The Silence of the Sky (O Silêncio do Céu)

The Silence of the Sky

Quiet! Stay quiet!

Quiet!

Mario?

It's me.

Are you busy?

Oh yeah?

Can you go pick up the kids then?

They have tennis class. You need to go now.

Yes, I'm fine.

Did something happen?

Well, go now.

Mami, we're home!

I'm gonna play here.

To the cactus!

I wanna see the Crawling Devil!

- You're a copycat! - No I'm not!

Hello.

We want to see if it moves!

- What? - We want to see if it moves, dad.

It's a Crawling Devil.

It's the only plant in the world that's able to move.

- Is it? Who told you that? - Mom.

Don't do this sweetheart. Eat it.

Finished! Can I go watch the race?

What race?

Downhill skiing, mom.

When I grow up I'm gonna beat the record for speed.

Me, the time record.

What a copycat! You wanted to be a parachutist. Not a skier.

Nina, I'm gonna be both things.

You cannot be both.

Ten minutes, then shower.

I'm finished too!

- No, you are not. - It's starting, Julián!

Please, mom!

Take your plate and don't leave anything uneaten.

Julián!

I'll clean it later!

What?

My blood pressure dropped.

I get dizzy easily, remember?

- Should I call a doctor? - No.

There's no need. I'm tired. that's all.

I can call Dr. Risso.

No.

I just need to lie down.

Rain is coming.

The sheets are hanging outside...

Don't worry. I'll get them if it starts to rain.

Would you put them to sleep?

I don't know when exactly I started feeling scared.

My mother often talks about how hard it was to put me to sleep,-

during my whole childhood.

I struggled a lot not to fall asleep.

I’d freak out.

She thinks I was afraid of not waking up.

But I don't know if that’s what it was. I can't remember.

What my mother never knew is that, afterwards, sleeping became even harder.

I didn't tell her of all the nights I spent paralyzed in bed, -

unable to close my eyes.

Unable to get up.

Paralyzed.

Slowly learning to think it was ok to live with fear the whole time.

Quiet.

Shut up.

Stay quiet.

I'll cut your throat.

Shut your mouth.

Be quiet! Be quiet!

Shut up!

Come here!

Here!

Shut up. Shut up.

Stay quiet!

Hello? Hello?

Mario? It's me.

How are you?

Are you busy?

No, I'm not busy, my love. The meeting's over.

The directors didn't come. It's done.

Can you go pick up the kids then?

Yeah, I can pick them up. I'll take a cab and go.

But I'm near home...

Maybe I can come by. I'll still have time to get there.

- Are you ok? - Yes, I'm fine.

- Did something happen? - No, no.

No, it's... Because... I ran.

Well, go now.

Ok, I'll go.

Teamwork!

A strong one daddy!

Mami, we're home!

I'm gonna play here.

To the cactus!

I wanna see the Crawling Devil!

- You're a copycat! - No I'm not!

Diana?

Hello.

We want to see if it moves!

- What? - We want to see if it moves, dad.

It's a Crawling Devil.

It's the only plant in the world that's able to move.

-Is it? Who told you that? -Mom.

Ouch.

What happened?

Nothing...

I...

I hurt myself with the cactus.

Let me see it.

You still have a couple of thorns there.

After dinner I'll get them out.

Clumsy as usual.

More.

Tired?

Yes.

A little bit.

You?

Fine.

How did it go?

Everything ok in the club?

What?

Did everything go well with the kids at the club?

Yeah.

Everything fine.

Now the band-aid...

Which one did you pick?

This one.

Daddy...

What does "to retreat" mean?

"To retreat" means to move back.

"To advance" is to go forward...

And "to retreat" is to go back.

Done.

Good. Come on.

Lights off...

Bye.

Diana always knew about my fears.

On our first date I said, pretending it was a joke, -

- that I had all the phobias in the world.

She laughed, took a napkin and started a list.

"Mario's Fear List."

Death. Confinement.

Speed. Height. Airplanes...

Perhaps the airplanes above all else, -

- since they combine almost half of my fears in one single thing,-

I remember telling her.

She still lived in Brazil at that time,-

so I told her about the fear of distance.

We kissed.

We dated for six months.

We lived together for eight years. Had two children.

Then we were separated for two years, one month and seventeen days.

One week ago I came back home to stay.

All of this time I knew she kept writing down my phobias...

On that list she kept with care.

I know there's no room left on that napkin.

No more fear will fit in it.

It was high, so very high.

Very high?

Like what?

- High as the moon. - Wow!

And I was falling...

And it took a long time to fall.

Did you ever dream something like that?

Yes. But...

A second before crashing to the ground...

I woke up.

What's that sport called? When they tie you to a rope...

And you jump into the void?

Bungee jumping, Julián.

That's what I want to do!

- Good morning. - Hi.

Morning.

It's dangerous. You're too small.

Daddy, when I'm big. When I'm ten.

Are you ok?

I feel like I've got beaten up.

I don't know. Maybe it's the flu.

I phoned Elisa. I'm not going to the atelier today.

I've also got the flu. Can I stay home too?

- Me too. - No, you're very well.

I've got Nina's fever.

How did we make such little monsters?

What monsters? Take that!

Good! Are you done?

Go get your backpack, the bus is almost here.

You made us because you were in love.

We still are, Nina.

True.

The house changes a lot when the kids leave.

We can even talk.

Do you want me to stay in today?

I can write from here...

Take care of you.

Don't you have to vacate your apartment today?

I can go later.

At the end of the day.

You don't have to, Mario.

Go.