A French Village THE BOARDING
Can you cut me some sausage.
Be careful, all the same, Jules.
Delicatessen isn't ideal for you.
That's wrong Lucienne. It's my ideal.
You bought it for me, when she told you I was coming, right?
Yes, at Nagau's.
Ha! Ha, Nagau.
His andouillette, eh?
Robert Nagau grew rich during the Occupation.
He was the king of the black market.
Let's forget these old stories and enjoy his sausage.
You didn't tell me anything about your talk at the House of Culture.
Because there's nothing to say.
I made my contribution to the duty of memory.
The duty of memory. What an idiotic idea.
I find it very good. Today, people forget everything.
Fortunately... Françoise.
Life isn't possible without forgetting.
A shrink would say "No life is possible without memory."
Oh, you need both.
The memory to remember that Nagau makes the best sausage in the region...
...and forgetting about how he got rich to be able to do it.
In any case, shared memories with the family...
...with friends, that's important.
Memory filled with oblivion. Selective memory.
We put together what suits us.
It's perfect.
You didn't tell me anything about your talk at the House of Culture.
I already asked the question, is that it?
Two minutes ago.
I'm struck with amnesia for having mocked memory.
About amnesia, do you remember my roommate, the...
...the Bulgarian deportee, Leonid.
Yes of course. It doesn't mean anything to me.
Oh yes, of course.
You come so rarely.
He died last week...
...suddenly, during the night.
A good death.
Well, I met his son when they came to take his body...
He was a local official of the National Front, can you believe?
The son of a deportee.
The grandson of Edmond Lherbier...
...belongs to the National Front, you know.
Ah, poor Edmond, he must be turning in his grave.
To be Communist mayor for 30 years and to breed a Fascist!
Please..
What is this drug?
I forget...
Thank you.
In any case, for me, memories give me reassurance.
Well, they make me anxious.
You didn't tell me anything about your talk at the House of Culture.
THE BOARDING
I wanted to tell you that she didn't suffer...
...and since a policeman witnessed her fall...
...an autopsy isn't necessary.
Unless you want one.
How can you know she didn't suffer?
Well... that's to say....
...a cervical fracture, she died instantly...
...inevitably she didn't suffer.
Well... that's what I thought...
...that's to say... I'm not a doctor like you, of course.
Has it been here long?
Ah, well...
...it's a temporary mortuary here...
...the main one is under re-construction.
They're building an underground car park in the basement, Place de la Victoire.
Along rue Marcel Larcher. You see?
But...
...wait a minute...
Larcher...
You're one of Marcel Larcher's family? Yes.
Well, in short, they're making...
...an underground car park at Place de la Victoire, and...
...in making the slab, they had...
...a problem with the foundations of the Grille Morel and...
...those of the mortuary.
They're afraid of a collapse.
And...
...so now the is mortuary here.
But since there are not enough drawers, when there are...
...clients...
...they bring them from there.
The main mortuary, I mean.
So why didn't you simply take me...
...to the main mortuary?
Ah, but we can't.
We can't. It's a question of Safety. They're afraid of a collapse.
Finally! You've taken your time.
With the tarpaulins, it's hard work.
It's hell to move with the small wheels.
Do we stay, or come back.... or what?
Yes, yes... I don't know .. In 10 minutes.
Ten minutes, Monsieur Larcher?
Will that be OK?
Yes.
Ha, I'm really sorry it's because... it's....
Everything is temporary here. The supply is 15 amps...
...it doesn't support the circuit voltage. The place is too big.
I'm going. I'll come back. I'm going to get a lamp.
Monsieur Larcher?
This is all I could find. I'm really sorry.
Sorry.
I would like to stay alone with her, if that's possible.
Well yes, of course.
In any case, I'll have to go and find the breaker.
I'll leave you the lamp. Thank you.
Hortense.
Why did you do this?
I always wanted to know what it was like.
To die? No.
To jump out of the window.
So?
So, you die.
Unless you jump from the ground floor, I suppose.
It's been a long time since I touched you.
It's not a party every day.
It's curious...
...I've always been sure that I'd go first.
At your age...
...you should be used to deceiving yourself, right?
We never get used to it, I think.
Was it painful?
All the time.
Since my earliest childhood.
But no-one ever believed me.
Apart from Heinrich.
But him...
...he liked that, hurting people.
It will relieve you that I'm not here anymore.
I don't know.
You were my pain...
It's going to be strange to live without pain.
I'm going to be bored.
You only have to think of me.
Sometimes.
When you want to suffer a little.
I promise.
Do you know what I thought the other day?
It's an accident. The CRS commander hadn't given the order to shoot.
Ah yes! Go explain that to the voters. Polling stations have just opened.
You've nothing to say?
It's better not, no.
I didn't shoot. We mustn't exaggerate.
It's down to you, dear Madame.
How is it the CRS didn't know the strike was over?
Didn't you call de Kervern?
Suzanne Richard had to do it.
And you trusted her!
Goodbye Raymond.
What! You're not staying for the proclamation of results?
The results? We've had them since last night, dear Madame.
Life is short. Other cases call me elsewhere.
If that's so, it's the Communists who deliberately didn't call de Kervern.
There, you're really raving. Goodbye.
I called Emerich this morning to cancel the railway deal.
You're going to lose... All that remains to me, yes.
I'll be happily bankrupt.
But I'm going to put together a little business.
A little business of my own.
You're unfair. Yes.
And you're right. It balances out.
On this Election Day, I don't want to argue...
...about the drama that took place at the Schwartz sawmill.
I simply bow to a Comrade whose tragic death...
...affects all workers...
...all the Résistants...
...all humans.
You knew Anselme Mercier personally...
...I believe.
Yes. We were both in the Résistance...
...me in the PCF, him elsewhere...
...we met many times...
...but I don't want to talk about me today.
The tragedy at the Schwartz sawmill...
...demands only one thing...
...meditation and discretion. Thank you.
I didn't think to see you again.
That was Edmond Lherbier, Communist candidate for mayor...
I was lucky.
Check that all our accessories are in place.
I already checked. Well, double check.
What happened last night?
I don't know.
I learned about things like you, in a roundabout way.
But really, you...
...did you tell de Kervern? Well, no.
I had no news from you. No news!
But I had a Comrade on the phone at 8 o'clock...
I told him the strike was over, that we'd reached agreement.
He said he was going to tell you right away.
A Comrade.
Do you have his name?
Edmond, you didn't do that!
That what?
Max?
You know something?
Look at me!
Suzanne, Max is tired. He was in a camp...
Look at me, Max.
You should go to rest.
Max!
I'm sorry.
Suzanne... Don't ever speak to me again!
Never!
Goodbye, Max.
I suppose you'll do the same.
Where do you want me to go?
The house is sick, but it's my house.
Who said that?
A Soviet poet...
...dead in the camps.
Does it hurt you continuously or intermittently?
Continuously.
But with pressure it's really painful for the index and middle finger.
I can barely hold my weapon.
We're not at war anymore. But it's not good for a Gendarme officer.
At first sight, it's osteoarthritis.
You'll need an x-ray in Besançon. I'll prepare a requisition.
Otherwise, I wondered...
...Madame Morange, who helped us so much in '42, do you have any news?
She died after returning from Drancy.
Ah.
She was a really good person.
Yes.
It wasn't easy, eh, that affair of the Jews at the school.
I think about it often.
Me too.
I went through the Purification process.
I helped the Résistance a little from late '43...
...by chance, in fact.
But finally, well....
...I got a medal.
Well me, you see, I got National Indignity.
Sometimes it doesn't matter.
Here.
Don't delay with osteoarthritis. It must be dealt with as soon as possible.
How much do I owe you?
Oh nothing, let it go. Thank you.
Ah, by the way...
...the Polish woman looking for you 2 or 3 days ago, did you finally see her?
Who was that? The Birkenau deportee.
She came to the Gendarmerie. She was looking for you.
She was called Rachel, Rachel whats-her-name.
She had to take the evening train to Marseille...
...and she absolutely wanted to meet you before leaving.
She had a message from another deportee, I believe.
I gave her your address.
Didn't she come in the end?
Well, thank you Docteur.
Hello everyone.
Right.
I wanted to tell you...
The sawmill will close for at least some time.
Well, I will go back into business...
...and I'm committed, here, in front of you, to...
...to hire all who agree, who would be available...
...with the conditions that were voted on with your delegates yesterday.
There you are.
Didn't Amélie come? No.
Hubert neither, we haven't seen him.
Does anyone know the whereabouts of Anselme's wife?
I think they were separated.
Right. It would be good to find them, so as...
...to tell his daughters their father is dead.
Maybe Suzanne knows them?
OK. I'll see.
Hubert! Monsieur Schwartz!
I came to see if....
...there was anything to tidy up? If you needed me, eh?
Amélie isn't with you? No.
She's babysitting. He's a little sick.
On Sundays, the little one's at your mother-in-law's house.
Where is Amélie?
She's babysitting, I tell you.
Now you'll tell me where she is, you piece of shit!
Amélie!
Bastard!
Careful.
I ache all over.
I think I'm going to die here.
Yes, but you can't stay here. I have to take you away.
Where's Hubert? I smashed his face in at the sawmill...
...he isn't likely to come here.
You didn't kill him? No, but I'd haveliked to.
I thought it wiser to come and see you.
Give me your arm.
Careful.
Are you OK? Yes.
It's OK.
You'll be fine. Just a little more effort.
Don't worry... ...it'll be fine.
But, really, we're not getting married?
It's even better than a wedding.
...it's a rebirth.
It's my release from prison.
Look at this...
There's still something bothering me. What's bothering you?
Why Mère Chassagne, excuse me, Jeanine...
Why did Jeanine free you?
I don't know. Maybe to be nice once in her life.
It may be her. That would surprise me.
Away with that.
Yeah!
Hubert.
What do you want?
A little conversation with you.
Yes but here, you're disturbing me.
So, if you absolutely want to, come to the office tomorrow.
Tomorrow! That's a good idea, that.
Ha! Tomorrow, I'll be on the boat for Cayenne.
When you come back from your travels, then. Huh?
I think I prefer a discussion now.
OK. But here you're pissing me off.
You've played, you've lost. See you later.
I've not yet lost everything.
You can't get your wife back this way.
This isn't a guesthouse here.
But since I've told you that I made a mistake.
Really, my dear colleague, excuse me, but...
...your wife is deeply paranoid.
Without a doubt. Perhaps.
But I brought her to you because of a story she told me...
...which I took for a delirium, but which was true!
Monsieur Larcher, a madman may be right by accident.
It doesn't change the fact that he's mad.
For me it changes something. But you are not alone.
Your wife wandered naked, in a railway station.
She savagely attacked hospital staff.
She is dangerous to herself and to others.
I want to take her back. I oppose that.
I don't understand. She's not in prison, all the same!
She is interned under duress for a month.
At which time, we'll make an assessment.
But really, I'm her husband.
I brought her here, she came of her own free will!
It doesn't change the fact that she's a danger to society.
It would be irresponsible to let her out now.
I'm warning you. I'll appeal.
That's your right.
Submit a request to the Regional Health Commission.
The response time is 6 to 9 months.
You are?
Docteur Gaspard. Directorate of Health Inspection.
I just spoke to Docteur Vignal.
I'm going to make a tour around.
Hortense. Yes.
You're her husband?
Daniel, are you him?
She said you were coming, but I didn't believe her.
Hortense, wake up.
They've been filling her with sedatives since yesterday.
They're monsters.
Wake up.
They gave her an injection just now.
Hortense!
Ah, I can't stand these visions anymore.
Hortense! It's me... ...I'm here.
You were right about Sarah.
It's me who was wrong.
Now you believe me. Huh?
You're not crazy, Hortense.
I'm crazy for bringing you here.
Come. I'll take you.
Do you believe me. We'll go together.
Elsewhere.
We'll invent a new life together.
Who are you, Monsieur?
Daniel Larcher.
I'm the husband of this woman.
And I'm a doctor, too.
Outraged by what I see here. It's unworthy!
The straps are barbaric...
...patients are at risk of pressure ulcers...
...many of them are severely malnourished...
Go to the red brick pavilion in the garden.
Alert Docteur Vignal.
It's called 'Purgatory'.
Security!
Don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me, Daniel.
Call security!
Calm down, calm down.
Maman, some coffee?
You're going to kill me.
Not today.
I'm going to rest for an hour instead.
My talk tired me.
Are you going back there afterwards?
There, yes.
I'll take some coffee.
Salami, coffee. You're pushing your luck.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Behave yourselves, you two.
Can you leave us for a while, please.
It's not good? Yes, yes.
How long has it been that you haven't come to see me?
When we love, we don't count.
Three months, no?
Four.
Do you hold it against me?
How can I?
You're my only successful love story.
You too. Ha, ha!
During the last 4 months, some things have happened...
Where.
In my stomach.
This is the last time we'll see each other, Françoise.
For the last 5 days, I've been having...
...injections of some brew...
...whose name I thankfully forget.
My heart will suddenly fail.
I'm told it won't hurt.
I shall miss getting to a hundred years old...
...by a whisker.
Does Maman know? No, oh no.
Oh, no, no. I don't want that she should.
I don't want her tears as the last image of her.
Maybe, I'm afraid there wouldn't be any.
You're hurting again? No, no.
Oh no. Not since the injection.
They take away the pain.
But they'll take life away soon.
This explains my intrusion today.
I wasn't going to tell you this on the phone.
Let me come with you to the home. Ha, no, no.
Yes, yes. I don't want you to be alone.
Ha, no, no. It's me who decides, and I want to be alone.
No. Leave me. Let me go.
And don't say anything to your mother.
That's all I ask. If you want to help, do it for me.
Don't tell her anything, I've done that all my life.
Do it for a few more days.
Two or three.
I went to the cemetery with Maman.
That's premature!
She stopped at a grave for a long time.
She told me it was a friend.
I felt that this friendship was...
...something special.
Do you know who it is?
Yes, I know who it is.
Are you going to tell me?
Yes, I'm going to tell you.
Hello Darling.
You look good to me.
Go sit down!
I don't know what you have in mind Hubert, but don't blame her.
Shut up.
My gun's accurate, I know how to use it.
If you play the wise guy, it's her that pays. Get it?
Do you get it?
You don't scare me, Hubert. Ah?
On your knees, Schwartz.
Hands on your head.
Get a move on.
I don't want to scare you, Amélie...
...I want to hurt you. As you did me.
Really, I think I'll never be able to do that.
But, I can at least give you an idea.
Leave us alone.
What you've just done is a violation of all rules of ethics.
I should report you to the Order of Doctors.
You should, yes...
...and take the opportunity to tell them you lie about the causes of patient's deaths.
I don't know what you mean.
In the red brick building...
...there are three deaths supposedly due to an apoplectic fit.
But you and I know very well what caused this fit.
You're delirious They died of malnutrition.
The one I examined had oedema in her ankle.
Characteristic.
How can you starve your sick in this way?
I won't allow you!
We've been fighting for months, years, to save the most.
Save some!
Since when must we fight to prevent sick people starving in a public hospital?
Since July 1940, Monsieur Larcher.
What sort of fable is this? Do you think this the only home like that?
At the Charbonnières Central Asylum...
...the mortality rate is 20%.
At Villefranche, 30%.
At Chateauneuf, it's one patient in two.
And it's the same in old people's homes. What do you think?
But, really, how is this possible?
Because in a country that was dying of hunger...
...we've literally let the old and the crazy die.
It's that simple.
Our food allocations have dropped every month.
And from February '41...
...we went down far below the vital minimum.
But really, the Occupation's been over more than a year!
But not the shortages.
And it's worse just now.
And I can tell you that, Vichy or Gaulliste...
...they don't care about the hunger of the old and insane.
Right.
What matters to me is to be able to take my wife away.
I can't let out a madwoman held under duress.
Do you prefer me to talk about your starving hundreds to the press?
Why don't you leave with me?
I told you that outside it's even worse.
It's not for me. But really, what isn't for you?
People.
They say they want to talk.
But in fact they just want to eat.
Let's go, Hortense.
Wait a second, don't rush me. I need to say goodbye to a friend.
You can come and see her again.
You can write to her, anyway.
I wish you could get out of here.
Get out of here for both of us.
And you'll send me caramels, huh!
Caramels.
Hortense. Listen to your husband!
He's your Prince Charming, Hortense.
He's your Prince... ...Charming.
Come on, come on.
Are you OK?
Yes. I'm fine. Don't worry.
It's curious that there was hardly anyone at the cemetery.
Apart from us, I mean.
You don't see Suzanne any more? Suzanne?
I saw her on television, once...
...when there was the debate on the Veil abortion law.
Otherwise... no.
And the paintings,what are you going to do with them?
I don't know.
I'm going to talk with the Bériot girl.
Maybe she can... I don't know.
You know... can we meet again?
I mean, from time to time. If you wish.
Yes, yes.
No, I mean, as we hadn't seen each other for years...
...and then we see each other all of a sudden...
Even if it's only for a moment.
We could meet again.
Well, you see... Listen... Absolutely!
We're not going to make an appointment now, are we?
Anyway I don't have a notebook.
Yes, well I'm not the type to make an appointment.
A surprise landing.....D Day.
A landing! Whenever you want.
Anyway, I'm always here. OK.
Good Papa, I'll be going. Go on.
Nathalie's tired, she's in court tomorrow morning very early...
...and with Jérôme's chickenpox...
Are you sure that's OK?
Yes... Listen...
I am not a diviner but...
...I think so, yes, I'm fine.
Anyway, you're coming to dinner on Friday.
Yes, yes.
Well, maybe you can take Gustave to the railway station?
Of course.
No. I don't want to burden you. Otherwise, I'll walk.
No, not at all. To the Villefranche railway station.
Well, that would be perfect, yes.
Good... Good.
Well, kiss Nathalie and Jérôme, eh?
She was sorry to leave the cemetery like that, but you know...
...she's tired and has to plead very early...
It doesn't matter. It's very good that she came.
Goodbye.
Well us, then...
Do we shake hands or kiss?
I don't know...
Go on.
Hey, Gustave.
I was happy to see you.
See you again, then?
Yes. I told you, yes.
And I hope that Eléonore's health improves.
Yes, yes. But it's nothing, that...
It's nothing.
Good. I don't want to hurry you, but... Good.
Come on, let's go, then.
Bye uncle. Bye.
Gus!
Amélie!
Go get me a whiskey.
For 5 years, in the Stalag...
...every day, every night...
...I dreamed of seeing my country again...
...my house...
...my wife...
And then one day, I came back...
...my country ignores me...
...scorns me.
My house is no longer my house...
...and my wife is no longer my wife.
And finally, this nice boss...
...humane, understanding, who gives me work.
He also takes my wife.
And I'm supposed to let it all go.
Stop here, Lucienne.
I like this place.
It smells good, here, I don't know why.
Surely it's because of the bay tree over there.
I like how you give meaning to things.
You don't find that...
...Francoise looked particularly sad today?
Oh no.
Not particularly.
Oh...
...she's never been very gay.
Let's say goodbye here, Lucienne. I'm feeling a little chilled.
But, usually you like me to walk you to your room.
Yes, but today it's different.
Let me rest a little on my laurels.
Next week...
I'll bring you potted herbs.
Laurel, thyme...
...lavender...
...savory.
I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier.
Next week?
Yes.
Tuesday.
Like every week.
Ah, yes, yes, yes, yes, of course.
Since you've been here...
...I've never missed my Tuesday, Bériot.
That's true.
You're faithful to me.
Don't be so oblique.
Ah, I do what I can.
As I've always done.
See you next week, Lucienne.
See you next week, Jules.
Why are you kissing me?
You never do that.
I don't know.
For the 60th anniversary of the parade.
But I wasn't there!
But I was there.
When men live with love
There'll be no more misery
And the sunny days will start
But we'll be dead, my brother
When men live with love...
There'll be peace on earth
The soldiers will be troubadours
But we'll be dead, my brother
In the great chain of life
Where we had to go
Where we had to be
We'll have had the bad part
When men live with love...
There'll be no more misery
M. and Mme. Raymond Schwartz send you condolences for your sad blow.
Call me if you'd like to have a chat between old codgers. Raymond
But when men live with love
There'll be no more misery
Maybe they'll think someday
Of us, who'll be dead, my brother.
We who would have, in the bad days
In hate and then in war
Sought peace, sought love
That they'll know, then, my brother,
In the great chain of life
Where we had to go
Where we had to be
What do you want us to do?
Especially if she stays there.
It's my wife, Carlotta.
She had a beautiful face.
I would have liked to know her...
But we'll be dead, my brother.
Go since it amuses you.
No!
Stop!
There'll be no more misery
I wish it would last forever.
There's nothing that lasts forever.
To us who'll be dead, my brother.
Why did you get out, and not him? It's too complicated to explain to you.
Yes, well, it's disgusting!
There's something not right with you.
You never say what you think.
Sought peace, sought love
As a result, you wouldn't let anyone go.
And all those at the school are dead.
140 men, women and children!
I didn't know!
Death is for us all. One day or another.
Whatever happens, I'll never forget that you're my brother, you know.
You have to help me to die, Marcel.
Would you do it, if I asked you?
We'll never be forgiven for what we're doing here, Servier.
We're saving the lives of ten people.
And the sunny days will start
But we'll be dead, my brother
I'm not bothering you?
No.
Do you mind if I nibble a piece? I'm starving.
No.
I was passing by...
...I said to myself: "I'm going to see Daniel"
That's kind.
Between brothers, it's normal.
You've not always thought that way.
Let's forget the past, as Khrushchev said to Tito.
If you wish.
I'd really like that.
And then... uh...
...I'd like to thank you...
...well...
...to pardon me... You're apologizing?
Yes...
...for the soldiers...
Which soldiers?
When I grabbed Papa's soldiers...
...it was you who took the whipping in my place.
You forgot?
No.
We never talked about it. That's true.
Well, here I am, I wanted to tell you...
...it was really something. Really.
I never forgot.
Good.
But that's not all. I have things to do. They're waiting for me.
Can I come with you?
Ha, well yes.
If you want.
Are you ready? Yes.
Did you send the caramels?
Two packages.
Hey...
...do you think we'll be happy in Paris?
What I do know is that we'll not be happy in Villeneuve.
And, what will we do about seeing Tequiero?
Do you want to see him? Yes.
Well, we'll manage.
We'll bring him up there from time to time.
Hey... have the clothes already gone?
Yes. Yesterday, by train.
Ah darn! Because I wanted to change my dress.
This one is very good.
Ha, I don't know. I don't want people looking at me.
Come on, come on.
Subtitles by Rod Clarke Whitby, Ontario, June 2018 Adieu et merci.