A French Village S07 E07 Prisoners of War
Hello, Sir. I want to go to the little girls room.
What? I want to go to the little girls room!
You can wait till the end of your shift.
You could've let her go to the toilet, all the same!
Hold on, I've already got two absentees
And this morning, I don't know. Are you working like snails, or what?
We should have 15 boxes by now...
...we've got 9!
Hubert, you're exaggerating, you know!
I beg your pardon?
You could let her go to the toilet.
What do I care?
It would take her 3 minutes.
I said no!
And you, get back to work.
And you lot, what are you waiting for?
Hubert!
Monsieur Schwartz?
Your wife's right, it takes 3 minutes to go pee.
Monsieur Schwartz, you ask me to keep to the deadlines...
...and to meet the deadlines, they've to be kept at it.
Yes, but if they need to pee, they'll work badly.
What do you think? OK ?
While not overruling you, say the boss offers 5 minutes.
A little pause for the girls. OK?
There we go. As you wish.
A five minute break.
Offered by the boss.
You're amused to humiliate me before the girls? I'm not humiliating you.
You say I'm wrong.
And if I'm wrong, how can I have authority over them?
Just let them pee when they feel like it.
We'll settle it at home.
How are you, darling?
So, are things any better? Ah, I'm tired!
At the Mairie there are only wretches and cons...
and at the factory only idiots and moaners.
And you to direct it all.
You're stupider than all of them.
Only you understand me.
You know I love you.
I still don't realize it enough.
Prisoners of War
Then all the pictures were found in an attic in Villeneuve.
The photographer remains unidentified.
There you have a film. The only film of the parade, let's go over there.
A silent film...
...made by a Résistant...
...with an 8mm camera.
Excuse me. How many were they?
According to the archives, about a hundred or so.
And there you have the newspapers. The newspapers of the time.
...'Le Nouvelliste' and 'Bir Hakeim'...
...and Anglo-Saxon newspapers. Here, you can look at the articles.
The guest has arrived.
Our guest has arrived. I suggest you sit down.
Are you OK?
I'm tired.
Maman! I'm afraid I'll have nothing to say to them.
Yes, yes, you'll see. Come on.
Please sit down.
We are pleased to welcome Madame Lucienne Bériot.
Hello. Hello.
On the sofa.
Can I ask you to applaud.
Madame Bériot, first of all, thank you for being with us...
You're welcome.
Today you're the only survivor of the November 11th 1943 parade.
I was not really in the parade.
I just saw it...
...from my window.
You're too modest, it was you who sabotaged the radio.
Without you, the Maquisards would have been captured, no?
I don't know.
Perhaps.
That day, did you realize the impact this event would have?
Oh no.
When you live in the present...
...you realize almost nothing.
You live...
...that's all.
And does that make you feel like a heroine today?
I'm not a heroine.
I'm just the only one left.
You're still working on Abbé Boyer!
I want him to be beautiful. For Christmas.
But you're going to ruin your hands. It's not for you to do this, Lucienne.
But, if I don’t do it, no one will do it.
Well, what of it?
It's just an old statue that no-one looks at.
Exactly.
I want them to look.
Listen, when you asked to be useful in the parish.
I accepted, to help you find your way.
I can't thank you enough, Father.
Yes, but here...
...your determination becomes...
You want me to stop?
No, I...
I don't know...I...I...
Do what seems right to you.
It's OK?
Here wait! You know what the Angel Gabriel said to the Virgin Mary...
...when he came to see her?
Go on!
Good day, I've come about the Annonce pun: Annonciation/Annonce = Advert
Stupid doesn't get it! For the Annonce...
Hey there, stay focused while cutting!
What the heck, we're just having a laugh.
Humour is the politeness of despair.
Come on Chief, let's go for a smoke.
Raymond!
We can't go on like this.
Why? It looks to be going fine, right?
They're all working double shifts, they're exhausted.
They tell jokes, they get distracted.
Productivity's down, and safety's the pits.
Look, the election's in 5 days. Don't bother me with that, OK?
You're paid to make it work, so fix it.
For it to work we have to hire people, and not Boche prisoners.
Why, aren't they good?
They're not volunteers, they're hungry and tired.
I don't see how they can work well.
Yeah, I'm sorry but we've only...
We have to mechanize sleeper cutting.
I've ordered the machine. There's a year's wait
Raymond, we're going to have an accident!
Listen, we're already 3 weeks late.
The Americans charge us 3,000F a day.
Do you know what 3000F a day means?
Another week and I'm out of business.
And if a guy cuts his arm, where will your business be?
Oh, you're not ready?
I think we'd better cancel.
But we can't cancel, he's on his way.
It won't be that long. No, it's not a good idea.
Well, it was you who told me you wanted to see him again.
Yes, but I rarely have good ideas, huh?
You tell me often enough
You know I'm getting tired of your whims.
Yes I know.
And I know you'll end up getting me admitted.
What are you talking about?
I'm just asking you to welcome Te Quiero...
...suitably. That's all.
He doesn't like me, Daniel.
He's 5 years old!
He's right not to like me.
In any case, he's here.
Come on, just get ready and come.
You didn't tell me you were coming by. No.
Well, come in.
Maman's OK? Yes.
Well...the usual.
Ah, it's been a long time since you called her 'Maman'.
Yes, I don't know. It...came out like that.
I have to take the time to go and see her.
I'm not bothering you?
You have to get up early to bother me these days, Te Quiero.
It's simple, I don't do anything anymore.
Oh, you're exaggerating.
When one's old, exaggerating's all that remains to one.
And making small talk.
Is there a problem at the hospital? No, no.
No. I was operating on a guy the day before yesterday, but...
Colon cancer, so, a priori, not too bad.
Was there a problem?
No.
No, the guy's recovering surprisingly well...
...and...
...at the postoperative visit.
During the war, the Villeneuve Jews were deported...
...while you were Mayor.
Give me a shot of red.
We can't keep letting ourselves get screwed this way.
Working this way we should be paid double.
We're doing our best, but they're pushing us to the wall.
So what can we do?
Ah, Amelie, we all love you...
...but your husband's the boss, and a real arsehole...
...excuse me saying this...
...what are you doing here talking to us?
She's the one who made the soup, I'll remind you.
Her husband's her husband, and she's herself.
A woman must follow her husband.
That's how I see things, anyway.
That's pre-war thinking, my friend.
I don't see what the war has changed.
Do you really sleep with him? What's it to you?
We're getting off-topic.
Down to brass tacks, what do you want to do?
Either Raymond hires more people, or he pays us more. It's not complicated.
And if he doesn't agree?
And he won't agree.
Well, if he doesn't agree...
...if he doesn't agree, we'll think what to do.
You have to let go of something.
Otherwise, they'll strike. Strike!
I'd like to see that! Well, not me!
A strike 5 days before the vote, doesn't help me one bit.
Listen, strikers right now! I'd shoot the lot...
...then you'd see.
I'll call the bank, to request a new line of credit.
Offer them a bonus of 10F/day and 20F for those working double.
They're on the edge of exhaustion, Raymond. It's not a solution.
Yes, but it's the only one I have...
So you implement it, or you go.
I'm not leaving you now.
But, deep down, where's the problem?
Give your workers what they want.
I thought you wanted them shot?
Give them what they want till Sunday.
As soon as you're elected, fire the leaders...
...hire reliable people. And there you go.
I’m supposed to be the leader!
Better and better.
I thought he's paid to solve problems, not aggravate them.
You treat people like machines! No!
Like paid employees to do a job...
...if they won't work, they're fired, that's normal to me.
The work's too hard!
And they're not paid enough! Let them go somewhere else.
And who’ll we replace them with?
We can't find anyone, except your crappy Boches.
We'll be fine.
The question is, who has the power in this town.
And beyond that, in the country.
Entrepreneurs who rebuild...
...or the agitators who destroy.
You see, it went well.
Yes, yes.
US President George W Bush....
...announced he was certain Saddam Hussein was hiding somewhere in the country.
Do we have to have the radio on?
...captured and brought to justice.
No no.
Françoise...
Yes.
...why don't you ever talk to me about anything?
After all?
No matter.
It's always been like that.
I think I do the same as you, right?
And on Christmas Eve, Father Christmas, who lives far away...
...far, far away in the North...
...very close to the North Pole...
...he rides on a sleigh...
...with all the children's toys...
...you see he's pulled by reindeer.
...and then...
...in every house...
...coming down the chimney...
...he brings a gift to each child.
All the children?
Yes, all the children.
Even children who aren't good?
Well, children who aren't good get small gifts.
But you're good anyway.
So Father Christmas will give me a big present?
Of course.
You'll have to put your slippers at the foot of the tree.
Do you want something?
No.
Well, I mean...
How are you, Te Quiero?
Just a moment, darling.
Here, look at the pictures, I'll be right back.
Father Christmas on a sleigh pulled by reindeer in the sky with presents!
I saw it at an American officer's family, that I treated last week.
He gave me the book.
Who can believe such nonsense?
A child.
For my New Year I was told it was baby Jesus who brought little gifts.
I believed it!
At home, when we came home from midnight Mass...
...on my bed there was an orange that Father Christmas had put there.
I preferred Saint Nicholas...
at least there were cakes.
I don't like everything Americans do, but this idea of Father Christmas...
...who brings gifts in a sled, I find it rather poetic.
It's very good.
The day Te Quiero knows that Father Christmas doesn't exist...
...and that you lied to him...
I think he'll thank us for telling him a lie.
Hello..
Yes of course.
The time I takes me to get there.
It's the Moissay midwife who can't cope with a breech birth...
I'll be three hours at the maximum.
Can you wash him and put him to bed?
Yes.
Don't ruin my Father Christmas story, at least!
I'm not in a position to ruin anything, Daniel.
The patient's name is Goldmund...
He told me how he was in the school for 3 days...
...parked behind barbed wire with a hundred foreign Jews like himself...
...with nothing to eat or drink.
Did you know about it?
Of course I was aware....
...since I was mayor of Villeneuve.
Papa...
...he told me it was you who organized things there.
It's a lot more complicated than that.
He said you were responsible for what happened. No.
No, that's not true.
Well, you were Mayor of Villeneuve, you surely could've prevented it.
But no.
No, I couldn't.
I had such an image of you!
When I thought of you, the words that came straight to me were...
...generosity...
...justice...
...righteousness. We try to be fair but don't always succeed.
Well, men, women, children parked...
...like cattle in your town's school...
...deported and gassed at Auschwitz. And you give me this stuff!
No, Te Quiero! No!
I was proud of you, Papa.
Damn it, I was proud of you.
Ah, your Résistant brother...
...your stay in prison, you told me about it.
What else did you hide from me?
I'm very surprised at your message.
I face real difficulties in the exercise of my ministry.
What sort?
Internal.
Do you want me to hear your confession? Yes.
Now? The sooner the better.
Let's go to the presbytery instead.
Yes, you're right.
Who is it?
A friend.
You don’t have a friend.
What do you know about that?
I lived 20 years with you, I'll remind you.
We'll walk a little, here.
Yes.
It's quiet.
I like the quiet.
So, this friend?
Ah...
...it's in the past.
"From the past let's make a clean sweep"
I had a friend...
...once, during the war.
I think she loved me.
A lot.
I even think she loved me very much.
One day, we kissed....
...really.
It was 60 years ago today.
And that was her? No.
She's dead.
But I don't know where she is.
Somewhere...
Are you ill?
Oh, no.
No.
You never got married.
Hey no.
I've never known you know any man.
The things of love, always seemed to me...
...I don't know.
You loved romances so much when you were little.
I didn't like romances.
I liked love songs.
Ah yes!
That's true.
"I will wait..."
"...the day..."
"...and the night."
"I will always wait..."
"...your return..."
"...I will wait..."
"...because the bird who flies, comes to find oblivion."
"In its nest"
Anselme, save a bit for me.
Huh?
Hey, gently, gently! Is that the way you treat women?
Here, mark it!
Its good.
Bring it up, a bit more, a bit more. There's good.
Tomorrow's my wedding anniversary.
This is the first time we'll be able to celebrate it.
We couldn't do it in the Maquis.
Your wife was in the Maquis?
Yes. She was a courier in '44.
With Jacques Breme.
Marinette, the little curly brunette.
Oh! So.
She's your wife? Yes.
Congratulations. Thanks.
Hey look, you guys...
Is this some sort of talking shop, or whatever?
You're even slower than the girls.
It's OK, Hubert, it's OK, it's good.
Sorry, Monsieur Antoine, but no, it's not good!
They're 20% below the daily quota.
They're with me, we're doing the maximum. Drop it.
My job is to keep to deadlines, and we're not doing that here.
We're doing what we can, Hubert.
I don't think so. You're gossiping.
You can gab at smoke break...
...tell your life stories...
...when you work seriously, you shut up!
Pierre!
We're going to cut out the safety.
Wait, wait. What are you playing at?
It takes us one minute a cut...
...we make 120 cuts a day, that means 2 hours...
So, Monsieur Chief.
He wants us to produce more, and we will produce more.
Please change your tone.
Do you really want me to change my tone? Hey, hey, it's OK.
Hubert, we understood. It's OK.
We'll discuss it again later.
Arsehole!
Go, go, go. There's no question of cutting back on safety.
Forgive me Father for I have sinned.
I'm listening to you, my son.
I'm more and more tormented by...
...the thought of this parishioner of whom I spoke to you.
A thought is not a sin.
As long as it remains a thought.
And this exact thought, makes...
...the fulfillment of my ministry more and more difficult.
I...well, I wait to see her.
Sometimes I... I don't think of anything else.
That's indeed a problem.
I'm having sensations I had before the Seminary.
I... I knew a woman at the time...
That's an advantage you have over me.
Do you really think it's an advantage?
A sincere love always brings us closer to God...
...and I'm sure your love was sincere.
And... and today...
...what can I do to find the way of Christ?
Pray.
Question your vocation?
This woman...
...do you love her?
I don't know.
But I...
...I desire her, anyway.
Then you're at a crossroads, my friend.
Retrace the path of your vows.
Be sincere with yourself, be honest.
And if you don’t come out of this...
...perhaps it'll be necessary to change parishes.
Hortense?
Papa, Papa!
Te Quiero? Papa, Papa!
Te Quiero, what are you doing there?
Maman locked me in.
It's all black!
Hortense! Papa, Papa!
Don’t move. I'm going to get the key. I'll be right back.
Papa,Papa!
He wanted to kill me.
He really wanted to kill me.
Where's the key to the cupboard?
I turned off the fir candles and...
...I felt his presence at my back.
He had scissors in his hand. He held them as though to hit me.
Where's that key, Hortense?
He must be treated, he must be treated.
Will you tell me where the cupboard key is? You lunatic!
Give it to me. No, no, no!
Give me that key.
Are you going to give it to me?
You want to kill me, too!
Papa! Everything’s OK darling.
Maman was mistaken.
She was just mistaken.
How are you?
Good day, Franck. Monsieur Larcher.
Te Quiero came to see me yesterday.
He called you "Maman".
How is she right now?
Not bad, and she paints a lot.
I'm fine, Daniel.
Very good.
Te Quiero on the other hand...
...he can't be well if he called me "Maman".
I want to...
I'd like to tell him everything.
About his birth, his parents...
...the adoption, all that.
And I... I wanted to take him to Villeneuve.
I want him to see the places of his childhood.
What day is it?
Tuesday.
It's 'Oeufs à la neige' for dessert tomorrow. I love them.
I thought...
Did you know it's the Bériot girl who runs the Villeneuve House of Culture?
Bériot has a daughter?
Yes, Françoise.
I called her.
She's ready to organize an exhibition of your paintings.
A private viewing.
You could get out of here, for the viewing.
Get out for the viewing...
We would kill two birds with one stone...
All three of us could go.
A Private Viewing in Villeneuve.
Why not?
It will remind me of my youth.
My youth!
What a youth.
The day's over?
It's Tuesday. My mother can't keep the baby after 6pm.
Are you doing OK, Amélie? Yes, Monsieur Schwartz.
I was very happy to find this place. Yes, OK.
Thank you for Hubert.
It's not easy for POWs to find a job, right now.
Pardon if I'm getting into thing that don't concern me, but...
...isn't your husband a little hard with you?
You know...
...when Hubert returned after 5 years in the Stalag...
...he found out we had a 2 year old son.
Five years is a long time.
He adopted the kid.
...but since then, it's been hell at home.
Does the 10F bonus help a bit? Yes it's a help.
But you don’t improve everything with money, you know, Monsieur Schwartz
You're still here! I'm going, I'm going.
Wait, it's too much if you're 5 minutes late for the kid...
...and your mother nags me for a week. Get a move on.
Monsieur Schwartz. Good night.
You know, Hubert, about what happened...
...during the occupation...
...you have to turn the page.
You have a charming wife...
...an adorable little boy...
...and a good job here?
Make the best of it!
I'm going back to the workshop, Monsieur Schwartz.
I hope eventually to get productivity up.
"You have to give a special mention to this dog that...
...puts to shame all his peers and even many of us."
You find that funny!
Well, Monsieur Sepp of Bavaria -that's the name of this magnificent artiste-...
Stop that, I'm watching! I can see you're watching.
No, but what do you make of this guy...
...he puts coffee cups on his dog's nose.
Look what he's doing, it's amazing. And me? Mmm...
I'm watching! I can see you're watching.
Me too. I can play the dog.
Look, look, I'm putting stuff on my nose...
Look, if I go on all fours...
Yeah yeah. Good dog, good dog.
Good dog, smart, smart.
Ah, ah, it's the time for nuisances.
Yeah!
Monsieur Raymond Schwartz? That's me.
You're under arrest for the murder of Louis Cabernis.
...that you committed in October 1941, at Villeneuve.
Come on, take him away.
Amelie!
Call my lawyer! What?
Lawyer, my lawyer. Call my lawyer.
You're in a good mood. The church does you some good.
You may have missed a vocation.
I wonder if I didn't prefer it when we no longer talked.
Aaah, you're exaggerating.
I wouldn't have stayed long without talking to you.
You, maybe.
Did you see my interview in 'Figaro'?
This is glory, no?
I've never seen someone so full of himself.
Especially since you returned from Algiers.
But the photo's not bad, eh? Here, look.
You never told me you'd killed a German soldier.
Oh yes, that's a detail.
I did a bit of puffery for the reporter.
But is it true or not? What?
Well, that you killed a German soldier.
Yes, yes. Oh, you know...
When was it?
In Lyon.
November 43.
With Lanzac.
Oh, a stupid identity check...
...we were caught.
Lanzac snatched the Luger from a soldier, the gun fell on the ground...
...I didn't have a choice, I took the gun and fired...
...twice, in the back.
And we left at full speed. It didn't have...
...much of the heroic.
You never told me.
I haven't told you much for 2 years, Lucienne.
You didn't want me to...
...it seems to me.
Ah, by the way, I've good news from the Academy...
That's it, they're finally burying the plane story...
...it means you'll be able to return to the classroom after the holidays.
Very good.
It doesn't seem to make you happy.
Yes, yes..
See you later, Jules.
See you later.
What time do we stop? Eleven o'clock.
You're staying? Obviously!
And Genevieve doesn't give you a hard time?
No. She loves Me.
You can love each other and still give a hard time.
Not Genevieve.
She knows what it's like to work.
You know, she's the only one running the farm.
Up at six, to bed at midnight.
Keep hold of that.
What's that?
Cut the machines, cut the machines!
Edouard, go get the car.
Shit!
Subtitles by Rod Clarke Whitby, Ontario, February 2018