THE CUBAN INSTITUTE OF CINEMA ART AND INDUSTRY
IN COPRODUCTION WITH WANDA DISTRIBUTORS
Life is what happens to you...
while you're busy doing other things.
Children...
today is Bola de Nieve's day...
Ready...
1, 2, 3...
That rotten goat is hiding in the hamlet.
I'll look for it and find it.
I'll get it wherever it is.
If I catch it...
Take, you bearded, bastard...
stinking, smell goat!
Shango...
this black man just can't live...
without his drum.
The goat that breaks a drum...
pays for it with its own hide.
The goat that breaks a drum...
pays for it with its own hide.
And what's much worse, it ends up in a stew.
Where's Cuba?
Mommy! Another baby!
What a beautiful present they left us!
These are your new brothers and sisters.
Children, come meet your new sister.
Come on...
How will we call her?
Bebe?
Our class continues...
with the word "equality".
Please, repeat after me...
E-QUA-Ll-TY...
"TY"...
with a "Y". That's very important.
E-QUA-Ll-TY...
Repeat after me...
E-QUA-Ll-TY...
Bebe, you're not to whistle in class.
LIFE IS TO WHISTLE
Children, today is Beny More's day.
1, 2, 3...
No, Cuba, this girl won't change.
She won't change here.
She can't be kept with the others.
She's to follow rules.
We're not changing our standards.
From a pedagogical standpoint...
it's incorrect to...
She's to be like the others.
She has to speak, not whistle.
Repeat after me:
Snail.
To my parents. To Susana M.
I'm alone.
But harmoniously alone.
Havana too is alone.
But not like me.
I'm happy.
That's why I'm going to look for 3 people I love...
so they'll be as happy as I am.
MARIANA...
ELPIDIO...
And JULIA...
who I know exists.
And if she does...
she must be more or less like this.
Workers who deserve a reward on earth.
A reward to the persons who, with their tireless effort...
nurse you day by day.
Senior citizens...
like you...
to who we all owe that our dreams of yesterday...
have become today's reality.
Julia.
Julia. Julia!
I'd like...
I...
I'm sorry.
Are you all right?
No one knows anything about Julia's past.
She has devoted her life...
to the care of others.
But, for some time now...
something escapes her control.
Julia doesn't know what makes her yawn.
Perhaps she has some clue...
but is afraid to know.
Mariana loves the movements of her body.
And those of others.
No.
For God's sake...
Settimio!
Get all those people out.
That was rather good, rather good.
But, Mariana...
Silence back there, please!
You're leaving your torso behind.
Remember, your left shoulder should go forward.
And close your arms.
And, besides...
there's too much passion. Too much.
That excessive passion will be your downfall, Mariana.
I've told you before.
But this is the last time.
Once again. Music!
In the theatre...
there's much talk about Mariana's passion for dancing.
In the theatre...
there's much talk about Mariana's passion for men.
I know Mariana fears the prejudices...
Iooming over her.
I know Mariana is afraid.
Elpidio.
I love Elpidio because Elpidio loves Cuba very much.
Cuba Valdes had to bring up her son Elpidio by herself.
She had him listen to music by Bola de Nieve...
and Benny More.
That's why Elpidio carries music within himself.
THERE'S NO LOVE LIKE MOTHER'S LOVE
But Elpidio did not turn out the way his mother wanted.
Cuba got tired...
and left.
I know...
I know the most important thing for Elpidio...
Let him ask.
And Cuba?
Your mother needs an offering.
The road to her is within yourself.
When she's ready, she will send you a sign.
Since then...
Elpidio lives, in Cuba's own terms...
waiting for things to fall on him from heaven.
But I know that, deep within himself...
he's waiting for a sign from Cuba...
his mother.
Oh, my God!
If Madame Garces finds out...
Mariana is done for.
I liked it.
A taxi. Let's take it.
Are you going to Marianao? It's two of us. Thank you.
- Your name is Julia, right? - Beg your pardon.
You're Julia.
How do you know?
I don't know it.
I feel it.
As John Lennon said, Julia:
Life is what happens to you while you're busy doing other things.
Look at the world, Julia.
Wars, fanaticism...
injustice...
sex.
Julia.
Julia!
I have some news for you.
What's the matter?
Haven't you ever seen a dressed man?
We need a...
Giselle.
Auditions with a guest director start tomorrow.
He wants to stage it on December 3.
You know who the candidates are?
You four.
Oh, and...
Mme Garces will also take part in the audition.
Sigmund Freud.
He knows much about Freud's theories.
His name is Fernando, Dr. Fernando.
His phone is...
29-2039.
Give him a call.
You need an analyst.
Yawning is not that bad...
but to keep fainting...
People just don't.
Comrade, what's the matter?
A car. He needs a car. A car!
That tourist...
is trying to find her missing bag.
But I would rather...
have her find...
her happiness...
here, in Havana.
Elpidio?
Chrissy.
Yes.
Here's your bag.
Cubans are unbelievable.
This has never happened to me anywhere. Only in Cuba.
Check it.
I had to phone the hotel. If I go to the police like this.
All's there?
Yeah. All my papers are here.
OK...
Nice fish. Can I touch it?
You like fish?
I work in a research project.
Do you know Greenpeace?
I came in a balloon with a...
meteorologist...
an ecologist...
and an oceanologist.
I'm a marine biologist.
What kind of fish is this?
Centropomus decimalis.
You do know about fish.
Sure.
That's what I live for.
Have you tried Cuban fish?
No, never.
Would you like to try it?
Very much. I'd love to.
Don't fall in love if you know no English.
You know English?
You know no English.
No English, Vito Manue.
You know no English.
29...
2039.
Freud.
Sigmund Freud.
Without Cuba, life wouldn't be the same.
No!
Don't touch that.
Don't touch it.
Who is she?
Your mother?
That is Cuba.
Cuba?
Tell me about her.
No.
What for?
She left.
She abandoned me.
She thought I was useless...
a bum...
a lazy good-for-nothing...
a...
She got tired.
Me too.
And now she doesn't send me a sign, or anything.
I understand.
I never knew my parents.
I can understand you.
How the hell can you understand?
You don't know Cuba Valdes.
She's never wrong.
She has opinions on everything.
Her son Elpidio had to be the best:
a model, a hero...
perfect.
A better man.
A better man...
No way.
I'm too much of a son of a bitch to be that.
But you are.
Didn't you return my bag?
You did return my bag, didn't you?
Why do you go to bed with Mme Garces?
To live comfortably.
Why do you sleep with me?
Because I never knew my parents.
Remember when they took us out of the orphanage?
I promised this crucifix...
that if it got me out I'd be the best dancer.
And it granted me my wish.
I'm going to be Giselle, Settimio.
I will be Giselle.
Mme Garces is more powerful than God.
She suspects you're sleeping with me...
and with several others...
and she can't stand it.
When will you give me that picture?
Never.
That picture is me.
Sometimes I think I am Julia...
or Julia is me.
But I'm not afraid now...
and I face reality.
You can do it, Julia.
Do it.
Just do it.
The new patient hasn't shown up.
Perhaps she won't.
Julia!
Come on!
We'll wait for a moment now.
Can you take me to the Pan-American shop in Infanta?
Yes, but take the back seat, please.
You see, Julia?
You can't do anything against fate.
Maria, Maria, what happened?
- What happened? - She fainted.
- A car, guys, a car. - Maria, say something.
Another tourist looking for happiness.
I don't like it.
I'd rather have her riding a taxi in Havana...
than being with Elpidio.
- Taxi? - O.K.
Oh, hello!
I find it extremely good.
Well...
Quite a passionate version.
Although Giselle's madness is a bit more romantic, more...
We'll let you know tomorrow.
What's the word for what...
those couples are doing?
- Necking! - What?
No.
Fall in love. Be romantic.
Although in cases like this, it's almost...
like having sex.
- Again... - What happened?
I know what's happening, but I won't say.
Don't worry.
Things like that happen.
What's more...
if I believed in miracles, I'd say it's fate.
Sit down.
Sit down, please.
- Do you like to dance? - What?
Do you like to dance?
You know, to dance.
Move your body. Dance. Like this.
Dance.
- What relevance does that have? - What do you mean?
Everything is relevant, Julia...
when we try to discover the reasons for our behavior.
Well...
yes, I like to dance.
And what do you like to dance?
Cancan.
Cancan?
How nice.
Do you have pets?
Yes.
Three dogs...
a cat...
five hens...
and a peacock.
Does the peacock open its tail?
No.
It doesn't open it.
Julia...
do you like doctors?
How can you ask that?
I'm a decent woman.
No, Julia.
I wasn't referring to physical attraction.
I wondered whether you liked doctors...
as professionals, physicians.
Forgive me, doctor...
but I'm very nervous...
with all this fainting.
I'm sorry.
Besides...
it's the first time that I...
Calm down. Don't worry.
I'm a professional and...
I want to help you.
I'll take you up to the sky.
No...
This is real freedom.
Do you know freedom?
I don't know. I'm dizzy.
Look at me.
And now...
what do you feel?
Music.
God...
I swear on all the saints...
on the mother I never knew...
and the father I never had...
if I get the role of Giselle...
I'll never go to bed with a man again.
With no one.
God, I need it.
It seems God...
is mightier than Mme Garces.
Hurray for our new Giselle!
A moment of pure...
and genuine bliss.
At times I think...
I'm Mariana...
or Mariana is me.
That Ionesome man also...
believes he's happy.
I don't care.
I have a feeling that he...
is a tool of fate.
Because on December 4th...
at 4:44 in the afternoon...
that man...
could change the fate of many people...
I love.
Never mind, comrade.
It's just that today is the happiest day of my life.
It's eleven million.
Eleven million.
What? The sugar cane harvest in 2020?
No.
There are eleven million people in Cuba...
of which 8 million...
can drive some type of vehicle...
5 million of them have driving permits...
1 million of them live in Havana...
some 775 thousands of them work for the state...
and more or less 364 are...
self-employed taxi drivers.
And of all them...
only I was chosen...
as the most honest...
the best, a model.
You hear? The best. You know why?
Because a tourist left a bag in my car...
with $50000 US dollars...
and I gave it back to him...
and I didn't accept a reward.
No shit!
I felt that if accepted the reward, I don't know...
I would lose all the beauty...
all human beings have in them.
You're out of your mind.
You see?
Now you say I'm crazy.
My mother says I'm an idiot.
My mother would be very proud.
Would you have done the same thing?
Let's not go into that, man.
Let it be.
Nice.
[Shake your waist and shoulders.]
[Man, see how I...]
[do it in Havana.]
[Shake your waist and shoulders.]
[See how it is...]
[done in Havana!]
This is your first rehearsal...
and you're ten minutes late.
But today I'm ready to forgive you.
Look at him...
He used to work with Vigon.
He'll be your partner in Giselle.
Hello.
Ismael Cienfuegos.
Julia...
did you visit the analyst?
No.
I don't need one.
Julia.
Would you go out with me?
To the balcony.
Come with me.
Beautiful, isn't it?
Your problem is shared by many people...
here in Havana, Julia.
The cause of your fainting spells, I mean.
Take a good look.
Look at that man.
That one there.
Do you know why he fainted?
A word.
A word?
He fainted because he heard a word.
It took me a long time to know but...
that's how it is.
Look.
Look at that one.
He looks drunk, doesn't he?
What happened is he heard a word he doesn't like to hear.
But he has self-control.
He's a great pretender.
He pretends.
It is fear, not only of words...
but of ideas.
A very common syndrome...
nowadays, isn't it?
But your case is much simpler, Julia.
You only faint when you hear the word...
the word...
sex.
You can look now.
These plants are for you.
I am those plants.
That's why I want them to be with you.
I'm going.
We finished our work, but...
- No. - I suggested a postponement.
You opened a new world for me.
And I want to do the same for you.
I'll be back in Cuba in a month.
If you want me to, I'll look for you.
Say yes, say yes.
Say you want me to.
Say it.
Say you want me to.
Kiss me.
I stole your money.
I knew that.
[Sleep, little black girl.]
[I'll buy you a new cradle...]
[with a little net...]
[with a little rattle.]
WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SEX?
Hasn't Julia come?
No.
I don't think she'll come now.
We'll wait for her for half an hour.
What's the matter with us?
Nothing.
Nothing is the matter with us.
Julia, get in. Dr. Fernando is waiting.
Hello!
The matter is, Ismael...
that I'm dying for you...
but I'm not going to die.
I'm going to dance Giselle.
You're not going to look at me...
nor touch me...
not even think about me.
Promise me, Ismael, please.
I can't.
Please, Ismael.
Please.
Will you take me to the Pan-American store in Infanta?
There's no need.
I brought you Julia.
For that man...
happiness are snails.
But I don't care.
I have the feeling that...
he is an instrument of fate.
Because on December 4th...
at 4:44 in the afternoon...
that bicycle-taxi driver...
could change the fate of many people...
I love.
Snails are almost perfect.
Know why?
Because they're the only creatures who could live abroad...
without being homesick.
But they live crawling about.
No.
They don't crawl.
They're just more down to earth.
That night I saw my friend go out.
When she came back...
her eyes were on fire.
She looked at me...
and I got frightened.
I ran...
and ran...
through the woods.
Then I dreamed...
that my friend was leaving town...
because all the men laughed at her burning eyes.
In spite of her pain, she couldn't cry.
And I cried.
I cried...
and cried.
I cried for what was happening to her.
I cried for her burning eyes.
We begin.
We'll go through the madness scene.
Come on.
Remember, Mariana...
you see, but you don't see.
Your eyes are lost in the distance.
Lost.
Concentrate, concentrate now.
She's good but...
something is the matter with her.
She's suffering.
Look at her eyes.
She's basing her Giselle on her own in suffering...
on her actual suffering.
Vigon, we're about to witness an extraordinary performance.
Oh, my God!
What did I tell you, doctor?
Don't feel guilty.
No, no, I...
I'm leaving.
Julia.
You abandoned your child...
when she was born.
I'm going to abandon you.
If you don't give me a sign...
I'll leave you, Cuba.
I'm leaving with Chrissy.
Talk to me, shit!
What are you doing here?
I came to break my promise to you.
Break yours to God.
I made no promise.
Yes, you did.
A taxi driver told me.
Ismael, I...
You lost your self-esteem...
after what happened.
Nothing happened to me.
It happened to my friend.
That happened over 20 years ago.
It blocked your mind.
This is the moment of truth.
Admit it.
Admit it before the others!
Do it, please.
Do it or you'll spend the rest of your life fainting.
I can't!
I don't want to!
You can!
Let me out...
or I'll scream!
All right.
That's it.
Let's scream.
You and I are going out to the street...
and are going to cry out our truths.
Mariana, Mariana!
Think about it. If I want you...
if I'm mad about you, it's because God sent me.
God is not a dictator. He's generous.
And you're free.
You don't have to choose...
between God, ballet or me.
You don't have to choose...
the three of us love you.
I want you, Mariana.
I want you more than God and ballet.
Mariana!
I didn't know my parents either!
Julia, I didn't know my parents either!
I didn't know my parents! Yes, I didn't know them!
And I like to dance. I like to dance!
I like to dance. I like to dance!
You haven't danced for 20 years, Julia.
Don't you think you have sacrificed too much?
Please, don't be afraid...
of what happened nor of what you want to be.
Anything else is false morality.
False morality! False morality!
You see?
Opportunism...
You see?
Fear to face the truth...
How did you do it?
It was senseless.
Did it hurt? Did you burn yourself?
I was burned...
but it's nothing.
Couldn't you have waited?
You could have.
You can do it there with less pain.
It had to be here.
It wouldn't do over there.
Yes...
I understand.
They're waiting for me.
I'm going.
But on December 4th...
at 4:44 in the afternoon...
I'll come for you...
in the balloon.
Wait for me on the roof.
I'm going to miss you a whole lot.
Think of...
Ho Chi Minh used to say:
"Never...
is dawn nearer...
than when the night is darkest."
Remember, Elpidio:
Never is dawn nearer...
than when the night is darkest.
Am I handsome?
No way, man.
You're fucking ugly.
Shit...
I'm sorry, man.
Listen!
Pay no attention to me.
That's no big deal.
Ho Chi Minh said:
"Never is dawn nearer
than when the night is darkest."
Tomorrow will be a new day! That's Chinese philosophy!
Every cloud has a silver lining!
Defeats must be turned into victories!
And nobody's perfect, you hear!
Nobody's perfect.
Nobody's perfect, man.
I have to choose, Ismael.
And I have.
I am Giselle...
by the will of God.
You were right, Mariana.
You're Giselle.
And you'll be Giselle...
whenever you want.
I love you, Mariana.
You'll not die of love.
I too chose.
No.
Now now.
Not now!
If this is your sign...
I already chose.
Excellent, Mariana! Take your bow!
They're all waiting for you, Mariana. What's the matter?
Leave me alone with her.
You won, Mariana.
You won over all of us.
Me.
Ismael.
You're the most amazing dancer I've ever met.
Please...
don't give up now.
Mariana...
you have to bow to your public.
I'm very nervous!
To be celebrated for my 20 years of work!
Please, be there.
Tomorrow at four.
Tomorrow is December 4th...
Saint Barbara's Day.
Ismael.
I'm leaving tomorrow.
But tomorrow, the 4th...
I'll wait for you at Revolution Square.
At 4:44 in the afternoon.
If you're not there...
I'll never see you again. I promise.
Don't be afraid, Mariana.
Don't be afraid.
Doctor...
what are you doing here?
Well...
I was fired for disorderly conduct.
I came to tell you...
I'm leaving. I'll start anew.
You can do it too, if you want to.
Tomorrow, the 4th, at 4:44...
I'll be waiting for you at Revolution Square.
If you're not there...
I'll never see you again.
Don't be afraid, Julia.
All right.
I'll go find you, mother.
I can forget your forgetfulness.
Your wish to make me so unbelievingly perfect.
Nobody's perfect.
Nobody.
Shit!
Let me be and think the way I want.
No one rules us here.
You taught me that yourself.
And now I'm not going to change.
I'm not going to change...
but I can't live without you, Cuba.
I can't.
If you can and want, accept me as I am.
Make my music take me to you.
...wish to render tribute to comrade Candida...
a comrade who, come rain or come shine...
Cuba!
Mariana!
Julia!
Taxi!
To Revolution Square, quick!
No.
Today you take the other one.
To Revolution Square, please.
I can say it now.
Sex.
What?
Sex.
Comrade.
Comrade!
Comrade, please.
Cuba!
I decided to tell my stories from the future.
So my characters could be happy...
always.
Now I am God.
I decreed total happiness...
for all the people in Havana in the year 2020.
It's very easy.
The secret...
is whistling...
Because that's what life is.
Whistling...
whistling...
PRODUCED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE HUBERT BALS FUND
OF THE INTERNATIONAL ROTTERDAM FESTIVAL
SCRIPT SELECTED BY SUNDANCE FESTIVAL
AND NHK INTERNATIONAL OF J APAN
ICAIC Productions
Subtitles: Nivaldo Ng/Isabel Almaguer
Translation: Maria Teresa Ortega