NORWEGIAN METROLOGY SERVICE
Norwegian Accreditation
- Late breakfast?
- Yes.
I had a meeting in town.
- With your lawyer?
- Yes.
He's so slowto pick up his things.
Fetches a little now and then.
- Does he still have a key?
- Yes.
And then all those additional fees.
There's Marie.
Coming!
I have a bag
of potatoes ready for you.
Good.
I thought I'd drop by this weekend.
- You have room in your car?
- It isn't that small.
Fine, it isn't that small.
How is the "bouncing lottery ball"
project going?
I've noticed
the number 18 keeps coming up.
- So you watch the drawings?
- Oh, yes.
I haven't heard of any aberration,
but it isn't my project.
- I think they'll be done next month.
- Good.
OK.
EMPLOYEES ONLY
Want to come to dinnertonight?
- What are you making?
- Bacalao.
Sounds good. But I'm busy.
How often do you cook dinner?
Almost daily.
Pasta?
Pizza?
- Have you evertried sushi?
- No.
Never.
Dad?
Dad?
- Magnhild?
- It's just me, Dad.
I dreamt
that I was asleep in the hay.
- You are in the hay.
- I know.
But I dreamt it too.
In addition.
Did you knowthat
your mother and I often rested here?
No, I've never heard that before.
I'm thirsty.
Are you attending the kilo seminar
in Paris next week?
I don't think I can get out of it.
But soon it will be yourturn.
Oh?
Counting atoms instead of weighing.
That's more for your generation.
Will you bring our kilo?
All the delegates are bringing
their respective kilos.
And we'll find out
if our kilo has gained weight.
Or if the French one has lost weight.
I wouldn't be surprised.
- Have you eaten today?
- I'm working on it.
Calvados.
Splendid.
You hadn't touched
yourfood in the kitchen.
- Have you talked to Ernst today?
- No.
I can't find him.
He missed a meeting today.
- Did you try his home number?
- Yes, and his cell.
- That's strange.
- I know.
Has he started drinking again?
Not enough to affect his job.
He hasn't picked up
his plane tickets, either.
Dad?
Dad?
Dad? Hi.
Dad.
He had a serious heart attack.
Right.
Can I see him?
No.
We're preparing him for surgery.
He's already under anesthesia.
I suggest you go home
and get some rest.
You can come back tomorrow.
- Will he be OK?
- It's hard to tell.
We'll do our best.
Yes.
Thank you.
- Hi.
- How is he?
They don't know yet.
And how are you?
OK, I guess.
Let me know
if there's anything I can do.
Thank you.
- Wenche?
- Yes.
Could you drive me
to the airport tomorrow?
Of course.
I'm sure Ernst will appreciate
you doing this, Marie.
But don't feel obligated.
I don't.
This is what I want to do.
We both want you to take overfor him,
when the time is right.
And regarding this kilo seminar,
it would probably have been
too much for him anyway.
Ernst has a stellar career
behind him.
But he is undeniably old school.
Sure, but there's a lot
for me to learn too.
Yes, that's true.
You know
you're bringing our kilo to Paris?
Yes. Ernst said
a new calibration was scheduled.
Let's go then.
It almost feels like I'm doing
something illegal, without Ernst here.
Ernst found it a little sad
to think about.
That the kilo is our last
physical reference object,
since the meter was retired.
As you know, there are two schools
regarding the calibration
of national prototypes.
Whether they should be washed or not
before they are weighed.
Ernst was opposed to washing,
and we should support that stance.
Here is a dispatch note in English.
It explains what is in the capsule,
and that only a trained professional
can open it.
If anything happens
to our prototype,
we risk losing our membership.
Here is a carnet.
Acustoms document.
It explains that we are not
to pay duty on the kilo,
as it is the Institute's property,
and will be returned to Norway
after being recalibrated at BIPM.
Wouldn't it be smarter
to have the documents in French?
Could be.
We'll revisit that at a later date.
But everything is explained clearly
in English here.
And you speak some French, right?
A little.
I almost screwed up there.
There.
Try to enjoy yourself too.
Bye!
Thank you.
Have a nice trip.
Madame, please.
May I check your bag?
Prototype?
Please open it.
This is the national kilo
from Norway.
- Open it, please.
- No, that is not possible.
I am not authorized.
It is made of 90l% platinum
and 10l% iridium.
It must not be touched.
That could change its weight.
I also have here...
Here is the address for BIPM,
the International Bureau
of Weights and Measures.
With a contact person
and phone number.
One minute.
Guillaume?
Look at this.
What do you think?
- Hello.
- Hello.
It's fine.
- It's fine?
- Yes.
It's fine.
You like it?
Yes, it's nice.
I also have an electric car.
- Are you waiting for a taxi?
- Yes.
- Where are you staying?
- In the Marais.
I can drive you.
That's where I live.
All right.
That's kind of you.
- Do you have a bag?
- Yes, overthere.
- My name is Pi.
- Marie.
- Marie?
- Yes.
- Are you Scandinavian?
- Norwegian.
- Are you coming back next week?
- Yes.
Do you support washing
or not washing the kilo?
Not washing.
You know the procedure?
Yes.
I'd love to show you the area,
but I'm going to the theater.
It's OK.
I'm very tired.
It's a Norwegian play, by Jon Fosse.
Someone Is Golng to Come.
That must be
Nokon kjem tll a komme.
- Have you seen it?
- Almost. But something came up.
"Something came up."
That sounds like another play by Fosse.
- It does.
- Have a nice trip home, Marie.
So many...
memories have been
pouring back lately.
Magnhild.
And Gunnar.
Mostly Gunnar.
Do you feel guilty?
He was the farmer, after all.
But you had the hereditary right.
It was Grandpa's wish.
- Did you have a falling out?
- Not really.
But he was
terribly disappointed.
And then hejust left.
Is he still in Paris?
The last time I heard from him,
that's where he was.
He... worked odd jobs as a painter.
Marie?
Would you be interested
in taking over the farm?
- Would you?
- You've never asked me before.
True.
No, Dad.
I've never thought about that.
Why ask me now?
It's time to put my life
in the balance.
That's what ultimately needs
to be weighed.
It...
It would be fascinating to find out
how much you actually
weighed at the end.
- At the end?
- Yes.
You remember
that I want to be cremated?
Yes, I've registered that.
Supposedly
our soul weighs 21 grams.
But,
considering
all the people I have met,
I find that highly unlikely.
Water?
Hello?
Yes?
Yes.
When?
Yes.
Yes.
Thank you.
Are you sure
you shouldn't stay home, Marie?
Nils can fly down and get the kilo.
I think it's good for me to work.
And then you'll have a funeral?
Cremation.
And he didn't want a ceremony.
We have no family to speak of,
except... Gunnar.
- Gunnar?
- His younger brother.
I had no idea he had a brother.
No.
We haven't had any contact foryears.
He left when Ernst took overthe farm.
- But Ernst never ran that farm?
- No.
And he felt guilty about
not letting Gunnar take over instead.
I found a notebook at the hospital.
I think it was Gunnar's.
It was empty, except for a quote
on the last page.
Written in pencil.
It said: "Life's heaviest burden
is to have nothing to carry."
What do you think?
I think that's true.
Sad.
Maybe that's how he felt when he left?
And Yngve?
He's almost taken everything.
Only a few pictures are left.
You sure have been patient.
I don't know.
Gunnar?
Gunnar?
Uncle Gunnar?
It's Little Marie!
Ernst is dead!
Dad is dead.
- Good evening.
- Good evening, Marie. How are you?
- Have a seat.
- Thank you.
So,
did anyone come?
Not until right now.
But I enjoyed the play.
- Is that the Norwegian kilo?
- Yes.
Isn't it heavy to carry around?
"Life's heaviest burden
is to have nothing to carry."
Yes.
That's so true.
Are you working?
It's a personal research project.
Awork in progress.
- Some wine?
- No. I'm going back to the hotel.
- Why don't we walk home together?
- All right.
What is this research project?
It's a research project
about birdsong.
Birdsong?
I found out that birds change
their dialect as they approach Paris.
How did you find that out?
By coincidence. I was at a party
at some friends' outside Paris.
I was biking home early
in the morning,
and I noticed that the birds' song
changed character as I neared town.
Why?
Communication.
Good night, Marie.
Good night.
Sweet dreams.
Thank you.
My God!
What happened to you?
I had an accident.
- Was Yngve involved?
- No!
- What happened?
- I drove into a ditch.
- How is the car?
- Totaled.
But that isn't the worst of it.
The kilo was totaled too.
No way!
The capsule was dented
and the bell jars were smashed.
What about the kilo itself?
It...
It seems fine.
I have to go back to Paris
and try to get it fixed
before anyone finds out.
The important thing is that you're OK.
I don't know.
It feels like...
everything around me is breaking.
Marie?
I'll come up.
- Hello, Marie.
- Hello.
- How are you?
- Fine.
- Everything here is closed today.
- So I see.
What happened to your eye?
- I was in a car accident.
- No!
And the kilo was thrown out.
The kilo can be fixed.
Really?
I hope so.
That's why I'm here. No one at home
knows what has happened.
Today is a public holiday.
Most everything is closed.
Don't worry. Some countries
have lost their kilo altogether.
- No way!
- It's true.
May I see it?
Yes.
All right.
Let me make a call.
I have a colleague
who can help us.
- Agardener?
- No, not a gardener.
Hello?
Gerard, how are you?
Am I interrupting?
I'm at BIPM.
Could you come over here?
The Norwegian prototype
has been in a car accident.
Yes.
Hopefully you can help.
Can you come quickly?
All right.
OK.
No problem.
Gerard will be here shortly.
OK.
I have to get some flowers planted
before they die.
- Would you like to help me?
- Sure.
- Are you enjoying yourself?
- Yes.
I like this.
As a child,
I helped my grandfather in the garden.
- Was he a gardener?
- No, he was a pesant.
Pesant?
What does it mean, pesant?
He was a...
He...
He lived in the country.
- Ah, paysan!
- Yes, paysan.
So he was a peasant.
Because pesant means
something else in French.
What does it mean?
Pesant means something heavy,
like a kilo.
- Really?
- Yes. Here is Gerard.
- Professor!
- Hello, Gerard.
How are you?
Allow me to introduce Marie.
Hello.
Marie Ernst.
Ernst?
Are you related to Ernst Ernst?
Yes, he was my father.
- Was?
- Yes.
- He passed away recently.
- I'm sorry.
He was a good man.
I didn't know him well,
but he was a good man.
Thank you.
And the kilo is intact?
- Yes, I think so.
- I think it's fine.
Is it possible
to replace the capsule as well?
I'll see what I can do.
- Where is it?
- In my office.
- Bring it down to my workshop.
- All right.
Gerard?
- Would you like to come in?
- We'll wait in the garden.
Sir, can you attach
the Norwegian flag as well?
Of course.
I'll take care of that.
Thank you, Gerard.
"Professor"?
Yes.
I worked at BIPM for 15 years.
- Mathematician?
- No, physician.
But your name is Pi.
My middle name is Pilate,
so everyone calls me Pi.
Except my mother, of course.
What did you research?
I worked on the Watt Balance Project.
- What about the Avogadro Project?
- No, not me.
- And now you're a gardener here?
- Yes.
Part-time.
I needed some breathing space
in my life.
Why?
- Because of your family?
- Among other things.
But I only have my mother.
And she has Alzheimer's.
So she lives with me.
Only for a short while.
As long as she can manage
outside an institution.
That's very kind of you.
And you?
Were you and yourfather close?
I miss him terribly.
He was all I had.
It's as if...
every reference point in my life
is crumbling away.
But we need some chaos in life.
Our need for references is really
nothing but a comfort answer.
- Acomfort answer?
- Yes.
Athousand grams.
Seven decimals.
Twenty-seven decimals.
Ten raised to the power of eight.
How much does a life weigh?
And love?
How much does that weigh, Marie?
What we are simply trying
to find out is: Who are we?
My fathertried to tell me that,
just before he died.
You have to put your life
in the balance.
The French poet Aragon said...
"By the time we learn to live
it is already too late."
Are you cold?
Yes, maybe I am.
Sign here.
And write today's date there.
Here.
This is yours.
Hello?
- Hi.
- Hi.
- Are you still cleaning up in here?
- Yes.
I thought I'd finish up
before I take my vacation.
- So you are leaving?
- We'll see.
- Is that Ernst?
- Yes.
- You are burying him?
- Yes, next to my mother.
Talk to you later.
Have a nice trip.
Excuse me, ma'am.
- May I look?
- Yes.
- No kilo?
- No. No kilo.
- Would you like to listen?
- Yes, of course.
I recorded the goldfinch
in three different locations.
The first one,
15 kilometers from town.
It's magnificent!
And now the second one,
seven kilometers from town.
It's different, yes.
But also beautiful.
And now the last one,
in the center of town.
It's...
It's completely different.
Would you like
tojoin me in the field?
Yes, I'd love to.
Foot.
Pled.
Polgnee.
Handful.
Pouce.
Inch.
Fathom.
Brasse.
1.8288 meters.
Or six feet.
Or 72 inches.
My arms.
15.5 centimeters.
No.
Eighteen!