We are going to bring this government down.
I want the word on front page of every newspaper.
I want it on every wall. On every shop window.
I want every man, woman and child to know,
that this government is lying.
Forestier can dig something up.
What's that? - What?
You just called me Forestier.
Ah, force of habit.
Don't be offended. It's easy mistake to make.
How do you mean? - And...
...we should look into troop movements.
Logistics.
Yes.
Laroche, you can help us here.
I know a couple of officers, who are...
...sympathetic to our cause.
You can talk to...
Laroche will tell you what to write.
Look at these exports to Algiers.
Why are we going from shipping hundreds of tons of grain here,
to...
Look, look.
Thousands of tons here.
Why?
I don't know.
To - to feed an army.
To feed an army.
This is it.
Who is supplying the grain?
Georges, that's the question.
Georges, I need to work.
My brilliant wife.
All right.
Madeleine.
Madeleine, slow down, slow down.
Madeleine.
Look.
The're going to invade.
La Vie Française...
...has found proof.
Of course.
It's Tuesday.
The Comte de Vaudrec must be arriving soon.
Incontrovertible proof...
...of the government's true intentions toward Morocco.
We never talked about that, have we?
Comte de Vaudrec.
Man,
who arrives unannounced.
Who knows all the servants better than I.
buried...
...deep amongst the dreary columns of our trade finance.
What is he to you?
Where no one will think to look. - What is he to you?
Do you want to be the man,
who brought down a government?
Or do you want to be a fool?
Just waiting for Laroche.
You know my daughter Suzanne?
So pretty.
And another for Bel Ami.
It's what mamman calls you.
Well, I have from time to time. I hope you don't mind.
Call him whatever you like.
Our Foreign Minister.
Thank you. Thank you, my good friends.
My excellent, hard-working friends.
'Coz I'm afraid I have bad news for you.
Our work has only just begun.
We have a great task ahead of us.
Our achievements in government...
...must dwarf our achievements in opposition.
There will be battles. There will be conflicts.
But they will be fought not on the sands of Morocco,
but on the floor of the Chamber.
My first act as Foreign Minister,
is to recall General Pétain from Algiers.
There will be no Minister of War in this government.
Hear this my friends, people of France...
I don't have to ask how you are...
I've been very pleased for you.
How's Laurine? - She still hasn't forgiven you.
She calls you Mr. Forestier now.
She's too young understand.
And you?
You made a good marriage.
We all have to do it.
And I miss you.
Our love nest feels cold without you.
You kept it on.
I'm an optimist.
Morocco is safe.
Come, play a hand. Sit.
Let my boy deal.
I'm warning you, I'm on a winning streak.
I'm more powerful than a king.
Not as rich.
Not yet anyway.
In a mere morning,
I empty the Chamber Of Deputies...
...and fill it again with men of my choosing,
with nothing more than words on a page.
They're not your words, though.
Are they?
How's married life?
How do you get along with Vaudrec?
He visits quite often.
I dare say it's only fair, after all, he does own the apartment.
Duroy?
Yes, he set them up at the apartment...
...after he married Madeleine to Forestier.
He married Madeleine to Forestier?
Well, he introduced them, and,
then he paid the dowry.
So...
I suppose that is how you pull it...
Vaudrec is a father to her.
Perhaps.
Why don't you go and enjoy the party.
I'm sure the ladies will want to dance.
Bel Ami.
What brings you here?
You were caught in the rain.
No, I didn't come here by chance.
I don't mean to frighten you.
I expect nothing.
I ask for nothing.
I don't even know what I'm doing.
I'm sorry if I offended you.
No.
No, you've not offended me.
But we must talk of it no longer.
Shall I leave?
Shall I stay?
Is there any hope for me?
You are trying to seduce me in a church.
I've never h-...
...had a lover, before.
Look at me.
Does your husband tell you you're beautiful?
Virginie. Virginie.
Georges.
Whose arms are these?
They're mine.
And whose lips... - Virginie.
Whose lips?
They're my lips.
Come on.
Get dressed.
When will I see you again? - Please, leave.
My beautiful Georges.
My darling boy, please tell me.
Tomorrow. - Tomorrow?
Yes, tomorrow.
Georges?
Georges.
Madeleine will be wondering where you are.
Madeleine?
Madeleine.
Where's my wife?
She's with the Comte de Vaudrec.
What?
He died, this morning.
I have asked you here today Madame Duroy de Contel,
to hear the will of the Comte de Vaudrec.
The Comte has named you, Madame,
as the sole inheritor of his estate.
The value of which stands at...
...1,080,015 francs...
...and 29 centimes.
There is one complication.
The nature of the legacy.
The nature of the legacy?
If you'll forgive me, sir...
...it is unusual for an estate...
...to be left solely to a married woman.
It would normally be left to the husband.
And why is that?
To avoid any suggestion of...
...forgive me,
impropriety in the relationship.
What was he to you?
What was he thinking, the stupid old bastard?
He should have left it all to me.
That would have been much better for you.
He must have known what people would make of it.
He must have realized how it would compromise you.
Unless it was done in innocence.
The fatherly gesture?
He was like a father to you, wasn't he?
A guardian.
I can't accept it.
I must protect my reputation.
I don't want a million francs.
Come on, let's not be hasty.
I'm sure we can reach some kind of...
But the will is there, for all to see.
I can only redeem it by rejecting it.
But if I, your husband, chose to accept it,
then who is to question me?
Indeed,
to refuse,
is to admit the shame.
Whereas,
to accept,
is to deny it.
Good.
Perhaps your old man wasn't so stupid after all.
Don't speak of him.
What was he to you?
Tell me.
Tell me, I deserve an answer.
He is...
...a man I have lost.
The man I am...
...grieving.
You wanted...
...to be something small,
something squalid,
and contemptible.
He was my friend.
My father,
and my lover.
You loved him.
How will I live...
You haven't been to see me for a while.
For a whole week I waited for a word from you.
Georges.
My beautiful boy. - Don't call me that.
They're not for you.
You're meeting someone else.
Take me with you. I need to talk to you.
Just for a while. Remember where you are.
You shouldn't have seduced me.
You should have left me where I was.
A happy and faithful wife.
Please, let me come with you. Please, just for an hour.
I've got something so important to tell you.
Something to your advantage.
It's about my husband.
Please.
If you're going to cry, you should leave.
Please, Georges.
Oh, my darling Georges.
My beautiful boy.
I have been so clever.
So discreet.
I've asked all the right questions.
And listened carefully.
Oh, come on.
What?
Our new government is going to take Morocco.
Virginie.
The new government came to power,
I brought them to power,
on the promise that they would not.
That's the whole point.
Don't you see?
No one's expecting it.
My husband and Laroche have been hatching...
...this plan for a long time.
The first troops sail tonight.
Tonight?
But they would have included me.
They don't trust you.
They think you're too impulsive.
Too greedy, they say. Not used to having money.
They think that you'll give them away.
They think I'm too greedy? - They don't know you as I do.
Over the past few weeks, they've bought the entire Moroccan loan.
They've bought every copper mine in Morocco. Every last one.
They stand to make 70 million apiece.
70 million?
He's spending it already.
He's going to buy The Ballet Saint - Honoré.
70 million and I've shamed myself for a pittance.
Aren't you proud of me?
Don't you love me?
Haven't I done well finding this out, my darling?
I've bought shares for you too.
And they'll make you at least seventy thousand.
I don't want your pennies.
They're not worth the price I've paid for them.
No.
You disgust me. - But I love you.
I don't want your love.
I've never loved you.
Your smell. It turns my stomach.
Because you smell of him.
Your filthy husband.
I used to laugh every time I'd had you to think I'd sent you back...
...to him with my sweat on your skin, when all the while,
it was me.
I was the one getting fucked.
Me.
Get out of my house. - Just listen to them, Georges.
Get out.
Get out of my house.
Listen to them, Georges. Just listen to what they have to say.
I am going to ruin you. - Don't be a child.
Consider your best interest.
There's still money to be made.
You think I've robbed you?
You're not my responsibility.
The opportunity was there...
...for anyone who had eyes to see it.
You.
You are an embarrassment to Charles.
A failed soldier, barely literate.
He said you'd never amount to much.
Seems he was right.
Pity you didn't marry more wisely.
You'll be missed.
You knew.
Don't be absurd, Georges.
How could I know?
I'm a woman.
I'm not invited to the card game.
Who was it today, hm?
Clotilde?
Or Virginie?
Or both.
And yesterday?
You stupid, stupid man.
You, complete and perfect man.
I poured my talent into you.
My intelligence.
My vision into you.
I had no conception...
...of the depths of your emptiness.
Nothing.
There's nothing there.
Nothing but rage.
Like dumb animal.
That's what you are.
An animal.
I thought I could teach you.
But what I should have done was train you.
Excuse me.
I always liked your audacity.
I don't need to hide my face, I'm not the criminal.
You're not going to throw me out?
Drink my champagne, dance with my wife.
Yours, I see,
is already spoken for.
Georges.
Georges?
I've been such a fool.
Why do you come back to me?
I don't know.
Perhaps because you never expect me to.
I am sorry I hurt you.
It is worth saying.
I've never seen such a host of bucktooth cretins.
Every one a noble bankrupt.
All here for Suzanne and her 30 million francs.
Open this door or we will force it. - Who is it?
Police.
Madame, Madeleine Duroy de Contel?
Wife of Mr. Georges Duroy de Contel?
Yes.
Madame Duroy de Contel.
I have found you here in a place that is not your home.
With Mr. François Laroche.
Do you admit to this man as your lover?
I admit it.
Madame I have no choice but to charge you with adultery.
Is there anything you wish to say?
No.
Let's leave her in peace.
We have no further business here.
What should I do?
Should I go?
No, stay.
Finish, if you like.
Well,
you'll hear from my lawyer in a few days.
Good-bye, Georges.
Good-bye.
I couldn't get away.
They were shouting and screaming on and on..
My mum wouldn't stop crying and wailing, she was like a mad woman.
I wish I could see their faces when they find me gone.
Papa will turn blue.
We'll need two rooms.
Good night, Suzanne. - But...
I need a good-night kiss.
You should get some sleep.
But I... - Get some sleep.
Papa.
Maman.
He will not marry her. - I should have seen it coming.
He will not marry her.
I will not... Stop it.
He will marry her.
He must marry her.
And you will accept it, Virginie.
This is as much your doing as it is mine.
My doing?
Your infatuation for him infected my daughter.
He will marry her, and I will be glad of it.
What more can a father wish for, than to see his daughter...
...with a man he can respect?
She's only a child.
Do you love her? - No.
She's of no interest to me.
Poor little Suzanne.
Suzanne's her father.
Just some perfect miniature.
You've ruined her. - I haven't. I'm going to marry her.
Did you sleep with her?
No.
You didn't sleep with her.
I didn't touch her.
I didn't need to.
It was enough for people to think I had.
I don't know you at all.
You do.
Oh, do I?
He planned it.
You planned it.
You've ruined Laroche.
You humiliated Madeleine.
You humiliated her.
All, so you could take Suzanne.
Suzanne chose me because I was...
...the only one she wasn't allowed to have.
And me?
Did you ever think, how this would hurt me?
It has nothing to do with you.
Then why am I in pain?
I don't know.
You didn't even tell me yourself.
I had to hear it from my husband.
You think I'll forgive you anything.
I will not be stopped, Clotilde.
I will marry her.
You're just one of them, after all.
Just another,
selfish, brutal man.
Just another thief.
It's not enough to be loved, is it?
Oh, you must be a king.
No.
It's not enough to be loved.
Even by you.
I loved you when you had nothing.
I don't understand why you must be so proud.
I don't understand. - It's because you've never been poor.
Trying to scrape out some miserable scrap of an existence.
I can't live like that.
Like my father.
Working to the bone,
and then down on his knees, every week,
praying to God that the next life will be better.
Well, there is no next life.
The flesh,
it rots in the earth.
It rots.
I have seen a man die.
And I am going to live.
It's so clear to me.
I thought you'd understand.