Original subtitles

LUDWIG II

CoIour by TechnicoIor

13th June 1 886

Ludwig!

I'm coming.

Your Majesty, what's wrong? - I fear Her Majesty is unweII.

We shouId return to Vienna.

I dreamed something terribIe. - What did you see?

Ludwig came overthe Iake. He strode over the waves, his coat fIapping.

The Georgi knight? - He kept caIIing my name.

I wanted to answer and grab him, but I couIdn't. It was as though

we were separated by gIass, and then...

before my eyes, he sank into the depths.

They're coming! Louis and KarI Theodor are carrying him.

Where's Ludwig? Where is the King?

King Ludwig of Bavaria is dead.

No!

No...

He and and Dr Gudden... ...drowned in Lake Starnberg.

It was aII so sudden! - Dr Gudden murdered him.

Bismarck did it. - No one murdered him.

He was just too good for these times.

Why are they pIaying Beethoven, and not Wagner, whom he so admired?

He'd become Iike Wagner, his deranged music...

It was aII so sudden. - How couId they Iet it happen?

You're right. I've aIways said:

God's wrath shaII faII upon us aII.

How oId is the King? 20? - 20 or 25, he won't marry you!

But girIs, you're not aIIowed to cIimb through the King's chamber window!

He's coming!

The Minister requests that Your Majesty

conduct himseIf with utmost caution in the coming

discussion with the Austrian emperor.

The Minister recommends using onIy such words and phrases

which couId remain open to Iater interpretation by the Ministers.

Herr von Pfistermeister, I wiII say exactIy what I think.

Very good, Your Highness. - Thank you.

WiII we see the Empress now?

Yes, Their Majesties are at the spa. - Yes.

The Empress bit me here once, when we were chiIdren.

I wiII make sure that it doesn't happen again.

God, what a wiId girI Sissi was! Back then, when she

wanted to jump from the Isar Bridge on her horse!

You remember? You were there too. - No. - No?

And I toId her: ''Sissi, when we marry,

you may onIy ride upon a donkey.''

It's good that you didn't marry her.

No further, pIease.

ExceIIent, absoIuteIy exceIIent!

Thank you.

Here comes Ludwig.

Since you didn't come to my inn, I'm coming to your spring.

I hope it agrees with you, Franz. It's deviIish stuff.

Good day. I'm gIad that you came.

Good day, Sissi.

What a beautifuI day it is! - Yes. TruIy magnificent.

HeIIo, Your Majesty. HeIIo, Sophie. - Forgive me.

For what? Oh, of course you may address your cousin informaIIy.

Or shouId we drink a toast first? - But not with that!

I've had breakfast set out in the haII,

so that Franz can drink a gIass of champagne as a cure.

ShaII we?

You must say something. Otherwise they'II think we've argued.

But I can't say anything, Sissi. - Have I changed so much?

I aIways thought that when we met again...

We're not meeting again. I'm seeing you for the first time.

Sophie asked if we'd Iike to take a carriage trip this afternoon.

Oh yes, if you'd Iike. LoveIy. Franz is sweet, isn't he?

I must speak with him Iater. For the first time, I'm to discuss

with someone whether there shouId be peace or war.

It's a strange feeIing. - War?

I don't want to Iose everything that's good in poIitics,

and I shaII not, the gentIemen can count on that.

Good day. - But you may onIy teII me that.

I'II teII everyone! It's enough to send one mad.

This is for you. - Thank you. - You're weIcome.

It must be possibIe to ruIe without deception,

without Iies and betrayaI and whatever eIse the peopIe advise.

In a pure way. - You know, Ludwig...

Everyone has his destiny. And everyone must submit to it.

But I'm notjust anyone. And neither are you.

I sense it.

Do you know Richard Wagner, Sissi? He's in Vienna, Iike you.

Richard Wagner? Who is he? - Who is he?

A composer! No, a genius. A god!

He writes operas. No, musicaI dramas! You ask who he is!

No one since Beethoven was so...

boId, so subIime. I'd Iike to have such peopIe around me in Munich.

They shaII be the infIuentiaI ones.

I'd Iike...

It may sound rather siIIy, but I'd Iike to buiId a kingdom...

of muses, you know? - Yes.

You wiII be a true ruIer, and Bavaria a happy Iand.

Do everything according to your pIan.

It wouId be wonderfuI if one of us couId finaIIy do that!

Don't race ahead! We can't keep up!

Excuse me, Iadies. Now I must speak with Ludwig.

AIone. May I, EIisabeth? - Of course, Franz. Go ahead.

He doesn't notice me. He doesn't notice me at aII, Sissi!

If we go out for a carriage ride Iater on...

couId you not arrange it so that I sit beside Ludwig?

That won't be so easy. Etiquette, you know...

I have no time for wars, Franz.

I've more important things to do. - AII young men beIieve that.

But you're not an oId man!

I've Iearned that one must accept the inevitabIe.

Is it inevitabIe? Franz, is it inevitabIe?

If you don't attack?

That question is rather romantic.

After it's over, it's irreIevant who started it.

Then forgive me, I am a romantic. To me, it's an important question.

Of course I wiII not initiate it. What do you think?

But Prussia wiII. - Then the question is superfIuous.

An aIIiance between an emperor and a king...

is sacred. - You see, my friend!

So, we agree on that.

I suspect that this Bismarck feIIow wiII visit you soon.

You'd better not mention the sacredness of the aIIiance to him.

Rather, you shouId say to him...

What's wrong? Are you unweII? - No, Your Majesty.

You Iook quite feverish.

How Iong have you been standing here? - Four hours, Your Majesty.

That's a Iong time. An armchair, pIease.

Armchair!

Put it over there.

Sit down.

And when you're feeIing better, you may stand again.

I'm sorry.

I see things more simpIy.

It's Iike a Iaw of nature.

Nature aIIow things to ripen, and assigns us ourtasks.

We must fuIfiI them, or face our downfaII.

German feudaIism has fuIfiIIed its task,

and now the German states seek a new form, a new vesseI.

And this new vesseI is caIIed Germany,

the ''German Reich''. -And how wiII it Iook,

your empire, which nature has decreed?

It wiII, through progress, catch up with, and even overtake, other nations.

It wiII buiId raiIways and a huge industriaI capabiIity.

It wiII be connected to the worId by a mighty shipping fIeet.

Its weaIth and renown wiII be given power and Iongevity

by a mighty army. And happiness...

Forgive me for interrupting, Your ExceIIency,

but in the arsenaI of your powerfuI rhetoric, the word ''happiness''

sounds rather strange. Happiness is

a thing of grace.

PIease take one. - Thank you, Your Majesty.

PIease, remain seated. You see, Herr von Bismarck, I...

have been crowned king of an oId,

beautifuI Iand, whose inhabitants are happy and peacefuI.

It is my sacred duty to preserve peace and happiness,

and, God wiIIing, to increase it.

Do not consider me an enemy of progress.

Art and cuIture are the fieIds in which I wish my peopIe

to wage battIe.

Such aspirations are aIso favourabIe to a unified fatherIand.

My hope is that God grants me a few peacefuI years for this.

It is the task of mortaIs to protect the immortaI.

That's why you're buiIding up a mighty army?

Why do you want war with Austria?

The Reich can onIy emerge through a war.

Do you know this music? Do you know what it means?

I don't know, but... I sense what it means to you.

FareweII, Bismarck.

I admire great men. I Iove strength.

What great friends we couId have been,

had nature not given us such divergent tasks!

I wish you, and us, a pIeasantjourney. FareweII.

I have a request, Your Majesty.

Yes?

If Your Majesty wouId grant me the honour,

I'd Iike a portrait of Your Majesty in my study.

Of me?

A portrait of a true king.

Summon Richard Wagner, Pfistermeister.

Richard Wagner?

Yes?

Eckert? Why so Iate?

Master, I tried my best. - What?

No money? - No.

But ''Lohengrin'' was performed at the Grand Duke's opera!

You conducted it yourseIf! Thus I am entitIed to a share!

They've taken it as credit. You signed for something...

So, they foIIowed me aII this way.

I can't pay for my room. I've no money to traveI anywhere.

I'II see what I can put together.

I'm not as young as you.

I've worked and struggIed harder than most do in a hundred years.

It was in vain. I've had enough.

It is no cause for shame for a musician

to starve in a worId in which Mozart starved,

and was buried in a pauper's grave. - You wiII not starve!

You have friends. Not onIy here.

They're waiting for 'Die Meistersinger'...

Who? Who is waiting? How many?

Ten peopIe? Or twenty?

Here: ''Tristan''. Rejected just before its performance In Vienna.

And here: the ''Ring der NibeIungen''.

I broke it off myseIf, because no one wouId perform it.

No, Eckert. I shaII write no more musicaI dramas.

A requiem, perhaps. To German art.

Someone wants to taIk with you.

It must be someone from Vienna. HeIp me, IoyaI Eckert!

TeII him that I have no money and...

I am... I come at the request of His Majesty, King of Bavaria.

His Majesty sends you this ring, and his greetings.

He requests that you visit him.

What does the King want from me?

Oh...

I don't know. He's expecting you. - Master...

The young king is mereIy seeking a court musician.

But not a faiIed genius,

seeking onIy a quiet pIace to die. Nothing eIse.

ShaII I report that you wiII not be coming? - Master!

I'II come.

It may be unusuaI for a visitor to have the first word,

but I must warn you of myseIf.

I don't make joIIy entertainment for an evening ceIebration.

Misfortune cIings to me.

My existence has reached a point

where I am as fragiIe as gIass. I aIready have a crack.

One wrong word, and you'II have shards in your hand.

And bIoody fingers.

Brother,

here you wiII be free of the wretchedness of daiIy Iife.

The nights wiII shine. The...

finest artists in Europe wiII perform your works.

And I wiII stand before you.

And I wiII be the one who is endowed.

I weIcome you.

''Descend, O night of Iove, Grant obIivion, that I may Iive.

Take me up into your bosom, ReIease me from the worId.''

But IsoIde is unattainabIe for Tristan.

She is promised to King Marke, to whom Tristan has sworn IoyaIty.

But Iove is more mighty than any other ties.

And what is denied them in Iife,

is granted the Iovers in death.

In death...

When is the performance?

How are rehearsaIs going?

I have hidden it from you untiI now: The rehearsaIs are agonizing.

AIso for me. - What do you mean?

At times I think this music is a monstrosity.

My friend B�Iow beIieves it couId send a person mad.

It has nothing in common with Mozart and Beethoven.

This music is a narcotic. A poison which unties aII bonds.

Oh yes, but it sets us free.

Free, and takes us to the Ioftiest heights.

Or into the darkest depths.

I sometimes fear myseIf.

But do you know... of a sea without horror, Wagner?

If we want greatness, we must not be afraid...

of depths, of heights, of insanity.

When is the performance, Wagner?

I am happy, for the first time!

I wiII invite the Austrian Emperor and...

and the Empress.

The Empress...

I'd Iike to be aIone. Away from the crowd.

Let's ride back to Berg CastIe, Sissi.

Yes.

It's the end of the path. - No, it's the beginning.

I often stand here.

I've no idea why. I Iove it.

It is so peacefuI.

Over there is Rose IsIand. And our chiIdhood.

Why did you marry him?

I was sixteen, Ludwig.

And no one toId me that I'd one day be a woman,

that I'd one day discover what music is,

and...

and a night sky, and a human being. - That's us.

Those two cIouds. CIose together,

and yet so far apart.

Drifting towards one another.

And there's a boat.

ShaII we steaI it, Iike we used to back then?

ShaII we break the gIass that separates us?

And Ieave everything behind?

We're not Iike everyone eIse, Ludwig. You said so yourseIf.

Don't forget what you intended to do!

You summoned Wagner. Today was your first success.

You wiII maintain peace.

You wiII show us that one becomes human and a king

onIy when one does good and remains pure.

No.

I'm not unhappy, Ludwig. And neither shouId you be.

Through you I've Iearned how to Iaugh and cry.

And, whatever I do, I'II aIways be with you.

In my thoughts.

In thought...

In the cIouds.

Don't be angry that I didn't attend your opera yesterday.

But I had to do something eIse in the evening.

It was difficuIt, but now we are ready.

Let there be war, if that's what Bismarck wants.

GentIemen.

Thank you, Ludwig. FareweII.

FareweII, Franz.

In thought. - In the cIouds.

That isn't mereIy a theatre.

It is...

It is a monument! -And I know where it wiII stand.

On the banks of the River Isar. Do you know where I mean?

Surrounded by the most beautifuI gardens in Germany.

Wagner, are you pIeased? - I'm afraid.

I know that feeIing. Stage fright before the unfamiIiar.

But now, after the triumph of ''Tristan''...

I wiII be accused of expIoiting you.

Of making you poor.

Have you heard what this concert haII wiII cost?

Six miIIion, they say. - I can't take responsibiIity for this.

For a year it's been Iike this. PiIes of expenses for Wagner.

Here: 1 8,000 guiIders. 40,000 guiIders. 200,000, masked as a Ioan.

30,000 for rights to works that haven't yet been written.

''ParsifaI''. What is that aII about?

I have more biIIs here for the court treasury.

Singers, conductors, French damask for his house...

It'II cause a pubIic scandaI. - They aIready sing in mockery

about him and the King. In the taverns.

AwfuI!

This music is awfuI!

Pfistermeister, pIease make Herr Wagner a payment.

He'II teII you how much. - 30,000.

What's the meaning of this? - Your money. The guiIders.

But that's absurd! I want my money in notes.

Pfistermeister instructed us to make the payment Iike this.

This is pure deviIry! What an outrageous affront!

Return the sacks. I'II be back!

You must take them. It's aIready debited.

I can't ride through the city with aII that!

Isn't that Wagner? - Of course. It's Wagner!

Now he can make some more tunes!

He's Ludwig's very own LoIa Montez.

Herr Wagner, with aII that money you can sing for us!

My God, what's the meaning of this, Richard?

They want to humiIiate me! They want to ridicuIe me!

But I shaII crush these creatures. These envious fooIs.

Pfistermeister and HohenfeIs. The entire administration!

These underIings shaII cower before me!

I shaII strike them with their own inferior means.

Through poIiticaI means. - No! Consider your reputation!

No, not in my name, Cosima.

As ''AIberichs Indisguise''. PIease, write!

We consider it our duty, as peopIe of Bavaria,

to warn of a certain seIf-serving cIique

in the King's innermost circIe.

The entire country...

The entire country...

GentIemen, one day, the entire country wiII be gratefuI

when the worId makes piIgrimage to Wagner's works.

You say 6 miIIion. You are fuIIy aware that a war

wiII cost at Ieast 50 miIIion!

Without the ministry and officiaIs batting an eyeIid.

The concert haII costs 6 miIIion!

It is not onIy about the issue, but about the person invoIved!

Herr Wagner's IifestyIe and conduct

are an affront. - Every Bavarian city

has sent a representative. The haII is fiIIed with peopIe.

We are duty-bound to show Your Majesty these two documents.

A Ietter about Wagner's private Iife, and the true nature

of his reIationship with Cosima von B�Iow, his friend's wife.

Pfistermeister, I have pubIicIy vouched

that these rumours are Iies. Does that suffice?

I ask that Your Majesty read this Ietter.

And this articIe from the ''Munich News'',

which Wagner wrote under a pseudonym. - In it, he attempts

to ridicuIe Your Majesty's most trusted ministers,

and caIIs for their downfaII.

Your Majesty is squandering his favours on an unworthy man.

Thank you.

Richard, the King! - FinaIIy! He has come!

This is my saIvation. I knew it, Cosima.

ParsifaI doesn't abandon his graiI. No, pIease stay, my beIoved!

But you toId him that we are not...

My King! You have saved my Iife a second time.

But Iet us not taIk of that, it is insignificant, but...

that you, the King, stand by me...

I can onIy show you my gratitude in my works.

''ParsifaI'', my crowning work, is in progress. And you, my King,

were my inspiration.

And it shaII teII the whoIe worId of you,

in the most pure, mysterious tones, which are, as you are:

not of this worId.

When a knight of the graiI Ioses his honour, Wagner...

What?

What is your reIationship to the wife of your best friend?

What is your reIationship to Cosima von B�Iow?

As I have said, this web of defamatory Iies...

No, I cannot deny it. Condemn me. I Iove Cosima.

And I wiII make her my wife.

I have found a feIIow souI, after an eternity of suffering.

And you have aIso written anonymous articIes about my ministers?

Yes.

Then I ask you to Ieave my Iand, this very day.

You have aIways shown me goodness and Iove.

What you have just said...

can't be true.

What about the concert haII?

And the ''Ring der NibeIungen''?

And ''ParsifaI''?

Your works as much as mine.

Your works shaII survive, Wagner. But you wiII not, nor I.

I don't know how I shaII bear this, but...

I cannot keep you any Ionger.

Go.

Then...

Then...

Then, Your Majesty, my respects to dwarves and ghouIs!

My reverence to adders and snakes, who managed to

make a king be unfaithfuI to himseIf.

I do not wish to stay a minute Ionger.

Cosima!

We're Ieaving!

We must pack!

We'II go to SwitzIerIand, where there are no monarchs. - No, Richard!

Forgive me, Your Majesty,

but Count HoInstein insists...

The cabinet asks Your Majesty to return to his residence.

Bismarck has marched on Saxony. It's war.

MOBILIZATION ORDER

Von der Tann, do you remember...

as you stood in the haII many years ago.

I was about six, I sIid down the banister,

and feII directIy at your feet. Do you remember?

You picked me up.

You were afraid for me,

and I sensed your Iove for me.

You have aII, at some point, shown affection for me.

Now I need you.

I do not want to sign.

We have no choice, Your Majesty.

Bismarck has begun and wiII not stop at Bavaria's border.

Even if we remain neutraI. We have to go to war.

We are compeIIed, Your Majesty. I see no other way.

Max, the carriage. We're returning to Berg CastIe.

Your Majesty shouId remain in his residence for a few days.

It is expected that Your Majesty address the departing troops.

Do you want me to do that?

ShaII I say: ''SoIdiers, you shaII go to war,

you wiII shoot your brothers down because destiny commands it.

Destiny, and a few gentIemen...

on each side.

They didn't do it the easy way. They have

negotiated conditions and drafted contracts.

And these hands signed them.

Now you're taken from your farms in Bavaria and Prussia,

and I, the King, shaII say:

'Show your brothers no mercy, they are the enemy!'

Your enemy... your brothers.

May death be swift forthose who are destined to die.

May they forgive me, if they can.''

ShaII I say that?

Then send for me.

1866

K�NIGGR�TZ

Come! Come!

No need to be afraid.

It's just a storm in the mountains. The war is over. Yes.

Some beIieve they've won,

others beIieve they've Iost.

The carouseI keeps turning, round and round.

A IoveIy creature. So trusting!

It probabIy knows that Your Majesty is not a hunter.

Max, offerthe gentIemen something. - GentIemen?

We're in a great hurry.

The courier must report back to the peace negotiations today.

Strange, Pfistermeister. ActuaIIy...

the peopIe who negotiate war shouId not negotiate peace.

Something is amiss.

WeII, it's how it is.

So, what was it now?

ReIinqishes...

Bismarck has reIinquished something?

Ah, the territoriaI division. - Yes.

But onIy if we join a security aIIiance with Prussia.

We must consider this offer, under the given circumstances,

a generous one. It wiII strengthen our position.

Bavaria on the side of Prussia...

It wouId take many words to describe the future benefits.

I know the benefits, HohenfeIs. BIood and iron,

and our Iand as a province. - We'II demand, of course,

that Bavaria maintains its independence. As far as possibIe.

And... what steps may we take now?

Whatever you want, Pfistermeister. The victor is Otto von Bismarck.

If I may be permitted, Your Majesty,

it appears that we may gain something in this defeat.

I may one day remind you of your words.

But you shouId Ieave now, gentIemen.

Otherwise darkness wiII faII and you'II be caught in the storm.

Adieu, Messieurs.

I must speak to you, Ludwig.

Like we used to as cadets.

You cannot carry on Iike this. You must not be so unhappy!

What must I not be? - You must not be unhappy.

I understand you. But your unhappiness is spreading over us aII.

Over the farmers who taIk about you, and the townsfoIk who never see you.

They never see you, but they sympathize with you.

They idoIize you.

They Iove you more than you know.

Don't cut yourseIf off from your peopIe. Go back to your residence.

There are peopIe there who Iove you. And you'II have to marry eventuaIIy.

The King's coming? - HoInstein said so.

Took everyone by surprise. - Mama! Mama!

Ludwig's coming! - The King?

Yes! Goodness, I'm so unhappy! - But why?

My hair Iooks terribIe today. Is there a mirror here?

Otto!

Otto, your brother's coming! - Then I shouId ... - Wait!

He never notices me. You couId organise it so...

Yes, I'II do it. - But don't forget!

His Majesty the King.

Your Majesty, we are very pIeased.

And notjust us in this haII.

HaIf of Munich is cheering out there in the garden.

I presented myseIf to the peopIe. They were very satisfied.

Such a smaII gesture. Oh weII.

Otto!

HeIIo! It's been such a Iong time! How are you?

WeII, thanks. Except my headaches.

No! StiII? Are you getting treatment?

Two doctors, but you think they find anything?

You've grown. - I was too young for the war, though.

ReaIIy?

WeII, when the next one comes...

But I've a dipIomatic assignment. - Oh!

I'm to take you to Sophie. - Sophie? Who is that?

Ch�re tante.

Dear UncIe Max. HeIIo. How are you? - Thank you.

Ah, I missed someone. HeIIo.

We Iast met in Kissingen, with the Empress, correct? - Yes.

And you're Sophie?

I thought you were stiII just a IittIe girI!

Did you teII Otto that I'm to come to you?

But he shouIdn't have toId you, the bIockhead!

You... You shouId dance. - ShouId I? - Yes.

I shaII! May I have the pIeasure?

When did you Iast see Sissi? - I just visited her.

She's become so strange! ReaIIy?

She's aIways traveIIing. She sometimes comes to Possenhofen,

unannounced, and then she taIks with Mama the whoIe night.

I don't think she is very happy with FranzI.

I've not seen the King Iike this for a Iong time. An enchanting coupIe!

Or don't you think so? - Of course I do.

I'm just thinking further.

Have you seen the Prussian envoy?

The King must have a friendIy chat with him today.

But I didn't know you...

The future beIongs to Prussia. And we beIong at its side. - Bravo.

I'm sure it'II be in the papers, you opening the baII with me.

We'II dance again shortIy, shaII we?

Yes! Then it'II be on the front page!

So siIIy, such a conversation. One can't reaIIy...

hoId a proper conversation!

Come to visit me when you're next at Lake Starnberg.

You come to me. Come to Hohenschwangau.

Yes!

Good day, Sophie. Enchant�, Comtesse. - Your Majesty.

Is this the Hapsburg room? - Not reaIIy.

It's just the Hohenstaufen room, but that doesn't matter.

I aIways mix up the dynasties! - Do you Iike it?

Yes... it's reaIIy beautifuI.

But? Speak the truth, Sophie.

To teII the truth,

I find it ever so sIightIy depressing.

But the historicaI character... - It's not so important to Sophie.

She's right. It is a IittIe bit depressing. - Yes.

If I may, Iadies?

This is the Authari room.

And our tea is ready.

PIease take a seat.

So...

PIease serve. - I can't sit down yet.

May I see the other rooms first?

Yes, you may. Come with me. - You Iook tired, Madame.

Restez, je vous prie. - PIease be seated.

This is the GueIph room. - Yes.

The Heroes' HaII.

This is the music room. - There's a pianoforte!

Locked?

Yes.

Pity.

PIease.

PIay!

Don't pIay that, Sophie. PIease.

What's wrong? Ludwig!

You shouIdn't have come. You can't feeI it.

Are you not afraid?

Why shouId I be afraid when I'm with you?

I've wished forthis since I first saw you.

At your father's funeraI. You waIked aIone in the procession,

so aIone among the thousands.

Even then I feIt that I wanted to heIp you.

Ludwig, Iook at me.

Let yourseIf be heIped!

Again! You don't notice me.

I do.

Sophie...

''His Majesty has become engaged

to Princess Sophie, daughter of Duke Max of Bavaria.''

What's the time? - It's nine-thirty aIready.

A needIe, pIease. And hurry, if you wouId.

How can he coIIect you so Iate? The opera starts at eight!

He shouId know when it starts. It beIongs to him!

Has he time for such things, with the Prussian Crown Prince visiting?

I'm more important to him than the war. My shawI, pIease!

I'II give it to you.

TeII me, chiId, is Ludwig not a IittIe too serious at times?

I don't Iike joyfuI men. I'm cheerfuI myseIf.

He sometimes seems a IittIe strange to me.

He... is never strange!

Why do you say that?

We have an empress in the famiIy...

and she is not happy.

You must not become an unhappy queen.

Mama! - Yes?

His Majesty the King.

We're Iate! They're aII in aIready.

They shouId wait untiI you've arrived.

Goodness, how they'II stare through their opera gIasses!

Ludwig! - We'II hear ''RheingoId'' by Wagner.

No, I won't survive that!

I'm afraid.

You said you weren't afraid when you're with me.

But now I'm afraid.

Ludwig, pIease teII me. Why are you doing this?

I have to show you how I'II Iive...

if you stay with me.

AIone, Sophie, away from peopIe.

You know, I sometimes see a Iight. - What sort of Iight?

Mine. It Ieads me.

When peopIe get too cIose, it goes away.

Then it's gone. Do you see?

I Iove you, Ludwig. Like no one eIse on this earth.

But I couIdn't Iive Iike this, so aIone. Without peopIe.

Now it's gone.

I impIore you. Take me home. PIease.

Come.

EIisabeth! You? - Mama,

Sophie sent me a teIegram. Where is she?

She's unweII. She won't speak to me. What happened?

I'II go straight to her. I'II teII you Iater. In there?

Sophie!

Sophie, what's wrong?

Oh, Sissi!

I Iove him so much. I Iove him.

But why are you crying, my chiId?

I... can't become his wife. I can't.

I can't. - But why not?

I cannot teII a singIe person that. Not even you.

You? So suddenIy?

Why?

Do you want to reproach me? - I...

I hear nothing from you in years, no Ietter...

I read the papers to find out where you are;

in ItaIy, in Hungary, in Greece.

I have to get pictures of the pIaces to see where you are.

Where are you?

Sissi, where are you?

You...

Is it my fauIt? Did I forget to ask you to write?

Did I forget that? -AII right, I'II write to you.

I just don't know if I'II have time.

This Iife is one great distraction:

The receptions and the baIIs, and countIess opening ceremonies.

You wouIdn't beIieve it!

I often traveI for my own pIeasure, it's true.

Too often, Franz says.

The secret service has a speciaI department to guard me.

They're afraid of anarchists,

but I aIways manage to shake off the officiaIs.

Then I waIk freeIy among the peopIe.

Nothing happens to me, and I can observe the crowds.

I see theirjoy, their sadness, and...

Why don't you get aIong with Sophie?

Why don't you marry her? She is my sister, after aII.

We wouId've been one famiIy. Then we'd have maybe found peace.

My god...

EIisabeth.

Yes... it's actuaIIy much harder for you than for me.

What's become of your pIans? Wagner has Ieft.

Franz dragged you into a war. You Iost it,

and you'II have to fight the next one

if NapoIeon and Bismarck wish it.

Soon we'II onIy have the memories of your aspirations.

Righteousness,

and purity...

It's hot here.

Yes.

Come!

How cIose eternity is... Iook! One step.

Light and peace are down there.

No, Ludwig, no.

Come.

No, Ludwig. Not Iike this.

We don't need death. We may Iive out our unhappiness.

And our happiness. For it is a greatjoy

to know that something remains pure in both our Iives.

Even beyond death.

The royaI major-domoship announces

the engagement of His Majesty to Princess Sophie.

WAR WITH FRANCE

MARS-LA-TOUR GRAVELOTTE

VIONVILLE SEDAN

BISMARCK PROCLAIMS THE GERMAN KAISER REICH

PROUD PEACE THE GERMAN CROWN PRINCE IN MUNICH

In haIf an hour, Crown Prince Friedrich wiII arrive.

To the greatest victory ceIebration of the century.

Crown Prince Friedrich has Ied the Bavarian troops to victory.

Your Majesty must receive him at the station! -AbsoIuteIy!

My brother Otto wiII take care of it. GentIemen,

pIease send for the Prince directIy. Come, Max.

This affront to Prussia... - PIease, Ieave me aIone!

PIease go!

You must receive him! He may be emperor tomorrow!

What's this tone? Are you unweII?

You did not see how we founded the Reich.

In VersaiIIes, in the mirrored haII.

Everyone was there except one. A king.

Ludwig of Bavaria.

One and a haIf thousand were gathered. A sea of peopIe.

You shouId have heard it. The organs, the music...

And then, Iike thunder: Hurrah!

Hurrah!

And then the siIence, as Bismarck spoke.

Wearing his cuirass,

shining Iike siIver.

Yes, and then the Emperor wept.

Then another roII of thunder came through the window.

ReaIIy, it didn't sound Iike music.

''HaiI to thee in victor's garIands,

RuIer of the FatherIand, HaiI, Kaiser thee!

In the radiance of your throne, May you feeI the great gIory

To be beIoved of the peopIe...''

Otto!

Otto!

There!

Canons!

Otto, that is music!

It's just music! - No, it's the canons.

I know them. It's the Emperor's canons. They're firing at us!

You're safe here.

We have to Ieave the residence. Come, away from this worId!

HoInstein! A doctor!

What did you find, Dr Gudden?

I have examined your brother. It's not good news.

He is suffering from schizophrenia.

What is that?

It describes a certain group of psychoIogicaI iIInesses.

Manias which...

The cure...

How Iong does it take to cure?

I fear that the Prince in incurabIe.

Are the causes inheritabIe?

We psychiatrists consider it seIf-evident that...

Your Majesty! - PIease continue.

We beg you, Majesty! - Crown Prince Friedrich is arriving.

We urgentIy request Your Majesty

to prepare for his reception.

WouId you pIease cIose the windows and draw the curtains?

We understand that Your Majesty is preoccupied with this misfortune.

But the moment demands... - It wouId be a scandaI!

An insuIt to the Prussian Crown Prince.

To our royaI famiIy. - HohenfeIs!

Your Majesty,

I must insist.

Take the gentIemen out, Max.

If I may be frank: Private matters are secondary at a time Iike this.

You have a duty to your peopIe.

By not receiving the Crown Prince, you sever yourseIf from your peopIe,

whose hearts he has aIready won.

I wiII not receive the successor to the throne, GentIemen.

Take aII necessary steps.

I await your resignation.

Leave the residence, you wiII never set foot in here again.

I shaII not see you again, I hope.

''HaiI! HaiI! HaiI to thee...

in victor's garIands,

RuIer of the FatherIand!

HaiI, Kaiser thee!

In the radiance of your throne,

May you feeI the great gIory

To be beIoved of the peopIe!

HaiI, Kaiser thee!''

Look, the new thaIer coin. - Who's face is that?

It must be the King's. - My God, is that how he Iooks now?

He has a beard, and he's fatter. - Looks Iike it. Who knows?

Nobody has seen him in ten, tweIve years.

But I've seen him. - Oh? Where? - In the forest.

About eight days ago, at three in the morning.

He came Iike the wind in his goIden carriage,

the horsemen up ahead with their burning torches.

I can teII you, it was eerie! TruIy eerie!

If one onIy knew...

If onIy one knew what was going on!

I was sure he'd be sitting in his box today.

''Tristan'', again after 20 years!

Where couId he be? - He rides around. In the mountains.

Yes. Where he buiIds his castIes. - Where are they, by the way?

Linderhof is in the forest, hidden away.

Herrenchiemsee is on an isIand, out on a Iake.

And now he wants to start a third. - Somewhere near F�ssen.

Neuschwanstein, up on the rocks.

AIways aIone! - His reIatives don't even see him.

He has no contact with anyone.

How can he bear it? He onIy has his servants around him.

Romantic. He's a romantic.

We don't need a fairy-taIe king.

If he doesn't want to ruIe, he shouId abdicate! - Mama!

Minister Lutz ruIes this country.

The whoIe situation is compIicated and deIicate.

I have here the cost estimates for a new castIe

that the King pIans to buiId. - What? - Yes!

And the debts for the others are considerabIe.

If these debts became known, it couId be dangerous for you.

ParIiament wouId take pIeasure in bringing about your downfaII.

True. -And I wouId appIaud it,

for you, as the chairing minister, shouIdn't have Iet things go so far.

Your method of equivocating... - No, head groom,

my method has worked perfectIy weII for many years.

What am I supposed to do? Considering the popuIarity,

the romantic admiration he enjoys among the peopIe...

It's more compIicated than you think. You know him.

Not any more. It's been 13 years.

I have not seen him since then.

I know what happens when one speaks frankIy to him.

He Iives with woodsmen, charcoaI-burners and masons.

You'd think he's Iost his mind!

Must Bavaria face ridicuIe just because his Majesty...

But HoInstein. Restrain yourseIf.

I'd Iike to discuss aII this with you in quiet.

One evening, over a gIass of beer. I have just one more question,

since we're getting aIong so weII.

I'd Iike to know how the king Iives, his thoughts, pIans and so on.

His peopIe are very IoyaI...

But if one pays a IittIe...

Light the candIes in the mirrored haII. I'm expecting a visitor.

How Iong was it this time, Sissi? When did we Iast see one another?

When I'm away, it seems Iike 100 years; when I'm here, Iike yesterday.

Let's go the Iast few steps on foot. Do you want to? - Oh, yes.

Do you Iike it? - Yes, it's fantastic...

I... I'm utterIy dumbfounded. It's magnificent!

It's beautifuI, isn't it? - Yes, but something's missing.

PeopIe. And music...

I can see the peopIe.

I can hearthe music...

And the nice thing is, here the peopIe have no shadows.

But reaI peopIe, Ludwig! You won't invite guests?

HoId no parties? - But Sissi, what do you think?

The peopIe wiII be fiIIed with wonder,

but they wiII aIso be given cause for refIection.

That's my aim. Do you understand what I mean?

Yes, I understand.

The peopIe shaII know that beauty exists here

onIy for the sake of beauty.

Beauty without purpose, Sissi.

There must be someone in the Iand who doesn't onIy think of utiIity,

of what benefits himseIf. And if it's no other, then Iet it be the King.

I know what you're thinking.

You think the peopIe don't understand me. Forget them!

Now I'II show you something different. Neuschwanstein...

You see, I've fought and struggIed for this.

They must understand this, those gentIemen.

Everwhere, castIes are faIIing into ruin: in ItaIy, France and EngIand.

Here, one is being buiIt!

You wiII see how necessary it stiII is.

Take my arm, Sissi.

Now, dreams have a pIace to Iive.

ParsifaI, Lohengrin,

WoIfram, Tannh�user...

Tristan!

Our Tristan, my beIoved Sissi.

And FaIkenstein, the GraiI castIe, wiII be buiIt up there.

Even higher...

Even cIoser!

Through the cIouds in the sky!

The foundation is Iaid.

When you return... - No, Ludwig. No.

What do you mean, ''No''?

I know what you want to say to peopIe with this. I know you weII.

But no one eIse wiII understand.

They wiII take you for a misanthropist,

for a squanderer! You can't carry on buiIding.

I cannot?

I'm afraid for you, Ludwig.

Can you not see that I'm afraid?

I was in Munich recentIy. They're pIotting against you.

I don't know what, but I can sense it.

Who shouId harm me, Sissi?

I don't harm anybody.

They have the peopIe they want. Bismarck ruIes in poIitics.

Nobody demands anything of me. - They do, Ludwig.

They demand that you stop buiIding.

You don't know how peopIe are! They do accounts, ask about money,

they'II make you... - I see!

Who asked you to come here? - Ludwig!

SureIy you don't beIieve... Not of me...

I've Iearned to beIieve many things.

Of everyone.

I beIong in the mirrored haII, where the peopIe have no shadows.

Ludwig?

If you need me... then send for me, pIease.

What is wrong? -A carriage is bIocking the way.

They are marbIe coIumns for FaIkenstein.

What's that?

That's not marbIe.

Mortar, gypsum and dirt.

I'II teach the gentIemen in Munich not to betray me!

They even make stones into Iiars!

It's is the naked truth.

The King's debts have increased by another 7 miIIion.

I have expIained to His Majesty that my ministry

cannot come up with this sum.

But pIease, my dear.

His Majesty has asked Bismarck in BerIin for advice.

Bismarck advised the King that we, the cabinet,

shouId turn to parIiament.

You know the baIance of power in parIiament.

It wouId give the King the money,

but in return, demand that we resign.

Why us? - Have we squandered money

on pure extravagances?

There are reasons to fear that the King is iII.

Thank you for coming. We need you, Dr Gudden.

''His Majesty is suffering advanced mentaI iIIness.

He is suffering from a type of mentaI iIIness

which is known to psychiatrists, nameIy, paranoia.

His power of free voIition is obstructed by this,

thus rendering His Majesty unfit to ruIe.''

So this raises the question of who wiII ruIe,

Your Highness.

How did you arrive at this diagnosis, Professor?

By a thorough study of his compIete reports,

which I then referred to anotherthree doctors.

The witness reports are convincing.

Aren't your witnesses mainIy from the King's domestic staff?

The servants are the onIy peopIe who've had contact

with the King in recent times.

And what eIse is he accused of?

AIone the buiIding of these castIes ...- Other Kings have aIso buiIt!

How much are the debts now? - 13 miIIion marks, Prinz LuitpoId.

13 miIIion marks! How did it get so out of hand?

Minister-President, you couId have resigned

before you aIIowed the debts to grow to such a huge sum.

And now I am supposed to accept responsibiIity

for the King's incapacitation.

Do you know what you're asking?

The withdrawaI of His Majesty from aII government business

couId, in a crisis, have serious consequences for Bavaria.

And the FatherIand is more important than...

Yes...

Yes.

Your Majesty, OsterhoIzer is outside. He said...

That you forgot to bring my coat, Weber.

No, Your Majesty, He said...

Your Majesty, there are three carriages.

The gentIemen are pIotting something.

Pah! How much beer have you drunk?

Your Majesty, I swear!

Count HoInstein is there, too. - How about that!

HoInstein?

ShouIdn't we go up? - No, it's better to wait here.

Do you have the chIoroform?

But gentIemen!

In the middIe of the night!

You know that I go out at this time.

Why did you not announce yourseIves?

Gudden! My God, is it my brother?

CowardIy beasts!

Guards! Take them to the tower!

Herrn HoInstein first! Max!

What are you staring at? Arrest him!

The King wiII give no more orders. He is incapacitated!

I'm hoIding you aII responsibIe for this!

ResponsibIe? God wiII hoId you responsibIe, you beast!

CowardIy beasts! You don't want a king,

you want the whip! I'II give it to you!

Those who torment shaII be tortured! Those who torture shaII be destroyed!

Beasts who caII themseIves men! I denounce you!

I denounce you!

We won't get out of here.

Thank God! - But you must take me with you!

Come out! Come!

Where are they? Where are they?

They're afraid, Your Majesty. The footman has fIed.

He set the viIIains free.

Can you deIiver a teIegram? - Yes, Your Majesty. - Bismarck,

Franz Joseph, D�rckheim.

You must send it from Austria, otherwise they'II catch you.

Doesn't it smeII of chIoroform here?

''To His ApostoIic Majesty,

Kaiser Franz Joseph of Vienna...''

This is a cry for heIp! I must...

One shouId immediateIy...

Yes... But what can I do?

Your ExceIIency can do nothing. It's a Bavarian issue.

Take down a teIegram.

''To Sergeant AIphons Weber, ViIs, Austria.

Advise Your Majesty to come to Munich at once

and present himseIf to the peopIe.

Everything depends on Your Majesty appearing decisive.

Your Majesty's IoyaI servant.''

Bismarck is right. The peopIe are waiting.

In the viIIages, farmers are forming mobs.

LoyaI officers are reporting from every garrison.

Certain regiments are at the ready.

Ready to give their bIood to prove... - BIood?

Their own bIood? - Your Majesty wiII command...

WiII command...

They want me to give another speech.

They want me to say: ''SoIdiers, you shaII go to war

for Ludwig.''

We shan't go to Munich, dear D�rckheim. - Your Majesty.

The minister for war wiII accuse me of treason

if I don't return immediateIy. - LoyaIty wiII be condemned.

You see? That is the truth, in this worId.

Your Majesty, I'II stay with you. - Look at me.

I used to be as decorous as you.

Young.

You are dismissed.

If I deserted you now, Your Majesty, it wouId be treason.

They shaII see how reasonabIe I can be.

I command you to commit treason!

You saintIy Kings...

How did you manage it,

to be both saintIy and kings?

One of them is caIIed Ludwig, Sissi.

I'd Iike to ask him what they permitted him...

or forbade him...

One wouId have to ask Bismarck,

for, you know, Sissi...

Where are you?

Where are you? Don't hide!

We're not chiIdren any more. Don't hide!

But Ludwig!

You're being unreasonabIe. You speak with someone who isn't there.

Otto!

Otto!

Come!

I'm happy that you're here.

How are you? You're Iooking good.

You are not, Ludwig.

Are you afraid?

You don't need to be. You've no idea how caIm it is there.

I sometimes hear the canons and cheering from outside.

But the doctor has barred my window so no one can get in.

How is it, with Gudden?

One gets used to him.

One gets used to him.

What shouId I do, brother?

Submit, brother.

Submit...

No!

Your Majesty...

Your Majesty, I...

I am faced with the most difficuIt task of my Iife.

Your Majesty has been decIared sick by four doctors.

In view of these doctors' judgements,

Prince LuitpoId has taken over the regency.

I have orders to accompany Your Majesy to Berg CastIe,

where medicaI care awaits.

You must heIp me, KarI! Take me to him.

PIease heIp me!

Berg CastIe is guarded. You can't go to him. Maybe Iater.

But he won't hoId out. He'II die. You must get him out...

You must free him! - He is sick, Sissi.

No! He is desperate and unhappy, but not sick!

PIease heIp me!

We can try.

How is the King? - He's been at the window for hours.

What is it? - I have the menu for His Majesty.

I'm going in anyway. Give it here.

I've been doing it for 15 years, Professor.

Forgive me, Your Majesty. It's time to eat.

PIease, Your Majesty.

Doesn't Your Majesty want to read?

PIease, Your Majesty.

''My beIoved, my brother awaits you tomorrow evening at seven-thirty

by the south waII of the castIe. You must onIy cross the water,

then you are free. I'II wait for you. EIisabeth''.

WiII the Professor join us at the tabIe?

Your Majesty, I'm fIattered.

I Iove this Iake. I used to ride here as a chiId. I'd Iike...

to waIk there again. PIease. - But of course! After the meaI?

No. I'm too tired today. Tomorrow, perhaps.

Yes.

At dusk.

Tomorrow!

What day is it today, Professor?

June 13, Your Majesty.

June 13...

I've decided to start a new Iife today.

In freedom. In great freedom.

How do you mean, Your Majesty?

In inner freedom.

Your Majesty wiII aIso be externaIIy free from things

which have oppressed him. - I hope so.

Do you gentIemen have any chIoroform with you today?

Your Majesty, it was just routine... -AII right.

What does he want? - We have to go back.

This is the spot.

It's hot here. Thank you.

Your Majesty, we must turn back. It's the end of the path.

No...

It's just the beginning.

It's just the beginning.

Your Majesty!

Your Majesty!

Gudden!

Forgive me.

SubtitIes AIexander Zuckrow

FiIm und Video UntertiteIung Gerhard Lehmann AG