Salto (1965) - full transcript

"JUMP"

Who's there?

What the devil?

Who's there?

Please, open the door, it's me.

Who is "me"?

A friend! Please, open quickly!

It's me! By God, don't you recognize me?
Come on, let me in.

You really don't remember me?

No. I don't think so.

I lived here once.



When?

You know when.

And your name is... if I may ask?

For you my name is Smith,
For others Jones, do you understand?

Smith... Smith...

Hush... Please, don't say anything.
I used to live here, in this house.

I don't remember anything.

I was knocked unconscious, you know?
A grenade exploded above my head.

It's better not to recall.

I kept on running all day.
I barely managed to get here.

They are chasing me.

Who?

I may tell you later.
What I have been through...

If you could know what I...
what I have been through.



Hush; don't be scared, it is all right.
I suffer for others.

No, no, it's not true.

I suffer for my naivety,
for my faith in humankind, for my heart.

Oh, my God!

Has anyone seen me coming in here?

I know nothing of the sort.

I will explain it later. Not now.
It's a pure miracle that you see me now.

My God, what I've been through!

Aren't you offended
that I keep calling God's name?

No. Not at all.
You're welcome.

You know. People change.

You really can't remember me?

I don't know.
Maybe... it is as if I saw you once.

Your face looks familiar.

But one meets a lot of people.
Such a war...

And I saved your life. No, no, no.
My name is Jones, full stop, amen.

There is a room upstairs.
I remember...

O my God, how well I remember.
Is it free?

I keep some old stuff there.
It's not cleaned.

It's nothing. Not important.
Show it to me.

Yes, yes, of course.
So many times I have dreamt.

Each step, reach baluster...

And after so many years everything
is so small, so narrow, so cramped,

like a child's room.

It's unnecessary. I know.
To the right, isn't it?

And who are you?

I have scars all over my body.

One by one.
As if I was grilled.

Maybe death would be better
than a life like this.

Watch out, not a word to anyone.

If anything happens, knock thrice.
They won't take me alive.

Go now.
Please, sleep well. This is just my life.

Well, well.
Each must go through his lot.

You can't help me in any way.

One sleepless night more, one less,
what's the difference.

Did you scream?

Turn it off.

I am afraid.
I am suffocating with fear.

What are you afraid off?

People, war, death maybe?

I don't know myself,
I don't know myself.

If I had anything,
I would have killed myself.

Everything I said was a lie!
My name is different, my life was different!

People work there.

All the time, without a break,
day and night,

on weekdays and holidays.

Maybe it will change for the better?

It got to me so bad.

Would you believe it?
I have always been the most normal.

Average height, average weight.

Even the glasses, you know,

only to look more serious,
because my eyesight is normal.

I got touched so suddenly.

Oh, my God.

But you will never understand it.
One has to experience it oneself.

Neither do I sleep at night.

It's been twenty years.

I close my eyes only at the first dawn.

Like a hare.

I will reciprocate your kindness.
I have something hidden here.

Could you leave the light on
through the night?

I can. Why not?

I am ridiculous, aren't I?

Who am I to judge you?

You stupid herbivore fool.

Lady Maria! I am back, Lady Maria.

Who walked you home?

I am Maria's daughter.

Maria's daughter...

How old I am!

Did you arrive yesterday in the evening?

Have you got some crepe?

Crepe?

Yes, a piece of ribbon
or some black cloth.

My wife and children
were killed yesterday...

A car crash.

Are you leaving today?

Am I leaving?

Dad...

Please, don't pity me, I can't stand it.

I have my dignity.
I don't need any charity.

Dad...

Naturally, naturally.

You can stay here
as long as you want.

You see, I haven't been begging
for help forever.

I've seen different times.

Can I borrow a spade?

It is outside by the door.

I will repay it.

A certain man will come to see you.

Who?

He says he remembers you from olden days.
He used to hide in our town.

When is he coming?

I don't know.
He only said he would come.

I am completely drained.

My God, what is going on with me?

But do you care at all?

Does anyone care?

Anyway, thank you for everything.

I was ill for a long time.

This armchair was my home.

Your mother used to live here,
didn't she?

I can't remember.

I was born in the forest, in a bunker.

At the end of the war
nobody lived in our town anymore.

Where are they buried?

There, across the river.
You can see the cross.

A foreign sculptor came here.

They will erect a stone monument to the dead.

Did you sing yesterday in the evening?

Maria.

I am Helena, Maria's daughter.

Go. They are calling you.

Go away!

Hey! You!

He frightens everyone.

He saw you
and he is trying out his tricks.

One must not laugh at him.

He will survive us all.
Absolutely. Just take a look.

Haven't you seen Helena?

She went away,
somebody called her.

Hela

Pheasant! Pheasant!

I am talking to you.
To you.

And who are you?

None of your business.
You hit son. My son.

The boy was hit with an apple.

I will not have it.
I will hold you responsible.

I am sorry, brother.
Forgive a fool.

Is that so?
You insult me in front of the people?

And do you know that
I will crush you like a beetle?

Who gave you the right
to despise another man?

You think that when you have a fat face
you are better, don't you?

Bloody artist!

Just you wait! I will come and get you!
I will come!

Why do you judge me, brother?
Why do you stoop to hatred?

You can, you know, kiss me!

I already have.

Pheasant!

You, pheasant! You!

Your father is looking for you.

He is anxious about me.

Because of this man?
Just take a look.

I bow my head before you.

You're in love, aren't you?

And he is just a small time crook,
a common swine,

everybody knows it and so do you.

And yet I envy you still.

All the old people are jealous of you.

Why do you peep?

I don't need to peep,
I know everything.

Here everybody peeps.
Stupid, hideous town.

It is neither stupid
not hideous but cursed.

You don't like people, do you?

Just between you and me...

What have they done that
they are as they are?

You see, I carry death on my back.
I carry death piggyback like a child.

All the time I can feel
the icy weight on my back.

It has changed me a lot.

Now I look differently at people and life.

No, no, please, don't pay any attention.
It will pass.

No, I don't want.
Please, leave me alone.

You will catch cold.

So what? Does anybody care?

Do you care?

Now I know I can't run away.
That this is the end.

What are you afraid of?

Bad people.
They are chasing me.

Yesterday I barely managed to escape.

Now I am certain that
they will find me.

You know,

just this morning I understood that
the world is small,

as small as human fist.

Don't get me wrong.

I need human attention, other people's
presence, because I am seriously ill.

Why don't you hug me
and kiss me?

You want me to fall to your feet,
desperately begging for love?

I knew from the very beginning
that there was something phony about you.

And I knew from the very beginning that
you are one of the people who suffer

when a dog does not wag
its tail at their sight.

You are right, you have exposed me.

It was a deserved punishment.

This is what I am.
Do you think I don't know?

Everyone would like his life
to be more colourful and better.

It's a Pit)'-

It's not important.
Please, forget about it.

I didn't mean to offend you.

It is me who should apologize.
You are right.

You are right, they are right,
everybody is right.

Oh, how fed up I am with all this.

No, please, don't say a word.
Not a word.

It is not that necessary any more.

Actually, you have helped me,
I will not run away any more.

What is the point of running away?

Happen what may
and it will be the end of everything.

Are you hiding?

During the war.
I went into hiding during the war.

- But the war is long over.
- It's true. But is it forbidden?

It's not.

They are looking for you,
aren't they?

Are you crazy?
It is all bullshit.

I know.
I remember you from back then.

You better go away, will you?
How can you know me?

I am here for the first time.
I could barely find this town on the map.

Don't you recognize me?
Take a good look, please.

Doesn't my face remind you of something?

You know, you just can't remember.

I have the face of Blumenfeld,
the great Jewish thespian.

Do you know how much it cost me?

During the war I had to change
my papers seven times,

I even wore a cassock.

Ultimately, I had to hide
in the wilderness,

like Moses among the dead bodies
of the sons of Judah.

Do you know them?

I saw them yesterday by the river.
They have arrived here recently as well.

Somebody told me they wanted to die for love.
They jumped into a water tank,

but they did not drown
because the director of the factory

kept stolen barrels
with spirit in the water.

Isn't this world strange?

Vile behaviour turns into virtue.

Do you know that the actor Blumenfeld
is no longer among the living?

But I am similar to him.

Now you are Blumenfeld.
You - the only one in the world.

Today is the anniversary.
Everybody will gather in the big house.

Tell them about it.

What anniversary?

What do you mean? Our one.
We celebrate it yearly.

I don't know what
is going to happen till evening.

Evil people are looking for me.

It may be the last time
we see each other.

Remember!

Now you are Blumenfeld

Don't be afraid.

I will tell you what you saw
and what you will see tomorrow.

You are running from your destiny
but you will not escape it.

They are looking for you.
They are coming from the north already.

Wherever you may hide your head,
they will find you.

I can see a young woman by your side,
she will never leave you.

Only death can part you.

You are impatient and have a big heart,

but you were born under an evil star.

You had big plans but achieved little,

and you will not find
consolation in this world.

Shall I tell your fortune? Do you want to know
what tomorrow will bring?

And you?
Aren't you curious of the future?

Me? People come from
the sea coast to meet me.

No one can tell fortunes like me.

Can't you read it in your cards
that I am a sorcerer as well?

Tell me when you were born.

And how old do I look?

As old as you should.

Tell me the exact date.
The day, month, and hour of your birth.

June twenty-second at midnight.

I like this constellation very much.

Cancer in opposition to Venus.

But it was better to wait,
not to hurry, sister.

Give me your hand.

You see, you see?

No one has told your fortunes so far.

Just look at him! Caught me like a tick.
You better go to your lame girl.

Wait, it is a princess's hand.

You were a princess once,
weren't you?

Do you see now that
I know everything?

Thousands of suitors
sought you in marriage.

But you waited for a prince,
didn't you, sister?

You see, the stars don't lie.

And a prince came
in his cavalryman's uniform

and he took you
to his castle in cavalry barracks

and you did not have the time to enjoy fully
your royal happiness because an evil war came

and he mounted his horse and rode away
somewhere to the west.

And you have been waiting for so many years

but he is not coming back.

Let me go! My fingers hurt!

Do you see how bad it is
to guess the future?

And you don't even want to know

that one day your hair will turn grey,
your teeth will fall out

and people will run away
when they see you.

Fie! Go away!

You see, sister,
only I know everything.

You have offended a prophet.

I keep on thinking about what you said.

You know, it is weird.

Once I was so talented!

Do you think I am only joking?

- You scared me.
- Well, I walk so quietly.

You know, our town is such that it is impossible
to walk here in any other way but to tiptoe.

Why are you looking at me this way?

Because I think I know you too.

Here is a genius standing before you,
who conquered the whole wide world.

He can still move and move you,

although he is grown quite old.

Come, come, I will show you something!

Just slowly. Don't step on a twig
or they will get scared.

They are taking a bath before the holiday.
It's a sin to watch.

You're a gourmet.
You like to admire the views.

I would throw you to the wolves,
you have eyes like a hungry hare.

- What are you looking for here, swine?
- My God, you will strangle me!

I am a pilgrim.
Coming back to his homeland from far away.

What do you want here?

I have come to right wrongs.

Did you harm people?

I was harmed.

By Whom?

Maybe you, maybe him, maybe them.

Today in the evening I will know everything.

My hands are clean.

Your hands are clean.

They call you Captain, don't they?

They do, I wasn't even here
during the war.

I know, you fought at all the fronts

and until your dying day you will impress
people with your battle scars.

Do you see what a bore you are?

- Shut up, don't insult me!
- And I was dying on an island,

that knows neither war nor sudden death.

Under the sun of the tropics,
among fairy-tale trees,

I missed this cursed land
where I was wronged.

I slept on a bag of gold, I played
dominoes with diamonds and I left it

I left it all one day.

In a crowd of people just like me

I came to this old land,
cursed old land that I dreamt about at night.

Here is a good man coming,
you can complain to him.

Two boys are dying in town.

What happened to them?

Their mother went to the city
and hasn't come back,

they were left with their father.

Well, he is an artist.
They probably ate something.

There is always some misfortune
before the anniversary.

Lead me to them.
I will heal them.

What do you want?
I did not invite you.

He will heal your sons.

May he can heal himself first.
Bloody quack.

Give him a chance, let him try.

He has come from far away.

It is true.
I have come here for my own death.

What? Hush now.

How dare you?!

Why do your refuse, sweetie?

I would slap you in your handsome trap.

Why do your refuse, sweetie?

OK, OK now.
You don't have to try so hard.

Down, Tyrant, down.

What does he want from this man?

He writes poems.

Who?

He writes poems against you.

He is too lazy to make them rhyme.

Why do you hate them so much?

What are they guilty of?

How dare you blame them for your lot?

I can't stand even looking at you.

You open your mouth and I see your black palate.
You choke on duplicity.

You want to fly through your life
in colourful plumage.

You are a poet.

Dad, dad, dad. Eat...

You are right, brother.
This is the character I received from nature.

I want to do well
and everything comes out lame.

You think I don't know about it,
I don't cry to myself at night.

Sometimes I feel such a disgust
to myself that... that...

Kill me, kill me so that I could stop
suffering and torturing you.

You can hear what a fraud he is.

I knew you would say so.
You have the right.

What are they talking about,
I can't follow.

You are right.
Excuse me everything,

everyone must experience
his solitude on his own.

Sir!

- Do I owe you anything for the night.
- No, it is not about that!

He is an unhappy man.

A small man, it's a shame to say,
an ugly one,

and he has a difficult character.

He writes his poems because he thinks,
poor man, that it can change his bad luck.

What do I care for this poet of yours.
It's me I'm concerned with.

Stay with us.

Tonight we celebrate the anniversary.

You will have some fun,
you will forget about your sorrows.

Don't try to convince me.
Local people didn't take to me.

What are you talking about?

His boys are healthy,
they are running in the orchard.

Everyone is praising you.

I know well how things are.
Thank you for your heart and kind words.

Get out of the water.

No way.

What a stubborn man.
Where will you go at night?

Please, don't say anything.

Come on, enough of that.
Give me your hand.

No. I would rather die!

Everybody is waiting for you.

It is true. They sent me.
They said - run, bring him back.

Why do you make so much fuss?
Water is cold!

I said what I said
and I won't take my word back.

Is it worth it?
Who are you going to impress?

They won't understand anyway,
and it is cold and dark at night.

Give me your hand.

You see, my character.

Excuse me. A souvenir from the war.

We stood for three days
in the snow up to the waist. Surrounded.

You are sick.

I stayed here only because of you.
Only for you.

Damn it.

You may think what you will.

I will pay for everything myself.

He's whistling to grab your attention.

Please, don't bother with me.

I understand, this is stronger.
Run.

He is a champion.
One can see it right way.

Don't delay.

And this is the mystery of life.

What did you say?
I didn't quite catch.

Nothing. I just said it was a lovely day.

Oh yes, a beautiful day
and an uncommon summer.

Have you ever seen such a harvest?
It is a bad sign.

It is always better for the people
when everything is average.

Where is Hela?

A man was asking for help,
he couldn't get up on his own.

That's the way she always is.

Don't be scared.
It's them.

They drive this way every year
before our anniversary.

They will be driving until midnight.

Nobody knows where from and where to.

Don't trust your dreams.

It's bad to sleep before the night.

Where am I?

You don't know?
Just take a look.

Everybody is digging,
everybody is searching.

I am being chased.

They know there are treasures here.

Germans hid their riches near the town,

which is why it was left untouched
although without the people.

Are you listening?

- Has anybody asked about me?
- They say you can heal people.

No, no, I am sick myself.

You know, I can't sleep.
It's been so many years.

The moment comes when I want to take
an axe and put an end to it all.

Are you listening?

Do you see? Three times.
And you?

Seven, I guess.
So you did too?

And what do you think?
That you are the only one in the world?

No, no, well, everyone is free to do anything.

I can' stand it anymore.

As we will not see each other any more
I would like to tell you that...

It doesn't make sense anyway.

Are you leaving?

My God, don't you know
that I'm in danger?

Can't an innocent man find himself in
a hopeless situation?

I only asked if you were leaving.

You can think what you will
but I have experienced a lot.

It is nothing new in this country.
If I wrote it in a book nobody would believe it.

I governed people and built roads,

I handed around houses
and begged for a piece of bread,

I shot at another man
and I was strangled with barbed wire.

Maybe it is funny
but I have never been with a woman.

Nobody knows about it.
It is pathetic.

I understand how pathetic it is.

But you had a wife and two children.

Oh, my God...
Why am I telling you all this?

You neither ask for it
nor are you interested.

Forgive me.

I have just reminded you
what you said this morning.

And so what?

They were not my children.
I married my only friend's wife

when he died of tuberculosis.

I just can't say it.

Sometimes there are such desperate
secrets among human beings.

She had some... trauma.

I don't know. Maybe it was because
I used to be his friend,

maybe she detected
some inhibition in me.

I just don't know.
Nothing ever happened between us.

It was terrible, terrifying.

Oh, what does one know
about another human being?

I am sorry.

I know, you don't believe me.

You have a complex.

Are you taking pity on me?

You are so boring.

I don't know what you are thinking.

You better go now.

What are you doing?

Forgive me. I curse this day.

I have gotten to know it too late.
Maybe just a few hours before dying.

I love you.

But it's all only because I am the only one
who doesn't believe you.

One should not speak like this.
One should not trample

on what has just happened.

Look.

Let me see.

It's not worth it.
I know how to stop bleeding.

Unless you want me to sign
something with my own blood.

Am I to trust you?

Oh, Hela, Hela...

Go now. Father will be back soon.

Hela, Hela.

People, I love you!

Mr Smith.

I have told you that for other people
my name is Jones.

Well, I got it all wrong.

I thought that Smith was your pseudonym.

Such an indiscretion may cost me a lot.

I came to invite you to our anniversary.

Anniversary?

You came especially because of it.

I am running away.

I was unjustly sentenced.
I told you this yesterday.

Maybe. But they
are all waiting for you there.

It is a local custom here.

Miss Helena sings.

I can't hear it.
My hearing has been very weak since the war.

Let's take a shortcut through the orchards.

Very good harvest.

God forbid.

The widow prophesied that when
dead trees start giving fruit

it will be the last autumn for this town.

Why?

You don't know?
Watch your step.

There is devilish power,
real hell below us.

You've been drinking?

I haven't. We don't drink on the anniversary.
There is uranium down there.

Can you see the lights?

The factories and mines are there.
They move towards us.

Our town has already been
erased from all maps.

We don't exist anymore.

This is the house.
Be careful, the doorstep is high.

I don't know this house.

How is it possible? You are a local.

Welcome, doctor,
to this alcohol-free party.

You see, sweetie,
the life of an old bachelor.

He doesn't sleep enough, he doesn't eat enough,
and then he can't stand straight.

You are trying to drown your sorrows?

Each one has his own sorrows.

A destroyed life, cheated by his neighbours.

"I don't believe in man,
each is a freebooter..."

Duty first!

Will you have our mineral water?

From the spring in the centre of our town.

A cure for everything.

Good for the heart
and for head full of sorrows.

It can't harm you either.

Just one gulp, don't let the gas escape.

Delicate, unaccustomed.

Well, this is our flat bottle.

It comes from a natural source?

Well, we help it just a little.
You see what kind of spa it is.

You see,
I keep on thinking about what you said to me.

You know, before the war my wife
would give me two zlote daily.

For the tram, cigarettes, a coffee.

And I would spend the whole day walking,
talking to my friends, discussing things...

You know, my wife did not treat me seriously.

- You didn't work?
- Not at all!

I was so delicate from early childhood.
No good for real life.

It was only during the war
that I became someone.

Five years behind a wardrobe
or under a couch.

Real Jews were afraid to hide
with me in one house.

That man is no longer alive.

He died nameless during the war.

And who am I?

You are Blumenfeld.

The great thespian who has not acted
for twenty years

due to loss of memory.

Have you got any more
in your flat bottle?

It's gone. But he has some.

Look at him, he developed a taste.

- Were you in Africa?
- I was.

So was I.

- Did you see Asia?
- I did.

So did I.
Did you live in England?

I am a wandering bird
which does not know his nest.

Pheasant! Eee!

Every day thousands of ships sail
across all the oceans towards Europe.

On their decks there are
countless crowds of pilgrims.

They look out for the shores
from which their forefathers came.

Louder!

Quiet!

- But we really can't hear anything.
- Shut up, damn it!

I saw the eternal ice.

I saw red hot deserts,

I saw infinite forests and lakes.

I only wanted to say:

I have come back from the furthest
corner of the Earth.

To my place, to my people,

to that which one cannot forget.

It's all.

- So what?
- What a stubborn man.

May wolves take you, I have seen
it all as well, so what?

Orchestra!

Dance, dance!
The young ones, it is your holiday!

Everybody dance!
Let's make a ring!

We won't tell fortunes anymore, will we?

I would like to apologize.

I should do it first.

Today I understood everything.

What?

I found out from my cards
that a man would come from the North,

who would find riches among us.

And you think it's me?

No, it's unnecessary.

And maybe I came here for my own death?

Do you know you live on credit?

You are a zero.
A beautiful, round zero.

- What does he want from me?
- He is an artist. He is jealous of everyone.

I will finish you.

I will lock you in a single sentence
like a fly in a box.

I have something for you, bourgeois.

They sent you a cable from
the world for your anniversary. Listen!

You too!

Where do I have it?

Jesus, he is drunk,
he is going to read poetry!

There was once a second bottom,

of which now there is only a hazy memory,

but there is no more bottom,

and no one can fall to the bottom,
or lie at the bottom.

Rebellious people,
cursed angels used to fall heads down.

A contemporary man falls

in all directions at the same time:

upwards, downwards, sideways,
like a rose blowing in the wind.

Once they would fall and
rise vertically,

now one falls horizontally...

Sweetie,

sweetie,
go to sleep, sweetie.

Why did he get latched on to me?

Will you take some from me?

- From a flat bottle?
- Yes. Straight from the heart.

They call me a good man.

If they knew the truth,
they would not be able to say it.

Why are you ashamed?

You are a good man.

Because I can't do anything vile.

Sometimes I feel like it,

I plan everything carefully - and I can't.

I remember that even in my childhood,
I wanted to have bad grades - it didn't work,

I wanted to break
a window with a stone - I missed.

I wanted somebody to trip over my leg,
and I fell myself.

All my life was like this.

People point their fingers at me
as if I was a leper: a good man.

If they only knew how I hate them.

Absolutely.

Do you know why our Earth,
this balloon filled with hydrogen sulphide,

turns around in an incessant motion?

Do you know why the sky does not turn black,
why trees do not dry up,

why people do not die suddenly
in the middle of a street?

How am I to know these things?

Because there are still
such people among us.

It's easy to say.
But I would prefer vileness.

Everybody respects a Scoundrel,
everybody helps a son-of-a-bitch,

adulates him,

everybody respects a con man.
And they only laugh at a good man,

and this is all pleasure.

You can't alter nature.
It's better to say to oneself:

this is the way I am, and this is my honour
that I won't harm anyone.

Give me your hand.

I respect you.
Can you hear me?

- You do, but they...
- They don't exist.

They don't exist.
You have imagined them.

When you sneeze - they will disappear
from the face of the Earth.

I will do the dirty on you all.
Absolutely.

I am not in a hurry, I can wait.

But when I do the dirty on you,
you will be amazed.

Sweetie!

Sweetie...

Is it my fault that I am unhappy...

Maria!

Maria!

Enough of this tomfoolery.

Excuse me.
You don' understand it.

I loved your mother,
she was my first love.

Give me your hand.

Do you know that I know how to curse?

Do you know that I have this power?

Give me your hand.

Watch out. My poverty is contagious.
Go your way.

Give me your hand!

What are you talking about my child?
You are the richest of us all.

You could share your wealth with others.
This town has no luck.

These old houses grow out of an ill ground.

One has to escape.
Tomorrow in the morning we will escape forever.

But you are running away
nobody knows from what.

I have two passports.
One is unused, blank.

Go and collect all your trinkets.

Don't take anything more,
you will have everything.

But I love him!

- Whom?
- Him.

It's not true.

You are defending yourself from me.

- I don't know.
- Go, we have a long way ahead of us.

- You don' realize who I really am?
- I don't.

Tomorrow in the morning
you will know everything.

And now go,
let's not waste time.

And wait for me.
I will come at dawn.

Here is a genius standing before you,
who conquered the whole wide world.

He can still move and move you,

although he is grown quite old.

Although his health and memory
are not what they used to be,

there are no more joys in his life,

And though sometimes
he looks like a woodpecker,

he can be an eagle and a vulture.

And he can trust, believe,

regardless of his bitter experience,

stand on the ground
and walk in the clouds.

In a word: not a man but an epoch.

Bravo! This is something for me!
It rhymes and makes sense!

And he can trust, believe,

regardless of his bitter experience,

stand on the ground
and walk in the clouds.

In a word: not a man but an epoch.

We've already had enough.

Don't fight it because it hurts
just to look at you.

I got it.

A man must walk the difficult way of life.

It is difficult to leave
although it is so easy to start.

One day a man stepped on this way.

Blumenfeld, a wild flower,
meaning me.

He was sometimes welcomed by laughter,

sometimes by despair or prayer,
and sometimes by sin.

Maybe the time will close in this voyage,

His name is Blumenfeld, a wild flower that is me.

Life should be revered like monuments,

something stays deep in your heart,

- life is like a movie...
- Sweetie, I am really suffering.

Do you think I like these affairs?

Pure nonsense, illusion, and doubts.

Sweetie, I am looking for true love.
I am made for loving.

Show me a true woman
and I will build a home,

beget children, and I will sing happily
till the end of my days.

Haven't you had enough of love?

You reek of sex.

Sweetie, you don't understand anything.
This isn't it.

I want the grand passion,
something noble,

a feeling spelled with a capital F.

Cecylia, would you come over for a moment,
it is very important.

What do you want now?

Sweetie, I want to love,
I want to suffer for love,

scream to the whole world
that I met the true woman,

- a relic, holiness, a miracle of nature.
- Go to sleep.

We've had enough of you today.

Maybe you would marry me?

Do you want to, sweetie?
Let me do my penance, Cecylia.

And what do you think?

One should not look for love
outside of oneself.

Look deep into your soul.

There is the treasury of all happiness.

- I am so sentimental.
- Please, give me your hand.

You will build your nest
and you will line it with love.

No, he is drunk.

Wait! Wait until tomorrow!

Please, people, trust my words!

Bravo! Bravo!

He will walk a long distance
before he reaches the exit.

But when he sees
that his heart is hardly beating,

when the last door closes behind him.

When he disappears
in the final mist of oblivion,

remember that one day

an echo of his song will resound in -

Blumenfelds, wild flowers.

Bravo! Ambrosia!

I could listen to it for hours.

You can?
You used to laugh at him all his life.

You humiliated him daily.
And he is an artist.

A true artist.

I am leaving this place, you know?

- I decided to leave.
- Where to?

The world.
I am never coming back here.

You know, I was wrong.

I don't know you,
I don't remember you at all.

He awoke a hack in you.

He awoke a monster in you.
I pity you and the people you will meet.

A man consists of conscience,
love, and memory.

And you were made of complexes.

You are all patched up
with complexes like an old football.

My sons!
Children, come here.

Come here, children!

My sons, take a good look and
remember for the rest of your lives.

He is the greatest talentless hack,

king of hacks, emperor of emperors of hacks.

Damn it. I don't understand it.
Does he praise or insult?

Hush, quiet.

I am not asking why you came here
but remember this.

You will suddenly want to run away to the sea
with a private of the people's army

you will meet on a tram.

You will be seized one day
by the piercing thought,

to strangle your wife,
quarter her body,

put it into a laundry basket

and send it by train
to the most distant city possible.

Jesus, why do you talk about it
before the night?

Life is a difficult art.
Try to live beautifully.

Dad, eat!
Dad! Dad!

As usual nobody remembers
it is my name day.

They will celebrate everyone, praise everyone,
and I have to take care of myself.

Absolutely. Do you know
that this is my anniversary?

That our forefathers at this time of year
would ruefully part with the passing year

and welcome the new one with fear?

"I don't believe in man,
he is a freebooter...

I am inviting everybody
present to a distant journey.

Absolutely.

We will sail to the tropical countries
where it never snows,

where flowers are always in bloom.

I am inviting you all for holidays.

He is drunk...
Well, he can't hold his drink.

- In our regiment, I remember...
- You don't believe it?

Who else does not believe me?

Are you expecting an inheritance?

Oh, yes. All my life I have been
waiting for a great inheritance.

I experience hunger and cold,
I lived like a worm,

I was dying like an animal.

And because of all that I know for sure
that one day the great inheritance will come,

a great happiness,
a reward for all my life.

And who does not believe it,
will not go with me.

You have some relatives in America?

No. Not in America.

In the East.

And who does not believe it...

I am drinking to your health! Look!

To your health!

He likes this kind of snack.
It is his oyster.

Mr Smith.

Excuse me, I don't understand.
My name is Jones.

Wake up, Smith, it is a nightmare.

This town does not exist
and these people are dead.

They are ghosts or rather sins.

Well, well, they are our sins
wandering through the night.

If you want to
you can call them complexes.

It doesn't matter sins or complexes.

You think I am mad.
Just look at them -

they are human sins.

When you wake up tomorrow - forget.
Such dreams should be forgotten.

You are a moneybox
full of sins of a small man.

You think so? Wait here for me,
I will come back to you.

Don't move. Stay here.

I will come back and wake you up.
Stand here. Don't move.

I will be back in a minute
to wake you up.

Will you come here.
I am talking to you!

Are you ready?

You see, visitor,

I am not a nameless soldier.

You have a lot of strength, visitor.

Come here.

Hold on to my hair with all your strength.

Stronger, stronger,
or you will regret it soon.

Aha!

Well, hold on with all your might.

Let go.

He has a great might, damn you.

No one in the whole regiment.

I could defeat everyone.

He has a great might.

I know where you are running to.
We go the same way.

Where are they?

There are only friends here!
Can you see the children?

Come nearer.

The man is afraid.
Give him your hands.

Do you remember?

Won't you help me, sweetie?

I also feel desire.

I want sublimity, sweetie.

Dawn is breaking.

It will soon be day.

The day of your redemption.

I have come here
to redeem you through my death.

Damn you, they keep on babbling all night
and I don't understand anything.

You don't have to understand anything.
But don't interrupt even if you don't understand.

You will eat the same gifts
of the incomprehensible as others.

Damn you, I fought at seven fronts...

I take your sins upon me.

You have waited all your lives.
Here I am.

He killed a man!

He is breathing.

Mmm! He got hit in his guts.

He won't survive an hour.

It's better to finish him off.

This is what we did at the front.

Show me the gun!

Are you drunk?

- He is alive!
- He is alive!

What happened?

I woke you up.
And you fainted with fear!

You fainted with fear!

It's already day. Can you hear it?
Cockerels

This is salto!
Remember this dance!

I am looking for my husband, sir.
Dark hair, dark glasses.

To some people he says he is called Smith,
to others that he is called Jones.

Hush, you mustn't. He is hiding.
Absolutely.

Evil people are looking for him.
He barely saved his own life.

Who is looking for him?

He is a liar and a lecher.
Always on the move.

He lies to everyone for a while and runs away.

He healed children here.

Oh yes, he heals other people's children
and runs away from his own.

This is his nature, sir.

He cannot work in one place for a longer period
and never does anything at home.

He comes as a guest for two or three days
till people ultimately chase him away.

And we thought he was a prophet.

He is a lecher, sir, and a drifter.

One needs to look for him
all over the world.

My drain-pipe broke,

child got sick,
the wind broke a window,

so he put on his jacket
and it was the last time I saw him.

Because usually, gentlemen, I keep his pants
and shoes under lock and key.

I am sick.

Can't you see I am seriously ill!?

I know, I know what you want to tell me
but don't say a word!

By God, don't say anything.

I had hidden something here
and I came to find it.

You will get to know
a life you only knew from books.

You will kill me.

One day it will all end badly.

Karolek, it's a waste of time.

You're right!
It's a waste of time!

- Damn you, you're leaving without a word?
- Pheasant! Pheasant!

We want to thank you for everything.

Hey...! Wait, false prophet!
I will tell your fortunes!

Stone the bastard!
People! For our wrongs!

Why are you staring at me like that?

I am one of you.

We live in the same home.
Every day we share our bread.

We drink water from the same glass.

Together we rise from the bottom

and we desperately hold on
to the ladder leading to heaven.

The ladder that has no rungs.

Goodbye, Maria.

Liar, he's a liar...

THE END

Translation: Krzysztof Fordoriski
English language editor: Eric J. lsler