Woman in Chains (La prisonnière)

It's Maurice.

Come on, lazy. It's Saturday.

- What? - It's your turn to go and open up.

Get a move on.

Coming.

You're early.

You think? It's ten past eight.

Be an angel, make us some coffee.

Ten past eight. Hurry.

My dressing gown.

Your dressing gown. Here.

The time for that was last night.

I had work to do.

Forget it, we've got other things to do.

- I couldn't finish it last night. - Why not?

Because of this.

That's not bad.

Finish it by noon. I'll send somebody to pick it up.

- Stan will be angry. - Damn him.

Can't you shave? I'll never be there by nine.

Feasting your eyes? Every cube has a number.

- All right, I'm coming. - Now you will be late.

See? They're nice.

- The yellow isn't flashy enough. - What do you want?

That'll be fine.

Be calm, my friend.

Hello, how are you?

It's getting there. You're the last one.

Try to be here around eight.

I'll try.

Sorry, we're in a panic.

I have to go.

You could still kiss me goodbye.

No, not this way. You'll ruin everything.

- I said go the other way. - This is where you want to put me?

Hold on. Let's see it.

I need light, and you put me in a dark corner.

Mark it. You'll have the same light as everyone.

Listen, Stan. Come here.

When they arrive, they'll see only the stairs.

- Perfect interference. - Interference?

And this rainbow's reflecting on my work.

Splashing you, am I? You're lucky: there's a wall in front of me.

Look, every square metre is costing me a small fortune.

You'll have to settle for the place I give you.

- Is he annoyed already? - Hold this.

Now what?

The chains keep breaking.

- It's a DIY job. - I'll change it.

Good luck.

- What about your column? - It'll be ready by noon.

- We'll pick it up in the morning. - Tonight.

Forget it, I asked for it two weeks ago.

My assistant's been working twelve hours a day.

- And what have you been doing? - Working on this.

- What is it? - Rotating squares. Lot of work.

- It's not very exciting. - It's subtle.

I didn't give up advertising to do flashy stuff.

You should. Your work has to stand out, literally.

And that goes for all of you. Your stuff must impress them.

- What is it now? - Leparc's on the phone.

He can't find a van.

What a shambles. This is going to be a disaster.

Then he jumped on me. He poked and kicked me.

And then I was bleeding.

The more he hit me, the more I said: "I don't want to."

Finally I cried for pity, I kissed his feet, and...

You kissed his feet after he beat you?

- Yes. The first time, yes. - Did you get pleasure from it?

Yes. I forgave him. I bear no grudge.

For him, as for me, I'm his... his slave.

I want to belong entirely to him.

He beats her up and she asks for more.

- They're all like that. - Surprised?

- It's disgusting. - Next one.

You see a theme, someone else

sees another theme. In reality, nobody can see it.

Congratulations, Stan. It's marvellous.

Well done. See you soon.

Come to our stud farm. We're there every weekend.

I'll call you.

When a dynamic is launched,

the controlling force must be sufficiently intense

to ensure the total freedom of the morpho-chromatic elements.

Total freedom?

Well, almost. It's vital to avoid...

- You're in top form. - It's normal.

All this is so... stimulating.

- Leaving already? - Not my scene.

The stakes are high.

You can count on me. I'll be back when it's quieter.

Fine. Just give me a second.

Excuse me, I have customers.

We were at the Ferrands'. Not great, but we slept well.

It's simple, but it exists.

Yes, it matches the chap's outline.

- Funny, isn't it? - Yes, as a novelty.

My dear friend. Do you like it?

It's striking.

We came here to see you.

Gilbert's out of luck.

Yes. Why leave me to become an undercover painter?

- Have you seen him? - In the back room.

Yes, the labyrinth.

What's wrong with her?

All of them?

- Don't they count for anything? - Yes, historically perhaps.

I'm not a fool, but they're boring, meaningless.

I see.

- Just like Picasso. - Him too?

Burned out.

So what's left?

Well, we are.

It sounds pretentious, doesn't it?

Not at all.

- Was it unpleasant? - No, but when I drink, I misbehave.

I hope so.

- Getting back to Stan Hassler... - Again?

- I'm interested in your opinion. - I get some more ammunition.

Were you there?

Look, you can't say I'm jealous.

But if you planned to have it away with some tart,

why invite me? - Know who that "tart" is?

It's Justine Godard, the art critic.

She wants to write a whole review on my work.

- I have to warm her up a bit. - So warm her up in a bar.

- Or just take her home. - My car's at Lagny station.

Take mine.

You're too kind.

- What about that ammunition? - Never mind that.

The day's ending better than it began.

Can we begin now?

I'd prefer you over here.

Give me the microphone.

A short voice test.

...the artistic needs of our time.

2,000 homes are built in France every day.

What should we put on the walls?

Obviously art must be democratised by mass production.

Could you clarify that?

It's not a question of reproducing endless copies of easel paintings.

For my team, there are no originals.

All our works are identical.

We put out 400 or 500 at a time.

You're not a traditional art dealer?

Definitely not. I'm opening a discount supermarket for art.

- Your investment must be... - Considerable.

In the order of six figures.

It's an unprecedented risk.

And what if the public doesn't take to it?

The younger generation won't be shocked.

Kinetic art clashes

with our old cities, but it reflects the modern world

and helps us understand it.

And thanks for the discount.

- I tried to impress them. - You did very well.

Has Gilbert left?

- Are we meeting him later? - If we can find him.

There's no harm in it. He's just doing his job.

- As you are yours. - No. That's enough.

- How about dinner? Are you hungry? - Not very.

Me neither.

How about a quiet drink?

Give me five minutes to shut up shop.

- Did it go well, Sir? - Very well.

Thanks for waiting up, Salah.

Anything I can do, Sir?

Take out a few ice cubes

before retiring.

I put Sir's mail and telegrams in the study.

- Did you note down the calls? - On the pad.

Take a seat. I'll be right back.

Anything serious?

No, just some money issues. Nothing major.

There are some ice cubes.

Say when.

No, I take it straight.

Not drinking?

No, I never drink. Sometimes fruit-juice.

That's not much fun.

I'm not much fun.

Don't you like it here?

It's very nice.

A bit... surprising.

For you, I mean.

Don't you like Bellmer and Dubuffet?

I don't sell them but I do buy them.

Do you take photos?

Didn't Gilbert tell you?

Would you like to see some?

I'd love to.

It's only a hobby.

I've photographed bits of wall, drops of water.

But mainly words... words.

Writing is amazing: what you read,

what the author lets slip out.

- Not only authors do that. - You're harsh.

Can't you tell?

Just sit down there.

It's not very comfortable, but you'll see better.