Stealing Heaven (1988) Movie Script

My Lady?

She's asking for the crucifix.

I understand.

No. I don't understand.

Sister Cecilia,

you say all knowledge comes from God.

All true knowledge.

False knowledge

is not knowledge.

The devil

can twist the truth.

No, he can perhaps

create falsehood.

But I asked a perfectly

reasonable question.

I will not discuss it.

Mankind presumably reproduces itself

in the same way as the animal kingdom.

Silence.

God created man in his own

image, that is true?

Yes, that is in Holy Writ.

Then, if man has

organs of reproduction,

it is logical to suppose

that God also has...

Blasphemy.

Your argument is that,

if God Almighty created man in his image,

then God also must have

certain parts of...

It is an interesting

theological point

to which Holy Writ,

to my knowledge, finds no answer.

That is why I asked

Sister Cecilia.

She's my teacher,

she should know.

I would not have

this child blaspheme.

And Sister Cecilia told you,

quite correctly in my opinion,

that the private parts of

God Almighty form no part

of a lesson on the Holy Gospel

according to Saint Mark.

I shall speak to

her most severely.

Now, I must not keep you

from your other pupils.

Reverend Mother.

Oh, child. My child.

It is an enchanting question.

I'm sure you think them

up purely to annoy.

Why do you have to make Sister

Cecilia's life such purgatory?

But she's such a...

A fool. I know.

But charity, child.

Oh, well, she will only have

to suffer for a few more days.

Your uncle wants

you back in Paris.

Oh, Paris? Paris.

When do I go?

Reverend Mother,

I shall miss you so much.

I'm not long for this world

and you have but two choices.

To be the bride of man

or the bride of Christ.

And you have no

calling for the church.

Help me up.

The Bishop of Paris will

be returning from Rouen.

He will pass this way in a few

days and you can join his party.

But if he speaks to

you, please remember

that education in

women is frowned upon.

And for you it could

be very dangerous.

So, my child,

no discussions about the

loins of the Creator!

Marie, Marie, I'm leaving!

I'm leaving!

Oh, yes, my dear.

I have something for you.

Oh, what is it?

Ah, my old mother

made one for me.

I made one for you.

Burn it. If the smoke is

sweet, he'll be true to you.

But if it is bitter...

No, it won't be, my dear.

My dear.

Reverend Mother. No.

Bishop.

Heloise.

Your Grace.

Charming. Charming.

I know her uncle. Fulbert. He's a canon

of my cathedral. He has many qualities.

I'm so glad.

Mostly those of an

Andalusian horse dealer.

Oh, I see.

I understand he

wishes her married.

Knowing the dear

canon, well married.

She better ride with me.

Goodbye, Reverend Mother.

I'll remember you always.

God bless you and keep you.

The Gadarene swine,

for instance.

The Gadarene swine?

But what's your difficulty my dear?

It's all perfectly simple.

Our Lord banished the evil spirit into

the swine who then destroyed themselves.

But what were the swine doing

there in the first place?

A pig was an unclean

animal to the Jews.

Who would they belong to?

Um...

Do you know,

I haven't the slightest idea!

Vice Chancellor, it was most considerate

of the bishop to escort my niece.

Remarkable work on the

cathedral building fund.

I congratulate you.

His Grace is in your debt.

I was owed favors,

Vice Chancellor.

Master Abelard is turning

this place into a madhouse.

He's too popular

with this rabble.

Indeed! He's turning

the cathedral schools

into a place of entertainment.

Brilliant he may be...

Brilliance has its

place, but not adulation.

Suger, why is there no

work on the north tower?

The masons, Your Grace,

they are Flemish.

Ah.

Canon Fulbert,

a most delightful child.

Latin, Greek.

She has the accomplishments

of a man twice her age.

Quite delightful.

I shall come to dinner.

It would be an honor, Your Grace.

I trust...

Greetings, Uncle.

Well done. Well done, my child.

Well done!

Well done.

The bishop is coming to dinner.

Patience, my child. Patience.

Agnes. Petronilla.

Oh, Uncle.

It's the most beautiful

place I've ever seen.

All my friends tell

me I have a flair.

Well, I hope it will suit until

we have decided upon your future.

My Lord sent me out to

buy you some pretties.

Naturally,

as a canon of the church,

I know little of such things.

Notre Dame will be the

finest cathedral ever.

Maybe.

But finding the money to match the city's

aspirations will need some business tact.

Aren't the merchants' intentions

to show their aspirations

to the glory of God? Oh, yes.

And to the glory

of the merchants.

Master Poussin has

arrived, my Lord.

Excellent, I'll come at once.

Perhaps you'll join me later on.

Of course, Uncle.

For a toe of the blessed St.

Agatha?

I couldn't let it

go for under 200.

No, no, of course you couldn't.

Perhaps this would interest you.

Some of the very straw upon which

the Christ child lay in the manger.

Would it be more or less?

Surely, it would be hay.

What? Hay. No animal would eat

straw, it was a manger.

Hay, yes, possibly hay.

Oh, you know my niece and the bishop

who greatly admires her intelligence

were in deep

discussion only today.

Could you give me until

today a week to decide?

Of course, no trouble.

On another matter,

it's time my son was married.

Perhaps you would

consider an alliance.

Well,

we must certainly discuss it.

You know, he is already

squire to the Baron Rochais.

Well, until next week

then, Master Poussin.

Man's practically a tradesman.

If it takes him a week to

think about buying a relic,

then he certainly isn't

in the market for you!

I would have offered him

the foreskin of our Lord,

but he couldn't

come near the price.

I thought that was at St.

Mark's in Venice.

Yes, it is, that's true,

yes, there is one there.

Then how can it possibly...

Oh, my dear child,

these sacred relics

can reproduce themselves,

it's part of their miraculous nature.

And if some of

them are perhaps...

Forgeries?

Uh, replicas. Who am I to judge?

Now, a peasant kneels

down before one and prays.

God hears his prayer and

he gets up a better man.

I don't... Thus we've

done some good.

Both for God and for man.

Have we not?

"Thou shalt not kill."

And yet, in the book of Samuel,

praise is heaped on two of

Israel's greatest kings.

For being men of peace?

No.

Saul has slain thousands

and David ten thousands.

But Israel was under attack.

It was kill or be killed.

I enter self defense!

Not so!

The commandment does not say,

"Thou shalt not kill,

except in self defense!"

Yes! Yes! But the commandments are

for the guidance of ordinary men.

Kings are ordained

by God himself.

Therefore, they speak in God's

name when a man is hanged

or an enemy put to the sword.

God speaks through them.

And his bishops.

Then when two Christian kings are at

war, does God speak through both?

One must be false.

Are we to question

the ways of God?

Perhaps he wishes to

punish both nations.

Then why give the commandment

in the first place?

And now, consider this.

He's a dangerous revolutionary.

Arguments, disputations, is that any way

to teach the established word of God?

Meanwhile your lectures

are half empty? Hmm?

Senior members of the

Convocation are ignored.

I tell you,

he's nothing more than a demagogue.

He lives with his students,

eats with them, drinks with them.

If he wasn't a teacher,

and therefore by custom chaste,

I swear by heaven he

would sleep with them.

You are right, there are certain

proprieties to be observed.

There is much to lead

one astray in this world.

And towards hell in the next.

Is it nobler to resist

temptation or to avoid it?

What is temptation?

Temptation is finding the

best looking whore in Paris,

bending down to

smell her flower.

No, that's lust!

Temptation would be if you

had found a piece of silver

in the gutter 30 seconds before.

What is noble?

To see who dropped the piece

of silver and give it back.

Is that avoiding

temptation or resisting it?

I'd call it stupidity.

You, my dear Francois,

would probably pocket the silver

and jump on the whore anyway.

That would be greed.

Curfew! Curfew!

By order of Vice Chancellor Suger!

Curfew!

You beast! You beast! Lady.

Lady, be calm.

You just dump that poor little

boy and then you steal the money!

I was collecting it.

It would have been

stolen in seconds.

What are you going

to do with it?

Give it to his

parents, of course.

And where are they?

They must be here somewhere.

We can't just leave the body

by the side of the road.

But perhaps we can help.

Thomas, tell them,

I will not be teaching until noon.

Go to each street and

search for the parents.

To touch these

would be sacrilege.

They will be quite safe.

Come.

I know who he is. I'll take him.

One of Suger's men, wasn't it?

They're like animals.

Come,

I'll take you home. Thank you.

But I live just there.

Then you are Heloise.

The Gadarene swine would

have belonged to the Romans.

The bishop spoke of you.

Who is he?

Lady, you cannot have

been in Paris long.

That is the great

teacher, Peter Abelard.

Jourdain de Planissole,

if I can ever be of service,

ask any of the scholars.

Thomas, you were born backwards.

My Lord,

you've never been with

a woman in your life?

You're a man like other men.

When I was young, like you,

I had girls by the dozen.

Every experience in life was

there to be savored to the full.

Then I found my vocation

as a philosopher.

But, like other men,

you accept tradition without logic.

The unwritten law that teachers

in the school remain celibate.

For me it's much more personal.

God, has entrusted

me with a great gift.

He has ordained that

teaching is my life.

For my part,

I must carry my side of the bargain.

If I were to take a woman,

I would be flying in the face of my maker.

Spitting in the face of God.

Don't you understand?

He would take away his gift.

Damn me for all eternity.

And he would be right.

This is a terrible price.

Too high for me.

There's a girl down the street who

can get me standing like a crocus.

Crocus? That's a brute.

♪ Once I had glimpsed those

twin peaks of her breasts

♪ Then could my passion-crazed

soul find no rest

♪ Oft in my dreams I

would fuel her desire

♪ Kissing,

caressing to set her on fire

♪ At last releasing

from sorrow increasing

♪ And travail unceasing

I'll consummate bliss

♪ Sealed with a kiss,

sealed with a kiss

♪ Sealed with a kiss

♪ Oh, that the end of

my dreams could be this

♪ Sealed with a kiss,

sealed with a kiss

♪ Sealed with a kiss

♪ Oh, that the end of my dream

♪ Could be this

Stop this!

As long as you have lodgings in this

house, there'll be none of that.

Ooh!

And you think I want a woman?

Yes, indeed, Madam,

she's well educated.

She speaks the Latin and,

of course, has the Greek.

Which she learned

at the convent.

The bishop, indeed,

was most impressed with her.

Now what about the settlement on her

son, my great nephew?

In any event,

not until maturity.

Or upon pledge of marriage?

Very well.

Two hundred cattle and pasture.

With a dowry chest.

Not less than 50 ells of linen.

That's satisfactory.

Oh, I'm sure we

can come to terms.

Here's Gaston.

For you, Heloise!

I'll teach you to hunt if you like.

Please, Uncle, I beg you!

Gaston, can't even read!

And they all smell like sties!

My dear, young Lamarck

will inherit the title.

Thirty two manors and

an income of thousands.

I beg, Uncle.

In time your son, my great

nephew, will be the baron.

Please.

They're almost as greedy

as that damned convent.

Oh, very well, little one.

The thought of that lout

bedding you is really too much.

Shh! Shh!

Where's the bed?

Shh.

I don't think this

is very funny.

Oh, don't be so pompous.

It's just a joke.

Master Abelard,

your rent is due tomorrow.

Then tomorrow you

shall have your rent.

If I pay you now,

you would be in my debt,

and I'm sure you

would not want that.

Shh! He's arrived.

Is it more noble to resist

temptation or to avoid it, my Lord?

You must have cost those

devils a pretty penny.

Get dressed.

No, not yet, my Lord.

Come over here.

How long did they pay you for?

All night, my Lord. All night.

Then I suggest we lie down.

I bet he doesn't do

it. I bet he does.

A philosopher? Never.

He said he wouldn't.

He's made a contract with God.

God doesn't have legs like that.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Pay up.

Damnation,

this is going to cost me a fortune!

Right. Then let's go.

No, she might make it yet.

They told me I'd get another 20

pieces of silver if you mounted me.

You shall have

your money anyway.

God, it's the watch!

Out! Out! Out!

Get out! Get out!

You stink, Suger!

Your Grace!

This time he has gone too far.

Lying with a common courtesan!

Without, however,

the expected result.

Whose word have we for that?

A woman of the streets.

The wretches who hired her.

He brings the schools, the

city, Your Grace's person,

all of us into disrepute!

He challenges

established knowledge!

God's word from the

mouth of a fornicator!

I agree.

His behavior ill becomes a

teacher of these schools.

But his success and his

reputation brings acclaim

to our cathedral.

His fame brings visitors

who bring trade,

and he brings money to Paris.

We will speak with him.

You doubt my chastity?

No, no, no.

But I'm probably the only member

of Convocation who doesn't.

I know,

they object to the way I teach.

Certainly they

do. They're jealous.

Of course. And lack the

sprit of the times.

All this debating,

why need your students speak at all?

It's better for them to learn to cut

their own meat than to be fed pap.

Why should we...

Enough! I won't have

you disputing with me.

I'm merely instructing

you to mend your ways.

And to begin with I intend to find

you respectable lodgings, you agree?

It's time you were

bored a little.

May I choose my own executioner?

Welcome, Master Abelard.

Welcome.

The prioress wrote to me.

She said there was nothing

more she could teach the child.

Never spent a more

enjoyable journey.

One didn't expect to discuss the

Gadarene swine with your niece.

I had an aunt once,

ended up as an abbess at Caen.

Brilliant woman.

Looked like the back of a flat iron.

Must have been 40 when I knew her.

Dead now, of course. Must be.

I hear you took her out

to meet Lamarck's boy.

Fine estates, rich, too!

Oh, really?

I thought we were to discuss my son.

Preliminary discussion.

With a mind like hers,

I must consider these things.

My son has Latin and Greek.

And, of course,

Lamarck only inherits a barony.

There's plenty of time to think

of marriage, isn't there, my dear?

Well, of course, my child.

Of course.

The younger son of a duke,

nothing less, I'd say.

You're trespassing.

On my thoughts.

Why did you leave? I

have a headache.

That's the reason you

gave, I asked the reason.

I couldn't bear being

talked of as a thing.

Tell me what you like to read.

Philosophy. Science.

Mathematics. Astronomy.

Theology? Some.

Romances? No.

Did you read this?

It's probably as well.

I was translating from Catullus,

one of his more

bawdy love poems.

He would never talk

of a woman as a thing.

Good night, my Lord.

Good night, Heloise.

Well, I'm delighted you feel you can

come and go as you please in my house.

Good morning.

Your niece has asked to borrow some

of my books. Naturally, I agreed.

Well, you're most

kind, most generous.

I wondered if you would like

me to guide her studies.

Oh, don't concern yourself with

her accomplishments. Some wine?

I mentioned the

idea to the bishop.

Really?

And what was his opinion?

He said it could only

bring luster to your name.

Oh, well,

I certainly see no objection.

None whatever. Please.

Surely a law is a law! Who are we to

pick and choose which we will obey?

Because Holy Mother Church

differentiates between...

On whose authority?

Where is such authority to be

found in the New Testament?

Our Lord said,

"I come not to destroy but to fulfill."

On the authority of the saints.

How many saints did

our Lord create?

Our Lord picked apostles who...

Have later have been made

saints, except one.

How do we know that Judas

was not doing God's will?

The God of the Old Testament

is so different from our Lord.

The old's a God of vengeance,

the new, a God of love.

How can one believe in

both? Enough, enough, enough.

Whatever God it is, I thank him that

you're not in my public classes.

I would rather argue with the

Sacred College of Cardinals.

No, I would rather argue with you

than with anyone in the world.

The College of Cardinals

would be much easier.

Have you read any of

the classic poets?

Have you?

How do you define poetry?

Surely it defines itself!

No.

Then it is memorable prose.

A mirror held to truth,

then written down.

Good.

Very good. I'll remember that.

I've read your poems,

too. Mirrors held to truth?

No, memorable prose.

Father, I've sinned.

My mind has been filled

with carnal lust.

I'm not surprised, my son.

You're not?

She's one of the most

beautiful creatures in Paris.

To find her naked in your

bed and sin only in the mind,

I think you ought to be

congratulated, not pardoned.

But that's all behind you now.

How's my friend the canon?

You're not dead of boredom yet?

No, my Lord, but badly wounded.

He tells me you're a

model of good behavior.

Not before time.

My penance, Father?

What?

Oh, yes.

Four Paternosters, quite enough.

It doesn't matter. Yes, it does.

It does matter.

Leave me, for God's sake, leave.

You're hurting me!

Does temptation come from God?

Or the devil?

When did our Lord

Christ tempt anyone?

But God tempted Abraham.

He put Job to the test.

Again and again.

How can anything evil come from God?

It is impossible. It's a contradiction.

Then who created the devil?

Not our savior, whose

birthday, if you had forgotten,

is tomorrow.

You owe me a kiss, my Lady.

Christmas, it is the custom.

Is it?

Is it the custom, my Lord?

It's practically the law.

Master Abelard, good night.

Heloise, I'm going to bed.

Do you not owe me

something, my Lord?

It is the custom.

It is practically the law.

Our Lord was betrayed by a kiss.

That was preordained.

Is this?

From the beginning of time.

You smell of incense,

like a church.

It was a charm.

All's well! Christ is born!

All's well!

Where have you been?

Trying to make

peace with my God.

I've tried very hard

to feel I've sinned.

All through mass.

All I can feel is happy.

Yes. Yes.

Then you feel it, too?

It must never happen again.

I was cold.

So was I.

Why? Why does it happen?

I hear your voice every

minute of the day.

I see your face in the firelight.

I...

My love, I'm breaking

every canon of the law.

And every law of hospitality.

So am I!

I know,

but it can't go on forever.

Ah!

Play on, Master Abelard,

I expect no mercy and I give none.

You're on check.

I would have thought

as a logician...

No mercy. Huh? Done.

Check.

He likes to win, remember.

Double check.

Check.

Check mate. Hmm?

Masterly.

Hmm, you are a man to be

watched, my friend!

Not now.

What?

Who said so?

St. John, in his first epistle,

states that God is love.

One century before,

Publilius Syrus claimed

that a God could hardly love

and be wise at the same time!

Master Abelard?

Your Grace.

For weeks now,

I have waited at the usual time

for your confession,

but in vain.

How long must I wait?

How long must He wait?

I've been remiss, my Lord.

It's been the busiest time

of the year for school.

Yes. Yes. Of course.

Almighty God,

my friend, see's all.

He knows all.

But now and again he likes

to hear it from our own lips.

Remember that.

I will.

God save Your Grace.

A God can hardly love and

be wise at the same time.

A philosopher can hardly love

and keep his vows

at the same time!

I have sinned, Father,

I need absolution.

Hmm, you wish for absolution?

But are you prepared

to repent of your sin?

I'm a teacher, Father.

What is your sin?

Fornication.

You find it difficult

to repent of this sin?

Yes, Father.

Why?

I love her, Father,

with my mind, with my body,

I have no sense of sin.

You have allowed your emotions

to corrupt the beliefs

of your religion.

But you know as well as I,

that to absolve you is

impossible unless you repent.

Go, and peace be with you.

Then in our eyes,

yours and mine.

I will never belong to another.

Never.

How can a God of

love not forgive?

How can he not

look kindly on us?

I've gone against His will

and I've done it willingly

and of my own choice.

How can I fight your

God when he is not mine?

We are one always.

Watch me catch a feather!

You'll never catch one. Never!

I will! I will! There!

A dove's feather, it means love!

This will be my own holy relic.

And I proclaim this

to be a holy day.

Because I can never be happier than I am.

Never. Ever.

Uncle!

I thought you were in Rouen.

I changed my plans.

Even for a piece

of the True Cross,

the asking price was a scandal.

Where have you...

The sun was so warm...

We were studying St.

Augustine, his confessions.

Oh, I know them well. What part?

His discourse on theft.

You will remember

he stole some pears.

So we were walking

in an orchard.

So, my dear,

what point did the good

saint wish to make?

He said, what he enjoyed

was the sin of theft

much more than the

theft of the pears.

Did I get that right, my Lord?

Right, quite right! Very good.

She's making

remarkable progress.

What are you doing?

This one's getting worn.

I thought you might

give it to me.

Why should I do that?

We want to stay

friends, don't we?

Nonsense, Jourdain,

this is part of your education.

These plays are a

Christian tradition.

Daniel to the lion's

den was thrown!

To please the devil

and the ravenous beast.

Who'd tear his soul

and body for a feast.

But Daniel kept his

soul for God alone!

And so, sinless he

holds the beast at bay.

Yet should some sinful

thoughts cross his soul,

then I shall exact

my just and rightful toll.

Ha ha!

And he is mine

forever and a day.

♪ Once I kissed those

twin peaks of her breasts

♪ Then could my passion-crazed

soul find no rest

♪ Oft in my dreams,

I would fuel her desire

♪ Kissing,

caressing to set her on fire

♪ At last releasing

from sorrow increasing

♪ And travail unceasing

I'll consummate bliss

♪ Sealed with a kiss

♪ Oh, that the end of my

dreams could be this ♪

Who can tell me

the only one who can solve Master

Abelard's stiffest problem?

Only the wisest of the

wise, Master Abelard's...

Heloise!

Even better one. Where does...

My Lord, is it true?

Go home, Jourdain.

I have been no friend to you.

I must say, child,

I thought it a mistake

correcting the Vice

Chancellor's Greek!

My lady.

Jourdain?

Jourdain, what has happened?

There's a lot of talk.

What about? Tell me.

You and Master Abelard.

They say he is your lover.

Swear it isn't true.

I can't do that.

Then it is.

Yes.

You'll destroy each other,

you know that, don't you?

Monstrous, I...

I should have known.

Sharing a roof with

a beautiful girl

would give rise

to such nonsense.

It's entirely my fault.

I should have realized.

But...

Not another word.

My reputation is of

little importance,

but I cannot bring dishonor

on her or your house.

I shall leave in the morning.

Now you can see

yourself, my little poet,

as I see you,

every minute of the day.

Surely this belongs

to the Lady Heloise.

She gave it to me.

Gave it to you?

Why would she do that?

Jourdain! Please talk to him.

Ask him to come here.

Are you mad?

Jourdain, please,

you are my only friend.

In the world,

you are my only friend.

You know it would be best

if you never saw him again.

Best? What is best?

In body and soul,

I ache for him.

If there is a soul.

Every inch of my body

longs for his touch.

Please, Jourdain.

Thank you.

He forced you! No!

Don't try to protect him.

He wormed his way into my

house, then he seduced you!

No! I love him!

Don't use that word about him ever!

Ever!

My God!

To think that I trusted that man.

You trusted me!

Soiled goods! But not unsalable.

Some kind of marriage,

but not at all what I wanted!

I'm not a chattel!

Oh, yes. By Christ, you are!

In! The gate, you idiot!

All I've worked for, all I've

done, dragged down by...

I don't give a sou.

Your reputation is damned!

I'd rather share his

table as his whore

than be supported by your

ill-gotten pieces of silver!

He's ruined you

and he's ruined me!

By God, this isn't the

only blood that will flow.

You can't keep her locked

up there forever, my Lord.

I don't see why not!

And it's none of your concern!

But she's been

shut up for weeks.

Get about your business, woman!

Oh, poor pet!

It must have been

that fish last night.

It's been the same thing

every morning this week.

When was your last flux?

First week in Lent.

That's 10 weeks.

Let me see your breasts.

By the saints, didn't no one tell

you to use the rennet of a hare?

What?

You put it inside you and it curdles the

man's seed. It might not be too late.

I'm with child. His child.

My dearest,

I am carrying your child.

And I fear my uncle.

I must escape from Paris,

but how can I avoid

Suger and the watch?

I may need your help.

You there, there's a curfew.

Burn Suger!

Give me the effigy!

I must go on with my

teaching in Paris.

The bishop supports me.

I will come as soon as I can.

Kiss my sister for me

and give her these.

Jeanne is not rich,

and Le Pallet is not much of a

place, but...

If you were born there,

I love it already.

My Lord, Lady, the day goes on!

The thing is done.

But my name, my reputation!

Anger can cloud a man's brain.

I advise you to act with

the greatest caution.

Caution!

I am ruined and you

talk of caution!

I do.

Your name is sullied

by your own act.

And the affair has

been compounded

by you running about

like a demented fowl

squawking at

whoever will listen.

But Your Grace... Moreover,

you may have lost

your reputation.

The schools of

Paris are in danger

of losing the greatest

teacher in France!

I pray

that he will return

to his duties.

And I would look with

the greatest disfavor

on any act by you

which would prevent

that and thwart me!

And if I were in your place I

would not cross his students.

They worship him!

You must have

changed my brother.

It's you he now

loves, not logic.

This is from him.

Claire, come and help.

My lady,

I'll be gone by first light.

How can I thank you?

Remember me.

It's a fine son!

What will you call him?

Astralabe.

Astralabe?

That's no name for a Christian.

He can be a Christian

if he wishes.

What's it mean?

It's an instrument for measuring

the distance to the stars.

A way of measuring heaven.

Why doesn't he come?

Thank God.

Not a word. Not a word.

Let me look at you.

Oh.

Married?

No. Never.

I'm locked to you

body and soul forever.

But Fulbert can still send

men-at-arms to drag you back.

You are his chattel.

You belong to him.

Marry me willingly in the

eyes of Holy Mother Church,

you'll break that.

Legally he can no longer touch you.

Whatever Fulbert might think,

I've done my best

to make amends.

That's how the

world would see it.

But not Fulbert!

And what about your teaching?

I admit there are

some difficulties.

The idea of a married

philosopher is extraordinary.

Unique, you mean.

Oh, very well, unique.

But what of it?

It's only custom.

A custom society demands!

I have made my choice, Heloise.

Now you must make yours.

In nomine Patris et Filii

et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

In the name of the

Father, the Son,

and the Holy Ghost.

I want the man pilloried.

But the cost!

Damn the cost!

I refer not so much to money

as your own,

personal reputation.

You have been made to

look somewhat foolish.

Your own house, your own

niece, under your own nose.

And now you want

to tell the world?

And remember,

if you had married her off to some

decent young squire like my son...

Damn you, that's past!

I agree.

Why not forget it and

go about your business?

Don't you worry.

I'll look after him.

Goodbye, little Astralabe,

it's not for long!

We'll be back

before you know it.

And then,

what adventures we'll have.

I know you hate Argenteuil,

but I can't risk you in Paris.

Not with your uncle and Suger.

You'll be safe here.

I'll come to see you often.

Reverend Mother!

Reverend Mother? Sister Cecilia?

Yes. The old bat sold

her soul to Suger.

Our late Reverend

Mother was barely cold

before he made her prioress.

I've arranged for your lodgings.

Two months should

be more than enough.

Two months.

My love,

I must go.

I can't very well stay here.

Still less with you.

Oh, I hate this place.

I hate those clothes.

Thank God I'm not a nun.

It's not for long.

They say that to love

is to die a little.

Oh, but not to love,

that is to live in purgatory.

Amo, I love. Amas, thou lovest.

Amat, he loves. Amamus, we love.

Amatis, you love.

Amant, they love.

Very good, once again.

Amo, I love. Amas, thou lovest.

Amat, he loves. Amamus, we love.

Amatis, you love.

Amant, they love.

We want answers!

Tell us the truth!

My Lady! My Lady, there's a man.

He's come to see you,

he's in the refectory.

Dear Christ, he's dead.

No, Lady, no, he is not dead.

And will not die.

Then what?

But he is hurt. Tell me.

Tell me.

They've done him an injury.

How?

They...

They castrated him.

No!

Jourdain?

I'm here, my Lady.

It was my uncle, wasn't it?

I don't know.

I know it was.

I understand your

feelings, child,

but we must accept the will

of God and His justice.

The will of God?

There is no God!

Child! I shall pray for you.

Pray until your knees are raw.

No one will hear

but the spiders!

I cannot have a

blasphemer in my house.

Don't worry.

I will be gone by morning.

Marie! Get me my clothes!

It is the time of judgment.

We are as one.

It is the judgment

of this holy council

that Canon Fulbert be

banished from Paris

for the rest of his life!

My Lord.

My love.

Go away. Let me be.

Never.

Go home.

I am home.

For the love of

God, leave me alone.

I want to die.

You are not going to die.

You're going to live and

continue with your work.

No.

And I'm going to stay with you.

I am an abomination.

You're a man.

And I love you.

And I can never love you.

It's God's just vengeance,

I knew it would come.

I spit on God and

all his saints.

When I heard of this

thing, God died.

Please leave me.

This is more than I can bear.

I will.

I have something I must do.

Then I will never

leave you again.

Marie. Yes, Lady.

This place is a dung heap.

Oh.

You must die! You must die!

It's Heloise.

Ah, fair niece.

I have come to curse you.

You!

You who brought shame on

my name and ruined me?

You dared?

I have been banished.

Banished from Paris.

Left with nothing. I'm ruined.

You are left with life.

And I pray it may be long

and full of sickness and misery.

I pray your eyes grow dim

and your limb palsied.

And I curse you in

the name of every God

that ever was or ever will be.

And if you believe

in a life hereafter,

then I condemn you to the

hottest fires of hell!

God knows,

I've been punished enough.

All eternity is not long

enough to punish you!

Thank you, Marie.Oh.

Heloise.

Whatever you believe,

I believe this

punishment to be just.

This thing may have

shaken your faith in God,

but it has confirmed mine.

He is just.

And I must make amends.

I know what I must do.

I'm going to become a monk.

I'm going into the church.

My love, you're in no fit

state to make a decision.

Maybe in a year, when... No.

It is what I must do.

And it's my wish

you do the same.

What?

I said,

I suggest you do the same.

My sister will take good care

of our child until he is grown.

You selfish,

self-centered swine.

I'm your woman.

We're part of each

other forever.

Please,

I have to make peace with my God.

It's no good.

Nothing will shake him.

You should have seen the

size of the petition,

thousands of signatures.

All he says is that he'll think

about joining a teaching order

so that his students

can still be with him.

What will you do?

Will you marry me?

Hmm?

Yours can be annulled.

I won't expect you to love me,

but I can give you a home

and a name for you and your son.

I'm going to inherit the estate

and my father's title very soon.

And I'd happy just to...

Just to...

I love you so very much.

Jourdain.

Sweet, dear, Jourdain,

you know I can't.

Bless you.

I don't deserve such friendship.

Sister.

Where will you go?

I own...

Owned some land near Corbeil,

I will build a community

there and teach.

You wish me to become a nun?

I do.

You are without

family or friends.

You must be somewhere safe

where you can use your learning.

I will do it.

But it is you who

has been crucified.

You are my lord,

I will love no other.

In time... No.

No other.

But at least this way,

I may see you now and then

and touch your hand.

In nomine Patris et

Filii et Spiritus Sancti.

I am unworthy,

therefore I cannot kiss my lord.

Father.

My dearest Heloise,

the building goes well,

and more and more

scholars join me here.

They say I am teaching better than

ever, and I believe them.

I hear the word of

God clearly now.

Join me in thanksgiving, you who I made

my partner both in guilt and grace.

To me your praise is more

dangerous because I welcome it.

My dearest,

I have heard from Le Pallet.

Our son grows big and strong.

Perhaps your sister Jeanne is

a more natural mother than I.

And, although I have little faith

in the justice of the world,

I hope and pray I may see

him once more in this life.

Sister! Sister,

will you come to the prioress?

What's the matter? The

bishop's here.

Suger.

The Abbey St.

Denis wishes to form another house

and these buildings are needed.

What is to become of us?

There are other convents.

I myself am going to St. Denis.

As the abbess, no doubt.

Those who cannot find a place

will be absolved

from their vows.

Each of us must pray

for individual guidance.

But many are old and near death.

We are all in the hands of God.

♪ Travail unceasing

♪ I'll consummate bliss

♪ Sealed with a kiss

Quickly, all of you.

So, my Lord,

I am in your bed again.

I am glad you are.

I'm sorry.

We tried convent after convent.

One sister died of the cold.

I didn't know where else to go.

You're home. Home.

I am giving this place to you.

Then it will be

our home together.

Now sleep, my love.

My love.

You still make love

to me in my heart.

What is it?

I've been appointed abbot of St.

Gildas in Brittany.

By Bishop Suger? Mmm-hmm.

Will they never let us be?

Not in this life.

I vowed obedience.

Will I ever see you again?

You will do me a great honor

if you allowed me to

consecrate the new chapel.

If I live,

it will take many years.

Perhaps not, the way you work.

It is Christmas eve, my lord.

Do you not owe me something?

It is the custom.

Why yes,

it's practically the law.

Was all this preordained?

Only the love!

My Lord.

My Lady.

Noble indeed.

Worthy even of you.

Jourdain!

I couldn't keep him away,

I said there'd be feasting.

Lady, I have taken this

young squire into my service.

I don't know why he has

such an odd first name.

His name is Astralabe.

Bless you!

You are still the girl in the

meadow chasing the feather.

It is strange, isn't it?

The one you love never

seems to grow old.

But we do, of course.

We all have to

return to the earth.

A favor... If I can.

Is it possible that

I be buried here?

Of course.

And in God's time,

perhaps you would share my bed.

You'll never catch one. Never!

I will! I will! There. You see?

This will be my own holy relic.

And I proclaim this

to be a holy day.

Because I can never be happier than I am.

Never. Ever.

My love,

I'm here.

I'm waiting.

Stealing Heaven (1988) - full transcript