"French Riviera, 1915" "Is this where the Renoirs live?" "What do you want?" "I heard there's work for me here." "With a painter." " Who said that?" " Mr. Renoir's wife." "They're waiting for you." "Who are you?" "No one." "An orphan." "You're a liar." "Mrs. Renoir is dead." "Dead!" "Yes?" "Is it true what the kid said?" "The missus is dead?" "The boss is waiting for you." "Did I frighten you, my dear?" "No." "Show me your hands." "What's your name?" "Andrée." "Andrée Heuschling." "And you say it's my poor wife who sent you?" "She told me..." "She said maybe I could pose for you." "A girl from out of nowhere... sent by a dead woman." "I think we're going to work together." "Vermilion..." "Of course." "Sienna..." "Here you go." "Go easy..." "Just a small drop." "What am I supposed to do?" "Whatever you please." "If you want to pose for me, you'll have to be free all day long." "I'll sort it out." "Do you have a job?" "Here and there..." "I'm an artist." "An artist?" "Well, well." "What kind of artist?" "Whatever you like." "Actress, dancer, singer..." "Where am I?" "You didn't paint me?" "Why should I pose if you don't even paint me?" "I'll see you tomorrow, dear." "I'm not promising anything." "I've got better things to do." "Get here earlier so we can take advantage of the light." "Give her five francs for her trouble." "Can you give her five francs?" "I cost ten francs." "Boss, do you mind if I move?" "If I minded, I'd paint apples." "I had a friend, a painter, who lived not far from here, in Aix." "He had to hide from the models hanging around his atelier." "So what did he paint?" "Apples..." "And wooden mannequins." "That, I could never do." "I need living, breathing material." "What interests me, is skin." "The velvety texture of a young girl's skin." "You've got nerve!" "You snooping around?" "I'm catching insects." "Don't you go to school?" "My dad says it's a waste of time." "I thought you were an orphan." "My brothers are at war, my mom's dead, and my father may as well be." " Who's your father?" " The old man." " What's your name?" " Claude." "But people call me Coco." "I'm Andrée, but people call me Dédée." "Are you about done?" "Yes, boss, I'm coming." "Are you pleased with your new model?" "Her skin soaks up the light." "You did well to send her." "The second I saw her, I knew she was a little Renoir." "You gave me three little Renoirs... but with this blasted war, two of them are missing." "Jean..." "My Jeannot..." "What have they done to him?" "Don't worry, he'll be all right." "Will they send him back alive?" "In one piece?" "Come on, it's the boss!" "Shit, shit!" "Shit!" "Shit!" "Not so fast!" "If you want to help me, do a good job." "Show me your brush." "That's not the right one." "I told you to use a flat brush." "Do you listen to me, or don't you care?" "Did you read the book of fables I gave you?" "I haven't had time." "I exempted you from attending school, but certainly not from studying." "Is that understood?" "Is he gonna stay?" "Coco, leave us alone." "Go read your fables." "What about the canvases?" "They can wait." "You're rather modest for an actress." "Actress doesn't mean whore." "Sit down." "I have a son who's an actor." "Pierre." "Really?" "My eldest." "In the movies?" "Thank heavens no." "He's a stage actor." "Though that's hardly better." "What do you mean?" "It's not a real profession." "One where you use your hands to make something that will last." " It lasts in people's minds." " It's hot air." "In comparison to a chair... a house... a pair of shoes... a plate..." "Are you always like that?" " Like what?" " Grumpy." "Not when I'm working." "And the third one?" "Jean?" "What does he do?" "He dabbles." "He enlisted in the cavalry on the eve of the war." "The poor boy." "He was wounded." "Gangrene to boot." "It's us... old people, the infirm," "who they should send to the front." "In the mud and the trenches." "Get up and walk around a bit." "These are my dad's gloves." "He can't wear them anymore." "Who's the kid here?" "My brother Jean." "He's cute." "Not in person." "Is that you?" "That's my big brother Pierre." "The actor?" "This is you." "No, it's not me." "You sure?" "I said it's not me!" "Your mother was beautiful." "I don't know." "I only remember her old and fat." "Show me your tits." "Are you nuts?" "Show me." "Why should I show you?" "You show them to the boss." "That's different." "That's for art." "Yeah, right." "You'll end up in the old man's bed too." "Like my mother." "Like all of them." "Jean!" "Jeanne"" "You're skin and bones." "Don't they feed you in the army?" "Yes, but not at the hospital." "We'll fatten you up." "Your father will be so happy!" "Do you need some help?" "No, I'll be fine." "Boss, he's here!" "Second Lieutenant!" "Yeah." "Treat me with respect, rookie." "Are you all better?" "If I was better, I'd still be fighting." "No, you'd be dead." "Coco..." "Jean!" "Well, well." "Is your wound serious?" "It's healing well." "I'll have a limp for a while." "It'll give me an officer's allure." "I saw Pierre in Paris." "He was demobilized." "They'll have to operate." "Again?" "For his arm." "One with one arm, one with a limp, and me in a little chair with a pillow under my ass..." "We make a fine family." "When will you be demobilized?" "For the moment, I'm on sick leave." "Until my wound heals." "You're not considering returning to the front?" "If the doctors say I'm fit," "I'll go." "Jean..." "Don't force Fate's hand." "It's best to go with the flow." "Like a cork floating in a stream." "I know all about your cork theory." "It's not a theory, it's reality." "Look at me, I started as a porcelain painter." "But the appearance of machines decided my fate." "If they'd continued hand painting," "I would have spent my whole life painting plates." "And been very happy to do so." "Eggplant fritters?" "I dreamt of them every day." "What about Gabrielle?" "Any news from her?" "No." "She wasn't at Mother's funeral?" "Yes, of course she was." "She promised to write us." "And?" "The mail these days..." "She has a crush on the young postman in Cagnes." "He was called to duty." "If you're still hungry, I'll make an omelet." "No, thank you." "Any rice pudding left?" "You're spoiled rotten." "Like your father!" "He's started painting nudes again?" "Yes, indeed." " He goes to the atelier every day." " All thanks to Dédée." "Who?" "Not again!" "Pina, go fetch a gas lamp." "I know it hurts." "I think you'd best leave." "Jean, if you want to say goodnight..." "You'll see, you'll sleep well tonight." "Good night." "Good night, Father." "They removed a piece of bone'?" "Two inches." "Will it grow back?" "No." "But I was lucky, you know." "They wanted to amputate." "It's Mother who saved my limb." "What's the war like?" "It's war..." "I made you some brioche." "Thanks." "You want to make yourself useful?" "Go put a necklace on her." "Take the emerald one." "The boss wants you to wear this." "No introduction first?" "Forgive me." "You're Jean?" "I saw a painting of you." "I saw a painting of you too." "He always makes me too fat." "He makes me look like a girl." "You just bit into one of my father's models." "I understand." "Renoir's paintings make me want to eat them too." "You want to eat me?" "Canary yellow..." "Ochre red..." "Boss, do you mind if I lie down?" "No." "Naples yellow..." "I'm dead tired." "Didn't sleep all night." "You want to know why?" "No." "I have a new beau." "A fabulous lover." "Do you mind posing, please?" "Any position you want." "Of course, work comes first." "Add some white." "I read that actresses can't play the role of lover without lots of experience." "What do you say, boss?" "Nothing." "Nothing." "You paint faster than ever." "My whole life, I got tangled up in complications." "Today I simplify matters." "Strokes, more strokes..." "One melting into the other..." "They've got to fuck!" "What must control the structure, is not the line... it's the color." "Do you follow me?" "I'm trying to." "I can't see through you!" "Your contraption doesn't work." "How are things when you're alone with him?" "Like before." "The only time he talks to me is to scold me." "Don't think he talked to Pierre or me." "Or Mother." "I wonder if he ever told her he loved her." "You see, my contraption works." "Have you told Dédée?" "What?" "That you love her?" "You're daft!" "Take it back, you brat." "Stop it!" "Have mercy!" "The bitch doesn't care about us." "She has plenty of lovers." "How do you know?" "I've seen guys waiting for her at the gate." "Don't!" "You're surrounded by the most beautiful paintings in the world and you hang this crap up?" "What if I like it better?" "You're really daft." "Why don't we hear from Gabrielle?" "Because we threw her out." "I thought she left to..." "To get married?" "Nothing doing." "Mom fired her." "She was too fond of the old man." "If you know what I mean..." "That was nothing new." "I miss Gabrielle." "More than Morn?" "Jean, we're coming!" "Put my hat on." "Not like that." "Be careful, gently." "Tell me if it hurts." "How is it being carried by women?" "Coco, stay here." "No." "How about some black?" "Dear boy, the Renoirs refuse to paint the world black." "A painting should be something pleasant and cheerful." "There are enough disagreeable things in life." "I don't need to create more." "Poverty, despair, death..." "They're not my concern..." "And the war?" "That either." "Tragedy" "Others play it very well." "Can you imagine me shooting myself?" "At my age... it would be pure vanity." "Shit!" "Isn't that beautiful!" "There's a new serial with Pearl White." "The Exploits of Elaine." "I can't wait to see it." "I'm waiting for the sequel to Les Vampires." "I find Musidora very mysterious." "Poor thing, if only you knew how easy it is to seem mysterious." "An American actress?" "Why not?" "What have they got over me?" "Nothing." "Nothing at all." "You've got to seize everything life has to offer." "Don't be afraid." "I want everything and I don't want to wait." "What?" "I didn't say anything." "You don't care, you have everything." " What do I have?" " A famous name to start with." "And money." "You don't need to work." "You're a rich kid." "A rich kid?" "That's right, my friend." "What else are you?" "What's your profession?" "I'm a soldier." "Not anymore." "The war isn't over." "It'll finish without you." "You have to know who you are." "And you?" "Who are you?" "I am what I am." "Is this a guessing game?" "You're the one who likes mystery." "Musidora..." "What are your ambitions?" "What are your dreams?" "I don't know." "No dreams, no ambitions." "Never say that to a woman you love." "She'll despise you." "Believe me." "Do you despise me?" "Why not be an artist like your dad?" "My dad doesn't see himself like that." "He thinks of himself as a worker." "A worker everyone calls "Boss."" "In any case, he denies being an artist." "And so no one else can be?" "At age thirteen he started out..." "As a porcelain painter." "I know the story." "The boss wants you to pose." "Later on." "I'm knackered." "No, right now!" "I don't despise you." "Not at all." "In fact, I like you a lot." "I do." "See you later." "Father?" "Father?" ""Decomposing flesh..."" "Excuse me?" ""Decomposing flesh."" "That's what an art critic said about my work." "I heard you went to the spring to paint." "At your age, that's not reasonable." "Believe me, it's precisely at my age that one must go to the source of one's inspiration." "You increased your dosage of antipyrine?" "Yes." "The nights are..." "Now let's try the knees." "Come on." "Just a little more." "It's painful, isn't it?" "I know." "Now, I'd like you to stand up." "You know I can't walk." "That's exactly what I want to check." "I'm sure you can do it." "Stand up and walk." "There you go." "You see?" "I give UP" "Walking... takes all my strength." "I won't have any left for painting." "And when you can't use your hands anymore?" "I'll paint with my dick." "What?" "What did you say?" "I don't understand a word." "They said we're beautiful." "How much are the film reels?" "Five cents a foot." "Eight for the American ones." "I took a French one." "Give me ten francs." "You don't have Episode 3?" "Everything's there." "I've got some dirty ones in the back." "No, thanks." "Be careful with the film." "One spark and it'll blow up in your face." "I've seen enough explosions." "On leave?" "Convalescence." "Lucky dog!" "You want to sell me your uniform?" "No, I'll still be needing it." "Which regiment?" "Alpine Hunters, 6th Battalion." "We fought in the Vosges Mountains." "That must've been hell." "Any pals who got killed in action?" "Yes." "Poor boys..." "I hear they bury them on the spot in common graves." "We don't have much time to organize funerals." "Their families would give anything." "We could do business together." "You'd tell me who's suffered a loss..." "And then?" "And then..." "I'd supply a full coffin." "A full coffin?" "With a stiff inside it." "I got men up there who dig up our boys who died." "How old am I?" " How old am I?" " I don't know, 25 or 30." "I'm 21." "I aged ten years during the war for scumbags like you!" "There is not a single soldier, not a single citizen, not a single woman in France, who does not clearly understand that the future of our race, not merely its honor, but its very existence," "is hanging on the heavy minutes of this inexorable war." "Should we have the force tomorrow..." " What's that?" " It's our regimental badge." " Do you fly high?" " Very high." "Is there enough air to breathe?" "It's question of habit." "You seem awfully high strung to me." "Maurice, come on." "Not you." "They need you in the kitchen." "We need zucchini flowers." "I'll bring some with the herbs." "It's boiling in here." "How can you stand it?" "I'm hungry." "Did you make anything to eat?" "You cook your own grub." "I'll make something for you." "An omelet?" "Nothing at all!" "We're not paid to wait on her." "And when do I get paid?" " Paid for what?" " For my work." "What work?" "What do I do all damned day, bare-assed as a whore?" "Gabrielle, the boss's favorite model, was never paid." "Or for wiping the kids' asses or for..." "Or what?" "Drop it, I know the story." "And how does it end?" "Thrown out like a poor wretch." "Who told you that?" "They're jealous." "I'm not a maid." "She thinks she's a princess." "What did you say?" "You'll get your money when we add up your hours." "Not that one!" "Why?" "The boss painted it." "And?" "Madeleine poses and she works here." "I posed too and I didn't give myself airs." "Put that down." "Here you start as a maid and end up a model." "Or start as a model and end up a maid." "Not me!" "I knew it, she's missing a screw." " You told me to put it down." " She's loony." "Look, this one with the flowers is pretty." "Do you like it?" "Renoir painted it." "Don't do that!" "You should be put away!" "You know what that's worth?" "No, how much?" "I'm sick of the Renoirs." "They're a pain in the ass!" "Stop that right now!" "Let go of me!" "Let go!" "What's going on in here?" "Tell her to calm down." "Let her go!" "Let go of me!" "Let go of me!" "Shit!" "She lost her mind." "Just like that." "Don't tell the boss." "I'll handle it." "Are you coming?" "It's starting now." "It's for you." "Thank you." "Move that for me." "Did you see the doctors about your military file?" "Yes." "Are you sure?" "Yes." "Change positions." "Not like that." "Like what then?" "Floating..." "Courbet..." "I see." ""Les Demoiselles..."" "Floating..." "Hanging in the landscape." "Madeleine, come over here." "No hats or flowers." "Take that off." "If you told me what you wanted." "You can't explain a painting, you have to feel it." "Go see Titian's courtesans at the Louvre." "If those don't make you want to caress them... then you've understood nothing at all." "Where are you going?" "To the Louvre!" "The boss isn't having lunch?" "No, he's still working." "Should I bring him a snack?" "Judging from his mood, I'd say no." "At his age, you should paint still lifes." "Can you hold him for me?" "I need to go to the toilet." "Don't worry if he cries." "Jean, can you come here please?" "I'll hold him if you want." "Father?" "Are you okay?" "I'm burning up." "I'm burning up." "Father..." "You can't take anymore." "The pain passes, Jean, but beauty remains." "You've painted everything." "I still have progress to make." "I'll carry on till I collapse." "I paint like a child." "That's a good thing." "My whole life, I tried to paint like a child." "Without knowing anything..." "Without thinking..." "Can I do it?" "No, my dear, it's far too ugly." "Too early, too late..." "Every actress has one." "Where'd you find it?" "I stole it." "At the Negresco Hotel." "From a baroness's room." "She had three of them." "Let me." "You're cute like that." "Very cute." "My little lesbian." "My little whore." "Does this hurt?" "No, not there." "And if I dig my nails in?" "Try..." "I'll make you suffer." "I know." "Jean, promise me." "What?" "When the war is over, we'll make movies." "That's your dream." "No." "The two of us, together." "I'm not spending my life with a plate painter." "You promise?" "We'll have to find an art patron." "What's that?" "Someone who will invest money in your films." "My art patron, will be you." "We'll make movies with your money." "I don't have anything." "What about Daddy's paintings?" "They're worth money." "I promise you." ""Long night!" ""Eternal torment..." ""Not a speck of blue in the sky..." ""Men and objects fall pell-mell" ""into the dark abyss..."" ""Long night..." Exclamation point." ""Long- ♪" "Everything okay?" "I think he knows." "Your father." "About us." "Do you mind?" "We don't care, do we?" "Wait for me." "I have something to tell you." "I wanted to tell you when we got here... but I couldn't." "And now you can?" "I've reenlisted." "What?" "I reenlisted." "I'm going back to fight." "I don't believe you." "With the air force." "I signed up today." "You didn't do that?" "Yes, I did." "Jean!" "I received a positive reply today." "I'm leaving in ten days." "My squadron..." "Why?" "Why?" "I can't abandon my comrades." "I can't." "You can't abandon your comrades?" "No." "But you can abandon me?" "You promised me, Jean." "You promised me everything!" " I'll be back." " No." "You'll get shot down too." "Why would you survive?" "No one asked you to go." "Did you think about me?" "About your friends, yes." "But what about me?" "It's easy, you know." "It's easy to die." "The canvas can be raised or lowered." "Jeannot designed it." "But I helped him." "It slides sideways too." "The frame moves instead of you." "It'll be less tiring." "Very ingenuous." "Very nice." "Is something wrong?" "Everything's wrong." "She's usually on time." "Did she say anything to you?" "No." "Maybe she's sick." "Jean?" "Can't you send someone to her home?" "I don't know where she lives." "After all this time, no one ever asked her?" "Not even you?" "No." "Sorry." "Boss, you can paint me, then make it right with Dédée." "You're a dear, but it doesn't work like that." "You have your whole life!" "I don't!" "Who are you talking about?" "You know perfectly well." "She won't come anymore, will she?" "Were you a gentleman with her?" "Did I need your permission?" "All women, whether they be a whore or a queen, deserve the same respect." "That's got nothing to do with it." "Then why did she disappear from one day to the next?" "Because I'm returning to the front." "Very well." "Do as you please." "I won't stop you." "You didn't stop Gabrielle either." "She was with us since she was fifteen." "She had the right to start a family." "We were her family!" "It's not my fault." "Your mother asked her to leave." "But it suited you, as usual." "What does that mean?" "You always hid behind Mother." "Your famous cork theory was just an excuse to never make decisions." "It was cowardice." "Shut up!" "I don't want to hear Gabrielle's name again." "It's Andrée who left!" "My best model since..." "Titian would have worshiped her." "I'd give my right arm for her tits." "Rounded and firm, with that delicate fold" "that gives them a golden tinge." "Flesh!" "That's all that matters." "If you don't understand that, you'll never understand life or painting." "Painting!" "That's all?" "Even during war?" "Go get yourself pumped full of lead, imbecile." "Or if you prefer, go kill some good German fellow who smokes a pipe." "If you think it'll change something." "You too..." "You can't live without her either." "You're gonna land it on its tail!" "Don't worry, I won't wreck it!" "It's solid." "I'm pitching." "Pull up on the stick." "It's sputtering!" "Hang on." "Get on." "It's a two-seater." " Get on!" " Catherine..." "What?" "The kid wants a flying lesson." "He's no kid, he's an ace." "He's my ace of hearts." "What are you doing here?" "I'm learning to fly." "Want to fly with me, handsome?" "Get lost." "Come on." "I don't want you staying here." "Since when do you give me orders?" "This isn't the army." "We're here to have fun." "We drink and laugh." " Fun?" " You're hurting me." "You're hurting her." "Who's Catherine?" "She's nothing." "She's no one." "Look at you." "You're ugly, you're dirty." "I'm not dirty." "Made up like a..." "Go on, say it!" "Like a bitch." "Stop this." "Stop it!" "Hey, Comrade, not here." "Get away, I'm not your comrade!" "Hey buddy, calm down." "Jean?" "Are you all right?" "Why did you come here?" "You never say anything." "Only that I'm a bitch." "But I'm not." "Because I missed you." "Because I need you." "I made you a promise..." "Forget your promise." "I'll never be an actress." "I have no talent." "An American actress... dream on." "You've never tried." "You could." "No." "Girls like me live through magazines." "We play the femme fatale and end up as maids." "We can try." ""Seize everything, never be afraid..." You said that." " When the war is over..." " When will it end?" "Do you know?" "What state will you be in?" "Will you even be alive?" "And me?" "Where will I be?" "I know what you think of me." "That I have no ambition..." "That I'm a daddy's boy..." "a naive child." "But if you wait for me, I'll be there." "I want you to come back." "Come back home." "Renoir needs you." "Renoir..." "The father or the son?" "Wait." "Gabrielle!" "Come join us." "No, just the three brothers." "Gabrielle, we're waiting!" "Come on, Gabrielle." "Andrée, come here." "Don't move please." "Thank you, that was perfect." "Was it you who invited Gabrielle?" "No." "It must've been the girls." "Is this a celebration lunch or a funeral?" "Andrée said you were going to make films?" "No." "Nothing's been decided." "That reassures me." "The cinema isn't for us French." "It's entertainment for the masses." "Our artistic heritage is too old, too heavy." "It's rare for us to be together." "Let's hope it's not the last time." "Jean, you sure about what you're doing?" "What am I doing?" "Playing the daredevil in the sky." "I almost lost my arm." "You were lucky to pull through, why go back?" "Will you bring me a gas mask?" "We'll see." "If you're good." "Hussar, charge!" "Everything will be fine." "I'll come back alive." "Where is he?" "He's waiting for you." "I was waiting for you too." "Father?" "Your mother..." "I owe her everything." "I had fury running through my veins." "She calmed my nerves." "When we met, I was twenty years older than her." "I thought my life was over." "But no..." "It was only just beginning." "I never would have thought that I'd be at her funeral." "Don't screw up, kid." "You either, Father." "Come on, young man." "I bet you can't make it over here!" "Pierre-Auguste Renoir died in 1919 after completing his pictorial testament, "The Bathers."" "After the war, Jean married Andrée and started making movies." "Under the name of Catherine Hessling, she would be his muse and lead actress until their breakup in 1931, when her career ended." "Jean Renoir went on to become a World-renowned filmmaker." "They both died the same year, in 1979." "She, forgotten and in poverty, he in Hollywood, covered in honors." "Subtitles:" "Julie Meyer" "Subtitling:" "C.M.C."