Indochina, 1945
The Vietnamese people oppose French colonialism.
Ho Chi Minh's lieutenant Vo Binh Yen leads the insurrection.
Japan, at war with China, occupies the north of the country.
9 March 1945
Hello.
My name's Robert Tassen. I'm a soldier.
I was wounded during the Japanese attack on March 9th.
Where?
Garrison Camille Chautemps.
I'd be surprised. They're all dead.
Well, I'm alive.
I want to join a regiment.
Except that you're in a brothel.
Do you have military ID?
No.
- Your dog tag? - I don't have one.
Alright...
Wait for me here.
Want something to eat?
I have no money.
Thank you.
I arrived a day before the slaughter.
I was meeting my brother and his wife.
I have no record of a Robert Tassen.
I have a Henri Tassen.
He wasn't at Chautemps but at Chaubon near Haiphong.
That's impossible. I met them at Chautemps.
This is the 5th Infantry Regiment. I don't have all the rolls.
Where were you back home?
2nd Armored Division. Nod-sur-Seine.
Rotten luck.
The war ends in France, you get here and it starts again.
7,000 men slaughtered here.
Not counting women and children.
We haven't had time to count them all.
I want to fight Vo Binh Yen.
For now, our goal is to protect the Indochinese population.
Ho Chi Minh isn't about to,
let alone his lieutenants.
The guerilla war is spreading throughout the territory.
The Japanese left a mess, even the Viets kill each other.
After your ordeal, there's no shame in returning to France.
What for?
My brother and his wife were murdered by Vo Binh.
I thought the Japanese did it.
Same thing.
Vo Binh witnessed the massacre. He stood by and let it happen.
What about you?
Where were you?
In the courtyard.
Wounded.
They made my brother watch his wife being gutted.
They took the baby out of her, and sewed it to her chest.
Then they made my brother kneel, and a Jap cut off his head.
Vo Binh was there,
watching,
smiling.
Tassen?
Robert Tassen?
What?
Care for a cigarette?
TO THE ENDS OF THE WORLD
Where are you from?
Mayenne.
Mayenne is full of farmers. Are you a redneck?
If you like.
You let people call you a redneck like that?
There's something over there.
Go look.
It's a body.
Fuck.
You let them do this!
You're cowards.
I should gun you all down.
Dirty swine!
You betrayed us twice.
Your friend Father François, and me.
I've lost all faith in you.
Captain Sirbon will make you pay.
You have 10 minutes to get out before we torch the place.
Where do you think you are, Tassen?
This is a border post, not a stable.
An hour more and you'd be a deserter.
Know what we do to deserters?
We hang them.
Want to get hanged, that it?
Still, better horse steaks than cat.
What's that blood?
Nothing.
Next time you leave, tell Maussier.
How about a drink?
- No time. - No time?
I don't care for it.
Are you queer?
I asked you if you were queer.
The new girl doesn't drink, guys.
What's your name again?
Where are we going?
I'm talking to you.
Shit.
You brought him back?
They beheaded my brother, too.
We have to bury him.
Does Radio Hanoi still play accordion music?
I have no idea. Plus, the accordion makes me cry.
You like the accordion?
The accordion, do you like it?
No.
Can you knock it off, please?
What the fuck!
JULY
There are ten men back there.
On the hill.
Tassen!
Cavagna!
Lucky those fuckers can't aim.
How's the army food?
What?
How's the army food?
What the hell do you care?
Are you paid to fight?
Why, want to change sides?
Interested?
Want to become a Frenchman?
Yes. I want to be French.
Do you know Vo Binh Yen?
Do you recognize me?
Yeah.
You might say you were born lucky.
Was I?
You had a close call.
What are you doing here?
I'll explain some other time.
I have to go.
The Confessions of Saint Augustine
"Who will show us good?
"And they would hear us say..."
Good for you. You're walking this morning.
Yes.
Well...
How long did you live in that hut?
One month.
That little girl saved your life.
She's the one who found me.
Now you owe them a life.
I don't owe anyone anything.
Did you know the commander of the garrison well?
He was a friend.
A good man for a soldier.
Very honest.
Will he be in your book?
Probably, yes.
They beheaded him, too.
Beheading is a French tradition.
What's that book you left me?
You have it? I thought I'd lost it.
Do you want it back?
No, next time.
Do you still have family in France?
Yes. My adoptive mother.
Are you an orphan?
No, but my mother couldn't keep us.
Do you ever see her?
She died three years ago.
And the other one?
Your adoptive mother, do you love her?
Of course.
Good.
You'll find her again.
I don't think so.
It's Vo Binh I'll find.
Go home.
Start a family.
You're too young to miss out on life.
You've been wounded twice. Don't push your luck.
I'll ask Captain Sirbon to arrange for your return.
Tassen, you're not here.
You're a corporal now. You get a double.
And you get a gun.
Who's in the other bed?
Khiet, an Indo who arrived last week.
He's a sergeant.
I figured you went back to France.
Who is that?
Rigot. He's dead.
Anh stepped on a mine. We couldn't transport him.
Coming?
Where?
To the Perroquet. I want to get drunk.
Appeasement is all they talk about. What's that even mean?
We need the population's support.
Free a village, and the Viets win it back.
Follow their example. Hide. Attack by night.
We're too numerous. Too visible. Too French.
Too French? Well, shit!
We need a commando unit.
We surprise the villagers, pummel them, and withdraw.
That's Vietminh.
What do you mean by commando unit?
We should recruit prisoners.
Like Phong.
You want us to mix our balls with ex-Viets?
Yeah. Why not?
I'm French now.
Care to dance?
There are pretty girls tonight.
- How much? - 20 piastres.
- For what? - Dancing, conversation.
- Expect a blowjob? - I don't talk to animals.
I wanted to visit the hospital, but it was complicated.
Make any friends?
No, I was dazed.
Dazed? Poor baby.
- What's his deal? - Drop it, he's drunk.
I'm not, screw you!
Screw you, too.
Oh yeah?
Yeah.
It's funny...
The ugly ones get asked first.
One's even toothless.
They blacken them.
Legionnaires love that.
The Legion's full of Nazis. I say shoot them like the Viets.
French soldiers are too nice. They can't fight.
Phong, shut up.
Or I break your teeth.
Check out the little one in blue. Cute, huh?
Hey, Tassen. See the little one in blue?
We need a name for the commando.
I don't have one.
Why not call it the Yellow Tigers?
What a dumb name!
To the Yellow Tigers!
Phong is right.
We should start a commando with defectors.
Want a ticket?
Here we speak French!
You don't recognize me?
No.
You once offered me soup. Don't you remember?
Are you sure?
Yes.
What's your name?
Robert.
What's yours?
Maï.
Got a cigarette, Robert?
Sure you don't remember me?
Yes.
Want to dance?
I don't know.
I don't know how to dance.
So what do you want?
It's this one.
Do you always work at home?
No, but it's late. I wanted to get back.
Don't you like me?
Yes.
Get undressed.
Well, I'm going.
That's 100 piastres.
Right.
Sorry.
Will I see you again?
If you want to.
You're not dead?
No, Khiet. See?
You're lucky.
All those girls work for the Viets.
I know them.
They threaten their families and...
Enjoy it?
What?
With the girl.
Yes.
We're leaving early for Suntay.
They blew up a bridge.
SEPTEMBER
What the hell is that?
A necklace.
It's Dao's obsession.
It's disgusting.
Of course it is.
There are limits. We can't stoop that low.
We have no choice.
I know about your Vo Binh manhunt.
Who told you?
You're here to serve France, not to settle a score.
I do serve France.
That's why I need Vietminh.
Vietminh?
The prisoners in our camps.
You already turned Phong.
Isn't that enough?
No. I want a dozen.
They'll slit your throat.
Not if we feed them. If we pay them a little, like us.
They'll win it for us.
I was promised a dozen Frenchmen.
We've been waiting a month.
No more talk of Vo Binh, understood?
- Tissier is dead. - Did you grenade him?
Where are the others?
Come look.
- At what? - Come on.
It's Pingoët.
- What's wrong? - Leech in his dick.
Let's see.
Fuck.
Can you walk?
They won't cut it off, right?
Not like you're using it.
What's with Phong?
Khiet won't take him to see his mother.
What's wrong with her?
He says she's sick.
Any grub in there?
- Is Phong's village far? - A dozen kilometers.
Why won't Khiet take him?
Vo Binh's men were spotted there. Too risky.
Was Vo Binh there?
I don't know.
Can I come in?
Why not?
- Are you with someone? - No, but I need warning.
You can't come here. It's not allowed.
You have to pay the Taipan.
Come to the Perroquet tonight.
I can't tonight.
We're leaving for a village.
Then tomorrow.
Tomorrow I may not be here.
Not inside me.
Give me.
Did you see her again?
Who?
The girl with the yellow tiger. See her again?
Yes.
Well?
Well, what?
What makes her so special?
Nothing.
Yeah, right. It's written all over your face.
She's like Pingoët's leech, you just don't know it yet.
She'll eat you alive.
- Done now? - Same with Phong.
I can smell it, he's a cunt.
- You're tiresome. - Whatever!
You'll see, he'll fuck us. Up the ass.
Like the girl.
Have we identified him?
No.
A Frenchman.
Dirty bastards!
Those Vietminh prisoners, where are they kept?
Across the river.
Sadly for your pal, the hospital's gone.
Where will they take him?
Fort Bai has a surgeon, but his dick may not last.
Time to go.
Gentlemen.
How will you choose your prisoners?
I'll ask for the skinniest.
They'll do anything for food.
Phong wants to see his mother tonight.
Did you tell Sirbon?
No, why?
You two like to chat.
What do you mean?
I'm not stupid. You told him about Vo Binh.
Is there a problem?
Phong shouldn't go alone.
- Meaning? - We'll have to escort him.
Right, Vo Binh's waiting.
Yellow Tigers, gimme a break.
Like your little whore.
I was just in Saigon. It's one big party.
It's decadent.
The French seem to be celebrating the wasteland Europe's become.
You came back to tell me that?
No.
No...
I was at Chautemps the day of the massacre, like you.
But I left beforehand.
We belong to the same family in a way.
We're survivors.
Why didn't you tell me?
Survivor syndrome.
When I heard your story with Commander Orlan,
I felt less alone, less guilty.
Guilty for what?
For being alive.
You never get that?
What were you doing there?
I wanted to see the man who took control of the Delta.
Vo Binh Yen, in the flesh.
He killed my brother.
Did he?
He killed your brother?
He let it happen. Again, it's the same thing.
I don't think so.
You knew what would happen.
No.
Vo Binh just advised me to leave.
So you left, just like that.
Yes, I left.
I left. What else could I do? Stay?
Whose side are you on anyhow?
Nobody's.
Maybe that's why I left.
This isn't my war.
I love this country and its people.
What a great guy you are, you love everyone.
No.
I'd grown to dislike your brother, for example.
What did my brother do to you?
Let's discuss it another time.
Because you think we'll meet again?
He was a close friend of my son's.
I thought your brother was a good influence.
He didn't try to stop him from fighting in France.
My son went to his death against the Germans.
He didn't force him.
No.
Just encouraged him.
You're right, yes.
Clinging to me won't bring him back.
There are some enemies we're powerless to fight.
I don't mean Vo Binh Yen.
I mean you.
And your inner enemy.
Take care of yours and forget about me.
I can't help you.
Who was that?
A writer.
What did he say?
What did he want?
Nothing.
He knew my brother.
He rubs me the wrong way.
I don't like his face.
You don't like anyone.
He looks like a devil.
- What? - Fuck, Cavagna.
- Where are you going? - Get lost.
Don't escort Phong. This takes planning. The area's full of snipers and traps.
- I'm not going. - Sure! You want Vo Binh.
- Move your hand. - Or what?
Is that all?
You hit like a girl.
Had enough?
You calmer now?
I didn't think you'd be back.
Why?
There are other girls.
I'm not like that.
Yeah.
Yeah, what?
Hello.
What do you want?
I can't say hi?
Can't you see we're eating?
Get undressed.
I was about to.
Don't argue.
It isn't right.
What isn't?
How you talk to me.
How should I talk to you?
I talk that way because you're a girl who screws soldiers.
Spread your legs.
It's your job to spread your legs.
How do the others take you?
Doggy style? Is that what they prefer?
Sometimes, yes.
Aren't you sick of it?
I would be if I were you.
Why won't you admit you remember me?
Leave. Get out.
Yes.
Got a light?
Keep them.
You didn't squirt in her, right?
I don't like sloppy seconds.
What?
What did I say?
Where'll they go?
In the building there. We cleared it out.
- When did they arrive? - Two hours ago.
You couldn't notify me?
Phong deserted.
- Are you shitting me? - He missed roll call.
- Is that true? - Of course it is.
He's visiting his mother.
Yeah, right.
It's not my fault.
I was gone 2 hours, damn it!
No one said anything.
Screw you all.
NOVEMBER
I want to take the metro.
Hand me one.
I want to transfer at Nation.
Is that your only reaction?
Oh, Cavagna.
Cavagna, what?
Cavagna says fuck you.
You think you can keep playing boss and busting our balls?
Who do you think you are?
Think your dick's bigger than ours?
Then go home.
Yeah, right. You know it's not that easy.
Is someone waiting for you?
Waiting for me?
At the Nation stop. Is someone waiting?
Nobody's waiting for me, you know that.
Then why do you want to go home?
You've never thought of going home?
Me, I don't want to die here.
That bugs you, doesn't it?
No. I don't want you to get killed.
Oh, you don't?
Of course not. You're a fool to ask me that.
We're too young to die.
You don't want kids?
Get the new recruits.
They're not ready.
I want them with me.
They won't hold up.
- Who are you going with? - You.
No. You're a sergeant.
You're our leader.
I command my unit. I can't command you.
- Khiet is dead. Bullet to the chest. - I know.
- You should've waited for us. - What?
You're a jerk. We should've attacked together.
- You know who I am? - I wish I did.
We'll settle this later.
Whenever you want.
Right now, then.
No.
- What's it say? - I don't understand it.
Vo Binh?
- What? - It doesn't mention him?
I don't know.
- Well? - It's in code.
Don't dawdle. Clean out the village and meet us later.
- The men have the runs. - So do I.
Seriously, they're sick. When do we fall back?
We don't.
What's your game? Those aren't our orders.
We stay.
Fuck, Tassen...
Go back with Maussier if you want.
You're a real jerk.
I want the same thing.
What?
To have kids.
Is this related to the dump you just took?
To have kids, you have to love a woman.
When all this is over, we will.
Sure.
There's no more serum?
Maussier took it with him.
Only opium can cure the runs.
Got any?
Well, do you?
Give me. I don't feel a thing.
You guys hear that?
What?
Everything got quiet.
Relax. Think about something else.
The metro?
Lay off.
He's totally gone.
Oh shit, it's peaking.
Is that you?
Come here.
We'll never be apart again.
No, never again.
Man, oh man.
Search. Search everywhere!
Translate Dao, dammit!
Move your ass!
We found them up there.
Did you shoot? Was it him?
He and his daughter live alone.
He has a kid at his age?
Is this his?
Here, take it.
Where are the others?
He doesn't know. He doesn't want to die.
Is that right?
Fuck. This has to stop.
No, it feels so good.
A tunnel.
How many are in there?
Three.
- Should I toss a grenade in? - I want them alive.
We won't fit. It's too small.
It's a rat hole.
A fucking rat hole!
What the fuck is this?
How many exits does this tunnel have?
Do we have the shooter?
It was me.
Good. You're brave.
Remove the others.
Not you.
Where'd you get the rifle?
Do you know Vo Binh?
Was he here?
Vo Binh doesn't hide. He's everywhere.
Sure.
Some capture. Two kids and a blind girl.
- A blind girl? - She's my sister.
I need soldiers like you.
Plus, you speak French.
Come with us and your sister's safe.
I'm not a traitor like him.
What'd you just say?
Where's the blind girl?
Tell Vo Binh my name's Robert Tassen
and I'll never let him go.
Tassen. Got that?
Vo Binh was killed a month ago.
Stabbed in the back by one of his men.
You should be pleased.
This is from Maussier.
It's about you.
He says you insulted him.
He's right.
And that you're a bad Frenchman.
You're soft on Indos.
What makes a good Frenchman?
Siding with the occupier?
So what do I do with this report?
Maussier's a strange guy.
He can make mud stick.
From now on, you won't answer to him.
What do you mean?
You have carte blanche. Do what you want with your gooks.
But you do that already, right?
I'll never be like you want me.
There will always be other men.
So I'm like them?
No.
They don't make trouble.
Come on.
The other night in the jungle, I saw a shooting star.
It exploded.
It wasn't a star.
It's the war.
Are you with them?
I'm free.
I nearly got him.
- Who? - Vo Binh.
You mustn't kill him.
He's a hero.
A hero?
Yes. He's freedom.
I'm tired of being last in line.
I'm nobody's girl.
I'll pay.
You don't have enough money.
That's all you care about, money?
Here's your money.
Happy?
I don't want it.
What, should I fuck you for free?
- Go away. - No, I paid.
Can I fuck you now?
Get out of my sight.
Yeah, I will fuck you.
Get off me!
Stop it!
I don't love you!
Say it again.
- Again! - I don't love you.
I'll never love you!
- Say you hate me! - I hate you!
DECEMBER
It's been a drag recently, don't you think?
Yeah.
I'm going to the Perroquet tonight. Wanna come?
No.
Did you hear about Pingoët?
They cut it off.
It's my 3rd draft of this chapter. I think I'll scrap it.
I probably have you to thank.
You were right to stop by because, you see,
I don't have much company.
Well...
there is the cognac.
Well?
To what do I owe this honor?
Nothing. I was in the neighborhood.
You figured...
Why not stop by to apologize? Is that it?
Apologize for what?
For calling me a coward.
I never said that.
You thought it loud enough for me to hear.
You think I'm on the wrong side?
I think it would be best if I leave.
You didn't come all this way to say you can't stay.
I'm leaving on a mission tomorrow.
Oh, that's right.
Alright, what did you want to tell me?
Take your time.
It will come naturally.
Time decides for us.
It always has the last word.
It's about a girl.
She's a whore at the Perroquet.
Do you have something against prostitutes?
No.
Then don't make that face. You're lucky.
I can't get her out of my mind.
I confuse the two...
Does she make you forget your revenge?
Yes.
Love takes up space.
Not the right space.
Where do you want to put your revenge?
Other people fall in love, know that?
With a prostitute?
What does that change?
Love's wonderful.
Is getting fucked by soldiers wonderful?
Anyway it's no use talking. You're drunk.
How do you learn to love your pain?
Sorry?
To love is either to know no pain,
or to love even the pain.
Ring any bells?
What do you think?
That I love my pain?
Every day I try to make something of it.
I speak to it.
I ask it to relent.
But I'll never be done with it.
You have to live with it.
- No, thank you. - You have no choice.
We're both survivors.
And survival may be the most interesting part.
It's both terrifying and vast.
You're given nothing.
You have to seek it out.
I won't find it.
What's her name?
They're reporters on assignment.
Corporal Tassen. Stubborn as a mule.
- Sénéchal, Paris Match. - Good morning.
Kuskaz, my photographer.
He was out front.
He asked to see you.
Show him.
He says Vo Binh did it.
He knows where he is.
How did he get here?
They brought him.
Does Sirbon know?
No.
Don't tell him.
I'll deal with it.
No photos.
So? Shall we?
Give me the roll.
- What's up? - He says no photos.
The roll.
- It's their job, Tassen. - Shut up.
Give it to me. Or do I have to take it?
Cavagna still isn't back?
No.
- Ever been to Hoang Ty? - It's over the mountains.
What do you think of the kid?
Vo Binh is cruel. I wouldn't put it past him.
Think it's a trap?
Yes.
Want to play?
No, I need some air.
Seen Cavagna?
He was here earlier.
When did he leave?
I think he left with a girl.
How about a drink?
No.
- Is Maï here? - No, but there are other girls.
Get out.
Hey, soldier.
Want to smoke?
Come on.
Tassen.
Sit down. You're making me dizzy.
Easy does it.
Well?
What?
Did you fuck Maï?
Shit, Robert.
Did you or didn't you?
No.
You're lying.
OK.
I fucked her then.
Happy?
Don't pretend you didn't fuck her by using reverse psychology.
Shut your hole.
We leave for Hoang Ty tomorrow.
Yeah.
This is nice, though.
We'll bury all the severed heads.
And the cocks too.
Disgusting.
We'll get him.
What's wrong with this pipe?
Hoang Ty...
Hoang Ty is all we need.
Robert!
I'm leaving.
Tomorrow.
When are you coming back?
I'm not coming back.
What's going on?
Wait here.
I have to talk to him.
We need a break. The kid's exhausted.
Hey, Robert!
I fucking hate you.
You really want to go into that mess?
There are footprints at a 100 meters.
Two men.
Give him a grenade.
Wait.
Are you done pouting?
I'm not pouting.
I didn't fuck your Viet.
I wouldn't even want to.
You really don't get it, do you?
I like men, asshole.
I'm queer.
I suck cock.
- You OK? - A fucking snake.
You alright?
I've been bitten.
Shit, let me see.
Oh fuck.
It's so stupid!
Don't leave me. Stay with me.
Shit, the metro...
I would've gotten lost.
I've never been to Paris.
There are only gooks left now.
And me.
No, you're one of us.
The kid is gone.
So what now?
Do we go anyway?
Out of candles?
Wait.
Can I read you a few lines?
"After his thesis,
"my father decided to unwind far from Paris.
"He first thought of Bordeaux,
"but sojourning in the cradle of the negro slave trade
"was wholly unacceptable to him.
"So he opted for a less conspicuous destination: Lille.
"And right he was, for it was in the Flemish capital
"that he met my mother.
"This meeting sparked a love affair that would last 50 years.
"Only grief could cut it short.
"And it was here in Indochina that it met its end.
"Some years later, here I too would meet
"a woman I fell hopelessly in love with.
"A woman who died at age 50,
"but not before giving me a son
"who lost his life at 25."
Grief is a strange ordeal.
One day we think we're cured, but no...
It's still there,
indivisible from our anger.
Go to bed.
Running Hanoi Hospital is a very different endeavor.
You've heard of Dr. Gramet of Rouen?
Well, he described mute patients
who suddenly...
recovered the use of speech.
If Maï doesn't want to speak,
nobody here will force her to.
I don't mean to suggest rushing things.
Traumatic aphasia is no laughing matter.
Forcing things is a terrible idea.
May I ask you a question?
I don't expect an answer now, but please think about it.
Would it be possible, someday...
I'm not in a hurry,
but even so...
Would it be possible, someday...
to ask for your hand?
See you again soon.
Have a safe trip.
Subtitles: David H. Pickering, a.s.i.f.
Subtitling TITRAFILM