Madame Ida (2024) Movie Script
1
Do you understand
what the doctor is saying to you?
Which of the boys did this to you?
Tell me.
Tell me!
In a couple of months, this will...
... all be forgotten.
I promise.
You're a strong girl.
You always have been.
Long ago, when I found you...
It was freezing cold and snowing,
and I was out getting firewood -
- and to bring the other children back.
And when I returned to the house,
there you were -
- lying in a basket at the gate.
Only wrapped in a flimsy little blanket.
But you didn't utter a sound.
Didn't cry or complain.
You were strong already then.
I'm proud of you.
And I'm happy that -
- this will stay between us.
Right?
Whore.
I'll take that.
Cecilia is one of our dearest children.
She's quiet and dutiful,
healthy and clean.
- How old is she again?
- 15.
- And who is the father?
- A young boy.
We do our utmost to avoid this kind
of thing. It's never happened before.
Our agreement is for Cecilia to stay
here at Aurora until she's given birth -
- so you can get the baby
as soon as it arrives.
And then we'll come back for her
when you call us.
She's skinny.
She's stronger than she looks.
- And she knows what's going to happen?
- Yes.
We all agree it's the right thing.
She doesn't want to keep the baby.
This is best for everyone.
Dinner is in an hour.
Downstairs.
I'm not hungry.
- I want to go home.
- Eat.
No.
- Eat.
- No.
- I told you, I'm not hungry.
- The child in your belly is.
So eat.
No.
Enough!
Do you mind if I read aloud?
To the child, I mean.
If it's all right with you, of course.
Just so it gets used to my voice.
"The man hadn't had an hour of joy -
- since he left the children in the
forest, and the evil mother was dead."
"Gretel threw the pearls
and precious stones from her apron -
- and Hansel took one handful
after the other out of his pocket."
"Thus all their troubles were ended
and they lived happily ever after."
"Snip, snap, snout."
"This tale's told out."
Thank you for letting me do that.
You're going to stay here for a while,
so we might as well make the most of it.
I think we could even be
good friends, you and I.
If you want.
We won't bite.
I promise.
If you can promise the same.
Good night.
Boo.
Oh!
Oh!
You little rascal!
No, I can't...
You're too fast!
- Join us, Alma.
- Your turn.
You're a little hare!
I told you so.
Look at you.
It fits perfectly.
You're so beautiful. Come.
You're beautiful, Cecilia.
It's buzzing in there.
I can tell.
That's a good thing.
A very good thing.
Is it?
It makes you... intriguing.
Did you know you can learn a lot
about people by studying their faces?
Your eyes, for instance.
Brown.
Deep.
A bit mediocre, of course.
Restlessly shifting in the wind.
Always glancing around.
Always ready to run or hide -
- or bite.
What's it called?
Tiberius.
He's exceptionally arrogant.
He refuses to let me hold him.
Nevertheless, I'm fond of him.
He's a canary and they're famed for
their song, but he can't sing a note.
Or maybe he doesn't want to.
I got him from a Romanian woman
who stayed here one summer.
She...
She claimed it could predict
the end of the world.
So I suppose it's a good thing
that I haven't heard it sing yet.
You're so lovely.
We're more alike than you think.
If one didn't know better, one'd never
know you were out of an orphanage.
Hang on.
I'll get a hair clip.
How long has Alma been here?
Since I was a child.
My parents hired her to take care of me,
because they didn't want to.
She's as much a part of Aurora
as the furniture.
- Why doesn't she have any hair?
- She does. She just cuts it.
I think it stems from her childhood.
They had a lot of head lice where she
comes from, so I suppose it was easier.
Now I'm going to tell you something
you can never pass on.
She was born without a shadow.
Did you know?
She hasn't got a shadow.
I've never seen anything like it.
It's really terrifying.
We must remember
that she's going back home soon.
She's only here to give you a child.
There's no reason to confuse her.
She doesn't belong here.
I feel like the walls are looking at me.
Judging me.
I can't figure out
if it's comforting or terrifying.
Perhaps that's enough for tonight.
I feel like I'm giving my heart
to someone who treats it -
- like a flower in his cloak.
But if you are a flower, Milady,
then you are -
- in truth the most beautiful rose
in the kingdom.
Oh Dionissia, you always know
how to cheer me up.
But what is a rose
other than leaves -
- that slowly perish into nothingness?
Promise me, Dionissia...
Promise me that we never shall part.
Even when I am queen.
Swear it now
and never take it back.
A lot can happen
between now and never, Milady.
Time flushes out all promises
with the wash water.
Fear not, my dear Dionissia.
You are but following the plot of fate.
The light is fading.
Ahead I see the roaring waters
of the river Styx.
The final journey of Eugine.
Dionissia, hand me a candle of wax -
- for the night is dark -
- and rife with terror.
I never got to tell her...
... that I loved her.
Well, what did you think?
I mean, it isn't finished yet, but...
Did you like it?
Yes.
Be frank now.
I'm not sure about the ending.
What about it?
I didn't like that she died in the end.
Death is a mercy for her.
It's a happy ending.
She tries to defy fate
all her life, but...
... in the end it's all in vain.
You get what you get.
You are what you are.
Is that true?
Certainly. Eugine must accept
her lot in life.
So she makes the decisive choice.
The only choice
that is utterly her own.
That is powerful.
Is that how you feel?
That's how it is.
In any case -
- any noteworthy event that's
ever happened hides a tragic ending.
Aren't they supposed
to find families for you children?
You can't stay at the orphanage
all your lives?
Now and then people come to see us.
And we all have to stand in line.
Sometimes, some are picked,
but mostly the little ones.
Once, a man and a woman
came to pick me up.
And then they drove me to the zoo -
- and we walked around
looking at the animals all day.
And when we were finished -
- I thought I was going home with them.
But they just drove me
back to the orphanage.
Come. Let's dance.
- I can't dance.
- No. But I can teach you.
- You're good!
- I'm not.
Sit down.
Do you like it here?
Yes... thank you.
What do you like?
All kinds of things.
All of it.
Ida.
Are you looking forward
to going back home?
Do they beat you?
If I misbehave, yes.
Does the warden beat you?
No.
What does he do to you, then?
Why are you asking me that?
Who is the child's father?
- A boy from the orphanage.
- Who is the father?
A boy.
The warden...
Did he sleep with you?
Did he force you?
It's not your fault.
- Yes.
- No.
You did nothing wrong.
I know what it's like.
No, you don't.
I was in an orphanage as well.
Drink your milk.
You're not asleep yet.
May I come in?
- Are you well?
- Yes.
Good.
Do you think it's fun to be here?
Yes, very much.
It's so quiet.
You should have seen it back then.
It was so full of life.
I held -
- dinner parties, concerts, bashes.
Everyone came -
- in their best attire.
We conversed and danced -
- and sang and played music all
night long, sometimes for days on end.
One New Year's Eve, we brought
all the animals inside, one by one.
Through all the rooms.
Every time an animal passed by,
we applauded and toasted.
We celebrated them.
You're so lovely.
And I'm so dreadful.
I don't understand why nobody wants you.
I'm glad you're here.
You liven up this old place.
I wish you didn't have to go back home.
Easy now... easy.
Careful... enough now.
"Every day the fisherman
went to the lake to fish."
"One day he had cast his line
and gazed out on the pond -
- minding his seine,
when he saw it being jerked down."
"He hurriedly reeled in the line.
He worked hard -
- and once it surfaced, he saw
he had hooked a big Crucian carp."
She won't talk to me.
She won't even look at me.
Can you please talk to her?
Alma.
How is Olivia?
What do you want, Cecilia?
I just want to know
how everything is going.
And then I...
want to ask you something.
I know that Olivia is out now...
... and that our agreement was
that I go home after I'd given birth.
But please, can I stay here?
No.
- Why not?
- That's not the agreement.
- Can't we make a new one?
- No.
But Ida, I can help clean.
I can help Alma.
I can help mind Olivia
or I can mind my own business.
- Cecilia.
- Or we could...
We could say I'm the nanny
or the maid or maybe...
- Cecilia...
- We could say that I'm your daughter.
Stop, Cecilia.
You cannot live here.
You can stay for a couple of days
to recover, and that's that.
I'm sorry.
Thank you.
We have dinner guests tonight.
Ida wants you to stay in your room.
They don't know you're here, so...
... it's confusing, you see?
Ida wants them to think
that the child is hers, or...
Well, it is -
- but that she gave birth to it.
There.
It's over now.
Ida!
You look enchanting.
Edith!
Wonderful to see you. Welcome.
- It's been so long.
- Too long.
You look lovely.
- Ida! Good evening.
- Good evening. And welcome.
This is Sally.
Welcome. Please be seated.
I hope you're hungry.
My great-grandfather was a colossal man.
Personality-wise, of course -
- but he was also obese,
and he loved dancing.
So much so
that it killed him in the end.
He died right here in the dining room.
Well, it was a ballroom then.
They say his heart stopped beating
halfway through a waltz -
- but that his body kept dancing
for three days with various partners -
- until it finally keeled over.
And finally he was at rest.
And sometimes,
when I go down here at night...
... I still hear his dancing footsteps.
- Don't ever do that.
- You still believe in ghosts, Harald?
He's adamant
that he saw a ghost in Ireland.
I'm not only adamant.
I swear.
It was in a small church tower.
A little man.
We have a ghost at home.
It keeps drinking my alcohol.
A toast to old friendships.
It's wonderful to see you again.
Thank you for coming.
Tonight we shall party like in the
old days, so I hope you remember how -
- although some of you are
a little pudgier... Hkon.
Do you still swim?
- That was many years ago.
- I bet.
And where is dear Vilhelm?
We can't have a party without him.
The piano's waiting.
Or has he finally made good his threat
to leave you?
I suppose you could say that. He...
He's dead.
No.
Well, it's several years ago, so...
He died in the war.
I thought you knew.
If I may, Sally has some news.
Apropos... Go ahead.
Well, I'm pregnant.
- Congratulations!
- Yes, congratulations.
That's not how you use "apropos",
Hkon -
- but apropos,
I have some news as well.
- Somewhat bigger news.
- Oh?
Wait here.
- Yes, very beautiful.
- Oh. Is it a novel?
- A collection of poems.
- Not quite your thing, Hkon.
There, now.
Meet my daughter.
- Is it yours?
- Yes, Edith. It's mine.
She is my daughter.
Aren't you? Yes.
What is her name?
Olivia.
Why are you all so quiet?
Oh, I'm sorry, Ida.
Congratulations.
You just took us by surprise.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
My, my!
Who on earth is this charming creature?
- Who are you?
- Cecilia.
That will be all, Cecilia.
I live here. I'm the nanny.
So you take care of Olivia?
Yes, and I help out and clean and...
- I'm doing very well here.
- Are you a nanny or a maid?
I think Alma needs you in the kitchen.
That's quite a remarkable dialect.
Where are you from?
Remember when we brought
all the animals inside -
- and I led them around
and rang the bell? Don't you remember?
We don't have animals anymore,
but we could do something else.
- Pregnancy at our age is unusual.
- Not at all, Edith.
- Isn't it more or less impossible?
- No, it is possible.
I've heard some of your mother's music.
It's very beautiful.
- Indeed. Well said, Sally.
- Well, then it's a miracle.
- Is she healthy? All ten fingers?
- Yes. Would you like to count?
Are these Sicilian olives?
They taste like it.
My mother had a friend
who survived the Titanic.
Four years later
she worked on the Britannic -
- the Titanic's sister ship
that also sunk, and she survived.
So don't tell me miracles don't exist.
She then got polio of course, but...
Why do you want us to believe
it's your child?
It is her child.
What's it to you? Can't you be quiet?
I think your nanny spilled something.
What the hell kind of farce is this?
You're staying here.
Stay here!
Hkon!
Come on!
- Not on a full stomach.
- Come on.
- I can't.
- Come on.
No, I'm too drunk.
Come on, Arthur.
No...
Well... Harald.
It's down to you and me.
It's down to you and me now.
Come along.
Maybe later, Ida.
Has anyone heard
from Marie Dugan lately?
Last thing I heard,
she was living in Spain.
- She's on her third marriage.
- Third?
She still has a wonderful singing voice.
Yes... yes.
What the hell's the matter with you?
Cheese. It's time for cheese.
She certainly is sweet... Olivia.
Yes.
She oughtn't be allowed to have a child.
Edith!
I'm just saying
what everybody's thinking.
What?
Maybe it's time to go home.
We never should have come.
Olivia isn't Ida's first child.
Where is the first child?
She fell out of a window.
Not even two years old.
It was an accident, Edith.
A terribly tragic accident.
- Was it?
- Yes.
She had climbed up
onto the windowsill...
... and fell out.
It happened during one of her parties.
- She forgot she had a daughter.
- Edith.
- She was drunk... as usual.
- Stop it, Edith.
We were all drunk that night.
Ever since that day
Aurora has been a cold, grey place.
People naturally didn't want
to come here anymore.
And Ida isolated herself here.
I thought she had gotten better.
I told you.
She hasn't changed.
What a horrible way
to talk about another person.
Have any of you ever paid her a visit?
Or tried to help her?
I don't think you know
what you're talking about.
She shouldn't be allowed
to have a child. In my opinion.
It was nice to meet little Olivia.
She's lovely, Ida.
Allow me to propose a toast
to the newborn.
Here's to a blessed future.
- Cheers.
- Cheers...
Oh, I forgot the grapes.
Excuse me.
Oh... Ida...
I do apologize.
Edith is way out of line.
I don't know what's going on.
Something must be nagging her.
Excuse me!
Ida, what is going on?
I've seen you looking at me.
- Let's join the others.
- Harald, you know you want to.
Ida! I don't do that anymore.
- Why? Am I too old?
- Let's join the others.
But you want to.
- You want to.
- Ida, please.
- I can't.
- Then why are you hard?
That's not my fault.
No, Ida.
Ida...
Oh no.
Ghost!
- Harald!
- What's going on?
What's going on?!
Stop it!
What are you doing?
Stop it! Insane child!
Stay there!
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
- Harald!
- Come.
- Trousers up.
- Bring him next door.
- Trousers up, Harald. Come.
- It's Ida.
She's a siren.
- I'm sorry. This is a madhouse.
- Harald.
- It's not her fault.
- Make the call.
- We can't send her back.
- Make the call, Alma.
- I cannot permit it.
- Nobody awaits your permission. Call.
Sending her back to that orphanage
is sending her straight to hell.
- It's not your problem.
- It's your problem.
And your problems
have always been my problems.
Are the two of you conspiring
against me? I'm surrounded by enemies.
Whose side are you on?
What are you talking about?
What did you imagine?
That she'd stay?
That we'd be one big, happy family -
- eating breakfast
and exchanging smiles -
- like nothing's happened?
Alma, you're not thinking straight.
She isn't my child... or yours.
Don't look at me like that.
I'm not evil, Alma.
I'm being realistic.
A putrid fog has enveloped this house.
- We must clear the air.
- You're not yourself.
- You're a treacherous angel.
- You're drunk.
I'm not drunk, Alma!
Stop saying that.
If I were, I'd say you have the most
unoriginal face the Lord ever created -
- and looking at that face
day after day for 40 years -
- has drained my rooms of inspiration.
That's what I'd say if I were drunk.
Don't start a fight with me.
I'll go right through you.
Is that understood?
Why are you still here?
Why didn't you get lost a long time ago?
Then get lost!
Go!
Just leave me here all alone
talking to the walls.
Until the day I've drunk up the courage
to slit my wrists.
Would that make you happy?
- No.
- Would you be happy then?
No.
Then make the call.
No.
Call!
Then I'll do it.
Let go.
Let go.
Let go of...
Let go. Let go.
Let go.
Ida, calm down now.
Ida, calm down.
There, there.
Come here.
There, there.
I don't blame you for hating me.
You're so lovely.
And sweet.
You deserve a good life.
Can you forgive me?
I don't deserve it.
Yes.
How did you become such a good person?
I'm so tired.
So tired.
May I sleep here?
Yes.
That was close.
I found Tiberius.
Can you promise me...
... never to tell Olivia
who you really are?
Strange, isn't it -
- that one can grow so attached
to a creature like this...
... that is essentially a vermin...
... and doesn't belong in the house
at all.
Did you know that when I asked the
orphanage to come and get you -
- they begged me to keep you?
Not even they want you.
They can't get rid of you.
You don't belong here.
When will you understand?
When will you understand?
You're so ugly!
You don't belong here.
Nobody loves you.
Nobody wants you!
Your mother doesn't want you!
I don't want you! Nobody wants you!
Go out and die! Lie down and die!
You stink, you little rat!
You're a little rat.
Do you understand?!
Go out and...
Dansk Video Tekst
Do you understand
what the doctor is saying to you?
Which of the boys did this to you?
Tell me.
Tell me!
In a couple of months, this will...
... all be forgotten.
I promise.
You're a strong girl.
You always have been.
Long ago, when I found you...
It was freezing cold and snowing,
and I was out getting firewood -
- and to bring the other children back.
And when I returned to the house,
there you were -
- lying in a basket at the gate.
Only wrapped in a flimsy little blanket.
But you didn't utter a sound.
Didn't cry or complain.
You were strong already then.
I'm proud of you.
And I'm happy that -
- this will stay between us.
Right?
Whore.
I'll take that.
Cecilia is one of our dearest children.
She's quiet and dutiful,
healthy and clean.
- How old is she again?
- 15.
- And who is the father?
- A young boy.
We do our utmost to avoid this kind
of thing. It's never happened before.
Our agreement is for Cecilia to stay
here at Aurora until she's given birth -
- so you can get the baby
as soon as it arrives.
And then we'll come back for her
when you call us.
She's skinny.
She's stronger than she looks.
- And she knows what's going to happen?
- Yes.
We all agree it's the right thing.
She doesn't want to keep the baby.
This is best for everyone.
Dinner is in an hour.
Downstairs.
I'm not hungry.
- I want to go home.
- Eat.
No.
- Eat.
- No.
- I told you, I'm not hungry.
- The child in your belly is.
So eat.
No.
Enough!
Do you mind if I read aloud?
To the child, I mean.
If it's all right with you, of course.
Just so it gets used to my voice.
"The man hadn't had an hour of joy -
- since he left the children in the
forest, and the evil mother was dead."
"Gretel threw the pearls
and precious stones from her apron -
- and Hansel took one handful
after the other out of his pocket."
"Thus all their troubles were ended
and they lived happily ever after."
"Snip, snap, snout."
"This tale's told out."
Thank you for letting me do that.
You're going to stay here for a while,
so we might as well make the most of it.
I think we could even be
good friends, you and I.
If you want.
We won't bite.
I promise.
If you can promise the same.
Good night.
Boo.
Oh!
Oh!
You little rascal!
No, I can't...
You're too fast!
- Join us, Alma.
- Your turn.
You're a little hare!
I told you so.
Look at you.
It fits perfectly.
You're so beautiful. Come.
You're beautiful, Cecilia.
It's buzzing in there.
I can tell.
That's a good thing.
A very good thing.
Is it?
It makes you... intriguing.
Did you know you can learn a lot
about people by studying their faces?
Your eyes, for instance.
Brown.
Deep.
A bit mediocre, of course.
Restlessly shifting in the wind.
Always glancing around.
Always ready to run or hide -
- or bite.
What's it called?
Tiberius.
He's exceptionally arrogant.
He refuses to let me hold him.
Nevertheless, I'm fond of him.
He's a canary and they're famed for
their song, but he can't sing a note.
Or maybe he doesn't want to.
I got him from a Romanian woman
who stayed here one summer.
She...
She claimed it could predict
the end of the world.
So I suppose it's a good thing
that I haven't heard it sing yet.
You're so lovely.
We're more alike than you think.
If one didn't know better, one'd never
know you were out of an orphanage.
Hang on.
I'll get a hair clip.
How long has Alma been here?
Since I was a child.
My parents hired her to take care of me,
because they didn't want to.
She's as much a part of Aurora
as the furniture.
- Why doesn't she have any hair?
- She does. She just cuts it.
I think it stems from her childhood.
They had a lot of head lice where she
comes from, so I suppose it was easier.
Now I'm going to tell you something
you can never pass on.
She was born without a shadow.
Did you know?
She hasn't got a shadow.
I've never seen anything like it.
It's really terrifying.
We must remember
that she's going back home soon.
She's only here to give you a child.
There's no reason to confuse her.
She doesn't belong here.
I feel like the walls are looking at me.
Judging me.
I can't figure out
if it's comforting or terrifying.
Perhaps that's enough for tonight.
I feel like I'm giving my heart
to someone who treats it -
- like a flower in his cloak.
But if you are a flower, Milady,
then you are -
- in truth the most beautiful rose
in the kingdom.
Oh Dionissia, you always know
how to cheer me up.
But what is a rose
other than leaves -
- that slowly perish into nothingness?
Promise me, Dionissia...
Promise me that we never shall part.
Even when I am queen.
Swear it now
and never take it back.
A lot can happen
between now and never, Milady.
Time flushes out all promises
with the wash water.
Fear not, my dear Dionissia.
You are but following the plot of fate.
The light is fading.
Ahead I see the roaring waters
of the river Styx.
The final journey of Eugine.
Dionissia, hand me a candle of wax -
- for the night is dark -
- and rife with terror.
I never got to tell her...
... that I loved her.
Well, what did you think?
I mean, it isn't finished yet, but...
Did you like it?
Yes.
Be frank now.
I'm not sure about the ending.
What about it?
I didn't like that she died in the end.
Death is a mercy for her.
It's a happy ending.
She tries to defy fate
all her life, but...
... in the end it's all in vain.
You get what you get.
You are what you are.
Is that true?
Certainly. Eugine must accept
her lot in life.
So she makes the decisive choice.
The only choice
that is utterly her own.
That is powerful.
Is that how you feel?
That's how it is.
In any case -
- any noteworthy event that's
ever happened hides a tragic ending.
Aren't they supposed
to find families for you children?
You can't stay at the orphanage
all your lives?
Now and then people come to see us.
And we all have to stand in line.
Sometimes, some are picked,
but mostly the little ones.
Once, a man and a woman
came to pick me up.
And then they drove me to the zoo -
- and we walked around
looking at the animals all day.
And when we were finished -
- I thought I was going home with them.
But they just drove me
back to the orphanage.
Come. Let's dance.
- I can't dance.
- No. But I can teach you.
- You're good!
- I'm not.
Sit down.
Do you like it here?
Yes... thank you.
What do you like?
All kinds of things.
All of it.
Ida.
Are you looking forward
to going back home?
Do they beat you?
If I misbehave, yes.
Does the warden beat you?
No.
What does he do to you, then?
Why are you asking me that?
Who is the child's father?
- A boy from the orphanage.
- Who is the father?
A boy.
The warden...
Did he sleep with you?
Did he force you?
It's not your fault.
- Yes.
- No.
You did nothing wrong.
I know what it's like.
No, you don't.
I was in an orphanage as well.
Drink your milk.
You're not asleep yet.
May I come in?
- Are you well?
- Yes.
Good.
Do you think it's fun to be here?
Yes, very much.
It's so quiet.
You should have seen it back then.
It was so full of life.
I held -
- dinner parties, concerts, bashes.
Everyone came -
- in their best attire.
We conversed and danced -
- and sang and played music all
night long, sometimes for days on end.
One New Year's Eve, we brought
all the animals inside, one by one.
Through all the rooms.
Every time an animal passed by,
we applauded and toasted.
We celebrated them.
You're so lovely.
And I'm so dreadful.
I don't understand why nobody wants you.
I'm glad you're here.
You liven up this old place.
I wish you didn't have to go back home.
Easy now... easy.
Careful... enough now.
"Every day the fisherman
went to the lake to fish."
"One day he had cast his line
and gazed out on the pond -
- minding his seine,
when he saw it being jerked down."
"He hurriedly reeled in the line.
He worked hard -
- and once it surfaced, he saw
he had hooked a big Crucian carp."
She won't talk to me.
She won't even look at me.
Can you please talk to her?
Alma.
How is Olivia?
What do you want, Cecilia?
I just want to know
how everything is going.
And then I...
want to ask you something.
I know that Olivia is out now...
... and that our agreement was
that I go home after I'd given birth.
But please, can I stay here?
No.
- Why not?
- That's not the agreement.
- Can't we make a new one?
- No.
But Ida, I can help clean.
I can help Alma.
I can help mind Olivia
or I can mind my own business.
- Cecilia.
- Or we could...
We could say I'm the nanny
or the maid or maybe...
- Cecilia...
- We could say that I'm your daughter.
Stop, Cecilia.
You cannot live here.
You can stay for a couple of days
to recover, and that's that.
I'm sorry.
Thank you.
We have dinner guests tonight.
Ida wants you to stay in your room.
They don't know you're here, so...
... it's confusing, you see?
Ida wants them to think
that the child is hers, or...
Well, it is -
- but that she gave birth to it.
There.
It's over now.
Ida!
You look enchanting.
Edith!
Wonderful to see you. Welcome.
- It's been so long.
- Too long.
You look lovely.
- Ida! Good evening.
- Good evening. And welcome.
This is Sally.
Welcome. Please be seated.
I hope you're hungry.
My great-grandfather was a colossal man.
Personality-wise, of course -
- but he was also obese,
and he loved dancing.
So much so
that it killed him in the end.
He died right here in the dining room.
Well, it was a ballroom then.
They say his heart stopped beating
halfway through a waltz -
- but that his body kept dancing
for three days with various partners -
- until it finally keeled over.
And finally he was at rest.
And sometimes,
when I go down here at night...
... I still hear his dancing footsteps.
- Don't ever do that.
- You still believe in ghosts, Harald?
He's adamant
that he saw a ghost in Ireland.
I'm not only adamant.
I swear.
It was in a small church tower.
A little man.
We have a ghost at home.
It keeps drinking my alcohol.
A toast to old friendships.
It's wonderful to see you again.
Thank you for coming.
Tonight we shall party like in the
old days, so I hope you remember how -
- although some of you are
a little pudgier... Hkon.
Do you still swim?
- That was many years ago.
- I bet.
And where is dear Vilhelm?
We can't have a party without him.
The piano's waiting.
Or has he finally made good his threat
to leave you?
I suppose you could say that. He...
He's dead.
No.
Well, it's several years ago, so...
He died in the war.
I thought you knew.
If I may, Sally has some news.
Apropos... Go ahead.
Well, I'm pregnant.
- Congratulations!
- Yes, congratulations.
That's not how you use "apropos",
Hkon -
- but apropos,
I have some news as well.
- Somewhat bigger news.
- Oh?
Wait here.
- Yes, very beautiful.
- Oh. Is it a novel?
- A collection of poems.
- Not quite your thing, Hkon.
There, now.
Meet my daughter.
- Is it yours?
- Yes, Edith. It's mine.
She is my daughter.
Aren't you? Yes.
What is her name?
Olivia.
Why are you all so quiet?
Oh, I'm sorry, Ida.
Congratulations.
You just took us by surprise.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
My, my!
Who on earth is this charming creature?
- Who are you?
- Cecilia.
That will be all, Cecilia.
I live here. I'm the nanny.
So you take care of Olivia?
Yes, and I help out and clean and...
- I'm doing very well here.
- Are you a nanny or a maid?
I think Alma needs you in the kitchen.
That's quite a remarkable dialect.
Where are you from?
Remember when we brought
all the animals inside -
- and I led them around
and rang the bell? Don't you remember?
We don't have animals anymore,
but we could do something else.
- Pregnancy at our age is unusual.
- Not at all, Edith.
- Isn't it more or less impossible?
- No, it is possible.
I've heard some of your mother's music.
It's very beautiful.
- Indeed. Well said, Sally.
- Well, then it's a miracle.
- Is she healthy? All ten fingers?
- Yes. Would you like to count?
Are these Sicilian olives?
They taste like it.
My mother had a friend
who survived the Titanic.
Four years later
she worked on the Britannic -
- the Titanic's sister ship
that also sunk, and she survived.
So don't tell me miracles don't exist.
She then got polio of course, but...
Why do you want us to believe
it's your child?
It is her child.
What's it to you? Can't you be quiet?
I think your nanny spilled something.
What the hell kind of farce is this?
You're staying here.
Stay here!
Hkon!
Come on!
- Not on a full stomach.
- Come on.
- I can't.
- Come on.
No, I'm too drunk.
Come on, Arthur.
No...
Well... Harald.
It's down to you and me.
It's down to you and me now.
Come along.
Maybe later, Ida.
Has anyone heard
from Marie Dugan lately?
Last thing I heard,
she was living in Spain.
- She's on her third marriage.
- Third?
She still has a wonderful singing voice.
Yes... yes.
What the hell's the matter with you?
Cheese. It's time for cheese.
She certainly is sweet... Olivia.
Yes.
She oughtn't be allowed to have a child.
Edith!
I'm just saying
what everybody's thinking.
What?
Maybe it's time to go home.
We never should have come.
Olivia isn't Ida's first child.
Where is the first child?
She fell out of a window.
Not even two years old.
It was an accident, Edith.
A terribly tragic accident.
- Was it?
- Yes.
She had climbed up
onto the windowsill...
... and fell out.
It happened during one of her parties.
- She forgot she had a daughter.
- Edith.
- She was drunk... as usual.
- Stop it, Edith.
We were all drunk that night.
Ever since that day
Aurora has been a cold, grey place.
People naturally didn't want
to come here anymore.
And Ida isolated herself here.
I thought she had gotten better.
I told you.
She hasn't changed.
What a horrible way
to talk about another person.
Have any of you ever paid her a visit?
Or tried to help her?
I don't think you know
what you're talking about.
She shouldn't be allowed
to have a child. In my opinion.
It was nice to meet little Olivia.
She's lovely, Ida.
Allow me to propose a toast
to the newborn.
Here's to a blessed future.
- Cheers.
- Cheers...
Oh, I forgot the grapes.
Excuse me.
Oh... Ida...
I do apologize.
Edith is way out of line.
I don't know what's going on.
Something must be nagging her.
Excuse me!
Ida, what is going on?
I've seen you looking at me.
- Let's join the others.
- Harald, you know you want to.
Ida! I don't do that anymore.
- Why? Am I too old?
- Let's join the others.
But you want to.
- You want to.
- Ida, please.
- I can't.
- Then why are you hard?
That's not my fault.
No, Ida.
Ida...
Oh no.
Ghost!
- Harald!
- What's going on?
What's going on?!
Stop it!
What are you doing?
Stop it! Insane child!
Stay there!
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
- Harald!
- Come.
- Trousers up.
- Bring him next door.
- Trousers up, Harald. Come.
- It's Ida.
She's a siren.
- I'm sorry. This is a madhouse.
- Harald.
- It's not her fault.
- Make the call.
- We can't send her back.
- Make the call, Alma.
- I cannot permit it.
- Nobody awaits your permission. Call.
Sending her back to that orphanage
is sending her straight to hell.
- It's not your problem.
- It's your problem.
And your problems
have always been my problems.
Are the two of you conspiring
against me? I'm surrounded by enemies.
Whose side are you on?
What are you talking about?
What did you imagine?
That she'd stay?
That we'd be one big, happy family -
- eating breakfast
and exchanging smiles -
- like nothing's happened?
Alma, you're not thinking straight.
She isn't my child... or yours.
Don't look at me like that.
I'm not evil, Alma.
I'm being realistic.
A putrid fog has enveloped this house.
- We must clear the air.
- You're not yourself.
- You're a treacherous angel.
- You're drunk.
I'm not drunk, Alma!
Stop saying that.
If I were, I'd say you have the most
unoriginal face the Lord ever created -
- and looking at that face
day after day for 40 years -
- has drained my rooms of inspiration.
That's what I'd say if I were drunk.
Don't start a fight with me.
I'll go right through you.
Is that understood?
Why are you still here?
Why didn't you get lost a long time ago?
Then get lost!
Go!
Just leave me here all alone
talking to the walls.
Until the day I've drunk up the courage
to slit my wrists.
Would that make you happy?
- No.
- Would you be happy then?
No.
Then make the call.
No.
Call!
Then I'll do it.
Let go.
Let go.
Let go of...
Let go. Let go.
Let go.
Ida, calm down now.
Ida, calm down.
There, there.
Come here.
There, there.
I don't blame you for hating me.
You're so lovely.
And sweet.
You deserve a good life.
Can you forgive me?
I don't deserve it.
Yes.
How did you become such a good person?
I'm so tired.
So tired.
May I sleep here?
Yes.
That was close.
I found Tiberius.
Can you promise me...
... never to tell Olivia
who you really are?
Strange, isn't it -
- that one can grow so attached
to a creature like this...
... that is essentially a vermin...
... and doesn't belong in the house
at all.
Did you know that when I asked the
orphanage to come and get you -
- they begged me to keep you?
Not even they want you.
They can't get rid of you.
You don't belong here.
When will you understand?
When will you understand?
You're so ugly!
You don't belong here.
Nobody loves you.
Nobody wants you!
Your mother doesn't want you!
I don't want you! Nobody wants you!
Go out and die! Lie down and die!
You stink, you little rat!
You're a little rat.
Do you understand?!
Go out and...
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