Original subtitles

I don't know.

beside the radiance of his majesty.

I didn't know she was interested in religion.

I wonder who His Majesty will favour today.

What divine benevolence!

I haven't seen her at court before.

Some people will do.

Really.

She'll have been choked, bitch.

A most original conception, Your Majesty.

The birth of Venus.

I pray that I may assist you in the birth of a new France where church

and state are one.

Amen.

may the protestant be driven from the land

come

on you protestant bastard god keep moving

put your back into it

Come on, then!

Move!

I won't tell you again.

Pull your partisan pigs!

Push

it!

The religious wars... are over.

Catholic no longer fights with Protestant.

We have survived.

And we owe our survival to the wisdom and to the

humanity of one man,

Georges de Samin, governor of Loudun.

For it was he who prevailed upon all faiths alike to keep the peace and

thus saved our city from self-destruction.

Other towns were less fortunate and now our friend has been killed by the

plague.

People of Loudun, as often as you see our city walls

standing still, proud and erect,

no matter what your faith, then surely you must feel a need

to build a temple in your hearts in remembrance

of He who preserved them for you.

In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.

Sister Agnes! Sister Agnes! Sister Agnes! Sister Agnes! Why have you left

your devotions?

They were watching Father Grandier.

We wanted to see the funeral procession of Monsieur Saint-Martin, Reverend

Mother. Satan is ever ready to seduce us with sensual delights.

Your prayers for Saint-Martin will be the more zealous for not seeing his

funeral.

That is the strength of the enclosed order.

Yes, I know, Reverend Mother, but it was a solemn requiem, and the Cardinal would

have given us a dispensation to attend.

The powers of your uncle the Cardinal are not in dispute, Sister Agnes.

You are not satisfied with the contemplative life.

They should have joined the poor Clares.

Thus the victims of the plague scrubbed out their vermin-ridden hovels.

Mother, I love our order.

Then you shall combine the two, scrub out the confluence from top to bottom,

on your knees, and pray for the soul of the dead man at the same time.

an hour in bed with the lacemaker's widow, then off to take confession.

I mean, the hypocrisy of it. It's no worse than his penitence. The pretty

ones, anyway.

They do it right there, in the sacristy, almost in front of the Blessed

Sacrament. Well, Grandier could have me anywhere, even on the early altar

itself. Shh!

That's sacrilege. Look, there he is.

Now, there's a man well worth going to hell for, eh?

Take me in your sacred arms.

Let the blood flow between us, uniting us.

Line by line.

Pleasure in lust is nasty and short and sickness.

Weariness. And weariness follows on desire.

Go on.

Your father sends you here for instruction in Latin.

And we must not deceive him.

But in everlasting leisure like this, lie still and kiss time away.

No weariness and no shame.

Now, then, and shall be all pleasure.

I'm pregnant.

And so it ends.

You must learn to bear your cross with Christian fortitude, my child.

I'm pregnant.

Yes, of course.

How can I own the child?

And there was such bravery and love, wasn't there, Philippe?

All through those summer nights, how unafraid we were each time we huddled

down together.

Remember, we laughed as we roused the animal.

And now, it's devoured us. Help me.

And we were to have been each other's salvation.

Did I really believe it possible?

I love you.

Yes, I did believe it.

I remember leaving you one day, you'd been...

Unusually adroit.

I was full of that indecent confidence which comes after perfect coupling.

And as I went, I thought... Yeah, honestly, I thought, the body

can transcend its purpose.

It can become a thing of such purity that it can be worshipped to the limits

of imagination.

Everything is allowed.

All is right.

And such perfection lends for an understanding of this hideous state of

existence.

But what is it now?

An egg.

A thing of loneliness, weariness, sickness.

Where is love?

Where indeed?

Go to your father.

Tell him the truth.

Let him find some good man.

They exist.

Help me!

How can I help you?

Hold my hand.

It's like touching the dead, isn't it?

Goodbye, Philippe.

Don't be too long.

He's leaking.

Nature's most fragrant balm.

Eucalyptus pollen.

From the Greek eucalyptus. Covered flower protected by a cap.

A trap for the heroic ornate.

I'm a napturous healer.

Poison to exercise poison.

Kill or cure.

Yesterday, powdered mistletoe.

Black cherry water.

It's a recognized cure. Nobody ever complains.

Leeches.

Dry vipers, sarsaparilla and poppy heads, and now what?

Hornets! And what fresh lunacy is

this? A crocodile?

Schoolgirls walking two by two.

Simeon reptile, corpuscular circulation.

Invaluable aid!

of everlasting life.

We commend to thee, O Lord, the soul of thy servant, madam.

Debreu.

Debreu.

Debreu.

And although to this world she is dead, to thee may she still live.

And the sins that she has committed in this life through... through human

frailty.

in thy merciful goodness.

Forgive.

Amen. Amen.

Where are you?

Hiding among the corpses, are you?

Come out, you coward!

Where is he?

The priest, that desecrator of virtue, Grandier. No woman in the entire town is

safe from the lust of that man, not one.

Neither mother nor daughter. Living or dead.

Necrophilia interruptus.

Verga distractor. Ours.

He stinks of sanctimonious oars. Enough, sir. You slander my daughter. He's

inside the house, Mr. Register.

Up there inside the house.

There he is.

The spoiler of my child.

My innocent lamb.

Even the most innocent lamb is destined for the lustful ram, Monsieur Trinco.

And lily-white purity is stained!

Except in sermons or in heaven.

Even lilies decay into rottenness. Catch!

I'll see you in...

Bastards, no doubt.

You foul, godforsaken creature.

He ought to be reported to the Pope.

He ought to be prosecuted as well, Mr. Magistrate.

My cousin tells me his daughter is pregnant.

Well, you have your whores.

Why do you have to meddle with her?

It seemed a way. A way to what?

I begin to understand at last that all worldly things have a single purpose for

a man of my kind.

Power, politics, riches, women, pride, ambition.

I choose them with the same care that your cousin, Monsieur Trincon, might

select a weapon.

My intention is different.

You see, I need to turn them against myself.

And bring about your own end?

I have a great need to be united with God.

You're a blasphemy to your cloth.

I attend Mass daily.

I love God.

And now that both my parents are dead, I'm free to serve him.

I know I have a vocation, Reverend Mother.

You have the face of a virgin martyr in a picture book.

Very pious.

Respectful black weeds, very becoming.

That's such a pretty rosary.

It was my mother's. What's this?

Oh, yes, the imitation of Christ.

Solid silver.

And downcast eyes.

Hiding what?

Virtue or lechery?

So you have one sin at least.

The sin of pride.

Do you know why most of us are here?

Because you love our Lord Jesus Christ.

and wish to serve him.

Most of the nuns here are noble women who have embraced the monastic life

because there was not enough money at home to provide them with dowries.

Or they were unmarriageable because ugly, a burden to the family.

Communities which ought to be furnaces were sold forever on fire with the love

of God and merely dead with the great ashes of convenience.

Here's a book written by the founder of our order, Angela Marici. When you've

studied it, come back.

I shall question you.

Thank you, Mother.

God bless you.

I'm not surprised that Angela Marici's book of sanctimonious claptrap confused

you. Most religious believe that by crying, Lord, Lord, often enough, they

can contrive to enter the kingdom of heaven.

A flock of trained parrots could just as readily cry the same thing with just as

little chance of success.

You can do more good outside the cloister than you can within.

Amongst the Ursulines or the Carmelites, you will be hiding your light under a

bushel. Your place is here, in Ludo.

And your vocation, to give a shining example of wisdom to all those foolish

virgins whose thoughts dwell on perishable vanities.

And now I must take confession.

Yes, Father, thank you.

Father, I've sinned, and I've come to ask your forgiveness.

When did you last confess, my child?

You should know!

This is a church, not a marketplace.

You will speak with respect.

But you did love me, I mean, I know.

I mean, all those hours we spent together in each other's arms. That's

enough.

You will not want to complacently in your own film.

What about yours?

What about your sins?

To confess is to seek forgiveness, not to blame others.

Be quiet there!

What shall I do?

Your humiliation is nothing.

If God wants you to suffer, then you should want to suffer and accept that

suffering gladly.

Go now.

Do not sin again.

And for your penance, fast for the rest of the day on your knees in front of

God, praying for his forgiveness.

I absolve thee from thy sins.

In nomine Patris et Fii.

et Spiritus Sancti.

Amen.

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

When did you last confess, child?

A week ago, Father.

What have you to tell me?

I have suffered from pride.

We must always be on guard.

I worked all of yesterday and all of the night nursing the victims of the plague,

and I was pleased with myself.

God allows us satisfaction in the work that we do.

I've also been guilty of anger.

Tell me.

Sister Jana, the angels provoked me and I wished her elsewhere.

You are absolved.

Is there anything else?

Quickly, others are waiting.

I've had unclean thoughts.

Of what nature?

About a man.

What is his name?

I... I think of him in the early hours of the morning.

My bedroom is suffocatingly hot.

My thoughts are sinful, yet they are so tender.

My body, Father.

My body, I wish to be touched.

Do you try to get these thoughts out of your mind?

Or do you like them? I have prayed.

Do you wish to be saved from this?

Answer me.

I love you, Kim.

I love him.

In the convent, I would have been safe.

I love you.

Go to my house.

Wait for me there.

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.

But you were here only yesterday.

Yes, Father, but since then I've been guilty of... guilty of... What was it

now?

If you have forgotten, perhaps God has also.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me, a sinner now and always.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed are you among all men.

Blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me, a sinner.

Yes. You know the lovemaking?

Yes.

I want to tell you, Madeline, that amongst the clothes dropped on the

floor, and the groping, and the sweating,

and the soiled sheets,

Amongst all that, there is some love.

Human love.

You understand it that way?

I think so.

Do I love you?

I think so.

Then what else can I give you?

I am a simple person.

I see the world as I've been taught.

I am a sinner, but I do not think that God has deserted me.

I would not be afraid to come before him with you, even in our sin.

You shame me.

Go.

I've hurt you.

I've hurt you. Forgive me.

Go.

Oh, God, help me.

I love this woman.

Let us find a way to you together.

the fifth sorrowful mystery of the Rosary, Christ crucified.

As we say these Ave sisters, let us think of the pain Christ suffered when

they nailed him to the cross, left him to hang there until he was dead. Think

of his most beautiful body, torn by the nails,

the blood oozing over his hands.

which twitch with every hammer blow.

And he suffered all this for love.

For love.

I'm going to kill you, but you'll never see us again.

Marriage is a law of nature and therefore a law of God.

I don't question whether marriage is a natural and holy thing but whether it is

a right and proper thing that a priest might marry.

If you care to read every law in the New Testament you won't find anywhere that

it's forbidden to marry.

In fact marriage is exalted so high it becomes a sacrament, doesn't it?

Virginity is also praised as a noble virtue.

St. Paul says that he who marries does a good thing but he who remains chaste

does something better.

Then I am content merely to do a good thing and leave the best to those that

can face it.

Christ never forbade the apostles to marry.

Most of them were married with families.

They gave them all up, nevertheless, to follow him.

Out of convenience, not obligation.

I mean, can you imagine all those wives and children traipsing across those

endless deserts and up the mountainside?

Oh, no.

They remained well and truly married until the end.

Sir, there is no law of God compelling grandeur to be celibate.

I... take the words of our Creator as my gospel.

It is not good for man to be alone.

You've almost put my conscience at rest.

Who is responsible?

Who is in charge here?

Speak, you have tongues!

Who is responsible for this?

I thought you would have been the first to guess the purpose, Father, and the

first to condone it.

Luda is a nest of dangerous Huguenots.

They outnumber we good Catholics two to one. Every single Protestant in Loudun

remained loyal to the King and to France throughout the religious wars.

Today's loyalty is no guarantee against tomorrow's rebellions, Father. I speak

as I find. Where is His Majesty's proclamation? Don't concern yourself

with politics, Father. Your penitents are waiting.

Where's he gone?

Where is His Majesty's proclamation authorizing this demolition?

For a common priest, you act uncommonly like a governor, Father.

Where is your authority?

Here!

By the authority of our late governor, Sir Mark.

Assuring me full powers until such time as a new election is held. Here!

His Majesty's proclamation has been delayed. The matter of a few days, a

mere formality.

Should one more stone...

be torn from our city walls, you will be dead before it touches the ground.

Stop!

Work will cease from this moment pending the arrival of the proclamation.

It is a simple matter to understand, Your Majesty.

The self-government of the small provincial towns of France must cease.

The first step is to pull down all kinds of fortifications. Yes!

So now it's the turn of our town.

Is everything to be torn down?

That is what they want.

It is a trick, of course.

Every time there's a so-called nationalist revival, it means one thing.

Somebody is trying to seize control of the entire country.

The significance of our walls is that we are self-governing.

Richelieu hates this.

He deceives the king.

France, to fulfill her own destiny, she must be fleeing within herself. Yes.

Ignorant and crafty provincials like us cannot see beyond the city walls.

And so they're ordered to be torn down.

Will it broaden our view?

Such men, sire, have little vision. Their loyalties are to their cities, not

to France.

Yes.

When a man is intent on power as Richelieu is, he can justify

his actions with absurdities.

Fortifications provide opportunities for Protestant uprising.

Yes.

With our walls gone,

We shall be defenseless at the mercy of any enemy, as

weak and as helpless as a country village.

And with the security of our independence gone, our freedoms would go

too.

We must write to the king, declare our loyalty and trust in his

wisdom.

And justice!

No!

All the others, if you like, Richelieu.

If you can manage it.

But not Loudon.

We once promised dear old Saint-Mart, the late lamented governor, that we

would never touch one teeny-weeny stone of his precious city.

You would surely not expect us to go back on our word.

No, your majesty.

Yes?

Yes? Oh, pretty little birdie. Fly away, fly away.

Another Protestant bird for your bag, Richelieu?

Honorably done, Your Majesty.

Bye-bye, Blackbird.

Father Musso, it was a very good man.

It was God's will.

But his death leaves us with a problem.

We need a new father confessor.

I have never met you, Father Grandieu, but God has often put you into my

thoughts lately.

Bless this ring, O Lord, which we bless in thy name.

May she who is to wear it be ever faithful to her husband.

May she enjoy the peace of mind docile to thy will, loving and being loved in

thee as long as life shall last.

And so, Father Grandier, I trust you will become our spiritual director and

provide us with the guidance we need.

Yours in Christ.

With this ring I thee wed.

This gold and silver I thee give.

With my body I thee worship.

And with all my worldly gifts I thee endow.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

You should step out into the sunlight.

Bell should tell the world about us.

It shouldn't be night and as quiet as this.

Dear God, my husband.

Kiss me.

Son of a lawyer, nephew of the learned canon grandier of sand.

Educated for 10 years at the Jesuit College of Bordeaux as undergraduate

theological student, and after his ordination in 1615 as Jesuit novice. At

27, after two years of advanced theology and philosophy, presented by the Jesuits

with the important living of St. Peter's and Loudun, made... With a progressive

Jesuit upbringing, it's not surprising your priest is bold and willful.

If he were allowed to become governor of Loudun, he would defend Catholic and

Protestant alike.

and have command of the most heavily fortified town in all of Poitou, your

eminence. As long as Loudon stands, we will never gain control of the

southwest. Its fortifications must be demolished.

The masonry we could use to build your new town of Richelieu, except the rebel

priest will not allow one stone to be touched, and neither will the king.

That is a whim.

But in the fullness of time, he will see that it is God's will.

And what of the militant Father Grandier, Your Eminence? He is far from

whimsical. If only for the sake of his immortal soul, the priest must be

humbled and his pride crushed. But with that Jesuit background, it will not be

easy. You know what they say.

Give us the first seven years of a man's life and you can have the rest. You'll

never break him. I too have a maxim, Eminence. Give me three lines of a man's

handwriting and I will hang him.

Don!

They shall be one flesh.

Sister Agnes, please stop this shameful mockery.

But it's true.

The butcher told me and he heard it from the surgeon.

It happened last week.

I feel that I no longer have a true vocation, Reverend Mother.

And my confessor has advised me that I can be of more use out here in the city.

Stump it!

Pimp it!

Tell me you've got no vocation.

Of course you have a vocation!

Fornicator!

Fornicator!

Sacrilegious bitch!

Seducer of priests!

Your face isn't a brother. You film!

For he's peeping through a cloud under my eyes. Excuse me, Reverend Mother, but

our new spiritual director is here in the chapel.

He wishes to see you.

Grouchy!

Grouchy, Grouchy, it's not too late. You'll see.

Where is Father Grandier?

My name is Father Mignon.

My letter was to Father Grandier.

Father Grandier regrets he cannot accept the invitation to become director of

your house.

I'm to be your new confessor.

Father Grandier hasn't the time.

He has very pressing duties in the town.

Pressing duties in the town.

I must address myself to God in this matter.

Habit, habit, it will never do. It must be demand.

He speaks to me of love, lewd, wanted.

He plies me with caresses, lustful, obscene.

He enters my bed at night and takes from me that which is consecrated to my

divine bride, God and Jesus Christ.

And what form does this incubus take?

Fuck!

Grandier.

What?

Grandier.

Are you aware, my dear, of the seriousness of what you're saying?

Yes, help me, father.

But of course I can prove nothing.

This mother superior may be little more than a hysterical nun.

Exactly.

Mere conjecture.

Now my daughter's pregnancy.

Is that not evidence enough?

Evidence of fornication, certainly.

Yes, but whether lay or clerical, it might be rather difficult to prove.

As you should well know, Mr. Magistrate.

He has a point there.

His Excellency had a point.

I told you!

Take her out!

Surely our evidence is damning enough on its own. A blasphemous nuptial mass?

Observed from the back of the church.

In total darkness.

And fornication. I've heard it through the keyhole. I have it documented.

Ten, four, and half past eight yesterday.

Your patriotism does you proud, gentlemen, but it is not enough.

Father Mignon's evidence holds the most promise.

It must be substantiated, of course.

But if it is a genuine case of possession by devils, and if Grandier

himself was proved to be involved...

Yes, I think it bears investigation, gentlemen.

I shall be only too happy to supply you with any medical advice, Baron. And I

will comment on any chemical or biological manifestations.

May I attend as a disinterested party?

Father? Certainly.

If this is a genuine case, then the more the...

She's already complaining of spasmodic

swelling of the belly.

Fascinated. Not unusual.

Sense of false pregnancy.

Known it before.

Nothing to do with the devil. Wind.

Conjecture is useless.

We need a professional witch hunter.

We must send for Father Barray.

Good morning, Sister.

My name is Father Barry.

Are you well?

I'm very well, thank you, Father.

Excellent.

Are you there?

Are you there?

Come now, declare yourself in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear Sister in Christ, I must question you.

Are you nailed out?

Do you remember the first time your thoughts were turned to evil things?

Yes, Father.

I had a vision.

I saw a man walking across the waters of a lake.

I dried his person with my hair.

I had a great knowledge of love, which persisted throughout my prayers.

I could not rid my mind of this man for several days.

Who was this man?

There was a mist. I couldn't see him.

Oh, this is nothing.

This public exorcism was a mistake. Let's stop it now before we become the

laughingstock of the entire town.

We are unconvinced, my dear sister.

And if our conviction remains untouched, I do not have to remind you that you

face eternal damnation.

Poor Raven, Mother.

What are they going to do now?

Speak, speak.

It was night. He came into my room, smiling.

Name him.

I cannot. It was dark.

Was he alone?

No, six of his creatures were with him.

Ah, then, then.

He took me gently in his arms. He carried me into the chapel. Each of his

creatures took one of my beloved sisters with them.

Come here.

What?

She says...

She and her sisters were compelled to form themselves into an obscene altar

and were worshipped.

And then my love and I in the

naked embrace ascended into heaven and bathed in a sea of stars.

I have found peace.

You're a woman's man.

Morning.

Morning. Where shall I put it?

Down your end.

A bit chilly this morning? Still, we mustn't complain.

That was no devil. She spoke with her own voice, the voice of a frustrated

woman.

That's enough.

Do not be so easily deceived.

A very innocent is assured.

A mask of deceit devised by the cunning of Satan.

Be assured, the fiend is silently lurking in some hidden recess of her

body.

This medical examination will reveal.

And then we shall do battle.

This is a fiasco.

We shall need more evidence.

Find out when Grandier is away. His room must be searched.

And your daughter may have to give testimony after all.

Yes, Excellency, yes.

Well? Well, as a professional man, he speaks for me.

I don't like to commit myself.

Even so?

Well... Let's put it this way. There's been hanky-panky. In government's words,

there's been fornication. Oh, there.

Lust, she's been having. Ah, say.

Thank you, gentlemen. That's all I need. Prepare for the exorcism.

My beloved sister.

Yes?

It must be extreme measures.

What do you mean, Father? The fiend must be forced from you.

Consecrate the water, please, Father Minot.

Watch out.

Christ, no!

Do you hear me, Esmodel?

Mercy, mercy!

I'll hurt me, you Christ-loving wretch!

You are with him.

The Antichrist has spoken!

Forgive me. I didn't mean it. With mercy now, after you've blessed me in both

against our Lord!

But, Father, bury it as I speak into you now. Sister, you... You speak with many

voices.

these dissenters.

The smaller one is Le Grand, the baker. The other one's Rangier.

Owns the largest hotel.

I think we might soon acquire an interest in the catering trade, my

friend.

Excellent. It looks as if business will be brisk. The tourist season will start

early this year. We need a larger theater.

Departed from the Mother Superior at 10.45 precisely.

Who is responsible for this evil possession, Sister Jeanne of the Angels?

A priest.

A priest?

Of what church?

St. Peter's. St. Peter's.

Tell his name.

Grandier.

Don't go tomorrow.

I must go.

Give the cities to be saved.

I must go.

Stay here and crush these slanders, then see the king.

And lose the chance of a royal audience for the sake of a crazy nun.

While I'm away, the whole ridiculous affair will be forgotten.

Now go to sleep, will you?

Have you offended this woman in any way?

I have never seen her.

Then why has she picked on you?

Oh, I don't know.

Secluded women.

They give themselves to God.

But something remains which cries out to be given to man.

I mean, can you imagine being wakened in the night by a dream?

A dream of your child to adore you.

or your lover, or even the vision of a good meal.

Now this is sin, and so you must take up your little whip and start scourging

your body.

This is discipline.

But pain is sensuality, and in its vortex

spin images of horror and lust.

My beloved sister in Jesus seems to have set her mind on me. There's no reason.

A piece of gossip, perhaps, overheard and magnified.

Anything found in the desert of a frustrated life can bring hope.

And with hope comes love.

And with love comes hate.

So I possess this woman.

May God help her in her misery and unhappiness.

And may God bless.

while I'm away.

You're accused of being in league with the devil and in obstructing Father

Barney's cure to Sister John.

You're a rebel against the will of the church, the will of Christ, and the will

of his most holy representative, Cardinal Richelieu, and in resisting

officers of the crown.

In the pursuance of their duty, you are also guilty of treason!

You are unrepentant heretics!

There is no act more vile! You are traitors!

You will be executed!

God has revealed to me that these good sisters are rattled with a fever that

torments the body of Sister Jeanne.

The evil in her flesh has infected the young and innocent bodies of her

charges. Sin can be caught as easily as the plague.

If Father Ballet is right, my good sisters, you may save yourselves yet.

You would not be the first to see the light.

You are tainted.

The devil is in your flesh.

The evil spirit of Grandier has taken possession of your souls. Now you resist

him, but soon he will have his way.

You will scream.

You will blaspheme.

The king was very sympathetic.

After reading our petition, he dictated a letter ordering Le Bardemont to leave

our walls intact.

I could hardly believe that so important a thing could be settled so easily.

The more I think about it, the more it seems that the king's heart was moved by

something more than usual good sense and understanding.

Each morning I wake up with a feeling of optimism so strong as to be almost

absurd.

The truth of the matter is that Richelieu rules the king.

At the moment the king is smiling on us, but that may not last too long.

We will need help and courage.

Strange thoughts come to me.

I am like a man who has been lost, who has always been lost.

Now, for all kinds of reasons, I have a vague sense of meaning and can think of

myself as a small part of God's abundance, which includes everything.

And I know I want to serve it.

I want to serve the people of Ludol.

I want to serve you.

Pray for us all.

Especially me.

Tell me, tell me.

That's the left ventricle. It's part of the heart of a child. Sacrificed at a

witch's Sabbath, no doubt.

Look. A consecrated wafer. Yeah, that's like thick blood. Blood of a man.

Grandier, grandier.

That slimy substance could only be semen.

And what's that?

That's a carrot.

I wish, my dear father, to disturb your devotions.

And I would never suggest that a member of the royal family, albeit one so close

to the king, should take precedence over God.

All the same. Love me, love me!

I am at your service, sire.

These raving women are possessed of devils, I take it?

Oh, you lovely man!

Acting on the instigation of a priest, sire.

So I understand.

Oh!

Most amusing.

Pray proceed.

Kiss me, kiss me.

Those are women, my darling.

Look well.

Vomit if you wish.

No, don't touch them.

Man is born of them.

Gross things.

Nasty. Breeding ground.

Eggs hatched out in hot dung.

No, don't drink from your little nose, my pet. Here.

Take this scent.

Some men love them.

This poor deluded priest, Grandier, for example, he deserves all he gets.

With your permission, sire, I'll begin.

Please do so.

But first I have a declaration to make.

This sire contains the Holy Eucharist.

Heavenly Father, I pray that I

may be confounded.

and that the maledictions of Dathan and Abiram may fall upon me if I have sinned

or been at fault in any way in this affair.

A very commendable gesture.

Bravo.

Leviathan!

Leviathan!

Leviathan!

Rouse yourself!

Rouse yourself in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

I've noticed that you don't speak to these creatures in Latin as is usual.

Why is that?

I'm not conversant with the language.

You understand, sire, that there are uneducated as well as educated devils.

I haven't traveled much.

Fight.

Listen, Phil, I'm going to speak a name to you.

Grandier!

Try this.

What is in the coffin, sire?

A holy relic from the king's own chapel.

A phial of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tell me, father, what effect would the close proximity of this relic have on

devils such as these? It would put them to flight. At once? Immediately.

Of course, I couldn't guarantee that when the relic was removed, they

wouldn't return. Oh, of course not. That would be asking too much.

Would you care to try?

In the name of our Heavenly Father, I conjure thee, most frightful beings, by

this most sacred substance, to depart!

Welcome my child.

played on us. Oh, Reverend Sir, what sort of a trick are you playing on us?

Have fun.

Goodbye, ladies. I am very pleased to have been of some service.

But after this journey, I may find the strength to change.

To summon towards myself the goodwill and wisdom that lies in the people of

Ludon.

The king has secured our stones.

Now we have to show him that the city is the strength that lives in the hearts of

men.

That greed and dissension will never destroy her.

And with God's help...

We will change her walls to terraces that have the color of stars.

Save yourself, my daughter!

Save us all!

Dispel your evil seducer forever!

Declaim his guilt to the world!

Give us peace!

Give us peace!

You have turned the house of the Lord into a circus and its servants into

clowns. You have seduced the people in order to destroy them.

You have perverted the innocent.

And was not that innocent child, Madeleine de Brou, perverted by your

blasphemous natural mass?

It wasn't blasphemy.

We were married without guilt in the eyes of God.

He is witness to our love.

the second on the tongue, the third on the rump, the fourth, the fifth on his

right testicle and his left testicle. If no blood flows when these areas

are cut or pricked, this is the true sign of the devil.

No!

I know what I have sown, and I am prepared for what I shall reap.

But do you, Reverend Mother, know what you must give to have your wish about me

fulfilled?

I will tell you.

You are a mortal soul to eternal damnation.

May God have mercy on you.

Seize him!

On what charge?

Harass!

No blood, but the tongue was pricked.

True sign of the devil.

And this said priest, Urban Grande, did debauch and defile my person six times,

between midnight and dawn, on the night of May the 13th, in the year of our

Lord, 1634.

And remember, sister, any attempt to retract all or part of this statement at

any time will result in you being condemned, not only in the next world,

but also in this one as well.

Oh god, I need...

The Baron de Le Bardemont tells me you're ready to confess again, my dear

sister.

Yes, I wanted to make amends.

Grand Dieu.

I've wronged an innocent man, Father.

My poor dear little child.

It is not you speaking, but the devil's within you, trying to protect you.

Grandier.

The exorcisms have failed.

We must resort to other measures.

Nobody

Did you sleep well?

With all this noise?

There are thousands out there. Where would you expect them to get the beds

from?

Besides, they're all too excited.

About what?

Oh, your execution.

I have not been tried yet.

All right, have it your own way. Your trial, then.

You're going to be tortured.

I'm told she's putting the last touches to her confession of your mutual sins.

Good. Then I shall confirm her accusations.

Have you thought of the pain to come?

It cannot be different to the pain I have seen.

True. Except, of course, in its location.

It will be in you.

I shall scream and admit to everything.

Oh, come, Grandier, a man like you.

All the more for that.

senses, obviously you can die by them.

I will try, Baron.

I hope you will pray for me.

I will, Father.

I will.

And I will pray for you.

no surprises for you.

Be good, have mercy on us both.

The evidence against you is irrefutable.

Your house has been searched.

Various manuscripts have been found.

Amongst them is this pamphlet directed against His Eminence Cardinal Richelieu.

You have also roused the temper of the populace against His Eminence by

denouncing him in a public place.

Notebooks and letters of a more personal kind were also discovered.

A treatise on celibacy in the priesthood was found. The man appears to have been

in love when this was written.

We have also the written confession of his wife.

What have you done with her?

Too distressed by realization of her guilt to give personal testimony.

that she went through a mock marriage ceremony with the accused in his own

church at St. Peter's.

It was a real ceremony.

A simple act of committal done with my heart.

In the hope of coming to God through the love of a woman.

We have also letters from women who he did not marry.

One of which appears to suggest that he committed... sexual intercourse under

the very roof of the church itself.

For the love of Jesus Christ!

If you wish to destroy me, then destroy me.

Accuse me of exposing political chicanery and the evils of the states,

and I will plead guilty.

But what man can face arraignments on the idiocy of youth?

Old love letters and other pathetic objects stuffed in drawers or in the

bottom of cupboards.

Things kept for a day when he would need to be reminded.

That he was once loved.

To continue the evidence, my lords, we have heard testimony

from sober citizens saying how they were bewitched by you into attending a black

mass.

We have heard real devils speaking through the mouths of Ursuline nuns,

swearing again and again that the accused is a sorcerer.

And since, when duly constrained by a holy exorcist, The devil is bound to

tell the truth.

It follows that... Lies!

Lies and heresy.

The devil is a liar and the father of lies.

If the devil's evidence is to be accepted, the virtuous people are in the

greatest of danger. For it is against these that Satan rages most violently.

I had never set eyes on Sister Jeanne of the Angels until the day of my arrest.

But the devil has spoken.

And to doubt his word is sacrilege.

You have totally perverted Christ's own teaching.

This new doctrine.

Le Bardemont's new doctrine.

Barré's new doctrine.

Especially invented for this occasion is the work of men who are not concerned

with fact or with law.

or with theology, but a political experiment to show how the will of one

man can be pushed into destroying not only one man or one city, but

one nation.

This is not a political trial.

Remove the prisoner.

The court will retire to consider its verdict.

Good morning, Mr. Surgeon.

Good morning to you.

Good morning, Mr. Chemist.

What have you got there?

It's a razor.

Must it be this way? Yes, order of the court.

Well, Mr. Surgeon, have all your studies and training brought you only to this?

To be a barber?

You're in no position to judge others.

Get on with it. The court is waiting to pass sentence.

Just a minute.

Have you got a mirror?

No, of course not.

Wait!

There's this.

was in the heart of a nun and she

Silence in court.

Urbain Grandier, you have been found guilty of commerce with the devil and

that you used this unholy alliance to possess, seduce and debauch certain

sisters of the holy order of St. Ursula.

You have also been found guilty of obscenity, blasphemy and sacrilege.

It is ordered that you proceed and kneel at the doors of St. Peter's and St.

Ursula's and there...

with a rope round your neck and a two-pound taper in your hand, ask pardon

of God, the king, and justice.

Next, it is ordered that you be taken to the marketplace, tied to a stake, and

burned alive, after which your ashes will be scattered to the four winds.

It has been decided that a commemorative plaque shall be set up in the Ursuline's

chapel.

The cost of this, yet to be ascertained, will be chargeable to your confiscated

estate.

Lastly, before sentence is carried out, you will be subjected to the question,

both ordinary and extraordinary.

Pronounced at Luder, the 18th of August, 1634, and executed the same day.

Have you anything to say?

My lords, I am innocent of the charges.

And I am afraid.

But I have the hope in my heart that before this day ends, almighty God will

glance aside and let my suffering atone for my

vain and disordered life.

Amen.

Come, confess your guilt. Tell us the names of your accomplices.

Then perhaps, my lords, the judges will show mercy.

I have no accomplices.

These crimes are not my crimes. Please stop this foolishness.

We both know why I have been brought to trial, and we both know why I have been

found guilty.

Come on!

Witch!

Heretic! Heretic!

We humbly beg of thee, almighty God, in thy goodness, bless these instruments

which thou hast created and given to us for our sacred use. Devil's in pieces of

wood now, Baron.

If they are not driven out, your devils might, by their infernal arts, prevent

the torture from being as excruciating as it should be.

And then you would never confess.

And your soul would be damned for eternity.

Are you ready to confess?

I have been a man.

I have loved women.

I have enjoyed power.

That's not what we want.

You've been a magician.

You've had commerce with devils.

I exercise the immortal spirit in the name of Almighty God to

depart from this man.

Confess. Confess!

Don't let this pain make me forget you.

Any confession?

He called on God to give him strength.

His God is the devil in its own.

Made him insensible to pain.

Pay no attention to these tears.

They are the devil's tears.

Confess?

There are 6,000 Christian souls waiting for you in the marketplace.

Do you love the church?

Not today.

Do you want to see it grow more powerful, more benevolent until it

embraces every human soul on this earth?

Then help us to achieve this great purpose.

Go to the marketplace a penitent man.

Confess. And by confessing, proclaim to those thousands that you have returned

to the church's homes.

By going to the stake unrepentant, you do God a disservice.

You give hope to unbelievers. Such an act can mine the very foundations of the

church.

You are no longer important.

I think.

Are you any longer important?

I was never important.

And make a last supreme gesture for the Catholic faith.

You are becoming tedious.

Do you know that the king has gone back on his word because of your crimes?

The walls will come down, the city will be destroyed!

We have won!

You have lost!

Sign it!

You will sign.

Get up.

What is this place?

The convent of St. Ursula. A place you have defiled.

Do what must be done.

Ask forgiveness of Sister Jeanne and these good women you have wronged.

I have done no such thing.

I can only ask that God will forgive them.

He always spoke of your beauty.

Now I see it with my own eyes, and if it's true...

Look at this thing that I am.

And learn the meaning of love.

Devil! Devil!

Devil!

Devil!

For he presses on thee with perpetual flame. Who shall save thee at the end of

time to the wicked?

Depart from me, cursed, into everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil

and his angels.

For thee, impious one, and my angels are prepared worms which never die.

Thou art the chief of accursed murder.

Thou art the author of incest.

Thou art the master of the worst actions.

The teacher of heretics.

I must ask your forgiveness, priest, for what I must do.

But you can make a speech if you like, and before the fire is lit, I shall

strangle you.

It will be quick, I promise you.

See how he denies his redeemer.

Confess. I have finished confessing.

Give me the kiss of peace and let me die.

Kiss the devil.

Kiss the evil fiend.

The antichrist will sink. Come on.

of the worst actions, the teacher of heretics, the inventor of all of

sentence.

I am about to meet the God who is my witness.

And I have spoken the truth.

Confess. Confess.

You have only a moment to live.

Only a moment.

And then I go to that just and fearful judgment which you too, Reverend Father,

will soon be called.

May your body be consumed by eternal fire!

That's what you promised me!

Daddy burnt to death.

The last of fiends still speaks.

Confess!

Confess!

I'm purging my own devils.

What devils?

Issacharion, Balaam.

They say they can stand up to the church, but they can't stand up to this

bitch. Jeanne, you're being hysterical.

Where's Father Barry? I was expecting him.

He's off to Poitiers.

A nun is reported to be having commerce with your Issacharion in the form of a

three-legged dog.

But there is going to be a public exorcism tomorrow in St. Peter's.

Father Mignon could manage. Father Mignon's been put away. He's quite

demented. He keeps babbling that we've destroyed an innocent man.

With no signed confession to prove otherwise, everyone has the same

opinion.

Pity, then.

No, with Grandier gone, you are no longer possessed.

It's simple. What shall I do?

Pray for salvation, do penance, stay here quietly, of course.

There'll be a few tourists occasionally to brighten things up, but that won't

last long. Soon the town will die, you'll be left in peace.

And oblivion.

Oh, I almost forgot.

Souvenir.