Hokuspokus oder: Wie lasse ich meinen Mann verschwinden...? Page #6

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You kneel down, lift his head,

pull a knife from his chest,

and he dies in your hands.

Suddenly you hear footsteps, and you

realize the situation you're in.

You're kneeling over a corpse, covered

in blood, murder weapon in hand.

The dead man can't testify,

so you run off as if possessed!

But they catch you.

You tell them what happened,

but they don't believe you. Why did

you run away if you're innocent?

And in that situation,

my dear smiling friend,

you too will be thankful

for insightful,

psychologically-trained judges.

Right?

Answer me.

- Yes.

Yes.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

I don't dread your decision.

I know you'll acquit Agda Kjerulf,

not only for lack of evidence,

but because something in your hearts

tells you that this woman,

whatever she may be hiding from us,

that her smile

is not the smile of a murderer.

I confidently place in your hands

my client's honor and life.

Thank you.

I've just received information

requiring

that the hearing be resumed.

Mr. Graham,

our English colleague, will ask some

questions of defendant and witnesses.

Please, Mr. Graham.

I wouldn't dare interfere

in this case, unless,

in the Defense Counsel's words,

unusual circumstances

required unusual steps.

Mr. President, would you please summon

witness Sedal once more?

- Witness Sedal!

High Court, it seems that clothing

plays an important role in this case.

You've heard much

about the blue and white dress.

Another dress, however,

is far more interesting.

Which dress did the defendant wear

to her husband's funeral?

That one.

Was it made for the funeral?

- Yes.

Yes, by Debaier's. Was it ordered

on the 19th and delivered on the 20th?

Yes.

The painting!

I'm finished with the witness.

Mr. President...

you bought this from the estate

of the painter Kjerulf? - Yes.

Defense Counsel, you know something

about painting...

Is this painting a genuine Kjerulf?

Well, I'm not very familiar

with his other works, but...

My, what technique! What lightness!

Look at those frills! And that lace,

as if applied with a breath of paint.

Yes, you have to hand it to him,

he had to have had a steady hand.

And the arm belonging to that hand

wasn't bad either.

Put the painting

next to the defendant, please.

How about the likeness,

Defense Counsel?

Striking. The eyes,

the little mouth and nose...

More important than all that

are the frills,

the lace and the little hat.

Is it the same dress

as the one the defendant is wearing?

Yes.

- What do you conclude from that?

What would you conclude?

That the arm joined to that steady hand

must've been very long,

as the dress was made for the funeral.

So the painter must've done it later,

from the hereafter, so to speak.

Do you think a dead painter can paint?

Very few living painters can.

- And what can we conclude?

That he's still alive!

High Court, release my client at...

- Just a moment!

The painter is undoubtedly dead

and buried in the cemetery.

So he cannot possibly have painted

this painting.

Who else could've painted it?

Your lover, whom you received in

the studio after your husband's death.

You frivolously

capitalized upon the interest

surrounding your late husband's works.

But the supply was too small

for the brisk pace of sales.

New 'old' Kjerulfs

had to be painted, and quickly!

Luckily, your lover was not only

a painter, but also a speed painter.

A magician and escape artist.

Ajack of all trades,

full of dirty tricks.

His name is...

Peer Bille!

Mr. President, I protest!

The shadow! It's the shadow

from the studio window!

A sensational twist

in the Agda Kjerulf trial!

The defense counsel Peer Bille

is the defendant's lover.

SENSATION IN KJERULF TRIAL

DEFENSE COUNSEL - DEFENDANT'S LOVER

You admit you're the man who visited

the defendant in the studio? - Yes.

Do you admit to being her lover?

May I remind you

what I told you when I visited you?

Namely that I've loved her for years.

I also recall you telling me that

it was you who killed Hilmar Kjerulf.

Yes, but you wouldn't believe me.

Do you confess before the court?

- Yes.

The Defense Counsel is arrested and

charged with Hilmar Kjerulf's murder!

Remove that robe

and take a seat in the dock.

May I join him? For I was the one

who put him up to the deed.

DEFENSE COUNSEL AND MURDERER

DEFENSE COUNSEL - LOVER - MURDERER

Explain what happened.

It all started

when this sweet woman was sitting

in the box seats of our circus.

It wasn't a big circus,

it was just a small circus...

All of this began

one evening 12 years ago.

No one does it better than he,

No one does it better than Peer!

No one does it better,

No one does it better than Peer!

That's how it started. And I wanted

to marry her. But then she said,

"Peer, I do like you, but my father

won't let me marry a hocus pocus."

He didn't say hocus pocus.

- He said hocus pocus.

That made me very sad. I said farewell

to the circus, and the clowns cried.

I became a lawyer,

and her father gave us his blessing.

But my Peer wasn't happy,

because he wasn't true to himself.

And no man should be untrue

to himself, not even for his wife.

Hear, hear!

- And so I said,

"You're an artist,

and you should stay an artist.

And if you don't want to be

a hocus pocus, why don't you paint?

You're a good painter.

You don't have to paint fast.

Become a slow, serious painter."

So I became a slow, serious painter.

I grew a beard

and took on an artist's name.

I called myself Hilmar Kjerulf...

What? You are...

I'm the murdered man.

Forgive me, Mr. Prosecutor.

"DEFENSE COUNSEL - LOVER -

MURDERER - MURDER VICTIM!"

Quiet please!

If not, I'll have to clear the room!

Go on.

So I started doing slow, serious art.

And paintings he did in two minutes

in the circus now took two months.

No matter how slowly I painted,

no one bought my paintings.

True art is a thankless woman.

First you run after her,

then she chases you away.

I painted away the entire fortune

I had made with hocus pocus.

And on that boat ride on March 13...

It was unusually hot

for the time of year...

The sun was already low,

and that sweet woman

said to me...

- I can't watch you suffer any longer.

I can't be happy if you're not,

and only the circus makes you happy.

Then I'd be a hocus pocus again.

- Yes, you would.

And you should be proud of it.

There's as much art in hocus pocus

as there is hocus pocus in art.

And you?

- I'll join you. I'll hold the reigns.

Do you think I can do that?

If I try hard?

Oh! - Peer, you're crying.

- You have no idea.

Yes, you're crying!

- It just looks that way.

If it weren't for her,

I would've drowned.

It wasn't easy swim to the shore

with the boat in tow.

He sent me home

so I wouldn't catch a cold.

The storm had broken out,

it was 4:
20, Mr. Prosecutor.

He put me on a train...

I went back to secure the boat,

but the storm had already taken it.

He took the next train.

- Following my wife.

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