I Am Curious (Yellow)
[a.k.a. "Jag är nyfiken - en film i gult"]
1. The elevator
Someone is overheard composing a jingle, "At Sandrews they make good
films ..." A well-dressed elderly woman enters the building at
Kungsgatan 65, Stockholm. Unfortunately, the elevator is already
occupied by a burly middle-aged man and a pint-sized young woman who's
pulling at his tie ingratiatingly. They are LENA NYMAN, DRAMA STUDENT,
AGE 22, and VILGOT SJÖMAN, YOUNG DIRECTOR, AGE 42, who have just been
visiting Sandrews, the film company. The elderly woman is disgusted.
Over a close-up of Lena, the title:
I AM CURIOUS
Over a close-up of Vilgot:
I AM CURIOUS
LADY
(answering the titles)
But I'm not. You stick to your films!
Visibly annoyed, she turns her back and walks up the stairs to Saga, a
sports organization located in the same building.
For a moment Lena is distressed.
LENA
Oh. I thought it was my old lady.
VILGOT
Your old lady?! Oooh!
2. Slogans
Dusk. A trade-union hall. Above the building flies the Swedish flag, a
yellow cross on a blue background.
MALE VOICE
Buy our film. Buy it! Buy it! The only film
that's shown in two editions: One yellow and
one blue!
FEMALE VOICE
Buy the yellow! Buy the blue! Buy our film
because it's two!
MALE VOICE
Exactly the same picture, yet so different.
FEMALE VOICE
Big things and little things!
MALE VOICE
The blue picture!
FEMALE VOICE
Beautiful things and ugly things!
VOICES
The yellow picture! This is the yellow edition!
Yes, the yellow edition! The yellow edition!
Presenting the yellow edition! This is the
yellow edition!
3. Yevtushenko reads poetry
A meeting hall inside the building. YEVGENY YEVTUSHENKO, RUSSIAN POET,
AGE 33, stands before a microphone at Clarté, a radical political
organization. But the sound system doesn't work. There are catcalls.
VOICES
Louder! Louder! Check the one to the right. No,
no, the left. Further left. The left!
(chanting)
To the left, the left, the left. Further to the
left.
Laughter. Lena and Vilgot are in the audience. Lena hums an old
sailor's song.
LENA
"In Rio de Janeiro you can fuck for free ..."
VILGOT
(embarrassed)
Quiet.
LENA
Look over there. Do you see that guy?
VILGOT
Yes.
LENA
Magnus. He's an actor at the University theater.
He would be fine as the slave.
VILGOT
Him?
LENA
Mmm. And I could have a little love scene with
him.
VILGOT
Oh, I see.
LENA
Hmm.
VILGOT
And what would that love scene be like?
LENA
Oh, just a quickie, you know.
VILGOT
Well ...
Confusion on the stage. The microphone still doesn't work. No one can
find out what's wrong. Yevtushenko loses his patience and speaks in a
loud voice directly to the audience.
YEVTUSHENKO
Dear friends! I have heard that quite a few
members of Clarté are revolutionary. But if
they're going to organize the revolution the
way they've organized tonight's meeting -- how
will that end?
Laughter and applause. The reading soon begins.
VILGOT
(voice over)
It's a damn shame that Lena doesn't understand
politics. But God, drama students!
Yevtushenko begins reading.
YEVTUSHENKO
"There are no memorials over Babi Yar. Only an
abrupt bank like a crude epitaph rears ..."
VILGOT
(voice over)
Well, one day I'll tell Lena about the fate of
socialism in Sweden. No! I'll have to tell her
about the two heads of Swedish socialism: the
big self-satisfied head and the little shrunken
one.
Photos of workingmen in the thirties; then shots of a mongoloid child
beating his head against the metal bars of a crib.
4. Lena sleeps over
The same evening, after the reading, at Vilgot's apartment. Lena washes
her face and crawls into bed with the outline for a film, LENA ON THE
ROAD: A KALEIDOSCOPE. Vilgot looks at photographs of ancient erotic
Indian temple sculptures while he trims his hair with electric clippers
and hums a song he is composing.
VILGOT
(sings)
"I like my own sweet name.
I like the touch of fame.
I like my own sweet name.
I like the touch of fame."
VILGOT
(voice over)
Sneak Lena into my bed. She doesn't even dare
to tell her mother that she's spending the
night with me. Oh, no, her mother is supposed
to believe that Lena is staying with some girl
friend from drama school.
Vilgot goes into the room. Lena pretends to be asleep. In Lena on
the Road, Lena will often wear different kinds of glasses, both old
and new. Vilgot begins to try them on her. Sometimes she looks like a
little child; sometimes like an old grandmother.
Lena wakens from her make-believe sleep and grabs Vilgot by the beard,
pulls him down to her.
VILGOT
Ouch!
5. Lena asks questions
Vilgot sends Lena into the streets of Stockholm to collect interview
material for the new film. She is assisted by Ulla Lyttkens, another
drama student, and Magnus, who is to play the slave.
Lena walks into a restaurant kitchen, carrying a tape recorder and
microphone.
LENA
Do you think that Swedish society has a class
system?
WOMAN IN RESTAURANT KITCHEN
Class system, how do you mean?
Ulla in an auto repair shop.
FOREMAN
Strictly speaking, I don't think it has. We
have ... I mean, everybody is kind of sticking
together.
In a restaurant near the dock.
FIRST DOCK WORKER
I don't know. I can't answer that. Ask somebody
else.
SECOND DOCK WORKER
I don't think it has.
LENA
You don't?
SECOND DOCK WORKER
No.
In a post office.
OLD MESSENGER
No politics for me, thanks!
Outside a shop. Lena is kneeling in the doorway.
LENA
Do you think that Swedish society has a class
system?
THREE-YEAR-OLD BOY
Yes.
LENA
You do?
THREE-YEAR-OLD BOY
Yes.
Lena with two students, recently engaged.
LENA
An architect or a doctor earns ten to fifteen
times more than a dishwasher. Do you think
that's fair?
FEMALE STUDENT
Yes, I think that's fair.
MALE STUDENT
Sure, that's fair.
FEMALE STUDENT
When you consider that an education takes at
least seven years and how much you have to deny
yourself during that time ...
Magnus is taking still photographs of some of the subjects.
In a restaurant.
LENA
(voice over)
But ten to fifteen times more! I think that's
too much. Much too much!
YOUNG WORKER
(complacently)
Well ... I don't think it's that bad.
In the street.
SALVATION ARMY OFFICER
It's fair to the extent that those who aren't
clever enough can hardly go on with their
studies. Studying is a thorny path and few
people have the energy to do it. I have to go
now.
In a repair shop.
ULLA
Do you think that women have the same
opportunities as men in our society?
MAN WITH "VOLVO" CAP
Yes, I suppose they have.
ANOTHER MECHANIC
Yes, sure they have, if not more.
(smiling)
Don't you think that the women are running
things now?
In a hospital corridor, Lena approaches two young nurses' aides.
LENA
Do you think that there is a hierarchy in this
hospital?
FIRST NURSES' AID
(shyly)
No.
LENA
So you don't think there is a difference
between doctors and nurses' aids?
SECOND NURSES' AID
Of course, the time you eat is different.
LENA
The time you eat?
SECOND NURSES' AID
Yes, the time you eat.
In the subway.
ULLA
Do you think that Swedish society has a class
system?
YOUNG MAN
What?
ULLA
Do you think that Swedish society has a class
system?
YOUNG MAN
No.
ULLA
Can you explain yourself?
YOUNG MAN
I don't get what you're saying.
He hurries off. Ulla approaches a man walking, reading a newspaper.
ULLA
Excuse my interrupting your reading. Do you
think Sweden has a class system?
MAN WITH NEWSPAPER
I am not Swedish.
ULLA
Don't you understand Swedish?
MAN WITH NEWSPAPER
I understand it. But I'm not Swedish.
LADY IN HAT
I don't understand. I am German.
UNSHAVEN MAN
I-I-am-not-Swedish.
ULLA
Do you think that Sweden has a class system?
MAN IN HAT
Yes.
MAN IN GLASSES
A what?
ULLA
A class system.
MAN IN GLASSES
Yes, in a way.
In a department store.
LADY IN FEATHER HAT
Yes, I think it has.
LADY IN GLASSES
No, I don't think so.
ULLA
So you think that Sweden has gone as far as it
can in removing class barriers?
LADY IN GLASSES
Yes, it just might go a little bit farther,
but ...
BEARDED YOUNG MAN
I don't think you can go much farther as far
as that's concerned. There has to be a
difference in wages according to efficiency, so
to speak, if society is to function.
In an elegant shoe store.
BOOTBLACK
Oh, this kind of interview I don't like...
In the subway.
MAN IN HAT AND COAT
In the thirties there was a difference between
the classes. At that time we had the
white-collar workers. The gap between the
classes is just as wide today, if not wider.
In a restaurant kitchen.
CHEF
It depends on the people themselves, doesn't
it? Undress them all! When they are naked
they're all alike. Dress them again and you
have the class system.
6. Lena at the Forbundshuset
The Forbundshuset is a building housing Sweden's major trade-union
organizations.
LENA
(voice over)
In order to try to understand all this better I
decided to go to the headquarters of the labor
movement at Branting's Square.
Lena goes into the offices of the Carpenters' Union. In the corridor,
she meets an ombudsman on his way to Parliament.
OMBUDSMAN
There couldn't be a class system. Don't we live
in a democracy? In a democratic society?
Lena goes down to the cafeteria. Since people who don't work for trade
unions also eat here, she has to ask her way along the cafeteria line.
LENA
Do you belong to the labor movement?
MAN
What now?
LENA
Are you with the labor movement?
MAN
No.
LENA
Is anybody?
MAN
No, not here.
LENA
Labor movement?
VOICE
No.
LENA
Are you with the labor movement?
ANOTHER VOICE
NO!
Lena finds two ombudsmen seated at a table.
LENA
Why is the labor movement so damned
conservative when it comes to women's rights?
FIRST OMBUDSMAN
So you find the labor movement conservative on
the subject of women's rights?
In the offices of The Metalworker.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
I guess that's partially true. But it could
possibly be partly due to the fact that we
have a lot of conservatives in this country.
And there's bound to be quite a few of them
even in the labor movement.
In the cafeteria, with the ombudsmen.
LENA
But why is it that women have fewer chances of
getting good jobs?
SECOND OMBUDSMAN
You're the one who's claiming that.
LENA
Sure, I'm the one who's claiming that. Do you
claim that it isn't so?
SECOND OMBUDSMAN
No, I don't have to make any claims. You have
to prove that you are right.
FIRST OMBUDSMAN
Yes, let's have some proof! You shouldn't go
around making claims when you don't know the
facts.
LENA
My mother works as a furrier. She works every
day of the year. She makes about 14,000 kroner.
[One dollar equals approximately 5.18 kroner.]
SECOND OMBUDSMAN
But if I became a furrier, what would I get?
LENA
But you won't become a furrier.
SECOND OMBUDSMAN
You never know.
Lena finds an architect in the cafeteria.
LENA
Do you think that Swedish society has a class
system?
ARCHITECT
Well, I think it has -- to a certain extent.
LENA
What are you going to do about it?
ARCHITECT
(smiling)
I'm going to climb up the ladder. You've got to
live in the society you were born into.
LENA
Do you work for the labor movement?
ARCHITECT
No, I don't.
LENA
What do you do then?
ARCHITECT
I'm an architect.
Lena, with the two ombudsmen again.
FIRST OMBUDSMAN
Oh, yes, there is a class system, of course
there is.
LENA
What are you going to do about it?
SECOND OMBUDSMAN
We aren't going to do anything about it, at
least not for the moment.
LENA
Why not?
SECOND OMBUDSMAN
Since we all live in a society with class
barriers, I'm a part of it. And then, you know,
there are democratic rules, and the individual
doesn't have a direct influence on development.
In an office.
SECRETARY
I'm sure the individual can't do very much.
LENA
(voice over)
Nothing? Can't he do anything?
SECRETARY
No, I don't think so.
In a corridor.
LADY WITH UPSWEPT HAIR
I'm not an active union member.
In the cafeteria.
MAN'S VOICE
But we're going to negotiate.
LENA
Negotiate?
MAN'S VOICE
Yes.
LENA
What will happen then?
MAN'S VOICE
You don't know?
LENA
No, I don't.
MAN'S VOICE
Don't you keep up with things like that?
LENA
No.
MAN'S VOICE
And yet you run around asking questions.
LENA
So I've got to ask you people who do know.
MAN'S VOICE
Then read the newspapers. You can learn a lot
from them.
LENA
You can't tell me? What happens at those
negotiations? Are there any results? How long
will it take before the class barriers can be
removed? Equal wages and no class system?
A MAN
A very long time, probably.
LENA
Why?
THE MAN
Because people are conservative. They don't
want any radical changes.
LENA
Like what, for example?
ANOTHER MAN
Extended government programs, for example...
Increased participation in management
decisions, that's another thing ...
LENA
Anything else?
THE OTHER MAN
(to a friend across from him)
Well, what else are we going to do?
In the offices of The Metalworker.
LENA
You really think that you are doing something
to get rid of the class system?
EDITOR
As much as I can.
LENA
Can't you do anything more?
EDITOR
It all has to do with what position you have in
society.
LENA
Do you have to be at the very top in order to
do anything at all?
EDITOR
No, no, no! This is a matter of applying
pressure from underneath that will have an
effect all the way up.
LENA
But the real big-shots who have influence and
power to do a lot -- do they use it?
7. At the home of Olof Palme
The question leads directly to OLOF PALME, AGE 39, then MINISTER OF
TRANSPORT in the Social-Democratic government. In foreign affairs he is
known for his sharp criticism of the American role in the Vietnam war.
On domestic issues, he has been called "a fanatic about equality."
OLOF PALME
In many ways we still have some of the
characteristics of the old class system. We
have, as I think someone has said, a class
system by income, and you can see exactly why.
Rural workers have lower wages than urban
workers. Women earn less than men, and older
people less than the young. Education
perpetuates the class system. University
graduates get six to seven times more than
those who leave school and go straight to
work in the country.
Olof Palme lives in a little row house outside Stockholm. The film crew
is working in the backyard. Magnus happens to be present. He is sitting
beside Lena, which irritates Vilgot. The filming is also interrupted by
MÅRTEN (MOUSIE), AGE 5, who is banging against the wall from inside the
house.
VILGOT
(breaking off)
Come outside, Mousie! You see, if you make that
noise, it'll ruin the sound track.
The shooting has stopped. The boy crawls up onto Palme's knee. The
cameramen load the camera. Vilgot asks Palme how he became a Social
Democrat.
OLOF PALME
Well, this problem of class system in Swedish
society -- I feel very strongly about it.
That's what I've reacted against from the
beginning ...
VILGOT
What is your own background?
OLOF PALME
I come from a middle-class family. You learn a
lot through books, you observe a lot, and
suddenly it starts forming a pattern. This
happened to me sometime between the ages of
fifteen and twenty -- around the time when I
saw American society.
VILGOT
You traveled in the States? About what year was
that?
OLOF PALME
'47 to '48. I hitchhiked.
VILGOT
I see.
OLOF PALME
Thirty-four states. Three months without money.
VILGOT
I see.
OLOF PALME
You see, it's mixed up with the books you read.
You read fiction: I think that some fiction
has enormous political importance. For me, in
any case.
VILGOT
I see.
OLOF PALME
This -- in connection with political theory
and visual impressions -- that's quite a rough
combination.
The filming drags on. Palme's wife, Lisbeth, looks out from an upstairs
window and wonders how much more time the crew will need. Mousie jumps
around on his father's knee and waves to his mother.
LISBETH PALME
Mousie was going to ask you a few questions
too. But he seems to have forgotten them.
VILGOT
I see. Do you have any questions, Mousie?
LISBETH PALME
He didn't think there was any point in Olof's
becoming an M.P.
OLOF PALME
(smiles)
That's a good thought in itself.
The camera is loaded. The shooting resumes.
VILGOT
Well, take Sweden from this point of view:
Foreigners tend to think that we are very far
ahead. Do you think we are?
OLOF PALME
Yes, somewhat. I mean, we're far ahead compared
to other countries. And we're far ahead
compared to what Sweden looked like thirty to
forty years ago. But we have not gone very far
if you want your dream of a classless society
to come true. In that case, most of the work
remains to be done!
Vilgot finds it difficult to concentrate. To tease him, Lena moves even
closer to Magnus, looking at Vilgot with a big grin.
8. The cutting room
In order to be alone, Vilgot goes up to his cutting room at Sandrews.
Evening. Silent and peaceful.
VILGOT
(voice over)
Isn't it sad that -- in spite of a Social-
Democratic government for thirty years -- so
little has been done?
Lena surprises him! She sneaks in and puts her hands on his shoulders.
He becomes irritated.
VILGOT
No, not now!
LENA
Are you angry?
(looks at him)
Oh yes, you are angry!
Lena looks at a death notice taped to the editing table:
VILGOT SJÖMAN
BORN DECEMBER 2, 1924
DIED JUNE 9, 1974
___________________________
THE FUNERAL HAS TAKEN PLACE
LENA
1974! That's six or seven years from now! So
you've decided to live that long?
VILGOT
Stop playing games, will you?
LENA
You are in a bad mood!
VILGOT
Hell, yes! The way you and Magnus acted at
Palme's!
LENA
What's this?
VILGOT
I really need some peace and quiet to be able
to make this picture. Now if you sit there
and -- even if you're not doing anything -- I
just can't work.
LENA
Oh, I can't stand listening to Palme. I don't
get what the hell he's talking about.
VILGOT
You could at least pretend, couldn't you? Now
that we're making this picture, you could at
least pretend to understand what it's all
about.
LENA
Is that why you won't let me have a love scene
with Magnus? Don't you want a girl for the
lead?
VILGOT
Yes, I do.
LENA
And you want a girl in bed too?
VILGOT
Yes.
LENA
And if you manage to combine the two, that's
just fine, eh?
VILGOT
So what? Don't you want the lead?
LENA
Yes.
VILGOT
And don't you want somebody in bed as well?
LENA
Yes.
VILGOT
So who's using whom?
LENA
We're using each other. But don't go and say
it's on the same terms. Don't say that!
Vilgot cannot find any answer. He smiles and turns to the editing
table. He begins to run a previously filmed interview for Lena.
This was made in March, 1966, when MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., AGE 37, was
in Stockholm with Harry Belafonte to initiate a large Swedish
fundraising campaign for American Negroes. After a speech to students
at Stockholm University, he took the time to answer some questions on
non-violence.
VILGOT
Do you have to have a religious belief to take
part in a non-violent movement?
MARTIN LUTHER KING
No, not necessarily.
VILGOT
If you find that a person cannot stand being
attacked, what do you do with him? Do you
speak to him and explain to him that he cannot
be with you any longer?
MARTIN LUTHER KING
Well, we always discourage those who cannot be
subjected to attack -- the one who would
retaliate with violence -- not to participate
in a demonstration. The rules are very rigid
in a non-violent movement and we feel that a
person who can't take it -- a person who cannot
submit himself to violence if it comes to him
and who would retaliate with violence -- should
not at all participate and so we discourage
that person completely.
Lena seems fascinated by King.
LENA
I like him. He talks about better things than
Palme.
Vilgot grimaces at the childish comment. But it gives him something to
think about. In the forthcoming film, he wants to present Lena with
three idols: a Russian, an American, and a Swede, to whom Lena turns
for imaginary interviews when she is confused and depressed.
Yevtushenko could be her Russian idol; Palme, her Swedish; and Martin
Luther King, Jr., her American, because he represents the dream of
non-violence. Non-violence should be another theme in the film, in
contrast to the Swedish class system.
9. "If Sweden were occupied?"
Vilgot sends Lena and Ulla out to investigate what the general public
knows about non-violence.
MAN IN GLASSES
Non-violence?
MAN
Non-violence?
MAN IN HAT
Non-violence?
ANOTHER MAN
Non-violence?
MAN IN COAT
Well, those hippies -- aren't they involved in
something like that?
Ulla asks two policemen on patrol.
ULLA
Have you ever heard of non-violence?
FIRST POLICEMAN
Non-violence?
ULLA
Yes.
FIRST POLICEMAN
No, I haven't.
SECOND POLICEMAN
No, I've never heard of it.
ULLA
Thank you.
Ulla asks a dock worker.
DOCK WORKER
Those who don't use violence? Well, I guess
those are educated people who don't want to
hurt others.
LADY IN BERET
Dr. Martin Luther King, for example.
ULLA
That's right. Do you know what methods he
uses?
LADY IN CLOCHE HAT
Yes, he doesn't want to fight for his ideas.
Lena walks into an induction center. Boys eighteen and nineteen years
old have to pass a physical examination before they are assigned to the
Army, Navy, or Air Force -- young boys ready for slaughter if Sweden is
drawn into a war.
LENA
Have you ever thought of becoming a
conscientious objector?
VOICE
No, I haven't.
SITTING BOY
No, never.
BOY AT THE WALL
No.
BARE-CHESTED BOY
No.
BOY WEARING CHAIN
No.
BOY IN TURTLE-NECK SWEATER
Oh yes, I have.
BLOND BOY
Like many others, I guess, I want to get out as
soon as possible. And it seems it would be
sooner if I don't resist.
BOY IN SWEATER
You only have to serve longer if you refuse to
bear arms.
A hot discussion is going on outside the induction center. Handbills
are passed out by a group of "Provies". [From "provacateur." Originally
a group of young people in Holland with leftist tendencies whose
program was essentially anti-authoritarian and anarchistic. In the
sixties, there were groups of Provos all over Europe. In Sweden, they
are called "Provies" -- "pro" - for; "vie" -life.] They are explaining
to another young man that there are loopholes in the new Swedish draft
laws. One leaflet reads:
YOU ARE FREE FROM MILITARY DUTY, IF YOU ...
A boy in uniform laughs at the young idealists.
BOY IN UNIFORM
Yes, but the military pays me for ten months,
and I get to be here in Stockholm. I have room
and board and a great time. I'm through by 1:30
and then I can go down ...
PROVO
(voice over)
And what's more important, you get to learn
how to kill.
ANOTHER PROVO
(voice over)
You are part of a system, you know, and its
main mission is killing.
A VOICE
We are part of a system of violence.
Lena appears, takes a handbill, and soon enters into the discussion.
BOY IN FUR COLLAR
We have no pat alternative to how to act in a
war, but ...
LENA
So you think we should keep our defense?
BOY IN FUR COLLAR
Absolutely not.
LENA
Why not refuse absolutely?
BOY IN FUR COLLAR
Sure, you should absolutely refuse military
service. What you shouldn't refuse, though, is
to work for peace with some civilian
institution.
BOY IN CAP
There are alternative services. We encourage
everyone to refuse to do military service.
Inside the induction center.
LENA
If Sweden were occupied, how do you think we
should defend ourselves then? Do you think
there is any way of continuing to fight?
BOY IN UNIFORM
But I have already explained that I'm not
trained for combat, so they don't teach me
things like that.
LENA
Do they teach it to those who are?
BOY IN UNIFORM
Probably. Ask them.
BOY IN SUIT
I don't know. I don't think so.
SHIRTLESS BOY
It depends on what rank you are in the
military.
LENA
And what would you others do, if we were
invaded?
ANOTHER BOY IN UNIFORM
You know, like, one should never surrender.
Sweden won't give up. And all those radio
messages and that kind of talk about Sweden
being defeated, that's just nonsense and we
shouldn't worry about it.
LENA
Is that what you're taught?
BOY IN UNIFORM
That's kind of number one on the program. It's
in this "If the war comes" -- the pamphlet
that's distributed to everybody.
Lena gets very upset when she realizes how little the military knows
about non-violence. She brings Ulla and Magnus along and goes out to
demonstrate in the streets of Stockholm. They carry posters reading:
REFUSE TO KILL
REFUSE MILITARY SERVICE
LET NON-VIOLENCE BE YOUR DEFENSE
10. Lena opens an Institute
Lena and Ulla work on a pamphlet, IF WE ARE OCCUPIED, in which they
argue that Sweden ought to have a non-violent defense system. Lena
teaches Ulla the first argument.
LENA
If you can teach a whole country, all its
inhabitants, then they have a much better
chance this way! They must learn that many of
them will die, that lots of them will be
tortured -- but what's good about it is that
less people will die in this war than in a
war where everybody keeps throwing bombs at
each other. Thus you can reduce the number of
dead. And that must be worth a hell of a lot.
Where were we now?
She holds up a cloth on which she has lettered in outline:
THE GUILTY CONSCIENCE OF SOCIAL DEMOCRACY
ULLA
We have: Negotiation. Mediation.
Demonstrations. Sit-ins. Lie-ins. Strikes.
Counter-demonstrations. Hunger strikes.
Sabotage. Economic and social boycotts. Tax
refusal. Civil disobedience. Paralysis of the
entire society.
Even more methods can be invented. However, the basic ideas of a non-
violent defense system can be summed up in these three slogans, which
are flashed on the screen:
NON-COOPERATION
SABOTAGE
FRATERNIZATION
LENA
"Underground government," is that on your list
as well?
ULLA
Yes, I've got that too. To whom are we going to
send this pamphlet?
LENA
To the Swedish Commander-in-Chief. They must be
out of their minds not teaching us things like
that!
Lena and Ulla also discuss different methods of masturbation.
LENA
I tried the shower hose yesterday.
ULLA
Did you?
LENA
Mmm.
ULLA
How was it?
LENA
It didn't work at all.
ULLA
Did you hold it the right way?
LENA
I held it the way you said. Like this.
ULLA
How about the vacuum cleaner? I know a girl who
always uses the vacuum cleaner.
LENA
No, I'd rather use a massage machine.
Magnus arrives; he pauses before a new sign by the door, NYMAN'S
INSTITUTE. He brings a tape recorder and a typewriter that he bought on
the black market. The girls are delighted. Magnus is afraid that Lena's
father, snoring on the couch in the kitchen, will wake up.
MAGNUS
Sssh!
LENA
Oh, don't worry. He's asleep. Hey, Dad, there's
a civil war in Spain! Listen, riots in Adalen,
they're shooting down workers! ... General
strike!
Her father continues snoring.
LENA
Well, what did I tell you?
Lena has opened an "Institute." Magnus asks her what her plans are.
LENA
Well, you have to start on your own, see. They
don't do anything. The newspapers work far too
fast, so they can't be trusted. And science
works far too slowly, so you can't expect to
get any results there. You've got to start on
your own. Hey, Magnus, will you start with the
stencils?
MAGNUS
(picking up the empty black bag)
Lena, what's this bag?
Lena has had a bright idea. The Social Democrats have been in power in
Sweden for thirty years. In spite of that, they have only carried out a
few of their ideas. Lena is making a big, black bag which she calls
"The Guilty Conscience of Social Democracy." She's going to fill it
with everything she finds that belongs there. The audience is invited
to take part.
SPEAKER
(voice over)
We announce a fantastic contest.
Various slogans are flashed on the screen:
SHARPEN YOUR MEMORY
SHARPEN YOUR MIND
WHAT IS LENA HIDING IN THE BAG?
SPEAKER
(voice over)
First prize: your own cabana in Spain. Second
prize: a luxury cruise around the world. Third
prize: a week of gymnastics with Princess
Birgitta.
11. Lena protests
On the street, Lena, holding a microphone, scolds an opponent.
LENA
Do you really think people lose their desire to
work just because of a tax increase? That they
will stop working just because they don't make
a hell of a lot of money? Don't you think that
their jobs mean anything to them? Are you that
fucking stupid? Do you know what I think?
(sounding as if the opponent
had a dread disease)
I think you're conservative.
From various points in Hötorget Square in the center of Stockholm,
Lena, Ulla, and Magnus hold a summer clearance sale of the conservative
newspaper. One after the other they call out their slogans.
LENA, ULLA, AND MAGNUS
Svenska Dagbladet gives you Sweden's most
ancient points of view.
A newspaper with gout, Svenska Dagbladet!
Buy Svenska Dagbladet, the newspaper with gout!
An airplane passes overhead; a banner attached to it carries the
slogan:
CONSERVATIVE STUDENTS
LENA, ULLA, AND MAGNUS
Svenska Dagbladet gives you Sweden's most
ancient points of view daily.
New, improved -- with gout!
Lena attacks the Great Injustice.
LENA
Some people were born with very little talent.
They are lost, sort of butterfingered and
brainless. Others, on the other hand, have
altogether different qualifications. From the
very moment they were born they had brains and
talent. Should they be rewarded for that?
So that they later on get the better jobs and
the higher incomes? They get to do what they
like and they have better opportunities in
society. Shouldn't you do something about this?
Magnus pretends that he is from Expressen, a newspaper that
exploits political and social scandals. He stands in a doorway, talking
to a middle-aged housewife.
MAGNUS
Good afternoon! I wonder if you have any
interesting welfare cases in this block? People
living in crummy little pads or people who have
unpaid dentist bills? Junkies are okay too. You
see, I'm working for Expressen and we are
now arranging for the Conservatives to win the
1968 election. We are preparing a series about
the ten filthiest welfare cases. Could you help
me out?
The door slams.
Lena encounters a pessimistic doctor.
DOCTOR
Well, the class system. I guess that will
always be with us.
LENA
But shouldn't we do anything about it?
DOCTOR
No, I hardly think so.
LENA
Why not?
DOCTOR
(shrugging)
Well, it turns up everywhere anyway, even where
we try to get rid of it. Take Russia, for
example! Now they have it again. You can have a
house, you can have a profession, and many
people are much better off than others, and so
on.
LENA
But why shouldn't we do anything about it?
DOCTOR
Well, you can see that even under the worst
conditions we have not been able to eliminate
it.
Lena, Magnus, and Ulla demonstrate on the sidewalk, carrying posters.
LENA
(voice over)
I didn't like what he said, so I went to the
Russian Embassy with a simple question.
One poster reads:
HAVE YOU ESTABLISHED A NEW CLASS SYSTEM?
12. Lena hates Franco
The three of them picket various travel agencies, including one which
specializes in promoting tours to Spain. Their posters read:
DO YOU REMEMBER THE CIVIL WAR?
IT WAS FRANCO WHO WON
DO YOU LIKE FRANCO?
SALAZAR IS HIS BUDDY
Lena goes to Arlanda, Stockholm's airport, to try to make tourists face
their responsibilities. Two planes have just landed with tourists
returning from Spain. Lena confronts them.
LENA
Aren't you ashamed of going to a fascist
dictatorial state?
MAN
(beaming)
Am I ashamed of going there?
LENA
Yes, aren't you ashamed?
MAN
No, absolutely not.
MAN IN FUR HAT
No, why should I be ashamed?
LENA
Because Franco is there! Because of his regime!
LADY
I think there are certain trends toward
dictatorship in this country as well, when a
bottle of whisky costs fifty kroner. That's a
kind of dictatorship, too, you know.
LADY IN CROCHETED HAT
Yes, we were so confused. We thought of Israel
for a while, but that was even more expensive...
LADY'S MALE COMPANION
I find it really very hard to take a stand...
LADY IN CROCHETED HAT
... so that decided it.
LENA
How do you think they're doing, the people in
Spain?
ELDERLY GENTLEMAN
Oh, they're doing just fine.
LENA
Mmm.
MAN IN HAT AND GLASSES
They don't look so unhappy.
ANOTHER MAN
On Grand Canary they don't seem to be starving.
YOUNG BLONDE
They're very poor.
LENA
How do you like Franco?
MAN IN HAT AND GLASSES
I won't say anything about that.
LENA
Why not?
YOUNG MAN
(smiling)
Why should I?
LENA
Well, why shouldn't you? If you really have
any opinion. Maybe you don't have one!
YOUNG MAN
No, I don't think I do.
MAN IN SUNGLASSES
I'd rather not talk about him.
LENA
Why not?
MAN IN SUNGLASSES
What?
LENA
Why not?
ANOTHER TOURIST
If you ask a Spaniard what he thinks about
Franco, he'll say: "Franco is fine!"
LENA
Do you know what'd happen to him if he said
anything else?
THE TOURIST
(simultaneously)
Quiet! Quiet, I say!
LENA
Have you ever thought about Franco?
MAN WITH SUNTAN
(seriously)
I have never even thought about you.
LENA
About Franco?
MAN WITH SUNTAN
About Franco?
LENA
What do you think of Franco?
MAN WITH SUNTAN
Do you know Franco?
LENA
No.
MAN WITH SUNTAN
Neither do I.
LENA
But what do you think of his politics? What do
you think of his regime?
MAN WITH SUNTAN
I've been on a vacation. I haven't been talking
politics.
ANOTHER BLONDE
After all, you go there to swim and rest, not
to get tangled up in politics.
BALDING MAN
No, I went there for a vacation -- to sunbathe
and swim.
MAN IN HAT AND GLASSES
I don't care at all about such things.
LENA
No.
MAN IN FUR HAT
You forget all about it when you're down there.
LENA
Oh, you do?
MAN IN FUR HAT
You sure do.
LENA
So you just don't give a shit about it, eh?
MAN IN FUR HAT
That's right.
MAN IN DARK SHIRT
Well, I wouldn't say "shit." You just say
"We're off!"
LENA
So you have no opinion?
FIRST MAN
None whatsoever.
LENA
You don't care if a whole country and all its
inhabitants suffer like hell under a dictator?
FIRST MAN
No, I wouldn't say that, but I just don't want
to get involved, that's all.
Lena, Magnus, and Ulla picket the Spanish Tourist Office.
BOYCOTT TRIPS TO SPAIN
A MALLORCA VACATION IS A SCANDAL
YOU ARE PARASITES ON THE SPANISH WORKERS
SPREAD SOCIALISM IN SPAIN!
13. The picture-frame shop
Lena needs money. After leaving Arlanda, she visits her father, Rune,
at his job in an old picture-frame shop. Tired and withdrawn, Rune
stands in the back room making frames.
LENA
Did you hear what I said?
RUNE
Yes. What do you want with that much money all
of a sudden?
LENA
I'm going to a hypnotist!
Rune snorts.
LENA
Don't you think you ought to pay me back what
you borrowed?
RUNE
Sure, but ... Listen, don't I give you a few
kroner now and then?
LENA
Yes, a few kroner now and then!
RUNE
What do you expect me to pay the rent with?
LENA
(shouting)
But I've got to have it today!
Rune tries to quiet her. She says, calmer:
LENA
You've promised me at least ten times that I'd
get it back and I haven't gotten it yet.
RUNE
Sssh.
LENA
It's three months now since you borrowed it.
You've said that every damn time!
RUNE
Yes, yes, all right!
LENA
Well, give it to me then!
Rune leaves the workroom and goes to the proprietor's desk at the rear
of the shop.
PROPRIETOR
Listen, there's an errand to be run.
RUNE
I need a hundred in advance.
PROPRIETOR
Well, not right now.
RUNE
What's the errand?
PROPRIETOR
To the picture restorer.
RUNE
Yes, yes.
(to Lena)
Listen! I've got to run an errand.
Contemptuously, Lena watches her father leave the shop. As she walks
out, she pays no attention to a customer who has been watching her all
this time: a young man who has been waiting for a newly framed
watercolor.
14. Factory sabotage
Bo Holmström, a well-known television reporter, is making an imaginary
Utopian TV series on the non-violent defense system which may be
introduced in Sweden. Right now he's interviewing a worker in a factory
outside Stockholm.
BO HOLMSTRÖM
This is foreman Evert Svensson, who is also a
part of the factory defense.
(to Svensson)
What is your job here?
SVENSSON
My job is to sabotage this machinery.
A title appears on screen:
SABOTAGE
HOLMSTRÖM
What kind of machinery is this?
SVENSSON
These are machines that produce these things
for diesel and jet motors.
HOLMSTRÖM
Delicate things!
SVENSSON
Yes, very. There are electronic systems here
that are extremely delicate.
HOLMSTRÖM
Can you explain how you'll sabotage machinery?
SVENSSON
I can show you here.
HOLMSTRÖM
Yes.
SVENSSON
Well, this is a relay, you see. If you only
damage a very small part in this relay, the
whole machine will be put out of use.
NON-COOPERATION
HOLMSTRÖM
Is it hard to find the damage?
SVENSSON
Yes, very. Then it's my job to delay the
repairs as long as possible.
HOLMSTRÖM
Is this just a small part of a big sabotage
plan?
SVENSSON
Yes. This is just a part of it. There are many
possible ways of doing it.
HOLMSTRÖM
Don't you think the enemy would get rid of you
immediately if they were to occupy Sweden?
SVENSSON
Don't be too sure of that. You have to separate
the idea from the individual. We shall fight the
enemy's ideas ...
FRATERNIZATION
SVENSSON
...but we'll make friends with the enemy
soldiers.
HOLMSTRÖM
Do you believe in non-violent defense?
SVENSSON
Yes, I do. I've taken a course in non-violent
resistance, and it seems right and sensible, I
think.
HOLMSTRÖM
You are a former member of the regular military
defense system?
SVENSSON
Yes.
HOLMSTRÖM
But you prefer non-violence?
SVENSSON
Yes, I do. I think that if you can show how
efficiently we have built up our sabotage
system, the enemy will respect Sweden.
HOLMSTRÖM
Does this sabotage have serious consequences?
SVENSSON
It has enormous consequences. It prevents the
new planes from flying and the new buses from
running.
15. Lena meets Börje
Lena has recorded the TV program on her tape recorder, and has been
listening to it as she cuts out white letters to paste on the black
bag. These will read:
THE GUILTY CONSCIENCE OF SOCIAL DEMOCRACY
She hears the door open. Her father comes home. He has brought the
young man from the frame shop home with him. The boy's name is Börje.
But Lena doesn't want to speak to anybody. She slams her door and tells
her father to go to hell. She tacks a clipping to a shelf above her
bed. It reads:
I AM FREE
Her father sets out beer and sandwiches on the kitchen table. He starts
talking about Sweden's inadequate social welfare, having just read in a
newspaper that several hundred blind people were discovered who had
never received assistance from any organization.
RUNE
Listen! They're blind themselves.
BÖRJE
The bureaucrats?
RUNE
Sure. They're the ones who investigated this.
And I wonder too why people who really can see
something don't take care of them. And just
think of how many there must be left of those
who ... There are lots of blind people in
Sweden.
BÖRJE
Yes, yes.
RUNE
We keep sending money to all the underdeveloped
countries, but why not look after your own home
first, eh? What do you say about that? Why
don't we look after our own country before we
start talking about other countries?
BÖRJE
Oh yes, the underdeveloped countries.
RUNE
And then those people have to be retrained and
given new jobs: office jobs, metalworking jobs,
and darkroom jobs. Not that I know what they're
trying to do but... Well, darkroom jobs I can
understand. But a metalworker. I mean, if he
stands at a lathe he has to be sensitive, so
that he doesn't ... Well, I don't know how it
works.
During this conversation Lena has sauntered into the kitchen and washed
down a diet pill with a glass of water. Börje eyes her with interest
but she pays no attention. Finally she sits on the edge of the sink and
crunches away at a piece of hard bread. Suddenly she interrupts her
father and asks Börje:
LENA
What do you do?
RUNE
He works in a men's shop.
BÖRJE
At Ryden's.
LENA
Is it fun?
BÖRJE
Sometimes. It's on Kungsgatan.
[Kungsgatan is a fashionable street.]
LENA
Then what's the matter?
BÖRJE
Well, your Dad and I were talking at the café
about my job.
LENA
About your men's shop?
BÖRJE
Yes.
RUNE
This is a fine guy, you know.
LENA
Yeah, he may very well be, even though he works
in a shop.
BÖRJE
Hey, listen! Can I have a look at your room?
RUNE
Sure, go on! But it's a mess in there.
BÖRJE
Okay?
LENA
Okay.
When Börje disappears into Lena's archive, her father takes a small
roll of bills out of his pocket.
RUNE
Here's the money you were yakking about.
LENA
Where did you get it?
Rune won't answer. Lena counts the bills. There should be 100 kroner.
She throws them back at him.
LENA
Only ninety-five.
RUNE
(looks at her)
Sometimes you're too much like your mother.
During this, Börje wanders about in Lena's archive. Piles of books,
walls covered with posters, boxes full of newspaper clippings and other
junk. He stares amazed at a portrait of Generalissimo Franco hanging in
a gilded frame surrounded by a wilted laurel wreath. That is Börje's
first question when Lena comes into the room.
BÖRJE
Why do you have Franco on the wall?
As Lena's black bag comes into view, so does this title:
THE CONTEST
BÖRJE
What are all these boxes?
LENA
My files.
BÖRJE
And that one there? What does "R" stand for?
LENA
Religion.
BÖRJE
Well, there isn't much in it.
LENA
No, I've just started on it.
BÖRJE
"M" then?
LENA
Men!
BÖRJE
Do you collect men?
LENA
No, but I used to.
They exchange smiling glances.
In the kitchen, her father chews on a cheese sandwich. When he goes to
join the kids in the other room, he pauses in the doorway: he sees them
embracing in a corner and hears them murmuring together.
BÖRJE
Hey, you're beautiful.
Rune decides to leave them in peace. But before going back to work, he
picks up the money Lena refused. The door slams.
BÖRJE
Did he leave?
LENA
Mmm. He went back to work.
BÖRJE
Maybe I should go too?
LENA
(smiles agreeably, clinging to him)
Mmm.
BÖRJE
What do you think?
LENA
Mmm.
BÖRJE
No?
LENA
Yes.
Their embraces continue. Börje can't unbutton Lena's slacks. Lena
thinks that Börje is clumsy. She has to do it herself.
BÖRJE
Thank you.
Finally, they both get their pants off. Börje tries to lift Lena
against the wall. Lena finds the position uncomfortable.
LENA
No.
BÖRJE
Yes.
LENA
No, it doesn't work.
BÖRJE
It doesn't?
LENA
No, it won't work.
BÖRJE
It'll work.
Lena pulls away from Börje and disappears into the closet, her panties
and slacks around her ankles. There is a terrible racket inside as
cartons and boxes fall. Lena comes out with a mattress. She intends to
make a bed on the floor. Börje stares in astonishment at what she is
doing. His trousers are tangled around his ankles.
LENA
Help me then!
He moves the tape recorder.
LENA
God, you're slow!
BÖRJE
I'm doing my best.
LENA
Hurry up!
Magnus arrives on the stairway outside with two enormous stacks of
books tied in bundles. He finds a notice on the door:
NYMAN'S INSTITUTE
CLOSED FOR LUNCH (ALL AFTERNOON)
He sits on a stool and waits for Lena to re-open her institute.
Inside, the bed is being made.
LENA
Should we have sheets?
BÖRJE
Yes, one.
LENA
Pillow?
BÖRJE
Yes, a pillow.
Rapid undressing. Lena's bra is twisted. Börje is only too willing to
help.
BÖRJE
No, I'll do it, I'll do it.
When he sees Lena's breasts, he exclaims softly. Lena is particular.
She always takes off the boy's wrist watch before she goes to bed with
him. Only then is she ready to continue their lovemaking.
Interruption. A female announcer appears on the television screen. It
seems there is a faulty coupling ...
ANNOUNCER
We are sorry that we have had some technical
difficulties in the south of Sweden during the
last hour.
Late in the evening in Lena's archive. They lie on the floor, tired and
naked, quieting their hunger by nibbling on a chicken leg. Lena takes
down a photograph of her father when he was young and shows it to
Börje.
LENA
And a socialist. He was damned active too.
BÖRJE
Mmm.
LENA
He belonged to a lot of youth groups. And he
sang.
BÖRJE
Oh, did he?
LENA
And he sang very well. And he read poems. Then
he took off for Spain to fight in the Civil
War. The International Brigade.
BÖRJE
I see. How long was he there?
LENA
Three weeks.
BÖRJE
Was he wounded?
LENA
No.
BÖRJE
Well, why'd he come back so soon?
LENA
I don't know.
BÖRJE
Have you asked him?
LENA
Sure, but he doesn't answer.
They prick up their ears. A doorknob is turned. Her father has come
home. He hears that Lena still has a visitor and quietly closes the
kitchen door. Börje rises and closes the archive door, just as
discreetly. While doing this, he notices Franco's portrait again.
BÖRJE
Isn't it pretty nasty then to have Franco on
the wall?
LENA
Yes.
Under the picture, Börje notices Lena's altar. Two candles, photographs
from German concentration camps, and a blackboard (The Great Scandal
Board), on which Lena inscribes the number of days that have passed
since her father came back from Spain.
BÖRJE
Why do you have pictures from concentration
camps?
LENA
Doesn't that go together with Franco?
BÖRJE
11,273 ...
LENA
... days since he chickened out on the Spanish
Civil War.
(Lena holds a pad and pencil)
Do you have a license?
BÖRJE
Eh?
Börje turns his head: why does she ask that? Because Lena registers the
boys she sleeps with. She interviews them and enters them into a card
file.
LENA
Do you have a driver's license?
BÖRJE
Yes, I have.
LENA
Did you take your first Communion?
BÖRJE
Yes, I did.
LENA
Did you ever consider refusing military service?
BÖRJE
(lies)
Yes.
Börje looks at the pictures from the Vietnam war that Lena has pinned
up over her bed: soldiers, weapons, agony, torture, abandoned children.
BÖRJE
How can you sleep with all these pictures
hanging over your head?
LENA
(ignoring the question)
Do you think that women should earn the same
wages as men?
BÖRJE
No.
LENA
Equal sexual freedom?
BÖRJE
Yes.
LENA
Are you married?
BÖRJE
No.
LENA
Should the Swedish Church be separated from the
State?
BÖRJE
No.
LENA
Should the monarchy be abolished?
BÖRJE
No.
LENA
What party did you vote for in the last
election?
BÖRJE
The Conservative.
LENA
And in the election before that?
BÖRJE
The Liberal.
LENA
Do you think that Swedish society has a class
structure?
BÖRJE
No, absolutely not.
LENA
Where did you get to know my father?
BÖRJE
At the frame shop. Then we went to a café and
talked.
(he takes a card at
random from the file)
Stig Björkman, born 1941, confirmed. He has a
driver's license.
LENA
Did Dad borrow money from you?
BÖRJE
Yes.
LENA
I could have bet my sweet life on that.
BÖRJE
(handing her a glass of wine)
Skål, Lena! Skål!
LENA
When did you turn on to me?
BÖRJE
At the frame shop.
LENA
Do you think I was good?
BÖRJE
You were great! You were great!
LENA
How many girls have you slept with?
BÖRJE
I don't know. I've never counted them. Have
you?
LENA
Mmm.
BÖRJE
Well, how many boys are there?
LENA
Twenty-three. But the first nineteen were no
fun.
BÖRJE
I see.
LENA
No fun.
BÖRJE
So, I'm number twenty-four?
LENA
Mmm.
23?
We interrupt for an imaginary special meeting at the BOARD OF FILM
CENSORS in Stockholm. When this film reaches the Board, Lena's number
causes a problem. We see Mr. Erik Skoglund, 63, young film censor,
checking the rules and regulations; his co-workers wonder if the number
was true or to be taken as a boast. Some even begin to count on their
fingers.
DID SHE SAY 23?
In any case, Mr. Skoglund decides not to question the figure before he
seeks advice from his fellow-censor, Pastor Gunnar Dahmén, a
representative of the Swedish Church.
Dawn in Lena's archive. It is 1:30 A.M. Börje coughs in his sleep,
wakes up, and shivers a bit. He puts a blanket over Lena, but she
awakens also.
LENA
(whispers)
What is it?
BÖRJE
(whispers)
Hey, Lena, I'm off now.
LENA
No.
BÖRJE
I've got to go now, you see.
LENA
No, don't go.
BÖRJE
Listen, I've got to go.
LENA
No.
BÖRJE
I'm serious, I've got to leave. It's late!
Listen Lena, I've got to run now. You lie down
and go back to sleep.
LENA
No, I'll come with you.
BÖRJE
Okay, but make it quick, make it ...
LENA
Mmm.
BÖRJE
You've got to make it quick. Clothes on,
quickly.
LENA
Mmm. Mmm.
BÖRJE
Quickly.
LENA
Mmm.
BÖRJE
Where are my trousers? Where the hell are my
trousers?
LENA
And my bra!
BÖRJE
You can go without one.
LENA
Yes.
Lena's father awakens in the kitchen. He wanders sleepily to the sink
and pisses in the basin. Some voices are heard in the courtyard: good
friends of his who want to come up for a beer. But he waves them away.
He can't have them up where Lena has a boyfriend in there. Because it
is a new day Lena must change 11,273 to 11,274 before she steals out
with Börje. Her father, by the sink, nods in a friendly way.
Once he hears them leave, he waves to his friends in the yard. It's
okay now! Come on up! The kids are gone!
This is Tuesday, June 14. Sunrise 2:35 A.M. Temperature in Stockholm
62 degrees Fahrenheit. And with Börje in back on the luggage carrier,
Lena cycles through an empty Stockholm at dawn.
They pause by the Royal Palace and watch the changing of the guard.
Leaning over the stone balcony, they regard the quietness.
LENA
(croons)
"In Rio de Janeiro you can folk for free ..."
Panoramic views of the Parliament, the biggest banking houses, the
Opera, the Grand Hotel, various waterways, and a crowd of seagulls
chattering as the pass.
LENA
(voice over)
Now the Prime Minister gets up to take care of
Sweden.
And the Minister of Trade wakes up.
And all the Lefties.
And the whole mixed economy.
The Conservative party leader rubs his eyes
because he's had a nightmare.
And Torsten Eriksson gets up and makes pee-pee;
and begins devising another defense of the new
State Prison at Kumla.
And Per Wigstad vomits again in Expressen.
[Torsten Eriksson is the Head of the Bureau of Prisons who is under
heavy attack from Swedish radicals for blocking further reforms. Per
Wigstad is the editor-in-chief who uses his newspaper for vulgar
anti-socialist propaganda. His favorite target: Olof Palme.]
Börje thinks. He thinks that he and Lena have been together exactly
half a day, from lunch yesterday. Shall they end the idyll here? Put
the finishing touches on the masterwork, the cork in the bottle, so to
speak? He whispers his idea in Lena's ear. She gladly nods yes. Börje
takes off his jacket; Lena takes off her panties. A watching Palace
guard swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing. After Börje places his jacket
over Lena's shoulders, they swing up onto the balustrade in front of
the Palace and rock in each other's arms, while the guard continues to
watch impassively.
A choir sings the national anthem, "The King's Song."
"From the depth of Swedish hearts we sing
A simple hymn unto our King.
Show faith in him! Don't let him down!
Lighten the burden of his crown!"
And Lena wonders how things are going with the King. Why not go into
the Palace and interview him?
16. Lena comforts the King
An imaginary interview.
There is a collection of family portraits on a table in one of the
Palace chambers. One is of Carl Gustaf, the crown prince, who looks
remarkably like Börje. His Majesty is walking through the chambers of
the Palace, a suitcase in each hand; a Pekinese trots after him. A
music box is playing softly. He has just finished his long service, now
that the Kingdom of Sweden has been turned into a republic. The court
has been pensioned off. Now he needs his grandson to help with his
departure.
THE KING
Carl Gustaf, where are you?
Lena hurries up, microphone in hand.
LENA
Is there anything I can do?
THE KING
No, it's all right. I'm ready. Is it chilly
outside?
LENA
No, your Majesty, it's a nice Swedish summer
morning.
THE KING
A bit chilly then.
LENA
Yes, a bit.
THE KING
If only Carl Gustaf would come with the tickets.
He promised to take care of them. The last
thing he was to do yesterday was to go to the
travel agency.
LENA
I know that I'm intruding. But may I just ask
what it feels like?
THE KING
What it feels like? What do you mean?
LENA
We've had kings in Sweden for a billion years.
How does it feel to be absolutely the last one?
THE KING
If you give me a moment to consider, I'll find
an answer for you.
(sets down his bags)
Well, it's like this: It's important to
separate the idea from the individual. That's
something we have to learn from early childhood.
I've been trying all my life to separate these
two things. I've really made an effort.
(picks up his bags)
But sometimes it's difficult. Very difficult.
LENA
But Nancy Eriksson explained it on TV, and all
the socialists said it too: It isn't you as a
person they wanted to get at. On the contrary,
you have been an outstanding representative
of ...
THE KING
Yes, yes, I know.
[The Social Democratic Party in Sweden has always had as part of its
program: Abolish the Kingship. However, the issue was shelved for
several decades. Not until the mid-sixties was it taken down and dusted
off. A group of M.P.'s led by Nancy Eriksson moved for an investigation
of the "Kingship question."]
And then it happens. In comes the "Prince." And he looks remarkably
like Börje.
A VOICE
Grandfather!
THE KING
Yes, I'm here. Where have you been? I thought
you had forgotten ...
BÖRJE
(as Crown Prince Carl Gustaf)
Well, I ... Here they are anyway.
He gives the plane tickets to his "Grandfather," the King; then turns
to Lena and whispers.
BÖRJE
(as the Prince)
It's been delightful meeting you, Lena, but I'm
tired, so I've got to take a nap.
(Börje as Börje)
We're having a sale at Ryden's, you see.
(as the Prince again)
Delightful meeting you.
LENA
But what about you? How do you feel? Just think
of not being able to be anything but a crown
prince.
BÖRJE
I don't give a damn about that!
(walks away, pauses, turns)
Will you call me?
LENA
Where?
BÖRJE
At Ryden's. It's in the phone book.
He disappears.
THE KING
I hope it's nice in Italy now. Not too hot. At
the airport in Rome it's usually ...
LENA
I think it's just great down there now. I
wouldn't mind going myself, if only I could get
away, but with the Institute and all the
investigations ... Come along! Mind the step,
now.
(to the Pekinese)
Is your master taking you to Italy? ...
17. Marie
The same morning. A small apartment. A blonde young woman is brushing
the hair of her three-year-old daughter before giving her breakfast. A
key turns in the lock.
MARIE
Who's coming? Who's coming?
GIRL
Daddy?
MARIE
Yes.
BÖRJE
Hello.
MARIE
Hello.
GIRL
Daddy?
MARIE
Yes.
GIRL
It is Daddy.
MARIE
Yes, it is Daddy.
A VOICE FROM THE RADIO
Sartre meant that the Tribunal would
investigate what sentences should be passed if
the laws used at the Nuremburg trials were
applied to the aggressors in Vietnam.
"We represent no government, no party, and
therefore we take orders from no one." These
were Jean-Paul Sartre's words at the opening of
the Russell Tribunal in Stockholm.
"We are powerless," he said, "and in that lies
the guarantee of our independence."
Börje turns off the radio. He stretches out on the bed, tired after
being awake all night with Lena. In the kitchen, Marie empties the
contents of a can into a bowl in front of the child.
GIRL
No, I want food.
MARIE
But this is food. Now eat like a good girl!
(to Börje)
Would you like something too? A sandwich?
BÖRJE
Yes, please.
MARIE
A beer?
BÖRJE
Mmm.
Marie takes a beer from the refrigerator. Börje gives her a package. It
is the picture he had picked up at the frame shop the day before during
his lunch hour. Marie recognizes the watercolor. She painted it a few
years ago. She is shy but a little moved by his thoughtfulness.
MARIE
Did you frame this?
BÖRJE
Like it?
MARIE
I paint a lot better now.
BÖRJE
Yes, but it's nice.
MARIE
Yes, we had a wonderful time that afternoon,
anyway.
BÖRJE
Are you happy?
MARIE
Yes.
Börje kisses Marie. Their daughter laughs, delighted.
18. Lena and The Universal Problem
LENA
(voice over)
Occasionally, I was negligent with The Great
Scandal Board. But all of a sudden something
would remind me of how my old man chickened out
on the Spanish Civil War and ...
The count on the board increases: 11,274, 11,275, 11,276, etc., through
11,283.
LENA
(voice over)
Besides, I think that you should make your
opinion clear to the world. So Ulla, Magnus,
and I went to the big embassies. In front of
the American Embassy there was a police car.
There was always a police car there, all
summer.
Their signs say:
EVEN SWEDEN ONCE BELIEVED IN THE U.S.
NOW WE ARE ASHAMED
DO YOU KNOW WHY?
LENA
(voice over)
I told the police that I wasn't out looking for
trouble, simply taking an intellectual
position. But since the cops didn't understand
the difference, it was quite a short
demonstration.
Lena joins a protest march of writers, students, and youths chanting
"U.S.A. murderers! U.S.A. murderers! U.S.A. murderers!" Many of the
signs read:
U.S.A. GET OUT OF VIETNAM!
Lena also makes new posters for the communist embassies.
I LIKE COMMUNISM WITHOUT SLAVE CAMPS
I LIKE SOCIALISM WITHOUT TYRANNY
LENA
(voice over)
The next day we went to the Chinese Embassy at
Bragevgen. After that I went to the Russian
Embassy to talk to the Ambassador himself; he
wasn't in. But Yevtushenko was there. He said
that my signs were ridiculous.
Lena gets very upset and has an imaginary interview with Yevtushenko
and his interpreter.
LENA
What? What does he mean?
INTERPRETER
Well, what he means is very simple. Millions of
people all over the world today are starving,
living under conditions so miserable that you,
Lena Nyman, would never accept them -- not even
for five minutes. Now, if you chose the
capitalistic solution -- then you have free
enterprise, free speech, and a lot of other
good things. But that development would take
three hundred years.
LENA
So let it then.
Yevtushenko responds in dismay and disbelief.
INTERPRETER
But don't you see? It has to be done in thirty
years. In thirty years illiteracy must be
eliminated. In thirty years the country must be
industrialized -- and you think this could be
done without compulsion! No! But Lena, you
mustn't forget that compulsion isn't the same
to you as it is to them. They've had the whip
over them for a thousand years, so another
thirty years doesn't mean a thing, as long as
they believe there will really be a change.
LENA
But what about the purges and the murders? And
people being deported? The slave camps?
(to the interpreter)
Look at his country under Stalin! He has
written poetry himself about the terror they
endured. Can he deny that?
(to Yevtushenko)
Can you deny that?
INTERPRETER
No, he doesn't deny that. He says it is sad
that the new Soviet had to be born with so much
sacrifice, but one has to take risks.
LENA
Risks! Doesn't he realize what hideous risks
he's talking about?
INTERPRETER
Oh yes, he certainly does. But realizing that
millions of people are starving to death, do
you think that's taking less of a hideous risk?
Lena looks down, ashamed.
LENA
(voice over)
Well, there I was with my fear of the Russians
and the Chinese, and what she said was probably
right. That was more than I could take.
19. A cozy evening
Lena is with her father in the frame shop. He has been working late.
Now he's washing up. He turns his shirt inside-out before going out to
grab a bite to eat. Lena is hand-printing little cards for her files,
but cuts the board incorrectly.
RUNE
When my old man died, I was with ... No, wait a
minute, wait now. You mustn't do it that way,
don't you realize that it's much harder that
way? You should only draw a fine line first.
Like this, see? You do it like this! Then you
press hard. Like this.
(continues his story)
Yes, when my old man died, I was in the room
lying beside him in the bed. He lay there,
tossing and turning, and I woke up twice during
the night. I only thought he was a little
restless, but when I woke up the next morning
his neck had turned blue.
LENA
Do you think animals feel the same way as we do
when they die?
RUNE
Oh yes, sure they do. I was at a bullfight in
Spain once, and I almost puked. I had to leave.
Oh, come on, have some wine!
He hands her the bottle; then he takes a drink himself.
LENA
What do you think of Börje?
RUNE
Mmm.
LENA
Do you like him?
RUNE
Mmm.
LENA
He's kind of groovy.
RUNE
Yes, he's a fine boy.
LENA
Mmm. I'm getting kind of turned on to him.
She giggles.
RUNE
(laughs)
Do you think I didn't see anything through the
door before I left that day?
LENA
(laughing)
No!
RUNE
Oh yes, I did!
LENA
No!
RUNE
Oh yes!
LENA
I see.
RUNE
But listen, what's important with that guy is
that ... At the café before ... well, he talked
so nicely about his child. He talked so nicely
about her.
Lena's father doesn't notice that she suddenly looks gloomy.
RUNE
Just like I felt about you when you were little
and your mother ran off.
LENA
Oh, that bitch!
RUNE
Oh, well, she was all right ...
LENA
No, she wasn't -- showing up after eight years
and wanting me back!
RUNE
(sings)
"Here I sat on the river bank --
I'm singing, tra la la ... to myself --
Listening to the river surging in the valley --
I hear him calling --"
LENA
What's her name, that woman?
RUNE
(sings)
"... tra la la ..."
(to Lena)
What?
LENA
The kid's mother?
RUNE
I think it was Marie or something like that.
(sings)
"I'll take my violin --
Let the river be my bass --"
LENA
(in a sudden outburst)
What the hell does he want with me then, when
he's got both Marie and ... That damn ...
RUNE
Yes, but listen, you've been experimenting
yourself!
LENA
Yes, but that's a completely different thing! At
least I say when I'm experimenting! But that
bastard hasn't said a thing! Everybody else ...
Hell, even you know! But I don't ...
RUNE
(sings)
"Dear old river, surging in the valley --
We are old, you and I, and rather gray.
Girls want young lovers
Who are fast and light on their feet.
Our days are over ..."
Lena, melancholy, gently straightens the collar of her father's
inside-out shirt.
LENA
Have you put it on inside out again?
RUNE
(sings)
"... And in our nook we sit and watch
The young people dancing.
Our days are over.
And in our nook we sit and watch
The young people dancing."
20. A TV program
ANNOUNCER
(on screen)
We regret having to interrupt this program with
a message.
BO HOLMSTRÖM
(in a studio)
After one of the most intensive debates that
the Swedish government has experienced, we can
now give you the results of the vote on the new
radical defense system. There was a strong
majority for the system in the Social
Democratic Party. Also, the Communists were
very much in favor of the non-violent defense
system, but the Conservatives were very much
opposed. The final total is 187 opposed and 196
in favor, which means that the new non-violent
defense system is hereby decided upon. This
means a four-month course in non-violent
techniques for all citizens and one month of
repetition every three years; and for the
first time in Swedish history this applies to
both men and women.
Various shots of demonstrations and police. A shot of the plane with
the CONSERVATIVE STUDENTS banner.
BO HOLMSTRÖM
Even at the last minute there were violent
debates over the reform. Some groups among the
students turned out to be unexpectedly
conservative.
Shots of young men and women struggling in the snow.
ANNOUNCER
(voice over)
Last winter we visited with some new recruits
and on that day's schedule it read:
"Sociodrama." This was one of the first
exercises for newly drafted youngsters. Their
mission was to block a railway track.
Soldiers sit in a group on a couple of train tracks.
A MALE VOICE
What would you do if it were your wife lying
here on the tracks, you silly fool ... ?
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
Break it up! Time for self-criticism! Get up!
I shut up! You speak!
The soldiers stand around, discussing and criticizing.
FIRST NON-VIOLENT SOLDIER
I think this whole exercise is unreal. I don't
think this situation would take place -- I mean,
that they would come unarmed like this.
SECOND NON-VIOLENT SOLDIER
I agree.
FIRST NON-VIOLENT SOLDIER
This is too simplified a situation for us.
THIRD NON-VIOLENT SOLDIER
I mean, if the situation were critical -- that
is, if a train loaded with ammunition were
coming this way -- who cares if a few people
are lying on the tracks?
HOLMSTRÖM
(approaches the group)
Am I allowed to take part in the self-criticism?
Isn't it hard to restrain yourself from striking
back?
FOURTH NON-VIOLENT SOLDIER
Yes, it's incredibly hard -- even during
exercises like this one.
HOLMSTRÖM
Is it possible through training to eliminate
your aggressive feelings when maybe it's your
fiancée who is being shot?
FIRST NON-VIOLENT SOLDIER
I think so.
HOLMSTRÖM
And you don't feel like a coward?
FIRST NON-VIOLENT SOLDIER
No!
HOLMSTRÖM
So after all you are gladly taking part in this?
NON-VIOLENT GIRL
Well, gladly ...
HOLMSTRÖM
In the days of the old defense system, women
didn't have to take part, but now they must.
What do you think about that?
NON-VIOLENT GIRL
I'm all for it. Why should only men defend
themselves? I think it's ... I don't see why we
should just sit there and get shot.
HOLMSTRÖM
(to the instructor)
To a spectator this looks like a scout camp,
rather than a realistic war or occupation.
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
No, I think this is just as realistic as
ordinary military exercises. Those too can
remind you of scout camps or playing cowboys
and Indians. I can't see any difference.
HOLMSTRÖM
Part of the idea is to make friends with the
enemy soldiers as people, right?
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
Yes, just like during World War I, when the
soldiers left their respective trenches and
exchanged cigarettes and made friends with each
other.
A title appears on the screen.
FRATERNIZATION
HOLMSTRÖM
This means that you'll make friends ...
SABOTAGE
HOLMSTRÖM
...with the enemy. But, don't you thereby ...
NON-COOPERATION
HOLMSTRÖM
...open your front to their propaganda?
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
Yes, of course, but we also make it possible
for them to receive ours. And that's what's
most important. We must always be open.
HOLMSTRÖM
Would you say that it's those with the
strongest characters who can take the greatest
strain?
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
Roughly, I'd say that those who can stand the
greatest strain in a conventional war can also
stand the strain in this.
A train whistle sounds.
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
Now, my friends, we will change sides! Those
who were the defenders down here will now be
the aggressors, and vice versa. It's important
that those who are the aggressors really feel
the pleasure, the excitement of violence, so
that you get to experience it in reality. Okay,
let's begin!
CHORUS
(sings, voice over)
"We shall ..."
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
Change groups! Go ahead!
CHORUS
"... overcome some day."
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
Hurry up ...
CHORUS
"We shall ..."
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
... so we don't get too stiff.
CHORUS
... overcome.
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
We're all frozen stiff ...
CHORUS
"We shall ..."
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
... already.
CHORUS
... overcome.
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
Ready!
CHORUS
"We shall . .."
NON-VIOLENT OFFICER
Go!
CHORUS:
... overcome.
We shall overcome some day."
21. Lena takes a bicycle ride
The count on The Great Scandal Board increases from 11,289 to 11,304.
Lena has left Stockholm. She rides her bicycle down a country road
thinking about the possibilities of the non-violent defense system and
humming with great confidence.
LENA
(sings)
"... deep in my heart
I do believe
We shall overcome some day."
Suddenly a car from Stockholm roars by. The road is full of puddles and
the driver ruthlessly splashes water all over the girl.
Lena is furious and yells after him:
LENA
Oh, you Stockholm bastard! Go to hell! Road
maniac! Damned road maniac! Go to h ... Oh shit!
You big shit!
Her cursing goes on and on.
22. Lena tells the people
In every little village or town she passes through during her ride
through Sweden, Lena posts messages on trees and walls. For example:
MESSAGE TO HUMANITY:
DOWN WITH PRIVILEGED SOCIETIES!
--LENA
MESSAGE TO BLACK PEOPLE:
BE PREPARED! THE WHITES ARE STAGGERING!
--LENA
23. The rivals
Börje suddenly decides to visit Lena. When he arrives she is not there.
Instead, he runs into a stranger in Lena's archive. The stranger is
Magnus and they are both equally surprised.
MAGNUS
Hello! Who are you?
BÖRJE
Check the files! Number 24.
MAGNUS
What are you doing here?
BÖRJE
Lena was looking for me at my job one day when
I wasn't there. Now I'd like to know where she
is. Do you know where she is?
MAGNUS
Yes.
BÖRJE
Where?
MAGNUS
She's on a retreat.
BÖRJE
What?
MAGNUS
A retreat! Do you know what that is? A retreat!
Börje gets aggressive. He knocks Magnus down and grabs him by the hair.
BÖRJE
I asked where Lena was.
MAGNUS
She wants to be left alone.
BÖRJE
Yes, yes! She wanted to see me. What are you
doing here?
MAGNUS
What am I doing? I live here.
BÖRJE
What?
MAGNUS
I live here. I've been told to stay here and
take care of the place.
BÖRJE
Has Lena left town?
MAGNUS
I don't know! I told you she wants to be left
alone. What in hell do you come barging in here
for? I've told you that Lena wants to be left
alone, that I live here, and that I don't know
where she is.
BÖRJE
You're lying!
MAGNUS
No!
BÖRJE
(slapping him)
You're lying!
MAGNUS
No!
Lena's father has appeared in the doorway.
RUNE
Hey, what are you doing?
BÖRJE
Listen, where is Lena?
RUNE
In Småland.
BÖRJE
Where in Småland?
RUNE
At Rumskulla.
BÖRJE
Thank you.
24. Lena on a retreat
Lena has withdrawn to an isolated place in southern Sweden. She has
rented an old abandoned cottage. She has an ambitious program during
her retreat:
6:15 MEDITATION
In order to come closer to nature, she gets up early and meditates on a
bluebell.
7:30 BREAKFAST
As an Indian steps into the healing waters of the Ganges, she wades
into the Stångå and fills a bowl with fresh water for her morning meal.
9:00-12:00 MEDITATION ON LARS
GYLLENSTEN'S TEN COMMANDMENTS
In response to the question "Are God's Ten Commandments Enough?" the
Swedish author Lars Gyllensten, has written a set of ten commandments
for this age [published in English in Sweden Writes (Stockholm:
Bokförlaget, 1965)]. The walls of Lena's house are covered with posters
copied from this book. She reads:
THIRD COMMANDMENT:
THOU SHALT REFLECT THAT
COMFORT AGREES AS WELL WITH
OTHER PEOPLE AS IT DOES WITH YOU.
FIRST COMMANDMENT:
THOU SHALT NOT HAVE ANY OTHER GODS
THAN PROVISORY ONES.
12:45 LUNCH
For lunch Lena has three peas, which she eats carefully.
1:00 STUDIES
In honor of Martin Luther King, she has built an altar to NON-VIOLENCE
-- central symbol: a broken shotgun. She reads his writings and studies
the techniques of non-violence.
2:10 FIGHT AGAINST NONSENSE
Consists of various activities; for example, burning magazines.
3:00-5:00 SELF-MORTIFICATION
She is making a bed of nails. She meditates over a piece of banana
cream cake in order to learn to stay away from sweets.
6:30 DINNER
She savors and then noisily gobbles a whole carrot.
10:05 SEXUAL THEORY
Upon retiring, she studies recently published sex manuals. One
illustrates fresh, unusual positions, guaranteed to brighten a
conventional everyday relationship. She finds this sort of meditation
difficult all by herself.
9:00 A.M. DIALECT STUDY
She usually goes to get milk from two middle-aged brothers whose
dialect is so peculiar that she can translate their speech only by
diligent effort.
LENA
Do you ever go to church?
FIRST BROTHER
(in incomprehensible dialect)
No, I don't.
LENA
Why?
FIRST BROTHER
(in incomprehensible dialect)
Because they don't preach the truth, for
example. They pray so beautifully for the poor,
but you know very well what they're really like.
LENA
Would you like to have a woman around the house
to help you?
SECOND BROTHER
(in incomprehensible dialect, grinning)
Oh, yes, of course I would, but another of my
brothers used to be here and cook for us. There
were always complaints about everything. We
never had time to get home and eat when he was
cooking. We were always several kilometers
from here when the meals were ready.
10:00-12:00 YOGA EXERCISE
On a mat in front of the house, she attempts to follow the instructions
in a yoga book. But the positions are too difficult. So, in the midst
of her solitude, she turns to the film crew.
LENA
No, I can't make it.
The film crew begins showing Lena positions she might try.
LENA MALMSJÖ
You needn't do that particular position. There
are lots of others. This one, for example.
Lena Malmsjö, executive producer, executes a backbend. Vilgot Sjöman
performs a yogi shoulder stand.
VILGOT
Nyman! Have a look! But loo ... And then just
straight up, you stretch them like this. Is
that okay?
Everybody helps. Cameraman Peter Wester and his assistant Andreas
Bellis; sound engineer Tage Sjöborg and his assistant Christer Östberg;
script girl Marianne Johnson; general assistant Bengt Palmers, and
production manager Raymond Lundberg -- they all demonstrate positions
for Lena. Each is identified by a subtitle.
25. Wild West in Fagerdal
Börje roars through Småland in a new white MG. He drives into Lena's
yard. She grabs the shotgun from the altar to non-violence, loads it,
and stalks him, as in a cowboy film.
He grabs the gun from her and dumps her in the grass. He lays his head
in her lap and drinks, as if from a well.
Some time later they lie, exhausted, their bodies satisfied, sprawled
in the grass. Börje caresses her side, she kisses his penis: small,
light, childishly contented kisses.
BÖRJE
I had trouble finding you.
LENA
Have you done much looking?
BÖRJE
Yes, I have.
LENA
What a nice car you have.
BÖRJE
You think so?
LENA
Mmm.
BÖRJE
I've got a new job.
LENA
Mmm.
BÖRJE
I quit Ryden's.
LENA
What are you doing now?
BÖRJE
I sell cars.... What have you been doing all
this time?
26. Sightseeing at Rumskulla
Lena shows Börje all the discoveries she has made at Rumskulla during
her retreat. She shows him how people used to live in the past, in
solitude, deep in the forests.
LENA
Here's the doorstep. Here they went in and out,
Hulda, Alma, Oscar, Selma, Emil, Emilia, Amanda,
and all the children. In 1882, 1883, 1884 ...
BÖRJE
Hey, what are these stones?
LENA
That's the stove. And this is all there was to
the house.
Börje has brought a present for Lena: a small bracelet. Lena is moved
and kisses him.
The director, who is watching them, gets a little disturbed and
caresses the script girl.
Lena and Börje are parked on a hill with a beautiful view. She wants to
teach him Lars Gyllensten's ten commandments.
The Fourth Commandment: "Thou shalt take care of those who cannot take
care of themselves."
BÖRJE
"Thou shalt take care of those who cannot take
care of themselves."
LENA
The Seventh?
BÖRJE
The Seventh? What is that?
LENA
"Thou shalt, if you belong to the many who are
better off than they deserve, share with others.
Otherwise ..."
BÖRJE
"... otherwise you are stealing." Who the hell
is Gyllensten?
LENA
Lars Gyllensten is a fantastic guy.
BÖRJE
What's all this good for?
LENA
The old commandments weren't written for the
people of today. That's why he rewrote them.
BÖRJE
Mmm.
LENA
The First?
BÖRJE
"Thou shalt worship only temporary gods."
LENA
Mmm.
BÖRJE
(points)
What's that?
LENA
The school of Grönshult. With electricity and a
well. Sold for 3000 kroner.
BÖRJE
That's damn cheap! Three thousand kroner.
LENA
Yes. People move to the towns. Mostly girls.
They just can't live like they used to.
BÖRJE
No.
LENA
The Sixth Commandment?
BÖRJE
What's that?
LENA
"Thou shalt not spread venereal diseases, or
bring unwanted children into the world, or
expose other people to sexual violence. Also,
you should play your part in keeping the
birthrate as low as possible, because
altogether too many children are born. For the
rest, you may devote yourself freely to sexual
intercourse, masturbation, pornography and such
other good things of this kind as your animal
nature, in its grace, may cause you to desire."
The subject makes them both horny; Börje steps on the gas and off they
go, driving through the beautiful old village of Övrakulla, now crowded
with wrecked cars.
BÖRJE
And so, if he sells two or three cars a month,
he'll make about 1200 kroner.
LENA
Mmm.
BÖRJE
Then you have the average guy who makes about ...
(looks around)
What's this?
LENA
Two brothers sell junk here.
BÖRJE
Well, you see, the average guy earns 700 plus
... Then if he sells eight or nine cars ... No,
what the hell. He won't sell more than four or
five cars, the average guy, that is ...
LENA
Mmm.
BÖRJE
He'll make 1800 kroner a month. Yes, it's a
tough business!
LENA
Mmm.
BÖRJE
Then you have the top guys!
LENA
Mmm. This is a typical dying village.
BÖRJE
Oh yes, it is.
LENA
Pity!
BÖRJE
Yes.
LENA
Do they cheat too, these guys?
BÖRJE
Between us, I can tell you that 1964 was a top
year. That year a guy could make 20,000 kroner.
LENA
Twenty thousand?
BÖRJE
Twenty thousand a year. Tax free!
LENA
Tax free!
BÖRJE
But I guess a year like that won't come again.
LENA
Look! Look at the walls!
BÖRJE
Oh, yes.
LENA
To think that a hundred years ago they came
here ...
BÖRJE
Yes.
LENA
... and pushed and pulled ...
BÖRJE
Yes.
LENA
... and slaved ...
BÖRJE
Yes.
LENA
... to build these walls.
BÖRJE
Oh, yes! Then ...
LENA
And then they all moved away.
BÖRJE
That's right! Then you have ...
LENA
It's really abandoned!
BÖRJE
Yeah!
LENA
Everything!
BÖRJE
Yes, but Lena, then you have the top salesmen!
They make 45,000 a year!
They park the car to wash it at a bend in the road where the Stångå has
overflown its banks. Lena is emptying a little packet of car soap into
the water.
LENA
(sings)
"In Rio de Janeiro you can truck for free ..."
Lena has poured the car soap into the river; Börje wets the sponge,
Lena tries to open the trunk of the car. It is locked.
LENA
Can I have the key?
BÖRJE
I forgot it!
LENA
No, you didn't forget it, it's there on the key
ring.
BÖRJE
I took it off and forgot it.
Lena tries on Börje's driving gloves.
LENA
How nice they are. But of course they should
have been smaller and have had a big hole here.
With no apparent cause or explanation, she throws his gloves into the
river. Börje is annoyed.
BÖRJE
Go and get them!
LENA
No.
BÖRJE
Get them!
LENA
No! A-s-k M-a-r-i-e!
With all their clothes on, they walk right out into the water. They
throw the wet gloves at each other. Börje tackles Lena and both fall
into the water and flail about. Börje grabs Lena.
LENA
How could you be so stupid as not to tell me
about Marie?
BÖRJE
What?
LENA
You were stupid not to mention anything about
Marie. If only you'd told me, it wouldn't have
mattered. But going around keeping secrets like
a damn ...
BÖRJE
Like a what?
LENA
Are you going to marry her?
BÖRJE
I don't know. I don't think so. I have a child,
you know. We've talked a lot about it, Marie
and I. It's a great responsibility to have a
child. It's ... I've thought a lot about it,
but ... No, I don't think I'll marry her.
They crawl into each other's arms, reconciled, and frolic in the water
like a couple of otters, with only Börje's bottom showing.
They put their wet clothes on a line and drive through Rumskulla as if
they'd just bought it. Singing "We shall overcome," Lena tacks one of
her messages onto a tree.
MESSAGE TO HUMANITY:
I FEEL FINE NOW
--LENA
They are in the branches of an old oak tree, Rumskulla's main
attraction.
LENA
(sounding like a guide)
The largest tree in Europe! Fourteen meters in
circumference, 2000 years old.
Aroused by the sex education books she has been reading, Lena gets
Börje's assistance in inventing an extraordinary, new (to date
undiscovered and undescribed) position.
BÖRJE
What do you think?
LENA
Well, I guess it should work.
BÖRJE
Yes, I think so.
LENA
It isn't that bad, you know!
A cow appears briefly. On her forehead is a superimposed a question
mark.
BÖRJE
No. Oh, hell, my thighs are aching.
A title is superimposed:
EXERCISE WITH TV
LENA
Your legs? They hurt?
They have separated. He unbuckles his belt.
BÖRJE
No, pain in my thighs.
LENA
Then you should feel the muscles I have!
She removes her slacks and points to the "Musculus Protector Virgines."
LENA
What do you think?
BÖRJE
What's wrong with them?
LENA
Here! Feel!
BÖRJE
Are they supposed to be like this?
LENA
No. It's because chicks squeeze their legs
together.
BÖRJE
(as he simultaneously drops his
trousers and shorts to his ankles)
Why?
LENA
They're not supposed to spread their legs like
boys do, and that's how this muscle gets so
hard. Then when they go to bed with a guy they
can hardly spread their legs.
BÖRJE
But you don't have that problem, do you? You
said you had slept with twenty-three guys.
LENA
Yes, but the first nineteen were no fun.
BÖRJE
Why?
LENA
(sighing)
I slept with them because they wanted to sleep
with me, so that they could have orgasms. I
couldn't believe that anybody could like me the
way I look: with drooping breasts, big belly,
fat.
In the middle of their highly confidential talk and tender embraces,
they're interrupted by singing. A group of fundamentalist Christians
are having a revival meeting in the Sunday sunshine. They are singing:
"He who created Heaven and earth ..."
27. Roses for Madeleine
They have returned to Lena's cottage after their sightseeing.
Exhausted from lovemaking, they have fallen asleep on the floor naked.
Lena awakens. Kneeling over Börje, she calls his name softly, checking
to see if he is awake. Then she moves to his trousers, stealthily takes
the key ring, and sneaks out to the car. She opens the trunk and finds
a bouquet of half-wilted roses. And a hair dryer. Both apparently meant
for someone named Madeleine -- yet another of Börje's many girls. Lena
reads the card.
LENA
(imagining what Madeleine
might look like)
"Madeleine's wish is Börje's command." Which is
a hair dryer. A fine, new hair dryer. Bought at
a discount! Forty per cent off.
Lena sneaks back into the house, passing the poster of Gyllensten's
Fourth Commandment:
THOU SHALT TAKE CARE OF THOSE
WHO CANNOT TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES
She hides the hair dryer in the black bag -- THE GUILTY CONSCIENCE OF
SOCIAL DEMOCRACY -- the contents of which the audience has been invited
to guess.
Titles appear on the screen as a reminder to the audience of the
promises of the contest:
THE CABANA IN SPAIN
THE LUXURY CRUISE!
THE WINNER MIGHT BE
YOU
Börje lies half-awake on the floor. He calls for Lena. She enters
silently, goes to Börje, crawls in front of him, her back to him. He
pulls her to him, forces his way into her from behind. She offers no
resistance. Closed eyes. Violent movements. In the midst of their
actions, she calls out questions as if conducting a public-opinion
poll.
LENA
Does Madeleine have dark or blond hair?
BÖRJE
Dark.
LENA
Which social class?
BÖRJE
Upper.
LENA
Fat or thin?
She sticks her thumb in her mouth.
BÖRJE
Very thin.
LENA
The model type?
BÖRJE
Better than that.
LENA
Single?
BÖRJE
Engaged. But she's going to break it off.
LENA
Because of you?
BÖRJE
Yes.
LENA
Did you know her before you met me?
BÖRJE
Yes.
LENA
Does she have better orgasms than I do?
BÖRJE
I don't know.
LENA
Haven't you slept with her?
BÖRJE
No, not yet.
Lena stops her questions for a while as they continue moving violently.
LENA
(screaming)
Why the hell haven't you done that?
BÖRJE
What?
LENA
Slept with her, of course! Why the hell haven't
you slept with her?
She pulls away. Börje starts to get up. Seated facing each other, they
continue.
BÖRJE
(shouting)
Damn your curiosity! You're always tearing
everything into bits and pieces. Into talk and
interviews!
LENA
Yes, and you're always keeping your mouth shut
about everything! You told me nothing about
Madeleine and nothing about Marie!
BÖRJE
You can easily put Marie or Madeleine in your
files as well. Go ahead!
LENA
I don't want that upper class bitch.
BÖRJE
No, instead you want this kind of crap, don't
you?
He seizes the teddy bear she always takes with her and hurls it into
the next room.
LENA
Keep your fucking hands off my doll, you pig.
She rushes into the next room, slamming the door behind her. She picks
up her teddy bear, and runs, crying, to a corner of the room. Börje
comes after her and picks up one of the books she had placed in a neat
square around her typewriter.
BÖRJE
May I borrow this from you? May I borrow The
Passive Female Ideal?
They struggle.
LENA
Yes, that's what you need. That's just what you
have, a passive female ideal!
BÖRJE
What did you say I had?
LENA
A passive female ideal! Let go of me!
Lena dashes into the next room, Börje in pursuit. He grabs her by the
elbows.
The film crew waits outside the house. Everyone tries to mind his own
business, ignoring the unpleasantness within.
BÖRJE
(from inside)
Come here! Have a look!
LENA
(from inside)
That damn hair dryer! And the roses!
A door slams. Vilgot goes up to Raymond, the production manager, and
asks him to close the outside door so that the racket cannot be heard.
Inside the house. Their screaming and snuggling continues.
BÖRJE
Have a look around. Admit the fact that you're
screwing around with things that are over your
head. It's all beyond you!
LENA
You lousy salesman!
BÖRJE
You've just got a big mess inside your head.
Why don't you try doing something -- like
dieting? Why don't you put calorie charts on
your walls instead of this stuff! And listen,
you think you can ride in my MG with those
drooping tits!?
LENA
You lousy salesman!
She gives him a violent shove, knocking him over, and runs into the
next room. Börje gets up and runs after her. He grabs her, and they
fall to the floor.
BÖRJE
"Börje's joy ..." I'll give you a taste of
Börje's joy --
She is sobbing as she lets him take her.
The sound of the car engine awakens her. She goes to the front door
exhausted, only to watch Börje disappear in a cloud of dust. She stands
for a time at the door, crying.
LENA
(voice over)
I didn't get much sleep the last night at
Fagerdal. I was itching all over and everything
was screaming in my brain. I remember one of
the dreams: how the Rumskulla football team
came running through the woods. I got hold of
them, both the varsity and the second string.
But one of them was missing. There were only
twenty-three.
Lena is tying the twenty-three boys with thick rope to another giant
tree when the twenty-fourth comes through the woods. It is Börje. Lena
grabs her rifle and shoots him down. She goes to him, turns his dead
body over, takes out her knife and castrates him.
28. Lena's crisis
Lena's retreat is over. She leaves Småland. As she cycles back to
Stockholm, several drivers offer her lifts. She rebuffs them with
disgust. Then she hears a fatherly voice calling to her.
VOICE
Lena! Lena! Lena! I want to talk to you. It's
me, Martin Luther King.
She turns a deaf ear, but the voice continues. Finally she stops.
LENA
Listen, Martin! I'm terribly sorry that I just
can't make it when it really matters, but
that's the way it is.
(in despair)
He's a big shit, that Börje! A big fucking shit
and I'll kill him when I get hold of him. I'll
cut off his cock!
Martin Luther King gazes at her with insight and compassion. This is
more than she can take. She closes her eyes; her lips begin to tremble.
LENA
You've said it yourself, haven't you? If you
can't live by the principles of non-violence,
you shouldn't be in on it! You've got to have
people who are strong.
(like a child)
I'm never going to speak for your ideas any
more!
She is close to tears. She tries to comfort herself by going into a
coffee shop. She breaks all the rules of her diet, stuffing herself on
cake after cake.
Suddenly, a voice is heard from the shop's TV set.
BO HOLMSTRÖM
The long anticipated proclamation of the
renewal of the Swedish defense system was
issued at today's cabinet meeting.
The proclamation, which will be sent to all
foreign countries, reads as follows: "The
Swedish government hereby declares to the
world that in case of enemy occupation of
Swedish territory, resistance will be
undertaken with any means except violence.
"The thorough instruction in non-violent
techniques which all Swedish citizens, both
men and women, have received over a long period
of time enables us to carry out this method of
defense certain that Sweden is uniquely
equipped to meet any enemy attack."
Lena begins to cry uncontrollably. When she stops, there is a sense of
relief. The idea continues, even if she has abandoned it. The idea is
greater that she is.
The count on The Great Scandal Board increases from 11,328 to 11,330.
Lena cycles slowly into Stockholm.
29. An A-bomb for Sweden
A collection is being taken outside the Parliament building. A Swedish
military officer is protesting official policy by standing with a
collection box under a poster which reads:
GIVE YOUR SUPPORT TO A SWEDISH A-BOMB
He explains his viewpoint to people who stop.
OFFICER
As you know, Sweden is the only neutral country
in Scandinavia, and to maintain our neutrality
we consider it essential to have a deterrent
weapon.
A MAN
Yes, but then all the other countries would
start too. All Scandinavia would have bombs,
and then, when the risk is that great, well, I
mean, that could mean starting a war ...
Lena cycles past. Two Provos arrive. They are contemptuous.
FIRST PROVO
We'll give you a peace-button for support.
SECOND PROVO
A "Ban the Bomb" button.
FIRST PROVO
Here, move over so I can ...
SECOND PROVO
Well, then, we've both put one in as a gift ...
OFFICER
Thank you.
FIRST PROVO
... as a counter-demonstration to this terrible
sign.
A third Provo appears and a Swedish worker sees the sign and stops.
WORKER
(angrily)
That's the worst goddam thing I've ever seen.
Tear the sign down, you guys! What the hell,
we're not going to have any atom bombs here,
damn it all!
FIRST PROVO
To dare to present opinions like these,
publicly! And in front of the Royal Palace,
on top of it all. Incredible!
The worker walks off, gesturing contemptuously. Three nice little
ladies who are very much in favor of the bomb open their purses as they
look at the sign.
OFFICER
Well, we're polling Swedish public opinion.
LADY
Oh yes, I understand. Some sort of psychological
test ...
She puts her contribution in the collection box.
OFFICER
Thank you.
30. Lena returns home
Lena has arrived home and is parking her bicycle in the backyard. As
she is sticking a letter back on THE GUILTY CONSCIENCE OF SOCIAL
DEMOCRACY bag, a voice is heard reminding the audience of the big
contest.
SPEAKER
Oh, take it easy, Lena. It hurts. But where
does it hurt the most? It's your opinion that
we want. Yes, just yours! You who want a week
of gymnastics with Princess Birgitta, your own
cabana in Spain, or any of our innumerable
consolation prizes. Nobody will leave our
contest unrewarded, nobody who can guess what
Lena found in the THE GUILTY CONSCIENCE OF
SOCIAL DEMOC ...
The speaker stops as Lena opens the door to Nyman's Institute and
enters the kitchen. There on this bright Sunday morning her father lies
snoring. He is sleeping off a drunk. Beside him lies Chris, a big fat
woman whom Lena hates.
Lena goes into her archive only to find that this has been invaded.
There, lying on the floor, are a couple of her father's drinking
buddies. Stricken, she leans against the fireplace and recalls how she
used to attack the Great Injustice: "Some people were born with very
little talent. They are lost, sort of butterfingered and brainless...."
And now they're lying there, in her own archive, sleeping like little
children. It reminds her of what Olof Palme said in his talk with
Vilgot.
OLOF PALME
That's one thing: it is worse in most other
places. But all societies have been tormented
by the tendency to label people according to
family, money, and social position. And we have
this tendency here too.
VILGOT
But there is an impression in other countries,
I think, of great equality here, that we're far
ahead in this area. What do you think?
OLOF PALME
Well, it's true that a lot of work has been
done in that direction -- partly on wages, and
so on, but mostly we have worked on developing
the possibilities for individuals. That's one
thing: this enables us to know what direction
to take in the future. But the other thing is
that it's an illusion to believe that the
trend toward equality has gone as far as some
of the kinder critics of welfare states like to
think.
31. British Motor Company
A foreign car showroom. Börje is dusting one of the cars on exhibit. He
scratches at his fingers. Through the window, he sees Lena approaching.
It is nearly closing time. Börje's boss comes out from his office onto
the mezzanine.
BÖRJE'S BOSS
Börje! You sold the car to Mr. Johnson, I
remember perfectly. Now he's on the phone and
he's damned angry. I told you when you started
selling cars that you can't just promise people
the moon. You told him he'd get a radio and fog
lights. You promised him practically everything
you can put on a car, damn it. You can't do
that. This is your last chance, next time
you're fired. I'm so mad I could throw you out
on the spot. This is incredible. It's not ...
Börje scratches his neck. He can't think of a reply. Then Lena strolls
in carrying Madeleine's hair dryer.
LENA
Hello!
BÖRJE
Hello!
She hands him the hair dryer.
LENA
Can we go and talk somewhere?
BÖRJE
Yes, well, I'm off now anyway. I could drive
you someplace. Shall we go down to the garage?
When they arrive at the garage, Lena helps Börje fold down the top of a
white MG, a demonstration car. He tries to take her in his arms.
LENA
No! Have you been to bed with Madeleine yet?
You have made some progress, haven't you? Of
course it would be better if you hadn't,
because I've got a case of scabies.
BÖRJE
(draws back)
So that's what I've got?
They don't get any further in this revenge scene, as Vilgot interrupts
the shooting.
VILGOT
Cut! "From you" you were supposed to say.
Didn't we agree to that? We're going to take it
again!
A member of the crew absently begins singing: "I like the touch of
fame, I like my own sweet name ..." but is soon hushed. "Don't sing
that just now. Vilgot shouldn't hear that." Looking hurt, the director
watches the couple quietly talking to each other. They have obviously
been intimate off camera, behind his back.
VILGOT
(voice over)
The damn girl is using me. She's using me like
everybody else. This movie is her big break and
she knows it, and God, does she ever take
advantage of it! And along the way she takes
Börje too. A toast to the Crown Prince! Skål!
He doesn't really care about her, he just wants
to compete with me.
Vilgot calls for quiet. They retake the scene. Again the director stops
the shooting.
VILGOT
Well, excuse me a second. Lena, the glasses.
BÖRJE
What about them?
VILGOT
You should take them off when you begin
talking ...
BÖRJE
But she was supposed to wear the glasses
during ...
VILGOT
Yes, but listen, she wears the glasses at first
and then she takes them off ...
BÖRJE
What the hell, can't you make up your mind?
LENA
You changed your mind.
BÖRJE
(pointing to the script girl)
Ask Marianne.
VILGOT
I never changed that!
BÖRJE
(calling)
Marianne!
VILGOT
I said that from the start!
BÖRJE
(calling)
Marianne!
MARIANNE
Well, it was decided that she'd wear them.
BÖRJE
She should, yes.
MARIANNE
(to Vilgot)
Yes, Börje is right.
BÖRJE
See, I'm right.
VILGOT
No, no, you haven't understood a thing. She's
supposed to wear them at first and then ...
BÖRJE
Fourth take with, fifth take without, sixth
with. Make up your mind, damn it! Another take!
VILGOT
Yes, that's right, another take.
BÖRJE
(hostile)
Another take, huh?
VILGOT
Well, that's what we're here for.
BÖRJE
Yes, but make up your mind, tell us what to do.
I'm listening. Lena and I are both listening!
VILGOT
(sarcastic)
That's fine. The Crown Prince is listening --
until we're ready to shoot.
LENA
So I take them off?
VILGOT
Well, you start by having them on, you start by
talking about Madeleine, and then when you talk
about the scabies you look into his eyes, see?
LENA
(sullenly)
Mmm.
VILGOT
And by then you've taken them off.
LENA
Mmm.
VILGOT
Is that all right?
LENA
Yes.
BÖRJE
Without glasses then?
Vilgot gives up. Those damned actors garble everything. Börje's boss
and another B.M.C. salesman are standing in a corner, whispering.
Vilgot walks over to them.
VILGOT
They're so scatterbrained, we're getting
nowhere today ...
BÖRJE'S BOSS
No, you can see that.
VILGOT
(a bit miffed)
What can you see?
BÖRJE'S BOSS
Well, this atmosphere is really shocking. How
can you work under conditions like these?
Lena and Börje are whispering in the car. Lena is timid. Börje prods
her.
BÖRJE
Have you talked to him?
LENA
No!
BÖRJE
Aren't you going to?
LENA
Yes.
BÖRJE
What?
LENA
Yes. Well, if he's going to be this way I might
as well say it.
BÖRJE
Mmm. I think so.
LENA
Things can't get any worse!
BÖRJE
No!
Someone in the film crew begins whistling "The Internationale."
32. Lena runs amuck
The number 11,330 appears on The Great Scandal Board.
The same evening. Lena's father sits in his kitchen with his feet in a
basin. Chris, the plump maternal female, fills it with hot water.
RUNE
Good!
CHRIS
Feel it now?
RUNE
Yes. A little more.
CHRIS
Little more. That's it!
RUNE
Mmm.
CHRIS
All right now?
RUNE
Mmm.
CHRIS
Good.
RUNE
Hey!
CHRIS
Mmm.
RUNE
He got his real gold frame.
CHRIS
Mmm.
RUNE
And you know how much it cost?
CHRIS
No.
RUNE
Two hundred and eighty kroner.
CHRIS
Oh, my goodness!
RUNE
Yes, and what's he going to do with it? Just
sit there and point to it and say ...
CHRIS
Hey!
RUNE
... to his guests ... huh?
CHRIS
Wash your feet too!
RUNE
Yes, yes! Then he can tell his guests: "This
frame cost two hundred and eighty kroner."
CHRIS
Well, so what? It's nice with a wide gold
frame, and besides it's worth a lot.
RUNE
Yes, but listen! Do you think I've worked down
there for half my life without knowing what art
is worth? You know, the picture should be the
important thing and the frame should be
less ...
The door suddenly opens. Lena comes in.
RUNE
What the hell!
Without a word, Lena goes straight to her archive. Her father and Chris
look dumbfounded.
CHRIS
Has she come home? When did she get back?
Lena begins to empty her archive. She angrily brings out a carton and
places it by the kitchen door. Chris gets angry too. She pours coffee.
CHRIS
Can't you at least say hello? That's the least
one could ask.
Lena brings out another carton.
LENA
(accusingly)
Where's the collection of clippings on
Southeast Asia? I can't find it in there!
RUNE
Collection of ...
(rising)
Hey, listen! Where the hell have you been all
summer?
CHRIS
Nobody even dares stick his nose into your room
with all the crap you have in there.
LENA
Oh, is that so?
CHRIS
That's right!
RUNE
(angrily)
Well, you should stay home and not run around
on the roads and do ... God knows what!
CHRIS
At least you could have sent a card to your
father so that he'd know where you were. Don't
you realize he's been worried?
LENA
He never has before.
Rune crosses to the sink and prepares to piss.
RUNE
And I've got to feel embarrassed in front of my
friends at work because I don't know where my
own daughter is.
LENA
That's none of their business.
RUNE
And Börje, he's been here looking for you.
The sound of Rune pissing. Chris pours another cup of coffee. Lena
stalks into her room. Rune and Chris appear in the doorway.
RUNE
Hey, are you going to leave home?
LENA
Home! You call this a home?
RUNE
Haven't I slept here in the kitchen? Haven't I
done everything I could for you?
LENA
That's just your guilty conscience.
RUNE
Haven't you got the whole room to yourself?
Haven't you?!
LENA
(in a fury)
That's just your guilty conscience! Do you
remember at school? Remember that last day of
school when you were there? That first and last
time. God, was I ever ashamed! God, was I
ashamed of you! Do you think I could ever bring
anybody home?! To this? You're crazy. You've
done one good thing in your life. Do you know
what that was? That's when you went to Spain.
But why didn't you stay there? Why did you run
home so quickly? Like a damned rat!
She slams the door, locks it, looks about, stops a second, and makes
her decision. She pulls down the shelves, rips down the war
photographs, throws down the books, and tips over the bookcase. She
destroys her entire archive.
CHRIS
What on earth is she doing?
She begins throwing empty beer bottles at the portrait of Franco. One
hits and breaks the glass. The laurel wreath falls down. She takes two
knives from the closet, raises them in measured ritual gestures,
kissing them. Then she thrusts them one after the other into Franco's
eyes.
33. The cleansing bath
Saint George Hospital. The old bath house. The bath master is scrubbing
Börje in a tub; a woman takes care of Lena.
BATH MASTER
Has it been itching a lot?
BÖRJE
What?
BATH MASTER
Has it been itching?
After the bath, their entire bodies, except for their heads, are
painted with a DDT solution. They must wait twenty-four hours before
washing it off. Then they are free from scabies.
The men's and women's sections are side by side. The film crew shoots
them from a next-door room. Peter Wester, the head cameraman, checks
the light while general assistant Bengt Palmers strums his guitar,
looking for a tune.
BENGT PALMERS
(sings)
"Lena, she stands in the tiled room,
she scratches her ...
Yes, little friend, freedom is a hard thing.
Freedom is hard.
It tickled and itched between your legs
and now you're standing here
at the clinic at seven in the morning."
Lena stands naked. Börje stands naked. Vilgot leers at them. He seems
satisfied as if he has his revenge by filming them in this situation.
But he is content to turn to one of the women in the crew, Lena
Malmsjö; he massages her shoulders.
BATH MASTER
Rub around ...
BÖRJE
What?
BATH MASTER
Rub it into the pubic hairs!
BENGT PALMERS
(sings)
"DDT stings and itches."
Lena and Börje leave the bath house. Outside the hospital they stop for
a second.
BÖRJE
Can I take you somewhere?
LENA
No, I'm not going in your direction.
BÖRJE
Where are you going?
LENA
None of your business. Bye-bye!
BÖRJE
Good-bye.
So ends the story of the car salesman and the girl with the archive.
Each goes his own way.
34. At Sandrews
However, the story of the drama student and her film director ends
differently.
A voice echoes through a loudspeaker down the corridors at Sandrews:
"Olle Jacobson to the new sound stage ..." "Bengt Ernryd to the music
studio ..." Director Vilgot Sjöman sits in the cutting room with MARIA
SCHERER, DRAMA STUDENT, AGE 23.
He is running the rushes from the hospital for her, back and forth, and
she is childishly delighted when he runs it at double speed making Lena
and Börje sound like Donald Duck.
Lena Nyman comes down the corridor. Suddenly she stops. She has an
unexpected attack of jealousy when she overhears Vilgot talking with a
girl who seems to have the leading part in his next movie.
VILGOT
But, you see, you can't do anything in this
country. It's just like a duck pond, everything
stands still. It's just quack, quack, quack all
the way.
MARIA SCHERER
No, no. Every Swede who goes to vote is full of
ideas, but they never get a real chance to
express ...
His hand is on her shoulder.
VILGOT
Hey!
MARIA SCHERER
Yes?
VILGOT
You're cute when you get excited like that!
Maria smiles. Lena comes into the cutting room. Vilgot looks up. Maria
Scherer looks inquiringly at her.
LENA
Hi!
VILGOT
You don't know each other, do you?
MARIA SCHERER
No.
(introduces herself)
Scherer.
LENA
Lena.
MARIA
What?
LENA
Le-na!
MARIA
Oh.
Lena hands Vilgot a key. It's the key to his apartment. She doesn't
need it now that she doesn't live there any more. Vilgot takes it.
VILGOT
(tartly)
And the front-door key?
Lena has forgotten it.
VILGOT
Well, you can put it in an envelope and send it.
Outside, in the hall, Börje Ahlstedt, the actor, is waiting for Lena
Nyman, the young drama student. In the elevator, they embrace, happy
and free.
BÖRJE
What did he say? Was he difficult?
LENA
(takes a deep breath)
No. But God how glad I am that it's over!
35. Slogans
As the new lovers descend kissing in the elevator, the credits appear
and slogans are heard again.
MALE VOICE
Buy our film! Buy it! The only film that comes
in two editions. One is yellow and one is blue!
FEMALE VOICE
Buy the yellow! Buy the blue! Buy our film for
there are two!
MALE VOICE
Exactly the same movie, yet each so different.
VOICES
(repeat)
This was the yellow edition. This was the
yellow edition, etc.
The last image is a button with the slogan "Make love, not war" in
English and the non-violent resistance emblem.