Variation (変奏曲)

A Joint Production by Nakahira Production and A.T.G.

Madam?

Madam?

No!

Madam?

No.

No!

I should've said "non" sooner

Five years ago... No, ten... Even more than that...

VARIATION

Based on the Novel by: Hiroyuki Itsuki

Cast

Reiko Asō

Ado Satō

Noboru Matsuhashi

Screenplay by: Kō Nakahira, Seichi Ichiko

Assistant Direction by: Seichi Ichiko, Kenichi Oguri and Teruaki Shirato

Theme Song Courtesy of Philips Records Vocals by: Shinshō Nakamaru Written by: Susumu Arima Lyrics by: Jean A. Marche and Norihiko Sugi

Recording by: Jūnosuke Okuyama

Editing by: Michio Suwa

Produced by: Yasuhisa Yazaki, Shunji Ōki and Shōsuke Taga

Music Produced by: Sakurako Endō

Camera by: Shinpei Asai

Directed by: Kō Nakahira

Cognac, please.

One more.

Long time no see.

One more.

It's my third glass.

Wine for me.

- I can drink a lot now. - You didn't drink a lot back then.

I didn't drink at all, to be specific.

Is your vision worsening? You are wearing sunglasses.

No.

One cognan for me, please.

You remembered me.

I noticed right away.

I was contemplating whether I should talk to you first.

I didn't notice you that fast.

I'll pay.

I am still doing okay with money.

- How about you? - Here you have.

I still have no money.

My belly got chubby. My teeth got bad. I suffer from gout.

And I’m still not doing okay with money.

It seems I've seen her. Seems he knows her.

- Oh yes? - Someone looks like her.

Oh yes? Well, that's okay.

What was the waiter saying?

- Those two were talking about tonight... - Tonight what?

They talked about whether we would sleep together or not.

My husband arrived to Prague last week. I got married.

I see.

Almost thirteen years have passed since I married him.

Thirteen years?

How long after our breakup?

You disappeared in the fall of 1955. So...

Seventeen years ago.

Time really flies, doesn’t it?

- What's your husband doing in Prague? - He has business there.

I went there to buy handicrafts, including glass ones.

- Then, why are you here? - Well...

Stay at the hotel until next Tuesday.

I'll visit Warsaw and Sofia and come back on Tuesday evening.

Take care of yourself and see you later.

Oh dear!

With Charles Jourdan, that would never happen.

Don't you want these white shoes? They go very well with your dress.

I thought about you this morning.

It's true. I wonder if it was some kind of telepathy?

- About me? - Right.

How did you think about me?

This morning, Paris seen from my hotel room was really stunning.

It was like a calendar photo.

Then, I wondered what you would've said had you seen it in the past.

The crucible of hatred is red-hot

Let's forge iron swords

Let's forge iron swords

Even if the fortress of oppression is solid

Even if the storm of atrocity blows wildly

Why don't you slow down? Why are you in a hurry?

- We have a lot of time. - I told you I didn't.

But, walk slower...

- This building. - A hotel?

No, it's rented. It’s not my room.

- Your friends'? - No...

I'm telling this to you only.

The organization rented it for me.

Organization?

Hey, you!

The room is dirty.

- There's only one chair. - I'm fine there.

I feel bad because I’m wet with the rain. You don't have a bathtub, right?

I have a shower stall.

Though it's barely a stall.

- Let me use it. - The water will gradually get warmer.

Wear this while your clothes dry.

Thank you.

Do you feel like listening to my life?

Yes.

We live in Takanawa, in a little house.

I can drive a car by myself now.

What does your husband do?

He runs a big foreign-goods shop in Ginza.

He only sells top-notch luxury items for incredible prices.

You and him...

No, I won't ask...

I love him in a way.

Most of all, he has a lot of knowledge and confidence in money-making.

I'm alive now only because I met Oze.

I almost died twice after you disappeared.

Of course, I’m talking about suicide.

After jumping from my window, I met Oze when I was working at a bar in Ginza.

He saved my life.

Like a flash of lightning.

You will catch a cold. Get in bed and warm your body.

It might have a manly scent, but, at least, it doesn't have any bugs.

They will be dry in the morning.

You never were this gentle in the past...

Say, that organization is...

It's not your business. But I can give you an answer, if you want.

I want to hear it.

It's called PGPM.

It’s an international movement.

The Black Panthers, the Palestinian Liberation Army, South Tyrol Independentists...

...Quebec Liberation Front and other Algerian groups. We have connections with them.

Several of the members are under field combat training in Guinea under the direction of PGPM.

When you boarded the ship at Omura Bay...

...you were already in touch with them, right?

Yes.

I didn't know anything about you, even though I was by your side.

So where did you end up?

In China... And two years after, I went from India to the Middle East.

After a while, I went to Moscow and, eventually, moved to Prague.

I went to Charles University in Prague.

- When did you come to Paris? - Right before the May Revolution in 1968.

To me, all that sounds like some tale from a faraway land.

But that might be the only way to feel something real in life.

That's true.

- Can I get in? - Turn off the light.

- Do you have a cigarette? - I do.

If you don't mind.

I never thought I would meet you like this.

That's right.

For me, it’s like you’ve been dead for seventeen years.

I intended to stay alive, but I was supposed to live like a dead person to you.

I had the means to contact you, but I didn't do it for that reason.

Why?

Because I think you and I are different human beings.

What do you mean?

You can devote yourself to the revolution and the people, but you thought...

...it wasn’t appropriate for people like me?

I hated people and this world...

...but I thought I couldn't drag you to that kind of lifestyle.

I see.

The reality of politics and revolutionary movements is different from the ideal of the revolution itself.

Yes, I guess that's true.

What are you going to do? What are you going to do to me?

I won't do anything.

Stay here until morning. Let's have a meal when the clothes are dried.

And if you still want to, we can talk some more.

- Weren’t you intending to sleep with me? - No...

How typical of you. You were like that back then too.

I always liked your reckless attitude.

I'm not reckless.

I see.

The reason I'm not sleeping with you is not related to my lifestyle or values at all.

I haven't been able to do it for the last two or three years.

- Is it weird? - Yes.

It sounds funny, but it is real.

Since I came to this town, I have been living with ten francs per day.

I was contacting an Arab comrade in Pigalle...

...and it seemed like I could be killed anytime by an unknown car.

I'm feeling so tense all the time.

I'm tired...

I'm so tired...

Let's leave this town, only the two of us.

I'll spend one whole week with you.

Don't talk.

I know.

But let's just forget for now.

Forget everything.

Alright. Let's go on a trip together.

Let's do it.

I'm glad.

Where do you go from Nice?

- You don't have a schedule yet? - No.

I just bought a two-way ticket. That's all. I just visit places randomly.

Why do you want to go to Côte d'Azur again?

- That place is terrible. - I wanted to visit somewhere vulgar.

Stay at the hotel until next Tuesday.

I'll visit Warsaw and Sofia and come back on Tuesday evening.

Today is the day.

I'm going to buy a colorful shirt for you. Those clothes look too tacky for Côte d'Azur.

Incredible! You look great.

Isn't it too flashy? I was too scared to look at the mirror.

- Where are we going? - If we head that way, where do we end up?

- Where does this road lead? - It passes through Nice and then Monaco.

- We will end up in Nice, then Monaco. - And after that?

After that?