"Around a Small Mountain" "Hello again, and thanks." "It was the least I could do." "Well, you talk." "One soon becomes mute when one drives alone." "Have you ever seen a circus?" "Here's one." "This is a circus." "You're performing tonight?" "" " At eight o'clock." "I want the best seat." "Let me invite you." "I certainly owe you that." "No, I'd rather pay." "It's five euros." "I work at the box office." "Come early." "It's general admission." "There won't be a big rush for seats, unfortunately." "Damn." "Unfortunately!" "Unfortunately!" "Here you are." "Two demi-fraises, very chilled." "Madame?" "Would you happen to have any rooms?" "Rooms to sleep in?" "Yes, sir, we even have those." "I'll take one." "Mr. Tom, if you don't mind, we're going to work together." "You're not afraid?" "" " You must be joking." "Afraid of what?" "Of holding a plate." "You're kidding?" "Very simple." "You get on the chair," "You hold this plate in your two hands," "Hold it like this." "And you open your mouth like this." "Very good." "That's all there is to it." "Don't move." "Open your mouth, OK?" "Very wide." "Lift up your head." "One... two... three..." "Hold on!" "You're kidding?" "What's wrong with you?" "You're afraid to hold a plate?" "And that?" "This is a revolver." "I'll explain." "You hold the plate and open your mouth." "I count one, two, three." "I fire." "You catch the bullet in your mouth" "And spit it out on the plate." "And that's it." "It's no more difficult than that." "You're completely out of your mind." "Well, well." "Good evening, Rom." "What are you doing?" "Taking a walk?" "Yes." "I'm unemp." "Unempo." "Unemployed?" "Yes." "Like you say." "Well, then, I'll hire you." "We'll work together." "I know how we can make money easily." "You take this plate and hold it in two hands." "You get on the chair," "Open your mouth and say, "ha, ha."" "That's all?" "" " Yes." "OK." "It's not very difficult." "Louder." "Still louder." "Open your mouth, OK?" "You're not going to jump inside?" "" " No." "As a matter of fact," "I asked Mr. Tom to hold the plate." "He was afraid." "Him?" "" " Yes." "You were afraid to hold a plate." "Yes." "I was afraid." "And I'm not afraid to say it." "Leave me alone!" "You're the one who laughed?" "Yes." "Why?" "Isn't it allowed?" "Thank you." "You saved our honor." "It's a terrific routine." "It's not a routine." "We call it an opening." "It's a terrific opening." "It's a classical expression." "We're the last ones who do classical." "And how was I?" "Ethereal." "" " Thank you." "Clemence, do you mind?" "I'm talking." "Now, I want to know something." "Tell me," "What did you think was funny?" "Why did you laugh?" "I don't know." "" " Try to know." "It's important." "Alexandre, we've got a big top to take down." "What was your word?" "What word?" "How I was." "Ethereal." "Ethereal doesn't mean anything." "Was I fluid?" "Extremely fluid." "We heard about your father." "We were very sorry about it." "Thank you." "It's really your last tour?" "We're going to miss you." "Us too." "Are you looking at my mother or my aunt?" "Which is which?" "The one who climbs up the fabric is my mother." "The other one is Kate," "Her sister, my aunt." "It seems strange to me." "Why strange?" "I was four years old when she left the circus." "Just three days ago she came back." "I don't know her." "You can't remember us," "But I remember very well your number with the iron net." "That was a good fifteen years ago." "It was my favorite." "" " Mine too." "Along with the other number, the scary one." "The whip number." "Excuse me." "I can't." "I don't want to face it." "It was criminal of me." "It's not behind me." "My punishment... was..." "to have left here." "My punishment... is to come back again." "I couldn't forget." "But I can't remember it." "From every side..." "Antoine!" "Antoine." "It's not possible." "It's too hard." "Still here?" "Coffee?" "Sorry it's not Italian." "You're Italian?" "" " Yes." "Vittorio." "Alexandre." "In makeup, I'm Rom," "Out of makeup, Alexandre." "A clown is just makeup, nothing more." "Not only." "Oh yes." "The others are acrobats, jugglers." "The clown... is a little of everything and a lot of nothing." "Yesterday, it was more a lot of nothing than a little of everything." "What did you like?" "Everything." "Are you sure you're all right?" "Why, isn't it all right to laugh at clowns?" "Why were you the only one?" "I don't know." "Perhaps..." "There's one thing that..." "That what?" "That doesn't work?" "That's missing?" "I don't know." "Almost nothing." "Sometimes nothing is everything." "It's when you take the plate." "Instead of just holding it like that..." "Right?" "It would be good, perhaps," "To show it to the audience." "To build it up a little, the plate." "Tell me that again." "Build up the plate, I can't say that in French?" "You know how long I've been in this business?" "How many years I've been doing this opening?" "You're right." "Sorry." "Why am I interfering?" "No, but come back." "I'll be there tonight." "Well, you're still here." "Yes, still." "Fine..." "See you later." "I think you lost this." "That's not mine." "No, it's mine." "Sir?" "Vittorio." "Why do you do that?" "Why do I do what?" "That." "" " That?" "I thought I would..." "Put me on a little." "It's all right." "Goodbye." "Goodbye." "In fact..." "I asked Mr. Tom to hold the plate." "He was afraid." "Him?" "Yes." "You were afraid to hold a plate in your hands." "You were afraid to hold a plate." "Yes, I was afraid" "And I'm not afraid to say it." "He was afraid to hold a plate." "Were you really afraid of holding a plate?" "Yes, exactly." "I repeat, I was afraid." "The plate!" "All right, it doesn't matter." "Here's another one." "Now be careful." "OK, so, you understand, he was afraid." "Poltroon." "Wimp." "Chicken." "Coward!" "Cacassotto." "You're the one who's afraid." "Go ahead, then, Mr. Dehydrated!" "Go ahead, then, Mr. Desaccharined!" "The plate." "It's broken." ""It's broken."" "Yes, it's broken." "Go on!" " Let's see you manage yourself!" " Let's see you get lost yourself!" "Have you finished?" "Let him go, come on." "He was afraid." "Sit down." "So, one..." "Two..." "And the plate?" "What plate?" "" " The plate that was on the chair." "It's broken." "" " Broken again." "You do it on purpose?" "" " No." "Why did you come back?" "You thought that I would stick with my refusal?" "That I would never see you again." "" " Me too." "When you called me, my first reaction was that all that, you, everything else... was behind me." "And isn't that true?" "But... for three nights I didn't sleep." "And then, on the fourth..." "Yes?" "I had a dream." "In the dream, I knew that I had to come back." "That it was the last chance." "That I could-- understand." "" " What?" "What happened." "What happened to me." "Why I am the way I am." "Everything." "Did he talk about me sometimes?" "Dad?" "What do you think?" "Never." "You're still mad at him?" "I mean, even now that..." "I don't know what you were told." "Not a lot." "That's good." "I'm happy to see you," "To see you comfortable in your skin, blossomed." "But... there are things that..." "I can't talk about with you." "That's how it is." "I understand that." "I wasn't bad, was I?" "You're always very good." "No, but don't flatter me." "The audience is coming." "That makes a difference." "Did you notice, at least?" "I noticed." "That matters to me more than anything, you know?" "Hey!" "Watch out!" "You watch out where you put your big feet!" "That's a warning." "What's going on?" "He steps on my shoes." "He threatens me with I don't know what." "You know very well." "Wilfrid, what's the matter with you?" "You keep quiet." "The place to take off your makeup is over there." "Don't talk to me like that." "Why are you talking to her like that?" "" " That's all right!" "Go back inside." "That guy's completely nuts." "Yeah." "How was I tonight?" "Better than yesterday?" "I didn't pay attention." "Am I bothering you?" "Take a seat." "Take my croissant if you want." "Me, I need to keep light." "No, thank you." "Yesterday, you asked me if I knew how many years you'd been doing your opening." "I didn't offend, I hope." "" " It's interesting to me." "What?" "To know for how many years you'd been doing your opening." "Have you been in the circus a long time?" "No." "Do I look that old?" "That's what I mean, you think?" "You know what I mean." "No, tell me." "You were there, fifteen years ago, when Kate left?" "Yes, I was there." "Very much there." "And I felt it for a long time when she left, because..." "Because?" "Because I loved her." "There." "I said it." "I like you, but I'm not ready to tell you my life story and cry on your shoulder." "All that's the past." "For me, the past is the past." "If you've finished, can we start?" "Wait." "Sorry, duty calls, my work needs me." "See you tonight." "See you tonight." "I'm here to apologize." "Apologize... for not having visited you for... for fifteen years." "It's not entirely my fault." "I left because I was kicked out." "Yes, I can say "kicked out."" "My father forbade me to come back," "To cross his path again." "How else to call it?" "He told me that I was dead for the circus." ""Dead for the circus."" "Those are his very words." "I still remember." "I still hear his words and his voice." "Can you imagine?" "And why?" "Because I wanted to pay respects, to stop the tour." "How stupid to go as far as that in tormenting ourselves," "As if the sorrow weren't sufficient." "I have no regrets." "I've made my life a different way," "I don't know what you would think about it." "But there's one thing you should know." "I've never replaced you." "I've met people." "I would have liked to really fall in love, but" "It's impossible." "It's impossible because you'll come in my dreams to blame me for not having been able to do anything." "No one could do anything." "A stupid accident, they said." "A human error." "But that error..." "I'm the one who's paying for it now." "I'll pay for it my whole life." "I thought so." "You say that as if it were bad." "No, it's natural." "But..." "But?" "You think I'm wrong?" "In your place, I'd have done the same, but..." "What?" "I'm not going to wake up the old demons." "I'll keep being very good and very nice." "I'll leave everybody the hell alone." "That story hurt us all," "It's no good to reopen the wounds." "For me, the wound never closed." "I know." "" " Don't say "I know."" "You're not in my skin, you don't know anything." "You don't hate me?" "Does it seem like I do?" "I don't know." "Since you came back, you haven't kissed me once." "Before, we kissed each other all the time." "Well" "Who is that Italian?" "I know nothing about him." "Why is he here?" "" " I don't know." "I think he's interested in the circus, in Alexandre's routine." "There's something between you?" "Nothing." "Nothing!" "Nothing." "Nothing." "Thank you, I don't drink." "" " Just a glass." "OK." "Just a glass." "Because there's no show today." "That's pretty." "What's it for?" "It's for my work." "My life isn't here." "It's in Paris." "Since a long time ago?" "Since -- a moment." "And you?" "Where is your life?" "My life... is moving." "One always moves for a reason." "What's your reason?" "I'm searching." "Searching for what?" "Does anyone know?" "Do you know what you're searching for?" "Me?" "Yes." "And?" "And it doesn't concern you." "You're not too encouraging." "I don't need to encourage you, you manage very well by yourself." "Have you found your vocation?" "No, no." "I hate vocations." "I hate vocations, I like chance," "I like new things." "When I've done the tour," "I'll go someplace else." "Another?" "At heart, both of us... are displaced people." "You, perhaps." "I don't know." "I'm in the middle of a displacement." "See you later." "You always say that." "You prefer "farewell"?" "No, no." "I prefer "see you later."" "If anyone asks you, I'm with you." "If you're not with me, everyone will see you're not there." "And Marlo?" "" " Sick, as usual." "Say we have an appointment, then make something up..." "I'm with you." "Hide me." "Have you seen Clemence?" "She's not there." "She's there." "Thanks." "What's going on?" "Oh, I just don't want to be with him." "He's nice, but..." "Anyway, it's my own business." "I don't want to know anything." "All the better." "Take care." "Take care." "You don't want to know anything about me, but about others..." "What do you mean, mademoiselle?" "I know who you're interested in." "It's Kate." "I wonder why she came back here." "And anyway it hurts her." "Hurts her?" "Yes, hurts her." "With the memories, the accident..." "You know." "No, I don't know anything at all." "Then I won't tell you anything." "Unless you're nice to me." "Nice how?" "I'm looking for Kate." "You look like you've had a bad night." "I always have bad nights." "Always have had." "That's terrible." "There's something worse." "Getting up feeling lousy and having a stranger ask you questions." "What did you do before you came here?" "Where did you come from?" "Where were you going?" "From Milan, I was going to Barcelona." "You were just going there or someone's expecting you?" "Someone's expecting me." "You have to be somebody to have someone expect you." "Important people?" "A little." "It depends." "Kate's in there." "Thank you." "Hello." "Hello." "I wanted to see you." "You want to say something to me?" "I'd prefer to say it up close." "You can come closer." "I'd prefer it... if you came to me." "No." "Do you think that I'm presumptuous?" "You know such words!" "How many languages do you speak?" "Several." "No, not presumptuous, but..." "I find you... inquisitive." "You can't come into the ring?" "It's not me." "It's the ring." "You're afraid." "I'm afraid, but it's none of your business." "I know." "" " No, you don't know." "You're interfering..." "You're interfering blindly..." "You're interfering in things you know nothing about." "You're hurting me." "I'm hurting you?" "Yes, you're hurting me." "How?" "It's none of your business." "Apparently that's all you can say." "You see, you are hurtful." "That's the last thing I want, I swear to you." "Do you want me to leave?" "Here?" "Now?" "Right away?" "Yes." "OK." "See you later." "Hello." "Am I disturbing you?" "" " No, I finished." "I meant, in general?" "In general, no." "Occasionally." "May I confess something to you?" "Confess?" "My God, what am I going to hear?" "I've been interested in you from the beginning." "Not in a bad way, Nothing bad, of course." "I can say that you moved me." "Can I say that, or is it ridiculous?" "You can say it, even though I don't see why." "If you find me indiscreet, if you see me as..." "A voyeur?" "" " Yes." "No, I find you... nice." "But if I hurt you, if I bother you," "I'll go away." "No, you don't bother me." "You choose your words, all the time," "I like that." "I like it." "" " Thank you." "Actually, I'm the one who is going away." "You?" "It's not because of you." "It's for my work." "I'm wanted in Paris." "When?" "Tonight or tomorrow morning." "You'll quit the tour?" "They need me." "I don't believe you." "I think it's an escape." "Be careful not to break it." "It belonged to my grandmother." "There's no danger." "Look." "Come on, look." "No..." "It's broken!" "" " Yes, it's broken." "I've had enough." "They all break, these plates of yours." "Don't get mad." "You have to keep your cool." "I'm fine." "I already feel like I'm inside an icebox." "Moron." "Sit down!" "That's enough." "Stay in the chair." "Look at me." "I am." "No, from the other side." "You shout, "Ha, ha."" "Ha, ha." "One..." "Louder." "One..." "Two..." "Bigger." "You're afraid, too." "No, I'm not afraid." "But I don't like that." "It makes holes in one's clothes." "What are you doing with that?" "I fire a shot," "The bullet goes, You go like this," "You catch it in your mouth and you spit it out in the plate." "It's all right, There's nothing hard about it." "It's not all right at all." "What are you talking about?" "And if the bullet goes in here and goes out there?" "You'll be dead." "" " That's no good." "And if I get killed?" "Then I'll give you 100 francs." "In that case, it's OK." "What time is your train?" "At 9:00, at Montpellier." "Yes, of course." "Sorry for the mistake." "We're all sorry." "I can suggest fuchsia, burnt orange, also green," "Nile green, almond green." "Lime green, or else gray." "Pearl gray." "You want it with sleeves." "Blue is without sleeves." "Nothing dark." "Pale blue, royal blue." "I'll look and I'll tell you what there is." "I have pearl gray." "It's very pretty." "Violet?" "No, we don't do that." "I'll see, and I'll call you back." "That was Edith again?" "The third time this week." "Here." "What do you think of the color?" "I like it." "Where is the Pantone?" "" " Over there." "No, that doesn't work." "It's too dense, I think." "We have to go down to..." "18, 24, 37." "It's too dark." "You do all that down there?" "Yes, amid nature." "But here, I don't find anything." "The light isn't the same." "Maybe it's the material." "No, this is exactly the material I had in mind," "Which I want." "You remember the dinner?" "What dinner?" "With your partner." "Isn't that why you came back?" "Yes." "What was I thinking?" "Of course." "Elodie, did you confirm?" "I'll do it right now." "You know what?" "I'm very happy to be here." "We're very happy you're here." "We missed you every day." "I'm here, that's the main thing." "Jenny, what was your idea?" "It wasn't a good idea." "Even if it's bad, an idea is still an idea." "It leads to other ideas which might be less bad or even good, who knows?" "Remember the acacia dress." "It came from an idea of Julie's which was impossible." "Suddenly, the light went on when Kate said:" ""Obviously we can't do that." ""But if we do the exact opposite," ""we hit the bull's eye."" "You were right." "We hit the bull's eye, right in the middle." "What time is this dinner?" "I'd like to take a shower and sleep for a little while." "I'm... a wreck." "Come quickly." "The big top is burning." "Hello." "Let me buy you an ice cream." "That's nice." "Rum-raisin." "No, no, don't lean over too far." "I get dizzy." "Me too." "The trapeze is OK," "But the flying trapeze, I could never manage." "Thank you." "Antoine was afraid of nothing." "Antoine?" "You want to know what happened to him, don't you?" "You're nice to me, so I'll tell you." "But first, you have to know one thing." "This circus was started by my grandfather." "Peter." "From what I think I know, from what I think I've understood," "what happened is that Kate had a love story with Antoine." "And Peter didn't like that." "You know the whip number?" "I don't know anything about anything." "Handled properly, at that speed, it cuts sharper than a razor." "Antoine invented something with a chair." "He held himself like this." "No!" "Please get down." "You're frightening me." "One night, the back of the chair broke at the moment the whip flew out." "Struck dead." "Was it really an accident?" "What else?" "Peter never touched that chair, did he?" "You're talking about my grandfather." "Kate's father." "He wasn't a murderer." "But he didn't shed a tear." "He preferred not to see his daughter again, rather than to stop the tour for a single day." "We never had such a big audience as we had that year." "We must save her." "Kate?" "Save her from what?" "Don't talk to me." "I'm going to sleep." "Don't wake me up for three days." "What's going on?" "I was saying to Wilfrid that you are the only ones, you two, who can help me." "I don't agree." "I didn't ask you anything." "Clemence, please, OK?" "You talk to me like that after the night we spent together?" "You spent the night together?" "" " Yes." "Talking." "Clemence told me you had a number, back in the day, which you were never allowed to do here." "Is that right?" "What exactly do you want?" "That you do it." "Tonight." "With Barbara." "" " With me." "No." "If we stopped it, there was a reason." "It's not because Peter left..." "On the contrary." "" " Exactly." "You'll let me talk, Clemence?" "As the fellow said..." ""All the dragons of our life are perhaps" ""princesses in distress..." ""who wish to be freed."" "Kate is a prisoner." "A prisoner of what happened." "What she needs..." "Is what?" "Is a shock." "A shock." "Disaster!" "Marlo..." "Alcohol..." "Coma..." "He can't be there tonight." "" " Perfect." "What do you mean, perfect?" "Perfect." "Wilfrid will replace you." "You're making the program now?" "Ten days ago, you knew nothing about the circus," "And here you are taking charge?" "Listen, Marlo isn't here." "What are you going to do?" "Well?" "This opening works." "The audience likes it." "And we'll do it." "But with whom?" "With you." "I want to see that." "Listen, we're talking about something serious." "I'm very serious." "It's out of the question." "Vittorio, you disappoint me." "We're going to help you." "And help Kate." "" " No!" "Fair is fair." "You have to help too." "No, no, no!" "Don't ask me that." "I'll never do it." "No." "Come on." "Go on." "The plates." "Good evening, Rom." "What are you doing?" "Taking a walk?" "Yes." "I'm "unempo."" ""Unempo"?" "In that case, I'll hire you." "For what?" "To replace Tom?" "He walked out on me." "He walked out on you?" "Why's that?" "Why's that?" "Because... he's unreliable." "And you?" "You're not unreliable." "No, I'm unemployed." "Unemployed." "In that case, I'll hire you." "You already said that." "For what?" "For what?" "Of course!" "It's easy." "We'll work together, no?" "You sit down in the chair," "I give you a plate," "Not that one." "It's broken." "They're all broken." "In that case, I'll go get smashed too." "No!" "No, Alex..." "Rom, please." "He wants to break up my opening." "You're the breaker-upper." "You're shattering my nerves." "You're splitting my head." "And..." "What else?" "You're disrupting my morale." "So long." "Rom!" "Calm down!" "Calm down!" "I've broken stronger men than you." "Sit down." "I'll calm down." "I'll sit down." "Where?" "Here?" "Here?" "Stop!" "" " Here?" "Stop turning around." "I might think you're a windmill." "Because me, I'm... a kind of..." "Don Quixote." "You mean, you have hot blood?" "["sang chaud" sounds like "Sancho"]" "Yes." "Yes." "My blood is turning around." "Please!" "Keep your cool." "I can't, because I have hot blood." "I'm having a fit!" "A fit!" "I..." "I..." "I feel it's going to happen!" "Vittorio!" "I mean..." "Pipo!" "Look at me." "I'm Alex..." "I mean Tom!" "Put that down, it's dangerous." "When that goes off, everything goes off." "It makes holes." "It makes..." "You're right." "You've said it well." "It makes holes everywhere." "I understand now." "Do you understand?" "And you, do you understand?" "Everything?" "Good." "As for me, I didn't understand anything." "I didn't understand anything up until this very minute." "And..." "I've understood that... that..." "That this little ring is..." "Is the most dangerous place in the world." "And... also the place where everything is possible." "Where eyes are opened," "And my eyes are open." "It's for that reason... that..." "Kate?" "Kate?" "Can you hear me?" "Kate, are you there?" "Kate?" "I request, ladies and gentlemen, complete silence." "I invite you to watch a spectacle that is... unheard-of." "Unprecedented." "It has never been given here, until now." "Wilfrid." "I should say Wilfrid." "I've said it all." "Almost." "Forgive me." "I'm an Italian clown." "Forgive me." "After you." "You're leaving?" "Yes, people are waiting for me in Barcelona." "What's going on?" "Another drama?" "You can tell him, after all." "Barbara and I are leaving together." "There's no duel on the horizon?" "With Wilfrid?" "Are you kidding?" "I just want to find out." "I've given my forgiveness." "I'm touched." "Really touched." "Me too, Wilfrid." "I don't deserve..." "" " Stop crying." "It's true, I took a big fall." "But you landed softly." "A lot of things happen." "And all's well that ends well." "Not for me." "I'm staying all alone." "And Tom?" "He's hurt." "I hurt him." "It'll work out." "I'm sure." "That's right!" "Are you going to grow roots here or are you going to say goodbye?" "I'll say goodbye." "If it's Kate you're looking for, her trailer is there." "May I?" "Since when do you ask permission?" "May you what?" "Talk to you." "What for?" "To say goodbye to you." "I hate you." "No, I don't hate you." "I don't know what I feel." "I feel like I've had an operation." "Is it painful?" "I was used to my illness," "To my sorrow." "You removed it from me." "It's strange." "I understand." "No." "You can't understand." "When I saw the whip..." "I saw it all again." "Everything!" "I wasn't thinking at all." "I took her place." "I saved him." "I saved Antoine." "In fact..." "He went away." "He's gone." "Really gone." "As for me, maybe," "I'll manage to live again." "I'm sure of it." "And you?" "Me?" "Me, I don't know if I live." "I move." "And I'm going to move again." "Maybe, with all your moving..." "I don't know anymore what I wanted to say." "You wanted to say that maybe with all my moving, we'll meet again on the side of a deserted road." "And it'll be you whose car broke down." "No, that's unlikely." "But who knows?" "Who knows?"