Original subtitles

80,000 YEARS OLD

It was summer.

I was working on an archaeological dig in Normandy, where I grew up.

My sister had given me her house keys for the weekend.

They had gone on holiday with the twins.

I was looking forward to being back in the house I grew up in.

But everyone had left. Nobody picked up the phone.

I was going through my contacts.

Even long-lost friends from school.

Numbers had changed.

The day before, I was interviewed on TV

about the dig.

It was my first time on TV.

I couldn't watch myself.

Nor could I stop thinking about it.

"No entry for Violet -

"the brat, mustard-blob, ugliness, snot,

"stinky-sock, fart-bag,

"cockroach, stuffed tomato, old plucked owl,

"fat germ, psycho,

"sewer rat, abandoned turd,

"nail clipping, worm,

"weed."

My bedroom now belongs to my niece.

The journalist didn't know anything about prehistory.

She was in art school, doing her summer internship.

Her questions were really random.

So were my answers.

What did you find here, for example?

We found 1,300 Neanderthal prints here,

since 2012.

A remarkable find within the Neanderthal world,

which is the area between the Atlantic and Mongolia,

and where only nine other footprints have been found.

This is 80,000 years old.

Let's start over.

Give me a presentation of the site and the basic facts.

Alright.

Do I have to look into the camera? Okay.

Hello. We're here at the Rozel site...

So, this is a piece of antler which was found this morning.

It will be brought to the excavation depot,

for consolidation,

identification of the animal and to be dated.

We believe it's about 80,000 years old.

Great. Let's start again.

Hello. Um...

We're here at the Rozel site.

So, we found footprints made by children, toddlers, and adults.

The site could collapse,

because it's a sand dune.

This summer, we already found 300 footprints,

and we expect to find 200 more by the end of the summer.

We found it this morning.

Here, for example...

Just by brushing like so...

the footprint gradually appears.

I can't do this... Sorry.

I'm too... It's not possible. The rain isn't helping.

What am I saying? I'm talking too much.

Here is pretty obvious -

the print of the big toe,

and the heel.

We also gathered a great deal of environmental data.

We found bones belonging to horses,

cervids, aurochs which are wild cows,

elephants, terrestrial molluscs and insects too.

You found insects here?

It's possible to find things that small?

Well, we have...

It's about this big.

At first, it just looks like charcoal.

In Saint-Pierre-lès-Elbeuf, we actually found a fly's thorax,

roughly this big.

With legs.

Analysis confirmed that it was a female.

How long have the local cows been here?

Cows?

I was in bed by 10pm.

At 10.30pm, I realised it was Bastille Day.

Samuel!

Where do you come from?

Who are your ancestors?

Bertha?

Daisy?

Betsy?

Yvette?

Eglantine? Stella?

Belinda?

Snowflake or Violet?

Speckles?

Or Lily?

Or Hazel?

The next day was even worse.

Nobody replied to my messages.

It was grey and I couldn't wait for Monday.

I went hiking to take my mind off things.

Céline?

Augustin? Thomas' little brother?

- Aurélien. - Right.

- How are you? - I'm fine.

What's that?

That's Adèle, my mouse.

Hello, Adèle.

She's so cute.

Golly, you're stuck.

She's staying at a friend's for the holidays.

I saw you on TV. You're doing a great job.

Thanks.

To be honest, I might actually quit.

To take over my grandad's campsite, down south.

I just want to start over.

Really? So, you're done with archaeology?

- Well... - Shame, you were talented.

I read about the Tourville-Man story,

online.

Seriously?

- On the Facebook page? - Yes.

That was ages ago.

Yeah, I'm really into it. I wanted to make a career out of it.

I didn't know I had a fan.

The thing is, the money isn't great.

And I'm kind of tired of digging up the dead.

I don't know. I might take a six-month sabbatical

to try out the campsite for a season.

And if it works out, why not?

So, how's your brother?

I'm not sure. We've lost touch.

Is that so? How come? Sorry, forget it.

Anyway...

What about Samuel, your brother's buddy, any news?

Not really. I think he lives in Germany.

Do you fancy a drink this evening?

Um...

I'll be on the train this evening.

Some other time. How long are you staying over?

I'm here this weekend, but I'll probably be back,

because I'm working on a dig in the area all summer.

I'd be happy to meet up.

Really?

Okay. I'll take...

your number.

- Go for it. - 06 10 11...

Wait. Okay. Go ahead, sorry.

..74 52.

Aurélien.

Yeah, I know.

♪ She says, she says She says, she says...

♪ Stupid things sometimes

♪ And I laugh, laugh, laugh Laugh about it

♪ She smiles

♪ She says, she says...

♪ Sometimes

♪ And I laugh

♪ She says...

♪ I like the way you say it

♪ And I laugh, laugh, laugh Laugh about it. ♪

- Hello. - Hello.

So, here we have a toddler footprint which we found this morning.

This footprint is about eight centimetres long.

We believe it's a child who was about one year of age,

taking his first steps.

The footprint was made on muddy soil,

on which the child walked,

probably after a storm.

And a layer of sand was deposited by the wind,

hence preserving the print

for us to discover today...

intact,

like a small archaeological miracle.

We refer to this as snapshots.

That is to say, types of photos taken in the past,

providing us with a moment...

of someone's everyday life.

Here we have this magical scene

of two toddler footprints,

just ahead of two teenager footprints,

evoking someone's first steps.

And this teenager helping the toddler to walk.

It's just a hypothesis.

And another print we found recently

is a sliding hand.

We uncovered evidence

of a child standing up with traces of fingers in the mud

of the required movement to get up,

maybe after a fall while learning how to walk.

What do you think you'll find here?

We don't know.

That's what research is.

The most difficult and fascinating part of it

is that you can't expect a preconceived idea.

You need to stay open-minded,

and process what you find without prejudice nor interpretation.

Actually, the ground lays down the rules,

as opposed to a personal quest.

Of course, digging is...

being surprised by what shows up.

It's... It's...

Whatever.

Not to mention that people find archaeology boring...

I wasn't prepared. Stupid me!

I hope she didn't keep that bit on the insects.

I talked nonsense.

I talked for three hours and she'll only keep two or three minutes.

It's a shame, because...

I could have... Oh well...

Not to mention...

that she got me all confused.

Samuel!

I wasn't sure it was you.

Me neither. I thought you were someone else.

- It's been so long. - Yeah.

What's up?

Um, not much, well...

I'm working on a dig in the area...

on a site.

We're working hard, because the dune could collapse.

How so? I don't understand.

The sea level is rising because of climate change,

but there's also a global warming.

Yes, I heard.

We're in a cycle.

You have to imagine that the sea wasn't here before.

You could walk to England.

Did you see me on TV recently?

No, I don't watch TV any more.

Gosh, what...

I don't know.

I'm fine. Everything's fine.

Same old, same old.

But...

What do you do? Tell me. Do you still live here?

No. Over my dead body.

The less I'm here the better I feel.

I live in Montpellier.

I opened an art gallery a few years ago.

I'm just here to see my parents.

They are getting old. They like to nap.

That's it.

We're lucky, it's a nice summer.

But kind of windy.

- Do you want an ice cream? - Yeah.

Do you need some cash?

No.

What flavour would you like?

Well, mango.

Wait... Pear.

Actually, what I really want is rhubarb.

- Rhubarb? - Yes.

If they don't have it, should I get pear?

Yeah, go for it.

Okay. See you later.

Samuel!

If they don't have rhubarb, should I get pear?

Rhubarb?

Céline?

Miss Lefèvre, go to the blackboard!

I knew it was you.

Samuel?

Do you often sleep in odd places?

It's crazy. I was thinking about school!

No way.

- I was! - I don't believe you.

Gosh! I didn't do it on purpose.

What?

It was supposed to be a joke.

You know... At school, remember?

When I burst into the boys' locker room

and you were...

Yes, I remember that well.

I didn't mean to. It was just a joke.

It didn't occur to me that you'd be in the shower.

I didn't think to apologise.

And after that, I couldn't speak to you anymore.

Me neither.

I felt so embarrassed.

What's up with you?

Um... What's up with me?

Not much. I'm still an archaeologist.

Fantastic!

No.

Yesterday, I was interviewed by Channel 3, it was horrible.

There was this so-called journalist and she sucked.

So, I sucked even more.

Did you see it?

No. I don't have a TV.

I think it's great that you became an archaeologist.

You stick to your guns.

Not really. I'm considering taking over my grandad's campsite.

I want to start a new life.

I love campsites. I'll come over with my family.

- Do you have kids? - Yes.

How many?

Four. They have the same mother.

Well done.

No, I'm joking.

I have two, from different mothers.

Everybody lives in Berlin.

I'm dropping them off at their grandparent's

for the holidays.

My parents are getting old.

What do you do now?

I'm a veterinarian.

Wow! You stick to your guns too.

- How so? - You wanted to be a vet.

You wanted to look after bugs because nobody cared about them.

Remember?

Yes, but I can't remember mentioning it.

Ants with broken legs. Flies with torn wings.

Hey, fancy an ice cream?

Go on, then.

- I'm paying. - My treat.

- No way! - I'm paying.

Because Mr Big Shot is a vet now.

Where do you want to get the ice cream?

Let's go to...

I was going to say something stupid.

Two scoops and a stick.

I want ten scoops.

Nice and round.