"Give this stuff to the gamekeeper." "Very well, madame." "There's still a cartridge in it." " What about his clothes?" "You can give them to someone, but not from this house." "Very well, madame." "What is it?" "Just the mail, madame." "Thanks." "It was all for Monsieur." "You can read it." "He died at his desk while he was writing this letter." "You want to read it?" ""I have no inclination whatever to move out." ""What good would it do?" ""Christine's not leaving me." ""I'm happy." ""I even believe that my life..."" "Oh, yes... it stops there." "Who's he writing to?" "I may never know." ""I even believe that my life..." Peculiar isn't it?" "To die on that word..." "Bonjour, Christine." "Bonjour." "Tired?" "Just a little." "I've been sorting out his old things." "All of it should be burned." ""All of it."" "And get on with your life." "To be able to do that I need to know more than I do." "But you're still young, Christine." "I never had a youth." "It's not the same thing." "You're young because you still haven't loved." "What would you know about it?" "My life doesn't make sense." "I've no children and no friends." "There are a lots of people who'd love to know you." "Are you telling me I should become part of the crowd." "You should talk." "Travel." "Where would I go?" "Take a map at random, take your pick." "Just wander aimlessly?" "For me, the world is empty." "Nobody's waiting anywhere for me to turn up." "If you know where to look, the planet's full of fun and variety." "Loneliness is the same anywhere." "You're determined to be miserable." "What's this?" "Alain, Eric, Michel." "There's a crazy lot." "Thierry, Francois, Gerard," "You DO have relatives." "Introduce me." "Who are these gentlemen, on this dance card?" "Lovers." "Yes..." "I've been loved." "At least I've been told that." "A little...a lot...passionately." "They offered their love between waltzes." "I can still hear them." ""For ever." "For ever."" "That's all that's left of them for me : their first names." ""Their first names"?" "Look at the date." "18th June 1919." "That was yesterday." "I was 16." "That was this morning." "My first ball." "That's always a young girl's dream." "It was wonderful." "There was never another like it." "But your memory will have enhanced what happened." "I often think about it." "That evening the orchestra had played a particularly soft and moving waltz." "Like you think you hear when you gaze at a beautiful pastel." "Every time I hear that piece," "I see those long windows again opening onto the warm and boundless night." "A perfect summer night." "Long muslin curtains." "Dimmed crystal chandeliers." "Torches." "Your pastel's turning into a postcard." "I still see girls' lips moving under the shadow of their fan." "I still see the whirling of crinolines." "Was it a costume ball?" "No." "Why?" "The crinolines." "So?" "It was only 20 years ago." "Why no bustles, jerkins, ruffs, armour, and lace frills?" "Well... all the same, I remember crinolines... or were they just white dresses." "It was your first ball." "That waltz was..." "how can I put it?" "No, you're being silly." "This was it." "Be quiet." "That's sacrilege." "Come on, wake up." "It's late." "It's your bedtime." "I'll see you out." "See you in the morning." "We'll take a melancholic walk around the lake." "You can play the swan." "Good night." " Next waltz." "Save me a dance." " Next one for me." " I'll love you for ever and ever." " For ever and ever." "Gerard..." "I'll never love anyone except you, Christine." "I'll never love anyone except you, Gerard." "Well, I've been thinking about it." " About what?" " About the ghosts on my dance card." "You're right." "I'm going to travel." "I've found a reason." "You have?" "Do you ever wonder what old acquaintances have done with their lives?" "Or rather, what life has done to them?" "I'm going to find the answer to that question." "I'm going in search of the girl I was." "I'm going to look for 16 years that I lost." "And the love that you aroused?" "That..." "Remember. "For ever and ever."" " Forever is a long time." "I don't have an address." " Gerard?" "Yes, Gerard's." "Fate can do bad things." "Have you been collaborating with fate?" "Christine!" "I'm sorry." "Why are you laughing?" "I was thinking of the scenes you're going to cause." "They were courting you." "They very likely went and got married to console themselves." "Your journey will be very amusing." "The dance card becomes a railway itinerary." "I hope it's a nice route..." "Monsieur George Audie, madame." "What?" "Is Monsieur George Audie here?" "I was told he lived here with his mother." "So he's not here." "He doesn't live here any more." "Married, most likely." " What is it, Rose?" "Monsieur George is dead, madame." "And Madame Audie..." "What is it?" "Good morning, madame." "Good morning." "You wanted to see George?" "But please come in." "Pay no attention to Rose." "She's a bit..." "Come in, madame." "Leave us now, Rose." "Go through, madame." "Sit down, madame." "Sit down, madame." "Thank you." "I don't trust her." "She listens at the door." "Poor woman." "But she's so devoted!" "George won't be long." "Is he out somewhere?" "Young people..." "they don't always tell you everything." "What was I thinking about?" "I'm very sorry." "It's obvious." "In profile mostly." "Christine?" "Yes, madame." "You've recognised me?" "Since that famous ball, I've never forgotten you." "Haven't I changed much?" "Christine's mother?" "You have a very beautiful daughter." "She looks like you." ""My daughter"?" "Ah...yes." "You could be taken for sisters." "Here..." "The same shaped face, the same eyes." "But that girl there is me." "It's me nearly 20 years ago." "Isn't it?" "Our children pass us." "We'd always like to keep them small..." "Why didn't you bring your daughter?" "I would have loved to have seen her, now that I've heard about her." "Ah, I see." "She didn't want to come." "I'm sure that was it." "Your daughter makes my son so unhappy." "Did you know that?" "How does that show itself?" "In a thousand ways." "He used to sing." "Now he doesn't sing any more." "He doesn't work any more." "He won't get his degree." "He walks alone in the countryside." "Sometimes he comes home late." "Since when was all this?" "Since he found out." "Since he found out what?" "About Christine's engagement." "Christine... in love with another, a rich landowner." "It seems she'll live in a chateau, on the shore of a lake." "But I don't know, madame." "How?" "Has Christine kept things from you?" "But she came to tell my son she was engaged." "Only last Tuesday." "Here..." "Read your daughter's letter." "George'll be better off with someone else." "Only he's shy." "He doesn't know how to push forward." "But what on earth can he do?" "if he knew you were here, he'd hurry back." "Yes, that's him." "Here..." "He's handsome, isn't he?" "He's already 24." ""24"?" "Oh yes." "Not a baby any more." "24." "Children grow up so quickly." "One night we're tucking them in to bed." ""Good night my little one."" "And next morning you have to say to them:" ""Good morning, monsieur."'" "They impress you." "His piano." "His piano." "Sometimes in the evenings he steals into the shadows, and he plays." "And I close my eyes to hear him better, and see him better." "And he plays." "It's so pretty..." "those notes dropping into the night like stones into a lake." "Such a shame that Christine is marrying someone else." "Nothing's been decided yet." "So much the better...it's not necessary." "Girls are always in such a hurry." "They believe in love and miss out on happiness." "I heard something." "He's home." "Not a word of what I said to you, nor to Christine." "He wouldn't like it." "I'll leave you alone." "George!" "." "I thought he was here." "Come and check his bedroom." "You must stay for dinner." "George'll be so pleased." "We'll have a lovely evening." "Rose, set another place." "Christine's mother is here." "I told you everything would be fixed." "Come on." "Not a word to George." "I want to give him a surprise." "Through here." "She's a good girl..." "despite her little affair." "Don't touch." "It's a winning hand." "But he doesn't want to end it." "He believes it won't come out." "." "But I think it will." "And if it does, everything will change." "Everything." "You aren't opposed to these young ones marrying?" "Of course not." "Then you'll be able to help me." "He's a boy with a future." "His poor father was proud of him." "That Rose is incorrigible." "You rang?" "I've told you to put flowers in the vases." "I forgot them." "There weren't any at the market." "That's all right, dear." "That Rose is incredible." "George is there." "You there and me there." "No." "George there, you there and me there." "A aperitif!" "No thanks." "We have to drink to their love." "To their health." "To George." "To Christine." "And seeing nothing's decided, speak to him." "Scold her." "She's a flirt." "She doesn't mean to be of course, but she's cruel." "At 16 you're sometimes cruel." "You don't know how much words can hurt." "How do you console a child?" "He keeps things to himself." "You know nothing about him" "You think he's happy, then he loses everything at once." "It's an unhappy love affair." "How do you stop...?" "He had kissed me this morning, as usual." "Christmas was coming." "He went off on his bicycle." "What was it she said to him that day?" "He was given back to me." "Where did he find that revolver?" "Everything becomes muddled in our dreams." "But I shouldn't cry." "Everything's going to be fixed up." "He'll be coming in directly, he'll see the table set for three." "He won't be late." "I'd like to show you his private diary." "But it's in the cabinet, and Rose's hidden the key from me." "Rose!" "I'll ask her for it." "Madame?" "Rose, give me the key to the cabinet." "But, madame..." "Don't tell me that you've lost it." "Rose, give me the key." "There you are." "His diary's nice." "George writes well." "He's got a style all his own." "But where's the diary?" "I'm not supposed to know that he keeps a diary." "George!" "It's him!" "He's here!" "He's here!" "He's here!" "Go into the lounge." "Listen." "Listen." "It's nothing." "It was just street urchins having fun." "It's not true He didn't kill himself." "George didn't kill himself for Christine." "I didn't let these announcements be sent out." "He didn't kill himself for Christine." "pour Christine." "Why would he have killed himself for her?" "He hadn't told her that he loved her." "He maintained she loved someone named Gerard." "That's why he's dead." "Go away!" "Go away!" "Leave me alone!" "If he knows you're here, he won't dare come in." "Go find the others." "There are others who have died, because they don't come any more." "But he'll come." "I'm sure of it." "The door will open itself, just from wanting him to come." "He'll take off his overcoat." "He'll say : "Good day, mama", as usual." "As usual." "Then he'll kiss me as usual." "Get out." "He's waiting for you to go so he can come in." "Get out." "George..." "George, you can come in, sweetie." "George..." "Come in, pet, come in." "Come in." "You can come back." " Good evening." "Good evening." "Hi." "So?" "This is it for this evening." "I hear you, gentlemen." "The baron'll be here any minute." "He'll need a table." "I have the right people to satisfy him." "Just you carry on with a bit of small-talk with him while we go to his place." "Understood." "And keep him 'til we get back." "Amuse him, get him pissed, you know the ropes." "Two years?" "experience." "We'll visit his apartment, and grab the cash." "You got it?" "To the letter." "The cash is in the 'fridge." "It won't be hot money." " We'll also take the opportunity to get back Gisele's letters." "I don't know where they are but we'll find them." "In the late baroness's jewellery box." "There's a jewellery box?" "Yes." "With jewellery." "It's all that's left of the late baroness." "It's stowed away in the baron's bed-warmer." "We'll force the box." "Yes." "A danger for burglars..." "Make sure you hold the bed-warmer level." "You don't know what might be in it." "Bed-warmer theft :" "insignificant." "That's it." "What are you doing with the letters?" "Giving them back to Gisele." "She's married to a guy who's loaded." "Blackmail." "One to five years in prison." "It's not blackmail." "It's a negotiation, right." "That's what I tried to plead before being debarred." "Then...?" "The acused got 5 years prison-farm and 3000 francs fine." "A maximum." "Compliments!" "I pleaded for the plaintiff." "Come in." "Little Simonet dosn't want to settle his slate." "Little Simonet need sorting out." "Sure, boss." "What if the police pinch us?" "Everything must be planned." "Life is full of surprises." "What would it get?" "Hard labour for life." "Life?" "Life'd be nothing without hard labor." "There...cheer yourself up." "But the risks can be limited." "Are you armed?" "We've got what we need." "Carrying guns just aggravates the situation." "Leave them here." "There's nobody at the baron's place." "Is that all?" "Yes." "One more thing :" "you'll go into the baron's alone." "The others'll wait in the street." "Why?" "Article 383." "The punishment's more for theft in company." "That's not fair." "It has been a long time since I condemned the Code." "Second question :" "how are you going to get into the baron's place?" "We've got a skeleton key." "Bad news." "A skeleton key's like a picklock." "It's very difficult to justify possessing." "During the evening, the baron must entrust his key to a girlfriend who'd slip it to you." "In case of a trial, we could discount burglary." "Last question : the night." "What do you mean, "the night"?" "Aggravated circumstances." "It won't work out!" "Your Code screws us every time :" "no guns, no burglary, no night." "What is night?" "It's day that's dark." "No." "It's the time between sunset and sunrise." "The sun rises today at 3.54" "You'll hit the baron's at 3.55." "Then in a worst-case scenario, you'd get away with 18 months." "Or reprieve." "No argument." "Like that, it is an argument." "To your success." "Good evening, Monsieur de Bronquere." "Good evening." "This is Jo, the King of nightclubs." "Madame de Bronquere, General Gradin, Monsieur Lievre." "Whenever you come here, mention me to Jo." "You'll get the best." "Jo, who's that brunette who's dancing over there?" "That's 'Miss' Barbara." "Mention me to her, you'll get the best." "I told you not to come here any more." "But, monsieur..." "You gypped 1000 francs out of client, without going with him." "I was kept back by another one!" "Tough luck." "You have to deserve what you earn." "You're a troublemaker." "Get out." "Look...there's the baron." "Good evening, Your Lordship." "Perfect." "What's new, any new girls?" "Is there a blond?" "Yes." "Perfect." "Pleasing?" "Ravishing." "Perfect." "Something that can be taken home without worrying?" "You could trust her with your key." "Where is she?" "She's coming." "See you later." "See you later." "Jazz it up." "Can the slow stuff." "Settle down, boss." "I know what works." "What's with that table?" "Take the order." "Where's the dance-floor manager?" "That lady over there's dying of boredom." "Ask her for a dance, now." "A whisky." "Very good, madame." "Maitre d., do you know Pierre Verdier?" "No, madame." "What is he?" "I don't know." "It's not important." "One whisky." "Maitre d., I was told that Monsieur Verdier directed the dancing." "The boss here is Monsieur Jo." ""Monsieur Jo"'" "Isn't that the gentleman over there, who's rubbing his hands?" "Indeed, madame." "Could you do something for me?" "Certainly, madame." "Well... go over to Monsieur Jo, and simply say this to him :" ""In the lonely vast cold park, all ice," "Two shadows passed by in a trice."" "What?" ""In the lonely vast cold park, all ice" "Two shadows passed by in a trice."" "But... he's the boss." "He'll understand." "Repeat it." ""In the lonely vast cold park, all ice" ""In the lonely vast cold park, all ice" ""...two shadows..."' "...two shadows..."'" ""...passed by in a trice"' "...passed by in a trice"'" "Nice." "Perfect." "Smile for the gentleman." "It's a young one, baron..." "not interested in silverware." "Perfect." "What?" ""In the lonely vast cold park, all ice," "Two shadows passed by in a trice."" "What have you got yourself into?" " Pierre!" "Christine..." "What the hell are you doing here?" "Are you waiting for someone?" "Yes." "You." "You're alone?" "What about your husband?" "Aren't you married?" "I was." "Chucked it in?" "He's dead." "Free, then." "Widow." "All the same." "And what brought you to come and see me?" "Luck?" "No, a necessity." "Broke?" "Beg yours?" "You need me?" "Yes, perhaps." "Understood." "I'll find you something in a minute." "In a minute?" "It's good to think about old friends." "But, Pierre..." "I'm called Jo." "I'll call you Cricri." "It sounds younger." "You're holding up pretty well." "All fresh goods here." "We mustn't disappoint the customer." "May I...?" "Cricri?" "You're leaving us?" "Yes." "I made a mistake." "You too, you've made a mistake." "How come?" "Haven't I been a sport?" "Too much so." "Christine was coming to see Pierre," "But it was Jo who met Cricri." "There's been a misdeal." "I only wanted to help you." "I came only to find Pierre." "I would've asked no more of him than a little of his presence." "What?" "You're only here for me?" "That' right." "Just for you." "Because of another time?" "Yes." "Pierre still interests you?" "He was a gentleman." "That's kind." "I'm not used to people doing things just for pleasure." "When a woman comes to see me, it's always a case of tit for tat." "You still remember Pierre?" "I still do, yes." "I don't." "So definite?" "It's best for me." "Come." "Perfect." "If you're not coming I'm going." "I've got the key." "Perfect." "When can we leave?" "Just wait a bit." "What time is it?" "Ten past two." "You wanted to be a lawyer." "I've been one." "For long?" "For two years." "I still am, at odd moments." "You didn't like the profession?" "Yes." "But I had some problems." "Problems?" "Yes." "I lived alone for three years without remission." "With my problems behind me, I opened this club." "It must be fascinating." "I reign over waiters, performers, fast music and faster women." "Why do you keep looking at the time?" "Am I boring you?" "No." "I'm thinking about something else." "What else?" "The one named Jo." "The stuff he manages." "Of no interest." "Don't knock him too much." "If you only knew..." "To think that I've held you in my arms..." "I was 16." "You lacked discrimination." "We were going to take a walk." "We went along the river and stopped at the bridge" "The water flowed beneath us." "We waited for the twilight." "It failed to turn up." "We said nothing." "We were thinking too many things." "I was kissing your trembling neck." "I had my eyes shut so I wouldn't see you." "We were idiots." "It was lovely." "We made plans." "The stuff of dreams." "You called me "Clara d'Ellebeuse", from Francis Jammes's verse." "And you named me The Undecided, because of my shyness." "I'd be a good person, if I hadn't changed from my youth." "The pressure of life makes you lose your way and we take some odd paths, Clara d'Ellebeuse." "Pierre The Undecided..." "You were a strange boy." "Yes... a long time ago." "It happened in another world." "Excuse me...one second" "I'm not here." "Leave me alone." "There's plenty of time to be an arsehole." "You've been drinking." "It'll be sorted." "It's nothing." "He interrupted me." "I was trying to remember the poem." "It's been 10 years since I even said that word." "A poem" ""In the lonely vast cold park, all ice," "Two shadows passed by in a trice." ""Their eyes are dead and their lips are grey." ""We scarcely hear what they try to say." ""In the lonely vast cold park, all ice," "Two spectres passed by in a trice." "" Do you remember my courting days?" "" How strange it is that the memory stays!" ""Do you always tremble at my name?"" ""Do you see me in your dreams the same?"" ""No. ...the beautiful days of unspeakable happiness" ""When my mouth..."' "pressed your mouth."'" " "It was so good."" ""With the sky so blue and hope so boyed" ""Til hope fled, lost, and into the void." ""Thus they walked on through wavering..."'" "Pierre Verdier?" "I beg your pardon?" "You've been careless again." "You're the only two who know my name." "I'm coming." "Not here." "No trouble." "Goodbye, Christine." "It's all over." "This is Jo being arrested, not Pierre." "I leave Pierre to you." "What happens boss?" "The show goes on." " "Thus they walked on through wavering shards." ""And only the wind heard could hear their words."'" "That's not bad." "We're starting to get somewhere." "But go over the last passage... doh, re, E sharp, fa!" "Go and rest." "Just a sec!" "Go and slip on your robes so we can have a look." "And not so much noise, you mob of savages!" "Good morning." "Are you bringing me this child?" "Yes." "He's the haberdasher's..." "Which one?" "The haberdashery on Rue Hoche." "I don't know it, but that doesn't matter." "How old are you?" "He's had his 11th birthday." "Let him speak." "I want to hear what his voice is like." "You are educated?" "You know things?" "Yes...it depends." "The primary school teacher said..." "Madame." "What's four times twelve?" "46?" "Where did Saint Louis die?" "I don't know." "In a war?" "Ah." "Which war?" "The Hundred Years War?" "Was it him who married Joan of Arc?" "No." "Why?" "Coz she was dead." "So twelve times four..." "what's it make?" "60..." "Good." "Perfect voice." "You'll get 10." "Thank you, father." "You'll get 10 whacks, because you know nothing." "He got behind." "He had mumps." "In the ears?" ""In the ears"?" "Yes." "You're a musician?" "You know do-re-mi?" "Yes, father." "Well, we'll see." "That's very good." "You've sung in Latin?" "He was an altar boy." "Good." "And who do you believe you're talking to?" "The Good Lord." "Why are you looking so hangdog?" "He's a bit shy." "In front of the Good Lord, he's nothing to fear." "I'm sure we can work something out." " He broke the lamp!" "We'll discuss it further in the holidays." "Thank you father, I'm very happy." "I'm not the one to thank." "Who broke the lamp?" "Alright then..." "I'm giving 5 minutes for him to come clean." "To work." "So once again..." "O magnum mysterium." "Lift your heads." "Don't stare at your feet." "Who is it?" "A lady." "Put it down there." "Just a moment boys." "Guillaume, take my place." "Go on without me." "Madame?" "But it's...?" "Father Dominique, madame." "I'm sorry, monsieur." "Monsieur..." "Father." ""Father."" "I was so surprised." "Please forgive me." "Please...madame." "Lately I've been wanting to see people once more." "I went to the bishop's palace, they told me :" ""We don't know." ""But go and see father Dominique." "Maybe he can tell you."'" "I'm at your service, madame." "What is it you want...?" "My question's useless." "I wanted to find out what became of someone..." "Alain Regnault." "He became Father Dominique, didn't he?" "Thank you for having recognized him from a distance, and despite the years." "He'd reached an age where we don't change so much." "You're right, madame." "He was no longer very young." "Perhaps you don't recognize me." "I thank God for giving me a good memory." "And you haven't changed much." "You knew me as a child." "A while back I revisited a ball..." "brought it back my memory." "The ball when I was 16." "You were there." "Do you remember it?" "God has given me a good memory, madame." "But he advises me to keep some things, and forget others." "Would that be a bad memory for you?" "I no longer ask myself that question." "Why?" "Oh, pardon." "Alain Regnault..." "How strange it is." "Do you live in Paris?" "No." "I've lived in Italy for 15 years, on a lake." "Where am I going to settle now?" "I'm not sure." "My life's been turned around." "My husband's dead." "I've seen a lot of dying." "I'm sure you have." "Any children?" "I'm quite alone in the world." "You'd be especially susceptible to losing your husband." "No." "I've always been alone." "I left my days as a girl to enter a life of solitude." "I seemed a fulfilled woman but life was quite empty." "Mademoiselle de Guerande..." "What's this building?" "It's our convent." "Is that where you live?" "Yes, madame." "You take care of children?" "You teach singing?" "At first I was bad at it." "Now lads come from all over." "Music makes them good people." "It's moving." "Music molds people." "And there are the scamps who are already men." "They're not quite as bad as the others." "They even have a vague tendency to be kind." "You embellish their youth." "Without a good youth, a man has so many excuses not to believe in good." "Without a good youth, and without a little music in your heart..." "Father, as such a great musician, on the brink of being famous... and in the service of God and the people." "I admire you." "I'm not really someone to be admired..." "I've had to seek refuge." "How did you....?" "What is it..." "Would you excuse me for a moment?" "Isn't it finished?" "Can't you do anything without me?" "So once more with O magnum mysterium." "What's that?" "A flock of sparrows?" "They're boisterous, but that's the age they're at." "Why have you taken orders?" "Did faith came to you out of the blue?" "A punishment came out of the blue." "A bitter disappointment." "Faith didn't come until later... gradually." "I remember you being on top of the world." "I saw you again in a recital, where you played piano, one of your latest works." "The Sonata of a Day... of a Day..." "The Sonata of a Day of Hope." "You were magnificent." "All the women were looking at you." "Except for...one." "Father..." "What happened, Alain?" "You remember that concert?" "I'm going to tell you a curious story." "On the evening of concert, Alain Regnault was on top of the world." "But he was not sure of his destiny." "He was in love with someone, madame with all that life had given him of sincerity and hope." "One more conquest." "He'd come to expect it." "This time he was in love with quite a young girl." "He felt awkward about it, shy." "He wanted to give her his life" "And he didn't say anything to her?" "He'd tried be understood." "But she didn't get the message." "Who was it?" "Did I know her?" "He'd met her at a ball." "Then he saw her again during his life, here and there" "As we saw each other." ""As we saw each other."" "And he was very awkward." "Perhaps his timing was bad..." "Yes." "I felt I was in exile when I was close to her." "One day I said to her :" ""I'm writing something that I'm putting all my heart into..."'" ""It's called 'Sonata of a day of Hope'." ""I've written it" ""for the one I love."'" "What?" "So this girl was..." "The evening I played the sonata, she was in the room." "I was in the room." "So...you were there too?" "And I played for her." "I played..." "God forgive my pride, but did I play well!" "Do you remember it, madame?" "I think I do, yes." "I have a bad memory." "There you are..." "she didn't listen to it, either." "In music, you must be totally honest." "There was an andante..." "and another andante." "I turned around, she was next to a young man, laughing." "And he was laughing too." "What at?" "At everything...at nothing." "They were laughing..." "like you'd laugh at red ballons." "A river of music swept through the room." "And those two were an island." "The music surrounded them, but didn't touch them." "For her..." "I didn't exist." "Then?" "Then something broke right there, madame." "At that precise moment, I gave it all up." "I waited several seconds my hands like this..." "suspended over the keyboard." "I got up to leave, to flee." "Alain..." "And just near her I saw the face of a child, thoughtful...totally absorbed." "The child was very young." "He trusted me." "He was listening to me." "He was proud of me." "So I went on for him." "The one you're talking about was a little girl." "She was 16." "I was nearly 40." "I understood that I'd lost my muse." "And he wouldn't be it." "A nephew?" "A godchild?" "It's my son." "In my tempestuous youth, I'd fathered a lovely boy." "He'd grown up far away from me." "We were about to get back together." "He would've been able to fulfill my bachelor life." "Did he die?" "Some weeks later." "One more ghost... among many ghosts." "And that young girl..." "If she wasn't a ghost today," "I wouldn't have been able to tell you what she did to me." "When I was lost God was good to me." "He allowed me to look." "And he gave me the idea of looking after children and others." "I'm so lucky to meet them and assemble them in His name." "In His house." "But the bishop promises me electricity..." "If I should meet her one day, if I should recognize her somehow," "what would I say to her?" "That she'll always have a place in my heart." "I can admit it without shame:" "the place of girl far away... who would have died." "Tell her that her image joins that of this child here." "Good evening, madame." "Father..." "Father Dominique will say the next mass for you and the memory of Alain Regnault." "My children are waiting for me." "Goodbye, madame." "Father..." "Come, come, my child!" "It was me who broke the lamp." "That's a good boy." "Just don't do it again." "Death has woken up." "Death has shrugged his shoulders." "Too bad for anyone on the mountain." "You're not telling me the truth." "Mountain guide, that's not a job for you." "But that's what I choose to do." "Why?" "Because of that... and that." "You've quit Paris at 30 to come here?" "There's no particular age to find salvation." "I was fed up with Paris and with myself." "I was headed for failure." "Then money was running out." "Gambling?" "Women" "My poor Eric." "I'm not complaining." "I'm very happy." "No regrets?" "Absolutely none." "No person?" "No one." "For me..." "the past's behind me." "You're right." "You see that house down there?" "The blue railing next to a clump of trees." "You've got good eyes." "It's a philosopher's house." "Bubbling Eric, fighter, womaniser..." "he's kept count for 30 years." "He has his house in the mountains." "He plies his trade." "Yes..." "I've taken a shot at this and that... plans and ideas." "Then every time there was same deception..." "...too bad!" "...nothing fixed." "You haven't changed." "You're still just as young...almost." "And agile." "Sport, mountain air, the simple life, troubles and woes forgotten." "You've sure been lucky." "But you haven't changed either." "I've walked passed you twice in front of the church." "I must have missed you." "Yes." "Your eyes weren't focused on me." "Women ruined my youth." "So now I behave." "Are you still a poet?" "I think I've become one." "I don't write verse any more." "You used to write lovely things." ""Your look" "" to me like a lake in spring."" "I remember." "You wrote that for a young girl." "For you." "You should say it to others." "Yes." "I believe I've said it to several." "You don't hide anything from me." "I was loving left and right." "I was just trying to love." "Out of them all I was looking for the right one." "You haven't found her?" "No, I haven't found her." "You forgot all about us." "In the early days of my solitude, on certain evenings I used to remember..." "I took refuge in your pretty faces." "I uttered some names to the mountains." "Including mine?" "Yes." "But I grew tired of it." "Was I attractive then?" "Look over there." "The sun's going." "Time to go back down." "Off we go!" "How was I then?" "Charming." "Was I pretty?" "Look at that." "Pearl grey clouds." "Blue glaciers." "Was I pretty?" "Of course." "After 15 years...you'd know?" "Was I pretty?" "I lied to you when I said you hadn't changed." "You used to have an inaccessible-girl side to you." "A fleeting bird." "A dream that didn't come true." "You're more approachable now." "A man can talk to you bare his heart, tell it as it is." "Yes, you've changed." "I've suffered, I've waited." "I've been a bit discouraged." "And that created a face..." "What face?" "A face..." "that I'll never forget." "Bad deal." "Who for?" "For me." "I really wanted it!" "We better get down before it's too late." "So what would happen then?" "Something magnificent." "The chance to see the aurora." "But we'd have to spend the night in the refuge." "Is it really so beautiful?" "Unforgettable." "We'd be alone in the refuge?" "Most likely." "Would you like that?" "You wouldn't be scared?" "No." "We'll relive the past." "But it no longer exists for you." "That's true." "So we'll talk about the future." "See the Lost Mountain?" "What are you thinking about?" "What you were saying outside." "On the past?" "On the future." "Was I wrong?" "How would I know?" "Why have you looked me up?" "i haven't looked for you more than anyone else." "I'm tracking my past in order to find out." "Find out what?" "Find out what I might do with my future." "Curiosity?" "No." "Worry." "And what have you found?" "The dead." "And the living who were as good as dead." "Have you still far to go?" "I don't know any more." "And who's waiting for you?" "No one." "Then why not cut it short?" "Are you frightened?" "Not when I'm with you." "Listen." "We've both wandered off from our normal place." "And suddenly we meet at the crossroads of two routes, on the platform of a little station." "We can leave together." "To go where?" "Everyone likes it here." "You don't like me?" "No, this is too serious." "You're not free." "You have a mistress :" "the mountain." "There's no place left for me." "I'm capable of infidelity." "That's not very reassuring." "A mountain isn't a wife." "Do I have to believe you?" "The day of our first meeting..." "It was a ball." "No, it was in the morning." "Well this day, the mountain's got angry." "The intuition of a jealous woman." "She knows she can't do anything about it." "Open the can." "You're getting slack with your housework" "You'll see." "This little meal will beat any restaurant in the world." "What's the church in your village?" "It's a chapel." "It's charming." "It has a name that sings :" "San Giovanni di Bellagio." "And the priest?" "Charming." "He married us." "And if you came to him and said :" ""Father, it's me." "Would you marry me again?"" "I don't believe he'd want me to." "What time's your train?" "Tomorrow?" "4pm." "I'll be at the station?" "When does it get there?" "Next day in the afternoon." "You take a boat on the lake." "Well, I'll be there too." "Smell that for me." "What is it?" "It's a call for help." "The avalanches have taken victims." "I'll have to go down." "What!" "?" "They're calling for help." "I'll have to go down." "But why?" "I need to know." "You don't have friends." "Why are you worried?" "I have to go there." "I don't want you to risk your life." "No...it' a promise." "Just understand..." "they need me." "Understand me." "Come on." "She left yesterday." "Ah!" "Where to?" "No idea." "She left you a letter." ""I don't hold it against you." ""You aren't capable of infidelity." ""Everything's better that way." ""All the best."'" "The mayor, please?" "Yes." "Monsieur Francois Patusset." "You don't know that the town hall is closed?" "Closed?" "On account of the marriage." "Our mayor's getting married." "Are you a friend or a fellow countrywoman?" "A friend." "He'll be at home..." "getting ready." "Getting ready?" "For the wedding." "He's marrying Cecile, his cook." "Where's his place?" "Second street on the right, across from the station." "There isn't a station." "There's a signpost." ""Request Stop." That's the station." "Where is it now?" "Where is it, mother?" "What are you looking for?" "My collar stud!" "It's like looking for a Japanese pearl in a basket of oysters." "Aren't you ready yet?" "You could at least be punctual when you're getting married!" "I'm alright." "And the flowers!" "Take a look at this!" "I'm sent flowers when I have a gardenful." "It stinks!" "It's beyond belief!" "I feel like I'm assisting at my own funeral and I'm marrying my own widow." "And all the bitching!" "Jealousy that keeps these shut!" "Saying that the sun ruins materials." "It's the height of miserliness." "As if there was a meter for the sun!" "D'you think I'd get married, if the sun hadn't got me drunk?" "So what's it matter if it comes into the house." "There..." "I've got a collar but no stud." "I get married to my maid, so I don't have a maid anymore." "Have you seen my orange blossom?" "What?" "My orange blossom." "What've you done with it?" "Beside your collar stud." "Where is it?" "I don't know." "What do you look like carrying that?" "Some sort of dust collector." "Is that a good look?" "That'll teach you to marry your maid!" "I'm marrying the maid, but without the utensils." "But where is it now, that orange blossom bouquet?" "Here's the stud!" "Here's the stud, but where's the orange blossom?" "We can buy some on the way to the town hall." "There's none left." "I bought the last lot." "What an idea to marry in white like a young girl." "I have the right to." "You know that well." "Unfortunately." "Whadda you mean "unfortunately"?" "I said it without thinking." "You never make the effort to listen to me." "It's you who should be listening to me." "You only listen when you ask me something!" "Oh no!" "The sun'll ruin the upholstery." "I want to be able to see properly in my own house." "They'll be opened when it rains." "In six months?" "Yes!" "I won't live like pickles in a can!" "I don't want the neighbours spying on us." "What "neighbours"?" "There are no neighbours ." "Even if there were, bugger them!" "I live a transparent life." "I'm master here!" "Master of my surrounds!" "Always the same these locusts!" "What?" "Locusts!" "You wouldn't have spoken to me like that yesterday." "When I was your maid." "You still are." "The sun attracts the flies!" "Shut up." "No!" "Are you going to be quiet?" "No!" "This is the last time I'm marrying you." "I'm only getting married so as not to keep the sub-prefect waiting." "Shit on your sub-prefect!" "Well..." "Come on, be nice." "Fix my tie." "That'll calm you down." "Deep down I love you, you know." "I scream and carry on but I don't mean it." "Truly?" "Listen, I want to swear to you, that I like the sun, too." "I lower the ventian blinds to have something to talk about." "There, hold it." "That's it." "Wait, wait." "There." "Say, would you do me a favour?" "Yes." "Still address me formally, while you're still my maid, so I can enjoy these last moments." "Is Monsieur happy?" "Very happy." "And I give you my name by way of wages, and that's quite something." "Say..." "Oh, whadda you know!" "What, "whadda you know"?" "Christine!" "What Christine?" "It'd take too long to explain." "It's a woman I could have killed for." "But to understand that, you'd have to be young." "Hullo, Christine." "You recognised me?" "I haven't changed." "I recognise you too." "How?" "By your accent." "You've put on a bit of weight." "I was right when I told you I was skinny as a rake." "Come in." "My fiancee." "Christine." "Madame." "Mademoiselle." "Oh, pardon." "Can I give you a kiss?" "Yes." "Laugh a little ...just so I can see." "When you laugh like that, that innocent laugh," "I'd know it anywhere." "I don't need to see you, just hear you to recognize you." "I close my eyes like this, and I can still hear you all the words you never wanted to say to me." "Oh, it's amazing." "Now it doesn't matter any more." "You're not surprised to see me?" "No." "Who told you" "I was getting married?" "It was... the girl in me." "Sit down." "Ah!" "So nice that youi've come." "Otherwise I couldn't marry Madame." "Go get dressed." "And hurry up!" "Say..." "Yes?" "How do you like my fiancee?" "Charming." "You're mocking me." "As your wife, she'll be better than as fiancee." "In 20 minutes I'll know if that's true." "It feels so strange seeing you again." "If I'd known that all it took to see you again was to get married," "I'd 've married sooner... and often!" "To think that I was so crazy about you!" "Seeing you now, I can't believe it was possible." "You're such a dish!" "Do you remember my declaration?" ""I love you."" ""I love you like mad."" ""I'm marrying another but it's to you that I'm wedded."" "You remember?" "Yes, I remember." "You were ambitious." "You wanted to become a deputy." "I'm a councillor." "You used to say :" ""I'll be a minister."" "I'm mayor." ""And I'll make a fortune."'" "I've got a small pension." "And also :" ""I'll have a lot of servants."'" "Yes..." "I'm marrying my maid." "I wanted to go far." "Then I found a place in the sun and I stopped half way." "You're just lazy." "And how's your husband?" "I was told he was some sort of lunatic." "He was a lunatic." ""Was"...sorry, I didn't know." "It's kind of you to have come so far to attend these nuptials." "You'll stay for lunch?" "Yes!" "it'll be crazy." "You'll find it amusing." "So!" "I also want to become French President." "I'm president of everything except France." "I'm president of the independent boules players," "President of the Trumpets of the 14th of July" "President of the Former Presidents Association..." "I'm a somebody..." "for 50 kilometers 'round." "Hey, bundle-of-joy!" "... isn't this marriage on today?" "Who's that?" "Just another one of my demi-successes." "My son." "He looks like you." "No...adopted son." "I couldn't have a child with my first wife." "Then I adopted this little tot." "Will you introduce me?" "No." "He won't be at the wedding?" "No." "Why?" "He's in Paris." "He works up there." "He can't come for business reasons." "He gives me a lot of satisfaction" "He's a good kid." "A good kid..." "who may be my real son." "He looks intelligent." "Oh...he's a smart operator." "I love him well." "He'll come to see me for a holiday." "Yes." "That's it..." "He makes me very happy." "Hey, there?" "My little doll!" "Are you coming down or am I getting married without you?" "Article 21 3 of the Civil Code..." "Speak properly, you stupid bugger!" "You sound like you're saying your rosary." "You're driving me crazy..." "Give me that." "I'm not used to doing it..." "Watch me and see how it's done." "Yes I know...here." "Article 21 4 :" ""The wife is obliged to live with the husband" ""and follow him wherever he decides to live." ""The wife" ""has to follow the husband everywhere." ""The husband is obliged to accept her..."'" "I know it all." "That's enough." ""Monsieur Francois Patusset," ""do you consent to take as your wife" ""Mademoiselle Cecile Gachery?"" "I reply Yes over there." "Yes!" ""Mademoiselle Cecile Gachery," ""do you consent to take as your husband" ""Monsieur Francois Patusset?"" "Goodness..." "Goodness...what?" "Yes!" "Yes!" "Yes!" "You couldn't say it straight off?" "In the name of the law, I declare that Francois Patusset and Cecile Gachery are united in marriage." "You've got it?" "Yes, yes." "Hey a bit of quiet there, you lot." "Get on with the speech." "What?" "The speech!" "I don't know anything about it." "You don't have a speech?" "No." "Miserable...!" "Luckily I'm always prepared for emergencies!" ""My dear friends," ""Your marriage is for us..." "a restatement," ""and for the community..." "an honour." ""In marrying Mademoiselle Gachery, Monsieur Patusset, our beloved mayor," ""Wanted to mark his active sympathy for the working class." ""The marriage book that he offers you today" ""includes a most beautiful certificate." ""He dismisses you as a servant and takes you as a wife" ""and perhaps as a mother."" ""How sympathetic...this union of employer" ""with the working class." ""For your part, Francois Patusset," ""you to whom we owe water, gas and electricity," ""in a way, our municipal God," ""we thank you for dedicating to our city" ""a talent deserving of a greater city." ""I drink to your happiness." ""To the prosperity of our town, and the glory of the Republic," ""to which I will ever be devoted!"" "And in appreciation, the society is giving me a surprise ...a morning serenade." "You like that?" "Oh yes!" "Straighten your flowers." "It looks like you're drunk." "You don't find us vulgar?" "No!" "...charming!" "." "You hear that?" ": "charming"." "I know I'm vulgar." "I've got a fat gut and bad habits." "Why are you laughing?" "Nothing." "I'm thinking about the day I threw water over you." "You're sorry you did it?" "Oh no!" "It's a happy memory." "All young people should do something really stupid, at least once." "As long as... you haven't killed yourself for a woman, you haven't been young." "Finished by pneumonia." "What is it?" "Nothing." "I saw something!" "Shut up!" "What are you doing here?" "I'm here for your wedding." "I told you to never come back here." "Have you forgotten already?" "Have I forgotten already?" "You stole from me and you stole from the neighbours ...you shamed me ten times over." "You think I'd just wipe the slate clean?" "Don't you remember why I kicked you out?" "You tried to set fire to Jacquelin's place." "He'd bashed me." "You'd poisoned his dogs, you little bastard." "I thought one day like today..." "I guess so." "What you doing at Toulon?" "Working." "Is that the truth?" "Have I asked for a cent in months?" "So?" "What sort of work?" "Keeping the books for a linen store." "You haven't been up to any mischief?" "Not since I was there." "Swear?" "Swear." "I'll forgive you..." "you scoundrel." "Show me your face." "Yes, you've got clear eyes." "I'll give you as much confidence as you gave me distress." "I'm not your father but I wanted you as my son." "Off you go, you little bastard." "Scoundrel...hooligan." "I'm happy anyway." "My marriage'll have been of some use." "Come on." "No I don't dare." "Take my arm, come in on my arm." "No, I don't want to." "Go on." "I just came to shake your hand." "No, I'm going back." "Lend me 500 francs." "What?" "Lend me 500 francs." "You know I haven't asked for anything lately." "So that's why you're here?" "What's 500 francs to you today?" ""Today"?" "You're getting married." "You're lunching between your wife and your mistress." "It's only 500." "What are you talking about?" "I heard everything." "What, for God's sake?" "Earlier at your place :" ""I'm marrying another but it's to you that I'm wedded."" "So now you're a blackmailer?" "Should be 1000 francs." "Get out!" "Get out before I flatten you!" "Get out!" "You like me to tell about it over dessert...as a monologue?" "You imbecile, get out!" "If you give me cash for this." "What is it?" "I pinched it 20 minutes ago at Allard's." "I took advantage of him helping at the wedding." "A day like this gives lots of opportunities." "You've emptied all the houses." "So buy this from me." "Be honest..." "you wouldn't want to hurt Allard?" "Cough up." "As usual." "You're right." "Your marriage will have been of some use." "Give it to me." "It's 1000 francs." "You can't turn me in." "The son that you've chosen." "Give it to me or you're done for." "But first buy this pretty gift for your wife." "Or the other one." "I'll give you one!" "You bastard!" "Stop it!" "Stop it!" "Crapule!" "Bastard!" "Scum!" "Stop it!" "Stop it!" "Give it to me!" "Take it." "I was only joking." "For a laugh?" "You scum!" "Bastard!" "What's happening?" "What's that you have?" "What's that you have?" "It's lucky you're here, Pudding." "Straighten your flowers." "People'll think you're crazy." "The doctor will see your." "Thank you, madame." "Finished?" "Come on...shake a leg!" "She's back." "Who?" "The woman from this morning." "The one you didn't want to see." "You understand?" "She's back." "It must have been Madame Lea who sent her." "Don't be a nitwit..." "charge her 500." "You're not in Saigon any more." "OK..." "I'll go." "What a turnaround!" "You wouldn't before and and now you will?" "Did you think about during your nap?" "What's this?" "Why are you writing to Transports?" "Because I'm fed up With what?" "With you." "With myself, with everything!" "Oh, darling!" "With everything!" "With this dirty business you've got me into." "You can't make it in the other any more." "I've been too weak." "But that's going to change." "I've heard this before." "From next week, finished." "I'll sail regularly." "I'll do Marseille-Ajaccio as company doctor." "I'll show them my signed contract." "No joking?" "I'll still see you twice a week." "Off to sea!" "Off to sea!" "I'll be able to breath again." "Earn 15,000 a month on a rustbucket, when you can earn ten times that, no trouble." "That's my business." "Go then, you poor fool." "Aren't you scared of the police?" "...That you'll be shopped?" "Stay in the kitchen." "That's what I'll do to your contract!" "Clean it up!" "No!" "Clean it up!" "No!" "Yoou see how he mistreats me?" "I was an artiste, madame." "At the Alhambra in Conakry!" "I finished my career for..." "We'll settle this later." "Come in, madame." "If I was 20 years younger, you bastard..." "I apologise for exposing you to this ridiculous scenario." "Come in." "Sit down." "Family life isn't all fun" "I've really had it up to here." "No more of that." "Who gave you my address?" "Madame Lea?" "That's alright." "You don't have to tell me who..." "Well, you've found me anyway, and I respect your discretion." "So, let's have a look." "How long is since you realised you were..." "Please undress, madame." "I'm not here for a consultation." "No?" "Couldn't you have told me that before?" "Why are you here then?" "To see you again." "In what connection?" "So you don't recognize me?" "Ah no!" "You making trouble?" "You've already had to deal with me?" "I've got it!" "I saw you once in Saigon." "but I seem to remember that everything went very well." "You were the wife of a sales representative at the time?" "No." "No?" "Gosh!" "Enough puzzles!" "I've seen so many faces." "White, black, red, yellow..." "So who are you?" "You were 19, you were preparing for the PCN." "Then...?" "That's all." "You knew me as a student?" "We'd danced together, before that." "You really amaze me." "I was never able to learn a step." "Thierry..." "Please...?" "You really don't recognise me?" "No, madame." "Excuse me but..." "Christine." ""Christine" who?" "Christine de Guerande." "Christine..." "You haven't changed." "Some proof!" "But you neither." "It's not obvious?" "What?" "My eye." "No." "I lost an eye attending a negro out in the bush." "A drop of pus squirted, then... 300 km by porters to hospital..." "I've had my share of pain and suffering." "My poor friend." ""Friend"?" "That word has a funny effect on me." "I'm not used to it, you see?" "So your life's been all arranged?" "What do you mean?" "Life." "Everyone has their share of sadness." "But I don't complain." "Naturally." "When you compare yourself with me for example." "But it's true." "This is where I belong." "Or even lower." "From bad to worse." "If only you knew..." "You can't believe that the man you're talking with is the one that tried to dance with you..." "Nearly 20 years ago." "It's the same man." "20 years!" "20 years of bad luck and cowardice." "I've made up my mind to get out." "You've seen I haven't hidden anything from you." "I am determined to get out of it." "I've already tried several times." "It's not so easy." "But I swore to finish it, or then I disappear." "I'd like to be able to help you." "You can't be serious." "You'd accept?" "Money?" "Not at all." "That wasn't what I wanted to say." "I have friends who..." "if I knew what you wanted," "I could perhaps offer you a job." "I don't need a job." "I can find a way out of this hell-hole by myself." "That's what I want..." "to be able to look at myself without disgust" "You come along, and disgrace me with my youth." "Then all these years and years of anguish, hope, dreams..." "I'd like to be able to su them up in one word... but I don't know the word." "Do you understand, Christine?" "You can give me back the confidence I had in myself when I was 20." "I'd only need a little friendship." "Just a little bit of...friendship lost, that's it." "We could see each other again?" "For sure." "Write to us." "Yes, often." "I don't know if I read the same books." "If only I wasn't so miserable." "You too, perhaps." "That's right, Thierry." "It's a long time since I felt so positive." "Now I feel that things can really get better." "You don't have to leave?" "That's good!" "You'll lunch with me." "No..." "Gaby!" "I don't want to disturb you." "Don't be silly!" "Madame is lunching with us." "You told her how much?" "Nothing to do with you." "Madame is not a client." "Is it ready?" "Ready, ready..." "Not started..." "I'll see what I can do..." "Can I take your coat Christine?" "Nice view, isn't it?" "Hell will be like that." "Always complaining about something." "Please excuse service." "Can I help?" "You'd get dirty" "Do you want to sit down, Christine?" "Here, Christine." "Thanks." "Oh!" "It's hot!" "You live in Paris, madame?" "No." "You're passing through?" "Yes." "We want to move, but it's so hard to find anything." "In Saigon we had a charming bungalow." "That's all, don't bring up about Saigon." "Have you known each other for a long time?" "Yes." "Before he went to the colonies?" "He was a student." "You've never told me about her." "I'm not jealous." "He's thinking of going as doctor on a passenger liner." "At his age, capable as he is." "She doesn't want to know about that!" "Enough!" "What do you think about the idea?" "I really like the sea, voyages..." "Then I approve." "Me too." "But his health worries me." "Really?" "I can say it to Madame." "These attacks..." "Quiet!" "I don't have any attacks." "You aren't drinking, Christine?" "That's what I was frightened of." "Leave me alone!" "Leave me alone!" "What if that happened on the ship." "Christine, you'd best go." "That'd be best." "It's not nice to see." "Christine, I don't have your address." "I'm going to write to you." "Go now." "And leave him like that?" "It's terrible!" "That's only the start of it." "But I'm used to it." "All of what's happening is your fault." "No!" "You're making a martyr of him." "Get out and be quick about it!" "If ever you set foot in here again I'll send you decking!" "Don't leave!" "Christine!" "Christine, your address!" "We won't see her again!" "Come...stay there." "To hell with your childhood friends." "She's caught your fancy, right?" "That's obvious." "Go and say you're sorry." "Don't you see..." "you hurt me." "Help!" "Help!" "Don't hurt me!" "I'll go and find her!" "That's the town hall?" "Yes." "How it's changed." "It's not the same." "It's the new one." "And that's Saint-Pierre Place?" "Yes." "It's changed too." "Like the whole municipality." "Oh, this municipality!" "If you were from here, it'd make your blood boil." "Ah, the bastard who buys 'Le Phare'." "That's my customers!" "All constipated." "Enough to give you a raging toothache." "Gives me a pain in the gut to see it." "Are you from 'round here?" "Yes." "I've never seen you I was born here." "Been away long?" "Years." "You've probably changed too." "You don't need the municipality for that." "Do you know Monsieur Fabien Coutissol?" "Everybody knows him." "He does my hair." "What do you mean?" "He's our grand hairdresser." "He's famous." "He does card tricks." "Still?" "How come?" "He had that craze before." "He's never changed." "Where does he live?" "Close by." "I'll get a paper off you." "Doesn't matter which." "Le Phare?" "Le Phare or something else..." "She'll get her hair done." "'This is the way we comb your hair, comb your hair...'" "You know this one?" "Pick a card." "Look at it carefully." "Done?" "Put it back." "Put it back in the deck." "What is it?" "Ace of hearts." "You know it, madame?" "A little." "You astound me, I invented this trick." "Well whadda you know!" "It's Monique..." "No, it's Marceline..." "It's Mademoiselle..." "Madame Christine." "That's what I meant to say." "I haven't forgotten!" "I have a reminder." "Christine, it's you!" "And other than that, Christine, how's it going?" "What's become of you since the last time?" "This is my daughter." "Come and say good morning to the lady." "Good morning, pet." "Shh!" "How about this...." "What's your name?" "Christine." "There you are!" "She's good, this one." "I called her Christine to be sure of remembering you." "Off you go now." "Bye-bye." "Bye-bye, my pet." "I did well not to love you for such a long time." "Why?" "You would've had to love me." "We'd have been married." "What would've become of my wife?" "You still dance?" "Me?" "More than ever." "I was always a good dancer." "That's true." "Do you remember?" "What?" "Oh no, you wouldn't have remembered." "The ball, when you were 16." "You would've forgotten about it." "Not at all." "I remember it very well." "About you...and the others." "No!" "Very well indeed." "That's weird." "Such as..." "Pierre Verdier..." "Ah yes, that idiot!" "You called him... what was it again?" "Roger the Dodger?" "No no!" "Pierre The Undecided" "It's the same thing." "He was stupid as a book." ""A book"?" "As the books I read." "He had to choose an arsehole trade." "I've got to say, he was too honest." "And Alain Regnault, the great musician?" "The one that composed stuff that nobody could sing?" "You don't know what he did?" "He's dead." "Not a natural death." "A sort of suicide." "He's taken holy orders." "That's what I meant." "And that stunning guy with the big voice?" "Patusset." "Francois Patusset." "I don't know what became of him." "He told me he was setting out to get rich." "'Morning, madame." "For all I know he could be a millionaire in America or king of something, surrounded by women." "He was a bit of a pants man!" "And Thierry Raynal, you saw him in the paper?" "He killed his mistress." "We'll never know why." "You remember little what's-his-name..." "Little Irvin?" "Don't know what became of him." "Georges Audie, he still lives with his mother." "It's all so weird." "And Gerard?" "Gerard Dambreval?" "Tall blond, intelligent boy, bit of a romantic." "Not noticed." "But you must..." "Gerard." "No, no, don't remember." "Papa, can we go out and play?" "Careful of the tram." "Another one of mine." "We'd give a lot to relive that ball today." "I do it often." "10 times a year." "On Sunday, there's the Public Service ball." "Would that amuse you?" "Yes." "It's the same ballroom, the same people." "Would you like to come...with me?" "With you." "That's too kind." "I'll introduce my wife." "Albertine!" "She's coming." "She'll be here shortly." "Did you know I had a new one?" "New what?" "New card trick." "Take a card." "Look at it carefully." "Done?" "Put it back in the deck." "Shuffle them." "There." "Done?" "It's not there." "You can laugh but it's not there." "Ace of diamonds!" "You see...nothing's changed." "Those long windows again, the muslin curtains, the gleam of the crystal chandeliers, the torches... and the whirling crinolines." "It is always so attractive." "How long is it since you've been here?" "As long as that?" "Come on." "May I have the next waltz, mademoiselle?" " You've promised me this dance." " The next one's for me." " I'll keep the next one for you" "A glass of champagne?" "Two champagnes." "To your right..." "the man with the moustache." "It's the grocer from the square." "Is it?" "Yes, this a very posh ball!" "I forbid you." "But, maman..." "Dance with Monsieur Robert." "Suzanne wants to dance with you but doesn't dare ask." "My pleasure." "Would you be kind..." "I always am." "and ask the orchestra to play that waltz..." "The Grey Waltz." ""The Grey Waltz "?" "What an odd idea." "I guess it'll be just a bad fleeting moment." "You find it amusing?" "Very much so, madame." "You like dancing?" "I don't know yet." "It's my first ball." "How old are you?" "16." "16?" "It's fun isn't it, this ball?" "All the suits, all the white gowns, the candelabras, the curtains..." "I'll always remember it." "Do you really think so?" "I'm sure of it." "They're going to play your grey waltz." "Alexandre!" "Fabien!" "Your wife isn't here?" "You know she's not one much for music." "She always dances to another tune, but I'm not sure which." "Shall we go and work up a sweat?" "This is your music?" "Yes." "it's not very lively." "It's more like the zombie waltz." "All the same, you've been amazing." "It's funny, you rejuvenate me." "I feel Papa's watching us, like the last time, there's..." "Hush!" "Understood!" "The music is an aide-memoire." "Everything that I said to you that evening comes back to me now." "I said to you :" ""I'll love you for ever and ever."" "For ever and ever..." "You said that to me?" "Yes." "While you're dancing, you get a bit stupid." "Oh, let's stop." "You're tired?" "I don't feel very well." "Excuse me, I have to go." "What a shame!" "Listen, Christine..." "You'll hold it against me?" "How could you think that?" "All the same, you're amazingly beautiful." "Wait while I do one more thing." "What?" "You'll see." "Take a card." "Look at it carefully." "Put it back in the deck." "Thank you." " Alain..." "Georges..." "Thierry..." "Fabien..." "Nothing." "All I have left of them is a dance card." "None of them got where they wanted to." "I left full of illusions and I return full of regrets." "Sorry Bremont, but life changed everything I was hanging on to." "You staked too much on your past." "Maybe." "The past didn't preserve promises for the future." "I lost my dance-partners by finding them." "I'm not sorry." "Without this journey, you would have been carrying a carousel of ghosts with you for the rest of your life." "The chains have been broken at last." "Life starts again." "It feels that way." "There's still a card left." "maybe you'll win" "A card?" "Trump of hearts." "What?" "Gerard." "I finally got his address." "Keep it, I don't want to know it." "At least HIS image stays intact." "No you have to free yourself from all of them." "And maybe Gerard remained faithful to your memory of him." "No, Bremont, no." "I don't want to see him again." "Do you know where he lives?" "I only found out by chance." "Some kilometers from here, on the other side of the lake." "Without knowing it, you lived across from Gerard for 15 years." "Crazy, isn't it?" "We weren't meant to meet again." "Monsieur Gerard Dambreval?" "My father?" "Could you take me to him?" "Were you a friend of his, madame?" "I knew him well a long time ago." "That was his garden?" "Yes." "It was." "My father was very good, but too generous." "And soon, I won't even have this landscape to remember him by." "The new owners arrive tomorrow." "You're leaving?" "It has to be that way." "I'm alone in the world." "What's your name?" "Jacques!" "You're ready?" "Here I am, godmother!" "You're a very pretty boy." "Turn around." "Charming!" "Are you happy to come to this ball?" "I've dreamt about it all night." "I've never been to a real ball." "As soon as I was big enough, Papa fell ill." "He often said to me :" ""When I'm better, I'll be your childhood friend."'" "I've got to enjoy this evening to please him." "You must realise that the first ball is very important." "Almost important as your first cigarette." "But not more." "Subtitles:" "FatPlank [for KG] re-synch by tegogolo for you!"