All language subtitles for Silk-2007-1080p-AMZN-WEBRip-DD5.1-x264-NOGRP-English

Steaming water.

Strange trees.

Laughing children.

Her skin.

Those eyes.

Why should I tell you about it?

Why now?

Maybe I just need
to tell someone..

...and maybe it's you.

I guess, it all began
when I came back home

on leave from the army.

When I first saw Helene.

When are you going?

I leave Thursday.

And when will you be back?

'One day, I'll have
a whole garden of these.'

Hundreds, thousands.

To make her happy,
I would've knelt down

and started planting
a garden that very day.

Oh.

But I had a military career
to pursue.

My father insisted.

Things are heating up
in Austria.

I think it will come
to a head by summer.

The outcome is inevitable.

They won't know
what to do when

they're faced with
our military forces.

They will crumble
like a stale linzer torte.

'What do you think, son?'

More fish, dear?

'The Austrians are fools, hm?'

'I remember,
when I was in the military..'

I couldn't stop thinking
about her.

'...if the Austrian's
ever decided to attack'

'we'd finish our lunch..'

Then, someone came along
to solve my problem.

Can I help you?
Please, sir!

- I'm sorry, Your Honor.
- You may leave us.

- How can I help you, Baldabiou?
- You know what this is?

- Woman's stuff.
- Wrong.

It's money, a man's stuff.

Really? And why do I
need to hear this?

I'm going to repair
the silk mill.

The mill?

- Where will you find the money?
- That's my problem.

Just make sure
no one gets in my way.

Baldabiou repaired the old
silk mill in six months.

or so I was told,
as I was still in the army.

Careful.

By the time I returned
the following year

there were three more mills

and more money
than our town had ever seen.

- 'You know what that is?'
- 'Money.'

Wrong. It's proof
that I was right.

Congratulations.

And what do you
want me to do now?

Nothing. You'll be the Mayor
of a very rich town.

Marry me, Helene.

Mr. Baldabiou?

Herve.

I hear you would
like to speak with me.

Yes, but not here.

- Do you play?
- Uh, no.

- Why me?
- I need a young, clever man.

Yes, but I'm
not looking for work.

It's not work
I'm offering you.

I'm offering you a life.

A strange illness
has entered into the sheds.

Half the silkworms
are either sick or dead.

It's the same in Lyon. The same
everywhere, as far as Turkey.

What is it?

Nobody knows,
but the clock's ticking.

We cannot solve the problem,
but we can get round it.

We have to. Otherwise,
this town will starve.

I need you to go
and get healthy eggs.

In Africa.

Africa?

'I wish, I could'

but my-my leave
is up in two days.

I have to return
to the barracks.

- Who says so?
- My father.

Your father?

I'll take care of him.

And he did.

In nomine patris.

Et filii.

Et spiritus sancti.

- Amen.
- Amen.

Two weeks later

I gave up my uniform

and I started a new life.

I thought love
would always be that easy.

'What are you writing?'

- Nothing.
- Nothing?

I just spoke with Baldabiou.

I leave a week from tomorrow.

How long?

Weeks.

Maybe months.

Make it weeks.

That was 1862,
the year of the Great Snow.

I set off to Egypt
to get the eggs.

It took me a month
to find them

and a little less
to come back.

I knew nothing about silk
or how it was made.

All I knew was that..

...I had to keep those
tiny eggs away from heat.

Keep them clean

and bring them back
before they'd hatched.

That's all I knew.

But back at the village

someone else
was about tohatch.

Ludovic Berbek.

Beatrice was so proud
to show off her baby that day.

Give me a child.

How was Africa?

- We never talked about it.
- It was beautiful.

Tired, but...
but very beautiful.

I have bad news.

I found dead worms.

Only a few,
but still, too many.

Seems the Pebrine got to Egypt
before you did.

Pebrine?

They've given it a name.

I need you to go to Japan.

Japan?

- Where is that?
- It's that way.

'Just keep going
to the end of the world.'

'Let me show you.'

They make
the most perfect silk there.

I held some
in my hand once.

It was like
holding nothing.

They've been making silk
for over a thousand years

and they've never even heard
of a diseased egg.

It'll be a longer journey
this time.

'Much longer.'

Before I speak
to the others

I have to know
that you're ready for this.

But there's a risk.

The journey's long
and dangerous.

And it's forbidden to travel
inland beyond Japan's harbors.

No Westerner has done it.
And, yet, a place

where no English broker
or Chinese trader can go

is a place where
no disease can enter.

And why should we succeed
where others have failed?

'There's no evidence
that we'll succeed,'

But I have it from
a trustworthy source

That the Japanese are trading
their silk on the black market.

We're interested in making silk,
not buying it.

I want to send Herve
to trade for eggs, not silk.

But there's still no guarantee,
no matter how good the plan.

How much?

At best, 10,000 francs.

And at worst?

His life.

What is it?

I can't do this.

I cannot go.

- But you've already said--
- I wasn't thinking.

About us.

I don't want you to give
this up because of me.

It's better than you going off
to fight some stupid war.

You'll be back by spring.

Don't forget.

Our Japanese contact
will meet you in Vladivostok.

- Yes.
- And letters for him.

He'll help you find
the village.

All you have to do
is bring back the eggs.

- That's all?
- Good luck.

- I'll always love you.
- I will always love you.

And so, I headed off
to the end of the world.

I crossed the border at Segny.

Then I journeyed
through Europe.

I traveled by train
from Vienna.

Through Moravia

and on to Kiev.

I hired a caravan
to cross the Russian steppes.

Three thousand miles
of ice and storm.

I had my Christmas dinner
at Lake Baikal

and I thought of Helene..

...always.

Then I followed the Amur River
along the Chinese border.

Until I reached the ocean.

I stopped 11 days
in Vladivostok.

Where a Japanese guide
handed me my disguise.

I sailed across the sea
on a smuggler's ship.

And, finally,
I reached the Port of Sakata.

Strange..

...and haunting.

The Mogami River.

The snows of Yamagata.

I climbed
the mountains of Shinobu

where new guides
were waiting for me.

And for the next three days,
we continued through the peaks.

Then, after countless freezing
days and sleepless nights

I reached my destination.

Sakata, yes, yes.
I came..

Four.

Who are you?

My name is Herve Joncour.

I know that.

I am a man of trade.

That is not who you are.
That is what you do.

I am the man you see before you.

'That is all.'

I was born in a village
you've never heard of

in a country
you've never seen.

'I grew up like any child.'

'I was clothed and fed,
educated.'

'I joined the army.'

'I left to marry
the woman I love.'

And none of this is who I am.

'The eggs you were given'

are eggs of fish.

They're worth nothing.

I know that.

Is that why you paid
for them with fake gold?

I paid for what I bought.

When you leave here,
you will have what you want.

When I reach the limits
of your lands...alive.

You'll get all the gold
that's owed to you.

I give you my word.

Whoa.

Shh.

'You're back.'

I'm back.

On my return

I was surprised to find
our life was still there

just as I had left it.

But it was about to change.

'Keep them closed.'

- They are closed.
- We're almost there.

- Careful.
- I'm going to fall.

- Don't open them.
- No, I'm not. I'm not.

Now.

Oh, my.

Well, what is it?

It's your garden.

It's my garden?

Well, not quite.
Not...yet.

For now, it's a plot of land,
our land.

And the house is also ours,
if you want it.

This is where
we'll grow old, Helene.

But, I don't understand.

The eggs have hatched.
They're perfect.

This year's production
will be huge

and Baldabiou
has already paid us our share.

We are rich, Helene.
I mean, we're very, very rich.

All this for such tiny eggs.

And the eggs became worms.

And the worms grew stronger.

And we all grew richer.

Nice try.

Isn't it difficult enough
with two hands?

The day
the one-handed player wins

is the day I leave town
and never come back.

Like Ludovic's father.

I never understood
what happened to him.

Did he just disappear?

Well, first,
he stopped talking.

Then one day, he woke up,
packed a suitcase, and left.

Beatrice was about
to have Ludovic.

That was quite a blow.

But why did he stop talking
in the first place?

That's one of the many things
he never talked about.

Hm.

No, no, papa.

Mmm!

Do you think about it?

Sometimes.

What do you see?

Strange trees.

Chickens pecking in the dirt,
laughing children.

What about this man?

You hardly mention him.

He was closed..

...secretive.

It's hard to remember
all of it.

It's fading away.

'Papa!'

'Papa!'

I've ask Madame Berbek
to help with the chores.

The house is too much for me.

That's a good idea.

Ludovic is growing.
They must need the money.

I knew you'd understand.

- May I see?
- No, it's not finished.

- I want to look at it.
- No.

It was a happy time
that summer.

Life was simple again.

'Opened his beak
and he felt sick.'

The cheese fell
out of his beak

and the fox caught the cheese,
and ran off with it.

So this is the path,
and the fountain is there.

- Mm-hmm.
- And the lilies?

- You're standing on them.
- Oh. Sorry.

- You're standing on them again.
- So the lilies are everywhere.

The lilies
are everywhere.

But I knew..

...I knew that it couldn't
last forever.

I suppose, we won't be eating
your aubergines this summer.

It's a flower garden,
not a potager.

Hello, Ludovic.

I've received some news
from Japan.

It may not be so easy
to get in and out the next time.

When was it easy?

'I have Hara Jubei's
protection.'

'I will be fine.'

What if you don't
make it to him?

Herve.

'Listen.'

You have a decision to make.

You make it.

I'll always love you.

I'll always love you.

Au revoir!

Oh.

And once again,
I made it to the village.

Only, this time,
it was different.

This time, I was not treated
as a stranger.

This time, I belonged.

Arigato.

I had to find her.

So while I waited
for the eggs to be prepared

I searched the village.

I wanted you to see this place.

Join me.

Perhaps another time.

You see these birds?

'Only here can you see them.'

'My father used to come here
every day to watch them.'

'And his father..'

...and the father
of his father.

And now...you've seen them too.

Come.

And what does it say?

Door was open.

Herve Joncour.

Schuyler. I'm Dutch.

You are, uh, French,
I suppose.

What is your trade?

There is no point
in being secretive.

You're either here to buy
or sell something.

Which is it?

I'm here to buy
silk eggs. And you?

- Selling.
- What?

- Guns.
- Guns?

Mm-hmm.

Mmm!

You must be paying
pretty well.

Hara Jubei has never offered me
anything like this before.

Do not be fooled
by his kindness.

There is a price for everything.

- And what about Mutzu?
- He's still safe.

They've been
chased to the east.

But you never know.
Things are changing fast.

'Even Hara Jubei's losing grip.
I'd be on my guard, if I'm you.'

- Is that a warning?
- Mmm.

His protectors in Edo
will fall soon.

'Take my advice.'

'Trade fast,
leave as soon as you can.'

She's quite something,
isn't she?

- What do you know about her?
- Not much.

But I'll tell you this.

- She's not what you think.
- What do you mean?

She's not Japanese.

That is what they say.

'Who knows?'

To you.

May we continue
to trade in peace.

To our lasting friendship.

- Goodnight.
- Goodnight.

The next day, Hara Jubei
took her and left the village.

They gave me the eggs,
but I waited two days

hoping she might return.

She did not.

And, once again, I left Japan.

This time, I had brought
back 10 boxes of eggs.

Much more than
the previous trip.

I wanted to tell Helene.

I wanted to
tell her everything.

Helene.

What?

I love you.

And it tore me apart.

What is it?

What is it?

So, she's not Japanese?

No. She was Chinese.

She was the Emperor's
third wife.

Legend has it that..

...she was preparing tea

in the palace garden.

And she accidentally
dropped a cocoon..

...to the hot water

and then she discovered that

a cocoon's fibers
could be unwound

and a thread could
be obtained from it

one that was strong
enough for weaving.

Who told you that story?

A trader.

What is it?

You've been sitting there
for over an hour. What is it?

I need your help with something.

I need to find someone
who can speak Japanese.

Ask, Herve Joncour.

Don't make it difficult.

You know someone.

Who wrote the letter
I took on my first trip?

What is it you need
to translate?

Please.

Madame Blanche.

She runs a brothel in Lyon.

Number 12, Rue Moscat. Men pay
a lot of money to be with her.

- And she speaks Japanese?
- She is Japanese.

Well, how did she wind up
in Lyon?

She married a French merchant
in Yokohama

he died on their return
to France.

She had to fend for herself.

I have to go
to Lyon tomorrow.

I'll be back before nightfall.

What's wrong?

Helene.

We have to be patient.

We've been trying to have
a child for two years.

We have to try harder.

Come to bed.

Come.

I won't be long.

Voila.

Madame Blanche will see you now.

'Please.'

'Sit.'

And what makes you think
you're rich enough

to sleep with me?

That is not what I came for.

- What do you want then?
- I need your help.

Never mind the price.

I need to know
what is written on it.

Will you help me?

Where did you get this?

"Come back or I shall die."

- Come back?
- That's what it says.

"Come back or I shall die."

Thank you.

Forget about it.

Not the money.

The woman.

Forget about her.

She won't die,
and you know it.

I went to see
that fellow, Pasteur.

Yes?

He's pretty darn clever.

He's discovered
how to isolate

the infected eggs
from the healthy ones.

He can't cure them, but he can
tell which ones are good.

And the results
are guaranteed.

Mm. Really?

There's trouble again
in Japan.

This time, it's serious.

The French Consulate in Yokohama
have been sending dispatches.

They say it's chaos.

And this, uh,
Italian fellow, Ferreri

he's come back from China
with eggs, tons of them.

Healthy from first to last,
same with Bolae.

They're offering us
a good deal.

Seven francs for the gram.

And they'll insure them.

And with the work
that Pasteur is doing

we might get by on our own.

It would be madness
to go back there.

It's too risky.

I don't want to lose you, Herve.

I'm going to Japan,
Baldabiou.

Even if it means I have to pay
for the trip myself.

All you have to decide
is whether I'm..

...selling the eggs to you
or someone else.

We've heard that the eggs from
Turkey are perfectly healthy.

That's where the Lyon
breeders go.

- The Italians, too.
- Why don't we do the same?

- 'Japan is too dangerous.'
- 'We can't afford the risks.'

Gentlemen. Gentlemen, please.

These eggs are unreliable.

The Japanese eggs are pristine.

Who really knows
what's going on there?

Few people have seen it
with their own eyes

and one of them lives
right here.

This is my son
you are talking about.

He's made the voyage twice, if
anybody understands the dangers

he does, and he believes
it can be done.

I, for one, am staking
my money on another trip.

You gentlemen,
must make your own decision.

Isn't there some way
you can stop him?

I'm afraid not.

There is something else.

There seems to be
some trouble over there.

An uprising.

It could be dangerous.

Then I suppose all I can do is
give him a reason to come back.

You're not to..

...worry about anything.

I know.

I won't.

I have protection there.
I will, I will be fine.

This time, it really was
the end of the world.

The rebellion
had reached the village.

You alone?

You hurt?

Where are they?

Hai.

Hai.

Hara Jubei.

Take me there,
you understand?

How did you find us?

Who brought you here?

Answer me!

There is nothing for you here.

Only war, and it's not your war.

War is an expensive game.

You have need of me.

- I have need of you.
- You should not have come here.

- Keep your gold and go.
- Hara Jubei.

Japan is an ancient country.

It has ancient laws.

There are crimes here
for which it is acceptable

to condemn a man to death.

This is a rifle, my friend.

Keep your head down.

The boy committed
one of those crimes

when he carried
a love message

from his mistress.

He was carrying no message.

He was the message.

He was a boy.

Keep your eyes down.

Now, go..

...and never return here again.

It took me 11 days
to reach Sakata

where I finally found
four boxes of eggs.

I packed the boxes
in crates filled with ice

fearful that they would
hatch early.

I reached the Russian coast
by the end of March

which was one month
later than usual.

Summer had already
come to Europe.

And then, one morning,
I knew it was over.

The eggs had hatched.

The worms were dead.

Millions of them.

All dead.

Ludovic.

Hyah!

I thought you were dead.

And in the whole world, there
was nothing beautiful left.

That was a terrible summer.

We had to close
three of the four mills.

Baldabiou had to make up
stories to explain my failure.

And with the thought
of all that had happened

how I'd failed the village,
how I'd failed Helene..

'...I sank into silence.'

So, here you are.

What's wrong with you?

You haven't come around
for ages.

Listen,Herve..

...sooner or later, you're gonna
have to talk to someone.

It might as well be me.

It might as well be now.

What happened?

What happened in Japan?

There's nothing more to say.
I told you everything.

That's rubbish.

There's nothing more to say.

If things continue like this,
we'll all starve.

Something has to be done.
Do you have any ideas?

Baldabiou.

We'll build a garden.

I'll hire everyone
in the village.

Anyone who's strong enough to
dig. Men, women, children too.

Together, we'll build
Helene's garden.

We started the work
in late summer.

'May I have some water?'

I don't think you're working.

And we finished most of it
by fall.

You pull that one up?

Weeds are bad for trees.

They take their food.
So, you've got to pull them out.

Then why do we have them
if they're bad?

God made them,
to keep us busy.

So, winter came, and..

everyone had enough to eat.

Then a letter arrived.

It took me five days
to open it.

It was stamped in Oostende

but it had a Japanese seal
in the corner.

I'm going to bed.

I'll be up in a minute.

I shall read it for you.

But this time, I want no money.

What I want is a promise that
you will never come back here.

I promise.

"My dear master..

...do not be afraid.

Do not move. Do not speak.

No one will see us.

Stay as you are.

I want to look at you.

We have the night to ourselves

and I want to look at you.

Your body for me..

...your skin, your lips.

Close your eyes.

No one can see us.

And I am here at your side.

Do you feel me?

When I touch you
for the first time

it will be with my lips.

You will feel the warmth

but you will not know where.

Perhaps, it will be
on your eyes.

I will press my mouth
to your eyes

and you will feel
the warmth.

'Open your eyes
now, my beloved.'

'Look at me.'

'Your eyes on my breast..'

'...your arms lifting me'

'letting me slide on to you.'

My faint cry..

...your body quivering.

There is no end to it

don't you see?

You will forever be
throwing your head back.

I will forever be
shaking off my tears.

This moment had to be.

This moment is..

...and this moment will continue

from now until forever.

'We shall not see
one another again.'

'What we were meant
to do, we have done.'

'Believe me, my love..'

'...we have done it forever.'

Preserve your life
out of my reach

and if it serves
your happiness

do not hesitate for a moment

to forget this woman,
who now says

without the trace of regret..

...farewell."

That year, in Edo,
they signed a treaty

authorizing the export
of silkworm eggs.

A few years later,
they opened the Suez Canal.

After that, a journey to Japan
would take 20 days

Even less to come back.

A new era had begun.

So, the years passed.

We traveled.

We accepted the fact
that we would not have a child.

'Nine plusseven
equals 16.'

Now, sometimes it may
seem like..

And a sort of peace,
entered our lives.

But you have to be patient.
You have to keep trying.

Do you understand?

But it didn't last long.

Not long enough.

'Yes, but are you certain?'

No change. She needs to rest.

But you've been saying
that for weeks.

All she's been doing is resting,
and she's just getting weaker.

- Be patient.
- I am being patient.

- Good day, Ludovic.
- Good day, madame.

Do you have a moment?

- I have a favor to ask you.
- Whatever I can do.

I would like you to help Herve
with the garden.

Of course.

I mean, in the future.

He's going to need your help.

You can depend on me.

Good.

Beatrice, stopped by.

She brought us dinner.

Hm. You'll have to thank her
for me.

And Baldabiou sent over
a dozen quail.

God knows where he got them.

Probably sent from one
on the journey.

There's things that
I haven't told you, Helene.

I know.

I just--I couldn't
find the words.

It's alright.

It's alright.

Do you remember the first day
you showed me the land?

You said, there'd be
a garden there.

You said, this is where
we'll grow old.

Are we old, Herve?

She died in late April.

Few days before her
lilies bloomed.

And then, something
extraordinary happened.

A-ah!

- The one-handed Baldabiou..
- Hm.

'Pulled off an impossible shot.'

Fancy that.

So, he gave his mill to Verdal

packed one suitcase..

...and he left.

For good.

I knew a man once who
built his own railroad.

And the beautiful thing is,
he built it completely straight.

Without a single curve.

He had a reason for that.

I can't recall what it was.

The reasons get forgotten.

Not long after that,
I found something

that sent me
on another journey.

Though, not quite
as far this time.

She's gone, sir.
Gone to Paris.

Yes, but do you have
an address for her?

I'm sorry.
I cannot help you.

Thank you very much.

How did you find me?

I've knocked on every door
in Paris.

It was you who wrote
that letter, wasn't it?

Wasn't it?

It was not I who wrote it.

It was Helene.

'She had already written
it when she came to see me.'

She asked me to copy it out
in Japanese.

And I did.

She read me that letter.

She read those words,
with a voice that..

...I have never been able
to forget.

'I know it's hard
to understand.'

But I heard her
read that letter.

And more than anything..

...she wanted to be that woman.

She was that woman.

Farewell.

Ludovic.

'Good day, sir.'

What are you doing here?
You shouldn't work on a Sunday.

I have a few things to finish.
Some trimming and weeding.

How was your trip to Paris?

Fine.

Thank you.

Would you like to sit with me?

Of course.

I think you like this place
as much as I do.

Very much, sir.

In a way, I, suppose it's
your garden, too.

Remember that little tree
I planted with madame?

It's grown so tall now.

I'm sorry, sir.

Don't be sorry.

Silly.

Death is a strange thing,
Ludovic.

'Strange.'

But why should
I tell you about this?

Why now?

Maybe I just need
to tell someone.

And maybe it's you.

I guess it all began
when I came back home

on leave from the army

when I first saw Helene.

And now you know the real story.

It's late now.

Finish your work tomorrow.

My beloved.

Do not be afraid.

Do not speak.

Stay as you are.

I'm here at your side.

Do you feel me?

When I touch you
for the first time

you will feel the warmth
but you will not know where.

Perhaps, it will be
on your eyes.

Who could ever erase
this moment?

There is no end to it,
don't you see?

What we were meant to do,
we have done.

Believe me, my love,
we have done it forever.

And if it serves
your happiness..

...do not hesitate for a moment
toforget this woman

who now says..

...without a trace of regret

farewell.