"What are you doing here?" "Beat it!" "Go!" "Charles." "Charles." "Come this way." "It's not polite to peek into people's homes." "July 1911" "Charles!" "Charles." "Dad's waiting for us." "Mom would be proud." "It's ours now." "Not just yet." "Tired already?" "Dad, I've done some thinking." "Your "tropical" farming..." " Electrical!" " Right, electrical." "You'll spend all your money and go into debt for a risky venture." "Risky?" "Yes, risky." "Nonsense." "It's the future, I'm telling you." "Stop it, Dad!" "I want Lucien to graduate from the military academy." "And the house's not fully paid for yet." "It will be our house." "End your contract in Madagascar and come back." "Charles, you're a pain." "I'm not ready to retire." "Am I stopping you from going to the freaking Sahara?" "Go bury your career in the sand!" "You're free!" "You tell me that?" "After ending my studies to put me in stupid military schools?" "If you two keep arguing, I'll take the next train back!" "We hardly spend any time together." "When are you going?" "I'm sailing out from Marseille in three days." "You're just like me." "You need space." "Ahmed!" "The pivots!" "Easy, easy!" "Keep in line!" "Look to the left!" "Boot to boot, damn it!" "Sorry I kept you waiting." "My respects, Mr. Minister." "So, your Bedouins are rebelling?" "What's the word again?" "Dissidence?" " I'm leaving this morning." " I know." "That's why the President requested my presence." "The President?" "He's interested in nomads now." "Maybe the Republic has finally realized my Bedouins are also hers..." "The Republic has been good to you." "The Sahara is all yours." "Your powers are limitless." "You can't complain because the Republic has given you carte blanche." "Come this way." "You'll do our President a favor for a lady cousin of his." "Beware, Saganne." "Her father is a De Saint-Ilette." "Her mother's a cousin of the President's." "She's stupid but also cruel." "You're scaring them, Saganne." "But you have nothing to lose." "They won't accept you unless you die for them." "Then they make you a hero." "They allowed you to be an officer, you, with your big paws." "Ever wondered why, peasant boy?" " Only to use you." " Let them use me!" "I don't care about their daughter." "I don't care about anything." "I've been buried in this hole for six months." "I see..."The call of the Sahara" and all that..." "Speaking of which, "His majesty" Dubreuilh" " is coming for a visit." " Colonel Dubreuilh?" " I thought he was in France." " He's rushing back." "The once friendly tribes have fled." "Things are heating up." " When is he coming?" " Next Wednesday." "We're in for a big barbecue at the chief's with everyone all dressed up!" "Let me show him my men and my horses." "I want him to take me with him." "You're some guy." "When I see you like this..." "I almost want to live." "Saber in hand!" "Forward!" "In a single line!" "So that's him?" "Sabers... down!" "The French girl!" "Get off this horse." " Let me be." " Madeleine, get off the horse." "Are you happy now?" "Let go of my daughter!" "Fine specimens." "If they have kids, keep one for me." "Colonel, a family's fate is in your hands." "Father, humanity's fate is in God's hands." "Excuse me." "Keep spreading God's word." "The world needs it." "Lieutenant Saganne, Sir!" "Lieutenant, I dislike masquerades." "The army is not a circus." "It's time you learned and I mean to teach you." "You're leaving tomorrow at 5:00 a.m." "I'm taking you with me, south to Hodh." "That'll be it." "Dismiss." "I made this for you." "I don't want to eat." "I don't want to sleep." "He'll be back." "I don't want to live without him." "He'll be back." ""Dear Lucien, did you get my money order?" "It takes work to climb the ranks." "Study hard!" "Graduate as a warrant officer and then only will you be able to relax if you want to." "We're heading south, with half the Sahara to cover!" "Things are bad there." "Mekalla, our former ally, fled with his tribes." "What's worse, beyond the border is another powerful chief:" "Sultan Omar." "Sultan Omar has one objective:" "holy war against France." "Dubreuilh is a model leader, even though I haven't seen him in three weeks." "He keeps sending me on missions... reconnaissance, provision, training." "He saves the chores for me." "He's testing me, but he won't break my spirit." "I enjoy the long, lonely treks with Embarek." "I'm discovering the desert." "Here, everything stands still." "We'll make sure to put things in motion..."" "The Colonel's going too fast!" "In three days, the camels will drop dead." "He won't slow down." "He's in a hurry." "Here's our master of ceremonies... with orders." "The Colonel said to be ready for dinner at 7:00 p.m." "That goes for you too." "Isn't that grand?" "It's like a walk in his castle's gardens." "I heard you were working on a book on Muslim sects." " You find that odd, don't you?" " Why would I?" "Because I'm Jewish!" "A Jew interested in Islam!" " Didn't you know?" " I'd never thought of it." "Why did Emir Mekalla's tribe desert?" "Wattignie, the man in command there, is no good." "Dubreuilh and Mekalla are good men." "I was their interpreter." "They're like two medieval lords, lost in their dreams." "With the nomads, we need to make allies of the noble tribes." " Allow me to say..." " One moment." "Calon-Ségur, 1904." "Will that do?" "Please, continue, Mr. Hazan." "Nobles don't work, they plunder." "They live by raising oases and caravans." "Our mission to end insecurity will threaten their livelihood." "For the nobles, law and order means starvation." "This is all fascinating." "Listening to you, one wonders what France is doing here..." "Mr. Hazan." "What's Lieutenant Saganne's opinion?" "Our Lieutenant's peasant stock is keeping him from having an opinion." "Unlike you." "Gentlemen..." "I have work to do." "Have a good night." "You must think all we do is criticize." "Are you anti-Semitic, Mr. Saganne?" "What's going on?" "Lieutenant, he's my brother." "He wants to desert." "He says we're worn out." "He says we're going too fast." "So I cut his leg a little to calm him down, so he won't lose his pay." "Put a tourniquet on his leg." "I'll talk to the Colonel." "The Colonel's working!" "He won't see anybody." "He won't be disturbed!" "I'm not sleeping!" "What are you doing here?" "Out!" "Lieutenant!" "We're going too slow." "Starting tomorrow, we'll cover 40 miles a day." "Instruct your men." "Scurvy." "He'll die today." "Only God abides in His house forever." "Many of us are dying now, everywhere." "We were here." "He didn't die alone." "Our men are far now." "You're wearing yourself out." "Colonel?" "We'll soon arrive at Wattignie's fort." "Try to look presentable!" "Hurry, hurry." "The welcome committee!" "It's nothing!" "Don't let them scare you!" "They're not nobles." "Just a small vassal tribe." "Present arms!" "Meet the biggest jackass in the Sahara!" "Major Wattignie!" "Saganne, get that fool out of here!" "Sergeant Vulpi, that's me!" "10 years in the Sahara, demoted twice, and I'm not ashamed to say so!" "Sorry, sir." "Dubreuilh's here, so no more crap!" " Wattignie's out!" " Enough!" "Go back to church, choir boy!" "Fuck Wattignie!" "That's right!" "Those desert nomads are warriors!" "Wattignie made them break rocks and plant beans." "He made the desert lords do chores and pay fines!" "So they scrammed and now we're in deep shit!" " Vulpi, I command you to be quiet!" " Who will go after them?" " You, with Holy Water?" " Vulpi!" "I know, I'm good for the slammer." "In the meantime, let's go for a beer." "A chance to drink with a fellow soldier's son." " Isn't your dad a non-com?" " That's right." "It's called the bush telegraph... you do something off up North, the next day, the whole Sahara knows about it!" "Good job, Wattignie!" "Have you ever looked at this map?" "Right here behind the border lines," "Sultan Omar is waiting on an opportunity to attack us." "Why do you think Mekalla and all the tribes have left?" " To go pick strawberries?" " They wouldn't obey me." "Why do you think we have a goddamn map?" "!" "Mekalla broke his alliance with me for Sultan Omar." "Now we're trapped and forced out of the whole area!" "It's so simple, Wattignie." "Even for you!" "I told you to leave them alone." " They're robbers." " Shut up!" "You just don't understand them." "I want you out of here." "You'll go back North." "I'll go find Mekalla." "And I'll drag him back here." "Geindroz, do you have any camels?" " Ours are too tired." " They're grazing at Jhallaouia." " It hasn't rained and so..." " Saganne, go get them." "You'll rest on your way back." "You do enjoy long treks." "And that ghost town is worth a sweat." "Gentlemen." "Take Vulpi with you." "He'll give you a hand." "We'll demote him when he returns." "It's his third time, so there's no hurry." "At least, he knows the Sahara." "I'll be right back." " Everything okay, sir?" " Leave me alone!" "The camels you took are mine." " Who are you?" " The camels are mine." " They belong to the Tit." " And the Tit belongs to me." "But not the shepherd." "Everything is mine... the camels, the shepherds, the sky!" "This is mine." "I'm giving it to you." "Take it." "I have 40 camels." "I'll give you 10." " 20." " 15." " 17." " 15, and that's it." "You're just like us, Lieutenant Saganne." " So you know my name?" " I'm Amajar." "Amajar... chief of the Nemas, 50 warriors, married to Mekalla's daughter." "For a newcomer, you know a lot." "Be careful, Saganne." "You're ill." "Geindroz!" "Go check if he brought the camels with him." "I'm from Ariège too!" "I'll take care of you." "Don't you touch me!" "You're just exhausted." "Leave me alone." "I was wrong." "I can't do this." "It's too much." "Dubreuilh's right." "I like the protocol, the uniform... but not here." "Not here." "I'm too tired." " I'm tired." " It's typical." " You're bushed." " Get the hell out!" " I don't need a nun!" " I'm a doctor." "Get the hell out!" "All right, work it out alone." "He needs quinine and lots of water." ""My dear Lucien, we go through this country like a sword through the fire... a real forge." "How can one endure it?" "Willpower and courage are not enough." "Neither is endurance." "Simplicity is key here."" "Keep playing." "Her name's Demla." "Tempted?" "I didn't come here to abuse children." " Why did you come here?" " How about you?" "Me?" "Like everyone else, I wanted to get away." "But I have a goal in life." "I want to be the only camel-riding cellist on earth!" "Be careful, Saganne." "Beware of their bullshit..." ""the mystical desert, the effort to surpass oneself," "France's duty to civilize..."" "Lieutenant, we're leaving in the morning." "The Colonel's waiting for us at Mekalla's camp." "Attention!" "These are my boys, César and Marius." "Emir Mekalla is the one in the middle, next to the Colonel." "They've been talking for three days." "Mekalla agrees to join us again, but a couple of tribe leaders are against it... young men who won't listen." "You're not ill anymore." "Let's have some tea." "Saganne!" "Wait for me." "Is your fever gone?" "Are you back on the saddle?" "Everybody goes through that, you know?" "I did." "So you've befriended that mule..." "It's a good thing." "He's been a pain in the ass for three days now." "You have to change his mind." "He's got to make a decision:" "either he's with Mekalla and all of us, or he's with Sultan Omar, against us." " Sir..." " I'm counting on you." "Dear Madeleine," "I'm writing to you from the Great South." "This letter may take months before it gets to you." "Are you writing to your wife?" "She's not my wife." "Get married and have lots of children." "That's good." "Why have they sent you here?" "France has water." "Here, you have to know how to find it." "And you don't." "What did you do?" "Did you kill your brother or something?" " No, I wanted to be here." " What do you want?" "What's your goal?" "The Colonel knows what he wants." " How about you?" " I am with myself." "If Mekalla goes my way, I'll go with him." "If not, I'll go my own way." "With the French... it works like this." "But here... it works like this." "I did it, Saganne!" "I'm the first to do it!" "Sir!" "Sir!" "Amajar has left!" "With all his Nemas!" "Yesterday, people said that Amajar had a mind of his own." "Dubreuilh shouldn't have rushed things." "Last night, he told Mekalla you'd talked Amajar into joining us." "No one asked him to give in." "But I won't tolerate... and neither will my friend Mekalla... tribe leaders sneaking off in the middle of the night!" "It's an insult to our authority." "On the other side of the border," "Sultan Omar is waiting for an opportunity to attack us." "I'm counting on you." "Saganne, bring him back." ""Dear Lucien, we've been marching for 17 days through a real desert, and I'm my own master at last!" "I'm after Amajar and his Nemas." "Who knows what Amajar will do?" "Will he join the enemy?" "One thing is certain, if I don't find him quick, we may lose other tribes too." "That would be chaos." "So every day counts." "We've reached the Erg Chech." "No European has ever entered it." ""We walk in God's trust," as the Arabs say." "We've lost all trace of them." "Very little water left." "If we keep going, we may not find any." "You decide." "Let's keep going!" "Still praying, Geindroz?" "I'm not praying." "I can't anymore." "Sorry, Geindroz." "I can't help you with that." "Sir!" "Geindroz has stopped!" "He won't go on." "Sir?" "Come on, Geindroz." "Don't be stupid." "Get up." "Geindroz!" "Come on!" "I promise we'll find a well before tonight." "You don't know where to find one." "You don't know a thing!" "You know nothing!" "We're all going to die because of you." "What for?" "So you can show Dubreuilh you're a leader?" "He doesn't give a shit about you!" "He never has." "You know why he took you along?" "Orders from Paris!" "To get you away from the De Saint-Ilette girl." "Everyone knows but you!" "Sir!" "Sir!" "Hurry!" "They've found tracks!" "They're not Nemas." "They're Berabers." "They're bringing back prisoners." "They attacked a village of Ouled Cheikh." "Attack them, sir." "They have booty, and women!" "If you go near them, they'll shoot." "They have water." "We don't." " Ever seen combat?" " No." "Me neither." "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "We got them!" "We got them!" "Embarek, go check on Messaoud." "I think they killed him." "Sound assembly." "We can't go on." "They walked a long way." "Their country is far away." "Down that way, there's a river and animals." "There are tall trees, but no palm trees." "I've never been that way." "With them along, you'll never catch up to Amajar." "Sir!" "Sir!" "Sir, we saw some carabineers and their captain." "Halt!" "Lieutenant Saganne." "Captain Baculard, District 3, North Sudan!" "You're a godsend, Captain." "I was after the Nemas, but I came across some Berabers." "I was wondering what I'd do with those women and children." " I assume you know where you are." " I honestly can't say for sure." "You are in French West Africa... on my territory!" "Those people are mine." "I've been after them for days." "The booty's yours, then." "That includes the camels and riffles... and those people who need to go home." "I don't give a shit about those niggers." " I'm afraid I'm on a mission." " Are you kidding me?" "You won't enter my district!" "Only I have the authority to negotiate with the Nemas." "Again, I'm asking you to take those people home." "I have no orders to receive from a little shit like you!" "Shut the fuck up and get the hell out of here!" "Then I'll take them home." "Lieutenant Geindroz." "We're going to the Senegal River!" "You asshole!" "Moving forward!" "Turn around, Saganne!" "This is an order!" "Stop or I'll open fire." "Halt!" "Let me go, sir." "Ready, aim!" "You want to open fire?" "Do it yourself and shoot a French officer." "Moving forward!" "Hit me, Captain." "Hit me!" "Moving forward!" ""You wouldn't believe it, little brother!" "I can barely believe it myself." "What a trek... from the Mediterranean all the way to Senegal... a whole continent!" "The children are now in an orphanage run by nuns." "Will they ever see their families again?" "And who will take those abused women back?" "No father, no husband will." "One man refused to leave us." "He's grown attached to my second lieutenant... a new recruit for France."" "If you want them to leave him alone, just tell them he's yours." "Have I shocked you?" "You have." "Stop torturing yourself, Geindroz." "At least you've found what you were looking for." ""Dear father," "Here, I am a liberator." "Here, I'm important." "I wish you could be with me." "Here, people are judged by their actions, not by their origins." "Now, I have to find Amajar." "If I complete my mission, I'll be entitled to ask Dubreuilh whether or not he got orders to take me away from the De Saint-Ilettes."" "There's your Nemas." "You were right." "Captain Baculard is insane." "Amajar." "Who sewed you up?" "He did." "But with his leg, he's done for." "Sir, can you imagine what it will be like?" "I can't." "Have you ever done that before?" "I haven't, especially not with a tool kit!" "He sewed himself up." "We can't just let him die." "I need the needle!" "He's bleeding." "All right, let's do it." "Hold him still, goddamn it!" " He's dead." " We'll see." "Let's finish this." "The plate!" "Embarek, bandage him up." "He's breathing." " How's Amajar?" " He slept a lot." "As did you." "I know you were ambushed." "It was no battle." "You got slaughtered." "You will walk and ride again." "Madeleine?" "I can't play." "I'm hurt." "So, Saganne... what's the news on the Senegal River?" "Please accept my resignation, sir." "Now for the facts..." "The report from French West Africa accuses you of "insubordination, threatening a superior," etc." "It goes on for three pages." "The War Ministry is requesting an inquiry." "We have another report for the General Governor, and last but not least, the Health Services are requesting that you be punished for illegal practice of medicine." " Some record." " Sir, I want to leave the army." "Why is that?" "Captain Baculard slaughtered men under my protection." "Nonsense!" "There was an altercation, and you weren't even there!" "That was no simple incident." "That was a deliberate massacre in retaliation against me!" "So what?" "These tribes were getting away." "Now, they got so scared, they're back with us." "Isn't that what we wanted?" "So I should have left those women and children to die, and killed the Nemas myself?" " Of course not." " Of course, yes!" "Let's be logical to the end." "That's why I'm resigning." "If you quit now, you lose face, and so do all the Saharans, me included!" "Sir, I cannot wear this uniform if officers..." "You mean Baculard, right?" "Here, you'll keep this as a souvenir." "Orders from Paris calling Baculard back to France, where he'll do some meditation in a small town before he's transferred to the madhouse." "Come on, take it!" "So, Saganne, are you satisfied?" "No, sir." "I heard the De Saint-Ilettes put pressure..." "A question for you, Saganne:" "do you think the President and his family can impose their whims on me?" "Do you?" "Do you think me capable of surrounding myself with officers I don't respect?" "Would you rather have stayed here to rot?" "I took you with me because I needed you." "And because you needed me." "One last question, Saganne:" "do you think I'm a puppet?" "Are you still resigning?" " Answer me!" " No." "At long last." "I was worried there." "Did you think of your family?" "You support them, don't you?" "I did think of them, sir." "Let's have lunch tomorrow." "I have a great mission for you." "In the meantime, relax a little." "You'll notice that everybody's talking about you here." "I asked her to marry me." "I was going to convert to Islam, stop drinking... start over." "The bitch left the next day, without a word, nothing." "Why?" "With Arabs, you know..." "I've lived with them a long time and I know that those who like us, hate us really." "For them, we're dogs that pounced on Africa." "That's all we are." "And you... a glorious, handsome lieutenant." "The De Saint-Ilettes are going to crawl at your feet!" "Who's there?" "Madeleine." "Are you crazy?" "If anyone saw you here..." "I waited for you on the tennis court." "For hours." "Why didn't you come?" "It's like I don't exist for you." "If I do, tell me so." "Tell me what I should do." "'Cause I'll do it." " You are just a child..." " I am not a child!" "I'm not!" "Don't cry." " I love you." " Madeleine, I..." "I've loved you from the start." "Go home now." "I'll be back and we'll see each other again." "I told you." "You are the man of the day!" "I rarely eat out alone with a subordinate." "Lieutenant..." "I've decided to crush Sultan Omar on his own ground." "Behind the border?" "Borders are nothing but lines on a map." "And we decide where to draw them." "Now that Mekalla is with us, we might as well put an end to all dissidence and insure our hold on that area for good." "Does the government approve?" "In a democracy, you can act without the government's approval, on one condition:" "if public opinion's behind you." "That's where you come into play." "I'm sending you to Paris." "I need a hero for the reporters." "Don't argue, you're a hero." "I want all Paris to talk about you... and the Sahara." "Do you feel up to it?" "I don't, sir." "You'll learn to..." "Saganne." "End of Part One" "So?" "I failed trigonometry." "I won't make warrant officer." "I'm not even close." "I'm sorry." "It's okay." "The rain, that smell..." "I'd forgotten all about it." "So the house is almost ours." "Go spend your vacation there and start furnishing it." "Charles..." " I want to get married." " "Want" or "will"?" "I'm getting married, as soon as I get my assignment." "Her name's Marthe Vallin." "I met her at a friend's." "She's a school teacher." "You and Dad are going to like her." " Lucien, you're 20 years old." " 21 in two months." "No sermons, please!" "I've heard it all before." "You don't know how lucky you are to be a cadet!" " I know I owe it all to you." " It's not what I mean!" "You're ruining it all!" "You don't study, you want to get married... a 20 year-old failure!" "I'm sorry, Lucien." "I'll come by your hotel." "Nine times the size of France." "Everything is big there." "Wind, silence, space... those words take on a whole different meaning there." "For those who have the honor to insure the French peace there, the desert teaches energy and abnegation." "In the Sahara, men are just men... stripped of all pretense." "They are truer to themselves." "That is why we mustn't jeopardize France's work in the Sahara." "Mr. Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, peace will be threatened until the rebels beyond the border are wiped out." "It is the only option." "And it can be done." "That is all." "I'm the Baron de Soucy, head of the Catholic Colonial Friendship." "I meant to ask, what do you think of the theory according to which the Berber nomads descend from crusaders?" "It is said that, on their trip to the Holy Land, they got lost in the desert." "What do I think?" "Nothing." " I got your note this morning." " And I got yours." "I had to sneak out to get here." "Charles..." "Marthe is waiting downstairs." "I want you to meet her." "I have nothing to say to her." " She has a child, but I don't care." " I don't want to discuss this." "By marrying an unwed mother, you're ruining your career and your life." "I am asking you not to marry her." "That's impossible." "I'm warning you," "I'll do everything I can to put a stop to this madness." " I was expecting better from you." " So was I." "Mr. Minister will see you now." "Lieutenant, that operation beyond the borders will not take place, in spite of Dubreuilh, who's been after his two stars for four years." " Him?" " Like all of them." "But Dubreuilh is out of touch with reality." "We may soon be at war with Germany, so forget about Sultan Omar." "The right time was last year." "It's too late now." "Leave Dubreuilh to his mirage." "You seem nice, brave and energetic." "You know the locals." "You need a real job." "I have an offer for you." "The Franco-Algerian Alfa needs a new director to replace the decrepit Saint-Ilette." "Think about it before you give me your answer." "There's nothing to think about." " "The Liberating Angel."" " Beg your pardon?" "Didn't you read the paper?" ""The Liberating Angel"..." "that's the title." ""He's handsome, brave and eloquent." "Lieutenant Charles Saganne has it all and managed to charm us with his warm voice and thrilling adventures." "However, what has the desert taught him?" "Energy, abnegation, so it seems." "But where does Saganne's path really lead?" "He is a magnificent blind machine rushing ahead unaware of what makes it go."" " Who wrote that?" " Louise Tissot... our contemporary Georges Sand." "Sir, I accepted my mission in Paris because I considered it useful." "It turned out to be grotesque." "Colonel Dubreuilh had no right to be so mistaken!" "And you just tried to corrupt me!" "If I don't reply to these insults, then I deserve to be called a puppet." "Here you are." "I had everything planned out and I fell asleep." "Planned out?" "Hand me my robe, please." "The newspaper gave you my address." "That's why I wrote that article." "So you'd come here." "My robe, please." "This was planned too." "What was?" "You coming close to me, your hand in mine..." "I wanted to see you." "I wanted you." "If you hadn't come, I would have gone to your hotel." "Easy." "Easy." "Easy!" "Kiss me." "Easy!" "Easy!" "Wait." "Not yet." "Wait." "Wait." "Young man in a hurry." " What are you doing?" " Working." "Don't put your clothes on." "Please." "I want to stay with you." "For how long?" "Don't." "I'll do what you say." "Let go." "Let go!" " I am meeting someone." " Don't go." "If I put my life on hold for you, what will it look like in two days?" " What?" " My life." " What about me?" " Your life is there." "But I'm not stuck there." "I can come and go." "Please don't go!" " I'm begging you!" " Louise." "What's wrong?" "Stop it." "Louise!" "You represent everything that I hate... the uniform, power and moral justifications." "All that seems too far now." "I've learned so much with you." " In my bedroom?" " Indeed." "In your bedroom." "Sir?" "There's a letter for you." "Your hotel sent it over." "Thanks." "What is it?" "What's wrong?" "Please leave me alone." "I don't want to look pathetic in front of you." "What's wrong?" "I'll leave you alone." "Call me if you need me." "So I did what I thought was right." "I went to the Ministry of War and I asked them to prevent Lucien from getting married." "After he was officially informed, he went to see that young woman, he told her... and she drowned two hours later." "You're all pale." "I turn yellow in such situations." "You shouldn't have done that." "And you shouldn't have told me." "Go." "Vulpi!" "Vulpi!" "Get up!" "Arms drill!" "You've been sleeping for three months!" "He's gone nuts." "Are you going out tonight?" "Now that Dubreuilh's been sent off, how long do you think we'll stay in this jolly place?" "We'll be here awhile." "Wattignie's taking it out on me." "And you on them." "It makes sense." "That's the point of hierarchy." "Go wash up." "You stink." "Sure, sure, sure." "It's a not a good sign when they suddenly take off." "They left the old lady behind." "What's she saying?" "She says Sultan Omar is coming back to cut everybody's balls off." "Bullshit." "Still, go check out what's going on." ""Dear Madeleine, I'm all alone." "This place is deserted, completely empty, just like me." "I think of you more and more, and I wish I could have you naked next to me, my skin against your skin... your legs, your belly..."" ""Dear Madeleine, how have you been?" "I hope you and your family are well." "Do you still play tennis with my friend Hazan?" " My work here..."" " So you took my booze!" " You've had enough to drink!" " It's mine!" "Give it back." ""Dear Madeleine..."" "No kidding?" "You're still hopeful?" "It's too fucking late!" "You've been fucked!" "The peasant guy got fucked!" "I can't take this anymore." "I have no desire for anything." "Just leave." "Take a leave." "Go home." "To Ariège." " So?" " Sir, they're all saying many warriors are siding with Sultan Omar." "Three different tribes!" " 30 came by yesterday." " Did you see them?" "No, but they say Sultan Omar will rally up 500 warriors." "That's a lie. 500 warriors cannot all follow one leader." " Shut up!" " Why shut up?" " Liar!" " I'm not a liar!" "Cut out the crap!" "Sir, look at the doc." "Louis!" "Louis!" "Stay where you are, Saganne!" "I figured out why we're here!" "To serve France!" "But who is that?" "It's the priests and the police, and those jerk-offs in their offices!" "That's why we're here!" "So we don't have to see them!" "So we can be free!" "But we forgot one thing:" "we're bored!" "We're fucking bored!" "Be careful." "Louis!" "You're gonna listen." "For once, you'll listen without interrupting." "You don't see anything, you don't see anyone... but I've always known I was done for!" "I'm a pitiful soldier... a pitiful doctor, a pitiful musician." "I'm nothing." "Get down." "And you're nothing too!" "You're Saganne!" "You're nothing but a word." "Look, Saganne." " Is that the doctor?" " Yes." "This is for you." "How about you, Saganne?" "That's where I'm from." "Omar is crazy." "He wants to fight." "He wants to kill all the French." "He wants to be in power." "He will not allow anybody any rights." "He's crazy." "No one can stop him now." "Do you know when he'll cross the border?" "Tomorrow." "Maybe the day after." " Give my regards to Mekalla." " I will." "Don't stay here." "Omar is on its way here." "Omar is on his way." "We'll stop him in Esseyen." "With 48 men and no orders?" "We'll leave at 5:00 a.m. 200 cartridges per man and everything we'll need to set up a fortified camp." "Even if we don't stop him, we'll slow him down." "That will give Wattignie some time to get organized." "Pick a messenger." "I can dig you another hole to gain some time." ""Madeleine, this letter I am writing to you is probably the last." "I realize it is also the first." "I love you, but I wasn't able to tell you... or myself, for that matter." "Tomorrow, we'll fight a terrible battle, but one that I want to fight." "Just like you, it is already lost, but I still want it." "Who could understand that?" "I met another woman after you, before you." "Until I met her, I'd never asked myself questions." "Now, I wish I could spend my life with you, away from here, in a house I was not lucky enough to live in, a house nestled in a park, where our children would play and where I would die one day, but not tomorrow." "Not tomorrow." "Not tomorrow." "Farewell, Madeleine."" "250." "250." "The first one is at 200." "200." "Stop it." "What the fuck are they doing?" " Where are they?" " They're everywhere, sir." "Everywhere." "Over there!" "Fire at will!" "Get up!" "Fire back!" "Everybody get up!" "Fire back!" "Get yourselves in place." "Fire!" "Cease fire!" "Cease fire!" "Cease fire!" "Fire!" "Cease fire!" "Vulpi, cease fire!" "Hey, brothers!" "You bastards!" "Bastards!" "You pansy bastards!" "Enough!" "Get back here and stay down!" "The guy over there is his cousin." "Stay at your posts!" "Leave the camels." "At your posts!" "Fire at will!" "Cease fire!" "Larbi." " What's the matter?" " I got shot." "Vulpi!" " What's that?" " Sugar." "That's all I have left." "It'll stop the bleeding when it dries off." "Hold out, sir." "We're the winners." "Sultan Omar is scared now." "Even if he kills us all, you're the winner." "Have them fire once in a while so they don't fall asleep." "You Muslim brothers, I have important news for you!" "The toughest tribes are coming." "They're numerous and ruthless." "I can't believe it." "It's a whole army." "Ahmed has deserted." "Nobody saw him leave." "Pick your six best shooters." "They'll cover us from here." "Cover what?" "We'll wait for them to charge and we'll pull out our bayonets." "Have the other men join me." "We gotta die somehow." "Ready to fire!" "Good." "Wait some more." "Fire!" "Fire!" "Go!" "Go!" "Halt!" "Get ready to fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Fire!" "Let's regroup." "They won't be scared for too long." "Sultan Omar's going home, you can be sure of it." "They've never seen anything like this." "I didn't believe in your freaking charge." "Thanks, Madeleine." "See you tomorrow on the tennis court?" "Hello, Madeleine." "Hello." "How have you been?" " Very well." " Good bye, then." "René, I'll see you again tomorrow." "I'm happy to see you, Charles." "It's a privilege to have a hero for a friend." "You've made history." "I have to talk to you." "What, now?" "How do you feel about Madeleine?" " What does that have to do with you?" " Don't play dumb." "You're being dumb." "What would it change if I told you I loved her?" "You don't know her." "If she chooses to, she'll marry you." "You would like to win a friendly battle between us, wouldn't you?" "Sorry, but I can't play your game." "Can you imagine the De Saint-Ilettes going to synagogue?" "Stop it." "You have the money, and I have nothing." " You are successful." " And so what?" "I had to pay a high price for it." "We know that." "We know you're brave." "I'm no braver than others." "I'm like anybody else." "So you're Jewish and you love her!" "Is that my fault?" "I'm sorry." "No harm done." "It's not your fault indeed." "In the name of the President, and by the powers invested in me," "I am making you Knight of the Legion of Honor." "Mr. and Mrs. De Saint-Ilette..." "I am asking for your daughter's hand in marriage." "Madam, sir..." "I am planning on marrying your daughter Madeleine." "No." "Yes, mother." "July 1914" "I don't want us to be apart." "Ever." " I don't mean to intrude." " You are welcome here." "This house is yours." "Good timing." "I could use your help." "I want everything to be ready for Dad's arrival." " I'm leaving tonight." " Already?" " Something big is happening." " What's happening?" "Are you kidding?" "Jean Jaurès was assassinated last night." "Didn't you know?" "No, I didn't." "I am being sent to Nancy." "The idiots." "Waging this war is the worst thing to do." "Charles, we have to retaliate to the Germans' attack." "Come in and meet Madeleine." "Why are you telling me about Baculard now?" " You didn't quit, in the end." " Indeed." "One day, I saw them all lined up in front of me..." "Grandpa, Dad and him." "They were sitting in the exact same position." "They were like a brick wall." "Let's go outside." " Can you make us some coffee?" " I'll meet you outside." "Soon, Dad will live here with the two of you." "Life will go on." "What do you mean?" "Be very careful, Lucien." "If war is declared, be very careful." "It won't be a big loss for anybody." "It would be for me." "I don't want to hear what you think." "Can you understand that I love you even though I can't forgive you?" "Why did you come here?" "To say goodbye." "Charles?" "Charles!" "Sir, I have just given your men our last jars of jam." " Thank you, Mother." " They seem so lost here." "I also meant to let you know... that I prayed for your late brother." "And I prayed for you too." "I'm sorry, but I don't believe in God." "We received new orders, sir." "We're going back to the front." "The Krauts are attacking." "Sir?" "Can you write my letter before we go get butchered?" ""To Captain Marcheux, 3rd depot," "Algiers."" "Write exactly what I say." ""It is my honor to report to you... that we're in deep shit." "Out of 50 platoons," "12 are still standing." "All others have died or been injured." "Larbi has lost an arm." "Big Mohammad has lost an eye." "I now understand what we're here for:" "we're here to share first line with the niggers."" "Add that I salute him." "Let me sign it." "Thank you, sir." "I've been looking for you for so long... for months." "How did you find me?" "Through your friend René Hazan." " You went by his house." " I did." " You're married?" " He didn't tell you?" "No." "Do I know her?" " Do you love her?" " I do." "More than you loved me?" "No." "I want to have your child." "That's why I've been looking for you." "Sorry, sir." "Everybody's waiting in the trucks." "They're waiting in the trucks?" "This is for you." "You are beautiful." "Don't move." "Don't ever move." "Charge!" "Charge!" "Charge!" "Charge!" " We're done for, sir!" " We gotta go." "They won't!" " They won't go, sir." " They'll pay with their lives anyway." "When you return, tell them..." "Go." "You go." "Second regiment, out of the ditch and advance slowly." "Hurry up, dammit." "Don't fall asleep and get your weapons." "Can you hear me, sir?" "Move your eyelids if you can hear me." "Would you like me to read your letters?" "This is from your wife." "She says she's expecting a child." "Did you hear me, sir?" "A child." "This is from Captain Flammarin." "He says," ""I quit drinking and I met your wife." "She invited me for lunch." "As I was sitting in front of her, it occurred to me you finally got what you wanted... adventure, glory, success and happiness."" "Throw the body into the water." "I have no more room." "He was exceptionally driven, energetic and brave." "He acted as a hero at Esseyen and kept the Sahara French." "In his last efforts to lead his soldiers through battle, he made the ultimate sacrifice for France." "Attention!" " What's your name?" " Charles Saganne." "I'm Amajar." "See the camel over there?" "It's yours."