Original subtitles

Hospice de Charenton Spring 1813

This asylum in Charenton is good for madmen or the rabid, but certainly not for

a man like me, aren't you all tired as much as you are of working

to my confinement for so long?

do you believe that the mere imprisonment of a man

compensate society for the evils he did to her?

don't you see that the more you bother me the more my mind is inflamed and emboldened against this world?

this prison and your foolish vexations will have only served in the end to implant a thousand darknesses in my head...

ah my friends come in, come in, welcome I have just here

something new to tell you, but take a seat, take a seat,

it is the story of an unusual story

which takes place in Italy and more precisely in Venice.

oh yes I know that none of you know exactly where

this city and because it occupies a very small place on the maps, but

Venice seems to have been invented to be the ideal city.

my friends, close your eyes and let your friends wander.

imagination you will then see this city illuminated

on a hot evening in July 1772 precisely

a city made of inextricable labyrinths

of tangled alleys and canals that turn on themselves brush past each other

avoid each other,

and get lost in the sea.

venice's quays are lined with palaces that proudly look down on you from above.

from their lace stone balcony their wall plunges fearlessly into the water

from the lagoons and emerges brushed with yellow and red brick chips.

to cross these canals the city has created small boats to cross them.

black without a sail whose bow proudly brandishes a thin iron blade

chiseled and could make you believe by their funerary form

that you are already dead to the rest of the world...

procurator whose lordship Morosini has engineered in order to

that the company of French actors be allowed to perform in the theatre,

when the court had prohibited it, I was also told that the Honourable

Contini was seen to his great shame

looking under the gaming tables to see if players hadn't dropped out of the game

some coins

I have also heard that Valentino's baker lives in the largest

and that nobody considers him a good Christian any more.

you definitely like our house, it's a pity that you only come here as a visitor.

and not as a customer - but madam, you know that I came from England

he's really too cute

and what better place than Venice

I know you are a student with no money to spend, who comes to entertain our little committee at the

name of art and beauty, let's hope at least that you will be able to know you

be discreet, - believe me, madam, I appreciate that you

be in "heat" with me, - you mean warm, I suppose?

I don't want you to draw my portrait as a young man.

you are wrong, sir, for I might one day be considered a

great painter and your portrait will adorn the gallery of a king or a prince,

it is possible just as it is possible that you will end up forgotten by all,

have you nothing happier to do than to

to do in life than to haunt this house every night.

the girls there are charming and they sometimes agree to pose naked for me

free of charge I imagine?

there's also a pretty girl I have in love and who also has me in love

a prostitute in love with one of her clients

we will have seen everything in this city there was definitely only one thing missing.

from England to finish corrupting the world, and to end the corruption of the

republic of venice!

please speak loudly to me and don't say anything to the landlady.

good evening count

good evening gentlemen, ah venice what an extraordinary place

it's full of hidden staircases, secret doors, small clandestine lodgings, and so on.

whose jealousy itself would not discover the mysteries

this city really lives up to its reputation as a place of all pleasures,

isn't it gentlemen that this house

is also the house of pleasure?

isn't it, sir?

do you think I am here for this, - did I hear you right, sir, and why else would I be here?

would you be in that brothel then?

unless a young ephebe on the buttocks

or one of his docile beasts would be more to your liking.

who are not afraid of the assaults of men - you insult me, sir.

sir how moreover I don't think we have ever been presented

i am the count of mazan

is this your real name? - obviously count de mazan colonel

of cavalry in the service of the king of France - I have not heard that a battalion

of the French army camped in the vicinity of Venice.

I'm travelling here in the republic, let's say in a private capacity.

some family matters to settle

Are you travelling alone, sir?

What is it? - the rights I give you over my person

anne you worry me and at the same time you enrage me

I swear to my lover that I will never be his alone, that I will never...

Please be quiet, it is not a whole world that I am writing these words, but you alone.

to make the sacrifice of my life for my love of my feelings with the same

the ardour that I give him the ardour of my virginity.

Anne, my little angel

I think I love you

but yes it's you my friend my eyesight is not as good as it used to be but

it seemed to me that this silhouette leaping from tree to tree was not

not unknown - Baroness my respects, - since the time that we have been

see how your children are doing? - Very well thank you

and rene pelagiates your wife? - as well as it is possible

beauty has not provided her as well as you have, but still don't forget

that your wife is your best ally of course I'm speaking to you as a friend,

yes, I know how much your advice has always been precious to me.

Having said that, I hope you will honour me with a less formal visit one from

in the next few days, if your numerous requests leave you free to do so.

if I may, I shall not fail to do so, Baroness,

see you soon then dear sir, - servant

Are you travelling alone, sir? - no I am travelling with my wife

but as far as I know we're not here in the court of inquisitors, but rather

in a Turkish seraglio, right? - You're right, Count, and

please forgive my impertinence but many foreigners take refuge in Venice

to flee from the misdeeds they have committed in their country when it is not the

French anti-royalists who come here to foment their revolution

each inhabitant must therefore be vigilant

let's admit it, let's admit it!

Would you gentlemen care for a glass of wine? - thank you and to your good health

young man, because to be able to drink all one's drunk and make love without aiming at the

propagation is not what differentiates us from the

other beasts - propagation, what is it? - uh, it is the reproduction of species

you want to talk about natural law - propagation is certainly not a

law of nature it is only a tolerance of it

Did nature need us to create other species, hell no,

when there is no longer a single man on earth the world will not go less as it is!

we enjoy what we find but nothing has been created for us,

wretched creatures that we are born and die like animals

yet we venture to have pride - pride? yes, that pride which prevents us

to see that by coming back from the woodland monkey, which is only a particular species

of man to the most primitive of peoples to finally reach our

civilisation

we would be forced to admit that we are all descended from the vilest of the

animals, - which one?

the SINGE!

I know how disparaging this reflection is for humanity but

is it not any less true for all that

why are you saying all this to me my Lord?

because you seem to be the least stupid

of all the people in this house, - oh you are too kind!

nice, me? it's the first time I've ever heard someone say about me that I am

am nice!

The wheel of fortune

can you hand me the mirror?

I have an idea, we'll take the count's money! - In what way? - By cunning!

this tale of Mazan is truly amazing! - yesterday he boasted

in front of me that he was not a count, - Ah, but who is he then? - he is better than that

he would be a marquis! - A French marquis here in Venice without the council of ten in

is informed is unlikely,

what is his real name? - he didn't tell me

he just confided to me that he was travelling with his sister-in-law...

that he passes off as his wife!

Do you think, young man, that we pay these girls to freeze themselves into a statue...

of salt, while you finish your

scribbling. - Oh how beautiful

yes quite a lot but it's still not with an

sketch as simplistic as you expect to pay for the services of the residents of

this house? - of course it does, - it will never

will give a lira for this drawing, - they won't, but you surely will - me and for

What reasons would I have for doing such a thing?

Out of gallantry, not nobility of heart, out of generosity, what else! - none of these

ridiculous sentimentality is not known to me.

so maybe you prefer to play the price of this drawing to cards?

but gambling circles are prohibited in the Republic of Venice.

but the prohibitions don't seem to scare you, Count!

insolent character that this devil of an Englishman who knows how to tempt me and

and how much do we charge for the game?

30 chequins! - 30 chequins, only

that, insolent and fearsome in the business in

more, and what card game do you suggest we play? - the simplest and the

the most mysterious shuffling cards in the world,

draw a card and I'll tell you what it represents the luckiest lottery winnings

stand well in the light, count to see the map better

I see,

I see, two ladies, very different

and between them a hesitant, uncertain man,

to what woman will my heart, my soul and my penis be directed!

insolent character, fearsome in business and final with that!

but I like him just the way he is! - the drawing is yours

my Lord

these erotic engravings are devilishly inspiring.

I swear to my lover that I will never be anyone else's.

like a ferocious beast, this man can only come by making his girlfriend shudder,

to make the sacrifice of my life, my love and my feelings to him.

all these scratches

on my body so that this man will satisfy

his perversion

with the same ardour as I do my virginity's.

the tearing of my virginity was nothing but pain

and humiliation

what a shame to be

thus mortified by the one to whom I had offered my body and mind with all confidence

but what are you doing here, miss?

Come on, Anne, get up,

you're not going to lie on the floor all night?

if the gentleman saw this, his anger could be terrible.

Come on, don't be childish, come on,

we're going to clean up all that blood

and then you'll go back to sleeping with him again.

without making a fuss about it anne?

I admire that it is beautiful

How can you boys find this beautiful? It's naughty!

it's exciting to imagine entering you through that small, half-hidden slit,

for me it has become something commonplace.

have you ever dreamed of leaving here and going far away to another world?

for example in england with me

no

these things are not for us,

I have my family here my friends

love is above all good for those who have something to live for

others they must do everything to survive

I don't like the whole story and it requires a thorough investigation.

the french ambassador will probably give me an initial answer on the

man.

you're out of france here my dear beyond the alps in a city surrounded by

by the waters nobody knows you there, you are taken away from your friends

to your parents you are as dead to them

so don't complain that you still exist thanks to the attention and

to the affection I have for you - why do you constantly sprinkle you your

About a dose of cruelty - haven't you noticed that cruelty

far from being a vice is the first feeling that nature imprints in us

the child breaks without a rattle, bites the nurse's nipple and strangles the bird.

long before reaching the age of reason

Believe me, my dear, it's time for you to put aside your fantasy.

anger and to take pleasure when your age still allows you to do so.

the long litany of your reproaches becomes less and less bearable to me.

my friend, - so don't let me constantly order temperance from you,

submission and total self-sacrifice on your part for

listen and let my desires that they be your only law fly before them,

but don't judge them, not that you have a lot to do.

with this conduct, madam, but because you would have a lot to gain

lose by not observing it!

you want to see something fun? - yes

it looks like it swallows flies

Can I show it to others? - no no no no no no no

really, ladies, you only know how to invent to keep me in your

company

a county annoyance? - not just a bad dream

it's crazy how this city

perhaps stifling in summer, - some fresh air count? - that's kind of you

Madam to think about my health I would like to tell you that I still find you very desirable

how should I interpret the word "again"?

that accompanies your compliment count? - why do you take as a thing

unpleasant the desire I have to enjoy you? - you are unreasonable

but you should know that I will have enough to satisfy you.

I don't doubt it for a moment and believe me, I know a lot about men!

you are not like this young innocent girl from my village of lacoste who is

the day after her wedding complained to her family that her husband had nothing to

her, alerting her aunts and sisters to meet in the house and at the

dessert the bridegroom spread out in view of all the things he was wearing in his panties,

"Ladies, this is what it's all about - is there one of you who is less

served that well at home? No, certainly not, " all the women said.

it would seem that this little pecore is crazy not to be happy with a

tel met, then the young woman answered crying: "how can I be happy with that?

my husband has just turned 30 and can hardly show more than the four fingers of his hand

while the little colt that is not yet one month old

is already bigger than the arm!"

Well the good evening maestro galuppi, there is

long before we saw you here

Yes, I regret it, believe me, but other concerns have come up.

darken an already painful existence

Would you like me to serve you a refreshment? - not right away in

Let me first catch my breath for a moment - as you wish.

good evening, sir

I was so hot when I climbed up these stairs of misfortune, thank you young man thank you

Ah the musicians! You were all that was needed!

that's enough

Julia, my darling, don't be afraid, I'm here, I'm your grandfather.

does this child work here? - You misunderstand me, Count, this young girl is

the natural child of one of our boarders who raises him or her in the best possible way

that it is possible, - by forcing him to live in a brothel?

this gentleman is maestro galuppi he is the grandfather of the little girl and will be able to tell you

certify that the child is not subject to any constraint harmful to his or her youth

it is all the more unfortunate that this girl would have perhaps made a

perfect boarder,

So you are not inhabited by any morality, sir?

morality is a bitter drug for which man has a natural dislike

it is strictly speaking a pill that he only reluctantly swallows,

is it with such a bazaar philosophy that you expect to divert our young people

people from such a place of perdition? - who can better divert young people from going

to the brothel than to give them a sincere picture of all that is going on there.

and in order to succeed in this, it is not necessary to borrow also the style

whores who live and don't be reluctant to use the terms con, vit, foutre,

but sir in front of a child these words have no place,

the words that pass for dirty and obscene in your home are the instrument and organ of the

human nature the pagan philosophers have made pagan philosophers

deities their mythology depicts us priape under the figure of a monstrous phallus

and Venus under that of a voluptuous female sex

if your imagination is sullied, sir, it is because of your

blind submission to a Christian morality that should no longer be in force

what merit would men have had if God had not left them the

freedom to do good and freedom to avoid evil?

Thus, if you believe Mr. God wanted to do everything wrong for

his creature, so he did not know it, did he not suspect it, did he not

in advance of the result which may include the infinite ways of god who

can understand everything we see, surely not you, sir.

come maestro galuppi you can see that you don't belong here go away reassured his mother

take care of the child as she has always done since the death of your son

Sorry to bother you, are you signor Baldasarre galuppi?

why this question young man? - I admire this composer

that's why I'm asking you if you're not that man,

What do you admire about him? - his music, sir

it is so typical of the spirit of Venice

so deep, - how do you know his music? - it was played for a long time in

concert in London, I had the honour of hearing it when I was 16 years old.

this evening left me with an unforgettable memory,

you remind me, young man, of memories that I no longer have the heart to talk about.

you'll have to excuse me

Hello my son, I wanted to give you some news about Julia,

Yes, today I saw your daughter. She's fine, she's in good hands.

what do you say?

I look exhausted, yes I had to scrap with a cad one of those

French noblemen of the worst kind who think they are allowed even to profess the abject

but I don't want to hurt you, my son.

continues to rest in peace in god's arms

we will meet again soon

boredom awaits me

no one to offer entertainment

really nobody? - would you like to hear a poem

monsieur - a poem and why not?

oh

not being very keen on the thing

you think you're fiddling with that thing, so I apologize if I offend you, but

is this what we call a masculine sex I specify because in truth I am telling you

it's the first time in my life that I've come face to face with a life!

isn't that what you'd expect from a young man a poetry with a lot of holes in it ah I see

that the Venetian poet Zorzi Baffo has emulated in this house,

as a lover of the muses I must not, as a lover of the muses, have to raise my price to the same level.

provocation by improvising a few rhyming verses,

so let's see, let's see it,

can i serve as your inspiration count?

my pretty one, you see rather than his sweet verses,

I would have expected another invitation from you

worn out of your lips for these mawkish words either.

but to grow the fever of an erect sex

because whatever our defects

that are nothing but delights

you are at the service of

the joys of our penises!

then the weeping young woman replied how do you want me to be happy?

this lout of a husband can't show more than 4 fingers

when the little foal is already bigger than the arm! - count? - yes

a lady presenting herself as your wife is here she asks to see you,

my wife here in Venice is impossible - yet you have told us that she has been

was travelling with you - me? - such a visit seems to upset you Count

or should I say marquis, for that is your true title of nobility, isn't it, sir?

what makes you say that?

Your French ambassador, he revealed to me that a certain Donatian, Alfonso François

marquis de sade has just been sentenced to marseille for

poisoning and sodomy, but that being currently on the run

the sentence could not be carried out, - what do you mean, I, a convicted person?

to those who invoke exemplarity I would argue that the death penalty has never

crime, since it is committed every day in the

the scaffold to make an individual die who has killed another is a

miscalculation since it results in the end that instead of one man, there are two

that perish

the ambassador even adds that the individual

has escaped with his sister-in-law, whom he passes off as his lawful wife.

Doesn't it remind you of someone in particular?

you say you judge you conclude sir, but what do you know about the

the exact nature of the grievances I am alleged to have committed

do you think it is only a question of being convicted of being already criminals?

no, it's all about having powerful enemies who want to destroy you.

in reality the state kills by reason and not by the spirit of justice, by lowering itself

to this, the state is guilty of institutional murder committed in blood

cold that nothing can justify - but your ambassador will still be able to

France... - Ah, but I can see that I'm wrong to try to straighten you out on this point...

gentleman and my injustice is as great as that of a man who

would undertake to prove to a pig that a rosewater cream is worth a lot of money.

better than shit - I don't have the power to put you under arrest marquis

but you should know that as of tomorrow, I will report to your ambassador of

France of your presence here in Venice - go ahead sir, and then make me

I will pay you the price of your denunciation in cash!

this miserable little spy in the pay of the inquisitorial tribunal thought he was smarter than me.

this jean-foutre, this nanny fresh out of the mud, dare to judge me

the Marquis de Sade!

how many times do I have to tell you not to find out where I'm going?

at night, did I not lock you in your room and forbid you to go out at night with any

the authority that a lover can have over his mistress to set foot outside under the

and why are you wearing this hat and mask?

ridiculous? do you think that this disguise will make anyone in Venice believe

that you are a boy? - perhaps you would be better off

seek anonymity just like me, because the unconsciousness you show in

public houses in full view of everyone, can only attract the public.

the attention on your person, - and if it pleases me to live in the midst of danger, - and if it pleases me to live in the midst of danger.

I never eat better or sleep more peacefully, than when I was

sufficiently tainted in what fools call crimes

but we libertines think that wisdom does not consist in repressing its vices because

that the vices constituting the only happiness of our life would be to become its

executioner than to want to repress them - but what kind of man are you then?

sir?

Born libertine, unholy, debauched and ferocious,

I have travelled the world only to know its vices and have not practised them.

than for the more refined ones,

this existence that I lead and that you blame Madam, is

My only consolation is that I value it more than life, I am not the master of changing it.

and would I be that I won't!

after you, my dear, since in this city gallantry still prevails,

you who seem to know everything better than anyone else

so read what is written in france about your business and build up your confidence,

one learns that in a provincial town a man of quality in contempt of the

duties owed to society would have taken a barbaric pleasure in distributing

to women chocolate pastilles in which a composition of chocolate

a high dose of cantharid fly, which would have taken several days to urinate.

to the tomb, - this is false, - the marquis de sade who fled from marseille after having

has killed several people with the help of poison tablets, has just been

condemned in absentia to have his head cut off and his valet hanged and their bodies burnt

why an honest man like me would be condemned for a

public girl a whore?

this joke from Marseille

whose only disadvantage would have been, at the most, the death of a trainer, could not have been

considered a crime for people of my condition.

since you speak to me of writings, madam, shall I remind you of your oath?

but look and listen: "I swear to monsieur le marquis de sade my lover of

never be his alone never marry me or give myself to others

to be eternally faithful and committed to him to make the sacrifice of my life of

my love and my feelings with the same ardour as I give it to him as I give it to my

virginity,

I swear to follow him to Venice where he wants to lead, to live there eternally with him as

his wife I also allow him to make

all the use that he will make of this oath against me if I dare to break the

any clause by my will and my unconsciousness", and all signed by your own

blood, have you forgotten Miss de Launay?

but what exactly do you reproach me for, did I not give you all that I have given you

had committed myself, did I not offer us my virginity

my renunciation of the convent

I betrayed my sister and my family for you,

and as a thank-you, this is what you offer me, to live in the most beautiful neighbourhood

and be treated worse than your whores, but if your whores treat you worse than your

so much pleasure, go and find her

no no, this passage is badly written, it couldn't have happened like that,

no it's impossible

I betrayed my sister and my family for you

it is true, you have offered yourself to me without restraint in complete confidence.

and I knew only to blame you and charge you with murderous remarks,

I hear your repentance, sir, but at the same time I know that not having been able to make you happy

I only have to die, I would wait patiently for your

marseille affair is over

and then to the tomb

and this is where the end point of this whole process is

Venetian adventure my friends,

may this story make you wiser

then I would not regret all the trouble I had to write it for posterity.

go back to your rooms, my friends

as for me all this chatter has exhausted me

will you never be able to forgive me

all the harm I've done to you

my dear love?

you were the most precious thing I had in life,

more sincere, happier

why didn't I realise this earlier?

By what perversion of the soul are we passing from laughter to tears?

now it is too late

pleasure will no longer bring back to Venice

You don't have to be old in Venice,

if you lead the life of your age, you lead it sadly.

and abandoned,

and if you want to be a young man when you are no longer a young man

it is indecent and ridiculous!

The Marquis de Sade spent 28 years in prison, before ending those days at

the Hospice de Charenton where he died on 2 December 1814 at the age of 74 years old.

Having returned alone from Italy, Anne-Prospère Cordier de Launay de Montreuil entered

a convent where she died on13th May 1781 of smallpox, complicated by an inflammationof the lower abdomen.

She was 29 years old.