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Scene III – Le Pure Café
Location notes: Le Pure Café is located at 14 rue Jean Macé in the 11th arrondissement. It is on the corner of rue Jean Macé/impasse Franchemont. Metro: Charonne stop on line 9 is physically the closest, but from most parts of the city, it would be a lot more convenient to use Faidherbe Chaligny stop on line 8. If you are going to Le Pure Café directly from rue St. Paul or rue St. Antoine in Le Marais, to follow the exact sequence seen on film, then board Metro line 1 at the St. Paul stop, and transfer to line 8 at Place de la Bastille. You would not miss very much by taking the metro at this point, as the neighborhood of Le Pure Café is quite far from Le Marais, and it lacks the charm of the earlier parts of this walk.
Jesse: You know, I mean I think the world might be getting better because people like you are educated into speaking out. Even the very notion of conservation, environmental issues, those weren't even in the vocabulary until fairly recently, you know, and now they're becoming a norm, and eventually might be what's expected all over the world.
Céline: I agree with what you're saying, but at the same time, it's dangerous. An imperialist country can use that kind of thinking to justify their economic greed. You know, human rights...
Jesse: Is there a particular imperialistic country you have in mind there, Frenchy?
Céline: (With her hand to her lip, as if pondering the answer seriously.) No, not really.
(They enter Le Pure Café together.)
Céline: (To the cafe staff.) Bonsoir!
Jesse: (Smiles and nods to the cafe staff.) Bonsoir.
Céline: So, you want to sit over there?
Jesse: Yeah, this is perfect. Oh, wow, maybe what I'm saying is the world might be evolving the way a person evolves. (They arrive at a table. Céline puts down her bag, and both Céline and Jesse remove their jackets as they sit down.)
Right, I mean...me, for example. Am I getting worse? Am I improving? I don't know. When I was younger, I was healthier, but I was, uh, racked with insecurity, you know? Now I'm older, my problems are deeper, but I'm more equipped to handle them. (He leans forward and rests both forearms on the table.)
Céline: So what are your problems?
Jesse: (Smiles, and leans back.) Right now? I don't have any. I don't, you know? Just (takes a breath) damn happy to be here!
Céline: Me too. (He stares at her while she pauses.) So, how long have you been in Paris?
Jesse: I got in last night, I've done 10 cities in 12 days. I'm wrecked. I'm so glad it's over, you know? I'm tired of being a huckster. (A waitress approaches the table to take their order.)
Waitress: Qu’est-ce que vous sers? (What can I get for you?)
Céline: (To Jesse.) What do you want?
Jesse: Um, a cup of coffee.
Céline: Un café et un citron pressé, s'il vous plait. (A coffee and lemonade, please.)
Jesse: (Sighs.) God, I love this cafe. I wish they had places like this in the U.S.
Céline: Yeah, I missed cafes when I was living over there. I mean, I find a few places I really liked, but there was...
Jesse: (Interrupting.) You...You were living in the U.S.?
Céline: Yes, from, uh, '96 to '99. I was studying at NYU.
Jesse: OH, GOD (looks down in disgust) don't tell me that, Céline! (Covers his eyes.)
Céline: What?!
Jesse: No, it's just...Nothing, I mean I...
Céline: What?
Jesse: I've been living in New York since '98. You know, we were there at the same time!
Céline: In New York?
Jesse: Yeah.
Céline: Ah, that's weird. It actually crossed my mind a few times that I might run into you, but...The odds are so slim, right? So...I didn't even know what city you were living in. Weren't you somewhere in Texas? You were in Texas.
Jesse: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Definitely, I just...I was for a long time, I just...You know, wanted to try New York.
Céline: (Softly.) Wow.
Jesse: What brought you back here?
Céline: Uh, I had finished my master’s, for one. And...no visa. No more visa. And, anyway, I was starting to get paranoid. All the violence in the medias. Gang violence, murders. Especially serial killers. (Jesse laughs.) But, the final straw was...one night I heard a...some noise on my fire escape, so I called 911. And the cops came, eventually.
Jesse: Yeah, like 3 hours later.
Céline: Yeah, after I had been raped and killed about 30 times. (They both laugh.) No, but...It was a man and a woman officer, and I was explaining to them what I had heard, when the woman had to run downstairs to move the police car. So, I was left alone with the male cop. And right away, he asked me if I had a gun. And I said no, of course not, I...And he told me: "You better think about getting one. This is America, not France." OK? And I said to him, you know, I have no idea how to shoot a gun, and I have no interest in firearms, whatsoever. And that's when he pulled out his gun, like this (raises her right hand as if drawing a gun)...and he went: "Well, one day...you're gonna have something like THIS in your face, and if you wanna have a long life, you're gonna have to choose...between you...or THEM." And then they left. And the next morning I called for an application to get a gun. (Jesse laughs.) Me, with a gun! I mean, that's really scary. But then I realized something was wrong, the way that…that cop had pulled his gun out, and everything, right?
Jesse: Yeah, sure!
Céline: So I canceled my demand for the gun, and I called the police station, and tried to complain about that cop's behavior, but...
Jesse: What happened with that?
Céline: It was so much paperwork...and then I got scared, with my shitty student visa.
Jesse: Yeah, you thought you'd get deported?
Céline: Yeah, exactly! So I gave up and I forgot about the whole thing. Well, I guess I never forgot.
Jesse: Well obviously...yeah.
Céline: But, still, you know...I really enjoyed being there. There's a lot of things I miss about the U.S.
Jesse: Yeah, like what?
Céline: Um...well...The overall good mood people have there, like, you know, even if it can be bullshit sometimes. Like (cocking her head from side to side.) "How‘re you doin'?" "Great!" "How’re you doin'?" "Great!" "Have a great day!" (They both laugh.) I don't know...Parisians can be so grumpy, have you noticed?
Jesse: No, everybody seems pretty happy to me.
Céline: (Shaking her head.) Unh, they're not happy.
Jesse: (Shaking his head.) They're not happy?
Céline: No, they are, I don't know. Maybe I just mean French men. They drive me nuts.
Jesse: What is it? What about them?
Céline: Well, they're very nice. They're great, you know, to be around, they love food, wine. They're great cooks. But, I don't know, maybe I've had really bad luck with them, or something.
Jesse: Why? What do you mean?
Céline: Um, well...I guess they're not as um...
Jesse: What?
Céline: What's the word? Um...”horny”? They're not as horny.
Jesse: (Leaning forward, and pointing his finger for emphasis.) Horny? Now alright, well, listen to me on this one, alright, you know. In that regard, I am proud to be an American.
Céline: And you should be, in that regard only. (The waitress arrives with their drinks.)
Céline: Merci. Have you ever spent some time in Eastern Europe?
Jesse: Eastern? No, no...
Céline: No? I, uh, remember as a teenager I went to Warsaw, when it was still a strict communist regime. Which I don't approve of at all.
Jesse: (Sarcastically.) Oh yeah, sure you don't...
Céline: No, I don’t.
Jesse: No, I'm just kidding!
Céline: But, anyway, something about being there was very interesting, I found. After a couple of weeks, something changed in me. The city was quite gloomy and gray and...but, after a while, my brain seemed clearer. I was writing a lot more in my journal, ideas I had never thought of before.
Jesse: Communist ideas?
Céline: Listen, I'm not...
Jesse: I'm sorry, I can't...Go on!
Céline: I'll send you to a Gulag! No...but it took me a while to figure out why it felt, you know, so different. And then, one day, as I was walking through the Jewish cemetery, I don't know why, but it occurred to me there, I realized that I had spent the last 2 weeks away from most of my habits. TV was in a language I didn't understand. There was nothing to buy, no advertisements anywhere. So, all I've been doing was...walk around, think, and write. My brain felt like it was at rest, free from the consuming frenzy. And I have to say, it was almost like a natural high. I felt so peaceful inside, no...strange urge to be somewhere else, to shop...Maybe it could have seemed like boredom at first, but it quickly became very, very soulful. It's interesting, you know?
Jesse: Can you believe that it was 9 years ago that we were walking around Vienna?
Céline: 9 years? No that's impossible.
Jesse: It was, I know, it feels like 2 months ago to me, but it was summer '94.
Céline: (Placing her elbows on the table, and her chin in her hands. Then, she leans back.) Do we look any different? (Pauses.) I do.
Jesse: (Pauses, sniffs then cocks his head to one side.) I'd have to see you naked.
Céline: (Horrified.) What? (Starts laughing.)
Jesse: I'm sorry. Your hair was different back then, it was like...
Céline: What, it's the same. (Flips her ponytail with her hand.)
Jesse: Yeah, take it down, let's see! (Motions with both hands to her to take her hair down.)
Céline: Down, it was down. OK. (Takes her hair down.) Well, voila! (Untangles her hair.) So? OK, come on, tell me.
Jesse: Uh...skinnier, I think, (nodding, and motioning to his chin) a little thinner.
Céline: Did you think I was fat before?
Jesse: No. (Laughs and looks away.)
Céline: Yeah, you thought I was a fatty. No, you thought I was a fatty. Yeah, you wrote a book about a fat French girl! Oh, no! (Covers her eyes in mock shame.)
Jesse: No, listen. Seriously, alright, you look beautiful. Do I look any different? (Drinks from his cup.)
Céline: No. Not at all, although actually, (pointing to his forehead) you have this line.
Jesse: I know. (Touches his forehead between his eyebrows.)
Céline: Looks like a scar.
Jesse: (Indignantly.) A SCAR? What, like a gunshot wound?
Céline: No, no, no, I lied to you, I'm sorry. I had this funny...well, horrible dream the other day. I was having this awful nightmare, that I was 32, and then I woke up, and I was 23, so relieved! And then I woke up for real, and I was 32. Scary!
Jesse: It happens.
Céline: Yeah, time goes faster and faster. Apparently, it's because we don't renew our synapses after 20. So, it's pretty much downhill from then on. Oh well.
Jesse: I like getting older, you know, it feels...I don't know, it feels more immediate. You know, like I can appreciate things more.
Céline: No, me too, actually. I really love it.
Jesse: I was once a... ...a drummer in a band.
Céline: You were?
Jesse: Yeah, we were pretty good, actually. But then...the lead singer guy, he was just so obsessed with us getting a record deal. (Céline reaches into her bag and withdraws a cigarette.) You know, it's all we talked about, it was all we thought about, getting bigger shows, and everything was just...focused on the future, all the time. And now, the band doesn't even exist anymore, right? And looking back at the...at the shows we did play, even rehearsing...you know, (motioning for emphasis) it was just so much fun! Now I'd be able to enjoy every minute of it. Can I have a drag? (She hand him the cigarette.)
Céline: Well, your book has been published, that's... that's a pretty big deal, and you've been all around Europe with it. Are you enjoying every minute of it?
Jesse: (Exhaling smoke, and shaking his head.) Not really...
Céline: Not really? (They both laugh.)
Jesse: Do you have another one of those?
Céline: Yes, of course. (Hands him a cigarette.) Um, here. (He takes the cigarette and taps it 3 times on the table.) In my field, I see these people that... (Hands him her cigarette so he can light the one she has given him.)...uh, sorry...come into it with big idealist visions of becoming the new leader that will create a better world. They enjoy the goal, but not the process!
Jesse: Right.
Céline: But the reality of it is that the true work of improving things is in the little achievements of the day. And that's what you need to enjoy, just in that field.
Jesse: What, what do you mean, exactly?
Céline: Well, for example, I was working for this organization that helped villages in Mexico. And their concerns was how to get the pencils sent to the kid in these little country schools. I was not about big revolutionary ideas, it was about pencils. I see the people that do the real work and what's really sad, in a way, is that...the people that are the most giving, hard working and capable of making this world better, usually don't have the ego and ambition to be a leader. They don't see any interest in superficial rewards, they don't care if...if their name ever appear in the press. They actually enjoy the process of helping others, they're in the moment.
Jesse: Yeah, but that's so hard! You know, to be in the moment. I just feel like I'm...designed to be slightly dissatisfied with everything. You know? I mean, like...always trying to better my situation. You know, I satisfy one desire, and it just... agitates another, you know? Then I think, to hell with it, right? I mean, desire is the fuel of life, I mean, do you think it's true that if we never wanted anything, we'd never be unhappy?
Céline: I don't know... Not wanting anything, isn't that... a symptom of depression? Yeah, that is, right? I mean, it's healthy to desire, right?
Jesse: Yeah... I don't know, I mean, it's what all those Buddhist guys say, right? You know, liberate yourself from desire and you'll find that you already have everything you need.
Céline: Yeah, but I feel really alive when I want something more than just basic survival needs. I mean, wanting whether it's intimacy with another person, or a new pair of shoes, is kind of beautiful. I like that we have those ever-renewing desires.
Jesse: Well, maybe it's just a sense of entitlement. You know, like whenever you feel like you deserve that new pair of shoes, you know. It's OK to want things as long as you don't get pissed off if you don't get 'em. Right? Life's hard. It's supposed to be. If we didn't suffer, we wouldn't learn a thing, you know?
Céline: So, what? Are you a Buddhist or something?
Jesse: No.
Céline: No? Why not?
Jesse: I don't know, uh...Same reason I don't consider myself anything, really.
Céline: Yeah, I know. I decided a long time ago that I was gonna be open to everything, but, not buy into any one-and-only belief system.
Jesse: I went to this, uh, Trappist monastery, a couple of years ago.
Céline: Trappist?
Jesse: Yeah, they're Catholics, Cistercians.
Céline: Why did you do that?
Jesse: Why? I had just been doing some reading, I guess... I don't know, I thought it'd be cool. Have you ever spent any time with any monks and nuns?
Céline: No. It's not really my style.
Jesse: No? I expected them to be all glowering and stern, you know, but they weren't. They were really quick to laugh, really easy to be around. Seriously, very attuned to everything. They were just, uh...you know, they weren't trying to hustle anybody. They're trying to live and die, in peace with God, you know, or whatever part of them they feel is eternal. It was just so refreshing to be around. You know, you realize that most of the people that you meet are trying to get somewhere better, you know, they're trying to make a little bit more cash, trying to get a little more respect, have more people admire them, you know. It's just exhausting.
Céline: Yeah, no kidding.
Jesse: You know, it's exhausting to be one of those people yourself, you know? I mean, there I...there I am, right, you know, all greedy to be more spiritual, you know, I wanna be a better person, you know? You can't escape.
Céline: I had this...this boyfriend of mine, many years ago, that wanted to be a Buddhist, and...so he went to Asia to visit some of those monasteries.
Jesse: Yeah, I thought about doing that, too.
Céline: Yeah, you should. I'll tell you why. Ah, he was quite good looking, and, each time he went to one of those monasteries, a monk offered to suck his cock. (They both laugh.) True story!
Jesse: Well, it all comes down to that, doesn't it? I mean, I think that's why I really admire what you're doing, you know?
Céline: What do you mean, sucking cock?
Jesse: Ah, NO. I was gonna say, uh...you know, you're not detached from life. You know, you're putting your passion into action.
Céline: Well, I try.
Jesse: (Reaches forward to put out his cigarette.) Hey, you know something, I'm...I'm gonna be on planes, and like, in an airport for the next 8 hours. I'd just love to...to see a little bit more of Paris. Would you walk around with me a little bit?
Céline: Yeah, yeah, let's do that!
Jesse: Do you mind?
Céline: No, no, no, that's great!
Jesse: Do you want to?
Céline: Let’s do that. Yeah, yeah, that's great! (They both stand up and inspect the bill.)
Jesse: What do we owe here? 4,50. (She reaches for her purse.) No, no, I got it, I got it. I got a little per diem going on here. Is this good for like a tip?
Céline: Yeah, that's fine. That's more than enough.
Jesse: Alright, is there anywhere to go around here?
Céline: (Putting her bag over her shoulder.) Uh, it's sales day, today!
Jesse: (Grabs his coat and shakes his head.) What's that?
Céline: It's when everything is on sale in Paris. It's twice a year. (To the cafe staff.) Au revoir, merci!
Jesse: (To the cafe staff.) Au revoir, merci! Alright, let's go shopping!
Céline: (They exit the cafe and turn left.) No, no, no, no, that's a bad idea. I don't want to inflict that on you. It's madness. Let's just go on this garden path.
Jesse: Alright.
Céline: It's really nice.
I spoke the French parts as best as I could (I'm currently living in France), but it may be best to find a French person who speaks English (American accent preferably) for Celine's parts!