In the year of our Lord 1646,
the German countries were in a series of terrible wars,
known as the Thirty Years' War.
The result was the devastation of all Europe,
and miserable deaths for hundreds of thousands.
Those spared by war and hunger,
had yet another, invisible enemy to fight:
The plague.
It was between New Year's and Epiphany.
Krabat, a 14-year-old orphan boy,
went with his last two friends
as carolers from village to village.
The panhandling sufficed just enough that they remained alive.
That night Krabat had a dream,
one he had already dreamed of in the nights before.
Eleven ravens sat on poles and gazed at him.
One place was free.
Krabat,
come to Schwarzkolm to the mill.
It will not be to your loss.
You are called to higher things and should not have to suffer from hunger.
Come, and obey the voice of the Master.
Contrary to the boys' oath
to remain together always,
Krabat left Baro and little Lobosch behind,
and followed the somber call of the ravens.
There you are.
You can be my apprentice. I need one.
What do you say?
Come.
And what shall I teach you?
The Mill ... or also everything else?
Everything else.
Shake on it, Krabat! Or are you afraid?
I'm not afraid.
The mill ...
Now it grinds again.
This is your place to sleep.
Your shoes, your bed, and your clothes.
It will go well for you, if you keep to the rules.
Never go away from the mill, and do what you're told.
Up until Easter I'll put you to the test.
Now try to sleep.
You have to be up early.
Don't be afraid.
I'm the senior artisan.
Tonda.
This is Merten.
Michal, Hanzo.
That's Andrusch, Staschko.
Juro.
And I'm Kito.
That there is Petar ...
... and up here is Kubo.
That is Lyschko.
I hope we didn't frightened you.
Get dressed.
- Whose things are these? - Get dressed and don't ask further.
Fits very well.
- Hungry? - Yes ...
Kindly seat yourself at the other table, Dogbreath.
Woof! Woof!
This one is free.
Beat the ice from the mill wheel and from the sluice.
- The new one will help you. - I don't want him.
That's an order.
Damned ice.
Well, Lyschko. How it's coming down there?
Shut your mouth, Michal!
Shut your own mouth.
Like so. It must be tight.
Stop, you're not allowed to clear the grinder yet.
New ones aren't allowed to do that. You have to be as strong as us.
Exactly. Can you pull the cart?
Wait. Try to lift a sack.
That I can do.
Krabat.
You need to eat. Need your strength.
Then I'll have it.
Save your strength for tonight.
Until then go up to the sleeping chamber.
From now on, no more talking!
Nobody dare to look at him!
Go back, before the Master catches you.
Tonda?
Where is that boy?
- Forget what you have seen. - Tonda?
Here I am.
What are you doing out here?
I was seeing after the horses. They were restless.
Come here.
Nobody goes off, unless I permit it.
Do you understand?
Yes, Master.
Krabat tried to obey Tonda's advice,
to forget the events on the night of the new moon.
With all the laborious work, it wasn't difficult for him.
Krabat became better acquainted with the boys.
Hanzo was a rough diamond and seemed unkind and emotionally cold.
He and Andrusch, who couldn't be trusted at all,
always stuck together with Lyschko.
The simple-minded Juro was good for nothing but the housework.
Door closed.
His biggest concern was
that all the flour could fly up in his face,
and he said over and over again ...
Draught. Flour dust.
One kick and ... !
In the craft Staschko was the most skillful.
I've got it. For the new mill wheel we need oak wood.
He dreamt of
building a mill wheel bigger and stronger than the old one.
Staschko, Andrusch, Lyschko, come.
Harness the oxen.
There was no great attachment among the Twelve,
if one disregards the sensitive Merten
and his cousin Michal, whose back troubled him.
Krabat was eager and wanted to be a good apprentice to the Master.
The mill had become his home.
One day, however, Krabat was suddenly alone in the mill.
There was no trace of the boys for hours.
- What's behind the door? - Which door?
At the end of the corridor, next to the Master's chamber.
Wait and see.
And where have you been for so long?
In lessons with the Master.
What does he teach you?
You'll soon find out.
Today ...
At the Easter vigil.
Come now.
Go to where one died violently.
Spend Easter Vigil there and return in the morning light.
Go to where one died violently.
Spend Easter Vigil there and return in the morning light.
Krabat, Tonda.
Go to where one died violently.
Spend Easter Vigil there and return,
as the custom requires.
Promise me that you will return tomorrow.
I promise.
Where are we going?
To Schwarzkolm.
Before the village there is an old tree on a hill.
It's called "Bäumels Death". We'll lie awake there.
We're here.
I mark you with the sign of the secret brotherhood.
Give me your hand.
Firmly.
And now close your eyes.
I want to show you something.
Now stand up with me, and keep your eyes closed.
Open your eyes.
You can let go now.
They can't see us.
You mustn't touch them.
Worschula?
Don't be afraid.
Tonda ... How nice to hear your voice.
Have you considered it?
Yes, I will do it.
Promise me. So much depends on it.
I'm really scared.
Wait ...
Now take my hand again.
You touched the girl.
Your eyes are glistening.
Talk to nobody about it!
I don't understand.
All this secrecy.
You have to trust me.
Leave the mill.
If I wipe away the sign, you are free.
Why should I go away from you? You're all I have.
You can go to Schwarzkolm. I'd also like to, but not just yet.
If you return to the mill,
something will happen there that will separate you from people forever.
Maybe you think I can't handle it.
All the others have done so.
I'm not afraid.
Believe me, Krabat, everything in this world has its price.
I will, Master, be obedient to you in all things,
now and forever.
I bow under the yoke of the secret brotherhood.
Remember that you are a student.
Remember that I am the Master.
I will, Master, be obedient to you in all things.
Now and forever.
That night Krabat was in the grinding chamber for the first time.
Now, with the pentagram on his forehead,
the other work was no longer easy.
Like oxen they slaved away in all the chutes,
except for one.
The boys mysteriously called it the seventh millstone,
and whispered that the grotesque face only spewed forth on the night of the new moon.
They carried the bags to the grinder, where the grain became ground to flour,
and from there to the flour chamber,
where it changed back again into grain.
- How long shall this go on for? - Keep at it, Krabat.
What kind of test shall this be?
None of the boys came to help him.
Tonda.
Forget Tonda! You have to do it yourself!
- Do what? - Overcome the limits of your strength.
Sorry.
And although his wound was burning like fire,
and his calluses tormented him,
Krabat was only dominated by one thought:
To be strong, and not give up.
He shall be rewarded for it.
Pull the cart.
You have passed the probationary period, Krabat,
and as a reward, I accept you into the circle of my students.
Now begins for you the lessons in the black arts,
as it is written in the Koraktor.
And now I want to see how much you can drink.
Krabat! Krabat!
Drink up.
Drink up, drink up, drink up ...
The purest mill stream ...
A horse doesn't care.
What do we want to do? I'm ready for anything!
Tomorrow you can be ready for anything.
- Let's go to Schwarzkolm! - Leave my beer.
- Make them jealous. - Make who jealous?
- Who? The girls ... - Krabat!
The Master wants to talk with you.
You have hidden this from me.
It's a memory of my dead mother.
Keep the chain, but bury the cross.
It prevents you from being one of us.
Do you understand?
You hesitate?
Do as I told you.
Bury the cross.
Yes, Master.
Mother!
- Mother! - She has the plague.
- Take the cross. - Mother!
Forgive me, Mother.
Krabat buried not only the thoughts of his childhood,
but his whole recollection of a time before the mill.
From now on there shall be for the boy only one thing:
The magic.
There is only one true faith. Black magic.
Keep away from everything secular.
Your strength is concentration on the dark power.
The sticks will protect you in battle.
It only takes one thought.
Throughout the summer Krabat tried
to approach as near as possible the abilities of the other boys.
How attractive was the thought, to be superior to ordinary people,
and from that arose an irresistible power.
Try it. It's best down here ...
Juro also regarded himself a great magician,
and there was no stopping his ambition.
Summer passed in a flash,
and brought the boys hours of daylight
on the fields around the mill.
Winter was still far away, and the Master was good-humored.
Lyschko.
Many knew to take advantage of that.
Finally, the day came for which Krabat had waited so long.
Krabat? Who vouches for you?
I vouch for him.
Step closer.
Henceforth you shall be an artisan amongst artisans.
As the wheel with the mill,
so you remain firmly with me linked.
Juro.
He's not managing it.
He'll never do it from his own power.
You dirty creature.
Hep!
Tonda.
I'd really like to see that girl again.
I miss her so much.
You'll see her again, for sure.
No matter what happens ...
The Master can never find out her name.
Two villages from here, I've seen marauding soldiers.
Tomorrow they'll be in Schwarzkolm.
Shall we allow this?
No, if we don't expel them, we'll soon have them at the mill.
Tomorrow morning, you may go to Schwarzkolm.
Krabat can show us what he has learned with me.
Then we'll show you the ropes.
Only those who were skillful in the lessons.
Juro, you stay here.
Kito, Kubo, and Petar, you likewise stay here.
Master?
- Leave Michal here. His back ... - I ask only the senior artisans!
Michal has got what it takes.
Right, Tonda?
The ones from the mill.
Don't be scared.
We'll protect you.
Soldiers are on the way.
Run to the village and seek shelter.
Tonda, I've dreamt that a one-eyed eagle has pursued us.
- What does that mean? - Run!
Run to the kitchen Wait for my sign.
Now!
Come on, you snake.
Come here.
Krabat!
Krabat ...
- Tonda! - Worschula!
Worschula?
Tonda!
Where's the girl?
So Worschula is her name ...
Well?
How did it ... ?
Did he tell you what happened?
Lyschko said that Tonda has a girl.
Tonda?
What's so bad about having a girl?
There was a boy here some years ago. Janko was his name.
We liked him.
He secretly met a girl and wanted to live together with her.
He didn't keep it to himself.
Shut your mouth.
What happened to Janko and the girl?
We found them.
Killed by a fallen fir tree.
Pig's feet.
Thanks, Juro.
I was just with the horse to the Mühlbach.
And in the creek ...
Tonda!
- Hey Staschko! - Huh?
Come here!
Krabat ...
I didn't betray Tonda.
You have to believe me.
I have a job for you.
In the new year at the beginning of each month,
you will hide two sacks of flour for the farmers of Schwarzkolm.
Do you remember the fallen tree in the moor?
Under the root is a small hollow which protects the flour against rain.
What are you talking about?
Do you want to leave?
I'll always remain your friend.
So, just as nature seemed to prepare for winter,
the trees lost their leaves and the days became shorter,
so it also seemed that a strange law of nature afflicted the Master.
His hair was gray and straggly, his movements weary,
and his patience shorter with each day that passed at the mill.
On the last day of the year the Master left the mill, old and haggard,
and to Krabat it was incomprehensible that nobody dared to question this,
no one seemed to be surprised.
The silence in Koselbruch was eerie.
The mill stood still.
And in the eyes of the boys it seemed as if they knew,
that something bad would happen.
Get that junk out of here.
- Tonight is New Year's Eve. - Away with it!
Or is a scar not enough for you?
Andrusch!
Back off!
Krabat should get that junk out of here. We don't want it.
Throw it away.
You'll bring them no joy with it.
The animals are provided for and all the doors are locked.
It's all done.
Let's go to bed.
Don't worry about me.
Try to go with the flow of things.
You didn't talk like that before.
Quite possibly ...
... but many things are changing.
Krabat ...
There is somebody you can trust.
Don't rely so much on your mind. Listen to your heart.
You'll find him.
Come well over into the new year.
Tonda's not here.
Tonda!
Lie back down!
There's nothing we can do.
- His neck's broken. - A wrong step maybe ...
In the dark.
Why was the grave already dug?
Did you know that someone would die?
Sit here, Staschko.
What's going on here?
Tonda was just buried a few hours ago
and you drink and laugh as if nothing had happened.
We have a new senior artisan.
The wait is over.
The Master has chosen Hanzo.
Hanzo has what it takes.
- Well-being. - Well-being.
Leave him.
Where were you when Tonda died, Master?
I was very fond of Tonda.
But death is our master and we all must submit.
You are young, Krabat, but one day you will understand that.
With wings hasten away.
Search for him who shall replace the deceased.
The wheel of the mill will only turn to the twelfth hour again,
when twelve serve me,
and the name of the deceased is finally forgotten.
The mill, now it grinds again.
Don't be afraid, we're the artisans.
I'm Hanzo. That's Lyschko, Andrusch,
Staschko, Kito, Petar ...
Krabat?
Lobosch?
Krabat!
You look different.
I can't sleep.
How do you know him?
We went begging together.
He was like my little brother.
Until I met up with you.
He's wearing Tonda's clothes.
I know.
After the death of a boy, a new one always follows.
The eternal cycle of the mill.
One of us is sacrificed to the Gevatter.
The Master returns rejuvenated, and the new boy replaces the old.
So it will go for me.
Sooner or later for you, too.
There's no way out.
We're all doomed.
We can never leave here.
Krabat, turn around.
Follow the voice of the Master.
Krabat, listen to me.
Turn around, Krabat, turn around.
As Krabat finally put the narrowness of Koselbruch behind him,
and before him only the breath of freedom loomed,
it didn't strike him at all that the grain stood already in ears,
and overnight it had become summer.
Was it all just deceit?
You were right.
The Master has done it with all of us.
He blinds us with his magic.
That's his greatest spell.
We must put an end to the Master.
All my chores are done. You can be proud of me.
I'm proud of you, Lobosch.
Krabat?
I thought I'd never see you again.
- Do we have you to thank for the flour? - Wait.
You know my name?
One of the boys called you that,
when you saved us from the riders.
That was Tonda.
How is he?
He's dead.
He had to die, because ...
... because he had a girl.
Hey!
Don't you want to know my name?
Better not.
I don't want to endanger you.
Go to where one died violently.
Spend Easter Vigil there and return in the morning light,
as the custom requires.
Go to where one died violently.
Spend Easter Vigil there and return in the morning light,
as the custom requires.
Go to where one died violently.
Spend Easter Vigil there ...
Thanks for not betraying me.
Hmmm?
Stop pretending.
Every month two sacks of flour are missing in the chamber.
- You must have noticed. - Yes, I have.
Haven't you ever asked yourself what I do with it?
No.
You trust nobody.
Maybe you're right.
Since Tonda's death I know that you're all too afraid to be honest.
Everyone thinks only of his own life.
As do you.
That's why it was so quiet,
and no Easter bells and no singing were heard.
The only noise that Krabat heard
was the beating of his fear-filled heart,
worried only about one thing:
His girl.
Kantorka.
I'm so glad that nothing happened to you.
Kantorka? Is that what you call me?
Choir leader.
I know no one with a more beautiful voice.
Krabat?
What are you doing here?
I'm staying here. I'm not going back any more.
What are you talking about?
The sun is coming up.
Go, Juro, go alone. I'm staying here.
The Master will not get me.
Krabat.
There is no escape.
Not on this path.
Juro?
- You're not stuttering at all. - Come with me.
Otherwise we'll all be punished.
And not only us, but her, too.
I want to help you, but you have to trust me.
How can I trust anybody at the mill?
Listen to your heart.
Are you the friend of whom Tonda spoke?
Meet again at the tree root. At the beginning of the month.
Come on.
Faster.
- Where's your pentagram? - Never mind.
Your pentagram is missing.
This is some weather.
Because of the rain.
Yours, too.
Be quiet.
The spell circle will protect us.
There is only one way out. It's very dangerous.
- Tell me what you know ... - ... or what?
- You'll blacken me with the Master? - Never!
Forgive me.
You must control your feelings, your willpower.
Do not be distracted.
Not by a noise,
and certainly not by the voice of the Master.
So must you be on the inside.
Without a crack.
What do I have to do?
Your girl must ask for you freely on the last day of the year.
The Master will test your willpower.
He will set traps for you, create hallucinations.
Everything to dissuade you from taking the right path.
- I know that I can do it. - That's also what Tonda said.
On the last day of the year you need to come to the mill and ask for me freely.
Not before. Only on this day is it possible.
What should I do?
- I'll send somebody to you. - How will I recognize him?
We need a sign.
I need something sharp to cut with.
Here.
Why haven't you ever tried it?
Why don't you challenge the Master?
Because I don't have a girl.
Trust only the one who brings you the ring.
He's is our ally and will tell you what to do.
In the coming weeks Juro and Krabat used every spare minute
to strengthen Krabat's willpower,
and to make him immune against all external influences.
And with each passing day in which he became better,
there rose in him also the longing for Kantorka.
No matter what happens,
the Master can never find out her name.
Tonda!
Tonda! Tonda!
Tonda!
The year went forward, and as on all other new moon nights,
the Gevatter brought a heavy load to Koselbruch.
Again the boys were tense and irritable,
since no one knew on whom the lot this time should fall.
Go. Faster. Go.
Each handled it in his own way.
Now it appeared who was to be the next.
Get up.
I'm the next ...
On the day before New Year's Eve the waiting became torture for Krabat.
Nevertheless, he didn't let on and was restrained.
Only hours separated him from sending for Kantorka,
and saving Merten from certain death.
Juro, guard it well.
Tomorrow night you have to bring it to my girl.
Have you seen Merten anywhere?
In the grinding chamber, quickly ...
You can't escape from me, Merten.
Not even if you creep away like a cockroach into the smallest cracks.
That's enough.
I hate you.
You're brave, Krabat, but there's no way out.
Not for you or for anyone. I decide who dies.
Take him away.
Why do you stand there and stare at me?
Do you think I like this?
Dead, he's no use to me at all!
Whoever brings me the girl of the lover among you,
before she reaches the mill of her own free will ...
... shall be set free.
- We were so close ... - Save your words.
All the months we have practiced together.
I thought you would have understood.
What? Cold-heartedness?
Resolve.
How will your girl manage it now?
Every one of them would hand her over immediately and sacrifice her.
I won't let her come.
What then?
Then I'll be the next.
If you're a friend, destroy the ring.
Promise me.
Krabat ...
Come in.
Happiness and your power have left you.
Because you have followed the wrong path.
There is still time to turn around.
In you are the abilities to be a great magician.
Don't throw that away.
Don't let Juro influence you.
I know he's behind this.
You're surprised.
Do you know what Juro is to me?
Filthy scum.
Someone who does not step forward himself to fight,
and instead always sends forth others.
First Janko, then Tonda ...
They were stupid enough to believe him.
For what, really?
You forget something.
Maybe because it plays no role in your life.
As for the women: a millstone remains a millstone.
It pulls you down.
The Krabat that I knew wanted to be a magician.
How about it?
I offer you your life.
For this and for all years.
I have more to offer you than this peasant girl.
Shake on it.
Perhaps you don't want to die?
If I don't die, then who?
Make a suggestion. Lyschko? Agreed? Shake on it, now.
I can't stand Lyschko,
but he is my coworker.
You will not make me responsible for his death!
You have understood nothing.
Play your game with somebody else.
Not with me, I'm going.
You go if I permit it.
Someday your power will cease, and then the Gevatter will come for you.
Go to the barn and take the spade.
In Koselbruch is your grave to shovel.
That shall be your last chore.
Come over well into the new year.
Krabat ...
I've hidden the ring ...
What's this?
Go to the black chamber ...
... and wait for me there.
A girl.
What?
You promised me.
What do you want here?
- I ask you for a boy. - Your boy.
And who shall that be?
It's Krabat who I love.
What's your name?
Can you recognize him among them ...
... girl without a name?
Sure.
This test will absolve Krabat,
or kill him and his girl.
If you can show me your boy, you may take him with you.
That's him.
Are you quite certain?
Yes. That is Krabat.
What's all this?
Stop it.
What's all this?
Your time has run out.
Against love you have no magic.
Let's go.
Out. Out.
Come on.
Thank you.
Don't thank me.
When I went to get the ring, it was already gone.
Who brought you the ring?
Lyschko did.
Lyschko?
He had sworn to us that we must all stick together.
Was?
The boys left the mill tiredly,
but full of hope for a separate, self-determined future.
The war in the German countries ended,
and when I, Krabat, tell the story today,
Tonda's words still ring for me like a bitter truth:
"Everything in this world has its price."
And if we also had to give up the magic,
and were ordinary boys again,
we gained from it, however, something
which is to be exchanged for nothing in the world:
Our freedom.
Translation and subtitles: sled1025 - March 2009 ਉ