Original subtitles

To Mona, Ben, Clément and Boris

Part one When we're down here, life is good

Paul Léautaud

Part One

Ladies

Gentlemen

Vacant

Vacant

Occupied

What's your name?

Jip.

My name is Rita. What's your name?

Jip.

I feel a little bit uncomfortable.

If you would be so kind as to do me a favor,

I'll be nice to you.

- I asked for a milkshake. - I thought you wanted just milk.

Do you like milk?

Milk is healthy.

If you pay for my drink,

I will show you the other one.

"Man: human being

"of the male sex.

"Generally, of the human species.

"Man is subject to death.

"Human being from a moral point of view:

"a brave man, a bad man.

"Soldier, worker,

"an army of 10,000 men.

"This is my man,

"the one I need.

"The characteristics of a man

"are the upward posture,

"the big

"dimensions

"of his head

"and also

"the weight of his brain

"and the ability to speak.

"The man's body

"is divided in two regions:

"head and torso,

"the latter including

"the thorax and abdomen.

"The members

"are an annex to the torso

"and there are two types:

"thoracic

"or upper members

"and abdominal

"or lower members..."

"Woman:

"partner of the man, wife.

"Career woman,

"a woman who lives thanks to her genitals".

I broke up with Ben.

You never say anything.

Your mind's a mystery.

Do you love me?

It's dad.

This is Eglée.

- What's your name? - Eglée.

Clément is my husband,

Boris' father.

Jip is...

What should I say?

A friend.

- A friend of Boris. - He's not.

- Be quiet. - Shut up.

Children, please.

You must be hungry, Eglée.

You must be hungry, Eglée.

Do you like corn?

Yes, yes...

Stuffed Hungary peppers?

Yes.

You are handsome.

You never grow old.

You're beautiful, too.

- Say hi to Chombidon. - I will. Bye.

Bye.

- Bye. - Goodbye, sir.

- Why do you keep that dog? - Shush! It understands.

What are you reading?

Do you like her?

She'd better not bother me.

What time is it?

What time is it?

What do I know?

7:30?

Get up, Boris.

Come on, get up!

Come on!

Boris, will you hurry up?

You always have trouble getting up.

Tonight, you'll go to bed early.

Will you walk the dog, honey?

What's wrong?

What?

Got your little gloves? Got your bag?

Why are you asking me that? Of course I have!

Is it you?

Yes.

You made this?

I'm not made for working.

I like your place.

You like it?

- Want some sugar? - Yes.

- Cane sugar or refined sugar? - Cane sugar.

I've run out of it. One or two?

Two.

I'm a Scorpio. What about you?

Taurus.

Do you believe in astrology?

- Do you? - Yes.

Nothing broken?

No, no.

Do you think I'm pretty?

Yes.

I want children.

I want a lot.

Little ones who will grow up

and become stupid.

Life is good on this side of the tomb.

Theater

Colin?

What's up?

The two planets, Uranus and Neptune,

are converging.

And near their culmination, in the middle of the sky,

house 4 is in Gemini,

the most mobile,

feared sign.

This tendency is aggravated by the fact that Mercury

is also in Gemini,

in house 3.

So?

- So what? - What's going to happen?

- We must wait. - For what?

For the rest.

Go to bed, Boris.

I'm not tired.

Why do you do that?

Because it's better.

It's disgusting.

- But it's easier to eat. - Don't you have teeth?

Want anything else?

- Go to bed, Boris. - No.

- Oh, yes. - No!

- I said go to bed! - Shit!

Eglée, would you clear the table?

Eglée, did you hear me?

I'll clear, but I'll do the dishes tomorrow.

I'll do it tomorrow because I'm going to bed.

And that's because I'm tired.

See, Boris?

Eglée is going to bed. She's obedient.

She should be! She's the maid!

Boris, I already told you Eglée is not the maid.

She's a student.

She's a servant.

I think I have a spot.

Is my nose shiny?

No.

The Happy House

In 1891, Paul Gauguin left for Tahiti.

His problems...

Finish your fruit and go to bed.

Where's Jip?

I don't know.

He often met Lt. Jénot,

friend in whom he confided all his doubts.

Where's Eglée?

I don't know.

...Teha'amana, with whom he shared his nights and days.

He worked a lot and better than ever.

The beauty that surrounded him exploded onto his canvases.

For two years, he lived the life he'd dreamed of.

Good evening.

Good evening.

Hello.

Speak up, I can't hear you.

Then turn the volume down.

Well, thank you.

I waited for you. Why didn't you call?

It's not a rebuke, I was just worried.

I've been up since 7 am. Ben woke me.

I thought it was you.

Why didn't you come?

I broke up with Ben.

That's what you wanted.

You're not alone.

Mona had broken up with Ben

at the same moment I wanted to broke up with her.

Now, I have a date with Rita.

She's young, she's beautiful.

She's Dutch.

Her name is Rita Gonzalez.

Jip.

I'm a mermaid.

- Did you hear? - A mermaid.

Jip.

I dreamt you were a seal

and I was a penguin.

And we were in love.

You eat too fast. You don't have time to taste.

I have a lesson at 2 pm.

What subject?

Good manners?

You don't learn good manners.

Not anymore.

You could before.

Not anymore.

It's innate.

I've a hair appointment. You will drive Boris

to the gym.

Weren't you listening?

I told you, I have class.

Eglée, have you tidied up your room?

Are you listening to me? Did you tidy up your room?

I don't have time!

I'm not the cleaning lady.

Me neither.

I'll get rid of her.

- Want some more? - No.

Your plate.

Idol. Idol?

Let's go to see your grandfather this week-end.

In Saint-Désert?

No. He's having his treatment in Mont-Dore, for his asthma.

Is there a cable car?

At puy de Sancy. Do you want to go?

What about Jip?

Where do I put my laundry?

Wherever you want.

Madam, if anybody calls me,

tell them to call tomorrow morning.

- I can also take messages. - Don't be sarcastic.

- Where's Jip? - I don't know.

- Did you break up? - What do you care?

Do I ask you anything about that girl Jocelyne?

What about me?

So, are we going to Mont-Dore?

Where's madam?

She's gone away for the week-end.

What time is it?

8:30 pm.

About.

I'm not late. What time is it?

Why didn't you wear some shoes?

Where are we going?

To Clément's,

Mona's husband.

Mona's husband?

Yes.

I like him.

Well, that's not very moral of you,

but I like it.

Why are you barefoot?

Because mermaids don't wear shoes.

There was a British girl in the train.

The kind of girl who wears miniskirts from the cradle to the grave.

She's the wife of a man who owns an art gallery in the Bronx.

I said I was a painter

and my work was good,

and that I wanted to improve.

Sadly, his husband is only interested in old painters.

I like her work. It's feminine.

What's this?

She made it.

Really?

It's beautiful.

Very pretty.

It's gorgeous.

- Not bad. - Very feminine.

Let's sit there.

It's less noisy.

But the music is there.

- Can't hear it here? - Let your grandfather decide.

- Shit. - What?

What did you say, Boris?

What is this, Mona?

What, dad?

- Don't you like this table? - Yes.

- Well then! - Too close to the piano.

- It's not a piano. - Shut up!

What?

Where is he now?

Don't worry. At the carousel.

Don't let him run around. Keep him close.

Kids nowadays do as they please and end up in court.

- What do you want? It's on me. - A Martini.

- Boris. - Oh, dad!

- Can you see him? - No!

So, tell me,

how's he doing at school?

Hey!

- Is he doing well at school? - Yes.

He breaks up soon. I'll take him to Saint-Jean.

I'm renting a beach house.

Mountains would be better.

But Vendée is not bad either.

The air is nice, the seaweed...

I found coins in a saucer.

That's the waiter's tip.

You little thief. So now he steals.

Bravo. What a nice education.

He's right, honey.

Put back that money where you found it.

Someone will steal it!

- Don't get me started. - That's good.

Shut up!

Why should he worry?

I don't understand. He's not usually like that.

Dad.

Dad.

I broke up with Ben.

What?

Nothing.

What now?

What is it, mom?

I don't know.

We'll probably spend the night here.

I'm scared.

You're scared. Serves you right!

- Shut up! - Boris.

You shut up! Nasty little brat.

Does my breath smell?

Jip.

Put your tongue in my mouth.

Turn it 7 times round my mouth

and ask me if I want to marry you.

Do you know why?

Yes.

Why?

You have to turn your tongue 7 times round a woman's mouth

before asking her to marry you.

In other places, it's 700 times.

In some countries of Asia,

it's 700,000 times.

It takes several years.

Would you love me if I had tuberculosis?

You're not sick.

I love you.

I love you because...

Because?

Because...

we're happing together.

Happy.

I love you because you're handsome.

I love you because you believe me

when I say I saw white mice smoking hash.

I love you because you believe me

when I say I'm not a real mermaid.

Where on earth did I put my keys?

Never mind.

- I'll wake Eglée up. - That's clever.

- Stupid. - You more.

About time.

My dear, I forgot the key.

Know what time it is?

Help us.

What's with the flowers?

There are telegrams, too.

I love you. Ben.

I love you. Ben.

I love you. Ben.

Are you crazy, Boris? It's 1 am.

Aren't you tired? Go to bed.

Just a minute.

- Go to bed. - Bitch.

What did you say? Say that again.

- I didn't say anything. - You didn't?

I'm starting to lose my patience.

You're going to bed, and if you're not asleep in 15 minutes...

Come on.

Come.

To the kitchen.

To the kitchen.

To the kitchen.

Come on. Let's eat.

Boris, get up.

Part Two

I bought a red car. Rita chose it.

We've already had 3 accidents.

Had 3 accidents.

Holidays are over.

Mona came back alone from the coast,

leaving Boris with Eglée.

Leaving Boris with Eglée.

Ben sends her tons of telegrams,

and there are so many flowers

in her apartment, it is almost unbreathable.

Honey, I'm exhausted. I'm not used to running anymore.

Oh, the sun, the sea, the warm sand.

Why didn't you stay there?

If you had come, you wouldn't look like a ghost now.

You could have brought your chick.

Hello, madam.

More flowers?

Actually, she could have drowned.

Who?

Mona.

You're mean.

No, no.

I was kidding.

- You didn't sound like you were. - Yes, I swear.

Jip, take me on vacation.

To the sea.

If you want.

When do we leave?

Whenever you want.

Do you still love Mona?

- It's beautiful, isn't it? - No.

Yes, it is.

It is. Come on.

You'd love me if I was blind?

Yes.

And if I was mute?

Yes.

What if I was paralyzed?

Yes.

Amazing.

So...

If I was mute, blind and paralyzed,

you'd stay with me,

you'd love me,

you'd fuck me. - Well, yes.

Why don't you buy a sex doll?

It takes up little room when it deflates.

You put it in a closet.

Mom, will you buy me a lion?

We'll see.

- Jip, can I have a lion? - Suck it.

You too.

Come on, kids!

We're not moving.

Next time, you'll take route 20.

If you think highway A13

is going to be easy,

you're crazy.

Jip?

Jip?

Honey,

I'm in Thoiry, with Boris.

I promised I'd show him the lions.

This is weird. We're not moving on route 20 either.

She had freckles on her nose.

She was around 35.

She had a foreign accent.

Spanish, Romanian...

She got leukemia.

Or something like that.

She started losing weight.

She only weighed 21 kg when she died.

She was a gorgeous girl.

I saw her naked. She had a blue spot on her left breast.

She was really beautiful.

No more than me.

Can I have some beans?

Who wants more?

I do.

You sure like to eat.

- Want some more, Jip? - No.

- Eat. - No.

Eglée, I need a model.

Do you want to pose for me?

- Naked? - You're modest?

How much will you pay? Will there be heating?

So, Jip, you have a car now?

- Yes. - What kind of car?

A red one.

I like red ones.

Will you take me for a ride?

We could go to Meudon.

Why Meudon? We could go to Chaville.

Eglée, you should go help madam.

I haven't finished my beans. They're almost cold now.

That's enough now.

Come on, people.

I hate you dissing me in front of my husband.

Who wants some salad?

You're both very lucky.

I'm exhausted.

And Clément wanted to play roulette.

Are you coming to bed?

Mona...

I'm cold.

Mona...

What?

Well...

You should say what you have to say.

I want to leave.

Go, then.

I don't know what's wrong with me.

It's complicated. You must understand.

Listen, Jip,

I'm not your mother.

Don't ask me to understand.

I have my own problems.

I don't want to understand. You see?

I mean... Things seem simple to me.

Either you want to sleep with me or you don't.

So don't force yourself if you don't want to or you can't.

If it's just for the sake of it...

I"d rather take a book or just be my myself.

I lived 5 years without sex, so...

Leave.

Leave.

Your socks.

Well...

I'll write to you.

It's settled. I'm marrying Rita.

I went upstairs four by four to the third floor.

I went upstairs calmly to the third floor.

She lived on the fourth.

Jip.

Did you come to see me?

I was at the movies.

Did you come to sleep with me?

We fell asleep without saying anything.

We were tired.

We slept a long time.

You'll catch cold.

- Are you hungry? - Yes.

We slept a long time.

I've left Mona.

I should pay you. This month is over.

Check or cash?

Cash.

Sir?

- Milk. - Two glasses of milk.

- What have you been up to? - I'm thirsty.

You're a weird guy.

The other day, you ignored me.

I thought you were mad at me.

- And now you call me. - What am I going to do?

Go see a hooker.

And catch something?

Go see a clean one.

Ask her for a medical certificate.

They are checked.

No.

I want a pretty,

kinky hooker.

Do you know one like that?

You're a weird guy.

Do you think that girl is a hooker?

You're a weird guy.

What is he doing?

Something to drink?

You know,

I need a really gentle one,

maternal,

who would dominate me without dominating me.

With Doushka, it was fantastic.

I had great hard-ons.

- Why are you looking at me? - I'm not.

Stop it!

- It bothers me. - It doesn't bother me.

It does me.

I like your weenie.

I invited a friend for lunch tomorrow.

Who?

Colin Loiseau.

You don't know him.

- He's weird. - Is he Jewish?

From that day on, we took Loiseau as a lodger.

He did us some favors and we gave him some affection.

Do you like my broth?

It's good.

She's a nice girl.

I need someone like her.

Did you hear that, honey?

- Don't you have a sister? - No. I have a brother.

Did you see that?

There are guys who screw that.

She wasn't wearing a bra.

Yes, she was.

No, she wasn't.

- Her breasts didn't move. - They were hard.

Rita's breasts move if she doesn't wear a bra.

They're flabby.

Her breasts are flabby?

No, they're soft.

When she served me my soup,

one of her breasts touched my cheek.

Go see a hooker.

So that I catch something?

Jip, look.

She's hot.

That one's not bad.

I don't like girls who smoke.

Look at that one!

She looks like Rita.

Not as good as Rita.

No, I like Rita better.

Ciao, bambino.

Are you comfortable?

So, tell me, honey...

is Loiseau going to stay here for a long time?

You don't like him?

Yes, I do.

But it would be much better if he wasn't all over me.

You know, he has some doubts.

I have doubts, too.

I know what his problem is.

He needs a woman.

He doesn't like anybody.

He would like a girl...

A girl like you.

I asked Rita if she would sleep with Colin, given that

he couldn't find a girl he liked. She said yes.

I didn't quite understand why.

Come on.

It's done.

It's done.

You know, I didn't come.

Well...

I'm going to go now.

What you did for me was...

absolutely amazing.

I will never forget it.

I love you.

From then on,

we never talked about Colin.

Rita and I decided to live for ourselves.

For the first time,

I had the vague, confusing, eccentric feeling

of something that could be called happiness.

Rita and I built a peaceful comfort,

some sort of compensation.

We were a bizarre duo, some kind of joyful complaint

in which delirium and anxiety were mixed together.

Sometimes, in our calm life,

there were moments of emptiness and fatigue.

One day,

a day we were afraid to die,

we took the car and went to the sea.

Rita chose the Mediterranean.

Since the route was dangerous

and we didn't want to die foolishly,

we left the red car and took the blue train.

At Avignon station,

a transvestite-looking woman

told us that some years ago, in Japan,

164 people had died in a railway accident.

And that in 1970,

in another railway tragedy,

105 people had perished,

52 of which had died while they were

being taken to the hospital.

Without considering the hostage-taking,

the train was too dangerous, so we took the bus.

Jip, I'm scared. I want to get off.

Close your eyes.

I want to get off!

Ready?

We stayed till the end of November.

It's cold. It's bad weather.

They say it's sunny in Paris.

I'm cold.

It's winter.

But it's sunny.

For the ice bath.

For the ice bath.

The weather's still bad.

Rita and I are happy to go home.

She has a blocked nose and a cough.

We hope it's nothing serious.

Lyon-Perrache, Lyon-Perrache.

Connection to Strasbourg...

It's as bad as the Riviera.

Is it too heavy, honey?

My muscles hurt.

Fill it up, please.

Are you cold, honey?

No.

Don't you think it's too hot in here?

Have you got a temperature?

Will we have children?

At first, Rita thought she had been poisoned

by contaminated seafood.

As days went by, Rita didn't get better.

The pharmacist feared a jaundice.

Ben, don't you have something else to do?

- It's not shameful. - Eglée, I'll kick you out.

Well, screw you.

Come on, girls.

I had a bad feeling. I don't know why.

I ran

and everything happened so fast.

I didn't understand.

Boris, go to bed.

- Go to bed. - I'm not sleepy.

- Be polite to your mom. - Shut up.

Oh, come on.

He has personality. That's good, son.

Right.

- Whoreson! - Whore!

Time to get

the cream pies.

What do you think?

I want to sleep.

And I want to...

- Me too. - You're here to study.

I am studying, madam.

Jip.

Rita is dead.

Who's Rita?

Who is Rita?

I don't understand.

Want to stay?

Do you want it?

Subtitles: Eclair Media