Every day,
young people like the characters in this film
arrive in the cities of Africa.
They have left school
or work in the family fields
to try to find a place in the modern world.
Unskilled jacks of all trades,
they are one of the sicknesses of the new African cities:
Unemployed youth.
These young people are torn between tradition
and mechanization,
between Islam and alcohol.
They are faithful to their beliefs,
but idolize modern stars of boxing and cinema.
For six months, I followed a group of young immigrants from Niger
in Treichville, on the outskirts of Abidjan.
I suggested we make a film together.
They would play their own roles,
with no restrictions on what they wanted to do or say.
And so we improvised this film.
One of them, Eddie Constantine, was so faithful to his character,
Lemmy Caution, American FBI agent,
that he was sentenced to 3 months in prison during filming.
For the other, Edward G. Robinson,
the film became a mirror of self-discovery.
An ex-soldier in the Indochina war, thrown out by his father
for being on the losing side,
he is the hero of the film, I'll hand over to him.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I give you TREICHVILLE.
Let's go, Treichville!
Let's see what life in Treichville really is!
The true personality of Treichville!
The banks of the laguna
Sweet-smelling perfumes
Thousands of roses
Love soothes gently
Abidjan
When we say your name
Abidjan of the laguna, beautiful place to be
There are three districts in Abidjan:
The old African quarter of Adjame.
The industrial and business quarter known as the plateau
and, on the other side of the laguna,
the new quarter of Treichville.
Edward G. Robinson lives in Treichville.
Today, he has come across to the plateau
in the vain hope of finding work.
My name is not really Edward G. Robinson.
It's a nickname my friends gave me.
They call me Edward G. Robinson
because I look like a certain Edward G. Robinson
in films at the cinema.
I don't tell people my real name. I'm a foreigner.
I come from Niger, 2,000 kilometres from Abidjan.
My hometown is Niamey, capital of the colony of Niger.
Many of us have come to Abidjan looking for money.
There are at least a hundred of us, but we were misinformed
by people who told us
we would make money in Abidjan...
I've got 25 francs. Others have got millions.
Money...
I don't earn anything, I'm a day labourer right now.
All I do is wear myself out, labouring...
If I'd known what Abidjan was like, I wouldn't have come.
I've had enough.
Labouring, labouring all day long, nothing but work,
it's a bad life.
My God, if I'd known I'd be a day labourer,
Goddamn!
Oh yeah! Abidjan is great!
I've got to take the ferry,
which costs 5 francs out of my 25.
I'll have 20 francs left
to buy some avocado to eat.
My God! Life's complicated! Life is sad!
Some people have good food, nice homes,
nearer to God up on the 12th floor.
But me...
I live on the other side,
I live in Treichville.
Our homes are huts,
or houses,
but not houses like on the other side.
Our lives are different.
I'm getting off the ferry and going into Treichville.
This is Treichville.
Abidjan, when we speak your name
Abidjan of the laguna, beautiful place to be
And the market
The market at eight o'clock
Abidjan of the laguna, beautiful place to be
And the young girls
And love, cha cha cha
Abidjan of the laguna, beautiful place to be
My darling
Meet me tonight
For a date
Where all the young people go
There are accidents all the time in Treichville.
It doesn't matter. We're like the Americans,
our cars don't last longer than 2 months,
that's why there's all this mess.
Here are the "toutounes".
Toutounes are women who charge 200 francs to do it with a man
and 100 francs for children.
Good evening, Madam, I'll be back tonight.
Of course, I don't have money.
What can I do, as a poor man? Goddamn!
We can't even afford "toutounes".
Here we are at the fraternity house.
Twenty of us live here
in this shed. This is where we live,
in the Nigerien fraternity.
Every day of the week,
Robinson and his friends struggle to find work.
Porters, carrying anything for any price.
Hassling around the travellers at the bus station.
Door to door sales, selling fabrics from Ghana.
Tumblers, dockers, tropical wood handlers.
Or, like Robinson and Elite,
day labourers, "bozzoris"
at the mercy of the bosses.
Whatever the day brings, in the evening, the day's wages
will be won or lost at cards.
It's the same every day.
A new storey going up in Adjame.
There's always something new and marvellous,
but nothing new or marvellous for me, just the same sad life.
These are my friends, my buddies.
My dear friend, what a life!
It's always the same for us.
Tiring work, roadwork...
We're nearly all from the same country,
it's always guys from Niger.
Hi, Petit Jules! How are you?
Alright? That's good.
My buddy, Petit Jules, works the buses.
Hello, Tarzan.
My buddy Tarzan
is a taxi driver.
That's really something, especially in Treichville,
the Chicago of Africa.
Hello, Eddie Constantine.
As for my buddy, Eddie Constantine,
he's a salesman, he sells fabrics.
Apparently, negroes have it hard in Paris.
That doesn't matter.
With Eddie Constantine, the women here don't care.
He's a crafty one, always on top form.
Have you seen Adele...
Ah! Dorothy Lamour!
Do you want some lovely fabric from Kumasi?
It's not from the lvory Coast.
If you want to be in fashion, you need it,
- it's lovely cloth. - No money.
These are 2,000 francs for half a length,
but you're so pretty, you can have it
for just 1,500.
Look at that,
this cloth is the fashion this year, in 1957.
If you want to be in fashion when you go dancing,
if you want the boys to worship you,
to admire you, just buy this Kumasi cloth.
Dorothy Lamour, you are so beautiful!
Dorothy Lamour, I've got something to tell you later.
What I want to tell you...
it's the truth, I love you.
Tender melody winging its' way to you
My darling Spreading around you
My love
Abidjan, when we speak your name
Abidjan of the laguna
beautiful place to be
That's the end... Now, let's do some business,
Dorothy Lamour, let's go into the house...
we'll do our business in the house and I'll give you free cloth.
Eddie Constantine gets any woman he wants,
but, for my friend Facteur, it's another story.
Oh! My friend!
Too much work! No rest!
Always dragging around in the sea,
on the logs, we get injured, we bleed.
I just do day labour in the port.
That's my job.
Day labourers are called "bozzoris".
Elite, how are you, my dear friend?
I'm not too well, my dear Elite.
I tried to get work on the trucks,
but I didn't manage to get any.
Nothing at all, my dear friend.
Let's go, he's a pain in the ass.
People like that are a real pain in the ass.
Even if we didn't get any work, our friends will share their food.
Even so,
we do get work some days.
Unloading sacks of coffee for shipping to France.
Take it! Here! There you go! That's all we're good for.
Look at all that!
That's all we're good for!
Sacks, sacks and more sacks.
Even if they fall on your head, it doesn't matter!
It's like our life, like those sacks.
Life is sacks.
At lunch-time,
we go down to the bozzori's hotel.
It's a special hotel for us bozzoris.
A special hotel for poor people, with a meal for 15 francs.
We have to wash our hands first,
we wash our hands and our feet.
We don't want to frighten the lady who sells rice at the market.
Hurry up, Elite, let's get going.
Because the others... you know the woman I mean...
Maryam, who sells the good rice.
If we don't hurry up, some other guys will get there first.
They hassle us on the way in, why not on the way out?
Because we're leaving.
Let's go!
Come on! People smell around here.
Before we go,
we're going to get 5 francs worth of cigarettes, that's enough.
We have 40 francs altogether.
Hurry up with the change! Let's go!
Rich people
go home by bicycle or scooter.
Some people go home by car or motorbike or scooter.
But we're bozzoris,
we don't go home, we go to the bozzoris' hotel
to get 20 francs worth of rice. It's enough for us.
Two spoons, I'm not alone,
I'm with a friend, Madam.
There are two of us, we keep ourselves to ourselves.
We're fine with 20 francs worth of rice.
Other people who are rich,
they get a piece of bread for 10 francs and a sardine for 25.
A mint drink for 5 francs.
Or if they're really rich,
a bottle of OK Tip Top for 15 francs.
Eddie Constantine, American FBI agent, isn't like us.
FBI agents don't eat at the bozzori's hotel.
They eat in a restaurant with great food and service.
They pay 75 francs a meal. We paid 20 francs for both of us.
When we've finished eating, we need to get
kola nuts for dessert.
3 kola nuts cost 5 francs.
Now we need to get some rest.
We don't want to waste time going home,
so we just lie down on the pavement, on the edge here,
in the shade of the mango trees.
It's not too hot here, we'll lie down here.
A couple of hours will get our strength back up.
We have to sleep.
I'm going to dream that one day
I'll be like other men.
Like everyone else, like the rich people.
I want a wife and a house and a car, like them.
It's 2 o'clock, Elite.
Time for work.
The ferry is here, it's back to work,
but slowly, we go back slowly, not quickly.
Don't rush, Elite, don't rush back to our buddies, the sacks.
The sacks are our friends, always the sacks.
Sacks are our friends, Elite.
If I tell you something, you won't believe me.
I've seen everything in life. I've seen
nearly all the towns in Europe.
I've been to Rouen, I've been there.
I've done it all and I've seen it all.
I've seen Rochefort, a beautiful town, and Hamburg.
I've been to all these towns, and I can tell you,
with the women... I did everything!
In Oslo, for example, I did everything.
I don't have to tell you what I mean,
you know what I mean, it worked every time.
Really, it worked every time for me!
Every time, my dear Elite!
I'm a day labourer now,
but I was an escort then. A real gentleman!
I was eighteen then.
Let me explain something to you. You see those flowers?
That's what white women like... Flowers.
Believe me, Elite, those kinds of flowers, they love them.
You don't need money, just flowers!
I'm telling you! Let's go, my friend!
Hello, you lot!
Here I am!
What are you doing?
Playing cards? That's what I call work!
I haven't got any work either, so let's play, maybe I'll win
something to eat.
800 francs in the pot!
How many days work is that?
Four days work, my friend... it would be great.
You won, Elite? That's good, that's very good.
Go on, don't listen to him, don't listen to his pitch.
Don't buy anything, Elite!
Get away from here! Don't listen to that hustler.
I'm fed up! I never have any luck.
I'll say hello to the young girls now.
How are you all? I'm going to marry all of you!
Doesn't matter how many,
I'll marry you all!
Tomorrow, if I'm at the port,
I'll find some little things
to give you as presents.
I'll bring you some...
I'll give you money.
Right! Now I'm going to see Maman. I wonder if she'll ignore me today.
Maman!
Guess what? I've got no money! Oh! Expensive!
How much for 5 francs? Just 5 francs.
Oh, well! Bravo!
At six o'clock, we go to street 12,
to a bar called "Ambiance".
I don't go there to dance,
I'm no dancer.
Dancing is for happy people,
guys who want to play at being cowboys and all that.
I don't go to street 12 to dance.
I come here for something else, not dancing...
I come here because I'm learning how to box.
How to be a boxer,
a famous boxer.
I'm really feeling on top form here.
Pretty soon,
I'll be able to fight for a title.
I'm good to go now.
Tarzan!
Tarzan is my very good buddy. He's a professional boxer.
He's not called Tarzan for nothing! He's a boxer!
Look at him hitting the bag!
He gets through a new bag every week.
Tarzan is strong.
He really is!
I want to be like Tarzan, but I never will be.
No way!
On Saturday afternoons, Treichville comes to life.
Today's the day when anything goes.
The beach, the boxing ring,
the dancing club, it's a waking dream!
But today is Saturday,
even labourers don't work on Saturdays.
How are you, dear friends?
I'll bet you're fine today,
no working tonight, it's Saturday.
Roll up your sleeves, get ready for tonight!
Sparks are going to fly!
Just you wait and see.
Hang on! Who's this?
It's Tarzan, the taxi-man!
He's the taxi-man.
How's it going, Tarzan? Wait for me!
I'll get dressed, Tarzan.
I need to turn my collar up before we go.
Goodbye, I'm off now. Don't get into any trouble,
You're always in trouble. Keep out of trouble. Goodbye.
Miss Dorothy Lamour, how are you?
Very well, thank you... Jane!
Jane and Tarzan.
Tarzan must be happy, he's off to the beach with Jane.
No accidents today, it's Saturday!
We're free today, it's Saturday.
You mustn't go 120 kph! Slow down!
I know you're happy because Jane is in the car...
Don't overtake, Tarzan. He's always breaking the law.
It's because of Jane.
It's not surprising.
Don't try to overtake the jeep!
There's the sea!
Thousands of times...
probably millions of times bigger than the Niger.
Oops! Tarzan is not happy!
That's Tarzan! That's typical Tarzan...
Tarzan, the ape-man.
We're dangerous.
The sea is too rough, it makes too much noise.
The other side, by the river, is better.
The water is calm, it's great.
It's better. It reminds me of the Niger,
it's beautiful, like the Niger.
Everyone's happy, but I'm sad.
I know why. It's because every day can't be like this.
I'm only ever happy
on Saturday evenings. Apart from Saturdays,
my whole life is troubled.
My life isn't like this every day. What I need,
Dorothy Lamour,
what I need is a woman
and later on, children.
To be a happy man, like everyone else.
Maybe soon, I'll be a boxer.
I'll call myself Ray Sugar Robinson.
I'll have a manager,
Tarzan Johnny Weissmuller.
I'll fight Hogan Kid Bassey, the world champion,
and we'll fight...
a featherweight fight in fifteen minutes and three seconds.
Hit him with a right, then a left...
Breathe properly, breathe deeply.
Come on!
The world featherweight championship title is mine.
Bravo, Robinson, bravo world champion.
That's my dream, world featherweight champion.
Ray Sugar Robinson.
But it's pitiful,
it's just a dream. Here are the real boxers.
After boxing, on Saturdays,
we go dancing. Thank goodness for Tarzan,
he pays our way in.
Eddie Constantine, FBI agent!
Lemmy Caution! What a happy life that guy has!
But not me. I'm sad.
Give me some beer. Give me something to drink, so I can be...
I need a drink. Where's my beer?
Beer! Beer!
Give me a drink! Sidibe, give me a drink!
Hey, a drink for me!
In this place,
for 100 francs, you get a beautiful African
with a great figure,
for 1,000, a beautiful white woman.
Come with me! No?
Just for tonight!
What's the matter?
Money? What about money?
It's always about money with you!
Money, money...
Abidjan, when we speak your name
To the sounds of the rumba
Lots of pretty girls
You can keep your bar!
I'm leaving! I'm sick of this shit.
It's always about money. Why is it all about money?
I'm sick of it!
I'm alone again tonight,
always alone, all by myself.
So what? I don't care! I'll be alone!
Sunday is the day to make last night's dreams come true.
If you're looking for luck, like Constantine,
or invoking God's help, like Robinson,
come evening, you make your way to La Goumbe.
La Goumbe is like family for these foreigners,
everything is shared!
Dreams of the Far West and traditional tunes,
it's a time to be yourself, among your peers.
If you are elected king and queen, like Constantine and Nathalie,
you get to be the heroes of Treichville
and too bad for the others.
The day after Saturday is Sunday.
I am Eddie Constantine, an American federal agent.
I come to the mission to see the girls.
My mother and father are Catholic,
but I'm not a Catholic, in fact,
I'm Muslim.
I come to the mission for the women.
To see them, worship them.
I'm always in love,
I love women.
I know, for example, that at the mission,
there are lots of women
and I love looking at them.
This one in front of me,
no, she's old,
but I like her anyway.
There's a young one, but she's too small.
There's one! She's just right.
Can I see you tonight?
I'm not sleeping alone tonight! No way!
What are you doing later?
Shall we go to my place?
Shall we make love? You choose how you want to do it.
How do you want to do it?
When it's time for making love,
Eddie Constantine is always fit.
Hairdresser: "Dieu Merci"
Fashion hairdressing
Ah! A hairdresser. Mode Casino...
Santiago, Azazou, Ordinaire...
There's a cretin asleep in the doorway.
Ah! That's it!
What's that fashion?
Cha cha cha fashion. That's what I'm going to have.
It's the fashion in lvory Coast.
As I'm a ladies' man and this is the fashion,
I need a cha cha cha cut.
Eddie Constantine has had a haircut.
I haven't.
But in spite of all the poverty,
we still manage to dress properly
for prayers at the mosque.
There are a lot of mosques in Treichville,
but they're too small.
We have to pray out on the street.
Especially on a day like today,
a holiday.
Even if you don't have a rug, there's always
Dorothy Lamour who will give you her headscarf
to kneel on for prayers.
God is great.
God the creator.
Let me have money like everyone else.
I'm praying for money, for luck,
for happiness.
God is great. That's what life is about,
that's what life is...
I haven't got nice clothes like them,
they're well dressed,
they've got their best caftans.
They've got umbrellas, or turbans. I haven't got anything.
God is great.
That's the way life is.
Some are into politics,
wage increases and such.
I'm still a labourer at just 200 francs a day.
Some of them vote, I never vote for anything or anyone.
I don't vote.
I'm all alone and I don't care about anything,
God has decided I should be alone.
God wants it, so I'll always be alone.
As for me, Eddie Constantine, Lemmy Caution,
FBI agent, I don't care about voting.
I prefer to go to football matches on Sundays.
I only care about sport and love.
What a match!
7 a side...
we're ahead.
Assanes, pass the ball to him over there.
Assanes, pass it on...
A goal! Out of the way, Roustico!
Careful! Watch out, Laggia...
Who's that?
Number 7
passing to number 6...
Careful, the goalie's got it...
What's that? Offside! Offside!
It's half-time,
one goal each,
anyone could win.
Second half. Africa are playing well.
Assanes passes to Saintes,
Saintes passes to Roustico who gets the ball away.
And I'm so elegant, I'm looking
at those nice young girls.
Three nice young girls.
Mademoiselle, tonight, you come to my place, for sure.
Today, I win, I get a girl.
Sweetheart, the match isn't over,
and I'm with the girls. If Africa wins, I get a woman.
They're praying.
Praying, praying all the time.
Prayers first, then love.
Get a woman before you pray! You keep praying!
We need to go to La Goumbe.
Tarzan, just forget those poor fellows.
It's time for dancing. That's what we enjoy...
How can I put it...
Goddamn, my old friend...
Long live the youth of La Goumbe and Treichville
La Goumbe is a kind of club,
it's more like a band with dancers who are specialised
in this dance.
The girls all dress the same and so do the boys.
You pay a monthly membership,
50 francs a month.
The queen is elected on dance-day,
they put her in a car with a loudspeaker
and she sings.
In La Goumbe, there is strict discipline.
The girls must be strictly disciplined.
They have to be supple too,
for the dancing.
Never mind supple,
look how disciplined the girls are.
When she talks to a gentleman, she has to get on her knees.
Look at that!
He's a club member and he has to greet everyone
otherwise he has to pay 100 francs, instead of 50
for his monthly membership.
They are the top dancers,
those guys there,
so they wear cowboy clothes to stand out from the rest.
They are the bicycle champions.
It's called bicycle dancing.
Ah! Cycle sports!
It's the bicycle dancing now,
for the cowboys of La Goumbe, their bike
is their horse.
Their bicycle is really their horse.
Look at him!
Exactly like cowboys in Texas with their horses,
it's exactly the same,
I swear it.
That is so good!
I give him 10 out of 10. What about you?
Or maybe 8 out of 10.
He's done a good job.
Oh, yeah!
That's good.
500 francs for a gift. Thank you, Sir, he deserved it.
And 400 for the other one.
It's evening now.
Now it's time
for boys and girls, not bikes.
Mr Eddie Constantine, American federal agent,
I think you are expected on the dance floor.
I want to see you.
Long live Royale Goumbe.
It's my turn now, Edward G. Robinson.
That's her.
That's how I dance.
Nathalie, Nathalie, a young girl from Adjame.
I love this girl! We're dancing!
What shall we do? Rock 'n roll? That's great...
Or... cha cha cha? That's good.
Look at me, Nathalie.
Cha cha cha. Rock n' roll.
How are you feeling, Nathalie? Right at this moment?
How are you feeling? Everything's alright!
Boom, boom, boom, play, play, play...
What's he saying?
Grand Goumbe competition
with Eddie Constantine and Nathalie
against Amadou Sidibe and Mademoiselle Maryam.
I'm going to win with Nathalie.
She's so beautiful!
I don't like ugly women,
I'm handsome, I like beautiful women.
Look at her spin,
she's dancing, she's supple.
With me, like that, like that, that's it!
Then straight back to my place.
Bravo, Constantine! Well done, Eddie!
I'm telling you, I'm winning.
I always win with women.
I win and I win.
Look how she loves me
and I love her, this girl.
She dances just like I do.
That's it! Down you go!
Now, Eddie Constantine is the king of La Goumbe.
Long live Niger!
Eddie Constantine won
the La Goumbe competition,
and poor old Edward G. Is going home to his buddies from Niger
who are all as poor as I am.
They dance by the light of an oil lamp.
I'm going to the "Desert" club to celebrate
Eddie Constantine's victory. He invited me to the celebration.
To the Desert club!
To Eddie Constantine's victory at La Goumbe!
Mademoiselle,
last night, walking by your house,
I was struck by a revelation so momentous it scared me!
The truth is... I love you!
It's the truth. I love you.
And love lasts forever, you know that.
Love is a malady no doctor can cure! You know that!
Love me as I love you!
Love me and let's drink to our great victory.
A man's beauty is found in his pocket!
Let's dance, Mademoiselle.
Look at the way she shakes it!
Like a snake! She's a fantastic girl!
To your health, Dorothy Lamour.
Down the hatch!
Thirsty in the desert.
You know, Dorothy Lamour, frankly speaking, I love you.
I've been around the world, but I never saw a girl like you.
I love you, I swear it.
Don't look at the other two.
You know, we could be just like them.
I mean it, Dorothy, really, I mean what I said.
Come on, make up your mind...
Are you alright? Yes, you're alright.
I love you, you're the light of my life, I mean it!
In France and Indochina, I've never seen a beauty like you.
Never in the whole world!
I'm not lying, it's the truth, I swear it's the truth.
I really do love you.
This isn't play-acting.
So, how about it? Shall we dance?
Better drink than dance.
Bloody Italians, historians, they're always around!
Don't take any notice of him.
Don't touch that beer, I paid for that.
Are you with that monkey?
She's not going to go with him, is she?
Bloody nuisance Italians!
You can't stop me drinking my beer!
All Italians are bloody nuisances.
You might have Dorothy, but you can't take my beer!
Goddamn you.
Arrivederci.
Yeah! You get out!
Go to hell.
Dance Club Dancing, fun atmosphere
The Desert Club
To you! To my dear Elite.
And Dorothy Lamour.
I don't know... It doesn't matter.
That's why everything's so messed up.
Our job is labouring, clearing the roads,
tidying up the roads.
The cinema isn't for us! It's not for poor people.
It's alright for rich people,
they go around on a bike or a scooter.
Life is fine if you're a gangster.
That's life.
I'm off, I'm going.
Take my jacket, I haven't got any money!
Take my jacket.
I spilled my beer,
I don't care.
You can throw me out, I'm going,
but you can't stop me
going to the Mexico Saloon.
She thinks she's better than Dorothy.
She's got no chance
with that body.
I don't want any trouble, leave me in peace to drink my beer.
Who's she? You can sod off.
Look at you!
Lovely tits.
You're pretty.
Just sit there,
that's right.
You might be prettier than Dorothy.
What do you mean, pay?
Pay for the beer again?
I haven't got anything.
There are other bars in Treichville.
Leave me alone, are you crazy?
What's wrong with you?
You can throw me out if you like,
but you can't stop me going to see my Dorothy Lamour.
I'll be married to Dorothy Lamour soon.
Dorothy Lamour will be my wife
and I'll be an actor like Marlon Brando.
Dorothy Lamour will be waiting at the door for me,
because it will be my house
and I'll be the master of the household.
With Dorothy Lamour for my wife.
She'll be waiting and waiting
and at night-time,
she'll close the door
because we won't want to be disturbed.
In our house, she'll be there in person,
my Dorothy Lamour and I'll have a radio, too.
She'll be sweet-talking me.
She'll take off her dress because I like to see her tits.
She'll be needing some love
and what we do in bed will be our own business.
Yesterday's dreams have a sour taste on Monday.
Robinson is not a boxing champion.
Constantine is not Lemmy Caution, FBI agent,
at least, not to the Abidjan police.
And for Edward G. Robinson, it's the moment of truth.
Ah, Mademoiselle
Young people of Abidjan
Young girls of Abidjan
Ah, the whores
That's the way I like it
Ah, the whorehouses
That's the way I like it
Ah, my memories
Aren't you up yet, my Dorothy?
Dorothy Lamour, open your door!
What's going on in there? Open the door.
Son of a bitch!
I'll break this on your head, that'll shut you up!
You think you're up to fighting me?
My name is Ray Sugar Robinson!
Yeah! You can wipe your mouth!
I'm not the only one you'll have to fight.
I don't have to fight a loser like you!
You're just trying because you know I'm drunk today.
I don't give a damn.
Good morning, Elite!
How are you, Facteur?
I'm OK, I just had a fight with an Italian,
I forgot to get the dirt out of my hair.
- Poor Constantine is in prison. - What?
Eddie Constantine had a fight with the police?
Where did they take him? To prison?
It may go to court, to the prosecutor.
Who should we see? Where should we go?
We should try to get some money.
I've got some savings, I could give 200 francs.
Go and get it, we'll see if we can find some money, too.
It's been raining all day.
I've been thinking about my buddy
who's in prison.
It has rained all day.
The sun only came out in late afternoon.
After work,
me and Tarzan and Petit Jules went to the prison,
to see Eddie Constantine.
Our pal got three months in prison.
Three months just for fighting with the forces of law and order.
The forces of law and order!
Why did we ever come to lvory Coast?
We were wrong to come, we haven't even got a house.
We walk and sleep in the streets.
They're alright! Look how they live!
And for us, it's prison!
For three months, Eddie Constantine will be in there,
in that big white house. I hate it!
It's not so bad, but all the same...
Goodbye, Tarzan. Get back to your taxi.
We're going to stay here and think a bit longer,
just a little while... We'll see.
Petit Jules, look at that!
What does that remind you of?
The laguna, there.
Where does it look like?
Doesn't it remind you of Niamey?
In our country?
Where we were born. Where our fathers were born.
Look, the Niger!
Oh, it's wonderful to be in Niger!
When we were children, back home,
where we used to go swimming.
All the children, everyone swimming together.
The boys, the girls, everyone.
In those days, Petit Jules,
there was Dorothy Lamour, a little girl.
And I was a little boy, I was always cheerful.
Just because I'm always sad now, doesn't mean I wasn't happy.
I used to play with Dorothy Lamour.
Swimming, diving, playing in the water...
Here's Eddie Constantine.
He was already learning to be elegant.
We were naked, but not him.
He wanted to be elegant,
so he wore his trunks.
There's Tarzan.
Much bigger than the rest of us.
He has been big since he was a boy,
it took three or four of us to throw him in.
Whatever you try, Tarzan holds out.
Those were the times! Those were the days!
You know, Petit Jules, life is complicated
for people like us.
But we're not back home now, my dear friend,
we're in a mess, in a shit-hole!
I've done it all in my life.
I've been to war, I was in Indochina,
I killed Vietnamese with machine guns,
with knives, with hand grenades.
You throw your grenade, then you fall on the ground.
None of it did me any good, Petit Jules.
I've done it all, but none of it did me any good.
I've done everything a man should do,
but none of it means anything, I'm still the same.
Flat on your belly, crawling, throwing grenades, everything.
Don't be scared, I'm telling it like it is.
When you kill people, 1,000 or 5,000 people,
you hide behind a tree or anything else,
in the bushes, and you lay ambushes.
That's nothing, Petit Jules. We killed people.
To kill a Vietnamese, get out your knife, get him on the ground.
I told my Captain I wanted to see blood flowing,
and I did. I saw blood flowing.
Blood flowing
and friends dying 2 metres away.
Friends I had just had a cup of coffee with, then they're dead.
All that for what?
For nothing, my friend.
It was as if I were walking with you, and I then I fell,
I fell down dead.
A hand grenade
or a shell.
Don't be scared, I'm just telling you about Indochina.
You'd be walking, then you'd be dead.
All for nothing, that's life, it doesn't matter.
All that's nothing! Look at them, they're happy.
Riding along on whatever those things are called.
They can sod off!
They're probably cowards.
I fought for France.
I'm brave, I'm a man,
I'm poor, I've got nothing, but I'm brave.
It doesn't mean anything, Petit Jules, I'm not ashamed.
Let's go home, none of that matters.
It all depends on God. God is everything.
When something happens, you have to say it's God's will.
Look, they're building a new port, perhaps it will bring us luck.
None of it matters.
Look at what it says here. It says "Danger".
I'm a famous lord,
they call me "Billy Joe, parachute airman and cowboy chief".
D - 18495
At just seventeen years old, 2nd class soldier. D for Danger.
D for Dangerous man.
I'm Billy Joe, parachute airman and cowboy chief.
Let's go, none of it matters, it's just life.
Maybe life can change,
it may be complicated,
but we're friends and we always will be.
Life is good, life is beautiful, I can tell you, Petit Jules,
none of it matters, maybe we'll be happy soon.
Life is so complicated.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
so ends the story of Treichville.
Goodbye, Ladies and Gentlemen, Goodbye, Treichville.
Subtitles: Roly Aknin-Dowling for TVS
Processing: TELETOTA