In the 17th century,
though surrounded by enemies,
Spain still dominated the world.
The king was Philip IV,
the "Planet King",
and his territories were ruled
with an iron hand by his favourite,
the Count-duke of Olivares.
To Flanders, the Americas,
the Philippines,
part of Italy
and North Africa,
Portugal and its colonies
had been added,
but it was in Flanders,
in a long, cruel war,
where the battle for the Empire's
survival was to be fought.
An Empire sustained
by professional armies
whose main core were veterans
of the dreaded Spanish
infantry regiments.
This is the story
of one of those men...
Flanders, winter, 1622
Here, Count!
Count, cover us!
Retreat!
Stay close to me, Count.
Hold on to my shirt.
Die, Catholic dog!
Damn.
Lope.
My son...
My son, Diego...
My son, Diego.
My son.
Don Diego Alatriste: In compliance
with the wishes of my father,
who died, may God rest his soul,
in the land of heretics,
I send you my brother Inigo, whom
I have not the means to maintain.
He knows mathematics,
can read and write,
is obedient and quick to learn,
though somewhat given
to fantasy and stubborn.
MADRID, ONE YEAR LATER
As you know, my father
wanted him to study,
MADRID, ONE YEAR LATER
to go to university,
but he wants to be a soldier.
I pray that God and Your Honour
may forbid such a thing.
Ana Balboa,
Oate, Guipuzcoa.
Which one's that?
"M".
You're glum today, don Francisco.
How fares your memorial?
I do believe Philip the Great
and his favourite Olivares
have wiped their arses on it.
That's still a great honour.
An honour for his royal arse.
It was good paper, costing
half a ducat per ream,
and in my best hand.
Rumour has it that Olivares
begins to hold you in esteem.
Yes.
He even gives me leave
to live in Madrid.
He needs your verses.
Damn you, Captain!
You make a better friend
than an enemy.
So they say.
Excuse me, senor de Quevedo.
My friends and I were wondering
if certain verses were yours...
"Here lies, in black tomb hemmed,
lifeless and condemned
who sold his soul for profit vile
and e'en in death
lacks flair and style."
"In black tomb hemmed..."
Might be improved if they were mine.
Right, Inigo?
Of course, don Francisco.
In any case,
is Gongora so ruined that
they dedicate epitaphs to him?
Not that I know of.
I hear don Luis de Gongora
still enjoys good health.
So good that he still writes
the best poetry in Spain.
Don't waste your steel so early
in the day, don Francisco.
And on such a trifle.
The merriment's over.
The cuckold constable.
Quiet,
or I'll kick your arse
to kingdom come.
Back to work.
Diego, I have work for you.
There's someone who needs you.
Safe work,
no risks involved,
save the usual ones, of course.
And for a good purse...
to share.
To share?
With whom?
Follow me.
Two foreign gentlemen.
They'll enter Madrid alone,
on horseback, this Friday night.
Payment for your services
will be 6O escudos in doubloons.
To share. Agreed?
That suits me.
We are each
three gold pieces short.
To be paid when the work
is done to satisfaction.
To whose satisfaction?
My sons,
I am Father Emilio Bocanegra,
President of the Council
of the Inquisition.
The two heretics must die.
Mercy!
Mercy!
Mercy for my companion!
-Leave him!
-Do you jest?
None of this is clear.
They are not simple heretics.
We can kill them another day.
We shall meet again.
Diego, you are in a fine mess.
I imagine so.
The news will soon spread and
all Madrid will be in an uproar.
Now to the point.
Who commissioned you?
People.
Don't annoy me, Diego.
What people?
That's what I'd like to know,
Excellency.
I didn't see their faces.
And your companion in the ambush?
Didn't you see his face either?
As Your Excellency knows,
I always hunt alone.
Diego, this is not
an interrogation by the Inquisition.
Well, it's up to you.
It's your neck, not mine.
But, out of curiosity...
Do you know who
you almost killed last night?
No, Count.
I give you my word on that.
I believe you.
Then why didn't you kill them?
I had a presentiment.
Sir, matters of extreme gravity
took place last night.
The Prince of Wales
and the Duke of Buckingham
have entered Madrid incognito.
They wish to be received
by Your Majesty.
They were almost
killed in an ambush.
I have ordered an investigation
to find the culprits.
Sir, this unexpected visit
obliges us to take a decision
concerning the possible marriage
of your sister,
Princess Maria,
and the Prince of Wales.
I have called the Council of State
and the Committee of Theologians
to give you their opinion.
Thrust!
Go on!
You're not so good.
Come on, thrust!
What is it, Inigo? You look
as though you'd seen a ghost.
No, no.
They say the English prince
was ambushed.
Well.
Do they know who did this?
Thieves, they say.
People have
too much imagination.
Go get some wine.
You brute.
Help me up.
I can't walk.
How shall I get home?
I'll carry you.
Am I very heavy?
No.
No.
What's your name?
Inigo Balboa.
Page to Captain Diego Alatriste.
I like soldiers.
My name's Angelica.
Will you remember?
Of course I'll remember.
I hope so.
You can put me down now.
I hope you know what you're doing.
I know, don't worry.
Dismiss those men.
Don't kill that Batriste...
Latriste, whatever his name is, yet.
-But, madam...
-I have plans for Inigo.
I need that captain to look
after him until the time comes.
Then you can kill him.
Yes, Captain, 'tis a comedy.
Commissioned by Olivares
for the queen.
And don Rafael here
will produce it.
-A great honour.
-And will you be paid
or will it be on account
for future favours as usual?
I know nothing of favours. Today is
yesterday, tomorrow is yet to come.
For the present
Olivares has promised 5OO reals.
A comedy...
Not your speciality.
-How dare you?
-No, the captain's right.
But if poor Cervantes tried one,
why can't I?
Don Francisco, my wife,
the great actress Maria de Castro.
And Captain...
Alatriste.
Diego and I know each other.
What are you thinking?
I should stay away
from married women.
Unless she's the most
desired woman in Spain.
I haven't seen this one before.
It's been a long time.
Almost three years.
I've missed you.
Not in Italy.
It came to a bad end.
She finally married another.
I heard that.
You've changed, Diego.
Perhaps I'm getting old.
Or because of that boy
who lives with you.
You know I like
to know everything.
He's the son of a friend
who died in Flanders.
I promised to look after him.
And?
I'm afraid of bungling it, Maria.
Everything happens
when you're a child.
You'll do it well.
You're a good man.
I wouldn't be so sure of that.
You have few dealings with people.
Maria, it's time!
Get ready!
Don't worry, keep going.
He's a reasonable man.
I earn him a lot of money.
Is it worthwhile?
I'm a practical woman.
I have to think of the future.
To hell with the future.
In the future we'll all be dead.
Diego Alatriste, I arrest you
in the name of the Inquisition.
Take his weapons.
Search him for hidden weapons.
Clean.
He's clean.
Kneel.
My son, you are a traitor
and an incompetent.
With your inopportune scruples
you have aided
the enemies of God and Spain.
Actions you will purge
with hell's worst torments.
But first you will pay, here
on earth, with your mortal flesh.
You have seen too much.
Heard too much.
You have strayed too far.
Your life, Captain,
is no longer worth a fig.
You are a corpse
that, by some whim of fate,
still remains standing.
You may go.
Free?
In a manner of speaking.
God's wrath will know
where to find you.
Put that thing away.
It'll be of no use to you.
I haven't come to kill you
but to save you from others.
I didn't know
you were afraid of sheep.
Only when they come
without shepherds.
Take this in case.
Strange shepherds.
No stranger than you.
Your attitude saddens me,
though I was afraid it might be so.
You Spaniards are
so vain and coarse.
You lack finesse.
Perhaps that is why
you rule the world...
for now.
We shall meet again.
I hope so.
I like you, Captain.
That is why I look forward
to fighting you.
Whenever you please, senor...
Malatesta.
Gualterio Malatesta of Palermo.
If you please.
Ah, I almost forgot...
A memento,
to keep me forever
in your thoughts.
Well?
The idea was
Friar Emilio Bocanegra's.
A secretary of the king's had
the assassins recruited and paid.
I see.
I see.
What more?
One was a Flanders veteran,
a protg of the Count of...
You may go.
This unites us forever.
Now you'll never be free of me.
I would die for you.
Some day you may.
Inigo.
You must be careful.
For a man, a woman's beauty
always ends in tyranny for a man.
'Tis the law of life.
I don't know you.
You will.
I need a favour of you.
Look after the captain,
I need him alive.
I should kill you now,
while you're still a lad.
What do you think?
I bought it from a Sevillian
painter who works for the king.
They say he can only paint heads
but I suspect he has talent.
Well...
Let's get down to business.
An important person
wishes to see you.
A serious matter?
It may be.
Well...
I've probably seen worse.
No.
You've never seen worse.
You cannot fence
your way out of this one.
It is Count-duke Olivares.
Be more honest with him
than you've been with me.
I'll try to be.
You will be.
That water was cold
as death, Your Excellency.
Yes...
But you never trembled.
I trembled inside, like everyone.
I'm not everyone.
I am a Spanish grandee.
In combat we are all equal.
You're wrong there, Alatriste.
Not even in combat
are we all equal.
God didn't want it so.
You should know that.
If you're going to see Olivares,
buy some new boots.
Well...
I've spent more than enough
time on you. I've things to do.
And don't forget the boots.
If you have no money,
ask my majordomo.
Thank you.
"Captain" is a nickname,
I presume.
Yes, Excellency.
I see you've served
in Naples and in Flanders
and against the Turks
in the Levante
and on the Barbary coast.
A long life as a soldier.
Since I was thirteen, Excellency.
Is it true that you saved the life
of a certain English traveller
when your companion
was about to kill him?
Excuse me, Excellency,
I don't remember.
It would be best
for you if you did.
As to who recruited you,
for instance.
I'm afraid I can't.
I have a terrible memory.
I see...
Call don Luis de Alquezar.
It seems, don Luis, that
a few days ago there was a plot
to teach two English gentlemen
a lesson.
As His Majesty's secretary
and a man acquainted
with court bureaucracy,
perhaps you have heard something?
I'm afraid I can be
of little use there, sir.
Well, you must be.
Perhaps the church...
The church is broad.
Might you mean Father Bocanegra?
Excellency, I...
You are right, don Luis.
The good Father is a saintly man.
As we all know.
Tell me...
Are your boots a sign of lack
of means or soldierly arrogance?
Both, Excellency.
As you see, don Luis,
senor Alatriste
is both poor and haughty.
But he also appears to be
brave, discreet
and trustworthy.
It would be a pity if some
misfortune were to befall him.
I would not wish it so.
I imagine you agree with me.
Of course, Excellency.
But with the kind of life
I imagine senor...
Batriste...
whatever his name, leads,
he must often
be exposed to danger.
No-one could then
take responsibility.
Naturally, don Luis.
In order to spare you any such
inconvenience, I have decided
that henceforth
you will serve your king
in the Indies.
Men like you are needed there.
You may begin preparations
for the voyage.
As for you...
Your former general,
Ambrosio Spinola,
wishes to win more battles
for us in Flanders.
It would be considerate of you
to be killed there, not here.
I'll bear that
in mind, Excellency.
Come with me.
For four long years
I've studied this map every night.
I know every port,
every canal, every estuary,
every fortress...
Flanders deprives me of my sleep.
Yet I've never been there.
It is the end of the world,
Excellency.
When the Lord God created Flanders,
he lit it with a black sun.
A heretic sun
that neither warms you nor dries
the rain that soaks you to the bone.
It is a strange land,
inhabited by strange people
who fear and despise us
and will never give us peace.
It deprives one
of more than sleep.
Flanders is hell itself.
Without Flanders
there's nothing, Captain.
We need that hell.
Breda, 1625. After one year's siege
by the Spanish
They're close now, curse it!
They'll blow our balls off
with their mines.
Keep down!
Sons of bitches!
Did you find eggs?
Yes.
How many?
Two.
Wine.
Clumsy!
Give me that.
I hear you had
a letter from the Indies.
Yes.
And who wrote to you,
if I may ask?
Angelica de Alquezar.
Alquezar...
A name that brings us bad luck.
I almost have him.
Give me that bread.
Do you have him or not, damn it!
Not now.
But he occasionally looks out.
I'll be ready the next time.
Shit!
Portuguese, see if
you can draw him out.
Dutchman!
Did you kill him?
One bastard less...
Another Dutchman
dead in mortal sin.
Like you when they kill you.
What did you say?
What did you say?
You can't fool me,
however much you cross yourself.
You Portuguese
are all half-Jews.
Do you want to die?
The Captain!
I bring orders.
Perhaps these gentlemen
have something to say.
No-one has anything to say.
I do.
I have three things
to say to Captain Bragado.
First, I don't care who I fight.
Turks, Dutchmen
or whoever fathered them.
And the other two things?
Second, we haven't been given
clothing and we're dressed in rags.
I see.
And the third thing?
Third and most important of all...
Stay there.
Third, these gentlemen
have not received their pay
for five months. Five months!
No-one has received their pay.
Neither you gentlemen nor I.
Nor the field marshal
nor General Spinola.
I thought I was talking
to Spaniards, not Germans.
Only soldiers of other nations
ask for their pay in advance.
What are the orders?
You are to go down
to the tunnels.
Sulphur!
Copons is missing.
Sebastian!
One's enough.
Diego!
Breda has surrendered.
Spit it out.
Spit it out.
Breda has surrendered.
Any booty?
No.
MADRID, 1O YEARS LATER
Excellency.
Excellency.
I'm Inigo Balboa.
You called for me.
For Captain Alatriste.
Urgent.
Port Caleta, Cadiz.
Landing of Flanders veterans
Come on!
Mother!
What are you doing here?
My son, I have some bad news.
Bad news!
Look who's here.
I thought you were in Madrid.
I've a letter from the palace.
Work?
I suppose so.
If you need us,
you know where, Diego.
Won't you open it?
What for? They always want us
for the same thing.
How are you?
Worse.
You look well.
How are things at the court?
I can't complain.
How was the voyage?
Hectic. We ran into
a Dutch fleet and, well...
you know I don't
much like fighting at sea.
I know.
Tell me,
what's happened in Madrid
while I've been away?
There's to be war with France.
So they say.
Don Francisco's married a widow.
God, no!
And Velazquez's finished
"The Surrender of Breda".
Have you seen it?
He changed the flags for lances.
And well, softened
the attitudes somewhat.
But it's a grand painting.
You'll love it.
I'm sure.
Anything else?
Angelica de Alquezar
has returned to Spain.
There'll be killing
and plenty of it.
I only have two hands.
Four.
We'll see about that.
Why?
I said we'll see.
What's the work?
I'm just a go between.
Guadalmedina has the details.
But there'll be no lack of gold.
The commission is private
but the command is sovereign.
What an honour!
With such high-ranking
personages involved,
it must be that someone
has stolen more than they should.
You've been away too long, Captain.
Someone always steals
more than they should.
Yes.
We'll meet later.
Of course.
The ship is the "Virgen de Regla".
She has 2,OOO ingots
of undeclared gold in her hold.
Have they nothing
to say in customs?
I find you rather naive
this evening, Diego.
Bribes keep mouths shut
and minds open.
That includes
high-ranking courtiers.
The plan is that
before unloading
officially in Seville, the ship
will anchor offshore and the gold
be transferred to a Flemish boat,
the "Niklaasbergen".
And I suppose that for
the gold to return to the king,
the Flemish boat will have
to be boarded. Am I right?
What I like about you is that you
never need things explained twice.
And once the gold's
been returned to the king,
where will it go?
I don't understand you.
I'm asking, Excellency,
if the gold will go for the work
on the Buen Retiro Palace
or to pay the wages
of the soldiers who die in Flanders
or are to die in France.
You drink too much, Alatriste.
Words cost little.
What did you say to her?
How, Teodoro,
do men pay amorous
compliments to women?
As if you were in love,
you dress a thousand lies in truth,
and hardly that.
Yes, but with what words?
Strangely do you press me,
my lady.
"Those eyes," I said,
"those lovely orbs are the light
with which my own eyes see..."
And, "The coral and pearls
of your celestial mouth..."
Celestial?
Such things are the primer
of all who love and desire.
Your taste is bad, Teodoro.
You disappoint me.
Marcela's good points
are outnumbered by her flaws.
She is not clean in her person...
But I would not want you
to stop loving her, though
a few things I could tell you...
But let's say no more
of her charms or lack of them.
I want you to love and marry her.
Now, as you think yourself
an expert on love, counsel me.
And so possess Marcela.
Now that friend of mine
has no rest for she's in love
with a man of lowly station
and "twould be
dishonourable to love him.
Yet were she to lose him,
she'd be consumed by jealousy.
And he, unsuspecting
of her love, is shy
and treats her with deference.
Hello, lad.
You've grown.
You're a man.
I thought you dead.
Maybe I am.
That wouldn't surprise me.
We'll meet again, I imagine.
Count on it.
Then we'll see
whether you're alive...
or dead.
Would it not be best
to have him killed?
It's been a long time.
Very long.
What have you been doing
all these years?
Killing heretics
and writing verses.
And are those verses
worthy of reading?
No, I don't think so.
But it was the only way
of imagining you.
I see you still know
how to talk to women.
I thought I'd never see you again.
They say you're still
with that captain.
Of course.
I have plans for you, Inigo.
The trouble is...
that I also have plans for you.
Teodoro,
you're leaving.
And I love you.
I leave because of your cruel ways.
You know me,
what am I to do?
-Do you weep?
-No.
There's something in my eye.
Is it love?
Yes, it must be.
It's been there some time
but now it's out.
I leave, my lady,
but my soul does not.
I must leave without it.
I've done
no wrong loving you, for your beauty
commands the very soul.
Command me, for I am yours.
-What a sad day!
-I leave, my lady, I leave
but my soul does not.
Do you weep?
No, there's something in my eye,
as was in yours.
My tears brought yours on.
That must be the case.
A thousand childish things
I've put in a chest for you.
Forgive me, I had to.
If you open it,
be sure to say, as if they were
the spoils of some victory,
"Diana put those there
with tears in her eyes."
Did you like the play?
You were marvellous.
Have you seen
what the king sent me?
He'll expect
something in return.
Don't talk of your king like that.
Yes,
he's my king.
But there are kings and kings
and this one should govern.
One day they'll kill you, my love.
Maybe.
My husband's dying.
I'm sorry.
Yes, poor thing.
And when he dies,
I'll have to remarry.
I don't like living on my own.
I was thinking
that as you were
the first man I knew...
Maria, I'm dirt-poor.
I'll provide the money
and you the rest.
And your...
admirers?
Diego, I'm an actress
and I'm starting to age.
Spain's full of young girls
eager to take my place.
I need friends who'll protect me.
If we married,
I'd kill the first man
to approach you, whoever he was.
I'd end up on the gallows
and you a widow once more.
Don't be old-fashioned.
Anyway, what would you care?
You're not in love with me.
What do you know?
Make way!
"Thus on this day,
this sentence is read
to the prisoner
and tomorrow he will be taken
from prison on a mule
to the plaza de San Francisco,
where a gallows will be
erected for the occasion,
and there he shall be hanged
by the neck until he is dead.
This justice do I order done."
Signed by the king, our lord.
Do you need something?
Your advice.
I need men for a job.
Brave men and discreet.
All those here present are.
You can trust them all.
Trouble is, most of them
are serving long sentences.
I can get them all released.
Except you.
I'm sorry.
A pity.
Well...
Death's but a formality.
I have things to do.
I'll see you on the beach.
I'm not going.
Why not?
The Inquisition's after me.
They've already arrested
my father and my brother...
The torture...
I can't take it...
They've nothing on you.
You were a soldier
and are innocent.
Luis Pereira, I arrest you
in the name of the Holy Office.
God's will is done.
God has nothing to do with this.
Nothing!
You're late.
A matter detained me.
A matter of blood?
What did you want to tell me?
You seem in a hurry.
Perhaps my company discomforts you.
No, I have some business
to attend to.
You should know that you have
some inconvenient friends.
Friends who are enemies
of my friends.
Captain Alatriste
is my business.
Mine alone.
Stay with me.
I cannot.
You must not go
to that appointment.
Mustn't I?
Tell me why not.
Because I cannot marry a corpse.
This group will go first
and board the stern.
And the leaders?
Who will they be?
Sebastian will board
the prow, I'll be astern.
That's good with me.
Glad to hear it.
No prisoners are to be taken.
There will be no plunder.
And no-one...
under any circumstance,
is to go down into the hold.
Good luck.
Ambush!
Take cover!
Shit!
Shit!
I'm late. Sorry.
Diego...
We're fools.
Mother of God!
Diego.
It cannot be.
And you?
No.
A pity.
Yes.
I had to try.
You know that, don't you?
Yes, I know.
We all love once.
Or several times.
Then one day it stops happening.
And that's all.
As simple as that?
As difficult as that.
Look, Inigo...
She's true to her own kind.
And I to mine.
Really?
Tell me about it.
Angelica de Alquezar
is my business.
All right.
Sit down.
They wouldn't allow it,
even if she wanted to.
She has her obligations.
What do you mean by that?
That I too have mine?
God! There are rules.
What rules?
Those of a captain
who's not a captain?
Or those of a sword-for-hire
who kills even his friends?
I expect we'll meet in Madrid.
Well, well.
If it isn't Captain Alatriste!
I see your acts of charity
extend to visiting the sick.
I'm a good Catholic.
Have you come to kill me?
Or do you wait for the consequences
of your latest adventures
to catch up with you?
There's no need
to tell me anything.
I know full well
who's behind it all.
Then...
let us proceed.
I'd greatly appreciate your trying
to use that pistol or your sword.
Not a chance.
Can you really
not move from that bed?
Come, Captain.
You sound like a nun of St. Clare.
Don't let your conscience
trouble you now.
You're right.
Say your prayers.
I never waste my time
on such nonsense.
Go ahead.
Good day to your worship.
His Majesty wishes you
to have this chain.
Must I wait all day?
Why are you dressed as a man?
That's prohibited.
Would you have me come out at night
in a skirt and farthingale?
Do you still feel
resentful towards me?
I may have saved your life.
While I betrayed
those close to me?
I also lost some who were
close to me. Then we are even.
It's not the same, Angelica.
No.
But I'm sure you didn't call me
just to scold me.
The other day,
-you said...
-I know what I said.
And I maintain it.
But you'll agree that
it won't be an easy matter.
I know.
I expect you know
I'm lady-in-waiting to the queen
and that she is fond of me.
What is your point?
There is a vacancy for second
lieutenant in the Royal Guard...
but that time is not now.
What is now for?
Now is the time
to be free, Angelica.
You free from your obligations,
and I from mine.
There is a place where we can go.
Tomorrow a galleon
sets sail for Naples.
It will take passengers.
Don't do that.
I can't think.
l've spoken to the queen
and the vacancy is yours.
In 2 to 3 years
you could make captain...
We'd never have
to hide from people again.
Naples?
Yes.
Together.
Inigo, you must take that vacancy.
No.
Then there's no more to be said.
From this moment on,
you are dead to me.
God! It's cold as a Lutheran!
Yes, it is.
It chills the soul.
Look what we've become, Captain.
Now a country of beggars,
once the centre of the universe.
I curse the day I placed my pen
at the service of Olivares,
that tyrant and descendant of
the Jews who now suck Spain dry.
Calm down.
Calm down, you say?
Haven't you heard
the news of the war in France?
While Cardinal Richelieu
spurs his king to lead his armies,
Olivares has turned ours into
a prisoner and a palace puppet,
while he robs the poor
and humiliates our nobles.
Come now, don Francisco.
Our infantry need money,
not a king to lead them.
The money those "humiliated" nobles
spend on festivities and hunts.
And as for the poor,
what can I say?
In Spain, poverty
has always been commonplace,
whoever governs, whether
count-dukes or Virgin Marys.
So now you support Olivares?
Come, don Francisco.
We've known each other
too long for that.
Yes, that's true.
My apologies, Captain.
You know I did not mean it.
Yes, I know.
Take my arm,
the ground is icy.
Any news of Inigo?
Yes.
But you won't like it.
This is a very valuable piece.
Pure Indies gold.
Rest assured,
I did not steal it.
I believe you but even so...
I don't want you to buy it,
only to exchange it for a necklace.
You could exchange this chain
for several necklaces.
Maybe so, but I only need one.
You'll lose in the exchange.
That's my business.
A necklace for a lady...
That's right.
The lady in question must be...
truly beautiful.
Am I right?
You are right.
So much the better.
That makes things easier.
I would not abuse your trust...
but would I be
mistaken in assuming
that with this gift
Your Worship is thinking of,
shall we say...
a future with this lovely lady?
No.
You would not be mistaken.
Then it can only be this one.
Good morning, Diego.
Can we talk?
We can.
I am charged to give you a warning.
Well, here I am.
You must change mares, Diego.
The saddle's occupied.
By whom?
I cannot tell you.
- By whom?
- No.
I said by whom!
I cannot tell you, Diego.
I beg you not to proceed.
Who says so?
One who can.
I would not argue with
Your Excellency. Let me pass.
She cannot and will not see you.
That's for me to confirm.
Would you ruin
your life for an actress?
Her occupation matters not.
You'll have to kill me first.
Move aside,
or I shall.
Alba, Varela, Sessa
and don Fadrique now oppose him.
Even Guadalmedina
has distanced himself.
Olivares' time has come.
His days are numbered.
You must stay away
from court conspiracies.
Donate 1OO, OOO ducats
to the war with France.
That will satisfy the king
and appease the tyrant,
who by now must
have heard of your actions.
Prudence is now the best policy.
The count-duke could crush us
and no-one would lift
a finger to help us.
Not even the queen.
You are not a Grandee.
But you will be one soon.
As will your children
and your children's children.
The queen wishes you
to marry Count Guadalmedina.
Inigo, I must inform you
of a grave matter.
The queen and my uncle want me
to marry the Count of Guadalmedina.
My heart is yours alone. Should you
still wish to run away to Naples,
come to my house tonight.
My servant will bring you to me.
Obviously,
in spite of what I said,
you are not dead to me.
Inigo, l'm afraid.
If we don't run away now,
all will be misfortune.
We'll go to a place
where they'll never find us.
A place where we'll be nothing.
No-one.
Just you and I.
We would live in sin.
There is no sin, Angelica.
There has never been any.
It is they who are sin.
She's only a woman, Captain.
l'm not doing this
for her but for myself.
The king is the king...
The king is a son of a bitch.
You should leave Madrid.
Kings are vindictive,
I should know.
Guadalmedina is a Grandee
and you've crossed swords
with him...
Tomorrow l'll make my apologies.
I hope he accepts them.
Even if he did,
you should leave Madrid.
And you too.
There are certain rumours...
Yes, 'tis true.
I have recently written verses
that could complicate matters...
But l'm too old to hide,
especially from that...
Good luck, Captain.
And to you.
Diego,
l'm a man of few words.
Yes.
l'm going home.
With what l've saved I want
to buy some land and find a wife.
Come with me if you like.
That was more than a few words.
O Catholic, holy
and royal Majesty,
made by God a deity on earth,
a simple, poor, honest old man
pleads, prostrate,
in silent humility before you.
I needs must speak
and do pray heaven
that my zeal
obtain its just reward.
A minister you have
of nobility and valour
whose only wish
is that you should reign...
Sire.
Behold, Philip IV,
famous the world over,
open thy generous heart
and give us an heir.
From him who never tires
of taking bread from the poor,
who devalues our coin, who sells thy
realm and would sell God Himself,
deliver us!
Deliver us, Sire,
from all evil.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
But you will be
a Grandee of Spain,
and your children...
and your children's children.
Your children...
and your children's children...
Diego...
Don Francisco
was arrested last night.
The Prison of San Marcos.
Then it's all over.
We should have kept
that gold for ourselves.
Maybe.
I presume you gentlemen
are familiar
with the laws of gambling.
Then there's no need to say that
the price for debt default is death.
Very well, then.
This is the situation...
Senor Balboa owes 2OO ducats
and says he cannot pay.
He also says
he doesn't care if we kill him.
However, l've heard
that Your Worship
would care if he lost his life.
Yes, I would care.
Then we all win.
Senor Balboa,
in spite of himself,
will keep his life
and we shall recover our money,
as long as you, of course,
pay the debt.
Is that possible?
It is possible.
We're no experts in jewels.
We only accept coin.
Like this?
Sebastian...
What?
Diego, I owe you an explanation.
Meet me at the cloister
of Las Minillas.
You're under arrest, Diego!
Disarm him.
Surrender or l'll kill you.
One question, Martin.
With whose rod of office
will your widow now console herself?
What?
Cuckold!
Martin...
So good to see you
fighting, Captain.
It's been some time.
l've missed you.
Yes, and the whore
that bore you.
Enough merriment.
Diego.
Are you alive?
I think so.
Don't cough, you bastard,
or you'll bleed to death.
You didn't mean it, did you?
What?
What you said.
About me being a cuckold.
Of course I didn't.
I said it to annoy you.
You know me.
It's always the same...
Fuck!
l'm dying.
Martin.
Have you ever stopped to consider
that we always end up
killing each other?
Shit life.
Diego, they forced me to do it.
They forced me to do it.
l've been expecting you, lad.
Let's go.
Just a moment.
If you'll be so kind...
Will you be back for supper?
I don't know.
You know there's
nothing after death?
Yes.
There's the rub.
As you can imagine, don Luis,
my services to the king
have not been without cost.
Excellency, everyone
knows of your deep dedication
to upholding the reputation
of our monarchy
and defending the true faith.
Thus, I have decided
that my niece's dowry shall be
on a par with your generosity.
As you will see, Your Excellency,
I have included
the silver mines in Tasco,
the lands in Aragon...
Excellency, regarding
that Captain Alatriste...
Excellency...
No.
I don't want him to die.
If you'll allow me, Excellency,
I have an idea.
'Spain did kill and imprison
him who made a slave of fortune.
They mourned his envies,
one by one,
foreign nations with our own.
His grave, the campaigns in Flanders
and his epitaph,
the blood-red moon.'
'And his epitaph,
the blood-red moon.'
They say the prison of San Marcos
is the coldest in all Spain.
Yes, that's what they say.
Do you remember me?
Yes.
Senor Malatesta said that were he to
die first, I should give you this.
He also said you could keep me
if you so desired.
Thank you.
That's not necessary.
As you wish.
It was pleasant
seeing you both again.
And you.
Madrid. Syphilitics hospital
Diego, what are you doing here?
I wanted to see you.
I should have married you.
What's going on?
He's under arrest
in the name of the king.
What's he accused of?
Of spying for France.
You cannot enter.
His Excellency is in Italy.
I come to see the countess.
What are you doing here?
I come to ask a favour of you.
I need you to give this letter
to Count-duke Olivares.
I tried to take it to him but they
wouldn't let me into the palace.
It's about Inigo.
He's been on
the galleys for a year.
Thank you, Excellency.
Don't call me "Excellency".
I hate it.
Inigo always called me Angelica.
Don't weep, madam.
Excellency, don't weep.
Inigo is strong.
He'll survive.
I must weep, Captain.
Betrayal is a stain
that never ages.
Judas hanged himself
but l'm not so brave.
That is why I weep.
l'll give the letter
to the Count-duke.
The honour and reputation
of Spain are lost, Captain.
The Lord God
has forsaken us.
Excellency...
There's no other explanation.
All is misfortune.
Casale should have been taken,
Turin saved, Arras relieved,
and the Catalans and Portuguese
should never have rebelled
against their king.
This is the most wretched year
the monarchy has ever seen.
Excellency,
the letter I sent you...
Yes.
The letter.
The letter.
l've read it.
But the evidence was conclusive.
The young man was a French spy.
Excellency...
But all is not lost.
Richelieu is ill
and the Dutch want peace.
If the Cardinal Infante's troops...
He's the orphaned son of one
of your soldiers, I raised him...
l've said all
I have to say, Captain.
You may go.
"Letter to the Cardinal Infante..."
Excellency...
'Sir...
Letters from Flanders...'
Excellency!
Look me in the eye.
Inigo Balboa.
The king has pardoned you.
Let's go home, son.
ROCROI, MAY, 1643
THE CARTAGENA INFANTRY REGIMEN AFTER EIGHT HOURS OF BATTLE
Fire!
Take aim!
Fire!
Fire!
Spain!
Pikes!
Don't you write any more?
No, not any more.
This writing thing...
you never forget how?
No.
No.
Soldier.
Sir.
You are?
Alatriste, Excellency.
I remember.
Didn't I reward you
with eight escudos
for saving a sergeant major
at Nordlingen?
They lowered it to four,
Excellency.
Well, well...
Bad luck, soldier.
Yes, bad luck, Excellency.
Bragado!
Diego...
If I can't, you go on.
Gentlemen.
The Duke of Enghien
considers that you have fought
with valour beyond words.
Therefore
he offers you
an honourable surrender.
You may keep
your flags
and leave the field
in formation.
What say you?
Tell the lord duke of Enghien
that we appreciate his words,
but this is
a Spanish regiment.
Diego...
This is as far as I can go.
Inigo.
Tell them of our exploits.
Veterans, to vanguard!
New soldiers, to rearguard!
He was not the most honest man nor
the most pious, but he was brave.
His name was Diego Alatriste
and he had fought with
the infantry regiments in Flanders.
When I met him, he was surviving
in Madrid on unsavoury tasks,
often renting his sword
for 4 maravedis to others