Palimpsest (2006) - full transcript
Marek, the main character of "Palimpsest," is a police inspector, a man on the verge of psychological disintegration trying to solve an intricate case. The story is told on two planes. The first one is a crime story, which constitutes the framework of the film. In the course of events, another theme appears - psychological experiences of the main character. Vivid blend of picture with sound and music will draw the audience into the deepest recesses of Marek's mind, making the viewers face questions: What is reality and what is only an illusion? Where is the borderline between the real world and our perception of it? What makes suffering meaningful and what is really important in one's life"?
PALIMPSEST
Palimpsest, n. A parchment or the like
from which writing has been partially
or completely erased
to make room for another text.
Yes?
Who?
What time is it?
In an hour.
Base of the skull cracked,
spinal cord broken...
A fall from a big height.
Except for the water
in his lungs,
nothing below the norm.
The autopsy showed
that Inspector Hajdziak
could've been manhandled.
End of quote.
You can use any help
you can get.
- I get it.
- Marmielewski will join you.
- I'd rather...
- Forget it.
I know you and Maciek
were friends.
But don't take it
too personal.
You know what I mean?
If something pops up...
let me know first.
Is there something
I should know, Marek?
No.
How long and
who did he drink with?
Who?
How long, how long?
His whole life
as far as I know.
A three-week bender, that.
Who with? Everybody.
His latest comrade
in drink?
Malina.
Must've quaffed
for a couple of days.
Malina's whereabouts?
Malina's whereabouts?
Cuckoo's nest! Where else?
How long?
Since yesterday... could be.
Or since today.
Dates get me
fucking confused.
Ever been on the wagon?
Oh, it's you Inspector!
- To check in?
- No, to visit Malina.
Sorry.
- Doctor?
- Yes?
They are the police.
Want to see Malina.
Mr. Malina was brought in
last night.
You sure must know
that if you visit him now,
he's likely to think
you must be aliens,
sent down to take him away.
So you may freak him out.
Doctor, you must surely know
we've known him for years.
Second, it transpires that
he's implicated
in the murder of
a policeman.
So if he gets out of hand
he may freak you out.
Don't make it
difficult for us, please.
When was he brought in?
- At 2:20 a. M.
- Where from?
The hospital in Minsk.
He was unmanageable.
- How long did he stay there?
- From yesterday morning.
Where's he now?
- Take them to him.
- Still under observation.
- He gave us a hard time.
- Marcin...
Haven't you seen my
12 bottles of champagne?
Hi, Malina.
You've drunk with
Maciek recently.
Someone pushed him
out the window.
Malina, Maciek's dead.
Someone killed him.
Maciek...
Out the window...
First...
Mrowa...
Maciek...
- A guy...
- Who?
Wielded a doorknob...
- Bury...
- Bury?
Maciek... Bury.
When was that?
Friday...
Last week...
Tuesday.
Thanks.
Let's go.
Marek!
What?
A fucking spider's
crawling down your neck.
Take care.
Maciek... Maciek.
The champagne's drunk off!
- That Bury rings a bell?
- No.
Check on him.
An old score?
Let's go.
The police!
Down!
The police!
Freeze!
The police!
Down!
Move it!
Hands behind you!
I secure him...
Doctor!
- What was it?
- Coke.
- It stopped 1. 5 min. Ago.
- Plug in the monitor.
Fibrillation.
Gel. Defibrillate.
200 joules!
Here I go!
200 once again.
Good. Beating.
Bury, you killed a cop.
Did you! Didn't you!
You did!!!
He's just come to.
- Have you found something?
- Not yet.
- Bury hasn't done it.
- You paid him a visit?
I questioned his wife.
They stayed in Mazury
till last night:
A village wedding
of 800 guests.
- An alibi?
- Could be.
So much drugs and weapons
found in the house
that he may do a long spell,
but not for homicide.
- How is he?
- Could talk in a day or two.
Those bruises,
burns on his palm?
Funny...
He couldn't have done
it himself.
The witnesses are waiting.
And Hanna?
Yes, she's been summoned.
A few questions.
That night before
the incident,
did anything
draw your attention?
Some strangers...
hanging around?
Did you see him that day?
Why?
I found him.
I'd seldom seen him recently...
only at night.
He'd go to the store...
once in several days.
I don't know much.
Ask the man across the street.
Who?
At No 6,
the 2nd staircase.
Who's he?
I don't know anything.
He's just a neighbor.
- A neighbor...
- Yeah.
Well, we won't grill you
any longer.
We're stuck?
Let's check on the neighbor.
I want to talk to her alone.
I get it.
Hi, Marek.
What's up?
You don't look good.
Tired?
I don't sleep well.
You don't...
But I sleep perfectly.
What did you do
Thursday night?
I still can't get
used to it.
I'd like to question you...
as a witness, of course.
When was the last time
you saw Maciek?
Since we parted?
Long ago.
Could someone...
want him dead?
He wasn't around any more.
Fear...
- Constant fear.
- How are things with you?
Thanks for asking.
Everything's fine with us.
A new hairdo.
Why are you doing
it to me, Marek?
Anything else
you'd like to ask?
I'm leaving.
What?
Hello, this is the police.
May we?
- Sure if necessary.
- It is.
Then you may.
You know why we're here?
I've seen you.
You deliver sugar?
The night before last, a man
fell out the 3rd story window.
We have reason to suspect
we was defenestrated.
- Anything caught your attention?
- No.
I don't recall
anything unusual...
... beside your friend
falling out the window.
- A friend? How d'you know?
- A policeman.
You are the police, right?
So he must've been a friend.
I looked out
when it got noisy.
I was watching something
on TV...
Now...
come to think of it...
that thud...
a funny dull sound, that.
A strange sound.
Well? Have you found
anything interesting?
- You know now?
- What?
Where you saw me.
- Well, we'll be going now.
- Yes.
- Mister...
- Zygmunt.
If you can possibly...
I may recall something.
Where is it?
Where is it?!
Pour!
Quaff, you fuck!
Search!
Freeze!
Hands on your nape!
Down!
Good evening.
Where's the doctor on duty?
Where's the doctor
on duty?!
Tomek!
Come here.
We'll have a drink.
You don't feel well,
Tomek?
Everything's fine with me.
Marek's in the corridor.
- Bring him in.
- Wait.
I want you to do something
for me... for him.
How can I help him?
Detox him first.
- Piece of cake, right?
- I've done it a couple of times.
What else?
Keep him here
as long as possible.
What happened?
This will be best for him.
Well, shall we down one?
Going anywhere?
I asked for a discharge.
I'm fine.
I see.
We got to question that thug
as fast as possible.
We won't.
He hanged
himself in his cell.
- Bury?
- Bury what?
- Where is he?
- He's safe.
- He's the next one.
- Cool it. We're watching him.
You were the other
one too.
You visited Hajdziak
5 days ago.
- You were aggressive.
- I'm hyperactive.
- He was murdered the next day.
- I didn't kill him.
- Why that visit?
- A social call.
Who sent you?
Drugs - 5 years,
accomplice - 15.
Man...
I sometimes moonlight
as a debt collector.
A guy called, said he
knew some men in town.
We met at the Bristol Hotel
with his henchman.
He gave me the address
and told me to scare Hajdziuk.
- Hajdziak.
- Scare or what?
Just scare, as he'd forgotten
to pay off something.
Pay off what?
Your Hajdziuk was in such
condition
that you could scare him
with an overdue phone bill.
How do you know it wasn't
the henchmen who called?
The voice was different.
Would you recognize him?
What if?
It's about a homicide of a cop.
You don't set conditions.
Let's have composite
portraits of those two,
and check connections.
Someone may know them.
I know one who does them all,
unless they were foreign.
- We must get back to Bury.
- We have time.
Where did you get
the keys?
From you.
But you sent them back.
I'd made copies earlier.
Just in case...
Just in case?
Shall I call a taxi?
You want to go?
To have breakfast
sent here.
Yes?
Dead?
Where from?
Yes.
I must.
Just this once.
Too late.
OD'd for good.
Why did you do it?
What?
- I didn't kill.
- Gimme the portraits!
Them?
Them?!
You...
I what?
I what?
I what, Bury?
Man, not here!
This is Zubiec.
I don't know the other's alias.
They're both hatchet men.
Whose?
Whose?
That's him.
Him for sure.
You lie!
Go now.
Him.
Why a Maciek's photo?
We check everything.
- A dead man put a contract on me?
- Could be an old score?
No score whatsoever!
You may not have been friends
you thought you were.
I give up the case.
It'll be better for the inquiry
if someone else takes it up.
I haven't included this
in the files.
What's that?
This all is getting too personal.
I get confused.
- You're not alone on this.
- I don't trust him.
I don't know his game.
Your resignation's rejected.
That's still your case.
You remember now?
Is that what you want?
What's that?
You.
When did you snap it?
You'll see.
See what?
What you don't want.
- Where did you get it?
- From you.
You remember nothing?
The photo is a montage.
The program you see on TV
was aired last night.
You contrive evidence!
Why?
Someone's trying to set me up.
Maybe it's you?
You're off the case
as you requested.
Leave it.
Why have you come?
Beat it!
What did I do?
I can't go on like this.
Please,
I love you.
You killed him!
No.
I loved him!
Please...
What d'you want me to do?
I want you to disappear.
Malina...
- He won't be troublesome.
- I wouldn't take chances.
Take him.
- Quiet... quiet... come...
- You crazy?!
Don't worry.
We'll take care of him.
Not true.
All this is untrue...
Someone's trying to
set me up.
I've seen you.
- Hello, Mrs. Hanna.
- Hello.
Your husband's been
hanging around here.
- Hello!
- I'd like to talk to you later.
Good.
Hi.
How you doing?
All right.
Attention please.
Our main topic
- Patient Jeklewski.
Things don't seem
to be looking up.
Dr. Nowicki, please.
He was brought in 2 months ago,
a extreme case of intoxication.
He was roused from coma
quite fast,
but now it's
Wernicki-Korsakov psychosis
with recurring d. T:
Tremor and hallucinations
for the last 6 weeks.
With this psychosis one
totally confabulates reality
and despite strong tranquilizers
has psychotic fears.
Our therapeutic results
are nil.
He remains without the least
contact with the outside world.
He has contact
with another one, though.
Only his wife can unite the two
worlds on the emotional level.
I believe she holds the key
to his recovery.
A daring thesis, that.
His wife's been coming here
every day for two months.
He hasn't spoken to her
or to anybody for that matter.
We doubt if he still has the skill
to communicate this way.
So I wonder where you
get your conclusions.
From my observation,
Dr. Nowicki.
We have the diagnosis.
What further therapy
do you recommend?
It's a given that this psychosis
is connected with
irreparable damage to the brain
and central nervous system.
Despite our efforts, his condition
hasn't improved in the least.
We have to admit it
that he is a typical lost case,
and our role
has come to a close.
With all due respect,
I disagree:
This is not a typical
lost case.
The man is somewhere and quite
possibly we're there with him.
Our task is to find him
at any price and...
A wild-goose chase, doctor, no
matter how beautifully you put it.
Honorable colleagues, all we can talk
about is what to do with him now.
So it's home or social care?
I don't think the wife would agree.
It's easiest to get rid
of a problem,
but we're here to help,
aren't we, Dr. Nowicki?
How you doing?
Everything's fine with me,
thank you.
You're looking well,
darling.
Would you like
to ask about something?
God, are you still
there, Mark?!
Am I too?
I wonder why I...
- Mrs. Hanna.
- Yes?
I'll be waiting in my office.
Hanna...
Yes?!
You here.
I am.
Palimpsest, n. A parchment or the like
from which writing has been partially
or completely erased
to make room for another text.
Yes?
Who?
What time is it?
In an hour.
Base of the skull cracked,
spinal cord broken...
A fall from a big height.
Except for the water
in his lungs,
nothing below the norm.
The autopsy showed
that Inspector Hajdziak
could've been manhandled.
End of quote.
You can use any help
you can get.
- I get it.
- Marmielewski will join you.
- I'd rather...
- Forget it.
I know you and Maciek
were friends.
But don't take it
too personal.
You know what I mean?
If something pops up...
let me know first.
Is there something
I should know, Marek?
No.
How long and
who did he drink with?
Who?
How long, how long?
His whole life
as far as I know.
A three-week bender, that.
Who with? Everybody.
His latest comrade
in drink?
Malina.
Must've quaffed
for a couple of days.
Malina's whereabouts?
Malina's whereabouts?
Cuckoo's nest! Where else?
How long?
Since yesterday... could be.
Or since today.
Dates get me
fucking confused.
Ever been on the wagon?
Oh, it's you Inspector!
- To check in?
- No, to visit Malina.
Sorry.
- Doctor?
- Yes?
They are the police.
Want to see Malina.
Mr. Malina was brought in
last night.
You sure must know
that if you visit him now,
he's likely to think
you must be aliens,
sent down to take him away.
So you may freak him out.
Doctor, you must surely know
we've known him for years.
Second, it transpires that
he's implicated
in the murder of
a policeman.
So if he gets out of hand
he may freak you out.
Don't make it
difficult for us, please.
When was he brought in?
- At 2:20 a. M.
- Where from?
The hospital in Minsk.
He was unmanageable.
- How long did he stay there?
- From yesterday morning.
Where's he now?
- Take them to him.
- Still under observation.
- He gave us a hard time.
- Marcin...
Haven't you seen my
12 bottles of champagne?
Hi, Malina.
You've drunk with
Maciek recently.
Someone pushed him
out the window.
Malina, Maciek's dead.
Someone killed him.
Maciek...
Out the window...
First...
Mrowa...
Maciek...
- A guy...
- Who?
Wielded a doorknob...
- Bury...
- Bury?
Maciek... Bury.
When was that?
Friday...
Last week...
Tuesday.
Thanks.
Let's go.
Marek!
What?
A fucking spider's
crawling down your neck.
Take care.
Maciek... Maciek.
The champagne's drunk off!
- That Bury rings a bell?
- No.
Check on him.
An old score?
Let's go.
The police!
Down!
The police!
Freeze!
The police!
Down!
Move it!
Hands behind you!
I secure him...
Doctor!
- What was it?
- Coke.
- It stopped 1. 5 min. Ago.
- Plug in the monitor.
Fibrillation.
Gel. Defibrillate.
200 joules!
Here I go!
200 once again.
Good. Beating.
Bury, you killed a cop.
Did you! Didn't you!
You did!!!
He's just come to.
- Have you found something?
- Not yet.
- Bury hasn't done it.
- You paid him a visit?
I questioned his wife.
They stayed in Mazury
till last night:
A village wedding
of 800 guests.
- An alibi?
- Could be.
So much drugs and weapons
found in the house
that he may do a long spell,
but not for homicide.
- How is he?
- Could talk in a day or two.
Those bruises,
burns on his palm?
Funny...
He couldn't have done
it himself.
The witnesses are waiting.
And Hanna?
Yes, she's been summoned.
A few questions.
That night before
the incident,
did anything
draw your attention?
Some strangers...
hanging around?
Did you see him that day?
Why?
I found him.
I'd seldom seen him recently...
only at night.
He'd go to the store...
once in several days.
I don't know much.
Ask the man across the street.
Who?
At No 6,
the 2nd staircase.
Who's he?
I don't know anything.
He's just a neighbor.
- A neighbor...
- Yeah.
Well, we won't grill you
any longer.
We're stuck?
Let's check on the neighbor.
I want to talk to her alone.
I get it.
Hi, Marek.
What's up?
You don't look good.
Tired?
I don't sleep well.
You don't...
But I sleep perfectly.
What did you do
Thursday night?
I still can't get
used to it.
I'd like to question you...
as a witness, of course.
When was the last time
you saw Maciek?
Since we parted?
Long ago.
Could someone...
want him dead?
He wasn't around any more.
Fear...
- Constant fear.
- How are things with you?
Thanks for asking.
Everything's fine with us.
A new hairdo.
Why are you doing
it to me, Marek?
Anything else
you'd like to ask?
I'm leaving.
What?
Hello, this is the police.
May we?
- Sure if necessary.
- It is.
Then you may.
You know why we're here?
I've seen you.
You deliver sugar?
The night before last, a man
fell out the 3rd story window.
We have reason to suspect
we was defenestrated.
- Anything caught your attention?
- No.
I don't recall
anything unusual...
... beside your friend
falling out the window.
- A friend? How d'you know?
- A policeman.
You are the police, right?
So he must've been a friend.
I looked out
when it got noisy.
I was watching something
on TV...
Now...
come to think of it...
that thud...
a funny dull sound, that.
A strange sound.
Well? Have you found
anything interesting?
- You know now?
- What?
Where you saw me.
- Well, we'll be going now.
- Yes.
- Mister...
- Zygmunt.
If you can possibly...
I may recall something.
Where is it?
Where is it?!
Pour!
Quaff, you fuck!
Search!
Freeze!
Hands on your nape!
Down!
Good evening.
Where's the doctor on duty?
Where's the doctor
on duty?!
Tomek!
Come here.
We'll have a drink.
You don't feel well,
Tomek?
Everything's fine with me.
Marek's in the corridor.
- Bring him in.
- Wait.
I want you to do something
for me... for him.
How can I help him?
Detox him first.
- Piece of cake, right?
- I've done it a couple of times.
What else?
Keep him here
as long as possible.
What happened?
This will be best for him.
Well, shall we down one?
Going anywhere?
I asked for a discharge.
I'm fine.
I see.
We got to question that thug
as fast as possible.
We won't.
He hanged
himself in his cell.
- Bury?
- Bury what?
- Where is he?
- He's safe.
- He's the next one.
- Cool it. We're watching him.
You were the other
one too.
You visited Hajdziak
5 days ago.
- You were aggressive.
- I'm hyperactive.
- He was murdered the next day.
- I didn't kill him.
- Why that visit?
- A social call.
Who sent you?
Drugs - 5 years,
accomplice - 15.
Man...
I sometimes moonlight
as a debt collector.
A guy called, said he
knew some men in town.
We met at the Bristol Hotel
with his henchman.
He gave me the address
and told me to scare Hajdziuk.
- Hajdziak.
- Scare or what?
Just scare, as he'd forgotten
to pay off something.
Pay off what?
Your Hajdziuk was in such
condition
that you could scare him
with an overdue phone bill.
How do you know it wasn't
the henchmen who called?
The voice was different.
Would you recognize him?
What if?
It's about a homicide of a cop.
You don't set conditions.
Let's have composite
portraits of those two,
and check connections.
Someone may know them.
I know one who does them all,
unless they were foreign.
- We must get back to Bury.
- We have time.
Where did you get
the keys?
From you.
But you sent them back.
I'd made copies earlier.
Just in case...
Just in case?
Shall I call a taxi?
You want to go?
To have breakfast
sent here.
Yes?
Dead?
Where from?
Yes.
I must.
Just this once.
Too late.
OD'd for good.
Why did you do it?
What?
- I didn't kill.
- Gimme the portraits!
Them?
Them?!
You...
I what?
I what?
I what, Bury?
Man, not here!
This is Zubiec.
I don't know the other's alias.
They're both hatchet men.
Whose?
Whose?
That's him.
Him for sure.
You lie!
Go now.
Him.
Why a Maciek's photo?
We check everything.
- A dead man put a contract on me?
- Could be an old score?
No score whatsoever!
You may not have been friends
you thought you were.
I give up the case.
It'll be better for the inquiry
if someone else takes it up.
I haven't included this
in the files.
What's that?
This all is getting too personal.
I get confused.
- You're not alone on this.
- I don't trust him.
I don't know his game.
Your resignation's rejected.
That's still your case.
You remember now?
Is that what you want?
What's that?
You.
When did you snap it?
You'll see.
See what?
What you don't want.
- Where did you get it?
- From you.
You remember nothing?
The photo is a montage.
The program you see on TV
was aired last night.
You contrive evidence!
Why?
Someone's trying to set me up.
Maybe it's you?
You're off the case
as you requested.
Leave it.
Why have you come?
Beat it!
What did I do?
I can't go on like this.
Please,
I love you.
You killed him!
No.
I loved him!
Please...
What d'you want me to do?
I want you to disappear.
Malina...
- He won't be troublesome.
- I wouldn't take chances.
Take him.
- Quiet... quiet... come...
- You crazy?!
Don't worry.
We'll take care of him.
Not true.
All this is untrue...
Someone's trying to
set me up.
I've seen you.
- Hello, Mrs. Hanna.
- Hello.
Your husband's been
hanging around here.
- Hello!
- I'd like to talk to you later.
Good.
Hi.
How you doing?
All right.
Attention please.
Our main topic
- Patient Jeklewski.
Things don't seem
to be looking up.
Dr. Nowicki, please.
He was brought in 2 months ago,
a extreme case of intoxication.
He was roused from coma
quite fast,
but now it's
Wernicki-Korsakov psychosis
with recurring d. T:
Tremor and hallucinations
for the last 6 weeks.
With this psychosis one
totally confabulates reality
and despite strong tranquilizers
has psychotic fears.
Our therapeutic results
are nil.
He remains without the least
contact with the outside world.
He has contact
with another one, though.
Only his wife can unite the two
worlds on the emotional level.
I believe she holds the key
to his recovery.
A daring thesis, that.
His wife's been coming here
every day for two months.
He hasn't spoken to her
or to anybody for that matter.
We doubt if he still has the skill
to communicate this way.
So I wonder where you
get your conclusions.
From my observation,
Dr. Nowicki.
We have the diagnosis.
What further therapy
do you recommend?
It's a given that this psychosis
is connected with
irreparable damage to the brain
and central nervous system.
Despite our efforts, his condition
hasn't improved in the least.
We have to admit it
that he is a typical lost case,
and our role
has come to a close.
With all due respect,
I disagree:
This is not a typical
lost case.
The man is somewhere and quite
possibly we're there with him.
Our task is to find him
at any price and...
A wild-goose chase, doctor, no
matter how beautifully you put it.
Honorable colleagues, all we can talk
about is what to do with him now.
So it's home or social care?
I don't think the wife would agree.
It's easiest to get rid
of a problem,
but we're here to help,
aren't we, Dr. Nowicki?
How you doing?
Everything's fine with me,
thank you.
You're looking well,
darling.
Would you like
to ask about something?
God, are you still
there, Mark?!
Am I too?
I wonder why I...
- Mrs. Hanna.
- Yes?
I'll be waiting in my office.
Hanna...
Yes?!
You here.
I am.