Life was given to us a billion years ago.
What have we done with it?
Lucy.
It's easy as pie. In and out, all done and dusted.
And why don't you do it yourself?
The last thing the guy's expecting
is a total 10 turning up to deliver the case.
It'll blow his mind. Come on!
What's in it?
Sweetheart!
Don't get paranoid on me, all right?
You trust me, don't you?
Fuck!
Richard, I really do like you.
But I have to take care of myself right now.
I don't know. I've got to concentrate on so many things.
Hey, hey. What are you doing?
I'm going home, because I have exams on Monday.
I have to shower and I have to study, okay?
You know what? The other day, I was in this museum.
And you know what I found out? What?
The first ever woman was named Lucy.
Is that supposed to make me feel better?
Yeah.
No.
I'll call you. Okay?
Okay, okay, okay.
I'll be honest with you.
I can't deliver the case myself.
I had a little falling-out with the guy.
It's nothing major, but if it's you, problem solved.
You walk in there, you go up to the reception,
you ask for Mr. Jang to come down.
He comes down, he takes the case,
you flash him your prettiest smile
and bounce.
Look! You can even see the reception from here.
Come on.
What's in the case?
I don't know, it's just some paperwork.
Yeah? Let's see it then.
It's locked. And only Mr. Jang has the code.
I'm just the delivery boy.
Do you get paid to do this?
Yeah, kind of.
Like how much?
Okay! We are negotiating now or...
No, no. How much do you get paid? I want to know how much.
A thousand dollars.
You get paid a thousand dollars
for delivering paperwork? Really?
I don't know. It takes me 10 minutes and they pay me a grand
and the rest is none of my business.
Well, it's none of my business either, I'll tell you now.
Listen! What?
We split it down the middle. Hmm?
That's 500 for you, and 500 for me.
Richard, I will call you.
Listen, it's the third time this week,
I'm showing up in the same hotel, with the same cowboy hat.
Oh.
Problem solved!
Go, go. I'll wait for you. Go.
Lucy, honey...
I've done this a dozen times.
It's paperwork.
It's probably just some designs
they switched so they can copy them.
That's how it works in this country.
Even my Stetson was made here. Look.
Says so on the label, "Made in Taiwan."
So long, cowboy with the fake Stetson.
Baby, please.
Richard, I got to go. And seriously...
What the hell are you doing? I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry. I really need your help.
Stop! Stop it! Take this off me right now!
I can't. Take this off me right now!
I can't, Mr. Jang's the only one who has the key.
All you have to do is go into the hotel
and ask for him at the reception.
No! Take it off me right now!
I'm so sorry. I really have no choice.
The sooner you go in, the sooner you'll be back out!
I can't believe you did this to me.
I'll be right here. You have my word.
Your word isn't worth shit!
It's worth 500 bucks, up front.
You're an asshole.
And you're wonderful.
Miss, may I help you?
Uh, yes.
I'm here for, uh...
Mr. Jang.
Yes, um...
Who should I say is here?
Richard.
Um, Richard sent me.
What is your name?
No, Richard.
Richard's... He's just looking for a place to park.
Mr. Jang still wants to know your name.
Lucy.
Lucy what?
Just Lucy. If he could be quick, because I have to...
Just a second while I translate.
Mr. Jang is on his way. Stay right here.
Can I sit?
Mr. Jang said you need to stay right here.
I think it's better if you stay right here.
Excuse me.
Regent Hotel.
No!
Please. Please!
Please!
I don't know anything!
Please! Please!
No! Please!
Hmm.
Do you speak English?
Lucy! Yes, I'm Lucy.
This has just been a terrible mistake.
I'm just supposed to deliver this case.
If you lost the key, you don't have to chop off my hand.
You can just cut the chain, okay?
Please.
I'm begging you, please.
No, no, no!
Please.
Please!
Hello, miss. I speak English. I translate for Mr. Jang.
Please tell him that I haven't done anything. I don't know anything.
It's all just a big mistake, okay? Please tell him that.
Yes, okay, okay. Hold on.
Mr. Jang wants to know what's in the case.
No, I don't know what's in the case.
Do you speak English or don't you speak English?
Yes, I do. I studied one year at International High School in New York.
Okay.
Richard gave me the case to give to you, that's all I know.
Okay? Please tell him that.
He gave me a paper with numbers written on it. What is this?
It's the code to open the case.
What's really in here?
Nothing dangerous.
So why won't he open it himself?
He doesn't trust Mr. Richard.
I don't trust Richard, either.
I only dated him for a week.
Okay, okay, okay.
Mr. Jang insists that you open the case. Okay, okay.
Please, God, help me.
He wants you to hurry up.
Mr. Jang has other things to do.
Can you describe the contents of the case?
It's four plastic pouches filled with a blue powder. Like a...
Maybe a purple powder.
I don't know. It looks gross.
Mr. Jang wants to offer you a job.
A job?
I don't want a job.
If life starts approximately a billion years ago,
we will have to wait 400,000 years
to see the aberration of the first nerve cells.
This is where life as we know it begins.
Brains in formation of only a few milligrams.
It's not possible to determine any sign of intelligence yet.
It acts more as a reflex.
One neuron, you're alive. Two neurons,
you're moving, and with movement,
interesting things begin to happen.
Animal life on Earth goes back millions of years.
Yet most species only use 3 to 5% of its cerebral capacity.
But it isn't until we reached human beings
at the top of the animal chain
that we finally see a species use more of its cerebral capacity.
10% may not seem like much,
but it's a lot if you look at all we've done with it.
Now let's discuss a special case.
The only living being that uses its brain better than us.
The dolphin.
It is estimated that this incredible animal
uses up to 20% of its cerebral capacity.
In particular,
this allows it
to have an echolocation system
that is more efficient than any sonar invented by mankind.
But the dolphin did not invent the sonar, it developed it naturally.
And this is the crucial part of our
philosophical reflection we have today.
Can we therefore conclude
that humans are concerned more with
having
than being?
Lucy.
What did you do to my stomach?
Nothing!
Just a little horizontal slit.
It's very well done.
And you'll find within a month,
the scar is practically invisible.
So, you'll be able to show your tummy off on the beach next summer.
I don't care about the scar.
Is it why we opened you up, yeah?
Rest assured, we didn't harvest your organs or anything.
We merely slipped a little package into your lower tummy.
It's a new drug that kids in Europe
are going to love, believe me.
What is it?
Well, the scientific term is C.P.H.4.
Which is not very sexy from a sales point of view.
So we're still working on something with a bit more pop.
Any Suggestions?
Ah!
Excuse me.
Welcome!
Welcome, come on in. Lovely! Oops!
Splendid, splendid!
Marvelous! Lovely, lovely.
Oh!
- How are you? - Very good, my dear.
Okay.
Right. Um... First of all,
many thanks for taking part in this enterprise,
which I'm sure will go off flawlessly.
These lovely passports and tickets
will enable you to return home in the next 24 hours.
Now, upon arrival, you will be taken in hand by our people,
so that we might recover our merchandise
and you might rediscover the freedom
which you so richly deserve.
I'm sure I don't need to remind you,
but for any of those who may be tempted
to warn or turn themselves in to the authorities,
we have the names and addresses
of the families of every one of you,
down to the most distant cousins, right?
So, we rely, therefore, on your complete discretion.
Good! Anyway,
gentlemen, madam, allow me to be the first to wish you
bon voyage!
Oops.
Lovely.
You're gonna sell this?
I'm afraid it's our business model.
For primitive beings like us, life seems to have only one single purpose,
gaining time.
And it is going through time that seems to be also
the only real purpose of each of the cells in our bodies.
To achieve that aim, the mass of the cells
that make up earthworms and human beings
has only two solutions.
Be immortal
or to reproduce.
If its habitat is not
sufficiently favorable or nurturing...
The cell will choose immortality.
In other words, self-sufficiency and self-management.
On the other hand,
if the habitat is favorable...
They will choose to reproduce.
That way, when they die,
they hand down essential information and knowledge
to the next cell, which hands it down to the next cell and so on.
Thus, knowledge and learning are handed down through time.
Okay, okay. Keep calm.
You have to wait. Just play for time.
You'll have time to think it through on the plane.
Just take the flight.
Take the flight, get out of here.
That's the main thing right now. Just save time.
Don't try anything. Keep your cool. You're alive.
You're alive, babe. You're alive.
That's all that matters. Just wait.
Save time.
I'm not in the mood.
Let's imagine for a few moments
what our life would be like if we could access, let's say,
20% of our brain's capacity.
This first stage
would give us access to and control of our own body.
Sir? Yes.
Has it been proved scientifically?
For the moment, it's just hypothesis, I confess.
But if you think about it,
it's troubling to realize that the Greeks,
the Egyptians and the Indians
had notion of cells centuries before
the invention of the microscope.
And what to say about Darwin,
whom everybody took for a fool
when he put forth his theory of evolution.
It's up to us to push the rules and laws
and go from evolution to revolution.
100 billion neurons per human,
of which only 15% are activated.
There are more connections in the human body
than there are stars in the galaxy.
We possess a gigantic network of information
to which we have almost no access.
Sir? Yes.
And what will be the next stage?
Well, the next stage would probably be control of other people.
But for that, we would need to access
at least 40% of our brain's capacity.
After control of ourselves and others
would come control of matter.
But now we're entering into the realm of science fiction
and we don't know any more than a dog who watches the moon.
Excuse me, sir. Yes.
But what would happen if, for some reason we ignore,
somebody unlocked 100% of their cerebral capacity?
100%?
Yes.
I have no idea.
Ahhh!
Hey!
Hey! You speak English? No, no, no.
Ahhh!
You speak English? Yes, yes.
Take me to the hospital now. Hospital.
My leg!
Hospital!
Wait for me.
Miss! Hello?
Hey! Miss!
I need help. It's urgent.
You cannot be in here. We are operating!
Please, get out!
You wouldn't have been able to save him anyway.
The tumor had already invaded the cortex
and the right side of his spine.
Somebody put a bag of drugs in me.
I need you to remove it. It's leaking.
Do it now.
Right. I'll just administer a local anesthetic.
Don't bother.
Right.
Okay.
Calm down, please.
Put the gun down.
I'm just going to examine, okay?
Do you mind? No.
Hello? Mom?
Hey! Lucy...
Baby, it's great to hear from you!
But what time is it over there?
I don't know, it's night.
Hold on a sec, let me get rid of the other line.
I'm going to have to go inside.
I'm back. You're not partying too much, are you?
You promised me you'd look after yourself.
I'm trying to, Mom. Lam trying to.
Well, thanks for calling out of the blue like this.
Your father's gonna be sad he missed you.
He isn't home from the gym yet.
Usually, you call us in the morning.
Yes?
I feel everything.
What do you mean, sweetie?
Space,
the air,
the vibrations,
the people.
I can feel the gravity.
I can feel the rotation of the Earth,
the heat leaving my body,
the blood in my veins.
I can feel my brain,
the deepest parts of my memory...
Sweetie, we have a bad connection. I can't hear you so well.
What did you say about memory?
The pain in my mouth
when I had braces.
I can remember the feeling of your hand
on my forehead when I ran a fever.
I remember stroking the cat, it was so soft.
The cat? What cat, honey?
A Siamese with blue eyes and a broken tail.
Sweetie, you can't possibly remember that.
You were barely a year old.
I remember the taste of your milk in my mouth.
The room,
the liquid...
Sweetie, what are you talking about?
I just wanna tell you that I love you,
Mom and Dad.
Sweetie...
And I wanna thank you for the thousand kisses
that I can still feel on my face.
I love you, Mom.
I love you, too, sweetie.
More than anything in the world.
How much is left?
500 grams.
And how long will it take my body
to eliminate the rest of it?
To answer that, I need to know what it is.
May I?
Go ahead.
C.P.H.4.
Tell me about it.
Pregnant women manufacture C.P.H.4
in the sixth week of pregnancy
in tiny quantities.
For a baby, it packs the power of an atomic bomb.
It's what gives the fetus
the necessary energy to form all the bones in its body.
I'd heard they tried to make a synthetic version of it.
I didn't realize that they'd succeeded.
If it really is C.P.H.4,
in this quantity,
I'm amazed you're still alive.
Not for long.
Learning's always a painful process.
Like when you're little and your bones
are growing and you ache all over.
Can you believe I can remember
the sound of my own bones growing?
Like this grinding under the skin.
Everything's different now.
Like, sounds are music that I can understand, like fluids.
It's funny, I used to be so concerned
with who I was and what I wanted to be
and now that I have access
to the furthest reaches of my brain,
I see things clearly
and realize that what makes us us
it's primitive.
They're all obstacles.
Does that make any sense?
Like this pain you're experiencing.
It's blocking you from understanding.
All you know now is pain. That's all you know, pain.
Where are the others?
The others carrying the drugs.
I need the rest of it, for medicinal purposes.
Berlin.
Paris.
Rome.
Thank you for sharing.
Oh. Evening, Professor.
Bonsoir, Albert.
Do we have you for dinner tonight?
I'm afraid so. I'm exhausted.
Have a good rest. Thank you.
You scared the shit out of me,
ringing that bell like some nutbar!
I missed you.
Me, too.
Yeah, you lose your keys or something?
Yeah.
Can I borrow your laptop?
Yeah, of course.
So I spent all of yesterday in auditions, which are awesome.
They just have you standing around all day
because they don't give a shit about your time gabbing away in Chinese.
Who understands Chinese? I don't understand Chinese.
And then they say they're always gonna call, and they never do,
because they don't even take your phone number.
Except this one guy, but he's not Chinese.
He works at the agency and he's cute.
Oh, my God, he's cute.
In the cute-and-l-kinda-know-it kinda way.
Like he had this thing... Oh, my God, and his ass!
Phew! Let me get started on that!
And you are never gonna guess where he took me.
Four Seasons, Royal Suites, and we made love all night.
I'm sorry, I'm talking about myself. What's up? How's Richard?
He's dead.
You guys are crazy.
I'm gonna take a shower.
Yes?
Professor Norman, my name's Lucy.
I just read all your research on the human brain.
We need to meet.
All of my research?
Well, I'm very flattered, young lady,
but I find that hard to believe.
I must have written no less than.
6,734 pages. I can recite them to you all by heart, if you wish.
Are you one of Emily's friends?
This sounds like one of her silly jokes. Is she there with you?
No, I'm all on my own.
Who are you?
I just told you.
Uh...
Lucy, right? Yes, sorry.
I read your theory on the use of the brain's capacity.
It's a little rudimentary, but you're on the right track.
Thank you.
Professor, my cells are reproducing at a phenomenal speed.
Several million per second.
I'm having trouble precisely evaluating the time of my death,
but I doubt I'll last more than 24 hours.
What are you talking about?
What I'm saying is that your theory is not a theory.
I absorbed a large quantity of synthetic C.P.H.4.
That will allow me to use 100% of my cerebral capacity.
Right now, I'm at 28%,
and what you wrote is true.
Once the brain reaches 20%, it opens up and expands the rest.
There are no more obstacles. They fall away like dominoes.
I'm colonizing my own brain.
Well, I don't know what to... Say.
It's true, I've been working on this theory for over 20 years,
but it's only ever been hypotheses and research ideas.
I never thought anyone would...
You can control your own metabolism?
Yes.
And I can start to control other people's bodies.
Also, I can control magnetic and electric waves.
Not all of them, just the most basic.
Television.
Telephone.
Radio.
That's amazing.
I don't feel pain,
fear,
desire.
It's like all things that make us human are fading away.
It's like the less human I feel,
all this knowledge about everything,
quantum physics, applied mathematics,
the infinite capacity of a cell's nucleus.
They're all exploding inside my brain, all this knowledge.
I don't know what to do with it.
If you're asking me
what to do...
You know,
if you think about
the very nature of life,
I mean, from the very beginning,
the development of the first cell
that divided into two cells.
The sole purpose
of life has been
to pass on what was learned.
There was no higher purpose.
So if you're asking me what to do
with all this knowledge you're accumulating,
I'd say
pass it on.
Just like any simple cell
going through time.
Time.
Yes, of course.
I'll be at your door in 12 hours.
You're leaving? Yes.
What is this? A prescription.
Since when did you start writing in Chinese?
Since an hour ago.
Luce, I don't understand any of this.
Your kidneys aren't functioning efficiently, your liver's failing you.
You need to make some lifestyle changes.
Take this medication, work out, eat organic.
You'll be okay.
Last night, at 11 pm, a woman shot a patient dead.
It happened at Tri-Service Hospital.
The suspect is 25, blonde, medium height.
Police are hunting nationwide.
She is armed and dangerous.
Del Rio.
I've got a weird call from a US citizen in Taiwan.
A young woman calling to tip us off about a big drugs ring.
- I'll take it. - I'll tape you.
Hello?
I have important information about a group of drug traffickers.
I need to speak with someone
in a position of authority.
Aha.
You're very lucky, there's no one
with more authority in this office than me.
But let's start at the beginning. What is your name?
Listen up, Pierre Del Rio.
Get off your desk, sit in your chair,
pick up the red pen to the left of you
and take down everything I say.
There are no cameras. Hurry up!
I've no time to waste.
Go ahead.
I'm gonna be sending you the details
of three people about to arrive in Europe.
Each one is carrying a kilo of drugs.
I need you to arrest them and collect the substance.
I'll need it for later.
What form are these drugs in? Bars? Capsules?
Powder. Hidden in plastic pouches inside their intestines.
Excuse me?
Make sure to be careful when you remove them.
The product is very powerful.
Believe me.
Got it?
Yeah.
Good.
I'm counting on you.
Okay?
Good morning.
That's him! Pick him up.
Come with me, please.
Hello.
Sir, come with us.
Welcome to Rome.
Good morning, sir.
Please, follow me. This way.
Yeah, sure.
Del Rio.
Thanks for calling me back.
We took delivery of your package.
Thanks very much. I'll send you the paperwork
for the transfer.
Bye.
Okay, we got all three.
Ladies and gentlemen,
we are now beginning our descent to Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Miss, I have to ask you to put away your computers now.
You should wipe your nose.
Excuse me?
May I have a glass of champagne?
Um, yes. Of course.
Could you bring some champagne to the girl over there?
Yeah, I just have a nosebleed.
Miss, your champagne.
Thank you.
I'm very sorry, but you really need to close your table now.
Sure.
To knowledge.
If the habitat is not sufficiently favorable or nurturing...
The cell will choose immortality.
In other words, self-sufficiency and self-management.
No! Miss, miss!
You must remain seated!
Miss!
Miss! Open the door! You really have to go back to your seat!
We're gonna land soon. Please! Open the door.
Please, say something. Are you okay? Miss?
Miss, please, open the door!
Please do something, help me! Please!
We're gonna land soon! Open the door!
Miss! Are you okay? Say something!
With a scar on her lower abdomen?
Pretty recent, with thread in it.
- How is she? - Fine. She's sleeping.
With the shot I gave her, she'll be out all day.
- She's awake! - Are you sure?
She's sitting on the bed.
That's her.
- You didn't restrain her? - Sure, we did!
Miss!
Don't move.
I need to talk to you alone.
And I need you to put your hands up, please.
Did you get the packets?
Yes.
Where are they?
They're safe.
Here,
in Paris.
They'll be safer in my hands.
Don't leave the car there. Park it up.
You know, as a cop you see some pretty weird shit.
But I have to be honest with you.
What you did back there, that freaked me out.
To put everyone to sleep like that.
Do I need to be worried?
No.
Good.
Do you mind?
No.
What's that? Korean. I'm gonna drive.
Hey! No, no, no. This is a police car!
You can't. No, this is not possible, lady.
This is a police car.
Okay, okay.
Let's go, guys!
Sir, sir, excuse me, sir.
I need to talk to somebody.
Talk to the police.
Look, I'm a German citizen and I demand to see a lawyer.
I'll check with Surgery.
- Grab us some food. - You're a foodaholic.
Do you always drive like that?
I've never driven before.
Great.
Hey, that's one-way. We're late.
Hey, I'd rather be late than dead.
We never really die.
Sorry, sir.
I don't feel good.
I'm fine. I'm fine.
I'm gonna tell them to stop following us.
Don't bother.
I got you bacon...
Give me the case.
Kill her and get the pouch.
Don't stand there, kill her!
Ahhh!
Open it.
Let's go.
I'm not sure I could be of any help for you.
Yes, you are.
What for?
A reminder.
Shall we go?
Where are we going?
Take the first left.
Okay.
Move!
Follow that car.
Professor?
Hello? Lucy.
Oh! It's her! It's her!
Hey, you.
You're in Paris? Yes, lam.
Good, good! Excellent.
So, look, I am no longer at the hotel now.
I have come to the university,
where I've taken the liberty
of calling together a few of my colleagues to discuss your case.
Top minds in their field and very trustworthy.
I trust you.
Oh, thank you.
So, do you think you could meet us
here at the university?
I'm, uh...
I'm very pleased to meet you.
Likewise.
Captain Del Rio.
How do you do?
Um...
Let me introduce you to my colleagues.
This is Professor Cartier, neurosurgeon.
I know who everyone is.
Of course.
Gentlemen, this is Lucy, the first woman to...
I mean...
As I mentioned earlier, Miss Lucy has,
for reasons that remain a mystery to me,
unlocked certain portions of her brain
that offer access to
previously unexplored cerebral zones.
She has abilities.
Can you give us an example?
Your daughter, Gabrielle, age six,
died in a car accident.
It was a blue car, leather seats,
plastic bird hanging from the rear view mirror.
Boss, 5 men down at the hospital. Sorry.
How many men left?
I have about 25 with me.
That damn girl, she doesn't give in.
She's a witch.
I know that.
I'll kill her myself.
There are men coming here. Can you secure the room?
I need to stay focused.
Sure.
Speed it up.
How did you manage to access all this information?
Electrical impulses.
Every cell knows and talks to every other cell.
They exchange a thousand bits of information between them per second.
Cells group together, forming a giant web of communication,
which in turn forms matter.
Cells get together, take on one form,
deform, reform.
Makes no difference, it's all the same.
Humans consider themselves unique,
so they've rooted their whole theory
of existence on their uniqueness.
"One" is their unit of measure.
But it's not.
All social systems we've put into place are a mere sketch.
One plus one equals two. That's all we've learned.
But one plus one has never equaled two.
There are, in fact, no numbers and no letters.
We've codified our existence to bring it down to human size
to make it comprehensible.
We've created a scale so that we can forget its unfathomable scale.
But if humans are not the unit of measure
and the world isn't governed by mathematical laws,
what governs all that?
Film a car speeding down a road.
Speed up the image infinitely
and the car disappears.
So what proof do we have of its existence?
Time gives legitimacy to its existence.
Time is the only true unit of measure.
It gives proof to the existence of matter.
Without time,
we don't exist.
Time is unity.
Search the whole building and find her!
We won't be able to hold them for much longer.
Time to go then.
Are you sure you need such huge doses?
I'm afraid you won't survive.
Some cells inside me will fight
and defend their integrity till the very end.
In order to attain the last few percent, I have to force it
to crack the cells open to their nucleus.
But all of this knowledge, Lucy...
I'm not even sure that mankind is ready for it.
We're so driven by power and profit.
Given man's nature,
it might bring us only instability and chaos.
Ignorance brings chaos, not knowledge.
I'll build a computer and download all my knowledge in it.
I'll find a way for you to have access to it.
Yeah.
I just hope we will be worthy of your sacrifice.
Nobody move!
Do you understand English?
What is she doing?
She's looking for energy and matter.
And she's trying to connect with our computers.
Chong-Ju!
I'm here, boss.
Do something about them.
Okay, boss!
You guys, come on.
Ready?
You Okay?
Get a medic. Fast!
Oh, my God. What's happening?
What is she making?
New generation computer, I presume.
Where is she?
Answer me.
Answer me!
Hey, you!
Look. The computer, it's moving.
Hey.
Where is she?
Life was given to us a billion years ago.
Now you know what to do with it.