-
THE FIRE WITHIN
-
At that moment, Alain studied
Lydia's face relentlessly...
-
as he had been doing
since she came to see him
-
three days earlier.
-
What was he looking for?
-
Lydia turned her head away,
-
lowered her eyelids,
and grew absorbed.
-
ln what?
-
ln herself?
-
Was it her contented rage
that swelled her neck and belly?
-
This sensation that emanated
nothing, but was so clear?
-
Once again the feeling had eluded him,
-
like a snake between stones.
-
Poor Alain.
You look so uncomfortable.
-
lt's been so long.
-
lt's my fault.
-
Let me see you smile, Alain.
-
lt was fine. l feel satisfied.
-
lt's light out.
-
l have to hurry.
-
l have packing to do.
-
Your plane isn't until 11:00.
-
l have a lot to do this morning.
-
Francesca is picking me up at 8:00.
-
lt was so good
to see you again.
-
You know...
-
l love you in a very special way.
-
Thank you for coming.
-
Thank Dorothy for that.
-
She's the one who asked me
to come see you.
-
She gave me the clinic address.
-
What shall l tell Dorothy?
-
Nothing. Why?
-
l said l'd phone her
when l get back to New York.
-
She wants to know
how you're getting along.
-
What will you say?
-
The truth.
That you're completely cured.
-
l'll ask her
what she has planned for you.
-
- Will you tell her we...
- No, Alain.
-
Unless you ask me to.
-
l won't ask you to.
-
She'll suspect something.
-
lt won't even occur to her.
-
She has other things on her mind.
-
Then again...
-
it's more likely to suit her.
-
Have you two discussed divorce?
-
We did, once.
-
Six months ago, just before l left.
-
And since then?
-
We haven't spoken since then.
-
She sends the doctor
a monthly check.
-
She never writes?
-
She did, at first.
-
And you?
-
l wrote her two weeks ago.
-
Didn't she mention it?
-
Do you still love her?
-
l don't know.
-
Dorothy isn't the woman for you.
-
She isn't rich enough.
She lets you do what you want.
-
You need a woman
who won't let you out of her sight.
-
Otherwise you get depressed
-
and act foolishly.
-
You know me so well.
-
When l get depressed,
l do foolish things.
-
Of course l know you.
-
ln fact, l think
l've always wanted to marry you.
-
Even in Dorothy's day.
-
l can't take you to the airport.
-
The doctor will be angry
about my spending the night out.
-
lf l don't go back now,
they'll throw me out.
-
Francesca will drive me.
-
ln any case, Alain,
-
we'll see each other again soon.
-
How long has it been?
-
Four months... or thereabouts.
-
Without a drop of liquor?
-
Since l finished the cure
not a drop.
-
The cure consists
of having you drink.
-
Drink... drink...
-
until you burst.
-
ls it rough?
-
Had l known
l wouldn't have done it.
-
And now?
-
Now?
-
Nothing.
-
Lydia...
-
l wanted you to know -
-
What're you doing?
-
l insist.
You've forgotten, but l haven't.
-
A gambling debt on the Zographos' boat,
four years ago.
-
This forgotten city.
-
So sad.
-
That strange clinic.
-
You're cured, Alain.
-
Why do you stay there?
-
l like it there.
-
A patient's life is ordered and simple.
-
lt shelters us.
-
l'm not eager to face life again.
-
Paris scares me.
-
Think l'm a coward?
-
No, Alain.
l think you're unhappy.
-
Come to New York.
-
Promise you'll come as soon as you can.
-
To settle things with Dorothy.
-
Even if you get back together.
-
Don't go. Don't leave me.
-
l need you.
-
Don't leave, l'm begging you.
It's serious.
-
l have to.
-
l have to be in New York tomorrow.
-
They want the designs.
-
- It's important?
- Everything depends on it.
-
l'm a businesswoman now.
-
l know, l'm leaving you
with your worst enemy. Yourself.
-
Come to New York.
-
No, Lydia, and l mean no.
-
l won't come to New York.
-
l won't marry you.
-
You'd be unhappy.
Another Dorothy.
-
Anyway, you can't help me.
-
lt's too late.
-
Take madame to Paris.
Hotel Raphael, avenue Kléber.
-
HEALTH CLINIC
-
REST CURES
MEDICAL SUPERVISlON
-
They're all at lunch.
-
Thomism comes from St. Thomas.
-
So ''Saint'' implies theology.
-
Nonsense! St. Thomas separated
philosophy from theology.
-
Some small-town professor
-
who posits Racine's world
against that of Proust, Cocteau, Genet.
-
The prig should read La Palatine.
-
Believing is not knowing.
-
You came in this morning.
-
Credo ut intelligam, my dear man.
-
''l believe in order to understand.''
-
Not if you claim St. Thomas
separated philosophy and theology.
-
Don't confuse faith and understanding.
St. Thomas says,
-
''Where knowledge is, faith is not.''
-
Some lovely persons must
have been so happy to see you again.
-
Lovely persons aren't demanding.
-
But you are.
-
lf you weren't, you wouldn't be here.
-
Ever been to America?
-
No, it's hard enough
getting to know our old Europe.
-
And they're so brutal there,
they might kill me.
-
Our young man looks pale
after his little jaunt.
-
He was handsomer before.
- He must still be.
-
You stare at him enough.
-
- Compared to Aristotle -
- l refuse to discuss Aristotle.
-
But reason dominates will.
It's what determines -
-
Why only talk to Mr. D'Averseau?
-
We'd all like to hear.
-
We sure would!
-
lt might be very interesting.
-
Are you leaving us?
-
No. Why?
-
That's what the doctor implied.
-
Aren't you happy with us?
-
Yes, l am.
-
l feel at home here.
-
You're my family.
-
Without it, Nothingness
wouldn't have any quality.
-
Where do your parents live?
-
ln the provinces.
-
They're very old.
-
l don't see them anymore.
-
Poor boy.
-
Poor boy?
-
A youth misspent in riotous living,
-
and now, problems!
-
You're not being sensible.
-
You should take
a nap this afternoon.
-
Go back to bed.
-
What a shame.
-
What a crying shame!
-
Checkmate in five moves...
the great man!
-
''Shocking! Jean-Jacques (age 5) tries
to fly but hangs himself on curtain cord.''
-
JULY 23
-
''Naked, she lay there dead,
her dying husband beside her.''
-
Dorothy.
-
Money.
-
lt slips right through your fingers.
-
Am l disturbing you?
-
Not at all, Doctor.
-
l knocked several times.
l thought you might be asleep.
-
Sit down.
-
You went to Paris last night?
-
l never left Versailles.
-
l hope you didn't do anything
foolhardy on your first time out.
-
Don't worry, Doctor.
-
l was with a lady,
-
like a good little schoolboy.
-
Well done. Fine. Excellent.
-
Make up for lost time.
-
Once you leave here -
- Are you throwing me out?
-
Not at all!
l'm delighted to have you here.
-
But you've been fully cured
for quite some time now.
-
l can't keep you here
without reason.
-
Doctor, l'll start again.
-
lf l leave, l'll start drinking again.
Sooner or later.
-
What else can l do?
-
No news from America?
-
There won't be any.
There's no connection.
-
There is. Be patient.
-
l am patient.
-
l've done nothing but wait.
-
All my life.
-
Waiting...
-
for something to happen.
-
For what, l don't know.
-
Now you do.
-
You love your wife
and she loves you.
-
That's what you think.
Because that suits you.
-
You insisted l write to her.
-
Dorothy knows l'll never make it.
-
But you have made it.
-
- l haven't, and you know it.
- l can see it.
-
lt won't last.
-
Wait for her letter.
-
lt could come any day now.
-
She won't answer, l tell you!
-
She can't have believed me.
-
When we married two years ago,
l swore l'd stop.
-
As if l could.
Especially in New York.
-
You're on the right track now.
-
You still have feelings of anxiety?
-
lt's not feelings of anxiety, Doctor.
-
lt's a single feeling
of constant anxiety.
-
lf you hang on a while longer,
-
it will gradually let up.
-
A matter of willpower.
-
A contradiction, Doctor.
-
How can you talk
about my willpower?
-
That's where my sickness lies.
-
That's what you're treating.
-
You weren't always this way.
-
What do you mean?
-
You were in the army.
You went to war.
-
As an officer.
- Leave that alone.
-
There's no connection.
-
Send her a telegram.
-
Tell her to take the next plane.
-
Take her down south.
Or somewhere else.
-
Anywhere but Paris.
-
American women are strong and healthy.
She'll help you forget.
-
Don't worry.
-
l'll be gone by the end of the week,
come what may.
-
As you like.
-
What about your shop idea?
-
Selling prewar objects,
-
'37 World Fair-style.
-
A good idea.
-
You see me running a store?
-
l'm drowning in debt.
-
l can see l'm wearing you out.
l'll leave.
-
What about our game?
-
We can play tomorrow.
-
Get some rest.
-
Life is good.
-
Good for what, Doctor?
-
Tomorrow.
-
Life...
-
flows too slowly in me.
-
So l speed it up.
-
l set it right.
-
Tomorrow l kill myself.
-
Good morning.
-
l brought your breakfast.
-
Hand me my bathrobe.
-
You're in a rush today.
-
- l'm going out.
- Where?
-
To Paris
-
city of orgies,
which l left for good -
-
When will you be back?
-
l won't be long.
-
l have to cash a check
see some old friends -
-
And come in at dawn.
-
The doctor asked me
to remind you about the telegram.
-
For your wife.
-
l was just thinking about it.
-
Telegram.
-
''Await your letter
-
with impatience.
-
''...with patience and hope. Stop.''
-
More blunt.
-
''Thank you
-
for your silence. Stop.
-
You have a lover
-
in Versailles. Stop.''
-
Why not shake her up a bit?
-
''Send reply.
-
Stop.
-
Need you. Stop.
-
Minutes count. Stop.''
-
No, reassure her.
-
''Disregard this letter.
-
Stop.
-
Worries over.
-
Stop.
-
Be happy.''
-
Sure, more like that.
-
''Worries over. Be happy.''
-
My letter? Throw it away.
It's meaningless now.
-
Sure, l have plans.
-
To take a trip.
-
What?
-
No, l won't come to New York.
-
Don't worry.
-
Yes, l'm cured.
-
Lydia must have told you.
-
She told you everything?
That's fine.
-
For New York! It's urgent?
-
Telegrams usually are.
-
A pack of Sweet Aftons, please.
-
What's that?
-
lrish cigarettes.
-
We don't carry 'em.
-
You should.
-
Not enough demand.
-
l'm asking.
-
One's not enough.
The stock would go bad.
-
Too bad.
A pack of Luckies, then.
-
A glass of white.
-
Going to Paris?
-
Would you give me a lift?
-
lt's against regulations.
-
l'll buy you a drink.
-
This one's on me.
-
To your health.
-
- What are you having?
- Nothing, thanks.
-
You have to drink with us.
-
l don't drink.
-
You work in Versailles?
-
l don't work.
-
Private income?
-
l'm sick.
-
So that's why.
-
What?
-
Why you look so pale.
What's the problem?
-
My heart.
-
Don't you mind not having money?
-
Well, l mind.
-
But you look well-off.
-
l only look it.
-
Florence, look who's here!
-
Mr. Alain! You haven't changed.
-
- You put on weight, maybe.
- You're looking good.
-
You just got in?
-
Do you like America?
-
You live in New York?
-
Does Mr. Bernard still live here?
-
No, he left.
Not long after you did.
-
Leaving already?
-
- l want to use the bar phone.
- You can phone from here.
-
l must see Charlie.
-
Poor guy. He's really changed.
His face!
-
And his voice -
did you notice his voice?
-
- Mr. Leroy, of all people!
- Hello, Charlie.
-
l was talking about you
just yesterday with René.
-
''The Beach'' bartender
in Monte Carlo. He's in town.
-
We made a bet
about where you were.
-
l bet you were still in America.
-
l lost.
But l'm real glad to see you.
-
The usual Scotch Sour?
-
You serious?
It was your first drink of the day.
-
''To tune up,'' you'd say.
-
Mr. Lavaud, please.
-
This is Alain Leroy.
-
Say hello from Charlie.
Tell him he's a quitter.
-
He never comes in now.
Married men are all the same.
-
ls Mrs. Leroy with you?
-
She stayed in America?
-
Yep, Mr. Lavaud is a quitter.
-
When Mr. Castellotti is in town
he always stays here.
-
We remember old times.
-
''That sweet Alain,'' he says.
He worships you.
-
He lives in Milan now.
-
Married, two cute little girls.
-
He showed me photos.
-
He comes for business
and a bit of fun on the side.
-
The other day he brought in
this gorgeous brunette, a stripper.
-
Fine. Tonight at 8:00.
-
Do you want a coffee?
-
No, l'm late.
-
Call me tonight at 7:00.
-
A beer, Charlie.
-
What time did you get in?
-
Late, Charlie, very late.
-
Or early, if you prefer.
-
Got some Alka-Seltzer?
My head's bursting.
-
The Minvilles don't answer.
-
- They're not home.
- Why not?
-
Because they're in prison.
-
Algeria again?
-
The war's over
but not for the Minville brothers.
-
Don't you remember me?
Michel Bostel.
-
We met at the Pamplona feria
five or six years ago.
-
You were with an American girl.
-
l was only a kid then.
-
Then l was called up,
and you left Paris.
-
- Is Francis down yet?
- Not yet.
-
l'll get him up.
-
Who's that?
-
Nice guy. He lives in the hotel.
-
The room l used to have.
-
He's my successor.
-
Hardly!
We've put a plaque on the door:.
-
''Here, for several years,
lived Alain Leroy.''
-
Those were the days.
-
Not like today.
-
l didn't ask how you were.
-
You don't look too good.
-
l've been ill
but l'm better now.
-
You don't look it.
-
Problems?
- Not really.
-
l've been in a Versailles clinic.
-
For how long?
-
Four months.
-
Leaving tomorrow?
-
For New York?
-
You didn't touch it.
-
l don't drink anymore.
Not a drop.
-
lf l'd known -
-
l always said you drank too much.
-
You used to say,
''Funny thing for a barman to say!''
-
Poor boy.
He was so full of life.
-
- And depression, too.
- But never for long.
-
l don't have any change.
-
Never mind. Keep the change.
-
Are you nuts?
-
What a dope!
-
ls Mr. Dubourg in?
-
Now?
They just sat down to lunch.
-
Who is it, Chantal?
-
lt's Alain.
-
Comrade Dubourg.
-
l was expecting you.
-
Liar.
-
Faveur, say hello to Alain.
-
Now run along.
Tell Mommy to come in.
-
Playing Daddy now?
-
l do lots of things now.
-
- Still into Egyptology?
- More than ever.
-
l sensed it in you
from the start.
-
l remember catching you in bed
with a blonde, your back to her,
-
your nose buried
in a book on esoterics.
-
Yes. While dissipating my youth
in St. Tropez, l studied Kabbala.
-
You still find it fun?
-
l don't find it fun.
l find it interesting.
-
Remember the famous Alain
you stole me from?
-
Alain's staying for lunch.
- l shouldn't.
-
Set another place, Fanny.
-
lt's done. Lunch is served.
-
You never wrote or phoned,
but we knew where you were.
-
La Barbinais told me.
-
l call him occasionally
to ask about you.
-
How good of you.
-
But he wouldn't let me visit.
-
Total isolation.
-
l was tired.
-
The cure was rough,
especially after New York.
-
- It has nothing to do with NY.
- Yes, it does.
-
lt's no place for us.
-
lt's like a crazy whirlpool.
-
l love New York.
-
Fascinating, but hard to live in.
It's intoxicating.
-
People disappear into the city
like drug addicts.
-
l felt good there.
It wasn't home.
-
l always felt like a visitor.
- And Paris?
-
Pretty much the same,
but l prefer New York.
-
People leave you alone.
-
- Why come back, then?
- For treatment.
-
Why not there?
-
Dorothy had seen enough of me.
-
She knows you're cured?
-
She's been told.
-
And you - do you know it?
-
l feel it.
-
You feel completely sterilized,
body and soul.
-
That's something.
-
ln ''sterilized'' there's ''sterile.''
-
You're telling me.
-
Do you like Françoise Hardy?
-
Who, then?
-
Sylvie Vartan.
-
Who's that?
-
A teen idol.
-
You forget population growth,
old man.
-
Young people today are hopeless.
-
Good-looking, elegant, well-fed.
-
They're all alike,
like California oranges.
-
But you know nothing about them.
-
Have you worked at all?
-
l'd been keeping a diary lately.
-
Of no interest whatsoever.
l tore it up today.
-
How are you now?
-
Feeling empty.
-
With some atrocious moments.
-
Can you hold out?
-
Hold out? It's all over for me.
-
l'm leaving.
-
Don't you understand?
-
Life still has things to offer.
-
You must have
a sense of your life.
-
That sense can't perish.
-
l hate things
that stay locked up.
-
A man's got to show
what he's made of.
-
Doing something well is wonderful.
-
l never knew what that meant.
-
l've only run after money,
-
like everybody else.
-
Then you would've worked or stolen.
-
No, what you call money
is an excuse for daydreaming.
-
Go on. l don't want
to spoil your pleasure.
-
What l love about man
is not his passions,
-
but what those passions produce.
-
ldeas. Gods.
-
Where do you see passions here?
-
You got me wrong.
-
Don't judge by appearances.
-
You see me
as a resigned bourgeois.
-
But my life's more intense now
-
than when l drank
and slept around.
-
l'll end up writing a book
-
on the virtues of ancient Egypt.
-
They run in my blood.
-
Others will learn from it.
-
The sun -
-
you can touch it.
-
Come to Egypt with us.
Those people have the sun inside them.
-
Let's take a walk, prophet.
-
The Minvilles are different.
-
They're addicted to action.
-
Do you ever see Eva?
-
l don't see her or the others.
What for?
-
You're harsh for a happy man.
-
Does your life satisfy you?
-
lt doesn't matter.
-
What if you get bored?
-
Fanny and her daughters,
-
that musty apartment -
-
they're part of my passion.
-
And the old glint in your eye?
-
Your superb energy?
-
l'm older.
-
Really!
-
Yes, l'm older. The hopes are gone,
but l have certainties now.
-
l left my youth for another life.
-
You turn your back.
You reject adulthood.
-
You're stuck in adolescence.
-
Hence your anxiety.
-
lt's hard to be a man.
-
You have to want it.
-
Aren't you sick of mirages?
-
l can't stand mediocrity.
-
You've spent the last 10 years
in gilded mediocrity.
-
And l've had enough.
l'm calling it a day.
-
l refuse to grow old.
-
You miss your youth
as if you'd lived it to the fullest.
-
lt was a promise. And a lie.
-
l was the liar.
-
You're tormented
by the idea of women.
-
l have no power over them.
-
That's a laugh.
-
l was handsome at 20.
-
They still find me fun and nice.
-
But it's not enough.
l have no hold on them.
-
And yet, it's only through women
-
that l've felt some hold on life.
-
lt's not life itself l blame
-
but what's contemptible in it.
-
How did all this start?
-
lf l knew, maybe l could help you.
-
Alcohol was in my blood
before l realized it.
-
What do you mean?
-
l started to drink
while waiting for things.
-
Then one day l realized
l'd spent my life waiting.
-
For women.
-
Money.
-
Action.
-
So l drank myself stupid.
-
But you had Dorothy,
and a lot of others.
-
l never had them.
l don't have them now.
-
You've got Dorothy. You don't have
to sleep with her to prove it.
-
l don't.
l wasn't a good lover.
-
She fled your drinking.
-
l drink because l'm a bad lover.
-
Funny lives we lead,
clinging to women.
-
You don't seem to cling to Fanny.
-
l wallow in her warmth
like a pig in a trough.
-
She makes you want
to touch her.
-
Paris is like her, and so is life.
-
You and your mediocre certainties!
-
Let that mediocrity be enough.
-
You'll recover some of your verve.
-
You're spineless. And weak.
-
And lazy.
-
Certainties frighten you.
-
You defend the shadows
since the sun hurts your eyes.
-
Are you my friend?
-
lf you are my friend,
take me as l am. Not otherwise.
-
Let me look at you.
-
l wanted you to help me die.
-
That's all.
-
Promise to come see us again.
-
We lead an organized life.
-
You can write.
-
Move in tomorrow.
-
Dubourg,
what will you do tonight?
-
l'll write a few pages
on my Egyptians...
-
then make love to Fanny.
-
l fall into her silence
as into a well.
-
At the bottom is a great sun
that warms the earth.
-
Alain, l work.
-
l'm patient.
-
Come Iive with us.
You'll see what patience is.
-
Alain, I love Iife.
-
What I love in you
is thati rreplaceable thing...
-
the Iife inside you.
-
You look like death warmed over.
-
You're no spring chicken yourself.
-
You have lovely eyes.
-
You choose your friends.
You hang out with healthy people.
-
You go to see Dubourg again.
That deadbeat Dubourg.
-
Manners, manners.
-
How's your American witch?
-
New York?
-
Yes, we have amazing friends.
-
They think time changes them.
-
So they run around like mad,
not knowing what they're doing.
-
Having children, making deals,
writing books.
-
Or else they kill themselves.
-
Or they get mystical, like Dubourg.
-
The party's over.
-
The bastards talk about sincerity
and go about their grubby lives.
-
- And you?
- Me?
-
Abandoned, ruined
-
utterly devastated...
unshakeable!
-
l never change.
l never try to understand.
-
Sleep is all l believe in.
-
You have changed.
You work now.
-
Painting? My one weakness.
-
The only one?
-
And Carla? Where is she?
-
She got herself killed.
It was last year in a car accident.
-
Along with some fool.
-
lt's absurd.
-
You can stay here if you like.
-
Thanks, but l'm leaving.
-
l came to say good-bye.
-
You too?
-
Disaster, honey!
The stove's died on us.
-
That's Urcel. l warn you,
he's a real chatterbox.
-
Detoxification. A strange thing.
-
Why do we pretend
to go into detox, dear God!
-
Out of kindness.
-
To make a few
worried friends happy.
-
So as not to leave poor mankind
alone with its misery.
-
Shut up, Urcel.
-
You went into detox
because you were afraid of dying.
-
Wrong.
-
We poets have no need for drugs
-
to attain the borderline
between life and death.
-
What brought me
back to drugs, in fact,
-
was the love of risk in our blood.
-
Where do you find death,
-
the madness in all this?
-
Drugs are life.
They're boring,
-
just like life.
-
Nice system you have
to put your mind at rest.
-
Some addicts live to be 70.
-
All you risk is deadening your mind.
-
lt's all right for you to talk.
-
Urcel is taking a huge risk.
He has to produce his work.
-
Oh, please, my dear.
-
His work... more alibis.
-
You poor man,
you have no sense of such things.
-
You're empty inside.
-
What a boor!
-
He's become unbearable.
-
Basically he's a failure,
and an envious one.
-
Nonsense.
-
He's a very sweet guy...
-
and he's deeply unhappy.
-
l shouldn't have let him go.
-
Don't worry.
-
He may be unhappy,
but he won't kill himself.
-
How do you know?
-
Just shut up.
-
l know you don't like me.
-
l just came for news about
Jerome Minville and his brother.
-
Try the Flore.
-
l hear you were in prison.
-
l was until last week.
-
lt's good to see you.
You don't look so good.
-
Pretty-boy Alain!
-
He says we need
some mountain air.
-
He hasn't changed a bit.
-
What did you do over in JFK-land?
Party a lot?
-
- l should've been with you.
- We did ask you.
-
Your plan was doomed
from the start.
-
Sure. History marches on.
-
They'll hear from us again.
We're stubborn, you know.
-
You won't give up?
-
Are you crazy?
- No. We're going skiing in Spain.
-
Alain Leroy...
an old pal from Algeria.
-
- And Left Bank dives.
- A fine officer in his day.
-
- A great friend.
- A bit of a drunk.
-
More than a bit.
Always with the ladies.
-
No political conscience.
-
- Not to be counted on.
- Too bad.
-
Carrying on with your plot now
is grotesque and stupid.
-
You haven't a chance.
-
You're just boy scouts.
-
You don't know
what you're talking about.
-
We're stubborn, l said.
-
When it's all over
-
we'll go on a binge,
just like old times.
-
Not living there anymore?
l thought you were.
-
No, l came back.
-
The humiliation of it all.
-
ln St. Tropez,
for the whole month of June!
-
What a madhouse!
-
lt was ten years ago.
The whole crowd was there, remember?
-
lt was something!
-
We told Coppi, the cyclist,
his girl had killed herself.
-
lt wasn't funny.
-
Once he hijacked
an American Express tourist bus
-
and gave them
a tour of the Ritz while talking
-
about Scott Fitzgerald.
-
See that face?
-
Alcohol.
-
He's done for.
-
A shame.
He was good-looking.
-
Richard was in love with him.
-
Go-kart racing
in the streets of Paris!
-
He organized it.
It drove the cops nuts.
-
Look out!
-
Are you all right?
-
Mr. Leroy!
-
- Come dry off.
- Don't worry.
-
You're soaked.
-
l'm not feeling well.
-
l'm early.
-
l fainted in the street.
-
Lie down until dinner.
-
You've got time.
-
Brancion won't be here
before 10:00. As usual.
-
You know Brancion?
-
No. l mean, yes.
Don't we all?
-
He's a big man nowadays.
He's the talk of the town.
-
That loudmouthed intellectual
amUSeS me.
-
Him and his strongman act.
-
Don't speak ill of strongmen.
-
l'll be up later.
-
Ring if you need anything.
-
Let him sleep.
-
l know what happened.
-
The first drink after detox
makes you very sick.
-
And then?
-
Then it's all right,
unfortunately.
-
Poor Alain.
-
lt's nice to see him again.
-
You're looking
ugly today, Ma Ubu.
-
The peace of mind of these people!
-
Nobody would touch the story.
-
The Anglo-American press
has more guts.
-
Excuse me.
-
What did my mother
always say when l was late?
-
''Alain, you'll start
with the current course.''
-
Sit down.
-
You know everyone?
-
l don't think you've met Brancion.
-
Marc, may l present a revenant,
Alain Leroy.
-
An old friend of Cyrille's,
and an old flame of mine.
-
Hong Kong is overrated.
-
Oriental eroticism
based on my own little experience,
-
is nothing like what they say.
-
But there's Chinese erotica.
-
There's nothing erotic about it.
-
Eroticism is a Western invention
a Christian concept
-
based on ideas of good and evil,
-
transgression and original sin.
-
These concepts don't exist there.
-
l'm not hungry, Louis.
-
l'll just have cheese.
-
Young as ever.
-
We've met before.
-
On Long Island,
at the Fairmans'.
-
How is Dorothy?
-
l don't really know.
-
l hear she's happy.
-
l said something
l shouldn't have?
-
Not really.
-
Chinese libertines
-
are pure hedonists
for whom love is a pleasure
-
which they seek to refine.
-
lt's something esthetic,
-
whereas for us it's a concept.
- Brancion!
-
My friend Alain can't take
his eyes off you.
-
Let me tell you a story.
-
A famous one.
-
One day,
at 7:00 in the morning,
-
a policeman finds,
sleeping the sleep of the dead drunk,
-
a young man lying
on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
-
The said young man,
-
sure he was home in bed
-
had laid his watch
wallet, and handkerchief
-
next to the memorial flame
as if it were a night table.
-
Who was the hero of our tale?
-
Alain Leroy, here present.
-
Brancion doesn't like drunks.
-
He has a bad liver.
-
l heard in New York
you were getting divorced.
-
Mental cruelty?
-
Who's that?
-
François Mignac,
a model Parisian.
-
ln bed at 3:00 a.m.
Riding from 9:00 to 11:00.
-
Then off to the stock exchange,
to win or lose a quick million.
-
Business lunch.
-
Some time at the office.
A woman.
-
A few drinks.
-
Dinner out. A nightclub.
Then he starts over again.
-
Twenty years,
and he still loves it!
-
lt's nice to see you.
-
We've missed you.
-
You're sweet.
-
Once he gets his divorce.
-
Good for you. That's true love!
-
This is all new.
-
l've never felt this way.
-
And you know me.
-
A woman in love.
-
Do l know him?
-
No. He never goes out.
-
But you'll meet him.
He's coming to pick me up.
-
So that's the fabulous
Iegendary, irresistible Alain Leroy.
-
Harlequin, Watteau,
gallant revels.
-
Don't be mean.
-
He's not himself tonight.
-
Say something nice to him.
-
lt would wound him even more.
-
We could help each other.
-
Give me a call.
-
Do you have my number?
-
Corrupting a minor.
-
Your husband's crazy,
giving Alain a drink.
-
A shame you don't get along
with Brancion.
-
He's irritating, but he's someone.
-
ls he?
-
Go on. Shoot him down!
-
A man of many parts.
-
A good sport.
-
Wears his dentures with confidence.
-
Has had every woman here tonight.
-
Except Solange.
-
A real Martian!
-
l envy his serenity.
-
Get off my back!
-
l'll do as l like!
-
Cyrille...
-
your Piranesis are superb.
-
The best prints l've ever seen.
-
l admire what you do.
-
Because you don't believe in it.
-
You're wrong.
l damn well do.
-
l just want to say, sir...
-
that like you,
l don't find it funny
-
to sleep on a tomb...
-
when it's so easy to open it
and sleep inside.
-
That's all.
-
Forgive me.
l never get drunk,
-
and l hate stories about drunks.
-
l'm a poor drunkard.
-
Liquor is stupid.
-
We drunks are poor cousins...
-
and we know it.
-
Anyway,
-
we fade away fast.
-
Alain, you're too far gone.
-
l'm not gone yet,
but l'm going.
-
l have to go. l'm late.
-
As it happens, l'm a man.
But l've never had money or women.
-
Yet l'm very active.
-
The thing is...
-
l can't reach out with my hands.
-
l can't touch things.
-
And when l do touch things,
-
l feel nothing.
-
Come say hello to the Filolies.
-
l'd like you to meet Frédéric.
-
And you, sir?
-
Do you believe in your actions?
-
l don't like talking about myself.
-
Then you don't like talking.
-
l enjoy listening to you.
-
You believe in Maria?
-
Congratulations on finding Maria.
-
You have a woman.
-
l have nothing.
-
Come now!
-
You don't know what it's like
-
being unable to touch anything.
-
l'm incapable of wanting.
-
l can't even desire.
-
The women here tonight...
-
l can't desire them.
-
They scare me.
-
Scare me!
-
Take Solange, for instance.
-
Five minutes with her
and l'd feel like an insect.
-
l'd vanish into the woodwork.
-
What's wrong, Alain?
You're a bit tipsy.
-
And so sad.
What is it now?
-
You're life itself.
-
Yes, life.
-
But l can't touch you.
It's horrible.
-
You're here in front of me
but there's no way.
-
So l'll try with death.
-
She should be
more accommodating.
-
Life is strange.
-
You're a beautiful woman.
A good woman.
-
You love making love.
-
And yet...
-
between the two of us
nothing's possible.
-
To leave without having
touched anything.
-
Beauty. Goodness.
-
All their lies.
-
You can work miracles.
-
Touch the leper.
-
lt's a matter of timing
-
between a man and a woman.
-
And your beauties -
Dorothy, Lydia and the others.
-
They're lovely.
They adore you.
-
Not lovely enough.
Not good enough.
-
They've gone.
-
They're waiting for you.
-
They love making love as much as l do.
-
Things well done.
-
That's it.
-
Things well done.
-
l'm leaving.
-
Stay with us. Talk to me.
-
l'll be back.
-
But l have to go now.
-
Without a word.
Enough humiliation.
-
You'll be back?
-
- Need any money?
- l'm loaded.
-
Let's lunch tomorrow
and we'll talk.
-
Good-bye, Alain.
We're very fond of you.
-
Good-bye, Solange, Cyrille.
-
Don't forget:. Iunch tomorrow.
-
Cyrille has a hold on Solange.
-
He's a good lover,
and he's worth millions.
-
Brancion hasn't much of a chance.
-
When l was 18
and fairly good-looking,
-
my first mistress cheated on me.
-
Eighteen is an age
for being two-timed.
-
At 18 or at 30.
They're always nice,
-
but they all leave
or they let me go.
-
You really surprise me.
Call it what you will,
-
but you attract them.
-
l'm awkward, inept.
-
The sensitivity was in my heart,
-
not my hands.
-
When you care about people,
Milou, they're nice.
-
They give you everything.
-
Love.
-
Money.
-
You must make people feel
you want them
-
and that you'll hold on to them.
-
You're sensitive, Milou
but you don't want them.
-
l don't love them.
-
l never could love them.
-
l can't touch. l can't take.
-
lt has to come from the heart.
-
What is it you wanted?
-
l'd have liked
to captivate people,
-
hold on to them
-
bind them close.
-
So that things would stay still
around me.
-
But it always went to hell.
-
You really love people
that much?
-
l wanted so much to be loved...
-
that l feel l do love.
-
Want some breakfast?
-
No, thanks.
-
l'm not to be disturbed
before noon.
-
ls that you, Alain?
-
Did l wake you?
-
Solange.
-
Dearest Alain, l'm calling
to remind you about lunch.
-
We're expecting you without fail.
Don't be late.
-
We'll have a nice chat.
-
How are you today?
-
Not bad.
-
With that tone of voice?
Can we count on you?
-
Sure you can.
-
That's sweet of you.
-
l care for you.
-
You care for me.
-
And Brancion?
-
Brancion is your opposite.
-
He's a force of nature.
-
And you like forces of nature?
-
l like all sorts of people.
-
l'm not a force of nature.
-
You have heart.
-
l don't understand any of this.
-
Good-bye, Solange.
-
Solange answers for Dorothy.
-
l'm killing myself
because you didn't love me,
-
because l didn't love you.
-
Because our ties were loose
-
l'm killing myself to tighten them.
-
l leave you
-
with an indelible stain.
