The Soundman

But what would happen if all these neutral nations I have mentioned,

and some others I have not mentioned,

were with one spontaneous impulse to do their duty,

and were to stand together with the British and French empires,

against aggression and wrong?

At present, their plight is lamentable,

and it will become much worse.

Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough,

the crocodile will eat him last.

All of them hope that the storm will pass

before their turn comes to be devoured.

But I fear...

I fear greatly

that storm will not pass.

It will rage and it will roar,

ever more loudly, ever more widely.

It will spread to the south,

it will spread to the north...

- How many? - Seven.

- All last night? - Yes.

None with ID papers?

No.

No doubt about it, send them back.

Your parents know you're not allowed to cross the border without papers.

Returning...

Get in. Back to Germany, come on.

Back to Germany. Come on, hurry up.

Quickly. Faster.

Tomorrow, May 6th, the sun won't be shining in Antwerp.

But no rain is expected.

Temperatures will reach 16°C,

time to plant those flower bulbs.

There's also happy news from the zoo!

A cub has been born in the lion enclosure!

When are you leaving?

We're not.

We're staying.

My father's changed his mind.

We're up again.

One o'clock. Finor time.

Thank you.

I'll be back after 1 o'clock with news from the Almanac.

Until then.

Oh Finor, oh Finor,

A bar every day

Oh Finor, oh Finor,

A bite, oh yes, please

Chocolate full of flavour

Early in the morning And on, throughout the day

Finor chocolate

A bite, full of happiness.

Five francs an hour. I was here four hours, that's 20 francs.

A box of Finor is worth more than 20 francs.

Chocolate to buy my ticket to Brussels?

Why was it again your father moved to Brussels?

Five francs.

The door!

"I consider myself fortunate that in my misfortune,

"I have a noble and honourable knight as my guide.

"But what if, on my journey, I were escorted by common soldiers?"

Well, if it isn't our Berre!

- Aunt Gabby. - My lad!

You smell of Limburg. Am I wrong?

How was the journey?

How's my sister doing? Well?

Come in.

Uncle André is still at work.

- Hello. - Hello.

Payment in kind. They've run out of money.

I'm not going back.

Good.

It's about time we left here.

What did you have to do for this?

Here. Read.

"Joan of Navarre is an evil queen.

She has imprisoned my father and my relatives."

"It is true, noble lady,

our queen treats the Flemish very harshly."

When is your exam?

No exam. A voice test. Tomorrow.

"I consider myself fortunate that in my misfortune,

"I have an honourable, loyal knight as my guide.

"But what if, on my journey,

"I were escorted by common soldiers?"

So, that's him?

He got here an hour ago.

I almost didn't recognise him.

Last time I saw him, he was just a little boy.

He didn't dare give me a kiss. I think he's a little embarrassed.

He used all his equipment to record the sound of our doorbell.

Hello there, Berre.

This is Uncle André, my new husband.

- Thank you. - What for?

The internship.

Oh, that was Gabby's idea.

Your mum told me

how much you like playing around with microphones and all that.

I thought: "Perfect, André works at the radio station, so..."

Maybe you can take his equipment upstairs, André.

- There we go. - You go first.

It's all going up to the attic.

- What have you got in here? - Sounds.

I didn't know sound was so heavy.

A few rumours in there too.

In a few moments, "The Politics Chronicle"

by Mr Fleischman, with the latest news

concerning the German-Austrian threat

in the face of reinforced...

Live from the Flagey building in Brussels

the Drama Company presents

the radio play: Arsenic and Apple Tart.

So, you think he's a little shy?

Let the boy listen to his programme.

And my programme?

When Hilter invades, there'll be plenty of time to listen to that drivel.

- Hitler. - Hilter, that's what I said.

Sound effects, Pierre Polak.

Ah, Polak, your internship is with him.

It's started. Eat your soup.

What aromas are these? Freshly ground coffee.

Unusual smells for a pharmacy.

Hello sir, welcome in our shop.

How can I help you?

I am Inspector Nose. Could you call the pharmacist for me?

He is currently unavailable.

I very much doubt that, miss.

At this very moment, he is washing down a slice of freshly baked tart

with a gulp of hot coffee.

How do you know that, inspector?

Dear lady, my nose never fails me.

Unlike in matters of love,

my moustachioed friend has never let me down.

Nicodemus Nose, my trusted friend...

As a little boy, I dreamt of working on a ship.

And look at me now...

The Flagey building.

The world's largest sound factory.

On this ship, I'm not "Uncle André", they call me "Chasseur André".

Understood?

For someone who likes to make noise, you're pretty quiet.

There are six studios for concerts, five for the news and two for records.

And four for radio plays, where your internship is.

And we're the only place in the world with two echo chambers

where sounds are trapped and can't escape.

Sign here, please.

Also, we have three directors.

Who else has three directors?

One for French speakers, one for the Flemish,

and one for both French and Flemish speakers.

What a wonderful country we live in.

Dear colleagues,

this is Berre, my wife's nephew.

He's Polak's 'sound effects' intern.

- Foley. - What's that?

It's called 'Foley' nowadays.

And is it not important that creation around us be not only useful,

and that its usefulness speak to us less than its beauty...

And that it be the beauty of sounds that speak to us most.

Don't worry, Director Van Rooy and I are ready.

If the Germans invade, we will evacuate the building within two hours.

All the Nazis will find is an empty box.

One last thing...

Where are we with the 'Lists of Suspects'?

The Minister of Justice stresses the urgency.

Last month's Minister or today's?

Dear colleague...

How many Ministers of Justice have we had in 18 months?

- Five... or is it six? - These are confusing times...

As is the minister's request:

"Draw up lists of those we suspect

would help the Germans in the event of a German invasion."

Indeed: fascists, rexists, Flemish nationalists.

But also spies hidden among all the refugees from Germany and Austria.

Individuals who may belong to the Fifth Column.

- Not that complicated, is it? - Spies from the Fifth Column?

We have 644 employees.

Do some of them have Nazi sympathies?

Yes, maybe.

But how are we to determine that? It's not written on their foreheads.

As long as they don't walk in here in uniform, there's little we can do.

You know we uphold the neutrality of public broadcasting.

But the question's vagueness may lead to arbitrariness

and, above all, lead to false accusations.

Listen, we'll keep a close eye on the situation.

Our staff know they can tell the secretariat

if they notice anything suspicious.

Stand up straight and avoid eye contact.

Director...

Director.

Am I really hearing the Soviet Union's national anthem?

Are communists just given free rein here?

How neutral is that?

The mornings are set aside for political broadcasters.

We have no say in that.

It was a political decision.

- Who is broadcasting right now? - The socialists.

Ah, Chasseur André, could you open this door, please?

They've locked it from the inside.

- Can't you block their audio signal? - Yes, that's possible.

Run faster than 340 metres per second and you'll outrun the sound wave