# La route est dure, la vie est morne
# Mon ame est sure d'aucune borne
# Que dois-je faire avec ma vie
# Quand toute la terre s'est endurcie? #
BELL RINGS
Well, my children,
I think I shall go to bed.
Don't keep her up too late, Daniel.
I rely on you.
If you stay up late, you sleep next day till 12 o'clock.
And that's why you're putting on weight. I promise faithfully,
I shall leave before midnight.
That's if I want you to.
What can one do with her?
Now, do be sensible.
And thank you for the delicious sweets.
You're too kind.
You spoil me.
I shall end up by scolding you.
Nothing could give me greater pleasure
than your appreciation of them. Oh, archangel!
Now, I'm off.
I'll come and tuck you up.
No, you won't.
I leave you to your archangel.
Why do you always call me by that name? Archangel?
But you are.
Of course you are.
Goodnight.
Archangel.
VOICEOVER: Yes, she's pregnant, all right.
You can see it in her face, how she smells.
It's giving me asthma.
I can't bear her looking so happy.
But bide your time, bide your time.
What is that, my dear?
You wanted to know what I looked like when I was a girl.
VOICEOVER: A flabby mouth, hard eyes, loose flesh.
She looked like a turd.
You were charming.
I was 18.
You've scarcely changed.
Nonsense!
Still, I was a fine, strapping lass, wasn't I?
Conceited bitch.
Why are you smiling?
You, looking in the glass like a little girl.
I'm always touched when you happen to take notice of yourself.
You're a flatterer.
VOICEOVER: Now for it. This is the moment.
Marcelle, look at me.
Well?
You seem tired.
Oh, I'm all right, it's just the heat.
Marcelle, I shouldn't mention this, I know, but... What is it?
Promise me you won't be angry with Mathieu.
He said he hadn't told you.
Marcelle, could you really try to hide it from me?
Something so important?
I'm your friend. It's so filthy.
VOICEOVER: At last, I've reduced her
to one fat, stinking, pregnant woman.
Marcelle, no. Filthy?
How could you say it?
I must disgust you.
Never. I did so want to keep you out of all this.
Have you seen Mathieu this afternoon?
He telephoned. Did he tell you that I'd refused him the money?
He said you hadn't any. But I had.
You had? I wouldn't lend him any, not before seeing you.
Marcelle, am I to lend him the money?
I don't know. Can you afford it?
Of course I can afford it. Then please lend it to us.
No, you don't understand me.
Marcelle, I want you to search your heart.
Should I lend him the money?
What are you suggesting? I simply wonder
whether you and Mathieu have discussed the matter sufficiently.
Discussed it? Of course we've discussed it.
But Mathieu had made up his mind, hadn't he?
You hadn't time to think, so you took his lead.
It's up to the man to make the decisions.
And you were bustled into something that you didn't want.
Let's not discuss it, please.
Marcelle, don't close up on yourself, I beg of you.
I know this isn't easy to talk about, but... Not with you.
You're so removed from all this.
VOICEOVER: Listen to that. God help me, I'm purity incarnate.
I'm so disgusting, revolting.
Will you please stop thinking of me as this archangel?
There's nothing of the archangel about me.
I'm simply your friend.
Your best friend. Isn't that so?
Very well, then, as your best friend, Marcelle, I am asking you.
Are you really sure you do not want the child?
You think I might...
He never gave it a minute's thought.
Daniel, only you ever bother about me.
Marcelle, you must never do anything you'll regret.
If you have the baby, things will be hard for you,
I know, but in the end...
Yes, yes...
You must think about all this very carefully.
You must never accuse yourself of having done the wrong thing.
Would you excuse me? I must go and see that Mama's tucked up properly.
She's gone away to think about it. I've won.
She's pining to have a child now, and Mathieu will have to marry her.
I have just created, for two of my friends, a lifelong hell.
Table, sir? I'm looking for someone.
Ah, it's you, sir.
Your friends are on the far end on the left.
I'll take you along. It's all right, I'll find them.
You're pretty full this evening.
Not too bad.
A lot of Germans in. Rather noisy, but good drinkers.
MAN LAUGHS
Mathieu! Hello, Mathieu, how's things? Quite a crowd, eh?
What are you drinking?
Vodka. You're on that now, are you?
I intend to get tight.
Ah. What about you, Boris? No, not for me, thanks.
I must get backstage and see Lola. Will you excuse me? Certainly.
I won't be long.
He's worried about her. Lola?
She's been sniffing too much. Cocaine? Mmm.
What would you like to drink, sir? Oh, a vodka, and...
VOICEOVER: I must be careful, I've only got 500 francs.
Oh, damn it, have a good time.
No, forget the vodka.
If I order champagne, will you drink it? Champagne?
I'm afraid I don't like it.
Still, one has to get used to it.
Yes, I'll have some.
A bottle of Verve Clicquot.
Thank you, sir.
Lola is passionately in love with my brother, only ashamed of it.
What of our Boris? He prefers older people.
He says they're reliable.
They show you what to do. There's something solid in their affection.
Do you feel that way? About older people?
Depends on the older person.
Yes.
Yes, I suppose it does.
How much have you taken today?
Stop being a bloody gorilla.
There are a lot of people out there tonight.
Well, I'm the one who has to go on.
Has your Mathieu arrived? Yes.
Why "Your Mathieu"? What you see in him, God only knows.
He's a good chap.
Well, he makes me uncomfortable. Eh? It's those eyes of his.
I can't imagine him enjoying anything.
Not in a simple, straightforward way.
Eating, drinking, women.
Nothing. He's all brain.
Yes, I suppose I shouldn't have invited him.
Oh, no.
He's your schoolmaster. You're his devoted disciple.
We have to have him tag along.
Lola, you don't really dislike him that much, do you?
Why do you find him such a good chap? Why? Yes.
I don't know. Because he doesn't give a damn about anything.
Yes, that's it, I suppose. That makes him a good chap?
You don't give a damn about anything I ever do. No.
Do you care about me?
Yes, of course I care about you.
Don't twist my words, though.
All I'm saying is, Mathieu knows how to be free.
What do you mean, free?
He doesn't care about where he lives, how he dresses.
Or who he sleeps with. What do you mean by that?
Well, you said he was having this regular affair
with what's-her-name, Marcelle.
Well, you'd expect him to sleep with someone, wouldn't you?
How about your little sister?
Is he going to sleep with her, too?
Because that's what he's after.
All you have to do is look at him...
Lola, you're trying to pick a fight. Why?
Perhaps I like it when you're violent.
KNOCK AT DOOR
Come in.
Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you... That's all right.
Eleanor, you know Boris.
Yes.
What is it, dear? What's wrong?
Oh, it's nothing. Nothing, really. Tell me.
I just... What?
Oh, it's nothing.
I'll see you later.
Bye.
Have you seen her act? Yes. Well?
Well, I suppose there has to be a naked dancer in the show
so that the tourists can boast of having seen a bit of gay Paris.
But she can't dance, can't she?
So she makes up for it by opening her legs.
The audience are such lousy, hypocritical bastards.
They don't like her, do they?
Well, they'll strain for a glimpse, all right,
but nobody wants an eyeful.
The difference is called art.
Mesdames et messieurs,
tonight, the management of your one and only Sumatra Club
has the greatest of pleasure in presenting to you a young artist
fresh to the entertainment world.
I give to you, Miss Eleanor!
APPLAUSE
Oh, God, a fan dance.
Positively archaic.
BAND PLAY
HE SPEAKS GERMAN
HE CONTINUES IN GERMAN
Gott sei Dank fur die Menschen von Berlin!
Can't even dance.
With drinks at 35 francs, the show ought to be first-rate.
She can't keep it up, she'll collapse!
MAN COMMENTS IN GERMAN
Oh, Christ, I'm not going to look at that.
How would you like to have to do it for a living?
I'm not her.
MUSIC STOPS
Well done, love, good for you! Shut up!
She's done her best!
Well done! Yes, she has.
And supposing I did want the baby? It'd never work out.
Unmarried mother, me?
I can't afford the luxury. Why unmarried? What?
Why can't he marry you?
SHE LAUGHS
Oh, we hadn't ever considered it.
You never want to marry?
I wouldn't want to trap him into it, not against his will.
You haven't answered me.
What's in a wedding ceremony?
I can do without all that, thank you.
But if it's the only way of keeping the child?
It was accepted between us that marriage is a form of slavery.
We neither of us wanted it.
But you want the child.
Well, don't you?
You want the child.
Yes. I want the child.
Oh, Daniel, you're the only person in the world
I could have said that to.
I'd come to believe it was wrong.
It's not wrong, is it? Wrong?
How can anything natural be wrong?
It's wrong for Mathieu.
I feel as though I'm letting him down.
Then you must talk to him.
Be frank, open.
Tell him what you feel.
I don't want to ruin his life.
I've ruined mine... Ruined your life? I have. You haven't.
Not yet.
What have I done with my life?
Nothing.
Is there anybody who needs me?
The baby will need you.
Yes.
Yes. Then talk to Mathieu.
I can't. Why can't you? I get all tangled up when I'm with him.
I've always let him sort things out for me.
But this is something that never even crosses his mind.
Why doesn't it?
You knew.
You knew. I'm not Mathieu.
Right, then.
There's no point in talking about it.
You'll lend us the money, please, Daniel.
I'll go and get it done. You can't.
Suppose...
Suppose I were to speak with Mathieu myself.
You? Yes, I can say that we came across each other by chance...
And told you all that?
As far as he's concerned, we hardly know each other.
No, it won't work, will it?
Clearly not.
Stay out of this, please, Daniel.
Mathieu should never have told you.
Listen, Marcelle, you know what we must do?
We must tell him the truth.
Quite simply the truth.
We must say, "Now, you must forgive us,
"but Marcelle and I have a tiny little secret.
"It's quite innocent, but we've been seeing each other now and then
"and we haven't told you."
He'd never forgive me.
We always tell each other everything. Marcelle, look at me.
If I don't tell him, you never will.
And the result? You'll end up by hating each other.
You mustn't tell him, don't.
Very well.
Have it your way.
If you don't let me tell him,
I shan't forgive you for a very long time.
We love the child, don't we?
We?
Get rid of it...
..nothing will be the same again between us.
Could you... when you see him, just...
Well, just hint at it?
Of course!
No, it won't do. Marcelle, stop it. You were about to be reasonable.
You'd have to tell him that we've seen each other...
But I said so just now, didn't I?
I'll tell him it's only during the last few months,
and then very occasionally.
He'll appear put out, of course, for the sake of appearances,
but in any case, we should have had to tell him sometime.
But it was our secret.
My one bit of private life.
The only myself I have is what I hide from him.
We're doing it for the sake of the child.
Yes.
After all, it'll test him out.
Test him out?
You don't trust him, then?
I don't know.
I want to respect him, but...
But what?
As soon as I told him, he seemed different.
And then when he telephoned,
he felt obliged to tell me that he loved me.
Pathetic.
If only he'd ask me just once -
just once - what's going on in my mind.
He'll do that. He'll come to a much deeper understanding with you,
I'm sure of it.
Now, have you any notepaper?
Not your own, ordinary notepaper.
I'd like to drop him a note suggesting we might meet tomorrow.
Daniel.
Dear Daniel.
My archangel.
HE COUGHS
MUSIC PLAYS
SHE SINGS IN FRENCH
SONG CONTINUES
AUDIENCE LAUGH
LAUGHTER
APPLAUSE
SONG FINISHES
Beautiful!
NEW SONG BEGINS
SHE SINGS IN FRENCH
VOICEOVER: You can hear the suffering in her voice.
No wonder, Boris must drive her to distraction.
Yes, she suffers
but for five minutes in the day, she can use her talents
to suffer beautifully.
She impersonates her own suffering, her own self.
She heightens, magnifies her very own being.
Perhaps that's what we all do,
impersonate what we are, or else be nothing at all.
It's true, women suffer more than men.
I chase after suffering because I never suffer enough.
But a woman can have suffering forced upon her -
real, inescapable suffering.
Marcelle, what are you suffering at this minute now?
There is a new life in her stomach,
a life we've put there together.
And she waits,
waits for me to get the money for an abortionist to tear it out.
She's there.
I'm here. I'm a rotten bastard, that's what I am.
SONG CONTINUES
Marry her, you shoddy bohemian, you.
You've reached the age of reason, so marry her.
All right.
If I don't find the money, I'll marry her.
I'll give her my whole life if necessary.
But tonight is mine.
SONG FINISHES
APPLAUSE
Good evening, madame. You're here too.
Poor Eleanor, she came back to the dressing room in tears.
They gave her a rough time.
Yes, they couldn't stick her.
Manager said he wanted to fire her, it's the third time this week.
I said, "If she goes, I go."
What did he say?
He's keeping her on.
It's rough on her. If she loses this job, it's back on the streets.
Well, let her go back on the streets.
It's about all she's good for.
SHE LAUGHS
What's the matter, Ivich?
Little too much to drink?
Open your eyes and look at me.
You're not that drunk.
Aren't you going to ask me to dance?
That woman disapproves of me.
Lola? No, that woman at the next table.
She thinks I'm drunk.
SHE GIGGLES
I went out to enjoy myself this evening,
and look what's happened.
I loathe champagne.
Don't drink it, then.
Oh, I haven't drunk enough yet.
There is a state one must get into
when one begins to feel all right again.
Let's dance. You don't like dancing with me.
That doesn't matter. I'm tight.
Whee!
SHE CHUCKLES
Mathieu...
..Delarue.
Good.
Done.
Well, I'll be getting along now.
I'm passing his way, I'll leave it with the concierge.
What's the matter?
Hold me, Daniel, please hold me.
You know, it's strange. When I've had plenty to drink,
I can dance all night and it never tires me.
Ah, they're playing a tango.
I love tangos, they're so smoochy.
Let's dance.
With me again?
No, not you.
Lola. I want to dance with Lola.
Sorry, darling, I don't steer.
I'll do the steering.
I'm better than a man.
They're bloody crazy. Yeah.
Oh, Mathieu, have a look at this.
It's Basque, with a stop catch, see?
No, not like that, you arse, you'll cut yourself. Look.
Oh. A nice weapon, eh?
The chap who sold it to me
told me that these stains are 100% genuine blood.
Lola's very much in love with you, you know that.
Yes.
Singers, dancers, tarts, they're all the same.
Once you've had one, you've had the lot.
I'm about to give her up anyway.
Not you. Oh, but I am, you know.
On July 1st - that's the date I've planned it.
What will you bet? Nothing.
You already owe me 100 francs
and that ship in a bottle we saw in that junk shop.
You've no intention of giving up, you're far too fond of her. Yes.
Yes, all right. You needn't go on about it.
You don't honour your gambling debts.
You're what's known as a bounder.
Oh, and you, sir -
you, sir, are a second-rater.
Yes, that's not bad, second-rater.
Better still - better still - you are a man of no account.
Oh, no. No, that's not nearly as insulting as second-rater.
I suppose you're right. You always are, damn you.
To tell you the truth,
I'm going to have a society woman next, you know. Top drawer.
Really? Why? Well, it'd be fun to know how they behave in bed.
Besides, they have their pictures in all the posh magazines.
You turn over the pages and you see Madame Le Contesse
with her six greyhounds and you think, "I screwed that last night,"
I think it'd give me a kick.
Mathieu? Yes?
You're very quiet. Sorry.
I'm miles away.
What's up? Usual thing, money.
Oh. Take no heed for the morrow, that's you, eh?
Look, would you like me to lend you 100 francs?
Thanks, no. I need 4,000.
4,000? Mm-hm.
What about your friend, Daniel?
Have you tried him? He can't.
Your brother?
He won't.
I see.
Look, if you like... What?
Well, I was thinking, Lola,
the old bag's got a trunk crammed full of hard cash.
She never touches it.
No, no, no.
I'd rather not borrow off Lola.
She... She can't bear the sight of me.
Yes, yes, you're right.
Well, then. Look, if you like, I can ask her for it for myself.
No, she's bound to find out the truth.
No, I'd... I'd rather you didn't.
MUSIC STOPS, CROWD APPLAUD
Absolutely wonderful.
What's this disgusting-looking object?
That is something that I bought to keep you in order.
You're a monster.
Let's dance. Again?
You will be the death of me.
Darling, there's something I must ask you.
What? You remember...
She's marvellous.
Yeah. She's a fine woman.
She has such wonderful limbs, altogether thrilling.
A noble head and a superb body.
So deliciously female.
You want to dance again? No, I want to drink.
It's best to drink between dances.
The dancing stops you getting drunk and the drink keeps you going.
I'm having a great time.
This is my grand finale.
Wouldn't cough up, the old bitch.
What? I asked for 4,000 francs.
You know, it's the first time I've asked her for any money.
If she wants to keep me, she's got to pay for it.
Here she comes.
Ivich? Dance.
Bastard.
He left me standing in the middle of the floor.
You.
Yes, Lola? Did you know Boris needed 4,000 francs?
No, I didn't.
What for? For Picard.
Says he wants to buy a garage.
Ah. Picard wouldn't ask him for 4,000 francs.
The boy only gets 400 a month pocket money.
No, he's trying it on,
see how much he can tap me for.
Lola, Boris isn't like that.
Maybe, but there are some people who think I'm an old bag
and he's a young boy.
Look, look, cards on the table.
If you mean me, you're completely wrong.
You listen to me.
Nobody's going to take him away from me. Not you, not anybody.
He'll leave me
when he's ready, and that'll be soon enough.
Till then, no-one's going to snatch him from me.
I don't want to take him away from you.
Your relations with Boris are no affair of mine
and even if they were, I'd find them perfectly all right.
Oh, he's a big boy now.
Doesn't have to bring an apple for the teacher any more.
I know I'm an old woman. Oh, Lola...
I don't need you to tell me that.
He needs sex, he may as well get it from me.
I don't do him any harm.
I can help him. I can teach him things.
Besides, who are you to tell me I'm too old for him?
He loves me as I am.
Yes, I believe he does love you.
I've had a lot of affairs in my time.
A lot.
But this boy is my last throw.
My very last.
You know something, Lola? We're alike. Why?
Look at us, and look at them.
We are not alike.
Boris, you and I have to have a little chat.
Oh? Can't we do it here?
No, I have to sing in a moment. In my dressing room.
Excuse us, Ivich.
I'm tight! Yes, you are.
SHE GIGGLES
So tight, it suddenly came over me while I was dancing.
Why have they gone away?
They've got something to talk about.
Besides, I think Lola needs another boost.
I rather think I'd like to take drugs.
Naturally.
You're angry with me.
No, I'm not. Yes, you are,
because I'm a bit squiffy. You disapprove.
Oh, what the hell, I'm enjoying myself!
It shines like a little diamond.
What does? This moment.
It's round and perfect
and it hangs in the void like a little sparkling jewel.
I am eternal.
She's drunk.
See that woman at the next table?
She despises me.
Madame is so utterly respectable.
I, on the contrary, am not respectable.
But I enjoy myself.
I get tight and I'm going to fail my exams.
I hate respectability.
Do be quiet, Ivich.
You were speaking to me, I believe.
You too, you're respectable. Oh, don't worry.
When I've been ten years back home
in the society of my father and my mother,
I'll be a bloody sight more respectable than you.
I simply can't understand how a girl can behave like that.
Of course, it's not entirely her fault.
Partly the people who brought her here.
What's the matter?
Nothing.
I'm just going to do one more shocking thing,
just for the amusement of Madame.
I wonder how she'll stand the sight of blood.
Ivich!
Is she going to faint? You're mad.
Come with me. That's my blood. I like seeing my blood.
Don't you dare to touch me again. I thought you'd be shocked.
It's too much for you, isn't it?
It's too much, you think?
Not at all.
Why should you think that?
Waiter! Waiter!
Pull it out! You see, it's a trick.
Anyone can do it.
Stop them. They're drunk.
They're going to kill themselves.
Does madame require anything?
Um, we seem to have cut ourselves.
Oh, yes.
With the knife.
If you'd like to come along to the cloakroom,
the attendant will soon bandage it up for you.
Mathieu? Your hand.
It's the mingling of the blood.
Darling, don't torture me, please.
I love you.
I have no-one but you.
I'm in your hands.
Don't hurt me.
I'm all alone, Boris.
Well, you must like being alone. What?
You must like being alone, or you'd choose an older man than me.
I'm too young. I can't prevent you from being alone.
That's why you chose me. You're driving me out of my mind.
Lola, you're not going to take any more of that stuff, not tonight.
I must, I have to go on. Lola, I will not see you do it.
Then don't watch me. Lola!
If you spill it, I'll kill you!
If you loved me more, I might take less.
I DO love you, Lola - I adore you!
Yes, perhaps you do sometimes.
I love you, Boris.
I love you. I think about you all the time.
If I thought about me, I'd kill myself. Lola...
Oh, darling, tell me, please.
Why do you need 4,000 francs?
Are you planning to do a bunk? Lola, I'm not a crook.
I know, I know you're honest.
Well, is there some girl?
You've met some girl you want to take away for the weekend. Lola!
I've told you, it's for Picard.
He came to see me. He came to see you?
You told me you met him in the street.
Yes, he was on his way to see me.
You're a liar!
KNOCK AT DOOR
Yes? Five minutes, please.
Thank you.
I have to go on in five minutes and look at me!
You'll be the death of me. No, no, it won't be me, Lola.
It'll be the drugs! You're a bastard!
Oh, bless your life, sir.
Little things like this are always happening.
Why, only two nights ago...
No, I tell a lie. It was three.
One of the ladies happened to throw a cocktail glass
at the head of one of our very best customers.
Ooh, how he did bleed, the poor gentleman, you know.
I was afraid for his eyes myself.
I took a great splinter of glass out of his eyebrow.
Good God. Hmm, half the size of my thumbnail, it was, sir.
Tell me, Mathieu.
What? What do you think about when you go all broody?
Broody?
Yes, you do sometimes.
I don't know, I suppose I'm thinking about myself.
You look most attractive when you go off like that.
I like it.
Well, one can't always be thinking about oneself. Why not?
I'm always thinking about myself. Now, now, now, sir.
Just hold your hand steady.
I'm going to tie the knot now.
You're beautiful. No, I'm not. I'm disgustingly plain.
What you're seeing now is my private face.
I prefer it to your public one.
I'll wear my hair like this for you tomorrow if you like.
Shall I see you tomorrow?
Ten o'clock?
There you are, sir. That's done. Thank you, madame.
You know, you should be a nurse. Or even a doctor.
Oh, no, sir.
It's all in the job.
Why, you know, I have lots of delicate little things
to do down here.
You'd be surprised!
Yeah, I'm sure. Thank you.
Thank you, sir. Thanks. Thank you. Goodnight.
Goodnight, madame, monsieur. Goodnight.
Been trying to kill yourselves, have you? It was your beastly knife.
Well, it looks as though it's done a good job. How's Lola?
Couldn't be worse. Caught me out in a lie.
I got all mixed up about where I met Picard.
God, she's furious.
You've only got to look at her.
I'm sorry.
SPEECH DROWNED BY MUSIC
SHE SINGS IN FRENCH
SONG FINISHES
God, it hurts.
It's going all stiff.
God. Daniel won't part with his own money,
but he's got some suggestions to make.
Oh, well, either he helps or he doesn't. Don't worry.
You'll find the money somehow or other.
After all, you don't want to marry her.
It's heroic and stupid even to think that you will.
I'm seeing Ivich tomorrow. Ten o'clock.
She's going to wear her hair up the back just for me.
Oh, there's such mystery in that girl.
What did she say tonight?
"I am eternal."
That's the trouble.
There's no mystery in Marcelle.
None.
Some would say there is, like Brother Jacques.
There's a new life growing inside her.
No greater mystery than life - life you've put there.
Well, they can stuff all that chat.
I'd make a bloody awful father, and that settles it.
Say Marcelle wants the child, though.
Say she's been lying to me and really wants it.
If I let her go through this sordid business of abortion,
it'll mark her for life.
Now, look, Mathieu, do not presume to think for other people.
Accept that people are what they say they are.
They want what they say they want.
It's the only honest way of dealing with people.
Anything else is bloody tyranny.
Marcelle says she doesn't want children.
She's sworn it. So that's that.
Now, shut up and get your pyjamas on.
Tomorrow's another lousy day.
Lola.
Lola?
Lola!
# Les mains se tendent de tous cotes
# Les chaines sont lourdes, puis-je les oter?
# Un seul pas contre la tyrannie
# Une raison d'etre dans toute ma vie
# La route est dure mais je suis forte
# Mon ame est sure, la peur est morte
# Je sais quoi faire avec la vie
# Quand toute la terre sera affranchie. #