Cleopatra

For more than two years did Antony seek out the assassins of Caesar.

At last, at Philippi...

...he was able to set against them his legions and those of Octavian...

...who was Caesar's heir.

Cassius was the first to die...

...by his own hand.

Then Brutus and the others.

Hail Antony!

Hail Antony's legion!

You remember Philippi.

He won it.

My lord.

-This way. -But my tent is this way.

Later. I'll see him later. Octavian depresses me.

You promised.

Well, the fighting's over. We've won it all.

Your health should improve quickly now.

Even if I die, my place is with you on the field.

-You were wrong to prevent me. -Caesar was ill.

Caesar? Ah, yes. I keep forgetting.

I have inherited the name. I have made it mine.

Why not? You'll never be confused with the other one.

At least your troops fought bravely, under my command.

Agrippa has kept me fully informed.

What were you doing there?

The battle was fought on land, between men, not wood bumping on water.

Why did you bring Agrippa? Were you expecting rain?

Shall we choose a piece of land, just you and I?

Be quiet. There are matters to talk about.

Have you an objection to Agrippa remaining?

I object to Agrippa at all times.

Lying here, indisposed...

...you must have had time to consider the problem.

I think it is best to continue the Triumvirate.

You and I and Lepidus.

Very well.

Lepidus shall have Africa and the islands. You, Spain and Gaul.

Rome and Italy to be administered by the three of us, jointly.

-And you? -All the rest.

Then, with Lepidus in Africa and you in the East...

...bringing order to Rome and Italy will be my problem.

-So it seems. -Spain and Gaul aren't enough.

I'll need money.

-There have been tax riots in Rome. -So I’ve heard.

Done.

And done.

Would Caesar approve, do you think?

Definitely. Perhaps the veil of Isis would have bothered him a bit.

Three years...

...and Rome remembers him only by the image on a gold coin.

Are they those I brought back with me?

When Octavian had them struck off...

...it was to commemorate Caesar's deification.

So that he could inherit Caesar's divinity together with all the rest.

Even a dead god cannot rewrite his will.

Antony did present Caesarion's claims to the Senate.

He kept that much of his promise.

And he will keep the rest of it.

After almost three years since Caesar's death...

...more than a year since Philippi?

Antony will come. He will need Egypt.

Egypt is you.

That's what I meant, of course. Antony will need me.

Finances! My head hurts when you talk of money.

Change the subject.

All right. News from Rome.

Octavian has forced Lepidus out of his command and into exile.

I wish I hadn't-- I wish I had not drunk so much today.

So do I.

Do I trouble you, Rufio?

Yes, you do.

I'll wager Caesar was never befuddled by wine. Nothing befuddled Caesar

The campaign against Parthia won't be easy.

-How many legions have we left? -It's hard to tell.

-So many desertions. -Desertions?

They haven't been paid in months.

You remember when we started into Greece?

I lived with them, ate with them. I was one of them.

They seem distant to me now, as if they were a memory.

We must find the gold to pay them...

...the wheat to feed them, supplies, ships, armor.

And where do you suggest we look for all these?

-I thought perhaps further to the east. -Syria?

-Perhaps more to the south. -Ethiopia?

To the north--

-I forbid you to mention her! -I didn't.

I won't crawl to her! Why hasn't she offered assistance?

-She may not know. -She knows everything.

-If only out of gratitude-- -Perhaps she'll express it in person.

Then let her come to me. Am I so much less than Caesar?

Nor is she less than Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, and you promised--

Queen. Strip them naked, they're no longer queens.

It is also difficult to tell the rank of a naked general.

And generals without armies are naked, indeed.

All right. I'll meet her halfway.

I'll send you to her.

-You order her to come. -If I am to order her, I need not journey.

-Then summon her. -Even worse.

Then beg, entreat, cajole, find the word you like...

...pour perfume, whinny like a stallion. But see that she comes to me.

I understand your position, Rufio.

Surely you must understand mine.

I do not intend to join that long list of queens...

...who have quivered happily at being summoned by Lord Antony.

But surely I didn't say "summoned."

You said "invite." He meant "summon."

In any case, I am the queen of Egypt.

And I choose to remain on Egyptian soil.

Tarsus is not the other end of the world, Your Majesty.

If it were one step from Egypt, that would be too far.

I will meet with Lord Antony...

...but only on Egyptian soil.

My lady, a way must be found, a time, a place to satisfy you both.

Must it, Rufio?

Cleopatra.

Cleopatra!

It is.

It must be.

She said never, except on Egyptian soil.

"Never." Something women say to begin with.

Welcome Queen Cleopatra on my behalf.

Extend my invitation to a banquet in her honor.

-Don't you think--? -Still not convinced Rufio?

Hurry back, there's much to be done. Have the cooks sent to me.

Forgive me, noble Rufio. It is you who do not understand.

Queen Cleopatra, at present in her chamber, is on Egyptian territory...

...and intends to remain on it.

Most learned Sosigenes, forgive me...

...but this is Tarsus, not Alexandria.

You are on Tarsus, noble Rufio. I am on Egypt.

Tonight and tomorrow night, if Lord Antony desires to meet Her Majesty...

...he will come to her, to Egypt.

I shall do my best, learned friend, to prevail upon Lord Antony to attend.

Marc Antony, how prompt you are.

If I had not been, it would be unforgivable of me.

I had hoped to be here to welcome you as you came aboard.

If you had been, it would be unforgivable of me.

Be more tolerant. Forgive yourself now and then.

Almost three years. Have you possibly become more beautiful?

Almost three? That long?

The time has passed so quickly.

Your necklace. It seems to be made of gold coins.

Coins of Caesar.

-Do you find it attractive? -Very.

And I find what you're wearing most becoming.

Greek, isn't it?

I have a fondness for almost all Greek things.

As an almost all-Greek thing, I'm flattered.

An unusual necklace.

Nothing but gold coins of Caesar.

-How did you come by it? -I had it made.

I wear it always.

A fabulous feast.

One is so limited when one travels by ship.

This fabulous ship...

...together with its queen, the fabulous Cleopatra.

The name of Marc Antony is not exactly unknown to the world.

-In the last year or so since we met-- -Almost three.

By now you have become one-third the master of Rome.

You don't permit yourself to forget him, is that it?

That's an odd way of putting it. "Don't permit myself"?

Is it necessary to wear him around your neck?

You forget, Antony, in these almost three years...

...how full your own life has been.

They can't have been uneventful for you. You rule Egypt alone.

Oh, they have been busy, but not full.

There's a difference.

There cannot be enough hours in the days of a queen...

...and her nights have too many.

-So I fill them with memories. -Of Caesar?

And of a dream...

...that almost came true.

You may remember.

I remember that night in Rome, saying it could still come true.

You said so much that night to so many.

Let me get rid of them all.

Why? I have arranged an entertainment.

A dance in the Greek fashion to welcome the god Bacchus.

If I make a great show of going, they'll have to leave too.

Then I can return...

...and we can talk alone, you and I.

-When would you return? -In an hour, no more than two.

-How long would you stay? -Until we had nothing more to say.

Are you a strong swimmer? We sail at sunrise.

I don't understand.

Home to Alexandria, to Egypt.

You've come all this way for one night. All to make a fool of me.

Perhaps you would feel less a fool...

...if you stayed the night with me, is that it?

I've told you before.

With you, words do not come easily to me.

There is too much unsaid within me that I cannot say.

Then I cannot know it.

There is much unsaid within you too.

That is probably true of everybody.

Stay for a while.

I have known you so long but so little. Give me time.

Not I. Not Egypt and Rome together.

Not even the gods have time to give you.

But, Antony, use what you have.