Outside Noise (2021) - full transcript

Due to a lingering cold,
I had to spent almost all winter at home.

I would wake up early feeling better...

but be tired again
after working for a few hours.

Hello!

Hi, Mia!

- Have you been waiting long?
- No, I just got here.

Sorry, I had a bad night
and just woke up.

It's okay. My phone ran out
of credit so I didn't call.

Okay. Well, let's go.

Did you sleep?

On the plane? Not really.



My sleep rhythm in New York
the past few days was weird.

I'd be awake until three or four
and sleep until noon.

But you were also there.
How was that?

Yeah, three months.

I was doing an internship.
But only three days a week.

I'd walk in Central Park a lot.

I lived really close to it on 88th Street.

I'd sometimes spend
half the day on a bench...

reading, writing in my diary...

or just watching
what happened around me.

And that helped me relax.

I never made it to Central Park.

The weather wasn't so good
and it rained often.

So I rode the ferry a lot.



Me too. To Staten Island!

I was there too!
And also on Rockaway Beach.

I often went back to places
where I'd already been

because they felt so familiar.

For example, it was always hard
to find food when I was walking.

I kept going to the same
Indian place in the East Village...

- Punjabi!
- Exactly.

And after a while,
I knew the owner by name...

and he always said hi.
That was really nice.

I've had the worst insomnia recently.

In New York too?

Yeah. First I thought it was jet lag,
but it's lasted so long.

No idea.

I've also been sleeping really poorly.

I don't know. It's these strange,
empty days where nothing happens...

and I just wish for the day to end
so the next one can begin.

Sometimes...

I try going to bed at eight or nine.

And look forward to waking up
early the next day...

and hope that I can
in order to have energy...

to drink coffee and write.

I don't know. It's just awful.

Natascha? Do you want tea too?

- Can it be taken apart?
- Sure, easily.

You just need an Allen key.

That would be easier to carry.

You can also take some books if you want.
I want to make some space.

Are you moving?

No but my girlfriend is moving out.

I think I have some
of your books at home.

I think this is yours.
Is that possible?

Let me see.

I'll take it. I'll call you.

- Great.
- See you.

Theory of Death: An Introduction

I don't think this is my book.

But I'd be happy to borrow it.

Of course. Just take it.
I don't know whose it is.

Cool.

How is your masters thesis going?

Slow.

Mine too.

Mia? Don't conk out now.

We want to go dancing!

Yeah, otherwise I'll fall asleep too.
Then I'll be awake all night.

Daniela is counting on you!

Please!

Then I brought her the latte
and looked in her stroller...

and saw that her baby was a doll.

Then she picked the doll up
and held it like a real baby.

I didn't know what to do.

And I asked:
how old is your child?

And she said "9 months"
and she's weaning him.

Did it have a name?

Erik.

This may be a little strange now,
but could you lend me some money?

What for?

I have a problem with
an old friend, but it's...

- How much do you need?
- Not much...

Maybe 50?

I don't know if
I have that much on me.

I can look.

That would be great.

Sorry I'm in the middle of work.

We're editing the proofs
for the new book.

It's a bit of a mess here.

Anna only let me know yesterday.

I have to think.
Where are her things?

Here!

That's everything of hers that I have.

Have you seen her recently?

No. I haven't been in Vienna.
She just wrote me.

As you see, everything is there.
I'd have got it together sooner...

but she just called yesterday.

That's Anna.
Everything at the last minute.

Yeah, sure.

What are you doing here anyway?
Visiting?

- And you're being visited?
- Yeah.

Do you like it here?

She mentioned a wallet.
Is there one?

The wallet...

No idea. Who loses a wallet?

- So there is no wallet?
- No, that's what I'm saying.

Shall we go?

- Thanks.
- You're welcome!

No wonder you didn't want to go there.

That guy is always so unpleasant.

My friend Anna has
a small press with him...

and they had a huge argument.

She didn't want to work with him
and she moved back to Vienna.

What did they publish?

Self-help books.

Seriously?

Hey, it's him!

Back in Vienna.

I couldn't sleep again,
or fall asleep or sleep long enough...

and not at all

as soon as it was light out again.

Summer is over,
the nights are getting longer...

the moon is low and I feel like a witch,
when I walk down the street.

I wanted to leave the city again.

Hello, Anna.

Yes, I'm back. You too?

Yeah, I'm okay...

Should I come by later?

Yeah, with your stuff from Berlin.

That works.

Everything okay?

Good. See you later.

- Nice to see you!
- It's been so long!

- How was your vacation?
- Really great.

I'll be right with you.
Want to wait on the balcony?

Thank you!

Sorry, you had to meet him.

I heard you threw a kebab at him.

That was incredible.

You should have seen his face.

And all the sauce everywhere.

God, I would loved to have been there.

So the wallet... I don't know...

I found it here!

Sorry, I forgot to tell you.

Good. I thought he was keeping it.

No, no, I have it here. Sorry!

I'm a bit out sorts right now.

There's so much going on
and so much to do.

It's really stressful.

Actually, how late is it?

Quarter to...

Crazy.

Do you want to take a walk?
I haven't been outside today.

I have to figure out...

what to do with the press.

I thought you didn't
want to shut it down.

I do but Manu wants to keep it going.

Doesn't matter to me.

I think you can publish something
more exciting than self-help books.

Yeah, that's for sure.

I can't remember why
I found that interesting.

And with that guy...

I want to work for a press
that does interesting stuff.

And then publish stuff myself again.

Sounds good.

Yeah. I'm not in a rush.

I think the full Moon is today.

The Harvest Moon.

I think it's called that.

It's the full Moon
closest to the start of autumn.

Night and day are the same length.

Yeah, the days are getting really short.

It's getting dark really early.

Yeah.

Mia!

Hello!

Sorry. I was grocery shopping.

- What did you buy?
- Vegetables from the market.

Were you waiting long?

No, I just got here.
But I'm confused.

- You don't live here, do you?
- No, not here. Over there.

How was the trip?

Harder days are coming.

Time, suspended until due,
becomes visible on the horizon.

Soon you must tie the shoe
and chase the dogs back to the moor...

I can't read any further.

I don't know this at all.
I've never read Ingeborg Bachmann.

A friend gave it to me.

It's so heavy. I have to put it
down after reading a few lines.

I wanted to read it over summer,
but thought I need to wait for autumn.

Do you think she wrote it in autumn?

Maybe?

Should we maybe go outside?

Should I take your picture?

No thanks. That would maybe
be a bit too touristy.

When do you have
to be there tomorrow?

I think around 9:30.
The seminar starts at 10.

We'll see. A few classmates
from Berlin are here too.

A kind of Berlin-Vienna exchange.

Natascha is also here.

- Who I met in Berlin?
- Yeah.

Do you think we can go into the church?

I don't know. Want to see?

- Do you want tea?
- Yeah, sure.

Daniela? Can Natascha maybe
stay here too?

What?

Natascha wrote that she can't
stay where she was planning to.

Can she sleep here tonight and tomorrow?

- Okay...
- Yeah?

Yeah, Okay.

Sure?

I don't like jam.

- Even apricot jam?
- No.

Even homemade jam?

What are you doing today?

Job interview.

- Exciting!
- Where?

A museum job... Exhibition installation...

- That sounds good.
- I don't think it's so exciting.

What kind of museum?

An art museum.

By the way, what is
your masters thesis about?

It's about trauma therapy techniques.

But...

I'm putting it on the back burner now.

So much has happened recently
that I can't concentrate on it.

What do you mean, "on the back burner"?

I may not finish the degree.

But you're still going to the seminar?

No. I haven't told you, right?

What are you doing in Vienna?

The school paid for the trip...

and I wanted to see someone here...

who I met in Berlin
and lives in Vienna.

Yeah. I have to talk to him.

And I thought I'd see some of Vienna.

Maybe I'll stay.

Can you recommend anything?

You could go to the Sissi Museum.

Sissi?

It's my favorite museum in Vienna.

It's about Sissi?

In fact, it's a real fetish museum.

It's all about her personal
objects and her body.

You can see her clothes...
her cocaine syringes...

Her fitness tools...

And on special occasions
they show her baby teeth.

Highly recommended.

Are those fish?

What?

Those dark spots there.

Or algae?

But aren't they moving?

Yeah, those are fish! Cool.

How was your job interview?

Actually very good.

They were all very nice.

I'm so... maybe indecisive.

I only applied because I thought...

I should apply because
I actually need money.

But it's just a dumb job.
Just wage labor.

I'd like to do something interesting.

You don't think it'd be fun?

Maybe it's okay because it's temporary.

I'd imagine an art museum would be cool.

I went to a bunch of museums
in Berlin this summer...

and had a really crazy experience
in the Alte Nationalgalerie.

There was a picture by
the painter Fritz von Uhde...

called "Heathland Princess".

It shows a girl, maybe 6 years old...

She's standing in a field
in simple clothes watching the painter.

And something about it moved me
so much I started to cry.

- You started crying?
- Yeah.

I still don't know exactly why.

But it's so beautiful...

if it made you react that way.

Feelings are shown so seldom in museums.
I wondered why.

Yeah, true.

Mia, what are you doing?

Come here.

May I try?

- What do I have to do?
- Nothing, in fact.

You imagine how the pendulum
moves forward and backward at first.

I imagine it and it moves itself?
Or I should move it?

You move it through your body
with tiny muscles in your fingers.

I use it to talk to my subconscious.

It's important not
to move it consciously.

I think my subconscious
isn't doing anything.

Try... I don't know how to explain it.

Try to relax a little more...

Try right-left.

It's moving a little.

- But not right-left.
- Diagonally...

In a circle works too.

Can you notice it a little?

Sure. But I feel like
I'm moving it on purpose.

And then I can ask a question?

Yeah. First you would ask...

what means Yes, No,
Maybe, and No Answer.

Then the pendulum moves
in different directions.

And then you can ask your question.

What means Yes?

Right-left?

There is no Yes.

There's only No Answer.

What means No Answer?

Where did you get the pendulum?

It's a gift from a friend.

But I learned it from a hypnotherapist.

Maybe you've heard of her too.

I can't think of her name.

She does 10 minute trauma therapy
with tapping.

- 10 minutes?
- I can do it on my lunch break.

That's probably the idea!

It goes...

Then here on your chest...

And I think here too maybe...

Whoa, it's working!

And you tap for 10 minutes?

The whole thing last just 10 minutes.

Then you see, right now...

Okay I have a headache...

It's moving and I didn't ask anything!

You can watch on YouTube.

There's EMDR trauma therapy...

where traumas that
can't be dealt with through talking...

can be resolved...

What happened?

A trauma is coming!

Through bilateral stimulation.
Eye movement, for example.

That's when you look back and forth?

Yeah. I find it really funny
that the inventor...

She was an American psychology student...

She was walking in a park...

She was diagnosed with cancer
and was trying to distract herself...

by moving her eyes
left and right really fast...

and she felt somehow
relieved and less afraid.

- In a park?
- While taking a walk.

She started looking back and forth?

How often don't you think about that?

I have a problem. I'll relieve it
by looking back and forth fast.

I think I'm going
to go to that party now.

- Want to come?
- An afternoon party?

Yeah, it's an academic thing.

Do you know where this is?

Not that far. About half an hour.

- Will you come?
- Yeah, sure.

Cool. I'm sure there are drinks.

Hello. Come in.

Welcome. I'm glad you made it.

- Hi. Daniela.
- Natascha.

You can hang your coats up here
and please take your shoes off.

- Shoes off?
- Yes.

Want something to drink?

Don't worry, I speak German.
We met in Philadelphia.

- Through Mike, in fact.
- Right, a mutual friend.

And we've met in Berlin a few times.

- Do you know where the drinks are?
- In the kitchen.

Schnapps, beer, white wine spritzers.

A white wine!

Schnapps? White wine? Okay.

- Are you two from Vienna?
- I am.

Cool. Vienna's my favorite city.

- I'm from Berlin.
- I like Berlin a lot too.

Especially Brandenburg Gate.

- Do you live here too?
- No, I'm just visiting.

I studied in Vienna
and I visit sometimes.

Right...

Have you been to the Globe Museum?
You probably know it...

It's my favorite museum here.
You have to go. In the inner city.

There's a huge globe collection.
Even Moon globes.

It's next to the Esperanto Museum.

- You can see both on the same day.
- Practical.

I don't know if you already know
Cafe Jelinek in the 6th...

It is really where the best cake...

I'm only here until tomorrow.

Well the cake is "to die for"
as we say in English.

I'm going to the bathroom.

Schönbrunn... I'm giving her some tips.

You can avoid Schönbrunn.

It's a palace in the 13th.
It's very touristy and crowded...

But there's a park nearby...
I've told Mia about it...

- Natascha has to leave tomorrow...
- I already told him.

Still!

I recommend Roterberg in the 13th.

How do you know each other again?

Through a mutual friend
when I was studying in Philadelphia.

An architect. Well, he became one.

When did you last see him?

God, it's been forever.

I need to make a phone call.

I saw him a few weeks ago.

Can I bum a cigarette?

Of course.

Hey. Ready to leave?

Yeah, I think we're going soon.

Are you staying longer?

I think I'll stay a little.

You have the key, right?
You can come later.

True.

- Then see you later.
- Have a good time. Bye.

Daniela?

Do you want a tea too?

No, not right now.

I don't want one either.

- Do you want another beer?
- Sure.

Actually I still have Sturm.
Do you like it?

- What is it?
- Wine that hasn't matured yet.

- Like Federweisser?
- I think so.

About the money you lent me...

I don't have it on me
but I'll give it to you tomorrow, okay?

Yeah, okay.

I wasn't sure how to ask you.

It'd be great if I can get it tomorrow.

Yeah, I didn't forget. Tomorrow.

- How was the rest of the party?
- You aren't asleep?

The party? It was okay. I took a walk.

- Do you have enough blankets?
- Yeah, great.

- Good night.
- Sleep well.

How was the rest of the party?

It was kind of strange.

I don't know.
The atmosphere was so awkward.

I thought so too.

That guy was kind of awkward too.

- Sorry I didn't want to be around people.
- That's okay.

I got croissants. Want one?

I'll take one to go.
I have to leave already.

But what was really funny...

Ted tried teaching me the Charleston.

He somehow taught it to himself.

Can you do it?

A little. I didn't understand.

Hey, you can do it!

Are you leaving already?

Yeah, I'm in a bit of a rush.
I'm meeting someone before my train.

Do you want a coffee first?

I'd love one but I don't have time.

- I'll take a croissant.
- Yeah, sure.

- Know where you're going?
- Yeah, he lives near the train station.

- Thanks for letting me stay.
- Sure thing.

Bye. Have a good trip.

See you soon. Maybe next week?

Not bad.

Smells good in here!

Want to hand me plates?

- How much do you want?
- A little more.

That's enough. Thanks.

Now I just need to write
a chapter on rites of passage.

My main reference is a French ethnologist

who theorized rites of passage.

In fact, it deals with passage
in all phases of life.

He looked into different cultures...

and divides the passages, the rites,
into three phases.

First is the separation phase.

Then the transition or liminal phase...

And the third is incorporation.

There's a person in society...

who is in passage...

But it touches on all of society...

which has to reorganize
or concur with this status.

In relation to...

In fact, my main interest
is the middle phases. I'm not sure...

if I find the subdivisions so good.
But the middle phases...

- The phase of passage?
- The phase of passage or transition...

In relation to death it means...

But that's the phase with the rituals?

No, there are rituals in every phase.

For example, the phase of passage...
Meaning...

It lasted about 7 days
in ancient cultures.

Where the dead person began
the journey to the after world...

and the living throw dirt on them
and tear out their hair...

As I said, I also find these phases...
I don't fully understand them.

In relation to researchers...

Anyway, the middle phase is
very much marked by uncertainty.

That people no longer know where
they belong or where they are.

You have to classify things again.

Incorporation would be...

the funeral meal or eating together...

and connects to life again.

I like that.
I think I'm still in a liminal phase.

How do you reach the last phase?
Through a ritual?

Yeah, the ritual can help.

It's symbolic but also real.

For example, if the dead person
is carried to the graveyard...

in some cultures the feet
need to be in a specific direction.

I think in the direction of the grave.
So the person can't come back.

So that simply helps.

How you then...

Everyone probably still
has to find their own way.

I think these rules are nice.

- I'd love to leave again too.
- Come with!

I would right away
but I have to deal with the job first.

You can always sleep at my place.

Okay, I think I have to go.

I finally got the book I told you about.
A SCHOOL FOR FOOLS

I can't quite remember the story.

A hunger strike
at St. Stephan's in the 70s?

A friend of my mother's...

was teaching in Moscow in the mid-70s...

and she met Sascha Sokolov somehow.

And they fell in love
but he couldn't leave the country with her.

She brought his manuscript to Vienna.

Did she want to translate it?

- No...
- Or publish it?

She found a publisher in New York.

- Because it could be published there?
- Right.

And she started a hunger strike
in front of St. Stephan's Cathedral...

to get a visa for him.

And surprisingly it actually worked.

Even Kreisky was for it
and Sokolov could then travel.

Because of a hunger strike?

Crazy. That wouldn't work today.

That someone gets a visa

because of a hunger
strike at St. Stephan's.

Then he actually came to Vienna.

His parents tried to stop him...

because it was almost a disgrace
for their son to go to the West.

He did it anyway.

They got married
and she got pregnant right away.

But he followed his book to the US.

And left her and the son behind.

Yeah? Wow.

And you know her personally?

Yeah, we just talked on the phone.

That's also why I got the book.
I've wanted to read it for a while.

She may be at home now.
She lives here, nearby.

- She lives near here?
- Yeah.

It'd be great if you came
and met her too.

I'd love to. Amazing.

One only ever reads about such people.