THE CONSUL OF SODOM
Is it true you're a poet?
Well... I'd prefer to be thought of as a poem.
Jaime
So what now?
Now everything
Excuse me.
Come in.
Go and sleep in your bedroom.
Don't make a noise. my mother's asleep.
How do you like it?
-Good morning. -Good morning.
Are you all right?
Thank you
Bye, Johnny.
Let's lower. .
-the percentage. -Absolutely not My father
would never allow it.
Good for you Don't keep her waiting any longer
I'm going to miss all this.
Not as much as you think.
Why's that?
What's going on, Victor?
Those are the least compromising
Those are the least compromising
Where did these come from?
I don't know. paid an intermediary.
-You're giving in to blackmail over me? -Sorry, Jaime.
But your father asked me to look out for you
My father?
He knows about this?
Look, Jaime.. Your private life is none of my business but ..
So keep out of it.
Then I heard that I'd be going,
that wherever I went
I'd have a bed and a book to read.
But others would not be leaving They would stay on for years
without being able to wait furiously for 7 o'clock to come and so escape,
to leap to the other side of life.
And that - the abject misery, a life of constant harassment
by their needs - will be their lives,
their whole existence.
Ladies, the communist is back.
You haven't been there
Many farmers have had to sell their children as if they were slaves.
Jaime, please! That's so unpleasant
When Dad comes. tell him to give the plantations to the peasants.
Don't talk politics at table!
This isn't politics, mother. It's justice.
Keep that for your poems.
Jaime. did you write anything new
-in the Philippines? -Two verses
in three months.
Mr Jaime, there are two men from the political brigade
asking for you.
Show them through to the study
'In the heat,
after the thickness,
the river returns to the land '
My grandfather,
the Speaker of the House,
during the Republic
Good evening.
I'm Inspector Creix
This is Sub-inspector Garrido. We just wanted
to talk to you for a moment.
What about?
You write. .
poetry. don't you?
-Yes. I try. -Do you associate
with other poets and writers?
With some.
Do you know these?
I know them a . Some better than others.
You know they're communists?
Some have been arrested
and it won't be long before the others are too.
Are you warning. .
or threatening me?
Leo.
'It seems we can declare ourselves to be men.
It seems we can say no.
To say no once in the street
for all the other times we could not say it.''
Did you write that?
-Yes. -Leaflets like these
were handed out at the students' strike
Did you know that?
I just got back from the Philippines.
An acquaintance of yours
told us about you at the police station
What did he say?
That you're a queer.
And a very clever one.
Don't come to Barcelona at the moment.
It's quieter in Cadaques.
-Jaime. -Manuel.
-How are you? -Hello.
Stay in hiding for the time being.
There have been arrests.
But we're rid of the official candidates
They'll process them. . it's a setback..
then send them home. All sons of winners.
Manuel, I also regret the beatings
-I've never had. -Can't you see, Jaime?
An enemy in the home changes everything
I know.
And I want to be part of that. But really so.
Your gin and tonic.
Thank you
-Mr Mars's here. -Tell him to come in.
Well, well, the worker-writer.
Congratulations on your novel. It's excellent
Thank you I hope
can I stop being the worker now and just be the writer.
The regime's tottering. Juan.
Some have been saying that for 20 years
Juan's a born sceptic.
That's why his novel's so decadent.
I only describe what I see, more or less
-Mr. Baldwin on the phone. -Shit, I'd forgotten.
Jimmy's here. He wants to see some nightlife and thought you ..
haven't seen Luis yet.
Yvonne and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary tonight
All right
Want to come along, Juan?
I work from 7 AM to 3 PM then I go home to write.
I don't have time.
Time. . the child that moves the pieces
Heraclitus
The galley proof.
Show him the Sagrada Familia then go home
The Sagrada Familia?
I know more edifying places.
Jaime!
I expected you tomorrow.
I just can't live without you.
What are you doing here?
I had a meeting...
and came back for a nap.
You're doing pretty well.
-I'll get dressed. -Wait, wait, wait. .
Let's put an end to this terrible abstinence.
I know you and your abstinence!
Do you prefer billy boys or half-castes?
I prefer Spanish guys who forget they're doing it for money
I don't mind paying.
But like...
to be appreciated
I see the Philippines
have changed your habits.
Look at me!
Look at me!
-What's the matter? -Nothing.
Nothing's the matter.
Let's go out for dinner and talk
We'll talk about..
whatever you want.
But first...
have to see a foreigner.
want you to come along.
Not again.
Go on.
We'll show him a few sights and that'll be it
All right
Hey, kids. I spy a black man.
A black man!
Come on, stop showing off
Let's go somewhere normal.
This is normal
Luis, could you get some more wine. Please?
You get it. I'm tired of your nonsense.
You could at least translate.
You wouldn't understand anyway.
Juanito,
half a litre of mint. I'm going to blow my Antonio.
Isaiah
Chapter 4, verse 6.
Morning, Mr. Jaime.
Your father asks if he can come in.
Of course he can.
I want to talk to you
A friend of mine from Harlem.
Take that Caligula outfit off.
I'll wait outside.
spoke to Inspector Creix on the phone.
That leaflet affair's sorted out
'Leave the rich alone, ' Franco said.
That depends.
They had people like you shot
after the war
Jaime ..
a scandal would ruin your career with the firm and the reputation
of the whole family.
No-one's interested in the private life of a poet.
Your father's worried about it
And so is your mother.
I know you're ashamed of me.
I'm not ashamed of you.
You're a Gil de Biedma.
But I do wish things were different.
-Where's Jimmy? -He left.
Isn't the slut leaving too?
Watch it!
Here.
Get dressed quickly ..
-and go. -No, don't
Sit down.
Bloody-minded queers!
What about me? How much are you going to give me?
Nothing, now that I've got you a job.
When I found you, all you had was a suit.
A brown suit.
And you've always been
an insufferable little rich kid
Nothing like fucking a gypsy girl to discover
-one's social conscience -At least she's not fooling anyone.
Right..
You seem very fond of the whores' guild.
Jaime ..
we need to talk.
Leave the keys in the vase and go.
Careful, that Lalique's worth a fortune.
-We're through. -Wait..
Wait, Luis Wait.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
At least take the keys
'One goes out, kisses a girl or buys a book,
walks happily down the street and they strike him down.
How could he dare?
The Architrave.''
-Nobody'll understand this. -It's clear enough.
The words of the tribe.
It's you who don't understand.
The book's a journey from the end of adolescence
-to adulthood. -With social issues too
That's obvious.
As based on my experience and social class. though sometimes
I mistrust both.
I think ..
dressing up as a poet and singing is a desire to place oneself
in Mardi Gras situations.
'I was born, if you'll excuse me,
-in the age of the pergola and tennis.'' -I'm trying to write a poem
about Spain while avoiding the phantasmagoric.
A sestina.
A mediaeval sestina?
They'll call you frivolous
Ironic perhaps,
but not frivolous.
Spain's more like a mediaeval cliche,
than a modern literary theme going beyond anyone's experience
Hence the sestina.
So that what the poem is can be greater
than what the poet says.
Franco's backing the Opus Dei technocrats
and withdrawing the Falangists
They want to freeze wages and cut social spending. Right, Federico?
Manuel's very cold towards me. I don't understand.
He doesn't dare tell you, Jaime, but ..
you haven't been admitted
into the party.
Why?
Things to do with comrade Lenin.
What's he got to do with it?
They say homosexuals could be
a threat to the safety of the party.
-Queers might rat to the police. -I see.
I'm sorry. Jaime.
-Orthodox economic remedies. -We need to turn
labour strikes into political ones.
And the government's plan would fail
-What if it doesn't? -We'd have European prosperity
on a Spanish scale.
Prosperity on a small and pretty miserable scale.
Of all the stories in history,
the saddest of all is that of Spain
because of the unhappy ending
It's as if a man, tired of struggling with his inner demons,
decided to place his poverty in the government's hands
Your post, sir.
Thank you. Conchita.
I'd like to think of this bad government as a vulgar.
man-made affair and not a metaphysical issue,
and that Spain must and can rise out of its poverty.
There's still time to change the course of its history
before the demons drag it away.
-Morning. Mr. Jaime -Morning. This is for washing.
Sorry 'm late. Dad.
Have you signed a manifesto for some miners?
Yes.
This is from the army. It's for you.
You have to report to the Bruch barracks urgently.
You're no longer a second lieutenant.
You've been demoted.
To me, that's an honour.
Finish your breakfast
We have to go.
What'll they do to you?
Strip me of my stripes
at a public ceremony on the parade ground.
-Like Dreyfus. -Jaime, please!
It's no joking matter.
A minister called your father and at work
they're asking him questions.
May Spain expel those demons.
and poverty affect the government ..
Sign here.
...and may men by the masters of their history.
You may go
Is that it?
Isn't it enough?
I particularly remember the end of the war.
My father stood at the window crying
as General Yague's troops marched down the street.
I was shit-scared.
For me, they were the happiest days
of my life
But this was virtually on the front line.
No, it was in Segovia.
A place we loved visiting, full of lieutenants with arms in slings
For the kids it was a way of coming
close to the war.
It's been a long time, Mr. Jaime.
You get younger every day. Austreberto.
-Thank you kindly -How do you do it?
This way.
You'll find this perfect for writing
Let's see today's yield.
Here.
Shit, writing novels is like sitting for a really hard exam.
Yes. but poetry doesn't put food on the table.
That's why I'm a Sunday poet with a Monday conscience.
I spend the rest of the week in an office
pushing pens
-I'm a practical man. - I try to be too.
By writing seriously
What's 'seriously' for you?
Making a living from what I write.
So you think a writer writes so that society
-will buy books? -That's right
Why publish your work?
To influence others. I suppose
It's a rather Dickensian story. The doctor told her
she couldn't have children. They came out, hailed a taxi,
-and my father was inside. -Incredible.
You look gorgeous tonight.
-Yvonne! -Thank you.
Excuse me.
Thank you
Who's that?
Marcelino. He says
he's a Manhattan broker but I don't believe him
think the guy's a gigolo.
Jaime. who's she?
The marchioness. She has a suite at the Wellington.
She throws the wildest parties in Madrid
No, the one next to her.
Ah, Joaquina, her companion.
The only normal person here.
Carlos is getting horny.
Careful or he'll stand behind the muse
and dedicate another and another and another of his love poems to you
That's all you learned at Oxford?
Jaime's unbearable tonight.
We've all had a bit to drink.
British hypocrisy imported by an Iberian consumed by petty passions!
Carlos!
Let him be
What's wrong, Red Riding Hood?
Nothing. It's this wine
It really makes me cry.
Would you like something else?
A wolf to eat me.
There's nothing more sexy
than a woman with eye shadow smeared with tears
I'll cry all you want
The. .
character of Teresa...
Marvellous.
But the boyfriend from outside Catalonia... I'm not convinced.
It's my version of the 19th-century novel . A man who wants to be someone
but can only succeed by winning over a rich girl
And your girl..
what does she expect of him?
To have a great time in another world.
The king of the party.
He who dances with everyone.
He who can handle everyone.
A knight in shining armour.
Even though the armour's a brown suit.
Because deep down, he's just a street urchin.
Here.
A portrait of your Pijoaparte.
'Pink shirt, jeans,
a provocative attitude and a smile
that's just too winning.
From Murcia.
Smell: of wild cat.
The bastard does smell like that.
Like a wild cat.
Thank you. Jaime.
Come in, my boy.
-How was your holiday? -Comforting.
So you're bringing out another book.
I'm trying to.
Through a publisher in Mexico.
In Mexico?
The censors won't let me print it here
I've been thinking
of changing flats
What about lives?
That may not be so easy.
You know, son...
I need a change too
- I'm retiring early. -But the tobacco company's your life
I know.
It's a ship that's harder and harder to steer.
Some young blood is called for.
Things are changing too fast
and I'm tired.
-But... -Jaime.
Two books of poems in seven years
don't make for a literary career.
Your future lies with the firm.
We all have a great deal of faith in you
What's the point, I'd like to know,
of changing flats?
Of leaving behind a basement darker than my reputation ..?
And that's saying something.
Putting up lace curtains and engaging a maid
Giving up the bohemian way of life
so that then you'll come along.
you great bore,
my embarrassing guest, you fool dressed in my suits,
you drone,
you useless idiot,
with washed hands,
to eat from my plate and make the house dirty
Among the shadows of my past
is a star without redemption
that never led my steps
along the path of my dreams.
My eyes never looked up
but down on the ground,
where I lived...
I go with you
to the late-night bars. The pimps. the flower-sellers,
the dead streets of the small hours.
The yellow-lit lifts when you get home drunk
and look at yourself in the mirror, your face a ruin,
with still violent eyes that you don't want to close
And if I rebuke you, you laugh,
you remind me of the past and tell me
that I'm getting old.
I might remind you that you're no longer funny, that your casual style
and self-assurance are gruesome,
being over thirty years of age.
And that that charming, dreamy-eyed boyish smile,
which everyone's bound to fall for. is just a pitiable vestige,
a pathetic sham
As you look at me with those true orphan's eyes
you weep and promise not to do it. .
Dreams of clay,
it's all a lie,
those lips pretend
to be full of passion ..
If you weren't such a slut
and if I didn't know, as I have for some time.
that you are strong when am weak,
and weak when I am furious...
My recollection of your home-comings fills me with confusion, panic.
sorrow and dissatisfaction
and the despair, impatience and resentment of suffering again.
Yet again the unforgivable humiliation
of over-intimacy.
Like a man going to hell I'll take you to bed to sleep with you
Dying with each step of impotence,
bumping into furniture in the dark
we'll cross the floor in a clumsy embrace,
staggering from drink and stifled sobs.
Flower...
of. .
evil .
Today the noble servitude of loving human beings,
and the most ignoble of all , which is loving oneself.
So, Jaime ..
first the disco, then the magazine.
'Boccaccio'' will show the world what Barcelona is. It's all here ..
architects, writers. photographers, actresses, models. .
-Who make no contribution to life -Let's have done
with complexes. In a year's time, this will be like London.
That's a fool's dream. In London there's no Franco.
Franco's an old bastard. We have a sole obligation and if you're to be
editor-in-chief, you have to be
the biggest dreamer of all.
We should show people that culture is sexy,
-especially those in Madrid. -Hold on a minute
They may not see culture as a way of life
but they have marchionesses and knowing
who the marchioness has slept with
can be decisive. So show some respect for the Castillian plateau.
Collita!
-Come and have a drink with me -I can't.
-I'm working. -Come on.
All right. as it's you ..
Aren't I handsome enough for an article?
-More than enough. As always. -Liar.
have to wait around to get a good shot.
Come on, let's have a drink
I can't.
But a friend of mine wants to meet you.
She's a fascinating woman
Her name's Bel.
-Are you hurt? -I did it for you.
'To know about love, to learn love,
one needs to have been alone. '
'And with 400 different bodies on 400 different nights
to have made love '
That's my favourite.
I wrote it to prove
that one can be unfaithful yet head over heels in love.
You can't go to bed with anyone you're not in love with, can you?
Yes, but I fall head over heels in love every night.
What happens when you wake up?
look at myself in the mirror
and the spell
is broken.
I feel sorry for things that have broken.
You fix them but they still bear the scars.
I hate wrinkles.
I wish I had a portrait aging for me in an attic.
That's strange ..
I can't find your life line.
Then...
let's not waste any more time.
Good morning.
What's wrong?
Your father fainted
-What's wrong? -Just high blood pressure.
Nothing too serous
He's tired.
Jaime. perhaps this isn't
the right time. but he'd be very happy
-if you took over from him -No
No.
I ..
could never take my father's place.
I'm no good
But you're a brilliant negotiator
-And you know the business. -I don't care.
You know it too and you have all the skills.
-You should volunteer. - I'm not in the family.
-is he in the family? -Miguel? The telegraphist's son?
Times are changing.
I got married when I was 18.
With an idiot, just to leave home
They're gorgeous.
That's Marx's great-granddaughter.
She's scared the police will find out and jail her.
Isn't that amazing?
A pret-a-porter model and Marx's great-granddaughter.
How does your design look on me
Divine. Have you met Jaime?
No.
But I've heard all about you
Scary!
Have a good time.
You're full of surprises
You design jewellery, have two kids,
know how to fall down...
What else can you do?
Wait...
have my period.
So what?
I'm a vampire.
I'm a vampire.
-Hello, princess -Hi. Dad.
-Hi. -What are you doing here?
said I'd pick them up
Don't talk nonsense. okay?
It's my turn today!
It's my turn today!
-No way -Please!
-What's wrong? -Please calm down.
-Exactly. Come on, baby. -Stop!
Absinthe brings life an hour of solemnity
and light to dark precipices, said Baudelaire.
In France they call it 'la Fae verte'', the green fairy.
In many countries it's forbidden.
I love the forbidden.
Police!
You know what's coming next. Run!
You know what's coming next. Run!
Toledo, Ohio.
That way his girlfriend won't find out
The biggest whores in the world.
-This is too crowded. -Yes
We don't need any of them.
I'd like to take care of you.
So what are you waiting for?
So if there are no more questions. .
the board meeting's over.
Good afternoon.
Jaime
Congratulations on your report
Thank you
Bye, Jaime.
Whoever sits here will be lucky having you by his side.
I think what's needed is someone young, dynamic ..
with fresh ideas.
In short. a poet.
Are you sure, son?
Yes.
The board will have to approve it but you have all my support
The board will have to approve it but you have all my support
-Sir? -Yes?
There's a young lady asking for you.
A young lady?
She says she's your girlfriend.
Not here. They could be watching me
I'll have to go to court to keep the custody of my children.
I'll have to go to court to keep the custody of my children.
wonder what kind of evidence that idiot will come up with
don't know but he's really resentful.
Don't worry, I know some very good lawyers.
She's pretty.
And strange.
Susan!
How's our novelist?
Hiding behind that newspaper.
And I think it'll all be fine.
How's it going?
Well. in the end, a blonde in a convertible
What about Pijoaparte?
What about Pijoaparte?
-As if he didn't exist. -Advertising has rules.
They don't want poor people. They only want pretty girls from Pedralves
But this one isn't from Pedralves
-She's from Copenhagen. -Good
With a Viking girl on the cover. the book will be a hit
Didn't I tell you so?
Didn't I tell you so?
Bring Jaime a glass.
You said Pjoaparte was missing
There he is. straight out of your book.
Don't even look at him
Why? Will he hit me?
Why? Will he hit me?
Gypsies are very particular, especially about that.
A gypsy! A gypsy to boot!
Give me another, Lorenzo
Excuse me. Are you Jaime Gil de Biedma, the poet?
I'm a company secretary general , like Stalin
Apart from that. I've written two books of poems.
Who are you?
I work for a magazine, I just wanted to chat.
Don't waste your time.
Talk to Garcia Marquez, he's 'in'' this season
All I need is a snippet of gossip.
I'm in charge of a section called 'Overheard at Boccaccio' .
-What's your name? -Enrique.
-What's your name? -Enrique.
Well, Enrique, I'm going to let you into a secret.
Know what all these people are doing here?
Inventing lives for themselves. It's the only way
they can put up with this interminable dictatorship.
They all do the best they can. Over there, Ricardo Bofill the architect
They all do the best they can. Over there, Ricardo Bofill the architect
and communist. Torn between making a film with his Italian girlfriend
and buying an Alfa Romeo
There's another specimen. With a highly-styled character
Carlos Barral, poet, editor and ship's captain
Dresses like a Cuban guerrilla and the police think he's mad
Dresses like a Cuban guerrilla and the police think he's mad
-so they don't arrest him -My character's a work of art.
-But it's not a life. It's literature -Shall we talk of
-the decollage of life and literature? -In favour of life
-or literature? -In my case, in favour
-of literature -Always.
He can give you some better gossip than me.
He can give you some better gossip than me.
Gossip? All right,
but literary gossip. What do you want to know?
call Mr. Jaime Gil de Biedma
y Alba.
Counsel for the plaintiff may begin.
Thank you. my lord. Mr. Gil de Biedma,
did you write a poem entitled 'A Very Young Separated Woman''?
Yes, I did.
My lord, may read a few lines from that poem?
'Today, dressed as a corsair,
'Today, dressed as a corsair,
you were seen with six lovers on each arm, Isabel , child Isabel ,
sitting stiffly on a stool , radiant.
your hair tousled by a wind that is yours alone.
presiding over the merriment.
Take care, child Isabel ,
for we are in Spain, for they are one
and the same those idiot lovers of yours and your beast of a husband.''
and the same those idiot lovers of yours and your beast of a husband.''
Mr Gil de Biedma.
am I to understand that the child Isabel in this poem,
is the woman accused of adultery in this case?
Definitely not.
The Isabel in the poem is fictitious?
Not fictitious but invented.. which is different.
Not fictitious but invented.. which is different.
have here a transcription of an interview
In which you declare yourself a ''poet of experience' That is..
that you never invent but only write about what you see
or experience. Therefore, my lord,
the verses I've just read
the verses I've just read
describe the defendant's
adulterous way of life, which completely disqualifies her
as a wife and mother.
My lord, may I add something?
Yes, please go ahead.
If the child Isabel in the poem
were the defendant, then the ''beast'' of her husband would be
were the defendant, then the ''beast'' of her husband would be
this gentleman. which would lead us to believe
that the plaintiff
has an uncivilised
and possibly violent nature.
And no decent mother should have to tolerate a savage.
And the children come first.
And the children come first.
-You're a son of a bitch! -Order!
We're doing poetry
-at school . -Really? How?
We read it.
We read it.
Of course. How silly of me. Do you like it?
-Yes. -Tell him why you like it.
I like it because it's like songs but without music.
Come on out. or you'll go all wrinkly.
Come on out. or you'll go all wrinkly.
-Come on -I don't want to
Let me.
Out we come.
So it's like that, is it? Just you wait.
The property's 15 years old but as you can see,
in perfect condition Five bedrooms. two bathrooms, kitchen.
in perfect condition Five bedrooms. two bathrooms, kitchen.
living room and many nearby amenities,
including two parks and two schools Have you got any children?
Yes, two.
What's the matter, Conchita?
Your father's waiting for you.
Are you all right, Dad?
The board's waiting for us
All with an envelope like this one.
If you don't want to,
you don't have to come in.
The secretary will read out the agenda
'One: review of our Main office's fixed costs
Two:
the sale of the plantation in Equatorial Guinea.
Three: renewal of the credit with the Chase Manhattan Bank
Four: proposal of candidates
for the post of Director General '
I'm so sorry. Jaime.
I never thought they'd go that far
Any idea who sent those photos?
No, I don't know.
couldn't stop them this time.
Did the blackmail fund dry up?
I don't understand.
Look, Victor...
I knew you were ambitious,
but I never imagined you were
so resentful or a traitor
The harm you've done my father ..
I'll never forgive you for that.
Sorry, Jaime,
but I think you're a bit overwrought.
Are you're too calm.
-You're making a mistake... -Listen. you fool.
Even though you take the chair as the next Director General ,
you'll never be one of us.
Do you know what you've done?
Handed it to Melier on a plate
We'll see.
We'll see.
Get out!
All on your own?
Without a soul in the world
What's your name?
Jaime
Jaime Gil de Biedma.
Bel!
You forgot we were having lunch together
Yes, I did. I'm sorry.
-Bye. -Bye.
Do you think it'd work?
I've already been married once. I'm no good for it. Would you want me to wait
-at home for you. buy your ties? -We could grow old together
I don't want to grow old. Neither do you.
Having a place
of our own and being the boss.. that life would kill you.
And you and me? Shall we go on as always?
Sleeping together from time to time?
Isn't that good enough for you?
'To know about love, to learn love. .''
Look. Bel. I've already heard that tune
I don't want to be alone
Is that all you can do?
-Pay and go? -I'll throw myself at your feet
and beg you to stay with me.
But I am with you.
Hadn't you realised?
That's why I don't want to spoil it.
Please stay.
Only seldom do you the dead attain freedom.
But the night when you return. it is yours.
All yours.
Jaime
Promise me you won't do it again.
The hurt your smile reminds me of.
There is so much hardness of mine in your eyes.
You calm me, for at one time I was close to you.
The part of your death that I give myself.
the part of your death that I took from my harvest.
How could I pay you for it?
Not even the part of the life we lived together.
How to know that you have forgiven with me alone at the scene of the crime?
How to be able to sleep while you tremble
in the saddest corner of my room?
I'll bring you that whisky.
Don't let Jaime drink too much The doctor's forbidden him to drink.
Don't worry.
A rather untimely title. Sign it for me, come on.
The calls I've had!
Everybody thinks you're dead.
And I am.
What? But you've recovered now
-And drinking with friends. -Well..
All this fuss to end up back here
Do you want those new poets to get
-all the glory? -Why not?
All the new poets write about is Venice, rotten gondolas
-and Scipio's tomb. -Good for them
No-one could be in love with reality.
In the end, death is the mother of reality.
Just sign that book.
Start writing again. It's not just me who wants to read your poems.
We're going to the cinema
-on Friday. -The cinema ..
Don't worry.
It's the one with Dietrich and the Murcian guy
'Morocco'?
Then count me in
-How are you, Josefa? -Morning, Mr. Jaime
No, not that one. Have this one.
Thank you
Mr. Jaime. we're all very worried.
-Do you know what's going to happen? -Don't you worry, Josefa.
Everything will be fine.
Come in.
How's the monsoon?
Jaime!
Can't you smell it? You can feel it n the air
You know it's coming but it doesn't. It's like a constant threat. .
Like everything in this country. Whisky?
-No, thanks -Too early in the day?
No, too late. At this time..
I prefer opium.
I'm glad you've still got a sense of humour. You're going to need it.
We're closing the Luzon factory and the Mindanao premises.
They're all out of date, the whole process is wrong
from production to distribution.
A senseless waste of resources.
Well, this is a colonial concern Waste is part of the legend
It isn't a colonial concern any more.
Or a family one either
The world's changed
but we're still in time to adapt.
Sure..
Are these in time to adapt?
Arjona, Barata. Charlie de la Cruz.. I know nearly all of them.
That's why I called you
I want you to look after it
I'm no good at that.
And Anglada?
He's no longer with us, I'm afraid
I think he's a photographer now
Jaime. . do it any way you want.
How's it going, Jaime?
I'm just finishing.
If you get a move on, I'll take you to lunch at a place
where the food is delicious.
-Really? -Yes.
-Where? -In Intramuros
It's fantastic.
Excuse me a minute ..
It is not mine this age.
And if that sound of birds outside in the garden were mine,
their profusion in small leaves
moving me like intimations.
it would no longer say the same.
awake like someone hearing obscene breathing.
Day is dawning.
Another day dawns in which I shall not be invited to happy moments
or to repentance which, although not ancient ..
Ah, Seigneur. donnez-moi la force et le courage...
invites me to repent with some vestige of sincerity
For I have nothing left to fear but my mistakes.
I remember life. but where is it?
For me, writing a poem
is like having a secret.
It's like making love and delaying orgasm as long as possible
I find it hard now
My poetry is the result of the invention of an identity.
Once identity is assumed, nothing stimulates the imagination less
than being what you are.
Furthermore. .
one's maturity is a silly time in life
when the only intimacy is headaches,
and paradoxically life starts becoming alarmingly short
because you spend the whole day worrying about your fear of death.
Excuse me a moment.
-Jaime. please. . -Yes?
-Will you sign this? -Of course What's your name?
Benjamin.
The look on those new poets' faces! It was as if they'd seen God
They're young and very impressionable
Do you know my assistant?
Less than I'd like to
Have you read Sagarra's column?
No.
''The presentation of Tusquet Editors last night
was attended by the whole ''Gauche Divine' .
-What do you think of the name? -A good label , with a future.
That's what ''Tele-Express'' says.
So I' do a photo session with you as one of its most outstanding members
If it's on the left I'm not connected and as for ''divine'', even less so.
-I'll take my jacket off, shall I? -Yes.
I'll do the session but on one condition.
You really don't mind me doing this?
Collita knows me inside out.
Shit, you look so much like my father.
That's a good start.
I'm not calling you old, you know
only knew him when he was young.
What's the matter? Do you feel old?
Old and a failure.
For fuck's sake!
You've got money, people listen to you.
-love you -Then vanish and leave me on my own.
No profile shots. They show my double chin.
Your trouble is no-one's ever looked after you properly
You gypsies are so clever.
-Who said I was a gypsy? -Look ..
you and I shouldn't waste any more time.
Or the next time we meet, I'll be too old.
Go on, please, turn sideways.
Was it your first time?
Yeah.
Don't lie to me so soon.
The first time I've felt something
Pleasure? Love?
Yeah.
-Yeah what? -Yeah
Tell me about yourself
What else do you want to know?
Shit!
If I'm late they' kill me!
Did you do military service?
In Galicia, as a second lieutenant.
So stand to attention
and present arms.
-For the taxi -All that?
-You want me to buy one? -Take it.
-Shall I see you again? -You'd better
I'm leaving my equipment here.
Hey..
could you lend me?
some cash to buy a motorbike?
We're incapable of seeing a landscape except literarily
There's no such thing as unspoilt nature
Will you leave nature alone?
Nature is all that literature is not.
-It might be reality. -The same thing
Nature evokes
the idea of what is the same as itself but reality ..
-changes -The use of the word probably comes
from the Counter-Reformation
No, I think it's 19th-century
Only after Kant and Newton, when the religious worldview disappeared,
was the concept of reality accepted.
Is it true you're a photographer?
Yes, but I left all that behind. I didn't like
-the people. -Why?
Too many queers.
Know what the sailors are saying
-in the taverns? -No.
That you've been made consul .
Yes, Honorary Consul of the Philippines in Barcelona.
-What the devil does that mean? -I don't know.
Till now I'd only felt like the Consul of Sodom.
Where's Sodom?
Sodom is everywhere, dear.
-Are you a consul too? -No.
Toni's a prince.
How romantic.
-And I want to be a princess -You already are.
The most beautiful princess
of the Mare Nostrum.
Wanna dance. Your Highness?
What do you want now, youth.
you impudent delight of life?
What brings you to the beach?
We old ones were content
until you came along to wound us
by reviving the most fearful of impossible dreams.
You come to rummage through our imaginations.
You'd better like this place because it's our house now.
Not here!
What? Don't I eat
like your friends?
don't know how they eat.
I'll look next time.
embarrass you, don't I?
Very much.
blush all the time.
Jaime
Show me how to do it.
Do what?
Te me how to dress,
what cologne to use.
It's important to me.
All right
If you insist.
Lorenzo cuts my hair.
There are more modern styles now.
A razor cut would be best for you.
have my suits made by Santa Eulalia
but I give them the cloth. I bring it from Hong Kong.
Shoes? That depends.
Shoes at Sebaga's go up in half-sizes, as in America
but who can resist the feel of Lotus leather?
Cologne .. neither too sweet-smelling
nor with too much alcohol.
I wear Eau Sauvage but...
something like Dandy Parera would be better for you.
Rioja is a classic.
They haven't discovered Valladolid wines yet.
Remember this, Toni. the future lies in Duero wines.
Don't stick your nose in it!
Hey, you're supposed to be with me. aren't you?
So what are you looking at?
He must be stupid.
It's on green for him.
Come on, mate!
Cross!
Dad!
Where are you going?
What are you doing here? Dad, it's me, Jaime.
I have to get to work. I like to be the first to get in
Mum said you're going to Segovia tomorrow.
It'll do you both a world of good.
Come on.
Come here, Adonis.
Here.
If you don't like it. too fucking bad. because I can't swap it.
Come here.
You mean ''exchange it'.
Okay. but open it.
You really shouldn't have.
It's beautiful.
Time is all I ask of you.
Do you love me?
Calm down, Luis,
please. Mum's had enough.
Don't upset her any more
Mr Jaime!
My dear friend.
Where were you?
He asked
for you till the very end.
He's here.
Go and see him. my son
What are you doing?
You thank me. father, by accompanying me with this trust
that your death has created between the two of us.
You can give me nothing.
I can give you nothing
That is why you understand me. '
'What do you want now, youth.
you impudent delight of life?'
Dead dogs
don't bite.
A toast to our host.
-Jaime Gil de Biedma. -Cheers!
Francisco Franco Bahamonde.
Dead!
I won't drink
to Franco's death. After all, we let him die in his sleep.
It'll be hard for women to bury him.
Shut up! You've always got Virginia Woolf up your cunt.
-Don't be vulgar. -Let's drop the subject, shall we?
All this talking might bring him back to life.
You lot didn't have it so bad.
The trouble is, you want it all.
Money.
a clear conscience..
Why don't you admit you're all right-wing?
I don't have any trouble about it.
I'm right-wing.
I want a good car, a good house.
I want to be rich I'm right-wing
I want to be rich I'm right-wing
You lout.
The lad did his military service in the elite corps and that
left its mark on him.
The oven's useless I've told him it needs changing
-but he won't listen. - It smells good
You're a great cook. Are you all right?
Everyone's thirsty.
The most charming lady of the party.
Go on.
Is he angry?
-My little soldier boy! -Can't you see I'm doing the food?
One day the food, then the ironing.
-then the washing. . -Fuck off!
Don't give me advice. Give me addresses
Where's the ice?
Tell me, Juan.
What would have happened if Teresa
had married Pijoaparte?
He'd have beaten her to death
Don't provoke him, Jaime.
I think that democracy will see
the birth of a modern, new nation .. but at the wrong moment.
And that nothing
we do will make us any younger.
But Jaime.
everyone's expecting you to make a comeback as a poet.
I'd already said all I had to say.
And that's all, folks
Three short books of poems
that fit into a single volume.
But. .
Drop it.
With each unwritten book his fame increases.
-I suggest we found a new religion. -By God, no!
-I'm still traumatised by Catholicism -Don't worry.
In my religion the faithful
will meet at nightfall to drink
and forget about each day's shame.
All will be love and poetry.
I'll translate: everybody will fuck more. I'll drink to that.
-Cheers -Cheers
-What a snowfall! -And we hadn't realised.
-Take care. Jaime. -You too.
The end of an age.
Bye, Jaime.
What about them?
Why aren't they leaving?
They've got chains
Toni!
We have a bad poem.
As we're not doing it for cash, no-one will justify us.
You think I'm an unjustified poet.
No, no, no
You're a tutti-frutti poet
'Beneath the zenithal lemons.
my joy saved by strawberries.
Eating plum ..''
What does your family do?
Don't you like poetry?
I'm not as clever as your boyfriend
He's not my boyfriend
So who is he?
A special friend.
You're one too, aren't you?
No.
I'm his slave.
His slave?
But he doesn't mistreat you
Slaves shouldn't be mistreated. .
just treated like slaves, that's all .
Really?
How are slaves treated?
Like this?
Or this...?
You all planned this!
What are you doing?
-What. .? -Keep away from him!
What are you doing, you animal?
Hit me again and we're through
Let's get out of here!
What's the matter?
-Get out! -All right, all right.
All right!
Oh dear ..
just when I'd found a line with no fruit
You think this is funny?
This is appalling.
What the hell have you done?
Who are you to throw people out of my home?
-Our home! -Ah. really?
The Count and Countess of Ultramont?
Don't treat me like a faggot!
No?
How shall I treat you? Like a ..
-gypsy? -Say that again.
Well. well, the little gypsy bastard's pissed off.
The one who was going to look after me
Get out!
Out of my house!
What are you laughing at?
Pijoaparte.
Take the car keys.
Go
The fact that life was to be taken seriously we understand only later
Like all young people,
I was going to change the world.
I wanted to make my mark
and withdraw to applause.
Growing old. dying..
it was all a question of the size of the theatre.
But time has passed
and I see the unpleasant truth.
Growing old. dying..
is the play's only plot
You can't wait here. Sit in the stalls
-or wait for me in the cafe,. -All right.
Why have you left your retinue
and your snow-white horses
to stroll through such a dark place in the company of a barbarian?
Hold on.
Hold on a minute, Pep.
I don't know what's wrong with you, Pep
You're a good actor, all right?
Right. From now on, when you come out here,
do me a fucking favour and leave your personal problems
in the dressing room.
want to get out, Jaime. . don't know what I want.
Didn't you want to get experience in Los Angeles or New York?
-And didn't you talk me out of it? -No. Pep.
It's a question of what you want. What you want
What are you doing?
I can't always be thinking of people.
If I want to kiss you, I will .
Just remember that till my mother dies
I'm not a queer.
Bah! Come on
CONSULS OF SODOM
It could be that new virus.
-AIDS. -The one that affects homosexuals?
Yes. Kaposi's sarcoma is one of the illnesses deriving from the virus.
We could ask for more tests
but there's no point here
Go to Paris or New York.
Paris then. Don't they call it the disease of love?
I'll go to the Hotel des Invalides if possible.
Will I lose my mental faculties?
It's possible.
Have you any relatives?
Or close friends?
Yes.
No interruptions
What's the matter?
I've got Kaposi's cancer
I don't want you going through this. Pep.
I ought to die on my own.
I'm not leaving you on your own.
I'll take care of you
Who'll look after you when you're sick?
That's in the future. Maybe there'll be a cure by then.
Have you ever taken time out to look at swans
with their disproportionately long necks?
They look almost monstrous..
but end just in time
That's how Bel was.
So beautiful
Bursting with energy...
and with a tragic aura and a clownish side to her
that was always there.
wonder how many I've given it to.
Don't think about that
The past doesn't matter now
Life is sometimes so short
and complete that a minute, when let it and you let it,
runs faster and lasts a long time
Life is sometimes richer
and during the week invites us both to go together into its palace
or on Sundays to jerk and jolt.
It's then that life can be counted in units of your love
so small that they are forgotten amid the happiness.
amid the confusion
Life sometimes is so little
and so intense. if that's your pleasure...
Even the pain you cause me
brings another meaning to being of this word.
Life, then, is us
to the most evil extreme
For loving each other is a punishment
and living together an abyss.
I thought so.
Love poems.
Don't worry, you'll grow out of it.
Don't listen to me.
Deep down. I envy you
There's only one way to experience poetry
and that's when you're young.
Write about love
or trams..
But write.
-Jaime. -Yes?
They're waiting for us.
-Thank you. -Not at all.
Pep ..
Yes?
After supper..
I want to get lost in the darkness of the night.
Alone.
So what now?
Nothing.
JAIME GIL DE BIEDMA DIED AT HIS HOME IN BARCELONA
JAIME GIL DE BIEDMA DIED AT HIS HOME IN BARCELONA
ON 8TH JANUARY, 1990. AT THE AGE OF 60
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