You intend to stay long in france, mr. Barratt?
I didn't know there was any restriction,
Apart from money.
I thought you might have forgotten
Your passport expires next month.
No, i hadn't forgotten. Thank you.
You have nothing to declare.
Nothing.
Nothing whatever.
Nothing to declare.
You can't declare an emptiness in the heart.
What would he think of me if i'd said,
"Only a few personal belongings and a blank life"?
A madman at the worst,
A self-Pitying eccentric at the best.
Oh, i dread the holidays,
Although i've spent them always in the france i love so well-
A teacher of the french language
Who has no idea what he's looking for.
Jacques!
Back at last.
I'm afraid there's some mistake.
How was paris?
Villain.
All right, as you wish.
Seek, and you shall find.
Knock, and it will be opened unto you.
It seems i have knocked, and the door has remained shut.
God wants me no more than man.
And yet,
I don't quite believe that.
I don't behave differently,
Nor do i look so different from other men.
If i did, why should that man in the market square
Mistake me for someone else?
A lonely man dramatizes life for himself.
I must learn not to do that.
Nothing in the past to be particularly ashamed of,
Nothing in the future.
Perhaps a man has to be empty
Before he can be used.
Used for what?
God knows.
A cognac, please.
One moment, sir.
Madame.
Thank you. Wait.
Give that to the gentleman, please.
Yes, madame.
The lady asked me to give you this, sir.
One moment, sir.
There being nobody to introduce us,
One of us must break the silence.
There are two of us.
Undoubtedly. Look.
Gentlemen.
In view of this coincidence,
May a stranger offer you a drink?
A comparative stranger,
I suppose we should say.
Oh, charming.
Don't you think?
Most interesting.
What will you drink, brother?
Cognac.
Two cognacs- Twin cognacs.
Do you think we'll grow up to look like them?
It seems simpler to let ourselves be taken for twins
Than try to explain what we ourselves do not understand.
Do not understand, indeed.
You couldn't, perhaps, be the devil?
No.
I didn't think you could be.
I thought i'd better make sure.
Could you, perhaps?
I'm afraid not.
It's nothing as simple as that.
With the compliments of the little ones.
No. Cognac. Don't you think?
Oh, i think so. Yes.
I never drank much at home,
But this is rather an occasion, isn't it?
It is, rather.
Heaven knows the odds against such an encounter.
Enormous.
Large.
Astronomical.
And not worth the trouble.
To astronomy.
I haven't laughed so much for years,
Not since...
I can't remember when.
In fact, looking back,
It almost seems i never laughed at home.
How odd.
Not really. There's very little to laugh about
In the common room at a provincial university.
I didn't mean that was odd.
Twice, talking about things at home,
You've spoken in the past tense.
You just said, "i never laughed."
Before that, "i never drank."
Did i?
I wasn't conscious of it.
I suppose i feel about it in the past tense.
Aren't you planning to go back?
I don't know.
I'm not planning not to.
I'm just not planning.
It would make no difference, really, if i didn't.
For a term or so in the common room,
In the middle of that dreary red-Brick arguing,
Someone might say, "i wonder what's become of barratt."
And soon it would be,
"I wonder what became of barratt."
My landlady would look after my cat.
She's largely alienated its affections already.
Traitorous animals, cats.
You're not married?
No, the situation... never arose.
I thought once it might,
But it didn't.
Relatives?
Some second cousins in westmoreland.
I suppose you really are there.
Oh, yes.
Prove it.
Oh, steady.
Fair enough.
You're there, all right.
Too much so.
How?
Oh, it's not at all interesting.
Why, sure it is.
Come, i've done all the talking about myself.
You'll make me feel i've imposed.
Very well. How shall i put it?
Just as you have too little life,
I have too much.
It's hard for me to believe how that could be.
If you tried it, you would know.
I have a 16th-Century chateau,
Badly in need of repair and modern plumbing.
I have a title of the same antiquity,
Equally lacking in modern conveniences.
I have an income dating from the 19th century,
When the franc was 25 to the pound.
I have a family business which runs at a loss
But which cannot be closed
Because that would throw faithful employees out of work.
But those are all things.
Life consists of people.
People.
Very well.
I have- No, no. I can't bear it.
Let us just say that there are too many...
And more than enough.
Too much or too little-
There seems nothing in life between.
Still, i don't know
That i wouldn't prefer
Your surfeit to my own lack.
I wonder if you would.
I'll see if they have a room.
My key.
No call in the morning.
I may sleep very late.
Will you bring me up a bottle of champagne?
Open it, please.
They haven't a room free, but mine has two beds,
So if you wouldn't mhnd sharing...
I don't like to intrude.
It's no intrusion.
Much simpler than trudging elsewhere.
Ahh... it's trying to rain.
I thought so.
So...
Hmm...
It's not exactly a palace,
But men have fared worse.
I'm rather drunk.
On such a noteworthy occasion,
That should cause neither surprise
Nor regret.
I'm not regretting it in the least.
First time in years.
That sort of thing's frowned on in our common room.
Unlike some universities-
College port and drunken dons-
Plain living and high thinking for us.
Oh, thank you.
Good night.
I took the liberty
Of ordering us a nightcap.
There's no liberty whatever.
Oh, silly fellow's only brought one glass.
Oh, well, not worth disturbing him again.
I'll use a glass from the bathroom.
Is champagne all right...
On top of all that brandy?
The very thing.
It's always as well
To finish up with something lighter.
Tell me tomorrow...
If i have misled you.
To tomorrow.
I can't remember
When i last cared whether or not...
I saw tomorrow.
Excellent champagne.
I don't suppose i ever shall now...
Care.
Come now, mr. Barratt.
I'm sure that in the morning...
Things will look quite different.
Hello.
Come in.
Ah, you're awake, sir.
What is this game?
None, sir.
I was worried at your sleeping so late,
But they told me you'd given instructions
Not to call you.
I had given instructions?
Yes, sir. Because the ladies were worried,
I telephoned st. Gilles
And said you were detained on urgent business.
I hope i did right, sir.
You didn't do right at all.
I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know what to do.
No, and how could you?
Oh, thank you.
It's not mine, but seeing he's taken my things...
Shall i run your bath?
We better begin at the beginning.
My name is barratt,
And i teach french at an english university.
I met your employer last night, purely by chance,
And we're alike as if we were twins.
Yes, sir. Quite, sir.
Look. I'll show you.
You see?
Yes, it's a remarkable likeness, sir.
You have a headache, sir.
I'll get you your cure.
This is clearly a matter for the police.
While i'm having my bath,
You telephone the police
And tell them to send
A responsible officer here at once.
Yes, sir.
No, doctor, he seems in good health
Apart from the delusion.
Hmm.
Mm-Hmm.
Yes, i'll do my best.
Very good, doctor. Until later, then.
Well?
There seems to have been some mistake, sir.
Oh, there does, does there?
Yes, sir.
I was going to speak to the police,
I had the shock of my life, sir.E rang.
It was my master, speaking from st. Gilles,
Asking to speak to you.
I explained you were bathing,
And he said not to trouble you,
But to ask you to drive with me,
And he would explain everything.
That seems a very cavalier way
Of dealing with the situation.
I suppose it's the only way to clear things up.
You'd better stand by.
When i've received an explanation from your employer,
I shall want to return to le mans at once.
Very good, sir.
Unless he has my car here-
Look in the garage-
A morris minor, xmy 866.
Uh... with a gb plate, naturally.
Yes, sir. Naturally, sir.
In which case, i shan't need your car.
Ah, there you are.
Thank you, gaston.
Well, where is he?
I want to talk.
I don't want to talk about anything.
I want to see this man who's played this ridiculous joke on me,
Hear his explanation,
Receive an apology, reclaim my luggage, and go.
May we have a word first in here?
The ladies are in the drawing room.
Now, let's have a look at you.
Sit down, please, and cross your legs.
What is this farce?
If you'll just sit down-
I have no intention of sitting.
I've come here to see the owner of all this.
All in good time.
No, at once!
Very well. If you insist, come with me.
There. There he is.
This is a madhouse.
No, no. It's not as bad as that.
Shall we talk calmly?
Calmly? I'll listen to an explanation,
But you cannot expect me to be calm.
These hysterical outbursts
Don't alleviate the schizophrenic delusions.
Oh, do go on.
When she received the telegram,
Your wife was very disturbed.
What telegram?
The telegram from the doctor you visited in paris
Explaining that you were subject to fits of delusion
That you were somebody else.
I am somebody else.
That was before you were located.
Fortunately, by the time gaston telephoned,
I was on the spot.
How very fortunate.
Quite. I therefore instructed gaston
To humor you and bring you here
To meet the person you thought you were not,
And by this simple confrontation-
But you have confronted me with nobody.
Exactly. Thus making it clear
That there's no one to confront you with except yourself
And leading to a reintegration
Of the two supposed personalities.
It merely needs your cooperation.
I like that. I am to cooperate with you
In pretending i am somebody else-
Or rather, that i am somebody else who thinks he's me. Is that it?
Broadly, in nonmedical terms.
Well, broadly, in nonmedical terms,
I tell you my name is john barratt.
Papa! You're back! You're back!
You look better than one might expect
After two weeks' debauchery in paris.
Did you enjoy it?
I never enjoy paris much.
Of course not. You went on business to save the foundry.
Business can be very tiring.
You've had your hair cut differently.
Have i?
Yes. It's nowhere near so distinguished-Looking.
I'm sorry.
I don't mind, really.
We were beginning to think we should never see you again.
Heavens, that reminds me. Granny wants to see you.
She's in a beastly temper.
So am i.
Where is she?
In her room, of course.
Come with me?
Why? Are you frightened?
I do believe you're frightened.
Well, i am, rather, yes.
I'll come to the top of the stairs.
She says she's sick of the sight of me.
She doesn't mean it, really,
But i'll keep out of her way.
Is that you at last?
It is i.
My wicked boy.
My pussycat.
Am i not even worth a kiss?
Ah!
Never before have i been so fussed over,
Unless it was in the cradle,
Never before so welcome-
Welcome in what appears to be a madhouse.
Let her talk.
Maybe there will be a clue in what she says.
Living the life you have doubtless been leading,
You might look worse.
Tell me about paris. Tell me every detail.
No, don't.
I won't forgive you for staying away so long.
There's something i must explain.
Later. Later. Lie to me later.
Entertain me now.
This house is so boring when you are away-
Francoise weeping, blanche praying,
And the child
Mooning around like an unwanted mouse.
I am not who you think i am.
Ha ha! I know. I know.
You've had a nervous breakdown.
Oh, i was worried at first
When the telegram arrived...
But then i thought to myself,
"I know my boy. I know my pussycat."
It is a delicious invention,
A clever excuse for neglecting people
And forgetting things...
Though i hope you did not use it
As an excuse to forget my present.
You didn't forget my present?
I don't know if he did or not.
Don't play cat and mouse with me
When you know how much i need it now.
Don't torment me!
I've been waiting all day long
For you to come back,
And now i can't wait any longer.
Where is it? Where is it?
I heard from outside- I haven't been listening.
Our mistress is ill.
You'd better fetch the doctor.
It's not the doctor can give her what she needs.
You have brought it?
I don't know.
Gaston's unpacking your things.
I just went along to look.
All in order, sir.
I put the parcels on the desk.
Is this it?
This?
To mother with love- Morphine.
What an attentive son.
Well, that's one bit of the jigsaw in place.
Can i pour your whiskey, sir?
No, thank you.
Whatever do you knock for?
Suppose it's all part
Of this silly charade you're playing.
Madame, you're going to have difficulty
In accepting what i say is true,
But i beg you to do so.
I am not your husband.
Oh, aren't you? Then why are you wearing his clothes?
That is a long and complicated story.
Then don't tell it. I hate long stories-
Especially lies.
This is not my suit, not my tie.
These are not my cuff links.
Well, then why are you wearing them?
Why are you speaking with his voice?
Why are you looking at me with his eyes?
You think i don't recognize
Those cruel eyes?
Now, tell me a lie about paris.
How was the eiffel tower?
I bet even you couldn't think of a lie
About the eiffel tower.
Would you bet?
Would you?
Francoise, my dear, you must be calm.
Calm? When he teases me like this?
Except that it's not teasing.
Teasing's what children do in innocence.
I assure you, francoise-
And i speak professionally-
Jacques quite genuinely believes he is somebody else.
Keep out of this.
You only make things worse.
Indeed, i do not.
Indeed, you do.
The truth is quite simple,
As the truth normally is.
I am not jacques...
Whatever the name may be.
I merely look like him.
Tell us straight out what game you're up to,
What selfish end you're after.
We'll give it to you right away.
Then we can stop playing this silly farce.
I'm not up to any game. This is the truth.
Truth is a word that has no meaning when you use it.
When you speak, every decent word becomes a monster,
Until i feel like a child in a nightmare.
I'm the one who's in a nightmare.
What did i do to deserve this?
Francoise, you mustn't torture yourself.
Go and rest.
Jacques and i will discuss this problem.
Look.
Get back at once.
Will you come up and talk to me,
Or shall i come down?
I'll come up in a minute.
Hurry. I'll count to 50,
And if you're not here,
I really will come down.
1, 2...
3, 4...
5...
6, 7, 8, 9, 10...
17, 18, 19, 20...
28, 29...
40, 41, 42...
48, 49...
50!
Oh, you're just in time.
Do sit down. You're out of breath.
It's very wrong to frighten people like that.
I don't frighten people. Just you.
Do it again, i shan't take any notice.
Then you'll have to jump, and serve you right.
Serve you right, too-
Make an awful mess, and you'd have to clear it up.
Bloodthirsty little brute.
And talking of bloodthirstiness, what's that?
Oh!
Oh, it's the martyrdom of saint sebastian.
I got bored with one aunt blanche gave me,
So i thought i'd do something more modern.
Who are these?
Oh, they're the secret police.
What secret police?
Oh, just secret police.
And that's for you when i pray for you.
What do ygu pray for for me?
Oh, i pray that
Whatever good you have done,
Whatever evil you have suffered
Gain for you the remission of your sins
And increase of grace
And the reward of eternal life.
Thank you. Any particular sins?
No. I don't think any particular ones.
Did you have a good trip,
So you won't have to go away again?
It's difficult to say.
If you do, i probably will jump out the window.
Do you think you could go to sleep now?
I should think so. I've had insomnia.
I expect it will be better now you're back.
Good. Well, good night.
Good night.
Shall i turn out the light?
No. I think i'll read for a bit.
Enough's enough. It's not an adventure anymore.
It's taking the shape of a nightmare-
His nightmare, not mine.
I call it quits.
Man or devil, i made no bargain with him.
I'm free to go.
I beg your pardon, sir.
You'll sleep much better if you undress
And get into bed, sir.
I shall sleep as i am. I'm tired.
Even so, it's worth making the effort.
Are you married? Have you a family?
No longer, sir.
Not since the germans were here.
I see.
Sir?
Perhaps i'm lucky.
When people have wives and children,
They have responsibilities.
Responsibility to whom?
To this unhappy household?
Is it my responsibility
Because fate has made me look identical
With another man?
Am i my brother's keeper?
We met by chance.
Chance.
Good night, sir.
Good night, gaston.
Come in.
Good morning.
I wonder how often gaston's been told
To keep this cigarette box full.
Um...
Uh... jacques.
Yes?
Well, it's very gratifying
To find you
So completely yourself again.
Completely myself, thank you.
Yes. Well, um...
During your absence, i've done my best
To look after the problems here,
But it has been a responsibility.
Because it's such a responsibility,
I've decided to assume it.
Come in.
Good morning, sir.
Good morning, gaston.
Uh, on the table, please.
If we may discuss the various problems-
If we may discuss
The various problems later.
Forgive me, but i can't bear company at breakfast-
Except, of course, female company,
And that not always.
Thank you, gaston.
Uh! Good dog.
Uh! Good boy! Back.
Come on.
Maldoror!
Where are you going?
I was going for a stroll.
I'll come with you.
Funny maldoror getting in such a state.
He's usually quite good with you.
When are you going
To let me read that book?
Which one?
The one you named maldoror after.
When you're a bit older.
You always say that.
Why are you dressed like this?
Can't you guess who i am?
Joan of arc.
Right.
Yes, i thought i'd be joan of arc today.
Saint theresa's too fatiguing
To be very often.
Besides, on days when i'm very conscious
Of wishing i was a boy,
Joan of arc's more suitable.
Why do you wish that today?
I don't know.
Something to do with you being back,
I know you'd rather i was one.
What makes you say that?
Well, aunt blanche keeps telling me.
Then aunt blanche
Keeps telling you nonsense.
I wish i could help.
I much prefer you as you are.
That child will grow up a savage.
You don't teach her even elementary good manners,
Like being punctual for meals.
I'm sorry.
Where is she anyway?
Making herself presentable.
That'll be an agreeable change.
Nice to see you after so long.
Good morning.
And how was paris?
Oh, um, cold.
I mean the contract. Did you see tiseau?
No, not tiseau.
Naturally, we at the foundry are anxious to know.
I make it a rule
Never to discuss business at table.
Thank you.
We're all anxious to know.
Sorry i'm late.
Your father was late, too.
I know. We were walking together.
I happened to see these,
So i thought i'd save you the trouble and bring them down.
Happened to see?
Anyhow, i thought i'd save you the trouble.
Most kind of you.
Shall i hand them around?
Oh, please do.
"M.N." That's me.
You'd have thought having two initials,
I'd have had two presents, really.
Greedy.
"F." That must be for you, mother.
Thank you, darling.
And "b." That's for you,
I suppose, aunt blanche.
I'm sorry, cousin aristide.
There doesn't seem to be anything for you.
I wouldn't expect it.
I always get cigars at christmas.
May i?
Of course. I'm as curious as you are.
Oh, thank you! Thank you!
It's wonderful!
So long as you're pleased.
People always say, "it's just what i wanted"
When it really isn't, but it really is.
Come on. I want to see what yours is.
Whatever is it?
What does it look like?
It looks like a toy.
Perhaps that's what it is.
You don't give toys to grownups.
I can't think why not.
May i look?
Yes, if you like.
Oh, put it down, please.
You hadn't forgotten.
Oh, how silly of me.
I'm sorry.
What tune is that?
Oh, it's a tune
Your father and i used to know long ago,
Before you were born.
Jacques, you're mad.
You must have had it made specially.
Hardly anyone knows that song except us.
Must have been shockingly expensive,
But thank you.
How beastly of me, when all the time-
So long as you like it.
Like it?
Oh!
Aunt blanche, do open yours.
Don't you think you'd better sit down,
Get on with your lunch?
You've seen our presents,
So you ought to let us see yours.
Yes, do sit down and have your lunch.
Shall i open it for you?
If you like.
Mmm! Smells terribly rich.
There's a card with it, too.
"If you don't like it,
"You can always sprinkle it
On the horse."
What horse?
Sit down at once.
It's very rude to read things written to other people.
"Other people" is about right.
I wish someone would explain
About the horse.
It's a joke of your father's.
You mustn't ask people to explain jokes,
Especially when they've gone wrong.
I've been doing some rather careful thinking
About our output figures.
I'll come to the foundry after lunch,
And we will discuss everything there.
To the foundry?
Why not?
Oh, no reason.
With no disrespect to your administration,
I think perhaps i've been a little neglectful.
The men, of course, will be delighted.
Good. Then i'll come this afternoon.
But you can't. It's wednesday.
So it is-Wednesday.
You know the only thing
That makes my music lesson tolerable
Is you driving me in.
How stupid of me to forget.
You seem awfully forgetful since you came back.
Well, come afterwards, about a quarter past 4:00.
She was right. You are getting forgetful.
Thank you.
Better get it out of the house, i thought.
Perhaps.
Give the horse a pat from me.
Let's play a game.
I'm a stranger who's never driven into villedieu before,
And you have to tell me the way.
Sounds a very stupid game to me.
Not as stupid as you might think.
Which way to turn here, for instance?
Oh, very well. If it amuses you.
Right.
If i survive, we'll meet here as usual.
In how long?
Are you still playing that game?
An hour and 10 minutes, of course.
* bah bah bah bah bah bah bah **
Well, jacques de gue, i'm in your shoes.
I have assumed your clothes and your responsibilities,
And in a curious way, i'm grateful to you.
It's everything i've lacked-
People to need me, a home, a purpose.
But i can't get into your mind.
You escape me.
What am i supposed to be here for-
To solve your problems for you,
Or is it to let you be elsewhere?
That will teach you.
I apologize if i appear to be trespassing.
Trespassing? On your own property?
Teach you to treat me
Like you did the other evening, i meant.
Oh, i can explain.
You can explain anything.
You ought to have been a politician.
Two weeks away, and never a word.
Then a post card-
Notre-Dame by floodlight, at that-
Saying, "meet me at our bar in le mans."
Our bar, indeed.
Here.
When i get there, what happens?
The other evening...
I wasn't feeling quite myself.
Very much yourself, if you ask me.
It's when you behave well
That i start worrying
There must be something wrong with you.
Well, don't stand there
Looking as if you've never seen a saddle before.
Hang it up!
Why i should worry, i don't know,
Or why i should be lonely.
Plenty of men
Would treat me better than you do.
One of these wednesday afternoons,
You'll come here
And find that i've gone,
Gone off with a millionaire
Or a lion tamer from a traveling circus.
I don't care which, so long as it takes me away.
A traveling circus would be restful
After life with you.
Well, seeing you're here,
You might as well come in, i suppose.
Why i stay on here i just don't know-
Stay on here, hidden away,
For your occasional pleasure
In a corner of a small country town,
When there is paris and all the world waiting unexplored.
But i do know why...
Don't i?
And you know...
Don't you?
Because i love you,
And you pretend to love me-
Pretend not very well,
But with a great charm...
Though not somehow today.
Let me hear you pretend.
Say you love me.
I shan't believe it, but i like to hear it.
What do you want me to say,
That i love you as much as i have ever done,
That i love you the same as always?
Always? There is not such a word-
Shouldn't be, anyhow.
Don't say you love me always,
Say you love me now.
What's this?
"If you don't like it,
You can always sprinkle it on the horse."
Oh, yes, of course.
It's a present for you.
I wasn't sure if you'd like it, so, um...
What are you talking about?
You know perfectly well
It's the only scent i ever consider using.
Just a joke.
Odd.
It's like a joke
When it's in your handwriting,
But not when you say it somehow.
But thank you.
And for the proof that you did think of me at least once.
At least once.
How often, truly?
At least once a day, i should think.
Liar.
Never mind. It's a pretty lie-
Pretty like the flowers, like the scent.
And how did you find the mausoleum?
The house?
What else?
You seem to have only half your wits today.
The other half's preoccupied...
With the mausoleum.
Is it worse than usual?
Frankly, i don't know.
About the same, probably.
It's just that i feel
Less fitted to deal with the problems.
You've got to.
It's expected of me, i know.
It's time i went to meet the child.
Thank you for reminding me.
I wish i hadn't.
So do i.
Meanwhile...
Meanwhile i'm here.
Then?
Then until then.
Next wednesday...
Before, if possible,
For who knows when that circus will come to town?
What are you thinking about?
Nothing in particular. Why?
It looked as if it were something in particular.
Just circuses, i suppose.
That was last week, anyhow.
Oh.
Here we are. Punctual to the minute.
Sir, you are welcome.
Monsieur lacoste, our works manager.
Oh, how foolish of me-
Making introductions as if you were a stranger...
Not that you aren't, almost.
I feel like one.
It's been a long time.
How long, in fact?
Oh, 14 years.
As long as that?
You better assume that i know nothing.
Explain everything to me as if to a stranger.
Everything is as it was.
Our kind of work doesn't change.
Even so.
Everything, that is to say, except the profits.
You will take a glass to celebrate?
To celebrate what?
The new contract.
Who said anything about a new contract?
You didn't exactly say anything, but your visit after so long...
I took the liberty of intimating to the men-
The men were very pleased.
It's been a worrying time.
It still is a worrying time.
Doubtless, but if we all pull our weight-
Well, what is it?
I was just thinking of cousin aristide's weight.
That's not very polite.
It's of no consequence-
Fair comment, even.
All this sedentary work.
You really won't?
No, thank you.
Lacoste?
Thank you, no.
I think i will. I need a little digestive.
Blanche's luncheon was excellent but lavish.
Most days, i content myself with a sandwich at my desk.
How many men do we employ?
How many is it, lacoste?
42... plus the 12 pensioners, of course.
Old matterin died last week,
But his widow remains.
I must acquaint- Reacquaint myself
With all the problems involved.
If you're talking about problems,
I'll go watch the glassblowers
If mr. Lacoste doesn't mind.
Not in the least.
I'll come with you.
I must check on the dijon order.
I won't disguise the fact
That i am faced with a problem.
I'm in no doubt about that.
All i can say is
150 years is a long time.
We-The men-Will do anything to help.
I'm sure, but outside, where the customers are,
Well, things change in 150 years.
We have mass production, for instance.
One would think there would still be a market for quality work.
One would think so- Hope so.
Your mother has asked for you
Every 10 minutes for the last hour.
Good evening.
I almost thought you might be late.
Don't know what you're smiling about,
When i've been imprisoned here reading this trash.
Trash!
Sit down.
Ay!
I open with pawn to king's fourth.
Where have you been?
I took the child to villedieu
For her music lesson.
And your own- Was that interesting?
Mine?
Your lesson in conversational italian, you idiot.
There's nothing i don't know about.
People try hiding everything from me,
But they're wasting their time.
Well, are you going to move or not?
What else?
Or did you stay learning italian until now?
I went to the foundry.
What will that blather aristide
Do for a living once we've shut?
I hardly talked to him.
I talked to, um, lacoste.
Decent little man, if i remember.
Hard on him, on all of them,
But there's no other way.
There will have to be.
I've decided to renew the contract,
Even on unfavorable terms.
You've decided?
I've decided.
It would be too great a hardship for them.
What about the hardship on us?
We must manage.
Manage?
How can we manage?
Oh, i must concentrate on this game,
Or i shall faint.
Queen's knight to bishop's third.
What's happened to you while you've been away?
It's almost as if you were a different person.
I am... as i tried very hard to explain.
Have you gotten mixed up in politics?
You can't condemn people to starve.
We can starve.
You can condemn us to starve...
So long as all those socialists at the foundry
Have enough to eat.
Bishop to rook's fourth.
If you wish to indulge
This sentimental fad of yours,
The solution is in your own hands.
Namely?
Have a son, of course, you fool.
Pawn to queen's knight's fourth.
Clever.
Well, then there's only one other way
The settlement can become untied.
Common little ironmonger of a father of hers
Had it all tied up so tight.
What other way?
Clause 14, paragraph 2.
Yes?
May i come in?
Yes, come in.
I thought you'd see me when you got back.
I got caught playing chess.
How is she today?
Sulfurous.
Anything in particular?
Everything in general.
We had an argument
About keeping the foundry open.
Oh, that.
Tell me...
Do you like these earrings?
Very pretty.
Hmm?
I did love my musical box.
I'm glad.
You knew i would, didn't you?
Sorry i was beastly last night.
Oh, it's all right.
It's not all right.
I shall feel beastly
Till you show you forgive me.
Show you forgive me.
What's that you're hiding?
I'm not hiding anything.
Oh, why are you reading this?
There's something i wanted to verify.
Verify! As if you didn't know.
I'll read it to you,
Though i know it by heart.
You didn't know i had a copy, did you?
Papa said i ought to.
Oh, francoise.
Here it is- Clause 14, paragraph 2.
"In the event
"Of the said francoise amelie elaire
"Dying without male issue,
"The endowment shall pass in equal shares
"To her surviving female issue
And such issue's legal guardian."
Legal guardian- That's you.
Papa always said that clause
Was like inviting you to murder me.
He said it as a joke,
But it stopped being a joke now.
It's not a joke at all.
I'm going to write to the stonemasons
Now while i'm still alive,
And i'll have them carve
"Clause 14, paragraph 2" on my tombstone.
That will give people something to talk about.
Francoise, my dear, please listen-
Except i shan't have a tombstone.
I'll be buried in your family vault
Among your horrid family.
Listen to me.
We'll have the lawyers draw up a new agreement
So that money can't come to me,
Appointing whom you like as the child's guardian.
But you can't alter it.
We'll see. Whatever can be done, we'll do.
You don't wish me dead.
I wish you to be happy.
We'll send for the lawyers.
It's not that that matters.
It's just trying to believe
What you're saying is true.
None of that matters.
Nothing would matter
If only you loved me.
Oh, if only you loved me.
Oh.
I'll never learn to play the piano
If i try for a hundred years.
Just think, a hundred years of wednesday afternoons.
I sometimes think
That's what hell must be really like-
Not flames and things,
Just going on being bored for ever and ever.
You're probably right.
But i forgot.
You don't believe in hell, do you?
In that kind of hell, yes.
The worm that dieth not.
Oh, well. See you later.
Come and help!
Look at those. Aren't they wonderful?
Good?
Good.
Best, you should have said.
There's something i must say to you.
In the midst of all the other problems at the mausoleum,
It's been going to and fro
In my mind all the past week.
And in mine.
You don't know what i'm going to say.
I do.
Not all of it, but the essential part i know.
I don't know who you are,
But i know who you are not.
I don't feel i know much more myself.
I won't listen
Unless you promise beforehand
It won't make any difference.
Promise.
Nod your head if you promise,
Otherwise go away without saying anything.
It's so impossible that after the first shock
I found it easier to accept
Than if it were merely improbable.
It's so far away from ordinary human experience,
I can accept it like one accepts a dream.
A dream?
In a dream, ordinary behavior ceases to operate,
But nothing surprises you.
10 days ago, i didn't know
This room or you existed.
Now it seems perfectly natural to be here.
It seems perfectly natural.
It's madness to question
The rightness of a dream,
But, um...
You must forgive me for saying this.
A week ago, when you put your arms around me,
It was him you were loving.
Now you say it's me.
Forget for a moment
That you and he look exactly alike.
You look alike,
But you are different.
It is perfectly possible to love two people
At the same time for different reasons.
It's only in storybooks that it is otherwise.
So...
How are we different, he and i?
No. I shouldn't ask you that.
It does no harm
Provided that i break no confidence.
He's... fierce where you are gentle,
Cruel where you are kind,
Selfish where you are not.
That's how i first knew-
When i saw
That you worried about other people.
I didn't immediately know.
It just seemed odd at the time,
But something started in my mind
Which during the week became the knowledge...
That this impossible thing
Had nonetheless happened.
I wish i could accept it as easily.
Precisely.
I accept.
I accept whatever happens
Like i accept sun or rain.
I accept your being here
Like i accept food from the soil.
So far, so good...
But my mind staggers when i think ahead.
Don't think ahead.
Think as far ahead
As it takes that bird to fly out of sight-
No more.
Afternoon, sir.
Just seeing that everything
Is all right for tomorrow.
Care for a shot?
No. We're on our way to the foundry.
Let's watch for a moment anyway.
Do go on, mr. Fournier.
Ready.
Pull.
Well done.
Your father's the only man
To have three pheasant dead in the air
At the same time.
Do you remember, sir?
Ready.
Pull.
Three pheasant dead in the air at the same time,
And i've never handled a gun in my life.
If i shoot tomorrow,
The whole charade, campaign- Call it what you will-
Is exposed and ruined.
But if i injured my hand,
I couldn't shoot, could i?
You hurt yourself!
I saw you burn yourself.
Is it bad?
How does that feel?
Much less pain, thank you.
Any chance of my being able to shoot tomorrow?
Good heavens, no. Not a chance in the world.
Well, that's that, then.
Bad luck it should happen the day before the match.
I'm very grateful to you.
May i offer you a drink?
Thank you.
Would you mind helping yourself?
I'll have one, too.
A very small one.
The injection i've given you
Doesn't mix with alcohol.
A small one, then.
Hello. What are you doing here?
In case you forgot,
I thought i'd say good night to you.
That was a very kind thought.
How's your hand feeling?
Better. Dr. Aloin gave me an injection.
I did this for you.
Oh, thank you.
"Shadrach, meshach, abednego
In the burning, fiery furnace."
Very comforting.
I think you were very brave.
No, i wasn't. It was automatic.
You drop something,
Then you snatch it up without thinking.
You didn't do it without thinking. I saw the whole thing.
I admire you very much for doing it.
I don't know what you're talking about.
If you'd rather not talk about it...
Atonement's a very private thing.
I oughtn't to have been inquisitive.
I'll get you a drawing pin.
Thank you.
Hmm.
Good night.
I just wanted to say i admired you very much.
That's all.
Ready? Pull.
Ready?
Ready.
Pull.
Oh, no, no.
Oh, it has been a nice afternoon.
Hasn't it?
Thank you.
Can i have a word?
Will you have a look at the car?
There's trouble with the gearbox.
Excuse us.
There was a telephone call, sir, from villedieu.
The lady said she must see you urgently.
You'll have to drive me in.
I'll get back as soon as i can.
Woo-Hoo!
Ah.
What's the matter?
You sent for me.
I did not.
I'm delighted to see you, but-
Gaston said he spoke to you.
He must have gone mad...
Or psychic.
I was thinking of you...
A lot.
I was thinking how much i'd love to see you,
And here you are.
I don't understand it.
Let's not try to understand.
Fate or the telephone operator
Has made a beautiful mistake,
And we are together...
When we might have been apart.
I always knew you were cruel,
But somehow there were
Shreds of kindness mixed up in you,
Like the peel in marmalade,
Which i could pick out and nibble
And pretend they were food enough to keep alive on.
Now the only possible use i can be to you
Is to be dead.
There's no point in keeping me alive.
Please don't upset yourself.
Get out! Get out!
Get out and leave me to die!
Who did you speak to on the telephone?
The lady, sir.
You're absolutely certain?
I took it to be the lady, sir.
I see...
Or rather, i don't see.
Do you know whose car that is?
The police inspector's from villedieu.
Oh.
What is it? Is something wrong?
I'm afraid so.
Jacques, you must prepare yourself for a shock,
A great shock.
Marie-Noel?
No, it's not marie-Noel.
It's francoise.
I'm sorry to have to tell you.
She-She fell from her window.
She was dead when we found her.
When? How?
About an hour ago.
We had no idea where to find you.
You couldn't have done anything.
I was visiting your mother.
I was with her- With francoise-
In a matter of a minute,
And nothing could have been done.
Francoise.
In the circumstances, i had to telephone the police.
Inspector rigot from villedieu
Came at once.
Permit me to offer my condolences, sir.
Thank you.
Where is she?
She's... in there.
Uh, does the child know?
I'm afraid the child found her.
Happily, she didn't see her fall.
Nobody saw her fall.
Where is the child?
She's in her room.
Your sister blanche is with her.
Who's that?
It's me-Father.
Please do not regard the proceedings as an inquest,
But rather as an informal meeting
To establish certain facts
So that i need not trouble you again.
For the purpose of recording her testimony,
I shall attend in the bedroom of the countess,
Who is, alas, bedridden.
I am not bedridden.
Furthermore...
Even if i were,
I would not consent
To a troop of petty officials
Making a playground of my apartments.
Steady!
Oh, i can manage, i can manage
If this cripple here would just stand on her feet.
Well, young man, what do you wish to know?
May i, on behalf of my colleague and myself,
Observe that the melancholy of this occasion
Is mitigated
By the sight of you in better health.
On behalf of the french republic if you wish,
But i am in no way in better health,
So get on with your questions.
First, i would like to hear
From the last person to see the deceased alive.
From my preliminary information,
This was the little girl,
Her daughter.
Your preliminary information is incorrect.
I saw the deceased after the child did.
As i was walking along the corridor
Toward my daughter-In-Law's bedroom,
The child came out, called good night,
And went upstairs toward her room.
So you need not trouble the child
With your questions.
That was what time?
I have no idea.
I'm not in the habit
Of walking about my own house
Making notes of what time i do things,
As if i were boiling myself an egg.
What was the subject matter
Of your talk with the deceased?
Family matters.
In what spirits did you judge her to be?
In excellent spirits,
Better than i had seen for some time.
She had been in low spirits recently, then?
Most women tend to be in low spirits
After a recent miscarriage.
Ahem. Quite.
You saw no sign of depression?
None whatever. Quite the reverse.
To sum up,
You saw nothing to make you suppose
She might take her own life.
An unthinkable supposition.
I thank you.
That was admirably clear.
Just simple facts.
It would need an idiot
To make them anything but clear.
Now, you, sir, were not in the house
At the time of your wife's death.
No, i was not.
May i ask where you were?
I was in villedieu.
He was not in villedieu.
He was in her room.
I heard him talking there.
This is nonsense. I was in villedieu.
Did you see anybody there,
Talk to anybody who can confirm that?
It's not that i doubt your word.
Simply, we have a direct conflict of evidence.
Somebody must be making a mistake.
Corroborative evidence would settle the matter.
My business in villedieu
Was of a confidential nature.
Perhaps i may ask you
Further about it in private.
In public or in private, he will lie to you.
He was in her room.
He murdered her.
Ask him about the terms of the marriage settlement.
If you will wait
Until i ask for your testimony.
I will not wait.
If you please, sir, may i speak?
I think i can help.
Have you any objection?
None. On the contrary.
Very well, then.
I drove my master into villedieu.
He couldn't drive because of his hand.
I drove him into villedieu,
Waited for him,
And drove him back.
And when we got back here,
Madame was already dead.
Your car was already here
As we drove in.
That is so. Yes.
They drove away...
They drove back.
What does that prove?
What did he do in the interim?
They're in league, he and his lackey.
How much has he promised to pay you for your lies?
I am a simple man, miss blanche.
I have no education.
I know how to drive a car and clean shoes.
I do not know how to tell lies or take bribes.
A likeness, a chance in 10 million,
An astronomical figure gave you an alibi...
Or a scapegoat.
How can you?
I wondered if it could tell me anything.
It can tell you
Nothing you don't already know.
It's horrible.
It's melancholy.
They wouldn't listen to me.
They believed you and not me.
I'm not going into all that again.
Well, i am.
I'll go on until someone listens to me.
I'll go to the police in paris.
You can put me in an asylum,
But i'll go on writing and telling people.
I'll tell them how i heard you talking in there,
How i heard you singing that song
As you did after your honeymoon,
How i heard her laugh then scream.
You heard someone singing that song?
I heard you singing it.
Hello?
Hello. How nice to hear your voice.
Who is there?
A stranger.
A comparative stranger,
I suppose we should say.
I thought you'd be surprised.
Not entirely.
Let's stop exchanging polite nothings.
I'd like to have a talk with you,
And not on the telephone.
When? Where?
Where is a problem.
Why not at the foundry,
About 11:00, say?
Very well, at 11:00.
Come in.
There's nothing to be afraid of.
Sit down.
Well, this is nice.
Let me have a look at you.
You've put on a little weight, i think.
All that good country food.
And of course, you've changed
The way you comb your hair.
I thought we'd talk in here.
So much cleaner than aristide's office-
Pompous old idiot, but a heart of gold.
Trouble is, the gold comes from my account.
You haven't lost your voice, by any chance.
No, i have plenty to say.
Splendid. Let's have a drink first.
I happen to know
Where aristide keeps his brandy.
Not for me, thank you.
Truly? I remember
You rather welcomed a glass of brandy.
However, as you wish.
You won't mind if i do.
Well, now.
Tell me about your stewardship.
Have you enjoyed it?
It's been interesting.
It's been most kind of you to assist,
But now i'm here
To relieve you of the burden.
I'm not anxious to be relieved.
I didn't think
My family possessed that much charm.
In fact, to put it quite clearly,
I refuse to be relieved.
Of course, the situation has radically changed
In the last few days.
The money released
As a result of my poor wife's death
Does possess a certain charm. I see that.
The money doesn't interest me.
You can't mean
You love my somewhat bizarre relations
For themselves alone.
I've come to know them,
To like them to varying extents
In their differing ways.
I've seen their problems
And have made...
Attempts to help them deal with them.
I never thought
They could inspire missionary zeal.
I assure you- Warn you
I mean every word i say.
Come now, mr. Barratt.
This is getting beyond a joke and becoming an imposition.
You've had three weeks
Masquerading as a french nobleman,
And now it is time for you to change back
And return to your provincial university.
And if i refuse?
I shall have to compel you.
Please don't be surprised.
I'm not in the least surprised...
At a murderer being so equipped.
Do tell me...
Whose murder?
Clause 14, paragraph 2.
I don't think i need elaborate.
But, um...
Just supposing i had murdered my wife,
I would have a perfect alibi
Because you were in villedieu.
Poor mr. Barratt,
You really thought
That you could live an elaborate lie in luxury
For the rest of your life.
The luxury i would dispose of elsewhere.
It would only be the lie that worried me.
Sooner or later, they would have to be told.
How?
I don't know. Somehow.
Otherwise i couldn't bear it.
A noble sentiment.
I've no time to admire it now.
It's time we changed into our own clothes...
And our own selves.
Good for you.
That was a surprise, i must admit.
But i have no doubt that i'm the better shot...
Even if you had the use of your right hand.
At this range, even left-Handed,
Even... i could hardly miss.
Oh, yes, you could.
It's surprisingly easy.
I think you better give me
That dangerous thing.
Villedieu.
What are you doing here?
Fate has made a beautiful mistake,
And we are together
When we might have been apart.