A King Without Distraction (1963) - full transcript
One Winter in the Ninetenth century. A mysterious crime has been committed in an isolated village of the Aubrac region. A retired prosecutor who lives there asks Langlois, a police captain, to investigate the case. The police officer accepts, settles down in the village and, by dint of obstinacy, winds up finding out who committed the murder. But, while tracking down the slayer, Langlois also discovers something very unpleasant about himself, he too loves killing...
A KING WITHOUT DISTRACTION
Yet still hostesses are kindly
At inns covered in snow
Yet still spouses are patient
when children have tricked them
Yet still inns are welcoming
where wine turns the merry-go-round
Why must it be that...
Men find no peace?
Yet still cities are peaceful
Where bells and steeples tremble
But does Satan sleep under the Bible?
Do Kings know how to pray?
Yet still cities are peaceful
From white morning to white sunset
Why must it be that...
Men find no peace?
Come in, Captain.
Careful Jeannot, don't go too far.
- Already here?
- The messenger made it seem urgent.
You have been hurried. Have a seat.
You have been hurried, but not to
the point you'd have taken more risks.
Have a seat.
- Cigar?
- No thanks, my pipe, if you'll allow.
Certainly.
I enjoy the pipe, but I smoke cigars.
There, that's life in few words:
I smoke one thing but enjoy the other.
Well... So here it is.
I'd like to make some things clear.
I have no authority to burden you
with any mission whatsoever.
In any case, not any more: I'm retired
both professionally and from the world.
They probably no longer
even know who I am.
That would surprise me, Mr. Prosecutor.
In any case, I know who you are.
I meant to say...
I meant to say that
I couldn't cover for you.
I'm just an ordinary civilian now.
- I don't ask to be covered.
- I knew it.
You have likely also understood that
because I knew this, I sent for you.
I understood, and was very honored.
Which now gives me scruples.
Scruples?
Oh, of selfishness, Captain.
Of pure selfishness. Still, it's
too late to back up. Here are the facts:
- Do you know Pr?bois?
- Yes...
No, over this way...
This house disorients...
Half a league this way in the forest,
50 residents simmering under snow.
But...I'm skirting the issue.
Let's get down to brass tacks.
We are December 17th, so 5 days ago,
and don't ask why I waited so long...
I spoke just now of my selfishness...
A young woman... A young girl rather,
disappeared from the village.
She left?
Disappeared. It's not the same thing.
Made to vanish.
She is there, then she is gone.
Abracadabra.
When was it noticed?
Right away. 3 P.M.
Snow falls heavily, no wind, this girl goes
to fetch wood from a shed 30 feet away...
She has only a shawl on her head.
Her mother calls her back to put on
her clogs. She was going in stockings.
She goes around a wall corner...
It's over.
Footprints?
None. Snow is falling.
- A search?
- Everywhere.
Who was this girl?
Nobody.
But live flesh,
any live flesh was enough.
This is what I think.
Not beautiful nor...?
Not beautiful, nor anything special.
This is not where to look.
No need to kill here to make love.
Especially not in winter.
But you just said "any live flesh"...
I will answer a question you won't ask...
By this time in the mountains we all have
3 months of pure whiteness in our eyes...
That's why even I
will dress the boy in red.
Yet still cities are peaceful
Where bells and steeples tremble
But does Satan sleep under the Bible?
Do Kings know how to pray?
Yet still cities are peaceful
From white morning to white sunset
Why must it be that...
Men find no peace?
Captain Langlois.
Ha! Reminds me of the 27th Dragoons.
I'm here because
the prosecutor sent me.
Ah! He finally decided to do something.
Can you give me a room?
You bet, Chet.
Wait, sweetie,
Go around, I'll open the stable door.
Can see in here about
as well as up an asshole.
Tell me Captain, do we seem cowardly?
What's the point in being brave?
- You must know better than I do.
- But I know nothing at all.
I do as you do, I don't act tough
when I don't feel like it.
If we had found him
ourselves, we'd be braver.
- What was her name?
- Marie Chasotte.
Are there places she could
have fallen or disappeared?
No, no, it's not that kind of thing.
Well we'll see. What is
important now is some warmth.
You'll get some in
the caf? near the stove.
Sensitive to cold?
Not really, I sleep in unheated
barracks, but I sure love to eat.
Like all men.
What's in these cabbages?
It smells great.
Veal hocks, a bit of salted,
some juniper...and a little scamming.
We must get by in our solar system.
Speaking of the solar system,
where does the mayor live?
Across the way.
He gets to eat beets.
Well yes, he is the mayor.
Back soon and no joke, I plan
to test you on your home field.
Sweetie.
Sweetie.
There's a reason for everything,
Mr. Mayor, and it's usually a simple one.
We're simple folk here, commander,
and we all know where that leads us.
I believe neither in God nor the Devil.
I didn't want to ask back home in front
of the women but, why are you afraid?
Why all the fuss? It's not the first time
someone's lost then found in spring?
She didn't get lost in snows. We may
find her in springtime but who knows?
Let's show our cards Mr. Mayor.
There are no cards. Come
and see, since you need to look.
Well, come and see,
you won't see anything.
- Here.
- She came out through there?
Yes.
They could see her from
the house through this window?
Yes, but why should anyone look?
We don't constantly watch each other.
That's what they're saying now
because, come and see...
Look there, at the woodpile.
You see?
I don't see anything.
Exactly. She was there.
That's where we found her basket.
The forest.
Is it far?
500 meters.
- She could have gone to the forest?
- Why would she?
I don't know.
No, she didn't go to the forest.
How do you know?
Speak up!
You must tell me all you can,
I'm not from around here.
You seem to understand
quite well some things which I don't...
To know what I should know.
I'm not sure if you should know.
No, it's nothing. We're not clear on it.
Anyway, what is there to understand?
We feel it...
Here we feel someone is...
- Is doing what?
- No, it's a dumb idea.
Well say it!
Is...having fun, there!
Could she be alive?
Ah no, dead! If it's a game
how could she be alive?
10 000... Boots have I pulled off,
back when I was in my prime.
I read boot-pulls like
one reads fortunes in cards.
I could tell a man's personality
just by pulling off his boots.
And I? Who am I?
You're something! I don't
even try to guess these days.
Clients this afternoon?
8 as usual, never 9, never 7,
8 every day...for 10 years now.
- Well...that's a gang!
- Better believe it.
They don't come to drink, they come
to spit. That's why I spread sawdust.
No public drunkeness!
Like I'd care!
They could get as drunk as skunks,
it wouldn't distract them anymore.
They're tough, they endure, and the
moment that starts, they stop caring.
Finally, looking at it closely,
only novelty can inebriate.
Your work is done, my girl.
I think mine is done too.
What have you finished?
Marie-whatever, Marie Chasotte,
it's nothing to make a fuss about.
She got the blues,
needed a change, that's all.
We don't get the blues.
She turns a corner, snow covers tracks,
goes to the forest to change the pace.
So you think it takes that little?
She falls in a hole, the cold, the snow...
We'll find her in spring, no big mystery.
Your boots! Dress up warmly!
Mr. Ravanel!
No no, come quickly Mr. Ravanel!
- Who's this one?
- What are you doing here?
Who is this man,
what's wrong with him?
He...he...came close to dying.
- We lost him, sonny.
- You lost who?
The dark one,
he took off that way.
O.K., 4 men with guns, follow the trail.
Push hard, he doesn't have much lead.
And shout out, I'll be
with you in 5 minutes.
- Marcel! Marcel!
- Yes, I'm O.K. dear.
Go inside and we'll get
this straightened out.
I can walk on my own, I'm fine.
- Is he breathing?
- Sure he's breathing, he's fine!
- I went out...
- Why did you go out?
Hey, why do people go out?
I went out, turned the corner...
It's dark as a bunghole,
err...bunker...
Rope around my neck, I'm
being carried off like a sack!
Ah, he was taking me...
the dirty scoundrel!
I felt carried off,
he took me 15 or 20 feet!
- Why did you go out?
- I went out, so what?! ...or 20 feet...
At least. Maybe more.
It was, we can say this...it was sudden.
What saved me...was this here.
He meant to lift and cut my windpipe.
With this I didn't choke,
I was strangled but cried out.
He dropped me right away.
- Why did you go out?
- Aw hell! I went out!
- Ravanel, why are you here?
- Oh, old friend...
- What is it?
- Something's up over there...
- Over where?
- At Joseph's.
Hold on there! You two...
Stay here to watch over him.
Hahaha, it's a strange fanfare.
He has razor cuts all over his body.
The back, the flanks, the stomach...
Only his dick was spared.
Small cuts, nothing deep, you'll see...
But it made a lot of blood.
And yet, I've seen blood in my lifetime...
...so he tries to take Ravanel,
he fails, and he runs away.
- We chase him...
- We don't, we run where Ravanel fired.
And Ravanel is only old Ravanel.
Your zebra won't run straight ahead.
- He's no idiot.
- Very important that, he is no idiot.
He doesn't run.
He enters Jules' barn...
Crosses it, enters Martial's barn next,
then he's on the other side of the village.
- There's he takes care of the pig.
- But for what reason?
What do you mean "why"?
Let's abandon simple questions.
I'll ask you one:
Did you suspect me?
- Umm, no.
- I congratulate you for hesitating.
Where did the kid go? Go check
on him, it looks like it's getting bad.
I don't like the people
here when they get quiet.
I'll get him inside.
Sincerely, congratulations.
You hesitated, that's perfect.
- I wanted to ask you...
- Let's wait for Clara.
What do you think about this woman?
She ran one of the most
expensive houses in Lyon.
The Prefect, the General,
I don't dare say the Bishop.
Even me at a certain point.
Then she had some problems.
So I set her up here.
She knows lots about the human soul.
I'm a fan of souls.
Yours interests me greatly.
Come here Clara, let's dot some i's.
So, you ask why... I don't like the word
"assassin", the "personnage" let's say...
Why the personnage cut a pig
with a razor after failing with Ravanel.
Yes, why all this gratuitous blood?
But it's not gratuitous, on the contrary.
It's right there, he kills for the blood.
He won't kill a pig, that amuses nobody,
but he makes the pig give up it's blood.
- The sight of blood is his thrill.
- But not a drop with Marie Chasotte.
Marie Chasotte had her skin, some spice.
Trust me, I'm talking shop here.
Marie's pigeon squeal must be enough.
Taking Ravanel away must be enough...
Because he's a man and
gets taken like a game animal.
He fails so...too deep in his pleasure
to back up, he'll settle for a bit less...
A grudge of pig's blood if you wish,
it's completely natural.
- Natural...
- "Human" if you prefer.
If that were my nature,
I'd blow my head off.
It certainly IS yours. But, take that
like I took your hesitation earlier.
We are all capable of such crimes. This
killer is no monster, he's like you or me.
Start from there, and you'll find him.
Like you or me, but obviously...a King.
- Clara!
- Yes?
How do you define "Love"?
Not "love", Mr. Prosecutor,
the beast with two backs.
The Theater of the Poor.
"The Theater of the Poor."
Find one for whom this isn't enough
and you'll find the Theater of the Rich.
Or more precisely, since we're talking
about souls, the Theater of Kings.
Blood.
I must seem closed-minded, but
without fatuousness, I'm not so stupid.
- I know. You listened intently.
- I thought about it.
The "personnage" as you call him
does not live in the village.
How do you know?
My presence was known, I walked
around with the Mayor all afternoon.
- He wouldn't have picked that night.
- That's an idea.
Unless he wanted to defy you.
A king doesn't defy a simple captain.
Unquestionably. So you're correct.
He comes from elsewhere.
- You'll see, I learn fast.
- That frightens me. Go!
We made it a community house. We
set up in the attic because it was too big...
- It was good for lords.
- We are all lords when we want to.
Maybe, I don't play politics.
All I'm saying is it could use some light.
The man I replaced broke his neck in this
staircase, the night of a council meeting.
Here, there's your land registry.
- What do you expect to find?
- What you're hiding.
- I'm hiding nothing.
- It's not just you, it's everyone.
- We just don't like trouble.
- And did Marie Chasotte?
Ah, with her it was...
how to say... I don't know.
What's this? Do you know?
Easy, that's the biggest
tree for miles around...
...still digging...
It's hundreds of years old,
maybe a thousand.
It takes 4 men with arms
outspread to reach around it.
Maybe 150 feet tall, who knows?
Foresters made that
red mark on the registry.
I'd like to see a map
of the county, do you have one?
Sure, those we have plenty of...
Come and see.
Here, something to read.
What's here?
- Nothing.
- It said "St. Baudille".
It's nothing, just a village.
- How many live there?
- A handful, like here, more or less.
- And here?
- You look for everything, don't you?
- Everything.
- St. Maurice, a hundred maybe, happy?
- This is true, yes?
- Why would I make things up?
I'd like to observe all
these people together.
Who do you think I am? They'll send me
packing, I can't give big people orders!
Here, that's a castle. Mr. Bel...
Very rich. If I want my ass kicked, sure.
It's not just up to you. People
come together at fairs don't they?
Are you going to invent one?
We need to agree to have a fair.
It's not really a fair we need.
We must find a trick
for them to come. All of them.
I told myself that a small town mayor...
The smaller the town the more jealous...
...would be a good man,
because they chose him.
Bah, I don't deny it, but...
- Finding a system...
- Yes, find a system, unless... Maybe...
- What then?
- A birding drive, a wolf hunt...
In this season you'd get all of them.
Even limpers would help for a laugh.
For a wolf?
Sure, there are many,
I know of one, here...
Over in this area here.
- Big one?
- In faith, he's not small.
- Could he be the one that...
- The Chasotte girl? Oh, not at all.
He's too cagey, she would have fallen
in his jaws and he'd have spit her out.
No, he attacks at his level, he's not
a schoolbook wolf, he's a real one!
He'd kill a dog, a sheep,
maybe up to a horse.
He kills a bit in winter,
when he gets bored.
But the Chasotte thing,
that's elsewhere.
Maybe at his level,
another bored wolf?
- Check. - Then let's amuse him.
Let's try that wolf drive, Mr. Mayor.
- What are you hoping for, Captain?
- May I tell you a secret?
I'm hoping for nothing.
Be careful, eh?
I'm very interested in this area.
So be twice as careful.
Halt.
This assassin is no monster.
He's like you or me.
Begin there and you'll find him.
There!
I think I just caught you
hiding from your lodger!
My lodger can go screw
himself, my feet are frozen.
In the cavalry, we have
a trick to warm our hands...
Does it work for feet?
Maybe. It's too dishonest, I won't say.
Should have stayed close to the stove.
The stove! The one
day we have some fun.
We must suffer for our fun.
You've never said
a truer word, Captain.
Fernand, pass the terrine to the captain.
I've served myself plenty already, madam.
But I don't refuse.
The outdoors awakens the appetite.
The outdoors awakens all appetites.
Offer the terrine to
Mr. Prosecutor, Fernand.
Oh, you've been inventing again, Delphine.
Of course I have, dear! What else
should I do with my time in this season?
Invention deserves all the merit.
It deserves no merit Ars?ne, you simply
spoke of the perfume industry that's all.
You are right Delphine.
Put this industrialist back in his place.
If you borrowed anything from industry
to create this bouquet, you have genius.
I crushed some juniper in cold pork fat.
You'll see the difference, dear.
Ah, how to resist ones' friends...
It's not your friends you're yielding to,
Mr. Prosecutor, it's your gluttony.
I'm a glutton for my friends, dear man.
I'm as hungry as a wolf.
Not very practical these things, eh?
- It depends for what.
- Well, for wolf hunting.
That's where you're wrong, sweetie.
10 francs a pair, Russian leather.
Don't doubt they've hunted meaner
creatures than your lonely beast.
He's not mean, he's bored a bit, that's all.
He's having as much fun as we are today.
That's coming from Courcelles?
So they pushed him towards the ravines?
No, corridor now. It's from Chantranes.
He's going in the right direction.
- Do we go?
- Let's go.
Well I'm warming up a bit more.
- So you can pack up?
- Sure. Don't worry, go on ahead.
Let's hope a
sighting sounds soon!
So Mr. Mayor, where
are we with this lonely wolf?
Haha, he's clever, we haven't yet
got a winning hand, but he's cornered.
In an hour, he'll be
backed against the rock.
- You saw him?
- Twice. He's huge, we must take care.
Look, here is your beech tree.
It's quite far from your town?
No, what's confusing you is that
we spent all day doing a half-circle.
The village is on the other side,
half a league from the woods.
Ah Captain!
Where is the wolf, Mr. Prosecutor?
Exhausted! Surrendered!
He's had all he can take.
We put him where we wanted him,
but it's a dead end, he'll defend himself.
Perhaps not.
Come see this, Clara.
He's no longer bored.
He was over here.
You turned like a trout. Well,
a black trout at least, holding a gun.
An amusing sight.
What exactly did he say?
"He's no longer bored", about the wolf.
This denotes a certain culture,
he understands his situation.
You think he knows?
Not at all. Ah, after years of boredom,
even illiterates talented for sensation...
...can be more philosophical than Plato.
Why did he speak
in my back, from 3 feet away?
He could not keep silent,
this is part of his amusement.
I think back to the day you arrived...
Ravanel's failed abduction...
It wasn't a failure.
The pig wasn't cut up for
primal pleasure, like I first thought.
I pride myself of having spoken then
of defiance. It was clearly a challenge.
But why would he challenge me?
Let's call it an
"introduction" if you prefer.
You're a choice piece in his game. He wants to lead to you where he plans fun.
- I'm not Marie Chasotte.
- He knows this. Don't doubt it.
He surely has tactics
that you cannot fathom.
He amuses himself within this,
and the entire crime is a distraction...
Even his punishment.
- You saw him.
- Like I see you now.
How was he?
No particular features.
You expected a monster? That would be
be too easy, we wouldn't need police.
We are all monsters, or, at least
in tiny ways we can become them.
Normal forehead. Normal nose.
Normal mouth.
I don't wish to interrupt your thoughts,
but would you turn my horse around?
Night is falling, I must return. Unless...
Oh, my apologies Mr. Prosecutor.
No, we've said what we had to, Sorry
for this meeting but I wanted it kept quiet.
You did the right thing.
Watch yourself carefully, especially
from a side you wouldn't usually.
That's the direction he'll try to catch you.
At least that's how I would if I were him.
- Smells wonderful...
- Walnut eau-de-vie Mr. Vicar.
Forget local pride! I say you take away
the Grenoble Valley and the rest is junk.
They make some here also,
but you've tasted it.
Oh, it's true the
stuff around here...
Mmmm. Madam Clara,
for this I bow to you.
- Really Madam Clara...
- I'm happy, it put tears in your eye mmm?
It was made to be resisted.
Where do you get it from?
- A friend.
- Ahh.
Can't find it in shops.
Another little drop?
If I knew for sure that...alright,
oh no...just half, thank you.
With cups and teapots it's safe,
you are only drinking tea Mr. Vicar.
- What's more inoffensive than tea?
- Of course.
"Accursed be those
to whom scandal occurs."
I said that all my life, but
some didn't believe me.
In the end, they
paid dearly for it.
Here comes the captain. Take your time,
Mr. Vicar, he'll be putting his horse away.
Finished, thanks Madam Clara, it gave me
a lift, I can't say the rectory is very warm.
I wouldn't have waited long, all in all.
- Mr. Vicar I salute you.
- I was expecting you, Captain.
- Not standing up, I hope.
- In good company in any case...
- And with a pleasant warmth from the fire.
- I should have been sorry if...
No no, don't apologize, you have business
to attend to, this is why I am here.
- Something I can help with?
- I only wanted to ask for some advice.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, you know
that we have a Mass at midnight...
According to the saying,
midnight is the "hour for crimes".
Normally we don't heed it, but is it safe
to let my flock wander around at night?
I gained new hope during yesterday's
hunt. Nothing happened in the village...
during your absence, with all the men.
Is it safe?
He would have had an easy time.
Mostly, he had another game
to play yesterday Mr. Vicar.
Had you asked yesterday, I might
have said no...to the Mass.
From a security standpoint
of course, which is my only concern.
Tonight I'd be tempted to say yes...
But I'd like to know more about it.
And this is where
I hesitate to speak...
I know more about
hunting than Masses.
If I offend you, do cuff my ears
like a misbehaved boy.
I'd like you to teach me
the "theater" of the Mass.
- I explain myself poorly.
- No, but strangely, my child.
If we were in the church...
...one with stars...and this one with
rays of light, all genuine gold threads.
In small mountain churches, which is
the case for all those around here...
So lost, so isolated from
the big world, poor souls...
The ritual objects are very fine.
Fervor has spun itself into gold.
It never sleeps, in any case, in thread,
in film... And here is the sun...
In the very element of the sun.
Look at my tree of light,
I like it very much also.
It's nature, but sublimated,
like all the rest.
Like the vaulted ceiling, that is inspired
by branches loaded with leaves or snow.
Behold!
You know we have a very large
old beech in the parish?
A splendor, comparable to...
It may be as old as Louis XIII.
So dressed in the
splendor of the fields,
nights, storms, forests...
The priest rises...
Well Mr. Vicar, I thank you
for understanding...
what I explained so poorly,
and for your patience.
Thanks for lighting
all these candles for me.
We're not down to two pennies
of tallow, though we are poor.
If not for me then for the good cause,
I think you may hold your midnight Mass.
What we'd really need would be a
Mass every midnight until New Year's...
And every hour of the holy day.
No, there will be no trouble.
For a soldier you have a good sense
of the power of the Mass. I applaud you.
You know that the assassin
can't approach the divine sacrifice.
I don't wish to worry you Mr. Vicar,
but I believe he approaches it easily.
I believe it is because he will
approach it that he will not kill...
If what he does
can be called "killing".
- Divine Grace?
- No.
Excuse my roughness,
we are men, we should not fear words...
No, not Divine Grace...
Grace of The State.
He will be well, content, he'll enjoy
a spectacle which entertains him...
You don't worry me,
but you frighten me.
I admit there's reason for it,
I'm trying to put myself in his place.
- In his place?
- He's a man like you or me...
- Oh, me...
- It's true, you have the Lord.
Well yes, I have the Lord.
- You don't seem very sure.
- Yes, yes! I am sure.
I have the Lord.
I have a great many things, Captain.
So, did you safely
bring home all your sheep?
All in good order, and intact.
What are you doing?
I'm preparing our
Christmas Eve vigil feast.
- Where did you get this?
- A leftover from the good old days.
It's very beautiful.
Very beautiful.
You seem worried.
It's as if certain objects
are trying to tell me something.
This one, for example.
But what?
You must leave it here where I
can see it for a few days...please.
Aren't you afraid they'll break it?
My centerpiece? Oh no, in society
there is respect for what is beautiful...
They won't get too close, but I wouldn't
say that if one was left alone with it...
Then he'd break it just for fun.
What did you put in the top part?
A thrush I was just given.
Madam Clara?
Madam Clara?
Mom sent me for your big saucepan.
Take it, it's next to the window.
Have you seen the girl?
She was here 5 minutes ago.
Oh!
Captain! Captain!
Quickly! Quickly!
It's too late...
I know where she is.
- This is your home?
- Yes.
- The woman?
- My wife.
- The little girl?
- My little girl.
My father.
- Is it not enough?
- Would it be enough for you?
No. To the right, please.
This continues just between us.
- Thank you.
- Don't mention it.
Your resignation troubles me.
It doesn't match your character.
I have good reasons to give it.
You can't possibly
regret what you did?
No, I killed that man since
it was what should be done.
No need for trials or gallows,
for that I'm perfectly at peace.
It wouldn't prevent me from
going back to command my brigade.
So what prevents you?
I knew the assassin when
I knew myself. That's the true motive.
Oh. If that were true,
we should all resign.
Slippers and nightshirts
all conceal assassins.
I am not a witty man,
Mr. Prosecutor. Look.
What is that?
The finest tool for distraction
a simple man ever invented.
- A belt?
- Yes.
With which the personnage
strangled and carried off his...victims.
He didn't choose girls for their being
girls, but because they were light prey.
He didn't try to
strangle and carry me.
In my case, he had
something else in mind.
But you know this better than I.
You saw all of this coming.
I didn't foresee your resignation.
A week ago, I didn't think I did
favors by shooting a man in the guts.
But that's what I did.
And I learned many things.
All tastes are in nature, we only
need to claim, then pay the price.
Instead of lingering 100 years like a
poor sap, we may live a second as kings.
Oh come on, life is something we
love enough, when we have our senses.
- We must choose the longest life.
- That's often difficult.
But not impossible?
I'm not sure yet.
Marthe! Marthe! My coat!
Tell Robert to ready my sleigh.
- Robert's not here Mr. Prosecutor.
- Ready it yourself, then.
- But night is falling!
- Go! Go quickly!
- What about your gout attack?
- What? My gout, my gout...
- Go get more wood.
- Go!
- Again?
- Enough for a long night.
Clara!
Whoa.
Clara!
Open the stable door.
Go!
What are you doing outside at this
time of night? You should be in bed.
- And where's Robert?
- Ow, my foot.
With gout that was foolish,
you'll cripple yourself.
- Have you seen the captain?
- No.
What happened to him?
Ah, he's an infant.
We know this, what's so surprising?
Is that why you ran here?
If I could run, yes.
Come on, help me.
Give me your shoulder.
Let's go upstairs.
- Damned coward!
- Tell me what happened.
He knew himself in the assassin.
What of it? So did I,
so did you, so does everybody!
Nice business, we have our
whole live to set things right.
- You're speaking Chinese.
- Oh no Clara, you know very well.
What happened was what
you predicted from the start.
Not from the start,
I didn't yet know the captain.
But when I knew him, yes.
He is very kind.
Stop being an ass. He's outside,
going around with a garrote in his hands.
Doesn't stop him from being kind.
Come on, Clara, it's not the
first time you see someone take the dive.
You see this from your armchair,
I see this from my coffee chair...
It affects me differently.
Sit down.
No! I want to stop what's next.
And I will stop it!
You're crafty, but if he came in
with a belt in hand? You'd be afraid?
Of course I would, and good thing too.
What hopes do I have left for my life?
Always the last word, complicating
simple things. Well to hell with it!
"To hell" is saying much.
To our few grains of
sand in an hourglass at most.
So? Where are you going?
To try to convince him that
a few grains of sand is plenty.
Few grains of sand...
Don't trifle with a few grains of sand!
- But wait!
- No, I don't need you, I have my stick.
- Come put on your clogs!
- But it's right next door!
Come put on your clogs I said!
It's no laughing matter!
- Could you sell me a goose?
- Yes, come over this way.
Cut off the head.
- Did I frighten you?
- I was expecting you, why be afraid?
I don't mean to,
but it understandable.
Not in this house, Captain.
You are at home here.
- That's what I thought.
- Sit, I'll pull off your boots.
No, I'll have to go out.
Why? Don't you have all
you ever wanted right here?
- Sure, but...
- So? Why look elsewhere? Now?
I just need to
clear my thoughts.
I never could! That
never kept me from living.
If only it was just living.
It's about getting joy from life.
- Then I'm screwed no matter what.
- Maybe not in the right way.
There were good ones,
bad ones, all kinds.
- Never the right one?
- No.
- Why?
- We don't dare.
Well we should.
We've never
spoken so kindly.
The chance never
presented itself.
Or maybe it didn't need to?
I thank you
for your friendship.
Yet still we can be cheaters
To bid spades and play hearts
Be fear and play again
Be the Devil and play the flower
Yet what's left is to be patient
Good year bad year, we live but an hour
Why must it be that...
Men find no peace?
Subtitles: eunoia
(KG - FreakyFlicks)
Yet still hostesses are kindly
At inns covered in snow
Yet still spouses are patient
when children have tricked them
Yet still inns are welcoming
where wine turns the merry-go-round
Why must it be that...
Men find no peace?
Yet still cities are peaceful
Where bells and steeples tremble
But does Satan sleep under the Bible?
Do Kings know how to pray?
Yet still cities are peaceful
From white morning to white sunset
Why must it be that...
Men find no peace?
Come in, Captain.
Careful Jeannot, don't go too far.
- Already here?
- The messenger made it seem urgent.
You have been hurried. Have a seat.
You have been hurried, but not to
the point you'd have taken more risks.
Have a seat.
- Cigar?
- No thanks, my pipe, if you'll allow.
Certainly.
I enjoy the pipe, but I smoke cigars.
There, that's life in few words:
I smoke one thing but enjoy the other.
Well... So here it is.
I'd like to make some things clear.
I have no authority to burden you
with any mission whatsoever.
In any case, not any more: I'm retired
both professionally and from the world.
They probably no longer
even know who I am.
That would surprise me, Mr. Prosecutor.
In any case, I know who you are.
I meant to say...
I meant to say that
I couldn't cover for you.
I'm just an ordinary civilian now.
- I don't ask to be covered.
- I knew it.
You have likely also understood that
because I knew this, I sent for you.
I understood, and was very honored.
Which now gives me scruples.
Scruples?
Oh, of selfishness, Captain.
Of pure selfishness. Still, it's
too late to back up. Here are the facts:
- Do you know Pr?bois?
- Yes...
No, over this way...
This house disorients...
Half a league this way in the forest,
50 residents simmering under snow.
But...I'm skirting the issue.
Let's get down to brass tacks.
We are December 17th, so 5 days ago,
and don't ask why I waited so long...
I spoke just now of my selfishness...
A young woman... A young girl rather,
disappeared from the village.
She left?
Disappeared. It's not the same thing.
Made to vanish.
She is there, then she is gone.
Abracadabra.
When was it noticed?
Right away. 3 P.M.
Snow falls heavily, no wind, this girl goes
to fetch wood from a shed 30 feet away...
She has only a shawl on her head.
Her mother calls her back to put on
her clogs. She was going in stockings.
She goes around a wall corner...
It's over.
Footprints?
None. Snow is falling.
- A search?
- Everywhere.
Who was this girl?
Nobody.
But live flesh,
any live flesh was enough.
This is what I think.
Not beautiful nor...?
Not beautiful, nor anything special.
This is not where to look.
No need to kill here to make love.
Especially not in winter.
But you just said "any live flesh"...
I will answer a question you won't ask...
By this time in the mountains we all have
3 months of pure whiteness in our eyes...
That's why even I
will dress the boy in red.
Yet still cities are peaceful
Where bells and steeples tremble
But does Satan sleep under the Bible?
Do Kings know how to pray?
Yet still cities are peaceful
From white morning to white sunset
Why must it be that...
Men find no peace?
Captain Langlois.
Ha! Reminds me of the 27th Dragoons.
I'm here because
the prosecutor sent me.
Ah! He finally decided to do something.
Can you give me a room?
You bet, Chet.
Wait, sweetie,
Go around, I'll open the stable door.
Can see in here about
as well as up an asshole.
Tell me Captain, do we seem cowardly?
What's the point in being brave?
- You must know better than I do.
- But I know nothing at all.
I do as you do, I don't act tough
when I don't feel like it.
If we had found him
ourselves, we'd be braver.
- What was her name?
- Marie Chasotte.
Are there places she could
have fallen or disappeared?
No, no, it's not that kind of thing.
Well we'll see. What is
important now is some warmth.
You'll get some in
the caf? near the stove.
Sensitive to cold?
Not really, I sleep in unheated
barracks, but I sure love to eat.
Like all men.
What's in these cabbages?
It smells great.
Veal hocks, a bit of salted,
some juniper...and a little scamming.
We must get by in our solar system.
Speaking of the solar system,
where does the mayor live?
Across the way.
He gets to eat beets.
Well yes, he is the mayor.
Back soon and no joke, I plan
to test you on your home field.
Sweetie.
Sweetie.
There's a reason for everything,
Mr. Mayor, and it's usually a simple one.
We're simple folk here, commander,
and we all know where that leads us.
I believe neither in God nor the Devil.
I didn't want to ask back home in front
of the women but, why are you afraid?
Why all the fuss? It's not the first time
someone's lost then found in spring?
She didn't get lost in snows. We may
find her in springtime but who knows?
Let's show our cards Mr. Mayor.
There are no cards. Come
and see, since you need to look.
Well, come and see,
you won't see anything.
- Here.
- She came out through there?
Yes.
They could see her from
the house through this window?
Yes, but why should anyone look?
We don't constantly watch each other.
That's what they're saying now
because, come and see...
Look there, at the woodpile.
You see?
I don't see anything.
Exactly. She was there.
That's where we found her basket.
The forest.
Is it far?
500 meters.
- She could have gone to the forest?
- Why would she?
I don't know.
No, she didn't go to the forest.
How do you know?
Speak up!
You must tell me all you can,
I'm not from around here.
You seem to understand
quite well some things which I don't...
To know what I should know.
I'm not sure if you should know.
No, it's nothing. We're not clear on it.
Anyway, what is there to understand?
We feel it...
Here we feel someone is...
- Is doing what?
- No, it's a dumb idea.
Well say it!
Is...having fun, there!
Could she be alive?
Ah no, dead! If it's a game
how could she be alive?
10 000... Boots have I pulled off,
back when I was in my prime.
I read boot-pulls like
one reads fortunes in cards.
I could tell a man's personality
just by pulling off his boots.
And I? Who am I?
You're something! I don't
even try to guess these days.
Clients this afternoon?
8 as usual, never 9, never 7,
8 every day...for 10 years now.
- Well...that's a gang!
- Better believe it.
They don't come to drink, they come
to spit. That's why I spread sawdust.
No public drunkeness!
Like I'd care!
They could get as drunk as skunks,
it wouldn't distract them anymore.
They're tough, they endure, and the
moment that starts, they stop caring.
Finally, looking at it closely,
only novelty can inebriate.
Your work is done, my girl.
I think mine is done too.
What have you finished?
Marie-whatever, Marie Chasotte,
it's nothing to make a fuss about.
She got the blues,
needed a change, that's all.
We don't get the blues.
She turns a corner, snow covers tracks,
goes to the forest to change the pace.
So you think it takes that little?
She falls in a hole, the cold, the snow...
We'll find her in spring, no big mystery.
Your boots! Dress up warmly!
Mr. Ravanel!
No no, come quickly Mr. Ravanel!
- Who's this one?
- What are you doing here?
Who is this man,
what's wrong with him?
He...he...came close to dying.
- We lost him, sonny.
- You lost who?
The dark one,
he took off that way.
O.K., 4 men with guns, follow the trail.
Push hard, he doesn't have much lead.
And shout out, I'll be
with you in 5 minutes.
- Marcel! Marcel!
- Yes, I'm O.K. dear.
Go inside and we'll get
this straightened out.
I can walk on my own, I'm fine.
- Is he breathing?
- Sure he's breathing, he's fine!
- I went out...
- Why did you go out?
Hey, why do people go out?
I went out, turned the corner...
It's dark as a bunghole,
err...bunker...
Rope around my neck, I'm
being carried off like a sack!
Ah, he was taking me...
the dirty scoundrel!
I felt carried off,
he took me 15 or 20 feet!
- Why did you go out?
- I went out, so what?! ...or 20 feet...
At least. Maybe more.
It was, we can say this...it was sudden.
What saved me...was this here.
He meant to lift and cut my windpipe.
With this I didn't choke,
I was strangled but cried out.
He dropped me right away.
- Why did you go out?
- Aw hell! I went out!
- Ravanel, why are you here?
- Oh, old friend...
- What is it?
- Something's up over there...
- Over where?
- At Joseph's.
Hold on there! You two...
Stay here to watch over him.
Hahaha, it's a strange fanfare.
He has razor cuts all over his body.
The back, the flanks, the stomach...
Only his dick was spared.
Small cuts, nothing deep, you'll see...
But it made a lot of blood.
And yet, I've seen blood in my lifetime...
...so he tries to take Ravanel,
he fails, and he runs away.
- We chase him...
- We don't, we run where Ravanel fired.
And Ravanel is only old Ravanel.
Your zebra won't run straight ahead.
- He's no idiot.
- Very important that, he is no idiot.
He doesn't run.
He enters Jules' barn...
Crosses it, enters Martial's barn next,
then he's on the other side of the village.
- There's he takes care of the pig.
- But for what reason?
What do you mean "why"?
Let's abandon simple questions.
I'll ask you one:
Did you suspect me?
- Umm, no.
- I congratulate you for hesitating.
Where did the kid go? Go check
on him, it looks like it's getting bad.
I don't like the people
here when they get quiet.
I'll get him inside.
Sincerely, congratulations.
You hesitated, that's perfect.
- I wanted to ask you...
- Let's wait for Clara.
What do you think about this woman?
She ran one of the most
expensive houses in Lyon.
The Prefect, the General,
I don't dare say the Bishop.
Even me at a certain point.
Then she had some problems.
So I set her up here.
She knows lots about the human soul.
I'm a fan of souls.
Yours interests me greatly.
Come here Clara, let's dot some i's.
So, you ask why... I don't like the word
"assassin", the "personnage" let's say...
Why the personnage cut a pig
with a razor after failing with Ravanel.
Yes, why all this gratuitous blood?
But it's not gratuitous, on the contrary.
It's right there, he kills for the blood.
He won't kill a pig, that amuses nobody,
but he makes the pig give up it's blood.
- The sight of blood is his thrill.
- But not a drop with Marie Chasotte.
Marie Chasotte had her skin, some spice.
Trust me, I'm talking shop here.
Marie's pigeon squeal must be enough.
Taking Ravanel away must be enough...
Because he's a man and
gets taken like a game animal.
He fails so...too deep in his pleasure
to back up, he'll settle for a bit less...
A grudge of pig's blood if you wish,
it's completely natural.
- Natural...
- "Human" if you prefer.
If that were my nature,
I'd blow my head off.
It certainly IS yours. But, take that
like I took your hesitation earlier.
We are all capable of such crimes. This
killer is no monster, he's like you or me.
Start from there, and you'll find him.
Like you or me, but obviously...a King.
- Clara!
- Yes?
How do you define "Love"?
Not "love", Mr. Prosecutor,
the beast with two backs.
The Theater of the Poor.
"The Theater of the Poor."
Find one for whom this isn't enough
and you'll find the Theater of the Rich.
Or more precisely, since we're talking
about souls, the Theater of Kings.
Blood.
I must seem closed-minded, but
without fatuousness, I'm not so stupid.
- I know. You listened intently.
- I thought about it.
The "personnage" as you call him
does not live in the village.
How do you know?
My presence was known, I walked
around with the Mayor all afternoon.
- He wouldn't have picked that night.
- That's an idea.
Unless he wanted to defy you.
A king doesn't defy a simple captain.
Unquestionably. So you're correct.
He comes from elsewhere.
- You'll see, I learn fast.
- That frightens me. Go!
We made it a community house. We
set up in the attic because it was too big...
- It was good for lords.
- We are all lords when we want to.
Maybe, I don't play politics.
All I'm saying is it could use some light.
The man I replaced broke his neck in this
staircase, the night of a council meeting.
Here, there's your land registry.
- What do you expect to find?
- What you're hiding.
- I'm hiding nothing.
- It's not just you, it's everyone.
- We just don't like trouble.
- And did Marie Chasotte?
Ah, with her it was...
how to say... I don't know.
What's this? Do you know?
Easy, that's the biggest
tree for miles around...
...still digging...
It's hundreds of years old,
maybe a thousand.
It takes 4 men with arms
outspread to reach around it.
Maybe 150 feet tall, who knows?
Foresters made that
red mark on the registry.
I'd like to see a map
of the county, do you have one?
Sure, those we have plenty of...
Come and see.
Here, something to read.
What's here?
- Nothing.
- It said "St. Baudille".
It's nothing, just a village.
- How many live there?
- A handful, like here, more or less.
- And here?
- You look for everything, don't you?
- Everything.
- St. Maurice, a hundred maybe, happy?
- This is true, yes?
- Why would I make things up?
I'd like to observe all
these people together.
Who do you think I am? They'll send me
packing, I can't give big people orders!
Here, that's a castle. Mr. Bel...
Very rich. If I want my ass kicked, sure.
It's not just up to you. People
come together at fairs don't they?
Are you going to invent one?
We need to agree to have a fair.
It's not really a fair we need.
We must find a trick
for them to come. All of them.
I told myself that a small town mayor...
The smaller the town the more jealous...
...would be a good man,
because they chose him.
Bah, I don't deny it, but...
- Finding a system...
- Yes, find a system, unless... Maybe...
- What then?
- A birding drive, a wolf hunt...
In this season you'd get all of them.
Even limpers would help for a laugh.
For a wolf?
Sure, there are many,
I know of one, here...
Over in this area here.
- Big one?
- In faith, he's not small.
- Could he be the one that...
- The Chasotte girl? Oh, not at all.
He's too cagey, she would have fallen
in his jaws and he'd have spit her out.
No, he attacks at his level, he's not
a schoolbook wolf, he's a real one!
He'd kill a dog, a sheep,
maybe up to a horse.
He kills a bit in winter,
when he gets bored.
But the Chasotte thing,
that's elsewhere.
Maybe at his level,
another bored wolf?
- Check. - Then let's amuse him.
Let's try that wolf drive, Mr. Mayor.
- What are you hoping for, Captain?
- May I tell you a secret?
I'm hoping for nothing.
Be careful, eh?
I'm very interested in this area.
So be twice as careful.
Halt.
This assassin is no monster.
He's like you or me.
Begin there and you'll find him.
There!
I think I just caught you
hiding from your lodger!
My lodger can go screw
himself, my feet are frozen.
In the cavalry, we have
a trick to warm our hands...
Does it work for feet?
Maybe. It's too dishonest, I won't say.
Should have stayed close to the stove.
The stove! The one
day we have some fun.
We must suffer for our fun.
You've never said
a truer word, Captain.
Fernand, pass the terrine to the captain.
I've served myself plenty already, madam.
But I don't refuse.
The outdoors awakens the appetite.
The outdoors awakens all appetites.
Offer the terrine to
Mr. Prosecutor, Fernand.
Oh, you've been inventing again, Delphine.
Of course I have, dear! What else
should I do with my time in this season?
Invention deserves all the merit.
It deserves no merit Ars?ne, you simply
spoke of the perfume industry that's all.
You are right Delphine.
Put this industrialist back in his place.
If you borrowed anything from industry
to create this bouquet, you have genius.
I crushed some juniper in cold pork fat.
You'll see the difference, dear.
Ah, how to resist ones' friends...
It's not your friends you're yielding to,
Mr. Prosecutor, it's your gluttony.
I'm a glutton for my friends, dear man.
I'm as hungry as a wolf.
Not very practical these things, eh?
- It depends for what.
- Well, for wolf hunting.
That's where you're wrong, sweetie.
10 francs a pair, Russian leather.
Don't doubt they've hunted meaner
creatures than your lonely beast.
He's not mean, he's bored a bit, that's all.
He's having as much fun as we are today.
That's coming from Courcelles?
So they pushed him towards the ravines?
No, corridor now. It's from Chantranes.
He's going in the right direction.
- Do we go?
- Let's go.
Well I'm warming up a bit more.
- So you can pack up?
- Sure. Don't worry, go on ahead.
Let's hope a
sighting sounds soon!
So Mr. Mayor, where
are we with this lonely wolf?
Haha, he's clever, we haven't yet
got a winning hand, but he's cornered.
In an hour, he'll be
backed against the rock.
- You saw him?
- Twice. He's huge, we must take care.
Look, here is your beech tree.
It's quite far from your town?
No, what's confusing you is that
we spent all day doing a half-circle.
The village is on the other side,
half a league from the woods.
Ah Captain!
Where is the wolf, Mr. Prosecutor?
Exhausted! Surrendered!
He's had all he can take.
We put him where we wanted him,
but it's a dead end, he'll defend himself.
Perhaps not.
Come see this, Clara.
He's no longer bored.
He was over here.
You turned like a trout. Well,
a black trout at least, holding a gun.
An amusing sight.
What exactly did he say?
"He's no longer bored", about the wolf.
This denotes a certain culture,
he understands his situation.
You think he knows?
Not at all. Ah, after years of boredom,
even illiterates talented for sensation...
...can be more philosophical than Plato.
Why did he speak
in my back, from 3 feet away?
He could not keep silent,
this is part of his amusement.
I think back to the day you arrived...
Ravanel's failed abduction...
It wasn't a failure.
The pig wasn't cut up for
primal pleasure, like I first thought.
I pride myself of having spoken then
of defiance. It was clearly a challenge.
But why would he challenge me?
Let's call it an
"introduction" if you prefer.
You're a choice piece in his game. He wants to lead to you where he plans fun.
- I'm not Marie Chasotte.
- He knows this. Don't doubt it.
He surely has tactics
that you cannot fathom.
He amuses himself within this,
and the entire crime is a distraction...
Even his punishment.
- You saw him.
- Like I see you now.
How was he?
No particular features.
You expected a monster? That would be
be too easy, we wouldn't need police.
We are all monsters, or, at least
in tiny ways we can become them.
Normal forehead. Normal nose.
Normal mouth.
I don't wish to interrupt your thoughts,
but would you turn my horse around?
Night is falling, I must return. Unless...
Oh, my apologies Mr. Prosecutor.
No, we've said what we had to, Sorry
for this meeting but I wanted it kept quiet.
You did the right thing.
Watch yourself carefully, especially
from a side you wouldn't usually.
That's the direction he'll try to catch you.
At least that's how I would if I were him.
- Smells wonderful...
- Walnut eau-de-vie Mr. Vicar.
Forget local pride! I say you take away
the Grenoble Valley and the rest is junk.
They make some here also,
but you've tasted it.
Oh, it's true the
stuff around here...
Mmmm. Madam Clara,
for this I bow to you.
- Really Madam Clara...
- I'm happy, it put tears in your eye mmm?
It was made to be resisted.
Where do you get it from?
- A friend.
- Ahh.
Can't find it in shops.
Another little drop?
If I knew for sure that...alright,
oh no...just half, thank you.
With cups and teapots it's safe,
you are only drinking tea Mr. Vicar.
- What's more inoffensive than tea?
- Of course.
"Accursed be those
to whom scandal occurs."
I said that all my life, but
some didn't believe me.
In the end, they
paid dearly for it.
Here comes the captain. Take your time,
Mr. Vicar, he'll be putting his horse away.
Finished, thanks Madam Clara, it gave me
a lift, I can't say the rectory is very warm.
I wouldn't have waited long, all in all.
- Mr. Vicar I salute you.
- I was expecting you, Captain.
- Not standing up, I hope.
- In good company in any case...
- And with a pleasant warmth from the fire.
- I should have been sorry if...
No no, don't apologize, you have business
to attend to, this is why I am here.
- Something I can help with?
- I only wanted to ask for some advice.
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, you know
that we have a Mass at midnight...
According to the saying,
midnight is the "hour for crimes".
Normally we don't heed it, but is it safe
to let my flock wander around at night?
I gained new hope during yesterday's
hunt. Nothing happened in the village...
during your absence, with all the men.
Is it safe?
He would have had an easy time.
Mostly, he had another game
to play yesterday Mr. Vicar.
Had you asked yesterday, I might
have said no...to the Mass.
From a security standpoint
of course, which is my only concern.
Tonight I'd be tempted to say yes...
But I'd like to know more about it.
And this is where
I hesitate to speak...
I know more about
hunting than Masses.
If I offend you, do cuff my ears
like a misbehaved boy.
I'd like you to teach me
the "theater" of the Mass.
- I explain myself poorly.
- No, but strangely, my child.
If we were in the church...
...one with stars...and this one with
rays of light, all genuine gold threads.
In small mountain churches, which is
the case for all those around here...
So lost, so isolated from
the big world, poor souls...
The ritual objects are very fine.
Fervor has spun itself into gold.
It never sleeps, in any case, in thread,
in film... And here is the sun...
In the very element of the sun.
Look at my tree of light,
I like it very much also.
It's nature, but sublimated,
like all the rest.
Like the vaulted ceiling, that is inspired
by branches loaded with leaves or snow.
Behold!
You know we have a very large
old beech in the parish?
A splendor, comparable to...
It may be as old as Louis XIII.
So dressed in the
splendor of the fields,
nights, storms, forests...
The priest rises...
Well Mr. Vicar, I thank you
for understanding...
what I explained so poorly,
and for your patience.
Thanks for lighting
all these candles for me.
We're not down to two pennies
of tallow, though we are poor.
If not for me then for the good cause,
I think you may hold your midnight Mass.
What we'd really need would be a
Mass every midnight until New Year's...
And every hour of the holy day.
No, there will be no trouble.
For a soldier you have a good sense
of the power of the Mass. I applaud you.
You know that the assassin
can't approach the divine sacrifice.
I don't wish to worry you Mr. Vicar,
but I believe he approaches it easily.
I believe it is because he will
approach it that he will not kill...
If what he does
can be called "killing".
- Divine Grace?
- No.
Excuse my roughness,
we are men, we should not fear words...
No, not Divine Grace...
Grace of The State.
He will be well, content, he'll enjoy
a spectacle which entertains him...
You don't worry me,
but you frighten me.
I admit there's reason for it,
I'm trying to put myself in his place.
- In his place?
- He's a man like you or me...
- Oh, me...
- It's true, you have the Lord.
Well yes, I have the Lord.
- You don't seem very sure.
- Yes, yes! I am sure.
I have the Lord.
I have a great many things, Captain.
So, did you safely
bring home all your sheep?
All in good order, and intact.
What are you doing?
I'm preparing our
Christmas Eve vigil feast.
- Where did you get this?
- A leftover from the good old days.
It's very beautiful.
Very beautiful.
You seem worried.
It's as if certain objects
are trying to tell me something.
This one, for example.
But what?
You must leave it here where I
can see it for a few days...please.
Aren't you afraid they'll break it?
My centerpiece? Oh no, in society
there is respect for what is beautiful...
They won't get too close, but I wouldn't
say that if one was left alone with it...
Then he'd break it just for fun.
What did you put in the top part?
A thrush I was just given.
Madam Clara?
Madam Clara?
Mom sent me for your big saucepan.
Take it, it's next to the window.
Have you seen the girl?
She was here 5 minutes ago.
Oh!
Captain! Captain!
Quickly! Quickly!
It's too late...
I know where she is.
- This is your home?
- Yes.
- The woman?
- My wife.
- The little girl?
- My little girl.
My father.
- Is it not enough?
- Would it be enough for you?
No. To the right, please.
This continues just between us.
- Thank you.
- Don't mention it.
Your resignation troubles me.
It doesn't match your character.
I have good reasons to give it.
You can't possibly
regret what you did?
No, I killed that man since
it was what should be done.
No need for trials or gallows,
for that I'm perfectly at peace.
It wouldn't prevent me from
going back to command my brigade.
So what prevents you?
I knew the assassin when
I knew myself. That's the true motive.
Oh. If that were true,
we should all resign.
Slippers and nightshirts
all conceal assassins.
I am not a witty man,
Mr. Prosecutor. Look.
What is that?
The finest tool for distraction
a simple man ever invented.
- A belt?
- Yes.
With which the personnage
strangled and carried off his...victims.
He didn't choose girls for their being
girls, but because they were light prey.
He didn't try to
strangle and carry me.
In my case, he had
something else in mind.
But you know this better than I.
You saw all of this coming.
I didn't foresee your resignation.
A week ago, I didn't think I did
favors by shooting a man in the guts.
But that's what I did.
And I learned many things.
All tastes are in nature, we only
need to claim, then pay the price.
Instead of lingering 100 years like a
poor sap, we may live a second as kings.
Oh come on, life is something we
love enough, when we have our senses.
- We must choose the longest life.
- That's often difficult.
But not impossible?
I'm not sure yet.
Marthe! Marthe! My coat!
Tell Robert to ready my sleigh.
- Robert's not here Mr. Prosecutor.
- Ready it yourself, then.
- But night is falling!
- Go! Go quickly!
- What about your gout attack?
- What? My gout, my gout...
- Go get more wood.
- Go!
- Again?
- Enough for a long night.
Clara!
Whoa.
Clara!
Open the stable door.
Go!
What are you doing outside at this
time of night? You should be in bed.
- And where's Robert?
- Ow, my foot.
With gout that was foolish,
you'll cripple yourself.
- Have you seen the captain?
- No.
What happened to him?
Ah, he's an infant.
We know this, what's so surprising?
Is that why you ran here?
If I could run, yes.
Come on, help me.
Give me your shoulder.
Let's go upstairs.
- Damned coward!
- Tell me what happened.
He knew himself in the assassin.
What of it? So did I,
so did you, so does everybody!
Nice business, we have our
whole live to set things right.
- You're speaking Chinese.
- Oh no Clara, you know very well.
What happened was what
you predicted from the start.
Not from the start,
I didn't yet know the captain.
But when I knew him, yes.
He is very kind.
Stop being an ass. He's outside,
going around with a garrote in his hands.
Doesn't stop him from being kind.
Come on, Clara, it's not the
first time you see someone take the dive.
You see this from your armchair,
I see this from my coffee chair...
It affects me differently.
Sit down.
No! I want to stop what's next.
And I will stop it!
You're crafty, but if he came in
with a belt in hand? You'd be afraid?
Of course I would, and good thing too.
What hopes do I have left for my life?
Always the last word, complicating
simple things. Well to hell with it!
"To hell" is saying much.
To our few grains of
sand in an hourglass at most.
So? Where are you going?
To try to convince him that
a few grains of sand is plenty.
Few grains of sand...
Don't trifle with a few grains of sand!
- But wait!
- No, I don't need you, I have my stick.
- Come put on your clogs!
- But it's right next door!
Come put on your clogs I said!
It's no laughing matter!
- Could you sell me a goose?
- Yes, come over this way.
Cut off the head.
- Did I frighten you?
- I was expecting you, why be afraid?
I don't mean to,
but it understandable.
Not in this house, Captain.
You are at home here.
- That's what I thought.
- Sit, I'll pull off your boots.
No, I'll have to go out.
Why? Don't you have all
you ever wanted right here?
- Sure, but...
- So? Why look elsewhere? Now?
I just need to
clear my thoughts.
I never could! That
never kept me from living.
If only it was just living.
It's about getting joy from life.
- Then I'm screwed no matter what.
- Maybe not in the right way.
There were good ones,
bad ones, all kinds.
- Never the right one?
- No.
- Why?
- We don't dare.
Well we should.
We've never
spoken so kindly.
The chance never
presented itself.
Or maybe it didn't need to?
I thank you
for your friendship.
Yet still we can be cheaters
To bid spades and play hearts
Be fear and play again
Be the Devil and play the flower
Yet what's left is to be patient
Good year bad year, we live but an hour
Why must it be that...
Men find no peace?
Subtitles: eunoia
(KG - FreakyFlicks)