[STATION MASTER BLOWING WHISTLE]
[TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]
[INDISTINCT CONVERSATION]
[WOMEN SCREAMING]
[BABY CRYING]
[DOG BARKING]
[PEOPLE SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
Please. Please. Please!
Open.
Please.
- Please.
- The door. The door.
Remember Grandmere's house.
Please, Papa, no.
Papa, I don't want to go.
Please, Papa, no. [SOBBING]
Papa!
OLD JO:
Growing up is different for everyone.
For the lucky few,
time does all the work.
Others are not given a choice.
This is my story.
The story of when war
came to my village,
my valley, my world.
Of how I became a man.
Papa always used to tell me,
"Never fall asleep, Jo.
"Whittle a stick,
"pick berries,
read your comic if you must,
"but don't close your eyes.
Not for one second."
[BIRD CALLING]
But Papa had not woken at dawn
to milk the sheep,
and anyway,
reading is tiring work,
even if I only ever looked
at the pictures.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[BARKING]
Oh.
What is it?
[BARKING CONTINUES]
[BEAR GROWLING]
No!
[DOG WHIMPERS]
Bear! Bear!
There's a bear in the woods!
Are you all right, Jo?
- Out of my way!
- Are you hurt?
Rouf, Maman.
He's still up there!
The sheep, Jo.
What about the sheep?
I don't know, Grandpere.
I ran away.
Jo? Jo. You're too young to go.
Come and help me
in the kitchen, please.
[MEN TALKING INDISTINCTLY]
[GREETING EACH OTHER]
Think it's ready.
Beautiful.
Yes.
You can go.
[GUNSHOTS IN THE DISTANCE]
[GUNSHOTS CONTINUE]
[CROWD MURMURING]
Souriez!
Grandpere, where's Rouf?
Did you find him?
- [LITTLE BOY GROWLING]
- [MAN CHUCKLES]
My son thinks he is a bear.
Settle down now, everyone.
That includes you, Hubert.
I just want to thank Jo Lalande
for what he did today.
Without him, there'd be no bear.
Who knows what damage it might
have caused to our flocks?
Especially one so low down
from the mountain.
So,
here's to Jo.
Here's to the bear.
And down with the Boche.
ALL:
Down with the Boche.
- Long live the bear.
- Long live the bear.
Rouf!
Rouf!
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
Rouf!
Rouf!
[WHIMPERING]
I thought I'd lost you.
So, you came back for your dog.
Very brave of you
after all the shooting
that went on.
The bleeding's stopped now.
Here boy, come on, Rouf.
- Let's go.
- Keep your voice down.
I don't want you frightening
any more bears today.
I saw the whole thing, you know.
The bear, the sheep scattering,
you scattering.
Relax, it's just bread.
What's your name, boy?
Jo Lalande.
Nice yo meet you, Jo Lalande.
She could have
got away, you know.
- Who?
- The bear.
Mother bear. She was
leading them away from her cub.
He'll smell
the milk soon enough.
He won't be able to resist.
Right away down the valley
she took them as well,
all for this little guy.
He'll die out here
without his mother, won't he?
You're right about that, Jo.
Which is why he's coming home
with one of us.
What's your name?
What do you want with my name?
I told you mine.
I'll just ask
in the village about you.
You won't do that.
Why not?
Because I'll make sure the whole village
knows about your little nap.
I told you. I saw it all.
So let's just keep this
a secret, huh?
A secret between you and me.
Agreed? We better get going.
[BEAR CUB GURGLES]
And don't be too hard on yourself
about what happened today.
You had your job to do,
and the mother bear, she had hers.
And besides,
if none of it had happened,
we never would have met.
- We haven't met.
- [CHUCKLES]
No, we haven't.
So long.
[ROUF WHIMPERS]
ALICE: You're a fool.
BENJAMIN: Alice...
ALICE: You promised me
you'll only go out at night.
You gave me your word.
The boy doesn't know who I am,
what I am, or where are we from.
- We'll be fine.
- No.
We won't be fine.
Everything won't be fine.
What happens when he goes home
and tells everybody
about the stranger
he met in the woods?
They may be simple country folk
but they are not stupid.
You can't keep me
locked in here forever.
I never wanted you here
in the first place.
I don't doubt that to be true.
But Florence did.
She would want me here.
[PIGS GRUNTING]
Yes, she would.
And if she was here,
maybe she'd knock some sense into you.
Alice, the boy won't
say anything.
I've shamed him
into secrecy.
You're all
I have left, Benjamin.
And Anya.
For all we know, she could
walk through that door at any second.
Until then, we wait and pray.
I better go see to the pigs.
Rouf, come on, let's go.
MAN ON RADIO: In the occupied part of France,
the German Reich
has been exercising all rights
of an occupying power,
and the French Government
has governed zonally
and committed itself
to facilitate by all means
the regulations pertaining to
the rights of the German Reich
and to putting them in place
with the cooperation
of the French administration.
Monsieur, the Germans are here.
The French government
was invited to continue
with all authority
and administrative services
in the occupied territory...[GIGGLES]
Out of here! Out!
...regulation of the German
military's authority,
That's just what they said.
The Germans are here.
TEACHER:
T-O-R-P-E-U-R.
Torpeur. Not hibernation,
as many people think.
Bears need to wake
to feed and protect their cubs.
A torpeur is more of
a deep sleep.
Much like many of you seem to be in,
each and every morning.
[ALL GIGGLE]
Do they eat people, Miss?
Not unless
they're really hungry.
Psst.
They drink milk.
- Who was that lady...
- You stay well away from that woman.
You hear me?
No matter what Grandpere
has to say about her.
Why don't you
like here, Maman?
Because she doesn't like us.
And she's caused enough upset
in this village to last a lifetime.
I'm off to see Hubert.
Back before it gets dark.
You hear me?
Jo!
That's mine.
We need to talk, Joseph Lalande.
Eat up, boy.
Otherwise, I feed it to the pigs.
They're hungry, you know.
So tell me, boy,
what did you see in the barn?
Nothing, Madame.
Nothing?
I know your father.
He's a hard-working shepherd
when he's not away soldiering.
Takes after his father,
your grandfather.
But maybe the less said
about him, the better.
I'll ask you
one more time, boy.
What did you see
in the barn?
I... I was only looking
for the bear cub.
You're not
answering the question.
No.
You always
tell the truth?
No, Madame.
It's a rare thing,
an honest boy.
You know, people tend to
pick and choose with honesty.
It doesn't mean
you can trust them.
I've known about him for...
for weeks
and I haven't told anyone.
What's to stop you
telling them now?
I just wouldn't.
I promise.
I'm a Jew.
You know what that is?
Aren't they in the Bible?
Yes, we're in the Bible.
But plenty of people think that's
where we should have stayed.
Do you know what the Germans
do to the Jews?
The Germans forced us
to flee our homes and move to Paris.
I thought we were safe.
My little Anya and I.
I was wrong.
Papa.
We always said,
if we ever got separated,
we would meet
at Grandmere's house.
I'm here.
And I'm staying
till Anya comes.
So, the little girl?
The girl in the barn is Leah.
There are four more on the way.
Four more what?
Children. Jewish children.
Some people collect coins, stamps.
We collect enemies
of the Reich.
They get passed down
through France.
And when they get here, Benjamin
gets them out from under my feet,
by smuggling them across
the mountains into Spain.
They're safe there.
But if Leah can make it here
from Warsaw, then so can Anya.
That's why I'll never
give up hope.
One day, Anya will be
one of those children.
And until that day,
may God protect her
- in Jesus' name. Amen.
- LEAH: Bonjour.
Leah. Leah.
ALICE: Benjamin.
Let me help you.
[SIGHS]
Don't worry, Alice.
She'll stay put
when then others come.
You better make sure
that she does.
And you.
I was thinking of
swearing you to secrecy.
A blood oath if necessary.
No. No, Madame.
Then go. And boy,
don't you even dream
of coming back here.
So what's happened
to the bear cub?
I left him in the mountains
a week ago.
He was big enough
to fend for himself.
I haven't seen him since.
OLD JO: My mind was racing
all the way home.
I thought about
the bear cub
and whether he
missed his mother,
about Anya and where
she might be.
And then, there was the mystery
of the vehicles,
winding their way
up the mountain to our village.
[CONVERSING IN GERMAN]
OLD JO: I had never
seen German writing before.
My reading in French
wasn't much better,
but I could make out
the names of three people
from the neighboring village.
Pierre, Mari, Batiste,
and then
I read the word "executed."
- [CROWD MURMURING]
- SOLDIER: Quiet please.
Everyone, quiet.
As many of you
are already aware,
under the orders of
the Vichy government,
three enemies of the Reich
were executed in Bedous.
Me and my men have been
posted here in Lescun
to make sure that nothing of the like
occurs in this village.
From tonight, a 9:30 curfew
will be strictly enforced,
papers must be carried
at all times,
and around-the-clock patrols
will take place around the border
to make sure that
no feeling Frenchman or Jew
crosses those mountains
into Spain.
The parish will provide
our garrison headquarters,
and for any of you
with information,
our door is always open.
- [HUBERT IMITATING GUNFIRE]
- For those with secrets,
rest assured,
we will come to your door.
If we find anyone in Lescun
aiding the enemies of the Reich,
they will face the same fate
as the traitors in Bedous.
- [IMITATING GUNFIRE]
- [GIGGLING]
[GRUNTING]
Hubert! Hubert!
No, no, no.
Please. Please.
My son, it's a little joke.
He won't hurt you.
If he's so harmless,
let him go.
No. No, no.
[IMITATING GUNFIRE]
SARTHOL:
No, please. No, please.
SOLDIER: Boom!
[CHUCKLES]
You're right.
He's a funny one, hmm?
9:30 curfew.
We have a job to do,
and we will do it.
Ja?
MAMAN: He could have got himself killed,
your friend Hubert.
You don't do that with the Germans,
it's not a game.
Are you listening, Jo?
I said, he could have
got himself killed.
He only did what the rest of us
wanted to.
What good would that do?
We don't need another martyr.
There's too many names
of good young men
on that monument already.
And now there will be
three more from Bedous.
There's always a price to be paid.
How can you say that?
This village has paid
enough of a price already.
And this house is still paying,
and for what?
You may have a death wish,
Henri, but I don't.
CHRISTINE:
Maman, I can't sleep.
[SIGHS]
Give me strength, please.
Jo, put her back
to bed for me.
CHRISTINE: Maman. [WHINES]
JO:
Come on Christine, back to bed.
[CHRISTINE WHINES]
He'll be back, Lise.
I promise.
Don't make promises you can't keep.
[PIGS GRUNTING]
Madame! Madame!
Did I not make myself clear?
I had to come,
I had to tell you.
German soldiers.
They're in the village.
And they've got patrols
up in the mountains.
Where's Benjamin?
He left last night
with Leah.
Which crossing does he take?
[SIGHS] Which crossing?
He takes the Col de Laraille.
God bless you!
God bless you, boy.
[GERMAN SOLDIERS TALKING
IN THE DISTANCE]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
Benjamin!
Benjamin!
Benjamin!
BENJAMIN:
Stop shouting.
JO: Benjamin?
BENJAMIN:
Keep your voice down.
[LEAH WHIMPERING]
Am I ever going to
get rid of you?
What happened?
Soldiers everywhere.
I had to carry Leah.
I turned it.
We have to get you down.
But what about the soldiers?
I saw them leaving.
They'll know no one can make it
across the mountains in this.
Then take Leah down.
You can't take us both.
And I can't lose her.
I won't.
Not again.
JO: You can make it.
[BENJAMIN GRUNTING]
[BENJAMIN AND JO
SINGING A FRENCH SONG]
You saved us.
Oh, Jo. Thank you.
There you are, ma chere.
[HUBERT HUMMING SOFTLY]
AUDAP: How are you
getting on there, Amelie?
Okay, remember everyone,
plants are like human beings.
They release acid carbonate...
[SHIVERING]
[COUGHING]
AUDAP:
Do you have any questions?
No one?
I assume that means
you've done a very good job.
I'm very impressed.
This is great work.
Your handwriting
has improved a lot.
SOLDIER: Name, bitte.
This is your only rifle?
As if they haven't
humiliated us enough.
SOLDIER: Guten tag, Hubert.
The last thing we want
is to make them
feel at home.
They're invaders.
Never forget that.
And if it is rifles they want,
then rifles is what they'll get.
Grab this.
This is so when
the time comes...
If the time comes at least
I'll be taking one of them with me.
Give us a hand. Push.
[GRUNTS]
Go to the other side.
[GRUNTS]
Hubert, give me that.
Give me the old one.
Killed a few of your lot with this
in the Battle of Verdun.
Make sure to oil it.
Verdun, did you just say?
That's right.
Verdun.
Might have been
shooting that at me, then.
You weren't at Verdun.
You would have only
been a child.
Sixteen.
But not for long.
HENRI: Alice.
Alice.
You're looking younger than ever.
[ALICE CHUCKLES]
You old goat.
Allow me.
Yes.
Take this.
You're looking very pleased
with yourself.
I have just come
to the realization
that my genius knows no bounds.
[CHUCKLES] And what brought you
to that conclusion?
This is our little secret.
Isn't it, boys?
We're all allowed
our little secrets.
- [CHUCKLES]
- Guten tag, Hubert.
[MUMBLES]
- Uh-huh.
- Can he manage that?
Strong boy he is.
From good stock
as well, you know.
Lend him to me.
HENRI: What for?
ALICE:
He can do my shopping.
I don't know, Alice. With his father
being away and all that...
I've got the sheep.
I'll be doing
the transhumance this year.
You're too young to be up the mountains
all summer with the sheep, Jo.
ALICE: I'd pay him.
Half a kilo of honey
a week.
When do you
want him to start?
Now.
Come along, boy.
I won't bite.
My mom never gets this much food
with her ration tickets.
[CHUCKLES]
Madame Jollet is
quite the capitalist.
She'll make allowances
as long as you can pay.
Is it enough for Leah
and the others?
Barely.
And we have three more children
arriving any day now.
When can Benjamin take them?
He can't. Not for months
with that ankle.
And even then, they'll never
get them past the patrol.
We can't take these children
back to where they come from,
and we can't take them
where they need to go.
I'm sorry, Jo.
You're the only one I can ask.
OLD JO: Each week, the widow's
shopping list got longer
and the bags got heavier.
I was not allowed
to see the children,
but I knew their numbers
were growing.
With the Germans
patrolling the mountains,
there was no way
of getting them across to Spain.
And then, the winter came.
Everyone in the valley
knew it was too dangerous
to try and cross in winter.
But the Germans continued
their patrols nonetheless,
whatever the weather...
Much like me.
I would make the journey
to Widow Horcada's
every week,
come rain, come shine.
- BOY: Hey!
- [LAUGHS]
[MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO]
How many times?
Give me the shopping list.
Tell her it'll be double
next week.
And you keep your hands
to yourself.
Good morning.
Bonjour.
Corporal Hoffman. Cigarettes?
The boy was here first.
But Corporal...
I insist.
You have a large family?
It's for Widow Horcada,
Corporal.
Jo here does her shopping.
Widow Horcada.
I do like a woman
with a big appetite.
I can't believe it myself.
Maybe she has some guests
we don't know about.
Please, monsieur.
You're only buying cigarettes.
I'll wait.
Tell me, madame.
The rations, have they gone up?
I expect you know
better than me, Corporal.
I only know that trading
on the black market is illegal.
But this is not
the black market.
This is a friend
helping a friend.
It looks heavy.
I'm fine, thank you.
Let me give you a hand.
So this widow,
where does she live?
Way down in the valley.
I can manage.
How far?
Three... Five kilometers.
It's nothing.
Besides, a little walk
will do me good.
Where I live, Jo...
It's Jo, right?
We too are surrounded
by mountains and trees,
so this is like home.
If she sees you with it,
I won't get my honey.
Honey?
The widow,
she pays me with it.
If she sees you carrying
one of the bags, I won't get any.
I haven't had honey
since I left home.
Apple blossom honey.
That's what my wife makes.
And my girls,
I have three daughters.
They eat it so fast.
If I'm lucky,
they leave me a spoon to lick.
Especially my oldest, Anna.
She's the clever one.
She goes to Berlin
to work the telephones.
[SIREN SOUNDING]
Well, no honey for me today.
But one day,
I shall taste it.
I'm like a bear, Jo.
I like honey,
and I like mountains.
In my mountains, we have bears
- and eagles.
- Oh, we have eagles, too.
Well, we should go
up there someday.
You and me.
Look at the eagles
with my binoculars.
Would you like that?
So it's a promise.
Wiedersehen, Jo.
You know what that means?
Until we meet again.
What?
We need you to bring
your grandpere up here.
What... Why?
We have six children
in the barn.
The cow has gone dry,
and this is our last
jar of honey.
After a week,
we won't have anything.
So the pigs will have to go.
With the money we make,
maybe we can survive
for another few months.
But what about Benjamin?
I'll be out of sight.
As will the children.
What Henri doesn't know
won't hurt him.
Grandpere won't buy the pigs.
He's a shepherd.
He can't stand
the smell of them.
Don't you worry!
You just bring
your grandpere up here.
[SCOFFS]
OLD JO: I couldn't believe it
when Grandpere bought the pigs.
No one could.
They were the talk
of the village.
More than the Germans,
who were proving difficult to hate.
I tried my best
for Papa's sake, mostly.
But they came to Mass,
gave us sweets,
played pelota.
It was easy to forget
why they were there.
"She could not have been a good,
honest old woman,
"for first she looked
in at the window,
"and then she peeped in
at the keyhole,
"and seeing nobody
in the house, she lifted the latch.
"The door was not fastened.
"Because the bears
were good bears
"who did nobody harm."
[ROUF BARKS]
What do you think
you're doing?
Out of my way.
What is going on?
- Maman!
- What's this all about?
We are searching
all houses.
What on Earth are you looking for?
We have nothing to hide.
Orders from
Lieutenant Weissmann.
Don't touch that.
They're private!
Excuse me.
[PEOPLE ARGUE IN DISTANCE]
From a labor camp.
Your husband?
He's a prisoner of war.
He choose to fight
against the Germans, Fraulein.
Is that a letter from Papa?
Maybe his son, too,
wants to fight against the Germans.
Maybe I will.
Why didn't you tell me, Maman?
They're not his words.
The guards write the letters.
I want to read.
- Stop that, Jo!
- I want to read!
[DOG BARKING]
[CHUCKLES]
Grandpere?
What the devil
are you doing here?
Soldiers.
They're searching houses.
- How far?
- I don't know. Soon.
Henri, you warned me
this day would come.
For the first time in my life,
I wish I was wrong.
- You better go.
- I'm not leaving you.
I have young Jo here
to keep me safe.
Jo, fetch some bread.
You have to eat.
Boys are always eating.
What about Benjamin
and the children?
I'll worry about them.
I'm sorry, madame.
It just came out.
Don't be sorry about a thing.
Your grandfather's an old goat,
but he's a hard man
to lie to.
He knows?
Honest men, like honest boys,
are very hard to find.
Go on, eat.
So why was he only wearing...
Eat, Jo.
Madame.
[GUARDS SPEAK GERMAN]
He's your grandson?
He's my shopping boy.
[RUMBLING OVERHEAD]
Fire, huh?
[RUMBLING CONTINUES]
[THUDS]
As you can see,
he's quite useful.
You live alone?
Apart from the pigs?
My husband died in the Great War.
"The Great War."
[SNICKERS]
Strange that in my homeland,
it isn't referred to
in such favorable parlance.
My I offer you a drink,
Lieutenant?
Coffee, please.
[RUMBLING]
Very useful, indeed.
You have to tell me
where I can get one.
I want mine to have
a steady hand, though.
Like mine.
German stability.
Why are you searching
our houses?
It's a fair question
shopping boy's asking.
There's been a theft
from the barracks.
Munitions have been stolen.
Explosives that,
in the wrong hands,
could be used against us.
After the fairness with which
we have treated the people of Lescun,
it would be quite
a stab in the back
for the village
to turn against us.
So the sooner we can
find what's been taken,
the sooner I can put the individuals
responsible against the wall,
and the rest of us
can all go back
to being friends again.
Yeah?
[SPEAKING GERMAN]
After you, madame. Please.
You know, I really don't like farms,
shopping boy.
They stink.
Stink of shit. It amazes me
how you people spend your lives
surrounded by stinking animals.
But if I had something to hide,
I would put it
somewhere that stinks.
Clever thinking, wouldn't you say so,
shopping boy?
- [HORSE WHINNIES]
- Jo.
Jo?
My name is Jo, monsieur.
Jo. Okay.
Please, he's just a child.
He's innocent.
Oh, I understand.
He's your lifeblood.
Bring you all that shopping,
week in and week out.
Rain or shine.
You're protective of him.
Why you're knitting him
the jumper.
It is for him, I assume.
I do hope it fits you, Jo.
[SPEAKS GERMAN]
That's mine.
Give the boy his book, then.
Read to me a little.
A boy with a book can surely read.
"Once upon a time
in a large forest,
"close to a village,
"three bears lived.
"A great big papa bear,
"a middle-sized maman bear,
"and a wee little baby bear."
A shopping boy and a scholar!
[CHUCKLES]
I really must get myself one.
Madame.
Where are they, madame?
- [COUGHS]
- HENRI: Who is it?
[SPEAKS FRENCH]
Grandpere?
Leah!
Hello, Leah!
[COUGHS]
How long have you been here?
Almost one month now.
It was all
your grandpa's idea.
My father's old brandy store.
Your great-grandfather used
to do a bit of smuggling
when I was your age.
Perfect for hiding things.
It is safe for now.
But today was a warning, Alice.
We've got to get the children
across the border.
No. We have to be patient.
We bide our time as agreed.
You might make it
on your own, Henri,
but not with the children.
We have to wait.
That's all we can do.
I have never been able
to persuade that woman
around to my way of thinking.
- Why didn't you tell me?
- Tell you what?
Because she told me not to.
And because sometimes,
it is safer not to know.
And why didn't you tell me?
Same reason.
- And remember...
- Not a word to Maman.
Not with a hundred
of bleating sheep around us.
Ha!
Hello, Hubert. Hello, Jo.
Haven't seen you
the past weeks.
Busy with the lambs?
Grandpere does most of it.
[LAUGHS]
The old man with the newborn
and you down here
swinging the hammer?
Widen your stance.
Get more power.
Don't need your help.
- Do you wanna look?
- [CHUCKLES] Yeah.
I told you on Fridays
I have a few hours off.
- [GIGGLES]
- I do not forget my promise.
What promise?
The eagles.
Take Hubert.
As you wish.
Hubert, you wanna come
look for eagles?
- [CHUCKLES]
- Let's go.
OLD JO:
Grandpere was always telling me,
hard work is good
for the soul.
But not matter how hard
I swung the hammer,
my anger remained.
I couldn't forgive the Corporal
for what he was part of.
Jo, Jo! [CHUCKLES]
Eagle! Eagle! [GIGGLES]
I don't know where he gets
his energy. I'm exhausted.
- Eagle!
- You saw the eagle, didn't you?
Eagle. [CHUCKLES]
Hubert spotted her first.
On the ground she was. Proud.
On the rock, like a stag.
She took off as we approached.
So we followed her
up the mountains...
- [GIGGLES]
- ...till she nested.
You found her nest?
Yes, we did.
What about her young?
Did you see any chicks?
Not this time.
Maybe next week.
Auf wiedersehen.
Wiedersehen, Jo.
Eagle. Eagle's nest.
[GIGGLES] Yeah.
[MUMBLES]
[KIDS LAUGHING]
[SOLDIERS SPEAKING GERMAN]
Did you hear about
the Allies bombing Berlin?
His daughter was there.
She did not stand a chance.
I'm sorry about what happened
to your daughter.
Do you like poetry, Jo?
Silly question.
I don't like it much either.
But there's one poem.
A German poem about the mountains.
"Over all the hills,
peace comes anew
"The woodlands still
all through.
"The birds make no sound
on the bough.
"Wait a while, soon now...
"peace comes to you."
- It's...
- It's a lie.
Some things,
even the mountains cannot solve.
Since I hear about
my daughter, Jo,
every day, I ask myself
many questions.
It's the easy part.
Answering them, no so much.
"What are you doing here,
Wilhelm?"
"I'm guarding the frontier."
"Why?"
"Simple.
"To keep the Jews from escaping."
"But why do they want to escape?"
"Because they fear
for their lives."
"And who threatens their lives?"
"I do."
"And what happens
when they get captured?"
"Concentration camp."
"And what happens there, Wilhelm?"
How do you answer that, Jo?
At least we achieved
something today.
[SIREN BLARING]
Why are you punishing us all?
You can't...
- [SPEAKS GERMAN]
- Stop it!
Where's the food?
No, please.
You can't take it!
It won't be anyone
in the village.
[SPEAKS GERMAN]
Boys, I'm afraid I'm very busy.
You really mustn't come here.
And we are not to go
looking for eagles again.
The Lieutenant has forbidden it.
[MUMBLES]
You know my brand.
Thank you, Hubert.
That's very kind.
Hubert wants you to open them.
I'm really not
in the mood for jokes.
- What is this?
- He makes them.
[MUMBLES]
[CHUCKLES GLEEFULLY]
Run along now, the pair of you.
I really must get back to work.
[CHUCKLES]
No. Stop it!
Just leave this.
Just leave this!
There are no
resistance fighters here.
Please, not the vegetables!
[COUGHING]
Have they said
when the line will be open?
Nobody knows.
Not even the Germans.
So they steal our food
and leave us to starve.
No one's going to starve.
We're going to get
the children into Spain.
Don't be naive, Benjamin.
Are you going to do that
with a sick child?
Jo, were you at least able
to buy the medicine I asked for?
I'm sorry, Lukas.
I'm really sorry.
[LUKAS WHEEZING]
You see, Jo, like us,
they thrive
where there's no light.
A few more of these,
and we'll have enough
to make Lukas
a pot of mushroom tea.
We'll soon have him
breathing better.
- What did you do?
- Me?
All of you.
Why do they hate you so much?
If the Tiber rises too high,
the Nile sinks too low,
the cry is always,
"The Christian to the lion."
They hate us because they can.
And do you hate them?
I pity them.
"One day, after they made their porridge
for their breakfast,
"and poured it
into their porridge bowls,
"they walked out into the wood
"while their porridge was cooling."
OLD JO: I have to admit
that, at the time,
I didn't understand
what Benjamin meant
when he talked about
the Nile and the Tiber
and the Christians
and the lion.
"She could not have been
a good, honest woman..."
But I soon learned
to pity a man
if he's so full of hate,
as one returned
to live in my home.
There's someone here
to see you, Jo.
Papa!
At least you recognize me, huh?
MAMAN:
You can't blame Christine.
She was only two
when you left us.
Let me look at you, hmm?
You have grown so much.
Come here.
Jo. Grandpere.
That might look
like a crippled hand, Jo.
But to me,
that was my ticket home.
The Germans sent him home because
the bastards couldn't work him anymore.
Bedtime, Christine.
- No, no, no.
- No.
You go to bed now, please.
Listen to your mother,
young lady.
Let her stay
a little longer, Lise.
Well, it's late.
It's been a long day.
And it's a special occasion.
My father just came home. Hmm?
Jo stepped right into your shoes.
You would have been
real proud of him.
Maybe he's missed school
more often that he should have,
but Mademoiselle Audap
understands.
- Who?
- My teacher.
She replaced Monsieur Balis
after you left.
And Hubert helped him,
of course.
You remember Hubert?
Of course I do.
And I didn't exactly sit
on my behind for four years.
You looked after more than
just the sheep in those mountains, Henri.
What is this?
Your father's been courting.
Courting? Who?
MAMAN: Widow Horcada.
PAPA:
Again? I don't believe it.
- Where are you going?
- Out.
But you can't. It's late.
And you're not well.
There's a curfew. If the Boche
catch you, they'll...
They'll do what, Papa?
Lock me up? Shoot me?
Four years I was in that camp.
I won't let them make
a prisoner of me in my own home.
MAMAN: Please, Georges!
I don't want to lose you again.
- Okay.
- CHRISTINE: Papa!
HENRI: Georges!
[RECEDING FOOTSTEPS]
Please, please. Continue.
OLD JO: When the church doors
were open
and the village square
was filled with the sound of Bach,
we knew that summer
was fast approaching.
Father Lasalle's music
seemed to lift the spirits
of the entire parish.
All except the Corporal,
who would sit outside the cafe,
consumed with questions
while my Papa drank inside.
[CHEERFUL MUSIC PLAYING]
SOLDIER:
Three beers, please.
Look who came to
welcome me back home.
Hmm? [SPEAKING GERMAN]
Good evening.
You must join our little party.
To victory.
To peace.
Binocular.
Not now, Hubert.
And where did you
get them, Hubert? Hmm?
- Where did you get them, Hubert, huh?
- Papa!
- What?
- The Corporal.
He's a friend of yours, too?
Hmm?
Good night.
Auf wiedersehen.
It's okay.
[GASPS]
Georges?
Ah. [CHUCKLES]
Come back to bed, Georges.
Hilarious.
Give me that.
[GROANS]
I've been hearing things
about you I don't like, Jo.
Leave him be.
I said, I've been hearing things
I don't like, Jo.
Don't you dare blame
my boy for any of this.
Your boy?
You can have him.
- Take that back.
- You stay out of this.
Michel, he told me how
you went off
with that German Corporal
up the mountain together.
I was only watching eagles.
Eagles? My own son,
friends with the filthy Boche?
You're a collaborator.
- And you're a monster!
- Eh?
Stop it, Georges!
You think it was easy for us?
- We have to survive!
- Georges, enough.
Let me tell you something
about your son.
- No, no, no!
- This "collaborator."
MAMAN: What's going on?
JO: Please, don't, please.
You know how Jo does
Alice's shopping?
And what?
That food is
not for Alice.
It is for seven children.
Seven Jewish children,
hiding in a cave,
up in the woods.
Some of them have been
waiting two years,
near enough to be taken
over the border.
All that time,
your son has been
keeping them alive.
Not only he's kept them alive,
but he's kept his mouth shut!
So don't you ever call him
a collaborator again!
MAMAN:
I can't believe this.
How can you
keep this from me?
Because you, you would have
only tried to stop him!
But these poor children,
are they still in the cave?
A patrol could find them
at any moment.
You think we want
to keep them there?
There's just no way
to get seven children
past the patrols
without being seen.
Well, maybe
you don't have to.
People see what
they want to see.
They're too lazy to look
for anything else.
Take a man drinking before noon,
he's a drunk,
not a grieving husband.
And an old spinster in black
is a widow, not a saint.
And a boy laden with shopping
is an errand boy,
not a hero.
What are you
getting at, Lise?
Well,
a child
herding sheep
is a shepherd.
Not a Jew.
You're mad!
Disguise children as shepherds?
Absolutely not!
Madame.
There must be
500 sheep in the village.
It's chaos when we move
to high pastures.
Who will notice a few more
children shepherding them?
And once you get to the herds,
you're that close to Spain,
you could spit into it.
Everyone knows only the men
drive the sheep.
Not the Boche.
They've been here two years,
and couldn't tell the first thing
about shepherding.
What if somebody talks?
You're involving
the entire village.
It only takes
one person to panic.
- It's a possibility.
- ALICE: No!
These are children's lives
we are talking about.
It's not a possibility.
The answer is no!
Alice,
you have
to let them go.
Henri,
what if something
happens to them?
We have waited
long enough.
This is our best chance!
How will we get them
down from the cave?
You may not like
the sound of this.
And he said,
"I am the good shepherd.
"The good shepherd lays down
his life for the sheep."
John 10:11.
[CLEARS THROAT]
For three months,
every summer our village loses many
of its menfolk to the mountain.
LASALLE:
It's a time of solitude,
a time for reflection,
and the beginnings
of months of hard work.
So, in two weeks,
to celebrate the eve
of this great migration,
[CHOIR SINGING] Mademoiselle Audap
and the school choir
will be giving one of their
short concerts,
and I want you all here.
A gathering
of the entire community.
That invitation
also extends to our
long-term lodgers.
I know you're
a music lover, Lieutenant,
and if the whole
village will be here,
then, why not
the garrison?
Thank you, Lieutenant.
The concert will
begin at 8:00.
Spread the word.
[BELL DINGING]
[THUDDING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[THUDS]
[CHOIR SINGING IN FRENCH]
HENRI:
Time to go. Follow me.
Let's go. Come on.
To the village.
We're going
to the village.
Let's go.
[SINGING IN FRENCH]
[CHOIR SINGING IN FRENCH]
[DOG BARKING IN DISTANCE]
Allez!
Quiet! Allez!
This way. Wake up!
[SINGING CONTINUES]
WOMAN: [WHISPERING]
Come in, quick!
HENRI: [WHISPERING]
Thank you, Mademoiselle!
I'm afraid the concert lasted
a little longer than we all expected.
Goodnight, and God bless you.
[INDISTINCT MUTTERING]
[KNOCKING AT DOOR]
- Benjamin and Leah?
- Up in the hayloft.
And the rest?
Hidden,
before the last
church bell rang.
Quiet, Jo.
She needs some sleep.
You'll be in Spain tomorrow.
No.
I'll take the children
to the border, and then come back.
She's getting close.
I can feel it.
I know I won't have to wait
for my Anya much longer.
But when she gets here,
you'll have to go
to Spain.
Both of you?
We'll cross the mountains
one last time.
Maybe buy a farm
somewhere in the hills.
Somewhere where we can have cows,
sheep, pigs.
Alice would never forgive me
if we didn't have pigs.
And then we can make up
for the time we lost.
Don't worry, Jo.
I'm not going
anywhere just yet.
I wish you didn't
have to go at all.
[SOBS]
- [BELLS DINGING]
- [SHEEP BLEATING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[IMITATES WOLF GROWLING
AND CHUCKLES]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER CONTINUES]
[DOG BARKING]
JO: Au revoir, Leah.
[SHEEP BLEATING]
When will we know?
By dawn, hopefully.
Alice will send message.
When Benjamin returns.
[MUTTERING]
Hubert. Hubert. Shh.
Hubert, stay quiet.
Hard climb for an old man.
Then perhaps you should
have stayed down in the village.
Perhaps. Hello, boys.
Bonjour.
You mind if we
fill our canteens?
I could do with a drink.
Be quick. If I remember rightly,
you also like a drink.
You see, I too
am from the mountains.
To you the transhumance.
To me, the alpwirtschaft.
I expect it's the same
the world over.
Back at home, we have only the cows
and the horses, no sheep.
Cows are like yours.
But the horses, they have golden
manes and tails,
we call them
halflingers.
Just like you,
we take them up
to the high pastures in summertime.
Except of course,
we do not all go together.
It's always been done.
But the women and children,
surely have not always
driven the animals?
You see, in Bavaria,
it's only the men.
But you?
You Germans always
ask so many questions?
We like to be thorough.
- [SNEEZES]
- So...
you alone up here
every summer?
Yes.
And all this work
you do yourself?
Everything.
- [BREATHING HEAVILY]
- CORPORAL: Care to explain?
- [COUGHS]
- I...
[COUGHS]
You were saying?
Take the donkey down
once a week with the cheese.
- Pick up the supplies.
- [WIND BLOWING]
CORPORAL:
It must be hard work.
Hans.
We need to get going.
Need to get the boys
back before curfew.
You should get
that mended.
Let's go!
AUDAP: Let's say I have 12 apples. I can't eat...
[CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]
[THINKING] By dawn hopefully,
Alice will send message when Benjamin returns.
[CLOCK TICKING LOUDLY]
By dawn hopefully, Alice will send message
when Benjamin returns.
By dawn hopefully, Alice will send message
when Benjamin returns.
AUDAP: Is everyone following me?
Jo?
I don't think you've been
entirely with us this morning.
Whilst I appreciate you're
not a natural mathematician, I...
- [CHILDREN GASP]
- Jo!
- Jo! Jo!
- What is it, Hubert?
- [GROANS] Jo!
- [SHUSHING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
All of you,
stay where you are.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- You're Jews?
- We are.
You'll be escorted to the station
by Corporal Hoffman.
Get them a horse.
You are the Corporal?
For God's sake,
you want them to walk?
They can have mine.
Fetch him, would you?
Now, please, Jo Lalande.
[SOBBING]
BENJAMIN: And then?
That is not my concern.
Column, move out.
Thank you.
The children?
- Safe.
- Then what happened?
What happened, Papa?
The little girl.
I've never seen anything like it.
[CHILDREN TALKING INDISTINCTLY]
PAPA: She clung to him like
she would drown if she let go.
LEAH: I don't want to go!
PAPA: Jo, we had to
bring her back with us.
We had to go back
to the hut.
Benjamin was so calm.
The donkey bolted immediately.
Braying loud enough
to wake the dead.
And your friend,
he didn't flinch.
He didn't flinch when
that bear came out of the trees.
[BEAR GROWLING]
He looked it
straight in the eye.
Like he knew it will
not attack them.
He just wanted
to say hello.
No milk today,
old friend.
PAPA:
And in one moment, the bear was gone.
I went after the donkey.
And when I came back,
they were surrounded.
Someone's got to go
tell Alice.
And I don't know
if I have the heart.
We'll go together.
Then better get yourself
back up the mountains.
Those sheep won't milk themselves.
- Okay.
- No!
I'll go.
[DOOR OPENS]
OLD JO: Some things,
even the mountains cannot solve.
I wanted the Corporal
to be wrong.
So, like Papa before me,
and Grandpere before him,
I spent the summer's
three months in the high pastures,
alone, with just my flock
and my thoughts.
My first transhumance.
On my brief trips home,
all talk was about the war.
The Americans and British
landing on the beaches,
Soviets advancing from the east.
[INDISTINCT]
Everyone sensed that
it would all be over soon.
But to me, the Germans
lost the war in our village
the day they captured
Benjamin and Leah.
In an instant, the uniforms
became the only thing
that anyone could see.
Their smiles were ignored,
their small acts
of kindness forgotten.
There was no hope
of victory after that.
Don't worry,
no one can see us.
He gave them back?
But the little cup he made me,
I shall keep forever.
I will take it home when all this is over,
to remind me of this place.
Of you, of him.
They were taken to one
of those camps, weren't they?
- Jo, I have no answers.
- You have no answer?
Or you don't want to think about
the answer?
- Jo, I...
- He was my friend.
They both were.
He was waiting
for his daughter,
so they could escape
together to Spain.
You knew, didn't you?
I thought there was
someone or something
you didn't want
me to see.
There were seven children in here.
And they escaped.
All except Leah.
Well, at least we
achieved something.
[DONKEY BRAYING]
[DISTANT GUNFIRE]
[BELLS DINGING]
- [ALL CHEERING]
- [LIVELY MUSIC PLAYING]
Monsieur Sarthol,
have you seen Hubert?
- What is it, Jo? Huh?
- Hubert!
Tell him to come
when you find him.
Oh, I saw him. He went towards
the graveyard.
[HONKING]
Right flank!
The boy, he has a gun!
JO: [SHOUTING]
Don't, Hubert, don't!
No, Hubert! No!
[SOBBING]
JO: Wake up! Hubert!
He didn't mean it!
He didn't mean it!
He didn't mean it!
[SOBBING CONTINUES]
[BELLS CHIMING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[DOGS BARKING]
PAPA: Jo!
Ah, my love.
These are for Grandmere.
Okay, Maman.
HENRI: You're a star, Jo!
Put it on the table.
You have some post here
as well, Madame.
Will you open it for me?
And stop calling me Madame.
I'm Grandmere maintenant.
Another letter
from the mayor of Pau...
Well, you can put that
in the bin.
Were you expecting
a telegram?
No.
What does it say?
"I'm on my way."
ALICE: Benjamin.
Anya.
[EXHALES]
Grandpere! Grandmere!
JO: Anya!