27 quotes
The Desire to Halt Time in Love
Anna aged 15
You're the first and last person I'll ever love.
Nemo aged 15
Ten days... That makes 14,400 minutes... I wish time would stop right now, that it would stay this way forever.
Anna aged 15
They say if you slow your breathing, time slows down. The Hindus say so.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Ambitious Dreams and Determined Choices
Nemo aged 9
On that day, i would make a lot of silly decisions.
[narrating]
Nemo aged 15
One; I will never leave anything to chance again. Two; I will marry the girl on my motorcycle. Three; I'll be rich. Four; we'll have a house. A big house, painted yellow, with a garden. And two children, Paul and Michael. Five; I'll have a convertible. A red convertible! And a swimming pool, I'll learn to swim. Six; I will not stop until I succeed!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Nature of Reality and Possibility
Taglines
Nothing is real, everything is possible.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Importance of Living Fully
Nemo Nobody
I'm not afraid of dying, I'm afraid I haven't been alive enough. It should be written on every school room blackboard; life is a playground or nothing.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Casual reunion between old friends
Nemo adult
Anna!
[meets by chance at the train station]
Anna
Nemo... how have you been?
Nemo adult
I'm fine, how are you?
Anna
Yeah, good.
Nemo adult
Are they your kids?
Anna
Yeah... Well, see you around.
[awkward silence]
Nemo adult
Yeah, uh... See you around.
Nemo aged 15
What on earth made me say I don't go swimming with idiots?
[narrating]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Reflections on Mortality and Obsolete Experiences
Nemo aged 118
I've got nothing to say to you. I'm Mr. Nobody, a man who doesn't exist.
Young journalist
Do you remember what the world was like before telomerization? Quasi-immortality? What was it like when humans were mortals?
Nemo aged 118
There were cars that polluted. We smoked cigarettes. We ate meat. We did everything we can't do in this dump and it was wonderful! Most of the time nothing happened... like a French movie.
Young journalist
And, um, sexually? Before sex became obsolete.
Nemo aged 118
Ha, ha! We screwed! Everybody was always screwing. We fell in love... we fell in love.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Burden of Knowing the Future
Nemo aged 15
Sometimes I can see the future.
Anna aged 15
Doesn't sound like it'd be much fun to know what's going to happen.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Identity and Memory in Mr. Nobody
Nemo Nobody
Sometimes people call me Mr. Craft. C-R-A-F-T. Can't Remember A Fucking Thing.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Paradox of Choice in Chess
Nemo aged 9
In chess, it's called Zugzwang... when the only viable move...
Nemo aged 118
...is not to move.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Weight of Choices and Consequences
Nemo Nobody
If you mix the mashed potatoes and sauce, you can't separate them later. It's forever. The smoke comes out of Daddy's cigarette, but it never goes back in. We cannot go back. That's why it's hard to choose. You have to make the right choice. As long as you don't choose, everything remains possible.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Uncertainty of Predicting the Future
Nemo aged 15
It will happen on a Saturday. You will be behind the wheel of your car, you are whistling. You do not see the crossroads. All of a sudden, a train will hit from your left and you will be crushed.
[to Harry]
Nemo's mother
You're not funny! Nemo thinks he can predict the future.
[turns to Harry]
Nemo aged 15
I can.
Nemo's mother
No one can predict the future, no one knows what's going to happen!
Nemo aged 15
I do.
Nemo's mother
Well if you could, you'd know you were going to get that.
[slaps his face]
Nemo aged 15
I knew you'd say that.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Existential Reflections on Life and Choices
Jean
Nemo, do I matter to you? I'd just like to ask you one question. Did you do it on purpose? I found this on the bedside table. There comes a time in life where everything seems narrow. Choices have been made. I can only continue on. I know myself like the back of my hand. I can predict my every reaction. My life has been cast in cement with airbags and seatbelts. I've done everything to reach this point and now that I'm here, I'm fucking bored. The hardest thing is knowing whether I'm still alive.
[reads note]
Nemo adult
It is my handwriting. I don't remember.
[looks at note]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Mystery of Mr. Nobody's Identity
TV host
Now doctor, no trace of his identity has been found in the national records, nothing about his past.
Dr. Feldheim
We don't know who Mr. Nobody is, neither does he. Our patient's memories are confused. But it is not unusual at a certain stage of illness for very old memories to emerge in great detail.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Reflections on Age and Identity
Nemo Nobody
Urgh, you're still here? Did I fall asleep? Sometimes I don't sleep so I think... I think about how it was... and all I have left. What do you see when you look at me? A grumpy old man who never answers questions? Who mixes everything up? Who's kept busy by getting his meals? That's not me. Me... I wear shorts. I'm nine years old. I can run faster than the train. I can't feel my aching back anymore. I'm fifteen. I'm fifteen and I'm in love.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Paradox of Knowledge and Choice
Nemo Nobody
Before, he was unable to make a choice because he didn't know what would happen. Now that he knows what will happen, he is unable to make a choice.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Importance of Choosing Wisely
Nemo Nobody
You have to make the right choice. As long as you don't choose, everything remains possible.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Teenage Curiosity and Social Dynamics
Nemo aged 15
How did you know my name?
Elise aged 15
We go to the same school. You never notice me, you never notice anyone. Do you have a girlfriend? What, are you queer? Why don't you have a girlfriend?
Nemo aged 15
I don't know... I don't want one.
Elise aged 15
Do you know how to talk? Well say something.
[waits then starts to leave]
Nemo aged 16
Gravity on Mars is 0,38. That's three times less than on Earth. The ground is covered with iron-oxide dust.
Elise aged 15
You're incredible. Raise your hand and say I swear'. Promise me that when I die, you'll scatter my ashes on Mars.
[turns to face Nemo]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Expressions of Love and Understanding
Nemo adult
I'm gonna be a little late.
[on telephone]
Anna
It's okay, don't worry.
Nemo adult
I love you.
Anna
I love you more.
Nemo adult
Me more.
Anna
Me more.
Nemo adult
Okay.
Anna
Cheater!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Existential Reflection on Identity and Self
Nemo Nobody
Why am I me and not somebody else?
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Conversations on the Dullness of Mars
Nemo aged 15
Probably the worst thing about being on Mars is that nothing will happen there. Time will seem stale and empty.
[narrating]
Man
It doesn't look like there is much to do. I hope I brought enough Sudoku.
[looking out over Mars]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Teenage Disagreement Over Swimming Plans
Anna aged 15
You wanna go for a swim? Come on, it'll be...
Nemo aged 15
No, I...
Anna aged 15
Come swim with us, they're my friends. Come on.
Nemo aged 15
They're idiots. I don't go swimming with idiots.
Anna aged 15
Jerk.
[leaves]
Nemo aged 15
What on earth made me say I don't go swimming with idiots?
[narrating]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Struggling with Love and Regret
Nemo adult
What's wrong?
Elise
I was dreaming about Stefano. He doesn't give a damn about me. I love him. There can't be any other explanation for being in this state. I don't know what it could be. I'm not happy. I'm going crazy. Every morning when I wake up, I rub my eyes and I see your face and I start crying. I realise that my life is passing me by. How can you stay so calm? How can you be like that? You're not human! I don't know what to do! It's not my fault, right? You're not gonna leave me, are you?
Nemo adult
No no no, I love you!
Elise
I hurt everybody! I hurt you, the children... this can't go on.
Nemo adult
Together we can do it.
Elise
Then you're all gonna end up drowning with me.
Nemo adult
We'll learn to swim. I love you.
Elise
I love you.
Nemo adult
I love you...
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Meaning of Life's Choices
Young journalist
Everything you say is contradictory. You can't have been in one place and another at the same time. Of all those lives, which one is the right one?
Nemo aged 118
Each of these lives is the right one! Every path is the right path. Everything could have been anything else and it would have just as much meaning.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Possibility of Unmade Choices
Taglines
As long as you don't choose, everything remains possible.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Connection Between Humans and Fish
Nemo Nobody
I always liked fish. I never thought that one day they would like me too.
[narrating while in his car underwater]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Forgotten Knowledge Before Birth
Nemo Nobody
I can remember a long time ago. Long before my birth. I was waiting with those who were not yet born. When we're not born yet, we know everything. Everything that will happen. When it's your turn, the Angels of Oblivion place a finger on your mouth. "Shh..." It leaves a mark on the upper lip. It means that you have forgotten everything. But the angels missed me.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Simple Conversation About Car Maintenance
Elise
What are you doing today?
Nemo adult
I was thinking about taking the opportunity to wash the car.
Elise
What's the deal with that car?
Nemo adult
What do you mean?
Elise
Why do you take such good care of that car while you leave me here all alone? What's the problem with the car?
Nemo adult
There's no more problem with the car.
[goes outside to set the car on fire, then goes back to Elise]
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.