Everything started here
when my plane took off.
No, it's not about a take-off
This is the beginning.
I had an appointment with Mr Jean-Charles Perrin.
It starts where it should ends.
Good morning, I have an appointment with Mr Jean-Charles Perrin
You'll find him in building F
6/F door 602
Good morning, I have an appointment with Mr Jean-Charles Perrin
Somebody for Mr Perrin
Good morning
Good morning, I have an appointment with Mr Jean-Charles Perrin
OK, please follow me
Ah Xavier
Good morning Mr Perrin
Call me Jean-Charles
You can't know how happy I am to see you
Come in
See, that's where I work
A view of Paris..the Sacré Coeur, the Eiffel tower
All of Paris.
I've known your father since...
We studied together at the ENA. At that time it was still located in Paris.
I remember it was in...
My father is somebody who can understand that
Meet him, you've nothing to loose, he's very nice I've known him for...pfff...
This is my father
It's just up your street.
You love the Double Malt
Do you know Donohugue? Scottish. A real pearl.
In fact, everything started here when he said :
The only thing I know is that with the new European directives
new jobs will be created in a year
I can fix you a job if you do a study
into something that concerns the Spanish economy.
I might be able to help you find a job.
They need people.
but you must speak Spanish and know the Spanish market.
Hablas español?
Well...un poquito
Do you know Spain?!
well...I know Ibiza...
Then I decided to move to Spain for a year.
When I was a kid, I was blond and I wanted to be a writer.
And then I changed... changes happen...
To put it simply, my mother is a hippy. A real one.
And the problem with real hippies is that they always tell the truth
You don't like bulghur, you don't like tofu.
I can't cook anymore for you.
If you'd prefer junk food filled with genetic manipulated shit..
pesticides, prions and so on, then go ahead. I won't stop you
Before I wasn't sure but
now thinking about it, I decided I had to go.
España
I had to gather information about european university exchanges.
It's called ERASMUS.
And it's a fucking mess...
Please wait!
You wonder who Erasmus is.
I looked on Internet because I didn't know either
and honestly I didn't get everything.
I think he was a kind of Dutch traveller around 1500
it took me 3 months to register for my post-graduate degree in Spain,
It's in the office next door.
Have you seen my colleague next door?
I've just been there.
Good morning it's for an ERASMUS form
Do you have your registration card?
I've just got it.
But, nothing is filled on this.
What do you want me to do with that?
But I've just got it now, they had lost my file, I have to fill another one.
Of course, you're really all the same.
Always filling the forms at the last moment when it needs a lot of papers...
I've done it but they've lost my file, it's not my fault if they lose the files.
I just wanted to know which papers do I still need...
for the file...
to be complete.
For a Erasmus file,
for a post-graduate,
it's easy,
you should know it's written on the card inside the file.
You need agreement of your research director here.
You need agreement and signature of your research director there.
You need the agreement of the university there.
You need the agreement of this university.
Your student health insurance card, you have to give it to me.
Are you SMEREP or MNEF?
MNEF
Ok then you have to go at the MNEF office, building D ground floor
to obtain the form E111.
Don't 'pfffff'.
If you don't have this document,
you won't be able to get your medical fees
and prescrition costs back when you're be there.
OK, fill all these.
And after of course, like other files,
a resume, a covering letter, name of your post-graduate diploma and that's it.
I don't know why the world's become such a mess.
I don't know if the world had to end up like this.
Everything is complicated, badly-made, untidy.
Before there were fields with cows and chickens.
Everything was more simple I think.
Before we had a direct contact with things.
In the world of Martine, we had animals.
We ate what we grew.
We made our own clothes, we built our own house.
On the farm, the life was simple for Martine.
Sometimes I wonder why we have left the world of Martine.
It's horrible, no?
Why is it horrible?
Look how sexist it is!
See the vision of women they give.
Bah no why?
You say that because she feeds the chickens
and milks the cows?
No, its not that, anyway it's your fantasy.
The little nice girl with the small skirt and the cheeks all red.
Bah no.
When I think that my parents called me Martine because of her.
I'm freakin out.
My Mum read that when she was young.
It's rather cute I think.
Martine.
It's not important.
It's because of Martine that you...
I'm sad that you're leaving.
I'm sad too.
Yes?
Shit.
Wait Martine.
OK then.
She's sad, isn't she?
Of course.
I'm sad too you know.
You're sure it's good to go?
Are you crazy Mum, what are you doing?
Isn't your father behind this?
Mum! No, it's not my father's idea...
I've decided to go, my plane's leaving in 5 minutes.
I don't want to talk about that now.
I'm sad too you know.
Everybody's sad.
It doesn't seem like.
Don't cry.
We'll see each other soon.
Don't cry Martine.
Don't worry everything will be fine.
Xavier, are you sure about what you're doing?
Shut up Mum!
Do you want something to drink?
Erasmus?
What are you studying?
Economy.
Wow serious, stock exchange and all that stuff.
Yeah sort of.
Do you know Barcelona?
No actually I've just arrived.
I can tell you, you're going to enjoy it.
- Really? - Really.
You'll see, excellent.
Bye.
This guy looke like the type of person I usually try to avoid.
And I don't know why, he absolutely wanted to talk to me.
You'll see, it's a crazy city.
People start to go to the restaurant at 10pm.
Before, there no one in the restaurants.
After, the party begins!
You have to know the Barcelonans love to party.
- Have you heard about the 'barres de copas'? - No.
I'm not telling you, you'll see.
You have to be well built for Erasmus.
You won't sleep a lot, you'll see.
And you... what are you doing?
I'm a doctor, I've got an important job at the Hopital del Mar.
I'm a neurologist.
And you?
We got married 2 weeks ago, she doesn't know yet what she's going to do.
First, she's going to take some courses to learn Spanish.
You don't speak Spanish at all?
And you, you speak Spanish?
Hablas español?
A little yes.
I'm here to do post-graduate diploma at Barcelona university.
When arriving in a city, we see streets in perspective.
Sequences of buildings with no meaning.
Everything is unknown, virgin.
Excuse me... The street...
'carrer des escudellers blancs'
Pardon?
I think it's at the end on the left, straight.
- There?
- Yes there
- OK thanks
Later we'll have lived in this city.
We'll have walked in its streets.
We'll have been to the end of the perspectives.
We'll have seen all the buildings.
have mixed with the people.
When we'll have lived in this city,
we'll have taken this street 10, 20, a 1000 times.
10, 20, 1000 times...
After a time, everything belongs to you because you've lived there.
It was to happen to me but I didn't know it yet.
Urquinaona
This strange word was added to the long list of old weird names
that we have somewhere in our brain.
Urquinaona, ensconced itself next to Mouffetard, Bondoufle, Ponteaux-Combault
Marolles-en-Hurepoix, Mandelieu-La Napoule and Knok le Zout.
It becomes normal and familiar.
After, long after, when we are back in Paris
the whole situation turned into an exciting adventure.
The worst days of a journey,
the most terrible experiences are those that we talk about most.
- The bell doesn't work
- What?
- It doesn't work
Who are you searching for?
- A girl whose name is...Sonia Miralpeix.
I am Xavier
Is it possible...the door.
One moment, I'll open it.
The only plan I had for lodging the first few days in Barcelona
was from a friend of my mother, whom, of course, I didn't know.
Some more coffee?
Your plane was late?
It's better.
This guy from Chile has a niece who lives in Barcelona.
and who told him I could stay while searching for an appartment.
But I could't stay long in this flat
because she lived at her grand-father's and that was complicated.
It was complicated for me to stay long.
It was already complicated before I came but, now I was in a typical bungling plan of my mother.
Never listen to her again, never follow her plans again.
Thanks Mum, never listen to her again...
Never follow her lousy plans.
Hi, Jean-Michel.
Good morning it's Xavier.
We met each other at the airport.
OK.
You see who I am.
I'm embarassed.
I'm terribly sorry to call you like this..
No, no, just some guys who...
As you told me that you could...
It's very nice.
And I don't remember who's dead but anyway now she's in Chile,
and she just forgot to tell me so I have no place to stay.
Listen, honestly, honestly no problem.
I told you.
We just arrived aswell, so we'll just have to make do.
Make yourself at home.
I know how it is, it was the same when I arrived here the first time.
We French people should help each other, right?
You can sleep on the sofa.
Anne-So is going to cook you something.
Yes
Are you hungry?
Yes
I don't have much to offer.
I can cook....rice...or pasta.
And to go with it...we don't even have butter but oil.
Of course, very good, pasta with olive oil.
Come on.
Sorry, it was hard not to wake you up.
No, no, no ok, no problem.
Would you like some coffee?
Why not.
At first, it seems like a complex architecture but in fact the functioning
of the brain is quite simple.
OK here is the cortex.
Like this with the 2 hemispheres.
And the memory area
takes place in the hippocampus
and in the internal part of the temporal lobes.
Of course I summarise...
My speciality is to study everything about the relations between this area of the brain
which is more or less related to the memory
and this area that manages language.
We have discovered some extraordinary diseases.
For example, somebody who is bilingual can have an amnesia which affects
only one of the 2 languages he knows.
So suddenly because of some trauma he knows only his mother tongue.
And remebers nothing of the second language he learnt.
Erased from the hard-drive.
Smart, isnt it?
I've seen your classified in the newspaper.
Yes for the flat.
I want to share.
'Compartir', tio.
Compartido.
It is a difficult task to find a flat in Barcelona.
Is it OK for you? 50 000 a month, it's OK?
More or less 1000 euros.
50 000 every month, is it OK or not?
Yes, it's good.
-Sure? 50 000 on the first of the month. -I'll see.
Because we thought about selling.
- The first of the month, otherwise... - OK.
I have to leave, it's urgent.
Can I ask you a favor Xav?
Of course, no problem
Can I ask you to go out with Anne-So?
She's afraid of going out alone.
As I know you speak a little bit of Spanish...
Yes, yes, no problem
I saw you crying in the plane.
You looked so sad.
It made me sad too.
Yes, you think that you're glad to leave
that you're strong.
But once in the air, well I no longer knew.
It's not easy to leave like that,
we leave so much behind.
We don't know exactly where we're going
Yeah
It's a strange mix.
Same for me, I'm so happy with Jean-Michel
I really wanted to follow him, do something great with him.
And at the same time, I'm scared.
Change your life.
Learn a new language.
I feel like I'm at the bottom of a huge mountain
I needed to write to Martine regularly.
I started to write things I would never have told her
if she had been in front of me.
I had always been shy but being far away from her made me talk more.
And at the end, I was closer to her.
I received your letter.
It's nice to hear from you.
But sometimes I find it stupid
When you praise Barcelona like that.
I am happy and jealous at the same time.
It isn't easy to be located far from each other.
I count the days that I want to be close to you.
I love you.
Sometimes to get a shared flat
you had to go through a real exam.
Moreover, I speak French.
I lived one year in Paris.
Jesus, Tobias. Why do you ask that?
Come on.
It's not always like this,you see... In fact, he is quite nice.
I loved the place instantly.
I would have give anything to be accepted here.
The mess of the place looked like the muddle that had always lived inside me.
It's as if their slanging matches were the same as those that had taken place in my head since childhood.
The courses had started, I still didn't have a flat.
Goodbye Anne-Sophie
I don't understand these Catalonian classes.
And you, do you understand?
It can't go on like this. Someone has to ask him
Who will ask him to talk in Catalan?
Who will ask him?
Do you guys study French?
Are you from the French course?
Bleh, what a fuss.
Who?
You.
OK. Good morning everyone.
I'm going to talk about the future of world capitalism.
- Please sir. - Yes.
Could you teach the course in Spanish?
I'm afraid that is not possible.
The majority of students are Catalan.
They don't have to change their language.
We are 15 ERASMUS students who don't speak Catalan.
And you speak Spanish.
I understand you perfectly miss
But you have to understand me as well.
We are in Catalonia and the Catalan is the official language.
For Spanish, go to Madrid or South America.
Let's continue.
I'm going to talk about the future of world capitalism.
What can we say about world capitalism?
What I liked with this girl is that she wasn't suited to Economics.
I wondered what she was doing here.
Just as I was asking myself what I was doing.
In the beginning, there was only one currency : gold.
I speak Catalan because I am Catalan and because I live in Catalonia.
I find it contradictory to defend Catalan while we are building Europe
I don't agree.
First because...we're talking about identities.
There's not just one valid identity,
but several compatible identities.
It's a matter of respect.
Me, for example, I have at least 2 identities.
Gambian, which is where I come from,
and the Catalan identity.
It's not contradictory to combine both.
You, you're French, not Martian.
You are French
and you keep your French identity.
Do you understand me? "Asterix"
I give you my 'pan tumaca'
"Pan", bread. Bread-tomate.
The song.
I give you my...my Dali.
Spain is not only 'Ole'
Not only flamenco. It's a lot of things
including Catalan.
It must be vey destabilizing to be always between two languages
Isn't it the same problem in Belgium with Flemish and Walloon?
Walloon, no it's not the same
For example, I am Walloon, I don't speak Flemish
When I am in Flanders, I say I'm French
Then they will talk French to me.
Yes? Really?
Fine, fine. Very well.
Brilliant!
Then if they understand I'm Walloon...
Fine. No problem.
That's brilliant, I've found a flat
Cool
Yes, so...OK
I have shitty room in the house of the mother of the woman that employs me.
What are you doing?
Au pair girl - babysitter
Brilliant!
Yeah brilliant
It's brilliant for you
Yes, it's brilliant for me...
I'm sad that you're leaving.
I want to write books.
What is it?
The Spanish Inn L'Auberge Espagnole.
This house was literally a Spanish inn.
Wait
"Staying in Spanish Inns is like reading a book
You will only find what you bring with yourself" -Maurois
It's a little bit complicated to explain how it works.
But if I summarize, it's more or less like that:
Take a telephone, for instance,
or, no, the fridge.
Alessandro, your feet. - It's only water.
Please, Tobias.
Anyone wants some tea? - No, thanks.
No? - Shall we?
Yes?
Byee.
Of course not.
But you will visit me soon.
sure.
Ofcourse.
No.
C'mon.
I can't talk freely.
Because I'm not alone.
We went out yesterday already, I'm broken.
Not at all but...but it's not one person
there are 5 people behind me.
Listen we're not going to argue on the phone.
It's ridiculous.
Come and see me soon.
I want to see you.
Of course.
I love you too.
Kisses.
Hello?
Just a moment.
Xavier is not here, he's coming back tonight.
Yes, but at what time?
Tell him that he should call his mother.
His Mum. I will tell him.
Promise?
Oh, right. To the fac.
Fuck? - Yes, after the fac
Can he call Mum. - Wendy, relax.
Isn't it beautiful?
Anne-Sophie!
Are you not feeling well?
How was it this afternoon?
Very good.
Where did you two meet?
In Dinard.
In a pizzeria.
We used to go there every day.
There was a typic italian chef.
"Today I propose you melon, very good ham, bonnissimo!"
He said that all the time?
Everyday during 2 weeks.
Everyday...
Yeah I was working in the hopital nearby and Anne-Sophie...
Go on, tell him.
No, go on, you tell.
Come on, tell him, Anne-So!
Why were you going to this restaurant everyday?
No.
Come one, don't be shy!
Go on, tell him!
No, I feel ashamed.
Don't make such a fuss what bothers you?
It's just intimate, I don't want to tell.
Come on!
Wait it's not important.
She doesn't have to...if she doesn't want.
Fuck Anne-So tell him now!
He's right it's not important!
Get out of your shell baby!
The first time I saw Jean-Michel
at the first sight, I told myself I was in love.
Like that, instantly.
Totally in love.
I saw him and I told myself
"I will marry that man"
'Love at first' sight, a real one.
You're impossible...
Shit! Again!
Yes?
Can I call you back? At 8? OK.
They really piss me off!
Don't get angry Wendy.
- Hello. - Hello Mr Cucurull
-I'm coming to show the flat. -Why?
I'm not talking to you.
Bicycles right in the middle...
We'll have to repaint.
Come in.
My God, the cupboard of my grand-mother!
The living room.
And the Virgin?
There was a Virgin here. Where is it?
It's...elsewhere.
What a shambles!
Quick, give it to me.
Hurry up!
Just a moment.
You have to leave before the 1st of March.
Sorry. I'll take you back to the door.
It was a pleasure.
Can you give a reason?
I don't want anymore students here.
- Why? - Look at the state of the flat!
I didn't do the dishes because I thought
Lars and Soledad still had to eat.
I went to watch the TV
and when I was back you'd done everything.
I was about to do it but you're fussy.
What? I don't want to live in a pigsty.
I am not fussy!
We are young, OK, but responsible.
OK you seem serious.
Starting from next month, I'll talk to you.
And the rent is now 180,000 pesetas.
180,000 pesetas?
We have to take somebody else.
I know a very nice person from my Economics class.
- Who is it? - A girl...
very serious.
Anyway, I speak French. I spent one year in Paris last year.
I'll call you.
You don't like her?
If we can find better...
Unbelievable, you have a lot of the same stuff I have.
You've got that CD too.
You too?
What are you doing tomorrow?
My friend Sabine is coming from Belgium.
Cool.
Hi.
Sabine.
Xavier.
Hi.
I really miss you.
I can sit on the beach and still miss you.
Tomorrow it's Sunday, we've decided to go to Sitges.
Thats another beach close to here.
I'm at the beach in Barcelona right now.
Sitges is another beach.
I don't know, it must be different, another beach.
With the French couple, you know I told you.
The ones I've met in the plane and put me up.
Well, not really sociable, but they are very nice.
Is France this way?
No, I would rather say this way.
We wouldn't have seen each other much.
Bah no.
Bye.
Hi everyone!
You want...
And you slept in the same bed?
Bah yes.
In this one.
Yeah.
Why are you laughing?
She's my girlfriend.
Did you 'get busy'?
Xavier, yes, we 'got busy', she's my girlfriend.
My wife.
I'm a lesbian.
Right.
When is your girlfriend coming?
Mine? She's coming soon.
She has some stuff to finish and...
She's having a lot of problems.
Good luck then.
Women are crazy, trust me.
I hope it's good. I changed my recipe.
What is it?
'grattin dauphinois'.
- It's like a tortilla... - I love tortilla!
It's not a tortilla.
There's no eggs.
I'm fed up with Tortilla without eggs.
You are not funny, Alessandro. - Look out!
Where are you? - Here, darling.
Xavier, where are you?
We have to check the... The meter.
The cutouts.
Wendy, we're here.
We're coming.
Here we are.
God.
Ola.
How are you?
This way.
Come.
Shall we?
Calle Porta Ferissa.
Well then...
Join them if you want.
No, no, no way.
Isn't that English chit a bit fussy?
Not at all, she's very cool.
Wait, she's very uptight.
Does she have a boy friend?
Yes, she has. And she's not uptight at all.
Anyway, they managed to give you the shittest room.
It's not shitty!
And anyway, we won't be staying long. We move in 2 months.
You've decided to annoy me, is that it?
No, but you described it as a dream palace.
And honestly... your room is really shabby.
Look at the wallpaper.
Sorry, but I can't stay here like that.
It's OK.
We just have to get used to each other.
It's OK, I understand.
And with the others nearby.
It is really stupid.
Are you upset?
No, I told you I understand.
It's OK.
But I know we don't have much time together.
The 'Everything should be great' stuff, it's worrying me.
It's dumb...
Please stop. I'm telling you it's OK.
I had the feeling that we spend more time saying goodbye
than seeing each other.
Love sucks.
I find it hard.
Yeah.
I still love her though.
But here...
Same for me.
Sabine left in a bad mood.
But I have to admit... - What?
I made a mistake by telling him that somebody flirted with me.
Really? Who?
A guy?
No!
My flamenco teacher.
It was during her course.
She was demonstrating a dance.
She was...
so beautiful.
I had shivers.
She was staring at me.
Then she came near me.
More and more.
Softer.
At the end, she was really hard with me. She was slapping my butt.
Move your hips!
Make a curve.
She was squeezing me against her.
Then she turned me.
I could do nothing, I was...
paralysed.
She was totally dominating me.
And then?
It was delightful.
She kissed me.
Fuck! And you said that to...
to Sabine
Not like that.
Ah OK.
No.
You work too much.
Do you want something to drink?
Nothing thanks.
Come on, it's on me.
You spend the day here, with half a pint...
Let me buy you a drink.
What?
Where are you from?
France.
ERASMUS?
Yes.
- When did you arrive? - 2 months ago.
2 months.
Shit, yes, 2 months.
You spend too much time at the university.
You should come more often.
It's here that you'll learn what's important in Barcelona.
Leave him alone. He doesn't want to hear your stupidities.
I'm teaching him Spanish.
What's your name?
Very good, Xavier. Here's an example...
Do you know what is a "Frenchman"?
A "Frenchman"?
Come here more often,
I'll teach you the Spanish 'de puta madre' in 2 months.
'Puta madre'.
He'll never come back.
After few months, thanks to Juan, I started to speak a Spanish 'de puta madre'.
So, I was always visiting Juan and Neus's bar.
My friend Xavier! How are you doing?
- What's going on? - We're having a little party.
- Hi Xavier. - How are you, Neus?
Xavier didn't tell me you were so beautiful.
He hid you well, bastard!
What did he say?
He said...
that you are welcome in his café.
- Exactly! - Asshole!
Let's dance.
Hi, my love!
But you said you'll come back!
But wait...
I don't have enough money, I told you that I don't have enough money.
I didn't have the money either, but I have come nevertheless.
You really don't care.
I do care.
Yes, every time you promise something, you can't keep your word.
I don't trust you anymore.
This is really lousy for my birthday.
Where are you? At the beach again?
No, I am in Barcelona, on the street.
The music...I am in front of a café, there's music everywhere, stop it!
It stinks no?
It's a pity that Barcelona is such a dirty city.
No more than Paris I think.
Yes of course it is.
There are a lot of places here that look like the Third World.
I know a lot of places in Paris that look like the Third World too.
But I'm not surprised that you don't remember them.
You think I am uptight, right?
No.
Yes, I can imagine what you're thinking.
You think : "Poor girl, she's totaly uptight"
No, it's not true.
You think I am old-fashionned.
A little yes.
You are not really 'Juanita banana'
What is that?
Let's say you're not really rock n' roll, but you know it.
Yes I know.
Does it bother you?
No.
It bothers me.
I am not dumb you know, Xavier.
You, you're so at ease.
Everywhere.
All the time.
You pick up Spanish in a few months.
You're on first-name terms with everyone.
But I can't do that.
I didn't have your education.
I am not as casual.
I know that here, you have to be cool.
But I'm not cool,
'rock n' roll' as you say.
Listen, it's not that important.
But it's not a reason to say that Barcelona and its inhabitants are dirty.
That's not a lack of 'rock n' roll', it's just racism.
- It's racism? - Yes.
I'm sorry.
I didn't want to offend you.
It's not about offending me!
You're not in France anymore, you've been here 6 months.
You should look at what's around you.
I look around...You are so horrid to me...
The latent value of a company
is always dependent on the reduction of competition.
Hi, Anne-Sophie.
It's Xavier.
Yes.
Today?
Of course.
OK.
See you.
Sorry.
Isn't it beautiful?
Yes.
Are you afraid?
A little.
It's stupid but I always had a little vertigo.
Too bad that Jean-Michel cannot see that.
Yeah.
He works so much.
Actually Anne-Sophie, doesn't it bother you that he works so much?
And that you're alone so often?
While you're here to be with him.
Yes.
But I scold him quite often for that.
Suzanna is gone?
She went to buy some cigarettes.
Well...
No, no, no, no.
Go on. What?
It's really stupid you know...
I've always wondered.
I often wonder if girls use dildos on each other.
How typical. You guys understand nothing about women.
Neither sex gives much thought for the feelings of the other.
While I'm sure that if a guy would like to be interested in women
he'd be the king of the world.
What do you mean?
I don't know, you don't get that women have a very different psychology.
Furthermore, you don't know the women's body, what gives her pleasure.
Why do you say that?
You think that only your dick can give pleasure while
caresses are bloody important.
Oh yes that I know!
You know but you probably do it wrong.
Look.
Come.
What?
When you caress the ass of a girl,
you caress here,
here, on the butt.
Wait.
You spread her thighs.
- OK, but I feel ashamed you know. - No, I show you.
You hold her very tight, like that.
You prevent her from moving.
She must feel that you hold her tight.
Despite all the bullshit women will say about that,
most of them want this firmness, to be trapped.
Wait, stop.
What are you doing? Stop!
You want me to continue my explanation?
OK go on.
You hold her tight.
After you caress her hair.
The back of the neck.
The breast.
Here, she'll be like you, she'll panic.
You calm her down.
You take your time.
I'll show you how to give pleasure.
Suzanna, come!
I want to show something to Xavier.
Practical work, I'll show you what every man should learn.
Hi.
I'm happy to see you.
Me too.
It's funny to meet here.
You remember, we had our first walk here.
Ah yes.
No, what are you doing?
I can't stand it anymore, I want you.
- No Xavier, what's the point of it?. - There's no point.
No... No, what is this supposed to mean?
Nothing at all.
But I am married.
No, I am married.
I cannot.
My God, I promise, it was so good.
It was like in the movies.
First she was like :
'No, no, no, no'
Then after : 'Yes, yes, oh yes'. Unbelievable.
I didn't know it could work like that!
You see, I told you.
They are all bitches.
Yeah you're right.
Unbelievable really.
Next time, I take her hair like that
- And I say : 'Come on, suck bitch!' - Stop it!
Don't speak like that!
No.
After a while, the life in the flat was more organized.
The houseworks were mainly handled by Wendy.
And from time to time, we gave a hand.
The fridge got more organized too.
Alessendro is gone.
No problem.
You know what? I love your monologues.
We're going out tonight.
Can I talk to you?
In Spanish?
As you like.
What do you want talk about?
Your brother.
I think you're making me crazy.
We shouldn't do that, here at your place.
No, wait, I'd better go.
- Sure? - Yes.
Don't take it bad.
Hello.
Oh Xavier!
I'm glad to see you.
- It's been a while. - Yes right.
- In fact, I was about to leave. - No, don't leave.
Come on, stay to take a drink.
I'll put down my stuff and come back.
Please stay, stay.
So Xavier, I've heard that you're taking my wife to strange bars in Barcelona.
Yeah I debauch her...a little.
Hi sweetie.
Hello.
How are you?
How long?
For how long?
Who is he?
What's his name?
What do you want me to say?
Yeah, right, bye.
Xavier, my friend...
Unbelievable!
To Barcelona!
The girls from Paris!
But you don't love me either.
Of course I love you!
If I left, it would have nothing to do with the fact that I don't love you.
It's a chance to live how I want, it's just too stupid that we're not there together.
It's not a reason to break up. I need you Martine.
But you've never loved me, because you're not able to love anyone.
- No, it's not true. - Your only interest is you, you, you.
Your studies, your career, your job at the fucking ministry.
Not at all. It's not true.
- Yes it is. - It's not true.
Your parents will be so delighted about the job at the ministry
Your father, the friend of your father.
Your mother.
You love your mother at least.
But no.
Don't worry, there are no traffic-jams.
We'll be at the airport in 15 minutes.
I'm glad to have seen you.
Even if it was brief.
So you still don't want to tell me why you came back for just one day?
We can talk, can't we?
Aren't you happy to see me?
Shut up! Damn it Mum!
Shut up!
I was only later that I understood what happened that day.
Sometimes life can be worse than a bad sitcom.
That means, 'Is that baby yours?'
And that means, 'Yes and yours too.'
And after it's like,
'Why didn't you tell me before?'
'I didn't know how to contact you and I thought about keeping him without telling you'
'I thought I could take care of it but it's too much after 6 months.'
'It's so hard for me.'
'I'm alone and this child doesn't know his father.'
A baby, how nice!
We share the flat at 7.
You have no idea... I'm sick and tired of your plans.
You are a father. You have a baby.
I don't know...
Shout, cry, break something,
but do something, react!
I don't know why my life has always been such a mess.
It has always been complicated, badly-made, untidy
in a jumble.
I feel that life is easier for the others, more coherent, more logical.
Before my life was aimless.
But now, it turned out to be totally chaotic!
Everything was going wrong.
On my way to Mare Magnum, I saw Wendy with her American.
and I don't know how I bumped into Erasmus.
- Erasmus? - Yes.
Sorry, I don't understand.
It's not important.
I was so happy to meet you.
It's not important.
I was really excited to start with.
I told you, it doesn't matter.
Yes, I know but...
Really, Xavier... It doesn't matter.
I'm happy to see you.
Erasmus?
Yes.
Sorry.
I think I'm not well.
I don't sleep anymore, I'm depressed.
I don't know if it's normal.
Maybe it's not that serious.
Maybe your limbic system is bothering you.
What is that?
The primitive part of the brain.
Where the most primitive emotions take place.
Contrary to the cortex which manages more complex reactions.
- Does it give visions? - You have visions?
What kind?
I see Erasmus.
We're going to do some tests.
Close your eyes and count up to 10.
I'm searching for the hippocampus.
The hippocampus is in the internal part of the temporal lob.
But...
I don't understand French anymore.
Don't worry, we're going to sort it all out.
I've forgotten my mother tongue.
Clean that!
What are you doing here honey?
Nothing, I'm having a walk.
Xavier, you drive me crazy.
Jean-Michel!
OK.
Inside you'll find all the exam results.
Just what I thought. There is nothing wrong with you. It's just some stress.
You're simply overworked.
You haven't seen things...
Now you know, we can see everything with the scanner.
Nothing.
On the other hand, I want you to stop seeing Anne-Sophie.
She told me everything.
I don't want you to see her again.
I don't want to see you either.
But...
Shut up.
I stopped seeing Anne-sophie.
On the other hand, Wendy continued to see her American.
Do you remember who Alistair is?
Wendy's boyfriend.
Sure.
Fuck!
You saw him when he came to the flat.
Why?
He's just arrived in Barcelona.
He's here? In Barcelona?
I can't be...fuck!
I have to arrive before him.
Fuck!
Yes, Yes!
Wendy... Wendy...
Zero, zero...
Wendy.
I'm taking the phone. Be careful.
Hi Alessandro. I'm listening.
Fuck it...OK...
- We're coming. - What?
Hello ?
Yes ?
Shit!
Any success, Lars?
- Sorry. - What do we do?
He's going to suspect something.
Just pretend that your key doesn't work either.
The year was almost up.
I started to list all the things I wanted to do in Barcelona
and I didn't do at the end.
- Have you been there? - Yeah.
I must have missed alot of things.
Too bad you're not a girl.
The world should be different.
I was to leave the next day.
We had decided to go to a bar nearby to say goodbye.
But I wasn't ready.
My luggage wasn't packed.
It's bloody hot here.
- Hello. What are you doing here? - I'm a friend of Soledad.
I lived with her.
I mean, in the same flat.
I know.
We're leaving, I must wake up early tomorrow.
Thank you, it was very nice.
I'm glad that the both of you came.
Really.
OK bye.
Goodbye Anne-Sophie.
Goodbye.
Sorry.
- Practice your Spanish. - Yes, see you soon.
- Have a nice trip. - Bye Lars
Come on, go away!
I'm going to France next year.
- You speak French? - Yes.
You didn't tell me!
I must go now.
We'll meet again.
Have a nice trip!
Bye, see you soon.
And keep talking in Catalan!
Cabron! come on, man.
Piss off now.
I'm crazy about foie grass.
Last call for passengers
on Air France flight 1349
to Paris Charles de Gaulle.
Boarding immediately at gate 32.
It was strange to buy meat!
It seems to me I hadn't bought any for years.
You're going to love it.
I bought it at the butchers you like.
I'll do it.
Thanks.
You're happy to be back?
Yes.
You don't say a word?
I don't know, it was good, that's all.
Tell me.
I stayed there for one year, Mum.
Exactly, I haven't seen you for a year and you've nothing to say.
Come on, stop it Mum.
I'm happy to see you again.
It doesn't seem like it.
Why do you say that?
I said that because...
Because I knew it would hurt you.
I know you loved me.
But sometimes, we need to hit where it's going to hurt.
I knew it was our last kiss.
I thought about the first one.
I remember it was on the Rue d'Orchampt.
I don't know why we'd chosen the street of Paris with the smallest pavement.
A lot happened between those two kisses.
All these streets I've been down with her.
This complicated path,
that led here, today,
without her.
I found myself in the streets of Paris where no Parisian goes.
I was a stranger among strangers.
Why I was here, I didn't know.
Generally, I've never known why I was anywhere.
I must be typical.
Erasmus?
Why?
I passed the entry examination.
It's the first day of work.
I had the same stomach ache I used to feel in high school.
First day of class, exams.
This fucking stomach ache.
I thought it was finished.
Here it is.
The 2038.
Here's your office.
I was told you've arrived.
Welcome aboard.
- Good morning Bernard. - Good morning sir.
- Tell him everything. - Don't worry.
The file we talked about.
I don't have much time, but I'll see you soon.
A little coffee?
You'll see, the building is a bit austere
but there's a good atmosphere.
Yes, it's true.
We like to have a laugh, don't we, Mister Bernard?
- You'll see. - Let's go.
How old are you?
25.
You'll retire young then.
They used to keep the heat up high.
So I put it on 2.
2 is fine, it's really enough.
Don't make any mistakes with the files.
You have the yellow ones, blue ones, and red ones.
Same for the computer file.
They are quite finicky about that at the European Commission.
Ah yes, they don't joke about it.
It must be organised.
Every thing has its place, and there's a place for every thing.
Isn't it so, Mister Bernard?!
I had choosen a future without openings.
I'm going to do what I've always wanted to do.
I'm going to write.
Everything seems simple and clear.
I am not that.
Nor that.
But I'm all that.
I am him, him, him...
"I'm going to write books"
And I don't want to deceive him.
I am her, her...
I am French, Spanish, English, Danish.
I am not one but several.
I am like Europe, I am all of that!
I am a real mess!
Now, I can start telling you everything.
Everything started here
when my plane took off.
No, it's not about a take-off.
Or maybe it is, it is about taking off.
Everything started here.