Ether's Paradise (2025)

[bunniefuu]

There is a place

I once found as a kid

which exists deep

inside the crevices

of my mind.

I go there

in the moments before waking.

It remains there.

It will always be there.

One day, I will never leave.

Sydney!

Get down from there!

Sorry.

I just wanted to see.

-Nui, right?

-Yeah, yeah.

The flight out of America

was brutal.

Some child kept kicking

the back of my chair.

I asked the flight attendant

to tell the kid to shut up.

But you know,

they wouldn't do it. So...

I almost turned around

and did it myself.

Yeah, I hope so.

So, how old are you?

I'm fifteen years old.

How old are you?

I'm sixteen.

Uhm...

Do you know the band Oasis?

-Oasis?

-Oasis.

Um, it's music.

America.

Daddy and me like...

Like sisters, right?

You married, Nui?

No, sir.

Makes two of us.

Dad, look!

They're not wearing any helmets.

They'll crash and burn.

You promised me

you'll never be so stupid.

I promise.

Atta girl.

You know what she loves?

The color red.

Once upon a time,

I was, you know,

going through her things,

and I accidentally misplaced

a few red items.

God, did she have a fit!

All I did was move

this red thing there, or...

red shirt to this drawer--

Whatever, you know?

She had

a full nervous breakdown.

Wouldn't eat for a week.

She believed

every piece of clothing

needed to have a story

otherwise,

clothes were meaningless...

a costume for parrots.

She questioned

if a new story was brewing

in this foreign land.

Yeah.

Hold on.

What's the area?

It's expensive, no?

Hold on. What's that?

What? No.

No, that's not gonna work.

No. Client's gonna be there

on Monday.

That is exactly what I said.

No.

Hold on.

Mr. Nui, what were you saying?

This sh*t?

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah, okay.

That'll do.

Yeah, call me when it's done.

Okay.

Yeah, okay.

Mr. Nui.

Where do you see yourself

in ten years time?

Huh?

Ten years from now,

what do you see yourself doing?

You know, your dreams,

your ambitions.

Why do you need to sell

this land?

Well, Mr. Nui.

When you have no money

you gotta get creative

with your resources.

Hello?

Mom?

What time is it there?

Sunset.

It's the middle of the night

here.

Do you think

when I'm back from Thailand

I could stay with you

for a while?

Honey.

But...

can I see you at least?

I mean, that's allowed, right?

Does he know you're calling?

No.

Baby.

I know, I know, but like...

I don't know, I don't know.

Babe, it's late.

It's my daughter.

You didn't show up

at my recital.

Baby, I was in

a different state.

But you could've come, right?

Dad said he offered

to buy your plane ticket.

What? No.

That's not what happened, Syd.

We had a talk.

He told me not to show up.

What? Why?

I don't know.

He was really stern.

Made threats and everything.

And I'm not about

to battle him in court.

Maybe if things cool off,

I'll be there for the next one.

All right?

Pinky promise?

Pinky promise.

Ugh, Dad, I can't breathe.

Yeah, yeah,

it'll loosen up in the water.

Stop it.

There you go.

Hey!

Take a picture of me

and my daughter?

Can we not?

Smile, Sydney.

Ah! Yeah, it's perfect.

We look happy.

Alright.

Have fun, you two.

There are no sharks here, right?

What?

Shark?

No, no have.

- No, no have.

- It's not funny!

No, you have sharks,

or no, there are no sharks?

No have shark.

Hey, what's your name?

Huh?

Your name?

Name I, Ether.

I'm Sydney.

She could lose herself

in things like

speckled patterns of sunlight

bouncing over ocean waves.

She considered

these minute details

expressive

of some universal truth.

I don't know how to fish.

Scared?

Oh, no, not scared.

Just, um, it's dead.

Okay, you.

Again.

-Oh my god.

-Oooh!

Oh, that was good, right?

Um, now what?

Okay, now waiting.

Maybe one minute.

Maybe one day.

What? Are you just gonna...?

Ether?

Um, Ether!

Big.

You can! Go, Sydney!

No, no, I can't, it's too heavy!

Pull!

Ooh, it's slipping!

You can!

-I can't.

-Why?

I'm too weak!

You, this.

You, this.

You can.

You can.

Pull, pull!

You can.

I show sister.

Oh, hey, wait a second!

Dad?

Oh, sh*t.

Whoa, whoa, whoa!

That's not necessary.

Come on.

Sydney!

Stay.

She saw time like water.

Death, not an end.

Birth, not a beginning.

All moments,

droplets in the sea.

Where are we going?

Let's go.

Ether!

Monkey!

Where?

It was just there.

Wait, wait, wait.

Slow, slow, slow, slow, slow.

Slow, slow, slow, slow, slow.

Sydney.

Have you ever been to Bangkok?

No, not go.

So let's go.

We'll catch the biggest fish

the world has ever seen,

and ride into the city.

It'll be so big--

It'll be so big that

they'll need twenty people

to hold it up.

They'll even talk about us

in America.

Okay, okay.

Just do what they say.

Sydney, see you, Bangkok.

He didn't do anything!

Why is this happening?

Ether, what's going on? Hey!

-Go.

-Me?

Go.

He didn't do anything.

Go, go, go, go, go.

Ether, what about Ether?

Go.

Sir, can you tell me

what I'm doing here?

Hey!

Great.

Thanks.

Where's Ether?

No! No!

- Come here!

- No!

Let go, let go!

- Let go!

- Get in the car!

- Let me go!

- Now!

Stop acting crazy!

I won't go until I see Ether!

Help me!

No, let me go!

Let me go!

Ether!

Ether!

No!

Ether!

Ether!

Sydney, calm down!

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Get us out of here.

Hey.

Do you remember this?

I think it's broken.

You're doing it wrong.

Yeah, yeah, been great Nui.

Thanks.

You're looking fresh.

I like the watch.

What is it, a Rolex?

That's a $6,000 watch, Sydney.

Patek Philippe.

I bought it for her.

24th birthday.

$150,000.

How's Jaan and Ether?

And Ether?

He-- they're not in Bangkok?

There is a place where trauma

burrowed within her,

where it elongated and echoed

to infinity thereafter.

Hey.

Never leaving.

Take your meds.

In every nerve ending

of every limb.

- They're in my suitcase.

- f*ck, Sydney.

It resurrected in panic,

tremors, short breaths.

The gates to her prison.

A persistent erosion

of her mind.

Sydney, what's wrong?

She spent her life deciphering

the puzzle of its origin.

Running through

the labyrinth of memory.

Desperate to heal.

She ran too deep.

Suffocated.

Nothing.

Imploded.

I'm fine.

Open your window.

Now's not the time to crack.

Russell, I'm fine.

Bump me.

Atta girl.

Atta girl.

You've got squatters.

In America, the city would tear

this place down

before anyone

could call it their home.

Thank you.

I hear flooding's an issue

in Bangkok.

What do you think, Sydney?

What?

Head in the game, sweetheart.

My time ain't free.

Sorry.

I was lost in thought.

Yeah, I was asking you

what you think.

The noise might be an issue.

And there's that

notorious Bangkok smell.

Thai people don't care.

Yeah, I'm not so sure

about that.

Let's, uh,

let's look at the numbers

then we can chat.

It's a good opportunity.

Yeah.

But what do you really think?

There were children.

Slum families!

Ants feeding off free hand outs

from hard working people

like you and me.

They mean nothing to you.

Sydney, when I am gone,

all of this

will belong to you.

So stop bitching!

I'm not bitching,

I'm just wondering

if it's worth it.

Worth it?

It's 50 million dollars.

-That's not what I mean.

-Read the contract, dummy!

You cannot blame me

for all the problems

in the world.

I am just one man.

Honey.

Are you with me?

We'll take care of the families.

I promise.

-You give me your word?

-Yes.

My word is my soul.

Now for a week of R&R

and then...

demolition.

Whiskey?

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

Aha, Nui!

Oh yeah!

This is my name.

Russell Aria.

Approaching the sprawling

metropolis of Bangkok

triggered memories of Ether.

They flooded in

like monsoon rain.

She thought about

where he might be

if he was even alive.

In fact, she understood this

about herself very well.

Losing him ten years ago

was the defining moment

of her outlook on life.

She grew up a sl*ve

to powerful people

graduated reform school

with excellent grades

got through college

without making any friends.

Salmon for the lady.

It was hard for her to love.

After a two month fling,

she married an older man,

but quickly divorced

when she realized

the man would fail

to provide her

with the cutting behavior

she craved.

Where's the Klonopin?

Upstairs.

I, um, just got back

from the South.

And?

Couldn't find them.

Look...

I'll get you some more

when we're back in New York.

Stop fiending.

You're a grown man.

Stop fiending for food.

You're fat.

Seriously?

What are you, twelve?

Well, I mean,

you know, we can't have you

attending company meetings

If you're...

overweight.

You call this overweight?

Yeah.

Well...

What are you gonna do?

-Eat your emotions?

-What are you gonna do?

Get wasted and whine

about your divorce again?

Crybaby.

Would you like

to tell some jokes?

For a dollar a minute?

I'd do anything.

Waiter!

Russell.

-Yes, sir?

-Yeah,

you see that microphone

over there?

Would you mind bringing it over?

-You want the microphone, sir?

-Don't listen to him.

No, shut up.

Yeah. That microphone.

Bring it over.

My daughter here is

a fantastic comedian.

Well, I'm not sure.

I can check with the manager.

No, no, no.

I'm your manager.

I'm paying.

So move your little feet.

Bring me the microphone.

Bring me the f*cking microphone!

Sir.

Sir?

Let me do it, sir.

Cold feet.

Five years of rehab.

Why aren't you laughing, Daddy?

Yeah, can, uh,

someone come and clean this up,

please?

I'm sorry about dinner.

I know.

The thing they don't tell you

about turning fifty

is that it really f*ck you up.

You do things...

just to prove how much

you hate yourself.

You don't hate yourself.

You hate

that you're not young anymore.

Maybe, maybe I should just

give it all up

and leave it all to you.

And what in the world

would you do

with all your time?

Night, Russell.

She knew back home

her father was just

another schmuck shootin' dice.

But in Thailand,

he was king.

Nice television.

Jaan?

If you don't want food,

then you can leave.

Jaan?

Oh hey, wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

I went down south.

I looked for you

and your brother.

You can't be back here.

How is he?

I won't ask again.

Your English...

You improved.

Why are you living

in this sh*t h*le?

Sydney?

Yeah, you dickwad. It's me.

Been a while, huh?

-Uh.

-Oh, I stumbled

into your sister.

Sydney, waiting one minute, na?

I... dirty.

I can manage a minute.

I was married, you know?

Husband?

Was.

Not anymore.

It was short.

Two months.

Stupid.

Few years back.

Sydney okay?

I think so.

What about you?

Any kids?

Kid?

No.

No have.

Married?

What happened ten years ago?

How did you end up in Bangkok?

Here.

How did you end up

in Bangkok?

Take a seat.

So...

How have you been

all these years?

I don't know.

What do you mean you don't know?

How'd you get from the south

up to Bangkok?

Last time I saw you,

we got arrested.

You know,

there's this dream I keep having

ever since we met.

I can't shake it.

It starts and I'm in the middle

of a dark black ocean.

I'm underwater.

My legs are wrapped in chains

and stuck to the floor.

I break free

and swim up to the surface

but just before I get there,

there's this monster,

giant thing

with hands the size of my body

and it pinches my chains

and tugs me down

toying with me.

It lets me surface

and suck in some air

and then pulls me

back under again.

I struggle...

and struggle...

until I see a boat arrive.

It's you...

and your boat.

I reach out for you.

And you reach out for me.

But then I wake up.

Drink up, buddy!

It'll make the whole

seduction part a lot easier.

You're so quiet.

You weren't like this

ten years ago.

Let's, um

Let's do something wild tonight.

I have an idea.

Come on!

Don't be chicken.

Ether!

I go home.

What?

Already?

No!

Why?

No.

What the hell is your problem?

Am I not enough?

Tomorrow, okay?

See you tomorrow.

Hey, what's the matter?

Ether?

You're an ant.

You'll always be an ant.

Broke as dirt.

Feeding off hard-working

people like me.

She wondered why people

came up with the most

complicated ways to say

the most simple things.

You knew

they were in Bangkok.

Find a new partner.

I'm not working

with you anymore.

- Take a seat.

- No.

Sit down!

It's too late to back out.

What about the children?

What about my child?

Sydney, we are sitting

on a pile of cash.

I'm only doing this

because I love you.

You said your word is your soul.

Remember that time

you threw a helmet at my face?

I was 16.

Still a breach of contract.

You can't enter

a contract with a minor.

Nui's building doesn't

even have walls, okay?

The people living there

are sleeping on cement.

When the rain blows in,

they get soaked.

We need walls, Sydney!

Walls!

To separate us from the monkeys.

There's nothing for you there.

Nothing that matters.

The contract says

you're liable for losses.

That's it.

You take the heat,

I take the meat.

Capeesh!

Crybaby!

Okay.

Whose turn is it

to dance for me?

Come on.

Let me see it.

You were right.

I was too late.

What?

You look just like your mother

when we first met.

I was a...

about to take a shower.

No, Daddy.

You deserve a bath.

Let me start it for you.

You know what?

A bath sounds really

f*cking amazing.

Thank you, sweetie.

Of course.

I love you.

You know, I like this.

We're gonna build empires,

Sydney.

The Arias.

Arias!

It's got a good ring to it.

You ready?

Almost.

Careful. It's hot.

It's nothing.

It's all yours.

Calm down.

How's the water?

Very nice.

You good?

Well, I'm a little sleepy.

Try to relax.

You've worked hard.

Honey.

Try to rest.

Sydney!

There is a place

I once found as a kid,

which exists deep inside

the crevices of my mind.

I go there in the moments

before waking.

It remains there.

It will always be there.

One day, I will never leave.