A French village S07E08
On Strike
Hello Madame. Hello.
I would like 10 F please.
Ah! No, no, no. You can't withdraw money here, Monsieur.
But... but, I have my card.
Yes, but that's your Social Security card...
...that's for the doctor, the hospitals, the pharmacy...
Next person!
But, I need 10 F. Monsieur...
For shopping, Madame.
I don't understand, I don't understand.
I just needed 10F Madame.
I was here at opening time, queuing since this morning, Madame.
Here.
Do you work for Social Security?
No.
I helped create it.
Thank you.
Hold on, I don't understand this. I have number 642...
.. when do I go? But the machine is blocked Madame.
Monsieur!
Why do you press the button, if it doesn't work?
It's for statistics.
What can I do for you?
My name's Antoine Martin...
...I've come about my wife...
...Genevieve...
...she has a chronic illness...
...requiring 100% care.
What sort of chronic illness?
Alzheimer's. So?
She hasn’t received her benefit payments for 3 months.
I wrote to you... I phoned...
But nothing!
Do you have her Health Card?
She misplaced it.
Oh, well that's annoying, Monsieur.
I'm telling you she has Alzheimer's.
So?
So, she loses everything!
Yes, but if she loses everything, she's under guardianship, right?
Her guardian is our oldest daughter...
... who is abroad for the moment.
Without her card, I can't do anything.
I have her records...
...her number...
But to check and act on her benefits I need her card.
You could make an effort.
No, I can't change the Social Security...
...computer system, Monsieur ..
Listen, find her card...
...or get a new one.
I told you her guardian is abroad.
Take mine.
No, thank you, Monsieur.
Listen, with Alzheimer's...
...to keep her at home, the costs are very heavy...
...I can't advance them any more money...
...I'll be in overdraft.
Yes, but without her card, I can't do anything, Monsieur.
Next person! Wait!
We fought to create Social Security...
Do you know how many people died for that?
We don't care about your story, Monsieur.
I'm in a hurry, I have a dialysis appointment.
Social Security is the spirit of solidarity...
...the protection of all! You should be proud to work here.
But who says that I'm not, Monsieur.
Madame? Wait!
You didn't even look at her file.
It's useless without the Health Card.
You could....
Listen, you've asked me twice...
...for pay slips I've a already sent you.
Are you alright, Monsieur?
Yes. Do you hear what I'm telling you?
Monsieur! Gaëlle, call Emergency!
It's OK, Monsieur, the EMS will soon be here.
Quick, you have to undo his collar.
You have to breathe deeply.
Social Security Center in Villeneuve.
Do you hear me, Monsieur?
...we've an illness, you must come quickly.
Thank you.
Genevieve.
Peter will lose his left hand.
The surgeon hopes to save the arm...
...but it will surely be paralyzed.
What do you plan to do?
We'll try to get two other Boches.
Thanks to Madame de Cantillon's father.
I don't mean that, Hubert.
What are you going to do for Pierre?
Raymond will pay his wife compensation...
...in addition to the employer insurance.
How much ? We don't know.
It depends on how the new Social Security...
...takes care of accidents at work.
And it's still in discussion with the government, so...
And what do you plan to do...
...to improve safety conditions here?
That's nothing to do with what happened to Pierre.
It has everything to do with it!
The guys are overworked and we're the same.
What happened to Pierre could happen to any of us.
Not if you keep the guard in place.
It was removed because of Hubert.
I never asked you to take the guard away.
No, you came to bust our balls with productivity.
How do we increase it?
The danger comes from management pressure.
...not us.
Listen...
...it only just happened. We don't have all the solutions yet.
But we'll find them.
And we'll propose things to you.
In the meantime, work must resume.
I think we're going to have a little team meeting.
Well I warn you, it means a payroll deduction.
Then it will be a general meeting.
No no. Wait. This is not how we'll sort it.
Have your meeting.
No payroll deduction.
And we'll take stock tomorrow. OK ?
OK. Come on. Don't say anything.
Daniel.
He reads my thoughts.
Is the soup good, darling?
Yes.
It must be a change from Aunt Marthe's cuisine, huh?
Did you hear what I just said?
You know they're still eating rutabagas...
...almost every day at Marthe's?
On Sunday, there's cake at Tata Marthe's.
You know that Sarah told me that?
What about Sarah?
Yes.
This kid reads my thoughts.
She told me 5 or 6 times at least.
Stop it!
Stop it. Not now!
So is the Sunday cake at Aunt Marthe's good?
No, it's not good.
Well, there's good cake here.
After the soup and salad. But you'll have to eat the salad.
I'm going to my bedroom.
It's nothing, darling.
Doesn't Mama Hortense like the soup?
This is it, everything started here.
My car was there...
...the military here...
...their truck, there...
...your...
...your mother was...
...in the back in my car.
She had lost a lot of blood and...
...she needed a transfusion.
The soldiers promised to take her.
Did they take her?
Oh, I don't think so, no.
When I saw her at the church...
...a few days later, she was dead.
I don't think she had ever been transfused.
Probably not.
Why didn't you take her yourself?
But because Hortense was waiting for me...
...in Villeneuve which was bombed by the Germans.
And believe me, I was in a hurry to get home.
And...
...and me... me, I...
Where was I?
You...
You were in the back of the car.
Wrapped in blankets.
A blue one...
...with stripes. And a red one.
We kept them.
I took you to the soldiers, here...
...so that they'd take you with your mother...
...but the sergeant refused.
He said that if the woman died...
...he'd not know what to do with the baby.
Hortense couldn't have children...
I don't know what I thought...
I didn't think...
I took you home.
It's funny...
That day too, the sky was rumbling.
It was the bombing.
Do you think she died on that bridge?
No, oh no, I don't think so.
When I brought her to the military, she was conscious.
Was she beautiful?
Yes.
I think she was beautiful.
Was she...
...sweet?
Well you know, I didn't know much about her...
Yes.
I think she was sweet.
Do you know what her name was?
Carlotta.
And it was her that said to me 'Te quiero'. Was that it?
When I got you from her...
Te quiero.
I thought it was the name she gave you.
I would have liked to have known her.
Father!
I have no more Chauvot. Would you have some at the Presbytery?
Are you sure there's no more? Yes, look!
But be careful, Chauvot is very toxic.
Wipe your hands.
I didn't know.
I read in the newspaper yesterday...
...a washerwoman from Besançon...
...had poisoned her husband with it. Did you realize?
That's horrible.
Every day she poured a little Chauvot in the soup...
...that way it has no taste...
To kill her husband that way...
...after the years they'd lived together, it's...
Yes!
The mysteries of the human soul.
I'll get you some.
Oh, oh....strike. Strike,
That's the only way to make things happen.
There you go.
Me, I can't take a payroll deduction.
Well, one day, but no more, eh?
Me neither. I have six mouths to feed.
Even one day, I can't.
In any case, even if you go on strike you must...
...first make a conciliation request to management.
News to me!
Yeah, it's the law of December 36.
When we go on justified strike, we can forget the laws!
Hey, hey, it's dosh we want.
Not laws!
I don't agree at all.
Please!
Please! We can't hear each other.
We have the right to strike but we also have duties.
Establish our demands, submit them to the direction...
.. and if they refuse, then yes, we can strike.
Yes. Pierre's crippled for life because...
...Mère Chassagne is thick with the Yanks.
We're exploited like beasts of burden...
It's been said over and over again, and the cheats do nothing!
I agree, I agree So we go on strike. That's all.
I agree.
If we want to win, we need the law on our side.
The law is a balance of power, Amelie.
In a conflict, you win, because you're strong.
Do you think we fucked Fritz out of here...
Stop it! ...by respecting the laws?
It's not the same, we're not at war anymore.
I put forward an immediate unlimited strike....
...to the vote of the general assembly.
Good. Who is for?
We're going on strike.
Frankly, it looks very bad.
A candidate for the Mairie whose factory's on strike.
It's not our fault. No. It's not your fault.
But a boss who runs things well doesn't get a strike.
It's you who sold me Raymond as the ideal candidate...
...so we've to deliver it now.
If you scupper the Villeneuve election for me...
... your father's ears will sing in Paris.
Who are the leaders, Antoine?
Sorry, I'm no longer in the police.
Yes, but you're our employee. Not your informer.
The leaders are Anselme, Suzanne Richard...
...and my wife.
Good. You, you talk to your wife...
...and we'll sack the other two.
Wait, wait, Suzanne Richard's a Résistante...
The first in Villeneuve.
November 11, 1940.
Well, then, you won't sack her.
We can't spend our lives giving good or bad points...
...for what people did during the Occupation.
Our life and the next, dear lady.
Legally you can't fire him.
Legally, he had to give us a strike notice, as far as I know.
What do they want?
Cash.
Consideration.
Better working conditions.
New hires. They believe in Father Christmas, eh?
Yeah, and why not you?
Even more since the war.
Well, you're wrong because to win an election...
...you have to believe in Father Christmas!
... and above all, make others believe in it.
Good. Will you give them something?
Work must resume before Sunday.
And everyone must know that Raymond Schwartz is a good boss...
...humane and generous.
Should I escort you? No, no,no, let me go. I know the way.
I'm counting on you tomorrow.
Why don't we ask Kervern and Loriot to send in the CRS ?
The CRS, no! You can't be thinking of the CRS , Jeanine!
But why not?
Because I'm not a Vichy bourgeois that's why.
The Vichy bourgeois almost all became the Résistance bourgeois, Raymond.
You the first.
What matters is not to let...
...the Bolsheviks make the law in Villeneuve
A strike?
There's no question of going on strike right now.
It's more than a question.
A strike was voted by a large majority.
We're now contacting lumberjacks, quarrymen...
Suzanne, don't you have time to read Humanité, or what?
I read it when it was clandestine.
The line defined by Thorez is clear...
...the duty of the working class...
...it is to produce, produce and produce!
The strikers, the absentees, the slackers...
...are saboteurs or former Collabos.
Well, that's irrelevant.
But it's the line, dammit!
The Party is in the forefront of the reconstruction of France.
Marcel Paul is Minister of Industrial Production...
...it's impossible to strike right now.
Edmond, the sawmill workers voted.
Well, they must vote again. But I don't see how.
The noise is infernal. The wages too low.
In addition, we've just had a bloody work accident.
Suzanne, if the strike breaks out, the Party will have to disavow it...
... you will have to disavow it.
Really!
For your election, it's excellent, right?
I don't know!
But the Villeneuve municipal election...
...comes far behind the national Party line.
Thorez and Duclos have disavowed all strikes since the Libération.
End of story.
Good, and Gustave and Léonore...
...they're OK? Yes.
Yes. They're at the Fédération now, helping with the elections.
In the town centre?
Yes, what for?
For nothing. I'm interested.
She's my daughter, anyway.
Don't change the subject. We must block this strike.
Impossible.
If I tell the employees that the Party is against it...
...they'll turn away from the Party. And me.
Are you sure of yourself? Absolutely.
They've had enough.
They want to fight.
Good.
When we can't stop a movement, we follow it and take control.
Officially, the Party will condemn the strike...
...unofficially it may allow us to torpedo Schwartz for good.
DEATH PENALTY DEMANDED. For the Chauvot Poisoner.
You're here!
What a surprise!
I'm helping the priest for the Christmas festival. Ah, that's noble.
Have you been long doing it? Ah yes.
You know, I've been on this statue for days.
Ah, admirable.
But, um...
...do you take short rests sometimes?
No?
No, because I could offer you a mulled wine with cinnamon.
Quickly, of course, but...
...the mulled wine is very good...
...when one needs to make physical effort.
No, because... in fact, I. ..
...I need a favour...
...for my little nephew.
His father wants him to join the Villeneuve school second year...
...but he couldn't pass his certificate due to the recent events.
It shouldn't be a problem.
You just have to see to it with my husband.
Oh yes. No, no, I... I'll not disturb him for that.
No, I took advantage of our chance meeting.
I was coming to light a candle...
...in memory of two of my comrades...
...killed in action.
It's funny...
...I didn't imagine you a believer.
Well, I'm not very much.
But they were.
And they are up there now.
Because of this cold, I have to warm them up a bit.
And besides, your husband knew them.
Oh?. Yes, we were together when they were killed.
In Lyon?
Exactly.
But how do you know?
Jules told me.
That was the time he killed a German.
Oh no, there you must be confused.
He didn't kill a German that day.
No, we just ran...
...as fast as we could, leaving behind us...
...Robert and Mathieu.
But that was in Lyon in November 43 ?
Yes, yes, the 27th.
These are dates that we don't forget.
Did you escape another arrest...
...with my husband?
Great gods, no.
But, why all these questions?
Under the Occupation, I'd have been suspicious of you.
It's just that I'm interested in his Résistance activity.
It's normal. Of course.
And your husband is a hero.
You should know it. Yes.
So for the...
...mulled wine?
Another time.
I have a lot of work before Christmas.
Yes of course.
Another time.
Perhaps.
Dr. Larcher, please.
If it's for a consultation, he's not here.
When will he return?
I don't know. This evening, at best.
This evening!
I can't wait until this evening.
If it's for an emergency, there's Dr. Moret or the hospital.
It's not medical.
Are you his wife?
Yes.
It's a woman who has sent me.
Sarah, Sarah Meyer.
Does that remind you of something?
Of course, I knew her very well, how is she?
She died...in my arms.
Please, come in for five minutes.
Excuse me, I didn't expect so much.
Um.... do you want something to eat or drink?
I don't have time.
I'm in a hurry, I have a train to Marseille soon.
I was deported to Birkenau in October 44, it's...
...it's there that I met Sarah.
You were friends?
She slept above me in the barracks.
She told me many times about your husband...
He was .... a good boss, if I understood correctly.
She was his mistress.
Let me put you at ease, I knew. There's no problem.
When did she die?
Three days after the camp liberation, at the end of January.
It's as if she'd waited to be free, to die.
She had typhus.
Many deportees died at the end.
That's terrible.
I watched over her... the last 2 days.
A little before going into a coma she......
...asked me to promise her to go see...
...Dr. Larcher in Villeneuve, France, if...
.. I ever went there.
...to...
...tell him of her last moments...
...tell him that she'd thought a lot about him.
I think she really loved him.
Yes. Yes I think so.
I'm not sure that he loved her a lot.
That, I don't know.
Well, I kept my promise.
You will tell your husband, won't you?
Yes, you can count on me.
You really don't want to eat something before leaving?
I'm not hungry.
How's it going? Badly.
The workers refuse to negotiate before the second round...
...and Mére Chassagne talks about sending in the CRS.
If they block the sawmill, it won't be good, right?
Thank you.
Do you put in molasses now?
It makes it better, right?
It's good to put some in.
There's an American colonel who came to see me this afternoon.
Oh yes?
The three...
...the three soldiers who attacked me...
...were finally tried.
One of them has been sentenced to death.
To death?
He'll be hanged tomorrow.
He's black.
The one who did nothing.
The Colonel says that in the US military they practice racial segregation.
And it's easier to...
... punish a black culprit...
...than a white one.
When I think they claim to be champions of democracy, and freedom.
And...
...and finally, he asked me to withdraw my civil complaint.
He offered me money.
If he thinks he's going to buy you... I accepted.
You accepted money!
30,000 F.
And you... you’re sure of yourself?
Well, I thought that with 30 000F...
... if you're tired of the sawmill, we'd have something to look forward to.
Come, come here.
Fortunately, I have you.
Is it true you fought for Social Security?
Yes.
Well, more or less.
You were a union activist? No.
Résistant. OK.
Quickly.
We'll take you to the hospital, Monsieur.
But what am I going to do at the hospital!
Well, we'll do some tests...
...and you'll be able to rest.
How can they leave children outside like that?
Something must be done. Give me my jacket.
You mustn't become agitated, Monsieur.
No more talking, OK?
You know, I'm proud to work for Social Security.
Excuse me. He mustn't talk at all now.
Are you OK?
Don't worry.
I’m going to be fine.
I have my Health Card.
Ah, well I didn't think you would come back so soon!
I'd have waited for you at the festival.
It doesn't matter.
You seem in a good mood.
I've just come from Madame Berthe's.
Can you imagine there's been a black American there since yesterday.
Black and soft as velvet.
It doesn't interest me! I know. That's why I talk about it.
She dances divinely.
Have you ever seen a woman dancing naked?
You want some cheese?
No.
Give me wine instead.
Some wine?
Ah, what's going on? Did you do something?
I should go to church more often, me.
The confessional must be convenient enough for...
You're downright obnoxious today.
Aaah, I drank a little, Lucienne, that's all.
You know, Lucienne...
...just a word from you...
...I could...
So, that's it.
Wine.
Well, yes.
Is it good? It depends.
I thought back to what you told me yesterday.
Ah, did I tell you something yesterday?
We no longer tell each other anything!
When you killed a German.
Ah yes.
Well?
It was in Lyon. Yes.
In November 43? Yes.
With Lanzac?
Yes, yes, yes.
This German...
...do you remember his face?
Listen, I shot him in the back, it was...
...a German back, a gray-green back, eh?
Why are you asking me all these questions?
And you were alone that day with Lanzac?
Ah, you've spoken with Lanzac.
He told me he was going to light a candle.
I'd forgotten.
I suppose he told you about the Lyon episode.
I was hot that day, huh!
Is it true you killed a German, Jules?
In Lyon? Oh, I embroidered a bit.
Or elsewhere?
I don't know. I thought you...
...you may have wanted to look handsome before the reporter.
In front of me.
Look handsome!
But I don't look handsome, Lucienne.
Do I ?
Only inner beauty interests me.
But that's the one I'm talking about.
Yes, Lucienne, I killed a German.
Once.
When I think back...
I enjoyed it a lot.
Good night, Lucienne.
Anything special?
No, no.
Well... I'll tell you afterward.
After what?
Are you hungry? No. I really want to sleep.
Did it go well?
Tequiero's return to Marthe?
He asked me why Maman Hortense was mad at him...
...and I told Marthe that you were ill.
I think that Tequiero won't come here next time.
I'll go to Marthe's house.
I'm going to the bathroom, and to bed. Good night.
Daniel! What?
I've something to tell you.
Listen... Something difficult.
I'm tired, we'll talk tomorrow.
It's about Sarah.
I'm sure it can wait until tomorrow.
Now! I'm sorry Daniel. She's dead!
Did you read that in Tequiero's mind?
A woman...
A woman came today, but...
A woman!
Listen, Hortense... Her name is Rachel.
That's what she told me, her name is Rachel.
Rachel who?
I don’t know, I don’t know anymore.
And this woman, she left something, a letter, a message?
No, no, no, no, she was taking the train.
Yes, that's right, she was taking the train to Marseille.
They were deported together.
But of course!
Where?
I don't know what she told me anymore. She told me a word like...
...a word like Barque, Borqu, I don't know anymore.
Barkeneau?
Aren't you tired of telling me nonsense?
But I swear it's true.
The neighbors are talking about you and Heinrich...
...the dyer is damaging your dresses on purpose...
5 year old Tequiero wants to kill you with his little scissors...
Tequiero who reads your thoughts...
...while you send anonymous letters to everyone, including me!
And now, a woman comes from the end of the world...
to tell you, Hortense, that Sarah...
...the only woman who really loved me is dead!
But you've not had enough!
Me. I've had enough!
You want to make me look crazy, huh?
Obviously you're crazy, Hortense.
Completely crazy!
Until today, I thought I could support you...
... that I could bear it, that I could support you.
But to come and torture me by announcing Sarah's death.
By inventing a Rachel, this is too much!
I've had enough, Hortense, of your selfishness ..
...of your infantilism...
.. of your delusions!
But, I promise you it's true.
Shut up! Shut your gob...
...as they say among the poor!
Never try again to pronounce the word "true" before me...
...when you don't even know what it means.
I'm going to leave. Well that's it, go, go!
Go, go to Marseille, go to Barkenau, where you want.
Go find Heinrich, go to hell...
Leave Sarah alone.
Leave me in peace!
It's right, it's true.
It's true.
Madame Larcher? Françoise Bériot.
I'm glad you could come.
Good day.
Your husband told me that you were a little under the weather.
How... if he said so..
Ah, deep down, Daniel is a comic who doesn't even know himself.
We're finishing the hanging.
Have you brought another picture?
Yes.
This is my latest. Ah, wonderful.
These self-portraits over several decades are fascinating.
Yes, but this is not a self-portrait.
Oh? No.
Now you intrigue me.
May I?
Yes?
Ah yes.
It's very...
...very... very...
... very different from the others.
So where can we hang it?
Here, perhaps.
No.
Here?
There?
Did you see Madame this morning? Oh no.
I didn't hear any noise.
Neither in her room... nor in the bathroom.
Solange...
...I'm sorry, but I'll not be able to keep you on.
Even 6 hours a week. I'll not be able to pay you.
Oh, Docteur! Your luck will turn.
I can wait a little.
And now, Mathieu gets his pension.
You're kind.
Last year, you almost saved my life, Docteur.
It's not forgotten, you know.
Commissaire Loriot.
I don't have good news, Docteur.
Your wife... Yes.
The night patrol stopped her on the station platform.
She was talking to people and...
I'm sorry to tell you that, but she was completely naked
According to witnesses, she didn't have money to buy a ticket.
So she undressed in front of everyone...
...shouting to all and sundry that...
that people had to see the naked truth.
The Procureur said he'll not prosecute, but well...
It can't happen again, Monsieur Larcher, do you understand?
Don't worry, I'll take care of her.
There were children at the station.
Hortense.
Hortense, are you coming? No.
But, you can't stay here!
Yes.
I want to be well, I feel at home here.
You don't have clothes.
I didn't have time to put them on.
But look, you can't stay here!
I don't want to come with you.
Listen...
Sorry for yesterday.
My words ran away with my thoughts.
Do you think I'm crazy, yes or no?
I think that...
...last year's events disturbed you.
You have to see someone.
Someone?
A doctor. No no!
Not doctors. I'm afraid of doctors.
Yes, but not a doctor like me...
... a real one, as you would say.
In any case, what will it be for?
He'll give you medicine that will make you feel better.
Tomorrow? I guarantee it.
There are specialists in mood disorders.
They get results.
I blame myself for not understanding...
...that your condition was so serious.
When I said it was true about Sarah...
I didn't lie, it was true.
Listen, don't talk about that now.
Let's go home.
Oh, you're arriving early, you're alone.
Today, it's me who makes the coffee. ...and the soup.
For strikers?
Are you mad with us? Not at all.
The strike is a right.
That's not an answer.
I've always liked difficulties. I love it.
Is that why you're running for the Mairie?
Among other things.
Don't take it badly, Monsieur Schwartz...
...but the Mairie's not the job for you.
Ah! Why's that so?
I worked at the Préfecture, in poor Servier's time.
I know that milieu it's not for you.
You have a need for fantasy for freedom.
Ah, Edmond Lherbier's sent you to demoralize me, eh?
Wait, I'll help you.
Are you hurt? It's nothing. I fell.
Here.
Which way? Over there.
Let's go.
That's it!
Unbelievable.
In a week, you've done away with 150 years of dirt.
It's nothing.
You are too modest.
Too modest... to be honest.
Please make yourself comfortable.
Madame Ciguier is here for her Thursday confession. Duty calls me.
Father, I...
Yes?
I have a cast iron pot at home...
...that I've dreamed of restoring for months...
...it wouldn't bother you?
You're joking.
It's a derisory reward...
...for such a huge job.
The thing is, you can't do milk and meat at the same time.
Mamé said if we did both, we'd have no life.
And what do you prefer?
Milk.
To raise animals and then kill them, I don't know...
Make milk.
I can't do it alone.
Anyone there?
Well, come in!
Hello. Are you well?
I was passing by and I thought "Here, I'll go see Antoine."
You weren't at the factory.
How are you?
But with the strike, Raymond gave me the day off.
Do you want some soup? Ah, I wouldn't refuse.
So? Where are you?
Well, still on strike.
And what are you asking?
We're talking off the cuff, huh? Nothing official.
If you wanted 'official', you wouldn't have come here.
It makes me happy to see the farm.
I was fine, here.
Mmm, it's good, huh.
Not at all acidic.
It's still the Mamé recipe.
So, we want an increase of 20%...
...of the basic rate...
...a drop in work rate of 10%...
...hiring of four guys...
...and two girls. Anselme...
... if you ask too much, you'll get nothing.
Apart from the CRS.
Is that a threat? No.
It's just the reality of the situation.
I take it for a threat.
So, you tell Mére Chassagne...
...that we've seized her stock of sleepers.
And we'll block things until there's an agreement.
Subtitles by Rod Clarke Whitby, Ont. May 2018