Fancy meeting you here...

Hello, George. How's your job?

How could you call this a job? I'm wasting my life on this drivel!

Are you painting propaganda again?

Yes... It's not exactly what I dreamed I'd be doing as I studied the works of the great artists - and as I developed and nurtured my gift!

I'm beginning to doubt I even have a gift... I used to be sure I could create something brilliant...

And now... Do I still have it in me? Only Melpomene knows!

I'm sure this job is temporary. You'll have a chance to show the world your talent someday, George.

While I, George de Latour, agonize in anticipation of that favorable time, any narrow-minded gendarme can drag me through the mud with a kick of a jackboot.

The chastity of the ardent soul is at risk of dying on the vine of unscrupulous obscenity!

I'm afraid I no longer understand what we're talking about...

Like the Fates weave the web of human history, two people weave the thread of their conversation, not knowing where it will go...

How's your creative process coming along?

I'm a freelance artist! My tiffany-like nature is locked in a cage of primitive desires.

To be able to create something, I need to eat, but to eat, I need money. My art, my legacy - my very existence - hangs on the threads of these primordial needs.

What is a man when his only concern is eating and sleeping? An animal, and nothing more!

You're a starving artist! That's wonderful!

What do you know about these things Hector? If only I could paint on an empty stomach!

Some artists become quite famous after they die. But I don't think you're time is up, George.

Hector, if I don't comply with the government's orders, I will either starve to death or be imprisoned for having dissenting views.

The boat of creativity has crashed against the shores of the daily grind, and my growling stomach mutes my thoughts about celestial matters! How trivial!

How incredibly sad...

Please forgive my lofty speech, my friend. I did not want to upset you.

Perhaps I should go back to spoiling this paper with vulgar slogans.

I saw a statue in your apartment...

Congratulate me, Hector! I've received an order to make a statue of our Wise Leader. This is a big deal!

If I deliver it on time, I'll be sitting pretty for a while. I won't have to worry about money, food - nothing!

I'll finally be able to devote myself to my art - to creating graceful, delicate shapes and marble curves!

Isn't marble given out only by order of the Ministry for creating busts and statues of our Wise Leader?

Damn! I forgot about that... There are so many busts of the Leader out there. They all look alike, too, like carbon copies of each other.

My freedom is a shadow, and I've long been a dumb vassal of his arrogant will...

I haven't heard about any quotas on alabaster...

Alabaster? Hector! You're a genius! Not as much of a genius as me, but still, that's a delightful idea!

I'll use alabaster! The plebs will finally understand what true art is!

George, what are you making?

I already told you, Hector, I received an order to make a statue of our Wise Leader!

The Ministry is going to pay me enough to live carefree for a few years.

George, are you saying our Wise Leader is a woman?

So, you know everything? Oh my God!

Please, Hector, help me!

I'm dying of my love for the unforgettable Jeanne Oehrn...

If I don't die, then I'll be executed by a firing squad. Darts of love are less painful than cold, lead bullets, you know...

What do you want from me?

I fell head over heels for passion! Blindly and mindlessly love rushes, not knowing where it's heading...

I'm just a man with a warm heart and an open soul...

Which everyone is willing to trample with his muddy boots... George, I understand what you're saying, but, please, stay on point.

For me, every moment of life counts. This is not a figure of speech but my horrible reality!

I had nearly finished the statue of our leader when I was overcome with temptation...

...and I sculptured the face of my muse, my beautiful Jeanne, on the back of it. The stronger the passion, the sadder its end.

If the selection committee finds it, they'll shoot me!

The paper that proves conformity to state standards is more important to these monsters than human life!

Even statues are made according to state standards, Hector... Talk about taking a dagger to the heart of creativity...

Do you have to follow state standards while making the statue?

Yes. I have to fill in a state standards form detailing my plans for the piece and then show it to the hollow-hearted selection committee.

Anything printed on paper and bearing a stamp is truth to them.

Even if I write that the leader should have a pinecone nose and woodpecker hands, they'll accept it!

Where can I find this form? I'm not a magician; I can't pull a rabbit out of a hat.

Ask the neighbors, call the authorities, do whatever you can! I beg you, please, help me!

I can't promise anything, but I'll try.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Hector! What a delight it is to see you! I owe you so much because of your help with the marble nonsense!

I'm very much obliged to you, which is why...

This is my humble gift to you – to thank you for your help!

You're welcome! It was my pleasure...

George, what happened here?

Jeanne has turned into a wild tigress! She was divinely beautiful in her rage, like Alecto or Tisiphone...

But she destroyed the statue, and now my life is over... She screamed something about love for one's country, for one's work... I don't know what's going on, Hector.

The potion you mentioned should have set her heart on fire, flaming with love for me, not the state!

I didn't know what would happen either, George.

Ah, well... This must be my fate. Love runs away from those who chase her, and throws herself on the necks of those who run away.

Now Jeanne, the light of my eyes, my muse, will leave me and this cheerless grey abode...

That's why I'm drinking, even though I see no truth in wine... Yet I'd encounter my end with a contemptuous smile and a glass in my hand!

What happened between you two?

Jeanne has turned into a wild tigress! She was divinely beautiful in her rage, like Alecto or Tisiphone...

She said I'm a worthless, miserable citizen of this great nation, and carried on about her love for her country, and for her work... I didn't understand any of it, Hector.

The potion you mentioned should have set her heart on fire, flaming with love for me, not the state!

She left while saying she won't be back.

I'm very sorry, George.

I have no reason to stay here anymore. I have money but no muse, and therefore no inspiration. Love fades as we part...

I think I'll have to go away soon, Hector. I don't care where, I just need to get away from the place where everything reminds me of her!

How often we regret what we once wished for...

Who's that woman who's visiting you?

You saw her? Of course you did! Who wouldn't notice a goddess like her?

She's my beautiful model, Jeanne Oehrn! This enchantress has stolen my heart, Hector.

All of my thoughts are focused on her... Although she hasn't warmed up to me yet, each obstacle makes my love that much stronger!

What is it, George?

Like a wild beast, I can't tame my troubled thoughts about the miserable fortune we all face...

Could you just tell me about your problem in plain English?

Do you know what unrequited love is, Hector?

I know what it's like to lose a beloved wife, George. I believe that's more than enough to allow me to understand you.

Jeanne doesn't love me, and I want - more than anything else in the world - her to love me as passionately as I do her!

I'll stop at nothing to achieve my goal. I'm desperate, to the point of being willing to try a love potion!

If such a potion worked, would it not be a deceit? Would your conscience not smite you?

Find a way to make Jeanne fall in love with me, Hector! I'll give up everything for her love: my honor, my soul - even my conscience!

I don't think I can help you. But you never know... I'll ask around.

Thank you!

George, I have an unusual request. You're an artist, and, well...

Do you by change have a picture of a naked girl?

Hector! What do you need it at your age? Do you believe, as a poet put it, that "Everything in love is true, but lust always lies?"

George, I swear, it's not for me.

Then why do you need it? Do you have an order from the Ministry?

Hi George, I need your help.

Anything you want, my friend. I need a break from spoiling paper with pointless, soulless slogans...

Can you paint this stuffed bird so that it resembles a parrot?

What frivolous work! This is great, Hector! This is exactly what I need to blow away the cobwebs!

I can turn any piece of trash into a work of art.

Well, well...

One more stroke...

...

A little light in the eyes...

A couple more strokes here and...done! Here's your bird of happiness! I've never seen a live parrot, but I hope they look like this.

Thank you, George! You've been a big help. Excellent work!

Do you want something?

Bed bugs have infested my apartment! This is unacceptable! Instead of creating art I'm spending my time scratching myself!

With the exception of this giving my brush strokes a unique, unrestrained flair, it's unbearable!

As if the government sucking the life blood out of me every day wasn't enough, I now have to contend with these tiny parasites as well!

Do something, Hector, please!

I'm working on it.

Have you taken any steps toward removing those small bloodsuckers from my life?

George, did you hear about Zlata Schimmer being hit by a car? What a tragedy!

Life is full of tragedies, my friend... There is no light without darkness, no heat without cold...

I'll probably paint a picture like this: "The lament of a desolate mother and the implacable wheels of doom."

George, have you heard that everyone is required to donate blood?

My blood is seething with love and hate! Mind you, those are the ingredients for war...

...

My blood onto the ground will be shed!

The battlefield will soak it up to give...

Another chance for it to thrive...

May turn it into trees or blossoms that...

...

Um, I'm stuck there. Of course, I'll donate blood, Hector!

I believe, you're romanticizing the war beyond measure.

As a creative individual, I can't do anything about my proclivities. Verse is simply born out of any situation, as if it has a life of its own.

George, was Jeanne arrested?

That's it for me! I cannot live without my beloved Muse!

I cannot live without her... No wine can dull this pain!

I have to run away!

What do you mean "run?" Where to and what from?

Anywhere! From myself! From the unbearable agony! Ah, if only I could sacrifice myself to purchase her freedom!

...

Have you heard about the Blissful Sleep procedure?

We're all asleep already, Hector.

Does it matter if we wake up sooner or later?

Are you drunk?

Yes, but can anyone stay sober while in the thick of the nightmare that is this life?

My heart is frozen... A sword is poised above my neck...

What am I saying? Who's listening?