Une femme française (1995) - full transcript

Hello...

I'm Helen's sister. The church is this way.

Hello.

Just a moment.

Father, they're waiting.

I'm so tired...

What's wrong? What is it?

I'm so happy...
but I'm not feeling very well.

Could you stay with him please, miss?

It's all this emotion.

That can happen, right?



What's your name?

Jeanne.

We are here today to see you,
Helen and Mark...

united by the sacred bonds of matrimony.

Come with me. Hurry!

It's father!

He's not well. Move it!

What's going on?

He's asleep.

Don't wake him up.

He's alright. Wait!

Calm down.

Helen, please calm down.
I'm sorry about the wedding.

Father felt ill. It's alright.



The wedding wasn't held that day.

Over the next few weeks,
Charles grew more and more exhausted.

One day, he didn't wake up.

He's going to be fine.
He just needs some air.

They weren't married until
the next summer, in 1939.

A French Woman

-All the best.
-You too...

The Nancy train station. 1944.

Attention, please.

All passengers on this train

were prisoners of war.

Their names and numbers are unknown.

Stand back.

Clear the exits, please.

Let the prisoners get off!

Your attention, please.

To all passengers.

Head towards the front of the train,

Then to the main hall and the exits.

You'll be taken to shelters,
where you'll stay the night.

Would you follow me please?

Happy days are here again!

Dad's working in Germany.

Come with me...

Thanks to these three men,

who worked in German factories,

you, a French officer, are now free.

Say a few words.

Don't go, guys. Don't go.

Germany will soon be defeated.

Go find another one!

Are you Jeanne?...Jeanne Muller?

I was with your husband in prison.

How is Louis?

He's alright.

This is a shock...

Can you take over for me?

He'd show me photos of you.

I was so happy...

when your letters came.

You were always on my mind.

I'd fallen in love.

Forgive me.

Don't be sorry.

What about Louis?

I dreamed...

We made love.

Please...

I won't see you again.

Don't go.

He said the Germans were
sure the'd lose the war...

Within a year.

I saw you.

What do you mean?

Earlier, with that guy.

I saw you.

You make me sick...
it's not the first time!

You're rotten to the core.

At least during the occupation,

we were all together.

How're you doing, kids?

Where's this go?

Be careful!

Thank you, sir!

Sir?

Louis?!

My God! It's Louis!

You don't know how happy I am!

We were always thinking of you.

I even prayed for you.

Things were difficult here...

Forgive me for saying it.

Let me take another look at you.

This is Benoit.

Here, take him.

Where's Jeanne?

She hasn't lived here for a while.

She's got a small apartment.

We all needed a little space
after being so cramped.

See? Everyone's leaving.

Sit and relax a bit.

Are you hungry?

Are you sure?

Going to Jeanne's?

Don't go.

She's living with someone.

You know him.

The guy in prison with you.

Henry.

It's better not to go.

I really missed you.

I've waited five years for this.

I was afraid to see you...

Afraid of forgetting how to feel,
or what love was...

You and Henry...

Don't!

I was overwhelmed.

I thought: it's alright...

It hurts. That means I'm still a man.

I feel old, used up...

Disgusting.

I came to tell you you're free.

I'm not worth it.

I was going to win the war,
and you to wait.

We were wrong.

We're not heroes.

I'm a coward, you're a whore.

Henry means nothing.

And the others?

There were days I thought

you'd never come back.

And on those days,

I knew men were looking at me.

Thinking I was pretty,

desiring me.

It gave me the strength to carry on.

Take me wherever you go.

I have so much love to give you.

Louis!

Where is he?

Stop it, calm down.

He's been swimming in
that icy water for hours.

There are accidents here.

There he is!

Come out of the water!

Your uncle does what he wants!

Your mom said not to go swimming.

Look at you!
You'll catch pneumonia.

I'm not cold.

Mark...

Taste this.

Want some?

Helen,

go by the house on the way back

and tell Jeanne you're sorry.

No, Louis. I won't do it.

Have you two been fighting again?

I told her what I think.

What everyone thinks.

That we love you,
and that she can't act this way.

We're on your side.

Well, I'm on hers...

And I have great news:

Jeanne is pregnant.

Twins...a boy and a girl.

How's Jeanne?

They said she's fine.

Twins...on Christmas Eve!
How magnificent!

Congratulations!

They must be tiny...
They're a month early.

It's always like that with twins.

They're yours, Louis.
A woman always knows.

We're leaving.

We have to go, we're suffocating.

They're all watching us,
judging us.

Berlin. A few months later.

Get the hell out!

You haven't won the war!

We are the victors!

Long live Germany!

Germany despises you!

Go home!

Back so soon?

I found this in the U.S. zone.
Chrome fitting, Pontiac suspension.

-A bargain.
-How much?

Only six bottles of Bordeaux.

A little long, isn't it?

What do you mean? Like this?

There.

No, like that.
Much more reasonable. Look.

It's the first man I see sewing.

Got any pins?

There...
but Liseul will do it.

Do you need us, ma'am?

Feed the children.

Thank you.

It's amazing you can sew.

Turn to the left.

Oh no!

What?

The old man's down there.

It's his house...

It's strange, isn't it?
He never goes out.

Maybe he doesn't like the French.

He's looking.

Stop moving.

During the bombing, he went on
stage every night,

not wanting to stop.

The others were scared stiff,

yet continued to act.

People kept coming.

It gave them courage.

As if nothing could harm them or the others.

There...

Then, a bomb hit the theater,

right in the audience,

during a performance.

Blood everywhere.

He hasn't been on stage since.

Do you like it?

Yes.

I mean the length.

I like both.

One, two, three...

Stop!

Are you crazy?!

What's wrong?

Tell them!

Explain what's wrong!

We'll take care of it.

She's pregnant!

And out of her mind!

This is the last one. No more.

Maybe, but this one's mine.

To Captain Muller!
Hip hip hooray!

Captain, when will your promotion
be official?

In two months.

Want to change posts?
Go back to France?

So go to Baden.

There are more French than Germans
and it's crawling with spies.

It's more fun than Berlin.

We like it here.

I can see that.

Let's celebrate.

This is my specialty.

The recipe is from Dos Passos.
It's a potion the hero uses

to seduce a young girl.

What happens?

So it works...

They fall in love, and drink it every day.

They go blind and mad.

It's called "Dead End".

It's mom's cousin,
I call him Uncle Jack.

He works in Berlin?

With Foreign Affairs,
inspecting the zone.

I'll do that. Go back in.

I saw you laughing.

I like it when you laugh.

You'll tell me the joke later?

It's man talk...

Military stuff...

What's wrong?

Oh my God!

Herr Muller! Come quickly...

Your battery's dead.
The car won't start!

Careful, don't slip.

Lean on me.

They woke the old man!

What old man?

Excuse me.

I'm coming with you.

It's alright, it's alright.

Don't worry.

My son will take you.

The English hospital's close by.

I hope we can get through.

-Let us through!
-Stop! Are you crazy?

We must go through!
It's urgent!

She'll give birth in the car!

Let me go. I'm not French.
I'm German.

I work for Mrs. Muller!

Be careful.
He's a French officer!

Stop! Let me go!

I'll be right back.

Shit...Shit!

Where is she?

She's fine. It's a boy.

June 1948

Why did you come here?
You need something?

I need nothing.

Tomorrow,
we're cut off from the world.

Surrounded by the Soviets!

That could last a long time.

They want to starve us.
There's no reason to come anymore.

You'll find nothing.

He's coming! Let's go!

Are you hurt?

Proud of yourselves?

Armelle, Laurent. Get back here!

I'll take nothing from them.

They bombed us,

they razed my theater.

We'd starve without them!

Haven't we suffered enough?

Been humiliated enough?

The Americans will help us.

And I don't care what you think.

Oh, so you don't care.

They get rich on our misery.
That's what you want?

Money and wealth?

To do what? Make more money
and become more wealthy?

I had other dreams...

Forget your dreams!

They're dead and buried!

The war took it all:

my ambition, my youth!

Gone forever!

You should have spoken out
before the war.

But you and your friends
didn't do or say anything.

Those who kept silent
can never speak out again.

You can't judge me.

Not anymore.

I refuse to be on the losers' side.

I want some respect!

Let's all go play upstairs.

The whole world abandoned us.

Now our city is the symbol
of freedom and resistance.

I wasn't sure about seeing you...

I didn't know what to do.

But I've made the right decision.

I think of you whenever I'm at my father's.

I know you're there.

I nearly went upstairs.

I wanted to see you.

But I knew it would bother you.

You wouldn't like it.

So, I decided to write.

I reread your letters.

No one ever wrote such beautiful letters.

Do you mean it all?

Yes.

If I asked you to do something,

would you?

Stop writting to me...
Don't try to see me again.

It hasn't been easy,

but now I feel

at peace.

I think I'm happy.

I don't want to lose everything.

Do you understand?

I'll always think about you...

and love you.

The Allied Forces in Germany

send their best wishes.

You have the full support
of the English

and U.S. High Commands.

Some of you leave Berlin today.

Many others in the next few weeks.

We are proud that none of you
failed in the line of duty.

Your mission in French Indochina
is a vital one.

The free world is watching,

expecting our freedom fighters
to be victorious...

They can't see me crying.

Tell them it won't be for long,

that you'll come back
in no time at all.

Look, I want to show you something.

Here's Germany, and here's Berlin.

And your father is going all this way to...

here, then here.

And where are we going?

To Nancy, with mommy.

Why is that music so loud?

Liseul, go tell them...

Oh, my God!

I'm so sorry.

Father died at dawn.

A few weeks later.
Nancy, France.

Hurry, you two! You'll be late!

Aunt Helen's waiting.

Come on, Armelle.

Antoine! Let's go.

Sorry. They won't be late.

Give me your hands.

I'll pick them up around 4:30.

Two letters from daddy.

One's for you!

When can I go to school?

Next year.

Will Liseul take me?

Grandma will be angry if you speak German.

Are you crazy?

Mommy's here, honey...

The horseman.

I'm bringing the snack into the other room.

Behave yourselves now...

Eat up, then go play with your cousins.

Don't be so shy.

They're arrogant, not shy.

They haven't been raised at all.

When's mommy coming back?

Speak French and I'll tell you.

When's mommy back?

I want to take you away.

I want you in my life.

I've never said this before.

I thought solitude brought strength.

If I was alone, I was free.

But I feel strong with you.

I feel free with you.

Let's always be together...

Every day, every night...

To wake up togehter...

Fall asleep side by side.

Live together.

I can't live with you!

I don't want to live together!

I'm scared, Mathias. Scared.

Men declare wars, men make peace.

All we do is wait around and keep quiet.

That's why we go crazy.

They just don't realize...

When your father came back on his last leave,

he didn't say a word.

He didn't want to leave the bedroom.

All he wanted was to stay in bed with me.

That's how we had you.

Mom, please...

I was 3 months pregnant when daddy died.

It was November 10, 1918.

The last day of the war.

I couldn't eat,

I couldn't sleep.

Then you began moving.

You wanted us both to live.

That's why I've always forgiven you...

and perhaps why you're crazy.

Mom, I'm not crazy.

Where did I go wrong?

Don't do it, dear.

You'll ruin your life and your children's too.

You'll ruin Louis', too.

All for a whim.

Throw everything away, and start all over.

It doesn't work that way.

Misery follows you everywhere.

It catches up with you.

And the kids?

What about them?

I'll take them with me.

I don't want you to go!

What about me?

Don't I count?

It's not a whim.

It's my life.

My whole life.

I'll lock the apartment. Keep quiet.

People are sleeping.

If a man comes, tell him
I'll be back. He's nice.

Stop!

What do you think?

That you can take them and raise little Germans?

They're Louis' kids,

not yours!

Where are they?

Answer me!

Where are you taking them?

The countryside...

Fresh air!

It's best for them.

Now, go meet your 'kraut'.

Open up! I know you're in there!

Open the door!

Please, open the door.

I beg you!

Paris. Twenty months later.

Air France Flight 48 arriving
from Saigon, Phnom-Penh, Rangoon,

New Delhi, Baghdad, Damascus,

Istanbul and Vienna.

Miss! You can't do that!

Tell me...

Were you on board?

Leave her alone!

Can I see some I.D. please?

You'll be sent there soon,
so live it up now.

But leave my wife alone!
We've been apart 2 years!

You tell'em, Louis!

Way to go, Louis!

Someone's been sleeping in my bed,
said big bear.

Someone's been in my bed,
said middle bear.

Someone's been sleeping in my bed,
said little bear. She still is!

Little bear was going to cry.

Just then, Goldilocks woke up.

She jumped out the window and ran away.

There's daddy. Go on, boys.

Which one is she?

Here.

It's a gift from daddy.

The war in Indochina will end
tomorrow or in a year...

You'll all come back,
triumphant maybe, a little bitter.

You'll end up with desk jobs.

Not exactly what you always dreamed of.

I didn't dream of desert duty either.

Syria is no desert.

It's the world's oldest civilization.

We gave them independence.
They love us and we love them.

The attache post is available.

It's yours.

You can offer it to any one of the officers here.

Not one would accept.

You prefer to get yourself shot up for nothing!

What do you want? To be heroes?

You're a real pain!

A real pain.

Will you excuse me?

I offer you a chance to stay alive!

Jeanne fears each letter will be the last one,

that you'll have died in the meantime.

Think of her... of the children.

Keep them out of this!

It was Jeanne's idea

for you to go to Syria.

Damascus. Three months later.

I've been here 3 times this year.

I make sure I'm invited for official visits.

It's so incredibly beautiful!
These stones have such a past.

Are you feeling alright?

I feel a little dizzy.

It's the desert...
the intoxication of the desert.

Flaubert wrote about it...
he came all this way.

He describes it in his journals...

Apamea's population was 700,000.

It was a political and military capital...

And the most prestigious school
of philosophy in Asia Minor.

Then, in the 12th century...

An earthquake razed the city.

Restoration will take decades.

German and Italian archaeologists are busy at work.

The Syrians want to drain the Ghab valley.

They plan

to build a dam further north.
They need help.

Let's go to the amphitheater.
It's a spectacular sight.

What's wrong?

Are you hurt?

I can't take it any longer, Louis.

I'm leaving.

What's the matter?

I'm leaving

I'm leaving you...

It's over...

What do you mean?

I love someone else.

That's why I wanted us to come here.

I wanted you to live with us.

To be together all the time.

You, me, the children.

I thought I could forget him.

I did everything I could.

But I just can't.

He's been here a week.

I told him to come.

I've wanted to talk to you for a week now.

I'm leaving with him.

He's waiting for me.

I won't let you go!

You hear?

-You're not leaving!
-Let me go!

Never!

Let her go.

Stay out of this!

It could be anybody!

Come on, let's go.

You're crazy!

Stop it!

Stop it!

Get away from me!

Stop it, Louis!

Leave him alone!

How long?

Say it, how long?

Stop it! You'll kill him!

No one is to know about this!

It's serious.
We didn't move him.

It came this close to his spine.

The rock went deep into his back.

He could've been paralysed.

He can't move for several weeks.

He'll stay here until he's better.

I want to see him.
I must see him.

He doesn't want to see you.

You and the kids are to go to Paris.

You can stay a few nights at the Club.

Then you're on your own.

That's all I can do.

Passion isn't my thing.

Excuse me, I'd like to know if...

It's alright.

Thank you.

It'll be alright.

Please tell Jeanne
I'll be at the hotel until noon.

Can we take the elevator?

Not by yourselves.

Go to the room.
I'll go see about the apartment.

Ask mommy to take you to the zoo.

You'll see all the wild animals.

It's true. You'll see them all.

It's the world's biggest zoo.
There are tigers this big.

Tigers?

-And what are those?
-Giraffes.

-Giraffes.
-Yes.

And those?

Elephants.

What's that called?

Horns.

No, tusks.

Take your shoes off.

I'm going to talk to mommy.

Be good.
I'll be right back.

Come on.

I'm leaving for Indochina.

I signed up.

I'll be paid more...
it's for the kids.

Please forgive me!

I didn't want to see you.

I just wanted to hug my kids.

I want to be with them a bit.
Come back in an hour. I'll be gone.

Jeanne,

I threw myself into the war

the way others jump off a cliff.

Death has spared me so far,

striking down others who wanted to go on living.

I expected nothing.
I was afraid of nothing.

Finally, life caught up with me.

We go from village to village.

Some we burn, others we liberate.

Kids run to us for safety,
not knowing if we're friend or foe.

Their innocence reminds me of my own children.

For their sake, I must stay alive.

Kiss them for me.

Louis.

Don't look at me that way.

I want to be alone.

With no one around...
not even you.

One day you'll understand.

You're not being nice.

You're not making it easy.

Your brother and sister go out and play.

Stay and watch both films.

Don't go outside during intermission.

I'll pick you up at 6 o'clock.

How long will this go on?

I'm sick of this mess!

That's enough.

Stop criticizing me.
I've done everything myself.

Getting the apartment,
the best school for the kids.

Has Louis written?

And the divorce?

Cut that out!

Did he mention the divorce?

Not a single word.
He avoided the subject.

He's stronger than we are.

He's miles away,
but he still runs my life.

You'll never leave him.

Help me.

Don't leave me.

Stay with me.

Look at me!

And what's this?

Let me see? A dog.

No, dogs are mean. It's a horse.

Honey...

What happened?
I told you to wait for me.

I have to hurry.
I left the twins with the concierge.

Alright. Sign here.

He's a good kid.

But he smells terrible.
He's filthy.

You could give him a bath from time to time.

Well, good-bye, ma'am.

I'm tired. Please leave me...

I'm not coming back.

Each time, we separate and then we wait.

A day of bliss, then weeks go by.

I don't want to be alone.

I'm always alone...

I waited so long for you.

I hoped for so much...

I wanted to have a child.

I love you, Jeanne.

But I know you won't be back.

It will be very simple.

We won't say anything.

You and your son will walk away.

I'll watch you go,

and then I'll leave.

It'll be so simple.

What can I say...

All we have to do is decide.

Come on, Antoine. Let's go home.

-Who's that man?
-No one...

No one at all.

Hello, Gisele.

Hi, kids.

Come on, harder.

Here. I'll do it.

A night battle near Haiphong...

I got shot in the back.

The Viets left me for dead.

The locals did their best to patch me up.

Shall we go?

Your husband's a real hero.

But no one realizes it.

Is he leaving again?

For Algeria this time.
His leave ends in a few days.

Who goes first?

-Me.
-You?

Let's go.

There. Your turn, Armelle.

Your turn, honey.

When will daddy get them?

In a few days. He's not far away.

Alright, let's go.

I have an errand to run.

Gisele will watch you.
She's over there.

Here, Laurent.

See you later.

Life went on.

Jeanne had other lovers, Louis fought in other wars.

Then one Christmas, Jeanne became violently ill while reading the paper.

She couldn't breathe.

One month later, she was dead.

She had slowly suffocated to death.

This was all she had when she came in.

The doctors couldn't save her.
No cause of death was given.

Industrialist Mathias Behrens Dies

That day, Louis wondered if
it wasn't love that killed Jeanne.

Jeanne died over 20 years ago.

This film is for her.