Black Robe (1991) Movie Script
BLACK ROBE
The Indians, who
went to Flangis,
thought there was
a city of gold...
QUEBEC, NORTH AMERICA, 1634.
In the South there is a city of gold.
My brother saw it.
Trambl.
Look at these, Trambl.
"Where did you trap them,
Sainte Marie"?
In the forest.
It's my secret, Trambl.
And how do you pay the
Indian trappers?
With knives, Father.
With cooking pots.
With Brandy and Whiskey, I am told.
With Brandy.
And what if there is no mission?
What if your father Laforgue arrives...
to find yet another
two Jesuit martyrs?
We'll cross that bridge
when we come to it.
It's not we.
It's Father Laforgue
who must cross it.
Has he journeyed far from this settlement?
"Even in good weather?"
He has been studying the Huron and
Algonquin languages.
He is very dedicated and devout.
Of course.
Even I have been on these
journeys, Monsieur Champlain...
from the lakes of Hurons
to the rivers of Maine.
- And now...
- We are too old.
- Perhaps, Younger men are more suitable...
- Perhaps. Perhaps not.
1500 miles by canoe...
in that country,
at the beginning of the winter...
Death is almost certain,
Father Bourque.
Death is not always
a great evil, Monsieur Champlain.
God should have made me a Jesuit,
to have answers for everything.
He must paddle with them
12 hours a day,
or they will not respect him.
He must smile
and not show anger.
He must carry a pack animals loads
on his back as they do.
The journey, like our
lives is in God's hands.
Look at them. The English
and the Dutch are colonists.
We have priests.
Who would want to bring a woman here.
And have kids running half
wild in the woods?
We are Starving in winter..
- Good afternoon, father.
- Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Father.
- Do you think they're going upriver?
- Who cares?
As long as I am not going.
Leave the forest
to the savages.
Remember that priest
who came back like that?
It was the Iroquois.
They caught him.
That was just fingers.
One might lose something,
that is more useful.
Why do you want to accompany
Father Laforgue?
For the greater glory of God.
Indeed?
I am told you're bored
in this settlement.
Sometimes. A little.
To come all this way
and to just build huts...
I understand.
Can you read and write?
Yes, Father. I was taught by my uncle,
who was a priest in Tour.
He speaks it more fluently than I do.
If we send you and if...
when you return...
you could go to France, to
study for the priesthood,
Would that please you, Daniel?
Yes, Father.
These are our Fathers.
They are soldiers of Heaven.
They left their friends
and their country...
to show you
the way to Paradise.
Chomin...
I entrust to you Father Laforgue.
Who is journeying into the land
of Herots.
Love and honor him.
Guard him well.
Look at him, dressed like
a savage Chieftan.
We are not colonizing the Indians.
- They are colonizing us.
- Not me, they are not.
I am not becoming one
of those wild woods men.
In one more year, I am going back to France.
How are you?
Are any of us?
If winter doesn't kill us,
the Indians might.
If they don't,
it could be the English.
So keep your faith.
I made that point
with you, God in mind.
Good morning.
You are?
- Paul Laforgue.
- You have to serve my mass?
I am the priest of New France.
The savages did this to me.
"Indians"? But why?
They are uncivilized,
just as the English
or the Germans were...
before we took our faith to them.
In a few weeks...
I will be returning.
Returning to New France?
The savages live
in total darkness.
We must convert them.
What more glorious task
than that, Paul.
What more glorious task.
Black Robe, what are you doing?
I'm making words.
"Words"?
You do not speak.
I'll show you.
- Tell me something.
- Tell What?
Something I do not know.
My woman's mother...
died in snow last winter.
"Last winter, Chomin's wife mother...
died in the snow"."
I have still other greater things
that I can teach you.
Father...
I did not mean any disrespect...
but do you have any doubts?
What about?
Them... these people.
If we change them.
If we do not change them,
How could they enter Heaven?
Intelligence is not lacking
among these people.
He speaks only
Algonquin, father.
What is the meaning of that word?
You love that tobacco,
more than you love us.
What can I do? I know that.
He will ask and ask until they have...
everything, we brought with us.
Father, they do not understand.
They share everything
without question.
Then they should question.
They plan nothing,
but think only of the moment:
hunting foods...
Go and get the tobacco, Daniel.
They say it's soothing
once you become used to it.
That may take some time.
They don't seem to be very happy father.
They should be.
I have told them the truth.
So charming,
Mademoiselle Lafontaine.
And so attractive.
So modest.
She is from a very good family.
What do you think they
are talking about, father?
I don't know.
Of us?
Mother, what are you doing?
Praying to Saint Joan.
Perhaps God has chosen you
as he chose her.
You must not compare me
to a saint, Mother.
"In New France, you will remember me
in your prayers?
I always do..
God will hear your prayer.
He has chosen you
to die for Him.
I will never see you again.
I'm afraid, Lord.
I don't welcome death...
as a holy person should.
Daniel?
I too have committed
the sin of the flesh.
Do you, father?
"In France, long ago"?
No, here.
Sin of intent.
Here.
I've lusted after her.
Kneel with me...
and say an act of contrition.
Father, Life is not so simple
for the rest of us.
I am not a Jesuit.
You said you wanted to
serve God.
Yes, Father, but I...
I'm afraid of this country.
The Devil rules here.
Controls the hearts
and minds...
of these poor people.
But they are true Christians,
they live for each other.
They forgive things,
we would not forgive.
The Devil makes them resist
the truth of our teachings.
Why should they believe them?
They have an after world of
their own.
They have no concept of one.
Annuka has told me...
they believe that, in the forest at night,
the dead can see.
Souls of men hunt
the souls of animals.
"Is that what she told you?"
It's childish, Daniel.
Is it harder to believe
in a paradise...
where we all sit on the clouds
with a good God?
Black Robe.
Oh, God of mercy...
Please, Bless
this innocent child.
Where are my paddlers?
You promised.
You go with your own mission
to the Hurons, alone, Black Robe.
Ask your Jesus, to help you,
Black Robe.
Lord...
If it be Thy wish that
I suffer greater tribulations
in the days ahead...
I welcome it.
Thou has given me this cross
for thy honor...
for the salvation
of these poor barbarians.
I thank Thee.
Father, Forgive me.
What for?
For the things I said to you.
For leaving you.
God is with us.
He is the one who forgives us.
Sing.
Sing!
The arrowhead is still there.
If we try
to remove it, you will die.
You want to be one of us?
What do you think now?
The Iroquois are not men.
They are animals.
They're the same as us
or Hurons.
If they showed pity, others
will say that they are weak.
Tomorrow...
do not cry out.
If we do cry out, "Will they stop?"
No, They would not stop.
But if you cry out when you die,
they will have your spirit.
When I die, Chomin,
I will go to Paradise.
Let me baptize you
so you will go there also.
Why would I go to your paradise?
Are my people there?
"My wife? My son? There's
only Black Robes there".
We go downstream to my people.
No, We go upstream
to the Huron mission.
You're so weak, The Iroquois
could easily catch you.
And they would not expect you
to travel away from your people.
You're not so stupid, Black Robe.
Lord, I beg you...
show your mercy
to these savage people...
who will never look upon Your face
in Paradise.
Tell me, Black Robe...
What does your dreams see now?
I'm too weary for dreams.
But you must.
If you do not... how do you see
the way that lies ahead?
I trust in God.
He will guide me...
all the way to Paradise.
You have not seen this paradise.
No man should welcome death.
This world is a cruel place...
but it has the sunlight.
I'm sorry that I should leave now.
Chomin, do you hear me?
My God loves you.
If you accept His love,
he will admit you to Paradise.
"I'll go with you, Father".
You must stay with her.
She has lost everything
because of us.
She needs you more than I do.
We will do what she ask.
What can we say to people who thinks
that dreams are the real world...
and this one is an illusion?
Perhaps they're right.
Good bye, Father Laforgue.
No Farewells,
not in this land
and no greetings, no names.
The forests speak.
The dead talk at night.
God bless you both.
Father?
Who are you?
I'm Father Laforgue.
How many are with you?
I am alone.
Some months ago
that fever struck this village.
The Indians thought that
we brought it to punish...
those who would not accept our faith.
Many died.
One man who lost his child
killed father Duval.
What are they all doing now?
Who knows
what the savages will do?
Who knows what they think?
Even after 20 years,
I still do not understand them.
They would probably torture
and kill us both.
But what about those converts?
We must have some influence.
Converts?
Perhaps, There are no converts.
Our only hope
is that... some believe...
that baptism will
cure their fever.
If they ask for baptism,
we must have a great
public ceremony at once.
Father Jerome...
Shouldn't we...?
I mean...
Should they not understand our faith...
before accepting it?
Understand?
But they are in danger of death...
and we are offering them
a place in Paradise.
Father death may be near.
Will you hear my confession?
If you will hear mine.
Bless me, Father,
for I have sinned.
Lord...
Why is Father Jerome
is with you in Heaven...
while Chomin lies
forever in utter darkness?
Help me.
Demon!
Why are you here?
I am not a Demon.
I take the place of Father Jrome.
- Is he dead?
- Yes.
How long will you stay?
All of my life.
If we take the
water sorcery...
We will not be sick?
Baptism does not cure you.
The other Black Robe said so.
He meant only that
we must ask the help of Jesus.
Perhaps, He will answer your prayers.
Many want to kill you,
Black Robe.
I know.
A Demon cannot feel pain.
Are you a Man?
Yes.
You must help us, Black Robe.
Do you love us?
- Yes
- Then, Baptize us.
Spare them.
Spare them, Oh Lord.
Subtitle by George M.
The Indians, who
went to Flangis,
thought there was
a city of gold...
QUEBEC, NORTH AMERICA, 1634.
In the South there is a city of gold.
My brother saw it.
Trambl.
Look at these, Trambl.
"Where did you trap them,
Sainte Marie"?
In the forest.
It's my secret, Trambl.
And how do you pay the
Indian trappers?
With knives, Father.
With cooking pots.
With Brandy and Whiskey, I am told.
With Brandy.
And what if there is no mission?
What if your father Laforgue arrives...
to find yet another
two Jesuit martyrs?
We'll cross that bridge
when we come to it.
It's not we.
It's Father Laforgue
who must cross it.
Has he journeyed far from this settlement?
"Even in good weather?"
He has been studying the Huron and
Algonquin languages.
He is very dedicated and devout.
Of course.
Even I have been on these
journeys, Monsieur Champlain...
from the lakes of Hurons
to the rivers of Maine.
- And now...
- We are too old.
- Perhaps, Younger men are more suitable...
- Perhaps. Perhaps not.
1500 miles by canoe...
in that country,
at the beginning of the winter...
Death is almost certain,
Father Bourque.
Death is not always
a great evil, Monsieur Champlain.
God should have made me a Jesuit,
to have answers for everything.
He must paddle with them
12 hours a day,
or they will not respect him.
He must smile
and not show anger.
He must carry a pack animals loads
on his back as they do.
The journey, like our
lives is in God's hands.
Look at them. The English
and the Dutch are colonists.
We have priests.
Who would want to bring a woman here.
And have kids running half
wild in the woods?
We are Starving in winter..
- Good afternoon, father.
- Good afternoon.
Good afternoon, Father.
- Do you think they're going upriver?
- Who cares?
As long as I am not going.
Leave the forest
to the savages.
Remember that priest
who came back like that?
It was the Iroquois.
They caught him.
That was just fingers.
One might lose something,
that is more useful.
Why do you want to accompany
Father Laforgue?
For the greater glory of God.
Indeed?
I am told you're bored
in this settlement.
Sometimes. A little.
To come all this way
and to just build huts...
I understand.
Can you read and write?
Yes, Father. I was taught by my uncle,
who was a priest in Tour.
He speaks it more fluently than I do.
If we send you and if...
when you return...
you could go to France, to
study for the priesthood,
Would that please you, Daniel?
Yes, Father.
These are our Fathers.
They are soldiers of Heaven.
They left their friends
and their country...
to show you
the way to Paradise.
Chomin...
I entrust to you Father Laforgue.
Who is journeying into the land
of Herots.
Love and honor him.
Guard him well.
Look at him, dressed like
a savage Chieftan.
We are not colonizing the Indians.
- They are colonizing us.
- Not me, they are not.
I am not becoming one
of those wild woods men.
In one more year, I am going back to France.
How are you?
Are any of us?
If winter doesn't kill us,
the Indians might.
If they don't,
it could be the English.
So keep your faith.
I made that point
with you, God in mind.
Good morning.
You are?
- Paul Laforgue.
- You have to serve my mass?
I am the priest of New France.
The savages did this to me.
"Indians"? But why?
They are uncivilized,
just as the English
or the Germans were...
before we took our faith to them.
In a few weeks...
I will be returning.
Returning to New France?
The savages live
in total darkness.
We must convert them.
What more glorious task
than that, Paul.
What more glorious task.
Black Robe, what are you doing?
I'm making words.
"Words"?
You do not speak.
I'll show you.
- Tell me something.
- Tell What?
Something I do not know.
My woman's mother...
died in snow last winter.
"Last winter, Chomin's wife mother...
died in the snow"."
I have still other greater things
that I can teach you.
Father...
I did not mean any disrespect...
but do you have any doubts?
What about?
Them... these people.
If we change them.
If we do not change them,
How could they enter Heaven?
Intelligence is not lacking
among these people.
He speaks only
Algonquin, father.
What is the meaning of that word?
You love that tobacco,
more than you love us.
What can I do? I know that.
He will ask and ask until they have...
everything, we brought with us.
Father, they do not understand.
They share everything
without question.
Then they should question.
They plan nothing,
but think only of the moment:
hunting foods...
Go and get the tobacco, Daniel.
They say it's soothing
once you become used to it.
That may take some time.
They don't seem to be very happy father.
They should be.
I have told them the truth.
So charming,
Mademoiselle Lafontaine.
And so attractive.
So modest.
She is from a very good family.
What do you think they
are talking about, father?
I don't know.
Of us?
Mother, what are you doing?
Praying to Saint Joan.
Perhaps God has chosen you
as he chose her.
You must not compare me
to a saint, Mother.
"In New France, you will remember me
in your prayers?
I always do..
God will hear your prayer.
He has chosen you
to die for Him.
I will never see you again.
I'm afraid, Lord.
I don't welcome death...
as a holy person should.
Daniel?
I too have committed
the sin of the flesh.
Do you, father?
"In France, long ago"?
No, here.
Sin of intent.
Here.
I've lusted after her.
Kneel with me...
and say an act of contrition.
Father, Life is not so simple
for the rest of us.
I am not a Jesuit.
You said you wanted to
serve God.
Yes, Father, but I...
I'm afraid of this country.
The Devil rules here.
Controls the hearts
and minds...
of these poor people.
But they are true Christians,
they live for each other.
They forgive things,
we would not forgive.
The Devil makes them resist
the truth of our teachings.
Why should they believe them?
They have an after world of
their own.
They have no concept of one.
Annuka has told me...
they believe that, in the forest at night,
the dead can see.
Souls of men hunt
the souls of animals.
"Is that what she told you?"
It's childish, Daniel.
Is it harder to believe
in a paradise...
where we all sit on the clouds
with a good God?
Black Robe.
Oh, God of mercy...
Please, Bless
this innocent child.
Where are my paddlers?
You promised.
You go with your own mission
to the Hurons, alone, Black Robe.
Ask your Jesus, to help you,
Black Robe.
Lord...
If it be Thy wish that
I suffer greater tribulations
in the days ahead...
I welcome it.
Thou has given me this cross
for thy honor...
for the salvation
of these poor barbarians.
I thank Thee.
Father, Forgive me.
What for?
For the things I said to you.
For leaving you.
God is with us.
He is the one who forgives us.
Sing.
Sing!
The arrowhead is still there.
If we try
to remove it, you will die.
You want to be one of us?
What do you think now?
The Iroquois are not men.
They are animals.
They're the same as us
or Hurons.
If they showed pity, others
will say that they are weak.
Tomorrow...
do not cry out.
If we do cry out, "Will they stop?"
No, They would not stop.
But if you cry out when you die,
they will have your spirit.
When I die, Chomin,
I will go to Paradise.
Let me baptize you
so you will go there also.
Why would I go to your paradise?
Are my people there?
"My wife? My son? There's
only Black Robes there".
We go downstream to my people.
No, We go upstream
to the Huron mission.
You're so weak, The Iroquois
could easily catch you.
And they would not expect you
to travel away from your people.
You're not so stupid, Black Robe.
Lord, I beg you...
show your mercy
to these savage people...
who will never look upon Your face
in Paradise.
Tell me, Black Robe...
What does your dreams see now?
I'm too weary for dreams.
But you must.
If you do not... how do you see
the way that lies ahead?
I trust in God.
He will guide me...
all the way to Paradise.
You have not seen this paradise.
No man should welcome death.
This world is a cruel place...
but it has the sunlight.
I'm sorry that I should leave now.
Chomin, do you hear me?
My God loves you.
If you accept His love,
he will admit you to Paradise.
"I'll go with you, Father".
You must stay with her.
She has lost everything
because of us.
She needs you more than I do.
We will do what she ask.
What can we say to people who thinks
that dreams are the real world...
and this one is an illusion?
Perhaps they're right.
Good bye, Father Laforgue.
No Farewells,
not in this land
and no greetings, no names.
The forests speak.
The dead talk at night.
God bless you both.
Father?
Who are you?
I'm Father Laforgue.
How many are with you?
I am alone.
Some months ago
that fever struck this village.
The Indians thought that
we brought it to punish...
those who would not accept our faith.
Many died.
One man who lost his child
killed father Duval.
What are they all doing now?
Who knows
what the savages will do?
Who knows what they think?
Even after 20 years,
I still do not understand them.
They would probably torture
and kill us both.
But what about those converts?
We must have some influence.
Converts?
Perhaps, There are no converts.
Our only hope
is that... some believe...
that baptism will
cure their fever.
If they ask for baptism,
we must have a great
public ceremony at once.
Father Jerome...
Shouldn't we...?
I mean...
Should they not understand our faith...
before accepting it?
Understand?
But they are in danger of death...
and we are offering them
a place in Paradise.
Father death may be near.
Will you hear my confession?
If you will hear mine.
Bless me, Father,
for I have sinned.
Lord...
Why is Father Jerome
is with you in Heaven...
while Chomin lies
forever in utter darkness?
Help me.
Demon!
Why are you here?
I am not a Demon.
I take the place of Father Jrome.
- Is he dead?
- Yes.
How long will you stay?
All of my life.
If we take the
water sorcery...
We will not be sick?
Baptism does not cure you.
The other Black Robe said so.
He meant only that
we must ask the help of Jesus.
Perhaps, He will answer your prayers.
Many want to kill you,
Black Robe.
I know.
A Demon cannot feel pain.
Are you a Man?
Yes.
You must help us, Black Robe.
Do you love us?
- Yes
- Then, Baptize us.
Spare them.
Spare them, Oh Lord.
Subtitle by George M.