THE VALLEY OF THE BEES
May you have children within the year.
Ondrej!
Hurry up!
Ondrej!
We have been looking for you.
Come and join us.
This is your new mother.
Do not be afraid. Come and give her a kiss.
Have you brought a gift?
Come and present it.
Father!
Lord, do not let him die!
Merciful Virgin
I promise to dedicate him to Thee.
Save his life
and he will become Thy servant.
Ondrej of Wolfenberg...
Do you wish to take up the cross and follow me?
Yes, I do.
Do you surrender all your riches
as a token of your subjection to our Order?
Yes, I do.
Do you harden your heart and never give in
to temptation by woman, man or your own body?
Yes... l 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, Ondrej of Wolfenberg.
Look straight ahead.
Rise, brother and follow me
for I am Jesus, your light.
- Have you seen the sea before? - No.
Not until now.
I wish I could also see it again for the flrst time.
Taste it.
It is salty.
What is your name, brother?
Ondrej of Vlkov.
- And yours? - Armin von Heide.
We shall be friends, Ondrej.
Years passed and the Order became more powerful...
Further north lies Wenden
home to our most pious brethren
who have taken a vow of silence.
Some even have themselves walled up alive.
Once I wanted to join them.
Resist, Ondrej! Take my hand.
You will feel a chill, then pain.
Your lower body will be numb
but your spirit will rise
above your weakness
and human wretchedness.
- How do you feel? - I am cold.
Your hand feels cold, as if 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.
Was it far from here?
No one returned from there.
None of us saw the holy walls of Jerusalem.
The Great Commander died of the plague near Acre.
We were tortured by the heat, the pagans and the bleeding.
- God be with you, noble brother! - And with you.
God be with you, brothers!
Some knights were mercenaries
and did not seek salvation.
Instead, they sought beautiful women and riches
only to drink their own urine in the desert
cursing God and their mothers.
In the name of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.
Be zealous in prayer and in the defence of the faith.
The Great Fast has begun.
I have not seen brother Rotgier today.
Is he ill?
What happened, Ondrej?
I want to give my horse water to drink. I will catch up with you.
Do you see that forest?
- Rotgier? - I need a horse, Ondrej.
- We have been looking for you. - I know.
You must help me.
You must go back!
Where?
To those monks?
To be blinded by their darkness
and to die of eternal fasting?
Did you see that forest?
It is out of the Order's reach.
You are still here
on this bank.
You have nowhere to return to?
I own an estate in the Harz.
It is in a 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.
You are betraying Jesus Christ!
As you wish.
Back!
What is the matter, Ondrej?
What happened?
Did that dog stab you?
No.
He didn't.
Where is your horse?
Get up!
Can you walk?
I do not 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.
Brother...
Be quiet, you dog!
You hurt your brother!
Do you know what awaits you?
God forgive you your weakness.
Fair bride, give me to drink.
That is what it says there.
I cannot read.
But I can read very 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.
- Is he praying? - He was silent.
But when the hounds tore Rotgier up
- ...I heard laughter. - He laughed?
Yes, sir.
Ondrej!
I shall bring him back.
Come closer.
Release me, venerable brother Commander...
Come closer to the fire.
You are soaking wet.
Let me go after him
and do not lose faith in me, should I be delayed.
Do you wish to leave our territory?
Yes, I do.
All our actions are sinful, and always have been.
Our inherent weakness does not leave our bodies
until they rot in the grave.
- We cannot defend ourselves. - It is not for my own salvation.
He has gone astray, but his soul will return here.
Hand me my cloak!
Why are your hands so cold?
Warm them by the fire before you serve me.
What are you running from?
How do I get to Wolfenberg?
- I have never heard of it. - It is Vlkov in Czech.
I do not know that either.
I am in Bohemia, aren't I?
Yes, you are.
Yacho!
Come here, Yacho!
Who are you?
I cannot see you.
Cover up, girl!
Yacho!
Yacho, help me!
I did not even hear your footsteps.
You aren't a farmer. You walk softly and proudly.
Nor are you a merchant. You would talk more.
- Where is everyone? - Father is with the sheep.
The hunters will not be home until this evening.
Eat and drink, and may God bless you.
Thank you, girl.
What is the matter with you?
Are you blind?
Have you come from afar?
From the north.
I am looking for my brother.
- What is this? - Sheep's milk.
Haven't you drunk it before?
- Aren't you afraid of strangers? - Why should I be?
I might know you by your hand.
I cannot 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 am blind, yet I see you. - What do you see?
Something in you which both frightens and entices me.
Be gone, girl.
I feel sorry for you.
God will forgive you, for you know not what you are saying.
My lord.
Come and join us.
You haven't eaten yet.
We caught a deer.
Give me something to drink.
Water!
Are you travelling 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 saved the carcass.
Someone must be in the pen.
Colliers.
My most distant neighbours.
May I bring them here?
What's new on your hill?
This morning we found blood in a clearing.
- We would like to stay the night. - You will 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 rags, barefoot, clad only from the waist down.
What did he want?
We gave him some food...
Then he asked where he could get a horse.
- 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 have brought you a horse.
Get up, Ondrej.
- We shall go... - Where?
North. You will make a pilgrimage of penance.
- I do not want to return, Armin. - We shall go together.
You belong to the Order.
My father vowed my life to the Order to save his soul.
Think of your own soul!
Do not worry about me.
You took the vow. Casting away your cloak will not free you.
Enough talk. My home is not far.
I owe you something
for the horse.
- Hands off! - It is mine!
- What belongs to you here, sir? - Be gone!
I promised you would return.
I have been thirsty ever since I returned from the Holy Land.
It is as though I were on fire.
Armin!
Open up!
- I come unarmed. - These are hard times.
- Someone may be after you. - Quiet. Undo the chains!
I want to see the Lord of Vlkov.
Retrace your steps and you will find his grave.
What is it, Marquart?
Come up here, and you'll see...
What do you want here?
I am Ondrej.
Lady Lenora!
- It is you... - God be with you, Jakub!
Won't you even embrace me?
Holy Virgin, I...
Who is it, Jakub?
Lady... Rejoice!
Good Lord...
Come. Don't stand there.
Leave me alone, mother! I am close to tears.
Why this separate bowl?
Do I have mange, or what?
Why are you shouting, Ondrej?
We have not eaten meat since his death.
God, have mercy...
Jakub, close the gate, and unleash the dogs!
We don't have dogs any more.
Come to me in the morning.
What are you afraid of?
We always unleashed the dogs at night
in the north.
Do you sleep upstairs, mother?
The garret is vacant now.
Martins were nesting there.
We had to close the shutters.
You have changed.
You too are no longer the same boy who left us.
- Wait, I will take you there. - You don't have to, mother.
On second thoughts, if you wish.
Put this on. It is clean.
Help me.
It used to be full.
He saved every groschen in order to buy you back.
Yet he did not want to break his promise to God.
- We are poor, Ondrej. - Give me his sword.
I came here empty-handed. I am glad just to be alive.
Why are you closing your eyes?
Are you crying, Lena?
I know you are here.
Leave me here and go.
I want to be alone.
O Lord, deliver us from the evil that went into the grave.
May our grain prosper. Do not let the werewolf poison our well.
Do not let the snake drink our cow's milk.
Let peace reign at Vlkov.
He used to sit here all day
waiting for your 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.
Do not open the gate for anybody without my consent.
Not even for anyone in distress.
Hana...
Don't sit there like a bump on a log!
Come pour some water over me.
More!
More...
Betka, come here!
Here.
This is where it's burning.
More.
That will do. Dry me 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 after he killed a she-wolf.
This one came looking for her.
- I implored him. - Is it a wolf cub?
Yes, my lord.
- Do you know how to handle dogs? - It is not difficult, my lord.
Open the gate!
Jakub, who here owns hunting dogs?
- Hunting dogs? - Now you resemble your father.
Am I about to die?
May eternal bliss be with you.
Did you want to see me?
I heard you had returned. Nobody knows where you were.
- I do not know you. - I am father Blasius.
I cannot shake hands with you.
- Don't they sting you? - Yes, they do.
I get stung dozens of times every day. You get used to it.
Are they stinging today?
They can sense a storm coming.
It is hot indeed.
I heard your mother's confession today.
They say you entered an order near the sea.
That was long ago.
I fell ill.
I decided to return home if I got better.
You decided well.
Vlkov was lacking a master, and our church needed donors.
- I shall not be ordered about. - It was just a humble request.
Do you have any news for me?
Whit Sunday will soon be upon us. Local children will gather here.
Our gates will be open to them.
God bless you.
Where are you going?
Fetch some 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.
Horses!
Quickly, Jakub!
Come no further.
It's a marsh.
I found your father around here.
A branch had poked his eye out.
He fell off his horse and the dogs tore him up.
- I had to kill them. - Mother never told me.
It is no wonder, my lord.
She hates to think of it.
Why don't you come outside?
Get up. Why do you kneel?
Do not come near me.
Go outside, and leave me alone.
Go away!
What else do you want, Ondrej?
No...
No, Ondrej, don't!
You brought disaster once. Your father cursed me.
Leave me alone.
You'll leave me, just like you left the Order.
I am your mother.
Come to me, Ondrej.
It will start raining soon.
I'll show you my favourite spot.
Look, Ondrej.
Someone has been here.
We'll wait out the storm here.
Come closer.
What is it, Ondrej?
Can you see me by your side?
What happened?
Father Blasius promised 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, fearing our power.
But here people are like heathens. They fear nothing.
Ignorant of your Order's laws.
Holy law applies to all christians.
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 pure
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 hung as he was. - And the children?
- The children too. - Were they not pure?
There is no difference.
Then there would be no human beings left alive.
- Life would become extinct. - Let it be extinct.
The angels will remain.
No one has ever seen them
and yet I hear the beating of their wings.
They are here with us.
They must be.
Otherwise we would live in darkness, like dogs or wolves.
Foreign brother, you frighten me.
Why should only the virtuous die of cold and hunger
in their cells?
Death brings redemption
from such loneliness.
I carried this sand all the way from the Holy Land.
It is tainted with my brother's blood.
But why was it their blood?
The others live without faith and multiply like ants.
There are ever more of them!
I respect you for your long pilgrimage.
But go home.
When is the wedding?
Go back to your people.
There you will find peace again.
At least you will stay pure.
Bees are like people.
They fear and sense disaster.
You can destroy their homes
but they begin building new ones straight away.
Bring me my sword.
What do you want?
I have come to say goodbye.
Goodbye then, brother.
Close the gate behind him.
Do not chase anyone away.
Ondrej...
Today, Vlkov Castle is open to all.
Come, don't stand there.
No...
I am Lenora, Ondrej's wife.
No, I cannot...
A trying journey awaits me.
You are tired, Armin.
Stay awhile.
Come and join us.
I have no wedding gift.
I knew you would come. I have been expecting you.
You look pale, sir.
- Have you been ill? - Yes, my lady, ill.
Drink, Armin.
It is mead.
- Is it bitter? - Thank you, my lady.
You thanked her without looking at her.
Members of the Order do not look at women.
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 fine sand! - It is from the seaside in 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...
My God... my lord!
My lord!
He slit her throat!
Lady Lenora...
You monster!
- Antichrist! - Not here!
- Take him into the courtyard. - Hold him!
Beat him like a dog!
Kneel down.
- Ask God for forgiveness. - I cannot see.
Lock the gate!
Look at the cross!
Marquart, unleash the hounds!
Pray for your soul to be saved!
Unleash the hounds!
Go, Ondrej!
- Clear out the courtyard. - Take my cloak.
Go back, Ondrej!
You will be forgiven.
Pray...
for both of us.
Release them!
Go back!
Ondrej!