Original subtitles

THE VINLAND CLUB

-Welcome to our school. -Thank you.

Did you have a nice trip?

Not bad, not bad.

I'd love a little tour.

DIRECTED BY BENOIT PILON

DECEMBER 1948

Hello.

Huddle.

Huddle.

Come on.

We're all scared here.

It's to be expected.

It's called stage fright,

even Chouinard is scared.

Me? Not at all!

Let's say Chouinard's not scared.

He's unusual.

Because before going on stage,

all actors have stage fright.

All of them. And you know what? That's why

they're all so good.

Courage,

real courage,

it's not about not being afraid.

Real courage is being afraid,

but going for it anyway.

Everyone...

-Are we afraid? -Yeah!

Shall we do it anyway?

-Yeah! -Get up then!

Come on.

Dubé, are you still scared?

Great, keep it up.

Get the lights.

I'm scared, but I'm going for it anyway.

I'm scared, but I'm going for it anyway.

I'm scared, but I'm going for it anyway.

You're up!

Someone! Someone!

A boat is approaching the coast!

-Iroquois? -No, Big Chief.

Their hair is yellow like wheat and their boat has the head of a monster.

Leif,

what is this land that stands before us?

I don't know it.

But it's not Greenland.

The storm tossed us around westwards for ages.

Let's head for that deep bay over there, we can dock there.

Go explore the area.

Leif, wild wheat.

Wherever the earth is low.

The hills are covered with it.

I, Leif Erikson,

discoverer of these hitherto unknown lands,

I name it Vinland.

-Mr. Chouinard. -Land of vines and grapes.

Mr. Chouinard, now you!

I tell you, I tell you, it is I,

Leif Erikson himself,

who found this area.

Oh!

My name is Cristoforo Colombo.

I was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451.

Perhaps you know me better as Christopher Columbus,

the discoverer of America.

How dare you call yourself

discoverer of America? It is I, Leif Erikson,

who discovered it 500 years before you did.

-Lie! -Truth!

Shameless lie.

I will not allow a barbarian to steal my discovery.

You are the thief!

Leave, before I slice you up!

Come here!

That is the real history.

It is here, in these sagas.

VIKING SAGAS

It is a gift from the past.

I leave it to you.

Bravo!

Brother Visitor.

You may sit down, Brother Jean.

Your show was quite a success.

It wasn't just my show, you know.

Your students showed a lot of guts.

They were perfect, despite some unexpected events.

Which you skillfully fixed.

Your interpretation of Christopher Columbus was...

very entertaining.

It was mostly improvised.

I guess so.

But...

The text of the play was not improvised.

It is surprising that

our textbooks tell us it was Christopher Columbus

who discovered America.

Remember that we long taught that it was the Sun

that went around the Earth.

I must admit, when I left Quebec

this afternoon, I didn't expect

to see a pagan play

without any moral content.

I should've remembered that with you, we always

go from surprise to surprise.

Should I take that as a compliment?

I'm told that

Viking stories take up a lot of space in your classroom.

You know, when I walk into class in the morning,

I have boys in front of me who want to be elsewhere.

So I try to take them there from time to time.

Learning doesn't have to be...

fun.

A teacher's job will always be to teach his students

-hard work. -That's true.

But it is also to infect them.

To infect them with the desire to learn.

Once they have that,

they will work hard.

Our students are the workers and farmers of tomorrow.

Our job is to teach them to read,

to write, to count.

I'm well aware...

We're here to prepare them for adult life

by instilling Christian values in them.

But it's not by

clouding their minds with frivolous ideas

that we'll succeed.

If I may, these are not frivolous ideas.

Some historians have theorized Viking presence

in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Brother Jean,

let's leave clever theories to these researchers.

Our task is elsewhere.

If we ourselves do not ensure that Christian values

are maintained, who will?

You hear things in the theatre and on the radio

that would have been unimaginable in the past.

And what happens when morals erode?

Societies eventually break up.

That's what worries me, Brother Jean.

-I understand. -I'm happy to hear it.

I know that Brother Director and Brother Cyprien

also share this philosophy.

Well, since I have a few hours of driving to do,

Brother Jean,

Brother Cyprien,

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thank you for everything, Brother Visitor.

You have time to get noticed, Brother Jean.

Do you like teaching here?

Make sure it lasts.

BROTHER JEAN

Émile, bottom drawer.

-Émile... -What?

Did you get a good look at it? You'll look silly in that.

Pass the one you got for your birthday.

You'll get used to it, you'll see.

You'll make new friends,

and we'll write often.

I'll hear from you and you'll hear from me.

That's what your father would've wanted.

Dad would never have sent me to boarding school.

I'm doing it for you, Émile, not for me.

If you don't understand now, you will later.

You have to sleep, you're leaving early tomorrow morning.

Hello.

JANUARY 1949

You won't get another chance like this.

Promise me you'll do everything you can to make it work.

-Say that you promise. -I promise.

Alright.

Can you carry this?

I'll write to you!

So he said:

"I won't be able to answer."

I didn't understand anything.

He didn't like that either, so he said:

"Say something, Mr. Chouinard."

Not thinking, I said:

"Well, Broché, do I answer or not?"

I don't think you said that.

I don't think your story's true.

Chouinard...

-Want a piece of me? -Are you scared?

Maybe...

Who's Broché?

Brother Cyprien.

You'll meet in time.

We don't take baths here?

No, just hand showers.

What's wrong with you?

Lulu's coming!

What's going on here?

He didn't know how the sink worked.

I showed him.

-No nonsense, is that clear? -Yes, Brother Lucien, it's clear.

A newbie, and already making trouble?

-No. -"No, Brother Lucien."

Is that clear?

No, Brother Lucien.

I mean: yes, Brother Lucien, it's clear.

Didn't even get scared.

He got all red in the face.

You're not supposed to have that here.

If you get caught, you're done for.

Can I see it?

Where did you get that?

My dad.

"Chapter two:

"to have humble feelings about oneself.

"Every man naturally desires knowledge,

"but what is science worth without the fear of God?

"Moderate the torrid desire to know.

"One will only find great dissipation and great illusion.

"Knowledge is good for appearances.

"The more you know, the more severely you will be judged

"if you do not live a holier life."

"Whatever art and science you possess,

"do not take pride in it."

Mr. Chouinard,

I confess, this time, you really outdid yourself.

I mean...

Did you see the trajectory of this airplane?

A perfectly straight line,

an altitude of exemplary stability.

Our friend Chouinard knows

that in order for his plane to maintain a certain altitude,

its lift must be equal to its weight.

For example, if he had used a larger sheet of paper,

his plane would have been heavier.

Its wings would have had to be wider.

To make sure everyone understands how it works,

I'll ask you to write a short essay explaining

how to make paper fly.

It shouldn't be too difficult. Science will have answers for you.

1,000 words will suffice.

You may sit.

Now that this issue is settled,

I'd like to welcome your new classmate:

Émile Lacombe, from Quebec City.

To settle him in we will recap on the main things

we've seen in the last few months.

So, nothing? Yes Mr. Bergeron.

-The explorers of America. -Very good.

What did we learn about them?

The voyages of Christopher Columbus,

Magellan,

-Cortés and Cabot. -Very good, very good.

-Yes? -They were confused.

One thought he'd found China,

but it was Newfoundland.

What was his name?

-Jacques Cartier. -No.

It was Cabot, Giovanni Caboto, an Italian.

What was Cartier looking for when he arrived in the Gulf of St. Lawrence?

-Mr. Bergeron? -A passage to the Indies.

Exactly. It's hard to get it more wrong than that.

Mr. Dubé.

We also learned he thought he'd found...

Mr. Bergeron?

Mr. Lacombe.

-Do you have any questions? -No, I'm fine.

You'll see, you'll have questions as you learn more.

The strike could be...

Hey, kid,

come here.

I'm looking at a guy who did something wrong and doesn't know it.

This one's for Brother Gonzague and that one's for Brother Jean.

Change your mood.

For you.

It's from the Uni.

Could you give me Émile Lacombe's file, please?

The University in Quebec City.

L, as in Lacombe.

Have you heard from your brother?

His wife is worried.

He's tied up in all of this, so he's never home

and it might get messy.

That's a lot of reading.

Thank you, Brother Lucien.

Mr. Lacombe.

Did you find your homework interesting?

-It was fine. -Do you think

copying everything word for word from an encyclopedia is work?

When are you in this school?

If you just go through the motions,

the next few years will feel very long.

I won't even be here next year.

I'm going to be 14 this summer, my uncle will get me a job at the mill.

My mom's working alone and we can't manage.

BROTHER JEAN THE PEACOCK

Wanting to help your mom is to your credit.

But you're here until June,

not in a mill.

It'd usually be an F.

But I'll pretend not to have it.

Start over,

seek information from more than one source and make an effort

to understand what you read.

Then write it in your own words.

You have three days.

There's a spot waiting for you at the Vinland Club.

Make sure to be there at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

The University came to you?

Yes, the History Department.

They're organizing a symposium on the pre-Columbian period.

And they randomly invited you?

Pr. Thompson from the University of Baltimore

told them about me.

Who will be in the room?

Teachers, students,

guests from all over, it's pretty prestigious.

What will you tell them?

My hypothesis on possible Viking installations

on the St. Lawrence coast.

You don't seem convinced.

They're used to receiving academics,

-not just teaching Brothers. -Great,

it'll be a nice change for them.

What about

Brother Visitor's warning?

Brother Visitor's worried about Vikings in my room,

not my free time occupations.

-But you want to take your students. -Only the Vinland Club ones.

And since it's a Saturday, they won't miss class.

And...

Why would they go with you?

They've never been to a university.

I want them to know of it

and that boys like them have made it there.

It might be the only opportunity for some of them.

Brother Cyprien,

sorry for calling out to you in such a manner.

Have you spoken to the Brother Director?

It won't work, unfortunately.

Your brother's not sick,

not at death's door, he's on strike.

My sister-in-law needs help.

-They have six children, you know. -I understand all that,

but it's not an emergency.

We can't allow that, sorry.

"They hoisted the sail,

"they sailed past the wonderful beaches of Laki Point.

"When they got to Strømfjord...

That's the Strait of Belle Isle, which you know.

"...they headed southwest

"along the coast."

This is where

the new translation is fascinating.

Because it gives us two very specific indications:

a direction, southwest,

and the fact that they went along the coast.

We start at 10 a.m.

-Sorry. -"Sorry."

You underestimate the virtues of silence, Mr. Chouinard.

As I was saying,

the new translation says they sailed southwest along the coast.

Starting from here,

from Belle Isle Strait,

there's a trajectory that matches the description:

-The North Shore. -The North Shore?

Yeah, but where

did they stop then?

That's more vague.

But the new text gives us

a very precise description of where they stopped.

"They sailed for a long time

"to the estuary of a great river.

"There were large sandbars

"which prevented the entry of boats, except at high tide.

"In the distance, on the river,

"they saw great falls,

"flowing into a small lake."

It talks about a tributary that narrows into a narrow neck,

then an enlargement that forms

a kind of lake

into which the river flows through a large waterfall.

You see?

It's very specific.

I've reviewed all the confluences of the North Coast,

and there is one that matches in every way

the description of the saga:

here. And our school

-is here. -No way!

You really think Vinland could be here?

I don't know.

But what I do know,

is that we'll check.

Practice removing the soil one small layer at a time.

An object buried for hundreds of years

is fragile and can easily break.

-What are we looking for again? -A nail.

You should have hidden money, we'd find it faster.

The Viking artifacts archaeologists found in Denmark and Iceland

were tools, broaches, cooking utensils.

Like a toaster?

My old professor in the US is going to send us a real

Viking artifact.

You'll see what it looks like.

What do we get if we find it?

If you find the nail, Lacombe, you can keep it.

Take your trowel and go slowly.

Go, go, go!

Alright!

-Get back! -Over here!

Pass it!

Over here!

The puck, Brother Laurent.

I got it.

He's by himself, guys.

Here!

I'm with you!

You have to cross it!

Behind, go!

Go for it.

Sorry.

Here.

Here!

Pass it, pass it!

I can do it, I can do it, I can...

Yeah!

Well done, guys!

It's OK, Mr. Dubé.

Didn't your father show you how to skate?

What's your problem, Émile?

Hey!

Émile?

There was a fox.

It left.

Maybe it'll come back.

You can wait for it if you want.

Show me.

Show it to me.

Make sure you're not caught with it,

I don't think it'll be back.

Mrs. Lacombe?

Sorry, the train was late.

Please, sit down.

Your son has done something that is unacceptable.

It's unfortunate, but under the circumstances,

he has to leave the school.

Can you give him a chance?

Just one?

He hurt one of our Brothers.

And he showed no remorse.

We have to consider the effect

such behavior can have on other students.

Of course.

Thank you for trying.

I'm sorry, I just can't do it.

Excuse me?

He's a good kid, you know.

He just keeps everything inside.

I tried everything to help him.

Be more gentle, more severe,

study with him,

give out punishments. But nothing worked.

Since we came to Quebec he's begun

thinking about going to work to help me make ends meet.

I just wanted him to stay in school as long as possible.

Longer than his father,

longer than me.

I was hoping it'd work here.

Mrs. Lacombe,

can you wait outside a moment?

Yes.

He went to four schools in three years. It worked nowhere.

Heard her? She tried it all.

Maybe no one has figured out how to talk to him yet.

Maybe there is no way.

Give me one month.

I've never lost a student and I won't start now.

One month.

The Brother Director wants you.

You'll be here until June.

In the summer, you can do what you want.

You're a smart kid, Émile.

And you're talented.

These are gifts of life, don't waste them.

You may sit.

Question:

who has heard of the Asbestos miners' strike?

Very well.

You have one hour

to read all about it in the paper.

Great, I'll take the comics.

Take notes, because you'll debate afterwards.

GENERAL ASBESTOS STRIKE

I don't know how many in the last few years.

Families live on the street.

The wages are so low

and the government is putting up signs at the US border

to tell everyone that Quebec's workforce is

the cheapest in North America.

That's what attracts companies here,

who give you jobs, they give you a nickel.

That's it, that's all!

You're making fun of us.

Let's ask the president of Johns Manville what he thinks.

As we said earlier...

What's happening is outrageous.

Our men are being beaten by the police.

You think you're strongly placed because Premier Duplessis

and the Catholic Church is on your side?

I remind you that Bishop Charbonneau,

Archbishop of Montreal, right here,

Bishop Charbonneau gave his support

-to the miners. -Yeah!

He even asked his parishioners to send them food.

Yeah!

-And clothes! -Yeah!

They aren't mature enough to grasp the complexity of these issues.

Once they leave our school,

will they revolt against their employers?

True, his methods aren't very orthodox.

But they've always worked.

I worry about the influence he has on Brother Mathieu.

You should've seen him get excited,

angry.

Brother Mathieu has his head on his shoulders.

He can think for himself.

When you find an artifact,

it's as if it allows you to communicate with the past.

These object remain dormant for centuries,

sometimes even millennia.

But when you wake them, if you can listen to them,

they teach us many things

about their time and about those who used them.

What did they find?

You'll soon find out.

-Is that you, Brother Jean? -Yes.

-What did you find? -An arrowhead.

I wonder if it had long arrows.

Were they Iroquois arrows?

Do you think an arrow like that could kill someone?

I've been denying his request for a year.

But he went anyway.

And he informed us, "informed"! Can you believe it!

That he'll be back in a week.

That's Brother Jean's influence again.

You denied his request?

-Absolutely. -You didn't think to ask me?

It seemed obvious to me, Brother Director.

I didn't want to trouble you.

Alright. Thank you, Brother Cyprien.

I'll have... a word with him when he comes back.

-Nice. -Look.

Brother Jean,

can I see how it works?

Of course.

-Look through here. -OK.

Push this button to start it.

This button.

-This way? -Yes.

This way! This way!

This way.

Émile,

Émile, film me!

Yes, Lacombe.

-Film me, Émile. -Film me.

Will you throw it to me?

He's going to throw it to me.

Did you see me?

Malbrough s'en va-t-en guerre, Mironton, tonton mirontaine,

Malbrough s'en va-t-en guerre, Mironton, tonton mirontaine,

Ne sait quand reviendra.

Ne sait quand reviendra. Ne sait quand reviendra.

Il reviendra à Pâques, Mironton, tonton mirontaine,

Il reviendra à Pâques, Ou à la Trinité.

It's here.

Can anyone describe the landscape to me?

There's water and rocks.

No.

Me.

Mr. Bergeron, let Mr. Lacombe speak.

-There's a waterfall. -Great job, Lacombe!

Shut up, Chouinard.

The waterfall falls into a kind of lake.

Then the lake shrinks.

Further, it becomes wide again before flowing into the river.

The Vikings!

That's where they came!

-The Vikings? -Over there, in the estuary.

There's a small cove sheltered from the strong northern

winds and waves.

It's a natural boat harbor.

In fact, the creek has long been used by the locals.

The Vikings would have had plenty of room

to anchor their boat,

next to the camp.

Will we do our digging there?

Later in the spring, when the snow has melted.

Absolutely.

So, how's your brother doing?

He's doing well.

It's tense on the picket lines, but he's holding on.

-Your sister-in-law? -She's doing fine.

He has no salary, so she does what she can with her children.

Luckily, she has good neighbors who help her.

Look, I'm sorry.

I know I shouldn't have left...

I usually produce a written report.

I understand.

This is a major infringement

against your vows of obedience,

so Brother Visitor always receives a copy.

Another option would be to put a note in your file.

However, when the congregation will want

to grant you your perpetual profession,

it could work against you.

A third option would be to,

at your next disobedience,

recommend that you be assigned to another school.

Brother Director...

But...

In your case,

this is your first offense,

so I'll do none of that.

That's all.

-That's all? -That's all.

I won't keep you any longer.

Huh?

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Brother Mathieu,

from now on and as long as I'm here,

if you have any request to make,

come see me.

-Understood? -Understood,

Brother Director.

-How is it going? -We'll see.

I practice.

What's your favorite thing about school?

The canteen, I think.

-Brother Jean. -Hello.

Here, you can use your vacation to work on your framing.

If he loses it or breaks it, I can never pay you back.

I trust your son completely, Mrs. Lacombe.

It's my camera, not the school's. Don't worry about it.

What do you say?

Thank you.

I won't be long.

-Hi. -Hi.

I don't know how to thank you.

I'm so happy.

I've not seen him like this since his father died.

That's thanks to you.

You're kind, but...

You know, it was Émile who decided to hang on.

I'm proud of him.

He misses his dad lots.

It's never easy.

Have you thought about remarrying?

It's funny, you know,

the parish priest always asks me the same thing.

He said that at my age, it's time to have more children,

that I make an effort for the nation.

Is that what you think?

All I can think about is paying my rent on time,

not look for a date.

Look,

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...

I just thought that with a man in the house,

for him... But that wasn't my intention.

Again, my apologies.

It's OK, I know you meant nothing by it.

Well, we'll have to get going if we want to make the 5 p.m. train.

OK.

-Happy Easter. -Happy Easter.

-See you on Tuesday! -Bye.

Settle down.

Come on, Mr. Dubé.

It is all very well to study openings,

but practicing against real players makes you improve.

I haven't played in years.

But don't celebrate too quickly, Mr. Dubé.

It's like riding a bike.

Hello, gentlemen.

Hop on!

Hello.

Oh, boy.

We'll be back in time for dinner.

Make sure no one shames us.

It's a good group, everything will be fine.

Are you sleeping? We're going to Quebec, we're going to Quebec,

ding ding dong, ding ding dong.

Brother Jean, Brother Jean,

Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?

We're going to Quebec, we're going to Quebec, ding ding dong.

Yesterday's attendees had the pleasure to hear

Pr. James Thomson,

from the University of Baltimore's anthropology department,

deliver a lecture on the unlikely

meeting of Baffin Islanders

and explorers from Scandinavia

at the turn of the millennium.

It was a fascinating presentation.

Today, we'll have the pleasure of hearing

a former student of Pr. Thompson,

one of us,

Brother Jean Picard from St. Antoine high school in Charlevoix.

Brother Picard has been interested for years

in the theory of a Viking settlement along the St. Lawrence.

He will talk to us today about the different theories

of the highly controversial Vinland issue.

I'll mostly present my theory on the subject.

Very well, that's great.

The stage is yours, Brother Picard.

Director,

faculty members,

Dr. Thompson, dear students.

Some researches have pointed out

that the harsh climate of the Gulf

of St. Lawrence isn't like

that of Vinland

described in the sagas of the Icelanders.

Indeed, it talks about a relatively mild winter,

but especially this famous grape

which gave its name to Vinland,

the land of wine.

But what if they'd gone further west?

Let us remember that in 1535,

Jacques Cartier

had named the Île d'Orléans

Isle of Bacchus,

in reference to its many wild vines.

I present to you Vitis riparia,

the vine of the shores.

It looks just like

the vine that is grown for wine,

but it's much more robust

and is found in abundance along the St. Lawrence.

Using the direction

and travel time

from Greenland, where the Vikings were established,

I deduce

that they first went down

the Labrador coast

before venturing into the Gulf of St. Lawrence,

then in the estuary along the North Shore.

The saga mentions a southwestern,

then a northwestern direction.

This island, Baie-Comeau,

and further west,

until they found a place to set up camp.

It talks about majestic salmon rivers,

meetings and exchanges with the Indians,

and even a deadly attack.

Certainly, to this day,

all archaeologists have failed in their search for Vinland.

But you can search for 50 years, 100 years,

and you'll never find anything

looking in the wrong place.

But if you look in the right place,

who knows what you might find?

Thank you for your welcome and your interest.

Thank you, Brother Picard.

I'm sure this presentation will raise many questions.

Mr. Grégoire.

Yes, I just want to congratulate you.

It's inspiring to see people undertake

research of this kind alone,

outside a formal context, so thank you.

Until a university from here,

maybe yours, is interested in archaeology,

we make do as best we can.

Pr. Dubois.

Thank you, Director,

and thank you, Brother Picard, for this

very inspired demonstration.

But...

If I understand correctly, your hypothesis is essentially based

on stories

transmitted orally

down the centuries,

until someone finally wrote them down

in the form of stories

in a language that no longer exists.

Allow me to correct you, Professor.

Most researchers recognize the historical value of this text.

But,

what about the historians' inconsistencies,

to the point of locating Vinland

near the Strait of Belle Isle, on the Atlantic coast, or even

in the American Midwest?

As I explained,

it all depends on how you interpret the descriptions

found in these texts.

Of course. As a matter of fact,

you are not unaware that, at the end of the last century,

a Harvard professor named

Eben Norton Horsford

also

made great efforts of interpretation

in order to prove that Vinland was only a stone's throw away

from Cambridge, which I'm sure you'll agree,

was rather convenient for him.

Yes, I'm familiar with Horsford's work.

Still, while digging, he found some stones

dating back several hundred years,

but quite old in any case

that persuaded him that they came from the house

of Leif Erikson himself.

Finally, in order to convince himself,

he had a statue of Erikson erected

in Boston. However,

all these nice discoveries

were only based

on pure speculation. So much so that today,

no one takes them seriously anymore.

You see, Brother Picard,

Professor Horsford was not an archaeologist.

No, he was a chemistry teacher.

He's especially known for perfecting

the baking powder formula.

But like you, he was animated, how can I put it,

with eclectic interests.

In his defense, 19th century scholars

didn't have all the writings we have today.

-The latest translations... -No matter!

Some researchers, alas,

have the unfortunate habit

of falling in love with their hypothesis.

So they lose all objectivity,

and search, obstinately,

to prove that they're right.

That said, perhaps you are not familiar with this phenomenon,

because after all,

you're not really a researcher.

I'm glad you're taking it like this.

As I understand it, you're no longer happy rewriting

the history books, Brother Jean.

You're now striving to follow in the footsteps

of Brother Marie-Victorin

by strutting off at the university.

In all humility, I'd not dare to compare myself...

"Humility", Brother Jean.

I'm glad to hear you say that word.

However, I'm not quite sure

you truly understand its meaning.

You see, it is with humility

that our community has set itself the task

of educating working-class boys,

and we're proud of it.

Our schools may not have traditional schools' cachet

but we value our reputation,

and I will never, ever accept

being ridiculed

because a conceited Brother decided

to go be a clown at the university.

These boys will leave here to work

in fields

and factories.

They'll never go to the university.

You're making them dream.

You're setting them up for a bitter disappointment.

You're setting them up for failure.

Brother Director, I want to hear no more

about Vikings in this school. Is that clear?

You can count on me.

You're going to focus

on religious instruction and basic subjects,

and forget everything else.

We want our youth to become

responsible fathers,

strong, proud men,

not disappointed dreamers.

You may leave.

I know it's hard.

I can still see the boy of 12 who arrived

with his yellow suitcase.

Shy, worried,

eager to see if it'd work for him here.

You've come a long way.

You won't like hearing this, but...

Brother Visitor is right.

Moral and religious values

must guide the lives of individuals and communities.

This is at the heart of the Gospel message.

Did I ever claim otherwise?

Sometimes we have to remember our duty.

Our society is changing.

There's cause for concern.

The Church is losing ground,

our youth are turning away from religion.

There's even talk of a global refusal.

Provocateurs,

communists are everywhere. It's a real threat.

I completely understand

your interest in history and science,

Brother Jean.

But we're in the province of Quebec,

not in an American school.

You're right, Brother Léon. Our society is changing.

We can be defensive, we can't stop it,

because the whole world is changing.

The Church can keep thinking it can stop it,

that it can all go back to how it was

and that the world will change with or without us.

Are you telling me that the future is your Viking stories

of 1,000 years ago?

Be open to new ideas, to science. Yes, for me that's progress.

And our youth must know we believe in it.

Hold on,

you can't just put any idea in their minds.

While the province's young English are educated,

we continue

wasting our students' talent

by removing them after ninth grade and sending them

to the fields, mines and factories.

And yet, they're no crazier than the others.

We must show them that an interest in the world

can save them from misery.

We have to tell them it's OK to dream!

Or what are we good for?

You've always been stubborn.

But after what happened,

you'd better make yourself scarce.

-Where have you been? -In detention.

What did you do?

Broché?

He won't cut you any slack!

What's with the box?

That's none of your business!

You get gifts now?

Leave me alone!

What's with you?

-Let go of it! -Come on!

Let go!

If Lulu comes in here, we're all screwed.

Stop this and go to bed!

What good would it do

to think deeply if you're not humble?

Beautiful speeches do not make a man just and healthy,

but a pure life

that gives thanks to God.

It is only vanity

to amass perishable wealth,

vanity to follow the desires of the flesh,

vanity to inspire to honors

and to want to rise to the highest.

"The snow lay thick on the path

"as well,

"and on the fields

"comma

"and on the fields,

"for the April sun did not send...

"for the April sun..."

Mr. Lacombe,

what are you doing?

Give me that.

It's not allowed in school.

Stay here!

Leave your dictations on my desk.

Last one shuts the door.

What's up?

Émile, I'm talking to you!

I trusted you,

I let you have your knife and you do this?

You feel special as you don't care for the rules?

You want to show them you don't care?

You got what you wanted?

You never really believed in it.

What do you mean?

The Vinland club, the digs.

You keep telling us not to give up, to never get discouraged,

and when your boss says stop you say nothing.

You just dropped everything.

I understand that you're sad and frustrated. I am too.

But are we going to cry about it?

Shall we wreck our desks with knives?

Life's full of frustrations, Émile.

It doesn't always go how you want, seems unfair.

But you have to get our act together.

Hold your head high and keep going.

Crying won't help.

You can go.

And who told you we'd never do that dig?

Close the door on your way out.

Run!

I'll take care of the snacks.

Wait for me!

Hurry up, gentlemen!

Flasks all full?

Here we go, gentlemen.

Oh no, I forgot my water bottle.

Take this one, I'll get another one.

Thanks, Brother Jean.

There.

We're waiting for Mr. Lacombe.

We'll go this way.

Really?

But the path to the cave is this way.

Brother Jean, are we almost there?

Soon. Courage.

There are mosquitoes.

What's this?

-Isn't that the school pickup? -Yeah.

Are we leaving?

Get in, it's faster on wheels.

Where are we going?

Are we all going to fit?

Change of plans.

-My legs hurt. -Yeah, mine too.

You have long legs, Lacombe.

I can't, no room.

You can come back to school and say you don't feel well.

I don't want you in trouble.

You're risking a lot more than me.

Maybe.

Let's go.

Hold on, we're leaving!

Let's go.

Look.

I prepared the plots yesterday.

By digging here today,

it's like planting our flag.

Those who come after us will know we were the first

to believe that the Vikings had stopped in Charlevoix.

With all this year's work, we had to do it.

Come get your tools.

A rake.

Thank you, Brother Jean.

I'll take the shovel.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bergeron.

You know what to do. Four to a plot and start digging!

Come on, Émile.

I'm coming.

-I'm here. -There's a lot of work.

Yeah.

Do we start left or right?

It doesn't matter.

Chouinard, are you coming with us?

OK.

What do you want me to do?

There's nothing in there.

There's nothing.

Come in.

I'm sorry to bother you with this, but...

You're not bothering me, Brother Lucien. What's going on?

I went to the shed to get some tools, and

it's almost empty.

Shovels, rakes, trowels, everything's gone.

And the pickup isn't here and nobody wondered why.

We restart in five.

Yeah!

I fell like we've just stopped.

We won't be able to do this again very often.

And so motivated.

Maybe we should go

if we don't want to be late for dinner.

In 30 minutes.

You're having a nice hike, I see.

And you're involved in this, too?

I can assure you that Brother Mathieu knew nothing about it.

I organized it all.

Stop this right now and take the students back to the school.

Come here, quick!

Brother Jean, hurry!

Where did you find this?

I found it right there.

-Here? -Yes.

It's a bronze brooch.

Like the ones the Vikings used to tie their capes.

You found it, Chouinard.

We found it!

It's amazing.

You have to admit that this is exceptional.

This will benefit everyone.

The children, the school, the entire province.

You disobeyed Brother Visitor's clear directives.

Don't expect congratulations from him.

He's a smart man.

He'll realize that this can reflect on the congregation.

We can't sit on something like that.

People need to know.

What is it?

I'm thinking about

Brother Visitor's face when he finds out what we found.

-Nice framing, Mr. Lacombe. -Thank you.

Check out Brother Jean!

He's wondering what's going on.

That's when you found it!

-Yeah. -Right, Chouinard?

François, you want to steal my thunder?

Are you scared?

We look good, huh?

Yeah, we do.

I can't believe he got it

-on camera. -Yeah.

You know, Leif Erikson was already

converted to the Catholic religion.

Really?

So he was a missionary?

Exactly. When he left Norway,

the king asked him to return

to Greenland to evangelize its inhabitants.

So you, Brother Jean Picard,

a teacher in a small school in Charlevoix,

you think you have proof that the Vikings were here,

in St. Lawrence, near La Malbaie.

-It's almost unbelievable! -Indeed.

The mysterious Vinland,

described in the Icelandic sagas, could well be here,

on our lands.

IRON FORGED NAILS

Please put it there at an angle.

Good. Don't forget the data sheets.

The longboat, the longboat, the centerpiece. Be very careful.

It's fragile. Please put it on this table.

Slowly, we'll need a velvet cloth

for the table, Mr. Chouinard.

Mr. Lacombe.

-Do you have what you need? -Yes.

Very well.

What are you doing?

Where are you off with that?

-Brother Cyprien wants to see it. -What?

I told him what we did.

Show it to me.

Does Brother Jean know?

MODEL OF A PLAY, DECEMBER 1948

WORK AND DAILY LIFE

BRONZE VIKING BROOCH

I'd like you to meet

Mr. Chouinard, who found

the artifact.

Excuse me.

A package from the United States?

Maybe two or three weeks ago.

Yes, I got it, I gave it to the kid.

Jérôme, one of your students. He didn't give it to you?

Tell him!

Tell him what you did with the package!

I wanted to keep it a bit,

-I'd have returned it. -It's not his fault.

I did it.

I'm the one who buried the brooch.

What?

I wanted to show you were right about Vinland.

I didn't think it'd go this far.

Do you realize...

You knew he'd come.

You should have expected this.

Why didn't you say anything?

We were told not to say anything.

By whom?

I need to talk to you.

I'd love to, Brother Jean.

The artifact was buried by students.

Yes, I heard. What a shame.

And when you found out, you stopped them telling me.

Only your friend Thompson could open your eyes.

Can't you see the harm this will cause?

The harm you have caused.

Blame yourself. Don't lecture me.

You've been vain

and stubborn.

You didn't examine the consequences

for the school and the congregation.

You were warned.

You must be proud of yourself.

You wanted to put me in my place. You did it.

But how will this benefit the students?

It's a bit late to be thinking about that, isn't it?

You've been running the show in this school for years.

For years I've seen you act as a creditor of all,

as if you were superior to everyone else.

You have no humility,

no respect for your vows of obedience.

You fully deserve everything you have today

and it delights me.

Let go of me!

Stop this!

Stop this!

Now!

Mr. Dubé.

Mr. Lacombe.

Dear students, dear Brothers,

This meeting is at Brother Jean's request

and he has an important message for you to hear.

Dear Brothers, dear students,

I have some very bad news for you.

Yes,

the Viking artifact is real,

but it's from Iceland.

It was buried here by someone...

...who didn't realize what he was doing.

Chouinard?

Is it you, Chouinard?

Silence!

We're not going on a witch hunt.

The culprit knows the harm he's done and that's fine.

We'll make a public announcement to set the record straight tomorrow.

I know you're disappointed.

You followed me in good faith in this adventure.

I am guilty,

guilty of putting aside my critical thinking,

guilty of not being careful,

of not being humble.

I sincerely apologize for the pain this is causing you today.

Now,

we must look forward

and learn lessons from what happened.

Let's go, boys.

To the dormitory, it's over.

In silence.

What you've done has had serious consequences.

So I thought about it

and I've decided to expel you from the school.

You'd be a distraction here.

It's irrevocable this time.

However, after talking with my colleagues,

we'll allow him to come take his final exams.

Thank you. I appreciate that.

That'll be all, Mrs. Lacombe.

Good luck.

Brother Jean, please stay.

Go pack your bags.

Because of your lack of judgment,

our congregation is the laughing stock of the entire province.

We have even heard from Europe.

And if that wasn't enough for you,

you thought it was OK to assault one of your colleagues.

I'm sending you to the Quebec City archives.

You're leaving today.

Excuse me?

Is Brother Jean still here?

He was fired.

It was his last day at the school.

Jérôme.

Go for it anyway.

Go for it anyway.

Go for it anyway.

Jérôme.

Mr. Dubé!

Mr. Chouinard.

Mr. Dubé.

Mr. Bergeron.

Mr. Gamache.

Mr. Dufour.

Mr. Simard.

Mr. Ouellette.

Mr. Godet.

Mr. Gagnon.

Mr. Tremblay.

Mr. Pichette.

Mr. Henri.

I'm counting on you to stand up to Brother Cyprien.

I'll do my best.

I recognize that suitcase.

You don't meet many men like you

in this life.

No idea how the school will be without you.

Well...

You know,

no one is irreplaceable.

That's not true.

People say that to make themselves feel better.

Brother Jean,

someone's here to see you.

Thank you. I'll be right there.

She's not answering.

Imagine how worried she must be.

I don't deserve it.

Don't do that, Émile.

Avoid self pity.

It won't help.

Can you do me a favor?

Keep it,

and use it.

Film.

Film the people you love.

Film things that deserve to be remembered.

I apologized.

I'm proud of you.

I want to tell Brother Jean something.

OK.

I thought about it, I'll keep going.

I'm going to take my exams.

This fall, I'll continue at another school.

Will you still a bit?

It's getting late.

What are you going to do now?

I'm in charge of the archives now.

Then we'll see.

The archives are nice.

They leave me alone.

They don't tell me what to do or not to do.

It's so unfair.

I'm not homeless, you know.

I have a roof over my head and three meals a day.

Some have it far worse than me.

You've done so much for Émile and now you're paying for it.

He thought he was helping me.

I wish it could've gone on longer for him.

The school, you.

I'm not worried.

I am confident in him.

And he has an important asset on his side:

you.

You're brave, Marguerite.

No matter what you do, I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for,

both of you.

Please.

Thanks for everything.

I wish you the best of luck.

My thoughts will be with you.

MONTREAL, 1967

There's a package for you, Jean.

Dear Brother Jean,

sorry for calling you that again, it's just a habit.

I'm sending you footage I shot recently.

I thought you'd like it.

I've talked about you a lot to the archaeological team in Newfoundland.

Too bad you're not with us.

I wish they had the chance to meet you.

The same chance that I had one day to find you on my way.

I will be eternally grateful.

Warm regards, Émile

IN 1961, TWO NORWEGIAN ARCHAEOLOGISTS

FOUND THE FOUNDATIONS OF A VIKING SETTLEMENT

NORTH OF NEWFOUNDLAND AT L'ANSE-AUX-MEADOWS.

THE DIGS LASTED SEVERAL YEARS.

EVEN THOUGH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE

TO BE SURE VINLAND IS DESCRIBED IN THE SAGAS,

SCHOLARS AGREE THAT THIS WOULD BE THE FIRST

EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT IN AMERICA.

IN MEMORY OF PATRICE BENGLE

Subtitling: Hiventy