Winner of the Golden Lion at the 1983 Venice Film Festival
and a Special Award for Sound and Cinematography.
It's in me, in you.
It makes terrible waves.
FIRST NAME: CARMEN
I don't know much, but the innocent don't control this world.
We'll go on, if possible...
I'm not scared... Never could...
never knew how to...
get involved...
I have to run... See you later.
I'm the girl who shouldn't be called Carmen.
With your body...
When shit's worth money, the poor won't have assholes.
Well?
When shit's worth money, the poor won't have assholes.
We'll write you!
Is there a Frenchman in the house?
Unseen
It's not normal...
Who is it?
Oh, show in eternity.
Well, how are you today?
He couldn't be better!
I'll get sick...
If your fever isn't up by Friday, out you go!
My bill's been paid!
This isn't a hotel.
You'll be out!
I'm sure I'll get sick.
We'll put you out!
- I write it down? - Yes.
Lights out!
"Unseen, unsaid."
You worked hard today!
That's very good.
Think so?
Come on.
Don't forget your temperature!
You may get a fever yet.
If I put my finger in your ass, and you count to 33... See?
C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C... See? I'll have a fever.
Why do you say that?
People don't speak out these days.
I feel like saying it, so I do.
Will I get a fever?
Maybe...
To be...
To banish ignorance and crime...
Mr. Godard's room?
...must I rage and sow evil at random?
We'll write you.
- It's a lousy idea! - It isn't.
It's time your madness saw the reverse of all things!
We'll write you.
Where am I?
No, who is it?
Remember me?
...Carmen.
You're Elizabeth's daughter?
Care to know why I'm here?
Sure. Makes for dialogue.
Can I smoke?
I need your help, Uncle Jean.
It was long ago...
The last vacation...
Long ago...
Young people!
They have great memories, but forget everything!
They're in a fog.
Is this really where you live now?
Not really.
It's tough: I have to get sick every week.
So you need help.
That's new!
But this time I mean it. I do.
"Her great beauty had already struck me...
"Her gentleness, her honesty..."
No matter where or when,
the classics always work.
Still own that flat in Trouville?
Absolutely...
It's paid up until...
The year 2000.
Can I use it?
Sure. What for?
It's quite empty.
Some friends and I are making a movie.
Is it yes?
Yes, Uncle Jean?
I met a rich guy.
He wants to see some tests.
So I thought...
we could shoot them there.
The story takes place by the sea.
Is it yes?
Does the story end happily?
We don't know yet.
Yes, you do.
No! Don't bug me!
You never got on with her.
With whom?
With your mother,
like that Electra kid...
You don't remember.
You have a talent for doom.
How did it end...
The guilty were on one side,
the innocents on another...
I don't know.
So, is it yes?
I'll lend you my new camera.
It makes music.
I built it here...
with the kitchen staff.
Don't you want to go back to making movies?
We should close our eyes, not open them.
We could use your video equipment.
There's tons of money to be made.
Shall I ask my friend?
Let's wait and see.
So, I can borrow the apartment?
Where do I get the keys?
From the gardener's wife: she does the cleaning.
You said it was empty.
So what?
I'll keep in touch.
- He's agreed. - It's a lousy idea!
We wanted perfect timing.
Right.
But we're getting nowhere.
Claire's making too many mistakes.
I'm aware of it.
"I realize it, fully.
"Life isn't the greatest good.
"Of all evils, mistakes are the worst."
Hi, Claire!
Where's my brother?
He went to buy cigarettes.
It's really for me?
Why?
Cold, isn't it?
Well?
How's it going?
- Tell him about Saturday... - You tell him!
Are you dining at my sister's on Saturday?
I can't. I have a training session.
He should change jobs!
You should. I told you, my father'll get you another job.
I'll take Claire home, then drop you off.
Coffee time! If you see anything weird, call me.
What's weird?
Everything!
Be more mysterious...
The chord shorter?
No, it develops and there becomes more tragic...
The second violin and the alto must be louder...
We'll take it from D...
Move on, goddammit!
- Can I have your autograph? - Move on!
- Aren't you Jean Gabin? - Move on!
- You look just like him! - Move on!
Video, who wants cassettes?
- Will you move on? - Movies, in every color!
In all standards!
- Move on! Shit! - Anyone for video?
- Beat it! - Help!
Freeze! Everyone out! Down there!
Hurry! See you in the hall.
Out of my way!
It must be more violent.
Once more: the tempo was a bit slack.
Don't fade so soon...
The phrase on which you fade is very long...
Right.
"Act, don't ask."
"Act... don't ask."
"Work miracles before you reveal them."
"It's the only way to fulfill your destiny."
Let's leave.
I'll tie you up, so it looks real.
- The keys! - Give him the keys!
They're in the ignition.
- Same place? - Nothing's changed.
Beat it!
- Untie me. - That's up to me.
Will you, when I love you?
I'll be tied up, then.
- Untie me, I have to piss! - Good, so do I.
Then let's go.
Go on!
"The first phrase built on
the harmony..."
You have quite a chest...
Maybe.
Sorry...
Were you able to phone?
- Out of my way! - Sorry.
No,
I'm sorry.
I am.
What is it?
I'll explain.
Suits me.
Soldier boy... I'll go see if there's food.
He's really nuts:
there's a tape recorder in the fridge!
Sorry.
It really is empty.
Whose place is it?
- Scram! - No!
- Grab me. - Yeah!
What do you want?
Now?
To...
And you?
What do I want?
In life...
To show people what a woman does with a man.
With a man?
What she says to him?
No, not at all.
What she does to a man.
I lived here once.
It... belongs to one of my uncles.
I must have been
13 or 14...
That was the living room...
This was his room.
His room...
We're going to make a movie.
- Really... - Yes.
A documentary...
We're not sure yet, but...
That's why you held up a bank?
Later...
When my friends get here... I'll explain.
I'll phone again tomorrow.
Then I'll explain...
There's no rush.
- Move... - No. Tell me now!
Explain.
What if I told you to get lost?
No.
You're attracted to me.
Yes...
Maybe...
I am too...
Push...
One... two...
Higher...
Enough...
Draw it out...
Vibrato...
Go ahead, stupid...
Gently...
Gently!
So it goes.
Why do women exist?
Ready, Claire!
"Fate show thy force!
"Ourselves we do not own...
"What is decreed
"must be:
"and this be so."
- Now I know... - What?
Jail...
...Why is it called "the hole"?
Why?
Everything's shaking...
What did you say? I didn't hear.
Everything's shaking...
The earth...
The house...
Me...
Maybe...
My ass is shaking, too...
You already have a woman's behind...
"Check
"everything...
"...in the evening...
"And the clouds...
"the clouds... will they reveal...
"torrents of life?"
Will you write me when I'm in jail?
You won't go. Nothing's lost.
You'll write me.
And you?
Me...
Come to think of it, I have no friends,
male or female.
I know one girl,
but she's too special.
"Loneliness forced me to become my own best friend."
I really thought you wouldn't untie me.
I haven't had that kind of scare in ages.
- You been to college? - Not really.
Were your parents too poor, or was it by choice?
They were too poor, and I didn't want to go.
Why?
I'd tell you why, but it'd take all day.
First I'd have to figure myself out...
Get it?
I get it.
Jacques only hires college kids.
But I'll try...
And then you've been a cop.
How else would we have met?
That's just it...
You have a young girl's behind...
A woman's too...
- You know, Joe... - Joseph!
I'm warning you...
If I love you,
that's the end of you.
Yes, Carmen.
What's it called?
What?
Something about...
the innocents on one side...
the guilty on the other...
And...
I don't know...
Neither do I...
Dream's over! Back to earth!
Get inside!
"The light of the just outshines the wicked." Proverbs 13:6.
"The Police is to society what dreams are to the individual!"
Put him in!
We've waited enough.
He was paid to protect people's money.
He didn't do his job. He must pay his debt to society.
Society? You mean Big Business!
Establishment funds!
Their money. Tell the truth, shit!
- Silence her, your honor! - I won't shut up! He did right.
- Youth is for love, not money. - Silence her! Let the prosecution speak.
"A good man obtains the Lord's favor..."
Such daring... Such love of danger...
can be seen in a look, in a walk, a smile...
- It's in us all... - Let the prosecution...
Such violence is a kind of peace...
OK, I'll tell you... We're going to kidnap a guy...
- Kidnap? - Yes. A wealthy businessman.
Every Friday and Saturday he gambles at the casino here.
It's either him, or his daughter.
Why not both?
We're too few: there are only 4 of us.
Anyway, it's not up to me.
"The sinner falls into a deadly trap: the righteous eschew it."
Joseph Bonnaffé has fine, provocative features...
His fineness...
- ...provokes... - "A fool strikes out,
the wise hark advice." Proverbs 11:17.
"A fool's wrath is soon known,
- "the wise endure insults." - Proverbs 13:16.
Is he in the film business?
No... The movie was my idea...
I said, let's do like Dillinger.
I'd read in a comic strip
that he held up a bank,
pretending to be making a movie.
With this video craze going on,
that seemed the thing to do.
Then I thought of my uncle.
He's a famous director.
He's all washed up now, he's sick...
I'm not sure what of...
But I went to see him in hospital,
and pretended we'd finance a movie for him.
He was in love with me when I was a kid...
At least...
I don't know...
I think...
I was his favorite relative.
He wanted me to be in his films...
But I didn't want to.
Break for lunch!
Lunch break!
You can't free that bum!
Why not? If the bail's high enough...
You judges are a drag!
We bust our asses for you...
They'll get him off.
Where are you?
To be or not to be...
That's not really a question.
Does that woman matter to you?
Something really strange... almost taboo...
A force propels me towards her...
Like the tide rushing in...
It goes out, too.
I'll help you.
Will you let me?
He will.
You can stay at our home a few days.
Tell him, Dad.
- I got you a job with the railroad. - OK, back to work!
Will you let me?
I think it'll work...
I forgot: they gave me this for you.
One J&B!
You forgot your gun.
- You'd be lost without us. - Screw you!
- No news? - Nothing.
- Delighted, Mr. Godard. - 17/1, take 6.
Mao said: "Always keep figures in your head."
Mao's really out these days. Yet he was a great cook.
He fed all of China.
We must talk business.
Where's Carmen?
She's not coming.
She's not reliable these days...
She's in love...
- Precisely. - In love...
- I don't know who with. - In love...
Want some brioches?
Thanks.
Some brioches for my friend.
Kids today are scum! Haven't invented jeans or cigarettes, nothing!
They invented unemployment.
Not really. They didn't go looking for it.
- One has to... - One has to look...
Van Gogh looked for yellow at sunset. You have to look...
We must talk business. Come over here.
- You have to look... - We'll be upstairs.
I look forward to making another movie in a casino.
I'll get...
I'll get a madeleine out of it.
Really.
3 years ago...
I directed Marlene Dietrich and Ludwig Beethoven on the Riviera.
I was a producer then,
my partner was Robert Dorfman...
We had no money to pay the crew. So we gambled with...
the technicians' and actors' pay. We lost it.
I was expelled from the movie business.
I'm going to get even.
That's why I accepted my niece's project.
That's what I came to tell you:
it's going to be shot at a Paris hotel now.
- Not at the beach. - Even better!
May I ask you a real question?
Go ahead.
It's not a true story?
What do you mean?
I hope your documentary is fiction.
- Of course it is. - That's good.
What about money?
How much do you want?
1,327,000...
centimes...
OK, I'll write you a check.
That's settled.
- Carmen and I will call you. - Wait, the dialogue's not over.
Will there be a wardrobe lady? I tore...
my coat coming out of the subway.
Don't worry... We're real pros.
I must be off.
Need a cab?
Call you next week.
"What is...
"the nature of the current crisis?
"Our fucked-up economies that produce...
"waste.
"Classic capitalism's goal was...
"to produce the best goods possible.
"In today's world one can't make profits...
"Because machines are all-powerful...
"The machines have started to produce...
"goods nobody needs...
"from atomic bombs to plastic cups."
No one needs an atomic bomb.
Nor a plastic cup.
- Where were you? - Look, you...
Suit yourself.
I'm looking at you.
Look at me!
I saw your uncle.
Red wine, please.
I still think it's a lousy idea.
And should it be the father or the daughter?
You don't know yet?
Don't listen to him. He's so negative.
You seen the lawyer about the checks?
He says not to write bum checks...
Better to write good checks on a bum bank.
It's beyond me tonight. I'm going to bed.
Coming?
I don't know.
Tell me... Where did you get that dress?
You coming?
Listen to me...
Let me make up my own mind.
See you tomorrow.
Here we go...
See you later...
Bye.
It's all set.
What exactly do I have to do?
I'll tell you later...
They'll tell you.
I like it...
We caress projects...
And I caress you...
Forgotten what I told you?
- What? - That American movie!
When she said...
- Still want to? - Yes...
Is your ass clean?
Mine is... and yours?
Mine isn't.
If I put my fingers in it...
So what?
We're not shit...
The world is.
- Oh, Joe... - Joseph!
What comes before one's name?
One's first name...
No, I mean before you get called...
I wouldn't know.
Sometimes I wonder...
what I'm doing with you...
It's your suit...
Put it there.
So?
What's my part?
Later... tonight...
What the hell do I do here all day?
I'm going out.
I'm late.
What do I do?
- Answer! - Think...
I'm...
Think I'm pretty...
Think I'm pretty?
You know I do...
You know it...
There you are!
Think about that.
Carefully...
See you tonight.
If not tonight, tomorrow.
You said tonight.
I have work to do.
Work...
What about me?
And money?
Think about that too.
"Wandering like her..."
The deal's signed! Tomorrow we dine with the President of France!
I love you!
Coming, darling?
- That's OK. One bed's enough. - Yes, sir.
It's OK.
I said it's OK...
You can go.
Help!
Cut it out!
Hi, soldier boy.
Your lordship!
- Where's Carmen, eh? - C, D, E, F, G, A, eh?
Asshole!
You through?
Carmen's there.
Not ready yet? Get moving!
Where do we put the guns?
Under the cushions! No one cleans there in hotels.
You been here long?
I got in at 5.
- I waited for you. - I was downstairs.
I have to go out again.
I can't help it.
We've got work to do!
OK, that's enough, we're in a rush.
That's for the garage, the switchboard, the kitchens.
- And the maids? - Nothing!
Give me something to do!
Sorry...
Carmen agrees with me...
For you...
We're pros.
Can I keep the dress?
We'll see...
- You been to college? - Not really.
See?
- Quit jerking off in there! - OK... Coming, Mr. Gregory!
- Hurry! - Coming...
- You're not coming, you're going. - I waited 2 months, even more...
60 days is OK, but not 63 or 64...
Leave it there.
You OK?
Yes... Thank you, miss.
You know, I was ashamed...
Scared, not ashamed.
Scared...
- You ever scared? - Never, miss.
- Bye. - Good-bye, miss.
Quit bugging me, now!
- I'm sleepy. - Where were you?
Tomorrow...
Mañana...
This is tomorrow!
I'm sleepy.
OK, I'm dumb, but you're overdoing it!
Let go.
I want to sleep.
Alone.
Alone...
We must talk.
We've said it all.
We've said nothing.
Tomorrow...
please...
That's today!
Day after, then. 2 days from now.
Yes, Joe...
And my job?
I tried...
I'm still trying.
That's not true.
It is true!
It is...
It's true.
I'll kill you...
If you leave...
Forgive me, but let me sleep.
Carmen, God damn you!
- That comes first... - Ignore him.
- God's name... - Ignore him.
God, if Van Gogh had seen that yellow!
- Right! - I write it down?
Show him out. See you downstairs at 3.
Come on, Uncle Jean.
- Where does this quartet fit in? - Tell you later.
Don't worry, we're pros.
I'm sorry but...
What's got into you?
You're through... She'll tell you...
Carmen!
No, brioches!
I'll get dressed.
Listen.
No, curtains!
It's over.
That's not you speaking.
I'm joining the others.
You'll be OK?
The sound of the sea was missing...
Go away.
You won't leave,
so Carmen's leaving.
Bring my coffee next door.
Yes, miss.
Come with me.
You may take off your jacket.
Your pants, too.
You revolt me.
Me too.
I never get over things...
Nothing...
Why do men exist?
These are the musicians.
Oh, it's you.
You know we don't play pop music.
Yes, times are hard-boiled for eggs like us.
I write it down?
There.
A white and two blacks, so it's catchy.
I write it down?
We're no amateurs.
- He wants his check. - I know.
When the job's done!
It's a documentary on luxury hotels. Mind if we film you?
We're leaving in 15 minutes.
It's too sad.
It has to be sad.
In 15 minutes.
Yes, but it's almost dawn.
What is it?
- In 15 minutes. - Shit!
All these women are so beautiful!
"Beauty is only the start of bearable terror."
I write it down?
I do what I want!
Want a job? Go jump in the lake!
Hello, miss.
What are you doing here?
I came to see someone.
That woman!
If I go to the moon
to get financing, will you write me?
Took you a long time to count to 33!
Maybe.
I won't work under these conditions.
I'll go say good-bye.
"The perfect blending of several voices hinders their...
"individual progress."
I write it down.
You and your lousy ideas!
I should've left you in that dimestore!
Not him again!
Get rid of him!
They're leaving. We screwed up again!
Not yet.
Don't, Uncle Jean.
Showtime!
Go away!
Cool it, Mr. Godard.
Deal with the girl! Not the camera, idiots! The guns!
Freeze!
Hurry!
I asked you what you were doing here!
First I'll kill her, then myself.
Kill her first...
Then I'll kill you.
OK, kids, hold it!
Police!
Thank you!
Cool it, lady.
Deal with this.
I have work to do.
Obey, you fool!
I'm the fool.
Let go of her.
It's all over.
Which one will fire?
Often lovers are cowards.
Let's go.
Have the bodies removed. My job's with the living.
Come on, stop pretending!
Go on ahead.
Something wrong, miss?
What's it called: on one side, the innocents...
the guilty on another...
I don't know, miss.
Think, stupid.
I don't know, miss.
When everything's been lost, but it's daybreak...
and yet we're still breathing...
It's called sunrise, miss.
Subtitles: A. Whitelaw