01x05 - The Cohen Family

[bunniefuu]

(Male Announcer

reads text on screen)

(Musical jingle)

(director speaks in

foreign language)

(bell rings)

(clapperboard thuds)

(director speaks in

foreign language)

(colleague and Marianne

speaking in foreign language)

(match strikes)

(Axel speaking in

foreign language)

(Axel continues speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne and Axel speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel chuckles)

(Axel speaking in

foreign language)

(Axel continues speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel speaking in

foreign language)

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel speaking in

foreign language)

(Axel continues speaking

in foreign language)

Hm?

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel speaking in

foreign language)

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel speaking in

foreign language)

(Axel continues speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne continues speaking

in foreign language)

(g*n clicking)

(wildlife chirping)

(hand thudding)

(soldier speaking

in foreign language)

(hand thudding)

(door creaking)

(soldier speaking

in foreign language)

- I'm Canadian.

(soldier speaking

in foreign language)

(Leonard speaking

in foreign language)

(soldier and Leonard

speaking in foreign language)

(Leonard speaking

in foreign language)

Canadian!

- [Reporter] Protected

by bombers and a*tillery,

150 parachutists and

1,500 men attacked us.

They had been thoroughly

trained in American Army bases.

- Man, I'm just a journalist.

Hermano, I'm Canadian.

I'm not American, Canadian.

What do you need?

I don't have anything.

I, I have nothing on me.

I have nothing.

Check me. Nothing.

Look, nothing. Here.

You can check everywhere,

I have nothing on me.

Please, let me go.

(g*ns banging)

(explosions booming)

(soldiers shouting)

(soldier speaking

in foreign language)

(soldiers shouting)

(g*ns banging)

(expl*si*n booms)

(upbeat rock music)

(dog barking)

(jet engine roaring)

(upbeat rock music)

(upbeat rock music continues)

(upbeat rock music continues)

(upbeat rock music continues)

- Lenny, Lenny.

- Nice to meet you.

Leonard Cohen, prisoner of w*r.

- (chuckles) How you doing?

Welcome.

So tell me, you got arrested?

- Twice I got arrested.

Aren't you proud of me?

- I'm very proud.

- You always thought I was too

metropolitan as a little boy.

Now I got arrested.

- Yeah.

- Man, I really thought

Havana was going to be

this very vibrant energy,

and I was going to write

about it and portray it but

It was that for a moment,

because the Canadian

consulate came to me

and said I had to

walk with them.

- [Consulate] Come on, get out.

- I felt like I was

Upton Sinclair, you know,

being summoned for

a private mission.

- [Consulate] Mr. Cohen.

- And they needed their

five-foot 100-pound Jew

to save them on an

undercover operation.

- Thanks for coming.

Um, your mother called.

- What?

- You should call her.

(birds chirping)

- I called her and the

next day I was arrested.

Hey. Hey. (groans)

I kept saying, "I'm not

American, I'm Canadian.

I'm your friend, we're

everybody's friends."

So I got to the airport,

and they assumed that my

Canadian passport was fake,

and they arrested me again.

- No.

- It's all true.

- [Irving] (chuckles)

Quite the story, Lenny.

- So anyhow, I'm still broke.

What's, what's going

on with our scripts?

- They called me

one day and say,

we're sorry, but

we need to pass.

I think the scripts were

too intelligent for 'em.

They were too good-

- We dumbed down,

we made it very, very

good. What a waste of time.

- Too clever for

our beloved CBC.

Doobie dooby doo bee.

- Now I have to get

a real proper job.

- You got a job.

You're a poet, okay?

- That only pays me

in disappointment.

(soft romantic music)

(Leonard sighs)

Darling Mu, your telegram

was very beautiful,

as are all your letters.

Tonight Montreal

is still under snow

and the trees outside

my window are black.

In one of the

Victorian houses nearby

I think Jesus is

about to be born.

I know you'll be great

in whatever you do.

I wish I could tell you to come,

but I can't unless I can take

care of you and the child.

I don't want you to ever

go through the experience

of being left alone

on an island again.

Look around, you're

reminded it's the sound ♪

- There's beautiful music

playing on the record player,

and I'm right there with her

making music out of everything.

I'm full of religion.

Before you know it, we'll

all be back together again.

All my love, Leonard.

(soft romantic music)

Merci.

- Eat.

Is this what my life is

gonna look like? Hmm?

Spending my golden years

taking care of my father

and my grownup son.

I just want you to be happy.

- Oh, you got the

wrong guy then.

- Leonard, there are

plenty of nice Jewish girls

who like you.

- I know that,

but I have a girl.

- [Marsha] I know on the

other side of the world.

- But I want to bring her here.

Quoi?

- You met her in a place

where none of you had

a history, my boy.

You could be whoever you wanted.

You know, I, I'm not sure

she would be happy here.

- Well, she'd be with me.

- She'd be with a Cohen.

Now you want to marry her.

- I did not say I

wanted to marry her.

- Well, you're bringing her

here, you want to live with her?

- We hadn't worked out

the living arrangements.

I can leave her in the garden,

in the park if you'd like.

(pages rustling)

- These are really

good, Mr. Cohen.

They would fit right in

at the Montreal Gazette.

- So, are you saying

I have the job?

- You have the job, Mr. Cohen.

- Oh, terrific.

Thanks a lot. I really must go.

I'm so sorry, I'm very

late for something.

- Good. Do, do you want

to take these with you?

- Oh no. You give it to

a friend you don't like.

(door thuds)

(mailbox thuds)

- "All I need is my woman

and her son." (chuckles)

Hey.

(plane engines roaring)

(Axel Jr. speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(travellers chattering)

(soft music)

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne chuckles)

Hi.

(Axel Jr. laughs)

(soft music continues)

Hey.

(soft music continues)

(soft music continues)

Hi.

Wow.

- Come on in.

- Thank you!

- Hold it for me?

- Yeah.

- Very good.

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel Jr. and Marianne

speaking in foreign language)

- [Leonard] Yeah, you

can hop on the floor.

- Leonard-

- I got you flowers.

- Roses are my favourite.

- [Leonard] Bottled wine in

the fridge for the child.

- I missed you so much.

I can't believe you

exist. You're here!

- Make yourself at home

and you can take things

and break them if you

like and kick things, and.

And you can jump up

and down if you like.

- Right, I think someone is-

- [Leonard] Axel,

would you like to jump?

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

- It's very bouncy.

Very good.

Come on, mom.

- [Marianne] (laughs) Wow,

this is certainly not Norway.

- Welcome to Montreal.

- Oh, wow.

(upbeat music)

(Axel Jr. laughs)

(guests laughing)

- Marianne, this

is Robert Hershorn.

He is one of the great tightrope

acrobats of the century.

- Am I?

- What?

- Yeah, he's a great artist.

- I love this guy.

- A really great artist.

I have a brilliant

group of friends.

- Yeah, you do.

- What does that say about me?

- [Robert] One day you're gonna

be brilliant, don't worry.

(glass shattering)

- Oh.

- Oh sh*t.

- Oh God.

- This is how as

Jews we celebrate.

Sorry, one-

- Do you need something?

- This is Derek May, by the way.

- Oh, hello.

- He's a great filmmaker

and I love him very much.

- Hello.

- It's so nice to meet you.

- Yeah.

- No, I have to say we,

we've been looking

forward to seeing you.

- Have we?

I can't remember saying that.

(Derek chuckles)

- Don't mind Kitty,

she's a little, you know,

she believes that

Lenny's in love with her

and she loves Lenny.

- You know, I, I think we're all

in love with Lenny in here, so.

- So what are your

plans in Montreal?

- I think, you know,

just find my footing

and hopefully get

a job, you know?

That would be great.

- And how, how's your French?

- I mean, it's

not, not great. No.

- (chuckles) That's gonna

make it kind of hard for you.

I'm sorry, I wish I had

better news for you.

- Hi.

- Hello.

- Oh, hi.

- You guys having a

nice conversation?

- [Derek] It was very sweet.

- It's good to see you man.

- Good to see you.

- He's a good guy. How are ya?

- [Robert] Hey, everyone.

- All right.

- Thank you.

- Everyone, let's

raise our glass

to Canada's next winner of

the Governor General's Award.

This is, come on, come

on, come on, come on.

- Hi, I'm Aviva, Irving's wife.

- Okay. Wow.

- Have a glass of wine.

- Yes, please.

Thank you so much.

- This is Armand.

- Hi.

- Jeremy.

And this is Suzanne.

- So nice to meet you.

- Poet and dancer.

- Wow. Amazing.

(Suzanne speaking

in foreign language)

- I'm sorry, I don't, my

French is not really

- Oh, I'm sorry.

- No, no, no. It's okay.

(guests chattering)

- [Irving] Listen up! (laughs)

A brand new poem written by-

- Okay, great.

(friends laughing)

- Oh!

- Thank you, actually this

is, this is the, oh, no,

actually I like to, I

like to sit right here.

I like the broken glass here.

- [Irving] Music off.

Thank you.

- Okay.

Come, my brothers,

let us govern Canada.

Let us find our serious heads.

Let us dump asbestos

on the White House.

(friends laughing)

And let us unite

church and state.

Let us teach sex in the home.

(friends cheering)

To parents.

Let us threaten to join the USA

and pull out at the last moment.

(friends laughing)

My brothers, come.

- Yes.

- Our serious heads are

waiting for us somewhere.

Let us put them on very quickly.

Let us maintain a stony silence

on the St. Lawrence Seaway.

(friends cheer and applaud)

(glass clinks)

Let us drink all night

until we've fallen in love.

Woman, you got me on the run ♪

(friends chattering

and laughing)

- No more cleaning.

- It's so messy.

I know, but there's a tradition

where I throw one party a year

and then you leave

the mess like that

for the rest of the year.

- Okay, I'll retire now.

- Did you have an okay time?

- Mm-hmm.

- Are you sure?

- Yeah, your friends

are really nice and-

- [Leonard] They're very

interested in themselves.

- Yeah.

- They like talking about

their own brilliance,

all the time.

I suppose I do too.

- Yeah, I mean,

just a little bit.

Hi.

- I know it's a lot to

meet everyone all at once,

but it's nothing compared

to meeting my mother.

She's um

- [Marianne] What? She's what?

- You don't wanna meet her.

- You met my mother,

so that means that if

you can handle mine

then I can handle yours.

- Show me.

- You want me to show you?

- Mm-hmm.

- Hmm.

How?

- I missed you so much.

I love you.

Oh yeah ♪

If you just look around ♪

You're reminded

it's the sound ♪

Voices carry, yeah, carry on ♪

'Cause all the while ♪

- [Marianne] (laughs) No.

Those are voices that get

you through so we carry, yeah ♪

Carry on ♪

(match striking)

(match striking)

(no audio)

(Leonard speaking

in foreign language)

Amen.

- Eat.

- Thank you.

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

- So, Leonard tells me you

are close to your mother.

- Well, I, I lived

with her in Oslo

and she also helped me

out a lot with Axel.

- So you are close.

- Mm-hmm.

- [Marsha] You were working.

- At a, at a film studio.

- [Marsha] And your father?

- He died just

before Axel was born.

- Oh, I'm so sorry.

- Yeah.

(Axel Jr. and Marianne

speaking in foreign language)

- What's he saying?

- Um, he was, he was just

asking if this is your mother.

- I know, I don't

look old enough.

That man, he's my little boy.

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language),

- It's difficult

to believe, right?

Does he speak

English? Any French?

- No, not, I mean, he's, um,

starting to understand

some English, but-

- Oh, make sure to teach him.

He'll struggle without it.

And French.

- Yes.

He actually knows a

little bit of Greek,

when we were in Hydra,

so I think you can't

wait to go back to Hydra.

- Yes, I got Leonard's letters.

Sounds just beautiful there.

- [Marianne] It is,

it's my favourite place.

(father slurping)

(Axel Jr. speaking

in foreign language)

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(Axel Jr. slurping)

- [Marsha] Like papa.

- [Marianne] You know,

I kind of liked her.

She's nice.

- She's nice?

- I just maybe wouldn't hire her

as my interior

designer but, yeah.

- I know as an outsider

you can walk in

and see all the pious art

and it can look a bit

macabrea and scary but,

you know, most of the world

looks at Jews as vermin.

And Westmount, this is

one of the few places

where it connects you to

your country, my Judaism.

You know, I got you a gift, but-

- Hmm?

- Um,

I've suddenly gotten very

shy giving this to you.

- Oh.

- It's this, very silly.

I can run in the other

direction if you don't like it.

- No.

(soft music)

(soft music continues)

It's beautiful.

- I thought it

was the two of us.

- Which one are you?

- I'm the ballerina,

of course,

- Of course.

I love it.

(soft music continues)

- [Leonard] Looks

very good on you.

- Thank you.

(soft music continues)

(Marianne laughing)

Opa!

(Axel Jr. laughing)

(vehicle horns honking)

(footsteps thudding)

(employer speaking

in foreign language)

Your CV?

- Bien, sir.

(customers chattering)

- So you have no experience

with working in a store?

- I was helping out in a

grocery store a little bit

back home in Norway, which

is, I'm, I'm from Norway, so.

- And you have your

working permit?

- Mm, yeah-

- You need an ICCRC?

- Of course, I know.

It's just, you know, if

I start working for you,

then maybe it's easier

to apply for one.

No?

Look, I'm, I've been

to seven places already

and I am a really

good hard worker.

I have a little son at home.

I mean, do you have children?

- No.

(audience applauds)

- I'll read one more before

you die of exhaustion.

(audience laughs)

Are there any

adulterers in the crowd?

(audience laughs)

This is called

"Prayer for Messiah."

His blood on my arm

is warm as a bird.

His heart in my hand

as heavy as land.

His eyes through my eyes

shine brighter than love.

Oh, send out the raven

ahead of the dove.

Oh, send out the raven

ahead of the dove.

Oh, sing from your chains

where you're chained in a cave.

Your eyes through my eyes

shine brighter than love.

Your blood in my ballad

collapses the grave.

(audience applauds)

(patrons chattering)

If you'd like shots,

put it on his tab.

Hi, I remember you.

You've been to a few of these.

- Yeah.

- A few of them. Very good.

(no audio)

(no audio)

What?

- Nothing.

- Let me guess, is it my mother?

Is it your mother?

Is it anybody's mother?

- Um, kind of.

Well, it's just that

I'm, I'm pregnant.

(soft music)

So this is, you know,

kind of the part

where you say something.

- Like what?

- I don't know, just

something to make me feel

like it's okay.

(soft music continues)

- I love you.

- You that I'm not gonna

keep it if you don't want it.

(soft music continues)

- Well, that's

gonna be a problem.

- Why?

- Because you can't,

the bloodline, dear.

Leonard is Jewish royalty.

Marsha would k*ll him,

or herself, or you,

before that happens.

I love seeing how Leonard

is the kids though.

Irving has teenage

kids with his wife.

- I thought, I thought

that you were his?

- Oh, we are.

- Okay.

- I mean, she's

not his wife, wife.

I mean, well, they're still

married, but they're not.

- Yeah.

- I'm certain it's all

different in a way.

It's an outdated

worldview, isn't it?

Maybe we need to

be more expansive

in our definition of love.

I don't know, Irving

has other lovers.

- Yeah.

- To you and me, darling.

We are all f*ck, and f*cked.

- True.

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(panting) I don't really

feel so well right now.

What?

- I have to work.

It's too much.

- It's too much?

- I have to go. Yeah.

- Oh, it's too much for you.

- If the phone rings while

I'm gone, don't answer.

It's my mother and I have a

deadline tomorrow, so I can't.

- It's funny that you

talk about a deadline,

because I also have a deadline

that you just seem

to constantly ignore,

which is that we

have to figure out

whether we're gonna keep

this baby or not, so,

you know, do you wanna put

some work into that or just no?

- We've already

talked about this.

We had this discussion.

- Leonard, we did not

have this discussion.

You just mumbled some

silly words to me

and told me it was up to me.

So no, we have not

had this discussion.

- Okay.

- So can we have the

discussion now or-

- I love you. I love you.

- Leonard, I don't know

if I made it clear to you,

but I want to have

your baby, okay?

So can you just tell me

if you want me to

m*rder this thing

that's inside of me or not,

just give me an answer.

- I don't feel like starting

a w*r with you right now.

- Can you just

give me an answer?

Don't find your way out

of this, I'm sick of it.

- I love you, but not that.

I've given you my answer.

Okay, that's my answer.

- And is that because

you don't want a child

or because you don't

want a child with me?

- I'm, I'm not going to

play this game with you.

I, I, I, it's end of

discussion. I have to write.

I have to write.

You can do as you like,

I can't control you,

but I've already

told my position.

- And is this because of your

mother or because of you?

- What the f*ck is

that supposed to mean?

- I mean, you can't have

a child that's not Jewish.

- We're insulting each

other's families now.

Oh, you're going

after my religion.

- Well, it's true, isn't it?

Oh! Oh, I've never

seen that before.

That's your answer to

everything, isn't it?

No, no, no, no.

You do not get to

leave this time.

You do not get to be

the one to walk away.

(Leonard stomping)

And you know what, if

you don't want a child,

you can at least look

that for this one, okay?

f*ck off!

(foot thuds)

(gentle music)

(gentle music continues)

(gentle music continues)

(gentle music continues)

(gentle music continues)

- Hi.

- Hello.

Where is your boy?

- Leonard told me

that you were sick,

so I brought some things.

- Come in.

- Thank you.

Some soup.

I'll just put it right here.

And then this here

is the real magic,

it's elderberry tea.

My grandmother used to make

it to me when I was sick

and it always worked.

- I don't want you to get ill.

- Well, you know what? I am a

viking and we never get ill.

But I do know that

it's a horrible feeling

to be sick and all by yourself.

Would you like to have a

seat and I can bring the tea?

- Thank you.

Tastes awful.

- Yes, I know.

- He gave that to you?

Do you know what it is?

- Um, no, no.

- It's a tradition.

Young men give them

to their first love.

(no audio)

(no audio)

- Why don't You like me?

- What?

- You heard what I said.

- It's not about you.

I like you.

You are perfect.

A strong, wonderful young woman.

You married young.

You had a child with a

man that wasn't a mensch,

but you fought and

you got back up.

You are smart and

beautiful and thoughtful.

- Then why?

- Look around you. Look at us.

Look at who we are.

I am sorry.

(footsteps thudding)

(Axel Jr. playing)

(water splashing)

(typewriter clicking)

- Hi.

(Axel and Leonard shouting)

It works underwater.

Can you show her what you did?

He touched the water.

(water splashing)

(Axel Jr. speaking

in foreign language)

- What are you saying?

- Axel?

- Do you need anything?

- Just little bit more sleep.

- Sure.

Okay. I'm coming.

Do you need some hot chocolate?

- You're the best,

thank you so much.

(tense music)

(tense music continues)

(Marianne panting)

Leonard!

No!

- It's okay. It's okay.

(heart monitor flatlining)

(infant crying)

(infant continues crying)

(Leonard sighs)

- I'm so sorry.

- Yeah.

- How do you feel now?

Axel's with Aviva.

- Oh, thank you.

- They're having a good time.

I didn't get that

award, by the way.

I don't know what to

do anymore, you know,

I've tried everything.

I'm a has been who's never been.

And I should be more for you.

I keep putting up

with me and I am,

luckily we got that grant.

- Hmm?

- For $1,000

so we can keep living in the,

the house for at least a month

before we go live

in a cardboard box.

- I don't wanna

live in the house.

I don't wanna live in Montreal.

(no audio)

- Why?

- 'Cause I don't know you here.

You have your whole

world that you belong to

and I don't belong here.

- We spend every

waking moment together.

- We don't.

Yes, we're maybe

in the same room

or in the same bed

or at the same party,

but we're not together together.

And I have really tried

but you're just not the you

that I know when we're here.

- Who am I then?

- You're this

person who pretends.

I mean, I just lost

a child, our child.

And you dare talk to me about

losing some f*cking award

and being a has been

who's never, I mean,

try to imagine what it's

like to be me next to you.

It's like I'm nothing.

I love you, but no, I

can't do this to myself

because there's no

us and it's only you.

(sighs) So I'm gonna

go back to Hydra.

(no audio)

(Leonard sighs)

- All right, let's go.

(upbeat music)

(Marianne laughs)

(Axel Jr. laughs)

Hey, baby, baby,

don't you go ♪

- Ready to go?

Be very careful.

- Marianne, Leonard, Axel!

(locals cheering)

- Oh my goodness.

(upbeat music continues)

Well, we meet again. (chuckles)

No matter what we do,

we just keep meeting

the same people

just over and over

and over again.

It's just the same

conversation, isn't it?

It's just

It's not the same.

- What?

- The island.

They despise us here.

(lively music)

- [Local] Piss off.

- I don't know if you

know, the seat is taken.

(Axel Jr. speaking

in foreign language)

- Calm down. Come on, love.

- [Leonard] Axel,

you wanna dance?

(Axel Jr. speaking

in foreign language)

- I got it.

- It's our first

night here, okay.

He can, he can just

sleep with my arms.

- He's exhausted and

we'll, we'll go home.

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

- This is what you wanted.

(Marianne speaking

in foreign language)

(lively music)

(gentle music)

(gentle music continues)

(gentle music continues)