Morel's Invention (1974) - full transcript
A castaway arrives on an island. He thinks it's uninhabited, but he sees a palace with also a hidden room. Soon he sees some people walking, dressed with old-fashioned clothes. He is afraid because people don't see him, like a ghost.
MOREL'S INVENTION
Don't be afraid.
Please, listen to me.
You won't tell that you've seen me,
will you?
I beg of your generosity.
I am a wanted man.
But I can explain everything, believe me.
I see that you don't consider me worthy.
But I mean you no harm.
I can explain,
if you would only listen to me.
And if you don't tell on me to your friends.
Please, say something.
Insult me, tell me that I horrify you.
Run and report me, if you want,
but for the love of God...
... please say something.
And would you believe me if I could take you
back to a few hours before that night?
I can't believe you anymore.
Never again.
The influence of the future on the past.
Are you kidding?
- Believe me, Faustine...
- No!
I know what you're looking for.
A shame. A real shame that you
don't want to believe me.
And that we can't...
understand one another.
- A shame. Why? - Because... we won't
be here for long, just three days.
And after that it will be
of no importance.
Go on! Are you trying to scare me?
Don't be so pessimistic.
No, I didn't mean to scare you.
What I said didn't come out right,
please forgive me.
I didn't mean to alarm you.
And anyway, we won't be here
talking about it for all eternity.
Morel, you know that I find
you very mysterious?
There's no mystery.
Don't take what I told you seriously.
You know, sometimes a man wants to make
himself more interesting to a woman.
- Don't get angry, there's no need.
- No, Morel.
There's something you're not telling me.
But sooner or later, you'll have to tell me.
Yes, I'll get it out of you eventually.
No, this isn't the hour for ghosts.
Come on, back inside.
- Not today, no... I didn't go and see.
- I hope you're not too upset.
Tomorrow it will be there again.
- I've lost all of your faith.
- All of it!
- You used to believe in me.
- Now that just isn't possible.
And would you believe me if I could take you
back to a few hours before that night at the Ritz?
I can't believe you anymore.
Never again.
The influence of the future on the past.
Are you kidding?
- Believe me, Faustine...
- No!
I know what you're looking for.
A shame. A real shame that you
don't want to believe me.
And that we can't...
understand one another.
- A shame. Why? - Because... we won't
be here for long, just three days.
And after that it will be
of no importance.
Go on! Are you trying to scare me?
Don't be so pessimistic.
No, I didn't mean to scare you.
What I said didn't come out right,
please forgive me.
I didn't mean to alarm you.
And anyway, we won't be here
talking about it for all eternity.
Morel, you know that I find
you very mysterious?
There's no mystery.
Don't take what I told you seriously.
You know, sometimes a man wants to make
himself more interesting to a woman.
- Don't get angry, there's no need.
- No, Morel.
There's something you're not telling me.
But sooner or later, you'll have to tell me.
Yes, I'll get it out of you eventually.
Could you tell me why he chose
such a secluded place?
He knows why.
I'm not saying he doesn't.
But what made Morel think of such a thing?
He will have his reasons.
What are you waiting for?
Lunch is finished.
Will you hurry up?
Incredible! Have you read the last
piece he wrote on the Green Atlantic?
Let's not forget that in
our inability to see...
... the movements of the conjurer,
we are put under the spell of magic.
How many times we ourselves have
questioned the destiny of mankind...
... arousing all those old questions:
"Where are we going? Why are we here?"
... like music never heard on a disc,
until we realise that we are not in charge?
- Oh, no.
- Don't start. Not tonight, please.
Is there nothing else you can talk about?
Why not?
It interests me a great deal.
- Morel, continue, please.
- No, no, they're right.
We'll discuss it another time,
at a more opportune moment.
Oh, good. Let's talk about the
construction of the tennis court instead.
I can't understand why you would want
to build a tennis court on the island.
We're a tight group, and the best players
would do nothing but win over and over again.
No, tennis is played for pleasure.
It's a ceremony, not a competition.
It's also a good way of learning
how to lose with dignity.
- It teaches you how to lose.
- It also reveals character, does it not?
Yes, especially in mixed doubles.
And it also keeps you in shape.
It's a cure for a sedentary life.
Sounds like the guilt of
someone who has eaten too much.
You should think about these things
before sitting at the table, my darling.
Yes, but it's nothing a
good diet won't fix.
Isn't that right, Morel?
A diet?
No, they're nothing but an illusion.
The deception of the body by the soul.
And the body pays for the deception,
ignoring the benefits of the diet.
You don't have to be impatient.
Okay.
Hey, look.
Nice move, Faustine!
How was your journey?
Everything in order, Captain?
Very well.
A calm sea, favourable wind.
Did you find everything? Were you able
to bring everything we asked for?
- Yes, everything, of course.
- Excuse us. We'll be right back.
- Hello.
- How are you?
- It's late, we still have to get ready.
- Just a moment.
END OF FIRST PART
SECOND PART
I have to tell you something. I didn't
say anything before because of the others.
But I have to speak to you
and a few other people.
- I'm listening.
- No, not here.
Tonight. When everyone else
has gone to sleep, you will stay here.
- That late?
- All the better.
The later, the better.
But we must be discrete.
I don't want the women to know.
Hysteria only provokes more hysteria.
Goodbye.
If I told you that all your emotions
and words are recorded...
It wouldn't matter to me.
Faustine, I must speak with you urgently.
- Now? Why?
- You have to listen to me.
- Alright, let's go to the museum.
- No!
Not in there. It's better out here.
- I'm cold, let's go back inside.
- I make the most of this opportunity.
Away from the museum and
the prying eyes of our friends.
- It can't be that urgent...
- I must warn you...
... and I know that I can because
you're different from the other women.
And you never lose your head.
Alright, but I refuse to
stay out here and conspire.
- I feel ridiculous.
- Alright, as you wish.
Tonight, when everyone has gone...
... do me a favour and stay.
I can't do this without everyone present.
I won't start until we're all here.
- Who is missing?
- Jane Gray.
That's hardly surprising!
We must go and find her.
Who would be able to drag her
all the way here, anyway?
She must be present.
Perhaps she's sleeping.
I won't begin until she
is sitting in front of me.
- I'll go and get her.
- I'll come with you.
There's another empty seat.
When he has to be here,
he never turns up.
We will have to search all over the house.
I saw him come in here not long ago.
- We looked everywhere for him.
- That's not enough.
You have to bring him here!
Heinz is asleep,
no one can wake him.
Very well, then. We shall begin.
It's his loss.
Heinz is too lazy, he will remain asleep.
If we have to go and drag him here,
we'll never get started.
I have to read to you a statement.
Nothing serious, but so as to
avoid any inaccuracies...
... I've decided to read it out.
Listen to me, please.
You will have to forgive me for this scene.
At first tiresome, then terrible.
We will forget it.
This, as well as the best week we've seen,
will in the end be the most important.
I thought about not telling you anything.
I could have saved you
a lot of anxiety.
I could have kept it from you until the
last moment so as not to risk a rebellion.
But since you are all my friends,
you have the right to know.
My abuse of power...
... involves the photographing
of you without your permission.
Naturally, this doesn't mean
a just any old photograph.
It is my latest invention.
All of us will live forever
in that photograph.
Imagine a stage, upon which our life
has been played out over the last 7 days.
We are acting even in this very moment.
All of our actions remain recorded.
- This is immoral...
- I hope this is a joke...
It's intolerable.
I could have told you, when you arrived:
"We will live for all eternity."
But perhaps we would have ruined everything
in attempting to maintain a constant happiness.
I thought: "No matter the kind
of week we spend together..."
"... it would be nice if we didn't
feel the need to occupy ourselves."
Isn't that the case?
I was right, I have given
you a pleasant eternity.
The works of man are never perfect.
And neither is mine.
I am missing some of my and our friends.
Claude, Marlene, Leclerc...
and of course poor Charlie...
... but I have him here with me.
If any of you wish to see good old
Charlie again, it can be arranged.
He was one of my very first successes.
Have you every wondered what
it would be like to live out...
... your deepest fantasies?
To imagine a happy life with a woman
who you have no hope of making your own?
There, this is the genesis of my invention.
I had planned before coming here
that it would be just me and her.
But that possibility was ruled out
after I confessed my feelings to her.
I could have perhaps abducted her,
but then we would have argued eternally.
And this is by no means an exaggeration.
But the time has come to explain
my invention to you.
I will try to put it in simple terms,
understandable by all.
You of course know that the
the telegraph or telephone...
... has abolished loneliness when it
comes to the sense of sound.
And that television or cinema has
done the same for the sense of sight.
This is where my invention comes in.
I should mention here that I am very
grateful to the French industries of Cuny...
... and to the Swiss of Swachter for all
their help, while at the same time...
... I experienced nothing but mistrust
from my own scientist colleagues.
I researched instruments that would pick up
waves and vibrations never recorded before.
I would obtain, with relative ease,
the olfactory sensations.
More difficult were the terms and tactiles.
I would perfect the recording
of these images and sounds...
... improving the old voice recording
and image recording systems.
With any person, for example our
lovely friend Madeleine...
... we may now smell the jasmine
perfume applied to her breast.
Or hold her smooth hair in our hands.
But if we open up our receivers completely...
... we may have Madeleine herself
in front of us.
Reproduced. Identical.
They are recorded images...
... but no one would mistake her for
anything less than a living person.
But the machine doesn't just capture.
It records and projects, as well.
Anywhere in free space.
During the day, or at night.
To begin with I had intended to capture
only certain scenes of our life here...
... and to present them as mementos,
like an album of pleasant moments.
I would never have imagined, as I began
to realise after the first experiments...
... that these reproduced people
were almost conscious of themselves.
They were not dead images or
reproduced as inert objects...
... and no one was able to distinguish
them from real people.
I found myself standing in front of
people that had been reconstructed...
... though that would vanish
if the projector was disengaged.
They would merely act out the moments
experienced while the scene was played...
... and once finished would repeat them,
like cells on a reel of film...
... that, after arriving at the end,
would start over from the very beginning.
Now, if we concede that the conscience
distinguishes everything, from the...
... objects to the people that surround us...
... can we not do the same with these
recreations transmitted by my equipment?
Once all the senses are united,
surely the soul must follow.
If Madeleine was in our presence,
by sight, by sound...
... by taste, by smell, by touch...
... well, then that is the real Madeleine,
Madeleine in her entirety.
Would it be such a stretch to develop
a similar system to reproduce life?
Just think!
I do not claim to create life...
... just to record and project it.
All of us must have, at some point,
considered a similar conception.
Have we not spoke before of how some
images appear to possess a soul?
My invention as good as confirms it.
Naturally, at the beginning I
encountered many problems.
The first subjects of my experiments
were employees of the Swachter company.
I did not inform them. I opened the
machine and recorded them while they worked.
May we see those first images?
If that's what you really want,
then why not?
Though I must warn you.
Some images are quite monstrous.
Excellent, then go ahead and show us.
A bit of amusement never hurt anyone!
I demand to see them, and I know about
those unexplainable deaths at Swachter.
I am please with you
It appears we have found a believer.
Imbecile, did you not hear me?
You took Charlie as well.
That's when Morel was at Swachter,
that their employees began dying.
I saw their photographs in some
news articles. I will recognise them.
See? You offended him.
You'll have to go and apologise.
I can't believe you would
even think of saying such things.
- Don't you understand?
- You made him nervous!
- I don't see why you had to insult him!
- Why can't you understand?
He recorded Charlie with that machine
of his and Charlie is dead!
He recorded Swachter employees...
... and they had all those mysterious deaths.
- Now he's saying that he has recorded us.
- And we're not dead.
He recorded himself, too!
Why can't any of you understand
that this is nothing but a joke.
I've never seen him angry before.
Morel hasn't behaved properly,
he should have informed us.
- I'll go and find him.
- No, you stay here.
I'll go. To apologise to him,
and beg him to continue.
He doesn't want to come back.
I couldn't convince him.
He left his papers on the table.
We could finish reading them.
You would only offend him further.
Isn't this what he wanted?
That we know everything.
- And anyway, he's already told us.
- Read it, Alec.
Therefore, I decided to proceed
with the best-looking plan.
We discovered this island under
circumstances that everyone knows.
I gave them just three conditions.
The normal regularity of the lunar tide
and the abundance of such activity...
... which would ensure a constant supply of
power, with only the occasional interruption.
The natural difficulty of landing
and a plentiful amount of light...
... that would allow for the capturing
of perfect images.
I invested my fortune into
the purchase of the island...
... and construction of the museum.
I hired the boat the brought us here...
... and that today returns to pick us up.
I took my measurements because Captain
McGregor and his men...
... would never return again.
I called the mansion a museum...
... because I've always wanted to build
immense registers or museums of images...
... public or familiar.
So this island would become
our own private paradise...
... perfectly protected.
Even if we leave tomorrow,
we will remain here for eternity...
... repeating the moments of
this week, one after the other.
... and without the ability to ever
leave this conscience we have created.
The projection replays nothing but that
which has been recorded...
... and the future will maintain this
projection forever.
That's it, it's finished.
The date follows:
The Island of Caponero, July 1929.
- Faustine?
- Yes?
Are you ashamed that you followed me here?
To the island, I mean.
The company is pleasant, but... that wind!
Try to understand me.
Tell me, Morel, what do you really want?
- If I told you everything I wanted...
- I would feel insulted?
Is this what you think?
Though who knows, perhaps not.
The days pass.
Can we at least begin speaking
less formally after today?
Of course.
I have to learn to break the habit.
I must go now.
Goodnight.
I don't suspect you any more.
You don't love Morel, I know.
But I love your image.
If I returned to the world
to reveal this secret...
... they would see my story
as the ramblings of a crazy man.
The same Morel would probably stop me...
... if he's still alive.
If he is, he must be at least
50 years older.
When I used to worry about
police persecution...
... the images of this island
would move like chess pieces...
... following a strategic
plan to capture me.
I have to convince myself
that there's no need for escape.
The images scare me...
... but they protect me.
I will never leave here.
The journey is unrepeatable...
... the boat is ruined...
... and I can't make another.
No ships cross the horizon...
... apart from our one...
... that of course doesn't exist.
The walls...
... are projections!
To knock them down I'll
have to shut down the engines.
What if Morel recorded the engines, too?
What if these are just projections?
The ghosts of real engines.
You will have to forgive me for this scene.
At first tiresome, then terrible.
We will forget it.
If Madeleine was in our presence,
by sight, by sound...
... by taste, by smell, by touch...
... well, then that is the real Madeleine,
Madeleine in her entirety.
Would it be such a stretch to develop
a similar system to reproduce life?
Just think!
I do not claim to create life...
... just to record and project it.
All of us must have, at some point,
considered a similar conception.
Have we not spoke before of how some
images appear to possess a soul?
My invention as good as confirms it.
Naturally, at the beginning I
encountered many problems.
The first subjects of my experiments
were employees of the Swachter company.
I did not inform them. I opened the
machine and recorded them while they worked.
Why can't you understand?
He recorded Charlie with that machine
of his and Charlie is dead!
He recorded Swachter employees...
... and they had all those mysterious deaths.
Now he's saying that he has recorded us.
Come inside, Morel!
It was nothing, please.
We apologise.
Stevere is an imbecile.
And the others, a pack of cowards.
But you have to understand.
What you said, it's disturbing.
For me it was the same, but I didn't
have time to think of the dangers.
Then why this idea?
A nice portrait, don't you think?
Perhaps my first idea would have been
better. Just myself, alone with Faustine.
Faustine? Now I see.
No, you don't see.
It might have been more pleasant,
but it would also have been false.
We would have just been acting.
Me, the part of the suitor...
... and her the flattered woman
who resists only out of pride.
Instead I wanted a complete
image of us all.
Not a sentimental duel.
But who would ever see it?
Who would ever need it?
Ourselves, I would hope.
I thought perhaps it would take us
back to our happiest years.
Of course, I have taken advantage of you.
I have manipulated your conscience.
But was it not worth it?
We were so sure and hopeful,
so full of reason and happiness.
We thought that the happiness
of these years would last forever.
Instead it's all about to end.
Away from here it's already very different.
The immortality that I gave you was the only
way to prolong these carefree days.
Come, come and explain it to the others.
No, there's nothing more to explain.
Faustine, finally!
I've waited for the tide
to change for three days.
I thought perhaps that the
moon's course had changed.
I have activated the recording mechanism.
Now I will be by your side for eternity,
in this never-ending week.
I might even somehow force my way into
the heaven that is your conscience.
Faustine, finally!
I've waited for the tide
to change for three days.
I thought perhaps that the
moon's course had changed.
I have activated the recording mechanism.
Now I will be by your side for eternity,
in this never-ending week.
I might even somehow force my way into
the heaven that is your conscience.
A diet?
No, they're nothing but an illusion.
The deception of the body by the soul.
And the body pays for the deception,
ignoring the benefits of the diet.
How was your journey?
Everything in order, Captain?
Very well.
A calm sea, favourable wind.
Did you find everything? Were you able
to bring everything we asked for?
Yes, everything, of course.
I thought perhaps it would take us
back to our happiest years.
Of course, I have taken advantage of you.
I have manipulated your conscience.
But was it not worth it?
We were so sure and hopeful,
so full of reason and happiness.
We thought that the happiness
of these years would last forever.
Instead it's all about to end.
Away from here it's already very different.
The immortality that I gave you was the only
way to prolong these carefree days.
The date follows:
The Island of Caponero, July 1929.
Don't be afraid.
Please, listen to me.
You won't tell that you've seen me,
will you?
I beg of your generosity.
I am a wanted man.
But I can explain everything, believe me.
I see that you don't consider me worthy.
But I mean you no harm.
I can explain,
if you would only listen to me.
And if you don't tell on me to your friends.
Please, say something.
Insult me, tell me that I horrify you.
Run and report me, if you want,
but for the love of God...
... please say something.
And would you believe me if I could take you
back to a few hours before that night?
I can't believe you anymore.
Never again.
The influence of the future on the past.
Are you kidding?
- Believe me, Faustine...
- No!
I know what you're looking for.
A shame. A real shame that you
don't want to believe me.
And that we can't...
understand one another.
- A shame. Why? - Because... we won't
be here for long, just three days.
And after that it will be
of no importance.
Go on! Are you trying to scare me?
Don't be so pessimistic.
No, I didn't mean to scare you.
What I said didn't come out right,
please forgive me.
I didn't mean to alarm you.
And anyway, we won't be here
talking about it for all eternity.
Morel, you know that I find
you very mysterious?
There's no mystery.
Don't take what I told you seriously.
You know, sometimes a man wants to make
himself more interesting to a woman.
- Don't get angry, there's no need.
- No, Morel.
There's something you're not telling me.
But sooner or later, you'll have to tell me.
Yes, I'll get it out of you eventually.
No, this isn't the hour for ghosts.
Come on, back inside.
- Not today, no... I didn't go and see.
- I hope you're not too upset.
Tomorrow it will be there again.
- I've lost all of your faith.
- All of it!
- You used to believe in me.
- Now that just isn't possible.
And would you believe me if I could take you
back to a few hours before that night at the Ritz?
I can't believe you anymore.
Never again.
The influence of the future on the past.
Are you kidding?
- Believe me, Faustine...
- No!
I know what you're looking for.
A shame. A real shame that you
don't want to believe me.
And that we can't...
understand one another.
- A shame. Why? - Because... we won't
be here for long, just three days.
And after that it will be
of no importance.
Go on! Are you trying to scare me?
Don't be so pessimistic.
No, I didn't mean to scare you.
What I said didn't come out right,
please forgive me.
I didn't mean to alarm you.
And anyway, we won't be here
talking about it for all eternity.
Morel, you know that I find
you very mysterious?
There's no mystery.
Don't take what I told you seriously.
You know, sometimes a man wants to make
himself more interesting to a woman.
- Don't get angry, there's no need.
- No, Morel.
There's something you're not telling me.
But sooner or later, you'll have to tell me.
Yes, I'll get it out of you eventually.
Could you tell me why he chose
such a secluded place?
He knows why.
I'm not saying he doesn't.
But what made Morel think of such a thing?
He will have his reasons.
What are you waiting for?
Lunch is finished.
Will you hurry up?
Incredible! Have you read the last
piece he wrote on the Green Atlantic?
Let's not forget that in
our inability to see...
... the movements of the conjurer,
we are put under the spell of magic.
How many times we ourselves have
questioned the destiny of mankind...
... arousing all those old questions:
"Where are we going? Why are we here?"
... like music never heard on a disc,
until we realise that we are not in charge?
- Oh, no.
- Don't start. Not tonight, please.
Is there nothing else you can talk about?
Why not?
It interests me a great deal.
- Morel, continue, please.
- No, no, they're right.
We'll discuss it another time,
at a more opportune moment.
Oh, good. Let's talk about the
construction of the tennis court instead.
I can't understand why you would want
to build a tennis court on the island.
We're a tight group, and the best players
would do nothing but win over and over again.
No, tennis is played for pleasure.
It's a ceremony, not a competition.
It's also a good way of learning
how to lose with dignity.
- It teaches you how to lose.
- It also reveals character, does it not?
Yes, especially in mixed doubles.
And it also keeps you in shape.
It's a cure for a sedentary life.
Sounds like the guilt of
someone who has eaten too much.
You should think about these things
before sitting at the table, my darling.
Yes, but it's nothing a
good diet won't fix.
Isn't that right, Morel?
A diet?
No, they're nothing but an illusion.
The deception of the body by the soul.
And the body pays for the deception,
ignoring the benefits of the diet.
You don't have to be impatient.
Okay.
Hey, look.
Nice move, Faustine!
How was your journey?
Everything in order, Captain?
Very well.
A calm sea, favourable wind.
Did you find everything? Were you able
to bring everything we asked for?
- Yes, everything, of course.
- Excuse us. We'll be right back.
- Hello.
- How are you?
- It's late, we still have to get ready.
- Just a moment.
END OF FIRST PART
SECOND PART
I have to tell you something. I didn't
say anything before because of the others.
But I have to speak to you
and a few other people.
- I'm listening.
- No, not here.
Tonight. When everyone else
has gone to sleep, you will stay here.
- That late?
- All the better.
The later, the better.
But we must be discrete.
I don't want the women to know.
Hysteria only provokes more hysteria.
Goodbye.
If I told you that all your emotions
and words are recorded...
It wouldn't matter to me.
Faustine, I must speak with you urgently.
- Now? Why?
- You have to listen to me.
- Alright, let's go to the museum.
- No!
Not in there. It's better out here.
- I'm cold, let's go back inside.
- I make the most of this opportunity.
Away from the museum and
the prying eyes of our friends.
- It can't be that urgent...
- I must warn you...
... and I know that I can because
you're different from the other women.
And you never lose your head.
Alright, but I refuse to
stay out here and conspire.
- I feel ridiculous.
- Alright, as you wish.
Tonight, when everyone has gone...
... do me a favour and stay.
I can't do this without everyone present.
I won't start until we're all here.
- Who is missing?
- Jane Gray.
That's hardly surprising!
We must go and find her.
Who would be able to drag her
all the way here, anyway?
She must be present.
Perhaps she's sleeping.
I won't begin until she
is sitting in front of me.
- I'll go and get her.
- I'll come with you.
There's another empty seat.
When he has to be here,
he never turns up.
We will have to search all over the house.
I saw him come in here not long ago.
- We looked everywhere for him.
- That's not enough.
You have to bring him here!
Heinz is asleep,
no one can wake him.
Very well, then. We shall begin.
It's his loss.
Heinz is too lazy, he will remain asleep.
If we have to go and drag him here,
we'll never get started.
I have to read to you a statement.
Nothing serious, but so as to
avoid any inaccuracies...
... I've decided to read it out.
Listen to me, please.
You will have to forgive me for this scene.
At first tiresome, then terrible.
We will forget it.
This, as well as the best week we've seen,
will in the end be the most important.
I thought about not telling you anything.
I could have saved you
a lot of anxiety.
I could have kept it from you until the
last moment so as not to risk a rebellion.
But since you are all my friends,
you have the right to know.
My abuse of power...
... involves the photographing
of you without your permission.
Naturally, this doesn't mean
a just any old photograph.
It is my latest invention.
All of us will live forever
in that photograph.
Imagine a stage, upon which our life
has been played out over the last 7 days.
We are acting even in this very moment.
All of our actions remain recorded.
- This is immoral...
- I hope this is a joke...
It's intolerable.
I could have told you, when you arrived:
"We will live for all eternity."
But perhaps we would have ruined everything
in attempting to maintain a constant happiness.
I thought: "No matter the kind
of week we spend together..."
"... it would be nice if we didn't
feel the need to occupy ourselves."
Isn't that the case?
I was right, I have given
you a pleasant eternity.
The works of man are never perfect.
And neither is mine.
I am missing some of my and our friends.
Claude, Marlene, Leclerc...
and of course poor Charlie...
... but I have him here with me.
If any of you wish to see good old
Charlie again, it can be arranged.
He was one of my very first successes.
Have you every wondered what
it would be like to live out...
... your deepest fantasies?
To imagine a happy life with a woman
who you have no hope of making your own?
There, this is the genesis of my invention.
I had planned before coming here
that it would be just me and her.
But that possibility was ruled out
after I confessed my feelings to her.
I could have perhaps abducted her,
but then we would have argued eternally.
And this is by no means an exaggeration.
But the time has come to explain
my invention to you.
I will try to put it in simple terms,
understandable by all.
You of course know that the
the telegraph or telephone...
... has abolished loneliness when it
comes to the sense of sound.
And that television or cinema has
done the same for the sense of sight.
This is where my invention comes in.
I should mention here that I am very
grateful to the French industries of Cuny...
... and to the Swiss of Swachter for all
their help, while at the same time...
... I experienced nothing but mistrust
from my own scientist colleagues.
I researched instruments that would pick up
waves and vibrations never recorded before.
I would obtain, with relative ease,
the olfactory sensations.
More difficult were the terms and tactiles.
I would perfect the recording
of these images and sounds...
... improving the old voice recording
and image recording systems.
With any person, for example our
lovely friend Madeleine...
... we may now smell the jasmine
perfume applied to her breast.
Or hold her smooth hair in our hands.
But if we open up our receivers completely...
... we may have Madeleine herself
in front of us.
Reproduced. Identical.
They are recorded images...
... but no one would mistake her for
anything less than a living person.
But the machine doesn't just capture.
It records and projects, as well.
Anywhere in free space.
During the day, or at night.
To begin with I had intended to capture
only certain scenes of our life here...
... and to present them as mementos,
like an album of pleasant moments.
I would never have imagined, as I began
to realise after the first experiments...
... that these reproduced people
were almost conscious of themselves.
They were not dead images or
reproduced as inert objects...
... and no one was able to distinguish
them from real people.
I found myself standing in front of
people that had been reconstructed...
... though that would vanish
if the projector was disengaged.
They would merely act out the moments
experienced while the scene was played...
... and once finished would repeat them,
like cells on a reel of film...
... that, after arriving at the end,
would start over from the very beginning.
Now, if we concede that the conscience
distinguishes everything, from the...
... objects to the people that surround us...
... can we not do the same with these
recreations transmitted by my equipment?
Once all the senses are united,
surely the soul must follow.
If Madeleine was in our presence,
by sight, by sound...
... by taste, by smell, by touch...
... well, then that is the real Madeleine,
Madeleine in her entirety.
Would it be such a stretch to develop
a similar system to reproduce life?
Just think!
I do not claim to create life...
... just to record and project it.
All of us must have, at some point,
considered a similar conception.
Have we not spoke before of how some
images appear to possess a soul?
My invention as good as confirms it.
Naturally, at the beginning I
encountered many problems.
The first subjects of my experiments
were employees of the Swachter company.
I did not inform them. I opened the
machine and recorded them while they worked.
May we see those first images?
If that's what you really want,
then why not?
Though I must warn you.
Some images are quite monstrous.
Excellent, then go ahead and show us.
A bit of amusement never hurt anyone!
I demand to see them, and I know about
those unexplainable deaths at Swachter.
I am please with you
It appears we have found a believer.
Imbecile, did you not hear me?
You took Charlie as well.
That's when Morel was at Swachter,
that their employees began dying.
I saw their photographs in some
news articles. I will recognise them.
See? You offended him.
You'll have to go and apologise.
I can't believe you would
even think of saying such things.
- Don't you understand?
- You made him nervous!
- I don't see why you had to insult him!
- Why can't you understand?
He recorded Charlie with that machine
of his and Charlie is dead!
He recorded Swachter employees...
... and they had all those mysterious deaths.
- Now he's saying that he has recorded us.
- And we're not dead.
He recorded himself, too!
Why can't any of you understand
that this is nothing but a joke.
I've never seen him angry before.
Morel hasn't behaved properly,
he should have informed us.
- I'll go and find him.
- No, you stay here.
I'll go. To apologise to him,
and beg him to continue.
He doesn't want to come back.
I couldn't convince him.
He left his papers on the table.
We could finish reading them.
You would only offend him further.
Isn't this what he wanted?
That we know everything.
- And anyway, he's already told us.
- Read it, Alec.
Therefore, I decided to proceed
with the best-looking plan.
We discovered this island under
circumstances that everyone knows.
I gave them just three conditions.
The normal regularity of the lunar tide
and the abundance of such activity...
... which would ensure a constant supply of
power, with only the occasional interruption.
The natural difficulty of landing
and a plentiful amount of light...
... that would allow for the capturing
of perfect images.
I invested my fortune into
the purchase of the island...
... and construction of the museum.
I hired the boat the brought us here...
... and that today returns to pick us up.
I took my measurements because Captain
McGregor and his men...
... would never return again.
I called the mansion a museum...
... because I've always wanted to build
immense registers or museums of images...
... public or familiar.
So this island would become
our own private paradise...
... perfectly protected.
Even if we leave tomorrow,
we will remain here for eternity...
... repeating the moments of
this week, one after the other.
... and without the ability to ever
leave this conscience we have created.
The projection replays nothing but that
which has been recorded...
... and the future will maintain this
projection forever.
That's it, it's finished.
The date follows:
The Island of Caponero, July 1929.
- Faustine?
- Yes?
Are you ashamed that you followed me here?
To the island, I mean.
The company is pleasant, but... that wind!
Try to understand me.
Tell me, Morel, what do you really want?
- If I told you everything I wanted...
- I would feel insulted?
Is this what you think?
Though who knows, perhaps not.
The days pass.
Can we at least begin speaking
less formally after today?
Of course.
I have to learn to break the habit.
I must go now.
Goodnight.
I don't suspect you any more.
You don't love Morel, I know.
But I love your image.
If I returned to the world
to reveal this secret...
... they would see my story
as the ramblings of a crazy man.
The same Morel would probably stop me...
... if he's still alive.
If he is, he must be at least
50 years older.
When I used to worry about
police persecution...
... the images of this island
would move like chess pieces...
... following a strategic
plan to capture me.
I have to convince myself
that there's no need for escape.
The images scare me...
... but they protect me.
I will never leave here.
The journey is unrepeatable...
... the boat is ruined...
... and I can't make another.
No ships cross the horizon...
... apart from our one...
... that of course doesn't exist.
The walls...
... are projections!
To knock them down I'll
have to shut down the engines.
What if Morel recorded the engines, too?
What if these are just projections?
The ghosts of real engines.
You will have to forgive me for this scene.
At first tiresome, then terrible.
We will forget it.
If Madeleine was in our presence,
by sight, by sound...
... by taste, by smell, by touch...
... well, then that is the real Madeleine,
Madeleine in her entirety.
Would it be such a stretch to develop
a similar system to reproduce life?
Just think!
I do not claim to create life...
... just to record and project it.
All of us must have, at some point,
considered a similar conception.
Have we not spoke before of how some
images appear to possess a soul?
My invention as good as confirms it.
Naturally, at the beginning I
encountered many problems.
The first subjects of my experiments
were employees of the Swachter company.
I did not inform them. I opened the
machine and recorded them while they worked.
Why can't you understand?
He recorded Charlie with that machine
of his and Charlie is dead!
He recorded Swachter employees...
... and they had all those mysterious deaths.
Now he's saying that he has recorded us.
Come inside, Morel!
It was nothing, please.
We apologise.
Stevere is an imbecile.
And the others, a pack of cowards.
But you have to understand.
What you said, it's disturbing.
For me it was the same, but I didn't
have time to think of the dangers.
Then why this idea?
A nice portrait, don't you think?
Perhaps my first idea would have been
better. Just myself, alone with Faustine.
Faustine? Now I see.
No, you don't see.
It might have been more pleasant,
but it would also have been false.
We would have just been acting.
Me, the part of the suitor...
... and her the flattered woman
who resists only out of pride.
Instead I wanted a complete
image of us all.
Not a sentimental duel.
But who would ever see it?
Who would ever need it?
Ourselves, I would hope.
I thought perhaps it would take us
back to our happiest years.
Of course, I have taken advantage of you.
I have manipulated your conscience.
But was it not worth it?
We were so sure and hopeful,
so full of reason and happiness.
We thought that the happiness
of these years would last forever.
Instead it's all about to end.
Away from here it's already very different.
The immortality that I gave you was the only
way to prolong these carefree days.
Come, come and explain it to the others.
No, there's nothing more to explain.
Faustine, finally!
I've waited for the tide
to change for three days.
I thought perhaps that the
moon's course had changed.
I have activated the recording mechanism.
Now I will be by your side for eternity,
in this never-ending week.
I might even somehow force my way into
the heaven that is your conscience.
Faustine, finally!
I've waited for the tide
to change for three days.
I thought perhaps that the
moon's course had changed.
I have activated the recording mechanism.
Now I will be by your side for eternity,
in this never-ending week.
I might even somehow force my way into
the heaven that is your conscience.
A diet?
No, they're nothing but an illusion.
The deception of the body by the soul.
And the body pays for the deception,
ignoring the benefits of the diet.
How was your journey?
Everything in order, Captain?
Very well.
A calm sea, favourable wind.
Did you find everything? Were you able
to bring everything we asked for?
Yes, everything, of course.
I thought perhaps it would take us
back to our happiest years.
Of course, I have taken advantage of you.
I have manipulated your conscience.
But was it not worth it?
We were so sure and hopeful,
so full of reason and happiness.
We thought that the happiness
of these years would last forever.
Instead it's all about to end.
Away from here it's already very different.
The immortality that I gave you was the only
way to prolong these carefree days.
The date follows:
The Island of Caponero, July 1929.