"1972, near Paris" "They burned the harvest..." "They killed all the animals" "The German army carried on retreating" "We didn't hear any more guns on the road to Budapest" "Everything was quiet for two days." "Total silence" "And then we heard that the Russians were coming" "Everyone panicked, really panicked" " Why did they panic?" " Why?" "The Russian army was full of youngsters from the Caucasus and Mongolia" "They were savages." "Real savages!" "I don't know how to explain it to you" "My father packed our most precious belongings in crates" "He wailed up some of them in the cellar and my uncles buried the rest in the woods" "Isn't that your father's car?" "Give it to me." "Not like that" "It was there yesterday!" "So what?" "You'll twist the aerial!" "Pain in the ass.." "Not bad" "We can get it better" "Shit..." "There" "Quiet!" "Brilliant" "She could at least speak to my father" "Shit, it's not that hard!" "Why bother?" "Your dad wants custody." "The courts gave it him" "I won't go back to that moron!" "He can't make you." "It's your choice, not your mother's" "He'll get me back if he wants" "How?" "Actually, he wants to put me in a home." "The Beausoleil clinic" " He thinks I need care like mom" " You never said" " I don't tell you everything" " I do" " Why are you smiling?" " No reason" " Next time, tell me why" " Give me a break" "Last year, he tore down my posters" "So I slashed his tires with a screwdriver" "He chased after me in the street, dragged me back and started thrashing me so I bit his ankle until my mouth was full of blood" "Is that why he sent you to Beausoleil?" "I went there but they wouldn't let me see you" "Then you told me the same rubbish you told the others" "It scares me, Gilles, it really scares me" "I know" "I don't want to go back." "Promise to help me" "Yeah." "Don't say it like that, this is serious" "I know" "No, you don't know" "You're still a kid but that's okay" "Is that why you were smiling?" "It's true." "I've got my books, my records, my papers and no experience" " Can't your mother help?" " Come on, she's useless" "The young guy she lives with works in a betting agency" "They really impress a court!" "And he's an Arab, and they're both Scientologists!" "No court's ever going to give her custody" " What will you do?" " Nothing" "The court judgment is final" "We'll see We'll see what?" "I can't tell you yet." "It's a secret" "But I'll tell you" "I'll tell only you." "I swear" "Let go, assholes!" "Jesus!" "Fucking grab her!" ""The heat in my blood incessantly filled my mind" ""with girls and women" ""Yet, not knowing the true reason," ""I occupied them strangely in my mind" ""on my fantasies for I had no idea of anything else" ""These thoughts kept my senses in a troublesome state of activity," ""from which, happily," ""they never taught me to relieve myself"" ""But the time was past when childish games were natural" ""Shame, the companion of an evil conscience" ""had come with the years" ""It increased my shyness, making it invincible" ""And never, at that time or since," ""have I made an indecent proposal" ""to any woman" ""who had not forced me to it by her advances," ""even knowing her immodest" ""and likely to accept" ""My agitation became so strong that, unable to satisfy my desires," ""I excited them by extravagant maneuvers"" "Extravagant.." "maneuvers" ""I hunted out dark pathways," ""lonely spots," ""to expose myself to women from afar" ""in the condition I would have liked to be in their company" ""They didn't see the obscene object" ""I never thought of that" ""It was the ridiculous object"" "Mr. Guersaint" "Carry on reading" "You weren't following" "I'll help you then" "We're at "the ridiculous object"" "Start reading from "the ridiculous object"" "Page 121" "What's this?" "Where's "The Confessions"?" "I left it at home" "Right, since you can't read for us, you can tell us what you've remembered" "What happens next?" "If you'd read it, you'd remember" "What's he talking about?" "What's this ridiculous object?" "It should interest you" "Is it his..." "Or his..." "What do you think, Gilles?" "I'm sick of wasting my time on shits like you." "You piss me off!" "Go on, get out!" "Go on!" "Take your things, since literature interests you," "and tell the supervisor I don't want you back" "Go on!" "Out!" "Asshole!" "Those assholes broke my bracelet and took my wallet!" "Your wallet's here" "Nothing missing?" "You can check later" "They had no right to keep me!" "Where did they keep you?" "In some shitty locker room" "What happened there?" "Is that all?" "They tried to intimidate me, no such luck" "You've done this before" " Maybe" " You know you have" "There's no proof!" "I never signed." "Prove it!" "There's their word" "And their word says they saw you today stealing records in the store with your boyfriend" "Their word's worth fuck-all!" "Why?" "They're not sworn officers." "That's why" "If they play it that way, I can tell a few things too" "Meaning?" "Nothing" "You're not at school" "This is a police station." "Answer my questions" "Nothing." "Ask them what happened in the locker room" "It was the tall guy with short hair" "We were alone together in there" "He tried to ask me a few dumb questions" "When he saw I wasn't answering, he started feeling under my skirt" "And then?" "He took off my panties and then..." "He put his finger in me." "I was dry" "And you let him?" "I felt nothing." "He doesn't exist" "Did it last long?" "No idea" "Then he made me kneel down and took out his cock" "Did he ask you to..." "He didn't ask" "He forced you?" "No, he just pissed on me" "Yeah, he pissed on me with his cock" "That's a serious allegation" "Dead serious" "Right..." "Christine Huart.." "I've had your file here for three weeks now" "Know what's in it?" "A court order your father wants applied immediately" "In other words, they want me to send two officers to take you to him... of your own free will or not" "Nothing to say?" "Nothing" "When they divorced, did you want to live with your mother?" "No one asked me" "You prefer your father?" "I'd rather croak than stay with that worm!" "And now?" "Now I'm waiting to be old enough to take off" "Where to?" "I know where" "You won't say?" "Your mother won't answer my letters" "She's not stupid, she knows what you want" "It's too late now" "Maybe I could have helped but it's too late now" "Your father's here for you" "I didn't have time for Chapon's delivery" "It took me an hour!" "Right, you... take the van" "There's the roll of fencing... and the stakes. 250 of them" "Count them with the customer or he'll piss us off again" "You could have shaved!" "Right..." "You unload the van..." "No, you don't unload it..." "We gave him 10% off" "He didn't pay for labor" "It's from the site where my dad works" "One of his pals sorted it out" "Six, seven, eight..." "It's okay to handle it" "It only works with a detonator" "These are the detonators" "You stick the fuse in on this side" "The stick goes on the other side" "This is Bickford fuse 4 meters of it to cut up" "It's string and gun powder" "Remember, once you light it, you can't put it out" "Who said come in?" "Who said?" "Whose place is this?" " Is Madeleine here?" " Answer me!" "Whose place is this?" "Show me some fucking respect!" "See you, Mourad" "They took Christine from her!" " Did you know?" " No, I didn't" "The store guards got her" "I know that" "You don't give a fuck about her when you steal your goddamn LPs!" "It's fun, huh?" "Mom and dad can get you out of trouble or cough up if they have to like last time!" "You're drunk, I'm not listening!" "Give me the key and sleep it off!" "Give me the fucking key!" "I said I'd smash your face in if you started again!" "It's not a game for Christine." "It's her life" "Okay, Mourad, cut it out" "Hands off, queer!" "Last time, they told you they'd get the cops!" "The cops called her dad and he's sending her to Beausoleil" "Oh fuck." "What now?" "She'd left when Madeleine got to the police station so she went to the ironmongery" "The sales guy threw her out Were you there?" "No, she called from a phone-box" "She was crying, her dress was torn, and she wanted me to fetch her" "I've got to get to the betting agency, I'm already late as it is" "There, your room's ready" "Here" "Take this before bed." "It will do you good" "It's not very strong" "You don't have to take it but I'll have to tell Dr. Varennes" "That's good" "If you need anything, my office is down the corridor" "Use the buzzer to call me." "Okay?" "Good night" "Come and see" "Remember the "Death of the Virgin" from the Louvre?" "That character, at the Virgin's feet, remember him?" "Hands over his eyes and at his throat, his head lowered" "Few images of suffering move me more than this" "What about you?" "Does it move you like that or not?" "Once the painting was finished, they said Caravaggio had used a drowned prostitute as his model" "If you look closely, it seems plausible..." "It caused quite a scandal and Caravaggio's patrons refused it" "He wasn't able to defend himself as he had to flee Rome after killing a man in a duel" "Are you listening?" "Did you see that letter from school?" "No, I didn't" "Come on, I'm not stupid" "It was on the table" "I know you go through my papers" "Yeah, I saw it" "Okay" "And what do you think of the letter?" "What am I supposed to think?" "They can expel me next year" "I'll pass the exam anyway" " What if you fail?" " I won't" "What if you fail?" "I'll fucking pass!" "Don't shout at me, please" "I've had enough of these hassles" "You were disciplined twice last year, for heaven's sake!" "Mess about but don't let them catch you" "I'm sick of seeing the head and having to kow-tow to her" "Two years ago, we moved you to arts because maths was too hard" "Then a class without Latin because it was even easier" "So what is it you want?" "Tell me, what?" "Some private school full of idiots and daddy's boys?" "The same as your moronic cousin who's over twenty and still in high school?" "Give me a break with that cretin!" "I'm 16 and I haven't failed my exam yet, okay?" "If you don't want to answer or see them, don't." "It's my problem!" "Change your tone. lf you don't mind, it's my problem too" "I do mind!" "That bitch has been after me all year!" "Poor little martyr" "Any graffiti, stealing or strikes and she sends for me straight away!" "It's not me every time!" "I'm sick of being a scapegoat!" "Now she's writing to you" "What have I done now?" "I've had enough!" "If she wrote to me, she had her reasons" "I'm telling you there's no reason." "She's obsessed!" "She's just after me!" "When you get like that, no one can talk to you" "You won't even try to understand!" "Stop it, Gilles!" "Little jerk" "Can I talk to you now?" "It is my problem too" "I just spoke to your mother" "She had a copy of the letter" "What did she say?" "She wants you in a boarding school" "She spoke to the head who thinks it's a great idea" "A brilliant idea" "What can I say?" "Your grades are bad... you've got permanent discipline problems... at the slightest remark, you go crazy..." "This proves it" "I'm never home." "I can't watch you all the time" "You've got to stand on your own two feet" "I know, I keep trying!" "You'd never guess." "Some kids your age already have jobs" "You're lucky, you've never lacked money" "It's no fun at your age being left to your own devices" "But that's the way it is" "That's life and you have to act like an adult" "That's what you need to learn" "These days, I'm..." "I don't know what to tell your mother" "I can't make any commitments about your work or mental balance" "She said she'd handle everything" "She knows a very decent place in the south-west somewhere" "She said it's for your own good." "And I didn't say no agreed" "Gilles!" "Come here..." "Come here..." "Look how it works" " I'm doing my homework" " Do it later" "Show me after." "I can't concentrate" "You're just copying!" "Okay, but it has to be neat, pain in the ass" "I can't later" "Have you got that?" "Tell Maxime" "Can't you?" "He's coming tomorrow after his riding class" " No, it pisses me off" " Why?" "I'm not interested." "It's kids' shit" "Give it to him." "He doesn't owe me anything, okay?" "Put the light out" "Yes, yes..." "Give me the scissors now" "You'll do something dumb" "Give them to me" "It's not funny" "You're out of your mind" " She's nuts!" " Look what you did" "Get the scissors off that bitch!" "Come on, come on!" "Let go of me!" "Come on now!" "You'll break her arm!" "He's crazy!" " Stop him!" " Back off!" "I'll let her go" "It's okay" "It's over now" "I was scared you wouldn't come" "Thanks for worrying about me" "It's not that." "I'm talking about Christine" "What about her?" "She's here" " What's she doing here?" " She ran away" " How?" " I don't know" "She must have said" "She wouldn't." "She turned up at dinner, dead beat" " Were your folks there?" " Of course" "What did you tell them?" "A load of shit" " Did they believe it?" " Not a word" " They'll call her dad!" " No way" "Says who?" "I do." "They're not sneaks" "Yeah, sure" "They spoke to her" "She went to my room." "I made coffee and then brought her here" " You should have let her sleep" " At home?" "Of course" "I can't keep her" "You've got room" "What about my folks?" "Tell them her mom went away" "They'll buy that!" "Make something up" "No, you have her!" "I can't!" "Same here!" "You want her to go back to the home?" "No, to her mother's" "No, her father will go straight there" "She might know" "The cops will turn up and she'll panic" "Why the cops?" "He'll send them this time!" "We can't let her down" "You're crazy!" "You've seen her." "She needs care" "She was okay all year" "Now look at her after a day in the clinic" "They only gave her valium." "It's normal" "Electric shock treatment will be normal too!" "Come on, you're raving" "They use it at the clinic!" "My mom works there!" "You want to be rid of her" "Quitter!" "Where's Christine?" "I don't know." "At the clinic" "They said she escaped" "He knows already" " I know what?" " Don't fuck with me!" "They thought she'd come home" "Luckily, she's a bit smarter than that" "Mourad remembered this party was on..." "We haven't seen her" "She must have taken a train to Paris" "A train!" "You think I'm an asshole?" "!" "Out of the way!" "You and Mourad fought?" "It's okay, I understand" "No, he's a pain in the ass." "He's losing his marbles" "While he was still on the football team, it was okay" "But since he started at the betting agency, it's hell" "What does Christine tell you?" "About what?" "I don't know..." "About me... her father.." "She must say something" "She won't even speak to me" "She's unhappy but I don't know how to help" " Does she want to live with her dad?" " No way!" "What then?" "To be alone maybe" "Alone?" "She's only 16, I can't let her go off!" "I don't know!" "You asked me what she says." "She wants to be alone" "But that's ridiculous, right?" "Maybe it's something she can't say otherwise" "Like?" "Like she needs attention" "I know her" " She wants me to have a steady life" " Maybe" "A steady job, without Mourad" "I don't think..." "Mothers and daughters are like that!" "She judges me!" "But I won't give up my life for her!" "She's like her father" "Always the center of attraction." "Like at the store" "Self-centered." "And fussy too!" "So I left." "I won't let her pull the same act!" "I'll live the way I want." "I'm a Scientologist, that's my business!" "Not here!" "We'll try your sister's and the station, then back here in case she turns up" "I didn't want to get uptight." "I really care for her" "I don't want to lose her" "Swear you know nothing... that you haven't seen her..." "I swear" " We've got to go" " One question first" "What?" "Wait" "It's a secret" "No time for dumb secrets!" "It's not dumb." "Promise?" "I promise" "Come on" "Remember Chloé?" "You know, in the 4th year" "I wasn't in your class" "I was always with her, a blonde girl" "Oh, yeah." "She vanished ages ago" "No, she hasn't vanished" "Her dad's a painter" "They moved to an old farm in the Lozère region" "The farm's full of artists" "They did it up." "It's great" "How do you know?" "Maybe it sucks" "She writes a lot." "She's my best friend" "You want to go there?" "I've wanted to for a long time" "I never told anyone" "Except you" "I want you to come" " When?" " Right now" "I haven't got my things" "Neither have I" "Wait!" "What!" "You hesitated." "You shouldn't have" "I'll go alone" "Just give me a second" "No, not one second." "It's too late" "I'm coming" "We'll be all alone, you know?" "We won't have a family... money, or a home..." "You'll have me.." "and I'll have you." "That's all" "I know" "You're coming anyway?" "I thought they'd never go!" "Will they be back?" "No, they think you're in Paris, that you'll turn up tomorrow" "They can screw themselves!" "Here, it's Françoise's sweater." "It's warm, you'll need it" "And my jacket..." "No, I'll be okay" "I want you to have it with you" "Here..." "It's not much but it can help you out a bit" "Here" "Has Chloé got a phone number?" "No, there's no phone" "No water or electricity either" "The address then?" "I thought you wrote a lot" "We've never written" "Gilles doesn't know." "I don't want him to" "I don't want to go alone" "You do love him?" "Yes, I love him" "I love only him" "Stop looking at the map!" "I told you, it's on the Villefort road" "Call them." "Maybe they could fetch us" "There's no phone, no water and no electricity" "How do they wash then?" "There's a well" "And after?" "You use a basin, you heat the water It's simple enough" "Have you ever done that?" "Got a light?" "Did Chloé tell you all that?" "We won't be there by dark" "It doesn't look so far on the map" "The road twists a lot." "It's at least 20 km" "20 km..." "That's nothing" "There's no cars on the roads" "And it'll be dark soon" "Subtitles:" "Ian Burley"