Quotes from the movie My Blueberry Nights by Kar-Wai Wong (2007) with Norah Jones, Jude Law, and Natalie Portman.
Tell me what he likes to eat. Cause I remember people by what they order, not by their names.
I can’t think of any Meat Loafs with Cheese Fries or Onion Rings or Pouched Eggs or Fried Fillet of Fish that match that description.
– Do you think she’s pretty?
– Who?
– The girl he was in here with.
– Oh, she was okay I guess… I mean, not the type I would prefer to have my pork chops with…
– I’ve had customers leaving keys here for years. Sometimes they pick them up in a few days, sometimes it takes a few weeks.
– Well, what about most of the time?
– Most of the time, the keys stay in the jar.
If I threw these keys away, then those doors will be closed forever. And that shouldn’t be up to me to decide.
Sometimes it’s better off not knowing and other times there’s no reason to be found.
– At the end of every night, the cheesecake and the apple pie are always completely gone. The peach cobbler and the chocolate mousse cake are nearly finished. But there’s always a whole blueberry pie left untouched
– So what’s wrong with the blueberry pie?
– There’s nothing’s wrong with the blueberry pie. It’s just people make other choices, you can’t blame the blueberry pie. It’s just no one wants it.
– Those belonged to a young couple a few years ago. They were naive enough to believe that they were gonna spend the rest of their lives together.
– Well, what happened?
– Life happened. Things happened. Yeah, time happened It’s pretty much always the case more or less. Or maybe one of them ran off with someone else. Maybe the feelings just went away.
These keys used to belong to a young lad from Manchester England who made plans and had dreams of running every marathon in this country starting in New York.
He was going to write a journal about his experiences and ended up running a cafe.
Later they were given to a Russian girl who loved collecting keys and watching sunsets.
Unfortunately, she loved sunsets more than the keys and ended up disappearing into one.
– Why didn’t you go looking for her?
– When I was little, me mum used to take me to the park on weekends.
She said if I ever got lost I had to stay in one place so that she’d find me.
– Does that work?
– Not really. She got lost once looking for me.
Some nights, I watch the tapes back and I’m amazed at how much I’ve missed, that’s going on right in front of me.
How do you say goodbye to someone you can’t imagine living without?
I didn’t say goodbye.
I didn’t say anything.
I just walked away.
At the end of that night, I decided to take the longest way to cross the street.
Working two jobs is exhausting, but at least it keeps me busy and most importantly, it keeps my mind away from him.
I don’t have much reason to come back here anymore. Tonight was my last night of drinking.
– Do you have a twin sister?
– No. I wish I did.
– Yeah? Well, I’m glad I don’t have a twin. One of me’s plenty.
– How come you’re working so hard, Lizzie?
– I’m trying to save up for a car.
– Where are you going?
– Well, I don’t have any specific destination in mind, but I’m just gonna go until I run out of places to go.
– What are you doing here?
– Oh, I’m celebrating.
– What are you celebrating?
– My last night of drinking!
– I thought he was married.
– Yeah, that’s precisely the problem. He still thinks he is.
You take it as a symbol of your intention to stay sober. And if you slip up and drink again you got to come back and pick up another chip.
I am the king of the white chip.
If I was an addict, I’d choose blueberry pie as my chip.
Some things are better on paper.
No body ever said sleeping with someone else’s wife was a safe vocation.
This stuff tastes pretty darn awful. But I guess nobody drinks it for the taste, right?
He was so crazy about me. I couldn’t breathe. So we tried drinking our way back into love. But it never made sense in the morning. So I ran.
Could you keep his bill hanging? So they don’t forget him too soon?
When you’re gone, all that’s left behind are the memories you created in other people’s lives or just a couple of items on a bill.
I wonder how you remember me.
As the girl who liked blueberry pies or the girl with the broken heart?
– I’m starting to look like my mom.
– It’s better than looking like your dad.
Sometimes, even if you have the keys those doors still can’t be opened, can they?
Even if the door is open the person you’re looking for may not be there.
I’ve always been fascinated by card players. They risk everything on their instincts and their luck. I wonder if I would be able to make the same moves in their position.
– Aloha, you forgot to tip the waitress.
– Actually I didn’t forget, because I never tip.
You can be cheap or you can be lucky but you can’t be both. Not in the long run.
Working long hours in the casino makes you lose track of the time. And I’m never sure whether it’s day or night. But at least I don’t have to worry about my sleeping problem anymore.
I don’t know what’s worse. That cute smile or that ugly shirt.
He’s my father. Taught me how to play poker. He had me figuring odds around the same time other kids were learning how to count.
He used to tell people that I thought the number that came after ten
was Jack.
Trust everyone but always cut the cards.
– If you’re so good at reading people
– Then why did I lose? Because you can’t always win. You can beat players but you can’t beat luck. Sometimes your rhythm’s off. You read the person right but still do the wrong thing.
– Because you trust them?
– Because you can’t even trust yourself.
You’re so good at reading people? Can’t you see it in my face!? Leslie, he’s gone!
I’m gonna drive this car until it falls apart. At least until I do.
– You have to stop taking people at their word!
– Maybe you should start.
Sometimes we depend on other people as a mirror to define us and tell us who we are. And each reflection makes me like myself a little more.
– Have a seat.
– Isn’t this reserved?
– Reserved for you.
There’s something different about you. Or maybe it’s me that’s changed.
You know I came here the night I left but I didn’t make it past the front door. I almost walked in but I knew that if I did I would just be the same old Elizabeth. I didn’t want to be that person anymore.
– Are they still left untouched at the end of the night?
– Yep, more or less.
– Then why do you keep making them?
– Well I always like having one around just in case you pop in and fancy a slice.
– Do you remember that last night you were here? When you practically ate an entire pie all by yourself?
– I remember getting really drunk and having a god awful hangover the next day.
– Nothing else?
– No, nothing else. Or don’t you have a tape I can watch?
– I do… but… I’ve watched it so many times that the picture started fading to black and white. And now it’s completely unwatchable
– Must have been an interesting night.
– It was. Never seen a girl eat so much in all my life.
It took me nearly a year to get here.
It wasn’t so hard to cross that street afterall.
It all depends on who’s waiting for you on the other side.