Original subtitles

TWO ENGLISH GIRLS

- Last night I reIived our story. Some day I'II write it.

MurieI thinks it might heIp others.

[chiIdren cheering]

[chiIdren screaming]

- Mother... - WeII, Claude?

- I was waiting for you. - Can't you introduce yourseIf?

- How'd you do? I am Claude. You are?

-Anne Brown. - Mother's spoken of you.

-And of you, too.

- Do you Iike Paris? -Yes, I find that...

Paris is... I Iike the Parisians.

-And the EngIish?

- They're Iess IiveIy, Iess open...

but IogicaI and imaginative in theirway.

- You're not shocked by the French?

- Not shocked, but surprised.

They Iie more than we do...

but once you know the odds, it's fine.

- So you've met? - Yes, thank you.

-Apity that CIaude...

isn't weII enough to show you Paris.

But come see us often.

- Thank you, Ma'am.

- You two shouId speak EngIish.

Claude needs the practice.

- She raised her veiI. CIaude thought of chaste and pIeasing nudity.

He noted in his diary...

that she was his age and seemed sensitive yet sensibIe.

Their mothers had been chiIdhood friends.

Anne visited CIaude often.

They exchanged books and ideas with the ease of oId friends.

Anne wanted to be a scuIptress.

She ''discovered'' Rodin, then unknown in EngIand.

Anne spoke of a sister, MurieI... 2 years younger...

She found a photo of MurieI, aged ten...

Round face, prim mouth, cIear brow...

and a shy, untamed Iook.

''Come see her,''Anne said.

''I'd Iike to hear you two taIk.''

- You don't need that anymore. Give it to me.

- So CIaude went to visit the Browns in WaIes.

His mother raised no objections.

[foghom sounding]

[seabirds cawing]

- Oh, my goodness! Sign it, Mr FIint, it's ridicuIous!

- No, no, no, I don't want to sign. After aII, the thief's need

is probabIy greater than mine.

- We don't know that! - It seems so.

-Anne!

- Claude! Bonjour!

Mother, can I take him to the house? - Yes, do.

That's the young Frenchman who's come to stay.

Now, about this...

- Bonjour, CIaude. -Bonjour, Anne. What's going on?

- It's our neighbour, Mr FIint.

His boat was stoIen today.

He refuses to sign a compIaint.

He says the thief's need is greater.

-AdmirabIe!

-Arare attitude around here.

I'II show you the house.

I share this room with MurieI.

And that's our mother's room.

Here's your room. - Very nice.

- I'II heIp you. - Very pretty.

- Unpack... you'II meet Mother Iater.

You'II see MurieI tonight.

- CIaude feIt Mrs Brown's reserve.

Anne had taIked about him,

but Mrs Brown wouId judge for herseIf.

- Claude, do you Iike it? - Yes, it's very good, Madame.

- MurieI did not join them. She'd strained her eyes.

They ate aImost in siIence.

CIaude stared at the empty chair... MurieI's chair.

The next day they took easeIs and went to the cIiff to paint.

- What a pity MurieI can't be here!

- Yes?

- Claude, dinner's ready. - I'm coming.

- MurieI's dining with us...

but don't Iook at her yet.

-Ah? Okay.

- MurieI, this is Claude.

Claude, this is MurieI.

- Bonsoir. - Bonsoir, MademoiseIIe.

-Anne's spoken of you. -And about you, too.

- Forwhat we're about to receive, may the Lord make us truIy thankfuI.

[aII]: Amen.

- Monsieur Claude?

- Yes?

- Good trip? - Fine. I wasn't even seasick.

- ''I wasn't even seasick!'' You sounded Iike a IittIe boy.

As a chiId, MurieI wouId come from the dentist...

and we'd ask if it hurt. She'd say,

''No, and I didn't even cry.''

- Dear Mother... I finaIIy met MurieI.

She's smaIIer than Anne, with red hair.

Her eyes are bandaged.

She Iifts one edge to see her pIate.

Her voice is Iow and husky.

It matches her shy, untamed Iook.

Her hands are soft to Iook at.

- I think I'd Iike marigoIds aIong here, Mr FIint.

- That wouId be very charming.

- The onIy thing is, I don't know where to get it.

- WeII, next time I'm out to London, I'd be deIighted to get you some seed.

- WouId you? Thank you. - My pIeasure. No troubIe at aII.

- I thought I might put some roses aIong with that.

- Yes, I think that wouId be very good.

- They're aIways nice to cut for the house, aren't they?

I think the breeze is dying down.

- Yes, it's a beautifuI evening.

- Good afternoon, Mr. FIint. -Ah!

Good afternoon, Claude.

- How do you do, Mr. FIint?

- Goodbye. - Goodbye, Mrs Brown.

- Goodbye, Mr FIint. -Au revoir, CIaude.

- Have Anne and MurieI deserted you?

-Anne's working and MurieI was tired...

so I went for a waIk.

- MurieI's being most unreasonabIe.

- CIaude found a book in his room...

an anonymous gift.

''Eureka'' by Edgar AIIan Poe.

[pebbIes hitting window]

- Claude!

Claude? -Anne?

- May I see you? - I'II be right there.

- I want to taIk as we did in Paris.

I don't know how to teII you this...

- Just say it.

- It seems I brought you here for nothing.

Mother's angry with MurieI, it spoiIs everything.

- I hadn't noticed.

- MurieI damaged her eyes working at night for her professor...

on a book, I think.

Mother says she shouId've asked her...

that she mustn't hide things.

MurieI admits she's at fauIt,

but says you have to take risks in Iife...

and shouIdn't aIways have to consuIt your mother.

The entire househoId is upset.

And aIso...

- She didn't go on. CIaude wanted to take her hand.

He imagined her distant voice saying...

''And aIso... kiss me.''

He tried to erase this frivoIous thought.

- Claude...

You haven't toId me.

How do you Iike MurieI?

- I don't know her yet. When I see her eyes...

- When you do, everything wiII change.

- ''ResoIutions.

''FirstIy with Mother.

''Try to avoid discussions and arguments

''and show her more affection.

''SecondIy,

''with my sister.

''I won't be jeaIous.

''ThirdIy,

''with Claude.

''I won't make him think I'm better than I am.

''LastIy,

I mustn't tire my eyes.''

- 'Who muddies my water, who makes so boId?'

- Water. My water. - My water.

'GrowIed the woIf, stern and coId'.

- GrowIed the woIf, stem and coId. - Stern and coId.

'You'II be punished for this feat!'

-You'II be punished for this feat!

- Feat!

'Sire,' the Iamb did bIeat...

'I pray Your Majesty, caIm your rage.'

- I pray, Your Majesty, caIm your rage. - CaIm your rage.

'Consider that I assuage my thirst...'

-Anne! Claude! Are you coming down?!

- Yes, we're coming down now!

- The 3 became inseparabIe.

CIaude Iiked their Iack of vanity... They never spoke iII of anyone.

MurieI now wore dark gIasses. Her expression was stiII hidden.

She took up tennis again. She was quick and suppIe.

WaIking home, Anne went ahead, hips swinging.

Mrs Brown had made the girIs read...

''Les MiserabIes'' in EngIish.

Anne couId quote VerIaine. MurieI, onIy the BibIe.

CIaude attacked MurieI on this point.

He persisted then grew uneasy.

- Did I shock you? - On the contrary, I'm gratefuI.

You taIk a Iot but we need shaking up.

You heIp me to think. I'm sIow...

We must go in.

- Dear Mother, I begin to know MurieI.

She's not yet as Anne described her,

but she's convaIescing.

My adopted sisters caII me ''The Continent, '' which sounds wrong.

I prefer their ''Bonjour Ia France!''

-Afireman. - No, it isn't.

- Tightrope waIker.

-An expIorer. - Bird watcher.

-An astronomer. -Awoodcutter.

- No, it isn't.

-Ashortsighted man. - I know, it's a saiIor. A saiIor.

-Yes, it is. [aII]: Ah!

-Ah, Mr Claude, you must pay a forfeit.

-Aforfeit, Mr FIint? - Yes. ExpIain.

-Aforfeit. �a veut dire un gage.

- Mr FIint. -Yes.

- How about a nun's kiss? - Oh, what a briIIiant idea!

Dear Mrs Brown, may I borrow this chairfor a moment?

- Oh,yes. - Thank you so much.

Young man, you must kneeI by the chair

and kiss Anne through the bars of the chair.

[giggIing]

[gentIe Iaughter]

[Iaughter]

-Ah, tr�s bien. -Yes.

- CarefuI now.

- Very good. Your turn.

- One, two... three!

- They pIayed siIIy games... CIaude aIways Iost.

He toId them

that suicide wasn't a crime in France.

''AII France wouId be in jaiI, since everyone has tried it.''

''Even you?'' ''Yes, of course.''

He wouId teII aII, after changing pIaces.

- I'd rather not be between you.

I Iike to be abIe to Iook at you.

I was 15 when I decided to die.

I Iocked my bedroom door...

and put an aIcohoI burner under my bed.

I Iit it and then Iay down...

caImIy.

I took a razor...

and carefuIIy sIit my wrists.

The bIood spurted out...

I fainted... and woke up

in my mother's bed.

My wrists were bandaged and Mother sat near me.

The doctorwas there, very stern.

The bed didn't burn weII...

and the cook saw smoke coming from under the door.

- Your mother?

- Never said a word.

- Good for her.

How taII was your buiIding?

- Six floors, I think.

- Nice funeraI pyre.

- You were dying for a dream...

but you couId've kiIIed...

chiIdren on the fIoors above.

- I didn't think.

- Now how do you Iike MurieI?

- She's perfect in herway.

- Is that aII?

So my Iightning-boIt didn't strike.

I'II have to Ieave you two aIone more often.

- Here she is...

- They came back...

on foot.

They stopped by a river fuII of torrents.

They decided the tumbIing water was Iike Anne...

the eddies Iike CIaude, the peacefuI pooIs Iike MurieI.

He feIt at home with them.

He wrote about them in his diary...

Watching them was better.

- I couId go on about them for pages.

I'd rather just watch them.

LittIe by IittIe... MurieI starts to be, as Anne predicted...

in ''first pIace.''

- We'II catch coId.

Anne, MurieI, I know, Iet's do what we did Iast year.

Oh, you know, the ''citron press�.''

- Oh, yes!

- Now, I'II go in the middIe. I'm so coId!

When I sit down...

Right. One, two, three...

Press.

- They Iaughed whiIe CIaude watched.

Mrs Brown was Iike a baII being pushed to and fro.

- Now, you come in the middIe.

- One, two...

three.

- SuddenIy he was a pawn in a strange game.

Squeezed between the girIs, he didn't dare breathe.

He'd never even touched their hands.

Now their suppIe backs thrust against him.

It was Iike an indiscretion.

Mrs Brown Iaughed... he saw she had once been pretty.

- WeII, that's enough. Let's go.

We have to get home. I'II have a cup of hot tea.

- We waIk across the fieId.

- Look, it's stopping. - Let's try, shaII we?

- ''...and they caIIed this game the citron press�.

''They're superior to the French girIs I know.

''They've become my sisters.

''What are they Iike?

''First... my sisterAnne.

''I Iend her books I Iike...

''she doesn't Iike them. We argue...

''Then she Iaughs and says she's just an ordinary girI.

''Anne considers MurieI far above her.

''MurieI's no prettier, she's different.

''When we cIimb the cIiffs...

''she's Iike an AngIo-mountaineer...''

AngIo-mountaineer?

''...swinging her hips vigorousIy.

''It couId seem provocative... but she is so pure.

MurieI... is purity.''

- He's in Iove with her.

- In love with whom? - With Mlle Muriel.

- In Iove with MurieI?

RidicuIous! He Ioves them both.

- Go on!

- Coming? - Not today.

- Come with us. - I'd rather not.

- I insist you come! - I insist I stay!

-Au revoir. -Au revoir, CIaude.

Have a nice waIk.

-Your EngIish won't improve.

You must taIk to other EngIish peopIe.

- I can onIy taIk to one at a time.

Once there are two... they get together and ignore me.

I find the EngIish argumentative...

disdainfuI, insensitive...

and unimaginative.

- WeII, you are spoiIed. You reaIIy are an onIy son.

You're French. And not in the best sense of the word.

-And you're bIunt and overconfident.

- You don't know Iife. -And you do?

- For instance Iove... physicaI Iove.

- The onIy Iove is true Iove.

- Which is physicaI Iove. - You taIk too much.

A continentaI gentIeman wouId notice...

that his isIander audience was tired.

- I'm not hungry.

- Say you were wrong. - We were wrong.

- Say ''I was wrong.''

I'II say it too. Look, I'm saying it.

I was wrong.

- I was wrong. - Rentrons.

- She Ied him aIong, as Anne had done.

The same situation, a month Iater.

The sisters were so aIike, yet so unIike...

he marveIIed that they treated him as a brother.

[humming ''EarIy One Morning'']

Oh don't deceive me

Oh never Ieave me

How couId you use

A poor maiden so

EarIy one morning

Just as the sun was rising

I heard a maid sing

In the vaIIey beIow

- Claude, do you have nothing to do? Do you want the girIs to come out?

- No, thank you. It's okay, Madame.

- Leave the ironing and take Claude for a waIk. He's bored.

- Can we? There's very IittIe Ieft.

Have you finished, MurieI? - No, I'm not going.

- He's your guest. You shouId entertain him.

- I want to stay! - Oh, come, MurieI, It's IoveIy outside.

- I don't know what's come over you. - I don't want to go!

I don't want to go!

- No, no. Go for a waIk.

- MurieI stayed in her room for the next 2 days.

CIaude didn't beIieve she was reaIIy iII.

Had he offended her somehow?

He couIdn't read, or think of anything eIse.

He thought of MurieI.

[cIinking]

- I heard you. You're not sick?

- I'm not sick, I just couIdn't sIeep.

I was thinking of you.

- You mustn't think of me.

- Why are you angry with me? What have I done?

- I'm not angry... I'm afraid.

-Afraid?

- Whenever I say I'm afraid, you aIways ask: ''Of what?''

Maybe ''afraid'' has another meaning in French.

- Even when I thought you were angry...

I couIdn't criticize you...

- You must criticize me!

Friends must criticize, not fIatter.

SpoiI me and you'II spoiI everything!

Goodnight, Claude.

Why do you touch me?

- Because you come from the earth... I Iike that.

- We must go to sIeep now.

We have some questions about...

You say it, Anne.

- But I don't know what...

- Yes, you do, remember?

- Of course...

- How mysterious!

- We're curious about... scarIet women.

- Good Lord!

WeII, I'II do my best to answer you.

- It's a recognized profession in France?

- It's under poIice supervision.

The girIs are examined monthIy.

- How horribIe!

- There are speciaI houses...

- You mean brotheIs?

- You know that word? - Oui.

- We had 6 near our miIitary camp.

- Did you go?

- I visited the one considered to be the best.

Officers, civiI servants and townsmen used it.

The stairs were screened to preserve privacy.

- Good idea. - Inside, it was impeccabIe.

The girIs, modestIy dressed.

I said I had come to taIk.

An attractive woman said...

''Fine, I'II caII Madame.'' - Madame?

- The woman in charge.

ApIump, respectabIe-Iooking brunette.

She had an anisette with me.

I praised herweII-run house. She thanked me.

I got her going on herwork.

She feIt part of the community...

as much as the mayor or the coIoneI...

both of whom were customers.

''We contribute to pubIic heaIth

and famiIy weII-being.

I don't aIIow disease or scandaI.''

-Aconscientious woman.

- She thought she pIayed a usefuI roIe?

-AbsoIuteIy. - IncredibIe!

But who are we to condemn her?

- One day maybe you can take us.

We want to see for ourseIves.

- Take you?... Yes, maybe.

Why not, in fact? - Tr�s bien.

- Our education gIosses over certain essentiaIs.

- For exampIe... I didn't understand ''virgin'' untiI I read GerminaI.

Do you agree?

- To choose between 2 things, you must know both.

I can't choose vice or virtue...

knowing onIy virtue.

-Anne thanked him...

''You shake us out of our compIacency.''

They bicycIed back home.

CIaude Iiked the back of MurieI's neck...

He couId stare at it unseen.

- Motherwants you.

- Me? - No, Claude.

-After dinner? - You'd better go now.

- Here is Claude. - Thank you, Anne.

I have two things to say...

The first is this...

I admire your mother.

She's my friend, she has great character.

Having Iost her husband even younger than I did...

she never remarried despite many chances.

The second thing is...

I've heard about a conversation here Iate at night.

LuckiIy it's thought Anne was there.

Anne teIIs me she was not there.

I trust my girIs and I know you're a gentIeman.

They have advanced ideas that I don't share.

The ideas have grown since you came.

They've expIained them.

Though I've tried, I can't approve.

These ideas Iead to a freedom of behaviour...

which has aroused comment.

From a pureIy practicaI standpoint...

a girl must do nothing to arouse comment.

Her reputation wiII suffer.

I asked Anne how she stood with you.

Had there been any hint...

of an incIination...

or intentions? She said no...

and I beIieve her.

I asked her about you and MurieI. She gave the same answer.

I pressed her... Je I'ai pouss�e.

She finaIIy said...

''I think MurieI and Claude...

have some feeIing for each other...

but they don't know it yet.''

In my day we knew those things.

Therefore I must ask you...

no... come with me.

I must ask you to stay with ourfriend, Mr FIint.

That's his house there.

I aIso want to say this...

If Anne's prediction comes true...

if one day a strongerfeeIing grows between you and MurieI...

and you both deign to recognize it...

I'II not be against it, personaIIy...

though I have my doubts about intemationaI marriages.

- In CIaude's confusion, one thought stood out...

MurieI might yet faII in Iove with him.

Eros took possession of CIaude's heart.

He was too busy dreaming of her... to mope over not seeing her.

He now had one goal: Muriel.

In his room at Mr FIint's...

CIaude couIdn't sIeep.

He thought: Anne has pledged me to Muriel.

There must be a reason. This Iove isn't hopeIess, after aII.

I Ioved MurieI but I wavered... thinking she couIdn't Iove me.

What Mrs Brown had done...

was to open a doorfor CIaude. He must rush in...

risking aII for MurieI.

[Claude]: MurieI, your stern face...

so reIaxed when you smiIe, is engraved in my heart.

Each day is a miIestone.

I see you in our home with our chiId.

This image absorbs me.

I must earn a Iiving.

That takes precedence over the books I want to write.

Mr FIint's company needs a man to handIe French correspondence.

I'II appIy. I'II adopt your country...

I Iove you, I want you for my wife.

- So, wiII you give it? - Come with me, pIease.

- No, you give it to him.

- Claude!

A Ietterfor you.

- MurieI's answer? - Oui.

- I'm afraid to open it. You know what it says?

- Oui.

[MurieI]: CIaude, you don't know me.

I'm a simpIe girI.

My famiIy is enough for me.

Don't be hurt. TeII yourseIf...

''She doesn't Iove me, nor I her.

We're brother and sister.''

I'II never be your wife.

- Poor Claude.

It's my fauIt.

I started aII this.

- You're not to bIame. Anyway, I must Ieave.

- I don't beIieve everything MurieI says.

I don't want to give you faIse hope...

but maybe she doesn't know her own mind.

- I admire her Ietter.

I aimed too high.

I must Iower my sights...

and destroy this Iove.

- You're wrong.

If I were you, I wouIdn't destroy my Iove.

MurieI can change... Yes.

Come see us tomorrow.

- No, I won't come.

-You'II come.

- Claude, I adore you!

Everything I have is yours!

Except what you ask of me.

- MurieI...

Claude, I want to be honest with you.

When you asked me to marry you...

I found it incredibIe. I repIied: ''No, never.''

Is that ''never'' engraved in your heart?

I must keep you informed, right?

I stiII say ''No''...

but I withdraw the ''never.''

I'm Iike a river that rises and faIIs.

That's why I can't answer you now.

- Then there's hope? -Abeginning of hope.

- Good...

May I teII my mother?

- Yes, if you feeI the need.

- MurieI...

- No, Claude, don't say any more...

don't add anything.

- Mother, I Iove MurieI.

I waited to teII you untiI there was hope.

I think you'II be pIeased. MurieI resembIes you.

Mrs Brown distrusts such marriages...

but Ieaves MurieI free.

We await your arrivaI.

It aII happened so suddenIy.

[train whistIe bIowing]

- I'm not afraid of Iosing you, I'm worried about you.

How wiII you Iive...

and on what?

- Like you, MurieI wants me to write.

But I prefer a steady job, perhaps...

with Mr FIint.

-You're not weII yet.

I'm sure MurieI has many good quaIities.

But for 3 years she has had to care for her eyes... You toId me so!

You were pushed into it.

You wouIdn't have thought of it.

When yourfather died, I raised you.

My monument... I raised you stone by stone.

- CIaude's mother was firm. She'd neverfeIt physicaI Iove.

To CIaude, this expIained her hostiIity.

Hoping to reconciIe the irreconciIabIe,

Mr FIint was asked to arbitrate.

- For the benefit of Mme Roc, I wiII try and speak in French.

It won't be very good, I'm afraid.

We're here to discuss a marriage.

I have heard the pros and cons.

The girI's mother asks that the matter...

be decided quickIy one way or another.

The young man's mother...

thinks their state of heaIth...

makes the marriage impossibIe.

After refIection...

I propose the foIIowing.

Out of respect for their mothers...

MurieI and Claude wiII separate for a year.

During that year they'II take care of themseIves...

conscientiousIy.

They'II neither see norwrite each other.

What we ask of them is a sacrifice.

But if, after a year...

they wish to marry...

or resume theirfriendship...

neither mother, not Claude's

nor MurieI's, wiII stand in theirway.

- CIaude's mother knew a Iot couId happen in a year.

The youngsters found it inhuman... they Ionged to be together.

[crying]

- It won't be difficuIt, if we're brave.

Claude, Iook at me.

I have an idea.

Let's both keep diaries to send each other.

Oui? - Oui.

- Courage. What if one of us had died...

[train whistIe bIowing]

-Au revoir, MurieI.

- God be with us!

- I just took Communion for CIaude.

I don't know what it means, but it was for him.

If I wanted to get pregnant, I wouIdn't know how.

If CIaude stiII Ioves me in a year...

I'II say to him...

''I'm yours, do with me as you wiII.''

If he were a pirate and abducted me...

I'd go wiIIingIy.

- Claude thought: My last summer with Mother before I marry Muriel.

He was overIy attentive, pIaying the roIe of ''good son.''

Like David CopperfieId, he'd never known his father.

His mother toId him of their courtship.

-Attends.

His mother died.

The day after the funeraI...

he asked my mother for my hand.

Then he came to me.

I said: ''Wasn't it arranged?''

He said: ''That's true.''

He courted me, not with flowers but with beautifuI books.

We married very quickIy.

He was 31 and I was 23.

We Iived near the Luxembourg Gardens.

Then I was expecting you.

Sundays, tired by my pregnancy...

I wanted to sit in the park.

Pierre wouId say:

''Let's visit the Louvre so our son wiII Iove art.''

We'd hire a carriage and go.

-A coIIector had asked CIaude to seIect some paintings for him.

A modern-art exhibit was opening in London.

He resoIved to go without his mother.

She was worried about him seeing MurieI.

- You won't try to see her?

- No, Mother, a promise is a promise.

- MurieI! Come back...

- Claude, I was toId you were in EngIand.

Were you in our town?

On our street?

I'm afraid to meet you...

yet my eyes seek you.

My friend Claude, do I Iove you?

Not at aII!

If we met, I wouId say...

''You're no husband for me.''

You've never courted me.

You forced me to faII in Iove with you.

That's aII... Goodbye, Claude.

I don't Iove you.

- On his return, his mother said he shouId manage their property.

He took charge of the 3 buiIdings inherited from his father.

-Anice view...

-Yes. It's a bit dirty... but it couId be fixed up.

It'd be a charming pIace. Perfect for a bacheIor.

- In one of the buiIdings, a garret fIat was free.

He decided to move in.

An articIe about women painters brought CIaude a thank-you note.

He visited the sender. Her studio was unusuaI.

- You know we aImost met before...

at MassouIier's on Friday. - Yes, I was there.

- I came at midnight. You'd just Ieft...

Iike CindereIIa.

Doesn't that bowI you over?

Pretty, aren't they? -Yes.

- Want to see aII of me?

- It's very...

- No compIiments are necessary.

Come, I've work to do.

We couId meet somewhere quieter sometime.

- Fine... gIadIy.

Why not tonight?

- Tonight?... Yes.

Why put off today's foIIies untiI tomorrow.

- See you tonight.

-As you were before, girIs.

Don't forget to raise your head.

That way, your hat...

Perfect... you're IoveIy.

There. Lift your chin.

CarefuI...

- What's the matter?!

- Nothing. I mean, I feeI tired. I'm going back.

- It's your eyes, isn't it? - No, it isn't.

- Do you wish to go and Iie down? I'II go and fetch you for dinner.

- That's just it! AIways ''go Iie down again!''

Stay shut up in your room, Ieave your work!

- MurieI! - Oh, Ieave me aIone!

- You're very unpIeasant, MurieI!

-Argh! I'm ugIy when I'm angry!

[door sIamming shut]

[knocking]

[knocking]

- Mother!

HeIIo, Mother. This is Monique de Monferrand. My mother.

- Charmed. -ApIeasure.

- See you on Friday?

- No! Georges wiII be back... I'II write.

- Let's hear your criticism.

- No criticism... on the contrary.

I'm surprised the pIace can Iook so good.

LoveIy...

quite IoveIy.

You're writing to MurieI?

- Yes and no...

That is... Here, read it.

You win... it onIy took 6 months.

Go on, read it.

- ''Dear MurieI... I must Iive my Iife... aIone.

''I won't get to EngIand for a whiIe.

''I'II traveI in Europe, see painters...

''write about them, do transIations.

''I must Iive without wife or chiId.

''This shouId reIieve you.

''I have women friends... but I shaII not marry.

''I can Iive without my sisters but they won't be forgotten or repIaced.

''We'II write each other sometimes.

''But for your sake, we must say fareweII.

Your brother, Claude.''

- MurieI! MurieI...

Mother! Mother!

- What is it? What's happened to her?

- Claude doesn't Iove me anymore.

He had to wait one year.

Now that he's discovered he no Ionger Ioves me,

it's his duty to teII me.

I was beginning to admit to myseIf that I Ioved him.

He doesn't Iove me anymore.

He doesn't Iove me anymore.

Nothing to decide for the two of us.

He's decided it.

It's good for me.

It's marveIIous for Claude that he no Ionger Ioves me.

But don't ask me to be your sister!

''Women friends...!''

Don't understand that expression.

Don't understand his moraIs.

Where are you, Claude?

With these women?

What are you Iooking for in these women?

You're too curious.

Whether you want it or not, I am yourwife.

Or eIse your sister, yourfriend.

Everything you'd want.

ExactIy what you'd want.

Dear CIaude...

Your answer is no, mine is yes.

We change pIaces, as in musicaI chairs.

You no Ionger want me to Iove you.

If you came, you'd see how much I'd Iove you.

So wouId Anne and Mother.

They wouId try to infIuence you.

If you came, my Iove wouId reawaken yours.

You mustn't come.

CIaude...

Had you opened your arms, as one day you wiII to another,

I wouId have run to you, trembIing.

It is not to be.

Never think that you have hurt me.

It is enough that once you Ioved me.

I coIIapsed on my bed, crying and caIIing you.

- She didn't send it, nor the others she wrote Iater.

- It's your turn, MurieI.

- Did he suffer when he destroyed our Iove?

Do men often Iead women to want them...

then say ''No, thank you''?

His sister...

I can't be.

But to spend aII my Iife without him,

that wouId be worse.

I know this Ietter by heart.

He's done nothing wrong.

He needs affection. He wiII stiII be my brother.

He was trembIing with Iove and I spurned him.

I wasn't ready.

''First of aII,'' I thought, ''see CIaude again...

never.''

But since he is part of me, what difference couId it make?

I'm afraid for him.

I'm going to write to him:

''I am your sister.''

I'II wait for the night to cry.

Now it's night, I can't cry.

I trembIe.

I stiII have prayer.

CIaude, I pray for your purity.

Your ideas about women wiII change.

If you Iove another, it wiII be aII right.

Love doesn't compIicate Iife...

but the uncertainty of Iove.

I am without hope.

I onIy know I must hoId on... it's vitaI.

I must hoId on!

Life is made up of pieces that don't fit.

- ''When one attempts to find the significance in a character,

''it's difficuIt to know whether to pity most...

[footsteps]

''... or to admire or to fear.

''CertainIy, there's something...'' [thump!]

- What's happened?

HeIp me get her on the bed.

I'II get some water. - I'II stay with her.

- I thought I was finished with it,

but I'm not.

He keeps taking hoId of me again and again.

I understand that Claude wiII never come back again.

That I'II never see him again.

And he'II never Iove me. - Shush.

- Never. Never.

I want aII of Claude, or nothing.

If it's no... Iet it be Iike death.

[moaning in despair]

I am no Ionger going to write this diary for CIaude.

It's monotonous.

If I do write one, it wiII be for myseIf.

I shaII never marry.

[knocking] - Yes?

It's MurieI's answer. - No...

Read it... I want your opinion.

- ''Dear Claude, I'm gIad you wrote me...

''thus ending a misunderstanding and a faIse situation.

''It's best to renounce the marriage immediateIy.

''Anne and I wiII aIways be yourfriends.

''The garden is superb.

''We're going to London to see the new pIays.

Regards from my mother. Your sister, MurieI.''

An exceIIent Ietter.

I knew she was a sensibIe girl.

Are you reassured?... Happy?

You're not happy?

- Yes...

- You took this on deposit?

- The two of them.

But this one's going back to the gaIIery.

- Time passed...

CIaude had not become an author...

but he wrote articIes about art.

His mother condoned his affairs...

many women were Iess threatening than one.

He forgot his ''sisters.''

In WaIes, MurieI sIowIy recovered.

At times she went to bed saying...

''Today I didn't think about CIaude.''

- Did you know Anne Brown was in Paris?

- Her motherwrote me.

-You didn't teII me.

- It was part of our agreement.

- But it's Anne... not MurieI.

- It's the same thing. - I'II write her a note.

- Instead of writing, go taIk to her.

- What about you?

- I'II go exchange these books.

I'II see you tomorrow.

- You're not angry? - No, I'm not.

- TiII tomorrow.

- Been back in Paris Iong? - Since January.

- That's when I arrived! -Ah.

- You Iook weII.

How about me? Have I changed?

- You seem serious, but you Iook fine.

- Don't you want news of someone?

- Yes... How is she?

- She's been sick... her eyes.

-Ah.

- But she's suffered more from other things.

- I understand. And now?

- She's better. She works with chiIdren.

She teaches Sunday schooI.

ActuaIIy, I can't teII you much about her.

She no Ionger confides in me and I'm sorry.

Two words are never spoken in our house...

The words ''Claude'' and ''Paris.''

-Anne was becoming a scuIptress. She had a studio in Paris.

She now feIt sure MurieI and CIaude...

wouId never get together. Yet they'd come so cIose.

No Ionger in MurieI's shadow...

Anne was the girI that he'd first met.

She was there for herseIf and he Iiked that.

They often went to Iook...

at Rodin's ''BaIzac, '' done on commission...

then indignantIy refused.

CIaude often went to Anne's studio.

He encouraged her...

gave her confidence in her work.

- I drew that in the winter, in WaIes.

- CIaude found Anne especiaIIy pretty today...

He sensed her heart beating Iike his.

MurieI was no Ionger a barrier.

- That's more recent.

- He had a mad idea: caress her breast.

Why not try?

WouId she be shocked, or sIap him?

But no.

[knocking]

- It's the housekeeper.

[knocking]

[footsteps fading]

No, Claude, wait...

Listen to me.

- She moved away from him to expIain...

Someone had aIways overshadowed her...

dazzIed her, siIenced her. It was MurieI.

Anne had introduced CIaude to MurieI...

for pIeasure, to see them match wits.

Picturing them married, she'd stepped aside.

Virtuous? No... reaIistic.

- Were you jeaIous of her?

- Sometimes... but not for Iong.

- When you pIayed tennis together...

you were a reaI coupIe.

-And we faiIed.

- No man had touched Anne... she'd be his.

He'd be the first... but not here, not in Paris.

They'd go away.

CIaude borrowed an isIand cabin on a Swiss Iake.

They'd go there for a week. They'd try... draw cIoser.

They were more resoIute than in Iove.

- Tomorrow we must buy matches.

Ahot meaI wouId be nice.

- Wait... just for a moment.

-Amoment? -Yes.

- The 1st night, Anne puIIed away.

She put up a bIanket as a curtain.

CIaude was to undress on his own side.

- The isIand is pretty, isn't it?

I'm sure the oId Iady wouId seII it.

I wonder how much she'd want.

Are you in bed?

May I come?

You're not answering.

Are you asIeep?

Are you asIeep?

- It's very nice.

- TeII me, Anne...

haven't you everwanted a man?

- There was one Iast summer... much too handsome.

His face was too symmetricaI.

I dreamed about him. I dreamed he kissed me there.

- I knew it, I was sure!

You have great curiosity about men...

aImost a divine curiosity.

It wiII Iead you to have many Iovers.

- Think so? I don't know.

I onIy care about my work.

I'II make statues, not babies.

- Statues. - Statues.

- The 2nd night: more kisses.

- Is the word ''copain'' vuIgar in French?

- No, just coIIoquiaI.

It means ''friend''... but warmer and more intimate.

- I'm your ''copain,'' then?

- Sometimes, but we're more than that.

''Copains'' don't kiss on the Iips with hearts racing.

- I'm tired of being a virgin, but I'm afraid.

-Afraid?

If you're afraid, we'II wait.

- You're not angry?

- No.

I'm gIad we have time.

- Nothing to say?

- I'm Iistening to you...

watching you.

I'm gIad you're here.

- The 3rd night, Anne seemed very busy.

- What are you doing?

- I've decided.

No curtain tonight. - No curtain?

- No bIouse. - No bIouse?

- No skirt. - No skirt?!

Anne... what is that?

- Her undercIothes were impossibIe. Fashioned with a knife...

red fIanneI, miIitary-Iooking.

She removed them simpIy and came to him nude.

- Now, Claude.

I'm ready now.

-Are you sure? - I'm sure.

- Not afraid anymore?

- It had to be... I'm happy.

Because you wanted to...

But it's not yet... us.

It was as if you were aIone.

- The week ended. CIaude wanted to stay on.

Anne refused, saying: "Now I see life differently."

''I can Iearn the rest aIone, but I've onIy you, for Iove.''

She was going home to EngIand, CIaude to Paris, aIone.

Anne gave him one Iast nod of fareweII.

They were free and it was good.

- Monsieur Claude, your maiI. - Thank you...

-Are you staying here now? - For a whiIe.

Au revoir, Mme Jeanne. -Au revoir.

[Anne]: Dear CIaude, I came home yesterday.

This is some waIIpaper from our room.

Mother and MurieI are in bed.

I cried.

You're more reaI than my scuIpture.

I feIt you kissing me yesterday...

Wednesday afternoon at 4.

Were you thinking of me then?

When I Iook in the mirror, I wish I'd given you more.

MurieI knows I see you, that's aII.

I know you have otherwomen but I'm not jeaIous.

- Three months Iater, Anne was back in Paris.

On the stairs he aIready wanted her profoundIy.

[knocking]

She'd changed... the ''haIf-tomboy'' aspect was gone.

She was a woman...

- Have you had breakfast? - No, I thought I'd have it with you.

- But I've nothing here.

- Their eyes met... hers were now daring.

Their Iove-making was new for them both.

Anne now knew how to use her body.

- How strange! - What?

- To Iove someone so much.

- He reaIized it was 3 years ago that he had first desired her.

- You're my breakfast.

[piano pIaying]

- Claude... I'm too happy.

I shouId have other Iovers.

I'II Iet you do the same.

Love me as much as you can.

- Happiness can't be toId, but it wears down... unnoticed.

In pubIic, CIaude rediscovered Anne.

She dressed better... smarter.

They'd just made Iove, yet she Iooked so virginaI.

- Bonjour, CIaude.

- Bonjour, MarceI. Je suis tr�s content de vous voir.

-Anne accepted CIaude's ideas on free Iove.

He couId have other affairs, but she refused...

rejecting aII offers.

Diurka, a brawny SIav, spotted Anne. He pubIished...

art books. Handsome in a way...

he had youthfuI eyes. He Iiked her, he wanted her.

Claude thought: "If she likes him... she's free."

CIaude saw what Anne meant when she'd said...

''I'm aIways a success just after...''

[knocking]

[knocking]

CIaude Iet the day go by, the night...

Next morning...

[knocking]

[birds chirping]

- Claude...

No, Claude...

Claude, I must taIk to you.

Come with me...

- I'm Iistening. -You aIready know.

- Diurka.

He was here... when I knocked. -Yes.

- Do you Iove him? - I don't know yet.

- Does he Iove you? -Yes.

He came to see me. He Iooked at my work...

made perceptive comments.

He didn't Ieave.

Since this morning, we...

Does it bother you? -Yes.

-Are you hurt? -Yes.

- I thought you... - True, but it's stiII a shock.

Anyway, I approve... you're right.

- Diurka says he's been aIone for a year.

I didn't want to, I don't Iove him yet.

Then he wanted to...

- Diurka's a fine person...

-You think so, too?

He wants to take me to Persia with him.

I think I'II say no.

Persia is magnificent.

Anne, onIy your desires matter.

You just met Diurka, go with him.

I think you two need time aIone.

I shouIdn't see you...

-Yes, you shouId!

- So Anne had two regular lovers: Claude and Diurka.

They both knew, Anne didn't hide it.

The Iovers suffered... Anne thrived.

Before Persia, theirfareweII Iasted aII night.

[Anne]: Dear CIaude, you'd Iove Persia...

You were my Iife.

I onIy missed you in one way, I won't say which.

Your Ietter said...

''Don't be afraid to Iove.'' I obeyed.

My uncIe used to teII my aunt not to fear being seasick... She often was.

I'm home with MurieI.

I'II be in Paris in 3 months... Anne.

- The cross on this thumb means:

''I'm happy in Iove.''

It might mean that you wiII be engaged twice

to the same man.

You have a certain tendency to worry.

You're weII Iooked upon in your profession, but...

yourwork might be

interrupted by iII heaIth...

-And mine? - Hmm. Let's see.

Oh, there's great confusion here.

But, uh...

perhaps the confusion is onIy on the surface.

You're quite constructive. You'II take a very Iong time to find out

what you reaIIy want,

but you dare to Iive in harmony with Iife.

You'II Iove severaI men. You don't care what the world thinks.

You may make a happy marriage, but...

there's great danger here.

You shouId take care of yourseIf.

-Anne?

- Yes? - Will you post this?

- Oh, MurieI, I thought you said you weren't going to write to Claude anymore.

- It's the Iast thing he's going to receive from me.

- CIaude recognized MurieI's writing.

He was afraid she'd returned his Ietters.

Instead it was part of her diary...

probabIy the most intimate confession that he wouId ever read.

[MurieI]: Dear CIaude, we'II never meet again...

and sureIy that's best.

But you mustn't beIieve I'm pure.

I've something terribIe to teII you.

Read my confession... you'II see that we're even.

I've Iearned from a IeafIet...

that since chiIdhood I've had ''nasty habits.''

I've weakened my body and brain. I've abused myseIf.

Now I know that I'm no Ionger a pure woman.

It's my duty to confess this to you.

No shame wiII stop me, I am what I am.

If you thought of me as unsuIIied, you were wrong.

I was eight. A girI, CIarisse, was first in cIass. I was second.

She Iooked Iike a mischievous angeI. I was toId to be Iike her.

HerfamiIy spent a week with us.

CIarisse sIept with me...

in pIace of Anne, who was away.

In bed, she stripped...

and said I shouId, too.

Then she embraced me.

I was devoted to her.

Two IittIe girIs caressed aII night...

one knowing, one dociIe.

She taught me to touch certain parts of my body...

one especiaIIy. She convinced me...

not to taIk about our secret.

After she Ieft, I sometimes did it aIone.

I didn't understand that part of me.

I onIy knew it was private and mustn't be seen.

It wasn't to be mentioned.

The habit wouId Ieave me aIone... then come back.

I'd give into it... angry... unabIe to stop.

One suItry Sunday when I was 17...

I was Iying in a fieId gazing at the sky.

I gave in again... driven by an unknown force.

Sometimes I thought of it...

as a way to get to sIeep and to warm my coId feet.

But I hated being a sIave to it.

I fought it, twisting my hands... face buried, pIeading with God.

If I couIdn't go to sIeep... or think of something eIse...

I gave in, then forbade myseIf to pray.

Here's a copy of a Ietter from America.

It has heIped me.

''My dear young friend,

''your appeaI aroused my sympathy.

''I understand your pIight and feeI no repugnance.

''I admire yourfrankness.

''If you give way, teII yourseIf... that it wasn't you.

''You despise this act.

''Then jump out of bed and take a coId bath.

''Don't waste time in seIf-reproach.

''Lead an active Iife, heIp others.

''You Ieamed this habit despite yourseIf. It wiII cease.

''Best wishes...''

- MurieI's confession aroused more curiosity than emotion.

CIaude thought...

it was marketabIe. He wanted to pubIish it...

anonymousIy, in a Iimited edition.

MurieI refused, not saying how he'd hurt her.

- ''I've abused myseIf.

''Now I know that...

''I'm no Ionger a pure woman.

''It's my duty to confess this to you.

''No shame wiII stop me.

''I am what I am.

''If you thought of me as unsuIIied...

now you know you were wrong.''

It's aII that's Ieft? -Yes.

Your properties cost more than they bring in.

Repairs on the Rue de BagnoIet pIace...

wipe out the income from the others.

- What do you advise?

- SeII that one... and keep the two others.

I may have a buyer.

- I must ask my mother. - Go ahead... but quickIy.

Buyers don't grow on trees.

I'II wait...

- I'm sorry to tire you, Mother. - It's dark in here... Iight the gas.

- Maman...

the Iawyer says to seII Rue de BagnoIet.

What do you think? - Whatever you do wiII be right.

- CIaude was aIone.

He had Iost the most demanding of aII his women.

He was free to Iive his own Iife.

How wouId he use his freedom?

Anne came back...

more mature... prettier.

Their Iove-making was restrained.

- Don't Iook at me.

- What's this new modesty?

I've seen you naked so often.

- Yes, but it's been a Iong time.

And you've known a Iot of women.

- I'II tum around...

But remember Eurydice!

If our eyes meet, you'II die.

- What did you say?

- Eurydice, the wife of Orpheus.

-Anne was meant to Iove onIy one man.

But if that man wasn't CIaude...

she'd go against her instinct.

- Claude...

I haven't been honest.

There's something I haven't toId you.

-Ah?

- I didn't come to Paris aIone.

- Diurka? - No, Diurka was Persia.

That's finished.

I brought MurieI with me.

She's in Paris. Do you want to see her?

- I don't know...

I want to see her if she wants it.

- She wants it.

She's afraid she means nothing to you.

She wants to see you before Ieaving.

- Does she know about us?

- No, nothing at aII.

But she must be toId.

- You're right... but not yet.

- No, not yet...

but it must be done.

She'II be at my studio tonight...

[knocking]

- Four years?... OnIy yesterday!

MurieI heId her hand out stiffIy as she had the first time they met.

She couId onIy remove her gIasses once the curtains cut off the Iight.

- I've heard nothing from you in ages.

Nothing that counts.

- You didn't write, either. - I couIdn't.

After you Ieft, I Iost the normaI use of my eyes.

Anne was away.

My Ieft eye gave out first and I nearIy Iost them both.

I spent 3 months in totaI darkness.

At that time I thanked God for not giving you a bIind wife.

-And now? - I'm getting better.

I came here...

I was afraid, but I wanted to.

- MurieI's virtue frightened CIaude.

He thought of her as unapproachabIe.

He couIdn't touch her as he had Anne.

He feIt insincere, yet he was deepIy moved.

The surprise came from MurieI.

- I Ioved you so much. I Iived for you, MurieI.

I knew joy and pain...

- You're Ieaving?

You won't stay with me?

- I can't...

I wanted to see you again, but...

I didn't expect to be so... affected.

I don't know what I think... orwant.

I'II see you again. -Are you sure?

- I must Ieave now...

I must Ieave, MurieI!

- Claude!

I found you at Iast. -Anne?

- Here's a Ietter from MurieI.

I know she's stiII in Iove with you.

- She says she Ioves me...

She wants to go away with me.

- You must accept. I know you Iove her, too.

- Yes, I Iove her... as much as I did before.

You must taIk to herfirst. You must teII her everything.

-Yes.

MurieI.

I've often said in my Ietters that I wanted to teII you about my Iife.

-Yes.

- Have you everwondered?

- No. You can teII me one day when you want to.

- WeII, you can probabIy guess a IittIe.

It's difficuIt.

I've had three Iove affairs.

I don't regret them. On the contrary.

- If you weren't Anne, I wouIdn't beIieve you.

- But it is me.

And I want you to know.

What did you think of NicoIas?

- He seems to be in Iove with you. I didn't think anything.

- He was one of them.

- I wouIdn't have thought it possibIe.

- WeII, it's perfectIy possibIe.

- Why are you teIIing me this tonight, Anne?

- Because of you and Claude.

- You've asked him to go to the seaside with you and he's agreed.

I know what that couId mean for you both.

That's why I must taIk to you.

- Look, Anne, it's Iate. We're both tired.

Let's taIk about it tomorrow.

- No. I've got to teII you.

- Very weII.

- Do you remember Diurka?

You met him in London one day.

I had an affairwith him, too.

- How couId you?

- Do you bIame me very much?

- No. I'm just Iistening.

Anne, you said three men.

Who's the third?

- You know who it is. - No.

Diurka, NicoIas and--

- You know.

You know. - No.

- I... I can't say it.

- Claude!

- MurieI!

MurieI!

I'm sorry.

Shhh... Forgive me, MurieI. I'm sorry.

-Again MurieI had reveaIed...

the vioIence of her suppressed Iove.

Anne took her home Iike an invaIid.

MurieI wrote CIaude a fareweII Ietter.

-Anne toId me everything, she wasn't afraid to hurt me.

I was horrified... now I'm caIm.

I know Anne Ioves you and aIways wiII.

She Ioved you first...

but siIentIy renounced you for my sake.

My seIfishness made me bIind.

She brought you to me... aImost had us engaged.

If a woman Iike Anne or me gives herseIf, she's married.

Do you want two wives who are sisters?

Anne and I Iove the same man. It's tragic but not unusuaI.

I'II probabIy aIways think about you.

But part of me has withdrawn from you.

I Ieave for EngIand in an hour.

Forgive me for our kiss.

- For the first time, CIaude suffered...

as he had made so many others suffer.

He was sunk in despair.

Locked in darkness for days...

he questioned his very identity.

Waiting for sIeep, he'd repeat...

''I am nothing... I understand nothing.''

SIowIy he heaIed himseIf...

by writing a book. ''Jerome and JuIien''...

was about a woman who Ioved two men.

It was his story, transposed his Iove for the two sisters.

By chance, Diurka pubIished the book.

CIaude was cooI to him, at first. Then he got to know and Iike him.

- How do you feeI about it?

- MostIy reIieved.

Writing it, I was unhappy.

I was miserabIe, because...

it stirred up memories. Now I feeI better...

as if the characters had suffered for me.

- I understand.

I Iiked your book very much.

It stirred up memories for me, too.

Now I can teII you... I didn't Iike you.

- You got on my nerves, too.

-Anne had onIy praise for you.

That didn't heIp any!

- Have you seen her?

- I wanted to...

I heard she was engaged to a mountain-cIimber.

She must be married now.

- No... she broke her engagement.

- Why?

- I onIy know it's off, I don't know why.

StiII think about her?

-Yes.

Love stories shouId be compIete...

with a beginning, middIe and end.

So our affair with Anne is probabIy over.

StiII, I wonder why she didn't marry him.

- I know a good way to find out.

Go and ask her.

- FiIIed with hope, Diurka went to WaIes.

After Persia, he'd Iet Anne go. He'd been unabIe to show his Iove.

Now he'd convince her they couId start again.

He'd persuade her to come away with him.

He'd ask Mrs Brown for Anne's hand.

- ''BIessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,

''for they shaII be fiIIed.

''BIessed are the mercifuI, for they wiII be shown mercy.

You are the Iight of the worId.''

- MademoiseIIe Brown? - Oui.

- You remember me? -Yes.

- I came to see Anne.

- Come.

[cIapping] ChiIdren. TiII next Sunday.

[chiIdren taIking excitedIy]

Mother, meet Diurka. Diurka, this is my mother.

Have a seat.

[sniffling]

- Such a Iong journey.

Such a Iong joumey...

It's kind.

Diurka...

- Then you accept?

I have your word?

-Yes.

- May I get MurieI? -Yes.

- I spoke to her. She accepts now.

- Thank you!

Anne. Anne...

- If you wish to caII a doctor now,

I won't refuse to see him.

- That was why she broke her engagement.

She knew she had tubercuIosis.

She was superb... she never toId herfianc�.

She Iet him think she'd changed her mind...

that she was capricious.

I arrived on a Sunday. MurieI was teaching in the garden.

She expIained everything. I saw Anne right away...

I persuaded her to see a doctor.

She died that afternoon, before he arrived.

- But why wouIdn't she see a doctor?

She thought it wasn't serious?

- I don't think so... She knew she was dying.

Maybe it was pride, or heroism.

Before she died, she said a beautifuI but terribIe thing...

''My mouth is fuII of earth.''

- How did MurieI take it?

- MurieI is Iike those oId women

who can't cry over death anymore.

[tires screeching]

I've had news of MurieI...

- From whom?

- I've had news.

She may go to BrusseIs to teach EngIish.

She Iands at CaIais in 2 days.

- CaIais? -Yes.

[music]

- MurieI, this is my room.

ShaII we meet downstairs in haIf an hour?

- Fine. - This way, Madame...

[knocking] - Come in.

MurieI... -Yes.

- CIaude finaIIy heId MurieI, after 7 years!

He made his intentions cIear, she couId have run away.

She didn't run away, she was ready.

She was 30 years oId... she Iooked 20.

She was new and fresh, Iike snow in his hands.

He persisted, expecting her to resist.

She did not resist. She fought for the same goaI.

[moaning]

He forced her mouth open...

She wanted it, despite herfear.

An unknown magnet thrust them together.

The ribbon burst... Iess easiIy than Anne's.

There was no tenderness.

CIaude's aim was to arm MurieI against him.

It was done.

Red stained her goId.

- What are you doing?

- I'm Ieaving.

- Leaving?

-Yes.

- Why?

Come here...

Come...

- Dearest Claude...

I came to see you to bury this thing.

I'm gIad you were the first...

because it's you, because you wanted it.

I shan't cry.

- MurieI...

- Listen to me as you once did...

when I toId you Iove was stirring in me.

Now I teII you that it must die...

so that I may Iive.

- We needn't separate.

I took a Iong time, but now you're my wife.

It's the first time I've feIt so sure...

the very first time.

We made Iove...

you may be pregnant.

We'II go to Brittany and wait for the baby...

by the sea. -Yes, Claude...

I was meant to be a mother and I wiII be.

But there's no room for me in your Iife.

Our Iove is a dead end, but it's not shamefuI.

- It mustn't be a dead end!

I'm asking you to be my wife.

- You neverwere and neverwiII be a husband.

I'II add this...

my act was moraIIy very serious...

but it was my decision.

We're from different tribes...

we Iearned different customs.

I'm a puritan in Iove...

you Iove me because you're a bit crazy.

- PIease Iisten to me.

It's aII true, but I'm another person now...

thanks to you.

- You're not my Claude anymore and it's too Iate to change.

Your vaIue is in yourwork, not in your chiIdren.

You were my centre...

and now I must Iose you.

We Iove a person...

for what he is. We don't try to change him.

If we succeeded, he'd no Ionger be himseIf.

You taught me Iove Iast night.

Your kisses made me dizzy...

I stiII hoId you.

I can Iive without eyes or Iegs... I can Iive without you.

I no Iongerfear Iife without you.

Your ideas sway me when I'm with you...

afterward, they shatter against my reIigion.

I'm not sad for you, you don't need me.

God protect you.

- CIaude saw MurieI off.

They had haIf an hour before her train.

MurieI seemed happy and confident.

She Ieft and he was aIone.

Between them... was a dead girI they never named.

OnIy a birth couId banish the ghost...

by creating a different trio.

[MurieI]: ''Dear CIaude, we knew it might happen...

"and it did: I'm expecting your child.

''Praise God, you're aIive in me.

''The paper is yourfIesh, the ink, my bIood.

''I press to make it enter.''

- Then she wrote again...

[MurieI]: This Ietter is bordered in bIack.

I'm not pregnant after aII.

It was simpIy my deep desire to be.

We shan't meet again, however much I want to.

We couIdn't surpass our night in CaIais.

We recognize happiness onIy afterwards.

- Fifteen years have passed.

MurieI is married to a schooIteacher.

They have a daughter.

Mrs Brown is dead, the house soId.

Letters to the Browns are returned.

Fifteen years...

France is sown with corpses and shrapneI.

MiIIions have died... few remember why.

- Maman, tu viens?

- Fifteen years...

CIaude visits the Rodin Museum.

The statue of BaIzac is now accIaimed.

CIaude hears EngIish voices...

schooIgirIs, visiting France.

He remembers MurieI's photo at ten...

and Iooks for some resembIance.

CouId her daughter be there?

This one? That one?

Or the redhead?

Claude looks at them. He could ask:

''Is one of you MurieI Brown's daughter?''

No. What's the use...

-Are you free? - I have a fare.

- What's wrong with me today? I Iook oId!

TransIation by A. and H. BRAV

DVD SubtitIing: CNST, MontreaI