Congorama

Two years earlier

LlGE, BELGlUM

Dear Dad:
Like father, like son,

they say.

This is crap.

Jeez, what's he doing there?

Dear Dad.. .

On this day when.. .

Belgium's French community

is celebrating your work,

l'm proud to be your son.

Not bad.

Come on!

How are you, Dad?

What is it?

ls this your speech?

l can't read it.

A Tupolev 144?

lt's crashing into a cat.

You forgot the flaps

on the cockpit.

Can you read it, Jules?

For.. .

For 31 years.. .

Do me a favour? Copy it out for me.

Hi, darling.

Will you take this to 4?

You have to close up!

Mike will handle it.

For the refugees on Rue de Boissy.

l'll change.

You grab your newjacket.

Bloody buildings!

You ok, Dad?

Last one.

There.

Easy does it.

''With their love,

l'll follow my part.. .

''l mean, MY path

''with great humility.

And, as the proverb says.. .

''The cellar is empty,

but not the tree.

My desire to work is still strong."

Dad knows many Congolese proverbs.

l remember one he told me

when l was knee-high.

A father always passes his nose

on to his son.

Which means, we see eye to eye.

So, that's it.

''Thank you everyone.

With great affection, Herv."

Dear Dad, l'd like to take

this opportunity.. .

Yes, come up Mr Mayor,

honoured guests.. .

What can l say?

Bravo, Dad.

What flag is it?

French?

l don't know.

Dutch!

l don't see it.

-At the back.

Red, white, blue. Holland.

Up there.

Right.

Hard!

No, follow through.

Don't listen to him. Do as l say.

Harder!

Give it all you've got. Harder!

Look, l told you,

either you call them or l do.

On the court,

l think it's me, alright?

Come on, kill it!

lt's not too bad.

Will Grandpa play tennis again?

No, he'll never play tennis again.

Of course you fell.

The key thing in tennis

is tying your laces properly.

Ok, let's go.

Mr Collignon bought

a losing operation.

l modernised, and we're now Belgium's

largest roadsign manufacturer.

Excuse me a minute.

lsn't Mr Collignon here?

He's busy right now.

But if you have questions

about our 3 Lige plants, fire away.

This is my lab. Our research

is in mechanics, electronics.. .

We test all the new products here.

You're some kind of do-it-all.

l'm some kind of engineer.

l have free rein

in developing new contracts.

What's this?

-lt's not yet patented.

People want pictures,

notjust words.

Well, come over here.

What is it?

A solar turtle.

Good, Jules.

lt's a solar-powered,

robotic lawnmower.

Go ahead, take a photo.

lt's intriguing.

But my husband mows the lawn

for exercise.

lt mows non-stop, unattended.

Shall we go?

Go ahead. l'll catch up.

How are Alice and Jules?

Well, thanks.

Michel, l'm shutting down your lab.

Four years of research, for what?

For what?

The de-icer is almost ready.

De-icer?

Germain, look beyond Belgium.

We need to crack new markets.

Patience, work.. .

Money! l'm your employer,

not your patron.

You're number 1 when it comes

to modernising facilities.

But inventing isn't your cup of tea.

-You mean yours.

What about customers, markets?

You've got 2 months to sell

one of your inventions.

Or?

-You're back on the floor.

lf not for your dad,

who gave me African contracts,

l'd have bailed long ago.

That was centuries ago.

Herv's doing just fine!

lt's kind of you to ask.

Stop by some evening.

Stay off the green, Michel.

That's cheap.

Just like you.

Guess who?

Do you want to play now?

A woman?

A man?

A shrimp? Spineless? Filthy rich?

Germain Collignon?

That's not how you play.

Stop it. Sit down.

l'm not hungry.

Sorry, Jules.

What's he like?

Tall?

Will my hair be like yours some day?

Hair like yours?

No, you have hair

like your mother's.

What do l have like you?

l don't really know.

All sorts of things.

Big ears. And you're brilliant

at drawing, like Dad.

Yeah, brilliant like me.

What's a ''bastard''?

Who called you that?

No one.

Someone at school, the caf?

Who? Who said that to you?

Don't get upset. He's curious.

Listen, Jules.

You're not a bastard.

l'm your dad and she's your mum.

Look at my dad, at his nose.

Do we have the same nose?

Do we have the same mouth?

No, but he's still my dad.

ln your veins you have

the same blood as me

and as Grandpa, promise.

Believe me, he's your dad.

Eat up, sweetheart.

Sorry.

No Dad, not tonight.

Tomorrow.

Dad's agitated. l'm worried

he'll have another stroke.

He's energetic, not agitated.

He needs help.

He's writing another novel.

He told me that.

How, exactly?

By belching, farting?

Stop. He's the family elder.

We do as he asks, ok?

l was the elder

until you brought him home.

His place is with us.

Who's going to look after him

all day?

Sh*t! You're at the caf,

l'm at the plant.

Jules, you and me.

Who'll look after me?

Who'll look after me?

What?

Come on, try.

What happened, Dad?

Did you fall?

Are you ok? Did you hurt yourself?

Michel?

lt's ok, he's alright.

What?

Where should l put it?

Want me to open it?

''Montral, April 8, 1960.

Dear Francine, dear Herv,

''Unfortunately,

l must return your letters.

''Baby Michel's parents.. .

What is this?

''Baby Michel's parents didn't reply,

and our mission forbids us

to look for them."

What is this?

Dad! What is this?

l'm adopted, is that it?

Looks like a gun from Star Wars.

lt's a de-icer for power lines.

And the ATA form

for your merchandise?

lt's a prototype, not merchandise.

l filled out the form, the E.. .

E-672.

But the form doesn't clear

the merchandise, l do.

Fine, but hurry. l'm late

for a meeting with National Power.

lt's not like clearing chocolate.

Without the ATA,

l have to hold it.

No, l'm not selling it.

lt's my calling card.

As essential as your uniform.

lt has to be cleared.

Montreal Airport reminds you

that security is everyone's concern.

Don't move!

The de-icer is placed on top

of the pylon.

The model doesn't show

the proportions,

but the weight is minimal.

Just ask Canadian Customs.

They have the original.

The ultrasound transmitter

relays a frequency to the line

capable of eliminating

frost and ice to -25,

preventing the collapse

of pylons and.. .

other future disasters

such as the one in 1998.

Sorry.

The system's lifetime is equivalent

to that of the grid.. .

l think we've understood.

lt's going well.

l don't know, we'll see.

l don't know, l tell you!

Michel!

ln '58 l went on a religious mission

to the Brussels World Fair.

The African Pavilion.

The Congo Pavilion.

One day l saw a show about Congo.

The power went out,

causing quite a commotion.

That's how l met your parents.

We met again.

We became friends,

and your mother confided to me

that she couldn't have children.

l know, Herv told me.

ln 1959, l phoned

your parents in Belgium.

l went and picked you up

near St Ccile.

You were born on a big farm.

Your birth mother had been hidden

in a barn.

l was to meet your adoptive parents

in a motel near Montral.

Later, Herv wrote to me,

but l couldn't contact

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