La cage (1975) - full transcript

-Here.
-We have a really tight schedule.

When we stop, it's a funny story.

You're telling me?
I've got 50 like this.

-Thanks for coming so quickly.
-It's normal.

-Goodbye.
-Goodbye.

MAINTENANCE AND REPAIRS

-Bye, Robert.
-Bye.

As long as there's wind,
they're ready to forgive anything.

-Have you gone up yet?
-No.

You should. It's very nice.

Thank you, Maurice.



-Aren't you coming back to the office?
-No.

Take Maurice back, please.

If the Germans call,
where can I reach you?

Nowhere, sorry.

Julien, park on the other side.

-Hello.
-Hello.

I had trouble finding it.

How long has it been? A year?

17 months.

Ah…

It happens.

Anyway, you… you're looking great.

Yes.

Tell me, it's really nice.



I didn't remember it being so big.

You've only been twice.

Oh, yes. Twice… maybe, yes.

You kept your illness a secret.

Don't worry, nobody knows where I am.

Promise.

What?

What do you want to drink?

No alcohol.

About how much land do you have again?

A little more than a hectare.

Why do you want to sell?

Here. You can open this.

Ah, wow.

Oh boy!

Oh…

I'll be damned!

I could have been badly hurt!

This thing is dangerous.
It's at least three metres deep!

What a load of rubbish!

I don't understand why you didn't
remove this. It's not that difficult!

Two square bars and that's it!

I'm glad it happened to me.

Well, I…

Where's the exit?

There is no exit.

It's closed.

-What did you say?
-You can't get out.

Come and let me out. There's no key.

The key is here.

Give it to me.

Come on, give it to me.

What's the matter with you?

-Right, listen, Hélène…
-I'm listening.

This is very funny,
but I don't have time for games.

Come on, give me the key.

When are you planning on leaving?

What?

I don't know. At around midnight.
I'm up early tomorrow and…

Why are you asking me this?

You're here for the moment.

Are you absolutely crazy?

You told me that every day for 10 years.

How many days is that?

Look, we aren't going to do this again.

What's up with you? Are you okay?

No.

Come on. Let me out and after,
we'll talk… about something else.

I'm not going to let you out.
And we'll talk about what I want.

You'll hurt yourself.

When do you want dinner?

What about dinner?

-Dinner… here?
-Yes.

You, down there. Me, up here.

Right, look, Hélène… No, this is…

Hey! Hélène!

Hélène!

What's up with her?

What's this…

It can't be possible. Am I dreaming?

It can't be!

This is stupid!

Hélène!

Hélène!

-Yes?
-Hélène…

I just want to understand.

Understand what?

Well, all of this.

You have a switch there.

Did you get this done?

No.

But it does make you want to use it.

It's so nice to see you've improved it.

The loo, the sink.

Even a new lock on the door.

All this was planned.

Maybe.

I haven't smoked for two years.

And I never smoked Winston.

I think you'll start smoking again soon.

Do you realise people
will search for me?

I'm afraid you're delusional.

Thousands of people
go missing every year. So…

Eat up before it gets cold.

What do you want?

What do you want?

I want you to eat,

to sleep,

and to have a good night.

A good night?

Do you mind? The telephone.

Hello?

It's me. Hello, Bernard.

No, not at all. I was working.

No. I haven't got chapter seven yet.

The Puerto Rican's language is difficult.

There aren't many
Puerto Ricans in Sweden. I'm making it up.

Shit.

Why? But no.
It's very good, like that.

But no, why?

Haven't you eaten?

I'll leave it with you.

This is great.

There's even a croissant.

After, a nice hot bath.

And then…

The coffee's good.

Thank you.

I miss coffee when I'm abroad.

In England,
I don't even mention it, it's…

And Italy, obviously…

Carry on, it's interesting.

Hélène…

I'm calm. We can talk.

I'm listening.

What?

You locked me up, and I have to explain?

Tell me,

do you think people
can be imprisoned by force?

Right now, yes.

But why? For how long?

You didn't set up all this
without a specific reason!

I don't know how long.
I didn't really plan it.

If you don't know yourself,
it's going to be difficult to explain.

You know,

in five years,
you come up with so many ideas.

You can think of many reasons.

And then when you're here,
you no longer know.

But you're oblivious, I swear!

You don't imprison a guy for fun!

I'm not imprisoning just anyone, but you.

-It was the only way.
-To what?

To see you.

Well, you've seen me!

No. Not enough.

I want to see you inside.
Then, we'll talk.

About what, good God? About what?

About everything.

About God,

you, me, other people, flowers.

Flowers?

We used to talk together.
We even used to talk a lot at first.

One fine day, nothing.

The bird had flown away.

Well, you know, that's life!

That's what we say
when nothing goes right.

A death, a finished relationship,
we say, "That's life."

When something good happens,
we never say it.

Five years of kicking myself,

making questions and answers,

talking to myself…

We're all alone.
Even I am. Are you happy?

No. Because you, you're alone
with lots of people, women,

you fill in the gaps.

But I'm alone.

All by myself.

The other day, I was in a cafe.

I saw an old woman.

She stood in the middle,
motionless, staring.

She held her bag to her stomach.

She wouldn't stop repeating:

"I'm lost."

People turned away.

Nobody gave her
a coffee or even a chair.

In the end, they called the police.

They took her away like a thief.

Julien…

I don't want to be a woman

who no longer has the guts to eat or walk.

I can't grow old alone.

Hélène…

You can't put others aside
for your old age, like a hoard!

I'm not your hoard!

If you can't be alone,
you can't be kept behind by love!

That's how it is.
It's nobody's fault!

You don't understand.

Yet, you need to understand.

Because I don't know anymore.

I thought I'd have to see you
to be able to cope, like now.

I thought that you could…

That you could explain to me.

Explain to you?

Yes.

I know…

It isn't so easy.

Explain?

Explain?

You won't make it.
You'll tire yourself out for nothing.

Hélène!

Here.

I bought meat.
How would you like it?

I couldn't care less.

Like me, then.

-Hélène!
-Yes?

I guess I can't make a phone call?

Obviously, I… I won't say where I am.

Who do you want to reassure?

My secretary.

It's for your own benefit.

What benefit?

I mean, she's going to worry.

The business isn't just about me.

People are going to wonder if…

Julien.

Be careful what you say.

Hello, Lucille?

Hi, it's me.

Yes, but I couldn't call.

No, I'm fine. Nothing broken.

Well, I don't know…

Maybe this evening.

Or tomorrow, I hope.

Have the Germans called?

Good. Get Robert to sign, and send it to
him before this evening.

That's it.

Another important note:
Call the Malvian Chief of Staff.

Yes.

To apologise for lunch. Do it properly.

And cancel dinner with the Ruperts.

That's less serious.
Make up whatever you want.

Great, yes.

Right, another thing,
how is Alenter going?

Send Bernier to him,
so that he can take care of it.

Good. Lucille, listen to me carefully now.

Listen to me. For the Millet invoice…

Yes, the Millet invoice.
I'll give you the number.

804…

804-1612.

My poor Julien.

And just like that, the problem's solved.

Marcel! Where are you?

Marcel!

Where are you?

Marcel!

Oh, Marcel!

-I'm here!
-Oh, you idiot!

Hélène!

-Yes?
-What meat is it?

Tournedos.

Not overdone, though.

Is it good?

Yeah.

Only an apple for you?

Yes.

It's funny seeing you here. In the flesh.

Do you think I'm crazy?

Huh?

Maybe.

Is a lady expecting you tonight?

No.

Is there a lady in your life?

Nope.

-In your bed?
-It depends.

You see, nobody.

Something's always surprised me.

It's that you never remarried.

You wanted to, though.

Of course. That redhead.

You wanted to marry her.
Make a home.

She would have given you
lovely, ginger children.

Have you given up on all that?

Instead, you became rich.

You also benefit from that money.

Yes. It's true. A little.

Don't you think it's cheap?

And the house?

I didn't leave you with nothing.

You wanted this house
with the big garden so much.

It wasn't cheap.

Back then, I didn't have all the money.

You found it quickly.

That way, you could leave
with a clear conscience.

Anyway, the idea of buying it back was
the only way to see you after five years.

But… It's you who wants to sell!
You made me come for this!

You came running.

I'm not a developer.
Money was never my objective.

-That's what rich people say.
-Look, Hélène…

I was born poorer than you.

I've been trying to reassure myself.

Whatever I earn, I reinvest.

Not to become more rich,
but to have more confidence!

At least try to understand!

How much is in the bank?

A lot.

As you have so much,
why don't you give me some?

I don't know.

Maybe because
I don't consider other people.

Is that a good enough explanation?

Don't worry.
I don't care about money either.

And when you had nothing, it was the same.

Do you think imprisoning me
to ask about my accounts

is a good way?

I'm not looking for a good way.

And don't talk to me about freedom.
I don't care about it!

Of course

you can't imprison someone.

But you can ruin other people's lives!

You can promise
the moon and planets… and goodbye!

Tell me, am I the crazy one or are you?

So…

you can take it all, everything,

without punishment.

Of course you can.

That's what the world's for.

Everything is yours. Even we are yours.

The time it takes.

The time to be used
and replaced like a car.

I'm an old suit.

And you aren't put in prison for it.

It's just a game.

An evil game

with evil rules made by men for men!

Is it me or all men that you hate?

I'm only bothered about you.

I remained yours.

You asked why you were here.

Well…

Now you know.

No matches.

But yes.

No.

They don't talk about you here.

"Gas and electricity will increase
3% and 5% respectively

after the next term."

"After the farmers, the fishermen are
clogging up the roads of the South West."

You know, I don't need you to talk to me.

Your presence is enough.

"Stock exchange lists."

"Schelbert, 13, 10."

"Thomson, 127."

"General Electricity, 151."

Physically, you're the same.

I even think wrinkles look good on you.

Deep down, the worst part
isn't changing physically.

It's changing on the inside.

That's why I haven't changed.

I'm the same as when you met me.

The same…

as when you loved me.

Are you asleep?

-Hélène.
-Yes?

Stay. I'm listening.

Julien…

Why didn't we have children?

I don't know.

Maybe through selfishness.

At first, we'd said later…

and later…

What happened after?

You didn't want them

because you knew you would leave.

Right?

Maybe.

I wanted them.

I was already scared you'd leave.

And to keep you with that.

I was wrong.

For me, anyway.

For us both.

It wouldn't have mattered, right?

I don't know, Hélène.

I'm not oblivious.

If I don't claim to be
aware of it, it's to move on.

So I don't stop in my tracks.

I didn't get there by chance!

I know, you'll tell me…

It doesn't make sense where I am.

But it does for me!
I know what I'm talking about!

And if I'm blind,
it's so I don't get lost!

Of course, in this case…

those who we love suffer first.

It's not for fun,
I'm not a pig! I have drive!

And it's true,
I got sucked into work like a madman.

Maybe while ignoring the rest.

I worked!

Do you understand? I worked!

Yes…

Obviously at the cost of

love, affection, feelings…

Maybe some people can do both, not me!

Maybe I trampled all over us both and…

I've realised it now.

And I'm sorry.

There you go.

Hélène, are you listening?

Yes.

It's cooking.

It's cooking…

I apologise to you
and you say it's cooking.

You were on a roll,
I couldn't interrupt.

No. Listen, Hélène, stop!

-Okay, I understand.
-No.

It's all a bit disorganised.

You were going to get all the blame,
and you come out smelling like a rose!

I can't always take the blame
just because I'm a man!

Get that in your head!

Nothing is completely black or white.
We all have our good and bad sides.

I know this speech.
And it isn't good enough for me.

Oh, of course, I forgot.
You're more demanding than that!

You're a different breed!

Strict, firm, no compromises!

What do you want me to tell you?
That you're a saint?

That I'm a low-life? Well, I'll tell you!

Listen, Hélène.
Do you know what you'll do?

You'll write everything
you want me to tell you.

Then you give me the paper
and I'll read it to you!

Weighing every word! With feeling!

Hélène.

Get the key before we hate each other.

No.

Come on, I can't do anything!

What do you want me to do?

I don't know.

How long are you going to keep me here?

How long?

Hey!

Over here!

Hello, Hélène.

Hello, Bernard.

I'm with Besson, of Nouvelles Littéraires.

We've come from Vineuil,
it isn't far from your place.

He's the favourite for the Femina.

Amazing!

I tried calling you ten times.

-The phone is broken.
-Ah, that's why.

Say, the trumpet, doesn't it
bother you when working?

No, I really like it.
And as I have no neighbours…

-Is the Puerto Rican finished?
-Yes. I'm on the next chapter.

Right, well…

We'll get going.

Ah, this evening,

Florent is having drinks
at the publishing house.

Can I take you,
and then go for dinner after?

I'd love to, but I can't this evening.

Is he handsome?

Your life is a secret.

-How is Jeanne?
-Good. Great.

She's in the mountains.
I should be there, but with all this…

And since she'd chosen…

Of course.

Right, my little Hélène…

-We'll leave you.
-Bernard.

Tell your friend I'm sorry
about not letting you in but…

I've got a meeting in Paris.
I'm late, my bath is running…

-Sorry.
-No, I'm sorry!

You don't mind?

Not at all, you know.

But, we'll go for dinner
next week, just us two.

I promise.

Swear?

I swear.

Julien?

Julien?

Julien?

Are you sick?

Did you want to scare me?

Did you think I'd open the door?

If you move, I'll push.

I know you don't have the key.

But it's good to have you here.

It changes the balance, right? Say…

What do you want?

Shall I help you?

Help you with what?
Watching me die slowly?

And if you died first?

Huh?

I know I can't get out.

But I can kill you.

I'll push harder and make a big hole!

It's funny

that you talk about death.

Funny?

Is that your idea?

Why, Hélène?

Why?

What do I owe you?

Gratitude because you loved me?

I loved you too. You got your share.

Like me. No more, no less.

Are you the only one upset?

Did I rebuild my life?

Am I happy? Satisfied?

Did I replace you?

I left empty-handed!

I didn't blame the whole world.

Not even you.

Was I happy with you?

Yes.

And I could only be with you.

Only with you.

When I was happy, you were suspicious.

You were scared
my happiness was for other people!

Or because of others.
You were scared I'd breathe without you!

I ended up catching
your fear like a disease.

I didn't dare to be happy anymore.

And I became a sad man.

So, I was scared too.

Scared to suffocate.

I wanted to live, you know. Live!

That's why I left.
Not because of another woman.

Because of you.

The memories burn brightly.

It isn't easy, Hélène.

Of course, we've all dreamed
of killing someone.

Only, thinking about it,

that's one thing,

but doing it, killing,

that's different.

Now we need to go all the way.

All the way.

I'm here.

I'll wait.

Oh…

Julien?

Julien?

Come on, Hélène.

Don't stay here. Come out.

Come.

Julien?

Julien!

Are you okay?

It's funny you should ask me that.

Ouch!

I was delivering her money,
like every month.

-It's…
-Move aside, please.

-What's the matter?
-Huh? Nothing.

I was delivering her money.
The door was closed, I rang…

I didn't do it! It wasn't me!

You've pulled off the move of your life.

Do you hear something?

What? Shall we call?

-I can hear laughter.
-It sounds like laughing down there!

It's a joke, right?
It sounds like they're having a giggle.

Careful!

Subtitle translation by: Katie Wright