Quotes

Others

Ulf: [shouting in Swedish to Mark] You're pissing on my people! [to Pelle] Your little fucking American friend! He's pissed on the Rotvälta! Ulla: Christian? [snaps fingers twice] Christian... Hi. Hello! There you are! Listen: You can't speak. You can't move. [smiles] All right? [smiles] Good. Maja: [in Swedish after being impregnated by Christian during the mating ritual] I feel it! I can feel the baby!

Dialogue

Dani: [on the phone] It's just in his tone – you can hear it. It's like he's trying to work up the nerve to say something and I just keep staving it off. Girlfriend: So don't stave him off. Be direct! Confront him! Dani: Well – what if I scared him? I'm always roping him into my family crap... I'm always leaning on him! I tell him everything! I even called him today in tears because my sister sent me another scary email. What if I'm scaring him off? Girlfriend: Oh – how do you rope him in?That’s what he's there for! What did your sister write? Dani: Oh – just some ominous bullshit! She does it all the time! It’s torture, and I've been completely leaning on him for support! What if I overwhelmed him and now he thinks I have too much baggage? Girlfriend: Well, if that's the case, then good riddance! Right? Dani: No! Not if I went too far! What if I leaned too heavily? Girlfriend: You didn't! He should be there when you need him. Dani: But what if I need him too often? If it becomes a cho

Dialogue

Mark: Dude: you need to stop sitting on the fence with this. Christian: But what if I end up regretting it a week later, and then I can't get her back? Mark: You don't want her back! Christian: I might! Mark: So then you can bitch to us for that week about how much you regret it, and we'll be like, "Dude: you've been wanting out of this absurd relationship for the last year," and you'll be like "Oh shit, that's right" and then you can find some new chick who actually likes sex and who doesn’t drag you through a million hoops a day. Josh: Do you think a masochistic part of you is playing this drama out to distract you from the work you actually need to be doing? Christian: And what work do I actually need to do, Josh? Josh: Uhhh – your prospectus maybe? I dunno. Your PhD...? Waitress: Whenever you guys are ready. Pelle: Thank you. Waitress: [She smiles at Christian] Thank you. Mark: Dude. You could be getting that girl pregnant right now. Pelle: And don't forget all the Swedish women yo

Dialogue

Dani: [having a bad trip] I got lost. Christian: Let's go back to the group. Dani: Christian. Nothing means anything. Christian: What? Dani: Nothing means anything! We're just alone. [tearing up] And I felt this presence – like God but not God – and it was telling me this and it was laughing at me. Christian: You heard laughing? Dani: I felt it laughing! I figured it out, that nothing means anything and we're born alone and we die alone, and it was getting pleasure from that. Christian: Okay: no. We're going back to the friends. You're having a bad trip, and you're thinking you're alone because you went off and you made yourself alone. You just got scared. You have me. Everything’s connected. We're all one. Those are the good things you’re supposed to think about when you trip. We're all unified. Fuck.

Dialogue

Mark: [as they pass a bear in a cage] So we just gonna ignore the bear then? Pelle: [shrugs] That's a bear.

Dialogue

Christian: Who all sleeps in here? Pelle: All the younger ones. Until we turn 32. Then we move to the houses. Josh: Why 32? Pelle: We think of life like the seasons. You are a child until you're 18, and that is the Spring. At some point we all do our Pilgrimage, and that's between 18 and 32. That's Summer. Then, from 33 to 52, you're of working age: Fall. And finally from 53 to 72, you become a mentor. Josh: Winter. Dani: What happens when you turn 72, then?

Dialogue

Pelle: All right – beauty rest! Tomorrow's a big day. Josh: And what's tomorrow? Pelle: First of the big ceremonies. Josh: So you're just gonna be weird and cryptic? Josh: [eyes widening] Are you serious? Christian: What's that? What's Ättestupan? [pulls out his phone and types "Atestupan" into a search engine, but there's no internet connection.] Fuck. What’s Ättestupan? Dani: Is it scary? Josh: You'll see.

Dialogue

Christian: [in hushed tones] How long do they typically stand? Pelle: Uh we're gonna stand until it's – right to sit.

Dialogue

Pelle: I need to warn you before we go down...because you might not want to. Dani: Is this gonna be something weird? Pelle: Uhhh – it might seem very weird, but it's a great honor for them. Dani: Is this the thing you mentioned last night? Josh: Ättestupan. Pelle: We're about to perform a centuries-old rite that is very important to us and very beautiful, but also – very far from anything you have in America. Dani: [suddenly nervous] Do I not want to do this? Pelle: Well – that's what I'm saying. You're invited to. I just... [pauses] You remember I explained the winter stage of a man’s life goes from 53 to 72? Well, this is what happens when 72 is reached. Dani: Okay. And what is "this"? What is Ättestupan?

Dialogue

Dani: I'm really sorry, Pelle. Thank you for inviting me, but I really need to go. Can someone maybe drive me? Pelle: I did warn you this time. I know it looks extreme, but we only do this once every ninety years. It's – what's the word...? Dani: I understand that it's momentous. Pelle: Right! Exactly! Dani: I don't know why we're here, Pelle! I don"t know why you invited us! Pelle: Okay: Here: Sit down. Please. I invited my friends because this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing and I wanted to share it. Especially with my friends who I knew would appreciate it, because I am proud of this place. Dani: But I’m not an anthropologist. I don't have the foundation to understand this. Pelle: And yet I was the most excited for you to come. Here: smell this. Dani: What is it? Pelle: It calms you down. Go on. Inhale. I will, too. Isn’t that nice?... I know what you're going through, Dani. Dani: What am I going through? I'm scared. I can't breathe. Pelle: You're going through a lot. I know you are,

Dialogue

Sven: [showing Josh a sacred text] We describe it like "emotional sheet music." Josh: What does it say? Sven: Well, each runic letter represents one of the 16 affects, which are graded from most holy to most unholy. This one here is about grief. You can see at the end, however, we have blank pages. This is because the Rubi Radr is a constant work in progress. Forever evolving. We have many, many hundreds of these. Josh: And who decides what's added? Sven: Well, uh, this iteration is being written by Rubin. Josh: Wait. The... disabled? Sven: Since birth. He draws, and we, the Elders, interpret. You see Josh, Rubin is unclouded by normal cognition. It makes him open for the source. Josh: Uh, what happens when Rubin... dies? Do you just wait for a baby that is... "not clouded"? Sven: [chuckles] No, no, no. Uh, Ruben was a product of inbreeding. All of our Oracles have been deliberate products of inbreeding. Josh: Can I take a photograph? Sven: What? Josh: Uh, a photograph. Sven: [closes b

Dialogue

Dani: Has anyone seen Connie? Christian: I think Mark saw her earlier. Mark: I'm sure I saw her trying out for the sprinting Olympics earlier. Dani: What, where? Jarl: Sorry, but I can say what happened. Her boyfriend called our landline from the train station and calmed Connie down. She begged our pardon and I drove her to meet him. Christian: OK. That's really... Dani: Why would Simon leave without her? Christian: I'm sure it was just a miscommunication.

Dialogue

Sven: [after one of the sacred texts goes missing] Where is your friend? Josh? Christian: I know, ah... We have no idea. Sven: He, and your other friend – They both disappear the same day. You see how it looks?

Dialogue

Siv: Now it's traditional for the May Queen to bless our crops and livestock. And after the luck - you just inherited from that salt herring, we should all be doubly encouraged! [laughter; pause] Dani: Can Christian come with me? Siv: Nej. The Queen must ride alone.

Dialogue

Siv: On this, the day of our deity of reciprocity, we gather to give special thanks for the precious Sun. As an offering for our Father, we will today surrender nine human lives. As Hårga takes, so Hårga also gives. Thus, for every newblood sacrificed, we will dedicate one of our own. That is: four newbloods, four from Hårga, and one to be chosen by the Queen. Nine in all, to die, and be reborn, in the great Cycle. Sten: The four newbloods, have already been supplied. As for our end, we have two already dedicated... And two who have volunteered. Ingemar and Ulf. [they step forward] You have brought outside offerings, thus volunteering your own bodies. You will today be joined in harmony with everything. And to Pelle, who has brought new blood, and our new May Queen, you will today be honored for your unclouded intuition. And so, for our ninth offering. It is traditional that our fair Queen shall choose, between a preselected newblood, and a specially ordained Hårgan. Sven: Turbeyon. St