- How do you expect to outwit death?
- With a combination of bishop
and knight unknown to him.
Then tear up his flank the next move.
The Seventh Seal, Ingmar Bergman
Storm, we have to go.
It's your move.
Why are we here?
Hi, Storm. Why are we here?
You don't know?
Anyone else? Nora?
- To learn something.
- To learn something.
To... learn... something.
Yes, that's one reason.
Any other reasons?
- Gabriel?
- Because it's a weekday!
A weekday...
Are you angry?
Do you sometimes have problems
dealing with aggression?
If so, anger management
techniques can be useful.
Suddenly I understood" -
- "That we only rule over ideas,
which are nothing."
"Never over emotions," -
"Which are everything."
- This is my wife, Agnes.
- Mercedes.
Storm, why were you so late?
"Because I stopped
to look at a cat in a window."
Why did you stop
to look at a cat in a window?
"Because it was there."
Why was it there?
"Because it couldn't get out."
Why couldn't it get out?
"Cat particles can't pass though
glass particles.
Why can't cat particles pass through?
"Because they have a different charge."
Why?
"I don't know. That's just how it is."
Okay.
I didn't see a cat in a window.
- Hi, Bendik.
- Storm.
If you ever need help, call me.
I didn't know you had a business card.
Well, I do.
Did you make it yourself?
You can order them online.
It's cheap.
You should get one too.
It's nice to have as a giveaway.
But you're a paramedic.
I can still have a card.
There's something grown-up about it.
Let's have a look.
The paper's a bit thin, isn't it?
- Can you get them any thicker'?
- Thicker ones don't fit in your wallet.
These work just fine.
Death is a kind of surprise.
Both for those who encounter it
and for the next of kin.
It comes suddenly.
Like Christmas, or winter.
It's something we didn't expect.
For the bereaved -
There is loss and sorrow.
A surprise they could do without.
But heaven opens up for the dead.
And they meet the Lord.
A surprise within the surprise,
you could say.
Like a Kinder Egg.
- Hello?
- Hi, I'm Elin from Mercury Communication.
We're conducting a survey
about identity and self-esteem.
Do you have an adult nearby?
Sure, just hang on.
- Hello?
- Hi, I'm Elin from Mercury Communication.
We're conducting a survey
about identity and self-esteem.
- Can I ask you some questions?
- Okay.
- Are you currently employed full-time?
- Yes.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied
are you with your work situation?
- Five.
- Right.
If you were to characterise
your job situation geometrically, -
Which of these shapes would it be:
circle, triangle or square?
- Square.
- Okay.
If you think about the days of the week, -
- Monday through Friday,
Saturday and Sunday.
What color are they?
Let's start with Monday.
I once met a girl, and immediately knew
that we were perfect for each other.
She was beautiful, super-smart,
with a great sense of humour.
It's so nice when that happens.
When you just know that this is it.
But?
She only had one arm.
- Okay?
- Yeah, I know.
I mean, it's probably just...
I don't know, I...
I don't know. I can't explain it.
But she was completely out of my league.
You need to be realistic.
I'm not exactly David Beckham either.
- Not everyone wants David Beckham.
- You know what I mean.
"She only had one arm."
How many criteria have you got?
There's always a limit.
If you're missing a tooth, that's okay.
Missing a finger? Fine by me.
Missing an ear? Well...
Missing nose? I don't know.
Both arms?
Like, you reach a point where it matters.
Or maybe you just need
to look inside yourself?
I look inside myself all the time.
This is Agnes.
- What did you do earlier?
- l was a tour guide on a bus.
- How did you like it?
- It was nice work.
You want a job you know
you can do well.
And I felt I did.
At the same time, you don't want
your job to take over your life.
It's a tricky balance.
But of the jobs I've had so far,
that's the one I liked best
- But you were fired?
- I quit.
- Oh, why!
- We ran over two people.
- Did they die?
- Yes.
- So you quit because two people died?
- Yeah.
But people die all the time.
Yes, I know that.
Someone died just now.
And now.
- And now.
- l get the picture.
But it's different when you're there.
When your relationship to it
is about cause and effect.
- And now.
- I'm not impressed by what you're doing.
And now.
Humans.
What are humans?
The first humans lived on barren plains
millions of years ago.
They ate what they found
in the bushes and undergrowth.
We say nature is beautiful,
but nature is ruthless.
Humans probably evolved from chimpanzees
seven or eight million years ago.
Homo habilis.
Homo erectus.
Homo neanderthalensis.
Homo sapiens sapiens.
The modern human is an inquisitive
and unpredictable creature.
Like chimpanzees, we use tools
to shape our environment.
Like birds and other animals, we walk on
two legs in search of fruit and knowledge.
It's often difficult for humans
to understand things,
to solve problems and conflicts.
A lot of energy is spent on useless
questions about where things come from.
Everything has to be weighed
and measured. "Is this good? This?"
"What's better? What's best?"
"Can't we rest soon?" we think.
When will we finally be like trees,
standing still,
and not waiting for anything?
When will we find peace?
Why do people die?
Nobody knows. People are here
for a while, then they're gone.
- I don't want to miss anyone.
- No, that's not much fun.
If I was dead, I wouldn't miss anyone.
No, but other people would miss you.
Maybe I would miss you.
- But you could also be dead.
- Then someone else would miss me.
They could also be dead.
Everyone could.
Maybe the dogs and cats
would miss them.
The dogs and cats could also be dead.
But then the world would be empty.
If the world wasn't here,
would it matter?
I don't know.
Me neither.
Have you ever tried internet dating?
Once.
But it turned out a bit strange.
Before we met, we agreed
to not say anything.
- That it should be a secret?
- No.
That we wouldn't say anything.
That we wouldn't talk.
We agreed in advance via email.
It's often easy to know what people want.
You don't have to say much.
Sometimes we wrote notes.
Sometimes it was very hard not to talk.
Like when we had sex.
It was strange to have sex
when I'd never heard her voice.
Although I fell like
I knew her pretty well.
It was a bit like having sex with
a comic book character.
I'd read her words, but never heard them.
It was like having sex with
a writer, you mean?
No, more like a character in a book.
But it's the writer who says
what the character says.
But characters don't exist.
You have public relations experience?
Yes, I'm good at showing people around.
Can you show me around?
- What do you mean?
- Can you do it now? Show me around?
- Here?
- Yes. Show me around here.
Okay.
Right, this is your office, I guess.
Table. Chair.
Chair.
Spacious. Pretty good...
Enough space.
Bookshelf.
"The Happiness Advantage".
"Hotel Design".
Cezanne and...
Giacometti.
Giacometti.
Here we have a black and white picture.
A black and white photograph.
A pier reaching out into a still lake.
A contemplation, maybe,
or an invitation to go swimming.
Lego toy.
Fluorescent lights in the ceiling.
And here we have a number of small items:
Paper clips, a calculator.
You have a computer, but no phone.
And here's you.
A bright woman.
Dressed both casually
and formally in a way, or...
You seem casual,
but also slightly formal.
You have good posture.
Seem to sit right.
You have beautiful hands.
Hi. Are you having a bad day?
"I'm having a bad day."
That's what we say.
I've got good news and bad news.
The bad news is that the day
isn't the problem, you are.
The good news is you never
have to have a bad day again.
How's that possible?
The answer is enthusiasm.
But what is enthusiasm?
Enthusiasm is like glue.
Enthusiasm comes from Greek, en thos.
It means being possessed by the divine.
The greatest difference between people
and animals is about what we expect.
We want the same as everyone else.
Fueled by stupidity and ambition.
Is this good? Is this?
Do we need more than chimps?
We will live in pointless chaos forever.
It's what we want.
You know how much it'll cost
to fix this?
This is an IC recorder.
You can record sound and replay it.
You can also connect it to a computer
and transfer files.
Could you give me a minute?
- Hi.
- Hi.
Didn't you have a miniature chessboard?
- You play often?
- l played with dad.
I see.
- Have you seen The Seventh Seal?
- What's that?
An Ingmar Bergman film about chess.
A knight wakes up on a beach. Everyone
around him is sick with the plague.
Death arrives to fetch him,
but the knight doesn't want to die.
He challenges Death to a game of chess,
and Death accepts.
- And the knight wins?
- No, he doesn't.
- I don't think you can beat death.
- Then what's the point?
Play well. As long as possible.
- Do you play chess?
- I'm the world champion.
It's your move.
- Who are you?
- I am Death.
- Have you come to take me?
- l have long walked beside you.
- Wait a moment!
- That is what you all say.
- But I give no respite.
- You play chess, right?
Yes, I am in fact a fairly
skilled chess player.
You let me live as long as we play.
If I win, you shall release me.
You're the Earth.
You're dinosaurs.
You're sedimentary rock,
maybe sandstone.
You're trees.
You're Neanderthals.
You're dark matter.
No one has ever seen dark matter.
But it must exist for
anything else to exist.
- Hello?
- Hi, I'm Linda. We're doing a survey.
- Can I ask you a few questions?
- No problem.
In this survey, we use abstraction
as a tool to chart opinions.
Some questions may seem odd,
but just say what comes to mind.
If this time in your life had a size,
would it be a large period,
a medium period,
a small period, or a tiny period?
It's a small period.
If you were to describe this time as
a line, would it he horizontal, diagonal,
or vertical?
Is a vertical line the one
that goes up and down?
Yes, that's vertical.
I'll take that one.
- Have you had this job a long time?
- No, actually, I started today.
- Do you like it?
- Well...
So far, it's alright.
On a scale of 1 to 10?
- 7?
- You have a nice telephone voice.
Thanks.
I think you have a nice voice too.
Now I feel like anything
could happen.
Do you feel it too?
Did you know that when you whisper,
you can't hear who's talking?
No, I didn't know that.
Hi, it's me.
Hi.
Can you hear that it's me?
It's harder now.
Can you whisper too?
Okay.
- Well, say something.
- What should I say?
Just say something.
- Ruler.
- What did you say?
Ruler.
- Hello?
- It's Storm.
Hi, Storm.
- I need help.
- Okay, where are you?
Outside.
You have to be a little more specific.
Shall we play this game to the end?
It's your move.
You are afraid.
I've forgotten where the pieces stood.
But I haven't forgotten.
You're not getting away that easily.
You'll be checkmate by the next move.
Are you ready?
What did you say, Storm?
Where's Storm?
We can't wait for her.
Excuse me, do you have
some chewing gum?
- Hi, could you spare a cigarette?
- Yeah, I guess I can.