THE BEAUTIFUL CAPTIVE
A lost night, doubtless like so many others...
...amidst strangers who pretended to dance, to laugh...
...whose shadows appeared to step an uncertain tango...
...to vanish later, at once...
I was alone
I was waiting
I knew not since when, nor for what
I felt empty, translucent, out of place among these fake dancers
Perhaps I'd idly drunk too much
The Organization no longer used me, as if it distrusted me, useless me
I was waiting
I'd like a... tomato-vodka
A Bloody Mary. Yes, sir
Watching, thinking of nothing
A pretty, laughing blonde...
...I'd never seen before in this club, which I often came to
The tipsy stranger was being provocative
I said to myself:" "Why not?"...
...thinking I'd nothing to lose
I have no name. I'm sorry, I've lost it
If I find it, I'll tell you
I have a phone, but it's out of order
You can't call me
You'll only hear: "This number is not listed"
Well, I'll find you... when I feel like it
Perhaps tonight... perhaps never...
...or perhaps yesterday
Time doesn't exist for me
What horrible thing are you drinking?
No, she wouldn't tell me her name
Nor give me her phone number
No address, no forename, no surname
She was having me on
I was wasting my time
It was then that Sara called
You're Walter Naime?
You're wanted on the phone
Yes, chief
Right, chief
In fifteen minutes, usual place
The cemetery crossroads
No, I'll leave now, I don't need to go home
I've never needed to go home, nor anywhere...
...since no one expects me anywhere
I was free, as required of agents, however subordinate...
...working for the Organization
No ties whatsoever, and free to leave any time
While I was phoning, my partner had gone...
...and I had no way of finding her
Sara Zeitgeist was waiting to give me my orders
I could not falter
Good evening, chief
You know Henri de Corinthe?
The senator?
The old majority. Contact him as soon as possible
You'll find any excuse, any excuse
Tonight if you can. It's a matter of hours
ls someone in danger?
In a sense, yes
Give him this letter. Make sure he opens it in front of you
Must he give you a reply?
I think it would be best for him
Good luck!
The night road once again...
the brieﬂy illuminated trees absorbed one irresistibly
I put on the 15th Quartet
Are you injured?
Can you hear me?
Is something broken?
Can you understand me?
If you can't speak, give me a sign with your eyes...
...or your mouth
I'll help you get up
Can you walk?
I'll take you to a doctor
What's this? We'll remove it later
You're safe now. We'll get into my car
First, I must take care of you
A fairly long drive, that passed like a dream
At last I saw the lights of a house
Wait a moment
An injured woman's in my car. May I phone?
We're saved. You can rest until a doctor comes
Gentlemen, excuse me, I need to telephone for a doctor
This lady has been hurt
Monsieur, do you understand?
A charming idea...
...to bring her thus, her hands chained
...barefooted
- Interesting, don't you think? - Yes, not bad at all.
The most beautiful of captives offered here tonight
Yes, but what can she do?
Breaking in has its charms
May I make a bid?
- ls it a regular? - No, it must be a new one
One must honour first fruits
- How much does he want? - I think he's found a buyer already
Let him state his figure. You'll do better, I'm sure
Gentlemen, let me through
What is he making her drink?
I must phone for a doctor
I am a doctor. Doctor Morgentodt
Come, let us find a quieter place
Wait here. I'll fetch my bag, I'll examine that
Try to find some pliers...
...to take this chain off her wrists
Help me, Walter. Come and help me
Closer
The villa seemed ravaged...
...as though struck by a hurricane during the night...
or rather a tidal wave sweeping between the porticos and columns...
...leaving debris scattered as on Atlantic beaches
I vaguely remembered motionless men in evening dress...
who did not seem to understand me
Their speech resembled mine, but their words held no meaning
Neither did I recognize the sound of my own voice
Outside, the cataclysm...
...left broken branches and fallen leaves...
...from the storm that had sprung up after my arrival
Nothing else had happened
Fact is, I had mixed my drinks in the club
I suddenly remembered Sara's letter
A vital mission, a message for the Comte de Corinthe
Well, I'd go now
Anyway, I couldn't have woken him in the night
The Schubert Quartet cassette was still in place
"The Pretty Girl and Death", or "Young Captive"...
...or something like that
I suddenly saw her bound hands...
...her fair face with its mocking smile
Had I also dreamed of entwining limbs, this burning body...
...insatiable mouth, carried away like all else by a great tide?
I no longer knew where I was, streets too wide, too narrow...
...soon sandy, in this district I'd often passed through
I saw a cafe. It, too, seemed lost
A strong coffee, please
Kidnapped on eve of marriage. Henri de Corinthe's fiancée vanishes
Fears for politician's health, stricken by sorrow and illness
The young woman lived with him for several months. Identity unknown
Weird story, eh?
He must be a drug addict, or a madman, or he's hiding something
He couldn't tell the police the name of the girl he's lived with...
...and was to marry today
Are you unwell, sir?
Is anyone there?
Despite the Villa Seconde nameplate which I'd seen in the night...
...I hardly recognized this house of assignation...
...where I'd slept with de Corinthe's fiancée...
this beautiful stranger hunted by the police
Don't wear yourself out pressing that, the bell hasn't worked for ages
Perhaps the gate doesn't even open
How do you get in?
You don't. In any case, not for centuries
I've never seen it open in the three years I've passed twice a day
- But someone lives there? - Of course not. Who'd want to?
It's absolutely empty
The windows bang in the wind...
...inside it's in ruins, so it seems
If you want information, ask the neighbour
But I warn you, he's rather odd
Good luck!
Ask the neighbour
But I warn you, he's rather odd
Good luck!
Excuse me... the house next door...
The house next door...
...doesn't exist
The house next door doesn't exist
Excuse me, I wondered...
...if you knew a way of entering the Villa Seconde, next door
The people next door, they're mad. Mad!
Sometimes you hear them screaming all night, screams of...
...hysterical women
Or they fight
They play music, too. They must dance, or something
What sort of music?
Perhaps it's only the wind that you hear
Or maybe stray dogs...
...hundreds of stray dogs howling to death all night long
Calm down
Who is this?
- Excuse me, the house next door... - What about it?
What are you doing here? Who let you in?
The house next door has been empty for at least ten years
- lf it's a rental, see the agency - What agency?
I don't know, I'm not an estate agent
You can see there are patients. You had no right to come in
Forgive my insistence, but was it not you last night...
At night, sir, I sleep
But you are injured. Why didn't you say you needed help?
You can trust me, I'm a doctor. Sit down
It's nothing, just a scratch
Don't be alarmed by the slight loss of blood
Quick, I must do a coroner's report
A vast, deserted beach
In the distance the sea, a succession of breaking waves
Quick, I must do a coroner's report
In the foreground, red, half-drawn theater curtains
Where from?
What were they doing there?
I was excessively worried by the memory of this image...
...as by a dream which recurs when eyelids are closed
One feels it means something important...
...but one doesn't know what
Sara had told me to see de Corinthe as soon as possible, I remembered...
...as if someone's life was in danger
I'd wasted time, de Corinthe was the only way to understand my own story
Monsieur Henri de Corinthe, please
Monsieur de Corinthe is dead
You're his cousin, aren't you?
Heart attack
The patient's state of exhaustion contributed considerably
No doubt you collect postcards?
Me? No, why?
You just took one belonging to the late Comte de Corinthe
I'm Inspector Francis
We're seeking the whereabouts of de Corinthe's "fiancee"
As his cousin, you can help us
- l'm not his cousin - Exaclly as I thought
May I ask what you're doing here?
I came on business
Quite natural. You were in business with the deceased
Did you know his fiancée?
No. I saw her for the first time in the papers today
Perfect
By the way, the photo was wrong
It's not the vanished fiancée, but a former friend...
...who played a major role in the Comte's life
The confusion is due either to a resemblance between the two...
...or to the patient's state last night
A final question and you're free
May I see the object deforming your right pocket?
I hope it isn't a revolver
Don't worry, it's a woman's shoe
You're a fetishist, like everyone
Quite natural
A friend asked me to take her shoe to the dry cleaner...
...to have some stains removed
Bloodstains
You see, these shoes were worn by the lady we're looking for
It's inadequate to accuse you of kidnapping...
...you wouldn't walk about with such a compromising object
You just picked it up in a corridor
You're a private eye, conducting your own investigation
It's all quite normal. However, I must confiscate your find
In compensation, these are for your collection
Monsieur de Corinthe had a whole pile
Billowing waves...
...at rising tide
Shoe in the sand, painter's easel
Red curtains, urgent message, for a corpse
Sand, shoe and blood
"My dear Comte, does this recall anything? Sara Zeitgeist"
Symbolic exchange...
...curtains... from a theater
What could I do with your letter? I couldn't give it to de Corinthe
So I came to receive orders
Why take the postcard on his desk?
Why show me this silly picture?
What has it to do with your mission?
Is it a likely trail? Does it bring back a memory, or what?
No, nothing, I don't know
I brought it as the Inspector had many copies. It seemed strange...
and I thought you might know why
But I took the postcard...
...without thinking, for no real reason, no reason
Be careful, Walter. You're hiding something
No. Hiding what? From whom?
It's true. I haven't felt at ease since last night...
...as if I'd been drugged at that club
I don't know what I'm doing. It might be best if you...
Now what's happening?
Here I am
Here I am, Walter
What do you want of me? How did you get in here?
What a way to welcome me...
...on my return from a long journey
You seem afraid, afraid of me, your fiancée
You said you so wanted to see me again
Here I am. Don't you know me?
Do you no longer see the eyes, the arms...
...and the mouth you so desired?
Don't you feel how I'm burning?
Devil, in a wedding gown...
...for what ancient crime are you pursuing me?
Are you mad? Why bolt the door? I couldn't open it
The door wasn't... I hadn't...
You're bleeding?
Are you hurt?
I must have scratched myself, fighting
Fighting? Who? You were alone
You saw something?
You seem afraid. Like a child haunted by a nightmare
No, I saw nothing special
I only felt... I was choking, as if something grasped my throat
Frequently?
No. Sometimes, since last night
See a doctor
No! No doctors!
Calm down. Seeing a doctor is quite normal
What is it? Choking fits?
Something like that. A sharp pain in the neck...
...as though I'm being strangled, then I fall, I'm drowning...
...but don't worry, chief, it'll go
I must go back to the Matchu Club
What for? I don't want anything now de Corinthe is dead
Your mission is ended, ended by default
Our plan failed
I must go back. There is still one thing I must know
What? I'm not sure, but I'll go
Could you do me a small favour?
Man to man
Last night I danced here with a pretty blonde...
...a black dress, very transparent
She laughed a lot. I must find her. Didn't you see her?
Was she a regular?
There were many people last night
I had other things to do than see who was with who and who wasn't
I didn't see any notable blonde, transparent...
...dancing with you or anyone
Here is her photo in today's paper
It's to do with some trifling story
I know her, she often came here
But she couldn't have been here last night
Why?
It must be six, seven years since she died in an accident
Professor Van de Reeves' daughter
The old man experiments in spiritualism
- What accident? - Rather weird.
Killed by an underwater fishing harpoon on a deserted beach
Her body was never found
She was with Comte de Corinthe...
...on a honeymoon, or something like that
Gossip says the inquest was botched
It's strange you've never heard that story
It does vaguely ring a bell
Well, the lady last night was so like her it was confounding
There were many people
It was found by the cleaner
A drunk client must have hopped home
I'd like it as a souvenir
One of your colleagues asked the same thing
Your inquiry seems to be advancing rapidly
Now we have three shoes of the same pair
Doubtless we'll find more
I think someone who wants to confuse us puts them in our way
You are, dear collector, directly involved in their discovery
From there to participating in their distribution
Contrary to what I said this morning...
...you turn out to be our main suspect
And how is Sara Zeitgeist?
You know Sara?
The paths of parallel organizations constantly cross
You are also in close contact with Doctor Morgentodt
A strange man. Perhaps we will arrest him, too, just in case
Now you seem to be interested in Professor Van de Reeves
With his moving tables he may reveal the secret of all this
To avoid fruitless searching...
...I've written down his address
So, don't you dare to tell me clearly?
You think you danced last night with my daughter, Marie-Ange
Personally, I'm not surprised
I was at the cinema last week and in the interval...
...I found I was sitting next to Marcel Proust
You look pale
Several people have met Marie-Ange since her death
She changes little, it seems
Proust had not changed, despite his illness
He was with an elderly lady, my grandmother, I believe
Alas, she drowned in 1927
You see, my dear sir...
...most of the people you see in the street are dead
That explains the crowds everywhere
So as not to cause outrage, they dress like you and me
More or less
Are you unwell?
No, it's nothing, just an empty stomach
Stomach empty, head too full
You'd better eat here before you go
You could even sleep here. I have a room nearby, waiting for you
Otherwise, you may lose your way at night...
...in this forlorn, badly lit suburb...
...which lacks signposts
That's true, I'm exhausted. I gratefully accept your offer
The door is at the end...
With relief... or apprehension... or hope...
...on your right
...or with deep anguish...
or suddenly recovered calm
Is it you, Walter?
Come to spend the night in my house?
You're so far away... Walter, so far away...
Come closer
Where is he?
The final scene...
...with the soldiers...
...on that empty beach
There's a noise, interference like a roaring engine
It's disturbing the execution
I thought you'd be here
I wasn't sure. You told me...
Would I be here if we were to meet elsewhere?
Of course
Unless another power is controlling us...
...manipulating us
What are you saying?
I feel...
...I'm going through the same places, as if in a bad dream...
...or along a blind road
You're mad, my poor Walter
I don't know whether you worry me or exasperate me
Where did you sleep? I called you everywhere
I slept at a madman's...
...but nothing interesting happened
That's all I know
Forget it
I can't
Why show the Comte de Corinthe a photo of a bloodied shoe?
To refresh his memory
A political enemy thinks he murdered, six or seven years ago...
...a mistress he introduced as his fiancée
He then disguised his crime as an accident
It happened on a deserted beach in the South Atlantic...
...near Uruguay
Now he's dead, too, it doesn't matter much
One never knows what matters or not
You should rest
That's right, I'm going to sleep
Always punctual
Your mission is ended, ended by default
What a nightmare
You commanded the firing squad that was to shoot me
It was on the beach, once again...
...at rising tide
Always the same beach with fine sand...
...and the waves breaking...
...one after another
You were parading in black leather on a huge motorbike
I must have heard street noises in my dream
There was a mad doctor...
...trying out parapsychological experiments on me...
...or seeking secret ways to the Beyond, that sort of nonsense
I also recall.
...vaguely...
I don't know, I don't remember
Are you tired?
No, in great shape. Well, I did sleep rather badly
On the beach, large red curtains half drawn
It could have been a stage
You screamed. It frightened me
You screamed a lot, like a child haunted by a nightmare
That's funny
In my dream I tried to shout, but no sound came
Invisible hands grasped my throat
Now I imagine that I, too, was dreaming
Your long shout was in my dream
I think it was
You never dream
There are no people who don't dream
Sure you're all right? Want me to get up?
No, what for?
I'll have a coffee in the cafe. I'll call you later
Just as you like
- When do the removal men come? - Nine-thirty, they said
If you need me, call me
The Angel of Death. No one knows in advance what face it will have
When it first appears...
...no one can recognize it
It may be a gentle, tender face
When one discovers what it hides it is already too late