1
THE WAR IS OVER
You made it.
Once again you see
the hill of Biriatou.
Once again you have that stale,
anxious taste of crossing the border.
You drove all night.
Your mouth is dry from too little sleep
and too much tobacco.
Once again you cross this border
in the shimmering early-morning light.
The sun rises behind you
over the Elizondo peaks.
Once again, you'll make it over.
It's all right.
You'll make your train.
All night I was afraid
we might break down.
But there was no reason.
I had the car checked.
An obsession.
You know how it is.
At night, the stretch
between Burgos and Miranda...
miles of desert around us...
No offense, but service stations in
your country leave a lot to be desired.
I didn't dare push the car too hard.
I was afraid.
If it weren't for you,
I would have played tourist today.
A good meal
in a seafood restaurant.
Crabe in a hot sauce
with a nice white wine.
Or roast pig at Bottine's,
behind the Plaza Mayor.
And in the afternoon,
a bullfight, of course.
I generally don't get the time
to see the towns I go to.
Believe it or not, I haven't even
set foot yet in the Prado in Madrid!
I can tell you now...
last night when you said
we had to rush back, I was furious.
That wasn't hard to see.
We usually spend the night talking, but
last night you acted like I didn't exist.
I'd arranged to be away three days.
My wife was going
to run the bookshop alone.
Today the Prado.
Tomorrow Toledo and Aranjuez.
A three-day vacation,
in other words.
So last night when you read
the letter I brought you...
and then said we had to set out
immediately, I was fuming!
So I ruined your trip, eh?
Take it up
with the Spanish police.
- There's a crowd already.
- Easter. They spend the day in Spain.
Easier for you.
They have less time to check passports.
- How did you manage it before?
- Before?
When the border was closed.
When there were no tourists.
We crossed over
through the mountains.
Sometimes we ran into
the Guardia Civil.
- And then?
- Then we'd shoot our way through.
- You're no problem at all.
- Why?
No one hearing you talk
would take you for a Spaniard.
Even I forget sometimes.
The last buddy I drove over
didn't speak a word of French.
He pretended to be asleep.
If they had asked him a single question,
our goose would have been cooked.
With you it's a cinch.
Please park your car
and step inside the station.
- Why? Listen, I'm in a hurry.
- Police check. Pull the car up there.
Come on, let's go.
- What's all this about?
- I've no idea either.
You think it's a random check?
You sure your papers are okay, Carlos?
Remember what we said.
It'll be all right.
Leave the key in the car.
Follow me.
- What about our bags?
- Never mind. Leave them.
Have you got something
against Citroens today?
Thank you.
So that's it.
I bought some books in his shop.
We struck up an acquaintance.
And so, Mr. Rene Sallanches,
you were there on vacation?
Yes.
- Alone?
- Yes, alone.
And you live in Paris
at Rue de I'Estrapade, number 4?
No, number 7.
And you met Mr.Jude
in his bookshop in Hendaye?
That's right.
And Mrs. Jude...
What's her first name again?
Marie. She's charming.
Do you have
a telephone in Paris?
Of course.
Medicis 33-74.
Call this number right away.
It's Sunday morning.
You'll wake up Nadine.
I told her nothing's wrong, but
she's worried and wants to speak to you.
What's wrong?
Did you run over another old lady?
- Everything's fine.
- Why did he call?
- A simple formality.
- Busybody.
These things happen, you know.
Are you staying in tonight?
Yes, I'll wait for you.
Then I'll see you tonight
at the house. Good-bye.
Good-bye, darling.
- They searched the car.
- Of course.
So what did you tell them?
I said you were in the area
on vacation.
You bought books in my shop
and we struck up an acquaintance.
I agreed to take a little trip
down to Spain to pick you up.
He asked, "From Madrid?"
"Yes," I said. "What of it?"
"Three hundred miles each way?
That's a long trip to make in 24 hours.
That doesn't leave you much time
for sightseeing."
That got my goat.
I said, "Driving relaxes me."
- Is the next train an express?
- Yes. The 9:55. First-class only.
9:55. I have time to see Antoine.
- Shouldn't I give him our message?
- I have time to do it myself.
I'd prefer we not be seen
at Antoine's together.
Let's do this: I'll drop you at my house,
and let Antoine know you're here.
I'll tell him to meet you at the station
15 minutes before your train leaves.
It's safer that way.
All of a sudden,
my memory failed me completely.
A total blank.
I forgot Sallanches' phone number.
"This is it."
I thought to myself,
"This is it.
We'll get caught
over this tiny detail."
Besides, I had no way of knowing
who would answer on the other end.
It the inspector had reached
Sallanches himself...
it would have blown my cover.
So the passport is false
but the phone number is real?
No, it's all real:
Rene Sallanches, his passport,
his daughter, his phone number.
The only fake element
in this story is me.
So all you do is switch photos?
You could put it like that.
See, Marie? It's nothing
more complicated than that.
All right.
You know everything
about the Sallanches family.
Your answers are correct.
But they know nothing about you.
That is, the person
using the passport.
But on the phone
they don't give you away?
No, they didn't give me away.
It's my lucky star.
Without my own little star,
I'd long since be dead or in jail.
Anyway, Nadine will explain.
Sallanches' daughter.
She's the one who answered the phone.
- Do you know her?
- No, I don't know any of them.
I know all about them,
but I don't know any of them.
It's odd you should speak
of a lucky star.
I've always thought
some people have lucky stars.
- You've never gone to their house?
- No, never.
So you really think
they stopped us by chance?
- Of course.
- Why?
Didn't you see? They stopped
another black Citroen behind us.
- Are you sure? I didn't notice.
- A suspect car is reported...
so they search all cars
of the same make and color.
- Suspect? How?
- There's still smuggling going on.
I've seen them search our cars
for gold, for example.
They found propaganda
hidden in the frame.
What happens then?
That depends. If it's in France,
jail, a fine, house arrest.
Nothing too terrible.
But if it's in Spain...
It's time to open up shop.
I'm going to get some sleep.
Antoine must be at the station.
- What if your guy's already crossed?
- Impossible.
- Do I know him?
- I'm sure you do. He goes so often.
But under many different names.
Something about this whole affair
still worries me.
What?
- How did they know I was in Madrid?
- They couldn't know.
The inspector took a stab in the dark
and just happened to get it right.
With all the arrests in Madrid,
aren't you on the spot too?
If I were, do you think the Spanish
police would have let me get away?
- Good luck, Carlos.
- Thanks.
Good-bye.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Greetings, friend.
- Greetings, Rafael.
- Has Juan arrived?
- Juan? No news of Juan.
- You weren't expecting him?
Sometimes I don't know who's coming.
They just ask me to get a car ready.
One way to Paris
and a visitor's pass.
Have many been crossing lately?
Yesterday, two cars to Andalusia,
using their vacation to work for us.
Today, the same car that goes
to Bilbao every two weeks.
I've got a car ready, ordered by Paris.
No idea who it's for.
- For how long?
- The week.
- Maybe that one's for Juan.
- I think he'd go through Perpignan.
- Why?
- He's been using this side too much.
Perpignan. You don't know
who handles the crossings there?
It's not my district. Anyway, what
can you accomplish by going there?
Can you tell me
what's going on with Juan?
The bookseller brought a letter
saying Juan would arrive in Madrid.
He must be stopped from going.
Have there been arrests?
There's been no word in the press.
It's too early. It just started.
Anyway, if Juan shows up,
have him wait here for new orders.
Okay, but I bet he's going to cross
at Perpignan.
Perpignan. Here we are.
At 3:34 p.m., you leave Bayonne
for Toulouse.
You arrive in Toulouse at 8:34 p.m.
You catch the train for Narbonne
at 9:13 p.m.
At 11:01 p.m., in Narbonne,
you catch the train to Perpignan.
You arrive in Perpignan
at 11:55 p.m.
Not exactly an express.
No, not exactly.
Juan hasn't crossed over yet,
unless he went through Perpignan.
You don't know.
You can do nothing alone.
Antoine's right. You don't even know
who's in charge in Perpignan.
You should go to Paris.
Juan is probably still there.
You'll find him home.
You need to see your people...
Today.
Explain the Madrid situation to them,
that nobody should go there.
Eepecially not Juan.
He would be walking into a trap.
- If she hasn't told Lucienne, we're sunk.
- We are?
- How can she do it without Lucienne?
- She's used to it.
- Was she used to it at Royan last year?
- That's different. She wasn't at home.
Lucienne didn't leave just to be
with her nephews. Something happened.
You always dramatize.
I know what I'm saying.
She is lost without Lucienne!
Didn't she ask Lucienne to come?
The Marcels make two.
Unless Pierre comes. Two or three.
Then there's us, Raoul,
her two daughters, their husbands.
- And no Lucienne!
- Lucienne may be the first one there.
Without Lucienne, we're sunk!
Don't fret. Remember,
it's a holiday reunion.
Holiday?
With everyone in a foul mood?
Lucienne's not even family.
Don't exaggerate.
So what if she's not family?
Without her, we're a pretty family!
- I was sent by Antonio.
- What?
- Madame Lopez?
- No, I'm Madame Pluvier.
Sorry, I'm looking for
Madame Lopez.
There's no Madame Lopez here.
Building G, 10th floor,
number 107.
That's right,
but there's no Madame Lopez here.
Then I've made a mistake.
I beg your pardon.
Is she a refugee from Algeria?
A refugee? No, I don't think so.
I mean, on account of the name.
There's lots of them around here.
Thank you. Good-bye.
You came to see Juan a year ago.
Building G, 10th floor,
number 107.
Care of Madame Lopez, you thought.
But there's no Juan now,
no Madame Lopez.
Maybe it was some other Building G,
some other 10th floor.
Perhaps Juan did go,
and he'll walk right into the trap.
Roberto.
You must find Roberto now.
She'll wonder what's wrong.
She'll realize something's happened
to her husband.
You'd rather not see her today.
And yet you need her. She's the one
who can take you to Roberto.
Last Thursday at 6:00 p.m...
Andres failed to show up
at the Botanical Gardens.
You had a beer
at the Cafe Nacional.
You thought nothing of it.
You assumed you'd see Andres
at the next meeting place.
But toward nightfall
came signs of approaching danger.
The comrade who operates
the print shop failed to come home.
His brother notified the others.
The closed little world we live in...
became unsettled
and full of snares.
Carmen?
You here?
What is it? Is something wrong?
Andres?
What's happened to Andres?
By Friday it was clear
that Andres had disappeared...
and Luis and Jueto and Ricardo.
In the shadows we began to fight...
the unpredictable progress
of the police roundups...
severing the links
that bound one group to another...
suspending all meetings, all contacts,
setting new liaison networks.
But Andres had disappeared...
He has disappeared.
He could have disappeared
any day now for 15 years.
Carmen had expected, already accepted,
in anguish and rage...
this disappearance
that bursts upon her today.
Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m...
Andres did not show up
at the Botanical Gardens.
But you must wrest her
from her grief, her solitude.
She knows
where to find Roberto today...
among all these houses which empty
as the weekend draws to a close...
among all these lights
on a Sunday night.
Roberto organizes the crossings.
Only he will know
where to find Juan today.
He alone can catch up with Juan
before he too vanishes.
Roberto hates bad news.
An arrest gets on his nerves...
not just because it means
losing a comrade...
not just because of the months
and years of work...
to be done over from scratch...
but becauee the reality
of the world resists us...
because our actions seem
like a dream of indefinite progress.
He hates when reality
clashes with his dream.
It's as if he blames you...
for being the malicioue messenger
of the opaque reality...
that we cannot predict.
Ramon!
You have visitors.
I'll be damned! Carlos!
Why are you shouting?
What are you doing here?
You've put on some weight.
Getting old.
The easy life, you know.
Did Juan get away
all right this morning?
At noon. I finished his car last night
and he left today at noon.
- Which way did he go?
- Perpignan.
- And then to Barcelona?
- Yes, to Barcelona.
At noon?
Just at noon?
Where is he going to cross?
Where will he be tonight?
Perpignan.
Tomorrow he meets the contact who will
pick him up in Madrid in two weeks.
Then he crosses over.
- We can warn him, bring him back.
- It's of no use.
Anyway, it's too late.
Why not phone him in Perpignan?
The phone is too risky.
Oh, come on!
Then send him a wire.
Or one of us can catch the night train
and reach Perpignan in time.
Look, don't get so nervous.
In the morning
we meet with our comrades.
Right. We'll see tomorrow.
BORDER - TWO MILES
What's going on?
Why does Juan have to come back?
He mustn't go to Madrid.
They're making arrests.
Who have they arrested?
Andres and three more
from the Madrid committee.
The printer as well.
And it was still going on when I left.
Have you told Carmen?
We'll need to know more details
to tell if it's really serious.
You know as well as I
that they tend to exaggerate there.
It's natural. At the first sign of trouble,
they think everything's unraveling.
They're too close to things
to see the situation clearly.
And we see it better from Paris?
Yes. We have
a broader perspective.
What about Juan?
He's in no danger. We have three days
before he leaves Barcelona.
In Perpignan he would be
even safer.
I'll take responsibility
for keeping him in Perpignan.
No, I'm in charge of the trips!
He has important work
to do in Barcelona.
Every minute counts now!
Are you all crazy here in Paris? Every
minute has counted for 25 years.
Why speak to me of 25 years...
with a general strike called
for 12 days from now?
And May 1st is no joke either,
so minutes do count!
May 1st comes around every year,
but Juan won't.
If he's caught, he'll get 20 years,
and you know it as well as I.
As far as the strike goes,
we'll discuss that tomorrow.
Listen, if you need someone
to go to Barcelona, I'd be happy to go.
- It'd get me out this rut.
- This rut?
Is your wife a rut now?
Are you having second thoughts?
These Breton women are amazing.
I talk about an undercover mission
to help a comrade in danger...
and you'd think
I was off on a vacation.
If anyone goes to Barcelona,
I should go.
We'll see.
Don't stand there all night.
Come in the house and have a drink.
Good idea, but bring it out here.
I have to finish up this car.
- How did it start this time?
- Probably the same way it always does.
- Of course. It's always the same.
- No, it wasn't the same this time.
No, they struck several places
at the same moment.
The printing press and the men
working it... all taken at once.
Andres and Luis were taken
in their hideouts.
It's the first time
that's happened.
So Juan could be in danger
in Madrid?
The raid took place
in his sector.
He's been going there for years.
He may have been spotted.
What about you?
You've been going there for years too.
Yet here you are,
drinking wine with us.
Luis' wife heard the police say
during the search...
they had pictures of a Paris leader
taken with a telephoto lens...
they were sure to arrest next.
- It has to be Juan.
- Films, photos... it's all fabrication!
The police spread these rumors
to demoralize the opposition.
Thursday, the very day
the arrests were made...
didn't you have an appointment
with Andres?
Yet here you are.
Because there is no photo,
and Andres won't talk.
It's very simple.
They struck at us
because they're afraid!
They want to nip
our preparations in the bud.
They conducted a raid. So what?
They've been doing that for 25 years!
That's how war is:
They strike, and we strike back!
- Don't get excited.
- I'm not excited.
I may raise my voice, but it means
nothing. It's this crazy life we lead.
What's crazy is
that it's gone on this long.
All right.
Tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m.
at the Pierre Curie station.
Marianne must be waiting for you.
You didn't let her know
you were coming?
She's probably left Paris.
Besides, I didn't come for her.
I came for Juan.
- Yes, she must be out of town.
- Why?
- Because it's Easter.
- So it is. You see? One forgets!
If you find the house empty,
come sleep here.
Maybe. Thanks.
- Is it you?
- That depends.
Was it you on the phone
this morning?
Yes. I recognize your voice.
I waited for you until now.
Come on!
Your father isn't home?
If he were, God knows
where you would be now!
You don't know how true that is.
But I do know.
They ask to speak to my father.
I say he's on a trip,
which is the truth.
For once, the truth
served a useful purpose.
What happened at the border?
A spot check. Mere routine.
But they picked us this time.
The phone call could have ruined it.
They mentioned Spain
and I knew right away.
My father told me
about the passport.
We have a weakness for Spain
in our family.
So I pretended to be alarmed.
I asked lots of questions.
I even demanded
to talk to my father.
I was admirable,
full of daughterly anxiety.
In any case, you kept your cool.
You got me out of a fix.
It's not the first time.
So tell me, how was I in the role
of the affectionate father?
When my father feels affectionate,
he doesn't call me "darling."
He calls me "Nana."
I'm sure the border incident
was nothing at all.
But suppose they were
to make inquiries in Paris.
- When does your father return?
- Tomorrow night.
Then he must have his passport
to show just in case.
- I'll bring it by tomorrow afternoon.
- You're leaving?
If I hurry,
I can just make the 10:00 show.
What do you do?
Besides this, I mean.
- Nothing else.
- Nothing else ever?
- Not for ages.
- And before that?
Long ago, I think I wanted to write.
Same as everyone.
What you do
is far more interesting!
- So you're a professional revolutionary?
- That's it precisely.
A real professional.
What a terrific profession!
How is a passport falsified?
Can't they tell the photo was replaced?
No, they'd have to check police files
to see whether the photo is fake.
But they don't keep those files
at the border.
Show me.
So you could be my father.
That's right, Nana.
- Are you leaving?
- Yes.
Is someone expecting you?
Yes.
What's your real name?
Sometimes it startles me
to hear my real name.
What is it?
Domingo.
That means "Sunday."
Hello, Sunday.
Hello, Nana.
What time shall I bring
the passport by tomorrow?
After lunch, but no later than 3:30.
I have to meet somebody.
Nadine Sallanches.
Rue de I'Estrapade,
number 7, third floor.
Born October 26, 1944.
Completed her secondary studies
at the Lycee Fenelon.
Begins her university studies this year.
Speaks English fluently,
Spanish as well.
Lives with her father, civil service
engineer for the government...
who is often away
because of his work.
Five feet five...
brunette, brown eyes,
appendicitis three years ago.
- Is that me?
- This data came with the passport.
You don't miss a detail!
No, not a detail.
It's the big picture
we sometimes lose sight of.
See you tomorrow.
Good night, Sunday.
I'm not alone. We're working.
And to think I took my time
coming home.
I was sure
you wouldn't be in Paris.
No one told me.
No one knew. It was unexpected.
- Diego.
- Yes?
Nothing. Just saying your name.
You're here. I am happy.
I'm leaving again.
- You are?
- Tomorrow.
You know Agnes?
I thought you had already met.
- I don't think so.
- I'm sure we haven't.
You never saw Agnes
at the office?
No, never. Impossible!
Diego is always traveling.
Always?
Every time I asked Marianne to
introduce us, you were away on a trip.
I even began to wonder
whether you really existed!
Now you see I really do exist.
Stay with us for a while.
We've finished.
Jeanine and Bill will be so glad
to see you again.
We're doing a book
on all the cities of the world.
That is, on the way a city speaks
to its inhabitants...
and how people answer back,
and how this becomes a language.
It's complicated to explain,
but in pictures it's simple.
We'll mix Bill's photographs
with drawings by Folon and Topor.
Agnes and I are doing the layout.
Bill's off to Brazil...
so we're choosing some
of the first pictures before he goes.
We're taking advantage
of the Easter holiday.
We've set up shop here,
where it's so peaceful.
They'll wonder
if you don't come and say hello.
Want something to eat, Diego?
No, I ate on the plane.
The weather was beautiful.
The fountains are still there.
Fountains?
What fountains?
On Piazza Navona.
The Pincio fountains.
All the fountains.
- Haven't you ever been in Rome?
- Rome? Yes, of course.
- What took you to Rome?
- Work.
Didn't you know
that I work occasionally?
A conference sponsored by UNESCO.
Teaching in underdeveloped countries.
You haven't grown tired
of working as an interpreter?
It pays well. No taxes.
You work six months a year.
You travel.
I'm not ambitious.
It's late.
It's time we left you two alone.
Yes, it is late.
It seems things in Spain
are stirring.
Yes. As Marianne says, "It's forever
stirring but it never changes."
And what do you say?
Nothing.
I'm your friend, Diego.
Nobody would like
what I have to say about Spain.
I'm not even sure
I like it myself.
Poor, unhappy Spain.
Heroic, gallant Spain. I'm sick of it!
Spain's become the lyrical
rallying point of the left.
A myth for veterans of past wars.
Meanwhile, 14 million tourists
vacation in Spain every year.
Spain is nothing but a tourist's dream
or a civil-war myth...
all bundled up with Lorca's plays...
And I'm fed up with Lorca's plays.
Sterile women and peasant dramas!
And you can have the legend too!
I was not at Verdun, or Teruel,
or at the front at Ebro.
And the people now doing what counts
in Spain weren't either.
Twenty-year-olds, inspired
not by our past, but by their future.
Spain is no longer the dream of 1936
but the truth of 1965...
however disconcerting.
Thirty years have gone by,
and veterans give me a pain in the ass!
I'm sorry.
It's all sort of muddled.
Working tomorrow?
I'll see you then.
Right. See you tomorrow.
- Good night.
- I'm staying.
- You are?
- Yes.
I should help Marianne
put away the photos.
Then I'll drive you home.
Agnes lives in St. Cloud, and there are
no more trains at this hour.
Good night all the same.
Why was that little bitch
asking all those questions?
You talked about Rome
and UNESCO.
Just ten minutes earlier, I said you were
in Brussels with the United Nations.
If they think I'm a liar,
too bad!
You? Why just you?
If you lied, so did I!
It's our life that seems like a lie.
Didn't you hear Agnes?
A fake couple living a fake life!
Maybe that's what it seems like.
But it's not true.
For me it wasn't a lie.
You spoke of the fountains.
I was happy.
The Piazza Navona
must be deserted now.
You can hear
the water splashing.
- Where are you going?
- To take Agnes home.
Can't the little bitch take a cab?
She's broke. I promised.
St. Cloud is a long way away.
I wonder if it might not be better
to tell the truth.
Sure. Let's put an ad in the paper!
But we can tell
Jeanine and Bill anything.
And your Agnes too?
You think they don't suspect
when you go on like you did earlier?
No, Bill doesn't.
He's a photographer.
He does his work.
Anyway, we can't tell
anybody anything.
- It's a question of principle.
- Your principles scare me.
There have been arrests in Madrid.
Many of my colleagues have fallen.
I want a child by you.
This is no life!
What is a life?
A child by you. Can you imagine?
We'll discuss it calmly.
My child. It's not something
to discuss calmly.
Afterwards you can go away, leave me,
even forget me if you like.
This isn't the time.
Yes, it is the time.
Those arrests.
When did they start?
Thursday, three days ago.
What does it make you want
when things like that happen?
Want? What do you mean?
Does it make you want to go on
doing what you're doing...
even if you're left all alone?
One is never left all alone.
We must let them know that we exist.
That the work still goes on.
That's right.
I'll be back.
Agnes? Are you ready?
"Hello, Patrick!"
Now, to remove the photo.
A lucky star, madame.
A tiny little star
for personal use.
A starfish for every purpose.
All right. This goes here...
and this goes over there.
My expenses.
Dinner in Madrid, 230.
Gasoline, 635.
Breakfast, 42.
For patience and irony...
are the chief virtues
of a Bolshevik.
"My name is Nana."
And mine is Sunday.
Six months
without seeing you, Diego.
It's not possible.
If you had to stay here...
I don't know...
If things became too dangerous for you
to go to Madrid, would you miss it?
I would miss Spain.
I really would.
Like something
you would miss terribly...
whose absence
would be unbearable.
The people.
Strangers who open a door who
recognize you and whom you recognize.
Being part of something together.
Spain. Your people.
That's your life.
The other day
I almost slept with a man.
Why?
I thought I wanted to.
No. I mean why tell me?
Would you tell, Diego?
I don't know.
Why didn't you?
Because...
the moment always comes when
you're through sleeping with a man.
When you're through making love.
At that point...
he should be gone.
He should have disappeared.
To wake up
beside anyone but you...
is unimaginable.
It's only later
that things get complicated.
Don't you agree?
I'm hungry.
I thought you ate on the plane
from Rome.
Nine years ago,
I was the one you told your lies to.
A torrent of lies to hide who you were
and what you were doing in Rome.
Of course.
You told me
your name was Francisco...
and then Rafael...
and then Carlos.
I spent months,
both in Rome and in Paris...
sorting out your truth
from your lies.
They weren't lies.
They were barriers.
Against what?
Falling in love isn't on the agenda
for a professional revolutionary.
What is?
Patience.
Above all, patience.
I'm starved.
Don't you have anything to eat?
Next year, if you're still spending
half your time in Madrid...
I'm going to move there.
Move there? What do you mean?
Live there. Find some work that
lets me follow you around.
I like having houses
in different places.
In Madrid? You barely speak
ten words of Spanish.
I learned French well enough.
Anyway, what kind of work?
Same as here.
They publish books in Spain too.
Well, we wouldn't get far
on my 800 francs a month.
I thought you got a raise.
You're right. 875 francs.
And what do you make here?
Three thousand a month?
- You'd never make that much there.
- I don't need to make that much.
I need you.
Anyway, it's out of the question.
A girlfriend in the same city where I'm
working in the underground? Too risky.
Was it serious this time?
Did they arrest people from Paris?
People I know?
- You know Juan...
- Juan was arrested?
No, not yet.
That's why I came back.
I'm sure they have his picture.
Ivry, Porte des Lilas, Six-Routes...
Quatre-Chemine, Aubervilliers...
la Poterne des Peupliers,
Victor-Hugo...
Jaures, Paul Vaillant-Couturier.
You know these suburbs
like the back of your hand.
You arrive from your own country...
and at your every return
you find this landscape of exile.
You see once more those desiccated,
tireless, worn-out men...
fastidious about detail but less clear
about the larger picture...
ready to die: Your comrades.
You'll again find this comradeship...
irreplaceable and yet eaten away
by a lack of reality.
You'll spend whole days
in Ivry or Aubervilliers...
trying to rebuild your country...
in the likeness of your memory.
Toiling stubbornly to force your dreams
into the far-off reality of Spain.
Good morning!
How goes it?
- How are you?
- Fine. And you?
Fine.
- You had a good trip?
- Yes.
It's in the paper.
"According to official sources..."
the Spanish police has been
carrying out...
a vast preventive operation...
against various extreme-left
working-class groups in Madrid.
A printing press was seized
and several dozen arrests were made...
including ringleaders who entered
the country illegally from France.
These measures appear to be
directly linked to the unrest...
"during recent months
among the working classes in Madrid."
- Here. I know you all like coffee.
- Good idea.
I'm going to run some errands.
If the doorbell rings, don't answer.
All right. We can begin.
I'll try to sum up the situation,
comrades...
based on the information
we had received by Saturday.
You again have the feeling
you've lived this before...
that you've said all this before
over the years.
How often have you come here
after a wave of arrests, after a "fall"?
They call it a "fall" in Spanish.
They say a colleague has "fallen"...
that a printing press
or an organization has "fallen."
Sooner or later, say the old-timers,
everybody falls.
The road is long
and marked by falls.
How often have you come here
to examine why these falls occurred...
or to decide
what measures to take next?
Andres did not show up for the meeting
at the Botanical Gardens.
That's when it all started:
Thursday, three days ago.
We must therefore withdraw
the call to strike in Madrid.
I must say, in general, I disagree
with the directive in this case.
Carlos has given us a completely
subjective view of the situation.
Carlos has given us a completely
subjective view of the situation.
He exaggerates the consequences
of the arrests currently being made.
Indeed, he seems to have lost
all political perspective.
What is the situation
that has led to these arrests?
A political offensive
by the working class...
by students and peasants.
A situation where the dictatorship
is desperate and on its last legs.
Even the current arrests reflect...
the regime's fear in the face
of resistance by the masses.
Under these conditions,
they cannot halt...
the movement's advance,
its spread, its progress.
We are on the eve
of a general strike.
That is why we decided
to send Juan to Madrid...
with precise orders
and instructions.
The mass movement must be organized
and given a single goal.
That goal is the general strike.
The requisite conditions exist
and we must act now.
A date had to be set
and we have set it.
The strike is called for April 30th...
with nationwide demonstrations
on May 1st.
Carlos disagrees with the decision
to call a general strike.
He says we must bear in mind
the realities of the situation.
But what does "realities
of the situation" really mean?
That we should allow the political
situation to come to a head on its own?
That's mere opportunism,
pure and simple!
I never said we should just let things
develop spontaneously.
You never said we should just let things
develop spontaneously.
You merely question certain forms
of action under certain conditions.
A general strike is not
the sole form of struggle...
an inevitable finale.
Lenin voiced criticisms
of a general strike...
insofar as it tends to preclude
other forms of struggle.
If you wish to discuss Lenin,
then we'll discuss Lenin.
You accuse us of voluntarism,
but Lenin proved precisely that...
a dose of voluntarism, of revolutionary
subjectivism, is indispensable.
Your criticism is purely negative.
What are you really proposing?
Criticism is always negative
at first.
You try to make yourself
understood...
to explain it's not the idea of
a general strike you're criticizing...
but merely the specific situation
to which it's being applied.
You oppose the call
for a general strike on April 30th...
because the required conditions
are absent.
Another failure may discourage
the masses from this form of action.
You oppose deciding
from a position of exile...
a plan of action
and its date of execution in Spain.
We cannot be proxies for workers
in Bilbao, Barcelona, Madrid...
or decide for them.
Our underground can only organize
and serve as an instrument...
to carry out
the will of the masses.
It cannot replace that will.
Why speak of exiles as if they were
in opposition to those in Spain...
the underground
in opposition to the masses?
No, I don't.
I only mean one cannot
replace the other.
It would be absurd to imply...
that Carlos has been intimidated
by the arrests.
Over the past ten years he has often
proven he's not easily intimidated.
But he has been lacking
in political insight.
Just what is the situation?
Juan is in Barcelona.
He is scheduled to meet Carlos
in Madrid on Thursday.
But Carlos is here and Juan
has been left to his own devices.
We must reach Juan
in Barcelona...
and set up another contact for him
with the group in Madrid.
We're forced to increase
the number of trips...
and, as a result,
the risk automatically increases too.
This is what Carlos' undue haste
has led to.
But if Carlos had instead
remained in Madrid...
he could have followed the raid
hour by hour.
He could have taken
certain steps.
Juan would be protected
by Carlos' presence in Madrid.
These are the results of
an individual decision lightly taken...
without taking into account
the constraints of the act...
or respecting the decisions
made by the central committee.
You're not going to Barcelona.
You're staying here.
Ramon will go
and accompany Juan to Madrid.
You just spent six months in Spain,
in the hub of day-to-day action.
Perhaps the details of a partial reality
have blinded you.
The dozens of tiny, true little details
have clouded your vision.
You'll take a break.
You need to think things over.
Discuss matters calmly with others.
Let them set you straight.
You're staying here.
Let's go.
Let's go!
The passport.
Sal lanches.
Here it is.
Sallanches, Rene.
Born October 17, 1922.
It will just take a minute.
We need a passport for Ramon.
- When?
- Today.
- This afternoon.
- Always in a rush!
- Speak French, all right?
- Yes, of course.
The work going well?
Yes, let me talk to her.
I'm not leaving anymore.
Yes, I'm staying here with you.
Unhappy? No. Why?
A long time.
Maybe forever.
We'll take a vacation.
All right. See you tonight.
Good-bye.
ENJOY THE SUN AND SURF
VACATION AT LA PINEDA
Who is it?
- It's Sunday.
- No, it's Monday.
I know it's Monday. I'm Sunday.
I expected you.
Aren't you coming?
I was busy.
I have that thing for you.
- I have to go out now.
- I know you have a date. Where?
What does that matter
if you're not coming?
No, I was just wondering.
At "La Chope." Know it?
- Yes, I do.
- What's so funny?
Nothing. How about 6:00?
Fine. Where?
The lobby of Bullier Hall, 6:00.
- Why not my house?
- I'd prefer somewhere else, all right?
6:00 then. Bye.
- What would you like?
- Coffee.
You wouldn't have a cigarette,
would you?
Keep them.
This place is lousy with cops.
I wouldn't know.
I would. I work for them.
- But nobody followed me!
- You're crazy!
- There were three of them in a car.
- Are you sure?
I should know... it's my job!
A car? I can't believe it.
I even took one-way streets.
One got out and followed you.
I tailed him. You saw nothing?
Some men did look at me, but not
like that. It does happen on occasion.
- Why are the cops on your tail?
- You think it's the police?
I ought to know. What do you do
that might interest the police?
- Nothing.
- That's not true.
- Why are you speaking to me like that?
- I have to know!
If they are cops, it's dangerous
for you to meet me. They'll spot you.
They're still tailing your boyfriend
at Edgar-Quinet.
- Miguel?
- Yes, the guy with you.
- At Edgar-Quinet?
- So you were hiding something.
Go on. Tell me what happened.
You split up at Maubert.
Your friend took the Metro.
The younger cop followed him.
We all got off at Raspail.
Raspail?
- Your friend went into a house.
- What about the cop?
The cop wrote down the number and left,
unless he's still hiding nearby.
I've got to go. They may be planning
to make a search.
You must help me. It's serious.
They're working for Spain too,
you know.
I'm taking Papa's car
to pick him up at the station.
- Would you care to explain?
- I can't, Domingo. Later.
Turn left, then continue
along the cemetery.
I don't see anyone.
Turn on your lights.
Go ahead now.
- How long?
- I don't know. Five minutes.
I'll pick you up in ten minutes
in front of the Delambre movie theater.
The registration's in the glove
compartment. You have a license?
- Several.
- I mean a real one.
Yes, even a real one!
Go on!
Good evening.
- What's that?
- A suitcase.
Of course it's a suitcase.
- It looks heavy.
- Papers and more papers.
- I'll let you work.
- We're just finishing up.
Who was the woman
I passed in the hall?
Lola.
I want to say,
about last night...
Well, If I can ever be of help...
A photographer gets around,
you know.
That's all. I'm sure Agnes must be
mad with curiosity.
All through?
Bill took Agnes home.
He said we've done enough today.
- What's going on?
- Nothing. Why?
You had a visitor. That dark, thin
fellow who seems to hate me.
What are you saying?
That's my impression.
Or he distrusts me.
- You're crazy.
- I can tell.
He's suspicious of my work,
the way I dress.
He must think I'm the wrong kind
of woman for an agent like you.
So what did he want?
He seemed very agitated.
He came by twice and made me repeat
the message. He must take me for a fool!
Anyway, plans have changed.
You're not staying.
You're going to Barcelona.
He expects you at 11:00 a.m.
at the same Metro exit as today.
You'll meet to discuss your trip.
You'll eat there
and leave directly from the meeting.
Take your things with you.
They'll bring a passport.
Barcelona?
He didn't say why I'm going?
It's not his style
to give explanations.
I'm fed up. Completely fed up!
This morning I'd lost all political
perspective. I needed a break.
I needed to think, talk it over...
which means engage in self-criticism...
That's what they really meant.
Now I'm suddenly fit
to send to Barcelona, just like that.
Well, they can find
someone else!
No need to get up at the crack of dawn,
since you don't leave till noon.
Would you like to go out tonight?
I thought this was no life.
No, it's not a life.
What do you want to do?
I don't know.
A movie?
If you'd like.
- What do you want to see?
- Whatever you say. I don't care.
Would you mind driving me
to the station before the movie?
I'd like to check this suitcase there.
Why?
- Because.
- But why?
- I prefer not to keep it here.
- You've always kept your papers here.
All the same, I prefer not to.
- There's nothing else?
- What else?
Something you haven't told me?
Nothing of consequence.
Just incidental details.
I love you, Diego.
I know you do.
Is that for us?
Yes, it is.
Well, now...
what about your lights?
You're right. I forgot.
Your registration, please.
- Is the car yours?
- Yes, Officer.
- Are you the husband?
- No, I'm not the husband.
Your driver's license, please.
You're not French?
- What are you?
- Spanish. A Spanish refugee.
Your papers, please.
You have them.
Do you realize what driving
without lights could cost you?
No, this is the first time
it's happened to me.
You shouldn't trust your car
to absent-minded people.
All right. Go ahead this time.
- But be more careful in the future.
- Thank you, Officer.
Don't you want me to go?
Didn't you hear him?
"Don't trust your suitcase
to absent-minded people."
Do you really know
how the lockers work?
"Are you the husband?"
"No, I'm not the husband."
You should have seen your face!
Do I have the face of a husband?
No, but I am a wife to you anyway.
Stop at that cafe.
- I have to make a call.
- Now? Before the movie?
I'll just be a minute.
- Did Manolo say 11:00?
- Who?
- The little thin man? 11:00 sharp.
- I'll be right back.
I'm sorry to bother you this late, sir.
May I speak to Nadine?
Thank you.
It's me.
I must see you
and your friends tomorrow.
The afternoon is too late.
What's that?
Too late for everything!
9:00 sharp.
Same Metro stop as today.
On the platform, "Etoile" side.
Without fail, Nadine. Good-bye.
What's wrong?
Nothing. I just had to arrange
for someone to pick up the suitcase.
It couldn't wait?
Manolo could have come
for it at the house.
Do you mind If I conduct
my work as I see fit?
The truth is,
it's not just the suitcase.
You want me to tell you?
I don't want anything, but you're going
to tell me anyway, so go on.
Yesterday you wanted to go
to Barcelona to head off Juan...
but you were on edge.
You exploded
in front of Jeanine and Bill.
You, who are always so cautious.
You think you sounded
like a UNESCO interpreter?
By noon today,
you weren't leaving.
You said,
"I'm staying here with you."
But you were unhappy.
What happened this morning?
- This morning?
- At your meeting.
You seem to be drifting, Diego.
It's like you're in a fog,
no longer sure where you're going.
I know where I'm going:
Barcelona.
I suppose I'll accompany Juan
to Madrid and then return here.
I must take a break,
talk things over with them.
You see, in Spain I see things
from too close-up.
Reality blinds me.
I must regain a broader perspective,
even if it's unreal.
- I don't understand you anymore.
- It's very simple.
Our people live in the belief that
it will all blow sky-high any day now.
And that's all right. No one
can stand the idea of dying in exile.
But it's not true.
There's still a long road ahead of us.
That can't be!
It's true that it has to explode!
Listen.
"Various opposition forces
in the Basque region..."
have jointly decided
to call a general strike...
beginning April 30th at 8:00 a.m.
Students will also participate.
The strike will last a week...
"but, if repressed,
it will go on indefinitely."
It's meaningless.
Mumbojumbo, like carrying idols
to make it rain.
No, I hope that general strike
will really happen.
There will be isolated incidents,
small factions. Nothing big.
It's an unreal action.
I hope you're wrong.
The general strike will take place!
Isn't this what you all
have wanted for years?
Isn't that why your comrades
are dead or in prison?
I hope you're wrong.
I hope you're really blind!
Things have to change...
so you can go back to Spain.
And so I can go with you.
So we can finally
have a life together.
Crying and shouting won't help.
That's not going to change reality.
- Shall we go home?
- Yes, let's go home.
What are you doing?
Nothing.
Just looking at the night.
I must have a child by you, Diego.
Otherwise, I'll go mad.
If I went back to Spain...
if I started all over again from zero,
would you come with me?
To Spain?
You mean, return to Spain, now,
the normal way?
Under your real identity?
Yes, my real identity.
The normal way.
Anyhow, the place to be is Spain.
That's where things will happen.
I didn't become an agent
to spend my life in Paris suburbs...
going from one meeting to another.
It's not for me.
Do you think it's possible?
You think it's possible the police
don't know your true identity?
I'm sure they've heard of Carlos...
but they never heard of Diego Mora.
Well, then, we go to Spain!
Why did you open the suitcase?
- I don't like lies about these things.
- I didn't lie.
I just asked you to keep
a suitcase for me. That's all.
- With explosives in it.
- Does that scare you?
Listen...
I've been handling them
since I was 17.
Me too.
What got you involved with Spain?
What about you?
It's my own country!
So no one but you has a right
to get involved with your country?
Every man for himself
in his own little corner, is that it?
Should we confine ourselves
to problems at the university...
or the crisis in the artichoke crop?
I thought we were more
internationalist!
Internationalism means putting
your own country in order first.
Papa lends you his passport,
and I carry suitcases.
Yes, let's talk
about that suitcase.
Here's your father's passport.
- What floor is it?
- Why? Aren't you coming with me?
You go on alone. I'll follow.
You don't trust me?
My comings and goings
are for me to decide.
I gather you don't like cemeteries.
But they clear the view. They bring
a little sunshine into one's life.
What exactly do you stand for?
You don't collect explosives
just for fun.
What's your group, your program?
Leninist Group
for Revolutionary Action.
Everyone's a Leninist these days.
Let's not get bogged down
in a discussion about theory.
Nadine gave you a suitcase
that belongs to us.
What do you plan to do with it?
I should have tossed it
in the Seine...
but I'm curious about the tactics
you advocate for Spain.
I've come here
entirely on my own.
Explain it to him.
For 25 years, Spain has been
in a latent prerevolutionary state.
To sum it up...
tourism is one of the regime's
main sources of income.
In addition,
millions of people learn...
to look on Spain
as a normal country.
For them, Spain is a memory
of a pleasant vacation.
This is an extremely dangerous
political hoax...
demobilizing antifascist action
in Europe.
This is why we must strike a blow
at tourism in Spain!
- Create a climate which will stop it!
- Why not stop the sun too?
We strike at the economy and awaken
proletarian conscience in one blow!
- Because it's asleep?
- Sorry, I didn't mean that.
I say a revolutionary state
exists in Spain, objectively speaking.
But there is no revolutionary
policy or front. Lenin said...
Lenin's no prayerwheel!
Your peaceful methods amount
to revisionism, pure and simple.
Objectively speaking, you're following
in the wake of the Spanish bourgeoisie.
- Objectively?
- That's right.
And that's why, for 20 years,
we've been hounded...
jailed, pushed out of windows, shot...
and given the stiffest sentences?
Because, objectively speaking,
we're in the service of the bourgeoisie?
He said "in the wake of,"
not "in the service of."
He was using a political concept.
You turned it
into a moral judgment.
You're right.
We do not question the ability
or the heroism of your members.
- But we do question your approach.
- For example?
Issuing a new directive
for a general strike on April 30th...
and heading for a new failure.
You're very sure of yourself.
I judge from past experience.
Since 1959, every general strike
called in this way has been a failure.
Since 1959?
That's what... six years?
The validity of a strategic tactic
cannot be judged over so short a period.
You're very impatient
for people engaged in revolution.
Then let's talk
about that suitcase.
Yes, let's! That stupid stunt
nearly got me caught by the cops!
- Or perhaps the other way around?
- Who led the cops to Nadine?
You, the person who used
Rene Sallanches' passport.
They began to tail us
from Nadine's house because of you.
Because of the incident
at the border.
It's the only reasonable explanation.
The question is,
how long were you tailed...
and did the Spanish police
alert the French?
In any event,
they can't pin anything on us.
We've done nothing.
But all you terrorist groups
get finished off in short order!
What in the hell would I do
with your explosives? Eat them?
You'll find the suitcase in this locker.
Go blow yourselves up!
- You left, just like that!
- I'm late.
Will you give me a call tonight?
An old woman like me...
You could pay a little more attention!
Call me tomorrow?
Are you leaving?
Will you call me
when you get back?
You are coming back?
- What happened to you?
- Nothing. I'll explain.
- Twenty minutes late!
- Okay, okay. I'm here now.
You didn't know Ramon was dead.
They're about to tell you.
He died Sunday night,
a few hours after you saw him.
His heart gave out, as they say.
Ramon wanted to go to Barcelona
to get away from the routine.
Tricked-up care,
suitcases with false bottoms.
Working in the shadows
for 15 yeare.
Now you're going to go.
You will take his place.
Because the work goes on
and no single death can interrupt it.
Number 45, third floor right.
- And the password?
- "The sun rises over Benidorm."
When is the funeral?
We received a letter
from Madrid today.
Things are not as serious
as they seemed.
Ramon never saw Spain,
the land of his parents.
You will see the trees of Gerona...
and the vineyards along the road
with Ramon's eyes.
On this trip you will feel
the delight Ramon would have felt.
There will be a strike in Madrid as well
on April 30th.
And on May 1st on the Gran Via!
You didn't know Ramon was dead.
There were shadows, trees,
sunlight... and Ramon was dead.
"Death brings sunshine into your life,"
you were told a while ago.
You laughed, but you should have
shouted at him to shut up...
for Ramon is dead
and his shadow has entered your life...
the shadow of death which has followed
you since the day you were born.
You think to yourself there will be
no strike in Madrid on April 30th...
but you're seized again
by the comradeship of long battles...
by the stubborn joy
of taking action.
You'll find Juan
and accompany him to Madrid.
Once again you'll knock on doors,
which strangers will open.
You'll say something, anything...
"The sun is rising over Benidorm "...
or "Almond trees bloom
in Antonio's garden "...
and they'll let you in, and you'll be
together, for those are the passwords.
You'll see it all with Ramon's eyes:
The sky, the vineyards,
strangers' faces.
All Ramon's joys will be yours...
as if it were your first trip
and the battle were just beginning.
Your buddy's downstairs.
He's waiting with the car.
- Damn!
- What's wrong?
My name is Chauvin!
My name is Andre Sarlat.
Mine is Gabriel Chauvin.
Chauvin? Hell of a name!
- We can swap life stories.
- Shall we tell the truth or make it up?
Make it up.
The truth is of no importance.
We're supposed to make tracks,
so let's make 'em.
You'll have to fill me in on things.
It's my first time.
You'll see. It's simple.
So let's make tracks.
- Papa came home Sunday.
- The concierge told me it was Monday.
She's old. She gets confused.
Indeed.
Too bad he's not in. I would have liked
to take a look at his passport.
It's right here.
Everything's in order.
Sorry to have disturbed you.
Politics can be a tricky affair.
There's more than just smuggling
taking place on the Spanish border.
Last Sunday we received an alert
on a car and its passenger.
The man is wanted in Madrid.
They let him cross,
along with his French driver...
because they're sure they'll catch him
when he returns.
At least, that's what they say.
But if your father's
passport is here...
it's not wandering around
somewhere else, right?
Another false tip.
Anyway, politics are always
a tricky affair.
Some of these underground
characters...
turn up one day
as cabinet ministers.
Papa, you must warn your friends!
Domingo's friends.
They came about the passport.
You're right. I'll be right over.
You're lucky, madame.
We just had a cancellation.
No luggage? You can board
right away. One flight up.
- Have a nice trip.
- Thank you.
All set?
I've got my ticket.
Is everything clear?
You remember everything?
Perfectly.
The address of the house
and what you have to say?
Rue Aribau, number 45,
third floor right.
I ask to speak to Teresa and I say,
"The sun rises over Benidorm."
That they are not to go to Madrid. That
they are both to come back, right?
That Juan and he should return
by separate routes.
Right. That they should come back.
I don't know
why Carlos didn't tell us...
about that incident the other day
at the border.
Anyway, we'll see.
But it will work out.
You have just enough time.
But it will work out.
Have a good trip.
Thank you.
THE END