Widow Clicquot (2023)
Genre: Drama
Director: Thomas Napper
Stars: Haley Bennett, Tom Sturridge, Sam Riley, Leo Suter, Ben Miles
Plot: After her husband’s death, Madame Clicquot flouts convention by assuming the reins of their wine business, defying her critics and ultimately revolutionizing the champagne industry, establishing her as one of the world’s first great businesswomen.
* * *
[birds chirping]
[BarbeNicole] [VO] Looking back on that first day with you, I think I understood immediately why human beings are compelled to create.
Why we must find some way to lay down our lives, however best we can.
[François] BarbeNicole Clicquot, welcome to the vineyards of Verzy.
The most beautiful in all of Champagne.
[birds chirping]
[BarbeNicole] [VO] It is so that we might uncover the secrets of ourselves, better understand the ones we love.
The time and place in which we live.
And that with any luck, 100 years from now, someone will know that we were here.
[dramatic music playing]
[water drips]
[François] [VO] Can we be a secret?
I mean, can we live in a hideaway?
Our whole lives, just the two of us.
Kept safe from the rest of the world.
[BarbeNicole] [VO] We can try…
Not hidden from each other though.
So, do you agree to be my Emilie?
Who is Emilie?
[François] [VO] The woman
Voltaire was a true partner to…
The love of his life.
[dramatic music playing]
[BarbeNicole] [VO] It seems impossible that anything will ever grow here again.
A great hush has settled across the vines.
Your absence clings to everything.
[indistinct prayer by the priest]
[BarbeNicole] [VO] I fear your father blames me, privately, for all that has happened.
And I fear that I might too.
[thunder roaring]
[door opens, slams]
Where is Clem?
You didn’t find her?
[horse neighing]
Madame.
Madame.
My heartfelt condolences, Madame.
As neighbors, we feel your loss alongside you.
Thank you.
Madame, I wonder if I might walk the vineyards, to remember François.
Of course, Monsieur Moët. It’s very kind.
[retreating footsteps]
[distant barking]
Those beautiful slopes will always remind me of him.
Yes.
I am going to walk the terraces on my way home.
[door opens]
[distant bird squawking]
There you are.
Oh, Clem.
[emotional music playing]
[pounding footsteps receding]
Clem?
[emotional music continues]
It will be just the two of us now.
But we have each other.
We have each other, my darling.
[François] [VO] And what do you smell?
Floral. Like our rose garden… in June, after a rain shower.
And burning leaves.
Mmhm.
And twigs.
An apple orchard when the trees are at their tallest…
[BarbeNicole chuckles]
What do you think about blending these two?
It could be quite…
No… not together.
Or do you want more acidity?
[François groans]
You did want me to speak my mind.
Yes. Foolishly.
Please do not learn as quickly as your mother, because I want to be able to teach you something.
[VO] One little something.
[thunder rumbling]
[footsteps approaching]
[knocks on door]
Madame?
There will be a meeting downstairs that Phillipe would like you to attend.
A meeting?
Evidently, Paquet has drawn up a contract for the sale of the hectares.
[door opens]
Is it true?
[Phillipe] BarbeNicole, let me put your mind at ease.
I want you and Clementine to live comfortably, without any worry at all.
Thank you.
Monsieur Paquet here has secured a very handsome offer for the property from Moët.
Afternoon.
I appreciate your… kindness.
But out of concern for François’ vines, I will be continuing to care for them myself.
Wine is a very difficult vocation, my dear.
You underestimate what it will require of you.
I know what it requires.
I’ve been in the fields for years.
As a partner with François, Madame.
Not alone.
It is not your place, Madame.
I cannot allow you to go to your ruin.
Come back to Reims with me.
Could you and I speak alone, Phillipe?
Yes, of course.
[retreating footsteps]
[door closes]
Have you seen those beautiful purples and reds
this year, Phillipe?
Is their climb not the best we have had yet?
Those are François Clicquot grapes,
and his dream is living in them.
You risk losing everything by staying here.
Do you think that is what François would have wanted?
[BarbeNicole] François willed the vines to me
because he knew I would never sell.
I will be using my own savings
to cover the vineyard’s expenses.
You have not heard me, my dear.
Have you not heard me?
Those are François’ vines,
and you want to sell them.
[tense music playing]
Paquet? Droite?
[door opens]
Gentlemen, we will not sell.
BarbeNicole will continue here for the time being.
[Paquet] [clears throat] If I may, sir… I think…
[Phillipe] No, Paquet. You may not.
That is all.
[footsteps]
[François humming]
I have come to sing to them since I was a boy.
It’s supposed to make them strong.
You try.
No.
[François] Go on!
I can’t!
[François] They need it.
They need you.
[BarbeNicole humming]
[François chuckles]
They like you.
They do?
They think you’re perfect.
[romantic music playing]
[Jeanne Marie] We’ll take Clem with us today,
out of this sad house.
[BarbeNicole] [VO] It’s our home.
Clem wants to stay with me.
Barbe, you must think of her.
No sense in keeping her out of the abbey
to help you with your grief, my dear.
She should be with friends to help her with hers.
Thank you, Mother.
You didn’t know him, Mother.
He was not just someone’s first love.
[footsteps receding]
[emotional music playing]
[BarbeNicole crying]
[François] [VO] My darling Emilie,
I felt compelled to write to you
this glorious summer morning
to let you know that I think we might have found it.
The secret to perfect happiness.
With each day, my love for you grows stronger, fiercer.
It drenches me the way the sun drenches the vines.
I am certain of nothing in this life
but the fact of your strength.
I am hopelessly, unequivocally yours.
[knocks on door]
[door opens]
Madame, Mr. Edouard Werler.
He has come from the offices of Mr. Phillipe Clicquot in Reims.
Good day, Mr. Werler.
[Edouard] Good day, Madame.
Your fatherinlaw has sent me
with the financial record of the vineyard.
He wants you to be apprised of your situation.
I apologize for coming without warning.
[BarbeNicole] Please.
I am to take them back with me.
Are you a clerk at his office?
[Edouard] I am, Madame.
In accounts.
Will you assist me?
[Edouard] If you’d like.
[pages flipping]
The first column is expenditures,
the second is profits, the third losses,
and the fourth projected earnings.
Because of the loss of the last harvest,
there were expenditures but no profit.
The next harvest will only recoup that loss.
And the truth is,
your competition will monopolize the market in France, Madame…
if no one can sell abroad
due to Napoleon’s embargoes against his enemies.
So you will not sell next year either.
[chuckles]
Thank you.
Will you thank Phillipe for me?
And tell him that I insisted upon keeping the ledgers.
Uh…
Madame.
[door opens]
[receding footsteps]
[Phillipe] You said there would be a profit by this year.
The new planting has not yielded.
Yes, sir, I apologize for overstating.
[Phillipe] Many of your experiments…
[François] Innovations…
[Phillipe] have floundered!
How do we know?!
How do we know?
It’s too soon…
It’s too soon to know, Father… these are radical ideas.
And there is decent improvement this year,
even with the excessive heat.
[Phillipe] You can’t just keep endlessly
experimenting without results.
Perhaps it’s time to admit defeat now.
François!
[door opens]
[♪♪]
[BarbeNicole chuckles]
[BarbeNicole gasps]
Droite never walks the fields.
He doesn’t know the vines. He doesn’t know what they need.
He doesn’t want to nurture them.
[BarbeNicole] He doesn’t understand how complex they are.
He doesn’t love them.
This is the transfor… What?
Transformative?
[chuckles]
Moment for them?
[François] Yes.
I am afraid for the vineyard if anyone else manages it.
They have no right, interrupting…
Well… he is the estate manager;
therefore, he thinks he has the right.
But you, you are the one with the vision,
and the talent, to change things.
You will change things.
[birds chirping]
[distant bell ringing]
[Clementine] You’re always in the vineyard.
And I like having you in the vineyard with me.
And I like having you in the house with me, Mother.
Will you cut flowers with me then?
I like the pink ones,
and the white ones, and the yellow ones!
[BarbeNicole] [VO] As ever, the quiet prevails.
A new loneliness presses in,
but I will continue the work you started.
Louis Boone will arrive at noon.
I welcome a friendly face at last.
[lively chatter]
Tomorrow I face the workers alone,
for the first time.
Give me strength, my love.
Give me strength.
First, the new vines will be planted
in a northsouth configuration.
The upper slope will be pulled up and turned.
[Droite] Uhm…
[BarbeNicole] Droite…
do you have an opinion?
Yes I do, Madame.
These fields do not need replanting,
reconfiguring, or starting over again.
I disagree.
Water is collecting at the roots.
The rain is good for the vines, Madame.
They need to struggle.
Struggle?
When they struggle to survive,
they become more deeply reliant on their own strength.
They become more of what they are meant to be.
Mr. Muller, where do we think we could find premium glass?
We have glass in stock, Madame.
I want quality glass without defects.
We can’t afford to lose another vintage.
We were meant to buy premium glass, Madame.
But your husband decided to save money.
Monsieur Bohne will attest to the dangers in that.
And if Muller is out searching for glass, which is my job,
who is going to run the fields, which is his?
Because you have not done this before,
I cannot blame you for not understanding
how a vineyard is run.
Without a strict adherence to hierarchy,
there is chaos,
anarchy.
I don’t see it as a hierarchy.
[Droite] What do you see it as?
A wheel. A circle.
We are sitting together at the table.
We will trade ideas, including everyone in the decision.
You make it sound like a dinner party.
These are mine and my husband’s ideas.
He thinks I’m inept.
Are you seeking his approval?
If Phillipe listens to him, I might need to have it.
But I was asking you:
Are you seeking his approval, regardless of Phillipe?
It appears he plans to undermine you with the workers.
But I could see they are loyal to you.
What do you think? Am I inept?
Well, he’s right about some things.
The wheel is a beautiful notion,
but it’s destined to fail.
If you are not willing to dictate without hesitation,
you may lose the respect of the men working under you.
You make them uncomfortable.
You undermine a system that they have confidence in.
If you are unforgiving of their mistakes,
they might even idolize you.
I do admire you,
trying to run things as you want,
as a woman would.
So the ability to listen to others, to collaborate,
is not a sign of strength?
[chuckles] No.
It might not ever be.
François would not agree.
Maybe not, but he was an enlightened soul,
and we have been living under monarchs for too long.
And Napoleon is even worse.
Do you respect tyrants?
Do I respect tyrants?
[Louis laughs]
Well, I have been known to fancy a brute or two,
and it has been said I could use a little discipline.
[BarbeNicole] So hierarchy comforts you.
And I must give up my idea of the wheel
because it makes men uncomfortable.
Because it doesn’t project power.
There is something I want to show you.
[drawer opens]
[Louis] Amsterdam, St Petersburg, Moscow…
[BarbeNicole] If Napoleon’s embargoes are still a problem,
I want to stay ahead of him.
Of Napoleon?
Mmhm.
So, you’re a criminal at heart?
These borders are arbitrary, and they could keep changing.
Why not begin a trade that ignores unrest, wars,
that exists on its own?
Stateless, around the globe?
If you choose not to distribute for me…
My dear, if I choose not to distribute for you,
you won’t find anyone who will.
And if I decline your offer,
you must never tell anyone of this plan.
Not a soul.
[tense, exciting music playing]
[Louis] It’s dark.
It’s very hard to tell who anyone is
in a bed that large, so I investigate it.
The hair is soft… the body hard!
No, please…
[both laughing]
Emilie! Come, please.
May I introduce Louis Bohne,
perhaps the greatest wine salesman in all the world.
Madame.
Welcome.
I read her Voltaire,
but these are…
Please, please, darling!
her love letters to me.
The sunnier the climate, the more aromatic the berries,
but there is a limit.
Actually, there is nothing more
loving someone could write to me.
My true equal, my partner in everything.
[both giggling]
And what of Voltaire is your favorite, François?
God is a comedian who plays to an audience…
[both] that is too afraid to laugh!
[laughter]
And you, Emilie, what is your favorite?
I should like to lie at your feet
and die in your arms.
[François] I love you.
It is too soon for you to leave!
[Louis] I know.
But I must go.
[François] Happy hunting!
[François humming]
[glass clinks]
François’s last effort.
It’s from one of the bottles that survived the loss.
This mix is mine alone.
It’s something I have been developing.
[door opens]
[Droite] Sir.
Droite.
What did you use?
The pinot noir, and I left the skin on.
And the red?
I would sell it to a maker of inferior wine.
[Droite] But Madame…
we thought the red must be our first offering.
It’s what the buyers have come to expect of this region.
And what grape do you favor, Madame?
I favor a more powerful, intense, and precise grape
than most of the makers in the region.
Why?
I want the drinker to feel as if
they stand in the vineyard in Verzy,
as if they are tasting the place itself.
The more intense, the more precise the grape,
the more they can…
experience François’ unique contribution.
You have done well, deciding to sell off the red.
And I would continue developing the pink champagne
with the skin on.
[Droite] The pink is weak, Monsieur. It is too dry.
Yes, well, your job is to count the vines.
It most certainly is not to judge the quality of the mix,
nor is it to sell the champagne,
which would be my job, would it not?
In the hierarchy?
Yes, Monsieur.
I will sell the widow’s champagne,
provided the final tasting goes well.
In say, a year.
I will see you and your criminal enterprise then.
[horse galloping]
[BarbeNicole] [VO] There is hope.
A way forward, however unpredictable.
We can dance around the petulant games of powerful men,
but… as ever, we are at the mercy of the seasons.
[François] [VO] At last, my love, spring.
The first…
[BarbeNicole and François] [VO] …buds break.
[BarbeNicole] [VO] A hot, dry, July.
[François] [VO] As the land holds its breath
for the harvest ahead.
[BarbeNicole] [VO] We wait in anticipation.
François, your last song has sung the grapes to good health.
All senses feel heightened.
[François] [VO] Every moment matters.
[BarbeNicole] [VO] The time of day the grapes are picked.
The way they’re handled. The first press.
Wish I could bottle this time.
[François] [VO] It is a haphazard sort of alchemy.
[BarbeNicole] [VO] I want our champagne to have
structure, depth.
[François] [VO] It must reflect your elegance.
[liquid pours]
[BarbeNicole] [VO] Your boldness.
[François] [VO] Your light.
[Clementine] [VO] But I don’t want to go to the abbey, Mother.
[BarbeNicole] [VO] I don’t want you to go either.
[sighs] The vineyard is no place for a little girl.
The vineyard is no place for you.
I know.
This will always be your home.
We belong to it.
[BarbeNicole sobs]
[fly buzzing]
Morning, Barbe.
Morning.
Will you leave it?
I’d like to do it.
It’s ready for Louis.
So what is it, Barbe?
[fly buzzing]
François should have been here today.
[clanking]
Thank you.
[François] [VO] Happy birthday, my love.
[BarbeNicole giggling]
Thank you.
They are to keep a record of your… discoveries.
They are beautiful.
Louis helped me choose them.
You like him.
Hm?
Yes. I do.
I see the way you are with one another.
Are you jealous?
No.
Why not?
Because I know you love me.
And because I believe we must be free to feel
whatever we feel,
so that we never mistake rebellion for reality.
Because I like his company too.
You like his company?
I do.
It was too warm this summer.
And if the rain this winter is anything like last year…
So we adapt.
I was thinking,
perhaps we could help the vines better this year.
[floor creaking]
[footsteps receding]
[bell ringing]
[wine pouring]
[Louis sips, swishes]
It’s an improvement.
There’s character there.
[BarbeNicole spits]
It’s not ready.
I’m going to continue mixing.
Bottle it.
It’s time for the second fermentation.
And leave it a few months,
unless you prefer the frogeyed bigger bubbles.
No, I prefer the smaller bubbles.
[approaching footsteps]
Madame, George Christian von Kessler.
Are you married, George?
I will be interviewing you; pay him no mind.
I really just want to know one thing.
How many women are in your family?
My mother and my sister, Madame.
What do your mother and sister think of me?
[George] They worry a woman might not be a capable manager.
What did you say to that?
I said, “Aren’t you able?
Here in your home.
Why shouldn’t she be in hers?”
I know you are in your fields every day.
You work hard, Madame.
Do you want the position of a field foreman?
Foreman?
Yes.
Will the older staff listen to me?
If you prove yourself.
I have to prove myself every day.
Madame.
He’ll need new clothes if they’re to respect him.
Anne is an excellent tailor.
[George] Thank you.
[footsteps receding]
[BarbeNicole chuckles] [knocks on door]
Edouard! Come in.
Louis Bohne, the famous.
Hello. Pleasure. Truly a pleasure.
Louis, this is Edouard Werler.
He is a gifted accountant.
Mm.
Yes. Well, I will leave you to it.
I can see you know exactly what sort of man you are looking for.
I am to town.
Happy hunting!
[BarbeNicole] [VO] Finally, after too many months
of bottling,
no more frogeyed bubbles.
The trade route has been finalized.
The delivery negotiated.
So many obstacles ahead.
So much at stake.
Mustn’t dwell on what we cannot control.
Though, it seems a shame not to dress you.
Something must announce you.
Something subtle, but smart.
Confident.
There.
That will keep you safe across the seas.
Go well, my loves, go well.
[indistinct chatter]
All dressed up and ready to travel.
We will take a few days to circumvent the front lines
and arrive in Amsterdam.
I’ll be gone a while.
If I don’t come back, don’t alert the authorities.
For you, for the journey.
Thank you.
Let’s go!
[BarbeNicole] [VO] And now the wait.
For the first time in as long as I can remember,
I am permitting myself excitement.
Pure, unbridled excitement.
Good morning, Phillipe.
I hope you are well.
Barbe, I came to view the product
but it is nowhere to be found.
Why do you need to see it?
Where is it?
[BarbeNicole chuckles softly]
We moved the sparkling.
Come with me.
Are you selling abroad?
[scoffs] Barbe, whether you tell me or not,
if you break this embargo and you are found out,
I will be implicated.
Everything must be reported to Droite and to myself.
We are partners.
When I have proceeds, I will send them to you.
You understand our arrangement can be terminated.
You have one last chance.
One.
[BarbeNicole] [VO] There is a comet
burning a passage through the sky,
day and night.
The world watches as one.
Whispers around Champagne say it is portent of change.
A good omen perhaps, for the coming harvest.
[Muller]Madame! Come quick!
First press!
[BarbeNicole] I’m coming!
It’s perfect!
[Muller laughing]
[bell ringing]
[George] Whoa.
Where is Louis?
Louis stayed to sell the glass.
I’m sorry, Madame.
We made it to Amsterdam but…
the heat and the journey…
the champagne spoiled.
We lost everything…
Sorry, Madame.
[BarbeNicole sobs]
[distant scream]
[flame crackles]
[Edouard] We could offer to sell some of the hectares.
[BarbeNicole] The Moëts inquiring again?
They made it clear there is a standing offer.
For all of it, or some of the fields, if…
When. When I fail.
I understand.
Perhaps in the event that I should be so foolish,
so arrogant, to send the sparkling around a blockade
and lose it all to the heat.
To bad luck, certainly.
To bad judgement on my part.
I’m not sure all the responsibility
lies on your should
It was my decision.
And you will be the reason we succeed in the end!
We have no money.
I cannot pay any of you.
Do you think Louis intends to continue on with us?
You, Edouard?
We need to get to the bottling stage of this vintage.
We cannot wait too long to tell Phillipe.
[BarbeNicole] [VO] Selling off objects
to make up for the lost shipment in Amsterdam.
But I have kept Clem’s room untouched.
Try again. Think differently.
Work on what’s in front of us.
[soft, sad music playing]
[wind whistling]
[huge door opens]
This is for you…
It’s not very good, is it? But I did make it myself.
It’s an owl, weeping in a cathedral on the moon…
Beautiful.
You were disappointed when…
you first saw me, I know.
When your parents told you that you were to marry.
I will try to make it up to you.
[Muller] Come on lads, let’s go!
Get more wood.
Thank you!
[George] If we lose these first shoots to a late frost,
we lose the harvest.
[BarbeNicole] I know.
I’ll keep these fires lit till morning.
I’ll stay.
No one can fall asleep.
Of course, Madame.
Thank you, George.
All right, lads, let’s go!
[Droite] Muller! Muller! Here!
[George] Come on, boys!
[indistinct] up the hill as well, lads.
[Droite] Here. Follow me.
Come on! Follow me there!
[chatter continues]
[fires crackling]
[Phillipe] [VO] Pick these up. Pick these up now!
[François] [VO] Why?
Time does not bend, Father.
She’s slow!
Go and clean yourself up.
It must clear!
Meet me in the study.
Come and speak to me
when you are ready to discuss things civilly.
I am afraid there is nothing to be done about François.
[door opens]
[footsteps]
Hello, Phillipe.
Thank you for coming.
Of course.
Edouard, would you like to… to begin?
[Edouard] Yes.
Phillipe, regarding the missing product,
we wanted to assure you there will be no legal issues
for the vineyard.
There will be no evidence
of the shipment having been sold anywhere.
But how can you guarantee that? There must be records.
It was ruined in the heat.
It’s lost?!
The entire vintage?
Yes.
Edouard, you may go.
[receding footsteps]
[door opens, closes]
God! I am very disappointed in you.
I understand.
[Phillipe] You’ve confirmed
all my worst fears.
I understand,
but I want you to consider
not removing me until after this next bottling.
And why would I do that?
And if we can recoup…
No. It is finished.
François needed help,
and we failed to recognize it.
We failed him.
That is why he is dead.
I could never allow myself to think…
Please, Phillipe.
While the vineyard still bears his name.
[sobs]
If Louis Bohne distributes, agreed.
[door opens]
[thunder roaring]
[water dripping]
[liquid pouring]
The damp will get into your bones, Barbe.
You’ll catch your death.
Sit with me.
That’s very good.
Just isn’t good enough.
You need to sleep.
[glass shatters]
It’s not right. It’s not good.
This isn’t right. It’s not good.
This is not good!
That is too loud!
It’s too loud, it’s too loud!
We are not safe here!
Clem? Clem!
[François] This is our home!
Inside! Go!
Go inside!
[glass shatters]
[dramatic music]
It’s loud, it’s too loud.
Taste it!
[glass shatters]
[François spits]
Would they have their own homes suffer such harm?
Why is no one coming to help?
[dramatic music]
[glass shatters]
Barbe!
[BarbeNicole groans]
[dramatic music]
[BarbeNicole breathing heavily]
[François] Where were you?
Hiding…
You’re hiding from me…
I was waiting for you to calm.
I can’t.
Will Clem be safe?
If you can’t calm.
If I can’t, will that keep you from loving me?
[tense, romantic music playing]
[François moaning]
[tense, romantic music continues]
[footsteps approaching]
Monsieur Louis Bohne.
Louis Bohne, after months on a horse.
Charles has told me
you are maintaining the vineyards yourself.
You must be the only woman I know who loves mud.
Yes, well, we keep moving forward.
And what criminal activities do you have in mind for us next?
They are not so much criminal
as they are masking the extent to which we are truly solvent.
Excellent.
You’ve been gone a long while.
Yes.
It’s good to have you back with us safe, Louis.
And I have control of the vineyard
until the next bottling,
if you decide to distribute for us.
After that…
I know.
Phillipe told me.
After the disaster in Amsterdam,
I managed to salvage eight bottles.
I then rode on horseback to St. Petersburg.
A friend, who has exquisite taste,
and is the sort who likes
the boast of his new discoveries,
he sampled your champagne.
I gave him the bottles,
and he gave me this.
In advance of the next shipment.
You have sold, Madame.
Congratulations.
Provided the next tasting goes well, of course;
we have to match the same standard of
what we have already presold.
Of course.
For Phillipe.
And for you.
No.
I will give this to Phillipe.
It did occur to me that I might sell the red wine
to the nobles that I know in Austria.
They hate the French, but not me personally, I hope.
To dislike you would be against nature.
We sold the red.
Not at the price you would have sold it for,
but I needed to pay the workers for the harvest.
Louis, could you…?
Would one of your royals buy it?
It’s the only possession of worth I have left.
[sighs]
If I had anything of my own to sell, I would.
[overlap] I know, but you don’t.
No.
We won’t be solvent until after the next vintage.
I know.
But you have sold, Barbe.
And Phillipe will soon see that.
Don’t sell it quite yet.
[mellow music]
[knocks on door]
[door opens]
All right, that’s enough.
Louis.
[mellow music]
[floorboard creaks]
Is that you, BarbeNicole?
What do you want, Barbe?
Your instincts have always been so good.
You know what I am.
Why won’t you listen to yourself now?
I don’t want to.
Why?
I don’t want to.
Will you ask the workers
if they would accept these in trade?
I will, Barbe.
[♪♪]
[indistinct whispering]
[François whispering]
What would Voltaire say?
He would not be happy with me.
What are you praying for?
To… stop… loving you this much.
It… it’s…
you are the only.
You are life…
for me.
And…
I…
I’m not…
I’m not.
I’m not.
[birds chirping]
No, no. For my calm, for my sleep.
Don’t hide from me, love.
[François groaning]
[BarbeNicole gasps]
[Clementine thuds, cries]
Oh. Oh… darling. Clemy…
Silly Daddy. Silly Daddy.
I’ve got you. I’ve got you.
[Clementine] I want Mummy!
Oh, I’ve got you. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.
Darling.
Stop.
Stop!
It’s all right.
[Clementine crying]
[soulful music playing]
[François chuckling]
[Clementine chuckling]
[François mock growling]
[mellow music]
[door opens]
[door closes]
[footsteps]
[scratch of pen on paper]
Napoleon’s new regulations on planting.
When does he find the time?
He understands the value of peace.
He is not interested in peace.
[chair slides] [glasses clank]
I’m working.
It’s late. Everyone’s asleep.
[kissing]
Now get out of my office.
[♪♪]
[clattering]
[glass clanks]
[door opens and closes]
[BarbeNicole] [VO] I shall name you
the Comet Vintage of 1811.
[bell blaring]
[maid] Monsieur Muller, Monsieur Muller.
Quick. It’s time!
[Louis] Gather everyone!
Sir, I’ll ready the horses.
[Muller] Right! I need all the carts loaded.
All the horses! We need everyone.
Everyone to the caves!
Now!
[woman speaking indistinctly]
[horse neighing]
At least another dozen bottles over there.
[clattering and clanking]
[indistinct chatter]
You need to hide here until the soldiers have gone.
They won’t find you in the caves.
Muller, go and get your family once you’re finished loading,
and any of the other men.
Sir.
No, no.
I need Muller to bring Clem.
She’ll be safer at your parents’ house in Reims, Madame.
I must go to the house to get Anne.
Wait.
Go quickly, the Russians could be here before sunset.
God knows what will happen.
Leave the shipment if anything happens.
Go. Don’t worry, go!
[bottles clanking]
Go. Keep to the woods.
Come on, keep loading!
[birds screeching]
[intense music playing]
[door opens]
[BarbeNicole] It’s here!
[Anne] I know, I know!
[doors close]
[BarbeNicole] Clem!
[Anne] We have to hurry.
[BarbeNicole] I need Clem. Oh god!
Oh my god, oh my god!
[intense music playing]
[doors bang shut]
[distant boom of canonfire] [horse neighing]
[Anne] Barbe, Barbe!
[suspenseful music playing]
[suspenseful music stops] [birds chirping]
[BarbeNicole] [VO] The war is over,
leaving such devastation in its wake.
And yet no damage done to the vineyards of France.
A miracle.
[Louis] [VO] My dear,
now that Napoleon has been brought to his knees,
all of Russia wishes to celebrate the end of this war
by drinking the Comet.
Your champagne is all sold. I wish I had more to sell.
[BarbeNicole] [VO] I’ve been turning the vessels each day
over the last few weeks.
And as I thought, sediment has solidified in the base,
ready to be released.
[Louis] [VO] The Czar himself said he would drink none other.
We must seize the moment.
[cork pops]
[glasses clinking] [BarbeNicole] [VO] This is most definitely the future.
Our shipments will be months ahead of the competition.
[tense, exciting music playing]
I can pay the workers now.
Robert!
How are you?
Thank you, thank you for taking care of the vines.
Hello. Thank you very much!
Thank you, Matthieu!
Madame.
So you’re an inventor now.
And you would have me return to Russia so soon.
No, I would not.
Now that he has abdicated and there is peace,
George can go.
Oh.
I can go and join you in the vineyards today.
You’re going to get your hands dirty?
Mmhm.
[bell ringing]
Mud on your shoes?
[Louis chuckles]
[bell ringing]
[Charles] Summons!
[raven cawing]
[horseman whistling]
It’s a summons for BarbeNicole Clicquot.
[Edouard] A claim has been submitted
that Madame Clicquot is running a business
in violation of the Napoleonic code of 1804
and further, that her vineyard should be placed
in the hands of an experienced executor.
We don’t have much time.
We have to read the entirety of the Code.
Was this the plan all along?
[Edouard] No, Madame.
It never occurred to them you would succeed.
That you would fight so very hard for every bottle.
[corks popping, glass shattering]
[Muller] Get out! Get out!
No! No!
It’s too dangerous, Madame!
[Muller] Come with me!
[BarbeNicole] No!
[Droite] Come with me!
[BarbeNicole] Stop! Stop!
[Droite] It’s over!
[BarbeNicole] Get off me!
Get off!
[corks popping, glass shattering]
[emotional music]
Where were you?
[François] Where were you?
[BarbeNicole] What are you doing?
There are things written here
that you’ve never shared with me.
You’re hiding.
They are things to remind me
ofofof of what we have shared,
said to each other, decided!
You were worried about the glass.
And I told you!
[François] No, you didn’t.
Yes!
No, you didn’t.
Calm, François. Calm, calm.
[overlap] Calm? I am calm.
This is what you do, you trick me!
You were the one who said
we would never hide from each other,
and now you are the one. You hide.
You hide in these moods, you rave and you disappear.
Is this what you want?
How could this possibly be what I…
[François groans]
Did you send Clem to the abbey
because you didn’t want her to see me like this?
Yeah. Yes.
I sent her to the abbey
because I didn’t want her to be ashamed of you.
Or afraid of you.
Or take care of you.
And she will remain there until you are different.
And you hid that from me?
It was all I could do.
[receding footsteps]
[glass clanks]
Go to sleep, my love.
[receding footsteps]
[sad, emotional music]
[François] I love you, my darling.
[BarbeNicole] I love you.
[sad music playing]
[BarbeNicole sniffles]
[water dripping]
[bottle clanking]
[bell ringing]
[Anne] Madame, the carriage is here.
[Jean Remy Moët] [VO] It is with great concern
for the wellbeing of not only the Champagne district,
but for Madame Clicquot herself,
that we bring this claim.
I regret to say it, but her champagne falls
well short of the high standards of our district.
If she continues to sell first,
our vintage will be judged as she is.
Perhaps a situation such as this
is precisely what Napoleon foresaw
when he insisted on a law
forbidding female management of companies.
Monsieur Droite, who works with Madame as estate manager,
has been observing her for many years.
She has been seen kneedeep in mud,
singing to the vines.
[crowd murmurs]
[Magistrate 2] Could you tell me, Monsieur Droite,
why she was given the vineyard to manage?
Well, she was in a very fragile and emotional state
when she pleaded with Phillipe Clicquot
to run the business alone.
He had just lost his son, she, her husband.
There were many substantial financial offers for the estate
but she refused them all,
and now we are in a position where,
due to constant borrowing, we may have to default the bank.
I fear that she, a woman,
is not capable of running this vineyard.
And yet the reason we are all here
is because she is doing just that!
[Magistrate 1] And you are?
I am Edouard Werler, sir. Madame Clicquot’s accountant.
Forgive my interruption,
but this is the will of François Clicquot
that states the land belongs to BarbeNicole Clicquot
until such a time as she wills the property
to someone of her choosing.
[Droite] Yes, if she is in her right mind.
[Edouard] Regarding the accusation
that she is forbidden to run a business under the law,
I would cite a major point of the Napoleonic code of 1804,
which states that a woman can carry on her husband’s business
after his death.
Monsieur Moët wants control of her vineyard.
He doesn’t care to protect Champagne
or Madame Clicquot from herself.
[Magistrate 1] Monsieur Werler,
this court will hear testimony, not opinion.
[Droite] May I speak on the subject of her…
her private life.
Her deceit.
[crowd murmurs]
[Magistrate 1] You may, but keep it clean;
there are women present.
[Droite] Madame Clicquot is not what she seems.
She is in an intimate, romantic relationship
with her wine merchant.
She is a widow only in the eyes of the law,
to evade the law.
[François humming]
Shhh… Do you hear them?
Of course. Always.
I don’t. Not anymore.
[BarbeNicole humming]
[François] [VO] I think…
all I ever wanted really was to be happy.
Build a paradise here with you.
Perhaps men were not made for paradise.
I want to die in your arms.
Do you still want to die in mine?
I do, but first,
I want to live,
and work, and learn.
Do you remember when you said that I was the one
who was going to change things?
It wasn’t me.
Shh shh.
Oh, my darling.
It was never me.
[VO] It was always you.
[Magistrate 1] Would you stand, please?
Are you remaining a widow
for the sole purpose of running a business?
I don’t know.
[Magistrate 1] Did you say you don’t know?
I don’t know.
It’s odd to listen to how others define you
as if you are somehow fixed, unchanging, one person,
instead of the many that we all are.
I love my husband still.
And I love Louis Bohne. I am not just one self.
[Magistrate 1] Your husband is dead, Madame.
My husband is not dead.
He lives in the vines.
[Magistrate 1] Perhaps it is not best to have you speak for yourself.
Why would I not be the authority on the subject of myself?
I am telling the truth as I know it, even though I see that telling the truth means
I might not be readily understood… by men, as it may not be what it is.
Familiar, expected.
But the truth is, as I listened to you, I was glad to be a woman, even if I lose the rights of men.
Men are so certain, but does that mean they know the truth?
Or does it just mean they are certain of themselves?
[Magistrate 1] Yes, we we see your point.
And yet, we need a clear answer to settle this claim.
Are you remaining a widow to evade the law?
I am Louis Bohne, magistrate, the wine distributor in question.
Can I offer my assistance in obtaining an answer to your question?
[Magistrate 1] You may, thank you.
Understanding that I would run the vineyard as I see fit, with you by my side, given everything you know of me, and that we’ve never hidden anything from one another…
BarbeNicole, will you marry me?
No.
[crowd murmurs]
[Louis] Widow Clicquot…
[♪♪]
[♪♪]
[music fades out]
