Original subtitles

I've not seen you for two weeks.

Business is business.

Antoine?

Here, deer Minister. Help me repopulate France.

Open up.

Come in.

There's a smell of sex in here as sour as an opposition speech.

I make love from the front, from behind but always on the left.

I have a revolutionary sperm.

You speak like you ejaculate, wrongly and indiscriminately.

Read this and get dressed.

Summons.

"Obtained cocaine through his duties as doctor

and sold it to notorious addicts."

Damn.

We're in trouble.

You're in trouble.

No. If I am then you are too.

I hope you can do something for us.

Yes.

Ship you far away. Unless you prefer prison.

I don't think a minister would allow his friend to go to jail.

Think about it. I'm the millstone attached to your leg.

If the millstone falls, the minister tumbles.

Remember, these addicts are your friends too.

Get rid of these girls

These are all my friends, my language tutors

China, all right?

What the fuck can I do in China?

Indulge your favorite passions, like stealing works of art

You can complete your collections

What you can't steal, you'll have enough money to buy.

You'll be a doctor again and promoted as specialist:

tropical diseases.

You know I can't practice anymore.

I'll get you reinstated.

- How are Chinese brothels? - You'll soon find out.

You'll be busy.

You'll replace a certain Rouvel.

He disappeared a few months ago.

What happened to him?

I don't know.

If you find him, let Paris know.

But try not to disappear yourself.

That would be good for you, though.

One moment please.

I've received some alarming news.

- We know, it always is. - This time it's serious.

Europeans have been attacked.

Anyway...

I will continue our trip as planned,

but those who don't have a compelling reason to go to Canton,

should, for their own safety,

stop at Colombo, where we'll be in three days.

That would be best, I think.

You have very bad luck.

I'm out.

I'm out.

Mr. Durieux is too good a player for us.

I never rely on luck.

You're a scientist even when gambling

You leave nothing to chance.

Twenty to see you.

In economic and nature mechanisms,

there's neither chance nor innocence.

Can I see you in private?

Has it been a long time?

From Marseille.

Since we left.

Brothels in Marseille are awful, no hygiene.

I only go to the best places.

You'll need to be treated with blue methylene.

Blue what?

It suits your complexion.

I won't offer you one, it might overheat you.

So, no more alcohol... and no more women of course.

In short, you'll have to live as a Christian for a while.

That'll be a new experience.

You're going on?

I always go on.

Good luck then.

Good evening.

You don't know M. Durieux, Clara Greenhill, Annie Tsing.

Do you have good news from your father?

Yes thanks.

I did well to have stayed on this ship.

M. Durieux seems fascinated by your chignon.

I've not worn one for 50 years.

He must confuse me with his mother.

Allow me to honor your beauty with an incestuous gaze.

Can I serve you?

Please do.

Does this little boy have permission to drink wine?

Beware, miss. This boy is very advanced for his age.

No.

Commander, have you heard from Canton?

A few dozen dead yesterday.

It's taking its course.

How many corpses do you need in China to make an event?

One is enough for me.

For example, the one I found this morning in the passageway.

Burst of the spleen, perforation of the peritoneum.

It would take a real halberd and a horse running at full speed

to do all that at once.

About that halberd,

since now we're alone.

I found this...

This could have done the trick very well.

Commander, this is not an item to show ladies.

Isn't it yours?

I only sell guns.

I meant, a personal item.

Yes. The spleen, the peritoneum.

This could be our halberd.

You just need a galloping horse.

Best stop looking.

Let's say that our sailors are settling their disputes.

Commander, murder is the very basis of our society.

No more murder, no more governments.

Murder is their only purpose.

Forgive me if I shocked you.

Why would I be shocked? It's a beautiful thing.

Blood is made for the steel of a blade,

as this ruby is made for the gold of its mount.

- May I keep it? - Please do.

You must always give something before taking anything.

Excuse me.

Good Lord! Blood is going to flow over there.

You shouldn't have come in.

No, I don't want that. I beg you.

What's the matter?

What's happening?

Is anyone there? Your friend?

Open!

Clara answer me.

Clara do you have a key? A key?

Are you making all this noise M. Durieux?

- What did you do? - You know very well.

He was so sick the last few days, someone had to end his suffering.

Whose?

Tell him.

You can't understand M. Durieux.

- How did you do it? - You know.

- Did it take a long time? - All evening, my love.

We were all very busy last night.

Better leave her now.

This trip was boring, wasn't it?

I don't often have the chance to be so pleasantly bored.

See you soon.

Mr. Greenhill.

Doctor Durieux?

- Are you really Dr Antoine Durieux? - Yes.

I'm Mr. Schwartz, delighted to meet you.

- Dr Schwartz. - Yes, doctor Schwartz.

Let's walk together.

So you use that as an ambulance?

The problem isn't transporting the patients,

but rather their treatment.

You inject them all with that?

No, we can't afford it.

It's distilled water. It won't hurt them.

- You don't have any drugs? - Yes. We receive some every month

from Europe, but it's no use.

- Everything's held at customs. - At customs?

We have to pay huge taxes, but we have no money.

Taxes on drugs? These Chinese are incredible.

The Chinese?

Yes.

It's a European who heads the customs here.

His name is Greenhill.

He distributes some of the drugs to his private army.

He's still with us.

- He's been surviving for a month. - Stop the distilled water tomorrow.

They are used to their injections.

They'll worry if we stop.

Those dirty needles will infect them even more.

What's this Greenhill like?

Both dreadful and fascinating.

He's of English origin, but he lived in France.

He speaks the language perfectly,

but no-one can discuss with him in any language.

I don't know what language I'll use, but believe me he'll hear it.

You have to be introduced. One doesn't meet him just like that.

We'll see.

Rouvel...

This is all I have concerning your predecessor.

His notes, his work.

Take them.

If they might be of interest.

Thank you, but I'm more interested in the way he disappeared.

In that case, I advise you to be very careful.

People in China disappear easily, but never by chance.

They're sometimes found with their head on one side,

their body on the other

Or at the bottom of a well during the dry season.

Remember this M. Durieux.

In Europe, curiosity is a weakness, in China, it's a great danger.

I would like...

No, not whiskey.

Wait...

The gentleman wants to sell precious objects?

- No, to buy them - Very well sir.

Now, ladies and gentlemen,

you will witness the famous Stroking Torture.

We're going to make a man orgasm to death.

The last time, he'll ejaculate his blood.

Watch the spectacle of pleasure and death.

Mr. Wen is waiting, please follow me

Mr. Durieux, I'm flattered that you honor my modest establishment

with your presence.

Perhaps our show surprised you?

Yes, it even disoriented me.

Your city is a permanent surprise for a European.

I understand.

No thanks.

I'm interested in more authentic aspects of your civilisation.

Most Europeans have forgotten that the British forced opium on us,

which they were making in India just 100 years ago.

Yes, but you gave us gunpowder, so we're even.

For a porcelain from the Song Dynasty,

cultural exchanges could continue between us.

I'm very embarrassed sir.

Sometimes I find beautiful pieces.

I could sell you some,

but I need Mr. Greenhill's permission.

For several years, he has provided valuable assistance

for the modernisation of our customs administration.

- He's an important man here. - Yes I know.

Mr. Greenhill is a collector like you.

He's very keen on me keeping things of great value for him.

I see.

You could probably come to terms with him, if you met him.

Mr. Greenhill is interested in all who,

like him, appreciate our country's art

I'm sure, Mr. Wen, you could help me meet Mr. Greenhill.

"We turn around to look beck, end we think,"

"It's me who lived and not a factitious being created by my pride"

"and my boredom."

"Listen to your heart, when it puts itself in all the loves of your life."

- Who's that? - An actor.

He was a member of a French theater company,

who came here many years ago.

- Oh, opium. - No, a woman.

Miss Clara Greenhill.

- Mr. Durieux, a message for you. - Thank you.

"You're expected this evening at Mr. Greenhill's."

"I'll be there. The French Consul."

Anyway, they'll need our factories.

Yes. Those who have nothing to lose can go.

I have all my fortune here.

You rely on the Communists.

Do you see what's going on here?

In Russia the Communists do not compromise

Dear friend.

This is Antoine Durieux, the new chief doctor of our hospital.

I beg you, dear fellow,

don't talk about these drug issues tonight.

Greenhill has some concerns.

Be diplomatic.

Don't be like that poor Rouvel.

Doctor Durieux, I'm delighted.

I was told you wanted to talk to me.

- Nothing urgent. - Yes you are right.

Here in Canton for a few weeks now, nothing is urgent.

However, let's see the wonders our friend De Berg brings us.

Weapons. You like them?

Yes, in a way.

For some days, we've had curious wounds in our hospital.

As if the victim had exploded inside.

We do what we can to save them, with distilled water.

You have a good sense of humor.

A quality your predecessor completely lacked.

Careful...

- Doctor, you like beautiful things? - Yes.

Then come with me.

- Choose the victim? - I leave the doctor that pleasure.

I'm not sure I would enjoy it.

I'm sure... you'll get used to it here.

I'm delighted to have fled France.

Since we became a republic, France has been a lost country.

I can no longer hunt game at my place

Yet the poachers kill them and the courts are fine with that

For hunting there is only Vietnam.

What an admirable country, with game in abundance.

Especially the peacock.

Where there is deer,

there is tiger and where there is tiger there is peacock.

Does the peacock eat tiger?

No. That's not quite accurate.

When the tiger is sated with deer, it falls asleep,

then it wakes up, relieves itself and leaves.

What does the peacock do?

It waits patiently for this departure in the neighbouring trees

And then it goes down and eats the tiger's excrement.

This is the exact moment to shoot: Bang!

Never will a gunshot give me such intense emotion.

What you have in your aviaries and your gardens as peacocks

are just common turkeys.

I've no idea how many chickens a day I shot.

This is amazing, isn't it?

With these dum dum balls,

your general will become a great strategist.

This brute can't even kill.

He wastes death, he simply wastes it.

But isn't it the most precious thing we have, death?

He has a grave dug, puts the prisoners on the edge,

a machine gun in front of them, and that's it

You know better ways?

More beautiful ones anyway.

Let our strategist have fun with his new toy.

All your fellows will be immediately executed or deported to camps.

You really see everything in black.

If you had seen what happened in Russia,

you would be even more pessimistic than I am.

What can we do?

To double our security,

you know how much that would cost in terms of men and material?

Let's see.

It would be wiser to wait for an inevitable clash

between nationalists and communists.

Believe me, all of these alliances are only momentary.

Nationalists will sooner or later appeal to the warlords

and then we'll deal with them with confidence.

- It seems very simple to me. - Very simple?

You're an idealist my dear.

If Moscow supports the Chinese Communists,

they can find a majority here and take power.

Then we'll all be swept away.

Do you know the history of the Titanic?

It's a ship. A liner.

The biggest ever built.

You launch it, stuffed with passengers.

Somewhere, in the middle of the sea, at night,

the liner, by chance, hits an iceberg and sinks,

slowly because it's a big ship.

It takes hours for death to enter the holds,

the corridors, in the cabins.

Passengers gather in the large premier lounge,

around the Commander.

Everyone knows they are doomed.

The orchestra starts playing and we sing,

"Closer to you my God closer to you..."

You're very nostalgic this evening.

We'll not wait for the General.

The great strategist must be pondering a new battle plan.

In vino veritas.

The General? I saw him in the garden.

He's dead.

- Dead drunk? - No...

Dead.

Are you not going?

The dead bore me.

Come.

Whore.

You'll tell the newspapers, that the General had a heart attack.

Of course, sir.

Captain, it's obvious that this event didn't occur at home.

Of course.

Bring me those who were on duty tonight.

At once, sir.

Mr. Greenhill, these ere the ones on duty.

Antoine.

It's not worth it anymore, my friend. He's dead.

If only we had anaesthetics.

- What are you doing? - You can see that I'm going.

Without drugs, without anaesthesia, we torture these people.

Instead of letting them die quietly.

By the way,

have you talked to Mr. Greenhill about the drug problem?

No.

It would have been useless.

The grandparents of this child were massacred.

Then she was raped five times.

No.

Not with us, my friend.

The grandparents were useless. The girl is not bad.

Yes.

I think she has qualities.

The poor girl has not found the right home.

It would have been better had she been raped 6 times.

I've an appointment with Miss Clara Greenhill.

Antoine, you're late.

- Really? - Yes

We were expecting you, Annie and me.

- Do you know what it is? - Probably anything but an egg.

Yes and no.

Give it to me.

Half filled with mercury, this duck egg has a pretty name in Chinese.

The young girls slide it inside them and go on a swing.

During the hours they spend sitting and waiting,

the voluptuous coming and going of the object readies them for their lover

Annie is expecting a lover?

You, if you want.

Annie has the sweetest mouth, loins and belly imaginable.

- Here. - No, stop.

You're horrible, Clara.

No, dear Antoine.

For one more coin, he would do more if he could.

This kid is not worth the money you give him.

He's worth what you are worth. No more no less.

He doesn't have to beg, he earns his money.

You never miss a chance to bring out the good side of things.

You have the answer to everything, but I don't like your answers, Clara.

You are immoral with your scruples, my dear Antoine.

We have to explain everything to you Europeans and make it logical.

I only want to understand you Clara, if I could.

You can because you love me.

Help me choose.

You took them. You know better than me

You're the European.

You can tell me what touches you the most.

I don't know and we have to get it right.

This photo will be published in the best magazines

in Brussels, Paris and London.

It'll be a big collection.

But what does it do for you?

Me?

It's not about me

It's about the people who pay to read these magazines.

I'm sure Greenhill.

I know Trowner is leaving, he's afraid for his life.

De Berg, I guess, de Berg takes back his weapons.

No more money, no more miraculous bullet.

Take your junk with you my dear.

And now the Consul Muglioni,

In fact I have bad news for you, Greenhill.

I met my British counterpart this morning.

He's letting you go. I tell you this as a friend.

- Yes of course. - We don't have the choice.

They are the strongest now.

You know that as well as we do.

And is that a reason not to fight?

Why did you do that?

Why did I do it?

Your only chance is to leave the town as soon as possible.

We can no longer protect you.

What, protect me?

You?

That's funny.

Until now, I protected you with my troops that I paid,

that I was bleeding.

But now you have no more troops.

Three-quarters of them have joined the nationalists.

With my weapons which you haven't paid for.

And the stock of drugs that you held at customs for them.

They left you nothing.

You really don't understand what's happening in this country.

You confuse everything; Nationalists, Communists.

You should know that the Orient is impossible.

Their view is totally different.

Here, read.

The last statement of Tchang Kai Tcheck

March 17, 1926, not long ago.

Only a week ago.

"I think I have the right to claim credit"

"for bringing the communists within the Kuomintang"

"but I also clearly indicated that I won't accept"

"communist oppression"

"and will oppose their influence when they become too powerful."

Is that clear?

That's why I won't leave.

Besides, I just chose a new wife.

I will marry her in a few weeks according to Chinese customs.

Gentlemen, I have nothing more to do with you.

I never really understand you.

They should have stayed till the end. They think they can live elsewhere.

I don't know why you miss them, they are sinister.

They want to, let them go.

Our universe is falling apart and you still find a way to joke.

It all had to disappear one day.

Do you think it'll be better without us?

I think we have to give them that chance, Mr. Greenhill.

China has only existed for the enjoyment of a few.

We restored the finest and oldest aspects of this country.

Yes, for you, but it's over now.

What are you doing here? Homesick?

Yes, sometimes it gets to me.

Look, Clara, I made a big decision.

I want you to come to Europe with me.

It's not worth it, Antoine. I won't leave.

Why?

This is the only place I can live.

- I thought you couldn't go back. - The Minister will fix all that for me

Don't be stupid Antoine, I'm staying here.

So you and me don't matter?

Of course, it does.

Take me.

Let's go home, Antoine.

Go home now? You have to explain.

Explain what?

That, over there.

You haven't seen anyone. Absolutely nothing.

You were warned.

She took him to the garden.

I'm sure he knows now.

Tell me.

You're really serious about marrying this little girl?

Very serious.

It's an obsession with this family.

First an Englishwoman, she did well to leave.

And now a Chinese.

What a Chinese.

A 12-year-old child.

Are you mad or what?

Everyone's laughing at us

Who's everyone? Those rats fleeing the ship?

Since everything must end, let's end it in style.

Do you call it ending in style?

You know we say things,

that you and your daughter indulge in this garden...

- That's not true. - Yes? Really?

Nothing from her surprises me.

They call her the Spirit of the Burial Pits.

I'd like to understand why.

It's your work. We only finish what you started.

You are monsters.

No, mother.

We're your children.

Antoine.

Antoine.

Antoine?

- Clara. - Tchang?

Yes. I've been released.

So you don't want anything from me?

And you took all these risks for it.

I was afraid you'd forgotten me, Clara.

I'll never forget the poet who described me so well in the past.

"My friend's body is like that of a sow."

"Her chest and stomach smell rotten, and yet I love her."

I must tell you something.

I admire the poet, but the revolutionary bores me.

We'll take the city in a few days.

That's good news.

Save yourself and leave. You know there won't be trials.

You're wrong Clara, I can't love you anymore.

I'm sorry.

I forgot that desire is a sin for you idealists.

Goodbye Clara.

Such a waste.

No, it's Antoine.

Leave him alone, he's not dangerous.

- What's going on in that garden? - You shouldn't have gone back.

Get my robe.

Will you answer me? Yes or no?

Will you tell me? Shit!

Stop!

You really want to know? I don't think so.

You already know what goes on in the garden.

We kill there.

You know it

They kill for pleasure.

And you, you ran over there to make sure,

You saw and you understood.

You came back to beat me and made love to me

Because you liked it, it turned you on.

Do you see Antoine? We're the same.

That's why I love you.

Who are those people who are locked up?

All kinds of people.

Thieves, murderers, political prisoners, incestuous lovers,

convicts.

Are you reassured?

It's monstrous.

I wish I didn't know.

You have to take her home.

The star of this drama, Greenhill, amazes me more and more.

Only one thing saddens him deeply.

He knows the revolutionaries will shoot him without joy.

He won't even be the symbol of dying China.

Here is the Taipong, not really an instrument of torture,

but of justice according to the ancient rules of China.

This woman claims she was raped by this man.

The man claims the opposite.

Thanks to this we'll know which is telling the truth.

The other will die.

I don't understand. Isn't it just an ordinary dildo?

It's a formidable weapon, because this ordinary dildo, as you say,

hides two poisoned darts.

- Under the steel? - Yes.

This wax melts on contact with pleasure.

If it's the man who comes first,

the dart inside is released and pierces his penis.

The poison does the rest.

If the women's pleasure moistens the Taipong,

the other dart, which is outside

rises up and pierces her stomach.

That's horrible.

If the man really raped the woman, it must horrify her.

She'll remain cold under his embrace.

He'll feel the pleasure and he'll die.

But if she lied, or if he manages to excite her, she will die.

- So the man is now free? - Perhaps.

Stop.

What a waste Miss Greenhill, I must finish it all in one day.

You should tell your father I can't.

I don't know how to spoil the job.

Sun is a real philosopher.

He knows Confucius better than anyone.

He studied in Europe at the best universities.

In Oxford, Jena and the Sorbonne.

He's a true fount of science and wisdom.

Right, Sun?

You should have come earlier.

You'd have seen extraordinary work.

They bring me a deformed fat man, of a repulsive ugliness.

I reconstruct him in a few hours.

I trimmed, cut, removed, added muscle, skin and even bone structure.

- I fixed it all. - Who was it?

Just a miserable coolie from the port

Of course, he didn't deserve the honor of such a fine job.

Today, the humblest cobbler can claim

to fill these honorable and difficult places.

No more hierarchy, no more tradition.

We live in a time of disorganisation.

Something is rotten in China.

Tonight when I finish my work for Mr. Greenhill,

I'll try the ultimate experience on myself.

I hope that before I die, I'll finally discover the truth, the limit.

That's what's important.

The line between pleasure and pain.

The line between the human and the inhuman.

The meat has to be rotten for the rot to spread to their bodies.

We kill them tomorrow night.

We probably won't have time to see them flourish.

- Flourish? - You'll understand later.

What does it have to do with these men?

The connection?

That of the rose with the manure.

We are gardeners.

Look, see this monster? It'll make the most beautiful flower,

the most extraordinary that the earth will ever give.

A flower endowed with sensitivity, intelligence.

- A flower capable of pleasure. - Yes, I saw that the other day.

- It was abominable. - You can't have seen it.

We grew it in a greenhouse you have never entered.

Behind you in the cage, don't you recognise anyone?

Make an effort doctor.

- You want to know everything. - No.

I can assure you that you're not far off.

You are burning.

This man loved my daughter very much, but not our flowers.

He made up his mind to destroy our plantations.

We put him there.

Clara couldn't accept that we made this transformation.

- Rouvel? - In a way, yes, that's him.

Now closer to a plant than to a man.

Rouvel.

He doesn't even know his name.

Tell me...

You find this deeply disagreeable?

Yes, I hope I'll wake up in a few hours

and forget you and this nightmare.

You're right.

In a few hours everything will be over.

Go and console Clara.

She can't live without you anymore.

You must hear it,

so you can suffer too, and then feel pleasure.

- Why are you afraid? - Listen, Clara

even though it's in my nature, human nature,

I won't admit it, you understand?

Antoine, I'll never have the time,

time to show you the real face of pleasure.

Maybe I'm too stupid,

but the true face of pleasure is love, not death.

Where are they?

They've opened the prison doors.

- You must go. - Never.

Clara! Clara!

Here are the priests of the new cult, my friends.

They'll begin their ceremonies by finishing ours.

Their emblem is the color of blood, our favorite color.

They think they kill us, but they only replace us.

They think they act in the name of justice and the happiness of men,

but they have to kill us first.

They'll have to keep killing us for generations.

They became criminals like us by seizing power.

That... they will never get over.

"To the priests, the soldiers, the judges,"

"to those people who educate, instruct end govern men,"

"I dedicate these pages of Murder end Blood."

Octave Mirbeeu