L'oeuvre au noir (1988) - full transcript
In the sixteenth century, Spain occupies Flanders, an Inquisition enforces the faith. Aging writer and philosopher, Zénon Ligre, comes to Bruges using a false name and papers to serve as a physician to the poor, establishing a clinic and steam bath. His methods and opinions are outside the mainstream, but he has the protection and friendship of the local Prior. Zénon, an aristocrat with a degree in canon law, lives humbly. He learns of bacchanals under Masonic signs involving monks and women, and he warns those involved. The Prior is dying, and he urges Zénon to flee to England. Zénon burns his writing. Will he leave or will he face ecclesiastical accusers and, perhaps, the stake?
Henri-Maximilien and Zenon have chosen
different paths to explore the world.
One has chosen the path of military glory,
the other the path of truth.
Thirty years later, Zenon Ligre, wanted for
his dissident writings, returns home...
...under a false name, to Flanders, now occupied by
the Spaniards, and devastated by wars of religion...
...and by the Inquisition.
You still want to become a captain,
and to fight in Italy?
In 10 years, I'll be as famous
as Caesar or Alexander.
Or you'll be dead!
Benedictus, Zenon, pray
for me at Compostella.
Farewell, cousin captain.
Farewell, cousin pilgrim.
May God preserve you.
Your papers?
Jean-Louis de Berlaimont,
Prior of Cordeliers at Bruges.
- All in order.
- What's going on?
We're looking for a couple of peasants who
took off into the woods with their son.
But don't worry, it won't take long.
The father and the son are to hang,
the woman will be buried alive.
A woman with her skirt flapping
in the wind, that's indecent.
Isn't that so, Monsieur le Prior?
Especially for the children.
Is this gentleman travelling with you?
Sebastien Theus, Strasbourg. Very well.
- Are you travelling to Bruges, Monsieur?
- Yes. Is it much further?
No, you should be there by evening.
You, stay there!
- Let him be, he's a doctor.
- Very well.
Where is my son?
Yes, yes...yes, yes...
Give me a little of that oil.
Well? Can I interrogate her?
Not a chance, she's too far gone.
Well, come on, don't just stand there
like dummies! Don't you have arms?
Get going, search the wood!
Hurry! Track them down!
The Lord be praised that that
poor creature no longer suffers.
She could have held out
for a few more hours.
But for what purpose?
To relieve the body of its suffering,
only to deliver it to the executioner.
We live in stupid, cruel times, Monsieur Theus.
Bruges, Monsieur Prior.
You have returned to Bruges, Monsieur Prior?
And who is this gentlemen?
His name is Monsieur Theus, a doctor
of medicine. His luggage is with mine.
Very well. Go on.
Here are your books.
There's no danger now.
I don't know how to thank you.
Sure you won't get lost?
Thank you, Monsieur Prior,
they explained it all in detail.
I hope you will find time to visit
the convent, Monsieur Theus...
...we can always use good doctors.
- Goodbye Monsieur Prior, and thank you again.
- May the good Lord protect you and watch over you.
- Hey! - Hey! - Hey!
Monsieur Myers is expecting me, I think.
Welcome.
- Z?non!
- Ah, no! No!
Don't use that name,
now I'm called Sebastien Theus.
That other, Zenon, is sought
in France, from Paris to Lyons...
...as the author of certain ideas,
of certain writings...
...which have moreover been been
burned by the Spanish authorities.
Well, now my name is Sebastian Theus.
Attention, your surgeon barber...
...has need of a good doctor, Zenon.
- No, no...
- I mean, dear Sebastian!
- Catherine?
- Thank you.
This evening we're going to feast. - Yes!
And we'll deny ourselves nothing. - Nothing!
Catherine...
Tell me, in Padua, or at Montpellier,
where you practiced....
...has anyone discovered a cure for gout?
To tell the truth, it's becoming so insupportable...
...that I can't even visit my patients.
No-one really knows exactly
why those swellings come about...
Beer is not so good for them,
as for wine...
But after an attack you can
take as much as you like...
...provided it's good wine, and not too old.
Always the companion of the fire, Zenon.
Sebastian.
Did you find the secret you were
looking for, in Spain? - No.
Not long after my arrival in Lyon...
...Don Blas de Vela was asassinated
in the abbey by his own followers.
Because his old head was full of imaginings
which could have led to heresy.
Poor Don Blas de Vela. I could
neither follow him, nor defend him.
He left this earth in my absence.
I began to go through his
correspondence concerning metals.
Fire imbues matter with its own heat.
From the ashy dawn to the sunfire
of the gold, is but one step.
You'll be burned yourself if you talk like
that, my dear Jean. You must be tipsy.
There's a time to talk,
and a time to be silent.
And a time to sleep.
Is everything all right? Not too hot?
ZENON LIGRE
"Treatise on the Physical World"
ZENON LIGRE
"Prediction of Things to Come"
One can easily lose oneself
in the alleys and by-ways.
Split a red cabbage in two,
and you have a map of Bruges.
No, only old people remain here now.
The young people all left,
before the Spaniards arrived...
...gone to join the rebels in Zeland.
Yes, the new faith has its attractions...
...especially when there are military
detachments marching in the streets.
How old were you when your mother
placed you with Canon Campanus...
...so as to instruct you in Latin?
Do you remember my mother clearly?
She was so beautiful, and
so fragile, your mother.
She had such a beautiful name: Hilzonde.
Mother?
What are you doing there?
- You haven't left?
- No, not yet. In a little while.
You're alone? - Yes.
And my father?
Zenon. Stop staring at that.
How is your sister? Your sister?
Marta...
-Good.
I saw her once in Cologne.
She is a grand lady now.
Tell her that I think about her?
I learned only much later that my mother
had died at the stake in Munster.
And that she had had a daughter
with Simon Adriansen...Martha...
...who had escaped the massacre...
...and whom I never would have seen...
...if I hadn't been stationed in
Cologne during the Great Plague.
My half sister, Martha.
Martha!
- I can do nothing for your sister.
- She's not my sister.
My name is Martha Adriansen.
I am...
I'm her cousin. - Adriansen?
I beg you, don't let me go
without a good purpose.
No, don't be afraid.
I see that you have married Philibert.
She's delirious.
Breathe. Breathe deeply.
You must give her one of
these every half hour.
I know of an Adriansen.
Simon Adriansen.
His wife was called Hilzonde.
He was my father, he died at
Munster when it was occupied.
MARTHA!
Stay close to your cousin, until the end. The plague
will claim no more victims. Have no fear.
After Benedicte died, they removed
her name from the marriage certificate.
They replaced it with Martha's name.
They say that Martha is a miser,
and that Philibert is a big baby...
They live in Brussels in a fine house...
...close to the seat of power.
I imagine that your paths have never crossed?
Don't forget that I'm Sebastian Theus,
a native of Strasbourg.
And besides, who would think of searching
for Zenon inside such a labyrinth.
No names between us, Sebastian.
Don't move! Don't move, I said!
A broken leg, kicked by a horse.
I'll look for what what I need.
- No, leave it, I'll go.
- You're mad! They'll recognize you.
The horse lost a shoe, and my cousin
brought it to my father.
My father's the blacksmith.
Suddenly the horse kicked him.
Don't you know there's a curfew?
Monsieur Theus is a surgeon.
My father broke his hand.
The gentleman is a doctor.
He knocked his fingers with a hammer.
In Lane Street.
[- A man broke his hand]
[- Don't they know it's forbidden?]
It's forbidden, don't you know that?
[- Don't they know what time it is?]
- Didn't you hear the hour strike?
[- Go! go!]
- Well, go!
Hold, hold hard! Harder!
And you say that was done by a horse?
Hold the torch in your mouth.
You too.
Hold still! Hold him down!
Don't shout! Don't shout!
Han! I don't want to cut you,
but if you scream, I will!
Bring the light!
Light!
You're a fool! You had to amputate,
and now everyone knows.
I didn't want to do it.
Tomorrow the fever, the day after,
gangrene, then delirium and so on.
I cleaned him up properly.
The fracture is perfectly set
and properly splinted.
With some cartwheel spokes,
no doubt? Idiot!
Please, Jean, that's enough,
I want to sleep.
No... no.
Go on, brothers, it's all right.
You see Monsieur Theus, I followed
your advice and returned to my cell.
- And do you feel less tired today?
- No, I followed the procession on foot.
The whole way. And I'm out of breath.
Your friend Myers told me yesterday...
...that you have only a few patients.
Yes, that's so.
But it's not my intention
to stay here in Bruges.
Stay here a bit longer, there
are many poor people here...
...and on market days many peasants
come in search of a cure.
I thought that you might be able
to help us at the dispensary.
Your voice is a bit husky.
That will help.
Very good, Cyprien! Place them
a little higher. -- Boo.
Even higher.
Well, go on, go on.
- What is this game you're playing?
- If you touch me, I touch higher.
It's just like at mass.
How do you mean, at mass?
The evil spirits know that at my baptism....
...my godmother poisoned the holy water...
...because the cure held his breviary upside down.
- What are you talking about, Cyprien?
- Sir, one never knows!
An hour in the morning,
and again in the evening....
...bring all the patients in here.
And an hour before that, light
a fire to heat the stones.
How many faggots and bundles of wood
will be required for the fire, Doctor?
I don't know how much wood is needed to
sweat out smallpox, Mr Economist.
If I've understood you right,
you have agreed to stay?
- Yes, at least for 3 weeks.
- And your books?
Your "Predictions of Things to Come"
is still banned in Paris.
Have you forgotten that they
sent Dolet to the stake?
As regards my library in the
rue Jacob, there is no problem.
You must be careful, Sebastian.
The police are infinitely patient,
and they never close an open file.
Who saw that other Sebastien first,
in Strasbourg and in Paris?
What is this, an interrogation?
What do you want to know?
Where they tried to arrest me last?
How do I know? I have before me
a vision of the Pont-Saint-Esprit
I risked my life and my
medical reputation...
...for an adulterous woman
who wanted an abortion!
I buried the fetus under an olive tree...
...and paid the maids to wash the sheets.
When they came to arrest me
I had already left for Italy.
And now I see Innsbruck,
where...by chance...
...I ran across my cousin,
Henri-Maximilien.
I hadn't seen him since our
ecape from Granoche.
Still hawking your theories until
they finish by burning you.
A subterfuge...of war, Captain.
I have reached the first
stage [L'Oeuvre au Noir] .
And rumour has it that you have transmuted gold.
Henri-Maximilien...
I have studied metallurgy...
...observed the stars, dissected corpses...
But...I haven't made gold.
And I don't cure anybody.
Again! More Swiss-German wine.
- Joseph, are you there?
- Yes, sir.
Everything's nicer in Italy.
The women, the wine...
You eat better in Flanders.
But what am I doing in Innsbruck?
In a drowned city with a mad cousin.
A cousin who seeks the truth.
No, Maximilian. You and I
are very fortunate.
Because...you and I have
dreamed our dreams.
Because our truths and our lies...
...are not what you think.
Because, in addition to the stake,
there are other fires.
Behind the glory, there are other glories.
And we are going to die a little
less ignorant than we were born.
For you, perhaps. I believe I'll die...
...just as stupid as when I was born.
You already smell a rat.
I write little romantic verses,
I read Petronius.
I only take minor risks...
...war wounds, smallpox, creditors.
I would like to have lived in
Plutarch's golden time, or in Ovid's.
No, no. These are but mirages, cousin.
Joseph!
Joseph!
We should leave immediately!
And a little later, we left
the city, and we parted.
Dear, dear, Henri-Maximilien.
From that day on, I never saw him again.
He died in Siena, during the siege.
Wouldn't it be wise for you to
burn your manuscripts?
These are just medical commentaries...
...which could be of service to other doctors.
- Why must one always burn?
If I was you, I would burn everything.
Z?non! Henri-Maximilien!
Z?non! Henri-Maximilien!
Can you come, he's broken his ribs.
He talked during a bout of fever.
It wasn't a horse, that was a lie.
It appears that he fired his
arquebus at a Spanish officer.
...who had come to suppress a revolt at Dranoutre
The soldiers and the officer
had set fire to the barn...
...and Han jumped from the roof,
that's how he got the fracture
Did you know that? Did you?
Yes, our security depends
on the silence of the people.
If you pull the least thread,
the whole ball unwinds.
It's true, I've lost a little
weight, it's because I eat less.
Everything disgusts me, even the
meat which you prescribed.
I feel as though I am
digesting a mortal agony.
What difference is there between the
slaughtered beast and a human corpse?
I can only agree. But as a doctor I
must help you overcome this weakness.
I'm saving my strength. I always
go to bed after lunch.
- Go, then.
- One hour's rest.
Sebastian, didn't you say that
the humble folk that you treat...
...are in sympathy with the so-called Reform movement?
But...you know well that whoever
holds such compromising opinions...
...should guard well his silence.
But nevertheless, the majority
are in fact good catholics.
- If only out of habit.
- From habit?
I perceive in this nothing more than the
eternal confusion of huuman affairs.
The Spaniards persecute the Reformists,
and send them to the stake...
...the reformed evangelicals slaughter
the superstitious Anabaptists...
...and the state of Liege enriches itself
by furnishing weapons to all parties.
What one hears less and less...
...is the voice of the tortured, Monsieur Prior.
I must pray, as is required...
...for the prosperity of His Majesty
and of the Governate.
But the authority can no longer be delegated.
One discerns in the lineaments
of those grotesque faces...
...those signs which serve to conceal
the hidden depths of our crimes.
Have you looked closely at the
faces of our ministers?
One can always pray for the
enlightenment of those who govern us.
More than that, I need
to enlighten myself.
My advice is that you drink
hot wine morning and evening.
For your sore throat.
The gentleman is dead.
Dead. An attack.
What have you done?
I did what I had to.
I did it for him.
He was old, he was ill.
See, I've cured him.
I did it for you.
Now it all belongs to you.
I helped him die.
You are the master of this house,
master of the fire, my master!
I did it...I did it alone.
Don't send me away! No, no!
- Out! Out!
- No! I'm staying put!
- Out! Move!
Monsieur Sebastian Theus hereby declares that
he donates herewith to the Saint Comes Hospice....
...the earthly goods which Jean Myers bequeathed
to him in his last will and testament...
...including his personal effects, his books,
and his professional instruments.
As a result of the admirable generosity...
- Very admirable!
...very admirable generosity of
Monsieur Sebastian Theus...
...the above-mentioned dwelling will become
an annex of the hospice of St Comes.
...in which Catherine will remain
in her capacity of servant.
The money will go towards the repair
of the damage caused by the bad weather.
Monsieur Theus, we very much
appreciate your generosity.
Good.
And your prudence.
- What is it?
- She can't turn her head.
Call Cyprien.
Give her a gentle massage.
Listen, listen...away with the evil,
banish the illness.
Cure the misery of the poor,
who suffers from neck pain.
Away with the evil, away with the evil,
cure the neck pain of the poor sufferer.
What is this?
Hold the gauze in place.
Rub this in every evening...
...and then come back here.
Yes...yes.
- Ssh...
- Z?non.
Make two copies and then go
immediately to the prior.
Sir, the old woman
left this for you.
Salted butter.
I dance and am danced!
I sing and am sung!
- I sing and am sung!
I call and am called!
- I call and am called!
I watch and am watched!
- I watch and am watched!
It's delicious, try a bit.
Watch out for the cream!
It always happens to me.
Look, there in the garden! It's him!
I eat and am eaten!
- I eat and am eaten!
I sing and am sung!
- I sing and am sung!
He says that you want want him
- Do you understand what he means?
- Isn't that funny?
- He's always joking.
Now it's time to go.
I dance and I love!
- I dance and I love!
He says that he wants to love me!
Anyone could be looking, it's dangerous.
Once more! Wait, please.
Where will we meet?
Call and am called, think and am thought,
dream and am dreamed...
...want and am wanted, love and am loved,
call and am called...
...think and am thought,
dream and am dreamed...
I know that at night certain
monks jump over the wall.
They don't have to, because Brother
Florian has found a secret passage...
...through which the Angels come and go.
There are Quirin, Fran?ois,
Matthieu, brother Florian...
...Pierre de Hamaere, who loves the
Angels, but he hardly ever comes.
Hardly ever? And how can you be sure
that I won't denounce you?
Monsieur doesn't want to injure me?
The Beauty and the little black
girl don't always come either.
Through the underground ways the
blessed sisters bring their nourishment.
They feel no jealousy or shame
for their bodies' rapture.
But it is Cyprien whom she loves!
And you, how do you call the Beauty?
- Eva.
Eva.
Eva! Eva!
How will you support the flames
of the stake over all your body?
God relieves the pain of
the Angels in the fire.
Doctor, sir, do you have a moment? - Yes.
I have to talk about the expenses
of the dispensary, the baths...
...our new purchases, the
costs are multiplying.
The sick, they also, are multiplying.
You may have noticed a worsening
situation since our prior became ill.
Are you referring to
the clinic and its staff?
No, absolutely not, Monsieur Theus.
...but our prior's ill-health means that he
cannot supervise as closely as he did before.
Therefore I must ask you to prepare
a register of all the patients...
...especially those in transit.
Name, address, origin,
date of arrival, destination.
- Is this a joke? - Does it look like
I'm joking, Monsieur Theus?
The point is that, in
high places, our convent....
...is suspected of being a refuge
for all kinds of dissidents...
...and even heretics.
"In high places"?
A procurator, a certain Pierre le Cocq,
has been talking to our Bishop.
This Le Cocq is ambitious.
That's what worries me.
Could we not at least
close our infirmary?
Will you at least think about the
register, Monsieur Theus?
- Shall we talk again tomorow
- Very well.
I entrust this to you.
I wanted to comfort Count Egmont's widow.
They say that his suffering
is carrying her to the grave.
Egmont asked to be beheaded first...
...so as not to witness the death of his friend.
They say he went to the gallows
in a purple robe...
...with a black cape embroidered with gold.
They say that the people cried
so loudly in their grief...
...that even the Spanish soldiers
had tears in their eyes.
What they didn't say was that
a poor man with an obscure name
...who was for years in Egmont's
employ, an ordinary man...
...was arrested just a few hours
after his muster...
...and was beaten with iron bars to
the point that, three hours later...
...he was still groaning.
Why are you upsetting yourself over
the death of this unfortunate person?
Don't talk like that...pain
and sorrow are limitless.
Even now, while we are talking...
...torture and murder proceed
apace all around us.
I can't go on, my friend...Sebastian...
The prior is going through
his dark night of the soul.
Nearly 1600 years have gone by
since the birth of Christ...
...and one would think that he is
still hanging there on the cross.
It almost seems that the
purpose of the Redemption...
...was to prepare the world
for what it has now become.
If one amongst us sought execution...
...martyrdom...
...instead of the one being burned
at the stake, out of charity...
That has become a bright light for me.
The disease has opened the way.
And if they came to arrest us, then
surely His Kingdom will come.
And if God, in his weakness,
has need of our aid?
If God were only a little flame in our hands...
...who depended on us
not to let him flicker out?
Perhaps it's we who are the more
far-sighted, to whom He turns for help.
That child that you treated,
what was his name.
Han.
That old women that you helped die,
near the burning barn...
...that was his mother, wasn't it?
Do you know why he has escaped prosecution?
He was healed, and I did not wish
to see my work consumed by fire.
Here's the money. Take what you need.
Doctor, the messengers to whom
you entrust your letters....
...are being regularly searched
at the city gates.
They open the letters.
I don't know how to ask...
Please excuse me.
Of course, nothing dangerous.
Evil entities...
...in particular...
...those of the flesh...
...devour, little by little,
the surrounding structure.
He has utmost difficulty in swallowing.
He has no voice.
Yes, sir, our prior is a good soul.
Zenon?
Yes?
Josse thinks you should leave.
- Leave.
- To go where?
- You must leave, sir.
No
I must be with the prior when he departs.
They're already spreading the straw
in the street beneath his window.
The sacrifice...
...the oblation we talked about...
There's to be no sacrifice.
It matters little whether I live or die.
I want the Prior to live!
Leave, Zenon, after my death.
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
I am the good shepherd
The hired hand who cares not for the flock...
...sees the wolf coming, abandons
the sheep, and runs away.
The wolf seizes them and
scatters the flock...
...because the hireling
will not protect them.
Monsieur Economist...
I hope you will put a quick end
to this folly of your friends
- Who do you mean?
- I mean: brother Florian...
...who has gained access to the old galleries!
- I mean Francois de Bure!
- And Cyprien, I suppose?
Yes, Cyprien and all the others! And you!
You are certainly not unaware of
the games that your little Angels play...
...which are leading them
directly to the stake.
I know nothing about all that.
- Because the end...
- Justifies the means.
- What do you want?
- Josse told me that I could cross here.
Josse. So you're the
one bound for England?
Well, if you want to go there
you'll have to pay the price.
- Josse told me 16 ducats.
- Yes, when there are other people.
But you still go out tomorrow at dawn,
don't you? - Only for fishing.
- On the other hand, if you have 50 ducats...
- No, I only have 30.
Let's make it 45. You can eat with us
on the "Dove". Give me your parcel.
No, these are delicate instruments.
I prefer to keep them with me.
- I'm a surgeon.
- A surgeon who carries a firearm.
A prudent man.
- Are you going on the boat?
- It's very expensive.
Well, you have to discuss the price.
If you like them, I can sell
you some: 10 soldi each.
I need the money for the boat.
Here take it all.
Above all, stay together, don't separate.
Witch! Witch! Dirty bitch!
It's a sad story.
The girl strangled her own
baby, born premature.
The black servant went crazy...
...wandering in the streets, and she
finished by telling everything.
Then they arrested Idelette,
and Idelette confessed.
You can imagine how Cyprien
reacted: he was beside himself.
Do you know where Cyprien is?
Nobody knows where he is. Personally,
I think he's been arrested.
Shall I prepare your meal, sir?
Doctor, sir. They're asking for you. - Yes.
Sir, you are under arrest.
You are the doctor called Sebastian Theus?
No, my name is Zenon Ligre. - Ligre?
Would you kindly confirm that you are...
My name is Zenon Ligre.
Monsieur is of the Ligre family, I believe.
My wife will see to your food.
She makes a good soup.
Yes.
If you want we can play at dice.
You can be assured that you
will be kept well-informed.
You see, it's my job to clean
the archive. To keep it dust-free
And I listen.
Monsieur should know that the arrested monks...
...have confessed, under torture...to everything.
Yes.
I'm very tired, I would like to sleep.
Certainly sir, knock if you need anything.
Good night sir, and sleep well.
I have learned that this Cyprien...
...has attested that between you
and him there existed an illegal liason.
You see, monsieur, I know everything.
Monsieur Ligre.
I am the procuror charged with
the expedition of your case.
My name is Pierre le Cocq.
But what's wrong with the heating
in here, why isn't it working?
I can't breathe! Would you like
to smoke, Monsieur Ligre?
Fix it! Immediately!
Permit me to sit down.
Bring blankets and furs, if you please.
First of all, let me assure you...
...that we have succeeded in discounting
any question of your association...
...with the beatific sect of the Angels.
...because the accusations of the monk Cyprien....
...have been contradicted by his six accomplices.
You needn't write this down, if you please.
There is no need for notes at this stage.
We haven't reached that stage.
First of all, I'd like us to be quite relaxed
about what we say to each other.
We'll come to the official matters later.
Wait outside, and close the door!
Monsieur Ligre, I believe you received
your doctorate in canon law...
...from the University of Louvain.
And?
The chancellor, who is a remarkable prelate...
...has decided to conduct this inquiry
with an exceptional even-handedness...
...and Canon Campanus...
...has assigned two theologians from your own university...
...to be admitted as witnesses.
I consider that to be a very equitable
decision, don't you think?
Yes, yes.
And now, tell us...
...how you are reduced to living like this?
The crime committed by Miss Idelette
has been clearly proven...
...and the death penalty was the only possibility,
but she made a good and pious exit.
They should really have burnt her
for the crime of infanticide...
...but because she was of noble birth, it was
decided that decapitation was more appropriate.
Have you heard anything about
the trial of the Angels?
No, I know nothing.
- It's continuing, you see.
But it's certain that some among
them will go to the stake.
Can one do anything?
If certain conditions are met,
they will not arrive at the stake alive.
- How much?
- Three ducats per head.
Very well. When you hear of the
outcome, let me know.
You will be the first to know, I swear it.
Sir! They have have been strangled
before the fire touched them
...I mean Cyprien and one of the novices,
but there was a disturbance
...and so for Francois and the other
novices there wasn't time - Ah!
Han cried out for two quarter hours.
They were secured with longer chains,
so that their agonies lasted longer.
- No! - The executioner has returned the money, sir.
- No! - The money! - No!
Your economist, Pierre de Hamaere...
You're aware, no doubt, that
yesterday he died by his own hand...
...by poison, the most serious crime.
Ah, that hardly concerns me, Monsieur le Procurer.
Certainly, Monsieur Ligre, certainly.
Your half-sister, Martha Ligre?
Would you perhaps like to see
her again, talk to her?
Or to meet other members of your family?
The Bishop has made a very generous offer.
They could perhaps help you.
Only if it was their suggestion....which I doubt.
Why?
The day of your return to Bruges
with the prior of Cordeliers...
...you were recognized at the border by a monk.
Remember? A woman was burnt, and
they were looking for two heretics.
What possible reason was there for
you to conceal your true identity?
Well...why don't you ask him?
He was found guilty of complicity with heresy,
and was burned at the stake last month.
Ah well, in that case...
Z?non Ligre,..
...during the last two years which you spent
under the protection of the King of Sweden...
...that so-called reformist,
... have you lived in accordance with the Catholic faith?
Yes. - You have not abjured the faith?
I have never abjured, neither the Christian
religion, nor the Catholic faith.
Do you deny that your two letters
sent to the Swedish court...
...which we intercepted...
...conveyed important information about our
Catholic province to the enemy?
Don't you think that if I had wanted
to transmit such information...
...I would have established myself in
a more important city than Bruges
If your natal city is so...negligible...
...why did you hide your true identity
under the false name of Sebastian Theus?
I returned to Bruges at the age of 58,
and I was tired...of travelling
I sought an obscure and modest life,
as a doctor at the hospice.
However, for a man with many talents, like you...
...this secret existence permitted
you to meet with dissidents...
...and to nurse heretics.
But the hospice needed me...
...as did the prior of Cordeliers
who died nobly in my arms!
If you are accusing me of having turned the hospice...
...into a meeting-place for dissidents,
then I deny that with all my force!
Rest assured, we have already eliminated
the hospice as a source of disloyal acts.
The memory of the late prior Berlaimont...
...remains for us in a pure and unsullied state.
Far be it from us to tarnish the
memory of this holy man...
However...
...his extraordinary infatuation with
the accused is incomprehensible...
...without the evil as detailed in the
eighth charge against the accused...
...diabolic invention, sacrilege,
the practise of magic!
Is not everything magical...
...concerning the relations between man,
and the secrets of the universe.
But to go from this to demean the
greatness of soul of the prior of Cordeliers...
...and the exchange of views
between two free spirits...
Ah! Free spirits!
- Ad rem non pertinet!
What is the name of your father?
- Alberico de' Numi.
Was he a subject of the king?
He was a Florentine, but he considered himself to be
a most faithful servant of the King of Spain.
Exactly.
Did he not belong to a bastard
branch of the Ligre family?
...who dedicated themselves to social rebellion?
No! - Towards rebellion and heresy? - No!
Ad rem non pertinet! All that has been
common knowledge for more than 20 years!
Not crimes of impiety under an assumed name!
Non pertinet! The facts have
been known for 20 years.
(Ah! Those glory days ot Dranoutre!)
(Do you remember how happy we were at Dranoutre?)
(Why did you ever leave home?)
(Do you remember those days and nights at Dranoutre?)
(We ran wild in the company of Henri-Maximilian...)
(...we disappeared for days on end.)
(We were like young dogs let off the leash.)
(How happy we were...at Dranoutre.)
Monsieur Ligre?
Monsieur Ligre? Monsieur Ligre?
- Yes?
Do you admit the existence of the vegetable soul?
...or of the animal soul?
Rather, the immortality of an Entity...
...which is the unique foundation
of all there is.
You have advanced the hypothesis
of a certain corporeality of the soul.
Saint Bonaventure, in his teaching,
has already suggested something similar.
But without drawing the necessary consequence.
Do you deny that consequence? - Yes.
Optime!
Do you admit to having poisoned the
surgeon-barber Jean Myers?
No, false! False!
False! False!
I saw him standing there with the bottle!
It was him who did it! Him!
With the bottle! This bottle!
It was him! I did nothing!
- Calm yourself! Enough!
- I didn't poison him! I helped him!
- Be calm! - It was him
who wanted to kill the master!
I helped, but it was him who did it!
The goat! The goat!
He came in to me like a a nail!
I helped, but it was him who
made me! Mercy! Have mercy!
Do you admit to having carnal
knowledge of the woman Catherine?
Yes.
The common folk in Bruges...
...are less concerned about events
in the Brussels high court...
...than they are preoccupied with
the case of this fellow Ligre.
Besides, the common folk at Bruges
want to see this rascal burnt.
It's a dangerous to snatch a bone from a
hungry dog after he has caught wind of it.
We've lost six weeks over
this bundle of fripperies.
The Most Reverend Bishop has used
his authority wisely.
But do you not think that the Reverend
gentleman is exhibiting too many scruples...
...to be able to properly fulfill his role as a judge?
(Dear Philibert and Martha, your brother
defends himself well...)
(...and refutes the accusations one after the other.)
(If the Bishop feels inclined to show mercy...)
It is also evident that the procurer
seeks an exemplary punishment.
This same procurer Le Cocq...
...sems to have contracted heavy debts with you.
I wonder whether an intervention
from the Ligre Bank...
...might bring about a more moderate attitude.
Forgive me, dear cousin, for having
written you this personal letter.
Is it really necessary for you to nibble?
I need the good advice of my wife for other things.
You have already read this letter
from our uncle, the Canon?
What a sorry story.
Anything to do with justice is a sorry story. If it
wasn't so in the beginning then it ends up that way.
Campanus is perhaps of the opinion
that two public executions...
...in a single family, a mother
and now a brother, are too many.
Everybody knows that my mother died
at Munster as a victim of the troubles there.
Let us rather talk of the son,
the son of your irreproachable mother.
It is cetainly true that the procurer Le Cocq
has a noteworthy sum outstanding on our books.
We might see our way through
to writing off one or two of his debts...
...but money doesn't always solve everything.
Le Cocq perhaps has his own reasons
to push things to the limit.
And you...you seem very concerned with
all this. - I don't know this Zenon.
I have nothing against your brother. In fact
I would quite like him here to cure my gout.
But what gave him the idea to get
himself thrown into Bruges prison...
...and, moreover, under a false name?
What does he have to hide?
Silence is sometimes a heavy burden.
So it's "yes"? Very well.
We shall help this Zenon remove the hook.
But note well, that if Pierre le Cocq consents...
...then I become obliged to him,
instead of the other way round.
- It's "no".
- So much the better.
Bring me the escritoire so
that I can write to Uncle...
...recommending that he say his holy prayers.
- Without mentioning...?
- Without mentioning this Zenon.
Your uncle knows how to read between the
lines, he will understand the omission.
After all, the important thing is that the
postman doesn't walk away with empty hands...
I'm sure that among our provisions...
...there will be something good for Lent.
Compote of eels, for example.
It is among us,
it is in us...
...that God prepares the fall into heresy.
Now, there are 10 signs: unnatural practices,
...of rebellion, of complicity.
And these 10 signs together lead to certainty!
You have written that the world
is a living creature...
...inside of which we live...
...like worms in the belly.
You have written that the magic of
nature is the only sacrament...
...is the only mystery.
And God? What of our Saviour?
And the certainties provided by the
Virgin Mary, and the Catholic church?
You have written that all power
derives from Knowledge...
...and all knowledge, from experience.
You deny, therefore, the authority
of the Church, and of the Holy Scripture.
You, apostate, have denied God!
You, doctor, are yourself the sickness
which has infected our society.
Parasite, rebel, you no longer
belong in human society.
You are but a cancer cell which
contaminates the healthy tissue.
In the same way will a mad
swine infect the whole pigsty.
It needs only one rotten individual
for the entire house to crumble.
One rotten house for the city to sicken...
...one rotten city for the country to be lost.
There's only one remedy.
...to cut out the abnormal tissue
from normally-functioning society.
...to extirpate the sin
in order to cure the malady.
Repress it! Expel it! Burn it!
Sir, I finally managed to talk to the Executioner...
These are tarot cards.
They are very ancient.
They go with me everywhere.
But you can also play for fun.
Now you keep them.
And...
Thank you for everything.
Monsignor the bishop has observed
that you were judged equitably.
It is unfortunate that the crime of atheism
remains so clearly evident in your writings.
Some facts harmed you greatly:
your treatment of heretics...
...your practice of abortion
against the innocent new-born...
And even the deposition of that
unfortunate servant of Myers.
The Ligre family were not able to moderate
the ardour of procurator Le Cocq...
...but my Lord does not despair.
He made the observation that your theories,
when properly formulated....
...could actually serve as
a new defense of the Church.
It would suffice that....
God Himself is the sole judge
of the hypocrisy...
...that your recantation will contain tomorrow.
Zenon, you have the whole night
in which to reflect.
Concerning corporal suffering, I can promise you...
We live in a time of stupidity and cruelty, Monsieur Canon.
English subs: Wootletootle
different paths to explore the world.
One has chosen the path of military glory,
the other the path of truth.
Thirty years later, Zenon Ligre, wanted for
his dissident writings, returns home...
...under a false name, to Flanders, now occupied by
the Spaniards, and devastated by wars of religion...
...and by the Inquisition.
You still want to become a captain,
and to fight in Italy?
In 10 years, I'll be as famous
as Caesar or Alexander.
Or you'll be dead!
Benedictus, Zenon, pray
for me at Compostella.
Farewell, cousin captain.
Farewell, cousin pilgrim.
May God preserve you.
Your papers?
Jean-Louis de Berlaimont,
Prior of Cordeliers at Bruges.
- All in order.
- What's going on?
We're looking for a couple of peasants who
took off into the woods with their son.
But don't worry, it won't take long.
The father and the son are to hang,
the woman will be buried alive.
A woman with her skirt flapping
in the wind, that's indecent.
Isn't that so, Monsieur le Prior?
Especially for the children.
Is this gentleman travelling with you?
Sebastien Theus, Strasbourg. Very well.
- Are you travelling to Bruges, Monsieur?
- Yes. Is it much further?
No, you should be there by evening.
You, stay there!
- Let him be, he's a doctor.
- Very well.
Where is my son?
Yes, yes...yes, yes...
Give me a little of that oil.
Well? Can I interrogate her?
Not a chance, she's too far gone.
Well, come on, don't just stand there
like dummies! Don't you have arms?
Get going, search the wood!
Hurry! Track them down!
The Lord be praised that that
poor creature no longer suffers.
She could have held out
for a few more hours.
But for what purpose?
To relieve the body of its suffering,
only to deliver it to the executioner.
We live in stupid, cruel times, Monsieur Theus.
Bruges, Monsieur Prior.
You have returned to Bruges, Monsieur Prior?
And who is this gentlemen?
His name is Monsieur Theus, a doctor
of medicine. His luggage is with mine.
Very well. Go on.
Here are your books.
There's no danger now.
I don't know how to thank you.
Sure you won't get lost?
Thank you, Monsieur Prior,
they explained it all in detail.
I hope you will find time to visit
the convent, Monsieur Theus...
...we can always use good doctors.
- Goodbye Monsieur Prior, and thank you again.
- May the good Lord protect you and watch over you.
- Hey! - Hey! - Hey!
Monsieur Myers is expecting me, I think.
Welcome.
- Z?non!
- Ah, no! No!
Don't use that name,
now I'm called Sebastien Theus.
That other, Zenon, is sought
in France, from Paris to Lyons...
...as the author of certain ideas,
of certain writings...
...which have moreover been been
burned by the Spanish authorities.
Well, now my name is Sebastian Theus.
Attention, your surgeon barber...
...has need of a good doctor, Zenon.
- No, no...
- I mean, dear Sebastian!
- Catherine?
- Thank you.
This evening we're going to feast. - Yes!
And we'll deny ourselves nothing. - Nothing!
Catherine...
Tell me, in Padua, or at Montpellier,
where you practiced....
...has anyone discovered a cure for gout?
To tell the truth, it's becoming so insupportable...
...that I can't even visit my patients.
No-one really knows exactly
why those swellings come about...
Beer is not so good for them,
as for wine...
But after an attack you can
take as much as you like...
...provided it's good wine, and not too old.
Always the companion of the fire, Zenon.
Sebastian.
Did you find the secret you were
looking for, in Spain? - No.
Not long after my arrival in Lyon...
...Don Blas de Vela was asassinated
in the abbey by his own followers.
Because his old head was full of imaginings
which could have led to heresy.
Poor Don Blas de Vela. I could
neither follow him, nor defend him.
He left this earth in my absence.
I began to go through his
correspondence concerning metals.
Fire imbues matter with its own heat.
From the ashy dawn to the sunfire
of the gold, is but one step.
You'll be burned yourself if you talk like
that, my dear Jean. You must be tipsy.
There's a time to talk,
and a time to be silent.
And a time to sleep.
Is everything all right? Not too hot?
ZENON LIGRE
"Treatise on the Physical World"
ZENON LIGRE
"Prediction of Things to Come"
One can easily lose oneself
in the alleys and by-ways.
Split a red cabbage in two,
and you have a map of Bruges.
No, only old people remain here now.
The young people all left,
before the Spaniards arrived...
...gone to join the rebels in Zeland.
Yes, the new faith has its attractions...
...especially when there are military
detachments marching in the streets.
How old were you when your mother
placed you with Canon Campanus...
...so as to instruct you in Latin?
Do you remember my mother clearly?
She was so beautiful, and
so fragile, your mother.
She had such a beautiful name: Hilzonde.
Mother?
What are you doing there?
- You haven't left?
- No, not yet. In a little while.
You're alone? - Yes.
And my father?
Zenon. Stop staring at that.
How is your sister? Your sister?
Marta...
-Good.
I saw her once in Cologne.
She is a grand lady now.
Tell her that I think about her?
I learned only much later that my mother
had died at the stake in Munster.
And that she had had a daughter
with Simon Adriansen...Martha...
...who had escaped the massacre...
...and whom I never would have seen...
...if I hadn't been stationed in
Cologne during the Great Plague.
My half sister, Martha.
Martha!
- I can do nothing for your sister.
- She's not my sister.
My name is Martha Adriansen.
I am...
I'm her cousin. - Adriansen?
I beg you, don't let me go
without a good purpose.
No, don't be afraid.
I see that you have married Philibert.
She's delirious.
Breathe. Breathe deeply.
You must give her one of
these every half hour.
I know of an Adriansen.
Simon Adriansen.
His wife was called Hilzonde.
He was my father, he died at
Munster when it was occupied.
MARTHA!
Stay close to your cousin, until the end. The plague
will claim no more victims. Have no fear.
After Benedicte died, they removed
her name from the marriage certificate.
They replaced it with Martha's name.
They say that Martha is a miser,
and that Philibert is a big baby...
They live in Brussels in a fine house...
...close to the seat of power.
I imagine that your paths have never crossed?
Don't forget that I'm Sebastian Theus,
a native of Strasbourg.
And besides, who would think of searching
for Zenon inside such a labyrinth.
No names between us, Sebastian.
Don't move! Don't move, I said!
A broken leg, kicked by a horse.
I'll look for what what I need.
- No, leave it, I'll go.
- You're mad! They'll recognize you.
The horse lost a shoe, and my cousin
brought it to my father.
My father's the blacksmith.
Suddenly the horse kicked him.
Don't you know there's a curfew?
Monsieur Theus is a surgeon.
My father broke his hand.
The gentleman is a doctor.
He knocked his fingers with a hammer.
In Lane Street.
[- A man broke his hand]
[- Don't they know it's forbidden?]
It's forbidden, don't you know that?
[- Don't they know what time it is?]
- Didn't you hear the hour strike?
[- Go! go!]
- Well, go!
Hold, hold hard! Harder!
And you say that was done by a horse?
Hold the torch in your mouth.
You too.
Hold still! Hold him down!
Don't shout! Don't shout!
Han! I don't want to cut you,
but if you scream, I will!
Bring the light!
Light!
You're a fool! You had to amputate,
and now everyone knows.
I didn't want to do it.
Tomorrow the fever, the day after,
gangrene, then delirium and so on.
I cleaned him up properly.
The fracture is perfectly set
and properly splinted.
With some cartwheel spokes,
no doubt? Idiot!
Please, Jean, that's enough,
I want to sleep.
No... no.
Go on, brothers, it's all right.
You see Monsieur Theus, I followed
your advice and returned to my cell.
- And do you feel less tired today?
- No, I followed the procession on foot.
The whole way. And I'm out of breath.
Your friend Myers told me yesterday...
...that you have only a few patients.
Yes, that's so.
But it's not my intention
to stay here in Bruges.
Stay here a bit longer, there
are many poor people here...
...and on market days many peasants
come in search of a cure.
I thought that you might be able
to help us at the dispensary.
Your voice is a bit husky.
That will help.
Very good, Cyprien! Place them
a little higher. -- Boo.
Even higher.
Well, go on, go on.
- What is this game you're playing?
- If you touch me, I touch higher.
It's just like at mass.
How do you mean, at mass?
The evil spirits know that at my baptism....
...my godmother poisoned the holy water...
...because the cure held his breviary upside down.
- What are you talking about, Cyprien?
- Sir, one never knows!
An hour in the morning,
and again in the evening....
...bring all the patients in here.
And an hour before that, light
a fire to heat the stones.
How many faggots and bundles of wood
will be required for the fire, Doctor?
I don't know how much wood is needed to
sweat out smallpox, Mr Economist.
If I've understood you right,
you have agreed to stay?
- Yes, at least for 3 weeks.
- And your books?
Your "Predictions of Things to Come"
is still banned in Paris.
Have you forgotten that they
sent Dolet to the stake?
As regards my library in the
rue Jacob, there is no problem.
You must be careful, Sebastian.
The police are infinitely patient,
and they never close an open file.
Who saw that other Sebastien first,
in Strasbourg and in Paris?
What is this, an interrogation?
What do you want to know?
Where they tried to arrest me last?
How do I know? I have before me
a vision of the Pont-Saint-Esprit
I risked my life and my
medical reputation...
...for an adulterous woman
who wanted an abortion!
I buried the fetus under an olive tree...
...and paid the maids to wash the sheets.
When they came to arrest me
I had already left for Italy.
And now I see Innsbruck,
where...by chance...
...I ran across my cousin,
Henri-Maximilien.
I hadn't seen him since our
ecape from Granoche.
Still hawking your theories until
they finish by burning you.
A subterfuge...of war, Captain.
I have reached the first
stage [L'Oeuvre au Noir] .
And rumour has it that you have transmuted gold.
Henri-Maximilien...
I have studied metallurgy...
...observed the stars, dissected corpses...
But...I haven't made gold.
And I don't cure anybody.
Again! More Swiss-German wine.
- Joseph, are you there?
- Yes, sir.
Everything's nicer in Italy.
The women, the wine...
You eat better in Flanders.
But what am I doing in Innsbruck?
In a drowned city with a mad cousin.
A cousin who seeks the truth.
No, Maximilian. You and I
are very fortunate.
Because...you and I have
dreamed our dreams.
Because our truths and our lies...
...are not what you think.
Because, in addition to the stake,
there are other fires.
Behind the glory, there are other glories.
And we are going to die a little
less ignorant than we were born.
For you, perhaps. I believe I'll die...
...just as stupid as when I was born.
You already smell a rat.
I write little romantic verses,
I read Petronius.
I only take minor risks...
...war wounds, smallpox, creditors.
I would like to have lived in
Plutarch's golden time, or in Ovid's.
No, no. These are but mirages, cousin.
Joseph!
Joseph!
We should leave immediately!
And a little later, we left
the city, and we parted.
Dear, dear, Henri-Maximilien.
From that day on, I never saw him again.
He died in Siena, during the siege.
Wouldn't it be wise for you to
burn your manuscripts?
These are just medical commentaries...
...which could be of service to other doctors.
- Why must one always burn?
If I was you, I would burn everything.
Z?non! Henri-Maximilien!
Z?non! Henri-Maximilien!
Can you come, he's broken his ribs.
He talked during a bout of fever.
It wasn't a horse, that was a lie.
It appears that he fired his
arquebus at a Spanish officer.
...who had come to suppress a revolt at Dranoutre
The soldiers and the officer
had set fire to the barn...
...and Han jumped from the roof,
that's how he got the fracture
Did you know that? Did you?
Yes, our security depends
on the silence of the people.
If you pull the least thread,
the whole ball unwinds.
It's true, I've lost a little
weight, it's because I eat less.
Everything disgusts me, even the
meat which you prescribed.
I feel as though I am
digesting a mortal agony.
What difference is there between the
slaughtered beast and a human corpse?
I can only agree. But as a doctor I
must help you overcome this weakness.
I'm saving my strength. I always
go to bed after lunch.
- Go, then.
- One hour's rest.
Sebastian, didn't you say that
the humble folk that you treat...
...are in sympathy with the so-called Reform movement?
But...you know well that whoever
holds such compromising opinions...
...should guard well his silence.
But nevertheless, the majority
are in fact good catholics.
- If only out of habit.
- From habit?
I perceive in this nothing more than the
eternal confusion of huuman affairs.
The Spaniards persecute the Reformists,
and send them to the stake...
...the reformed evangelicals slaughter
the superstitious Anabaptists...
...and the state of Liege enriches itself
by furnishing weapons to all parties.
What one hears less and less...
...is the voice of the tortured, Monsieur Prior.
I must pray, as is required...
...for the prosperity of His Majesty
and of the Governate.
But the authority can no longer be delegated.
One discerns in the lineaments
of those grotesque faces...
...those signs which serve to conceal
the hidden depths of our crimes.
Have you looked closely at the
faces of our ministers?
One can always pray for the
enlightenment of those who govern us.
More than that, I need
to enlighten myself.
My advice is that you drink
hot wine morning and evening.
For your sore throat.
The gentleman is dead.
Dead. An attack.
What have you done?
I did what I had to.
I did it for him.
He was old, he was ill.
See, I've cured him.
I did it for you.
Now it all belongs to you.
I helped him die.
You are the master of this house,
master of the fire, my master!
I did it...I did it alone.
Don't send me away! No, no!
- Out! Out!
- No! I'm staying put!
- Out! Move!
Monsieur Sebastian Theus hereby declares that
he donates herewith to the Saint Comes Hospice....
...the earthly goods which Jean Myers bequeathed
to him in his last will and testament...
...including his personal effects, his books,
and his professional instruments.
As a result of the admirable generosity...
- Very admirable!
...very admirable generosity of
Monsieur Sebastian Theus...
...the above-mentioned dwelling will become
an annex of the hospice of St Comes.
...in which Catherine will remain
in her capacity of servant.
The money will go towards the repair
of the damage caused by the bad weather.
Monsieur Theus, we very much
appreciate your generosity.
Good.
And your prudence.
- What is it?
- She can't turn her head.
Call Cyprien.
Give her a gentle massage.
Listen, listen...away with the evil,
banish the illness.
Cure the misery of the poor,
who suffers from neck pain.
Away with the evil, away with the evil,
cure the neck pain of the poor sufferer.
What is this?
Hold the gauze in place.
Rub this in every evening...
...and then come back here.
Yes...yes.
- Ssh...
- Z?non.
Make two copies and then go
immediately to the prior.
Sir, the old woman
left this for you.
Salted butter.
I dance and am danced!
I sing and am sung!
- I sing and am sung!
I call and am called!
- I call and am called!
I watch and am watched!
- I watch and am watched!
It's delicious, try a bit.
Watch out for the cream!
It always happens to me.
Look, there in the garden! It's him!
I eat and am eaten!
- I eat and am eaten!
I sing and am sung!
- I sing and am sung!
He says that you want want him
- Do you understand what he means?
- Isn't that funny?
- He's always joking.
Now it's time to go.
I dance and I love!
- I dance and I love!
He says that he wants to love me!
Anyone could be looking, it's dangerous.
Once more! Wait, please.
Where will we meet?
Call and am called, think and am thought,
dream and am dreamed...
...want and am wanted, love and am loved,
call and am called...
...think and am thought,
dream and am dreamed...
I know that at night certain
monks jump over the wall.
They don't have to, because Brother
Florian has found a secret passage...
...through which the Angels come and go.
There are Quirin, Fran?ois,
Matthieu, brother Florian...
...Pierre de Hamaere, who loves the
Angels, but he hardly ever comes.
Hardly ever? And how can you be sure
that I won't denounce you?
Monsieur doesn't want to injure me?
The Beauty and the little black
girl don't always come either.
Through the underground ways the
blessed sisters bring their nourishment.
They feel no jealousy or shame
for their bodies' rapture.
But it is Cyprien whom she loves!
And you, how do you call the Beauty?
- Eva.
Eva.
Eva! Eva!
How will you support the flames
of the stake over all your body?
God relieves the pain of
the Angels in the fire.
Doctor, sir, do you have a moment? - Yes.
I have to talk about the expenses
of the dispensary, the baths...
...our new purchases, the
costs are multiplying.
The sick, they also, are multiplying.
You may have noticed a worsening
situation since our prior became ill.
Are you referring to
the clinic and its staff?
No, absolutely not, Monsieur Theus.
...but our prior's ill-health means that he
cannot supervise as closely as he did before.
Therefore I must ask you to prepare
a register of all the patients...
...especially those in transit.
Name, address, origin,
date of arrival, destination.
- Is this a joke? - Does it look like
I'm joking, Monsieur Theus?
The point is that, in
high places, our convent....
...is suspected of being a refuge
for all kinds of dissidents...
...and even heretics.
"In high places"?
A procurator, a certain Pierre le Cocq,
has been talking to our Bishop.
This Le Cocq is ambitious.
That's what worries me.
Could we not at least
close our infirmary?
Will you at least think about the
register, Monsieur Theus?
- Shall we talk again tomorow
- Very well.
I entrust this to you.
I wanted to comfort Count Egmont's widow.
They say that his suffering
is carrying her to the grave.
Egmont asked to be beheaded first...
...so as not to witness the death of his friend.
They say he went to the gallows
in a purple robe...
...with a black cape embroidered with gold.
They say that the people cried
so loudly in their grief...
...that even the Spanish soldiers
had tears in their eyes.
What they didn't say was that
a poor man with an obscure name
...who was for years in Egmont's
employ, an ordinary man...
...was arrested just a few hours
after his muster...
...and was beaten with iron bars to
the point that, three hours later...
...he was still groaning.
Why are you upsetting yourself over
the death of this unfortunate person?
Don't talk like that...pain
and sorrow are limitless.
Even now, while we are talking...
...torture and murder proceed
apace all around us.
I can't go on, my friend...Sebastian...
The prior is going through
his dark night of the soul.
Nearly 1600 years have gone by
since the birth of Christ...
...and one would think that he is
still hanging there on the cross.
It almost seems that the
purpose of the Redemption...
...was to prepare the world
for what it has now become.
If one amongst us sought execution...
...martyrdom...
...instead of the one being burned
at the stake, out of charity...
That has become a bright light for me.
The disease has opened the way.
And if they came to arrest us, then
surely His Kingdom will come.
And if God, in his weakness,
has need of our aid?
If God were only a little flame in our hands...
...who depended on us
not to let him flicker out?
Perhaps it's we who are the more
far-sighted, to whom He turns for help.
That child that you treated,
what was his name.
Han.
That old women that you helped die,
near the burning barn...
...that was his mother, wasn't it?
Do you know why he has escaped prosecution?
He was healed, and I did not wish
to see my work consumed by fire.
Here's the money. Take what you need.
Doctor, the messengers to whom
you entrust your letters....
...are being regularly searched
at the city gates.
They open the letters.
I don't know how to ask...
Please excuse me.
Of course, nothing dangerous.
Evil entities...
...in particular...
...those of the flesh...
...devour, little by little,
the surrounding structure.
He has utmost difficulty in swallowing.
He has no voice.
Yes, sir, our prior is a good soul.
Zenon?
Yes?
Josse thinks you should leave.
- Leave.
- To go where?
- You must leave, sir.
No
I must be with the prior when he departs.
They're already spreading the straw
in the street beneath his window.
The sacrifice...
...the oblation we talked about...
There's to be no sacrifice.
It matters little whether I live or die.
I want the Prior to live!
Leave, Zenon, after my death.
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
I am the good shepherd
The hired hand who cares not for the flock...
...sees the wolf coming, abandons
the sheep, and runs away.
The wolf seizes them and
scatters the flock...
...because the hireling
will not protect them.
Monsieur Economist...
I hope you will put a quick end
to this folly of your friends
- Who do you mean?
- I mean: brother Florian...
...who has gained access to the old galleries!
- I mean Francois de Bure!
- And Cyprien, I suppose?
Yes, Cyprien and all the others! And you!
You are certainly not unaware of
the games that your little Angels play...
...which are leading them
directly to the stake.
I know nothing about all that.
- Because the end...
- Justifies the means.
- What do you want?
- Josse told me that I could cross here.
Josse. So you're the
one bound for England?
Well, if you want to go there
you'll have to pay the price.
- Josse told me 16 ducats.
- Yes, when there are other people.
But you still go out tomorrow at dawn,
don't you? - Only for fishing.
- On the other hand, if you have 50 ducats...
- No, I only have 30.
Let's make it 45. You can eat with us
on the "Dove". Give me your parcel.
No, these are delicate instruments.
I prefer to keep them with me.
- I'm a surgeon.
- A surgeon who carries a firearm.
A prudent man.
- Are you going on the boat?
- It's very expensive.
Well, you have to discuss the price.
If you like them, I can sell
you some: 10 soldi each.
I need the money for the boat.
Here take it all.
Above all, stay together, don't separate.
Witch! Witch! Dirty bitch!
It's a sad story.
The girl strangled her own
baby, born premature.
The black servant went crazy...
...wandering in the streets, and she
finished by telling everything.
Then they arrested Idelette,
and Idelette confessed.
You can imagine how Cyprien
reacted: he was beside himself.
Do you know where Cyprien is?
Nobody knows where he is. Personally,
I think he's been arrested.
Shall I prepare your meal, sir?
Doctor, sir. They're asking for you. - Yes.
Sir, you are under arrest.
You are the doctor called Sebastian Theus?
No, my name is Zenon Ligre. - Ligre?
Would you kindly confirm that you are...
My name is Zenon Ligre.
Monsieur is of the Ligre family, I believe.
My wife will see to your food.
She makes a good soup.
Yes.
If you want we can play at dice.
You can be assured that you
will be kept well-informed.
You see, it's my job to clean
the archive. To keep it dust-free
And I listen.
Monsieur should know that the arrested monks...
...have confessed, under torture...to everything.
Yes.
I'm very tired, I would like to sleep.
Certainly sir, knock if you need anything.
Good night sir, and sleep well.
I have learned that this Cyprien...
...has attested that between you
and him there existed an illegal liason.
You see, monsieur, I know everything.
Monsieur Ligre.
I am the procuror charged with
the expedition of your case.
My name is Pierre le Cocq.
But what's wrong with the heating
in here, why isn't it working?
I can't breathe! Would you like
to smoke, Monsieur Ligre?
Fix it! Immediately!
Permit me to sit down.
Bring blankets and furs, if you please.
First of all, let me assure you...
...that we have succeeded in discounting
any question of your association...
...with the beatific sect of the Angels.
...because the accusations of the monk Cyprien....
...have been contradicted by his six accomplices.
You needn't write this down, if you please.
There is no need for notes at this stage.
We haven't reached that stage.
First of all, I'd like us to be quite relaxed
about what we say to each other.
We'll come to the official matters later.
Wait outside, and close the door!
Monsieur Ligre, I believe you received
your doctorate in canon law...
...from the University of Louvain.
And?
The chancellor, who is a remarkable prelate...
...has decided to conduct this inquiry
with an exceptional even-handedness...
...and Canon Campanus...
...has assigned two theologians from your own university...
...to be admitted as witnesses.
I consider that to be a very equitable
decision, don't you think?
Yes, yes.
And now, tell us...
...how you are reduced to living like this?
The crime committed by Miss Idelette
has been clearly proven...
...and the death penalty was the only possibility,
but she made a good and pious exit.
They should really have burnt her
for the crime of infanticide...
...but because she was of noble birth, it was
decided that decapitation was more appropriate.
Have you heard anything about
the trial of the Angels?
No, I know nothing.
- It's continuing, you see.
But it's certain that some among
them will go to the stake.
Can one do anything?
If certain conditions are met,
they will not arrive at the stake alive.
- How much?
- Three ducats per head.
Very well. When you hear of the
outcome, let me know.
You will be the first to know, I swear it.
Sir! They have have been strangled
before the fire touched them
...I mean Cyprien and one of the novices,
but there was a disturbance
...and so for Francois and the other
novices there wasn't time - Ah!
Han cried out for two quarter hours.
They were secured with longer chains,
so that their agonies lasted longer.
- No! - The executioner has returned the money, sir.
- No! - The money! - No!
Your economist, Pierre de Hamaere...
You're aware, no doubt, that
yesterday he died by his own hand...
...by poison, the most serious crime.
Ah, that hardly concerns me, Monsieur le Procurer.
Certainly, Monsieur Ligre, certainly.
Your half-sister, Martha Ligre?
Would you perhaps like to see
her again, talk to her?
Or to meet other members of your family?
The Bishop has made a very generous offer.
They could perhaps help you.
Only if it was their suggestion....which I doubt.
Why?
The day of your return to Bruges
with the prior of Cordeliers...
...you were recognized at the border by a monk.
Remember? A woman was burnt, and
they were looking for two heretics.
What possible reason was there for
you to conceal your true identity?
Well...why don't you ask him?
He was found guilty of complicity with heresy,
and was burned at the stake last month.
Ah well, in that case...
Z?non Ligre,..
...during the last two years which you spent
under the protection of the King of Sweden...
...that so-called reformist,
... have you lived in accordance with the Catholic faith?
Yes. - You have not abjured the faith?
I have never abjured, neither the Christian
religion, nor the Catholic faith.
Do you deny that your two letters
sent to the Swedish court...
...which we intercepted...
...conveyed important information about our
Catholic province to the enemy?
Don't you think that if I had wanted
to transmit such information...
...I would have established myself in
a more important city than Bruges
If your natal city is so...negligible...
...why did you hide your true identity
under the false name of Sebastian Theus?
I returned to Bruges at the age of 58,
and I was tired...of travelling
I sought an obscure and modest life,
as a doctor at the hospice.
However, for a man with many talents, like you...
...this secret existence permitted
you to meet with dissidents...
...and to nurse heretics.
But the hospice needed me...
...as did the prior of Cordeliers
who died nobly in my arms!
If you are accusing me of having turned the hospice...
...into a meeting-place for dissidents,
then I deny that with all my force!
Rest assured, we have already eliminated
the hospice as a source of disloyal acts.
The memory of the late prior Berlaimont...
...remains for us in a pure and unsullied state.
Far be it from us to tarnish the
memory of this holy man...
However...
...his extraordinary infatuation with
the accused is incomprehensible...
...without the evil as detailed in the
eighth charge against the accused...
...diabolic invention, sacrilege,
the practise of magic!
Is not everything magical...
...concerning the relations between man,
and the secrets of the universe.
But to go from this to demean the
greatness of soul of the prior of Cordeliers...
...and the exchange of views
between two free spirits...
Ah! Free spirits!
- Ad rem non pertinet!
What is the name of your father?
- Alberico de' Numi.
Was he a subject of the king?
He was a Florentine, but he considered himself to be
a most faithful servant of the King of Spain.
Exactly.
Did he not belong to a bastard
branch of the Ligre family?
...who dedicated themselves to social rebellion?
No! - Towards rebellion and heresy? - No!
Ad rem non pertinet! All that has been
common knowledge for more than 20 years!
Not crimes of impiety under an assumed name!
Non pertinet! The facts have
been known for 20 years.
(Ah! Those glory days ot Dranoutre!)
(Do you remember how happy we were at Dranoutre?)
(Why did you ever leave home?)
(Do you remember those days and nights at Dranoutre?)
(We ran wild in the company of Henri-Maximilian...)
(...we disappeared for days on end.)
(We were like young dogs let off the leash.)
(How happy we were...at Dranoutre.)
Monsieur Ligre?
Monsieur Ligre? Monsieur Ligre?
- Yes?
Do you admit the existence of the vegetable soul?
...or of the animal soul?
Rather, the immortality of an Entity...
...which is the unique foundation
of all there is.
You have advanced the hypothesis
of a certain corporeality of the soul.
Saint Bonaventure, in his teaching,
has already suggested something similar.
But without drawing the necessary consequence.
Do you deny that consequence? - Yes.
Optime!
Do you admit to having poisoned the
surgeon-barber Jean Myers?
No, false! False!
False! False!
I saw him standing there with the bottle!
It was him who did it! Him!
With the bottle! This bottle!
It was him! I did nothing!
- Calm yourself! Enough!
- I didn't poison him! I helped him!
- Be calm! - It was him
who wanted to kill the master!
I helped, but it was him who did it!
The goat! The goat!
He came in to me like a a nail!
I helped, but it was him who
made me! Mercy! Have mercy!
Do you admit to having carnal
knowledge of the woman Catherine?
Yes.
The common folk in Bruges...
...are less concerned about events
in the Brussels high court...
...than they are preoccupied with
the case of this fellow Ligre.
Besides, the common folk at Bruges
want to see this rascal burnt.
It's a dangerous to snatch a bone from a
hungry dog after he has caught wind of it.
We've lost six weeks over
this bundle of fripperies.
The Most Reverend Bishop has used
his authority wisely.
But do you not think that the Reverend
gentleman is exhibiting too many scruples...
...to be able to properly fulfill his role as a judge?
(Dear Philibert and Martha, your brother
defends himself well...)
(...and refutes the accusations one after the other.)
(If the Bishop feels inclined to show mercy...)
It is also evident that the procurer
seeks an exemplary punishment.
This same procurer Le Cocq...
...sems to have contracted heavy debts with you.
I wonder whether an intervention
from the Ligre Bank...
...might bring about a more moderate attitude.
Forgive me, dear cousin, for having
written you this personal letter.
Is it really necessary for you to nibble?
I need the good advice of my wife for other things.
You have already read this letter
from our uncle, the Canon?
What a sorry story.
Anything to do with justice is a sorry story. If it
wasn't so in the beginning then it ends up that way.
Campanus is perhaps of the opinion
that two public executions...
...in a single family, a mother
and now a brother, are too many.
Everybody knows that my mother died
at Munster as a victim of the troubles there.
Let us rather talk of the son,
the son of your irreproachable mother.
It is cetainly true that the procurer Le Cocq
has a noteworthy sum outstanding on our books.
We might see our way through
to writing off one or two of his debts...
...but money doesn't always solve everything.
Le Cocq perhaps has his own reasons
to push things to the limit.
And you...you seem very concerned with
all this. - I don't know this Zenon.
I have nothing against your brother. In fact
I would quite like him here to cure my gout.
But what gave him the idea to get
himself thrown into Bruges prison...
...and, moreover, under a false name?
What does he have to hide?
Silence is sometimes a heavy burden.
So it's "yes"? Very well.
We shall help this Zenon remove the hook.
But note well, that if Pierre le Cocq consents...
...then I become obliged to him,
instead of the other way round.
- It's "no".
- So much the better.
Bring me the escritoire so
that I can write to Uncle...
...recommending that he say his holy prayers.
- Without mentioning...?
- Without mentioning this Zenon.
Your uncle knows how to read between the
lines, he will understand the omission.
After all, the important thing is that the
postman doesn't walk away with empty hands...
I'm sure that among our provisions...
...there will be something good for Lent.
Compote of eels, for example.
It is among us,
it is in us...
...that God prepares the fall into heresy.
Now, there are 10 signs: unnatural practices,
...of rebellion, of complicity.
And these 10 signs together lead to certainty!
You have written that the world
is a living creature...
...inside of which we live...
...like worms in the belly.
You have written that the magic of
nature is the only sacrament...
...is the only mystery.
And God? What of our Saviour?
And the certainties provided by the
Virgin Mary, and the Catholic church?
You have written that all power
derives from Knowledge...
...and all knowledge, from experience.
You deny, therefore, the authority
of the Church, and of the Holy Scripture.
You, apostate, have denied God!
You, doctor, are yourself the sickness
which has infected our society.
Parasite, rebel, you no longer
belong in human society.
You are but a cancer cell which
contaminates the healthy tissue.
In the same way will a mad
swine infect the whole pigsty.
It needs only one rotten individual
for the entire house to crumble.
One rotten house for the city to sicken...
...one rotten city for the country to be lost.
There's only one remedy.
...to cut out the abnormal tissue
from normally-functioning society.
...to extirpate the sin
in order to cure the malady.
Repress it! Expel it! Burn it!
Sir, I finally managed to talk to the Executioner...
These are tarot cards.
They are very ancient.
They go with me everywhere.
But you can also play for fun.
Now you keep them.
And...
Thank you for everything.
Monsignor the bishop has observed
that you were judged equitably.
It is unfortunate that the crime of atheism
remains so clearly evident in your writings.
Some facts harmed you greatly:
your treatment of heretics...
...your practice of abortion
against the innocent new-born...
And even the deposition of that
unfortunate servant of Myers.
The Ligre family were not able to moderate
the ardour of procurator Le Cocq...
...but my Lord does not despair.
He made the observation that your theories,
when properly formulated....
...could actually serve as
a new defense of the Church.
It would suffice that....
God Himself is the sole judge
of the hypocrisy...
...that your recantation will contain tomorrow.
Zenon, you have the whole night
in which to reflect.
Concerning corporal suffering, I can promise you...
We live in a time of stupidity and cruelty, Monsieur Canon.
English subs: Wootletootle