The Dreamers Script

[Siren Wailing]

[Young Man Narrating] The first time I saw a movie at the Cinmathque Franaise...

I thought, "Only the French...

Only the French would house a cinema inside a palace."

The movie was Sam Fuller's Shock Corridor.

Its images were so powerful,

it was like being hypnotized.

I was

years old. s...

It was the late '

and I'd come to Paris for a year to study French.

But it was here that I got my real education.

[Screaming]

I became a member of what in those days was kind of a free masonry.

A free masonry of cinephiles...

what we'd call "film buffs."

I was one of the insatiables...

the ones you'd always find sitting closest to the screen.

Why do we sit so close?

Maybe it was because we wanted to receive the images first...

when they were still new, still fresh...

before they cleared the hurdles of the rows behind us...

before they'd been relayed back from row to row, spectator to spectator...

until worn-out, secondhand, the size of a postage stamp...

it returned to the projectionist's cabin.

Doctor, I'm not nuts! I'm here from the paper! I'm a plant!

Maybe, too, the screen

really was a screen.

It screened us... from the world.

But there was one evening in the spring of ...

when the world finally burst through the screen.

[Man #

Speaking French]

The pawn of an obscure coalition...

of dubious interests...

the Minister Malraux

has driven...

Henri Langlois out of the French Cinematheque.

[Speaking French] ...if offered us all a free and fair conception...

of French film culture.

[Man #

Speaking French]

Now, for bureaucratic reasons, culture's arch-enemies...

have seized this bastion ofliberty.

Resist them!

- Liberty isn't given! - [Man # ] It's taken.!

[Man # ] All those who love film...

- [Man # ] In France... - [Man # ] And abroad.

[Man # ] ...are with you.

And with Henry Langlois!

[Young Man] It was Henri Langlois, who created the Cinmathque...

and it was because he liked to show movies...

instead ofletting them rot in some underground vault...

to show any movies... good, bad, old, new...

silents, Westerns, thrillers...

that all the New Wave filmmakers came here to learn their craft.

This was where modern cinema was born.

[Man # ] What lies behind it?

The police!

[Young Man] Langlois had been sacked by the government...

and it seemed like every film buff in Paris had turned out in protest.

It was our very own

cultural revolution.

It was our very own cultural revolution.

[Speaking French] Excuse me.

[Speaking French] Can you remove this?

It's stuck to my lips.

Can you remove my cigarette? It's stuck.

[Speaking French] Yes, yes...

of course.

Sorry.

- [Speaking English] What are you, English? - No. I'm American.

You can put it out now.

- What's your name? - Matthew.

You're here a lot, aren't you? But you never talk to anyone.

We've been wondering why you're always alone.

I don't really know anybody.

How come you're chained to the gates?

I'm not chained to the gates.

- You're awfully clean. - What?

For someone who likes

the cinema so much.

- Do you know Jacques? - Jacques?

"If shit could shit, it would smell just likeJacques."

My brother's gone to talk to him.

When he gets back, you'll be able to smellJacques on him.

It's like being around pigs.

- You speak English really well. - What?

- You speak English really well. - My mother's English.

- Here's Theo. When I introduce you, just give him a sniff. - Come on.

[Speaking French] Truffaut, Godard, Charbol, Rivette...

and Renoir, Jean Rouch, Rohmer are here.

Signoret, Jean Marais and God knows who else.

Marcel Carne too.

Why is Carne here?

What should we do? Stay or leave?

I don't know.

[Speaking English] Theo, this is Matthew.

- You were right. He's American. - Hi.

I've seen you around. You've been coming to all the Nicholas Rays.

Yeah. I really like his movies.

- What? They Live By Night? - Mm-mm. More like...

Johnny Guitar and Rebel Without a Cause.

- You know what Godard wrote about him? - No. What?

"Nicholas Ray is cinema."

- [Chuckles] - [French] What's up with you? - [Sniffing] Me?

[Speaking French] Come on, stick with me!

[Speaking French] Fascists!

- Bastards! - Assholes!

[Police Siren Wailing]

[Matthew Narrating] And that was how I first met Theo and Isabelle.

I could hear my heart pounding.

I don't know if it was because I'djust been chased by the police...

or because I was already in love with my new friends.

As we walked and talked and talked and talked...

about politics, about movies...

and why the French could never come close to producing

a good rock band...

- I'm starving. - I forgot the sandwiches.

I didn't want that night ever to end.

- Merci. - Didn't you bring anything?

No. I'm okay. Please eat.

Don't mind me.

- No. I'm really not hungry.

- I've broken it now. Take it.

- You're very kind, but I don't... - For goodness sake, take it when you're offered it.

Thank you.

- Theo, don't you have something for Matthew? - This is fine.

- I gave him a third of mine. - Okay.

[Chuckles]

- Really, I didn't come here to eat your sandwiches. - He doesn't want it.

Yes, he does! He's just too polite to say he does.

- Aren't you, Matthew? - You're very kind.

- So where are you from exactly? - San Diego.

What about you two? Were you both born in Paris?

I entered this world on the Champs Elyses, .

[Speaking French] The pavement of the Champs-Elysees.

[Speaking English] And you know what my very first words were?

No. What?

"New York Herald Tribune.!"

New York Herald Tribune.!

- New York Herald Tribune.! - New York Herald Tribune.!

[Speaking French] Will you come to Rome with me?

Here! Right here! Here!

[Speaking French] No, there!

- [Speaking English] Good night, Matthew! - Night.

[Matthew Singing]

[Humming]

[Matthew] "Dear Mom...

"I've got some real news this time.

I just met my first French friends."

[Telephone Ringing]

[Ringing Continues]

- Hello. - Matthew?

Who is this?

- Don't be suspicious. It's me. - Theo?

- Don't tell me I woke you up. - No, l...

- I've been up for ages. - You don't sound as if you've been up for ages.

I always sound like this in the morning.

Sorry. I had to call you early because I go to class at : .

- Right. - Listen, you want to have dinner tomorrow night?

Um, you mean like a real dinner in a nice restaurant?

No, not in a restaurant. Here at home.

Yeah, I'd... Sure, that'd be great.

Yes? Okay, why don't you...

Theo, please get off the phone. It's : .

Yes, yes. Why don't you meet us for a drink first at Le Raspail, : ?

You know where it is?

- Boulevard Saint-Germain? - Be there are : .

Hey!

- [Speaking French] Third floor! - [Repeats In French]

You know, there's room in here for all of us.

- [Speaking French] Theo and I are contagious! - [Speaking French] What?

- We're very contagious! - Contagious?

[Speaking French] You mustn't catch us.

- [Speaking French] It's beautiful. - You think so?

[Speaking French] Good luck.

[Panting]

[Speaking French] Evening, Maman.

[Speaking French] What are you doing here?

- We're here for dinner. - What?

With Matthew.

- Didn't Isabelle say? - Which Matthew?

[Speaking English] This Matthew.

He's our new friend. Matthew, this is my mother.

- Hi. - Very pleased to meet you, Matthew.

- Likewise. - Oh, you're American, are you?

- Yeah. I'm from California. - Oh.

Matthew lives in that nasty student Hotel Malebranche...

- so we invited him to dinner. - Oh.

[Speaking French] What's wrong?

What can I say, Isabelle? I'm cooking for two...

and now there are five of us.

Didn't Theo tell you?

No, he didn't. And neither did you.

Have you got mashed potatoes for brains or what?

You were supposed to tell her!

You're crazy! [Squealing]

Bitch, cow, slut...

[Speaking English] Oh, for God's sake! Put a sock in it, you two!

I must apologize for my children's behavior, Matthew.

No. I'm the one who should be apologizing.

Please don't put yourself out on account of me.

That's very sweet of you, seeing as you're completely blameless.

Let me look at you.

Okay. I want you to make a good impression on Papa.

[Speaking French] Papa, it's me.

We're eating in.

And the cinematheque?

Closed until further notice.

[Speaking English] Papa, can't you see we have a guest?

- This is Matthew. - Oh.

- Sir. - Matthew.

Matthew's dining with us tonight.

My young Matthew, inspiration is like a baby.

It does not choose a nice, seemly hour to enter the world.

It has no consideration for the poor poets. I know.

But when it does come...

when it deigns to come, then you know it's...

Young man, I was speaking to you. I imagine you were listening.

I was. I'm... I'm sorry.

What?

Nothing. I was just, um...

You seemed to be mesmerized by this tin lighter.

I'd like to know why.

- Well? - George, please.

- Matthew's our guest. - No, no. I'm genuinely curious.

I'd like to know why.

I was just... I was fidgeting with Isabelle's lighter...

and... I wasn't really realizing it...

then I noticed, and I thought it was rude...

so I put it down on the table.

But I put it diagonally across one of these squares.

Do you see?

Look.

That's when I noticed that the lighter's length...

is exactly the same length as the diagonal itself.

So I put it lengthwise, along the outside edge.

- Look. It fits there too. - Yeah.

But it fits there.

And it fits like this and like this...

and this way too.

And I bet you if

I just split it in half...

you know, it's got to fit somewhere.

I mean, it really fits anywhere. Look.

See?

I was noticing that the more you look at everything...

this table, the objects on it, the refrigerator, this room...

- your nose, the world... - [Isabelle Chuckles]

suddenly...

you realize that there's some sort of cosmic harmony...

of shapes and sizes.

I was just wondering why. I don't know why that is.

I know that it is.

You have an interesting friend here.

More interesting, I suspect, than you know.

I mean, when we look around us, what is it we see?

[French] Complete chaos.

Yet viewed from above...

viewed, as it were, by God...

everything suddenly

fits together.

My children believe that their demonstrations and sit-ins...

and happenings...

what, they believe that these possess the capacity...

not only to provoke society, but also to transform it.

What is it you're saying? If Langlois is dismissed, we shouldn't do anything?

If immigrants are deported, if students are beaten up, we shouldn't do anything?

What I'm saying is that a little lucidity would not go amiss.

So, uh, everyone's wrong but you?

In France, in Italy, Germany, America?

Listen to me, Theo. Before you can change the world...

you must realize you yourself are part of it.

You cannot stand outside looking in.

You're the one who stands outside.

You're the one who refused to sign a petition against the Vietnam War.

Poets don't sign petitions. They sign poems.

Apetition is a poem.

Yes! And a poem is a petition. Thank you, but I'm not gaga yet.

I don't need you to remind me of my own work!

- Hmm? - That's right.

[Speaking French] A petition is a poem, a poem is a petition.

- [English] Yes. - Those are the most famous lines you ever wrote.

And now look at you.

[Speaking French] I hope I'll never be like him.

Theo.

[Speaking English] We should say good night, darling.

We got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.

George.

[Speaking French] Yes, sorry. You were saying?

[Speaking French]

We should go to bed.

You had something to tell the children, didn't you?

Yes, of course.

I'm sorry.

The cheques are on the mantelpiece.

Don't cash them until you need them, all right?

[Speaking English]

Good night, everybody.

[Speaking French] Good night, Papa. Have a safe journey.

Good night, dear. Theo.

[Speaking English] A very good night to you, Matthew.

It was a pleasure meeting you, sir. A pleasure.

- Very nice meeting you, Matthew. - You too.

- Thank you so much for dinner. - It's my pleasure.

Why don't you invite Matthew to spend the night?

I'm not sure I like the sound of Hotel Malebranche. [Chuckles]

[Speaking French] Good night.

[Clicks Lighter]

Why haven't you dazzled us with these philosophical speculations of yours?

- I didn't know I was being philosophical. - Papa was awfully impressed.

- Papa's full of shit. - [Matthew] I think you're lucky.

l... I wish my parents were that nice.

Other people's parents are always nicer than our own.

And yet for some reason, our own grandparents...

are always nicer

than other people's.

You know, that's true. That's... That's absolutely true.

I never thought about it before, but it's... it's true.

Matthew, you sweet...

This...

is double the length of...

Well, I'm for bed.

Are you staying?

- Are you okay? - Yeah, I'm okay.

Good night, Matthew.

Everybody's got a father.

Yes.

But the fact that God doesn't exist...

doesn't mean

he can take his place.

- [Sighs] - [Laughs]

[Rock Guitar]

Okay?

- [Chuckles] - That's fine.

- Good night. - Good night.

- See you in the morning.

- See you.

- Thank... - [Door Closes]

Thank you.

[Woman Singing Blues Rock]

No!

[Ends]

[Engine Starts]

Good morning.

What was that all about?

I was removing the sleep from your eyes.

Theo lets me do his every morning.

That's the strangest thing to want to do.

Didn't you enjoy it?

- Was I supposed to?

- Naturally.

Up, up, up, up, up! What are you waiting for?

Isabelle, I'm not dressed.

- What are you doing? - What are you doing?

I've been memorizing this room.

In the future, in my memory...

[Both] I shall live a great deal in this room.

Queen Christina...

where Greta Garbo bids farewell to the room...

where she spent the night with John Gilbert.

Bravo.! [Applauds]

Alors. We have a private wing to ourselves.

The bathroom's

at the end of the corridor.

If you aren't there in one minute, we're coming back to get you!

[Theo Speaking French] Come in.

[Speaking French] Good morning.

- [Speaking English] Are you going to church? - [Chuckles]

Oh, sorry. You want to use my toothbrush?

- Uh, no. - Sure?

I'll use my finger.

[Brushing]

- Sleep well? - Yeah.

- I mean, fine. - Good.

- You know, Matthew? - Hmm.

You really do have the most beautiful pair of lips.

Can I touch them?

- You... You wanna touch my lips? - Uh-huh.

Okay.

So red... and ripe and luscious.

So sullen, brutal.

Let's see what you

look like with lipstick.

- I really should be going. - You'd make such a pretty girl.

Ignore her, Matthew. She sucks in all the air around her.

No, l... I really have to, um, be getting back to my hotel.

No. Why? You have been invited to stay.

- Really? - Sure.

You know our parents have left.

They're going to be introuvs for a month.

We thought you might like to move your things here.

- R-Really? - Sure.

But you just met me two days ago. You barely even know me.

This way we get to know you. You don't have to stay in a hotel, do you?

- No. - Then we'll go and pick up what you need...

with my Mobilette, okay?

- Come on. - But... what about you?

It was my idea.

[Matthew] Whoa! You're scaring me right now!

[Theo Laughs]

Jesus.

I'm going to check out the Cinmathque, just in case.

- Okay. - Don't take too long.

Don't worry, I won't. I don't have much stuff.

With us, you're not going to need much.

Okay.

Oh, just don't forget your toothbrush!

Okay.

[Matthew] "Dear Mom, I guess you're surprised to be hearing from me...

"so soon after my last letter.

"But I've just moved out of my hotel and into an apartment...

"belonging to a famous French author...

"whose children are the same age as me and have the same interests.

"I know how pleased you'll be to hear I'm getting in with the right kind of people.

Say hello to Father. I hope he's not still mad at me."

Listen to this, Matthew.

Listen to this, Matthew.

"The difference between Keaton and Chaplin...

"is the difference between prose and poetry...

"between the aristocrat and the tramp...

"between eccentricity and mysticism...

between man as a machine and man as animal."

[Speaking French] Not bad, huh?

That's good. Except for me,

there's no comparison.

Why? 'Cause Chaplin's incomparable?

No. Because Keaton is incomparable.

Keaton? You think Keaton's greater than Chaplin?

- Absolutely I do. - Oh, you're not serious.

- Of course I am. - You're crazy.

Come on. In the first place, you can't deny that Keaton's funnier than Chaplin.

- Yes, I can. - You don't think that Keaton is funnier than Chaplin?

- I don't think anyone's funnier than Chaplin. - Keaton is!

Even when he's not doing anything, he's funny. And he looks like Godard.

Keaton is a real filmmaker. Chaplin, all he cares about is his own performance...

- his own ego. - That's bullshit.

- It's not bullshit. - Yes, it is.

You Americans understand fuck-all about your own culture.

- No wonder you never got the point ofJerry Lewis. - Don't even get me started!

Listen, when Chaplin wanted to have a beautiful shot, he knew how.

Better than Keaton, better than anybody.

You remember the last shot of City Lights?

He looks at the flower girl, she looks at him...

and don't forget, she'd been blind...

so she was seeing him for the very first time.

It's as if, through her eyes, we also see him for the very first time.

Charlie Chaplin, Charlot, the most famous man in the world...

and it's as if we've never really seen him before.

[Resetting Turntable]

Isa, if you play that fucking record again, I'll break it in two, okay?

But you like Janis Joplin.

[Continues]

Stop it.!

- I said stop it, Isabelle! - [Yelps]

[Speaking French] Stop!

- [Speaking English] Tell me, what film? - Wha-What?

Name a film... Let go.!

Name a film where someone tap dancing drives someone else crazy!

- Oh, I know this! - Come on.! Quick.! Quick.!

Top Hat.! Top Hat.! Fred Astaire's dancing over Ginger Rogers's room.

[Matthew] And she's mad because he wakes her up.

[Stomping Continues]

I'm right.

[Speaking French] He's good.

[Speaking French] You know what I'm thinking?

What?

"Bande part."

[Theo] You're right.

[Speaking English] Why are you two looking at me like that?

Well, you see, my little Matthew...

there's something Theo and I have been meaning to do for a long time...

but we've been waiting for the right person to do it with.

- And I think you're finally it! - To do what?

Try to be the record of Bande part.

- What record? - You've seen Bande part, haven't you?

- Yeah. - Remember the scene where the three race through the Louvre?

- Uh, vaguely. Remind me. - They try to beat the world record...

- of

minutes and

seconds.

- Oh, yeah! Of course.

We're going to beat their record.

Uh, oh.

- What? - What's the matter?

- Nothing, really, I'm...

- Not afraid, are you?

- No. I'm not afraid. - What, then?

It's easy for you two. I'm an American, what you French call an alien.

- So? - So if I get caught, I get deported.

Well, don't worry, little man, we're not going to get caught.

- Yeah, you don't know that. - They weren't caught in Bande part.

- And if we beat their record... - It's a movie!

- Go get Papa's stopwatch. - It's a great idea, but...

Matthew, this is a test.

Are you going to pass it or fail it?

Be careful. A lot depends on how you answer.

H.! Non.! Arrtez.!

[Shouting]

[Laughing]

Nine minutes and seconds.

We beat the record by seconds!

[Laughing]

Matthew! My little Matthew!

You were wonderful!

- We accept him. One of us! - One of us!

[Isabelle And Theo] We accept him, one of us!

We accept him, one of us!

We accept her, we accept her.

Gooble, gobble. Gooble, gobble.

- We accept him, one of us! - One of us!

[Thunderclap]

[Folk Rock]

Hey!

Theo. Isabelle.

Theo.

[Continues]

Hey!

- We accept you, one of us! One of us! One of us! - [Ends]

One of us! One of us!

[Ringing]

[Speaking French] That's Mama.

I'm too wet to answer.

[Speaking English] Isa's smart, but she doesn't know how to deal with parents.

- What do you mean? - I mean, it's not enough to ignore them.

They should all be arrested...

put on trial, confess their crimes...

sent to the country for self-criticism...

and reeducation!

- They're already in the country. - They are at the seaside.

[Speaking French] That's different.

All. All?

[Speaking French] Too bad.

[Matthew] My parents never go anywhere.

At least you have the house to yourselves.

Where are you going?

Uh, I gotta get out of these clothes.

It'll be cold in your room. Come into mine.

- Okay. - [Big Band]

You can wear this.

Thanks.

I'm going to get a Coca. You want one?

Okay.

[Continues]

[Continues]

- [Knocking] - Matthew.! - Yeah!

- Just open the door. My hands are full. - Just a second.

- Why didn't you open the door? - I was...

I was dressing.

[Isabelle Humming]

What film?

In what film does a chorus line dance like this...

with a singer in a fur coat?

- I've seen this film? - We saw it together.

- We did? Give me a clue.

- Certainly not.

- Come on. Be a sport. Director's name. - No.

Number of words in the title.

- I said no. Non.! - Isabelle.!

- The first letter of the first word. - God.! You're pathetic.

Isn't he pathetic, Matthew? Don't you think he's pathetic?

- Matthew, I bet you know. - Don't you dare help him.

Did the Sphinx give Oedipus a clue?

- Fuck you. - [Hums]

Give up?

Yeah.

- Blonde Venus. Marlene Dietrich. - [Speaking French] Shit.

I knew that.

- Forfeit. - If you insist.

I dare you to do now...

in front of us...

what I've watched you do... in front of her.

Who?

I don't know what you're talking about.

Oh, yes, you do, my pet.

- [Chuckles] - Forfeit.

What a bitch you are.

A bitch and a sadist.

Are you going to pay the forfeit or not?

Very well.

Mm-mm-mm. I want you to do it

the way you did it...

when you thought no one was watching.

[Grunts]

[Theo Grunts]

[Grunts]

[Grunting]

[Panting]

Let's have a drink. I'll meet you downstairs.

- Matthew. - Yes?

Yes.

[Theo] Why don't you admit you were thrilled?

Come on. You can tell me.

What?

Weren't you just a tiny bit excited?

- What is it exactly you're trying to get me to say? - I asked you a question.

Well, I suppose you know who you sound like.

- Who? - Isabelle.

Why not? She's my twin sister.

- You two are twins? - Yes.

She'd be me if she were a man.

- That's crap. You're not identical. - Yes, we are.

We're Siamese twins, joined here.

You're a strange one, Theo.

Half an hour ago, I saw you look at her as though you wanted to strangle her.

I did.

I don't understand you.

- Don't you have any brothers or sisters? - I have two older sisters.

Didn't you ever want to strangle them?

Of course I did! But I never masturbated in front of them, and I never...

They never forced me to do anything I never wanted to do.

You think Isabelle forced me, do you?

[Matthew Narrating] Deep down I knew things couldn't go on as before.

Now the stakes had been raised.

But for a while, at least, there did seem to be a kind of truce between Theo and Isabelle.

And then one evening...

- [Wheezing] - Theo!

[Wheezing Continues]

[Coughing, Gasping]

- What film? - [Isabelle] "What film?"

Name a film where a cross marks the spot of a murder, or pay the forfeit.

- You too, Matthew. - Me?

What... What have I done?

Name a film

or pay the forfeit.

- Uh, um... - Time's up.

- Time's up? You didn't even give me a chance. - The film?

Scarface. Howard Hawks, .

And the forfeit?

Well, now...

as you know, Isabelle,

I'm not a sadist.

I just want to see everyone happy, no one left out.

So I'd like you...

and Matthew...

to make love in front of me.

But not in here.

I don't fancy sleeping in someone else's revolting sweat.

- No offense, Matthew. - Where?

In the spare room...

in front of the Delacroix.

Maybe one reproduction will inspire another.

- Um, um... - I won't do it.

- Won't do it? - You wouldn't.

Matthew isn't my type.

Okay.

[Man Singing In French]

[Continues]

I gotta go to the bathroom.

[Continues, Indistinct]

Matthew.! Matthew.

[Continues, Indistinct]

Matthew.

Matthew.

Yes?

This is silly. Come out of there.

Okay.

[Yells]

- [Yells] - Okay. All right.

Look. Wait. Look. You're hurting me!

I'm not violent. I'm... I'm against violence.

- I'm not gonna resist. Look. - So shut up. Okay?

- Okay. - Now, Matthew, you aren't being very gallant.

Is the prospect of making love to me so hateful?

I've seen you. I saw you in bed together.

Oh. Our guest has been spying on us.

Hmm. Now, that wasn't a friendly thing to do, Matthew.

Especially when we've been so hospitable.

Okay, okay. Look...

- Shh, shh. - I'm not resisting! I'm not resisting!

[Gasps, Laughs]

Oh, how sweet of you, Matthew...

to keep my image next to your heart.

- I didn't mean... - [Isabelle Laughing]

Good. [Laughs]

Oh, Matthew. Oh, come on. Oh, wake up. Oh.

Come on, wake up.

Isabelle?

[Laughs] No. I'm Theo.

[Chuckles] Where is Isabelle?

[Matthew] You have to help me.

[Loud Moaning]

Sorry.

[Moaning Continues]

[Siren Wailing]

[Moaning Continues]

[Moaning Intensifies]

[People Shouting, Whistles Blowing]

[Siren Wailing]

[Isabelle Sobbing]

[Grunting, Moaning]

[Sighs, Chuckles]

Oh, that was the best one.

What about yesterday?

- Where? - In Papa's study.

You thought that was better?

Mm-hmm. Please, please, please, please.

- What? - Stay inside.

Matthew.

My love.

My first love.

My great love. My great lover.

My Valentino.

- [Sings] - [Laughs]

[Man Singing In French, Indistinct]

You know, I thought you had many lovers.

When I first saw you at the Cinmathque...

you and Theo... you looked so cool.

So sophisticated.

- Like a movie star. - I was.

I was acting, Matthew.

How did you and...

How did you and Theo...

come together the way that you are?

Theo and me?

It was love at first sight.

But he's never been inside you?

He's always inside me.

What would you do...

What would you do if your parents found out?

It must never happen.

Yeah, I know. But, uh, what if it did?

It must never, never happen.

I understand that. But let's say that it did.

What would you...

What would you do?

I would kill myself.

[Chuckles]

Where are you going?

Kitchen. I have to get something to eat.

Good luck.

Theo?

- Theo? - Hmm?

- Want some honey? - No, thank you.

- Oh, it's good. - No.

- It's really good. Try some. - No.

- Just try a little bit. - No. Thank you.

I want you to know that I'm grateful.

Grateful?

Remember what you told me in that caf about you and Isabelle?

- Hmm. - You were right.

I mean, for me, you two are...

you're like two halves of the same person.

Now you've made me feel like I'm a part of you.

Both of you.

Let's get something straight, okay?

You're a nice boy and I like you a lot...

but no...

it wasn't always meant to be the three of us.

I told you something else, remember?

That Isa and I

are Siamese twins.

Yeah.

I wasn't joking.

[Sighs]

What's this?

That, my dear brother, is a cheese fondue...

accompanied by a compote ofbroccoli and prunes.

- And this? - That's ratatouille.

And you expect me to eat this muck?

- You expected me to cook it. - I prefer to starve.

You will. There's nothing else in the house.

Matthew, can I serve you?

The fondue or the ratatouille?

Which is which?

This is fondue, and this is ratatouille.

No. This is the fondue, and this is the ratatouille.

- The... ratatouille. - Ratatouille.

Uh, that-that's fine.

Mm-hmm. Okay.

Just eat it as if you were in some exotic country...

you've never visited before and this is the national dish.

It looks like he's vomiting in reverse.

- [Retching] - It's horrible, isn't it?

I'm sorry, Isabelle. I know you tried.

Thank you, Matthew. I'm glad somebody appreciates my efforts.

- You say there's no food in the house? - Nothing you'd want to eat.

- And we cashed all the cheques? - Yes.

- So what do we do now? - I'm going to call Papa.

The phone is dead!

[Rock]

[Continues]

- [Continues, Fades] - What's all this?

It's lunch.

So, Isabelle, a filet mignon.

- No. - No?

Oh, Matthew, would you like a rump steak?

[Speaking French] Stop it. It's disgusting.

Oh, look. What about this banana?

One banana for three of us?

- Uh, yes. - I'm starving.

Let me see it.

- Why? - Just let me see it.

- What are you doing? - Just watch.

[Theo Laughs]

Et voil.

[Gasps, Laughs]

Oh, Matthew, you never cease to surprise.

- Mmm. - Mmm.

- [Arguing In French] - [Man Singing In French, Indistinct]

[Chattering In French]

[Shouting In French, Indistinct]

[Chattering]

- Hey, Theo. - Salut.

- [Speaking French] Okay? - [Speaking French] Fine.

- Where were you the other night? - I couldn't make it. Sorry.

What's up? We hardly see you now.

- We can't count on you. - Stop pissing me off!

You're not with us anymore.

I am, but it's complicated.

Why?

Because! Get off my back. I can't explain now.

Loser!

[Speaking French] Theo, wait for me.

A little souvenir from Nepal.

Thanks, that's sweet.

- Call me. - Okay, with pleasure.

See you.

[Matthew Narrating]

We hardly left the apartment anymore.

- We didn't know or care if it was day or night. - Come on. Come on.

- What? - It felt as if we were drifting out to sea...

leaving the world far behind us.

[Coughing]

- Too strong for you? - That was really good.

- Good? Again? - Yeah.

No. [Laughs]

Clapton's God, Matthew.

I don't believe in God. But if I did...

he would be a black, left-handed guitarist.

This is not Chaplin and Keaton.

This is Clapton and Hendrix.

Matthew, Clapton reinvented the electric guitar.

- [Muttering, Laughing] - Matthew, believe me.

- Clapton plugs in a guitar... - Okay, Jimi Hendrix...

He plugs in an electric guitar, and he plays it like an acoustic guitar.

Hendrix plugs in an electric guitar, he plays with his teeth.

[Screeching]

There are soldiers in the Vietnam War right now.

Who are they listening to? Clapton?

No. They're listening to Hendrix, the guy who tells the truth.

[Yells] It's fucked up! It's all fucked up!

You're talking about soldiers in Vietnam?

- Yes. - Okay, what are they doing in Vietnam?

- They're at war. - What are they doing? Please tell me.

- They're fighting. - [Speaking French] They're killing farmers!

They're dying too.

[Speaking French] They're killing children, they're burning fields!

They wanna be there. They wanna die, and they wanna kill people.

Shouldn't you be... Shouldn't you be in Vietnam?

- Right now, shouldn't you be in Vietnam? - I don't believe in violence.

- Where are you, Matthew? Shouldn't you be there right now? - I'm lucky.

I'm in a university. I have friends who aren't in university.

And they're expendable. They're expendable.

I'm am fucking lucky.

[Speaking French] Youngsters that don't want the war.

Do you think you can say it to the government?

"No. I'm against violence. I don't agree with your war."

- Maybe in France. - Okay, anybody...

In America, you have to go.

If you don't go, you go to jail.

Okay, I prefer to go in jail. I prefer to go in jail.

- Instead of killing people, Matthew, I prefer to go in jail. - You don't understand.

I read it in Cahiers du Cinma.

"A filmmaker is like a Peeping Tom."

A voyeur.

It's as if the camera is a... [Blows]

the keyhole to your parents' bedroom.

[Laughs]

And you spy on them, and you're disgusted.

You feel guilty...

but you can't... you can't look away.

It makes films like crimes...

and directors like criminals.

- [Laughs] - It should be illegal.

There goes my chance to be a filmmaker.

- Why? - My parents always left the bedroom door open.

[Laughs]

- You'll have to direct theater,

not cinema. - [Sighs]

[Theo] Oh, maybe.

Uh. [Makes Airplane Sound]

- Whoop. - [Laughs]

Oop.

My parents only fucked once in their life.

That's why we're twins. They didn't want to make it twice.

[All Laughing]

[Singing]

[Blues Rock]

[Continues]

[Continues]

Don't be alarmed, Matthew.

It's good news.

It only happens once a month.

[Laughs] Oh.

I love you, Isabelle.

I love you too, Matthew.

Yeah, but I really love you.

I really, really love you too.

We both do. Don't we, Theo?

Oh, yeah.

[Matthew] That's not what I wanted you to say.

What do you want us to say?

I wanted you to say you love me.

Wejust did, Matthew.

No, you said you love me too.

I don't want you to say you love me too.

I want you to say that you... love me.

Oh, we love you, we love you, we love you.

That's not right, either. You have to say it first.

My God, Matthew. You already said it first.

Why is that? Why am I always

the first to say it?

Oh, poor Matthew. Oh!

We do love you very much.

I don't want to be loved very much. I want to be loved.

You know what someone once said?

"There's no such thing as love. There are only proofs of love."

Are you ready to give us proof of your love?

[Matthew] You want proof of my love?

Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Get out of the bath.

[Speaking French] Shaving cream.

- [Speaking French] Razor. - [Speaking French] Thanks.

- What are you doing? - What do you think I'm doing?

- You're not serious. - Yes, I am.

It's nothing you need to worry about.

- It's an operation I've performed before. - Relax. It grows back.

- You're both fucking crazy! - What's the matter?

This is what you call proof of love? Turning me into a freak?

- One of us, one of us, one of us, one of us. - It's just a game.

It's just a game!

A game, Isabelle? A game? Think about it.

Think about it. Is this something you do to each other?

You want to shave my pubic hair? You want me to be a little boy for you?

A little prepubescent Theo at six,

who you can play games with?

- You can touch peepee. - Matthew, just...

I'll show you mine. You show me yours. Come on! Come on!

Just calm down. We hear you.

Theo, think about it. Think.

You sleep in the same bed together, every night.

You bathe together. You pee in the john together.

You play these little games.

I wish you could step out of yourselves and just look.

- Why? Why are you so cruel? - Because I love you.

You have a strange way of showing it.

No, I love... I really love you. Both of you.

And I admire you.

And I look at you, and I listen to you and I think...

you're never gonna grow.

You won't grow like this. You won't.

Not as long as you keep clinging to each other the way that you do.

Isabelle, have you ever been out on a date?

- A date? - Yeah, a date.

- What kind of date? - You ever been out with a boy?

- I've been out with Theo. - Not Theo.

Have you ever been out with a boy...

that you met at school that you liked?

I was never taken to school prom, if that's what you mean.

I'm afraid we don't have proms in France.

You have dates in France, Isabelle.

Come on. Have you ever been out with a boy?

Why do you keep asking me that? You know I haven't.

Would you like to?

- Is this an invitation? - It's an invitation.

Would you like to go out on a date with me?

Just the two of us. Don't look at Theo.

Isabelle, you don't need his permission.

[Woman Singing In French]

[Continues]

[Continues, Indistinct]

[Woman Speaking French, Indistinct]

Oh, no, no, no. We can't sit in the front. We have to sit in the back.

The front is for people who don't have dates.

Ooh. Sorry. Excuse me.

- Chocolats glacs, cacahutes, bonbons. - So we sit in the back.

[Continues, Indistinct]

[Movie Soundtrack]

[Man On Screen] Ladies and gentlemen...

the motion picture you are about to see...

is a story of music.

I play the role of Tom Miller, an agent...

a small-time theatrical agent who had been a...

Well, you'll see.

This motion picture was photographed in the grandeur of CinemaScope, and...

Pardon me.

[Rock 'N'Roll]

[Tom] Sorry I can't stay, but I have a train on tap.

All the best, Jerri.

[Jerri] Can't stand to hear me sing again, huh?

You know it isn't that.

[Doo-wop]

[Continues]

[Ends]

[Applause]

[Singing In French, Indistinct]

[Shouting, Chanting]

[Matthew Narrating] When I looked at the TVscreen...

I remembered the battle of the Cinmathque.

Except this time the demonstrators weren't film buffs.

They weren't even just students any longer.

It was hard to figure out what was happening...

but it looked like shops had closed

their doors, factories had gone on strike.

And it was beginning to spread all over Paris.

[Speaking French] We're willing to consider...

all legitimate demands.

Theo and I never watch television. We're purists.

[Speaking French] The purest of the pure.

- Well, let's go. - Yeah, but...

Jesus.

[Laughing]

- What's wrong? - They're not mine.

[Woman Laughing]

[Softly] No, no, no. Your room.

- No. - I don't know how long I've been here,

but in all that time...

I haven't... I haven't seen your room.

- You do have a room, right? - Yeah, yeah. Of course I have.

Don't think I've always lived in Theo's pigsty.

- How come you never go in there? How come we never... - No, no, no.

No, no one's making love on my bed.

- Oh, please? Come on. It's your room. It's part of you. - No. No. No. No.

- I want to see it. Just tonight. - No. No.

Non, non, et non.

[Matthew Narrating] I discovered a side of Isabelle I'd never seen before...

a secret side she hadn't wanted me to see.

I suddenly thought of my sisters'

bedrooms in San Diego.

I thought of our house, and our neighbors'houses...

all alike, and their green lawns...

and their sprinklers and their station wagons parked outside the garage door.

[Rock]

[Continues]

What sculpture?

I always wanted to make love to the Venus de Milo.

- [Continues] - I can't stop you.

I've got no arms.

[Whispering] I can't stop you!

[Ends]

[Man Singing In French]

[Continues]

What's wrong?

- What's wrong? - [Crying]

Don't. Don't.

Don't. Don't listen to it.

Don't listen to it. Don't cry.

- [Continues] - Shh!

- Don't. - Please. Leave me alone.

Leave me alone. Please. Please.

- Please! - [Woman Laughing]

[Continues, Louder]

- [Screaming] Go away! - Isabelle! Isabelle!

- [Speaking French] Theo! Open up! Theo! - Isabelle.!

- Theo! - You're gonna hurt yourself! You're gonna hurt yourself!

- Who are you? - What? What are you talking about?

- What are you doing in my room! - What do you mean, what...

Get out! Get out!

- Theo! Theo! Theo!

- [Continues]

- Theo.! Theo.! - [Banging Continues]

Theo.!

Theo!

[Ends]

[Theo Speaking French] A revolution isn't a gala dinner.

It cannot be created like a book, a drawing or a tapestry.

It cannot unfold with such elegance, tranquillity and delicacy...

or with such sweetness, affability, courtesy...

restraint and generosity.

A revolution is an uprising...

a violent act...

by which one class overthrows another.

[Forced Breathing]

[Speaking French] Chateau Lafite, .

Chateau Chasse Spleen,

Grand vin,

Happy Birthday, Papa!

- [Laughing] - Uh, good.

- Listen, Matthew. - Yes?

- You're a big movie buff, right? - Oui.

Then why don't you think of Mao as a great director...

making a movie with a cast of millions.

All those millions of Red Guards...

marching together into the future...

with the Little Red Book in their hands.

Books, not guns.

Culture, not violence.

Can't you see what a beautiful, epic movie that would make?

I guess, but...

it's easy to say, "Books, not guns."

But it's not true. It's not books.

It's "book." A book. Just one book.

- Shut up. You sound just like my father. - No, no.

No, listen to me. The Red Guards...

that you admire...

they all carry the same book...

they all sing the same songs...

they all parrot the same slogans.

So in this big, epic movie...

everybody... is an extra.

That's scary to me. That gives me the creeps.

I'm sorry to say it, but for me there is...

a distinct contradiction.

Why?

Because... if you really believed what you were saying...

you'd be out there.

- Where? - Out there, on the street.

- I don't know what you mean. - Yes, you do. There's something going on out there.

Something that feels like it could be really important.

Something that feels like things could change.

Even I get that. But you're not out there.

You're inside, with me, drinking expensive wine, talking about film.

- Talking about Maoism. Why? - Okay. That's enough.

- No, tell me why. Ask yourself why. - That's enough.

Because I don't think you really believe it.

I think you buy the lamp, and you put up the posters, but I don't...

I don't think you... [Choking]

- You speak... too much. - [Breathlessly] Okay.

[Choking Continues]

Theo! Just listen to me. Listen.

I think... [Chokes] I think you prefer...

I think you prefer when... when...

when the word "together" means not "a million," but just two.

- Oh-oh-oh, boys, boys.! - Or three?

- [Coughs] - [Coughs]

- Isa. Come and join us. - No, thank you, my sweet.

[Speaking French] It smells like a whorehouse.

[Speaking French] Thanks a lot.

[Speaking English] I've got a surprise for you. In the salon.

[Indistinct French]

[Laughing]

- It's beautiful. - Hey, come on! Get in!

[Theo Laughing]

[Speaking French] We used to do this when we were little.

Ow!

[Chuckles] More wine.

Thank you.

[Sniffles] Isabelle.

Oh! God, your breath is foul!

- Yeah. Oh, I'm sorry. - [Laughing]

- You're drunk! - [Chuckles]

[Speaking French] Yes, I'm drunk.

And you're beautiful.

And tomorrow morning, I'll be sober...

but you'll still be beautiful.

- Eh, bien. - [Speaking English] Go to sleep, Matthew.

Yes.

[French, Indistinct]

[Speaking French] Idiot...

you can hardly keep your eyes open.

[Isabelle Speaking English] Night-night.

[Isabelle] Theo? Theo?

[Speaking French] Wake up.

[Groans]

[Speaking French] What is it?

I want you to listen.

- Why? - Because.

- Theo... - Mm?

I love you. You know that?

I love you too.

You love me too? That's funny.

Are you listening?

It's forever, right?

- What's forever? - The two of us.

- Right? - Yes.

Why did Matthew say that?

What did Matthew say?

That we're monsters, freaks.

I just want you to tell me that it's forever.

It's forever.

- Isa! - You don't understand.

We'll talk about it in the morning.

I promise.

Oh!

[Sighs]

[Thumps]

Good. We must leave now, darling.

- Already? - What would you like? To have dinner with them?

Let's leave on tiptoe.

[Rock Drums, Bass]

[Door Shuts]

[Rock Guitar]

[Engine Starts]

[Fades]

[Gasps]

[Coughs]

[Grunts]

[Hissing]

[Church Bell Ringing]

[Splashing]

[Glass Shattering]

[Siren Wailing]

[Crowd Chanting]

[Men Talking On Megaphones]

[Speaking French]

Isa? What's happening?

- [French] The street came flying into the room! - What?

The street came flying into the room!

- [Matthew In English] What's that smell? - It's tear gas.

[Crowd Chanting, Rhythmically]

- [Crowd Chanting In French] Hit the streets! - [French] Go! Go on!

[Speaking French] Hit the streets!

Matthew!

Isabelle!

Isabelle!

- Hi! - Hi!

[Isabelle And Theo] Dans la rue.! Dans la rue.! Dans la rue.! Dans la rue.!

[Angry Shouting]

[Crowd Chanting In French] This is just the start. The fight goes on!

[All Shouting In French]

[Speaking French]

- Theo, this is wrong. This is wrong. - No, this is wonderful!

This is violence! This is violence.

It's not violence. It's wonderful. Come with me!

This is fucking fascism in a fucking bottle!

[Speaking French] I'm no fascist! The cops are fascists!

- Yeah, and then police hit people! - Shut up!

[Speaking French] You can't understand. Leave me be!

Listen to me for a second, okay? This is what they do.

This is not what we do. We use this.

- We do this. We use this. We use this! - [Speaking French] Stop it!

Isabelle. Come on.

Isa...

- [Screams] - [Man] Encore les poulets.!

[Chaotic Screaming]

[Screaming]

[Screams]

[Cheering]

[Woman Singing In French]

[Continues]

[Continues, Indistinct]

[Rock Guitar]

[Indistinct Monologue]