Original subtitles

The film we present to you won First Prize

"LA PALME D'OR" at the Cannes International Film Festival of 1961

Day comes with all her roses...

The Long Absence

with

Screenplay

Directed by

in collaboration with

Goodbye.

How are you?

- Hello, Mrs. Langlois! - Hello.

Hello, Fernand.

Hello, Monsieur Pierre.

- Ah well, busy as always. - Always...

Two sodas, and a glass of ice water...

So, in our area?

Have fun at the 14th of July parade?

Well, you going tomorrow?

Right...

Do you need something heated-up?

- It's fine Therese. - I want to eat cold!

2400 francs

Quickly, Madame Langlois! The same thing as him.

What are you carrying this week?

Artichokes.

That's it.

My wife is calling me.

- I'll pay you later. - There's no rush, monsieur.

Hurry, we've already missed the beginning.

I'm coming, I'm coming.

So he says:

Who is that great, big man in black?

That's my sister...

Well our Nencini... has he won yet?

Nencini, I don't know.

No one's won yet.

- What did we miss? - It's just begun.

- And Nencini? - He's in 3rd.

Hey, would you keep it down over there!

Be fair madame Therese...

I don't care about the Tour de France.

- Where is it? Where's today's stage? - How should I know?

The Tourmalet, perhaps?

Tourmalet? They're already in the mountains?

If Roger attacks now...

he could go into an early lead.

It's possible given the composition of his team.

Maybe, maybe...

Here in France...

we have, supposedly, the most peaceful people in the world.

The past twenty years we've been nothing but average.

For twenty years I've been coming to this cafe.

- Will you call my husband? - Yes, Madam Favier.

Favier!

Your wife is calling for you.

Do you ever miss me?

After all these years of serving drinks...

the case is the same.

Good, what? I have a crazy reason.

What then? I'm exhausted.

Well, it's true. Huh... It's true.

Good evening!

See you tomorrow, Therese.

See you tomorrow!

- Get back alive! - I'm going straight home.

And sleep well!

When do you leave?

Tomorrow morning.

The year is over for you?

I don't know...

I really want to go to Chaulieu.

Oh yeah? That's good.

And it would be easier for us to meet... you being on vacation instead of here.

It's not far from me.

Tell me, Therese...

when would you like to go?

In two or three weeks.

If your ready this Friday...

we could combine our holidays when I pass by the city.

Yes, I really might go to Chaulieu for a bit if you're going.

Just for a week.

Because when I'm there it only lasts for a day or two, if that.

The river, the swamp behind the school...

it always does something to me.

And then it's over.

And then I'm simply dying to get away again, my goodness...

Why here, just an ordinary, suburban cafe?

This is my home.

Yes, I really might go to Chaulieu for a bit.

And especially as it'll be so quiet here.

And this is nothing; in a few days' time, you'll see...

I did well this year though.

Well normally, we all go on vacation.

To the coast of the Mediterranean!

You'll be okay, managing on your own?

Rest assured, everything will be fine.

Goodbye!

I'm off to bask in the sun!

Have fun and comeback safe!

Enjoy you're vacation!

Look, Madame Therese, we're the only ones here.

The only ones? Only ones?

And what, we don't count? Nor the artist or the cop?

What's with the story, eh?

Ah, there's the singer.

- What singer? - It's a tramp who always goes by at mid-day.

And every morning, too. I hear him when I'm getting up.

What's he singing today?

Hm, that's the...

the big aria from the Barber.

- That's funny. It looks as if he's afraid of you. - Think so?

Therese!

What's the matter?

It's...

that man.

Did he frighten you?

Yes.

- But what did he do to you? - Nothing.

He went by. I was scared.

But...

don't you want to tell me what the matter is? - or can't you tell me?

I can't.

And even if I wanted to, I wouldn't be able to find the words.

I'm going now, Madame Therese.

I'm coming.

Don't bother.

Tell me, Therese...

Tell me, Therese...

Tell me you're pleased to be going to Chaulieu with me

There's only a week, now, before we go, you know.

With all that load, it'd be as well if I left now.

So soon?

Yes, you're quite right. You might just as well leave at once.

But what's the matter with you? Say something, for God's sake!

What's the matter with me?

There are some evenings – you know –

when you think about your life. You get...

carried away.

That's all.

And what else did you buy?

A beach bag.

What's it like?

Big.

- What colour? - Blue.

Look.

Go and bring him in.

- Madame... - Go on, I tell you. Ask him in.

Why?

Go on, I tell you. Ask him in.

- How? - Anyhow you like. Go on.

Monsieur...

Monsieur...

Aren't you thirsty?

Wouldn't you like something to drink?

It's hot, isn't it?

Would you like a glass of beer?

We hear you singing every day.

I see you going by.

Do you live over there?

Yes.

Over there.

By the river?

Yes...

by the river.

Afternoon Martine.

Ah – give me a beer too.

And the song you sing—

what is it? Is it from an opera?

Yes.

And just now, what was it you were singing?

I was singing, I was singing...

It was...

the Barber, the 'Calumny' aria.

How do the words go?

Oh...

Oh, a whisper is the same calumny.

Soft as silence, whose quiet sighing...

- I can't remember what comes after that. - Oh, that's easy:

Lightly as a harp Aeolian.

From scarce nothing, from scarce nothing seems to swell.

And how is it that you know all these songs so well?

Perhaps you were a singer, once?

A singer?

- Once you know an opera you never forget it. - You never forget it.

- Perhaps not. - There's no perhaps about it. It's a fact.

Really, weren't you ever a singer?

Maybe.

Maybe! What d'you mean, 'maybe'?

Either you were a singer or you weren't. You ought to know.

Well?

What's that?

An identity card?

Ro... Robert...

Landais?

- Is that it? - That's what they told me it was.

So what? Robert Landais, what does that mean?

Nobody's asking you anything, Monsieur, you're quite free to have a secret.

- Oh, it isn't a secret. - What is it, then?

It's that I've lost my memory.

Madame Therese!

What a business!

That's what I told myself.

Always...

I knew it...

You see, you oughtn't to let them in.

It's the heat...

Where is he?

Madame Therese!

Where's she going?

Why don't you cut the string?

You could always tie it up again...

Do you sell them?

Not all of them.

That's the problem.

I see.

If I knew what to do...

- I could help you. - Oh no. No.

Couldn't I possibly?

No, no.

Not possibly.

I'm on holiday...

and I haven't got anything to do at the moment.

- As you see, I'm just wandering around. - Yes, I see.

I really would have liked to help you.

If you were to tell me why...

and how –

why one rather than another...

What does it depend on?

Well...

it depends on everything...

so...

You work very hard.

Yes, very hard.

Before I eat, I work with rags and papers... in order to live.

After...

It's for me...

for fun.

He won't be long now.

Well...

it's finished.

I've installed everything we have in the genre.

- Eight. All operas. - That's great.

But they don't pay, you know.

Oh, that's not important.

Right... Well, have a good holiday.

Would you like a nice, cool beer?

You go now.

Have a good holiday, Martine dear.

- But... - No, no...

I'm perfectly all right.

It's good.

Your beer...

come and sit down...

sit down there.

You see, I've been thinking about you.

Well?

I don't know.

Well, Alice dear...

how's Jean Langlois?

Jean Langlois is very well.

- His wife is looking forward to your going there for your holiday. - Isabelle?

Isabelle Langlois?

Yes.

Isabelle Langlois.

Chaulieu...

the village of Chaulieu-sur-Loire— is it still the same?

The embankment? The church?

And the swamp behind the school?

How many children does Isabelle Langlois have now?

Because when Albert was taken prisoner, at Chaulieu-sur-Loire, you remember...

in June 1944, at Chaulieu-sur-Loire...

when Albert was taken prisoner that morning at Isabelle Langlois' house, his sister in law...

Isabelle Langlois, had three children.

Yes.

Denise, Georgette and Marcel.

It was such a long time ago, Alice, such a long time ago.

How long ago was it?

Sixteen years.

Isabelle had another child afterwards, and they called him...

Albert...

after his uncle who was taken prisoner at Chaulieu-sur-Loire...

and who was called Albert Langlois.

Yes, Albert Langlois...

my uncle...

who was arrested by the French police...

- at Chaulieu-sur-Loire. - Yes, my nephew Albert Langlois...

who was tortured at Chaulieu-sur-Loire.

Yes...

he was handed over to the Gestapo at Angers...

in the Maine-and-Loire department.

And then, do you remember?

He was imprisoned at Fresnes...

on the 24th of June, 1944,

and deported on the 14th of July, 1944.

Yes.

With his friend...

Aldo Ganbini...

and two English airmen who disappeared...

along with him.

When they were arrested...

Albert Langlois was taking them to Brittany.

And they even gave him a decoration...

Albert Langlois –

he was a hero.

Albert Langlois was a hero...

and was given a decoration.

And it was to his wife, Therese Langlois...

that some very important people...

presented Albert Langlois' decoration...

on the 24th of November, 1946...

in the middle of the courtyard of the invalides.

Therese Langlois' name was Teresa Ganbini...

when she came to Chaulieu in...

1936...

with her parents.

And did Therese marry again? Albert Langlois' wife?

Did she marry again after her husband was arrested...

- at Chaulieu-sur-Loire? - No.

Therese Langlois...

never married again.

- Never married again. - Never.

Never, that's right.

She stayed on in Paris.

Therese Langlois stayed on in Paris.

She went on running her business in Puteaux, in the Paris suburbs.

She goes back to Chaulieu-sur-Liore for holidays.

But the rest of the time she's in Paris.

Therese Langlois is in Paris!

It's him, isn't it?

Therese, my child...

I'm an old woman...

I knew your husband, Albert Langlois, well... I witnessed his birth... watched him grow up...

I knew him twenty-five years before you did.

You see...

I never saw him the way you did, with the eyes of love.

And that's why I can't be wrong Therese.

When you love someone...

you often say...

you say without much reason, that you're the only one who really knows that person.

But I think it's the opposite, Therese.

Now that I've really looked at that man, as I did look at him, for a long time...

His eyes, Alice.

- Was it by his eyes you recognized him? - No.

How was it, then?

I didn't recognize him.

Come back, Therese...

You mentioned his eyes, for instance...

Albert's eyes were dark.

- Not always. - Yes. Always.

- No. - Yes.

Right...

But what about his height? The langlois are all tall...

- but Albert wasn't as tall as... - His height? That I do know.

My hair came up to the level of his mouth... exactly...

he was the tallest man in Chaulieu...

that I do know...

- my hair... - And with this man?

Exactly the same.

But Therese...

All those operas that you told us he was always singing? How would he have learned them?

- Don't you remember Albert, whenever music was on the radio... - And what about my cousin, Aldo Ganbini?

Aren't you forgetting Aldo?

They were together in the camps.

You're not saying Aldo didn't sing opera, are you?

And then, anyway...

why should he have come by here, why should he have passed by this cafe every day...

- for a fortnight? - Yes, why should he?

Because it's where he lived—

it's where we lived.

Right.

Then why did he wait sixteen years before he came this way?

It's because his memory is beginning to come back.

How can you know?

I know it in the same way as I know how to breathe.

Because I'd forgotten him, too.

Well, but Therese...

- has he got any papers? - Of course he has.

And they aren't in his name...

because up till now he'd forgotten what his name was.

- How did he get his papers? - Oh, you know...

in his job...

you can easily get hold of some papers...

Therese...

you must be reasonable.

Perhaps—though I can't believe it—

but perhaps he was Albert Langlois.

But now, Therese, now—you've seen him—

who is he?

But he is Albert, Alice...

he is...

If it is him...

the way he is...

Oh! it'd be terrible!

Then after all... you said...

you didn't recognize him.

I remember him as someone completely different, but you know...

after such a long absence...

how could you recognize...

His name...

it was Landais...

Robert Landais she said, wasn't it?

- We ought to be able to make enquiries. - We ought to be able to, yes.

You forgot these.

Forgot.

You went off so suddenly yesterday.

Yes. Yesterday.

Yes...

my family were there... in the cafe...

you went off so suddenly...

The family...

It was late.

The magazines were an excuse.

I came because I had something to say to you.

Something to say to me?

I came to tell you...

that you remind me of someone.

Someone.

Someone I used to know. Years ago.

And whom I haven't seen since. Never.

You can't imagine just how much you remind me of him.

What can I do about it?

I don't know.

You could come and see me...

now and then...

We could meet.

Have a meal together sometimes...

If you'd like to...

we could talk.

We could listen to music...

- You... - The thing is, I'm a busy man.

I know.

But whether you eat here or there...

at your place or mine...

it wouldn't take you any longer. Don't you think?

Don't you think?

I don't understand.

Just an idea I had. A funny idea.

Yes, it's a funny idea.

Talk about funny.

I'd be so pleased if you would.

So pleased...

Yes.

Then... you'll come won't you?

As you come that way in any case... then it'll be easy...

one evening.

Yes...

Yes...

I'll come... one evening.

I can't believe it.

You know, when I shut my eyes and see him...

As he used to be.

As we were together.

And how kind he was.

And how we loved each other.

You can't possibly understand.

I've found a treasure.

Therese...

Our Holiday...

aren't you coming with me, now?

You and me – is it all over?

This is for you.

It is...

It is superb.

Come.

Stay...

Don't go.

It's... not very big...

Would you rather eat there?

Then you shall eat there.

- What's going on? - They're having dinner.

Did she invite him to dinner?

Yes.

And it's a real dinner.

That was good.

- Aren't you having any? - Oh, I eat so little...

Do you like cheese?

Yes...

Very much... I eat a lot of it.

Is there any cheese you particularly like?

Just a minute...

Yes... I rather think...

Just a minute...

Is it Bleu du Maine, perhaps?

Ah yes!

Yes...

Bleu du Maine.

Nice and dry.

It's not impossible to find it in Paris.

It depends on the time of year.

All of a sudden, you find a grocer from that part of the country...

and there you are, he sells it.

From that part of the country?

Yes. Yes.

From Maine-et-Loire.

Bleu du Maine is a cheese from Maine-et-Loire.

A summer cheese.

A summer cheese...

Bleu du Maine?

I don't know.

Of course...

I may well be mistaken...

That's what it is, that cheese.

Ah, I was thinking...

I was thinking...

Has it been a long time...

since you had any?

Oh yes...

it must have been a very long time.

Don't you remember?

Well, no...

I've lost my memory.

Oh, I didn't know.

Germany.

Did they deport you?

Yes.

At least...

so they told me...

But I remember the taste of it very well.

But...

But do you remember the moment when you began to...

remember things again?

Which moment?

The first moment you remember...

after you lost your memory.

Ah, yes...

Yes...

It was in a field.

There was...

a kind of bush.

A round one...

It wasn't moving.

It was very peaceful.

There wasn't anyone there.

I remember it distinctly.

It was in the daytime.

A long time ago.

But the moment itself?

What does it feel like at the very moment?

It doesn't often happen, does it?

So it would be interesting to know how...

how it feels.

Finding yourself... just like that...

in a field... one you don't know.

Weren't you surprised?

Well...

No.

You get up...

you start walking...

and there you are.

You get up...

you walk...

and there you are.

But...

that bush you were talking about...

the field, the sun.

Had you seen things... like that... before?

How should I know?

And then, what else?

You said:

"You get up, you walk"

But what else?

Well... yes...

You get up.

You walk.

Yes.

You have a bit of a headache.

That's all.

Would you like to listen to some music?

Oh yes.

Some music.

Let's have some champagne.

Now and then. Why not?

I can understand her hesitation.

His build.

His walk.

And his voice, too.

But what good will it do her to recognize him...

if he doesn't remember her? - Well yes, but put yourself in her place.

And you know, the letter she got saying he was missing...

I saw it myself, and I didn't think it was very definite.

How extraordinary it must be...

what you were telling me just now...

to lose your memory just like that...

completely, wasn't it?

Completely, yes.

But you know...

Is there... nothing... absolutely nothing...

that you remember?

Nobody...

Not even one person...

No.

And what if someone suggested a way of getting your memory back?

If there were some means of getting it back?

A new invention...

that would suddenly give you back your entire past?

I don't understand.

Three times...

fifty times more memories...

at a single stroke...

Perhaps you used to own some houses...

princely dwellings...

Perhaps you had the best friends in the world... a family...

A woman...

A wife...

and perhaps other entanglements as well. Who knows?

Perhaps you'd travelled. To the ends of the earth...

Why refuse to accept it all?

A whole life would open up behind you...

Why refuse it?

I'm not refusing anything.

I'm sorry.

What I meant to say...

was that if you really tried...

you might perhaps go a bit further back

than the field you were telling me about...

Than the sun... the bush...

perhaps you could try...

But how?

Did anyone ever say you were...

shamming?

Yes... Yes...

People in offices.

But I never believed them.

What I mean, too...

was that, well...

don't you think...

supposing, you were happy before...

it might be nice to be able to remember it...

Happy. Before.

Yes. Why not?

Maybe. Who knows. Hm?

Happy, before?

Tell me, did the doctors ever say anything about your memory?

Tell me?

Yes.

They said they...

didn't know.

Didn't they hold out any hope

that you might get it back one day...

None at all?

I don't know.

And do you...

remember how to dance?

To dance...

to dance...

I think I might be able to.

Would you like to?

Thank you for coming.

You see...

you dance very well.

Dear me.

You are a nice woman.

A woman?

Don't you remember having one? A wife?

Who loved you.

No.

Don't you remember being engaged, at one time...

a long way away from Paris?

Don't you remember?

No.

And don't you remember being married, at one time...

to a woman called Therese Langlois?

Don't you remember?

At Chaulieu?

Chaulieu-sur-Loire?

You see...

you can dance. And very well.

Dear me...

you really are very nice.

No.

It's not that.

I've already told you.

You remind me of someone I knew years ago.

Someone you've never seen since?

Never.

Someone I loved very much.

That's sad.

Yes.

What did they tell you, about this business of your memory?

Did they tell you...

that one day...

just like that...

all of a sudden...

it might...

come back?

Oh, you're crying.

What an idea!

Ah!

Must you go?

Yes.

Albert...

Albert...

Albert Langlois...

Albert Langlois, someone's calling you.

Therese...

Therese...

Nothing's happened.

He isn't hurt.

He isn't hurt?

No. Nothing happened.

But then...

Where is he then?

Gone.

Again.

Give up.

You can see you'll never get anywhere.

I'll have to try something else.

To be more patient, perhaps.

Or perhaps to frighten him.

What do you think?

You know perhaps in the winter...

when it's very cold...

perhaps it will be easier to get him to come back...

The summer's a bad time of year...

Whereas in the winter...

Suddenly...

not knowing where to go...

in the summer...

they're much freer...

I'll have to wait till the winter...

I'll have to wait till the winter...