Original subtitles

Yeah, a little

The Russians come into our house all the time

You can't stay there

And how do we know we can trust you?

You don't

You know it's a death sentence if you shelter

a German soldier?

I know

When the Reich recaptures Bucharest,

which it will surely do,

I'll never do for you what you are doing for us

I will protect you from the Russians

I can't protect you from the wrath of God

Why?

Why you would risk your life for a German soldier?

My name is Sabina Wurmbrand

I am a pastor's wife,

and that is the very, very last thing

I ever thought I would be

I once was Sabina Oster

"Bincea," they called me

The entire college syllabus?

The whole thing?

Of course I study everything the boys study

Not physics

You don't study physics

Uncle Jacob

Yes, physics, math, and chemistry

Hmm Well, good for you

I'm proud of you

Why shouldn't I?

Sorbonne isn't known for Pierre

nearly so much as for Marie

Marie?

Madame Marie Curie? Nobel Prize winner?

She is from Sorbonne?

Oh, Uncle

You should get out more

You should visit Paris

I could show you everything

Do you wish to be Marie Curie?

Of course not

I want her to wish to be me

Is that all?

I want the same things every girl wants

and then a little bit more

I have to make a stop

I want you to meet someone

Who?

He's every bit as ambitious as you

Oh

But first, I want to drive your car

What?

- Yes? - No, no

Please?

- No - Please?

- Impossible - Please, please, please

I said no, no, no, no

Richard

Jacob?

What are you doing here?

May we come up?

Yeah, of course

Who is this?

She is my niece, Sabina Oster

Sabina,

this is Richard Wurmbrand,

a rising star at the brokerage

The first time I ever laid eyes on Richard Wurmbrand,

I was not impressed

He appeared to me brooding, entitled, and pampered

You let her drive your car?

Didn't really have much of a choice

I'm terribly sorry for my countenance

I thought you were someone else

Who did you think I was?

Well,

it's my mother

Oh, you thought I was your mother?

No, of course not

My mother is nagging me to get married

She's even picked out the girl

Oh, she picked the girl?

How thoughtful of her

She's selected an heiress, actually

Comes with a business,

two homes, and one million in dowry

That sounds very nice for you

It does

I mean, it would

I have no problem with the business part

or the inheritance

It's the girl I don't like

My mother thinks

this is the quickest way for us all to be rich

And what do you think?

What do I think?

I think my mother should ask me that question

It's not that I was desperate for love

In fact, I'd been dating a boy at Sorbonne

I had not told my family about my love life at school

So far as they knew,

I was still living the life of straight-laced, moral purity

as imposed on me by my parents

If they only knew

So, tell me about your heiress

My mother's heiress, you mean

Well,

if you're to be married

and all that money

The thought occurs to me that

if I could find a girl like you,

I wouldn't care about the cash

Never underestimate the cash

I'm going to go for a walk

Your mother's gonna kill me

Hey, Richard Our table is over there

Hey, your turn We saved you a space

No, no, no You're not going to just sit there tonight

Fine

We will dance, and you can drink

With Richard, I saw a path

to realize everything I'd dreamed of in life

He was handsome

He made great money

And he spent plenty of that money on me

Your steps are a bit blurry

So is my vision

I'm not an easy person, you know

Easy is so boring

You'd suffer a lot with me

And laugh a lot

So, you'll have me, then?

I knew then and there,

Sorbonne would have to wait

With this cup,

I make a covenant with you

Before God and these witnesses,

you are now man and wife

It was perfect, my darling

You look so beautiful

Well done, Son

Thank you, Father

First one kissed, first one married

Well, first one married, anyway

Congratulations, Richard

You've officially taken the plunge

And so religious

Does the Rabbi even know you're atheists?

Never said a word about it

So, your mother's happy?

I think she's still holding out for the rich girl

She'll always blame you, you know

Really?

In this case, may I have a glass?

A big one

Hey

Hey

Did you really think you could hide from me all day long?

I wasn't hiding

Well, good, because I want a hug from you

That's not a good enough hug

I want a real hug

Okay, fine A big hug

A big hug

You know, there's cake

Have we pleased them all?

My parents got their rabbi,

my sisters got their music,

and my brother got his cake

What more could they want?

Well,

I want another drink

In those days, we cared little about God,

nor very much about other people

We didn't want children

We wanted pleasure

What does this have to do with us?

Everything

Without Richard in my life, you certainly wouldn't be

We don't need your love stories

We need a way out of here

Let her talk

Were you happy?

Was the marriage a happy one?

We were happy

At least, we thought we were

Close enough, or should I walk you home from here?

I'd accept if you could walk straight

Well, if you ever

if you ever need a

if you ever need a

Go, go

Drive safely

Only a year into our marriage, Richard started coughing

My goodness Are you gagging?

Not gagging

It's just a little tickle

What are you doing?

Calling the doctor

I don't need a doctor I'm fine

I'll rest a couple of days

One to Săcele, please

Thank you

TB was common in those days

Very often, it was lethal

Richard was diagnosed and sent to a sanitorium

in the mountains

With total rest, fresh air, and lots of sunshine,

he had a chance

The doctor said, 50/50

Are you ready for this?

Well, are you ready?

For you to die? No

Are you ready to stay with your mother?

You may have the harder ordeal

It's not funny You're not funny

You'll survive

I'll visit as soon as I can get a day off work

Don't forget about me

I'll try not to

Thank you

You're Wurmbrand?

Yes, I'm Richard Wurmbrand

You look worse than my last patient

Well, I'm

Stop it

Do not cough on me

Not near me

Never when I am in this room

What is this?

A book

Nati gave it to me

No reading

I told you once already

Only rest

I said, lights out

One, please, to Săcele

Round trip, same day

Mr Wurmbrand, you have a visitor

Send him away

I'm far too busy for visitors today

You are overdressed

Marie, did you not send my wife the dress code here?

You look like an angel

And you look like an Olympian

I brought you

this

I thought it would either help you think

or help you sleep

You're not supposed to be reading

You're to be resting

It's okay, Marie This is Marx,

and his theories of the "opium of the people"

What theories?

Well, Marx says,

"the abolition of religion is the requisite

for real happiness"

Well, then,

that means we should be quite happy

Marx never found happiness

I'm not sure he is the one to listen to

How are you feeling?

Have you been resting?

I feel that for the first time in my life,

I'm resting

Are you terribly bored?

I've been thinking

About what?

About my life

About all the people I've harmed

My mother, and

many girls you don't even know about

Don't worry about it

I've also lived such a life

This is youth

And when we get home, we'll have fun again

Maybe

Darling, you have TB, not mental illness

We're going to be fine

I've been thinking again about children

Children?

Richard,

you should lie down

I'm -- I'm sorry

If we had children,

how would we raise them?

What morals would we teach them?

What morals do we have for our own lives?

Take this with you

Look at it on the train

"The Brothers Ratisbonne?"

A Christian book?

Why are you reading this, Richard?

I will not read these lies

I may not survive this illness

It's 50/50

But if I do, I don't want to waste my life

Our life

Not any longer Not one day

Waste?

We are not wasting our lives, Richard

I don't know what to even say to you

Say you love me, and that you'll be back in two weeks

I love you

I know that book

My father used to read it

That book is banned, you know

Have you read it?

Of course not It's banned

Finally, when winter returned,

Richard began to get some of his strength back,

and they let him out for short walks

Hello, Niculai

You are dead, and so shall be I

The snow will fall on us both while the living carry on,

and we shall not exist

After a while, nobody will remember us

What is the use, Niculai?

What is the point of any of this?

Richard was still convinced that there was no God,

but had begun wishing it was otherwise

He wanted there to be a reason for existing

God,

I'm certain you don't exist, but if you do,

it's your job to reveal yourself to me

So, your husband got sick and began talking to dead people

Is there a point in all this?

My country was getting sick, too,

right at the same time

The Legionnaires promised a fascist utopia

Their leader was Corneliu Codreanu

He went from village to village, making Hitler proud

Look, a horse

I know that man

Go home

You don't speak for Romania

I love that horse

By our blood,

we cement

the future of Legionary Romania

Each of you

must be ready

to both give

and embrace death

The Archangel Michael comes not with a sickle,

but with a sword

Have we lost our minds?

Calm down

Ready to give and embrace death?

This is crazy

If you are not with us,

you are against us

Let him go

There is no victory without bloodshed

Come on, Richard

You've been here plenty long enough

Coming

You know,

I'm going to miss you

Truly

Richard, time to go

Oh

I'll go fetch your release papers

It should only take a few minutes

Come on

Walk with me down to the pond

"Won't be long," she says

It has already been

a very long time

Yes, it has

But also, a good time

Time to think

A time to consider Jesus

Don't say that name

I remember hearing of Jews who chose to murder

their children and commit suicide

to avoid converting to Christianity

That doesn't enhance my respect for those Jews

Richard

I was mocked when I was a girl

"Dirty little Jewess" they shouted at me

If that is Christianity, we want nothing to do with it

If that's Christianity, nobody should want anything

to do with it

I've been comparing Jesus' life with mine

There's nothing to compare

His outlook was so pure,

and mine, so tainted

Your outlook is fine

His nature, so selfless

Mine, so greedy

Richard You are starting to sound like a convert

I've long been an atheist, my love

But a universe with no creator

cannot compare to the thought of a God who

speaks and listens

Okay

The demands of Christianity are too extreme

They are impossible to fulfill

The Bible says that he who says he is Christ's must also

live as Jesus lived But is that possible?

It's like asking a wolf to live like a lamb, and then

condemning it for all eternity for not succeeding

Since I have not been Christ through all eternity --

I was not born of a virgin

Since I have no clear perception of

spiritual realities, nor do I have His mind,

how should I be able to live as He did?

Only a very proud person could imagine himself capable

of living like Jesus

The commandment to live like Jesus,

like all the commandments in the Bible,

it reveals to us the depth of our sinfulness --

our deep need for a savior

No, Isaac, no

I do not want a Jesus who has been calculated,

explained, and believed in I want the real Jesus

Is that such an impossible ideal?

Richard

You're a smart guy

Smarter than me

I cannot talk you into faith

Come tonight

Come to the prayer meeting

See if the real Jesus reveals Himself to you

So, then,

who can find God?

Anyone who seeks him

Jesus taught his disciples

that everyone who asks, receives,

and he that seeks, finds To him that knocks,

the door shall be opened

Who can find God?

Everyone can

That's God's promise

Everyone No exceptions

Let's pray on that

Richard said

he was involuntarily lifted up by the Spirit,

astonished to hear himself praying aloud

at a public gathering

Words, he said, that sprang from the depths of his soul

Where have you been?

Your dinner is cold

I've done it

I've surrendered my heart to Christ

And it's a beautiful thing

And now,

all that's left to do is to be baptized

In baptism,

we renounce our sin

We proclaim our belief in God

and commit ourselves to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior

Richard,

is this your own proclamation?

Yes, truly, with all my heart

If Richard was going to make a horrible decision,

so would I

Richard Wurmbrand,

I baptize you in the name of the Father

If we couldn't have the life I wanted,

and of the Son

then we wouldn't have life at all

and of the Holy Spirit

Amen

And when Richard found my body,

he would realize how destructive

this faith of his was

Obviously, you didn't kill yourself

Obviously

But then I had a thought

What if he's right?

What if there is a God?

Or worse, a hell?

Or what if he went out, found a new wife,

and forgot all about me?

Help me understand

What are you reading?

"If your enemy is hungry,

give him bread to eat

If he's thirsty,

give him water to drink"

That's ridiculous

The heart of the gospel is forgiveness

For us to forgive others in the same way

God has forgiven us

Is that so bad?

What a waste of time, these movies

This time, we recognize that there is a plague here,

a plague that threatens the health of the Aryan peoples

Thank you, darling

For what?

For this

For skipping church for once

For "Gone with the Wind"

Or "Of Mice and Men?"

"Gambling with Souls" Two, please

Thank you

Thank you

You know, I have a soft spot in my heart

for attractive girls like you in distress

I have more money than I know what to do with,

and how better could I spend it than by making you happy?

Would a thousand dollars help you?

Oh, it certainly would

I always loved movies

I have considerable cash in my apartment

But I never calculated the moral influence

they had over me

Would you care to stop by for a few minutes

on your way home?

I can let you have the money tonight

The Nazi propaganda films were surely filled with lies

But nobody seemed to question their statistics

In 1932, the Jews, who only made up one percent

of the world's population, accounted for 34 percent

of the world's dope peddlers,

47 percent of robberies,

47 percent of crooked games of chance,

82 percent of international crime organizations,

and 98 percent of dealers in prostitution

The Hollywood movies I loved were filled with lies

of a different kind

Nobody questioned them, either

Nobody, except my husband

So, did you like it?

Of course

Me too

Now,

go home and go to bed

I want to find a girl to take to a hotel

What did you say?

It's pretty simple

You go home

I think I want to find a girl to take to a hotel

Richard How can you even say that?

But you made me go to the movie

and you saw what the hero did

Why shouldn't I do the same thing?

And if we go tomorrow and the next day

to movies like those

I'm just making a point

Every man becomes what he looks at

If you want me to be a good husband,

come to church with me sometimes

Morning

I'm sorry

I wasn't aware we were meeting

No, you weren't

And you are?

Corneliu Zelea Codreanu

Legionnaires

Perhaps you've heard of us?

I'm sorry, Jacob We're making a move

Couldn't be avoided

A move?

What are you talking about?

We've agreed to a merger

With the Germans?

I'm Romanian, actually

And the new director

We've had a slight change in executive policy

Jacob,

we had no choice

No Jews

What?

It's not complicated, is it?

No Jews

Leave now and we won't follow you home

Just like that?

You can't--

We can make this very personal

Have you seen the work of the Iron Guard?

The Iron Guard, as the Legionnaires were called,

were taking over Romania

They were conscripting members, taking businesses,

and terrorizing Jews

One Sunday evening we were invited

to attend a big party

I begged Richard to let us go

At least pretend to have fun, Richard

We haven't seen Andrei and Alexandra for ages

Hello

Darling

Oh my God, I love your dress - Thank you

You should be able to capture a man's imagination in that

Take this, darling

Take

Okay come, come, come

So, I didn't expect you to show up tonight

This isn't exactly church

Here it is Come on

I propose a toast

And one for you

To friends

To the future

Sorry

Come on

Secrets

I was wondering, what do you think about that

blonde over there?

The blonde? - Yeah, the blonde one

I'll go to speak with her Wish me luck

It's kind of loud in here

Maybe we shouldn't stay too long

Relax, we've just gotten here

It would be rude to leave so soon

Let's go

I want to go now

But there's so much of the night left to enjoy

Okay, okay

I'm ready

Take me to the pastor's house

Get me baptized

It'll be like taking a bath after all this filth

Sabina, you've waited this long

You can wait until morning

Let the poor pastor sleep

Are you afraid?

"Do not be afraid, for I am with you"

Genesis 26

"Do not be afraid or discouraged"

Deuteronomy 1

"Do not be afraid of them"

Joshua 8

I am

I'm kind of afraid

I'm collecting all the verses in the Bible that tell us

not to be afraid

I think I might need to lean on all of them

Read me some more

"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?

And one of them shall not fall on the ground

without your Father

But the very hairs of your head are numbered

Fear ye not therefore,

ye are of more value than many sparrows"

One, two

If they are coming, then they are coming

Let's not think of them as enemies to be feared,

but rather as a mission

They are asking to see IDs

All our lives, Romanian

Now we are Jews only

Christian, really

Perhaps we should get out if we still can

Run away?

If we stay,

I'll follow the others into prison

It will be the end of our life together

I'll be tortured,

perhaps killed

"Whosoever will save his life shall lose it,

and whosoever will lose his life for my sake

shall find it"

We believe this, or we don't

I think we have to stay

We have a job to do

By 1940, we had a new baby, Mihai

And a new Prime Minister:

Major Ion Antonescu

Under him, new waves of persecution were unleashed

on the Jews

So, we set out to meet our neighbors,

to try to make new friends

Who is it? What? What? Who are you?

Your neighbors just across the street

I'm Richard Wurmbrand This is my wife, Sabina,

and our baby, Mihai

Are you selling something or what?

No We're just out to get to know people

We brought you this

Relations in our new neighborhood were

tense at first,

but people often warmed up

when we actually met them face to face,

when we showed them some kindness

What?

My name is Richard Wurmbrand

This is my wife, Sabina, and our baby, Mihai

We're your neighbors just across the street

Jewish?

Well, Christian now

How convenient

You don't like Jewish people?

They're useless

They take, but they don't contribute

No, I don't like Jewish people

That's a nice sewing machine

What make is it?

Ah, it's a Singer

Hold on

wasn't that invented by a Jew?

I guess if you think the Jews are so useless,

you'd better get rid of it

What do you want?

You want to do my sewing?

Just to say hello and--

We brought you some jam

Don't tell me a Jew invented jam

I don't know

But it's good, whoever invented it

What? What?

Pie?

We don't like pie

Some were harder to break than others

What? What? What?

No, no, no -- we don't eat

We are fasting

It's strawberry

I hope you like it

You are persistent, I'll give you that

Don't you like jam?

I love jam, yeah Thank you, and

I'm sorry I smashed it last time

I was arguing with Ana, and I

Ana Come out here and meet our neighbors

Isn't he adorable?

I hope so He looks like me

Hey

You got the jam, too?

And then Richard became a pastor

Lutheran

We devoted our lives to loving people

We made many new friends, shared Christ with everyone,

and found much happiness

But outside,

all hell was raging

In 1940,

Romania formally announced that its foreign policy

was now to be determined by Hitler's new European order

Within a year,

over one-third of Romania's Jewish population

were massacred

In the northern city of Iasi,

11,000 Jews were killed in one day

We heard of seven girls

who had survived the massacre up in Iasi

We were trying to get them to safety

Jews were not permitted to travel anywhere in Romania,

and Iasi is hundreds of miles from Bucharest,

but we had a plan:

to have the girls "arrested" by our friends

in the Romanian police,

then transported to the capital for trial--

before which they would mysteriously disappear

Be sure they don't miss their trial

I'll do my best

We found ways wherever we could to

shelter the innocent,

but so many people refused to get involved,

allowing thousands who might have been saved to perish

Involvement, however,

came with a price

Thank you

One morning, I was arrested

I didn't know at that moment that Richard had been

taken as well

I wondered,

were they going to shoot me?

Was I to die without warning in the darkness?

They wanted me to write something that could be used

against Richard

So, I wrote

I had memorized many Psalms

Psalm 1 seemed as good a choice as any

Sabina

Richard

Where is Mihai?

Alice was there--

Be quiet No talking

Was it terrible?

There was pain

I will not lie to you

I am sorry

I'm thankful to be among the beaten,

through His grace,

and not among those who beat

Later we learned that we were only one hour

from being executed

But God intervened,

along with some very dear friends

Case dismissed Recess, one hour

Under the Nazis, Richard was arrested three times

Myself, twice

Each time we were beaten,

and each time our friends intervened on our behalf

But the rest of my family was not so fortunate

There was no one to intervene for them

My parents were taken,

and my sisters,

my little brother,

my Uncle Jacob--

all sent to the camp at Transnistria

None of them ever came back

The SS came looking for you today

I'm not hiding

Maybe you should

Couldn't you leave?

We want to meet them,

to share Christ with them

Many are hungry to hear it

And many more would send you to the gas chambers

One of them has just moved in with me

Well, I hope you're offering him your best wine

I knew him before, but

he's changed

Now he's an absolute brute

He brags about how he killed Jews

He calls himself Borila the Butcher

Where?

Where what?

Where did he kill Jews?

Ukrainian border

Transnistria, I think

Transnistria?

You're looking for Mihnea?

Yes, I am

Richard Wurmbrand

Borila

And you live here now?

Not for long

Come on Mihnea's in the can

Wurmbrand

Sounds German

I knew it

You Germans should give me a medal

I've killed more Jews than Rommel did

I am home because we were all out of Jews to kill

I am not afraid for those Jews

God will surely compensate them for

what they've suffered

But I'm anguished when I think about

what will happen to their murderers

when they stand before God's judgment seat

Murderers?

Well, look who's here

Telling him your war stories, were you?

Do you suppose half of them are true?

All of them are true

And many more you've never heard

And the more you drink,

the more the story grows

Tell Richard what it was like to be stationed in

the Soviet Ukraine

You enjoyed it, I gather

Transnistria

The music This is what I miss

The songs

If you'd like to hear some of them, come over to my house

I'm no pianist, but

I can play a few Ukrainian melodies

[SINGING DRUNKENLY]

I have something very important to tell you

What?

Go on

If you were to look behind that door,

you'd see my wife, Sabina

Her parents,

her sisters, and her twelve-year-old brother

were killed with the rest of her family

You were there

in Transnistria

That's where they were taken

You don't know exactly who you've shot, but

we could assume you're the man who murdered her family

You are a Jew?

I am a Christian

Is this a trap?

No,

though I'm sure there are many who would like to kill you

Let them try I don't fear death

You should fear God - There is no God

And what if I could prove to you there is?

You can't

Let's do an experiment

I'm going to wake up my wife and tell her who you are

and what you've done,

and I can predict exactly what will happen

I don't want an experiment

She won't speak a word of reproach to you

In fact, she'll bring you the best supper she can find

in this home - I don't believe you

There's a man here you have to meet

I, um

I believe he is the man who killed your family

The heart of the gospel is forgiveness

Christ forgave me

He can forgive you

if you ask

What have I done?

What have I done?

Let me fix you something to eat

Take this

That was when I started collecting these

They remind me that the lost

can be found

Change your clothes It's time to go

We can get you to the border if we leave now

So, that's your love story

I guess it is

My love for a husband

My love for God

Even my love for you

Madam,

I won't pretend I understand you

But perhaps if no one had this gift of

returning good for evil,

then there would never be an end to killing

"If your enemy is hungry,

give him bread

If your enemy is thirsty,

give him some water"

You know this is ridiculous

I suppose

I could not do such things,

but Christ in me can do all things

Remember me

Tell me again-- who told you about this family?

Just some guy

Some guy-- what guy?

Before I get in this truck, I need to know who led you

to this family

I did

Get down before someone sees you

From the day of my wedding forward,

I only ever kissed two men

One, my husband,

and two,

the man who murdered my family