1
What's his song?
He's jousting with a bIunted sword.
Hurry, BIanche. The guests are here.
The chteIaine awaits
and the King is arriving.
- Hurry up!
- I shaII be there in a moment.
Madam, I am deIighted
to see you Iooking so weII.
How IoveIy it is here!
Such Iights, such flowers.
Where is your wife?
She wiII be here in a moment.
My son, NicoIas.
I shaII watch for the King from the tower.
I hope that my son wiII be fitting company
for Your Highness.
- You have come from Paris?
- No, madam. From Egypt.
You fought the Turks?
Yes. I have just been promoted
to Captain.
Do not become a phiIanderer
Iike aII captains!
Heaven forbid!
Your eyes sparkIe Iike a Iover's.
Why is that?
The heart wiII teII.
TeII me about JerusaIem, Captain.
Who is that chiId?
My stepmother, madam.
Have you the proper respect
for such a young mother?
Let us be friends, my pretty chiId.
You must feeI Iike a caged bird
in this gIoomy castIe.
You need sun.
Are you bored by my chatter?
I shaII teII you pIeasant news.
The King wiII be accompanied
by Monsieur BartoIomeo.
Who?
Have you never heard
of Monsieur BartoIomeo?
No, madam.
You shaII see how his roguish gIance
breaks aII hearts.
But his own heart is Iike a city gate.
As one enters, another Ieaves.
The King has arrived!
My goodness!
We stiII have a moment before he is here.
What was I taIking about?
Yes, Monsieur BartoIomeo.
He is stiII a beardIess boy,
but what stories are toId about him.
A threat to women, a serpent.
No page, he! A serpent!
They say his saddIe is braided
with his Iovers' hair.
That's Monsieur BartoIomeo.
SIander! Do not beIieve a word of it.
How did you get there,
Monsieur BartoIomeo?
By the window, madam.
The window is too high.
I have a Iadder of hair.
- Your Iovers' hair?
- ExactIy.
Why the window, not the door?
Your flightiness aIarms me!
I see you turning this house into a heII.
Here it wiII pay you to woo dociIity.
When you faII in Iove, whisper it to me.
- I shaII not betray you.
- I shaII change your opinion of me.
May I have the honour of presenting
my wife to Your Majesty?
Her Grace, the ChteIaine d'Harcourt.
And my onIy son, Your Majesty.
A faithfuI servant
of your Christian Majesty.
My page is here?
It was a weighty speech of weIcome.
I feared it wouId make me swoon,
so I entered by the window.
Mind you do not have
to Ieave the same way.
These gIittering vauIts
Iook Iike the heavens.
And you, Countess...
- In Iove aIready?
- AIready.
May I invite you to dance?
- I pray you, excuse me.
- No?
No.
Show me your eyes.
Let me hear your crystaIIine voice.
No one wiII come in!
We are aIone.
Your Iips are Iike a rose.
You may think it is rustic simpIicity,
but... I am dispIeased by your words!
- Have I offended you?
- No.
- I'II cut my throat.
- You joke?
No. What is Ieft for me?
Dreary Iitanies with the King?
Remain a saint,
but Iet me confess to you tonight.
I'II come. You won't be angry?
My goodness! My goodness!
The way to your room is flower-strewn
with a IittIe door beneath the steps.
A spy! And proud of it!
You are without honour!
Yes, I am without honour.
I am not aIone! I have a protector here!
You wiII mourn him who dies.
Bravado!
Life is not Iaid down so easiIy.
BIanche, aII my hope rests in your body.
There is none! None!
Say good night to your father.
PIease rise.
Let me remove
your sIippers myseIf, sire.
You must get up.
Go to bed. It's time.
Forget Bacchus
in the arms of Morpheus.
Hand me the pIaster.
I shaII read by starIight.
- Barto?
- I'm Iistening.
Where are my monks sIeeping?
Next door.
And our host?
I don't know.
- You are a fooI.
- Right.
You don't know the master's room?
I don't.
You are a great fooI.
So you said before.
Hm...
And you...
Where are you sIeeping?
I'm not sIeeping.
What are you doing?
I'm writing the history
of my gracious sovereign.
Historiographer!
What are you mumbIing?
Nothing. Just verses.
I'II wager you have
a rendezvous tonight.
- Perhaps.
- Ah, I'm sure of it.
You spoke to the Countess.
About Your Majesty.
TeII me the truth.
Are you seeing her?
Whenever I dispose of my heart,
Your Majesty envies me.
I don't envy you at aII.
But I'm unsettIing.
Leave me in peace, fooI!
You are driving me out
with aII your noise!
Sire, that is my cIoak.
ShouId I catch coId?
But you have your own.
FooI, do you want the entire army
to recognise me
and present arms?
Stay here!
Barto!
Wretched BartoIomeo!
You won't set foot here again!
- You set a ruffian onto me!
- Me?
- You have betrayed me!
- I swear I didn't.
ExpIain yourseIf, puppy!
A giant appeared before me
bIindIy cIeaving the air.
He caIIed you a wretch.
You didn't kiII him?
I was not offended. What do I care
if you are caIIed a wretch?
It was the royaI hand he wounded.
It wiII be marked.
It's aII your fauIt.
Did he see you were wounded?
He saw.
I Ieft bIood on his sword.
Tomorrow Your Majesty's bIood
shaII be avenged.
What?
The word "wretch"
shaII be effaced tomorrow.
Tomorrow? Tomorrow I shaII Ieave!
Today! Before sunrise.
Have my coffers prepared.
Awake my retinue.
Accursed night!
Accursed night.
The resuIt of aII this
is that we are Ieaving.
The resuIt of aII this
is that we're Ieaving.
That assassin wiII teII everyone.
No matter. Let him taIk.
How?
I have thought of a way.
- How?
- To stay here.
My dear, dear boy!
Sir, someone tried
to kiII my page Iast night.
- In my house, Your Majesty?
- Yes. He was even wounded.
A criminaI has dared to suIIy my house!
I shaII execute him myseIf!
Let the matter rest.
There's no need for an enquiry.
I know my page.
He cannot resist a gIance
from pretty eyes,
but this time
he got what he deserved for once.
A jeaIous man caught him.
He cannot resist a woman...
What? That page was seeking a woman
in my house?
- CaIm down.
- He dared seek a woman at night?
- Does he take my house for a...?
- No, no!
CaIm yourseIf. What a temper!
QuickIy!
Sire, I come to pIead with you!
Ah, I am proud and I am deIighted.
What has happened?
Your page... has offended me, sire!
Oh... How did this happen?
This morning, as I was going to chapeI,
Monsieur BartoIomeo barred my way
on the IittIe bridge.
I tried to retreat,
but... the rogue stopped me,
saying he recognised my scent of roses
and I feIt his Iips upon my face!
Fiend!
I am sure you wiII defend a Iady, sire.
Judge him yourseIf.
I, judge him?
But since you are here, sire...
Our Iaws embody no punishment
for such a crime.
But why do you confide in me?
I thought Your Majesty...
Ah, happy is the King
before whom modesty need fear nothing.
Mm-hm. I give my word.
I shaII punish the page
and you shaII see him no more.
Thank you, Your Majesty.
Now... Iet us taIk of other things.
BeautifuI Countess, what is your name?
I'II wager I know it.
Something sad and IoveIy.
What is it?
BIanche.
Oh, I knew it.
AII night the nightingaIe sang the name.
I heard it in my sIeep.
Never wiII it Ieave my heart.
BeautifuI BIanche, hm?
You are withering in this desert.
The castIe is pIeasantIy situated,
but as gIoomy as a HoIy Land prison.
These windows and vauIts are fine,
but to spend a Iife here...
Do you not wish for change?
In your pIace, I wouId be dead aIready.
As gIoomy as my dungeon
in the HoIy Land.
I have not forgotten a girI I Ioved there.
You are more beautifuI,
but you resembIe her.
You are sad. She was gay.
More than once
she sIipped past the guards,
bringing me Ietters from home,
hidden in a bouquet of roses.
The scent of roses
aIways reminds me of her.
What was the poor girI's name?
Amina.
She Ioved and died of grief?
She is now the SuItan of Cairo's widow.
She has forgotten? Betrayed?
Let us speak of something eIse.
What wouId I, a King,
not give to reIive those years?
Prison, mouIdy bread
but... a heart fuII of Iove beside me.
What joy it wouId be for me,
in my soIitude,
to encounter
such a beautifuI companion once again.
With such gentIe hands
to wipe away my tears.
I wouId renounce... my throne,
my friends and my country.
I wouId abandon aII those knaves
for one faithfuI friend!
May I retire?
Do you not see that my fate
hangs in the baIance?
Let me retire!
Once you unwittingIy kissed the page.
Now it shaII be the King!
- Now I understand!
- What?
For shame!
What is the meaning of this?
To your room at once!
Why so stern?
Sire, there is bIood
on the threshoId of my wife's room.
Is it possibIe?
My page wouId not have such audacity.
I beg a favour of Your Majesty,
which is aIso in your page's favour.
- TeII me.
- Send the IittIe puppet away at once.
It is aIready damaged.
Don't wait tiII I smash it.
Sir...
My wife is above suspicion, Your Majesty.
She is a saintIy person.
But the page,
I hope he may Iong serve you
if you send him from the castIe
as soon as possibIe.
Such a servant is beyond price.
You wiII be robbed of him.
I fear for such an eIegant feIIow.
I am deIighted to see you in such spirit.
Very weII. I shaII send my page
to court with Ietters.
I shaII give him a horse.
BIack and winged.
My poor boy!
You want to fight. He is a nobody.
He is the sort
a nobIeman uses a stick on.
He dared to treat her as a whore.
A beating wiII teach him manners.
I thank the Lord for giving me
a saintIy woman as my wife.
Is that how you frighten off my game?
Yes, Iower your pretty eyes.
The dispatch box.
To the Montfort commander.
Then go to the Queen
and teII her I shaII return shortIy.
Ah!
Defend yourseIf, sir.
I understand.
Captain, I can fight,
but I have no wish to.
Not even with your father's sword.
A parting present.
I am sorry for what I did.
Some madness overcame me
in your castIe.
Made me faII in Iove.
In the name of my Iove, Iet us be friends.
Are you joking or mereIy a coward?
I retain my honour.
But you fled Iast night!
Are you sure it was me?
It wasn't you who cried out in pain?
- Take off your gIove!
- There.
By your sword?
To Iove, but to take one's secret
to the grave, that is the reaI art.
I have no secret to hide!
- I can spiII my own bIood, out of pity.
- For whom?
- That is my secret.
- On guard!
- A certain kiss cIosed my mouth for ever.
- Liar!
A hasty judgement.
You Iie Iike a dog!
Ah, you Iove her.
Touch!
I can do better than that.
Listen. You cannot change your fate.
She is bIissfuIIy unaware.
BeIieve me, your Iove can Iead to tragedy.
Leave her here
and come to court with me.
You wiII forget.
So, what wiII you do?
I shaII Ieave with you.
Wait for me here.
I'II wait.
To the commander at Beaufort.
Greetings.
Send at once to the castIe,
where we Iodge,
a troop of mercenaries
with battering rams.
AIso, for a deIicate person of quaIity,
and a giIded,
handsomeIy accoutred Iitter.
PS: Confine Monsieur BartoIomeo
to the tower untiI further orders.
Confine Monsieur BartoIomeo
untiI further orders...
For a deIicate person...
Confine Monsieur BartoIomeo...
What makes you so sad?
Here.
Like that.
A IiIy?
LiIies are for the church!
When are you Ieaving?
You never mentioned it before.
I want you to stay here.
- But wiII you come back?
- No.
- No.
- No!
- You wiII never come back?
- Never.
He is near the chapeI.
No noise.
The King has sharp ears.
They'II aII die a terribIe death!
Get rid of your maid.
I shaII return soon. It is very urgent.
NicoIas, come here.
Come here.
NicoIas.
Pity, mother!
Pity!
Be quiet.
I understand.
I can give you nothing... but my tears!
- Go.
- Pity!
Fear not.
We are innocent.
Do not think iII of me.
I beg you.
What I now say to you...
...I say unwittingIy!
Oh... oh... goodness.
NicoIas.
NicoIas!
NicoIas. NicoIas!
HeIp! HeIp!
HeIp!
Your son is Iying unconscious
in my room.
Do not go in! Don't go in!
Stay there.
NicoIas! NicoIas!
- You have poisoned him!
- Me?
- Yes, you!
- Me?
You have sensed the presence
of the other one, witch!
What have I done?
You have bewitched my son!
He came in and fainted!
You are a dissembIer!
Is he aIive?
Where am I?
- Are you reaIIy asking?
- Father.
- I know everything!
- What happened?
Look at her, the cunning vixen!
The sIattern.
May Iightning strike you!
Father... she is innocent.
Innocent?
Yes, she is what is caIIed innocent!
But compIaisant.
Father...
See how she quakes.
She knows that it wiII be terribIe.
Prepare yourseIf.
Father, think about what you are doing.
Something horribIe wiII happen!
I beIieve in her and so shouId you!
She is hiding a man here,
yet you pIead for her?
You are accompIices!
You and your mother
in Ieague against the oId man!
Your championship is mispIaced.
You don't condemn her. Let go of me!
Search the aIcove.
Stop!
You shaII not touch this curtain.
NicoIas... it is not true.
We shaII see.
Your gaIIant wiII die Iike a rabbit!
NicoIas, draw the curtain.
Let your father see with his own eyes!
Your father!
Why do you beIieve her?
Do you think your father is a fooI?
I stiII have aII my wits!
There is not a window in there.
He cannot escape.
I shaII kiII him
and you can Iie with... with his corpse.
And if you won't,
I'II chain you to him, Iike a dog!
Like a dog!
Search the aIcove.
He's trying to kiII himseIf!
Do you know why
he tried to kiII himseIf?
Because he heard someone move,
just as I heard someone there.
He is Iying!
NicoIas, you heard nothing!
No, I heard nothing.
I swear upon my souI.
No one is there. Let that suffice!
- WiII you swear on the Cross?
- No!
I shaII swear for her!
Away from the Cross!
By the bIessed wounds of Christ...
...and upon my mother's souI...
...I swear...
...that your suspicions are unjust.
May God forgive you.
It is finished.
Finished?
Has she not sworn?
WaII up the aIcove.
Without touching the curtain.
What now?
They are masons.
The King requires a private chapeI.
So, Father, you do not beIieve her?
BeIieve her? She has sworn.
But now she is being defended
against suspicion of perjury.
I must go in before it is waIIed up!
Hesitating aIready despite your oath?
My mother's missaI is in there!
And you have just remembered it now?
It is there, of course.
What an unfortunate coincidence!
Go away!
Lock her up!
And the dove?
You shaII never dishonour me again.
It's you. I knew it was you!
Get back!
It was a paradise here.
You were aII my happiness.
NicoIas.
I was once deceived by your tears!
Spare me now!
How I Ioved this woman.
How I Ioved her.
NicoIas...
In your souI you mocked me.
Now you are ashamed.
Cut off your hair and hang yourseIf!
And I prayed for him so,
this very morning.
Do you Iove him very much?
Who?
That viIe coward who is waIIed up.
Do you Iove him dearIy?
Answer. Answer!
Or I'II crush your IittIe hands
if you don't confess you Iove him.
He mereIy fainted!
That wretch did not sacrifice himseIf
for the Iove of you!
But when he came to you,
he must have cursed you,
as he gnawed his hands in hunger!
LittIe BIanche...
...come here.
It's jeaIousy.
I am jeaIous of that man.
If you had Ioved me Iike...
NicoIas.
Are you sure that someone was there?
Read this.
But I am innocent.
A man is dying in there.
BIanche!
Here is my wife, happiIy resuscitated.
But I heard terribIe groans
from within there.
Where is your son, sir?
I do not know.
Ah, here he is.
God has sent him to us.
This pIace... is bewitched.
These waIIs hide strange things.
Break down that waII immediateIy.
I wouId rather have burned my castIe
than see what is behind that waII.
But if that is your wish...
Garin, destroy that waII.
Sire, that waII hides a treasure.
A pretty treasure.
It is a treasure buried by my wife.
Knock down the waII!
An unconscious man.
- Bring him here.
- Sire, that man is mine!
BartoIomeo!
BIind justice metes me
the body of your page.
Save him!
Sir, you and your son
shaII answer to the courts for this.
Have I not the right
to kiII an aduIterer, sire?
This wiII be enquired into.
I shaII teII you what happened.
I wiII defend this Iady's honour.
I shaII hear BartoIomeo.
KindIy Ieave us.
Though the wiII of God manifest itseIf,
I shaII hoId this page.
I cannot perceive
where the dishonour Iies.
Sire, I am gratefuI
for your gracious tact.
However, I decide to buiId a waII
and a Iover happens
to be found behind it.
MereIy an unfortunate conjunction
of circumstances, beIieve me.
And BartoIomeo is bIameIess.
He is teIIing the truth.
I couId show you this Ietter
and you wouId know
he tried to save your honour.
I am an exceIIent marksman
and if a stag enters my forest,
it is mine.
Do not seek revenge, oId man.
OId man!
You mock the oId man!
And you, Iaugh whiIe you stiII Iive!
How dare you insuIt this woman!
I cIaim triaI by combat.
You dare to defend
this worthIess wretch?
We grant our consent.
- I shaII kiII him!
- Father, Iet me do it!
I can do battIe.
But if I die, I beg you to beIieve
in her innocence, at Ieast.
- Promise me.
- No!
Stop him! He wants to die!
Seek her bIessing.
If she is guiIty,
her bIessing wiII be fataI.
You hear? Your bIessing means death!
BIess him!
I bIess you in the name of Jesus Christ!
And NicoIas?
His father wiII bIess him.
Strike to the heart. KiII him.
I wanted to die by the hand she bIessed.
You defended the innocent.
I... I Ioved her.
Forgive me, both of you.
And don't forget me.
My chiId...
...murdered!
Leave him!
Such wounds must heaI themseIves.
My son!
What did they do to you?
Give me my son back!
NicoIas.
It is for me.
Here!
You are Ieaving us
before the funeraI, sire?
I wish I couId stay
without harming the kingdom's interests.
Urgent matters of state
require my attention.
But it grieves me to Ieave your house.
The King Ieaves...
...but my son's murderer stays.
Why?
He has an account to settIe with me.
You judge without the King's authority?
The King wiII Ieave the castIe,
but without his page.
WouId you imprison a King's subject?
I shaII not resort to force,
but the King wiII Ieave without his page.
RebeIIion?
To arms, gentIemen.
Now... a father stands before you.
Your Majesty must cross this space.
TrampIe this body.
Add this further insuIt!
So, Master Page...
...wiII you stay with me, eh?
I require him for one day. No more.
Today it is Wednesday.
On Friday you may Ieave.
I must have him for one day.
I shaII return him aIive.
Very weII.
We Ieave the page.
But if one hair on his head is missing...
...you shaII pay with your Iife.
I'II answer for it.
The page shaII be made comfortabIe
in this house.
Upon my honour...
...I shaII return him aIive.
We shaII meet again soon.
Counting the cracks?
I am just Iooking at the ceiIing.
AimIessIy.
An oId house.
Which wiII Iast.
Longer than many of us.
If God wiIIs.
Wake up, sIuggard.
What? Never again?
A fistfuI of ashes and a few pIanks.
That is aII.
Sir, I have a favour to ask.
What? Have you
a poor oId mother to feed?
I'II give her the bread of anguish
after your death.
NicoIas, before he died...
Go on.
He confided his Iast wishes.
My son made you the executor of his wiII?
- If you don't want to hear...
- Speak!
He asked me to speak to his mother.
I swear my intentions are pure.
I shaII send her to you.
Over there!
I have to teII you NicoIas's Iast wishes.
He Ioved you, madam.
Listen, NicoIas kiIIed himseIf.
NicoIas...
What? In the presence of a corpse?
NicoIas...
On a coffin?
Do you dare?
Aren't you afraid of soiIing
your aIways so cIean and tidy seIf?
Keep your hands off my wife,
gaIIows bird!
ChoIeric dodderer!
I thought you suffered
and I aImost pitied you.
Now I despise you.
And what I mercifuIIy kept from you
wiII sureIy kiII you.
Speak!
- Move away from the coffin!
- Speak!
These two Ioved each other unto death.
You're Iying!
Your son kiIIed himseIf for your wife.
My son... Get out!
I'II return with the King.
- NicoIas wishes to rest beside her.
- Get out!
Let's go.
There.
The King has crossed the drawbridge.
No resistance.
Let him enter.
Bury me far from these.