Original subtitles

The movie that you�re about to see has no connection whatsoever,

either in subject or form, with Simone de Beauvoir�s novel

"Le Sang des autres", published by Gallimard.

- It's impossible - Oh, I�m not asking for much, really.

What about your father? What shall I tell your father?

- Oh, of course, you don�t care. - Do you sell cigarettes?

Yes, of course, I sell cigarettes. What kind of cigarettes do you want?

You want Gauloises?

Well, don�t go away, I�ll bring them to you.

How is it going, Ren�?

Here you are.

- A weird fellow. - Bah...

Right. So, will it be yes or no?

Again? Oh, you, my friend...

This thing of yours is getting on my nerves.

And all for your Georges! A bloke who�s not even from here.

But what I am going to tell your father

when he learns that you�re waiting tables for me?

A girl like you, with such an education and everything!

And the daughter of the mayor to boot!

All right, all right, I get it, you don�t want to do it.

- I won�t mention it again. - Hey...

Don�t put words in my mouth. " You don�t want to do it".

I�m willing to hire you just to oblige you,

but in my opinion, you know, it�s not a...

- I must kiss you. - Kiss me, yeah.

- Well, what are you waiting for? - It�s heavy.

All right, take this one.

Are you finished sulking yet?

I don�t like the situation any more than you do, no I don�t.

Do you have the keys?

If you�d rather stay with your father, why didn�t you say so?

I�m not asking anybody to stay with me.

People live and croak alone anyway.

Oh, for pity�s sake, Caroline, this is no time for whining.

Please. Come with me.

We�re going to put your things in your room.

Don�t move or I'll kill you.

Put the light on.

Slowly.

If you promise you won�t scream,

I�ll take my hand away.

OK?

Get up and stand against the wall.

I won�t hurt you.

I won�t hurt you. You�ll let me do it, won�t you?

Won�t you... May I... Well?

I beg you. No, no, no. No!

- You like it. It�s good. - No!

Come on, beg.

Apologize to me. Apologize to me!

Stop!

Don�t you like being treated like a whore?

Crawl! Crawl! Crawl,

come on, crawl!

What if I let you go?

I can let you go. Come on, go away!

Come on, go away. Go away. Go away or I'll strike you.

What are you waiting for?

Well? Open it! Come on. Come on. Come on, open it!

Come on, spread your legs. Spread your legs

No! No!

Mom!

Mom?

No! Mom!

Help me, we�re going to lie her down properly.

Grab her feet, what are you waiting for?

- Do you have something to care for mom? - Mom...

- In the medicine cabinet. - Well, go fetch it, hurry up.

You try to run and I�ll finish her, get it?

- What�s upstairs? - The attic.

- Anything on that side? - The fields.

There�s no window because of the winds.

Come, we�ll close the shutters.

- Why? - Don�t ask questions.

What do you want? If it�s money, we don�t have any, I swear it.

I don�t care about your money. Go downstairs now.

Maryse, Maryse, beware.

Look, Ga�tan, wait, wait, don�t start anything.

Don�t get excited before... I�ll explain everything very clearly.

Oh, what about it, Dad?

I�m not doing anything wrong, just earning a little cash.

It will keep me occupied until college starts.

That�s it. Until college starts.

Maryse is right: she�s not doing anything wrong.

Did you declare her to Social Security?

What kind of salary are you paying her?

A salary? I�m not paying your daughter a salary,

I�m paying her an estate.

Good morning, father. Would you like another one?

- Yes, of course I would. - Right. Hey!

Just to show us how you�re doing, bring us two beer-and-blackcurrant.

- We can say hello, can�t we? - A loving but stubborn girl.

Loving like my mom but stubborn like my dad.

How he scared me. When I saw the face he had on when he arrived,

I thought he was about to break everything in the place.

I saw at once that he was bluffing.

- He�s a good man, our mayor is. - Maryse!

- Bring a Pernod for the boss. - Coming, coming.

Elisabeth is free at last...

but her father had to pay a 100 million old francs ransom.

- Is there a phone here? - Yes, there.

Well, bring it to me.

- Saint-Andr�! Can I help you? - Yes...

I�m in the house of the... What�s your surname?

- Bart�l�my. - The Bart�l�my family.

Can you hear me? Hello?

I�m listening, sir, but what number do you want?

Will you let me speak?

I�m in the house of the Bart�l�my family. The phone number is...

- 034 - 034.

The mother and daughter are my prisoners.

If you want me to free them, you must bring me the prettiest girl in your village.

Say, mister, I�ve got work to do, I�ve got no time for practical jokes.

Some people are unbelievable, you know, this is unbelievable:

the prettiest girl in the village? I say!

Hello! Saint-Andr�! Can I help you?

It�s me again. Come on, tell them, come on...

- It�s true... - Scream a little, come on!

Now, listen, you cunt. I�m not joking.

If the girl is not here after five hours, I�ll kill them both. Get it?

- But, Sir, I... - And now, I�ll be the one to hang up!

What a story. This is unbelievable. This is horrible.

What did the man on the phone say?

You wouldn�t guess. Horrible things. I must go and see the mayor.

You won�t find him in the Town Hall at this time of day.

Don�t worry, he phoned me a while ago, I know where he is.

Be a good girl and help me. I�ll be back in no time.

Don�t cry, we�ll buy your round eventually.

Yes, on Saint Glinglin�s day.

That�s it. Oh, cause that saint is for real, is he?

A poisoner and an ignorant, the man is full of virtues.

Good morning, Miss? Aren�t you working at the Post Office, today?

I am, mister mayor.

Excuse me, I didn�t understand a word.

You can talk in front of everybody. Take a seat. Somebody bring a chair.

Well, here it is, mister mayor.

You know the Parisian family who live in the old Chouffon house, don�t you?

- I do. - Right.

Well, if you can believe this,

some guy called me to say that he had made the mother and daughter his prisoners,

and that he would cut their throats, Mr mayor,

that�s what he said, that he would cut their throats

if we failed to bring him the prettiest girl in the village.

Oh, my poor Am�lie, you were the victim of a practical joker.

How does the guy want the ransom delivered?

Bank notes or small change?

We�ll carve the girl and make wads out of her. Wads of two.

The two arms, the two legs, the two titties...

No, no, we�ll make IOUs out of her.

Or rather I-Love-Yous.

Stop it, I�m going to die. What is this business, Am�lie, please?

Well, laugh, but laugh quick, because if it�s true, you won�t laugh as much.

Come on, Am�lie, you know the Parisians have been gone for some time.

Wait! Didn�t I see the mother and daughter yesterday?

Coming out of the bus.

Yes, I did. Don�t you remember, Maryse? It was yesterday,

when we were talking just outside the bar.

Except for the man who bought cigarettes from you, I can�t remember anything.

What did I tell you. it was the truth. I can�t hear you laughing now, can I?

But what does that prove? It�s probably a joke, come on.

Let�s call them on the phone, we�ll see.

This is a delicate matter. If it really is a joke, we�ll look like cretins.

- Yes... but we have to risk it. - Yes.

Well, what are we waiting for?

Let�s go to the Post Office, all of us.

Wait, I�ll be back in no time.

Who said nothing ever happened at home?

- Let�s hope it�s a joke. - Yeah, I�m sure the man�s a joker.

I don�t seem to get an answer. Are you sure they�re here?

Yes... Yes...

Hello? Good morning, Sir, I�m the village mayor.

- The Post Office employee just told me... - I know why you�re calling me.

- When will you bring the girl? - But, Sir, surely this is a joke?

In five hours, if I don�t have the girl,

I kill the kid and finish her mother.

You finish the...

Yes, the poor lady is already seriously hurt.

- What did he say? - The mother is seriously ill.

- What�s with the mother? I don�t get it? - She�s ill...

Shut up, for God�s sake, shut up.

Look, Sir, why are you doing this? You�re asking for deep trouble.

I don�t give a damn about trouble. I want the girl. Period.

- But what do you want the girl for? - To talk.

If it�s just to talk, you can just as easily talk to me.

I�m a father: maybe I can understand you.

I want no father, arsehole! All fathers are bastards.

I was just saying. I get it: you want a girl.

- When will you bring her? - I don�t know. I have to think.

But, say, wouldn�t you rather have money?

Because, for me, it would probably be easier to find.

No, no money. Money can�t make you happy.

Yes, I know, I know, but think about it:

with money, you could buy every girl you�d want.

Fuck off with your money.

If you don�t bring me what I want in five hours at the most,

I�ll cut both their throats, get it?

What did he say?

He wants a girl, or he�ll cut the two Parisian�s throats.

- He�s a madman. - Of course he�s a madman.

But what can we do?

I�m calling the prefect now.

Go and tell the police commissioner of the district.

Maybe we also should tell the Gendarmes.

Go there and bring the lieutenant to the Town Hall as soon as possible.

And I�m asking you all: nobody must know anything about this.

People will be informed soon enough anyway.

Do you realize what is happening here, in our home?

We usually read about these things in the papers.

Yes but, this time, we�re going to write the paper.

- So, can you see anything? - No, not yet. He must be hiding.

- Commissioner, meet my brother, the mayor. - Commissioner Caillaud.

Good morning, commissioner. My daughter Maryse, our curate,

and the town council.

- Did the man show himself? - No, we haven�t seen him yet.

- What about the prefect? - He should be here soon.

- He�s got no more than a 45 minute drive to get here. - Right...

- Use the usual disposition. - Fanning out?

Yes. In a large circle, ready to attack.

Do you know the house? Do you know if there�s a back door?

I know it. The whole back wall is solid. It�s the windy side.

All right. In that case, let the men surround the three open sides.

Go!

Take it easy, OK? You never know. Don�t move too close to it.

- Brigadier Duchamp. - Are you used to this kind of operation?

- No, not really, no. - All right,

I�ll just ask you to take care of the curiosity seekers,

motorists, pains in the arse and so on.

Just put you men on the bridge, there.

- Yes, Sir. - Thank you.

- What are you going to do now? - Wait.

Since you phoned the prefect, I can�t do anything without him.

He�ll take the matter in hand. May I? Thank you.

- Say, it doesn�t look like they�re moving a lot, inside. - No.

- You really shouldn�t have called the prefect. - Why?

Politicians always spell trouble. You�ll see when this is over.

- Good morning, Mister prefect. - Hello, Mr. Caillou.

Mister Prefect... Ga�tan Duteil, the mayor of the village.

Mr Mayor. So, a lot of things are happening in your town.

- We could have done without. - So could I, believe me.

I hope this will be over soon, because I have a very important trip to plan.

- Is this the house? - Yes.

So, Caillou, this... this... what do we call him?

- This madman, did you see him? - Not yet.

- He won�t show himself. - Are we sure he�s in there?

- We do hope so. - At least, this is where I phoned.

Well, I see your men are ready to go into action. Oh, by the way,

I brought three sharpshooters from the elite police corps.

- Where are they? - We�re here, Mr Prefect.

Oh, you�re there, I didn�t see you. Right, great.

So, if I understand correctly, Mr Mayor,

the man has asked for an exchange between his hostages and a girl, is that it?

That�s it, Mr Prefect.

- What a ludicrous idea. He�s crazy. - So we believe.

Ridiculous. I can�t see any way to subdue the unbalanced person but rush the house.

- What if he�s armed? - He didn�t mention weapons on the phone.

Here is Georges.

Who�s he? A member of the hostages� family?

No, he�s Georges Maupuis, the schoolteacher:

I sent him to call the husband of the poor woman in the house.

- Well? - I couldn�t get him.

Good. That�s better: this way, he won�t raise any hell in Paris.

Right, where were we? Oh, yes, the weapons problem.

In my opinion, rushing the house is all very fine, Mr Prefect,

but you can see the house: it can only be attacked from the front,

and if the man is armed, that�s no bed of roses.

We don�t have a choice anyway.

Excuse me, Mr Prefect, but we might reason with him, it could work.

He gave me the impression of being a maniac.

No way. I don�t want to hear about compromising, bargaining and the like.

Too many cases had a sorry end because people got soft.

And it would not comply with the new orders from the Ministry.

I was especially thinking of the two women in the house:

if you attack, he�ll probably harm them.

Come on, Mr Mayor, can you really picture us discussing with this madman?

Let�s have some common sense, shall we, commissioner?

I�ll just carry your orders out, Mr Prefect.

You�re in charge. You decide what to do about the hostages.

Caillou, you know as well as I do,they'll never make it alive with a loony like that.

And how do we know that they�re not dead already?

As you wish. I�ll have the men take their places.

Sharpshooters, with me.

- The prefect is not easy-going, is he? - He�s a sod.

What are you waiting for? I told you to look everywhere. Hurry up.

They�re in the field, coming this way.

Fetch a large kitchen knife. And no tricks, OK? Mind your Mom.

- Watch out, he�s got a rifle. - Hide, hide, hurry.

You missed me, you missed me.

You sure took your time. Give me that.

Turn around.

Hey! Back off or I kill her.

Everybody back!

There. Are you happy? They�re all gone.

You should be reasonable too. The kid didn�t do anything to you.

It's none of your business.

And I won�t hurt her if you bring me what... what I asked.

They tell me you want a girl. Is that true?

Absolutely. The prettiest girl in the village.

This is not serious. What will you do to the girl?

That�s my business.

Don�t make me laugh. That�s our business too, isn�t it?

That�s strange. You look like a clever young man.

Why won�t you rather take money? It�s easier to find.

I don�t want your money.

I said that to the guy on the phone.

Money can�t make you happy.

I can understand that.

But I�m embarrassed. No girl will ever want to come here.

Deal with it. I don�t care.

Look. I�ll offer you a deal.

I�ll come inside the house, we�ll talk and I�m sure we�ll find a solution.

Don�t come any closer.

What are you afraid of. Look. I�m not even armed.

Come on. Be reasonable. Let me in. We�ll reach an agreement eventually.

Another step and I cut her throat right now.

- Caillou, come back. - OK, OK, I�m coming.

You�re wrong, pal. Something tells me that this is going to end badly for you.

If I don�t have what I asked for at three thirty,

this will end badly for her and her mother.

Well, you can say that you scared us.

Yeah. The guy is completely nuts.

He seems adamant about the girl anyway.

He�s not the first of his kind that I've seen, you know.

When they have an idea in their head,

they�re stubborn, you can�t make them change their mind.

Doesn�t anyone among you know him?

I don�t know him. He�s probably not local.

- Pierre? - What?

Isn�t he the guy who bought cigarettes yesterday?

The one who got off the bus?

- Yes. - Could be.

- Maybe an escapee from an asylum? - That�s easy to check. We have a radio.

Say, call HQ for me, ask for all missing persons appeals

- and give them the guy�s description. - OK.

At least we know the kid is still alive.

That doesn�t tell us how we�re going to free her and her mother.

I�d like to send a few men behind the house, so they can climb on the roof.

From there, they could try to nab him or, if necessary, even shoot him.

What do you think, Mr Prefect?

What could I think? There�s no other solution anyway.

Sorry to intrude but I thought of something we could do.

- Who�s the gentleman? - He�s my brother.

Oh, right, very good. So you have an idea, you say?

Yes, well, for what it�s worth.

- I thought we could send the guy a prostitute. - Why not?

I must say I think your idea is somewhat ludicrous.

The situation we�re in is grotesque enough as it is, don�t you think?

I don�t really care about any opinion, you know.

All I�m trying to do is find a way to save the two women in the house,

which doesn�t seem to bother you too much.

- You can�t talk to me like... - Come on, come on, calm down.

- Are you crazy? - His arrogance is getting on my nerves.

We might check whether Mr. Duteil�s idea is feasable, Mr Prefect.

Mr Prefect, my brother only sought to help you or he would never have dared...

OK, OK, we don�t have all day. Do you know any girls?

I know a couple but not from the village.

What do you say, Mr Prefect? Shall we try it?

I must say I don�t know what to make of it.

- May I talk to you in private? - Of course.

What got into you? Did you want to show off?

Leave me alone. Go lick his boots and forget about me, OK?

You�re not going to fight in front of everybody, are you?

That being said, Dad, I agree with Uncle Francis.

- The prefect is unlikeable. - I think he�s unlikeable too,

but that is no reason to insult him. He�s a prefect all the same.

So what? Does that make him God?

- Mr Duteil? - Whom? Me or my brother?

- I�m calling your brother. - Go and keep cool, right?

- What a temper your uncle has! - He�s not to blame.

The prefect doesn�t seem to have a heart.

Of course he has, he�s a man like any other but, he�s got great responsabilities.

Gentlemen, after consulting with Commissioner Caillou,

I decided to call upon a local prostitute

in order to exchange her against the two women in this house.

You�ll nonetheless understand that such a move is delicate.

Not mentioning the risks the volunteer, let�s call her that,would run.

That�s why I�m asking for a general agreement,

so there is no misunderstanding afterwards.

I don�t think anyone will object.

- Excuse me, I�d like to ask a question. - Don�t you agree?

No, that�s not the point. I just wanted to ask why the girl...

well, the prostitute would agree to come.

- Because we�re offering a lot of money. - Who will pay? The town?

No, we thought that in these exceptional circumstances,

the cost could be absorbed by the Prefecture Reserve Fund.

That sounds better.

Right. We�re going to leave for half an hour.

I ask you all to stay at a distance and to, on no account, approach the house.

Just keep everyone under control.

- Let nobody take any initiative while I�m away. - Very well.

- Whenever you�re ready, Mr Prefect. - Shall I go with you?

Yes. More of us will run a better chance to convince the volunteer.

Take my car with the commissioner. I�ll go with you.

As you wish.

Please forgive my earlier fit of anger.

Oh, given the circumstances, anybody would be on edge.

What do you think of it all?

- I wonder what they�ll tell the whore. - The truth.

As if they knew the truth.

At least they�ll tell her what�s going on here.

Of course not. They�ll want her to know as little as possible.

What would you do, if you were them?

- What would you want me to do? - Oh, I don�t know.

But would you stay here, not moving?

- As if I could do anything. - Of course, no.

Let�s go and see what�s going on.

That�s true. They�re in no way sure to find a whore.

Say it once more, so I can make sure that I get it right.

You intoxicated me with words earlier.

It�s quite simple. You�ll just have to take care of the guy.

Meanwhile, policemen... specialists, mind you, not just anyone...

they�ll go into the house and nail him.

What about the dough? Who will give it to me?

The prefecture. Exceptionally.

Oh, what a story! I�d better tell no one, they�d say I�m married with the cops.

I can do without your commentaries, Miss.

Stop it, Juliette. Can�t you see you�re a bore?

And do I give a shit? No I don�t.

You�re positive the bloke won�t take it out on me?

I don�t want to die, not even for dough.

Didn�t we say that specialists would be there?

If they�re the same as in Clairvaux, I�m up shit creek without a paddle.

Shut your trap, will you?

Right. I want the money now.

We agreed that we�d give it to you tomorrow. You were OK with it.

Well, I�m not now. I changed my mind. I don�t believe your story.

What do you mean, you don�t believe our story?

I don�t. I�ve never been paid two million to fuck a guy before.

So I say either you�re mental cases or you�re trying to screw me.

Fine, let�s screw, but I want my little gift first. Period.

You can trust me, Juliette, I never tricked you, did I?

And, well... it�s the State. Don�t you trust the State?

Certainly not. For me, the State is nobody.

On the other hand, the two of you make somebody.

What do you mean, the State is nobody? Mister Prefect gave you his word. He�s the State.

So let him pay me.

Surely, you don�t think that I�m going to draw a check on my bank for you.

Oh, so that�s the way it is. Driver!

- Stop: we�re going back to my place. - I forbid you to stop and I�m in charge.

What you�re doing is not right, Juliette. I never would have thought if of you.

Either I�m paid now or I�m not a volunteer anymore, period.

- Can�t you wait until tomorrow? - Why should I wait?

For reasons of accounting. It has to be a check on the Public Treasury fund.

- You know the bureaucracy... - Oh, tell me about bureaucracy!

And why can�t your dear Public Treasury pay now?

What kind of a client is this? After all, I didn�t come to you.

Why should I give you a break? Now that is rich!

What did you think I was, an idiot?

You, the so called important people, spend your life badmouthing us:

whores this, prostitutes that.

Meanwhile you�re glad you can come and shoot your load with us,

asking us to do things that your wives won�t do.

Now tell me that�s not true!

I was right not to trust you.

You yourselves mistrust the State, and you want me to get on my back on credit.

Oh, all right, here is your check.

- To the bearer. - Yes, Miss!

- Will this do? - It will, Dad.

And now, please, shut up until we reach our destination.

I�ll shut up if I want to.

Am I paid to open or to close it? Make up your mind.

Shut the fuck up!

Was that clear?

Hey, nobody told me it was a public broadcast.

Well, you see, you won�t be alone. I hope you�re reassured?

No, it gives me stage fright.

- Ready, Juliette? - So that is where I have to work?

- Well... let�s go. - Right.

Have all men take their places.

You know something? I�m shy...

- as if I were about to fuck for the first time. - You little dummy.

Ok, all men in their places. Sharpshooters to their posts.

You on the hillock, you near the tree, and you there, near the vines.

- Shall we, Juliette? - Coming.

Kiss me, Tomcat, maybe it will be a good luck charm.

- See you soon, baby. - Let�s hope so.

- She�s a good girl after all. - Yes.

Hey, in the house! Can you hear me?

I didn�t want to hurt you, I swear.

But it�s your own fault.

- Caroline? Where are you? - I�m here, Mom, by your side.

Don�t hurt her, please don�t. She�s just a child.

Hey, there! We have the girl.

Come closer. Let me see what she looks like.

- Go. Let him see you. - He spoke to us both.

Don�t worry, I have to stay here to issue orders.

Or rather you�ve got the willies.

Hey! He�s armed. That wasn�t part of our agreement, pal.

Come on, Juliette, this really isn�t a good time to be a bad sport.

I�m not a bad sport, but what will he do to me when I�m in the shack.

What do I do, Sir? I have the guy�s head in my sights.

- Shoot then, go. - No!

Shoot, for God�s sake, shoot!

Cease fire.

You asshole! Can you see the mess? Who allowed you to shoot?

I swear, commissioner. Mr Prefect told me to shoot.

What? Did I say that? You didn�t hear correctly, I�d never have done such a thing.

I�m not crazy, am I?

Get in the car! A discipline commission awaits you, man.

I swear on my children�s heads, commissioner. I�m not responsible.

Mr Prefect told me to shoot. You must believe me. I�m not talking bullshit.

Oh, go away! Split!

Come! Come quickly!

Is he dead?

I�ve got as many holes in me as a colander and he asks if I�m dead.

Maybe he can make it but time is of the essence.

Leave it to me. I�ll have him evacuated.

- May I go with him? - Of course.

No, no, I don�t want her to.

Because if she comes, she might just make me marry her during my sleep.

I hope you don�t think that I... This check is mine.

- Hi. - Hi...

- who told you what�s going on here? - I don�t know what�s going on here.

The guy who�s in the house asked for me on the phone.

What do you mean, the guy?

Yes, the girl from the Post Office called

and said he wanted me to come at once.

She more or less informed me. What a crazy story!

You can say that again. He already killed a girl and wounded Pierre.

- Pierre? From the bar? - Yeah, he was rushed to hospital.

- But what are you all waiting for, here? - Scarpelli.

- Why Scarpelli? - We thought he might agree to lend us one of his daughters.

They�re not really clever but rather cute.

What are you? Nuts? Do you think he will agree to that?

I�ve got a way of convincing him.

Couldn�t we discuss all of that afterwards?

Yes, I�ll introduce you to the Commissioner, he�ll arrange for you to go in the house.

Wait, wait, wait, woo, woo, cool it down.

Who told you I wanted to go in the house?

The bloke up there is dangerous,

he�s dangerous, you could see what he did,

I don�t want to die or to stay a cripple for the rest of my life.

You�re not going to chicken out, are you?

No, but you could call someone else. Perrin is a good doctor.

You disappoint me, Antoine, I didn�t know you were such a coward.

A coward? me, a coward? Watch your language!

Come on, come on.

Now, really, what do I care about what happens in that house and to that basket case.

First, it�s outside the town limits, I shouldn�t even be here.

He�s pulling your leg, we know you�re not a coward.

- I didn�t come here to be insulted. - Nobody insulted you.

Come, come, I�ll call the Commissioner and the prefect, come.

Why do you always have to fight with Tonio?

I know what I�m saying. He�s a coward.

Ask anyone, they�ll tell you. Ask him to tell you what he did during the war.

Not everybody can be brave, can they?

All right, I�m willing to go, but I�d like to have guarantees for my wife and for my daughter.

I fail to understand what kind of guaranties you want, Doctor?

Come on, Mr Prefect. Let�s suppose he cripples me for life or assassinates me.

- Who�s going to pay? - This is not the time to talk about that.

It�s very much the time.

The bloke is dangerous: he already killed one person and wounded another.

- I know this kind of business. - We�re asking you for a favour.

Oh, a favour, great. When asking for a favour, everybody�s crawling on their belly,

but once the storm is over and it�s time to pay, nobody�s there.

The same kind of thing happened to one of my colleagues,

it cost him... brace yourself... It cost him

- 1,800,000 francs... - All right, all right, I get it.

Should anything happen to you, I�ll pay. Are you happy now?

Watch it, watch it, there are witnesses, you are committing yourself.

I�ll pay. Is that clear?

Right. I�ll go.

Right. All the security staff in their place.

No one shoots unless I order it, I�ll tolerate no initiative, understood?

Hey! Can you hear me?

Here is the doctor you asked for.

- Let him strip. - What?

Yeah, I want him to take off his clothes.

You should do what he says. He must think you�re armed.

But this is crazy. I�m not going to strip like this in front of everybody, am I?

If you want to go in the house, I think there�s no other way.

The house, the house, fuck the house, I don�t give a shit about the house.

Deal with it alone, I�m out of here, sorry. That�s it.

I�m going to rearrange the faggot�s face.

Francis. Come on, Francis.

- You must be nuts. - Listen to me, Doctor.

Either you go in this house,

or I charge you with failure to assist a person in danger of dying.

- You don�t have a right. - Don�t I?

- No. - We�ll see about that.

Captain. From this moment on, this man is placed in custody. Take him away.

No, all right, all right, all right, you win. I�m going.

Everybody back to their place.

You are a bastard.

- Is this OK? - Leave the bag.

Just take the device for the heart and for blood pressure.

Doctor, let�s forget everything that has just been said.

Remember that you are also a doctor.

Oh, I know what I have to do. I don�t need your advice, little man.

And you, go back there with the others.

I�ll get down and open the door for you.

- Your sawbones is one funny chap. - I think he�s indecent.

Maybe we would do the same if we were in his shoes.

Doesn�t anybody have anything to drink? We�re dying of thirst around here.

There must be a few beers in my car.

If not, I�ll ask my driver to go and fetch more. I can give you some, Gentlemen.

Thank you.

I�m wondering how many people really think of the woman and her daughter,

who are now facing such an ordeal.

If I tell you what I think, you�ll say that I�m trying to badmouth people again.

You must be right.

People think only of themselves. They never stop fighting each other.

- They sicken me. - You can�t do anything about it.

Do you know what I told myself earlier when I saw them all picking on the Doctor?

I wondered how many of them would have acted differently.

Look, let them settle this mess on their own.

I tell you it�s better to be part of the audience.

- So? How�s the wounded man doing? - It�s not serious. He�ll live.

Look, the doctor is coming out of the house.

- Shall we go, Mr Prefect? - Yes.

- May I come? - Of course.

- So, how are the women, Doctor? - Not so good.

Especially the mother. She was hit on the head with a rifle butt.

The guy treated her, he dressed the wound.

He treated her, you say? So he�s not mad after all?

Of course he�s crazy!

I wish you could see the condition of those poor women.

What do you think he did to them? Do you think he raped them?

- Oh, no, I don�t think so. - What is your opinion about that man?

I�ve been telling you, Mr Prefect. He�s insane. Criminally insane.

An hysterical neurotic. He�s a monomaniac.

But who can say what his mania is?

Those people are the most dangerous there are, because they are really clever as well as crazy.

Right. With your permission, I�m going to give a tranquilizer to the poor women,

so they can cope.

This is the kind of case that can get you destituted.

- Hey, here is Scarpelli. - It�s about time.

- Who will talk to him? - You�re the mayor. You�re perfect.

Right, I�ll talk to him.

Hello, Scarpelli, nice of you to drop by.

Hello, Mr Mayor. No one did anything wrong, I hope?

Of course not. I see you brought some of your little family, that�s good.

I brought them because you told me to bring them with me.

- They didn�t do anything wrong, did they? - No, no, no.

I had you called because we need you.

And "we" means... the village, everyone.

And also Mr Prefect.

- Ah, mister, ah... - Scarpelli.

Pleased to meet you.

- Will you help us? - If I can, I won�t say no, Mr Mayor.

You see: I told you we could rely on Scarpelli.

First, I want to tell you, my dear Etienne, that...

- My name is Emile, Mr Mayor. - Of course, what was I thinking of?

As if I could forget your name? We�ve known each other for fifteen years, isn�t it, Emile?

I don�t know. If you say so, Mr Mayor.

First, I want to tell you that the council discussed your citizenship application again.

Oh, I don�t believe in it anymore.

Well, this time, it�s done. You�ve got it.

The council gave a positive answer, unanimously. It�s official.

- Congratulations, Mr Scarpelli. - Thanks, Mr Prefect.

- You can�t know what this means to me. - Of course we know.

- Our friend Scarpelli is a father of six. - Oh, a very likeable family.

And all the more deserving because they knew the worst problems when...

- All right, it�s... - I�m doing what I can.

Now, listen closely.

- Can you see the house there? - Yes.

Inside, a madman holds two women hostages, two Parisian women.

And only you, mark my words, only you can save them.

Why? Is the guy a relative of mine?

Of course not, stupid, he�s not a relative. Let me finish.

- Do you want to help us or not? - If I can...

Well, saving them is simple:

you must let one of your daughters go inside the house.

My daughters? I don�t understand.

No, not your daughters. Just one will be sufficient.

Oh? Why do you want her to go in there?

I�ll tell you why.

Don�t listen to them, Scarpelli.

Take your daughters and go away from here, you�ll be better off.

Why are you doing this, Georges?

Whoever you are, young man, you�re not entitled to meddle in this case.

Do you really want to know what�s going on in the house? I�ll tell you.

Inside, there�s a madman who already killed a woman and wounded Pierre.

If you listen to them, they�ll ask you to give one of your daughters

to this... this public menace, in exchange for his two prisoners.

- But why would they ask me? - Because you�re poor, Scarpelli.

If you agree to help them, as they say,

they�ll reward you with your citizenship.

A nice deal: one daughter less but no need for a worker permit anymore.

That�s what they offer you.

Is that true, what he said, Mr Mayor?

Oh, no, come on, you know we would never pull such a stinking trick on you.

That�s not what I�m saying, Mr Mayor. I want to understand.

Is it true that the man killed a woman and wounded the owner of the bar?

Yes, it�s true, but it doesn�t mean that... that...

Emile. Emile! Scarpelli.

You�re a bunch of bastards.

You�re nothing but scum.

Oh, I understand now why you called me by my first name,

held my arm, barely refrained from kissing me.

So you told yourself: we�re going to call that poor sod Scarpelli,

we�ll rub some balm on his back, Emile this, my fine dummy that,

a father of six children,

we�ll give him French citizenship

and damned if he won�t lend us one of his daughters.

And when I say "lend"... oh, enough...

So you�re not content with abusing them each time you meet them in the fields,

you�re not content with taking advantage of them

because they don�t understand the filthy things you have them do,

and all because I can�t afford to tell on you.

I�m not responsible if God didn�t see fit to give me children like everybody�s

So now you want to kill them? What did I ever do to you? What?

We didn�t want to hurt you. Go home, go. Go home.

I do not deserve this, Mr Mayor. I do not deserve this.

Go home and don�t worry about your work permit.

Well, Mr Prefect, back to square one.

We were beginning to worry.

Oh, by the way: he gave me a message for you.

What kind of message?

Well, he asked me to tell you that he knows the prettiest girl in the village,

- and that she�s the one he wants, no other. - Did he tell you her name?

How could he know her? He�s not from here.

Come on, come on, let the Doctor speak. Who is she?

I don�t know. He gave me no name.

He just told me she�s the girl he saw with the owner of the bar yesterday morning.

- How are we supposed to find her now? - It was me.

You? But you�re Mr Duteil�s daughter, aren�t you?

- That�s right. - And you know that man?

No, of course not. But I was there when he bought a pack of cigarettes from Pierre.

- You�re not going in there, are you? - Of course she won�t, what a question!

Why not? Why wouldn�t she? After all, they forced me to go.

- Split now, will you split! - Oh, damn, mind your manners.

We�ll see each other again, little man.

I think that, since he wants me, I�d better go.

Are you crazy? I�m not sacrificing my daughter for two women that I don�t know from Adam.

So you won�t sacrifice your daughter? But you�d sacrifice someone else�s.

You were willing to give him Scarpelli�s daughter. Why not your own?

But why mine, precisely? There are other girls in the village.

Let�s give them to him.

Excuse me, Dad, it pains me to say so but I�m ashamed of you.

You should be an example. What will the people think?

And what do I care about what they think?

I don�t have anything but you in the world now. I don�t want to lose you too.

Don�t worry. Everything will be all right, you�ll see.

Tell yourself that your daughter is going to save these two poor women.

Let�s go.

I�m sorry, Miss, but if your father forbids it, I can�t let you enter the house.

Oh, please, Caillou, don�t start too.

I know what I have to do. I am of age and the decision is mine only.

Please let me express all the admiration that your gesture inspires me.

I�m ready, commissioner.

Dad, please. Stop it. Let go of me.

Dad, I beseech you. Stop. You�re bloody hurting me.

I have to go. Be sensible. Someone has to do something.

Maryse!

- Are you really sure? - Positive.

Why are you doing this?

Let�s say: to erase all the dirty things I saw since the beginning of the case.

You are doing a good thing, Miss. Let�s go.

You already caused one person�s death earlier.

If she doesn�t come back alive, I�ll kill you. Prefect or not.

Hey, in the house!

Here she is.

- Let her take her clothes off. - She�s not armed.

So you say.

- Is this enough or should I go on? - No.

- Now the hostages. - No, let her come in first.

- No. The hostages first. - Get lost, you! I�m coming down.

Will you look at the comely lass!

- OK, let�s go. - Stop!

It�s over. Come on. Come on. It�s over, you don�t have anything to fear now.

Have them rushed to hospital!

Let me look at you.

You are beautiful.

Weren�t you afraid to come here?

Do you have many lovers?

- Won�t you speak? - I have no lover.

What if I killed you?

Why?

- To get even. - With me?

- But I never did anything wrong. - You�re a woman.

- Why did you come? - I came, that�s all.

Since you have the courage to do what you do,

I told myself that if I had the same courage, you�d understand.

You wouldn�t hate me like you hate the whole world.

- I feel like beating you. - Beat me if you want.

I don�t feel good with you.

- Come. - I can�t.

- Come. - I can�t.

- Why did you ask for me? - I can�t remember.

- Why are you kissing me? - Because I�m afraid.

Hold me tight.

I feel like sending two or three men on the roof anyway,

and two other would go round the other way, there.

- What�s going on? - We�re now planning the attack.

You must understand, Mr Duteil, that we can�t stay in such a situation forever, without acting.

Hey, come on, are you nuts? My daughter is in the house,

so your attack is out of the question.

Look, I know your daughter is involved but I�ll thank you to watch your language.

You�re beginning to rub me up the wrong way.

No one will move as long as my daughter is in there.

I agree with you, Mr Duteil, believe me, but you must also understand us.

Since this morning, we�ve done everything this bloke has asked of us.

Now, we�re fed up with it. Aren�t you?

Commissioner, we don�t have to explain anything to anybody:

the last time I looked I was in charge here.

What does that mean in layman�s terms?

In layman�s term, we�re going to attack the house because I decided we would.

- Captain! Please deploy your men for attack. - You bastard!

Are you crazy?

You've stirred up trouble all morning, I�ll show you whether you�re in charge or not.

Let me strangle the son of a bitch!

First he killed Juliet, and now he wants my daughter�s death.

I won�t stand for this, this is going to cost you a lot.

Show some strength, some self-control, some dignity,

- some manners, some respect... - Shut up!

Some consideration for my authority.

Come and say it here! Come and say it here if you�re a man.

Will you let go of me now, for God�s sake?

Come on, calm down, Ga�tan, what�s the use? You�re going to get in trouble.

What should I do? Let him kill my daughter?

Just because he�s a prefect! Prefect my arse!

You should be ashamed, all of you, it�s not a pretty sight.

Oh, go and sleep your wine off, you drunkard.

No one called you. The time is ill-chosen for a sermon.

Don�t be rude now.

You talked about arses earlier, well I could still kick yours.

- Fuck you. - Oh, what a bore.

Look, curate, you�re very nice and all but this is really no time to bug us.

But whose fault is it if you are in such a mess, as you say?

Yours, all of you.

And I think you have a hell of a nerve,

because earlier you screamed at a poor man who didn�t want to be killed,

but you coldly sent the girl to her death.

Mind what you�re saying.

First, Juliette knew what she was doing when she came here.

Is it my fault if the madman shot her?

- You�re all responsible for her death. - What?

Yes, of course, you unscrupulously cajoled her into doing it.

What was she? A whore. Nothing at all.

Hey, the bloke opened fire because of the sharpshooter.

And I don�t remember ordering him to shoot.

No, that�s true, you didn�t. But then, why don�t you say who it was?

He�s as responsible as you are for the massacre.

- I accuse no one. - But it was him!

It was him who ordered the shooting!

I couldn�t foresee what happened.

Of course not, of course not.

And it�s not your place, is it, Mr Prefect?

You are an administrator, something like a walking law book.

Cold. Anonymous.

Not only are you responsible for the present tragedy

but for all the people who die because of your refusal to show a little humanity.

You couldn�t foresee it, you said? No, but you didn�t even try.

The result: today, you are a murderer,

exactly like the man who is in the house.

Father, I�ll ask you to shut up.

Or I�ll be forced to charge you with insulting a public official.

Why should I shut up? I haven�t said a word all day.

I stayed there, in my place. And in this whole story,

you, commissioner Caillou, have the best part.

You�re the very image of the Police: you don�t give a damn.

- You can�t talk to me like that. Another word and I... - And I what?

You'll lock me up?

Will I be consigned to oblivion because

I don't think the same way as the ones who pay you?

- You said enough now. Come. You are tired. - Tired?

Tired, he says. He thinks I�m completely drunk.

So what? Better that than being scum like you are.

Do you say that to me? You know I�m a real man.

Oh, cut the nonsense. Look at yourself, Mr Duteil,

you�re the spitting image of today�s society.

A good average Frenchman, a good mayor,

the archetypal perfect citizen.

But should we scratch the surface, what would we find?

That you�re a bastard of the worse kind.

People can kill each other on your doorstep, you don�t care.

In some cases, you even give them a hand.

You were a sight, earlier, when you tried to persuade the poor Italian

to give you one of his daughters. And without the slightest scruple.

But when your daughter came into the picture,

it was not the same, was it?

You�re selfish. You�re all selfish, you sicken me. You sicken me!

Yes, I drink.

I drink because God is no more bright enough inside me to blind me to the world decay.

A drunkard, you said, Ga�tan?

Well, yes. Well, yes, that�s what I became.

But, if you think of it, it�s not that bad:

it allowed me to tell you everything that weighed on my heart.

Now, I�m going, I�m going.

You may kill each others all you want, it�s now I who don�t care.

Goodbye.

Why did he talk to me like that? We were friends.

Don�t mind him. He drank too much.

Mr Prefect. Can we wait a little before deciding the attack?

Wait, yes. Yes, maybe, yes.

Yes, it�s better to wait until nightfall. He�ll fall asleep eventually.

- What do you say, Mr Prefect? - Yes, yes, agreed.

Let�s wait for nightfall.

I feel good with you. I�d like you to love me.

Don�t you regret that I forced you to come here?

No. I swear I regret nothing.

I�m not mean, you know. I have fits.

I don�t know what I�m doing, then it goes away and I feel alright.

Are you happy now?

It�s not my fault...

...It�s because of her.

When I was a boy, she burned my feet with cigarettes.

When I pee... I�d kill her.

I�m being imprisoned because of her.

- What about your father? - Men are all the same.

My father is a 1000 francs note.

Where were you before you came here?

In an asylum. But I�m not crazy.

I have fits, then it goes away. I�m not crazy.

I hitchhiked here.

They wouldn�t have picked me up if I were crazy.

Of course they wouldn�t.

I wanted to see my aunt. She liked me.

- She�s in the Ramatuelle cemetary. - But this is Saint Andr�.

I ran out of money. I couldn�t buy her flowers.

I bought cigarettes. I was hungry.

I didn�t eat for three days, except for a sandwich that someone gave me.

How about the rifle? Who gave it to you?

No one gave it to me.

I stole it from a house. Nobody home.

And there was the raincoat.

Isn�t it beautiful?

Did you see what a good shot I am?

I like being kissed.

Now, what are the two of us going to do?

- The two of us? - Yes, the two of us.

You and me.

We can�t stay here for the rest of our lives.

We must go away. Far away.

Why? They�re waiting for me.

They�ll lock me up. I don�t want to be. I�d rather die

What about me? Did you think about me?

I don�t want you to die. I want to live with you.

- Will we stay here? - Do not dream.

If we stay here, they�ll get in eventually.

We must go. We�ve got to find a way?

Do you trust me now?

I know what we�ll do.

We are saved because they don�t know that we�re in it together.

We�ll go out.

You�ll pretend to hold me in front of you

and threaten me with your rifle.

You�ll have to look very mean.

So we�ll go out together, I�ll pretend to be afraid,

and you�ll tell them that you�ll kill me if they don�t let us go.

They�ll move over. We�ll reach the road and take a car, any car.

And when we�re in the car, we�ll go away before anyone does anything.

Well... shall we?

Come. Come.

Hold me like this. Yes. Is it loaded?

- Of course. - Be careful.

My raincoat.

Let�s go.

Stop right there!

Throw down your weapons, put your hands up.

Put down your weapons.

- You�re holding me too tight. Hurting me. - Shut up and act!

Move over. Move over!

Georges!

No!

OK, take care of him.

I don�t think my presence is necessary anymore.

Come and see me tomorrow at the Prefecture.

Except if you�d like me to give you a ride in my car.

I wouldn�t. Good evening, Mr Prefect.

rarelust