The Unseen River (2020) Movie Script
So you're looking for
a cure from the Monk?
How long have you been
sleepless for?
I don't remember.
But it's not that I can't sleep,
it's that I can't get a good sleep.
Basically, you have to believe
in the act of sleeping.
Believe?
A good sleep is a privilege.
My child, have you ever
bathed in a river?
Sinking into a deep sleep is like
surrendering yourself to the current.
A few minutes is all it takes for
all souls to be cleansed...
and become as innocent as children.
The river is kind and
forgiving to you and other sinners,
just like sleep is
merciful to its master.
You're in a monastery,
but you also fish?
My teacher learns from
Jiang Ziya of old China.
He went fishing not for fish,
but for peace of mind.
Look.
There's no barb.
We don't use bait either.
So pretty!
It looks just like a little firefly.
Yes, but the light is rarely used.
My teacher takes his rest early,
and I dare not venture out
when it's dark.
Back then I was very sad.
It wasn't until
the inauguration day of the dam
that I knew
you were sent to study abroad.
I kept thinking you would
never return to the country.
Sometimes we take years
to realize that
some things are more connected to us
than we can understand.
Just look.
These are the marks
this river has left on me.
They are inked into my flesh,
just as they are into my heart...
Yes, there are things
only time can mend.
If it doesn't make us forget, it forces
us to understand what's important.
You sound like a monk.
That is not possible...
How is your husband?
We separated a long time ago.
If only we could
return to the old days.
I always felt I did him wrong.
There were times I just thought about you
when I was with him.
Sometimes, I would dream of the past,
whenever I slept.
So much so that I thought if we really met,
I wouldn't know if it was real or a dream.
Seeing you again,
I feel younger.
Me too.
You were the only one
who made me feel weak.
But strangely,
I feel comfortable...
like I could accept
that weakness.
Do you remember the puppy
you gave me before we broke up?
Yes, Stripe.
From a liter of 6.
But that was 30 years ago,
no way it's still around.
Piebald here
descended from that Stripe.
So strange.
How did this one find me?
People call couples like you
marriage material.
That again.
Our parents keep rushing us to get married.
How old are you now?
I'm 24,
and he is 22.
They want us to hurry.
But we can't decide yet.
Not because we're not in love.
We just can't see our future.
That's why my teacher said that
when he diagnosed you.
What did the Monk say?
He said that the worst thing
about sleeplessness is dreamlessness.
Because dreams are the only way for us to
return to the past, or to see the future.
So what's the Monk's story?
I'm not sure.
He never told me.
You're not sure,
yet you follow him?
Sitting beneath Buddha's shadow,
I feel at ease.
Anyway, I have no place to go.
My wife and child
all passed away.
You had a family?
They went missing
during the flood years ago.
I still dream
about them sometimes.
However, we can't
even say a word.
Just sit and stare
at one another.
Maybe a part of me is scared.
But what can we know
about souls?
We can only wonder
why they linger.
I am afraid of the answer,
so I never ask...
a cure from the Monk?
How long have you been
sleepless for?
I don't remember.
But it's not that I can't sleep,
it's that I can't get a good sleep.
Basically, you have to believe
in the act of sleeping.
Believe?
A good sleep is a privilege.
My child, have you ever
bathed in a river?
Sinking into a deep sleep is like
surrendering yourself to the current.
A few minutes is all it takes for
all souls to be cleansed...
and become as innocent as children.
The river is kind and
forgiving to you and other sinners,
just like sleep is
merciful to its master.
You're in a monastery,
but you also fish?
My teacher learns from
Jiang Ziya of old China.
He went fishing not for fish,
but for peace of mind.
Look.
There's no barb.
We don't use bait either.
So pretty!
It looks just like a little firefly.
Yes, but the light is rarely used.
My teacher takes his rest early,
and I dare not venture out
when it's dark.
Back then I was very sad.
It wasn't until
the inauguration day of the dam
that I knew
you were sent to study abroad.
I kept thinking you would
never return to the country.
Sometimes we take years
to realize that
some things are more connected to us
than we can understand.
Just look.
These are the marks
this river has left on me.
They are inked into my flesh,
just as they are into my heart...
Yes, there are things
only time can mend.
If it doesn't make us forget, it forces
us to understand what's important.
You sound like a monk.
That is not possible...
How is your husband?
We separated a long time ago.
If only we could
return to the old days.
I always felt I did him wrong.
There were times I just thought about you
when I was with him.
Sometimes, I would dream of the past,
whenever I slept.
So much so that I thought if we really met,
I wouldn't know if it was real or a dream.
Seeing you again,
I feel younger.
Me too.
You were the only one
who made me feel weak.
But strangely,
I feel comfortable...
like I could accept
that weakness.
Do you remember the puppy
you gave me before we broke up?
Yes, Stripe.
From a liter of 6.
But that was 30 years ago,
no way it's still around.
Piebald here
descended from that Stripe.
So strange.
How did this one find me?
People call couples like you
marriage material.
That again.
Our parents keep rushing us to get married.
How old are you now?
I'm 24,
and he is 22.
They want us to hurry.
But we can't decide yet.
Not because we're not in love.
We just can't see our future.
That's why my teacher said that
when he diagnosed you.
What did the Monk say?
He said that the worst thing
about sleeplessness is dreamlessness.
Because dreams are the only way for us to
return to the past, or to see the future.
So what's the Monk's story?
I'm not sure.
He never told me.
You're not sure,
yet you follow him?
Sitting beneath Buddha's shadow,
I feel at ease.
Anyway, I have no place to go.
My wife and child
all passed away.
You had a family?
They went missing
during the flood years ago.
I still dream
about them sometimes.
However, we can't
even say a word.
Just sit and stare
at one another.
Maybe a part of me is scared.
But what can we know
about souls?
We can only wonder
why they linger.
I am afraid of the answer,
so I never ask...