The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes

She's dead.

Holz! Echeverria!

Adolfo's... by the door.

Darling, I promise. Come.

Darling, how was I?

- Sublime.

- Really? Oh, kiss me!

Guess who, Madame?

Lilies.

It has to be him again.

"'Divine one. Ever more tightly

around our two souls

draws the thread

between your voice and my ear."'

"'Yours eternally, Emmanuel Droz."'

- You know what to do.

- Yes. The same as all the others.

He could at least change his florist.

Oh, darling, why worry about it?

I don't even know who the man is.

Quick!

- Inside or outside?

- Oh! Oh, inside!

Take me!

Quick!

Ritorno subito.

Ti juro.

Guardami.

'Malvina.'

'Nightingale.'

'You will sing forever...

...in my cage.'

Don't move!

Halt!

She's dead.

Holz! Echeverria!

She will never sing...

to your music again.

'Malvina.'

'My beautiful Lazarus.'

'I've come to lift the stone.'

'To raise your voice.'

Malvina... everything's ready.

All that remains to be addressed...

...is the tuning.

'I'd received a letter. It was signed

"Doctor Emmanuel Droz".'

"'Dear Mr. Fernandez, I wish to obtain

your services most urgently."'

"'I assure you that the work

will be professionally stimulating

and worthy of your skills."'

'He promised me that one of his men

would meet me at the station.'

'As I looked around me, it felt

as though I'd been here before.'

'But when and how I cannot say.'

Emmanuel... the piano tuner is here.

So, how many pianos

does Doctor Droz have?

Pianos? There are no pianos here.

But I'm sure the Doctor will give you

his instructions himself tomorrow.

These are your quarters.

Look. Here we are.

There you are... and here I am.

And over there... are the gardeners.

And here now is the Doctor...

approaching to welcome you

to Villa Azucena.

Don Felisberto Fernandez...

...the Piano Tuner of Earthquakes.

It's unlocked.

'So, no pianos to tune.'

'Has the Doctor brought me here

under false pretences? '

'And that fresco.'

'Was it me stepping

into a painting already painted? '

'The next morning,

Assumpta the housekeeper

escorted me to meet Doctor Droz.'

Mr. Fernandez,

do you believe in dreams?

Yes, I do.

And?

Someone once told me

that certain signs in dreams

could no more explain a dream

than the postman's knock could

explain what's... what's in a letter.

Oh.

I suppose that would certainly depend

on how hard the postman knocked.

And for how long.

I had a dream last night,

Mr. Fernandez, and it was of you.

I dreamt dogs were chasing me

through the estate.

We ran and ran down rows of trees.

The more I ran,

the more excited the dogs became.

Their noses were at my heels.

And suddenly I stopped.

But the dogs all ran past

and nothing happened.

I... I was...

totally devastated.

Then I looked behind me...

and you were standing there...

...completely rigid.

Asleep... with a handkerchief

in your mouth.

And you were trying

to shout something,

but only saliva dribbled out.

What I'd like to know is, why did you

have a handkerchief in your mouth?

Oh, well.

Why would anyone sleep with

a handkerchief in their mouth anyway?

Look, here we are.

And here's Doctor Droz.

The piano tuner.

And here the last of the replies

to your invitation.

They have all accepted.

- Oh, excellent. Excellent.

- Doctor.

Doctor. Doctor.

Echeverria's gone missing.

L-L-Later, Holz, er... later.

Fernandez Felisberto at...

'The Doctor then led me

to the first automaton.'

Feel that.

Water.

All my automata

function by hydraulics.

Then, you're not blind?

No, I'm not blind.

But, I assure you, Doctor,

my touch, my ear,

are no less sensitive

for my being sighted.

And, as I understand it now,

you didn't bring me here

for your pianos, anyway.

Mr. Felisberto,

since there are no pianos to tune,

I've given you automata instead.

In these machines...

...Mr. Felisberto...

...is contained the Dream.

That of music.

The most rational irrationality

of all.

Of which I, Droz... am the heart.

Sheer artifice, Mr. Felisberto.

And all this...

dependent upon nature.

'The Doctor told me that

there are seven automata in total.'

'And that there was

very little time left... '

Before the final performance.

- Final performance?

- Unique.

Timed for a very special hour.

And... with very special guests.

I'm sure you will understand

the urgency of my request.

'So I was to work on automata,

not pianos.'

'I accepted the challenge.'

Mr. Felisberto, bear in mind...

'He explained to me

that they were not toys,

but delicate

and precious instruments.'

'And that I was to pay

special attention

to their musical

and sound qualities.'

Please.

'He then presented me

with a set of special tools.'

I bid you good day.

Echeverria!

I'll find you!

Echeverria!

Adolfo.

Is that you?

Lost, piano tuner?

Smell the gums of conifers.

Shut your eyes... and listen.

Which is the true forest,

Mr. Fernandez?

This one?

Or that one?

The last one.

How flattering, Mr. Fernandez.

Yes. I...

"The forest inside the forest."

I was certain you'd lose your way.

Not while my senses

are being so well explored.

Who is Doctor Droz?

- Who is Doctor Droz?

- Yes.

He's a forest no one can inhabit.

Oh, that's, er... that's not

what you meant, is it?

Doctor Droz

is what they call an alienist...

a healer of broken minds.

And as the Doctor himself puts it,

a man of science

whose great passion is music.

But that's the official version.

And the unofficial?

I'm his living writing paper.

And this place?

It's an asylum.

Or rather a sanctuary,

for those who have undergone

the most fatal of traumas.

Those people you saw earlier,

we call them the gardeners.

But they are patients here,

who, thanks to Doctor Droz,

have been given back to themselves.

Oh, don't look so serious,

Mr. Fernandez.

After a while,

you get used to the confusion.

'On my way back from the first

automaton, I spied through the trees,

high up on the hillside,

what appeared to be

the ruins of a baroque grotto.'

Am I disturbing you, Mr. Felisberto?

It's real, isn't it?

Do you think it was planned?

No.

1755. It was the earthquake

in Lisbon.

And the tremors

were felt as far as Salamanca.

How would you know such a thing,

Mr. Felisberto?

It's my only gift.

I can hear anything

between a sneeze and infinity.

No doubt you come

from a long line of piano tuners.

For three centuries, we Fernandezes

have never had children.

Then... how were you born?

Ah, Doctor... that's the secret

of our sainted mothers.

'It seemed the Doctor and I

had reached an understanding.'

So we have destiny to thank

for permitting us to be

what we will become to each other.

'End of my first day

at the Villa Azucena.'

'To my surprise, I have entirely

retuned the first automaton.'

'The Doctor was right when he

admitted that he failed to predict

the effects of the sea air

upon his machines.'

'And then, I was close to fainting

from repeatedly holding my breath

while I scraped

an almost microscopic mould

off the most intricate

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes