This film won the 1986 Louis Delluc Award
He said to her: "Do you want to?"
She said neither yes nor no.
As a girl would to a boy.
Here again, the same thing.
Everywhere, suicide...
Jean didn't kill himself. It's the American woman,
one of her men, Boris maybe. Jean was pushed.
Marc, there're witnesses.
People never see anything.
- Jean was low... - Not that low.
Got lower and lower since Valerie died.
It's the American.
That's why she came.
Jean couldn't pay, so she wiped him out.
A warning.
Death isn't always so simple!
It's as simple as that. Now it's my turn.
Then let's scram. We'll leave the capital.
No, she'll find us anywhere... sooner or later,
like the Vincendon brothers.
I'll end up like them, with a slug in the gut, or between the eyes.
Anyway, I'm staying put.
Then we'll find the money.
There she is. It's all over.
I can't watch.
Not here. In broad daylight.
Don't be afraid.
Why this frightful heat in Paris?
Is it Halley's comet? It's worse than Washington.
Marc thinks you killed Jean.
What for? Dead men don't pay off their debts.
You know Michael took the money, he double-crossed us.
I don't know where he is.
I know, Marc. Everybody's gone.
Michael, Jean... You have no luck.
You're the only one left. So, you have to pay.
I remember the days
when we could count on you.
We'll find Michael.
Meanwhile, my plane leaves in two weeks.
You have two weeks.
- I can't. Never. - If you don't pay, you'll pay.
"Never" is a word for children.
You're too old for that, Marc. Two weeks!
I don't understand...
It's recent. I can't remember anything anymore.
Feelings don't cancel each other out like before.
They pile up. Nothing heals anymore.
For a few seconds, I was scared.
Now that damned fear will stay with me to the end!
Then let's get out of here!
No, I'm staying put.
I'd like to murder this Michael!
Our only out is to hit the drug company.
Barley-Wilkinson?
Yes, Barley-Wilkinson.
That's impossible, now.
We must attempt the impossible, Hans.
Jean was the only one whose hands were fast enough for that job.
I know, you're right.
"Chatterbox"!
Jean's son, Alex.
Jean and Valerie called him "Chatterbox".
That's right...
because the kid never talked.
I remember that when he was still an infant,
Valérie was afraid he'd be mute.
He never made a sound.
Jean said Alex got almost as fast with his hands as he was.
The last time I saw the kid, he was 13 or 14.
Jean was teaching him to shoot a gun.
That was ten years ago...
Valérie was still alive, but already very sick.
I can find his address, and...
- Lise, we have to go. - Why so soon?
Been crying?
No, my allergies are flaring up, like in summer.
This weird heat...
Can I drive it for a while?
Not tonight. Soon I'll buy a 750 and give you this one.
It's gotten old, too humdrum for me. I'll take you home.
No, Alex, to your place.
I'm working tonight.
- Not tonight. - Yes, tonight.
- I want to. - I want to, I don't want to...
- I must go home. - Even if I want to?
We'd have to rush, I couldn't stay afterward, you hate that.
- Doesn't matter. - So you say...
I mean it.
Let me do it.
How slow boys are! Even you.
You say I'm prettiest afterward. Yet, that's when you leave.
Can I meet you at your place later?
- Not tonight, Lise. - Especially tonight.
You promised not to make a scene.
I don't understand how you can lie.
You're not in love... One day you'll understand.
One day, or two, maybe.
Do your ventriloquist act.
"Hello..."
"little sphinx."
Hello Alex. Sing me the song.
"Close your pretty eyes"
"Tonight, my little Lise"
"Close your pretty eyes"
"For life is a dream"
Alex, it's Thomas. I just heard about your father. Call me.
Hello, Chatterbox.
No one calls me that now.
- Know who I am? - Yes.
- About your dad... - We'd lost touch.
Remember Marc?
He doesn't think it was suicide.
- He thinks it's the American. - Same thing.
He's setting up a big job your father wants to be in on.
I don't want to know!
Marc thought of you...
Jean told us how good you were with your hands.
There's money in it, lots.
Your eyes lit up. You're right, the young need money.
Besides, if you start paying women when you're young,
you won't notice so soon that you're aging.
Mr Alex Levogan?
This is the Paris morgue.
We have your father's body and are awaiting instructions.
Please call us immediately at 4523-45-45.
Marc's counting on this job to save his skin.
That's none of my business.
Try to change your mind. It's easy at your age. But fast!
Here's the address, an old horsemeat shop.
We'll be waiting for you tonight.
The hand's quicker than the eye,
watch my hand, black loses, red wins.
I switch, you watch, red won, black lost, who saw it?
100 francs! Who saw it, who played it, 100 francs, sir?
100... 200... I'll start again, don't be afraid to win...
watch the switch...
Thomas... Yes... No...
No, you know. I don't know, and I don't want to know.
Yes, an orphan at last,
my chance to make a new life,
to get out of Paris, leave nothing behind...
Every morning, concrete in my gut... Yes, since I was inside,
like that since I got out.
Very heavy. Yes, heavy.
No, even the motorcycle...
I long for the kiss of speed...
The morgue found me, and I don't want to answer.
Tomorrow I'm off to the sea. AH the books are yours...
I'll send you the keys... Like Lise...
I love her a lot... and she loves me...
But she already lights her cigarettes like me.
Later on, she mustn't owe anybody anything.
I'm leaving her,
don't know how to tell her, mustn't see her again.
Call her, Thomas, look after her a little.
Lise, my little Lise, I'm leaving,
first for the sea, then...
At times, nothing changes unless everything does.
Times when nothing can be untied or everything comes apart...
I know, I'm a killer.
I'm a killer, my warm gun left at the scene.
And I hope my prints on you fade.
You have youth's gift of surprise at not understanding. Good.
I'm taking off.
Don't wait for me, move fast, forget me fast.
Sleep with boys, and men.
I remember the first drawing you sent me, a beauty.
Under it you wrote: "When a girl spreads her legs,"
"only secrets fly away, like butterflies."
But be careful, no lovemaking without a condom.
Listen, Lise, I can't see you again,
or touch you until life wipes my fingerprints off you.
Forget me. Be admirable.
I send you my love, Lise, really I do.
Forever and always... Alex.
PS.
I'm enclosing the keys and papers for the motorbike. It's yours now.
Look!
- It's him! - Open the door.
This is Jean's son.
- About your Dad... - They'd lost touch.
Put your bag down, Chatterbox.
Like a drink?
So you decided to come.
To check it out. Costs a lot to start a new life.
Fine, there'll be plenty of dough.
I've burned all my bridges.
Fine...
You can sleep here.
Anna will make a bed up for you.
- Anna, this is Jean's son. - Chatterbox.
You look sleepy... Have you changed?
Alex will stay here a while, so set up his bed.
It's as hot as an oven. We'll go out and get some air.
Noticed anything new, Marc?
You changed the seat covers, no?
And the carpet. Cost me a fortune! I'm delighted!
Hans is stylish. About our job, it's urgent.
Has to be done in two weeks.
Jean said your hands were
as fast as his.
Faster.
- You've heard of STBO? - No.
- You don't read the papers? - Never!
STBO is a new disease,
the something syndrome, kills by the thousands.
And it's spreading.
Thousands who make love without love.
The younger you are, the higher the risk.
Even if only one partner makes love without love,
both are infected.
- Right, Hans? - Yes.
STBO is a retrovirus.
Yeah, retro... virus...
Transmitted by caresses.
They say the pain is horrible, atrocious!
Eye infections, aching joints,
vomiting, muscle spasms.
The only drug firm to have isolated the virus
is Barley-Wilkinson.
Developing a vaccine will open a huge market to them.
If they can do it.
Something about immunity, defenses...
Their lab's on the 56th floor of a skyscraper. We'll pass by it.
A foreign drug firm will pay us to get a culture of this virus.
Tell Alex what we expect of him and his hands.
Way up there, Barley-Wilkinson.
- And the money? - For you, 150.
That's a lot.
Where do you want it? How?
Dunno yet...
In a city... abroad.
My sister lives in a lonely house in the Swiss Alps.
You can stay with her while you wait.
- And the money? - We'll get it across the border.
I want to leave right after the job.
In case things go wrong,
I want a plane waiting for me, that night.
Hans, remember Charlie?
Charlie Carela.
Haven't seen him in years. Runs a parachute club near Paris.
He helped the Vincendons skip the country in '79.
Find him, call him in the morning. We'll visit him in the afternoon.
Ever made a parachute jump, Alex?
Never.
We'll teach you.
It may be the only way to get you into Switzerland.
Your dad loved parachuting!
It looks good!
At her age! And she's already scared of heights.
Sends me up the wall. She could at least try.
I can't stand that!
Like a kid who won't try something new.
You're going to jump, Anna!
Leave her alone, Marc. Let's go!
I'll be furious!
Charlie, you don't know Anna.
No, I've heard about her, but...
Hello, Anna.
Alex, Jean's son.
- About your dad... - They'd lost touch.
Everybody jumping?
Not me, not today. I've just been to the barber.
We three, then. For Anna and Alex it'll be the first time.
You'll see, it's wonderful!
You go first!
Then Anna.
I'll jump last.
Not her! She can't jump!
Then I'll jump after her.
Whatever you say.
Come on, Anna!
Don't look at the ground, Anna!
Don't forget,
bend your knees when you land!
Now go, Anna!
Go ahead... Now!
Don't jump!
Anna, look at me!
I'm going to cut the strap.
When I've cut it, pull on that...
The ripcord.
You hear me? Watch me!
She's fainted!
Cut!
I'm cutting!
I'm going to bed.
Good night, Alex.
I put a towel and washcloth on your bed.
Shave before you go up or you'll be scratchy.
Give me a kiss, to help me sleep.
OK, Anna.
Say: "I love you."
Not here, I can't.
Go on, say it, so it echoes in my dreams.
Not tonight, Anna.
Yes, tonight, Marc.
Shit!
You already said it, just repeat it.
Then say: "I don't love you"... No, say: "I love you."
Say it!
Oh, no! You too? "Luv"...
Say: "I love you."
Ah luv yew!
Alex, quick!
Go get Hans! Quick, he might die!
Across the court, first floor, end of the hall!
Marc... my love.
Hans is coming.
Marc's had an attack!
Go on, I'll be right there.
Turn over.
Hans used to be a doctor, lost his licence.
No one can split up Marc and Anna.
Believe me, Alex, don't try. Good night.
Sorry, I thought you were crying.
I'm leaving, Anna.
I like your moist lips...
like those of old-time actresses.
I really got hit.
Since I was a kid, when I start crying, I can't stop.
A kind of hemophilia of tears...
Anna,
look at me.
"Hold back your tears, hear me Anna?"
"Hold back your tears."
You're a ventriloquist?
"L want to see you smile."
Know the apple trick?
- Know the pineapple trick? - No.
You won't leave, will you?
I don't know.
- The job can't miss. - I don't know.
You must do it. You're the one who can.
Marc's not himself.
Your father's death really shook him.
And he's becoming mean, because he's scared.
I don't get it, this is the first time.
He's always been brave...
a tough man... You can't imagine the life he's had.
Yes I can. My father told me about him.
Then you know.
You'd never believe how I loved that man.
I probably love him even more now.
Life with him is splendid. He directs me so well.
He makes me do very beautiful things,
very demanding.
You know... he's self-taught.
A self-made man.
Right off, he looked at me with an inventor's eyes,
a scientist's eyes, as if I were a priceless discovery,
the solution to something,
something secret and mysterious
that was deep down inside him,
that is still there,
and that I sometimes come very close to...
Other times, I'm light years away from it.
It's exhausting...
I haven't a minute to myself, it's...
it's my life, that thing,
like an enigma...
that glues us to each other, two accomplices...
whose love will die if it's solved too soon, or not at all.
Now, he's scared and the enigma is deepening.
Scared of the American woman, and her men, and their guns.
But what's he afraid of? Has he aged?
No, that's not it...
I'm counting so much on you, Alex.
The job has to work so Marc can pay his debt.
Then I hope his fear will fly away,
and his love will resurface, I'm sure...
and we can pick up our story again, our enigma.
He loves me so much...
You can't imagine...
If only I had an idea of what he loves in me,
life would be child's play.
Yes, put on some music! With Hans' shot in him, he won't wake.
Alex, would you go up and make sure everything's all right?
Leave the light on.
He won't sleep without the light, now.
If he wakes in the dark, he'll be scared.
Well?
He's sleeping like a baby.
I'm glad you're here with us.
Put on a record?
Quick, before gloom envelops everything...
Nothing moves anymore, as if...
I feel so...
Things are too...
I can't decide... I'll turn on the radio.
I like the radio...
You just have to turn it on,
and you always hit right on the music throbbing inside.
You'll see, it's magic!
Here we go...
Bad luck!
Pick a number, any number...
Quick, Anna, a number!
Gee...
OK, three... One...
two,
three!
Let's listen and let our feelings flow as they will.
And now, for Christophe, who lives on the South side,
from Juliette, in midtown,
Modem Love by David Bowie.
Anna?
Think there's a love that burns fast...
that burns fast
but lasts forever?
I'm going up to bed.
Last night, I was with Lise, in a strange foreign country...
in a big, very dark dormitory
with hundreds of beds, and someone in each bed.
We moved slowly... Often we bumped into beds.
I saw you drowsing in a bed, and I lay down beside you.
You looked surprised, but when you saw Lise
watching us from the foot of the bed,
you grew gentle to me.
Your breast swelled in my hand.
The mouth of your womb drew on my tool.
Our faces almost touched... We only saw each other's eyes.
Your lips brushed my ear and whispered:
"If you see a little yellow moon in each of my eyes,"
"it means I'm coming."
I stared into your eyes... After a brief moment
I saw two little moons appear, and I woke up.
You look at me too much.
I like women in mirrors.
It's convenient.
I feast my eyes to feed my dreams.
That's what's awful there.
- "There" where? - In prison.
You were in prison?
- Which one? - State.
For long?
15 months.
You think about it a lot?
My head doesn't. But my gut does.
It couldn't digest all that concrete.
- The pills you take are... - Yes, opium.
Tell me... How'd they treat you?
Like a dog?
A dog can have his bitch, his sugar...
A dog is patted... I don't know...
Is that where you got the name "Chatterbox"?
No, from my parents, Jean and Valérie, as a joke.
It seems I was a dangerously silent child.
I kept silent... No...
Silence was my keeper.
Silent men make people feel uneasy.
You always think they're geniuses, or idiots.
OK, let's talk.
How old are you?
That's a nice question. I'll soon be a woman of 30.
Look at that boy going by!
If I were alone, he'd press against the window
and watch me silently, without moving.
Hans beat him up once,
but he still comes back, some evenings.
The neighborhood voyeur.
I envy him, it's a fine trade. Ever talk to him?
No, but he reminds me of my first love,
Julien Destouches... He was your age.
I was... 16.
Lise's age.
I've often wondered if that boy isn't Julien...
Want me to ask him?
No...
Besides, it's impossible.
That would mean he hasn't aged at all.
He was my sister's boyfriend.
Then she dropped him... and I took her place.
We were crazy together.
Tell me.
He was a med student...
He'd bring syringes back from school.
And each of us drank the other's blood...
Stop!
Once we went on a hunger strike.
He gave up before I did. I resented that.
We swore to die before I was 20, but we broke up before that.
Lise was like that. She often scared me.
One night, we were on the bike, speeding through the park,
she let herself fall off.
Wasn't hurt much, but she could have d...
Much later, she told me why. She'd suddenly doubted my love.
She thought: "If he doesn't check me in the mirror",
"he doesn't love me and I'll fall off."
She was religious, devout...
She believed in the hereafter, she adored me...
A mystical little girl.
Maybe because of her dad.
Was he a mystic?
No, he was dead. He was a cult figure for her.
I've only loved girls with dead fathers.
Mine isn't dead.
I'm glad. You're the first.
At the start of each
love story, I have the same nightmare.
I see a cemetery where all these girls' fathers are buried.
They talk to me in sepulchral voices,
like in old movies.
They say to me:
"You can't love my daughter and never will be able to."
"You can't make love to her with feeling, or make her happy."
But they also say:
"Let me know how she is from time to time,"
"tell me what's become of her."
See the couple over there, with the old-fashioned woman?
There, at the table near the dance floor.
I envy them, they go well together...
A lovely couple...
Soon the woman will turn to the man
and murmur loving words and kiss his mouth.
No, Alex, you can't understand...
No, I never do.
The first time a girl fell for me, I figured they all loved me.
Then the girl and I broke up, and I couldn't understand...
when other girls I loved didn't love me.
With you it's worse, we're thrown into each other's arms, and you...
It's stupid!
No, Alex, it isn't... I like tall men,
and you're not tall.
I like men who are 20 or 30 years ahead of me, or behind me.
I love a man who...
a man who reminds me of another and...
Stop! And don't tell me...
I can't understand... or I'll strangle you!
I'm going up to bed.
Don't sleep up there, not tonight.
Take my bed. In this heat, I won't sleep anyway.
I can't sleep here, because of the voyeur.
Evenings it doesn't bother me.
Sometimes I like knowing he's there.
But at night it's different.
I can draw the blind.
A blind won't blind a man.
You can't sleep upstairs!
He's across the bed, you'll wake him.
I was lying here last night.
I heard you both...
I was like a comic-strip figure with his balloon over his head.
A sad balloon.
All right, I'll sleep at the hotel across the street.
Won't be the first time.
Good night...
Chatterbox.
Good night, Alex.
Oh, it's boiling hot!
The street's boiling hot!
Like in New York, at noon, in summer... It's incredible!
Sure, haven't you read the papers?
It's Halley's comet, passing...
6,000 miles from earth tonight,
that's causing this awful heat, and it may last a few more days.
Halley's comet! What next?
It's true! A big ball of snow and dust, it was expected.
Incredible!
No, it's scientific, take my bed.
I'm going to run...
Got a room for tonight?
A single...
Thanks, I'll pay you tomorrow.
Good night, Alex.
I'd like to talk to the girl in the blue robe.
Anna, it's Alex.
I wanted to say night-night, and...
What?
I'd like to see you
a last time before you fall asleep.
Tell me your room number.
OK, all right...
Wait!
Don't hang up.
Yes, I can see you!
I must tell you this...
I feel that if I blow it with you
I'll have blown everything... for years...
No, that's not life,
and maybe it is, and I don't care...
But, it's not life... Anna, it's you I love...
You'll see! OK, I'll hang up.
Wait...
Alex, Marc must be saved.
"In the streets of the city goes my love... "
STBO in Europe: 45% of cases in 16-25 age group
Mortality rate: 51%
Hope for a vaccine
It's you...
Hi, Alex...
- Seen Marc? - Went to buy the papers.
Chatterbox'll have a girlish skin.
This is the City morgue. We've been trying to reach you,
regarding your father. Unless we hear from you,
we'll have to dispose of his body.
Alex, it's Lise.
Call me at once. Something terrible's happened.
Lise, it's Alex. What happened?
- It's awful. - What is?
I can't tell you. Where you calling from?
- A phone box. - Where are you?
- At the sea. - What sea?
What happened?
I write you every day but I don't know your address.
What happened?
A catastrophe.
What? Tell me!
I cheated on you.
Idiot, you scared me.
I thought, she's pregnant, lost a limb,
gone blind, her mom died.
You don't understand, you couldn't cheat on me...
So, it doesn't matter? You don't mind?
You don't understand... Get my letter?
Yes, that's why... It was cold, distant...
- No, I mean... - I don't want to know.
If you knew how sorry I am...
You're wrong.
- Guess who with? - I don't want to know.
Why? Do I know him?
Don't mention his name.
- It's not Thomas? - I don't know, Alex.
It's Thomas. You idiot, why did you tell me?
Now, I can picture it. That's irreparable.
I'll never be able to look at you again, never!
- I'm going to hang up. - No, Alex, you can't!
We did something irreparable... Why? For nothing.
I didn't want to.
We destroyed everything for nothing.
He said he'll never be able to touch me again, never!
I never want to see you again in my life.
I'm going to hang up.
Won, paid and forgotten... Watch my hand.
Don't move! Police!
- Hello, Chatterbox. - No one calls me that now.
Know who I am? I was a friend of your father's.
We even made... He and I...
Several times... Years ago...
It's funny... I could have been your mother.
Did you love him?
Child, I never really knew what love was...
- About your father, I... - I don't care!
I want you to know, I didn't have your father killed.
- I know. - Marc doesn't know.
Marc's just scared.
Scared to be forced into suicide? How dumb!
I know about the job you and Marc are pulling.
I always know about everything.
Marc owes me a lot of money.
If he pulls this job, he'll get
ten times what he owes me. What's he paying you?
- 150. - That's a lot.
I'll pay you twice that. You like money?
Yes, I have to start my life over.
- So soon? - It's priceless!
Well?
I'll have to see...
It's very simple... Go ahead as planned...
Marc's a good organiser...
But don't give him the virus culture, give it to me.
Will Marc's debt be erased?
That's my business.
We'll see.
Give me your answer in 48 hours.
I'll be at the Palm Café at 10. Near where your ape grabbed me.
Boris'll be there.
You can't imagine how gentle he is...
He's the way he is because of fear...
I only saw him lose control once.
He came across a love-letter in a drawer.
A letter three years ago that started: "Anna, my angel..."
He grabbed me by the hair,
screaming: "Who's it from? Tell me!"
And I screamed back: "Let me see that letter!"
Finally he let go off me, and I read it.
It was a letter he'd written to me from Switzerland.
But he wrote it left-handed, his right arm was in a cast.
He hadn't recognised his own writing!
Listen, Anna, I'll do the job, I'll get him his damn virus culture.
Once he's paid me, you leave with me.
No, Marc's the love of my life.
"The love of your life"! Revolting!
Almost 30, and scared of heights. Know what your "love" told me?
Listen to me, that is, to him:
"If we pull off the job,"
"I'll give her some money and leave her!"
Shut up! You're making it up.
No, listen. This is what he said:
"She depresses me, I'll soon wear out her youth..."
"When I wake up, she looks out of place sleeping beside me..."
"Like a hot-water bottle that cooled off in the night."
Those were his words, Anna.
He said: "I know I'm a killer!"
"She's the weapon I left at the scene of the crime."
"I hope they won't find my fingerprints on her."
SHUT up!
- Learn how to leave someone! - He and I will love each other!
- Mutual love is a short circuit! - He's hardened, it's true.
Impregnable, like a safe, but...
You can't open a safe, when the key's locked inside!
But you can, Alex, you can!
You know about safes. That's why I'm counting on you.
- What? - Maybe you're wrong!
So it's a deal?
On everything?
- That your daughter? - No, my niece.
I'm raising her.
Why'd she stay outside?
I don't want her exposed to the underworld.
You're the underworld.
- I was. - I'm not.
She'll be an artist.
She already writes pretty poems.
Anything else?
Any home-made pie?
What do you mean: "home-made"?
Yeah, whaddya mean: "home-made"?
Forget it.
Don't turn around now, but that guy over there,
with his back to us, the white-haired guy,
I think he is Jean Cocteau, the poet.
Cocteau's dead.
No, look! He's moving.
Anymore questions?
Watch out, Chatterbox, I'm warning you.
I don't like traitors, treachery!
A woman two-timed me one day...
No, one night...
But she can't brag about it now.
"Poor sap!"
Hear that?
"Poor sap!"
It's you, you're a ventriloquist!
What's it to you?
Watch out, Chatterbox!
Just watch out. Age is making the American woman,
sentimental. With me, it's just the opposite.
I get an even bigger kick watching bullets come out
of the barrel of my gun.
A bullet in my gut might loosen me up.
One false move...
- Sorry, Alex. - I'm OK.
Just the top shelves.
You take it all, I'm leaving the country.
Drop me on the bridge.
- Good luck, Alex! - Good luck!
Thought you'd left.
What's that?
An infection.
I shouldn't have trusted you, Alex. I remember you told me
your favorite novels were those in which a single sentence
could wreck the characters' lives. But we pay for everything!
You threw sentences like knives and you're gonna pay!
You've played with fire too often!
All those hundreds of books you've read and re-read,
have made you horribly precocious.
So you're going to age fast, and someday,
you'll implode, like a TV set.
Lise loves you, I love Lise.
I loved you.
But now,
the only question nagging me when I see you
is whether you'll be more
of a bastard dead than alive.
She's not here.
Please, don't call anymore.
Yes.
In Paris?
Hang up quick. Follow him...
Stay out of sight... Hurry!
Find out where he lives, call me back.
Hi, Chatterbox.
What've you done to your hand?
It's nothing.
What do you mean, nothing?
Hans, his hand is pissing blood!
You pulled off another of your crummy little jobs. I told you...
Get off my back!
Shut up, Hans! The kid's crazy!
We've teamed up with a crazy...
It's all going down the tube, it's over!
Take it easy!
24 hours before the job, he risks blowing the whole thing!
What if he'd been caught?
And his hand all bloody!
It's your hands we're paying so much for!
My hands are fine. They won't shake tomorrow night!
Calm down, Marc, it'll be all right.
It's late. Go up to Anna, I'll take care of the kid.
Fear ages badly.
Shut up, Alex!
What'll you wear tomorrow?
You can't go like that! You're not presentable!
Suppose you're arrested.
Before a big job, you must always
have your hair trimmed, and dress properly,
in case you're nabbed by the police
and photographed by the press.
We'll have to stitch that.
- I want incredible joy. - Soon.
I want...
If you stopped loving me,
would you be brave enough to tell me?
I'd be too unhappy...
What're you talking about?
What the hell's Hans doing? It's nearly midnight!
He'll be back soon. He's dolling up.
A green kid and an old bachelor... Great team! We're screwed!
Don't say that!
- What are these bugs? - It's the heat...
They're mayflies, short-lived...
Get up, Anna, get dressed.
Want a gun for tonight?
You're right.
The planning's perfect, you won't need one.
Let's see it.
That's Jean's old "Chief".
The one he brought back from the US.
- Loaded? - Yes.
Put it away, quick!
What the hell is Hans doing?
Take it easy. I'll phone him.
Here he is now.
You're so handsome, Hans.
You're perfect!
You mean it? Alex, am I right?
We have to get going.
I phoned Charlie...
Plane'll be ready in case things go wrong.
Of course, it's Antonin... OK, I'm coming.
This is Lt Antonin Mouchette.
We're here. My men and I are waiting for you.
You've had it... Come down...
I have a hostage. I'm coming down.
One move by your men and I will kill the hostage!
Who? A night watchman?
Hostage!
Over here, chief! They're in the right-hand elevator!
The usual plan! He has a gun and a hostage!
So he says... He's a kid...
I have three, and none of them ever calls me.
Listen, no personal initiatives.
Wait for my orders!
I'm coming out
with the hostage! One move and I shoot!
Keep cool!
One move and I shoot!
- Don't shoot! - One move and...
No, you don't! Don't shoot! Stay here, I'll take care of him.
You asleep?
It was Thomas... He squealed on you. He followed you.
- The cop... did you kill him? - I think so.
Why, Alex? A murder's for your whole life!
I think that's why.
You'll stay with us. Mum and I will hide you.
What're you doing?
Gotta feed the virus.
Go to bed, Hans.
Call me if there's news.
Yes, and call Charlie.
Tell him to keep the plane ready anyway, until 7am.
Stinks of meat in here!
You ought to go up to bed, too.
I'm not sleepy.
I'm going up.
The little shit double-crossed us.
The little shit tried to double-cross us.
Because of disturbances caused by the comet,
it snowed last night in some parts of the capital.
There'll be more news at 6am.
Good night, Chatterbox!
Marc, Alex is here... He's here... Marc...
Marc, Alex is here, wake up!
- Does he have the vial? - I don't know, come on!
Hans, Alex is here!
- I have the vial. - He has the vial. Come quick!
Not on me...
It's all here, you'll find it.
Hans will drive you to the plane. I'll get the vial.
In a week when all's clear, Anna and I'll come to see you.
My sister will tell you how to get the money.
You OK, Alex, not hurt?
I'm OK. Hurry, the American's on my tail.
The American?
Is the vial here?
Get going. Alex'll explain in the car.
Let's go, Chatterbox.
I'll say goodbye to Anna...
I'll miss you.
I'd almost forgotten what it's like
to be missed.
- Can I come closer? - Of course.
I'm filling up for the nights to come.
I'm going with you.
Me too.
The bike, yesterday, who was it?
Lise, a friend.
She's following us.
Look! The American!
- Cold, Alex? - No.
Because you have blue eyes and your hair enjoys...
- Not singing, Alex? - "Chatterbox"...
I never could.
Don't be silly, Marc can't either, but he does.
I'll never worry about God or men
I'm ready to die if you die someday
For death is a game compared to love
And life is nothing without the love it gives us...
Don't you think the car is looking
Young again?
I bet you never noticed
the new carpet and seat covers.
Marc, he's bleeding!
He's bleeding like crazy!
The American woman? Was it the American woman?
The American woman shot the kid! Hans, stop the car!
No, I must get on that plane!
Slow down.
- Listen, Marc... - Slow down!
They're slowing down.
I want no more gunplay.
Lower your window!
Don't let them pass.
Stop, we have to talk!
- Faster, Hans! - You OK, Chatterbox?
Yes, I must get on that plane.
The airfield's not far.
Stop behind the gray hangar, there's a first-aid station.
Hans'll fix you up, he's a fine doctor.
He's dug bullets out of people before, right, Hans?
We'll get you to Switzerland when you're well.
I must get on that plane.
Who isn't shot or stabbed as a kid? We get over it.
Yes, I feel better already...
relieved. For months my belly was like concrete,
hardening, hardening!
I had knots everywhere, couldn't take it anymore.
He aimed for the bull's-eye, the big ape!
A slug in your hide's nothing! You'll see.
I saw that insect coming at me...
and it was a bullet.
Faster, Hans!
What'll you do in Switzerland?
I'll go out and caress each cobblestone,
and thank each step,
if only I can live.
If I don't, I'll be furious!
I've lived my life every which way,
like a rough draft.
What a mess!
Like a wave that always breaks in mid-ocean,
never reaches the beach, the rocks.
By the time you learn to live, it's too late.
But I figured still so many years,
yeah, years ahead of me
to tidy up...
Faster, Hans!
The grass is black, or it's my eyes.
A hole in the gut!
Girls always told me:
"Be simple" and I'd do my best...
It was hard to be simple...
Charlie, the American shot the kid!
Looks bad.
The kid's had it...
Marc, tell me,
what time do I get put aboard?
Please, get me out of here.
I'll walk a little... Take a few steps...
Not on my stomach, Anna... On my back...
On my back.
Hello, Lise.
Anna, it's Lise, the motorcycle angel...
You know it now... The kiss of speed...
I'll talk from inside... It'll be easier.
"And I'll shut my eyes..."
"Lise, my little Lise,"
"hold back your tears, hold back your tears."
"I don't want to see you cry anymore..."
"That's why..."
"it's over."
But I'm crying because it's over, Alex.
But it's not over!
"Someday, it'll be like we've already lived..."
He's dead, Miss.
Dead!
Anyway, he was through with me.
Don't say that! One day, you'd have found each other again.
One day or two, maybe...
Adaptation: A. Whitelaw & W. Byron