Part one
These are the last words I can write to you.
In a few moments, they'll knock at my cell.
They'll make me get into an elevator.
They'll guide me along long corridors toward the room...
of the guillotine.
Mum...
I ask your forgiveness.
And that of the man I killed.
I'm suffering just for you.
I'm already at peace.
The sentence was fair.
I've killed a man, a policeman who was doing his duty.
Therefore I have to die.
Do you see, mum, how I'm managing to speak calmly?
I, Daniel Lucas,
am of sound mind. The court established that.
Capable of distinguishing between good and evil.
Therefore, dangerous. Socially dangerous.
Irremediable.
Therefore, I must die.
That's what the law says.
What a strange sensation.
I'm one of the few men who know the exact time of their own death.
8 o'clock.
8 o'clock on the dot.
I should go crazy.
Still, I don't.
It's as if all this...
were about someone else.
Daniel Lucas. You have been found guilty of the culpable homicide
of the person of Albert Janvier, an officer of the Paris Police.
The Court of Justice has sentenced you to the capital penalty
of execution by decapitation by means of the guillotine.
Since the circumstances of your crime were aggravated by the use of narcotics
you've been denied the commutation of your sentence.
That's all that the law requires me to tell you at this moment.
Daniel Lucas. The 8th hour is about to elapse.
Mum, you know I haven't always been this way.
Dangerous. Irremediable.
You know that a woman came into my life
and that she was the person who changed my destiny.
You've asked me many times who she was.
I've never told her name to anybody. Not even the court. Not even you.
Because I loved her.
She came into my life with a pack of cigarettes in her hand.
They seemed so innocent...
those cigarettes.
There's nothing innocent about her.
Mum, believe me...
I loved her a lot.
Maybe I still love her.
This syringe contains a psychotropic drug
which when injected, will bring you to a state of unconsciousness.
Her name is Marianne.
Now that you know it...
forget it.
Marianne!
Are you crazy? Get off the track. It's dangerous, they'll kill you.
Why did you come? -For you.
When I race, keep far away from me. -All right.
But I thought you'd need these.
And I brought you them. -No, not now.
As you wish.
Are you sure they won't help you to race the car?
At times, they've comforted you.
You seem a bit nervous. What's happened to you today?
He did a lap in 1:27.06.
But look what he's doing. He's mad.
Look what a thing!
He's gone crazy! He'll wreck the car.
Who is he? -A friend.
Do I know him?
No.
Could I meet him?
Jean isn't a man for types like you.
And why not?
What the hell? -The suspension must be fried.
No way! -It's fried, I tell you. -It's you that's fried!
If you found the suspension fragile, you did it with all those stunts!
There it is, look. -OK, OK, it's your skin.
It's your problem. Give me the 12. Quick!
Hi. -Hi.
How long did I take? -Oh, how long? You took 1:27.06.
1:27.06.
If I'm not wrong, Jean, you're pushing a bit too hard.
And that's not enough for me yet.
Not enough what?
Winning.
He did a test lap at under 1:26.
Under 1:30 would be enough.
And you?
What do you do a lap under?
Who's she?
She's my girl. -Since when?
Well then, let's say, how long can it last? One week, two, eh?
I know a way of keeping him. -Really?
And you too... if you fancy trying.
Obviously you don't know my wife.
Hello, who is it?
Nicole, is that you? -Yes mum.
Why don't you turn on the video? -I don't like it.
You know I don't like to show myself on these modern gadgets. -Turn it on, mum.
I want to see you.
You've been drinking already. Right, mum? -Nicole...
What makes you think so?
How you've changed!
Sometimes I'd like to die. There are people here who do that, you know.
Why have you put me away in this hospice? -It's not a hospice. It's a rest home.
And you know it's a requirement for all old people.
I can't hold on in here. I can't! Sometimes I think I'm going crazy.
You think you can console yourself by drinking? You've to stop it!
Ever since poor Daniel's been gone, you've become horrible.
He was so reasonable, so understanding. -Give it a rest about Daniel!
But he was your brother!
Mum, mum...
You ought to remember how he ended up more often.
Or maybe you're ashamed of him? -Turn round.
Turn round!
I assure you I remember everything. Everything! I'm always thinking about it.
Excuse me, but I've to go now. Brigitte's waiting for me. Why did you call me?
Aren't you well? Do you need something?
Is Jean there? -No.
He's at the race track, like always.
Shame!
I really had to tell him something. Have him call me when he gets back.
All right, mum. Bye for now.
Is everything OK? -Don't worry, everything's OK.
No, Philippe, I'll try it. You're in no condition to drive today.
Given how you were getting on before...
it seems to me that you are in no condition to drive.
You joking? I'm in top form!
The car's fine now. I want to beat the lap record.
I'd have done it already if that suspension wasn't busted.
I'm asking myself: "why do we do this?"
You could've asked that when you chose to pursue this career.
If you've doubts of that sort, give up the trials and competitions.
The house wants a win, and it pays us for that.
There's a race on Sunday and you're giving me shit?
Unless both of us go round under 1:26, it's pointless to start.
It seems Salomon did 1:24:03, you know?
You, get out of the way, come on!
And... his wife, what's she like?
Like every driver's wife. An angel.
Do you want one now? -Yes.
Now, yes.
It's his career! -But you don't understand, Brigitte.
No, Nicole. -Because you're an egotist. You only think about yourself.
How can you live this way? Excuse me, y'know, but I find the situation absurd.
If I were you, I'd stop Jean racing. In the end, it'd be for his own good too.
Above all, his own good. -Exactly.
What sense has a job like his? It's stupid to risk your neck to feel important.
No. The truth... is that Jean has made a choice.
And I respect his choice of profession, even if I suffer. -But...
I don't think he likes it that you go to the track when he races.
Me neither. But I can't do any less, believe me. I have to go.
I can't stay at home. Everything oppresses me there.
What nonsense! Whether you're there or not,
the danger for him is the same. -I know.
But when Jean races... if I'm not near him,
I die of fear.
Where are you going? -To the boxes. With Jean Delafoy.
Please.
Quick!
Increase the pressure!
Oh, my God!
Don't move him! Don't move him!
Don't touch him! -Move it! -Stay back!
Come on with that stretcher! Come on!
Careful! Be careful.
He's dead.
What's happened to him?
I don't know. He came off at the bend.
Where's he hurt?
Where are you taking him?
I want to go with him!
Close it! Let's go!
Jean! -Let's go to the hospital too now.
Calm down!
Is the heart beating?
Doctor, I think he's gone. -There's not much to lose.
It seems like a very bad cranial trauma.
The heart's stopped.
Let's do an intracardial adrenalin.
But there's nothing more we can do if his brain's irreparably damaged.
The brain
can be considered a field of inexhaustible, fascinating research.
This organ is the primary seat of nervous activity.
In consequence, it represents...
the receptacle of higher functions, namely memory, learning, intelligence.
Even though those activities have long been considered
only as the subjects of philosophical dissertations,
today they can be expressed...
in numerical or biochemical terms.
He's not breathing spontaneously.
Give me a laryngoscope. We need to intubate him.
Fix it with sticking plaster.
Check the IV.
What else can we do? -Unfortunately, very little. He seems decerebrate.
The brain, moreover,
possesses
the most extraordinary property expressed by a biological structure: consciousness.
The objective of researchers is to clarify these properties.
And then, why does one man remember or learn more than another?
Or what underlies the instinct for survival?
The most authoritative studies show that it all depends on the perfect operation
of the various brain centres. And on those considerations,
we arrive at the techniques of electical and biochemical stimulation
of various parts of the brain.
Hello? Institute of Neuropsychiatry?
I'm Dr. Piantoni. Get me Prof. Duval.
He's giving a lecture. -It's urgent!
The brain, in its fully developed form,
burns about 5g of glucose in 3 litres of oxygen per hour.
That consumption is constant, even in rest activity.
Excuse me, Professor. There's Piantoni on the phone.
He's taking a serious casualty to the hospital.
He's a racing driver with cranial trauma in an apparently irreversible coma state.
The heart's stopped twice already. He seems not to have any internal injuries.
I understand. -He could be...
Right. He could be a suitable subject for our work.
The heart has ventricular fibrillation.
Massage isn't helping any more.
It's stopped!
Let's try to restart it with the defibrillator. Quick!
Prof. Duval? -Dr. Piantoni.
How quickly do you think you could get to hospital? -A few minutes.
In the meantime, we should alert the immunologist for histocompatibility tests.
The sooner he gets typed, the better. -Fine.
Give me the patient's clinical characteristics.
Fractures of the cranial base, but without leakage of cerebral fluids.
Deep coma. He's completely decerebrate.
Is there damage to the braincase? -No.
The braincase doesn't show any particular damage.
He could be ready to receive a new...
Let's not be hasty, Piantoni. We can't be sure of anything.
I'll be in the conservation room.
Alpha is in emergency.
ATP is reduced by 70%.
The phosphocreatine reserve's all been consumed. Lactic acid is accumulating.
Let's look at the control monitor.
You stay here.
There's an increasing frequency irregularity in the encephalogram waves.
Report PO2 CO2 N.
Reduced.
Professor. Let's check the perfusion pressure too.
250 millibars.
Let's try a biochemical check examining the lactate values.
We need to put fresh blood in the circuit.
It doesn't react.
How many minutes has Alpha been in a state of alarm?
90 seconds.
Increase the enzymatic flow.
DNA and RNA activity is reducing.
The cells' vital activity is reducing. I'd say it's near zero.
It's having an edema. This is the second time we've tried to save Alpha,
and the cause of these problems isn't clear to me.
But by now, the process is irreversible.
There must've been an error when we put the brain in the conservation system.
It's been connected to the circuit for too long.
Do we check it? -We'll examine Alpha with the electron microscope
if we really don't manage to recover it.
The edema keeps increasing.
It's gone.
It's Piantoni. He's already arrived at the hospital.
Here, professor.
I'm in the hospital with the patient.
Good. Bring him to the Intensive Care Unit. -Right away, professor.
Here we are, Mayer.
The important thing is that Jean is alive. They'll save him here.
Telephone my mother.
Tell her...
that Jean has had an accident, and that it's serious.
Maybe her heart couldn't take it.
Tell her... -Sit down. - ...that Jean doesn't feel well.
Sit down. - ...and that I'll call her back later.
Can I make a phone call? -Please.
It's my fault.
What do you mean?
It was my turn to drive.
It's...
because I...
wasn't well, understand?
I wasn't able to drive.
It's my fault.
Don't speak nonsense.
That's how it is. I'll never forgive myself.
Even Jean...
seemed a bit strange to me.
At the limit...
of his will to take risks.
She doesn't answer.
Good evening, ma'am.
I see you come to the circus every night. Very good. But who do you come for, eh?
Come on, answer! I asked you why you come to the circus every evening.
Tell me.
So, do you want to tell me who you come for?
To see the dwarves or for Snow White?
Or even for Marianne. You know well who Marianne is, right?
Have you been struck dumb? Are you lost for words?
Try to lose your memory too, and don't come to the circus any more.
I don't like spectators who are too curious, clear?
And so?
Yes, Dr Mayer. Let's operate.
The first brain transplant... in the history of medicine.
Dr Mayer. Colleagues.
I ask you to forget at once
that this, finally, is the practical realization, on man, of all our studies.
Of our experience. Of our common efforts.
Each of us knows exactly what he must do.
Therefore we must act accordingly.
Ignoring, I repeat, ignoring the exceptional nature of the intervention.
Because any emotional stimulus could cause an error, and therefore failure.
From this moment, the problem is the one we've faced together
in thousands of cases: save a man's life.
And by now, only the time to prepare remains to us.
Professor? -Yes, Dr Mayer. -You said a man, right?
Yes. A man. -Good.
This is why I'm asking you.
Are we perhaps crossing a frontier beyond which we don't know exactly
what our new scope would be? -What do you mean?
I say we might be being too hasty.
Maybe we should keep searching for more answers.
There are still too many unresolved problems.
I understand.
Therefore, you, Dr Mayer, propose we postpone this experiment of ours?
Maybe it's not yet time, professor.
But you too have struggled to arrive at this moment!
Months, years of tests, of experiments, of verifications.
Is it only now that you have these doubts?
Now that we have a suitable subject.
Other objections? Doctor Mayer?
In the face of that man, not one, but thousands of objections.
We're initiating an epoch of total manipulation of the human being.
Is this legitimate? What is the limit of science?
Or does no limit exist?
And how would we be able to turn back if we were forced to admit we were wrong?
Dr Mayer, do you believe our team is technically ready for this intervention?
Yes. -Good.
This is the only objection that there could possibly be.
The legal, ethical, moral problems
pertaining to the case are behind us. Others have resolved them for us.
We are only scientists at the service of man.
But each one with his personal responsibility.
Then I remind you that the responsibility to operate or not to operate
is exclusively mine.
It's a principle on which all our work is based.
And if you don't accept it...
I'm sorry, Dr Mayer.
I have a great need for you.
In any case, I'll have to ask you to leave the team.
A mind.
Not just a brain.
I had to see him, that man,
to understand that the problem is only this.
We're substituting his mind. But when he wakes up... -No!
He won't wake up at all, if we lose more time. That man is dead. Dead!
This is not a problem. It's a reality. -I agree, Rademaker.
Why should we...? -Anna.
A week ago we struggled together 3 days and 3 nights to save a suicide's life.
And you were with us.
Do you think you really acted according to that man's intentions? -Or...
for that indispensable ethical purpose
toward the preservation of human beings that drives science.
Medicine, professor.
And I'm not quite sure that what we're about to do would be just medicine.
It doesn't matter.
Instead, there's the wife in there. Let's consult her.
The law requires it. Do you think I wouldn't have done it? -Of course not.
But that woman has to know clearly what we're going to do to her husband.
It's she who must understand, weigh, decide.
I agree she has a right to know what kind of operation her husband will undergo.
And do you really believe that she'll understand exactly what...
Because, perhaps, we understand it better?
Very well.
Although, I ask you all to keep the lucidity
and objectivity that we've always shown
during our discussions. Even in the most difficult cases.
I want us to stay strictly in the field of medicine,
without deviating into any other kinds of issues.
Mrs Delafoy? -Yes.
Ma'am... The law obliges us to consult a relative
every time we operate on a patient who is unable to decide for himself.
But Dr Mayer wants more in this case.
She's asked me to have you participate in this, our preliminary meeting.
Do you agree?
Perhaps what you will hear could seem...
disconcerting, less than real. But it's about saving your husband's life.
It's necessary you should know exactly how we mean to operate on your husband.
So you can decide in full conscience, just as he himself would choose.
The situation, unfortunately, is this.
Dr Segré. Have you performed the angiography?
Yes. Also ecosonography, and gamma scintigraphy.
Begin the anthropometric measurements of the braincase. -They're under way.
Finish the typing and the other blood tests.
The electroencephalogram?
The EEG's flat. Circulation and respiration are maintained mechanically.
Reflexes... completely nonexistent.
Significant state of mydriasis.
Cardiocirculatory condition?
At present there's only an autonomous heartbeat.
Previously, he had at least 3 episodes of ventricular fibrillation.
For this reason, it's been necessary to make use of the defibrillator.
Ma'am, at this time, special examinations are being performed on your husband.
Blood tests. In this way, the genetic affinity can be established.
But how? You have to operate on him!
Of course. But we don't have all the test results yet.
Current status?
Up to this time, no significant variation has been recorded.
The state of mydriasis persists.
The body temperature trend is almost constant.
Except for some slight improvement in the levels a short while ago.
I understand. Yes.
The heartbeat's still autonomous. -What percentage of the brain was injured?
38%.
Nothing remains but to try.
If the immunological results are positive, we have a large window of opportunity.
On the other hand, in the present state, the patient is completely unrecoverable.
Completely unrecoverable. -Unrecoverable?
My God!
Unrecoverable by normal means. With normal therapies.
With normal cures.
With everything that neurosurgery has been able to do up to now.
Then he's lost.
Mrs Delafoy, I'd like to reply "no". Indeed, I tell you "no".
But we have to attempt an operation. Immediately. On the brain.
You have to... operate on his brain?
Then do it! Do it at once. -Not exactly, ma'am.
What's necessary is a brain transplant.
But it's not possible!
How? -A brain transplant.
But it's absurd!
You see, we're convinced the brain could be transplanted like any other organ.
Indeed, immunologically it's a privileged organ.
In the sense that it's harder for rejection to occur.
For a long time, there have been transplants of the heart, the liver...
In the brain's case the problems seemed insurmountable. But we've solved them.
Oh, my God!
We've already performed many experiments on guinea pigs with positive outcomes.
But it's terrible!
It's scientifically possible, that's all.
Your husband, since the accident
is what we call "an organism in a vegetative state."
He has no more organic functions. He can't move.
He can't speak, see, hear...
And all this is true because his brain is destroyed.
In some other clinic, the doctors would have told you your husband is dead.
We're offering you the chance to save him.
But is there no other way?
How is it possible?
But... in his head there's everything.
In Jean's head, there's him!
There's Jean.
By this point, we don't have another minute to lose.
Now you've been told everything.
Now it's up to you to decide.
Who does the other brain belong to?
You'll never know, ma'am. Neither you nor anyone else.
The donor's identity has been wiped. Forever.
It will be a brain without any trace of the preceding life. -And him? Jean.
What will he know?
Ma'am, when your husband leaves the clinic
he'll know only that he had to undergo a delicate brain operation.
And that will be, from a strictly scientific point of view, true.
As long as noone ever reveals, I mean ever,
the nature of this surgery.
So, do you accept these conditions?
Therefore you authorize the operation?
Go ahead and operate. -Good.
You are very courageous, ma'am.
You haven't left me any other choice.
Excuse me.
Just one question.
How will he be...
afterwards?
The patient is ready for surgery.
Good. But we don't yet know which brain would be most suitable.
The one most closely related. Rademaker is in the conservation room now.
The computer will give us the answer according to the typing.
How long will it take? -A few minutes. The patient's ready. You can prepare.
We input the data in the computer to choose the best brain for the transplant.
System H-L-Z.
System A-B-Z-V.
System A-R-Z.
Is the solution for the nucleid acids ready?
Yes. It's at a temperature of 15 degrees. -That should be enough.
Sex: male. Age: 33 years.
Weight: 69 kg.
Braincase: reception capacity number 3 on the Wladimir scale.
RNA 0 2 5 7.
0 3 2 0. 0 3 7 8.
DNA A-F-4.
K 7 0.
A25A.
PO2 CO2 N.
QRO-M73.
A-45-R.
Gamma is the brain best suited for transplant.
Ward number 3.
Yes? For you, Mrs Delafoy.
Mrs Delafoy? A suitable brain...
for the transplant exists.
Do you hear me, ma'am? -Yes. Yes, doctor. I understand.
This gives us a wide margin of success.
Also for afterwards. Do you understand me?
Yes. -We wanted to let you know, before beginning the transplant.
I'm very grateful, doctor.
We will begin with trepanation of the skull.
We must extract the cerebral substance at more points to obtain the DNA and RNA.
Then we inject them into the brain for transplantation.
Immediately after the nucleic acid injection we'll insert the bypass.
Dr Mayer, we're still in the preliminary stage of the transplant itself.
Prepare the cannulas for the vascular connection of the bypass.
It's me, mum! Where were you?
I went to the circus. I like it.
What's wrong with that?
I can't stay here all day. I'm old. -Something terrible has happened!
What? -Jean... -Nicole?
What is it, Nicole dear? -Jean...
He's hurt himself very badly. -How?
At the racetrack... An accident.
Is it serious? -They're operating.
Where? Where's he injured?
In the head.
Did you say in the head? -Yes.
Oh, my God! But is it really true?
They always point at the head.
It's what they always go for.
My Daniel too.
Was there anyone nicer than our... Daniel?
Oh, Daniel, my son...
How cruel they were to you.
To your brother, Nicole. Not even Jean...
Not even he was so nice. -Is, mum! Is!
Jean isn't dead. -Nicole...
Sometimes it's better to die.
Will he recover?
What are you saying, mum?
Give me the nucleic acid solution.
Now Gamma has truly become the brain of Jean Delafoy.
The circulatory conditions are satisfactory by now.
The EEG and the cerebral flow are as expected.
For now, he doesn't have spontaneous respiration yet.
He'll get it back soon. The conditions exist.
From a clinical point of view, we're completely satisfied.
Technically, the operation...
Yes, it couldn't have gone better. But, we don't yet know if he can recover.
If he'll be able to see, hear, talk, move...
Even if this sensory recovery takes place,
he himself will need to get used to light again, to take his first steps.
But not even this will be the most delicate phase of his reeducation.
When Jean reawakens, in about two weeks, he'll be empty. Disoriented.
He won't remember anything of himself, or the reality around him.
His psychic isolation will be total, and could
go on forever.
We must, therefore, bring him back.
Not only physically, but also psychically.
He reacts. His pupillary reflexes are present.
Yes. Maybe he'll live.
English subtitles by: beastless
End of part one.