♪ La route est dure,
la vie est morne
♪ Mon ame est sure d'aucune borne
♪ Que dois-je faire avec ma vie
♪ Quand toute la terre
s'est endurcie? ♪
TYRES SQUEAK
IN HEAD: How I hate the summer.
No, no, my dear,
I-I don't like that a bit.
Overstated, don't you think?
Naively so.
He seems to have assumed
the Christ figure!
WOMAN LAUGHS
What's that behind him,
the dark angel?
One suspects he couldn't really
have been serious.
SHE LAUGHS
Altogether too little...
You know, I don't care much for
Gauguin when he tries to think.
SHE LAUGHS
The real Gauguin is the decorator.
Sh! Sh! Sorry!
LAUGHTER CONTINUES
Oh, no!
Ivich? Yes.
Please forgive me. What for?
What happened on the way here.fo
Oh, that? I'd forgotten
all about it.
IN HEAD: She doesn't want me.
And now I look at things,
I don't want her.
How did I come to kiss her, then?
She's so...limp.
Quite the opposite to Marcelle.
Marcelle is all woman -
huge thighs, plump.
Yes, she'll be even plumper
if I don't organise things soon.
Oh, forget Marcelle for a minute,
will you?
He was good-looking, wasn't he?
Oh? He has an air of distinction.
Arrogance, perhaps.
LAUGHS: Quite!
Why do you say "quite" like that?
Well, one would expect you
to call it arrogance.
You French hate anything noble.
Why "we" French?
You were born here, weren't you?
Only just.
IN HEAD: But for the revolution,
she'd have been born in Moscow -
a daughter of the aristocracy,
presented at court,
probably married by now to some
fine, upstanding Guards officer
with a narrow forehead
and an empty face.
I'm a let-down for her -
French, middle class,
with a dislike of things
aristocratic.
Not her type at all.
He turned his back on France,
didn't he?
What?
Gauguin.
Would you like me to tell you
his life story?
Well, I know that he was married
with children,
but that didn't prevent
his clearing off.
He worked in a bank.
On Sundays, he wandered off
into the suburbs
with his paint box and his easel.
He was a Sunday painter.
A Sunday painter?
An amateur who messed about with
colours and canvases.
SHE CHUCKLES
Why so funny?
Are there Sunday writers too?
You mean me, my bits of writing?
Well, perhaps I'LL be like Gauguin -
pack it all up and clear off
to Tahiti one of these days.
You? I doubt it.
Oh! People do make
the break sometimes.
Gauguin remained a clerk
till he was .
There can't be many clerks like him.
Look at his face. He's lost.
You mean I am not lost?
Certainly not! Do you think
that's a fault?[font color=
I ought to be lost?
Let's drop it.
You think I should be lost?
It's a word. That's all.
I'd like to know what you meant.
Look, some people are lost
and some people are not lost.
As far as I can tell,
it makes no odds.
You're settled, stable.
You couldn't change.
How do you know?
It's the impression you give -
set in your ways, your ideas.
Am I?
Too intelligent to take risks,
let's say?
So, if you tell me you aren't
like that... No, I'm like that.
I'm just like that. Ah!
You despise me for it?
On the contrary, I approve.
With you, there's a sense
of security,
never any fear of the unexpected.
Thank you.
I'm meeting my brother at Les Deux
Magots later this afternoon.
Like to join us?
I'm sorry. I've, er,
got another appointment.
Oh.
I forgot to tell you.
My brother suggested we might all go
to the Sumatra Club tonight.
That's where Lola's singing. That's
right. We'll make up a
Trouble is, I don't think
she likes me very much.
She loathes you.
But what does that matter?
All four of us sitting around
a table
could get a little embarrassing.
Why? We'll be drinking and dancing,
I hope.
Besides, I want you there
and Boris wants you there,
so to hell with Lola!
Well, I'll think about it.
Is that what I'm to tell Boris?
Yeah.
He won't like it, your staying away
because of his woman.
Oh, don't you suggest to Boris
that I've got anything against Lola,
will you?
As a matter of fact, I find her
very warm, sympathetic.
Well, isn't that just like you?
The moment people dislike you,
you must do your best
to discover virtues in them.
I find Lola quite unreal. Ah?
Always playing a part,
usually a very desperate one.
How can she be desperate
when she has all that money?
Money doesn't stop her
from getting old.
True. One oughtn't ever to get old.
You're right.
It isn't very pleasant.
You enjoy the pictures?
Of course I do.
Are you ready, my darlings?
CATS MEOW
I want you to leap out
and claw my face to pieces
if you feel like it. I deserve it.
Revenge is sweet, is it not?
MEOWING CONTINUES
Right.
Is that the best you can do?!
Aren't you going to punish me?
Pity.
Oh, my darling!
You've got a naughty master,
haven't you?
Naughty, naughty master!
You'll never forgive me, will you?
BELL RINGS
Oh, dear, somebody to interrupt us!
Ah! Mathieu, my dear chap!
Come in. Come in.
Oh, Poppea's feeling poorly.
Malvina must have clawed her.
It really is too bad of her.
I was taking a little walk
to my sister's.
I really thought they would have
behaved in there, but they didn't.
HE TUTS
Excuse me, will you?
Put the basket behind the chair,
will you, my dear fellow?
It rather frightens them.
There, there!
CAT MEOWS
You be a good little p*ssy!
Flesh wounds can turn
awfully nasty, can't they?
SIGHS: Forgive me, my dear Thieu.
I won't keep you a minute.
I've known you a long time, Daniel.
There's no need to cast
your velvet eyes on me.
HE CHUCKLES
IN HEAD: Velvet eyes?
Velvet eyes indeed.
He's sticking labels on me
as if I was an object up for sale.
There.
Marcelle is pregnant.
Pregnant?
I'm in a mess.
CHUCKLES: Yes, you MUST be.
IN HEAD: Control yourself!
You mustn't laugh.
Think of your dear mother's death.
Yes. Yes, that's better.
She's shocked by it.
She feels humiliated and degraded.
Well, it can hardly be any better
for you, dear chap. Whatever
your deeper feeling, she must seem
rather off-putting at the moment.
I no longer feel any love for her.
You don't? Have you told her?
No, of course I haven't.
I'll see her through
this business first.
I've found a doctor, a gynaecologist
who'll do the job. He wants...
.. , francs.
, ?!
Will you help me? I could pay you
back half at the end of the month,
the other half on July the th
when I get my cheque for the long
vacation. , francs?t
My dear fellow,
I simply haven't got it.
But didn't you tell me the other
day...? Oh, yes, I know.
I thought I'd be rolling in it
by now.
But you know what
the stock exchange is.
Shares have tumbled.
I'm in debt.
You can't manage it?
No, I'm awfully sorry, my dear chap.
I'm afraid I can't.
What about your brother?
I wanted to avoid asking Jacques.
Oh, but he must realise that
this is an emergency.
Well, that's the trouble.
I can't tell him what it's for.
Ah! Yes, of course.
Actually, I'm rather glad I haven't
got the money. What?
A thought's just struck me.
You're always going on about
your search for freedom, aren't you?
Well, here's your opportunity.
I don't... Haven't you said
that to be free means
acting against your own nature,
if need be?
What? Well, then, proclaim
your freedom by marrying Marcelle.
You're not serious. Certainly I am!
You have it in your power
to change your whole life.
Marry her
as a supreme act of freedom.
THEY LAUGH
Oh, I'm not falling for that.
But what an amusing experience,
Mathieu. Mmm.
To do the exact opposite
of what one wants to do?
One would have the feeling
of being somebody else.
Oh, yeah. Very nice.
I father a whole load of brats
for the sole privilege
of feeling like somebody else.
Anybody can change by giving up
and giving in.
Ah, but to give up entirely,
that would be something!
To be an utter wash-out,
absolutely done for, finished?
Marriage can do that to a man,
so I'm told. Hmm.
I'd rather ask my brother
for the money, thank you.
Nice seeing you. Well, if I do
happen to come into the moneyf
in the next week... Don't worry
about it. I'll...find it some
Bye, then. Goodbye, my dear Thieu.
IN HEAD: Four of these, only four,
and his trouble
would have been over.
But why shouldn't he have troubles?
He's always so balanced
and composed.
He SHOULD have troubles.
It'd be worth a fortune
if he were forced to marry Marcelle.
Why are you staring? Just wondering
what you're thinking about
Nothing. Impossible!
One's always thinking
about something.
Well, I was thinking about nothing.
You're always wandering off
into a dream world lately.
It's a means of getting away
from me, isn't it, Boris?
You're fed up with me.
No, I'm never fed up.
That's not the answer I wanted.
I don't lie!
You should try it sometime.
Lying? Yes.
Will you sleep with me?
You'd like it.
A few lies now and then
could be reassuring.
But you'd know they were lies.
I'm in love!
I'd believe anything.
Mathieu once told me... Oh, I'm sick
of hearing about Mathieu!
..that he and his woman were
absolutely truthful with each other.
SHE CHUCKLES
Mathieu is real. Mathieu is real?
Look, Lola, I've had teachers
galore, but Mathieu is the first one
who practises what he preaches...
Whoops!
No, he doesn't preach. He
communicates his own set of values.
And what are these great values?
Well, he doesn't lie, to start
with... He's a bloody saint!
..neither to himself,
nor to other people!
SHE LAUGHS
Oh, all right!
He's envied because
he's independent.
Independent?
I'm the one who's independent.
He's safe and secure.
And he has a teacher's salary
with a pension at the end of it.
I live from day to day.
Trouble is...
..I'm in love with you...
..and you're not in love with me.
Lola...
Don't say anything.
You'd just make matters worse.
I'm deeply fond of you, Lola.
That isn't love.
Well, perhaps it's better than love.
Mathieu says love...
Oh, damn Mathieu!
PHONE RINGS
Mathieu would like to see Madame?
Erm...
Yes, just to say good morning.
Tell my brother I'll be along
to see him in a few minutes.
Morning, Thieu!
Is this my visit?
YOUR visit?
You promised me one.
Ah! Wish it were. No, I'm afraid
I have to see Jacques.
There's something I want him
to do for me. Oh, come now!t
You're not in such a hurry as
all that. Jacques won't run away.
[font color="♪fffff
I warn you - one of these days,
I shall be very angry with you.
I have a right to my visit.
How are you, Odette? Very well.
That's...
That's a very nice frock
you're wearing.
Oh, come now.
Leave my frock out of it!
Every time you see me,
you talk about my frocks.
I prefer to hear
what YOU'VE been doing this week.
There's... There's something
I think I ought to tell you.
Heavens! What is it?
I was wondering whether you
shouldn't wear earrings with it.
Earrings?
What, you think that
a trifle common?
Not at all.
Only, they give the face
a rather forward look.
Still, I think if I did wear them,
you'd certainly be more at ease
with me.
But it's wrong of me to keep you.
You seem to have something
on your mind, so run along, then.
Run along and see Jacques.
All right. I'll...
I'll see you again before I go.
HE KNOCKS ON DOOR
Ah, Mathieu! Come in.
Good morning, Mathieu.
How are things?
Morning, Jacques.
Well, what brings you here?
Ah.
Something wrong?
Here, take a chair.
Care for a whisky?
Yeah, whisky'll go down very well.
IN HEAD: How about drinking
the whisky and clearing off
without saying a word?
No, it's too late.
He already guesses
I've come for a loan.
He'll simply think I haven't
the courage to ask for it.
After all, a good gin fizz is
a better drink for the hot weather.
Don't you think? I've come to
touch you for money.
You know that, don't you?
No, I didn't know that.
Well, how SHOULD I know that?
Do you mean to insinuate this is
the sole object of your visit?
I don't mean to insinuate anything.
I need , francs by tomorrow.
, ?!
Well, well, well!
I find you amusing, my dear Thieu.
Amusing and instructive.
You know, when I consider you,
Mathieu, I'm more convinced
than ever that one oughtn't to be
a man of principles.
THEY LAUGH
You're chock-a-block with them.
You invent them, but you don't
stick to them.
Now, I, as a simple, empirical,
middle-class man,
living without principles
and ideals,
can't help wondering
how you find the nerve
to take anything
from a bloody bourgeois!
LAUGHS: I mean, that's what I am -
a bloody bourgeois!
THEY LAUGH
Yes.
And what's worse, you despise
the smug security of family ties,
yet you're only too prepared
to exploit those family ties
when you're short of cash.
You wouldn't dream of coming to me
if I weren't your brother.
All this doesn't bore you, I hope.
No, no, no. I find it
most illuminating.
I'm right, you know.
If you stopped being so high-minded
and got down to a bit of ordinary,
day-to-day organisation
of your life...
Ah, but you couldn't reject
your principles, could you?
Oh, I don't know. The rejection of
principles is in itself a principle.
THEY LAUGH
Coming from you, I don't much
like the sound of that.
IN HEAD: He's weakening.
He's talked himself to a standstill.
Now he's in the mood
to hand it over.
My luck's in!
Mathieu. Yes?
Has something sudden turned up?
Hmm? Well, when you called to see me
last week,
there was no question of
your needing money then.
Yeah, well, something
cropped up yesterday.
, francs?
It's not the usual small sum
to tide you over
till the end of the month, is it?
I'm not, of course,
asking you any questions.
IN HEAD: I'll tell him
it's the income tax.
No... Wait. He knows I've paid it.
Nothing for it. Here goes!
Marcelle is pregnant.
Oh. When's the wedding?
We've decided to have an abortion.
Have you found a doctor? Yes.
And why do you want the money
by tomorrow?
Because the doctor leaves
for America by the end of the week.
Right! Yes, understood.
And you're quite sure that abortion
is in accordance
with your principles?
Why not?
Well, I don't know.
It's for you to say.
You ARE a pacifist,
you respect human life,
and now you're going to destroy
a life.
I may be a pacifist,
but I don't respect human life.
Oh, indeed? I thought...
Yes, well, all the same,
here you are in the guise
of a child k*ller.
It doesn't suit you at all, my dear.
Abortion is not infanticide.
True, abortion is not infanticide.
It is a metaphysical m*rder.
Now, I have nothing against
metaphysical m*rder
more than against any other
perfect crime,
but that YOU should commit
a metaphysical m*rder -
you being what you are...
HE TUTS
..aren't you ashamed?
I'm ashamed. Why?
Because you're such a baby!
I love to hear you say that word.
It suits your voice!
You know the number you sing?
Yes, I Must Have Your Love, Baby.
It's marvellous.
You should have seen me years ago.
There was only one name
on the bill then. Lola Montero.
And I held them - just me -
all night.
But you've made your mark, Lola.
Mmm... Yes!
You're part of our mythology!
But it's true! You stop anybody
you meet in the street
and ask them,
"Who is Lola Montero?"
and they'll say, "Boy!" Yes! For me,
for people my age, you're a legend.
You bastard!
HE LAUGHS
You're a great boost for me.
Every part of you.
You know that, don't you?
I've told you
I have a deep affection.
Yes.
I hate this lousy job.
They're the worst audiences
I've ever known.
Afternoon, Lola.
Ah! Ivich!
I hear you're coming to see me
tonight.
I'm looking forward to it.
Incidentally, Mathieu isn't sure
if he can make it. Mathieu?
I didn't know we'd invited Mathieu.
I simply thought that he could
accompany Ivich. That's all. Mm
I have to collect some clothes
from the cleaner's.
You always have to collect clothes
from the cleaner's!
Certainly! In my work, I sweat.
Or didn't you know that?
Bye-bye, youth!
Bye, Lola!
CHAIR SCRAPES FLOOR
She does dress her age, doesn't it?
She does it as a challenge.
Do you really prefer older women?
Well, they're reliable.
When they love, they love...
And young girls don't?
Well, they play at it.
Does she still dope?
She's loaded with it.
For the thrill?
No, no, no thrill.
Just simply to relax.
Oh, God! When you get to that stage,
you must be old.
Hey, what's wrong with Mathieu?
Hmm?
You just said that he had doubts
about joining us this evening.
Well, he knows that Lola
isn't very fond of him.
Well, Lola will have to get
to like him -
that is, if she wants to keep on
with me.
Given Mathieu and Lola,
you'd choose Mathieu?
Of course.
Are you basically q*eer?
Are you basically les?
SHE CHUCKLES
No, I couldn't sleep with a man.
But there's only one Mathieu.
My dear, dear brother,
you're lying to yourself!
And I prefer not to be
a party to it.
This coming child is
the logical result of a situation
which you entered
of your own free will,
and you wish to suppress it
because you haven't the courage to
follow up the consequences
of your own acts.
The plain truth is that your whole
life is founded upon a lie.
How interesting. Do go on.
You see, what you're trying to hide
from yourself is the fact
that you are a bourgeois.
You are bourgeois in your tastes,
you are bourgeois in your habits,
and you are bourgeois
in your temperament. Indeed.
And what could be more bourgeois
than your relationship
with Marcelle? Mmm?
It's the same as any ordinary
bourgeois marriage,
except for one thing.
You refuse to take on your
full responsibilities.
I prefer to retain my freedom.
Oh, well, I should have thought
myself that freedom consisted
in confronting the situations
one has deliberately chosen to enter
and acting upon them.
Oh, but not you.
Yours isn't freedom at all.
It's simply...
..well, pulling faces
while sitting on the fence.
You condemn our capitalist society,
yet you remain a civil servant.
You're a communist sympathiser,
but you don't join them.
And as for Marcelle, you keep her
for years in a humiliating position
simply because you haven't
the courage to do the decent thing.
It's all freedom from,
not freedom for.
That isn't freedom at all.
You hide behind your principles
as a cowardly means
of escaping from life. Yeah, well...
No, no, no, please, please
..let me finish.
I worry about you.
You're a grown man.
You've reached the age of reason.
Yes, but there's a thing, too -
you can't accept maturity.
You try to be younger than you are.
All the same, I'd like to be fair
on you.
The age of reason, my dear Mathieu,
is the achievement of full moral
health, order and responsibility.
Yes, perhaps I've got there sooner
than you have. Another?
Well, I'm not bringing your youth
up against you.
IN HEAD: He's away now.
He's going to tell me
about his bohemian youth,
his years
of fashionable dissipation.
But he managed to reform, all right.
He found his moral health when he
married a dowry of , francs!
HE LAUGHS IN HEAD
He bought a lawyer's practice.
..dribbling them away.
Indeed, you still haven't
finished the process.
The result is you're still an
irresponsible student of bohemian.
It doesn't suit you at all!
Your hair's receding.
You're no longer young.
You've attained the age of reason,
my dear Mathieu.
You've attained the age of reason.
Or you should have done.
The age of reason, yes.
Not the age of resignation.
Listen. I'm going to make you
a proposal.
Well, you are my brother, and I want
to put you on the right track.
I shall not lend you the ,
francs, but I'm going to give you
, francs if you agree
to marry the lady.
Hmm?
HE LAUGHS
Er... Thank you, Jacques. You're
very kind, but it will not do.
Not? I won't say you're wrong
all the way along the line,fo
but if ever I do get married,
it'll be because I want to.
At the moment, it would just be
a clumsy effort to get myself
out of a mess. Well, mull it over
Take your time. Your wife would be
very welcome here -
I needn't tell you that.
Odette would be delighted.
Think about it. I've thought about
it.[font color="♪ff
When shall we see you next?
Erm... Sunday, say?
Yes, come for lunch. Thanks.
And if you change your mind,
my offer still holds.
Goodbye, Jacques. Goodbye, Mathieu.
Anything wrong?
He said he'd look in on me
before he left.
SIGHS: How forgetful!
Yes, he has things on his mind.
What things?
Well, personal things.
I'm sure they wouldn't interest you.
No, I'm sure they wouldn't.
HE HUMS TUNE
CAT MEOWS
IN HEAD: It's too early
to arrive at Marcelle's.
I think I shall go for
a bit of a walk.
Now, now, Daniel,
don't lie to yourself!
You know what "going for a bit
of a walk" means.
You've got that feeling
in the blood, haven't you?
It's started up again.
Yes, it's such a warm night.
I know, I know,
but I need a little distraction!
I shan't go to bed with one of them,
I swear it.
I shall guard against temptation.
Besides, I haven't time.
Not if I'm seeing Marcelle.
Oh, God! With this heat,
Marcelle will stink so!
However much women wash,
they always smell.
The air in her room will be hardly
fit to breathe.
Why do I see her, locked in a room
with a woman
when it makes me so sick?
And now she's pregnant,
of all horrors.
That's a bit of extra t*rture
I didn't bargain for.
So, to make things even,
I shall go for my bit of a walk.
Now, don't call it
"a bit of a walk".
You're going to the amusement
arcade, aren't you?
Very well! But I shan't get up
to anything.
I shall have a little look,
that's all.
OUT LOUD: You wouldn't deny your
master his little look
at those naughty, naughty boys and
those dirty old men, now, would you?
IN HEAD: "Aeroplanes b*mb Valencia.
" aeroplanes circled over
the centre of the city today
"and dropped bombs.
"The exact number of dead
and wounded is not yet ascertained."
" 'I shall never marry Greta Garbo,'
says Tarkovsky."
OUT LOUD: Wow.
"Preparations for the state visit
of Their Majesties,
"King George VI
and Queen Elizabeth.
"The entire people of France are..."
The entire people of France are
shits.
IN HEAD: Yes, Gomez wrote that
in a letter from Madrid.
"Over dead and wounded have
already been counted."
There are thousands of people
reading that now
and shouting out, "You bastards!"
Where's MY anger?
What's wrong with me?
You bastard fascists have done it.
No, your anger is false,
empty, inert.
But you can't force emotions,
can you?
To be out there fighting,
that would be freedom, wouldn't it?
Fight till the death.
No, for you it'd be an escape.
You don't fight seeking
your own death.
That's an indulgence.
You fight for people.
People matter.
She matters.
Marcelle matters.
Oh, does she?
Well, if you really feel
compassion, phone her.
You should have done hours ago.
Right.
PHONE RINGS
Hello? Hello, Marcelle?
Is that you? Yes, darling.
Well?
Well, I went to that address
you gave me last night.
It's absolutely impossible.
You can count it out.
All right, now what?
Well, I found someone else
through Sara.
Some...someone very good.
How much?
, francs. How much? , .
It's impossible. I'll have to go
to...
No, you won't. I'll borrow it.
Who from? Jacques?
No, Jacques refuses.
I had a session with him midday.
Have you asked your friend, Daniel?
I went to see him.
Well? He says he's broke.
A bloody liar.
He's loaded with money.
You didn't tell him
what it was for. No.
Sure? Of course not.
Well, where WILL you get
the money, then?
Oh, don't worry. I'll... I'll get
it. I'll get it somehow.
Well, get it. Get it.
Marcelle?
Marcelle, are you all right?
Perfectly.
You're not too...
I'm at the end of my tether.
Do the best you can, won't you?
Mathieu?
I'll bring you the , francs
tomorrow evening.
I do love you, you know.
HE SIGHS
Oh.
UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYS
IN HEAD: No, I don't think
he's a h*m*.
He's come in here by chance.
Ah, the type who enjoys
touching himself.
The most alluring type of all,
that type. Joy.
Dear God, let him win the electric
torch, please.
The last of his money.
He hasn't had a meal since
yesterday.
So lovely and yet so deprived.
He needs me to take care of him.
Stop it. Daniel, stop it.
Not tonight.
I must follow him. I must.
The nightmares come again.
I have the ache, that all-engulfing
melancholy from within.
You must resist it.
Resist!
Oh, God. I'm delivered.
Here comes my victim.
Corseted too. A corseted old queen.
Now for some fun.
Here she comes.
What a nauseating piece of...
Jiggle your buttocks. That's it.
How I hate large hips. As bad
as female flesh.
Yes, the old sod will take him home,
bathe him, soap him and daub him
with scent all over.
It takes two to play, doesn't it?
I try to get my ball in your
goalmouth and you try to stop me.
Is that it?
You must be at one side,
I'm at the other.
Shall we play?
If you like.
It won't come out.
Let me show you. Please.
LOUD CLANK
Oh, that is clever.
You must have had a lot of practice.
I know the knack. Obviously.
I'll let you work the knob.
Oh, yes.
Oh, you're so good at it.
You score every time.
Tell me...
..do you come here often?
IN HEAD: Now for the rites of
departure.
The gentleman will go first
and the boy will join him in two or
three minutes.
I shall follow them both.
I shall tell the old man I am
a police detective
in charge of offences against
morals.
I'll take his name and have him
shaking with terror.
HE CHUCKLES
I shall feel so exquisitely
pure and righteous.
Evening, Danny. Hmm?
How's tricks?
Get away from me.
I told you never to approach me.
But I want to have a word with you.
IN HEAD: Oh, God,
everything's spoilt.
He thinks I'm an old queen
like himself.
How I hate this Freemasonry
of the cottage.
I'd rather k*ll myself than be like
you, you old...
Friend of yours?
What do you want? I'm in a hurry.
You don't sound very pleased
to see me.
IN HEAD: I was attracted to him once
because he looked like a cat.
I thought you might like to know
I moved from where I was.
I found a new place.
I'm sharing it with Ralph.
You know Ralph. Him what goes in
for all that wrestling.
He's a dirty little... Oh, but
he speaks well of you, does Ral
We were only talking about you
this morning.
I said to him, "If Danny only knew
how hard up we are at the moment,
"I'm sure he'd help."
How much do you want?
If you could lend us francs.
And I do mean lend.
Here's . I give it to you.
Now get away from me. Go on!
If you'd like the new address.
It's Rue de Gare.
Seventh floor. Go!
Bye.
IN HEAD: Rue de Gare,
seventh floor.
Forget it.
Forget it.
Concentrate on something else.
You're on your way to see Marcelle,
think about Marcelle...and Mathieu.
Destroy Mathieu.
Make him marry her.
He's so aloof, so pure.
Well, bring him down.
Good. That's better.
Rue de Gare.
Forget that address.
Wipe it from your mind.
Mathieu, think only about him.
He talks about you behind your back.
He must do.
You hate him.
Let him feel humiliation
as you think.
Let him have loathing for the flesh
he sleeps with, as you have.
Rue de Gare, seventh floor.
Admit it, you'll destroy Mathieu
and then visit that address.
That's what will happen.
For I am a truly evil man.
But don't worry about it.
Being truly evil can be
remarkably satisfying.
I simply want to know
if he'll be joining us this evening.
At the Sumatra? Yes.
Does Lola know you've invited me?
Yes.
Doesn't she mind? Of course
she minds.
But I'd like her to get to know you
better.
DOORBELL RINGS
Excuse me.
Well, you old fascist hyena,
I said I'd look in on you.
Who's this? Oh, Brunet,
this is Boris.
Oh, yes, I've heard of you. You're
his famous disciple, aren't you?
Boris doesn't like to be thought of
as my disciple.
Neither would I. Do sit down.
Oh, no, not there.
Your armchairs are too corrupting.
Still working at the philosophy?
I've just taken my finals.
Ah, a degree in it, eh? Not bad.
You wouldn't think me rude
if I were to have Mathieu to myself
Oh, you want me to go?
I'll see you this evening. Right,
goodbye.
I'll join you about .
Yes, till this evening.
Do you mind that? My getting
rid of him like that?
Not at all. I don't see you often.
Yeah.
Pity.
We ought to get together more,
you know, the three of us.
Three? Yeah. You and I and Daniel.
Ah, yes.
And romance about our student days,
eh? Uh-huh.
How is Daniel? Do you still see him?
We keep in close touch,
strange as it may seem.
And you? What are you doing with
yourself nowadays? Same old th
Oh, teaching?
hours a week and long summer
holidays. That's about it.fo
And your brother, still as
right wing as ever, is he?
He thinks our right wing
isn't dynamic enough. Oh.
He'll soon be a fascist.
I saw him this morning,
as a matter of fact.
It wasn't all that friendly.
Why not?
He gave me one of his sermons.
He wants to alter me.
Time you were. What? Altered.
But not by him, I trust.
Look, Mathieu, I haven't got much
time. I've got a meeting.
When I saw you at Sara's,
you looked so washed out,
I thought I'd better come and have
a word with you.
I look washed out, do I?
You look bloody awful.
Now, what's wrong with you?
I'm worried about money,
like anybody else.
Money? What's money, Mathieu?
You and I have known each other
a long time, right?
You're all tangled up, aren't you?
You're living off theories
that don't pay.
You think so?
IN HEAD: He's come to help me.
Busy as he is, he's put himself out
to help.
All the same, it would have been
better if he'd come simply
t
Mathieu, I'll come straight to
the point.
Will you join the party?
Party? I'll take you along now.
Get it settled straight away.[
For the Communist Party?
Well, you don't think I'm talking
about the fascist movement, do you?
Well, don't look so suspicious.
I'm not a recruiting sergeant.
Look, Mathieu, let's get it
straight,
the party doesn't need you.
We've got intellectuals now.
But you need the party.
I'm sorry. I'm taken aback.
It's very good of you.
You...
You think I need to join?
Well, don't you?
You're living in a void, man.
You're adrift.
You're a nothing.
Not much fun, is it?
Not much.
You're a real old pal, aren't you?
Mm-hm.
You've renounced an easy,
smug existence to be free.
All right, then.
Take it one step further.
Renounce your freedom
and find yourself.
Now you're talking like a priest.
No, seriously, now.
It wouldn't be a sacrifice,
it'd be an enrichment.
I discover a whole new world.
Real actions. Real passions.
That's my trouble.
I've lost a sense of reality.
Nothing seems altogether true.
All right, then. What's holding you
back?
Well, I suppose I've got a lot
of commitments at the moment.
There's only one commitment with us.
It covers all other commitments.
Loyalty to the party.
As a loyal member, you'd be safe.
You wouldn't have any problems.
Yes. The private problems of
the individual are anathema to you.
They must be. Do you enjoy your
private problems with thet
Well, then. If I were to commit
myself, it would be for your si
There is no other choice. But?
I need time.
Time? There's not much time left.
Not for any of us.
We'll be at w*r by September. w*r?
The second fortnight in September,
the Germans will enter
Czechoslovakia.
Oh, that's some scaremongering
rubbish. We know.
Look, Mathieu, I'll give you till
tomorrow morning to think it over.
I'll call here. : in the morning
on the dot. Agreed?
Agreed. More than enough time.
Tomorrow.
Well, thanks for calling round.
I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.
IN HEAD: Why couldn't I just say yes
and be done with it?
I couldn't because
I've got my woman pregnant.
I've got to sort out my private life
first.
That's not true.
Join the party and they'll tell me
how to deal with any problem.
Marxism encompasses all.
Even Marcelle. You know that.
And what's the difficulty, then?
Maybe I enjoy my individual
problems.
Maybe I don't want the ideal world
I've believed in.
Why? Why?
Perhaps it's because I don't want
to be like other people.
♪ Les mains se tendent de tous cotes
♪ Les chaines sont lourdes,
puis-je les oter?
♪ Un seul pas contre la tyrannie
♪ Une raison d'etre
dans toute ma vie
♪ La route est dure mais
je suis forte
♪ Mon ame est sure,
la peur est morte
♪ Je sais quoi faire
avec la vie
♪ Quand toute la terre
sera affranchie. ♪