All language subtitles for Ludwig (1973) Part1 EN

(♪ WAGNER:
Elegy for Piano in A Flat Major)

(♪ Discordant piano chords echo)

Yes, Father, I am listening.

Do not be proud of the honor

to which we are called today...

(♪ Distant bugle)

...fear it.

From now on,
the path to salvation

will be all the more difficult for you.

Yes, Father.

Learn to be humble.

Humility is the greatest gift
I can wish for you.

Listen to others,

the wise and experienced men
around you.

Try to learn from them.

Remember, a truly great man

is small within himself

and cares nothing for renown.

Yes, Father.

You know the anguish I used to feel
thinking of this day.

But I am not afraid anymore.

For some time now,
I've felt at peace

and I realize
how I must use my power.

It seems so simple, so beautiful.

I can invite truly wise men
to come to me.

Great geniuses, great artists.

And I can humbly ask for their help.

They will create
the monuments of my reign.

Isn't that what the rulers did
in ancient times?

And I will become a better man.

With the help of God.

In fear of God.

Serving God.

Now, make an act of contrition.

(Ludwig)
O God, I am heartily sorry...

(Priest recites absolution in Latin)

There is something that justifies
how I feel

as I begin to conduct with you today

this difficult and painful inquiry

which aims at establishing
if our King

is still, in our opinion

fit to rule
our bereaved, ill-fated

despised, ridiculed
and tormented Bavaria

without betraying
the unwavering trust of his people.

What I am referring to

is that I am one of the few.

One of the very few ministers who
has been in office without suspension

since March 1864.

Since the day when, full of illusions
and hopes, we all applauded

our prince as he was crowned
and ascended to power.

(♪ Military band starts playing)

The Secretary of the Treasury.

And now the ambassadors.

Their Excellencies the Ambassadors
of Prussia and Austria.

Excuse me, Your Highness.

- His Majesty is almost ready.
- Very well.

- Only two more minutes
- Thank you.

Thank you.

Your Majesty,
the King would like to see you.

Thank you.

Champagne.

All right.

I would like to remind my illustrious
colleagues of our astonishment when

during the first meeting convened
by His Majesty, we were told that

the only necessary and urgent
thing that needed to be done

was tracing immediately
Maestro Wagner

and trying everything in our power
to convince him

to move to our country.

What is all this?

These are the reports
on the police officials

I sent to find Mr Wagner, Sire.

Police?
Why did you employ the police?

I am not a detective, Your Majesty.

And Mr Wagner is difficult to find.

He is not in Munich,
not in Vienna, not in Neuchâtel.

But he was in all those places

up to a few moments before
the arrival of our officials

who went to look for him.

As Your Majesty can see
from report number four

we have word that Mr Wagner
is traveling to Stuttgart.

But I am waiting for confirmation.

Confirmation? From whom?
From some other policemen?

I thought I had made myself clear.

I don't wish to arrest Wagner

In all humility, I want to beg him
to honor me with a visit

because I am convinced

that the presence of a great poet
and composer like Richard Wagner

could be of invaluable help
and prestige for us.

It is not a police official who should
be sent to deliver my invitation.

The maestro is surely,
and rightly, incited -

that is why he doesn't wish
to be found.

If my information is correct,

it is not our police officials
Wagner is fleeing, Your Majesty,

it is his creditors.

Nonsense!

If Wagner is in Stuttgart,
I will go personally

and offer my apologies
and my invitation.

I must remind Your Majesty
that our Foreign Minister

most warmly urges Your Majesty
to visit Bad Ischl.

Not only are the Emperor of Austria
and the Empress Elisabeth there,

but also the Crown Prince of Prussia,
the Tsarina and...

Does our Foreign Minister
fail to realize

that our friendship with Richard Wagner
is far more important

than alliance with all the crown heads
on holiday at Bad Ischl?

I am afraid
he does not realize that, Sire.

Try to explain it to him,
and tell him know that

I won't move from here until
Richard Wagner has been found!

If that is the case, Sire,
I promise to solve the problem myself.

- It is only a question of price.
- Let's not make any further mistakes.

Wagner will be given
a letter from me and a gift.

I should perhaps
have been more explicit, Sire,

I agree. A gift is required.

Now, as for Your Majesty's visit
to Bad Ischl, we will...

It has been a long time
since we last met, mon cousin.

Sometimes I have doubts about
my future as an Empress.

So, as you can see,
I am considering a new career

as a circus rider.

Have you changed?

Ma cousine.

Mon cousin... How long has it been
since we saw each other?

Five years...

No, more.
Five years and six months.

You have a very good memory.

(Chuckles)

Grazie. À demain.

I am sorry I could not be
at your coronation, but I was...

Where was I? Let me think.

Your ambassador said
you were ill in bed.

That's not true.
I was going to come,

but the thought
of meeting all my relatives

made me change my mind.

- The same happened to me today
- Really?

I was about to go for dinner
when I heard you were here

- Who told you?
- My aide-de-camp. He knows everything.

He knew you were not going to attend
tonight's official dinner...

...with the excuse of being ill, as usual.

He also knew where you were.

So...
I came here looking for you.

I suppose you pretended
to be ill as well.

Yes, you have changed, indeed.
You are much more handsome.

The most handsome king in Europe.

(Laughs)

That's not much
of a compliment, though.

Did you come to greet me
or to spy on me?

I don't know.

Both.

And you gave me an excuse
to avoid the dinner.

I am not used to official gatherings yet

I suppose it takes training.
But you, too.

Oh, with me things are different.

I escape whenever I feel like it
under everyone's nose.

But you know, it's true.

People have been telling me
you look more and more like me.

- Do you not think, mon cousin?
- I do not know

I would like to, though.

- Would you?
- Why not?

I would like it, too.

You can return to the inn,
Countess Ferenczy. I have an escort.

- Very well, Your Majesty.
- Am I right?

- I do not want to go home right away.
- As you wish.

- I am your hostage.
- Of course.

Changes can be deceiving.

New places, new faces,

new habits to learn.

In other words,

there was enough to make
someone like me feel content.

At the beginning,
I did not even miss my family.

I was occupied.
I had a husband to love,

before I realized that he did not
know what to do with my love.

He was looking for love elsewhere.

And I had a mother-in-law
to win over,

before I realized
that she is actually a hateful woman.

She even denied me
the right to raise my children.

My own children - entrusted with
tutors, generals and priests -

became strangers to me.

Then, all of a sudden,
you discover that...

the house you've been living in
is just a gloomy, sinister palace.

You start wondering why you've spent
the last ten years trapped there.

How awful.

You feel betrayed,

like a moth that's drawn to a house
by the lights

but gets trapped inside.

I suddenly realized it all,

as though I'd woken up
from a long sleep.

My illness was the sorrow.

Then one day I left.

Madeira, Corfu...

Greece...

Italy.

Ah, Italy.

Kennst du das Land,
wo die Zitronen blühn

I still protect myself
by running away.

They say I am eccentric.

But they said that even before,

when it became clear
I hated that prison Hofburg.

When it became clear
I really could not bear a husband

always in uniform
always going to war.

Whatever I do or say,
they criticise me.

So why shouldn't I do as I please?

Everyone has always spoken to me
about you with great admiration.

Yes.

When I visit the hospitals,
the wounded soldiers cheer me and cry.

I carry off official visits
very well.

I only have to be beautiful
and charm someone.

Just as you are supposed to do here.

Whom are you to charm?
The Tsar?

I hear they want you
to marry his daughter.

I have heard that too.

But... I don't want marry yet.

- I am only 19
- I was 16 when I married.

Now they say I was too young,
that's why I soon became bored.

They say I have many lovers,
even among my footmen!

What do you think?
Is it true?

I think all men must
fall in love with you.

You are very kind,
but not an answer.

Is it true or not?

I have never heard it said.

You won't answer. All right.

I shall ask you another question.

Is what they say about you
the truth?

What have they said to you?

- You never have had a woman.
- I am a Catholic.

(Laughs)
Is that the reason?

They also say that
you like to be alone...

That despise the people
around you.

That you go riding at night.

They call you
"The Moonlight Lover".

I do the same.

But I don't believe I am Siegfried.

I never thought I was Siegfried.

Not till tonight.

Do you know
the only time Siegfried feels fear?

When he first meets a woman.

- Thank you.
- Gentlemen.

- Ma cousine
- I don't like her.

Who?

The Tsarina. You shan't marry her.
I forbid it.

I obey.

You may call and command me,
I shall always obey.

Careful. I might take you seriously.

No, you always joke with me.

You don't understand.

You are very handsome,
but not very quick witted.

That is why I need you.

Ha, apparently not.
You are leaving tomorrow.

I must.

If it stops snowing,
in three days we will have a full moon.

I will be alone.

We can go riding in the night.
Will you come with me?

What is your pressing business
in Munich?

Who is waiting for you there?

I shall ask our secret service.

You are keeping something
from me.

When I took over the secretariat

and became aware
of the seriousness of the situation,

I was horrified.

I sent a memorandum to the King,
who was away from Munich,

telling him that
a single performance of Tristan

cost more than the maintenance
of an entire battalion.

I received no reply.

For pity's sake! This house
is not good enough for me at all.

It has to be furnished throughout.

The curtains need changing.
I need a new piano.

And the replacement furniture I want
hasn't arrived yet from Vienna.

But you're lacking anything.
I think it's too beautiful.

Too beautiful?
What could that be, eh? Nothing!

Nothing can be "too beautiful"
in the place I'm going to work.

Am I supposed to be an outcast
sleeping on a straw mattress?

I detest everything mediocre,
less than the best.

I must have the best
if I am to work.

I need even more: security.

Uncertainty about the future
destroys my nerves.

I become ill.
I'm unable to write a single note.

What's the use of dreaming

about performances of my works
when I'm dead?

I want my music performed now,

when I say, as I say.

Of course. But now this isn't a dream,
it's a marvellous reality.

It's a reality? No, you're right,
it is marvellous.

There's this house, my stipend,

and Tristan
about to go into rehearsal.

Poor Tristan,
he has waited six years.

And soon we will have the theater
I have always dreamed of.

The King has given me a free hand.

I've written to Semper.
Yes, he'll be down here with the plans.

He's going to have his work
cut out for him.

We must start engaging the singers
for Tristan at once.

Do you think Mayer will be free?

(Dog whines)

- If not, who would you...?
- I hope he isn't free.

Another singer might be better.

For some time now
he's, er...

Forgive me, but are you sure
there will be no objections to me?

After all, Munich has some
quite able conductors.

If someone is brought in from outside...
Well, there could be objections.

I have no objections
and that's all that matters.

The King has given me a free hand,
I told you.

He embraced me and almost knelt
at my feet when I first met him.

I was moved.

Deeply moved.

A strange boy.

I need to present you to him.

If he ever comes back -
he said he'd be away

only two or three days,
and that was three weeks ago.

The court authorities take advantage
of his absence. They stop paying bills.

"The King must authorise the payments,"
they say. It's grotesque.

(Dog whines)

He is like a young god
descended from Olympus,

but he is surrounded by stupid,
suspicious boars - a pack of them.

I won't make a single friend there.

You must come and stay with me.

(Bellows)

(Makes playful animal noises)

(Gasping for breath)

So, that's decided, isn't it?

Come upstairs.
I'll show you the rest of the house

- You don't mind, do you?
- No, of course I don't.

But the children will disturb you.

Nonsense. The house is large,
they won't be a nuisance.

Another child will soon be here.

(Kisses)

Can you not smell
the fragrance of the night?

Enchanting our souls
with such sweetness

Drifting upon us
mysteriously through the air

My questions melt away
as I yield to its spell

The same magic drew me to you,
my dear

On that wondrous day
when our eyes first met

No more would I hunger
for answers

My eyes saw you,
and my heart...

My heart understood

I like poetry, I understand it,

but I wouldn't miss the music
so much.

But the beauty of Wagner's poetry
is in the music.

And the beauty of his music
is in the poetry.

One cannot exist without the other

and from this powerful fusion
a new language is born

that everyone can understand
anywhere in the world.

A language
that can even spread ideas.

I cannot explain it,
but I know...

I know that the best thing
you can do for your people

is to enrich their minds.

Mon cousin, what do you want
to make of your Bavaria?

A nation of musicians?

(Laughs)

Are you making fun of me?

It is a very important matter,
at least for me.

To Wagner I owe my strength,

my willingness
to do something in life

to be useful to somebody
in the world

even if he has the modest role
of an intermediary.

I owe all of this to him.
As I owe to you.

What do you owe me?

I owe you the happiness
of the past few days.

I spent them looking forward
to seeing you again.

Pure and utter bliss.

Promise me to always help me
and not to abandon me.

- Will you promise me?
- Yes.

You are like a child, Ludwig.
And a crazy one too.

We all are in our family, including me.
I am sure about this.

Promise me you will never leave me.
Only this.

That I will always be able to see you
if I need to,

even if only for a moment.

A moment all for myself.

Very well.
But how can this happen?

You are in Munich, I am in Vienna.

I will go everywhere you are.

You never visit me... but I know
you often go to Possenhoffen.

Am I right?

From now on, I will...

I know when
you have to come here -

for Wagner's Tristan,

the opera
that we have decided to stage.

He has been waiting for six years.

I promised him
that he would stage it.

You must come and see it.

It is wonderful.

You will understand everything
I have been trying to tell you.

You will also understand me

and what's happened to me
over the past few days.

Then you will share
a moment with me

and you'll be able to say,

"Now I understand."

Do you know where
I'll wait for you?

Hmm?

Remember five years ago,

the Island of Roses?

The flag high on the yard means,
"I am waiting for you."

Remember?

Come.

You have to promise me.

Tristan...

is like an ocean
of harmonious sounds

where you can abandon yourself

as though in someone's arms.

Please stay.

Elizabeth.

Sophie.

- Where have you been?
- When did you all arrive?

Late. Countess Ferenczy said you were
in bed and did not want to be disturbed.

She said it was your wish.

And you listen to countess Ferenczy?
She is stupid.

Yes, I did not feel too well.

(Both laugh)

- So to speak.
- Where have you been? Tell me.

I could not sleep,
so I went out for a ride.

- On your own?
- Of course.

Well, with the groom.
Is that all right?

Let's go, help me to undress.

You look very well.

- You are very pretty
- Really?

And in the next few days here,

you will have to be
even prettier than usual.

Why is that?

- Somebody is eagerly waiting for you.
- For me?

He delayed his departure for 15 days,
can you imagine?

- Just to see you.
- Who are you talking about?

Who is he?

Who would you like him to be? Eh?

I do not know.

He is handsome, he is a king.
He will be your husband

- Who is he?
- Ludwig.

Yes, that's right, our cousin.

- Ludwig.
- (Laughs) Ludwig.

Her Majesty regrets,

she is not well this morning
and will not go riding.

Her Majesty asked me

to invite Your Majesty
to dine with her this evening

at 7 o'clock
in her private apartments.

Thank Your Majesty for me,
Countess Ferenczy.

I shall be delighted to accept.

My horse!

(Heels click)

- Ma tante
- Your Majesty.

Marie.
Kärl-Teodor.

(Click of heels)

- Your Majesty.
- Sophie.

Matilde.

Nenè.

Maximilian.

(Click of heels)

I wasn't aware you had come
to Bad Ischl with your whole family.

Your Majesty knows Elisabeth
and her whims.

Suddenly, she missed her
brothers and sisters

and we all had to rush
to cheer her up.

- You look very well,ma tante.
- Thank you, Your Majesty.

The air is good in Bad Ischl.

I have not heard from your Mother
for a long time. How is she?

(Click of heels)

Mon cousin.

One of my couriers
was going to Schlossberg

and I knew that
in a greenhouse there...

Oh.

Mmm. What a lovely scent.

Sophie, smell them.

Oh, yes. Wonderful

- I haven't seen you for a long time.
- It is a pleasure to be back.

- How have you been?
- Fine, thank you.

There has not been such
a brilliant gathering at Bad Ischl

for many years, I believe.

Elisabeth tells me
the Tsarina is here

and the Crown Prince of Prussia.

The Emperor will join us
in a few days.

- N'est-ce pas, Elisabeth?
- Yes.

Yes, Franz sent me a telegram.
He will be here as soon as possible.

Quite a family reunion, isn't it?

Your Majesty was right to mention
the matter to Elisabeth.

Sophie's presence here will seem
just a normal holiday.

- Sophie?
- Yes.

Sophie adores Wagner's music
almost as much as you, mon cousin

I am sure the two of you
have many things to talk about.

Unfortunately,
I must put off that pleasure.

I only came here to say goodbye.

I must be in Munich
tomorrow morning.

I leave tonight.

And now, ma tante,
will you excuse me?

(Clicks heels)

Ludwig.

Thank you for the happiness
of these last few days.

I will be expecting you,

even if you never
game me your promise.

(Ludwig) You must come.
When you hear Wagner's opera,

you will understand everything
I have been trying to say.

You will understand me, too.

What's happened to me
these past few days...

You must come. You must!