1864

Hi.

What can I do for you?

I have some jewellery, I want to sell. Maybe.

Yes. Let's see.

- Where did you get this from? - My mother.

- Your mother? - She just died of cancer.

So your mother just died of cancer. Who did your mother get it from?

From my father. Is it worth anything?

Do you have a minute?

- I just have to look something up. - Okay.

Fuck!

Severin...

I have stolen from you.

- I know. - What?

- Do you think I'm blind? - But...

I promise you. I have it all here.

Put them on.

- What? - Put your jewellery on.

And put this on.

We eat in an hour.

It's hard to write this.

Even after so many years, I can still feel the pain I felt -

- when Sofia and I were moving north again.

Away from the smell of death and mass graves.

I carried a child in my arms. She carried one in her stomach.

There was nothing left. I thought both Laust and Peter were dead.

So I was dead too.

I had lost all faith -

- and found myself in the same condition as the rest of the country.

Dazed and shocked.

Like a theater that catches fire and the operetta turns -

from euphoria to burning inferno.

And the audience's laughter turns to screams.

The country was now open to the Prussians.

The army was crushed, and thousands of men had fallen -

Along with all the dead ideals.

And where are they now?

I don't know. Most ended up in mass graves.

Oh, my God!

There is nothing left.

Your Majesty...

Your Majesty, I have just spoken in parliament and said that -

- even though we were defeated, we still have the will to defend ourselves.

I just pointed to Frederik the 3rd....

I have sent a message today, to Bismarck and King William -

of our total surrender.

To avoid further suffering and protect the people -

so we can control our own destiny -

rather than throwing us under the great power -

- now standing at our door, I have asked -

- that the Belgian king, as an intermediary, could enquire -

- whether Denmark could become a member of the German Confederation -

and under what conditions.

But...

German? Denmark?

It's treason.

Have you lost your mind?

Well, that must be the field you are an expert in.

Wasn't there insanity in your family?

What if this disease not only manifests -

in drooling idiots with rolling eyes -

but also finds its expression -

- in a sanctimonious and pious citizen's lack of realism.

Frightening.

Mrs. Heiberg!

Mrs. Heiberg!

Mrs. Heiberg!

It's terrible, Mrs. Heiberg.

The King is ready to surrender the country to the Germans.

The wildest fears of my wildest imagination. This is the downfall.

It's over. Everything is over. Unless, Mrs. Heiberg, yes...

Together... We gather together all the forces.

Politically, militarily, culturally.

We can still turn defeat into a victory.

- We can still change the mood. - Well, cute little Monrad.

I am an artist. What would I be able to mobilize?

It's over. It didn't go well.

Sometimes a play proves successful. Other times it fails.

And all one's efforts end in oblivion.

It's a very dull feeling.

One is melancholy for some time.

But then one forgets.

That's how it is.

And now you must excuse me. I am already late.

So don't stand there like a disappointed fat boy.

Tell me, Moltke...

You know so much about the Danes.

What do you think of the Danish king's request -

to include Denmark in the German Confederation?

Your Majesty... - Not on your life!

What would we do with the Danes? They only speak Danish.

And if we could understand them, we would only hear complaints.

Danes complain constantly.

In their view, they would be the main nation in the Confederation.

Their over-estimation of themsleves is abnormal.

It wouldn't surprise me, even after this defeat -

if they turned everything around and proclaimed it a victory.

Is he right? - Bismarck is always right.

Shall we go, gentlemen?

Now we just need you to start again, Inge. Time heals all wounds.

That's how it is.

Tomorrow is a new day, and it will be brighter.

You move in here, and everything will be...

Everything will be as it was before.

You haven't asked what he is called.

- Well, what is he to be called? - His name is Laust.

- And you love him? - What?

You love him, of course, as a mother loves her child.

Yes, that is obvious.

The miraculous thing is that, although shells fall around us, -

we can always hear the skylarks.

They don't want this war -

- which makes us, down here on earth, act like stupid sheep.

Mum, I miss you. We miss you.

Soon this will be over, and then we'll come home.

I love you. Laust.

And Peter?

I don't know about Peter.

But he fell at Sankelmark.

Inge said so.

Sankelmark?

I don't think so.

Didrich told her.

No one knows anything about Peter.

What should he be called?

Peter.

You can speak?

- Yes? - I have to talk to Inge.

Who would like to talk to Inge?

Yes, sorry. Johan. I fought with Laust.

I have a letter from him to Inge.

I have to talk to Inge.

She is sleeping.

I really need to talk to Inge. It will only take a few minutes.

Unfortunately, you can't. But I will give her the letter.

I want to deliver the letter myself. That's what Laust wanted.

I'll take care of it.

You must promise me that she will get the letter.

- It is important. - I am her mother.

What do you think?

Could I come in and get a glass of water?

We have just washed the floor.

Hello! Are you a soldier?

You must assure me that she will get the letter. It means a lot to me.

I will give it to her, as soon as she wakes up.

Come, soldier!

Come here, soldier!

Have a drink.

From Dybboel? From Als?

It was hell, wasnt it? Hell.

Damn Prussians! Yes.

There is no one who can beat such a superior force.

Damn unfair.

And the Danish officers? Where were they?

4000 men. 5000?

No one knows how many we have lost.

Fathers, sons and husbands.

And to what end?

But we had to retaliate.

That we did.

My son...

My poor son.

They say he is in Hamburg.

You... know Didrich.

- Tell me. - Tell? What?

My son.

What should I tell you about your son?

Didrich...

He was a captain.

A deserter. A coward. A man who could not...

"My dear beloved Inge."

If you are reading this letter, it's because I'm dead.

We never managed to do the things we planned.

Everything we dreamed of. What we all dream about -

- when you know, that you have met the right one -

and life just becomes easy.

I'm sure I feel good now.

The fact that there is no pain.

That it's just one long deep sleep.

If so, I can't miss you or anything.

So do not miss me, but leave me -

and move on.

We lost the battle, and you and I lost.

But promise me, my love -

always find life.

Go for light. All the greatness you always have room for in your heart -

your joy, your fire and your faith.

Clear the old land with fire -

- so it can be fruitful again, and live your life.

I will always love you. Your Laust.

I'm so tired.

Is there anything wrong?

- That's all there is to tell. - Who are you?

You are here under my roof, my house...

... and you call him a coward.

A deserter!

Who are you, to have the nerve to insult my family that way -

to my face?

Is that all you have to say?

There is nothing more to tell.