Original subtitles

Most holy lord, almighty father...

Who has permitted on earth the use of the sword

to oppress the malice of the wicked

and defend justice,

who, for the protection of your people,

thought it fit to institute the order of chivalry...

Cause your servant here before you,

by disposing his heart to goodness,

never to use this sword or another

to injure anyone unjustly,

but let him use it always

to defend the just and the righteous.

I claim the right...

To serve Simon Nerra, count of Brittany.

That right belongs to you.

I see your brother has taken to the cross.

I am joining the crusade of Richard the Lionheart.

He'll be in Paris soon.

You pledged your faith to the house of Nerra.

I must first be faithful to myself, Simon.

This english king has promised you

something I cannot.

The greatest knights of England, Normandy,

and Brittany are with him.

Father.

I am getting old, Simon.

My sword grows heavier in my hand every day.

Grant me the right to atone for my sins

before it is too late.

You propose to pay for your sins

by joining a foreign lord in a foreign land

in a battle that isn't your own?

Why fight your countrymen

when a common enemy exists in the holy land?

First, a knight must be faithful to his lord.

Has not the house of Nerra gathered enough land?

The house of Nerra will have gathered enough land

when the whole of France lies at its feet!

Simon, I ask your blessing.

I won't have it, Charles.

Father...

As you wish.

Uncle...

Drink with me, Charles?

Let that blow remind you of your vows.

Robert Nerra, you are now lord of bain,

and you shall bow to no one but me

and god almighty himself!

You have earned your spurs.

Now you are one of us.

Bye, my love!

Goodbye, my lord.

Simon!

Bring my son back alive.

Your father is a proud man today.

We are all proud.

So long ago it seems

since god rode with us into battle.

Now he has given us a new purpose,

and yet so many live by the same old rules.

You want no part in this battle.

Why are you with us?

I am a man of loyalty, Robert.

I never claimed to be a man of strength.

En masse!

Hah!

Yah!

Aaah!

Ugh!

Robert!!

Ugh!

No!!

Robert!

Robert!!

Ah! Oh! Oh!

Ah! Oh! Oh!

Ah! Oh! Oh!

Oh! Here, you!

Stop! Thief!

Ugh! Ugh!

Here!

Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!

Ugh!

My ankle!

No, Michael!

Please... I have to stop.

This is our chance to get back to Paris...

Back home.

What home?

This time I'll...

We'll start our own circus.

We'll gather the finest acts...

We left to get away from that awful place.

Besides, the roads aren't safe...

Full of evil.

We'll be sold as slaves.

Handsome pay will pave the way.

Paris...

You know, maybe everything that happened tonight

happened for a reason.

Maybe it's an omen, Blanche.

What do you think?

We had nothing to do with it...

I swear we didn't.

Excuse me?

Uh...

Didn't the village send you?

What village?

Hmm...

Well, then. There we have it.

You're going to Paris

to join Richard the Lionheart?

I've seen his banner.

Ugh!

Ugh.

Tell me more.

We're traveling alone, my brother and I.

We're going to Paris.

You won't get far on this foot.

Michael's going to start a circus.

It's a dangerous road.

Right... Full of evil, slave traders.

And Paris... What a colorful place.

We should travel together.

We know the way.

Alright, then.

My lord, can I help?

I am nobody's lord.

Shhh.

We need shelter.

O-of course, my lord.

Come.

Come along.

Hurry. Hurry.

This way.

Odo will share his room with you.

Now, it's a violent night.

You're to stay in your beds till morning, no matter what.

Is it the storm? Is that why you're so...

So nervous?

Something more.

On nights such as these,

the devil himself has been known to call.

What did he mean, "the devil himself"?

I've heard people tell of a man...

The black prince... A tortured soul,

with eyes as fiery as the devil himself.

No child who's crossed his path

has ever been seen again.

They just... disappear.

Robert.

A page.

I've always wanted to be a page.

There's nothing to be afraid of.

It represents the death of the past...

The birth of a new era...

Our friendship.

The future.

Slavery...

Release from slavery...

Throwing off chains.

Our homes...

We've all left our homes.

That's it.

That must be it.

But I cannot forgive you for that.

Ugh!

I know. I saw him.

Abbot!

Sir...

Are you there?

Aah! Aah!

Madelaine...

Madelaine...

My brother is dead,

and my son is gone.

Our son will return.

When I again have a son,

you shall again have a wife.

Someone's coming.

Come on.

Come on!

Ugh!

I missed.

Rah! Yah!

Hah! Hah!

Aah! Ugh! Ohhh!

Michael, are you alright?

I think so.

Come on... now!

What about us?

Hold on.

Ugh!

Ow! Aah!

Aaah! Oh!

Aaah!

They're lost and alone in the forest.

Sooner or later...

I always find the lost.

Hold still.

I missed.

I still can't believe that I missed.

Michael, you've been trained to miss.

They'll find us, you know.

It won't be long.

I hear he never sleeps.

Strike never rests in a place of danger.

Neither do I.

He's never done that... Not even for king Richard.

This bird belongs to king Richard?

Commanded, of course, by his personal falconer...

Yours truly, Hugo.

Until I was cap...

Then strike will lead us to your king.

With time.

Has he reached Paris?

Soon.

He's going south, you know.

I'm going to join him.

I'll go with you.

I'll go, too.

We'll all go!

Hold on, hold on.

We?

Let's not be hasty here.

I want no part of this crusade.

I just want a simple circus. That's all.

As soon as we get to Paris,

Blanche and I are on our way.

You'd rather spend your life entertaining peasants

for a dish of stew?

Or be paid in jewels and gold,

performing for the court of a king?

Well, I'd rather be alive in Paris than...

Than god knows what

in search of a man we may never find!

We'll be lucky to get to Paris.

Two hours I was separated from king Richard

before I was thrown into chains...

Just two hours.

Paris isn't so far. Is it, Robert?

No, Odo...

Not far at all.

We'll be safe in Paris.

My master sends you with his greetings this Bible.

He found it clutched in the hands

of a dead crusader after the battle of Damascus.

It's quite rare and very precious.

Thank your master for me.

His ships have sailed for the harbor of marseilles.

And you?

Tell him I shall deliver all the children he can use.

He would expect nothing less.

With your permission, my prince,

I shall take leave.

You have many preparations to make.

Before you go...

I too have a gift.

I found it clutched in the hands of a dead moslem

during my crusade.

There is nothing precious about it.

Send your master my greetings.

I used to pray to you.

Now it is too late.

What do you see, David?

I see a young knight on a white horse...

And the most beautiful girl I've ever seen!

Michael!

Hey!

Where you going?

In here!

Wait here.

Come on.

Aaaah!

Aah! Aah! Aah!

Aah! Aah!

For the homeless in Paris, heaven is below,

and hell is above.

No one may enter here unless they are like us.

You have discovered the secret city of orphans...

...so you must die.

I came only to reclaim my spur.

Not the spur of an orphan.

Your secret is safe with us.

So you say.

But you'll return to the hell above, and then as we sleep,

you'll slip into our chambers and awaken us in chains.

These children have no heart for slavery.

I swear to you...

I'm looking for Richard, the english king.

Then you have no business in Paris.

He's come and gone.

My children depend on me. They have no one else.

And I have no time to search your souls.

Bertram, take them away.

Forgive me, sir, for being so bold,

but you seem like the sort of gentleman

who enjoys a good wager.

What is the wager?

Our lives.

Why not?

Sir, you have the eyes of a hawk.

Make it two for three.

After all, it is our lives.

Very well.

I think, young sir,

you have the fastest hands in France.

Only an unfortunate would develop such skills to survive.

Join me for supper.

Let me have some of that.

Thank you.

Orphans can't cry, remember?

Because once they start, they would never stop.

You'll find such paradise to the south...

The sun radiates such warmth,

and the earth gives birth to such beauty.

The climate would do them well.

Take them with you.

But this is their home.

This... dark, damp paradise exacts a heavy price.

Sooner or later, the cough sets in.

No one grows old in the city of orphans.

It's already too late for me, but...

...There is still time for them.

There are slavers on that road!

Our secret was safe until today.

You have led the eyes of the black prince here.

Soon, he will follow.

You know him?

I knew him once.

We rode in a crusade...

Wanting nothing from life but to serve god,

to recapture his holy land.

He was pure...

Too pure.

There were no victories.

There was no glory...

Only the scorching sands, the blistering sun,

and the massacres.

Then god abandoned us.

He turned his back on god,

and now he challenges him.

But his challenge is never met.

God has no time for him.

He will come here.

Take my children.

Defend the just and the righteous.

God help me.

Come back here!

Come back!

What is it, David? What do you see?

The young knight...

He's leading a lot of children from the city...

And he's waving for us to go with him!

Us?

Yes, Louis.

We are going with him. He's leading us to paradise.

Yes... yes!

Strike, lead us to king Richard.

Yah!

Before I leave,

is my master to expect a prize, finally?

He will have his children.

Not, it seems, if they should join with the Lionheart.

Richard the Lionheart is a shadow of a man,

driven only by vanity.

This young knight with his glorious ideals...

He will lead these children, but they will find nothing...

No salvation.

They will find only me.

I will show this boy

that there is only one lord of the lost.

I shall make him auction off his own orphans

to the highest bidder,

and then I shall sell him

to the vilest eunuch in Arabia.

I see you have found your true calling

in this wicked world...

Gathering children to worship you.

But I shall take care of them now...

Brother.

They're gone from here...

Away from you,

away from your touch of death.

They are worthless to me dead,

but I shall watch them

and let them have hope.

By the time they reach the coast,

they will have turned into an army...

An army of slaves

that I can pluck like a ripe fruit.

Do you see yourself in your young knight?

God will leave him as he left us.

You are a tortured soul.

I feel no torture.

I feel nothing.

Where is your god now?

He is with me.

He gives me peace.

Ohh!!

This... is peace.

Peace you will never find.

I forgive you.

No. No.

No. No!!

Alright.

That's enough!

Let's have a little order here.

Come on.

Michael, kneel before me.

You are now lord...

Lord of the circus...

...and you will bow to no one but me.

Let that blow remind you of your vows.

Hugo, strike... Official scouts.

Baptista, foraging...

And thieving, if required.

Never again will we see each other

as noble or peasant, as rich or poor,

but only as what we are.

Remind us of that, Louis.

Blanche will attend to our destiny

and keep our hearts strong.

Well, then, there we have it.

And we mustn't forget the most important job...

That of my personal page.

This man's devotion would be second to none.

I'm at your bidding.

None of this bowing. Understand?

Off the road! Move!

Move! Move!

Leave it! Leave it!

We are on a crusade of our own...

Not to seek glory or wealth,

but, instead, to protect the meek,

the lost, and the innocent.

Children, who are we?

I'll tell you who we are.

We are the children of god.

Who are we?

We are the children of god.

Who are we?

We are the children of god.

Hey, you!

Come back here!

Terribly sorry.

Let go. Let go!

Here, Louis.

How is this?

How much do you want for this?

Ah.

I shall accept nothing less than 10 gold pieces.

Forgive me, sir, for being so bold,

but you seem like the sort of gentleman

who enjoys a good wager once in a while.

Remember, if you are downed, you stay down.

That is your penalty.

Aah!

Ugh!

Aah!

Ya-a-a-h!

Aaah!

I yield! I yield!

Rarely have I seen such valor.

Please, sir, identify yourself.

Mathilda!

Mathilda, this time you've gone too far!

But, father...

You're a disgrace to the family!

These knights are a disgrace to our family.

At least I bring you honor.

I don't want you to bring honor.

I want you to bring me a son-in-law...

Not easy now that you've managed to incapacitate

every suitor in the province.

How can I love a man that can't stand up to me?

You'll learn, dear. I find it quite agreeable.

You give me no choice.

I'm going to send you to the nuns of St. Mary.

They'll teach you humility.

Never. I won't go.

Your father has spoken!

I have no father.

We could use a girl like that.

She doesn't seem very approachable.

That's because you don't speak her language.

Good day to you, milady.

We are traveling south to join king Richard the Lionheart.

But the roads are dangerous,

and we could certainly use another sword.

Please, join us.

I travel alone.

I beg you to reconsider.

You see, we are a very touchy group

and easily insulted.

You are obviously some vagabond knight

in need of a lesson.

Yah!

Yah!

Yah!

Ooh!

Ohh!

Ugh!

Oh! Uh!

Ugh! Ohh!

Do you want to call it a draw?

Only if you'll travel with us.

It's a draw! It's a draw!

Yes.

I would love to travel with you.

Don't let him break your heart.

He's a knight.

You're only a circus girl.

Something terrible is going to happen...

Something unspeakable.

It's alright.

It's alright.

Go away.

You're sick.

We're not. Please.

Your village is diseased.

Stay away.

The plague... ahead.

Quiet.

Quiet down!

I'll go find another road.

Hold on, Louis.

Come on, Louis. Come on.

At last.

Eat up. Come on.

An english king's no more than a hope.

What if we don't find him?

All these weeks of traveling... It's been so hard on them.

We'll survive. We all do.

We can't go on forever.

How long can we keep this dream alive?

Dreams never die, Robert.

The black prince is no dream.

Sir... I've seen him...

A man in black.

There was no plague in our village.

He killed our families.

We hid.

He didn't want anyone to use our road.

He wanted them to use the other...

The one you took.

I have no sores.

You see?

Are you the young knight?

There are slavers behind us.

Take the little ones. Get them moving. Half of you go with her.

The rest of us... I have a plan.

Ugh!

Push!

Push!

Yah! Yah!

Yah!

Ohh!

Ohh!

Aah!

Hurry.

Oh!

Ooh!

Damn!

Aaaaaah!

Go!

Go!

Come on!

Hurry!

Go!

Ugh!

Robert!

Robert!

Here.

Are we there, David?

Yes.

It's beautiful...

Green hills stretching for miles...

Flowers and trees...

...a rainbow stretching like an archway to heaven.

Can you see it, Louis?

Can you see it?

Yes.

Yes. I see.

And the cool breeze...

I feel it.

It's wonderful.

You found paradise, Louis.

You found paradise.

You'll live there forever...

...forever.

Position yourselves along that ridge.

Watch the woods.

♪ La-la la-la la-la la ♪

♪ La-la la-la la-la la ♪

Odo, go with Bertram.

You'll be his messenger. Understand?

No sign of king Richard.

I'll ride south in the morning.

I'm scared now.

I'm losing you.

You're not.

Your future isn't with me.

What?

Robert, very soon your exile will be over.

There'll be another crusade.

Blanche, a long time ago, you told us not to be afraid...

That you had seen into the future

and knew what it held for us.

I can't see into the future,

but I know there is none without you.

King Richard.

I have found king Richard!

I've found king Richard!

Come on. Come on!

Robert...

The black prince.

Michael...

There is no honor in death.

Ha!

Aah!

Aah!

Ugh!

Aah!

Aaaah!

Aah!

Aah!

Aah!

Aah!

Ugh!

It's strike! It's strike!

Not bad...

For a vagabond.

God, I love that girl.

Aaaah!

Aaaaah!

Ohh!

Your grace...

I am Richard, king of England.

I am Robert Nerra, lord of Bain.

And you shall bow to no one but me

and god almighty himself.

Forgive me.

Forgive me.

I could use a knight like you, Robert Nerra.

Thank you, sir.

But my crusade is here with these children.

They have seen enough bloodshed.

My heart is with them.

Well, then...

There we have it.

Strike...

Lead us all to our destinies.