The Lobster · written by Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou · 2015

The narrator explains the handstand, head turns, and gestures the lovers use to speak privately among the loners.

Scene 96 of 123 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Female V.o.

Act oneAct two

Begins 1:09 into a 1:28 film

The story so farBefore scene 96

After his wife leaves him, David has 45 days to find a partner at a hotel or become an animal; he escapes, falls for a shortsighted loner, and must decide whether to surrender his sight so they can stay together.

Scenes 1–15
David moves from his broken home into the hotel, where couplehood is imposed as the norm.
Scenes 16–24
He must find a partner before the 45-day limit turns him into an animal.
Scenes 25–62
He participates in the hunt, attempts a false match, then escapes into the woods.
Scenes 63–84
He adapts to loner customs and cautiously begins a connection with Shortsighted Woman.
Just before
Scene 93
David questions Shortsighted Woman about another man bringing her rabbits and promises to supply them himself.
Scene 94
David accuses Rabbit Loner of hiding contact lenses, attacks him to inspect his eyes, then apologizes.
Scene 95
David and Shortsighted Woman synchronize two CD players and dance while the songs drift out of sync.
Scene 96
This scene

96EXT. THE WOODS - MORNING

During the voice over, we see various scenes from the lives of the loners.

Loners watching a dog attacking a seal in the middle of the woods, a loner fighting with another loner, a loner lying dead, loners washing themselves in the river, Loner Leader feeding the pig.

FEMALE V.O.

We’ve developed a code so that we

can communicate with each other,

even in front of the others,

without them knowing what we are

saying. A handstand means “I miss

you so much”. When we turn our

heads to the left it means “I love

you more than anything in the

world” and when we turn our heads

to the right it means “Watch out,

we’re in danger.” We had to be very

careful in the beginning not to mix

up “I love you more than anything

in the world” with “Watch out,

we’re in danger.” When we raise our

left arm it means “I want to dance

in your arms”. When we make a fist

and put it behind our backs it

means “Let’s fuck, I’m horny”. The

code grew more and more as time

went by and within a few weeks we

could talk about almost anything

without even opening our mouths.

About history, music, our

childhood, everything.