A Talking Picture Page #4

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the driving force behind the initiative,

and the canal was opened in 1869,

as you can see in this painting.

Amazing.

And all realized by the force of man.

It was no more wonderful

than the first sea voyage to India

by Vasco da Gama in 1494.

You know how long it took

Vasco da Gama to reach India?

- No, how long?

- A year.

He had to go

all the way around Africa.

Nowadays, the journey

is much quicker through the canal.

Mommy, what did you mean by

"realized by the force of man"?

It means that it was built

almost entirely by manual labor.

A very arduous task indeed.

The opening was celebrated by a dinner

that took place right at this very hotel.

Really?

Look.

There we see

the entrance of the empress.

And there...

the banquet.

Look.

What a lovely dress.

In such a beautiful shade of blue.

It's truly beautiful.

It's thought that the Egyptians

considered blue to be the color of truth.

Like the blue of the sky.

Like the blue of the sky.

Mommy, look.

I think I've seen those ladies before.

You must have.

They're all famous.

They appear on TV

and in magazines and newspapers.

The one in blue is a businesswoman,

head of an empire.

And the one in red...

- Is she the one you saw on the quay?

- I don't know. They look so different.

Yes, they do.

They're the captain's guests.

Look how he treats them.

Especially the actress...

Nothing is less certain, Captain.

Yes, I do.

And seeing it was I

who brought it up,

it's up to me to break the spell.

I'm Delphine,

and far from being amazing, I'm...

I'm expansive.

I'm very independent, a single girl.

Honni soit qui mal y pense.

Even so, I can't help

thinking of you, my dear.

Thank you, Captain.

I'm not shy, far from it.

After all, I'm French.

And we French have a reputation

where love is concerned.

Ah, that's where you're wrong.

I have no illusions about men.

Haven't you heard of charmers

who disappoint women?

I'm French. I've had affairs.

I have no children.

I am what you could call

a businesswoman,

or rather an entrepreneur,

which is even rarer.

I don't have time to waste dreaming.

I've noticed

you're quite the flatterer.

I'm not French. I'm Francesca.

And as you can tell, I'm Italian.

I was...

Always the flatterer,

as Delphine said.

To think that at the time

they used to call me Aphrodite,

I, who was never free...

or independent like Delphine.

I was never free even in my work,

which forced me...

to keep to strict timetables

and had very rigid rules.

I didn't even stop working

when I got married.

Not that my husband was a tyrant,

but I loved him...

I loved him very much,

and love is a tyrant.

Passion makes prisoners of women.

Did you feel you were

a prisoner of your husband?

Only of my memories.

Now that he's no longer here,

I live for my memories.

Do you have any children?

No, unfortunately.

I've gone from a kind

of prison of love

to a nostalgic solitude.

These frequent trips

I make nowadays

entertain me.

I meet new people,

make new friends.

It's my only consolation

for lost happiness.

I, Helen, would think...

I would say that those

who live life to the full

have many opportunities

to be happy,

but also feel deep sorrow

and suffer on account of betrayal.

Nothing is worse than betrayal,

especially when it comes

from someone we trust.

It's like a knife wound,

like being stabbed

by pain and doubt.

I have suffered betrayal,

among other misfortunes.

Hard to bear

for a sensitive and faithful woman.

I have never suffered that,

but I know it exists.

And we have to bear it.

Only our friends can help.

To tell you the truth,

I've never experienced betrayal

in my love life.

Ingratitude or disillusionment,

little infidelities, yes,

but nothing hurts as much

as betrayal by one dear to me.

It's a wound that never heals.

I don't think

I'm different from others.

There's nothing morbid in this.

I consider myself to be

a very positive person.

I like my friends,

my career as an actress and singer.

I like to encourage new talent.

As you can see,

I'm not bitter.

I know, you even visited me

many times in my dressing room.

I adore the theater,

and I spend as much time

on the stage as off it,

but I cannot accept everything

that is offered to me.

I'm very selective. Not only

because of the question of quality,

but also of fantasy.

My love of theater and singing

made me become a teacher.

I'm dedicated to my work.

I love my students,

and they all get along well with me

and respect my work.

It's a great comfort to me.

You're most kind, Captain.

Once again,

it's very kind of you to say that.

Thank you.

It's true that for an artist,

there's nothing better

than to live for one's art.

Are you married?

Do you have children?

I'm not married.

I don't have any children.

I've known men

for whom I still feel friendship.

Love is a prison of desire,

as Francesca said,

but at times it's unbearable.

Especially if the man is jealous.

As unbearable as loneliness.

Or even more, like a man.

If our captain had met

a woman like the sea,

he would have made

an excellent husband.

If you don't know, who does?

You're a very attractive man,

and not only to the sea.

Anyway,

you don't need many women.

You just need to find one

whom you love as much as the sea,

and it will be enough.

That is, in case the sea lets you down.

Unless you'd rather be shipwrecked

and give yourself up to the mermaids.

Delphine is right.

You still have plenty of time.

To get married?

It's simple.

You command a ship.

You mean the happiness of a sailor

is like that of a fish?

They breathe but they can't speak.

Which means

they can't give their opinion.

Maybe...

but we also express ourselves...

in a strange way.

Yes, strange, unique, unusual.

Not in a normal way.

Haven't you noticed that at this table

we are all speaking different languages,

and we all come

from different countries?

And what is even stranger

is that it all seems so natural.

Natural, yes,

but also an extraordinary coincidence.

Coincidence?

Yes, we all understand each other

and it's so natural.

Among educated women,

there are no barriers.

Nor among men either, I hope.

Frankly, I don't know.

But I believe that each one of us

expresses himself or herself

in their own way, whether man or woman.

But nothing is more comfortable

than speaking one's own language.

Which is not the case

in the European Union.

Of course not.

The European Union was set up by men,

and look at the result.

Imagine how different it would be,

how we would live in peace,

if the world were ruled by women.

You're not a feminist

by any chance, are you,

Miss Delphine?

Look at me, Captain.

What do you think?

I think you're a sorceress.

I am...

Well, let me begin at the beginning.

I'm an American of Polish descent,

but born and bred

in the United States.

There are no true Americans

except the Indians.

Exactly.

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