Both Sides of the Blade (2022) Movie Script
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What's that, my shirt?
It looks good on you.
Yes, Mom, it's me.
Yeah, it was great.
- Give her a kiss.
- Sara sends her love.
We relaxed, it was nice,
we took it easy.
How about you? Not too tired?
Marcus?
Yes or no?
Don't push so hard.
I'm not pushing, Mom,
I just want to know where he's heading.
Anyway, we'll talk later.
Call you back, love you.
You can come visit soon?
Yeah, of course.
Love you.
What do you want for lunch?
I'm not hungry.
You're gorging on junk.
You're not serious, Marcus.
I'm in a rush, Grandma.
A rush?
I'll make some vegetables,
you'll have some,
and we'll have lunch together.
You need to eat healthy food.
No, Grandma, I have to go, sorry.
Thanks.
Marcus...
There's no time, but thanks.
Don't forget your mask.
Don't come back too late, Marcus!
It's raining.
Don't take the metro, I'll drive you.
Thanks.
See you later.
Franois...
Franois...
Hello, Hind Darwish,
you're in Lebanon, in Beirut.
You're a journalist, a publisher,
an activist.
Tell us about the crisis
you're enduring.
It's a serious economic crisis.
The crisis is also social, political,
cultural, moral.
Corruption gnaws away
at every level of the country,
down to the bone.
Especially after that catastrophe,
the catastrophe of August 4,
the big explosion,
the Lebanese are living a nightmare,
pure hell.
Many Lebanese are leaving the country.
Do you think Lebanon
is losing its lifeblood?
Yes, I do.
We're witnessing, yes,
a very frightening exodus.
We've experienced emigration
after the war.
But those emigrants
tried to return to Lebanon.
They kept ties to the country.
But now we're getting a sense
of despair, of disgust,
of repugnance
about what's happening in Lebanon.
And we're really afraid
that these people,
who are middle class, who are young,
won't come back.
Thank you, Hind Darwish,
for your testimony.
Now, Yasmine...
- How much?
- 55.
Here.
I saw Franois today.
Okay.
And what did you do?
I went shopping.
You went to Vitry?
Yes, Vitry.
See Nelly?
No time to visit my mother.
I just went shopping.
Did you see Marcus?
Any news?
Yes.
- Yes?
- Yes, I said.
Your son exists for me too.
Marcus.
He's my business too.
I'll tell you something
I never said before.
The first time I saw you,
or the second, whatever...
I was living with Franois,
I barely knew you.
We went to a party, the three of us.
At friends of mine.
Remember?
Okay.
You watched a match before,
that's why you were together.
All three of us went.
And at one point during the party,
you put on music.
Franois and I danced.
You were behind the computer,
looking at us.
And you had...
a smile.
A smile, I swear...
What a smile!
That's...
that's the first thing.
Then we took a taxi back,
all three of us.
Back then, you lived near me,
rue d'Amsterdam.
You were still with your wife.
We got to my street and you said...
"I'll go by foot. She's waiting for me."
I thought that
Franois would stay with me.
You'd go to your wife
and he'd stay with me.
Hey, can you picture it?
Vaguely, yeah.
I remember, Franois said
he was going home.
I said that...
I wanted him to stay with me
after the party.
You were shocked he was leaving.
You said: "Franois!
You, you...
you have to stay!"
He said:
"I don't have to do anything."
And I...
as I walked home, I thought:
"Why am I with the one who leaves?
Why aren't I with the one who...
goes to sleep with his wife
on rue d'Amsterdam?"
I envied your wife.
You still envy her?
Because you're my rue d'Amsterdam wife.
Yes, Mom.
I can't this morning,
I have stuff to do.
I'll call you back.
Goodbye.
What do you have to do?
Stuff.
I'm off.
Sara?
Can I take your credit card?
You don't prefer a transfer?
No wire transfers.
You always do the shopping,
so it's easier.
Forget it, I'll manage.
- Don't get upset, here.
- Forget it.
- Take it!
- Forget it, I said.
See you later.
Franois!
You're back.
Mind calling me later?
Okay, bye.
Here.
So...
Birth certificate, good.
This...
your police record?
That's right.
All right.
Here's the tax stamp.
Here.
A document's missing.
Company registration number?
- It must be there.
- I don't see it.
Then I forgot it.
I'm sorry.
Do I really need it today?
Yes, sir.
You'll come back.
No big deal, I'll come back.
Take your documents.
And make another appointment.
Goodbye, sir. Have a nice day.
Hello.
Yes, Mom.
What do you mean, what am I doing?
I'm working.
Hear me better now?
Tell Marcus I'll come by Friday.
That way we can talk.
I had no time to call his teacher.
I will.
All right.
Bye, Mom.
That was Franois.
He's starting an agency,
wants me to go in.
That's good.
Isn't it?
What do you think?
I don't know.
No idea.
Dunno.
You happy?
That Franois wants you
to work with him?
I said I don't know.
No idea.
Why?
Think there'll be problems?
No, why?
I never had problems with Franois.
We've always had
each other's numbers.
So why are you hesitating?
Are you scared of something?
No, I'm scared of nothing.
So what's bothering you?
Nothing's bothering me.
You?
What's bothering you?
- Me?
- Yes, you.
On the contrary.
No, it...
it makes me happy.
Happy to know you're meeting up
and working together.
Happy for you, for him, for you both.
You know how much I cared for Franois.
It might be strange seeing him again,
because...
when you love someone
it never really goes away.
I do feel something special for him.
But he and I are over with.
I live with you, Jean.
No need to worry.
Why are you telling me this?
I'm not worried.
Then everything's fine.
Did he ask if we were still together?
No.
I don't discuss my private life.
Well, you had to discuss it
at some point.
At some point, but that's it.
It pulled you apart, it separated you.
No, it didn't pull us apart.
It's been years.
If that didn't pull you apart, what did?
Prison? You in prison?
The fact that he disappeared?
He had his business, I had mine.
He asked no questions?
Nothing about your prison sentence?
At one point, but that's all.
We didn't mention you
if you're asking.
Why don't we ever talk?
Why can't we talk about
what Franois represents,
about how we met?
It's not insignificant.
I'm gonna wash up.
All right.
You went to prison, not him.
Am I bothering you?
No.
All ears.
What do you think about this thing?
Tell me.
What do you think?
I think it's good, but you?
You into it?
Seeing Franois again?
Yes, I think so.
Actually, I am.
Yes.
So no point hesitating.
No.
Except it stresses me out.
- You're cold.
- A little.
Don't worry, my love.
People change, you know.
Franois must have changed.
He must have matured.
He must have gone through a lot.
Ten years... imagine!
I have to go.
- You're going out now?
- Yes.
What'll you do with Franois?
Same as before.
Meaning?
You'll give him a hand?
I said he started an agency.
I can't explain now...
I have to go.
He's coming.
We're meeting on the corner.
On the corner?
Well, on the corner, downstairs.
On the corner.
So you kept her.
Yeah, I like her a lot.
She sat in Sara's garage,
waiting for me.
And...
life without me wasn't too hard?
Look at me.
Look at me.
Jean?
Pick up, please.
Marcus, call from your phone,
maybe he'll answer.
What does it matter?
I'm being expelled anyway.
Who cares? There's no use.
Good thinking, I can let myself die too.
Who cares?
You exhaust me.
Don't say that.
Not eating your toast?
No, I'm not too hungry.
Fine.
I'm too old to be a real grandmother.
I can't anymore.
Understand me?
Okay, see you later.
See you later.
I got my bank statement.
And look.
Yes, you're overdrawn.
There were several recent withdrawals.
What could have happened?
I don't know.
I know how you live.
So yeah, it's unusual.
Did anyone borrow your card,
Mrs. Charles?
Do you have it on you?
Yes.
Here.
You see?
Did you give the PIN to anyone?
No.
Dad, are you there?
Call me back.
You've had Marcus so long, Nelly.
Forever.
Don't go blaming yourself.
Jean was in prison,
he couldn't raise his son.
It's not your fault.
He did something stupid
and it backfired.
But he survived it.
Now his son is screwing up a little,
but it's no big deal.
I can't manage with Marcus anymore.
Doesn't he need someone strong,
someone to admire?
You don't admire your grandmother.
He loves you, mentions you every time.
Kids in his grade who slack off
go to trade school.
Does his mother ever call?
Almost never.
But Marcus needs...
to go to Martinique, to see his mother.
It's important.
She has a new life.
A new family.
Just tell me when.
Just say when!
Okay.
I'll finish what I'm doing
and I'll go.
Okay, no problem.
Okay, bye.
Marcus - missed call
Going out?
Yep.
I don't know when I'll be back.
Don't wait up.
Where are you going?
To see Franois' offices,
to check out the space.
Know where rue des Bleuets is?
Around here.
What new offices?
I said he was starting an agency.
What kind of agency?
For recruiting players.
You know this.
We go to small clubs
to scout junior players
to recruit them.
But you know this.
I'm going.
See you later.
You had that idea
after your injury.
Yes, I know.
Jean?
I can't sleep.
You will.
Did it go well?
Yes.
Coming to bed?
In a little while.
So do I get a kiss?
Yeah.
Jean.
Do you love me?
Yes, I love you.
Do you love me?
Yes.
You'll tell me what you did?
There's nothing to tell.
We're just working.
Go to sleep.
Is it going well?
Yes, it is.
Sleep.
Jean?
Yes?
Did you talk about money yet?
Don't worry.
Yes, Franois.
I understand but...
my thing with Marcus is then.
Marcus is counting on me.
You can't make it
because of your trip with Franois?
If I'm in Bayonne with Franois,
I can't be in Vitry with Marcus.
You can push it off.
I can push it off, but...
You can always push it off, but...
there's a risk, because
it's a great opportunity.
And if things work out with Franois...
it opens new horizons for me, see?
What will you do with Franois
in Bayonne?
Like before. Like we always have.
I'll be middleman
between him and the prospects.
He can't be on the front lines.
So...
he needs someone credible.
That's how we've always worked.
You'll have a contract?
Get paid?
- It'll be fine.
- Did you bring it up?
Come on, obviously if...
if I work, I'll get paid.
There are guys to recruit
and that's on me.
I'm the only one who can spot them.
It means a lot
to get back into sports.
With the players...
What about your project?
You're giving up on it?
It's a good project.
I believe in it.
How do you see things?
I believe in it too.
It's my initiative.
It's my idea.
I believe in it,
but I can do it whenever I want.
Now I have a chance
to get back into sports.
It's now, it's the moment.
And...
before, I rode the wave
of my past as a player.
Whereas now...
I'm an ex-con.
But you know that.
I don't fucking believe it.
I'm stuck in traffic, Mom.
Sorry, I'm doing my best.
I'm coming...
No, I'm coming!
Hi, Mom.
I won't kiss you, I forgot my mask.
Can I come in?
Jean, I'm sorry, but...
he doesn't want to see you.
I cancelled a meeting
and it took 3 hours to get to Vitry.
How can we see his teacher
if Marcus won't see me?
If I can't go inside, I can't come back.
This was my only free day.
Just tell me.
How is he? That's all that matters.
Is he okay?
It depends.
It depends on what?
On the people he hangs around with.
There's a lot of coming and going.
So, like where is he now?
He went out.
You don't know where?
No.
Really don't know?
I could say he's doing homework,
but I wouldn't say
that's the problem now.
What's the problem now?
I find him absent.
I spent three hours in traffic,
if I can't go inside,
I'm leaving, sorry.
Shut up! Pain-in-the-ass dog!
Shut up!
What's your problem with the dog?
- He's a pain!
- He's nice, just a guard dog.
Your dog's not nice!
He makes too much noise.
Come, Easton.
Mom, sorry, I have to go.
No, it's good, son. On the contrary.
I'm glad you're working
and that things are good.
Marcus, open the window, please.
I want to tell you something.
Marcus, please.
Marcus!
Don't cry.
My love, you're my love.
Don't cry.
Today we are with Lilian Thuram.
Hello, Lilian Thuram.
This "white thinking"
that you discuss in your book,
you say it is in us white people.
How was it inculcated
and integrated in us?
White thinking is
the ideology that constructed
the idea that "white is better."
But me, being West Indian,
when I used to talk to my mom,
about racism,
she said that when she was young,
she was told it was better to marry
someone fairer
to have children with "scaped" skin,
skin that "escaped" blackness,
less black skin.
In your book, Lilian Thuram,
you cite Frantz Fanon.
Frantz Fanon is, for me, the intellectual
who understood racism best.
I think that...
because he was a psychiatrist.
And I think that indeed,
racism is a psychiatric problem.
Because we've been locked
into identities.
Identities based on our skin color.
But we don't know it.
Of course,
if you're locked into white identity,
it's more acceptable.
Because you're unwittingly positioned
as the norm.
What's so disturbing
about this locking-in,
for people discriminated against
for their skin color,
is the existential violence it wreaks.
People don't realize.
- Thanks, Alice, see you tomorrow.
- See you tomorrow.
We're in Bayonne.
They redid the whole pitch.
Look how pretty it is.
And who's there?
Hold on, walk a little...
There... now the two of us.
What's the problem with Sara?
Tell me.
Don't bullshit me, what's the problem?
Fine. I'm hanging up.
- What's going on?
- Nothing.
You seem upset.
I'm not upset, everything's fine.
Why were you shouting?
I don't know, I wasn't really shouting.
Your call sounded pretty intense.
Who was it with?
Franois.
I thought I heard my name.
Am I wrong?
Is there a problem?
No, no problem, it's all settled.
Can I know why I came up?
What's settled?
- Want to know?
- Yes!
When I got to the airport,
they were talking about you.
When I got close, they clammed up.
Anything unpleasant?
How can I know?
I got closer and they clammed up.
What did Franois want?
Did he call or did you?
It was me.
He wanted to know
if I was still with you.
You never told him?
Well, now he knows.
I said if I ever heard
anyone badmouthing you,
I wouldn't see them again.
I don't work with people
who clam up.
No way!
Was he surprised we're still together?
He can't have imagined
we would still be.
I don't give a fuck
what Franois thinks.
He must have found it weird.
Why weird?
It's not weird.
My love.
My love, my love...
Jean?
Can I come to the opening of the agency?
Sure.
But...
there'll be the prospects,
their families.
Franois probably invited friends.
I'm not involved with that, but...
I think you can.
I'll make some coffee.
You worked all night.
Yeah.
All is well? You're okay?
I guess so.
Will I see you tonight?
Yes.
You know, I'll be with the juniors,
their families.
You'll see me, but I'll be busy.
I know you'll be busy.
I know I won't be your priority.
Think it's better I don't come?
We're just tired and spent all night
getting this thing ready.
It may not be the best time.
Didn't he invite friends?
Want to see the agency or Franois?
The agency.
You work with Franois,
so I'll see Franois.
Obviously.
It's better, you're right.
I was wavering anyway.
After so long,
I'd rather not see him
with people around.
You know Franois won't wait
on the corner forever.
I'll ask him to dinner one day.
So you can see him.
Yes, we'll see.
I don't know when I'll get home.
I'm not worried. You'll tell me.
You can come if you want.
I love you.
I love you too.
The suit looks good on you.
Thanks.
Got your keys, taking your car.
You're beautiful.
Crazy how pretty you are.
Are you okay?
Marcus is here.
Come.
Be right back.
Sara? What are you up to?
It's great to see you!
Seen Franois?
No.
Come, he must be in an office somewhere.
The space is nice.
We're not fully settled in yet.
Come, he'll be thrilled.
I don't want to bother him.
I'm just looking...
how you're set up here.
I'll leave you my number.
If you reconsider.
- Okay.
- Don't hesitate.
You're as pretty as ever.
You okay?
I was asked
to come see you all in an office.
Yeah, come on in.
No, because I'm outside.
Sara, do as you please.
There's no problem.
I...
Do you mind...
You mind if I come?
It's not about what I mind.
I said I'm busy,
but come if you want to.
- Yes?
- Hold on...
Franois?
Yes?
Yes? Franois?
Yes, it's me.
It's me.
It's me.
It's you?
Your offices are nice.
You did a good job.
Where are you?
Jean didn't tell you?
No, what?
I'm...
It's...
it's moving to hear your voice.
Me too.
Where are you?
Outside.
So come up!
Really? I won't bother you all?
Come on up, I said.
He's upstairs.
Your eyes.
Where were you all this time?
Not far.
I missed you.
I asked Jean for your number.
I'll write you tonight.
A text.
You have to answer, okay?
Okay.
Promise?
I promise you.
My love.
See you later, my love.
See you later.
Always happy to see you, Marcus.
Me too.
We'll drop off Marcus.
Sure.
Here we go again,
love, fear...
sleepless nights...
the phone at my bedside...
getting wet.
It's sad.
No, why?
Yes, it's sad, Franois.
We're here, happy together.
We've found each other.
That's not sad.
It's sad
because we're not together anymore.
We won't escape each other again.
We know it.
What do we know?
Running away serves no purpose.
Why do you say that?
We're already together.
Yeah, well...
whatever you say.
You don't feel it?
Do you feel it?
Yes, I feel it.
So we'll stay together, that's all.
Stop.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you too.
Me too.
In your opinion, Marcus,
what people
have the hardest time in life?
Who has the greatest
professional difficulties?
It's the worst for Blacks and Arabs.
Blacks and Arabs.
Marcus,
you're my son.
Your mom is Black.
And when I hear you talking
about Blacks and Arabs,
it's like...
they're no one.
You make it sound like...
Blacks and Arabs are unable
to think independently
of their skin color.
They can't think independently
of their origins.
It's as if I can't be anything other
than the son
of Nelly Charles, born in Vitry?
Is that it?
You're in 10th grade?
What'll you do next year?
What direction do you think you'll go?
Will you get a high school diploma
or go to trade school?
Diploma or vocational school?
I'm gonna go to trade school in retail.
Trade school in retail?
Marcus, you're my son.
And I...
I'm not just a rugby player who got hurt,
not just an ex-con.
Not just a guy who fucked up.
I'm my own person.
I'm me, I'm Jean.
You're your own person, you're Marcus.
Understand?
When I hear you talking
about Blacks and Arabs,
it's like you're repeating
what French society wants.
You got sucked into their discourse,
a prevailing discourse,
there's a prevailing one for whites,
a prevailing discourse for Blacks,
for the poor, for the rich.
"I'm Black, therefore..."
"I'm poor, therefore this."
"I'm Black, therefore that."
"I'm white, therefore..."
"I'm whatever, therefore..."
Who's "therefore"? I don't know.
Are you "therefore"?
Am I "therefore"? Are we?
No, you're Marcus, I'm Jean. Okay?
We're our own people.
Jean?
Sorry, Mom,
I'm in the middle of talking to Marcus.
I'm trying to get him...
to maybe understand...
the path he's going to take.
He thinks he'll be doing retail, sales,
it used to be called trade school,
now it's vocational school.
It's the same.
So I say no. It's no.
First, finish 10th grade.
Then 11th.
Then your senior year.
Keep your options open.
Take time to think, grow.
And then make your decision.
Do you understand me, Marcus?
Yes.
So did you make up your mind?
Yes.
And... what did you decide?
Trade school in retail,
mixing school and internships.
So in fact,
nothing I said even mattered.
Coming here serves no purpose.
How will you manage?
Thugging around like I did?
Tell me, I'm interested.
How will you manage?
What'll you do?
This is what you'll do.
If you go to trade school in retail...
you won't like this, I'm warning you!
You'll be cleaning people's toilets.
You'll be with people in higher posts.
They'll have diplomas.
They'll have gone to business school.
They'll be doing business,
real business, high-level business.
And what'll you be doing?
Cleaning their toilets.
You'll do that for them.
Is that what you want?
No.
How old are you, Marcus?
I'm 15.
Yeah, you're 15.
Still in the world of childhood.
You're not formed yet,
in a state of becoming.
You can still choose, still decide.
Being smart is
when you have two paths,
and you choose one,
the right one, the one best for you.
It's your choice.
And...
besides the money I give you,
your allowance,
if you need anything, ask.
Instead of taking Grandma's credit card.
Here.
So, just to recapitulate,
the right address is Vitry or Paris?
- Paris, my wife's place.
- Paris, okay.
Are you still divorced?
And you still have a child to support.
- The grandmother still has custody?
- Yes.
We have everything.
For me, your file is complete.
It's all good.
Here.
And... good luck.
Thank you.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye, sir.
Remind me why you go to Vitry
for groceries.
Tell me again.
I like Vitry.
Because... I love my car,
I love driving it.
And because there's a huge parking lot
in front of the mall.
It makes shopping easy.
It's less expensive.
Yeah, but what's there? What?
Everything.
It's simple, there's everything.
If you want...
gardening supplies,
hardware and lumber,
glasses and plates
that don't cost a thing.
Everything.
Ask me for anything,
anything, and I'll find it.
And gas is cheaper there.
Yes?
When do you get back?
Okay, me too.
Bye.
Who was that?
Franois.
- He's not in Paris?
- He is, but...
he's off to Romania,
but he'll be here for the press thing.
I gotta go to the junior rugby match.
- Where's the press thing?
- Paris.
Where in Paris?
At the agency.
You're incredible.
Yeah, at the agency.
I can't see you.
I'm here.
I'm on my way to Paris.
- What?
- I'm in Bucharest.
I'm getting on the plane.
See you tomorrow.
What do you mean "tomorrow"?
Want me to come?
You have to.
Can we talk?
Go on.
What I endured last night,
never again, you hear me?
Meaning?
I don't like seeing
Franois kiss you on the mouth.
You may, but I don't.
He didn't kiss me on the mouth.
What is this about?
Think I'm an idiot?
I don't think you're an idiot,
but he didn't kiss me on the mouth.
I saw you.
Really?
I'm glad you saw me.
If you saw me, you saw I pulled away.
Did you see that?
If you see everything,
you saw that.
You say you saw,
so if you saw,
you saw Franois, tipsy...
He doesn't drink.
Don't interrupt, I'm talking.
If you have something to say,
say it!
You always cut me off!
I can't talk with you, it's hell.
Okay, I have to start all over.
Will you let me speak?
Don't you know
each sentence is a breath?
Every time you cut me off, I start over
from the beginning,
to get my breath back!
The breath of my sentence,
there's a breath to sentences.
Okay, I'm starting over. May I?
- Go on.
- Can I finish what I was saying?
Catch your breath...
if you have something to say.
Catch your breath.
Yes, I do have something to say.
All right.
You say you saw.
So if you saw,
you saw me pull away
and that he didn't kiss me.
He didn't kiss me on the mouth.
So I'm a liar.
Yeah.
No, you're not a liar.
You think
you saw something you didn't.
And you didn't
because it didn't happen.
You saw a fragment of a movement.
Probably.
You were controlling so much
you obviously found something.
You're unbearable, Jean, unbearable!
I'm sick of this.
Sometimes.
Too.
Being under surveillance.
I have no life,
you have to control everything.
I control everything?
Now I'm a controller?
Who are you talking to? Not me.
I'm not that man.
If you're not that man,
stop controlling me.
I'll stop all right.
Jean...
So I should stop seeing Franois?
That's it?
No problem if that's it,
but say it, clearly.
Want me to say it clearly?
Did you say clearly?
I told you clearly.
I'm not that man.
I won't tell you to be with him
or not.
I said it clearly.
Franois is someone I really loved.
So seeing him again isn't easy.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry...
if I hurt you out of...
out of lack of self-confidence,
out of fear...
You mustn't be afraid.
Don't be afraid. I'm with you.
I'm with you too, Jean.
I'm not your enemy.
It's not easy, you know.
But it'll be fine.
It's the past coming back,
it's weird, just a phase.
If the past is coming back...
I'm out of here.
I don't give a fuck
about the past coming back.
If it's coming back, I'm out.
The past coming back.
Damn...
The past coming back.
Holy shit.
The past is coming back...
- Calm down.
- I'm calm, not angry.
- You're not calm.
- I'm calm, I'm not angry.
Getting angry won't get us anywhere.
I'm not angry.
Look how you're walking, talking.
Don't say you're calm.
I didn't like your behavior last night.
Can't you understand that?
What behavior?
What behavior?
I did nothing.
I pulled away, I told you.
- He didn't kiss me!
- Sometimes you hurt people.
He didn't kiss me, I took a step back.
I'm not talking about that!
What?
- What then?
- About things you do, people you hurt.
What do I do?
You got there last night...
You saw Franois.
You saw only him, nothing else.
You don't want us to sit down?
I'm sorry, Jean.
I saw you after.
- With people I didn't know.
- That's my point.
You saw me after.
It's normal. You didn't look at me once.
Not once the whole night.
We live together, so yes, you're right.
When we go out, I look at other people.
That's not unusual.
I look at people when we go out.
But my hand was just in yours.
We live together.
I've seen you every day for 9 years,
I chose you.
- Must I look at you when we go out?
- I look at you.
This is too much, Jean.
I can't look at you and no one else.
I look at other people too.
Don't pretend you don't get it!
I look at people too!
I didn't "look look" at you.
I didn't look at you nonstop,
but I knew where you were!
You hurt me, that's all.
How many times do I have to say sorry?
Some wounds never heal.
So be careful, okay Sara?
This is no life for me.
What do you mean?
You understand.
Go see Franois,
if he wants you, and you want him,
there's nothing simpler.
I'll go back home.
Think I want to go back to Franois?
I've done that, thanks.
No desire to do it again!
Maybe the desire is his.
He was drunk!
He doesn't drink, so stop!
Franois doesn't drink.
So you go see him, or I will.
Want me to?
Settle your scores
between yourselves.
Man to man, as if it didn't concern me.
I pulled my head away, I said!
Is my word worthless?
Why am I even talking?
Fuck all this.
Fuck all this,
fuck the balcony, fuck the kitchen!
- I'll go back home, fuck this!
- Go on, go back to Vitry!
Thanks, Alice, see you.
See you tomorrow, Sara.
Yes?
Sara...
Now we know.
Didn't you know I loved you back then?
I thought you'd leave me.
I wanted to be the first to go.
None of that matters.
Life's not over,
look how good we are.
It does matter.
I couldn't live with you,
even though I loved you.
It's sad...
not being able to live
with the man you love, isn't it?
Yes, very sad.
Now it's impossible. Jean's in pain.
We're so good together.
I have to go home.
I don't want to go home.
We'll meet up again.
- You sure?
- Positive.
How long since we've both been alone
in a room?
Turn around.
No, I'd rather see you.
Turn around so I can stroke your butt.
No, Franois...
Be nice, just to make me happy.
Turn around.
Don't move.
- No.
- Wait.
Don't move.
Franois.
Wait, don't worry.
Actually I am worrying, Franois.
Stop.
I said no.
I want to be ready and I'm not,
that's all.
You're mean.
I'm leaving now, for good.
Not this. Not this, Franois.
Not this.
I love you! Come!
I love you too, but you hurt me.
Come!
Come, please, come to bed.
Come!
I won't go to bed with you,
but okay, I'll stay.
What are you doing?
You'll just sit there?
Yes.
I feel like reading.
Okay...
I'll stay in bed.
Go on, stay in bed.
I won't leave again.
You neither. You won't leave.
Maybe after...
I'll buy you a ring.
Going out?
Marcus never got home.
Really?
I'll call you.
Anyone here see Marcus?
I'm his father. Have you seen him?
I saw you with him.
Know who my son is?
No one's seen him?
Mr. Kemas?
- Seen Marcus?
- Nope.
No one's seen him?
No, I haven't seen him.
I organize everything by myself
in my brain.
So maybe...
how many years have I been alone?
So I made mistakes.
No, that's not it, it's just...
I don't know.
Jean, he needs more than me.
When he was a child,
I'd take him here and there.
- He doesn't need me anymore.
- Not true.
You were his first parent
when there was no one, don't say that.
So what do we do?
Don't know anymore.
I'll go looking, what else can I do?
- Where?
- I'll walk around.
I'll end up finding him.
Know everyone's looking for you?
Grandmother, father, everyone.
What are you doing?
Nothing.
What's wrong, Marcus?
What's going on?
- Look at me.
- I am.
No, you're not, you're looking away.
You're looking elsewhere.
I see you.
I see you.
I prefer looking elsewhere too.
Sometimes.
Do what you have to do here
and go.
Let's go home.
Yes?
You'll never guess where I am.
I don't know.
At your office?
No.
On the street?
No, I'm not exactly on the street.
In a park?
No, it looks like a park, but...
- You sound outside.
- Yes, I'm outside.
I don't know, you're not on the street,
not in a park.
On your balcony.
What do you mean?
Waiting for Jean.
- How did it go in Vitry?
- Well.
- Your son's okay?
- Fine.
I brought wine.
I need to talk to you.
Bastard.
I'm going to stop working
with Franois.
Why? You were so happy.
I was happy, now I'm not.
Is there a reason?
Yes, probably.
What kind of reason?
- He says things I don't like.
- What things?
Things.
Can I help?
You want to help me?
You?
What did Franois tell you?
That I should leave you.
That's what he said.
He gets to decide?
Leave me why?
Come on, please. Don't insist.
Scared to hurt me?
He said you're a bad person.
That you're fake, not sincere,
that's what he said.
- I'm not sincere?
- Yeah.
I'm fake?
- That's a good one! Me?
- Yes, you.
Not bad!
Really not bad!
Not bad, right?
Yeah, it's not bad.
He says you play both sides,
that I should be wary.
Shouldn't you be wary of him, maybe?
What nerve!
Why does he say I'm fake?
Any examples?
To prove I'm a bad person,
as you say?
He says I stop you
from being with him.
Excuse me?
He says you want to be with him
and I stop you, get it?
That you lie to me, that you love him
and want to be with him.
Oh yeah?
That's not true, Jean.
That's just him talking.
Why does he say it, in your opinion?
Simply because it's true.
Why do you believe him and not me?
Are you in his grip?
No, I'm not in his grip.
No, it's just...
he showed me your texts.
I don't want to see you anymore.
Leave, please, leave.
What texts?
I never sent a text
that would bother you.
- Leave.
- I'm not afraid.
Glad to hear it.
Now get out.
What texts? There are none.
Stop repeating "What texts",
I saw them!
- It's not true.
- Get out.
It's not true.
There's no use lying, really.
Get out.
What texts? What did they say?
They said...
want to know what they said?
They said: "Love."
"I love you."
"I think about you,"
"I love... your smile."
"I love your scent."
"No one can tear us apart."
He said nothing? It's all on me?
I don't give a fuck about him!
Move or I'll move you.
Move or I'll move you.
Fuck!
I can't stand it anymore.
I can't stand it anymore.
What did I do wrong?
What did I do to deserve this?
- Why is this happening to me?
- I can't stand it!
Want to drive me crazy?
You won't!
You won't be able to!
You know why?
Because it's over!
It's over, I don't care!
- Stop this game! Stop it!
- What game?
You think I was ever free in my life?
No idea! I don't give a fuck!
Listen to me!
Do I have to go to prison
for you to listen?
I was never free, never!
My whole life, I toe the line.
Obey, obey, obey!
I don't give a fuck! Figure it out!
I can't live this, hear?
I can't live this anymore!
I'm going home to Vitry, hear?
I'm going. I'm leaving now.
Let me explain.
- Let me explain.
- There's nothing to explain!
You don't understand.
Go on, call him!
Stop going on about him!
I don't give a fuck about him!
He doesn't give a fuck either!
He says you hurt and betray,
that's what!
Stop saying horrible things about me.
It's not true, you know it's not true.
Stop bobbing like that, stop!
Stop bobbing!
Calm down, stop screaming.
Let's stop... let's stop.
Stop screaming.
I'm not screaming.
No, I'm calm.
Forgive me.
- Forgive you?
- Sorry.
You're asking for forgiveness?
- I thought you did nothing wrong.
- I did.
I did something wrong.
Of course, I did something wrong.
But I was unsettled, lost.
It's over now.
I didn't know where I was.
But... I didn't betray you.
I didn't betray you, I betrayed myself.
Now I know, now I'm sure.
- Let me show you.
- Stay away.
- Can I come closer?
- Stay away.
- Please.
- I don't want you touching me!
Do you hear me?
Can I put my hand...
- On my forehead?
- Yes.
Why, to soothe me?
Want to soothe me? Right!
Know what?
You make me want to vomit.
I want to vomit.
You may not have a life,
but I do!
I may not have a credit card,
but I have a life.
- And it'll always be mine.
- Of course.
Listen!
Stop saying "of course."
I have a life and I'm going home, okay?
You had the angel.
Now you'll have the devil.
Too bad for you.
I'll destroy everything!
- I'll wreck it all.
- Stop!
I'll wreck it all.
There's a gun here, it's loaded too.
Think I'll go back to prison
to make you happy?
Want to know what I think of you?
You're a bitch, a slut.
Fuck.
Sara, call me.
Call me back.
I'd like to talk to you.
Yes.
I need to catch my breath too.
The other day,
when you said you loved Franois,
it hurt.
Physically.
Like...
my ribs tore through my chest.
My heart tore through my chest.
But...
now it's over...
I've thought it over.
It's like I've been set free.
And I also wanted to tell you
something else.
If you agree,
I'd like...
to stay with you forever.
But,
if you love Franois,
and if he loves you,
go and live.
I'll let you live.
I'll go back to Vitry.
Because you met Franois
before me.
And also...
I want you to know...
that today I'm capable of...
living without the person I love.
And if you're happy,
I think I'll be happy.
Not interested
by what I have to say?
It's fried.
Everything's erased?
Yes, there's nothing left.
No nothing, no numbers?
Nothing.
Nothing?
Thank you.
BOTH SIDES OF THE BLADE
What's that, my shirt?
It looks good on you.
Yes, Mom, it's me.
Yeah, it was great.
- Give her a kiss.
- Sara sends her love.
We relaxed, it was nice,
we took it easy.
How about you? Not too tired?
Marcus?
Yes or no?
Don't push so hard.
I'm not pushing, Mom,
I just want to know where he's heading.
Anyway, we'll talk later.
Call you back, love you.
You can come visit soon?
Yeah, of course.
Love you.
What do you want for lunch?
I'm not hungry.
You're gorging on junk.
You're not serious, Marcus.
I'm in a rush, Grandma.
A rush?
I'll make some vegetables,
you'll have some,
and we'll have lunch together.
You need to eat healthy food.
No, Grandma, I have to go, sorry.
Thanks.
Marcus...
There's no time, but thanks.
Don't forget your mask.
Don't come back too late, Marcus!
It's raining.
Don't take the metro, I'll drive you.
Thanks.
See you later.
Franois...
Franois...
Hello, Hind Darwish,
you're in Lebanon, in Beirut.
You're a journalist, a publisher,
an activist.
Tell us about the crisis
you're enduring.
It's a serious economic crisis.
The crisis is also social, political,
cultural, moral.
Corruption gnaws away
at every level of the country,
down to the bone.
Especially after that catastrophe,
the catastrophe of August 4,
the big explosion,
the Lebanese are living a nightmare,
pure hell.
Many Lebanese are leaving the country.
Do you think Lebanon
is losing its lifeblood?
Yes, I do.
We're witnessing, yes,
a very frightening exodus.
We've experienced emigration
after the war.
But those emigrants
tried to return to Lebanon.
They kept ties to the country.
But now we're getting a sense
of despair, of disgust,
of repugnance
about what's happening in Lebanon.
And we're really afraid
that these people,
who are middle class, who are young,
won't come back.
Thank you, Hind Darwish,
for your testimony.
Now, Yasmine...
- How much?
- 55.
Here.
I saw Franois today.
Okay.
And what did you do?
I went shopping.
You went to Vitry?
Yes, Vitry.
See Nelly?
No time to visit my mother.
I just went shopping.
Did you see Marcus?
Any news?
Yes.
- Yes?
- Yes, I said.
Your son exists for me too.
Marcus.
He's my business too.
I'll tell you something
I never said before.
The first time I saw you,
or the second, whatever...
I was living with Franois,
I barely knew you.
We went to a party, the three of us.
At friends of mine.
Remember?
Okay.
You watched a match before,
that's why you were together.
All three of us went.
And at one point during the party,
you put on music.
Franois and I danced.
You were behind the computer,
looking at us.
And you had...
a smile.
A smile, I swear...
What a smile!
That's...
that's the first thing.
Then we took a taxi back,
all three of us.
Back then, you lived near me,
rue d'Amsterdam.
You were still with your wife.
We got to my street and you said...
"I'll go by foot. She's waiting for me."
I thought that
Franois would stay with me.
You'd go to your wife
and he'd stay with me.
Hey, can you picture it?
Vaguely, yeah.
I remember, Franois said
he was going home.
I said that...
I wanted him to stay with me
after the party.
You were shocked he was leaving.
You said: "Franois!
You, you...
you have to stay!"
He said:
"I don't have to do anything."
And I...
as I walked home, I thought:
"Why am I with the one who leaves?
Why aren't I with the one who...
goes to sleep with his wife
on rue d'Amsterdam?"
I envied your wife.
You still envy her?
Because you're my rue d'Amsterdam wife.
Yes, Mom.
I can't this morning,
I have stuff to do.
I'll call you back.
Goodbye.
What do you have to do?
Stuff.
I'm off.
Sara?
Can I take your credit card?
You don't prefer a transfer?
No wire transfers.
You always do the shopping,
so it's easier.
Forget it, I'll manage.
- Don't get upset, here.
- Forget it.
- Take it!
- Forget it, I said.
See you later.
Franois!
You're back.
Mind calling me later?
Okay, bye.
Here.
So...
Birth certificate, good.
This...
your police record?
That's right.
All right.
Here's the tax stamp.
Here.
A document's missing.
Company registration number?
- It must be there.
- I don't see it.
Then I forgot it.
I'm sorry.
Do I really need it today?
Yes, sir.
You'll come back.
No big deal, I'll come back.
Take your documents.
And make another appointment.
Goodbye, sir. Have a nice day.
Hello.
Yes, Mom.
What do you mean, what am I doing?
I'm working.
Hear me better now?
Tell Marcus I'll come by Friday.
That way we can talk.
I had no time to call his teacher.
I will.
All right.
Bye, Mom.
That was Franois.
He's starting an agency,
wants me to go in.
That's good.
Isn't it?
What do you think?
I don't know.
No idea.
Dunno.
You happy?
That Franois wants you
to work with him?
I said I don't know.
No idea.
Why?
Think there'll be problems?
No, why?
I never had problems with Franois.
We've always had
each other's numbers.
So why are you hesitating?
Are you scared of something?
No, I'm scared of nothing.
So what's bothering you?
Nothing's bothering me.
You?
What's bothering you?
- Me?
- Yes, you.
On the contrary.
No, it...
it makes me happy.
Happy to know you're meeting up
and working together.
Happy for you, for him, for you both.
You know how much I cared for Franois.
It might be strange seeing him again,
because...
when you love someone
it never really goes away.
I do feel something special for him.
But he and I are over with.
I live with you, Jean.
No need to worry.
Why are you telling me this?
I'm not worried.
Then everything's fine.
Did he ask if we were still together?
No.
I don't discuss my private life.
Well, you had to discuss it
at some point.
At some point, but that's it.
It pulled you apart, it separated you.
No, it didn't pull us apart.
It's been years.
If that didn't pull you apart, what did?
Prison? You in prison?
The fact that he disappeared?
He had his business, I had mine.
He asked no questions?
Nothing about your prison sentence?
At one point, but that's all.
We didn't mention you
if you're asking.
Why don't we ever talk?
Why can't we talk about
what Franois represents,
about how we met?
It's not insignificant.
I'm gonna wash up.
All right.
You went to prison, not him.
Am I bothering you?
No.
All ears.
What do you think about this thing?
Tell me.
What do you think?
I think it's good, but you?
You into it?
Seeing Franois again?
Yes, I think so.
Actually, I am.
Yes.
So no point hesitating.
No.
Except it stresses me out.
- You're cold.
- A little.
Don't worry, my love.
People change, you know.
Franois must have changed.
He must have matured.
He must have gone through a lot.
Ten years... imagine!
I have to go.
- You're going out now?
- Yes.
What'll you do with Franois?
Same as before.
Meaning?
You'll give him a hand?
I said he started an agency.
I can't explain now...
I have to go.
He's coming.
We're meeting on the corner.
On the corner?
Well, on the corner, downstairs.
On the corner.
So you kept her.
Yeah, I like her a lot.
She sat in Sara's garage,
waiting for me.
And...
life without me wasn't too hard?
Look at me.
Look at me.
Jean?
Pick up, please.
Marcus, call from your phone,
maybe he'll answer.
What does it matter?
I'm being expelled anyway.
Who cares? There's no use.
Good thinking, I can let myself die too.
Who cares?
You exhaust me.
Don't say that.
Not eating your toast?
No, I'm not too hungry.
Fine.
I'm too old to be a real grandmother.
I can't anymore.
Understand me?
Okay, see you later.
See you later.
I got my bank statement.
And look.
Yes, you're overdrawn.
There were several recent withdrawals.
What could have happened?
I don't know.
I know how you live.
So yeah, it's unusual.
Did anyone borrow your card,
Mrs. Charles?
Do you have it on you?
Yes.
Here.
You see?
Did you give the PIN to anyone?
No.
Dad, are you there?
Call me back.
You've had Marcus so long, Nelly.
Forever.
Don't go blaming yourself.
Jean was in prison,
he couldn't raise his son.
It's not your fault.
He did something stupid
and it backfired.
But he survived it.
Now his son is screwing up a little,
but it's no big deal.
I can't manage with Marcus anymore.
Doesn't he need someone strong,
someone to admire?
You don't admire your grandmother.
He loves you, mentions you every time.
Kids in his grade who slack off
go to trade school.
Does his mother ever call?
Almost never.
But Marcus needs...
to go to Martinique, to see his mother.
It's important.
She has a new life.
A new family.
Just tell me when.
Just say when!
Okay.
I'll finish what I'm doing
and I'll go.
Okay, no problem.
Okay, bye.
Marcus - missed call
Going out?
Yep.
I don't know when I'll be back.
Don't wait up.
Where are you going?
To see Franois' offices,
to check out the space.
Know where rue des Bleuets is?
Around here.
What new offices?
I said he was starting an agency.
What kind of agency?
For recruiting players.
You know this.
We go to small clubs
to scout junior players
to recruit them.
But you know this.
I'm going.
See you later.
You had that idea
after your injury.
Yes, I know.
Jean?
I can't sleep.
You will.
Did it go well?
Yes.
Coming to bed?
In a little while.
So do I get a kiss?
Yeah.
Jean.
Do you love me?
Yes, I love you.
Do you love me?
Yes.
You'll tell me what you did?
There's nothing to tell.
We're just working.
Go to sleep.
Is it going well?
Yes, it is.
Sleep.
Jean?
Yes?
Did you talk about money yet?
Don't worry.
Yes, Franois.
I understand but...
my thing with Marcus is then.
Marcus is counting on me.
You can't make it
because of your trip with Franois?
If I'm in Bayonne with Franois,
I can't be in Vitry with Marcus.
You can push it off.
I can push it off, but...
You can always push it off, but...
there's a risk, because
it's a great opportunity.
And if things work out with Franois...
it opens new horizons for me, see?
What will you do with Franois
in Bayonne?
Like before. Like we always have.
I'll be middleman
between him and the prospects.
He can't be on the front lines.
So...
he needs someone credible.
That's how we've always worked.
You'll have a contract?
Get paid?
- It'll be fine.
- Did you bring it up?
Come on, obviously if...
if I work, I'll get paid.
There are guys to recruit
and that's on me.
I'm the only one who can spot them.
It means a lot
to get back into sports.
With the players...
What about your project?
You're giving up on it?
It's a good project.
I believe in it.
How do you see things?
I believe in it too.
It's my initiative.
It's my idea.
I believe in it,
but I can do it whenever I want.
Now I have a chance
to get back into sports.
It's now, it's the moment.
And...
before, I rode the wave
of my past as a player.
Whereas now...
I'm an ex-con.
But you know that.
I don't fucking believe it.
I'm stuck in traffic, Mom.
Sorry, I'm doing my best.
I'm coming...
No, I'm coming!
Hi, Mom.
I won't kiss you, I forgot my mask.
Can I come in?
Jean, I'm sorry, but...
he doesn't want to see you.
I cancelled a meeting
and it took 3 hours to get to Vitry.
How can we see his teacher
if Marcus won't see me?
If I can't go inside, I can't come back.
This was my only free day.
Just tell me.
How is he? That's all that matters.
Is he okay?
It depends.
It depends on what?
On the people he hangs around with.
There's a lot of coming and going.
So, like where is he now?
He went out.
You don't know where?
No.
Really don't know?
I could say he's doing homework,
but I wouldn't say
that's the problem now.
What's the problem now?
I find him absent.
I spent three hours in traffic,
if I can't go inside,
I'm leaving, sorry.
Shut up! Pain-in-the-ass dog!
Shut up!
What's your problem with the dog?
- He's a pain!
- He's nice, just a guard dog.
Your dog's not nice!
He makes too much noise.
Come, Easton.
Mom, sorry, I have to go.
No, it's good, son. On the contrary.
I'm glad you're working
and that things are good.
Marcus, open the window, please.
I want to tell you something.
Marcus, please.
Marcus!
Don't cry.
My love, you're my love.
Don't cry.
Today we are with Lilian Thuram.
Hello, Lilian Thuram.
This "white thinking"
that you discuss in your book,
you say it is in us white people.
How was it inculcated
and integrated in us?
White thinking is
the ideology that constructed
the idea that "white is better."
But me, being West Indian,
when I used to talk to my mom,
about racism,
she said that when she was young,
she was told it was better to marry
someone fairer
to have children with "scaped" skin,
skin that "escaped" blackness,
less black skin.
In your book, Lilian Thuram,
you cite Frantz Fanon.
Frantz Fanon is, for me, the intellectual
who understood racism best.
I think that...
because he was a psychiatrist.
And I think that indeed,
racism is a psychiatric problem.
Because we've been locked
into identities.
Identities based on our skin color.
But we don't know it.
Of course,
if you're locked into white identity,
it's more acceptable.
Because you're unwittingly positioned
as the norm.
What's so disturbing
about this locking-in,
for people discriminated against
for their skin color,
is the existential violence it wreaks.
People don't realize.
- Thanks, Alice, see you tomorrow.
- See you tomorrow.
We're in Bayonne.
They redid the whole pitch.
Look how pretty it is.
And who's there?
Hold on, walk a little...
There... now the two of us.
What's the problem with Sara?
Tell me.
Don't bullshit me, what's the problem?
Fine. I'm hanging up.
- What's going on?
- Nothing.
You seem upset.
I'm not upset, everything's fine.
Why were you shouting?
I don't know, I wasn't really shouting.
Your call sounded pretty intense.
Who was it with?
Franois.
I thought I heard my name.
Am I wrong?
Is there a problem?
No, no problem, it's all settled.
Can I know why I came up?
What's settled?
- Want to know?
- Yes!
When I got to the airport,
they were talking about you.
When I got close, they clammed up.
Anything unpleasant?
How can I know?
I got closer and they clammed up.
What did Franois want?
Did he call or did you?
It was me.
He wanted to know
if I was still with you.
You never told him?
Well, now he knows.
I said if I ever heard
anyone badmouthing you,
I wouldn't see them again.
I don't work with people
who clam up.
No way!
Was he surprised we're still together?
He can't have imagined
we would still be.
I don't give a fuck
what Franois thinks.
He must have found it weird.
Why weird?
It's not weird.
My love.
My love, my love...
Jean?
Can I come to the opening of the agency?
Sure.
But...
there'll be the prospects,
their families.
Franois probably invited friends.
I'm not involved with that, but...
I think you can.
I'll make some coffee.
You worked all night.
Yeah.
All is well? You're okay?
I guess so.
Will I see you tonight?
Yes.
You know, I'll be with the juniors,
their families.
You'll see me, but I'll be busy.
I know you'll be busy.
I know I won't be your priority.
Think it's better I don't come?
We're just tired and spent all night
getting this thing ready.
It may not be the best time.
Didn't he invite friends?
Want to see the agency or Franois?
The agency.
You work with Franois,
so I'll see Franois.
Obviously.
It's better, you're right.
I was wavering anyway.
After so long,
I'd rather not see him
with people around.
You know Franois won't wait
on the corner forever.
I'll ask him to dinner one day.
So you can see him.
Yes, we'll see.
I don't know when I'll get home.
I'm not worried. You'll tell me.
You can come if you want.
I love you.
I love you too.
The suit looks good on you.
Thanks.
Got your keys, taking your car.
You're beautiful.
Crazy how pretty you are.
Are you okay?
Marcus is here.
Come.
Be right back.
Sara? What are you up to?
It's great to see you!
Seen Franois?
No.
Come, he must be in an office somewhere.
The space is nice.
We're not fully settled in yet.
Come, he'll be thrilled.
I don't want to bother him.
I'm just looking...
how you're set up here.
I'll leave you my number.
If you reconsider.
- Okay.
- Don't hesitate.
You're as pretty as ever.
You okay?
I was asked
to come see you all in an office.
Yeah, come on in.
No, because I'm outside.
Sara, do as you please.
There's no problem.
I...
Do you mind...
You mind if I come?
It's not about what I mind.
I said I'm busy,
but come if you want to.
- Yes?
- Hold on...
Franois?
Yes?
Yes? Franois?
Yes, it's me.
It's me.
It's me.
It's you?
Your offices are nice.
You did a good job.
Where are you?
Jean didn't tell you?
No, what?
I'm...
It's...
it's moving to hear your voice.
Me too.
Where are you?
Outside.
So come up!
Really? I won't bother you all?
Come on up, I said.
He's upstairs.
Your eyes.
Where were you all this time?
Not far.
I missed you.
I asked Jean for your number.
I'll write you tonight.
A text.
You have to answer, okay?
Okay.
Promise?
I promise you.
My love.
See you later, my love.
See you later.
Always happy to see you, Marcus.
Me too.
We'll drop off Marcus.
Sure.
Here we go again,
love, fear...
sleepless nights...
the phone at my bedside...
getting wet.
It's sad.
No, why?
Yes, it's sad, Franois.
We're here, happy together.
We've found each other.
That's not sad.
It's sad
because we're not together anymore.
We won't escape each other again.
We know it.
What do we know?
Running away serves no purpose.
Why do you say that?
We're already together.
Yeah, well...
whatever you say.
You don't feel it?
Do you feel it?
Yes, I feel it.
So we'll stay together, that's all.
Stop.
I love you.
I love you.
I love you too.
Me too.
In your opinion, Marcus,
what people
have the hardest time in life?
Who has the greatest
professional difficulties?
It's the worst for Blacks and Arabs.
Blacks and Arabs.
Marcus,
you're my son.
Your mom is Black.
And when I hear you talking
about Blacks and Arabs,
it's like...
they're no one.
You make it sound like...
Blacks and Arabs are unable
to think independently
of their skin color.
They can't think independently
of their origins.
It's as if I can't be anything other
than the son
of Nelly Charles, born in Vitry?
Is that it?
You're in 10th grade?
What'll you do next year?
What direction do you think you'll go?
Will you get a high school diploma
or go to trade school?
Diploma or vocational school?
I'm gonna go to trade school in retail.
Trade school in retail?
Marcus, you're my son.
And I...
I'm not just a rugby player who got hurt,
not just an ex-con.
Not just a guy who fucked up.
I'm my own person.
I'm me, I'm Jean.
You're your own person, you're Marcus.
Understand?
When I hear you talking
about Blacks and Arabs,
it's like you're repeating
what French society wants.
You got sucked into their discourse,
a prevailing discourse,
there's a prevailing one for whites,
a prevailing discourse for Blacks,
for the poor, for the rich.
"I'm Black, therefore..."
"I'm poor, therefore this."
"I'm Black, therefore that."
"I'm white, therefore..."
"I'm whatever, therefore..."
Who's "therefore"? I don't know.
Are you "therefore"?
Am I "therefore"? Are we?
No, you're Marcus, I'm Jean. Okay?
We're our own people.
Jean?
Sorry, Mom,
I'm in the middle of talking to Marcus.
I'm trying to get him...
to maybe understand...
the path he's going to take.
He thinks he'll be doing retail, sales,
it used to be called trade school,
now it's vocational school.
It's the same.
So I say no. It's no.
First, finish 10th grade.
Then 11th.
Then your senior year.
Keep your options open.
Take time to think, grow.
And then make your decision.
Do you understand me, Marcus?
Yes.
So did you make up your mind?
Yes.
And... what did you decide?
Trade school in retail,
mixing school and internships.
So in fact,
nothing I said even mattered.
Coming here serves no purpose.
How will you manage?
Thugging around like I did?
Tell me, I'm interested.
How will you manage?
What'll you do?
This is what you'll do.
If you go to trade school in retail...
you won't like this, I'm warning you!
You'll be cleaning people's toilets.
You'll be with people in higher posts.
They'll have diplomas.
They'll have gone to business school.
They'll be doing business,
real business, high-level business.
And what'll you be doing?
Cleaning their toilets.
You'll do that for them.
Is that what you want?
No.
How old are you, Marcus?
I'm 15.
Yeah, you're 15.
Still in the world of childhood.
You're not formed yet,
in a state of becoming.
You can still choose, still decide.
Being smart is
when you have two paths,
and you choose one,
the right one, the one best for you.
It's your choice.
And...
besides the money I give you,
your allowance,
if you need anything, ask.
Instead of taking Grandma's credit card.
Here.
So, just to recapitulate,
the right address is Vitry or Paris?
- Paris, my wife's place.
- Paris, okay.
Are you still divorced?
And you still have a child to support.
- The grandmother still has custody?
- Yes.
We have everything.
For me, your file is complete.
It's all good.
Here.
And... good luck.
Thank you.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye, sir.
Remind me why you go to Vitry
for groceries.
Tell me again.
I like Vitry.
Because... I love my car,
I love driving it.
And because there's a huge parking lot
in front of the mall.
It makes shopping easy.
It's less expensive.
Yeah, but what's there? What?
Everything.
It's simple, there's everything.
If you want...
gardening supplies,
hardware and lumber,
glasses and plates
that don't cost a thing.
Everything.
Ask me for anything,
anything, and I'll find it.
And gas is cheaper there.
Yes?
When do you get back?
Okay, me too.
Bye.
Who was that?
Franois.
- He's not in Paris?
- He is, but...
he's off to Romania,
but he'll be here for the press thing.
I gotta go to the junior rugby match.
- Where's the press thing?
- Paris.
Where in Paris?
At the agency.
You're incredible.
Yeah, at the agency.
I can't see you.
I'm here.
I'm on my way to Paris.
- What?
- I'm in Bucharest.
I'm getting on the plane.
See you tomorrow.
What do you mean "tomorrow"?
Want me to come?
You have to.
Can we talk?
Go on.
What I endured last night,
never again, you hear me?
Meaning?
I don't like seeing
Franois kiss you on the mouth.
You may, but I don't.
He didn't kiss me on the mouth.
What is this about?
Think I'm an idiot?
I don't think you're an idiot,
but he didn't kiss me on the mouth.
I saw you.
Really?
I'm glad you saw me.
If you saw me, you saw I pulled away.
Did you see that?
If you see everything,
you saw that.
You say you saw,
so if you saw,
you saw Franois, tipsy...
He doesn't drink.
Don't interrupt, I'm talking.
If you have something to say,
say it!
You always cut me off!
I can't talk with you, it's hell.
Okay, I have to start all over.
Will you let me speak?
Don't you know
each sentence is a breath?
Every time you cut me off, I start over
from the beginning,
to get my breath back!
The breath of my sentence,
there's a breath to sentences.
Okay, I'm starting over. May I?
- Go on.
- Can I finish what I was saying?
Catch your breath...
if you have something to say.
Catch your breath.
Yes, I do have something to say.
All right.
You say you saw.
So if you saw,
you saw me pull away
and that he didn't kiss me.
He didn't kiss me on the mouth.
So I'm a liar.
Yeah.
No, you're not a liar.
You think
you saw something you didn't.
And you didn't
because it didn't happen.
You saw a fragment of a movement.
Probably.
You were controlling so much
you obviously found something.
You're unbearable, Jean, unbearable!
I'm sick of this.
Sometimes.
Too.
Being under surveillance.
I have no life,
you have to control everything.
I control everything?
Now I'm a controller?
Who are you talking to? Not me.
I'm not that man.
If you're not that man,
stop controlling me.
I'll stop all right.
Jean...
So I should stop seeing Franois?
That's it?
No problem if that's it,
but say it, clearly.
Want me to say it clearly?
Did you say clearly?
I told you clearly.
I'm not that man.
I won't tell you to be with him
or not.
I said it clearly.
Franois is someone I really loved.
So seeing him again isn't easy.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry...
if I hurt you out of...
out of lack of self-confidence,
out of fear...
You mustn't be afraid.
Don't be afraid. I'm with you.
I'm with you too, Jean.
I'm not your enemy.
It's not easy, you know.
But it'll be fine.
It's the past coming back,
it's weird, just a phase.
If the past is coming back...
I'm out of here.
I don't give a fuck
about the past coming back.
If it's coming back, I'm out.
The past coming back.
Damn...
The past coming back.
Holy shit.
The past is coming back...
- Calm down.
- I'm calm, not angry.
- You're not calm.
- I'm calm, I'm not angry.
Getting angry won't get us anywhere.
I'm not angry.
Look how you're walking, talking.
Don't say you're calm.
I didn't like your behavior last night.
Can't you understand that?
What behavior?
What behavior?
I did nothing.
I pulled away, I told you.
- He didn't kiss me!
- Sometimes you hurt people.
He didn't kiss me, I took a step back.
I'm not talking about that!
What?
- What then?
- About things you do, people you hurt.
What do I do?
You got there last night...
You saw Franois.
You saw only him, nothing else.
You don't want us to sit down?
I'm sorry, Jean.
I saw you after.
- With people I didn't know.
- That's my point.
You saw me after.
It's normal. You didn't look at me once.
Not once the whole night.
We live together, so yes, you're right.
When we go out, I look at other people.
That's not unusual.
I look at people when we go out.
But my hand was just in yours.
We live together.
I've seen you every day for 9 years,
I chose you.
- Must I look at you when we go out?
- I look at you.
This is too much, Jean.
I can't look at you and no one else.
I look at other people too.
Don't pretend you don't get it!
I look at people too!
I didn't "look look" at you.
I didn't look at you nonstop,
but I knew where you were!
You hurt me, that's all.
How many times do I have to say sorry?
Some wounds never heal.
So be careful, okay Sara?
This is no life for me.
What do you mean?
You understand.
Go see Franois,
if he wants you, and you want him,
there's nothing simpler.
I'll go back home.
Think I want to go back to Franois?
I've done that, thanks.
No desire to do it again!
Maybe the desire is his.
He was drunk!
He doesn't drink, so stop!
Franois doesn't drink.
So you go see him, or I will.
Want me to?
Settle your scores
between yourselves.
Man to man, as if it didn't concern me.
I pulled my head away, I said!
Is my word worthless?
Why am I even talking?
Fuck all this.
Fuck all this,
fuck the balcony, fuck the kitchen!
- I'll go back home, fuck this!
- Go on, go back to Vitry!
Thanks, Alice, see you.
See you tomorrow, Sara.
Yes?
Sara...
Now we know.
Didn't you know I loved you back then?
I thought you'd leave me.
I wanted to be the first to go.
None of that matters.
Life's not over,
look how good we are.
It does matter.
I couldn't live with you,
even though I loved you.
It's sad...
not being able to live
with the man you love, isn't it?
Yes, very sad.
Now it's impossible. Jean's in pain.
We're so good together.
I have to go home.
I don't want to go home.
We'll meet up again.
- You sure?
- Positive.
How long since we've both been alone
in a room?
Turn around.
No, I'd rather see you.
Turn around so I can stroke your butt.
No, Franois...
Be nice, just to make me happy.
Turn around.
Don't move.
- No.
- Wait.
Don't move.
Franois.
Wait, don't worry.
Actually I am worrying, Franois.
Stop.
I said no.
I want to be ready and I'm not,
that's all.
You're mean.
I'm leaving now, for good.
Not this. Not this, Franois.
Not this.
I love you! Come!
I love you too, but you hurt me.
Come!
Come, please, come to bed.
Come!
I won't go to bed with you,
but okay, I'll stay.
What are you doing?
You'll just sit there?
Yes.
I feel like reading.
Okay...
I'll stay in bed.
Go on, stay in bed.
I won't leave again.
You neither. You won't leave.
Maybe after...
I'll buy you a ring.
Going out?
Marcus never got home.
Really?
I'll call you.
Anyone here see Marcus?
I'm his father. Have you seen him?
I saw you with him.
Know who my son is?
No one's seen him?
Mr. Kemas?
- Seen Marcus?
- Nope.
No one's seen him?
No, I haven't seen him.
I organize everything by myself
in my brain.
So maybe...
how many years have I been alone?
So I made mistakes.
No, that's not it, it's just...
I don't know.
Jean, he needs more than me.
When he was a child,
I'd take him here and there.
- He doesn't need me anymore.
- Not true.
You were his first parent
when there was no one, don't say that.
So what do we do?
Don't know anymore.
I'll go looking, what else can I do?
- Where?
- I'll walk around.
I'll end up finding him.
Know everyone's looking for you?
Grandmother, father, everyone.
What are you doing?
Nothing.
What's wrong, Marcus?
What's going on?
- Look at me.
- I am.
No, you're not, you're looking away.
You're looking elsewhere.
I see you.
I see you.
I prefer looking elsewhere too.
Sometimes.
Do what you have to do here
and go.
Let's go home.
Yes?
You'll never guess where I am.
I don't know.
At your office?
No.
On the street?
No, I'm not exactly on the street.
In a park?
No, it looks like a park, but...
- You sound outside.
- Yes, I'm outside.
I don't know, you're not on the street,
not in a park.
On your balcony.
What do you mean?
Waiting for Jean.
- How did it go in Vitry?
- Well.
- Your son's okay?
- Fine.
I brought wine.
I need to talk to you.
Bastard.
I'm going to stop working
with Franois.
Why? You were so happy.
I was happy, now I'm not.
Is there a reason?
Yes, probably.
What kind of reason?
- He says things I don't like.
- What things?
Things.
Can I help?
You want to help me?
You?
What did Franois tell you?
That I should leave you.
That's what he said.
He gets to decide?
Leave me why?
Come on, please. Don't insist.
Scared to hurt me?
He said you're a bad person.
That you're fake, not sincere,
that's what he said.
- I'm not sincere?
- Yeah.
I'm fake?
- That's a good one! Me?
- Yes, you.
Not bad!
Really not bad!
Not bad, right?
Yeah, it's not bad.
He says you play both sides,
that I should be wary.
Shouldn't you be wary of him, maybe?
What nerve!
Why does he say I'm fake?
Any examples?
To prove I'm a bad person,
as you say?
He says I stop you
from being with him.
Excuse me?
He says you want to be with him
and I stop you, get it?
That you lie to me, that you love him
and want to be with him.
Oh yeah?
That's not true, Jean.
That's just him talking.
Why does he say it, in your opinion?
Simply because it's true.
Why do you believe him and not me?
Are you in his grip?
No, I'm not in his grip.
No, it's just...
he showed me your texts.
I don't want to see you anymore.
Leave, please, leave.
What texts?
I never sent a text
that would bother you.
- Leave.
- I'm not afraid.
Glad to hear it.
Now get out.
What texts? There are none.
Stop repeating "What texts",
I saw them!
- It's not true.
- Get out.
It's not true.
There's no use lying, really.
Get out.
What texts? What did they say?
They said...
want to know what they said?
They said: "Love."
"I love you."
"I think about you,"
"I love... your smile."
"I love your scent."
"No one can tear us apart."
He said nothing? It's all on me?
I don't give a fuck about him!
Move or I'll move you.
Move or I'll move you.
Fuck!
I can't stand it anymore.
I can't stand it anymore.
What did I do wrong?
What did I do to deserve this?
- Why is this happening to me?
- I can't stand it!
Want to drive me crazy?
You won't!
You won't be able to!
You know why?
Because it's over!
It's over, I don't care!
- Stop this game! Stop it!
- What game?
You think I was ever free in my life?
No idea! I don't give a fuck!
Listen to me!
Do I have to go to prison
for you to listen?
I was never free, never!
My whole life, I toe the line.
Obey, obey, obey!
I don't give a fuck! Figure it out!
I can't live this, hear?
I can't live this anymore!
I'm going home to Vitry, hear?
I'm going. I'm leaving now.
Let me explain.
- Let me explain.
- There's nothing to explain!
You don't understand.
Go on, call him!
Stop going on about him!
I don't give a fuck about him!
He doesn't give a fuck either!
He says you hurt and betray,
that's what!
Stop saying horrible things about me.
It's not true, you know it's not true.
Stop bobbing like that, stop!
Stop bobbing!
Calm down, stop screaming.
Let's stop... let's stop.
Stop screaming.
I'm not screaming.
No, I'm calm.
Forgive me.
- Forgive you?
- Sorry.
You're asking for forgiveness?
- I thought you did nothing wrong.
- I did.
I did something wrong.
Of course, I did something wrong.
But I was unsettled, lost.
It's over now.
I didn't know where I was.
But... I didn't betray you.
I didn't betray you, I betrayed myself.
Now I know, now I'm sure.
- Let me show you.
- Stay away.
- Can I come closer?
- Stay away.
- Please.
- I don't want you touching me!
Do you hear me?
Can I put my hand...
- On my forehead?
- Yes.
Why, to soothe me?
Want to soothe me? Right!
Know what?
You make me want to vomit.
I want to vomit.
You may not have a life,
but I do!
I may not have a credit card,
but I have a life.
- And it'll always be mine.
- Of course.
Listen!
Stop saying "of course."
I have a life and I'm going home, okay?
You had the angel.
Now you'll have the devil.
Too bad for you.
I'll destroy everything!
- I'll wreck it all.
- Stop!
I'll wreck it all.
There's a gun here, it's loaded too.
Think I'll go back to prison
to make you happy?
Want to know what I think of you?
You're a bitch, a slut.
Fuck.
Sara, call me.
Call me back.
I'd like to talk to you.
Yes.
I need to catch my breath too.
The other day,
when you said you loved Franois,
it hurt.
Physically.
Like...
my ribs tore through my chest.
My heart tore through my chest.
But...
now it's over...
I've thought it over.
It's like I've been set free.
And I also wanted to tell you
something else.
If you agree,
I'd like...
to stay with you forever.
But,
if you love Franois,
and if he loves you,
go and live.
I'll let you live.
I'll go back to Vitry.
Because you met Franois
before me.
And also...
I want you to know...
that today I'm capable of...
living without the person I love.
And if you're happy,
I think I'll be happy.
Not interested
by what I have to say?
It's fried.
Everything's erased?
Yes, there's nothing left.
No nothing, no numbers?
Nothing.
Nothing?
Thank you.
BOTH SIDES OF THE BLADE