Don't worry, my sweet child...
Somewhere out there, there has to be a world of peace.
A world of tranquility, balance.
In that world, bugs and butterflies are shiny and transparent,
the water illuminates the pebbles,
it flickers in the trees...
That world does not need truth
because it is in itself true.
In that world,
people love us without using us and deceiving us with love.
We don't need to search for love, because love is what it's made of.
We don't need to search for security, because we are safe.
We are immersed into its air, its colors, its sounds.
The miracle of life fills us up and unites us with the sky.
Don't worry, little one.
That world does indeed exist.
It has been created for the likes of you and me.
HOW I WAS STOLEN BY THE GERMANS
Go on and play.
Do you remember me?
I didn't become an actress like I wanted to.
For the past four years I've had this marketing job, I have my own agency.
Maybe one of these days we'll be needing your services.
- You're still writing screenplays? - No.
- I revise other people's screenplays. - That's that.
Do you remember me now?
Vaguely. I remember your sister better.
Yes, that I belive.
That's why I'm here.
Helena passed away.
I can tell you right now that I have no contagious disease.
Nobody's accusing you of that.
Besides, my sister did not die of AIDS, but of cancer.
That's her daughter.
She may be yours, too.
Sorry, but besides me, both of you had a countless number of customers.
Okay, okay.
Whether she's yours or not, I brought her to stay with you for a while.
I have a job that's not going that well,
and I can't take care of the child.
You are alone and have all the conditions here.
These are her things.
She doesn't have much, you can buy whatever's missing.
Until I think of a better solution.
What did you say your name was? Dita?
Alright, Dita.
You thought this whole thing out very nicely.
Your suggestion is excellent. Too bad I find it unacceptable.
I don't like people, their offspring either.
I'm not a good father. Or grandfather.
I'm probably not a good grandfather.
To someone, somewhere. Especially not here.
For 30 years I've not communicated with anybody, not even with myself.
So take the child and go back to where you came from.
Alex, dear, it's not true that people don't want to communicate with you,
nor it's true that you are bad at communicating.
Writers know all about communication.
- I don't want to communicate! - Of course!
But everything you don't want, you can also choose to want.
Just start wanting, everything will be alright.
- You don't understand me. - I understand you very well.
Get out! Get the hell out of here!
Come here, Romi!
My God!
- I'll be back soon. - That's what they all say.
And they all turn on the TV.
Here. So you don't fall in your sleep.
I do fall in my sleep.
You sure you're not going to keep the kid?
I know nothing about children. I don't know a single child.
I never took care of a child.
I don't even remember what I looked like as a child,
mirrors were such a rare occurrence and were hung high up.
Actually...
I have a sort of inner idea of what I was like,
but I don't have a single photo of myself when I was a child.
But they took care of you. You were once a child.
No.
They were creating some new world.
They didn't take care of me.
Expect for...
Maybe one man, briefly, during World War II.
God, it's as if it happened during the Trojan War.
It's a story I never tell. Not much of a story, anyway.
I think it's better than what I gave you last time.
I have to travel tomorrow.
To drive.
What did you say?
- Njegusi... - Cetinje...
Virpazar, Rijeka Crnojevica, Center for the Homeless.
Yes.
I'm grateful, doctor.
One should never say "thank you" for medicine. You are my only hope.
Bay of Kotor, SFR Yugoslavia. Cold summer of 1991.
We'll cross over to the other side of the bay.
You'll stay there with some people that will help you.
Stop playing with that cap.
Nobody wants me.
My mother didn't want me either. So what?
Where is your mom?
It happened a long, long time ago.
In a far-away land.
In a land beyond the seven seas, beyond the seven hills.
It happened in an idyllic setting,
between a wild cherry tree and a wild rose bush.
Her name was Jelena.
She believed that the world could become a better place.
She believed that she would become better
if she helped others become better.
She believed that people had the right to be happy,
that all they needed
was for someone to show them the way to truth, love, freedom.
What is truth? What is love? What is freedom?
She didn't know that, without knowing that she didn't know.
Something similar can be said about Djordje,
who didn't know and didn't try to find out
whom he should thank for the short-lived happiness
that made him indifferent to the cold that particular night, or morning.
Western Serbia, Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Cold spring of 1939.
You'll be late.
They're waiting for you.
We are never late.
I never thought that you might like me.
Me neither.
What's there to think about?
Those are natural things. They just happen.
I'll come and get you, as usual.
Unless they arrest me.
And what if they arrest you?
- I'll still come. - You're lying.
- You should have told me. - What?
That you're a virgin.
Why?
Besides, you could have guessed.
What is important is the fight against the petty-bourgeois classes.
You don't understand the environment we live in.
My life is my own business.
Personal responsibility and the power of the individual.
That's the sole foundation
for the contemporary man and a responsible society.
Why did they turn off the road? Who prompted whom?
Why did Jelena, such a frail girl,
make love to Djordje, of all people?
Through this physical change,
did she want to prove the sophistication of her spirit,
her liberation, awareness?
Physically, she might have wanted to be a seductress.
But in all other aspects, she was the one seduced.
Jelena's father, my grandfather Aleksandar,
was strict even in his sleep, only smaller,
although no quieter than while awake.
His absolute, freedom-loving ideas concerned his life outside the home,
while in the home, the decency of keeping silent was a must,
and only he could publicly do what he wished.
As a teacher, he lectured everyone he could.
Zlatko and Zlata were practically children,
and Jelena's mother, Divna, my grandmother...
She kept quiet and acted according to the situation.
- Why are you looking like that? - Like what?
Different.
- Your dinner's cold. - I'm not hungry.
I'll warm it up, so you can have breakfast.
I said I wasn't hungry. I'm tired.
I'm going to bed straight away.
Jelena was completely aware of the discrepancy
between what her father said and did.
And, while not having traditional respect for him,
she loved him as her equal.
Blagoje!
Good morning, I was just passing so I thought I'd stop by.
These are for you.
How will we manage in tougher situations
if we even find these confusing?
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
These are for you.
Alright then, Blagoje, you wish to marry Jelena.
- Is that all? - That's all, Dad.
Don't call me dad 'cause I'm not your dad yet, and when I become your dad,
you will still call me as you did before, right?
That's right, professor.
You always were my best student.
People like us are not after a dowry.
When a man has himself he doesn't need a dowry.
Jelena is everything you want?
Everything!
Wait a little while, I still have to talk to Divna.
"LONG LIVE THE WORLD REVOLUTION"
This is what a sewing machine looks like.
Sewing on a machine saves time.
This machine, and many others, will replace us at work.
They will work instead of us.
We will have a lot of free time on our hands then.
We will devote ourselves to studying, love, play,
and everything else that helps us develop and evolve.
Not only machines, but all of nature will be at the service of man.
We'll bring breadfruit tree from Africa, it'll crop all year round!
Generally speaking, we will not have to work.
From the kingdom of necessity we shall enter the kingdom of freedom.
We shall all be rich and happy!
What is in the way of development today
is the fact that man is exploiting man.
But that will all come to an end.
When we manage to reach the truth with the help of science,
to make free time with the help of machines,
and develop all our capabilities with personal effort.
We have to learn, we have to speak many languages
so that we can influence as many people as possible worldwide,
because when we all become equal and the best we can be,
we will be left only with the memory of the times
when one group governed the other,
when the minority oppressed the majority,
when one man's sweat meant riches for another.
Let's summarize!
She didn't know how to defend herself from what her soul chose.
From her feelings.
She thought she knew.
But she only believed.
She thought she was making a choice.
But she was only surrendering.
Everything that would happen belonged to the broad range of her emotions.
She was overwhelmed by them.
You know what "overwhelmed" means?
I can tell you my story, but...
I would have to speak...
the way I usually speak.
I don't know how to speak to children, I've never spoken to one.
I never liked those who spoke to me like to a child.
Three months, my child.
Don't delude yourself, you're pregnant.
Are you sure you don't want to keep the child?
I want to, but I can't.
Besides, my father chose another man.
In that case your only option is the hospital.
How can I hide a visit to the hospital? If my father found out...
I know Aleksandar well. He's not the problem. The problem is...
- No, it's not... - Yes, it is.
But isn't there another way?
- The women say that... - Forget about that.
- One thing that may be worth trying. - I'll try anything!
Alright.
You will take two of these pills three times a day.
Warm baths for an hour.
Should you notice any red stains or blood flow, find me immediately.
As soon as the miscarriage starts, it is my duty to help you.
Until then, there is nothing I can do.
Where is that man of yours now?
We don't see each other. He's always in a different town.
He comes sometimes, but he leaves immediately.
And he's not mine.
He went to wreck someone else.
Lift your legs.
Spit into the bottle.
Whish for the offspring to go away.
Lie down.
Get up, it's over.
Since they failed to spit me out, or dump me with quinine and hot water,
since they didn't stick needles in me,
which was normally done with unwanted offspring in that region at the time,
and since the witchcraft didn't help,
reason prevailed.
It appears that I liked staying there,
in that secluded, comfortable, warm depth of the world.
I didn't feel like coming out.
I rocked and slept...
Slept and rocked again.
I had a feeling I wouldn't enjoy it much outside.
My "way out" was fraught with the risk of fatality.
They barely managed to get me out, semi-strangled.
For everyone else, I was born too soon.
Jelena and her mother knew that I was late.
I was born at ten months.
That was just the beginning of my many future delays.
- I'm going to lie down. - You're going?
- It will be alright. - Turn off the radio.
Come on in.
What's new?
A boy!
Good work, Blagoje.
Come on, sit...
Cheers!
What is this? Everyone's asleep, and I've become a grandfather!
Divna!
There, you see! We're late for the ferryboat!
We'll have to go around,
over the seas, lakes and mountains.
If you get hungry...
We could stop for some prosciutto and cheese or fresh figs.
Or we could grab a Big Mac. What do you say?
During her lectures, Jelena would passionately explain
to the peasant women that religion is opium for the masses.
She did not think about my baptism.
That was just part of everyday life,
far removed from her unusual thoughts.
Godfather, what name shall be given to the child?
Zoran!
The grandfather's name is Aleksandar?!
Well, yes. Aleksandar.
Then the child shall also be called Aleksandar.
Godfather, uncover our little Aleksandar,
so that we may sprinkle water on him!
My birth was the restoration of Jelena's lost freedom.
She will again be able to return to her passions.
Who will take care of the child? Others, of course.
Enriched by the experience of motherhood,
Jelena will speak about the promising future with a new spark,
when nobody will care about who is whose dad or who'll raise the kids.
The only obstacle on the road to freedom
was Blagoje, my fake father.
- Where is the lawyer? - He'll be here.
- Are you sure it has to be this way? - I'm sure.
- But why? - We talked about that.
You say, I'm holding you back, you want your freedom.
How have I ever hindered you? What have I ever asked of you?
- We have a child. - The child will stay with me.
- And what about you? - What about me?
Where will you be?
Will you be able to take care of the child?
My parents will also be there.
It's usual for a mother to take care of her child.
If you don't spend enough time with him after I'm gone,
Aleksandar will end up an orphan.
I did not come here to argue.
- Why don't you give him to me? - Because he belongs with his mother.
What mother? A mother who has no time for him?!
You lied again. You didn't call the lawyer.
Since we can't reach an agreement, we'll each have our own lawyer.
Please, forgive me.
I'm sorry, I know I'm terribly late.
And may I ask where your wife is?
You will be representing me alone.
It was obvious during my first Easter lunch that I was born a jinx.
The war broke out.
The soup is glorious!
My son, the soup cannot be glorious.
Glorious is the sun and the sky above us.
"Our motorized units supported by aviation
are moving forward on all sectors of the war front.
The enemy is unable to resist, they either surrender or run in panic.
Our flags are unrolled in hundreds of towns.
The passage to Moscow is open... "
- The Russians are letting them do it. - Luring them.
Are you going to let me translate or talk?!
Oh my, their tanks are so ugly!
The Russian ones are a hundred times prettier!
Our leader is sending us messages to leave the towns.
This means leaving our families.
What should we say to that?
We are the Party's soldiers, but we also belong to the people.
I say we stay!
If we leave, we will be criticized by our loved ones
and surrender our territory to the invader.
Why create unnecessary victims?
Unfortunately, many have sacrificed the people for their personal goals.
We cannot repeat that.
Let's be clear. I am not promoting slavery, I'm promoting...
There are people hanging around outside our house.
Go to the children.
Don't move!
Everybody stay where you are!
That's right.
And you, professor...
Come here.
What do you see?
- Cops. - Exactly.
The rest of you, put your hands on your head.
Leave slowly, one by one.
Move it!
Come on, come on!
The Russians will be defeated by the end of the year.
What's the buzz around town, Gavrilo?
Ah, what's the buzz...
People say whatever comes to mind.
They say you're going to shoot Aleksandar, his daughter,
and even his former son-in-law Blagoje, because of that house.
- What house? - His house.
Because of the house?
But they're hard-core communists!
That's the rumor.
Those lousy bastards, the things they make up.
- Cologne? - Yes, but my own.
Because of the house, you say...
Good thing you told me about Aleksandar.
Here you go.
- Cologne... the cologne! - Oh, yes, yes...
Lousy bastards...
How much longer should we wait, Aca?
How should I know?
You've known everything so far!
Are you accusing me or something?
I'm saying that so far you've known everything better than us.
This I don't know.
- Give me a drag. - You don't smoke!
I don't, but these guys will kill us off.
We asked around about it, and it turns out our suspicions were true.
What the hell are you doing, you idiot?!
You think I'm after you because of the house? Be still.
Don't try anything.
Nobody will harm you, or your daughter.
I put away the charges against you.
You'll be careful what you do from now on. Is that clear?
- Yes. - Go on, get out of here. Go, run!
My fake father Blagoje was not very fortunate.
He died as a reserve victim
instead of my mother and was buried in a joint tomb
with the other unfortunate souls in an unknown location.
Nobody will trust us from now on.
We'll explain.
Even if they trusted us, they could always remind us...
- Of what, dad? - That we got away.
And we will never be able to prove that it was not up to us.
Unlike mother, grandfather understood the whole thing.
Being imaginative and overly sensitive,
she never saw the simple things.
Fighters and killers appeared
in various uniforms but with the same intention: to assume power.
Jelena could not understand that.
Grandfather calmed down.
Somehow, everything appeared simple.
One could sigh with relief.
Good day, Divna.
I'm looking for mister Aca!
Here I am.
We should talk.
- Where is Jelena? - In the house. Come on in.
That's alright.
They should go in. And Jelena should come out!
Go inside.
Jelena!
Where can we go?
What?
To be alone.
Let's go in the back, to the garden.
It's better that we go to the cellar.
It's cluttered.
That's alright. We'll find some brandy.
I don't keep brandy in the cellar. I'll bring it here.
Show me. Come on, take me there...
What are you afraid of?
You know me. Hey, we're friends.
- Who sent you? - I'll tell you over there.
Come on. You too, Jelena, come on.
Do you know how many I've slaughtered?!
Do you?!
You also know who sent me...
I'm guessing. Don't...
I've slaughtered women, too...
Why, Sredoje, for goodness' sake?
But I can't do that to you.
I can't. Or to Jelena.
When you hate somebody, they lose the qualities of a human being,
and become a dot in the centre of the target which your hate is aiming for.
Only in such a way, it is possible to hate.
They teach us to hate.
The man who was sent to kill grandfather,
who was our distant relative and family friend,
suddenly became a bad pupil.
Members of our household, together with me,
were the first to discover that, the following morning.
If I don't return, give this to my grandson.
I'll let you know where I am, and the rest.
Jelena should explain it to the children.
You've lead her down the wrong path, too.
Now you want her to tell some new twisted stories to the children?
And you keep quiet, Divna...
- The subject is closed. - You bet it is.
Have a safe trip.
Take care.
You listen to me now!
If I see you once again with that red good-for-nothing bunch,
or going out at night,
or if I hear any nonsense from you, watch out!
That's the end of that. Is that clear?
You can't forbid me to do anything.
You don't understand what's going on, so don't interfere.
I'm not going to argue,
I'll beat you up and you'll be out of the house.
If you don't know who's smarter, at least you'll know who's stronger.
- I'm not your father. - Why didn't you tell father that?
My poor child.
God help us all.
Take care of your child, for goodness' sake. Help him grow.
Mommy... Does it hurt?
Eli!
Over here.
- They were here. - Who?
Three-man unit. They mentioned your name.
They're gone, but they'll be back. They always come back.
We have to get out of here. Did you take everything?
Come on... the forest is not far.
We should make it.
Morning!
Did you have a nice rest?
Search her, Zunja!
How do I look?
You're as pretty as a nightingale.
We don't have time.
Take her away.
- Me? - Him.
And take the flag, to decorate her.
And you?
What are we going to do with you?
Jelena...
Born in 1919...
A Serbian girl!
What sort of books have you got there, Serbian girl?
The First Reader. Grammar. Some poetry...
What do you need that for?
Going to the village to educate the youth.
Which village are you heading to?
Over there.
The forest there.
The villages are past the mountain.
Or are your friends waiting for you in the forest?
Did you hear what I asked?
Alright...
If you want to go to the forest that badly, you will get an escort.
What do you need that for?
Take her, Zunja.
Wait for me by the car, I'll be there in a moment!
Heathrose, fair and tender...
Yes, yes...
Now the cruel boy must pick...
Pardon me, I thought...
Girls shouldn't be walking in the forest alone, thinking.
They should be sitting at home, reading poetry, growing.
It's pretty bad, but it's getting better.
It will be okay.
Who hurt you so badly?
I didn't tell you.
That's when they killed Eli.
Eli?
That little Jewish girl?
My goodness!
What's going on? What's this world coming to? I don't know.
I don't know. Take care of yourself.
- Good thing that German came along. - Yes.
Reciting Goethe!
- Deutche Kulture! - It is a great culture.
It's just that the evil of this world is not only a matter of culture.
Neither is the good.
Yes, like my mother, for example! Now I have to hide from her too.
The Resistance ordered me to stay here, not go into the forest.
Like, I'm of more use here because I'm educated!
You know, if it weren't for your cause,
I'd tell you you're hanging out with the wrong crowd.
Goodness, how precious you are.
But why are you so quiet?
He's shy. Go on, take it... go on.
This is the house, Mr. Kraus.
Neither a town nor a village.
Modest.
You were informed about the two rooms needed for this German officer!
Good day.
- Does anybody here speak German? - I speak German, sir.
A little.
Do you speak English?
I think we know each other.
Yes, but my mother doesn't know that.
Excellent. Good day, miss.
Missus.
My name is Werner Kraus.
I should be moving in here.
This is my mother, my sister and my brother.
- They've chosen a good house. - You may look around.
Pantry... kitchen... bathroom.
- Lovely boy. - My son.
This would be your room.
And that's about it. You also have an attic and a cellar.
Please.
I regret not be able to adresse you with the words dear friends.
As I'm sure you'll be able to except that.
I'm an official of estate for chose occupied yours.
And just like you never chose to be in the position you're in at this moment.
What does he say?
He says we never chose to be in this position.
I also never chose the role which this more in post on me.
Your only way to alleviate a troubles
is to treate one another with respect.
Help yourself.
Please.
I'm sorry this really... but it's about more like eat.
Nobody's making him eat the entire bowl.
He'll learn.
I was asleep.
As usual, whenever something important was happening.
In the absence of a safer haven,
I had to rely on sleep.
My grandmother Divna, Zlatko and Zlata moved into the old house.
My mother felt more at ease around a German officer
than around her own mother.
Frau Helena!
I brought some nice books.
May I keep them on your shelf?
Yes, yes, mister Kraus.
My books will not argue with your books.
You can leave them there.
No way... I holed against you.
Something both... of love.
I understand you.
Once a boy a Rosebud spied,
Heathrose fair and tender,
All array'd in youthful pride,
Quickly to the spot he hied,
Ravished by her splendour.
Rosebud, rosebud, rosebud red,
Heathrose fair and tender!
Said the boy, "I'll now pick thee,
Heathrose fair and tender!"
Said the rosebud, "I'll prick thee,
So that thou'It remember me,
Ne'er will I surrender!"
Rosebud, rosebud, rosebud red,
Heathrose fair and tender!
Now the cruel boy must pick
Heathrose fair and tender;
Rosebud did her best to prick,
Vain 'twas 'gainst her fate to kick
She must needs surrender.
Rosebud, rosebud, rosebud red,
Heathrose fair and tender!
Heathrose fair and tender.
- You're leaving again? - I have to.
Stay a little longer.
I'm still here.
Mommy...
- Where is my daddy? - I already told you.
Tell me again.
Your daddy is in a different place. He works there, and he can't come.
- Why not? - He has to work.
Why isn't this man my daddy?
Which man?
Mr. Werner.
Go to sleep. Mr. Werner is sleeping, everyone is sleeping, so should you.
I'll be back soon.
Tell me a story, so can fall asleep.
I won't. Come on, go to sleep.
But first you have to promise that you won't cry when I leave.
If you cry, grandma will know I'm not here,
and I'll get a spanking when I return.
I promise.
Tell me a short story. The shortest. Please.
Just don't tell me those scary ones about heroes and vampires,
about Bas-Celik and Sava Savanovic.
I won't. Now go to sleep.
Close your eyes.
Patrol!
They're getting discouraging news from the front.
We're not getting any!
What are you trying to say by that?
That we've lost contact with the Resistance long ago. That's what.
And? And?
Why are you so nervous, Baldy?
She wanted to say something else, but then went silent.
So what if she went silent? What's this? Comrade-bashing?
Ever since that Kraut has moved into her house...
We won't get far if we start guessing each other's thoughts.
We are isolated and abandoned, that's all I wanted to say.
But you all know that very well, anyway.
They've ordered us to stay in town, left us to our own devices.
What have we achieved with the bombs at the post office,
by mining the road, with all those actions?
We killed a few of them and lost our best comrades.
As if somebody wanted to eliminate the best of our movement.
Oh, Jelena, let's not go there.
Don't you see that we're hostages here
while the battle is taking place somewhere far away?
My words are burdened by grief because of the smart,
honest, educated people we lost.
All we've got in exchange for them are these patrols
and an increasingly powerful invader.
The situation on the front has changed.
The Germans were stopped.
But the rest of us, those of us in this mill,
we cannot influence the events, you understand!?
Patrol!
Mommy! Mommy!
Mommy!
Good boy...
Don't be afraid, my little one.
Don't be afraid.
Thank you, mister Kraus.
No, don't thank me, you have only one son, I have three.
Thank you once again.
Go ahead and pee. I'll be on guard.
Keeping my eye on this scary animal.
Musca domestica!
Now watch what we do with live insects.
If he is boring you, I'll take him offside.
No, on contrary, we are both studing insects.
If you allow I would like to take him out the town on Sunday
so that we could collect samples from this area.
Very kind.
- You can come with us if you like. - Oh, may be.
Mister Werner wants to take you to the hills to catch butterflies.
But now leave him alone.
Come over here now, if you want to go on that expedition.
Frau Jelena!
- You stupid girl! - Frau Jelena!
I changed my mind. I've got work to do. You go alone.
I changed my mind.
But it's such a beautiful day and it's a Sunday.
I don't have preconceptions about Sundays, it's
a day as any others, so... you two have fun.
Do you think I will compromise your situatuon? -No, no!
I mean yes!
...among other things.
Alex!
Come!
What do you think, Hans,
will Mr. Kraus become a field marshall if he continues this?
Even higher.
He called me a Serbian cow, so I called him a German pig.
This type of behavior does not befit a German soldier.
Yes, sir.
Everything's okay.
Yes?
When?
Give them twenty-four hours.
Do it according to the list.
No.
Actually, wait 'till I get there.
Werner would leave in the morning, while I was asleep.
His absence did not leave a void in my heart.
The anticipation of his return filled me up.
Even though I spent little time with him,
the mere presence of that man was a gift to me.
I stopped talking in my sleep and calling my mother.
I did not need anybody because I had Werner.
You understand?
Come in.
Is my son with you?
He has asleep in my bed, you may take him away
but after that come back and see me.
- Do you want some cognac? - No, thank you, I don't drink.
I know you love children, mister Kraus.
You have children as well and you're very fond of my son.
So you probably think I'm neglecting him.
Well.. there is some truth in that of course but you should also bear in mind that...
Come to think of it, I suppose a little cognac wouldn't to me harm.
Why did you want to see me?
I want to show you something.
As you have probably noticed I have not interfered
in your private life for the last year.
And your relationship with your child is your own business.
But if you not as your name is on that list and that is both your business and mine.
Now if you continue I will not be able to protect you any longer.
- This is a... - Yes, that it is.
Each of us is responsible for his own actions.
My life is my business only.
Contemporary man and human society
can only build on the basis of a personal responsibility
and a power of individual.
I've also talking about the contemporary man who did you get out of my bed.
Thanks for the cognac, mister Kraus.
- Excuse me. - Ah... come in, come in.
- Tea and cookies. - How are you feeling?
Much better.
Thank you, ma'am.
- Is there anything also I can do for you? - Yes, yes...
You could stay a little longer.
Tea and cookies... somewhere...
in the land far away...
where life just happened to taken
make us feel closer to home.
But that's more important than that is the reason
that try another person to get closer to you.
That reason I think has a name,
and this pretty than any other - kindness.
Kindness makes time go off its paths
and turn it into eternity.
And in that place men can lay down their arms.
Thank you for this moment, frau Jelena.
Mommy, are you crying?
I have something in my eye.
Should I get it out for you?
You can't, you're little.
I'll do it myself.
- Don't do that anymore. - Does it bother me.
Yes, it does, but that's not that I meant.
People died tonight. Cinderella...
- Not my group. We always. - I wouldn't!
That's me sent Gypsies to your group.
Others were already dead by then.
You sent? Why?
You have problems, anymore.
No, I'm not.
- I took that action myself. - Then I have problems!
No, you wouldn't.
I took care of that action myself.
And I don't usually do that.
Your only way you have a problem is if...
is if you youself tell them you were there.
Be bothering that.
Any other woman would be disgust.
Any woman.
I admire you.
That is because you're a wild child.
My mom is also a whore.
Yes, at that moment she became a whore.
She found an excuse for her relationship with Werner.
For her, anything was better than love.
You have a lovely voice.
Why don't you sing us that song once more.
Snow has fallen on the Eastern front
Hitler's troops are on the run
Very nice...
Who taught you that song, son?
Gentlemen!
This boy will now sing us a short song,
and one of you, either a family member or a neighbor,
will tell me who taught it to him.
Snow has fallen on the Eastern front
Hitler's troops are on the run
Please...
Sing the song to us once again with your angelic voice.
Alex!
Ever since he found out that, in the Dresden bombing,
his family got killed
and at the same time, he lost his rank,
and experienced major problems
as a result of Jelena's suffering and complex,
Werner became silent.
I don't know whether he was an officer or non-commissioned officer.
For me, he was a marshal.
He would leave early and return late.
He kept his door locked.
They kept something from me, or maybe they didn't know what was going on.
Jelena went to stay with some mysterious aunt.
In Belgrade, she joined the Underground.
That made the fact that Werner kept his door closed even more painful.
That door separated me from the world I loved and admired.
Once, against everyone's will, I tried to get close to him.
I sneaked out when everybode was asleep,
and I went to his doorstep.
But sleep got the best of me.
I have to go.
You have to stay here.
Everyone here loves...
We'll also take part of your homeland with us.
That's very important.
The military forces to which Werner Kraus belonged
received an order to assist the armies
that were withdrawing from Greece.
The day the Germans left town
foreshadowed many changes for all, including me.
It's all here.
- The family photos are missing. - Really?
The bugs Aca collected for him are also missing.
- He's gone. - He's gone.
Where is that brat?
Rada, have you seen our little Aca?
That German of yours took him away.
Jova, did you hear this? He took our child!
Your German?
He must have taken him. We looked everywhere!
The road to the bridge was bombed, maybe he was stopped.
Dear God!
Heathrose fair and tender,
Rosebud did her best to prick,
Vain 'twas 'gainst her fate to kick
She must needs surrender.
Rosebud, rosebud, rosebud red,
Heathrose fair and tender!
Now the cruel boy must pick
Heathrose fair and tender,
Rosebud did her best to prick,
Vain 'twas 'gainst her fate to kick
Get out of there, you poor thing! Children, help me.
Children... come on.
Now the cruel boy must pick
Heathrose fair and tender.
Rosebud did her best to prick,
Vain 'twas 'gainst her fate to kick
She must needs surrender.
Rosebud, rosebud...
rosebud red,
Heathrose...
fair and tender!
And that is how, for the common good, the Allied forces
killed the only person I believed loved me
and they also wrecked my homeland.
I have never again found either of those things.
Soon Grandfather also returned from abor camp, all aged and wrecked.
None of his old friends were happy to see him.
Due to his merits and Jelena's importance,
he was offered the house of a priest
who helped the Chetniks during the German occupation.
Grandfather turned down the house.
He went to see a representative of the new authorities and said:
"You guys are bigger rascals than the ones we fought against. "
By doing that, he sealed the fate of our household.
Jelena returned wrapped in the illusion of glory
of a fighter for the new age, the new society.
She was a prominent participant
in dangerous actions carried out by the Belgrade Underground.
My father, the war victor, also appeared.
Come in, Djordje.
We survived.
And won!
I was just passing by.
I wanted to say hello.
That's nice of you.
So, how are you?
Are you happy?
So-so...
I don't know. You?
The worst is over.
We were lucky.
What's wrong?
Are you in a bad mood?
There's something you should know.
Little Aca is your son.
My son?
- How can it be? We only once... - He's yours.
I'm married.
I have two daughters.
I belong with them.
Forgive me. I didn't know what I was telling you...
I didn't know... Please forgive me.
Don't... in front of the children.
The feeling I most often connect to my childhood is rejection.
My loved ones always had some more important business than me.
Why?
I often asked myself that question, and I still do.
When you grow up...
indifference is easier to bear. And in a certain sense,
you arm yourself with indifference.
But when you're a child,
rejection is equal to death.
Hello.
Would you be so kind to tell me
where I can turn to regarding a child I found on the street?
The police. So they can return it to the parents.
- The child doesn't have parents. - How do you know?
Who's the authorized person for such cases?
The waiting room's to the left. Have a seat.
The things we see or think we see have no names; they are nameless.
If we adress them through words,
we miss the point, and they slip out of our control.
When we say peace, what might come is war.
Overnight, plans of happiness become lethal.
I don't know, I've forgotten everything...
Poetry confirms this, and that bears witness to something higher,
something beyond the arrival of a new historical era,
an era which is historically comparable.
We no longer name at any cost the events we've been through.
What is freedom, a nation, democracy?
What is crime, what is a soldier, an aggressive war...
Now the cruel boy must pick
Heathrose fair and tender,
Rosebud, rosebud, rosebud red,
Heathrose fair and tender!
- What's your name?! - I don't know.
I forgot.
I'm really sorry, it happens.
A senile old man, he speaks German too.
He escaped from an old people's home, he's got no one
and he keeps saying things that make no sense...
But, he talks like Ernst Junger...
He says he's Hildebrandt Gelsner.
And you're here because of this little girl...
- Yes, which I wish to adopt. - I see.
I'm afraid it is a lengthy and complicated procedure.
We would have to keep the girl here until we find her legal guardians,
and then you would also have to be screened.
Please wait for me in the room.
We'll have to rest here for a while. I don't feel that well.
Are you going to die now?
No way.
I'll take care of you.
- If that's what you want. - I do.
I owe you an apology...
And the story about that pilot cap.
You may only take one thing, Aleksandar.
All that stuff was piled up in the churchyard, and it seemed like heaven
filled with things beyond my reach.
Leather jackets, slim leather coats, boots, parachute suits.
Those were all scents of a different civilization.
Each of us could choose only one item
and take it with them.
One could live for an entire year from the sale of a leather coat.
But I wanted to fly, Romi.
They stopped me from going with Werner,
but they couldn't stop me from taking this cap.
I put it on my head immediately and headed home.
I knew that I would disappoint them, that they would beat me,
that they would hate me forever because of that cap. But...
I was free.
I was big with that cap on my head.
I flew, without knowing that I would fly forever.
I was free.
That feeling of solitary freedom,
that is the most valuable thing I have ever achieved,
and I intended to be faithful to it.
But we know that in life
there is one more valuable thing other than freedom.
And that is love.
You can't have both.
Luckily, you don't need both at the same time.
Where the North Sea waves come up to the beach,
Where the yellow flowers bloom in the green land,
Where the sea gulls scream loudly in the storm,
There is my homeland,
there I am at home.
Where the sea gulls scream loudly in the storm,
There is my homeland, there I am at home.
This film was based on true events and real people. The fact that I have remained a
Baron Munchhausen fan, had no influence on
the authenticity of my recollections... Author