SIX MORAL TALES
MY NIGHT WITH MAUD
Have mercy on us all.
With Mary, the Virgin Mother of God...
the apostles, the saints who've known Your friendships...
may we share eternal life...
and glorify You through Your son Jesus Christ.
Through Him, with Him, in Him...
in the unity of the Holy Spirit...
all glory and honour are Yours forever and ever.
Let us pray.
Taught by our Saviour's command, we dare to say:
Our Father who art in heaven...
Deliver us, Lord, from all evil...
past, present and future.
By the intercession of Mary, the blessed Mother of God...
the apostles Peter and Paul, Andrew and all the saints...
grant peace in our time.
That through Your mercy...
we may be free from sin...
and safe from every difficulty.
Through Jesus Christ, Your son, our Lord...
who lives and reigns with You in the Holy Spirit's unity...
God, forever and ever.
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
Lamb of God...
...who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Behold He who takes away the sins of the world.
Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.
Say but the word and my soul will be healed.
6:30!
I was going around a curve.
The speed limit was 40 mph.
We were well over 100.
I don't know how...
but we still made it.
See what you're up against?
Where do you live?
In the Chanturgue hills.
I built a small house there.
- In the vineyards? - Yes, over Chanturgue.
And where are you living?
We're almost neighbours.
I'm on the northwest side.
It's just a small flat...
very quiet. The city was impossible.
And you?
In Ceyrat.
Isn't that a little far?
Not really.
Ceyrat is all right.
You'll have icy roads.
We haven't yet.
But I'm staying at a friend's place at the moment.
On that Monday, December 21st...
I suddenly knew...
Françoise would be my wife.
Even this will naturally make you believe and deaden your acuteness.
"But this is what I am afraid of."
"And why? What have you to lose?"
You're staying for Christmas?
Yes. I'll see my family on New Year's Day.
Let's go skiing, there'll be snow.
- It never snows at Christmas. - My friends went skiing.
I was joking. I've just come from Canada.
In Protestant countries, Christmas is important.
People stay home. They don't even know if it's snowing.
- Are you Protestant? - Yes, and you?
I'm Catholic. My family was.
- Vidal, you're here! - Yes, and you?
- Let's get together one day. - How about now?
- Happy Christmas. - You too.
- Are you at the University? - I'm teaching philosophy.
What are you doing?
I'm working for Michelin. Since October.
Before that, I was in South America.
How come we didn't meet sooner?
Usually, after work, I go straight home.
Sometimes I eat out, but I prefer to cook.
I used to see too many people.
- Now I like being alone. - I can leave!
No. I'm just tired of meeting new faces.
They're not worse here than anywhere else.
I like chance meetings.
Are you married?
- And you? - No, I'm not in any hurry.
A provincial bachelor's life isn't much fun.
- What are you doing tonight? - Nothing...
- Let's have dinner. - I'm going to the Kogan concert.
Come along. The friend I invited can't make it.
I'm not in the mood for music tonight.
There'll be the cream of Clermont, and pretty girls.
Some of your students?
We've pretty girls here, but they're not seen often.
I'm sure you'll be a big success.
I never was.
I'll go, just to prove you're wrong.
Do you come here often?
Almost never. And you?
It's my first time.
And yet this is where we meet. How strange!
On the contrary, it's normal.
Our paths don't ordinarily cross.
Meeting is a question of mathematical probability.
Right now, I'm hung up on maths.
I'd like to determine the probability.
- Think it's possible? - It's a problem to be solved.
But first, the facts must be known.
Such as: where that person lives and works.
Otherwise, it's incalculable.
Are you interested in maths?
A philosopher must be.
It's necessary for linguistics.
Pascal's triangle refers to his theory of the wager.
And that's what makes Pascal modern.
The mathematician and the metaphysician are one.
- Ah, Pascal... - You're surprised?
It's funny, I'm reading him now.
I'm disappointed.
What do you mean?
I don't know...
Sometimes I think I know Pascal by heart.
But he doesn't do anything for me.
And I find him empty.
I'm Catholic. At least, I try to be.
But he doesn't fit into my religion.
As a Christian, I fight his rigidity.
If this is Christianity, I'm an atheist.
Still a Marxist?
For a Communist, Pascal's wager makes sense.
I'm not sure if History has any meaning.
But I bet on its significance and am on Pascal's side.
Hypothesis A: political action is meaningless.
Hypothesis B: History has a meaning.
I'm not sure...
if B is more true than A.
It might even be less true.
Let's say B has a 10% chance...
and A, 90%.
However,
I'd still bet on B,
because it is the only one - that History has meaning -
it is the only one that justifies my life.
Suppose I bet on A...
and it wasn't true.
Then my life would be lost.
So I must choose B.
Despite the 90% chance that I'm wrong - it doesn't matter.
It's called the "mathematical expectation".
Gain multiplied by probability.
In the case of your hypothesis B,
the probability may be slim, but the gain is infinite.
Your life has meaning, and Pascal has eternal salvation.
Gorki or Lenin... or maybe Majakovski...
said after the Russian Revolution...
that circumstances forced them...
to take one chance in a thousand.
Even with those odds...
it was worth it.
Let's meet tomorrow.
It's Christmas Eve.
Come with me to Midnight Mass.
Why not?
I was planning to visit a girlfriend.
But she has family problems.
It's up to you.
I won't see her before 12, because of her child.
She's divorced.
We'll see her after Mass.
The happiness I wish you...
during this Christmas Mass...
which we celebrate together...
is profound and new.
It doesn't come from childhood memories...
or from pious Christian habits...
for it is a living joy, a joy of today.
This birth we rejoice in...
is not only Jesus' birth, but ours as well.
Something new must be born in us tonight.
Each of us is asked...
to believe in a fresh joy.
For tonight
we must pledge ourselves in a new Hope.
It's impossible, her ex-husband was there. They had money problems to settle.
She's exhausted. But come tomorrow.
- No, I don't know her. - You'll meet her.
She's a remarkable woman.
You'll be glad to know each other.
That remains to be seen.
Since her divorce, she doesn't go out much.
She feels a little uneasy.
She's a doctor, a paediatrician.
Her husband is a doctor too.
He was a professor here.
I didn't know him very well.
She is...
a beautiful woman.
Marry her!
Our relationship...
has taken a different course.
But we're still the best of friends.
I'd like you to come, because otherwise we'd make love.
Then I won't come.
We'd do it out of boredom.
It isn't good for either of us. You know me, I'm a puritan.
More than I?
A lot more!
Such warmth! You're looking well.
It's been a long time.
A week! Do sit down.
So you haven't seen each other for 15 years?
- Let's say 14. - And you recognized each other?
You haven't changed a bit.
Nor have you.
You look like two teenagers.
A criticism... or a compliment?
Neither. It's a fact.
Yet we've led quite different lives.
He's had many adventures.
Tell me!
No, I mean, I lived a long time overseas.
In the jungle?
No, very bourgeois towns.
Vancouver and Valparaiso.
Even Valparaiso?
In my circle, the people were bourgeois.
Just like in Lyon or Marseille.
Or here.
You're always condemned to the provinces.
Well, I prefer them anyway.
You want to leave Clermont?
It's not the city, but the people.
I'm tired of the same faces.
Even mine?
I've decided to leave. If you love me, follow me.
- And what if I did? - That would be a nuisance!
What a way for a professor to behave!
Let's be serious.
- Have you had a good Christmas? - Excellent.
My daughter was delighted. She had so many presents!
What did you do?
I went to Midnight Mass.
Soon you'll be giving masses.
He dragged me along.
Not really.
I wanted to go.
Are you Catholic?
A practising Catholic?
Well... yes.
He doesn't look it.
- I can see you as a boy scout. - I was never a boy scout.
I used to be a choir boy.
I'm sure you'll be a priest.
Well, you both stink of holy water.
- Have a drink? - No, thanks.
- Really? - No, really.
- You? - A little scotch.
I've never been baptised.
She comes from an old radical family.
Their non-religion was a religion.
I prefer it to the others.
If my parents had been Catholic, perhaps I'd have changed like you.
One can be faithful to nothing.
It's not nothing, but another way of facing life.
And it's often very strict...
but without hypocrisy.
We've heard that before.
Don't be a know-it-all.
Girls like you would make me a papist.
- I don't like people without problems. - You're not normal.
- See a psychoanalyst. - Idiot!
I have problems, real ones.
I understand atheists, I'm one myself.
What's fascinating about Christianity are the contradictions.
- I'm not interested in dialectics. - Pascal's strength. You've read him?
"Man is a thinking reed..."
"The two infinites..." What else?
- "Cleopatra's nose." - He isn't my favourite writer.
It's two against one.
Why? Haven't you read Pascal?
I've read him.
Pascal is his bad conscience.
He criticizes false Christians. Him!
- Really? - He's the living image of Jesuitism.
Let him defend himself.
Pascal's conception of Christianity...
is very particular. Condemned by the Church.
Not the "Pensées".
Jansenism was. And Pascal isn't a saint.
Very good answer.
Stop talking all the time!
You were saying?
Forget it.
I think there's another view of Christianity.
In terms of science, I respect Pascal.
But I don't agree when he condemns science.
- He didn't. - At the end of his life.
Not really.
That's not what I mean.
For instance, now we're eating.
But we don't think about what we eat.
We even forget this excellent wine.
Only the best families drink it here.
- The best Catholic, masonic families. - Quiet!
Pascal, born here, surely drank this wine.
I don't mind that he abstained.
It's all right to observe Lent.
I'm against its suppression.
Only Pascal wasn't aware of this wine.
His diet was only for good things.
He never remembered what he ate.
His sister wrote about it.
He never said: "This is good."
Well, I say: this is good.
It's evil not to admit what is good. I say this as a Christian.
Your argument is pretty thin.
No, it's very important.
Another thing shocks me about Pascal.
He said that marriage...
is the lowest state of Christianity.
I find it rather low...
but my reasons are different.
Pascal was right.
You might want to marry. So might I.
But marriage is below priesthood, as a sacrament.
Recently, at Mass, I thought about that. There was a girl in front of me.
I should go to Church to find girls.
They're surely prettier than your Party's.
Out comes your petty bourgeoisie.
I'm that all right.
So, that pretty girl...?
I never said she was pretty.
Well, she was. Well, quite!
Not a girl - a young woman, with her husband.
Or her lover.
- They had wedding rings. - You took a good look.
It's hard to make you understand...
- You're laughing at me! - Not at all.
It's very good to be obsessed with marriage.
Especially at your age. Our age.
That Christian couple was sublime.
You mean religion adds a lot to women.
There's nothing wrong with that.
Religion adds to love, and love to religion.
What are you doing here?
Come here.
This is Marie.
- What do you want? - I want to see the tree lights.
Now?
Give me a kiss.
See?
Is it pretty?
Is that enough?
Are you happy?
Now to bed. Come on, honey.
'Night, everyone.
'Night, Marie.
There must be a copy of Pascal here.
Even in a masonic home.
What did I tell you?
Is there...
a precise reference to maths...
in the story of the wager?
"Wherever there are no infinite chances of loss against gain...
"no hesitation, you must give all.
"Forced to play, one must forego reason to preserve one's life."
That's the "expectation".
To Pascal, it's always infinite.
Unless his life's probability is nil.
Multiplied by zero, infinite equals zero.
The argument is worthless for the non-believer.
But if you've some belief, it's infinite again.
Then you must bet.
If I think there's a chance, and the gain infinite.
That's what you believe?
Yet you take no chance, you renounce nothing.
There are things I give up.
Not the wine.
It's not at stake, why give it up?
What I don't like in the Wager...
is that it's like a lottery.
We have to choose between finite and infinite.
It's not a choice of wine versus God.
And with girls?
Maybe with them. But as for marriage...
that's another thing.
- Still chasing girls? - No.
- You used to. - I never did.
When I met him, he was a great ladies' man. A professional.
We were 10 years old.
We didn't meet again since school.
- You're talking nonsense. - What about Marie-Hélene?
What a memory! What's become of her?
Went into a convent.
Who's Marie-Hélene?
A friend of mine.
His mistress, to be exact.
Is that true?
I've had "mistresses", as he says.
There were several?
I won't tell you my life story.
I'm 34 and have known a lot of girls.
I don't claim to be perfect.
And it doesn't prove anything.
I'm not trying to.
My behaviour shocks you, I know.
I've loved girls I planned to marry.
I never slept with any for the hell of it.
Not for moral reasons. I'm just not interested.
Suppose you met a charming girl...
and knew you wouldn't see her again.
Some temptations are difficult to resist.
Fate has always kept me from such situations.
I never had luck with brief encounters.
Incredible bad luck!
I'm not the lucky type, but I did.
Once in Italy with a Swedish girl...
another time in Poland with an English girl.
Those two nights are my best memories.
I'm all for love affairs on convention trips.
There's no sticky bourgeois morality.
I'm against that.
But as it has never happened to me...
Well, it could.
If it happens, you won't resist?
I meant in the old days.
You make me think of forgotten things.
What's past is past.
But if a woman as lovely as Maud...
and eager to please, made you understand...
You're not funny.
Let me finish. If Maud...
He's drunk. The Chanturgue wine.
Answer anyway.
In the past, yes. Not now.
Why not?
I've been converted.
Conversion is a reality. Read Pascal.
I may be indiscreet, but my intuition is good.
I'm suspicious of this conversion.
There's something strange about him.
He seems to be day-dreaming.
As if thinking of someone...
Not something. Someone.
He must be in love.
That's news to me.
- Is she blonde or brunette? - He prefers blondes.
Tell me, don't be afraid.
I said no.
In return, I'll tell you my life story.
That would take too long.
We'll have several sessions.
I don't love anyone. Period.
She lives here?
He says no. So there is a girl!
There isn't!
Even if there were, I wouldn't tell you anyway.
We're mean, aren't we?
No. It amuses me more than you think.
Stop drinking. I don't want to drive you home.
You wouldn't have to. He would.
I've a proposal to make.
Since I've been tired, the doctor ordered rest.
- Are you the doctor? - Sure.
But I'm not throwing you out. Stay.
I'm not sleepy yet. I like bedside company.
In the bed?
Not you, anyway.
You'll see, it'll be like a "salon".
That's why I sleep in the living-room.
Anyway, I'm tired.
Don't leave me now.
- Let's go, she wants to sleep. - No way! It's her little number.
You'll see. She's up to something.
- Such as? - You'll see.
Stay.
You're drunk. When she comes back, I'll go.
I'm not quite the Marquise de Rambouillet!
- You just want to show your legs. - Exactly!
My only means of seduction.
Not the only means, but the best.
At times, I feel very exhibitionistic.
But I only show what's decent.
You're going to fall flat on your face.
- Is this a sailor's jersey? - Yes, a real one.
It keeps you warm.
But I sleep in the nude.
I hate being...
strangled by night-gowns.
If you've trouble sleeping, take pills.
I'm against them.
They're for emergencies only. Move over, let me stretch my legs.
I love feeling your toes under the blanket. Does that feel better?
Sit down.
- What were we talking about? - Girls.
- His girls. - Yes, he was going to tell us.
No, you were.
- You really shock me. - He's saying awful things about me.
- Say that I'm lying. - No, but...
A true Christian remains chaste until marriage.
I'm not a perfect example.
Between words and deeds...
I know boys who never slept with girls.
- Bald hunchbacks... - Not necessarily.
I'm not a perfect example. Enough of the past.
- I'm not proud of... - Don't get angry.
Actually, I like you.
I like your frankness.
It only goes up to a point.
Is it true I shocked you?
I'm sorry if I did.
My Christianity and my affairs are different.
They conflict.
Yet they live within you.
Fighting all the time...
Now I may surprise you again...
but chasing girls doesn't remove you from God...
any more than mathematics.
Pascal condemned not only good food...
but, at the end of his life, even maths.
Actually, I'm a lot more... No...
You're more "Pascalian" than I.
Maybe, after all.
Maths distracts from God.
It's an intellectual useless diversion...
like anything else, only worse.
Why worse?
Because... it's abstract, inhuman.
Whereas women...
I want to write about Pascal and women.
He was very interested in them.
Though we don't know if his Discourse on Love...
- Open the window, it's smoky. - ...is apocryphal.
Or even if he knew women...
in the biblical sense...
though I find the expression crap.
"The biblical sense..."
It's snowing.
It looks phony.
I don't like snow.
It looks artificial. It's kids' stuff.
I hate everything about childhood.
You've a distorted mind.
Go to bed, you'll catch cold.
Go to bed yourself, you brute!
It's late, I'm going.
- Where do you live? - At Ceyrat. But I've a car.
You'll have an accident.
I'm not afraid of a little snow.
It's dangerous when it's falling. A friend got killed that way.
I've never forgotten.
You could sleep in the other room.
Say yes, or I'd worry.
I left a window open.
It'll be snowing in my rooms.
- I'll come with you. - Why don't you stay?
Bye, Maud.
- I'll phone you. - Don't forget tomorrow.
- That's right. What time? - Noon.
What about Marie?
She'll be with her father. You'll come too?
What's happening?
An outing with friends to the mountains. We'll eat at an inn.
With snow, it'll be more fun.
Honestly, I'm used to this kind of weather. I'll be safe.
This wet snow is very bad.
I'll let you sleep.
Stay a while. Please.
You really want me to?
All right, leave... go home!
I'm sorry.
I was...
Don't be mad.
I was trying to be polite.
Yes, well...
Don't overdo it.
When I say yes, it's yes. And no, it's no.
If you want you to go, go!
You said "go"!
I'll stay but a second.
You shock me terribly.
You've already said so.
I disapprove of you completely.
Religion leaves me cold.
I'm not for or against it but...
people like you keep me away from it.
You're worried about respectability.
Staying in a girl's room after midnight is awful.
You could be nice to me...
since I feel lonely.
And be a little more informal...
though we might not meet again.
But you would never think of that.
I find that...
stupid and not very Christian.
Religion has nothing to do with it.
I just thought you might be tired.
You still think so?
Not anymore.
What troubles me the most about you is...
you're side-stepping. You don't face your responsibilities.
You're ashamed of being a Christian. And ashamed of being a Don Juan!
That's not true.
I've loved.
Two or three girls, maybe three or four.
They were serious affairs.
I wasn't madly in love.
No, I take that back.
They loved me too.
- I'm not bragging! - No false modesty.
For me, love must be shared.
Some people are meant for each other.
I guess they weren't right for me.
Did you break off?
No. Nor they. Circumstances.
You should've overcome them.
Impossible.
I know, it's feasible.
But it'd have been foolish.
It was impossible.
It was better that way.
Do you see?
I understand.
Very human, but not very Christian.
Christian or not, it doesn't matter.
Let's drop religious talk.
Girls brought a lot to me, morally.
- That sounds... - A little vulgar.
Each time I've known a girl...
It's different each time. One can't generalize.
I've discovered a new moral problem...
I didn't have to face before.
The experience was beneficial.
It shook me from moral lethargy.
You could take a purely moral standpoint.
Yes, but...
The moral aspect only existed...
I know, one can do anything...
but let's face it, you can't separate the physical and moral aspects.
Maybe it was a trick of the devil.
If so, I was caught.
Yes, in a way.
If I hadn't, I'd be a saint.
- You don't want to be a saint? - Not at all.
Oh, really!
I thought every Christian wanted to be a saint.
It's not that I don't want to - I can't.
What about grace?
With grace, I might have a chance.
Right or wrong...
as not everyone can be a saint...
we need people who aren't, and I'm one of them...
with my personality, and my limitations.
But in my mediocrity...
my middle-of-the-road tepidness that God despises...
I could achieve a certain completeness...
a righteousness...
as the Scriptures describe it.
I'm in a century accepted by religion.
I'm not at all a Jansenist.
- I never thought you were. - Vidal did.
- He talks nonsense. - He was putting me on.
He was smashed.
- I'd never seen him like that. - May I have a cigarette?
Do you know him well?
We hadn't seen each other for 14 years.
But we were great pals at school, even afterwards.
You weren't very nice tonight.
Not nice?
I, too, am unkind.
Very unkind.
He won't sleep tonight, thinking of us together.
- He wanted to leave. - That was for show.
You're a little naive.
Didn't he tell you he loves me?
No, but he said he admires you.
And that you were a good friend.
He's very discreet. A fine person.
But he lacks humour. In his life, I mean.
I know I hurt him... but I can't help it.
He's not my type.
I was silly enough to go to bed with him once.
I'm very particular about men.
It's not just a question of looks.
He's smart enough to understand that.
I know why he brought you here.
To test me? No.
But to have an excuse perhaps to despise me...
to hate me.
He likes to create tensions.
Where were we?
Sure you don't want to sleep?
Not at all.
And you?
You really don't?
If I wanted to sleep, I'd tell you.
It's been a long time since I talked like this.
It does me good.
But you seem...
very complicated.
I thought a Christian...
was judged by his actions.
You don't seem to worry about them.
But I do. Very much.
What counts for me is not one act...
but life in its entirety.
Life is a unit.
What I mean is... I've never had to ask myself...
if I should sleep with a girl or not.
My life has a certain pattern.
May I have a glass of water?
What I don't like about the Church...
- and it's now changing -
is accounting...
for one's sins and good deeds.
What's important is purity of the heart.
When you're really in love with one girl, you don't want to sleep with another.
- Why are you laughing? - No reason.
- So it's true? - What?
- You're in love? - In love? With whom?
I don't know. The "blonde".
- Have you found her? - I already told you no.
Don't deny it. You want to get married?
- Sure. Everyone does. - But more? Confess!
Why do you want to marry me off?
Maybe I'm a marriage-broker.
I shun them!
How will you manage, then?
I don't know.
I'll advertise.
"Engineer, 34, Catholic, 5'9"..."
"...handsome, with car, seeks blonde, practising Catholic."
That's an idea. Many people get married that way.
- I'm joking, there's no hurry. - You want to play around.
Absolutely not.
So if you find the right girl...
you marry right away and remain faithful.
Absolutely.
- You'd really be faithful? - Of course.
- And if she wasn't? - If she loved me, she would be.
- Love isn't eternal. - In my view, it is.
I can't understand infidelity.
It's a question of self-respect. I can't go changing my mind.
I would love my wife for ever.
- If I didn't, I'd hate myself. - You're so worried about self-respect.
- Nothing wrong with that. - You're obsessed with it.
You don't believe in divorce?
So I'm condemned to hell.
No, you are not Catholic.
And I respect all religions.
My beliefs are personal.
Don't take offence.
I didn't.
Why did you get divorced?
I don't know.
No, I know very well. We couldn't get along.
We realized it very quickly. A conflict of temperaments.
Couldn't you have worked something out?
My husband was a fine man.
I'll always regard him very highly.
But he got on my nerves so much.
In what way? A little like me?
Not at all!
You don't get on my nerves.
I'd never dream of marrying you.
Even in my wild youth.
But you had a daughter together.
It's bad for a child when parents don't get on.
There was something else.
You really want to hear my life story?
I had a lover.
And my husband, a mistress.
She was a little like you.
Very moral, Catholic...
not a hypocrite... a sincere believer.
But I hated her so much!
She was crazy about him.
He's a guy that drives girls crazy.
I was crazy myself.
I made him break with her. That was my one good deed.
She probably wouldn't have married him.
That's why I laughed when you talked about special situations.
It was the same for her.
And your lover?
Well, now...
It proves that I'm unlucky.
I never succeed at anything good.
I'm sure he was the man of my life.
Someone...
who liked me.
I liked everything about him.
He was a brilliant doctor...
and wonderful fun to be with.
I've never known anyone...
who I enjoyed being with so much.
He's dead. Killed in a car crash.
His car skidded on an icy road.
That's fate.
Is it still snowing?
That's all in the past.
What's done is done.
It was a year ago.
Don't let it worry you.
I'm sorry if I talked lightly.
I see everything from my petty point of view.
It interests me.
Otherwise, I'd have said goodnight.
It's late. Where's my room?
Nowhere.
No other rooms?
Yes. There's the office, my daughter's room...
and the maid's. Spanish and prudish.
Did Vidal know this?
Of course. That's why he left in a huff.
Don't be childish. Come lie next to me.
On the blankets. Or under.
If I'm not too ugly.
I'll take the armchair.
You'll have a cramp.
Are you scared?
Of yourself? Of me?
I swear I won't touch you.
I thought you had self-control.
May I have this blanket?
Turn off the lights, please.
You'll be cold.
I'll see.
Goodnight.
I like people who know what they want.
- Leaving without saying goodbye? - Just getting my coat.
Stay here, you'd get cold.
Coming this afternoon?
Come, or Vidal will talk.
You want me to?
We won't be alone.
There'll be a girl you may like. A blonde.
So I'll see you at noon?
All right, I'll try.
Goodbye.
A coffee, please.
Did I wake you?
Want to go skiing?
I'm leaving in half an hour.
I'm meeting...
Excuse me.
I ought to find an excuse, but it's stupid...
How can I get to know you?
You seem to know!
Running after girls is against my principles.
It's bad not to stick to them.
Sometimes I don't. And you?
- When I don't, I'm sorry. - Not me.
But when I don't stick to my principles, it's worth it.
I've no principles about...
Meeting someone?
It's silly to pass up opportunities for principles.
How do you know it's worth it?
We'll see.
I don't think you count on chance.
But I do. It's the story of my life.
I'm not sure about that.
Isn't that dangerous in this weather?
I just use it in town. I go home by bus.
Where do you live?
Just above Ceyrat.
When can I see you again?
- Whenever we meet. - But we don't.
Yes, we do.
Tomorrow?
You weren't at Mass last Sunday.
I'll be there tomorrow.
Then let's have lunch together.
Perhaps. We'll see.
Hurry, you'll catch cold.
We're going.
Meet you at the car.
All right.
Funny, you look like a Russian.
I hope they'll be here soon.
Who knows?
I'm glad you came.
Or I'd have been all alone.
- You thought I'd come? - Why not?
I almost didn't.
But I keep my promises.
- Sorry to be here? - Not at all.
I'm having a great time.
Can't you tell?
- I like your company. - You'd prefer the blonde.
The one with Vidal? Absolutely not.
The lesser of two evils...
Your lips are cold.
Yours too. I like it.
So are your feelings.
- It's a friendly kiss. - I wonder.
You don't believe in my friendship?
I don't know you.
We've been together less than 24 hours...
yet it seems I've known you forever.
Don't you?
We confided in each other very quickly.
I can't stop talking.
I need to open up.
Get married.
Who with?
Your blonde.
- She doesn't exist. - Really?
What if I married you? Do you want to?
I don't qualify.
- How's that? - I'm not blonde or Catholic.
- Who said blonde? - Vidal, I think.
He knows nothing.
She must be Catholic.
- Oh, yes! - I told you so.
- I'll convert you. - You'd have a hard time with me.
So it's yes?
Look at us together.
We make a perfect couple.
Why not? You're as good as Vidal.
But you won't marry him...
God forbid! Though I often play the fool.
He accepts the situation?
He has to. He acted silly last night.
Threw you into my arms to defend himself.
I'm not in your arms!
Anyway, you cured him. You did a good deed.
So you have a clear conscience.
It always is.
There we are!
- Let's have a drink. - Not now.
It's the maid's day off. I must get back.
Want to go to the market? We could have dinner.
Yes, until 10.
9:30. I need my sleep.
- I'll call you. - See you soon.
How about a drink?
It's good to hear from you.
You're leaving tonight?
Some of your things are still here.
Maybe somebody can use them.
Know who that was?
My husband.
He's found an office for me in Toulouse.
It sounds interesting.
You knew I was leaving here?
Yes, you said. When are you going?
Very soon. Perhaps a month.
Isn't he helpful?
Your husband?
My ex-husband.
He's a fine man.
Too bad we couldn't get along...
He was here to see our daughter.
Has he remarried?
- Why do you ask? - No reason.
So you're leaving me behind?
Know what I think?
We've been together a whole day.
It isn't much, but it's a lot.
Not an entire day.
You were unfaithful this morning.
I hate leaving people.
I'm faithful, even to you.
If only it were possible...
to have one true love, even platonic...
one would never have to leave.
Especially if it's platonic.
Thanks to you, I'm on my way to holiness.
Women always raise my moral standards.
Even in the brothels of Vera Cruz?
I've never been in a brothel there or in Valparaiso.
- I meant Valparaiso. - Got a light?
Anyway, perhaps it would've done you good.
You think so?
Silly!
You're not very natural.
I open my soul to you. What more do you want?
I don't like your rules for love.
I have no rules.
I said one should love only one woman.
No, I'm talking about the way you calculate and categorize...
your demand that your wife be Catholic.
Not at all.
It's easier to love someone with the same beliefs.
I could marry you, but there's no love.
I'm talking about mutual love.
You'd really marry me?
Did you have a Church wedding?
So your marriage is not valid.
We could even have a grand ceremony.
I'd be a little embarrassed, but if it's all right with the Church...
Your Jesuitism amuses me.
Then I'm not a Jansenist?
I don't think so.
Good. They're sad people.
Your character is a happy one.
- But you don't look it. - With you, I'm very happy.
- And with others? - Sinister.
I'm happy, because I'll never see you again.
That's a good one!
With us, there's no future. And it's the future that's sad.
I see. Perhaps we'll meet again?
Perhaps not.
Or very little.
Do you have a premonition?
A simple deduction. You're leaving.
Not right away.
But I'll be very busy.
Affairs of business or the heart?
Of the heart.
So it is true.
I like teasing you. Anyway, you'll never know.
So there is something.
If you like to think so.
We'll telephone each other?
- You ring first. - All right.
We talked about chance!
You recognized me?
Given 10 chances out of a hundred...
I'd have stopped.
Well, it is me!
- Going home on that? - I missed my bus.
- I'll take you home. - No need.
This weather's dangerous.
Besides, it's on my way.
In you get.
- What do you study? - Biology.
I also work in a lab. That's why I didn't go on vacation.
You like your work?
I didn't see myself as an engineer.
And as a doctor?
No. That's not for me.
- You live way out in the country. - It's a house rented to students.
It's on the right.
Careful, the road might be icy.
Indeed there is.
- We won't make it? - I think not.
What can we do?
Don't be afraid.
But there's a wall.
We're stuck.
I can't move.
It doesn't matter. We'll walk.
You can sleep there. Everyone's on vacation.
I can't move.
Coming?
- Is it far? - Just there.
Can I leave the car here?
Nobody else will be going through. We'll get help tomorrow.
This is where I live.
Well, then...
- Do you smoke? - No, but go ahead.
I haven't got a light.
Would you like some tea?
Yes, please.
- May I help you? - There's no need.
I don't see what you could do.
I'm very good at making tea.
- One of my rare talents. - Go on, then.
Pass me the box.
Don't put it in yet!
I thought it had to boil.
It's nice here.
I feel at home.
I have...
a furnished apartment...
but I never use the kitchen. I wonder if I could live here.
It's only for students.
Boys?
And girls. It's not a boarding school.
Then I'll register at the University next year.
Been in Clermont long?
3 months. I work for Michelin.
Before that, I was in Canada and Chile.
But I like it here too.
Clermont isn't a bad town.
- The place or the people? - The place.
I don't know the people.
Are they nice?
The ones I know.
You see them often?
Right now, I'm a bit lonely due to circumstances.
Why?
External circumstances.
Some friends who left. It's not interesting.
- For you or for me? - For you.
You have colleagues?
I don't make friends easily.
I think it's silly to be friends with people because you work with them.
Don't you agree?
In a certain way, yes, but...
Nothing. You're right.
Was I wrong to accost you?
No, but I could've sent you away.
So I'm lucky... since you didn't.
Maybe I should have.
I never let anyone accost me before.
I never accosted a stranger before.
Luckily, I didn't stop to think.
The water's boiling.
Let me handle it, it's fun.
Laughing at me?
No, I'm learning.
You use so little.
- You like it strong? - Not too strong.
You shouldn't use too much.
You must let it brew for 7 minutes.
That long?
It says so on the box.
Don't you ever read the instructions?
You'll poison yourself one day.
You're not bothered that I always talk about my luck?
You don't.
Yes, I do.
I like to try my chances.
But I only succeed when the cause is good.
I'd have no luck breaking the law.
So you've no problems of conscience.
Very few.
And you?
It's the opposite with me. I'm suspicious of good luck.
That's a sin against hope. It's very serious.
You believe in grace?
Yes, I do, but that's not grace.
It's not about material success.
I'm not talking about material things.
If we were given grace just to ease our conscience...
if we didn't have to merit it, if it was just an excuse...
- You're very Jansenist. - Not at all.
Unlike you, I don't believe in predestination.
I believe that we're always free to choose.
Even if God helps make the choice.
I make choices too.
It just so happens that they're always simple.
As I realize afterwards.
Sugar?
Choices aren't necessarily heart-breaking.
But sometimes they are.
No, you misunderstand.
I don't choose for pleasure...
but for moral guidance.
For instance, I loved a girl. She didn't love me. Married someone else.
But it turned out for the best.
If she loved him.
It was the best thing for me.
Actually, I didn't love her. The man left his family for her.
I had no one to leave.
But she knew that even if I had, I wouldn't have done so.
In the end, I was lucky.
Because you've principles...
more important than your love.
She knew you'd made your choice.
I didn't choose. She left me.
For she knew about your principles.
But if she had had a husband and children...
and wanted to leave them for you...
you'd have had to choose.
No, since I was lucky.
It's late, I'll show you your room.
Of True and False Conversation
Come in.
I still have no matches.
On the mantelpiece.
Keep them.
Thank you.
Goodnight.
Excuse me.
It's 9:30.
Come in.
Did you sleep well?
It was hard at first.
- It's late. You have an appointment. - What?
With a girl, at church.
Oh, yes, it's Sunday!
- I have to see to my car. - We'll get someone to help us.
I must shave and change clothes.
You look fine.
I've made some tea.
A good thing I took you home.
Despite your rough night?
Do I look that bad?
Why are you laughing?
No reason.
- You're a cheerful type. - Yes. Aren't you?
Not really. It depends who I'm with.
With you, I feel good.
Do you know I love you?
- Don't say that. - Why not?
You don't know me.
I'm never wrong about people.
I might disappoint you.
Don't say that.
Let's go.
Christianity is not a morality...
It is a way of life...
It is an adventure...
the most exciting of all...
the way to holiness.
I am aware...
that one must be mad to be a saint...
and many canonized saints...
feared this involvement...
this progress...
towards holiness.
But beyond our fears...
we must have...
a deep faith in Jesus Christ...
a faith which goes beyond...
the wildest hopes of man...
a faith that reminds us...
that God loves us...
And continually...
this man, this saint we're asked to become...
this man...
is a man who, on the one hand...
is dominated by...
a certain difficulty with living...
living with his human problems...
with his passions and weaknesses...
but he also wants to follow Jesus Christ.
Is the Doctor in?
She's away or out?
Back on Friday? Thank you.
- How are you? - You know each other?
Clermont's a small town.
You're a swine - you never called me!
I did, but you were out.
I was in Toulouse for two days.
A message for you: our friend is leaving.
She's gone?
Not yet.
We both went down to have a look and just returned.
She's leaving without me.
When?
Tomorrow, I think.
- It was soon settled. - Is she home tonight?
- I suppose so. - I'll phone her.
Happy New Year!
- You know him? - He teaches philosophy.
You don't study that.
Clermont's a small town. I know him slightly.
He's a friend of yours?
A school-mate.
You don't like him?
I hardly know him, that's all.
- What is it? - I wish I'd always known you.
Let's pretend it is so.
I always have known you!
You've always been in my life.
You could be wrong.
It doesn't matter.
Anyway, I'm not wrong.
Kiss me.
You don't want to?
What's up?
- Nothing. - You're acting very strange.
No, I'm being sensible.
Listen, Françoise...
I'm 34, you're 22 - we're behaving like 15-year-olds.
Don't you trust me?
Don't you think I'm serious?
I do.
Well, then?
I have a lover.
You have...
now?
Until recently.
Do you love him?
I did.
- Who is it? - You don't know him.
Don't worry, it isn't Vidal.
Was he the one who left you?
It's more complicated than that.
He's married.
I respect you and your independence.
- If you don't love me... - You're crazy!
I mean if you're not sure you love me...
But I do! I love you.
And him?
I loved him. Madly.
I could say I've forgotten him...
but you can't forget someone you've loved.
We parted just before I met you.
Do you see him often?
He left Clermont.
It's all over.
We'll never see each other again.
Listen, Françoise...
We can wait as long as you want.
You're wrong if you think it changes anything for me.
I have no right.
Actually, I'm...
happy.
It's true.
I felt uneasy before...
Some of my affairs lasted a very long time.
Now we're even.
Your girls weren't married.
And it happened in America.
I'll make a confession: the morning we meet...
I'd just left a girl.
I'd slept with her.
Let's not ever talk about that.
If you don't mind, let's not discuss it again.
Well, it's you!
- Been here long? - We've just arrived.
- I never thought I'd see you here. - We come every year.
- You've not changed. - Nor have you.
Do you know my wife?
We know each other... by sight. Congratulations.
Why didn't you send a card?
I didn't know your address.
You could've phoned before I left.
I think I did.
Don't lie. I have a good memory. You ran out on me.
You must have had your reasons.
- Excuse me. - I'll catch you up.
It was her.
Funny, I should've guessed.
- "Her"? - Your wife, Françoise.
But I never told you about her.
You did! Your fiancée, blonde, Catholic.
I've a good memory.
Impossible, I didn't know her then.
Why are you lying?
I met her the day after...
that evening with you.
"Evening"? You mean "night". Our night.
You kept talking about her.
Did she mention me?
You're still secretive.
Let's not rehash the past. It was a long time ago.
You haven't changed a bit.
Nor have you.
It seems so long ago.
Not so long ago really.
Oh, I remarried.
Congratulations.
It's not going too well at the moment.
I never have any luck with men.
I'm glad to see you.
Even if it's to hear...
I can see I'm boring you.
Staying here long?
No, I'm leaving tonight.
Do you ever come to Clermont?
No, never.
- And you... to Toulouse? - Never.
See you in 5 years, maybe.
Yes, see you then!
Hurry, or your wife'll think I'm gossiping.
She sends her regards.
She's sailing tonight with her husband.
I didn't know you knew each other.
When she left Clermont, I hardly knew you. We had just met.
She says we haven't changed.
Nor has she.
Funny how little people change in 5 years.
I couldn't ignore her. And she's a nice woman.
You know...
When I met you, I'd just left her, but...
I was to say "Nothing happened".
I saw that her embarrassment didn't come from what she'd learned about me...
but from what she guessed I'd just learned about her.
It suddenly hit me.
Instead, I said...
That was my last fling.
It's odd that we bumped into her.
I find it rather funny.
Anyway, all that was so long ago.
- We said we'd never talk about it. - Yes, it doesn't matter at all.
Let's swim!
Coming swimming?