The Counselor (2013)

Bruno Ganz: Diamond Dealer

Photos 

Quotes 

• Diamond Dealer : It's not a small thing to wish for, however unattainable... to aspire to the stone's endless destiny. Isn't that the meaning of adornment? To enhance the beauty of the beloved is to acknowledge both her frailty and the nobility of that frailty. We announce to the darkness that we will not be diminished by the brevity of our lives. That we will not thereby be made less.

• Counselor : I want her to have something that she would not be uncomfortable wearing. I don't want to give her a diamond so big she'd be afraid to wear it.

  Diamond Dealer : She is probably more courageous than you imagine.

• Counselor : You like this stone?

  Diamond Dealer : I like that stone.

  Counselor : How many carats is it?

  Diamond Dealer : 3.9.

  Counselor : It's expensive.

  Diamond Dealer : Tell me what you see. Remember, you are not looking for merit. This is a cynical business, we seek only imperfection. This is a 5 carat stone. Tell me what you see.

  Counselor : The culet seems big. Crown and pavilion don't fit. The girdle comes out crooked.

  Diamond Dealer : Very good.

  Counselor : But there is no perfect diamond?

  Diamond Dealer : En esta mundo, nada es perfecto, as my father would say.

  Counselor : You're Sephardic.

  Diamond Dealer : Yes.

  Counselor : Do you know Spain?

  Diamond Dealer : I do. And Spain, me. At one time I thought she would return from the grave, but that is not to be. Every country that has driven out the Jews has suffered the same fate.

  Counselor : Which is?

  Diamond Dealer : You don't want to hear. We should talk stones. The most rare stone is the red diamond from the Argyle mines. So very rare. I've seen two in a long life, a prize almost beyond belief.

  Counselor : I do want to hear.

  Diamond Dealer : Ah. Well. How to say... there's no culture save for the Semitic culture. There. The last known culture before that was the Greek, and there will be no culture after. Nothing.

  Counselor : That's a bold claim.

  Diamond Dealer : The heart of any culture is to be found in the nature of the hero. Who is that man who is revered? In a Classical world, it is the warrior, but in the Western world, it is the man of God. From Moses to Christ. The Prophet, the Penitent. Such a figure was unknown to the Greeks. Unheard of. Unimaginable. Because there is only a man of God, not a man of gods. And this God is the God of the Jewish people. There is no other god. We see him, what is the word... purloined. Purloined in the West. How do you steal a God? The Jew beholds his tormentor dressed in the vestments of his own ancient culture. Everything bares a strange familiarity, but the fit is always poor, and the hands are always dripping blood. "That coat. Didn't that belong to Uncle Chaim? What about the shoes?"

  Diamond Dealer : Enough, I see your look. No more philosophy. The stones themselves have their own view of things. Perhaps they are not so silent as you think. They were piped up out of the earth in a time before any witness was. But here they are. Let me show you. This is a... cautionary stone. Although I suppose every diamond is cautionary.

  Counselor : A cautionary diamond?

  Diamond Dealer : Of course. Why not? That's not a small thing to wish for, however unattainable. To aspire to the stone's endless destiny. Isn't that the meaning of adornment? To enhance the beauty of the beloved is to acknowledge both her frailty and the nobility of that frailty. We announce to darkness that we will not be diminished by the brevity of our lives. That we will not thereby be made less. You will see.