The patient wants to live.
That is what the doctor believes and strives to help...
to the best of his abilities.
If death comes, even after every effort has been made...
we must accept that.
But at times, some patients lose their will to fight...
and give in to despair.
You're here at last...
Finally, I will be relieved of my suffering, thanks to you.
I'm only helping out a little bit.
About your fee...
Please don't worry. Your son deposited the amount into my account yesterday.
Do you like Beethoven?
You're going to fall asleep listening to music, just like always...
But this one is just a little deeper than usual...
That's all it is...
Why hello, Doctor Black Jack. Is the patient inside one of your patients?
Doctor Kiriko... What are you doing here?
Who knows? We're both professionals in the underworld.
Let's spare each other the questions.
Oh, that's right. Your patient just passed away of natural causes.
What?
How come? We agreed I'd operate on him next week.
I'm sorry, Dr. Black Jack.
My father said he was tired... that he'd lived long enough...
As my heart lay in pieces from being shot
In the waves of people who pass me by
I even forgot what kindness is
I slip from your hands
The night I disappeared from that city
I held only my dreams
Never looking back
It twines around me so painfully
Stop this loneliness
As if you are going to erase the sorrow of these skies
If fate should have us part
I will journey through it
And take you with might
The one of my memories
There you are.
Michelle. Ten minutes before we shoot!
Let's get on the set while the director's still in a good mood.
You know... You don't look so well, Michelle.
Hi, I'm a reporter from Evening Celebrity.
We're in Studio 6. You know where it is, right, Michelle?
Yes...
Stop following her around already!
Is something wrong with her?
She's healthy as she can be!
Oh really? I've heard she's fainted on the set a couple of times.
Her current role is very demanding. Perhaps she pushed herself too hard?
Sorry to keep you waiting.
You're the purest and most innocent existence in this world.
Can you do this shot, Michelle?
Yes, Director! I can do it! I will!
On top of that, people are still wondering...
why would such a great director like Alex...
cast a second rate porno actress like her as his lead.
She's a wonderful actress. She was just underrated until now.
Did she bribe him or sleep with him? Which one is it?
You son of a bitch!
Scene 85! It's the final scene! Let's do it!
And... action!
Cut!
Michelle! Michelle!
Stop the camera! Stop!
Call an ambulance! Call the hospital!
I'm sorry, Alex... l'm sorry...
She is showing visible signs of stress and malnutrition.
She needs to get some rest.
I see. Then we'll postpone the shoot for a week.
We'd be grateful.
Rest up and we'll shoot the final scene.
We're almost there, Michelle.
Thank you very much, Alex.
It's going to be a great movie.
I'm thinking about casting you for my next movie too.
Well, if you'll excuse us, Alex.
Yes, I'll see you soon.
You're pushing yourself too hard.
I understand getting into your part, but there's a limit!
You need to eat. It's hard for you to stand, right?
'Morning, Michelle!
I've brought you a healthy, balanced breakfast to cheer you up!
I had it made especially for you by the head chef at Restaurant Cartier.
Cheerio! Time to wake up! Show me that beautiful smile!
Michelle, wake up!
It's your manager, Patrick!
Mich...
I promise I will call. Please don't try to find me.
Best wishes Patrick. - Michelle.
Sir, you have a phone call.
Just how long of a vacation are you taking?
Have you forgotten that I'm waiting for you at home?
I get it! You're not alone! You're with someone, aren't you?
Put her on the phone! I'll talk to her myself!
Put that cake-face hussy on the phone!
I currently cannot get to the phone. Please try your call later.
Hey! You better not hang up! Don't hang up!!
What is it? Is this urgent?
Hmph. It may not be urgent, but they seemed like they were in a rush.
Cahros Chabanon Village?
Yup. It's in the central, mountainous area of France.
They're only offering $200,000. It's really not that much.
After seeing a patient in Switzerland, I was taking a vacation in Arles...
only to be interrupted with an assignment.
My vacations are always cut short like this.
Next time I'll go swim to the bottom of the sea...
so I can't be reachable by phone.
I'm Armand Rochass.
Dr. Black Jack. I can't believe you've come. It's like a dream come true.
I'm only a country doctor, but being in the medical field...
I've heard quite a bit about you.
Hey! Bring us your best bottle of wine!
Please...
I was told the patient is anorexic, but the cause is unknown.
Yes. Please see for yourself.
Other than fluids, the poor girl hasn't been able to keep anything down...
for twenty days now. Not even a liquid diet.
She was such a beautiful girl. I feel so sorry for her.
The patient is my niece.
She came to me for help, but I'm afraid I haven't been able to do anything for her.
I normally only deal with cows and horses.
When I told my niece that, she said...
"I have two hundred thousand dollars."
"Please get Dr. Black Jack to look at me. I hear he's the best doctor in the world."
I've brought him, Michelle.
Please don't turn on the light just yet...
Michelle...
I have a favor to ask Dr. Black Jack before he sees me in the light.
To be honest, I have only a hundred and twenty thousand dollars saved up.
The remaining eighty thousand is my pay for my current movie.
I won't be paid unless the movie is finished.
Until I recover from my illness, we won't be able to shoot the last scene.
In the event I'm not able to be cured...
will you forgive me that I can only pay you a hundred and twenty thousand?
My fee is two hundred thousand.
After a full recovery you will pay the remaining eighty thousand. Okay?
Until then, your only concern is to get well, understand?
Come, lie down. I want to start the examination.
I want to act. I want to act in the movie!
To be an actress... I want to be a real actress!
The patient was Michelle Rochass, age 32.
Her stage name is Michelle Petit, but I had never heard of her.
I can't forget about you!
No!
Okay, you can stop.
I want the long shot from Camera B inserted after Michelle's close up.
You got it, sir.
A woman's charm is in her sinful beauty.
Yes.
Alex!
I'll be honest... lt's been ten days, but I haven't heard anything.
She only has one scene left! Why she'd disappear like this is beyond me.
I negotiated with the studio today.
I convinced them to give me another month to finish the shoot.
Alex.
So I want you to find her no matter what.
Why are you so insistent on Michelle?
Come on. It's part of being a director.
I traveled to Paris when I was 17, to become an actress.
I worked part-time while I went to the Theatre Academy. I studied so hard.
I graduated...
But my first job was posing nude for a photogravure.
I was desperate for money, so I accepted the job, but...
I think that's where I went wrong.
The next movie was a porn film.
Then the next, and the next... They were all porn.
When did you start to lose your appetite?
When I finally landed this part, I tried to lose ten pounds.
The woman I was playing was several years younger than me.
To look more convincing, I wanted to lose ten pounds.
It was a simple diet where I skipped lunch.
I reached my target weight and ended my diet...
but then I started to lose the urge to eat breakfast...
then dinner...
Finally, my body became unable to hold down anything except liquids.
I gave the patient hormones and nutrients via IV.
The first thing was to stop the progression of malnutrition.
But it would only be enough to cover forty percent of her basic metabolism.
If her condition persists, she will die of starvation.
Did she fall asleep?
Yes. I think she's very much comforted by the fact that you're here.
Anorexia is often diagnosed as a mental illness...
but occasionally it can be triggered by a tumor in the digestive tract...
or a hormonal imbalance brought on by a problem in the body's endocrine system.
Is that so?
In the case of a problem in the endocrine system...
appetite and nutritional intake are strongly affected.
I see...
I'd like to perform a thorough examination...
at a facility with the necessary equipment. Can you arrange that?
Forgive me for saying this, but your office isn't...
No, I totally understand what you're saying. Please leave it to me.
Catina...
Catina!
Catina! Where are you?
Catina!
I hate you, Catina!
Sorry, Michelle! I'm sorry.
Hmph!
Well, time for another funeral!
You'll be the relative and I'll be the reverend.
OK!
We pray this day for the soul of our lost friend, whose death teaches us...
the value of our own precious lives. And we ask when our own time has come...
we be reunited in Heaven with thee...
Michelle, what do you think I'll be when I grow up?
I don't know.
How could you not? A writer!
I want to become a world- renowned writer like Sagan!
You think I'm talented, right?
Yeah, you'll be a writer. You know everything.
How about you, Michelle? What do you want to be?
Tell me!
An actress.
A superstar!
I want to be an amazing actress that everyone will fall in love with!
Well, that's what I hope.
You'll grow up to be beautiful, Michelle!
You'll be much more beautiful when you grow up!
A little slower.
I want to get a good look at the esophagus, all the way to the cardia.
Yes, sir.
We preformed a thorough examination at a public hospital where...
Armand's old friend from school serves as the senior medical staff.
Fortunately, there was a ten hour opening...
in the examination room with the latest medical equipment.
Within that time frame...
I had to consider every possibility and collect as much data as possible.
We continuously monitored Michelle's decrease in strength and...
continued the invasive exams.
The patient was very tolerant and completed every exam necessary.
It was positive proof this patient had the desire to live.
I think it'd be wise to keep your window closed.
No, I like it. It feels so refreshing...
Uncle... l'd like to go visit Catina's grave.
We can't get there from this highway. We'd have to go all the way around.
We'll go next time, Michelle.
Catina was Michelle's childhood friend.
Michelle was born and raised in a village called Anjou.
Her parents divorced when she was twelve. A lot of things happened...
and I became her guardian.
Catina was two years older than Michelle...
and used to play with Michelle a lot.
I was to be an actress... Catina was going to be a writer.
Catina died of an illness a year later, after Michelle came to live with me.
I heard she died of pneumonia.
That night I began analyzing the data from the examinations.
A decrease in her health from malnutrition would increase...
the possibilities of various complications.
There are the possibilities of increased infection rate,
abnormalities in her cardiopulmonary system, and even septic fever.
I had no time to waste in attempting to isolate the cause of her illness.
I found no sign of abnormality in her digestive tract...
nor did I find anything wrong with her endocrine system.
Activity in her adrenal gland had slightly decreased...
but I can't imagine how this could translate into loss of weight.
Lack of appetite could be commonly caused by drugs or medication but...
I could find no sign of either in the test results.
All blood tests came back negative.
If that's the case...
could there be something wrong with the limbic system...
of the central nervous system?
It can't be. I can't find anything unusual in her CT scan of her brain...
and electroencephalogram.
I want freshly baked bread and marmalade...
scrambled eggs too.
Michelle.
I'm going to try it once more...
I can't keep being such a burden on you and Dr. Black Jack.
It looks wonderful...
Welcome.
Hello! Hello!
It's the greatest honor to meet the lead actress' manager and director at once.
You better be right about this!
Well, if you don't want to shelve your almost completed film...
you might want to listen to what I have to tell you.
Is it true you know where she is?
Well... about a week ago...
She apparently underwent a thorough physical exam at a certain hospital...
as Michelle Rochass, her real name, instead of Michelle Petit.
If you want to know more, you'll have to pay for it.
Well, you know, I spend a lot of money to get this information, so...
Fine.
Hey, Catina... lt's so bizarre...
Look, these are my favorite rings...
They used to fit my fingers so perfectly. They were so beautiful...
But look... When I do this...
Michelle... What's wrong?
I want to see... I want to see Catina!
Michelle...
I want to see her!
Michelle! What's happened to your face?
Michelle!
Michelle, open this door! Open this door!
Get back in bed! Don't do this!
Please move!
Are you all right?
Erythema on her forehead...
I think I've seen it somewhere before...
She probably is headed towards Anjou where she was born and raised.
I'll go ask the pastor if we could borrow his car.
How did you let yourself get this malnourished? Eat this.
I administered glucose to supply you with some nutrients.
You should have some.
Are you a doctor?
I guess I was... A long time ago...
But these days I'm a full-time drifter.
Although I still practice by special request sometimes.
Is this Beethoven?
I composed it myself.
So you're a musician.
A musician. That's great.
Your car is totaled. Even if you get it towed, it's not salvageable.
It's a lovely song.
I'll bring you home. I'm not abandoning a seriously ill person.
I'd much rather die...
Hey!
Hey! Sir!
I've seen those erythema somewhere before.
Leave. You're going to interfere with my work.
Are you leaving?
Thanks for your hospitality.
Won't you stay for dinner? I want to repay you.
Can you at least tell me your name?
Mozart.
Why don't we leave it at that? Take care.
Seven new erythema.
They're appearing in proportion to her increasing emaciation.
I know I've seen them before... But where?
Damn it!
Doctor, I've prepared dinner.
Thank you.
I want to take a shower.
Catina... I can't anymore...
No! Don't! Noooo!
Found it.
Armand Rochass, Doctor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics.
No visitors allowed!?
Oh, come on... We came all the way from Paris.
Please, let us see her. Her life as an actress is at stake!
To hell with that! My niece's life is at stake!
There's something I'd like to ask you.
Let's go, Alex!
By any chance, are there red skin sores appearing all over Michelle's body?
I suspected that was the case.
How do you know about them?
Alex!
Go back to the hotel without me.
All righty then.
My younger sister Catina was covered in these exact skin sores before she died.
I work as a movie director under the name Alex Ray...
but my real name is Nicholas Aleco, Catina Aleco's older brother.
I'm sure Michelle doesn't know that I'm Catina's brother.
My parents sent me to a boarding school in Paris after elementary school.
But I was rather familiar with Michelle's name.
She wrote of nothing but Michelle in the letters she sent me.
We chose the leading actress through an audition, but what a surprise.
I later found out that Michelle Petite's real name was Michelle Rochass.
I was told your sister died of pneumonia.
We asked the doctor to change her charts...
It was such a perplexing and heartbreaking death...
She became unable to eat... Withered away like a dying tree...
In the end, her body was covered in red skin sores when she passed away.
When I heard Michelle was suspected of malnutrition...
Catina's illness crossed my mind and I became very worried.
These red markings, this "Erythema"...
existed eighteen years ago.
There was only one solid link between Michelle and Catina.
The village of Anjou.
Her blood pressure is going down. Please add aminophylline to her IV.
If it falls below 60, please increase it.
Yes, sir.
Dr. Black Jack!
I'll be back before dawn.
I've brought this for you.
It's about chemical and biological weapons...
that were banned after World War I.
Published in 1921, by the International Pathological Association.
I am an expert in toxicology,
but it took me a while to remember...
because the records are so old.
Take a look at page 238.
The bacteria can only survive inside a particular kind of Echinococcus.
"This disease carrying Echinococcus will be engineered...
to act as an incredibly toxic weapon."
This can't be!
I haven't found any traces of such a parasite from Michelle!
I'd like to present you another interesting fact.
Near the village of Anjou... around here...
are the ruins of the military's explosives warehouse.
But it doesn't store explosives.
Rather, it's a permanent dumping ground for biological weapons.
Would you like to play a game of chess?
- No, thank you. - Some wine, then?
I'm going away, so I thought I'd stop by...
How beautiful!
I envy you. I want to go too... To a place far away...
I know this is a strange question, but...
Is it true there's a professional doctor who euthanizes his patients?
Someone told me about him before...
He's a professional who specializes in euthanasia and will come...
wherever, whenever the patient wishes and gives them a peaceful death...
as long as you pay his fee.
His name is... Doctor... Doctor...
If you know who he is, please tell me. I want to get in contact with him.
I thought he charges a fee?
That's right... I'm absolutely penniless now...
Right? Then, that's not an option.
It was obvious this was the village children's secret playground.
The countless corpses of small animals were a testament that the bacteria...
that was meant to be permanently buried over ten meters underground...
had risen to the surface and continued to survive.
This was, no doubt, the place where Catina and Michelle were infected.
Doctor, I suggest you get some rest tonight.
Oh, nothing.
Would it be possible for you to make some coffee?
Yes, right away.
Are you well enough to answer some questions, Michelle?
Yes.
Do you know about the old explosives warehouse near Anjou?
Of course.
Have you been there recently?
Yes, when I got the part for this movie...
I went to Catina's grave to tell her about it. I stopped by before I went home.
For old times sake...
Did anything unusual happen?
Nothing really. Except, I was bit by a rat... It was only a little scratch though.
A rat?
Yes.
Are you sure?
Positive.
Then I want to perform an operation on you immediately.
Trust me just once more.
Check out of the hotel and get over here immediately! He's operating!
Michelle is going into surgery!
We will be performing a frontal cranial surgery.
Yes, Doctor.
The answer was obvious.
The biologically engineered parasitic Echinococcus was nesting...
in the appetitive central nervous system in her limbic system.
Normally a parasite would be unable to enter the brain area,
but it was probably developed as a biological weapon...
that could easily pass through the blood-brain barrier.
If I could find the parasite and remove it, it should solve everything.
But this wasn't going to be as easy as it sounded.
The tomogram of the brain we took...
using the most modern equipment at the public hospital...
showed absolutely no sign of it.
I was quite perplexed how the parasite could be so invisible.
The dead rat's corpse solved that mystery.
After opening the rat's brain, all my questions were answered.
I'm going to make an incision in the clavius arachnoid.
Yes, sir.
- Forceps. - Forceps.
All right. I've reached the Chiasma Optimum.
It's here! It has to be here.
Yes! This is it!
No, that's the nerve tissue! It's not a parasite!
It mimics its surroundings.
The parasite mimics it's physical form to match exactly to its host.
That's why we couldn't tell them apart in the tomogram.
I found the same exact thing inside the rat's brain.
This is beyond me... I can't believe such a thing could exist.
Pulse?
Slow, but steady.
Then, let's proceed with the sutures.
Yes, doctor!
Good... Good...
Michelle Petit is so great!
What? You're the one who wrote all those tabloid articles on her!
Work is work! Aaa... She's so hot...
Stop staring at her!
The two are finally going to be together...
What am I gonna do with you? This always ends up happening.
Many times I've asked the moon, in search of an answer
And I melt into the darkness
Time flows in my heart, gone astray
Today I look up at the sky and it was as quiet as ever
It surrounded itself around me again
But it won't stop
My burning heart wavers violently
Even though I may get hurt
I cannot utter lies, though...
My tears have sunken deep in my heart
I gaze into a certain tomorrow
To tell you how I feel
The entangled dreams have become too heavy
They trickle away at the cracks of my fingers
Forever will remain as something everlasting
But I will soon start to walk again
In order to not forget those days
Subtitle Translation - Mayumi Kobayashi DVD Subtitles - Justin Sevakis