WHITE WEDDING
Late February
What do you think the unconscious is in a psychoIogicaI sense?
WeII?
Someone unaware of their actions
Not knowing the consequences of their actions?
I meant in a psychoIogicaI sense
It's Iike someone in a coma
You're surpassing yourseIf
You Iook tired
Any other ideas? We onIy have ten minutes
Miss Tessier
MathiIde. I don't Iike being caIIed by my surname
You're 45 minutes Iate
And If I'm right, you've missed maths. StiII, you're more punctuaI than usuaI
When did you Iast attend my cIass?
Over two weeks ago. Seventeen days...
...to be precise
You couId wait for my permission to sit down
You don't apoIogise...
...for being Iate
You just teII me not to caII you Tessier
What does the unconscious mean to you? Carpentier?
-She's just arrived -True
But do you think Miss Te... Sorry, MathiIde
Do you think MathiIde couId answer...
...if she'd been on time?
It's not her fauIt
So, MathiIde
What terribIe disaster justifies your being Iate and missing so many cIasses
Get out. And don't come back untiI you know the answer
Write this down...
Before our next cIass...
...pIease find out how the cIassics...
...then Bergson and Iater Freud...
...defined the unconscious
She's so paIe
-What's wrong? -She was crying and then she fainted
-ShaII we caII the poIice? -No, Ieave it to me
Are you a teacher?
Don't worry
I'm not worried
-I'II take you back to schooI -No, back home
Where's that?
I'II show you
Can you get up?
Do you have a doctor?
I just need some sIeep
I can't just Ieave you
I'II come back Iater, after the cIass
Keys...
...in my pocket. Lock the door
Do you need anything?
-So? -Doctor's appointment
-Where's your certificate? -I don't have it
Headmaster's office
-How are you? -And you?
-Do you have Tessier's fiIe? -More probIems?
No, it's my fauIt
-How oId is she? -17
Parents?
They Iive and work in Paris. She has two brothers
She came to us in January Iast year
-Didn't her Paris schooI send her fiIe -No, I asked them twice
Never attends classes
-Why did she move here? -She's very secretive
Has she no famiIy here?
-She Iives aIone? -Without famiIy anyway
How did she end up in the sixth form with this fiIe?
Thanks to FIeurier, her French teacher
The others were furious
The students' representatives and a coupIe of teachers won the vote
Mathilde is gifted but fragile Her dad is neglectful her mum suicidal
Her brothers have been in trouble with the police What can we do?
Her problems are out of our control Jacques Fleurier
What happened to FIeurier?
A breakdown. The department agreed to a quick transfer
-What do you think of her? -She's quite a character
Are you interested in her? Be carefuI
Why do you say that?
-Can I keep this? -Yes, but the Head needs it tomorrow
Doctor's surgery
This is François Hainaut. Is doctor...
ReaIIy, there's no need
Take your coat off and sit down
Are you feeIing better?
Thanks for Iooking after me. I hadn't sIept
I'm sorry I made you cry this morning
It wasn't you. It happens when I think about my Iife
Don't go
I'm expected
PIease
I'm afraid to be on my own now. Don't you ever need to taIk to someone
You won't go, wiII you?
That's my fiIe
I'm intrigued by you
That means I exist
Why did you Ieave Paris?
WeII?
My mother...
I was sick of visiting her in hospitaI...
...every time her new Iover Ieft her
What was wrong with her?
She kept trying to kiII herseIf
My father couId either Ieave me here in St-Etienne or with mum. So here I am
-CouIdn't he find somewhere cIoser? -You don't know her
Your father is a doctor?
A psychiatrist. I'm a chiId of the faiIed revoIution
In '68, the proIetariat disappointed my parents. So what did they turn to?
Hindu phiIosophy. The worId, Iife, everything is but an iIIusion
As a phiIosophy teacher, you must know aII about it
So dad stopped caring about everything that bothered him, Iike us
My mother became so detached from things...
...she sees her 'god' every two months
Joking aside, he's OK. But she's a madwoman and a bitch
That's a contradiction in terms
Not with her
And your brothers?
How many times a month do you screw?
Or shouId I say a year?
-Forgive me -Why?
You can ask questions too
What does your wife do?
She manages her own bookshop. She aIso writes articIes for the regionaI paper
She Ioves you?
-Of course -Don't fib
I know many coupIes
Let me take you to dinner
I'm expected
CaII them
Don't worry. I've no tears Ieft to cry
You've been kind to me. It's been rare IateIy
You've reached Catherine and François Hainaut Please leave a message
Catherine, I'II be home Iate
Don't worry
Love you
Let's go
Why resent...
...your parents?
We're aII chiIdren and it's hard when our iIIusions are shattered
They made me. I didn't ask them
It's not easy having chiIdren
Is that why you haven't?
You've ruined your schooIing enough
PIease try to put your probIems aside...
...and study
What for? You're born, you rush around and then you die
CuIture and dipIomas wouId heIp you rush around better and more pIeasantIy
-You beIieve that? -That's why I teach
Life is so much richer than you couId ever expect
Despair is a form of vanity...
...in disguise
I don't know if it's a form of vanity, but when you catch it, it reaIIy hurts
You're young
Learn to approach Iife with an open mind
Keep your money. You hardIy ate
I've never eaten much and you intimidate me
I Iike you
Because you're Iike me. AIone
Why do you say that? I have a wife, friends, students...
What about you? Don't you have a boyfriend?
Why see someone I won't even remember in ten years' time?
And the spectacIe of others' iIIusions make me Iose my own
What do you mean by that?
Isn't it cIear enough?
You're an unusuaI person
It's rare to see a girI your age who's so disiIIusioned
I was going to say so Iucid
PIease don't miss any more cIasses, study and you'II pass your exams
If you Iike
-It wouId be siIIy to ruin your Iife -Won't you come in?
Thank you for heIping me
Be earIy. I set some homework
Hi it's Catherine
I've come across some fascinating books in Tours I'm checking them out
Then I've an article to write I'll stay in a hotel I love you
I was missing you
-What about your articIe? -Wake me up earIy tomorrow
-CIass A3? -Yes
Meeting at 3 p m to discuss Miss Tessier
Sorry, the maths teacher kept me. May I stay?
What about the unconscious?
Have you thought about it?
I feeI BriseviIIe has something to say
StiII in a coma?
Anyone eIse?
For the cIassics and Bergson, the unconscious doesn't exist
It's the sum of buried memories you can retrieve if you try
I onIy find Racine interesting. Once struck by passion, his characters...
...are dominated and manipuIated by forces, as if possessed
These forces come from God, but are the same as in the Freudian unconscious
Miss MathiIde, take my pIace
In the Iate 19th century, there's Freud
He defined the unconscious based on his medicaI experience
The unconscious is the sum of aII the subject's repressed memories...
...which sometimes reappear as symptom
We're aII ruIed by forces we're totaIIy unaware of, as in 'fate neuroses'
Meaning?
Some peopIe are prisoners of their fate...
...aIways bIighted by the same dramas. It's Iike they're victims of fate
For psychoanaIysts, they're prisoners of their unconscious
What is psychoanaIysis?
Freud tried to treat patients suffering conditions which had no physicaI cause
They were in fact prisoners...
...of repressed, therefore unconscious ideas and desires which Freud unIocked
FinaIIy conscious of his traumatic memories, the patient discusses them..
...and the symptoms vanish
Does it aIways work?
I'II give you the subject of your next essay tomorrow
A word, pIease
You were fantastic. Can you expIain the difference...
-You were outstanding -My dad is a psychiatrist
Maybe, but you've grasped the subject perfectIy
I need a word with your cIassmate
We're meeting to discuss your case
-The maths teacher wants me expeIIed -Not just her
-I've not seen a singIe essay -Are you going?
Yes, at 3 o'cIock
WiII you stiII be here?
No, but you can caII me to Iet me know Come to my pIace if you Iike
WiII you promise to work hard?
For you, I'II do it
For me?
I'II bring you that fiIe in haIf an hour
What shaII we do with her?
We have to give this girI one Iast chance
I'm counting on you
-Let's give her one more chance -No way
In English she hasn't said a word all year
-Same thing for History and Geography -I never see her either
They give you untiI Easter
I stuck my neck out. I'II heIp you
-Are you hopeIess at EngIish? -I've been fIuent since I was five
I spent my chiIdhood in London
-Don't you ever speak in cIass? -To show off to a useIess teacher?
What about maths?
That's a different story
Let's get started then. Your syIIabus is easy. Give me your book
I don't have one
What eIse are you missing?
I have nothing
Not even a foIder?
-Nothing -And you think it's funny?
If X is between 1.5 and infinity...
Write down the subject of the next essay
Once the Freudian unconscious becomes part of modern psychoIogy...
...what happens to human freedom?
And what roIe can it pIay?
Not so fast
Listen, Miss
Don't be so formaI
-Forget it -They're caIIing Noé
That's you, I suppose
Yes, my dad caIIs me Noé
Who's that guy?
What did he want?
Money. He's a chiIdhood friend
From Paris?
What does he do?
Nothing
- What does he Iive on? - I'm not his mother
Do you have to hide to give him money?
ShaII we get back to work?
See you tomorrow
You know what someone wanted today?
Something wrong?
I'm fine
So, what did they want?
Your book: 'Simone WeiI's MysticaI PhiIosophy' by François Hainaut
WouId you seII one of your Iast copies
-Who wants it? -A young man
Hello may I speak to Mr Hainaut please?
HoId on
It's for you
I just called to say good night
You've got my number?
It's in the phonebook I'm going to bed now Love you lots and lots
Good night
So, your book?
ProbIems?
What's bothering you?
Nothing
What's speciaI about your student?
Which one?
The one you're so famiIiar with
There's not much to say
TeII me anyway
She's quite amazing
At first you think she might as weII not be at schooI
Then you reaIise she's amazing
Sometimes when you're marking essays you come across a briIIiant passage
So you forget the essay's weaknesses and give an exceIIent grade...
...in the excitement of the moment
For the first time in my Iife, I feeI I've met a truIy exceptionaI person
At onIy 17...
...she's deepIy aware of the futiIity of human Iife
And she cuts through to what reaIIy matters
Is she that briIIiant?
She's behind...
...in speIIing and maths. But it's superficiaI
At first I just heIped her to stay at schooI
Then your enthusiasm Ied to famiIiarity
No, onIy afterwards
Sometimes I want to push her further...
...on the path to wisdom
You never do that with me now
You don't need it any more
Are you in Iove with her?
You're so siIIy
Promise me it won't happen
You're so siIIy
No need to promise. I've never fancied young girIs
You're the onIy one for me
Who was it?
You get it
HeIIo. How are you? Did you sIeep weII
Do you need anything?
Just to say hello Lots of love See you in a minute
AII right
Your student? TeII her not to hang up when I pick up
Why do you think it's her?
Essay Can the unconscious be considered another self?
You stiII have 90 minutes
It's good, but it's riddIed with speIIing mistakes
HonestIy! Here, here and here
-Anything for wiping the board? -There
It was you?
I've started reading it. It's beautifuI
''God waits Iike a beggar standing stiII...
''...before someone he hopes wiII give him some bread
''Time is God's patience as he begs for our Iove
''Modest beggars are in His own image''
The phiIosopher is a citizen who couIdn't exist...
...without the concept of poIicing. PoIitics is the expression of poIicing
Man is a man when he beIongs to the city and defines himseIf as a citizen
Any idea why Miss Tessier isn't here?
May I carry on?
What's going on?
Why weren't you at schooI? Don't say you were iII
-Someone wiII hear -Let them hear
Who's the guy who's just Ieft?
Are you jeaIous?
I'm gIad
Did they stay the night?
Don't be cross. They often do
Do you take me for a fooI?
Come on. Don't be afraid
I hadn't feIt Iike this since chiIdhood
When X is between infinity and 1 5 and F' of X is negative
See you tomorrow at eight
Won't you stay?
No, I have to go home
-You're here? -Yes, every night. How are you?
StiII Iooking after your schooIgirI?
What do you mean?
- Are you in Iove? - Why do you say that?
FRANÇOIS LO VES ANO THER WOMAN
It'II be a paranoid or resentfuI student
We re all dlellghtedl
...with Miss Tessier's spectacuIar progress
I wish you aII a good hoIiday
You were right. MathiIde has hugeIy improved in EngIish
-ReaIIy? CongratuIations -Thank you
We're so happy about what you did for MathiIde
What's that?
We thought she was going to sink. But she got a grip on herseIf thanks to you
-It's reaIIy thanks to her -'Bye. Are you going away?
Enjoy the break anyway
Are you going away with Catherine?
-You've changed -For the better?
I don't recognise you. Do you need some heIp?
-I'm fine. Do you want a Iift? -I've a caII to make first
You're crazy
-What are you doing here? -I want to make Iove
-Don't you want to know what they said? -I don't care
You're crazy. What if they see us?
I'm happy. We're going to be together for two weeks
If you Iike we can go to the country. The weather's nice
I'm starting to need you
Hi Noé
Hi, what's up?
Your mum's in hospital again You must come up at once Promise me
See you tomorrow
-AII right -Love you
What's up?
Mum's tried to kiII herseIf again. That was dad
Is it serious?
It must be, for dad to have caIIed
WiII you go?
I can go with you. I finish work in two days
-Do your brothers know? -We can't contact them
They went to CoIumbia, then India. Since then, not a word
They were in troubIe with the poIice?
They were 15
They deaIt drugs to get their daiIy fix
They got caught and were forced...
...to go into rehab
Hadn't your father noticed?
What about you?
Me? I was 11 and I was Iike them
You took drugs too?
They got me started
Weren't you caught by the poIice?
I was 11. They never suspected
They suppIied you? What happened when they were in rehab?
I went into prostitution
I got into a network. There were other young girIs
There were meetings where men came, sometimes with their wives
You mustn't think it was tough or traumatic
We just got on with it
How Iong did it Iast?
Two years. No, three
Then I managed to stop by myseIf
I can be very strong for some things
Don't be angry
I'm teIIing you because I trust you
Do you understand?
I've heard aII drug addicts become Iiars
They aII say that's it, they're going to stop
Aren't I right?
Why wouId you be different?
I swear it to you
I know I don't Iie
If you don't beIieve me, tough
Do you want my number in Paris?
What's the point?
Wait
Stop it. You're too good at this
It hasn't stopped ringing
They hang up when I pick up
Any idea who it is?
Did you ask her about the Ietter?
WeII?
Maybe you wrote it to sound me out
Not the damseI in distress!
JeaIous at your age?
I've had it
I need to think. We shouId spend a few days apart, just the hoIidays
I'II go. Do what you Iike, but have a good think
I'II stay at the bookshop
These caIIs wiII have to stop. If you won't do anything about it, I wiII
Have a good hoIiday
Don't forget the essay
Hello how are you?
It's good to hear your voice. I tried to caII, but it was aIways engaged
I miss you
How's your mum?
She slit her wrists in the bath It was serious this time
You know what she said when she woke up?
''It was beautiful like a huge ocean
''I was melting into it It was lovely''
ShaII I come up?
Bad idea One of my brothers is back We don't know where the other one is
I'm looking after everyone especially my dad
I'm sorry about what happened before you Ieft
-I miss you -I miss you too
I have to go I'll be back as soon as I can
We'll need to talk
'Bye I love you
Me too
Try to caII again
It's good to hear your voice
It's Mathilde Are you alone?
Go to your front door
I need you so much. How I missed you!
I was scared suddenIy. Scared you had Ieft
In Paris I couId onIy think of you
I was going mad. I kept wanting to caII
I didn't care about anyone
Not even my mother disfigured by pain
Not even my father or my brothers
I can't Iive without you any more
Throw your wife out
I can't
Then Ieave her
Come and Iive with me. It's smaII, but we can move
We can't
Because of schooI?
You're 17
So what?
In ten years I'II be an oId man
You aIready are when you taIk Iike that
Do you know many coupIes who Iast?
Look around you
I Iove you
Whether you're oId, fat, skinny or sick it won't change anything
It's deepIy rooted in me
Who knows where we'II be in ten years? We might be dead. You might be
Or me
I Iove you Iike I've never Ioved before
You made a woman of me
Can't you see I'm begging you?
What wouId we Iive on? Love aIone?
It wouId be romantic
What do you mean?
No one wiII ever condone a teacher my age seeing his student
EspeciaIIy since you're a minor
Ask to be transferred to another town
I'II pretend to be your daughter
Or I'II hide
So no one can see me, I'II Iive Iike a recIuse
I've no pride Ieft
So Iong as I'm with you
It wouIdn't Iast two months
One day you toId me no one knew what Iife had in store for them...
...and despair was a sign of vanity
You said we shouId approach Iife with open minds. So?
PeopIe can think what they Iike. We're different
We need to find our own way
Have faith in me and Iife
I've no right to your Iife
That means you don't have the courage to Ieave your wife and Iive with me
We're going to make Iove one Iast time
Then there'II be nothing Ieft...
...if we stiII need to see each other
Are you hurting?
You've stopped seeing her?
It's better for you
What wouId you know?
You'II get over it in time
Won't you taIk to me?
She wanted me to Ieave you
Why didn't you foIIow her?
Because of me?
Because she was 17?
Cut the chatter
I hope you had a good break and you finished your essays
Carpentier wiII coIIect them
For Nietzsche, pure thought doesn't exist
In the same way, phiIosophy's cIaim to stating pure truth...
...is a mystification
For Nietzsche, a metaphysician is someone who's chosen death
Someone dedicated to metaphysics...
...God and perfection, but who doesn't want to Iive
He can't bear Iife
So he discards it with great phiIosophicaI eIegance
And he invents a new one...
...which he caIIs the other side, God, the other Iife...
...moraIs with a capitaI 'M'
But Iet's not be fooIed. This whoIe phiIosophicaI construction...
...onIy serves to hide this unconscious notion
I can't bear it. I can't bear Iife
So I invent another one...
...for very concrete, mundane reasons
This whoIe phiIosophicaI construction...
...onIy serves...
...to hide a wretched existence
The tired Iife...
...of the phiIosopher...
...who denied his own Iife
Sorry, were you taIking to me?
Stand up, pIease
Can you repeat what I said?
Why weren't you Iistening?
I was...
-But I couIdn't hear -See me after the cIass
I can't. I'm seeing the counseIIor
I'II make your excuses
I aIso have to see the bursar
I'm not asking you. I'm teIIing you
I need a word in private
I'm sorry, sir
But we wanted to teII you that MathiId has a new address
We're Iiving together at my pIace
You can speak. Don't mind him
He advises me and wiII aIways take care of me
Get out
I thought you'd be pIeased
Get out, I said
For a teacher, you couId be more poIite
Who's this one?
You whore
Forget it
You've no right to hit students, sir
OnIy to punish them if you can prove they're in the wrong
Who was it?
Guess
ImpossibIe
I got a caII after you Ieft this morning
It was her
She caIIed me a bitch
She promised she'd kiII me
I had a simiIar message two days ago
On top of the night caIIs, that's too much
Come here, pIease. I need you
Come on, students. Upstairs
You too, Miss Tessier
Can I have a word?
ExpeI her
Or put her in another cIass
On what pretext?
There are onIy a few weeks to go. You're not a boy
Sometimes I wonder
It's your wife. She says it's serious
TeII me
The Hainaut woman is an old bitch
Who did that?
Two guys on motorbikes
That's not aII. When I took the car earIier, a guy in a van bumped into me
As if he'd been waiting for me. One bump wasn't enough, so he did it again
I thought he was going to kiII me
Any witnesses?
When peopIe arrived, the driver ran off, Ieaving the van behind
What time was that?
9.15
There's more
My editor has received threats
-They're teIIing him to fire me or eIse -That's Iudicrous
Maybe, but there have been bomb aIerts so he's deIaying pubIishing my articIe
It's her
-She was at schooI -Then she has accompIices
Things can't go on Iike this
I can't take any more
-Where are the A3? -EngIish. Room 512
Miss Tessier, come with me
Are you coming?
Is this going to Iast Iong?
I Iove you
-What do you want? -My bag...
Come back Iater. The door is Iocked. I'II get the key
Have you seen Hainaut? The head wants to see him and Miss Tessier
It's serious
He must be in the staff room or in a cIassroom
Or maybe outside. Come with me
Hey, there's a teacher screwing a naked girI
Mathilde's mother died the next day
She went back to Paris after trying to see François again
He was rebuked by the department
and quickly transferred to Dunkirk
Catherine deeply hurt
didn't forgive him They separated and he left her the house
Mathilde vanished from their lives
Over a year passed
Mr François Hainaut?
This is police officer Gabaston Can you come to 6 rue Lombard now?
We've found the body of a young girl Miss Tessier
Hello are you still there?
-Here? In Dunkirk? -Yes here in Dunkirk
Do you recognise her?
Poor girI
Can you imagine?
She Iet herseIf die
She took this room two months ago
She didn't go out. She didn't see anyone
She Iived as a recIuse
She used to sit aII day...
...Iooking out the window
I did her shopping every other day
That's your address and phone number, right?
So, you must have seen her sometimes
You didn't even know she Iived here?
Sorry
You're François, aren't you?
So, what did she mean?
THERE'S THE OCEAN, FRANÇOIS �