Producer Xiao Ming
RED BEADS
-Lets get some more. -Still?
Fill it up. Fill it up.
Pass.
-Pass. -Im out.
-You said you would have some liquor. -OK. Ill have it.
No way he won a fortune.
If he did, III eat my hat.
-Yeah, I said it. -Thats mine.
Hey man, thats a nice girl...
No way you can handle that liquor. How much did you have?
Everyone now goes into business. Everyone needs to makes money, right?
Everyone goes to do business... then why are you still here?
Im not that broke.
-Come on, let me fill your glasses. -Aye,aye.
Nah, Im airight.
What else can you do besides business?
Just some side jobs.
I told you, you cant take it.
Liquor is nice and good for me.
-Drink when youre broke... -Time to cut him off the alcohol.
I cant have these menthol cigarettes. Just cant get used to them.
Just give it another go.
Each to their own, each to their own.
Our hospital is the best, understand?
As long as they need care and do not bother others,
the patients enjoy great freedom.
As long as they have still not recovered,
they II have the best possible treatment and care.
Then why are we waiting until next week?
There is a bed shortage, the condition of the patient is unclear
and I do not know if she belongs in this hospital.
Im certain shes eligible.
Please look at her medical history.
I just feel so bad for her.
We have no beds available.
I could put her in the Special Care Ward.
Do you agree?
She will abide by whatever you say.
Youve written a lot again.
-What are you having for lunch? -Fried noodles with sauce.
You can go.
You must return them to me.
Theyre mine.
You must return them to me.
Forget the food. She just had treatment done.
Special Care has a newcomer. A woman.
And?
Dont you think she looks.., interesting?
Real pretty...
I wonder what made her go crazy like that.
If she were normal, Id marry her immediately.
That would be real nice.
Youve been here for ten days now.
How do you feel? Tell me how you find it here.
lye been here for a few years and its a real bore.
This place is terrible.
They always stare at you lifelessly.
ˇ°Have you had your meal?ˇ± they ask.
How can you enjoy the crappy food in this place?
You dont know.
You dont understand this place. Its damn boring. It really is.
However, perhaps,
since youre new here, you dont understand the situation yet.
Theres no sound at all, even during the daytime.
How terrible is that?
Everyones like a living corpse. I really cant stand it.
I swear III get out of here. Just wait and see.
Take it, take it.
Dont get too emotionally invested here.
Youll start to feel miserable if you do.
Just take it easy. Dont you agree?
Jiyun, female, 23 years old.
Han origin, single.
Jingsheng. Xiaoyangs off.
-Go take care of Special Cares meals. -OK.
Wheres Xiaoyang?
Hes off.
How is he?
I dont know.
Are you a doctor?
No.
How do you feel?
Doctor, what am I eating tonight?
Jingsheng, tell her what theyre eating.
Doctor, what am I eating tonight?
Jingsheng, tell her what theyre eating.
OK., start with your dreams.
Take it easy. Close your eyes.
Right.
Close your eyes and think.
Tell me what you dreamt of last night.
Relax.
Think carefully.
Think hard.
Why do you want to know my dreams?
After I know your dreams, you can go home.
I cant remember them well.
Many, many red beads...
all over the corridor floor.
I pick them up one by one
and string them into a necklace or a belt.
I pick them all up.
There are so many.
Later on...
How can you deal with your patients in this way?
She has a very complicated disease. You have to pay more attention to her.
How can you deal with them in this way?
You have to improve the atmosphere in the recreation room.
Where were you? Its been quite some time.
I just went outside for a moment. Had nothing to do here.
I went to Suifenhe to buy clothes.
They have foreign army jackets and binoculars there.
Have you ever been to a foreign nude photo exhibition?
No.
Human bodies arent created equal.
Those foreigners have fantastic bodies. Theyre a different breed.
You wouldnt believe it.
It feels great just walking outside.
In any case, lye got the passport.
I thought itd be more difficult but it wasnt so bad.
Do you know where youII work?
I dont care.
It doesnt matter to me anymore.
Anywhere out there is better than this place.
You should consider applying for a transfer.
Can you do me a favor and talk to the Chief about my leaving?
Is that possible?
Forget it. Ill do it myself.
I cant stay here any longer.
Youll be a loon if you stay here longer.
Dont you agree?
But even if you leave, there are crazy people out there too.
You cant tell.
You might think theyre crazy, but they could be perfectly normal.
Maybe were the ones who are actually a bit insane.
Listen.
Nowadays people only think about money.
Big risks equal big rewards.
Youre smart. You should go out and earn yourself a fortune.
Hey, whats wrong with that crazy girl?
I heard she bit Dr. Sha...
bit so hard the Doctor cried.
Youd better confiscate her make-up.
Jiyun, you cant leave the hospital. Youll get better soon.
Doctor Sha has promised to move you upstairs in a couple of days.
Then you II have friends to talk to and you can watch TV.
Im dealing with problems back home.
A new gas pipe has been installed but its not working.
And the toilet keeps dripping.
Jiyun, take it easy. Rest well.
Come and look at this.
Chinese paintings are ten to twenty years ahead of Chinese literature.
You have to look at this.
This is what I call post-modernism.
Look.
Jiyun, what frightens you the most?
Tell me slowly. Close your eyes.
I want to sleep.
Who are you afraid of? Will you tell me your dream?
I havent dreamt in a long time. Im afraid to dream.
What are you afraid of? Tell me.
Then you can go home.
Its something red.
Red?
Very sturdy...
Let Dr. Jingsheng come. III tell you after lye seen the toys.
Hes sweeping the floor. Just tell me.
It would be nice if he could find it.
Find what?
Red beads.
OK.
Go back and rest.
How are you?
My throat hurts.
You have a sore throat? Let me take a look.
-What did you dream? -What did I tell you yesterday?
Close your eyes. Think hard.
I get dizzy with my eyes closed.
Thats it for now. Go back.
Jingsheng. Xiaoyang is not coming back.
-Go and take the food to Special Care. -OK.
And you?
-What did you dream about? -Fire.
Dr. Jingsheng, when can I go home?
Im not a doctor.
-I want to tell you something. -What?
Dr. Sha, with his thick glasses, keeps asking me...
You shouldnt say that. Hes your doctor.
Are you ready?
What?
The dream.
Is it about the beads?
What beads?
Dr. Sha told me your name is Jingsheng.
Youre bolder than Xiaoyang.
Do you know what my name is?
Jiyun.
Youre a doctor.
Im not.
Painting is a special form of art.
Literature has existed for a long time.
Do you understand your environment?
This room is filled with light coming from outside.
Literature can never describe light and color more vividly than paintings.
Realism, surrealism, colors,
theyre all the forerunners of paintings.
Literature is also inferior to performance art.
Everything can be an art.
Everything belongs to the realm of painting.
Look at this beam of light.
In this light, an apple looks much nicer.
Jingsheng, Dr. Sha wants you.
Give me back my red beads.
Jiyun, dont.
Give me back my beads.
No need to give her food, Jingsheng. Shes just had treatment.
Jiyun, dont you want to get married?
Yes.
But lye lost my beads.
The red beads in your dream?
I have to find them first.
Where did you lose them?
A man and a woman sowed some seeds in the earth to grow food.
If I hadnt lost my red beads, I wouldve gotten married.
Where did you lose them?
He took them away.
Who did?
-Where did he go? -I asked you something.
Have you ever been in Jingshengs house?
Jingsheng?
I dont know.
Tell me the dream first.
Fuck. You dared touch my head?
-Fuck you. -Youre for real?
Why are you here?
Why not?
What are you doing?
Im washing my clothes. Come in.
Have a seat.
You have an interesting house.
You did all these?
Yeah. They dont mean anything.
Not bad.
Can you give me one as a present?
Just drink.
Jiyun, you have to go back.
III leave the hospital tomorrow.
My mother is talking to Doctor Sha.
Really?
Have you gotten better?
Yes.
No more dreams.
I dont dream anymore.
Now I can go home and play.
How do you know where I live?
Doctor Sha told me.
I traded my dream for your address.
Jingsheng, do you want to trade with me too?
What should I trade?
I have nothing at all.
Do you have anything thats fun for me?
Maybe.
Lets see.
Why arent you a doctor?
I dont know how to cure.
What do you mean?
All of you are well, but I...
dont know how to cure.
Its good that youre no longer dreaming and can go home.
Doctor Sha must be very happy.
When are you leaving?
Leaving?
III leave the hospital tomorrow.
I mean now.
Liu Bin, dont you want to go home?
Yes. I was getting better.
Then why did you get into a fight?
He touched my head.
Did he hit you on your head?
He touched my head.
He didnt do it deliberately.
My mother said...
I mustnt let others touch my head.
Does it still hurt?
Good.
Tell me about your dream.
Take your time.
Close your eyes, close your eyes.
Slowly.
Take your time.
Close your eyes.
Why didnt your father go home?
He had something to do in the corridor.
Do you know the underground chamber? Its there.
Underground chamber? So its not a corridor?
Its an air-raid shelter. Its got everything.
Were there any red beads?
Maybe. I didnt look for them.
Its very long.
Where is it?
My father wouldnt let me go.
He put me to sleep and then went alone.
Were there really no red beads?
No. Im sure.
Its very humid there.
I could only hear the sound of water dripping.
Its not the sound of water dripping.
Its the beads that fell on the ground.
There cant be that many beads.
I heard it everyday.
I told you there were many, many...
all over the corridor floor.
I was afraid my father would return.
I didnt even think about following him, but I couldnt sleep either.
It was very dark.
I lit a match and it blinded me.
It burned my fingers.
My shoes were all wet.
There was nothing out there.
Jiyun, I dont want to go there anymore.
Why did you light the match?
Of course your father wasnt there.
The corridor was all empty.
There were only red beads.
Maybe.
But why are they red?
What kind of operation is this?
Its a very straightforward procedure for this type of psychological problem.
Well take away part of the brain.
Consequently, the patient is no longer bothered by confusing thoughts.
Jiyun exhibits the symptoms.
Its still bearable now,
but its getting worse.
I suggest operating as soon as possible,
so that there will be less pain.
What will she become afterwards?
The operation will certainly impact her state of mind.
But I can not predict exactly to what extent.
I can guarantee that shell be more peaceful than now.
Anyway, this will be better than both of you suffering.
Let me think it over.
My father always ran when he had something to do.
He didnt run fast...
but he never stopped, either.
His running wasnt very pleasant looking.
He seldom talked to others.
It was always others who spoke first.
He always ran between people, to and from the office.
Did he ever hit you?
Yes.
Were you afraid of him?
No. He seldom hit me.
He always played with me.
Whenever I had holidays, Id go to his place.
He was always busy.
What did he do?
He had to send all these medical records to different departments...
while I did my homework.
When I was hungry, I always hoped hed get home sooner.
There was a dead silence after the air-raid shelters gate was shut.
You should have had someone with you.
Did you have someone?
Yes.
My grandmother.
She passed away.
Jiyun.
I didnt want any company.
I just wanted my father to return sooner.
Wheres your father?
Are you asleep?
Jiyun, dont turn off the light.
Im afraid of darkness.
How about you?
Im not.
It was very dark.
I could only hear the water.
It seemed like I was sleeping...
but I was paying attention.
The whole time.
Jiyun, Im afraid of darkness.
My grandmother used to say that in the very beginning the world was dark.
You could only hear sounds.
You will understand everything if you move forward.
If you understand it, you will see it.
If you see it, you will understand it.
And if you close your eyes, it will become dark again.
Im not afraid of darkness.
But after my grandmother passed away, lye been alone.
Jiyun, youre not alone.
But I am... afraid of darkness.
If youre afraid of the dark, you may not like the light.
Jiyun.
Is it true youre not dreaming anymore?
Yes.
I want to go home.
Jingsheng, are you still afraid?
There was a bang. He threw himself at the gas pipes.
His head was bleeding severely.
I called the nurse.
Later, we took him away.
What did he do?
I wanna go home.
My mother said I mustnt let others touch my head.
Did he say anything?
Think carefully.
OK., go write what you want.
Ah Qi, what did you hear?
I asked you something.
Nothing.
When I got up, he started hanging all the paintings on the wall.
But later he tore them apart. He even bit himself.
And after that...
And?
He said... his paintings were particularly good.
What did you see?
He started falling asleep as he said that and never woke up again.
And then?
Think carefully.
He slept.
And never woke up again.
He slept.
Sign here.
Sign.
AGREEMENT
What are we eating tomorrow?
Whatever the cafeteria has prepared.
Will they touch my head?
I dont know.
OK. Tell me what you dreamt of this morning.
Close your eyes and tell me slowly.
There were many, many red beads...
all over the corridor floor.
I pick up a lot of them, put them in my pocket
and string them into a necklace or a belt.
Blood red.
Do you want to hear yesterdays dream?
No.
I had many red beads.
I string them into...
string them into a belt.
These are the red beads.
These are red beads, too.
Red beads exist everywhere.
They exist in every human beings imagination.
The red beads are your dreams.
Your dreams are the red beads.
Dreams?
Your dreams are the red beads.
The red beads are your dreams.
The red beads are certainly your dreams.
Sorry for being late. The traffic on the way was awful.
Every traffic light that I ran into was red.
It doesnt matter.
I ordered duck legs for you. Your favorite.
I think its going to snow.
Really?
I didnt notice.
Is it going to snow?
I dont know.
It wasnt very cold this winter.
Maybe its the slight chill of early spring.
I think spring is coming.
Eat your food.