Original subtitles

What shall I write? That I was foolish and naive -

- in thinking that we could resolve our deceiving Peter -

- by standing in front of the mirror of honesty -

- to watch the truth emerge, after which everything would be fine?

No. It may be that some things just cannot be resolved -

- by other means than time and inconceivably great pain.

And the war came to a head, while we back home and the Copenhagen elite -

- still saw the war as a game.

Not until the Danish generals decided to evacuate the Danevirke -

- did a deep and terrified sigh resound among the Danish people.

Like children who suddenly realize -

- that the fairy tale is meaningless.

Greetings!

Negotiators from the Prussian 3rd army -

- the 6th dragoons, the 5th company -

- ask permission -

- to approach the entrenchment freely.

Alarm!

In Denmark I was born, 'tis there my home is.

From there my roots, and there my world extend.

It's pretty smart that the music lies in the grooves -

- but doesn't it get scratched easily?

It isn't hard to tell if a saber has seen battle -

- or if it has just been for show.

Most people only know them from museums or as dusty antiques -

- but they really were one hell of a weapon.

A single well-directed blow could cut halfway through a man.

But this is Grandfather's saber.

- It has never seen battle. - Wasn't he in the war?

Indeed he was.

Do you resemble him?

I certainly hope not, Miss Claudia.

It may be that some people are not pure evil.

Everyone prefers to see the best in themselves.

Well, apart from genuine psychopaths who fairly revel in their evil.

And I don't think Didrich wished to be evil.

He just had no choice. Born from his mother's dead womb -

- straight into the arms of his father's furious grief.

See that saber on the wall over there?

Fetch it for me, please.

It was a gift from Karen Blixen.

Now, this one has seen battle.

It's chipped from hitting bone -

- or cutting deep into metal buttons.

Even this blood groove

Unless washed off right away -

- the blood will oxidize into the metal

The owner of this saber purposely never washed it.

He carried the blood of his enemies like a trophy. Oh yes.

Careful. It's sharp.

Who was he?

Dinesen was the youngest officer in the army.

Wild, filled with a vehement hatred -

- for the Germans.

Some called him invulnerable.

Indeed, he never did get a scratch.

His and Peter's group was the last to leave the Danevirke -

- and they fled precipitately because the Prussians knew -

- that if their hussars attacked the Danish army from the rear-

- they would slaughter them.

They were well-trained killers, tense, bloodthirsty -

- and furious at finding the Danevirke evacuated.

We will attack.

The main troop -

- with Laust and Didrich was further ahead.

But they got caught in a merciless snow storm -

- that almost did the weary soldiers in.

It must have been sheer terror to bring up the rear-

- and hear the hussars' trumpets heralding attack and death.

- Get a bloody move on! - What is that?

Hold my horse.

Why the hell did you let go? We are not leaving a cannon behind.

- We have the enemy behind us. - You dropped it in the lake.

- You must get it back out. - We can't. It's too heavy.

You.

You will jump in.

222, it's your responsibility.

Laust, you'll die in that water.

We lost it, so we must get it back out.

Put a rope around him.

More rope.

Stay put.

More rope.

Pull! Pull the rope.

- Laust! - Pull, damn it!

No!

Come on, pull!

- Damn it, Laust. - Pull, damn it!

Get him up. Pull!

Get him up!

Get him up!

They're coming back.

I'll take the one on the far left. You take the one on the right.

Fire!

Reload!

Stop.

Cursed Danes. On your knees.

Hands behind your head.

Hands behind your head!

You. Take off your hat.

Take off your hat.

Take off your hat.

Cursed Danes!

What are we going to do with you?

Which of us has yet to make a kill?

Rudolph?

Peter never spoke of that incident until many years later.

One winter he had sunk into deep despair-

- and she almost couldn't bring him back up.

But finally he began to recount how he had seen -

- the hussar's eyes. The first person he killed.

Dinesen's mad ferocity.

This strange, invincible man -

- who after the incident had reproached them all for panicking -

- and told them that the best soldier was the soldier-

- who already saw himself dead -

- and hence had nothing to lose.

And for the remainder of the war Peter was hard and gloomy.

There is a certain breed of men to whom you should always -

- stay close in war.

The immortals.

Dinesen belonged to that breed.

And what about Laust?

Laust and the others -

- had lost the cannon and had fallen behind -

- in part due to Laust's miserable state.

This delay proved very fortunate -

- because they didn't make it to the Sankelmark region -

- until it was too late.

Sankelmark?

If Dybbml was hell, Sankelmark was the hideous overture.

Colonel Mailer was to delay the enemy -

- so that the rest of the army could reach Dybbcal.

But first they waited.

And that is the worst part of war.

Waiting and waiting.

To suddenly realize that what is approaching -

- has but one purpose:

To kill you.

- You were there. - I was there?

You talk as if you were there.

The Battle of Sankelmark only lasted about an hour and a half.

The enemy was repelled -

- and the Danes had time to entrench themselves at Dybbml -

- as if that made the slightest difference.

Almost 900 dead and wounded -

- lay there alone in pain, until the last drop of life -

- froze out of their bodies.

No one had time to tend to them, you see.

Johan?

What is that?

It's Sankelmark, Alfred.

It's the wounded who have been left behind.

But we must help them.

There's no time, Alfred. We must push on.

- Come on. - But we can't.

- Yes. We'll be slaughtered here. - We can't just leave them there!

- Alfred! - We can't!

Our Father, which art in heaven.

Hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Laust could go on no longer.

Peter and his group, however -

- had reached safety far up north.

- Are you Danish, or must you die? - Danish.

- Have you come from Sankelmark? - The Danevirke. The last to leave.

YOU?

- Are you wounded? - It isn't our blood.

Have you come from Sankelmark?

Yes. It was terrible.

They stood in formation, bayonets first, and then the hussars charged.

Dinesen.

You haven't engaged.

Damned deserter. You abandoned your mates.

I'm going to blow your fucking brains out.

Stop it, Wilhelm.

Stop it.

Run!

The people hate you, Monrad.

Because you let the army flee, and because your own son was among them.

- De Meza had his tactical reasons. - They fled without battle.

No one seems to take your vision seriously.

Were this theater, it would be a provincial amateur performance.

Directed by the local schoolmaster -

- with the cobbler playing the king and the coachman playing you, Monrad.

- I beg of you - For what do you beg, coachman?

Every performance has its own dramaturgy.

It has a start, a middle and an ending.

The first two acts build up toward the final climax of the third.

This amateur performance builds and builds and builds -

- but the third act never comes.

- It's not that simple, Mrs. Heiberg. - I see.

God has always sided with us Danes -

- but these days he is absent.

I find that very, very frightening, Mrs. Heiberg.

Gentlemen, I am aware of the impression -

- the evacuation of the Danevirke has left on me

Father is rehearsing his speech for Parliament.

I understand the impression -

- it must have left on the honorable Members of Parliament -

- and the citizens of Copenhagen in general.

I cannot explain what made the general give up the Danevirke.

At our last meeting he was set on -

- fighting and offering serious resistance.

Not long after we were told of the decision -

- to evacuate

to evacuate the Danevirke, and the army had already struck camp.

This news hit us like thunder.

Therefore, I can only approve -

- of the Minister of War's decision to resign office.

But let us not condemn, let us not condemn -

- let us not be rash to condemn the men who fled the Danevirke.

For one sign of a crumbling nation is -

- when the word traitor is hurled at those who serve their country.

At those who serve their native country.

Ditlev . . .

My son is no traitor.

I love you, Viggo. I love you.

The Danes won at Mysunde.

We came in full force at the Danevirke -

- only to find no one there. And we were made to look fools.

Armed, loaded, ready for action and completely alone at the front.

While they calmly regroup -

- we are the laughing stock of Europe. We look like tin soldiers.

Bismarck, you are marvelous.

Before one has the chance to criticize you, you've done it yourself.

- I wish I were less cynical to myself. - But we have one thing in our favor.

The Danish army is fighting on two fronts.

Against us in the south and against its own government.

They say that the Danish general staff cut off the connection to Copenhagen -

- to save the army.

God almighty. What is wrong with that country?

Won't they face the facts?

The Danes are emotional, Your Majesty. They feel.

I was finally ready to leave.

I had begun to feel the child -

- and I was alone, now that my parents had turned their backs on me.

No, not alone. I had the child, too.

Not to mention Sofia, my beautiful black-eyed sister.

Although she was dumb, I understood her every word -

- as conveyed by the silent look in her eyes and firm movements.

And so we headed south.

We jumped on the wagon.

Ignazio and Djargo set off to do business in the wake of the war -

- and I set off to find Laust and Peter.

We're going to camp for the night.

Djargo, your thoughts are dark. Forget them.

Djargo. Forget them.

Laust and his group had fallen so far behind now -

- that the enemy had overtaken them.

And so they tried to make their way through the forest to Dybbcil.

Sofia?

Are you asleep?

Inge?

Inge?

Laust?

- Inge. - Don't die.

I'm coming.

We'll meet tomorrow.

Then we'll talk to Peter and settle matters.

Tomorrow we'll find each other, and then I'll tell you everything.

Tomorrow you'll become a father.

That night I nestled close to Sofia.

That is how we kept warm.

My breath against the back of her neck. Her back against my chest.

Your belly I felt something kicking.

Are you pregnant?

BY Whom?

Sofia? Who is it?

Who is it, Sofia?

Was it him?

The swine?

Was it him, Sofia?

Did he rape you?

He's ruined you, Sofia. He's turned my sister into a whore -

- carrying his bastard.

You can't carry his child!

I'm sorry, Peter.

I didn't mean to.

I love you, Peter.

But I've let you down.

I'm a swine.

Something happened.

Something happened between me and Inge.

We lost ourselves. We couldn't help ourselves.

I'm so sorry.

I think it will be too hard for me to die -

- if you hate me.

We have to push on now.

Peter, come upstairs and fuck.

Dead men don't fuck.

- Dybbel. - Must we pass through there?

But we can't.

Just wait here.

Who goes there? Who goes there?

A Danish soldier tired of the war.

- Tea? - Yes, please.

Are you a deserter, or are you just afraid?

Who isn't afraid?

- What's your name? - Why?

- You shouldn't be here. - No?

What about the others? Don't they bother you?

No, only you.

What's the matter with Heinz?

Stop that.

Just stay completely calm

and nothing will happen.

We don't want to hurt you.

Don't worry.

Just stay completely calm.

Completely calm.

Don't do anything. Everything is fine.

There. Now just shut your eyes to everything outside.

Heinz! Listen.

You can't shoot a man in the back. You just can't.

If you see an enemy, you can't shoot him in the back. Do you hear'?

And when the day comes, you won't shoot.

...can not.

Danes approaching! Danes approaching!

Damn it!

Danes approaching!

Danes approaching!

Join in! I shan't forget that clay!

I shan't forget that day when I first went away.

Me lassie dear she would not stay, of course she would not stay.

Where's the cannon?

The one you dropped in the lake?

The mere fact that we are here is a miracle, Captain.

You refused to obey a simple order. You left the enemy precious equipment.

There's no excuse for cowardice.

There is not one cowardly soldier behind this line.

- What the hell do you mean? - I can smell a coward from afar.

All the way back from that one time in Fredericia.

You were there?

This is the second time -

- so don't make it hard for the both of us.

Laust needs help, Captain.

Yes.

- General de Meza wants to see you. - Has he made an appointment?

No, he's here unannounced -

- but he has an urgent matter to discuss with you.

Very well.

General de Meza.

Right, you don't like No. No.

Prime Minister -

- I am aware of, and naturally must respect, the fact -

- that I have been relieved of my post as commander-in-chief.

Yet I feel obliged to inform you of the huge disaster -

- facing the Danish army and all of Denmark at this very moment.

The retreat from the Danevirke was imperative.

We must be mobile at Dybbzl. We can't just sit there and wait.

It could end in carnage never seen before in the history of Denmark.

We will send our men to their deaths all for nothing.

We must adhere to our original strategy and relocate the army to Fredericia.

Then, if the Prussians storm Dybbal, they will yet again be met by thin air.

We should deploy small units on the move in the region.

They can ambush the enemy taking advantage of their local knowledge.

General du Plat is without a doubt the best suited to replace me.

He has a strategic and creative mind.

But to dig ourselves in at Dybbml

Prime Minister, I implore you.

End this madness before it's too late.

General de Meza, you're nervous -

- and afraid of cold air and germs.

No wonder you're also afraid of the Prussian army.

The Danish army doesn't need creative leaders.

Denmark needs a general who understands what the Danes want.

And that is why you are out of work now.

May I ask whom you intend to appoint commander-in-chief?

General Gerlach.

Gerlach? General Gerlach is unable to make a decision.

He doesn't have to make any decisions. He just has to do as he's told.

And he wasn't there when you decided to evacuate the Danevirke.

- He'd never have done that. - I'm sure he wouldn't.

So if you'll excuse me?

Mr. Monrad

You are aware that you're leading 30,000 Danish soldiers -

- to slaughter at Dybbml?

I thank you for your good advice, General De Meza.

I'm sure that God will show himself soon.

God?

Yes. Once God has shown himself-

- we can lead our children away from the sacrificial slaughter.

You? You're too early this year.

Gentlemen, this is our situation.

We are placed on this side.

North, east.

The enemy is placed at Dybbral.

This will be one of the greatest massacres in our history.

We will wear out the Danes with cannonades.

I don't just mean their trenches and fortifications -

- we will also wear out the Danish soldiers mentally.

Meanwhile, our troops will dig tunnels under the Danish positions.

After a few weeks, 30,000 soldiers will occupy the tunnels ready to attack.

Goeben?

Howitzers. 12- and 24-pounder rifled breech-loading field guns.

They have a 5-kilometer range and unprecedented precision.

Cover your ears, gentlemen. The crash is deadly.

It is now 1615 hours -

- and we will begin by wearing out the Danish entrenchment.

Gentlemen

Howitzers!

Look.

Take cover!

Take cover!

Why does God shine his light on the miserable?

Why does he give life to the wretched -

- to those longing for death

which doesn't come?

Who seek it more than any treasure.

Who delight -

- and exult -

- and rejoice when they find their grave.

To a man whose path is hidden and whom God has confined?

My sighs have become my daily bread.

My groans gush forth like water.

That which I fear befalls befalls me.

That which I dread comes over me.

I can find no sleep, no rest -

- no peace.

What had brought us so far away -

- from common sense?

"Maybe war and its anarchy, which turns reality upside-down -

- is the fascination. Life and death.

Words and vigor flowing freely.

Piss and shit, laughter, profanities, semen and blood.

Was I losing my mind -

- or had we all?"

Subtitles: Helle Schou Kristiansen Dansk Video Tekst