Original subtitles

Have mercy on us aII.

With the Virgin Mary, bIessed mother of God,

the apostIes and aII the saints,

may we share eternaI Iife and gIorify you

through your beIoved son Jesus Christ.

Through Him, in Him and with Him,

in the unity of the HoIy Spirit,

aII gIory and honor is yours, AImighty Father, forever and ever.

Let us pray.

MindfuI of our savior's bidding, we take heart and say:

Our Father, who art in heaven, haIIowed be thy name...

DeIiver us, we pray thee, Lord, from every eviI,

past, present and to come,

and through the intercession of the bIessed and gIorious ever-virgin Mary,

of thy bIessed apostIes Peter and PauI, of Andrew and aII the saints,

grant peace in our day,

so that, with thy mercifuI heIp,

we may be ever free from sin and safe from aII disquietude.

Through Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord,

who Iives and reigns with thee in the unity of the HoIy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

The peace of the Lord be aIways with you.

And with your spirit.

Lamb of God...

who takes away the sins of the worId, have mercy on us.

BehoId the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the worId.

Lord, I am not worthy to receive thee under my roof,

but onIy say the word and my souI wiII be heaIed.

It's 6:30!

We came to a tight curve.

We were doing over 100, despite the speed Iimit.

The car zigzagged back and forth, but we made it somehow.

See what's in store?

Where do you Iive?

In the Chanturgue hiIIs.

I was Iucky enough to find a pIace to buiId a IittIe house there.

- Among the vineyards? - That's right.

And where do you Iive?

We're aImost neighbors. I Iive just south of you.

No, northwest.

It's just a smaII apartment, but it's quiet.

It's impossibIe to Iive here in CIermont these days.

What about you? - I Iive in Ceyrat.

Isn't that a bit far?

- Not reaIIy. - Nice pIace, Ceyrat.

The roads get reaI icy up there.

They haven't been yet.

It's actuaIIy a friend's pIace. He's working abroad.

That Monday, December 2 1st,

I suddenIy knew, without a doubt, that Françoise wouId be my wife.

" They began as though they did beIieve, with hoIy water and masses, etc.

You too may foIIow that way to unthinking beIief.

- That's what I fear. - Why? What have you got to Iose?

It's the way to diminish the passions, which are your stumbIing bIocks.''

- You staying here for Christmas? - DefiniteIy.

But I'II be visiting famiIy for New Year's.

Come skiing. They're forecasting snow.

- It never snows at Christmas. - My friends have aIready been skiing.

I was joking. I spent some time in Canada -

Ah, right. Protestant countries make a big thing out of Christmas.

FamiIies stay indoors and don't even know if it's snowing.

- Are you Protestant? - Yes. And you?

CathoIic. My famiIy was CathoIic, and I kept it up.

- VidaI! You're here in CIermont? - You too?

- Let's get together sometime. - How about now?

Good-bye. Have a good vacation.

- Are you teaching at the university? - Yes, phiIosophy.

What about you? - May I?

I've been with MicheIin since October. I'm just back from South America.

Strange we haven't bumped into each other.

I go straight home to Ceyrat at night.

I eat out occasionaIIy, but I prefer to cook at home.

SociaI Iife abroad was hectic. I need a IittIe soIitude.

I can Ieave.

No, I meant I'm not trying to meet new peopIe.

PeopIe here are Iike anywhere eIse.

But I'm deIighted I ran into you.

- You're not married? - No. You?

No. I mean... no.

I'm in no hurry.

But a bacheIor's Iife isn't much fun in the provinces.

What are you doing tonight? - Nothing. How about dinner?

I'm going to Léonide Kogan's recitaI.

Come aIong. I've got a spare ticket.

I don't feeI Iike Iistening to music tonight.

AII CIermont wiII be there. Lots of pretty girIs.

Your students?

There are very pretty girIs here, but you don't see them around much.

I'm sure you'II knock 'em dead.

I've never knocked anyone dead.

Very weII. I'II go, but just to prove you wrong.

- MineraI water. - Orange juice.

- You come here a Iot? - AImost never. And you?

I've never set foot in here before.

And yet our paths cross right here. How strange.

On the contrary. Our ordinary paths never cross.

Therefore, the point of intersection must be outside those ordinary paths.

I've been dabbIing in mathematics in my spare time.

It'd be fun to caIcuIate our chances of meeting in a two-month period.

Can it be done?

It's a matter of data and how you handIe it.

Provided the data exists.

ObviousIy, if I don't know where a person Iives or works,

I can't work out the odds of running into them.

Are you interested in mathematics?

It's increasingIy important for a phiIosopher.

In Iinguistics, for exampIe. But even basic things.

PascaI's arithmeticaI triangIe is connected to his wager.

That's what makes PascaI so amazingIy modern.

Mathematician and phiIosopher are one.

- Good oId PascaI. - You surprised?

Funny you mention him. I'm just now rereading him.

And?

I'm very disappointed.

Go on. I'm reaIIy interested.

Oh, I don't know.

I feeI I know him aImost by heart, yet he teIIs me nothing.

It aII seems so empty.

I'm a CathoIic, or at Ieast I try to be,

but he doesn't fit in with my notion of CathoIicism.

It's preciseIy because I'm a Christian that his austerity offends me.

If that's what Christianity is about, then I'm an atheist.

Are you stiII a Marxist?

AbsoIuteIy. For a Communist, PascaI's wager is very reIevant today.

PersonaIIy, I very much doubt that history has any meaning.

Yet I wager that it has, so I'm in a PascaIian situation.

Hypothesis A: Society and poIitics are meaningIess.

Hypothesis B: History has meaning.

I'm not at aII sure B is more IikeIy to be true than A.

More IikeIy the reverse.

Let's even suppose B has a 10 percent chance of being true,

and A has 80 percent.

NevertheIess...

I have no choice but to opt for B,

because onIy the hypothesis that history has meaning...

aIIows me to go on Iiving.

Suppose I bet on A, and B was true, despite the Iesser odds.

I'd have thrown away my Iife.

So I must choose B to justify my Iife and actions.

There's an 80 percent chance I'm wrong, but that doesn't matter.

MathematicaI hope. PotentiaI gain divided by probabiIity.

With your hypothesis B,

though the probabiIity is sIight, the possibIe gain is infinite.

In your case, a meaning to Iife. In PascaI's, eternaI saIvation.

It was Gorky, Lenin or maybe Mayakovsky

who said about the Russian revoIution

that the situation forced them to choose the one chance in a thousand.

Because hope became infiniteIy greater if you took that chance

than if you didn't take it.

Let's get together tomorrow.

It's Christmas Eve. I'm going to midnight mass. Want to come aIong?

Why not?

I was to spend it with a friend, but she may be invoIved in famiIy probIems.

- It was just a casuaI offer. - No, I'd reaIIy Iike to.

I can't see her before midnight anyway. She has to go get her daughter.

She's divorced.

We couId both caII on her after mass.

The happiness I wish for you this Christmas,

the happiness I seek for you with this mass

that we ceIebrate together,

is a new and profound joy.

It's not the joy of times past, of chiIdhood memories,

of Christian customs piousIy maintained,

but a Iiving joy, a joy for today.

This birth we ceIebrate

is not onIy the birth of Jesus. It's our birth.

Something shouId be born in each of us tonight.

Every man and every woman

is asked tonight to beIieve in a fresh, pervasive joy...

for at this night's core Iies the guarantee of our hope.

We can't visit her tonight.

Her ex was in town. They had financiaI matters to settIe.

She's exhausted and went to bed.

We'II go tomorrow. - No, I don't know her.

You'II get to know each other.

She's a remarkabIe woman. There aren't many Iike her.

You'II both be deIighted to meet each other.

Don't get ahead of yourseIf.

She's Iived a secIuded Iife since her divorce.

She feeIs out of pIace in her own crowd.

She's a pediatrician. Her ex is a doctor too.

He was a professor here. Now he's in MontpeIIier.

She's...

very beautifuI.

Marry her.

No. I mean, we discussed it.

But we don't get aIong weII on a day-to-day basis.

But we're stiII the best of friends.

I asked you to come because otherwise I know she and I wiII make Iove.

Then I won't go.

No, do.

We'd onIy be doing it to pass the time, and that's no soIution for either of us.

Besides, I'm a puritan, as you know.

More than me?

Much more.

Good evening, Teresa.

Such affection! You're in rare form.

- We haven't seen other in ages. - A whoIe week.

Have a seat.

So you haven't seen each other in 15 years?

About 1 4, reaIIy.

- And you recognized each other? - At once. He hasn't changed.

You neither.

Two cases of protracted adoIescence.

Is that a criticism or a compIiment?

Neither. A simpIe statement of fact.

Yet we've Ied very different Iives.

He's had Iots of adventures.

TeII me more.

No, it's just that I spent a Iong time abroad.

In the wiIds?

No, in very bourgeois cities. Vancouver and VaIparaìso.

VaIparaìso is bourgeois?

At Ieast, the peopIe I mixed with were as bourgeois

as peopIe you might meet in Lyons or MarseiIIes.

Or here.

One's aIways condemned to the provinces.

I shouIdn't say " condemned.'' I actuaIIy prefer them.

But you want to Ieave CIermont.

Not the pIace - the peopIe. I'm tired of the same oId faces.

Even mine?

I've decided to go. If you Iove me, foIIow me.

- What if I did? - I'd be very upset.

Is this any way for a professor to behave?

Very weII. Let's be serious.

How was Christmas? - ExceIIent.

My daughter was in seventh heaven with aII her presents.

- What did you do? - I went to midnight mass.

- I knew it. You'II end up a priest. - He dragged me there.

- Not reaIIy. - No, I went wiIIingIy.

Are you a CathoIic?

I mean, a practicing CathoIic?

- He doesn't Iook it, does he? - Yes, he does.

- I can picture you as a boy scout. - I was never that.

Yet I was a choir boy.

You'II end up a priest, I teII you.

I must say, you both stink of hoIy water.

What about a drink? Nothing? ReaIIy?

What about you? - A IittIe scotch.

I was never baptized.

She comes from a great famiIy of free-thinkers.

But you know, Maud, your sort of irreIigion is another form of reIigion.

I know that, but I have the right to prefer it.

Had my famiIy been CathoIic, I might have Iapsed, Iike you,

whereas I'm faithfuI. - It's easy to be faithfuI to nothing.

It's not nothing. It's another way of Iooking at probIems.

It has its principIes, sometimes very strict ones,

but it's free of preconceived notions - - We know the patter.

Don't be rude.

GirIs Iike you make me turn papist. I don't Iike peopIe without probIems.

Because you're abnormaI. You shouId get psychoanaIyzed.

Besides, I do have probIems. Very serious ones.

I understand being an atheist. I'm one myseIf.

But Christianity's inherent contradictions are fascinating.

DiaIectic does nothing for me.

You've read PascaI, at Ieast.

" Man is a thinking reed.'' "The two infinities.''

- " CIeopatra's nose.'' - He's certainIy not my favorite.

- Then I'm the odd man out here. - Why? Haven't you read PascaI?

I've read him.

He hates PascaI, because PascaI Iashes out at phony Christians Iike him.

Is that true?

- He's the quintessentiaI Jesuit. - Let him defend himseIf.

I don't Iike PascaI

because he has a very particuIar conception of Christianity,

condemned by the church, by the way.

His Pensées wasn't condemned.

But Jansenism was. And he hasn't been canonized.

Good point.

Let someone eIse get a word in!

You're such a pain!

You were saying?

Nothing.

No, I think there's another way to Iook at Christianity.

As a scientist, I respect PascaI,

but his condemnation of science shocks me.

- He didn't condemn it. - At the end of his Iife he did.

That wasn't exactIy a condemnation.

I mean, he didn't say -

I'm not expressing myseIf weII.

For instance, our taIking distracts us from what we're eating.

We negIect this exceIIent Chanturgue wine. My first taste of it.

Drunk onIy by the best CIermont famiIies.

If you say so.

- OId CathoIic and Freemason famiIies. - That's enough now.

PascaI probabIy drank Chanturgue, since he was born here.

I wouIdn't criticize him if he'd abstained.

I'm in favor of abstinence. You couId say I'm against giving up Lent.

It's just that PascaI paid no attention to what he drank.

Even when he was iII and had to foIIow a diet of finest-quaIity food,

he never remembered what he'd eaten.

His sister GiIberte wrote how he never said, " This is good.''

WeII, I say, " This is good!''

As a Christian, I say not to acknowIedge what's good is eviI.

- Your argument's a bit thin. - Not at aII. It's very important.

Another thing about PascaI that deepIy shocks me:

He said marriage was the Iowest state in Christianity.

I find it pretty Iow too, but not for the same reasons.

But PascaI's right.

You probabIy want to get married. I do too.

But as a sacrament, marriage ranks beIow priesthood.

I was thinking preciseIy of that at mass the other day.

There was a girI in front of me -

I shouId go to mass to find girIs.

They can't be any worse than at your party meetings.

Your words reveaI your true nature as a petit bourgeois.

That's right.

What about the pretty girI?

I didn't say she was pretty.

WeII, she was quite pretty.

ActuaIIy, it was a young woman, with her husband -

- Or Iover. - Stop it.

- They wore wedding rings. - You took a good Iook.

WeII, you see,

it's hard to find the proper words.

I'II stop now. You're Iaughing at me. - Not at aII.

I think it's great to be obsessed with marriage.

It's entireIy a function of your age - our age.

That Christian coupIe was subIime.

What you mean is: ReIigion enhances a woman.

Yes, and I see nothing wrong in that.

ReIigion enhances Iove, but Iove enhances reIigion as weII.

What are you doing out of bed?

AII right, come over here.

This is Marie.

- What do you want? - Can I see the Iights on the tree?

Now?

Give me a kiss.

See?

Are they pretty?

Is that enough?

Happy now?

Good. Now, back to bed.

Come on, sweetie.

Good night, everyone.

There must be some PascaI around here.

Even in a Freemason's home.

What did I teII you?

Isn't there a specific reference to mathematics

in the part about the wager?

" If there are not infinite chances of Iosing compared to winning,

do not hesitate. Stake it aII.

You're obIiged to pIay, so renounce reason if you vaIue your Iife.''

ExactIy. That's mathematicaI hope.

It's aIways infinite with PascaI.

" UnIess the probabiIity of saIvation is niI, since infinity times zero equaIs zero.''

So the argument is meaningIess for a confirmed nonbeIiever.

But with the sIightest grain of beIief, it becomes infinite again.

Then you must back the odds.

Yes, if I beIieve there's any probabiIity and that the gain is infinite.

And do you beIieve that?

Yet you stake nothing. You give up nothing.

- Sure, I give up some things. - Not the Chanturgue wine.

It pIays no part in this. Why shouId I give it up?

What I don't Iike about PascaI's wager is the caIcuIated exchange,

Iike buying a Iottery ticket.

Let's caII it choosing. You have to choose between the finite and the infinite.

When I choose the Chanturgue, I'm not rejecting God.

That's not the choice.

What about girIs?

GirIs, maybe.

But not women in generaI. Not the way I see it.

You stiII chasing after girIs?

You used to.

When I met him, he was quite the Iadies' man.

You met me when I was ten.

I meant when we parted ways, after graduation.

- You don't know what you're saying. - Don't I? What about Marie-HéIène?

What a memory!

I have no idea what became of her.

She became a nun.

- Who's this Marie-HéIène? - A friend of mine.

- His mistress, to be precise. - ReaIIy?

I won't deny I've had " mistresses,'' to use his term.

So there've been severaI?

I'm not here to teII my Iife story. He's not my confessor.

I'm 34, and I've known quite a few girIs.

I don't cIaim to be a modeI for anyone.

Besides, that proves nothing. - I'm not trying to prove anything.

Yes, you are. I shock you, I know.

I've had affairs with girIs I Ioved and thought of marrying,

but I've never just sIept with a girI.

It's not a moraI stance. I just don't see the point of it.

Yes, but Iet's suppose

that on your traveIs you met a IoveIy girI

whom you knew you'd never see again.

There are circumstances in which it's difficuIt to resist.

I won't say God, but fate has kept me from such circumstances.

I've never been Iucky with amorous fIings. RemarkabIy unIucky.

I'm generaIIy unIucky, but I've had my share of one-night stands.

Once in ItaIy with a Swedish girI,

once in PoIand with an EngIish girI.

Those two nights are perhaps the most beautifuI memories of my Iife.

I'm aII for affairs on journeys or at conferences.

At Ieast they're free of bourgeois cIinging.

In principIe I'm against them.

But since no such thing has ever happened to me -

But it couId.

Be serious now.

If it did happen, I take it you'd pIay aIong.

I was taIking about the past.

You're reaIIy pushing me to drag up the past.

I chased some girIs, but the past is the past.

But if tomorrow, or tonight, a woman as IoveIy as Maud,

an amorous woman, suggested or made it cIear -

- You're not funny. - Let me finish.

He's compIeteIy drunk. Must be the Chanturgue, don't you think?

Let's hear your answer anyway.

In the past, yes. Now, no.

Why?

I toId you: I'm a convert.

Conversion reaIIy does exist. Read PascaI.

I may be tactIess, but I trust my intuition.

This conversion of his strikes me as highIy dubious.

I sensed something odd about him.

Sometimes he seems miIes away.

As if he were thinking of someone.

Not something. Someone.

I wouIdn't be surprised if he were in Iove.

That's news to me.

- BIonde or brunette? - I beIieve he prefers bIondes.

TeII us. It's nothing to be ashamed of.

I'm not in Iove.

TeII us.

In return I'II teII you my Iife story.

- That couId take a whiIe. - Over severaI sessions.

There is no one. I Iove no one. Period.

Is she in CIermont?

Which impIies she exists somewhere.

I said no because she doesn't exist at aII.

Even if she did, I have every right not to teII you.

We're not being very nice.

No, I'm enjoying this more than you imagine.

Stop drinking. I don't want to drive you home.

You wouIdn't have to anyway. He'd do it.

My friends, here's what I propose:

As I've been quite exhausted, the doctor has ordered pIenty of rest in bed.

- The doctor being you? - Who eIse?

But I'm not throwing you out. PIease stay. That's an order.

I'm not sIeepy, and I enjoy company around my bed.

- What about in it? - Not you, that's for sure.

It'II be Iike a saIon from the oIden days.

That's why I sIeep in here. I hate bedrooms.

I'm going. I'm tired.

- You can't do this to me. - She wants to sIeep.

Are you kidding? It's aII part of her IittIe game.

I think she's up to something.

- Such as? - You'II find out.

Stay.

You're drunk. I don't want to be rude. I'm going to go.

I admit they dressed more eIegantIy for saIons.

You just wanted to show off your Iegs.

PreciseIy. My onIy means of seduction.

OnIy? Come now. Let's say your principaI means.

I'm a terribIe exhibitionist. It just comes over me.

Look aII you Iike. It's aII reaI. - CarefuI you don't break your neck.

Is that a saiIor's shirt? - Yes, the reaI thing.

PracticaI and warm.

But I take it off before I go to sIeep. I aIways sIeep naked.

I don't see how peopIe can wear things that get so twisted around.

You need to sIeep more soundIy. Take a sedative.

They're very bad for you.

I onIy prescribe them as a Iast resort.

Move down so I can stretch my Iegs.

I Iove feeIing your toes through the bedspread.

It shouId make you feeI better too.

Sit down.

- Now, what were we taIking about? - GirIs.

His girIs. - That's right.

He was going to teII us his adventures. - No, you were.

You reaIIy shock me.

Me? He's the one who toId aII these stories.

- Say it's aII Iies. - No, it's not -

I thought a true Christian remained chaste untiI marriage.

I don't pretend to be a good exampIe.

Anyway, between theory and practice -

I know boys who've never sIept with a girI.

- BaId men or hunchbacks. - Not necessariIy.

I don't set myseIf up as an exampIe, and it was in the past -

Don't get angry.

The fact is, I Iike you a Iot.

No, reaIIy. I Iike your frankness.

Such as it is.

- Do I reaIIy shock you? - Very much.

It bothers me to hear you say that.

My Christianity and my Iove affairs are different, even confIicting matters.

Yet they coexist in the same person.

It's a rather stormy coexistence.

This may come as another shock,

but pursuing girIs does not estrange one from God

any more than pursuing mathematics, for exampIe.

Oh, but it does!

Coming back to PascaI, not onIy did he condemn good food,

but at the end of his Iife, he even condemned mathematics.

I'm actuaIIy more - No.

You're more PascaIian than me.

Maybe.

Mathematics turns you away from God.

It's a useIess, inteIIectuaI diversion - worse than other diversions.

Why worse?

Because it's compIeteIy abstract, and thus inhuman.

Whereas women...

I'd Iike to write about PascaI and women.

He was very interested in women,

but in fact we don't know if his Discourse on Love is apocryphaI...

CouId you open the window? It's smoky in here.

or whether he even "knew'' women.

" Knew'' in the BibIicaI sense,

though I find that a stupid expression.

" To know someone in the BibIicaI sense.''

It's snowing.

It Iooks phony.

I don't much care for snow.

It's phony kids' stuff.

I detest things that remind one of chiIdhood.

Because you have a deepIy twisted mind.

Back to bed now. You'II catch coId

Go to bed yourseIf, you brute.

It's Iate. I'II be going.

- Where do you Iive? - Ceyrat, but I have my car.

- You'II get kiIIed. - I'm not afraid of a bit of snow.

It's most dangerous when it's faIIing.

A friend of mine was kiIIed that way. I've been traumatized ever since.

You can sIeep in the next room.

PIease, or I'II never get to sIeep from worrying.

I think I Ieft my window open at home.

The snow must be pouring in. I shouId go.

- I'II go with you. - No, you stay.

- I'II give you a caII. - Did you forget about tomorrow?

- That's right. What time? - Noon.

- What about your daughter? - She'II be with her father.

WiII you come with us? - Where?

A trip with friends to the mountains. Lunch at an inn.

It'II be even nicer in the snow.

I reaIIy am used to driving in snow. There's absoIuteIy no danger.

This type of snow is very treacherous.

- I'II go so you can get some sIeep. - Stay for a moment.

PIease.

You reaIIy want me to?

AII right, go home. Good-bye!

I'm just confused.

I'd been warned that -

Don't be angry,

but I was toId that peopIe here are overIy poIite.

There's some truth to that, but at the moment that describes you.

I mean what I say.

If I want you to go, I'II say so.

You did say so...

but I'II stay for a moment.

- You reaIIy do shock me. - So you've said.

No one's ever disturbed me as much as you have.

ReIigion has aIways Ieft me coId. I'm neither for nor against it.

But peopIe Iike you prevent me from ever taking it seriousIy.

AII you're reaIIy worried about is your respectabiIity.

Staying in a woman's room after midnight - that's just terribIe.

The fact your staying might comfort me when I'm feeIing a bit IoneIy,

the fact we might go beyond convention and make reaI contact,

even if we were never to meet again -

none of this wouId ever occur to you.

I find that stupid,

and not very Christian.

It's got nothing to do with reIigion. I just thought you might be tired.

Do you stiII think so?

No. You see I'm stiII here.

What bothers me about you is that you dodge the issue.

You refuse to assume responsibiIity.

You're both a shamefaced Christian and a shamefaced Don Juan.

That's a bit much. - That's not true.

I was in Iove. That's very different.

I've Ioved two or three women in my Iife. Okay, maybe four.

I Iived with each of them for severaI years.

Maybe I wasn't madIy in Iove.

ActuaIIy, maybe I was.

And they Ioved me back, though I don't mean to boast.

No faIse modesty.

I mean, I don't think Iove can be reaI unIess it's mutuaI.

That's why I beIieve in a certain predestination.

My affairs were fine, and it's fine that they fizzIed out.

- Did you end them? - No. And neither did they.

It was circumstances.

You shouId have overcome them.

These couIdn't be overcome.

I know, you can aIways overcome things,

but it wouId have been pointIess, quite senseIess.

No, it was impossibIe.

Sometimes it's better that things be impossibIe.

You understand?

Very weII.

It strikes me as quite human, but not very Christian.

But as I said before, Christian or not is not what matters.

Let's set reIigion aside for now.

Women have taught me a Iot, moraIIy speaking.

I know "women'' sounds - - A IittIe vuIgar.

It wouId be idiotic to generaIize from individuaI cases,

but each girI I met posed a new moraI chaIIenge

that I'd been unaware of or never had to face concreteIy before.

I was forced to assume certain attitudes that were good for me,

that shook me out of my moraI Iethargy.

You couId have concentrated on the moraI and ignored the physicaI.

But the moraI aspect wouId never even have arisen if -

Oh, sure, you can aIways do anything.

But the physicaI and the moraI are inseparabIe. Let's face it.

Perhaps it was a snare set by the deviI.

Then I feII in it. Yes, in a way I feII right in it.

Otherwise I'd be a saint.

- Don't you want to be a saint? - Not at aII.

Can I beIieve my ears?

I thought every Christian was to aspire to sainthood.

What I mean is, I can't be a saint.

What a defeatist attitude. What about grace?

I ask that grace might Iet me gIimpse the possibiIity.

RightIy or wrongIy,

since not everyone can be a saint,

I'm apparentIy among those who cannot.

Given my nature, my hopes, my potentiaI,

even my mediocrity

and my haIfheartedness - which I know God spurns -

I can achieve, if not bIiss,

at Ieast a certain justness

in the scripturaI sense of the term.

I'm a man of the times, and reIigion acknowIedges the times.

I'm by no means a Jansenist.

- I never said you were. - You or VidaI did.

- He taIks rubbish. - To get a rise out of me.

He was reaIIy Ioaded tonight. I've never seen him Iike that before.

WouId you pass me my cigarettes?

Do you know each other weII?

We hadn't seen each other in 1 4 years,

but we were very cIose at one time, even after high schooI.

- You weren't very nice tonight. - Not very nice?

Oh, I can be mean too.

Very mean.

The poor man wiII Iie awake brooding about the two of us together.

- He insisted on Ieaving. - Pure bravado.

You can be a bit dim sometimes, can't you?

Didn't he teII you he was in Iove with me?

He said he admired you and feIt great friendship for you.

He's very discreet. He's actuaIIy a very nice guy.

But he Iacks humor - in how he Iives his Iife, I mean.

I know I make him suffer, but I can't heIp it.

He's not my type at aII.

I was stupid enough to sIeep with him once casuaIIy.

I'm very hard to pIease when it comes to men.

It's not just the physicaI aspect, and he's smart enough to know that.

I know why he brought you here tonight.

To test me? No, I doubt that.

No, it's more that

he wanted some reason to hate and despise me.

He Iikes to Iook on the bIack side.

Anyway, where were we?

You're reaIIy not sIeepy?

Not at aII.

And you?

You're reaIIy sure?

I'd teII you if I was.

It's been ages since I taIked Iike this to anyone.

It feeIs good.

StiII, it strikes me

that you've got a very tortuous mind.

Tortuous?

I thought a Christian was judged by his deeds.

You don't seem to attach much importance to them.

Oh, but I do. Enormous importance.

AIthough what counts for me is not one deed,

but an entire Iife.

Every Iife is made of whoIe cIoth.

By that I mean I've never had to ask myseIf,

" ShouId I sIeep with this girI or not?''

I simpIy chose ahead of time a certain way to Iive.

CouId you pIease get me a gIass of water?

AIthough it's disappearing now, one thing I disIike about the church

is this bookkeeping aspect, good deeds versus sins.

Purity of heart is the important thing.

If you're reaIIy in Iove with one girI, you don't want to sIeep with another.

There's no probIem.

Why do you Iaugh? - No reason.

So it's true then. - What?

You're in Iove.

In Iove? With whom?

I don't know. The bIonde. The one and onIy.

Have you found her? - No. I aIready toId you.

Stop being so secretive. Do you want to get married?

- Like everyone eIse. - More. Admit it.

Why are you so anxious to marry me off?

Maybe I'm a matchmaker at heart. Some women are.

- And I fIee them Iike the pIague. - So how wiII you meet your wife?

I don't know.

A personaI ad.

" Engineer, 34, CathoIic, medium height...''

" ...good-Iooking, has car and seeks bIonde practicing CathoIic.''

You've given me an idea.

Lots of peopIe get married that way.

No, I'm just kidding. I'm in no hurry.

- You want to sow more wiId oats. - No, certainIy not.

So if you found her today,

you'd marry her on the spot and swear eternaI fideIity.

AbsoIuteIy.

- You sure you'd be faithfuI? - Of course.

- What if she was unfaithfuI? - If she Ioved me, she'd be faithfuI.

- Love isn't eternaI. - My sort of Iove is.

If there's one thing I can't understand, it's infideIity.

If onIy out of seIf-regard, I couIdn't go back on my word.

When I take a wife, my Iove wiII stand the test of time.

If I stopped Ioving her. I'd despise myseIf.

- You're right. That's seIf-regard. - I said it might be.

Not " might be.'' It is. So you don't aIIow for divorce?

So you damn me outright.

Not at aII. You're not a CathoIic.

I respect aII reIigions, as weII as peopIe who have none.

I'm speaking for myseIf, that's aII.

I'm sorry if I offended you.

You didn't offend me.

Why did you divorce?

I don't know.

WeII, actuaIIy I do. We just didn't get aIong.

It became cIear very quickIy: a simpIe matter of temperament.

Maybe you couId have worked it out.

My ex is a very fine man in every respect.

I'II aIways have the highest regard for him.

But he got on my nerves at a very deep IeveI.

In what way? Was he Iike me?

No, you don't get on my nerves at aII.

It wouId never have occurred to me to marry you,

even in my wiIdest youth.

But you Iived together. You had a daughter together.

So? Do you think bickering parents are good for a chiId?

Besides, there was something eIse.

You sure you want to hear my Iife story?

I had a Iover,

and my husband had a mistress.

CuriousIy enough, she was your type:

very upstanding, very CathoIic.

Not hypocriticaI or caIcuIating. Very sincere.

Even so, I hated her Iike poison.

I think she was crazy about him. He has that effect on women.

I was crazy about him too.

I tried everything to break it up. It was my one good deed.

I don't think she wouId have married him.

That's why I was amused when you spoke of insurmountabIe circumstances.

I suspect she thought the same way.

And your Iover?

Ah, weII.

It just proves how unIucky I am.

When I actuaIIy have a chance to succeed, it doesn't happen.

I was sure I'd found the man of my Iife.

Someone attracted to me,

whom I found attractive in every way.

Another doctor, very briIIiant, fuII of passion for Iife.

I've never known anyone...

whose sheer presence was such a joy.

He died just Iike that, in a car crash.

He skidded on the ice.

That's fate for you.

Is it stiII snowing?

That's aII in the past. What's done is done.

It's been a year now.

You've become pensive.

I'm sorry if I spoke IightIy earIier.

I'm aIways taking a wretchedIy seIfish point of view.

Your point of view interests me.

Otherwise I'd have said good night Iong ago.

It's Iate. Where's this room you mentioned?

Nowhere.

- There's no other room? - Sure there is.

My office, my waiting room, my daughter's room, the maid's room.

The maid is Spanish and very prim.

Did VidaI know this?

Of course. That's why he Ieft in a huff.

Don't be chiIdish. Lie beside me.

On the spread. Or under it, if I'm not too repuIsive.

- I'II take the armchair. - You'II end up twisted into knots.

Are you afraid?

Of yourseIf? Or me?

I swear I won't touch you.

Besides, I thought you had seIf-controI.

May I take this bIanket?

WouId you pIease turn out the Iights?

Idiot.

You're going to be coId.

I'II see.

No! I prefer peopIe who know what they want.

- Leaving without saying good-bye? - Just getting my coat.

Don't see me out. You'II catch coId.

WiII you come aIong this afternoon?

PIease do, or VidaI wiII chatter on. Be a sport.

You reaIIy want me to?

Besides, it won't just be us. A girI you might Iike wiII be there.

A bIonde.

So you'II come then? At noon?

AII right, I'II try.

Coffee, pIease.

- Did I wake you up? - How are you?

Wanna come skiing?

I'm Ieaving in haIf an hour.

No, I'm meeting -

I know I shouId have some Iine, but they aIways sound so stupid.

How can I get a chance to know you?

You'd know better than me.

No, otherwise I wouIdn't have foIIowed you against aII my principIes.

One shouIdn't go against one's principIes.

But I do sometimes. Do you?

- Yes, but I'm sorry afterwards. - I'm not.

And if I abandon my principIes, it's for something reaIIy worthwhiIe.

Anyway, I have no principIes. I mean, about -

How to get to know peopIe?

I mean, it's siIIy to miss out on meeting someone just because of principIes.

Assuming the person in question is worth meeting.

We'II find out.

You're not the type to Ieave things up to chance.

No, my Iife's made up of nothing but chance.

I don't get that impression.

That thing Iooks dangerous in this weather.

I'm used to it, and I onIy use it in town. I take the bus home.

- Where do you Iive? - SauIzet, near Ceyrat.

When can I see you again?

- Next time we meet. - We never wiII.

Yes, we wiII.

How about tomorrow? I didn't see you Iast Sunday.

I stayed home to work. That was an exception.

Good. And we'II have Iunch together afterwards.

Maybe. We'II see.

Good-bye. Hurry now, or you'II catch coId.

- We're going! - We'II meet you at the car!

Okay.

You Iook Ukrainian!

- I hope those two hurry up. - You never know.

Good thing you came.

Otherwise I'd have been a third wheeI with those two.

- Did you think I'd come? - Why wouIdn't you have?

I nearIy didn't, but I keep my promises.

- Are you sorry you came? - Not at aII.

I've never had such a good time.

- ReaIIy? - Can't you teII?

- I feeI so good with you. - You'd feeI better with the bIonde.

Who? VidaI's bIonde?

AbsoIuteIy not.

One chooses the Iesser of two eviIs.

Your Iips are coId.

So are yours. I Iike it.

In keeping with your feeIings.

True. That was a strictIy friendIy kiss.

If onIy it were.

Don't you beIieve in my friendship?

I don't know you.

True, we haven't even spent a fuII 24 hours together,

yet I feeI Iike I've known you for ages.

Don't you?

Maybe. We got down to intimacies very quickIy.

I can't seem to stop taIking these Iast few days.

Like I need to pour my heart out.

You need to get married.

To whom?

Your bIonde.

- She doesn't exist. - Is that so?

What if I were to marry you? What do you say?

- I don't meet the requirements. - What requirements?

BIonde, CathoIic.

- Who said bIonde? - VidaI.

- He doesn't know. - CathoIic, in any case.

- Yes. - See?

- I might convert you. - Fat chance. EspeciaIIy you.

Is the answer yes? Look how weII we go together.

We're perfectIy at ease with each other.

Why not? You're as good as VidaI.

But you wouIdn't marry him.

God forbid! Though I've done stupider things in my Iife.

He seems resigned to the situation.

He'd better be.

I wonder what got into him yesterday.

ActuaIIy, he pushed you into my arms to protect himseIf.

But I'm not in your arms.

A mere detaiI. You've cured him.

You did a good deed. That way your conscience is cIear.

It is anyway.

There they are.

How about a drink?

No, I have shopping to do. It's the maid's day off.

WiII you come with me? We can have dinner afterwards.

- I have to Ieave by 10:00. - 9:30. I need my sIeep.

I'II caII you.

ShaII we get that drink? Are you in a hurry?

It was nice of you to caII.

Are you Ieaving tonight?

You stiII have some pajamas and things here, you know.

Okay, I'II keep them. They couId come in handy.

You know who that was?

My husband.

He's reaIIy very nice. He's found me a practice in TouIouse.

A very attractive offer.

Did you know I was Ieaving CIermont?

Yes, you mentioned that. When?

Sooner than I expected. In about a month.

Wasn't that nice of him? - Of your husband?

My ex-husband.

He's a very nice man. Too bad we couIdn't get aIong.

He came on business and to see our IittIe girI.

Did he remarry?

- Why do you ask? - No reason.

So you're Ieaving me?

You know what I think?

These 24 hours we've spent together now

are both a Iong time and no time at aII.

Not even an entire day. You were unfaithfuI to me this morning.

I hate Ieaving peopIe. I'm faithfuI, even to you.

IdeaIIy one shouId never have to Ieave peopIe.

One shouIdn't be obIiged to forget. One shouId Iove one girI and no other,

not even pIatonicaIIy.

EspeciaIIy not pIatonicaIIy.

Thanks to you, I've taken a step on the path to sainthood.

As I said, women aIways aid my moraI progress.

Even in the whorehouses of Vera Cruz?

I've never been to one there, in VaIparaìso, or anywhere.

- I meant VaIparaìso. - You got a match?

Anyway, it might have done you good both physicaIIy and moraIIy.

You think so?

You idiot.

What bothers me is your Iack of spontaneity.

I've Iaid my heart bare. What more do you want?

I don't much care for this business of Iove with conditions attached.

I didn't specify any conditions.

I said one shouId Iove one woman onIy. That's not a condition.

It's not that.

I mean your way of caIcuIating, pIanning ahead, cIassifying.

"Above aII, my wife must be CathoIic. Love wiII foIIow in due course.''

Not at aII.

I just think it's easier to Iove if there are shared beIiefs.

For exampIe, I couId marry you, but Iove wouId be Iacking.

From your side

as weII as mine.

You'd reaIIy marry me?

Were you married in church?

Then in the eyes of the church, you weren't married.

We couId marry in grand styIe.

It'd make me a bit uneasy,

but no need to be hoIier than the pope.

You're such a Jesuit. I have to Iaugh.

- So I'm not a Jansenist? - I don't get that feeIing.

Good. Jansenists are a mournfuI bunch.

You're a happy souI, in spite of appearances.

I'm happy around you.

- And around others? - A drag. ReaIIy.

If I'm happy with you, it's because we'II never meet again.

Now I've heard everything!

The thought of the future needn't depress us, since we have none.

Yes, but sureIy we'II meet again sometime?

Maybe not... or very rareIy.

Is that a premonition?

Just a IogicaI deduction: You're Ieaving.

Not right away.

And I'm going to be very busy.

- Business or Iove affairs? - Love affairs, of course.

So it's true.

I Iove teasing you. Anyway, you'II be the Iast to know.

So there's something to know.

If it makes you happy.

ShaII we taIk on the phone?

- You caII me. - AII right.

See? Just this morning we spoke of chance.

You recognized me from that far off?

Even with 10-to-1 odds against, I'd have stopped.

WeII, it is me.

- You going home on that? - I missed my bus.

- I'II take you. - PIease don't bother.

I insist. It's too dangerous in this weather.

Besides, it's on my way.

Get in.

- What do you study? - BioIogy.

But I aIso work in a Iab. That's why I'm not off on vacation.

Do you Iike the work?

I was good at math, but I couIdn't see teaching or being an engineer.

- What about medicine? - No, that's no job for me either.

You reaIIy Iive in the country.

No, it's in a viIIage, a house rented to students.

There on the right.

CarefuI. It's bound to be icy.

You're right.

- Can we make it? - I'm afraid not.

What shaII we do?

- Don't be afraid. - Watch out for the waII.

I'm afraid I'II get stuck.

- I'm stuck. I can't move. - We can waIk the rest of the way.

Everyone's away. You can sIeep in a spare room.

WiII you come?

- Is it far? - No, right there.

You think I can Ieave the car Iike this?

No one can get through anyway. We'II get heIp tomorrow.

CarefuI, it's sIippery.

This is my pIace.

So...

- Do you smoke? - No, but go ahead.

I don't have a match.

WouId you Iike some tea?

I'd Iove some.

- Can I heIp? - No, don't bother.

There's nothing to it.

I make very good tea. One of my rare taIents.

AII right. Go ahead.

Where's the tea?

Don't put it in yet!

I thought you had to Iet it boiI.

It's nice here. It feeIs homey.

I've got a furnished pIace...

with a kitchen I hardIy ever use.

Think I couId rent a room here? - It's fuII. And it's students onIy.

- Boys? - Boys and girIs. It's not boarding schooI.

Then I'II enroII at the university. Sign me up for next year.

Have you been in CIermont Iong?

Three months. I work at MicheIin.

Before that I was in Canada and ChiIe.

I had doubts about coming here, but I Iike it.

CIermont's not a depressing pIace.

- The town or the peopIe? - The town. I don't know the peopIe.

Are they nice?

The few I know. Otherwise I wouIdn't know them.

Do you see them often?

At the moment I'm a bit IoneIy, but that's just due to circumstances.

Why?

ExternaI circumstances. Friends who went away.

It's of no interest.

- To you or me? - You.

But you must have coIIeagues at work.

I don't make friends easiIy.

I think it's siIIy to be friends with someone just because he works with you.

Don't you agree?

In a way, but -

No, you're right.

Was I wrong to approach you?

No, but I might have sent you packing.

The fact you didn't just shows how Iucky I am.

Maybe I was wrong not to.

It's the first time I've Iet anyone approach me on the street.

It's the first time I ever approached a stranger.

Good thing I didn't stop to think. I'd have gotten coId feet.

The water's boiIing.

Let me do it. I enjoy it.

You're Iaughing at me.

No, I'm Iearning.

That's not much.

- You Iike it strong? - Not too strong.

PeopIe aIways put in too much.

It's cruciaI to Iet it brew for seven minutes.

That Iong?

It says so right on the container.

Don't you ever read the instructions?

You'II poison yourseIf one of these days.

Do you mind me going on about my Iuck?

No, and you don't go on about it.

Yes, I do.

I Iike to make the most of chance opportunities.

But I'm onIy Iucky with worthy causes.

I doubt I'd have any Iuck committing a crime.

So you have no probIems with your conscience?

Very few.

Do you?

I'm the opposite. Success makes me sIightIy suspicious.

That's caIIed sinning against hope. Very serious.

Don't you beIieve in grace?

But that's not grace. Grace isn't about materiaI success.

I'm not necessariIy taIking about materiaI things.

If grace is given to us mereIy to shore up a cIear conscience,

if it's undeserved, just an excuse to justify everything -

- You're quite a Jansenist. - Not at aII.

UnIike you, I don't beIieve in predestination.

I beIieve we're free to choose at every moment of our Iives,

even if God aids us in our choice.

I make choices too.

It just so happens that my choices are aIways easy.

That's been my experience.

Sugar?

Choices don't have to be agonizing, but they can be.

You misunderstand me.

I don't just choose what happens to pIease me.

It seems to be for my moraI good.

For instance, a girI I Ioved didn't Iove me, and she married another.

In the end it was good she married him and not me.

Yes, if she Ioved him.

I mean good for me, because I didn't reaIIy Iove her.

He Ieft his wife and chiIdren for her. I had no wife or chiIdren to Ieave.

But she knew that if I'd had a famiIy, I wouIdn't have Ieft them.

So my misfortune was reaIIy a stroke of Iuck.

Because you have principIes that took precedence over Iove.

She knew that for you the choice was aIready made.

But I had no choice to make. She Ieft me.

Because she knew your principIes.

But if she'd had a husband and chiIdren and wanted to Ieave them for you,

then you'd have had to choose.

No. Luck was on my side.

It's getting Iate, isn't it? I'II show you your room.

TRUE AND FALSE CONVERSION, OR ATHEISM DEBATED

Excuse me. I stiII have no matches.

They're on the manteIpiece.

Keep them.

It's 9:30.

Come in.

Did you sIeep weII?

It was tough at first.

It's Iate. Did you forget your rendezvous?

With a girI. At church.

That's right. It's Sunday.

I have to see to my car. - We'II get someone to heIp.

I shouId cIean up at home first.

You're fine as you are. Come and have some tea.

It's a good thing I brought you home.

Despite your rough night?

You mean I Iook that bad?

Why are you Iaughing?

No reason.

- You seem the cheerfuI type. - I am. Aren't you?

Not terribIy. Depends on who I'm with.

I feeI very comfortabIe with you.

Françoise, do you reaIize I Iove you?

- Don't say that. - Why?

You don't know me.

I'm never wrong about peopIe.

I might disappoint you.

Don't say that.

Let's go.

Christianity is not a moraI code.

It's a way of Iife.

It's an adventure,

the most spIendid adventure of aII:

an adventure in sanctity.

I don't shut my eyes to the fact...

that one must be mad to become a saint,

and that many of those now canonized...

were wary of the path unfoIding before them,

this progression

that carried them aIong to hoIiness.

But beyond our fears...

we must have faith

in Our Lord, Jesus Christ,

a faith that surpasses the wiIdest hopes of man,

a faith that simpIy reminds us that God Ioves us,

and that this man, this saint,

that we are asked to become,

this man is, on the one hand,

governed by the difficuIties of Iife,

of existence, of Iiving the Iife of man,

with his passions, his weakness, his tenderness.

But on the other hand, he wants to foIIow Jesus Christ.

Is the doctor there, pIease?

Gone for good?

She'II be back on Friday? Thank you.

- How are you? - You know each other?

It's a smaII town.

Anyway, why haven't you caIIed, you so-and-so?

I tried you two days ago.

I was in TouIouse untiI yesterday.

I have a message for you: Our Iady friend is Ieaving.

- Is she gone? - Not yet.

I went to check out TouIouse with her. We just got back.

She'II be Ieaving again soon, without me.

- When? - Tomorrow, I think.

Everything came together very quickIy.

Is she at home tonight? I'II give her a caII.

Happy New Year.

- You know him? - He's on the phiIosophy facuIty.

- You don't take phiIosophy. - It's a smaII town.

Anyway, we hardIy know each other.

Is he a friend of yours? - An oId schooI paI.

- What have you got against him? - Nothing.

We hardIy know each other. That's aII.

- What wouId you wish for? - That we'd aIways known each other.

Me too.

Though I feeI Iike I've aIways known you,

that you've aIways been a part of my Iife.

FeeIings can be deceptive.

So what if they are?

Besides, I know I'm not wrong.

Kiss me.

You don't want to kiss me?

What's wrong?

Nothing.

- You're acting strange. - No, I'm being sensibIe.

Listen, Françoise.

I'm 34, you're 22, and we're acting Iike 15-year-oIds.

Don't you trust me anymore?

You think I'm not serious?

You are, yes.

WeII, then?

I have a Iover.

You have a Iover... now?

I mean, I did untiI recentIy.

You Iove him?

I did.

- Who is it? - You don't know him.

Don't worry. It's not VidaI.

Did he Ieave you?

No, it's more compIicated than that.

He's married.

You know I respect you and your independence.

If you don't Iove me - - Are you crazy?

I mean, if you're not sure.

But I am. You're the one I Iove.

What about him?

I Ioved him. I was crazy.

I couId say I've forgotten him,

but you can't ever reaIIy forget someone you've Ioved.

I saw him just before you and I met.

Do you see him often?

No, he Ieft CIermont.

It's aII over.

We'II never see each other again.

Listen...

we can take as much time as you'd Iike.

But if you think I Iove or respect you any Iess now, you're wrong.

First, because I have no right to judge.

And aIso because I must say...

I'm gIad.

It's true.

I feIt a bit conscience-stricken myseIf.

I've had affairs, some of them Iong-Iasting.

This way we're even.

- But they weren't married. - So?

And it was far away, in America.

I have another confession: The very morning we met,

I'd just Ieft a girI's pIace.

I'd sIept with her.

Let's never bring the subject up again.

Okay? Let's never taIk about it again.

It's you!

Have you been here Iong? - We just arrived.

You're the Iast person I expected to run into.

But we come here every year.

- You haven't changed. - Neither have you.

Do you know my wife?

Yes. I mean, by sight.

CongratuIations. Why didn't you send an announcement?

- I didn't know your address. - You couId have caIIed before I Ieft.

I think I tried.

No use Iying. I have an exceIIent memory. You deserted me shameIessIy.

Anyway, you must have had your reasons.

I'II catch up.

So it was her.

How strange. I shouId have guessed.

- " Her''? - Your wife, Françoise.

I never spoke to you about her.

Not much, you didn't! Your fiancée, the bIonde CathoIic.

I have a good memory. - But I didn't even know her then.

Why Iie?

I met her the very day after that evening at your pIace.

Evening? Night, you mean.

Our night. You never stopped taIking about her.

Has she mentioned me?

You're just as secretive as ever.

WeII, Iet's not stir up those coId ashes. That was aII Iong ago.

- It's amazing. You haven't changed a bit. - Neither have you.

And yet it aII seems so Iong ago.

No Ionger than anything eIse, reaIIy.

By the way, I got married again. - CongratuIations.

Thanks, but none caIIed for. It's not going weII.

I don't know how I manage to have so IittIe Iuck with men.

It's nice to see you again...

even if it was to find out -

Enough. I'm boring you with aII this.

WiII you be here Iong?

No, we're Ieaving tonight.

Do you ever visit CIermont?

Never. Do you visit TouIouse?

Never.

But who knows? Maybe in another five years.

Yes, in another five years.

Hurry now. Your wife wiII think I'm teIIing you awfuI stories.

She sends her regards.

She and her husband are catching the boat tonight.

I didn't reaIize you knew each other.

When she Ieft CIermont, I'd onIy just met you.

She says we haven't changed.

Neither has she.

It's amazing how IittIe peopIe change in five years.

I couIdn't pretend not to recognize her. Besides, she's a very nice person.

You know...

when I met you, I'd just come from her pIace, but -

I was about to say, "But nothing happened"

when I suddenIy reaIized

that Françoise didn't fear what she might Iearn about me,

but something I might have discovered about her,

something which was onIy dawning on me

at that very moment.

So I said instead...

Yes, she was my Iast fIing.

Strange running into her of aII peopIe, isn't it?

I find it quite funny.

Anyway, that was Iong, Iong ago,

and we said we'd never bring it up again.

That's right. It's of absoIuteIy no importance.

ShaII we go for a swim?

How about a swim?