Belladonna of Sadness (1973)

Taisaku Akino: The Page

Photos 

Quotes 

• Jeanne : What ails you little one? Do you want me?

  Page : Jeanne, Don't you recognize me? I'm the Lady's page. She hates you, so I hated you too. I'm the one who slashed your green cloak.

  Jeanne : Your point, little page?

  Page : I did it because... I love her.

  Jeanne : Are you here to kill me?

  Page : I need your help, Jeanne. Hear my plea. I want to make love to her. But... I'm only a lowly page. She'd never consider me.

  Jeanne : Who cares about status?

  Page : God granted us our status. Ignoring that is against God! The Work of the Devil! Hower... I'm willing to sell myself to the devil for my love.

  Jeanne : Enough.

  [Jeanne hug the Page] 

  Page : [Page gets scared]  Filthy witch! How dare you!

  Jeanne : [Jeanne lauging]  Very well, I'll help you.

• The Lord : I've never seen that woman before.

  The Lord's Mistress : Milord, things have been turned upside down while you were away.

  The Lord : What?

  The Lord's Mistress : That farmer bitch is in league with the devil.

  The Lord : The Devil?

  The Lord's Mistress : The villagers respect her more than anyone now. More than you even.

  The Lord : Is this true?

  The Priest : Yes.

  Page : [Page attack to Jeanne]  Satanic fiend!

• Narrator : Jeanne put on her green dress and went straight into town. They say green is the color of power, the color of the devil. The greedy old moneylender who had even refused to lend money to the lord took one look at Jeanne and loosened his purse strings. Later he grumbled, "That woman must be possessed by the devil." Men love war in every age. The lord marched off in splendid array with his soldiers and conscripted farmers. Women are always the ones left behind to suffer. The men were gone for a long time. Several years passed. Jeanne had become a moneylender and gained control of the town. People feared and revered Jeanne more than the lord's wife and obeyed her gladly.

  The Lord's Mistress : Who is in charge of this land while his lordship is away? Me or that woman?

  Page : You, of course!

  The Lord's Mistress : I didn't ask you.

  Guard : You're right to be angry, milady... But the war has been prolonged. Without her help, even we wouldn't have enough to eat...

  The Lord's Mistress : Silence! That witch will pay for this.

  Narrator : However, despite his newfound stature, Jean spent his days drinking. Suddenly, the lord returned from the war. Women and men were overjoyed to find each other again. The lady rarely left her castle to avoid seeing Jeanne, but that day, she went to the church on the plaza to greet her husband. Jeanne was there, too.