Defending Your Life (1991)

Meryl Streep: Julia

Photos 

Quotes 

• [Daniel nearly slips and falls off the eighth tram attempting to embrace Julia] 

  Julia : Hold on! Hold on. Just please hold on. Hold on.

  Daniel Miller : I love you.

  Julia : I love you.

  [Daniel bangs on the doors, not knowing he's being watched by Bob, Lena, and the two judges at the Judgement Center] 

  Daniel Miller : [Screams to the driver]  Open this up! Damnit, open it up!

  Julia : Please, open the door!

  Daniel Miller : Julia, wait for me! Wait for me!

  Bob Diamond : [to Lena]  Brave enough for you?

  [Lena is convinced that Daniel has conquered his fears] 

  Julia : Please, open the door! Please!

  Daniel Miller : Julia! Julia!

  [Daniel's female judge, also convinced, whispers to her male judge to let Daniel move forward] 

  Daniel's judge : Let him go.

  [the doors successfully open and both Daniel and Julia embrace in their arms and has a passionate kiss; the passengers applaud for his bravery as the film ends] 

• Eduardo : You gonna eat a lot with us tonight, now?

  Julia : What do you recommend, Eduardo?

  Eduardo : You like pasta?

  Julia : Very much.

  Eduardo : I gonna bring you three pounds of it, the best you ever tasted. You gonna love it.

  Eduardo : [to Daniel]  What about you, my friend? You like, eh, shrimp?

  Daniel Miller : Um, yeah.

  Eduardo : We can make it so fresh they crawl up and put it in your plate themselves.

  Daniel Miller : Aren't they high in cholesterol?

  Eduardo : I don't know what you're talking about, but they high in everything. Don't worry about it.

• Julia : The best hot dogs in Judgement City are supposed to be over by the Hall of Records.

  Daniel Miller : You really love this eating thing, don't you?

  Julia : To be able to eat as much as you want, never gain an ounce and feel great? Please.

• Julia : I can't get you out of my mind.

  Daniel Miller : Tell me about it. You know these screenings are so tough for me. And yet when I see you I instantly feel OK.

  Julia : So that's great, right?

  Daniel Miller : Well I don't think it has anything to do with me, that's what worries me. I think you're doing it.

  Julia : What - what am I doing?

  Daniel Miller : I'm not sure. But I always read that you had to be OK with yourself first before you could be OK with another person. Now I feel OK with you. But I don't know how OK I was with myself before I met you, so maybe you're making me OK.

  Julia : You're not that OK.

  Daniel Miller : OK.

• Daniel Miller : What is this?

  Julia : It's my hotel.

  Daniel Miller : This is your hotel?

  Julia : Yeah. Where are you staying?

  Daniel Miller : Obviously at the place for people that weren't very generous and didn't adopt anybody. I'm at the Continental. Come over one day; we'll paint it.

• Julia : [explaining how she died]  We went to visit some friends for the weekend. Everybody wanted to go into town, but I wanted to stay at the house and go swimming. So I went outside, tripped over the chaise lounge, hit my head on the cement and rolled into the pool.

  Daniel Miller : What did the East German judge give you?

• Julia : Do you have a hot tub in your room?

  Daniel Miller : No... why? Do you?

  Julia : No! No... it's more like a... it's not even really a hot tub. Y'know, really it just has holes in it...

  Daniel Miller : You don't have to protect my feelings. It's okay if you've got a hot tub.

  Julia : Oh... well then I do!

• [the doors to the tram for Earth are closing when Daniel hears Julia calling out to him] 

  Julia : [yells]  Daniel! Daniel! Daniel!

  Daniel Miller : [screams]  Julia!

  Julia : Daniel!

  Daniel Miller : [screaming]  Julia!

  [the eight trams are departing for both Earth and second phases] 

  Daniel Miller : Julia!

  [Daniel, unable to return to Earth because of his love for Julia, make a last-minute, life risking choice by unbuckling his secured seatbelt, activating the first alarm] 

  Tram driver : What the hell are you doing?

  [Daniel attempts to force the doors open] 

  Tram driver : Sit down right now! You're gonna hurt yourself!

  [Daniel successfully forced the doors open, activating the second alarm; He then jumps out of the tram, both electrocuting himself and nearly gets run over by another tramin the process. Daniel finally ovecomes his fears by making his way to the eighth tram where Julia and others are moving forward to the next phase] 

  Daniel Miller : [Screaming]  Julia! Julia! Julia!

  Julia : Daniel!

  Daniel Miller : Julia!

  Daniel Miller : [Daniel gets zapped by the electromatic field and slips]  Ow! Ow!

  Julia : [Screaming]  Aaah! Daniel!

  Daniel Miller : I love you!

  Julia : Oh, my God!

  Daniel Miller : I tried to call you, but I didn't know your last name.

  Julia : Oh!

  Daniel Miller : I won't let you go. I won't let you go!