Vicky Cristina Barcelona Script - Dialogue Transcript

Vicky Cristina Barcelona Script

  

  
Vicky and Cristina decided
to spend the summer in Barcelona.

  
Vicky was completing her master's
in Catalan Identity,

  
which she had become interested in

  
through her great affection
for the architecture of Gaudí.

  
Cristina, who spent the last six months

  
writing, directing, and acting in
a 12-minute film which she then hated,

  
had just broken up
with yet another boyfriend

  
and longed for a change of scenery.

  
Everything fell into place

  
when a distant relative of Vicky's family
who lived in Barcelona

  
offered to put both girls up
for July and August.

  
The two best friends
had been close since college

  
and shared the same tastes
and opinions on most matters,

  
yet when it came to the subject of love,

  
it would be hard to find
two more dissimilar viewpoints.

  
Vicky had no tolerance for pain
and no lust for combat.

  
She was grounded and realistic.

  
Her requirements in a man
were seriousness and stability.

  
She had become engaged to Doug
because he was decent and successful

  
and understood
the beauty of commitment.

  
Yeah, I miss you, too.

  
Cristina, on the other hand,

  
expected something
very different out of love.

  
She had reluctantly accepted suffering
as an inevitable component of deep passion,

  
and was resigned to putting
her feelings at risk.

  
If you asked her what it was
she was gambling her emotions on to win,

  
she would not have been able to say.

  
She knew what she didn't want, however,

  
and that was exactly
what Vicky valued above all else.

  
Hello?

  
Oh, hello.

  
- Hi.
- Hi!

  
- You're Vicky.
- Yes, yes.

  
You're so grown up!

  
- Well, it's been a while.
- Hola, welcome to Barcelona.

  
- Hi. Cristina.
- Oh, Cristina, I'm Judy.

  
- This is your room.
- Oh, perfect!

  
- I put you together.
- This is gorgeous.

  
Judy, thank you so much
for having me here, because I know...

  
you know, it's so last-minute
and you don't know me at all.

  
To include me is just so sweet of you.

  
It's so nice to have
a little action around here.

  
It's been so quiet
since Arthur went off to college.

  
After the girls unpacked

  
and Judy's husband Mark
got home from the golf course,

  
lunch was served on the terrace.

  
...beautiful home.
- We've come to love it.

  
He makes friends with anybody
and he speaks the language,

  
so he was like, "Whee!"

  
You learned just fine.

  
So, what do you do, Cristina?

  
I am currently at liberty.

  
Oh, come on.
She... she made a film.

  
- How exciting!
- Yes, 12 minutes.

  
What was it about?

  
About? It was about
why love is so hard to define.

  
Wow, that's a mighty big subject
to handle in 12 minutes.

  
Vicky, you're getting
your master's in something.

  
Yeah, my master's in Catalan Identity.

  
Ah, well...

  
What do you plan on doing with that?

  
Oh, God, I don't know.
Maybe teaching, maybe curating.

  
Well, you don't have
to do something, you know.

  
But she's marrying
this wonderful man in the fall,

  
and all of her conflicts will be resolved
when he makes her pregnant.

  
Well, now that Judy's decided your future...

  
To, uh, your summer in Barcelona.

  
- Welcome.
- Salud.

  
- Cheers.
- Salud.

  
In the days that followed,

  
Vicky and Cristina drank in
the artistic treasures of the city.

  
They particularly enjoyed
the works of Gaudí and Miró.

  
Once, Mark and Judy
invited Vicky and Cristina

  
to go sailing with them
on Mark's boat.

  
With Cristina in mind,

  
Mark and Judy asked along
the son of one of his business partners,

  
an eligible young man
Mark thought she might like.

  
My dream is to accumulate enough wealth
and sail off to an island somewhere

  
and spend the rest
of my days snorkeling.

  
I'm actually a snorkeling nut.

  
Have you ever snorkeled before?

  
Unfortunately, Charles and Cristina
were not a match made in heaven.

  
Vicky, meanwhile, researched
every aspect of Catalan life,

  
even getting a tour of the market
and a local restaurant

  
to delve into Catalan cooking.

  
On balmy summer nights,

  
the girls would sometimes
go to hear Spanish guitar music,

  
which never failed to move Vicky
in some magical way.

  
One evening, Mark and Judy took them
to the opening of a friend's art gallery.

  
Many local artists
and a number of collectors attended.

  
Do you like them?

  
I do.
Thank you so much for taking us.

  
You know, we buy from this gallery.

  
Mark has commissioned this artist
to do this series of pictures

  
for his office walls, so...

  
- I think they'll be beauti...
- Is that the artist over there?

  
- Where?
- In the red?

  
Uh, no. No, no, no.

  
That's not... no.

  
Uh, Alfred is...

  
Oh, no, he's the gentleman
in the linen coat, right there.

  
- Oh.
- That's him.

  
Um... I don't know who that is.

  
Uh, Mark, who is that gentleman
in the red shirt over there?

  
- Who?
- The gentleman in the red shirt.

  
- Who is that?
- Oh. He's a painter.

  
Remember, Diego told us about him?

  
He had that fiery relationship
with that beautiful woman who was nuts?

  
- Oh, my God!
- With the violent fighting...

  
- Oh, yes, yes, yes!
- He had the messy divorce.

  
- Oh, my God!
- It was in all the newspapers.

  
Oh, my God. Um, his name
is Juan Antonio Gonzalo,

  
and he had this hot divorce
and she tried to kill him.

  
- Or he tried to kill her.
- What?

  
It was this, like,
really big thing in the art world.

  
I can't remember the details,
but he, you know, he...

  
We don't move in those
bohemian circles, so I don't know.

  
Vicky and Cristina left the art gallery
and decided to go for dinner.

  
They strolled past the church
in the wonderful summer night air

  
while people celebrated,

  
finally winding up around midnight
at a little restaurant.

  
Well, it's just nice to be able
to not have to worry about

  
if some place is gonna stay open, or...

  
Yeah, but you... we probably should be
worrying about our, you know, dreams.

  
What are you... who are you looking at?

  
Isn't that the... isn't that the painter
we just saw at the gallery?

  
Oh, yeah, right. He's the...
the painter with the bad divorce...

  
Mark told us... I was half-listening.

  
He was looking over here.

  
Well, that's because
you keep provoking contact.

  
- I'm not provoking contact!
- You are.

  
You've been throwing
little looks at him all night.

  
I'm just drinking my wine.

  
Mm-hmm, yeah, of course you are.

  
You must be doing something,
because, uh, he's coming over.

  
American?

  
I'm Cristina,
and this is my friend Vicky.

  
What color are your eyes?

  
Uh... they're blue.

  
I'd like to invite you both
to come with me to Oviedo.

  
To come where?

  
To Oviedo.
For the weekend.

  
We leave in one hour.

  
What... where is Oviedo?

  
- A very short flight.
- By plane?

  
What's in Oviedo?

  
I go to see a sculpture
that is very inspiring to me.

  
Very beautiful sculpture.
You will love it.

  
Oh, right, you're asking us
to fly to Oviedo and back.

  
No, we'll spend the weekend.

  
I mean, I'll show you around the city
and we'll eat well,

  
we'll drink good wine,
we'll make love.

  
Yeah, well, who exactly
is going to "make love"?

  
Hopefully, the three of us.

  
- Oh, my God.
- I'll get your bill.

  
Jesus, this guy!
He doesn't beat around the bush.

  
Look, señor, maybe in a different life.

  
Why not? Life is short,
life is dull, life is full of pain,

  
and this is a chance
for something special.

  
Right, well, who exactly are you?

  
I am Juan Antonio.
And you are...

  
Vicky, and you are Cristina, right?

  
Or is it the other way around?

  
- Yeah, that's right.
- It could be the other way around,

  
because frankly it doesn't matter,

  
because either of us will do
to keep the bed warm.

  
You know, I get it.

  
Well, you are both
so lovely and beautiful.

  
Yeah, thank you,
but we do not fly off to make love

  
with whoever invites us
to charming little Spanish towns.

  
Does she always
analyze every inspiration

  
until its grain of charm is...

  
Uh...

  
squeezed out of it?

  
I guess I have to say that I'm...

  
My eyes are green, actually.

  
Oh, God, look...

  
I wouldn't call our reluctance
to leap at your sexual offer

  
being over-analytical.

  
If you would care to join us
for some recognized form

  
of social interaction,
like a drink, then we'd be fine,

  
but otherwise, I think you should try,
you know, offering to some other table.

  
What offended you about the offer?

  
Surely not that I find you both
beautiful and desirable?

  
Offended me? No.

  
It's very amusing...
galling, to be honest... but...

  
Is it my imagination,
or is it getting late?

  
- Shall we go?
- I would love to go to Oviedo.

  
What? Are you kidding?

  
- Can we discuss...
- I think it would be so much fun.

  
I think we should go.
I would love to go.

  
Cristina, can we discuss this
some other time, when...

  
You know, when I saw you
across the room at the art gallery,

  
I noticed you have, uh, beautiful lips.

  
Very full, very sensual.

  
Thank you.

  
Okay, okay, look.
If you want to go...

  
Well, I can't guarantee the lovemaking,
because I happen to be very moody.

  
Let's not negotiate like a contract.

  
I came over here with no subterfuge
and presented my best offer.

  
Now I hope you will discuss it
and give me the pleasure

  
to take you with me to Oviedo.

  
I have the good fortune
to borrow my friend's plane.

  
It is just big enough for the three of us,
and I am a very good pilot.

  
Oh, it sounds very safe.

  
Think it over.

  
I hope you're joking about going.

  
My God, this guy is so interesting.

  
Interesting?
What's so interesting?

  
He wants to get us both into bed.

  
You know, but he'll settle for either,
in this case you.

  
Vicky, I'm a big girl, okay?

  
If I want to sleep with him I will;
if not, I won't.

  
Cristina, he's a total stranger.

  
This is impulsive even for you.

  
And, if I heard right,
he was violent with his wife.

  
At least he's not one of those
factory-made zombies, you know?

  
I mean, this would be
a great way to get to know him.

  
No, it's not.

  
I'm not going to Oviedo
with this charmingly candid wife beater.

  
You find his aggressiveness
attractive, but I don't.

  
I mean, he's certainly not handsome.

  
Well, I think he's very handsome.
He's got a great look.

  
I mean, he's,
you know, he's really sexy.

  
Mm-hmm, well, you would,
because you're a neurotic.

  
You gotta admire
his no-bullshit approach.

  
What are you talking about?
It's all bullshit.

  
I'm not going to Oviedo.
First off, I never heard of Oviedo.

  
I don't find him winning.

  
Third, even if I wasn't engaged
and was free to have

  
some kind of dalliance with a Spaniard,
I wouldn't pick this one.

  
Hello?

  
Hi. Oh, hi.
I can't talk right now.

  
I'm trying to save Cristina
from making a potentially fatal mistake.

  
What? No, the usual.

  
Yeah, I'll call you back.

  
I love you, too.

  
If we go back to the house now,

  
we can just throw some things
in a bag and meet him there.

  
Look, I took
an instant liking to this guy.

  
I mean, he's not one
of these cookie-cutter molds.

  
He's creative and he's artistic and...

  
Cookie-cutter mold?
Is that what you think of Doug?

  
Doug? Who said anything about Doug?

  
It's ridiculous. You like the way it sounds,
to pick up and fly off in an airplane.

  
I know. I don't know why I'm so scared,
unless I'm scared of myself.

  
It's a mistake, Cristina.

  
They predicted a little storm
out of the town, out of Oviedo,

  
but it's nothing serious.

  
Don't you worry, really.

  
As you can see here...

  
Here it's just...
just a little bumpy, all right?

  
Would you like to fly it?

  
Oh, no thank you.

  
It's easy.
It's even easier than a car. Try it.

  
By early morning,
they had reached their destination

  
and proceeded to a hotel
that Juan Antonio had selected for them.

  
Vicky made sure she and Cristina
had their own room...

  
and Juan Antonio had his.

  
If he was disappointed,
he hid it well.

  
After freshening up,
he took them to see the sculpture

  
that was so meaningful to him.

  
- Are you very religious?
- No, no, I'm not.

  
The trick is to enjoy life,

  
accepting it has
no meaning whatsoever.

  
- Right.
- No meaning?

  
You don't think that authentic love
gives life meaning?

  
Yes, but love is so transient.

  
Isn't it?

  
I was in love with
a most incredible woman...

  
and then in the end...

  
Yes?

  
She put a knife into me.

  
My God, that's terrible.

  
Maybe you did something
to deserve it.

  
Juan Antonio
took his guests for lunch.

  
They discussed art and romance.

  
He was full of stories
about Maria Elena, his ex-wife,

  
whom he both criticized and idolized.

  
He proved to be a good host,

  
and in the afternoon
he took them to see the local sights,

  
where they enjoyed hearing
about the city and took photos.

  
Later, they bought candy and cakes
at a charming sweet shop,

  
which were homemade and delicious.

  
They continued to document their trip,

  
and while Vicky remained skeptical,

  
Cristina had a wonderful time.

  
The question of sleeping together
did not come up until that night,

  
and Juan Antonio was a little drunk.

  
- Thank you.
- You're very welcome.

  
All right.

  
Well, now that the day's almost over...

  
is it reasonable of me to ask you
if you'll both join me in my room?

  
Oh, come on, I thought we'd settled that.

  
Vicky's just trying to say
that she's engaged to be married, that's all.

  
Great. Then these are
her last days of freedom.

  
No. Look, I'm not free.
I'm committed.

  
You know what my theory is...
and when I drink, I get brutally frank...

  
I think that you're still hurting

  
from the failure of your marriage
to Maria Elena,

  
and you're trying to lose yourself
in empty sex.

  
Empty sex?

  
Do you have such
a low opinion of yourself?

  
She's just saying that it has to have
meaning for her, that's all.

  
I mean, the city's romantic,
the night is warm and balmy,

  
we are alive...
isn't that meaning enough?

  
Hey, look, I just came along
to keep Cristina company.

  
I'm engaged to be married.

  
I have a handsome, lovely fiancé
who I make love with,

  
and also holds
a very real place in my heart,

  
and to be perfectly frank,
Juan Antonio,

  
if I were the type of person
that played around,

  
I don't think it's in the cards for us.

  
So, I'm tired,
I haven't slept in 24 hours,

  
and that is exactly
what I am going to do.

  
And you?

  
I'll go to your room,
but... you have to seduce me.

  
- Hello.
- Hello.

  
I am just here
to have a quick drink...

  
to say thank you,

  
and then I'm going to go
back to my room.

  
All right.

  
Did you act
in the small film you made?

  
Did I act?
Yeah, I acted. Why?

  
I hope you were
more convincing than you are

  
when you pretend to have come here
for one quick drink.

  
I am here to go to bed with you.
You're right, um...

  
So you're pretty much home free,
unless you... blow it.

  
- Blow it?
- Yeah.

  
"Blow it."
You mean ruin the moment?

  
Yeah.

  
Oh. And how would I do that?

  
Um, I don't know.

  
It could be anything
from some inane comment

  
to wearing the wrong kind of shorts.

  
Although...
somehow by looking at you,

  
I think you're wearing
the right kind of shorts.

  
You're very hard to please.

  
Yeah, well. I am famous
for my intolerance.

  
Here.

  
What do you want in life
besides a man with the right shorts?

  
Mmm...

  
I don't know.

  
I know I'm not gonna settle
till I find what I'm looking for.

  
Mm, which is what?

  
Um.

  
Something... else.

  
I want something different,
something more...

  
some sort of counterintuitive love.

  
Meaning?

  
Meaning...

  
I don't know.

  
I don't know what I want.

  
I only know what I don't want.

  
If you don't start undressing me soon,
this is gonna turn into a panel discussion.

  
What? Are you okay?

  
Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine.
It's something I ate.

  
What's wrong?
Can I get you anything?

  
Um, no, I...

  
- I shouldn't be drinking.
- What happened?

  
I'm going to be sick.

  
It's her ulcer, and perhaps
a little food poisoning, maybe both.

  
Oh, my God, both?

  
She must just "ret," not eat.

  
- Okay, rest?
- Yeah, rest. Rest.

  
With Cristina stuck in bed,
Vicky was anxious to get back to Barcelona

  
and in no mood to sightsee.

  
Uh-huh, oh, okay.

  
Well, when he gets out of his meeting,
can you get him to call me on my cell?

  
Yeah, I'm still stuck in Oviedo.

  
But sightsee is what they did.

  
I feel very sorry about Cristina.

  
Oh, come on.

  
Don't pretend concern.

  
I'm sure that you kept
encouraging her to drink,

  
as you did to both of us
throughout dinner.

  
But I can hold my liquor.

  
She never mentioned her ulcer.

  
No, no, because
she's a mental adolescent,

  
and being romantic,
she has a death wish.

  
So, for a brief moment of passion,

  
she completely abandons
all responsibilities.

  
After lunch, Juan Antonio took Vicky
to see the old lighthouse at Avilés,

  
which she found very beautiful.

  
Uh, I was born near here, and...

  
it would be a sin if I came out here
without paying a visit to my father.

  
Will be that boring to you?

  
Bor... no.

  
No, I think that... that would be

  
the first genuinely interesting
proposition you've made me.

  
I would love to see
your father and his house.

  
Buenos días.

  
- My father, Julio.
- Julio.

  
Buenos días.
Qué casa tan bonita.

  
Oh. You know, if we carry on,
I don't think it's gonna...

  
It's fine. That was great.

  
He speaks no English.

  
I'm sure my Spanish is going to go.

  
He refuses to speak
any other language,

  
and that's an important point
with my father, actually.

  
Really, it is? Why?

  
Because he's a poet,

  
and he writes the most beautiful sentences
in the Spanish language,

  
but he, I don't know,
he doesn't believe

  
that a poet should pollute
his words by any other tongue.

  
- Which is quite a...
- No. No, it makes sense.

  
I understand, 'cause of the translation
and the things you might lose.

  
I mean, I took some Spanish.

  
I... of course,
I have no flair for languages.

  
- I read it much better than I speak it.
- Mm-hmm.

  
Maybe I could read your father?

  
No, but he doesn't publish.
That's the point.

  
Why not?

  
Be... I'll explain later.

  
You want some coñac?

  
Yes, thank you, just a very...
very, very little bit.

  
Eh, Maria Elena, Maria Elena...

  
This was my favorite place
to come and read when I was young.

  
Yes, I wanted to be a writer,
not a painter.

  
Painting came later.

  
And I wanted to play music, too.

  
I mean, all I knew is that I was full of,

  
I don't know, real emotion,
and I had to find a way to express it.

  
Cristina says the same thing.

  
Cristina's a very interesting girl.
Want to sit?

  
Yeah.

  
So, uh, tell me, why won't
your father publish his poems?

  
Well, because he hates the world,

  
and that's his way
of getting back at them,

  
to create beautiful works and then...

  
to deny them to the public,
which I think it's...

  
My God.

  
Well, what makes him so angry
toward the human race?

  
Because after thousands
of years of civilization,

  
they still haven't learned to love.

  
They returned to the hotel.

  
Cristina was feeling better,
but far too shaky,

  
and needed more rest.

  
Vicky and Juan Antonio dined
together at lovely little restaurant.

  
She was more relaxed than at lunch,
and had just finished a great deal of wine.

  
This time, she was enjoying
the conversation.

  
...no place on earth.

  
My father used to bring me here.

  
Hello?

  
Hey. Did I get you
at a bad time, babe?

  
Oh, hi, no.
I'm just about to eat.

  
Can I, uh, call you back?

  
Let me just say one thing.

  
Paul and Maryanne said they found
a house up where they are

  
that they liked even better
than the one in Bedford Hills.

  
Oh, yeah?
Y-y-you're breaking up a little.

  
Babe? Call me later,
but this house has a pool and a tennis court.

  
Okay? We could both take lessons
from Paul's instructor.

  
Okay, I'll call you back.
I can't hear you.

  
I love you.

  
Uh... Oh, God.

  
Connection's terrible.

  
- Oh, thank you.
- Here.

  
What is this wine?

  
- It's delicious.
- It's great.

  
Was that your fiancé?

  
Uh, yes, yes.

  
Why were you so nervous,
speaking to him?

  
What, was I nervous?

  
Yes. You turned red.

  
Well...

  
Well, I'm sure it's the wine.

  
Would he be upset if he knew
we were dining together?

  
No, not at all.
Are you kidding?

  
I mean, I don't think he'd love
the basic concept of me

  
sitting with a man,
drinking wine over candlelight,

  
but he'd quickly realize
there'd be nothing to worry about, so...

  
Would you ever withhold your work
from the public out of rage?

  
No, no, no, not like my father.

  
Oh no, I told you...

  
I affirm life despite everything.

  
Right, right.

  
Well... I'd be curious
to see your work.

  
Really?

  
Why? I mean,
you are so disapproving of me.

  
Well, I've gotten to know you better,

  
and, you know, it'd be interesting,

  
and, after all, you are a Catalan painter,
and that's my subject.

  
What gave you such an interest
in Catalan culture?

  
Well, uh... I, uh, fell in love
with Gaudí's church when I was 14,

  
and one thing led to another.

  
Hmm. And, uh, you also admire
Spanish guitar, I hear?

  
Yes, yes. I love the guitar.

  
Would you like to go to hear
some wonderful guitar tonight?

  
- Tonight?
- Mm-hmm.

  
Well, it's a little late,

  
and, you know,
I'm a little wobbly from the wine.

  
You said you could hold your alcohol.

  
Besides, we leave tomorrow.

  
Okay, sure.

  
Great.

  
That was, uh...
that was unbelievable.

  
Thank you. Thank you.

  
I was looking at your face,
and you looked very moved.

  
Yes, yes.

  
A few times I saw a look like that.

  
Right, and on Maria Elena, I'm sure.

  
Well, yes, maybe on Maria Elena,

  
when she saw or heard
something that moved her, yes.

  
You...

  
You're still in love with her.

  
No, I'm not. I'm not.

  
Mmm, that confirms it.

  
No, she will always
be a part of me,

  
and she's
an important person in my life,

  
but for the two of us,
something was not working.

  
What element?

  
We never found out.

  
You said you were looking at my face.

  
Why?

  
Why were you looking at mine?

  
Was I?

  
You probably saw my tears.

  
Yes.

  
Yeah, um...

  
I'm a little out of control.

  
I was looking at your face
because I find it very beautiful.

  
You do?

  
Of course I do.

  
Of course I do,
and you know I do.

  
On the trip home, Vicky,

  
who had mentioned nothing
to Cristina, was silent.

  
Cristina, on the other hand,
talked nervously.

  
I must apologize to both of you
for ruining the whole weekend!

  
I'm completely mortified.
I'm humiliated.

  
I don't know whether it was the wine...
it could've been the shellfish.

  
Because, you know,
I have this ulcer,

  
and I just thank God you knew
enough sights to keep Vicky occupied.

  
You know, I had these horrible nightmares
that you two would be like oil and water,

  
hating every minute
of being together.

  
I just couldn't move.

  
Vicky buried herself in work
at the library.

  
She put foolish ideas out of her head
and concentrated on her thesis,

  
but she found her thoughts
frequently returning to Oviedo.

  
Cristina, searching for
a means of self-expression,

  
wandered the streets
of Barcelona,

  
experimented with
her latest passion, photography,

  
and believed that she
had made a fool of herself

  
exactly at the moment of truth
with Juan Antonio.

  
And then, 48 hours later,

  
Cristina came to Vicky
with an announcement.

  
Vicky, he called.

  
Hmm, what? Who?

  
Juan Antonio.
He called me just now.

  
Juan Antonio called you?

  
Yeah. He wants to see me,
take me to some vineyard,

  
some wine tasting or something.

  
I said absolutely.

  
A wine tasting?

  
But... what about your ulcer?

  
Oh, no, no, it's fine.
A little wine's not going to hurt me.

  
The point is that he wants to see me.

  
Isn't that great?

  
- Yeah, yeah.
- I can't believe it!

  
I never thought he was gonna call.

  
That's great.
I'm happy for you.

  
That night, the two women
had trouble falling asleep.

  
Cristina sat in the kitchen
drinking coffee

  
and working on her poetry.

  
Vicky, too, was lost
in memories of a night

  
that now seemed
more and more unreal.

  
Hello?

  
Hey, babe.
Did I wake you?

  
No. No, no, no.

  
I was just going to sleep.

  
I'm sorry I called so late.

  
I had to get out of the office,
get some air and get some coffee,

  
and I had this great idea.

  
Check this out.

  
Dad has contacts
in the American embassy in Spain, right?

  
I thought I could come early,
work from there on my computer,

  
and the two of us
could get married in Barcelona.

  
You said it was a romantic spot.

  
You know, we'll just do
a quick city hall-type thing.

  
'Course we'll do it
all over again in New York.

  
We'll have a huge blowout
for our families and friends,

  
but I thought it'd be fun.
What do you think?

  
What... to get married here?

  
Yeah, why not?

  
It'd be great to tell our kids
we married in Spain.

  
Dad's friends would make it
real easy for us.

  
Oh, I don't know what to say.

  
You don't sound bowled over.

  
No, it's, uh...

  
It's just a surprise.

  
So? Look, we're gonna marry
in the fall anyway,

  
and we're gonna
do that too, I promise.

  
Yeah, so what's the point?

  
The point is it's different,
it's exciting.

  
I told the idea to Ken and Alice.

  
They said they wished they'd done it...
I mean, you know, in London in their case...

  
but they were excited.

  
Well, I-I...

  
You sound a bit reluctant.

  
Me? No.

  
Why would I... why would I be?

  
No, I...

  
I think it's a fine idea.

  
I think it's great... it's a great idea.

  
Yeah. Yeah, no, I think
it's gonna be good.

  
Listen, I'm gonna call you tomorrow.
I know I woke you up.

  
I'll give you more details tomorrow.
I love you so much.

  
Juan Antonio took Cristina
to a wine tasting.

  
After, he took her back
to his house,

  
a lovely place he had purchased
from another painter years ago

  
and which served
as his home and his studio.

  
He showed her his work,
which delighted her.

  
She loved the colors
and the wild, emotional way

  
he applied the paint
to the canvases.

  
From there, it was
only one floor up to his bedroom.

  
He told her of his marriage
to Maria Elena

  
and their deep love
and their terrible fights.

  
He told Cristina he had not wanted
to make love with anyone else

  
in the bedroom they shared till now.

  
This time, Cristina kept her food down.

  
Juan took Cristina out
several more times.

  
They went to see a new sculpture
by a friend of his.

  
He showed her some
of his favorite parts of the city,

  
where she took photographs.

  
Juan Antonio was friendly
with all the whores

  
and thought they would make
wonderful subjects.

  
He encouraged Cristina's work,

  
although she was always
too shy to allow him to see it.

  
He took her to lunch
with his friends,

  
who were poets and artists
and musicians.

  
Cristina held her own quite well.

  
Meanwhile, one day,
going to study yet again the Park Güell,

  
which Gaudí had designed

  
and which figured
quite prominently in her thesis,

  
Vicky had a chance encounter.

  
- Vicky.
- Oh, hello.

  
- I mean, my goodness.
- How are you?

  
What are you doing here?

  
Nothing. Just doing some sketches.

  
Oh, right.

  
Well, I didn't mean to disturb you, so...

  
Disturb me, no.
How could you disturb me?

  
We never had a chance
to say a proper good-bye.

  
Oh, well, you could've called me.

  
I... yeah.

  
I debated it, but I didn't think
there was much point.

  
Yeah, but you never phoned,
not to say anything...

  
I mean, "Thank you, it was fun..."

  
I mean, you don't make love to someone
and then never call them

  
unless you were greatly disappointed.

  
Quite the opposite.

  
But... you have plans to marry,

  
and I thought it best
to stop anything

  
before it led to
a bad situation for everyone.

  
Yeah, well, I'm only saying
that we made love,

  
and you seemed to drop off
the face of the earth.

  
I mean, I realize these things
don't mean much to you...

  
To pursue matters would have
only caused you anxiety,

  
and for me, a disappointment.

  
I had the ability to hurt you
after one night?

  
Maria Elena used to say that...

  
only unfulfilled love
can be romantic.

  
Right. Okay.

  
Well, the truth is,
you're much more suited to Cristina.

  
I've grown very fond of Cristina.

  
So, I'm very happy for you
and your husband-to-be.

  
And I... for you and Cristina.

  
Right.

  
- Bye.
- Good-bye.

  
And so the morning came

  
when Vicky's husband-to-be
arrived from New York.

  
Juan Antonio, like certain creative men,
needed always to live with a woman,

  
and had invited Cristina
to move in with him, which she accepted.

  
How much do I owe you?

  
- So you're with Global Enterprises?
- Yes!

  
Tom Sutter's an old friend of mine.

  
Oh, you know Tom Sutter!
We play golf.

  
- You do?
- Yeah.

  
I got some stories.
Tom has never beaten me.

  
Oh, well, he's not
the greatest player in the world...

  
My God.

  
You're a whole different person here.

  
What does that mean?

  
You were so into it.

  
Well, am I not usually?

  
Yeah, no, of course you are...

  
I'm giving you a compliment.

  
Maybe it's the Barcelona air.

  
Come here, hold me.
Hold me.

  
- You okay?
- Yeah.

  
Yeah.

  
How's Cristina doing?

  
Oh, you know, she's already
moved in with some guy.

  
That was quick.
Don't tell me he's a bullfighter.

  
No...

  
Writer? Composer?

  
Tortured pseudo-intellectual
and self-destructive?

  
Yeah, I know, sometimes
she gets on my nerves

  
with her crackpot love affairs.

  
Look, I love her
because she's your friend,

  
but I often warn you about her.

  
She's an unhappy person.

  
She can't part with
that self-image she has

  
of the oh-so-special woman,
the artist trying to find herself.

  
I find her contempt
for normal values pretentious.

  
It's boring, cliché.

  
Yeah, well, men like her.

  
Well, she's pretty...

  
and not exactly difficult
to maneuver into the sack.

  
Now, you... on the other hand,

  
took a little effort to get to bed.

  
Hey.

  
But it was worth the struggle.

  
- Yeah?
- Yeah.

  
So, Juan Antonio wants to take me

  
to this old amusement park
that he said I would love,

  
and I thought
that we could just get lunch,

  
all of us, and then
we could all see it together.

  
What, tomorrow for lunch?

  
We can't. We have plans.

  
Oh, no, no, no. I'd...

  
No, we can always go boating
with Mark and Judy.

  
I'd like to go with Cristina
and Juan Antonio.

  
- I really want to go boating.
- Yeah, that would be great.

  
- Tomorrow. Okay.
- Okay.

  
The two couples met for lunch,

  
and during the course of conversation,
an awkward moment occurred.

  
Juan Antonio, having
warm thoughts about Cristina,

  
tried to brush his foot
against hers under the table

  
and accidentally brushed Vicky's.

  
The amusement park was everything
Juan Antonio led them to believe.

  
It was antique and charming,
and overlooked all of Barcelona.

  
I see why you love
your fiancé, 'cause he's very charming.

  
Yes, yes. He's lovely.

  
And very well suited to you.

  
I don't think I like
the way you say that.

  
No, I only mean that you make
a comfortable couple in the best sense.

  
Look, you don't understand.
I can't do anything about it now.

  
I'm not saying the thought
hasn't crossed my mind, but...

  
Vicky, please. Please, Vicky.

  
We must not get into
this conversation again, all right?

  
Things have moved on,
and I've developed real feelings for Cristina.

  
Well, then, what did...

  
why did you rub your foot
against mine under the table?

  
- I didn't. I didn't.
- Yes, yes.

  
When I looked over at you.

  
Oh, no, if I did, it was a mistake.

  
I mean, my intention
was to touch Cristina.

  
Oh, okay. I-l... I'm sorry.

  
I apologize for my mistake.

  
Sorry, it was my mistake,
but listen...

  
- No, I'm...
- Listen, listen.

  
You are all set to enter
a completely different life,

  
a life you always wanted
with a man you love.

  
Yes, goddamn it, I know!

  
And then I met you and we had
this ridiculously irrational weekend together

  
and now I... now I don't know
where I am.

  
Please. I'm with Cristina,

  
and you're going to get married
in two weeks, Vicky.

  
- Yeah, I know.
- Okay?

  
I know, you're right.

  
Cristina loves you.

  
I would never...

  
Yes, yes, and Cristina and I
are a good fit.

  
I mean we...
she speaks my language.

  
You and I... I don't know.

  
We'd be at each other's throats
in a month.

  
- Right?
- Yeah.

  
Look, maybe our paths will cross again
someday under different circumstances.

  
I mean, who knows about life?

  
Yeah, you're right.
You're right, I'm an idiot.

  
I don't know what I expect to happen.

  
And so the wedding day came
and Vicky married Doug.

  
Cristina was there.

  
She did not bring Juan Antonio,
who made an excuse.

  
Following the ceremony,
the bride and groom

  
left for a mini-honeymoon in Seville.

  
Meanwhile, Cristina began
to sense the possibility

  
of the kind of relationship
she had always sought,

  
but in the past had eluded her.

  
She was the lover of an exciting man,
an artist, whose work she believed in.

  
She was already thinking of herself
as a kind of expatriate,

  
not smothered
by what she believed to be

  
America's puritanical
and materialistic culture,

  
which she had little patience for.

  
She saw herself
more a European soul,

  
in tune with the thinkers and artists

  
she felt expressed her tragic,
romantic, freethinking view of life.

  
With Juan Antonio's circle of friends,

  
she hobnobbed
with creative people of all sorts.

  
She loved their company,

  
and continued to experiment
with writing and taking pictures.

  
You had a good time?

  
Yeah, Seville is breathtaking.

  
We ran into some friends
from New York.

  
Had a chance to spend some time
with them, which was great.

  
A little too much time.

  
You're just angry because
they beat our brains out at bridge.

  
- Well, I don't like bridge.
- I don't, either.

  
- What is this?
- A little swag, here.

  
Attention, please.

  
Cristina and Juan Antonio
sent you this wedding gift.

  
When I found out that she
was seriously dating Juan Antonio,

  
I couldn't believe it. I...

  
Just what we need...
a Rorschach blot.

  
You know, I don't think I like it.

  
- We'll buy you one of Alejandro's.
- This you will.

  
Sí?

  
Sí.

  
Uh, ¿cómo está?

  
What?

  
Maria Elena...
She tried to kill herself.

  
What? Is she okay?

  
Uh...

  
Yes. I don't...
Yes, I think so. I don't know.

  
I have to go.

  
Where are you going?

  
Uh...

  
I'm going to the hospital.

  
Should I come with you?

  
No, no, I don't think that
would be a good idea for her.

  
- She's a mess.
- Well, all right.

  
- Call me if you want me to come, okay?
- Okay, of course.

  
Of course.

  
Juan Antonio hurried out
in the dead of night.

  
Cristina tried to go back to sleep,
but had an uneasy feeling.

  
She dozed restively,
but awoke at the darkest hour.

  
I'm just up here making coffee.

  
Is everything okay?

  
Okay... Cristina, this is Maria Elena.

  
Oh.

  
Here you have to speak English.

  
- Please.
- I'm embarrassed.

  
Oh, no...
Please, don't feel embarrassed.

  
Can I get you anything at all?

  
- Vodka.
- Vodka?

  
In English, in English.

  
Maria Elena, when you are here,
you have to speak English, all right?

  
You want to take a shower,
you go there, in the guestroom.

  
Sí, you're a guest.

  
- So... what's going on?
- Nothing.

  
- What? Is everything okay?
- Nothing.

  
I think she's okay, yeah.

  
I mean, there are...

  
Things didn't work out
for her in Madrid,

  
and... she came bus...

  
she came back on the bus
tonight alone.

  
Her whole world looked black
and all her plans had come to nothing,

  
and she overdosed in the bus terminal.

  
Oh, my God, that's terrible.

  
Yeah, she has to stay with us.

  
What? She's gonna stay with us?

  
She has to stay with us.

  
I mean, she has no money,
she has no one capable of caring for her...

  
I mean, I-I always...

  
I was always her connection
to the real life.

  
Uh-huh, I understand, but I mean,
how can she stay here?

  
You know, I think...

  
I think that she can't be trusted
to stay alone, that's the problem.

  
Because, I mean, even if...
let me think...

  
even if I... if a place
could be worked out...

  
Well, maybe she needs
psychiatric help.

  
No, she's always had
bad experiences with doctors.

  
I understand,
but where is she gonna stay?

  
In there.

  
How long is she gonna stay here?

  
Cristina, I know...

  
- this is not what you had in mind.
- No... I understand.

  
But she has to stay with us.
She has no one else.

  
I understand.
It's only for a short time.

  
Yes, a few months at most.

  
She's staying for a few months?

  
Listen, I've been through this
with her before.

  
So... I mean if...

  
Shit.

  
If you had only known her
when I first met her.

  
I mean, her beauty...

  
- Her beauty took your breath away.
- Yes, I...

  
And she was so talented,
she was so brilliant,

  
she was so sensual,

  
and she chose me from
a hundred men ready to kill for her.

  
Uh-huh.

  
We were both sure
that our relation was perfect,

  
but there was something
missing, you know?

  
Like, love requires
such a perfect balance.

  
It's like the human body.

  
It may turn that you have
all the vitamins and minerals,

  
but if there is a minor, single,
tiny ingredient missing,

  
like... like... like... like... like salt,

  
for example, one dies.

  
Salt?

  
She's the woman I live with,

  
and you have to speak English
around here, please.

  
Yes, exactly, out of courtesy.

  
You always had paranoid ideas
about every woman I've ever known.

  
Sí.

  
Well, she's quite intelligent,
and she's a freethinker, like you.

  
- Like me?
- Yes.

  
Please... please, here,
in this house, speak English.

  
That's all I ask, all right?

  
- Why are you getting so angry at me?
- Why in the world...

  
- Why are you getting so angry at me?
- Why? Listen.

  
Listen, why were you thinking
about killing yourself?

  
I mean, what a stupid idea
did cross on your mind!

  
I mean, try to kill yourself,
for Christ's sake!

  
Stay here
until you get back on your feet,

  
and then, I beg you, please,
get out of my life.

  
You're too damaged.

  
And you love that.

  
Speak English!

  
I don't like her for you!
I don't trust her.

  
And you know I always
have your best interests.

  
Well, not when
you tried to kill me.

  
- Oh, that.
- Yeah, that.

  
That small detail, yes.

  
You...

  
You are suspicious of her
because she is now my lover.

  
I mean, it's so obvious.

  
More coffee?

  
Yes, please.

  
I'm sorry.

  
It's okay.

  
Here. Sugar.

  
No, thank you.

  
I thought we could go
for a ride to the countryside later.

  
I mean, the weather is beautiful.

  
In English.

  
Oh, no, it's fine.

  
You speak no Spanish?

  
No. I, uh, studied Chinese.

  
Chinese?

  
Why?

  
I thought it sounded pretty.

  
Say something in Chinese.

  
Me?

  
Mm-hmm.

  
Um... ni hao ma.

  
You think that sounds pretty?

  
Well, maybe not the way
I'm pronouncing it, of course, but...

  
Speak English, Maria Elena.

  
Speak English.

  
I'm sorry. I'm nervous today.
I had bad dreams.

  
Would you like to paint?

  
Oh, do you paint also?

  
Ask him. Ask him.

  
He stole everything from me,
his whole style.

  
She likes to make up these stories.

  
Antonio, your whole way
of seeing is mine.

  
I'm not saying
that you were not influential.

  
- Influential? Influential?
- Yes. Yes, influential.

  
But to say that I stole your style...

  
To say that I stole your style
is too delusional.

  
She always had problems with reality,
and I'm not going to get angry.

  
I'm not going to get angry.

  
Okay, what did they say
in art school?

  
They said I was a genius, right?

  
I'm always... I always
encouraged your talent.

  
Not talent. I'm not talking about talent.
I said genius. Genius.

  
I came close to killing for you.

  
Yeah, you came close
to killing me with that chair.

  
I was defending myself,

  
and you had a razor,
and you were drunk,

  
with a razor and raging!

  
- Never.
- Si, si, si.

  
You wanted to kill me for looking?

  
I see you with someone else now,
and I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm civil.

  
What else do you want?

  
As the days passed,

  
Cristina observed Maria Elena
and Juan Antonio

  
and found the heart
more puzzling than ever.

  
Where were you?
Were you working?

  
- Yeah, I was trying to.
- Okay.

  
I'm so curious, does she really think
that you stole from her?

  
Uh...

  
Well, um, I guess I took
more from her than I'd like to admit, yes.

  
That's why I'm always so sensitive
when she brings it up.

  
- I feel kind of sad.
- Why?

  
'Cause I feel like
I'm never gonna be able to...

  
to influence you
or inspire you in any way.

  
No, that's not true.

  
That's how I feel.

  
That's not true.

  
No, that's not true.

  
I never heard the Scriab...
the Scriabin?

  
- Yeah.
- Piano Sonata?

  
Until you played those recordings for me,
and now I can't stop listening to them.

  
- No?
- No.

  
Well, that... makes me happy.

  
What?

  
Maybe it's not a good idea here.

  
What?

  
I mean, she's been better lately.

  
I don't want to... upset her.

  
Of course. No. Okay.

  
It was at Vicky's afternoon language class,

  
which she took several days a week
to improve her Spanish,

  
that she met Ben, a young man

  
who couldn't stop noticing her
and started to chat her up each day.

  
Yeah, I can't believe
they hired me at the consulate,

  
because my Spanish
is less than perfect, to say the least.

  
No, I think it's good. It's good.

  
It's all right.

  
Are you enjoying
your time in Barcelona?

  
Um, I would if I had more friends.

  
Right.

  
Yesterday I walked from the beach
up to Park Güell in search of Gaudí.

  
Hey, you want to see a movie?

  
- A movie?
- Wednesday?

  
Afternoon?

  
Uh.

  
Yeah.

  
The movie was a great success,

  
and Ben proved to be
very good company for Vicky.

  
One afternoon, they ducked
into a store to buy some cherries,

  
and when the storekeeper
took a phone call in the back,

  
he couldn't resist taking her hand.

  
Uh.

  
Uh, no, don't.

  
No?

  
No...

  
You do know
that I'm recently married?

  
Yeah.

  
I guess I was under the impression
that maybe you jumped into it too quick,

  
- maybe you regret it...
- Regr... ha... have I implied that?

  
Unless I read into it.

  
No, I...

  
I shouldn't tell you this. I...

  
You know what, I was always someone
who thought I knew exactly what I wanted.

  
But you didn't.

  
Well, no, I met somebody else,

  
and I'm not gonna get into that story.

  
So, this guy you met...?

  
The guy is living with my best friend.

  
You know, what am I talking about?

  
When I... when I hear myself,
it's just... it's just crazy.

  
I just married the guy I wanted.

  
Did you?

  
I thought so.

  
So? What happened?

  
One goddamn weekend in Oviedo.

  
Cristina, Juan Antonio, and Maria Elena
went riding in the country.

  
Maria Elena had decided
they would all cook a big dinner together,

  
and she insisted
they pick fresh blackberries.

  
Wait for me!

  
Gives me vertigo!

  
- This is the perfect...
- Here, like that.

  
- Okay.
- Like that.

  
Can you get some... there.

  
- Ow, ow!
- What's wrong? What's...

  
What, what, what?

  
What happened?

  
Wait, no, sit down.
Sit, sit, sit, sit.

  
Is it your upper or your lower?

  
- Here.
- Here?

  
- Yep.
- Hold on, wait.

  
- Ow.
- Let me... oh, oh, oh.

  
Here, let me...

  
- You want some aspirin?
- Yeah.

  
I have aspirin in my bag.

  
- All right.
- Okay.

  
You relax. I'll be right back.

  
It's all in his head.
He has so much tension.

  
To the world,
he's carefree, nothing matters,

  
"life is short and with no purpose"
kind of thing,

  
but all his fear
just goes to his head.

  
You know, she plays piano?

  
No, I didn't know.

  
Is that why you have
a piano in your house?

  
No, I could have been
a concert pianist.

  
Yeah, she could have.

  
I mean, no one plays
a Scarlatti like Maria Elena.

  
She understands Scarlatti,
am I right?

  
Do you play music?

  
No, I just have to come face-to-face
with the fact that I am not gifted.

  
You know, I can appreciate art
and I love music, but...

  
It's sad, really,

  
because I feel like I have
a lot to express

  
and I am not gifted.

  
But you do have talent.

  
- No.
- Yes.

  
What's my talent?

  
You take beautiful photographs.

  
That's true. She always takes pictures
that she hides from me.

  
That's...

  
No, that's because they're nothing.

  
How do you know I take pictures?

  
I found them in your luggage.

  
You went through my luggage?

  
Of course I went through your luggage!

  
First night I was in the house.
I didn't trust you.

  
I didn't believe you were
who you said you were.

  
I wanted to know who was
really sharing the bed of my ex-husband.

  
What?!

  
Who knew what I would find there?

  
How could I be sure
you were not going to hurt me?

  
After all, I had thoughts of killing you.

  
So here's a few more.

  
Don't say you like them
if you don't like them.

  
- What are you talking about?
- They are beautiful!

  
- Yeah, you see?
- Look at this!

  
The next day, Maria Elena
went out photographing with Cristina.

  
She had a superb eye
and knew a lot about the art of photography,

  
and taught Cristina much about the aesthetics
and subtleties of picture taking.

  
She advised her
to get rid of her digital camera

  
and use an old one
for more interesting results.

  
She said it was important
to have a darkroom,

  
and that she would set one up
in the basement for Cristina

  
and teach her various techniques
of developing her own pictures.

  
They photographed everything,

  
from silly-looking dogs
to grim-faced children...

  
but the best subject
was Maria Elena herself.

  
Shopping one afternoon,
Vicky and Doug ran into

  
Adam Tabachnick and Sally.

  
Adam was in the same business
Doug was in and they were friendly,

  
although in New York,
they did not spend a lot of time together.

  
You guys have
gotta be kidding me!

  
Hi, it's good to see you!

  
Any program on TV,
obviously anything live,

  
you can play it back
on your computer.

  
So I'm on a flight to Tokyo.

  
I'm 40,000 feet up in the air,

  
and I am watching the Mets,
live, on my laptop.

  
It's amazing.
You're never out of touch.

  
We're gonna have the new house
wired for everything.

  
I'm looking at those new Japanese
high-definition TV screens.

  
You've gotta have my guy
do your installation.

  
- He's just a genius with computers and...
- I'll get his card.

  
We just did our place in Greenwich.
You have to see it!

  
We have this wonderful decorator
you should use.

  
He's, um, he's creative,
but he knows when to back off.

  
We did it, uh, modern, with just
a splash of antiques here and there.

  
I love combining the two,
but God, the prices.

  
Do you have any idea
what a good-sized oriental rug costs?

  
She's right. She's right.

  
Actually, there's an old joke.
"100,000 for a Persian rug..."

  
Life continued predictably
for Vicky and Doug,

  
until one afternoon,
when an unpredictable moment occurred.

  
Several days later,
Judy asked Vicky to meet her privately,

  
away from the house,
to have coffee.

  
What happened the other day...

  
- I don't want you to get the wrong idea.
- Oh, no, no, no.

  
- It's really none of my business.
- I'm not having an affair with Mark's partner.

  
I'm... I'm not.

  
No, I didn't think you were.

  
Mm, uh, not that
I haven't had fantasies

  
of someone coming along
and taking me out of my situation,

  
but the fantasies are not Jay Lewis...

  
even though he would like that, he would.

  
By "taking you out of your situation"...?

  
I haven't... I haven't been in love
with Mark for years.

  
I mean, I love him,
but I'm not in love with him.

  
I'm sorry to hear that.

  
It's funny, I just made...

  
I just made the same speech
to my shrink. Huh.

  
Well, what does your shrink say?

  
He says, um, that I'm
too frightened to act and that...

  
that I'm looking for some kind
of magical solution

  
which is unrealistic, and that I...

  
And an affair is not the answer.

  
And I don't... I'm sorry to be
laying all of this on you,

  
but I was so humiliated
when you saw us.

  
- Look...
- I'm just...

  
Look, you mustn't feel that you
have to explain yourself to me.

  
I mean...

  
Mark is great.

  
I'm sure any...

  
any dissatisfaction I have
is my own problem.

  
I'm just...

  
I can't leave him,
and I know that I never will.

  
Hmm, why not?

  
I just... I can't.

  
I'm too scared.

  
The moment's passed.

  
It's so apparent to me that you
and Juan Antonio are still in love

  
when I see you together, you know?

  
Our love will last forever.

  
It's forever, but it just doesn't work.

  
That's why it will always
be romantic,

  
because it cannot be complete.

  
Maybe it can't be complete because,
you know, I'm getting in the way,

  
- or I don't know, I feel like...
- No.

  
Before you... before you,
we used to cause each other

  
so much pain, so much suffering.

  
Without you, all this
would not be possible.

  
You know why? Because you
are the missing ingredient.

  
You are like the tint that,

  
added to a palette,
makes the color beautiful.

  
Aren't you and Juan Antonio
tempted to make love?

  
I feel like...

  
I don't know.

  
At the end of our marriage, we didn't,

  
but I have to say,
those feelings are coming back now,

  
thanks to you,

  
in a new and deeper way.

  
Well, I wouldn't be upset about it.

  
I'd never want to get into the way.
It wouldn't upset me at all.

  
I know you wouldn't be upset,

  
same way I get this warm feeling

  
when I hear you both
locked in passion every night.

  
I listen, and I'm happy.

  
Was Cristina okay with it
when Maria Elena and Juan Antonio

  
made love one afternoon?

  
Beforehand, she gave them both her blessing,
but then had mixed feelings.

  
She was not quite as open-minded
as she had always imagined herself,

  
and the thought of the two of them
in bed and, inevitably, full of intensity,

  
caused her some conflict.

  
In the end, she gradually relaxed
and let herself go with the flow of things,

  
a tolerance she was proud of.

  
At first it did bother me,

  
but then I started to think about all these
standard, accepted clichés of love...

  
what's right, what's wrong,

  
what's appropriate according
to the "appropriate police,"

  
and you know, you see
how screwed up most relation...

  
So what you're saying is
you're sharing a man.

  
You're like a Mormon wife.

  
I-I know it sounds strange,

  
but actually, we all contribute
to the relationship,

  
and we're all really nourished by it.

  
If everyone did that,
society couldn't function.

  
- Come on!
- Come on, Doug.

  
Let's not get into one of those
turgid categorical imperative arguments.

  
- Whatever works.
- Whatever works?

  
Maria Elena believes that there are
many truths in life, not just one.

  
I don't know. I mean, babe,
could you live like that?

  
Well, I never had Cristina's...

  
What, Cristina's lack of structure?

  
It's very structured, actually.

  
Her courage.
I never had her courage.

  
Her courage?

  
Courage? Next thing she'll be
going to bed with Maria Elena

  
and glorifying it as some kind
of superior, alternative lifestyle.

  
Oh, I have gone to bed with her.

  
- No!
- Yeah.

  
When?

  
Well, Juan Antonio and Maria Elena
made this darkroom for me...

  
you know, they're both pushing me
to take photographs...

  
and actually, I'm getting pretty good.

  
Believe it or not,
I'm getting much more confident.

  
And we were down there
in the darkroom,

  
and... I was just working on
some of my photographs,

  
things that, you know, I wouldn't
have done if she hadn't inspired me.

  
And it happened
very naturally for both of us.

  
You weren't nervous?

  
No, no. It was very loving and gentle.

  
Did you enjoy it?

  
Mm-hmm, I did.

  
And... it was just the one time?

  
Yeah, yeah.

  
I mean, it just happened, you know.

  
I'm not planning on making
a habit out of it, necessarily.

  
But if you... enjoyed it...

  
- I did, I did at the time.
- Well, did you tell Juan Antonio?

  
Yeah, of course.
There's nothing to hide.

  
Would you say
then you are a bisexual?

  
No, I see no reason
to label everything.

  
I'm me, you know,

  
and I've slept with Juan Antonio since
and enjoyed that experience very much.

  
It's a great story.

  
Yeah, that's a great story.

  
Hey, look, I don't set
myself up as a judge, so...

  
What are you thinking?

  
Hmm?

  
I don't know.

  
How quickly time passes.

  
Summer's almost over.

  
We'll be going home soon.

  
I thought you were still dwelling
about your friend's

  
little tale of lust in the darkroom.

  
And speaking of dark rooms...

  
Come here.

  
Over the next weeks,

  
Cristina became more and more sure
of herself as a photographer.

  
Both Juan Antonio and Maria Elena
contributed ideas and support

  
when she had doubts.

  
Thanks to their encouragement,

  
photography was becoming
a productive interest in her life.

  
By now, she and Juan Antonio
and Maria Elena had become lovers.

  
Everything seemed perfectly balanced,
perfectly in tune.

  
Maria Elena was calm and relaxed.

  
Juan Antonio was going through
a very creative period with his painting.

  
It was only Cristina,
as the last days of summer expired,

  
who began to experience
an old familiar stirring,

  
a growing restlessness
that she dreaded,

  
but recognized only too well.

  
Suddenly, thoughts started
taking precedence over feelings,

  
thoughts and questions
about life and love,

  
and as much as she tried
to resist these ideas,

  
she could not get them
from her mind.

  
Finally, summoning her resolve
one evening after dinner,

  
she made an announcement
that surprised everyone.

  
I don't want what my parents had,

  
I don't want what I had
before I came here...

  
I mean, I know that...
but I know I can't live like this forever.

  
- What do you want, Cristina?
- I want something different.

  
What?

  
I-I don't know.

  
Not this.

  
There is no answer, Cristina.
There is no single answer.

  
Please, don't get so upset.

  
Please, and can you speak English?
I can't understand you.

  
Maria Elena, speak English, please,

  
so she can understand it, all right?

  
Chronic dissatisfaction,
that's what you have.

  
Chronic dissatisfaction.

  
Big sickness.

  
Do you know how much we love you?

  
And I love you both.

  
- No, you don't.
- Yes I... it has nothing to do with that.

  
- Please, please!
- I just can't live...

  
Where will you go, Cristina?

  
I, um...

  
I just gotta get out of here
for a few weeks,

  
and I just gotta clear my head.

  
It's not... this is all my... problem.

  
It has nothing to do with you.

  
Then come here.

  
Oy.

  
Let's be thankful
for all of the good times

  
that we've spent together,
all right, and...

  
and remember each other
with respect,

  
all right, and love and affection.

  
All right?

  
Cristina told
all that had happened to Vicky,

  
and said she was going to France
for a few weeks to think things out.

  
She would return to pick her up

  
so they could go back
to New York together.

  
So it's been Juan Antonio
all this time?

  
Look, I'm not gonna do anything.
Forget I said...

  
I just needed to tell someone,
and we've become close, so...

  
- Why don't you act on it?
- What, act now?

  
Break up with Doug?
He's really a sweet guy.

  
He married me in good faith.

  
For what?
For a bohemian Spanish painter

  
with a passionate tie to an ex-wife

  
who probably doesn't even
share my feelings, if he ever did,

  
so... oh, God, who am I kidding?

  
But the dream is exciting.

  
If I were you,
I wouldn't waste another minute.

  
- I'd get on it.
- Get on what?

  
Well, you're in love with him. If...

  
Do something, or the years will pass by
and you will be sorry, Vicky.

  
No, no, what are you saying? I...

  
Look, I can't risk everything.

  
If Juan Antonio had never existed,

  
- I'd be fine with Doug.
- Just fine.

  
- Yeah, as I planned.
- Just fine?

  
How blunt do you want me to be?

  
When I look at Doug, I see Mark.

  
Yeah, well, you're using me
to rewrite your own history.

  
Despite Vicky's protestations,

  
Judy was possessed with finding a way
to bring her and Juan Antonio together,

  
and prevailed upon her friend Gabriella,
who was a figure in the art world,

  
to throw a party and invite
Vicky and Juan Antonio.

  
Meanwhile, as predicted,
without Cristina

  
the relationship between
Juan Antonio and Maria Elena

  
had gone back
to its old destructiveness.

  
As had happened before
by mutual consent,

  
Maria Elena packed her things
and moved out of Juan Antonio's house.

  
Yeah, I think he's sweet.
I mean, he owns...

  
- He gets in very close.
- Yeah, he does.

  
He's a close talker.
He's a close talker.

  
That's probably why he's so successful.

  
I was telling her on the car ride
over here that I'm actually very excited.

  
I think he's gonna be a great contact.

  
I'm gonna go check out the food.
Does anyone want anything?

  
- No.
- No.

  
Thank you.

  
But he gets in your face.

  
No, no, I mean,
he'll get a little close...

  
Hello.

  
Oh... hello.

  
I'm surprised to see you.

  
As am I to see you.

  
I didn't think you liked parties.

  
Yeah, well, Gabriella insisted I come,
and she's an old friend.

  
You know, of course, that Cristina
and I are no longer together, right?

  
Yes.

  
So now you're just
with your ex-wife?

  
No, Maria Elena is gone, as well.

  
Oh. For now.

  
It's funny. Maria Elena and I...

  
We are meant for each other
and not meant for each other.

  
It's... it's a contradiction.

  
I mean, in order to understand it
you need a poet like my father...

  
because I don't.

  
Well...

  
How about you?

  
All goes well
with your husband, I'm sure?

  
Oh, yes. Yes, he's wonderful.

  
He's terrific.

  
I'm quite delighted with
the way things turned out.

  
Why don't I believe you?

  
Don't become flirtatious.

  
You know, I realize
your bed is empty now

  
and you always had
a little yen for me,

  
but we're preparing
to leave by the weekend, so...

  
Meet me for lunch.

  
I'm too scared.

  
No. What?

  
You're breaking up, Tom.

  
You're breaking up.

  
Where are you?

  
Okay, that's better.

  
That's better.
Just try to stand still.

  
Can you hear me?

  
We have to get a bird
for Mark and Judy.

  
No, we can't get them a bird.

  
- Why not?
- It's ridiculous.

  
They're beautiful.
I always wanted a bird.

  
When we get home, I'd love to get,
like, a bird for the new house.

  
Yeah?

  
Yeah, and I'm leaning
towards Bedford Hills.

  
- What do you think?
- Yeah. Yeah.

  
All right, well, hold on.

  
Hello?

  
Spend tomorrow afternoon with me.

  
- Oh, no, it's not possible.
- Hey, buddy!

  
We're preparing
to leave by the weekend.

  
Be on the corner of Calles Tiles,
Tiles, in Pedrables,

  
and I'll drive by
and I'll pick you up at noon.

  
Uh, no. You're wasting your time.

  
I can't talk now.

  
Look, I'm not the kind of man

  
who would try to come
between a husband and wife... I'm not.

  
I'm not, but Judy Nash called me
and she tells me that you are not happy,

  
that you are actually more in love
with me than the man you married.

  
I can't talk.

  
This is nice.
Yeah. Really nice.

  
Hey, babe.

  
What do you think?

  
Who was that?

  
Hmm?

  
On the phone.

  
Oh, it was... it's my,
uh, language teacher.

  
Yeah?

  
He wants me to have a good-bye lunch
with him tomorrow at noon.

  
Oh, that's perfect.

  
I'm gonna play golf with Mark
in the morning.

  
Well, this is...

  
Oh, I've been working
on these ones lately.

  
Uh, yeah.

  
They're very overwhelming, my God.

  
Yeah. I mean, it's very hard
to explain the painting, all right?

  
No, you don't have to.
It's fascinating. It's fascinating.

  
This one, actually,
should be the other way around.

  
I like it very much.

  
Can... can I... can I be frank
about something?

  
Yeah.

  
This one, it's... it's... there's
something very frightening about it.

  
- Uh, that one is Maria Elena's.
- Right, well, that explains it.

  
It's very chaotic
and erratic, almost, but...

  
Oh, God,
what am I doing here?

  
I don't know what I expect to happen.

  
It's been a long time
since we made love that night in Oviedo...

  
Yes, I...

  
...and I've thought about it
many, many times.

  
I'm sure you weren't
thinking about it

  
when you were making love
to Cristina or Maria Elena...

  
I never lied to you.

  
I mean, I told you from the first moment
I was attracted to both you and Cristina.

  
Yeah, look...

  
I can't just go to bed with you.
I'm... I'm not good at this.

  
But you weren't nervous that night.

  
- I wasn't married.
- You were about to be.

  
Yeah, you're right.
It's what I want.

  
But I... what am I supposed to do,
make love with you and then...

  
and then go on with my marriage
like nothing happened,

  
or just terminate it?

  
Judy Nash says you
are heading an unhappy life.

  
Well, she's talking about herself.

  
Maybe you will understand
more about your own feelings

  
once we've made love.

  
Yeah, or less.

  
Look, I'm not saying
I'm not tempted,

  
but it would require
such an upheaval emotionally.

  
And from a practical point of view,

  
you're not exactly
the kind of man to plan a...

  
Maria Elena!

  
No, no! Maria Elena!

  
What are you doing? Don't!

  
Dámela,
dámela, dámela. Ya, ya.

  
Maria Elena. Maria Elena. Maria Elena.

  
Maria Elena.

  
- My God!
- Oh, my God, I'm so sorry!

  
Oh, my God, my hand!

  
You're both crazy!
You're both complete...

  
Both of you are completely insane!

  
How the hell am I gonna
explain this to my husband?

  
- I'm sorry.
- I can't live like this!

  
This is not my life!

  
Maria Elena. Maria Elena.

  
I still don't understand
what your language teacher

  
was doing with a gun.

  
Look, I told you,
he collects these antique firearms,

  
- and he was showing me...
- God! We should sue him.

  
- It just went off.
- That is so damn irresponsible.

  
- No, no, it's not.
- Jesus.

  
- Once the bandages come off...
- What if something happened to you?

  
...it'll be a scratch. What?

  
What are you saying?

  
I love you so much.

  
Doug never found out
the real story.

  
Judy knew the secret,
and of course was relieved

  
Vicky had not been
hurt worse, or killed.

  
With Vicky leaving
to go back to New York,

  
Judy's plans to rescue Vicky
from her own fate

  
were put on terminal hold.

  
When Cristina returned from Antibes
Vicky told her the whole tale,

  
and Cristina thought it was sad
how much Vicky had wanted Juan Antonio

  
and was unable to say
or do anything about it.

  
But I would've stepped aside.

  
No, no. Look, I knew you
had feelings for Juan Antonio

  
from the moment you saw him.

  
But if I knew what had happened,
I never would've gone ahead with it.

  
It was a... passing thing.

  
Now it's over.

  
Vicky went home to have
her grand wedding to Doug,

  
to the house they both
finally settled on,

  
and to lead the life
she had envisioned for herself

  
before the summer in Barcelona.

  
Cristina continued searching,

  
certain only of what she didn't want.