Sound of Falling (2025) Movie Script
1
Erika!
Bring the pigs into the barn!
Erika, the pigs!
Bring the pigs into the barn!
The coast is clear.
Berta?
You rascals!
Just you wait!
Hurry up, everyone's arrived.
For me?
Mother picked it out for you.
For All Souls' Day.
Come on, get dressed.
What should I do?
Watch what the others do.
Holy eternal God
Today,
we remember the people
You have called from our midst
And also remember
That we, too,
must die one day
Mother is gagging again.
Her stomach does whatever it wants.
Everyone hears it in the silence,
but pretends not to notice.
Blinking once means:
I love you.
Blinking twice means:
I love you very much.
We keep a tally of
who gets the most blinks from Mother.
Hedda is usually ahead.
But only because
she's our cripple.
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
on Earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day
our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those
who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil,
for Thine...
And?
Do you think next year
your picture will be on the dresser?
I'm not afraid.
- You don't need to fear death.
- No.
I'm not.
But I'm not getting in a box,
I tell you.
Nobody knows
if you notice
anything they do to you.
Nobody can say
if you don't notice anymore.
What they do to you.
I've seen them all die.
I've survived them all.
Your mother, too.
- Yes, my Fanni.
- I know, I know.
Bye.
Put a potato sack
over Trudi's head
and do it
for your country.
Looks like Mother.
It is Mother.
Who's the girl?
Alma.
That's not true.
It is.
It's Alma.
But I'm Alma.
She looks like you.
Maybe her spirit
passed into you.
Perhaps you're not yourself,
but her.
I think she's just asleep.
She doesn't look like she's dead.
Maybe they thought she was dead
and buried her alive.
She stole the sugar beet
from the cellar
and is calmly eating it
in her coffin.
How old was she
when she died?
Seven.
Why did she die so early?
I don't know.
She was ailing.
At some point,
she just didn't wake up
anymore.
Lia?
What did you mean by
she just didn't wake up?
Sleep, Alma.
What happens
when you're dead?
Nothing.
It was a dream.
Mama?
Yes?
- Know what I think is funny?
- What?
When I see a door handle,
I know exactly
what it tastes like,
though I've never licked one.
Isn't that funny?
Probably because you always put
everything in your mouth as a baby.
Cigarettes from the ground,
dog poop...
- That's not true!
- Yes, it is.
But how did I reach the door handle
as a baby?
Time to sleep.
Have you ordered
the dumpsters yet?
Shit.
I forgot to call back.
Order two small ones
instead of a large one this time.
And tell them to put them
directly under the windows,
so I can dump the rubble out
with Lenka.
Who was that?
This girl,
a few houses away.
The daughter of the...
one...
whose mother died.
Warm.
Nelly, move,
it's heavy.
Wait, like this.
Gotcha!
Now cover your right eye.
- Like this?
- Exactly.
And look at the X
with your left eye.
Exactly,
now move slowly toward it.
When the O disappears,
you've found your blind spot.
- Crazy, right?
- Yeah, it was gone, unbelievable.
- Simply gone?
- That's literally your blind spot.
- The optician said so.
- You wanna try?
- That's quite something.
- How? On the left?
Keep that eye closed,
and then... Wait.
- Like this?
- Show me the glasses you chose.
For me,
it doesn't disappear.
Because you're doing it wrong.
I'll explain it to you later.
They're chic.
It's quite something
when you consider
that the world
is actually upside down.
The optician said so.
The brain mirrors everything
before it reaches
our noggin.
But is it like that
for everyone?
Everyone except you.
Come on.
Give it to me.
- What are you doing?
- Go ahead.
Don't make such a face.
There are worse things.
Did you thank Uncle Uwe
for the ride into town?
No need to,
I was happy to do it.
What, sit down.
What now?
Did you get the glasses?
Let me see.
They look chic.
Did you make sugar cake?
- Give me a slice, please.
- No, come in.
Angelika...
Say, Uwe,
I can't wrap my head
around the hydraulics.
What's wrong this time?
- Can you look at it?
- Sure.
You're getting crumbs all over.
Hold the stroke
down to your hips.
Rainer, let's go!
You'll rest in a minute.
Two more weeks.
I'll manage it.
You have to manage it.
The others don't sleep, either.
With a bit more tension,
I'll be fine.
Then get it from somewhere.
Practice the motions
every day.
You have time now
to go in once a day.
Excellent.
But you're still using
too much energy.
Nice long strokes,
and follow through.
You can't keep up that pace
for the full distance.
You guys need to keep
the movements in mind.
Go through the movements
every night before you go to bed.
I often pretended I didn't notice
how they looked at me.
As if I were
immersed in thought.
But it was actually me
who was secretly watching them
looking at me.
Mama, look.
I can even do it with one arm. Look!
Mama,
you weren't even looking.
I did, sweetie,
it was great!
That's not true,
you weren't looking.
How would you know?
You were underwater.
Come on,
show me again.
Great!
Look!
And one and two
and three and four
A hat, a stick,
an umbrella
And forwards, backwards, to the side,
and one and two...
Nelly?
Nelly!
I love it when the skin smells
musty like a river.
And the smell of cellars.
I love the smell of cellars.
I'm addicted to it.
- And nail polish.
- Yeah, but not as much as cellars.
First,
the smell of cellars.
Papa's coming.
Then river smell on my skin
and then nail polish.
Damn, it's so nice here.
Isn't it nice here, children?
Yes!
Now I can do an underwater handstand
with one arm.
Yeah, really cool.
And I found black sand.
Muddy sand!
Are you hungry?
We have bread, cheese,
sausage and wine here.
I saw a grasshopper.
Yeah, a big green grasshopper.
What are you doing?
Always up to some nonsense.
Too bad you never know
when you're at your happiest.
Eight, nine, ten.
One, two, three...
That one counts
three times.
At least.
Seven, eight, nine, ten.
Eleven.
I won.
Warm.
Does it hurt?
Nonsense.
First one to the oak tree.
Tie a knot.
Uwe, Uwe...
I'll show you how it's done!
That doesn't count!
This isn't my bike!
I'll do it again!
Now I can do it.
Now it counts.
I got it!
Yes!
Into the tub!
Volker, Volker...
You can't do it!
Now it's Irm's turn!
Irm, Irm...
You can do it.
Come on!
- I'm unlucky at such things.
- It's got nothing to do with luck.
Come on,
someone else do it.
- Try it again.
- I'll do it.
My turn!
Angelika, Angelika...
Now?
Now?
Now!
Now.
You've got a boner.
No, I don't.
- Get up.
- Let's see.
Better not.
Stand up.
- Disgusting.
- Get naked!
Get up.
Pull down your pants.
Angelika, pull down his pants.
Not much to see,
it's so small.
Come on, Rainer, get up.
Get up, get up...
Pull down your pants!
Take them off!
Take it easy.
Just here.
Will you drive me
to Gl?wisch today?
Gl?wisch?
What are you doing
in Gl?wisch?
Disco?
Maybe.
Where were you earlier?
Drinking schnapps
with the others.
Will you drive me
to Gl?wisch now?
Sorry.
I have other plans.
How will you get
to Gl?wisch now?
Come on, go home!
Today was good.
Everything worked out.
Everyone had fun.
There was enough food.
Haven't laughed
that much in a long time.
We have leftover pasta salad.
The children were funny, too.
I've never seen Anna
laugh so much.
She usually
just complains.
Good thing
I baked another cake.
Or it might've been
too little.
I remember how Mama
never knew when to laugh.
Whenever something was funny,
she never laughed.
She laughed when
there was nothing to laugh at,
when something bad happened.
When someone died,
she suddenly grinned.
She didn't want to,
her body did it all by itself.
And the more she tried not to grin,
the more she grinned.
Until she had
a real laughing fit.
She covered her mouth with her hand
so no one could see and turned red.
It's funny that you turn red
when you're ashamed.
In your face,
so everyone can see it.
We played a prank on Mom
for her birthday.
It was Dad's idea.
He always wanted to make Mom laugh.
It never worked.
Long may she live
Three cheers for her
Long may she live
Three cheers for her
Hip, hip, hooray!
All the best, Mom!
Let her grow old
Three cheers for her
I'm glad you got
to know each other.
Lenka doesn't know
anyone here yet.
Nobody lives here.
How's your papa?
Good. Hanging in there.
Can I sleep here?
Well...
Well, if you guys want her to.
Today?
We'll have to ask
your papa first.
Nice cell phone.
Purple.
It was my mother's.
I inherited it.
Yeah, it's me.
The mother of my new friend
wants to ask you something.
Yeah, this is Christa
from house 10.
Yes, from Berlin.
So, your daughter
is here right now...
Good night.
- Good night.
- Sleep well.
Sleep well.
If anything's wrong, come wake us up.
No matter what it is.
Could you maybe sing me
a lullaby?
Did your mama
sing to you at night?
I have to warn you,
I'm not such a good singer.
Doesn't matter.
Good evening, good night
Covered with roses
Adorned with cloves
Slip under the covers
Tomorrow morning, if God wills
You'll wake once again
Tomorrow morning, if God wills
You'll wake once again
Alma, let it go.
Alma, don't!
Work accident.
Work accident.
Work accident.
If you say a word
too many times,
it loses its meaning.
Fritz had a work accident.
Work accident.
Are they gonna take off
his other leg as well?
They're phantom pains.
The doctor said
this could happen.
Now it stopped.
No.
He's silent because they put
a stick between his teeth.
If you listen closely,
you can still hear
his whining.
Hear it?
Funny how something can hurt
that's no longer there.
Warm.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
Go back to sleep.
Were you at Uncle Fritz's again?
Mom knows things
she shouldn't even remember,
because she wasn't even there
when they happened.
She remembers, for example,
that her sister Erika
always stole Uncle Fritz's crutches
to see if she could walk
with just one leg.
But if you ask her where she was
when all these things happened,
she doesn't remember.
Maybe because you only ever
see others from the outside
but never yourself.
Weirdo.
Did you go to Gl?wisch?
How did you get back?
Hitchhiking.
And who drove you?
Your father.
Was he at the disco, too?
No.
But?
He drove by
while I was leaving.
Rainer!
You're my cousin.
But my father being your uncle
doesn't bother you?
What?
Everyone knows
you let him bang you.
We always say,
your actions are what count.
A person is what they do.
I don't believe that.
I think you are
where you actually are,
while doing something.
When I was with a friend,
it didn't take long
for everyone to say
I spoke just like them.
I even had to adopt
things I didn't like:
the high-pitched laugh,
the kind of emphasis...
I didn't set out to do it.
My body somehow did it on its own.
Dad sometimes said
that it was enough.
I should
be myself again.
But being myself again?
My body couldn't manage that
on its own.
Then I became dizzy
because I was trying
to remember how I speak.
So I said my name in succession
until it seemed foreign to me.
Then I imagined
seeing myself through Dad's eyes
and played the person
he must envision when he says
I should be myself again.
How long can you act happy
without anyone noticing?
Work accident.
It's been like this for days.
Suddenly,
Mother could no longer walk.
The doctor couldn't explain it, either.
Said she was perfectly healthy
and shouldn't make a fuss.
Mother did her best,
but it was no use.
Her legs no longer obeyed her.
The doctor prescribed bed rest.
In the evenings,
we prayed to God
that Mother would soon
be able to walk again.
Alma, where are you?
Come out, you've won!
Alma, are you around here?
Right here! I'm right here!
Alma, that's not funny. Come out.
Here, I'm in the tree, Lia!
Look up!
She's vanished.
Here I am! Here!
Can you see her?
No. Looks like she's gone.
Here I am, Lia!
I'm here!
Help!
Lia! Gerti!
Here I am! Here!
Here in the tree!
I'm here!
Lia!
Alma?
How you can tell
if you're alive or dead?
I got such a high temperature,
they wanted to call the doctor.
He wouldn't have known
anything anyway.
Trudi put her hand
on my forehead,
like she does to calm the cows
when they have a calf.
She spent the whole night
by my side.
Mother initially resisted
when everyone said
Trudi should put a hand on her, too.
But in the end,
she let it happen.
I'm sure that's why
she was able to walk again soon.
The thing with Fritz
was more complicated.
Trudi couldn't just
conjure up his leg again.
Hedda was sure
that the dogs
had long since eaten it.
But she was able
to ease the phantom pain.
She put her hand
on Fritz's center.
He calmed down
and moaned much more quietly.
With fat Berta,
it was easy for the men.
She couldn't have children
by nature.
Trudi wasn't so lucky.
She first had to be
'made safe for the men.'
As a maid,
you had to be quick
and hard-working and not miss work
because you had a bun in the oven.
I don't know exactly
how they made Trudi
become like fat Berta for good.
But right after
Trudi arrived here,
she had to go away
for a few days.
It must've been then.
When she came back,
the male servants
lined up at her door at night.
I don't know if they put
a potato sack over her.
She wasn't any prettier
than before, thought Gerti.
She looked as if
she'd been plopped down on earth
and didn't know
what to do with herself.
Trudi once said
Fritz's life was entirely in vain.
I think Trudi also lived in vain.
Maybe that's why
she looked after him:
so that it wasn't so lonely,
living in vain.
And?
I don't know.
Let me try.
And? Is the fly still inside?
I hear something.
The last one will be dragged
into the realm of the dead!
The last one will be dragged
into the realm of the dead!
Alma had been waiting all summer
to drop dead or not wake up.
But somehow
God must've forgotten her.
Instead, he took me.
I might still be alive if Alma
had been the last one through.
Alma still wasn't dead
by summer's end.
But our great-grandmother.
And then suddenly, me too.
Don't cry.
It wasn't for real.
Alma thought great-grandmother
was the only person who wouldn't die.
As if dying wouldn't suit her,
because she was so afraid of it.
Then her time had come.
She simply toppled over one night
on her way to the outhouse.
She must've had
urgent business to attend to.
Hedda laughed and said
she must've been scared shitless
when she realized
the end was near.
She had already
pulled up her robe
so it would go quicker
when she got there.
But she never arrived.
Father said
it was the only time
he had ever seen
his grandmother's bare bottom.
And just like that,
it was the same with her
as with the other people
who died.
The window was opened
to let the soul out.
The clocks were stopped.
Stones against the evil eye.
HERE I LIE AND MUST DECAY
So that no flies crawl in.
So the good Lord believes
she was a believer.
Twice a day,
the village's woman of the dead came
to wash the body.
But because
our woman of the dead
had passed away
two weeks earlier in childbirth,
Trudi had to take over.
Vinegar rags and nettles
are placed on the face of the dead.
I remember
that at the end of the wake,
her hands were
full of welts.
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For Thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory...
We pray
that she won't have
to meet her mother again.
Whenever I try
to imagine her face,
it's all a blur.
As if I hadn't been able
to memorize it,
though I saw her so often.
But I still remember exactly
what her hands looked like.
And the expression
when she was dead.
Maybe because she never
looked like that in her life.
She looked somehow astonished.
Trudi said she looked like that
because she realized she was dying.
But to me, it looked like
she was seeing something
she had never expected.
Hedda thinks
she may be reborn in Africa.
Father said, then as a fly.
At least he never killed another one.
Warm.
Mom never talked about
how her sister Erika died.
I knew it anyway.
Mom's uncle once told me.
I got to meet him once.
He visited us on the farm:
Uncle Fritz
with his wooden leg.
Told me to knock on it.
Brings good luck, he said.
ATTENTION:
INTRA-GERMAN BORDER
Erika went into the river,
like many women
when the war was over.
They had heard what happened
to women in the other villages.
They feared what might come
more than they feared death.
Mom gave Erika
a pinky promise.
But when she was underwater,
the eels swam up
and nipped at her.
She wasn't the only one
to come back out of the river.
She was still ashamed
of not having gone all the way.
Sometimes I think
Mom is still underwater with Erika.
Lia!
I remember Nelly
wanting to come with us.
I didn't allow it
because I didn't want her there.
I remember thinking
that my life was in vain,
because I hadn't taken strawberry
like Kaya,
but rather vanilla.
I believe
it was that summer
I began to think:
if I were someone else,
I'd be happier.
I was even jealous
of the misfortune of others.
Even that Kaya's mother had died.
I wished something like that
would happen to me
so I could become like her.
Today I think:
If only I hadn't thought
at that moment that my life was over
just because I took vanilla
and not strawberry.
How did your mother actually die?
Lung cancer.
Why do you smoke, then?
Everyone dies of something.
You, too.
Were you there
when your mother died?
Come on, let's go swimming.
Come on!
Maybe we'll drown!
Kaya?
If I want to lift my leg,
I can do it.
And if I want to lift my arm,
I can lift it.
But when I command my heart
to stand still,
then it doesn't.
It just keeps on beating.
Maybe I'm not deciding
hard enough
just in case it does obey.
Would it stop beating now,
if I really, really wanted it?
Now.
Now.
Now.
Now.
When in reality
you see everything upside down,
maybe in reality
everything is the other way around.
Actually,
you can then simply decide
that what's bad
is really good.
After the solstice, Lia starts
working as a maid on my farm.
Good.
Then it's a done deal.
You take care
of the women's business.
I knew it:
You're a chicken.
- Come here!
- Angelika, come here! Rainer!
There! Stand still, stand still!
That's good.
Yes, that's good. Closer.
Angelika, to the right.
- Let's get together.
- Rainer, suck in your gut.
Now I'm curious
about the miracle machine.
- The miracle machine.
- Unbelievable.
What does the little birdie say?
- And now you can see the photo?
- Madness. Now just shake it?
- Shake, shake.
- Wait a minute.
Now I'm curious.
There's nothing to see yet.
If anyone said that's possible,
we would've called them crazy.
But I look fat on it.
But Angelika looks like a ghost.
She's gone again.
- But I'm not that fat. Look.
- Of course you are.
So, the camera is...
We looked for her for weeks,
but she was simply gone.
At some point, they said
she had swum across to West Germany.
Not a word was spoken
about her at home.
I never saw her again.
Sometimes I think
she was just in my head,
and never really existed.
Angelika.
I remember taking off
my soaking wet T-shirt,
because it was sticking
to my body so much.
Only later did I realize
I was the only one running around
topless and in panties.
I remember
the smell of wet grass.
And this look
from my parents' friend.
I can't even remember his name.
I know he realized
I'd seen the look in his eyes.
I can still feel myself blushing
and would've loved
to cross my arms in front of me.
But that would've been
too obvious.
When I pretended
not to notice his gaze, it was
as if I was sharing
a secret with him
that I didn't want to share.
Lia!
It rained a lot that summer.
We lost an entire harvest.
The neighboring farmer
reimbursed us
for half of the lost grain.
In return,
he asked Lia to be his maid.
After the solstice,
she left us and went to him.
Before that, she had to see Elli,
just like Trudi back then.
She couldn't start working
for him for three weeks
because she almost
bled to death.
Later, they asked me what had
happened to Lia in the field.
I said: a work accident.
50, 49...
When I try to remember
that one summer,
I always wonder
what Nelly saw last.
And whether
I should've noticed anything.
I think Nelly was playing "War"
with the other children.
They sat by the fire,
pretending to
eat rats and frogs' legs.
But I only remember this girl
that I met at the river.
I think her name was Kaya.
We listened to one song
all summer,
her mother's favorite.
Want a popsicle?
Strawberry or vanilla?
Strawberry.
Here you go.
- And you? Vanilla, as always?
- I'll take strawberry.
Strawberry.
Thanks.
I want strawberry, too.
Oh, man, sorry, sweetie.
Only vanilla's left.
We can swap.
You're it!
Subtitle Copyright: Way Film GmbH
Translation: Matthew Way
Erika!
Bring the pigs into the barn!
Erika, the pigs!
Bring the pigs into the barn!
The coast is clear.
Berta?
You rascals!
Just you wait!
Hurry up, everyone's arrived.
For me?
Mother picked it out for you.
For All Souls' Day.
Come on, get dressed.
What should I do?
Watch what the others do.
Holy eternal God
Today,
we remember the people
You have called from our midst
And also remember
That we, too,
must die one day
Mother is gagging again.
Her stomach does whatever it wants.
Everyone hears it in the silence,
but pretends not to notice.
Blinking once means:
I love you.
Blinking twice means:
I love you very much.
We keep a tally of
who gets the most blinks from Mother.
Hedda is usually ahead.
But only because
she's our cripple.
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done
on Earth as it is in Heaven
Give us this day
our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those
who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil,
for Thine...
And?
Do you think next year
your picture will be on the dresser?
I'm not afraid.
- You don't need to fear death.
- No.
I'm not.
But I'm not getting in a box,
I tell you.
Nobody knows
if you notice
anything they do to you.
Nobody can say
if you don't notice anymore.
What they do to you.
I've seen them all die.
I've survived them all.
Your mother, too.
- Yes, my Fanni.
- I know, I know.
Bye.
Put a potato sack
over Trudi's head
and do it
for your country.
Looks like Mother.
It is Mother.
Who's the girl?
Alma.
That's not true.
It is.
It's Alma.
But I'm Alma.
She looks like you.
Maybe her spirit
passed into you.
Perhaps you're not yourself,
but her.
I think she's just asleep.
She doesn't look like she's dead.
Maybe they thought she was dead
and buried her alive.
She stole the sugar beet
from the cellar
and is calmly eating it
in her coffin.
How old was she
when she died?
Seven.
Why did she die so early?
I don't know.
She was ailing.
At some point,
she just didn't wake up
anymore.
Lia?
What did you mean by
she just didn't wake up?
Sleep, Alma.
What happens
when you're dead?
Nothing.
It was a dream.
Mama?
Yes?
- Know what I think is funny?
- What?
When I see a door handle,
I know exactly
what it tastes like,
though I've never licked one.
Isn't that funny?
Probably because you always put
everything in your mouth as a baby.
Cigarettes from the ground,
dog poop...
- That's not true!
- Yes, it is.
But how did I reach the door handle
as a baby?
Time to sleep.
Have you ordered
the dumpsters yet?
Shit.
I forgot to call back.
Order two small ones
instead of a large one this time.
And tell them to put them
directly under the windows,
so I can dump the rubble out
with Lenka.
Who was that?
This girl,
a few houses away.
The daughter of the...
one...
whose mother died.
Warm.
Nelly, move,
it's heavy.
Wait, like this.
Gotcha!
Now cover your right eye.
- Like this?
- Exactly.
And look at the X
with your left eye.
Exactly,
now move slowly toward it.
When the O disappears,
you've found your blind spot.
- Crazy, right?
- Yeah, it was gone, unbelievable.
- Simply gone?
- That's literally your blind spot.
- The optician said so.
- You wanna try?
- That's quite something.
- How? On the left?
Keep that eye closed,
and then... Wait.
- Like this?
- Show me the glasses you chose.
For me,
it doesn't disappear.
Because you're doing it wrong.
I'll explain it to you later.
They're chic.
It's quite something
when you consider
that the world
is actually upside down.
The optician said so.
The brain mirrors everything
before it reaches
our noggin.
But is it like that
for everyone?
Everyone except you.
Come on.
Give it to me.
- What are you doing?
- Go ahead.
Don't make such a face.
There are worse things.
Did you thank Uncle Uwe
for the ride into town?
No need to,
I was happy to do it.
What, sit down.
What now?
Did you get the glasses?
Let me see.
They look chic.
Did you make sugar cake?
- Give me a slice, please.
- No, come in.
Angelika...
Say, Uwe,
I can't wrap my head
around the hydraulics.
What's wrong this time?
- Can you look at it?
- Sure.
You're getting crumbs all over.
Hold the stroke
down to your hips.
Rainer, let's go!
You'll rest in a minute.
Two more weeks.
I'll manage it.
You have to manage it.
The others don't sleep, either.
With a bit more tension,
I'll be fine.
Then get it from somewhere.
Practice the motions
every day.
You have time now
to go in once a day.
Excellent.
But you're still using
too much energy.
Nice long strokes,
and follow through.
You can't keep up that pace
for the full distance.
You guys need to keep
the movements in mind.
Go through the movements
every night before you go to bed.
I often pretended I didn't notice
how they looked at me.
As if I were
immersed in thought.
But it was actually me
who was secretly watching them
looking at me.
Mama, look.
I can even do it with one arm. Look!
Mama,
you weren't even looking.
I did, sweetie,
it was great!
That's not true,
you weren't looking.
How would you know?
You were underwater.
Come on,
show me again.
Great!
Look!
And one and two
and three and four
A hat, a stick,
an umbrella
And forwards, backwards, to the side,
and one and two...
Nelly?
Nelly!
I love it when the skin smells
musty like a river.
And the smell of cellars.
I love the smell of cellars.
I'm addicted to it.
- And nail polish.
- Yeah, but not as much as cellars.
First,
the smell of cellars.
Papa's coming.
Then river smell on my skin
and then nail polish.
Damn, it's so nice here.
Isn't it nice here, children?
Yes!
Now I can do an underwater handstand
with one arm.
Yeah, really cool.
And I found black sand.
Muddy sand!
Are you hungry?
We have bread, cheese,
sausage and wine here.
I saw a grasshopper.
Yeah, a big green grasshopper.
What are you doing?
Always up to some nonsense.
Too bad you never know
when you're at your happiest.
Eight, nine, ten.
One, two, three...
That one counts
three times.
At least.
Seven, eight, nine, ten.
Eleven.
I won.
Warm.
Does it hurt?
Nonsense.
First one to the oak tree.
Tie a knot.
Uwe, Uwe...
I'll show you how it's done!
That doesn't count!
This isn't my bike!
I'll do it again!
Now I can do it.
Now it counts.
I got it!
Yes!
Into the tub!
Volker, Volker...
You can't do it!
Now it's Irm's turn!
Irm, Irm...
You can do it.
Come on!
- I'm unlucky at such things.
- It's got nothing to do with luck.
Come on,
someone else do it.
- Try it again.
- I'll do it.
My turn!
Angelika, Angelika...
Now?
Now?
Now!
Now.
You've got a boner.
No, I don't.
- Get up.
- Let's see.
Better not.
Stand up.
- Disgusting.
- Get naked!
Get up.
Pull down your pants.
Angelika, pull down his pants.
Not much to see,
it's so small.
Come on, Rainer, get up.
Get up, get up...
Pull down your pants!
Take them off!
Take it easy.
Just here.
Will you drive me
to Gl?wisch today?
Gl?wisch?
What are you doing
in Gl?wisch?
Disco?
Maybe.
Where were you earlier?
Drinking schnapps
with the others.
Will you drive me
to Gl?wisch now?
Sorry.
I have other plans.
How will you get
to Gl?wisch now?
Come on, go home!
Today was good.
Everything worked out.
Everyone had fun.
There was enough food.
Haven't laughed
that much in a long time.
We have leftover pasta salad.
The children were funny, too.
I've never seen Anna
laugh so much.
She usually
just complains.
Good thing
I baked another cake.
Or it might've been
too little.
I remember how Mama
never knew when to laugh.
Whenever something was funny,
she never laughed.
She laughed when
there was nothing to laugh at,
when something bad happened.
When someone died,
she suddenly grinned.
She didn't want to,
her body did it all by itself.
And the more she tried not to grin,
the more she grinned.
Until she had
a real laughing fit.
She covered her mouth with her hand
so no one could see and turned red.
It's funny that you turn red
when you're ashamed.
In your face,
so everyone can see it.
We played a prank on Mom
for her birthday.
It was Dad's idea.
He always wanted to make Mom laugh.
It never worked.
Long may she live
Three cheers for her
Long may she live
Three cheers for her
Hip, hip, hooray!
All the best, Mom!
Let her grow old
Three cheers for her
I'm glad you got
to know each other.
Lenka doesn't know
anyone here yet.
Nobody lives here.
How's your papa?
Good. Hanging in there.
Can I sleep here?
Well...
Well, if you guys want her to.
Today?
We'll have to ask
your papa first.
Nice cell phone.
Purple.
It was my mother's.
I inherited it.
Yeah, it's me.
The mother of my new friend
wants to ask you something.
Yeah, this is Christa
from house 10.
Yes, from Berlin.
So, your daughter
is here right now...
Good night.
- Good night.
- Sleep well.
Sleep well.
If anything's wrong, come wake us up.
No matter what it is.
Could you maybe sing me
a lullaby?
Did your mama
sing to you at night?
I have to warn you,
I'm not such a good singer.
Doesn't matter.
Good evening, good night
Covered with roses
Adorned with cloves
Slip under the covers
Tomorrow morning, if God wills
You'll wake once again
Tomorrow morning, if God wills
You'll wake once again
Alma, let it go.
Alma, don't!
Work accident.
Work accident.
Work accident.
If you say a word
too many times,
it loses its meaning.
Fritz had a work accident.
Work accident.
Are they gonna take off
his other leg as well?
They're phantom pains.
The doctor said
this could happen.
Now it stopped.
No.
He's silent because they put
a stick between his teeth.
If you listen closely,
you can still hear
his whining.
Hear it?
Funny how something can hurt
that's no longer there.
Warm.
What's wrong?
Nothing.
Go back to sleep.
Were you at Uncle Fritz's again?
Mom knows things
she shouldn't even remember,
because she wasn't even there
when they happened.
She remembers, for example,
that her sister Erika
always stole Uncle Fritz's crutches
to see if she could walk
with just one leg.
But if you ask her where she was
when all these things happened,
she doesn't remember.
Maybe because you only ever
see others from the outside
but never yourself.
Weirdo.
Did you go to Gl?wisch?
How did you get back?
Hitchhiking.
And who drove you?
Your father.
Was he at the disco, too?
No.
But?
He drove by
while I was leaving.
Rainer!
You're my cousin.
But my father being your uncle
doesn't bother you?
What?
Everyone knows
you let him bang you.
We always say,
your actions are what count.
A person is what they do.
I don't believe that.
I think you are
where you actually are,
while doing something.
When I was with a friend,
it didn't take long
for everyone to say
I spoke just like them.
I even had to adopt
things I didn't like:
the high-pitched laugh,
the kind of emphasis...
I didn't set out to do it.
My body somehow did it on its own.
Dad sometimes said
that it was enough.
I should
be myself again.
But being myself again?
My body couldn't manage that
on its own.
Then I became dizzy
because I was trying
to remember how I speak.
So I said my name in succession
until it seemed foreign to me.
Then I imagined
seeing myself through Dad's eyes
and played the person
he must envision when he says
I should be myself again.
How long can you act happy
without anyone noticing?
Work accident.
It's been like this for days.
Suddenly,
Mother could no longer walk.
The doctor couldn't explain it, either.
Said she was perfectly healthy
and shouldn't make a fuss.
Mother did her best,
but it was no use.
Her legs no longer obeyed her.
The doctor prescribed bed rest.
In the evenings,
we prayed to God
that Mother would soon
be able to walk again.
Alma, where are you?
Come out, you've won!
Alma, are you around here?
Right here! I'm right here!
Alma, that's not funny. Come out.
Here, I'm in the tree, Lia!
Look up!
She's vanished.
Here I am! Here!
Can you see her?
No. Looks like she's gone.
Here I am, Lia!
I'm here!
Help!
Lia! Gerti!
Here I am! Here!
Here in the tree!
I'm here!
Lia!
Alma?
How you can tell
if you're alive or dead?
I got such a high temperature,
they wanted to call the doctor.
He wouldn't have known
anything anyway.
Trudi put her hand
on my forehead,
like she does to calm the cows
when they have a calf.
She spent the whole night
by my side.
Mother initially resisted
when everyone said
Trudi should put a hand on her, too.
But in the end,
she let it happen.
I'm sure that's why
she was able to walk again soon.
The thing with Fritz
was more complicated.
Trudi couldn't just
conjure up his leg again.
Hedda was sure
that the dogs
had long since eaten it.
But she was able
to ease the phantom pain.
She put her hand
on Fritz's center.
He calmed down
and moaned much more quietly.
With fat Berta,
it was easy for the men.
She couldn't have children
by nature.
Trudi wasn't so lucky.
She first had to be
'made safe for the men.'
As a maid,
you had to be quick
and hard-working and not miss work
because you had a bun in the oven.
I don't know exactly
how they made Trudi
become like fat Berta for good.
But right after
Trudi arrived here,
she had to go away
for a few days.
It must've been then.
When she came back,
the male servants
lined up at her door at night.
I don't know if they put
a potato sack over her.
She wasn't any prettier
than before, thought Gerti.
She looked as if
she'd been plopped down on earth
and didn't know
what to do with herself.
Trudi once said
Fritz's life was entirely in vain.
I think Trudi also lived in vain.
Maybe that's why
she looked after him:
so that it wasn't so lonely,
living in vain.
And?
I don't know.
Let me try.
And? Is the fly still inside?
I hear something.
The last one will be dragged
into the realm of the dead!
The last one will be dragged
into the realm of the dead!
Alma had been waiting all summer
to drop dead or not wake up.
But somehow
God must've forgotten her.
Instead, he took me.
I might still be alive if Alma
had been the last one through.
Alma still wasn't dead
by summer's end.
But our great-grandmother.
And then suddenly, me too.
Don't cry.
It wasn't for real.
Alma thought great-grandmother
was the only person who wouldn't die.
As if dying wouldn't suit her,
because she was so afraid of it.
Then her time had come.
She simply toppled over one night
on her way to the outhouse.
She must've had
urgent business to attend to.
Hedda laughed and said
she must've been scared shitless
when she realized
the end was near.
She had already
pulled up her robe
so it would go quicker
when she got there.
But she never arrived.
Father said
it was the only time
he had ever seen
his grandmother's bare bottom.
And just like that,
it was the same with her
as with the other people
who died.
The window was opened
to let the soul out.
The clocks were stopped.
Stones against the evil eye.
HERE I LIE AND MUST DECAY
So that no flies crawl in.
So the good Lord believes
she was a believer.
Twice a day,
the village's woman of the dead came
to wash the body.
But because
our woman of the dead
had passed away
two weeks earlier in childbirth,
Trudi had to take over.
Vinegar rags and nettles
are placed on the face of the dead.
I remember
that at the end of the wake,
her hands were
full of welts.
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For Thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory...
We pray
that she won't have
to meet her mother again.
Whenever I try
to imagine her face,
it's all a blur.
As if I hadn't been able
to memorize it,
though I saw her so often.
But I still remember exactly
what her hands looked like.
And the expression
when she was dead.
Maybe because she never
looked like that in her life.
She looked somehow astonished.
Trudi said she looked like that
because she realized she was dying.
But to me, it looked like
she was seeing something
she had never expected.
Hedda thinks
she may be reborn in Africa.
Father said, then as a fly.
At least he never killed another one.
Warm.
Mom never talked about
how her sister Erika died.
I knew it anyway.
Mom's uncle once told me.
I got to meet him once.
He visited us on the farm:
Uncle Fritz
with his wooden leg.
Told me to knock on it.
Brings good luck, he said.
ATTENTION:
INTRA-GERMAN BORDER
Erika went into the river,
like many women
when the war was over.
They had heard what happened
to women in the other villages.
They feared what might come
more than they feared death.
Mom gave Erika
a pinky promise.
But when she was underwater,
the eels swam up
and nipped at her.
She wasn't the only one
to come back out of the river.
She was still ashamed
of not having gone all the way.
Sometimes I think
Mom is still underwater with Erika.
Lia!
I remember Nelly
wanting to come with us.
I didn't allow it
because I didn't want her there.
I remember thinking
that my life was in vain,
because I hadn't taken strawberry
like Kaya,
but rather vanilla.
I believe
it was that summer
I began to think:
if I were someone else,
I'd be happier.
I was even jealous
of the misfortune of others.
Even that Kaya's mother had died.
I wished something like that
would happen to me
so I could become like her.
Today I think:
If only I hadn't thought
at that moment that my life was over
just because I took vanilla
and not strawberry.
How did your mother actually die?
Lung cancer.
Why do you smoke, then?
Everyone dies of something.
You, too.
Were you there
when your mother died?
Come on, let's go swimming.
Come on!
Maybe we'll drown!
Kaya?
If I want to lift my leg,
I can do it.
And if I want to lift my arm,
I can lift it.
But when I command my heart
to stand still,
then it doesn't.
It just keeps on beating.
Maybe I'm not deciding
hard enough
just in case it does obey.
Would it stop beating now,
if I really, really wanted it?
Now.
Now.
Now.
Now.
When in reality
you see everything upside down,
maybe in reality
everything is the other way around.
Actually,
you can then simply decide
that what's bad
is really good.
After the solstice, Lia starts
working as a maid on my farm.
Good.
Then it's a done deal.
You take care
of the women's business.
I knew it:
You're a chicken.
- Come here!
- Angelika, come here! Rainer!
There! Stand still, stand still!
That's good.
Yes, that's good. Closer.
Angelika, to the right.
- Let's get together.
- Rainer, suck in your gut.
Now I'm curious
about the miracle machine.
- The miracle machine.
- Unbelievable.
What does the little birdie say?
- And now you can see the photo?
- Madness. Now just shake it?
- Shake, shake.
- Wait a minute.
Now I'm curious.
There's nothing to see yet.
If anyone said that's possible,
we would've called them crazy.
But I look fat on it.
But Angelika looks like a ghost.
She's gone again.
- But I'm not that fat. Look.
- Of course you are.
So, the camera is...
We looked for her for weeks,
but she was simply gone.
At some point, they said
she had swum across to West Germany.
Not a word was spoken
about her at home.
I never saw her again.
Sometimes I think
she was just in my head,
and never really existed.
Angelika.
I remember taking off
my soaking wet T-shirt,
because it was sticking
to my body so much.
Only later did I realize
I was the only one running around
topless and in panties.
I remember
the smell of wet grass.
And this look
from my parents' friend.
I can't even remember his name.
I know he realized
I'd seen the look in his eyes.
I can still feel myself blushing
and would've loved
to cross my arms in front of me.
But that would've been
too obvious.
When I pretended
not to notice his gaze, it was
as if I was sharing
a secret with him
that I didn't want to share.
Lia!
It rained a lot that summer.
We lost an entire harvest.
The neighboring farmer
reimbursed us
for half of the lost grain.
In return,
he asked Lia to be his maid.
After the solstice,
she left us and went to him.
Before that, she had to see Elli,
just like Trudi back then.
She couldn't start working
for him for three weeks
because she almost
bled to death.
Later, they asked me what had
happened to Lia in the field.
I said: a work accident.
50, 49...
When I try to remember
that one summer,
I always wonder
what Nelly saw last.
And whether
I should've noticed anything.
I think Nelly was playing "War"
with the other children.
They sat by the fire,
pretending to
eat rats and frogs' legs.
But I only remember this girl
that I met at the river.
I think her name was Kaya.
We listened to one song
all summer,
her mother's favorite.
Want a popsicle?
Strawberry or vanilla?
Strawberry.
Here you go.
- And you? Vanilla, as always?
- I'll take strawberry.
Strawberry.
Thanks.
I want strawberry, too.
Oh, man, sorry, sweetie.
Only vanilla's left.
We can swap.
You're it!
Subtitle Copyright: Way Film GmbH
Translation: Matthew Way