The Visit

Attention! Hello! Hello!

Citizens of Guellen!

Hello! You have all now

heard the great news.

We are asking all people of Guellen to

prepare themselves for this great event.

It is our duty to ensure a royal

welcome to Madame Zachanassian,

who will arrive in a few hours!

Citizens of Guellen!

I therefore ask all citizens to assemble.

It is up to you to prove that our

Guellen never forgets its own!

Good morning, Mr. Mayor! - Be careful.

I want everything organized and arranged.

Come inside, your honor!

Come along, Anya.

Good. Very good!

Alright. Hurry up!

Yes, that's gonna look fine!

- Anya! Here, take this.

Good. Now it works.

Oh, hope this is finished in time.

- Yes. It certainly is.

Cover that up with something!

- Oh yes, Sir.

Oh, have that fixed. I want every detail

worked out. - I understand. No slip-ups.

Is she really that rich?

- Rich? Madame Zachanassian?

Known in the world as Madame Petroleum.

A title she inherited from her late husband.

Mr. Zachanassian,

better known as Mr. Petroleum.

He owned 5% of the whole world.

Then he died. Now she owns it.

And just think...

She was born here the way I was.

Why is she coming back?

- I wish we only knew.

Good. You are doing

a fine job, Anya. - Thank you.

Members of the sporting club of Guellen,

fellow athletes,

we may have been hit by misfortune,

but we have not been defeated!

We have not lost our pride in ourselves!

Each man must wear

a clean pressed shirt!

Now is the time for everyone of us

to look his best.

And let's try to keep in step.

How are you? Hello.

It's going to be a great reception!

I don't want to put patches on. it's

difficult when it's almost worn through.

We mustn't underestimate the importance

of appearance, especially his!

Ah, Serge! Or am I saying

something I shouldn't?

Am I supposed to be jealous at my age?

- I knew her better than anybody else,

but if you ask me... I'd say our best

approach is not to try to fool her.

You know... Karla's...

She's too sharp.

No, I'd say honestly and openly:

Our mine is shut down, our factories are

closed, our entire population is on relief.

Let's face it:
we are bankrupt.

And I'd say:
now that you've become

one of the riches women in the world...

Help us.

You are our only hope.

Well, you'd certainly convince me.

- And me too.

Mrs. Miller, we were wondering, if you...

At the beginning, if you could...

just sort of stay in the background?

Oh, I do understand.

- You're very understanding, Mrs. Miller.

I try. - Serge, come on,

we need you. - Here, take this!

Mrs. Miller... Could you wait on me now?

- Yes, right away. - I'm in a big hurry.

Oh, thank you, Dobrik. - What was

she really like, Mr. Miller? - Karla?

Well, Karla was my youth!

You know, now as I think of her,

she seems to me the most

beautiful girl that ever was.

She was graceful as a willow with

flaming red hair that fell below her hips.

Then why didn't you marry her?

What happened?

Well... Life tore us apart.

I wasn't here 20 years ago.

What did he mean?

Exactly that:
Life tore them apart.

- What are you doing?

What is that? "Welcome Karla"?

- A welcome for little Karla Wechsler,

the redhead that used

to swim nude in the river.

Does that give you the right to call her

by her first name? - No harm done. Anyway:

I painted "Welcome Zachanassian"

on the other side.

If she shows herself very friendly,

we can always turn the sign around.

Oh, Mayor? - Yes? - You wanna make a point

about Karla's generosity in your speech?

She was generous to a fault. - Right. I'll

emphasize that. Any other suggestions?

Say something about her sense of justice.

It was deep... it was very deep.

Oh Miller, you're so respected, there's

no question you'll be our next Mayor.

Oh no. - Yes, you will.

- Absolutely. - No doubt, Miller.

Well, that would be the

greatest moment of my life!

Hey, what's that?

- It's alright. That's not her train.

It's the Diplomat Express. it doesn't

stop here anymore. - Oh yeah, I forgot!

What's happened?

Welcome!

Believe me, dear Lady, when I say

that you caught us unaware.

Forgive our appearance. We had

planned a more fitting reception.

Little Karla... Little Karla.

As Mayor of Guellen I'd like to

say a few words of welcome...

I demand... Who's in charge here?

Who pulled that cord?

I'm in charge. Now look...

- I repeat. Who pulled that cord?

Why... I pulled that cord.

You? - Me. - You have stopped

the Diplomat Express.

You have disrupted international

schedules. Now tell me why?

You could hardly expect me

to jump off the moving train.

And since I wanted to stop here at Guellen...

- Madame, once a week, every week,

one whole train comes to a

complete and full stop at Guellen.

As a matter of fact, this very day

in a few hours... - I couldn't wait.

Here... This is for you.

But, Madame... It's a thousand.

And this is for the

railway's widows fund.

Good Heavens... Five thousand!

Madame, no such fund exists.

- It does now.

The lady is Madame Zachanassian.

Madame Zachanassian...

I had no idea...

Please don't disrupt your international

schedule any longer. - Madame.

So good to have you back, little Karla.

- Like one of the family.

But I must have been

such a trouble to you...

Or don't you remember

how you had to beat me every day?

No trouble at all.

None. Really. A delight.

Serge!

Karla. - Serge...

You've changed. But not too much.

A dash of grey. But he's still handsome.

Don't tell me, I haven't changed.

- Yes, you have.

You've become more beautiful.

It was good of you, to come back to us.

- I've been planning it for years.

In fact, ever since I left.

It's almost... 20 years.

Have you thought about me, Serge?

Always, Karla. - We had our

good moments together, didn't we?

Unforgettable.

Do you remember

what you used to call me?

Call me that!

My little witch.

Go on...

My little wildcat.

And I used to call you:

My panther. My wild panther.

Oh, look... Oh no.

It's still standing. - Your late

father built well, gracious lady.

Remember Serge, how I used

to sit on the roof, spitting?

Only on men, of course.

- Of course. Of course, I remember.

And then, that day when you didn't

meet me, I threw tiles. And the police...

Oh, where's the police?

- Captain... Captain! Quick!

You've lasted well, Dobrik.

- We keep physically fit, Madame.

And have you learned how to

wink an eye at things by now?

Would I today be Captain of the

Guellen constabulary, if I hadn't?

I'll remember that.

I've thought of you often, Pastor.

In the town jail, when my mother

lay dying, how you consoled her.

Only part of my humble task, Madame.

I can still see your white head murmuring

to the condemned man in the next cell.

You will be pleased to know the death

penalty has been abolished... - Yes,

and I personally am proud to think

it was my newspaper, the Guellen Tribune,

which led the campaign against

this medieval punishment.

I suppose it could always

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