A Double Life (2023) Movie Script
Can we go this way?
Sure, lets go.
I had friends who gave me
a significant amount of money
theyd collected from who knows where.
They never told me because
in principle its illegal to give aid
to a fugitive from justice.
They didnt tell me a thing.
But I survived on that money
until I could find work.
I could only occasionally buy a cup of coffee
Exile...
is extremely difficult.
In exile
you miss the smells, the sensations.
Everything that makes you who you are-
your childhood,
your family history.
He was an odd character to us,
because we knew nothing of his past.
But none of us could imagine who he actually was.
I was tempted to ask him,
So what did you do in the US?
What was your job, your education?
When he was with us he never wanted to...
go to public places, like to a cafe.
I think it was a very lonely time for him.
I met Robert at the University of Vincennes,
an experiment in higher education...
somewhat like the atmosphere at Berkeley.
It had grown out of the negotiations with students
who had led the struggles of May 1968.
They had occupied the Sorbonne,
demonstrated widely throughout France.
This movement reflected the ideas
sweeping the world in those times.
The university accepted factory workers
as well as regular students.
It was like a small revolution.
And students came from around the world.
Our group emerged
from the 68 movement.
We were leftists.
We made films,
about the land,
a film about the wine industry,
about a bank that loaned to small farmers.
It was a struggle for social justice
in the countryside.
I taught a film course on Tuesday evenings
called Le Front Paysan.
He came to see me and said,
I love what youre doing,
and its exactly what I want to do.
Can I get involved with your work?
And of course I said yes.
We had a classmate, Phillippe,
who was going to work on Steves film
about the Longwy strike.
But Phillippe never showed up,
and Steve called to see if I could help.
The country of the three borders,
it is the high country...
In the valley of the Chiers River, the steel mills,
the blast furnaces...
In August,
the plant will close.
Completely shut down
Were trying to salvage the situation,
but I think that...
for us...
we cant expect much.
It was a true disaster.
The abandonment of the workers,
the collapse of an entire heritage, a tragedy.
And it was Robert who decided to make the film.
We were working elsewhere, he did it alone.
It took guts.
It took major courage and determination
to do what hat he did.
He had truly come into his own,
doing something original and independent.
I was sharing an apartment with two friends.
Phillippe was visiting one weekend.
I slept on the floor in my sleeping bag.
Phillippe wasnt awake yet.
Then Steve suddenly kissed me-thats how it began.
It absolutely seduced me!
I didnt think he was the type.
He seemed a bit distant.
I remember it very well.
It took all day, we were
sitting on the lawn.
He said he was not Robert Boarts.
My first reaction was,
I didnt like that name anyway!
He talked about the context
of the Black Panthers.
And all that had happened.
I was dumbstruck when he told me the story.
Hes one of the gentlest men
Ive ever known.
My first response was, If you are accused of this,
people must learn that youre innocent.
Its essential that you go back and deal with this.
You cant spend the rest of your life
like this in Paris.
The life of a housepainter is a very marginal existence.
A friend called me.
He said, perhaps I already knew,
but he wanted to tell me
that there was an article
about Robert Boarts...
who was in fact Steve.
I was totally shocked by
what was in those two pages.
I was a bit angry.
Robert had been with us a long time.
He was like a brother.
Hed met Franoise, a student of mine.
We were like a family.
And I understood
that the work hed done with us
was an extension of his activism in the US.
Thats quite nice,
that we had engaged with someone
who remained true to their ideals.
I turned on the TV to watch the news.
The first thing I saw was Robert.
It looked just like him.
Id just showered, and Bernie called out:
Jean Rene! Come and see!
Next to him was his father, other people.
There was an audience.
They said, The fugitive has returned!
And she heard Steve speak.
He was wearing a suit,
which shed never seen him wear before.
And I said to you then,
I knew he was a criminal!
We were shocked.
It couldnt possibly be him.
But it was.
Franoise had a temporary visa.
They werent married.
And in order to stay with Steve-
wed started calling him Steve-
they decided to get married, it was the only way.
Since we were there, we attended
this very discreet ceremony.
But it was very moving, very beautiful.
Sure, lets go.
I had friends who gave me
a significant amount of money
theyd collected from who knows where.
They never told me because
in principle its illegal to give aid
to a fugitive from justice.
They didnt tell me a thing.
But I survived on that money
until I could find work.
I could only occasionally buy a cup of coffee
Exile...
is extremely difficult.
In exile
you miss the smells, the sensations.
Everything that makes you who you are-
your childhood,
your family history.
He was an odd character to us,
because we knew nothing of his past.
But none of us could imagine who he actually was.
I was tempted to ask him,
So what did you do in the US?
What was your job, your education?
When he was with us he never wanted to...
go to public places, like to a cafe.
I think it was a very lonely time for him.
I met Robert at the University of Vincennes,
an experiment in higher education...
somewhat like the atmosphere at Berkeley.
It had grown out of the negotiations with students
who had led the struggles of May 1968.
They had occupied the Sorbonne,
demonstrated widely throughout France.
This movement reflected the ideas
sweeping the world in those times.
The university accepted factory workers
as well as regular students.
It was like a small revolution.
And students came from around the world.
Our group emerged
from the 68 movement.
We were leftists.
We made films,
about the land,
a film about the wine industry,
about a bank that loaned to small farmers.
It was a struggle for social justice
in the countryside.
I taught a film course on Tuesday evenings
called Le Front Paysan.
He came to see me and said,
I love what youre doing,
and its exactly what I want to do.
Can I get involved with your work?
And of course I said yes.
We had a classmate, Phillippe,
who was going to work on Steves film
about the Longwy strike.
But Phillippe never showed up,
and Steve called to see if I could help.
The country of the three borders,
it is the high country...
In the valley of the Chiers River, the steel mills,
the blast furnaces...
In August,
the plant will close.
Completely shut down
Were trying to salvage the situation,
but I think that...
for us...
we cant expect much.
It was a true disaster.
The abandonment of the workers,
the collapse of an entire heritage, a tragedy.
And it was Robert who decided to make the film.
We were working elsewhere, he did it alone.
It took guts.
It took major courage and determination
to do what hat he did.
He had truly come into his own,
doing something original and independent.
I was sharing an apartment with two friends.
Phillippe was visiting one weekend.
I slept on the floor in my sleeping bag.
Phillippe wasnt awake yet.
Then Steve suddenly kissed me-thats how it began.
It absolutely seduced me!
I didnt think he was the type.
He seemed a bit distant.
I remember it very well.
It took all day, we were
sitting on the lawn.
He said he was not Robert Boarts.
My first reaction was,
I didnt like that name anyway!
He talked about the context
of the Black Panthers.
And all that had happened.
I was dumbstruck when he told me the story.
Hes one of the gentlest men
Ive ever known.
My first response was, If you are accused of this,
people must learn that youre innocent.
Its essential that you go back and deal with this.
You cant spend the rest of your life
like this in Paris.
The life of a housepainter is a very marginal existence.
A friend called me.
He said, perhaps I already knew,
but he wanted to tell me
that there was an article
about Robert Boarts...
who was in fact Steve.
I was totally shocked by
what was in those two pages.
I was a bit angry.
Robert had been with us a long time.
He was like a brother.
Hed met Franoise, a student of mine.
We were like a family.
And I understood
that the work hed done with us
was an extension of his activism in the US.
Thats quite nice,
that we had engaged with someone
who remained true to their ideals.
I turned on the TV to watch the news.
The first thing I saw was Robert.
It looked just like him.
Id just showered, and Bernie called out:
Jean Rene! Come and see!
Next to him was his father, other people.
There was an audience.
They said, The fugitive has returned!
And she heard Steve speak.
He was wearing a suit,
which shed never seen him wear before.
And I said to you then,
I knew he was a criminal!
We were shocked.
It couldnt possibly be him.
But it was.
Franoise had a temporary visa.
They werent married.
And in order to stay with Steve-
wed started calling him Steve-
they decided to get married, it was the only way.
Since we were there, we attended
this very discreet ceremony.
But it was very moving, very beautiful.