Incipient gold
Oh, sunsets!
Oh, splendors of myths and of epics!
Oh, tigers!
Invaluable gold
Oh, your hair in my desiring hands
So?
Very nice.
Why is it always about me?
Why not write real stories?
Something you invent.
Invent...
Nothing is invented!
Cross my heart, it would be superb.
Doctor to the poor
You're looking for food and lodging.
And you were told I open my door to the needy.
You were told the truth.
Are you deaf?
Do you read lips?
You're a deaf mute. Excellent!
I mean...
Come in, please.
Madeleine!
Add a place setting.
Looking at the books?
My daughter and I read voraciously.
Oh yes, he can't hear.
We claim we're civilized
but our fellow citizens are mostly illiterate.
Flies? Bees?
A library collapsed on you?
You can write?
I see! Most of these authors are dead?
Yes, but...
their work... It lives on.
Transmitted to us forever,
like light from dead stars.
Come.
We'll discuss this during dinner.
Did you call Josephine?
You're eating.
It's often the case around 8.
Stop pretending, Paul.
This evening we have an exceptional guest.
Feel free to speak.
The poor boy is deaf and dumb.
He possesses all the characteristics
of the backwards creature.
Semi-wild.
However he seems endowed
with a form of innate cognitive alertness.
The way he drew a word, earlier,
on a piece of paper
shows a capacity for imitation
to which we must adjoin real understanding.
What do you think, Josephine?
No use trying to penetrate her reveries.
Are you okay?
Come to think of it...
Maybe you can read?
With you, it's one surprise after another.
Go ahead.
I'm not hungry.
Read future.
What does fate hold in store for my daughter and me?
Force.
Disease.
I'm a doctor.
Don't take this hocus-pocus seriously!
Woman.
Birth.
More or less French.
Woman, birth...
Interesting.
A true artist.
Enough of this!
Fascinating.
How do you do it?
I am...
the son...
of God.
I come...
from above.
I'm sorry, my friend.
I'm a die-hard atheist.
Josephine, however,
is a believer like her late mother.
It is she who will find you impious!
Who cares? I never believed anyway.
I'm late.
You always are.
Madeleine!
Why are you so upset?
Feeling ill?
Stay in your room today. Do you promise?
I prepared the beans.
Shall I stay with you?
Josephine?
Are you there?
Chimp back in the wild?
You should go.
I'm sick.
What is it?
I don't know.
I'll come back tonight.
Have you come for food?
For the road?
My father...
will be here shortly.
Are you scared?
It's almost ready.
Here.
This was my favorite room as a child.
Child.
I was given my bath here.
Here.
My wet feet.
My wet...
feet.
My wet feet in Papa's hands.
How gentle.
Gentle.
I ran in the garden.
Naked!
We laughed.
Your blood, my blood.
Majesty.
"Oh, your hair in my desiring hands!"
Go away!
Wait!
What do you want from me?
What do you want?
Want nothing.
What?
I want nothing!
Let me go then.
Go!
Goon!
You go!
Poor...
Poof girl.
Where have you fallen?
We stole off.
Marry her in father's back.
And this.
Look close.
I have the secret.
A dollop of beans.
Is crazy! Like me.
Smitten both. Head and heels.
No saying no.
I'm not a trollop!
We're off.
Want me to stay?
Doris, go with your mother.
Refuge, please!
She won't go!
Split the lovers here?
I know what you're doing.
Want to see her laugh?
Walk around the room?
Like a pilgrim?
Stop this, bastard!
Shall I take your daughter also?
One.
Two.
You! Take the lamp!
Come to us.
Have you never slept?
Yes.
Off all her dress.
Unshod.
Scratch her feet.
She seems dead.
Go away, rascal!
What is he up to?
See what's going on.
Go ahead.
What's going on here?
Scoundrel!
Go find him.
Go find him!
Lucky still here.
Or unlucky you!
For your family and your herd.
Where do you hurt?
We are very pious.
Come.
Where are we going?
Who knows?
Can't we stop? I'm exhausted!
I won't move another inch!
Deaf and dumb again?
Joséphine!
I got it.
What's your name? I don't even know.
What's your name?
Augustus...
Tiberius.
Caligula.
Claudius.
Nero.
Vespasianus.
Titus.
Domitianus.
Excellent!
Learn that where?
Hadrianus.
Vulcanus.
Timothée.
Ever taken someone before?
A woman?
A man?
A dog?
Anything
Not taken you.
You... you came.
You took me. You know it, sorcerer!
They'll put you in jail for it.
You...
YOU came.
Ever look in a mirror?
Or in the river?
Look at yourself.
You're a freak, a chimp.
Know what a chimp is?
You're repugnant. You stink!
You're a monster.
Why follow a monster?
One day I'll kill you.
You won't expect it!
Sir!
Save me, please!
Save you from what?
Are you mad?
Save yourself!
Control mankind.
Take the world in my hand.
All beasts in the forest, come!
Dig a great abyss, dig!
Abomination!
God is a wild beast!
We'll out your throats!
The wound will get infected.
You'll get sick.
My father's a doctor!
Me, never sick.
Never
I am the mountain.
Tough.
Fight often?
Yes.
Ever kill someone?
Yes.
You're crazy
Think you're Virgin Mary!
I like it here.
First time I drink wine.
It will make me dizzy.
We also have a little show.
Help!
My name is Joséphine Hughes.
I live in the village of Guiols.
I disappeared.
I mean...
someone
forced me to follow him.
Then... I managed to run away.
They must be looking for me everywhere.
- Gendarmes. - Tomorrow.
Come!
Come.
Your sway over others... you know straightaway?
I come close,
put my eyes in the person...
And I see.
Inside. Inside the head.
I pull it open, wide.
What do you see in my head?
You?
Joséphine...
See nothing.
Nothing to see.
Death doesn't scare me. It's like sleep.
Know what we'll do?
Slowly...
I'll let myself go.
Backwards.
You'll hold me up with your eyes.
Your magnetic force.
Can you?
Wake up!
So, what happened?
What happened?
Are you upset?
It was just a joke.
Timothée!
I was pretending!
You need an apothecary.
Want your hand out off?
My body...
obeys me.
What am I doing with you?
Stop.
Is it you...
who made Timothée like he is?
Did you give him his power?
Not understand.
Joséphine...
I'll be with her all life long!
Don't worry.
It's almost over.
What is?
I'll be quick, I promise!
He needs to go straight to hospital.
Joséphine Hughes?
Is he Timothée Castellan?
I'm arresting you for abduction and detention.
Are you well, Miss?
I was soared.
That I'd never see you again.
It's fine now.
I'm here.
He didn't eat a thing.
He's never ill. The after-effects.
It's over now.
He needs rest.
I'll tend to him. Don't worry.
So? I'm the one who should be lounging in bed!
I don't know what I have.
I'll get up.
Seeing me again has crushed you.
Prostranation! Prostranation before you!
No groveling.
Sit down.
Your flight ended just in time.
Castellan, Timothée...
Tell me about your escapade with Miss Hughes.
Speak in her presence!
Why did you take her?
And especially... how?
She didn't follow you for your charm, your conversation.
Threats?
Do you understand?
What did you do to make her come along?
Did you hit her? You raped her after.
Did you rape her?
"Rape...
her."
Deflowered her. Took advantage of her and her body.
Had sexual relations with her.
Don't play dumb!
Tell me what happened!
I met...
Her.
Distressed.
Great solitude.
Men.
Disenchantment.
Wanted death.
Said to her:
"Come...
"Come.
"Mother of men not dead."
How did you force her to travel with you?
To sleep with you?
Did you manipulate her with magic?
Did you bewitch her?
Numb her with your gaze?
Jo...
se...
phine
wanted to come with me.
- She agreed? - Yes.
You didn't force her, right?
From the record...
Joseph Coudroyer:
"The sorcerer repeated the same gestures,
"his hand on her back."
Clémence Coudroyer: "She was terrified by him
"but when he did his tricks, she obeyed like a dog, slavishly
Cyprien Coudroyer:
"She circled the room on her knees
"then climbed the stairs counting them in her sleep."
"I scratched her feet She seemed dead."
Enough. Want more?
Did you magnetize her?
Yes! For the spectacolo.
And she scraped her knees
to amuse these good people?
But you...
You can do that.
Make people do what you want.
Move them like marionettes.
Have you done it before?
Many times.
It seems to thrill you.
I'm not sure you're...
aware of the legal risk you run.
So, you did to Joséphine Hughes what you did to others.
You...
magnetized her.
She...
She subjugated me.
From my bones into anima mia.
I don't understand your gibberish.
You fell for her right away?
So, noble creature that you are,
you took her, like capturing an animal, by force.
What are you saying?
That she wanted it?
She
wanted
it
all.
She wanted it all.
I'm investigating your case.
Investigating what? It's all there.
I'll decide that, Mademoiselle.
This man, Castellan, seems rather primitive.
Almost simple-minded.
Did you feel that?
He doesn't seem to realize how serious it is.
He risks hard labor.
But back to the facts.
Had you met him before he came to your father's house?
I saw him once on the village square, near the church.
Everyone says you were aloof during dinner.
You remained silent.
Absent.
I had an impression...
He scared me.
What were you afraid of, Mademoiselle?
I don't know.
I went to bed fully dressed.
But the next day,
when he joined you, alone,
unexpectedly,
you set a place for him.
And served him a meal.
I thought he was a holy man.
Were you scared of a holy man?
Do you recognize this ring?
Is it yours?
Your father found it on the floor, after you left.
Not important.
You stated Castellan joined you that morning
and I quote:
"After doing his magic tricks on me,"
"he slowly made me lose all self-control."
Is that correct?
I no longer existed.
He possessed me.
How did he force you? Was he armed?
Did he threaten you?
- How then? - How what?
How did he force you to follow him?
To obey him?
How did he force you
to do everything he forced you to do?
With his voice.
With his eyes.
His person. No idea.
What state did he put you in?
A kind of...
lethargy.
From which you haven't fully emerged.
You've been described as discreet, devout
diligent in family and household matters.
I am ordinary.
In no way predisposed
to follow a degenerate, foul vagabond.
I said I wasn't myself.
Did you know what was happening?
I realized it.
But I couldn't do anything.
I was...
under his thrall.
And this thrall, as you say,
bound you to him the whole time?
Not all of it.
Yes, perhaps...
I don't know.
This is all rather vague, Mademoiselle.
What are you blaming me for?
To have followed that beggar for my pleasure?
And if I had gone willingly,
would I merit prison?
No, but he wouldn't either.
See the difference?
And fish or fowl, you'll have to decide.
Stop wavering. This court is not for poets.
It's one thing or the other. Understand?
Make up your mind.
Either he abducted you
and took you against your will,
using his power as a magnetizer,
or else you followed him willingly
and he's guilty only of having seduced you.
Now speak.
He kidnapped me,
against my will
by pure bewitchment.
Good.
Did he rape you?
Yes.
Several times?
He enfeebled me
then took advantage of me.
Often?
When he wanted.
He bewitched me.
When he touched me, abysses opened before me.
You never consented?
He says it was of your own free will.
And this.
Is this my will?
I felt nothing.
Castellan lost his hand.
I didn't out it.
Perfect.
That's perfect. Thank you.
It's clearer now.
One last thing.
It seems your mother, Catherine Hughes,
was slightly unbalanced
and even talked nonsense for days on end.
A certain Claude Perrier claims to have seen her
"stick her hand in a fire while laughing."
Who's that pervert to talk?
He slavered over her!
Thank you.
One last formality.
I've asked Dr. Corvot to examine you,
to evaluate your receptiveness to magnetism.
He's a specialist in the area, but his opinion is advisory.
He can reach no verdict.
Have you any problem submitting to this test?
And you, Doctor, would you mind leaving us
for the sake of the experiment?
Don't do anything.
You're here
in the room.
You know this room.
The desk, the clock on the wall.
Can you read the time?
A quarter to three.
Very good.
The room stays here,
surrounding us,
but your field of vision is narrowing.
Look into my eyes.
Joséphine?
Do you think you'll close your eyes
once I snap my fingers?
I don't know.
Now I'm coming towards you.
I'm going to pinch your right arm.
I'll pinch hard, but you'll feel nothing.
Do you want to try?
You idiot! That hurt!
You were in a semi-trance.
If you could withstand the hot iron and feel nothing
a small pinch
seemed harmless to me.
You know nothing.
Child of naught,
child of all
All the children
hear my call
as the evening does fall
Asleep?
Feeling better?
I don't know what it is.
It's nothing.
And how are you?
Fine.
Show me your shoulder.
- It's nothing. - Show me! What did he do?
I felt nothing.
He did as he pleased.
What he did...
is irreparable.
I knew you'd mention that.
Of course I do. How could I not?
Don't you need to?
It would relieve you.
It would help you.
It would help me.
There's nothing to say.
What did he do to you all that time?
Tell me.
I don't know. I was unconscious.
You weren't unconscious the whole time.
You could have fled.
Found a moment.
Didn't he sleep at night?
The officer asked the same questions.
Why...
Why did you stay?
The trial is soon. You can judge.
Using his thumb and index finger,
he seemed to pepper my food with something.
But nothing fell from his hand.
Before I took the spoon to my lips,
I felt myself...
dying.
He repeatedly took advantage of me
enfeebling me whenever it pleased him.
I was haunted by the desire
to return to my father's side,
but I was unable to, and I cannot say why.
I still suffer.
The thought of him torments me.
He made me lose my reputation.
I did nothing wrong.
For me, he was the devil.
What will become of me?
I'm in mourning for myself, for I am no longer anything.
Thank you, Mademoiselle. You may be seated.
Timothée Castellan,
you forced,
by means of bewitchment and magnetic suggestion,
the plaintiff Joséphine Hughes
to leave her home and follow you
and to partake in shameful relations
to which she could not consent freely.
Consent was rendered impossible
because of her sleep state!
Do you admit to this?
Do you plead guilty
to the repeated rape of Josephine Hughes
by means of bewitchment?
Yes. True.
Do you plead guilty to plunging her
into a state
that deprived her of the moral freedom necessary to refuse?
Admit to all.
Was she ever conscious?
Never
You maintain that the poor creature
saw and felt, but could not resist.
Took her in my power, all in my hand.
Your Honor, his words speak for themselves
and are in no way ambiguous.
Timothée Castellan,
the jury having unanimously found you
guilty of the rape and abduction
of Joséphine Hughes
and denying you extenuating circumstances,
you are sentenced to 12 years in prison.
I'm afraid.
Of what?
I'm afraid here.
In the hope of a career in journalism.
Would you like some pate?
Are you okay?
Doctor! Dinner is sewed.
Go get your father.
Dinner's ready.
I heard about your father.
My condolences.
You wished to speak with me.
I'm leaving the area, for Paris.
I'm following Paul.
My husband, Paul Frére.
Congratulations, Madame Frére.
He found a job.
With a newspaper.
I have nothing left here.
Before leaving,
I want to see him.
One last time.
Timothée Castellan?
It can be arranged.
Is that all?
What's his name?
He hasn't been baptized.
No first name.
Yet.
Last name, Frére.
I almost forgot.
I think this is yours.
Mine?
What's your name?
Your name...
Ti...
mo...
thee.
Goodbye, Timothée.