VALLEY OF THE BEES
May you have children within the year.
Ondøej!
Everyone is looking for you Ondøej.
Come join us.
Look,
this is your new mother.
Don't be afraid. Come give her a kiss.
Have you brought a gift?
Present it.
Father...
Oh Lord,
dont't let him die.
Merciful Virgin,
he is yours,
I promise to dedicate him to Thee.
Save his life,
and he will become Thy servant.
Ondøej of Volfenberk,
Do you wish to take up the cross and follow me?
I do.
Do you surrender all your riches, in token,
of your subjection to our Order?
I do.
Do you harden your heart, and never give in to temptation by woman,
man, or your own body?
Yes.
I do.
Do you renounce your parents,
and vow your life to the Heavenly Virgin alone?
I do, so help me God.
The power of the order,
prevails over pride and malice.
Kneel, Ondøej of Volfenberk.
Look straight ahead.
Deus meus salvum, fac servuum tuum.
Rise brother, and follow me.
For I am Jesus, your light.
-Have you seen the sea before? -No.
No until now.
I wish I could also see it again for the first time.
Taste it.
It's salty.
What is your name, brother?
Ondøej of Vlkov.
-And yours? -Armin von Heide.
We shall be friends, Ondøej.
Years passed, and the Order became more powerful...
Further north lies Wenden.
Home to our most pious brethren.
They have taken a vow of silence.
Some even have themselves walled up alive.
Once I wanted to join them.
Hold out Ondøej! Take my hand!
You'll feel a chill, then comes the pain.
Your lower body, will be numbed.
But your spirit will rise,
above your weakness,
and human wretchedness.
What do you feel?
I'm cold.
Your hand feels as cold as it were lifeless.
Suffering is the way to God.
How far did you travel, Armin?
Enough! The fast has begun.
At one time I wanted...
I got as far as a plain covered with hot sand.
Far from here?
No one returned from here.
None of us saw the holly walls of Jerusalem.
The Great Commander died of plague near Acre.
We were tortured by the heat, the pagans, and the bleeding.
I'll never come back.
-God be with you noble brother. -And with you, Sibold.
Some knights were mercenaries,
and did't seek salvation.
Instead they sought beautiful women and riches.
They drunk their own urine in the desert, cursing God and their mothers.
Hear!
In the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Be zealous in prayer, and in the defense of faith.
The great fast has begun.
I haven't seen brother Rotgier today.
Is he ill?
What happened, Ondøej?
I want to water my horse. I'll catch up with you.
Do you see that forest?
-Rotgier? -I need a horse, Ondøej.
-Everyone is looking for you. -I know.
You must help me.
You must go back!
Where?
To those monks?
Be blinded by darkness?
And to die of eternal fasting?
Did you see that forest?
It's out of the Order's reach.
You're still there.
On this bank.
You have nowhere to go back to.
I own an estate in Harz.
It's in the valley near the source of five rivers.
You can come with me, brother.
Your horse can carry us both.
-I shall find you a wife from Thüringen. -You're betraying Juses Christ!
As you wish.
Back!
What is the matter, Ondøej?
What happened?
Did that dog stab you?
No.
He didn't.
Where is your horse?
Get up!
Can you walk?
I don't want to punish you, but you may not leave your cell for the entire fast.
Ask God to forgive you your weakness.
You may pity your enemies,
but you may not forgive traitorous brothers.
-Frater pro Deo... -Be quiet, you dog!
You hurt your brother!
You know, what awaits you.
God forgive you your weakness.
Fair bride, give me to drink.
That is what it says there.
I can't read.
But I can read well.
Greek.
Latin.
German... What?
Do you also want a drink from the beautiful bride?
The fast has ended.
Look at yourself. How ugly you are!
Be quiet!
How is he?
He refuses to eat. His cell has been unlocked at the evening.
Is he praying?
He was silent.
But when the hounds tore up that one,
I heard him laughing.
-He laughed? -Yes, sir.
Ondøej!
I'll bring him back.
Come closer.
release me, venerable brother Commander.
Come closer to the fire.
-You're soaking wet. -Let me leave.
And don't lose faith in me, should I be delayed.
-Do you want to leave our territory? -Yes I do.
All our actions are sinful, and always have been.
Our inherent weaknes,
doesn't leave our bodies until they rot in the grave.
-We can't resist. -It isn't for my own salvation.
He's gone astray,
but his soul will return.
Hand me my cloak.
Why are your hands so cold?
Warm them at the fire before you serve me.
Why are you running away?
How do I get to Volfenberk?
-I've never heard of it. -It's Vlkov in Czech.
I don't know that either.
-I am in Bohemia, aren't I? -Yes, you are.
Yacho!
Come here, Yacho!
Leave him alone.
Who are you?
I can't see you.
Cover up, lass!
Yacho!
Yacho, help me!
I've never heard your footsteps.
You aren't farmer. You walk softly, proudly.
Nor are you a merchant. You would talk more.
-Where is everyone? -Father is with the sheep.
The hunters won't be home until evening.
-Eat and drink and may God bless you. -Thank you, lass.
What's the matter with you?
Are you blind?
Have you come from afar?
From the north, searching for my brother.
-What is this? -Sheep's milk.
Haven't you drunk it before?
Aren't you afraid of strangers?
Why should I?
-I might know you by your hand. -I can't touch you.
What if I touch you?
You would lose your hand.
Your voice sounds different now.
Why are you so quiet?
Talk to me.
-What does your mother call you? -I have no mother.
-Do you have a father? -I have no family.
I serve no mortal.
Then why are you looking for your brother?
-I'm blind, yet I see you. -What do you see?
There is something in you which frightens me.
But it entices me too.
Be gone, lass!
I feel sorry for you.
God will forgive you, for you don't know what are you saying.
My Lord.
Come join us.
You haven't eaten yet.
We caught a deer.
Give me someting to drink.
Water!
Are you traveling alone?
Aren't you afraid?
The cross of my Order protects me.
Not in this country.
Who owns these forests?
I am a yeoman.
Are they yours, then?
A lynx killed this deer.
We save the carcass.
Someone must be in the pen.
Colliers.
My most distant neighbors.
May I bring them here?
What's new on your hill?
This morning we found blood in clearing.
We'd like to stay overnight.
You'll be safe here.
Did you lose your hand or what?
What are you afraid of?
He's trembling.
A stranger came to us at midday.
He was in rage, barefoot, clad only from the waist down.
-I thought... -What did he want?
-We gave him some food... -He asked where he could get a horse.
Where he could get one.
What's wrong with your hand?
I burned myself.
That's a wound from a knife.
Or a sword.
He was carrying a sword.
You waylaid him!
No.
We wanted the sword.
One like this?
Sir...
Are you awake?
Get up and come out. I've brought you a horse.
Get up, Ondøej.
-We shall go. -Where?
North.
You'll make a pilgrimage of penance.
I don't want to return, Armin.
We'll go together, Ondøej.
You belong to the Order!
My father vowed my life to the Order to save his soul.
Think of your own.
Don't worry about me.
You took the vow.
Casting away your cloak will not save you.
Enough talk.
My home isn't far.
I owe you something,
...for the horse.
Hands of him! He is mine!
What belongs to you, sir?
Be gone!
I promised you would return.
I've been thirsty over since I returned from the Holy Land.
Feels like I'm on fire.
Armin?
Open up!
I come unarmed.
These are hard times.
Someone may be after you.
Shut up and undo the chains!
I want to see the Lord of Vlkov!
Retrace your steps, and you'll find his grave.
What is it, Markvart?
Come up here!
You'll see him.
What do you want here?
I'm Ondøej.
Lady Lenora!
Is it you?
God be with you, Jakub.
Won't you even embrace me?
Who is it, Jakub?
Lady... Rejoice!
Good Lord...
Come.
-Don't stand there. -Leave me alone, mother.
I'm on the verge of tears.
Why this separate bowl?
Do I have mange, or what?
Why are yelling at us, Ondøej?
We haven't eaten meat since his death.
God have mercy.
Jakub...
Close the gate and unleash the dogs.
We don't have dogs anymore.
Come to me in the morning.
What are you afraid of?
We always unleashed the dogs for the night.
In the north.
Do you sleep upstairs, mother?
The garret is vacant now.
Martin were nesting there.
We had to close the shutters.
You have changed.
You, as well, are no longer the same boy who left us.
Wait. I'll take you there.
You don't have to, mother.
On second thought, as you like.
Put this on. It's clean.
Help me.
It used to be full.
He saved every groschen,
in order to buy you back.
Yet he did't want to break his promise to God.
-We are poor, Ondøej. -Give me his sword.
I came here with empty hands.
I'm glad just to be alive.
Why are you closing your eyes?
Are you crying, Lena?
I know you're here.
Leave me here, and go.
I want to be alone.
Oh Lord, deliver us from the evil,
that went into the grave.
May our grain prosper.
Don't let the werewolf poison our well. Don't let the snake drink our cow's milk.
Let peace reign at Vlkov.
He used to sit here all day,
waiting for you to return.
And during snowstorms, we had to ring the bell,
so you wouldn't lose your way.
What do you see?
A beautiful day, my lord.
I hope it stays like this.
-Is the gate closed? -I opened it for my lady.
She goes to mass every morning.
Don't open the gate for anybody without my consent.
Not even for anybody in distress.
Hana, don't sit there like a bump on a log!
Come, pour some water over me.
More!
More...
Bìtka, come here!
Come here!
Here.
Here is where it's burning.
More!
That will do.
Dry my off!
What a sad place. A courtyard should be full of children.
We'll never see that here.
Jakub!
Saddle my horse.
Look, my lord!
Let me see!
A shepherd gave me the cub.
He killed a she-wolf.
This one came looking for her.
I implored him.
-It's a wolf-cub? -Yes, my lord.
-Do you know how to handle dogs? -It isn't difficult, my lord.
Open the gate!
Who here owns pack of hounds?
-Hunting dogs? -Now you resemble your father.
Am I about to die?
Eternal bliss be with you.
Do you want to see me?
I heard you had returned.
Nobody knows where you were.
I don't know you.
I'm father Blasius. From the new church.
I can't shake hands with you.
-Don't they sting you? -Yes, they do.
I get dozen of stings every day. You get used to it.
-Are they stinging today? -They can sense a storm coming.
It's hot indeed.
Your mother paid a visit today.
She confessed.
They say you entered an order near the sea.
That was long ago.
I fell ill there on the north.
I decided to return home if I got better.
You decided well.
Vlkov lacked a master,
and our church needed donors.
-I shall not be ordered about. -It was just a humble request.
Rather a plea.
Do you have any news for me?
Whitsuntide is at hand.
Children from the neighbourhood will gather here.
Our gate will be open to them.
God bless you, my son.
Where are you going, hussy?
Fetch water!
What ails you, my lady?
I'll soak your scarf in water.
That will do, my lord!
They'll go after it now.
It was created for hunting dogs.
Let it loose!
Go! Run away!
My horse!
Hurry up, Jakub!
Come no further!
It's marsh!
I found your father around here.
A branch had poked his eye out.
He fell off his horse and the dogs smelling blood tore him up.
I had to kill them.
Mother never told me.
No wonder, my lord.
She hates to think about it.
Why don't you go outside?
Get up!
Why should you kneel?
Don't come closer!
Leave me alone.
Go away!
What else do you want, Ondøej?
No! Ondøej, don't!
You brought disaster once. Your father cursed me!
Leave me alone!
You'll leave me just like you left the Order.
I'm your mother.
Come to me, Ondøej.
It will start raining soon.
I'll show you my favorite spot.
Look, Ondøej.
Someone has been here.
We'll wait out the storm here.
Come closer.
What's the matter with you, Ondøej?
Can you see me by your side?
What happened?
Father Blaej promissed to marry us.
I knew you were near.
How can you tolerate what is going on in that impious castle?
Our church is poor.
He promised a donation every Ascension Day.
Every year.
Think of the punishment.
Any mendicant friar can marry them.
Or should they live in sin?
I came as a knight of the cross.
People welcome us everywhere.
They are afraid of our power.
But here people are like heathens. They fear nothing.
Ignorant of your Order's laws.
Holy law applies to all Christians.
Dear Lord.
Am I to take up the cross?
Can the two of us storm the castle?
I am as powerless as you are.
Those two live like animals!
Forgive them. Life will punish them.
I could show mercy if they were clean.
My district was stricken with famine and the plague.
A man was caught eating corpses and was hung as a warning.
At night his wife came and dug up his body,
and she and her children ate it.
She deserved to be hanged as he was.
And the children?
-The children, too. -Were they not clean?
There is no difference.
Then there would be no human beings left alive.
Life would become extinct.
Let it be extinct.
Only angels will remain.
No one has ever seen them.
And yet I hear their wings beating.
They are here with us.
They must be.
Otherwise we would live in darkness like dogs or wolves.
I'm scared of you, brother.
Why should only the virtuous die,
of cold and hunger in their cells?
Death brings redemption from such a loneliness.
I carried this sand all the way from the Holy Land.
It's soaked with my brother's blood.
But why was it their blood?
The others live without faith, and breed like flies.
There are ever more of them!
I have deep respect for your long pilgrimage.
-But go home. -When is the wedding?
Go back to your people.
There you'll find peace.
At least you'll stay clean.
Bees are like people.
They fear and sense disaster.
You can destroy their homes,
but you can't give pain to them.
They begin building new one right away.
Bring mye my sword!
What do you want?
I have come to say goodbye.
Goodbye, then, brother.
Close the gate behind him!
Don't drive out anyone.
Ondøej...
Today Vlkov Castle is open to all.
-Come. Don't stay there. -No!
I'm Lenora, Ondøej's wife.
No, I cannot.
A trying journey awaits me.
You are tired, Armin.
Stay for a while.
Come join us.
I don't have a wedding gift.
I knew you would come.
I've been expecting you.
You are pale, sir.
Have you been ill?
Yes, my lady... ill.
Drink, Armin.
This is honey.
-Is it bitter? -Thank you, my lady.
You thanked her without looking at her.
Members of the Order don't look at woman.
That belongs to the past.
Stay with us, Armin.
You can rest.
We can go hunting together. You can have my dogs.
There is one thing I brought...
Look, Lena.
-What a fine sand! -It's from the seaside.
From the north.
Smile, Armin!
And embrace the bride!
What are you waiting for?
Everyone may kiss her today.
My God, Why hast Thou forsaken me?
The bride...
The bride!
My God!
My lord!
He slit her throat!
-Why are you screaming? -Lady Lenora!
You monster!
-Antichrist! -Not here!
-Throw him into the courtyard! -Kill him!
Beat him like a dog!
Kneel down!
-Ask God for forgivness! -I cannot see!
Lock the gate!
Look at the cross!
The Dogs!
Markvart, unleash the hounds!
Pray for your soul to be saved!
Unleash the hounds, Markvart!
-Go, Ondøej! -Clear the courtyard!
Take my cloak.
Go back, Ondøej.
You'll be forgiven.
Pray.
Pray for both of us.
Release them!
Ondøej!
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