Le nez dans le ruisseau

WITH THE NOSE IN THE STREAM

I am now alone on earth,

no longer having any brother, neighbor, friend, or society

other than myself.

You must read this out loud.

You must hear the voice as it asks itself the question,

who is speaking?

Rousseau's voice is made even stronger

by the fact that he wrote this without pausing or breathing.

You must read it and listen to it the way it was thought,

in one breath.

Can you read, please?

I am now alone on earth, no longer having any brother,

neighbor, friend, or society other than myself.

Thank you.

You must feel it.

You must hear the voice. Miss?

I am now alone on earth, no longer having any brother,

neighbor, friend, or society other than myself.

The most sociable and the most loving of humans has been...

Thank you.

Is it possible to live like this today, without the others?

If you don't have a life, yes.

The actual question is:

can you live out of society and be happy?

I'll let you think about it.

Is he here?

Since when do you choose my subjects?

- Can we talk later? - No.

Munch wants something about the tercentenary of Rousseau's birth.

It'll be a special event for the network.

- Are you kidding me? - Get real, Marie.

You lose viewers every day. I don't perform miracles.

Come on, every network is losing plenty of viewers.

This has nothing to do with my show.

Don't make things harder than they have to be.

Find a nice angle and an expert for credentials.

Make something nice and they'll be happy.

What if I say no?

Asshole.

May I get the check, please?

Diderot?

Diderot?

You must be hungry. Come here.

Come here, my cat.

You're hungry.

Can you remind me why you're here? It wasn't clear on the phone.

I'm going to show you. It'll be easier.

- Is it going to take long? - No, only a minute.

Put it here.

- Do you know who Rousseau is? - Rousseau?

A man who writes a treaty on education and abandons his kids?

I don't get him, and I don't have a good opinion of him.

Is he a football player?

It's really stupid to interview children.

Wait, here it comes.

Rousseau trusted man.

No, if men were less envious, they'd be happier.

Enough, my boy.

He knew that man's salvation would mean going back to nature.

It's not true. Going back to nature is impossible.

How do you know that?

Let me talk. Go away very far.

He can't know that at his age.

It takes several years of study.

Either he's a gifted child,

either he repeats what he's been told.

I think the second solution is more likely.

Have you seen his eyes?

And the way he talks?

Don't you think it'd be worth it to ask him how he knows that?

I don't own a TV, Miss Mercier.

I don't know what you want to do with him.

You must understand

that Rousseau's thought is complex and precious.

Symposiums and interviews will celebrate him as he should be.

I don't think I can be useful to you.

I can understand why you're not interested.

It is a way to show Rousseau's ideas

on a national network, at 9 p.m, on prime time.

I'll find someone else.

I guess there is no lack of Rousseau's experts.

Wait.

Tomorrow, after my class, at 10.30.

Why did you decide to dedicate your life to Rousseau?

It's not common to dedicate one's life to a dead man.

You should watch the road.

I rambled about in this manner till I got to Confignon,

in Savoy, at about two leagues distance from Geneva.

Hello.

Yes, hello?

Hello.

- I'm Marie Mercier. - I know.

I did vox pop interviews here two days ago.

I asked your son whether he knew about Rousseau.

What he answered was astonishing.

Tom spends his time saying weird things.

He's a very, how shall I put it, different boy.

- Can we see him for a minute? - Of course.

I have to go, though. I have some work to do.

He must be in his room.

Thank you.

How come you're so late? Do your homework.

Tom?

He's not here.

Hello, Tom.

We just wanted to ask you a question.

Can we talk?

Remember what you said when I asked you if you knew Rousseau?

Get out of my room.

Go away.

Men always believed what they wanted to believe.

People won't believe that a little boy

could know Rousseau without ever studying about him.

My viewers are people who need entertainment,

who need to be told stories that are not about their daily lives.

Even if they're not completely true,

they just need to believe they're true.

Tell them the story of Rousseau's life.

You'll see it's full of surprises.

Do you know why he wrote 'The Confessions'?

No.

After 'Emile' and 'The Social Contract' were banned,

everybody attacked him.

His books were burned, he was proscribed.

Overnight,

even though his only crime had been to seek the truth,

every police were allowed to arrest him.

He started writing the first book of 'The Confessions'.

The first words made history.

"I have entered upon a performance which is without example,

"whose accomplishment will have no imitator.

"I mean to present my fellow-mortals with a man

"in all the integrity of nature; and this man shall be myself."

Can you imagine the courage needed to write this?

Let's go back there.

When I came near him he backed away as if he were scared by me,

as if he were impressed.

You'll talk to him.

Come.

- It's your story, not mine. - Come!

Please, come.

My name is Auguste.

Everybody calls me Professor Stohler,

but you can call me Auguste.

I know your name's Tom.

- You know why I'm here? - No.

Me neither.

May I ask you a few questions?

Yes.

What is nature to you?

Things that were not touched by man.

Is man part of nature?

It depends how you look at things.

What do you mean?

Man does things that are not part of nature,

but he was created by it.

He transformed nature.

That's true.

He talked about nature,

about the signs in nature that show everything's there.

All you need to do is open your eyes.

You can hear the truth of man better.

Animals know everything at birth but men need to learn everything.

- How does he know that? - He won't say.

What's unsettling is that it seems to come from the inside.

- Do you want more? - It's okay, thanks.

If you don't want to do it, you don't have to.

It's okay.

Don't do it to please me. You have to like doing it.

It's okay, dad.

It's your birthday soon. We could have a party.

Only with Thérèse.

We could do something special with her.

Bon appetit.

- Time to sleep. - I'll turn the lights off.

- Dad? - Yes?

Didn't you want another boy instead of me?

Of course not.

- I'm going to sleep now. - Have nice dreams.

- Do you take your pills? - Yes.

- How do you react to it? - It's okay.

You should consider surgery.

- You really should. - Yes.

We'll see.

You've already had a heart attack.

- Don't forget your beta blockers. - I won't.

- Goodbye, doctor. - Goodbye.

- You could say hello. - Hello.

Hello, Tom.

I'm sorry I entered your room without asking.

I wouldn't have liked it either.

I'll leave you alone.

I have a gift for you.

My brother had a carnivorous plant like you when he was little.

These flies are from my office.

I'm the best at catching them.

I can show you if you want.

- Do you want me to? - Tom, come and get your bike.

Thank you for the flies.