Vikramadithyan (2014) - full transcript

[Wind Chimes Jingling ]

[ Man Speaking Arabic ]

[ Men Conversing In Arabic ]

Music [ Woman Singing
In Hungarian ]

Music [ Hungarian Song Ends ]

Music [ Woman Vocalizing ]

[ Shouting In German ]

[ Shouting ]

[ Engine Sputtering ]

[ Train Whistle Blows ]

- How are you?
- Okay.



Your leg
will be fine.

A lot of shrapnel came out.
I saved you the pieces.

You are the prettiest girl
I've ever seen.

I don't think so.
Here.

- Would you kiss me?
- No. I'll get you some tea.

- It would mean such a lot to me.
- Would it?

Thank you.

- I can't sleep. Would you kiss me?
- Oh.

- You're so pretty.
- Will you tuck me in, please?

[ Laughing ] Very funny.
Go to sleep now.

- Where's the doctor?
- Don't ask.

[ Conversing In Arabic ]

[ Conversation Continues ]

[ Gasping, Groaning ]



[ Breathing Heavily ]

[ Camel Grunts ]

[ Man Breathing Heavily ]

[ Fly Buzzing ]

[ Gasping, Gagging ]

[ Chattering ]

[ lndistinct Conversations ]

God, I hate giving blood.
Can't stand needles.

Is there anybody
from Picton?

Picton?
I don't know.

I'd like to see somebody
from home before I go.

- Do we have anybody from Picton?
- Why Picton?

He's from there. Edge of Lake Ontario,
right, soldier?

That's where your sweetie's from,
isn't it? Around there?

Ask him what company
he's with.

- Third Canadian Fusiliers.
- Third Canadian Fusiliers.

Does he know
Captain McGan?

He bought it yesterday.
Shot to bits.

- What did he say?
- Doesn't know him.

[ Shell Whistles, Explodes ]

Hana, get down!

[ Screaming, Shouting ]

[ Sobbing ]
He's dead. He's dead.

[ Shouting ]

[ Sobbing ]
He's dead.

He's dead.

[ Explosions ]

[ Bottles Clinking ]

[ Conversing In Arabic ]

[ Arabic ]

[ Breathing Heavily ]

[ Chanting ]

[ Continues ]

[ Chanting Continues,
Drumbeat ]

[ Arabic ]

[ Chanting Continues ]

[ Breathing Heavily ]

[ Chattering ]

[ Man ]
Name, rank, serial number?

[ Man #2 ]
No, sorry.

I think I was
a pilot.

I was found in the wreckage of a plane
at the beginning of the war.

Can you remember
where you were born?

Am I being interrogated?

You should be trying to
trick me, make me speak German.

- Which I can, by the way.
- Why?

- Are you German?
- No.

How do you know you're not German
if you don't remember anything?

Might-- Might I have
a sip of water?

[ Sea Gulls Calling ]

[ Gulps ]

- Thank you.
- It's okay.

I remember
lots of things.

I remember her garden,
plunging down to the sea.

- Nothing between you and France.
- This was your garden?

- Or my wife's.
- You were married then?

I think so. Although I believe that
to be true of a number of Germans.

Look.

[ Gasping ]
I have this much lung.

The rest of my organs
are packing up.

What could it possibly matter
if I'm a Tutankhamen?

I'm a bit of...
toast, my friend.

Sorry I can't help you.

[ Horn Honking ]

[ Breathing Heavily ]

Are you all right?

I know you hate to be moved.
I'm sorry.

- [ Honking ]
- Hana!

- Jan?
- Hana!

There's meant to be lace in the next
village. The boys are gonna take me.

- You don't have any money, do ya?
- No.

- Just in case there's a sale.
- No.

Hana, I know you do.
Come on.

- No!
- Oh, come on.

I swear to God,
this'll be the last time. I swear.

She's a softie.
She loves me.

- I'll pay you back! I promise!
- [ Laughing ]

I'm not sewing
anything else for you.

I love you!

Whoa!
Pienza, boys!

[ Breathing Heavily ]

[ Man ] Get some water
over here!

Jan!
Oh, no!

Hana, where're
you going?

- Stay back!
- Stop, Hana!

- Stay--
- [ Crying ]

No!

No!

- Hey! Hey!
- Don't move!

Don't move!
Don't move!

Stand absolutely still!

You're walking in
a mine field!

Good.

That's good.

Just stay still
for me...

and we'll be fine.

What are you doing?

What the bloody hell do
you think you're doing?

[ Hana ]
It's Jan's.

[ Sighs ]

[ Hana ] Are you in pain?
Do you need something?

- Yes.
- Okay.

Are you okay?

- You and Jan were--
- We keep moving him
in and out of the truck.

Why? He's dying.
What's the point?

We can hardly leave him.
Do you mean leave him?

No, no,
I don't mean leave him.

This will help you.

I must be a curse.

Anybody who loves me...
[ Sighs ]

anybody who gets
close to me--

Oh, I must be cursed.

Which is it?

Music [ Single Piano Key Plays ]

[ Grunts ]

- When he dies, I'll catch up.
- It's not safe here.

The whole country's crawling with
bandits and Germans and God knows what.

- It's madness! I can't allow it.
- The war is over.

How can it be
desertion?

It's not over everywhere.
I didn't mean literally.

This is normal, a shock,
for all of us, Hana.

I need morphine, a lot.
And a pistol.

If anything ever happened to you,
I'd never forgive myself.

We're heading
for Leghorn.

"Livorno,"
the ltalians call it.

We'll expect you.

Fine.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome, ma'am.

- Oh, Hana.
- I'll be okay.

I'll catch up.
Good.

[ Sighs ]

[ Muttering Song Lyrics ]

[ Continues ]

[ Engines Droning ]

[ Grunting ]

What-- What was
all that banging?

Are you-- Are you fighting rats,
or the entire German army?

No. I was repairing
the stairs.

I found a library,
and the books were very useful.

Before you find too many
uses for those books,

you might
read some to me.

I think they're all in ltalian,
but I'll look, yes.

- What about your own book?
- My book?

Oh, yes,
the Herodotus.

Yes, you can read him.

Oh. I found plums.

We have plums
in the orchard. There.

We have an orchard.

Herodotus is
the father of history.

- Do you know that?
- I don't know anything.

Hmm.

It's a--

It's a very plum...

plum.

[ Thud ]

[ Man Speaking Arabic ]

[ Responds In Arabic ]

[ Arabic ]

A mountain the shape
of a woman's back. Good, good.

- Hello, Geoffrey!
- Madox, hello!

- Welcome to the expedition.
- How do you do? Geoffrey Clifton.

Splendid to finally
meet you all.

This is Dante D'Agostino
and Diggy Bermann, our archaeologist.

- Beautiful plane.
- This is Sharif Al Fouad, Egyptologist.

- And this is my wife, Katharine.
- Hello.

We're your
new apprentices.

-Welcome to the lnternational Sand Club.
-[ Laughing ]

- To the lnternational Sand Club.
- I'll get cups.

- Marvellous plane. Did you look?
- Y es.

Isn't it? A wedding present
from Katharine's parents.

We're calling it
Rupert Bear.

- Hello. Geoffrey Clifton.
- Almasy.

We can finally consign my old bird
to the scrap heap.

Mrs Clifton,
I'd like to present...

- Count Almasy.
- Hello.

Geoffrey gave me your monograph
and I was reading up in the desert.

- Very impressive.
- Thank you.

I wanted to meet the man who could write
a long paper with so few adjectives.

Well, a thing is still a thing,
no matter what you place in front of it.

Big car, slow car,
chauffeur-driven car.

- [ Madox ] Broken car.
- It's still a car.

- Not much use, though.
- [ Katharine ] Love?

Romantic love,
plutonic love, filial love.

- Quite different things, surely.
- Uxoriousness.

That's my favourite kind of love.
Excessive love of one's wife.

- Now there you have me.
- [ Men Laughing ]

- They're tourists.
- Absolute rot.

They're highly recommended
by the Royal Geographic Society.

She's charming and
has read everything.

- He's meant to be a ruddy good flier.
- We don't need another pilot.

He can make aerial maps
of the whole route.

You can't explore
from the air, Madox.

If you could explore from the air,
life would be very simple.

Contact.

Contact.

I should try
and move the bed.

I want you to be able
to see the view.

It's good. It's a view
from a monastery.

- I can already see.
- How?

- How can you see anything?
- No, no, not the window.

I can't bear
the light anyway.

I can see all the way
to the desert.

I'm turning you.

Exploring before the war,
making maps.

Is there sand in my eyes?
Are you cleaning sand from my ears?

No sand.
That's your morphine speaking.

I can see my wife
in that view.

Are you
remembering more?

- Could I have a cigarette?
- Are you crazy?

[ Coughing ]

Why-- Why are you so determined
to keep me alive?

[ Sighs ]
Because I'm a nurse.

[ Sound Of Hana's Feet
Hopping ]

[ Drumbeats, Chanting ]

[ Continues ]

Music [ Arabic ]

Bravo.

[song] We have an
old-fashioned tomato [song]

[song] A Long lsland potato [song]

[song] But yes
We have no bananas [song]

[song] We have no bananas today Music

Music [ Arabic ]

Music [ German ]

Music [ ltalian ]

Music [ Arabic ]

- Next!
- Katharine!

[ Hana ] "The King insisted that
he would find some way...

"to prove beyond dispute...

"that his wife
was fairest of all women.

"'l will hide you in your room
where we sleep,' said Candaules--

- said Candaules."
- Candaules.

"Candaules."

Candaules.

Candaules tells Gyges that the Queen has
the same practise every night.

She takes off
her clothes...

and puts them on the chair
by the door to her room.

"'And from where you stand,

you will be able to gaze
on her at your leisure.'"

And that evening, it's exactly as
the King has told him.

She goes
to the chair,

removes her clothes
one by one,

until she's standing naked
in full view of Gyges.

And indeed, she was more lovely
than he could have imagined.

But then,
the Queen looked up...

and saw Gyges concealed
in the shadows.

And although she said
nothing, she shuddered.

And the next day,

she sends for, for Gyges
and challenged him.

- And hearing his story,
this is what she said.
- Off with his head!

[ Laughing ]

She said, "Either you
must submit to death...

"for gazing on that
which you should not,

"or else kill my husband
who has shamed me...

and become King
in his place."

So Gyges kills the King,

marries the Queen and becomes ruler
of Lydia for 28 years.

The end.

Shall I spin
the bottle?

[ Madox ] So, Geoffrey,
let that be a lesson to you.

- [ Katharine ] D'Agostino!
- D'Agostino!

Are you asleep?

Yes.

No. I'm dropping off.

[ Cawing ]

Go away!

Go! Go!

[ Grunts ]

Buon giorno.

- Hana?
- What do you want?

I met your
friend Mary.

She said I should stop and see
if you were all right.

Apparently we're neighbours. My house
is two blocks from yours in Montreal.

Cabot,
north of Laurier.

- Bonjour.
- Bonjour.

For you.

I'd like to take credit for it,
but it's from Mary.

My name is David Caravaggio,
but nobody ever called me David.

Caravaggio they find
too absurd to miss out on.

Oh!

[ Snickers ]
Oh!

Oh, shit.
Stupid hands.

Let me do that.

They're fresh.

I haven't had
an egg in--

Have you noticed
there are chickens?

In ltaly, you get chickens
but no eggs.

In Africa, they're always eggs
but never chickens.

- Who's separating them?
- You were in Africa?

Yes, I was.

So was my patient.

Look, I'd like to
stay for a while.

I have to do
some work here.

I speak the language.
There are partisans to be disarmed.

We embrace them and see
if we can relieve them of their weapons,

you know,
while we hide.

I was a thief, so the army
thought I'd be good at it.

- So you can shoot a pistol?
- No.

Do you have a problem
with those?

No.

- I should look at them before you go.
- Look.

It's a big place.
We needn't disturb each other.

I'll sleep
in the stable.

It doesn't matter where I sleep.
I don't sleep.

I don't know what Mary told you
about me, but I don't need company.

I don't need
to be looked after.

There is a man
downstairs.

He brought us eggs.
He might stay.

Why?
Can he lay eggs?

He's Canadian.

Why are people always so happy when they
collide with one from the same place?

What happened in Montreal
when you passed a man in the street?

Did you invite him
to live with you?

He needn't
disturb you.

He can't.
I'm already disturbed.

[ Sighs ]

There's a war. Where you come from
becomes important.

[ Patient ]
Why? I hate that idea.

Ah!
It's gonna work.

Gently.

[ Knocking ]

Can I help?

It's finished.

So, you're our
Canadian pickpocket?

Thief I think
is more accurate.

I understand you were in Africa.
Whereabouts?

Oh, all over.

All over?

I kept trying to cover
a very modest portion and still failed.

- Are you leaving us?
- Yes.

Now's our opportunity
to swap war wounds.

[ Laughs ]
Then I'm definitely going.

Does she have
war wounds?

I think anybody
she ever loves...

tends to die on her.

- Are you planning to be the exception?
- Me?

[ Laughs ]
I think you've got...

the wrong end
of the stick, old boy.

So...

Caravaggio.

Hana thinks
you invented your name.

And you've
forgotten yours.

I said that no one would ever invent
such a preposterous name.

And I said you can
forget everything,

but you never forget
your name.

Count Almasy.

That name mean
anything to you?

Or Katharine Clifton?

[ People Chattering ]

Oh, I'm sorry.

- How much did you pay?
- Oh, hello.

They don't see foreign women
in this market. How much did you pay?

Um, 7, 8 pounds,
I suppose.

- Which store?
- Why?

You've been cheated.
Oh, don't worry, we'll take it back.

I don't want
to take it back.

- This is not worth 8 pounds.
- It is to me.

- Did you bargain?
- I don't care to bargain.

That insults them.

I don't believe that. I think
that you're insulted by me somehow.

I'd be very happy to obtain
the correct price for this.

I apologize
if I appear abrupt.

I'm rusty at social graces.

How do you find Cairo?

- Did you visit the pyramids?
- Excuse me.

Or the Sphinx?

[ Almasy ] Latitude, 25, 33.
Longitude, 25, 16.

We attempt to drive northeast of Kofer,
we'll leave our bones in the desert.

- I disagree.
- You're Hungarian. You always disagree.

- Good evening, gentlemen.
- Good evening.

- How is your charming wife?
- Marvellous.

She's in love
with the hotel plumbing.

She's either in the swimming pool.
She swims for hours.

She's a fish. It's quite incredible.
Or she's in the bath.

- [ Laughing ]
- Actually, she's just outside.

Chaps only
in the Long Bar.

Mrs Clifton.

You'll have to forgive us. We're not
accustomed to the company of women.

Not at all. I was thoroughly
enjoying my book.

- The team is in mourning, darling.
- Oh, really?

I'm afraid we're not having much luck
obtaining funds for the expedition.

Oh. Well, what'll you do?

More modest expedition,
or even wait a year.

- It's a disaster.
- Remind our families we still exist.

Good heavens,
are you married, Madox?

Very much so.
We all are.

- Save my friend Almasy here.
- I feel much better.

Don't you, darling?
We were feeling rather self-conscious.

Let's toast, then.
Absent wives.

- [ All ] Absent wives.
- And present ones.

And future ones.

Music [ Jazz ]

Music [ Song Ends ]

Thank you.

Excuse me.
May l?

Music [ Slow ]

- Why did you follow me yesterday?
- I'm sorry. What?

After the market,
you followed me to the hotel.

I was concerned. A woman
in that part of Cairo, a Europ