Lola (1981)

Matthias Fuchs: Esslin

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Quotes 

• Esslin : [First lines]  He who has no house shall not build one. He who is alone shall long remain so...

  Lola : Why do you only read me sad poems?

  Esslin : Poetry is always sad.

  Lola : And why's that? Why can't it be funny for once?

  Esslin : Because a poem comes from the soul. And the soul is sad.

  Lola : Is it? And why is that? Nitwit.

  Esslin : Because the soul knows more than the mind. That's why it's sad.

  Lola : Strange. For me, it's the other way around. For me, the mind knows more than the soul.

• Esslin : I won't allow you to destroy yourself.

  Von Bohm : You can't stop me. Would you stand in someone's way who has discovered the truth? The whole is rotten, not just parts, so the whole must be tackled.

  Esslin : You'll just look ridiculous.

  Von Bohm : Me? I'll make the rules of the game look ridiculous, the whole dishonest system. It scars people and warps them and makes them sick!

• Schukert : Maybe I should wash my hands, too. Lola will be glad to see me with clean hands, don't you think?

  Esslin : You hands will never be clean, no matter how often you wash.

• Esslin : Lola, he's no man for you.

  Lola : He's no man for me? He's no man for me? Well, maybe - I'm a woman for him!

• Esslin : Would you want to live in a world that has lost all morality? Where there's only evil and depravity and corruption?

  Lola : Gladly.

• Von Bohm : Giving Capital a helping hand isn't so easy. Hence the need for overtime.

  Esslin : One man puts in overtime, while another puts profits in the bank. To each his own.

  Von Bohm : That's what I always say. What about you? What does the humanist do after work?

  Esslin : I'm member of a group against rearmament. Is that really of interest to you?

  Von Bohm : Very much so. I'm always intrigued by fruitless passions.

  Esslin : In another group we're studying Bakunin. He wrote a very interesting essay on land and property.

  Von Bohm : Uh huh? And what was his conclusion?

  Esslin : That the earth belongs to everyone, not just a few.

  Von Bohm : I don't understand. It obviously belongs to just a few, not to everyone. Does he really mean it, or is it just wishful thinking on Mr. Bakunin's part?

  Esslin : It's reality in a higher sense.

  Von Bohm : Very good. I understand. That's why we complement each other so well: you're busy with reality in a higher sense, while I'm busy with reality in a lower sense.

  Esslin : I dream, and you act. That's what you mean.

  Von Bohm : You think, and I function. That's what you mean.

  Esslin : And Schuckert profits! That's what I mean. With your permission, I'll be going now.

  Von Bohm : Personally, I think it's good that there's one who dreams while all the others work. But you won't believe that.

  Esslin : No.