Steaming water.
Strange trees.
Laughing children.
Her skin...
those eyes.
Why should I tell you about it?
Why now?
Maybe I just need
to tell someone...
and maybe it's you.
I guess it all began
when I came back home
on leave from the army...
when I first saw Helene.
When are you going?
I leave Thursday.
And when will you be back?
One day, I'll have
a whole garden of these-
hundreds, thousands.
To make her happy,
I would have knelt down
and started planting
a garden that very day.
Oh.
But I had
a military career to pursue.
My father insisted.
Things are heating up in Austria.
I think it will come
to a head by summer.
The outcome is inevitable.
They won't know what to do when
they're faced with
our military forces.
They will crumble like
a stale linzer torte.
What do you think, son?
More fish, dear?
The Austrians are fools, hmm?
I remember,
when I was in the military,
I couldn't stop thinking about her.
We used to say that
if the Austrian's ever
decided to attack,
we'd finish our lunch...
Then, someone came along
to solve my problem.
Can I help you?
Please, sir!
I'm sorry, your honor.
You may leave us.
What can I do for you,
Baldabiou?
You know
what this is?
Woman's stuff.
Wrong.
It's money, a man's stuff.
Really?
And why do I need to hear this?
I'm going to repair the silk mill.
The mill?
Where will you find the money?
That's my problem.
Just make sure no one
gets in my way.
Baldabiou repaired
the old silk mill in six months,
be careful.
or so I was told,
as I was still in the army.
Careful.
By the time I returned
the following year...
there were three more mills...
and more money than our town
had ever seen.
You know what that is?
Money.
Wrong. It's proof
that I was right.
Congratulations.
And what do you
want me to do now?
Nothing. You'll be the mayor
of a very rich town.
Marry me, Helene.
Mr. Baldabiou.
Herv.
I hear you would
like to speak with me.
Yes, but not here.
Do you play?
Uh, no.
Why me?
I need a young man,
a clever man.
Yes, but I'm
not looking for work.
It's not work I'm offering you.
I'm offering you a life.
A strange illness
has entered into the sheds.
Half the silkworms
are either sick or dead.
It's the same in Lyon,
The same everywhere,
as far as Turkey.
What is it?
Nobody knows,
but the clock is ticking.
We cannot solve the problem,
but we can get round it.
We have to. Otherwise,
this town will starve.
I need you to go
and get healthy eggs...
In Africa.
Africa?
I wish I could,
but my-my leave is up
in two days.
Uh, I have to return
to the barracks.
Who says so?
My father.
Your father?
I'll take care of him.
And he did.
In nomine patris,
Et filii,
Et spiritus sancti.
Amen.
Amen.
Two weeks
later, I gave up my uniform...
and I started a new life.
I thought love
would always be that easy.
What are you writing?
Nothing.
Nothing?
I just spoke
with Baldabiou.
I leave a week from tomorrow.
How long?
Weeks...
Maybe months.
Make it weeks.
That was 1862,
the year of the Great Snow.
I set off to Egypt
to get the eggs.
It took me a month
to find them...
and a little less to come back.
I knew nothing about silk
or how it was made.
All I new was that
I had to keep those tiny eggs
away from heat,
keep them clean,
and bring them back
before they'd hatched.
That's all I knew.
But back at the village,
someone else was about to hatch-
Ludovic Berbek.
Beatrice was so proud
to show off her baby that day.
Give me a child.
How was Africa?
We never talked about it.
It was beautiful.
Tired, but...
but very beautiful.
I have bad news.
I found dead worms.
Only a few, but, still, too many.
Seems the pbrine got
to Egypt before you did.
pbrine?
They've given it a name.
I need you to go to Japan.
Japan?
Where is that?
It's that way.
Just keep going
to the end of the world.
Let me show you.
They make the most
perfect silk there.
I held some in my hand once.
It was like holding nothing.
They've been making silk for over
a thousand years,
and they've never even heard
of a diseased egg.
It'll be a longer journey
this time.
Much longer.
Before I speak to the others,
I have to know that
you're ready for this.
But there's a risk.
The journey's long and dangerous,
And it's forbidden to travel
inland beyond Japan's harbors.
No Westerner has done it.
And, yet, a place
where no English broker
or Chinese trader can go
is a place where no
disease can enter.
And why should we succeed
where others have failed?
There's no evidence
that we will succeed,
But I have it from
a trustworthy source
That the Japanese are trading
their silk on the black market.
We're interested in making silk,
not buying it.
I want to send Herv
to trade for eggs, not silk.
But there's still no guarantee,
no matter how good the plan.
How much?
At best, 10,000 francs.
And at worst?
His life.
What is it?
I can't do this.
I cannot go.
But you've already said you would go.
I wasn't thinking...
about us.
I don't want you to give
this up because of me.
It's better than you going off
to fight some stupid war.
You'll be back by spring.
Don't forget.
My Japanese contact will
meet you in Vladivostok.
Yes.
And her letters for him.
He'll help you find
the village.
All you have to do
is bring back the eggs.
That's all?
Good luck.
I'll always love you.
I will always love you.
And so, I headed off
to the end of the world.
I crossed the border at Sgny.
Then I journeyed through
Europe.
I traveled by train
from Vienna...
Through Moravia...
And on to Kiev.
I hired a caravan
to cross the Russian steppes-
Three thousand miles
of ice and storm.
I had my Christmas dinner
at Lake Baikal,
And I thought of Helene...
always.
Then I followed the Amur River
along the Chinese border...
Until I reached the ocean.
I stopped eleven days
in Vladivostok,
Where a Japanese guide
handed me my disguise.
I sailed across the sea
on a smuggler's ship.
And, finally,
I reached the port of Sakata.
Strange...
and haunting.
The Mogami River.
The snows of Yamagata.
I climbed
the mountains of Shinobu,
Where new guides
were waiting for me.
And for the next three days,
we continued through the peaks.
Then, after countless freezing
days and sleepless nights...
I reached my destination.
Sakata, yes, yes.
I came...
Four.
Who are you?
My name is Herv Joncour.
I know that.
I am a man of trade.
That is not who you are.
That is what you do.
I am the man you see before you.
That is all.
I was born in a village
you've never heard of,
in a country
you've never seen.
I grew up like any child.
I was clothed and fed, educated.
I joined the army.
I left to marry
the woman I love.
And none of this is who I am.
The eggs you were given
are eggs of fish.
They are worth nothing.
I know that.
Is that why you paid
for them with fake gold?
I paid for what I bought.
When you leave here,
you will have what you want.
When I reach the limits
of your lands, alive...
you'll get all the gold
that's owed to you.
I give you my word.
Whoa.
Shh.
You're back.
I'm back.
On my return,
I was surprised to find
our life was still there,
just as I had left it...
but it was about to change.
Keep them closed.
They are closed.
We're almost there.
Careful.
I'm going to fall.
Don't open them.
No, I'm not. I'm not.
Now.
Oh, my.
Well, what is it?
It's your garden.
It's my garden?
Well, not quite.
Not... Yet.
For now, it's a plot of land,
our land.
And the house is also ours,
if you want it.
This is where
we'll grow old, Helene.
But, I don't understand.
The eggs have hatched.
They're perfect.
This year's production
will be huge,
and Baldabiou has
already paid us our share.
We are rich, Helene.
I mean, we're very, very rich.
All this for such tiny eggs.
And the eggs became worms.
And the worms grew stronger.
And we all grew richer.
Nice try.
Isn't it difficult enough
with two hands?
The day the one-handed player wins,
is the day I leave town
and never come back.
Like Ludovic's father.
I never understood
what happened to him.
Did he just disappear?
Well, first,
he stopped talking.
Then one day, he woke up,
packed a suitcase, and left.
Beatrice was about to have Ludovic.
That was quite a blow.
But why did he stop talking
in the first place?
That's one of the many things
he never talked about.
Hm.
No, no, Papa.
Mmm!
Do you think about it?
Sometimes.
What do you see?
Strange trees...
chickens pecking in the dirt,
laughing children.
What about this man?
You hardly mention him.
He was closed...
secretive.
It's hard to remember
all of it. It...
it's fading away.
Papa!
Papa!
I've ask Madame Berbek
to help with the chores.
The house is too much for me.
That's a good idea.
Ludovic is growing.
They must need the money.
I knew you'd understand.
May I see?
No, it's not finished.
I want to look at it.
No.
It was a happy time that summer.
Life was simple again.
Opened his beak...
and he felt sick.
The cheese fell
out of his beak,
and the fox caught the cheese,
and ran off with it.
So this is the path,
and the fountain is there.
Mm-hmm.
And the lilies?
You're standing on them.
Oh. Sorry.
You're standing on them again.
So the lilies are everywhere.
The lilies
are everywhere.
But I knew...
I knew that it couldn't
last forever.
Ludovic?
I suppose
we won't be eating
your aubergines this summer.
It's a flower garden,
not a potager.
Hello, Ludovic.
I've received some news
from Japan.
It may not be so easy to get in
and out the next time.
When was it easy?
I have
Hara Jubei's protection.
I will be fine.
What if you don't
make it to him?
Herv...
Listen...
you have a decision to make.
You make it.
I'll always love you.
I'll always love you.
Au revoir!
Oh.
And once again,
I made it to the village.
Only this time,
it was different.
This time, I was
not treated as a stranger.
This time, I belonged.
Arigato.
I had to find her.
So while I waited for the eggs
to be prepared,
I searched the village.
I wanted you to see this place.
Join me.
Perhaps another time.
You see these birds?
Only here
can you see them.
My father used to come here
every day to watch them...
and his father...
and the father
of his father.
And now...
you've seen them, too.
Come.
And what does it say?
Door was open.
Herv Joncour.
Schuyler. I am Dutch.
You are, uh, French,
I suppose.
What is your trade?
There is no point
in being secretive.
You're either here to buy
or sell something.
Which is it?
I'm here to buy silk eggs.
And you?
Selling.
What?
Guns.
Guns?
Mm-hmm.
Mmm!
You must be paying
pretty well.
Hara Jubei has never offered me
anything like this before.
Do not be fooled by his kindness.
There is a price for everything.
And what about Mutzu?
He's still safe.
They've been
chased to the east.
You never know.
Things are changing fast.
Even Hara Jubei's
losing grip.
I'd be on my guard,
if I were you.
Is that a warning?
Mmm, mmm...
His protectors in Edo
will fall soon.
You take my advice.
Trade fast, leave as soon as you can.
She's quite something,
isn't she?
What do you know about her?
Not much.
But I'll tell you this-
She's not what you think.
What do you mean?
She's not Japanese.
That is what they say.
Who knows?
To you.
May we continue to trade
in peace.
To our lasting friendship.
Good night.
Good night.
The next day, Hara Jubei
took her and left the village.
They gave me the eggs,
but I waited two days,
hoping she might return.
She did not.
And, once again, I left Japan.
This time, I had brought
back 10 boxes of eggs,
much more than the previous trip.
I wanted to tell Helene.
I wanted to tell her everything.
Helene.
What?
I love you.
And it tore me apart.
What is it?
What is it?
So she's not Japanese?
No. She was Chinese.
She was the Emperor's third wife.
Legend has it that
she was preparing tea
in the palace garden.
She accidentally dropped
a cocoon into the hot water...
and then she discovered
that a cocoon's fibers
could be unwound,
and a thread could
be obtained from it-
one that was strong enough
for weaving.
Who told you that story?
A trader.
What is it?
You've been sitting
there for over an hour.
What is it?
I need your help with something.
I need to find someone
who can speak Japanese.
Ask Herv Joncour.
Don't make it difficult.
You know someone.
Who wrote the letter I took
on my first trip?
What is it you need
to translate?
Please.
Madame Blanche.
She runs a brothel in Lyon-
Number 12, Rue Moscat.
Men pay a lot of money
to be with her.
And she speaks Japanese?
She is Japanese.
Well, how did she wind up in Lyon?
She married a French merchant
in Yokohama,
He died on their return to France,
She had to fend for herself.
I have to go
to Lyon tomorrow.
I'll be back before nightfall.
What's wrong?
Helene?
We have to be patient.
We've been trying to have
a child for two years.
We have to try harder.
Come to bed.
Come.
I won't be long.
Voil.
Madame Blanche will see you now.
Please...
sit.
And what makes you think
you're rich enough
to sleep with me?
That is not
what I came for.
What do you want then?
I need your help.
Never mind the price.
I need to know
what is written on it.
Will you help me?
Where did you get this?
"Come back or I shall die. "
Come back?
That's what it says.
"Come back or I shall die. "
Thank you.
Forget about it.
Not the money, the woman.
Forget about her.
She won't die, and you know it.
I
went to see that fellow, Pasteur.
Yes?
He's pretty darn clever.
he's discovered how to isolate
the infected eggs from the healthy ones.
He can't cure them,
but he can tell which ones are good.
And the results are guaranteed.
Mmm. Really?
There's trouble again in Japan.
This time, it's serious.
The French Consulate in Yokohama
have been sending dispatches.
They say it's chaos.
And this, uh,
Italian fellow, Ferreri,
he's come back from China
with eggs, tons of them,
Healthy from first to last,
same with Bole.
They're offering us a good deal.
Seven francs for the gram.
And they'll insure them.
And with the work
that Pasteur is doing,
we might get by on our own.
It would be madness
to go back there.
It's too risky.
I don't want to lose you, Herv.
I'm going to Japan,
Baldabiou.
Even if it means I have
to pay for the trip myself.
All you have to decide
is whether I'm...
selling the eggs to you
or someone else.
We've heard that
the eggs coming in from Turkey
Are perfectly healthy.
That's where
the Lyon breeders go.
The Italians, too.
Well, then
why don't we do the same?
Japan is too dangerous.
We can no longer
afford the risks.
Gentlemen.
Gentlemen, please.
These eggs are unreliable.
The Japanese eggs are pristine.
Who really knows
what's going on there?
Very few people have seen it
with their own eyes,
and one of them
lives right here.
This is my son
you are talking about.
He's made the voyage twice.
If anybody understands
the dangers, he does,
and he believes it can be done.
Now, I, for one, am staking my
money on another trip.
You gentlemen must
make your own decision.
Isn't there some way
you can stop him?
I'm afraid not.
There is
something else.
There seems to be some trouble
over there...
an uprising.
It could be dangerous.
Then I suppose all I can do
is give him a reason to come back.
You're not to...
worry about anything.
I know.
I won't.
I have protection there.
I will...
I will be fine.
This time, it really was
the end of the world.
The rebellion
had reached the village.
Are you alone?
Are you hurt?
Where are they?
Hai.
Hai.
Hara Jubei.
Take me there,
do you understand?
Wait.
Arigato.
How did you find us?
Who brought you here?
Answer me!
There is nothing
for you here.
Only war,
and it's not your war.
War is an expensive game.
You have need of me.
I have need of you.
You should not have come here.
Keep your gold and go!
Hyah!
Hara Jubei!
Japan is an ancient country.
It has ancient laws.
There are crimes here
for which it is acceptable
to condemn a man to death.
This is a rifle, my friend.
Keep your head down.
The boy committed
one of those crimes
when he carried a love message
from his mistress.
He was carrying no message.
He was the message.
He was a boy.
Keep your eyes down.
Now go and never return here again.
It took me 11 days
to reach Sakata,
Where I finally found
four boxes of eggs.
I packed the boxes
in crates filled with ice,
fearful that they
would hatch early.
I reached the Russian coast
by the end of March,
which was one month later
than usual.
Summer had
already come to Europe.
And then, one morning,
I knew it was over.
The eggs had hatched.
The worms were dead.
Millions of them,
all dead.
Ludovic!
Hyah!
I thought you were dead.
And in the whole world, there
was nothing beautiful left.
That was a terrible summer.
We had to close
three of the four mills.
Baldabiou had to make up
stories to explain my failure.
And with the thought
of all that had happened...
how I'd failed the village,
how I'd failed Helene...
I sank into silence.
So, here you are.
What's wrong with you?
You haven't come around for ages.
Listen, Herv...
Sooner or later,
you're gonna have to talk to someone.
It might as well be me.
It might as well be now.
What happened?
What happened in Japan?
There's nothing more to say.
I told you everything.
That's rubbish.
There's nothing more to say.
If things continue like this,
we'll all starve.
Something has to be done.
Do you have any ideas?
Baldabiou.
We'll build a garden.
I'll hire everyone
in the village...
anyone who's
strong enough to dig-
men, women, children, too.
And, together, we'll
build Helene's garden.
We started to work
in late summer.
Whoa!
May I have some water?
I don't think you're working.
And we finished
most of it by the fall.
You pull that one up?
Weeds are bad for trees.
They take their food,
so you've got to pull them out.
Then why do we have them
if they are bad?
God made them to keep us busy.
In nomine patris,
et filii,
et spiritus sancti.
So winter came, and
everyone had enough to eat.
Then a letter arrived.
It took me five days
to open it.
It was stamped in Oostende,
but it had a Japanese seal
in the corner.
I'm going to bed.
I'll be up in a minute.
I shall read it for you,
but this time, I want no money.
What I want is a promise
that you will
never come back here.
I promise.
"My dear master...
"do not be afraid.
"Do not move.
Do not speak.
"No one will see us.
"Stay as you are.
"I want to look at you.
"We have the night to ourselves,
"and I want to look at you.
"Your body over me...
"your skin, your lips.
"Close your eyes.
"No one can see us.
"And I am here at your side.
"Do you feel me?
"When I touch you
for the first time,
"it will be
with my lips.
"You will
feel the warmth,
"but you will
not know where.
"Perhaps,
it will be on your eyes.
"I will press my mouth
to your eyes,
"and you will feel
the warmth.
"Open your eyes now,
my beloved.
"Look at me.
"Your eyes on my breast,
your arms lifting me,
"letting me slide
on to you.
"My faint cry,
your body quivering.
"There is no end to it,
don't you see?
"You will forever be
throwing your head back.
"I will forever
be shaking off my tears.
"This moment had to be.
"This moment is...
"and this moment will continue
from now until forever.
"We shall not see
one another again.
"What we were meant
to do, we have done.
"Believe me, my love,
we have done it forever.
"Preserve your life
out of my reach,
"and if it serves
your happiness,
"do not hesitate
for a moment
"to forget this woman,
who now says,
"without
a trace of regret...
"farewell. "
That year, in Edo,
they signed a treaty,
authorizing the export
of silkworm eggs.
A few years later,
they opened the Suez Canal.
After that, a journey to Japan
would take twenty days,
Even less to come back.
A new era had begun.
So the years passed.
We traveled.
We accepted the fact that
we would not have a child.
Nine plus
seven equals sixteen.
Now, sometimes it may seem like
numbers keep their secrets.
And a sort of peace
Entered our lives.
But you have to be patient.
You have to keep trying.
Do you understand?
But it didn't last long.
Not long enough.
Yes, but are you certain?
No change.
She needs to rest.
But you've been saying that
for weeks.
All she's been doing
is resting.
She's just getting weaker.
Be patient.
I am being patient!
Good day, Ludovic.
Good day, Madame.
Do you have a moment?
I have a favor to ask you.
Whatever I can do.
I would like you
to help Herv with the garden.
Of course.
I mean, in the future.
He's going to need your help.
You can depend on me.
Good.
Beatrice stopped by.
She brought us dinner.
Hm.
You'll have to thank her for me.
And Baldabiou
sent over a dozen quail.
God knows where he got them.
Probably sent someone
on a journey.
There's things that
I haven't told you, Helene.
I know.
I just-I couldn't
find the words.
It's all right.
It's all right.
Do you remember the first day
you showed me the land?
You said there'd be
a garden there.
You said, "This is
where we'll grow old. "
Are we old, Herv?
She died in late April...
A few days before her lilies bloomed.
And then, something
extraordinary happened.
Aah!
The one-handed Baldabiou...
Hmm.
Pulled off an impossible shot.
Fancy that.
So, he gave his mill to Verdal,
packed one suitcase,
and he left for good.
I knew a man once who
built his own railroad.
And the beautiful thing is,
he built it completely straight,
without a single curve.
He had a reason for that.
I can't recall what it was.
The reasons get forgotten.
Not long after that,
I found something
that sent me
on another journey...
though not quite
as far this time.
She's gone, sir.
Gone to Paris.
Yes, but do you have
an address for her?
I'm sorry.
I cannot help you.
Thank you very much.
How did you find me?
I've knocked on
every door in Paris.
It was you who wrote
that letter, wasn't it?
Wasn't it?
It was not I who wrote it.
It was Helene.
She had already
written it when she came to see me.
She asked me to copy it out
in Japanese, and I did.
She read me that letter.
She read those words
with a voice
That I have
never been able to forget.
I know
it's hard to understand...
But I heard her read
that letter...
and more than anything...
she wanted to be that woman.
She was that woman.
Farewell.
Ludovic.
Good day, sir.
What are you doing here
on a Sunday?
You shouldn't work
on a Sunday.
I have a few things to finish,
Some trimming and weeding.
How was your trip to Paris?
Fine. Thank you.
Would you like to sit with me?
Of course.
I think you like this place
as much as I do.
Very much, sir.
In a way, I suppose
it's your garden, too.
Remember that little tree
I planted with Madame?
It's grown so tall now.
I'm sorry, sir.
Don't be sorry.
Silly.
Death is a strange thing,
Ludovic.
Strange.
But why should
I tell you about this?
Why now?
Maybe I just need
to tell someone...
and maybe it's you.
I guess it all began
when I came back home
on leave from the army,
when I first saw Helene.
And now you know the real story.
It's late now.
Finish your work tomorrow.
My beloved...
do not be afraid.
Do not speak.
Stay as you are.
I'm here at your side.
Do you feel me?
When I touch you
for the first time,
you will feel the warmth,
but you will not know where.
Perhaps,
it will be on your eyes.
Who could ever erase
this moment?
There is no end to it,
don't you see?
What we were meant to do,
we have done.
Believe me, my love,
we have done it forever.
And if it serves your happiness,
do not hesitate for a moment
to forget this woman,
who now says,
without a trace of regret...
Farewell.