PARIS, FEBRUARY 1999
Did you find them?
- No.
I don't believe you.
Where are you going?
Look how beautiful you are.
Amazing.
Maybe I should cut my hair.
- I forbid you!
Short would be more convenient.
- If you do it I'll leave you.
No, if you'd leave me,
I'd kill you, and then myself.
Very convincing.
Do you love me?
I love you.
Is that all?
I adore you.
Come on...
When shall we meet again?
- Don't know. Soon.
Not tomorrow?
This weekend I can't.
Let's talk on the phone on Monday.
See you soon then.
Put this gun down right now.
- You think so?
Stop it. You'll wake up dad.
I must tell you something.
You won't like it.
What then?
I'll quit my studies.
No, don't do that.
My decision is made.
I haven't been at college for months.
You'll regret it the rest of your life.
- I'll go crazy if I continue.
I'm going on a trip
with Julien and Mathias.
To South America.
When your father will hear it...
you'll loose your apartment
and don't get money anymore.
I know, but I'll get by.
- Really?
Camille's coming along?
If I leave, she'll jump
into the Seine, she says.
Claude? Have you heard the name
Jacques-Emile Blanche?
Very nice.
Have it valued at Drouot's.
Why sell it?
I'd keep it if I were you.
A friend of mine
might be interested.
How did you get it?
- Inherited from my grandfather.
My parents will be pissed of.
But I have to sell it.
I still don't have enough
to go in september.
Especially if we decide to stay longer.
You put on some make up, didn't you?
You don't have to do this for me.
What have you done this week.
I thought we'd meet.
Did you go every night?
Oh, never mind.
I mostly met with Mathias and Julien
to talk about our trip
And last night I went
to a very stupid party.
Everybody was stoned
and fucking around.
I didn't take anything and fucked nobody.
- Glad to hear.
Because I love you too much.
If so, why do you go to such parties
rather than coming to see me?
I don't want to become dependent.
That would make it even harder.
Camille, do you know how difficult
it is to fall asleep without you...
and not to see your face
when I wake up?
I can't live without you.
- Just talk.
Why don't you believe me?
- Because your friends always come first.
It's all about your trip.
- Don't be jealous, that's ridiculous.
Easy for you to say.
You know I do nothing but wait for you.
I work hard
and always sleep at my parents.
Have some fun.
- I'm not in the mood.
That's your choice.
- Sure, because you don't care.
What a curse!
Why do you always want us to argue?
I was so happy to see you,
but you ruined everything.
Sorry, I'm off.
Sullivan?
Come help me.
Dad doesn't eat at home.
No idea who he meets.
Your brother's been home
for just two seconds.
Did anybody call me?
- No.
Oh yes, Delphine.
For you bring her back her history book.
Come on, don't be so sad.
It doesn't do you good.
- What?
A boyfriend.
- I'm happy.
I can still sometimes bales?
May I not be a little sad sometimes?
Since you're with Sullivan
you just cry.
Only of joy.
I'm just a little melancholic.
- Before, you were always cheerful.
It's been a year. Cut it.
He's my great love.
- You're 15, don't be silly.
Don't get fooled by someone
who doesn't care about you.
What do you know?
Go to the cinema or something.
Practise sports. You're too skinny.
Love is everything to me,
my only reason to exist.
Give me a break.
Here comes your father.
You're so cold.
- I guess so.
I'm just not as melancholic as you are.
- I won't tell you anymore about him.
Honey, would you get me
a cup of coffee, please?
It's always lukewarm.
You should buy a better coffee-maker.
- You could also drink coffee elsewhere.
I'll put it in the microwave.
- Go ahead.
Snotnose.
Thank you, darling.
So, what are your plans
for this weekend?
I see.
My Romeo...
Sweetheart, my love...
I thought it was over...
that I would never see you again.
Are you crazy?
You know I love you.
I love you so much.
Where were you?
Why didn't you call?
You are so cruel.
No argue now, please.
You're so beautiful.
I gonna eat you.
Wait.
You make me crazy.
Where are we going?
You don't want to make love now?
- I thought so.
You stay here.
No.
Why not?
- Because you don't deserve it.
That's true.
We need to talk.
- What's now again?
Everything has been said.
Come.
I'm not your pet.
- Yes you are.
Come, let's cuddle.
Why are you here otherwise?
I've brought some homework to do.
I have a maths test on Monday.
Do you really think
I'll leave you in peace?
I'm going to rape you.
- Mercy...
Naughty girl.
- Hi.
- Hello.
Everything alright, Julien?
- This is Sullivan.
He has a beautiful painting,
perhaps by Jacques-Emile Blanche.
We'd like to have your opinion.
- OK.
- Wait a little.
The painting is nice,
but it's not a good one.
The signature is questionable.
And it's too small.
But it's genuine.
- No, sincerely, it's not good.
No regrets?
- No.
Paris - Caracas with TAP,
Friday, September 10th at 18:40.
Peekaboo.
- Are you crazy?
I'm sure I can jump inside from here.
- Sure you do. Come down from that tree.
Idiot.
Let's choose our room.
Nice.
Perfect.
- This is the child's room.
Why pick the smallest when
we could enjoy space?
So I don't need to look for you
at the other end of the bed.
There's nobody here.
This is my dream house.
Hurry up, I want you.
- Sex, always sex.
You don't think of anything else.
Won't you read a little
for a change?
We'll have time enough for
serious things. Now we're young.
If you say so...
Won't you get up yet?
Then I'll go shopping.
Where've you been?
Did you drive around
the whole Ardche?
Don't be like this.
I told you
I don't want to be alone.
I can't trust you.
I don't want you to leave.
What should I do without you?
You can't let everything
depend on me.
You should have your own life.
We must have experiences
we can share. If not...
If not what?
Afraid that you get bored?
Maybe.
And also that you get bored.
I'll never get bored of you.
You'll meet lots of girls over there
and forget me.
I'm not going there for the girls.
I go there to work, to learn, to...
to really find myself.
Our relationship isn't worth anything?
Am I nothing to you?
- You know that.
I love you.
But you want to be everything.
It's not possible.
You're everything for me.
I can't live without you.
When you say that,
I really want to break up.
You're hard like a rock.
- No, you're hard yourself.
Me? - Yes, with your
defiance and threatening.
Come on.
Get away from me.
I'm tired of your whining.
Because you don't love me anymore.
- Once more and it's really finished.
Yes, I'm going away for ten months.
It's not the end of the world.
Food is ready.
Mustard?
Goodbye, Sullivan.
- Goodbye.
Have a good trip.
Cheer up. The time will fly.
He falls ill and dies in 1924.
Lenin leaves behind a will...
in which he mentions
his old comrade Trotsky.
Camille, my sweet love...
I'm writing after three days
of travelling, three sleepless nights
without staying anywhere,
just changing to another bus.
I miss you so much, it sometimes
feels like I'm dying of love.
Tomorrow I could call you,
but I won't do it.
Don't be angry. To hear your voice
without touching you is hard enough.
Your tears and queries break my heart.
After a call I always feel so bad.
And I think it's the same for you.
My long silence will hurt you, but
I can't share my experiences with you.
How can I tell about my journey,
when everything hurts you so easy?
Everything I experience
seems to go against you.
But that's not true.
I love you with all my heart, and this
love is the most precious thing I have.
I always carry it with me.
Never forget it.
Have a look
if your father needs help.
Since ten days
I'm in the mountains...
in an old cabin at a blue river
which runs through the forest.
A peaceful shelter,
where the forest fills you.
I feel an increasing distance from
my Parisian life and my friends there.
I'm lost on a quest
for an utopian peace.
In Paris I could hardly find balance.
Everytime I manage to change,
I come closer to my ideal self.
But you don't let me go my way.
You follow me everywhere I go.
It's you I'm looking for
when I kiss someone else.
I think I love you,
but I want you to disappear.
I don't want to be anything
for you anymore.
It was a dream and I don't know
if there's anything left of it now.
The teachings of German
philosopher Leibniz are...
the topic treated in this story.
In Voltaire's simplified vision,
Leibniz proposes...
that everything is good
in the best of all worlds.
What are you doing this afternoon?
Reading?
Maybe.
Don't you have anything more fun?
You need to take a step, now.
Don't you think so, honey?
September 13th, 2003
Ladies, you're late. You've got
two minutes to get dressed.
I'm getting mad of standing there
for hours without doing anything.
I don't manage
to think of anything else.
No, don't take my carpaccio!
No.
- Don't be cruel.
It's not for you. It's the only thing
I have for my dinner.
So hands off.
- What shall I eat now?
Shall I starve?
- Have some cheese.
Here you go.
Is there any bread?
- No.
Only Swedish Toast.
Did you meet your father?
We had a dinner last week.
How's his girlfriend?
I heard she doesn't talk so much.
Don't question me like this.
- I won't.
What do I care?
I'm just glad for him.
Your concept has some qualities.
You have an original vision
you stick to. But...
I see a fundamental problem.
A student residence isn't a place
for walk and spiritual growth.
I like the way
you're using the site.
You want to work horizontally?
All right. But it must be functional.
Covered terraces, trees,
a pond. Why not?
Nice, that reflection.
Like that bridge to the library.
But where do the students live?
There aren't enough rooms.
And they are too small.
Broom closets.
Nice big windows,
but they're still closets.
Will students in winter want
to walk two km to the dining room?
All that water is at the expense
of the common areas.
It's more suitable for a retreat
than for collective living.
What you have created,
is a monastery.
A house
should appeal to everyone...
while art isn't required
to fall in anybody's taste.
Art is a private matter
for its creator. A house is not.
Art is created
without concrete needs.
Houses answer a need.
People must be asked
what comforts them.
They dislike everything that affects
their security and disturbs them.
That's why they love houses
and hate art.
Four years and what?
Only silence.
Every day's a day without him.
If only I had faith. But I've a call.
Something to live for.
Isn't only that great?
Shit.
- I was going to warn you.
No.
Why not?
Therefore.
I don't feel for it.
Stop it, please, I don't like it.
- That's ridiculous.
You can sleep here if you want.
But don't touch me.
Is everybody here?
Alexandre, would you close the door?
Today I'd like to talk about
the aspects of a certain thing.
A thing that we call gleam.
What aspects would this have it be?
In fact, what is gleam?
A very faint light.
- Where can it come from?
From a candle.
- What else?
A glimpse.
A reflection?
- Something that glistens.
We can say a gleam of light.
- Yes.
Of twilight or dawn.
We can talk about a gleam of dawn.
Does it have a positive
or negative association?
Gleam...
Is that something we want to see?
How would you think about it,
which form, kind of image?
Can't we say it's what
remains of light?
What escapes from the dark.
Well.
In most cases, a gleam involves...
both light and darkness.
What do you think of it?
This weekend I read
a text by Tadao Ando...
in which he said that in
houses are no longer...
spaces to be found
where the light lives...
or where it is born.
Think about it that.
Because that's what's missing
in your concepts, in my opinion.
Light is too obvious for you.
Something's missing:
This nuance that makes the
difference. We could call it path.
You approach the light too...
literally, mechanically. When you
could also express doubt with it.
Start all over again.
Consider the building from the inside.
From the darkness, as if you
start with a dark compound.
Now everybody says a word
which he associates with darkness.
Don't think and don't try
to be too original.
Night.
- Void.
Secret.
- Death.
For me all these words
are important in architecture.
But I think of something
that is related to all of them.
The past?
- Almost.
Memory.
BERLIN
They asked again for
an additional design.
We sent it last week.
Haven't they paid the first one yet?
Excuse me.
Laura, can you take it?
About half is invisible.
It's a kind of iceberg.
Imagine this grid as the portrayal
of an ideal city.
Very organized, and
perfectly reflecting the culture.
"They are modestly, but functionally
absorbing the world of imagery."
DENMARK
What I wanted to say:
I like your new design very much.
In your work is courage and wisdom
visible that's rare for your age.
Why did you choose architecture?
I don't know.
I wanted something that
has to do with environment.
I think I know what you mean.
It's the only thing
I can really go for.
Why did you become an architect?
- It was never the intention.
I studied clarinet. But I got
problems and had to quit.
Do you regret?
- Not at all.
Musician is a good profession
but it's too lonely for me.
It would be a pity to leave
without having a swim.
I'd also like to show you
this beautiful place.
Before, nobody came to this beach
between airport and industrial area.
But since this complex is there,
people from Copenhagen come here.
It's a recreation resort
that respects the environment.
It's quiet to be so close to the airport.
It's well protected from wind,
let's check it out right now!
For the first time I don't
suffer from loneliness.
The sky's clearing finally.
Hello.
- I'm ready in moment.
What would you like to do?
- Shouldn't we visit the Louvre?
Aren't you tired of museums yet?
- Quite the opposite.
I'm just catching up.
You never talk about yourself.
I don't feel for tiring you.
There're so many things
more interesting.
Is your life and family not interesting?
I won't say so. But I'm separated now.
It's quite difficult for me.
When I'm with you,
I don't want to think about it.
My son Nils lives with his mother.
You never see him?
Of course I do,
I go to Berlin every weekend.
Except for the weekends with me.
Right.
Like you I don't want
to look back at the past.
The years before I met you
were a great void.
Nothing but grief.
- You shouldn't talk like this.
At your age nothing is in vain.
Life's never what you expect.
Your relationship to the world
is always unpredictable.
It's up to you to transform it to
something deeper, more true.
Only then you'll become yourself.
Let us next time walk
the same route in the Louvre...
so everything gets its place.
To settle things
I use to do them twice.
Take down the lights and
put them in the storage room.
Will the railings be removed?
- No, that's in the file.
They're still doing a good job.
Camille, don't go out there!
Don't be stupid.
- Come on.
The granite is perfect.
- After almost a century.
Great. Do you remember
those floors in Dessau?
And that wonderful cast.
- Yes, beautiful.
The pillar follows the line of the pipe.
The water flows into the open drain.
The pipe ended
just two inches above it.
Very beautiful, this combination
of round and square.
I hope you keep it, will you?
- It's going to be like this...
The pipe... And the drain.
We'll restore the glass tiles,
so that you see the water running.
Then it looks like a drain.
And we'll make sure that...
the pipe doesn't touch it.
The water is controlled
but still flowing free.
I'd like to restore the opening
on the first floor, as I planned to.
It's too dark, I think.
- Not so loud!
It is an embassy,
not a bunker.
Selma?
Hello.
Camille! How are you?
And Sullivan?
Is he still in South America?
No, he's been back for a while.
Thank God.
If he wishes to take contact...
- I'll pass it on.
I want to change something
with those windows.
The vents should be somewhere else.
- They don't want that.
I don't care.
They've drilled too deep.
I'm sick of it.
We had to break down a wall
that was still good.
Come here and have a look.
You'll have to pay.
Next week you'll get
the contract through Anne.
Sorry.
Yes?
I called Friday for a defective unit.
You sent someone who fixed it.
But three hours later, it failed again.
I don't dare. Will you call me?
Sullivan.
Do you still have your flat?
- No, I don't live in Paris.
I've been in Marseille
for three years now.
But I'm here pretty often.
To visit friends and my parents.
And for the work too.
I didn't come especially for you.
- I guessed that.
So you work?
- As a photographer.
Your big dream.
- Small jobs for local newspapers.
And I've started a crafts company
together with a friend.
That's what I live on.
Do you like Marseille?
- Yes.
In Paris, I never really felt
at home. I get depressed here.
A friend owns a house by the sea.
We spend almost every weekend there.
Shall we take a walk?
I'm working for
a Norwegian architect.
In a few years I hope
to have my own agency.
You're going to be an architect?
I'm impressed!
I'd never have guessed it.
- What did you think I would be?
No idea. I've never
thought about it.
Do you live around here?
- In Bastille.
But soon I'll move in
with my boyfriend.
Have you been together for a long time?
- Quite long.
I love him as much as I loved you,
but not the same way.
That relationship
has made me stronger.
I'm really sorry I made you so sad.
You wanted to save your freedom.
It seems so long ago.
It seems like someone else,
another life.
Are you with someone?
I've been with a girl but it's finished.
I had affairs.
- Affairs...
Don't you have any?
- No, not at all.
What a petty.
It makes me sad you say that.
I didn't mean to hurt you.
I was just talking.
I gotta go.
- Already?
I have an appointment at seven o'clock.
Then you'd better go now.
I want to replace the concrete box
with four galvanized metal elements.
It should be smaller bins,
of more human dimensions.
Can you come? It's urgent.
Plus strips of earth
sown with fine grass.
I'm bleeding.
Bleeding? For how long?
An hour. I've called the doctor.
Indeed, a miscarriage.
We'll have to do some more tests.
My little baby, I already loved him.
I know.
Will you make me another one?
- Of course.
Why?
I was ready.
You've got all the time.
You're still so young.
No need to hurry.
Yes.
I'm so happy I found you.
It's a miracle.
No, I'm the lucky one.
You are the light in my life.
Hey. I was with friends
and didn't watch the time.
I'm meeting a lot of people this week.
- I was almost gone.
Thank you for waiting.
What are you doing in Paris?
- A painting job.
I'm very busy at the moment.
We won a competition.
It's my first time as project manager.
Earlier than I thought.
Fantastic. Bravo.
Let's move over there.
But it's challenging.
I'm not sure I can handle it.
- Of course you can.
Here it is.
Chic.
I almost forgot...
I took them this summer.
But please don't look at them now.
As you like.
Go to your architect now.
What a bad film.
- You think so? My goodness.
Did you like it?
- Very much.
What did you find so good?
The characters, dialogues,
the story, simply everything.
I don't understand you.
It's so French.
Annoying actors,
too much talking, self-indulgent.
Terrible.
- You just don't understand it.
You're not sensitive enough
for such a film.
It's useless to talk about it.
I see you still have a
monopoly on sensitivity.
And we still never agree.
We can only agree about
having totally different tastes.
On key issues we do agree.
- I don't think so.
But it's not important,
I love you anyway.
I'll always do, I don't know why.
- Camille, stop it.
It's true.
What do you think?
Are you letting me down?
- I'd also rather stay here.
It's you own fault if you go.
You could just stay.
Take good care. It's dangerous there.
- In Sanaa in the north, not in Aden.
I'll call you when I get there.
Is anything wrong?
Not happy to see me?
I was thinking of you all week.
Go somewhere for a drink?
- I only want to be together with you.
You and I together.
But it's not possible.
Well, it is.
We even have the whole night.
You're crazy...
Isn't it what you wanted?
Yes, but then? Tomorrow?
What then?
I've missed you so much.
How could we live so long
without each other?
You broke up.
Did you forget?
No.
I never stopped loving you.
Not a minute, not a second.
You're inside me, like a disease.
Don't say that.
That window doesn't open.
There was a wire behind.
We couldn't do any other way.
But we said the cables would
go there, in the old chimney.
It's very much work
to change that now.
We don't have time now.
- Look at the drawings.
It was written this way
and we'll stick to it.
I have music with me.
And blankets.
Even dinner for afterwards.
- After what?
After making love.
You're always hungry then.
You've thought of everything.
How is that bed?
You're no longer that
innocent girl from back then.
My heart is still innocent.
But you're unfaithful.
You betray the man who
loves you, whom you love.
That's my business.
I'm so glad to be with you again.
The room of Lorenz's son.
He lives with his mother.
The guest room.
That's where we'll sleep.
It's me. Are you there?
Or are you out?
Someone at home? Nobody home?
Nobody at all?
Just answer if you want.
I'll be silent.
I'll try to call at your mother's.
I just came home.
For me?
- Open it.
Like it?
Don't cry.
I want to be together with you.
Marry you.
Have children.
What's this?
A negligee for you to
undress me.
I'll turn off the lights.
- No.
I want to be able to see you.
I have to go.
I want to visit my parents
before I leave.
When will you be in Paris again?
- Not so very soon.
Can't you come to Marseille?
Would you like it?
You could see where I live
and meet my friends.
Bye.
It took the bus lane...
and ignored several traffic lights.
A typical case of
'On the run from the police'...
on the slippery roads of the capital.
I'm going to spend the weekend
in Normandy at Anna's parents.
When? Tomorrow?
What about me?
- You'll stay here.
So you'll leave tomorrow.
Yes, tomorrow.
- Okay...
Not very nice. I just came back.
I cancelled a few times already.
Once more she'll strangle me.
And I'm not invited.
- It's a girls getaway.
Okay, okay. Great.
- You say all the time 'okay'.
Damn it, so.
It's that jerk, I must take it.
DELAYED 40 MINUTES
DUE TO THE STRIKES
REGULAR TRAIN TRAFFIC IS DISTURBED.
IF POSSIBLE, POSTPONE YOUR JOURNEY.
CANCELLED.
Don't be sad. I've to work anyway.
Try another time?
Hello Madam.
- Hello.
I'd like a room
for two nights.
Here are the last pictures of the site.
Could you please add them?
I'm on holiday since yesterday.
You know what I did?
What then?
- Nothing.
Was that fun?
- Delicious.
Since your father's gone,
I live again.
He has his good sides.
He couldn't hurt a fly.
He's good deep inside.
But in daily life...
what an asshole.
How could I endure him for 20 years...
Now I just eat a little thing in front
of the TV. Oh, I almost forgot...
There's a letter for you.
Who's still writing to you here?
Camille. I dreamed of you last night
while I was with another woman.
You wanted a child from me. How
can I get rid of that image now?
I'm leaving you because it's too late
or too early to start all over again.
Because you're so far away from me
and I'm already suffering too much.
And because I still don't know how
to live with this love I can't control.
But I know the bond between us
is stronger than time,
I'm leaving you with the hope
of meeting you again,
one day when we're more free
and more worthy of our love.
Food's ready.
Oh no. Don't say it's him again.
Will you ever overcome him?
Lorenz?
Where are you?
Am I interrupting?
- Not at all.
Shall we go to the Loire?
- Right now?
Yes, while there's sun.
- I'll join you in half an hour.
Okay.
Take a stick for the snakes.
And put a hat on.
Translation:
TheHugeAnimalFromTheNorth
Proofreading / Revision:
Fatmaster