All language subtitles for One Step Beyond - S01E10 - The Vision

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.