Original subtitles

What you are about to see is a matter of human record.

Explain it? We cannot.

Disprove it? We cannot.

We simply invite you to explore with us

the amazing world of the unknown,

to take that one step beyond.

What you are about to see has haunted the minds of men

for 40 years.

A miracle, or a soldier's fable?

You decide.

At 2230 hours,

on the night of November the 14th, 1915,

something happened

in the war-darkened skies over Europe.

It was seen by a British mortar unit

here in Flanders.

It was reported by a Russian sentry

on the East Prussian front.

It interrupted the maneuvers

of an Italian infantry company here.

It was observed by an Allied reconnaissance plane

over the English Channel.

Thousands of soldiers

from all the nations of Europe ultimately were involved.

But in the beginning, there were only four.

Four French soldiers,

an unimportant patrol on a trivial mission,

set out on this gloomy November night in 1915

to attack a minor mortar position,

kill a few enemy soldiers and return to its lines.

Indeed, a modest beginning

for what is now just seconds away.

Oh, think of all the pleasant things

a man of my sensitivity could be doing tonight.

Watching the ballet,

playing the piano, enjoying vintage wines.

A night like this is good for only two things.

Picking pockets or making love.

All right, on your feet.

On your stomach, on your feet.

On your stomach, on your feet...

And what an unpleasant war.

Those flares... Do they mean they've seen us?

Oh, probably.

What will happen?

If they kill enough of us, an extra ration of schnapps.

If we kill enough of them,

perhaps they'll let us take a bath.

It must feel strange to kill for the first time.

Strange?

Actually, I enjoy it.

Each time I kill,

I think there's one less Boche between me

and those lovely bottles of wine gathering dust in my cellar.

Oh, when's that blasted thing going to fall?

Probably hanging from a parachute.

Where do you see a parachute?

How can it just hang there?

It... It's so bright.

Come on, burn up.

Fall.

Get down, you fool.

Get down! You'll get your heads blown off.

Come back here!

Come back! Pick up your guns!

Come back here!

What are you running from?

It is only a dirty Boche trick.

It is just a flare!

Uh...

Oh, my God.

My God.

On your feet.

On your feet. You, up, up, up.

At ease. As you were.

No need for formality.

I am Captain Tremaine

of the Adjutant General's office.

I've been appointed to defend you

at your court-martial tomorrow.

Tomorrow?

What's the big hurry?

It's the cooks they should court-martial.

They're poisoning the whole army.

I don't know why they chose me.

My practice was civil law.

What do I know about a mess like this?

It's reassuring to know that our defense is in such good hands.

Well, there's not much of a defense, soldier.

Obvious what happened.

The charges say it all.

"Cowardice in the face of the enemy."

Cowardice?!

It wasn't that at all!

Quiet.

Show respect.

But I wasn't afraid.

I mean, I was at first, but it wasn't that.

Do you know who the prosecutor is?

Major La Marre of the high command, that's all.

I've just been a captain for the last two and a half weeks.

I don't suppose the captain would be

demoted if he should lose his case.

Oh, don't worry about that.

He'll lose, all right.

It's bang-bang-bang for us.

Well, how can I win?

It's all here in black and white.

At a time when the Boche are defeating us everywhere,

La Marre will eat me up alive.

Well, I'll do the best I can.

But you'll have to be absolutely honest with me.

No need to hold back anything.

Sergeant Vaill.

Look at this record.

I just don't understand it.

The Croix de Guerre.

What happened?

How could a brave man like you run from the enemy?

Ask the others.

I'm asking you.

Look, they're going to make an example of you men.

That's why they're doing it so fast.

Don't you understand that?

Sir, ask the others.

I really don't want to ask any of you.

I don't like to defend cowards.

Why do you call us cowards?

What did you want us to do?

At first, I was blinded by the light.

I couldn't see anything.

And then, I wasn't in the shell hole anymore.

I wasn't.

I was home.

Home?

Yes.

I was home.

No, it wasn't my imagination.

I was really there.

It was morning.

I was in the kitchen.

Mama was pouring milk for breakfast,

and Papa was putting on his working shoes

and talking about the day's work.

My little sister was there and...

and through the window, I could see the sun...

The way it hit the fields...

A flock of birds.

I was home, and I was happy.

And then I felt the rifle in my hand,

and I thought, "What am I doing with this?"

So I threw it away.

I was home.

In the middle of the battle,

a light blinds him, and then he's at home.

Has a doctor examined this boy lately?

Look, why don't you let us alone?

Did we ask for you?

No, and I didn't ask for you.

All right, then, good-bye!

That is no way to speak to an officer.

Get him out of here!

Mollene, shut up, or I'll bash your head in!

You want to know where I was?

Well, listen to this, Captain Fancy-pants.

Let me tell you where I was.

I was on the deck of the Montez,

a rusty little freighter carrying pig iron

from South America to Marseille...

flopped on the forward deck, just taking it easy.

I never felt like that in my whole life.

I was free.

I could breathe.

There was nobody in the world

that I wanted to punch in the mouth.

I wanted to stay like that for a hundred years...

A part of everything.

Everything.

Tell me I wasn't on that boat,

and I'll make you eat all those pencils.

I am sorry, sir, but what can you expect in today's army?

When that flare burst, I really didn't see a thing.

Well, that's better.

Then why did you run?

Somehow, the air had changed.

It... it had become soft and warm like a summer's night.

In November?

Well, logic told me it was freezing cold,

and yet I felt a warm breeze on my face

and my feet were no longer cold.

And the air was suddenly filled with...

with all sorts of remarkable scents.

Tangerines, night flowers,

dust, the way it settles

after it's been watered down,

and, I think, even incense.

The kind my-my aunt used to burn

under her favorite saints in church.

A feast of odors... after the stink of war.

I felt a... an exultation...

a love of life.

And the gun in my hand suddenly,

well, it suddenly felt obscene.

Obscene.

Sergeant,

sometimes, on a patrol... It's no secret...

Uh, the men take along a little brandy

in their canteens to keep warm.

Ha!

Now we were all drunk.

You're all talking like drunks!

Nobody had a drop.

What did you see, Sergeant?

I'm going to look like the world's biggest fool.

"I was in the kitchen, Mama was pouring milk."

"I was on a freighter carrying pig iron."

"Like incense my aunt used to burn under her favorite saint."

They'll laugh me right out of the courtroom.

All right, let's begin again.

I continue from the testimony of your men, Sergeant.

Let me see.

Ah, yes.

"It wasn't what I saw or smelled,

"but what I heard.

"The light could have come from many things,

"but not the singing.

"I don't know what they were singing,

"but it sounded holy, and it was beautiful.

I started walking to where I could hear the voices better."

Now, all this would be hilarious as a music hall sketch,

but within the sound of enemy guns,

I find the humor rather hollow.

And I am more than a little surprised

that the defense counsel would insult

the intelligence of this court

by introducing such trash as evidence.

It's what the men told me.

And what does the sergeant say?

What did the sergeant see, hear or smell?

I heard the Boche cannon and machine gun.

I smelled...

well, there was a dead body in the shell hole.

I saw a flare that lasted a long time.

Have you seen no other flares that lasted a long time?

Not like this one.

Maybe it was a new Boche invention.

It stayed there for I don't know how long.

It was cloudy,

and the flare cast shadows against the clouds.

Well, at last we're beginning to hear some sense.

You and your men were threatened by shadows

and you ran. Is that correct?

Yes, I suppose so, sir.

Mm-hmm.

Well, we should thank the sergeant for putting an end

to all this nonsense once and for all.

You're excused. Thank you, sir.

One moment.

The defense counsel

has already questioned the witness.

Just one more question, sir.

You agree with Major La Marre

that you and your men ran from the enemy?

Well, sir, there was this shadow...

You saw the shadow and you and your men ran.

That's what you just said. Correct?

Yes, sir.

Then I charge you with perjury!

What else could it have been but a shadow?

I am referring to this.

Under direct examination, you said...

Here we are... "We walked back to our lines."

That's right.

What's right?

Walked or ran?

If I may say so,

the distinction is a small one.

Sir, these men are on trial

for showing cowardice in the face of the enemy.

A coward does not walk.

Walking made them heroes?

Would you have the courage

to walk across a battlefield?

I beg your pardon, sir.

I know that I would not have such courage.

I admit I am as confused as anyone

by the testimony of these prisoners.

When I first talked to them,

I thought they were trying to make a fool of me.

And what made the captain change his mind?

Nothing, but...

Th-There's an incredible sincerity about these men.

It has been my experience that men on trial for their lives

are always incredibly sincere.

Nevertheless, I insist that the records show that they walked.

That the aforementioned soldiers

are guilty of having shown cowardice

in the face of the enemy

and by a unanimous vote, this court condemns them

to the penalty of death by shooting

as provided for by the code of military justice.

This court is adjourned.

Right face.

Column right.

March.

Cheer up, Captain.

You did a good job.

Better than they deserved.

Are you sure that's all it was, sir?

All what was?

I mean what the sergeant said

that the shadow was caused by a flare.

Of course. The rest is rubbish.

Be sensible.

What else could it have been?

What else could it have been?

Good morning. Is it?

It's difficult for us to tell down here.

I'm going to see the commanding general

and try to get a stay of execution.

You don't sound hopeful.

I'll do my best.

I think you will, and that's most curious.

Why?

I'm a lawyer, that's why.

When you first came down here, you wanted to spit in our eye.

But in the courtroom and now,

don't tell me you actually believe our outrageous stories?

I don't know what I believe.

Anyhow, while I'm in town

I could mail your letters, if you wish.

When do they get rid of us?

It's scheduled for 1400 hours.

No letters, Sergeant?

After 18 years in the army?

I have nobody to write to, sir.

Sergeant...

is that all it was, just a shadow?

If I told them I saw Noah's ark passing by

would that have saved us?

No, I suppose not.

Oh, Captain, uh... you could do me a favor.

When you go into town, you...

you could get me a bottle of good cognac.

Something really first-rate, I mean, I...

I would like to have...

one last taste of first-rate cognac.

Of course.

It wasn't a shadow.

And I don't imagine things.

I'm as hardheaded as an ox.

What I saw, I saw.

When I looked up, the...

the flare was still burning bright.

And there, as big as the sky itself,

was the face of the first man I ever killed.

He was an Algerian.

Maybe even younger than me.

And if I didn't cut his throat,

he was going to cut mine.

Then he was dead.

His eyes were staring up at me.

That's what I saw.

That Algerian kid.

And you know how he looked?

As if he was saying,

"It's all right, my friend.

Wasn't your fault."

But that didn't make me feel any better about it,

for there I was again with a gun in my hand

and a belt of grenades around my neck.

And if it wasn't my fault that Algerian kid was dead...

well, then, whose fault was it?

You think I would say something like that in court

and let them laugh at me, too?

Well, if you are to get that cognac

while I can still drink it, you better hurry, sir.

♪ ♪

Could the captain spare a cigarette?

Hmm?

Take them all.

Thank you, sir.

Oh, thank you.

My grandfather will be so happy.

You see, we are all that's left of a family of seven.

I'd like to return the captain's kindness.

That's all right.

Would the captain like a sack of white flour?

At a reasonable price.

No, thanks.

Or fresh butter or eggs?

I have a fine Polish ham.

Does the captain need any potatoes?

A gold watch... In perfect condition.

Solid gold. Bite it.

Five after 2:00?

It can't be that late.

Ten after 1:00.

My grandfather thanks you for the cigarettes.

Can you get me some cognac?

But of course.

It's got to be first-class.

First-class cognac is expensive.

It doesn't matter.

I'm not bringing them anything else.

Pardon?

I've got to have it right away.

Have to be back at the prison before 2:00.

Our house is at the edge of town.

Get in.

I'll direct you.

The Boche are just a few kilometers

behind those woods.

Well, pretty soon, you'll be able

to sell them potatoes and ham and butter.

I am learning a few German words.

It's a difficult language.

I'm sure.

The cognac is in the cellar.

I'll get it.

You do not need a gun.

I threw mine in the river.

I've been walking through the trees

for I don't know how long.

I'm tired.

Very tired.

For me, the war is finished.

Let someone else call, "Ready, aim..."

and let someone else call, "Fire!"

And let someone else watch ten young soldiers

of their fatherland fall dead on the parade grounds.

What?

"A warning to cowards," says the field marshal.

"An example."

Let someone else do it.

What are you talking about?

What if they were telling the truth?

What?

Cowards?

They didn't look like cowards.

What are you talking about?

What if each one...

really did see something?

See something?

What?

You wouldn't believe me.

See something?!

What?

Where? What? What?

There will be no execution until further notice.

I'll give you my reasons later.

Yes, I'll send you an official order.

When were your men to be executed?

Sometime late today.

Operator?

Operator...

I want to talk to someone in the International Red Cross.

Someone with authority

to contact the German commander of this sector.

Hurry.

This is an emergency.

Of everything that happened,

perhaps the final miracle

was the chance meeting of two enemy soldiers

because a sergeant wanted a taste of cognac.

Within 24 hours, similar reports

were coming in from all over Europe.

Actually, no one was ever sure

of what happened in the sky that dark November night.

Ours is one version of the story...

There are many others...

But the one fact to remember

is that more than 1,000 men

did see or sense something.

In any event,

it is a matter of public record

that for a while,

men could not kill each other.

And in the end, if all else is false,

that is miracle enough.

Next week, one of the most stunning

psychic events on record.

It began with a garish succession of surprises

that shocked all England.

It ended with an important change

in the very laws by which we live.