"From a short story by Pierre Daye" "After twenty hot days on the Pacific Ocean, the Equator..." ""A shooting star travelled across the sky."" ""Gabrielle", he said." ""André", she replied." ""And their lips met in the shivering shadow."" "That's the end of the chapter." "Ah, those novelists..." "Why so silent?" "Move your eyes up from the book, there are more exciting things to see." "What I'm saying is that making love really isn't that big a deal." "It's incredible!" "For every day, there's a new one joining." "It amuses me more than the novel does." "The best, the most pleasurable thing about love, is love itself." "I wonder what they are talking about." "Surely not about ethnography." "Come a bit closer." "The best, the most intoxicating, the only thing that really counts is to be desired." "Ah, no." "After all..." " Shall I go on reading ?" " As you please." ""Chapter 16 :" "The Lovers' Awakening."" "The traditional Baptism of the ship's apprentices during the "Crossing of the Equator line", celebrated by the passengers in the evening." "We have been thinking." "How about throwing a masked ball ?" " Masked ?" " Yes." " Great!" " And it should be with a pantomime." "Everything is possible when you are hidden behind a mask." "Everything's allowed, everything granted, only your other self is responsible." "A toast to the other Daïnah." "A toast to the other Daïnah!" "Another shot of whisky, Mrs. Smith." "I have to get dressed." "If your are dressing for my sake, please put on your pink dress." "Rather the red one." "No dress at all would be even better." "You left your friends in the smoking-room ?" "It seems so." "How cruel you are." "How are they supposed to get by without you ?" " Have no fear," "I will join them again tonight." "Very well." "But, Daïnah, aren't you taking advantage of the freedom that I have accorded you?" " That I have reclaimed." " No." "That I have granted you." "You are forgetting that you are my wife." "Don't forget that I am living next to you." "Listen." "You're not surrounded by your court, so what you are saying right now has actual importance." "Leave me be." "I'll be late because of you." "Go on, get dressed." "I'll leave you alone." " How strange this man is." " He is frightening." "His wife seems to be scared of him." "It appears that he has been practicing black magic for a long time." "Where is he ?" "He disappeared." "Where is he?" "What a disgrace !" "What a disgrace !" "She's hysterical !" "From whose fault?" "Her husband's or her lover's?" "Oi!" "The other team is taking over, boys." "Is there anything you need?" "Don't touch me." "We're suffocating here." "I need some fresh air." "Shall I accompany you ?" "No." "I need to breathe." "I need to be alone." "That's unwise, if you are sick." "No." "I need to be alone." "Please, it's only for a couple of moments." "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" "Very mild." "You'll catch a cold, going out of the stokehold like that." "Oh, I'm used to it." "It does me well, getting a bit of fresh air after the shower." "You're going to Nouméa ?" "Yes." "You know it ?" "It's my third trip." "I don't particularly like the country, but there are the stopovers." "The women aren't bad, you can enjoy yourself." "You are from the islands ?" "My parents are from the islands." "I'm born in France." "Don't you like colored women ?" "Oh..." "Sure, why not.." "A woman is always a woman." "If she is pretty, that is." "You have a good laughter." "I like that." "So... so you're not bothered by talking with me a bit?" "No." "Really ?" ""Really"" "I'm staying here, then." " Hold on." " Hold on what ?" " Hold on !" " I won't hold on." "What ?" "Ah, now I see." "You get boys all fired up in order to dump them afterwards !" "That doesn't work with me." "Let me go !" " Not now." " Let me go !" " You lead me on." " Let me go !" "So, now..." "Ah, you bitch !" "There are not enough amusing things to do on board this ship." "There's not much to do when you are distancing yourself." "I have the right to amuse myself too." "What do you want to do?" "I don't know." "I would like to see the machine room." "Well, if you aren't too bothered by the noise and the hellish heat," "You have my permission." " Right away ?" " As you wish." "Oh, captain, you are a charming man." "I will introduce you to the chief engineer, who will accompany you." "Show me the way." " You're feeling better ?" " Yes, thanks." "I thought that I would be stronger." "It's very hot down there." "It has passed ?" "Yes." "I'm ready to go back." "Oh no." "Don't worry." "I don't feel like going down again." "One of the men has been injured." "Strange sort of accident." "A man was bitten." "He was playing with a German shepherd that we have on board." "and the dog bit him pretty badly in the shoulder." "He's a hothead, that Michaux." "He didn't want to go to the sick bay." "He's furious." "Right now he has one obsession :" "Take his revenge on the animal." "The Pacific Ocean is sure to have a victim." "It's a straight-foreward case." "A kick in the back, and the head plunges over the rail." "No witnesses." "The Pacific is large." "Say, I forgot:" "When will we be in Nouméa ?" "In three days, Mam." ""Three days"..." "That was all." "Go on!" "Three days..." "Will you have dinner with me ?" "Gladly." "Let's go." "And your wife ?" "She is sick." "She is staying in her cabin." "Nothing serious ?" "No, nothing serious." "But I would like you to give her a check tomorrow." "She is acting strange." "This afternoon she broke down in tears for no reason." "There is nothing particular about that, but I will see to her tomorrow." ""Nothing particular", no." "But my wife seems to be afraid." " "Afraid" of you ?" " No." "But afraid of something." "Her gaze and her shivering hands worry me." " A little fever ?" " No." "Don't you worry." "And I will be sure to examine her." "Let's have that dinner." " Who is there ?" " It's me, Daïnah." "Please don't touch me." "I came to see if you needed anything." "You knew that I wanted to be left alone, to see nobody and you really startled me a lot." "How nervous you are..." "Look, tell me." "Have some confidence." "What do you mean ?" "You seem so unhappy." "I am right here and you ask for nothing, you want no help at all." "But I only need one thing:" "To sleep." "You have to agree with me that this dancing is unbecoming." "I think that she is becoming to them." "One almost wants to cover one's eyes." "Don't look at them." "It holds an interest for me." "I sometimes imagine myself in their place." " You ?" " Look at that couple on the left." "I imagine that I dance with that man." "If you only knew..." "For me, since the first evening, it has always been the same." "Look, there:" "The man on the right." "Doctor, you're not joining me ?" "Excuse me." "I have some business to finish with these gentlemen." " Tomorrow, remember ?" " It's a promise." " Good evening." " Good evening." "But look.." "That's impossible." "When I returned to my cabin at midnight, my wife wasn't there." "I supposed that she was on deck." "I went to bed and fell asleep." "In the morning I noticed that she wasn't there." "Her bed was still undone." "I waited the whole morning." "She still hasn't turned up." " But look." "Look over there !" " Leave me be." "But it's him !" "Smile." "Do something." " Look to your own one, rather." " My own ?" "Yes." "I just saw him about to kiss a tall brunette." " It can't be true." " My word of honor." "You only say that to hurt me." " Help me to unwind my knitting wool, rather." " No." "I only said it to tease you." "It wasn't true, you know." " Really ?" " My word of honor." "After your shift ended, you went back to the crew's quarters?" " Without stopping." " Your men followed you ?" " Yes." "Well, that is..." "Michaux didn't." "He stopped on the deck ?" "Yes, captain." "Did he go to the side where the woman was standing ?" "He was in the back." "We didn't notice if he went to the side where the woman was." "For how long did he stay on the deck?" "I don't know." "Nobody saw him come back." "Does this Michaux have a good record?" "Yes." "He's a bit of a loner, but he has had no penalty." "Thank you." " Get Michaux here." " Yes, captain." "Do you suspect this man, captain ?" "We have looked everywhere : cabins, outbuildings, holds, storage rooms, but to no result." "All that we know is that Mrs Smith was at the boat when the shift was taking place and that a man was on deck at that moment." "Maybe he will have something to tell us." "If I understand correctly, the man that you are about to question is a mechanic?" "Yes." "So, you have no clues no further clues to give us ?" "Come in." "Michaux is here." "I want to ask you for some information." "When you came up from the machine room yesterday, at midnight," "Did you stop on the deck?" "Yes, captain." " For long ?" " Oh, five minutes." "You didn't notice anything in particular ?" " Nothing special." " Was there no-one there ?" "Oh, yes." "There was a woman." "A mulatto." "You went over to her ?" "No, captain." "How did you notice that she was a mulatto ?" "Eh.. from her silhouette." "And also I had seen her standing at the same spot another day." "She was on a visit to the machine room once too." "Exactly where was she standing, last night ?" "On the poop deck" "She never spoke to you ?" "Oh..." "She said..." "She said something about the weather." "You answered her ?" "Oh ..." "I said : "Good night."" "She was the first to start the conversation." "Why were you on deck ?" "Why I was on deck ?" "Euh..." "For a breath of fresh air." "And after that I went down below." "When you went down, she was still standing there?" "Yes." "Yes." "Yes." "And you didn't notice anything special, anything particular?" "No." "And did she speak to you when she was in the machine room?" ""The machine room" ?" "No, no." "She didn't speak to me." " The chief engineer was there." " Well yes." "Tell me, Michaux..." "Why did you throw her into the sea ?" "Me ?" "Ah no." "Listen here, I didn't throw that woman into the sea." "Why would I throw her into the sea ?" "Thank you." "We didn't learn anything new." "You are sure that my wife is no longer aboard the ship ?" "The opposite seems impossible." "So ..." "Either Daïnah committed suicide..." "Thank you gentlemen, for all that you have done to bring light into this affair." "I will be at your disposal." "I waited for her all morning, but I didn't see her." "Maybe she's sick." "They say her husband is a terrible man." "I think she has killed herself." " I think her husband.." " Really ?" "It seems that there have been some terrible fights between them." "What do you think about Michaux' answers ?" "Clear-cut." "He sustained the blow well." "I would be surprised..." "So you think it was a suicide ?" "If it wasn't rather..." "Did you think that the husband acted strange ?" "At first I was struck by his reluctance." "Strange." "It didn't strike me before now." "I have seen it many times before :" "Tiredness, the long trip, irritation ..." "She was a very nervous and sensitive woman." "It's possible, but we're not at all sure." "You asked for my advice, I gave it to you." "Come in." "Captain," "I searched through Michaux' sac and belongings while he was away and I found this." ""D. S." Daïnah Smith, in fact." "Did you question Michaux ?" "He told me that he found the handkerchief the day that Mrs Smith went to see the machines." "He didn't return it because it smelt so good." "Strange." "It's quite possible." "The handkerchief matches the costume that she was wearing that day." " Don't you remember ?" " Ah yes, you're right." "Thank you." "The captain will receive you in a couple of minutes." "I'm not unhappy that we got to meet." "Yes." "I wanted to ask you what you thought about my wife's suicide." "Just between us, I don't believe in it." "So somebody must have killed her." "Somebody, that means either you or me." "So I should tell you :" "It wasn't me." "And I'm certain... positively certain that it was you." "Mr. Smith, please come in." " See you again soon." "It doesn't mean anything that you found this handkerchief." "My wife could have lost it elsewhere." "And Michaux ?" "He has shown us what he is capable of." " Anyway, thanks for your help." " You're welcome." "You're free to go, Michaux." "I don't need you here anymore." "Michaux, Michaux !" " What happened ?" " He doesn't answer." "Quick !" "Get the doctor." "Get the doctor !" "Run, quick !" "Subtitles by knappen@KG." "January 2012"