I thought that we could build our nest high-up...
in the trees...
Fly away, like birds...
to the mountains.
Choir starts introit "And Believed The Lord" from Haendel' Oratorio: "Israel In Egypt"
[female - male voices change or mix in a long crescendo]
Footage: 1930s Nazi propaganda film "Triumph des Willens'' (Triumph of the Will) by Leni Riefenstahl
[crowd roars saluting Hitler]
[Hitler's distant speech mixes with choir]
[Hitler's car enters parade grounds ] [crowd roaring increases]
[Hitler's yelling grows angrier] [Choir keeps low tempo]
The following story is based on true events.
During World war II, every Austrian soldier called up for active duty, was required to swear an oath of loyalty to Hitler.
Raspy sound of a scythe mowing grass rhythmically
Sankt Radegund, Austria. 1939
sharpening blade: harsh metallic sound
rhythmic sound of scythes mowing grass
bells jingle, cow moo gently, hens cluck
- Potatoes. - Potatoes.
We have some of them already…
moving earth-scratch
Fani laughs gently-both giggle-background chirping
Waterfall, wind in valley , trees
- Everything right? -Yes
- Hi, Franz - See you!
- Don't you want an apple? - This one is enough. Thanks.
[OST by James H. Newton: 'Love and Suffering'] [soft violin happy melodic music]
- Remember the day when we first met?
- You were shy, like now.
-I remember... that motorcycle.
My best dress [piano notes join violin]
You looked at me...
and I knew.... [sweet piano and orchestra]
How simple life was then
[sweet piano and orchestra-water gurgling]
It seemed no trouble could reach our valley
[baby cries-Fani soothes her]
We lived above the clouds
My sister came to live with us
[louder, lyric piano - sounds of farm life]
We had our home
Your mother...
...Our family
...Our village:
Radegund
[roaring of planes- music fades away]
[Steps on quiet country mornig-birds]
[harsh sweeping sounds echo in church][
[bells sound through valley]
[music: low violin thrill starts]
[tense music over blind man's baff play]
Enns military base, 1940
[heavy rhythmic marching step on gravel]
Dear Fani,
Warm greetings to you from your Franz, in training.
This week I've had things easy.
In the mornings, riding on a motorcycle...
For me, it's entertaining.
I would love to hear you singing again. - Hello, Sun!
I'm looking forward to our reunion.
I've met a fellow here...
His name is Waldland.
- How can you this? - Well…In two months of training.
No pretense about him. [sings] "A little mouse… in the cornfield"
Always smiling. "And I would be out there…in the..."
"Sometimes, I wish… I would be…in the cornfield"
- March! March! [orders, shouts, bayonettes stab sacks]
Move, move! Stab! -Move!
- Take positions!
[Crow caws- women sing a tune in German]
My dear husband,
They say that France has surrendered.
They are sending farmers home...
for now, at least.
Is it true?
[OST by James H .Newton] [violin and orchestra nostalgic music]
Sister is lonely.
I wish she had someone like you.
We could use you here
to break in the calf [sad orchestra and fire crackling]
The harvest comes nearer
We've burnt the bad weeds
[melancholic violin and piano notes]
[Yell and laughter]
I got some piglets from Mossbauer
Four weeks old.
[haggling] -114... -135...Come on: that price is very good
With warm greetings to you,
Your loving wife,... Fani
[music fades out- soldiers clap and cheer-silent footage]
Those are fields taken in military campaigns.
Seized by the German soldiers.
[silent footage: gloomy sounds]
Oh, my wife.
What's happened to our country?
To the land we loved?
[gloomy music, marching steps on crunching gravel ]
[indistinct low talk]
[water rushes loud over stones]
[forest sound-wind howls in valley]
[wind, panting with effort , snow crunches under feet]
[low wind- stream murmurs- birds chirp]
[James N. Howard's OST - "Return"] [soft violin music]
[quiet panting, sobbing, kisses snapping]
- Where are the kids?
- Inside.
[music - welcoming talk - joy]
- Papa´s coming for you!
[music takes over- louder and sentimental] in waves of piano, violin orchestra
[dog barks, distant talk- scythe slashes rhythmically - mowers' singing ]
- Resie!
[indistinc chatter - quiet laughter]
[bell start calling]
- What is it? [whisper]
- I've been called up
We thought...there would be peace
but this war goes on.
I don't know why
- Do you believe in what we're fighting for?
- Not really
[tense silence background - Low music]
- Heil, Hitler! [indistint chatting]
[postman bycicle clatter and ring]
- Cheers! [background soldier' song ]
- He did what he had to [Mayor Kraus starts speech]
He was not content to watch his nation go under
Before he came it all was in a state of collapse:
a Babylon
We were... we worshipped foreign Gods
- You're drunk
- And now...And I'm not your friend! I am your mayor! [fist thumps on table]
And now they tell us
to spare these other races
Degraded
So contemptible they can no longer despise themselves
They sowed the earth with salt
Instead of a wall, there is a department store
Foreigners swarm over our streets!
Immigrants, the don't care for the past, only for what they can grab
This is what happens when the world...
When a world dies
Men survive,
but their life is gone
Their life is gone. Their reason for living
[Undistinct sounds and few exclamations]
- This is to the new times! Cheers!
[low, vibrating, high-pitched, ominous notes]
The mask is off [Trakl the miller whispers]
I fear for my family [Trakl]
Mother's old.Yeah... [sad, vibrating notes]
I hope she dies soon
Don't they know the evil when they see it?
We are used to it now [Trakl's voiceover]
Crime [Trakl's voiceover]
No shame! [Trakl's voiceover]
Be careful! [Trakl's voiceover]
[stream murmurs- deserter runs away]
[orchestra: strings hum low and tense]
[birds chirp] [distant bell tolls]
[stream runs loud]
[orchestra: low humming lament]
[thunderclaps roars]
- Father: if they call me up, I can't serve [whispered dialogue]
We're killing innocent people.
Raiding other countries. Preying on the weak.
And the priests call them heroes, even saints...
the soldiers, that do this.
It might be that the other ones are the heroes.
The ones who defend their homes against the enemy.
Have you spoken with anyone else?
Your wife?
- No. - Family?
Don't you think you ought to consider the consequences of your actions? for them!
You'll, almost surely, be shot!
- Yes.
- Your sacrifice... would benefit no one.
I'll speak with the Bishop about your case.
A wiser man than I.
- Thank you! Thank you!
[silence prevails]
- These last weeks you're different
What is it?
- Morning! - Grüss Gott. [Salute in Southern German]
We are collecting for the war effort.
- I see.
I am sorry, I...
Well. As I said: I don't have anything to give.
I'm... [follow him in pressing silence]
Please... No!
I wish you all a good day.
[Mocking laughter-undisting chatter]
-Just let me do it. I´ll speak with him [Mayor Kraus]
...he says he is going through hard times [Laughter and indistinct talk in German]
You have refused to contribute to our collection on behalf of our... veterans?
Their families?
[monologue in hostile silence]
I also hear that you have refused to accept the family allowance,
and other subsidies, the State would have provided you.
Why? Franz! Tell me!
Show a little humor!
Yes!
Nobody refused but you!
Please!
- Thank you.
[Complains in German] ...Then, what have we come here for?
[silence and background farm sounds]
[Bells sound] [Bishop's sermon echoes in church ]
- We must be strong
Stand firm
Learn the lesson of the blacksmith [quotes forbidden sermons of Bishop Clemens von Galen]
No matter how hard the hammer strikes
The anvil cannot...!
...need not!...strike back
The anvil outlives the hammer
That which is hammered on the anvil... takes his form,
not only from the hammer, but the anvil too.
- The Bishop is waiting.
- Have a seat [whispered dialogue]
- Your Excellency...
thank you so much for speaking with me.
- If God gives us free will,
we're responsible for what we do,
or we fail to do,
aren't we?
If our leaders... are not good
If they're evil, ... what does one do?
I want to save my life, but not through lies
You have a duty to the Fatherland
The Church tells you so
Do you know the words of the Apostle?
"Let every man be subject to he power that is placed over him" [Romans 13:1]
You hear those bells?
They're melting them... for bullets
- I think he was afraid that I might be a spy [whispering]
They don't dare to commit themselves; or it could be their turn next
[laughter playing with daughter]
[silence-clock tics]
- We can't blame the bishop for going along [whisper]
He hoped, by doing it,
that the regime would be more tolerant towards the Church
But now, the priests are sent to... to concentration camps
Church processions banned
We don't have a say
What can we do?
We...Little people here
[low nature sounds]
[echoing in church]
- Just one. [Ohlendorf, the painter] - Just one? -Yeah
Thank you
I paint the tombs of the Prophet
I helpe people look up from those pews and dream
They look up and... they imagine that if they had lived in Christ´s time,
they wouldn't have done what the others did
They wouldn't murdered those whom they now adore
I paint all this suffering, and I don't suffer myself
I make a living of it
What we do...
is just create... sympathy
We create... We create admirers
We don't create followers
Christ's life is a demand
You don't want to be reminded of it
so we don't have to see what happens to the truth
A darker time is coming
And men will be more clever
They won't fight the truth
So, just ignore it
I paint their comfortable Christ
With a halo over his head
How can I show... what I haven't... lived?
Some day I might have the courage to venture. Not yet
Some day I'll...I'll paint the true Christ
Heil, Hitler!
-Heil, Hitler! - Have fear of Hitler!
- They won't call you up [dialogue in silence]
They need farmers
How else are people going to eat?
- Maybe the war will end soon
- Is she asleep? - Yeah
- Why are you looking at me that way?
- It's an act of madness [whisper]
A sin. A sin against his family, against his village [sad violin music]
- We are different, Mother
I'm sorry
But I'm grateful to you for wishing me the best [sad violins - background sounds]
Your life was hard enough already [mother's anguished heavy breathing]
- His mother looks at me coldly, like I was to blame [Resie]
I want what you want [loom clatters]
But I can't bear...he makes you suffer
He makes a choice for you too!
But, does he know what he's doing?
Tell him!
Pride! That's pride!
That's what it is
- Did they say something to you?
I saw them speaking to you by the road
- They said
their husbands have gone off to war
Why should they fight to ... save us?
- Did they hurt you?
with their words?
- I don't care!
[quiet valley sounds - girls playing]
[loud stream noise]
[Hitler's angry speech roars from distant radio]
[postman's bicycle rattle and ring]
- All good?
- Yeah
- You were a wild one
You fought with the police
You know. You remember
Who changed you?
Your wife?
I've sympathy with you
I don't want anything bad
- I know.
- So,...uh!... Help me!
- Radegund loves you
You...You are a child of Radegund
- I am not your enemy! [Mayor Kraus]
I'm your friend. -oh yeah?
- Yes, I am!
You still belong to our people! You cannot say "no"
to your race!... and your blood! [low voice-stifled rage]
and your village!... and your home!
We have to defend our land!
Till they came, the people were in despair, humiliated, in chains
Who do you think they will make responsible?
It's me
Who do you think they will interrogate?
You'll be hanged! [yells]
You understand what that means?!
They'll hang you!
Your family, your wife, your children
will have no one to support them! Your mother will die unconsoled!
- Calm down
- Don't touch me!... Don't touch me! [angry whisper]
You're worse... You're worse than them!
Because they... are enemies, but you ... are a traitor! [hostile whisper-tense violin humming]
[Forge hammering]
-I've been there, to Vienna... [violing vibration goes on]
I saw what happened there
-Lost. [Franz´thoughts]
Torn from the tent in which we trusted
- Killing the insane; children...…[blacksmith goes on]
Brought to the king of terrors. [Franz´thoughts]
- We saw the hate in their eyes. [blacksmith]
[mayor yells slogans] [ominous music louder]
We've forgotten our true Fatherland. [Franz voiceover]
[Kraus raves and rants] [soldiers cheer] [bells-fire crackles] [music and rage crescendo]
[village kids shout at Franz' girls]
- What would your father say? [Mayor Kraus]
What do you think?
- He fought [low dialogue]
- He died - Yes
And what do you think what for he died? In the trenches. In the mud
Think about it
- Yeah
- I've had a dream [Franz]
I saw a train
[muffled railroad vibrations]
The locomotive was powerful and dark...
It drew the children
And you couldn't see where it was going; just... the fields and trees flashing by
[silent footage-tense shrill sound]
I owe to a memory
of what I knew once
I find no one to turn to
Nothing enters my soul [Bible quote]
[sad violin goes on]
[violins- wind, grass,nature sounds]
[sheep bells jingle loud]
[church bell-villagers tense angry voices]
[sound and fury crescendo]
Fight exclamations: Calm down! Let him in peace! [louder church bell]
-Let him in peace! - Watch out! You, dogs!
[harsh sawing machine noise]
Not that our prayer's not being answered
[sothing calm-girls laugh playing]
if we're faithful to Him, He'll be faithful to us
And I believe it
[violin- wind on branches -waterfall]
We have Him
That's enough
[water mill sounds like a train]
[rattling mill goes on- melancholy violins]
- The whole world's shaking [violing-oven fire crackle]
There's no answer
To follow Hin... It's insanity
violins notes: Arvo Pärt's " Tabula Rasa"
What are you going to do, Franz?
The've asked you to take an oath to the Antichrist, yeah?
I know...I know
It's a "life without honor"
Is this here... the end of the world?
Is this the death... of the light?
We are like a breath... [Franz's thoughts]
Like a shadow that passes away
- Madness!
[silent voices- violins, mill rattle like train]
[sudden silence]
[wind, church bell-postman bell ominous call]
- I've been called up
- You could hide in the woods
We could run away, to the mountains
- Does a man have the right to let himself be put to death
for the truth?
Could it possibly please God?
He wants us to have peace, .... happiness
Not to bring suffering on ourselves
We have to stand up to You
- You gotta do it, don't you? [trembling, sobbing]
[sobbing, stifled yells of anguish]
[no talk, music and bell fade, farm quiet sound]
[village sounds, no voices talking]
[quiet violins soothe silence]
Her happiness is in your hands [ Resie]
She could've had other men
We have enough troubles in our lives
You want too little for yourself, Fani
Why don't you oppose him, Fani? Uh?
Resist him!
You don't know what unhappiness is?
No man ever left you?
[just music- no talking]
- You can't change the world
The world's stronger [Fani whispers]
I need you
[ music: James N. Howard's OST ]
You could work in a hospital
There's nothing wrong with that
Is there?
[no music: soft wind on tree and grass]
You want to have more? [The girls play and laugh near them]
[quiet wind and girls play]
[breathing with stifled anguish]
My dear son [Mother's voiceover]
[storm thundeclaps]
...You're all I have
You know what it is like to grow up without a father
I know what it's like to be alone
[J.S. Bach. St. Matthew Passion. Cantata: "Kommt, Ihr Töcher, Helft Mir Klagen" (Come,you daughters: help me lament!)
- Girls, your...your father is going away
On a journey
On a long journey
He'll be gone for a while
-Grüss Gott. [South German salute: hello, good evening…]
[ Bach's cantata: choir in dramatic crescendo]
- I love you
- You want to follow the train? Be careful!
[train speeds- cantata fades]
[train fades in a distant disturbing deafened sound]
Enns. March 2, 1943
[Marching steps-clatter-gravel crunching]
- Name? [men answer]
- Jägerstätter , Franz. From Radegund by-the-Danube
- Next one!
[recite oath to Hitler]
[ominous low humming music]
[no human voices]
[clicking handcuffs]
[marching on gravel - humming music]
[still no human voice-just humming lament music]
[steps and clattering jail bars]
My dear wife, [Franz voiceover]
I know you fear for me
But my burden is light.
- This is some mistake: a bureaucratic mess. You know? [Italian jailmate]
When I compare my suffering to that of other people...
- I´m a good person...[Italian jailmate]
... I see that mine is the smallest of crosses.
[grunts mimicking Hitler]
It is horrible what they have suffered
...and I don´t want to know what the fuck have done those: but they've done bad things. [Italian rants on ]
Me…. I don't want to be with these people!
And you have to remember what you knew in a better hour
…And all days like this! Understand? And why me? [Italian jailmate]
[Bosnian jailmate yells] Where's my water, son of a bitch?
Spring has come
My three little girls must be already be running barefoot, picking flowers
It would be better to tell them where their father is...
...than to tell them stories
The fresh green of the grass is good for a person
Someone with freedom might not notice it
- Go on!
- Get away from each other!
Greetings to Mother, to you, the girls and all
See you again
[birds outside-thunder]
Dear husband [Fani's voiceover]
Greetings in God, who will make everything right again
Greetings from your three little women
They say to tell you only about the good things they are doing... Of course.
But I wouldn't surprise you by telling you about their disobedience
[ violin from OST by James Newton]
I have to scold the girls
They're always demanding my attention
Rosi's always asking about you.
When we're going to bed, she says:
"Leave the door unlocked, so papa can come in"
At meals: "Save some for papa"
[music tempo increase-decrease in waves]
She sang a song for you
...Wondered if you could hear it
Rosi wanted to take your picture to bed with her tonight
[whispers night prayer to girls]
You were supposed to sleep beside her
I told her that, when father comes home, he will
[kiss snaps] Good night
Warm greetings from your loving wife
Fani
[mornig pond sounds: birds chirp, frogs croak]
- You may leave us alone [Captain Herder]
Have a seat
[dull clangor- chair dragging in quiet cell]
What good do you think your defiance is doing anyone?
You think it will change the course of things?
You think the authorities are aware of you?
That your protest will come to their attention?
You think anyone will know of it? ... About you?
No one knows what goes on behind these walls. No one.
What purpose does it serve?
- Does it make no difference whether this war is just or unjust?
- You shine their shoes. [Captain Herder's voiceover]
You fill their sandbags
Are you innocent? - Walk! [guard snaps order]
- You think you are out there… Uh?
And what now? What?... What?... What?
[prisoners' senseless speech and laugh]
What is it? Pride? [Herder's voiceover]
Are you better than the rest?
Are you alone wise?
How do you know what is good or bad?
You know better than I?
Did heaven tell you this?
Heard a voice?
There's a difference between the kind of suffering we can't avoid... [Herder's voiceover]
... and the suffering we choose
[shot-orders yelled]
Your hands up!
Your hands! Your hands up!
Hands on the wall!
You've forgotten what the world looks like [Herder's voiceover]
The light...The sky [Herder's voiceover]
I didn't make this world the way it is [Herder's voiceover]
And neither did you
We all have blood on our hands
No one is innocent
Crime, bloodshed,... everywhere
He, who created this world
... he created evil
Conscience makes cowards of us all
Take care, my friend
The Antichrist is clever
He uses a man's virtues
to mislead him. [Capt. Herder finishes his speech]
[birds chirp and twitter, frog croaks]
[waters trickles quiely]
[train sounds - sad violin]
Dearest wife
I leave for Berlin at 10:30 a.m.
Have no concerns about me
Pray for me
[railway noises- violin]
[Traffic noises-violin]
(Berlin) Tegel prison. May 4, 1943
[Metal gate clags shut]
[violin goes on as background sound]
- Go in!
[metallic sounds, chains drag along - violin]
[prisoners voices-orders]
[door clangor echoes in cell]
[silence]
[sobs quietly - distant bells]
[rumbling sound]
Down [orders snapped]
Down
Up
[door locks- heavy key turning]
[silence of isolation]
[valley stream murmurs, birds, steps on path]
Dear husband [Fani's voiceover]
Your letter of May 7 has arrived
Many thanks
The well went dry on Thursday
We need a good rain
puah!
What I feared has come:
I've found no one to assist with the work
except for Resie
Strohhofer stole beets from our field
I hear nothing but your voice
I visited the widow: Maria
She hadn't spoken with anyone in two weeks [gentle talk]
[quiet sounds-no words]
The new hay gives me hope
The scent in the barn
[girls laugh]
The wind
whoo!
The wheat
The sky
[hostile silence]
[priest voice praying low]
He won't send us more than we can bear
[bell peals loud-indistinct happy chatter]
[bells peals in distant lonely field]
[violin sad music starts quietly]
-Excuse me! [boots trample on gravel]
[quiet office sounds-typing, phone rings] [music lament drags on]
Jägerstätter [Franz' surname]
[quiet conversation] [Music in background. Tempo changes in waves]
- The Colonel must be consulted. [Major Kiel]
- May I meet with him?
- A busy man...
- But... phone. Make an appointment
- I've tried to, but my call isn't answered
- That surprises me
The problem must be on your side
The telephone works quite well up here
-Then, how can I make an appointment?
You don't answer my letters
It took me two days to get here. It's a very difficult journey
oooh! [Major Kiel's muffled yell]
[bell, quiet farm sounds]
[stifled anguish breathing]
- Out! Eveybody out! [brutal order breaks silence]
- You find it funny, uh? Eyes…on the floor!
[barking complains in German] …..Broken again!
Most beloved wife [Franz' voiceover]
Once again, warm greetings from your loving husband [Franz' voiceover]
[inarticulated words barked angrily]
I'll write a few words, just as they come from my heart [Franz' voiceover]
Even though I'm writing them with bound hands [Franz' voiceover]
that's still better than if my will were bound [Franz' voiceover]
-Show me your hands. Hold up your hands.
- Have you understood me?
[melancholic music lament]
These men have no friends [Franz' voiceover]
No loving hand to hold theirs [Franz' voiceover]
- What are you here for? [whisper]
- Treason
They've seen sorrow [Franz' voiceover]
Shame [Franz' voiceover]
Destruction [Franz' voiceover]
What strong hearts! [Franz' voiceover]
[No words-only music]
[beating-no sound] [music goes on]
"No talking allowed!" [written on the wall]
- Bausthülter. High treason.
-Jägerstätter. Undermining of military morale
When you give up the idea of surviving at any price [Franz' voiceover]
...a new light floods in [Franz' voiceover]
Once, you were in a rush
...Always short of time
Now you have all you need
[cry of desperation]
Once, you never forgave anyone [Franz' voiceover]
...judged people without mercy
Now you see your own weakness
so, you can understand the weakness of others
- Jägerstätter! [club bangs on bars]
[muffled beating]
[beating becomes inaudible- all sounds fade]
[Sound returns: wind on grass, birds]
[Fani pants with effort- backgroud farm animals]
[pail rattles up the stone well]
[oppresive quietness]
[soothing nature sounds]
[twig snaps]
[tense silence-deserter runs away quietly]
[silence - girls play outside]
- Do you think...
...I did this?
- He used to be different. [Mother]
He changed when he met you
[children choir in religious procession]
My dear children [Franz' voiceover]
I thought of you, especially...
Corpus Christi Sunday
[village kids harass family's girls - priest intervenes]
The bells are ringing over the fields
I would've loved to have seen you with your crowns of flowers
Your devoted father greets you...
...from far away
[silent people in hayfield ]
[woman runs yelling angry at Fani's family]
[man roars] Traitor to the German cause!
We are under pressure, because of something you did!
Shame on you!
You deserve…you deserve… to be executed!
-They should be there! -Yeah! -They should hang you!
Dear husband [Fani's voiceover]
-Traitor to the German cause!
Loving greetings to you on this Sunday [Fani's voiceover]
We are all concerned about you [Fani's voiceover]
Let us alone! [Resie yells to stop harassing]
Hopefully, the things are not going poorly [Fani's voiceover]
The girls send greetings
Rosi says that we'll give you kisses together
I'm always with you in thought
I can go to Salzburg
[City street sounds-office typing]
-Good morning!
Papa offered to come with me [Fani's voiceover]
Good morning [Fani to clerk]
Fear overcomes me [Fani's voiceover][inaudible office talk]
I know it should not
Trust in the triumph of the good
No evil can happen to a good man
"Not a sparrow falls to Earth,
...but He knows it" [Matthew 10:29-31] -I have no...no information about him [office Clerk]
-Thank you. [Father to clerk]
[office talk, sounds - low music]
[quiet street traffic, bells, birds]
- I'm sorry
A father... loves his child
A father... wants his child to be happy
That life could not touch her
And you...
Such a good child
Franz too
Better to suffer injustice than to do it
[no words exchanged]
[distant bell toll]
- I've been appointed by the court to be your defense attorney [Attorney Feldman]
As I understand, your resistance is specifically to serving in combat [calm low convesation]
But I believe if you were to accept medical service
and to work...
as an orderly in a hospital. That sort of thing
they would probably drop these charges.
- Will I be required to swear loyalty to Hitler?
Words. No one really takes that sort of thing seriously
- I can't [Franz whispers]
- You are a stubborn man
See here, I'm going to leave this paper with you
Keep it with you
Sign, and you'll go free.
- But I am free. [Franz whispers]
- So, why am I here? [calm low voice]
- I don't know. [Franz whispers]
[chains drag along corridor-tense low music]
You... [Franz' whispers prayer in voiceover]
my shepherd [Psalms 23:2]
[tense music and echos in prison]
You make me lie down in green pastures...
- Everything OK?.Do you want to talk? [priest visiting prisoners]
...by the river of life
You...
...my strength
[wind - wheat rustles]
You show me the path.
You...
... our light.
Darkness is not dark to You
Bring us to Your eternal light
[action - no sound]
...to You.
the true...
[muffled distant yells- vibrating music]
the never-failing light.
- You're calling me your brother?
[club hits-different sounds: tapping wall-metal-washbowl]
Father. [Franz' whispered prayer goes on]
to you I cry
My rock.
My fortress.
- I can do as I like with you!
Nobody would know. Nobody would care.
Nobody would lift a hand to stop me.
Who sees us? [beating without sound-just music and voiceover]
Give me strength...
...to follow You.
Spirit.
Lead me.
Show me.
[hissing evil voice whispers]
[yelling is muffled-hissing devilish whisper]
mix of muffled disturbing sounds: Aaron Guilhuis "Inside the Walls"
Lord. [Fani's voiceover whispers]
you do nothing. [Fani's voiceover prayer]
Where are you? [Fani's prayer]
Why did you create us? [Fani's prayer]
Have the persecuted received the kingdom of Heaven? voiceover questions: Sermon on the Mount and Beatitudes [Matthew 5:5]
...The meek inherited the Earth? [prisoner- Devil's Advocate- whispers to Franz]
The wise deceive us
Afraid?... Oh!
I was once like you
Confess it [whispering]
Your God has no pity
He left us. Abandoned us. Like he did your Christ,
His son!
How far are we are from having our daily bread?
How far from being delivered from evil?
If we could only see the beginning of His kingdom
The dawn
But...
Nothing...
Nothing ever...
Why give your life for them?
Why your life for them?
Your man died in vain
He came, and it was all for nothing!
[choir: Haendel's Cantata: "And Believed The Lord"] [Oratorio "Israel in Egypt"]
- There are 20 centuries of failure. [Devil's advocate whispers- Introito goes on]
We need a successful saint!
[choir's introito and alarm blaring ]
[choir increases tempo- siren, muffled prison chaos]
[cantata takes over sound]
[cantata fades: end of Introito]
[rattlig plow bells, trampling, panting]
No one will help us [Resie]
So we do it on our own
Sister?
Yes!
[loud kiss snaps]
Hooch! Hooch! [urging the cow]
[rattlig plow, cow bell]
[panting]
Come on!
Again. Come on!
[work in silence]
[church bell]
[no words exchanged]
Dear wife, [Franz voiceover]
I still can't say how my future will unfold
What comes next is seldom better
And still, now begins the month of June
The most beautiful month.
Nature does not notice the sorrow that has come over the people.
Though I cannot see much here,
I imagine that everything is in more lovely green than in past years.
[watermill clatters rhymically]
At dawn
we can hear blackbirds singing loudly outside our windows.
They seem to have more freedom,
and to know more of peace and happiness,
though they are only unreasoning animals,
...than we humans do.
We, who have the gift of understanding.
[noisy rattling]
- You give me back more than I gave you
[hopeful music enters]
I've found a fellow here [Franz voiceover]
From my training days. [hopeful music continues low]
- Franz? [Waldland calls]
Franz? Look at you!
How do you do? [laugh]
-What have you done? - You're criminal... [optimistic tone]
He lifts the spirits of the other fellows [Franz voiceover]
- We're getting on just fine
- Good, bad. Together.
He asks about our family [Franz voiceover]
- Don't you worry. Trouble lasts a day.
-Yeah. Eat! Eat!
- Is that all you have? - Yeah
[no music-kids play outside]
- Have you heard of the Scharfrichter? ["Sharp Judge"-Traditional German sword executioner]
The one who chops-off your head?
He's a very well-dressed man.
He covers up his head with a ...
...big hat
That man has a good spade:
He cuts your head with a clean cut.
And before you can think a thought...Just: pow!
[general shuffling, silence on yard] [Scharfrichter's steps on stones stands out]
- I wonder how it feels. [calm casual voice]
Maybe your body holds... [low dramatic violin music]
Your hands are down, and you see your head flying away.
You hold up your arms... they reach up to the head.
And they're still in chains. [whispers calmly]
And you take this young head.
And you put it back on your body.
And you open your eyes.
And the chains are gone.
But, what happens then?
Or the stars.
[distant scene sounds]
You know? Even if it rains, the sun is shining. [calm reflective voice]
The sun shines on good and evil the same.
The more in chains the madder.
[loud warning-heavy steps-chains and keys rattle and jingle]
[low singing]
[outside: different low sounds, crow caws]
I wish I'd had a wife
And a farm [low calm tone]
And apple trees, and a cherry tree [background: hopeful low music ]
And...
Maybe some grapes. We should do our own wine:
white wine and red wine
The red wine for the winter,
and white wine for the summer.
We would not drink too much.
We would pray and work. But sometimes...
Sometimes a little drink is good.
Sometimes, we would go to church.
And sometimes not.
Sometimes, we'd stay at home.. and we'd make music.
[truck roaring-street sounds]
[traffic- children voices]
Reich's Military Tribunal. July, 1943
[big building space - quiet sounds, no talking]
[steps, rustling clothes - echo in empty room]
-Heil Hitler! -Heil! [quiet voice, neutral tone]
[judge's mallet strikes]
Franz Jägerstätter. Driver at the headquarters of the reserve motorized brigade in Enns. [louder prosecutor's voice reads]
Born on May 20th, 1907 in Radegund-on-the-Dabube.
Currently in custody at the Werhrmacht´s preventive prison in Berlin-Tegel.
He refused again to comply with the conscription laws of February 24 th, 1935 to his active service duty
at the 17th motorized brigade in Enns. The defendant performed…
[prosecutor's voice fades-violins low lament ]
[violins: lower]
- Do you have anything to say in your defense? [Judge Lueber's calm tone]
- Stop being so insolent! Who do you think you are? [angry rebuke echoes in room]
You behave cowadly! You are acting the martyr!
You rejected your duty… while all of us go on fulfilling our duties to save your life!
[room quiet again]
[mallet strike - low sound]
- We'll have a short recess. [Judge Lueber's calm voice]
[quiet office- oustide sounds- crow caws]
Come in [calm voice]
Please. Uh...
Sit down [Judge speaks calmly]
Do you imagine that anything you do will change the course of this war?
That anyone outside this court will ever hear of you?
No one will be changed...
The world will go on as before. [quiet reflective tone continues]
[words-long quiet office silence]
Your actions may even have the opposite effect of what you intend.
Someone else will take your place... [tone becomes a melancholic whisper]
[long silence, calm]
Do you judge me? [no harsh tone]
- I don't judge you [speaks whispering calmly]
I'm not saying "he is wicked, I am right"
I don't know everything [violin music starts very low]
A man...may do wrong,
and... he can't get out of it to make his life clear.
Maybe he'd like to go back, but he can't.
But... I have this feeling inside me,
that I can't do... what I believe it's wrong.
[low tense music - no longer calm office sounds]
- Do you have a right to do this?
- Do I have a right not to?
[no words-reflective silence-low tense music note]
[music fades slightly]
-The judgment of this court is...
death [low calm tone]
[mallet strikes lowly]
[silence - Franz's anguished breathing]
[quiet shuffling, steps, movements]
- So, today they've pronounced the sentence...[calm detached tone]
but they still have to confirm it.
Sign the paper in your cell. You'll go free. I can work it out. [whisper- calm persuasive tone]
[no words-calm city sounds]
[Franz starts whispering prayer] [Recites: Psalms. Chapter 55:1-12]
KJB version: " Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication!
[Fani's voice whispers] Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise
[Franz] Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked:
for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
[Fani] My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
Dear father. Come soon!
[silence and muffled prison noises]
[river flows quiet-birds sing]
[distant bell tolls]
[postman's bicycle rings- distant bells toll- girls chat outside]
- It's from his lawyer! [anguish]
[Resie: stifled shout of anguish]
[rap on wood-hinges squeak]
- They've condemned him to death [whisper]
I have to go to Berlin. [stifles sobs]
- I'll come with you.
[railway sounds]
[station: PAS voice and busy street traffic]
[sounds from inside prison: yell, orders...]
[stifled noises and echoing sounds]
[room filled with outside sounds: birds, wind on trees...]
[phone rings]
- Franz!
[anguished breathing]
[sad low violins enter as background]
[violence without words]
[languid music and conversation in low voice]
- You're doing no one any good [Lawyer, calm voice]
No one.
This could be the last opportunity to abandon this...
senseless position.
If you do...
- Franz! [Fani whispers]
I will at once petition the court to stay the execution of your sentence.
But it must be done without delay. Do you understand?
Now
I'm.. I´m... sticking my neck out here. This could jeopardize my career. [persuasive tone]
If not my personal safety.
- The charges would be dropped, I'm sure, if you just...[Priest]
change your stand.
I beg you to! [Priest whispers eagerly]
The war may soon be over...
You might never have to face a situation that would call on you to do what you oppose. [more emphatic tone]
- My love. [Fani whispers sweetly]
- Franz:
Don't you see what's coming? [calm whisper]
There's not much time! [priest whispers anguished]
God doesn't care what you say. Only what's in your heart!
Say the oath, and think what you like.
Do you understand?
[choir starts: "Agnus Dei" by Wojciech Kilar]
- I love you [whisper]
Whatever you do...
Whatever comes...
I'm with you.
Always.
Do what is right.
[Sad "Agnus Dei" drags on- no other sounds]
- No! Let me go!
[ "Agnus Dei" goes on]
[ "Agnus Dei" cut by train sound]
Fani's voiceover quotes Matthew 7:7 - You said: "knock..
... and it will be opened"
Ask...
...and it will be given"
[violins' stings vibrating lament]
[painful quietness]
[violins start low lament]
[sighs-scratches grunts-hits with rage]
[violins increase tempo]
[action without sound- just music]
- You've always been good to me.
And to my son.
And I've...
Forgive me. [sobbing]
[music fades out- quiet action- background sounds]
[distant bell toll]
[quiet yard]
[Girls play with strap with jingling bell]
- You...[Fani whispers sweetly]
...You love him more than I do.
- Give him courage.
Wisdom.
Strength.
[oppressive stillness-distant siren sounds monotonously]
- Father, [whispers prayer]
[music enters-siren outside-whispered prayers]
- Tomorrow it will be done.
- Thank you, Father.
[Soprano starts singing Henryk Górecki: Symphony No. 3]
[reads standard sentence quickly]
[sentence stifled by soprano's chant]
- Now, my dear children [Franz voiceover]
When Mother reads this letter to you,
your Father will be dead.
Through God's Grace we will soon meet again.
[soprano-Franz: no other sounds]
Dearest wife, Mother,
It was not possible for me to free you from the sorrows...
that you've endured for me.
And now, all my dear ones,
Don't forget me in your prayers.
I'll pray for you...
...from the other side.
[Soprano's chant goes on as main sound]
[choir fades with roaring motor]
August 9, 1943
-Faster!
- To the Wall! [yells threatening order]
- Move yourselves! [yell snaps in quiet yard]
[chains drag on gravel]
[silence - bird chirps - crow caws]
- What do I write?
[steps-snaps]
[shuffling - gravel crunches]
[quiet, voiceless dragging]
- Sit down!
[Franz hushes gently to calm his mate]
[silent fear breathing]
[door opens- metal scratch]
- Next one!
[feet shuffling on ground]
[silence]
Repeat your part of the work!
[steps - stumbling- fearful groans]
[birds, wind in quiet open space]
[Franz whispers Lord´s Prayer] ..Your Kingdom come...Thy will be done...in Heaven..
- Franz! [Fani whispers in voiceover]
[low music - soundless bike ride]
- Franz! [Fani whispers]
[total silence]
- Next one [normal tone, detached]
[steps on gravel]
[steps on cement echo, shoes screech]
[door squeaks]
[quiet activity and movements]
[chains jingle on cement]
-Jägerstätter! [authoritative curt call]
-Born on May 20th, 1907 in Radegund on-the- Danube....
From the prison of Berlin Tegel. [reading aloud in quiet space]
- Scharfrichter! [calls executioner]
- Watch you steps! [instruction to guards]
[muffled distant sounds-silence is almost complete]
[short squeak of pail]
[valley stream flows gently]
Franz's death sentence was nullified in 1997 by a Berlin court
After the war, a group of nuns brought his ashes back to Sankt Radegund
[bell toll spreads over valley]
At the Mass of his beatification in 2007 , Franz was remembered as a normal person with his faults.
Judge Lueben, (played by Bruno Ganz), was asked to to condemn three priests in 1944. Instead, he chose, to commit suicide.
[groans and pants with effort]
[earth scratching]
[sheep bells in pen]
[wind on leaves - music is still low]
A time will come when we will know what all this is for.
And there will be no mysteries. We will know...
why...
we live.
[music rises slowly]
We'll come together.
We'll plant orchards,
fields.
We'll build the land back up.
Franz.
I'll meet you there,
["There Will Be No Mysteries" OST James H. Newton] Violin starts hopeful solo
in the mountains.
[vilolin and orchestra - increasing tempo and volume]
"...for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts:
and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been,
is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life,
and rest in unvisited tombs." - George Eliot -
Pen name of Mary Ann Evans British writer (1819-1880)
Novel: "Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life" (1869-1871)
Regarded as her best work and one of the great novels in English.
Subtitled by: Spanixtan [January 2020]