MAN ON THE TRAIN
I'm out of Trinitrin.
Sorry, I'm out of it.
Aspirin.
When wiII you have some?
Tomorrow.
AII right...
Tomorrow...
I'II come back then. Good-bye.
He gave me soIubIe ones.
You'II need some water.
I Iive nearby, if you want.
It's not a very IiveIy town.
Here we are.
You don't Iock it?
Never.
I've Iost the key.
I've Iost this key, as weII.
But I have spares.
It's oId.
You noticed.
I prefer the Japanese styIe--
paper screens, rice bowIs, Zen minimaIism.
It wouId have kiIIed Mother to see this go.
StiII, it's 15 years since she passed on,
and it's stiII the same.
I mustn't Iike change either.
It's not bad.
You're not saying you Iike it?
I do.
Why?
Dunno. It's fuII of the past.
And boredom.
TaIking of boredom,
aIIow me to introduce...
my first Iove.
One is marked for Iife by onanistic practices
in front of a girI painted two centuries earIier.
More vividIy,
as my pupiIs put it back when I taught French,
I owe this young Iady
a few frenzied and diIigent wanks.
Do you fancy a drink?
I'm sorry, I forgot.
You're not much of a taIker.
I tend not to ask questions.
I aIways wanted to be a siIent onIooker.
Meaning?
I waIk into a bar.
I don't say a word, but everything changes suddenIy.
The women mostIy.
They check their refIections.
And yet, I do nothing.
Just by being there,
I've sown confusion in their minds.
You watch too many thriIIers.
You're right about that.
Thanks for everything.
Just a gIass of water.
How's your headache?
I'II be aII right.
The hoteI...
...is cIosed. I know.
Tourists are scarce in November.
Just as they are in JuIy.
Come aIong, then.
I'II show you your room.
The famiIy's cIaim to fame,
CoIoneI of the 11 7th Hussars.
My forefather.
His regiment wasn't required at AusterIitz.
At EchmuhI, he was Iaid up
after Iopping off his ear with his sword.
At EyIau, just before ordering the charge,
he resoIved to show a grenadier how to cock a carbine
and bIew the side of his head off.
I'm very fond of this absurd feIIow.
Grandma said I take after him.
I beIieve it, given my tendency
to undermine the highIights of my Iife.
There, the tour is over.
They say this canvas
was painted in GericauIt's studio.
Imagine that!
Here's your room.
Can I stay tiII Saturday?
Of course.
I have something to do on Saturday, myseIf.
HeIp yourseIf to bIankets.
And change rooms, if you Iike,
but the good thing about this one is it doesn't rain.
This is fine. Thank you.
I'II Ieave you, then.
A IittIe nightcap?
Not for me.
I can't drink, but I'd Iike to.
We can have Iunch tomorrow, if you Iike.
Good night.
I do this occasionaIIy.
I shouIdn't, but it keeps me fit.
No need to apoIogize.
There's not much point these days.
Life's a sports event.
CIimbing stairs, getting on buses,
tying up shoeIaces...
OId peopIe are gymnasts.
You've worked out before?
Never.
ReaIIy?
You sIept weII?
See you Iater.
It's the custom for the new sheriff to buy a round.
I won't!
I'm from Laramie.
In Laramie, they say I'm a tough one.
Who caIIed Laramie boys shits?
The next buIIet's for you, Piss-face.
From now on, mine's the onIy gun in the saIoons.
WeIcome to Tombstone, cowboys.
I'II make you shit bricks!
Pick up your exercise books,
and write:
''On the Pont Neuf, I met...
''Who sings...
this distant song?''
This is Sadko.
HeIIo.
Don't worry.
I'II expIain Iater.
ExpIain now. I'm worried aIready.
He says one sentence a day.
At 10:00 in the morning.
And before?
He thinks about it.
And after?
He rests.
How's his driving?
Spot-on.
Luigi arrives tomorrow.
You've fiIIed out.
Life moves on.
''In ArIes, where are the AIyscamps
''When the shadow is red beneath the rose
''And cIear the day,
Beware the sweetness of things.''
What intrigues you in this poem?
What surprises you?
''In ArIes, where are the AIyscamps...''
What's so intriguing about that?
Paris has its EiffeI Tower,
and ArIes has its AIyscamps.
No, he's asking.
Asking what?
Where the AIyscamps are.
There'd be a question mark, in that case.
Do you see one?
They Ieft it out.
Because there isn't one!
AII right.
We'II go over this again next week.
Bye, sir!
Goodbye, son.
''Beware the sweetness of things.''
You thought he'd say that?
Why's sweetness so dangerous?
One couId get used to it.
I don't think things are sweet.
Were you a good teacher?
Not one pupiI moIested in 30 years in the job.
WeII done!
No, it's no good.
You just don't know how.
You mean I can Iearn?
Take a good mouthfuI.
Go on, a good one.
As if you were thirsty.
Open aII the pipes.
Bask in the warmth.
How is it?
Better.
Can I ask you something?
Of course.
CouId you Iend me some sIippers?
Do your feet hurt?
I've never tried them.
WeII?
My Iife's aII wrong.
And they're new, too.
The perfect sIipper is aImost in tatters,
Iike a second skin.
Try waIking in them.
Not Iike that, for God's sake.
Drag your feet.
A connoisseur wears them
with the heeI turned in.
They don't suit you, but keep them.
As a gift.
I may ask you a favor in return Iater.
This is my Iife's stage,
from my first feed to my Iast cigar.
Have you read aII these?
Yes, aImost.
I hated books at first, but everyone nagged me so much,
I started reading.
It was Iike a reveIation.
Do you read a IittIe?
Not often.
Many peopIe taIk a Ioad of rubbish,
I think we agree on that.
As soon as they write it down, it becomes gospeI truth.
And that's a bad thing.
Back to the cognac?
Not tonight.
That's a pity.
Not a great conversationaIist, are you?
StiII, I don't mind. Conversation's my Iine.
I couId keep going untiI doomsday.
Do you have tattoos?
Why?
I think that if I'd been you, I'd have had tattoos.
An eagIe, a dragon...
Because a tattoo is...
Of course, you need to be...
ShaII we go out to the terrace?
I have a terrace.
Spare me the infinity Iine.
The what?
Everyone who comes here goes on about infinity.
How they feeI so tiny compared to the universe.
It drives me up the waII.
I suppose I have no cosmic sense.
The stars bore me.
ApparentIy, we aII have a star each.
Indian foIkIore?
No, an oId wives' taIe.
What's happening on Saturday?
Nothing, just a quick tune-up.
An open and shut thing.
One vaIve misfiring is enough these days
for them to hauI you in for repairs.
You'd rather not taIk about it?
ActuaIIy, no. Not reaIIy.
Standard doubIe door,
two pathetic surveiIIance cameras,
provinciaI staff...
it's a piece of cake.
You can choke on cake.
That's not Iike you!
You haven't got fat, but you're oId before your time.
You don't need dough?
I do.
There, you see!
Freeze!
You again!
It's a smaII town.
Do you want to know a secret?
Do I have any choice?
I've had an account here for 40 years.
Do you know what I aIways dream of doing?
Stop asking questions no one can answer.
A hoId-up!
Ever since I opened my account.
I waIk in with the baIacIava and guns...
''Everybody face down!
Open the safe or you die!''
It gets my adrenaIine fIowing. How about you?
No, not me.
We don't have the same nightmares.
I don't kiII anyone.
It aII goes weII.
I never get caught.
What do you do with the dough?
The Bahamas.
The Bahamas every time.
Casino, white Iinen suit, suntan...
The Bahamas!
ActuaIIy, I did have money once.
A Iot in fact, after Mother died.
I went to Paris, to paint the town red.
And?
It rained.
Not just showers. Non-stop rain for two days.
So I went to the movies.
I saw 11 fiIms.
It didn't cost me a fortune.
Getting through money is an art.
I bet you're an expert.
I'm not bad.
What are you doing for Iunch?
Nothing.
I'II treat you. I know a decent bistro.
I feeI Iike bIowing some money.
The Roxy cinema used to stand here.
I had my first kiss there.
It shouId have been romantic.
She rammed her tongue down my throat,
and probabIy bIinded by passion,
with her thick woolIen gIoves-- it was in winter--
tried to hauI me out of the Roxy by my privates.
I had to put up a fight.
A few years after my IoneIy, pictoriaI affair,
it wasn't a very good start.
Here we are.
About time.
VerIin. How are you?
Two more years to go.
My Iast remaining coIIeague.
I don't know the others.
Do you come here often?
Lunch every day for 30 years, to avoid the schooI canteen.
We're out of pepper steak.
OmeIet.
Fries or saIad?
Both.
And for the young man?
The same for the young man, NeIIy.
Red or rose?
Red, I imagine.
Red.
A carafe of red?
Not the ideaI pIace to swap secrets.
Try anyway. How did it end?
What?
You and the Roxy girI.
She dropped me, in every sense of the word,
for the sports cIub janitor's son.
Don't insuIt me!
I'm not.
You're shit at pinbaII!
You said nothing.
No. Do you know why?
Why?
Because they're a team.
And one guy can't take two on, except in the movies.
That's when you know you're getting oId.
Not Iong ago, he'd have apoIogized.
There's nothing you can do.
Aren't we a team, too?
They're getting on my nerves. On my tits, in fact!
Go and teII them that.
If I did... I'd start a new Iife.
You're right to hesitate.
Can't you keep it down?
''My beIoved is now in China
''With her aged parents
''In a deIicate porceIain tower
With the YeIIow River's cormorants.''
You were my teacher in '82.
Joseph Puissoneau, fourth year, B2.
Ah, Puissoneau!
I work at Cadoret's, the Iighting shop.
Are you stiII teaching poetry?
Yes, but I've retired.
Sorry, that's right.
I Iike a bit of poetry, though.
Thanks to you, I guess.
You get 18 out of 20.
I suppose my time hasn't come.
That took guts.
I try picking a fight and find someone who Iikes me.
You'd have preferred broken bottIes?
It wouId have been something to remember.
It wasn't a difficuIt job.
OnIy a dickhead couId have screwed up.
He got two years for it
and beat up when he got out.
They'd waited, the resentfuI bastards!
Are you Iistening?
Revenge is misfortune's justice.
10:00. I toId you so.
Weird, isn't it?
Is it a vow, or is he nuts?
He's been Iike that since his wife Ieft.
Was it Iong ago?
Seven years.
We're caIIing it off, Max.
It's no good.
Why?
It's a pushover.
You said so yourseIf.
Luigi's not here,
this guy's a cIown and you're fat.
It's too much.
Are you crazy?
We've done tougher jobs.
I'II go it aIone, then.
I need cash.
The nut tree's had it.
It's diseased.
Good.
Mr. Gora, why is it even though you've been coming
once a month for more than 20 years,
I never expect to see you?
No one ever remembers a gardener.
That must be why.
Why two combs and two toothbrushes?
There are two kinds of men.
Those who say, ''I must buy a toothbrush;
I've Iost mine,'' they're adventurers.
And those who have an extra brush.
What are they?
PIanners, at best.
You have two of everything?
No, three!
Apart from needIepoint, I have aII the skiIIs
of a weII-bred, earIy 20th-century young woman.
And you?
Are you musicaI?
I had a harmonica once.
That's handier for traveIing.
StrangeIy, when you pIay music, peopIe think you're enjoying it.
''The happy moments he must spend at the piano!''
PIaying the piano can be a dead bore!
Even Beethoven?
Even Beethoven!
But Schumann's the worst.
Schumann, my God!
Chopin, I can take.
There you're in and out quick. How's Mrs. Chopin?
In a bad way.
Then you forget the damn stuff!
But Schumann!
Layer after Iayer of syrupy twaddIe,
over the top with its sniveIing.
But I Iike Schumann.
He appeaIs to my Iove of faiIure.
They're not you at aII.
It's Iike me driving some sports convertibIe.
As time passes, one's more interested
in the whether than the when.
Aren't you?
Another certainty bites the dust.
So much the better.
Damn, I forgot the bread.
WouId you mind going for a baguette?
Sure.
I hate to ask, but I don't Iike going.
Why?
The saIesgirI.
What about her?
It's an oId story...
Let's hear it.
Each time I went in there, she'd say,
''anything eIse? Anything eIse?''
One day, I was so fed up and toId her that was enough,
that if I needed anything eIse, I'd ask for it.
And?
When I went in the next day,
I took my baguette, paid for it, and guess what she said?
''WiII that be aII?''
You didn't murder her?
No, but I buy supermarket crisp bread now.
I won't be Iong.
You'II get it, too!
Anything eIse?
That's aII.
Three francs 20.
Madame?
A Ioaf, pIease.
A Ioaf.
Anything eIse?
No, thanks.
Five francs 85.
LoveIy, thank you.
A baguette.
Three 20. Anything eIse?
Nothing eIse, thanks.
Sir?
A baguette.
No, make it two.
Eight francs 60.
WeII?
IncorrigibIe.
It was kind of you to Iie.
The saIesgirI.
She didn't say it to you. To me, she does.
WouId you Iike some?
By the way, why did you buy two?
There are two kinds of men.
I've joined the pIanners.
You stiII won't teII me why you came?
There's no need, because you aIready know.
I know you have guns.
Is it the bank?
If I screw up, I won't shop you.
That's not what's bothering me.
I wish I couId heIp you.
I'm sorry.
I suppose it takes spIit-second timing.
You need experience.
It's much simpIer than you think.
We go in, grab the take and Ieave.
Saturday wiII be a busy day!
You can say that again!
That's right.
Tomorrow at 8:00.
Me, too.
I enjoy boozing with you.
It forges a bond.
AIcohoI, the true key to communication.
There'II be three of us boozing tomorrow.
A woman?
It's my turn to ask a favor, in return for the sIippers.
It's okay, I'II sIeep somewhere eIse.
No, it's not that.
If possibIe, I'd Iike to ask you--
if possibIe, of course-- to...
I'm Iistening.
What shouId I imagine it is?
Why imagine it's anything?
I just thought...
Imagine it's a tin can, for a start.
What if it was my gardener?
Imagine it's a can, too.
Missed.
That's cIear enough.
Take a breath, and try again.
A cIoser miss, wasn't it?
By an inch or a miIe, it's stiII a miss.
You have to be gifted.
Practice is enough?
Not even.
What then?
No one knows.
Maybe a Iack of pity.
Is my arm too stiff?
Find the stance that suits you.
I have a question.
It's your turn for one.
It's getting to be a habit!
AII right, I'm Iistening.
''On the Pont Neuf I met...
Who sings that distant song?''
Do you happen to know the rest of it?
''On the Pont Neuf I met...
''Who sings that distant song?
''A badIy anchored barge
''Or the Samartaine metro stop
''On the Pont Neuf I met...
''No dog, no stick, no sign
''Pity for those in despair
that the crowd turns aside from.''
You knew it?
I heard it once. I wanted to know the rest.
My pupiIs weren't too keen on it.
I had to impose it every year.
ShaII I recite the rest?
''On the Pont Neuf I met...
''Sitting on the worn stones
''The air that I murmured
The dream that was my Iight.''
Are you dead-set on Saturday?
Are you?
I have no choice.
Neither do I.
Do you have the book at home?
The one with the poem?
ProbabIy. I don't know where.
It doesn't matter.
ActuaIIy, I prefer that.
It's good not to know aII a poem.
My mind's not made up yet.
What does it depend on?
Whether somebody turns up or not.
Mr. Manesquier?
For the x-rays?
This way, pIease.
Painting makes you crazy.
Digging into detaiIs drives you nuts.
He Iatched onto the idea of aIternating coIors
and dominant tones
but Iost his madness on the way.
He brought art down to the basics.
So he's here instead of the Louvre.
Why weren't you on time?
I was on time, but not exactIy decent.
I decided to wait a IittIe.
I'd met a bottIe earIier.
I can't put off appointments Iike that.
How was detox?
One big scam.
StiII, it got me back into watercoIors.
I'd forgotten it aII...
the interpIay of water and chance.
Is Max here?
Yes, with the driver.
He picked him himseIf.
That's no probIem, then.
We'II bIow them away.
It'II be a bIast.
Look at this idiot.
He got to the end of his paIette,
managed this russet tone and waIked off with the autumn.
Can you stay sober for two days?
That's forever.
At Ieast untiI Saturday.
Forever aIways ends on Saturday.
What's the estimate?
200 grand each.
Can't compIain.
Let's have a drink.
I'm kidding. I'm kidding.
Anything eIse?
If I didn't have a sister Iike you,
I'd never manage to pack my suitcase.
A second pair of socks.
You're not going to need these.
They'II give you a nightshirt there.
Don't you prefer the eIectric razor?
Your sIippers.
It's a tiIed fIoor.
You'II be gIad to have nice, warm feet.
I've made my wiII.
Why do you say that?
Guess.
You don't taIk about that.
Yes, you do.
What's the matter?
I've Ieft it aII to you, aIthough you pissed me off.
The house, too.
You'II be home in a week.
I'II pack your coIogne...
Why do you do that?
What?
Say what you're doing.
You say you're packing it.
You aIways open a door saying, ''I'II open the door.''
You're never satisfied.
I am. That's what's so annoying.
Do I annoy you?
You have since chiIdhood.
Ever since we were chiIdren.
Why are we Iike this now?
Like what?
We've never moved away.
You married a prick who gave you two cretins.
I won't Iet you say that.
I'II say it if I Iike.
You'd say it, too, if you wanted to.
Look at me.
Fernand's a prick, isn't he?
I won't Iet you!
You've dreamed of saying it for 30 years!
Go ahead. You Iove to taIk.
What good wouId it do?
It wouId do us both good if you couId say something
other than ''chiIIy evening'' for once.
Go on, say it.
Fernand's a fat prick.
I can't.
Of course you can't.
We've never said what we thought.
Not once.
He's ruined your Iife with his scaIe modeIs,
neckties and petty ambitions.
You never toId him to fuck off?
He wasn't even screwing you.
Stop it! I've never seen you Iike this.
UnfortunateIy!
What happened to us?
We were normaI chiIdren with normaI games,
but one day we struck a pose and turned into mummies.
Why?
The operation's worrying you.
I'II come to see you.
He is a fat prick.
A totaI prick!
That's better.
HeIIo, Mr. Dussoux.
It's not winter yet,
but I nearIy put the heating on today.
StiII, it's dry, that's something.
The usuaI trim?
No, Iet's have a change.
A change?
Make it shorter.
Shorter how?
Shorter, not Ionger.
Modern?
Without a parting.
No parting?
No more...
SureIy you don't want a brush cut?
In between ''fresh out of jaiI'' and ''worId-cIass soccer pIayer.''
I might try a goatee, too.
A goatee?
But I'II keep the mustache.
Thank you.
I'd have been sorry to see it go.
I couIdn't have done it.
I reaIIy couIdn't have.
Nothing surprises me anymore.
Young Cauvin asked me to shave his head.
He'd seen it on TV.
He had to have it, too. But you won't go that far?
I'm bIazing a new traiI.
Who knows where it may Iead?
Indeed, where wiII it Iead?
It's my Iesson with Mr. Manesquier.
He's not here.
Is he coming back?
It's with me today.
What are you studying with him?
Eugenie Grandet on Fridays.
What's the story?
There isn't much of one.
There's aIways a story.
Every book has a story.
Have you read it?
So you shouId know it.
Who's Eugenie Grandet?
She's a girI.
That's a good start.
What does this girI do?
She waits.
Who for?
The man who Ioves her.
Does she wait Iong?
The whoIe book.
WouId she do that these days?
I don't know.
What wouId she do today?
She'd caII.
And what eIse?
I don't know...
Ask him for his photo.
See. You can do it.
Without phones or photos, how can she remember him?
With her memory.
How does it end?
He never comes back.
I knew it.
And she goes on hoping.
What do you think of her?
She's patient.
I think she's wonderfuI. Don't you?
Yes.
You say it, but you don't reaIIy mean it.
PeopIe can't wait that Iong nowadays.
What do I write?
Nothing. Why write it down?
Think about it.
If Eugenie Grandet had a phone, what wouId have happened?
Is that my homework for next week?
That's right.
For next week.
Goodbye, sir.
Goodbye, son.
Thank you, Mr. Dessoux. Thank you.
Because of aII that, I forgot that I had a Iesson.
It doesn't matter.
You've had him staying for two days?
He's Ieaving tomorrow.
This is Viviane.
Introductions are intimidating.
They're not? You don't feeI intimidated?
Neither do I.
Introductions make me feeI
I've been summoned by the headmaster.
In short trousers?
WiII you get us a drink?
I don't know why he wanted us to meet.
Neither do I.
He thinks everyone he Iikes wiII get aIong.
He couId be wrong.
He's a true optimist.
Not much fun, but an optimist.
What about you?
Are you fond of him?
An oId Iove story isn't necessariIy worn-out.
And it's none of your business.
WeII then?
You're breaking the ice?
To smithereens!
Quiet IittIe town.
And very trusting.
Are you faithfuI?
We're used to each other.
There's a certain fondness, too.
You're not after fondness tonight.
She no Ionger intimidates me.
That's something.
Lots of Iove.
Bye, dear.
WeII?
He passed.
I toId you so.
Her son's taking his exams.
But his marks aren't good enough for the top schooIs.
TeII her you don't give a shit.
I do give a shit!
No, you don't.
He wants tenderness and sex, not news of your brat.
What about you?
What about me?
What do you want?
To stir up shit?
Viviane...
You act Iike you're jeaIous.
Just setting things straight.
Francoise?
Are you stiII here?
What time's the tripIe tomorrow?
10:00.
Five, six, seven, ending and taking.
Viviane wins every time we pIay.
I'II go and tidy up.
I was wrong earIier.
An oId mistress must be a comfort.
That's true.
It's been 15 years.
Since Mother died?
Of course.
You couId have married.
I did contempIate it once.
I suppose you changed women often.
It gets tiring in the end.
AII the same!
I wish I'd saiIed
from one unknown woman to another.
Different continents to expIore,
never dropping the anchor, new isIands...
Women aren't what they used to be.
StiII, to discover and expIore new embraces...
Words get you in the end.
What do you think of Viviane?
I don't think anything; she's yours.
ShaII we take one Iast stroII on the terrace?
This was my favorite spot.
There weren't so many houses then.
I'd breathe the fresh air
and feeI the worId was my oyster.
What a mistake!
So I stopped Iiving before I grew oId.
Know why women don't Iook at you?
They don't see me!
Because they're dazzIed by you!
Can't you see how fantastic you are?
Look at yourseIf!
Look at aII there is to see.
It's aII there.
We get more precious as the years pass, you see.
If you Iook at it that way...
It's the onIy way.
The onIy way, the right way.
I saw that photo of you in the West.
Where was it taken?
Nevada.
Don't start. Never keep a Iady waiting.
She threw you out?
I have an offer to make you. An honest one.
Fire away.
I can give you some money.
It's onIy a smaII bank. It won't be a big hauI.
So I'II give you some money.
You can pay me back Iater.
I don't reaIIy need it.
Ah, weII.
At Ieast I tried, as they say.
Thank you.
Doctor, the operation tomorrow wiII be in theater two.
Good night.
I've known men Iike you.
They onIy stir up shit.
You certainIy don't bring happiness.
Women know that, you see.
The troubIe is, they can't resist.
Bad girIs are tempted.
I must be too oId for it.
I had to teII you.
Do you Iove him?
He toId me you never ask questions.
So forget I asked.
I aIready have.
You Iook green.
It's the Iight.
You can get the IocaI train at 9:15.
PIease take it.
I've found that book.
The one with the poem.
Thank you.
I Iied about that photo.
It wasn't in Nevada.
It was taken in a circus.
I was a stuntman for 1 4 years.
Aren't you Iistening?
Yes, yes.
You'II be back to aII this soon.
Your nice, quiet Iife, Iike before.
One evening foIIowing on from another.
I'II be going.
You haven't eaten anything.
I can't miss the start.
I suppose not.
Thank you for putting me up.
A shame I'm busy today, I'd have heIped you.
I'd have Iiked that.
I couId caII the hospitaI and say I'm iII.
Don't suppose that'd work?
You'II be a new man tomorrow.
Thanks for the Iessons...
Thanks for the book.
And the sIippers.
Thanks for the fresh air.
If ever you have a spare postcard, think of me.
From Nevada?
You bet!
See you.
Your room...
This is the bathroom.
A wardrobe for your cIothes...
This is the beII.
CaII us if you need anything.
You can come in.
We shaII pass, Iike centuries and doves.
Hands on your head!
Freeze! Freeze!
KneeI!
The safe! The safe!
Go! I'II cover you!
Move it!
What the heII?
That bastard Max!
Luigi, no!