Based on the true story of Benjamin Pr뿯½fer and Sreykeo Sorvan.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
You shoot
So now you shoot the tree
Peace, folks!
Ben, I have a cool idea
We'll take LSD
at the Killing Fields. War tourism with ambition
Shit man. They'll rip us off
Shit, I have no money on me
Got any water?
Why would I have water?
It's not my fault the fucking tuk-tuk died
Look
Somebody's there
It's called Phnom
Look, Ben
Pretty women
Wave
You need to open up
Reach out to women
Here
you're unaware of time
Time's aware of you
and catches you
and you float in time
We take time
and hack it up
You can't bank time
Gnarly!
Marie is sweet, eh?
She never talks
I mean visually
Go in with me
We're in Phnom Penh!
The question is, my place or yours?
I'm going to eat
Thai chicken micken
You coming? Yes
You bought her a ring?!
Are you nuts?
They invest in gold jewelry
For a rainy day
They don't do that here
Yes, they do
No!
They want you to marry them
That's all
You have no choice
No choice, how?.
I didn't mean you, doobie doo
Speaking of doobie
What's up?
Are you in love?
Are you in love with Regula?
I don't love somebody who's not there
We're going home tomorrow!
Hamburg, Germany - 6 weeks later
Ed! Open the door!
Who are you?
I'm Ben. I live here
Who are you?
Lilli
We expected you yesterday
What happened?
Bicycle accident
We study together
We had a welcome party for you
The mattress is in the basement
Or you could just...
sleep on the sofa
How does it work?
Do you pay her?
I send her money
so she won't sell her body
Can you afford that?
No, he can't
What's a hooker like in bed?
It's nice
What does that mean?
She does the work and you enjoy it?
With her it's nice
Like us
I see
What'll you do now?.
An intern job
What else?
Lunch is in the cafeteria
On the ground floor
Here comes the boss
Excuse me, Mr. Behr, just briefly
This is my brother Ben
Great. Hello
It's a pleasure
If you need anything
just say so
The door is always open
Don't hold back
I'm here for you
I mean for
questions, suggestions
Speaking of which
my brother spent 3 months in Asia
Really?
Cambodia
Good
This is Mr. M뿯½llerhofen
Who?
Please come in
This is Mr. M뿯½llerhofen
He thinks his building society
has been embezzling
from tenants for 15 years
G' day
Coffee or water?
I've had my daily water quota
Please...
Right, a chair
Thanks
M뿯½llerhofen!
He killed me
M뿯½llerhofen is
totally nuts, of course
But if he's right, it could be a big scandal
That would be great
How're things at home? Sybille's well?
If you mean Claudia
she doesn't affect my home life
Ah. No gray area
I keep office and home separate
So only during office hours?
It's none of your business who I'm banging
Got it?
I get you a job and you fuck with me?
No worries
I've got other problems
Claudia is only here 'til Christmas
I know it. So does she
We're all adults
So it's all under control
I met a woman in Cambodia
You send her money?
She's my girlfriend
Those women have lots of men
who send money
Bet she does too
She can't afford love
Sorry
Tell me about Cambodia
What?
How do people live there?
They constantly eat
and offer you food. Food's important
They're never alone
They're always in a group. Even asleep
The whole family sleeps in one room
If they had to sleep alone
they'd feel weird
They even use
the same toothbrush
I send her 150 a month
In return, she got a new job
Doing what?
Working at a beer garden
On commission
If more customers drink her brand
she earns more
And no men?
No. That's our contract
Ah. Contract
Your head back in Cambodia?
What does life cost in Phnom Penh?
In a factory
she'd earn $ 50 or 60 a month
But she takes care of her family
What does her mother do?
She gambles
Cards
What's up?
Did something happen?
Could you have caught it?
Yes
You have to get tested
I know
Listen, your 3 months are almost up
You'll get Claudia's editor's job
Sign the contract today
Then we'll insure you against disability
You want to hire me as a staff editor?
You're mixing private life and the office again
You're my brother
It doesn't get any more private
I don't care
Shit!
How are you?
Haven't seen you in ages
I'm fine. You?
Not bad
Tandem training program
3 months office, 3 months school
I'm in comp trolling
at Hapag Lloyd
A great company
You know logistics
is growing 10% per year?
So they need people badly
The money's right too
1000 euros a month
They want people to look good
When I finish my degree
I'll have a job waiting
And you?
I'm getting an HIV test
I'm sorry
No worries
I'll cross my fingers
All the best
See you
What's that?
For my new visa
You're going back?
Sreykeo is HIV positive
And you?
I get the results in 5 days
Then I go to Cambodia
What if you're positive?
I'll still go
That's just so romantic
Just romantic or plain stupid
Should I get tested?
The toothbrush
I don't think so, but I'll let you know
Did I miss something?
Think about it
Once she starts the meds
she has to keep taking them
Forever
If she stops
the virus could become resistant
But in Cambodia only Stavudine
is available
With 1000 side effects
Nerve damage to the arms and legs
It's not even used in Germany anymore
It's well tolerated at first
but less effective and those side effects
Trust me, AZT is much better
AZT is not available in Cambodia
I want the supplier's name
All the many HIV cases here
take Stavudine
Why should this girl
get anything else?
She's my girlfriend
We'll gladly enroll your girlfriend
in our program
but if our drugs aren't good enough
I know you can get AZT from the supplier
Be reasonable
Stavudine is always available
but AZT...
That's why I need a reliable source
I'll buy them but where!
That's not our job
I don't give a shit!
Give me the damn address
We're building wells in rural areas of Cambodia
so our aid worker
can't join your HIV program here in Phnom Penh
No problem
You can buy the drugs for her
directly from our importer
That's possible?
Of course
Oh, shit
Your boyfriend can't work any more
He has stomach ache very weak
But...
I love him. And he loves me
We'll keep that in mind
Okey dokey in Cambodia?
More or less
This is Vanessa
Hello, Vanessa
You two study together?
No. Why?
Whatever
I'll just close this
What about Lilli?
Vanessa is less stressful
And you?
UN ambassador for human rights and development aid?
How's things in Phnom Penh?
Thanks, Dr. House. Everything's fine
Her viral load is dropping
Her family wants me to
marry her and farm rice
So now you don't know what to do?
No, I just don't know
I thought
it would work out, but there's no solution
I go there, I come back
I go again. I'm out of money
Right
What do you think?
Make a list
What's on the pro side?
Life with her will never be boring.
Sex?
Really?
Yes
She's special, that's a fact
What else?
She loves me as I am
All women say they love you
for who you are
OK, one plus. Con?
She lives in Asia, I live in Europe
That could be a pro...
So, con?
You can barely communicate
She costs money
She can't, or rather shouldn't, have children
She's a Cambodian ex-prostitute
who is going to die of AIDS. That's a fact
Current medical lore says
she'll live another 25 years, max
if she gets the right medication
Now consider your age
Damn, I don't believe it
German?
Good in Phnom Penh?
You speak German?
Yes. Good
Happy
Your turn
Listen, Ben
I'll send you to Asia at the magazine's expense
You'll do an article on luxury hotels
and meanwhile, you write your story
Young backpacker meets fallen girl...
You know, AIDS and so on
All for good reason
We'll pay separately
and you keep the copyright
You should invest
to get ahead
I can't do that
Of course you can
Sell it elsewhere and cash in
I have to ask Sreykeo. It's her story too
Do that. But don't wait long
BTW those are mine
Yeah. Got it
Shit
Want to watch?
otherwise we'll watch porn
During Advent?
Especially during Advent!
From a German
You speak German well
And the German man lives here?
No
She opens the door to the disco
looks around, sees a man at the bar
goes right to him, says buy me a glass of bubbly
I thought, OK, two glasses of champagne
Then she drank it down
in one gulp
and said, now I want to dance
I don't like to dance
But we danced. We even danced well
And ever since I've held her close
Two years later, Henry came along
We got married and soon you arrived
That's our story
Your mother always knew what she wanted
It's for you
She called me poppa
Why is he going outside?
For privacy. Let him be
You're beautiful
Thank you
Your French is excellent
I'm a teacher
Would you like to sleep with me tonight?
Take the money!
I've got lots of money
Why won't you look at me?
You agreed to come with me
So don't make a fuss now
What's wrong?
I gave you money
Don't make me use force
Or would you rather go with foreigners?
It's the best hotel in Kuala Lumpur
Wear something nice, write the article
and don't forget the hotel is paying for everything
While you're there
you can figure out how to write your own story
Got it?
I can hand in expense receipts?
Receipts for AIDS drugs would not go over well here
Get it?
I can't do it
We just split up. I can't just go and pretend it's fine
and then cash in on our story. That's bad
Break-ups happen
but it's a good story
You can't just leave her behind
You'll feel guilty your whole life
that you just cut her off
as if it hadn't happened
First promises, then bam
I didn't make promises
So you think
like big brother here
But she might see it differently
Be honest
You really made no promises?
I promised l'd help and I did that
What do you think?
Me?
I don't see that as a promise
More...
like an agreement or a contract
I see
And then one side just cancels it?
She still works as a bar-girl
although I send money. She broke our contract
It was your contract
By German law. Hamburg jurisdiction
That contract applies to her?
What security does she have?
Should she wait for you all her life?
At least be real
Go lay your cards on the table
This to and fro is pointless
End the relationship with dignity
Then everybody knows what's what
that's her right
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Heitmann speaking
Ditto
Are you mad?
Totally?
First you want to go, then you don't
Now you break off the trip?
I need time to for my book
I'm writing our story
The hotel asked where you are
It's totally embarrassing
including for me
They'll fire you
I don't care
I'll find a job in Cambodia
Today Benjamin and Sreykeo live in Cambodia and Germany.
They have a son. He is healthy. ਊ