Anastasia Page #5

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- It really is a miracle.

- Is it?

- Yes, Your Highness. We met only once...

- I remember.

- Near the tennis courts at Livadia.

- Yes!

I remember that my uncle Alex got you

the title because he liked dancing.

But from then on, you made a fool

of him. My mother never liked you.

My father never liked you

and I never liked you. Please go.

- Now just a moment. You're not Anastasia yet...

- I said, please go.

You are mad. Don't answer.

But I warn you for the last time.

Your Excellency, you're not leaving...

- without seeing Her Highness.

- I have seen her.

But she will be so disappointed

at not having seen you again.

- And how do you know that?

- Huh? You mean, how do I... Uh, well, uh...

Truthfully, Excellency, we don't,

but we are sure she will.

- We are sure, Excellency.

- And I! Dear Ivan Wassielevich, you stayed this long...

- and after all, you did promise me...

- Now, don't wheedle, Irina.

- Oh, all right. But don't keep me there too long. My foot hurts.

- Excellency.

I think you are

due for a surprise.

- His Excellency...

- I am so glad to see you, Ivan Wassielevich.

- They told you my name. How kind.

- Won't you sit down?

No, thank you.

I don't expect to stay.

My father's chamberlain

was a man of great courtesy.

His Majesty complimented me

on many things.

I don't recall

his mentioning courtesy.

My father's chamberlain was also a

temperate man, who did not judge before...

Madame, forgive me.

I've a miserable attack of gout...

undoubtedly a punishment

for being intemperate.

And I'm eager to return

to my tub of hot water.

There are many characteristics

which you could recall...

many details, but

so could dozens of others.

My relations with His Majesty's

children were impersonal, public.

So in the end, myjudgment could

only be a matter of opinion...

and that opinion can only be

determined by resemblance and manner.

Your Excellency,

ten years is a long time.

No, I've already

noted the resemblance.

As to the manner,

I've been watching.

And you have given me pleasure.

You've taken me back to my seat...

in the Imperial Theater

at St. Petersburg.

Second row on the aisle,

every Tuesday night.

For the purpose of acting

is not only to imitate reality...

but to create illusion.

I'm not being sarcastic when I say

you are an excellent actress, Madame.

Extremely well trained.

My compliments.

- I do not accept them.

- Madame, my foot is troubling me.

My life is troubling me,

and it has yet to be lived.

You do not believe because

you do not wish to believe.

You say my words will not convince because

you're afraid I know the right words.

You misquote, Madame. I said that the

manner, the deportment of a grand duchess...

would convince me, but...

I don't see it in you.

Not a gesture.

Though one would be worth more than all

the words you undoubtedly can produce.

Good day, Madame.

How dare you smoke in my presence

without my permission?

Who are you?

Fifteen, 16, 17, 18.

Out of a possible 31.

And you were so sure it would

be almost a clean sweep!

Didn't the old fox himself say

her performance was great art?

We're not doing this for art,

we're doing it for money!

Now listen,

this can go on forever!

- Some saying she is, some saying she isn't.

- Precisely.

- My mind is made up.

- Oh? To what?

There's only one way:

To go straight to the top.

- You mean, the old icon?

- Yes, the dowager empress.

Sure, the old ramrod sits in her castle

in Copenhagen biting her nails...

because she's waiting for Sarah

Bernhardt here to give her performance.

She's the one chance. As head of the

family, no one would dare dispute her word.

- "Dispute her word. "

- Excellency, Her Highness would like to see you.

- Her what? She can wait.

- Isn't she?

Not too long.

She's packing up.

Packing up?

- And where's Her Highness going?

- I don't know, and it doesn't matter.

- I thought you enjoyed yourself today.

- Yes, until I became ashamed.

Ashamed of allowing myself

to be put on display.

Ashamed of conjuring up tricks

like a circus freak.

Ashamed of asking people

to sign papers that I'm real.

I am real, and I will not

stoop to prove it to them.

- Who are they? I think I know.

- Who are you?

Today? And tomorrow? Will you be

so sure tomorrow, and the day after?

Why? Why can't you

let me believe?

I will even help you believe,

when I'm sure of the truth myself.

No one will ever be sure, and you

least of all. I know that today, too.

Wrong. Those people today

were not worth your efforts.

But there is someone who is. One word

from her and they will all grovel.

- The Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna.

- Grandmama.

- Grandma-MA.

- Grandma-MA.

- She'll never see me.

- She will.

- How do you know? Words!

- I know she will.

Call me schemer, plotter,

call me what you will.

Deep down you know that if anyone can

get you to see that old woman, it is I.

- And I'll get you there for your sake.

- For my sake?

- Yes.

- You never did anything for the sake of anybody but yourself.

You enjoy playing with people,

making fools of them.

That's why you're doing it, as a joke!

To prove that you are great, and alive...

and the others

are small and dead.

Yes, and for money...

Go ahead.

It won't hurt.

Sit down.

If you want to leave after I am through,

I won't force you to stay.

Let us say you are right.

As a matter of fact, you are.

That's all the more reason for you to go

with me to the empress in Copenhagen.

Never trust anyone who functions from

noble motives. The good are never sure.

And in the end,

they'll let you down.

Our motives are different, agreed.

But our goal is the same.

And that's the only thing that counts.

Well?

We'll go to Copenhagen?

- I had a dream the other night.

- Yes. About your father being a ringmaster.

No. This time

he was a doll maker.

My mother, his assistant

who painted the faces.

The correct ancestry

for a puppet.

You know I'll go.

You always know.

She always wore black,

the empress, didn't she?

Yes.

For ten years,

I've wanted to see her.

- She was never very easy, even before the end.

- Yes, I know.

You know,

or you remember?

Prince Paul. Let's see. Nephew to

the empress, second cousin to me...

- engaged to me when I was... how old?

- Sixteen.

Quite attractive.

- Do you remember him?

- No.

You should. I'll tell you a secret,

that first waltz you remember...

It was with him.

- Danish customs. Have you anything to declare?

- No.

Madame. Thank you.

- Madame Anderson. Madame Anderson!

- Oh, yes.

Oh, yes. Bounine.

Everything in order?

Yes, it seems to be. Welcome to

Denmark. I hope you enjoy your visit.

Thank you.

I'm sorry, I forgot.

- I've had so many names.

- It was a struggle to get you that one.

- Why Anderson?

- Oh, well you needed some name...

- and once I was in a situation with...

- With a lady?

Well, as an alias,

it is innocuous enough.

"Madame A. Anderson. "

The least real thing about me

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