"THE MYSTERY OF ALEXlNA" "Subtitles:" "A. Whitelaw  W. Byron" "Subtitled by:" "Eclair Video" " Paris" "Alexina was a real person who lived in France's La Rochelle region in the mid-19th century," " You the teacher?" " Yes." "La Rochelle, August26, 1858," "Dear Mother I couldn't say goodbye when I left, so I asked Mr, Saint-Marc to give you this note, I thanked my benefactor, who has he helped me again," "I'll try to merit this trust and the superintendent's, who gave me this job," "Your beloved daughter, Alexina," "La Rochelle, August31, 1858," "My dear daughter, I am dictating this letter to Mr, Saint-Marc," "I don't regret all my sacrifices for your education, for it will save you From poverty ," "Alexina, I'd liked to have known you better, but we must separate again, I wish you a happy and success ful year, Mother," "The small girls sit here." "They love Sara." "You'll take the older group." "They're more unruly." "As Marie can tell you!" "Alexina's well trained." "You got an honor student's graduation gift too." "I was at the same school." "But Alexina led her class." "The girls won't respect me more for that!" "They're nice, but at that difficult age." "Don't let it worry you." "When it's sunny, the room's bright." "That's it for down here." "Let's go upstairs." " Marie, did you bleach the sheets?" " Yes, Mom." "We've a big job here with the farm, and my husband dead, it takes planning." "Luckily, we have Armand, but he can't do everything." "Show Miss Barbin her room." "I'll tidy up." "That's your bed." "And here's mine." "Do you like it?" "My child, I like your face." "It's not the kind to arouse frivolous thoughts in those who see it." "I must still remind you of the importance of the work you'll be doing for the first time." "Young souls and minds have been entrusted to you." "You must not only teach them, but also make good, Christians of them good wives, devoted mothers." "You can't do this with words alone or exhortations." "You must set an example... of a chaste, meditative life faithful to your religious duties." "I mean it!" "The devil's everywhere." "If we're on guard he can't destroy us." "Now go." "I've work to do." "Give me your blessing." "Gladly, my daughter." "Before school starts pray God to give you.'.." "the firm character you need." "I hear confession before the 7 A.M. mass." "As you know, I won't be your teacher this year." "I'll live with my husband and raise my children." "Miss Barbin will share the work with my sister." "Alexina will teach the older girls." "She'll sleep with us, so there'll still be 2 of us with you." "I rely on you not to complicate her task." "I'll visit you every day, morning and afternoon, to help out." "Alexina will be like a sister to me." "I'm sure it'll all be fine." "Open your notebooks for a spelling lesson." "Do you like music?" "Not much." "Did you drink your cocoa?" "Yes." "Going swimming tomorrow?" "Not playing with the others?" "We were telling our beads." "There must be 3 of you to tell bead, not 2." "Or the devil sneaks in!" "No goodnight kiss?" "You're a big girl." "If you don't kiss me, I won't sleep." "Sleep well." "And don't act silly." "I promise." "Will you kiss me tomorrow?" " Good night, ma'am." " Good night all." "Come say your prayers now." "The flowers look nice." "Alexina, are you asleep?" "Are your parents dead?" "My mother's alive." "And your father?" "He died when I was a child." "You love your mother a lot?" "Of course." "But I hardly know her." "When father died, she was poor." "She was hired as a governess." " And I..." " And you?" "I had to go into an orphanage." "But you were at Teachers' College." "Like Marie, with the nuns at Oleron." "Before that I was in the Ursulines' convent." "A boarder, as always." "The nuns were my real parents." "There's an outing tomorrow." "If it's sunny, we'll go to the beach." "Alexina, I like you." "I like you too, Sara." "Help me up." "The sea!" "You really don't want to go in?" "Come along, it's late." "We must go back." "Wouldn't you like to stop a moment?" "To rest." "Aren't you tired?" "No, why should I be?" "Those periods always tire me." "What periods?" "I don't understand." "Don't you get blood between your legs?" "Of course not!" "You wouldn't swim with us so I thought..." " One can't swim with one's period." " It's not my period." "Forgive me." "I've never had one." "Tell me you forgive me." "Of course, Sara." "I do forgive you." "Did you sleep well?" "Yes, and you?" "I dreamed." "I never dream." "Quick, I must dress or I'll be late." "Coming?" "I'll be lost without you." "What about my cake?" "Too hot." "We'll eat it later." "Alexina!" "Come along, now." "You can do my hair." "I'm hot." "You're hurting me." "Sorry." "I'm so clumsy." "It's all right." "What strong hands you have!" " They're ugly!" " No, they're not." "Hurry or we'll keep the children waiting." " Morning, girls." " Morning, doctor." "Sara..." "I've two news items for you." "First, your sister's expecting a baby." "You're the first to hear." "Thanks, doctor." "Thank her husband, not me." "Secondly you've become a lovely girl." "Goodbye, doctor!" " Are you still angry?" " No." "is it because of the doctor?" "I don't know what got into me." "I'm bad-tempered." "It's my fault." "I always laugh too much with him." "When I was small he'd call me his fiancee." "I want to lie beside you and talk." "Are you sleepy?" "Then may I?" "How warm you are!" "Shall I tell you about the convent?" "I'm bored with school tales." "Ever had a real friend, a girl..." "or a boy?" "I've an old friend, Mr Saint-Marc my mother's employer." "And... a girl?" "His grand-daughter, maybe." "I only knew her for 3 months." "Was she prettier than I?" "No." "She was nasty." "She'd treat me like her best friend or like the lowest servant." "I had to help her dress." "She was shameless in front of me." "She'd act as if I didn't exist." "What do you mean?" "For example, she'd walk around naked strike poses." "And then?" " One day..." " Yes?" "I kissed her." "On the mouth." "Morning, Alexina." "Up already?" "Good morning." "I couldn't sleep." "Would you fetch some water?" ""Jean is a workman who drinks." "Last month..." ""...he not only spent, as he did the month before" ""12 francs at a bar" ""but he missed 36 hours of work" ""at 40 centimes an hour." ""How much did his bad habit cost him that month?"" "Josephine!" "You're copying!" "I wasn't, ma'am." "And a liar as well!" "Stand up!" "Hands on your head!" "Stay here until I call you." "Hurry to bed." "Sleep well." "What's wrong, Alexina?" "Where does it hurt?" "is it your stomach?" " It'll pass." " I'll call the doctor." "No doctors!" "Never!" "My God, what's the matter with me?" "Calm down." "I'll send for the doctor." "Please, Sara, I don't know what's wrong with me, but I know you mustn't." "Explain yourself." "I'm your friend." "I love you with all my heart." "I love you too, Sara." "If only you knew..." "But I haven't the right!" "is that what hurts you?" "What do you mean?" "Stop!" "You're driving me crazy!" "You're smothering me!" "Go away!" "God..." "God!" "A frog is a cold-blooded animal, like a snake." "In winter, it burrows into the mud to sleep, not eating or breathing." "In spring, it lays its eggs in the water." "From the frog's egg comes a kind of little fish." " That's a tadpole." " l can't see any tadpole." "It breathes through its gills in the water, feeding on grass." "Soon its gills and tail wither, and its lungs and legs develop." "The tadpole becomes a frog, and leaves the water." " Sara, put out your light." " Why?" "It bothers me. I can't sleep." "Alexina, what's wrong?" "Sara, I love you." "Alexina, don't cry." "I don't want you to cry." "I love you." "You're not made like other girls." " You're like a boy..." " l don't know." "You're a boy!" "You're my boy!" "Alexina..." "No..." "I'll give you another name:" "Camille." "Camille, my boy, I love you." "My love!" "Oh, my love!" "Who's he?" "What's his name?" " He's the good Joseph." " And the pretty girl?" " She's the mother of little Jesus." " What's her name?" " The Virgin Mary." " Very good." "Now can I touch little Jesus?" "Yes, since you answered right." "Well, doctor?" "A little stomach upset." "2 days on a diet and she'll be fine." "I'm very glad!" "Since I'm here, Sara and I'll be away for the holidays, at my family's," "I'll give you this now, a bit ahead of time." "I hope it amuses you." "I must be off." "Goodbye, Sara." "Good day, Miss Barbin." "'Bye, children." "Goodbye, doctor." "What is it, ma'am?" "Yes, tell us what it is..." "How round it is!" "See that, Alexina?" "I'll be its godmother." "Then you must be blameless." "What do you mean?" "Those goings-on in the dorm at night." "What's got into you?" "I'm not saying it." "The others are." "Which others?" "Folks." "Sara, will you help me?" "I need a book from the classroom." "Now explain what's going on." "Answer me!" "What's going on?" "I'm your mother!" "I've a right to know." "Come here!" "Camille..." "My Camille!" "I'll become a man." "We'll marry properly." "Then we'll go away." "First I must tell them..." "I must." "Look at me!" "Father, forgive me for l have sinned." "I consent to tell God... because I know it's a test to bring me closer to Him." "He put a blameless person in my path, and gave me her pure and generous love." "My friendship for her has turned to love." "Though I was a woman... I became a man..." "For her." "What's all this about?" "What filth is this?" "Sara, whom I loved as a woman I now love like a man." "I want to be her husband before God." "Out!" "Out, bitch!" "Damned bitch!" "Get out!" "Take your filthy tricks elsewhere." ""Litttle fish grows if God lends it life..." ""But to let it go now..." ""...to let it go now..." "I think..." ""..." "I think..." ""...is mad..." ""For I'm sure to catch it..."" "No! "I'm sure to catch it..."" " Do you know it or not?" " l know it, ma'am." "Don't say you know it when you don't." "I do know it." "I say you don't!" "You're such a know-it-all!" "In fact, you know nothing." "I know one thing, anyway." " What did you say?" " Nothing." "What do you know?" "That Miss Sara is your lover!" "Who told you that?" "Yes, who told you?" "It was Armand." "is it true?" "Armand?" "Camille!" "I know what you're going to say." "Yes indeed!" "That I tell tales." "And blah... and blah." "I like things straight." "I don't want a soiled girl." "I want a clean fiancee." "So be careful!" "I've got my eye on you!" "What do you mean?" "Didn't I kiss you on the mouth?" "So with us two now, it's for life." "You're an idiot!" "You're ignorant!" "Ignorant?" "Is the priest ignorant?" "And the superintendent!" "is he an idiot?" "I'd like to kill you!" ""Litttle fish will grow, if God lends it life." ""But to let it go n,ow, I think is mad" ""for l'm sure to catch it." ""A fish, still a sprat, was caught by a fisherman on a river bank." ""lt helps, he said, seeing his fish as the start of a fine feast." ""We'll put it in our creel..."" "That will do." "Good!" "You may sit down." "You can dismiss the class." "We needn't spell things out." "While I won't comment on your teaching skill," "I must avert the danger you represent to your pupils because of your irregular behavior." "You may finish the school year." "But I forbid you to teach next year in any school in the county." "Only on that condition will I withhold my official report." "I trust you'll agree to this." "Thank you, superintendent." ""My Dear Sara, Leaving hurt me less than it did you," ""l hnew he'd'dbe back for you some day," ""Butl had to act fast," ""l confessed everything to my mother," ""NeKt day I told the Bishop of La Rochelle" ""all about my contemptible life," ""Today, I'm to be examined by the Bishop's doctor," ""l know you still love me, but I must undergo this change," "Good day, Miss." "You spoke to His Wors,hip whose doctor I am and he asked me to examine you." "Your mother must wait here." "Please come into my office." "Well, Miss..." "Sister Christine will help you undress." "Don't touch me!" "I expected you'd be more understanding, you requested this examination." "I must also ask you some questions." "Think of me not only as a doctor, but as a confessor." "I must see and know everything." "This is a more critical moment for you than you think." "I must report accurately to His Worship..." "And probably in court, too." "Your birth certificate may have to be changed." "Alexina... 22 years old." " Height?" " 5ft. 7." "Features, regular..." "Light fuzz over the upper lip." "Please drop the straps of your slip." "The chest is like a man's:" "flat, no visible mammaries." "Have you ever menstruated?" "No." "Sister Christine if the young lady agrees, please raise the skirt of her slip." "You can get dressed." "You spent your youth in convents and boarding schools run by nuns." "You've lived only with women and girls." "Didn't you notice how you differed from your schoolmates?" "I couldn't without examining 'my body... and the bodies of my schoolmates..." "and comparing... I understand, your religious upbringing forbade it." "Yet, at the approach of puberty, didn't you feel anything?" "Not until much later when I met Miss Sara'..." "When you met Miss Sara?" "Madame, he's a boy." "At least... almost." "My God!" "May I have a word with you?" "You gave birth to this child." "Didn't you notice?" "One doesn't look there!" "I agree with the archpriest." "Alexina is a woman." "Yes... bur Alexina has never menstruated." "Her external body is a man's." "Not at all!" "Please stand up." "Come closer." "Turn around." "Go back to your place." "The appearance and gait are those of a woman!" "But she is in no way attracted to men!" "While I examined her she admitted that when she and Miss Sara were intimate she acted like a man." "No, I mean really like a man." "Excuse me!" "I conclude that Alexina is a man." "No, the answer is:" "neither man nor woman." "This hermaphrodite was registered at birth as Alexina Barbin of the female sex." "He was raised with girls, and spent his early years among them." "Physical changes appeared later, chiefly after meeting Miss Sara, and he applied, on the Bishop's advice, for a change of status." "Though after a superficial examination of the... subject's external sex-organs, some of my colleagues,classified him as female" "the presence of an unperforated penis, capable of erection, and of reaching the size of a normal penis, leads us to believe that the subject should be classified as male." "Our hermaphrodite's masculine desires must also be considered plus his wish to marry Miss Sara." "The Bishop's approval no doubt influenced the Court's decision to alt,er Alexina Barbin's status" "finally and irrevocably." "Henceforth he will be called Camille Barbin... and will be of the male sex." "I've come for you, Sara." "I want you to be my wife." "What will people say?" " No one recognized me." " Are you sure?" "I'm scared." "Sara, do you still love me?" "Yes, but I'm scared." "Leave quickly." "Who is this man?" "You?" "Why did you come back?" "Go away!" "You don't belong here." "Leave my daughter alone." "Go away!" "Go on, go!" "I'll write you." "I'll work." "I'll earn money!" "I'll come back for you." "I'll be back, Sara!" "Can't you read?" "It says in black and white:" ""Cleaning woman wanted."" "Let me try." "We want a woman." "It's a matter of morals." "Please follow me ladies and gentleme' n." "I'll show you to your rooms." "I've worked as a housemaid." "What do you mean?" "I was a woman." "I was in a girls' school until I was 15." "Then I became a schoolmistress and ran Miss Avril's boarding school." "There I fell in love with a girl, Miss Sara." "I'm going to marry her..." "if I can find work." "Young man, don't go!" "Come back!" "Come back!" "Forgive my indiscretion:" "aren't you the young man the papers mentioned?" "Of whom..." "A mistake was made in your birth record?" "Yes, that's me." "Well, then..." "You're such an interesting and pathetic case, we'll help you." "Exceptionally, we'll take you on." "Thank you, sir." "Thank you, madame." "Of course, because of your lack of strength, you can only do women's work." "And you'll be paid accordingly." "Of course, I understand." "Sara, you can be proud of me, At last I've found worth," "Isn't it thrilling, dear love!" "I'm a a sort t of servant at the Grand Hotel," "I'm so happy, At last you can write me!" "My new job leaves me lots of time to think of you," "Sara, soon we'll be married!" "Soon I'll be back," "I'll be respected, Your mother will welcome me," "Sara, my darling, you're all I live for," "My God..." "It can't be..." "Superintendent..." "You recognize me?" "I must talk to you." "That's why I came." "After work." "No, now." "Your employer agreed to it." " Yes, Camille." "Go ahead." " Thank you, sir." "I'll leave you." "Don't be too long." "How you've suffered!" "I needed work." "And you couldn't find any, right?" "Listen, why don't you go away?" "Far, far away." "Where no one will know your story." "Where you'll be left in peace..." "To America." " America?" "That's not possible." " It is." "My son-in-law works for a shipping line." "He could get you aboard a ship." "I must stay here." "I can't leave. I must stay." " Because of Sara?" " Yes." "She and her mother asked me to talk to you." "You know she is married?" "is that true?" "The village turned on her." "The school had to close." "Parents withdrew their children." "You didn't know?" "The doctor married her:" "now he's losing his practice." "To a doctor 30 miles away!" "You have to leave!" "You must!" "Do it for Sara." "She wants you to." "You must!" ""Sara, tell me I haven'tgone mad," ""The superintendent didn't fool me;" "I saw through his trick," ""They won't let you write me, Maybe you're conned," ""So I'll come to fetch you," ""My dear wife, who's forbidden to love me" ""waita few more days," ""Soon your husband will be there," "Camille, someone to see you!" "A lady!" "Madame..." "Sir..." "I mean Alex..." "Camille..." "I came..." "You're here!" "Don't come closer." "I'm married." "You mustn't." "I don't want to look at you." "Don't look at me." "But I want to look at you." "You're so lovely." "You were never lovelier." "Be quiet." "I just came..." "I wanted to come..." " You never answered my letters." " l couldn't!" "Terrible things happened at home." "My mother, who adored you, is sick." "She's dying." "My sister and her husband moved away." "You came back and created a scandal." "Why did you come back?" "Because I love you, Sara, I love you." "I know you love me..." "because you're going away." "You are going away, right?" "Yes, I am." "To New York." "That's far, very far." "Very far." "I've brought it back for you." "Keep it, to remember me by." " Will you keep it?" " Yes." "Remember Aline, who couldn't sleep unless you kissed her?" "Promise you'll eat well, so you look fitter?" "Why are you against this journey?" "I'm sure I'll be fine there," "You'll join me later, I'll wait for you," "Are you cold?" "What are you doing?" "Come to bed," "All right?" "No longer scared?" "No," "Yes, my love, I love you," "So do I," "I love you," "Camille" " Alexina committed suicide by asphyxiation in that maid's room in the Grand Hotel,"