Antonius Block
Posts: 4
Joined: 24/10/2012
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Hi I am looking for a film I did not even see. Found the film described in a book some years ago, the description still lingers in my mind. The book is published 1966, ergo, the film is a bit older.
The excerpt from the book: "Several years ago I saw a movie about a woman who was married to a man of some importance. They had a nice home in an elegant neighborhood, two cars, and a large bank account. Their marriage was apparently without friction or turmoil. In the opening scene, the woman was dozing. Her face revealed a vacant weariness bordering on fear, and saliva was dribbling from the corner of her mouth. Suddenly she cried out, and her body shook as though she was struggling with something. Her husband rushed into the room and grabbed her shoulders. She opened her eyes and looked disoriented, but quickly regained her demeanor and smiled cheerfully. The lines of weariness and fear vanished from her face, and she began to chirp gaily like a little bird, "Did you just get home, honey? I must have nodded off. How silly of me. Let me make you a fresh cup of coffee."
Her husband looked at her and asked, "Are you sure you are alright?"
She laughed and said, "Yes, I'm fine. Really, I'm fine."
Then he tells her he has just been summoned to Washington on urgent business and must catch the next plane. He says, "After you've finished making the coffee, can you give me a hand packing?"
She prepares the coffee while he rummages through his closet. The music we have been hearing since the beginning of the film ends. The wife goes to the phonograph and puts on another record. The music is loud with a hard beat. Her husband apparently does not like it, because he comes in, turns it off, and returns to his packing. The woman cannot tolerate the silence. She turns the music back on. Irritated, he comes and turns it off again. She turns it on. They go on like this, mindlessly, for several minutes.
After her husband has departed for the airport, the woman sits at home alone. After several albums, she grows weary of listening to music. She picks up a book to read but puts it down after reading only a few lines. She runs to the phone. The first friend she calls is not at ohme. The second friend she calls is too busy to talk. She can't find anyone to invite over for a cup of coffee and a conversation. She hangs up the phone and slumps into a chair, and remains in he same state of ennui until late afternoon.
At six o'clock, the newspaper boy knocks at the door. Her face brightens. Perhaps a friend has come. But it is only the newspaper boy. He hands her the paper. She invites him in but he declines, saying he has still many papers to deliver. Then he looks at her and says, "You ought to check out the corner bar." She feels insulted by his suggestion and quips, "I hardly need that."
After the boy leaves, she feels even lonelier. She thinks about her husband and runs to the phone, dials the operator and says, " I'd like to place a person-to-person call to my husband in Washington, D.C."
The woman hears her husbands voice on the other end of the receiver and asks, "Did you have a good flight?" "Yes, it was fine," he answers. She cannot think of anything else to say or ask. The phone links two people in distant places. It is almost like having her husband in the same room. But they have nothing to say to each other. Can it be they know everything there is to know about each other after fifteen years of marriage? The woman's mind is blank, so she resorts to asking about the weather. "Is it raining in Washington?"
He answers, "No, the weather is good - clear and warm. I just finished my first meeting." He detects something unusual in his wife's voice and asks, "Are you all right, dear?" It is the second time that day he's asked her that question.
She says, "Yes, I'm fine."
Later, unable to bear the loneliness any longer, she puts on a dress and walks down to the corner bar. It is past midnight and the bar is empty. She orders a shot of whiskey and looks around. A couple enters the bar. The wife goes to the ladies' room and the man sits down near the woman and orders a glass of wine. They share a few words. The woman is clearly lonely and the man obviously finds her attractive. Who knows, perhaps this man, accompanied by his wife, feels lonely, too. They talk some more and laugh. When the wife returns, she makes it clear by her expression that she does not like her husband speaking to another woman. The atmosphere in the bar grows heavy.
Later that night, the woman is plagued by nightmares. In the dim light of her bedroom, we see the same expression of distress and alienation that we saw on her face earlier. She is alone, trapped in a nightmare. Suddenly we hear a key turning in the front door. Her husband has returned from Washington. Entering the bedroom, he sees his wife's distress and rushes to the bed to wake her. She sits up, dazed and confused. Terror is etched on her face. Her husband says, "You didn't sound like yourself on the phone this evening, so I came back as soon as I finished my last meeting. You must be having a nightmare, Are you all right?"
That is the third time he asks the same question. The woman does not answer at once. She can no longer ignore the question simply saying, "I'm fine." She is not fine. But what is the problem? She doesn't have a physical illness. She doesn't lack material needs. Her home has every comfort, every kind of appliance to make her housework easier. She has phone in case of emergency. If a burglar breaks in she can call the police. She is not weak or powerless. She does not need a man's protection from wild beasts or the marauders of an earlier age. Her house is well furnished, she enjoys good health and her income is more than adequate. Her husband has a good job and is well respected. But everything is not all right. She looks at her husband and admits, "Something is wrong. I'm not fine.""
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RE: Name The Film - 
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