Original subtitles

The bell is ringing.

Why is it ringing?

It's a custom.

The bell rings for those who are lost.

The bishop ordered it.

For the travellers who are lost in the woods.

The woods are fearful.

- What's your name?

Juraj, are you coming back tomorrow?

The clerks told me to come back immediately.

- Is it very far to your dwelling? - Far. We've been travelling all day long.

My God, you, Father,

cut off such a thin slice of bread like a girl cutting marzipan.

You can't feel that it's bread when you put it into your mouth.

We always cut bread like this in my monastery.

It's a monastic custom.

But why?

Why?

Why devour enormous bites? It's greed and gluttony.

I swear on my name, Wincenty Wolodkowicz.

You, Father, must be a glutton, an extraordinary one.

God bless you.

Well, Antosia, will you predict the future to the Father?

Why not?

The priests also have their fate.

Many young ladies...

Many young ladies ask for his advice before they enter the convent.

He also would like to know the future, but he can't.

Tell him something...

What can I tell him?

Tell him everything. Everything.

If his journey will be good,

whom he will meet in his long journey, whom he will see...

He'll see a maiden who is a mother.

There are lots of such cases here in Poland.

Poor miserable thing, you are miserable, very miserable.

You'll fall in love with a hump-backed.

Praised be Jesus Christ.

Now and forever.

They are waiting for you, Father.

They can't wait.

But nobody was told that I was going to come here.

They somehow know.

But they sometimes lie.

So you've come to the nuns too?

Do you know what is going on in there?

You know how holy are those maidens?

You shouldn't say such things.

We, the theologians know something about that.

And you, you should pray and remain silent.

The sister gatekeeper hasn't closed the gate tonight

as she's waiting for the Father saviour.

How do you know what's going on in the convent?

How?

Because I'm the convent calefactor.

So, men are allowed to go behind the convent walls?

The woman can't cut a piece of a big tree trunk herself, Father.

She can't kill the bull nor slaughter the ram.

The nuns don't eat meat, I believe.

They do, yes.

They say that they are tempted by a devil.

Protect us, Lord, from an evil word.

I believe in our Saint Catholic Church,

I swear on my name.

Our village is like that -

only Wolodkowicz and Wolodkowicz.

The land is poor, only the flax and oats grow, and that's all.

The apples are sour, and the flax is poor.

Only booze is strong like everywhere else.

To Father's health.

To you, Father canon.

- I'm not a canon. - So you'll be the one.

It's time I went.

I have to go.

And you, Juraj, go to sleep.

You'll get up very early.

The provincial ordered you to come back immediately.

I need to go to the convent.

- Kaziuk will accompany you. - God bless you.

Praised be Jesus Christ.

Now and forever.

He drank some vodka.

So he's obviously not so temperate.

They are all the same, all!

And our convent maidens eat pork too?

What for they need it?

- They have a different life. - Don't talk so much.

Beware; you can say something wrong at a fatal hour.

Tell me, Wincenty Wolodkowicz, what is it like in the convent?

How do those devils hunt at the nuns?

Say no more, sir.

There are no jokes now.

Everyone spies each other,

and then reports to the priests in the convent.

Are there lots of priests in the convent?

There are four exorcists, and that one who has just came is the fifth.

And twelve gathered and judged rector Garniec.

And they delivered a verdict - the stake.

They burnt our rector without any reason.

And what about maidens? They haven't stopped dancing?

They show even better tricks.

Is it true that Father Garniec was a sorcerer?

So you feel pity for Father Garniec.

It's always a pity for a man...

even the worst.

What was he like?

He wasn't a saint...

And he sizzled like a hog on the stake.

How can they burn a man like that...

Eat, eat...

How did they burn him?

Did they come, drag him off to be burnt?

Did they take off his clothes?

The clothes burn first in the fire.

And the man stays naked.

Father Jozef.

Welcome, Father Jozef.

I'm the landlady of Father Brym, the rector.

That's good, Krysia, but now leave me with my guest.

- But the Father is not a guest. - Not a guest.

Alunio, go and play with her.

Poor children.

They are my all comfort.

Orphans?

Their mother is alive,

but we've burnt their father.

They are the legacy of Garniec.

What fate is awaiting them now...

The children of the priest and a sorcerer...

Do you believe in his bad intentions, Father?

I may not have believed in his magic, but in his bad intentions - always.

Was Satan in him?

Yes.

Great hardships are awaiting you here.

I spent all autumn fasting and mortifying.

I've been praying and I still pray, but I still fear of him.

Who?

I never go to the convent.

I have my presbytery, my church.

Father Garniec didn't go there either.

I mean nuns destroyed him.

As a matter of fact, Father Garniec was young and beautiful,

and me - the old man.

I won't appear in the dream of Mother Joan of the Angels.

Did Father Garniec appear?

And they say he also penetrated through these convent walls.

What can I say?

The women can concoct everything.

So you think it's only women's talk?

I think - but I'll tell it only to you -

that these nuns wanted very much Garniec to come to them.

These maidens - or those demons who possessed them -

say such terrible things that...

And they tell loudly in the presence of hundreds people

where these demons are located, what and where they touch.

And it all happens in the church, during exorcisms.

What an evil example! In the church?

Try to tell it to the exorcists.

They say that when the people see the Devil,

they believe deeper in the Devil and the Catholic church.

So they show the people whatever they can.

Like tricks at the fair.

To introduce God thanks to the Devil?

Who knows, Father Jozef, who knows?

Perhaps it's not a bad idea.

Maybe this is the way to make people saints.

Or...

or there are no demons at all in there.

Every woman has a natural inclination to fall.

But also for sanctity.

Eh, when a man looks around in the world...

I don't know the world.

So what can I say about it?

My mother was a Carmelite nun and my two sisters were nuns.

The women around me were almost saints.

That's good, my beloved Father.

It's very good that you are very pious and you don't know what a woman is.

I think you'll have many hardships here.

- Pray for me, Father. - What I, a sinful man, can do?

My prayer flies low, but I'll pray, I will.

Give me your blessing, Father.

Alunio. Krysia. We're going back.

I wanted to accompany you, Father.

No, it's not necessary.

But it's more honourable to walk in a company, Father.

I don't care.

But we do care.

I'll be always accompanying you.

- Here there are good people? - All of them?

Maybe not all,

but only before the evening, when you don't know what was the day.

It's here.

A sister will open the gate,

sister Malgorzata.

The Mother Superior has been waiting for you since yesterday evening.

Welcome, Father. I'm glad to see you.

We've been waiting for you as for our saviour.

My daughter, our prayers will help us.

Please sit down, Father.

We've been experiencing tribulations for a few months.

The priests who've been with us for a while can't cope with them.

All my hope, along with the other nuns, is in you, Father...

I was given an order to take care of only you.

The other nuns have to be under the care of the other priests.

Really? That's good.

If the demons leave me, they won't hold to the other nuns.

It all started from me.

- I'll try to expel this demon. - I have eight demons in me.

Gresil, Aman, Asmodeus, Leviathan,

and Zapaliczka.

Believe me, my daughter, the demon can have many shapes and forms.

You haven't gone to confession for a long time.

From the first possession, for six months.

That's really a long time. Why did you postpone doing penance?

It wasn't us.

The demons didn't allow us to take the sacraments.

The demons didn't allow...

or perhaps it was your spiritual laziness that impersonated these demons?

So you don't believe that I'm possessed.

My child, I must believe even if I don't want to.

But there are many ways of letting the Devil into our souls.

He's a potentate.

We don't know much about the demon's nature.

The things they say through the possessed lips

don't deserve to be believed.

Haven't you thought that they are the sons of a lie?

What is a lie and what is truth, Father?

Every Christian should have a conscience

that shows him a border between black and white.

Is it wrong that Father Garniec died due to my faults?

May your conscience answer this question.

Oh, if I told you about all terrible things this man made to me,

all those repulsive things...

I'll tell you, I must tell you one day.

You need to know all that's inside me, all my suffering,

all I've experienced and still experience.

It's you who have to take me out of the abyss,

that loneliness in which I was thrown by the Lord.

Calm down, my daughter.

Calm down.

Nobody is alone in this world. Nobody.

I saw him standing by my bed.

The Guardian Angel.

He was similar to Kaziuk from the inn.

But he had long hair falling to his arms.

He leant over me, touched my breast and...

I had five drops of a smelling balm in this place on my nightgown.

Forgive me, but I don't have anyone to tell about my pain and fears.

Defend me,

defend me my spiritual father.

Very well.

Now go back to your pursuits, my daughter.

I'll pray, and then we'll talk about our sins and weaknesses.

Sweetheart...

Don't think that it will be so easy to expel me from this nice body.

Mother Joan.

I'm not Mother Joan.

I'm not Mother Joan. I'm nobody.

Don't think that you scared us with your Latin talk.

You vicious clerk.

Depart, Satan.

Praised be Jesus Christ, sister Malgorzata.

- Now and forever. - I thought you wouldn't come to us today.

I've got more and more work, darling, because of these exorcisms.

The nuns are only praying and you have to work for everyone.

Oh, I'm out of breath.

I like to keep myself in the background.

But it's pleasant to be with people.

I'm so glad to see...

the representative of the famous convent.

Sister, I'm sure you'll tell me something interesting.

what could be interesting that I could I tell you?

It's you who are from the big world.

But if not for the nuns and the convent, we wouldn't have ever come here.

We've been drawn here by exorcisms.

The devils don't come to me.

Perhaps my soul is strong and my body is not so attractive.

Now the exorcisms are going to start! The new priest has come.

He's too weak for our convent.

After the talk with our Mother Superior

he was as pale as the dead and could hardly walk.

And she only showed him a trick with a smoked handle.

How?

So Mother Joan is deceiving?

Is it not a devil that makes her smoke the handle every morning in the refectory?

It's not a deception.

She shouldn't deceive. She shouldn't.

Mother Joan shouldn't deceive. That must be real.

Why did we come here?

We should have come to the church fair, to watch acrobats...

I didn't like those devil nuns right from the start.

I wish demons could take nuns' robes off...

Sometimes they shed their robes.

They were running naked in the garden until Garniec was burnt.

They cried loudly...

Listen Sir, let's go and teach the nun to drink spirits.

Let's go.

Nun, I swear on my name, Wolodkowicz,

please drink with us a glass of honey...

But Sirs, my God...

- like Tatars... - Please, drink.

One sin, you should make use of it...

What a spitfire...

To the convent.

- To Mother Joan. - To Mother Superior.

To the convent.

My beloved mother

I prefer to be a nun

I don't want to marry

A bad man.

My beloved husband

May flog me with a mace

He would give me a beating...

I prefer to be a nun.

It's better be in the convent

With the nuns in the choir

Than to get blows

I prefer to sing

Matins, maturae

And Horae Beate

And have a healthy skin.

Father Suryn is coming back.

My daughter, where do I see you?

I had a business with that woman.

Go, and sin no more.

Here is a devil, and there is a devil.

It's just the way of the world.

- You know this world very well. - What about you, Father?

Me? I don't know, either.

I've been in the convent since I was a child.

Be careful, Kaziuk.

Devils must have brought here this axe.

I know that you are angry that I've come to fight with you.

This is your kingdom, but I'm sent here by the other people in the name of God.

I'm from a different kingdom. I'm from the light...

like you are from the darkness.

I'm from good like you are from evil.

Kaziuk, do you believe in the Devil?

- I believe. - Have you ever seen him?

Yes.

With horns?

You are stupid.

He had wings and the face of the Mother Superior.

- But what did he look like? - Don't be too curious.

Tell me.

I've never seen the Devil.

I've never seen him either.

But you said...

I haven't seen the figure,

but I've seen how he controls the nuns.

The most our Mother Superior, Mother Joan of the Angels.

- Is this her name? - Yes.

- Mother Joan of the Angels.

She should be called of the Devils, not of the Angels.

It's foolish to be alone in the world.

Perhaps I'll be possessed by a demon.

Demons don't take possession of people like us.

Sometimes I hate my father so much that I could kill him.

And when you kill your father, the demon won't leave you.

There's no point in killing him. He'll die all by himself.

When he dies, he dies. But now he's bad.

He beats my mother and me.

Pray for him.

I don't care.

Say: In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

God, take care of my father.

How can I say: God, take care of my father?

And sleep.

In the name of the Father and the Son...

I'm already sleeping.

Good night.

Satan.

I command you to depart the body of reverend Mother Joan of the Angels.

Depart.

Depart, the Satan.

I won't.

Do whatever you want, I won't depart.

I don't want to.

Balaam, Isakaron, Asmodeus,

Gresil, Aman, Leviathan, answer.

Who are you?

This is I, Zapaliczka, at your service.

Answer me, Zapaliczka.

Will you depart the body of this woman at my command?

I'll depart immediately.

But what are you going to do with my brothers?

Balaam is in the head, Gresil in the belly, and Asmodeus...

Satan, I command you to depart.

Zapaliczka has departed.

I'm not Mother Joan.

I'm a demon, my name is Gresil.

Gresil, the demon, the God's will is present

in the fact that you entered the body of this woman.

You owe obedience to those who command you in the name of God.

Will you be obedient?

Yes.

So show us how the Seraphs worship the Lord of Hosts.

How do the Seraphs worship the Lord of Hosts?

Gresil,

show us now how the thrones worship the Supreme God.

Gresil, in the name of God I call you

to worship to the sign of our salvation.

Don't order this of me, Father. He's going to torture me.

- Worship. I command you. - I don't want to. No.

I don't want to.

I won't pay homage.

No earthly or heavenly power will force me to do this.

I am and I will be.

Humble yourself.

No.

Accursed be the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit,

the Holy Mother and all Heavenly Kingdom.

Oh, Holy Cross, Holy Mother, forgive me all my blasphemies.

God.

My Lord, protect me from the Satan.

You frightened me.

Are there going to be more exorcisms in the church?

There are, there always are.

Only this time the Mother Superior will be isolated.

- Isolated? - Yes.

Kneel down, Mother Joan.

Kneel down, my daughter.

We'll be praying together.

I'm going to say the prayers and you try to join me in your soul.

May the calm flow into you.

Love expels the evil. Fill with it the whole of yourself.

Can you not love back?

Let us pray.

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee;

blessed art thou among women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

Odryn and I have cleaned here, but we can't cope with the pigeons.

- Tell Odryn to clog the holes in the roof. - I will, Mother Joan.

There are so many of them... Lots of birds everywhere.

- Nobody will disturb you here. - Thank you, sister.

Here, in seclusion you'll easily get rid of your pride.

The shameful pride that is your biggest sin.

Mother Joan, when you are among people you think only about your enhancement.

Who am I?

A humble servant of God.

The one who worships God in a remote convent.

I'm only a nun.

My father is a prince but of an impoverished line.

He is somewhere in the Smolensk marshes and nobody knows how he is.

Who am I, the humble nun,

that as much as eight powerful demons have possessed me?

Be good as a child.

Be happy as a child.

Since God loves us.

Very much.

What if the devil departs me and possesses you?

God, have mercy upon my sinful soul.

There's no truth in the world.

You return to your hopeless words without a hope.

After so many days of prayers, after so many acts of humility...

Don't do it.

The devils have begun to rage in me again.

You are becoming a devil yourself.

- No. - Let me go. Leave me.

- Praised be Jesus Christ! - Now and forever.

Father Suryn is not here.

I've come here only for a minute, darling. I haven't come here for a long time,

but it's because lots of things are happening in the convent.

You have no time even to look through the convent gate.

And here the grating for Father Suryn is made.

And Mother Joan has been possessed by even more powerful demons.

So it starts to be like with Father Garniec...

Or you'll say that at a fatal hour.

This man leaves everything and comes back to our dirty town.

They said he's borrowed money from the local Jews.

Such a master doesn't deal with such things.

How do you know who deals with such things?

Of course I know. In case of Father Garniec...

You must be surprised to see me in this town again

- but I'm attracted to it somehow... - You are so interested in our convent.

Father, here it is.

Why should I enter in here?

Who knows what will happen. And he's a wise man.

He always says: Worry?

You don't have to open the door for it; it will let itself in through the window.

Here you are.

Rabbi asks you to come in.

Welcome.

You must be surprised.

No.

I thought a long time ago that one of you would come to me.

So you know?

I know.

What is this?

So Father benefactor comes to a poor rabbi to ask what is this,

what are the demons...

You, Father, don't know.

Maybe there are no demons. It's only a lack of the angels.

And the angel flew away from Mother Joan and she is left alone with herself.

Maybe it's only a human nature.

Don't judge, don't scoff, Jew.

You are staying here in the room without windows, with the candles and books

and you don't care that people suffer, that these women...

Women suffer...

So let them suffer, that's women's fate.

And a man can't escape from his fate.

Tell me, what do you know about the demons?

Sit down, Father.

First, try to tell me what the evil spirit is,

where he lives, what is he like and where does he come from, and who created him.

Adonai.

God.

Who else could create him?

What if Satan created the world?

Stop it.

Because, if God created the world,

so why there are so many evil things in it?

And death, and illness, and wars...

Why does he persecute us, Jews?

Why are our sons killed, and our daughters raped?

The original sin.

The fall of the first parents.

But people fell and got up so many times.

How many times was the patient Abel killed by Cain?

Every evil that men do towards other men is nothing compared to the evil

that dominates inside them.

The fall of the first man, the fall of the first angel...

Why did the angels come down from heaven

and spawn giants with earthly women?

Come on, tell me spiritual Father.

The angels are inconceivable creatures.

Your Mother Joan is called of the Angels,

but what does she know about the Angels?

What are the Angels, Father?

God sends them.

And what about a devil?

Satan doesn't possess a human soul without a God's will.

When can Satan possess a human soul?

When a human loves him very much.

What's the love towards Satan?

Love is at the root of everything that happens in the world.

Here one young man loved a Jewish girl,

loved her so much that when he died, he entered her.

She was brought to me.

She stood where you are.

I called that spirit to leave her...

And what happened?

The spirit didn't want to depart.

So you see...

But he told me that he wouldn't depart her and he took her soul.

And she died.

Love is very strong, like death.

You won't tell me anything...

You want to know everything straight away.

All what my grandfather was taught by his grandfather,

and his grandfather and his great grandfather...

All what was written on the parchment, what was written in Zohar and Temoreh.

So you want to know that. You want me to tell it to you in three words,

as if it was a business... a receipt, certificate...

Sha-sha-sha and that's all.

About all demons,

of these created by Eternal Father Adonai,

and about those born of the sons of angels and earthly women,

and about those who've already risen in you and disturb your mind

and only wait to take away your wisdom,

and of those who are now in your heart, your heart. Heart.

You want to know everything about demons.

So let them possess your soul.

My demons are my problems and my soul is my soul.

I am you, and you are me.

God, what you are saying.

You, Father, don't know anything.

You are walking in the darkness; your ignorance is like a black coat.

I won't teach you anything because you can't learn anything.

My knowledge is not your knowledge any longer.

So you are me.

Get out.

I don't know anything either.

Nothing.

Sister, tell the Mother Superior to come immediately to the parlatory, to the attic.

- To the attic? - Yes.

And tell her that I won't carry out exorcisms.

I held thy hand and I have taken thee from the ends of the earth,

and called thee from the most distant places;

I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.

Fear thou not; for I am with thee.

Why did you call me?

I want your salvation.

Where's salvation?

It's the most difficult for me to speak up frankly.

Speak to me.

I'll take everything on me.

I'll take your sins, and you'll remain pure. Tell me everything.

The most terrible thing is that I have a liking for Satan.

Being possessed pleased me.

I'm proud that this happened to me and I find a kind of pleasure in the fact

that the demons torture me more than others.

You sin with pride again. Pray for the virtue of humility.

There's no salvation for me.

I said the same a moment ago about me. But now I don't believe in it.

Now I'm strong and powerful. I'll lead you, Mother Joan.

Where to?

What is the way you are showing me?

You want me only to calm down, to become grey, and to get smaller.

To be exactly the same as all other nuns.

Very well then.

I'll tell you.

It's me who opens my soul to the demons.

And you want make me similar

to thousands people wondering aimlessly in the world.

You want to see me praying in the morning, afternoon and in the evening.

You want me to eat bean in oil everyday.

And what do you promise me in return for that? Salvation?

I don't want that salvation.

It's better to be condemned if you can't be a saint.

If only you made me a saint...

It's my only longing...

Do you know what it means - to understand everything?

Fuse with the Eternal Light and to stay on the earth at the same time.

To be on the altars surrounded by incenses, candles...

Return in the prayers on everyone's lips...

This is the life.

This is an eternal life.

Yes.

If not, it's better with devils...

Joan, calm down.

All redemption is in love.

Love is strong, like death.

Make me a saint.

No.

I can't do this.

Suryn.

- Don't run on crops. - But I'm scaring the wolves.

Wolves...

Why this child is crying?

Because she soiled herself.

So take her to the kitchen or she'll be cold.

You see, she scares wolves...

That's good.

I'm thinking that a small devil urges me to drink this sweet beer.

If the devils exists, they can be smaller or bigger.

A big devil is called Behomet,

and the small one - maybe beer?

Go, Father Jozef, go now.

The travel itself will calm you down.

You'll return to your cell, you'll see your books,

and maybe demons will depart you leaving your body and soul.

No.

I don't want to.

I want him to stay in me.

He is me and I am he.

I don't want to expel him.

It's Satan who possessed her soul, her body.

The bell is ringing.

For those who are lost.

The sound goes far.

I like this ringing.

They ring a bell everyday.

It's scary in the wood.

The wolves are howling.

Bad things can happen anytime.

And what?

She is here; she has changed her clothes already.

Remember, we are leaving before dawn.

Hold the horse.

Catch him.

Stop.

My beloved mother

I prefer to be a nun

I don't want to marry

A bad man.

My beloved husband

May flog me with a mace

He would give me a beating...

I prefer to be a nun.

It's better be in the convent

With the nuns in the choir

Than to get blows

Why did you stop?

Keep dancing and playing.

God will forgive you for you know not what you do.

A man is a strange creature...

This Mother Joan... what is going to happen to her?

Nothing. She'll be a nun.

And a devil?

Devils always find something to do.

They've departed Mother Joan and possessed Father Suryn.

And possibly Malgorzata.

So Mr Chrzaszczewski has come to take her?

He's been possessed too.

She's an ugly woman.

I find her attractive.

She's big.

How is your father?

He keeps drinking and beating.

Do you pray for him?

No.

So pray with me.

Say: God, take care of my father.

I can say:

- God, take care of my father. - And everybody.

And everybody.

Amen.

And now sleep.

Good night.

So you are already.

You are.

Go away.

Stop pestering me.

No.

Stay.

I know that when you leave me, you'll go back to Mother Joan.

Don't go.

May she be free.

May she be a saint.

Take me.

And you'll never come back to Mother Joan.

And you won't leave me.

Never.

What am I supposed to do?

No, don't make me do this.

Stay.

I remember.

Yes, I remember where this axe is.

I remember.

Sir, there's a smell of blood in the stable.

Don't talk nonsense.

- The horses feel something... - Get on.

- What about the maiden? - Let's get out of here.

Get up, Sir. Chrzaszczewski has gone.

Listen! Chrzaszczewski has left me.

It's all your fault, you induced me to sin.

- What? He's run away? - You induced me to sin.

Sister Malgorzata.

Chrzaszczewski left me.

That devil's litter. Damnation on him.

They are dead.

The servants are dead.

Kaziuk and the second one. Murdered.

Killed.

We need a priest.

Father Suryn.

Father Jozef.

They are innocent.

They went to heaven.

God.

I'll be forever in the hands of the Jew.

Father Jozef, Chrzaszczewski left me.

Come back.

No, I won't come back to the convent.

I can't.

I don't want to.

Go.

Tell Joan that it was for her.

For her good, to save her.

To keep devils with me since they wanted to return to her.

Tell her, don't forget.

Tell her that it was for love.

May you be taken by devils, by wolves...

May you suffer the tortures of hell.

May you never see a God's world.

You are a devil in a human body...