Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) s01e08 Episode Script

together with major contributions by many others, present: Based on the novel by Alfred DÃblin a film in 13 parts with an epilogue I haven't seen you in a long time, Franz.
Sorry, Max.
I was attending a course, something in the nature of private lessons.
I had a lot to learn about life and so on.
Give me a beer, and maybe a small schnapps.
"Terrible family tragedy in the Ruhr area.
" What's so funny about it? Listen to this, Max.
A father throws his three kids in the water, all three at once.
Boy, he must have been up to his neck in trouble.
But he's a guy you can rely on.
Hold on.
What did he do with his wife? He must have done something to her too.
No.
What do you know? She did it herself, beforehand, on her own.
Boy.
What a jolly family, eh, Maxie? They really know how to live.
There's no harmony in the family.
Her in the canal, him with a rope.
She tells him to hang himself, and he throws the kids in the water.
The guy must have been deaf.
My God, Maxie, nothing could come of a marriage like that.
I don't understand how you can laugh about it, Franz.
It's a sad story.
When you see something like that in a movie, you weep.
Weep about something like that? Why? The wife and three children.
Come on.
I think it's amusing.
I like the guy.
It's a pity about the kids, maybe, but doing in the whole family in one clean sweep That calls for respect.
Let me see.
There, you see.
The guy's still alive.
They've caught him.
I wouldn't like to be in his shoes.
Who knows? Maybe he's sitting in his cell smoking his tobacco, if he gets any, and thinking, "You can all kiss my ass".
Pangs of conscience, my boy.
He's sobbing in his cell.
That's all he can do, and he can't sleep either.
I disagree completely.
He's sleeping like a log.
If he's such a tough guy, he can sleep all right.
He's eating and drinking better than he would outside.
I guarantee it, Maxie.
Franz, I don't know you like this.
It's a side of you I don't know.
I don't understand.
Cut the crap, Maxie.
Bring me some pigs' ears with peas instead.
With the first hole in your sleeve, you know it's high time to get a new suit.
Go straight to the right place, where in well-ordered stores, on broad tables, you'll be shown all the clothing you need.
Say what you like, Mrs.
Bast, a man who's lost an arm, and the right one as well, is done for.
There's no denying it.
It's tough, but you don't have to keep complaining and making such a face.
But what am I supposed to do with one arm? Go on welfare, or open a little stand.
What kind of stand? Try newspapers again, or fabrics, or sell garters or collars outside Tietz or somewhere.
Or how about fruit? VIII.
The Sun Warms the Skin, but Burns it Sometimes Too I'm too old for that, Mrs.
Bast.
For fruit, you have to be younger.
For fruit, you have to be younger.
You need a woman by your side again, Mr.
Biberkopf.
You really need a woman again.
Someone you can talk to about everything, who'll stand by you in adversity, and who'll help pull the cart or sell at your stand when you're away.
Are you expecting someone? Not really.
I'll go take a look.
--of the ten broadcasting corporations existing today, only two or three work to a profit.
All the others have difficulties breaking even Someone for you.
A man wants to talk to you.
A man? Yes, a fairly young man.
Come in.
Well, hello, Willy.
Hello.
It wasn't easy to find you here.
Come on.
Come on now, Mrs.
Bast.
Leave us alone for a few minutes.
We have to discuss something delicate, if you please.
To be honest, I didn't seriously expect you to come.
But I'm glad you did.
Well, I thought when you gave me your address, you must have had a reason.
So I thought I'd drop by.
Maybe I can help you, or something will come of it.
Take a seat.
-Like some coffee? -No, thanks.
I've had some already.
Okay, out with it.
What's on your mind? It's not so easy for me.
It often happens to me that I don't know where to begin.
Well it's about the watch.
You know, the gold watch you were wearing, and what you said about it.
I thought maybe I could get in on the act, that I could somehow get involved.
I'd really like to join in.
Do you understand? With one arm, you know there's not much you can do.
You know what I mean? No, there's not much you can do.
But if you're smart, there is something you can do.
If I were to give you something every day, something to sell or to pass on under the table You've got good friends.
You can all keep your mouths shut.
You could dispose of the stuff and earn good money.
Yeah.
That's it.
That's exactly what I want to do, stand on my own two feet, and do something to earn a fast buck.
Work's a load of baloney.
And the newspapers, I spit on them.
It makes me mad just looking at those knuckleheads, the news dealers.
How a guy can be so dumb, busting his ass, with cars driving past next to him? No, forget it.
That's over and done with.
Tegel.
Walking around Tegel, an avenue with black trees, the houses sway, the roofs threaten to fall on your head, but I've got to go straight.
Strange.
Franz Biberkopf has to go absolutely straight.
What do you say to that? It bowls you over, doesn't it? My God.
Jail must have affected my mind.
Manoli, left turn.
Need some money.
Money has to be earned.
A guy needs money.
In view of its composition, one may hope that he will not implement such an antisocial measure as increasing radio fees for a few million marks, which would cover a fraction of post office funding requirements, and would not necessarily be of economic benefit You see a woman, clothed in purple and scarlet, decked with gold, precious stones and pearls, and with a golden cup in her hand.
She laughs, and on her brow is written the name, a mystery, "The Great Babylon", the mother of all whoring and all atrocities on Earth.
She has drunk the blood of all the saints.
She is drunk from the blood of the saints.
The whore of Babylon sits there, has drunk the blood of the saints.
Excuse me, buddy, you tell me the same bullshit every day.
Every day the same bullshit.
-Yeah.
What do you hope to get out of it? What do you hope to get out of it? Pleasure for you.
True pleasure, buddy.
The love of the great whore Babylon, who has drunk the blood of all the saints.
Can you simply spurn her? -Hello, Franz.
-Hello, Willy.
-Did anyone see you? -No.
No one saw me.
Then come in.
A consignment of furs has arrived from Leipzig.
Are you interested in something like that? No, Willy.
Furs are too hot for me.
I thought as much.
Like some coffee? No, thanks.
Were you drunk again yesterday? Maybe.
It's highly probable, in fact.
From a certain point, I don't know anymore.
No, no, Willy.
Forget it.
Furs are too hot for me.
Small things, a gold watch or something, I'll be glad to take.
Not at the moment.
Just the furs from Leipzig.
What did you get up to yesterday? Screwing.
Suddenly I'm in bed with a big fat blond.
Says her husband's away on assembly work or something.
I don't even know how I wound up going home with her.
I must have had my mind on something else.
But do you know what I think? I think she had the clap.
Don't worry.
Just get yourself examined.
Five shots and you can forget it.
Unless you're afraid of injections But you get used to that too.
Come on.
Do you think the Earth will stand still because you've got a hole in your head? No, I don't think that.
Though it would be decent of it if it did.
Don't you think so? -Sure, but what's decent anyway? -You're right again there.
-Exactly.
Someone to see you.
Eva.
My God, Eva.
Hi, Herbert.
Boy, oh, boy.
You sure look the part.
Washing your legs in champagne now, eh? My God, Herbert.
The way he looks.
Do you understand it? Like I said, he's washing his legs in champagne.
Only 20 marks.
Impeccable.
Only 20 marks, I tell you.
And for special occasions, I got myself an lron Cross, as a kind of legitimation for my arm.
What do you say? My God, Franz.
And we sat there wondering what Franz was up to.
We were really worried.
Baloney, Eva.
No need to worry about me, really not.
What do you say, Herbert? Well, you can never be sure.
Anyway, take a seat.
Come on.
Sit down.
Take a seat, Herbert.
That's my favorite disc.
Brand-new.
I just bought it.
I could listen to it all day.
Like some cognac? I've got whiskey too.
A cognac, please.
What about you? I've been waiting a long time for you to have a drink at my place.
I've really been waiting for this moment.
Boy, Franz.
How it suits you.
It really bowls you over.
Let's drink to something.
-Eva, Herbert, cheers.
-Cheers.
Okay.
Tell me how it was in Zoppot.
Did it all go off well? Well, it was quite amusing, but Eva's boyfriend had some bad luck.
He had good luck gambling.
Fabulous, but on the day when he withdrew 10,000 marks from the bank, he was robbed in his hotel room.
-No.
-While he was downstairs dining with Eva.
No.
Can you believe it? That's what I say.
The room was opened nice and neatly with a skeleton key.
His gold watch was gone, and 5000 marks he had left in the drawer of his bedside table.
It wasn't really negligence on his part.
Who would think of a thing like that? In a first-class hotel, that thieves could simply sneak in there? Then the guy flies into a rage and shouts at Eva because she made him hurry down to dinner.
He really screamed at her.
But I told him straight.
"Honeybunch", I said, "it's not very polite to treat me like this.
Is it my fault?" He was so upset, he wanted to go home right away.
Which, for the two of us, was the best thing that could happen.
There you are, Franz.
You see what tragic things happen in this world.
Yes, Herbert.
You see what fate holds in store for us.
I thought I was going to die laughing.
I can think of worse ways to die.
-Yes.
Me too.
-Me too.
Stop it.
Stop laughing.
I can't take any more.
Tell me instead how I look as a war hero.
A war hero in a striped suit, eh? You look good to me.
You look good to me, better than ever.
I'm really happy the way you look now.
Me too.
Franz, who are you going out with now? Going out with? Oh, I see.
No, no.
Oh, you mean because of this here? No, this is for something else.
I'm not going with anyone at the moment.
I'm I'm on my own.
Thank God, Franz.
You see, I've got one for you, the right one.
What have you got for me? A girl.
I've got a girl for you.
Now that you're alone, you need a girl.
Anyone can see that a mile away.
So I looked for one for you.
And when I look, sure enough I find one.
She's at your service right now.
How is that gonna work out, Eva? I don't even know the girl.
Maybe she won't like me, and with my arm Maybe she'll find it repulsive.
Baloney.
She'll love you.
That's what she'll do.
Ask Herbert.
Yeah.
She's all right.
I know her, Franz.
And where do you know her from? She hasn't been in Berlin very long.
She's from Bernau.
She turned up every evening at Stettiner Station.
That's where I met her, and I told her: "You'll end up going to the dogs, kid, if you don't cut it out.
Always coming over here to Berlin where you can't make a living.
" But she just laughed and said: "I just want to have some fun".
She just wants to have some fun.
The girl's right.
I know Bernau.
It's dead at night.
I know, Franz.
That's why I took the girl under my wing.
She can't go to Stettiner Station anymore.
She got caught in a raid there, you see? And if you're a real man with any sense, Franz, you can really make something out of the girl.
I've seen her.
She's got class.
A bit young, but she's got class and strong bones.
Come on.
Let's dance.
Come on.
Sorry, Eva.
It's because of my arm.
I haven't learned to dance with one arm yet.
I will though.
You don't have to apologize.
It's my fault too.
I'm sorry.
When do you think I'll meet her? You've known me so long, and you still ask questions like that.
What's that supposed to mean? Quite simple, she's down below in the street.
If I open the window and wave to her, she'll come up.
What? She's standing in the street? Where else? She has to see me wave.
Makes sense, doesn't it? Yeah, I guess it makes sense.
Okay then, I'll wave to her.
Wait a second.
Maybe What's the matter? Are you shy or what? I'm not shy at all.
I haven't become shy.
What's the matter, then? I was just thinking Leave the thinking to me.
You know her, Franz.
When she gets something in her head Yeah, I know her.
Well, then you shouldn't be surprised.
Come on, darling.
We're in the way here.
Hey, what's up? You can't just leave me here alone.
Do you need a nanny now? No, Eva, of course not.
Well, then.
-Leaving already? -We have to.
But leave the door open.
There's another visitor coming for Mr.
Biberkopf.
Can I do anything else for you? No, no.
Thanks very much.
Hello.
Hello.
Should I maybe close the door? Yes.
Please, close the door.
It's like the sun rising.
Pardon me? Oh, nothing important.
Don't do that.
Come here.
Sit on my lap.
What's your name? Well, actually, my name's Emilie Karsunke, but I prefer to be called Sonia.
Eva called me that once, because my cheekbones look so Russian.
Eva is not her real name either.
It's Emilie, just like mine.
She told me so herself.
One day, she just called herself Eva, and then Eva was her name.
Yeah, I know the guy who first called her Eva.
What? Yeah, it was me.
She belonged to me once, Eva did, before I met lda.
Well, now you've got me here.
Yes.
Now I've got you here.
-Only -Yes? Oh, nothing.
Nothing bad.
It's just, you know, I can't stand these foreign names.
And if you're from Bernau, you could have a different name.
You know, I've had a lot of girls, as you can imagine, but I never had one called Marie.
And I'd like one with that name.
-Marie? -Yes.
Marie.
I think it's a lovely name.
But I don't have to call you Marie.
I'll just call you Mieze.
Do you like that? Mieze? Oh, yes.
That's nice.
Mieze.
Mieze.
Miez, Miez, Miez.
Is she thinking as she sits there doing nothing? And what is she thinking? When he asks, she laughs and says she's not thinking of anything.
You can't think all day long, as he agrees too.
The way you do that, rowing with one arm The way you do it What choice do I have? Sooner or later, I must learn to do everything with one arm.
And doing it for you is twice as much fun.
Do you believe me? In bed, she's as gentle as a feather, quiet, tender, and as happy as at the start.
And she's always a little serious.
He can never quite figure her out.
Franz.
My dear, dear Franz, did you hurt yourself? My God, you're bleeding.
A little drop of blood, Mieze, and it doesn't hurt at all.
I should have been more careful.
It was my own fault, Mieze.
Why do you look at me so sadly? Mieze.
My baby.
What's the matter? Is something wrong? No, it's nothing.
It's just that I love you so much.
I'm absolutely crazy about you.
The girl is so tender it's unbelievable.
In her parlor, everything's so tidy, with flowers and ribbons, Iike a little girl's room.
Morning, miss.
He's sleeping.
When a guy's sleeping, let him sleep.
"To my dear, dear Franz, from his silly Mieze.
" What is it? Oh, you're up already.
There's a visitor for you.
The young man who was here recently.
I told him you were asleep, but maybe It's okay.
Let him in.
You can come in.
Mr.
Biberkopf's up already.
He's just woken up.
Hi, Franz.
-Hi, Willy.
-I was getting really worried.
You wanted to drop by yesterday.
I waited and waited.
I wondered what was up.
So I came here.
It's all right, Willy.
It's okay.
Look.
Mieze gave me this as a present, Iike it was my birthday.
Only it's not my birthday.
The way that girl can manage money Boy, you could up and marry a girl like that.
What do you think? Look.
She gave me this little birdy too.
Why didn't you show up yesterday? I'm really sorry, Willy, but I was out with Mieze, and I forgot all about it.
I forgot all about it.
I'm really sorry.
It's all right, Franz.
No need to apologize.
It's just that I have to know whether I can count on you.
I just have to know.
Sure you can count on me.
No question about it.
I just missed out yesterday.
I was with Mieze, and everything was so nice, and Well, we were so happy.
I'm really sorry about that, Willy.
It's okay.
I'll expect you this afternoon.
You can count on me.
I'll be there for sure.
I'll be off, then.
Must see what's up.
See you this afternoon.
Sure.
Bye.
Yes? A letter's come for Miss Mieze.
A letter for Mieze? See for yourself.
Shall I make some coffee? It's freshly ground.
No, thanks, Mrs.
Bast.
It's not good for my heart.
On Brunnenstrasse, where they're excavating below ground, a horse has fallen into the pit.
Onlookers have been standing around for half an hour.
The fire department arrives with a truck.
They draw a belt around the horse's belly.
It's standing on water mains and gas pipes.
Maybe it has broken a leg.
It's trembling and whinnying.
All one can see from above is its head.
They hoist it up with a winch.
The horse thrashes furiously with its legs.
Franz Biberkopf is there.
He jumps down into the pit to the fireman, and helps push the horse forward.
Everyone is amazed at what Franz can do with one arm.
They pat the horse.
It's in a lather, but unhurt.
A strange little wagon rolls through the city, a cart with a paralyzed man who trundles his way forward with his arms.
Fixed to the cart are lots of colored pennants.
Along Schoenhauser Allee, the man rolls.
He stops at every corner.
People crowd around him, and a helper sells postcards for 10 pfennigs.
"Globetrotter Johann Kierbach, born on February 20, 1874, in Moenchengladbach, healthy and active until the outbreak of the World War, when my hard-working efforts were ended by a stroke that paralyzed my right side.
But I recovered enough to be able to walk alone for hours on end and pursue my profession, which saved my family from the worst privations.
In November 1924, the population of the Rhineland rejoiced when the national railroad was freed from Belgian control.
Many Germans got drunk for joy, which proved to be a disaster for me.
On that day, I was returning home, when, less than 300 meters from my apartment, I was knocked down by a group of men leaving a bar.
It was a terrible stroke of fate, for I am now crippled for life and will never walk again.
I have no pension nor any other means of support.
Johann Kierbach.
" And one of the boys says, "Quite right too.
They shouldn't spend a cent on cripples.
" But then an old man asks: "Does a guy like that have to become a pimp?" And the boy says, quite seriously: "Yes.
It's nothing to laugh about.
You should see my brother's wife, my sister-in-law.
They're decent people, as good as the next.
Do you think they were embarrassed? They let themselves be paid that trash, welfare money.
He ran around looking for work, and she didn't know how to manage on the few cents she had with two little brats at home.
The woman couldn't go to work.
Well, she met a guy, and then maybe she met another guy.
Until he got wise, my brother.
Well, he came to me and said I should go and hear what he was going to tell his wife.
He came to the right guy, I tell you.
" Yes, I'm coming.
My God.
Okay, I'm coming.
Oh, it's you.
It sounded like the riot squad.
Look at this.
Mieze received this letter today.
It's a love letter.
Do you understand? My Mieze received a love letter.
It's a love letter, Eva.
My Mieze got a love letter from another guy.
From another guy.
A love letter.
My Mieze.
And you opened it? Yes.
Ever heard of privacy? What do I care about goddamned privacy when my Mieze gets a love letter from another guy? There's no privacy anymore.
I draw the line there.
Why are you looking at me like that? What's up? Come on, Eva.
What's all this? Hey, Eva, behave yourself.
What will Herbert think? Herbert went to Breslau two days ago, and won't be back until the day after tomorrow.
What's up with you, my girl? Have you gone crazy or what? Herbert's really not here? You can take my word for it.
It's a dirty thing to do, in his own apartment.
You're so sweet.
I'm crazy about you, Franz.
My God, you'll have marks on your neck.
Come on, Franz, come on.
I could devour you.
I want you so much.
My God, Eva.
What will Herbert say when he sees the marks? They'll turn black and blue.
Come on, Franz.
I'm going to my client afterwards.
I can say I got them from him.
What will your client say when he sees the marks? And what will my aunt say? And what will my grandma say? My God, Franz.
What's up with you? Nothing's up, Eva, nothing at all.
Okay, I'm going now, to have a word with Mieze.
You, Eva? How come? Quite simply because I want to.
You stay here.
I'll be right back.
You can let me have my way for once.
Surely I can take care of a little girl who doesn't have any experience, Iike Mieze, here in Berlin.
My Mieze received a love letter.
Mieze.
Mieze, don't run away.
What's up? Has something happened? Don't get upset, Mieze.
Just come with me.
Back to Elsaesser Strasse.
Eva, what's happened? Here.
This letter came today, and Franz opened it.
What's so funny? The way he writes, it's so funny.
I've never read anything like it.
Hey, sweetie.
I don't think you were listening.
The letter you're reading, which is addressed to you, is a love letter, and Franz opened it.
Then it's all over.
Am I right, Eva? It's all over now.
And I love Franz so much that it hurts.
That's how much I love him.
There's only one thing for it.
You must tell him.
-I should tell him? -Sure.
If you don't tell him, he'll think you really do have a lover.
But if you were to tell him, maybe he'd accept it.
Maybe.
That would be good, Eva.
Did he like the canary? Oh, I can't tell him.
I simply can't.
I'd rather never go back home again.
I can't tell him.
Can't you tell him about it, Eva? You're so smart.
You could break it to him.
You can do it.
He listens to you.
Please, Eva.
Give it a try.
Okay.
If you want, I'll give it a try.
Darling, I must get out here.
I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything.
Do you have some money? See you later.
The corner of Jean-Paul and Mosesstrasse, please.
1928 is a major election year in Europe.
In Germany, numerous parties are campaigning for votes Back already? I guess so.
How long did I sleep? An hour at the most.
Eva Tell me what was up.
-With Mieze? -Yes.
Nothing special.
She just laughed when she read the letter.
She laughed her head off.
I refuse to hear anything bad about her.
How can she laugh about it? It's no laughing matter.
I don't think the letter means anything.
She just laughed when she read it.
But the most important thing was that she asked me if you liked the canary.
Well You listen to me.
One thing I can tell you, she didn't bat an eye, Franz.
I thought she was great.
She's a good girl.
What do you mean a good girl? If she lives with me and has a lover who writes her letters, and she never told me anything about it, then she's no longer my Mieze.
Franz, don't you understand? A girl wants to do something for her guy too.
What does she have if you're running around all day, wheeling and dealing, and all she does is make coffee and clean up? She wants you to be pleased.
She wants to give you something.
She wants to share her life with you.
That's why she does it.
And you swallow that? That's why she cheats on me? What kind of reason is that? There's no cheating involved.
She said that right away.
There's no question of that.
If some guy writes her a letter, that doesn't mean a thing.
Maybe a guy gets stuck on her, so he writes a letter.
That's nothing new for you, surely? Here we go again.
That's how the wind blows, eh? End of part eight, with