|
Heritage (2019)
1
There may not be a physical wall but there is definitely still a wall, an emotional mental wall like the Eastern Germany is still dealing with the atrocities that happened to them. And-- and they will as long as we all- Did you want to go somewhere else? I am not your therapist. Why would you say that you're my therapist? "Hi Anna, how was your day? What have you been up to?" That would have been a good way to start off tonight. Come on, you know how important this presentation is tomorrow. Yes, I do. So how was your day? Okay, so maybe my interest is- - Obsession? - A bit intense. - But you as a German should know how important this is. - Yes. And I as a German can tell you how esoteric the whole thing is. - It matters. Yeah. - To you? Miles, if you want a girl to stick around for more than three dates, you should really find something more to talk about. - It's academic. - Nobody cares. Not Germans, not academics, not girls. Look, from all that you've told me, I think you should really consider counseling. That might be a better use of your time. Okay. So today I'm going to present my grant proposal for the study of the transgenerational impact of the German reunification on the inhabitants of the Harz mountains. Oh, goodie. Okay, so- Three times you've presented this project for funding. The first two times we rejected it. What makes you think we've changed our minds? We all know about the wall, we all know it fell. You as an outsider might feel the need to go there. We don't. Are you kidding me? To me this sounds like you're requesting private funding for a personal project. - Well, if you-- - Miles, the university isn't interested in spending thousands just to help you with your family issues. Look, the purpose of this project is to research and document how Stasi oppression affected the people of this region and the generations that followed. Yes, it's personal because of my family history and yes, that pushes me to investigate the issue. But -- don't confuse my passion to make a difference with some sort of twisted therapy. Call it what you like, either way it's asking too many resources for too little academic return. What about Charlie Price? He's down there trying to get academic perspective on regional folklore like that hasn't been done to death. Charlie Price got his funding because he also agreed to carry out major artifact acquisition for the university archive. I'm not sure if Charlie Price is the name you really want to bring up right now. Look, I didn't quit that fucking analyst job at the CIA so that I could come here and recycle a bunch of shit already written and locked away in some dusty library. People like my father were never held accountable for what they did. The lack of research on this subject is an embarrassment. How can we change, how can we make amends if we don't know the facts? I grew up never knowing who my father was, but always dreading what he might have been. You know it sounds funny. You say it isn't personal and yet here you are again making it about you. It's always about you, isn't it? In your application letter to this program you wrote about your East German roots, your family emigrating after the wall fell, how you never felt like you belonged anywhere after your dad killed himself, had no identity and maybe, just maybe, if you study here, you could find answers to all that. But you keep asking us for more and more. And for the third time we say no. Thank you very much, Herr von Siegler. Miles. Wait. I might have something for you. It might not be what you're looking for right now but it's something. Do you have time this afternoon for a private meeting with Dr. White and myself? - What's this about? - When was the last time you saw Charlie Price? Well, Charlie, congrats man. You earned it. Maybe you lucked out, man. Not quite what I hoped for either. I wanted to see how folklore survives in the 21st century world. They won't help building an archive. Yeah, what's in it for them? It's always the same bullshit here. Maybe that's what you gotta do, find a way to make it more lucrative for them. I know it's important for you to find out about your dad and all but there's got to be an angle to grab their interest too. Just gotta have something to offer. Right. Miles, I don't know if you notice the elephant in the room this morning when you mentioned Charlie Price. Did you? My attention was kind of elsewhere. In your proposal, your list Price as a primary resource. Is there a problem with that? How well do you know Charlie Price? We were both analysts at the CIA. - Do you talk to him much? - Not often. A couple of emails back and forth. Been a while though. The department has a bit of a situation. And -- we were hoping you could help us deal with it. We learned fairly quickly he wasn't to be trusted. He had conflicts about the truth. Initially we were very pleased with the work Price was doing. But he seems to have disappeared and as you see there, also managed to get himself in a lot of trouble. We received this from Price about a week ago. Underground, stop. In my case the past keeps me sane, stop. Cease contact, everything is fucked, stop. - He wrote you a telegram? - That was an email. We got word from a man called Gerhard Schmidt. That's a photo of him right here. He's a police chief in a small village called Kreuzfeld. The cops believe there were situations there along with some police reports and stolen artifacts from museums, private collections in the area. Two weeks ago that rare clock, you see there, showed up at auction in Munich. Seller was arrested, but Price's fingerprints were also found on it. What do you want me to do about it? You said it yourself this morning you used to work for the CIA. Yeah, but I was an analyst. I was never an officer. Miles, as you know, we instructed Price to find several of these artifacts for us, but we never imagined he'd be stealing and selling them. If Price goes to prison while under our grand funding, the foundation will be demolished. You're his friend, you know his methods. Find him before he does something that ruins all of us. And from all of this, I'm supposed to believe that you'll give me department approval on my funding? If you're successful in getting Price back, absolutely. Miles, look, the department just needs a clean bill of health. That's all we're asking for. That's what you want, a chance to spend some time in your father's homeland. As soon as you arrive in Kreuzfeld, you'll need to make contact with this Gerhard Schmidt, the police chief we told you about. Try to make contact with as many people who interacted with Price as possible. But be careful. People in these villages can be very provincial. We have no way of telling who all might be helping Price. Good luck, Miles. And stay in touch. I'm sorry that you had to come all this way down here when you didn't have to. - What? - Your colleague is already dead. Have a look. We found him two days ago. He was barely recognizable. To be honest with you, I didn't really know him at all. He always seemed a bit nuts. And the more he came around, the stranger he seemed to get. I had a few run-ins with him and his little girlfriend, Heike Grauhaus. She's always been a troublemaker. Is your name Heike Grauhaus? You came here to look for him, didn't you? Of course. Yeah, I mean I had. So how did you know how to come talk to me about it? You're in some of the reports Gerhard has sent us. Fuck, yeah. I don't know, Price, he got weird to his end, longer trips away. Whenever he did show up, all his time was spent with Gerhard. Gerhard said they didn't know each other. Don't trust him. Come on, I have some stuff of his he left behind if you want it. It's an old Harz melody. The words keep changing from region to region, but those are the words my mother taught me. - Does she still live here? - No. They left when I was very young. It's late. But no, no, you can stay. Work as long as you need. Okay, thanks. Yeah, sure. You can also sleep here if you want, if you feel like it. - What are all those strange symbols? - I have no idea. Well, I'll be in here if you need anything. Good night. Good night. Von Siegler. All right, Price. Anything in here that's gonna help me find out what happened to you? Great notes, man. I guess it's true what they were saying about you. These caves up here, prehistoric apartments. No one comes here anymore. The villagers believe they are haunted, except I always found Price moving around up here. I found the relics he collected, were in here, same place that we found his body. Most of what is missing now are some antiques, or rather a large collection of diamonds. So I met Heike Grauhaus last night and she told me that- I'm going to tell you something I shouldn't. The reason Heike doesn't like me is back in the DDR I informed on her parents to the Stasi. They were arrested and never returned. And she thinks I'm responsible for that. - Are you? - I didn't have a choice. None of us did. But right now I have bigger problems. Terrible. - But I guess there is nothing more we can do. - Yeah. Listen, Dr. Evers, if it's all right I was gonna stay down here for a few more days and just sort of do some independent study. Certainly. But understand that you're now on your own. The university can't afford anyone to get to your exposure down there. You know you can tell a lot about a man by the way he packs. - Oh yeah? What was this telling you? - Oh, no, I mean a real man. Right. What are all these? Stuff Price stole, reportedly stole, who knows. - Don't you think you should try and find some of these first? - Not my job. In fact, I think I've learned all that I can from this place. So I'm gonna move on to the next town. - Is it cool if I leave some of the stuff here with you? - Sure. You sure you don't want to stick around? I mean you can keep crashing here, it's not a problem. No. My talk today with Gerhard reminded me that I have a bigger purpose down here. Got a little bit of extra time now, gonna spend it doing my own studies for a bit. Well, let me give you a lift to Thale then. I'm meeting a friend. Then you can catch the train from there, save you some time. Shit, I don't think I can turn around, but the station is right back there. Also be careful, okay? It's obvious you're not from here and there's some crazy people in these small towns. Okay, great. Thanks for the ride. Here hold on, let me-- let me give you my number. I don't know, maybe if you ever come back down here or the university needs anything. Thanks again. Hello? Hi, how are you? Look, I don't know who put you up to this, but haha, very funny, nice joke. - But look-- - We're looking for a friend of yours, the other American. - Price? - Good, you know him. I don't know if you know this but Price is dead. I just came to pick up some of his stuff. And-- and his stuff. - Do you have them with you? - Yeah, some of it. It's in my backpack. Okay, okay. Give it to me. Okay. - And this, you don't-- you don't have this with you? - No. - No? - I mean-- I mean just a picture. - Just-- just a picture? - Yeah. Okay. I told you. Necklace. Price was supposed to bring it to me and he never showed up. He's dead, okay. Okay, he's dead. But now you're hired to find it. Isn't it great? So, name your price. Come on! It's worth a lot and I like to share. Okay, 15,000. Ten thousand? Five thousand? You know, they'd stop if you answer. I don't think you get it. Um, your life? Ah, good, good. That works for both of us. So you bring me the necklace and I won't kill you. okay? Why are you doing this to me? Well, you're here, right, and Price was your friend, your little buddy. And I have a feeling, I have this feeling that you have more of his stuff than you let on. So, um, do we have a deal? The necklace for your life? Cool. To make it official, Boris will go over the terms of the contract with you. And Boris, you know the conditions, right? So don't touch his face. I don't want him drawing any unnecessary attention. So, I gotta go tell my daughter to break a leg. Look, but you boys have fun. Bye-bye. Not so hard. He has a job to do. Oh, and fill the pool when you're done. It's gonna be gorgeous this weekend. Klaus once asked to keep an eye on you while you searched for the necklace. So let's get the show on the road. Here, try to stand up straight. I know it hurts. But don't be such a... In and out. Hey! Why are you running? We just want to talk. Hey! Come on! We are going to find you anyway. And now I'm coming for you. What moron goes straight to the train station after making an escape? So I took a look at your passport and noticed your last name is von Siegler. That wouldn't make you the son of Ullrich von Siegler, would it? - What? - The infamous Stasi officer. - You knew him? - Your dad did some pretty nasty things in his day. Hmm. Wait a minute. Tell me what you know about my father. You know, during the DDR several Stasi officers like your daddy found a pretty clever way to make some extra money. When certain enemies of the state were arrested, the Stasi might offer them a way to buy out of their troubles, you know. They traded mostly with untraceable goods like gold, jewels or antiques, valuable necklaces. So, when the East fell, most of them fled in fear hiding the treasures throughout the mountains. And most of them never came back. So finders keepers, I say. All right. Hold on. You knew my dad? I knew of him. - Well, are the rumors true? - That doesn't matter right now. Was he involved in all the stuff you were just talking about? Price sort of fell into my lap much like you did. He was already down here looking for many of the same things I was. So I convinced him to get them to me instead of the university. He wanted to be paid in left-over relics I couldn't sell. He wanted that necklace too. And Boris foolishly gave it to him. Boris, what was the other thing our little friend had in his backpack? Put this in with it. Someone should report it soon enough and I think there will be enough evidence for the feds to know who to look for. Oh Boris, I'm impressed. Find me that necklace and I'll have one of my errand boys take the fall for your little trouble here. If not, good luck talking your way out of it with Homeland Security. Fuck! - You bring Price's bag with you? - Packed it in the back. Do you know anywhere I can lay low for a while? I know a place. Oh... - Is that so bad? - Terrible. - What is this place anyway? - It's a house. After the reunification a lot of the wealthier families in the East went West for economy. - And they just left it here? - Left for the forest to reclaim, I guess. All set. Thank you. Yeah. There's a word for guys like you in German. - What? - It's called... - I think you mean schmetterling? - Not quite. I'll look it up. Come, let me help you with this. - So what about you? - What about me? Don't seem to be a lot of young people around here. - I'm pretty sure you're the only one I've met. - Yeah. Well, the inn that I own, it's been in my family for generations. After my parents disappeared, I was raised by my aunt and I just now feel like it's my responsibility to keep it. My parents wouldn't like that. You don't think they would have wanted you to move on, make something better? I don't know. You know, when my parents were entrepreneurs, self-employed with the inn, the state, the DDR did not like that. Too capitalistic. I feel like the inn had something to do probably with them disappearing. So, I feel I owe it them to keep it. Sorry. Me too. But I guess that's just how it was back then. You should get some rest. I'm gonna go back into town and see what the situation is like. Well, you're in luck. Sounds like no one was injured and they don't have any leads yet. I don't know how long that'll last. You're probably safe to stay here for a while at least. I don't think that's an option. - What then? - I think my best bet is to find the necklace and head east, try to find a way to get some travel documents made. I'd hate to see it go though. Something about you being here felt hopeful. Heike. Miles, Miles, Miles. You know, Gerhard showed me this old cave apartments outside Kreuzfeld. Mm. Said that the people won't go near them, they're too afraid. Yeah, they're all superstitious too. The legend says during the Saxon time they were the houses of nachzehrer, vampire-like creatures. If you went near them at night, they would take you to be never seen again. - Is it arts and crafts time? - I couldn't sleep. Come take a look at this. According to Price's notes, every legend in the Harz is mirrored at least once in some version in another town. Shurka, Hasselfelde, Bekinschtein, Nutana. Price consumed himself with these fairytales. Okay. - So? - So, Kreuzfeld, the devil caves. Something about the cave kept the people away. Both you and Gerhard confirm that. That means in one of those other towns there must be a cave where Price hid the rest of what he reportedly stole, including the necklace. We retrace his footsteps, we see what we find. It's not as silly as it sounds. I don't think it's silly, I think it's stupid. Do you even get how much trouble you're in? And you want to keep chasing it. - What else do you want me to do? - I just don't want to see you get hurt. You're not as good at this as you think you are. Well, that's why you're coming with me. Cute smile like yours could come in handy. You're an idiot. Well, my friend, what you are looking for is something very precious. Ah, here it is. This is the necklace of Saint Walpurga crafted from a precious stone pulled from the heart of the Harz back mountain and blessed by the Saint Walpurga. It was once part of the Domschatz Treasury, you know, before it disappeared during the Saxon invasion. - So this necklace-- - Walpurga sketer. The material value of the necklace is maybe only in the thousands, but its religious and historical ties make it quite valuable to certain collectors. What I would give to have it back in the hands of a museum. Go to Ellrich. Meet me at this bridgeabout 10 kilometers outside the village. I have information. Get to Ellrich. Ellrich. So what do you think? Maybe we should take this back road towards Zorgan then we'd be able to pass Bantch on the way. The old school is there. Thought it might be worth a look. What's that? It was originally built by the Nazis, but then the Communists took it over and used it as a place to teach the youth who wanted to enter the political system. After the wall fell, it was just abandoned. And rumor has that the old files and documents are still in there. Don't you think we should try and get to Ellrich first, check out this bridge? I don't know, but it's on the way, so let's just check it out. My mother used to study here for a bit, but then she started dating my father and they kicked her out. Because he wasn't a party member? No, he introduced her to Pink Floyd. What a mess. These people call themselves Germans? Maybe we should split up. Heike. Someone's awfully quiet. - You okay? - Yeah. I guess it's just this stuff you said about your parents that got me thinking. About what? My dad died when I was just a baby. And I always knew he wasn't a great person, I just never understood to what extent and I-- I guess I just assumed it was always worse, not actually knowing what he did. We aren't responsible for the lives of our parents. Heike, I have to tell you something. Something about my dad. - He-- - Let's go for a swim. I think it would be good for you to wash off all the self-pity. Get in here, you bandousha. It's getting late. I'm heading to bed. I didn't mean alone. You see right there, there should be something. Miles, is the food still in your bag? I'm going back to Kreuzfeld. Look Heike, I can explain. Your father is the reason my parents are gone. The reason I'm alone. And the fact that you would hide this from me goes against everything you've been telling me this entire time. But, why you're here to begin with? Heike, we aren't our parents. We aren't responsible for the things they did, the lives they led. I'm not responsible. These are your words. I know. Those were just words and now this is reality. It's too close to home for me to ignore how I feel about it. Will you at least stay with me until we get to Ellrich? I can't have you in my life anymore. I can't be responsible for you. - You know it? - Of course I know it. It's a song of Saint Walpurga. Belongs to the town of Ellrich. I thought it belonged to Kreuzfeld. They do maybe. The melody was shared all over Germany. But in the Harz, the textiles of Saint Walpurga and the town of Ellrich. Does this have anything to do with the Walpurga sketer? Yes, everything to do with that. - Ellrich? - Yeah. You're already on your way there. So what you're saying is people stay away from the cave because they're afraid of it. Let's see what you got. I know you like to tell everybody you left that agency voluntarily, but after seeing this incompetence, I'm surprised they didn't just drop your ass. Price? Come on. Everyone thinks you're dead. Yeah, and I'm keeping it that way. I saw pictures. Well, whose body did they find? One of Klaus's guys caught up with me. Happy accident, I guess. I can't believe you're alive. I'm not. - Why are you following me? - Why is it you're coming after all my stuff? Because I need it to buy my way out of a problem that you caused. I knew you would say that. What is it? Hooch. I make it from all the roots around here. You know what this is, right? - A necklace. - It's a currency to you, right? What you can buy, how much. Look, man, I get it, believe me, I do. But that thing is my ticket out of here. I'm sorry if-- if you can't understand that. She's not gonna let you out. You think I signed on voluntarily? I was right where you are once. - What do you expect me to do then? - Find another way. And what way is that? Roll over and play dead? Just tell me what the fuck happened to you, man. Not long after I started running relics for Klaus, I met an old Stasi informant. He knew an old officer who stashed his treasure all around here, diamonds mostly. That's when I realized it's all blood money. That necklace doesn't belong in Klaus's bank account and it doesn't belong to the university either. It belongs to the people of the mountains, okay? Their history. She's not just making money, she's robbing a people of their lore, their identity, okay? Now it's up to me to protect it. Price, it doesn't have to be like this. Come back with me. We can sort this whole thing out together. I have to do this, this is my work. Help me, Miles. Work with me on this. Look, man, I wish it didn't have to go this way. I'm not sure what else I can do here. I just want to go home. All right? The stuff that I've learned here, the stuff about my dad, it's becoming too much for me to handle. What did you say you put in this again? Drugs. "If you change your mind, come find me." Find anything good? Wasn't expecting to see you again. Yeah, well, surprise. I'm leaving. I'm gonna deliver the necklace to Klaus and then head east, fly home, sort things out. Cool. Come with me. I can't. Why not? You know why not. Who's the babe? Looked kind of pissed. Time's up. Yeah, whatever, I got your necklace right here. Did that bitch rip you off? Well, I guess that makes it much more fun. Not for you, you're kind of screwed now. I'm gonna pick up your lady, bring her to the pool. Klaus has a little bit easier time slapping girls on. You stay put. I'll let you know what Klaus wants me to do with you. Yeah. Ah! You're going to get your ass kicked. Here pussy, pussy. Where are you? Pussy, pussy, pussy. Meow, meow. I hear you. You can't hide forever. Don't move. You are in pretty deep shit, my friend. I'm telling you it wasn't me. Oh, the train exploded all by itself, hmm? You know, these mountains here are strange but not that strange, Herr von Siegler. - Gerhard, I swear to you-- - You think I wouldn't be aware of a bomb-making housewife who was running an underground racket just here in front of my nose? I have been building a case against that bitch for months now. And you admitted involvement and the bombing only makes things easier for me. Price is alive. - What did you say? - He can tell you himself. - You talked to him? - Yesterday. Well, you prove it to me. I said I didn't want to talk to you. Give me back my necklace and you won't have to. Your necklace? I have no idea what you're talking about. - I need your help. - Go fuck yourself, Miles. - Price is alive. - Bullshit. If you can help me get him out of hiding, together we can bust Klaus and Gerhard to clear my name. Seriously? Miles, enough, okay? You have this blind and somehow selfish trust in people who only want to screw you over. Yeah, you're right. I guess it started with you. You know, the one thing Price had over you was the decency to disappear from my life. I have stuff to do. So fuck off. Out. That's my comfort chair. I called them to report about Klaus to the feds. I left your name out of it for now. But without Price to back up your story, I may have to hand you over as well when they arrive. - What is it you keep playing with? - Something Price gave me. Let me see it. The Wolkenpalast. I almost forgot about this thing. In the late '80s, the party was building a new headquarter here. The wall came down before they had finished. It was left to rot in the middle of nowhere. Let me see that again. No way. We need to go get my bag from the house. Yeah, it's the only one of Price's markers. I never checked out because I just thought it was a random doodle. I mean, he draws it all over his books too. This has to be it. There isn't anything else around for kilometers. He has to be here. Give me a few minutes before you follow me. I want to try and talk to him alone. If he's even here. Price! I knew you'd change your mind. Glad to see you found the place. Guess you're not so dumb after all. You came alone? Yeah. Come here. I want to show you something. Hell of a thing. Price, let's just go, man. Let's go home. There's no way Klaus even knows where we are. Miles, I can't just suddenly reappear in the world. - I talked to Gerhard. - Gerhard? He's the whole reason this is happening, okay? The guy's a fucking criminal. Do you know how many people are dead because of him? He was supposed to help me get out from under Klaus. Then double-crossed me and keep all the diamonds he hired me to find. - Didn't Heike tell you about him? - I thought-- Price! Don't go too close. Last guy didn't have much luck. I can't believe he had them on him. But I probably wouldn't leave them lying around either. - What is it? - The diamonds. I knew there was more than what he claimed to have found. And I think it's only fair if you get your share. Most of them belong to your father anyway. I'm sure you figured it out by now. The whole Harz racket was his idea. - What the fuck do you know about my dad? - Well, we worked together. Great guy. I had a lot of respect for him. Then he decided to take the easy way out. A coward. That seems to run in your family. Think very carefully before you make your next move, my friend. All right, CIA, hm? Go ahead. Do it. Do it. They don't teach that to the analysts, huh? Let's do it your way. So how do you want me to end this? I can gut you like a pig. Or you'll take a leap of faith like your friend? It's a tough one, huh. Let me give you a little taste of what the first option might feel like. Hey! Hey! Drop it. Okay, okay. - Calm down. Please calm down. - Drop it! Drop it! I know you think you have me, and you want me. So before you do anything stupid, try to use your brain. You can throw over as many of those as you like. Even if it takes me a year to find just one of them, it's still more money than I've seen in a lifetime. You have got nothing for then. What? You think he can help you? Look at him. He's a little wimp. He has already sold out one friend to me today. What's one more? And that necklace, as much an heirloom to him as it is to you. - What are you talking about? - Oh, you didn't know. Not everything can be right, I know. Ralph. Heike. What is it you think he really wants? Forgiveness? From whom? I forget myself 30 years ago. - Fuck you! - No! You just threw away the only bargaining chip you had. And from where I stand, you are both pretty fucked. Let's get you out of here. Wait, wait. Just a second. Just a second. It's fine, it's fine. Miles, I'm sorry. Heike, it's okay. - Heike. - Give this to Klaus. Do what you gotta do. Let's get me out here. Pretty impressive what do you did there, mister. Giving all those diamonds to the victims' families. You sure about this? Yeah, I think it's time I finally let this place go. So, what now? We finished Price's work. Try and get the stuff back to the people it belongs to. Do you know where to begin? I think I have a pretty good idea. Miles. Not the vandersch you thought I was, huh? Well, we'll see about that. |
|