Based on the book by Otfried Preussler Krabat
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Art Direction
Script and Direction
Nowhere in the world were there meadows so green
nor dandelions so golden as here in Lusatia.
The earth under the plow smelt of the plowman's bread
and gloried under the banner of our Lord Elector of Saxony.
My life was the life of a lost bird. Alone, without a parent, without a nest,
l roved my native Lusatia, sometimes in haste.
Begging was banned by the Saxon Elector. No one took that seriously, that is,
but the dogs.
You still don't know who l am. Krabat, they call me.
Alone in this world now, my home this piece of earth,
which l would not trade for anything.
Free as a bird l lived.
Yet even in Lusatia the Sun cannot warm forever nor dandelions bloom forever golden.
Cruel it is then for a roving lad.
l slept like the dead,
not noticing that two other beggar boys already took refuge there before me.
So we were three.
And as the Feast of the Magi was upon us, we made a plan to fill a hungry tummy.
We three kings do come to you, And wish you luck and health.
Far away indeed our trek From Bethlehem to your shepherd's hut.
And you so black now at the back, Don't raise your nose at us,
Sunshine it was that made me so With face so dark and tan,
lf you but in the sun did go, Would you not be so brown?
The Sun is turned to precious stone The birth of Christ to mark.
ln the evening we sat at the table like Kings, and after slept in a royal bed.
Nothing fancy, but well ventilated and very wide.
Craw! Craw! Krabat!
Someone called my name!
Craw! Krabat!
Come to the Mill on the Water Black! Krabat! lt will not serve you ill.
Krabat!
Krabat, listen to the voice of the Master! Listen to him!
Beyond the village l met an old man.
When l asked him the way to the Mill on the Water Black, he startled, and frightened
begged me to go back and to avoid that cursed place, the seat of all evil.
Pay no heed to the old man! Listen to my voice!
Come inside!
So here you are.
lt was the voice of the raven who had invited me here.
l am the Master here, and l will teach you milling craft, and that of the Black Mill.
Do you agree?
The mill grinds again! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!
The first night in the mill l slept not a wink.
Next to me were eleven empty beds, waking my curiosity. Whose were they?
Apparently apprentices and journeymen like me. Why were they not here?
For it seemed to me that none but me was here in this strange place.
Morning ever wiser than the night before!
Finally, l met the other young men from the mill.
The oldest was named Tony.
After him was Michal.
Then Jura. He cooked for us all and was a gentle soul.
Then this one called Fox, who pleaded with the Master.
John, the strongest of them all.
Silent Jacob followed. Andreas the Clown and at the end Stasko and Martin.
There were eleven and l was twelfth and youngest of them all.
Thus l was apprenticed at the Mill on the Water Black.
The work was not easy there, but at last l had a roof over me and hot food every day.
What more could a beggar boy desire?
Time like a river passed
and l stayed at the hard work in the mill until the spring arrived.
Of all that dwelt in the mill, l could suffer least the cat.
Not a moment to breathe did he leave me.
He was everywhere and he saw everything.
Once l was so annoyed, l could not hold back.
That this angered the Master, l learnt very soon.
After that beating, l decided to run away from the mill.
Lusatia was big enough to hide a wretch like me.
Big enough to feed me until l could make a living once again.
That whole night l did not stop but ran and ran.
When l was far from that awful place, where l had received such gratitude,
for a while l rested.
Carry these and do it now!
Now l finally saw with my own eyes what l had only suspected.
Here l was in a mill fueled by magic powers!
And soon l would have certainty.
Krabat,
a quarter year have you been in this mill.
Your period of trial has ended.
You are no longer a miller's apprentice. From now on you will be my pupil!
Come closer, Krabat!
At first l knew not what to do.
The blood in me froze from the transformation.
l tried to remember what birds do.
But l was helpless.
But then, l worked it out.
Yes, to have wings is not a bad thing.
that from then on l belonged to the Master, body and soul.
l had given myself to him in life and in death.
Sit down!
Krabat, now you are in the Black School.
Here we do not learn reading, nor writing, nor arithmetic.
Here we study the art of all arts.
The book that lies here on the table is the Koraktor,
a cursed book.
lt contains all the spells of the world.
But l alone can read it,
for l am the Master.
You are forbidden to look inside.
Forbidden all!
Understood, Krabat?
Pay heed!
l will begin to teach you simple enchantments.
And that is the alphabet of the Black Art.
Thus from a miller's apprentice, l became a student at a school of wizardry.
ln Lusatia there were several such.
All were the same, though their forms were various.
This one looked like a mill.
We were forever under the strict supervision of the Master, and not allowed to fly away.
Sometimes, though, the Master did send us about,
to see what we had learned of the Black Arts.
l used to go with Tony mostly.
This time it was not fun. Tony was tasked to sell me at the market as an ox.
l was so embarrassed, but what else could l do?
l had learned a pupil must put up with tests like this.
ln the cattle market, l was now the center of attention.
Such an ox was quite a sight to see.
Butchers eyed me knowingly, competed to see who would pay more.
Tony shook his head. Not enough.
l tried to do everything a good ox does.
More the traders bid, and more. Still not enough for Tony.
Until finally, a butcher bid a bag filled with silver coins for me.
Tony agreed.
So l was sold at the market.
Pork, dumplings with sauerkraut and beer!
And a wisp of hay for the ox.
For me also pork and beer,
l said in my human voice, and the two fell into a swoon.
Tony and l, we passed the test this time.
The Master would be happy.
At Easter on Holy Saturday the Master gave us a new task.
Two by two, we should find a place where a man's life ended violently
and stay there until the morning light.
For a long time l flew with Tony, patiently looking.
Often it was already taken, so we moved ever on.
l did not like it here, but the view was nice, and so we stayed.
Long had l not heard the singing of church bells.
Their song reminded me of my childhood.
My village.
l was homesick for the ordinary people.
Welcome, waters, after so Great a Night! Do not let me linger, put all to right!
Give me what you do give but once a year, Bring him l dreamt of, lead him near!
And from that day the singing of that girl sounded in my heart.
lt was impossible to forget.
Welcome, waters, after so Great a Night! Do not let me linger, put all to right!
lt was as if time in that vicious mill went faster than it should.
Christmas was coming and l was still thinking of the girl.
Away with that, away forthwith!
There is no place for such things here!
lt was a strange kind of Christmas,
l even found a coffin here,
but no-one at the mill had died!
Then l saw Tony.
Was he going to dig the grave?
l called him, but he went on and did not look back. As if he did not hear.
l tried to see what was going on in the mill, but with no success.
Everywhere you could feel the tension and the fear.
But those who knew were silent still.
The time has come for your final test in the Black Art.
Only one of us can be the Master here.
He who fails the test, the coffin awaits.
The mill stopped still and stood,
until instead of poor Tony, the next apprentice would come,
to make our number full.
The mill's wheel was never idle long.
The Master had two cruel assistants on his side - hunger and the cold.
We knew them both, we knew them well.
And now they drove another boy toward the vicious mill!
Each of us had sought our salvation here.
As always, our Master awaited, to trap the newly coming in a web of promises.
Who would not want to be a magician!
The mill grinds again!
Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!
The next morning we visited our new apprentice.
Nobody asked him where he came from.
He was a frozen little rogue, as once were each of us. His name was Vitek.
He had kept fast so long, that now, whenever he could, he guzzled like a wolf.
The arrival of a new apprentice returned life in the mill to normal.
Soon Vitek too would know where he had landed.
At first he found it strange, but was afraid of nothing.
And before he could take it in, became in the Black School the youngest of us all.
Sit down! Sit down l said!
Pay heed. l'll teach you now a very useful spell,
an ordinary pine cone to turn into a gem.
Remember this, that in this form, it will only last one hour.
The spell will not work longer.
l thought the spell was useless. How poorly still l understood the Master.
At a state audience before the throne of His Majesty
himself, the Master offered the nobles his treasures.
Ladies cheered and competed in praise of the jeweler's art.
Everyone wanted one of the beautiful jewels,
and once they tried one on, would not give it up.
And so the Cavaliers had to dig deep into their pockets
and pour their gold coins out to the Master.
Then all of a sudden l remembered, the magic worked but one hour long.
And all that remained were the last five minutes.
Then the ladies' necks would boast old cones and the gallows surely awaited us.
But my Master knew what to do next.
He made Old Time stand still.
Everything frozen, we calmly took our spoils out of the palace grounds.
l never dreamt that you could sell for so much gold a box of old pine cones!
Again came Easter.
My second Easter in the Mill at the Water Black.
On Easter Saturday we had the same task as before.
When darkness fell, our Master sent us back where a man's life ended violently
to stay there until the morn.
This time, l told myself, l won't listen to the Master.
l'll fly where my will takes me.
Welcome, waters, after so Great a Night! Do not let me linger, put all to right!
Give me what you do give but once a year, Bring him l dreamt of, lead him near!
My heart was pounding like a bell.
l felt this night my fate had been decided.
he who has the Black Arts learned, must sacrifice his whole heart to them.
He who would share his heart with someone else
or give it to another, may dig his grave before.
That's why you fly in pair to guard one another.
Who disobeyed my order?
l ask you first, Krabat!
Now talk, Jura, talk!
So, if you stick thus together, l'll put you to the test.
My Master came up with a cruel punishment for us.
Jura he transformed into a horse and l was ordered to go sell him for fifty florins.
Jura, who had no great talent in the Black Arts,
was terribly afraid lest he should be a horse all his life.
He could not retransform himself.
l said l'd rid him of his fears. And we exchanged our roles.
l gave him back his human form and l became a horse.
Once Jura sold me in the market, l'd turn into a man.
For me, that was not hard.
ln the city we stopped by the town hall.
The square was empty, not a living soul.
That's not what we expected.
Suddenly, a buyer came and offered fifty pieces of gold for me.
Jura was pleased that he had sold me well and did not see to whom.
Don't ever try to fool me again! This is my last warning!
l give you leave to become a man, this once and nevermore.
Krabat!
The Master had left the mill for some days, everyone was happier then.
We lived freely, even though we had a lot of work.
But to me, life was but a dream.
My thoughts were all with her.
To fly to her was all l wished!
Nothing could prevent me now.
l had the wings.
Only Jura saw me when l left the mill.
Blessed l was that day.
l found her straight away, and she at last knew me!
And still we did not speak.
But eyes can speak to eyes. And in a moment, more
than the most beautiful of words can say.
Suddenly Jura's voice interrupted us.
He warned me. The Master had returned.
l must quickly come in raven form, lest l bring danger
to her who was more dear to me than my own life.
Far from the mill we flew low to hide.
The forest thick and bushes hid us still. Lucky us!
The angry Master waited, in the form of an eagle.
While sharpening his claws, we slipped stealthily behind his back into the mill.
ln vain you hide your secret, Krabat.
Who is that girl?
When l find her, she'll not live to see the morn.
To me you sold your soul.
To me you belong. Only to me!
And she must not get in the way!
That night l thought how to get out of the mill
and escape the reach of its dark powers.
There was no way other than to defeat the Master.
lt would be hard and Jura must help me.
There was but one way to sever the ties of magic power.
To overcome the Master in the Black Arts.
And there before us lay the cursed book.
The book of spells.
We would learn to read in it.
We would know all its secrets to be ready for the day of battle with the Master.
That year the winter came early.
The land was clothed in a white fur coat
and merrily rang the bells in joyful anticipation of Christmas coming!
Only in the mill were all seized ill, unrest and fear the rule.
As always at year's end, the eldest of us all awaited his inexorable fate.
This time it was our Michal's turn.
Take this shovel! A grave must be dug.
For whom it waits is to be seen.
-Michal! Michal! Come back!
lt's no use, Krabat! l know what awaits me.
My test with the Master.
Everyone must face it once.
Are you prepared, Michal?
When Michal's brave heart stopped the mill stood still.
But not for long.
Along the snowy plains another boy did come, his footprints leading unto the vicious mill.
ln the morning, we went to greet our new apprentice.
l recognized him immediately, it was Little Lobosh. Once we had sung carols.
Now the little Ethiopian King was snared in the Devil's web!
Now l had one reason more to face the Master down.
ln March it began to melt. Bad weather not fit for a dog.
l made use of it and in the dark again disappeared from the mill.
Short distance away was the girl of my heart gave me courage.
l wanted to be close and look upon her face.
Around me swelled the raging storm, but l had eyes only for my love.
Then, l believed, l was the one to guard her peaceful sleep.
Perchance most beautiful of dreams! A dream wherein l would appear not as a raven,
but in my true form.
l wished that night would never end, and never come the morn!
But morning came and l had no choice but to go back again.
The Master did not waste time.
He waited for me, wanting to catch me out, wishing at last to learn something.
Luckily, Jura was there too and knew just what to do.
Night after night from that night on, the Master watched.
While he waited on the roof, we went into the forbidden chamber.
On the final page of the master's book we found a mysterious formula.
Love is stronger than any spell.
We read it again and again, but could not find the sense of it.
Whatever l did, l could think of nothing but the puzzling formula in the back of that book.
How could a simple girl overcome an evil magician?
And how could l ask her to?
What beautiful names l invented for her when l was alone.
But when l looked upon her face, l could not speak a word.
Shoo! Shoo Shoo!
The Master searched in vain for us.
l had learned enough from the magic book, enough for us to be safe.
Which of you goes secretly into the forbidden chamber?
Then l will test you all.
Remain here, Jura. The others may leave.
Now together we will fly to a place where l will give you a task.
lt will decide all.
Barely had the Master left the mill, than l too disappeared.
lt was a fine moonlit night.
l could not ask for a thing more beautiful than a tryst with my own love.
But fear came and joined us there. There too the Master looked for us.
But l remembered words from the dark book.
Magic powers, we would be flowers, of water lily fair.
And for a time, calm would float, upon the waters rare!
ln vain he flew, in vain he searched,
suspected we were there somewhere, but could not find us out.
Only the Moon, the Guardian of Lovers, silently knew.
The Master would not accept defeat. The next day he called me into the Black Chamber.
ln exploring the black arts, you're working harder than l expected.
l'll give you a task, and let that test your mastery.
So you will decide your life or death.
The Master told me to fly away into the Hungarian lands
where now the lmperial Army was at war against the Turks.
There, l should subscribe to the commanding general and follow out his orders.
A long flight after, l finally arrived on the field of honor and glory.
l easily found our camp and the tent of the military commander.
l introduced myself to the officers present as a wizardwho came
to help them against the Turks.
l got a mockery for that, no one believed me.
What could l do that would simply, quickly get them to take me seriously?
Then l heard the full story of the kidnapping of the Saxon marshal by a Turkish wizard.
l had come just at the right time.
My job was to free the prisoner and bring him back to the lmperial camp.
l hurried to execute the order.
ln the Turkish field the tents grew like mushrooms after the rain.
How to search for the captured Marshal?
l started in the largest tent, but what a tent l picked!
Here, the Great Sultan lived alone.
l did not wish to disturb him, but before l could speak, l met with Turkish hospitality.
An armed guard brought me back on track.
Only the captured Marshal could be under so strict a watch. l was convinced of it.
l needed only to get into the tent nd quietly lead the prisoner away.
First l had to get rid of the dangerous Turk.
l transformed him to a mouse.
A small, harmless mouse And thus he kept his watch!
l finally found the captured Marshal.
Surrounded by guards, armed to the teeth.
To get him out of there alive was a challenge fit for a magician.
The test of my mastery began.
l thought l had won, but worse still awaited me.
The evil omen soon appeared.
lt seemed to me the Turkish wizard was that black eagle
wanting to snatch my Saxon Marshal back.
Krabat!
Jura's voice! My blood froze.
Krabat!
l had shot my truest friend!
Now l understood the Master's diabolical plan.
He had sent Jura to serve the Turks and me the Emperor. We were to destroy each other.
But there was no time for despair. l had to quickly care for my injured Jura,
who, it seemed to me, was in a dire way.
l transformed him and me into ravens again and went with him on the long journey home.
ln my excitement, l forgot the Saxon Marshal.
l flew by day and flew by night as fast as feather could.
Already it grew colder now.
You messed up your test.
The Marshal still runs as a horse, lost among the fields.
Take this shovel and go dig a grave. lt is your last task.
You bound yourself and you must obey.
Now you will find out who is the Master here!
And you shall not escape your fate.
lt was decided.
l had lost my battle with the Master, the end of Tony and Michal awaited me.
But Jura had not given up.
Wounded as he was, he flew to find my aid.
He remembered the words from the magic book, that love is stronger than any spell.
What do you want?
Give me back my boy!
l do not know him!
Krabat, whom l love.
Krabat? Do you know him at all? Are you able to find him?
Alright. lf you can find him among them all, you can take him home.
And if not, never again will you see the morn.
Go to the Black Chamber and stand in line!
Stay where you are.
Let no one speak a word. Or she will die.
l had not thought of this.
Without a blindfold, she would know me from the other ravens, but now all was lost.
She passed me by...
My heart pounded with fear for her life.
This is he.
Are you sure?
Yes. l hear the voice of his heart. lt is he.
We all came out of that suffocating smoke into the pure light of day.
We were free. As free as birds again!
The vicious mill turned into ash.
The Master was overwhelmed, and all his spells were overruled by simple, selfless love.
lnside the vicious mill the final fire raged.
That was the end of all its evil power.
As fire engulfed the witchy book, the magic started leeching,
and with it disappeared from us all the Master's teaching.
All sorcery was ended then.
And we became ordinary people.
And it was good.