Stan the Flasher. Dir. Serge Gainsbourg (1990)
Nathalie CROUAU
English Description
Time code: 0.01.48 – 0.04.41
Language of the quotation(s)/reference(s) in the film: English, French
Stan is giving a private lesson to a high school pupil named Rosalie. He first reads part of Hamlet’s soliloquy aloud to her and then asks her to write down a few words from it.
STAN (pacing to and fro, reading from a book in a heavy French accent): "To be, or not to be; that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and, by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep— no more, and by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to — 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil must give us pause."*
ROSALIE: Sir, I’m in sixth grade. You’re mixing me up with my sister Natacha who’s in twelfth grade.
STAN: Listen, your father owes me for three lessons already, eh, plus your sister’s that’s seven. When’s he going to send me my money?
ROSALIE: I had the money on the way here, but, uh, I passed this store and I sprang for this cute distressed jean jacket.
STAN: How much?
ROSALIE: Eight hundred francs.
STAN: Show me. (She shows him the denim jacket) You paid eight hundred francs for that? Are you fucking kidding me? They took you for a ride, kid! Ah! There’s two hundred left. Go on! Give it to me! Come on, sit, sit! (Motions for her to sit on his knees) Go on, write! Not. Not. Not! Not "note"! Not! N-O-T.* There, that’s good. You’re going to try to write Shakespeare for me. No, not like that, dammit! Like it’s pronounced! Write it out: SHA-KES-PE-A-Shakespeare!
* spoken in English
Time code: 0.08.35-0.08.47
Language of the quotation(s)/reference(s) in the film: English, French
Stan’s second pupil, Jojo arrives for his lesson. Stan has him recite the beginning of Hamlet’s soliloquy.
STAN: Recite!
JOJO: To bit or not to bit.*
STAN: No, that’s not right, is it? To be! B-E! B-E! To be!* God, you can be stupid, kid.
* spoken in English
Time code: 0.21.45 – 0.24.54
Language of the quotation(s)/reference(s) in the film: English, French
Natacha has come for another lesson with Stan. As she sits at the table, he paces in front of her, reading part of Hamlet’s soliloquy. He then asks her to translate the soliloquy into French.
STAN: "To be, or not be; that is the question: whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and, by opposing, end them."* (He closes the book and goes to lean over Natacha and speaks to her in French) You know the rest? Translate!
NATACHA: "To be, or not to be; that is the question: whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings (he starts stroking her hair) and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and, by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep— no more, and by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to — 'tis a consummation devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub, for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil must give us pause. There's the respect that makes calamity of so long life, for who would bear the whips and scorns of time, th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, the pangs of disprized love, the law's delay, the insolence of office, and the spurns that patient merit of th' unworthy takes, when he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin?"
STAN: That’s good, continue.
NATACHA: "Who would these fardels bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but that the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns, puzzles the will, and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of?"
STAN: Very good.
NATACHA: "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought (Stan comes back behind her and starts stroking her hair again making her falter a little in the last lines), and enterprises of great pith and moment with this regard their currents turn awry and lose the name of action. Soft you now! The fair Ophelia! — Nymph, in thy orisons be all my sins remembered."
STAN: That’s very good.
* spoken in English
Time code: 0.39.47 – 0.40.22
Language of the quotation(s)/reference(s) in the film: French
After learning that Stan has molested his daughter during one of their private lessons, Natacha’s father gets Stan thrown into jail. While he is there, his wife Aurore pays him a visit. She gives him the latest news and tells him she has brought some Shakespeare texts for him to read.
STAN: That’s all you have to tell me?
AURORE: Oh, I almost forgot. I brought you Shakespeare. Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, Richard III.
STAN: My kingdom for a horse.* My dick for a kingdom of horses. Hamlet! Why not Hamlet, huh? I’m already deep in shit and you shove my head in the fucking toilet, huh? Othello, Macbeth, King Lear, you can shove them all up your ass! You hear me? Slut!
* spoken in English
Time code: 0.52.40
Language of the quotation(s)/reference(s) in the film: French
After he has been released from jail, Stan comes back to an empty home. He finds a note from his wife Aurore announcing that she has left him. Soon after that, some friends come to visit him, two of whom sit down with him while a third, seen from behind, disappears into a corridor on the left. As the others are drinking vodka in the living room, Serge Gainbourg, who is not identified as a character in the film credits, lights up a cigarette and comments on Hamlet’s famous line.
GAINSBOURG (lighting up a cigarette): "To be or not to be." Question and answer.
Résumé en français
Localisation dans le film : 0.01.48 – 0.04.41
Langue de la citation/référence dans le film : anglais, français
Stan is giving a private lesson to a high school pupil named Rosalie. He first reads part of Hamlet’s soliloquy aloud to her and then asks her to write down a few words from it.
STAN (pacing to and fro, reading from a book in a heavy French accent) : « To be, or not be; that is the question: / Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And, by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep — / No more, and by a sleep to say we end / The heartache and the thousand natural shocks / That flesh is heir to — ’tis a consummation / Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep. / To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there’s the rub, / For in that sleep of death What dreams may come / When we have shuffled off this mortal coil / Must give us pause. »*
ROSALIE : M’sieur, je suis en sixième. Vous confondez avec ma sœur Natacha qu’est en terminale.
STAN : Dis donc, ton père il me doit déjà trois leçons, hein, plus celles de ta sœur Natacha ça fait sept. Quand est-ce qu’il m’envoie mon blé ?
ROSALIE : J’avais l’argent en venant, mais, euh, je suis tombée sur une boutique de fringues et j’ai craqué pour un super blouson en jean délavé.
STAN : Combien ?
ROSALIE : Huit cents balles.
STAN : Fais voir. (She shows him the denim jacket) C’est ça que t’as payé huit cents balles ? Mais tu te fous de ma gueule ou quoi ? Tu t’es fait rouler ma grosse ! Ah ! Il reste deux cents balles. Allez ! Confiqués ! Allez, sit, sit ! (Motions for her to sit on his knees) Allez, écris ! To be or not to be. Not. Not. Not ! Pas « note ! » Not ! N-O-T.* Voilà, c’est bien. Tu vas essayer de m’écrire Shakespeare. Mais non, pas comme ça, bordel ! Comme ça se prononce ! Écris : SHA-KES-PE-A-Shakespeare !
* en anglais dans le texte
Localisation dans le film : 0.08.35-0.08.47
Langue de la citation/référence dans le film : anglais, français
Stan’s second pupil, Jojo arrives for his lesson. Stan has him recite the beginning of Hamlet’s soliloquy.
STAN : Récitation !
JOJO : To bit or not to bit.*
STAN : Mais non, ça va pas non ? To be ! B-E ! B-E ! To be !* Ce que tu peux être con, mon petit !
* en anglais dans le texte
Localisation dans le film : 0.21.45 – 0.24.54
Langue de la citation/référence dans le film : anglais, français
Natacha has come for another lesson with Stan. As she sits at the table, he paces in front of her, reading part of Hamlet’s soliloquy. He then asks her to translate the soliloquy into French.
STAN : « To be, or not be; that is the question: / Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And, by opposing, end them. »* (He closes the book and goes to lean over Natacha) Tu connais la suite ? Traduction !
NATACHA : « Être ou ne pas être, c’est là la question. Y a-t-il plus de noblesse d’âme à subir l’affront (he starts stroking her hair) et les flèches de la fortune outrageante ou bien à s’armer contre une mer de douleur et à l’arrêter par une révolte ? Mourir, dormir, rien de plus. Et dire que par ce sommeil nous mettons fin aux maux du cœur et aux mille tortures naturelles qui sont les legs de la chair. C’est là un dénouement qu’on doit souhaiter avec ferveur. Mourir, dormir. Dormir, peut-être rêver. Oui, là est l’embarras, car quel rêve peut-il nous venir dans ce sommeil de la mort ? Nous sommes débarrassés de l’étreinte de cette vie. Voilà qui doit nous arrêter. C’est cette réflexion-là qui nous vaut la calamité d’une si longue existence. Qui, en effet, voudrait supporter les flagellations et les dédains du monde, l’injure de l’oppresseur, l’humiliation de la pauvreté, les angoisses de l’amour méprisé, les lenteurs de la loi, l’insolence du pouvoir et les rebuffades que le mérite résigné reçoit d’hommes indignes, s’il pouvait en être quitte avec un simple poinçon ? »
STAN : C’est bien, continue.
NATACHA : « Qui voudrait porter ces fardeaux, grogner et suer sous une vie accablante, si la crainte de quelque chose après la mort, de cette région inexplorée d’où nul voyageur ne revient, ne troublait la volonté et ne nous faisait supporter les maux que nous avons par peur de nous élancer vers ceux que nous ne connaissons pas. »
STAN : Très bien.
NATACHA : « Ainsi, la conscience fait de nous tous des lâches. Ainsi, les couleurs natives de la résolution blêmissent sous les pâles reflets de la pensée. (Stan comes back behind her and starts stroking her hair again making her falter a little in the last lines) Ainsi, les entreprises les plus énergiques et les plus importantes se détournent de leur cours à cette idée et perdent le nom d’action. Doucement. Maintenant voilà la belle Ophélia. Nymphe, dans tes oraisons, souviens-toi de tous mes péchés. »
STAN : C’est très bien.
* en anglais dans le texte
Localisation dans le film : 0.39.47 – 0.40.22
Langue de la citation/référence dans le film : français
After learning that Stan has molested his daughter during one of their private lessons, Natacha’s father gets Stan thrown into jail. While he is there, his wife Aurore pays him a visit. She gives him the latest news and tells him she has brought some Shakespeare texts for him to read.
STAN : C’est tout ce que t’as à me dire ?
AURORE : Oh, j’allais oublier. Je t’ai apporté Shakespeare. Othello, Macbeth, Le Roi Lear, Richard III.
STAN : My kingdom for a horse.* Ma bite pour royaume de cheval. Hamlet ! Pourquoi pas Hamlet, hein ? J’étais déjà bien dans la merde et tu me fous la tête dans la cuvette, hein ? Othello, Macbeth, Le Roi Lear, tu peux te les foutre dans le fion ! Tu vois ce que je veux dire ? Salope !
* en anglais dans le texte
Localisation dans le film : 0.52.40
Langue de la citation/référence dans le film : français
After he has been released from jail, Stan comes back to an empty home. He finds a note from his wife Aurore announcing that she has left him. Soon after that, some friends come to visit him, two of whom sit down with him while a third, seen from behind, disappears into a corridor on the left. As the others are drinking vodka in the living room, Serge Gainbourg, who is not identified as a character in the film credits, lights up a cigarette and comments on Hamlet’s famous line.
<< back to top >>GAINSBOURG (lighting up a cigarette) : « Être ou ne pas être, » question réponse.