A Woman Kills (1968) - full transcript
Stifle the cries
of a girl being murdered
under a truck's tarpaulin.
A new murder after the
death of H?l?ne Picard.
H?l?ne Picard is dead but
the crimes continue.
Read the latest news.
A young girl murdered as if
H?l?ne Picard was still alive.
Latest News: crimes continue
despite H?l?ne Picard's execution.
A new murder after the
death of H?l?ne Picard.
H?l?ne Picard is dead but
the crimes continue.
Read the latest news.
A young girl murdered as if
H?l?ne Picard was still alive.
H?l?ne,
my child...
It is time
to beg for clemency
the one who said:
"Knock, and it shall
be opened unto you."
God, who sees all our actions,
can tell the difference
between the guilty
and the innocent.
His mercy is immense
and he will forgive those
tortured by remorse.
Repeat after me:
My God,
I am heartily sorry
for having offended thee.
My God, I am heartily sorry
for having offended thee.
Because you are all-good
and hate sinners,
I firmly intend,
with your help,
to stop offending thee
and to do penance. Amen.
It started on a
cold morning of the 60's.
The first piece in the file
refers to the execution
of a young woman:
"H?l?ne Picard,
born in Lyon, May 20, 1943."
A child in care, she is reported as
a runaway, a thief and unstable.
1960, authorities notice
her particular aggressiveness.
A taste for violence
and a tendency to homosexuality.
October 10, 1965, she is arrested near
the mutilated body of a prostitute.
January 8, 1966,
H?l?ne Picard is sentenced to death.
She will be executed on
March 22, 1968.
Louis Guilbaud, 38,
born January 3, 1930 in Saint-Denis,
1.77 m, brown eyes, brown hair.
His father, Antoine Guilbaud
was a Department of Justice
official until 1961.
His mother, Mary, was the manager
of a small hotel from 1945 to 1956.
After a normal childhood, Louis
was mobilized for war in Algeria.
He was classified as
slightly paranoid,
but appreciated by
superiors and comrades.
Demobilized, Louis Guilbaud
was offered a special
responsibility at the
Department of Justice.
In 1963, he became an official.
Since 1965, his situation has caused
him psychological problems.
He has made an official request
to be released from his responsibility.
Today, Louis Guilbaud
comes to the police department
to meet Solange Lebas,
the assistant of superintendent Labro.
Everyday...
Every day I find threatening
letters in my mailbox.
Miss, I may seem
very bold,
and I beg your pardon
in advance,
but
I think I'm being followed.
I'm so afraid...
Can't we meet
somewhere else?
I don't know,
I'm sorry but...
At the Buttes-Chaumont,
for instance. Tomorrow.
At noon,
it would be perfect.
You can help me.
Please.
I'm becoming paranoid.
I don't know who is
persecuting me.
I have no enemy.
I am a quiet man.
I don't know how to tell you
my appreciation, Miss.
I am very touched.
See you tomorrow.
Katie, 20, prostitute.
Specialised in animal love.
Born in Lausanne in 1948,
from a wealthy family,
she left home at 16
with her cousin Jos?,
nicknamed "Le beau Serge."
In 1966, she became the mistress
of a senior official
but kept seeing
other men.
In 1967, she became hostess
at the Cabaret de la Boule Rouge
and entered into the
prostitution trade.
April 4, 1968,
Andr? Samin, a railwayman,
finds her body
shredded by a train.
H?l?ne Picard is dead
and yet these crimes continue.
The crimes attributed to
H?l?ne Picard proceed at a pace
that the chief of police
describes as abominable.
New initiatives will be adopted
but the police has no serious lead.
According to official
sources, several dozens
of witnesses are
auditioned every week.
None gave any result until now.
The latest news: crimes continue
despite the execution of H?l?ne Picard.
A new murder after the
death of H?l?ne Picard.
H?l?ne Picard is dead but
the crimes continue.
Read the latest news.
A young girl murdered as if
H?l?ne Picard was still alive.
Stifle the cries
of a girl being murdered
under a truck's tarpaulin.
Gaunt solitude
that distorts your overcoat.
Cold solitude
that cracks the walls.
Paris, culture broth
Paris, dream city
Paris, pigeon-shooting
I have to burn them.
These letters really upset me.
Maybe these bastards won't kill me
but they'll make me go mad.
It upsets me so much that I go around
in circles for hours in my room.
And all my memories come
swirling in my head.
I think I'm really
going mad.
You can keep my tuxedo
And my love letters
And from the top
of the Eiffel Tower
I will spread your
mist curtain
And set sail.
You slept well, Mr Guilbaud?
I didn't have too many nightmares.
I'm fine.
Well, where is the key
to the mailbox?
- We'll get to work.
- It's the smallest one.
I knew it.
You think that I'm mad,
don't you?
I was looking for hours,
night and day
how to get close to you.
I invented everything in this
story of threatening letters.
And even if I have to
lose your esteem and...
I have to tell you.
I needed to see you.
Solange Lebas, 26
Born the 24th of June 1942
at Tunis, Tunisia.
1m68. Dark blond hair.
Hazelnut eyes.
Has a law degree. She's an official
at the police department since 1967.
Hello? Police?
Get me post 812, please.
Solange...
My mother used to
dress me like a little girl.
All the children were
laughing at me.
Laughed when I walked by.
Even the teachers
laughed secretly.
After, it was the war.
I killed men.
In civilian life.
I was lost.
And then, as circumstances
got involved...
I didn't refuse to become
society's official killer.
Monitoring the constant coming and
going of a young woman. Stop.
Don't lose the trail.
Stay in touch.
Accompanied by a young women. Stop.
Let's follow. Stop.
Trail lost. Stop.
Brigitte de Bardess, 22,
occasional prostitute.
Was part of the white
coats band in 1964.
1965: she gives her son, Mathieu,
to the public assistance.
May 1st 1968, her body is found
in the Bois de Boulogne.
On the neck,
strangulation marks.
Always late.
-Big Gibout delayed me.
It needs to change. Sit.
Light.
Here she is dead,
violated, of course.
The analysis is formal:
she was killed by a woman.
This woman,
detective Fabre
he saw a very tall woman
leave with the victim.
We don't know anything else.
Give us the profile
of the presumed murderer.
Here. Get this in your head.
I'm coming.
Solange.
I'm glad to see you.
How are you, Louis?
- I'm alright.
I'm sorry to welcome you with this outfit.
I'm doing a little bit of cooking.
You know, singles have to
know how to do everything.
You didn't read the papers?
They found a murdered girl.
Just like H?l?ne Picard's victims.
Her body was found in the woods.
I'm afraid...
I don't know why but I'm afraid that
H?l?ne Picard wasn't the true culprit.
But Solange, all those proofs,
those testimonials...
Please be reasonable.
I may have got it wrong.
You know, I'm not
much of a psychologist,
but...
You're wrong to think
that it's the same woman
who killed before and
after H?l?ne's execution.
I wish I were wrong.
I think that, with all the
advertising in the papers,
any lunatic could
identify with H?l?ne.
That's all.
I still have this comb.
I gave it for analysis.
Goodbye, Gibout.
May 10th 1968.
The investigation is faltering.
The weather is nice in Paris. Commissioner
Sabrot's stomach ulcer is back.
His doctor advised him to rest.
And what's that?
- It's a secret.
No secret between us.
Quiet night. Stop.
Nothing to report. Stop.
Follow without hesitation
every woman from 20 to 40,
who would go to prostitutes.
Everything is normal. Stop.
Nothing to report. Stop.
You give me a strange feeling.
Ang?le, 26, whore at Pigalle.
Born at Paris, Oct 3rd 1942
from a bourgeois family.
Married in 1962 a rich merchant
from Bordeaux's area.
In 1965, her husband dies in
mysterious circumstances.
Arrested by police
for drug trafficking,
She benefits of a dismissal
on February 7th '67.
January 1st 1968, Ang?le, working
with some police departments
allows the arrest of Pascal Bonant,
AKA "the viper".
February 2nd 1968, She's a
victim of a car accident.
She only gets back to her
activities in May '68.
May 13th 1968,
Her mutilated body is
found in a public dump.
A broom handle, penetrated
in the victim's rectum,
remind the police of the crimes
committed by the young H?l?ne Picard.
You'll pay.
When in Paris,
you get bored
you go rowing
you go rowing
at the Bois de Boulogne.
Coo the wood pigeon
stroll the rowers
the big bellies
the plumps
are laughing at
our worker's sweat
singles row so much
because the graceful boats
sink under the weight
of the diamond liars
the sweet splash
of the oars on the water
reflect the morbid light
of the edge of the guillotine
and the last smile
of the one sentenced to death
which wets their big green eyes
Sirs, the executioners,
do some circles in the water
and embark to six lands
The pretty police
and hold them prisoner.
In this event of a hanging,
the loss of consciousness
is immediate
by arterial compression.
Which stops blood flow
to the brain.
If you unhang the body
too soon
a coming back
to life is possible.
It happened very often.
The electric chair includes
one electrode
which caps the
head like a helmet.
And...
- You don't eat?
The other electrode, the other
electrode is connected to the foot.
The cardiac arrest...
The cardiac arrest...
is obtained
through a high voltage electric power.
But death only comes
after the lowering
of the voltage.
You're good with humans,
aren't you?
Yes, and this isn't over.
Beheading...
is done
with
an axe.
Or with a guillotine.
You put the...
the offender tied on a plank.
and after blindfolding.
Are you listening?
Yes, yes, I'm listening.
After, after blindfolding
you turn back the plank.
and you push it under the cleaver.
The head on one side,
the body on the other side,
is publicly displayed...
No, listen, stop.
When I think that
H?l?ne died this way...
You're too emotional.
No, but I'm tired, that's all.
I want to go to bed.
You have to sort
the cheese's crusts
which are at the
bottom of your plate
to compare the whiteness
of your skin
to the porcelain's one
the navy blue design
of your civilian uniform
numbs the pyx
mysterious of
your celestial body
the slippery
collar of the nylon
along your strangled throat
by the rigour
waterproofed
your civil status
We are not beasts...
We are the architects
of the impossible
on the bare front
of the bloodless buildings
and we imagine
the voluptuous shapes
And the cathedral's angels
released from their
hypocritical mysteries
If everything works and you
don't get a nervous breakdown
or a fit of madness
You have to rest.
I mean it.
You won't hold out.
What?
Ask for a leave?
Love?
No, never heard of it.
Well, pack your things.
Anyway, I've always
only relied on myself.
Of course.
Well, have a nice trip.
Where did I put
my wristband?
Did you see my wristband?
You know, the small one with some...
-No I haven't
-Some small green rocks.
A NEW SADIST IN PIGALLE
You'll find them,
look attentively.
No, I told you
I'll never succeed.
But look attentively.
Send a telegram when you arrive.
-Sure.
TRACK 15 - ACCESS FORBIDDEN-
Only I could have missed the train.
It almost looks like I did it on purpose.
What's with this woman?
That's rude not to answer.
I never saw her
inside the building.
But... It's the same woman
from before.
She looks like the sadist's profile.
I'm afraid...
For the first time since a
long time, I'm really afraid.
She must be
searching the flat.
I missed the train.
Listen to me carefully.
Hello, Suzie.
Solange called you 10 minutes ago. You
have to be at 10PM at the Pigalle.
She didn't say anything else?
I couldn't say a word.
She said exactly that
and rang off.
What do you think of Pigalle's sadist?
- What?
What do you think of Pigalle's sadist?
- I don't know what it is.
The sadist? I don't believe in it. It's
some made up tales by journalists.
Miss, What do you think of
Pigalle's sadist? - Not much.
What do you think of Pigalle's
sadist? -Nothing. - Nothing?
If I were the government, there
wouldn't be any sadists or albinos.
You want me to tell you?
It's probably a foreigner.
I don't care, it doesn't affect students.
Plus I don't have anything against sadists.
Our reporter, Andr? Breton,
went to the police,
where he interviewed
detective Marcel Fabre.
Mr. detective, could you summarize
the investigation?
It's almost impossible for me
to give you a precise answer.
The case, called "of the sadist"
is one of the most obscure
case I had in my career.
On the other hand, our boss,
Commissioner Sabrot,
gave very strict orders.
regarding the silence
we have to keep
about our actions.
What we can convey you
it's that it isn't quite impossible
that the sadist falls
into a trap.
If he notices that I'm watching him,
I'm done.
But who's in the building
across the street?
I'm sorry sir, but a man
is following me .
Can you shelter me
so he'll lose my trail?
Come in,
sorry for the mess.
Suzie, 24, single, works at the police
department, Solange Lebas's secretary.
On may 24th 1968,
Guilbaud, changing his voice, gives her
an appointment in a caf? near Pigalle.
Marcel here.
They left in a grey car.
A Renault.
Wait for orders.
We have to put
all the odds on our side.
Suzie knows very well that she
has to last until dawn. Over.
I heard something like a gunshot.
I can't locate it.
I don't understand,
everything is quiet.
I beg you,
come as fast as you can.
The streets must
be easy to block.
The life of one of our agent is in danger.
Please do it quickly.
Squeak the bed-spring
Wait the girl
cry tears of joy
Executioner, it's your last tango.
Wait the girl
smile the executioner
Gain momentum on
the bed-spring
it's your last tango.
And we, we watch
sitting on a chair
the emotionless bed-spring
Suzie in the arms
of the executioner
who sculpts in her flesh
a grave marker
That bastard should die.
Rest assured, great people
you'll get what you paid for
and the executioner shall die.
Among evil beasts
there will be blood
and crispy details
sanguineous groans
and above all
he'll think about his mother.
It's your last tango.
The graveyard's worms,
dig some corridors
to lead you to the
centre of the earth
where you'll dance
your first waltz
with death...
Shit. These devices never work.
- It works fine. Be polite.
Surrender.
The house is surrounded.
You can't escape.
Take position
around the house.
Take care of Suzie. And keep in touch
with the command centre at all time.
Can we get a chopper to monitor the
development with the criminal.
Impossible. We can't
attract attention.
We have to be as discreet as we can
-As far as discretion is concerned
it doesn't look like a success.
General call from DMZ1 to every car.
Don't kill him now.
Surround him.
Follow him in
the harshest places,
the most tortuous streets,
so that he'll lose his blood.
His blood should be
the only trail
that you should follow.
Every drop he loses
will get you closer to him.
Run him down like a beast.
His muscles shall wither.
His morale is
already undermined.
His gun weighs down his hand
as if his fingers were jellyfishes,
unable of any solidity.
He'll drop his gun.
And when,
completely exhausted,
he'll fall on his knees...
Stop, Guilbaud.
Do everything you can
so this clowning ends
before people get out of their homes.
We won't tolerate any excuses.
Report back every 2 minutes.
The man is dressed up as a woman.
Report back every 2 minutes.
Block the well's street.
Send a car to the tower's street.
Team number 2 and number 3:
keep your positions.
Don't move on plain sight.
Brush against the walls.
Stop or I shoot.
Antoine Guilbaut.
Drop your gun.
May 25th 1968, 12h32.
The young detective Mattey, 24, a judo
black belt, has Guilbaut surrounded.
Cornered, Guilbaut shot a gas tank.
which exploded.
14h28. Guilbaut. thinks of his childhood,
of the pain.
He's like stone,
an almost inert material, crumbled
An almost mineral wound.
His childhood dream comes
back to his memory
A tiny pinhead comes near
him, enlarge, enlarge...
Becomes huge. Suffocate
him, wakes him up.
You'll pay, Louis.
Die.
Die like a beast.
I'm not a beast.
I'm not a man.
I have no name, nor a
place on this earth.
I'm a... living wound.
My mother made me who I am.
A sadist, a deviant.
I had the chance
to be a man.
They didn't allow me to be a man.
They made me...
the worst of the cowards.
They pushed me into the
abyss of the vice,
of the crime,
and of depravity.
But... but you...
who had a sweet childhood
and who have a forehead
without any wrinkles
you, Solange,
I love above
everything else
you, Solange,
with all the others
You're the loss of all a word,
paralysed and miserable.
14h03: Solange shoots her companion.
17h20: a telegram from Commissioner
Sabrot congratulates her for her bravery,
her conscientiousness
and her initiative.
I'm not done for this.
Solange will plead self-defence.
1978, ten years later.
Solange is the mother of 3. She's
decorated with the Legion of Honour.
When she married G?rard Roland, Solange
registered in the French Communist Party.
She feels useful, still
young, still beautiful.
Stifle the cries
of a girl being murdered
under a truck's tarpaulin.
Gaunt solitude
that distorts
your overcoat.
Cold solitude
that cracks the walls.
Paris, culture broth
Paris, dream city
Paris, pigeon shooting
You can keep my tuxedo
And my love letters
And from the top
of the Eiffel Tower
I will spread your
mist curtain
And set sail.
of a girl being murdered
under a truck's tarpaulin.
A new murder after the
death of H?l?ne Picard.
H?l?ne Picard is dead but
the crimes continue.
Read the latest news.
A young girl murdered as if
H?l?ne Picard was still alive.
Latest News: crimes continue
despite H?l?ne Picard's execution.
A new murder after the
death of H?l?ne Picard.
H?l?ne Picard is dead but
the crimes continue.
Read the latest news.
A young girl murdered as if
H?l?ne Picard was still alive.
H?l?ne,
my child...
It is time
to beg for clemency
the one who said:
"Knock, and it shall
be opened unto you."
God, who sees all our actions,
can tell the difference
between the guilty
and the innocent.
His mercy is immense
and he will forgive those
tortured by remorse.
Repeat after me:
My God,
I am heartily sorry
for having offended thee.
My God, I am heartily sorry
for having offended thee.
Because you are all-good
and hate sinners,
I firmly intend,
with your help,
to stop offending thee
and to do penance. Amen.
It started on a
cold morning of the 60's.
The first piece in the file
refers to the execution
of a young woman:
"H?l?ne Picard,
born in Lyon, May 20, 1943."
A child in care, she is reported as
a runaway, a thief and unstable.
1960, authorities notice
her particular aggressiveness.
A taste for violence
and a tendency to homosexuality.
October 10, 1965, she is arrested near
the mutilated body of a prostitute.
January 8, 1966,
H?l?ne Picard is sentenced to death.
She will be executed on
March 22, 1968.
Louis Guilbaud, 38,
born January 3, 1930 in Saint-Denis,
1.77 m, brown eyes, brown hair.
His father, Antoine Guilbaud
was a Department of Justice
official until 1961.
His mother, Mary, was the manager
of a small hotel from 1945 to 1956.
After a normal childhood, Louis
was mobilized for war in Algeria.
He was classified as
slightly paranoid,
but appreciated by
superiors and comrades.
Demobilized, Louis Guilbaud
was offered a special
responsibility at the
Department of Justice.
In 1963, he became an official.
Since 1965, his situation has caused
him psychological problems.
He has made an official request
to be released from his responsibility.
Today, Louis Guilbaud
comes to the police department
to meet Solange Lebas,
the assistant of superintendent Labro.
Everyday...
Every day I find threatening
letters in my mailbox.
Miss, I may seem
very bold,
and I beg your pardon
in advance,
but
I think I'm being followed.
I'm so afraid...
Can't we meet
somewhere else?
I don't know,
I'm sorry but...
At the Buttes-Chaumont,
for instance. Tomorrow.
At noon,
it would be perfect.
You can help me.
Please.
I'm becoming paranoid.
I don't know who is
persecuting me.
I have no enemy.
I am a quiet man.
I don't know how to tell you
my appreciation, Miss.
I am very touched.
See you tomorrow.
Katie, 20, prostitute.
Specialised in animal love.
Born in Lausanne in 1948,
from a wealthy family,
she left home at 16
with her cousin Jos?,
nicknamed "Le beau Serge."
In 1966, she became the mistress
of a senior official
but kept seeing
other men.
In 1967, she became hostess
at the Cabaret de la Boule Rouge
and entered into the
prostitution trade.
April 4, 1968,
Andr? Samin, a railwayman,
finds her body
shredded by a train.
H?l?ne Picard is dead
and yet these crimes continue.
The crimes attributed to
H?l?ne Picard proceed at a pace
that the chief of police
describes as abominable.
New initiatives will be adopted
but the police has no serious lead.
According to official
sources, several dozens
of witnesses are
auditioned every week.
None gave any result until now.
The latest news: crimes continue
despite the execution of H?l?ne Picard.
A new murder after the
death of H?l?ne Picard.
H?l?ne Picard is dead but
the crimes continue.
Read the latest news.
A young girl murdered as if
H?l?ne Picard was still alive.
Stifle the cries
of a girl being murdered
under a truck's tarpaulin.
Gaunt solitude
that distorts your overcoat.
Cold solitude
that cracks the walls.
Paris, culture broth
Paris, dream city
Paris, pigeon-shooting
I have to burn them.
These letters really upset me.
Maybe these bastards won't kill me
but they'll make me go mad.
It upsets me so much that I go around
in circles for hours in my room.
And all my memories come
swirling in my head.
I think I'm really
going mad.
You can keep my tuxedo
And my love letters
And from the top
of the Eiffel Tower
I will spread your
mist curtain
And set sail.
You slept well, Mr Guilbaud?
I didn't have too many nightmares.
I'm fine.
Well, where is the key
to the mailbox?
- We'll get to work.
- It's the smallest one.
I knew it.
You think that I'm mad,
don't you?
I was looking for hours,
night and day
how to get close to you.
I invented everything in this
story of threatening letters.
And even if I have to
lose your esteem and...
I have to tell you.
I needed to see you.
Solange Lebas, 26
Born the 24th of June 1942
at Tunis, Tunisia.
1m68. Dark blond hair.
Hazelnut eyes.
Has a law degree. She's an official
at the police department since 1967.
Hello? Police?
Get me post 812, please.
Solange...
My mother used to
dress me like a little girl.
All the children were
laughing at me.
Laughed when I walked by.
Even the teachers
laughed secretly.
After, it was the war.
I killed men.
In civilian life.
I was lost.
And then, as circumstances
got involved...
I didn't refuse to become
society's official killer.
Monitoring the constant coming and
going of a young woman. Stop.
Don't lose the trail.
Stay in touch.
Accompanied by a young women. Stop.
Let's follow. Stop.
Trail lost. Stop.
Brigitte de Bardess, 22,
occasional prostitute.
Was part of the white
coats band in 1964.
1965: she gives her son, Mathieu,
to the public assistance.
May 1st 1968, her body is found
in the Bois de Boulogne.
On the neck,
strangulation marks.
Always late.
-Big Gibout delayed me.
It needs to change. Sit.
Light.
Here she is dead,
violated, of course.
The analysis is formal:
she was killed by a woman.
This woman,
detective Fabre
he saw a very tall woman
leave with the victim.
We don't know anything else.
Give us the profile
of the presumed murderer.
Here. Get this in your head.
I'm coming.
Solange.
I'm glad to see you.
How are you, Louis?
- I'm alright.
I'm sorry to welcome you with this outfit.
I'm doing a little bit of cooking.
You know, singles have to
know how to do everything.
You didn't read the papers?
They found a murdered girl.
Just like H?l?ne Picard's victims.
Her body was found in the woods.
I'm afraid...
I don't know why but I'm afraid that
H?l?ne Picard wasn't the true culprit.
But Solange, all those proofs,
those testimonials...
Please be reasonable.
I may have got it wrong.
You know, I'm not
much of a psychologist,
but...
You're wrong to think
that it's the same woman
who killed before and
after H?l?ne's execution.
I wish I were wrong.
I think that, with all the
advertising in the papers,
any lunatic could
identify with H?l?ne.
That's all.
I still have this comb.
I gave it for analysis.
Goodbye, Gibout.
May 10th 1968.
The investigation is faltering.
The weather is nice in Paris. Commissioner
Sabrot's stomach ulcer is back.
His doctor advised him to rest.
And what's that?
- It's a secret.
No secret between us.
Quiet night. Stop.
Nothing to report. Stop.
Follow without hesitation
every woman from 20 to 40,
who would go to prostitutes.
Everything is normal. Stop.
Nothing to report. Stop.
You give me a strange feeling.
Ang?le, 26, whore at Pigalle.
Born at Paris, Oct 3rd 1942
from a bourgeois family.
Married in 1962 a rich merchant
from Bordeaux's area.
In 1965, her husband dies in
mysterious circumstances.
Arrested by police
for drug trafficking,
She benefits of a dismissal
on February 7th '67.
January 1st 1968, Ang?le, working
with some police departments
allows the arrest of Pascal Bonant,
AKA "the viper".
February 2nd 1968, She's a
victim of a car accident.
She only gets back to her
activities in May '68.
May 13th 1968,
Her mutilated body is
found in a public dump.
A broom handle, penetrated
in the victim's rectum,
remind the police of the crimes
committed by the young H?l?ne Picard.
You'll pay.
When in Paris,
you get bored
you go rowing
you go rowing
at the Bois de Boulogne.
Coo the wood pigeon
stroll the rowers
the big bellies
the plumps
are laughing at
our worker's sweat
singles row so much
because the graceful boats
sink under the weight
of the diamond liars
the sweet splash
of the oars on the water
reflect the morbid light
of the edge of the guillotine
and the last smile
of the one sentenced to death
which wets their big green eyes
Sirs, the executioners,
do some circles in the water
and embark to six lands
The pretty police
and hold them prisoner.
In this event of a hanging,
the loss of consciousness
is immediate
by arterial compression.
Which stops blood flow
to the brain.
If you unhang the body
too soon
a coming back
to life is possible.
It happened very often.
The electric chair includes
one electrode
which caps the
head like a helmet.
And...
- You don't eat?
The other electrode, the other
electrode is connected to the foot.
The cardiac arrest...
The cardiac arrest...
is obtained
through a high voltage electric power.
But death only comes
after the lowering
of the voltage.
You're good with humans,
aren't you?
Yes, and this isn't over.
Beheading...
is done
with
an axe.
Or with a guillotine.
You put the...
the offender tied on a plank.
and after blindfolding.
Are you listening?
Yes, yes, I'm listening.
After, after blindfolding
you turn back the plank.
and you push it under the cleaver.
The head on one side,
the body on the other side,
is publicly displayed...
No, listen, stop.
When I think that
H?l?ne died this way...
You're too emotional.
No, but I'm tired, that's all.
I want to go to bed.
You have to sort
the cheese's crusts
which are at the
bottom of your plate
to compare the whiteness
of your skin
to the porcelain's one
the navy blue design
of your civilian uniform
numbs the pyx
mysterious of
your celestial body
the slippery
collar of the nylon
along your strangled throat
by the rigour
waterproofed
your civil status
We are not beasts...
We are the architects
of the impossible
on the bare front
of the bloodless buildings
and we imagine
the voluptuous shapes
And the cathedral's angels
released from their
hypocritical mysteries
If everything works and you
don't get a nervous breakdown
or a fit of madness
You have to rest.
I mean it.
You won't hold out.
What?
Ask for a leave?
Love?
No, never heard of it.
Well, pack your things.
Anyway, I've always
only relied on myself.
Of course.
Well, have a nice trip.
Where did I put
my wristband?
Did you see my wristband?
You know, the small one with some...
-No I haven't
-Some small green rocks.
A NEW SADIST IN PIGALLE
You'll find them,
look attentively.
No, I told you
I'll never succeed.
But look attentively.
Send a telegram when you arrive.
-Sure.
TRACK 15 - ACCESS FORBIDDEN-
Only I could have missed the train.
It almost looks like I did it on purpose.
What's with this woman?
That's rude not to answer.
I never saw her
inside the building.
But... It's the same woman
from before.
She looks like the sadist's profile.
I'm afraid...
For the first time since a
long time, I'm really afraid.
She must be
searching the flat.
I missed the train.
Listen to me carefully.
Hello, Suzie.
Solange called you 10 minutes ago. You
have to be at 10PM at the Pigalle.
She didn't say anything else?
I couldn't say a word.
She said exactly that
and rang off.
What do you think of Pigalle's sadist?
- What?
What do you think of Pigalle's sadist?
- I don't know what it is.
The sadist? I don't believe in it. It's
some made up tales by journalists.
Miss, What do you think of
Pigalle's sadist? - Not much.
What do you think of Pigalle's
sadist? -Nothing. - Nothing?
If I were the government, there
wouldn't be any sadists or albinos.
You want me to tell you?
It's probably a foreigner.
I don't care, it doesn't affect students.
Plus I don't have anything against sadists.
Our reporter, Andr? Breton,
went to the police,
where he interviewed
detective Marcel Fabre.
Mr. detective, could you summarize
the investigation?
It's almost impossible for me
to give you a precise answer.
The case, called "of the sadist"
is one of the most obscure
case I had in my career.
On the other hand, our boss,
Commissioner Sabrot,
gave very strict orders.
regarding the silence
we have to keep
about our actions.
What we can convey you
it's that it isn't quite impossible
that the sadist falls
into a trap.
If he notices that I'm watching him,
I'm done.
But who's in the building
across the street?
I'm sorry sir, but a man
is following me .
Can you shelter me
so he'll lose my trail?
Come in,
sorry for the mess.
Suzie, 24, single, works at the police
department, Solange Lebas's secretary.
On may 24th 1968,
Guilbaud, changing his voice, gives her
an appointment in a caf? near Pigalle.
Marcel here.
They left in a grey car.
A Renault.
Wait for orders.
We have to put
all the odds on our side.
Suzie knows very well that she
has to last until dawn. Over.
I heard something like a gunshot.
I can't locate it.
I don't understand,
everything is quiet.
I beg you,
come as fast as you can.
The streets must
be easy to block.
The life of one of our agent is in danger.
Please do it quickly.
Squeak the bed-spring
Wait the girl
cry tears of joy
Executioner, it's your last tango.
Wait the girl
smile the executioner
Gain momentum on
the bed-spring
it's your last tango.
And we, we watch
sitting on a chair
the emotionless bed-spring
Suzie in the arms
of the executioner
who sculpts in her flesh
a grave marker
That bastard should die.
Rest assured, great people
you'll get what you paid for
and the executioner shall die.
Among evil beasts
there will be blood
and crispy details
sanguineous groans
and above all
he'll think about his mother.
It's your last tango.
The graveyard's worms,
dig some corridors
to lead you to the
centre of the earth
where you'll dance
your first waltz
with death...
Shit. These devices never work.
- It works fine. Be polite.
Surrender.
The house is surrounded.
You can't escape.
Take position
around the house.
Take care of Suzie. And keep in touch
with the command centre at all time.
Can we get a chopper to monitor the
development with the criminal.
Impossible. We can't
attract attention.
We have to be as discreet as we can
-As far as discretion is concerned
it doesn't look like a success.
General call from DMZ1 to every car.
Don't kill him now.
Surround him.
Follow him in
the harshest places,
the most tortuous streets,
so that he'll lose his blood.
His blood should be
the only trail
that you should follow.
Every drop he loses
will get you closer to him.
Run him down like a beast.
His muscles shall wither.
His morale is
already undermined.
His gun weighs down his hand
as if his fingers were jellyfishes,
unable of any solidity.
He'll drop his gun.
And when,
completely exhausted,
he'll fall on his knees...
Stop, Guilbaud.
Do everything you can
so this clowning ends
before people get out of their homes.
We won't tolerate any excuses.
Report back every 2 minutes.
The man is dressed up as a woman.
Report back every 2 minutes.
Block the well's street.
Send a car to the tower's street.
Team number 2 and number 3:
keep your positions.
Don't move on plain sight.
Brush against the walls.
Stop or I shoot.
Antoine Guilbaut.
Drop your gun.
May 25th 1968, 12h32.
The young detective Mattey, 24, a judo
black belt, has Guilbaut surrounded.
Cornered, Guilbaut shot a gas tank.
which exploded.
14h28. Guilbaut. thinks of his childhood,
of the pain.
He's like stone,
an almost inert material, crumbled
An almost mineral wound.
His childhood dream comes
back to his memory
A tiny pinhead comes near
him, enlarge, enlarge...
Becomes huge. Suffocate
him, wakes him up.
You'll pay, Louis.
Die.
Die like a beast.
I'm not a beast.
I'm not a man.
I have no name, nor a
place on this earth.
I'm a... living wound.
My mother made me who I am.
A sadist, a deviant.
I had the chance
to be a man.
They didn't allow me to be a man.
They made me...
the worst of the cowards.
They pushed me into the
abyss of the vice,
of the crime,
and of depravity.
But... but you...
who had a sweet childhood
and who have a forehead
without any wrinkles
you, Solange,
I love above
everything else
you, Solange,
with all the others
You're the loss of all a word,
paralysed and miserable.
14h03: Solange shoots her companion.
17h20: a telegram from Commissioner
Sabrot congratulates her for her bravery,
her conscientiousness
and her initiative.
I'm not done for this.
Solange will plead self-defence.
1978, ten years later.
Solange is the mother of 3. She's
decorated with the Legion of Honour.
When she married G?rard Roland, Solange
registered in the French Communist Party.
She feels useful, still
young, still beautiful.
Stifle the cries
of a girl being murdered
under a truck's tarpaulin.
Gaunt solitude
that distorts
your overcoat.
Cold solitude
that cracks the walls.
Paris, culture broth
Paris, dream city
Paris, pigeon shooting
You can keep my tuxedo
And my love letters
And from the top
of the Eiffel Tower
I will spread your
mist curtain
And set sail.