The Retrospective: Translated From the Hebrew By Stuart Schoffman
“Moses asks the Dominican after finally getting through to his mobile. Manuel de Viola, who often makes the rounds of poor neighborhoods in the capital, is required to carry a cell phone to assist him in places where a monk’s robe offers no protection. But Manuel, who has faith in human innocence, generally leaves the device turned off in the folds of his robe, using it only at night to check on his mother’s welfare. So days went by before Moses could speak with him and explain what he needed and why. “I am willing,” Moses tells him, “to dedicate my entire prize to this.”
Manuel, who remembers the Israeli’s confession, subscribes to the religious logic that such a confession demands continuity and perhaps absolution. And although he is appalled by the deviant nature of the screenwriter’s request, he is neither willing nor able to refuse. “I must extinguish the fire I ignited in you,” says the monk, his deliberate Hebrew reverberating in the tiny phone. He also expresses optimism that w...ith the help of the prize money he will be able to cover the needs of a distressed neighborhood in Madrid.MoreLess
Manuel, who remembers the Israeli’s confession, subscribes to the religious logic that such a confession demands continuity and perhaps absolution. And although he is appalled by the deviant nature of the screenwriter’s request, he is neither willing nor able to refuse. “I must extinguish the fire I ignited in you,” says the monk, his deliberate Hebrew reverberating in the tiny phone. He also expresses optimism that w...ith the help of the prize money he will be able to cover the needs of a distressed neighborhood in Madrid.MoreLess
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