Original subtitles

Yes, Father. I'm listening.

Do not be proud of the honor to which you are called today.

Fear it.

From now on, the path to salvation will be all the more difficult for you.

Yes, Father.

Learn to be humble.

Humility is the greatest gift I can wish for you.

Listen to others, the wise and experienced man around you.

Try to learn from them.

Remember, the truly great man is small within himself

and cares nothing for renown.

Yes, Father.

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

But I'm not afraid anymore.

For some time now I've felt at peace.

And I realize how I must use my power.

It seems so simple, so beautiful.

I can invite truly wise men to come to me.

Great geniuses, great artists.

And I can humbly.

Ask for their help.

They will create the monuments of my reign.

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

And I will become a better man.

With the help of God.

In fear of God.

Serving God.

Now, make an act of contrition.

Oh God, I'm heartily sorry.

Ego te absolvo in nomine Patris et Fili. C 'è una circostanza che spiega lo

stato d 'animo con cui mi accingo oggi a condurre insieme a tutti voi questa

difficile e dolorosa inchiesta che ha il compito di stabilire se il nostro

sovrano è per noi ancora nella condizione di governare

questa nostra infelice, sfortunata, disprezzata, derisa.

E tormentata Baviera, senza tradire l 'ostinata fiducia del suo popolo.

La circostanza alla quale alludevo è che io sono

uno dei pochi, pochissimi ministri rimasti in carica senza alcuna

dal lontano marzo 1864.

Dal giorno cioè che, pieni di illusione e di speranze, ci vede riunite ad

applaudire,

Secretary of the Treasury.

And now the investments.

Your Excellency, the ambassadors are pushing on our strength.

Excuse me, Your Highness.

His majesty is almost ready.

I'll be there.

Thank you.

The King would like to see you.

Champagne.

What is all this?

These are the reports from the police officials I sent to find Mr.

Wagner, sire.

Police? Why did you employ the police?

I am not a detective, your majesty.

And Mr. Wagner is difficult to find. He is not in Munich, not in Vienna, not in

Neuchatel. But he was in all those places, up to a few moments before the

arrival of our officials who went to look for him.

As your majesty can see from report number four... We have word that Mr.

is traveling to Stuttgart, but I'm waiting for confirmation.

Confirmation from whom?

From some other policeman?

I thought I had made myself clear.

I do not wish to arrest Wagner.

In all humility, I want to beg him to honor me with a visit, as I'm convinced

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

invaluable help and prestige for us.

It's not a police official.

who should be sent to deliver my invitation.

The Maestro is surely and rightly incited.

That's why I don't wish to be found.

If my information is correct, it is not our police official's Wagner is fleeing,

Your Majesty.

It is his creditor's.

Nonsense.

If Wagner is in Stuttgart, I will go personally and offer my apologies and my

invitation. I must remind your majesty that our foreign minister most warmly

urges your majesty to visit Bad Ischel. Not only are the emperor of Austria and

the empress Elizabeth there, but also the crown prince of Prussia, the

and... Does our foreign minister fail to realize that our friendship with

Richard Wagner is far more important than alliance with all the ground heads

holiday at Bad Ischel?

I'm afraid he does not realize that, sire. Try to explain it to him.

And let him know that I won't move from here until Richard Wagner has been

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

It is only a question of price, believe me.

Let's try not to make any further mistakes.

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

I should perhaps have been more explicit, sire. I agree.

A gift is required.

Now, as for your majesty's visit to Bad Ischow, we will...

Been a long time since we last met, Melissa.

Sometimes I've doubted about my future as an actress.

So as you can see, I'm considering a new career as a circus writer.

Have you changed?

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

Five years.

No, more.

Five years and six months.

You have a very good memory.

Grazie. A domani.

Mi dispiace di non essere stata presente alla tua incoronazione, ma ero... Dove

ero? Fammi pensare.

Il tuo ambasciatore ha detto che eri a letto malato.

No, non era vero, anzi affatto, stavo per venire. Ma poi l 'idea di tutti quei

parenti da incontrare mi fece cambiare rotta.

Anch 'io sai ho cambiato rotta stasera. Davvero?

Eh sì, stavo per andare a cena quando ho saputo che tu eri qui. Chi te l 'ha

detto? Il mio aiutante di campo, lui sa sempre tutto di tutti.

Sapeva che avresti disertato il diner ufficiale di stasera, dandoti malata

al solito.

Yes,

you have changed indeed. You're more handsome.

The most handsome king in Europe.

That's not much of a compliment.

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

I don't know.

Both.

And you gave me an excuse to avoid the dinner.

I'm not used to official gatherings yet. I suppose it takes training.

But you too.

Oh, with me things are different.

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

Ma lo sai che è vero?

Me l 'avevano detto. Mi somigli sempre di più.

Non trovi mon cousin?

Non lo so.

Anche se mi piacerebbe.

E a te? Perché no?

Vada pure in albergo, Contessa Ferenzi. Non ho bisogno di niente. Ho chi mi

accompagna. Bene, maestà. Vero?

Però non ho voglia di tornare subito a casa.

Come vuoi.

Mi faccio rapire da te.

Certo.

Un cambiamento, come qualsiasi cambiamento, trae in inganno posti

nuove, nuove abitudini da prendere.

Insomma, ce n 'è abbastanza perché una donna, curiosa per natura come sono io,

si sentisse appagata. Non sentivo neppure nostalgia della mia famiglia,

primi tempi.

Avevo tante cose da fare, un marito da amare, prima di accorgermi che del mio

amore... He didn't know what to do, and he was looking for someone else.

A mother -in -law to be conquered.

Before I realized that she was actually an odious woman.

That she also took away my right to educate my children.

My children, who I put in the hands of tutors, generals, priests, they also

became strangers.

Until you suddenly find out that... that the house that hosted you...

It's actually a tattered and left -wing palace.

You can no longer understand how you got locked up in there for ten years.

What a horror.

You feel betrayed, like the butterfly that enters a house attracted by the

and is locked up.

I noticed it all of a sudden, as if I had woken up from a long sleep.

And I got sick with sadness.

Until one day I left.

Madeira.

Corfu, Greece, Italy.

I still

protect

myself by running away.

They say I'm eccentric, but they said that even before. When it became clear I

hated that prison hoofbook, when it became clear I really could not bear a

husband, always in uniform, always going to war.

Whatever I do or say, they criticize me. So why shouldn't I do as I please?

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

Yes.

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

I carry off official visits very well, when I only have to be beautiful and

charm someone.

Just as you are supposed to do here.

Whom are you to charm? The Tsar?

I hear they want you to marry his daughter.

I've heard that too.

But I don't want to marry yet.

I'm only 19.

I was 16 when I married.

And now they say I was too young. That's why I soon became bored.

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

What do you think?

Is it true?

I think all men must fall in love with you.

Very kind, but not an answer.

Is it true or not?

I've never heard it said.

You won't answer?

All right.

I shall ask you another question.

Is what they say about you the truth?

What have they said to you?

That you never have had a woman.

I'm a Catholic.

Is that the reason?

They also say you like to be alone.

That you despise the people around you.

That you go riding at night.

They call you the moonlight lover.

I do the same.

But I don't believe I'm Siegfried.

I never thought I was Siegfried.

Not till tonight.

Do you know the only time a secret feels fear?

When you first meet a woman.

Thank you. Gentlemen.

I don't like her.

Who?

The Tsarevna.

You shan't marry her. I forbid it. I obey.

Need only command me, I shall always... Careful.

I might take you seriously.

Oh, no.

You always joke with me.

You don't understand.

You're very handsome, but not very quick -witted.

That's why I need you.

Apparently not. You're leaving tomorrow.

I must.

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

And be alone.

We can go riding in the night.

Will you come with me?

What is your pressing business in Munich? Who is waiting for you there?

I shall ask our secret service.

You're keeping something from me.

When I took over the secretariat from Thierflim and became aware of the

seriousness of the situation, I was horrified.

I sent a memorandum to the king, who was away from Munich, telling him that a

single performance of Tristan cost more than the maintenance of an entire

battalion.

I received no reply.

Oh, per carita.

Questa casa non va assolutamente bene per me.

È tutta da arredare.

Le tende vanno cambiate.

Voglio un altro pianoforte.

E poi molti mobili devono ancora arrivare da Vienna in sostituzione di

che non mi piacciono.

Non manca nulla. Mi sembra tutto anche troppo bello. Troppo bello? Come

Che cosa vuol dire troppo bello?

Niente! What do you mean? Nothing can be too beautiful in the place I'm going to

work.

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

I detest everything mediocre, less than the best. I must have the best if I am

to work.

I need even more.

Security.

Uncertainty about the future destroys my nerves. I become ill. I'm unable to

write a single note.

What's the use of dreaming about performances of my works when I'm dead?

I want my music performed now.

When I say, as I say.

Of course.

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

It's a reality?

No, you're right. It is marvellous.

There's this house, my stipend, and Tristan about to go into rehearsal. Poor

Tristan, he's waited six years.

And soon we'll have the theatre I've always dreamed of.

The king's given me a free hand.

I've written to Semper.

Yes, he'll be down here with the plans.

He's going to have his work cut out for him. But we must start engaging the

singers for Tristan at once.

Do you think Meyer will be free?

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

Another singer might be better.

For some time now, he's... Forgive me, but

are you sure there'll be no objections to me?

After all, Munich has some quite able conductors.

If someone's brought in from outside, there could be objections.

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

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

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

I was moved.

Deeply moved.

A strange boy.

I'm eager to present you to him.

If he ever comes back, he said he'd be away only two or three days. That's

weeks ago.

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

king must authorize the payments. They say it's grotesque.

He is like a young god descended from Olympus, but he is surrounded by stupid,

suspicious boors, the pack of them.

I won't make a single friend there.

You must come stay with me.

Yeah,

yeah, yeah, yeah.

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

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

You don't mind, do you?

No, of course not.

But the children will disturb you.

Nonsense! The house is large!

They won't be a nuisance!

Another child will soon be here.

O con quanta dolcezza carezzano l 'essere nostro.

Misteriosi vengono a noi nell 'aria e nessuna domanda mi sale più alle labbra

mi abbandono al loro incanto.

Ugual magia mi ha legato a te, mia cara.

Il giorno in cui il mio sguardo si posò su te la prima volta, seppi cioè che non

avrei più domande senza risposta. I miei occhi ti avevano vedute e il mio

cuore...

Il mio cuore aveva capito.

Vedi, la poesia mi piace. Sì, la capisco. Non sento la mancanza della

Ma la poesia di Wagner vale per la sua musica. E la sua musica vale per la sua

poesia. L 'una non può esistere senza l 'altra.

E da questa portentosa fusione nasce un nuovo linguaggio che riesce a farsi

intendere da tutti quanti. In ogni parte del mondo, da tutti quanti.

Un linguaggio...

that can also spread ideas.

I don't know how to explain myself, but I know, I know that the greatest gift

that can be given to the people is to enrich their spirit.

Mon cousin, what do you want to do with your Bavaria?

A nation of musicians?

Do you want to take me around?

They are important things, at least for me.

To Wagner I owe the courage and the faith, let's say, to be able to do

in life, to be able to be useful to someone in the world, even in the modest

role of intermediary.

I owe all this to him, as I owe to you.

What do you owe me?

I owe you the happiness of these last days, spent waiting for the moment to

you again.

Prometti di aiutarmi sempre, di non abbandonarmi. Vuoi?

D 'accordo.

Sei un bambino, Ludwig.

Anche un po' pazzo.

Lo siamo tutti in famiglia, me compresa. Io ne sono convinta.

Prometti che non mi lascerai mai.

Solo questo, che potrò vederti.

Se avrò bisogno di te, anche solo un momento.

Ma un momento che sia mio soltanto.

D 'accordo.

Sebbene non vedo come ciò possa venire dal momento che tu stai a Monaco e io a

Vienna.

Ti raggiungerò dovunque tu sia.

Anche se non vieni mai a trovarmi, io so che vai spesso a Posenhofen.

Vero?

And from now on, listen, I... But I know when you have to come.

For Wagner's Tristan.

The work that we decided to put on stage.

I've been waiting for six years.

I'll make her represent it, I promised her.

You have to see it.

It's wonderful.

You'll be able to understand everything I've tried to tell you.

And it will make you understand me too.

And what happened to me.

In questi pochi giorni.

Poi starai un momento con me.

E mi dirai solo, ho capito.

Sai dove ti aspetterò?

Ti rammenti cinque anni fa?

L 'isola delle rose.

La bandiera alta sul pennone. Significa ti aspetto.

Te lo ricordi?

Vieni.

Tristano è come un oceano di armoniosi suoni nel

quale si sprofonda come in una praia.

Comfortable.

Elisabeth! Sophie!

Where have you been?

You've all arrived.

When? Late.

The Countess Ferenczi said she'd been calling you for a while and that she

couldn't disturb you. It was your orders, she said.

And you're listening to Ferenczi. She's a fool.

Sì, infatti non mi sentivo bene.

Per così dire.

Ma dove sei stata, dimmi? Avevo l 'insonnia e sono uscita a cavallo.

Da sola?

Ma certo.

Sì, insomma, colpa alla freniere.

Va bene?

Su, vieni. Aiutami a spogliarmi.

Stai proprio bene.

You're very beautiful.

Really?

And here, in these days, you should be even more beautiful than usual.

And why?

There's someone who's waiting for you with anxiety. Me?

He's delayed his departure for 15 days.

Think. Just to see you again. Who are you talking about?

Who is he?

And who would you like him to be?

I don't know.

He's handsome. He's a king.

He'll be your husband.

But who?

Ludwig.

Yes, of course.

Our cousin.

Her Majesty regrets.

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

Her Majesty asked me to invite Your Majesty to dine with her this evening at

seven o 'clock in her private apartments.

Thank Her Majesty for me, Countess Ferenczi. I shall be delighted to

Cosa rara.

Madame. Your Majesty.

Marie.

Karl Theodor.

Your Majesty.

Sophie.

Mathilde.

Nene.

Maximilian.

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

Your Majesty knows Elizabeth and her will.

Suddenly she missed her brothers and sisters.

And we all had to rush to cheer her up.

You're looking very well, ma tante. Thank you, your majesty.

The air is so good in Bad Ischew. I haven't heard from your mother for a

time. How is she?

Mon cousin?

One of my couriers was going to Schlossberg, and I knew that in a

there... Oh.

Mmm.

What a lovely scent.

Sophie, smell them.

Oh, yes.

Wonderful.

I haven't seen you for a long time. It's a great pleasure to be back again.

How have you been? Fine, thank you.

There has not been such a brilliant gathering at Paris for many years, I

believe.

Elizabeth tells me the Tsarevna is here and the Crown Prince of Prussia.

The Emperor will join us in a few days.

N 'est -ce pas, Elizabeth?

Yes.

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

Quite. A family reunion, isn't it?

Your Majesty was right to mention the matter to Elizabeth.

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

Sophie? Yes?

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

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

Unfortunately, I must put off that pleasure.

I only came here to say goodbye.

I must be in Munich tomorrow morning.

I leave tonight.

Now, my towns, will you excuse me?

Ludwig. Thank you for the happiness of these last few days.

I will be expecting you.

Even if you never gave me your promise.

You must come for Tristan.

When you hear Wagner's opera, you'll understand everything I've been trying

say. You'll understand me, too.

What's happened to me these past few days.

You must come.

You must.

L 'andata in scena del Tristano di Richard Wagner, avvenuta nel giugno del

costò alle casse dello Stato una vera fortuna, e a quella spesa sconsiderata

andrebbero aggiunte le spese sostenute privatamente dal sovrano per ricevere

degnamente l 'imperatrice Elisabeth, che invece decise di non intervenire,

lasciando così chiaramente intendere a tutti la sua disapprovazione.

I hate having anyone wait for me.

I hate disappointing, arousing false hopes.

I had no hopes.

You didn't come to the theater and I was sure you wouldn't come here.

It was a triumph.

You should have seen it. The audience applauded.

For hours it seemed.

When Wagner appeared on stage, he said,

I wish I could remember the exact words. He said, like Tristan and Isolde would

drink. How much did it all cost?

What? Everything.

Wagner, the conductor, the conductor's family, a house for Wagner, for the

conductor, for his family.

Why do you ask me this?

What does it matter?

It was a triumph.

Triumphs are quickly forgotten.

Or else later on they aroused the fiercest criticism.

But here criticism started even before the triumphs.

You, of all people, worry about the malicious criticism of the public?

Yes, when it's deserved.

What is your ambition?

To go down in history thanks to Richard Wagner?

Like my mother -in -law with her ridiculous painters?

If your Richard Wagner is as great as you say, then he doesn't need you.

Your pathetic friendship only gives you the illusion of having created

something.

Just as I give you the illusion of love.

You cannot stay alone.

You want me to be your impossible lover, to justify yourself somehow.

You need help I cannot give you.

Mary.

Mary Sophie.

I've never loved another woman.

And you?

Love is a duty also.

And your duty is to face reality.

Forget your dreams.

Rulers like us have nothing to do with history.

We're only a display.

History will forget us.

Unless someone makes us seem important by assassinating us.

That's the music the German people like, not mine.

Not a day goes by now without some attack on me in the Munich papers.

Stop reading them.

I should give orders to keep the newspapers away from you. You should

to leave the house as well.

People insult me in the street.

I really would like to keep you prisoner.

Because then I would know you were working.

For yourself and for me. Sometimes I wonder if my strength will last.

I must at least have faith in you. I think sometimes it's life itself I fear.

Or life as it was before I met your majesty.

Now, as your majesty can see, we've done away with the boxes.

The house is like an amphitheater.

The audience is one ideal community with no divisions or rank.

And the orchestra is well below the stage. But I can show you that more

in another drawing.

And the lighting is entirely new.

The spectator will be able to concentrate on the stage.

We must be able to plunge the house into total darkness.

How many seats will there be?

1 ,500.

Yes, 1 ,500, perhaps 17.

Semper will go into all that later. I should like to have at least 2 ,000.

But the cost... No doubt they'll finally decide on a much smaller theatre or

cancel the whole project.

Why do you say that?

Because that's the way it will end, I feel sure.

Just think of the talk the performance of Tristan caused.

I can imagine the comments when the construction of a new theatre is

They'll all behave as if they're being robbed.

They'll want to arrest me. It's impossible to work for such an ignorant

Great thinkers have always acknowledged the importance of music to a nation, but

here they talk only of waste of money.

They count every fennec so much for the turner, for the soprano, the orchestra.

That's criticism, isn't it, sir?

They have another permanent.

Bloody stupidity.

Forgive me, sire, but Tristan's success gave me such joy, such hope.

Now these vulgar attacks are ruining everything. They're affecting your

too.

You're troubled, sad, without enthusiasm.

I... No, no, no, that's not it.

How can you think that?

If you weren't here with me, I would be in despair.

You, my salvation.

My only comfort.

I'm putting all my strength into the building of this theater.

All my love.

Forgive me for disturbing you, but it's growing dark and poor Fanny didn't dare

come light the lamps. She asked me to help.

Oh, no.

You must forgive us.

May I also have the honor of serving tea?

Yes, thank you.

How are you today, maestro?

Were you able to rest a bit?

Milk, your majesty?

Thank you.

Have I been unwell?

Why wasn't I informed?

Thank you.

I could have waited until tomorrow. I'm quite well.

That is not true.

Anyone with sensitive nerves like me has their ups and downs.

I've had headaches for years.

This was not just a headache.

I don't see why His Majesty shouldn't know the state of your health.

Please. I want you to tell me the truth about the maestro's illness.

I've told you the truth.

No.

Well, I can speak as someone who's lived in daily communication with the maestro

only for a short time, but my impressions are the same as my

the maestro's great friend and collaborator.

It's true, the maestro has always suffered from nervous strain, but

has got worse.

In addition to his headaches, he has insomnia and, well, I'm quite concerned.

But I think medicine can do little in such cases.

The real reason for the anxiety must be found and eradicated.

I've told the maestro not to worry about those candle sheets.

They're not worth it. Forgive me, sorry, but it's not that criticism which

upsets the maestro.

It's not the uncertainty of the theater project either.

He's worried about the future.

About his...

inability to settle a painful situation which has haunted him for too long.

Some deaths made in the past which... Forgive me, Liebermeister.

His Majesty asked my opinion. I must give it to him honestly.

All those worries are past now.

I am here.

Of course, Your Majesty.

But I must admit that the maestro is right when one is a guest.

One cannot enjoy absolute security.

But the Maestro is not a guest.

He receives the stipend like any collaborator.

Like the most valued of collaborators.

Of course, of course. Why are we discussing such things?

Oh, because there are things you mention often and think of constantly.

Why not explain them openly to His Majesty?

Madame von Bulldorf.

One of these days I must meet Madame von Bulow privately.

She will become my ally.

She will tell me how I can set my friend's mind at rest.

Please, please.

Stay. I know the way.

Give me the pleasure of feeling I'm at home here.

I'll see His Majesty out.

I can tell you now what the Maestro needs.

The request he needs to send to Your Majesty in a letter, I believe. So my

husband told me.

The Maestro would like to have at his disposal a sum that would allow him to

settle his old debts and feel confident about the future.

Otherwise, he would prefer to leave Munich.

Oh, no.

No.

He would require 200 ,000 gulden.

100 ,000.

Good.

Part of the amount could be given him in cash and the rest in the form of

interest in monthly payments.

I would have to ask for a loan from the state treasury and it would have to be

approved by Pfistermeister von der Pforten.

I'll send the maestro an answer.

They promise you heaven and earth, swear eternal friendship and love, and then

what?

Now, these are great patrons of art, this half -witted boy.

The latest lunatic in a family of lunatics.

He will give you everything you want.

I know he will.

Oh, my darling.

My darling.

Darling, good to see you.

What part of a country is this?

A nation of policemen?

Fistermeister, use the police to invite my guests, who are unfollowed, spied on

by the police.

And the letters my guests write and receive are brought to me like trophies.

It's outrageous.

It's outrageous!

These are normal precautions, sire.

In this instance, they're all the more excusable.

Since Wagner is a foreigner with a record as a revolutionary.

If Richard Wagner weren't an artist, he would be a saint.

His genius has a moral, purifying quality.

His art enlightens.

It is an antidote to the evils and corruptions of our society.

Richard Wagner's name will go down through centuries.

Because art is truth.

What remains of an artist is not his weaknesses.

which may shock you.

That is work.

Your Majesty is right, of course.

But if I may say so, it would be very dangerous to allow the guardians of law

and order to make exceptions.

Their point of view is different from ours.

For them, Richard Wagner is simply a man who squanders the taxpayers' money.

Madame von Bulow is not a muse, but an adulteress.

And her husband is a contemptible opportunist who pretends not to know

relationship between his wife and Wagner in order to keep his position.

Oh, slander!

Slander, slander!

No, it's the truth, as these letters clearly show.

And your majesty must realize this.

Wagner detractors.

are perhaps insensitive to questions of art, but they are not liars.

Mr. Wagner and the Buloffs are in your Majesty's antechamber.

They would like to be received with the greatest urgency.

Show them in.

His Majesty the King will receive you at once.

Thank you.

Your Majesty advised me to ignore what the newspapers wrote about me.

The criticisms, attacks, insinuations, the daily insults of the local press. I

followed Your Majesty's advice.

I've borne everything and I have remained silent.

I would continue this silence if it concerned only me.

But now it is something that does not only concern me. Your Majesty, an

has appeared in the Volksbote, clearly stating that my wife...

It's a mistress of Richard Wagner.

I've challenged the editor to a duel.

All this is very serious, sir.

Yes, it is.

It is indeed.

But we are all in this plot together.

Maestro von Bülow knows everything about his wife, but pretends not to, for fear

of having to give up the profitable and distinguished position of conducting her

lover's operas.

And I, who also know everything, because my friend Wagner hides nothing from me.

I, his advisor, his friend.

Especially not such an important fact.

which affects not only his private life, but also public opinion.

I, the friend, admirer, and

confidant, naturally want to help my beloved artist.

It's a hateful slander, Your Majesty. It's unforgivable, unforgivable.

Only Your Majesty can help us and wipe it away.

If your majesty were to write a letter to Mr. Von Buloth, a simple letter

expressing esteem and friendship, once that letter was published in the

newspapers.

Loring Green does battle to defend Elsa.

But it's easier to fight a duel than to write a letter.

If it pleases your majesty, I have prepared a draft.

My dear Mr. von Budoff, having had occasion to appreciate fully the noble

generous gifts of your most esteemed wife... All right.

All right.

I'll understand.

I'll copy it and have it delivered tomorrow.

Doesn't your majesty wish me to read the rest?

No, no, no, it's not necessary.

I'm sure it will do very well.

Sorry. My gratitude.

It's no more than my duty.

Wagner knows how highly I value true friendship.

His Majesty the King has instructed me to order you to leave Munich as quickly

as possible.

Here is His Majesty's message.

My dear friend, much as it grieves me, I must ask you to carry out... the

request made by Minister Lutz.

My love for you will endure forever, and I beg you to keep forever your

friendship for me.

I could not act otherwise.

Until death, your faithful Lutz.

Don't say anything.

I can state that His Majesty the King of Barbaria has been afflicted by a

certain mental instability since 1866, on the eve of our unfortunate

participation in the war of that year.

The position taken by our sovereign against the government, which proposed

maintain our alliance with Austria, gave rise to much discontent among the

people.

His Majesty is not here.

His Majesty is waiting, Your Highness.

Come in.

Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Otto is here.

Are they angry?

They're waiting for me.

They think you aren't here.

Let them wait.

We have to go back to Munich tonight.

And then tomorrow... Well, tomorrow I leave for the front again.

Do you mind it very much?

Yes, yes, I mind.

I mind the filth and the smell and the screams of the soldiers in the hospitals

when they operate.

Without chloroform, well, because the supplies have run out.

What do they want me to do this time?

Go back to Munich.

Oh, the king.

Ludwig.

You're losing the war.

Look. The four quarters of the moon.

Remember when we were children and went fishing at night?

Yes.

And you were furious because I caught more than you did.

Because I was the king.

I didn't want this war.

I want everyone to know.

They must realize that.

What's wrong?

Oh, I don't know.

My eyes sting.

It must be because I can't sleep anymore.

When I sleep, I dream that I can't sleep, that I can't close my eyes.

And I lie there, asleep, but it's as if I were awake.

My eyes are wide open, and they sting.

Why don't you stay here with me at Berg?

I can't.

You know that.

I have to go back.

It would be dishonorable towards our allies, too.

They are our relatives, after all.

Our Prussian enemies are our relatives, also.

We do everything in the family.

Fight wars, marry, beget children.

Faithful incestuous, treacherous title.

And we never know why.

Well, you're the king. If you didn't want the war, then you should have

forbidden it.

I did.

I'm doing everything possible to make my field clear.

As far as I'm concerned, the war doesn't exist.

Tell the generals, the king does not know the war exists.

Who is there?

Who is it?

It's me, sire. Folk.

Why aren't you at the castle?

Who gave you permission to come out?

I thought your majesty wouldn't require me, so I... A groom on duty

is forbidden to leave the royal apartment.

Don't you know that?

Yes, your majesty.

Nevertheless.

You came here and you left your post.

I couldn't sleep.

Aren't you afraid the sentries will catch you?

I can hear them coming.

I hide in the bushes.

Can you swim?

A little, sir.

But I never go where I can't touch bottom.

I come from the mountains.

Aren't you cold?

Yes, a little, sir.

Here.

Take this.

of the greatest urgency and importance.

Captain Durkheim asks to be received by His Majesty.

We have been defeated, sire.

We have surrendered.

Did you stop him, Enelotus?

No.

We did not have many casualties.

The enemy outnumbered us, and our troops became demoralized.

Continuing the fight would have led to a useless massacre.

I'm glad it's over.

And that it lasted such a short time.

Seven weeks, Your Majesty.

And they think an eternity to those who live through them.

Do you have any news of my brother Otto?

The prince has come back to Munich.

He is very depressed.

You are very fond of my brother, Anton Durkan.

Yes, I am.

Very fond.

Otto will be your king one day.

Very soon.

Because... I...

His Highness Prince Otto is terribly

unhappy. He's so young.

Yet he seems to have burned his youth away without having lived it.

His ambitions were stifled by disappointments.

And he's filled with sadness and fear.

He lives in a state of lonely anguish.

He never sleeps more than two hours a night.

He never rests.

He has looked for happiness.

And what is impossible?

He wants security.

In what is outside the rules.

Why shouldn't he?

The world around us is intolerably petty.

Men dream only of material security.

And are prepared to give their lives to achieve it.

I want to be free.

Free to seek happiness in the impossible.

But unlike my brother.

I tried to suit my actions to my ideas.

That's why I abandoned the stupid war I was unable to prevent.

I'm not a coward.

I hate to follow thought.

I want to live in truth.

Forgive me, sire.

And allow a very ordinary man to express an opinion.

Your Majesty says you want to live in truth.

But I think what you mean is you want to live as a free man following only your

own tastes and instincts without hypocrisy or lies. Am I right?

A freedom that is the privilege of few.

It has nothing in common with the true, authentic freedom.

That freedom that belongs to all men.

And that each of us has the right to have.

Let's live in a world

Without innocents.

Where no one has the right to go to court.

I'm talking like I have a friend.

The affectionate benevolence that your Majesty has always shown me when we were

both younger, gives me the courage to... to vent.

As can happen between two men.

I'm a soldier who was left alone on the battlefield.

nel momento del pericolo e dell 'amarezza, ma che non prova né disprezzo

rancore per il sovrano che lo ha abbandonato.

Bensì provo una profonda pietà.

Il mio sovrano crede di aver fatto una scelta coraggiosa, ma si sbaglia.

Se crede di poter trovare la felicità fuori delle regole dei doveri dell

Who truly loves life, Your Majesty, cannot allow himself to seek the

But he must play it with infinite prudence.

Even a sovereign.

Even a sovereign, because the great power of which a sovereign has is always

limited...

Nei confini del consorzio umano del quale fa parte egli stesso.

Chi potrà mai seguirlo fuori da quei confini?

Chi?

Non potranno seguirlo certamente gli esseri umili, indifesi, che non hanno

preoccupazione, se non la ricerca di un po' di sicurezza.

Non soltanto materiale, ma anche di carattere morale.

E dei quali vostra maestà parlava con gran disprezzo.

E allora avrà invece al suo seguito chi interpreta questa libertà come ricerca

del piacere fuori da ogni costrizione morale.

No.

Non può volere questo.

Un seguito di servi abbietti, di sfruttatori, di spacciatori di

No, non ci credo.

Vostra maestà non può gradire una simile genia.

that would take advantage of her generosity and would not hesitate to

her.

But is it possible that a young man who has his whole life in front of him has

not tried to find a different reason for his own existence?

Even if it is an extremely difficult reason, because it is the reason of life

simple beings who accept mediocrity.

Certo, ci vuole molto coraggio ad accettare la mediocrità a chi

ideali sublimi che non sono di questo mondo. Lo so benissimo.

Ma è l 'unica vera speranza di salvarsi da una solitudine che può anche essere

immonda.

I must speak to my mother.

But Her Majesty is still asleep.

Wake her.

Go on.

Go.

Quickly.

Her

Majesty,

the Queen is awaiting Your Majesty.

I beg your pardon for waking you up at this hour.

But there was something I had to tell you.

Immediately.

I've decided to marry.

Who? I was sure this would be good news for you.

Aren't you even going to ask me who the woman of my choice is?

I was waiting for your majesty to inform me.

I have complete faith in your Majesty's judgment.

I want you to go at once to Potsdam Hall and ask Duchess

Ludovica for the hand of Princess Sophie.

Sophie will be the ideal wife for you.

I've sent word to Father Hoffmann asking him to come here.

Please, receive him at once.

And I want you to communicate my decision to him.

And I want him to accompany you to Possenhofen, since Princess Sophie is a

Catholic.

Lucy, Lucy... Goodbye, madam.

dressing gown. Quickly.

Quickly.

Quickly.

Tell them that as soon as Father Hoffman arrives, he's to be shown into my room.

Yes.

But Father Hoffman is here.

Yes, Helen.

Have you seen my son?

Oh, yes, just now, as I was leaving.

But he didn't say a word to me. He seemed very... Happy.

He is beside himself with joy.

Ludwig is going to marry.

He wished me to tell you.

And he wants you to come with me to ask for the girl's hand.

Now, this is correct, because the princess is Catholic, and the request of

Protestant mother would not be enough.

He means to marry?

Princess Sophie.

The sister of Elizabeth.

Isn't this wonderful news?

Ah, padre, mi sembra di uscire da un incubo.

That you haven't done anything to dissipate, to tell the truth.

Please, sit down.

Thank you.

Of course, it could be a great consolation.

I hope that His Majesty has found a balance.

Stabile.

Sono... Sono molti i giovani che stentano a trovare un equilibrio con se

stessi.

Un 'armonia dello spirito. E l 'ha trovato.

Quel che conta è che l 'ha trovato il dispor.

Mi stupisce che Sua Maestà non mi abbia mai parlato di questa sua intenzione.

Dicevo che mi auguro...

That he has considered well the step he is about to take.

Because this is a choice not only for himself, but

also for the companion who, with the blessing of the Lord... Enough, Padre.

The important thing is that the two get married and that the marriage happens as

soon as possible.

E quello che tutti speravamo.

Non è vero?

Certo, è una grande consolazione per tutti noi.

E per il popolo.

Piuttosto, ci vorrà la dispensa papale, dati gli stretti legami di parentela che

uniscono i fidanzati.

Certo, certo.

Ma non ci saranno difficoltà. Non credo proprio.

Anche i genitori erano cugini.

Infatti.

Infatti si attribuisce a questo, se nella casa di Wittelsbach e in quella

Owen Soller ci sono stati casi molto dolorosi, di anomalie.

Ma quanto mi risulta, la giovane Sophie gode perfetta salute e Sua Maestà il Re

non ci ha mai dato occasione di preoccupazione.

Sarà bene segnalare certe timidezze di Sua Maestà, certe sue ritrosie, perché

Sophie possa essergli di aiuto, essere comprensiva.

Come le sue sorelle?

Sofia imparerà presto che a una donna del suo rango non spettano soltanto i

diritti e i privilegi, ma anche i doveri, moltissimi doveri.

Sophie, are you happy?

Who said that?

Sophie is really very beautiful.

Yes.

The family reunions, Durkan, are very, very tiring.

All my best wishes.

I... I'm very, very pleased.

Thank you, Otto.

Bravo, Otto.

You're always so sweet.

Elizabeth. Sophie.

Nene. Mathilde.

Marie. Elizabeth.

My dear child.

Maman.

I'm very pleased, too.

Congratulations, mon beau frère.

My dear, dear Otto.

You're always so sweet.

Everyone is pleased.

And the station looked wonderful, all decked with flags.

You didn't believe I would come.

I didn't think I would either. Everything is always so complicated.

I've been told, madame, that a great deal of work will be done here in the

residence. So the old residence will become new too. Who will see to it all?

Sophie, assert yourself.

But Sophie isn't like me.

I can only say whether I like something or whether I dislike it.

I really must drink something hot. Excuse me.

Thank you.

I'll do it.

Forgive me, but I'm terribly thirsty.

We're not going to live in the residence.

You aren't?

I mean only for a short while.

As little as possible.

Until the new house is ready.

What is all of that?

It's something I've been thinking about for a long time.

I would like to build a castle.

You remember the Grazwangtal?

The Bafo Baumgau?

And that and other place.

I like almost as much.

Perhaps even more.

Herdenkiemsee.

I haven't decided yet.

We could go there together tomorrow.

On horseback.

You remember Bad Ischel?

It's not a time right.

Not at all.

And you could give me your advice.

Tomorrow I will not be here, unfortunately.

I'm going on to Zurich.

I want to stop to see Sophie and to give both of you Francis congratulations.

And my own, of course.

in vista del matrimonio, sua maestadie, dei via e i lavori per la costruzione di

quei suoi maledetti castelli.

Io mi presi l 'incarico di far affrontare al sovrano quelle certe

cui si diceva egli fosse allora completamente digiuno.

No.

È stato tutto così complicato.

Mi hanno...

Mi hanno detto tante cose di voi, mi hanno fatto un 'infinità di

raccomandazioni.

Chi?

Dopo che vostra maestà ha mandato il suo aiutante di campo in teatro per

invitarmi a cena, mi sono trovata di colpo al centro di un grosso affare di

stato.

Carrozza chiusa, tendine abbassate.

Mi hanno portato in un posto pieno di uffici.

E allora?

Volete saperlo? Siete curioso?

Grazie.

C 'erano dei signori.

Credo che uno venisse da parte dell 'arcivescovo.

Davvero indiscreto.

E un altro invece da parte di sua maestà la regina madre.

Oh mio Dio, maestà, è tutto sempre così complicato quando ad un re viene la

voglia di fare l 'amore.

Per noi attori è molto più semplice, basta un 'occhiata, un gesto così.

They told me this, too.

That you're very shy.

And then they asked me all sorts of questions.

Even about my health.

They did?

It was indecent.

Really.

And they want me to be discreet.

Except with them, of course.

They want to know what happened.

Will you tell them?

With your Majesty's permission, I'd love to lie to them.

They're too curious.

Too nosy.

We could make love.

And say we didn't. Or we could not make

love.

And say we did.

Yes, we mustn't disappoint their curiosity.

You must tell them things that will horrify them.

That you beat me, for example.

Will they believe you?

Your Majesty, I'm a great actress.

The funny thing is that you will go to them anyway and tell

them everything that hasn't happened between us. No, no.

That's what they'll pay you for. No.

And that's what you'll do. No, no, no, your majesty, no. Yes. No, no, no.

I'm certain.

And why shouldn't you?

After all, if you don't today, others will tomorrow.

You think I don't know what's going on around me?

I'm surrounded by people who observe everything I do.

Not to protect me, but to ruin me.

I don't understand how they will achieve their aim.

But I know this is their aim.

All I can do is watch.

Fascinated.

While they move silent and cautious.

It's as if I were watching them.

Set up their gallows from which they'll hang.

No. No.

Your Majesty, it's not true.

Please, Your Majesty. Go now.

And make them pay you.

Make them pay you handsomely.

Go, madam.

prostitute. Your Majesty!

Please! Help me!

Help me! Help me! Help me, please!

Please! Please!

Your Majesty!

Help Madame Bulyovsky out and send her home.

These are the jewels that the Queen of Bavaria has been carrying for 700 years.

But I will give you a more beautiful gift.

It's a secret, no one should know it.

I will introduce you to Richard Wagner.

Our engagement is more exhausting than a military campaign.

It's a real torment, which Sophie undergoes without making any complaints.

She's the perfect fiancée.

And she loves your music very much.

You know what she's afraid of at this moment, my dear friend?

She's afraid I will ask her to sing for you.

She's afraid of your criticism, not only as a singer, but also as a fiancée.

She has the notion that by asking you to meet her, I was submitting her for your

approval.

When will you come back?

Soon, sire, soon.

And not at night in secret. I shall return with my wife and my new opera for

new theater.

It will repay me for so much bitterness.

So much loneliness.

Sophie, sweet.

She's pretty and docile.

For the first time, I've seen true love for your majesty in someone's eyes.

I have decided to postpone the wedding.

A month.

That's two.

I wish the wedding day were past.

I can already hear the crowds yelling.

Banquets. The ceremonies.

Here in the church.

It's a nightmare.

I keep them awake at night.

My aunts.

My uncles.

My cousins from all over Europe.

Kisses. Handshakes.

Congratulations.

Embrace it.

You can open your heart to me, sire. My affection for you is just the same as

the first day you called me to Munich.

Rescuing me from poverty and welcoming me with open arms. I have not forgotten

that. I came here at once now because I realized your majesty needed me.

Forget all the things that have happened.

One can betray friends, even lie to them.

but still love them.

Be magnanimous. Try to forgive.

I know that no one will give you the advice I could because whatever I say

from a very deep, very sincere feeling.

What is depressing you, my friend?

I understand many things, but I cannot help if you don't ask me to.

Bye.

Adieu.

My name is Richard Hornig.

I have been in his majesty's service for ten years.

I entered the king's household very suddenly.

Then his majesty, in one of his moments of anger, chased his footman folk away,

and I was ordered to take his place.

In all my years of serving the king, I have never betrayed his trust, and I

no intention of doing so today.

Besides,

Nothing in the king's behavior differs from what everyone used to consider

behavior worthy of a sovereign's dignity.

with him.

Take this.

Can you hoist this flag?

Yes, your majesty.

Good. Very good.

I used to do this in the army, your majesty.

This is the first time I've seen you.

I've only been in service a few days, Your Majesty.

What did you do before?

Worked on a farm, sir.

Taking care of the horse.

Light the fire.

Advance, Your Majesty.

Take off your gloves.

What are you waiting for?

Has your majesty any orders for me?

You can sleep here tonight, if you want.

Yes, your majesty.

Elsa?

What Elsa are you talking about?

Who is this Elsa?

I'm Elsa.

Ludwig doesn't even like my name.

He has never called me Sophie.

It's been Elsa from the very beginning.

Like the heroine of Lohenthal.

But all lovers change the names of their fiancées.

Lovers.

We've always known that Ludwig is a bit eccentric.

Yes, I know.

But I am in love with him.

And it makes me suffer when he leaves me all alone at the ball they gave in

Arana. Never asking me to go out with him.

Coming to see me less and less often.

So, I spend all day shut up in the house for fear of missing one of his visits.

Then, when he does come... He hardly speaks to me.

Sometimes he comes and spends the night outside the gate and leaves a bunch of

flowers for me without a note or anything, as if you were putting them on

a grave.

And I do feel dead, dead and buried.

I felt dead when he insisted on introducing me to Mother.

Everyone looks at me with pity, just... Betty.

But it's your fault too.

Why do you stay shut up in the house?

Waiting till he condescends to visit you? Go out!

Go on with your normal life.

Go to the theater if you feel like it.

Travel and enjoy yourself.

Show him that you are an independent person with many interests of your own.

That will attract him. Make him want you!

He doesn't want me.

He doesn't care a thing about me.

And you know that very well.

Why? Why didn't you tell me he was in love with you? No!

No.

What makes you say such things? It's not true! It's not true! It is true.

People have told me, but I had already realized it by myself.

Too late, unfortunately.

And if you want to know the truth, they told me that you too.

Who? Who told you that? Oh, don't cry, you silly child!

Don't believe the nonsense people tell you.

I'm not the one you must fear. Not I, nor any other woman.

The danger with Ludwig, if anything, it happens to

many young men, didn't you know that?

To all, I think, when they're so young and so sensitive.

Most of the time they get over these things with help.

I'm very fond of Ludwig.

Perhaps because we are very much alike, not only physically.

He has many faults, many qualities.

He's very vulnerable.

You can't save him, Sophie, you must.

But you have to be very strong.

Be close to him.

Don't allow any further delays of the wedding.

If he doesn't speak, then you must speak.

If he neglects you, then give him the impression that you neglected him first.

I shall tell our father he must write Ludwig and set the date immediately.

No more postponements.

I do not want to marry Sophie.

It's too late.

No, it's not too late.

And it wouldn't be the first time an engagement was broken.

A king cannot give scandal, cannot expose himself to horrible

and justified criticism.

They will be merciless.

And this is the reason why I should be merciless towards Sophie?

The Lord will be merciful to her.

Leave it to him.

I am deceiving her.

You knew that from the beginning.

She isn't marrying me out of sheer ambition.

I hadn't realized that... If Sophie loves you, you can only rejoice. She

me now.

But she will come to hate me.

And I will hate her!

entitles you to such presumption. How can you claim to know what the Lord has

store for you?

You are asked only to marry her and to have children.

Listen to me, Ludwig.

When the devil sends temptations, they must be turned back against him.

They must be used to honor God.

In the darkness of Rome, aided by the image of sin itself, you will

realize that the warmth of one body is the same as another's.

Father, you are teaching me something new.

Your people want you to be one of themselves.

More powerful,

more privileged, touched by divine providence, but still one of them.

If you insist on being different, they will never forgive you, never.

Wagner was driven from Munich because he is a genius.

That was what made him a foreigner.

He was different.

Ludwig.

You are one of the Lord's favorite because you are more exposed to sin

than others. And so you can prove more than the others can your

love of God.

I know from your own lips that until now you have always had the strength to

resist temptation, to reject sin.

Yes I want

you to tell me if this is still true Yes

I ask you this as if in the holy sacrament of confession.

Yes.

Oso dire che la rottura del fidanzamento con la principessa Sophie segnò l

'inizio delle nostre disgrazie.

Il nostro sovrano, da quel giorno in pauso, non si interessò più degli affari

Stato.

Con tutto quello che succedeva nel mondo, Sua Maestà non sembrava pensare

altro che alla costruzione di tutti quei castelli che nessuno avrebbe mai

abitato.

By our misfortune, Prince Otto was getting worse day by day, and the Queen

Mother sought extreme comfort in the Catholic religion.

Amen.

Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen.

Il nostro cuore pieno di letizia, maestà.

Che dolore per una madre, non ha voluto essere accarezzato.

Anche a nome del nostro padre provinciale desidero esprimere il nostro

compiacimento per la presenza a questa cerimonia di vostra altezza, almeno in

parte ci compensa dell 'assenza di sua maestà Igri e della profonda amarezza

provoca nel nostro animo il vederlo vivere.

Sempre più appartato.

In questi ultimi tempi mi sono regato più volte a cercarlo per chiedere

della sua salute.

Molto spesso, Sua Maestà, si è rifiutato di ricevermi.

Raccomando, Sua Maestà, le vostre preghiere.

Non dimentico mai, nelle mie preghiere, il nostro amato Soverano.

But I must confess that it causes me great embarrassment.

And it causes me deep dismay to explain to his Catholic subjects what his

thought is.

We are, unfortunately, at the eve of a war that, in the best of hypotheses,

will be resolved with the triumph in Europe of the Prussian power. And we

like to be able to say that the course of these painful earthly events, to

which, you know, gentlemen,

Noi siamo completamente strani.

Ci spinge soltanto a cercare di rinforzare sempre di più i sacri vincoli

legano alla madre chiesa e al sommo pontifice.

Ma il nostro sovrano non ci aiuta in questo.

Se Dio, nella sua infinita misericordia, mi ha accolto oggi umile serva, sono

sicura che ci aiuterà.

Io ho fede.

It's useless for you to wait, Father.

His Majesty will not receive you.

Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother sent me here.

Prince Otto is very ill.

His Majesty is ill, too.

His teeth are troubling him.

No, believe me, Father. It's a waste of time waiting.

Count Hornstein is with His Majesty now. He arrived early this morning.

He'd come from Versailles, where His Majesty sent him on an important

He had to wait six hours.

Forgive me.

Tell His Majesty I was here.

And tell him the reason.

When did you arrive?

At 8 this morning.

And from that moment I was out there waiting.

As your Majesty knows very well.

But I'm sick.

And chloroform is the only thing that can make me sleep a little.

Does the smell bother you?

No, no, it's nothing.

Do you want us to open the window?

It's so cold.

Sit down.

Thank you.

What is this?

Who wrote it?

I don't understand.

It's the letter you should write immediately to the King of Prussia.

I ought not to say this, but the Chancellor himself dictated it to me.

I'm expected to write it.

To copy it and find it.

Then I will deliver it as quickly as possible.

What? What?

I am to ask Wilhelm to do me the favor of accepting my kingdom

as a gift?

No.

You're asking the future emperor of the great new Germany.

To admit Bavaria as part of the Federation of Allied States.

This is not an alliance.

It means handing the country over to them.

Becoming slaves.

Worse than slaves.

We should be putting ourselves in the most humiliating position imaginable.

Now. Now. I can do anything.

That's not fair. Slavery?

Humiliation?

I don't understand.

People become slaves when they are defeated, taken prisoner.

Defeat is humiliation.

The inevitable fate of Bavaria if the country doesn't join the alliance.

With one knee, the great new Germany could blow the kingdom of Bavaria off

map.

We must face facts, sire.

If Mark's advice is sound, it would have been wiser if you had written the

letter even before.

Your uncle, King Wilhelm, would certainly have valued it more.

But write it now, before he is proclaimed emperor in spite of us. This

psychological moment.

And there would be financial advantages, too.

Yes.

Bismarck led me to believe that you can count on that.

No.

Not now, at least.

I won't.

I couldn't.

I can't!

No, I can't! I can't, I can't!

I can't.

No, I can't.

It's almost five o 'clock.

If I can leave Munich by nine, we all know that there is no other solution.

We can at least spare ourselves the effort of talking about it.

If it's true that there's no other solution, if my

government feels that there is no other solution, let the government take this

step.

If I were to tell Your Majesty what the government would like to do at this

moment, Your Majesty would not hesitate to write this letter.

But I won't use such methods.

All I say is this.

Your Majesty needs a personal alliance.

An alliance among people of the same blood, the same nobility.

An alliance that will bring many...

advantages, some of them immediately.

Oh, God.

Let go of him.

What's your majesty?

Don't you recognize me?

It's me, Ludwig.

Happy birthday, my dear.

Happy Christmas.

Happy everything.

This is my present for you and for him.

No one has ever had such a beautiful present.

Our best wishes, Madame Wagner.

Best wishes from all of us.

from the whole world.

Play it once more.

Bye.

At the end of this difficult inquiry, and for an in -depth analysis of the

issues we must resolve, I suggest to the honorable colleagues to visit all the

castles of His Majesty, of which only the castle of Linderhof has been

habitually inhabited by him.

I also want to remember that Wagner, from a piece away from Bavaria, was

recording on our boxes his Bayreuth Theater.

He had no money, but he made no efforts to economize.

On the contrary, he went on spending, giving money away, large sums for a

valet with a handsome face or a slim figure.

Or an actor whose voice had caught his fancy.

A glooming peace this morning with it brings.

The sun for sorrow will not show his head.

Go hence to have more talk of these sad things.

Some shall be pardoned and some punished. For never was a

story of more woe than this of Juliet.

and her Romeo.

I have

a

message for you from His Majesty.

And this.

His Majesty the King had instructed me to wait upon the young actor, Kainz,

bringing him a gift and an invitation to spend three days at Linderhof Castle.

Thank you.

Allow me to give you a piece of advice, Herr Kain, for your own good.

You see, the king expected to meet Romeo, not Herr Joseph Kain.

It was Romeo he invited to Lindholm.

If you can manage to be Romeo, or Didier, one of your heroes, in other

then you are sure to be a success.

Kneel before each of these cross and shed hot tears.

repenting the crime you have committed.

If you can then pass happily through the horrors and dangers of the road, if the

mountain does not rain avalanches down on you from its icy peaks,

you will reach a bridge covered with spray as light as dust.

If the bridge does not break,

Beneath the weight of your sins, if you leave it behind you,

you will see a black opening yawn in the cliff before

you.

Thane has never penetrated there.

Pass, then, through that black gap.

And it will lead you to a radiant, smiling valley.

But you must move through it quickly, since you are not allowed to linger

peace reigns.

Oh, Rudolf.

My royal ancestor.

This is how.

Your descendant must enter the territory of your empire.

And thus, as you climb, you will reach the heights of the Gotha,

where the eternal lakes are, filled with waters

that flow from heaven.

There, you will bid farewell to German soil.

Another river will lead you in its rapid course to Italy, your promised land.

I'll take you to the very places where your characters suffered

and lived.

We'll follow William Taylor's footsteps through the land.

And then...

and then to Italy.

Be silent.

I could have...

Ah,

be silent.

I, too, for my misfortune, could have involved a woman.

But if he who addressed me was an honest man,

Full of an idiot's sense of honor.

If, by chance, I had happened to meet a heart still full of illusions.

Rather than not say to that honest man, I am thus.

Rather than receive him joyously.

Rather than not warn him myself that my chaste, pure eye was mere falsehood.

Rather than be so false.

treacherous, debased. I would have preferred to make my grave with my own

fingernails.

Go on.

You would laugh heartily.

If you could see yourself as my heart, that strange mirror for

you. You were right to break it, my

lady.

You were there, innocent, pure,

chaste.

Oh, woman.

What wrong was ever done you by this man of sweet and profound heart

who loved you for so long on his knees

before you?

You'll become my great friend.

I'll make you the thought of my theater.

You'll play the greatest dramas of all the world, of all time.

All the other actors will be Enweth and Sheoloth.

You must expect that.

But you must be feared.

You will be under the king's protection.

The king will protect you and will spare you suffering and worry.

But you...

You must be loyal to me.

I want only your loyalty.

Everyone hated Wagner, too.

I forced him on the whole world.

But Wagner betrayed my trust.

I was that man with a heart still full of illusion.

And ever since, I've been searching for a true friend.

We shall leave very soon.

We shall always travel.

If they will not allow me.

Who could prevent you from doing anything?

You are the king and the master.

To be king is not always easy.

Then why not abdicate?

You must never address me that way again.

Never! Never.

I'm very tired, Your Majesty.

May I retire and sleep for a few hours?

Sleep?

This lay is ready.

Come, I'll show you my true realm. My mountains under the sun's first rays.

A world of our own.

Pure and uncontaminated.

Think of your soul, Didier.

Not of your body.

The mountain tops thunder.

The little bridge trembles.

But the hunter fears not the dizzying path.

Boldly he strides over the icy peaks.

Where spring never shines.

Where no bough is green.

You stop.

That is the poem I wanted to hear from you.

The south wind has risen.

Come, recite.

No.

I can't.

I don't feel up to it.

I hate being a buffoon, acting by command.

I am an artist.

Please, just this once.

I beg you.

No, I cannot.

I order you, I cannot!

It's beyond me. I'm worn out.

We have been traveling for a week. I feel as if I haven't slept the whole

My memory fails me.

If you're tired, then rest.

Mr. Kynes declared that the letters written to him by His Majesty

the King almost daily during the brief period of

their friendship were stolen from him.

Mr. Kynes is a liar. Mr.

Kynes sold and at a high price the King's letters, just as he sold a number

presents he had received from His Majesty.

He sold the letters in Switzerland to an agent of mine.

These letters are in my possession. I believe these letters are the most

undeniable evidence that His Majesty the King is not in possession

of his mental faculties.

I bore everything I could as a loyal servant of the kingdom and the state.

from a despot who knew no restraint in satisfying his whims.

Reluctantly, I sent funds to Wagner in Bayreuth.

I watched Linderhof being built and clenching my teeth, the castle of

Neuschwanstein.

But in the autumn of 1877, when I realized that His Majesty had firmly

determined to start building Herrn Chiemsee,

and that he had done everything behind my back.

Then I resigned.

Why is that black veil on the piano?

I heard him say it.

The king ordered to veil him in mourning when Wagner died.

But time has passed.

I can't, I can't see her.

I can't receive her, go!

You tell her I'm in.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I'll come to visit her as soon as I'm better.

I'm actually not sure Einstein is at her disposal.

If she cares to stay, as long as she likes.

I cannot see her.

Annunciatemi a sua maestà. Sua maestà sta male e non può ricevere.

Sua maestà dice che il castello ha disposizione di vostra maestà imperiale

tutto il tempo che vorrà.

Rientriamo a Pozzanopoli.

Elizabeth.

Elizabeth.

And then he began to cry.

He had sent us out of the room, but we could still hear him.

He was crying and shouting, Elizabeth, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth.

Elizabeth.

Thank you.

That's a look at it.

Thank you.

Amen.

A chi avete dato l 'incarico di condurre questa inchiesta?

Al conte von Holstein, altezza.

Il conte ha sempre vissuto molto vicino a sua maestà, per cui il suo consiglio è

di grande aiuto per noi.

Ho sempre difidato dei favoriti, e gli ex favoriti devono essere guardati con

sospetto ancora maggiore.

Che parte ha il colonnello Durkheim in tutto questo?

He was always close to Ludwig, since he was young.

Your Highness, we thought it would be good to keep this painful situation as

secret as possible, for the precautions to be taken in case our king is declared

incapable of governing.

As Your Highness will know, despite the eccentricities and scandalous expenses

made by the king in these years for his deserted castles, Ludwig is still very

loved by the people.

For more, there are those who are interested in keeping a king on the

does not rule.

Do you want to tell me that among these people there is also Colonel Durkheim?

Oh, no, no.

We have the highest esteem of Colonel Durkheim.

And I, no less than you.

So you will not be sorry, gentlemen, if I want to hear your opinion about it.

And I think it would be more correct for you to hear it in your presence.

Call Colonel Durkheim.

The Council of Ministers, represented by Count Torring, that you see here,

offers me the regency of Bavaria, in case it is necessary to have our

Ludwig abdicated, according to what they tell me, it gives clear signs of mental

illness.

Naturally, I would only accept it if a medical referral confirmed this need.

I have the highest opinion of your impartiality, Colonel.

I know that, on many occasions,

Lei ha dato prova di grande attaccamento al sovrano.

Perciò vorrei sapere qual è il suo pensiero.

Io... Io sono il primo ad ammettere che Sua Maestà in questi ultimi anni

si è dimostrato sempre meno interessato agli affari di Stato.

Si è rifugiato in una sorta di solitudine inquietante.

Ma... Ma siamo sicuri che la sua mancanza di interesse

non sia soltanto apparenza.

E quelle eccentricità non vorranno essere un modo di mostrare a se stesso e

mondo intero quale libertà egli ha il diritto di concedersi.

Domando scusa, Altezza, ma la mia opinione è questa.

La vita privata del re è eccentrica nella misura in cui il suo governo ha

che fosse.

Before he put his crazy expenses for the castles, these were regularly approved

by the treasury.

Someone must have wanted to keep his majesty the king and occupied, let's

in his madness.

Someone who in these last years has been very close to the sovereign and who has

had a dangerous influence on him. Well, he was put there by the government.

Forgive me, Your Highness, but Colonel Durkheim has the nerve to accuse our

government of plotting against the Sovereign.

You were the one who said that, not me.

I have the duty to answer sincerely to the question that Your Highness has

me.

I am well aware of the severity of what I have declared, but it confirms the

fact that...

That certain tragic measures have been taken into consideration before trying

help the unhappy.

If I may say so.

Our sovereign is going through a crisis. A crisis that lasts for how many years,

Colonel Durkheim?

For how many years?

Let's keep to the facts.

It's clear that the government has tried to be generous because it wants to

avoid a scandal before...

Prima che sia troppo tardi. Se ci sarà uno scandalo, noi stiamo soltanto

conducendo una curata indagine.

Il colonnello Durkheim sarà interrogato e ripeterà le opinioni che ci ha

espresso privatamente.

E ci saranno magari altri, che come lui, pensano che le

responsabilità del governo siano molto più gravi di quelle del sovrano.

In questo caso, caro Pfistermeister, non ci resterà che dimetterci e correre da

un medico.

Perché se si dimostrerà che il re è perfettamente sano di mente, vorrà dire

i pazzi siamo noi.

I am Professor Bernhard von Guten, director of the Psychiatric Institute of

Munich.

After the investigation of the mental condition of His Majesty the King,

This commission has reached the following conclusions.

His Majesty is in an advanced stage of a mental illness, familiar to

all expert alienists, paranoia.

Since this illness impedes the exercise of free will, it does not allow the

sovereign to concern himself with the government of his realm.

This impediment will last for the rest of his life.

Mr. Holzer?

Gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen, listen to me.

If that groom manages to warn the king, our mission could be compromised.

We cannot wait until tomorrow. We must act now.

How far is it from Hohenschwangau to

Neuschwanstein? It's right there. You need only 15 minutes by carriage, even

with this rain.

Gentlemen, we must go at once.

Remember, every minute is precious.

Let's go.

They've come to arrest the king.

They came from Munich.

It's a plot.

I managed to escape.

They don't know I'm here.

They who?

The man came in three carriages.

Tomorrow, maybe even tonight, they're going to come up here.

Your Majesty's orders are to be disregarded.

That's what Count von Holstein said.

From Holstein?

Here in Deutschland?

I don't know, Your Majesty.

Yes, Your Majesty.

And who else?

I recognize Cabinet Minister Gralsheim, Professor Gutten,

and Professor Schwer.

with my own hands.

We must accompany the king to Schloss Bern.

What do you want?

His Majesty has been deposed by the Council of State, and His Royal

Prince Ludpol, has assumed the regency.

Tell the soldiers to put down their arms and have the gates open.

We have orders from the king to open fire on anyone who attempts to approach.

I have with me an official document which declares the king insane.

I'm authorized to read it to you.

You're my

be necessary we climb up there.

I can defend myself better.

Watch out if they try to seize me.

Anything rather than what they have in mind.

To keep me alive by killing me like my brother?

No. I will not allow them to do it.

Quickly, get me the key.

The key.

We don't have it, Si.

Find it!

Find it at once!

Go!

Go!

Colonel Durkheim!

that delegation of conspirators arrested.

I approve your Majesty's action.

But the Council of State has made that declaration.

The people must be roused up against it.

We will accompany Your Majesty at once to Munich.

I believe we can count on the army.

Your Majesty will speak to the soldiers and officers stationed at... Your

Majesty, we're having a moment to lose.

We must reach Munich.

Munich?

Munich.

Not even a team of elephants could drag me to that city I hate.

Sorry.

That's the only hope of saving the situation.

Unless Your Majesty prefers to leave the country.

We could try to cross into the Tyrol, over the border.

But afterwards, it would be very difficult to be called back.

The army, the people, ask nothing better, I believe, than to rush to your

Majesty's support.

But this help must be asked to them.

They must be won over, and only your Majesty's presence... No.

No.

No!

I don't know.

Does Your Majesty prefer trying to leave the country?

I am ready to help.

I don't feel like traveling.

And besides, what would I do in the terror?

Make them leave me alone!

I've always done everything I could to be useful to your majesty.

In the past I failed.

I fail today.

You can be very useful to me.

Very.

Some poison.

Get me some poison.

You only have to go to the pharmacy at Kent.

But go.

Go at once.

Your Majesty.

I came here to save you.

Not to help you die.

King's order.

By order of the king, these gentlemen must remain under close purveyor.

And not to leave these rooms under any condition.

And they have to receive neither food nor drink. Nothing.

I think there is no hope for us.

And Munich is far.

We are all in a trap.

I order you to send this message to the Prime Minister.

Extreme speed is necessary. We are in mortal peril.

The King has ordered us to be put to death.

We need help as soon as possible.

I want to know if you have informed the supreme command of the liberty taken

in... Colonel Dierkheim, I hope you are aware of the grave responsibility you

have assumed.

It will have irreparable consequences for you.

Without examining our instructions, you have allowed Baron Kreilheim, the

Minister of Foreign Affairs, count Pering the... By his matchless orders,

are all free.

Act cautiously. His Majesty must be

protected against himself.

Do you believe in the immortality of the soul, Eva?

Yes, your majesty.

Yes, I do.

But...

So

do I.

I believe in the mortality of the soul and the justice of God.

I've read many things about materialism.

It will not satisfy a man.

He will not be reduced to the level of an animal.

drowning is a fine death.

There is no mutilation.

I will write a letter.

If this watch should return the reward treasury, because

of my death, they should refund 25 ,000

quid.

Your Majesty, I have the key.

The key to the tower.

I... I...

I

mischarged you.

Your Majesty, I have never had to perform such an unpleasant duty.

For Eldinists have expressed their opinion on Your Majesty's health as a

of their decision.

His Highness Prince Luitpold has assumed the regency.

I have been ordered to take Your Majesty to Schloss Berg this very night.

And my son is just now.

It has begun raining again.

It will never stop.

Never.

Your Majesty should eat something now.

And what should I eat, in your opinion?

Everything.

You can eat everything you want, Your Majesty.

No knives.

What a strange way to appear clear.

Only a fork.

To desire.

Should I start with the dessert?

I'm not hungry.

Now I want to sleep.

Of course, master.

Wake me up at midnight.

I'll take a walk first, and then... then I'll eat.

Your Majesty will have to follow more regular times from now on.

Of course.

Sleep at night, eat at the scheduled hours, and when you go out, we'll see

later. Soon I'll be the one to ask for permission, Your Majesty.

Very soon.

I would like to rest now and to be left alone, if it's possible.

Of course, Your Majesty.

He has behaved with truly real courtesy and with perfect discipline.

No sign of restlessness.

His answers are always to the point.

In all sincerity, I do not feel I can refuse his majesty the one concession

he keeps asking for.

Permission to go out and stroll in the park.

It's not raining now, but...

Look at those clouds. It's going to rain again in a minute.

Apart from any other consideration, I shouldn't think it would be hard for a

physician to advise against a walk in the rain.

His Majesty has a very strong constitution.

Naturally, I shall advise him to wait until the weather improves.

But if he insists, I'm prepared to go with him myself rather than refuse him

again. Yes, I'll accompany him myself.

You've been seduced, Professor Gooden.

Be careful.

...of the moon... ...is a maternal cult.

That of the sun, of the day... ...is a virile myth, therefore paternal.

And yet the mystery... ...the grandeur of the night... ...has always been for

me... ...the sublime kingdom of heroes.

And so also...

Poor Dr. Gordon.

Forced to study me from morning to night, from night to morning.

But I am an enigma.

I want to remain an enigma.

Forever.

To others.

And also to myself.

Thank you.

They were

alone.

Professor Gooden did not want the nurses to accompany him. His state of mind

seemed very calm today. But it's madness, it's from the unconscious.

Dr. Müller, I have to teach you that the madmen are also sly.

Go quickly, and as soon

as you find them, send someone to warn them. Go, quickly!

Count von Holstein.

Why a Munich at once say the king has disappeared.

I'm going to look into I Find them

I'll fire a shot in the air to let you know

The king committed suicide.

In order to do that, you had to kill Dr. Gooden.

Bring the body to the castle, immediately.