It's nothing...
...only foolishness.
What do you want?
Sorry.
I brought you your supper.
All right. Just leave it there.
Is there something else?
What's that you're doing?
I am testing the nitrate levels of a local tomato.
Why?
Can't possibly interest you.
Well, enjoy your supper.
Walter.
What do you propose we should do if we get through the epidemic?
I have no ideas.
But I don't think any good will come...
...of always talking about a situation that we
should do much better to forget.
But you don't forget.
Please. I really must work.
Won't you listen to what I have to say?
All right. If you insist.
It's, it's just today, having...
...been at the convent with those nuns.
What have they done, converted you?
No.
They spoke of you. And it made me feel...
What?
- It made you feel what? - I think I've been afraid of you.
Well, you should have been.
Excuse me.
If, if I can't work, I'm going to bed.
I know you're angry at me. But if we
could just try and talk about...
Honestly, I don't understand you.
What is it that you want from me?
Perhaps I just want us to be a little
less unhappy.
You're mistaken in thinking that I'm unhappy.
I have far too much to do here to think of
you very much at all.
That's exactly what I'm trying to say.
I feel useless.
What do you propose that I do about that?
For God's sakes, Walter!
Will you stop punishing me?
Do you absolutely despise me?
No. I despise myself.
Why?
For allowing myself to love you once.
Hello.
I hope I haven't come at an inconvenient time.
Sister Maryse died last night.
I've just written to inform her parents.
I'm so sorry.
But it is sinful of me to grieve...
...when I know that her good and simple soul has flown straight to heaven.
How can I help you?
Well, I'm sure that with the sister's death...
...you must be even more shorthanded.
You see, I was wondering if I could come to the convent...
...and do anything just, just to help out.
My dear child, don't you think you've done enough...
...coming here with your husband?
I've been here a month.
Believe me, I have nothing to do from morning till night.
Perhaps I could help with the sisters in the hospital.
That is impossible. Cholera is a terrible thing to see.
Besides, what would happen if you should fall ill?
I'd be happy to scrub the floors, anything...
...just something to feel useful.
That will not be necessary.
The orphans scrub the floors.
No, no, it is our business and our privilege to do such things.
But there is always more to do each day.
Have you spoken to your husband of your wish?
Yes.
I don't know what you're saying.
I also found traces in the river,
downstream from the burial grounds.
You've checked these results?
I tested it three times.
Well, that's it then.
I would recommend barricading the bathing area...
...cut off all access to the river.
How far do you expect people to walk for their water?
I've no idea.
Up river, at least a half-mile above the burial ground.
That's too far.
Nevertheless.
I agree with Dr. Fane.
It's necessary.
Also, I thought we'd agreed to post a directive...
...ordering people to dispose of the corpses immediately.
We have done that already, Doctor.
Yes, but if you don't enforce it then it doesn't matter.
Because the families are hiding the bodies for days.
Then they bury them too close to the river.
I understand the problem. You don't have to explain it twice.
Colonel, I respectfully request that...
you order your soldiers...
...to enter these people's homes...
...and remove the bodies by force if necessary.
It's all right.
Hello.
Yes, yes, yes. I understand.
The spirits need access to the water. I understand that.
I just want to move a few of these so that they don't live in the water.
He said that they're under the protection of their warlord.
If he wants to move the bodies, he will send his own soldiers.
These really aren't the best times for a Western woman...
...to go exploring a Chinese town by herself.
Oh, do be quiet.
As if you care whether I'm killed by Nationalists or boredom.
Besides, I wasn't alone.
I was with my gallant protector Sung Ching.
By the way...
...you might be happy to know that...
...I am just as useless to the nuns as I am to you.
I shut off the town's only water supply today.
What will you do?
I have no idea.
Then I suppose we're both useless.
At last, something in common.
Dr. Fane. We've both been caught out in the weather.
Not now, sorry.
I beg your pardon?
Counting.
Counting?
We'll camp here tonight.
What makes you think this warlord fellow will cooperate?
I don't think he will.
So, what do you plan to say to persuade him?
I don't know.
These men are like animals.
They have no vision.
They only have hunger and strength.
Men like this have held the real power in China since I was young.
But that time is coming to an end.
There's no place for them in the new China.
I don't think you like my being here very much either, do you?
I think China belongs to Chinese people...
...but the rest of the world seems to disagree.
Yes, but that's got nothing to do with me.
I didn't come here with a gun, you know.
I came here with a microscope.
I believe you.
But it would be nice to do this work together...
...without your country's guns pointing at our people.
Our plan is to divert the water to the town from the fields upriver...
...above the burial grounds.
With your permission and the assistance of your troops...
...the graves will be moved away from the water.
And Colonel Yu and his men...
...will enforce the prompt burial of the dead...
...maintaining the integrity of the water sources...
...and enforcing proper sanitation over the next few weeks.
It will make a difference between a few more deaths and possibly thousands.
(He says, if we keep the water source clean,)
(and enforce proper sanitation procedures,)
(then in a few weeks,)
(the death toll...)
(...could reduce more than one thousand.)
(Is he finished?)
(I won't sacrifice my men to that cholera mess.)
(Forget it!)
(When people die...)
(...it's destiny! I'll have nothing to do with it!)
(You...)
(...get him out of here!)
He said no.
He doesn't speak any English, does he?
Tell him that's the most ridiculous suit that I've ever seen.
(This Doctor respects you greatly...)
(and you are right.)
(It is quite a mess, this epidemic.)
(But my superior said...)
(...if your men cannot control it...)
(...then our army will be happy to help you.)
(After seeing this place...)
(...it's so overwhelming...)
(...I'm afraid once our soldiers are here...)
(...they won't want to leave.)
I'm sorry.
Do not stop on my account...
...if Dr. Fane is enjoying himself.
No, no, not at all.
It's very nice. I was passing...
No. Stay.
I should go.
I insist.
All right, if you like.
Continue, Mrs. Fane.
But perhaps something a little more soothing.
Yes, of course.
They brought in a new baby today.
The girls named her Zan Xien.
It means "brand new."
The nuns are going to call it Katherine...
...which, of course, none of the girls will be able to say.
Thank goodness for those nuns.
They do so much for so little in return.
I suppose you can look at it that way.
You suppose?
I think it might be a bit more complicated than that.
They take in desperate children and give them a chance at life.
What could be so complicated about that?
They also go to young mothers in their homes.
They ask them to give their babies to the convent.
They offer them money to support their families...
...to persuade them to do it.
They're not just here to run an orphanage, your nuns.
They're turning those children into little Catholics.
None of us are in China without a reason.
Still, on the whole...
...I think that what they're doing...
...is a pretty good deed, don't you?
I'm here to study bacteria.
I don't feel the need to have an opinion about the rest of it.
Well, I do, and I admire them.
I don't think it has to be so complicated and gloomy.
And I think what you're doing, for instance, is incredibly noble.
You used to feel contempt for me. Don't you still?
Walter. I can't believe that you with all your cleverness...
...should have such little sense of proportion.
We humans are more complex than your silly little microbes.
We're unpredictable. We make mistakes and we disappoint.
Yes, we certainly do.
I'm sorry.
I'm sorry I'm not the perfect young woman that you want me to be.
I'm just ordinary.
I never tried to pretend that I was anything else.
No, you certainly didn't.
I like the theater...
...and dancing and...
...playing tennis. I like games. I like men who play games.
God forgive me, that's the way I was brought up.
Well, I play a pretty fierce hand of bridge.
Oh, well, that's bloody exciting.
And you, you dragged me around all those interminable galleries in Venice...
...blathering on about the miracle of the canals...
...and the flashing of the lagoon system...
...or some such nonsense.
Honestly, I'd have been much happier playing golf at Sandwich.
I suppose you're right.
It was silly of us to look for qualities in each other that we never had.
Yes.
Yes, it was.
Walter?
Why didn't you break down that door...
...when you knew I was in there with Charlie?
You might have at least tried to thrash him.
He wasn't worth it.
Or maybe I'm just too proud to fight.
I don't know about that.
(Bury corpses immediately.)
(Please don't take him away!)
(His spirit will never rest!)
I've told Mother Superior to keep her sisters inside the convent.
I put a guard outside the gate.
I'd advise any Westerners to stay indoors.
All right.
Sister, has Mrs. Fane been at the convent today?
Yes. But she, she has left a few minutes ago.
(This is the work of the British devil!)
(Respect our traditions!)
Sung Ching.
Let's go!
Sung Ching. Where's Mrs. Fane? Where's Mrs. Fane?!
I don't know what you're saying!
Get away from her.
- Are you all right? - Yes.
Come on.
We're out of whiskey.
Dr. Fane.
Could I trouble you for a drink?
Hello, darling.
I was stationed at Hankow during the revolution...
...when they were massacring all the Manchus.
I was able to help a particular family.
New documents, that sort of thing.
She was the youngest of the daughters.
I didn't pay her too much attention at first.
Well, more than I should have, I suppose.
When I left Hankow, she followed me.
I sent her back two, three times. But she...
...she kept coming back.
I didn't realize you had so much affection for her.
What makes you think I do?
I can see it in your eyes.
Men are incalculable.
I thought you were just like everybody else...
...now I feel I don't know the first thing about you.
I wonder what she sees in you.
Wan Xi.
She says I'm a good man.
As if a woman ever loved a man for his virtue.
Morning.
I should think it best to stay away from town today.
All right.
I'm going for a walk.
Come on, then.
What on earth are you doing all the way out here?
Walking off a crippling hangover.
What are you doing?
I've been attempting to purchase a stalk of bamboo.
But his price is exorbitant.
Or my head is...
...too shattered to negotiate.
So...
- Would you like a ride home? - On what?
The buffalo?
You see, we're diverting it from these fields temporarily...
...sending it straight into the center
of town where they can get it easily.
It's over a half-mile. It gave us a devil of a time in some places.
But it's worth it.
Oh, Mother.
Am I going to die?
Come, come. You mustn't be so silly.
Listen, ma chere...
...is it possible that you're with child?
- No. - Oh, yes.
- No. - Yes.
I mean...
I...
I suppose it's possible.
There is no doubt about it.
Yes. Sister St. Joseph knew at once.
She comes from a large family so she
has experience in these matters.
I can't believe it.
Why can't you believe it?
Having a child is so natural.
Yes.
Think how happy your husband will be.
And what's happened here?
- I'm all right. - They said you fainted.
I'm fine.
- Let me look at you. - It's not cholera.
No. I don't think so.
Did you feel nauseous? Or just faint?
Walter, stop.
I'm pregnant.
A baby?
You're quite certain?
Yes.
Well, that's wonderful.
How long do you think you've been like this?
Two months.
Maybe longer.
Kitty.
Am I the father?
I honestly don't know.
I'm sorry.
Well.
It doesn't matter now.
Does it?
No.
No, it doesn't.
Dr. Fane!
Come with me.
What is this? Where are they coming from?
The cholera spread south along the river.
They have no doctors or facilities there.
If they come in, they'll contaminate everything.
We've got to keep them outside the town.
Dr. Fane!
Stop! Stop!
Stop!
Please stop here! We can help you here!
Colonel, tell them not to go into the town!
Tell them we'll help them here!
Mrs. Fane. Gather all the children in the music room.
Wait here.
Let's go!
That boy. Bring him here, bring him here.
He has a cut. I'll treat him.
I don't understand.
Why didn't he wake me?
He made an early start. And you needed the rest.
How far is the refugee camp?
Just outside the town, in the foothills.
Dr. Fane told me he wanted you to leave, but you would not.
I didn't want to leave you.
Yes. And we appreciate it, dear child, but...
...I think you did not want to leave him either.
Well... it's my duty.
Duty is only washing your hands when they are dirty.
I fell in love when I was 17...
...with God.
A foolish girl with romantic notions...
...about the life of a religious.
But my love was passionate.
Over the years, my feelings have changed.
He's disappointed me. Ignored me.
We've settled into a relationship of peaceful indifference.
The old husband and wife who sit side by side on the sofa,
but rarely speak.
He knows I will never leave Him.
This is my duty.
But when love and duty are one.
...then grace is within you.
Your soldier is waiting to take you back.
I'd rather stay.
No.
What? What is it?
What?
Mrs. Fane?
Mr. Waddington?
It's your husband.
What? What is it?
He's been taken ill.
Where is he?
Mrs. Fane?
Walter!
Oh, no. She can't be here.
It's not safe. Waddington!
I'm afraid I've got no say in the matter
I don't want an audience.
You have to go.
Your baby.
Please, you must go.
Walter, tell me what I should do.
Slow that drip down. It's running too fast.
Good, good.
Kitty? Kitty.
It's going to get much worse before it breaks.
Are you prepared for this?
Yes.
What is it?
(We're running out of saline.)
Can you send for more?
(I have...)
(...but for many it will be too late.)
Kitty.
Are you awake?
Are you feeling better?
Forgive me.
Forgive you?
There's nothing to forgive.
Walter.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
Mrs. Fane?
Dr. Fane would want to be buried immediately.
Yes, of course.
(At the clear fountain, while I was strolling by)
(I found the water so nice that I went in to bathe)
(So long I've been loving you, I will never forget you)
(Under an oak tree, I dried myself)
(On the highest branch, a nightingale was singing)
(So long I've been loving you, I will never forget you)
(Sing, nightingale, sing, your heart is so happy)
(Your heart feels like laughing, mine feels like weeping)
What are you doing?
(So long I've been loving you, I will never forget you)
(I lost my beloved without deserving it)
(For a bunch of roses that I denied him)
(So long I've been loving you, I will never forget you)
(I wanted the rose to be still on the bush)
(And my sweet beloved to be still loving me)
(So long I've been loving you, I will never forget you)
(At the clear fountain, while I was strolling by)
(I found the water so nice that I went in to bathe)
(So long I've been loving you, I will never forget you)
(Under an oak tree, I dried myself)
(On the highest branch, a nightingale was singing)
(So long I've been loving you, I will never forget you)
It's silly, really.
They'll die in a week.
It's hardly worth the cost.
What do you think?
I think they're quite nice.
Really?
I think you're right.
Come on.
We better hurry. Grandfather's waiting.
Kitty Fane?
As I live and breathe.
Hello, Charlie.
What are you doing in London?
I know it's been a long time.
I should have written.
Who's this fine chap? Hello, young man.
What's your name?
Walter.
Hello, Walter. I'm Charlie Townsend.
How old are you?
Five.
Come on, darling. We should really press on.
Yes, of course.
Well, it's lovely seeing you again.
Goodbye, Walter.
Goodbye.
Kitty!
I'm going to be in London for the next 3 weeks. Perhaps we could...
Goodbye, Mr. Townsend.
Goodbye, Mrs. Fane.
Who was that, Mommy?
No one important, darling.