Berlin Syndrome (2017) Movie Script
What is that terrorist
group? What do you call that?
Uh... Hamas.
Hamas. That's right.
Throwing what missiles
and rockets into- poof!
Would you like to come over?
Uh, yeah, sure.
I'll grab you a chair.
Thanks.
Oh, thanks.
There you go.
Oh, cheers, hm.
Are you south African?
Erm, no, I'm from Brisbane.
Brisbane?
Brisbane.
Where the fuck is that?
It's in Australia.
Oh, okay.
Here, watch this,
right. Watch my eyes, yeah?
Are you ready? I can do some
very freaky, crazy shit...
With my eyes, just watch this.
Okay.
Wow.
That was close! Come on.
You're not getting that? No?
Well, I...
So, er, where are you?
Come on...
It actually means that
you have a lack of calcium.
No, it means I've been
drinking too much beer.
That's what it means.
You want some?
Yeah.
Take care. See you.
Yeah.
Adieu. See you later.
Bye.
Bye.
Is there a lid for this?
Or should I just...
Okay, okay...
Thank you.
Danke.
- Tschuss.
- Tschuss.
No, no, no. That's okay.
Do you mind?
Thank you.
Help yourself.
My father grows them in
a schrebergarten.
In, uh, cardboard boxes?
No, these are from the store.
Do you like strawberries?
Um...
They help you
forget your problems.
What makes you think
i have problems?
People who travel alone...
Are usually in search
of something, aren't they?
What makes you think
that I'm alone?
I see nobody.
Do you always
practice your English...
Chatting up foreigners?
What? No. No.
I work in a sport school.
What sort of sports?
I mean, I'm an English
teacher, that's why.
And you? What are you
photographing?
Buildings, mostly.
I, er, I really like the
gdr architecture.
I wanna do a book.
We say ddr, deutsche
demokratische republik.
Yeah. No, I know.
Yeah.
And, it was nice to meet you.
There's strawberry on my hand.
Andi.
Clare.
Nice to meet you.
What did you...
You said this was, er,
from a schreber...
Schreber. I don't know
the English word for it.
Erm, these are small gardens.
All together and
all with German flags...
And those, er, small men
from snow white.
Dwarfs.
Yeah, dwarfs.
Who lives
in these houses?
No one. Actually,
it's forbidden.
They just come on weekends.
It's my mum.
She's kind of obsessed.
Does she know you're here?
Yeah.
My mother used to
bring me here as a boy.
I always come here to
complicate life.
What?
Erm, I think you mean to,
er, you'd say "contemplate. "
Oh, yeah, right.
How do you say
"complicate" in German?
Verkomplizieren.
This one is nice, huh?
Yeah, I like it.
Oh!
Fuck! Oh, my gosh.
Sorry.
Yeah, he likes you.
Hi. Hi!
Oh, my god.
So, why did you
come to Berlin?
Er, I was working for
a real estate company...
Taking photos and, erm...
You know, those life
experiences...
That people talk about
all the time?
I wanted to do that, so, I...
I booked a ticket and put my
stuff in storage...
And came here.
Pretty predictable.
I don't know.
Maybe brave.
A wolf.
There's a bar upstairs,
erm, if you wanted to...
Come- actually, it's more like
a... kinda crappy rooftop.
I'm afraid I have to
meet someone.
Otherwise, I...
Yeah.
Yeah, I have to...
I've got stuff I have to do.
I gotta pack. I'm going
dresden tomorrow.
Dresden?
Yeah.
Why dresden?
Okay.
Tschuss, Clare.
It's nice to meet you.
Hello?
Hi. Can you open?
That one's my favorite.
She's holding her hands
like that...
To hide her deformed finger.
I thought you wanted to leave.
So, if you have a question,
you Google it.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm... I'm definitely
partial toward Google.
Are you not?
You photograph disappointment.
I mean, all this ddr shit,
all these dreams...
It's all... invalid.
But the people were brave.
Mm. Some were brave,
some just got on with it.
I mean, you can suffocate
anywhere. You don't need a wall.
How do you say suffocate
in German?
Uh...
Ersticken.
Sticken?
No. No. Erwurgen. No.
Erwurgen is...
To choke.
Yeah.
Did a boy give you that?
No, my mum... did.
She said if I ever got
into trouble...
I could hock it and come home.
Watch the door.
It sticks.
So quiet.
Berlin is full
of these empty places.
Do you want a drink?
Yeah. Thanks.
They don't open.
Should I make us dinner?
No one will hear you.
I don't want this to end.
All firsts end.
First airplane ride.
First time you get
your ears pierced.
First drags of cigarettes.
First fuck.
I wish we could stay
like this...
Where we don't know
each other.
I wish I could stay.
What happens when you know
someone?
What did you just say?
I love your accent.
I love your mouth, your smile.
I love everything.
Silke, may I ask you
to please read the quote?
"Perhaps home is not a place,
but simply... "
Erm... "An irrevocable
condition"?
Bennie, I see you obviously...
Consumed this book
on the weekend.
Yeah. Okay, I'll make it
easy for you, erm...
James Baldwin wrote this in 1956
in his novel Giovanni's room.
Who has made a start on it?
Hm?
Franka?
Erm...
Er, the character
is constantly moving.
He feels a little bit shame
about, erm, about himself...
But he says he is, erm,
finding himself...
But he's just...
Flichten?
Mm. Escaping.
Yeah. He's just escaping.
What the fuck?
Andi.
Couldn't find the key.
Did you leave me a key?
Yeah.
Sure.
I thought I'd left it
on the table.
No.
I didn't... I didn't think i
would be able to get back in.
And then I realized
that I couldn't even leave.
You can leave now.
I'll take a shower.
Did you lock me in?
Yes, sure.
But next time,
I'll tie you to the bed.
I have to go.
Hey.
The key.
It's on the dresser.
Okay.
"Mine. "
Shit. Come on.
Erm, I was actually gonna go.
Erm...
Yeah, I was thinking
about going...
And I'll come back
and get my backpack later.
I got you these.
Please open the door.
What's all this?
Please, Andi.
Where's my sim card, Andi?
What did you do to the windows?
They're reinforced.
If you try to break them,
I'll have to board them up.
I just bought these chairs.
Don't do that.
You don't have to do this.
Andi, what is going on?
"What is going on?"
You could have gone
to dresden.
You said you want to stay.
We had sex.
People- people say
all sorts of things in bed.
It doesn't necessarily
mean anything.
Please, dear god.
Do you like Pesto?
What?
Can we just go for dinner?
Can I have my necklace back?
Open the fucking door!
Ssh!
No one can hear you.
I told my father about us.
Here... I got you these.
I thought you might like
to do puzzle.
Would you like
to eat something?
I texted your mother for you.
You told her you're okay.
But I'm not okay.
I pay for drinks on my card.
My mum's gonna work it out.
Oh, my god.
There's nowhere for me to go.
Shit.
Jana, jana.
Hi.
I can't figure out this bit.
Erm...
I would always do the sky first.
Can you help?
Yeah, I think that piece
goes there.
I think it goes
somewhere in there.
Mm-hm.
Yeah. There.
Done.
Ssh-ssh.
There's no point in missing
something you can't have back.
You have me.
You could do so many things.
But I just want to do this.
Okay, now funf.
Shit.
Come on.
Shit.
Oh, god.
Better?
Yeah.
Shall we take that off?
I smell bad.
What would be the worst thing
i could ever do to you?
Don't worry...
I would never do it.
We are a team.
Hello.
If you say anything,
i will have to kill her.
Hello.
Who's that?
Student.
What's her name?
Franka.
Turn around.
Clare? The door won't open.
Clare?
Did you touch this door?
Clare?
Huh?
Can you please... stop?
Yeah.
Please.
Boom, boom, boom!
Can't you just be normal?
You're abnormal.
Fuck.
Andreas.
Fuck.
Papa.
Hey.
Papa?
My father's dead.
I thought you weren't
gonna come back.
Thank you.
How did you choose me?
You paused on the street.
What was I looking at?
And what about the other girl
before me?
How did you choose her?
There was no other girl.
You're lying.
Do you still think about her?
No.
How come?
When you were a kid, did you
guys have a fake tree...
Or a real one?
Real.
You know, we had a-
We had a- a fake.
It was so hot anyway that-
that a real tree would
have died.
And we would go out
to my uncle's house.
He has this, like,
big property...
...listening to, er, cicadas.
Cicadas?
Erm, they're these little
bugs that make noise.
Like, erm...
They go...
And then the other one goes...
...back and...
And it goes...
Then he goes...
And then all their
friends join in.
Close your eyes.
Close your eyes.
I have a surprise for you.
This is lotte.
She is yours now.
Hi.
Hi.
Oh. She kissed me on my mouth.
Hi. Hi.
Do you like your present?
Yeah.
Yeah. She is so sweet.
Do you like it?
Yes.
Ow! Ow.
You need to help me.
You need to help me.
You need to call the police.
Please, he's a bad man.
He will hurt us.
What? No. You need to help me.
Call the police.
I need you to. He's a bad man.
Mama!
How do you think this is going,
from one to ten?
From one to ten?
Us.
Maybe...
Er...
Seven.
Hm.
Where's lotte?
She ran away.
Oh... thank you.
No problem.
What's your
new year's resolution?
Oh, I don't do them any more.
But on new year's Eve...
Isn't it important to compensate
your life?
What?
I think you mean, uh,
"contemplate. "
Yeah, right.
Hey!
Fuck. Hey!
Help!
No.
Help! Help!
Help!
Help! Help!
Hello?
The door's locked!
The door's locked!
Was?
Hey- hey, listen to me.
It's your fucking fault, okay.
Now we have to clean
this mess together.
Okay?
I'm sorry.
No, no, no, come here.
I am sorry.
Take the plastic.
I can't.
Take the plastic.
Come on, take your clothes off.
Please.
hey, can you pack your
things together?
Pack everything in a backpack.
I get the apartment
fumigated tomorrow.
Pack your things.
What're you doing?
Agh!
The cream's in the bathroom.
I can't find it.
It's on the bottom shelf.
My thoughts.
Guys, please...
Class is not over yet.
Clare?
Clare?
I'm down here.
Clare?
Andi.
Clare?
Please, Clare, open the door.
Clare, please.
Hey.
Look at me.
It's okay.
group? What do you call that?
Uh... Hamas.
Hamas. That's right.
Throwing what missiles
and rockets into- poof!
Would you like to come over?
Uh, yeah, sure.
I'll grab you a chair.
Thanks.
Oh, thanks.
There you go.
Oh, cheers, hm.
Are you south African?
Erm, no, I'm from Brisbane.
Brisbane?
Brisbane.
Where the fuck is that?
It's in Australia.
Oh, okay.
Here, watch this,
right. Watch my eyes, yeah?
Are you ready? I can do some
very freaky, crazy shit...
With my eyes, just watch this.
Okay.
Wow.
That was close! Come on.
You're not getting that? No?
Well, I...
So, er, where are you?
Come on...
It actually means that
you have a lack of calcium.
No, it means I've been
drinking too much beer.
That's what it means.
You want some?
Yeah.
Take care. See you.
Yeah.
Adieu. See you later.
Bye.
Bye.
Is there a lid for this?
Or should I just...
Okay, okay...
Thank you.
Danke.
- Tschuss.
- Tschuss.
No, no, no. That's okay.
Do you mind?
Thank you.
Help yourself.
My father grows them in
a schrebergarten.
In, uh, cardboard boxes?
No, these are from the store.
Do you like strawberries?
Um...
They help you
forget your problems.
What makes you think
i have problems?
People who travel alone...
Are usually in search
of something, aren't they?
What makes you think
that I'm alone?
I see nobody.
Do you always
practice your English...
Chatting up foreigners?
What? No. No.
I work in a sport school.
What sort of sports?
I mean, I'm an English
teacher, that's why.
And you? What are you
photographing?
Buildings, mostly.
I, er, I really like the
gdr architecture.
I wanna do a book.
We say ddr, deutsche
demokratische republik.
Yeah. No, I know.
Yeah.
And, it was nice to meet you.
There's strawberry on my hand.
Andi.
Clare.
Nice to meet you.
What did you...
You said this was, er,
from a schreber...
Schreber. I don't know
the English word for it.
Erm, these are small gardens.
All together and
all with German flags...
And those, er, small men
from snow white.
Dwarfs.
Yeah, dwarfs.
Who lives
in these houses?
No one. Actually,
it's forbidden.
They just come on weekends.
It's my mum.
She's kind of obsessed.
Does she know you're here?
Yeah.
My mother used to
bring me here as a boy.
I always come here to
complicate life.
What?
Erm, I think you mean to,
er, you'd say "contemplate. "
Oh, yeah, right.
How do you say
"complicate" in German?
Verkomplizieren.
This one is nice, huh?
Yeah, I like it.
Oh!
Fuck! Oh, my gosh.
Sorry.
Yeah, he likes you.
Hi. Hi!
Oh, my god.
So, why did you
come to Berlin?
Er, I was working for
a real estate company...
Taking photos and, erm...
You know, those life
experiences...
That people talk about
all the time?
I wanted to do that, so, I...
I booked a ticket and put my
stuff in storage...
And came here.
Pretty predictable.
I don't know.
Maybe brave.
A wolf.
There's a bar upstairs,
erm, if you wanted to...
Come- actually, it's more like
a... kinda crappy rooftop.
I'm afraid I have to
meet someone.
Otherwise, I...
Yeah.
Yeah, I have to...
I've got stuff I have to do.
I gotta pack. I'm going
dresden tomorrow.
Dresden?
Yeah.
Why dresden?
Okay.
Tschuss, Clare.
It's nice to meet you.
Hello?
Hi. Can you open?
That one's my favorite.
She's holding her hands
like that...
To hide her deformed finger.
I thought you wanted to leave.
So, if you have a question,
you Google it.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm... I'm definitely
partial toward Google.
Are you not?
You photograph disappointment.
I mean, all this ddr shit,
all these dreams...
It's all... invalid.
But the people were brave.
Mm. Some were brave,
some just got on with it.
I mean, you can suffocate
anywhere. You don't need a wall.
How do you say suffocate
in German?
Uh...
Ersticken.
Sticken?
No. No. Erwurgen. No.
Erwurgen is...
To choke.
Yeah.
Did a boy give you that?
No, my mum... did.
She said if I ever got
into trouble...
I could hock it and come home.
Watch the door.
It sticks.
So quiet.
Berlin is full
of these empty places.
Do you want a drink?
Yeah. Thanks.
They don't open.
Should I make us dinner?
No one will hear you.
I don't want this to end.
All firsts end.
First airplane ride.
First time you get
your ears pierced.
First drags of cigarettes.
First fuck.
I wish we could stay
like this...
Where we don't know
each other.
I wish I could stay.
What happens when you know
someone?
What did you just say?
I love your accent.
I love your mouth, your smile.
I love everything.
Silke, may I ask you
to please read the quote?
"Perhaps home is not a place,
but simply... "
Erm... "An irrevocable
condition"?
Bennie, I see you obviously...
Consumed this book
on the weekend.
Yeah. Okay, I'll make it
easy for you, erm...
James Baldwin wrote this in 1956
in his novel Giovanni's room.
Who has made a start on it?
Hm?
Franka?
Erm...
Er, the character
is constantly moving.
He feels a little bit shame
about, erm, about himself...
But he says he is, erm,
finding himself...
But he's just...
Flichten?
Mm. Escaping.
Yeah. He's just escaping.
What the fuck?
Andi.
Couldn't find the key.
Did you leave me a key?
Yeah.
Sure.
I thought I'd left it
on the table.
No.
I didn't... I didn't think i
would be able to get back in.
And then I realized
that I couldn't even leave.
You can leave now.
I'll take a shower.
Did you lock me in?
Yes, sure.
But next time,
I'll tie you to the bed.
I have to go.
Hey.
The key.
It's on the dresser.
Okay.
"Mine. "
Shit. Come on.
Erm, I was actually gonna go.
Erm...
Yeah, I was thinking
about going...
And I'll come back
and get my backpack later.
I got you these.
Please open the door.
What's all this?
Please, Andi.
Where's my sim card, Andi?
What did you do to the windows?
They're reinforced.
If you try to break them,
I'll have to board them up.
I just bought these chairs.
Don't do that.
You don't have to do this.
Andi, what is going on?
"What is going on?"
You could have gone
to dresden.
You said you want to stay.
We had sex.
People- people say
all sorts of things in bed.
It doesn't necessarily
mean anything.
Please, dear god.
Do you like Pesto?
What?
Can we just go for dinner?
Can I have my necklace back?
Open the fucking door!
Ssh!
No one can hear you.
I told my father about us.
Here... I got you these.
I thought you might like
to do puzzle.
Would you like
to eat something?
I texted your mother for you.
You told her you're okay.
But I'm not okay.
I pay for drinks on my card.
My mum's gonna work it out.
Oh, my god.
There's nowhere for me to go.
Shit.
Jana, jana.
Hi.
I can't figure out this bit.
Erm...
I would always do the sky first.
Can you help?
Yeah, I think that piece
goes there.
I think it goes
somewhere in there.
Mm-hm.
Yeah. There.
Done.
Ssh-ssh.
There's no point in missing
something you can't have back.
You have me.
You could do so many things.
But I just want to do this.
Okay, now funf.
Shit.
Come on.
Shit.
Oh, god.
Better?
Yeah.
Shall we take that off?
I smell bad.
What would be the worst thing
i could ever do to you?
Don't worry...
I would never do it.
We are a team.
Hello.
If you say anything,
i will have to kill her.
Hello.
Who's that?
Student.
What's her name?
Franka.
Turn around.
Clare? The door won't open.
Clare?
Did you touch this door?
Clare?
Huh?
Can you please... stop?
Yeah.
Please.
Boom, boom, boom!
Can't you just be normal?
You're abnormal.
Fuck.
Andreas.
Fuck.
Papa.
Hey.
Papa?
My father's dead.
I thought you weren't
gonna come back.
Thank you.
How did you choose me?
You paused on the street.
What was I looking at?
And what about the other girl
before me?
How did you choose her?
There was no other girl.
You're lying.
Do you still think about her?
No.
How come?
When you were a kid, did you
guys have a fake tree...
Or a real one?
Real.
You know, we had a-
We had a- a fake.
It was so hot anyway that-
that a real tree would
have died.
And we would go out
to my uncle's house.
He has this, like,
big property...
...listening to, er, cicadas.
Cicadas?
Erm, they're these little
bugs that make noise.
Like, erm...
They go...
And then the other one goes...
...back and...
And it goes...
Then he goes...
And then all their
friends join in.
Close your eyes.
Close your eyes.
I have a surprise for you.
This is lotte.
She is yours now.
Hi.
Hi.
Oh. She kissed me on my mouth.
Hi. Hi.
Do you like your present?
Yeah.
Yeah. She is so sweet.
Do you like it?
Yes.
Ow! Ow.
You need to help me.
You need to help me.
You need to call the police.
Please, he's a bad man.
He will hurt us.
What? No. You need to help me.
Call the police.
I need you to. He's a bad man.
Mama!
How do you think this is going,
from one to ten?
From one to ten?
Us.
Maybe...
Er...
Seven.
Hm.
Where's lotte?
She ran away.
Oh... thank you.
No problem.
What's your
new year's resolution?
Oh, I don't do them any more.
But on new year's Eve...
Isn't it important to compensate
your life?
What?
I think you mean, uh,
"contemplate. "
Yeah, right.
Hey!
Fuck. Hey!
Help!
No.
Help! Help!
Help!
Help! Help!
Hello?
The door's locked!
The door's locked!
Was?
Hey- hey, listen to me.
It's your fucking fault, okay.
Now we have to clean
this mess together.
Okay?
I'm sorry.
No, no, no, come here.
I am sorry.
Take the plastic.
I can't.
Take the plastic.
Come on, take your clothes off.
Please.
hey, can you pack your
things together?
Pack everything in a backpack.
I get the apartment
fumigated tomorrow.
Pack your things.
What're you doing?
Agh!
The cream's in the bathroom.
I can't find it.
It's on the bottom shelf.
My thoughts.
Guys, please...
Class is not over yet.
Clare?
Clare?
I'm down here.
Clare?
Andi.
Clare?
Please, Clare, open the door.
Clare, please.
Hey.
Look at me.
It's okay.