Original subtitles

The Beautiful Troublemaker Divertimento

with

and the hand of painter

inspired by a novel by Balzac

That day, a Monday in early July, between 3 and 4 p.m.

Everything all right?

Fine. We'll come down.

No hurry, I'll have a coffee.

Is Marianne alright?

I'm fine.

Should I change?

No, don't bother.

Do we go by car?

No, it's almost next door.

You can't miss the place.

Are you keen to get there?

No, it's Nicolas who's so excited.

Don't exaggerate.

I'm understating.

How did you get here from Montpellier?

By taxi.

It's the only way.

Are you cross, Marianne?

I'm jealous.

Nicolas is more interested in Frenhofer than he is in me.

Is he really a genius?

I couldn't find a book about him.

There was one in '74 It's out of print.

When was his last exhibition?

Before you were born, dear lady.

I wonder how one can live here.

Very well, I assure you.

I'll buy an even bigger place, after my next show.

I'd never live in it.

You'll change your mind.

Maybe they can't hear us.

They can.

I expect they're...

Magali, how you've grown.

Do you know where Monsieur and Madame are?

No, Mr. Porbus, but I must catch Justine or she'll eat the hydrangeas.

Excuse me. I'm helping Francoise make the flan.

Have you walked up from the inn?

You must be gasping for a drink.

Anything, as long as it's cold.

What about Frenhofer?

Marianne, come and see.

Where can he be?

Maybe he doesn't want to meet us.

The chimera room,

my favorite, because it serves no purpose.

It's beautiful.

Very impressive.

Are there phantoms here?

No, only Frenhofer and me.

It's not exactly ghost country.

Incidentally,

what have you done with Edouard?

He vanished after lunch.

It's strange.

Won't it be nicer outdoors?

Can Magali stay longer?

She has her dancing lesson.

Have you seen Monsieur?

No, Madame. Maybe he's in the studio.

He's forgotten about us.

Yes, if he's thinking of something.

But, happily, he thinks of little.

Maybe we're intruding.

Not at all.

You've caught her?

By the way, Balthazar,

I've been given a soap containing arsenic,

against vermin. Will it affect me?

What have you used till now?

DDT, mixed with soap.

About time.

Give that to your mother,

and put that on my desk, please.

What day is it?

Monday.

I completely forgot about you.

It's incredible.

Marianne

You know Nicolas?

Completely forgot, incredible.

Shameful, you mean.

How hot it is.

Let's not sit moping.

I know why you have come.

At least it's cool inside.

Something odd is happening, Nicolas, I swear it.

One of these days I'll put a panoramic map here and a telescope.

With a slot for ten franc coins.

Fifteen minutes to admire the view.

Who cares about landscapes, eh, Nicolas?

Go ahead, I can see you're quivering with impatience.

It's like a church.

It's an old barn.

The stables were underneath.

What work you could do in such a studio, eh, Nicolas?

I've hardly set foot here in months.

You've become atrociously lazy.

You know why I forgot you were coming?

Because I'm afraid of you.

Don't be offended.

Liz and I have achieved a state of perfect stability,

even happiness.

You arrive, and unhappiness begins.

Frenho, you're dotty.

Nothing personal, but for all of us the irrevocable has happened.

Were you drinking at Roussel's?

You bring us trouble, upset. You, too, will be unhappy.

I admire your work.

You yourself invited me here.

Of course.

You want to see and to know.

You're more interested in my painting than you are in me.

Anything new?

Not for you, you old rogue.

The oldest are there

and upstairs.

But it's all a mess.

Want to go upstairs? It's nicer.

That one's extraordinary.

Not bad, but it's nothing.

No blood... when I see it through, there's blood on the canvas.

A slight exaggeration?

No, there's blood on La Belle Noiseuse.

What's La Belle Noiseuse?

You haven't mentioned it for years.

It escaped me.

I like that one, too.

Can we see La Belle Noiseuse?

It doesn't exist. It's a project.

It does exist.

It must be here.

Why call it La Belle Noiseuse?

A seventeenth century courtesan was known as that.

Catherine Lescault - she led a wild life.

Reading about her, I wanted to do the painting

just like that.

At three in the morning. I couldn't sleep.

Because of me.

It was all your fault.

Me?

La Belle Noiseuse is you.

What does noiseuse mean?

A troublemaker.

You know,

When I was little, we lived in Quebec. They still use the word.

Yes, a ball-breaker.

- So the painting exists. - No, it doesn't!

I wouldn't stay with Nicolas if he gave up.

You love him?

Frenho, the way you ask questions, it's embarrassing.

It's a good sign, I'm interested.

Let's drink and be merry.

A good wine.

The Moriers are charming, too.

It's a shame the father threw his wife under an express train.

Afterward, he hanged himself

in the house up there.

The Duchess d'Uz�s...

am I saying it right?

She gave him the house.

All the twelve children...

went to agricultural college.

So you love Nicolas.

And he loves you, that's obvious.

Don't be upset, he's always like this.

I'm not upset, I'm listening.

Would you accept that he thought more of painting than of you?

You'd lose him for a painting?

Anyway,

if Nicolas doesn't see his work through I'll lose him,

I'll leave him

Why must one lose?

We seek the truth in painting. Truth is cruel.

Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble, you haven't lost me.

Nearly.

I know what to do.

Where are my glasses?

I know,

I left them in the studio.

I'll fetch them.

I'll come too.

May I lean on you, Nicolas?

My legs are jelly.

There they are.

We ought to go back to the ladies.

Haven't you a pick-me-up here?

You're thinking of staying the night?

No, someone's expecting me.

Anyway, I feel better now.

I don't want to stay here. It was difficult even to come.

When I see a recent painting,

the suffering is unbearable.

At least it's cool here.

And the silence...

Silence?

Can't you hear the forest?

A constant sound, a murmur.

That's why I've settled here.

It's like the sea.

It's like the sea.

Like the fossil sound of the universe,

the sound of our origins.

A mixture of forest and sea,

that's painting.

Don't you agree?

No, it's not that for me.

Painting is strokes.

A cutting color.

A cadmium yellow,

an exploding red,

something in itself, complete.

Whenever I felt I'd seen a painting through

I felt it needed extra effort.

I should go farther,

run the risk.

In doing that, don't you ever end up destroying a painting?

Of course, several times.

You must run risks.

But not everyone is able to run risks,

to invent.

May I ask

what you did before you met your husband?

I wanted to be an architect,

but I lacked the gift.

Why?

Because,

I thought that...

It can't be easy to live with such a man.

It's unbearable

but as I'm awkward, too, we get by.

And I couldn't live otherwise.

You've no other ideas?

No, my idea is to live with him.

It's not so easy.

But I do odds and ends.

I don't want odds and ends.

Won't you have some cake?

Nicolas has changed since his first exhibition.

I must defend myself.

I felt that he was the most vulnerable.

Anyway, we'll both fight sooner or later.

I know that.

I feel it.

I understand.

I know.

He's won the battle.

No one wins.

You lick your wounds

and make peace.

The armistice is firm.

It's concrete.

Start painting again.

I've lost patience.

It doesn't interest me.

It's a masterpiece or nothing.

Why not repaint La Belle Noiseuse?

It's impossible.

It was Liz...

Now it's too late.

Courting one disaster was enough.

Why not Marianne?

True, Marianne might be possible.

More than possible...

it's her.

You want Marianne to model for you?

Why not?

It could be interesting to try.

When are you leaving?

In a couple of days, I thought,

but nothing's fixed.

Well then, don't hurry.

All right,

She'll model for you.

Well, I must be off.

I've a long way to go.

But I want to see the painting when it's finished.

And I'll buy it,

at market price.

A gentleman's agreement.

Why did he say "until tomorrow"?

Will we be seeing him tomorrow?

I thought you'd like to pose for him.

What is all this?

He asked me if you'd model for him.

And you agreed?

Your herb tea.

A rendez-vous with Marianne tomorrow?

Rendez-vous is hardly the word.

They're nice, that young couple,

they have something.

Yes, they're nice.

Is he very gifted?

Rather,

and very dedicated.

He's almost made me think of beginning again.

Well, both of them have given me the idea.

It's a long time since...

I think I ought to try again.

I'm sick of self-portraits.

Why not?

It's a good idea.

I'll paint...

her.

I thought as much.

Explain what?

How I ought to model?

Nude, I'm sure.

I've seen his paintings.

It's not that.

No, but don't play the innocent.

You've sold my body, Nicolas.

Listen,

what he wants for you is much more than a simple portrait.

Even if it's the ultimate masterpiece, you have no right to speak for me.

It is the ultimate masterpiece.

Well, maybe.

It's La Belle Noiseuse.

It's a project he abandoned ten years ago.

What do i care?

Your Frenhofer is ridiculous.

Truth in painting, truth is cruel.

Blood on the canvas.

And you go along with it. Pathetic.

Look at me.

Shit!

Let's talk about it tomorrow.

Switch off the light.

I've an appointment with Monsieur Frenhofer.

We could start with...

but it doesn't matter.

We could start anywhere.

Sit on the stool.

Sit straight...

Your arms...

Look straight at me.

Is Madame Frenhofer at home?

Yes, come with me.

The mask is because I'm allergic to lions' skin.

I was afraid it was the police.

I have protected species.

I risk prison.

And I'm involving Magali, a minor.

Marianne's with your husband?

Of course.

Magali, go and help your mother now.

Please hold the wing.

More open.

This is going to be difficult.

Is it long since Frenhofer...

Have others modeled for him since you?

No,

this is the first time in years.

You're quite white,

even green.

Don't worry, Frenho is a gentleman.

Have no fear.

It's not fear,

but I don't know what to do.

There's nothing to do.

It's too late to ask if you're going to be hurt.

Let go of the wing, or you'll spoil it.

What's the matter with you?

I've also got a little bump from yesterday.

How long will they be painting?

I don't know.

Maybe all day.

Maybe five minutes.

How long does it take you?

I work from photographs.

Had you known him before

you first modelled for him?

No,

I modelled to pay for my studies.

He was so attractive, I fell at once.

Literally, I mean.

I knocked over the stool, the chair, the paints...

He helped me get up, so...

I met Marianne on the Metro

three years ago.

She really was on the point of throwing herself under a train.

We've not parted since.

How very romantic.

Did he realize what he was saying

when he asked if Marianne would lose me for a painting?

No, he talks without rhyme or reason,

Didn't you notice?

Without rhyme or reason.

Without rhyme or reason.

You'll find a dressing gown

behind the curtain.

A step forward.

Throw aside the stool.

Would you mind placing your hands behind your back?

I never thought you'd come.

I've got pins and needles.

We'll stop.

It's best anyway.

I've done nothing worthwhile,

only rubbish

It's over?

Goodbye, then.

Maybe we'll meet in Paris someday.

Paris? Here, tomorrow.

I thought...

Because it hasn't gone well?

I'm as uneasy as you are.

Much more,

I'm paralysed.

Ten o'clock tomorrow morning?

Too early?

Didn't it go well?

Lovely. A nightmare for nothing.

What did he say?

He thinks that's fine.

Did he ask you to come back?

Yes, but I'm not cut out for such things.

Please, Marianne,

do try.

It's so important for him.

I know it is.

Come back tomorrow.

I don't know why he needs me so.

He's made a mistake.

It's a waste of time.

No, I was sure of it at once.

You'll find it interesting too.

You'll see.

I'll see you out.

You went for a walk?

Have you been back long?

Only five minutes.

Did it go well?

Better than that.

In what way?

He's a magician. He saw the essence in the first moment.

What happened to me is unique.

You're saying that to annoy me.

If truth annoys you.

Is he finished?

Are you joking? I'm going back tomorrow.

At ten.

No sugar.

Take off your necklace.

I feel like a beginner with you. I'll do it like an art student.

I'll start with the back, to see

your posture.

Turn around.

Hands on hips.

Shall I put my hair up?

Just bind it.

Stand up straight.

You've never been taught to walk with a sewing machine on your head?

Straight, as if you were stretched to the ceiling.

It hurts.

That's good, then.

Want some?

I could eat ten of them.

I don't much like ham.

Do you know Rubeck,

the sculptor?

He died some years ago,

in an avalanche

In Norway with his sole model.

Never heard of him.

He did a few good things

in marble.

A Resurrection in particular.

He could have been great.

It's a pity.

You get stuck inside what you're searching for.

Possession,

they're all after a possession.

They don't know it's impossible.

Giving up everything...

that's what's frightening.

Rubeck and Irene...

A strange girl.

Slightly crazy.

I knew her before he did.

This way you look a bit like her.

I painted her in just that pose.

One of my first canvasses.

Their death was upsetting.

I've forgotten almost all the models before Liz.

There were so many.

I picked them up in the street.

Every time a torture.

Did they agree?

Almost all.

You look sad.

Because of your boyfriend?

I haven't got a boyfriend.

What about Joseph Pegouille?

I don't see him now. Anyway, he's gone.

Gone far?

To Saint-Vincent.

At least three kilometers away.

Are you crying?

No, the stuff hurts my eyes.

Hold up the perch.

You know, once,

I was really very upset.

What for?

Nothing important.

My lover...

Monsieur Frenhofer?

No, I was your age.

I made a figure out of modelling clay.

I put a lock of my lover's hair on it and I stuck needles into it.

After thirty-three needles,

I felt completely better.

What about him?

No idea,

but I'm sure he died when he was thirty-three.

Like Jesus Christ.

Yes, but the wretch was no Jesus.

Do you like it?

What was her name?

Florence.

I kept her for a long time

because of her manner.

A provocative indifference, almost insulting.

Nude, she seemed dressed.

Dressed, she seemed nude.

Quite the opposite of Liz.

Did you pick up Liz in the street?

No.

In a cafe near the Odeon.

Her back was bare,

it was April

it rained cats and dogs.

Her teeth were chattering.

I put my jacket over her shoulders.

She said...

I want to smoke.

Later.

What did Liz say?

Her first words.

She modelled to earn money.

I love such coincidences. If it was, she never tells.

The fingers straight.

Anyway, I wanted her before I wanted to paint her.

For the first time, I was scared.

Fear became the driving force of what I did.

A change of speed...

I became blind,

a tactile painter.

As though my hands could see, commanding themselves.

That's what I seek.

That's what I want.

Perhaps that's when I became a real painter.

But why?

Why haven't I gone on?

I'd have died of it.

Or she...

Anyway...

Shall we go on?

Have I slept long?

An eternity of fifteen minutes.

I dreamt that...

a huge, black, wild cat was eating my finger, clinging to it.

Sorry,

I didn't see you.

I should apologize.

It's Edouard who...

I didn't say to turn your head.

Can you see something?

I think so.

Is it really what you want?

I can't stay. Francoise needs me.

I'm going now.

Did you ask her to come?

Never you mind.

Why?

Now what?

Why did you abandon it?

Abandon what?

The painting of Liz.

What's it to you?

Liz isn't you.

It's that painting that you are starting again.

I never start again.

I'm entitled to know why I'm naked in front of you.

I need you.

Why me?

Why me?

Because it's Liz...

You want to know everything at once...

before anyone else...

before things happen.

You don't know

until after.

Even then...

What am I for?

Because you've said that it's not me you want to paint.

It's you

and not you.

It's more than you.

More than you can imagine.

If the painting is true,

it will be you.

I don't understand.

Neither do I,

just as well.

But I have to know.

Know... understand...

No one really knows. No one.

Even the strong.

I'm strong.

I think.

We'll see.

You've been trying to make me run away

since the beginning.

No, only to fight.

We must both be strong to the end.

I'm beginning to see you.

I'm beginning.

Julienne, when I say I can't come back, it's because I can't.

I'd rather you went and saw him at the gallery. He likes you.

Tell him anything.

We'll make photographs next week.

Things are how they are.

Marianne is living her life, and that's it.

All I ask is that you see to the catalogue, alright?

I kiss you.

You want to stop?

I think it would be best.

Something wrong?

Something could be made of it all.

But not by me.

I thought a miracle had been triggered

for a moment or two.

But no.

I've done all that a hundred times.

I can do it again, a little better, a little worse.

But what for?

I'd rather die.

You stopped too soon.

You stopped too soon.

You are telling me?

You tell me to fight.

If you stop, I'll think it's my fault.

No, it's my talk that has turned your head, it's all I can do now.

Enough.

I count in this, too.

You just hurt me so much

that I could hardly breathe.

Neither could you.

Something has happened.

We should go farther.

Farther.

The point of no return.

That's what I can't reach anymore.

Better forget it.

Whatever you say, you've forced me to go ahead with you.

You can't leave me in the void now.

You're afraid,

but I'm not.

I'll be here tomorrow at ten.

Are you sure she was angry when she left?

That seems to please you.

I thought you wanted her to model for Frenhofer.

I thought you wanted to see the painting.

I've changed my mind.

I want to see Marianne herself

and leave as soon as possible.

Don't be in such a hurry.

Why say that?

I know how it goes.

If Frenho takes it into his head to...

You've come to fetch me?

We're leaving.

No, Nicolas.

- I thought... - You were mistaken.

But I must return to Paris.

Do as you wish, but I'm staying.

See you tomorrow, Liz.

Enough.

Let's go to bed.

She seemed very determined today.

Yes, she's taken it to heart.

I wonder why.

You do, do you?

It's you who've sent her up and won.

Up and down in every sense.

In every sense...

Let's not exaggerate.

We've worked hard.

I noticed...

Don't run away.

I'm not. I'm tired.

It's ages since you worked like this.

It must be something important.

What does important mean?

You know very well.

Is this it?

I don't know.

I think

you're playing with the girl, you don't care about the danger.

Such words. You make a drama of everything.

Sometimes you're an unbearable coward.

Sometimes you make me sick.

No hurry.

I think Edouard's still asleep.

I'll wait in the studio. Tell him I'm there.

Be careful.

Careful of what?

Frenhofer puts his work above all.

That can play havoc with people.

Thanks.

I'll try to defend myself.

If he wants to paint your face,

refuse.

No.

Sorry, but no.

Want some coffee?

No thanks. I had breakfast at the hotel.

I ate two croissants.

No doubt you'd be just as interested if I said I'd shit.

I find you altogether interesting, no need to...

Look me in the face.

It's the one thing you haven't done.

Help me.

The way you work is your business.

Let me be myself.

Let me find my own place,

my own movement,

my own time.

If that's no good, we'll stop.

When I came here the first time

I thought of my boarding school.

I felt very bad there

and also very well.

Because everything was forbidden.

I was ill all the time...

Every morning, I wanted to stay...

like this.

Terrible fevers.

Like this.

Where are you?

I'm here,

listening, watching you.

In the end they threw me out.

So why do I want to go on with you?

Perhaps because it's different.

The fever has returned, all right.

All night,

like before Nicolas.

Nightmares.

Hasn't Nicolas helped you?

Nicolas hates me.

He's sure I'm crazy for you.

He's an idiot.

An idiot and a wretch,

but an idiot above all.

No, a wretch above all...

I don't know.

Anyway, it's all his fault.

Mine, too, a little.

He needed a pretext.

It's untrue. I'm unfair.

I think he's proud to count for something in a work by Frenhofer.

He never thought

he might screw it up.

But he's no reason to.

Stop pretending.

Like a cat with a bird.

What's the matter?

Nothing, go on.

With what?

I'm telling you how my life's come to a halt.

It's all over with Nicolas and me.

And I don't even know why.

He's the only man I could live with.

I spit in the faces of all the others.

How violent.

Go on,

mock me.

I don't know how things are with you and Liz,

but Nicolas...

None of your business.

Why have you moved? That was the gesture, the look...

I've almost finished. It's a rook.

Dear, delicious crow.

And the famous poison...

Fear not. I keep it...

because it's old. I think that's nice.

A mallard.

Just like a painting by Oudry.

There's one like it in the Mus�e Fabre

in Montpellier.

The head lowered.

Animals pose, too.

Do you know how things are with Frenho?

In what way?

You know he'll take up La Noiseuse again?

With that girl.

He told you?

It's the best thing that could happen.

I don't know

He suffered so much the first time.

You can't always protect yourself.

How comforting.

It's easy enough for you.

You come when it's all over to pick up the pieces.

Except when it's me who ends up on my face.

Yes, at dinner the other evening.

You know very well what I mean.

Let bygones be bygones, Balto.

Don't call me Balto. There's no more Balto.

What's he said about the painting?

Have you seen it?

I've seen something.

What?

I hate you.

You've only come to find out

how he's getting on.

A friendly visit...

you hypocrite.

Stop.

I could merely have phoned.

You know how I wanted to see you.

Why not stay for dinner, then?

I don't want to see Edouard until he's finished.

And I must go to Grenoble.

Do you think he's doing well?

Clear off, or I'll stuff you.

As you please.

You say that, because

you think you'll be disappointed when I finish.

Me? No.

I've lost all notion of time.

I feel I'm in a cavern.

No rain, no sun,

no cold, heat or wind.

There's just a flickering light

somewhere far away.

I'll be here on Saturday, come what may.

I hope Edouard can show me something.

Tell him yourself.

Excuse me, are you Monsieur Frenhofer?

I'm Balthazar Porbus.

He's not here, but that is Madame Frenhofer.

You want to speak to my husband?

No, I'm looking for Nicolas Wartel.

Do you know where I can find him?

I think he's staying at the inn.

I'm Julienne, his sister.

Moved? I moved?

You think I moved? It's my fault?

Yes, you moved just a little.

Resume your pose. As for me,

I was right here.

You think I wasn't right here?

Just show me where I was, then.

A little that way.

Stop moving. I don't know where I was.

Be serious... This is work, you know.

Where were you?

Here, where do you think? Keep still, or I'll get cross.

Has there been a call for me?

You're incredible.

I thought you'd be sulking

but you wouldn't mind seeing me.

You're right.

It's fixed with the gallery.

To hell with it.

Tell me all about it.

You can take a rest.

I want to sleep.

May I?

Not here,

but you can easily sleep at the house.

There are guest rooms.

I'll phone, then.

She's spending the night there.

Don't bother.

It may be cold tonight.

That's pretty.

Pretty things inside, too.

This will suit you.

I don't like jewelry.

You've never worn one like it.

Try it.

Stop turning me around like that. I'm not a doll.

Sorry, I don't know what came over me.

Never mind.

They were imitation.

Aren't you coming?

Not at the moment.

Where are you going?

To the studio. Don't wait for me.

Coffee.

I came to the studio.

I saw it.

I know.

I'm sorry.

When you weren't here...

Don't make excuses.

It's bothering you.

It's a work in progress and I dislike...

I know.

But can I ask you one thing?

Since when has a work in progress

made you destroy another work in progress?

It wasn't...

It was old, yes.

It was abandoned

but it was my face

and I liked it.

You effaced me.

It wasn't you I effaced, Liz.

How to put it, then.

You replaced me.

Replaced my face with buttocks.

May I have coffee?

I couldn't do otherwise.

I couldn't progress if I kept memories, regrets.

And believe it or not, it hurt me.

I'm sure

you spent an awful night.

Very uncomfortable, in every way.

You expect me to make a jealous outburst.

No.

But it's ten years

since you began that painting you've botched.

Remember.

We never left the studio, not for a week.

We slept on the little mattress.

There was no day,

no night.

Remember?

Just the sort of memories I don't want to have now.

Then you were full of ideas, full of energy.

You know what I thought when I saw you asleep there this morning?

I don't want to know.

I'll tell you anyway.

No, you're right.

I won't tell you.

It looks more and more like you.

Don't you realize,

it's ten years since you stopped.

At the moment you should have seen it through,

you funked it.

I was ready to go on,

to accept anything

Because we were even stronger than before.

Stronger than before Balthazar, you mean.

Never mind Porbus.

He suffered more than you. He suffers still.

I'm talking of you and me.

What you've done has diminished both of us,

made us sick of each other.

You've no right to say that.

Why not?

Because we've had a fine life together?

Happiness, as you have said.

But happiness at such a price

is sad.

You're sad, Frenho.

Look at yourself.

That's what you thought this morning?

No, not that.

You're sad because you're no longer young.

You're exhausted.

When you began that picture ten years ago,

it was the start of an adventure.

Now it's not a new start,

it's the end.

You say that so coldly.

How ought I say it?

You've lied for ten years: it's easy to go on. Go on if you wish.

Stop!

It's cruel.

That's how I am.

Cruel.

Have you only just noticed?

Don't lose this tension,

the way you're tense now.

Look at me.

Lower your hand.

Turn your face.

No, look at me.

Raise your hand.

Turn it.

It's quite different.

No, it's more precise.

Are you looking for something,

something you've seen?

Possibly.

Frenho may be finishing the painting.

It would be best if Marianne didn't see it

when it's finished.

That's what he told me.

Why not?

It's not a question of life or death.

Why not?

When you're drowning, your life flashes past,

all forgotten memories. In a fraction of a second.

Is it possible to capture an entire life

in a painting

with a few strokes of paint?

It seems incredible, but

that's what Frenhofer searched for.

You mean that it is a shameless thing.

Yes, shameless.

It's not the body that's shameless,

not nudity.

It's something else.

Is it finished?

Perhaps.

May I look at it now?

It's finished?

You'll tell me.

What are you doing here?

Where's Nicolas?

He's out. He's not feeling well.

Just as well.

Tell him I'm leaving.

Without speaking to Nicolas?

Julienne, you're not his wife. I've put up with you

but keep out of my affairs now. Nicolas will survive without me.

Shut up!

Do you think I've suffered you for fun?

I dared not come home too early, in case you were doing it.

I had to find a way out.

My way out was to get out.

I suffered. And you're not going to leave Nicolas just like this.

I don't love him enough to stay.

You're selfish.

That's not true.

I must go quickly, before everyone else finds out.

What do you care about everyone?

That's fantasy.

It's not fantasy.

I've seen it.

A cold

and dry thing.

It was me.

I don't know what you're talking about, but you're not leaving like this.

I can't...

Have a rest.

Stay the night, at least.

"Tomorrow's another day."

I'm exhausted.

Sleep in my room, if you like.

I'll speak to Nicolas.

You sneaked out?

I waited till mother was asleep.

But she might go sleepwalking.

How beautiful.

It's the young lady?

We're not the same age, but I'll share a secret.

Can you keep a secret?

Hold it.

Hold tight.

Is this the secret?

It's like Joseph's letters.

I've put them in a shoe box.

I've hidden them in the greenhouse, behind the old watering cans.

When it rains, I like to go there

and read them again.

It smells nice there in the rain.

Yes, but this, whether it rains or not,

you must never look at.

The secret, our secret

is that you've never seen this painting. It doesn't exist.

Got that?

Yes, Monsieur Frenhofer.

How long should I keep it?

Forever. Even when I'm gone.

A smaller brick.

Well, here we are.

This isn't the most pleasant moment for me.

I don't like something being finished.

You may expect something else, Marianne.

I, too, in a sense.

A finished painting is rather like a newborn child.

It will take time to know how it will turn out.

But I haven't time.

It's my first posthumous painting.

It's even more valuable.

You've done a very fine thing.

The painting?

I mean the real painting.

And also

what you've done...

I hoped to amaze you.

You always amaze me, Frenho.

I'm afraid.

I've packed.

Better leave early to avoid the rush.

We could make a detour through Spain.

Your brother has an extraordinary talent.

He says he owes much to you.

But I haven't dared to tell him of my great friendship.

Someone of such modesty...

We've hardly met, you and I.

I'd love us to have dinner one day... with him.

I'd like to ask a question.

When you say you seek the truth in a painting,

is it always true?

You ask as friend or foe?

I think a painter has no foes

except for bad paintings.

How shall I take that?

As you wish.

I'll always admire you

but feel sorry for you, too.

I don't want to end like you, in a pretence.

Stay as you are.

I like you.

I didn't believe you when you tried to warn me.

Never mind.

You see, I was needlessly afraid.

No, you were right.

I was unaware. Now I'm not.

That's what I wanted to say.

I'm lost for words.

In painting, words count for nothing.

You're right.

Let's talk figures.

Edoaurd Frenhofer's drawings and paintings were by