"‘In the name of the past we carry out the greatest deceits in the present,’ Oliveira said. ‘Look, Manolo, you talk about understanding each other, but basically you realize that I also want to come to some sort of understanding with you, and you means more than you yourself. The burden is the fact that real understanding is something else. We’re satisfied with too little. When friends understand each other well, when lovers understand each other well, when families understand each other well, then we think that everything is harmonious. Pure illusion, a mirror for larks. Sometimes I feel that there’s more understanding between two people punching each other in the face than among those who are there looking on from outside.’"