Is he conscious yet? - No.
Want to see him?
Will he live?
All I can say is that he survived the operation.
You shouldn't have bothered. I'd have called for you.
Is he dead?
No, but he's still unconscious.
It has been three days already...
I wonder if it's worth the trouble to intervene.
If he could be moved...
...we could start the experiment now.
We'll think about it.
Any dying person can be maintained like that.
Who knows? - We do.
The experience would kill him.
We need a healthy man.
There he is.
Will you talk to him now?
I'd rather wait.
Has he seen anyone? - He doesn't want to see anyone.
Why don't you want to do the experiment with one of your men?
You do have volunteers, didn't you? - Many, but they weren't suitable.
But why him?
He has nothing to lose. That's what we're looking for.
Why not pick a convict? Offer him a pardon.
That is not an option.
Does he have any chance of returning?
It's impossible to predict.
This is the first time it's being done with a man.
I'd like to meet him.
I'll call him for you. Wait a minute.
You left your things back in your room.
Thanks. I won't need them.
Claude Ridder?
Yes, that's me.
Do you have a moment, or rather, a day?
No, we're not the police. I'm from Crespel Research Centre.
Crespel? Never heard of it.
Nobody has.
If you have no other plans for today, I'd like to take you there.
Is it far?
Some 50 km. We have a car.
How's the weather? Sunny.
Then why not.
- The taxi. - I'll take care of it.
Want to go by your house? - No thanks.
Am I the man you want?
Without a doubt.
This isn't a kidnapping.
It wouldn't go well for you. I have no family.
What's Crespel like?
It's a place that doesn't exist yet.
Is it pretty? Not particularly.
Are you tired?
I've been asked the same thing every hour for three weeks.
Have you recovered well?
Why so much interest in me?
Can you smoke?
Yes, I'm better now.
Apart from cancer, I have nothing to worry about.
Glad you were saved?
I'm not sure I was saved.
We're nearly there.
You don't seem too worried. - It's all the same to me.
What else would you like to happen to me?
What if it's something extraordinary?
Really, as in fairy tales?
You were right. It isn't very pretty.
But not without interest.
This is Crespel? - Yes, here.
I thought it was a town.
There is one 5 km away, but it's not Crespel.
The boss will see you straight away.
Surprised? Frankly, yes.
The Centre has existed for 15 years.
Around here it's assumed we study agriculture.
But the subject of agriculture is unknown to us.
Our object of study is time.
Have you figured it out? - Partially.
Where do I come in?
I have a question for you, Mr. Ridder, if you'd like to answer it.
All right.
I suppose you had a reason to have attempted suicide...
Yes...
Have you changed your mind?
It may be necessary to ask this question again.
- Who for? - For you.
No, it hasn't changed.
You'd do it again?
I am the perfect guinea pig, right?
A volunteer who does not cling to life?
If I accept, what chance do I have of surviving?
100% if you were a mouse.
Let me show you something.
The passage of time, no doubt.
I need to think about it.
I found interesting your idea of a municipal agency...
...to distribute time around the city as it sees fit.
It wouldn't work. - Time would break down.
I always thought we should have a team of novelists...
paid to put their wild ideas on paper.
In this jar is mouse A; in the other, mouse B.
Look at them. Do you see any difference?
I don't know. Is one a female and the other male?
No, both are males. But mouse B is a pioneer.
A has never left his jar.
B travelled in time and went back to live for one minute in his past.
A hero. When did this happen?
Yesterday. With no ill effects.
How do you be sure that he travelled in time?
That's the problem.
We're confident it happened, but he can't tell us.
The technicians thought of everything.
They should have taught him to speak before doing the experiment.
You'll go back exactly one year into your past.
And the experience won't last any more than one minute.
What if it kills me?
With the treatment we've devised, that won't happen.
Where were you this time last year?
On holiday.
I had 3 months off last year. I was in France, on the Riviera.
Are you sure?
My memories are organised around my holidays.
You'll be in a sort of sphere.
When you return you must wait four minutes to recover.
Four minutes? Why?
I'll explain.
In a way, we could compare it...
...to the decompression chamber that divers use.
Are you interested? - Not much.
Why the past instead of the future? Wouldn't it be more interesting?
I agree with you.
The result may not seem very spectacular
But for the moment we can't go further.
So we've started with only small steps.
An experience that barely seems interesting.
No heart problems? Nothing, not even a small ulcer?
You're quite healthy.
You see, suicide is good for your health.
You'll have to stay here for a few days.
On some kind of diet?
Sort of. Only for four days.
Will I have to sign a release before the experiment?
I suppose so.
If something goes wrong, you could say I died in hospital.
Absolutely.
Good thinking.
Was it your first suicide? - Yes.
With a gun? - Yes.
I can't imagine you with a gun. - Neither can I.
That's why I failed.
Are you afraid? - No.
I've been afraid all my life...
But not anymore.
Do you sleep well? - Very well.
No headaches? - No.
We'll see tomorrow. I have to observe the effects of T. 5.
Doesn't seem to hurt you.
Now we just have to wait. - Three more days.
What will happen to me if I stay for years?
It will only last 60 seconds. We know because of the mice.
Can I go in? I won't wake up among pirates?
You'll lie down. We'll close the door.
You'll go back one year, then come back here a minute later.
Disappointed?
A bit.
I expected a kind of... laboratory.
Something electric.
What if, for example... it fails?
Impossible.
You'll go back to September 5, 1966 at precisely 4 p.m.
Why 4 p.m.?
It's the time we chose. We always sent the mice at that time...
And they always came back. - It became a habit.
I never thought that scientists would be superstitious!
Why was I chosen, I wonder?
Let's say our computer chose you.
Out of millions, of course. - Sure.
- Good morning. - Good morning.
There's nothing to worry about.
As we increase the dose of T.5., you'll sleep more and more.
I talk in my sleep.
That is also an effect of T.5. And when you wake up?
I feel all right.
Tomorrow, one hour before entering the sphere ...
we will inject you with a large dose of T.5.
You'll be drugged but perfectly lucid.
Don't worry.
The treatment has prepared you for this stage.
Will I be able to move?
The experiment requires that the subject be completely passive.
But you will be able to remember.
Asleep but awake.
Is it good?
Coming? - Later
Two sea snakes and a few sharks.
That's about all.
- Is it good? - Very good.
Did you see many fish?
Two sea snakes and a few sharks.
That's about all.
I don't like that apparatus.
You always say that.
Was it good? - Yes.
Did you see many fish?
Let's go out for dinner.
If you want to.
Coming? Later.
It couldn't end any other way.
About 4 months.
How long will dedicate yourself to packing?
As long as there are things to send.
It seems you've developed a good reputation in packing..
I believe we could use that energy better in something else.
You could manage a line, hold a responsible position.
I hate responsibility.
I felt the same at your age.
C'mon, let's have a coffee.
Rich family? - Pretty well off, yes.
At your age I had debts.
- Is it good? - Very good.
See many fish?
Two sea snakes and a few sharks.
We've lost him.
Every time, the same thing.
What time did she come? - At nine.
If we want to send out those 5,000 circulars by this afternoon, everyone will have to work.
Imagine, she hasn't even done 100 yet!
In four hours?
One envelope for each 2 minutes. Quite a performance.
It's a record. Is she pretty?
Who?
The record-breaker.
In a way. - In a way?
Send her in.
Left.
See, even your car is a problem.
Shall we stop for lunch in an hour?
If you like.
I don't know.
Something about Catherine bothers me.
Perhaps the fact that you don't unsettle her?
You're a quiet sort aren't you? - When I have nothing to say, yes.
What did you do when you met her? - Nothing.
And now? - Not much.
Not much. Let's stop here to eat.
The effect of the T. 5. is weak anyway.
Seven minutes. - He's come back 5 times already.
The transition period always scares me.
Why not get him out before the four minutes are up?
Because he could stay like that for weeks.
We'll wait. - If we wait he'll starve.
It's odd to see it all from a heated train.
Was it cold? Very cold.
In a few minutes we'll pass a town I liberated.
Were you alone? - Almost.
We were about 50...
...against many Germans.
Guns don't suit you.
I never got used to them.
There might be a street with your name on it.
It wasn't so amusing back then.
Why didn't you come on Wednesday? - I forgot.
Come tonight, both of you.
Which two? - You and Catherine.
It'll be difficult. We've separated.
How long were you together for? - Seven years.
Come alone if you like, then.
Aren't you afraid of having that dirty wall behind you?
The papers on the table scare me more.
We should redecorate your office. Paintings and tapestries.
In your office, for example, a big picture...
...of an unpaid bill dated February 17, 1951.
The bookkeeper removed a heap of commas.
He is struggling against effectiveness.
An eraser...
...and no pencil?
I hate pencils.
And the rubbers? - No.
Because they are useless without a pencil.
Hello - Hello
Compliments of the author... Compliments of the author...
You don't have much imagination.
I don't know her. I don't know what to say.
A swimmer got drowned.
Is he dead? - For a good while.
He was a good swimmer.
He must have swum for hours before he drowned.
For hours, you realize? - Claude.
Be quiet.
You do not need me.
You only need what is right here.
You could have me embalmed and put in a corner.
But I'm alive, I move, come, go, see people.
If I didn't, I'd kill myself.
The more I give you, the worse you get.
I don't think I understand you anymore.
I'm leaving.
Tomorrow, I am leaving.
It's 3 p.m.
However, there are still 3 hours to go.
3 minutes ago it was 3 p. m.
In 3 weeks it will be 3 p. m.
In a century too.
Time passes for everybody but for me...
...stuck in this room...
...It doesn't pass.
Search for your time.
It's 3 p. m. forever.
Hello?
Hello...
On the third beep it will be exactly...
Exactly three o'clock, zero minutes, zero seconds.
Pardon? All right...
...tomorrow at the same time, as we agreed.
Love to the family.
For 100 million years...
...the Earth belonged to algae and molluscs...
...and then reptiles ruled the earth...
...until this company I'm working for was created.
I believe that I'm travelling from birth to death at 100,000 kph
The earth will spin for millions of years more without me...
And as a result, I'm here, using a pencil...
...to express our sincere regrets to a customer...
...for the loss of his shipment sent on the fourth...
and to tell him that we'll do all we can to...
Ready?
Yes.
What? What's a mouse doing here?
Did you say something? - No.
I just saw a mouse. - So?
Have you ever seen a mouse on a beach!
Maybe it's on vacation.
How was it?
In a sense it was successful.
He isn't dead. On the other hand...
A time race.
Office time against outside time.
Who's winning? Don't know yet.
She's pretty, yes, looks like your kind.
Beautiful, clean, modest...
Things that I despise. - You like me because you hate almost everything.
I like things that are changeable.
Am I changeable?
Not really.
Not absolutely.
Rather, you are ... surprising. A swamp.
A dark night...
One would rather wring your neck than smile at you...
...or slowly melt into you...
..and sink.
I can't imagine Monique outside your window.
You reek of low tide...
drownings, octopus.
Behind, this beach. - This beach is me...
I need you.
I have needed you since in the office they told me...
...of a girl who hated envelopes.
...and work.
Let's make love.
Here, on the sand?
I'd run away to a land without nights...
You know what? Your wife has a nice behind.
I'll tell you what you see right now.
You're by a window, no? Let me see...
Everything is blue...
...the sea, the sand, the town...
Even the people are blue...
And the many beautiful girls that caught your attention...
I miss you Claude...
It both bothers me, knowing that I miss you.
It's the first time...
I was always unaffected.
I was always indifferent to the presence or absence of things
Perhaps there's a white sail in the distance.
I also see some seagulls spiralling down to the beach.
Are there any on the Costa Azul?
They bring rain...
It never rains there.
We're wasting time, Ridder. We'll never finish the circulars tonight.
And you keep turning that crank.
It's always beautiful. - It's beautiful.
Here nature doesn't have that ugly green of the countryside.
Coming? Later.
And if I'd been married? - I do not know what would have done.
I wouldn't have cared, surely.
When I met you, I felt nothing special.
It was a matter of... your being different.
You were really out of your element at the office.
I knew the rest didn't matter.
You could have been indifferent. - No, not at all.
I was so scared that night, when we left the restaurant.
Did you quit your job for no other reason than to impress me?
Yes. Were you impressed?
Were you making good money?
A living.
Have I told you that your eyes are beautiful?
And I want you. - Me too.
See? We are not pioneers.
Shall we answer?
No.
Catherine, I love you.
Do you hear me?
I love you.
It was the only reason.
Long before you died.
And now I'm dead.
I'm cold.
I hear my own words.
It's the drug...
What are my chances of surviving?
Ah, yes, 100% if I were a mouse.
I am a mouse then, if I'm alive.
They'll come now.
There's still four minutes to wait.
And the mouse? Where's the mouse?
You're delirious!
Unfortunately not.
Claude, please stop. You're scaring me.
I don't mean to.
I killed Catherine two months ago in Glasgow.
I went with her without telling anyone, and I came back alone.
I don't believe you.
You're both right and wrong.
What do you mean?
You're right. I'm not capable of killing.
But you're wrong, because I did.
Impossible.
I thought so too.
What can we do?
We won't get out of here until they do away with trams.
Buses are just as bad.
Cars will be useless soon.
I'll give you some advice, sir.
I'd recommend that you hop out and take the tram...
...otherwise, you'll miss your train.
Have you got time, sir?
We'll have to cook the cat's eyes.
What? - We have a cat, don't we.
Are psychoses red? - No. The future is red.
And psychoses?
I get them mixed up.
Are you awake too?
Go to the office for me.
I need you. - I'm hard to live with.
I don't want to live with you.
I want to be with you.
I want you to stay with me tonight.
Don't leave me.
I'm afraid... - Afraid?
Yes, I'm afraid of losing you.
Of finding myself alone tomorrow.
Of being without you tonight.
If you like, we could spend the night in ...
Last time he stayed in the sphere for one minute 29.
He arrived at 4 minutes 23.
Now he's been gone for 3 minutes and 4 seconds...
He's trapped in that minute, reliving it endlessly.
That's what gives us the best chance of bringing him back.
I couldn't stay there.
Stay here if you like. - No, I'm going home.
Aren't you sleepy?
She'd be sad if you didn't come.
Sad? She's always sad...
...when I'm there...when I'm not... ...when she's asleep... when she's awake...
Sometimes I think she's sadness personified.
You should be used to it, after five years.
I think of leaving her.
I can't help her. Nobody can help her.
She needs you.
That doesn't help.
Could you leave her?
Probably not.
Sometimes I can't stand it. I feel oxidized...
Once I left... - But you returned.
Yes, after 2 days.
She greeted me as if I'd been to the cinema and asked if I had eaten well.
Claude Ridder, you've had it.
At the time, she wanted to have a house by the sea...
...but was never sadder than when we went to the Riviera.
Perhaps she doesn't like the sun.
She loves the sun, but she can't help thinking that one day it won't exist.
You can't live with her or without her.
And so God created the Earth, looked at it and said: "I'm just waiting for it to turn".
You go to sleep.
I'm not sleepy.
You're not good at that.
Not especially. I don't write anything.
This job doesn't suit you.
No job does. Offices make me sick.
They make you sick? - Yes.
Do you know what you've earned this morning? - No.
Exactly 14 francs. Enough for a pack of cigarettes
Not much, especially because I won't be back after lunch.
Did you expect to make money in just one morning?
For how long?
I don't know. A day... till tomorrow.
Okay.
Here's what we'll do...
I'll give you the 14 francs I owe you...
And you ask me to lunch with that small fortune.
Why? - Because it doesn't interest me.
You never buy anything.
I do. Bread, milk, matches, vegetables, tomatoes, mustard...
Nothing for you. - I don't need anything.
You could buy a sweater... - I've already got 2.
That's not much, is it?
No visits? - No.
I don't want to see anyone.
How about we stay out all night...
We go to bed very late.
That's different.
Hello. How are you today?
Is it good? Very good.
Something's gone wrong.
I don't know what time it is.
They didn't give me a watch.
That's the limit.
There aren't watches for time travelling.
I could...
...count the seconds...
...to calm myself.
4 minutes...
one... two... three...
...four...five...
No. - What d'you mean 'no'?
No. - But what kind of 'no'?
Just 'no'.
Why not? - Because no.
Because not yes?
Yes. - Ah, but you said 'yes'!
But no. - She sure knows how to say 'no'.
Can't they tell?
I'm here!
They must know it!
I'm back!
I'm here!
One travels for a few minutes, and centuries have passed outside.
Those responsible died long ago...
...and I'm here...
...forgotten.
One minute. - We'll get him back in three minutes.
Oh, there you are! How have you been?
You're on a trip too.
Did it go well? Did you go far away?
They can't get you back either.
We're both in a mess.
I know you.
You're the mouse I saw on the beach. You caught my eye.
You wander through my past here and there.
What would you say if I wandered through yours?
In the end, you see, everything can be explained.
Everything is reasonable.
You don't have a watch either.
You don't know how long we've been here for either.
It's continuing. I have to get out of here!
I have to concentrate.
It's 10:30, you know
I feel awful. - Are you sick?
If Catherine had died, we'd have heard about it.
It's not impossible. It's so simple. Do you know anything about Catherine?
You've been telling me about her for years.
But have you met her? Have you ever seen her?
No, never.
The few people I knew never saw her.
It's been years since I've seen them. They don't even know if I live with her or not.
You hid her. - People bored her.
She had family?
No, no cousins, no friends.
...no boss, no job... She didn't even pay taxes.
To go overseas, she needed papers, and she didn't have any.
No one worried about her disappearance.
No. Nobody.
People think we've separated, just as you did.
You left her there?
Why bring her back?
Why tell me all this?
Because nobody knows.
You see what you're doing, you let me caress you...
You'd make love to me.
Yet you say you love that man.
I am, you are, he is, we love each other, you love, they lie down.
I caress... your knees.
Then your thighs.
Because tonight I feel abandoned.
Abandoned...
If Catherine left me I'd be thrilled.
I once knew a man...
You are not listening.
I'm listening to your fingers.
Since last week you've had a different expression.
Because last week I was sure...
...that I wouldn't write to you again.
You said the same thing last year.
I'll show you something you'll like.
Is it big? - No it's actually tiny.
You'll like it because it's tiny.
Animal, vegetable. astral or mineral?
A mixture.
I want to stay with you tonight.
What's wrong? - I'm terrified.
Don't say 'terrified'. You're just afraid.
For no reason.
What's the difference between 'afraid' and 'terrified'?
Fear is when you feel hot. Terror is when you feel cold.
You haven't shut your eyes more than one or two hours. You need to sleep.
One of my eyes wants to read and the other wants to sleep.
You are absolutely...
...I don't know what... But you are it absolutely.
Now I'm afraid too. - Of what, of dying?
Not exactly.
I'm afraid of not dying. - I've never heard such a thing.
You still here?
Will you be out late?
Yes. He lives quite far away.
It's too hot in here.
Come with me.
I've called a taxi.
Glasgow is too gloomy.
Buy me some oranges.
Are you okay? - Yes.
Can't you sleep?
I wanted the light on.
Here, come close to me.
Simple things are harder to understand.
But you did go to school.
Yes, but I never listened.
But you read, don't you?
Books don't teach everything.
One day Claude told me the electric cable...
...kept the streetcars from falling off the tracks.
I'd never thought of it.
I thought they ran on gas.
It's all right. It's what they call "The Martian Viewpoint".
Missed by two minutes. - It's as bad as two months.
The T. 5. has worn off by now.
Three circulars at least. We've received complaints about it.
Better write a new text.
You'll have it next week.
The release for the seventeenth. Five days more, the twenty second....
It'll have to be out after the 25th to meet the payments.
We haven't talked about the number of pages yet. How many?
If we have 40 pages more, It won't cost be the same price.
It needs to be cut back. Who'll take care of it?
We still can't send them before the 17th.
Mouse B travelled in time. He's been 1 minute into the past.
A hero! When?
Yesterday. With no ill effects.
How do you know it really happened?
That's the problem...
If during the war someone had told me that I'd be talking about this...
Where are you going?
I'll go buy some cigarettes.
What are you doing here?
What?
What are you doing here?
I couldn't sleep.
I was afraid I'd die.
So I came here.
Tomorrow, when you go out,
you'd have found me dead on the stairs,
...or simply sleeping.
Come with me. Come.
I found a girl I didn't know in the bathroom...
She was very attractive.
Every man's dream.
Nothing happened.
I just washed her as she asked me to.
Have you seen her again? - Often, in my dreams.
We accolege reseat of your of the 2nd...
Happy to learn that you never deceived...
...our watchamacallit...
We'll fend you a new one...
...and cope it alives chafely...
Except our exclusives.
Yours, screwly, Claude Ridder.
I killed Catherine in Glasgow 2 months ago.
It's late. We needed it yesterday.
We can work all night.
How can he work without a pencil? - It's his custom.
Does he know we need it for tomorrow?
Only his is lacking.
Can't spell "tomorrow".
It's late. Isn't he tired?
And this mark? Has he seen this mark?
You're right about the colour green and the countryside.
And if man were allergic to the colour green?
Perhaps it's green which ruins our cells.
Thousands of scientists invent can openers, detergents...
and bypass this, which would change everything.
I believe that's the secret.
It's so simple that no one has thought of it.
We'll give up salad for a month to test it.
If you buy a boat, I'll learn to steer...
If I weren't sad for this reason, I'd find another.
I'm just a burden for you.
If I only had money...
I don't know if I'd have liked you if you were rich.
I'd have pretend to be poor and disinherited.
I'd have gone to see your boss...
to arrange for him to give you some money.
Oh! A tree!
It's not a tree; it's a weed.
Yes, but the trees are appearing less frequently
I showed you a rubber tree that you missed.
Are you sure?
- Yes.
Okay, leave the other one, and take that one.
Yes, it's better. - I'll tell them.
But the other one...
I assure you I'm not mistaken.
It was you got me my false papers during the war.
I don't know you.
Don't you know me? My name is Claude Ridder.
I was called Claude Rabois in 1943.
You can't know me.
I had false papers too during the war.
You have a calcite.
Is it serious? Not terribly.
You killed her all the same.
That'll be 90 francs.
Shall I come back?
Are you tired? - Yes, exhausted.
What have you been doing? - Nothing.
I listened to people talking.
Didn't you talk? - I didn't say a word.
What did they talk about?
Nothing. I wasn't listening.
What are you looking for? - Something to eat.
I bought spinach.
Plants...
I'd like huge herring.
I can't do anything.
I wonder, who are you in reality?
Something blurred...
...more and more blurred...
I shrink in water.
You never tell me what you write about.
I don't write much.
If you like we can go together to eat.
What worries me is that if you killed her, it was the perfect crime.
It'll be closed.
Okay, I'll go and get dressed.
I like it when you wear mauve.
Imagine for a moment if God had created the cat in His own image?
The cat? - Yes, the cat.
Then after a thousand years, or a few hours, I don't know, He created man...
Man? - Yes, man...
...with the only object of serving the cat, like a slave.
Like a slave? - Exactly.
The cat received lucidity...
And man received neuroses and the passion for making and owning things.
I see. - No, you don't see anything.
Man was created for the cat's sake.
Do you understand? - Yes, yes, I get it.
There you have it.
All of the civilisation that he has constructed has no other aim...
...than to feed and comfort the cat.
The cat. - Exactly.
He invented lots of things,
...only for the cat's wellbeing.
Fishermen, cushions, carpet and the radiators...
Maybe even the radio, because cats love music.
I'm glad to know you've discovered who we are and why we're here.
So am I, but you see, it's all a question of thinking.
Claude!
Look!
What is it?
A beetle.
You've been like this for two hours. What's the matter?
Nothing's the matter.
Where's the cat?
Did she sleep with you?
Does it annoy you? And you, do you find it amusing?
You have a side that's very superficial.
I always dreamed of having something with an especially inept employee...
Fire her...
and escape with her.
I promise, once my three months notice are through, we'll go together
...somewhere.
And after that?
Then we'll come back...
Come back.
Another coffee?
I'd like to know how was it that I was picked for this?
Let's say a computer did it.
Out of millions, obviously. - Of course.
Good afternoon. - Good afternoon.
Our oldest employee.
Maybe he's the computer who picked me.
This will do it good. It needs refreshment.
Could you imagine being buried all alone in this cold dirt?
You could do a guide to graveyards. It would be a best-seller.
Luceram cemetery. One shinbone. Modest, but good location.
Another one: Three shinbones. Worth a detour.
No shinbone. Avoid.
I'd rather live here than die here.
These situations only occur in books.
And when they occur, one doesn't take advantage. - That's still to be seen.
I don't mean to scare you.
I killed Catherine in Glasgow two months ago.
I went with her without telling anybody...
...and I came back alone.
I don't believe it.
You're right and wrong.
What does that mean?
You're right, I'm not capable of killing, but you're wrong...
...because I still did it.
Impossible.
That's what I thought too.
That day, it was very cold in Glasgow.
Catherine had never gone that far before.
Me either.
She didn't like the city; she thought it gloomy.
I think I'd never seen Catherine as depressed as she was that day.
She was absolutely...
We haven't slept all night.
I'll be exhausted tomorrow.
Let's try to sleep a little.
It's strange to wake up exactly when I was planning to sleep again.
She was asleep.
And the strange thing was that she was smiling... in her sleep.
I'd never seen he smiling in her sleep. It was the first time.
She looked relaxed... happy.
That's how it all happened.
I looked at Catherine...
29 minutes.
What have you decided?
And the risks?
We must try whatever we can because the T.5. is no longer working.
Are you Mr. Ridder?
Yes, that's me.
Wiana went out. She went to the post-office.
That's alright. I'll wait.
Come in if you like.
We're two girls here in the bathroom.
Which one will you take? The one on the right or on the left?
The left one.
Or if not...
No. The one on the left.
You chose badly.
I'm Nicole. I arrived yesterday. Do you mind if I take a bath?
Wash my back while we talk.
What do you do at the office?
Sometimes I think.
I pick up an object and I start to think.
Here is a pen.
I concentrate and I see that it's a red pencil.
It's red on the outside but it writes black.
Proof that appearances are deceiving.
It's of normal size; a common pencil...
...of the kind found everywhere.
It has a point...
...like a pencil.
When you push it, It rolls...
...like a pencil, naturally.
If you hold it up...
...it looks like the trunk of a tree, smooth and straight ...
In the same way, it also looks like a pencil.
So it would seem that we are dealing with a pencil
On the other hand, I never use a pencil
Why would I have one in this case?
Doubtless because tables are meant for holding pencils.
I like your story. Keep going.
There are other things apart from pencils.
There are also erasers, pads, paper...
She has received over 150 letters of complaint.
And she has them piled up there.
They said there were 300 letters that were late.
And now?
We've caught up. - Even a bit ahead.
Claude told me this morning that he'd responded to a letter...
...that we haven't got yet.
I'm absolutely exhausted. I hardly slept 3 hours last night.
And besides that, I dreamed that I had to do 100 pages.
It's going to be a nice day.
One knows these things by the sea.
If people are up, it's...
Everything's ready.
Is it much? - 5 whole years.
It'll be a few days.
Even though I make love to other girls, I feel drawn to you.
It's hurtful that you do it with other girls.
I don't know what to say.
Do you understand?
Yes, Claude, I do. That's why I'm sad.
If Prometheus didn't have his vulture...
Speaking of vultures, I bought a chicken for tonight.
I don't know what to do. I can't get down to work.
Move about, I don't know, do something.
What did I do this morning? I kept watching the telephone.
What does that girl have?
Nothing. But I want her.
I'd do anything for her.
Including sending Catherine to hell.
Well, call her.
I don't have her number.
All I can do is wait.
A kiss?
I won't be able to stand it. - I'd like it very much.
He's all right. - He's completely immobilised.
Let's wait a bit longer.
The minute flees, but I look for it.
I concentrate on that minute.
I'm in the water. The sun's hot...
Catherine is there, on the beach.
The water's warm...
I swim in it.
I see the bottom.
I want to swim.
Thank you.
Sorry, I don't speak French.
But you understand English, I hope.
Yes, without a problem.
Then where is Catherine?
Catherine!
In the end... - Yes, in the end...
Nothing...
Do you have to go?
I should.
Stay with me.
I can't find an excuse every day.
I'll write you an encyclopaedia with all the excuses you can use.
You're already late.
Like every day, punctually late, never more than an hour.
And occasionally less.
Seen many fish?
2 sea snakes, some sharks...
Nothing at all.
Nothing changes.
It's strange.
I'm going to die.
Catherine...
Do you realise?
...you were right.
Catherine...
I'd like to see the mouse.
He's coming back more often.
An interval of 30 seconds since last time.
That's not much.
A storm at 7 a.m. is unusual.
People get up early.
Who?
God... the workers...
You don't understand... - Not today.
You're lucky. You're all blind.
People are scared because they have a hard life, discouraging.
In those moments, they should be convinced of the reverse.
I doubt it. It won't last.
Finally, it goes by fast.
When you're okay, that's when it's scary...
You know that one day it'll all be lost, and it's unsupportable.
It's unsupportable, and the rest doesn't matter.
When you're hungry, time drags...
It takes 3 months or 60 years to die...
It's strange, isn't it?
One even adapts to cancer.
Choose something...
Carrots are good for the skin.
After... Spinach for influenza...
Fruit, of course, is good for your health.
I don't think I can help you.
I wish I'd never met you.
That can't be changed.
Something to drink? - I can't drink; it makes me sleepy.
Have you been here long?
Hello, how are you?
There it is; we can work now.
We haven't brought all the documents.
Hello, cat... I'm happy to see you.
Have you eaten well today?
'I tell you this woman doesn't give me enough to eat.'
Yes, I think she's a bit stingy.
'Stingy.'
But on the street, you'd have less to eat.
'That's no reason for me to starve in an apartment.'
You exaggerate.
'You won't believe me if I don't exaggerate.'
'I don't like your records.'
'They're noisy and all sound the same.'
'I had more fun outside. I had friends there.'
We're your friends. You can chat with us.
'But you're not very smart.'
Sophie thinks we are.
What are you reading?
Where did you find this?
What does that mean? - I don't know.
It bores me to explain.
I couldn't care less.
Why do you say that?
I don't understand this. It has nothing to do with me.
And with you? Not me either.
Then it's a bit silly, a bit sad, depends on how you look at it.
I'm getting mixed up...
I like you a lot. I like you more than a lot.
You can't say 'more than a lot'.
You can't say it. - But I can think it, right?
I used to wake up at night. I hated it.
I stayed awake so as not to wake up.
But now it's over.
I sleep until morning.
I sleep well, don't I?
Did you ever think of killing Catherine?
Many times.
I believe it. - Do you?
I thought all night about what you told me.
I think you told the truth.
It's possible you've killed her without anybody knowing.
And do you know why?
To end it all.
To end her suffering.
As you told me,
She had an incurable, mortal illness, didn't she?
The periods vary.
We can't do anything.
Then everything is lost.
I went there to see a writer. I was there for that.
We found a room in a little hotel.
We turned on the gas heater because it was a bit chilly.
She'd taken a sleeping pill.
When I saw her, she was asleep,
The strange thing was that she was smiling... asleep.
I'd never seen her smiling in her sleep. It was the first time.
She looked relaxed... happy.
No longer afraid of anything.
That's how it all happened.
When I was going out I noticed that the room was very cold.
Very cold.
I smelled gas...
The heater was off, but the gas was on...
That was all.
I looked at her, smiling in her sleep, and then I left.
When I came back an hour later, she was dead.
The cops were already there.
Claude, I don't know why you're lying to me.
Why didn't they arrest you?
They thought it was an accident.
Just like that?
It really was an accident.
I lied to see if you'd believe me.
The heater must have turned off while I was outside.
I returned...
...later...
...that night.
Much later.
She really died there?
Yes.
For a moment I was glad...
...though it was horrible, I was glad.
Everything happened while she was asleep. She didn't have to experience her death...
Then I realized she was no longer there,
that she would never be there again.
And I couldn't stand it.
It got worse and worse.
What's wrong? - Nothing.
George is dead.
Which George?
Slovain. He's dead.
I know already. He died 8 months ago.
You knew it?
Eight months ago.
His wife wrote me a little after his death.
And you didn't tell me at all?
You were depressed, so I didn't tell you.
Can you imagine a man...
...who, to spare his wife...
...would hide all bad news from her.
He'd hire actors to replace
...the people who had died.
He'd buy all the newspapers so that she couldn't get one.
He'd have to cover up the whole planet.
It would cost a lot.
It's ghastly.
What?
Everything.
Even when you're with me.
Page 8, first line, put "Evarista Corriego" in italics.
Same page, ninth line after 'the words'...
the word "conjugated" is lacking.
With an acute accent and plural.
Page 9 is all right.
Page 10, twelfth line.
'Tlön' with diaeresis over the 'o'.
Same page, 14th line...
It has 'solipsism' with 'c' instead of 's'.
Yes, it looks strange, but that's how it is. Page 11 all okay.
Page 12, eighth, no, ninth line:
"visual and tactile."
It's been more than an hour now.
We'll never get him back.
His pulse is weak.
He's lost a lot of blood.
Can we move him?
Call the hospital, quick.
We'll have to check all our figures.