What were Lacombe & Laughlin discussing while interrogating Neary?

What were Lacombe & Laughlin discussing while interrogating Neary? - Mom and Daughter Talking to Each Other

In Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Neary is being interrogated after his capture near Devils Tower; he is in a small room with Lacombe & Laughlin.

My question relates to this part of the scene:

Laughlin: [about Roy and Jillian] The two of you felt compelled to be here?

Roy: Yeah, you might say that.

Laughlin: [translating] What did you expect to find?

Roy: An answer. That's not crazy, is it? [Laughlin and Lacombe speak to each other in French]...Hold it, hold it, hold it! Is that it? Is that all you're gonna ask me? Well, I got a couple of a thousand, damn questions, you know. I want to speak to someone in charge. I want to lodge a complaint. You have no right to make people crazy...If this is nerve gas, how come I know everything in such detail? I've never been here before. How come I know so much? [raising his voice] WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AROUND HERE?! WHO THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE?!

After Neary says "An answer. That's not crazy, is it?", Lacombe & Laughlin confer over something but the entire dialog is in French and a subtitled translation is not available.

Would someone please provide a translation of the french dialog in this scene?



Best Answer

This is my attempt at a transcript:

Claude Lacombe: Je crois qu'on pourrait les mettre dans l'hélicoptères avec les autres [unintelligible] majeur Walsh.

David Laughlin: Il faudrait peut-être verifier ses crédibilités?

Claude Lacombe: Non, j'ai confiance en mon intuition. Ces gens [unintelligible] choisi au hasard. C'est heureux il n'y en a plein d'autres. Ils n'ont rien d'spécial, ils se ont seulement retrouvé au bonne endroit au bon moment.

Translated (somewhat loosely):

Claude Lacombe: I think we can put them in the helicopter with the others [unintelligible] Major Walsh.

David Laughlin: Maybe we should check his credibility first?

Claude Lacombe: No, I trust my intuition. These people [unintelligible] chosen at random. We're lucky there aren't more of them. There is nothing special about them, they just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

A native French speaker might be able to discern what they're saying in the places where I couldn't figure out what they're saying, but I think you get the gist of their conversation.




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