Paradise Lost (1978) - full transcript
TWENTY YEARS LATER
There.
There. That one is always the worst.
What a lot of dust.
It's a waste of time. Don't know why
he wants all these animals in the house.
You can't do anything with them.
They're just a waste of space.
But this one's pretty.
I do like this one.
Right. What a waste of time.
Did it used to be like this?
- What d'you mean?
Adeline says it used to be
much nicer here. And bigger.
A real paradise.
- It may have been.
But there were a lot less birds.
People used to hunt a lot here.
Like in the photo of
your father with the king?
That wasn't the king, Peter,
that was the Prince Regent.
Adeline has been pulling your leg again.
Sir's father too.
But your father was a minister,
wasn't he, Your Worship?
Yes, he was.
Now sir's father is clean again.
But he wasn't for long.
- Why?
It's an old story.
And you? Are you going to be a minister?
- I don't think so.
I'd rather stay here at Olmenhof,
with my birds. With our birds.
Adeline thinks it's terrible,
how you've let it fall into disrepair.
Let her.
I think it's nicer like that.
Dad says
you can't afford to maintain it.
Your dad only thinks of money.
- True.
I know why you've let it all
fall into disrepair.
Do you? Why?
- Because of the birds.
So that they can carry on living here.
- That's not the only reason.
Isn't it? So why?
Tell me, Your Worship. Why?
Look through the lens. If you can tell
me what it is, I'll give you 20 francs.
Well, what is it?
- The top of a red stick.
What?
Do I get 20 francs?
What are you doing here?
- Well, we're working here and...
Hey, you're not allowed to do that.
- Aren't I? Just watch me.
Hey, what's going on here?
- I should ask you that, Mr...
Jozef Roelofs, surveyor with
the Ministry of Public Works.
Benjamin Rolus, mayor of Hamelen,
owner of this estate.
Right Mr Jozef Roelofs, tell me.
We're marking out a new motorway.
Yes, the E32. Transont, Hamelen,
Pullendonk. Didn't you know?
Yes, but not that
it'd go through my estate.
See for yourself.
But Your Worship, if that road is built
here, the birds will have to leave.
Don't worry,
that road won't be built here.
Jozef Roelofs, surveyor with
the Ministry... minister.
But minister,
our engineer personally...
Of course, minister,
an engineer can make mistakes but...
Yes, I understand.
Yes, right away. I'll put him back on.
Goodbye, minister.
That was the minister.
Hello? Yes, I thought so.
It was only to make things
perfectly clear.
Have you got a moment?
- Put your arm in.
Sorry, I hope this mistake is
an end to the matter.
Of course I don't doubt
my late father's best friend.
Yes, but you must understand that
in the circumstances...
The road won't go through here, eh?
- Of course not.
If it's not built here,
where will it be built?
Goodbye.
Right, Peter, we sorted that out,
didn't we?
Right, come on. Quickly.
Peter, say goodbye to the mayor.
I don't mind if he stays a bit longer.
But you've still got to go over
the papers for the council meeting.
Peter will only get in the way.
Peter has to do what Adeline says
and so do I.
But he can come back, can't he?
That's because
you've been such a good boy.
Well, what do you say?
- Thank you.
Thank you very much, Your Worship.
Thank you very much, Your Worship.
- Right, come on. Quickly.
You won't let that road be built and
the birds leave, will you, Your Worship?
I've already told you that. Go on.
And next time,
come in through the kitchen.
Or I'll have to clean the hall
all over again.
God, it is such a shame,
that poor motherless child.
And a father like that.
Come on, Adeline. If Peter's not allowed
to play here neither are you.
If I were you, I'd be careful
what I say in his hearing.
Now that his father, Jan Boel,
also wants to become mayor.
Tuur.
Tuur.
Here. Cauwberghs' bill.
Remember, no payment, no delivery.
Bbbbbbbut boss,
CCCCauwberghs has got problems.
Problems, problems. You're my problem.
No payment, no delivery.
I'm not going to let my business
be destroyed by a load of spongers.
Hurry up, it's half past five.
I've got to go to the council meeting.
It's not because you stutter that
you have make my truck do it too.
No one has any respect for someone
else's property anymore. Come here, you.
Come here.
Hurry up.
Come on.
Where have you been all day?
Come here.
I can see.
With that Rolus at Olmenhof.
Why don't you go and play with
Roos van Tienen or Melchior?
At least when it comes to the crunch,
they'll be voting for me and not Rolus.
Or don't you want
your father to be mayor?
What d'you get up to there?
- It's none of your business.
Sir has learnt good manners...
- That's my bird.
That's my bird.
That's all you think about, birds.
You should do something useful
during your holiday.
Something you can earn money from.
That's all you think about, money.
- What?
That's what feeds you,
Boel Seeds and Corn.
That Rolus of yours is
up to his eyes in debt.
And the arrogance of the man.
The Roluses have always been mayor
without having to do a thing.
Just because they live on that estate
and have connections.
But times have changed.
The mayor's father was a minister and
he knew the king.
Mine wasn't and didn't, I know.
He was just a poor potato farmer
But at least he had clean hands,
even if they were covered in earth.
But he died a good Christian,
in his bed.
What your friend hasn't told you is that
that minister had to resign
because of the scandal at the bank
and that he hung himself.
Rolus thinks that people have
forgotten that after 10 years,
but they haven't.
People don't forget
if you remind them in time.
I'll tell you something. When the new
road is built, through the estate,
the estate won't be worth
a quarter of what it is now.
And then that peasant Boel
will put his hand up.
His golden hand.
What about that? The son of
a potato farmer, master of Olmenhof.
They chased me out of paradise
in my birthday suit,
but I shall walk back in
through the front door in my best suit.
Of that I'm certain.
And once that road is built there...
- That road won't be built there.
What do you know about it?
Go on, tell me, you little sod, or
I'll pull your arms out of your body.
That road'll never be built there.
- I'll get you later, you little sod.
Hello. Boel Seeds and Corn.
Minister.
Yes, of course, minister.
That new road is a fantastic initiative.
Certainly now it's going
through Olmenhof.
What d'you mean? Not through Olmenhof.
Where then? Through the village?
Bloody hell, the little sod was right.
No, nothing, minister.
We'll soon do something about that.
What d'you mean? No trouble?
But how do you want?
Right, minister. No trouble.
Yes, of course, shan't say a word,
minister. Not a word.
Yes. Thanks. Yes, of course,
this evening at the council meeting.
I'd like to know
where the road is going to be built.
At the moment no one knows.
Some know where it won't be built.
- Who d'you mean?
You're late.
- I had to go and see Mother.
I had to go and see Mother.
Ask your connections in Brussels.
- I'm sure you'll tell us.
I certainly will.
Sorry, but I had to go somewhere...
- It's OK.
Here. Here is where
the new motorway is planned.
Here and here.
Here is your estate, Your Worship.
The road should be built along here.
And where do you want it to be built?
You want it to be built here and here.
Through the village,
through Kerkhofstraat.
But that's where Mother lives.
- Not just your mother, Marie-Louise.
Thirty less well-off members
of the community live there.
You are exaggerating, as usual.
It's only 21 people.
So that makes it alright to mess them
around? What about respect for the dead?
Because if that road's built there,
the graveyard will have to go.
If that happens...
- It's not allowed to happen.
Because then I'll lose my best field.
- I hadn't thought of that.
If it does happen, Mr Schellekens,
the council will compensate you.
What good is that to me?
- And we'll build a new graveyard.
And who'll pay for that?
- Those who live in the street
will be given new houses that are more
modern than the hovels they live in now.
But Your Worship, moving house!
Mother would never survive that.
It won't happen. That new road won't
be built there. It'll be built here.
And nowhere else.
Be more careful with council property.
It's not yours yet.
You're good with words, but you're
sacrificing agricultural land, houses,
not to mention the dead,
just to protect your own property.
Well said, Boel.
Does the last little area of
natural beauty have to be sacrificed?
No, never.
- What did you say?
As chairman of the green committee,
I say we'll never give way to concrete,
stinking exhaust fumes,
the roaring of lorries.
We're not in the classroom.
- Let him speak, Mr Boel.
Comrades, what does maths, and in
particular Euclidean geometry, teach us
about the shortest distance
between two points?
That the shortest distance
between two points is a straight line.
And what do we see?
- A bastard.
That the planned motorway makes
a very strange bend round Hamelen.
This is straight, from here to here.
Like that.
So the road doesn't have to go past
Hamelen. Who knows what is behind it?
Nothing, Mr De Cat,
except for the gifted few who see
the black hand of capitalism everywhere.
- You don't have to be gifted for that.
As a teacher
you know everything about geometry,
but as a new councillor
very little about our problems.
Enough to know that
something funny is going on.
Or is it coincidence that the real
estate company Comextra has bought land
along the route of the motorway,
exactly along that strange bend?
Even Mr Boel admits that this motorway
is good for our village.
That's right, use me for
your election propaganda.
But you do admit that.
- I admit it, Your Worship.
You've done alright,
thanks to your connections that are
helping you to protect your estate.
According to the rumours.
- Rumours are always exaggerated.
If I'm correctly informed,
you want to become mayor.
I pity our village if, as mayor, you
allow yourself to be guided by rumours.
That's got nothing to do with it.
- Maybe not.
But as would-be mayor you'd do better to
listen to the younger generation.
Mr De Cat was right.
- There you go.
Certain decisions are made without us.
Like deciding on
the route of the new motorway.
We haven't any say in that.
- But we can do something about that.
Go on then, Mr Boel.
- Well done.
Go on then.
Recently your impetuosity
has become legendary in the village.
Boel.
Your Worship!
He's been too clever for you again.
- Maybe, but he won't succeed this time.
Won't he?
- I've got connections too.
Which one? The blond or the redhead?
- You should watch your mouth.
So should you. I've had enough of
your progressive twaddle.
Euclidian geometry...
I was elected by people
who want me to defend their interests.
Think instead of the interests of your
four children and the fifth on its way.
Yes, get in. Goodnight.
- What d'you mean?
Tell him, Sus.
He means you're still waiting for
your permanent appointment
and he can do something about that.
In Duren or in Daldorcht.
That's blackmail.
- No, that's politics, you sad git.
Yes, politics.
- Sus doesn't say anything.
Because he's got two pieces of land,
one good, one bad.
If the road comes through Kerkhofstraat,
he'll lose his good piece.
But he'll get the same money for both.
- Why are you telling him that?
Otherwise he won't understand.
Now d'you understand why he wants
the road to go through Olmenhof?
Godfried,
we've got to go home, Godfried.
You and your piece of land, you and your
mayor's chain of office. Parasites!
Those who don't make the most of
the situation are idiots.
You can choose. Go along with us or be
even more stupid than you are already.
That's that sorted.
- That I've gotta see.
If my connections say the road
won't be built through Kerkhofstraat,
it won't be.
Bloody hell.
Boel. Jan Boel.
Hey!
You should be ashamed. Throwing poor
people out of their house like that.
We're only doing our job.
If you didn't do your job,
we wouldn't have to leave our house.
I've lived there all my life.
Someone else would only do it.
- No one's doing anything here.
That road won't be built here.
That's government property.
Who's going to pay for it?
Here, go and have a beer. Take this
to Jan Boel and tell him to pay for it.
What? 3,500 francs?
Are you mad?
I'm only doing what they tell me.
- This isn't the end of the matter.
Bloody hell.
I'll be glad when I retire.
Imagine if he were to be elected mayor.
What d'you mean, the minister is in
a meeting? You told him it's Jan Boel?
Well, miss, tell him again.
Yes, I've got plenty of time.
3,500 francs!
Minister...
What? Who are you then?
Secretary.
Well, I wanted to say...
You already know. Right, then I wanted
to ask the minister what I should do.
Certainly not make trouble?
But...
The broken pole? That was an accident.
The minister doesn't like
that kind of accident?
Yes, of course.
Yes, I understand I can't just
bother the minister like that.
Of course I'll find a solution myself.
Yes, that's what I'll do.
Find a solution myself...
Can't you see I'm thinking?
- But bbbboss, I...
I've just come to ask if you're going to
BBBBBrussels this week?
You just think that I...
- Bbbbbut boss, I...
Yes, fine. Go on.
- Bbbbut boss...
Don't stand there like an idiot!
Go on!
Yes, it's me.
Your Excellency, I'd like to thank you
for your quick intervention
in connection with
the motorway planned past Hamelen.
But certain things make me fear
for the future of Olmenhof.
On your advice I agreed at the time
that that road would come this way.
You made me realise it would be good for
the prosperity of our village.
And also that certain revelations
about my father's death
could be kept out of the newspaper
of which you happen to be a director.
I wouldn't dream of connecting the two.
That would be in very poor taste.
Nor do I want to refer to the recent
purchase of land round Hamelen
by the Comextra company,
with which you are not unfamiliar.
There's no point in raking all that up,
especially not between us.
I only wish to emphasise the fact that
I will do everything I can
to oppose any desecration of Olmenhof.
I'm prepared to go to almost any lengths
to protect the name of the Rolus family.
But I don't fancy it being buried
under a layer of concrete.
I hope you will understand
my point of view and that I...
Good evening, Adeline.
You.
I forbid it. You can't come in.
No. Sir. Sir.
Don't bother, Adeline.
Hello, Benjamin.
Do you recognise me?
Or don't you dare recognise me?
Pascale.
Yes.
Pascale.
Sorry. If I'd known it was going to be
such a shock for you,
I'd have arrived in pieces.
Which piece should I have sent first?
Don't you wonder what your dear cousin
is doing here after all this time?
That's good.
That would be a real shock
and God knows how you'd react then.
You Roluses have always been
so high-spirited.
Benjamin, I...
OK, OK.
Don't say anything.
I'm leaving.
But you can spare a glass of water,
can't you?
Just a sip. Then I'll go.
Just a sip.
It's so nice to have family.
Not a drop for that slut. Your father
would've shown her the door by now.
I don't doubt that for a minute.
It's a trick, sir.
Leave me alone!
No!
Flames of passion ignited inside him,
burning so fiercely
that they could only be extinguished by
complete surrender to the wicked game
of the sensual she-devil.
And thus spun Pascale, that filthy slut,
her web for a simple farmer's son,
Jan Boel.
What's the point, Pascale?
It's so long ago.
You're throwing me out because of it.
- You're here now.
Because I twisted my ankle.
If you've come to
rake up the past...
I'll be thrown straight out.
That's not the only reason I came.
Why else then?
- You wouldn't believe me.
Is it so unlikely?
- To you, probably.
You can always try.
- Alright.
After that affair with young Boel,
I was sent to a convent boarding school.
Probably to improve my life.
It worked really well.
I ended up at Leuven university,
but academic life didn't interest me
in the slightest and I left.
Money immediately stopped being sent,
so I had to get a job.
Air hostess, assistant radiologist,
photographic model, script girl,
model in Amsterdam. All glamorous jobs,
so not beneath the dignity
of the sibylline partygoer
from a dying line.
At the end I even considered suicide.
- No. Unhappy in love?
No, that only happens once.
No, I felt like I'd come to a dead end.
And now I'm looking for where
the thread broke.
You think you'll find that here?
- I thought so. Yes, very funny.
You're right, it sounds unlikely.
- You're the best one to judge.
You're living in a crumbling ruin
with a worn-out housekeeper
and your stuffed birds.
Of course you know all about people.
Enough to keep them at a distance.
Which is why you haven't got
a wife or a mistress.
Is it that so obvious?
I don't even need to avail myself of
my female intuition for that.
You may be right,
but life isn't only about...
Fucking.
Don't look so shocked. That's what
they call it in the big wide world.
That's not the only thing in life,
but it is the most important.
It's the only thing left.
I've got other priorities.
- Such as?
Choosing the right wine, for example.
A Margot '69
or a Saint-Estéphe '73?
The Saint-Estéphe.
That's not a priority,
it's a compensation.
Call it what you like,
but I've found a sort of balance
among my dusty books
and stuffed birds.
Something I won't allow
anyone or anything to upset.
Don't worry. I'm not staying.
- I don't mind if you stay for a while.
How sweet of you.
- I mean, until your foot is better.
Your hospitality know no bounds.
- You won't get in anyone's way.
Certainly not with this foot.
Where does it hurt?
Here. No, here.
What's the matter?
You used to kiss the bit that hurt
and it stopped hurting immediately.
That was a long time ago.
- You could always try it again.
If it works, I'll be off tomorrow.
Or would you rather I stayed?
Adeline,
you don't know what you've done.
I came to ask
if sir needs me anymore.
No, it's fine, Adeline.
You can get the spare room ready.
Miss Pascale is staying
for a few days.
Because of her foot.
- God.
How innocent.
I'm not wanted here.
- You know what she's like.
I don't care what your housekeeper
thinks. I was talking about you.
You still believe the fairy tale about
what happened in the summer house.
I saw it myself.
- And that makes it true?
Hasn't it ever occurred to you that
young Boel jumped me?
You men are all the same,
it's always the woman's fault.
I wish I could believe you.
- Then listen.
I was young and in love with you.
Yes, you.
But you didn't even know I existed.
I used an inexperienced girl's trick
to make you jealous.
The things I tried,
to ensure that you heard about
those dates with young Boel.
But sir either had his head in his books
or was spying on birds.
Even then.
On one of those dates, Boel forced
himself on me, just when you did come.
I wish I could believe you.
See what those connections of yours
are worth.
I can't trouble the people in Brussels
because they're erecting a few poles.
No, only when the road's been built.
- That road won't be built here.
Those surveyors aren't there, either.
- That doesn't mean a thing.
Just like those connections of yours.
Well, we won't carry on doing nothing.
Just so that you know.
So what d'you want to do, teacher?
- Maybe he's got an idea for once.
I certainly have got an idea.
Village guerrilla.
Village guerrilla! You're not in a city.
I've got a better remedy.
Better remedy!
I've got a secret weapon that'll be more
effective than your village guerrilla.
Seeing is believing!
A remedy for corns!
That Boel and his remedies...
- Corns.
Sus.
- Boel.
Nicer than in the city,
even without salt.
Yes, it's got more taste.
The eggs aren't like they used to be.
- Look, one of Adeline's hairs.
Yes.
No, they aren't like they used to be.
Here.
No, no more. It makes me edgy.
No, not for me. They make me cough.
Not a single vice. Never mind,
I've got enough for us both.
Who is that lady?
- Mr Benjamin's cousin.
She's very beautiful.
- She's very deceitful.
I'd forgotten
how peaceful it can be here.
You'd probably get bored after a week.
- Probably.
You used to be very good at
amusing yourself.
The past is past, Benjamin.
- Not for me.
I remember everything
about that last summer.
I'm sure you can.
- It's not what you think.
What then? Your books, your birds or
your dried plants?
The colour of your dress. A blue muslin
dress with a yellow butterfly.
The day I picked those wild purple
flowers for you, I said...
That women used to use them
to make a love potion.
You still remember.
- As if it were yesterday.
We were in the summer house.
It was very hot.
I felt intoxicated by
the scent of those flowers.
You just sat there.
You didn't say anything.
I wanted to touch you.
But you didn't.
No.
You were too beautiful.
The next day
I made that date with Boel.
Well? What do you think of me now?
You're even more beautiful.
- But you still won't touch me.
There's nothing for you to see here.
It's not that.
- So why?
Because cousins shouldn't
fall for each other?
I'm not that old-fashioned.
Then you're still trapped
in your past.
Freudian paternal relations etc.
- No.
It's nothing to be ashamed of.
I, for example, am still trapped in
my first love.
Who do you mean?
That, my dear Benjamin,
you can work out for yourself.
Incidentally,
is there still water in the pond?
Yes, why?
- I want to go and cool down,
before your manly presence
totally overwhelms me.
Are you coming?
- Later maybe.
I haven't got a swimming costume.
- I'll whistle when I'm approaching.
Then you can hide in amongst the reeds.
- You rogue.
How's your foot?
One day!
One day and you're in her clutches.
A sip of water, then I'll go.
She's planning on drinking
the whole pond, no doubt.
Adeline.
Adeline.
Benjamin?
Come out, Benjamin. I've seen you.
I won't bite.
Who are you?
Peter Boel, miss.
- Well, Peter Boel.
Give me my clothes back.
- I haven't got them.
Don't be silly. Give them back.
- I haven't got your clothes.
If you don't give them back,
I'll get out of the water like this.
You wouldn't dare.
- You don't know me.
Give me my clothes back, or...
- I haven't got your clothes.
I'll get out...
This is where I lost you.
This is where you find me again.
What's the matter?
What's the matter?
I... I can't.
You can't? You don't want to!
Bloody hypocrite.
Pascale, I...
- Don't touch me.
Your Worship, Adeline sent me.
The constable phoned.
There's trouble in Kerkhofstraat.
Go on, why are you standing there?
Go on.
At least do your duty,
if you can't...
It's best that you leave too.
Tomorrow.
No road here!
No... no... no... no road...
no... no...
- Leave that pole alone.
I say...
- Leave that pole alone.
Then you should
leave those houses alone. No road here!
Never, never, never.
- No road here!
No road here. Never, never. Come on,
Marie-Louise. No road... What?
The mayor!
...here!
Everyone, I know that
you don't want that road here.
But it's a decision we can't change.
You may be able to stop it today,
but the police will come tomorrow.
Is that what you want?
Go on home, before someone gets hurt.
Go on home. Go on, go home.
Stay where you are.
- Come on.
Go on.
- Stay where you are.
Go on.
There, you can get back to work.
- I don't trust it, Your Worship.
Charel, you know our people.
Exactly. I'd rather have had
the police here tomorrow.
It won't come to that.
- You never know.
If you need me, I'm in the town hall.
- Right, Your Worship.
Village guerrilla,
they're too clever for that.
Too stupid, you mean.
They haven't heard the last of this.
- Have you got another idea?
A strategic diversionary tactic.
Zulma!
- Mother!
What have you done?
You can't make an omelette without
breaking eggs. You did that on purpose.
Look what that dickhead has done.
Throwing old people to the ground.
No road here! No road here!
Attack!
No... no... no... no road here!
No road here!
Tuur!
Tuur!
Tuur!
Tuur! Blast you, where are you?
Tuur?
What are you doing here?
- I need to talk to you.
Can't we do this in the summer house,
as usual? So what's the matter?
It's not working.
- What d'you mean? It must.
He suddenly didn't want to any more.
Madam can give the whole of Brussels
a hard-on but when it really matters...
Please.
- Make him want to.
That's what you do for a living. What've
you been doing for the past 10 years?
We weren't going to talk about that.
- Well we are.
What did you promise me when I took
you out of that brothel 5 years ago?
When I set you up in
that chic apartment in Brussels?
That I'd do anything for you.
- And why?
Because I...
- Because you need that.
You've always needed that,
right from the first time we fucked.
And, 15 years later,
when the farm-hand had worked his way up
and could afford
the most exclusive brothel in Brussels,
he met that upper-class madam again.
She'd become an upper-class whore.
She let him know she needed it
even more than she used to.
Admit it, Pascale.
Admit that you still need it.
That there's nothing better in the world
and that you'll do anything I want.
No, Pascale,
first you have to do your work.
And once you've twisted him round
your little finger and have asked him
to sell everything so that the road
goes through Olmenhof,
then you'll get your reward from Jan.
Please, Jan. Now.
Alright, seeing as it's you.
Jan...
Jan.
Jan.
Next time, bring better news.
Well, what happened?
- The...
Village guerrilla.
Well? Don't you like it?
- Yes.
I thought my food wasn't good enough
anymore either.
Eat your soup,
before your meat gets cold.
Go on.
I've had enough.
Adeline. Isn't Miss Pascale
going to have anything to eat?
How should I know?
I don't have anything to do with her.
She went for a walk and
then shut herself in her room.
D'you know what they're saying
in the village?
That her upstairs doesn't live
in Amsterdam but in Brussels.
And d'you know what she does there?
- Yes.
What?
- She's a model.
Right, a model.
- It's just a job like any other.
In a window?
Not in a window.
Next to a telephone.
They call them call girls.
I'm only saying what I've heard.
You mustn't believe everything you hear.
- You're a fine one to speak.
She's leaving tomorrow.
- Really?
Have you told her already?
- Yes.
That's the first sensible thing
you've said since she's been here.
Go on.
I've had enough.
- Eat some more meat.
I've got something you'll like.
One of your favourites.
Chocolate soufflé.
Good evening, Adeline.
Hello, Benjamin.
I'll lay the table for madam.
To make it nice and cosy.
After all, it's your last evening here.
We haven't got any candles.
We're not used to people of your class.
D'you really mean I have to leave?
D'you mean I'm a hypocrite?
I never mean what I say.
- I do. That's the difference.
God, I'd almost forgotten.
The righteous Roluses.
Sorry.
I had no right to say that.
I'm a bit flustered this evening.
The table is set, madam.
Enjoy your meal.
At a farewell party,
there should be a farewell toast.
To a failed attempt.
It wasn't your fault.
No.
But I've been wasting my time here.
Don't we all do that?
I've been wasting my time
for twenty years.
I've buried myself here
for twenty years,
for twenty years I've tried to
take refuge in my work.
For twenty years
I've lied to myself.
Not a day has passed that
I didn't think about you.
Which is why I never left here.
I thought I could shut myself up here
with my thoughts of you.
Like I remembered you, unchanged.
Pure.
Even though I let everything fall into
disrepair, you always remained...
intact.
There's never been
any other woman in my life.
My whole life I've tried to argue away
my feelings for you. I couldn't.
Doesn't she want any dessert?
- I'll have it.
What's the matter?
Why did you run away?
Please, leave me alone.
- First tell me what's the matter.
I'm bad.
If only you knew how bad...
Why do you say that?
If only I could tell you.
- Why don't you try?
Benjamin, if I'd known before
that you still loved me...
Isn't that a reason to...
- No.
If you really love me, leave now.
Why?
There's something I have to put right.
What?
- It's not important.
Why don't you tell me then?
- It's my business.
Well, if it's your business,
then you sort it out.
There! What d'you think?
- Not bad, but...
But what?
- Those two balls. Eh, Marie-Louise?
The advertising people weren't sure
about that either. But I didn't give in.
Why two balls?
- It's simple.
You went to college. You must know.
To be symmetrical?
Whatever that means, no, not that.
Tuur, you must know.
Yyyyyes, but I dddddon't dare say.
Come on. How many hands
did the Lord give us? Two.
How many eyes? Two. How many ears? Two.
My business, seed and corn.
How many sexes?
- Two sexes.
That's his secret weapon.
Hey, Marie-Louise...
Idiot. What's it like in politics,
wherever you go?
Left and right, conservative and
progressive, good and bad.
But here, everyone stands side by side,
left and right, young and old,
rich and poor, everything together
in one big people's party.
Jan Boel,
the police are here, damn it.
POLICE
Naughty man.
Go on, Zulma, you tell him.
Good day, gentlemen.
Do I really have to leave my house?
- That's far from certain, Zulma.
But they're working there.
You can't just transplant people.
Leaving will kill me.
Do you really think your estate is
more important than all the people here?
The estate is important for everyone.
- No, just for you.
Because no one is allowed on it.
It's true what Boel says.
You just think of us as animals.
Your late father
would turn in his grave if he knew.
At least your father was a mayor
who meant well.
He didn't only think of himself.
Where's Pascale?
- The whore is packing.
Pascale, don't leave.
- It was only a game.
Like everything I do.
- Not for me and not for you either.
Or was it?
- I told you, I'm bad.
Bad through and through.
Even if it were true,
I wouldn't care anymore.
Even if Adeline were right?
Even if I'd done something awful?
Or was going to do it?
- Why do you torture yourself?
Pascale.
Pascale.
Peter.
Let's do it again.
I've got 20 years to make up for.
- You're getting there.
Let's do it slowly this time.
- You learn quickly.
Now I know what I've been missing
all that time.
Now I know what I should've done
all those years.
Give up everything here.
I'll give the estate to the village.
Then they can build ten roads
through it.
I'll go out into the big wide world
with you, as they say.
God, no.
Why not? Don't you want to see
the big wide world?
Not like that.
No, now I want to. I also know what
is more important than my books,
my trees and my birds.
Traitor. Traitor.
Adeline. Why did you do that?
That way the child learns about life.
What are you doing?
Have you finally come to your senses?
The mayor.
- What's the matter with him?
He's betrayed the birds.
- Betrayed them?
He's letting that stinking road
be built through his estate.
Great. That means
I'll be able to buy Olmenhof.
And become mayor.
Bloody hell, lad, just imagine.
Your father, the personal friend of
an official of state
and who knows,
maybe a minister himself one day.
Anything can happen in this country.
Wait till I tell the minister.
I don't care!
What is my own flesh and blood saying?
- I'm not.
The whole village says
I'm not your child.
Look at yourself and look at me.
That's what you get for
being nice to a child!
You understood correctly,
Your Excellency. I'll tell the council.
I thought this was
the most elegant solution.
Also for your friends from Comextra.
No, I no longer need your support,
Your Excellency.
What did you say?
Yes, I'm selling everything.
Yes, the entire estate.
No, no need for thanks. I did it for
myself. Goodnight, Your Excellency.
BRUSSELS
One, two, one, two, one, two.
Come on, move.
Come on.
I'm here to see the minister.
Jan Boel.
I told you on the phone that
the minister was in a meeting.
All day?
- Yes.
Did you tell him it was me?
Jan Boel, Boel Seeds and Corn.
Of course.
Well?
He said he was in a meeting all day.
Well, I'll wait for him all day.
You've got nerve.
Really?
- I've been waiting here for a month.
But not for much longer.
I've got a recommendation from
someone high up with Comextra.
You know...
Comextra.
The firm the minister also works for.
Yes, I know.
Hello.
Well I never, it's you!
What? Never!
You don't have to do that.
Yes, of course.
We'll do that then.
See you tomorrow. Yes.
Miss,
is this game going to last much longer?
But Mr Boel, that's the minister.
Minister.
Minister,
I need to talk to you urgently.
It's OK.
I'm Jan Boel.
Boel Seeds and Corn.
Jean-Marie,
see what we can do for this man.
It's OK, minister. It's OK.
Can you tell the minister that
it's OK? It's...
Sir, it's OK. It's OK. Sir...
But, it...
Bloody hell, they conned me.
The minister and his friends already
know that Rolus is selling his estate.
Now they don't need me any more,
they've dropped me like a hot potato.
Well, I'll show them.
I made it possible for
that road to go through Olmenhof.
Now I'll make it go round it again.
What are you doing here?
- I've come to help you.
Haven't you done enough damage?
- Maybe we can do something about that.
Yes, Adeline, what do you want?
- I want...
I'd like to talk to madam.
- Haven't you said enough?
Exactly.
I'd like to ask for forgiveness.
Listen, Adeline...
I know everything. You whore.
Boel is waiting for you
in the summer house.
Jan?
Jan?
Let me past.
You've got what you wanted.
- No, you slut.
No, let me go, you bastard.
- No Pascale, I won't let you go.
Pascale?
Adeline? What are you doing here?
Where's Pascale?
I'll show you.
No, Pascale. A bit longer.
You used not to be able to get enough
and now you don't want to anymore.
You make me want to puke.
Benjamin, help me.
Help me.
- Your Worship.
Now you can see for yourself.
She's mine and always will be.
It's not true, Benjamin.
Don't believe him.
Take a good look.
She only slept with you
so that the road would go through
the estate and she did that for me.
Don't believe him. It's not true.
You animal.
Benjamin, help me.
- She's crazy about me.
Crazy, crazy, crazy.
- Help.
You won't let that road
be built through Olmenhof now, eh?
Bye, Adeline.
Benjamin, don't look at me like that.
I can explain.
Don't let him destroy everything.
Come with me, Benjamin. Come on.
No!
Benjamin, I can explain. Please.
Please.
Please.
Come on, Benjamin. You can't
stay outside in weather like this.
I've always protected you, eh lad?
Because I love you.
And you me, eh? I know.
We've always had a good life together.
We'll always have a good life together.
No.
It's all your fault.
You'll regret that.
You'll regret that.
Quick, get out of here.
Your Worship!
I've come to help you.
I've come to help you
protect the birds.
Well, Adeline. Tell me again about
all the things he's done to my lad.
MAYOR TAKES SON OF
OPPOSITION LEADER HOSTAGE
CONFLICT IN HAMELEN
ANGRY VILLAGERS
CONSPIRE AGAINST THEIR MAYOR
HAMELEN WORRIED ABOUT
CRAZY MAYOR
FIRST SHOTS FIRED IN HAMELEN
DRAMA IN THE VILLAGE OF HAMELEN
MAYOR KIDNAPS OPPOSITION LEADER'S
SON AND SHOOTS AT VILLAGERS
We could do something about it,
but...
It's a unique opportunity, minister.
All that airtime on radio and TV.
But he's using real bullets.
So? Remember Kennedy.
- Yes, he's dead.
A murder in America,
a little scratch in Belgium, eh?
Exactly, my dear Felix,
it's a small risk against
a big return.
Comextra will be grateful.
Hello, Suzanne.
Get me Jan Boel in Hamelen.
Yes, Boel,
Seeds and Corn in Hamelen.
UPRISING IN HAMELEN!
MINISTER INTERVENES
Minister.
- Minister.
Look this way, sir.
Is your son still alive?
- Who knows, minister.
Megaphone.
Let the press do their work.
Benjamin, lad,
I beseech you,
in your father's name...
Kennedy! Attack!
Go on, Boel.
Attack!
Stop. Stop or I'll shoot.
But minister...
- Go on, Boel. It's your fault.
You have to disarm him. He's your son.
- But he'll shoot for real.
So? You want to be mayor.
Go on.
You always have to take risks
in politics.
Give that here, it's not a toy.
- Come and get it.
Go on.
Come here.
- One more step and I'll shoot.
No, Peter, don't.
Bloody liar! Bastard! Traitor!
Sorry, it's nerves.
Look, up on the roof.
Benjamin!
Benjamin! No, Benjamin!
A simple soul, but a great one.
Benjamin.
Lad.
I didn't want this, Benjamin.
Watch the birdie.
That bloody boy ruined the photograph.
THE MOTORWAY
WAS BUILT THROUGH OLMENHOF
JAN BOEL BECAME MAYOR OF HAMELEN
THE MINISTER BECAME
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF COMEXTRA
ADELINE WENT TO LIVE ON THE RIVIERA
AND PETER WENT IN SEARCH OF...
THE LOST PARADISE
The Subtitling Company
There.
There. That one is always the worst.
What a lot of dust.
It's a waste of time. Don't know why
he wants all these animals in the house.
You can't do anything with them.
They're just a waste of space.
But this one's pretty.
I do like this one.
Right. What a waste of time.
Did it used to be like this?
- What d'you mean?
Adeline says it used to be
much nicer here. And bigger.
A real paradise.
- It may have been.
But there were a lot less birds.
People used to hunt a lot here.
Like in the photo of
your father with the king?
That wasn't the king, Peter,
that was the Prince Regent.
Adeline has been pulling your leg again.
Sir's father too.
But your father was a minister,
wasn't he, Your Worship?
Yes, he was.
Now sir's father is clean again.
But he wasn't for long.
- Why?
It's an old story.
And you? Are you going to be a minister?
- I don't think so.
I'd rather stay here at Olmenhof,
with my birds. With our birds.
Adeline thinks it's terrible,
how you've let it fall into disrepair.
Let her.
I think it's nicer like that.
Dad says
you can't afford to maintain it.
Your dad only thinks of money.
- True.
I know why you've let it all
fall into disrepair.
Do you? Why?
- Because of the birds.
So that they can carry on living here.
- That's not the only reason.
Isn't it? So why?
Tell me, Your Worship. Why?
Look through the lens. If you can tell
me what it is, I'll give you 20 francs.
Well, what is it?
- The top of a red stick.
What?
Do I get 20 francs?
What are you doing here?
- Well, we're working here and...
Hey, you're not allowed to do that.
- Aren't I? Just watch me.
Hey, what's going on here?
- I should ask you that, Mr...
Jozef Roelofs, surveyor with
the Ministry of Public Works.
Benjamin Rolus, mayor of Hamelen,
owner of this estate.
Right Mr Jozef Roelofs, tell me.
We're marking out a new motorway.
Yes, the E32. Transont, Hamelen,
Pullendonk. Didn't you know?
Yes, but not that
it'd go through my estate.
See for yourself.
But Your Worship, if that road is built
here, the birds will have to leave.
Don't worry,
that road won't be built here.
Jozef Roelofs, surveyor with
the Ministry... minister.
But minister,
our engineer personally...
Of course, minister,
an engineer can make mistakes but...
Yes, I understand.
Yes, right away. I'll put him back on.
Goodbye, minister.
That was the minister.
Hello? Yes, I thought so.
It was only to make things
perfectly clear.
Have you got a moment?
- Put your arm in.
Sorry, I hope this mistake is
an end to the matter.
Of course I don't doubt
my late father's best friend.
Yes, but you must understand that
in the circumstances...
The road won't go through here, eh?
- Of course not.
If it's not built here,
where will it be built?
Goodbye.
Right, Peter, we sorted that out,
didn't we?
Right, come on. Quickly.
Peter, say goodbye to the mayor.
I don't mind if he stays a bit longer.
But you've still got to go over
the papers for the council meeting.
Peter will only get in the way.
Peter has to do what Adeline says
and so do I.
But he can come back, can't he?
That's because
you've been such a good boy.
Well, what do you say?
- Thank you.
Thank you very much, Your Worship.
Thank you very much, Your Worship.
- Right, come on. Quickly.
You won't let that road be built and
the birds leave, will you, Your Worship?
I've already told you that. Go on.
And next time,
come in through the kitchen.
Or I'll have to clean the hall
all over again.
God, it is such a shame,
that poor motherless child.
And a father like that.
Come on, Adeline. If Peter's not allowed
to play here neither are you.
If I were you, I'd be careful
what I say in his hearing.
Now that his father, Jan Boel,
also wants to become mayor.
Tuur.
Tuur.
Here. Cauwberghs' bill.
Remember, no payment, no delivery.
Bbbbbbbut boss,
CCCCauwberghs has got problems.
Problems, problems. You're my problem.
No payment, no delivery.
I'm not going to let my business
be destroyed by a load of spongers.
Hurry up, it's half past five.
I've got to go to the council meeting.
It's not because you stutter that
you have make my truck do it too.
No one has any respect for someone
else's property anymore. Come here, you.
Come here.
Hurry up.
Come on.
Where have you been all day?
Come here.
I can see.
With that Rolus at Olmenhof.
Why don't you go and play with
Roos van Tienen or Melchior?
At least when it comes to the crunch,
they'll be voting for me and not Rolus.
Or don't you want
your father to be mayor?
What d'you get up to there?
- It's none of your business.
Sir has learnt good manners...
- That's my bird.
That's my bird.
That's all you think about, birds.
You should do something useful
during your holiday.
Something you can earn money from.
That's all you think about, money.
- What?
That's what feeds you,
Boel Seeds and Corn.
That Rolus of yours is
up to his eyes in debt.
And the arrogance of the man.
The Roluses have always been mayor
without having to do a thing.
Just because they live on that estate
and have connections.
But times have changed.
The mayor's father was a minister and
he knew the king.
Mine wasn't and didn't, I know.
He was just a poor potato farmer
But at least he had clean hands,
even if they were covered in earth.
But he died a good Christian,
in his bed.
What your friend hasn't told you is that
that minister had to resign
because of the scandal at the bank
and that he hung himself.
Rolus thinks that people have
forgotten that after 10 years,
but they haven't.
People don't forget
if you remind them in time.
I'll tell you something. When the new
road is built, through the estate,
the estate won't be worth
a quarter of what it is now.
And then that peasant Boel
will put his hand up.
His golden hand.
What about that? The son of
a potato farmer, master of Olmenhof.
They chased me out of paradise
in my birthday suit,
but I shall walk back in
through the front door in my best suit.
Of that I'm certain.
And once that road is built there...
- That road won't be built there.
What do you know about it?
Go on, tell me, you little sod, or
I'll pull your arms out of your body.
That road'll never be built there.
- I'll get you later, you little sod.
Hello. Boel Seeds and Corn.
Minister.
Yes, of course, minister.
That new road is a fantastic initiative.
Certainly now it's going
through Olmenhof.
What d'you mean? Not through Olmenhof.
Where then? Through the village?
Bloody hell, the little sod was right.
No, nothing, minister.
We'll soon do something about that.
What d'you mean? No trouble?
But how do you want?
Right, minister. No trouble.
Yes, of course, shan't say a word,
minister. Not a word.
Yes. Thanks. Yes, of course,
this evening at the council meeting.
I'd like to know
where the road is going to be built.
At the moment no one knows.
Some know where it won't be built.
- Who d'you mean?
You're late.
- I had to go and see Mother.
I had to go and see Mother.
Ask your connections in Brussels.
- I'm sure you'll tell us.
I certainly will.
Sorry, but I had to go somewhere...
- It's OK.
Here. Here is where
the new motorway is planned.
Here and here.
Here is your estate, Your Worship.
The road should be built along here.
And where do you want it to be built?
You want it to be built here and here.
Through the village,
through Kerkhofstraat.
But that's where Mother lives.
- Not just your mother, Marie-Louise.
Thirty less well-off members
of the community live there.
You are exaggerating, as usual.
It's only 21 people.
So that makes it alright to mess them
around? What about respect for the dead?
Because if that road's built there,
the graveyard will have to go.
If that happens...
- It's not allowed to happen.
Because then I'll lose my best field.
- I hadn't thought of that.
If it does happen, Mr Schellekens,
the council will compensate you.
What good is that to me?
- And we'll build a new graveyard.
And who'll pay for that?
- Those who live in the street
will be given new houses that are more
modern than the hovels they live in now.
But Your Worship, moving house!
Mother would never survive that.
It won't happen. That new road won't
be built there. It'll be built here.
And nowhere else.
Be more careful with council property.
It's not yours yet.
You're good with words, but you're
sacrificing agricultural land, houses,
not to mention the dead,
just to protect your own property.
Well said, Boel.
Does the last little area of
natural beauty have to be sacrificed?
No, never.
- What did you say?
As chairman of the green committee,
I say we'll never give way to concrete,
stinking exhaust fumes,
the roaring of lorries.
We're not in the classroom.
- Let him speak, Mr Boel.
Comrades, what does maths, and in
particular Euclidean geometry, teach us
about the shortest distance
between two points?
That the shortest distance
between two points is a straight line.
And what do we see?
- A bastard.
That the planned motorway makes
a very strange bend round Hamelen.
This is straight, from here to here.
Like that.
So the road doesn't have to go past
Hamelen. Who knows what is behind it?
Nothing, Mr De Cat,
except for the gifted few who see
the black hand of capitalism everywhere.
- You don't have to be gifted for that.
As a teacher
you know everything about geometry,
but as a new councillor
very little about our problems.
Enough to know that
something funny is going on.
Or is it coincidence that the real
estate company Comextra has bought land
along the route of the motorway,
exactly along that strange bend?
Even Mr Boel admits that this motorway
is good for our village.
That's right, use me for
your election propaganda.
But you do admit that.
- I admit it, Your Worship.
You've done alright,
thanks to your connections that are
helping you to protect your estate.
According to the rumours.
- Rumours are always exaggerated.
If I'm correctly informed,
you want to become mayor.
I pity our village if, as mayor, you
allow yourself to be guided by rumours.
That's got nothing to do with it.
- Maybe not.
But as would-be mayor you'd do better to
listen to the younger generation.
Mr De Cat was right.
- There you go.
Certain decisions are made without us.
Like deciding on
the route of the new motorway.
We haven't any say in that.
- But we can do something about that.
Go on then, Mr Boel.
- Well done.
Go on then.
Recently your impetuosity
has become legendary in the village.
Boel.
Your Worship!
He's been too clever for you again.
- Maybe, but he won't succeed this time.
Won't he?
- I've got connections too.
Which one? The blond or the redhead?
- You should watch your mouth.
So should you. I've had enough of
your progressive twaddle.
Euclidian geometry...
I was elected by people
who want me to defend their interests.
Think instead of the interests of your
four children and the fifth on its way.
Yes, get in. Goodnight.
- What d'you mean?
Tell him, Sus.
He means you're still waiting for
your permanent appointment
and he can do something about that.
In Duren or in Daldorcht.
That's blackmail.
- No, that's politics, you sad git.
Yes, politics.
- Sus doesn't say anything.
Because he's got two pieces of land,
one good, one bad.
If the road comes through Kerkhofstraat,
he'll lose his good piece.
But he'll get the same money for both.
- Why are you telling him that?
Otherwise he won't understand.
Now d'you understand why he wants
the road to go through Olmenhof?
Godfried,
we've got to go home, Godfried.
You and your piece of land, you and your
mayor's chain of office. Parasites!
Those who don't make the most of
the situation are idiots.
You can choose. Go along with us or be
even more stupid than you are already.
That's that sorted.
- That I've gotta see.
If my connections say the road
won't be built through Kerkhofstraat,
it won't be.
Bloody hell.
Boel. Jan Boel.
Hey!
You should be ashamed. Throwing poor
people out of their house like that.
We're only doing our job.
If you didn't do your job,
we wouldn't have to leave our house.
I've lived there all my life.
Someone else would only do it.
- No one's doing anything here.
That road won't be built here.
That's government property.
Who's going to pay for it?
Here, go and have a beer. Take this
to Jan Boel and tell him to pay for it.
What? 3,500 francs?
Are you mad?
I'm only doing what they tell me.
- This isn't the end of the matter.
Bloody hell.
I'll be glad when I retire.
Imagine if he were to be elected mayor.
What d'you mean, the minister is in
a meeting? You told him it's Jan Boel?
Well, miss, tell him again.
Yes, I've got plenty of time.
3,500 francs!
Minister...
What? Who are you then?
Secretary.
Well, I wanted to say...
You already know. Right, then I wanted
to ask the minister what I should do.
Certainly not make trouble?
But...
The broken pole? That was an accident.
The minister doesn't like
that kind of accident?
Yes, of course.
Yes, I understand I can't just
bother the minister like that.
Of course I'll find a solution myself.
Yes, that's what I'll do.
Find a solution myself...
Can't you see I'm thinking?
- But bbbboss, I...
I've just come to ask if you're going to
BBBBBrussels this week?
You just think that I...
- Bbbbbut boss, I...
Yes, fine. Go on.
- Bbbbut boss...
Don't stand there like an idiot!
Go on!
Yes, it's me.
Your Excellency, I'd like to thank you
for your quick intervention
in connection with
the motorway planned past Hamelen.
But certain things make me fear
for the future of Olmenhof.
On your advice I agreed at the time
that that road would come this way.
You made me realise it would be good for
the prosperity of our village.
And also that certain revelations
about my father's death
could be kept out of the newspaper
of which you happen to be a director.
I wouldn't dream of connecting the two.
That would be in very poor taste.
Nor do I want to refer to the recent
purchase of land round Hamelen
by the Comextra company,
with which you are not unfamiliar.
There's no point in raking all that up,
especially not between us.
I only wish to emphasise the fact that
I will do everything I can
to oppose any desecration of Olmenhof.
I'm prepared to go to almost any lengths
to protect the name of the Rolus family.
But I don't fancy it being buried
under a layer of concrete.
I hope you will understand
my point of view and that I...
Good evening, Adeline.
You.
I forbid it. You can't come in.
No. Sir. Sir.
Don't bother, Adeline.
Hello, Benjamin.
Do you recognise me?
Or don't you dare recognise me?
Pascale.
Yes.
Pascale.
Sorry. If I'd known it was going to be
such a shock for you,
I'd have arrived in pieces.
Which piece should I have sent first?
Don't you wonder what your dear cousin
is doing here after all this time?
That's good.
That would be a real shock
and God knows how you'd react then.
You Roluses have always been
so high-spirited.
Benjamin, I...
OK, OK.
Don't say anything.
I'm leaving.
But you can spare a glass of water,
can't you?
Just a sip. Then I'll go.
Just a sip.
It's so nice to have family.
Not a drop for that slut. Your father
would've shown her the door by now.
I don't doubt that for a minute.
It's a trick, sir.
Leave me alone!
No!
Flames of passion ignited inside him,
burning so fiercely
that they could only be extinguished by
complete surrender to the wicked game
of the sensual she-devil.
And thus spun Pascale, that filthy slut,
her web for a simple farmer's son,
Jan Boel.
What's the point, Pascale?
It's so long ago.
You're throwing me out because of it.
- You're here now.
Because I twisted my ankle.
If you've come to
rake up the past...
I'll be thrown straight out.
That's not the only reason I came.
Why else then?
- You wouldn't believe me.
Is it so unlikely?
- To you, probably.
You can always try.
- Alright.
After that affair with young Boel,
I was sent to a convent boarding school.
Probably to improve my life.
It worked really well.
I ended up at Leuven university,
but academic life didn't interest me
in the slightest and I left.
Money immediately stopped being sent,
so I had to get a job.
Air hostess, assistant radiologist,
photographic model, script girl,
model in Amsterdam. All glamorous jobs,
so not beneath the dignity
of the sibylline partygoer
from a dying line.
At the end I even considered suicide.
- No. Unhappy in love?
No, that only happens once.
No, I felt like I'd come to a dead end.
And now I'm looking for where
the thread broke.
You think you'll find that here?
- I thought so. Yes, very funny.
You're right, it sounds unlikely.
- You're the best one to judge.
You're living in a crumbling ruin
with a worn-out housekeeper
and your stuffed birds.
Of course you know all about people.
Enough to keep them at a distance.
Which is why you haven't got
a wife or a mistress.
Is it that so obvious?
I don't even need to avail myself of
my female intuition for that.
You may be right,
but life isn't only about...
Fucking.
Don't look so shocked. That's what
they call it in the big wide world.
That's not the only thing in life,
but it is the most important.
It's the only thing left.
I've got other priorities.
- Such as?
Choosing the right wine, for example.
A Margot '69
or a Saint-Estéphe '73?
The Saint-Estéphe.
That's not a priority,
it's a compensation.
Call it what you like,
but I've found a sort of balance
among my dusty books
and stuffed birds.
Something I won't allow
anyone or anything to upset.
Don't worry. I'm not staying.
- I don't mind if you stay for a while.
How sweet of you.
- I mean, until your foot is better.
Your hospitality know no bounds.
- You won't get in anyone's way.
Certainly not with this foot.
Where does it hurt?
Here. No, here.
What's the matter?
You used to kiss the bit that hurt
and it stopped hurting immediately.
That was a long time ago.
- You could always try it again.
If it works, I'll be off tomorrow.
Or would you rather I stayed?
Adeline,
you don't know what you've done.
I came to ask
if sir needs me anymore.
No, it's fine, Adeline.
You can get the spare room ready.
Miss Pascale is staying
for a few days.
Because of her foot.
- God.
How innocent.
I'm not wanted here.
- You know what she's like.
I don't care what your housekeeper
thinks. I was talking about you.
You still believe the fairy tale about
what happened in the summer house.
I saw it myself.
- And that makes it true?
Hasn't it ever occurred to you that
young Boel jumped me?
You men are all the same,
it's always the woman's fault.
I wish I could believe you.
- Then listen.
I was young and in love with you.
Yes, you.
But you didn't even know I existed.
I used an inexperienced girl's trick
to make you jealous.
The things I tried,
to ensure that you heard about
those dates with young Boel.
But sir either had his head in his books
or was spying on birds.
Even then.
On one of those dates, Boel forced
himself on me, just when you did come.
I wish I could believe you.
See what those connections of yours
are worth.
I can't trouble the people in Brussels
because they're erecting a few poles.
No, only when the road's been built.
- That road won't be built here.
Those surveyors aren't there, either.
- That doesn't mean a thing.
Just like those connections of yours.
Well, we won't carry on doing nothing.
Just so that you know.
So what d'you want to do, teacher?
- Maybe he's got an idea for once.
I certainly have got an idea.
Village guerrilla.
Village guerrilla! You're not in a city.
I've got a better remedy.
Better remedy!
I've got a secret weapon that'll be more
effective than your village guerrilla.
Seeing is believing!
A remedy for corns!
That Boel and his remedies...
- Corns.
Sus.
- Boel.
Nicer than in the city,
even without salt.
Yes, it's got more taste.
The eggs aren't like they used to be.
- Look, one of Adeline's hairs.
Yes.
No, they aren't like they used to be.
Here.
No, no more. It makes me edgy.
No, not for me. They make me cough.
Not a single vice. Never mind,
I've got enough for us both.
Who is that lady?
- Mr Benjamin's cousin.
She's very beautiful.
- She's very deceitful.
I'd forgotten
how peaceful it can be here.
You'd probably get bored after a week.
- Probably.
You used to be very good at
amusing yourself.
The past is past, Benjamin.
- Not for me.
I remember everything
about that last summer.
I'm sure you can.
- It's not what you think.
What then? Your books, your birds or
your dried plants?
The colour of your dress. A blue muslin
dress with a yellow butterfly.
The day I picked those wild purple
flowers for you, I said...
That women used to use them
to make a love potion.
You still remember.
- As if it were yesterday.
We were in the summer house.
It was very hot.
I felt intoxicated by
the scent of those flowers.
You just sat there.
You didn't say anything.
I wanted to touch you.
But you didn't.
No.
You were too beautiful.
The next day
I made that date with Boel.
Well? What do you think of me now?
You're even more beautiful.
- But you still won't touch me.
There's nothing for you to see here.
It's not that.
- So why?
Because cousins shouldn't
fall for each other?
I'm not that old-fashioned.
Then you're still trapped
in your past.
Freudian paternal relations etc.
- No.
It's nothing to be ashamed of.
I, for example, am still trapped in
my first love.
Who do you mean?
That, my dear Benjamin,
you can work out for yourself.
Incidentally,
is there still water in the pond?
Yes, why?
- I want to go and cool down,
before your manly presence
totally overwhelms me.
Are you coming?
- Later maybe.
I haven't got a swimming costume.
- I'll whistle when I'm approaching.
Then you can hide in amongst the reeds.
- You rogue.
How's your foot?
One day!
One day and you're in her clutches.
A sip of water, then I'll go.
She's planning on drinking
the whole pond, no doubt.
Adeline.
Adeline.
Benjamin?
Come out, Benjamin. I've seen you.
I won't bite.
Who are you?
Peter Boel, miss.
- Well, Peter Boel.
Give me my clothes back.
- I haven't got them.
Don't be silly. Give them back.
- I haven't got your clothes.
If you don't give them back,
I'll get out of the water like this.
You wouldn't dare.
- You don't know me.
Give me my clothes back, or...
- I haven't got your clothes.
I'll get out...
This is where I lost you.
This is where you find me again.
What's the matter?
What's the matter?
I... I can't.
You can't? You don't want to!
Bloody hypocrite.
Pascale, I...
- Don't touch me.
Your Worship, Adeline sent me.
The constable phoned.
There's trouble in Kerkhofstraat.
Go on, why are you standing there?
Go on.
At least do your duty,
if you can't...
It's best that you leave too.
Tomorrow.
No road here!
No... no... no... no road...
no... no...
- Leave that pole alone.
I say...
- Leave that pole alone.
Then you should
leave those houses alone. No road here!
Never, never, never.
- No road here!
No road here. Never, never. Come on,
Marie-Louise. No road... What?
The mayor!
...here!
Everyone, I know that
you don't want that road here.
But it's a decision we can't change.
You may be able to stop it today,
but the police will come tomorrow.
Is that what you want?
Go on home, before someone gets hurt.
Go on home. Go on, go home.
Stay where you are.
- Come on.
Go on.
- Stay where you are.
Go on.
There, you can get back to work.
- I don't trust it, Your Worship.
Charel, you know our people.
Exactly. I'd rather have had
the police here tomorrow.
It won't come to that.
- You never know.
If you need me, I'm in the town hall.
- Right, Your Worship.
Village guerrilla,
they're too clever for that.
Too stupid, you mean.
They haven't heard the last of this.
- Have you got another idea?
A strategic diversionary tactic.
Zulma!
- Mother!
What have you done?
You can't make an omelette without
breaking eggs. You did that on purpose.
Look what that dickhead has done.
Throwing old people to the ground.
No road here! No road here!
Attack!
No... no... no... no road here!
No road here!
Tuur!
Tuur!
Tuur!
Tuur! Blast you, where are you?
Tuur?
What are you doing here?
- I need to talk to you.
Can't we do this in the summer house,
as usual? So what's the matter?
It's not working.
- What d'you mean? It must.
He suddenly didn't want to any more.
Madam can give the whole of Brussels
a hard-on but when it really matters...
Please.
- Make him want to.
That's what you do for a living. What've
you been doing for the past 10 years?
We weren't going to talk about that.
- Well we are.
What did you promise me when I took
you out of that brothel 5 years ago?
When I set you up in
that chic apartment in Brussels?
That I'd do anything for you.
- And why?
Because I...
- Because you need that.
You've always needed that,
right from the first time we fucked.
And, 15 years later,
when the farm-hand had worked his way up
and could afford
the most exclusive brothel in Brussels,
he met that upper-class madam again.
She'd become an upper-class whore.
She let him know she needed it
even more than she used to.
Admit it, Pascale.
Admit that you still need it.
That there's nothing better in the world
and that you'll do anything I want.
No, Pascale,
first you have to do your work.
And once you've twisted him round
your little finger and have asked him
to sell everything so that the road
goes through Olmenhof,
then you'll get your reward from Jan.
Please, Jan. Now.
Alright, seeing as it's you.
Jan...
Jan.
Jan.
Next time, bring better news.
Well, what happened?
- The...
Village guerrilla.
Well? Don't you like it?
- Yes.
I thought my food wasn't good enough
anymore either.
Eat your soup,
before your meat gets cold.
Go on.
I've had enough.
Adeline. Isn't Miss Pascale
going to have anything to eat?
How should I know?
I don't have anything to do with her.
She went for a walk and
then shut herself in her room.
D'you know what they're saying
in the village?
That her upstairs doesn't live
in Amsterdam but in Brussels.
And d'you know what she does there?
- Yes.
What?
- She's a model.
Right, a model.
- It's just a job like any other.
In a window?
Not in a window.
Next to a telephone.
They call them call girls.
I'm only saying what I've heard.
You mustn't believe everything you hear.
- You're a fine one to speak.
She's leaving tomorrow.
- Really?
Have you told her already?
- Yes.
That's the first sensible thing
you've said since she's been here.
Go on.
I've had enough.
- Eat some more meat.
I've got something you'll like.
One of your favourites.
Chocolate soufflé.
Good evening, Adeline.
Hello, Benjamin.
I'll lay the table for madam.
To make it nice and cosy.
After all, it's your last evening here.
We haven't got any candles.
We're not used to people of your class.
D'you really mean I have to leave?
D'you mean I'm a hypocrite?
I never mean what I say.
- I do. That's the difference.
God, I'd almost forgotten.
The righteous Roluses.
Sorry.
I had no right to say that.
I'm a bit flustered this evening.
The table is set, madam.
Enjoy your meal.
At a farewell party,
there should be a farewell toast.
To a failed attempt.
It wasn't your fault.
No.
But I've been wasting my time here.
Don't we all do that?
I've been wasting my time
for twenty years.
I've buried myself here
for twenty years,
for twenty years I've tried to
take refuge in my work.
For twenty years
I've lied to myself.
Not a day has passed that
I didn't think about you.
Which is why I never left here.
I thought I could shut myself up here
with my thoughts of you.
Like I remembered you, unchanged.
Pure.
Even though I let everything fall into
disrepair, you always remained...
intact.
There's never been
any other woman in my life.
My whole life I've tried to argue away
my feelings for you. I couldn't.
Doesn't she want any dessert?
- I'll have it.
What's the matter?
Why did you run away?
Please, leave me alone.
- First tell me what's the matter.
I'm bad.
If only you knew how bad...
Why do you say that?
If only I could tell you.
- Why don't you try?
Benjamin, if I'd known before
that you still loved me...
Isn't that a reason to...
- No.
If you really love me, leave now.
Why?
There's something I have to put right.
What?
- It's not important.
Why don't you tell me then?
- It's my business.
Well, if it's your business,
then you sort it out.
There! What d'you think?
- Not bad, but...
But what?
- Those two balls. Eh, Marie-Louise?
The advertising people weren't sure
about that either. But I didn't give in.
Why two balls?
- It's simple.
You went to college. You must know.
To be symmetrical?
Whatever that means, no, not that.
Tuur, you must know.
Yyyyyes, but I dddddon't dare say.
Come on. How many hands
did the Lord give us? Two.
How many eyes? Two. How many ears? Two.
My business, seed and corn.
How many sexes?
- Two sexes.
That's his secret weapon.
Hey, Marie-Louise...
Idiot. What's it like in politics,
wherever you go?
Left and right, conservative and
progressive, good and bad.
But here, everyone stands side by side,
left and right, young and old,
rich and poor, everything together
in one big people's party.
Jan Boel,
the police are here, damn it.
POLICE
Naughty man.
Go on, Zulma, you tell him.
Good day, gentlemen.
Do I really have to leave my house?
- That's far from certain, Zulma.
But they're working there.
You can't just transplant people.
Leaving will kill me.
Do you really think your estate is
more important than all the people here?
The estate is important for everyone.
- No, just for you.
Because no one is allowed on it.
It's true what Boel says.
You just think of us as animals.
Your late father
would turn in his grave if he knew.
At least your father was a mayor
who meant well.
He didn't only think of himself.
Where's Pascale?
- The whore is packing.
Pascale, don't leave.
- It was only a game.
Like everything I do.
- Not for me and not for you either.
Or was it?
- I told you, I'm bad.
Bad through and through.
Even if it were true,
I wouldn't care anymore.
Even if Adeline were right?
Even if I'd done something awful?
Or was going to do it?
- Why do you torture yourself?
Pascale.
Pascale.
Peter.
Let's do it again.
I've got 20 years to make up for.
- You're getting there.
Let's do it slowly this time.
- You learn quickly.
Now I know what I've been missing
all that time.
Now I know what I should've done
all those years.
Give up everything here.
I'll give the estate to the village.
Then they can build ten roads
through it.
I'll go out into the big wide world
with you, as they say.
God, no.
Why not? Don't you want to see
the big wide world?
Not like that.
No, now I want to. I also know what
is more important than my books,
my trees and my birds.
Traitor. Traitor.
Adeline. Why did you do that?
That way the child learns about life.
What are you doing?
Have you finally come to your senses?
The mayor.
- What's the matter with him?
He's betrayed the birds.
- Betrayed them?
He's letting that stinking road
be built through his estate.
Great. That means
I'll be able to buy Olmenhof.
And become mayor.
Bloody hell, lad, just imagine.
Your father, the personal friend of
an official of state
and who knows,
maybe a minister himself one day.
Anything can happen in this country.
Wait till I tell the minister.
I don't care!
What is my own flesh and blood saying?
- I'm not.
The whole village says
I'm not your child.
Look at yourself and look at me.
That's what you get for
being nice to a child!
You understood correctly,
Your Excellency. I'll tell the council.
I thought this was
the most elegant solution.
Also for your friends from Comextra.
No, I no longer need your support,
Your Excellency.
What did you say?
Yes, I'm selling everything.
Yes, the entire estate.
No, no need for thanks. I did it for
myself. Goodnight, Your Excellency.
BRUSSELS
One, two, one, two, one, two.
Come on, move.
Come on.
I'm here to see the minister.
Jan Boel.
I told you on the phone that
the minister was in a meeting.
All day?
- Yes.
Did you tell him it was me?
Jan Boel, Boel Seeds and Corn.
Of course.
Well?
He said he was in a meeting all day.
Well, I'll wait for him all day.
You've got nerve.
Really?
- I've been waiting here for a month.
But not for much longer.
I've got a recommendation from
someone high up with Comextra.
You know...
Comextra.
The firm the minister also works for.
Yes, I know.
Hello.
Well I never, it's you!
What? Never!
You don't have to do that.
Yes, of course.
We'll do that then.
See you tomorrow. Yes.
Miss,
is this game going to last much longer?
But Mr Boel, that's the minister.
Minister.
Minister,
I need to talk to you urgently.
It's OK.
I'm Jan Boel.
Boel Seeds and Corn.
Jean-Marie,
see what we can do for this man.
It's OK, minister. It's OK.
Can you tell the minister that
it's OK? It's...
Sir, it's OK. It's OK. Sir...
But, it...
Bloody hell, they conned me.
The minister and his friends already
know that Rolus is selling his estate.
Now they don't need me any more,
they've dropped me like a hot potato.
Well, I'll show them.
I made it possible for
that road to go through Olmenhof.
Now I'll make it go round it again.
What are you doing here?
- I've come to help you.
Haven't you done enough damage?
- Maybe we can do something about that.
Yes, Adeline, what do you want?
- I want...
I'd like to talk to madam.
- Haven't you said enough?
Exactly.
I'd like to ask for forgiveness.
Listen, Adeline...
I know everything. You whore.
Boel is waiting for you
in the summer house.
Jan?
Jan?
Let me past.
You've got what you wanted.
- No, you slut.
No, let me go, you bastard.
- No Pascale, I won't let you go.
Pascale?
Adeline? What are you doing here?
Where's Pascale?
I'll show you.
No, Pascale. A bit longer.
You used not to be able to get enough
and now you don't want to anymore.
You make me want to puke.
Benjamin, help me.
Help me.
- Your Worship.
Now you can see for yourself.
She's mine and always will be.
It's not true, Benjamin.
Don't believe him.
Take a good look.
She only slept with you
so that the road would go through
the estate and she did that for me.
Don't believe him. It's not true.
You animal.
Benjamin, help me.
- She's crazy about me.
Crazy, crazy, crazy.
- Help.
You won't let that road
be built through Olmenhof now, eh?
Bye, Adeline.
Benjamin, don't look at me like that.
I can explain.
Don't let him destroy everything.
Come with me, Benjamin. Come on.
No!
Benjamin, I can explain. Please.
Please.
Please.
Come on, Benjamin. You can't
stay outside in weather like this.
I've always protected you, eh lad?
Because I love you.
And you me, eh? I know.
We've always had a good life together.
We'll always have a good life together.
No.
It's all your fault.
You'll regret that.
You'll regret that.
Quick, get out of here.
Your Worship!
I've come to help you.
I've come to help you
protect the birds.
Well, Adeline. Tell me again about
all the things he's done to my lad.
MAYOR TAKES SON OF
OPPOSITION LEADER HOSTAGE
CONFLICT IN HAMELEN
ANGRY VILLAGERS
CONSPIRE AGAINST THEIR MAYOR
HAMELEN WORRIED ABOUT
CRAZY MAYOR
FIRST SHOTS FIRED IN HAMELEN
DRAMA IN THE VILLAGE OF HAMELEN
MAYOR KIDNAPS OPPOSITION LEADER'S
SON AND SHOOTS AT VILLAGERS
We could do something about it,
but...
It's a unique opportunity, minister.
All that airtime on radio and TV.
But he's using real bullets.
So? Remember Kennedy.
- Yes, he's dead.
A murder in America,
a little scratch in Belgium, eh?
Exactly, my dear Felix,
it's a small risk against
a big return.
Comextra will be grateful.
Hello, Suzanne.
Get me Jan Boel in Hamelen.
Yes, Boel,
Seeds and Corn in Hamelen.
UPRISING IN HAMELEN!
MINISTER INTERVENES
Minister.
- Minister.
Look this way, sir.
Is your son still alive?
- Who knows, minister.
Megaphone.
Let the press do their work.
Benjamin, lad,
I beseech you,
in your father's name...
Kennedy! Attack!
Go on, Boel.
Attack!
Stop. Stop or I'll shoot.
But minister...
- Go on, Boel. It's your fault.
You have to disarm him. He's your son.
- But he'll shoot for real.
So? You want to be mayor.
Go on.
You always have to take risks
in politics.
Give that here, it's not a toy.
- Come and get it.
Go on.
Come here.
- One more step and I'll shoot.
No, Peter, don't.
Bloody liar! Bastard! Traitor!
Sorry, it's nerves.
Look, up on the roof.
Benjamin!
Benjamin! No, Benjamin!
A simple soul, but a great one.
Benjamin.
Lad.
I didn't want this, Benjamin.
Watch the birdie.
That bloody boy ruined the photograph.
THE MOTORWAY
WAS BUILT THROUGH OLMENHOF
JAN BOEL BECAME MAYOR OF HAMELEN
THE MINISTER BECAME
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF COMEXTRA
ADELINE WENT TO LIVE ON THE RIVIERA
AND PETER WENT IN SEARCH OF...
THE LOST PARADISE
The Subtitling Company