The History of Love (2016) Movie Script
Once upon a time, there was a boy.
He lived in a village that
no longer exists...
...in a house that
no longer exists...
...on the edge of a field that
no longer exists...
...where everything was discovered
and everything was possible.
A stick could be a sword.
A pebble could be a diamond.
A tree, a castle.
Once upon a time,
there was a boy...
...who lived in a house across
the field from a girl.
They made up thousands of games.
She was Queen and he was King.
They collected the world
in small handfuls.
Once upon a time there was
a boy who loved a girl...
...and her laughter
was a question...
...he wanted to spend his
whole life answering.
He promised her he would never love
another girl as long as he lived...
It's open!
The coffee! Is it ready shoyn?
Ach! Thinking about her again!
Feh! You haven't made coffee.
Answer my question: did you
sleep with her?
It's been sixty years, dumkop.
Time to move on!
Now get your tuches in gear,
it's 8 am, I want mein coffee.
Did you sleep with her,
yes or no?
Kholerye! Every day the same
question. First: coffee!
I am your slave?
There's a Coffee downstairs.
I bet you did it, you momzer!
Your stew yesterday tasted
like drek, s..t...
...I spent the whole night
throwing up.
Then don't invite yourself
to every meal.
Do you think I like seeing
your face...
...and getting only half the food?
I hate sharing!
- What are you doing?
- I'm looking for a sweater...
...it's freezing in here!
Bandit! I didn't create you!
You're not my son.
Gay avek! Out! Now!
I have to go out.
- Where are you going?
- None of your business.
The coffee shop is still
downstairs.
I'm old, you gonna just sit there?
Have you done this before?
No.
What made you want to do it?
You want I should write this down?
No, I'm just curious.
I've decided to be looked at every
day for at least one hour.
It's the only medicine against
catching death.
Old people, nobody looks at them.
You'll see, if you get there.
Two hours here, I'm ahead of
the game.
So it's not for the money?
If I can be looked at and get paid,
am I going to say no?
How about you?
Are you looked at much?
Yeah? Well, you make the most of it
while you're still young...
...'coz it's sure gonna change.
Not now! I'm busy!
Where are you?
At the Greco Art School, okay?
Have you taken up painting?
No, I'm the model.
The nude model.
You're going to be naked?
Yeah, and they'll all be looking
at me. All ten at a time!
Young people!
Oy veh! You're too ugly.
Have mercy.
You're going to ruin their lesson
and probably screw up their lives!
Do I take my undershirt
and boxers off to?
Yes, please sir.
Leo!
"Keep still."
"Stand together. Don't move now."
Bleib stein, stop moving! Come on.
Steit tzuzamen, side by side!
No. Bruno in the middle,
Leo on the left.
That's good.
Come on, make up your mind!
But you're all so handsome!
You have to pick.
I will marry Leo.
Don't move!
I will marry Leo for the first
ten years.
Bruno, I'll marry you next.
I haven't to done yet.
As for you, Zvi,
I'll marry you last.
You are already old, but you'll
be the best old man ever.
Experienced. Leo and Bruno will
never know how to be old.
You might be dead by then.
You're so wilted already your
days are numbered.
Which means I'll keep her
to myself forever...
Leo, the first one was too real...
...I prefer when you make up
your stories.
Okay, not so good. Just say it.
How about the second one?
The second one, you invented
everything. Too much.
It makes it totally unbelievable.
Okay, so also bad.
Two novels messed up.
No.
You're very gifted.
Why do you write?
To impress you.
Seriously.
I want to describe the world
because...
I don't know... living in a world
that is not described...
- ...is... is too...
- Lonely.
Sad?
You should write about things
that are...
...neither too real nor
too imaginary.
Write about what you know.
What I know best is you.
You're silly.
I don't like drawing.
- What are you doing here then?
- I'm just keeping her company.
Your parents are paying for
this class!
What do you care?
Her parents are super rich!
Sir! Keep still!
Oy vey iz mir, someone stole
my boxers!?
Did you see the guy across from us?
- He was totally checking me out.
- Oy abroch... Oh s..t...
I mean every time that
I would look up...
...I'd see these eyes staring at
me, like some big fat hungry toad.
You'd swear I was a piece of
chocolate cake or something.
He is hot and all but I don't
think I'll get on that.
Any luck getting your mom laid?
Last night, she went out
with Dr. Zilberstein again.
He's perfect, he's friendly, he's
smart. He's got a great job.
I mean, we all get sick, and
we'll all keep getting sick...
...science ain't gonna change that.
But you know what? After dinner she
came home and all she had to say...
...was that she's had more exciting
conversations with orangutans.
That's like the third guy
I've tried to set her up with!
I'll never find her a man.
What do you even care?
She just lays in bed all day
reading, smoking and drinking tea.
She always wants to hug and
squeeze me and tell me...
"You too will be 'the most loved
woman in the world'".
She needs to find someone
else to squeeze.
I mean, let my brother be "the
most loved woman in the world"...
- ...I'm done!
- Hey, Alma! What's up?
Hey, Herman!
He's totally into you. Bet you
can get him to give us a ride.
- Wanna go for a ride?
- See?
Don't talk to me, okay?
If I get into your s..y ass car,
I'll throw up. Got it?
Let's go.
Would it have killed you to smile
at him?
Now we're gonna spend like six
thousand years on the bus.
- Hi Misha!
- Was 'sup?
Let's just sit here.
I'm staying, no problem. Zoey has
to leave, she's gotta a date.
I don't have a date!
We just got here!
What, I'm not waiting for you?
Course not! You have a date,
remember?
You want me to take that bus
back by myself? Right now?
Yeah. Just like I will, later.
Call you.
Bye...
Chinese everywhere...
Do you realize we met
3.9 billion years...
...after the first life-form
appeared on this planet?
Ugly...
Russian culture is the richest
and most important in the world.
My mother totally agrees with me.
Clearly. Catherine the Great
keeps coming on to me.
She asked me on Facebook.
Facebook? What happened to IM?
Facebook's better.
Have you ever read Chekhov?
How about Soljenitsyn?
He was in the same gulag as
your grand-parents, wasn't he?
I told her I was taken.
I dropped her, we are not friends.
You're not taken!
Why don't you ever talk about
your grandparents?
Does your brother still think
he's God?
He doesn't think he's God.
He thinks he is a Lamed Vovnik.
It's different.
Catherine is a b..h, she's been
with every guy in my class.
She is trashy and stupid.
What's a Lamed Vovnik?
Why did she choose to name herself
after a Russian Empress?
It's an insult to the culture...
Okay, enough with Russia already.
I'm the Russian here.
A Lamed Vovnik is one of the
36 anonymous holy men...
...called "the Righteous" that hold
the world on their shoulders...
...thereby saving it.
Why do you keep staring at
these girls...
...if you think they are
all so ugly?
Russian culture is built
on observation.
Let's go for a swim?
I don't have my swimsuit.
Take your sweater off,
you're going to melt.
Zdravstzye, Misha.
Zdravstzye.
Mr. Filipov.
He told my mom you were
my girlfriend.
Hi there.
Did you ever get The History
of Love?
Mr. Gurski, you have asked me every
week since I have know you.
The book does not exist.
I have your phone number, if it
is ever published, I will call you.
Would you mind checking again?
Maybe it's just come out?
Nothing. It does not exist.
Will you call me if...
Mom?
Mom?
I'm here! I'm here!
How are you sweetie?
Come here and give me a kiss!
There's no more Coke, there's
nothing left to eat or drink!
You are in charge of shopping,
so just go out and buy stuff.
You haven't paid
the electricity bill...
...we got a reminder and a warning,
they're going to cut us off!
Get your brother down here,
I have some good news!
Alma, go get Bird!
Give me a kiss!
No...
- Bird?
- What?
Can't you at least try to be
normal?
I do what I want.
Everyone I know keeps asking
about you.
I don't want people to think
I'm like you.
Come on! Come on! Sit down!
Come on, sit down!
I have amazing news!
What is the greatest book
on earth?
- Facebook.
- The Torah.
Someone wants me to translate
the greatest book ever written!
The one that your father offered me
when I turned 25.
I am so excited,
I'm going to burst!
How could this man have known this?
Let me read this to you. It was
posted from Venice, Italy.
My publisher forwarded it to me.
Can I have the stamps?
Yeah, we'll talk about it later,
okay sweetie?
Just listen, this is amazing!
"Dear Ms. Singer...
...I just finished reading
your translation...
...of the poems of Nicanor Parra."
A poet I indeed translated.
"The truth is, I'm writing to make
what might seem an odd request.
In the introduction to
your translation...
...you made reference to
the writer Zvi Litvinoff...
...who escaped from Poland
to Chile in 1942...
...and his sole published work,
written in Spanish...
...and never translated into
English, is called...
...La Historia del Amor.
"The History of Love"!
Isn't that crazy?
It's the very same book...
- ...that Dad gave you...
- You just said that.
- When you turned 25.
- ...and that inspired us...
Mom, we know!
You told us a thousand times!
And that the author keeps calling
the woman he's in love with...
..."the most loved woman in
the world".
Yes..."the most loved woman
in the world."
Dear Madame, my question is:
Would you consider translating
it into English?
I'd be willing to pay whatever
you think is right for this work.
I always find these matters
awkward. Could we say...
...a hundred thousand dollars?"
A hundred thousand dollars?!
He is nuts! I would do it for free!
A hundred thousand dollars!
Can you imagine?
Oh and let me carry on:
"If that strikes you as too little,
please let me know."
Ask for a hundred and
fifty thousand dollars.
That's a sin!
This suits me fine, just fine!
Too fine, actually.
But who am I to argue?
At least, we're saved!
"I would be grateful if you could
send your response to me here...
...care of the above address,
in New York, in this hotel.
The concierge will know
how to forward it to me.
Yours eagerly, Jacob Marcus."
Jacob Marcus...
Isn't that a true miracle?
Mom, only the Messiah can
perform miracles.
Give us a break!
This way, finally,
it will be in English...
...and finally, you will be able
to read it.
- Do we have to?
- Yeah, it's yours and...
...Dad's love story,
it's none of our business.
You are "the most loved woman
in the world", not me.
But you are, too!
It's a part of your heritage...
...you were named after
the character in this book!
Anyway, since we're going to have
some money, I've made a decision.
You two are going on vacation to
visit Aunt Frances' in London!
Next week.
I've already called her.
- No!
- No! She hates us!
I have to finish the ark!
And I have my drawing class
and my first-aid class.
Children who don't go on vacation,
there's no such thing.
Yes, there is. Us.
We haven't for years!
But that's okay, mom,
we have plenty of stuff to do.
- I'm not leaving.
- Me, neither!
You are so complicated.
In one month,
this will be translated!
Did you read my poems?
Yes. Not bad.
But you can do better.
- Try again.
- Yes.
You are such a pain,
wanting to love...
...the one among us
"who writes best."
There's more to life, you know!
Leo is the one who writes best!
He is going to write a book
about me!
What if we went to Chile
to see Zvi?
With what money?
Look, you are going to continue
to do your art modeling jobs...
...everyday, all over town in
the buff...
...scarring the students along
the way.
And me, I'm going to be
a runway model.
I'm shein, handsome and you're
not, a real meeskite.
We'll have enough for the plane
tickets. Is that for two?
No, just for one.
Go back to your place...
...I'll call you when I'm done
with my dinner.
Alma! Alma!
Hey, what's the matter?
Tell me about Daddy. Please.
I've told you everything.
Again. One more time.
He was an adventurer.
A real one.
Strong man who laughed and
made jokes all the time!
Is it true he was a volunteer
fire-fighter?
Yes.
And he liked to rock-climb.
He was an excellent climber.
Once, he climbed up a steep
rock that was like...
...two hundred feet tall.
In Chile?
No, in Chile, he focused on
something else.
- Dancing.
- He like to dance?
He loved it.
He could even do the tango.
He had learned it in Santiago.
He and Mom danced all the time.
He use to move the coffee
table against the wall...
...and spin her around
the whole room.
He used to lift her and dip her
and sing in her ear.
I never knew Daddy was
a researcher.
What was he looking for?
Happiness, dummy!
Was I there?
Sure you were.
Always.
He used to throw you up in
the air and catch you.
How did he know he wouldn't
drop me?
He just knew.
What did he call me?
Lots of things:
Buddy...
...Little Guy...
...Punch.
What's the thing he called
me the most?
I think it was "The Genius".
Really? You never told me that!
So why don't you believe that
I'm a Lamed Vovnik?
I am one of the thirty-six
holy people.
Without us, the world would
collapse...
...we are carrying it
on our shoulders.
Bird...
I'm normal.
When the Messiah comes, he's going
to be one of the Lamed Vovniks.
In each generation...
...there is one person who has
the potential to be the Messiah.
Maybe the world is ready for him,
or maybe it's not...
Enough already! Go to sleep!
What time is it?
Yes, Bruno!?
Is this Mr. Leopold Gurski?
Well yeah, who else?
I locked myself out of my house
and I am looking for a locksmith.
- So?
- I called Information...
...for the number of a locksmith.
They gave me your number.
It is 2 AM! And I am retired!
Look I already called three
other numbers, nobody answered.
Okay, go ahead.
510 East, 92nd street.
But that's all the way uptown!
Take a cab, I'll pay you back.
Can I have a car?
Yes, right now, when do you
think it's for? Next year?
I'm an old man, even tomorrow
is a long way away for me.
Excuse-me. Credit card?
I lost it. I pay cash.
Go stop somewhere else, you
putz, I'm waiting for a cab!
- Mr. Gurski?
- Yes.
How do you know my name?
- You ordered a car?
- A cab!
Gold Badge Car Service?
You bought new cars,
I can't pay extra!
This way, please.
$85 please.
What?
I don't want to buy the car!
Open the window!
Hey! Mr. Scott?
Can you pay him?
Will you also want a limo to
drive you back?
I mean, what were you,
Mr. Locksmith to the Stars?
Believe me, I'd never mistake
myself for anyone special.
Twenty years ago, they had
Renaults. French cars.
Guess they got richer and
swanky, but it's not my fault.
Capitalism has opened too
many doors, if you ask me.
Hey there you go, sir!
That's great!
- Come in please. Come!
- Oh!
Please come in.
Would you care for some tea?
Have you read it?
I'm his father. He's my son.
His father?
How much do I owe you?
Fifty dollars.
That's it? That cheaper
than the limousine...
Okay... make it a hundred.
Night-time fee.
Shall I make it out to
Mr. Moritz then?
No, Gurski!
Your son kept his mother's name?
Yes, that's it, exactly.
Don't you have cash? I'm terrible
with checks. I keep losing them.
There's a hundred
and twenty for the cab.
Alma! Get the door!
Are you ready?
How are you, Alma?
Going to a wedding?
A funeral.
Alma, is Charlotte home?
Doctor Zilberstein, how many times
I have told you: give it up?
Come on, give me one
last chance.
One, she does not want to see you.
Two, I don't want to see
you anymore either.
You're boring.
Hasn't she made that clear to you?
I only sold 10 cups of lemonade!
- Can't you say hi?
- Hi.
- Hi!
- I told you to get the groceries!
Lamed Vovniks don't do groceries.
Alma, I don't understand.
Alma, you introduced us.
Well, I shouldn't have.
It was a bad idea. Goodbye!
- Who was it?
- Bird!
He has a key!
Stop getting the door for him.
And hurry up, we're late!
I can go on my own!
I haven't left the house
in three days!
- Shalom!
- Happy Birthday!
I'm Alma's mother.
Zdravstzye, Misha.
Zdravstzye?
What a handsome young man
you are...
Bye Mom.
See you later, sweetie.
Have fun....
- Yes.
- Well did he try to...
...make out with you yet?
He hasn't said a word to me
all night.
Well as soon as it gets dark,
jump his bones.
Guess what? I found a guy
for my mother.
An aristocrat.
He lives in Venice, Italy...
...travels a lot, loves literature
and just sent us a twenty-five...
...thousand dollar check that
is in my pants right now.
What the hell are you doing with
twenty-five thousand dollars...
- ...at Misha's birthday?
- Don't worry.
He's going to send us a total of
a hundred thousand dollars...
...in four installments,
each time we send him...
...a quarter of the translation.
At least that effing book won't
be just a pain in the butt!
- "We?"
- Well, yeah.
I'm going to thank him
for my mother.
I have a plan. I think this is
the guy for us!
Okay!
Gotta go.
So you piss like the rest
of us, huh?
- What?
- Nothing.
Mom! You said "30 minutes"
an hour ago!
I'm turning grey!
Hurry up, I'm...
Come!
You are my girlfriend...
...I am your boyfriend.
I think I found
a guy for my mom...
I'd rather we just stay friends...
What? Are you crazy? "Friends"?
We're not in a 19th century
kindergarden!
You're nuts about him!
I bet you he'll have taken
that for a "no".
Russians are proud, you idiot!
I don't want him to think I'm easy.
He's been working on this
for six damn months!
You say no when there are three
girls for every boy in this place?
When girls are giving blow jobs
in the bathrooms just to exist?
Open your eyes,
it's a war out there!
Call him. Tell him you love him.
Tell him he's your guy!
Not happening!
The decision has been made...
...she is leaving for New York.
The Germans are less than
200 miles away.
We are all going to die.
If you love her, Leo,
you must let her go.
Hopefully, one day,
when you have enough money...
...you two will meet again.
Over there.
You should never have accepted.
You will forget me...
Even dead, I will not forget you.
Alma sit down.
You said I would be the first,
so marry me before you go!
Just tell me: "I am your wife".
I promise you,
I shall make you laugh...
...your entire life,
day and night.
At night, I sleep.
Leo, we will get married.
In New York.
Promise me,
you are not going to die.
You will come.
You will live!
For me.
I promise you.
Now, is Zvi a better writer
than I am?
What?
The other day, Bruno read
you a poem...
...that you seemed to like
very much.
Well, he lied to you.
He didn't write it, Zvi did.
You said Zvi's poems were bad.
Now you like them?
So, is Zvi a better writer than me?
My love...
...you will write
to me every week...
and with each letter...
...you will send a chapter from
your book about me.
You are the best writer!
I can't remember: Doesn't three
knocks mean "I'm dead"?
No, one knock: "I'm dead",
two knocks: "I'm okay"...
...three knocks: "I want to talk".
Two knocks is stupid.
If you're okay, why tell me?
So you don't worry. You're Jewish,
you worry, I feel sorry for you.
You're the one who worries
thinking I am worrying.
Anyway, what did you want
to talk about?
- He hasn't called me.
- Who hasn't?
My son. He got the manuscript
a week ago!
I know!
I sent it special delivery!
Why don't you go see him and
tell him you're his father?
Sending him your autobiographical
manuscript...
...is the dumbest thing you could
do, he must get ten a day...
...it probably landed in the trash.
Actually, why did you wait until
now to send it to him?
I finished it only recently.
And I didn't have a title.
Mazel Tov!
So what's the title?
Words For Many Things.
So go and tell him Words
For Many Things!
Still. Come on, admit it.
It's strange when a son doesn't
call his own father back.
I can't believe it!
You can't be his father since
he doesn't know he's your son.
All he has to do is read the
manuscript!
It's in the trash!
O O O O....
Hey Alma, this isn't some drunk
hookup on Friday night!
Come on do it seriously! In the
real world, he'd be dead already!
Listen up everybody; in this
kind of situation, time is crucial.
Remember that! Otherwise pttt...
Goodbye, victim!
All right let's Go!
Hey Jake, see you on Friday man!
Good stuff today.
Alma? You okay?
Hey? What's up?
Could I, one day,
come during a real fire?
- You want to burn?
- I want to help.
Okay. Let me see
what I can do alright?
See you Friday?
- What are you doing here?
- I didn't know he...
Okay I gotta go, I have a date.
If you have a date, why did you
come?
Can you just give us a moment?
- Uh yeah. I'll call you later.
- Stay!
I don't understand why we should
stay friends.
When I kissed you, you kissed
me right back.
And I didn't just dream it,
you actually seemed to like it.
So do you like me or not?
Okay, we'll kiss again, and then
we'll have sex, and then what?
- What? You're crazy.
- Love stories never last.
- Look around you. Right, Zoey?
- Yeah...
Oh whatever! Is that why you're
giving mouth-to-mouth...
...during those crappy
exercises of yours?
Stay out of this Zoey!
Hey! She likes you,
what's your problem?
No I don't!
What are you talking about?
I like him as a friend
he doesn't get it.
Friendship is better than love.
No, it's not. Love is better.
- Stay out of this Zoey!
- You told me to stay.
Not to take his side.
You know what? Since the two of you
are so on the same wavelength...
...why don't you guys get together?
Bye.
"Dear Mister Jacob Marcus...
...what an honor to be able
to communicate with you.
I'd like to tell you about our
little tribe...
...so that you can
get a picture of...
...where your book is
getting dressed...
...in English language.
We are an astounding family.
First, let me thank you for
that first check...
...we celebrated it in style,
with the help of Russian music...
...by organizing a very joyful
Slavic Thanksgiving...
...slightly early, a gargantuan
meal, the biggest turkey...
We danced, we laughed,
all thanks to you.
Here are the members of my
little family.
My daughter is brilliant and
incredibly beautiful...
Forgive the subjective point
of view of a mother...
...but that actually does not
bend reality that much...
...she is both literary and
loves the sciences."
She knows everything there
is to know...
...about species and life on earth.
She is very athletic and every day
learns more about...
...how to survive in all
circumstances...
...especially in hostile
environments...
She is funny, sociable and
very intuitive.
My ten-year-old son is five years
younger than she is...
...and he is a visionary:
...he's already very
responsible and...
...is dealing with
his spirituality.
We call him Bird because he
is free, poetic, light...
...and he hovers over the great
questions of the world...
He already behaves like an adult...
...whilst retaining his juvenile
innocence.
As for me, I am raising these two
beautiful children with happiness.
I love literature,
going to shows...
...traveling...
...cooking...
...savoring delicious dishes
and, from time to time...
...a good French wine.
My children say I am very
beautiful...
...please be assured that
I am fully aware...
...that time has had
its effect on me...
...even if their subjective
statements flatter me.
I love sincere friendships
that last...
...not like those of today's
youth...
...who choose superficially
in the moment...
...and who can't stop declaring
all over their love for you.
No doubt I am boring you.
It would give us a great
pleasure if, one evening...
...you'd accept to have dinner
with us.
Yours truly, Charlotte Singer.
Alma! Turn off that crazy music!
Alma!
That's hurting my ears! Your
son never listened to such crap.
That's just noise, not music!
How dumb could you be to think
you can be living your life...
...in sync with your son's?
I like it!
And he doesn't listen to
all of this!
Isaac!
I found it!
That's great!
That's not being a father. You have
to live with your son, for real.
Why didn't you ever make him listen
to klezmer? That's real music!
A violin, a clarinet,
an accordion...
Do you realize that because of you,
he'll never know Dudu Fischer?
How can you live with that?
- Dudu Fischer!
- Dudu!
Yeah! Yeah!
O O O!
Dudu Fisher!
You are such a schmuck,
but it's so good to have you!
Hey, are you still selling that
lemonade of yours?
Of course!
One glass?
- Three dollars!
- What?
It used to be fifty cents.
The Deluge is coming,
you have to support the Messiah!
Thanks.
Get what you want... We're old
but we're not invisible.
And we should celebrate that!
I have school tomorrow.
Fits this weekend.
Nazis!
Enjoy.
One Sugar.
- Oh...
- B..d!
It's not a big deal, Sir.
I'm sorry, getting old,
so quickly...
It's okay.
I'll bring you another one.
Here you go.
You're such a b..d!
She is so sweet.
What did the Germans
ever do to you?
Yeah go ahead and lock it down in
a two-block radius on all sides.
Yo Cap, what've we got?
Third floor evacuation and
rescue, let's go!
Okay, boys give me some light.
Okay, we're going in with water,
right now! Come on!
Yo man, throw me a line!
We need to guys inside right now,
boys! Come on!
Let's go.
Let's go.
Third floor boys, come on!
My child! My Child!
Mendez, get your ladder up.
We got a kid on the third floor.
Jeff! Get up there. We have
a kid on the third floor!
Got it!
Shalom! God bless you.
Come in!
Alma? Misha's here!
Come come.
Is Alma here?
No! She isn't here, she's
at her first-aid course.
Do you wanna wait?
She won't be long.
Lemonade?
- Three dollars!
- What?
She really likes you.
She won't tell you 'cause
she's dumb and she's proud.
Promise me you will never
leave her.
I am the man of the house now!
Wake up...
You're home.
- Yes... Thanks.
- Glad you came tonight.
One day you'll do the same.
- You were great.
- Thanks.
- Thank you. Good night.
- Good night.
Thank you for calling your
US postal service.
In a few words tell me
how I can help you today.
You can says things like
"track a package."
So how can help you?
Hello, my name is Leo Gurski.
I sent a package by special
delivery to my son two weeks ago.
The delivery was confirmed,
I got the return receipt...
...but despite the confirmation,
did it get lost?
Was it delivered at the wrong
address?
Please call me back on
917 555-0123.
This is important. Thank you.
The answering machine.
Feh! Lazy bunch!
Don't they ever work?
I was about to go to sleep!
My printer's broken. Can you please
print the translation on yours?
I just finished the first quarter.
Now? You want me to print it now?
Or tomorrow morning.
Send me an email.
Alma, I'm not asking for miracles!
Can you help me, yes or no?
Transfer the file now
on a flash drive!
I must send this to him, we won't
get paid until it is delivered!
Fine...
Thank you.
Don't worry, it's only sex,
not love.
Russians need sex.
He's an a..e!
He may have done it just to
piss you off.
Screw him! And f..k that ho!
Don't worry, okay.
Russians always come back.
Do you want me to come over?
No, it's all good, I'll survive.
Alma Mereminski!
Alma Mereminski!
Alma Mereminski!
- Hurry up, we have to leave!
- No...
I'll be there as soon as
I have the money.
And I will write to you.
Just answer me,
don't keep me in the dark.
Your novel: one chapter
with every letter!
I promise.
I love you...
- Almouska, Almouska...
- Alma Mereminski, we have to leave!
- Go...
- No.
Go! Go!
Go, go. Go, Almouska, go!
Mama enough.
Mama! Enough, enough...
Please, please go.
I love you!
I love you! I love you, Alma!
I love you!
I love you!
I love you, Leo! I love you!
I don't want to be named
Alma anymore!
That shtetl name and that story...
...about the "most loved woman
in the world"...
...it's all b..t.
I don't want to be loved!
Love only exists in books.
That is not true.
Alma Mereminski really did exist.
She was loved like no other.
I don't give a s..t.
And anyway, how do you know?
Your father had found her.
Did he meet her?
No, he didn't dare.
But everything in this book
is real.
Love is real.
Your father loved me.
Insanely.
No one will ever love me like
he did.
Really?
Then why did he leave?
Your father did not leave you.
He did not leave us.
Cancer took him. Way too soon.
Don't be mad at him...
Give me a kiss.
Oh! How did you become
so grown-up so quickly?
You will be the most loved
woman in the World...
...I promise.
I don't want to hear it anymore!
It's over! Done!
You're wrong, he loves you...
Okay, okay I'll shut up.
Hello. I have to give this package,
in person, to Mr. Jacob Marcus.
He is not here. Leave the package
with me, I shall give it to him.
- Can I get the stamp?
- I can wait...
He is out of the country.
Thank you, sir.
Okay, let's wait. As soon as
we turned our backs...
...the concierge picked up
the phone.
I'm sure he's here.
Hello, John!
- George...
- Hi there.
- I believe you've something for me?
- Yes, I do.
Wrong! Jacob Marcus is a woman.
Sir, are you getting on?
No, thank you, I get sea sick.
America!
Adank, thank you.
Excuse me sir, where is this?
Go straight and turn left.
Adank.
Oh, Leo!
Oy veyz mir...
Oh... Leo...
Leo...
Come in, come in...
My God, you're alive...
You're alive!
Wait. Sit down...
I'll be right back.
Sit down, Leo.
Wait for me here, Leo.
- Wait for me here.
- Okay.
- Leo...
- Alma...
My Alma, my love.
- Leo...
- I have missed you so much!
We are together.
We are together.
All these years,
I have thought about you...
...day and night,
year after year.
I survived thanks to you...
...I promised you I'd manage,
and I did.
You kept me alive, you.
I was an animal, but an animal
can't love the way that I did...
...can't think of only
one thing that the way I did.
I survived thanks to
your laughter...
...to your eyes...
...to each freckle on your body...
...thanks to the sweetness of
your hair, thanks to your neck...
...your long fingers your eyebrows.
I am going to be a writer...
...the best writer ever.
I have so many things to tell that
I haven't told anyone. For years.
But you, I will tell
you everything. Just you.
And I'll write books,
lots of books.
Neither too real, nor too
imaginary, like you said.
Just... unimaginable.
You'll be so proud of me Alma...
...I worked like a dog to make
enough money to emigrate...
...I don't know how I did it...
...I didn't know how to walk
anymore, or speak, or even think.
I got a job at the harbor, loaded
bale after bale, like a machine...
...until I could get onto the boat.
Oh...
Alma you are so beautiful, my love,
my most loved woman in the World...
...I want to make love to you,
Alma, I want you...
I am married.
You stopped writing, Leo.
At first, I was getting your
letters, and then nothing.
Nothing!
For years.
Why?
Why?!
I thought you were dead.
And then I learned both our
families had been killed.
A few months after
I arrived in New York...
...I gave birth to a boy.
You are his father.
I called him Isaac.
Like your father.
Your son is called Isaac.
Mordecai Moritz, my husband,
married me to protect me.
I was alone with a child...
...no means,
no news of my family...
...in a country and a city
I did not know.
Put yourself in my place...
That's not him.
That's Bernard...
...Isaac's younger half-brother.
I had a second child with
my husband.
I have two children...
Isaac is not here.
I have a family, Leo.
I'm sorry...
Promise me...
...you will never tell your son
that you are his father...
...it would kill him.
Leo?
Come mit mir.
Come with me.
Please, Alma.
Come with me...
...please, Alma...
Take Isaac and come with me,
please.
Ikh kenen nit. I can't.
Please.
Please, Leo...
Please...
"I waited for something
to happen...
...but nothing did.
No wind that swept everything away.
No heart attack.
No angel at the door..."
Anything else, Alma?
No, thank you.
I got it. It lists every plant,
root, and insect...
...that can be eaten in hostile
environments:
Marine, tropical forest, high
mountains, savannah, desert.
Like, did you know almost all of
the Arctic vegetation is edible?
- I don't care. I just want...
- You don't want anything!
You slept with Catherine, right?
Right.
The question is: why? The answer
is: because "I'm a big a..e...
...and, like all guys...
...I just want to screw the dumb,
hot-looking chick, right now."
I just wanted to piss you off.
You screwed me, you know?
- With that fireman of yours?!
- Who? Jeff?
- What about him?
- He drove you back home...
- ...that night and kissed you!
- No way!
He drove me home, that's it!
- Who told you he kissed me?
- I saw it! With my own eyes!
What were you doing hiding
around my place?
Why didn't you come and see me?
- And no, he didn't kiss me!
- Okay, so he didn't.
- What do you want?
- What do I want from what?
From me! What do you see in me?
You like Russia, not me.
Some far off country stuck
in the snow...
...with white bears, queens and
little Tchekovs everywhere!
You do realize that summer
exists over there, don't you?
Oh, and I know how you love that
story about my grandparents...
...who were deported to Siberia
by Stalin...
...two Jewish heroes:
Moses and Mosesette.
But that is not me,
I didn't survive anything.
I only know Siberia from photos.
I was born in Moscow, the Russian
New York before they cleaned it up.
My parents were scientists
that earned money...
...and happily polluted Russia.
It was their revenge for having
grown up in Siberia.
They showered me in love and
offered me the best gift ever:
America.
Don't you want us to be friends
anymore?
No, I don't want us to be friends!
In love, yes!
But I want you to love me!
I can't take your crazy
survival s..t anymore.
You have to live life, not
survive it.
You know, take a good look at
your mom, 'cause one day...
...you'll be exactly like her! So
save yourself. First and foremost.
I hope to be like my mother
my whole life!
You don't know her, she is the
most loved woman in the world!
Strong, fulfilled and bright!
My father loved her like
no other could.
There is no more love today,
only war!
I don't want to love,
and I don't want to be loved!
I want to be with you.
I want us to be together.
There's no one to save, nobody is
threatening us, there's no war on!
Oh yes there is.
War never ends...
Leave me alone! You don't
understand anything about love.
Love isn't a "like" on Facebook.
Love is a story from
the beginning, with no end.
Just leave me alone...
You know what?
When I'm with Catherine,
I feel, well, great.
She may be brain-dead, but at least
she doesn't have anything to say...
...but she knows what she wants,
and that's relaxing.
You, one day it's black,
one day it's white.
Well, that's me all right!
Okay then.
Bye!
- Yes.
- So?
He changed his Facebook status
back to "single". Isn't that great?
I screwed up!
Hello. Here is five hundred and
forty one dollars and fifty cents.
Give me a one-way ticket to
Jerusalem, please!
Hello. You mean Tel-Aviv?
- No, Jerusalem!
- There is no airport in Jerusalem.
And the ticket is seven hundred.
It hasn't been five forty for
quite a while.
Are you traveling alone?
There is an airport in Jerusalem!
Why are you so keen on going to
Jerusalem?
Can you keep a secret?
I am a lamed vovnik and
maybe even the Messiah.
Aren't there any discounts?
If you're a lamed vovnik...
...can't you make the plane ticket
cost five hundred forty?
I'm sorry. Come with me.
"Mum, Alma...
...there is going to be a deluge...
...you don't have to worry
because I built you an Ark.
Alma, you know where it is.
You must survive.
I love you, Bird."
He is not answering, it goes
straight to voicemail!
Alma, why don't you ever know
where your brother is?!
Where is his Ark?
There is nothing here!
Has anyone seen him!?
No! No one!
Have you seen my little brother?
Oh, my God, oh, my Bird...
- Leave me alone!
- Bird!
I'm sorry. Thank you, gentlemen.
Please come in.
Can I get you something to drink?
A cup of tea?
No, thank you, Ma'am.
We just have a few documents
for you to sign.
Everybody thinks it's easy to be
a Lamed Vovnik.
But we have to carry the world
on our shoulders.
Nobody sees the Deluges: yet they
are threatening us from all sides:
You don't have a boyfriend
so you spend your time...
...hanging out with Zoey.
Mom doesn't have a husband...
...so she smokes and works in
the yard...
...and is going to die from cancer.
Auschwitz.
The bums that sleep on the street,
even in winter.
Rwanda.
Congo.
Children who don't have
any parents left.
Famine in Africa.
The girl in my class
who is missing a finger.
Aids.
Cambodia.
Mad cow disease.
Wars just about everywhere...
No! That's my son's Ark!
That's my son's Ark!
Hey... hey!
No! It's not yours!
Don't destroy it.
- It's okay!
- No! It's not yours!
No! That's my son's Ark!
You're not responsible for
any of that, Bird.
You can't save the world.
Can you?
I just want to save my neighbor
and fellow man.
Through science.
Did science save Dad?
He survived everything,
except illness.
My Bird...
I promise you, everything is
going to be okay.
Jacob Marcus is a pseudonym.
The guy's name is Isaac Moritz...
...he's a writer, the son of
Alma Mereminski.
And my name is?
Uh...
Okay, hello, you're too slow, I'll
spell it out for you some time.
Anyway, everything is linked,
it's great!
S..t.
Alma, here let me help.
Isaac Moritz, Isaac Moritz, Isaac
Moritz. Why you reading all this?
The writer's alive so he can't be
any good, huh?
You can only win a Nobel prize
when you're dead, is that it?
"The Remedy"...
That rings a bell...
- He's the son of...
- Of?
Of his mother, Mrs. Moritz.
These are for you.
Thank you.
Jacob Marcus is sending us
the balance.
Isn't it amazing there are still
honest people left in the world?
We'll have gotten a hundred
thousand dollars...
...and I haven't even sent
the last quarter.
Oh didn't you say you need
new shoes?
No, I'm okay.
He says he is unwell and asks us
to send the end of the work...
...directly to his place.
He is unwell? Show me.
When the translation is finished,
will you read it?
I don't know.
"Hello! Do you speak German"
- "Oh yes!
- I don't, but I speak Yiddish.
"Do You understand?"
A coffee, please. Espresso.
There you go.
I'm sorry. Ach! Old age.
What an idiot I am!
Ya! Ya! If only I could die.
Don't say that, Sir,
you are still young.
Really, you think?
Will you come to my funeral?
Um...
There you go, Sir.
Would you like me to take
it to a table for you?
No, no, this is fine.
Hello, Bruno?
Isn't it good to be alive?
No, thank you, I don't want
to buy anything.
I'm not trying to sell you
anything! Listen...
...I was sitting here
in the coffee shop...
...drinking a coffee
in front of this...
...shayna maidel with
orange hair...
...and suddenly it hit me.
- Who hit you?
- The truth!
It hit me how good it is to
be alive. Alive!
And I was dying to tell you.
I mean, I didn't want to die
before telling you.
Do you understand what I am saying?
I am saying life is a thing
of beauty, Bruno.
A thing of beauty and
a joy forever.
Sure, whatever you say, Leo.
Life is a beauty.
And a joy forever!
All right. And a joy.
Forever!
"S..t! F..g old b..d!"
Does that mean you are
alive or dead?
Alive!
Two knocks is "alive"!
I told you a thousand times,
you old fart!
Even in zero gravity...
...the shuttle astronauts and
her cosmonauts counterparts...
...felt a great weight.
That's the shuttle's docking ring
at the bottom of the screen...
...the Russian Mir approaching
from above.
After make her safety
checks shuttle's...
...commander, Robert Gibson...
...opens the shuttle's hatch.
There were warm greetings
from the Mir's crew...
...especially for US astronaut
Norman Fager...
...who's has now spent
a 107 days as...
I am not at home,
please leave me a message. Beep!
Leo, it's Alma.
I know, I shouldn't...
Alma?
Hello?
Leo?
This isn't an answering machine?
No, it's me...
I'm screening.
Are you okay?
It's been...
Leo, I need to see you.
Come in.
Leo...
Almouska!
You've gone back to school...
...you want to be a doctor?
My Leo!
You know I can't take these
flowers, he would see them!
He won't see anything.
I'll take them with me when I leave
and I'll bring them back every day.
Please don't.
You are so beautiful.
May I get changed your
sheets now?
There we go.
If I were to die...
From laughter or from choking
on this schnorrer food?
Listen to me, Leo,
this is serious.
If I were to die,
you must promise me two things.
One, don't stay alone...
...go find yourself someone.
And two...
...never tell Isaac
you are his father.
It's good this place is
also a hospital.
They'd never make it
as a restaurant.
Leo, this is serious!
Say it.
I promise.
Leo,
did you finish the book?
You know, those first chapters...
...I read them all to my son,
in Yiddish...
...every night
efore falling asleep.
"Sick with love,
his noise of boots...
...noise of canons
had been the emptiness...
...this perpetual fall
since Alma had left.
Is there a remedy, he wondered...
...a remedy for love...
...for the madness of men that
turns beauty into a deluge..."
My love, my Almouska...
...you were right to leave...
...I miss you, but I am happy
to know you are far from here.
War is raging on...
...the Schors are dead...
...families are escaping
to Russia.
I continue to work in Minsk.
I will soon have enough money
to come to America...
Here is a new chapter of the book.
Tell me what you think of it.
I love you, I love you,
I love you...
...Leo.
How could I not have finished it?
Of course I did.
For you.
But why didn't you send it to me?
It was during the war, the postal
service wasn't working.
And after...
But what?
Here is my manuscript, Zvi.
Take it with you, don't lose it.
You'll send it back to me once
I get to New York.
If I die, send it to Alma
at this address.
A few years ago...
...I wrote to Zvi in Chile to ask
him to send me my manuscript.
An ocean of desperation...
...without any hope to repopulate
my heart with your joys...
...with your fears...
...with your words...
...with your kisses.
But to see you again, my love...
...would be a life without death...
...a story without end...
...our story of love...
You're a genius!
"My dear Zvi, here is the address
to which you have to send it.
My dear Zvi, here is the address to
which you have to send it.
Thanks again for having saved my
History of Love.
Thanks again for having saved my
History of Love.
I hope to see you again soon,
now you have my address...
...I have yours,
your friend, Leo."
His wife told me the manuscript
had been lost in a flood.
"Regarding the History of Love
manuscript...
...it has been destroyed
in a flood.
Zvi is not well,
he sends his regards."
No flood can erase
The History of Love.
No, Ma'am.
I so badly wanted to know
how it ended.
So where's the problem Almouska?
I know the end by heart.
Next time, I'll tell you.
"My dear son, my name is
Leo Gurski.
I am your father.
I am starting to write to you,
to tell you my life...
...today when I learn that my
story of love with your mother...
...my dear Alma...
...has been taken by a flood.
I had written a book to your
mother.
It was called
'The History of Love'.
The book is dead. Gone.
Swept away by the raging waters.
From the wreckage rise these
words for you, my son.
Here I go:
"Once upon a time, there was
a boy...
Almouska,
why did you do that?
Why, God?!
Why?!
Why?!
Bruno?
Bruno Leibovitch!
- Leo?
- You, here, in New York?!
In New York! America! Leo!
- Do you live in New York?
- In Brooklyn.
- Bruno, do you know what?
- What?
You are manna fallen from the sky.
I just promised Alma not to
stay alone.
Call it a sign,
guess I'll make do with you!
Alma... What else did you
promise her?
It doesn't matter. A room just
became vacant in my building...
...right above mine. It's cheap.
What do you think?
Become my next door neighbor!
- Where is it?
- Eldridge Street.
Chinatown? There are no Jews
left over there, they've all gone.
Nope, there is still one, me!
Now there will be two of us.
You don't look so good, you know.
Actually, you look like death
warmed over.
I just lost my wife.
Hello sir, and what size are you?
I don't know. Not too big.
What you see is what you get,
I'm not going to grow anymore.
Not expensive.
A suit that you can't sell.
Please. Please, come with me.
Make yourself comfortable.
Fits you like glove.
Like it was made for you.
You so handsome, she going
to worship you!
Keep in mind, though,
she hasn't seen me in years...
...I don't want to be a schnorrer.
Ah, well - if you like,
for little extra...
...I could take it in just
a drop here.
- When would it be ready?
- Two days.
- No, no. How much is it?
- Two hundred.
Two hundred what?
No alteration,
I'll give you one hundred.
We're brothers: Jews and Gypsies.
We both were...
I am Indian, not Gypsy.
But okay for one hundred.
I just finished the translation.
I'll send it!
Uh?
Wanna go for a ride?
- Is this a joke?
- No.
You're not gonna puke in the car?
Of course not, I took my pills.
Okay. Give me five minutes.
- Cool huh?!
- Love it!
Do you know how to get there?
They call me GPS:
Greatest Playboy Searcher.
I didn't know you liked the
country.
I'm crazy about the country!
I love to lie in the grass.
Mr. Moritz was born in
New York's Lower East Side...
...in 1942
to immigrant parents.
Let me bow before the pain of
Mordeca, his father...
...and Bernard, his brother,
who are here with us today.
Isaac Moritz's novels, so
profoundly Jewish...
...are remarkable for
their sense of humor...
...that humor that allow us
to fight against despair.
Despite the darkness...
...the Jewish people have never
stopped looking for the light.
Isaac's signature character,
his alter ego, Jacob Marcus...
...has been with us
and will continue...
...to live in our hearts forever.
Unfortunately, the life of its
creator never found its Remedy.
I confess it was not always
easy living in the shadow...
...of a well-known novel write
and personality.
I was Isaac's brother.
But how I admired him.
I admitted that at many times...
...I felt powerless over
Isaac's despair...
...which consumed him.
He withdrew me away making me
feel like an outsider.
Our mother's death tore him apart.
It destroyed him.
But I will always keep the
memories of our happy childhood...
...in my heart and mind.
Got two places left.
Hillary come with us.
Hello. Are you a relative of
Isaac's?
I was. And you?
I'm Hillary, his publisher.
Where are we going?
To his house.
Is this field of yours still
a long way away?
Next exit. We're nearly there.
There's this house.
The house is empty?
No, my mom's boyfriend is there.
His name is Isaac Moritz.
He's a nice guy, you'll see.
It's a really big house.
Oh hello! Do you remember me?
Were we in high school together?
No. The Greco Art School!
You came to pose.
You filled out the form for me.
Did you know the deceased or
did you come to be watched?
To be watched.
Whose place is this,
who lives here?
Bernard Moritz, brother of
the deceased.
Do you know where
the restrooms are?
Upstairs.
There's nobody here.
Do you have the keys?
Wait up, I'll be back in a sec!
I'm sorry. I didn't know
anyone was here.
I come from Slonim.
I was a friend of Isaac's mother...
...of your mother.
Alma Mereminski.
We knew each other in the
Shtetl, in Poland.
Oh, I'm so glad!
She used to tell us about it.
So many stories.
Since you knew her back then,
I have something to show you.
That's me and my girlfriend,
kissing in the Shtetl...
...when I was young.
That's my Alma from the book.
She's beautiful.
It's raining.
Take another one, Leo was hidden!
I'm sure you can hardly see him.
No, it's raining.
Take your hat!
Did you know her well?
We were cousins.
Distant.
Which side?
Both.
Wake up!
He stole it!
- What?
- Shmock!
Your son stole your book
Words For Many Things.
He's going to publish it under
his name! How crazy is that?
You write your first book about
Alma, it gets stolen by Zvi. Idiot!
You write another book about
yourself for your son...
...it also gets stolen. And by who?
By that son!
Mazel Tov! Schlemazl!
See? He read it!
He figured out I was his father!
He stole your book! And they're
saying it's his best work!
- Call them!
- Do you realize...
...Isaac and I are finally
reunited...
...in the same book,
in the same story!
What story? You've never lived
the same story.
You never did anything together.
He must have made a copy,
he didn't send your manuscript.
S..t, go to his house and
get your manuscript back.
Claim it, let people know
you exist and that it's yours!
Hello, we met at his funeral...
Yes I remember. What can I do
for you?
My name is Leo Gurski,
I am Isaac Moritz's father.
Could you please give me
a copy of his latest book?
What? Tell her you wrote it!
Very funny.
Leo Gurski is the leading
character's name in the book.
Funny, it's a great prank,
but I have work to do.
Besides, the book isn't out yet, we
are still in the galleys stage...
...and I just got off the phone
with Mr. Moritz, the real father.
Show her your I. D, damn it!
Maybe then she'll believe you.
- I don't have it on me.
- Shlamazzel!
I don't understand any of this.
So, Mr. Donald Duck...
...or whoever you
prefer to be today...
...in a months time, you can go
to any bookstore you like...
...and buy the book yourself...
...like the good boy that I am
sure you are!
I may not live that long. And I
want to read what it says about me.
Well, we'll see you at the next
funeral perhaps? Have a good day!
You let her get away with it?
Yes, I did. That book reached
its goal.
My son learned I am his father.
- End of story!
- And The History of Love.
Did that reach its goal?
Alma never read it, it disappeared
in a flood, my ass!
You don't even have a single line
left from your book of your life!
You are robbed of everything!
Your wife, your son, your books...
...your possible future lives!
And you know what? Yeah, I slept
with Alma at the shtetl!
You suspected it? Well, don't.
Yes, I slept with her. Happy now?
Do you remember the day
we met in New York?
I told you I had just lost my wife.
My wife was Alma,
I was seeing her at the hospital
behind her husband's back!
You were going to the hospital
behind my back?
You were not her husband,
Mordecha was!
No, Alma was mine
and she will be forever!
Yeah, your wonderful
History of Love!
Psha! You schmuck!
Then let me tell you something too.
On her deathbed, Alma made me
promise never to live alone.
I gave her my word.
She wanted me to find a wife.
I cheated.
I invented you instead to keep me
company. Just to please her!
And because I thought you'd be less
cumbersome than a regular wife!
Oy veh, what a mistake!
How stupid of me to choose you!
Don't you get it? You don't exist!
Therefore, you couldn't go to
the hospital behind my back...
...I invented you after she died!
So go back to your grave!
You're just worms!
If I don't exist then nobody
in your life does...
No more son, no more wife,
no more friend!
Die! Go to your son's and
get your manuscript...
...better yet: you should die
while you're at Isaac's...
...holding your only masterpiece
against your chest!
Arshloch!
Disappear!
It is raining again today.
Raining in our hearts.
It is a very difficult moment
for all of us.
Today, we bury our son,
our friend...
...Bruno Leibovitch...
...murdered by the Nazis
at the young age of 19...
Our thoughts are with Shlomo
and Esther, his parents...
Lea and Avishag, his sisters...
...Leo and Zvi, his best friends.
Come with me to Chile,
they're going to kill us all.
They killed all Jews in Staszow!
I'm going to New York, Zvi.
As soon as I have the money.
They'll never kill me!
- There you go.
- Thank you
Have a good day.
Words For Many Things
By Leo Gurski
"My dear son...
...my name is Leo Gurski...
...I am your father.
I am starting to write to you to
tell you my life...
...today, when I learn that my
story of love with your mother...
...my dear Alma, has been taken
by a flood...
...a deluge.
I had written a book to your
mother.
It was called:
The History of Love.
The book is dead, gone...
...swept away by the raging waters.
Who knows if one day a miracle may
bring it back from the past?
- From the wreckage rise...
- From the ashes of this book...
...rise these words for you.
My son.
Here I go.
Once upon a time there was a boy.
His name was Leo Gurski.
He lived in a village
that no longer exists...
...on the edge of a field
that no longer exists...
...in a house that
no longer exists.
Where everything was discovered...
...and everything was possible.
Then, later, everything became
impossible.
I have the last part of The History
of Love. Call me... Alma
You know, if you helped me with
the washing and the groceries...
...you'd have less time to...
..."carry the entire world
on your shoulders."
A Lamed Vovnik doesn't do
that stuff.
Well, Lamed Vovniks had better
change...
...'cause they're really getting
on my nerves!
Alma, your phone!
Turn off the water!
- Yes?
- You left me a note.
You have The History of Love?
I do.
- Only the end?
- No.
- All of it?
- Yes.
Can we meet tomorrow at 4 pm
in Central Park?
Yes.
Would the bench next to
Sheep Meadows field...
...and the Pain Quotidien
restaurant be okay?
Yes.
Alma, are you okay?
Yes...
Do you know the secret of "the
most loved woman in the world?"
How do you become one?
You don't. Either you are
or you're not.
How do you know if you are?
I'll tell you.
Time has come for me
to tell you everything.
I'll be wearing a floral dress.
See you tomorrow. Bye
S..t! Where is my floral dress?!
Bird, did you take my floral dress?
Lamed vovniks don't wear
floral dresses!
Ma! Did you see my floral dress?
Since when do you wear dresses?
I can't find my floral dress,
can you lend me yours?
- Is it for Misha?
- I'll tell you later.
Can I borrow it, or not?
Write to her, dumb-ass!
Write to her!
She loves you, write to her!
You promised me you would love her!
Write to her! Now!
Miracle! I am a Lamed Vovnik!
I'm a Lamed Vovnik!
I'm a Lamed Vovnik!
Hi.
Hi.
Are you Isaac Moritz?
No, his father.
His father?
Alma Mereminski's husband?
Not the husband, her lover.
Leo?
How old are you?
With or without the sale's tax?
You survived the war?
I survived everything.
Is it worth surviving everything?
Is it raining?
No, you're crying.
Really?
So, your name is Alma?
Yeah.
Long story...
He lived in a village that
no longer exists...
...in a house that
no longer exists...
...on the edge of a field that
no longer exists...
...where everything was discovered
and everything was possible.
A stick could be a sword.
A pebble could be a diamond.
A tree, a castle.
Once upon a time,
there was a boy...
...who lived in a house across
the field from a girl.
They made up thousands of games.
She was Queen and he was King.
They collected the world
in small handfuls.
Once upon a time there was
a boy who loved a girl...
...and her laughter
was a question...
...he wanted to spend his
whole life answering.
He promised her he would never love
another girl as long as he lived...
It's open!
The coffee! Is it ready shoyn?
Ach! Thinking about her again!
Feh! You haven't made coffee.
Answer my question: did you
sleep with her?
It's been sixty years, dumkop.
Time to move on!
Now get your tuches in gear,
it's 8 am, I want mein coffee.
Did you sleep with her,
yes or no?
Kholerye! Every day the same
question. First: coffee!
I am your slave?
There's a Coffee downstairs.
I bet you did it, you momzer!
Your stew yesterday tasted
like drek, s..t...
...I spent the whole night
throwing up.
Then don't invite yourself
to every meal.
Do you think I like seeing
your face...
...and getting only half the food?
I hate sharing!
- What are you doing?
- I'm looking for a sweater...
...it's freezing in here!
Bandit! I didn't create you!
You're not my son.
Gay avek! Out! Now!
I have to go out.
- Where are you going?
- None of your business.
The coffee shop is still
downstairs.
I'm old, you gonna just sit there?
Have you done this before?
No.
What made you want to do it?
You want I should write this down?
No, I'm just curious.
I've decided to be looked at every
day for at least one hour.
It's the only medicine against
catching death.
Old people, nobody looks at them.
You'll see, if you get there.
Two hours here, I'm ahead of
the game.
So it's not for the money?
If I can be looked at and get paid,
am I going to say no?
How about you?
Are you looked at much?
Yeah? Well, you make the most of it
while you're still young...
...'coz it's sure gonna change.
Not now! I'm busy!
Where are you?
At the Greco Art School, okay?
Have you taken up painting?
No, I'm the model.
The nude model.
You're going to be naked?
Yeah, and they'll all be looking
at me. All ten at a time!
Young people!
Oy veh! You're too ugly.
Have mercy.
You're going to ruin their lesson
and probably screw up their lives!
Do I take my undershirt
and boxers off to?
Yes, please sir.
Leo!
"Keep still."
"Stand together. Don't move now."
Bleib stein, stop moving! Come on.
Steit tzuzamen, side by side!
No. Bruno in the middle,
Leo on the left.
That's good.
Come on, make up your mind!
But you're all so handsome!
You have to pick.
I will marry Leo.
Don't move!
I will marry Leo for the first
ten years.
Bruno, I'll marry you next.
I haven't to done yet.
As for you, Zvi,
I'll marry you last.
You are already old, but you'll
be the best old man ever.
Experienced. Leo and Bruno will
never know how to be old.
You might be dead by then.
You're so wilted already your
days are numbered.
Which means I'll keep her
to myself forever...
Leo, the first one was too real...
...I prefer when you make up
your stories.
Okay, not so good. Just say it.
How about the second one?
The second one, you invented
everything. Too much.
It makes it totally unbelievable.
Okay, so also bad.
Two novels messed up.
No.
You're very gifted.
Why do you write?
To impress you.
Seriously.
I want to describe the world
because...
I don't know... living in a world
that is not described...
- ...is... is too...
- Lonely.
Sad?
You should write about things
that are...
...neither too real nor
too imaginary.
Write about what you know.
What I know best is you.
You're silly.
I don't like drawing.
- What are you doing here then?
- I'm just keeping her company.
Your parents are paying for
this class!
What do you care?
Her parents are super rich!
Sir! Keep still!
Oy vey iz mir, someone stole
my boxers!?
Did you see the guy across from us?
- He was totally checking me out.
- Oy abroch... Oh s..t...
I mean every time that
I would look up...
...I'd see these eyes staring at
me, like some big fat hungry toad.
You'd swear I was a piece of
chocolate cake or something.
He is hot and all but I don't
think I'll get on that.
Any luck getting your mom laid?
Last night, she went out
with Dr. Zilberstein again.
He's perfect, he's friendly, he's
smart. He's got a great job.
I mean, we all get sick, and
we'll all keep getting sick...
...science ain't gonna change that.
But you know what? After dinner she
came home and all she had to say...
...was that she's had more exciting
conversations with orangutans.
That's like the third guy
I've tried to set her up with!
I'll never find her a man.
What do you even care?
She just lays in bed all day
reading, smoking and drinking tea.
She always wants to hug and
squeeze me and tell me...
"You too will be 'the most loved
woman in the world'".
She needs to find someone
else to squeeze.
I mean, let my brother be "the
most loved woman in the world"...
- ...I'm done!
- Hey, Alma! What's up?
Hey, Herman!
He's totally into you. Bet you
can get him to give us a ride.
- Wanna go for a ride?
- See?
Don't talk to me, okay?
If I get into your s..y ass car,
I'll throw up. Got it?
Let's go.
Would it have killed you to smile
at him?
Now we're gonna spend like six
thousand years on the bus.
- Hi Misha!
- Was 'sup?
Let's just sit here.
I'm staying, no problem. Zoey has
to leave, she's gotta a date.
I don't have a date!
We just got here!
What, I'm not waiting for you?
Course not! You have a date,
remember?
You want me to take that bus
back by myself? Right now?
Yeah. Just like I will, later.
Call you.
Bye...
Chinese everywhere...
Do you realize we met
3.9 billion years...
...after the first life-form
appeared on this planet?
Ugly...
Russian culture is the richest
and most important in the world.
My mother totally agrees with me.
Clearly. Catherine the Great
keeps coming on to me.
She asked me on Facebook.
Facebook? What happened to IM?
Facebook's better.
Have you ever read Chekhov?
How about Soljenitsyn?
He was in the same gulag as
your grand-parents, wasn't he?
I told her I was taken.
I dropped her, we are not friends.
You're not taken!
Why don't you ever talk about
your grandparents?
Does your brother still think
he's God?
He doesn't think he's God.
He thinks he is a Lamed Vovnik.
It's different.
Catherine is a b..h, she's been
with every guy in my class.
She is trashy and stupid.
What's a Lamed Vovnik?
Why did she choose to name herself
after a Russian Empress?
It's an insult to the culture...
Okay, enough with Russia already.
I'm the Russian here.
A Lamed Vovnik is one of the
36 anonymous holy men...
...called "the Righteous" that hold
the world on their shoulders...
...thereby saving it.
Why do you keep staring at
these girls...
...if you think they are
all so ugly?
Russian culture is built
on observation.
Let's go for a swim?
I don't have my swimsuit.
Take your sweater off,
you're going to melt.
Zdravstzye, Misha.
Zdravstzye.
Mr. Filipov.
He told my mom you were
my girlfriend.
Hi there.
Did you ever get The History
of Love?
Mr. Gurski, you have asked me every
week since I have know you.
The book does not exist.
I have your phone number, if it
is ever published, I will call you.
Would you mind checking again?
Maybe it's just come out?
Nothing. It does not exist.
Will you call me if...
Mom?
Mom?
I'm here! I'm here!
How are you sweetie?
Come here and give me a kiss!
There's no more Coke, there's
nothing left to eat or drink!
You are in charge of shopping,
so just go out and buy stuff.
You haven't paid
the electricity bill...
...we got a reminder and a warning,
they're going to cut us off!
Get your brother down here,
I have some good news!
Alma, go get Bird!
Give me a kiss!
No...
- Bird?
- What?
Can't you at least try to be
normal?
I do what I want.
Everyone I know keeps asking
about you.
I don't want people to think
I'm like you.
Come on! Come on! Sit down!
Come on, sit down!
I have amazing news!
What is the greatest book
on earth?
- Facebook.
- The Torah.
Someone wants me to translate
the greatest book ever written!
The one that your father offered me
when I turned 25.
I am so excited,
I'm going to burst!
How could this man have known this?
Let me read this to you. It was
posted from Venice, Italy.
My publisher forwarded it to me.
Can I have the stamps?
Yeah, we'll talk about it later,
okay sweetie?
Just listen, this is amazing!
"Dear Ms. Singer...
...I just finished reading
your translation...
...of the poems of Nicanor Parra."
A poet I indeed translated.
"The truth is, I'm writing to make
what might seem an odd request.
In the introduction to
your translation...
...you made reference to
the writer Zvi Litvinoff...
...who escaped from Poland
to Chile in 1942...
...and his sole published work,
written in Spanish...
...and never translated into
English, is called...
...La Historia del Amor.
"The History of Love"!
Isn't that crazy?
It's the very same book...
- ...that Dad gave you...
- You just said that.
- When you turned 25.
- ...and that inspired us...
Mom, we know!
You told us a thousand times!
And that the author keeps calling
the woman he's in love with...
..."the most loved woman in
the world".
Yes..."the most loved woman
in the world."
Dear Madame, my question is:
Would you consider translating
it into English?
I'd be willing to pay whatever
you think is right for this work.
I always find these matters
awkward. Could we say...
...a hundred thousand dollars?"
A hundred thousand dollars?!
He is nuts! I would do it for free!
A hundred thousand dollars!
Can you imagine?
Oh and let me carry on:
"If that strikes you as too little,
please let me know."
Ask for a hundred and
fifty thousand dollars.
That's a sin!
This suits me fine, just fine!
Too fine, actually.
But who am I to argue?
At least, we're saved!
"I would be grateful if you could
send your response to me here...
...care of the above address,
in New York, in this hotel.
The concierge will know
how to forward it to me.
Yours eagerly, Jacob Marcus."
Jacob Marcus...
Isn't that a true miracle?
Mom, only the Messiah can
perform miracles.
Give us a break!
This way, finally,
it will be in English...
...and finally, you will be able
to read it.
- Do we have to?
- Yeah, it's yours and...
...Dad's love story,
it's none of our business.
You are "the most loved woman
in the world", not me.
But you are, too!
It's a part of your heritage...
...you were named after
the character in this book!
Anyway, since we're going to have
some money, I've made a decision.
You two are going on vacation to
visit Aunt Frances' in London!
Next week.
I've already called her.
- No!
- No! She hates us!
I have to finish the ark!
And I have my drawing class
and my first-aid class.
Children who don't go on vacation,
there's no such thing.
Yes, there is. Us.
We haven't for years!
But that's okay, mom,
we have plenty of stuff to do.
- I'm not leaving.
- Me, neither!
You are so complicated.
In one month,
this will be translated!
Did you read my poems?
Yes. Not bad.
But you can do better.
- Try again.
- Yes.
You are such a pain,
wanting to love...
...the one among us
"who writes best."
There's more to life, you know!
Leo is the one who writes best!
He is going to write a book
about me!
What if we went to Chile
to see Zvi?
With what money?
Look, you are going to continue
to do your art modeling jobs...
...everyday, all over town in
the buff...
...scarring the students along
the way.
And me, I'm going to be
a runway model.
I'm shein, handsome and you're
not, a real meeskite.
We'll have enough for the plane
tickets. Is that for two?
No, just for one.
Go back to your place...
...I'll call you when I'm done
with my dinner.
Alma! Alma!
Hey, what's the matter?
Tell me about Daddy. Please.
I've told you everything.
Again. One more time.
He was an adventurer.
A real one.
Strong man who laughed and
made jokes all the time!
Is it true he was a volunteer
fire-fighter?
Yes.
And he liked to rock-climb.
He was an excellent climber.
Once, he climbed up a steep
rock that was like...
...two hundred feet tall.
In Chile?
No, in Chile, he focused on
something else.
- Dancing.
- He like to dance?
He loved it.
He could even do the tango.
He had learned it in Santiago.
He and Mom danced all the time.
He use to move the coffee
table against the wall...
...and spin her around
the whole room.
He used to lift her and dip her
and sing in her ear.
I never knew Daddy was
a researcher.
What was he looking for?
Happiness, dummy!
Was I there?
Sure you were.
Always.
He used to throw you up in
the air and catch you.
How did he know he wouldn't
drop me?
He just knew.
What did he call me?
Lots of things:
Buddy...
...Little Guy...
...Punch.
What's the thing he called
me the most?
I think it was "The Genius".
Really? You never told me that!
So why don't you believe that
I'm a Lamed Vovnik?
I am one of the thirty-six
holy people.
Without us, the world would
collapse...
...we are carrying it
on our shoulders.
Bird...
I'm normal.
When the Messiah comes, he's going
to be one of the Lamed Vovniks.
In each generation...
...there is one person who has
the potential to be the Messiah.
Maybe the world is ready for him,
or maybe it's not...
Enough already! Go to sleep!
What time is it?
Yes, Bruno!?
Is this Mr. Leopold Gurski?
Well yeah, who else?
I locked myself out of my house
and I am looking for a locksmith.
- So?
- I called Information...
...for the number of a locksmith.
They gave me your number.
It is 2 AM! And I am retired!
Look I already called three
other numbers, nobody answered.
Okay, go ahead.
510 East, 92nd street.
But that's all the way uptown!
Take a cab, I'll pay you back.
Can I have a car?
Yes, right now, when do you
think it's for? Next year?
I'm an old man, even tomorrow
is a long way away for me.
Excuse-me. Credit card?
I lost it. I pay cash.
Go stop somewhere else, you
putz, I'm waiting for a cab!
- Mr. Gurski?
- Yes.
How do you know my name?
- You ordered a car?
- A cab!
Gold Badge Car Service?
You bought new cars,
I can't pay extra!
This way, please.
$85 please.
What?
I don't want to buy the car!
Open the window!
Hey! Mr. Scott?
Can you pay him?
Will you also want a limo to
drive you back?
I mean, what were you,
Mr. Locksmith to the Stars?
Believe me, I'd never mistake
myself for anyone special.
Twenty years ago, they had
Renaults. French cars.
Guess they got richer and
swanky, but it's not my fault.
Capitalism has opened too
many doors, if you ask me.
Hey there you go, sir!
That's great!
- Come in please. Come!
- Oh!
Please come in.
Would you care for some tea?
Have you read it?
I'm his father. He's my son.
His father?
How much do I owe you?
Fifty dollars.
That's it? That cheaper
than the limousine...
Okay... make it a hundred.
Night-time fee.
Shall I make it out to
Mr. Moritz then?
No, Gurski!
Your son kept his mother's name?
Yes, that's it, exactly.
Don't you have cash? I'm terrible
with checks. I keep losing them.
There's a hundred
and twenty for the cab.
Alma! Get the door!
Are you ready?
How are you, Alma?
Going to a wedding?
A funeral.
Alma, is Charlotte home?
Doctor Zilberstein, how many times
I have told you: give it up?
Come on, give me one
last chance.
One, she does not want to see you.
Two, I don't want to see
you anymore either.
You're boring.
Hasn't she made that clear to you?
I only sold 10 cups of lemonade!
- Can't you say hi?
- Hi.
- Hi!
- I told you to get the groceries!
Lamed Vovniks don't do groceries.
Alma, I don't understand.
Alma, you introduced us.
Well, I shouldn't have.
It was a bad idea. Goodbye!
- Who was it?
- Bird!
He has a key!
Stop getting the door for him.
And hurry up, we're late!
I can go on my own!
I haven't left the house
in three days!
- Shalom!
- Happy Birthday!
I'm Alma's mother.
Zdravstzye, Misha.
Zdravstzye?
What a handsome young man
you are...
Bye Mom.
See you later, sweetie.
Have fun....
- Yes.
- Well did he try to...
...make out with you yet?
He hasn't said a word to me
all night.
Well as soon as it gets dark,
jump his bones.
Guess what? I found a guy
for my mother.
An aristocrat.
He lives in Venice, Italy...
...travels a lot, loves literature
and just sent us a twenty-five...
...thousand dollar check that
is in my pants right now.
What the hell are you doing with
twenty-five thousand dollars...
- ...at Misha's birthday?
- Don't worry.
He's going to send us a total of
a hundred thousand dollars...
...in four installments,
each time we send him...
...a quarter of the translation.
At least that effing book won't
be just a pain in the butt!
- "We?"
- Well, yeah.
I'm going to thank him
for my mother.
I have a plan. I think this is
the guy for us!
Okay!
Gotta go.
So you piss like the rest
of us, huh?
- What?
- Nothing.
Mom! You said "30 minutes"
an hour ago!
I'm turning grey!
Hurry up, I'm...
Come!
You are my girlfriend...
...I am your boyfriend.
I think I found
a guy for my mom...
I'd rather we just stay friends...
What? Are you crazy? "Friends"?
We're not in a 19th century
kindergarden!
You're nuts about him!
I bet you he'll have taken
that for a "no".
Russians are proud, you idiot!
I don't want him to think I'm easy.
He's been working on this
for six damn months!
You say no when there are three
girls for every boy in this place?
When girls are giving blow jobs
in the bathrooms just to exist?
Open your eyes,
it's a war out there!
Call him. Tell him you love him.
Tell him he's your guy!
Not happening!
The decision has been made...
...she is leaving for New York.
The Germans are less than
200 miles away.
We are all going to die.
If you love her, Leo,
you must let her go.
Hopefully, one day,
when you have enough money...
...you two will meet again.
Over there.
You should never have accepted.
You will forget me...
Even dead, I will not forget you.
Alma sit down.
You said I would be the first,
so marry me before you go!
Just tell me: "I am your wife".
I promise you,
I shall make you laugh...
...your entire life,
day and night.
At night, I sleep.
Leo, we will get married.
In New York.
Promise me,
you are not going to die.
You will come.
You will live!
For me.
I promise you.
Now, is Zvi a better writer
than I am?
What?
The other day, Bruno read
you a poem...
...that you seemed to like
very much.
Well, he lied to you.
He didn't write it, Zvi did.
You said Zvi's poems were bad.
Now you like them?
So, is Zvi a better writer than me?
My love...
...you will write
to me every week...
and with each letter...
...you will send a chapter from
your book about me.
You are the best writer!
I can't remember: Doesn't three
knocks mean "I'm dead"?
No, one knock: "I'm dead",
two knocks: "I'm okay"...
...three knocks: "I want to talk".
Two knocks is stupid.
If you're okay, why tell me?
So you don't worry. You're Jewish,
you worry, I feel sorry for you.
You're the one who worries
thinking I am worrying.
Anyway, what did you want
to talk about?
- He hasn't called me.
- Who hasn't?
My son. He got the manuscript
a week ago!
I know!
I sent it special delivery!
Why don't you go see him and
tell him you're his father?
Sending him your autobiographical
manuscript...
...is the dumbest thing you could
do, he must get ten a day...
...it probably landed in the trash.
Actually, why did you wait until
now to send it to him?
I finished it only recently.
And I didn't have a title.
Mazel Tov!
So what's the title?
Words For Many Things.
So go and tell him Words
For Many Things!
Still. Come on, admit it.
It's strange when a son doesn't
call his own father back.
I can't believe it!
You can't be his father since
he doesn't know he's your son.
All he has to do is read the
manuscript!
It's in the trash!
O O O O....
Hey Alma, this isn't some drunk
hookup on Friday night!
Come on do it seriously! In the
real world, he'd be dead already!
Listen up everybody; in this
kind of situation, time is crucial.
Remember that! Otherwise pttt...
Goodbye, victim!
All right let's Go!
Hey Jake, see you on Friday man!
Good stuff today.
Alma? You okay?
Hey? What's up?
Could I, one day,
come during a real fire?
- You want to burn?
- I want to help.
Okay. Let me see
what I can do alright?
See you Friday?
- What are you doing here?
- I didn't know he...
Okay I gotta go, I have a date.
If you have a date, why did you
come?
Can you just give us a moment?
- Uh yeah. I'll call you later.
- Stay!
I don't understand why we should
stay friends.
When I kissed you, you kissed
me right back.
And I didn't just dream it,
you actually seemed to like it.
So do you like me or not?
Okay, we'll kiss again, and then
we'll have sex, and then what?
- What? You're crazy.
- Love stories never last.
- Look around you. Right, Zoey?
- Yeah...
Oh whatever! Is that why you're
giving mouth-to-mouth...
...during those crappy
exercises of yours?
Stay out of this Zoey!
Hey! She likes you,
what's your problem?
No I don't!
What are you talking about?
I like him as a friend
he doesn't get it.
Friendship is better than love.
No, it's not. Love is better.
- Stay out of this Zoey!
- You told me to stay.
Not to take his side.
You know what? Since the two of you
are so on the same wavelength...
...why don't you guys get together?
Bye.
"Dear Mister Jacob Marcus...
...what an honor to be able
to communicate with you.
I'd like to tell you about our
little tribe...
...so that you can
get a picture of...
...where your book is
getting dressed...
...in English language.
We are an astounding family.
First, let me thank you for
that first check...
...we celebrated it in style,
with the help of Russian music...
...by organizing a very joyful
Slavic Thanksgiving...
...slightly early, a gargantuan
meal, the biggest turkey...
We danced, we laughed,
all thanks to you.
Here are the members of my
little family.
My daughter is brilliant and
incredibly beautiful...
Forgive the subjective point
of view of a mother...
...but that actually does not
bend reality that much...
...she is both literary and
loves the sciences."
She knows everything there
is to know...
...about species and life on earth.
She is very athletic and every day
learns more about...
...how to survive in all
circumstances...
...especially in hostile
environments...
She is funny, sociable and
very intuitive.
My ten-year-old son is five years
younger than she is...
...and he is a visionary:
...he's already very
responsible and...
...is dealing with
his spirituality.
We call him Bird because he
is free, poetic, light...
...and he hovers over the great
questions of the world...
He already behaves like an adult...
...whilst retaining his juvenile
innocence.
As for me, I am raising these two
beautiful children with happiness.
I love literature,
going to shows...
...traveling...
...cooking...
...savoring delicious dishes
and, from time to time...
...a good French wine.
My children say I am very
beautiful...
...please be assured that
I am fully aware...
...that time has had
its effect on me...
...even if their subjective
statements flatter me.
I love sincere friendships
that last...
...not like those of today's
youth...
...who choose superficially
in the moment...
...and who can't stop declaring
all over their love for you.
No doubt I am boring you.
It would give us a great
pleasure if, one evening...
...you'd accept to have dinner
with us.
Yours truly, Charlotte Singer.
Alma! Turn off that crazy music!
Alma!
That's hurting my ears! Your
son never listened to such crap.
That's just noise, not music!
How dumb could you be to think
you can be living your life...
...in sync with your son's?
I like it!
And he doesn't listen to
all of this!
Isaac!
I found it!
That's great!
That's not being a father. You have
to live with your son, for real.
Why didn't you ever make him listen
to klezmer? That's real music!
A violin, a clarinet,
an accordion...
Do you realize that because of you,
he'll never know Dudu Fischer?
How can you live with that?
- Dudu Fischer!
- Dudu!
Yeah! Yeah!
O O O!
Dudu Fisher!
You are such a schmuck,
but it's so good to have you!
Hey, are you still selling that
lemonade of yours?
Of course!
One glass?
- Three dollars!
- What?
It used to be fifty cents.
The Deluge is coming,
you have to support the Messiah!
Thanks.
Get what you want... We're old
but we're not invisible.
And we should celebrate that!
I have school tomorrow.
Fits this weekend.
Nazis!
Enjoy.
One Sugar.
- Oh...
- B..d!
It's not a big deal, Sir.
I'm sorry, getting old,
so quickly...
It's okay.
I'll bring you another one.
Here you go.
You're such a b..d!
She is so sweet.
What did the Germans
ever do to you?
Yeah go ahead and lock it down in
a two-block radius on all sides.
Yo Cap, what've we got?
Third floor evacuation and
rescue, let's go!
Okay, boys give me some light.
Okay, we're going in with water,
right now! Come on!
Yo man, throw me a line!
We need to guys inside right now,
boys! Come on!
Let's go.
Let's go.
Third floor boys, come on!
My child! My Child!
Mendez, get your ladder up.
We got a kid on the third floor.
Jeff! Get up there. We have
a kid on the third floor!
Got it!
Shalom! God bless you.
Come in!
Alma? Misha's here!
Come come.
Is Alma here?
No! She isn't here, she's
at her first-aid course.
Do you wanna wait?
She won't be long.
Lemonade?
- Three dollars!
- What?
She really likes you.
She won't tell you 'cause
she's dumb and she's proud.
Promise me you will never
leave her.
I am the man of the house now!
Wake up...
You're home.
- Yes... Thanks.
- Glad you came tonight.
One day you'll do the same.
- You were great.
- Thanks.
- Thank you. Good night.
- Good night.
Thank you for calling your
US postal service.
In a few words tell me
how I can help you today.
You can says things like
"track a package."
So how can help you?
Hello, my name is Leo Gurski.
I sent a package by special
delivery to my son two weeks ago.
The delivery was confirmed,
I got the return receipt...
...but despite the confirmation,
did it get lost?
Was it delivered at the wrong
address?
Please call me back on
917 555-0123.
This is important. Thank you.
The answering machine.
Feh! Lazy bunch!
Don't they ever work?
I was about to go to sleep!
My printer's broken. Can you please
print the translation on yours?
I just finished the first quarter.
Now? You want me to print it now?
Or tomorrow morning.
Send me an email.
Alma, I'm not asking for miracles!
Can you help me, yes or no?
Transfer the file now
on a flash drive!
I must send this to him, we won't
get paid until it is delivered!
Fine...
Thank you.
Don't worry, it's only sex,
not love.
Russians need sex.
He's an a..e!
He may have done it just to
piss you off.
Screw him! And f..k that ho!
Don't worry, okay.
Russians always come back.
Do you want me to come over?
No, it's all good, I'll survive.
Alma Mereminski!
Alma Mereminski!
Alma Mereminski!
- Hurry up, we have to leave!
- No...
I'll be there as soon as
I have the money.
And I will write to you.
Just answer me,
don't keep me in the dark.
Your novel: one chapter
with every letter!
I promise.
I love you...
- Almouska, Almouska...
- Alma Mereminski, we have to leave!
- Go...
- No.
Go! Go!
Go, go. Go, Almouska, go!
Mama enough.
Mama! Enough, enough...
Please, please go.
I love you!
I love you! I love you, Alma!
I love you!
I love you!
I love you, Leo! I love you!
I don't want to be named
Alma anymore!
That shtetl name and that story...
...about the "most loved woman
in the world"...
...it's all b..t.
I don't want to be loved!
Love only exists in books.
That is not true.
Alma Mereminski really did exist.
She was loved like no other.
I don't give a s..t.
And anyway, how do you know?
Your father had found her.
Did he meet her?
No, he didn't dare.
But everything in this book
is real.
Love is real.
Your father loved me.
Insanely.
No one will ever love me like
he did.
Really?
Then why did he leave?
Your father did not leave you.
He did not leave us.
Cancer took him. Way too soon.
Don't be mad at him...
Give me a kiss.
Oh! How did you become
so grown-up so quickly?
You will be the most loved
woman in the World...
...I promise.
I don't want to hear it anymore!
It's over! Done!
You're wrong, he loves you...
Okay, okay I'll shut up.
Hello. I have to give this package,
in person, to Mr. Jacob Marcus.
He is not here. Leave the package
with me, I shall give it to him.
- Can I get the stamp?
- I can wait...
He is out of the country.
Thank you, sir.
Okay, let's wait. As soon as
we turned our backs...
...the concierge picked up
the phone.
I'm sure he's here.
Hello, John!
- George...
- Hi there.
- I believe you've something for me?
- Yes, I do.
Wrong! Jacob Marcus is a woman.
Sir, are you getting on?
No, thank you, I get sea sick.
America!
Adank, thank you.
Excuse me sir, where is this?
Go straight and turn left.
Adank.
Oh, Leo!
Oy veyz mir...
Oh... Leo...
Leo...
Come in, come in...
My God, you're alive...
You're alive!
Wait. Sit down...
I'll be right back.
Sit down, Leo.
Wait for me here, Leo.
- Wait for me here.
- Okay.
- Leo...
- Alma...
My Alma, my love.
- Leo...
- I have missed you so much!
We are together.
We are together.
All these years,
I have thought about you...
...day and night,
year after year.
I survived thanks to you...
...I promised you I'd manage,
and I did.
You kept me alive, you.
I was an animal, but an animal
can't love the way that I did...
...can't think of only
one thing that the way I did.
I survived thanks to
your laughter...
...to your eyes...
...to each freckle on your body...
...thanks to the sweetness of
your hair, thanks to your neck...
...your long fingers your eyebrows.
I am going to be a writer...
...the best writer ever.
I have so many things to tell that
I haven't told anyone. For years.
But you, I will tell
you everything. Just you.
And I'll write books,
lots of books.
Neither too real, nor too
imaginary, like you said.
Just... unimaginable.
You'll be so proud of me Alma...
...I worked like a dog to make
enough money to emigrate...
...I don't know how I did it...
...I didn't know how to walk
anymore, or speak, or even think.
I got a job at the harbor, loaded
bale after bale, like a machine...
...until I could get onto the boat.
Oh...
Alma you are so beautiful, my love,
my most loved woman in the World...
...I want to make love to you,
Alma, I want you...
I am married.
You stopped writing, Leo.
At first, I was getting your
letters, and then nothing.
Nothing!
For years.
Why?
Why?!
I thought you were dead.
And then I learned both our
families had been killed.
A few months after
I arrived in New York...
...I gave birth to a boy.
You are his father.
I called him Isaac.
Like your father.
Your son is called Isaac.
Mordecai Moritz, my husband,
married me to protect me.
I was alone with a child...
...no means,
no news of my family...
...in a country and a city
I did not know.
Put yourself in my place...
That's not him.
That's Bernard...
...Isaac's younger half-brother.
I had a second child with
my husband.
I have two children...
Isaac is not here.
I have a family, Leo.
I'm sorry...
Promise me...
...you will never tell your son
that you are his father...
...it would kill him.
Leo?
Come mit mir.
Come with me.
Please, Alma.
Come with me...
...please, Alma...
Take Isaac and come with me,
please.
Ikh kenen nit. I can't.
Please.
Please, Leo...
Please...
"I waited for something
to happen...
...but nothing did.
No wind that swept everything away.
No heart attack.
No angel at the door..."
Anything else, Alma?
No, thank you.
I got it. It lists every plant,
root, and insect...
...that can be eaten in hostile
environments:
Marine, tropical forest, high
mountains, savannah, desert.
Like, did you know almost all of
the Arctic vegetation is edible?
- I don't care. I just want...
- You don't want anything!
You slept with Catherine, right?
Right.
The question is: why? The answer
is: because "I'm a big a..e...
...and, like all guys...
...I just want to screw the dumb,
hot-looking chick, right now."
I just wanted to piss you off.
You screwed me, you know?
- With that fireman of yours?!
- Who? Jeff?
- What about him?
- He drove you back home...
- ...that night and kissed you!
- No way!
He drove me home, that's it!
- Who told you he kissed me?
- I saw it! With my own eyes!
What were you doing hiding
around my place?
Why didn't you come and see me?
- And no, he didn't kiss me!
- Okay, so he didn't.
- What do you want?
- What do I want from what?
From me! What do you see in me?
You like Russia, not me.
Some far off country stuck
in the snow...
...with white bears, queens and
little Tchekovs everywhere!
You do realize that summer
exists over there, don't you?
Oh, and I know how you love that
story about my grandparents...
...who were deported to Siberia
by Stalin...
...two Jewish heroes:
Moses and Mosesette.
But that is not me,
I didn't survive anything.
I only know Siberia from photos.
I was born in Moscow, the Russian
New York before they cleaned it up.
My parents were scientists
that earned money...
...and happily polluted Russia.
It was their revenge for having
grown up in Siberia.
They showered me in love and
offered me the best gift ever:
America.
Don't you want us to be friends
anymore?
No, I don't want us to be friends!
In love, yes!
But I want you to love me!
I can't take your crazy
survival s..t anymore.
You have to live life, not
survive it.
You know, take a good look at
your mom, 'cause one day...
...you'll be exactly like her! So
save yourself. First and foremost.
I hope to be like my mother
my whole life!
You don't know her, she is the
most loved woman in the world!
Strong, fulfilled and bright!
My father loved her like
no other could.
There is no more love today,
only war!
I don't want to love,
and I don't want to be loved!
I want to be with you.
I want us to be together.
There's no one to save, nobody is
threatening us, there's no war on!
Oh yes there is.
War never ends...
Leave me alone! You don't
understand anything about love.
Love isn't a "like" on Facebook.
Love is a story from
the beginning, with no end.
Just leave me alone...
You know what?
When I'm with Catherine,
I feel, well, great.
She may be brain-dead, but at least
she doesn't have anything to say...
...but she knows what she wants,
and that's relaxing.
You, one day it's black,
one day it's white.
Well, that's me all right!
Okay then.
Bye!
- Yes.
- So?
He changed his Facebook status
back to "single". Isn't that great?
I screwed up!
Hello. Here is five hundred and
forty one dollars and fifty cents.
Give me a one-way ticket to
Jerusalem, please!
Hello. You mean Tel-Aviv?
- No, Jerusalem!
- There is no airport in Jerusalem.
And the ticket is seven hundred.
It hasn't been five forty for
quite a while.
Are you traveling alone?
There is an airport in Jerusalem!
Why are you so keen on going to
Jerusalem?
Can you keep a secret?
I am a lamed vovnik and
maybe even the Messiah.
Aren't there any discounts?
If you're a lamed vovnik...
...can't you make the plane ticket
cost five hundred forty?
I'm sorry. Come with me.
"Mum, Alma...
...there is going to be a deluge...
...you don't have to worry
because I built you an Ark.
Alma, you know where it is.
You must survive.
I love you, Bird."
He is not answering, it goes
straight to voicemail!
Alma, why don't you ever know
where your brother is?!
Where is his Ark?
There is nothing here!
Has anyone seen him!?
No! No one!
Have you seen my little brother?
Oh, my God, oh, my Bird...
- Leave me alone!
- Bird!
I'm sorry. Thank you, gentlemen.
Please come in.
Can I get you something to drink?
A cup of tea?
No, thank you, Ma'am.
We just have a few documents
for you to sign.
Everybody thinks it's easy to be
a Lamed Vovnik.
But we have to carry the world
on our shoulders.
Nobody sees the Deluges: yet they
are threatening us from all sides:
You don't have a boyfriend
so you spend your time...
...hanging out with Zoey.
Mom doesn't have a husband...
...so she smokes and works in
the yard...
...and is going to die from cancer.
Auschwitz.
The bums that sleep on the street,
even in winter.
Rwanda.
Congo.
Children who don't have
any parents left.
Famine in Africa.
The girl in my class
who is missing a finger.
Aids.
Cambodia.
Mad cow disease.
Wars just about everywhere...
No! That's my son's Ark!
That's my son's Ark!
Hey... hey!
No! It's not yours!
Don't destroy it.
- It's okay!
- No! It's not yours!
No! That's my son's Ark!
You're not responsible for
any of that, Bird.
You can't save the world.
Can you?
I just want to save my neighbor
and fellow man.
Through science.
Did science save Dad?
He survived everything,
except illness.
My Bird...
I promise you, everything is
going to be okay.
Jacob Marcus is a pseudonym.
The guy's name is Isaac Moritz...
...he's a writer, the son of
Alma Mereminski.
And my name is?
Uh...
Okay, hello, you're too slow, I'll
spell it out for you some time.
Anyway, everything is linked,
it's great!
S..t.
Alma, here let me help.
Isaac Moritz, Isaac Moritz, Isaac
Moritz. Why you reading all this?
The writer's alive so he can't be
any good, huh?
You can only win a Nobel prize
when you're dead, is that it?
"The Remedy"...
That rings a bell...
- He's the son of...
- Of?
Of his mother, Mrs. Moritz.
These are for you.
Thank you.
Jacob Marcus is sending us
the balance.
Isn't it amazing there are still
honest people left in the world?
We'll have gotten a hundred
thousand dollars...
...and I haven't even sent
the last quarter.
Oh didn't you say you need
new shoes?
No, I'm okay.
He says he is unwell and asks us
to send the end of the work...
...directly to his place.
He is unwell? Show me.
When the translation is finished,
will you read it?
I don't know.
"Hello! Do you speak German"
- "Oh yes!
- I don't, but I speak Yiddish.
"Do You understand?"
A coffee, please. Espresso.
There you go.
I'm sorry. Ach! Old age.
What an idiot I am!
Ya! Ya! If only I could die.
Don't say that, Sir,
you are still young.
Really, you think?
Will you come to my funeral?
Um...
There you go, Sir.
Would you like me to take
it to a table for you?
No, no, this is fine.
Hello, Bruno?
Isn't it good to be alive?
No, thank you, I don't want
to buy anything.
I'm not trying to sell you
anything! Listen...
...I was sitting here
in the coffee shop...
...drinking a coffee
in front of this...
...shayna maidel with
orange hair...
...and suddenly it hit me.
- Who hit you?
- The truth!
It hit me how good it is to
be alive. Alive!
And I was dying to tell you.
I mean, I didn't want to die
before telling you.
Do you understand what I am saying?
I am saying life is a thing
of beauty, Bruno.
A thing of beauty and
a joy forever.
Sure, whatever you say, Leo.
Life is a beauty.
And a joy forever!
All right. And a joy.
Forever!
"S..t! F..g old b..d!"
Does that mean you are
alive or dead?
Alive!
Two knocks is "alive"!
I told you a thousand times,
you old fart!
Even in zero gravity...
...the shuttle astronauts and
her cosmonauts counterparts...
...felt a great weight.
That's the shuttle's docking ring
at the bottom of the screen...
...the Russian Mir approaching
from above.
After make her safety
checks shuttle's...
...commander, Robert Gibson...
...opens the shuttle's hatch.
There were warm greetings
from the Mir's crew...
...especially for US astronaut
Norman Fager...
...who's has now spent
a 107 days as...
I am not at home,
please leave me a message. Beep!
Leo, it's Alma.
I know, I shouldn't...
Alma?
Hello?
Leo?
This isn't an answering machine?
No, it's me...
I'm screening.
Are you okay?
It's been...
Leo, I need to see you.
Come in.
Leo...
Almouska!
You've gone back to school...
...you want to be a doctor?
My Leo!
You know I can't take these
flowers, he would see them!
He won't see anything.
I'll take them with me when I leave
and I'll bring them back every day.
Please don't.
You are so beautiful.
May I get changed your
sheets now?
There we go.
If I were to die...
From laughter or from choking
on this schnorrer food?
Listen to me, Leo,
this is serious.
If I were to die,
you must promise me two things.
One, don't stay alone...
...go find yourself someone.
And two...
...never tell Isaac
you are his father.
It's good this place is
also a hospital.
They'd never make it
as a restaurant.
Leo, this is serious!
Say it.
I promise.
Leo,
did you finish the book?
You know, those first chapters...
...I read them all to my son,
in Yiddish...
...every night
efore falling asleep.
"Sick with love,
his noise of boots...
...noise of canons
had been the emptiness...
...this perpetual fall
since Alma had left.
Is there a remedy, he wondered...
...a remedy for love...
...for the madness of men that
turns beauty into a deluge..."
My love, my Almouska...
...you were right to leave...
...I miss you, but I am happy
to know you are far from here.
War is raging on...
...the Schors are dead...
...families are escaping
to Russia.
I continue to work in Minsk.
I will soon have enough money
to come to America...
Here is a new chapter of the book.
Tell me what you think of it.
I love you, I love you,
I love you...
...Leo.
How could I not have finished it?
Of course I did.
For you.
But why didn't you send it to me?
It was during the war, the postal
service wasn't working.
And after...
But what?
Here is my manuscript, Zvi.
Take it with you, don't lose it.
You'll send it back to me once
I get to New York.
If I die, send it to Alma
at this address.
A few years ago...
...I wrote to Zvi in Chile to ask
him to send me my manuscript.
An ocean of desperation...
...without any hope to repopulate
my heart with your joys...
...with your fears...
...with your words...
...with your kisses.
But to see you again, my love...
...would be a life without death...
...a story without end...
...our story of love...
You're a genius!
"My dear Zvi, here is the address
to which you have to send it.
My dear Zvi, here is the address to
which you have to send it.
Thanks again for having saved my
History of Love.
Thanks again for having saved my
History of Love.
I hope to see you again soon,
now you have my address...
...I have yours,
your friend, Leo."
His wife told me the manuscript
had been lost in a flood.
"Regarding the History of Love
manuscript...
...it has been destroyed
in a flood.
Zvi is not well,
he sends his regards."
No flood can erase
The History of Love.
No, Ma'am.
I so badly wanted to know
how it ended.
So where's the problem Almouska?
I know the end by heart.
Next time, I'll tell you.
"My dear son, my name is
Leo Gurski.
I am your father.
I am starting to write to you,
to tell you my life...
...today when I learn that my
story of love with your mother...
...my dear Alma...
...has been taken by a flood.
I had written a book to your
mother.
It was called
'The History of Love'.
The book is dead. Gone.
Swept away by the raging waters.
From the wreckage rise these
words for you, my son.
Here I go:
"Once upon a time, there was
a boy...
Almouska,
why did you do that?
Why, God?!
Why?!
Why?!
Bruno?
Bruno Leibovitch!
- Leo?
- You, here, in New York?!
In New York! America! Leo!
- Do you live in New York?
- In Brooklyn.
- Bruno, do you know what?
- What?
You are manna fallen from the sky.
I just promised Alma not to
stay alone.
Call it a sign,
guess I'll make do with you!
Alma... What else did you
promise her?
It doesn't matter. A room just
became vacant in my building...
...right above mine. It's cheap.
What do you think?
Become my next door neighbor!
- Where is it?
- Eldridge Street.
Chinatown? There are no Jews
left over there, they've all gone.
Nope, there is still one, me!
Now there will be two of us.
You don't look so good, you know.
Actually, you look like death
warmed over.
I just lost my wife.
Hello sir, and what size are you?
I don't know. Not too big.
What you see is what you get,
I'm not going to grow anymore.
Not expensive.
A suit that you can't sell.
Please. Please, come with me.
Make yourself comfortable.
Fits you like glove.
Like it was made for you.
You so handsome, she going
to worship you!
Keep in mind, though,
she hasn't seen me in years...
...I don't want to be a schnorrer.
Ah, well - if you like,
for little extra...
...I could take it in just
a drop here.
- When would it be ready?
- Two days.
- No, no. How much is it?
- Two hundred.
Two hundred what?
No alteration,
I'll give you one hundred.
We're brothers: Jews and Gypsies.
We both were...
I am Indian, not Gypsy.
But okay for one hundred.
I just finished the translation.
I'll send it!
Uh?
Wanna go for a ride?
- Is this a joke?
- No.
You're not gonna puke in the car?
Of course not, I took my pills.
Okay. Give me five minutes.
- Cool huh?!
- Love it!
Do you know how to get there?
They call me GPS:
Greatest Playboy Searcher.
I didn't know you liked the
country.
I'm crazy about the country!
I love to lie in the grass.
Mr. Moritz was born in
New York's Lower East Side...
...in 1942
to immigrant parents.
Let me bow before the pain of
Mordeca, his father...
...and Bernard, his brother,
who are here with us today.
Isaac Moritz's novels, so
profoundly Jewish...
...are remarkable for
their sense of humor...
...that humor that allow us
to fight against despair.
Despite the darkness...
...the Jewish people have never
stopped looking for the light.
Isaac's signature character,
his alter ego, Jacob Marcus...
...has been with us
and will continue...
...to live in our hearts forever.
Unfortunately, the life of its
creator never found its Remedy.
I confess it was not always
easy living in the shadow...
...of a well-known novel write
and personality.
I was Isaac's brother.
But how I admired him.
I admitted that at many times...
...I felt powerless over
Isaac's despair...
...which consumed him.
He withdrew me away making me
feel like an outsider.
Our mother's death tore him apart.
It destroyed him.
But I will always keep the
memories of our happy childhood...
...in my heart and mind.
Got two places left.
Hillary come with us.
Hello. Are you a relative of
Isaac's?
I was. And you?
I'm Hillary, his publisher.
Where are we going?
To his house.
Is this field of yours still
a long way away?
Next exit. We're nearly there.
There's this house.
The house is empty?
No, my mom's boyfriend is there.
His name is Isaac Moritz.
He's a nice guy, you'll see.
It's a really big house.
Oh hello! Do you remember me?
Were we in high school together?
No. The Greco Art School!
You came to pose.
You filled out the form for me.
Did you know the deceased or
did you come to be watched?
To be watched.
Whose place is this,
who lives here?
Bernard Moritz, brother of
the deceased.
Do you know where
the restrooms are?
Upstairs.
There's nobody here.
Do you have the keys?
Wait up, I'll be back in a sec!
I'm sorry. I didn't know
anyone was here.
I come from Slonim.
I was a friend of Isaac's mother...
...of your mother.
Alma Mereminski.
We knew each other in the
Shtetl, in Poland.
Oh, I'm so glad!
She used to tell us about it.
So many stories.
Since you knew her back then,
I have something to show you.
That's me and my girlfriend,
kissing in the Shtetl...
...when I was young.
That's my Alma from the book.
She's beautiful.
It's raining.
Take another one, Leo was hidden!
I'm sure you can hardly see him.
No, it's raining.
Take your hat!
Did you know her well?
We were cousins.
Distant.
Which side?
Both.
Wake up!
He stole it!
- What?
- Shmock!
Your son stole your book
Words For Many Things.
He's going to publish it under
his name! How crazy is that?
You write your first book about
Alma, it gets stolen by Zvi. Idiot!
You write another book about
yourself for your son...
...it also gets stolen. And by who?
By that son!
Mazel Tov! Schlemazl!
See? He read it!
He figured out I was his father!
He stole your book! And they're
saying it's his best work!
- Call them!
- Do you realize...
...Isaac and I are finally
reunited...
...in the same book,
in the same story!
What story? You've never lived
the same story.
You never did anything together.
He must have made a copy,
he didn't send your manuscript.
S..t, go to his house and
get your manuscript back.
Claim it, let people know
you exist and that it's yours!
Hello, we met at his funeral...
Yes I remember. What can I do
for you?
My name is Leo Gurski,
I am Isaac Moritz's father.
Could you please give me
a copy of his latest book?
What? Tell her you wrote it!
Very funny.
Leo Gurski is the leading
character's name in the book.
Funny, it's a great prank,
but I have work to do.
Besides, the book isn't out yet, we
are still in the galleys stage...
...and I just got off the phone
with Mr. Moritz, the real father.
Show her your I. D, damn it!
Maybe then she'll believe you.
- I don't have it on me.
- Shlamazzel!
I don't understand any of this.
So, Mr. Donald Duck...
...or whoever you
prefer to be today...
...in a months time, you can go
to any bookstore you like...
...and buy the book yourself...
...like the good boy that I am
sure you are!
I may not live that long. And I
want to read what it says about me.
Well, we'll see you at the next
funeral perhaps? Have a good day!
You let her get away with it?
Yes, I did. That book reached
its goal.
My son learned I am his father.
- End of story!
- And The History of Love.
Did that reach its goal?
Alma never read it, it disappeared
in a flood, my ass!
You don't even have a single line
left from your book of your life!
You are robbed of everything!
Your wife, your son, your books...
...your possible future lives!
And you know what? Yeah, I slept
with Alma at the shtetl!
You suspected it? Well, don't.
Yes, I slept with her. Happy now?
Do you remember the day
we met in New York?
I told you I had just lost my wife.
My wife was Alma,
I was seeing her at the hospital
behind her husband's back!
You were going to the hospital
behind my back?
You were not her husband,
Mordecha was!
No, Alma was mine
and she will be forever!
Yeah, your wonderful
History of Love!
Psha! You schmuck!
Then let me tell you something too.
On her deathbed, Alma made me
promise never to live alone.
I gave her my word.
She wanted me to find a wife.
I cheated.
I invented you instead to keep me
company. Just to please her!
And because I thought you'd be less
cumbersome than a regular wife!
Oy veh, what a mistake!
How stupid of me to choose you!
Don't you get it? You don't exist!
Therefore, you couldn't go to
the hospital behind my back...
...I invented you after she died!
So go back to your grave!
You're just worms!
If I don't exist then nobody
in your life does...
No more son, no more wife,
no more friend!
Die! Go to your son's and
get your manuscript...
...better yet: you should die
while you're at Isaac's...
...holding your only masterpiece
against your chest!
Arshloch!
Disappear!
It is raining again today.
Raining in our hearts.
It is a very difficult moment
for all of us.
Today, we bury our son,
our friend...
...Bruno Leibovitch...
...murdered by the Nazis
at the young age of 19...
Our thoughts are with Shlomo
and Esther, his parents...
Lea and Avishag, his sisters...
...Leo and Zvi, his best friends.
Come with me to Chile,
they're going to kill us all.
They killed all Jews in Staszow!
I'm going to New York, Zvi.
As soon as I have the money.
They'll never kill me!
- There you go.
- Thank you
Have a good day.
Words For Many Things
By Leo Gurski
"My dear son...
...my name is Leo Gurski...
...I am your father.
I am starting to write to you to
tell you my life...
...today, when I learn that my
story of love with your mother...
...my dear Alma, has been taken
by a flood...
...a deluge.
I had written a book to your
mother.
It was called:
The History of Love.
The book is dead, gone...
...swept away by the raging waters.
Who knows if one day a miracle may
bring it back from the past?
- From the wreckage rise...
- From the ashes of this book...
...rise these words for you.
My son.
Here I go.
Once upon a time there was a boy.
His name was Leo Gurski.
He lived in a village
that no longer exists...
...on the edge of a field
that no longer exists...
...in a house that
no longer exists.
Where everything was discovered...
...and everything was possible.
Then, later, everything became
impossible.
I have the last part of The History
of Love. Call me... Alma
You know, if you helped me with
the washing and the groceries...
...you'd have less time to...
..."carry the entire world
on your shoulders."
A Lamed Vovnik doesn't do
that stuff.
Well, Lamed Vovniks had better
change...
...'cause they're really getting
on my nerves!
Alma, your phone!
Turn off the water!
- Yes?
- You left me a note.
You have The History of Love?
I do.
- Only the end?
- No.
- All of it?
- Yes.
Can we meet tomorrow at 4 pm
in Central Park?
Yes.
Would the bench next to
Sheep Meadows field...
...and the Pain Quotidien
restaurant be okay?
Yes.
Alma, are you okay?
Yes...
Do you know the secret of "the
most loved woman in the world?"
How do you become one?
You don't. Either you are
or you're not.
How do you know if you are?
I'll tell you.
Time has come for me
to tell you everything.
I'll be wearing a floral dress.
See you tomorrow. Bye
S..t! Where is my floral dress?!
Bird, did you take my floral dress?
Lamed vovniks don't wear
floral dresses!
Ma! Did you see my floral dress?
Since when do you wear dresses?
I can't find my floral dress,
can you lend me yours?
- Is it for Misha?
- I'll tell you later.
Can I borrow it, or not?
Write to her, dumb-ass!
Write to her!
She loves you, write to her!
You promised me you would love her!
Write to her! Now!
Miracle! I am a Lamed Vovnik!
I'm a Lamed Vovnik!
I'm a Lamed Vovnik!
Hi.
Hi.
Are you Isaac Moritz?
No, his father.
His father?
Alma Mereminski's husband?
Not the husband, her lover.
Leo?
How old are you?
With or without the sale's tax?
You survived the war?
I survived everything.
Is it worth surviving everything?
Is it raining?
No, you're crying.
Really?
So, your name is Alma?
Yeah.
Long story...