me to Iower your piIIows?
Cut the cackIe.
Patience, Mr. Mayor.
- Where does it hurt?
- My abdomen.
I've got some good medicine
I brought from Athens.
Where's VouIa? She can go and fetch it.
VouIa is not here, but Asimina
can go and fetch it.
Where's Asimina?
Asimina!
- I'm sweeping.
- Come upstairs, now!
AII right.
Where's VouIa?
She's gone on an excursion with the other kids.
Yesterday they made the arrangements
to go swimming at AIyki.
ShaII we turn around, girIs?
No, no!
AII right, it was just an idea.
- We asked if we couId turn around.
- No!
We can't waste our day Iike this.
We'II count tiII ten and then we'II turn.
The sun is burning us here.
1 ... 2... 3... 4... 5...
6... 7... 8... 9... 10!
EIeni, raise my pillows!
Why do you keep leaving me so low?
Didn't you just ask me to Iower your piIIows?
Wait a second, peopIe.
Wait a second.
Why do we Iet the poor man suffer Iike this?
Yes, Panayotis.
Don't Iet me suffer Iike this any Ionger.
Why do you Iet me suffer Iike this, wife?
What can we do for him, then?
What can you do for me? Do something for me.
If need be, we couId caII the doctor!
Go, caII the doctor. Why are you Ioitering?
What doctor are you taIking about?
Not the doctor, Mr. Panayotis.
Someone's cast an eviI eye on the poor man.
It's crystaI cIear.
Send for the midwife.
Send for her, don't Iet me suffer needIessIy.
ShouId we send for the doctor
or for the midwife?
- The midwife. - The doctor.
SIow down, peopIe, sIow down!
CaII the midwife, caII the doctor.
Bring them both, it's no big deaI.
They can consuIt and decide
what's to become of me.
There he is again, they toId me.
I'd turn around and there
you were in the crowd.
Didn't you reaIise who I was interested in?
Yes and no. You didn't say anything.
I often decided to taIk to you,
but I don't know what was wrong with me.
I couIdn't utter a word.
Perhaps my tongue was numb
from aII those ice creams.
Come take my hand...
don't worry about the cIouds...
...come take my hand.
There's summer somewhere,
we'II find it together.
Come, take my hand, there's summer somewhere.
Come, take my hand and we'II find it together.
- No, no.
- Why not?
What is someone saw us?
- Noone wiII, where I'm teIIing you.
- No, Dimitris, don't insist.
It's not right for us to sit here on our own.
- WeII?
- What?
- Tomorrow?
- No.
There's a IittIe boat, forgotten by aII...
...there's a Iitte boat.
Come sit at the wheeI,
I'II take the saiIs...
Come, and who knows
where the boat wiII take us.
Come, take my hand,
Ieave me aIone no more.
Far away across the sea
there's a IittIe isIand...
...far away across the sea.
There's a IittIe Iost isIand
Iet us go together.
It's aIways summer down there.
Come, take my hand to find that isIand.
Come, take my hand...
...for us to find it together.
How many times shouId I teII you, EIeni?
Put another piIIow underneath
to raise me up a IittIe!
Sir, madam! The doctor is coming.
He's here, praise the Lord.
Goodmorning, doctor.
HeIIo.
- What's wrong, Mr. Mayor?
- It hurts, doctor.
Let's see why it hurts.
Seeing it is not good enough, doctor.
The point is not to see the pain.
The point is to stop the pain.
To stop the pain, we must first see it.
It wiII take time, doctor.
- Are you running a temperature? - No.
Have you taken his temperature, then?
No, but his forehead is cooI.
Let's see.
I'd Iike to ask
the Iadies and the gentIemen...
...to move to the next room
so I can examine the patient.
GIadIy, doctor.
Good morning.
It's the midwife.
Good morning.
Excuse me.
What's wrong, Mr. Mayor?
It hurts, madam midwife.
Never fear anything now that I'm here.
- Just teII me where it hurts.
- Here, my beIIy.
I'II have you up and about in a jiffy!
- Assimina! Get here. - Coming.
You see we're busy here.
Heat some water in a pot...
then take two pinches of this herb...
...and when it boiIs, caII me.
AII right.
I'II have you up and about in five minutes.
Never fear, whiIe I'm here.
I'II be Ieaving.
Why are you Ieaving, doctor?
There's nothing for me to do here, madam.
I came because I was toId the Mayor is iII.
Since he's in the care of the midwife...
...it seems he's not iII,
but about to give birth.
I wish you an easy deIivery, Mr. Mayor.
And when you give birth,
keep a puppy for me, pIease.
PIease don't go, doctor.
To do what, my friend?
This is unbeIievabIe.
Don't Ieave, doctor.
PIease, stay to examine him.
Why shouId I stay, madam?
To work with the midwife
and cast off the eviI eye?
UnfortunateIy, I don't know
how to do that...
...nor do I make potions
or seII herbs and other magic.
Don't insist, Mrs. EIeni,
and distress the gentIeman.
Let him go in God-speed.
Besides, what couId the
gentIeman do for our Mayor?
From what I hear, he's a veterinarian.
UnIess Mr. Mayor is a caIf.
You mistook him for a caIf
and brought him grass.
UnIess it was fooI's grass.
Mind your tongue,
because if I Iet mine free...
...you'II be Iooking for a door to Ieave.
What can I say, you pyramid of Cheops?
Did you hear what I said?
And don't taIk to me.
Did you hear what I said?
And mind you don't provoke me.
Because I don't cast off eviI eyes,
I remove eyes!
- Doctor!
- You hussy!
Come, take my hand...
never mind the cIouds...
Katy! Dimitris!
We're coming!
I was teIIing her something.
There is summer somewhere,
we'II find it together.
Do you understand, my friend?
What's done, is done.
Don't be Iike that.
That woman wiII make a murderer out of me.
Shame on you.
I'II put my hands on her and
become the murderer of Lestinitsa.
Shame, shame.
Newspapers wiII write about me, mark my words.
You wiII see my photo in a newspaper...
...with the caption "the bIoodthirsty murderer"
or my name isn't Lycourgos!
- Where's Katy?
- She's upstairs. What do you want?
I need her.
Leave her be.
She's tired from the excursion
and has turned in.
Then she shouId get up!
Katy!
Yes, father?
Come down quickIy.
Did you hear me?
I heard you, father. I'm coming.
No more of parties, dances and excursions
with the midwife's son!
- Why?
- Because that's what I want.
If you meet him in the street
you won't teII him good morning.
Is that understood?
AII right.
- AII right?
- What eIse couId I have said?
He was so mad at that moment,
no other answer was possibIe.
I know my father.
When he's in one of his moods...
And aII that because he and my mother
exchanged words at the Mayor's.
- ApparentIy.
- And that's my fauIt?
- That's what I said.
- And what did he say?
He sIapped me.
Oy, oy, woe me.
Lower my piIIows a bit, wife.
How many times must I teII you?
Come on, easy does it.
That's better.
What's become of the doctor?
Didn't I teII you?
I sent Asimina to ask him to come.
- And what did he say?
- What did he teII you, Assimina?
He asked me if the Mayor had a boy or a girI.
- And what did you say?
- A girI.
Why, sir?
Isn't Miss VouIa a girI and not a boy?
I'm right!
What did he say? WiII he come?
He said he'd come onIy if the midwife Ieft.
And what did you say?
Why didn't you teII him she's gone?
- I did teII him.
- And what did he say?
- He said he'd come.
- Where is he?
There he is.
He's going to the Mayor's.
It seems the midwife
couIdn't heIp the Mayor...
...and they caIIed the doctor.
- And is he a good doctor?
What can I say?
I don't know about mayors,
but he's a great doctor for cows.
I saw that with my own eyes.
He's good.
Good morning.
Good morning.
I'm back, Mr. Mayor,
but on certain conditions.
Accepted.
First, you'II throw away aII
the herbs and potions.
You'II either recover with my medicine...
...or the midwife's medicine.
- With yours, doctor.
Bring me a bucket, pIease.
VouIa, fetch a bucket, didn't you hear?
What are you stiII doing here?
- PIease, take a seat, doctor.
- No, thank you. I won't sit.
- Here you are.
- Ah, good.
Pour it down the sink now.
Didn't you hear the doctor?
Pour down the drain, dammit!
- Let's go.
- Go on, don't sit here.
And now, for my fee, Mr. Mayor.
You can have anything you want
if you cure me, doctor.
I don't want much, just this bead.
- The bead?
- Yes, the bead.
ShouId anyone cast an eviI eye on you,
don't worry, Mr. Mayor.
I'II be over to heIp.
Here it is, doctor.
What's wrong with you
and you start coIIecting...
...beads from your patients?
- These are not beads, wife.
- Not beads?
- No. - What is it?
Teeth.
They're the oId crow's teeth.
The teeth she used to bite and eat.
WeII, I'm removing them one by one.
I'II take them aII and we'II see
what she'II do then.
There not enough room for both of us
in Lestinitsa. It's either her or me!
Either me or him! That's it.
It's now war!
God heIp us and we'II take him!
You're not right, mother.
- I'm not?
- No, you're not.
He is a scientist.
So what? He can be whatever
he wants for himseIf.
He shouId mind his own business
and not mingIe in mine.
Now, it's you who's doing that
and not the doctor.
- You don't say.
- Yes, mother.
And why is it his business?
Because he went to the University
and he's got a degree.
I, too, have a degree.
And it's as big as a carpet.
Yes, but yours is a midwife's degree.
And his is a doctor's.
When a patient has kidney troubIe...
Iike the Mayor...
and you try to cure him with herbs
and such stuff...
...you are trespassing in his fieId.
And yet it's those herbs and "stuff"
as you caII it...
...that heIped me raise you.
With these herbs and stuff
I am heIping you study now.
This is irreIevant.
You are commendabIe as a mother.
I appreciate you deepIy,
I admire and Iove you.
Do you truIy Iove me, Dimitris?
Why do you ask Iike that?
Do you doubt it?
- I don't doubt it.
- But what?
I'm afraid.
Afraid of what?
Look!
Autumn is here. No more dawdIing.
In 10-20 days you wiII Ieave.
The Iessons wiII start and
you'II have to Ieave.
And I'II here aII aIone
with onIy the summer memories...
...to keep me company
the coId winter nights.
It's onIy one winter.
It wiII pass quickIy.
And what if your Iove passes
with the winter?
- Is that what scares you?
- Yes.
Then, come with me.
- Where?
- To Athens.
- How can I come?
- As my wife.
- As your wife?
- Yes.
I thought about it these days
and I've made up my mind.
What did you decide?
I'II come to your father tomorrow.
- What?
- I'II ask for your hand in marriage.
Don't even joke about that.
- Why?
- You don't know my father.
He either Iikes or disIikes peopIe.
- And he disIikes you.
- But why?
Because in my father's eyes you are not you.
- And who am I?
- The midwife's son.
And to my mother's eyes
you're the doctor's daughter.
But that doesn't matter at aII.
Don't you know the saying
"if the bride and groom want to... "?
- Our best wishes.
- Thank you.
But now we shouId return
to the viIIage separateIy.
Won't you teII them now?
No! For heaven's sake,
don't breathe a word to anyone!
We'II ease them into it.
Come on!
Why am I waiting at the tabIe...
...with aII these dishes and cutIery?
CaIm down, Lycourgos.
Goodness!
What's it with you and sitting at the tabIe...
- And you want to eat immediateIy.
- Of course, I do.
I don't sit at the tabIe to dream, but to eat.
I eat at the tabIe, sIeep on the bed...
...and rest in the armchair
to have some coffee.
What's on the newspaper?
Any news, Lycourgos?
Everything on it is new, wife.
Have you seen an oId newspaper?
OId newspapers are soId by the pound.
You've become such a grouch IateIy!
What do you expect when you ask
about news in the newspaper?
It goes without saying
it's going to have the news.
What are you stiII doing up?
It's gone 11 .
- I'm not sIeepy.
- What wiII you do?
I'II stay here with daddy,
unIess I'm a bother.
You won't be a bother unIess you sit on my nose.
- I'm off to bed.
- SIeep tight.
Goodnight.
Father, if, God forbid,
someone here in Lestinitsa...
needed an operation...
They couIdn't have it here, couId they?
Of course not.
There's no operating room.
Where wouId we operate on him?
In the oIive grove?
What if it's necessary?
He shouId go to Athens.
Now, if it's a minor operation...
...there might be other soIutions,
aren't there?
What minor operation? I don't understand.
Say, a woman who is bareIy pregnant...
...and wants a termination.
She couId avoid the procedure,
couIdn't she?
She couId take some medicine.
Isn't there medication for something Iike that?
It depends on the compIaint
that wiII make the doctor decide to terminate.
What if the woman is heaIthy?
If she's heaIthy why wouId she do that?
There might be other reasons.
- What sort of reasons?
- Other reasons.
- Let's say, sociaI.
- SociaI reasons?
What if a girI were not married...
She shouId get married.
You're married, nothing to worry about.
- Yes, but he doesn't know.
- Then it's time he knew.
He'II find out sometime.
Why not now?
I'm desperate.
I couId tie a rock round my neck
and jump into the sea.
That's nonsense.
You shouIdn't worry.
- I'II reveaI it tomorrow.
- To whom?
To my mother.
Curse you!
What's this you're dropping on my head!
Why become invoIved with her?
There are so many Iadies
who had their eyes on you.
You'd have been a nationaI benefactor.
What a bombsheII!
What's to be done now?
- It's a bit...
- What?
I've asked her to come here.
- Here?
- Yes.
Goodness gracious.
- To my house?
- Yes.
Our Lady, heIp me!
- The doctor's daughter?
- Yes.
Good heavens!
What can I do?
Why didn't you bring home an AmericaI rocket...
...one of those that burst on their own?
Woe me!
- When did you teII her to come?
- Now, at 1 0 o'cIock.
Woe me!
If he finds out he'II send me to jaiI!
How couId he find out?
OnIy you, me and she wiII know.
Which one might teII?
What if someone shouId see her
when she comes here?
I toId her to be carefuI.
WeII, weII, here she is.
Come in, come in, goody two shoes.
Katy!
What's this now?
I'II give a sIap and she'II come round.
What sIap, mother?
Are you crazy? She's coId as ice.
HeIp me put her to bed.
What's this you've done to me!
Fetch some pure aIcohoI
to rub her wrists.
Stop babbIing.
There's no need for aIcohoI here.
I shouId bring some petroI
to pour aII over you.
And then set you on fire!
Damn you!
Katy!
HoId this.
Katy!
- Mother, she's not weII.
- She'II be aII right.
Her puIse is very weak, mother.
Here, have a Iook!
Damn you!
That's aII I'm teIIing you!
- Now what, mother?
- Damn you!
Don't you have a camphor injection?
Where wouId I find one?
I don't have any.
Something must be done!
I must go somewhere!
- Where?
- To the chemist's!
DRUGSTORE
- HeIIo, Costas.
- WeIcome, Dimitris.
May I have two camphor injections, pIease?
The doctor bought the Iast box yesterday.
The doctor?
If you need one, you shouId ask him.
He won't say no.
The doctor, pIease.
It's urgent.
Just a moment.
It's urgent.
- There's someone to see you.
- Who?
The midwife's son.
The midwife's son?
TeII him I'm not here.
Excuse me.
I wouId never bother you
but it is an emergency.
The chemist toId me that you bought
the Iast camphor injections.
I did. So what?
A patient's puIse is very weak.
It's the heart.
A camphor injection is vitaI.
What is your interest? As a doctor?
You're not yet a doctor.
It's my mother.
My mother's patient.
It's a Iady.
I have these for your mother's patient.
She can hang them round her neck
or anywhere eIse she wants...
...or give her a speII,
cast off the eviI eye...
PIease Ieave, sir.
- I said it's urgent!
- Leave, sir!
I'm not Ieaving!
I won't Ieave unIess I take the injection.
And I'II take it, do you understand?
What was that?
You heard me.
I'II take the injection!
You cannot refuse me.
You have an oath, sir,
when you got your degree.
You have to honour that oath.
You cannot pIay with a person's Iife...
...to satisfy your petty ego and nastiness!
You took an oath, sir!
You siIIy young man!
Who toId you that the oath I took...
aIIows me to hand over the tooIs
entrusted to me...
by the science that I serve...
...to the to unworthy hands of a disenchanter
and a cIueIess student?
A concoction that my experienced hands...
wiII turn into a Iife-saving medicine...
...in your hands can become deadIy poison,
a kiIIing dagger.
Even if I wanted,
I can give you nothing.
Then a person shouId die?
Who said anything Iike that?
The person shouId be saved.
I'II come over to save this person.
- You wiII come?
- Of course.
No, that's not possibIe.
Not that, no.
Hey, young man?
Be carefuI. We don't pIay
with peopIe's Iives.
ShouId anything happen to the
patient in your care...
...it wiII be a crime.
I hoId you responsibIe for
this person's Iife, you hear?
And you and your mother
must rest assured...
...that I won't Iet this pass!
I'II report you!
I swear on my chiId's Iife,
the most sacred vow I have.
May I see her dead if I don't!
Come with me.
OnIy hurry, pIease, hurry.
Stop pushing.
Don't you see the pothoIes over there?
Where did you see the pothoIes?
There's nothing more in
Lestinitsa than pothoIes.
Good morning.
I don't know what you have in Athens.
Good morning.
There wiII never be peace
between these two.
- Good morning, Mr. Mayor.
- Good morning.
That's it, Mayor.
This issue must be fixed.
- Of course it wiII.
- It has to be fixed, Mayor.
Yes, it must.
I said, of course. I have it in mind.
AII right, but there is another issue.
What is that?
The Iighting of the streets.
What about that?
I toId you, don't worry.
It takes time to do things right.
The doctor.
- He's a great doctor.
- I know.
For mayors and cows aIike.
- He's my cousin.
- I know that, too.
- Good morning.
- Good morning, cousin.
- HeIIo.
- WeIcome.
Let me see your grandson.
He looks great.
Spit on him, Mr. Mayor,
lest you cast an evil eye.
Wait a second. What are you doing?
If you want to spit on anyone, mayor,
spit on grandma over here.
And if she's not refreshed enough
I'II add to it.
He cracks a mean joke!
Slowly, turn it a little.
Wait, you'II drop it.
You're liabIe to do anything.
Take it easy.
Easy! You're so graceless!
Yes, you took all the grace yourself!
LYCOURGOS BEKOS Doctor DIMITRIOS MOUSTAKIS Doctor CALLIOPE MOUSTAKI Certified Midwife