"Saturday the 6th of January, 1917, five condemned soldiers were escorted to Bouchavesnes at the Front in the Somme." "The first, once cheerful and adventurous," "He wore on his neck the number 2124." "He came from a recruitment center of La Seine" "On his feet were boots, taken from a dead German." "taken from a dead German." "Before becoming 2124, he was known as Bastoche and was hooked on a pretty redhead, called Véronique Passavant." "He was carpenter in the " La Bastille"" "Sometimes in between two furniture pieces" "They would drink beer in the pub of Petit Louis on the street "The Golden Hand"" "He took the boots from an enemy who didn't need them any more." "Stuffed with straw or newspaper, they replaced his old clodhoppers." "He was court-martialed for self-mutilation." "They found residue of gunpowder in the wound on his hand, and he was condemned to death." "The second soldier wore the number 4077, and was from another recruitment center of La Seine." "He was a welder for the State Railways, in Bagneux." "His name was Francis Ganièred, nicknamed Six-Sous." "He knew that the poor were building the cannons which will kill them and that it's the wealthy who sold them." "He tried to explain it during the barrackings, but he wasn't a good speaker." "And cheap wine, poverty's best friend, deadened the soldiers' eyes," "1818 was without any doubt the bravest soldier of them all," "And the most dangerous one." "He once killed the officer of his team." "An officer who kicked the dead." "Get up !" "Get up !" "You swines!" "You, go away!" "No one ever found out." "Benoît Notre Dame was a farmer from Dordogne." "One morning in the month of August, they went to take him away from his farm, and forced him onto the train." "Watch out for the cables!" "The flimsy phone cables were the only way to connect to the world of the living." "By that fine thread, they were hoping for the grace of the president Raymond Poincare to spare their lives." "Even if the only one here who believed that was him..." "Number 7328, recruited from the island of Corsica." "was Angel Bassignano" "According to all people who knew him, he was no angel at all." "'The Angel' was a liar, a cheater, a fake." "a sneak and a troublemaker." "Before, he had been the procurer (pimp) of Tina Lombardi" "Because of her, He had been condemned to jail for five years an affair of neither love or honour, ." "Depending on the whether they were a woman or a man." "Actually... it was a deal between the procurers (pimps) of the village." "During the summer of 1916 they recruited common-law criminals in order to be able to replace losses within the massacred regiments" "In Berdun hell, it was up to them." "For whom are Those tombs ?" "Well Actually... well... as tomorrow they are going to attack..." "So We're getting a head start.." "Watch out for the cable!" "The fifth soldier was "Cornflower", a kid who belonged to the class of '17." "He was five months shy of 20." "These days, everything frightened him." "Of the French cannons which were firing so much." "Of the wind that spread the gas of the hunters of robbery, of the executions." "Before the war he was not like this, he was just the opposite..." "He defied storms to help keep lighthouses working when the tide rose." "Charge !" "And then came one shell too many." "There you go..." "The winning ticket back to your fiancée." "Yep, you got your way right to the court-martial." "Turn a blind eye, Sarge." "He's been through enough." "Sergeant they may condemn him to death" "Be human for once." "Shut your mouth!" "Please, Sarge!" "Shut up !" "When Mathilde and Manech made love for the first time" "Manech fell asleep with his hand over her left breast." "Each time his wound throbs, it was like feeling Mathilde's heart beating." "And each beat will make him closer to her." "If Manech were dead, Mathilde would know." "After the news of his death, she desperately clung to her intuition like a fine thread." "She never got discouraged." "Mathilde has a cheerful disposition." "She knows that if ever her thread does not connect her to her lover, she can always use it as a noose." "In June of 1920 Mathilde received a letter from a nun." "A sick man from the "Le Reim" hospital wanted to meet her." "He was with Manech in January 1917, at the front of Somme." "August 1912, "Handsome, wasn't I?"" "It's a De Dion," "Please tell me what happened to Manech" "In January 1917 they ordered me to escort five condemned men to the front." "Was he among them ?" "Yes." "I had to take them to the first line of the trench." "Gendarmes waited for us with the prisoners next to a small cemetery in ruins." "What are you doing with those German boots?" "I am waiting." "Waiting for?" "Poincaré's pardon?" "You'll wait!" "He already signed it." "I shouldn't even have been condemned." "I'm Corsican, not French!" "Let him be." "He's lost it, but that's for the best." "Lucky him.The cold has saved that one." "Are you done, lieutenant?" "Gangrene would've gotten him in summer." "That soldier, He doesn't have long before he dies, the cold will kill him." "What about Manech?" "Was he in pain?" "We had to amputate two fingers, but it seems he was doing okay." "I took them to a trench called "the bingo Crépuscule"." "Bloody hell!" "Could you make sure to kick these useless people out of the trench on your way ?" "A kick in the ass to get rid of them?" "My orders were to deliver you the five condemned men." "Then I will tell them what my orders are..." "to throw these guys over the trench." "and to let them die like dogs between our line and the Jerries'!" "Those are my damned orders, Sergeant!" "You understand Sergeant, we have a special tactical agreement with the Germans." "The sector is wee bit sleepy, a kick in the ass and all the shit will explode in our faces !" "The soup,you're lucky it's still warm." "Beetroot and fennel." "And what would you like to get kiddo?" "A large hot chocolate and some bread with honey." "I'd kill my parents to get you that!" "Do you mind, lieutenant?" "He's an orphan!" "but he will no doubt get you what you want." "He'll get it." "Célestin Poux is the "Mess Hall Marauder", the "Kitchen Raider"." "15 minutes later,he came back with it all." "Salted Guérande butter, honey of lavagne and... cocoa from Nigeria!" "Tell me, Cornflower, you've no one to write to?" "Do you have a girlfriend?" "A fiancée?" "Mathilde" "Her name is Mathilde." "Mathilde" "I feel like her heart beats in me like Morse code." "We are about to get married." "Luckily, we won't have to wait till the end of the war." "Now I can go straight home after the execution." "Maybe it is better that I don't tell you the end." "I am lame, not stupid." "Tell me what happened." "We opened a breach in the wire fences." "and equipped the five against the cold." "Célestin Poux gave your boyfriend one of his red woollen gloves, so that the hand was protected." "Is it far away ?" "Less than 100 meters." "Too far for grenades, too near for artillery." "And not to mention the gas.The gasser always gets it!" "Do you think that they will be all right?" "If they're not blown to bits, they'll starve and freeze." "Either way, it'll amuse the Jerries." "A Corporal gave Bastoche, the carpenter, a hug." "They clearly knew each other before the war." "And then,over they went." " Assholes." " Shit!" " Shut up!" "September 1914, 150 pound weight, easy!" "And I wasn't at my best!" "But that morning, in january 1917 was Manech still alive?" "At dawn, Favart called out their names." "All, except the farmer from Dordogne, responded." " Bassignano?" " Sir!" " Bouquette?" " What now?" " Langonnet?" " Yeah, still here!" "164 00:18:58,096 -- 00:19:00,891 Cornflower!" "hide yourself in a better spot." "Notre Dame?" "Notre Dame?" "That's all I know." "I wrote up my report with a heavy heart." "About time, Esperanza!" "The Brits are replacing us, we're off." "So, Bingo-thingy?" "What is that?" "The list of the condemned signed by Captain Favourier." "Do I leave it there?" "No, give it to me." "Don't stay there like an idiot." "What are you waiting for?" "You are promoted, sergeant, first thing in the morning,you're off to the Vosges." "Even so sir, this mission is going to be hard to swallow." "Lucky you." "Where you're going, there's mustard gas and throat lozenges." "The famous Vosges sweets." "We are done." "Some months later, I had been wounded in Somme." "I found myself in the same ambulance as Chardolot." "One of the officers in "Bingo Crépuscule"." "But he only had a few days to live." "Eh oh, It is me Esperanza." "Bingo Crépuscule, you remember?" "Oh, sorry I don't recognize you." "Tell me, the five thrown over into no-man's-land, what happened to them?" "What do you think ?" "No one made it?" "Your conscience bothering you, Esperanza?" "You should have stayed with us in Bingo." "I saw the capital Ms written down ... underpants, an albatross." "You are delirious." "You have the flu." "We sent over five men and recovered five cold pieces of meat." "So..." "My eyes are gone but I can imagine your expression and I like it." "He really spoke of capital Ms and an albatross?" "Yep ... and of underpants." "There you go Young lady, everything the condemned men in Bingo ever possessed." "They asked me to send everything to their families." "My health didn't allow me to do it." "It is a copy of the letter of the farmer Benoît Notre Dame to his wife." "I sent the original one to her when I left Bingo." "His health is due to the gas in the lungs right?" "Nope, it is because he got the Spanish flu." "Death moves in mysterious ways." "Mathilde, If you can't cry, try talking." "If you can't talk, say nothing." "But sometimes when we start speaking, it's when we start crying." "Tears say what you can't say, hear, you know what I mean?" "I will not have to bear that silly face anymore." "Petit Louis tell Vero that I will always think about her and that it is too bad she doesn't want to talk to me, I met Biscotte again and we made up." "Adieu my friend, Bastoche" "Benoît Notre Dame Number 1818 I will not be able to write again for a while." "Tell Bernay I will pay everything by the month of March." "His manure's too costly, watch out for him." "watch out for him." "Tell my Bagtistan that I hope nothing bad will happen to him." "She's the kindest person I know." "Love you." "Benoît." "For Tina Lombardi from Angel Bassignano." "If Chickpea comes in before dinner's called, Manech is alive." "I am not hungry." "Dinner's ready." "Come Malthide, dinner!" "I'm coming." "Mathilde was born on the first of January 1900" "It's easy for calculating her age." "In 1903 her parents passed away in an accident on bus 44." "Since then Mathilde kept saying" ""Ashes to ashes, dust to dust!" "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust..."" "Her Uncle Sylvain and Aunt Bénédicte took care of her." "Thanks to the life insurance managed by the lawyer of her parents, Pierre Marie Rouvières." "At five years old, Mathilde caught the polio virus." "She stayed several months in the bed in spite of the mustard cataplasms, the pendulums, and the four-leaf clover infusions." "Today Mathilde is 20 years old, she plays the tuba, because it is the only instrument that seems capable of imitating a distress call." "Chickpea, the dog, farts in his sleep." "Whenever Bénédicte hears the dog fart, she never fails to say," "Doggie fart, gladdens my heart." "Mathilde needs to get daily treatment." "Georges Cornu the champion of Britain in free style swimming gives her massage." "At the beginning she was anxious." "But soon she got used to it." "When Mathilde was in the mood, she imagined that Georges Cornu admired the shape of her body." "and he couldn't repress his desire." "As a matter of fact, one day he dared to remark :" "You do have a fine figure, Miss." "and I can assure you that I have touched lot of women." "After that, how should she call him?" "My dear George..." "My loved George..." "Jojo." "Sometimes, before sleeping she imagined herself in arousing situations." "Mathilde never had to use all her imagination to succumb to the pleasure." "But since he disappeared, she cannot think about her fiance when she seeks pleasure." "If I was you I would forget everything Mathilde, it is of no use to look for nothing." "Moreover if he were alive why did he not give any sign, huh?" "Because he had been made a prisoner." "He stayed with a german girl with braids and big boobs!" "A Breton eating sauerkraut every single day. ..impossible." "Are you sure you don't want me to help you?" "Oh no but I prefer you to keep your feet on the ground." "Well I will need to feel my legs for that!" "What did you say?" "Nothing" "I did hear you anyway." "What you just said doesnt make any sense." "Manech cannot be a prisoner in Bingo, because" "Our men took the trench facing it." "Normally, it's the winners who take prisoners." "Maybe he lost his direction, or he's hiding somewhere so as not to go to jail." "My sweet Mathilde you read too many novels." "You have to go back to reality." "You are young and beautiful, you could easily find a husband in spite of...." "In all that story there is something that does not add up." "I must find.." "the plunderer of kitchens..." "Célestin Poux." "What would you want kiddo?" "Or maybe the prostitute from Corsica, maybe she knows things more than I do." "Tomorrow I go away to Paris." "What ?" "What for?" "To look for a survivor from Bingo Crépuscule." "Germain Pire, Private Detective The Peerless Pry ... I have archives all the way up to the ceiling." "You can't imagine the number of cases which never saw the light of day, brought to light by Pire's prying." "Have a look at this," "A big case, an extremely delicate one." "In 1917 a train with soldiers derails 427 dead." "Thanks to the investigation we discovered that the official gave the order to leave although the brakes were faulty." "It was a concealment maneuver from the government of Poincare." "The only option for the victim families to find the official was..." "Germain Pire." "The Peerless Pry." "Oh way worse, young lady." "And I found the official." "To the sorrow of the high military spheres." "Granted, he was dead and buried, in the cemetery of Craon." "I'll just pack my bags and be on my way to track down Poux Célestin and the Corsican's fiancée." "And your fees, Mr. Peerless Pry?" "v" "The Pry only bleeds dry sitting ducks, Miss." "For you, I can do...20 francs a day." "Without the expenses of course." "And why would you do me that favour?" "Hélène come on to say hello !" "Don't worry about the expenses of Germain Pire." "He eats little, and does not drink." "And he is very sparing in gratuities." "Good morning." "Good morning." "Notre Dame de Paris?" "No, not Notre Dame de Paris, I call you from Paris about Notre Dame, Benoît." "Ah Benoît Notre Dame yes, a strong farmer and of great heart." "He died for the mother country, we say that the mother country has cleared me of good people." "His wife and her small Bagtistan still live there?" "Madame Minne I can't hear nothing!" "No, one day she sold everything and they went away without leaving direction." "Is it a choir that I hear behind your back?" "Of course, it's a choir!" "We are in a church, Miss!" "However that is not an excuse for not hearing you well." "Thank you Father, Good bye." "You're welcome." "Bingo Crépuscule!" "I can't make head nor tail of it!" "I thought that your vocation was to defend lost causes." "Your impertinence was charming at 10, not at 20!" "As a matter of fact, it would be time to take me seriously." "Mathilde, Mathilde, you squander your inheritance in an absurd chimera." "Bingo Crépuscule!" "Why not Yippee doodle-doo?" "I want access to army archives." "Mathilde let's say there were any truth in there." "And if one of the condemned men ever survived he would face forced labor." "And you know it!" "Your investigations would cause him very dangerous problems." "Be sensible, they trusted the interests to me  your parents." ""Ashes to ashes..."" "Actually, my happiness was one of their interests." "Good bye, and thanks." "My sweet Mathilde do not be like that please." "I think about your future, it hurts me much to see you got worse despite your massages." "All right all right I will see what I can do." "I can't put that though in Lourdes.." "Good morning lady I am looking for Tina Lombardi I've known her since she was a kid and.." "Pardon ladies I am a political uncle of Tina Lombardi and I would like to er...." "Please, I am in charge of the interests of the Lombardi family in the country, and I am looking for Tina." "It is about a small heritage..." "Are you the man who is looking for Tina Lombardi?" "Well, actually..." "Ever been to Corsica?" "Very pretty, very picturesque." "But Tina Lombardi went away after the bad business" "Luckily a member of the police found her whereabouts in the Leville Bar." "Valentin Emilia Maria Lombardi, called Tina, had been registered in 1916 near the quarter of regiment 23 in Marseilles." "After that she ran away." "I lost her tracks in Lyon, and trust me I didn't stop looking." "She has disappeared in the district of the Croix Rousse." "What you mean is you have given up." "Not at all, Pire never lets it go." "Pire is obstinate, a detective who gives up, he doesn't exist young lady." "Perfect, thanks." "Not the eyes, no" "What do you drink ?" "This is my fiance, and there is the carpenter." "I believe that you know him." "No." "I am suddenly thirsty, do you mind a glass of wine?" " "Good glass of wine..." - "Keeps the doctor in line."" "My great aunt told me that." "She died in Besançon in 1911 at the age of 99 years old." "And she had never been ill." "Good luck." "Touch wood." "The war?" "No, a hyena in the botanical garden." "I wanted to stroke it to be a smart ass." "Bastoche and his friend did this for me." "Biscotte?" "His best friend." "They met in 1910 while saving a woman from drowning in a flood." "Bastoche was skillful, but Biscotte..." "He was an artist, the king of firmer chisel." "He did all the joints." "It is a wonder!" "It is for you." "Petit Louis tell Vero that I will always think about her and that it is too bad she doesn't want to" "Talk to me, I met Biscotte again and we made up." "Good bye my friend." "Bastoche" "If they made up, they must have had a fall out." "Do you know the reason ?" "A mystery." "But to tell you the truth, they went through so much together," "And out of the blue, they can't bear each other." "Biscotte went away to another army." "And he died in the bombing of a military hospital while he was injured." "Anyway, I am glad they made up before." "It seems that it will not be very busy here today." "Pour me one?" "It seems you are thirsty huh?" "Maybe he has a wooden hand but he still has a big heart." "Let's drink to love." "The true one!" "Do you know who that is, Véro?" "Véronique Passavant." "His girlfriend, his lover." "He often came here with her." "What could have happened as she didn't want to talk to him anymore ?" "I suppose he has been unfaithful and she never forgave him." "Voila, here is the place for the year 1917." "What are the red files about ?" "Top Secret Defense" "We need higher clearance for them." "This way please, upstairs." "Go to help him" "Oh right." "Suppose that the highest person is yourself ... then Mr. Rouvières and I would have clearance right ?" "If I had that kind of mind" "I would not be an Official." "Mathilde please consider yourself lucky to have been able to come here." "Normally it would take months." "Like I told you, they say everything is in order but actually it is totally in chaos." "To see... in front of the Somme." "Sector of Bouchavesnes, trench 108." "You know what I mean." "This is a chaos!" "It is a real mess." "Can I help you?" "I thank you for the management ... with the General, I say." "Good, he is a great friend of mine." "I know the sector very well, two friends of mine died there." "Dreadful, the battles in that trench..." "I don't think that things will get better Couldn't even find a taxi after the opera." "So I heard!" "We would like to know that passage in trench 108." "... 104, trench 105, 107, where is the 106 one ?" "See?" "A mess." "Trench 108... this is a bloody mess." "Good 108, here these  Taken by us in October of 1916 and renamed Bingo Crépuscule." "Why not Yippee doodle-doo?" "on 6 January there is nothing on 7 january great confrontation with numerous losses..." "Favourier captain, the professor of history died in combat..." "The lieutenant..." "An adviser of insurances!" "The corporal...." "Good that but it gives..." "That is weird, a part of the losses are classified confidential." "Confidential?" "It means..." "I am sorry." "And we can do nothing about it?" "No nothing" "We can only get up to here." "I am sorry." "Not even the general himself could do anything about it." "Even so, I thank you for your time." "I am sorry, there is nothing which can be of any help to you." "Really ordinary files." "It was one possibility." "Everything is a chaos!" "You are incorrigible Mathilde...!" "... no lady, that is totally impossible" "No, without the seal of the ministry it is impossible." "I hope that this leaf is not classified.." "Pierre Marie, if it is important You must tell me." "Nope, that is nothing." "Only one permission." "Of the president ?" "So what, every so often the president can give it to soldiers who deserve it." "That is it." "I'll take both of you out" "Corporal Bouquette Clevert, Ganière Francis" "Soldier Notre Dame Benoît, soldier Bassignano Ange" "Soldier Langonnet Manech" "For self-mutilation, you are sentenced to death." "If, before the count of 7, the train hasn't entered the tunnel, or the ticket inspector hasn't come, Manech is dead" "One, two, three, four, five, six" "Tickets please." "April fool !" "As soon as you finish eating your meal, we will place your ad." ""Reward for information concerning Bingo Crépuscule." is that okay for you?" "Yes, try to encourage her, it would give her appetite." "You would have taken her to the camperre festival." "What for?" "To distract you a wee bit." "Not to mention you could find a nice boyfriend." "But what for ?" "So you can marry and raise a family!" "Tell her!" "Can I have some too?" "Do you drink wine now?" ""Glass of wine keeps the doctor in line."" "Where did you get that from ?" "On the street "the gold hand", the owner of the bar The Dead Hand, He has a wooden hand." "His great aunt said that before dying, at the age of 99 years old in Besançon in 1911." "Can you say that again?" "In Besançon, in 1911 ... one old lady lived until 99 years, who died leaving behind a little nephew who has a wood hand" "He is the owner of the dead hand, a bar on the street the gold hand." "You see it?" "She's already drunk!" "Look !" "This is the Albatross." "He knows he can outlast the wind." "Oh my gravel!" "My gravel!" "Véronique Passavant on July 17th 1920" "Lady, I write you from the bar of Petit Louis who told me about you." "I have to tell about a meeting I had which gave me a fright." "I was coming to the factory of Bastoche because I was melancholic." "I would like to speak with Bastoche" "Bastoche, but he died  in the front of the Somme, you didn't know?" "But I am looking for something else." "What exactly?" "In the hospital where I help the patients, there are terminal syphilitics." "One of them has given this to me for you." "If you don't want to die covered by purulent abscesses, you would do better answering me!" "The companion with whom Bastoche hides" "Tell me, tell me who is he?" "tell me he's Corsican." "Tina Lombardi knows something we don't" "What did you say?" "Tina Lombardi knows something which eludes us." "Something that would prove that Bastoche is still alive." "And the other condemned men." "That hussy obviously thinks it's her Angel." "But if Bastoche has been saved, Then I am sure that he protected Manech." "If he ever survived it." "Wait." "With "ifs", a flea could carry an elephant." "Maybe.But without "ifs", might as well hang myself." "Are you winding me up you smart ass ?" "Whenever you come here I must fix the gravel." "When I see gravel, I make it a point of arriving in style." "A letter for the young lady." "Ironworks R. Leprince, Paris 1920 July 25." "Sunday lends itself to writing." "I'm replying regarding where it says that you are looking for Célestin Poux and other survivors of Crépuscule." "I knew that guy very well, he was the best go-getter that I ever met." "Thanks to him I never starved." "Olivier Nergeton mechanical toys manufacturer." "Célestin Poux was our provider, we called him the terror of the kitchens" "He falsified the numbers of losses, so as to multiply the money in order to get the soldiers more foods." "If you ever meet him, Tell him that the veterans of Fontenau will never forget him." "Etienne Mauriaux, Professor, August 3 of 1920" "He made us laugh ours heads off, to get us food, he would even tame the mascot of the company." "Good morning Madam, Germain Pire" "Oh yeah, Mathilde told us about you." "Sylvain, tell Mathilde to go downstairs, the detective wants to see her." "The great Pire moves like hell, he can spend a day in each site." "Two days in Dreux, then Troyes, Castre,five days in Sète." "In any case we will need luck and patience to get him." "A shame." "Hélène I got you some salty cakes." "You will see if you like them." "You won't be better in the kitchen?" "Thank you Bénédicte." "Allright, I leave you alone." "Poux is a mystery, whereas Tina Lombardi that is another story" "She misleads us with dead end leads." "And to make matters worse she changes identities." "Anything new about Biscotte ?" "Oh!" "Look at this, this is Benjamín Gordes it is the day where they got the carpentry prize, for the sixth consecutive year." "But!" "And yes, young lady." "Biscotte, the best friend of Bastoche, is none other than Benjamín Gordes." "And a soldier of the company told me that they were close-knit before they fought." "Leave me alone." "I do not want to fight with you." "Leave me alone." "Calm down!" "Bastard!" "Asshole!" "Who got that idea ?" "Me?" "It was your idea." "It was just for a skirt matter." "Véronique Passavant broke up with Bastoche in June 1916." "And immediately afterwards, Bastoche fought with Benjamín Gordes." "You don't have to be a lynx for that huh?" "So they didn't see each other again until in Bingo Crépuscule?" "Bingo Crépuscule is where everything finishes." "No, it is where everything started, Mr. Pire." "Where everything starts." "Tina Lombardi is sure Bastoche is still alive." "What made Bastoche different from the others in Bingo Crépuscule?" "That he was the only carpenter, no?" "There is a thing that differentiates Bastoche from the others  the German boots." "He was the only one to wear German boots!" "But of course !" "You are right !" "Tina Lombardi just knew that her man by wearing German boots he could have got away with it." "It would suffice that they had seen him with some companion." "I met two Frenchmen they looked like tramps." "... One of them got boots." "He got them from a german soldier" "In addition to the german boots, we know that Bastoche made up with his best friend." "Exactly!" "Who knows if it doesn't make any change during that night." "If I can peel that apple without breaking the skin then" "Gordes found a way to help out and save Bastoche, and Manech." "At that rate I won't put the cake in the oven before the next year!" "I must return to Paris." "What ?" "I have to return to Paris." "Again?" "The inheritance of your parents will go away like smoke." "Late parents." "Excuse me, where is Elodie Gordes?" "That's the woman with the carrots." "Ah, thanks Sir." "Elodie Gordes?" "Here for you." "I do not know him." "Which person don't you know?" "Would it be that one by any chance?" "Because Bastoche and Biscotte had a fall out?" "Was it because of you?" "You exagerate, I do not have anything to tell of him." "No, I just need to know." "Leave me alone!" "They saw each other for the very last time in the Bingo Crépuscule?" "My fiance was there too with Bastoche" "In that excrement trench." "I need to understand." "I need to understand!" "It is not what you think." "I can tell you everything." "Give me your address, My spelling's terrible but.." "I will put everything in a letter." "I promise you." "No letter for me?" "What did you say?" "Nothing for me?" "Only the newspaper..." "It talks about all the world but Elodie Gordes." "Very funny." "You are wrong." "You can learn a lot of interesting things." "The president has opened an investigation on the condemned men of Bingo Crépuscule?" "A man fell out of a train in the middle of the night in pajamas" "Well at least he sleeps with pajamas." "Eh?" "He sleeps with pajamas!" "... and we recovered five cold cuts" "You are already a thief, and now you are pyromaniac." "Did you hurt yourself ?" "No, I am fine." "For a change I don't have to gather the gravel, but to collect the mailman." "You took away the gravel!" "A fair battle!" "There is no battle." "Do you want to drink something?" "Yes please." "Miss, please keep my little secrets" "When I met my husband, he had four children from a first marriage." "Not one kid was his." "By generosity he married with a young widow with TB of Polish nationality, like me." "He adopted the children as his before she died." "Myself, I was a unmarried mother of a girl of 3 years old." "So we found ourselves a family with 5 children," "We had four years of happiness." "We had many plans." "We dreamed to be able to see the sea at least once in life." "But then the war started." "At first I thought that Bastoche's friend would take care of him because they were together, but when he came back for the first time, in September of 1915" "Right after the campaign of Artois," "I understood right away that nothing would be like before." "This gives us the force to get on in life." "A day in a burning cornfield, I saw my companions' ammunition belts exploding like they were firecrackers." "One time we even used the body of a companion, to use as a shield." "He had been thinking about something for a long time, it was in the second night that it started." "You will understand that if I desert they will arrest me." "The only way of getting away is to have a sixth child." "When someone has 6 children, they send the soldier back home." "As I already told him, He can't have children." "I could not imagine what to think." "But voila, he brought up the subject again." "But it is me who asks you, Elodie, this is not adultery." "And even less if it is with Bastoche." "Don't touch !" "None of the five children is mine, who cares about another one?" "Although it embarrasses me, we would have to wait 9 months ... by then the war would already be over." "But now it will never be over!" "Those nine months will represent a hope for me." "Don't you have compassion?" "And then one day, I found a note from Kléber Bouquette, AKA Bastoche, in the letterbox." "I put something colorful at the window so he knows where to show up." "Good morning." "Good morning." "I made some coffee, do you want some?" "Oh yes, it would be nice, thank you." "Come in." "No, You first." "Thank you very much." "Do you want sugar ?" "No, thanks." "It is of nacre?" "Yes, Benjamín made it." "It is curious we never met Yes, before." "Are the children not home?" "Yes, they are playing in the backyard." "A digestive with the coffee ?" "Yes please." "Actually no..." "I am sorry." "I don't need it" "I don't need it either." "Elodie look, we'll tell him we did it." "It will make things easier for you, for me..." "For you, for me, for everybody." "It is funny, when you smile it looks like a bracket." "I'll close them as late as possible..." "The day after tomorrow, in the station." "Time to go, a very last smile okay?" "In order to close the bracket." "I didn't even get pregnant!" "But soon after, it was not the fear which was tormenting my husband, but the jealousy." "Where?" "When?" "Whichever times?" "In which positions?" "Did you enjoy yourself?" "It became an utter torture for him and me." "Now Bastoche died..." "And my husband died in the hospital bombing." "It did me good to be honest with you Miss." "It's a relief to confide in you." "Sometimes I am scared of becoming crazy." "Elodie Gordes." "Mathilde hurry up, Mr. Rouvières is on the phone waiting for you." "Move, Move." "Hello." "Mathilde, It's me Pierre Marie." "Erm, I have bad news for you." "Good or bad news, You were expecting for them, ... only that from now on, you will not be able to continue ignoring." "The bottom line is, you were right about one thing." "Manech and his 4 companions were indeed in that trench." "They are buried in the Tertullian cemetery." "They were first buried below a canvas in a crater." "There there, my little Mathilde." "In June of 1909 Mathilde was 9 years old," "Manech Langonnet... 10" "Does it hurt when you walk?" "It must have been Friday or Saturday." "Mathilde doesn't remember anymore." "Do you have friends?" "If you want I could be your friend." "What is wrong, do i smell like fish?" "Have you ever gone up the lighthouse?" "I can carry you up there!" "...my father is the lighthouse keeper." "As you wish, you are a stuck up little girl!" "Country bumpkin!" "Hey!" "Do you want me to kick your ass?" "How far can you see from the top of the lighthouse?" "I'm going to gobble up your ears!" "I am the squid's servant!" "Doggie fart, gladdens my heart!" "Manech Amies Mathilde" "Manech Amies Mathilde" "Manech Amies Mathilde Mathilde Amies Manech" "Manech Amies Mathilde" "Take this But I don't smoke!" "I know, I know, just take it." "It will help you make friends." "If I get to the curve before the car," "Manech will come back safe." "If I get to the curve..." "If I get to the curve before the car Manech will come back safe." "If I get to the curve..." "Good morning." "You used to brag about being a year older than me." "Now I am older." "The name of the one that gave you the glove is Poux." "Célestin Poux." "Funny, isn't it?" "The detective I hired is called Pire." "Germain Pire." "He hasn't found neither him nor the prostitute from Corsica." "The thread has been broken Manech ...but I'm not giving up." "I have faith in Tina Lombardi's clue." "I need to know." "Do you understand?" "That is why it is important that I find Célestin Poux." "Well it's really a great pity, you know?" "We would be very happy by now." "Let's go Mathilde." "It's getting cold." "Killed in combat June 7th, 1917" "Thouvenel?" "What do you want?" "Who are you?" "Are you the one who called me?" "Who are you?" "The days passed without news from Celestin Poux." "Mathilde was overwhelmed with sadness." "She has to eat or she'll get sick." "Then leave her the best part." "She'll end up leaving us a taste for tragedy, you'll see!" "At last, on September 15th, 1920, at midnight." "The thread reconnected again..." ""Victory!" "I have finally found that slippery Poux"" "I'm sending him with God's blessing and Harley Davidson's." "Expenses included, of course." "Germain Pire." "Célestin Poux, Road Terror." "Is this your announcement?" "Mathilde clenched her fists together, it was all she could do to avoid shaking, crying and looking like an idiot." "I didn't see your fiancé fall, I went to get the stew" "Then I met with Lebègue, a guy I met at the Vosges." "A native of the Meuse." "Or rather a naïve of the Meuse." "But he knew how to distinguish Arabic coffee from a stomach remedy." "I know." "I tried to sell him a mixture of coffee and charcoal" "To trade it for Dutch tobacco." "The last time you saw Manech, was he alive?" "It was impossible not to see him, instead of hiding." "He was carving Ms on the trunk of a charred tree." "He had time to carve three M's before the albatross took him down." "The albatross?" "Albatross." "Big sea bird that follows, like a travel companion without worries, the ship that sails the bitter depths."" "It's a poem by Baudelaire" "But in 1915, it was also a German plane, with a machine gun on the back." "Back then, it was impossible to shoot through the helices." "Did you give him the glove?" "My fiancée spent her time knitting scarves and mittens for me." "I traded them with the Senegalese that had frostbite on their fingers for gold teeth that they took out of dead german soldiers." "I melted them and thanks to them I could buy the Harley." "But, are you sure Manech is dead?" "A mate that saw the body told us, that with a wound like that, there was no doubt about it." "Of the 5, I only saw 3 of them get killed, with my own eyes" "I surrender!" "I surrender!" "Don't shoot!" "Mercy..." "I give up..." "Let me through!" "I'm on your side..." "Mercy!" "I'm not French!" "I'm Corsican." "I have nothing against the German." "Poor man." "So you are not French." "Then lets nullify your birth certificate." "It was one of our soldiers who shot." "Thouvenel" "He had an itchy trigger finger, with a heart of stone and eagle's eye." "Poor man." "Do you want the truth?" "I'm an easy man, I would kill my whole family for some good stew." "Don't worry, he is an orphan!" "As well as for pickled meat and truffle puree" "I just came from..." "Ok!" "Who did you see die with your own eyes?" "The one infected with gangrene." "Six-Soux?" "Yes, the welder." "Comrades, before I die" "I have a last wish." "I would like to pee standing up." "like a man!" "And then, you can fire away to your heart's content!" "so long to life!" "so long to love!" "And to all the women!" "It is over." "It is the end." "I curse this damn war." "This is the end." "We will lose our lives." "We are all condemned." "They are sacrificing us." "And Bastoche?" "He was very well hidden and we couldn't find him." "The morning when we called all the names he answered but no one could find him." "He was like a ventriloquist." "No, he was a carpenter." "For what I heard, the albatross shot him down at the same time as your fiancé." "The explosion set afire the albatross that went down on the German line, at home." "Return to sender." "And what happened to the farmer of Dordoña." "He faked death from the beginning, but it didn't do him any good." "The Germans didn't like what happened to their plane." "When I came back with the ranch the shooting had begun." "Then they started shelling." "Damn!" "No one can imagine what it's like." "Your legs shake, they don't respond." "The heart beats like that of a terrified animal." "Then I saw the farmer from Dordoña get killed." "Attack, before we're all slaughtered." "Prepare bayonets!" "Prepare bayonets!" "Prepare bayonets!" "What I'm telling you is music compared to what happened." "For France..." "Charge!" "We had left behind the prisoners' bodies" "When the shooting of the machine guns started, the Maxim." "...It was a massacre." "Lavrouye the bastard,he kept the paper..." "Bring the stretchers!" "A paper?" "What paper?" "That's all he said." "That night there were triple soup servings." "Favart and Chardolot were doing the report of casualties." "Why are the five condemned listed as soldiers of the batallion?" "We are following orders." "Something stinks here." "Something stinks?" "Lavrouye stinks." "This food doesn't." "Dig in before it gets cold." "It is already cold!" "But out of the 5, you only saw 3 die." "With your eyes." "Lady,false hope will only make you suffer." "They're not false!" "Will you taste my plum pie?" "I don't know if I should." "With a bit of fresh cream." "If you insist..." "I like it when people appreciate my cooking." "I'll put her to bed." "We all need some rest." "Easy, easy!" "You need more dignity, style!" "It is clear that farming is your thing." "Hop in Mr. Mailman, I'll take you to the next mailbox." "But my bicyle..." "Leave it to me." "I fought in the war!" "I don't have a desk job." "Let's go!" "...is not my fault, I have asthma." "Yes, asthmatic that rides a bicycle!" "But near the sea." "Oh sure, near the sea!" "Careful Célestin, you are not on a sidecar." "Men, they're like children, eh?" "As long as they don't play at being soldiers." ""Tell old Bernay... settle up by March." "His manure's too costly..."" "His manure's too costly..."" "He wouldn't write such trivialities." "Don't you think?" "It might be in code." "But the code of lovers cannot even be solved with divine inspiration." "And Bastoche?" "If he was seen with the German boots, he had to come out alive!" "Not at all, miss." "Corporal Gordes didn't want Bastoche to come out of the trench with the enemy boots." "If the Germans see you with them, they'll know you've stripped one of their dead." "So Tina Lombardi's on the wrong track." "Her soldier with German boots... wasn't Bastoche!" "It was Gordes!" "Exactly madam" "He was acompanied by a young man from the class of 17 called Derochette." "I ran into some stretcher-carriers that had just seen them." "Eh, are you from Bingo?" "Why?" "Tell that Corporal Gordes is wounded on the head" "And that we saw him next to a young man in worse condition." "His name is Derochette, they were going to the aid station." "Hooray for anarchy." "Anarchy!" "What's wrong Mathilde?" "Mathilde, open up!" "Please, be reasonable!" "Could you tell me what you did to her?" "Nothing..." "You have known for three years that Manech is dead." "That's what I call stubborness." "No, it is called hope, and Mr. Poux just killed it." "Can I do something to make it up to you?" "Yes." "Take me to Bingo Crepuscule." "You look like an Indian princess riding an elephant." "With her court, riding her sadness." "Here it is!" "There it is, 100 meters ahead the German trench." "And the tree, the charred tree, where is it?" "Oh!" "the trunks and all the bodies were used to fill both trenches." "We found the five over there, under a tarpaulin, below a canvas with a little dirt thrown on them,covered with earth." "It was not a pretty sight." "I can imagine!" "The youngest was only a boy." "Do you remember if he had a glove?" "A red glove, of thick wool?" "All of them had one hand wrapped, I can remember that." "But nothing on the other hand, I didn't see a glove." "Athos!" "I don't like him digging like that." "Around here,you never know what junk you might come across, that could blow an arm or leg in the blink of an eye." "That's a crypt, there was a chapel between the german line and ours all that is left is a bunch of ruins." "Incredible." "I don't recognize a thing." "Is it possible Manech lost the glove when he fell?" "It was made of thick wool,tightly woven." "It was very tight, the other one lasted me until the end of the war." "Maybe he took it out to write on the trunk." "That I don't know, but I don't think so." "And what kind of red was it?" "Bright red?" "Intense red." "It had white dots woven in it, it looked like an apple with worms." "Excuse me for approaching you like this, but my husband's family suffered a lot during the war..." "And I don't want anyone to see me get near the table of a French veteran, do you understand me?" "What do you know?" "Before he died, my brother saw your fiancé carve three letters on the trunk of a tree" "He had a red glove with white dots." "A friend of his told me everything." "When one of our planes shot at your fiancé he got disgusted by it." "And just after that all hell broke loose." "That day, God saved the life of that French soldier twice." "Suddenly, your men returned the attack they killed my brother!" "He was 23." "I have come to see his cross at the cemetery." "I'm very sorry." "Time heals everything." "You'll see!" "I have to come back, or they will start to wonder." "Then I haven't completely killed it!" "What?" "...Hope!" "Now what?" "Tina Lombardi." "She is going to be beheaded." "They are calling her the Officer's Killer." "She killed Lavrouye and Thouvnel amongst others!" "She had intended to kill Mariscal Piton." "When I think you used a wheel chair to get my pity..." "You are the only one i have agreed to talk to becuse I know we are alike." "We'll leave them alone." "What I did, you could have done too." "No, I don't think so." "I would have been too scared." "I'm not scared." "Nor do I regret anything." "Except my hair they will cut it before executing me." "I will look like Joan of Arc when I meet my Angel." "Why Mariscal Piton, what did he do?" "It was his idea to throw out the mutilated soldiers from the trenches." "And why not Poincare, he denied the pardon." "What, you don't know?" "He had pardoned them, the five of them." "It is only a license." "Lavrouye kept the paper..." "And why did Lavrouye do that?" "Because pigs act like pigs!" "But don't worry, I took care of him." "We have carried out the same investigation." "Each one in her own way." "Looking for any Bingo veterans I found a sick man that had treated my Angel and the others." "This sick man, Philippot, had seen one of the five." "A strong young man, wounded on the head" "He was strong, wounded on the head, he had German boots." "According to him, he had German boots." "And was carrying a thin young man." "I think so i mean, i'm sure!" "...strong, wounded on the head." "his boss suggested he kept quiet." "You, better than anyone, can understand the hope I felt." "But some time later I met the one who killed all my illusions." "First Sargeant Favart." "He told me how that Thouvenel pig murdered my Ange." "With a single shot." "I also took care of him." "I only had one thing in mind eliminate everyone that hurt my Angel." "Your Angel left this for you." "Revenge is useless, try to be happy." "And don't waste your life for me." "Angel" "...Gordes, the one that traded the German boots with Bastoche..." "Was he strong?" "Biscotte?" "No, he wasn't athletic, he was like you or me." "And, have you heard anything about Jean de Desrochelles?" "Desrochelles?" "Ah yes, he was not very sociable, he lived alone with his mother." "I'm sorry, I have to leave you." "I'm leaving in one hour for Venezuela." "Good luck Célestin." "Same to you." "When I think you didn't tell me about Poincare's pardon..." "It would only have made things worse, please understand." "I have a last favor to ask of you, Pierre Marie." "I suppose it has to do with Bingo." "Son of the bookshop owner Paúl Desrochelles dead February of 1897." "Jean Desrochelles that's it!" "Wait!" "." "Yes in Somme." "Yes, fine." "Thanks" "Tell me Mr. Pire, Tina Lombardi, you must have known what she had planned!" "It was wiser not to interfere with her." "He who pries, flies, when danger lurks." "No..." "He who pries, pries, but, from a distance." "By the way I have a last clue to give to you." "Jean Desrochelles evacuated from Somme Front on January of the 17th, only relative, her mother." "Widow of Paul Desrochelles." "Rue de la vie 22." "And what do you want me to do?" "Did you want to talk to me?" "Yes" "My brother's friend, the one i talked to you about, he remembered something that could be of interest to you." "The two French soldiers that escorted him, that Monday morning, wanted to go again through "No man's land"" "They saw the bodies of the condemned, one of them was in some kind of cavity and the two French seemed surprised." "I don't know if that could be useful miss?" "Thanks." "...tell Berney that I want to liquidate everything by the first day of March." ""His manure's too costly, watch out for him."" "you better be careful with him." "He who pries, pries, but, from a distance." "Well, it has to be in code." "Mr. Pire called!" "He didn't find anything in Saenz..." "I know." "Hello, who is it?" "Yes miss, I remember you" "Old Bernay?" "No, never heard of him." "I don't know anyone with that name." "Benoit Notre-Dame fertilizes his lands with his animals' manure, he didn't buy any." "Thanks father." "I have to decipher that letter." "I'm getting close." "I will be..." "Bernay..." "March...sell... everything." "Say...nothing...no one" "Benoît." "Excuse me sir, the farm at the end of the world?" "The last house, at the end of the road." "And what if he doesn't come?" "He'll come!" "Don't worry." "Come back in two hours." "Hello Mathilde." "It's dangerous to want to bring back the dead." "When I saw your ad in the paper," "I knew it was a matter of time until the gendarmes catch me." "Don't worry, I could have killed you but i didn't." "You're not only a thief, but also a pyromaniac!" "I couldn't kill you." "Now, even the rabbits and chickens, my wife has to do it." "The war's taken it out of me." "You know what I want to hear!" "Is Manech alive?" "The last time I saw him, he was not well." "But he is stronger that he seems." "We have to stay together." "When things calmed down, I tried to get some sleep." " Gaignard!" " You think we're at the whorehouse?" " Bouquet!" " What now?" "Notre-Dame?" "Then the Corsican decided to surrender." "After that they killed the welder from Paris." "Then your fiancé carved some letters on the trunk of a tree and the German albatross arrived." "I regained my consciousness when the earth trembled." "I still don't understand what happened the only thing i saw was a trap door that the projectile uncovered." "...For France!" "Attack!" "They got into No Man's Land and on the second line they were all killed by the shotguns." "A few hours later, I was awakened by some voices." "Oh my God!" "Bastoche is dead!" "We can't leave him here." "We will come for him later, he won't go anywhere." "Oh Bastoche is dead" "Look!" "That one is moving." "It's the Cornflower." "He's a goner as well." "The explosion destroyed the trap door." "One of the soldiers was badly wounded." "Bastoche is dead!" "We are all going to die." "He was Bastoche's friend, the one who had taken the German boots." "After eating, I smoked his tobacco." "Then I heard more voices." "Oh shit!" "Isn't that the kid!" "What is he doing here?" "And the farmer from Dordoña, where is he?" "Sir!" "I'm cold!" "Be calm!" "Although he was badly wounded, your fiancé wanted to live," "I could see it in his eyes." "I carried him on my shoulders and started walking by the trench." "He had a high fever, I could feel it on my back." "He was delirious." "He talked about a heart beating in his hand." "Private!" "The hospital is 500 meters ahead." "Do you want us to carry him on the stretcher?" "No." "If you find any Bingo sub-officer," "Tell him that Private Gordes went to the hospital with Soldier Desrochelles." "Ok, as you wish." "I arrived before the explosion." "I have to say that the major state didn't have a better idea than to place the hospital in a hangar with a blimp full of hydrogen." "The kid was evacuated in the convoy that just left." "Will he be ok?" "The wound on the hip is not bad but the pneumonia doesn't look good." "I listed you by the name on your tags." "I don't want to know anything else." "Good luck." "The lever!" "The lever!" "Please!" "Then I arrived at Bernay, on foot." "I wouldn't have known if my wife had received the letter." "So everyday" "I waited for her at the station." "With the money of the sale we bought this farm." "The farthest we could find" "I called it "The end of the world"." "Goodbye." "It is curious, you punctured your life line" "Is normal" "I died...at Bingo Crepuscule just like your boyfriend." "If you ever find Jean Desrochelles alive." "Let me know." "You know where to find me." "Come on in!" "Feel at home, at Christmas you can enter through the chimney." "For Miss Mathilde" "Ok." "I'll give it to her later." "I think you should wake her." "What is going on?" "He is alive!" "Don't move Mathilde, whatever happens, don't move." "I'm on my way." "Germain Pire" "I'm such a fool!" "Nicer than the marten and much faster than the gazelle." "He is alive and well but he can't remember anything." "His amnesia is total." "He even had to learn to read and write again." "The psychiatrist that treated him since the 17th doesn't have much hope." "But everyone knows that there are as many amnesias as amnesiacs." "Where is he?" "Orphaned for the second time." "He just lost his adoptive mother" "Pierre Marie, do you know Mr. Pire?" "Only by reputation." "Nice to meet you." "Mathilde I'm telling you i won't believe it until I see it." "With your own eyes!" "When Jean Desrochelles was born, her mother was 40 years old and she had no other children." "When the gendarmes came for him to support the front." "Yes." "She fell into a depression." "One day she received the visit of a mate of his son, his name was..." "Chardolot!" "Chardolot!" "...sadly it was Jean" "A bullet had reached him, and he had been dead for hours." "I also have to tell you..." "It is possible that the youngest of the condemned stole Jean's identity." "Exchanging their tags." "I think she lost her mind the day they called her to the hospital." "To tell her that her son was there." "He is asleep." "I'll leave you alone." "Good morning!" "Who are you?" "Your mother, little one." "I am your mother!" "I have conducted the official investigation and Mrs. Desrochelles died two months ago." "She was hit by a truck after having a tiff with a merchant." "And this is not a lie." "We know that!" "Mam please, calm down." "Mrs. Desrochelles didn't suffer, she died immediately." "I'm not crying about that." "I'm an idiot." "I didn't believe you, little one." "Please forgive me!" "I should've known." "What she later would call the Millie expedition:" "the sun, the sky and all of nature, were on her side." "Flaunting her femininity, she fixed herself as best as she could." "Dressed in white, the color of purity, she painted her lips for the ocassion." "She outlined her eyebrows and without rimel to extend her eyelashes." "She knew what would happen if she lost her composure." "We told him about your visit." "We told him that a young woman that he loved very much was coming to see him." "He asked your name and thought it was beautiful." "He is waiting in the garden." "Does it hurt you when you walk?" "Do you want to see what i'm doing?" "I'll let you see it when I'm done." "Why do you cry?" "And Mathilde sat there with her back straight against the chair's back." "With the hands on her skirt and looked at him" "Under the harmony that enveloped them, Under the light of the garden," "Mathilde looked at him, looked at him looked at him"