Midnight in Paris (2011)

1. This is unbelievable! Look at this!

2. There's no city like this in the world. There never was.

3. You act like you've never been here before.

4. I don't get here often enough, that's the problem.

5. Can you picture how drop dead gorgeous this city is in the rain?

6. Imagine this town in the '20s.

7. Paris in the '20s, in the rain. The artists and writers!

8. Why does every city have to be in the rain?

9. What's wonderful about getting wet?

10. I mean, could you ever picture us

11. maybe moving here after we're married?

12. God, no! I could never live out of the United States.

13. You know, if I'd stayed here, and written novels, and not gotten,

14. you know, caught up in that... Just grinding out movie scripts,

15. I'll tell you something, I would drop the house in Beverly Hills,

16. the pool, everything, in a second!

17. Look. This is where Monet lived and painted,

18. we're 30 minutes from town!

19. Imagine the two of us settling here.

20. We could do it. I mean, if my book turns out.

21. You're in love with a fantasy.

22. I'm in love with you.

23. We should get back to town. We're meeting Mom and Dad for dinner.

24. Let's meet 'em.

25. There are our sightseers.

26. If I never see another charming boulevard or bistro again...

27. What a town!

28. Yes, to visit.

29. No, I can see myself living here.

30. I feel like the Parisians kind of get me.

31. I could see myself strolling along the Left Bank

32. with a little baguette under my arm

33. headed to Cafe de Flore to scribble away on my book.

34. What did Hemingway say? He called it a moveable feast.

35. In this traffic, nothing moves.

36. Well, a toast to John's new business venture here.

37. Yeah. Cheers!

38. Cheers!

39. Congratulations.

40. Thank you.

41. Well, I'll be perfectly frank. I'm excited about this corporate merger

42. between our folks and the French company.

43. But otherwise, I'm not a big Francophile.

44. John hates their politics.

45. They've certainly been no friend to the United States.

46. Well, I mean, you can't exactly blame them

47. for not following us down that rabbit's hole in Iraq

48. with the whole Bush... Please,

49. let's not get into that discussion yet again.

50. Honey, honey, we're not getting...

51. By the way, it's fine for your father and I to disagree.

52. That's what a democracy is.

53. Your father defends the right wing of the Republican Party,

54. and I happen to think you've almost

55. got to be, like, a demented lunatic,

56. but it's like... Okay. Okay!

57. No, but it doesn't mean we don't respect each other's views.

58. Am I right?

59. Can we talk about the wedding plans?

60. Yes, please, let's do that.

61. Your father has used his...

62. Inez?

63. Hi.

64. Paul? Carol? Oh, my...

65. What are you doing here? What are you doing here?

66. Nice to see you. Hi.

67. Hi! Hey.

68. How are you?

69. Good, thanks.

70. Paul and Carol Bates, this is my mother and father.

71. Hi. Very nice to meet you.

72. And, of course, you know Gil.

73. Yes. Hi.

74. Well, you didn't mention you were going to be here.

75. No, it was sudden. Paul got invited to lecture at the Sorbonne.

76. Sorbonne.

77. Oh, how wonderful!

78. Well, Dad's here on business

79. and we just decided to freeload along.

80. Oh.

81. That's great. We can spend some time together.

82. Well, I think we have a lot of commitments,

83. but I'm sure it's...

84. What?

85. Well, what are you doing tomorrow? We're driving to Versailles.

86. Versailles. Versailles.

87. Oh. I'm dying to see Versailles!

88. Yeah. Yes.

89. But it's... We're... I think we're...

90. Tomorrow we're locked into a lunch at Brasserie Lipp.

91. No, I didn't... No.

92. Yeah, we are. It's already...

93. Hey, you know, I actually had a professor

94. that dined there and saw James Joyce.

95. Yeah, you know, like a million years ago.

96. And, apparently, Joyce was eating sauerkraut and frankfurters.

97. Is that... That's the end of the story?

98. I mean, it's not a story.

99. It was like a detail.

100. No, we would love to go to Versailles.

101. Oh, good. Yes.

102. I hope you're not gonna be as antisocial tomorrow at Versailles.

103. How was I antisocial?

104. Oh, please.

105. I mean, you could totally tell you didn't want to go.

106. Well, I mean, they're your friends.

107. And I have to admit, I'm not quite as taken with him as you are.

108. He's brilliant! You know, I had such a crush on him in college.

109. And Carol's very bright.

110. Well, he's a pseudo intellectual. Just a little bit.

111. Gil, I hardly think he'd be lecturing

112. at the Sorbonne if he's a pseudo intellectual.

113. You should give him your book to read.

114. Come on. Why?

115. No. Because he could critique your writing

116. and maybe show you why you're having so much trouble.

117. I'm having trouble because I'm a Hollywood hack

118. who never gave actual literature a real shot until now.

119. Please. Gil, honey, just promise me something.

120. If this book doesn't pan out,

121. that you'll stop beating your brains out

122. and just go back to doing what you do best.

123. I mean, the studios adore you. You're in demand.

124. Do you really want to give it all up just to struggle?

125. Well... Mmm?

126. Mmm?

127. Why would you want to do that?

128. I believe Louis moved his court here in 1682.

129. Originally, all this was swampland. In fact, if I'm not mistaken,

130. in old French the word "Versailles"

131. means something like, terrain where the weeds have been pulled.

132. Is that right? Yeah.

133. The middle section here,

134. is French classical style at its height.

135. The work, I believe, of Louis Vau...

136. Yes.

137. Mansart, I think... Mansart.

138. and Charles Le Brun, I believe.

139. Yes, that's right.

140. I could get used to a summer home like this.

141. I know you could. Me, too.

142. Except, remember, in those days they only had baths,

143. and I'm definitely a shower man.

144. Where are you two planning on moving after you get married?

145. Malibu. We're thinking about Malibu.

146. Really?

147. Well, I'm pushing for a little attic in Paris with a skylight,

148. but it's... La Boheme?

149. Yeah.

150. All that's missing is the tuberculosis.

151. Exactly. Thank you.

152. I mean, the problem is, is that

153. he's not actually sure he can write a novel.

154. Really? Well...

155. I mean, honey, so far your track record's,

156. you know, and...

157. Well, everyone loves your movies, so...

158. Well, scripts are easier, so...

159. Why don't you tell them about the lead character

160. that you're working on right now? Yes!

161. No, I don't like to discuss my work. Come on.

162. You don't have to tell them the whole plot, just the character.

163. No, no, no.

164. Okay, he works in a nostalgia shop.

165. What's a nostalgia shop?

166. Not one of those stores

167. where they sell Shirley Temple dolls and old radios?

168. Exactly. I never know who buys that stuff.

169. Who'd want it? I don't know.

170. Well, people who live in the past.

171. People who think that their lives would be happier

172. if they lived in an earlier time.

173. Yeah. And just which era

174. would you prefer to live in, Miniver Cheevy?

175. Paris in the '20s.

176. Yeah. In the rain.

177. It wouldn't have been bad.

178. When the rain wasn't acid rain, sorry.

179. Oh, I see, and no global warming.

180. No TV and suicide bombing, and nuclear weapons, drug cartels.

181. The usual menu of cliched horror stories.

182. Well, you know, nostalgia is denial.

183. Denial of the painful present.

184. Well, Gil is a complete romantic.

185. I mean, he would be more than happy

186. living in a complete state of perpetual denial.

187. Really?

188. And the name for this fallacy

189. is called Golden Age thinking.

190. Ah. Touche. Yeah, the erroneous notion

191. that a different time period is better than the one one's living in.

192. It's a flaw in the romantic imagination of those people

193. who find it difficult to cope with the present.

194. Mmm.

195. Yes, this is it. That's it.

196. This is the nicest ring we saw.

197. Diamonds for a wedding band.

198. It's the way you have to go.

199. And then everyone will see it in the back row when he puts it on my finger.

200. Oh, Inez, it's going to be such an event!

201. Oh!

202. I only wish that...

203. I don't want to keep going over it.

204. Your choice. What can I say?

205. No, Gil is... He's smart and he's... He's very successful.

206. But he talks about giving that all up and moving here.

207. Yeah, he talks about it.

208. Well, that frightens me.

209. This is, of course, Rodin's most famous statue.

210. A cast of this work was placed next to his tomb.

211. Rodin wished for it to serve as his headstone and epitaph.

212. Is that true?

213. That would be... That would be in Meudon.

214. He died of the flu, if I'm not mistaken.

215. In 1917, I believe.

216. That's very good, sir.

217. He's so knowledgeable, isn't he?

218. Yeah.

219. So much of Rodin's work was influenced by his wife, Camille.

220. Yes, she was an influence,

221. though Camille was not the wife but his mistress.

222. Camille? No.

223. Yes.

224. Yes, Rose was the wife.

225. No, he was never married to Rose.

226. Yes, he did marry Rose, in the last year of their lives.

227. I think you're mistaken.

228. Are you arguing with the guide?

229. Yes, I am.

230. Yeah. No, I'm certain, monsieur.

231. Yeah, actually, she's right.

232. I recently read a two-volume biography on Rodin,

233. and Rose was definitely the wife, Camille the mistress.

234. You read that? Where did you read that? Yeah, I just read it.

235. I was surprised because I mistakenly thought, like you,

236. that it was the other way around. It's an easy mistake.

237. So, tonight, Dad invited you guys for a wine tasting.

238. Oh, it'll be so fun! Yeah, yeah.

239. Paul is an expert on French wine.

240. You're joking. Really?

241. Of course. Of course.

242. Okay. An expert!

243. When did you read the biography on Rodin?

244. Me? Yeah.

245. Why would I read a biography on Rodin?

246. I will always take a California wine,

247. but the Napa Valley's 6,000 miles away.

248. John, old boy, how are you?

249. Gil.

250. Hey! What are you doing here?

251. Come on. What?

252. I can't stand that guy.

253. How about we try some more wine?

254. Yes, let's start here.

255. Now, which did you prefer here?

256. Well, I think we need to be scientific

257. and just start drinking them all again.

258. I don't know. I mean, they...

259. Why are your cheeks so red?

260. What do you mean? They're not red.

261. They're bright red.

262. Well, maybe it's because of the pheromones that you're giving off.

263. These pheromones are driving me mad.

264. Stop it. Stop.

265. Sex and alcohol? Mmm?

266. Yeah.

267. It fuels the desire, but kills the performance, according to the bard.

268. Speak for yourself.

269. Have you tasted the '61? It is divine!

270. Though Paul picked it out. I didn't do...

271. What? What's happening? What's happening?

272. Slightly more tannic than the '59.

273. I prefer a smoky feeling to a fruity feeling.

274. I agree.

275. So, Carol and I are going to go dancing.

276. Dancing. Oh.

277. We heard of a great place. Interested?

278. No, no, no, I... Sure! Yeah!

279. Come on! I don't want to be a killjoy,

280. but I need to get a little fresh air.

281. Come on. Come on.

282. No, no, I just...

283. Although if you're just going to sit there

284. and obsess over where the fire exits are, then...

285. Hey, if Gil doesn't want to go, I'll share Paul with you.

286. I am very democratic.

287. Really?

288. And Paul is a marvelous dancer.

289. No, no, no. If it's okay with you,

290. I think I just want to take a little walk,

291. go to bed, and then we'll do it another night.

292. Okay, all right. Well, I can go, though, right?

293. What? You want to go?

294. Well, yeah. Come.

295. Yeah. I mean, I'm not tired, and I've been dying to go dancing.

296. I'll just meet you back at the hotel.

297. Okay.

298. I'll take good care of her, all right? Okay.

299. Let's get a cab. I'll get a cab.

300. All right. Okay. Okay, but you should take a cab.

301. No, no, no, I'm not taking a cab. I'm walking.

302. No, you'll get lost.

303. Okay, I'm gonna walk.

304. Is he a good writer? I mean, have you read his prose?

305. Well, he won't let anybody.

306. He won't let anybody? No.

307. Look, if he wants, I'd be glad

308. to look over his novel and critique it for him.

309. That would be great. Would you?

310. Yeah, yeah.

311. I think that's what he needs. I really wouldn't mind.

312. Yeah? Well, it helps.

313. Just to have it read by someone, yeah.

314. Yeah, you need that.

315. You wouldn't pull any punches.

316. Well, I certainly won't do that. You know I won't do that.

317. No. I do know that about you.

318. See, but the problem is, when it comes to his writing,

319. he has absolutely no respect for anybody else's opinion.

320. Really?

321. Excuse me! Parlez-vous...

322. Do you speak English? Non, non.

323. The Hotel Bristol?

324. Hey! Hey!

325. Hey!

326. Hey, come on! Come on!

327. Come on, boy! Come on, guy.

328. I didn't hear you. What? Come on.

329. Come on.

330. Come on, guy. Come on, get in the car.

331. No, no, guys, I think you've got me mixed up.

332. What? I can't understand you.

333. I'm a little drunk. I can't...

334. Come on. For God's sake.

335. What, is this an old Peugeot?

336. I have a friend who collects these in Beverly Hills.

337. Come on! Come on, have a drink.

338. Have a drink. Come on. Come on.

339. Come to the party. Come on, come on.

340. You're going to a party? Go, go, go. Get in!

341. Okay.

342. Give me your hand.

343. Sit down here.

344. Let's go in Paris...

345. Okay, now where are you guys taking me?

346. This isn't quite fair, because I've already had a lot of red wine tonight.

347. I do like champagne. Yes, okay.

348. Cheers.

349. The night is young. Drink up.

350. I'm drinking! Drink up, drink up!

351. Drink up, drink up, drink up!

352. ? Let's fall in love

353. ? In Spain, the best upper sets do it

354. ? Lithuanians and Latts do it

355. ? Let's do it, let's fall in love

356. ? The Dutch in old Amsterdam do it

357. ? Not to mention the Fins

358. ? Folks in Siam do it

359. ? Think of Siamese twins

360. ? Some Argentines, without means, do it

361. ? People say in Boston even beans do it

362. ? Let's do it, let's fall in love

363. ? Romantic sponges, they say, do it

364. ? Oysters down in oyster bay do it

365. You look lost.

366. Oh, yeah. No, I'm just... You're an American?

367. If you count Alabama as America, which I do.

368. Yes.

369. I miss the bathtub gin. What do you do?

370. Me? I'm a writer.

371. What do you write?

372. Well, right now I'm working on a novel.

373. Oh, yes? I'm Zelda, by the way.

374. Hi.

375. Scott! Scott! Come over here.

376. Yes. What is it, sweetheart?

377. Here's a writer from... Where?

378. Oh, a writer.

379. California.

380. Scott Fitzgerald.

381. And who are you, old sport?

382. Gil.

383. The...

384. You have the same names as...

385. As what?

386. Scott Fitzgerald and...

387. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. The Fitzgeralds.

388. Isn't she beautiful?

389. Yes. Yes! Yeah, that's...

390. That's a coincidence. Like a...

391. You have a glazed look in your eye. Stunned.

392. Stupefied. Anesthetized. Lobotomized.

393. No, no, I... I keep looking at the man playing piano,

394. and I, believe it or not, recognize his face from some old sheet music.

395. I know. I could be one of the great writers of musical lyrics,

396. not that I can write melodies, and I try.

397. And then I hear the songs he writes

398. and I realize I'll never write a great lyric

399. and my talent really lies in drinking.

400. It sure does. Yeah,

401. but he didn't write the music, did he?

402. That's not possible.

403. So, what kind of books do you write?

404. I'm working on a...

405. Where am I?

406. I'm sorry. Don't you know the host?

407. Some friends have gotten together

408. a little party for Jean Cocteau.

409. Hey, lady, what... Are you kidding me?

410. I know what you're thinking.

411. This is boring. I agree! I'm ready to move on. Let's do Bricktop's, Scott!

412. Bricktop's? Bricktop's.

413. I'm bored, he's bored, we're all bored.

414. We are all bored.

415. Let's do Bricktop's.

416. Why don't you tell Cole and Linda to come with and...

417. Gil, you coming?

418. ? You've got that thing, you've got that thing

419. ? That thing that makes birds forget to sing

420. ? Yes, you've got that thing, that certain thing

421. ? You've got that charm, that subtle charm

422. This is one of the finest establishments in Paris.

423. They do a diamond whiskey sour.

424. Greetings and salutations.

425. You'll forgive me. I've been mixing grain and Grappa.

426. Now, this is a writer. Gil, yes?

427. Gil. Gil Pender.

428. Gil Pender. Hemingway.

429. Hemingway?

430. You liked my book.

431. Liked? I loved. All of your work!

432. Yes, it was a good book because it was an honest book.

433. And that's what war does to men.

434. And there's nothing fine and noble about dying in the mud.

435. Unless you die gracefully.

436. And then it's not only noble, but brave.

437. Did you read my story? What'd you think?

438. There was some fine writing in it, but it was unfulfilled.

439. I might have known you'd hate it.

440. Darling, you're too sensitive.

441. You liked my story, but he hates me!

442. Please, old sport, you make matters extremely difficult.

443. I'm jumpy. Suddenly, I don't like the atmosphere in here anymore.

444. Oh! Where are you going?

445. Ah! He's going to Saint-Germain. I'm going with him.

446. Zelda, sweetheart...

447. If you're gonna stay here and drink with him,

448. I'm going with the toreador.

449. Well, would you bring her back at a reasonable time?

450. She'll drive you crazy, this woman.

451. She's exciting.

452. And she has talent.

453. This month, it's writing. Last month, it was something else.

454. You're a writer. You need time to write, not all this fooling around.

455. She's wasting you because she's really a competitor.

456. Don't you agree? Me?

457. Speak up, for Christ sake. I'm asking if you

458. think my friend is making a tragic mistake.

459. Actually, I don't know the Fitzgeralds that well, so...

460. You're a writer. You make observations. You were with them all night.

461. Can we not discuss my personal life in public?

462. She's jealous of his gift. Would you...

463. And it's a fine gift. It's rare.

464. You like his work? You can speak freely.

465. Stop it! Stop it.

466. You like Mark Twain?

467. I'm going to find Zelda.

468. I don't like the thought of her with that Spaniard.

469. May I? Yeah, I'm actually a huge Mark Twain fan.

470. I think you can even make the case

471. that all modern American literature comes from Huckleberry Finn.

472. You box?

473. No. No.

474. I mean, I...

475. Not really, no.

476. What are you writing?

477. Novel. About what?

478. It's about a man who works in a nostalgia shop.

479. What the hell is a nostalgia shop?

480. You know, a place where they sell old things, memorabilia.

481. And what... Does that sound terrible?

482. No subject is terrible if the story is true,

483. and if the prose is clean and honest,

484. and if it affirms courage and grace under pressure.

485. You know...

486. Can I ask you the biggest favor in the world?

487. No, I can't. What is it?

488. Would you read it?

489. Your novel.

490. Yeah, it's, like, 400 pages long

491. and I'm just looking just for, you know, just an opinion.

492. My opinion is I hate it.

493. I mean, you haven't even read it.

494. If it's bad, I'll hate it because I hate bad writing.

495. If it's good, I'll be envious and hate it all the more.

496. You don't want the opinion of another writer.

497. Yeah, it's just... You know what it is?

498. It's just, I'm having a hard time, you know,

499. trusting somebody to evaluate it.

500. Writers are competitive.

501. I'm not gonna be competitive with you.

502. You're too self-effacing. It's not manly.

503. If you're a writer, declare yourself the best writer!

504. But you're not as long as I'm around.

505. Unless you want to put the gloves on and settle it.

506. No. No, I don't.

507. Okay, I'm not gonna read your novel,

508. but I'll tell you what I'll do.

509. Yes?

510. I'll bring it to Gertrude Stein's.

511. She's the only one I trust with my writing.

512. You'll show my novel to Gertrude Stein?

513. Give it to me.

514. I'll bring it to you.

515. She gets back from Spain tomorrow.

516. Great. I'm gonna go get it. I'm gonna...

517. I can't tell you how excited I am.

518. This has given me such a lift that my heart is just racing right now.

519. Okay, I'm gonna get it and then I'll be back.

520. Okay. Whoa, whoa! Gil, Gil, just take it easy.

521. Step it back, baby. You had a big night.

522. Fitzgerald. Hemingway. Papa!

523. You got to...

524. Okay, we never said where we're going to meet. Okay.

525. Good thing you didn't go last night.

526. You'd have hated the music and the crowd.

527. But I had fun.

528. What are you thinking about? You seem like you're in a daze.

529. If I was to tell you that I spent

530. last night with Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald,

531. what would you say?

532. Is that what you were dreaming about? Your literary idols?

533. Yeah, yeah. But if I wasn't dreaming...

534. What does that mean?

535. If I was with Hemingway and Fitzgerald and Cole Porter...

536. I'd be thinking brain tumor.

537. I mean, I tell you, Zelda Fitzgerald is exactly

538. as we've come to know her through,

539. you know, everything you've read in books and articles.

540. She's, you know, charming, but all over the map.

541. And, you know, she does not like Hemingway one bit.

542. And Scott knows Hemingway is right about her,

543. but you can see how conflicted he is because he loves her.

544. Come on, get up.

545. We should quit the idle chatter because,

546. you know, we're gonna be late.

547. You know, actually, I'm not gonna...

548. I think I'm gonna stay here and do some work on my novel,

549. because there's a little polishing I want to do.

550. No, you can do that later.

551. Mom said we can use her decorator's discount.

552. Get up.

553. Come look at these, Inez.

554. Wouldn't these be charming in a Malibu beach house?

555. What is that?

556. They're a steal at $18,000.

557. $18,000 for this?

558. Wait. It's Euros, so it's more.

559. So, that's like 20. $20,000.

560. Even more, I think. Yeah.

561. I know, but it's very hard to find anything like this at home.

562. She's right, Gil.

563. Yeah, but remember I...

564. We haven't even found a house yet

565. and we're trying to keep expenses down,

566. so I don't have to take any crummy rewrite jobs.

567. Well, you get what you pay for.

568. Well, it is...

569. It is nice.

570. Cheap is cheap.

571. Okay. You guys want to walk back?

572. Walk? No! It's starting to rain.

573. No, it'll be nice walking in the rain. It's beautiful.

574. No. There is nothing beautiful about walking in the rain.

575. Don't forget, we're taking you to dinner tonight.

576. Oh, right, yes. Great. Yes.

577. And then also, I have a big surprise for you after dinner.

578. What? No. I have an incredible... Yes.

579. No, no, I don't like surprises.

580. Trust me, you're gonna love this.

581. What is it? Are you sure

582. you don't wanna walk in the rain? This is our last chance!

583. Get in! I'm not walking.

584. It's not that bad out.

585. Okay.

586. Let's just...

587. I don't understand. Where are we going?

588. Hang on. Just... But...

589. We're almost there. You made us rush through dinner.

590. And Dad wasn't finished with his profiteroles.

591. Okay, forget the profiteroles.

592. You're gonna have the most amazing adventure of your life! Okay?

593. Where?

594. Just... Inez, please.

595. Why are you carrying that manuscript around?

596. You'll see. You'll see.

597. And when you do, your jaw is going to drop. Okay?

598. And you know I don't hype things,

599. so if I'm saying it's incredible, it's...

600. Okay.

601. I just... I don't understand.

602. I know, I know, I know.

603. You've been wondering why I've been acting strange all day.

604. Yeah.

605. You're about to find out.

606. And you're gonna wonder why I wasn't

607. acting more strange when you find out.

608. This is very...

609. Trust me. I know. I know.

610. Well, I don't know what you're carrying on about,

611. but this is not my idea of an amazing adventure.

612. I am tired from the gym and the massage, so I'm going to get this cab.

613. Taxi! No, Inez.

614. Wait, wait, wait. Let's just wait a little longer.

615. Look, if you want to walk the streets of Paris and take it in by night,

616. that's fine, you go ahead.

617. But I'm in the middle of a great book that Carol lent me.

618. No, no. Come on, just 10 more minutes, and then we'll walk home.

619. If I'm asleep when you get in, don't wake me up.

620. What am I doing wrong?

621. Unless she's right. I need to see a neurologist.

622. You left the wine tasting.

623. You were a little drunk, but you're not out of control.

624. Lost. You walk along. This is the spot.

625. Maybe it's just like a one shot deal.

626. The clock struck midnight and...

627. Hello?

628. Oh, hi, Mr. Hemingway!

629. Here, let me just jump in.

630. The assignment was to take the hill. There were four of us.

631. Five, if you counted Vicente,

632. but he had lost his hand when a grenade went off

633. and couldn't fight as he could when I first met him,

634. and he was young and brave.

635. And the hill was soggy from days of rain,

636. and it sloped down toward a road.

637. And there were many German soldiers on the road.

638. And the idea was to aim for the first group.

639. And if our aim was true, we could delay them.

640. Were you scared?

641. Of what?

642. Getting killed.

643. You'll never write well if you fear dying.

644. Do you? Yeah, I do.

645. I'd say it's probably... Maybe my greatest fear, actually.

646. It's something all men before you have done, all men will do.

647. I know, I know.

648. Have you ever made love to a truly great woman?

649. Actually, my fiancee is pretty sexy.

650. And when you make love to her, you feel true and beautiful passion,

651. and you, for at least that moment, lose your fear of death?

652. No. That doesn't happen.

653. I believe that love that is true and real creates a respite from death.

654. All cowardice comes from not loving,

655. or not loving well, which is the same thing.

656. And when the man who is brave and true

657. looks death squarely in the face,

658. like some rhino hunters I know,

659. or Belmonte, who is truly brave,

660. it is because they love with sufficient passion

661. to push death out of their minds.

662. Until it returns, as it does to all men.

663. And then you must make really good love again.

664. Think about it.

665. Alice, how the hell are you? Good? Hi.

666. Good, I see she's here. Follow me.

667. Okay.

668. This is Gil Pender. Miss Stein.

669. He's a young American writer. I thought you two should know each other.

670. I'm glad you're here.

671. You can help decide which of us is right and which of us is wrong.

672. I was just telling Pablo that this portrait doesn't capture Adriana.

673. It has universality but no objectivity.

674. Look how he's done her.

675. Dripping with sexual innuendo,

676. carnal to the point of smoldering and...

677. Yes, she's beautiful, but it's a subtle beauty, an implied sensuality.

678. I mean, what is your first impression of Adriana?

679. Exceptionally lovely.

680. Yes, you're right, Miss Stein.

681. Of course, you can see why he's lost all objectivity.

682. He's made a creature of Place Pigalle,

683. a whore with volcanic appetites.

684. Yes, avec toi en prive, because she's your lover.

685. But we don't know her that way.

686. So, you make a petit bourgeois judgment

687. and turn her into an object of pleasure.

688. It's more like a still life than a portrait.

689. And what's this book of yours I've been hearing about? Is this it?

690. Yeah, this is... I just... I'll take a look.

691. Have you read it, Hemingway?

692. No, this I leave to you. You've always been a fine judge of my work.

693. "Out of the Past was the name of the store,

694. "and its products consisted of memories.

695. "What was prosaic and even vulgar to one generation

696. "had been transmuted by the mere passing of years

697. "to a status at once magical and also camp."

698. I love it.

699. I'm already hooked.

700. Hooked?

701. I'll start it tonight.

702. But first, you and I have something to talk about.

703. I've been waiting for two months for a reply from that editor.

704. I sent him the piece you and I looked at,

705. plus four others, plus four shorter pieces.

706. And this guy, I gave him the copy

707. of the story and the one that I rewrote.

708. But nevertheless, two months, nary a word.

709. So, were you really hooked with those opening lines?

710. Oh.

711. The past has always had a great charisma for me.

712. Oh, me, too.

713. Great charisma for me.

714. I always say that I was born too late.

715. For me, La Belle Epoque Paris would have been perfect.

716. Really? Yes.

717. Better than now?

718. The whole sensibility. The streetlamps, the kiosks,

719. the horse and carriages.

720. And Maxim's then.

721. You speak very good English.

722. No, not really.

723. No, you do.

724. How long have you been dating Picasso?

725. My God, did I just say that?

726. Pardon?

727. I don't mean to... I didn't mean to pry. Are you born in Paris?

728. I was born in Bordeaux.

729. I moved here to study fashion.

730. But you don't want to hear this.

731. No! Yes, I do.

732. Yes, continue. You moved here to study fashion...

733. I came here to study with Coco Chanel,

734. and I fell in love with Paris.

735. And also,

736. a very dark-eyed, haunted, Jewish-Italian painter.

737. And I knew Amedeo had another woman,

738. but still I couldn't resist moving into

739. his apartment when he asked.

740. And it was a beautiful six months.

741. Not Modigliani.

742. You lived with Modigliani?

743. You asked me. So, I'm telling you my sad story.

744. With Braque, also, there was another woman.

745. Many.

746. And now, with Pablo.

747. I mean, he's married.

748. But every day, it's on-again, off-again.

749. I don't know how any woman

750. can stay with him. He's so difficult.

751. My God, you take art groupie to a whole new level.

752. Pardon?

753. Nothing. I'm just saying that it is...

754. Tell me about yourself.

755. What? I don't know. What can I say?

756. So, have you come to Paris to write?

757. Because, you know,

758. these days so many Americans feel the need to move here.

759. Isn't Hemingway attractive?

760. I love his writing.

761. Yeah.

762. I know.

763. Actually, I'm just here visiting.

764. You must stay here.

765. Really? Yeah.

766. It's a wonderful city for writers, artists.

767. I know. I would like to. But it's not that easy.

768. And,

769. I did fall in love madly with your book.

770. Really?

771. So, I want to hear the rest of it.

772. You really liked it? Because I'm still kind of tinkering.

773. I wasn't sure about...

774. Pender!

775. Let's go up to Montmartre and let's get a drink.

776. Okay. Yeah, that's...

777. I'll discuss your book with you as soon as I've finished it.

778. Where can I reach you?

779. Why don't I drop back by rather than you having to find me,

780. if that's all right?

781. We run an open house. Great.

782. Are you coming with us?

783. Yeah, I...

784. I wish that I could. I can't,

785. but hopefully I'll see you again, eventually.

786. That would be nice.

787. Yes. Yeah.

788. Let's go. One of these days,

789. I plan to steal you away from this genius

790. who's great, but he's no Miro.

791. I'm Gil Pender.

792. I was with Hemingway and Picasso.

793. Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway.

794. I'm Gil Pender from Pasadena.

795. Cub Scouts.

796. I failed freshman English.

797. But little ol' Gil Pender has his novel with Gertrude Stein.

798. Boy, that girl was so lovely.

799. It's a shame you two didn't come with us to the movies last night.

800. We saw a wonderfully funny American film.

801. Yeah.

802. Who was in it?

803. Oh, I don't know. I forget the name.

804. Wonderful, but forgettable.

805. That sounds like a picture I've seen. I probably wrote it.

806. Well, I know it was moronic and infantile

807. and utterly lacking in any wit or believability,

808. but John and I laughed in spite of...

809. Have we been down this way yet?

810. Was it?

811. What time did you get in last night?

812. Not that late.

813. I was... I'm really finding these midnight strolls great for me creatively

814. without the distractions of the day.

815. I'll probably end up going on another little hike tonight.

816. Well, we'll see.

817. Yeah, yeah, we'll see.

818. How about these?

819. Look at those wonderful glass figures!

820. ? That simply mystifies me

821. ? Tell me, why should it be

822. Yes, very beautiful.

823. Oh, you are American.

824. Yeah.

825. You like Cole Porter?

826. I do. I'm a big fan.

827. Yeah, I like to...

828. I like to think that I'm a member

829. of Linda and Cole's inner circle.

830. I'm kidding.

831. Very pretty lyrics. Yeah.

832. Very amusing. Charming.

833. Gil? Gil?

834. Yeah. Yes. Hi.

835. Yeah. We should go.

836. We're going now?

837. Yeah, we're meeting Paul and Carol

838. at the museum for the private showing. Where?

839. Okay, yeah. Yeah.

840. Great, great, great.

841. Paul happens to be an expert in Monet,

842. so you'll find it enlightening, I think.

843. Good. Yeah, okay. Okay.

844. Let's get some culture!

845. The juxtaposition of color is amazing.

846. This man was the real father of abstract expressionism.

847. I take that back. Maybe Turner.

848. I mean, I love Turner, but I just find this overwhelming!

849. If I'm not mistaken, it took him two years to complete this.

850. And he worked out at Giverny, where he was frequently...

851. I heard that Monet, one of the things that he used to try...

852. I'm trying to hear what Paul is saying.

853. Well, he was frequently visited by Caillebotte,

854. an artist who I personally feel was underrated.

855. Ah. Now, here's a superb Picasso.

856. If I'm not mistaken, he painted this marvelous portrait

857. of his French mistress, Madeline Brissou, in the '20s.

858. Paul, I'm going to have to differ with you on this one.

859. Really? Gil. Gil.

860. Just pay attention. You might learn something.

861. Okay, well, if I'm not mistaken,

862. this was a failed attempt to capture

863. a young French girl named Adriana

864. from Bordeaux, if my art history serves me,

865. who came to Paris to study costume design for the theater.

866. And I'm pretty sure she had an affair with Modigliani

867. then Braque, which is how Pablo met her.

868. Picasso. Of course, what you don't get from this portrait,

869. is the subtlety in her beauty.

870. She was just a knockout.

871. What have you been smoking?

872. I'd hardly call this picture marvelous.

873. It's more of a petit bourgeois statement

874. on how Pablo sees her... Saw her.

875. He's distracted by the fact that she was an absolute volcano in the sack.

876. Mmm. Mmm.

877. Too rich for me.

878. Where did Gil run off to?

879. Work.

880. He's been walking around Paris, you know.

881. The way the city's lit up at night allegedly inspires him, so...

882. But that's okay, because I am going dancing with Paul.

883. Where's Carol?

884. She's in bed with a bad oyster.

885. So, I'll see you guys later. Thanks for dinner, Daddy.

886. Bye, sweetie.

887. Where do you think Gil goes every night?

888. You heard her. He walks and gets ideas.

889. You sound skeptical. I don't know.

890. I mean, I've seen what he earns,

891. but sometimes I think he's got a part missing.

892. And I didn't like his remark about Tea Party Republicans.

893. They are decent people trying to take back the country.

894. They are not crypto-fascist airhead zombies.

895. Did you hear him say that?

896. Nevertheless, I don't think your idea

897. of having him followed is very practical.

898. No? Uh-uh.

899. I'd like to know where he goes every night.

900. Well, we know one thing. He doesn't go dancing.

901. Excuse me.

902. Is this gentleman bothering you?

903. Hello again!

904. Hey, how are you?

905. I was hoping we'd see you here.

906. What a great party!

907. Oh, good.

908. It's nice to see you here.

909. Thank you. Thank you.

910. Delphine!

911. Gil, we'll catch up with you later, okay?

912. Sure, sure. Great to see you.

913. What a surprise!

914. I know. It was just a total fluke.

915. I was at Gertrude Stein's, she's almost finished with my novel.

916. And I run into this guy, turns out he's Archibald MacLeish.

917. He says he's on his way over here. "Come on."

918. "I'm not gonna crash the Fitzgeralds'."

919. But then he said you'd be here!

920. You and Pablo. And...

921. Oh, Pablo's home.

922. We had a bit of a quarrel.

923. Oh, no.

924. You looked like you were having fun with Djuna Barnes dancing.

925. Oh, yeah. Wait. That was Djuna Barnes?

926. Yeah.

927. Wow, no wonder she wanted to lead.

928. Isn't this a wonderful place to throw a party?

929. This is so great.

930. Only the Fitzgeralds can do that.

931. I want to show you something. Only the Fitzgeralds... Yeah.

932. Come with me. Okay.

933. So, what about your book?

934. It's coming along, yeah.

935. Look at that.

936. Whoa.

937. It's from the turn of the century. Isn't it beautiful?

938. It's my favorite era. I love it so much. Everything was so perfect.

939. It's so nice to see you tonight. I was hoping that...

940. It's nice to see you, too.

941. Voila ma petite Adriana.

942. Isn't this little Parisian dream a moveable feast?

943. Mark my words, I'm going to steal you away

944. from that fugitive from Malaga one way or another.

945. Between Belmonte and myself, whom would you choose?

946. But he has more courage. He faces death more often and more directly.

947. And if you chose him, I'd be disappointed, but I'd understand.

948. Yes, she's chosen Picasso,

949. but Pablo thinks women are only to sleep with or to paint.

950. What about you?

951. I think a woman is equal to a man in courage.

952. Have you ever shot a charging lion?

953. Never.

954. Would you like to know how that feels?

955. I don't think so.

956. You ever hunted?

957. No. You?

958. Only for bargains.

959. Well, you know, it's so loud.

960. I wonder, should we go some place

961. where we can hear ourselves think a little bit?

962. Yeah.

963. Bye.

964. Who wants to fight?

965. I hope it was nothing serious with you and Pablo.

966. He's moody and possessive.

967. Artists are like children.

968. Well, you certainly understand why all these guys want to paint you

969. because you have just about one of the best faces ever.

970. I mean, it's so interesting. You know, it's just...

971. You're interesting, too.

972. In a lost way.

973. Lost?

974. Well, I guess I am lost.

975. Tell me more about your book.

976. My book is kind of a...

977. You know what? I couldn't care less about my book tonight.

978. I just want to walk around Paris with you.

979. I keep forgetting you're just a tourist.

980. That's putting it mildly.

981. I can never decide whether Paris

982. is more beautiful by day or by night.

983. No, you can't. You couldn't pick one.

984. I mean, I can give you a checkmate argument for each side.

985. I sometimes think, "How is anyone

986. "ever going to come up with a book

987. "or a painting or a symphony or a sculpture

988. "that can compete with a great city?"

989. You can't, because, like, you look around,

990. every street, every boulevard is its own special art form.

991. And when you think that in, you know,

992. the cold, violent, meaningless universe

993. that Paris exists, these lights...

994. I mean, come on, there's nothing happening on Jupiter or Neptune.

995. But from way out in space, you can see these lights,

996. the cafes, people drinking and singing.

997. I mean, for all we know, Paris is the hottest spot in the universe.

998. Ah, come on, that's just...

999. You're very kind, but I wouldn't call my babbling poetic.

1000. Although, I was on a pretty good roll there.

1001. See anything you like?

1002. Yeah, I'm ashamed to admit I'm attracted to all of them.

1003. I like cheap and sexy. I guess that makes me shallow.

1004. When I was in Catholic school, one weekend my roommate and I,

1005. we paid a girl from Pigalle to come and teach us all her tricks.

1006. Honestly? Wow. That's...

1007. I'm gonna be thinking about that one.

1008. I love walking with you.

1009. You look amazing.

1010. Thank you.

1011. My God, is that who I think it is?

1012. What is she doing here, staring into the water? Oh, my God!

1013. Zelda, what are you doing?

1014. Please! I don't want to live!

1015. Stop!

1016. What is it?

1017. Scott and that beautiful countess,

1018. they were... It was so obvious, they were whispering about me.

1019. And the more they drank, the more he fell in love with her!

1020. No, no. No, no, no. He... Scott loves only you.

1021. I can tell you that with absolute certainty.

1022. No, he's tired of me!

1023. You're wrong. You're wrong. I know.

1024. How? How?

1025. Trust me. I know. I know.

1026. Sometimes you get a feel for people.

1027. My skin hurts. What do you mean?

1028. I don't know! I hate the way I look!

1029. No, no, no, no. Don't do that!

1030. Don't do that!

1031. No, no, no, no.

1032. Honey, don't do that.

1033. Here you go. Here, take this.

1034. What is this?

1035. It's a Valium. It'll make you feel better.

1036. You carry medicine?

1037. No, not normally. I just...

1038. Since I've been engaged to Inez,

1039. I've been having just little panic attacks.

1040. But I'm sure they'll subside after the wedding.

1041. Go on.

1042. I've never heard of Valium. What is this?

1043. It's the... The pill of the future.

1044. You never said you were getting married.

1045. Yeah, yeah, I am. You know, it's still a ways in the future.

1046. Well, good luck with your book.

1047. Thank you.

1048. And your wedding. Yes, thanks, yeah.

1049. I think you'd like Inez.

1050. She has a very sharp sense of humor. And attractive.

1051. Which isn't to say that we agree on everything, but...

1052. But the important things.

1053. Yeah, or actually, maybe the small things.

1054. Sometimes there's a little bit of a disconnect with the big things.

1055. She wants to live in Malibu and wants me to work in Hollywood.

1056. But I will say that we both like Indian food.

1057. Not all Indian food, but, you know, the pita bread.

1058. We both like pita bread. I guess it's called naan.

1059. I should go.

1060. Pablo will be missing me.

1061. Okay, I'll walk you home.

1062. No, no, no, no, no.

1063. Just finish your drink. I live just around the corner.

1064. No, no. Come on. I'm not gonna...

1065. Well, I prefer to be by myself for a while.

1066. But, thank you for the evening. Bye.

1067. We met earlier tonight.

1068. At the party.

1069. Dali?

1070. Yes.

1071. Dali? I remember.

1072. Dali. Yeah.

1073. Yeah.

1074. Thank you. Yeah.

1075. So...

1076. I love the language. The French!

1077. The waiters? No.

1078. You like the shape of the rhinoceros?

1079. What? The rhinoceros? I haven't really thought about it.

1080. I paint the rhinoceros. I paint you.

1081. Your sad eyes,

1082. and big lips, melting over the hot sand.

1083. With one tear.

1084. Yes, and in your tear, another face.

1085. The Christ face!

1086. Yes. And rhinoceros.

1087. Yeah, I mean, I probably do look sad.

1088. I'm in a very perplexing situation.

1089. Here they are. Luis!

1090. Luis. My friends.

1091. This is senor Bunuel.

1092. Bunuel.

1093. Si. Bunuel and Monsieur Man Ray.

1094. Man Ray? My gosh.

1095. Hello.

1096. This is Pender. Pender!

1097. Yeah.

1098. This is...

1099. Pender!

1100. Yes. And I am Dali!

1101. Dali. Yes.

1102. Si, you have to remember.

1103. Pender is in a perplexing situation.

1104. It sounds so crazy to say.

1105. You guys are gonna think I'm drunk, but I have to tell someone.

1106. I'm from a different time.

1107. Another era. The future.

1108. Okay, I come from the 2,000th millennium to here.

1109. I get in a car and I slide through time.

1110. Exactly correct.

1111. You inhabit two worlds.

1112. So far, I see nothing strange.

1113. Well, yeah, you're surrealists. But I'm a normal guy.

1114. See, in one life, I'm engaged to marry a woman I love.

1115. At least, I think I love her.

1116. Christ, I'd better love her. I'm marrying her.

1117. The rhinoceros makes love by mounting the female.

1118. But is there difference

1119. in the beauty

1120. between two rhinoceroses?

1121. There is another woman?

1122. Yeah, Adriana.

1123. Yes. And I'm, you know, very drawn to her.

1124. I find her, you know, extremely alluring.

1125. The problem is that other men,

1126. great artists, geniuses, also find her alluring.

1127. And she finds, you know, them. So, there's that, but...

1128. A man in love with a woman from a different era.

1129. I see a photograph.

1130. I see a film.

1131. I see an insurmountable problem.

1132. I see a rhinoceros.

1133. Did you get any work done last night?

1134. Yeah, just I'm starting to think

1135. that maybe my book is too realistic,

1136. that I'm missing some chances

1137. to let my imagination kind of go crazy

1138. and not be so damn logical.

1139. Wow. Why do you always look so good in the morning?

1140. Nope, nope, nope, nope.

1141. We have to get dressed. Come here just for a second.

1142. Come here! I've been working like a demon.

1143. I've got to get this stuff done,

1144. but I can't resist you when you look so fetching in the morning.

1145. Paul said we have to go to the countryside.

1146. He said he's taking us to this beautiful little inn for lunch.

1147. But, I mean, if you don't want to go, don't go.

1148. I'm not missing it because of you.

1149. Hello!

1150. Hello!

1151. I have a quick question for you about Rodin.

1152. Hello.

1153. Okay, now, I understand he loved his wife

1154. and he also loved his mistress?

1155. Yes. But do you think that's possible,

1156. to love two women at once?

1157. Well, he loved them both, but in a different way.

1158. You know.

1159. I mean, that's very... That's very French.

1160. You guys are much more evolved in that department than we are.

1161. Do you remember me? I was in the group

1162. that... You showed us...

1163. Yes, the group with the pedantic gentleman.

1164. Pedantic. Yes, that's a perfect word.

1165. Here is his photo.

1166. I want to know where he goes each night.

1167. What is your suspicion?

1168. He's engaged to my daughter. To marry.

1169. I want to be certain she's making the right decision.

1170. Naturally, discretion is paramount.

1171. Well, you've come to the right place, monsieur.

1172. Monsieur Tisserant will personally keep track of the gentleman

1173. and report on his whereabouts at night.

1174. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

1175. Hey! Hey! Thank you for stopping!

1176. Gil Pender.

1177. Tom Eliot.

1178. Tom Stearns Eliot?

1179. T.S. Eliot? T.S. Eliot?

1180. Prufrock's like my mantra! It's like... All right, okay, sorry, sorry.

1181. Listen, where I come from,

1182. people measure out their lives with coke spoons.

1183. Hello? Miss Stein?

1184. Oh, Pender.

1185. I'll get to your book in a moment. I finished it.

1186. We're just in the middle of a little personal crisis.

1187. Okay, should I come back? I don't want to interrupt.

1188. No, it's no secret.

1189. Adriana has left Pablo and has flown to Africa with Hemingway.

1190. He took her hunting kudu, but she'll be back to him.

1191. The sound of hyenas in your ears at night

1192. when you're trying to sleep in a tent just drives you crazy.

1193. Mount Kilimanjaro is not Paris.

1194. Are you saying he took her to Mount Kilimanjaro?

1195. Now, about your book.

1196. It's very unusual indeed. In a way, it's almost like science fiction.

1197. We all fear death and question our place in the universe.

1198. The artist's job is not to succumb to despair

1199. but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence.

1200. You have a clear and lively voice. Don't be such a defeatist.

1201. Tell Gil to bring his suit

1202. because we're gonna be dining formal tomorrow night.

1203. I forgot to tell you, actually,

1204. Gil isn't coming to Mont Saint-Michel.

1205. Why not? I don't understand it.

1206. Because he writes. He rewrites.

1207. He rewrites the rewrites, you know?

1208. He says, "Picasso never left his studio."

1209. I said, "Gil, you have absolutely

1210. nothing in common with Picasso."

1211. He just looks at me.

1212. Well, he's going to miss a great weekend.

1213. ? And that's why birds do it

1214. ? Bees do it

1215. ? Even educated fleas do it

1216. ? Let's do it, let's fall in love

1217. ? In Spain, the best upper sets do it

1218. You have any Cole Porter?

1219. Hi.

1220. Hey.

1221. I remember you.

1222. Yeah?

1223. He was your friend.

1224. Cole Porter? Yeah.

1225. And don't forget about Linda, also. She was a friend, too.

1226. Yeah. You realize I was kidding?

1227. Yeah, I did realize. You're a bit young.

1228. Yeah. I'm... You seem a bit young

1229. to be so familiar with his work.

1230. It's because he wrote many songs about Paris.

1231. What was the story? It's like he was in love

1232. with your hometown or something.

1233. Are you a Parisian?

1234. Yes, monsieur.

1235. "Yes, monsieur."

1236. Feel free to call me Gil.

1237. What do I owe you?

1238. Okay. For this?

1239. Okay.

1240. ? Oysters down in oyster bay do it

1241. ? Let's do it, let's fall in love

1242. ? Cold Cape Cod clams, 'gainst their wish, do it

1243. Do you...

1244. Can you translate this?

1245. Do you speak any English?

1246. Okay, all right. Thank you.

1247. "That Paris exists and anyone could choose to live

1248. "anywhere else in the world will always be a mystery to me.

1249. "Dinner with Pablo and Henri Matisse.

1250. "Pablo is the greater artist, but Matisse is the greater painter.

1251. "Paris in the summer.

1252. "What it must have been like to sit opposite one's lover at Maxim's

1253. "in its... in its best time."

1254. Yeah.

1255. "I'm in love with an American writer I just met named Gil Pender.

1256. "That immediate magic one hears about happened to me.

1257. "I know that both Picasso and Hemingway are in love with me,

1258. "but for whatever inexplicable...

1259. "inexplicable reason the heart has,

1260. "I am drawn by Gil.

1261. "Perhaps because he seems naive and unassuming.

1262. "As always in this sad life,

1263. "he's about to marry a woman named Inez.

1264. "I had a dream where he came to me and brought me a little gift.

1265. "Earrings, they were. And we made love."

1266. Earrings!

1267. Okay.

1268. Oh! Oh, my God! What are you guys doing?

1269. Daddy had chest pains.

1270. Oh. Really? Are you...

1271. Yeah, I'm sure it's just indigestion.

1272. We can't take that chance.

1273. He had an angioplasty three years ago.

1274. Yeah. Right.

1275. They put a balloon in me, big deal.

1276. A balloon?

1277. I would like the hotel doctor, please, in room 720 A.

1278. Don't call the doctor!

1279. Gil, why are you so dressed up?

1280. Me? No, no, no, no, I'm not! I've been writing.

1281. I was just doing a little writing.

1282. What, you dress up and put on cologne to write?

1283. No, no, I took... I jumped in the shower just for a second, just...

1284. You know how I think better in the shower

1285. and I get the positive ions going in there.

1286. So, we were halfway to Mont Saint-Michel

1287. when Daddy just went pale as a ghost.

1288. That's terrible. It was so scary.

1289. So, we just turned right around and came back.

1290. Yeah, you had to. John, is there anything that I can get for you?

1291. Your color, to me, looks like it's okay,

1292. but I'm not a doctor, so maybe... No, I'm fine.

1293. I'm sure it's the beef bourguignon she made me have.

1294. What is that?

1295. Where?

1296. That in your hand.

1297. Nothing.

1298. It's a present.

1299. I know. I know. I mean, it's not. It is...

1300. Yes. And it's not, you know, it's not...

1301. It's just from the flea market, so it's not...

1302. Well, can I open it?

1303. No, no, no. That's what I'm saying! Honey, it's... I want...

1304. It's for a special dinner that we're going to have,

1305. that I'm going to give it to you at.

1306. Is it jewelry? Well...

1307. I hope it's my taste if it's jewelry,

1308. because that moonstone necklace...

1309. No, no. But you liked... I thought you liked the moonstone.

1310. Because it has a... It's understated, but elegant.

1311. That's what you always say!

1312. "Cheap is cheap" is what I always say.

1313. Yeah. You didn't see this necklace.

1314. I've never actually even worn it.

1315. I'll show you. You'll see why immediately.

1316. Everybody's down on moonstone all of a sudden!

1317. Well, they are a little simple.

1318. Well, I thought you loved their simplicity.

1319. Yeah, that's the problem. They're too simple!

1320. Well, what do I know? Too simple.

1321. Where are my pearl earrings?

1322. Did you bring them? I don't even remember you packing them.

1323. Yes, I did, because I've worn them here.

1324. No, you didn't. They must have fallen out!

1325. Both of them? Yeah.

1326. Gil, my ears are pierced!

1327. Inez, I told you to keep everything in the hotel safe.

1328. Do you think it was the maid?

1329. It's always the maid.

1330. I know I saw them here this morning.

1331. Well, I would report the theft right away.

1332. She was so snotty yesterday when I asked her to turn down the beds.

1333. Let's not jump to any conclusions!

1334. You don't just level a charge of theft against somebody.

1335. Yes, I'd like to report a theft.

1336. Inez, no!

1337. Could you call the house detective? Send him up? Thank you.

1338. This is turning into a witch hunt!

1339. You don't do this to people!

1340. Yes, you do, if they've stolen.

1341. I didn't like that maid. I didn't like her from the beginning.

1342. I said that. She was sweet!

1343. She was pleasant. She was upbeat.

1344. You always take the side of the help, as usual!

1345. That's why Daddy says you're a communist!

1346. I'm Dr. Gerard. Very good.

1347. Do you want some more water?

1348. I'm fine. I'm fine. Thank you.

1349. He's had angioplasty.

1350. I didn't need it.

1351. Look! Are these them? I don't know, could...

1352. Where did you find them?

1353. They were just in the bathroom.

1354. In the bathroom?

1355. Yeah, on the sink. I just...

1356. What the hell were they doing in the bathroom?

1357. I don't know. They were just...

1358. But maybe you dropped them,

1359. and when you were putting them away,

1360. and then the housekeeper must've picked them up

1361. and placed them there for us to...

1362. Out in the open for us to see easily.

1363. It was actually really thoughtful of her.

1364. I didn't drop them. I wouldn't drop them.

1365. I wouldn't drop my pearl earrings.

1366. The important thing is they're not stolen.

1367. Pender! I was just telling Matisse

1368. we're going to buy one of his new paintings for our personal collection.

1369. I think 500 Francs is fair.

1370. 500 Francs for a Matisse? Yeah, I think that sounds fair.

1371. I wonder, actually, if I can maybe pick up six or seven...

1372. What have we got here? Yeah.

1373. Oh. Okay, now, I brought a rewrite of the first few chapters of my book.

1374. And if you could just tell me if I'm heading in the right direction,

1375. I'd really appreciate it.

1376. Leave it with me. Okay, great.

1377. And have you heard from Hemingway?

1378. Oh. They've been back for days now.

1379. The trip didn't work out. I knew they wouldn't hit it off.

1380. It's over. With Picasso, too.

1381. Oh, no.

1382. She's at Deyrolle, by herself.

1383. By herself?

1384. One of those crazy surrealist painters

1385. is getting married. They're doing it up there.

1386. She'll be glad to see you.

1387. Hi. Hi.

1388. What are you doing here?

1389. I came to find you.

1390. You did? Yeah.

1391. Maybe this is coming out of left field,

1392. but let's just say, as a writer,

1393. I'm pretty good at picking up on vibrations

1394. from people, women in particular.

1395. And I just... I sense that there's

1396. some complicated feelings, maybe,

1397. that you have for me.

1398. Aren't you going to get married?

1399. Well, everything's a little up in the air right now.

1400. I don't know what is going to happen.

1401. Is there some place where we can talk, maybe more quiet?

1402. Sure.

1403. Come on.

1404. Oh, Mr. Bunuel! I had a nice idea for a movie for you.

1405. Yes? Yeah.

1406. A group of people attend a very formal dinner party.

1407. And at the end of dinner, when they try to leave the room, they can't.

1408. Why not?

1409. They just can't seem to exit the door.

1410. But why?

1411. Well, momento.

1412. When they're forced to stay together,

1413. the veneer of civilization quickly fades away,

1414. and what you're left with is who they really are.

1415. Animals.

1416. But I don't get it. Why don't they just walk out of the room?

1417. All I'm saying is just think about it. Who knows?

1418. Maybe when you're shaving one day, it'll tickle your fancy.

1419. I don't understand. What holding them in the room?

1420. What are you doing?

1421. I don't know.

1422. But I did feel, for a minute there

1423. while I was doing it, like I was immortal.

1424. But you look so sad.

1425. Because life is too mysterious.

1426. This is the time we live in.

1427. Everything moves so fast and life is noisy and complicated.

1428. Yeah, but I've never... I mean,

1429. I've always been a logical person.

1430. I never... You know, I never acted too crazy.

1431. I didn't stay here when I first came out here.

1432. I didn't... You know, I didn't take a real shot at being a writer.

1433. I just kind of, "I'll be a Hollywood hired hand," and I just...

1434. I don't... I just want to...

1435. I feel like I just want to just let it go.

1436. Here.

1437. Oh.

1438. Oh. This is... This is remarkable.

1439. Go on. Here. Put it on.

1440. They are so beautiful.

1441. Look.

1442. Come on, come on.

1443. Mon dieu, this is so beautiful!

1444. It's unbelievable. All of the pictures I've seen,

1445. and here it is, La Belle Epoque.

1446. Wow. I don't know what it is about this city!

1447. It's like... I've got to write a note to the Chamber of Commerce.

1448. Thank you.

1449. Avant-garde, yes.

1450. Yes.

1451. Isn't it amazing? The first time we met, I told you about this place.

1452. And the Belle Epoque. And here we are.

1453. I know. I don't know why I have this feeling like I'm just kind of...

1454. I don't know, like, I can't believe my luck.

1455. Well, and I know exactly where I want to go next.

1456. You lead the way.

1457. Look!

1458. Oh, my God!

1459. Pablo admires him so much. I have to say hello. Come...

1460. No, no. Maybe we shouldn't bother him.

1461. Come with me, I'm nervous!

1462. Really? Okay.

1463. But we know he's a lonely man.

1464. Yeah.

1465. I'm sure he would love some company.

1466. Okay. Okay.

1467. Come.

1468. Monsieur Lautrec?

1469. He's asking us to sit down with him.

1470. This much French I do understand, and the gesture.

1471. Yes, I'm an American.

1472. Yeah. Yeah, oui, oui.

1473. I love your drawings, also.

1474. Paul Gauguin. Wow.

1475. Yes, yes, yes!

1476. You see the sketch he's made? Nobody can draw like this today.

1477. Not Picasso. Not Matisse.

1478. No, it's unbelievable!

1479. No, no, I speak well.

1480. Degas and I were just talking about how this...

1481. He says that this generation is empty and has no imagination.

1482. Better to have lived during the... During la Renaissance.

1483. No! This is the golden age.

1484. Not... No.

1485. He wants Degas to have you meet his friend, Richard.

1486. He's looking for someone to do costumes for the new ballet.

1487. Ballet costumes?

1488. Yes.

1489. Oh, my God. I don't live here.

1490. I mean, I do, but I don't. I...

1491. It's best not to go into too many details.

1492. We're temporarily passing through.

1493. Can I speak with you a minute?

1494. Okay.

1495. Wow, it didn't take Gauguin long to start steaming in.

1496. Let's never go back to the '20s.

1497. What are you talking about?

1498. We should stay here. It's the start of La Belle Epoque.

1499. It's the greatest, most beautiful era Paris has ever known!

1500. Yeah, but what about the '20s,

1501. and the Charleston, and the Fitzgeralds, and the Hemingways?

1502. I mean, I love those guys.

1503. Well, it's the present. It's dull.

1504. Dull?

1505. Well, it's not my present. I'm from 2010.

1506. What do you mean?

1507. I dropped in on you the same way

1508. we're dropping in on the 1890s.

1509. You did?

1510. I was trying to escape my present

1511. the same way you're trying to escape yours

1512. to a golden age.

1513. Surely you don't think the '20s are a golden age.

1514. Yeah, to me, they are.

1515. But I'm from the '20s, and I'm telling you

1516. the golden age is La Belle Epoque.

1517. I mean, look at these guys.

1518. To them, their golden age was the Renaissance.

1519. They'd rather... They'd trade Belle Epoque

1520. to be painting alongside Titian and Michelangelo.

1521. And those guys probably imagine life was a lot better

1522. when Kublai Khan was around.

1523. I'm having an insight now.

1524. It's a minor one, but it explains the anxiety in my dream that I had.

1525. What dream?

1526. I had a dream the other night where...

1527. It was like a nightmare, where I ran out of Zithromax.

1528. And then I went to see the dentist,

1529. and he didn't have any Novocain.

1530. You see what I'm saying?

1531. These people don't have any antibiotics!

1532. What are you talking about?

1533. Adriana, if you stay here, though, and this becomes your present

1534. then pretty soon you'll start imagining

1535. another time was really your...

1536. You know, was really the golden time.

1537. Yeah, that's what the present is.

1538. It's a little unsatisfying because life's a little unsatisfying.

1539. That's the problem with writers.

1540. You are so full of words.

1541. But I am more emotional.

1542. And I am going to stay and live in Paris's most glorious time.

1543. You made a choice to leave Paris once and you regretted it.

1544. Yeah, I did regret it.

1545. It was a bad decision, but at least it was a choice.

1546. I mean, it was a real choice.

1547. This way, I think, is crazy. It doesn't really work.

1548. If I ever want to write something worthwhile

1549. I have to get rid of my illusions,

1550. and that I'd be happier in the past is probably one of them.

1551. So, goodbye, Gil?

1552. Goodbye.

1553. Pender, I read your rewrite and you're nicely on the right track.

1554. You've understood me clearly.

1555. If the rest of the book reads as well when you're done,

1556. you'll have something of value.

1557. That is the best news! I really did listen to you,

1558. so I'm happy to hear that it seems like I'm moving forward.

1559. It means the world to me.

1560. Hemingway read the chapters, too.

1561. Hemingway read it?

1562. He thinks it's going to be a fine book.

1563. But he did have one plot suggestion.

1564. What was his suggestion?

1565. He doesn't quite believe that the protagonist doesn't see

1566. that his fiancee is having an affair right before his eyes.

1567. With?

1568. The other character, the pedantic one.

1569. Yeah, it's called denial. Thank you.

1570. You're crazy! Paul and I?

1571. Where did you get such an insane notion?

1572. Where? From Ernest Hemingway.

1573. He figured it out. And guess what? It makes perfect sense.

1574. Gil, your brain tumor's acting up again. No, no, no, no.

1575. No. No!

1576. There's nothing crazy about Hemingway.

1577. Or Fitzgerald. Or Gertrude Stein. Or Salvador Dali.

1578. Yeah. Except that they've all been dead for years!

1579. No, no. The past is not dead! Actually, it's not even past.

1580. You know who said that? Faulkner, and he was right!

1581. And I met him, too. I ran into him at a dinner party.

1582. You're a raving lunatic! No, I'm not.

1583. Yes, you are.

1584. No, no. I'm too trusting.

1585. I'm jealous and I'm trusting.

1586. It's cognitive dissonance.

1587. Scott Fitzgerald talked about it. Gil. Gil...

1588. Inez, I know. You can fool me, but you cannot fool Hemingway.

1589. I know. Jesus Christ!

1590. I'm dealing with a madman here!

1591. Okay! Yes! I did!

1592. I was with Paul for a few nights.

1593. Because he's romantic, and he speaks French,

1594. and you were always working.

1595. And maybe it's the mystique of this corny city, but get over it, Gil.

1596. You just put this in perspective when we get home.

1597. I'm not... I'm not going back.

1598. I'm sorry. What? I'm staying here.

1599. And it has nothing to do with your romantic fling. Paris is Paris.

1600. Inez, you and I, it's obvious we're not...

1601. I don't think we're right for each other.

1602. What?

1603. I think that we... What are you saying?

1604. What are you even talking about?

1605. You ready to go swimming? Hi.

1606. We're breaking up.

1607. What?

1608. Yeah. Gil's moving to Paris.

1609. I knew it! I told you.

1610. What's going on?

1611. No, no, I'm going to stay in Paris.

1612. But just because we've... If I'm unhappy, I'll move back.

1613. But for the time being, yes.

1614. With... With who, Gil?

1615. With no one.

1616. All your crazy, hallucinatory friends?

1617. No.

1618. I mean, Mom's right about you, you know?

1619. You have this part missing.

1620. Yeah, I said that first. Okay.

1621. Anyone whose protagonist makes a living selling old cap pistols

1622. and Joan Crawford cutout books, honestly...

1623. She's upset.

1624. Listen, listen, I'm not trying to be a martyr,

1625. but I think you'll be better off without me.

1626. I really do. Well, we would!

1627. Yeah, you got that right.

1628. I can't believe you're moving.

1629. Go ahead. Go ahead!

1630. Walk the streets. Gush over the Parisian light and the rooftops!

1631. Okay. Goodbye, Inez.

1632. Yeah, say hi to Trotsky.

1633. Yeah.

1634. You know...

1635. Unbelievable.

1636. I had a private detective follow him.

1637. I knew he was up to no good.

1638. You did?

1639. Oh, you bet I did.

1640. He saw him get into a car at midnight every night,

1641. and he followed him very closely.

1642. And what happened?

1643. I don't know.

1644. The detective agency says the detective is missing.

1645. Who are you?

1646. I'm lost. I took a wrong turn.

1647. Off with his head!

1648. Hey, hi!

1649. Hey.

1650. Wow.

1651. Good to see you.

1652. What are you doing here?

1653. I'm returning from dinner with friends.

1654. Oh, okay. I live here.

1655. Oh. Yeah.

1656. And you? What are you doing here?

1657. I was just out for a walk.

1658. Yeah, actually, I decided I'm moving to Paris.

1659. Really? Yeah.

1660. Wow. I'm sure you will love it.

1661. Yeah.

1662. You think so?

1663. Yeah.

1664. You know, I thought about you the other day, because...

1665. Really? Yeah.

1666. My boss got a whole new album of Cole Porter songs.

1667. And that made you think about me.

1668. I like to be thought of that way.

1669. You're on your way home right now?

1670. Yes.

1671. Can I walk with you? Or I'll buy you a cup of coffee or...

1672. Okay, now it's starting to rain.

1673. No, but that's okay. I don't mind getting wet.

1674. Really? Yeah.

1675. And actually, Paris is the most beautiful in the rain.

1676. You think that? I feel like that's what I'm always saying.

1677. I couldn't agree more with you.

1678. Yes, it is more beautiful.

1679. By the way, my name is Gabrielle.

1680. Gil.

1681. Nice to meet you.

1682. That's a pretty name.