Original subtitles

Excuse me, madam! Another factory closure...

If you're from the area, you might know where I can find a job?

Here's closed, but only for the day. - Why?

For a wedding. Why not take advantage and relax?

There's a hotel nearby.

Hold this for me.

I'm not begging, I'm looking for a job.

Really! You'll find a job tomorrow, you can pay me back later.

I don't even know your name. - I’m Berthe, a laundry girl.

And everyone here knows each other. Excuse me, I have deliveries.

Don't forget

to reimburse my parents

for the cost of the trip.

I took care of everything.

You’ll travel overnight, first class, of course.

Tomorrow you'll be on a gondola!

To the bride!

When someone comes to see me,

he is usually looking for work.

My wages are the highest in the whole region

and I have never fired a man.

Prosper…

…has chosen you.

I took him at his word.

And now,

having seen you

I feel sure that he was not mistaken.

Regina,

a toast to bury your old name

and to offer you ours.

Bear it well.

In order to welcome you,

I will sing for you The Romance of Master Pathelin.

I think of you when I wake up.

And from afar, I follow you with my eyes

What a mess!

Are you sure we have time?

When will they be back?

The visits, the farewells at the station...

What if they find me?!

You're crazy to have me come. I shouldn't have obeyed you.

I'm afraid. - Of what?

Of this place. Every time I come, it's like a movie.

It's so far away from what I am. - Don't say a word.

At last I can see you,

the form of your body.

What you have in your belly today!

Aren't you ashamed to have a girl of ill repute here?

Each to his own marriage!

Already?

I was right.

I was sure we’d fall asleep.

We only did it once. I'd happily start again.

No.

They'll be arriving back.

Have you got everything?

Ah, my bag and my hat! - They're downstairs.

Thank you.

And the soap? - It was there.

Help me.

I’d like to see you more often.

No, it's fine as it is.

I'm very happy.

Work is going just as well as our love. That's enough for me.

Not for me.

Are you sick?

I ate too much, I drank too much.

There’s only one remedy:

you have to put

two fingers of one hand

down the back of your throat.

Then, with the fingers of your other hand,

you open your shirt

and put pressure on your stomach.

This morning,

I met an unemployed person.

Could you find him work at the factory?

It's been quite the parade, as a result of the crisis.

I'm not responsible for hiring.

Hector,

I've never asked you for anything.

Oh, blimey. It's Hector and his family.

How awful! Awful!

Rubbish!

Nonsense!

What nonsense!

Ah, what treachery!

And it's raining too!

What a nightmare evening!

Hector, we're waiting for you. - Yes, sorry.

How are things? - Tips are variable.

If The Novel of Marguerite Gautier attracts a crowd, you’ll be better off.

Usherette isn’t a viable option and embroidery is no longer enough.

And you’re better at it than me, people know that.

Force of habit, that’s all.

You’re crying!

And you don't go out anymore, you don't talk anymore!

Go out where?

Talk to who? - With the workers.

You asked for a pavilion by the water,

you don't even go there to inspect the work!

The workers bore me, all they talk about is money.

Really!

You’ll get sick if you don't get some fresh air.

Doctors are expensive, I know!

This place is a prison.

You have no taste.

No joy in life.

The joys of the heart can't exist without the sensuality of luxury.

Posting these papers

is the only pleasure I have left.

Sit.

This is the first time you've done work for me,

I’d like to examine the results. Open this package for me.

Let's see how these cloths have been patched up.

Even though the seam is precise,

it remains visible.

I'm not a magician, madam. - Let's move on to the embroidery.

The R in Rebecca...

... for Mrs. Regina

will surely suit her.

Oh, but the L in Lucie

really leaves something to be desired.

It's leaning, like the tower of Pisa.

L is a funny letter.

I ...

tried to respect…

the geometrical nature of the right angle

and the two sharp curves of the capital letter.

Let's move on to the shirts.

Which sleeve did you mend? - Both, madam.

That's good work.

How much should I pay?

That's reasonable.

You have before you all the family letters.

Your own hands traced them on this clean linen.

A single blemish

can tarnish the perfect harmony of the whole.

There's no B in the family, Berthe!

This handkerchief is out of place, please take it away.

I didn't say: "Please take yourself away"!

You’re not unaware of my influence in this town?

I'm ready to put you to work, to provide you with new clients,

to build your reputation myself.

Leave my son alone!

Your speech has no more place here than my handkerchief.

And just like that, she's declared war on me.

Indeed,

I need to clarify

a mystery.

The vet?

Hello.

Nice weather. I have some work for you.

The notary?

The laundry was dry.

Hello!

Nasty weather, eh?

I have some work for you.

The taxman?

Hello.

Changeable weather! I have some work for you.

What will become of you?

I will live off your surplus as you lived off mine,

that is to say, very badly.

Don't mind me.

I've lost my brooch.

It's nice here.

I've come to offer you work.

Get out.

Augustine's advertisement

is proving effective.

How many clients did it cost you? - More than half.

See for yourself.

This is today’s order:

Three shirts,

a pair of sheets.

If this pace continues, I won't die of exhaustion.

You can congratulate her on a great success!

And here is the lucky recipient.

If one family member takes work away from you,

you should accept when another offers you some.

On what condition?

That I don't mix my dish cloths in with your towels?

I know the refrain.

Is Berthe here? I’m Pierre.

And I’m Pierrette, how strange.

I'd like to learn embroidery.

Six francs a lesson?

I need money but I don't need drama.

That kind of provocation would come back on me.

Don't let your enemies crush you.

My friends are not my customers, sadly! They darn their own socks.

They don't need my services.

So what can I do?

Don't look any further, I've found it!

Does she like my brooch?

She can keep it!

Thank you.

What's happening to me?

I feel like I'm dreaming. - Me too.

Calm down.

The eggs are fresh.

Two will do.

You're not very hungry.

Don't let it get to you, Berthe!

Five francs a lesson:

it's a good deal.

Why did you say no to that silly girl?

Who do you think you are?

Your pathetic mourning in the midst of their light-coloured clothes.

No tomatoes.

No ham.

No cheese.

There's a shortage of food.

Fluffy.

If they come looking [for trouble],

oh, they'll find you alright.

But in what state?

Your purse empty

but your belly full.

Ah,

nice leaves.

And eyes to cry with.

Don't give in.

You're in trouble.

What can you do?

Sew…

…embroiderer of hot air!

No outbursts, Berthe, don't prattle!

Sit yourself down

and eat properly.

Sleep on it.

So that’s it?

Do you want me to explain how it works?

I know that it works well, you call the shots.

But you don't work for us! - It affects me all the same.

It produces gossip about me, it affects my business,

it deprives me of customers, it's forcing me to move!

Hector, I'm leaving you!

I'll do what I like!

Your mother is meddling in our private life, because of...

...a handkerchief. It's so trifling.

No. - Berthe, listen.

Hey!

I can go anywhere I want.

I have a trade, I'll get by.

Now, calm down and let’s talk things through.

You can go home.

Is my hat OK?

And my bag, is it too vulgar?

Can you tell that my shoes and dress are the same colour?

Am I wearing too much make-up again?

Wait.

If I wiggle my bottom too much, clear your throat.

No, cough instead.

In the meantime, she can sleep here.

No,

she lives with her friend Pierrette, the other laundry girl in town.

If father wants her to stay here, she should stay.

Until her home is habitable.

You see, Miss, the shop will be bigger and more comfortable.

Oh no!

Please, put that child to bed!

Say goodnight to Miss Berthe.

Goodnight, Miss.

Which room will she sleep in?

In Regina's room, since you're in separate rooms.

My port will give her a little boost.

Berthe prefers a glass of red.

Large bat...

also known as strix.

What is this crossword clue?

It was nothing.

A nightmare.

Tell me about it.

I was walking in a vault,

or a cellar,

in a covered market.

No, that's not it. I've forgotten.

Marcher dans un marché [Walking in a market],

that's funny.

But everything worked out fine.

You're funny with your curls.

I was afraid of their scrutiny. But I'll pay back the money.

50 francs a month. No, 40. It will be settled in two years.

I know I'll be in debt but it's in my interest.

Expand the shop, double the clientele, you can't say no to that.

Money doesn't stink.

Pierrette will work with me, for an equal share, of course.

They bought you!

Here, we live for the factory.

And the factory needs a foreman.

Here every son has a role.

If you break the organization, you compromise the industry.

Look! That’s Victor, he's in charge.

Ah, that's my Prosper!

He lays down the law.

And Hector.

He carries it out.

I won't bring a child into the world here.

Oh, it's so hot, isn’t it?

You forgot the first page.

Ah, the infamous first page...

showing Pedret's face.

When he was telling his life story earlier,

you drank in his words,

you swallowed every word of his story,

you were too believing.

Be careful. - Be quiet.

Turn back, there's still time to run away with Hector.

Where to?

To the end of the world?

You’ll be lost here.

I've had enough of this madhouse.

I owe my life to no one.

I only owe them money.

I can't live in my own house because of the construction work.

Don't leave, this is your home.

You'll be more comfortable in the armchair.

Who is that?

That's me, in prehistoric times.

Now,

I'm someone else, of course.

My parents came from Spain.

They settled here, like others did elsewhere.

I found a way to make my house bigger.

Ah, I don't want to hear another word of that language.

You think I'm a bad mother?

That which comes from you is blessed. That which comes from others is cursed.

And your father - he died working in other people's houses.

I hope others will die working for you.

I know.

Don't go! Don't go!

Don't be afraid for me,

I love you.

Did I keep you waiting?

I have no one but you.

I'm afraid of losing you.

Don't be afraid. That's enough.

I love you.

Mine!

That's enough.

Here's your money.

She's not your daughter anymore, she's my wife.

My name is Pedret, I'm not yet thirty years old.

The forge belongs to me and I make it prosperous.

I look twice at the women I meet because I know

how much they ask for, without knowing how much they're worth.

Fend for yourselves.

Is this an apparition? - No.

It's the baker's daughter with the Spaniard's son.

All savages!

For the monument, to the war dead.

For the monument, to the war dead.

OK, I'm off.

Don't go.

For the monument, to the war dead.

For the monument, to the war dead.

Your vault served as an example for me.

If you're satisfied with the result, so much the better.

But why so many tears over so few deaths?

My sons came back alive. They preferred cunning to greatness.

Everyone does his duty as best he can.

The priest told me about your campaign. - I trust the voters.

It's in that spirit that I make my appeal to you:

I need to borrow 80,000 francs.

I'm prepared to discuss the conditions of the loan

and the rate of repayment.

Are you interested?

80,000 francs, to do what?

I turned my forge into a workshop.

I want to turn that workshop into a factory.

I will make agricultural machinery.

I will be the only supplier in the area.

The banks will advise you better than I can.

Goodbye, my daughter is waiting for me.

Poor lord, I have too many flowers,

you have too many deaths.

Your Medieval Age is falling apart.

You pay your men a pittance.

I will raise salaries, they'll come and work for me.

The world needs my transformational techniques.

Your family spent two centuries hiding away from new machinery.

Now the machines are at your door.

Watch that they don't crush you.

Don't you see that our interests are in alignment?

Buy a pair of glasses - or go back to your own kind!

You are no more of this world

than your daughter's fiancé or your son, Edmond.

I am your humble

and fortunate gravedigger.

I have too many flowers,

you have too many dead.

For the monument, to the war dead.

A toast to bury your old name and to offer you ours.

Bear it well.

You can't change a name like you change a shirt.

In a mysterious dream

The only joy

For which my heart yearns

Is to make to you

My tender confession

There you have it,

What I want

To tell you

But alas

I am too scared

Of you

Bravo!

Bread, peace, freedom!

Arise ye wretched of the earth!

For justice thunders condemnation...

What is that song?

I've never heard it before.

Everyone seems to know all the words by heart.

Close the window.

’Tis the final conflict!

It hurts my ears.

Their melody is more beautiful than your Dance of the Bears.

Come with me, I want to go outside.

Do what you like.

These people’s slogans are not mine.

I've had so much bread,

I could vomit.

Peace?

I'm dying here.

And freedom?

I lost that on my wedding day.

I chose Prosper and I was wrong.

These are my demands.

I don't care about the rest!

When you've finished your nonsense, come and help me in the kitchen.

I need a hand with tonight’s meal.

You're on your own! I'm not eating.

Take that away.

Pedret has invited the new Member of Parliament and his family.

There will be 13 of us eating. - That's bad luck.

And don't take the covers off the furniture.

I'm responsible for the cleaning.

If you have too much work, go on strike!

It's very much in fashion! They’ll support you.

Don't argue,

don't argue, don't argue!

I'll help you, Berthe.

Absolutely not!

The only thing you’re good at is breaking plates.

Having seen that,

I can die happy.

Your Popular Front is a flash in the pan.

Unity masks artificial alliances.

There’s a world of difference between your radical friends and the Bolsheviks.

There is a common enemy.

Blocking the road to fascism

is enough to bring us together.

You occupy the centre, but compromises already hurt your cause.

How can devaluation be prevented?

Or outflows of gold?

I also denounce the regime,

I denounce the incompetence of leaders,

I demand effective measures,

but I rely on strategy, not on your tactics!

We have to stop talking about a second tranche of reforms!

The government must counter those who push it to do more,

without recognizing past success! - Say no to whom? The people?

Everyone is persecuting me.

I'll end up revolting too.

Do you have to raise your voice to be heard?

I was a teacher, I paid my way.

When I became pregnant by Victor, I had to marry him.

I raise the children.

By hearing others talk, I learned to listen.

But who looks out for the listener?

Did you get rid of the posters?

No, why?

It's getting dangerous now.

Goodbye Father. I repeat;

"that my mother loved me enough to bury me when I was born!

"Women, there was but one compensation for your ills;

"and had I been a legislator, perhaps you would have obtained it."

We're suffocating here!

You're always in the cellar or in the attic,

you spend your days there, it's exhausting for you.

I like this war, this debacle; it mirrors my own defeat.

Oh, listen! Pedret is dying here.

And your husbands are fighting there. - They're retreating!

Pedret is not immortal.

No, more’s the pity.

He only wants to see me.

What a job, wiping the ass of a doddering old man!

What do you know?

When the men return,

lay down the law in this house.

Don't let yourself be put upon!

Take things in hand.

You are the strongest.

Lean over.

I'm shitting myself.

Are you done?

Almost.

Are those our planes?

Are those our planes

or the Germans’?

The Germans'.

Not only is cinema the only distraction

but you have to walk there.

For once, it was useful entertainment.

The country needs films like that.

Why?

Because they praise the qualities we lack:

creation, character,

the soil, hard work.

Like the Bolshevik movies that you'd hate.

Do Bolshevik films also talk about the virtue of blood?

Oh, I can't take it anymore, my foot hurts too much.

It's all the same.

Enough with the talking, enough with morality!

You prefer The Lady of the Camellias?

She can get lost!

Is that our car?

The Germans requisition it, the terrorists destroy it.

That proves that Pedret's ideas were wrong.

No, go back to them. I don't want to see them anymore.

What's wrong with her?

What an awful deal!

"One prisoner will be paroled

"when three skilled workers leave for German factories".

No! Save your bread for the cheese.

"Requisitions are now made without compensation.

"Entire age groups are subject to forced labour.

"Excepting Poland, France becomes,

"the Reich’s largest source of labour.

"Of all the occupied countries, France provides

"the greatest number of skilled workers."

Who's there?

Berthe.

Is that you?

Well, come in!

Madam Berthe.

Good evening.

It hasn't changed much since you went away.

When I have some money I'll do some renovations.

It's so hard now.

Sit down.

Have you read this?

"France must take part in feeding Europe,

"and its fight against Bolshevism."

They're going to recruit us.

Ah, I didn't know.

Shall we go?

That way, because of the light.

Good evening.

Can I sleep here?

What do you mean?

This is your home.

You remember how small it is here.

The armchair will be fine.

I hear the Resistance is getting organized?

How did you hear about that?

They need weapons and ammunition. They’re easy to find but,

without a truck to transport them…

I can sort something.

Is that why you came here?

Yes.

Cover us on the way back.

You’re with me.

Look, we're here.

We do this, then this. We hide behind every column that I've cut.

We won't have much time to act.

Is that him?

Madam, by the powers vested in me,

and in the name of the Republic,

I present you with the Medal of the Resistance.

Come down.

I can touch?

Cheese!

I've never seen an American before.

l've never seen a hero from the Resistance.

Her? That's my sister-in-law!

Come to eat at home.

That way, I’ll be face to face with two heroes, OK?

Why didn't you get a medal?

Here’s my red berry diplomat pudding:

strawberries, and inside, cherries, raspberries, redcurrants.

Oh, it's wonderful!

It was my poor husband's favourite.

Pedret recognized me

the first time he saw me.

He was the only one!

Thank you.

What’s more, De Gaulle has the same eyes as him.

What did she say?

I didn't have an opinion,

but I acted anyway.

Some said white,

others said black.

The General found the answer:

"You are all the same."

He has an answer for everything.

After the exploits, he was able to say to the crowd: "Thank you, go home."

Before the war, I lived like everybody else.

No book tells the little stories of everyday life.

Now,

everything has changed.

I'm living Big History, what they talk about in the books.

Let's enjoy it!

We've had our differences, my dear Berthe,

but at base, we are on the same side.

To celebrate your decoration, I'm going to sing "The Partisans’ Song".

No, it's too much.

I can't take it anymore.

Take me with you!

You want to write a novel about the war.

Your advertising agency's

on the 34th floor of the Chrysler building.

Yes. - Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie play on 52nd Street.

The Staten Island ferry costs only a nickel.

Tell me about a soldier's fear of dying.

Listen! - Peter Stuyvesant bought Manhattan from the Indians for...

24 dollars!

What is commercial art? Why do they call it the automat?

The tops of skyscrapers move in a strong wind...

I have my life in New York!

Don't worry about your life.

You are just a good opportunity for me, nothing more, nothing less.

OK?

My dear Lucie,

I am writing to you from America, from the New World.

It's a different world but it's still hell. Really!

"Where do we find what we're looking for?

"Alcohol, drugs, debauchery don't scare me.

"I can turn my hand to all trades

"but in this jungle,

"I thirst for nature, for purity.

"I...

"I see only crime around me,

"so I'll be bored everywhere?!

"Yet I want to know everything.

"Maybe

"I could have, as you did,

"cultivated my garden in silence?

"But I’m burning,

"I’m losing myself in an endless delirium."

She's a child.

She would have been better off rebuilding things here,

with us, like us.

Every business has troubled times. One crisis heralds another.

Don't exaggerate!

No two crises are the same. Growing competition threatens our markets.

How can we survive?

Small businesses are being eaten up by big industry.

Where will we find the means to fight?

Certain arrangements, certain subsidies.

Yes, I know. The Fifth Republic has been good for us,

your heroism has served us, your support has helped us.

It's not enough anymore.

What are you going to do? Redundancies?

As a result, the strike was approved unanimously.

I saw it, here.

Why?

They’re protesting against their co-workers' dismissals.

As they should.

Let's go home.

Can you believe it, Victor?

What's wrong?

I'm worried about the situation.

What situation?

My own.

I’m with them more often than I'm with you.

I don't know what to do anymore.

Don't be afraid.

I'll sort it all out.

Nothing can harm us.

I accept all your conditions.

Your struggle is just.

Goodwill will triumph.

The state doesn't take enough care of you

but its effects will be felt here too.

Reforms are underway.

Tomorrow, you will be better represented,

better managed,

better led.

That's... - One detail bothers me though.

You don't work at Renault or for a big company.

You know the limits of our modest industry.

Don't be influenced by ideas that are too abstract.

Make sure

that they suit

your situation.

Each company has its its own particularities.

Remember that.

I've always been committed to the cause.

Business is bad here. For years now

we haven't made a penny in profit.

Prosper is willing to let you see the figures.

Come.

Join the management.

You can advise us. Our offices are open to you.

The only real problem we have

has to do with developing a sense of responsibility

in socio-economic organisations.

By the way, how is Pierrette?

Yes, since they accept our conditions.

Yes, but it's bad for them and good for us; let's continue the strike!

Don't be naive, Louis! Not us, not here, not now.

This is an isolated strike, let's go back to work.

I understand, I know what I have to do.

Can I have some more, madam?

Sylvie, don't drink so much coffee, it'll make you agitated!

Here you go, Loulou.

It's Mum's signature dish, her prune cake.

Berthe gave me the recipe.

By the way,

I don't know what you have against her.

I admire her very much.

Don't start that again.

I told Hector.

Berthe is a hero.

What does that mean, Mum?

What does that mean? It means...

It means that everyone cites her as an example.

She's a woman of action.

And you,

you can't stand that.

Why don't we go for a walk? - No, we have to wait for Gisou.

She won't come.

It's a shame, I like that girl.

There's something mysterious about her.

There she is.

Oh, would you like to come in? - Is Hector here?

Hector! It's for you.

For me?

I stopped by your place, I thought you'd be here.

You used to come and see us from time to time.

It's been a long time now.

Berthe is downstairs in the car.

Hello! - Hello!

I've been having more trouble with your boyfriend, Loulou!

I don't really want to see her.

What a womaniser that guy is! He screws all over town.

I swear, so long as it has an ass and that it stinks!

Hello, are you still alive?

What's up? Did you forgot me?

No.

It's very simple.

I want a divorce.

Monday, 6pm at the Café de la Poste if I remember correctly.

Can you tell that it's a wig?

Am I wearing too much make-up?

Do I look like a provincial in my Sunday best? - Of course not.

I'll watch my step.

Slow is elegant, no?

Prosper refuses to see you and says no to the divorce.

What will become of your charming industry?

After the crisis, it's getting stronger, thank you.

No.

It's going bankrupt.

Sit down.

I’d forgotten your taste for invention.

A gangster from Chicago is going to shoot Prosper.

Your rich protector will pick up the tab.

Make me laugh.

I have other means.

Crime novels put me to sleep when I'm travelling.

Business wakes me up.

Richard has just been made

vice-president of his company.

I need things cleared up.

It's none of my business.

How much?

I came to buy Prosper's signature, I must have it.

We don't need your money.

Rival factories in your area

won’t turn their noses up at some foreign capital.

Bonnal, Bonnal trying to break through.

It's coming...

the try is coming. The try is scored!

We're closing!

Pull over.

You cling to common sense like a blind man to his cane.

And you're still just as romantic, despite your cheque book.

Let's forget all that.

Don't stay at the hotel - come home, with Richard.

Shhh!

Shhh!

Richard!

Come here!

Yes, I'm coming.

Nothing has changed!

Honestly, I never saw anything so depressing.

Something new!

Amidst all the rubbish.

Shall we dance? - Of course!

...winner last year. There was also a tiercé...

When I was a child,

sometimes I’d hide

behind the gates

and watch for hours

this house that fascinated me so.

Hypnotized, I’d see people

coming and going behind the windows.

I thought they were ghosts.

And I’d return home late at night,

like when you come home from the movies, and everything is dark.

French subs for KG by JM²L English subs by fela