Alone in Venice (2025) Movie Script
1
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[ominous music]
[water swishing]
[gentle music]
Oh, my God! Hi!
[woman sighs]
You lost weight.
I can't believe
this is happening.
This place is unreal.
So this is where
you sold your soul, huh?
It's not really
about the place.
Although it is beautiful,
this is where she wants
me to be.
[gentle music]
[key jingling]
[lock clicks]
[woman sighs]
This is the place she
pays for you to live?
[sighs]
There's no view at all.
It's just narrow streets
and windows
of another building.
Saul, seriously?
Look, there's mold on the walls
and the sheet is torn.
Saul, this has got to be
the trashiest, lousiest place
in Venice that she could find.
It's getting late.
Why don't you crash in here
with me tonight?
That's not the point.
Look, Saul, I am your friend
and I'm rooting for you, okay?
And I would not settle for this
trashy place if I were you.
Okay?
You're worth more than that.
You're only 26. How long
have you been waiting?
How many times
has she visited you?
-[Saul sighs]
-Do you fuck as soon
as she gets here?
[Saul sighs]
I don't understand you, Saul.
You're here rotting,
wasting your life away.
[sighs]
Tell me, what keeps you here?
How did you fall into this
dark and twisted abyss?
[gentle piano music]
I met her in San Francisco.
I had been in a couple
campaigns she produced.
Never really
got to talk to her
until, one day,
I got a call from her.
"Are you the one
with the blond hair
and the blue eyes?
The lefty with two left feet?"
[both chuckling]
She called me
in for a screen test.
[Mia] A screen test?
Yeah, it's kind of
like an audition,
but there's almost
no line to it.
Yeah,
it's all about your looks.
So she wants to make a movie?
Yeah, after years of fashion
photography and videos,
she made a couple
of independent films
and got addicted to it.
-[Mia] Independent?
-Yeah.
Saul, you're doing all of this
for an independent film?
I could maybe understand
a Marvel movie or a Disney film,
but not some boring,
low-cost, low-quality indie.
[Saul chuckles]
You have no idea, Mia.
Jules is someone very
firm on her own ideas.
Although you are right,
independent is cheap,
but she said she wants to
make it for her own purpose.
"Her own purpose."
See? It's all about her.
[Saul sighs]
What's the movie about?
Anyway, Jules is someone
who takes her work
very seriously.
It's like her life and her work
are inseparable.
Okay.
So, what, she made you
the lead of her movie?
What's your character like?
What's the status of the film?
Ongoing? Pre-production?
Saul, do you know
anything about this movie?
What's the fuss
with the orchid?
She says that I am
like her favorite flower.
The only flower she loves,
the orchid.
"Unlike the rose
which boasts fragrance
and beauty and pride yet
not as plain as the daisy,
the orchid stands on its own,
seemingly weak
but pure and prudent.
A flower that endures
loneliness in all its strength
yet never forgets
who it belongs to."
Wow.
What a poetic way
to string you along
with nothing but words.
No, it's true.
[Mia] No, it's not.
She's manipulating you.
She says when she's around,
her orchid blooms,
and doesn't do so well
when she's away.
She gave it to me
and it is true.
If I don't hear from her,
it's as if it's dying.
When she calls, it's like--
it's like it becomes alive
again.
Look... it's barely
surviving now.
[people murmuring]
Look at all this fresh seafood.
Ooh.
I could totally
use this to make a dish.
You know, if you come to
the culinary institute with me,
we can be chef
buddies together.
Mm.
Mm.
You know, she's someone
who's really particular
about what she eats.
Wonder how
they make Chinese food
in this city full of
tourists and Italians?
[knife chopping]
[knife rasping]
[paper rustling]
[gentle music]
[patrons murmuring]
[Mia] Thanks.
[Saul speaking Chinese]
[server speaking Chinese]
[Saul speaking Chinese]
[server speaking Chinese]
Okay.
Who would've thought of having
Chinese food in Venice?
[chuckles]
I was impressed by how well
you could speak Chinese.
I know your boss
girlfriend is Chinese,
but you don't have to learn
the language for her.
Seriously,
she's not even by your side.
She's never around.
[sighs]
It's just something
that I picked up
while I've been here
waiting for her.
Look at you,
becoming an expert,
not because of her,
but because of waiting for her.
Mm. So it's been,
what, almost a year?
How many times
has she come to visit you?
Wait. Seven months.
How can you
stay here that long?
That exceeds
the length of all types
of visas to stay in Italy.
She made me a permanent
resident of Italy.
I can stay here
as long as I want to.
Is she a resident
of Italy as well?
I don't know.
I just know that the coffee
shop at the end of this road,
pasta restaurant by the canal,
one of the Louis Vuitton
franchises,
and the menswear showroom
at St. Mark's Square,
all owned by her.
Well...
So why does she station you
in Venice and nowhere else?
Is this where she
accumulates all her property?
She says that, eventually,
she wants to come
and film here.
"Eventually."
But she's not here
and she hasn't been here
since she placed you here.
And it's, what,
almost a year ago.
Saul.
She's off living merrily
in the United States
and other places
and you're stuck here.
That's the point.
Don't you think something is
weird and fishy about this?
She is married.
Of course she is. We all know
that, and it's disgusting.
Saul, how would you feel
if you had a wife
with a boyfriend waiting for
her in another city or country?
This woman is evil.
And you know
what that makes you?
-Hmm?
-Even more evil than her.
You're a homewrecker!
I don't know.
Can't really say that yet.
I mean, although we're close,
we haven't crossed that line.
But you're walking
down that line,
and that's your intention,
isn't it?
I don't think anyone
would pay for a meal
they wouldn't consume later.
But you, the problem
essentially stems from you.
Are you here just because
you're paid for?
Are you some bum who's
too lazy to get a job
and grow the fuck up?
Saul, this is not the Saul
that I used to know.
[sighs]
Look, do you think
she'd like this restaurant?
Here, she loves vinegar ribs.
I have no idea
how to make them.
I don't even have
a kitchen here.
She, she, she.
Her, her, her.
Saul, when you called me
in the US at midnight,
I thought you were
going to commit suicide.
And now you're here talking
about thinking about making
your married Chinese
girlfriend's favorite dish.
Here, try some.
If you like it, she might.
Fuck. I don't know,
Saul, I'm not her. Okay?
Don't you have like some
life purpose or something?
Aren't you--
aren't you wasting
your life here?
What about Mom and Dad
in Florida?
Okay?
What about your doggy Moo?
What about Sean
and Michael in LA?
I think one of them was
signed by the CAA recently.
We miss you, Saul.
We just want you back.
We just want you to wake up.
Come home with me.
They say--
they say that when a man
is living his purpose,
he's the happiest man on Earth.
To me, this is my purpose,
to be her other man.
I love her.
But I am not yet
the happiest man on Earth...
because she hasn't come to
visit me after all this time.
This is how she likes
her dumplings done.
If there's no steam
coming out of it,
she will not pay for it.
[people murmuring]
[Mia chuckles]
Is it hard for you, living
here when you're not Italian?
Yeah, it was hard at first
because I don't speak
the language
and I'm not really an extrovert.
[Mia laughs]
To be honest, I haven't
really made any friends here,
and I'm always alone.
[cellphone ringing]
Oh.
I got to take this one.
[Mia chuckles]
[camera snaps]
[Mia laughs]
[camera snaps]
Mia, Mia, Mia,
you are my lucky star.
-What's going on, Saul?
-Oh, my gosh.
-What just happened?
-I got a call from her.
She called me.
It's been a month, Mia.
It's been a month since
she called.
That's why I said
you're my lucky star.
You arrived yesterday
and she calls.
You must've really missed her.
So what did she say?
No, I didn't miss her.
She said she'll be here
in two weeks.
Okay. I'll be gone by then,
but that's still pretty soon.
Aren't you excited?
Nah, I wouldn't say that.
[sighs]
I only let myself feel
when I can see her
in real person.
Okay, but it's still something
worth celebrating. Huh?
Yeah.
[gentle music]
Are you in love, Saul?
[people murmuring]
If so, why pick someone old,
ugly, married, not famous?
Someone 20 years
older than you,
different cultural background,
occupation,
geographical location?
Out of 7 billion
people in the world,
are you sure
you can't find a better deal?
Tell me, what's it like to be
in love with a married person?
Don't the lonely
waiting nights burn you,
thinking about how she's
fucking her husband?
Look, I told you,
there's nothing going
on between us for now.
Are you so sure
she'll be willing
to leave everything
behind just for you?
If not,
then are you ready to settle
for just the breadcrumbs
she throws at you
from time to time?
[gentle music continues]
Fall is coming,
Venice is flooding soon.
If you change your mind, I'll be
in Rome for the next week.
Maybe she'll come this time.
Best of luck to you,
Saul Larson.
If you ever decide
to wake up from your dream,
you can always come home.
[gentle music]
[people murmuring]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[sighs]
[music continues]
[birds chirping]
[speaking Italian]
Sorry, I don't speak Italian.
I'm looking for some
plant food for my orchid.
Oh, only orchid?
We ran out, I think.
Try this.
It's for the person
that I love.
She only loves orchids.
You know, it's okay.
Never mind.
[gentle music]
[people murmuring]
[music continues]
[gentle music]
[boats rumbling]
[birds chirping]
[gentle music]
[sighs]
[people murmuring]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[sighs]
[music continues]
[people murmuring]
[music continues]
[boat rumbling]
[water swishing]
[music continues]
[people chatting]
[music continues]
[water swishing]
[music continues]
[people murmuring]
[music continues]
[door closes]
[key jingles]
-[sighs]
-[woman moaning]
[sighs]
-[woman continues moaning]
-[sighs]
[Mia] Don't the lonely
waiting nights burn you,
thinking about how she's
fucking her husband?
[woman moaning]
[sighs]
-[woman continues moaning]
-[sighs]
[pants unzips]
[woman continues moaning]
[gentle music]
[rain pattering]
[cellphone ringing]
[sighs]
[cellphone continues ringing]
Hey.
You going back today?
[gentle music]
[inhales]
[sighs]
No, I haven't heard
from her yet.
I will not kill myself.
I promise you.
[inhales]
[sighs]
Look, is it okay if I continue
to call you every day?
[gentle music]
[people murmuring]
You don't look Italian.
I assume you speak English?
Canal's beautiful, isn't it?
Look at the lovers
kissing on the gondolas.
To me, it just means love.
It's like Paris to France.
Venice to me is
the city of love for Italy.
[gentle music]
[music continues]
[people murmuring]
[line ringing]
[Jules]
Hey, this is Jules.
I'm probably filming right now.
Please leave a message
and I'll call you back.
[Mia] You should look
a little closer
at what she's doing
with other men.
I just want you
to wake up from this.
She isn't worth
your time, Saul.
She's probably with
someone else right now,
if not just her husband.
This woman is evil.
Imagine if your wife
does this to you.
Saul, you need to wake up!
Could it be that
all of these are only
a big illusion of yours?
[panting]
[door closes]
[painting clatters]
[jacket rustles]
[jacket thuds]
[breathing heavily]
[bed thudding]
[panting]
[shirt thuds]
[shirt rustles]
[gentle music]
[door creaks]
Where are you going, honey?
For you, there's no charge.
[gentle music]
-[kisses smacking]
-[Saul moaning]
No. No, no, stop, stop.
[Saul panting]
[speaking Italian]
[gentle music]
[heavily breathing]
[crying]
[cellphone ringing]
[Jules faintly speaking]
I've been here waiting
seven months for you.
[Jules faintly speaking]
Yeah, what kind of excuses are
you gonna give me this time?
[Jules faintly speaking]
My friend says I'm wasting
my time here waiting for you.
[Jules faintly speaking]
Look, can I...
[sighs]
can I come fly to see you?
[Jules faintly speaking]
Soon?
How fast is soon?
[Jules faintly speaking]
Seven months, eight months,
one year, three years?
[Jules faintly speaking]
I'm not your baby!
[cellphone thuds]
[water swishing]
[gentle music]
[music continues]
[gentle music]
[footsteps pattering]
[gentle music]
[footsteps pattering]
[music continues]
[panting]
[Jules] Do you know
why I am a filmmaker?
I make films because, in life,
we can't always
get what we want.
And through films,
we live it.
I can have my hero
in a hilarious, clownish hat.
[playful music]
Or I can have him in dress
with pearls and pink lipstick.
[upbeat music]
Everything comes to life just
like how I've imagined it.
[gentle music]
[narrator] Look at the ripples
created by the waves.
Focus on the dark, shadowy
sides of these orbital waves.
You'll know the answer
when those shadows become
real and solid.
[water rumbling]
-[waves crashes]
-[water bubbling]
[water running]
[camera snaps]
[camera snaps]
[bathrobe thuds]
[camera snaps]
[camera snaps]
[camera snaps]
[gentle music]
[Jules faintly speaking]
[rain pattering]
I never fucking cared
about your movie!
[panting]
[music continues]
No.
Just...
I wanted to spend
a little time together!
[Jules faintly speaking]
Chance I keep waiting for!
-[Jules faintly speaking]
-[inhales]
[sighs]
[Jules faintly speaking]
No, no, I'm not leaving.
Even if I'm the star.
Even if I'm gonna
cry my eyes out.
Even if I have to be alone.
[Jules faintly speaking]
I'll be here waiting
until you come to see me!
[Saul sighs]
[inhales]
[sighs]
[people murmuring]
[gentle music]
[sighs]
[chuckles]
-[gasps]
-Going anywhere?
[Saul groans]
The port is on
the other direction.
You must have thought that
I'm a kind of creepy guy
trying to stalk you around,
but I'm not that kind of person.
It's just that you stood out,
and the center of Venice
is not that big, you know?
Not everyone would like
to take company with them
through their journey
through life,
but usually there's a reason
why a person is alone.
It all happened by coincidence
at first, you know?
I saw you walking alone
every day, the same way.
I'm sorry for intruding,
but sometimes
I see you crying alone here
or over the bridge
at the Grand Canal.
So I wonder why...
a beautiful young man
like you has
such a great sadness inside.
Anyway, you don't look
you belong here.
But I see you walking alone
here in Venice
for such a long time.
What about you?
You don't look like
you belong here either.
No, I'm not from here.
I have a farm in Tuscany
and I'm an estate owner,
you know?
I came here in Venice just
to meet some old customers.
And I don't know why,
but they always want to
meet me here in Venice.
Can you imagine?
Well, you speak English well.
[accordion music]
Well, I was a professor before
in United State,
and got retired, you know?
[music continues]
Hey, do you want
to have drinks sometimes?
I will be here until
the flood season begin.
And when will
the flood season begin?
I don't know, maybe in
one or two weeks from now.
[music continues]
Are you waiting for someone?
Look, I have an apartment
here in Venice,
so if you like,
whenever you like,
you can come over and I will
cook you a great pasta
because I'm very good
at cooking pasta, you know?
[pan clacking]
[groans]
Oh, my God.
Hey, I got it. I got it.
[grinding]
[gentle music]
[speaking Italian]
I mean, you are very good
in cooking pasta.
Better than me.
Yeah. So shall we eat?
Yeah.
[forks clattering]
Mm.
Mm.
[slurps]
So she's a director, hmm?
Big shot,
and must have a huge ego.
And she makes you waiting
here for how long?
Six month?
Seven month?
Oh, my God.
What a waste of time for a
beauty like you here in Italy,
alone for such a long time.
So why do you love her?
If one can tell the reason
of why a person falls in love,
then it's not love.
You're falling for the reason
and not for the person.
So let me understand.
If a, um...
ugly person falls in love
with a beautiful one...
he's actually falling
in love with beauty.
And if a poor person fall
in love with a rich one,
he's falling in love
with wealth.
It's kind--
it's like, I don't know,
the pursuit of perfection?
To fall in love and to gain...
qualities that you don't have?
Yeah.
So how do you know...
that the specific person
you love is the one?
And not all the people
that you love in your life.
To me, it's the feeling
that she is my person.
She was made for me
and I was made for her.
If she dies one day...
I wouldn't be
with anybody else.
I would rather die...
than be with anybody else.
I have never liked
a single woman
in my entire life, you know?
Yeah, I like men only.
It used to be a problem
in Italy before,
but now it's not
a big deal anymore.
Yeah, it's not like
San Francisco, of course,
where you can marry
whoever you want.
Here in Italy,
we don't have gay marriage.
Don't you want to have
a family?
[chuckles]
Yeah, maybe.
Maybe sometimes,
but I'm not young anymore.
Oh, gosh.
No.
Now you made me thinking
that I'm not young anymore.
[inhales]
[sighs]
The last person
that I love, Angelo...
he left me because,
you know,
the pressure
from the family, yeah.
And now... [sighs]
I don't know
if he ended up marrying
maybe, I don't know,
maybe a girl or something.
[gentle music]
[sighs]
Well, I'm sorry,
I'm telling you too much
about myself,
my love and everything.
Do you hate gays?
Gender, age, and occupation
don't matter to me.
We're all the same
beneath the differences.
But it's also
that we are the same
that makes those differences
important, don't you think?
Angelo, that person
was also blond like you.
[chuckles]
But he didn't have your
beautiful blue eyes.
[music continues]
For you,
you at least you have--
you have someone to--
to look forward.
You have someone to wait for.
He...
my Angelo...
[sobs]
My Angelo...
[crying]
[sobbing]
You're okay.
It's okay.
[inhales]
[exhales]
[groans]
[grunts]
[gentle music]
[people murmuring]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[music continues]
This is for you.
I've been such
a stupid fool last night.
It's okay.
Thank you for the flowers.
I don't know, seems
that I'm following you.
I really didn't mean it.
It's okay.
You look like
you're not happy today.
Is it because of her?
She's not coming?
I feel like she doesn't
try to understand how I feel.
She never takes me seriously.
It's okay.
I'm here.
So why does she keep
postponing on me?
I don't know,
maybe she's busy.
She told me that she
just finished filming.
She said that today.
Now she's taking a break.
She told me not to bother her.
Look, she's too busy working,
she doesn't have time to see me,
I can understand,
but she's taking a break
and can't make time for me.
Then what am I to her?
What am I doing here?
Look, you told me that
she's a married woman
and maybe she doesn't want
to see you here alone.
She's seeing someone else.
What do you expect
from a married woman?
That she leaves
everything behind?
Like her husband, her family,
just to be with you in Venice?
Yeah, why does she
keep paying my bills?
I don't know,
maybe she's thinking.
It takes seven months to think?
Why don't you pretend to leave?
You come to my place
and then you will see
how she would react.
[gentle music]
[water swishing]
[water running]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[people murmuring]
The local people in the shops,
why don't they just move away?
Dinner will be ready in a bit.
And I made you a hot chocolate.
It's really hot and I don't
want you to burn yourself.
So have you told her
about your move?
Yeah.
I just don't care anymore.
Come.
Let's just show her what a good
time we're having right now.
[Saul chuckles]
[lips smacking]
[Saul chuckles]
What do you think?
[sighs]
Hey, if you like it here,
you can stay here
as long as you want.
It's flooding
and rain will come soon.
And when it's raining,
you cannot even go out
from the house.
[Saul sighs]
Look, have you ever wonder
about my property in Tuscany?
[accordion music]
It's beautiful there.
I have flowers, um--
-[music stops]
-Hey, if you were ever falling
in love with a married person
and you didn't want to damage
your life, what would you do?
I don't know.
Maybe, as time passes by,
you will forget about her.
I just want to take at least
one gondola ride with her
under the big full moon.
You know, get gelato
in the piazza together,
even though
she doesn't like gelato.
But we could have a tea.
She loves tea.
And although she doesn't want
to have any kids of her own,
I'd love to have
one or two with her.
You know, I could raise
them all on my own.
She wouldn't have
to do a thing.
Yeah, two kids,
a boy and a girl.
[chuckles]
And I could prove to her
how good I am at it
by taking care of the orchid.
Her favorite flower.
[chuckles]
Oh, no. Oh, no, the orchid!
[gentle music]
[splashing]
[water splashing]
[panting]
[music continues]
[breathing heavily]
[sighs]
[exhales]
[boat rumbling]
[boat rumbling]
[gentle music]
[boat rumbling]
[boat rumbling]
[music continues]
[boat rumbling]
[music continues]
[boat rumbling]
[music continues]
[boat rumbling]
-[panting]
-[footsteps approaching]
[Jules]
Are you looking for me?
So you're actually here?
You're here
to surprise me, right?
Why are you playing
such a trick on me?
You know that I've been
here waiting for you.
I just wanted
to spend a little bit of time
with you alone here.
Is that too much to ask?
But it's good
that you're finally here
after all this time.
You know how much
I've missed you, right?
I just want to be with you
for the rest of my life.
You know how I feel
about you, don't you?
[speaking Chinese]
[Jules speaking Chinese]
[Jules]
I know how you feel.
I know all the difficulties
you face.
All the loneliness
you have to endure
not knowing where you're
heading from here.
I want to give you
everything you want,
the unconditional love
you've shown me
since the very first day we met.
But I guess I can only wait
for you here on the shore.
[Jules speaking Chinese]
Just like how you
have waited for me here.
Can't we be together
in this life?
Like I told you,
there's only one thing
I can offer you in this life.
That is the film role
I told you about.
You are the perfect man
to play it.
By making this film together,
we can transform
and shine our love
to everyone who watches it.
Is that all
you have to say to me,
coming all the way
from the US?
You know what?
I don't care
about your fucking movie.
How many times
do I have to tell you that?
You say that you know.
You know. You know you know,
but you don't!
[Jules]
So, are you taking this role?
No!
[gentle music]
[cellphone ringing]
[sighs]
She's coming.
She's finally coming.
And it's today.
Do you think I should see her?
Look, you have been
waiting for this person
for almost a year.
And now she's coming.
Is there any reason
for you not to see her?
Go and tell her everything
you think about her,
you feel about her.
It is in this way...
our life,
it is not wasting away.
[gentle music]
[boats rumbling]
[music continues]
[boats rumbling]
[cellphone ringing]
[man]
Hi, is this Saul Larson?
Jules has asked me
to call you
and let you know that she's
decided not to film in Venice.
That she's found a new cast
and has started pre-production
in Rome instead.
She said you're welcome to stay
at the hotel through December.
After that,
you're on your own.
Bye for now.
[music continues]
[water swishing]
[music continues]
[sniffling]
[gentle music]
[boat rumbling]
[rain pattering]
[music continues]
[boat rumbling]
[gentle music]
[gentle music]
[]
[ominous music]
[water swishing]
[gentle music]
Oh, my God! Hi!
[woman sighs]
You lost weight.
I can't believe
this is happening.
This place is unreal.
So this is where
you sold your soul, huh?
It's not really
about the place.
Although it is beautiful,
this is where she wants
me to be.
[gentle music]
[key jingling]
[lock clicks]
[woman sighs]
This is the place she
pays for you to live?
[sighs]
There's no view at all.
It's just narrow streets
and windows
of another building.
Saul, seriously?
Look, there's mold on the walls
and the sheet is torn.
Saul, this has got to be
the trashiest, lousiest place
in Venice that she could find.
It's getting late.
Why don't you crash in here
with me tonight?
That's not the point.
Look, Saul, I am your friend
and I'm rooting for you, okay?
And I would not settle for this
trashy place if I were you.
Okay?
You're worth more than that.
You're only 26. How long
have you been waiting?
How many times
has she visited you?
-[Saul sighs]
-Do you fuck as soon
as she gets here?
[Saul sighs]
I don't understand you, Saul.
You're here rotting,
wasting your life away.
[sighs]
Tell me, what keeps you here?
How did you fall into this
dark and twisted abyss?
[gentle piano music]
I met her in San Francisco.
I had been in a couple
campaigns she produced.
Never really
got to talk to her
until, one day,
I got a call from her.
"Are you the one
with the blond hair
and the blue eyes?
The lefty with two left feet?"
[both chuckling]
She called me
in for a screen test.
[Mia] A screen test?
Yeah, it's kind of
like an audition,
but there's almost
no line to it.
Yeah,
it's all about your looks.
So she wants to make a movie?
Yeah, after years of fashion
photography and videos,
she made a couple
of independent films
and got addicted to it.
-[Mia] Independent?
-Yeah.
Saul, you're doing all of this
for an independent film?
I could maybe understand
a Marvel movie or a Disney film,
but not some boring,
low-cost, low-quality indie.
[Saul chuckles]
You have no idea, Mia.
Jules is someone very
firm on her own ideas.
Although you are right,
independent is cheap,
but she said she wants to
make it for her own purpose.
"Her own purpose."
See? It's all about her.
[Saul sighs]
What's the movie about?
Anyway, Jules is someone
who takes her work
very seriously.
It's like her life and her work
are inseparable.
Okay.
So, what, she made you
the lead of her movie?
What's your character like?
What's the status of the film?
Ongoing? Pre-production?
Saul, do you know
anything about this movie?
What's the fuss
with the orchid?
She says that I am
like her favorite flower.
The only flower she loves,
the orchid.
"Unlike the rose
which boasts fragrance
and beauty and pride yet
not as plain as the daisy,
the orchid stands on its own,
seemingly weak
but pure and prudent.
A flower that endures
loneliness in all its strength
yet never forgets
who it belongs to."
Wow.
What a poetic way
to string you along
with nothing but words.
No, it's true.
[Mia] No, it's not.
She's manipulating you.
She says when she's around,
her orchid blooms,
and doesn't do so well
when she's away.
She gave it to me
and it is true.
If I don't hear from her,
it's as if it's dying.
When she calls, it's like--
it's like it becomes alive
again.
Look... it's barely
surviving now.
[people murmuring]
Look at all this fresh seafood.
Ooh.
I could totally
use this to make a dish.
You know, if you come to
the culinary institute with me,
we can be chef
buddies together.
Mm.
Mm.
You know, she's someone
who's really particular
about what she eats.
Wonder how
they make Chinese food
in this city full of
tourists and Italians?
[knife chopping]
[knife rasping]
[paper rustling]
[gentle music]
[patrons murmuring]
[Mia] Thanks.
[Saul speaking Chinese]
[server speaking Chinese]
[Saul speaking Chinese]
[server speaking Chinese]
Okay.
Who would've thought of having
Chinese food in Venice?
[chuckles]
I was impressed by how well
you could speak Chinese.
I know your boss
girlfriend is Chinese,
but you don't have to learn
the language for her.
Seriously,
she's not even by your side.
She's never around.
[sighs]
It's just something
that I picked up
while I've been here
waiting for her.
Look at you,
becoming an expert,
not because of her,
but because of waiting for her.
Mm. So it's been,
what, almost a year?
How many times
has she come to visit you?
Wait. Seven months.
How can you
stay here that long?
That exceeds
the length of all types
of visas to stay in Italy.
She made me a permanent
resident of Italy.
I can stay here
as long as I want to.
Is she a resident
of Italy as well?
I don't know.
I just know that the coffee
shop at the end of this road,
pasta restaurant by the canal,
one of the Louis Vuitton
franchises,
and the menswear showroom
at St. Mark's Square,
all owned by her.
Well...
So why does she station you
in Venice and nowhere else?
Is this where she
accumulates all her property?
She says that, eventually,
she wants to come
and film here.
"Eventually."
But she's not here
and she hasn't been here
since she placed you here.
And it's, what,
almost a year ago.
Saul.
She's off living merrily
in the United States
and other places
and you're stuck here.
That's the point.
Don't you think something is
weird and fishy about this?
She is married.
Of course she is. We all know
that, and it's disgusting.
Saul, how would you feel
if you had a wife
with a boyfriend waiting for
her in another city or country?
This woman is evil.
And you know
what that makes you?
-Hmm?
-Even more evil than her.
You're a homewrecker!
I don't know.
Can't really say that yet.
I mean, although we're close,
we haven't crossed that line.
But you're walking
down that line,
and that's your intention,
isn't it?
I don't think anyone
would pay for a meal
they wouldn't consume later.
But you, the problem
essentially stems from you.
Are you here just because
you're paid for?
Are you some bum who's
too lazy to get a job
and grow the fuck up?
Saul, this is not the Saul
that I used to know.
[sighs]
Look, do you think
she'd like this restaurant?
Here, she loves vinegar ribs.
I have no idea
how to make them.
I don't even have
a kitchen here.
She, she, she.
Her, her, her.
Saul, when you called me
in the US at midnight,
I thought you were
going to commit suicide.
And now you're here talking
about thinking about making
your married Chinese
girlfriend's favorite dish.
Here, try some.
If you like it, she might.
Fuck. I don't know,
Saul, I'm not her. Okay?
Don't you have like some
life purpose or something?
Aren't you--
aren't you wasting
your life here?
What about Mom and Dad
in Florida?
Okay?
What about your doggy Moo?
What about Sean
and Michael in LA?
I think one of them was
signed by the CAA recently.
We miss you, Saul.
We just want you back.
We just want you to wake up.
Come home with me.
They say--
they say that when a man
is living his purpose,
he's the happiest man on Earth.
To me, this is my purpose,
to be her other man.
I love her.
But I am not yet
the happiest man on Earth...
because she hasn't come to
visit me after all this time.
This is how she likes
her dumplings done.
If there's no steam
coming out of it,
she will not pay for it.
[people murmuring]
[Mia chuckles]
Is it hard for you, living
here when you're not Italian?
Yeah, it was hard at first
because I don't speak
the language
and I'm not really an extrovert.
[Mia laughs]
To be honest, I haven't
really made any friends here,
and I'm always alone.
[cellphone ringing]
Oh.
I got to take this one.
[Mia chuckles]
[camera snaps]
[Mia laughs]
[camera snaps]
Mia, Mia, Mia,
you are my lucky star.
-What's going on, Saul?
-Oh, my gosh.
-What just happened?
-I got a call from her.
She called me.
It's been a month, Mia.
It's been a month since
she called.
That's why I said
you're my lucky star.
You arrived yesterday
and she calls.
You must've really missed her.
So what did she say?
No, I didn't miss her.
She said she'll be here
in two weeks.
Okay. I'll be gone by then,
but that's still pretty soon.
Aren't you excited?
Nah, I wouldn't say that.
[sighs]
I only let myself feel
when I can see her
in real person.
Okay, but it's still something
worth celebrating. Huh?
Yeah.
[gentle music]
Are you in love, Saul?
[people murmuring]
If so, why pick someone old,
ugly, married, not famous?
Someone 20 years
older than you,
different cultural background,
occupation,
geographical location?
Out of 7 billion
people in the world,
are you sure
you can't find a better deal?
Tell me, what's it like to be
in love with a married person?
Don't the lonely
waiting nights burn you,
thinking about how she's
fucking her husband?
Look, I told you,
there's nothing going
on between us for now.
Are you so sure
she'll be willing
to leave everything
behind just for you?
If not,
then are you ready to settle
for just the breadcrumbs
she throws at you
from time to time?
[gentle music continues]
Fall is coming,
Venice is flooding soon.
If you change your mind, I'll be
in Rome for the next week.
Maybe she'll come this time.
Best of luck to you,
Saul Larson.
If you ever decide
to wake up from your dream,
you can always come home.
[gentle music]
[people murmuring]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[sighs]
[music continues]
[birds chirping]
[speaking Italian]
Sorry, I don't speak Italian.
I'm looking for some
plant food for my orchid.
Oh, only orchid?
We ran out, I think.
Try this.
It's for the person
that I love.
She only loves orchids.
You know, it's okay.
Never mind.
[gentle music]
[people murmuring]
[music continues]
[gentle music]
[boats rumbling]
[birds chirping]
[gentle music]
[sighs]
[people murmuring]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[sighs]
[music continues]
[people murmuring]
[music continues]
[boat rumbling]
[water swishing]
[music continues]
[people chatting]
[music continues]
[water swishing]
[music continues]
[people murmuring]
[music continues]
[door closes]
[key jingles]
-[sighs]
-[woman moaning]
[sighs]
-[woman continues moaning]
-[sighs]
[Mia] Don't the lonely
waiting nights burn you,
thinking about how she's
fucking her husband?
[woman moaning]
[sighs]
-[woman continues moaning]
-[sighs]
[pants unzips]
[woman continues moaning]
[gentle music]
[rain pattering]
[cellphone ringing]
[sighs]
[cellphone continues ringing]
Hey.
You going back today?
[gentle music]
[inhales]
[sighs]
No, I haven't heard
from her yet.
I will not kill myself.
I promise you.
[inhales]
[sighs]
Look, is it okay if I continue
to call you every day?
[gentle music]
[people murmuring]
You don't look Italian.
I assume you speak English?
Canal's beautiful, isn't it?
Look at the lovers
kissing on the gondolas.
To me, it just means love.
It's like Paris to France.
Venice to me is
the city of love for Italy.
[gentle music]
[music continues]
[people murmuring]
[line ringing]
[Jules]
Hey, this is Jules.
I'm probably filming right now.
Please leave a message
and I'll call you back.
[Mia] You should look
a little closer
at what she's doing
with other men.
I just want you
to wake up from this.
She isn't worth
your time, Saul.
She's probably with
someone else right now,
if not just her husband.
This woman is evil.
Imagine if your wife
does this to you.
Saul, you need to wake up!
Could it be that
all of these are only
a big illusion of yours?
[panting]
[door closes]
[painting clatters]
[jacket rustles]
[jacket thuds]
[breathing heavily]
[bed thudding]
[panting]
[shirt thuds]
[shirt rustles]
[gentle music]
[door creaks]
Where are you going, honey?
For you, there's no charge.
[gentle music]
-[kisses smacking]
-[Saul moaning]
No. No, no, stop, stop.
[Saul panting]
[speaking Italian]
[gentle music]
[heavily breathing]
[crying]
[cellphone ringing]
[Jules faintly speaking]
I've been here waiting
seven months for you.
[Jules faintly speaking]
Yeah, what kind of excuses are
you gonna give me this time?
[Jules faintly speaking]
My friend says I'm wasting
my time here waiting for you.
[Jules faintly speaking]
Look, can I...
[sighs]
can I come fly to see you?
[Jules faintly speaking]
Soon?
How fast is soon?
[Jules faintly speaking]
Seven months, eight months,
one year, three years?
[Jules faintly speaking]
I'm not your baby!
[cellphone thuds]
[water swishing]
[gentle music]
[music continues]
[gentle music]
[footsteps pattering]
[gentle music]
[footsteps pattering]
[music continues]
[panting]
[Jules] Do you know
why I am a filmmaker?
I make films because, in life,
we can't always
get what we want.
And through films,
we live it.
I can have my hero
in a hilarious, clownish hat.
[playful music]
Or I can have him in dress
with pearls and pink lipstick.
[upbeat music]
Everything comes to life just
like how I've imagined it.
[gentle music]
[narrator] Look at the ripples
created by the waves.
Focus on the dark, shadowy
sides of these orbital waves.
You'll know the answer
when those shadows become
real and solid.
[water rumbling]
-[waves crashes]
-[water bubbling]
[water running]
[camera snaps]
[camera snaps]
[bathrobe thuds]
[camera snaps]
[camera snaps]
[camera snaps]
[gentle music]
[Jules faintly speaking]
[rain pattering]
I never fucking cared
about your movie!
[panting]
[music continues]
No.
Just...
I wanted to spend
a little time together!
[Jules faintly speaking]
Chance I keep waiting for!
-[Jules faintly speaking]
-[inhales]
[sighs]
[Jules faintly speaking]
No, no, I'm not leaving.
Even if I'm the star.
Even if I'm gonna
cry my eyes out.
Even if I have to be alone.
[Jules faintly speaking]
I'll be here waiting
until you come to see me!
[Saul sighs]
[inhales]
[sighs]
[people murmuring]
[gentle music]
[sighs]
[chuckles]
-[gasps]
-Going anywhere?
[Saul groans]
The port is on
the other direction.
You must have thought that
I'm a kind of creepy guy
trying to stalk you around,
but I'm not that kind of person.
It's just that you stood out,
and the center of Venice
is not that big, you know?
Not everyone would like
to take company with them
through their journey
through life,
but usually there's a reason
why a person is alone.
It all happened by coincidence
at first, you know?
I saw you walking alone
every day, the same way.
I'm sorry for intruding,
but sometimes
I see you crying alone here
or over the bridge
at the Grand Canal.
So I wonder why...
a beautiful young man
like you has
such a great sadness inside.
Anyway, you don't look
you belong here.
But I see you walking alone
here in Venice
for such a long time.
What about you?
You don't look like
you belong here either.
No, I'm not from here.
I have a farm in Tuscany
and I'm an estate owner,
you know?
I came here in Venice just
to meet some old customers.
And I don't know why,
but they always want to
meet me here in Venice.
Can you imagine?
Well, you speak English well.
[accordion music]
Well, I was a professor before
in United State,
and got retired, you know?
[music continues]
Hey, do you want
to have drinks sometimes?
I will be here until
the flood season begin.
And when will
the flood season begin?
I don't know, maybe in
one or two weeks from now.
[music continues]
Are you waiting for someone?
Look, I have an apartment
here in Venice,
so if you like,
whenever you like,
you can come over and I will
cook you a great pasta
because I'm very good
at cooking pasta, you know?
[pan clacking]
[groans]
Oh, my God.
Hey, I got it. I got it.
[grinding]
[gentle music]
[speaking Italian]
I mean, you are very good
in cooking pasta.
Better than me.
Yeah. So shall we eat?
Yeah.
[forks clattering]
Mm.
Mm.
[slurps]
So she's a director, hmm?
Big shot,
and must have a huge ego.
And she makes you waiting
here for how long?
Six month?
Seven month?
Oh, my God.
What a waste of time for a
beauty like you here in Italy,
alone for such a long time.
So why do you love her?
If one can tell the reason
of why a person falls in love,
then it's not love.
You're falling for the reason
and not for the person.
So let me understand.
If a, um...
ugly person falls in love
with a beautiful one...
he's actually falling
in love with beauty.
And if a poor person fall
in love with a rich one,
he's falling in love
with wealth.
It's kind--
it's like, I don't know,
the pursuit of perfection?
To fall in love and to gain...
qualities that you don't have?
Yeah.
So how do you know...
that the specific person
you love is the one?
And not all the people
that you love in your life.
To me, it's the feeling
that she is my person.
She was made for me
and I was made for her.
If she dies one day...
I wouldn't be
with anybody else.
I would rather die...
than be with anybody else.
I have never liked
a single woman
in my entire life, you know?
Yeah, I like men only.
It used to be a problem
in Italy before,
but now it's not
a big deal anymore.
Yeah, it's not like
San Francisco, of course,
where you can marry
whoever you want.
Here in Italy,
we don't have gay marriage.
Don't you want to have
a family?
[chuckles]
Yeah, maybe.
Maybe sometimes,
but I'm not young anymore.
Oh, gosh.
No.
Now you made me thinking
that I'm not young anymore.
[inhales]
[sighs]
The last person
that I love, Angelo...
he left me because,
you know,
the pressure
from the family, yeah.
And now... [sighs]
I don't know
if he ended up marrying
maybe, I don't know,
maybe a girl or something.
[gentle music]
[sighs]
Well, I'm sorry,
I'm telling you too much
about myself,
my love and everything.
Do you hate gays?
Gender, age, and occupation
don't matter to me.
We're all the same
beneath the differences.
But it's also
that we are the same
that makes those differences
important, don't you think?
Angelo, that person
was also blond like you.
[chuckles]
But he didn't have your
beautiful blue eyes.
[music continues]
For you,
you at least you have--
you have someone to--
to look forward.
You have someone to wait for.
He...
my Angelo...
[sobs]
My Angelo...
[crying]
[sobbing]
You're okay.
It's okay.
[inhales]
[exhales]
[groans]
[grunts]
[gentle music]
[people murmuring]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[music continues]
This is for you.
I've been such
a stupid fool last night.
It's okay.
Thank you for the flowers.
I don't know, seems
that I'm following you.
I really didn't mean it.
It's okay.
You look like
you're not happy today.
Is it because of her?
She's not coming?
I feel like she doesn't
try to understand how I feel.
She never takes me seriously.
It's okay.
I'm here.
So why does she keep
postponing on me?
I don't know,
maybe she's busy.
She told me that she
just finished filming.
She said that today.
Now she's taking a break.
She told me not to bother her.
Look, she's too busy working,
she doesn't have time to see me,
I can understand,
but she's taking a break
and can't make time for me.
Then what am I to her?
What am I doing here?
Look, you told me that
she's a married woman
and maybe she doesn't want
to see you here alone.
She's seeing someone else.
What do you expect
from a married woman?
That she leaves
everything behind?
Like her husband, her family,
just to be with you in Venice?
Yeah, why does she
keep paying my bills?
I don't know,
maybe she's thinking.
It takes seven months to think?
Why don't you pretend to leave?
You come to my place
and then you will see
how she would react.
[gentle music]
[water swishing]
[water running]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[music continues]
[people murmuring]
The local people in the shops,
why don't they just move away?
Dinner will be ready in a bit.
And I made you a hot chocolate.
It's really hot and I don't
want you to burn yourself.
So have you told her
about your move?
Yeah.
I just don't care anymore.
Come.
Let's just show her what a good
time we're having right now.
[Saul chuckles]
[lips smacking]
[Saul chuckles]
What do you think?
[sighs]
Hey, if you like it here,
you can stay here
as long as you want.
It's flooding
and rain will come soon.
And when it's raining,
you cannot even go out
from the house.
[Saul sighs]
Look, have you ever wonder
about my property in Tuscany?
[accordion music]
It's beautiful there.
I have flowers, um--
-[music stops]
-Hey, if you were ever falling
in love with a married person
and you didn't want to damage
your life, what would you do?
I don't know.
Maybe, as time passes by,
you will forget about her.
I just want to take at least
one gondola ride with her
under the big full moon.
You know, get gelato
in the piazza together,
even though
she doesn't like gelato.
But we could have a tea.
She loves tea.
And although she doesn't want
to have any kids of her own,
I'd love to have
one or two with her.
You know, I could raise
them all on my own.
She wouldn't have
to do a thing.
Yeah, two kids,
a boy and a girl.
[chuckles]
And I could prove to her
how good I am at it
by taking care of the orchid.
Her favorite flower.
[chuckles]
Oh, no. Oh, no, the orchid!
[gentle music]
[splashing]
[water splashing]
[panting]
[music continues]
[breathing heavily]
[sighs]
[exhales]
[boat rumbling]
[boat rumbling]
[gentle music]
[boat rumbling]
[boat rumbling]
[music continues]
[boat rumbling]
[music continues]
[boat rumbling]
[music continues]
[boat rumbling]
-[panting]
-[footsteps approaching]
[Jules]
Are you looking for me?
So you're actually here?
You're here
to surprise me, right?
Why are you playing
such a trick on me?
You know that I've been
here waiting for you.
I just wanted
to spend a little bit of time
with you alone here.
Is that too much to ask?
But it's good
that you're finally here
after all this time.
You know how much
I've missed you, right?
I just want to be with you
for the rest of my life.
You know how I feel
about you, don't you?
[speaking Chinese]
[Jules speaking Chinese]
[Jules]
I know how you feel.
I know all the difficulties
you face.
All the loneliness
you have to endure
not knowing where you're
heading from here.
I want to give you
everything you want,
the unconditional love
you've shown me
since the very first day we met.
But I guess I can only wait
for you here on the shore.
[Jules speaking Chinese]
Just like how you
have waited for me here.
Can't we be together
in this life?
Like I told you,
there's only one thing
I can offer you in this life.
That is the film role
I told you about.
You are the perfect man
to play it.
By making this film together,
we can transform
and shine our love
to everyone who watches it.
Is that all
you have to say to me,
coming all the way
from the US?
You know what?
I don't care
about your fucking movie.
How many times
do I have to tell you that?
You say that you know.
You know. You know you know,
but you don't!
[Jules]
So, are you taking this role?
No!
[gentle music]
[cellphone ringing]
[sighs]
She's coming.
She's finally coming.
And it's today.
Do you think I should see her?
Look, you have been
waiting for this person
for almost a year.
And now she's coming.
Is there any reason
for you not to see her?
Go and tell her everything
you think about her,
you feel about her.
It is in this way...
our life,
it is not wasting away.
[gentle music]
[boats rumbling]
[music continues]
[boats rumbling]
[cellphone ringing]
[man]
Hi, is this Saul Larson?
Jules has asked me
to call you
and let you know that she's
decided not to film in Venice.
That she's found a new cast
and has started pre-production
in Rome instead.
She said you're welcome to stay
at the hotel through December.
After that,
you're on your own.
Bye for now.
[music continues]
[water swishing]
[music continues]
[sniffling]
[gentle music]
[boat rumbling]
[rain pattering]
[music continues]
[boat rumbling]
[gentle music]
[gentle music]