(dreamy atmospheric music)
(door knocking)
Come in,
Hey,
Hi,
(sink running)
Why are you home so late?
(teeth brushing)
I was staying at the office
to help prep for tomorrow's big presentation,
We're Skyping in with the clients in Berlin,
Gotta be back there at the crack of dawn,
Oh,
Yeah,
Do you wanna have sex?
I'm sorry, honey,
I'm so exhausted,
I feel like I'm already gonna be a mess tomorrow,
Can we do it tomorrow night?
How's that sound?
Okay,
Okay?
Mm hmm,
You gonna be up much later?
Mm hmm,
Okay,
Goodnight, honey,
Hey,
Yeah,
I love you,
I love you too,
(dramatic synth music)
(crying)
Hey, Nina,
Oh, hi, Linda,
Where were you Saturday?
I didn't see you or Norman at Tim's gallery opening,
Oh, Norman was busy with work
and we couldn't make it,
I'm sorry,
I just didn't feel up to it myself,
Hey, it's okay,
We weren't offended or anything,
No, it's not that,
It's just, it's just I've been feeling really bad lately
and I feel like Norman and I, we're growing apart,
What do you mean?
He's always really busy working,
We never talk anymore
and we haven't been intimate in like two months
and I'm really worried
he doesn't find me attractive anymore,
No,
you look beautiful
and this kind of thing happens sometimes,
Have you ever thought about seeing a marriage counselor
or a sex therapist?
Does that work?
Seeing a therapist is nothing to be ashamed about,
Sometimes all it takes
is to have a meaningful conversation about it,
I know,
Take this,
There's nothing on here,
Is he licensed?
I'm not sure,
but Tim and I was fighting almost every night
this time last year,
but after a week of sessions with Dr, Harvey,
everything changed for us,
Well, thanks, Linda,
but you know, I don't know if Norman's gonna be into this,
You just let Norman know how important this is to you
and if he really cares,
he'll do it,
(phone dialing)
[Dr, Bunuel On Phone] Yes?
Hi, my name is Nina Svankmajer,
I was given your card by a friend
and I'm just calling to get some more information
about Dr, Bunuel and his practices, availability, pricing,
[Dr, Bunuel On Phone] If you have my card,
then you know what I do,
I am the best in the business,
I have an opening tonight at eight,
Pricing is reasonable,
Oh, that sounds good,
It's just a bit soon,
Do you have anything next week?
[Dr, Bunuel On Phone] I'm booked
for the next three months,
Well, thanks for the offer,
I haven't even talked to my husband about it yet,
so I'll give you a call back once I know,
[Dr, Bunuel On Phone] I'm penning you in for eight,
My office is located at the Seville building
off of 9th Street, second floor, room 210,
See you soon,
Wait, wait,
(dial tone beeping)
(phone ringing)
This is Norman,
Hi, Norman,
Hey, how was your conference call this morning?
Oh, it went really good actually,
really good,
We got the contract for the American Embassy,
so everybody here's really happy, really excited,
Oh, honey, that's great,
Yeah,
So, I need to talk to you about something,
What is it?
I made an appointment with a marriage counselor,
What?
I just, I think it would be really good for us,
Look, I don't have time to see a marriage counselor,
okay?
I feel like we're growing apart,
It's nothing to worry about,
I've been just swamped at work,
Trust me,
Every time I try to talk about this
you brush it off,
I can't go on,
Nina, we can work through our problems on our own,
We don't need some shrink to tell us what to do,
This doctor comes highly recommended,
You don't, you don't have to be afraid of what he might say,
Look, Nina, I've had a really exhausting day,
Can we please just talk about this later?
(sighing)
The appointment's at eight,
If you love me, you'll do this for us,
(phone hanging up)
Thank you,
Uh,
So, is this his apartment we're going into?
No, I don't know,
He referenced it as his office,
(keypad dialing and ringing)
[Dr, Bunuel Over Intercom] Nina?
Yes, hi, hi,
Dr, Bunuel?
(intercom beeping)
(door knocking)
Hello?
Hi,
Have a seat,
Thank you so much taking the time to see us,
Dr, Bunuel,
I have a really good feeling about this,
Please, call me Harvey,
Harvey, right,
This is my husband, Norman,
Hello, Norman,
Alrighty, let's get started,
Have either of you seen a sex therapist before?
Se--
You said it was a marriage counselor,
Yes,
Yes, well to some the title is interchangeable,
Uh, no,
No, neither of us have ever seen a sex therapist,
Ideally, seeing a sex therapist
will change the way a couple see and understand each other,
This can usually be achieved in a course of weekly sessions
for several months,
My practice is a little different from others,
My program lasts five sessions over five consecutive days,
after which I promise radical improvements
or your money back,
Five consecutive days?
I can't do every day this week, honey,
I've got--
Why not?
You're normally off work by this time,
Nina, why did you sit on that chair by yourself
instead of sharing the couch with your husband?
Oh, yeah,
In order for our sessions to be successful,
I need both of you to agree to be honest
and receptive to my advice,
Can we agree to that?
Yes, Yes,
Well then,
when was the last time you had sex?
Um,
Does oral count?
Yes,
Then about a month ago,
And who received the oral sex?
Norman,
Ah, and when was the last time
you had traditional sex?
Um, I'd say about two months ago,
Have either of you tried to initiate sex since then?
Yes, sometimes I ask Norman if we--
I'm sorry,
but you want me to be honest?
This is making me extremely uncomfortable,
What's making you uncomfortable, Norman?
Is it hearing Nina talk about your sexual interactions?
It's you, okay?
It just feels really weird to have you hearing
about all of our personal affairs,
Would it make you feel more comfortable
if you were speaking with a female sex therapist?
I don't know,
Maybe,
This is less about sex than you think, Norman,
Men and women are 99% the same,
There is only a few minuscule biological variations
that, for some reason, seem to make all the difference,
(whistling)
(humming)
Does this make you feel any more comfortable, Norman?
Um, no,
No,
My point exactly,
Norman, your feeling of un-comfortability doesn't stem
from my sex, but rather your reflection of yourself,
Perhaps the idea of yourself having sex
is what's making you uncomfortable,
Let's take a step back,
How long have you two been married?
Next month is our five year anniversary,
Yeah, but we were together for three years
before we got married,
And how did you two meet?
Uh, at a mutual friend's party,
I overheard him talking about pavement
and I thought he was talking about the band Pavement,
but it turns out he was actually talking about
this compound that makes it harder for pavement to crack,
you know, like--
I'm an architect,
so I was talking to a friend at this party
about this new mixture of concrete
and she comes up and interrupts us,
starts talking about how much she loves Pavement,
It was cute,
The coincidence is that I'm also a huge fan of the band,
so--
And we spent the rest of the night talking
and we started dating,
I didn't realize it was possible to fall in love so quickly,
You two truly love each other,
I can tell,
Even though the love is there,
sometimes it doesn't translate physically,
Have you ever used any kind of marital aid in the bedroom?
Uh, you mean like sex toys?
Yes,
No,
I mean I use a vibrator sometimes,
but only when I'm alone,
Have you two ever watched pornography together?
No, No,
Well then, we still have some work to do,
But, I want to give you your homework assignment now,
I want you two to watch pornography together,
Find something that you both agree on and
(laughing)
see where it takes you,
Thank you,
Did you find anything you like?
I don't know,
There's so much,
Oh my god,
Would you, what are you into?
Um, wow,
How about that one?
Mmm, maybe,
Oh, I like this one,
This one,
Yeah, you like that?
Mm hmm,
All right,
Do that one,
Let's put it on the big screen,
Can you?
Yeah,
(synth melody)
Okay,
(woman moaning)
Well, they look like they're having fun,
Jesus,
I don't think I can go that fast,
I bet you could with practice,
Ugh, do you remember when I was as thin as she is?
Stop it,
You still look great,
Come here,
Remember when I had as much hair as he does?
I love your hair,
I know,
what's left of it,
That looks like a really uncomfortable position,
I don't know,
Could be nice,
Is this doing anything for you?
No,
Do you wanna try any of this stuff?
Not tonight,
Look, I had a long day,
I still have a lot of work to do,
Let's try tomorrow, okay?
Okay,
Tomorrow?
Mm hmm,
Okay,
Thank you, Norman,
You're welcome,
Okay,
No no no, let it play,
Yeah?
Mm hmm,
Okay,
Goodnight,
(dreamy atmospheric music)
Tell me, how many times do you think
you've told each other I love you?
I don't know,
Hundreds, no thousands, thousands,
Yeah,
As you should,
It is a normal, nice thing to say,
but after a certain amount of time, it can lose its meaning,
I have an exercise for you to do,
These are a series of flash cards that I've written
over the years,
They are phrases that carry the message of love,
but in a new, more intimate, wording,
Norman,
Why don't you come with me over here?
Nina, you sit right here,
Norman, right here,
I want you to face each other as you speak,
Norman, why don't you go first?
Okay,
Go on,
I wish I could shrink myself
so you could have sex with my entire body,
Nina, how did hearing that make you feel?
Oh, uh,
well, I guess it's sort of sweet,
Um, sort of like a sci-fi story,
I like that,
But if he was that small, I wouldn't be able to see him,
Is being able to see Norman a big part of sex for you?
Oh, yes,
I like to be able to look into his eyes,
Why don't you read another card,
Oh,
I want to count every sperm in your ejaculation,
I want to kiss each of them on the cheek,
Norman?
Uh, that doesn't,
that doesn't do anything for me,
Why do you think that is?
Well, I mean, I see where the love could come in
in taking the time to do something like that,
but it just seems like it would take a really long time,
I see,
Why don't you read another card?
I want to clean your whole body with my tongue,
That sounds really nice, but I'm ticklish in my armpits,
so--
Nina, the pleasure derived from the act
is just part of it,
Also consider what it means for him to do this,
Oh, uh,
I want to die on your dick,
No, I don't like that one at all,
I don't want to think about Nina dying,
Don't think about her dying,
But think about her choosing this place to die,
No,
No, Harvey, no,
I don't like it,
Okay, that's all right,
Nina, try another card,
Sometimes I wish our genitals
were swapped with our mouths,
That way we could have sex without taking our clothes off,
Okay, Harvey, this isn't working for me anymore,
Could we move onto something else?
This is all part of the process,
You don't have to enjoy what you're saying,
Yeah,
I just want you to realize
that there are other ways to verbally express your love,
I understand,
Thank you,
I forgot to ask,
How did it go last night?
Uh, we did what you said,
We watched some porn,
Yeah,
It was sort of fun,
It didn't lead to anything,
Why do you think that is?
Well, the,
the people in the movie that we watched
were really young
and watching them go at it
just made me think about how old I'm getting,
Yeah, it sort of made me feel inadequate,
I want you to try again tonight,
but
I want you
to use this,
What is it?
It's a projector,
These feelings that you've developed of aging
and inadequacy are misguided,
They could be replaced with feelings of superiority
and vigor
if you are able to see your bodies in a new light,
I want you to project pornography onto your bodies,
Seeing these images against your own flesh
will show you new versions of yourself,
Those cards we read today were so strange,
Do you think he really wrote them?
Who knows?
Hey, did you see any degrees on those walls of his?
I mean, don't doctors usually like to show those things off?
I didn't,
I'm not sure he's a real doctor,
What are you getting out of these sessions?
Uh, I don't know,
I mean, I definitely think it's doing something,
I think we're talking about things that
I don't think we'd be talking about
if it wasn't for him,
Okay, it's ready,
Ready?
Mm hmm,
(dreamy atmospheric music)
Oh, wow,
How do I look?
Beautiful,
You ready to do this kind of thing?
It's been so long since I've seen you look at me like that,
There's something so beautiful about this,
It's like nothing I've ever felt before,
(heavy breathing)
(moaning)
Is it my turn yet?
(laughing)
Oh, shit,
Excuse me,
All right,
Is it working?
Is this turning you on?
No,
You don't want this?
I think I've lost my attraction to the female form,
(nose blowing)
Tell him what you told me,
I said I think I,
I think I lost my attraction to the female form,
Interesting,
Do you find yourself becoming attracted to men?
No,
Transgender people?
No,
Are there other women other than Nina
that you're attracted to?
No,
And you came to this realization
during last night's exercise?
Yes,
You two have been together a long time,
When you spend this much time with someone,
it's possible to become desensitized to their appearance,
Tonight, I am going to show you a whole new way
to see each other,
Come with me to my studio,
(dreamy atmospheric music)
Nina,
I want you right here,
Take this seat, Norman,
Now, I'm sure you two have some photos of you together,
maybe even some videos, but right now
I want you to be able to watch each other in real time,
in the moment,
You could talk if you'd like,
but I want you to really focus
on just looking at each other,
I love you,
I love you too,
I wish,
I wish we were better,
I wish we didn't have to do this,
I wish I knew what you wanted,
so that I could give it to you,
Nina, that's great,
Just hold on a second,
Nina, just listed some things she wished for,
Is there anything that you'd like to tell her, Norman?
I wish I felt normal,
I wish I felt like a man,
I feel like something less,
I have a beautiful wife who I love very much,
but that's not enough,
I feel something dark inside of me,
I feel sick,
I feel ashamed,
Ashamed of what?
I don't know,
It's okay,
We're making progress,
Let's move on,
For this exercise,
I'm going to need you to take your clothes off, Nina,
Is that really necessary, Harvey?
It's critical for this exercise,
It's just us in here, Nina,
All the cameras are off,
Once you're ready, just step behind the picture frame,
Norman, I want you to really focus on
treating each part of her body as it's own being,
I want you to say something to it
then give it a kiss,
Start at her feet and work your way up,
Okay,
Um,
thank you for helping Nina to walk,
(kissing)
You're probably my least favorite part of Nina's body,
but I still like you,
(kissing)
You, uh,
you look very nice,
(kissing)
I like the sounds you make when Nina's hungry,
(kissing)
Nina thinks you're too big,
but I think you're just the right size,
(kissing)
I'm sorry,
(kissing)
That was,
that was very good, Norman,
Very good,
I just have one more exercise for tonight,
After separating pieces of Nina
and treating them individually,
I want you to view her reflection as every piece of her,
every molecule, every thought, every emotion, as one,
What do you see?
What do you feel?
Say whatever comes to your mind,
Well,
when I look at this,
I don't see Nina,
I see,
I see a monster,
something that's scared,
wounded,
and alone,
I don't know,
I don't know what I'm saying,
I don't know why I said that,
I'm sorry,
Can we please be done for the night?
I'm sorry,
Of course,
That's no problem,
Tonight's homework is on the more traditional side,
This is a list of activities ranging from holding hands
to having sex,
I want you to go as high up the list
as you feel comfortable with,
We'll talk about it first thing tomorrow,
Thank you,
So, when do you wanna start?
Nina,
I can't do any more of Harvey's shit tonight,
I just can't,
Can we at least just do the first like three?
I'm not gonna do it, okay?
I'll try again with him tomorrow,
but I just can't do any more tonight,
Goodnight,
Hey,
(sighing)
(dreamy atmospheric music)
So,
how'd it go last night?
What number did you make it to on the list?
We didn't try the list,
Why not?
I don't know,
I just didn't feel like it,
Okay, that's fine,
Let's move on to something else,
Do either of you have any fetishes or fantasies?
It's nothing to be ashamed about,
Everyone has some kind of fetish or fantasy,
It's quite common for a couple's sex life to improve
once you start talking to each other about your fantasies,
Norman, why don't you go first?
Uh,
can Nina go first?
We're going to hear from the both of you,
Why don't you just get it over with now?
No no no, it's all right,
I'll go,
Uh,
I guess I
have always
always liked the idea of being tied up during sex,
I mean, I don't know, I've never done it,
but I've seen videos and I've talked to friends
and it seems really sexy,
Bondage,
That's a completely normal fantasy,
Norman, did you know Nina had this fantasy?
No, I didn't,
Does it bother you?
No,
Would you be willing
to incorporate her fantasy into your sexual activities?
I don't see why not,
That's terrific, Norman,
Now, why don't you tell us about a fantasy of yours,
I don't know,
I just I really don't feel comfortable talking about it,
It's all right, Norman,
No, it's just,
it's okay,
I don't need to have my fantasies acted out,
Regardless of whether you wanna act them out or not,
the fact that you're suppressing these desires
could be the root of your marital problems,
There's nothing to worry about, Norman,
I'm not gonna judge you,
I can't,
You know what, I changed,
I've changed your homework assignment for tonight,
You are to meet me at this address at 10 tonight,
(paper ripping)
What is it?
I can't believe we're doing this,
This is so fucking stupid,
Don't worry about it,
It's gonna be fine,
All right, 10 o'clock,
Time to start,
(door opening)
Perfect timing, you two,
Please, grab some chairs, join the circle,
Everyone this is Nina and that's Norman,
Hello, hello,
All right,
Now, I'm sure you all know how this works,
but I will reiterate,
We are here to talk about our fetishes
and our fantasies,
There's no judgment in this room,
If you have anything constructive to add,
please at any point,
don't hesitate to butt in,
Hector, why don't you start?
Okay,
So, my name's Hector
and I used to have a hard time saying this,
but I've accepted it,
I'm a necrophiliac,
That means I'm into having sex with dead bodies,
but I don't kill people or dig up graves
or any of that shit,
That's not me,
This is just something that turns me on like nothing else
in the--
I don't know what to do about it,
Jessica, go ahead,
So, I'm really submissive,
The idea of having to pretend that I'm dead
and like not move my body at all sounds really hot,
Yo, that's what's up,
(laughing)
This is exactly what I'm talking about,
Our fantasies are nothing to be ashamed about,
They bring us closer together,
Kelly, why don't you go next?
Uh, I'm Kelly,
I just discovered the term for my fetish,
forniphilia,
Basically that means I like
being used as
furniture,
Like a footrest?
Yeah, that could work,
but my ultimate fantasy
is to be used as a table
and to have people
eat their dinner
off of me,
so--
My wife and I are hosting a dinner party next Saturday
and we would love to have you over as our table,
Really?
Harvey, that's awesome,
That's what I do,
Jason, why don't you go next?
Hey, everybody,
So,
I'm a little embarrassed about this,
I told my wife about my fetish and she divorced me,
so it's still kind of hard to talk about that,
Be strong, Jason,
Thanks, Dr, Bunuel,
For years I fantasized about being fisted,
I asked my wife if she would fist me,
She screamed at me,
She said so many mean things,
I'll do it,
I'll fist you for sure,
I love fisting,
Really?
That would be so great,
Oh, hi, my name is Nina
and I just
told my husband that I thought
the idea of having some kind of bondage sex might be fun,
Oh, it's great,
You'll love it,
Norman,
it's your turn,
Uh, hi, everyone,
My name is Norman
and
uh, my fantasy is kind of strange,
I
wish I was a giant,
like Godzilla,
but I don't wanna hurt people
and I don't wanna destroy entire cities,
I just,
I just wanna have sex with tall buildings,
That sounds very cool,
Yeah, I think I see where you're going there,
Very interesting, Norman,
Nina, what is your reaction to this?
I think it sounds perfectly normal,
I was so worried you were gonna say something
like you were into piss and shit, eating piss and shit
or something,
I'm so relieved,
I just, I don't know how I can help fulfill your fantasy,
that's all,
Hey,
Listen,
I know it's been really hard for you this week,
going to all those sessions
and then telling everybody your fantasy just now
must have been really tough,
So, I want you to know
I really appreciate everything you're doing
and I love you very much,
Thank you,
I love you too,
You know that,
And guess what, you're right,
I feel a lot better,
just getting all that off my chest,
I feel good,
See?
Mm hmm,
I just wish
I knew how to satisfy your fantasy,
That's okay,
Maybe some things are better left as fantasies,
You know what I'm saying?
Oh,
Just a thought,
(phone ringing)
Hi,
Hey, I just got a call from Harvey,
Tonight's session, they've changed the location,
Really, why?
I don't know,
but it's not far from here,
Do you have a pen?
Uh, sure,
Where is it?
(dreamy atmospheric music)
He just parked,
He's on his way in,
What is going on?
(clapping)
This is amazing,
You guys did this all for me?
Mm hmm,
Yes, we did,
We wanted to see your fantasy become a reality,
You guys,
I don't know how I could ever repay you for this,
Thank you so much,
Don't worry about us,
Just try to enjoy yourself,
Thanks,
You two, take care now,
Thank you,
Thanks, Harvey,
You really are the best,
I know,
(laughing)
Wow,
(dreamy atmospheric music)