[soft instrumental music]
[The Writer]
I want to write
whatever happens.
Even if I'm condemned to file
my non-existence.
We start from a void.
From the euphoria of a man
who has lost hope
yet persistent.
[woman]
Good morning. Come, Tina.
[The Writer] I write personal
dream of success.
I'm incomprehensible
to my fellow men.
I have to put up
with my neighborhood,
my family...
...and myself again.
Succumbing
to a nervous breakdown.
- Actually,
I've done little more.
- [doorbell chimes]
[The Writer]
To survive, I write.
[doorbell chimes]
[The Writer]
I feel like peace here.
I transcend
my soul's life with ease.
- [utensils clattering]
- [man shouting in a distance]
[speaking in Chinese]
[The Writer]
"The enlightenment started
when the people realized...
...they were no longer living
in the Middle Ages."?
[laughing]
[bell tolling]
Okay, so,
I have present for you,
the seven ecstasies.
The seven themes that we're
gonna really focus on.
You're gonna choose one.
Now, the ecstasy of the social,
we have the ecstasy of the body,
the ecstasy of information,
ecstasy of time,
ecstasy of the real,
the ecstasy of sex,
and the ecstasy of violence.
History is a luxury of the West.
My intents of humanity
live on the margin of history.
The naive illusion is that...
[inhales sharply]
...the media is controlled
by the those in power.
Ironically,
it may just be the opposite.
We experience time and history
as if in a deep coma...
...predictions and foresight...
...are the memory of the future.
He's talking Chinese.
[chuckles]
You're too young to understand.
It's about
Clandestine Revolution.
Okay. I want a, in two weeks,
a paper based on one of these
things on my desk, okay?
Okay.
Okay or I'm gonna
jump off the tower.
[all] Okay.
- I want to hear it.
- [all] Okay.
Okay. Thank you.
[students chattering]
You had a hard on.
- When?
- You had a hard on in class.
[unintelligible]
[both chuckles]
[gentle instrumental music]
Who? Who is watching me? Humph?
Why, why does it seem impossible
for me to have a relation
with a normal human being?
This is impossible. It is
for me to leave the island.
So...
Today everything hurts
and yet I feel at peace.
The habit of pain.
I don't feel it's
constant buzzing or burning.
- [phone ringing]
- [phone beeps]
[Julia]
Hola!
This is your ex-girlfriend,
Julia.
Haven't seen you in some time.
Javier misses you.
I thought...
...maybe we could play family.
Next Saturday?
[phone beeps]
[light suspenseful music]
"How can we build a city
when it tells lies...
...and forgetfulness?"
[bell tolling]
"I write on pavement, on paper,
and on toilet paper.
I came to search for you,
but did not want to find you.
Read me. Decipher me.
I will be back
on Wednesday at 12.
I hope to see you
without talking.
I prefer to read you
and you read me."
[people chattering]
Hi. Tomorrow...
Okay, thank you.
[upbeat music]
[man grunting]
No, no.
[grunting continues]
- [car honks]
- [tires screeches]
- [Julia] That was the exit.
- [The Writer] Hmm.
[Julia]
You just missed the exit.
- [Julia]
You should've turned right.
- [The Writer] Right.
- [Julia] Ugh, now it's too late.
- [The Writer] Mm-hmm.
Told you, it was
a cut off to Caguas.
- You've wasted
half a morning in this.
- Yes, I did it on purpose.
I told you
we needed to leave early.
So why don't you go
inside with him
and I'll park the car
and meet you there?
Javier, let's go.
- [upbeat music]
- [Javier giggling]
I want that one.
[The Writer]
You do?
[muffled chatter]
[muted]
[The Writer]
We know the rings
we will never buy.
And make travel plans
for places we will never visit.
[Javier giggles]
Hey!
- Hey!
- [Javier] Mommy,
those are for you.
- Where did you get these?
- Over there.
[people chattering]
So this crazy
is following you...
...without measuring her words,
some kind of intellectual
seductive manipulation--
I didn't say that.
I don't even know
if it's a man or a woman.
I thought you said
it was a woman.
I never said it was a woman.
So why are you even
telling me this?
I don't know.
Obviously,
I had to tell someone.
So I'm just someone?
[Javier]
Mommy, stop.
We're never going to be more
than just a handful of needs in
search of a resolution, we're
both incapable of fulfilling.
- It's just--
- Here you go again
with that mumbo jumbo
word justification
for us not being together.
- [Javier] Mommy, stop.
- Julia.
Sorry, Julia,
I can't listen to your pain.
It doesn't belong to me.
This was,
this was just a big mistake.
You know what? Stop the car.
- [Javier] Mommy!
- Oh, please. Come on.
- Come on.
- Stop the car.
- I'm not gonna leave you here.
- Please, stop the car!
[Javier]
Mommy, stop.
[suspenseful music]
Stop the car!
All right, just calm down.
Calm down!
- [Javier] Stop.
- Okay, okay, okay, wait.
[Javier]
Mommy.
[The Writer]
Hang on, hang on.
- [Javier] Mommy...
- What are you doing?
Hold on. Hold on. Wait!
[Javier]
Mommy, mommy!
He's really, really mad.
[Julie]
We'll be okay, Javier.
Don't worry, baby.
We'll be home soon.
Passing story.
[sighs]
[door opens]
[Julia]
Don't forget the glasses.
[The Writer]
Give me.
- Here. Here.
- Yeah.
Too bad he isn't yours.
[romantic music]
[belt clattering]
[unzipped trousers]
[Writer softly grunts]
[Julia soft moans]
[both moaning]
[Julia]
Hey.
Wake up.
- Wake up!
- [mumbles]
[Julia]
Come on!
- [exhales sharply]
- I can't let Javier see you
in my bed.
- Come on.
- [grunts]
I'll lose my alimony.
Here.
Thank you.
[melancholic music]
[The Writer]
I shouldn't kid myself
that the center
of the messages is a woman.
A woman I could
fall in love with.
I've been dying a bit every day.
I've been dying slowly
every day from my life.
[birds chirping]
"Paying attention
to another human
is the purest
and rarest form of love."
S. W.
[mysterious music]
Excuse me. Did you see anybody
writing on the pavement there?
- Uh-uh.
- Right there on the pavement.
- Did you see anybody writing?
- Uh-uh.
[light suspenseful music]
"I don't like simpletons.
If they were in charge,
literature
would have disappeared
from the face of the Earth.
I hate that great part
of humanity called normal,
which each day
destroys my world.
I hate the people
they call good natured
because given the opportunity
they have the potential
of doing extraordinary evil."
Wait a minute.
I know this.
No. No, no, no, no.
I know this. I know who this is.
Enrique Vila. Enrique Vila.
[laughter]
Enrique Vila.
That's right.
[phone ringing]
[phone beeps]
[Julia]
Hello.
- Are you there?
- [The Writer] Could it be Julia
- sending me messages?
- [Julia] Hola. This is Julia.
- [The Writer]
She knows my taste.
- [Julia] Are you there?
- [The Writer]
My place of work.
- [Julia] Pick up the phone.
[soft grunt]
[Julia]
Are you there?
[exhales sharply]
[Julia]
Are you listening to me?
Hello?
Can I bring Javier by tomorrow?
[The Writer]
Better not be Julia.
- [Julia] Are you there?
- Yes.
[Julia]
Can I bring Javier by tomorrow
for a couple of hours?
- I...
- No, no, no, no, no.
Not here. Um...
- Not here. I...
- You are all right?
Yes, yes. I...
Why don't you bring Javier to my
friend Diego's place tomorrow?
Cause I'm checking in
on some renovations
I'm doing in his house.
- You sure you're alright?
- So... Yeah. Yeah, sure.
Listen, I'll take care of him.
Don't worry. Okay?
Okay.
[hangs up the phone]
[Carmen]
I have only two things to say.
One...
...I'm really sick and tired
of using the term "humanity"
to refer to all people,
"manity."
Why not just use men and women?
Two little words
and half of the human race
would be grateful.
[audience laughing]
And now we finish with a,
a thought
from the French philosopher
Deria.
Derrida. Why did she say Deria?
"Forget logic.
It is cut in the conflict
between truth and lies."
[applauses]
[Pedro]
Thank you,
professor Carmen Lindo.
Our past is our proud reminder
of our solid commitment
to the development
of educated citizens.
Since 1903, we have graduated
highly skilled students prepared
to compete successfully
in our complex world.
The future is full
of great opportunities.
- [Lina] I'll see you later.
- [Pedro] To continue
our dedication
- to carry on our mission
of excellence.
- Wait a minute. See you later.
- [Pedro] To celebrate
our accomplishments...
- [The Writer] Excuse me. Sorry.
...is part of our life.
[light suspenseful music]
[Pedro]
...of dreams.
[The Writer]
Who is stalking me?
How do they know
where I live, work?
Even the contents of my dreams.
[woman]
Well, you application
is missing page ten.
"You knew that only an exact
copy could guarantee the truth."
"You knew that only an exact
copy could guarantee the truth."
It must be Kafka.
Excuse me, did you see somebody
go into my office?
No.
[woman]
Forget about him. No chance
with that man. We've tried.
[The Writer]
How could someone fire
a random shot
and hit the target?
Who could know
how my brain works?
How could a message
express my inner feelings?
[light suspenseful
music continues]
[The Writer]
I've kept people
at a distance all my life.
Now I yearn for someone
I've never met.
- [Javier whispers]
- [The Writer] Javier?
Where are you?
[Javier giggling]
Hide-and-seek. You hide, I seek.
- [Javier giggles]
- [imitating monster]
Grrr.
[The Writer]
I used to play this game
with my friend Diego
when we were kids.
But, he's in Argentina.
Where are you, Javier?
- [Javier giggles]
- Who's that?
Who hit my butt?
Who's the little butt monster?
Where is he?
[both screams]
[Javier]
...protect me.
[imitating monster]
[The Writer]
The irony doesn't escape me...
...the dialogue, when it begins
is another writer's words.
[Javier mumbling]
[light suspenseful music]
Game on.
[thunder rumbling]
[rain pattering]
- What?
- [skateboard rolling]
"You have not understood
anything.
Tomorrow on Paz Granela,
El Atico de la Abuela...
...search for me...
...until you find me.
S. W.
S. W.
S. W.
Shakespeare William?
Simon West?
No, Simon-- Simone?
Simone Weil?
Simon Weil but Simone Weil.
Simone Weil.
[keyboard cackling]
Aha.
But why is she searching for me?
[skateboard approaching]
[panting]
[The Writer]
Huh?
Huh?
Huh?
[The Writer chuckles]
[doorbell chimes]
[woman]
You are going to have to come in
to see for yourself.
I don't keep a file on my books.
Yes, it is in as good enough
alphabetical order
as I can manage.
Good day, adiós, and f*ck you.
We're closed. Fermé. Cerrado.
[stutters]
What do you mean closed?
You deaf? Surd?
No, I'm not surd.
The door was open. Ouvert.
We're closed for inventory.
Well, how am I suppose
to know then?
Hmm... [clicks tongue] Aha!
The gust of the wind.
Okay, listen, I am,
I need your help.
It's very important.
Important to you, huh?
Well, obviously.
- [speaking in French]
- [stutters]
Listen, did someone
leave something for me here?
A message from a young girl.
G-- uh, glasses,
short hair, 19--
No one leaves messages.
- Are you sure?
- Cross my heart.
They, they said
it was here somewhere.
- Please.
- Go ahead.
Help yourself.
- Okay.
- There's a room.
[gentle music]
Simone Weil.
YOU ARRIVED!
Humph. [speaking in French]
Un cadeau? Gift?
- [chuckles] Anything else?
- Who sold you this book?
I don't understand.
[speaking in French]
Uh, I, I don't know. Someone.
Let me see.
Let me see it.
A woman. Une femme.
When, when did she come?
Several times.
She, she buys our things.
When was she here, exactly?
D-- what is she like?
When did she give you this book?
[speaking in French]
Humph. Maybe, uh...
a week ago, um,
[speaking in French]
[laughs]
You know, you're loco.
Well, I am a writer.
What do you expect?
Please.
Please, do you know her?
You know her name?
Do you have a receipt?
[clicks tongue]
I'm sorry. It, it is crucial.
Life or death?
All right, let's see.
See, there it is. Simone Weil.
No, no.
That's the title of the book.
- No, that is her name.
- No, it's the, the title. Look.
No, that is her name.
[woman chuckles]
All that matters
to me is numbers, not names.
It says three, three books.
Trois livres.
She bought
two other French books.
[speaking in French]
You see, that is her signature.
I pay five dollar.
She signed. See,
all it is in black and white.
Why would she not write
her real name?
Huh? Why?
[staff chattering]
- [Glenda]
He's reading the book.
- [Li] Yeah.
I need to bring him something.
- [Glenda] Ha! I'll get it.
- Wait. Wait.
[muffled chatter]
[sighs]
You like Simone Weil?
What?
[stutters] You like
Simone Weil?
Oh. I...
I...
- Here.
- [stutters]
[light suspenseful music]
[The Writer]
The oddest question
I've been asked in my life.
Is she messenger or sender?
"Page 46."
"Simone Weil was not aware
of the carnal nature
of everyday life
nor was she aware
of the conventions, and rituals,
and social behavior."
[water splash]
[romantic music in Spanish]
[moaning]
[The Writer]
How could I not dream of love
with a body made of words?
[phone beeps]
Hi, I'm Simone.
About time, I present myself.
Please forgive me if I have
created a great inconvenience.
I can't see you till Thursday,
which is my day off.
Let's meet at the book store
in Rio Piedras
by your Three in One.
I said "Hola" to you,
but you didn't recognize me.
Five p.m.
You don't have to.
- [laughs]
- [beep]
Hi, I'm Simone.
About time, I present myself.
- [laughing]
- Please forgive me if I have
created a great inconvenience.
I can't see you till Thursday,
which is my day off.
Let's meet at the book store...
[upbeat music]
I said "Hola" to you,
but you didn't...
Five p.m.
I may not will be
the same again.
My fortress has been breached.
I've never felt more a prisoner
of the unforeseeable.
Yes! Yes! Yes!
I'm Simone. About time...
[The Writer]
Although I counted the days
and the hours,
I did not wanted it to happen.
I had fallen in love
with the tactics of approach
that seemed a work of art.
[suspenseful music]
Hola. Um, do you know
where my collection
of Three in One will be?
Um, they sold the last one.
- Who bought it?
- Sorry, uh,
I was on a break. I'll...
Uh, they have
a receipt of purchase,
but-- not a name.
Sorry.
You know how to arrive.
Hey.
W-- well, d--
you know how to hide. [chuckles]
Please forgive my entanglements.
So you're using the phone
again... [inaudible]
If I had done that,
you wouldn't have come.
I've been to two
of your lectures.
Why Simone Weil?
I like her name.
[chuckles]
She would study on her knees.
- On her knees?
- Yeah.
She would read
for hours on her knees.
She was half insane yet lucid.
She never pretended
to escape from her reality.
Why play all the games?
[speaking in Chinese]
Ultimately,
nothing can be hidden.
Ciao.
[The Writer]
After waiting so long for her,
no beauty could ever compare
to the one I imagined.
- [Glenda] Li.
- [speaking in Chinese]
- He's here.
- [speaking in Chinese]
Hey.
[speaking in Chinese]
[melancholic music]
[speaking in Chinese]
Hmm.
Li no cook.
- [speaking in Chinese]
- [all laughing]
[Li]
Come on. [chuckling]
[gentle melancholic music]
[The Writer]
From the cold, humid,
and smoke-filled plains
of Beijing,
from the time
of the cultural revolution,
the child arrived in Puerto Rico
at the age of six.
She does not allow herself
to remember the...
[unintelligible]
The unending rice fields,
the taste of boiled potatoes,
the lap of her grandmother,
a couple of songs.
[sighs]
Notice your lower self
to remember a family broken.
This is for you.
[Li giggles]
[The Writer]
Her father dying
from cold and hunger
because he had
Russian manuals of geometry,
an old translation
of Madame Bovary,
and records of Charlie Parker.
Some cultural revolution.
- Keep going.
- [The Writer panting] Okay.
All right.
Okay, okay. Stop.
- [The Writer] Huh?
- [Li chuckles]
Okay.
[dramatic music]
What do you think?
I, I have no words.
[laughs] A writer has no words?
[both laughing]
[exhales sharply] Hmm.
I craved the luxury of silence.
I lived in noise all my life.
From Beijing to Hong Kong
to Arecibo,
to San Juan.
Noise in the kitchen.
Noise from the traffic.
Noise from family.
It's just noise.
Can't you leave
to find your silence?
The world of [inaudible]
[inaudible] is, um,
- consist of one inhabitant, me.
- [The Writer chuckles]
But it's, uh, planet in the
universe on the Chinese laws.
It's a planet where reading
is a weapon of choice.
Hmm.
[The Writer]
A man and a woman
are transformed...
...when they can hold
each other's gaze in silence.
From that moment on,
you build a story from which
you can not back away.
I, I must tell you.
I'm a l*sbian.
And I must warn you...
...I'm a dinosaur.
[both laugh]
Oh, I have to go.
Hurry.
[bell tolling]
[The Writer]
We are on a journey
to where no maps exist.
[woman]
He's just coming in.
Alfaguara, Spain.
Hello.
Yes.
Publication of my books? But...
So, you're not gonna
accept my story because...
[inhales sharply]
...of the date
of the publication of my books?
No, no, no, no.
Wait, I thought
this was in Anthology. I--
No, this is insane.
What about Máximo Noreña?
No, that's--
you gotta be kidding me.
You know what?
That's fine. That's fine.
Because I see what it is. Okay?
So, obviously,
recognition follow some sort
of whim or, or, or friendships
or something like that.
You know what? That's fine.
That's fine. f*ck Spain.
Puerto Rico will publish us.
- Viva Puerto Rico.
- [woman 2] Sí. Viva.
Eso.
[suspenseful music]
[The Writer]
So...
...where would you like to go?
Are you deaf?
I'm sorry.
The publishers of...
...in Anthology just decided
not to include me. So...
...I know it's no excuse,
but you think I have
thick skin by now. But...
I'm sure they didn't read you.
I, I'm sorry.
I must filled your head
with so many questions.
If it's any consolation,
you must done the same to me.
[The Writer]
There are no answers.
So... what would you like to do?
Take me to your house.
Only to promise not to--
Breach the great wall of China?
[both chuckles]
[engine revving]
[gentle music]
[The Writer moans softly]
[breaths heavily]
[Li moans softly]
[sighs]
[moaning]
[both moan]
[belt clacking]
[gentle music continues]
[moaning]
[The Writer]
The battle to find
an answer had ended.
We went in blind,
not seeing the abyss before us.
A l*sbian had fallen
in love with the man
and he had responded.
But she wrote the rules.
["Haze" by Calma Carmona]
[shutter clicks]
[Li laughs]
Oh, wait.
Okay.
[The Writer]
A Chinese girl
was creating a work of art
with materials
from a local pharmacy.
This work was born
from love and rage.
This one. This one.
This one. This one. Okay.
We're gonna put it high
and it's gonna be okay.
I found it.
Here.
Come.
Here. [giggling]
Here.
Okay. Okay, okay.
Save me.
Here, take my photo.
[shutter clicks]
[police siren wails]
[upbeat music in Spanish]
[moaning]
[both giggling]
[inaudible]
You okay?
Hmm?
[sighs]
How about now?
- [chuckles]
- You like it?
Oh, you might get this too.
[exclaims]
Oh! [gasps]
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. [giggles]
Thank you. [giggles]
[sighs] Anything for my Li Chao.
Diego. Die-- [laughs]
I got, I got a lot to tell you,
but so far so good.
Yeah, I know, I can't right now,
but let me call you back
tonight. Okay?
Okay. God bless.
[grunts]
[speaking in Spanish]
I can't even get
into my own bookshelves anymore
because I have put my stuff
in there. This is pretty crazy.
Li Chao. Li Chao.
[laughs] This is crazy.
Oh, my gosh.
[light suspenseful music]
[The Writer]
They like it.
[chuckles]
[gentle music]
[chattering in Chinese]
Wait. My uncle is here.
Okay.
[speaking in Chinese]
This is Wen Da, my great-uncle.
- [speaking in Chinese]
- This is my cousin Bai.
[speaking in Chinese]
Do you like Chinese tea?
- Yes. Yes.
- Chinese tea.
[speaking in Chinese]
If you drink
the Chinese tea every day,
you'll live long and be healthy.
[speaking in Chinese]
- What happened?
- Oh. [chuckles]
Please, forgive Bai.
He's always been like this.
Wen Da was a notary in China.
He studied arts.
These are all his paintings.
Beautiful. Tell him.
[speaking in Chinese]
Uh, do you wanna have a look?
[Wen Da chuckles]
[speaking in Chinese]
This is what were used
for calligraphy.
Oh.
[speaking in Chinese]
- This is Zen.
- Oh, Zen.
- I have read the, the Tao.
- Tao.
[speaking in Chinese]
Uh, Tao is the divine way
of the universe.
[The Writer]
Okay, uh, why are you
in Puerto Rico?
- How, how--?
- He came with our group.
Um, he's not really
my great-uncle,
- but I love him all the same.
- [Li and Wen Da giggles]
He was a cook for our restaurant
for many years.
But he's different
from the others.
D-- do you see,
he have... [giggles]
...books and he's a painter.
Yes, no, you, you are an artist.
- [speaking in Chinese]
- [Li chuckles]
So, do you come
to see him often?
As often as I can.
He's the only one
I consider family.
What about the other guy?
The, um... [clicks tongue]
uh, um, your cousin, Bai?
He doesn't count.
Something happened?
[snickers]
A lot of things happened,
but it doesn't matter anymore.
[speaking in Chinese]
Nice to meet you. Thank you.
Come back.
Oh.
Li Chao...
...never love.
[man shouting in the distance]
Why didn't you
translate all that?
Too complicated.
[romantic music]
[The Writer]
Hmm.
[The Writer grunts]
[The Writer moaning]
[moaning continues]
[Li exclaims]
[The Writer]
I did not understand why she
needed me to give myself to her.
Why she was so insistent
in possessing me.
As the future did not matter.
But I could feel the birth
of terror.
I felt on the edge of the abyss.
Are you ever gonna let me?
Let you what?
Let you what?
To make love completely.
[sighs]
[The Writer]
I could not continue
to stare at the wall of China
and not know
why I couldn't enter.
Why was I so obsessed with a
woman who kept herself from men?
I love you, Li.
It's natural for me to want to.
It's important for me.
Yes.
So then why not?
We do everything else
and you seem to like it.
[Li]
There are things
that are difficult.
Okay.
Explain.
[Li]
I can't.
Maybe it's a Chinese thing.
But you trust me.
I mean, it's different
between us, no?
[Li]
I know.
And you started
this game, you...
...could stop.
Well, I didn't.
You prefer women?
Is that it?
That's...
That's not very clear anymore...
...since I've been with you.
Let's think about it, Li Chao.
What could happen?
Everything.
[suspenseful music]
[phone ringing]
[phone beeps]
[Li]
I can't see you for a while.
I'm not well. I'll let you know
when I'm better.
[phone beeps]
[eerie music]
[melancholic music]
[The Writer]
I was driven by the vague hope
of finding a way out
into another lifetime
in another world.
I, like the island, I'm obsessed
with salvation and the escape.
I felt the pain
between these four walls
accumulated
throughout the years.
I feel it's eternity.
When I die,
my pain will live on here.
Who knows for how long? [sighs]
[skateboard rolling]
[bell dings]
[sniffs]
[clears throat]
[door opens]
[Li]
I have more chances of saving
myself in hell than in heaven.
Come to the Cinema Paradise
and find me
in the image making machine.
[melancholic music continues]
[birds flapping wings]
Li Chao?
Hello?
Image making machines.
[unintelligible]
Come on! I'm here.
Where are you?
[giggling]
I'm not getting anything easy.
THE THIRD "THREE IN ONE"
DO NOT BE LATE
[thunder rumbling]
[rain pattering]
[light suspenseful music]
Excuse me.
YOU DID NOT COME
What--
[unintelligible]
What?
She f-- sh*t!
I hate these f*cking games.
[grunts]
Hola, Alfredo.
Have you seen a Chinese girl?
A Chinese girl?
- Yes, Chinese girl.
- Uh...
The girlfriend of Carmencita?
- Girlfriend?
- Yes, the Chinese friend
of Carmen Lindo?
Yes, that one.
She was here, but she left.
Do you know where she went?
By the way,
do you know when Carmen
come back from California?
[The Writer]
I now stand looking
into the abyss
of what she has not told me.
Silence.
Lies or truth.
[tires screeching]
[car honking]
[panting]
Oh, God.
[speaking in Spanish]
[melancholic music]
[eerie music]
[The Writer]
Hot chocolate and cheese.
My mother used to give us
during hurricanes.
I don't dare ask if she
had been Carmen Lindo's lover.
I hoped life would give us
a chance to be reborn.
["W.I.W.Y.G. 2.0"
by Calma Carmona]
[laughing]
No.
[Li giggling]
Hey.
[giggling continues]
[both screaming]
[The Writer]
Look at this. [grunting]
[classical music]
[Li]
Oh!
[Li breathing heavily]
[both moaning]
[both moaning]
[moaning continues]
[both moan loudly]
[birds chirping]
[footsteps receding]
Is this how you say goodbye?
[sobbing] No, no.
[sniffles]
What did your cousin Bai
do to you?
He r*ped me.
When?
When I was 13.
And, when I was 14.
And, when I was 15.
[sobs] He would come to my room
after I fall asleep.
[sighs]
I didn't know what he was doing.
I didn't want to know
what he was doing.
I knew it was
something terrible.
I couldn't tell Mother.
[inhales sharply]
I tried to convince myself
that it was something
to do with love.
Like in Hong Kong pictures.
When I was 15...
...I got pregnant.
The owner's wife gave me some
special herbs from Hong Kong.
They locked me up in a room
on the rooftop for ten days.
Until between fevers,
and spasms,
and hemorrhage.
I aborted my baby.
They sent Bai
to a restaurant in San Germán.
And I didn't see him for years.
I was surrounded
by rumor and dirt.
[sobs] My mother died...
...thinking I had disgraced her.
Convinced that I would
never be happy again.
[sobs]
Even you can't give me
what Bai took.
That's why I'm going.
I wanted you to know that
I was willing to go to places
that I never thought I could.
I needed to know
Bai was not in you.
Was he?
Was he, Li?
No.
[sobbingly] No.
[sniffles]
You don't deserve my problems.
Your book dazzled me.
And when I saw you, I liked you.
You can't imagine how much I
enjoyed fantasizing with a man.
I had only been loved
with women before.
I never thought we could meet,
so it happened. I...
I wasn't prepared.
I was very alone.
I wish something different
could happen.
I wish I could be like
everyone else again.
I don't know. The love I feel
for you is a form of use.
That's also why I'm leaving.
Please, don't try
to understand or forgive me.
[sobs]
I can't stay.
Everything will be worse.
Is it Carmencita?
What?
Carmen Lindo.
College professor.
She knows you.
So, you've seen her.
I have spoken to her.
She just came back.
So, that's why
you are leaving me.
No.
So, it's just
a coincidence then?
No. Like I told you
in the beginning.
I was a l*sbian.
I share a history with her,
like I share with you.
Li and Lindo.
- Like a joke.
- [clicks tongue]
- Don't make fun of her.
- [The Writer snickers]
[Li]
I don't care what do you think.
She's my teacher
and she helped me.
- Now, you know my story.
- I don't know your whole story.
And what you've told me
is too late.
I don't think you prefer
that I didn't come
for the first meeting.
I wasn't substituting you
for her.
[sighs] And why
are you running away
after what happened last night?
Because I don't think
I can live with you.
Why not, Li Chao?
Why not?
Because I told you.
Bai r*ped me
and I didn't do anything.
I didn't protest,
I didn't call out.
Because I felt that I was
in love with that dog.
[melancholic music]
And because after I couldn't
be with another man, I...
B--
Because, I...
...I don't know how to love.
[sobs] I never felt it.
Not when I was six,
not when I was 13,
and not when I was 15.
[sobbing continues]
Not with Carmen,
maybe, maybe with you.
Li Chao?
[speaking in Chinese] Li gone.
You no come back.
[speaking in Chinese]
Li big trouble with the boss.
Why? What happened?
Li go up to roof.
Bang on Bai door.
[speaking in Chinese]
Cannot get up.
Big fight. We go up hearing Bai,
people are awake.
Li took her bag and run.
[speaking in Chinese]
Li love you.
[speaking in Chinese]
[speaking in Chinese]
[traffic humming]
Li gone.
[speaking in Chinese]
That's my fault.
She disappeared.
I'm sorry. Uh...
But, I love her.
I love her art...
...her soul...
...but her art...
She's-- you, you...
You taught her well.
She's gifted.
Gifted. [speaks in Chinese]
[speaks in Chinese]
[Wen sighs]
Li Chao.
More... [speaks in Chinese]
than me.
No.
I... [chuckles]
She's gifted. Yes.
[speaks in Chinese]
I, I gave her this paper.
I gave her.
I wanted to send her
to a great art school.
But, I couldn't.
[speaking in Chinese]
Oh, yeah. Yes.
Wait, there's a message.
She's trying to erase...
...the name of Bai.
She's trying to erase
the name... of Carmen.
This art is a testimony...
...to her silences.
This is her attempt to...
...to battle...
...to, to exorcise...
...her pain.
You can see her anger
in her pen.
[Wen Da exhales sharply]
[speaking in Chinese]
She didn't leave me.
She just lost her w*r.
[melancholic music]
[The Writer]
Her drawing was her attempt
to say what she already knew.
Li had given herself knowing
she couldn't ever be with me.
That moment was her
final goodbye.
She would not come to see me
and tell me what I now know.
One day, I will hear from her.
When we mean nothing
to each other.
Li's not here, okay?
I didn't come to see her.
I need to talk to you.
You're Glenda, right?
- Yeah.
- Li told me about you.
Just a few minutes, okay?
Look, I need answers.
Go to the park by the lagoon.
I'll be there in ten minutes.
[doorbell chimes]
[Glenda]
I was aware of you
before you guys started.
What do you mean
before we started?
[Glenda]
Well, Li told me everything.
We're friends, you know.
The thing about the notes,
and how you met,
and how she hid to watch you.
Yeah, of course.
She was watching me.
Yeah. She's crazy.
She swallowed
one of your sad books
and stared
at your pictures for days.
When you'd come in...
...at the restaurant,
I'd run upstairs and tell her.
Were you two ever...?
Lovers? No. We're just friends.
I knew she followed you.
I went her many times.
Spying on your reactions,
so as to confuse you.
She has a new little friend.
- The skateboard.
- Hmm.
Lee could not do this alone.
So...
You never saw us. It--
It's kind of funny.
I kept telling her
either leave him alone
or just say "Hi."
You are very patient.
And you know
the rest of the story.
Not everything.
Well, all I can say
is that Li loves you
and was very happy with you.
[sighs]
Then, why would...
Why would she disappear?
Because the woman she was with
before you came back.
Carmen?
You mean to tell me that
it's that simple, that...
...Li just forgot
about everything
that happened between us
in the blink of an eye?
The view are strange,
she's even stranger.
But, why Carmen now?
Wasn't she a,
a thing of her past?
Yeah.
Look, they know each other
from years ago.
When Lee started university,
Carmen helped her,
even paid her classes.
Lee has nothing, you know.
So you're saying Li owes her,
though she feels like
she has to show her gratitude.
It's not that simple.
You know that.
Then why, why would she do this?
She's to escape.
She could escape with me.
[chuckles]
You don't need to escape.
[mysterious suspenseful music]
[engine turns off]
Good afternoon, colleague.
Looks like you two
are corralling to come
into Carmencita's, huh?
Kind of.
[Máximo]
Huh. She called me 20 times.
Drop everything for some
visiting Spanish writer.
Humph. I guess
she needed to provide
some local fauna who at least
have read some of his books.
[chuckles] But he will not know
a f*cking thing about us.
That puts me in exquisitely
bad humor. Humph.
Today will be Madrid
against the Americas.
The revival of the conquest,
a chance to rewrite history.
[laughs]
Come.
You do not want to get
to the party too early.
[pool ba*ls strikes]
Sir?
It's, uh, it's been a long time
since I've smoked.
Oh.
I return to the vice of writers
the same way I left it.
Smoking.
Produces an anxiety
of low level vibrations
that helps me stay
in front of that empty page.
- Hmm.
- Writing is waiting.
You must dominate that dead time
between paragraphs and words.
Smoking makes you stronger
than the signs.
When I stop I read different.
[Máximo]
Hmm.
Cheers.
Cheers.
How do you know Carmen Lindo?
I don't.
I was on a panel with her once.
Were you invited to the party?
I wasn't invited.
I came to see a woman.
That university world
of hierarchies suits you
even less than me.
Who's the chick?
Her name is... Li Chao.
Ah!
Extra ordinary... my student.
Yeah, that's why I came.
She's your... bo, bo, bo, bo?
Was, or is, I don't know.
I'm not sure.
That's why I have to go.
I cannot say no to Carmen.
Long time ago,
Carmen and I, we had an affair.
And we were
about to get married.
Books united us
and women separated us.
I must warn you.
Professor Lindo has announced
with very little modesty
that she's been hired by
I don't know who
and she's going to Los Angeles.
- [people chattering]
- [Máximo] As my friend,
I guess you have.
Whoa! [laughs]
Hola.
I would like
to present a friend.
I'm sure you wanna talk to him.
He's the author of Three in One.
How do you do?
[whispering]
What are you doing here?
[whispering] I came to see you.
This is not
an appropriate moment.
You gave me no choice.
You should go.
You'll cause me a problem.
And you don't think
you've caused me one?
[Máximo]
...he's a very good friend.
And also a very talented writer.
I hope he isn't a bother.
Of course not.
Li has spoken to me about you.
I was anxious to meet you.
Besides,
the two of you should talk.
[Li]
Hmm.
Stay as long as you like.
As Daria says, "I never give in
to the temptation
to be difficult."
- [The Writer] Hmm.
- [Carmen] Right, Li?
[chuckles] I'm happy.
I can assure you
there is no bad blood
on my side.
I wouldn't have thought
any less of you
if there was, my dear.
Mm-hmm. "To pretend,
- only pretend to pretend."
- [Máximo] Derrida.
My dear,
can't you quote someone else?
Máximo, you haven't
make me laugh in 20 years.
[Máximo]
Mm.
And, here he is.
He's wearing his uniform.
I bet you,
he's not wearing any socks.
Garcia Pardo,
here are your friends,
excellent Puerto Rico writers.
Just call us writers, Carmen.
My editor tells me,
for the size of Puerto Rico,
it imports an extra ordinary
amount of books from Spain.
You may not have noticed, but
we're just as Spanish speaking
as any other country
in Latin America.
Yeah, but you are, uh, part
of the monster of the north.
As José Martí call it,
Uncle Sam.
That doesn't make us
less of a nation
than Spain,
Argentina, or Mexico.
In Spain,
a writer can be a professional.
It's harder to do that here.
Madrid, Barcelona
are cultural industries
where writers can live
by writing.
We can only dream
to write for the world.
No disappointment
leads to literature.
Disappointment doesn't create
readership.
And I like to be read.
Hmm.
- Huh.
- [Máximo] So,
nobody really invited you
to the Ireland?
Well, actually, no.
Not a group
of fascinated readers?
Not any university or y--
cultural institute
from somewhere from here?
Spain financed your trip
to promote Spanish culture
to sell more books, no?
And what's wrong with that?
You have the main successfulness
writing
into simple salesmanship.
I perceive a little frustration.
Maybe Puerto Rico
being such a small island
- has to do with it.
- Maybe.
Spain has always been provincial
around like us.
She doesn't realize it.
She's incapable of any humility.
You and your countrymen
are living in a bubble
inside your own heads.
Don't take your frustration
out on Spain.
We're not your enemy.
A writer is
an athlete of the feet.
And that is the problem
- and tragedy with Garcia Pardo.
- Enough.
Garcia Pardo is a guest.
It is not the treatment
he deserves.
And what treatment is that?
Come. I have someone else
to introduce you.
What were you doing?
I can't talk right now.
- So when?
- Later.
Later-later or later-never?
Later.
What's wrong?
I'm scared.
Of what? Why?
Cause I'm alone.
You have Carmen.
And you can be with me.
[snickers] It's the same.
It's not true. Let's just--
We can fix this.
Let's just talk about it.
I told you, I can't.
Not here, not now.
And don't think Carmen
is a bed of roses
and don't think
that I don't care about you.
I'm trapped.
Why would you say that?
How are you trapped?
'Cause I can lose
my only way out.
So you really are leaving
Puerto Rico?
Yeah.
[sighs]
I really hope that she helps you
with your art, Li.
You have to fulfill your talent.
Yeah.
So, this is it?
- Hmm?
- [sobs] I--
- Hmm?
- [sobs] I promise
we'll see each other again.
Have you met Glenda?
- Hello.
- No.
We're working
in the same restaurant.
[Glenda]
Yeah, nice to meet you.
- Uh, you're Li's friend?
- Mm-hmm.
- Delighted.
- Same here.
Carmen is calling you.
Ah. Li, we go?
Wait. Wait.
[Carmen]
Come on.
[melancholic music]
[The Writer] "Paying attention
to another human is the purest
and rarest form of love."
[computer chimes]
Happiness is linked to hope.
I hope Li would come back.
I hoped for happiness.
I hoped for the impossible.
The anxiety that I felt
was only comparable
to when I waited
for her messages,
to when I fear
that I had lost someone
I hadn't found.
This tastes like
the final agony...
...the absurd absence of a body
and soul I believed in
was blind faced.
[horn honking]
Writer?
Writer?
Writer?
[horn honking continues]
Writer?
Writer?
- Writer?
- [slams on door]
Writer?
Writer?
[melancholic music continues]
Writer?
Writer?
Writer?
Writer?
[horn honking continues]
Writer?
Writer?
Writer?
[honking continues]
Writer?
Writer?
Writer?
My Writer?
[unintelligible]
Li, get in. Come on.
[Li sobbing]
[Li]
I've learned to live
with minimal needs.
My lesbianism is an irony.
I've never known
the feeling of respect,
of being on the same level
as another human being
as I did with you.
I don't know what it means
to be free to escape.
I must go far away.
This is my attempt to say,
"I'm sorry."
[melancholic music continues]
[The Writer]
This was the answer to "Why me?"
Why I was the one.
She was my other half.
The impossible half of
two bodies that have not learned
to recognize themselves
in anyone else.
[Li]
The city
with all that he had left.
The territory
to which he belonged.
Everything he had.
[water rushing]
[glass cracking]
[The Writer]
I could never leave this city
that I had walked without shame,
Using it as a blank page.
The agony tied me forever
to its streets.
I want to write.
No matter what.
[gentle music in Spanish]
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Art of Love (2021)
Watch on Amazon Merchandise Collectables
Valentine's Day, Hot, Steamy, Sexy, Romantic Movie Collection.
Valentine's Day, Hot, Steamy, Sexy, Romantic Movie Collection.