"We're looking for someone." "Some things may not be spoken of... things from the past, from long ago." "But this does not mean you can ever forget them." "There are things that can never be forgotten." "How the stranger found us was a mystery." "The idea of anyone living so close to the skies was a mere legend in the villages down below." "And that was just fine with our people." "Who are you?" "Greider." "What do you want up here?" "Lodgings." "You'd better get lost." "Didn't you hear?" "How long did you say you wanted to stay?" "For the winter." "One bag won't be enough." "What do you want here, anyway?" "When the stranger told them what he wanted, none of Brenner's sons said a word." "No one had expected anything like that." "Even Old Brenner was speechless at first." "Because what the stranger had with him was a mirror." "A mirror with a memory." "That's what Old Brenner called it." "Then they brought the stranger to us." " For the winter?" " We'll see." "Where's your daughter?" "She's inside." "Call her down so she can meet him." "Luzi!" "What?" "Come and say hello to your guest." "This is Luzi." "And this is your lodger." "Greider's his name." "Take good care of him." "But not too good." "See you." "You can make it yourself." "Luzi!" "It's okay." " No, I'll do it." " Please." "If you want to eat, come now." "So you make pictures?" "With a box?" "What do you want pictures of?" "Of our valley?" "I see." " And you're really from America?" " Yes." "Are there really Indians there?" "Yes." "Have you ever seen one?" "Really?" "Yes." "How come you speak German?" "My mother taught me." " How did she know our language?" " Luzi, enough." "Don't ask so many questions." "The men, who are they?" "The sons... of Old Brenner." "All six of them?" "Brenner calls the shots up here." "But he also takes care of us." "Lukas, you fool." "You scared me." "Lukas, we shouldn't." "Luzi, please." "Not until we're married." "Lukas." "I don't even want to think of it." "But I can't help it." "All the time." "I want to work." "Help out." "I won't let you." " You're our guest." " He could chop wood." "I mean, if he knows how to." "Not everyone can." "The pictures you take— What kind are they?" "Can I see them?" "Yes, of course." " Where is this?" " Texas." "Is that you?" "And your mother?" "What about your father?" "Do you have a picture of him?" "No." "He died long ago." "My father is dead, too." "The mountain took him." "My brother, too." "During a storm." "You're not doing too bad there." "Pile them up round the side." "I'm going to the village." "Want to come along?" " Hello." " Hello." "What do you need?" "A bag of flour, a bag of oats, lard, and some white twine." " Hello." " Hello." "And some sugar, too." " How much?" " Two pounds." "And you?" "What do you need?" "Coffee." "It'll take a moment." "And horseshoe nails." "We have a blacksmith... if you need your horse shoed." "Aren't the women taking care of you?" "Hans told you... to take good care of your guest." "And what Hans wants... he gets." "Right?" "Everything's fine." "Did anyone ask you?" "I'll have a schnapps." "And one for him, too." "I don't drink." "All he does is watch." "If I buy you a schnapps, then you drink it." "Stop." "Leave him alone." "Now look at that." "Now you're taking care of your guest." "Put it on my tab." "They're long here, the winters." "This is no place for you." "When the snow falls, it'll be too late." "You can still leave." "The next few days, he roamed the valley, that Mr. Greider." "With his box." "But he never talked about what happened at the inn." "If you're hungry, just let me know." "Thanks." "When is the wedding?" "Soon." "Before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception." "Can I ask you something?" "Can I have a picture?" "Of Lukas and me?" "Yes." "But it has to be before the wedding." "Greider kept his promise." "It was when the first snow came, before it got dark in our valley." "There'll be more snow." "Timber!" "When snow started to fall, they brought down the wood." "It's easier that way." "But it's dangerous work." "All the men in the village pitch in." "Timber!" "Even Brenner's sons helped, too." "Timber!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "Timber!" "Timber!" "I'll go." "Stop!" "The death knell." "Take him home." "There's a picture, too." "Luzi is getting it." "I already went to see the priest for the banns." "He says the wedding is on, nonetheless." "He's already talked to Old Brenner." "What if we go away?" "Forever." "What about our folks?" "But I want you to be the one." "Don't you think I do, too?" "You know I love you." "Then do something." "The next day Rudolf Brenner went hunting... as he did every year after the first snow, when hunger forces the game down into the valley." "Show yourself!" "In the village there was talk that Old Brenner was worried because Rudolf had never stayed away so long before." "After three days the Brenner sons set off to look for him." "Pack me some food." "Only the Brenners are allowed to carry guns here." "Didn't you know?" "Did you bring it from America?" "What do you need it for?" "They'll come looking for me." "Where is he?" "I don't know." "It snowed all night long." "And the snow covered all the traces." "But they knew he couldn't escape the valley." "In spite of all this, Old Brenner insisted that the wedding went ahead." "You must always remember our Lord and Father every hour of every day." "Do not forget this." "But today let us talk about a father who wasn't almighty." "Let us remember the good man, Joseph." "What do you think he felt when his wife was with child though he had never lain with her?" "He must have been full of rage... and felt helpless." "If he had chased Mary away, everyone would have understood." "But he was pious... and didn't want to bring shame on her." "And so he acquiesced, knowing that his son came from a higher being." "Joseph understood that the Lord had not imposed a sacrifice upon him, but had sent him a gift from heaven." "And what did the Holy Mary say about this?" ""Even if he uses me and my womb..." "I shall not protest, for he is one who knows better than I what is good and what is right."" "Amen." "I want to confess." "Confess?" "Now?" "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." "Amen." "May God, who has enlightened every heart, help you to know your sins and trust in his mercy." "Amen." "I have sinned against the fifth commandment." "I have killed." "One in the woods, one man while hunting." "Who are you?" "You knew my mother." "What happened back then, more than 20 years ago, is still talked about." "One lad took a stand and wouldn't hand over his bride." "He didn't want Brenner to lie with her... not only on the wedding night, but until she fell pregnant... as he had done with every woman in the valley." "Her folk were famished when they arrived in the valley... like everyone else who came here." "Our people wanted to send them away, but first they had to ask Old Brenner." "Brenner needed fresh blood... and he liked what he saw." "That day Brenner told her parents how things worked up here when it came to young women... and that he decided who could stay and who should go." "They begged and wept, but their hunger was stronger." "So they made a promise to Old Brenner... and stayed." "Then the day came when Brenner asked them to make good on their promise." "She couldn't believe it when she heard a knock at the window." "Her lover had come to rescue her." "They thought the innkeepers would hide them if they paid." "But Brenner paid more." "She was greedy, the innkeeper's wife... and a coward, too." "Then they punished the couple... so everyone would know what happens when a woman fails to fulfill her duty." "But then the Lord had mercy after all, though some say the devil was caught off-guard." "No one saw the woman ever again." "She escaped the valley." "Forever." "Brenner punished others for it:" "the bride's parents." "He wanted them gone." "And they left the bridegroom hanging there... till nothing was left of him." "Her!" "Music!" "Go on." "Dance." "Dance!" "Or I'll dance with her." "Now me." " Now me." " I'm not done yet." "I'm not done yet." "Stop it!" "No!" "Please stop!" "Please!" "Stop it!" "Stop!" "What?" "What do you want?" "Let's go." "It's time, anyway." "Lukas, don't." "It's no use." "Move." "The woman." "Luzi, take his rifle." "And you all, throw yours away." "Off your horses, all of you." "You, too." "Unhitch the horse." "Luzi, mount the horse." "Let the horses go." "Luzi, go on." "Go on, go!" "You're... dead." "I swear." "At your farm." "Tomorrow." "After sunrise." "The gun." "Why did you do it?" "Why?" "Come on." "They'll look here first." "I want him alive." " Why didn't you let Luzi go?" " Mother." " My God." " They'll come for us." "No." "I'm going to them." "Thank you." "Woman!" "Come here." "Come on!" "What do you want from us?" "Money?" "I don't want your money." "I've got some for you." "You like to talk... for money." "Pick it up." "Pick it up." "Eat it." "Eat it, I said!" "Come on." "Come on!" "Don't!" "Please stop!" "My God—" " Eat it!" " Please!" "Eat!" "Eat it!" "Please." "Run!" "Help me!" "Help me!" "Help me!" "Please!" "Help me!" "Help me, you cowards!" "Hans!" "Stop it already!" "You bastard!" "You swine!" "Pull yourself together!" "He's only got two shots." "Two shots at a time." "We've got four." "You stay here." "She was a beautiful woman... your mother." "Come here." "So you are her son." "And?" "My sons?" "Dead." "All of them." "Your... brothers." "I beg you, make it quick." "He almost died... of fever." "He was ill for three weeks." "Nobody said a thing, though there were many who wanted to chase him away." "Or do worse." "Old Brenner had sown his seed in every family." "And freedom is a gift that not everyone likes to receive." "That year, spring came earlier than usual." "It was in March, just before noon, when Greider headed off." "He looked back one last time." "That was the last time I saw him." "That day I told Lukas that I was with child." "He was pleased and proud, because at last something good had happened."