"I was born on 3 March 1944, in Lausanne," "Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva." "My parents called me Boris after my grandfather who died before I was born." "My identity card says:" "civil status: single, profession: film-maker" " I 'd prefer cinematographer " "And on my passport:" "eyes: brown, face: oval, distinguishing marks: none." "Darkness equals light." "Your power versus mine." "To finish that which will remain unaccomplished." "To think clearly" "I'm not asking you to save me." "Save me if it helps you to save yourself." "Otherwise, avoid me." "Ignore me." "Swallow me up into the hole of insignificant scum." "Your power versus mine." "You ask me to be heroic." "Right, I won't go there, or there, or there." "I'm here now" "Shut up in my ivory tower:" "I feel like I've finished with what was my life." "I've stopped wearing my shoulder bag." "I won't see anyone any more." "I have given in and become like everyone else." "I've got a home, now" "But am I stiff me?" "THINK OF LOVING YOU." "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BORIS!" "Maybe I should have died, not come back." "I came back and they didn't care." "They don't talk to me any more." "They enjoyed me being away." "I'm going away soon, definitively." "Try to forget." "Stop creating images." "To find oneself alone, after having been with so many." ""This is me, a prisoner of my travels." ""There is a bird that runs, not flies." ""l think of Nadine all the time." ""l think of my film." "Sometimes, I imagine my death pushed over a precipice."" "Faces lost, blotted out." "Whilted flowers you dare not touch that haunt my room." "Like the dead we can't forget." ""Boris, I love you so much." ""I know how much you suffer;" ""You who hardly show your pain," ""who never show me your jealousy for example." ""I realize I hurt you sometimes." "I'm still very fond of you."" "I filmed to pass the time while waiting to really film." "I filmed while waiting to film." "I filmed to forget I wasn't filming." "I filled my time with a film." "A film being made piecemeal." "A film of crumbs." "My life hasn't really changed." "I go from one person to another:" "That's how I wander:" "I didn't manage to settle down, to find myself an apartment." "Without a tomb, there's no rest, no end, no peace." "I know one day I 'll go away." "They'll throw me out, and it'll start again, like Sisyphus." "My horoscope says I 'll only have summer loves, and sprains." "Talk to me of love" "Tell me tender things" "Your sweet words" "I never tire of hearing" "Let's hope forever" "You repeat Those wonderful words" "I love you" "Well, I think..." "I think this is The last shot of "Babel"." "I think we've got there." "Like in the first scene." "I don't know what to say" "I'm tired of wearing clothes that are no longer mine." "I think I've left "Babel" already" "I can't film any more scenes for it." "I feel I've reached the end of an impossible journey" "The question now is how to finish this film?" "These are all the clothes I used." "The Mexican pullover." "Another pullover, a jacket I wore most of the time after Mexico." "The shirt I wore before Mexico." "Here is one of the many bags with letters that were never sent." "This is the new bag." "This is the pullover with the hole in the sleeve." "This is the jacket from before Mexico." "And then, there's the famous pink jacket." "And then my jeans." "And then this jacket." "And finally, the jacket I wear now, never seen in the film." "All these changes of clothes mean" "I no longer know who I am." "Here too are the scripts, five or six of them." "I nearly wished this film would never end." "But even that proved impossible." "You have to be someone somewhere." "Who gives me the right to tell other people's lives?" "To use others to tell mine?" "Will I be loved more after this film ?" "This film is a public reply to my private situation." "There is also my Polaroid here..." "And plastic bags." "This is what I carried when I went to the seaside." "What I want to say now," "There was the word "impotence", the word I perhaps dare not use." "Impotence to make this movie, impotence to finish it." "Impotence to live without this film, to see friends without filming them." "Every time I filmed somewhere, I was like ending something." "Like saying goodbye to a place, to a person." "Filming was killing and immortalizing at the same time." "There's the camera's evil influence..." "I film objects just before they disappear:" "Is it the same thing when I film people?" "I don't know if I was too close in or too far off." "What did I still want to say?" "There is still a lot I haven't filmed, but it seems too late." "I've left "Babel" behind me." "There are lots of people I haven't filmed and lots of places I haven't been to." "Yet I feel today we've begun the first scene of "Babel"." "Or rather the shooting is finished, and the film begins." "Maybe the story isn't over yet because the film has no end." "It grows like a cancer or a weed;" "no way of stopping it." "It grows without me." "They used to ask me:" ""What are you searching for?"" ""What do you really want?" I still don't know" "Now we're down to the last 100 ft of film." "The film will have the last word." "Unless I say "cut" before." "I don't know if I've been understood." "In any case, I won't start again." "AT LAST I'VE MADE UP MY MIND" "Like a solitary brave navigator;" "I went to discover a country called "man"." "I know that going round something that's me and isn't me," "I 'll end up becoming that extreme point which is true self;" "the centre, which is nowhere and everywhere, eternally unfolding and folding back on itself j the road to eternity." "I didn't keep my promises." "It's June 1986, and the film still isn't finished." "I'm in the Beguinage district, in front of the church I filmed about 10 years ago," "now waiting for a group of tourists visiting Brussels." "I don't know if they're listed..." "In any case, the brick and stone ones must be." "There are examples of larger buildings in the 19th century" "When reality sets out of sync..." "These ancient buildings are rare, most of them destroyed in the 20th century.." "Mara, I'm doing this scene because you let me know that what we shot a few years ago, you weren't happy with." "It's to catch up on things and time." "Don't you have anything to say?" "I made you a cassette about it on which I explained my View What more can I say?" "I didn't like it because it didn't reflect reality" "But film is never reality" "No, but it upset me, regarding our relationship." "I can't remember the details." "It happened a long time ago." "I think I said it all in the cassette." "It wasn't reality" "I didn't want to show those rushes." "I felt trapped because we'd been together in film-making." "I said:" ""I'll do it to please him."" "But in the end, I wanted to yell:" ""No, it's not true, it's inaccurate."" "A FEW YEARS EARLIER" "Sometimes images remember us better than we do them." "That's the beginning." "There should be Kabongo music." "Is there any sound?" " Not yet." "I've some background but it's not on yet." "It'll start any moment." "Imagine a Zairean rumba, like on the working copy" "A woman returns to Zaire, the former Belgian Congo, where she spent her childhood from 1954 to 1960, in Matadi and Boma." "What I wanted to tell you was" "I didn't want you to film at my place any more." "The last time really upset me." "I asked myself why and I don't know.." "I was put out by your request." "It was before your trip and I had to examine you as a doctor, which I'm not now" "I do something else now" "I wasn't sure what you wanted." "Moreover, you're a friend." "I thought our relationship was one of friendship, and in that context" "you asked me something as a doctor, not as a friend." "I felt very ill at ease, it was very ambiguous, and embarrassing." "I thought that you were..." "disturbing me." "I said to myself, I'll tell him today not to come any more." "Well, that's it, roughly" "You changed your mind though?" "I don't know I thought we'd talk about it." "I wanted to tell you this because you left me feeling upset" "and I wanted to talk about it." "I didn't want you to come with your camera." "I wanted to talk first..." "Also because nowadays, I don't see you very often." "We bump into each other." "There's no real contact." "It upset me to meet just for a film." "I think you didn't give much of yourself." "I wanted to talk about it." "Me too, I have to reconstruct everything." "I can't film what I want to film." "I'm running after something, but I don't know what." "I film what no longer exists, what is about to disappear." "Sometimes I arrive just in time. it's the same for me." "I don't know if I'm filming a true picture of myself." "I don't know what I film of myself." "I don't know how to film intimacy" "To film it, but also keep my distance." "I don't know what the solution is." "I'd never been filmed filming." "A pan shot..." "Have you got him all in?" "No, you haven't." "OK, cut." "3 March 1988." "My birthday I'm 44." ""Babel" is four years late." "It should have been finished when I was 40." "One war late." "That's it." "We're all at the end of the film." "I don't know what to do." "Waiting for the reel to finish." "It won't be the last scene." "Is there any film left, Antoine?" "I'm nearing the end." "Should one really finish a film with no end?" "Walk until there is no road left..." "And die on the way like the poet." "Only when my life ends will the world stop." "Everything 's starting up again." "The infernal circle, or spiral." "I'm going to finish, to go towards the end." "What about editing "Babel"?" "I've been waiting 4 years for you to call." "It's progressing." " Is it?" "Without me?" "I saw you in Paris." "With a woman." "From behind." "You were walking." "I asked myself whether it was you." "I said to myself:" ""There's only one Boris."" "But still, in a city like Paris, there must be someone who looks like Boris." "It turned out to be you." "You told me later." "We'll talk about it." "I'm in a hurry" "Bye, see you soon." "I can't end this film without filming Henri Storck." "My spiritual father." "My cinema father." "He's exactly double my age." "I was 40 when I wanted to make "Babel"." "I wanted to finish it on my 40th birthday" "I'm 4 years older." "I remember '62, since you mentioned that year, when you were one of the first, or even the first INSAS student, as you said." "I remember you very well." "Even then, you played yourself." "I felt you didn't have much contact with the others." "You were a bit isolated." "That touched me a great deal." "You calmly kept your distance." "I thought: "He's got cinema in his blood."" "I knew you'd love it." "I came to your house for a cup of tea." "And today you visit me." "I was very interested," "because they all seemed..." "And it was a side of you I didn't know" "Then I think you are quite a discreet person." "You only enter a conversation at the right moment, precisely when you feel you have to pick up all the stupid things that have been said before." "And then..." "And then, I've often admired your consistency in your interest in yourself," "your determination to want to be, despite..." "This urge to assert yourself vis-à-vis others, when usually I think, we try to conceal ourselves." "To me, it didn't seem like defiance" "but rather affirming your identity affirming yourself." "I live between Istanbul and Marrakesh at last, facing a church, 10, Rue des Palais, between the King's two palaces." "Now the Porte de Namur seems far away." "My district is now among the Moroccans and the Turks." "With time" "With time, everything passes" "We forget the face And the voice" "When the heart No longer beats" "It's not worth Looking farther afield" "Let things happen And it's fine" "With time" "With time, everything passes" "Others we adored" "Whom we looked for In the rain" "DAY WILL BREAK HERE" "This is our Kingdom:" "Belgium of today." "Europe of tomorrow" "Goodbye to the 805." "So, Paulus, I think I've found the centre." "Again!" "Two years I've been looking for it and I stumble on it by chance, in the Grande Place." "Someone said:" ""You're at point zero."" "I was at the point zero on the central paving stone." "From the historical point of view, I was told that the centre was Saint-Géry Island, because it's where Brussels began." "So, it depends whether it's geographical, or geometrical..." "Saint-Géry for example, is at the curve of the Senne, where the first boats stopped and the first inn was built." "That would be to define the centre as a starting point, because it's the centre from where everything sprang up." "Or a centre that was created for political or historical reasons." "FOREIGNERS A TRUE BELGIAN" "Walking through the town, I traced the footsteps of everyone, from Armstrong to Chaplin." "The ideal walker who leaves his own print on the prints of others." "The whole of humanity seems to have passed by here, to have met here." "Brussels, centre of the universe and me, the chosen witness who, by dint of exploring, knew backwards the city in the shape of a heart." "Here, Magritte had the idea for his floating balls." "And here, Béjart created Mudra, his dance school." "Here, Verlaine shot Rimbaud who, wounded, went to a hospital that used to be there." "Karl Marx is said to have walked there." "Victor Hugo sat on this bench." "Jacques Brel has a station named after him, and a wasteland too." "Here, Horta built his masterpiece," "La Maison du Peuple, replaced by a secretariat for international relations." "Mudra and Horta are no more." "Buildings which don't make money disappear with no regrets." "On 6 December 1960" " I was 16 " "Clara Haskill took the train from Paris to Brussels." "She fell down the stairs at the Midi Station and hit her head on the concrete." "She died the next day." "Brussels." "Some were born here." "Like Claude Lévi-Strauss or Agnés Varda." "Some came here to die." "Puccini, the painter David," "Adéle Hugo, General Boulangen" "La Malibran was buried here." "They accused Byron of breaking the noses of the statues in Brussels Park." "The person responsible for this vandalism was Prince Metternich, a notorious drunk." "Baudelaire, who didn't like Brussels, lived on the second floor of the Hotel du Grand Miroir;" "in room 39, with a fake mahogany bed and a window that looked on a courtyard." "At 160, Boulevard du Midi, where a railway bridge is now" "Van Gogh is said to have lived and painted during his short stay in Brussels." "That paving stone, the largest in Brussels, where I lay down in July 83." "Rimbaud lived near the Grand Place, at 1, Rue des Brasseurs, ' in a hotel' called "A Ia Ville de Courtrai"." "On 10 July 1873, Paul Verlaine went to the Montigny armoury in the Saint-Hubert arcade, where he bought a revolver along with six cartridges." "He shot his friend twice, to the horror of Mrs Verlaine, who was in the next room." "Verlaine was imprisoned in the Petite Carmes, a former Carmelite convent turned into a prison." "That's where he wrote:" ""The sky is over the roof;" "so blue, so calm..."" "Here Lewis Caroll and there Thomas Bernhard." "Here Rossellini and there Pasolini." "John Dos Passes, Hergé, Léo Ferré, Rodin," "Marie Curie, Einstein and Jean Cocteau." "Bruegel, Berlioz, Rachel, Sarah Bernhard." "Julien Green, Mallarmé, Alexandre Dumas," "Zola, Ia Malibran, Isadora Duncan." "Tolstoy Yesenin, Bakunin, Chateaubriand," "Marguerite Duras, Claude!" "and Rivarof." "Peter Handke, Charlotte and Emily Bronte," "Balzac, Zola, Gérard de Nerval, Lord Byron," "Durer;" "Mirbeau, Nadar;" "Daudet, Nerval, Gauthier;" "Multatuli, Huysmans, Walter Scott..." "Mozart at the Hotel d'Angleterre." "Voltaire in rue du Grand Cerfi" ""Here I came where many came before me."" "What became of my friends" "Whom I held so dear" "And loved so much" "They are too scattered" "I think the wind Blew them away" "Love is dead..." "New faces appear:" "The wind carries my friends" "And it blew In front of my door" "It carried them away..." "Towards what woman will I go now?" "I searched for you all the time, and there you were, waiting for me." "Alas, what became of my thoughts after I filmed them?" "I'M WAITING FOR YOU" "WITH A HEART THAT BIG" "The end of what?" "Of a city maybe?" "Were trams stop running and telephones stop working." "Where shops and cinemas are closed." "It's no longer a dream." "Nothing works any more in this city it seems, and in this dying country." "I film this end that can't end, like filming tombstones in a cemetery." "We'll never hear the sound of the piano in Monty's bar again nor Hadelin's voice, nor Patrick 's, Stephane 's, Sam y 's or Yvon's." "IT'S NO LONGER A DREAM" "In this way Brussels is filled with mythical places, with history that's not remembered." "Even its river has been paved over:" "You can only glimpse the Brussels tide through walls and cobbles," "cracks and roads, covered in rain and grayness." "All the country's grief;" "as it lies dying." "Noble Belgium, darling mother" "To you our hearts, our arms" "Our blood, O Fatherland" "You will always live Great and beautiful" "And your unconquerable unity" "Will have As its immortal watchword" "The King, the Lam Freedom" "Will have As its immortal watchword" "The King, the Lam Freedom" "The King, the Lam Freedom" "The King, the Lam Freedom" "As if the elements were suddenly unleashed, symbolic of all this collapse," "two thousands trees died like this, unprooted, fallen like on a battlefield." "I always dreamed of being present in a catastrophe." "I woke up early and travelled 200 km to film the oak of Malempré in Marie-Jeanne's garden." "That superb, majestic tree that has so long danced in the wind..." "Like the pear tree in Renelde's garden, the redwood of Ia Hulpe, the linden of Boondael, planted in Charles V's reign, the oak of Malempré is still standing." "I think of all these impassive trees, witnesses of history our history." "So, Norbert, I'm back, two years later." "On the exact date." "Just like Phileas Fogg in "Around the World in Eighty Days"." "To come to Waterloo on 18 June to this battlefield is not just patriotic, but showing faith by remembering those who fell here." "You know, people pass away" "and then everybody especially on 18 June, comes to show off dressed as Napoleon's guards." "18 June is a date, it's an important date." "It's the only one that matters to me." "I came back to Waterloo and climbed the 226 steps up to the Lion's Mound." "Passer-by don't forget it's the dust of an empire you're walking on." "To come full circle, I had to come back to Waterloo where the film began." "This year; they decided to recreate the battle." "Of course, as a show for the cinema." "Like a fair; with a thousand second-rate extras." "The organizers didn't think of getting a film director:" "Over the battle sounds, a lousy commentary." "No, it's not Bondartchouk, King Wdor;" "Orson Welles or Cecil B. de Mille." "All the film-makers" " there are a hundred of them - taking the same pictures from the same podium, in the same stand." "I wonder:" "Is that the cinema of the 8175?" "All making the same image?" "Sunday 18 June 1815, around six in the evening." "It rained all night." "Men didn't sleep." "They are exhausted, numbed, starving." "That's "Stagecoach" "Everything has to die." "Even eternity is precarious." "Translation:" "Hilary CLARKE" " Michael NOVY" "LETTER TO MY FRIENDS WHO STAYED IN BELGIUM" "PART TWO THE RETURN" "As soon as I 'd left, I thought about the return." "The return imposed itself like a Law like a Commandment." "Fear of returning was just like the fear of leaving, that nothing would be the same as when I left." "A close friend would have died..." "Yes, everything will have changed and I 'll be unable to film as before." "What if I had changed?" "Did I really go?" "Sure, I've got proof." "We talked and dreamed about it and it became reality." "And later; it'll be a memory." "A love story." "Go abroad. film." "Afraid of missing something." "Travel and film." "Travel without a guide and meet the fear" "of really starting to live." "My teeth, my feet, my body look after them." "Others go away Boris, you just dream about it." "Madness to go away and madness to film." "Hello." "Is Guillaume there?" " Yes." "Shall I get him?" "Here you are." "The usual." "Everything at 1.200 ASA." "And one Plus X at 400." "Nine films at 1.200." "Two contact prints?" " One." "So, a Plus X at 400." "Here I went to 1.000, I hope the Plus X will be OK." "We'll see." "In theory it should be OK if the exposure's right." "Tomorrow afternoon?" " Tomorrow at two o'clock." "Bye, see you." "What name?" " Lehman." "Address?" " 112, Stassart Street." "1050 Brussels, isn't it?" " Yes." "Three standard Ektachromes." "For 6:30 p.m.?" "It's Louise at the CBA." "Please, call me at once." "I need the sound track of the "imitator"." "Thanks." "At the Audiovisual Centre, Louise has replaced Evelyne." "The coffee machine is still there." "Hi, Louise!" " Hi, Boris!" ""Hi, Boris, I'm sending an image of you" ""that I caught in November in Brussels." ""You must have some magic hidden force" ""because it's the only one that came out." ""There's just your picture in the middle of a grey negative." "Is it a sign?"" "Everyone says they were worried not getting any news from me." "It's not my fault the post is so slow" "They call me: "The Mexican"." "Ask how it was, get rid of me." "I went and came back, that's all." "Nothing much to tell." ""What did you see, traveller..."" "Only one?" "Did you expect to meet many?" "There used to be lots of missionaries." "What language did you speak?" "A mixture:" "French, English, Spanish." "I had a guide." "Someone you knew?" " No, I met him there." "It's already damaged." "There were really big ones." "It's a mirror?" "it's fun." "It's made of the same stuff as the ornaments." "Are they in all the markets?" "Oh, that's lovely" "You'd think it was made from tin cans." "I think it is." "They're the same as mine in the next room." "They can be used for mobiles." "But there are other uses." "What will you do with them?" "Not mobiles, it's too obvious." "But that's what comes to mind." "A gift, why not?" "Now, those metallic objects I brought from Portugal..." "Looking for them wasn't easy it's very different..." "This is clothes." " Wait, wait..." "I'm spilling everything." "Is that the devil?" "Look at the colours..." "Is it a shirt?" " It's a jacket." "So, did you get to meet people there?" "How?" " I had a loads of addresses, but they didn't help much." "Dominique said Thierry gave you some." "Not many in Mexico." "And they were professional contacts that I didn't use." "I filmed without permission." "You were in a hotel?" " No, I stayed with people." "There are no hotels in the north." "I stayed with Indians." "And how was it?" " It was the best part." "But it was hard getting there." "I stayed mainly in Mexico City it's good for cultural activities." "Maybe your stay was too short." "There's a lot going on there." "It's modern, it's really.." "You can see some good shows." "I met a painter there and so we met loads of people." "This is a Tarahumara." "That's in the north, in Tarahumara country it's funny because it was taken by a well-known" "Belgian missionary called Verplanken." "He's been there 30 years." "He's gone completely native." "They're handsome, eh?" " Very good-looking!" "How did you communicate with them?" "Not through speech obviously I had a Mexican friend, and a guide I'd found who spoke" "Spanish and Tarahumara and acted as an interpreter." "Without them, I'd never have got to the mountains." "Couldn't you use sign language?" "When you have to eat and live with them, they understand you." "But they're not very hospitable." "They're cool and haughty they're sort of noble." "Did you sleep in the room with them?" "I slept on a table or on the floor." "They're very good-looking." "The children too." "One more photo." "With a flash!" "Is that you?" "12 hours walking in the forest nearly killed me." "That's a Tarahumara ball." "They have a game where they throw the ball with their feet." "It's like a golf ball." " In Mexico?" "In Tarahumara country where Artaud was." "They throw the ball, they run after it." "Then they throw it again, the one that goes the furthest" "without losing the ball." "A com petition, individually?" "They use wooden balls like this?" "That's the famous foot-throw" " Here you are." "It's bilingual, as you can see." "Mexican and Indian, well, Tarahumara." "Is it a novel?" " it's the rules of the game." "Not the whole book?" "There's dialogue, it's weird." "It's a beautiful book." "How many can play?" "As many as you like." "Did you see it?" " You see it all the time." "Even children play it." "Is that what they play with?" "it's a bit like hockey?" "No, that's the Basque game, pelota." "It goes back to the Aztecs." "Yes, Mr Aztec expert." "I didn't even know you'd gone to Mexico, and you're telling me about Aztecs." "Imagine meeting a Belgian..." "This photo's really amazing." "You could buy one of these in LA's Mexican quarter." "Things which tourists buy such as little postcards..." "There are some lovely portraits." " Yes, it's beautiful." "That ball game again?" " Yes." "It's almost like a dance." "They're very strong and supple." "They're not degenerate Indians." "You can see they're Indians alright." "Were there a lot of people there?" "There weren't any tourists." " No." "Where was that?" "In the Sierra Madre." "In gold digger country" "How did you get there?" "By donkey?" "Mainly on foot." "There's no highway just a train." "Then trucks, on dirt roads." "After that you have to walk." "You really wanted to see Indians..." "Yes, Artaud's Tarahumara trip." "50 years on." "You put it round your head?" " Nice" "And here you have..." "A real Tarahumara belt." "Will you wear it here?" "I wouldn't dare." " No?" "An Indian necklace." " How nice!" "Hey they' re beans!" "That's my postcard." "I really like it." "They all wonder who sent it." "Where did you get this?" "I found it in the flea market." "They're toys." "I brought one from Mexico." "A skeleton." "You squeeze two bits of wood and it jumps up." "You know what it is?" " No." "It's a curry" "It looks great." "It's very hot." "Since I went to Mexico," "I'm used to it." "What do you call this dish?" "I don't know" "it's not that hot." "Nadine." "When she's not singing in the street, it's in church." "What on earth have you brought me?" "It's a 500-piece Aztec calendar." "It'll take me 500 days to do it." "These are little tin animals." "That you got from the Tarahumaras?" "Did you make a raid?" "No, I got them in Mexico City" "They' re very pretty" "For me?" " Yes." "And that?" "What is it?" "You'll see." "I feel like I'm unwrapping plaster." "Where's it from?" "A bit pathetic for a gold digger:" "You risked your life for me?" "More treasures." "Let me do it." "It's lovely" "Pity it's not gold." "Want to try this on?" "You wear it like this." "That's it." "Clothes make the man, really" "All you need are plaits to look Indian." "Nadine..." "The more I film her; the more she slips away from me." "That's a Mexican dish." "It made me ill." "I had a few bad memories too." "Do you recognize this?" "That's the moon one." "At Teotihuacan." "No, the moon one's next to it." "In the sun one, the steps are intact." "That's a self-portrait." "Great." "In full meditation." "That's the temple at Tlaloc." " No, Quetzalcoatl." "That's the moon." "No, the sun." "I'm mixing them up again." " No, it's the moon." "This one's the sun." "it's bigger." "You had the courage to go right up?" "That's Monte Alban." "That's pelota, that they play everywhere." "Oh yes, that wall." "It's typical of the region." "No, that's Popocatepetl." "Too white, you mean misty?" " Yes." "How high up were you?" " There, 3.000m." "These are the photos I did with Carlos." "You wait..." "No, that's somewhere else." "I don't recognize that at all." " Here, I'm recording in the Sierra Madre." "With the mini-Nagra." "Astounding!" "It's wild, isn't it?" "Oh, there's Bela, Carlos' wife." "She seems fine." "Carlos hasn't changed." "It's a year and a half since I saw them." "I found this." "Do you want a go?" "It's interesting." "Watch." "Yes, the sound is shrill." "It's very pretty" "A present, I hope." "They gave me this letter." "It's in English." "Did Bela write it?" "Brilliant!" "Here's the new address and phone number." "Fantastic." "They got a phone put in the day before I left." "It's harder getting connected there." "I've one more item." "I've no idea what it is." "Not another musical instrument?" "No idea." "Maybe torture equipment." "It looks like a UFO." "That's me." "That's Mirko, because he's a Leo." "I'm taming him." "And that's Vanessa." "A ball for juggling." "Made of wood?" " Genuine article." "It's a bit hard." "I've another gift, for your parrot." "A present?" "For the parrot?" "Let's give it to him." "Look what Boris got you." "Come on, you fat buzzard." "Thank Boris for the nice gift." "Hi, Boris!" "You're back." "You look great." "Yes, but it won't last." "Everything's changed." "What's going on?" "Everything must change." "That's life." "No change is death." "Macondo was maybe to die." "We had to change." "Business seems good." "Yes, but overheads are up too." "Still the same problem with books." "Now I'm going to try to finish "Babel"." "Maybe two more year's work." "Where have you got to?" " I don't know" "I heard Delvaux is doing a "Babel" too." "But he's finished it, I think." "You look well." " You think so?" "Yes, I'm sure." "You've changed your hair again." "I liked it better before." "You know I love change." "Step by step, we get our little world back." "What a downer!" "Liliane and Francis have split up." "So have Thierry and Louise." "It seems everyone's moving house, divorcing or fighting." "Every time I come back, there's someone else who's leaving." "I'm not sure about "Babel" now" "Everyone's going instead of me." "How long will you be gone?" " Two months." "I thought it was longer." "Longer?" "it's long enough already" "Still, give me the address." "You never know" "I'll be living at Manson's." "Not Charles, another one." "The address is 1557" "Courtney Avenue, West Hollywood." "Do you want the phone number too?" "850-1180." "Remember to put the zip code for California." " if you want to write - that's 946." "Are you just passing, or are you coming up?" "Let's go up." "If it's nice we'll go to the park." "OK, fine." "It's a start, you know Look, Boris." "It's not much, just a couple of cards." "Berlin." "Nadine." "You must have hand delivered it, there's no stamp." "It was in an envelope..." "There are Egyptian films, Catalan..." "Oh yes, it's Apt." "I've come from a far-off country see?" "California doesn't seem like Mexico, but it is." "I've the postcard that..." "That's the one I sent." "I can't find the other one." "it's locked in my cupboard." "Which one?" "With the lady and her bag?" "Was this the one suggesting we meet, or the other?" "No, it's the other." "You made a date at the Taverne." "Yes, when I came back from Berlin." "Let's see what I wrote." "My god!" ""Brussels, the city without a river."" "That's the Empire State building and I'll show you..." "Its replica..." "In Mexico." "It looks like it, but there are no storeys." "You can still go up it." "For tourists." "80 pesos." "Like dollar signs, with two strokes." "What's that, your diary?" " Yes." "The underground plan." "Incom prehensible." "Did someone copy it for you?" "No, that's the original." "It's a poor country" ""First impressions:" "big city long avenues," ""wide pavements, probably like LA." ""Except the center, you can't go on foot." ""The Mexicans: good impression." "They're curious, strong," ""always moving." "Nothing like Egyptians." ""I'm not scared of heights." "It hasn't rained." "I'm tired." "My stomach's a bit upset."" "No, that's not important." ""Should I show the same images in Mexico?" ""At the airport, carrying bags, waiting..." ""Changing money calling at the Center for Anthropology.." ""Stopping at the film school, talking with the director." "Getting a plane ticket, talking with Chantal's sister."" "See, I wanted to film the same images." "And did you?" "I didn't film anything." "Nothing?" ""Always tension between me and José." See, already!" ""We want to take a taxi, to check if there's" ""a train tomorrow We never know" "At the same time..." Oh, what a carry on..." "Skip the bad bits." ""l dream of being home in Nadine's arms," ""without all these problems." ""That's journeys." "Leaving and dreaming of coming back," ""of having never left." ""Always feeling you made a mistake," ""that we have our place and should stay in it." ""Sorry Antonio, but these days the Tarahumara wear" ""shirts and trousers, speak Spanish, are starving," ""are exploited." "No real family life." ""The women belong to everyone." ""Those who tell me that, exploit their wives." ""The rows with José..." "He says:" ""The journey begins." "For me it started in Brussels." ""José says: 'You're stubborn." "You'll end up liking it here.'" ""That's not the problem." "I visit," ""look, see myself and leave." ""Maybe leave my small mark, maybe not, that's all." "The rest is presumptuous." "I told him."" "Mexico's gradually fading, it must live in the present." "Problems left behind resurface." "First, I have to move house." "Me, a handyman?" "Do you have 53 screws like this, please?" "No, sorry They're rather rare, the head here, see..." "With a smaller head?" "Have a look." "It's for a desk." "No, that won't do." "It's a real special one." "I don't think you'll get get them anywhere." "You're out of luck." "From a desk, you said?" "Do you know the make?" "Maybe where they manufacture that stuff." "You may find them there." "But maybe not!" "Sorry I can't help you." "Goodbye, Sir." "I'm looking for showers." " We've none left." "Thanks." "In the order of praxis, it's maybe the practice of all civilizations and when there's no more translation, when the link is broken, when there is no more continuity that's the real cultural crisis." "All us translators have that as our task, and as a crazy pride, to be the postmen of civilization and though, and the letters must arrive." "Industrial culture threatens to take over:" "One danger; maybe the greatest of all, is pidgin English which has spread across the whole world, and has become the universal language, the Esperanto of business, of politics, of science and above all of the pleasure media." "That means this Esperanto contains the promise of pleasure, the promise of material satisfaction which breaks like a great monotonous wave over a world whose very richness is according to me, the disaster of Babel, which can be defined as" "the infinite richness of problems in our civilization." "How did you get there and find a guide in Mexico?" "It was difficult." "I found the guide by chance." "He was great, but the Mexican was always there." "I didn't know why we always got a bad reception." "It was because of the Mexican." "Indians hate Mexicans." "They don't hate foreigners." "A foreigner has a better status, of course." "You can't talk, so you are like a Tarahumara." "They don't talk much." "That's what I meant, see?" "I met a Mexican who was supposed to help me, but we argued from the first day" "Over silly things at first, like coffee." "He said Mexican coffee was the best in the world." "I spat it out." "It was disgusting!" "Maybe they grow it there, but..." "That's how the row began, and it continued." "I wrote something." "While climbing the mountain," "I recorded my commentary." "Of course, we had to stick together in the mountains." "I wrote this text like a letter to my guide:" ""Your Mexican humor doesn't impress me." ""l was stupid to believe in you." ""You made a thousand promises and broke all of them." ""You treated me like a child" ""Without really explaining things to me." ""'You wouldn't understand' he said." ""'Pretend we're interested' he kept saying." ""l said I wouldn't pretend." "Either I'm interested or not."" "He said: "Hide your camera at the beginning..."" "And then, when he said:" ""Now you can film, Boris..."" "I didn't want to anymore." "At one point I got really mad." "He said "l give the orders here."" "I said: "I'm the Tarahumara here."" "I was worse than an Indian." "I couldn't speak, do anything." "I organized the trip but fell into my own trap." "He was guiding me." "I had another meeting and on the way I met Elzunya." "She was sitting on a bench." "I had a minute to film her without sound." "She said: "Call when you like or phone."" "But I don't have her address or number:" "No, it's in the Tarahumara village." "While you were eating?" "There was nothing else in the forest." "It wasn't magic mushrooms?" " No, ordinary mushrooms." "It's amazing." "They are so big." "How did you eat them?" " Slightly cooked." "With a drink, like whitewash." "It was in that mountain, there." "You'd never know people lived there." "That must have been the most interesting bit." "This is an Aztec ball game." "I can't remember where it was now" "At Teotihuacan?" "I don't think so." "There are so many around 11.000 archeological sites." ""l am embarrassed to tell you..." ""but after six months..." "I still haven't got the film that I made in Mexico."" "A FEW MONTHS LATER..." "A few months later;" "my Elms I'd given up for lost arrived mysteriously on the desk of the Audiovisual Centre." "That's where I first saw Rita." "She was born the same day as me." "Everyone said I was mad to go to people who ignore and are suspicious of us." "To go to the mountains off the main track." "Tarahumara are devils, they said." "So it would be my encounter with the devil." "For the Tarahumara, the Tower of Babel doesn't exist." "They don't believe we can go above the clouds and reach the moon." "At first sight, Tarahurnara country is unreachable." "A few rough paths that seem to disappear every 20 m underground." "Night falls." "Unless you're a redman, you have to stop." "Because only the redman can see where to put his feet." "IE as I hope, you go to Mexico, you'll discover the peyote you hear so much about." "They say it's L. Williamsi." "It seems, but I have never seen it, that the Indians, the Mexicans before, sucked the roots and had beautiful dreams." "The life of the Tarahumara revolves round the erotic peyote ritual." "The peyote root is hermaphrodite." "It has both male and female sexual organs." "Oh, that time there weren't magic mushrooms." "I was fed up going round in circles, bored and miserable." "So I went away." "Perhaps to flee, to sweat and get old." "I invented my sunburn and saw nothing." "I went away and didn't." "It was madness." "A wreckage." "A failed love affair:" "I crossed the skies and clouds," "I touched all the mirages without making one image." "A long, long road" "And I kept asking myself:" ""What am I doing here?"" "I'm no hero." "It wasn't heroic." "Sometimes they come to the towns." "I don't know why." "To see what people who made a mistake look like." "They think living in towns is a big mistake." "They travel with their wives and children through so difficult a terrain no beast would attempt it." "To see them on the road through torrents, landslides, thick undergrowth, up staircases of rock, down sheer drops, I couldn't help thinking that they'd been able to keep the force of natural gravity of early man." "Bad news arrived in my absence." "I was sacked from the Antonio Artaud Club." "I look for work at the school where I studied cinema." "I'm looking for work." "Maybe there's a seminar..." "I have the script with me." "And I have your book." "Here you are." "Not very interesting." "No?" "The script is good." "It's a shame we can't do it straight away" "Is Mr Ravar here yet?" " He'll be here soon." "Boris, I'm glad you came." "it's been along time." "Your Seminars were a great success." "It was with Jacqueline Aubenas and others, wasn't it?" "Lots of people came." "The work produced a great atmosphere." "So, concerning the work you could do..." "In principle, the answer is yes but in practice it's rather complicated." "Let me explain it to you." "We've just started a project in our school on realist cinema." "A cinema that looks at things as they are." "I that's what you are trying to do." "Your approach demands a subjective ability and to speak while talking." "Whatever the subject, we talk about ourselves as well." "When you talk about something you really talk a lot about yourself." "That's the essence of your work." "It approaches the autobiographical." "We've started a line of realism with some people who know already:" "Michel Khleifi, Odeyn, and maybe Eric Pauwels will also join us." "That's the team I have in mind." "There's another field where we could call on you." "With regard to professorship, there's no availability" "I've no more hours." "The post is taken remarkably by the man we love and admire and who was your teacher, I think, during the old INSAS generation." "Hadelin Trinon, an all-rounder." "It's a question of 300 hours a year on the language of cinema." "We'll try and find a slot." "I think that working slot is seminars." "Specialized seminars." "A session focused on you and delivered by you." "Put up with the unfettered verbosity of others." "That's my punishment." "Promises, always promises." "I won't get the job." "I'll always remember how we used to wonder about you." ""What will that young man do later?"" "I always cite your example." "That was a good question, and fortunately we found the right answer." "I mean, to let you continue with your studies." "That's what you deserved." "We were obsessed by the question:" ""What will be his role in cinema?"" "We didn't see it because it didn't exist yet." "Your role is unique, that of Boris Lehman." "Waste my life waiting?" "No." "I have to make a decision." "I got my notice in a letter from the Antonio Artaud Club." "I think you know it?" "I haven't been paid and I don't know what to do." "What was the letter?" "A redundancy letter." "Legally you should get 12 months notice." "How long had you been there?" " Well, in fact, 18 years." "But very part-time." "Just a few hours a week." "You don't really have a contract?" "No, not a written one." "I'm paid..." "You have a de facto contract." "For 18 years!" "What were your hours?" "Part-time?" "Between 7-10 hours a week." "But I was paid a fixed amount." "A fixed amount..." "You did only a few hours." "You don't have to work your notice." "That's good." "You have no fixed address, no social security" "You haven't paid VAT?" "In a word, you're completely illegal." "Desperate?" "No." "But you need a good lawyer." "You have a home?" "Encourage me with that at least." "Hello, Boris." "You're staggering under the paperwork, I see." "I'm up to my neck in problems." "I've been sacked." "And the taxman wants 600.000 francs." "Dear me." "I'll put the problem to the pendant." "They're blowing it up out of proportion." "They try it on with everyone." "Don't let them walk over you." "Don't let them walk over you." "Lots of problems ahead." "But it will turn out OK." "It's a good line, but with lots of obstacles." "You have to keep fighting." "Don't give up because there is a happy ending." "Wait in the waiting room." "I'll tell the Chief." "The first part was only about my journey in Brussels." "Before leaving for Mexico, and then, the return." "You never get to see the journey itself." "It's spoken of but you never see anything." "That's what it's about." "Then it focuses on my autobiographical everyday moments in Brussels," "the places I go to and the people I meet." "It was the sheer quantity of them that made "Babel" in the first part." "That's why I can't see it in the script, because it doesn't talk much about Brussels." "More of the internationalist traffic of people and nationalities." "I said to myself:" ""What's the setting of the script?"" "A no man's land." " It doesn't matter." "I'm just trying to clarify in my own mind, because I'm trying to understand what you are doing." "But at the same time, I'm trying to form an objective opinion." "Afterwards, you'll want to make the film yourself." "But it's always the same..." "If you have your own idea of the film, somehow it becomes yours." "Quick!" "y finish the script." "Deliver the 25 copies that no one will read anyway." "An exceptional proposal for an exceptional film." "This film is different." "It's about me, about my life." "A self-portrait, got it?" "And since a mirror is not enough," "I said to myself: "A camera maybe?"" "I've brought you the "Babel" project." "You haven't read it yet." " Thanks." "I've a book for you." "It's about names." "It deals with pseudonyms, names in the Old Testament, in the New Testament and maybe it's also about Babel." "Hi, Boris." "How are you?" "I've brought you the script." "it's not quite finished." "How much longer are you in Brussels?" "About 10 days." "You'll see." "it's completely changed." "Godard: "You can't make a film without discussing it."" "So, shall we discuss it?" ""Show it to Coppola and ask him for money"" "Did you do that?" " No." "I want to do it in the film." ""Tell the camera how hard it is to start filming, how impossible cinema is." "Film that impossibility: impossible."" "That's what we are trying to do." "Perhaps." "Is your piano tuned?" "Badly tuned." "Still as out of tune as ever." "For me, it was related to the subject." "Duchamp, impossible painting." "And impossible film." "We all do impossible things." "And still end up with something." "You say you want to give yourself a fait accompli." "Yes, I am already" "For several months." "The idea is to tell everyone you're making a film, and then you have to do it." "To save face." "Shooting is easy" "You just shoot what you do every day" "You steam ahead, gather material." "Then you have to edit it all, that's when the film begins." "So there is never a fait accompli." "We haven't see each other for almost a year, and I'm just finishing the film." "I digressed a lot." "First I travelled a bit." "Then I digressed." "I don't know if it's still the Babel" "I imagined at the beginning." "It's my journey" "Clearly the journey has a little significance." "I get the impression you travel through a mirror." "From what you tell me, settling down is frankly not in your character." "On the other hand, it seems you have to move all the time." "I always say the important thing is taking off, not arriving." "OK, but there is moving on, and moving on." "I believe to really move, is not to move." "It's an action." "But..." "Here is the opinion on "Babel" from the selection committee." "There is already a contract for us to sign." "Read it." "It all seems so quick and simple in movies." "Months have passed, years even, before I had the contract in front of me." "It's a draft for a change of address card." "I thought I'd put my photo on it." "Will you only use it for the change of address?" "Yes." "A postcard, like we've done before." "Is this the format?" "I don't know whether to say:" ""Change of address" or..." "Might as well..." "Something a bit ironic." "They'll think you've taken off to the South of France." "Can I see your ID card?" "I'll go and look for your file." "Number 10, rue des Palais?" "Is there a box number?" "Do you live alone at this address?" "Lehman Boris." "Born:" "Lausanne, 3 March 1944." "Son of Maximilian Henrik and Mrs Sznicer Berta." "Single." "Profession: film-maker." "Self-employed." "No driving license." "One of the keys doesn't fit." "That's OK." "We'll file it down." "One here doesn't work either." "It's because they've been copied several times." "It often happens with copies." "I'll give it a quick file." "It'll only take a second." "Fast, eh?" "Problem solved." "Thank you and till next time." "Hello, beautiful." "How are you?" "Fine." "Can you fix my heel?" "Take your clothes..." "shoes off, sorry" "They are very worn down." " I'm used to it with you." "How are you?" "How's your love life?" "I told you about the short film I was to make." "I wanted to give you a part in it." "I don't know if you remember." "When will that be?" "Because..." "I can't finish my film." "My life is strange." "I can't manage myself i" "But I help others to manage." "I'm not sure how to present the project." "I decided to go to the Club 2 or 3 times a week, just for the handicraft classes." "It makes me feel whole and as I say in my "Philippe Collin"," "I like a varied lifestyle full of varied activities, changing the routine." "So I get the impression that when I've had enough of translating Virginia Woolf or writing "Philippe Collin"," "I'll do something else, for a change." "What was your latest work about?" "I'm still on "Philippe Collin"." "it'll be 1000 pages in all." "What does "Philippe Collin" seek to prove?" "Of course, the story.." "Nothing philosophically because I reduce every problem to its emotional importance." "But, psychologically speaking, it proves man today is led to act aberrantly and inadequately both towards himself and others because of sexual and emotional deprivation." "That's what "Philippe Collin" is trying to show" "OK, I'll read it and tell you what I think, OK?" "Not too much or you'll get feedback." "Here's where they meet." "I like the way she looks at him." "I like the meal scene too." "It was fun filming it." "Really fantastic." "They were all there." "But one always got the empty plate." "We'd filmed for 2 hours, and he still hadn't eaten." "All the plates passed under his nose." "The backgrounds great." "Just a green tree." "Who's that?" " Annie..." "There are some good effects:" "the white pullover, its texture..." "Does it move you?" " Yes, it's very good." "It's as good as 16 mm." "No, the sound's weak." "The images are copies of copies." "At least the 4th generation." "You always lose something." "But what I like very much is working with textures and colours" "and lines and forms." "It's hard to do, because I'm tempted to tell a story" "And I don't want narrative." " Are these photos?" "At the back?" "What do you think it is?" "Annette was here one day" "She said: "it's pretty but what's that at the back?"" "With pedal and sotto Voce." "Cantando..." "Free melody on the left hand." "Continue... 1, 2, 3..." "Do the whole thing again." "A bit more fluid." "To forget our troubles, we organize musical evenings." "Isabelle and I will sing a duet by Mozart, from the "Marriage of Figaro"." "Suzanne and the Countess are planning to teach a lesson to the Count, the Countess' husband, who's trying to get off with Suzanne." "And they'll fool him..." "Yes, but there are 4 sheets, it's complicated." "These soirees fast a long time." "For those who aren't music fans, they must drag a bit." "These evenings inevitably ended with a number from Nadine, a pastiche of Verdi 's "II Trovatore"." "We've forgotten the original words." "To forget, we eat." "Twice rather than once." "Hands off!" "You always eat from other people's plates." "We've nothing to say to each other." "Eat." "I'm drunk already" "Like in Ozu's films." "I'm drunk." "Now you'll know my milk-shake recipe." "And you'll discover my chocolate mousse." "Probably the only city in the world whose main station smells of chocolate." "Chocolate mousse is my favourite dessert." "Every time I get the chance I invent a new recipe." "It never rains but it pours." "Unhappiness is there, you have to face it." "You have to flee it." "Find a shoulder to cry on." "Look straight ahead towards the light." "Still towards the light." "Like this." "Perfect." "Chin on the chin rest, forehead against the bar." "Look at the centre of the apparatus." "Look up." "Close your eyes, open them." "Close, open." "Look straight ahead and keep your eyes open." "Close, open." "Now look down." "Close your eyes." "Look up." "Still up." "Keep looking up." "Open your eyelid." "Like this." "Keep your eyes closed." "I'm going to put a patch on your eye." "Keep your eye closed under it." "Keep the patch on till tomorrow and come back." "Between 8:00 and 9:30." "If it hurts, take an aspirin every 4 hours." "Overall condition: quite good, except for some loosening." "Back to my dentist." "I call her my Michelangelo." "Who tells me I should have come sooner because my teeth have got worse." "The upper right molar" "and the upper left molar." "We've got nothing to say to each other." "You're the only person I can talk to." "Boris, you should get your hair cut." "Only when I've finished "Babel"." "Why?" " For continuity" "You said you never worried about continuity" "Exactly because my hair does it." "I don't understand you." "We don't understand each other any more." "And yet we've been together 5 years." "We're each in our own world." "TO THE BELOVED" "Cinema is strange." "When I ask her to tell me "I love you", she doesn't anymore." "Time has passed." "The Bruegel painting," ""The Tower of Babel ", has just been restored." "After more than 400 years, it gets its original colours back, the curator says." "I'm the first to be allowed to film the painting." "I don't like it as much," "I preferred its cracks ant patina." "From now on, Babel belongs to me." "After all these years, I decide to open these boxes." "We're always looking for our mother:" "When is it due?" " In two weeks." "Can I feel it?" "Maggy didn't go to Nicaragua." "She stayed in Belgium." "She lost her job." "She said she'd met Mr Right, that she wanted to marry and have children." "But she's scared too." "To be scared of what we want, I know that feeling." "Is that a boy or a girl?" " it's a girl." "Did you get a photo done?" "I've one where she is sucking her thumb." "I can't feel anything." " No, I don't think you will." "Her head is here." "Did you see my daughter, Boris?" "I think she's waking up." "What's her name?" " Eve." "Isn't she cute?" "My children are my things, my puzzles, my games, my collections, snow storms, sugar lumps, exercise books, plastic bags..." "and my reels of film." "Everywhere is a mess." "So quickly." "Disorder; above all in my head." "Here, Boris, the music you like, to brighten up grey days." "On this black Sunday" "Arms full of flowers" "I went early to my small room" "Though I knew You weren't coming" "I whispered songs Of love and pain" "I stayed alone And cried silently" "Listening To cold December wind" "Black Sunday" "Guy shall I leave it all in the file?" "Didn't Capitole ring?" "That means everything's OK." "What about the "Kaseki" copy?" "If you want to see the film this weekend." "I'll have to get it from Ghent." "The driver's already gone, Gwen forgot to put it in the van." "And it has to go to Paris on Monday" "I'm going to Paris on Tuesday or Wednesday" "I could bring it myself." "Let's do that." "But you won't have time to see it if it gets here at noon." "When?" " Monday at 12:00." "I can see it Tuesday." " You leave on Wednesday?" "OK, then I won't call Ghent." "...might be a good contact..." "I'm swamped by meetings." "I go from one to the other without getting anything done, in places with strange initials, AJC, CBA, ABPRE" "SACD, GSARA, Young Filmmakers Workshop," "Brussels Audiovisual Centre," "Film Producers/Directors Association." "What's happening with Jos' project being presented at the CBA Friday?" "So it's not the AJC that's finishing the project." "It's you?" "Who signs the contracts?" "Who is the production delegate?" "There was a series of screenings, for projects we'll decide on this afternoon." "But not Marie-Christine Lambert's film." "Last time the first item on the agenda was an update on Marie André's video project about Anna Teresa de Keersmaeker." "That amount is around 300,000 francs, which I'll discuss next week with Image Video." "We won't say anything" "it's 11:35 on 100.3 FM." "You're listening to Free Wave Radio." "We've a new guest, a new topic." "After pollution on the Meuse and the Rhine, we've the first surprise guest I promised." "I don't know yet if the second is coming." "We've two studio guests to talk about the 2nd Art and Archeology Film Festival." "And on the subject of movies we have a Belgian film-maker we've talked about before." "It's Boris Lehman, who'll say a few words about his new film that's causing a stir in the Belgian media, unaccustomed to this type of film, "Couple, Glances and Positions"." "I rather like Boris Lehman's" ""Couple, Glances and Positions", or the marriage of fire and water." "I should say by Boris Lehman and Nadine Wandel." "Saturday at 8 p.m., fire and water, black and white, full and empty loud and silent." "There is no sound to begin with so don't adjust your set." "It's an esoteric film." "Its authors refer to alchemy and the cabal." "Nadine Wandel, Boris Lehman, your films are very unconventional." "I am thinking in particular of" ""Couple, Glances, Positions" which is not an "X-rated" film as the title suggests, but is very frank, and unabashed, am I right?" "It's a film about a couple." "A love story we made together." "Two directors and two actors." "It's a kind of self-exposé based on our relationship." "Let's say a theatrical version of an autobiography it's more of a symbolic, abstract film, not a psychological film nor a narrative." "There's a subtitle, "Marriage of fire and water"." "In your opinion, where's the fire?" "What do you think?" " I don't know" "I'm the fire, Boris is the water." "He is Pisces, I am Leo." "I'm a Leo, a fire sign." "Boris is Pisces, a water sign." "Functions, cocktail parties, art gallery openings to fill time, defeat loneliness, pretend..." "Drink to forget." "To forget drinking, drink again." "Have you been here before?" " No, never." "It's not bad, is it?" " it's OK." "Do you prefer the Ex?" " I'm not sure..." "I don't like the music here." "To end, the silence of the night, which is rarely silent." "SUDDEN DEATH" "TH E FINAL HALLUCINATION NATION" "Look how you stand, Boris..." ""No one wants me."" ""Everyone's abandoned me."" "Boris, straighten up!" "Arms by your side, shoulders back!" "Not too far." "Yes, not bad." "Boris playing sport?" "Is that possible?" "I'll explain what we'll do." "it's an optical fiber." "Look, it's very thin and flexible." "There's no need to worry you won't feel a thing." "Breathe normally and swallow as if it was a piece of meat." "It'll go down as easily it's long but not as wide." "There's nothing to worry about." "In 5 minutes, we'll have seen your stomach and duodenum." "OK, shall we start?" "I 'd been warned it was extremely uncomfortable." "You want to vomit as if you'd swallowed a hair;" "or as if you'd put your finger down your throat." "Very good." "it's in place." "A little swallowing movement." "That's it." "Your part is over." "Breathe deeply" "Breathe deeply For you, the examination's over." "Breathe and salivate." "Don't do anything." "it's up to me now" "Stop swallowing and breathe deeply" "The ultimate for a film-maker:" "swallow a camera." "For the first time, I look inside myself i" "Don't worry The nausea will pass." "We go down slowly You should feel less sick." "We're already in your stomach." "Perfect." "it'll be very quick." "We're already in the duodenum." "Breathe, it's nearly over." "It's nearly over and everything's OK." "There are no lesions." "We can come up slowly having a last look at the whole stomach." "Breathe calmly We've finished the examination." "We're coming up the esophagus." "It's all over." "No lesions, it's all perfect." "I wanted to know if the negative was scratched." "Films suffer too:" "folds, scratches, marks, physical and chemical erosion until the day the image has disappeared." "We'll have to see if it's only the surface." "You can see it under the glancing light." "We just have to look." "Yes, it's a continuous scratch." "It's on the positive." "The negative is fine." "The last time I saw you was at least a year ago." "I can't go on." " You can't go on, poor Boris." "You're nearly at the end of your Calvary." "Of the first part." "it's a tetralogy I don't know" "Time to change." "Let's make an adventure film." "I want the timer checked." "it's not working." "Can I have your name, please?" "Lehman, L-E-H-M-A-N." "And the address?" "My name again!" "How many more times will they ask my name?" "My name, my address..." "Can I have the camera, please?" "I came before." "I was told everything was working." "OK." "I'll call Mr VandevijveR it's the timer." "It only works sometimes, it doesn't release." "Always?" " No, sometimes." "Maybe it's the position of the camera." "The timer's defective." "I've put a new one here." "We'll try it out." "There's a new film in it." "That's the past." "This is the near future." "That's the distant future, I'll put it here." "This is your innermost self." "This is your external self, how others see you." "This middle card is you as a whole." "Your left hand, your right hand, your head and your feet." "Your head is what you desire, your feet what you're aiming at." "That's the distant future." "So, your feet, that's the death card, upside down." "It means a total change." "The death of things you did before." "Towards a distant future, it's temperance." "You'll have to stop-pedal your pretensions a bit." "Today you are like an emperor." "So, it's at 11:00 this morning, that the coffin carrying the body of King Leopold Ill left the Royal Palace, carried by officers of the 12th Infantry Regiment, to be placed on the gun carriage." "The carriage was drawn by a tracked vehicle displaying the personal pennant of King Leopold Ill." "The coffin was draped with the Belgian flag." "The procession left round 11:10, led by the military band and the first squadron with the royal escort on horseback." "The hearse was surrounded by Leopold Ill 's aide-de-camp, the Lieutenant General, Chief of State, the Chief of Justice of the Court of Cassation, the Lieutenant General commanding the military the Chief Marshal of the Court," "the Chambers' Presidents, the 3 Deputy Prime Ministers and the Foreign Minister:" "Behind the coffin, the members of the Royal Family the King, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg," "Princes Albert and Alexandre, Princess Marie-Esmeralda," "Princes Philippe and Laurent, the Princes of Luxembourg, of Lichtenstein, of the Savoie, the Princes and Dukes of Bavaria." "Next came King Olaf of Norway the Prince of Lichtenstein, Prince Bertic of Sweden, the Count of Barcelona, father of the King of Spain and Prince Albert of Monaco." "Is it because Belgium doesn't exist that we say: "King of the Belgians"?" "Whereas elsewhere we say:" "King of Sweden, of Greece," "Queen of England, of Holland," "King of Denmark..." "The coffin was then carried to the foot of the altar and placed on the purple carpet in front of the altar;" "and a bouquet of flowers in the name of Princess Lilian over the crucifix and the national' flag." "After the national mourning, chaos, horror and tragedy at the Heysel Stadium." "In the panic and the collapse of the stands, 41 people died who wanted to see a football match." "...between the Italian and the British supporters separated from each other by a barrier:" "The British supporters tried several times to launch an armed attack" " you can see in these pictures - of the rear of the terraces where the Italians were." "A large contingent of Italian fans." "These offensives created panic in the Italian ranks, pushing them both towards the pitch and the walls." "Some supporters managed, as you can see, to get through the railings built to keep them in" "and onto the pitch, saving their lives." "But tragically 40 of them perished, crushed and suffocated by the crowd." "As you know 150 people were seriously injured." "Belgium demonstrates." "The Heysel Tragedy as it was termed, and other scandals drained the country made it depressed." "Belgium is sick." "It can't govern any longer:" "Governments fall like flies." "The citizens are called to vote." "The pieces change but it's the same game." "Nova I am a citizen." "I have a domicile and I have voted." "I'm legal now and have no excuse." "I have to finish this film." "And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech." "Journeying from the East, the families of the sons of Noah found a plain in the land of Shinar;" "and they dwelt there." "And they said to one another:" "Go to, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly." "And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar:" "And they said:" "Let us build a tower;" "whose top may reach unto heaven;" "and let us make us a name." "Together; we'll be powerful." "And Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built..." "And Yahweh said:" "Behold, the people is one and they have all one language and this they begin to do." "And now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do." "Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." "Yahweh scattered them abroad upon the face of the earth, and they left off to build the city." "Therefore is the name of it called Babel;" "because Yahweh did there confound the language of all the earth." "Is the camera on?" " Yes" "The camera's on." "I won't speak any louder than this." "So, here we are." "We' re at Waterloo, on the Lion Mound." "18 June 1983" "Cranking up my new film "Babel"." "Why here?" "Because it's here ten years ago" "I first had the idea to make a film about Babel." "And now the camera seems to be recording and it's like a miracle." "I'd planned what to say but the words escape me." "I decided to put myself in the first take." "So that's what I'll do." "So I know I've really started the film." "If you listen carefully you might hear the camera but the wind's a bit loud." "I don't know what to say and it's strange that I'm not panicking." "Every time I start a film it's as if I'm drowning, like I was in a sinking ship." "There's a small storm raging" "but nothing like the panic inside me." "18 June 1983 18 June 1815, the famous battle of Waterloo." "So that's it." "I'm looking at my own film." "That is the first image, shot 6 years ago." ""Babel": a work doomed to fail, condemned at birth." "But nevertheless it all began at Waterloo, in the same spot where after Napoleon's defeat in 1815," "Belgium - not yet Belgium - got ready to become Belgium." "The French, the English, the Prussians... fought over this territory as others did before them:" "Julius Caesar; the Spanish, they all fought over it." "15 years on, this small land became independent." "After a palace revolution, straight out of the opera." "La Belgique, Belle-Joke came into existence then." "Belgium, this latter-day Babel." "I can't see myself in the lens." "Now I can, like this." "I don't know Maybe I'm filling the whole frame." "Or maybe I'm not big enough." "I want to turn round but then I don't." "Cinema's like magic." "We have no idea what we're filming." "Then, when we develop the film, when we project it, we see what we meant to do all along." "To all those watching me," "I want to say I've started shooting, despite everything, despite myself i" "I have to keep telling myself this to force me to do it, to put myself before a fait accompli." "...the mere fact the camera's on, means there's no going back." "So, cinema seems easy" "But to create that simple thing, you need a complex procedure, really complicated." "I'm getting cold." "But not as cold as those filming me." "Maybe we'll just let the film roll on and let it come naturally" "Maybe it won't come." "It doesn't seem to be coming..." "I don't know my script." "I didn't learn it." "Secondary problems distract me from my goal." "This is Waterloo territory but an Indian reservation too." "It's written here:" "Whoever enters an Indian reservation without authorization, has committed an of fence and -if found guilty -is liable to a fine more than $50 or one month imprisonment, or both." "I'm trying to say that Waterloo is also the Jaipur observatory" "Machu-Pichu, the Eiffel Tower." "Waterloo will crop up everywhere on my journey" "My journey will be "Babel"." "We'll let the wind and sound fade out." "I will move off set" "and just let the film run a bit." "I'm embarrassed to take a film crew with me." "Also embarrassed that I didn't warn the others I was filming." "Perhaps there's a curse on this film." "End of Boris' dialogue." "Waterloo, Lion Mound." "LETTER TO MY FRIENDS WHO STAYED IN BELGIUM" "FILM DIARY" "Every year; it's the same." "As summer approaches, events, news items repeat themselves." "Tour de France, Concours Reine Elizabeth," "Cannes film Festival, school exams, tourist invasion, holiday exodus, motorway tailbacks, heat waves and forest fires." "And far away somewhere else the world is in upheaval, wars and peace." "Do I belong to that world?" "In the middle of these "natural disasters", there is Brussels, the city where we wander and dream and escape." "It's my home because I've no house, no ties." "I must be looking for paradise." "Where is it?" "Not far and everywhere but out of reach, outside." "I can't find it so I shut myself up in my exile" "and my utopian schemes." "Like the film I want to make that unfolds in the attic when I sleep." "In the places I've slept in and left bits of myself i" "To film in my scattered, depressed state, distressed and lonely." "To go where we are not." "To fill a void." "Maybe I should go on a journey." "Not to travel but to get away." "A journey from myself to myself i" "I go from one place to another;" "looking for a shirt and socks, a pair of shoes, a passport, an envelope, a lost bill, a puzzle, a photo, a notebook, an article about a Canadian or Japanese film." "Going round in circles, wandering aimlessly filling your day your life, your emptiness, wearing out your body." "What kind of life is that?" "Or am I just a shadow a suffering machine?" "I won't make this film." "I know this, now" "It's weighing down on me too much." "It haunts, crushes, paralyses me." "I'll make a film, but not the one I want." "It'll be the opposite, the wrong film." "It will be a film trying to be a film." "I've done nothing to get this film made." "I wanted to meet Orson Wells, Greta Garbo, Haroun Tazieff and even Lacan, Borges, Moshe Dayan..." "But they died before I made up my mind." "I feel I haven't done what I should, that my life is off track, everything slips through my fingers." "Boris, get a hold of yourself j stop wasting your life." "How to put my wandering into images?" "How to film my loneliness?" "Should I put myself in the film or stay out?" "In any case, the camera will always be me..." "I think I'll take my holidays when Meuter does." "I've the impression he's always splicing and if interrupted, he will cut in the wrong place." "Honestly.." "He talks too much." "Did you read the letter..." "Yes. it's not bad, I must say" "Will you project the film yourself, like you usually do?" "I go from place to place." "It takes up the whole day." "At the end of the day I realize" "I have been roaming in my own make-believe world, in an area that can't be found on a map; in my home." "I photocopied them." "What I need is a budget." "I never have a budget." "You have to eat, phone, see people, pretend to be busy." "Make plans, answer questions, write, live for other people..." "Where does my freedom figure in all this?" "No, the balance sheet for CinÃ©libre's last year." "Those are the originals." "And who should I send this to?" " That's for you." "But the account's been sent already" "Yes, but that's for our files." "The Antonin Artaud Club where I worked for 18 years." "I have a bunch of keys and a separate one for the door;" "because they added a lock." "With all those keys, fourteen I think," "I can't open everything." "I can't reach the electricity meter or the tap." "Or the secretary's office or the medicine cabinet." "Nor the psychologists' or social workers' office where most of the phones are." "What's the point of all those keys if I can't do everything with them?" "I go into empty, soulless offices." "I hurts to think of the days when we all had our own key and could go where we wanted." "No." "The ritual is like this now:" "I arrive at the Club like a ghost in an empty house." "I write my name in the attendance book." "I make a couple of calls in the back room and then I leave." "I mean, we know roughly when when the sun will explode and disappear." "That means the end of the world." "And know roughly when the earth began." "Oh, hi." "Alright?" " Fine." "I'll let you eat." "I saw Maggy." "She's moving." "Throwing out all her things, selling her furniture and going to Guatemala." "Yes, OK." "Have you any news of the Nicaragua mission?" "I phoned the other day to know the situation since the last meeting." "Oh, you don't know?" "OK, then." "I'll call you tomorrow" "Thank you, bye." "The Nicaragua trip fell through." "My Spanish isn't good enough." "Tomorrow I'm to see the project people in Rennes for Honduras," "which is here." "If all goes well" "I could go to a camp for" "I don't know yet." "When Eliane was in Bangkok, I fed her cats." "I've always been a bit clumsy and I dreamt of making a comedy." "See, I'd never open a can like that." "I had to film something familiar to make the unexpected happen." ""This is the beach, the town's nice too." ""But I'm still a bit homesick." ""I hope all's well in Prince Royal." "I'll be in Paris on the 4th and in Brussels on the 6th. "" ""We've a great tan." "We're in Briatico in Calabria." ""We're completely baked." "Lots of love." "Have you started "Babel" yet?"" "Nadine, my darling Clementine, my Adjani, my Marilyn, my Lilian Gish..." "Garbo, Dietrich, Brigitte Bardot, my Iseult, my Juliet..." "She sees me as Victor Mature, or Marcel Dalio..." "Sundays we eat at her grandma's and hear Jacques Martin on TM" "Who's this for?" "Boris?" "No more for me." "You should eat more." "As you walk up towards Herculanes..." "Oh yes, the famous Castle." "Yes, and in that Castle... there are four floors full of paintings." "Rembrandt, Rubens..." "it's wonderful." "I've seen it." "It's on a sort of mountain." "With stone statues." "It's really picturesque." "It's all phoney Reproductions." "It's really nice, fantastic." ""I can probably come to Brussels again in October." ""Do you want to show my new film?" ""Because I'm bringing it with me." ""it's being shown in Paris and Amsterdam." ""I'm not sure of the dates." ""I'll probably be in Brussels in late September, in October." ""I'll try and bring a sound track and a copy of the script" ""in French if I can get it translated in time." ""Do you show foreign language films?" ""l was told that in Paris." "To avoid having subtitles done." "Write to me if you're interested in showing it."" ""Dear friends, this card is an ad for your film" ""which is out soon in Colombo." ""We visited" ""lots of interesting places," ""especially a young guru who makes objects appear." ""Then I'm doing to South India and then back here." "Lots of kisses." "Write to me in Paris."" "Nearly 10 years ago, I made a 60-minute Super 8 film that I called "Album 1"." "A homage to home movies of the family." "I filmed my friends and they filmed me." "I feel like I'm playing the game all over again." "But the backdrop's changed." "I've much less hair; the moped's gone and I've changed my friends." "I would like to call this film:" ""Letter to my friends who stayed in Belgium"." "Oh Boris, it's been ages." "What are you doing here?" "Yes, what am I doing here?" "Getting ready to go to Mexico." "Really?" "To do what?" "That's nice." "And you?" " I'm going to Italy as usual." "Tuscany?" " Tuscany... all Italy." "In the meantime, I do the insurance round for my boss." "Me too, I'm always rushing." "What are you filming?" " Silly things, posters to fill in a news film." "Have you heard?" "I'm going to Mexico." "I'm going to look for Indians, to film them." "What do you know, I was due to go there to make a film too." "About a Belgian couple who lived in Mexico for years." "They'd fallen in love with the place." "To recapture the atmosphere back in Liege, they grow cacti." "They say the house is full of cacti and they have become experts on succulents." "Really?" "I'd like to meet them." "Do you have their address?" "I don't know, but you know AndrÃ© Romus?" "Vaguely He works in LiÃ©ge?" "Call him in LiÃ©ge and get the address." "OK." "Thanks." " Have a good trip." "Hi, Boris!" "How you doing?" "So, have you heard the news?" "I'm going to Mexico." "When?" " In a fortnight." "It was a snap decision." " Going for long?" "A month, month and a half." "Filming." "I'm looking for a few books, to swat up quickly" "Introductory books, general ones?" "Not guidebooks..." "on the Aztecs and Mayas." "I'm also going to film Indians." "There's Artaud's book." "But I can't find it." "About the Tarahumara." "I've got that one." "And there's "Revolutionary Messages", written in Mexico I think." "Then there's Soustelle's book on the Mayas, Aztecs and Olmecs." "Another good book on Mexico is one by Octavio Paz called "The Labyrinth of Loneliness"." "An amazing introduction to Mexico because it's a sort of analysis of the Mexican character, the Mexican soul." "It's really good." "Quite unique." "I'd pack it in my case because it's..." "Do you know anyone there?" "I've only been to Colombia, Mexico never." "Jean-Paul's been." "You should go and see him." "During his San Francisco trip, he went up to the border and then on to Mexico." "I think he did the Maya temples." "Went as far as Guatemala, I believe." "How are you?" "I'm going to Mexico." "What for?" "To make a film of my life story" "Live and film simultaneously?" " That's it." "Live and film simultaneously." "My life has become a screenplay which, in turn, has become my life." "And filming it, I got the idea to go to Mexico in the footsteps of Antonin Artaud." "Why Mexico?" "I don't know" "I didn't have a base at the time and I just wanted to go far away." "Like an explorer; a gold digger:" "So, we'll wait." "What will you do in Mexico?" "The same as here." "Nothing." "You won't tour the country?" "I'll make a Western, then..." " A Western?" "Westerns are Mexico, cowboys, Aztecs..." "Yes, but mainly Maya temples?" "2.078 francs." "Some people never go anywhere." "The world comes to them via newspapers, books, radio, TM cinema." "They never get seasick, mountain-sick, they never suffer from cold, heat, they are never bothered by scorpions, snakes, devoured by crocodiles or mosquitoes." "Their life is passionless, without adventure, devoid of fear; mistakes and surprises." "My life has been like that, I think." "It's better to stay at home." "In Eden, Adam and Eve had all they needed to be happy." "But they sought the forbidden, to touch the tree of knowledge." "So God chased them out of paradise." "Men sought to touch the sky by building the Tower;" "so God sowed confusion in their speech." "It's better to stay at home." "Be yourself i" "Why search elsewhere for what you have at home?" "Can anyone understand my moods?" "The difficulty I have living?" "They don't care." "Unhappiness doesn't care." "All people think about is saving their own skins, the motto of our times." "Where can I go?" "I don't know anyone." "You just go on and on, always the same thing." "I've had enough." "The world is at an impasse." "Beatrice?" "Hi, it's Boris." "This film no longer has any connection with Babel." "But what can I do?" "it's reality." ""Babel" was an impossible film, nothing to do with me." "This one is closer to what I am." "So, did you read my script?" "Some of it." "But I will." ""Babel" is long." "At first glance..." "The problem is I'm filming, it's not exactly the same script." "Unfortunately it's strayed a bit." "The journey's not in it anymore." "It's about before the trip, and afterwards." "So the journey is a myth." "I get the impression that's what "Babel" is." "You film it as you go along." "Mexico is a myth, because what we know about it is not always the most interesting." "We're always hearing about the Maya and Aztec pyramids." "I suffered like everyone else the Western tourist trail." "But that wasn't the most interesting part." "The ruins have been restored." "You don't really know what's authentic." "You're caught in a tourist circuit which you can't feel any emotion for." "No, the ruins aren't the best thing about Mexico." "In my opinion, it's not in the archeological past, but in life in Mexico City in the residues of Spanish colonialism, in the central region, in towns like Huarapan." "That mixture of three cultures is the most interesting thing about Mexico." "Indian culture remains but not in the Aztec and Maya museums." "More in how the Indians have kept their traditions." "It's lovely really moving." "Then there's the Spanish influence, that you can feel all the time," "and then modern Mexico, with unfortunately the US influence." "My advice, because you asked what was original, is to go to Trotsky's house" "in a Mexican suburb." "It's a type of bunker which despite Trotsky's personality is very moving." "AndrÃ© Breton too...?" "I didn't go..." "I'm going on Antonin Artaud's trail," "AndrÃ© Breton, Eisenstein." "And I read in one about a small town called Erunda Quiharo, near Huarapan, where there's a house where Breton and a group of surrealists stayed during the 2nd World War." "It must be amazing to see, given the permanent holiday spirit the surrealists always had." "There are two restaurants I'd recommend in Mexico City which are not as touristy as most." "One is on the Loredo, in the posh part of the city the chic part." "Like the Taverne du Passage, or La Coupole in Paris, where you meet trendy people." "Then there is Brendes where you can eat authentic Mexican cooking, surrounded by paintings of Pancho Villa and Mickey Mouse." "Those places are worth a visit." "How much is an average meal?" "Not too expensive." "500 francs;" "including tequila, mescal." "That's luxury but... you can eat very cheaply" "Hotels are more expensive." "It depends on what you want." "Did you stay with local people?" "No, it's not really my travel style." "31 July." "Holidays start for some." "End for others." "It's all the same for me." "Neither the start nor the end." "Just a day when I breathe, and get wound up." "Will the film give a sense of heat?" "Should I film a thermometer?" "Summer in Brussels." "Tourists come from all over:" "What are they looking for?" "I'm in a trance-like state." "I haven't slept for some days." "I'm scared of the evasive nature of the shoot, of my inability to make this film that overwhelms me, eats me up." "Babel." "it's summer: it's hot." "Tourists have invaded the city." "I'm fed up with wandering aimlessly." "All this talk of travel..." "I get postcards from lands far away." "I dream of going to Mexico." ""The daily life of the Aztecs"" ""The Tarahumara Indians"" ""There is no eye contact between giver and recipient." "After eating, the beggar leaves without thanking or looking at anyone. "" ""The other doesn't exist." "Such is rational thought, an incurable faith in human reason."" "Then it's really dirt-track." "There, a car passes occasionally" "It takes the whole day to go 200 km." "You won't be back the next day" "You have to wait for another lorry or the post van which passes twice a week." "It takes time." "I think it was twice a week." "And to get to the Tarahumara?" "They begin before Creel, there are many in the region." "But spread out, not in villages." "They are mainly in isolated houses." "There is no such thing as a Tarahumara village." "They move round so you meet them, and they meet for festivals where they dance." "There you see crowds of Tarahumara." "But in Creel town there are lots who come to shop and the like." "You can see them everywhere." " And you stayed there?" "Mainly with local people." "In the small villages you just knock on people's doors." "You settle a price and that's it." ""40.000 people live there as they did before the Flood, challenging the world where progress is so talked about because we don't really believe in it." "The Tarahumara live as if they were already dead, conjuring up with magic the scorn they have for civilization."" "You said when you give them money they don't even say thank you." "Yes, they look right through you." "They have a superior manner, a superior behavior, as if they are civilization and we are nothing." "These are the belts." "Nice, aren't they?" "That's Guatemala." "These bags they make for tourists." "It's nice though." "This is lovely it's called a "huipil"." "It tells the village history and everyone from the village wears the same one." "But they vary slightly because everyone makes their own." "But they all use the same colours and tell the same story" "Always stories about birds." "The other side is more abstract." "But a bird is always central." "This one's different." "More abstract." "It's from the mountain, it's warmer..." "Do you remember this one, Hugo?" "When you go to Mexico, I hope you find the peyote and this one too." "They grow together." "This is the famous peyote." "This is Williamsi." "They say the Indians, the Mexicans, in the past, sucked the roots to have nice dreams before weddings." "Only I've read it's dangerous and can cause paralysis." "I don't know the cactus' name." "It's stupid of me." "I used to say:" "I've got the plant." "That's enough." "I wasn't interested in the name." "Now I wish I knew it, but it's harder to remember now" "This must be a Nota cactus." "This one too..." "In '77 we got the idea to go to Mexico." "We didn't go on a package trip." "We bought a plane ticket to Mexico City" "We hadn't booked a hotel." "We stayed in Mexico City 3 days." "Then we embarked on a real adventure." "We went to Caretaro." "From there to Cadraita." "Then we went looking for plants." "It was the countryside." "We found them easily" "From there we crossed the map to Baradanavidad, here somewhere." "This is the last trip." "But this is the first cactus route." "At Cadraita," "we found some nice ones, all kind of plants." "This is Videro." "The highest region." " There you can find marble." "It was nice here too, many kinds of plants." "I didn't like the food there." "I lost 8 kilos in 6 weeks..." "I got really skinny" "Gradually I got used to it." "My wife said:" "it's their meat and your poison." "He can't eat like everyone else." "You find food like here in the towns." "But once you're in the villages, you have to eat what you can get." "Funny how everyone has their own way of talking about their trip." "Thierry Irena, Roselyne, Jean-Paul..." "It's not Mexico they talk about, it's themselves." "There are 2.000, 2.500 km to cross from one side to the other." "And those 2.500 km, it's still quite difficult to pass through, with all those mountains." "You can't imagine what it's like." "I hope you enjoy it." "I'd like to go back once more." "I've been several times, and really liked it." "21 July." "I receive an invite to attend the parade, in front of the King and Queen." "I'm just adjusting the equipment." "Henri, my sound engineer:" "He's been to Mexico too." "We'll lower the bass a bit." "There's lots of background." "The band was far off." "The military salutes are next." "Long live the King!" "It's OK." "This is Carlos, a soundman who also teaches at QUEC," "Mexico University" "Carlos Aguilar." "This is his girlfriend." "You can take QUEC's details and those of Juan Mora, the secretary, who is a very nice man." "He'll help you get equipment." "Another sound recordist, she's Dutch," "Bernardine Lichthart." "She'll help you especially" "She's more used to film work." "They don't have a telephone." "They sent the photos and the address is the same." "It should be easy to get hold of them." "So you recognize them, that's Carlos, the sound operator, who teaches at the school." "That's Bernardine and this Huguette, another sound engineer." "Here are their addresses..." "But less experienced." "Boris, hello." "How are you?" "The big day's nearly here." "I've come to get the letter." "Permission for the shoot?" "We just finished it." "Hot off the press." "Do you want to check it?" ""We certify Boris Lehman is directing and producing, with government assistance, a film entitled "Babel"." "Fine." " You want it stamped?" "It's better?" "No, it's OK." "Well, there you are." "Thanks." "See you soon." " Good luck." "Hang on... sorry Hi, Boris!" "One minute..." "Nothing." "I got my letter..." "Finally" "Two months for a letter!" "I'll tell you about it later." "I'm going now" "You're off." "Everything OK?" "We'll see." "Bye, Boris." "So, Boris is off..." "Hi." " You OK?" "Do you want to have a coffee?" "I'll just finish this letter." "Serge needs it for Mirwart tomorrow" "Can you wait a bit?" "I'm going to try to shoot..." " So, for the Maya sites..." "Uxmal is really the most beautiful and ChichÃ©n Itza." "ChichÃ©n Itza too." "At ChichÃ©n Itza there's the finest pelota court with effigies of players with their heads cut off." "No, it's not Aztec, it's Maya." "Aztec is on the Mexico City side." "But there'll be hordes of tourists." "If they don't let you film, you'll have to pretend you're a tourist, use a small camera during opening hours." "It's always crowded, it's a real race against time." "I went at 8:00 a.m. I had a look the day before." "I went at 8:00 and had 20-30 minutes before the tourists flooded in." "Where do I go to get authorization?" "You're too late." "It took us about three months." "Via the embassy" "A nice chap called Nieto." "He's the contact at the Mexican Embassy's cultural service here and the Belgian Embassy in Mexico City" "They helped a lot." "They sent telexes." "You had to give a lot of details:" "camera serial numbers, I.D. card numbers, the exact itinerary an equipment list..." "You had to have an itinerary" "They are really strict." "You have a choice..." "Either accept a government guide who you pay for, who watches your every move to see if you stick to the script." "Or you develop the film in Mexico and show the rushes to censors." "When they've seen them, they seal the negative and the working copy and you can leave with a document stamped all over." "They love stamping things, and you get through customs." "If you're stuck at the airport, if they seize the equipment, you have to go through official channels anyway" "Then ask for... the Directorate General of Cinematography" "I have the address here." "There, ask the Belgian Embassy to act as intermediary" "They know who to bribe to speed things up." "Take a note of that, it's for equipment rental." "This was a nice chap at the Cinema Library" "But I think he's in jail now." "I'll also give you the address of the Hotel del Bosque, an amazing hotel with a piano bar near the Belgian Embassy" "You wanted an address of a "casa de ninas", but I don't have any now" "Hotel del Bosque." "That's in Mexico?" "Yes, Mexico City" "He is a good friend." "He did the subtitles for "The Dead"." "Now he is General Secretary of Puebla University" "But they're more help than all the official papers." "But try and get the papers anyway" "Yes, I asked the Ministry for a letter." "Del Bosque Hotel." "Got the address?" "I'm looking for a book." "Here it is." "By Marquez." "I didn't like it much." "In fact, it's an interview" "No, I don't need it." " You don't." "Have you a Spanish dictionary?" " Spanish?" "Portuguese, not Spanish." "Oh yes, you're right." "How do you know Michel and Roselyne?" "Roselyne worked at the Ministry of Culture." "She was at INSAS for a while." "What does she do now?" "Didn't they go to Latin America?" "That's why I went to see them." "She told me about their Mexico trip." "With the Tarahumara." "With who?" " The Tarahumara." "The people Antonin Artaud wrote about." "They practice the peyote cult." "I'm visiting lots of people who've been to Mexico." "I found a couple near LiÃ©ge, in a town called Verlaine." "They collect cacti." "They've got 2.500 of them." "Where are you going?" " Probably Italy." "First to Florence in the north, and then to some friends in Venice." "Not so exotic as Mexico." "Let's see..." "I played that along time ago." "It's a bit flat." "You can't play it?" "Don't you know the rest?" "I have to study it." "Do you know The Granados Dances?" "One or two." "Go on." "I don't know if I can remember." "This is a nice part." "I'm inventing a game of paper chase." "I imagine the messages, and I still don't know if I'm going." "There are those who leave and those who stay who wait." "Where is the true journey?" "In the head?" "Hello." "Sorry I was on the phone." "Can I help you?" "I want to go to Mexico." "Listen." "I told you yesterday There are several options." "The cheapest is Aeroflot, that costs 28.000 francs." "That leaves the scheduled flight which is expensive and then the South American airline from Paris." "But you have to make your mind up." "Listen, I can call Paris now otherwise you might not get a seat." "I know the Soviet airline is booked till the end of August." "Any chance from Paris at the end of July?" "I can't say without phoning." "Maybe there was a seat yesterday and none today" "You must make up your mind." "I call Paris, you leave a deposit and that's all." "I'm afraid you're wavering too much." "Hello, Madame." "Sandro here, from Art and Travel." "Here are the Rome schedules you requested 1/2 hour ago." "I must apologize, I was very busy" "Just a minute please." "I'll be with you in a moment." "There is a Sabena flight at 8:30." "Arriving in Rome 11 o'clock." "You have a later flight at 11:30." "Alitalia, arrives 13:05, then the evening flight at 19:55, arriving at 21:00." "That's on the regular route." "You have two possibilities:" "the Apex fare at 11.800 francs, but you have to book 14 days ahead, and then the Pex fare at 12.800 if I'm not mistaken." "Let me check it." "Yes, it's 12.800." "And you can book it when you like." "Hurry only a few seats are left." "Goodbye, Madame." "Excuse me, Sir." "You wanted Mexico, I believe." "For what date?" " As soon as possible." "Chantal, I need the earliest available seat for Mexico City" "The 28.000 francs fare, with the South America airline." "Good." "When's the earliest?" "27 July Is that OK?" "One minute please, Chantal." "Yes." "Is 27 July OK, Sir?" "I'm afraid that's a bit soon." " Too soon, 27 July?" "You want to go in August?" "Chantal, a week later then, please." "4 August." "Alright." "Is 4 August OK, Sir?" "Just a moment please." "The client's here." "That's perfect." " 4 August's OK. it's a deal." "Do you want to book a return, or leave it open?" "Yes, OK." "One minute please." "You're leaving it open." " Let me think." "Leave it open." "I'll spell the name." "It's Mr Lehmans, L-E-H-E-M-N" "Pardon, sorry" " M-A-N" "L-E-M-A-N-S, yes." "No S." "I think the trip will take 18 hours." "I've never been on such a long journey" "There's a stopover in Madrid, and one in Miami." "But it was the cheapest:" "29.700 francs." "You're really going?" " Yes, I've got my ticket." "Is this a good time to go to Mexico?" "Or are you joking?" "People always think I'm joking." "It's the same with the film." "As if there was no film in the camera." "Can I have Sylviane's address in Mexico?" "I can't get hold of Chantal." "You have her parents' number?" "I'll get in before midnight, it will be complicated." "Midnight?" " Local time." "You're serious?" " Yes." "Are you insured?" "I'm taking the Beaulieu, and I'm trying to get a pocket tape recorder." "Be careful!" "I've the letter from the Ministry but that's all." "It takes two months to get the other documents." "Tell them it's Super 8." "Yes, but it's difficult." "Could you get Sylviane's address or her parents' number?" "I saw her parents." "They know you want the address." "She's just moved house." "I heard she's having a hard time." "I'd be willing to give you her parents' number." "They're still there?" "Didn't they go to Israel?" "What's more, they're in Israel." "It's quite tricky" "Listen..." "it's 267-4059." "It's in the phone book." "I'll try to film anyway" "Is it hard?" "You've been to Brazil." "It's similar, I think." "You're going to your own?" " Yes, I'm going alone." "Be careful, I've never been to Mexico." "But I arrived in Brazil in broad daylight, and it was a miracle I wasn't robbed." "But then, that's what you expect." "How are you?" "So what's new?" "I started a film, "Babel", and I'm going to Mexico." "When do you leave?" "9 August." "I couldn't get a flight before." "And you?" " Off to Nicaragua with MSF." "But I don't know when yet." "There's a meeting on Wednesday" "I hope it'll be sorted out, because I'm moving house and I'm getting rid of everything." "I'm fed up living out of a suitcase." "I'm going anyway" "If not Nicaragua, then Africa in December or India next year with Marie-Jeanne." "It's here." "Next to Guatemala." "That's not very far." " That's where I'm going." "It's refugees from the border war between Honduras and Nicaragua." "Look, Marie-Jeanne's here." "It's been along time!" "Hi, Maggy How are you?" "What are you talking about?" " Boris is going to Mexico and I'll know Wednesday" "What are you going to do there?" "I'm going to climb 5.000 meters" "up the Popocatepetl." "it's a volcano." "You don't have to be a climber." "You can walk up." "I don't know if the altitude will bother me." "Did you get that in the Pyrenees?" "There's enough air at 3.500 meters." "That's nine hours climbing." " 9 hours is alright." "Starting at what altitude, at the bottom?" "I don't know, 2.500, 3.000." "Climbing 2.500." "That's a lot." "First you're on the volcano, the ashes and lava." "Then, there's the snow" "When you smell sulphur, you've arrived." "Let's have a look at that." "Do you use this kind of book?" "Some of it is useful." "But not all of it." "Maggy and I saw the one on Asia." "We want to go trekking in the filmalayas soon." "So we bought the one on Asia." "The top of the world, Boris." "How are you?" " When's the baby due?" "Around 15 October." "I didn't know" " No?" "I didn't tell anyone until it was obvious." "Have you heard the news?" "I'm going to Mexico." "No, I didn't know" "I'm going to make a film." "I'm in a hurry This will keep me busy until mid-October." "Either you're doing nothing or you're rushing around." "I got a million from the Ministry to make a story-board." "And I'm making a film with it." "A million to do a story-board?" "You collect failed photos?" "The whole film is spoilt." "That's not bad." "Are you going on holiday?" " I've already been." "I went to Italy." "Whereabouts?" "Tuscany and Rome." "That's where I went last year." "Maybe next year I'll go to Mexico." "So, when'll we get to see your film?" "September." "Aren't you living before you go to Montreal?" "Yes, I'll have finished by September." "I stop work this month." "In August I prepare for the Quebec Festival." "Then I go." "I might go to the US in October." "Let's make a date in New York." "At the top of the Empire State where all dates are missed." "Come out, rabbit." "Come on, out." "Where will you leave the rabbit?" "My rabbit's a free spirit." "He gets on fine by himself." "My friend'll feed him now and again." "If not, I'll just leave him." "Look what I found." "A Mexican restaurant." "I might even film there." "They say it's authentic, but the boss seems American and the cook is from Bangladesh." "Very authentic!" "I'll check it out tonight, maybe." "Win the trip of your dreams on the Orient Express." "The prizes: 4 trips for 2 on the Orient Express train from Paris to Venice, city of lovers." "The question:" "How many gold clocks on a 200g box of After Eights?" "Box of what?" " it's a chocolate box." "Additional question:" "The Orient Express can carry a maximum of 176 passengers overnight." "It goes 3 times a week from Paris to Venice." "How many paying passengers slept on the Orient Express going from Paris to Venice during January 83, during March 83, during June 83, during September 83?" "I don't know if you're interested." "No." "You'd have to be crazy to take a train like that from Paris to Venice." "it's not worth it." "MichÃ©le Blondeel has an opera collection." "Stairs, curtains, corridors, lighting..." "Is she here at the moment" " No, she's in Italy." "As usual." "Have you seen Beatrice?" " Yes, this morning." "She was working." "She couldn't come." "She says hello." "We have to reshoot Saturday The first try was a disaster." "I wasn't very pleased." " What did you film?" "A sequence where she repairs plugs." "I know the ones." "It must have been..." "BÃ©atrice repairing plugs!" "When are you going?" " The 8th." "I'm envious." "I've asked you 10 times." " You know I can't." "I'm going to the US in November." "See if you can come." "Someone has to look after my dogs," "Sarah and the cat." "It's the impossible trip." "It's really great." "Can you read English?" "What shall I eat?" " I have no idea." "It's the first time I've been here." "I wish I'd come before." "It's completely fake." "The food's totally different." "I'm not very hungry" "To your trip!" "Taco blanco." "You eat it with your fingers." "Is it nice?" " Very nice." "It's very spicy - it's alright." "I'm going to try this one." "No, that doesn't count." "Wait." "Come next to me." "It's crazy I didn't recognize you." "You let me down." " It wasn't serious." "Still want to go to Mexico?" " I'd love to." "But I can't just go like that." "Give me some information at least." "But you have to come to the shoot tomorrow, or the day after." "I finish this weekend." "Like Maggy like Nadine first, like Renelde, and then Christine," "Nadia said she'd come to Mexico." "But she's not coming either:" "So, I'm there." " At Nadine's place?" "In fact I'm not at Nadine's." "I'm staying at Eliane's." ""Babel" is Maggy's story Samy's story" "Nadine's story it's the story of my life." "Nearly all my friends' first names contains A and I." "Martine, Maryse, Anita, Marie-Jeanne," "Magali, Lucia..." "And my name starts with B." "Like Babel, Bruegel, Belgium." "I met some people in LiÃ©ge who collect cacti." "That's great." "They've got 2.500." "They spent 3 years in Mexico." "2.500 cacti!" "All different?" "Yes, different species." "He was a company plumber." "When he retired, his dream was to go to Mexico." "He was fed up with the flux of life." "The garden, near LiÃ©ge..." "To spice up his life." "...in a town called Verlaine." "It sounds poetic." "Did you find the book you mentioned?" "I went to look for it." "I had forgotten the author's name." "In fact, it's Juan Rulfo." "And I mentioned a certain Pedro. it's Pedro Paramo." "You made me want to read it again." "I wonder what I'll think of it." "When are you leaving?" "In ten days." "I'm trying to finish the first part of the film." "Because I can't do the first part when I get back." "I will be brown like you." "But I love the literature." "That book there is engrossing." "Juan Preciado gets to Comala to look for his lost father." "Not his dead father?" "Like in Borges' "The Spider's Strategy"." "It's his real father, who's dead and whom he never knew because his mother had left him." "She fled the village with her son under her arm or in her skirt, and she left for the town." "And he promised his mother to find his father after her death." "He gets to this village and falls into a mysterious sleep." "The novel is a series of dreams and of ghosts of those who were around when his father was alive and who gradually paint a picture of his dead father." "Death is always there, but living death, present, not through an obsession with death, but through his tale." "That's what I love about Latin America." "Phenomena like that have nothing to do with Western literature." "Western literature is about the search for Truth." "That of Latin America is about the search for passion it's spontaneous, you immediately become absorbed where memories become the present." "Here, the future has to move on." "That's why I like it." ""I came to Comala because my father;" "Pedro Paramo," ""used to live here." ""My mother told me," ""and I promised to visit as soon as she died." ""But I didn't expect to keep my word." ""Where are you going" I asked." " Down there, sir." ""Do you know where Comala is?" "That's exactly where I'm going."" "it's the first time I've consulted you." "And we've known each other for ages." "I will look." "I'm going on a journey soon, and I'm scared of dying." "Yes." "No, I don't see death, but you will meet" "Someone... who will put a spell on you." "I see a country far away Latin America or..." "Beware of magic potions." "Beware." "Wait, I'll see if you risk death with this pendulum." "Give me your left hand." "No danger of death, but still a big danger of a spell being cast on you." "Open wide." "You have some bad decay" "I'll put it right." "Open very wide." "Turn a little bit." "Close your mouth." "You can rinse now" "And how was Paris?" "Very useful." "What did you discover?" "Things that'll surprise you." "I made some really interesting discoveries." "For the seminar?" " The one we want to hold." "First let's see if a seminar like that is possible." "He talks about it here:" "scopic creation." "You see here." "It's quite difficult to grasp." "Here Lacan is talking about painting, but it could apply to the cinema when he's talking about scopic creation." "He says it's about a gesture as opposed to an act." "So, what is an act?" "A characteristic of an act is that it concerns reality" "So what he says is that scopic creation is the gesture as a movement you can see." "It's good when he adds:" "how does what you can see appease something unless the one looking has a hungry eye?" "So, what's this bracelet?" " it's from Lebanon." "So, not Morocco." "She had to go home to eat." "As she has already eaten..." "Did you invite her?" "She said she wanted to go too." "I think it went well." "She's a bit depressed, because she can't manage to draw" "She's always at her mother's." "I don't know if she's drawing." " Who's going back soon..." "And then she showed me a letter from Michael." "Her ex-boyfriend or her cousin, I'm not sure." "They both have the same name." "It's her cousin." "And then there's a problem with Nood because" "I left a note for Lyland." "But I think he takes them because she never got it." "It's very simplified." "I'll play something else." "Play Debussy" "I don't know it." "Wait, you'll see." "This film is a mirror image of me." "I film myself i" "My body like my home, is an important part of this "filmed psychoanalysis"." "I scratch myself j I dry myself j" "I'm obsessed with the state of my feet." "Sweat." "Stink." "Athlete's foot, fleabites." "My feet are in a bad way." "They walk and suffer a lot." "Worried about the time when I have to see a specialist." "When it'll probably be too late." "This time, it's more serious." "I was told there were problems 'cause I'm climbing to 5.000m." "You wanted a check-up?" "It still hurts, you know where." "Social and medical visit to Paula." "Tell me again where it hurts." "My shirt is sticking to me." "I'll take your blood pressure." "Since you came last, was it 2 or 3 years ago, have you been ill?" "Do you have reason to worry?" "Nothing unusual?" " Worry" "Stomach problems, I don't know" "And you're not taking any pills?" "Nothing?" "OK. 13-6." "What is it normally?" " I don't know" "Don't speak." "Hold your breath a few seconds." "Relax." "Does it hurt?" "Breathe deeply" "Does it hurt?" "Everything's fine." "No ulcers." "Liver's fine, vesicle's fine." "Heart's in good order too, she said." "I might have felt better if I had something." "But no, everything's fine." "I'm fine." "OK. it's good." "I got a letter from Rachel in Italy." "Locarno has refused my film." "It wasn't exceptional enough." "Brussels," "27 July 1983." "Dear JosÃ©," "I've made up my mind." "I'm going on 9 August" "with Aeromexico." "From Paris-Orly arrival in Mexico" "at 23:55." "I'll bring my film and some reels of film." "See you soon." "For Mexico." "26 francs, Si r." "How long will it take to get there?" "About 2-3 days." "I've come to get the camera." " Did you book it?" "It needs a battery" " I'll get one." "Sign here, please." "Thank you." "20.802 francs." "Do you know Luther Street?" "My film is woven slowly like a spider's web." "Can I help you, Sir?" "I'm looking for a bag this colour." "I only have that size in sky blue." "I've a bigger one in white." "I hear you're off tomorrow" " The day after." "Can I have your address?" " Will you visit me?" "It's Upper West Side," "110th St." "In Harlem?" " No, Harlem begins at 125th St." "I'm caught up in History's tide." "I'm stubborn so I'm going once again." "I buy a guidebook." "I go to the bank." "I write a letter:" "I take back the keys." "I buy an exercise book." "I deliver some Elms." "I buy a book." "I hunt for an address." "Important things obscure more important things." "I should've bought a jacket, a shirt or some trousers." "But my watch strap needed mending." "A black one?" "Yes, the same." "The bar is well made." "I'd like some travelers cheques." "For how much?" " 600 dollars." "I don't think we have enough." "An impossible film to make." "I won't make this film." "I've gone astray." "Many dream of going to Mexico." "Few go." "I want to see and film everything." "And when I've been all over;" "I will finally be me." "Sign each cheque here." "One coffee." " 40 francs." ""Missionaries tried and failed to convert them to catholicism."" "Have you finished?" "How long will you stay?" " A month, six weeks." "Will you arrive by Mexico City?" "You don't need any jabs." "Tuck it in your passport, just in case." "You keep it." "Show it when you show your passport." "That's all." "I'm dying of heat." " I'm hot." "Are you coming to Mexico?" "Yes or no?" "Answer!" " No." "Even better." "I thought... it was pancake for two." "It's special, just before my departure." "Eliane, we'll just miss each other:" "I got your card." "I'm glad your holiday went well." "You needed it." "It's very hot here." "I'm always sweating." "I'm feeding cats and plants." "Don't know if I do it right." "I had to fight the cats' fleas with flea collars sprinkled with Alugan." "I started "Babel", my life's film." "I filmed at your place." "I hope you won't mind." "Your flat's a great location." "The heat made the window impossible to open." "Sorry I made lots of phone calls." "I'll pay for them, of course." "Your flat's become a real office." "You'll be in the film too, when I get back." "Finally some incredible news." "On my return from Mexico, I'm moving." "Guess where?" "Above CinÃ©libre!" "I can at last put all my bits and pieces in one place, and maybe discover they're damaged or lost." "I wake from one dream, and fall into another:" "I had one day to pack for Mexico." "I've just a carrier bag of clothes, sung, razor; medication, toothpaste, sun tan lotion." "About 8009." "The rest, film, papers, cameras, recorder;" "Elms... 25-30 kilos." "What time is the Namur train?" " 11:39." "OK, one ticket for Namur." "I take the train to Namur." "I wonder whether to wear shorts." "Yesterday someone thought I was Mexican." "Just before..." "leaving, I nearly said... dying," "I want to see Belgium once more, and say goodbye to some friends." "Will I still recognize Maryse?" "She's always changing her look, her face, her body." "That's nice." "A red rose?" "A baccara." " A baccara!" "Baccaras are bigger than that." "It's a dwarf baccara." "it's the thought that counts." "It's about time." "Should I cut it or not?" "Does it need to last?" " It needs to last." "In any case, I'm leaving." "I'm not taking it with me." "It's a lot of work..." "You'll buy another one." "Wait." "I hope it holds or it'll fall apart." "Stay in Gembloux?" "He said if you wanted to film a festival..." "He said if you want to come..." "I've made a huge cake in the shape of a car." "He said you're welcome." "It's at 4 p.m." "4:00 on the dot?" "We can be a bit late..." " Not in Wallonia." "I told him the day before I went to hospital." "Lucky I didn't mention him there." "I can't drink that any more!" " You can't?" "What'll we see in the Fagnes?" "Depends on what you like." "How about a rare flower?" "But don't get excited, they're no bigger than that." "But Marie-Jeanne, the thing you like best... is picking cranberries." " Who annoys everyone?" "Last time she and Daniel came, the weather was dreadful." "I still wanted to pick." "But they refused." "Like hell." "It was windy they were cold, they weren't interested." "They proposed a vote on it." "I was in the minority of course." "The birds there..." "Remember that bird song record." "It was crazy I remember." "I put it on and hundreds of birds replied." "It was really wild." "So what's this fish song?" "No idea." "Wait." "I'll sing one about mice." "Little mice in the hole escape the tomcat in the hole" "They flee silently to the hole" "To the back of their hole" "When danger's passed They all start singing" "When danger's passed They all start dancing" "That's all I know about fish." "You're talking about Julos song with mummy fish and baby fish." "Bobby Lapointe!" "No!" "Are you ready?" "It was always the same But we liked it anyway" "The old flight of fancy for three" "We were clumsy She was demanding" "The old flight of fancy for three" "Eleanor played piano" "We liked it so much" "We forgot to play" "She stopped and stared at us" "Perched on her stool" "She said Go back to fa mi fa mi rÃ©" "It was always the same But we liked it anyway" "The old flight of fancy for three" "We were clumsy She was demanding" "The old flight of fancy for three" "Boris, are you ready?" "Yes, I'm coming." "I've a few addresses." "We should go to Afghanistan." "No, it's in Tibet." "The pinnacles of mysticism." "And buddhism." "2-3 months. it's possible." "How will you go?" "By train?" "See, Boris, these are cranberries." "These tiny plants." "About 3 months after they flower, the fruits appear." "Those little red balls we ate just now" "Are you interested in seeing..." " Yes, one minute." "Look over here, Marie-Jeanne." "That's it." "I like those gadgets." "Goodbye." " Thanks for everything." "It's nothing." "Till next time." "Yes, till next time." " In two months." "The more I think about going the less I want to." "The joy I'm leaving behind me, my home," "I'll realize that when I leave." "My friends, to whom I write this long letter:" "Did you go for a swim?" " Yes, are you coming?" "I'm leaving." "When are you back from Mexico?" " 2 months time." "Two months?" " And where are you going?" "Italy." "I'm going to make music." "We'll sing in the street." "I hope it's better than Bruges." "Me too." "Bye." " Good bye." "The sea..." "Why go away just to come back as if I'd never moved?" "An image of a happy end?" "Not even a sunset or big romantic waves." "Boris, I got your letter of 16 July." "I told the director of the cinema school about you." "He seemed interested in your project." "I suggest you take the film with you." "I'll ask the Anthropology Institute if you can film." "For the equipment and crew" "I'd rather wait till you get there." "See you soon." "PS:" "I'll be at the airport on the 9th." "We sang about Parisians" "We sang of people from Madrid Who go to the bullring" "To see the toreador" "They say Norwegians" "Daughters of the north Are hotblooded" "And that Americans" "Are the sovereigns Of the New World" "We forget all Under the Mexican sky" "The tropical rhythms drive us crazy" "Our only wish" "When we get off the boat" "Is to taste for a week" "Mexican adventure Under the Mexican sun" "Mexico" "Under your singing sky" "Time whizzes by" "Tasting happiness every day" "Mexico" "Your women are ravishing" "And you'll always be" "Paradise for hearts in love" "A Mexican adventure" "Under the Mexican sky" "It only lasts a week But what a week" "And what a crescendo" "The first evening We take a stroll" "We dance a sensual bolero" "The second we let go" "Nothing can hold us back We gallop away" "We forget everything" "Under the beautiful Mexican sky" "Hot tropical rhythms" "Drive us crazy" "If you get the chance one day" "To take the boat" "Go taste a week Of Mexican adventure" "Under the Mexican sun" "END OF PART ONE"