(gentle instrumental)
(camera lens clicking)
Photographer: All right, boys.
Whoo! Come on, boys!
(youth choir marching song)
¶
(instrumental music swells)
¶
Robert: Let's see that Andrean spirit, boys!
(thunder claps)
(water moving) (ominous instrumental)
¶
(water splashing)
(muted Swing instrumental)
¶
(muffled neighbour's chatter)
(gentle music instrumental)
¶
(train whistle)
(train engine chugging) (playful music)
¶
(train bell ringing)
¶ My paddle's keen and bright
¶ Flashing with silver
¶ Follow the wild goose flight
¶ Dip, dip and swing ¶
¶ Dip, dip and swing her back ¶
¶ Flashing with silver
¶ Follow the wild goose flight
¶ Dip, dip and swing ¶
(boys laughing)
Joseph: Guys, guys.
Do you wanna see a magic trick? Will: I do. Let me see it.
(sneezes) Bless you.
Vernon: Ooh, what do we got here? Frank:No, no, no, no, no.
Frank: Hey, let, hey, let go!
(laughs)
That's a keen wristwatch.
Ingersole Radiolite.
Tells the time in the dark.
You never know how much you need one 'til you own one.
Will: I want one.
I'll leave it to you in my will, kiddo.
Thanks.
Jack?
Yeah, Willis?
Jesus, Will.
Thanks.
It's gonna be a swell trip with him in tow.
I'm gonna kill him.
(gentle instrumental)
¶
(boys chattering)
Hello, pleasure to meet you.
My second-in-command.
Arthur Lambden.
Robert Butcher.
This is the Brotherhood of St. Andrew.
Hello, boys.
Hello, sir. -Hello to you, sir.
You may fall in line next to Leonard.
Very good.
(whistle blows)
Robert: We've operated a boys' camp for years at Clear Lake.
This is our first time at Long Point.
(sneezes)
Sorry, sir.
I'm Leonard O'Hara.
I have hypersensitivities.
To what?
Trees.
(laughter)
(gentle instrumental) (boys laughing and chatting)
Will: We're here.
(boys laughing)
(whistle blows)
Robert: Parade rest!
Let's get to work, boys.
Whoo!
(upbeat jazz music)
Yeah!
(upbeat jazz music)
¶
Hi, Will. -Hi, Gordon.
Will, thanks.
Vern, go field.
Vernon: Over into it.
Yup, yup, yup.
Got a lot stronger.
Where'd you get the gum?
Great, thank you. -Okay.
Out of the way, Leonard.
Leonard: What's that book that you're reading?
Here, and then you pull...
There's this one part where T-Rex puts this other-
Here it is.
Leonard: I love storybooks.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
All this open wilderness and you're still underfoot.
I wanna help.
Well then stay out of the bloody way.
I'm not here to babysit, Will.
Vernon: Ooh, (laughs) you got told off.
(upbeat jazz music)
Oh, good enough.
(upbeat jazz music)
(train bell rings)
(gentle instrumental)
¶
Conductor: Peterboro'.
Next stop, Peterboro'.
(soft instrumental)
(humming)
(soft instrumental)
Sydney: George Waller, at last.
I got a later train.
Here, take this, Ray.
Good to see you, too.
All right, boys, it's rough water,
so let's all work together.
All right, let's go!
Arthur: How many can't swim?
About half.
And those who can need improvement.
And then there's Vernon.
He's a fish, that one.
Couple lifeguard medals.
(whistle blows)
Vernon: Last one there has to bunk beside Frank.
You wanna swim now fellas? Waller: Sure.
Samuel de Champlain
recorded his travels to Balsam Lake in his diary.
The Ojibway had a settlement here,
used the lake as their travel route.
They hunted these very woods.
They lived and they died here.
They're buried beneath your feet.
(sneezes)
Robert: Centuries later, voyageurs portaged here
and stopped for the night.
Slept right under their canoes.
Now all you know each other, but Mister Lambden's new,
so give him your respect.
I hope to meet all of you individually throughout the day.
At this camp, you'll get out of it what you put in.
Games, duty, devotion.
Canon Rutherford is arriving the day after tomorrow,
so expect a series of lectures on Wednesday.
Questions?
Mr. Wigington.
When does Waller get here? (boys chuckle)
The rest of the boys are paddling up from Peterborough
with Mister Manley.
Oh, that's great.
Jack: We get to hear his stories.
Go ahead.
(boys cheering)
Don't have a hypersensitivity to water,
do you, Leonard?
Mister Lambden.
(screaming)
His father drowned.
Oh god, I'm an idiot.
You didn't know.
Leonard, go light the stove, would you?
Mhm.
You and Vernon'll have him swimming in a few days.
You do know how to swim?
My father made sure of that.
Most of these boys don't have fathers.
They never came back.
They're adrift, Mister Lambden.
They've been feminized by their mothers
and their female teachers.
This modern world does not serve them.
I think it's a pretty exciting time to be a boy.
They spend all their days sitting in front of the radio.
They need to get outdoors.
Well, sure, but-
Canon Rutherford has
always extolled the virtues of a strenuous life.
I heard of a Father Rutherford who was at the Somme.
He braved the front lines.
Disobeyed his superiors to be there.
He's now Secretary of the Anglican Council.
Arthur: I look forward to his lecture.
(dramatic instrumental)
(muted boys shouting and laughing)
(muffled screaming) (water bubbling)
(tense instrumental)
(water splashing)
Stick together!
(boys screaming)
Everybody to the canoe!
Arthur: Goddammit!
Waller, get the paddles.
Waller, fetch the canoe!
Waller: Here it is, Coach.
Arthur: We need the paddles!
Allen!
Yes!
Burkett!
Here!
Burgess?
Here!
Robert: Clarke?
Here!
Robert: Edwards?
Waller: Joseph, Joseph?
Vernon: Joseph?
Joseph Edwards?
Waller: Joe? Do you see him?
Boy: Joseph?
(sombre instrumental)
Robert: Well boys, there's another wave.
(panicked chatter)
Robert: Hold on, boys, and stay close to the boat!
(panicked chatter) (tense instrumental)
Boy: Help!
(panicked screaming)
(dramatic music)
(water moving)
(screaming)
Boy: Waller!
(boys cheering)
Boy: Waller, wait! -Whoo!
Arthur: So this is the war canoe?
Thirty-footer.
Beautiful.
Robert: Tomorrow we'll take her across the lake to Coboconk.
Fetch some supplies, canoes.
We need 11.
Arthur: That many?
Robert: We need extra boys to bring the canoes back.
Of course.
We'll sleep on the beach,
paddle back in the morning.
Sounds like fun.
There's a tuck shop there, Gordon.
If I can convince my lieutenant here,
we'll have shaved cherry ice.
Yes, please.
Robert: Welcome, voyageurs!
Greetings.
Our treasurer, Sydney Manley.
Arthur: Arthur Lambden.
Let me take that.
Ah, thanks.
And this hellion is George Waller.
Yeah.
Fall in, boys.
He has a fascination with the war.
Quite lucky he missed it.
This is Ray Allen.
He's a Sunday school teacher
and plans on entering the ministry one day.
Oh, I'm not too sure about that, Mr. Butcher.
Well, time for some fun, I say.
Thank you.
That any good?
It's a swell story.
Well, it's no Shakespeare.
Fitzgerald's the Lost Generation,
like us.
Is that what we're called?
Waller: Hey, Gordon!
Gordon: What?
George Waller!
Leave him alone!
I'm not doing anything.
Uh oh, George.
Robert: Unpack your gear or rake the latrine.
Jack: How was it?
Waller: Aces.
You shoulda met us in Peterborough.
My mom made me come on a bus
with my little brother.
Hey, Willy Killjoy.
I haven't seen you since last summer.
I'm Will now.
Oh, you've grown.
Will: Two inches.
Yeah, you've grown funny.
(laughs)
Waller: Now, Jack, tell me all about her.
Don't skimp on any of the dirty details.
(whistle blows)
(shouting and chattering)
I'm open!
Pass it!
(shouting and chattering)
Right here!
Boy: We're on the same team, Waller!
Jack: Right here! Come on!
- Leonard, incoming!
Arthur: Work as a team!
Vernon: Come on, pass it!
Boys: Oh, whoa.
(laughing) (whistle blows)
Jack: Look out.
Waller's here.
Sorry- Waller: You little prick.
Vernon: Whoa, hey, hey, hey.
Stop, stop, stop. (whistle blows)
Waller: That wasn't fair!
Enough!
Boys: Oooh.
Arthur: All right, okay.
(Waller cries out)
Take a walk.
Calm down.
Mr. Lambden,
you're in charge now.
(whistle blows)
Arthur: Okay, boys, back to it.
What's the axe for?
Don't be sore because I play to win.
Robert: You aren't even aware that there's other players.
It's the George Waller game.
I'm a good player.
And you think that's how a captain leads his team?
If my captain was like you,
I would be dead.
It's a screwy game.
That has been played on this lake for thousands of years.
Warriors specific-
Waller: Oh, fine, then, I'm a warrior.
Robert: A warrior's goal
is to bring honour and glory to their tribe.
Not themselves.
Last camp left firewood.
Pick on something bigger than yourself.
It's a tree.
I never cut down a tree in my life.
That's your problem.
Waller: Well you can't make me.
(breathing heavily)
(Waller cries out)
(grunting)
(gentle instrumental)
¶
(wood snapping)
Whoa. -Crap.
Oh my god. -Oh my god.
Waller, you do this?
Waller: Whoohoohoo!
Vernon: That wasn't you. This is you?
(overlapping disbelieving praise)
This is him?
What? (chuckles)
Amazing.
Come here!
Whoo, yeah!
Oh!
(boys laugh)
(gentle music)
¶
(water splashing)
Will: Jack!
Get the youngest up!
Be careful you don't bust a hole.
You're bleeding.
What?
Robert?
(gasps)
You can't swim with your knees.
Get up. -No!
Now!
Boys in the water,
take off your shoes, anything heavy.
Take off your trousers, they'll drag you down!
Where did we capsize?
Gordon, where did we capsize?
Gordon: Near Grand Island, I think.
Robert: What are the chances of us gaining a shore?
Do you see the shore?
Oliver: Mr. Butcher?
Mark's hurt.
He banged his head.
I'm fine, I'm fine!
I'll go.
We need to stop the bleeding.
Oliver: Here.
Arthur: Wrap it up.
Mark, switch spots with me.
Stay where you are.
There's room.
It's not about room!
We'll lose buoyancy.
If we try and flip it it will fill up with water and sink.
I'm coming down.
I can't dive for you every time you sink.
¶ My paddle's keen and bright
¶ Flashing with silver
¶ Follow the wild goose flight
¶ Dip, dip and swing ¶
¶ Dip, dip and swing her back
¶ Flashing with silver
¶ Follow the wild goose flight
¶ Dip, dip and swing ¶
¶ Get up, get out of bed
¶ Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red
¶ Live, live
¶ Love, love
¶ Laugh and be happy ¶
(gentle instrumental)
Oh, wow.
Ohh.
(applauding)
(gentle piano music)
(off beat notes)
(squeaking)
(laughing)
(lively harmonica music)
Waller: Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
and say "These wounds I had on Crispin's day."
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day.
From this day to the ending of the world,
but we in it shall be remembered,
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that shed his blood with me
Shall be my brother.
(in unison) Amen.
We need 11 boys to take the canoe across the lake.
Sign up with Mr. Lambden throughout the day tomorrow.
Vernon, Waller?
We'll need you in the engine room.
I'm sore from the trip up.
Sometimes God uses pain as a chisel
to model human character.
Tell God to take it easy already.
(stifled laughter)
Excuse me?
I'm coming.
I'll go.
I wanna mail a letter.
Leonard?
Will?
You'll be sure to volunteer?
(sighs)
(loon calling) (wolf howling)
Ray?
Raymond?
What?
I was wondering.
Since you're joining the priesthood,
does that mean you're not allowed to-
beat the bishop?
(laughter)
Dileas Gu Brath.
Digitus Impudicus.
Where are you going?
None of your potatoes.
The adults need a smoke, Willy.
I'm just going outside
and I may be some time.
Will: What's that from?
Ray: Laurence Oates?
Have you ever heard the story of
Captain Scott's expedition to the South Pole?
Yeah, they get lost in a blizzard.
Everyone was starving and dying.
Ray: That's right.
Laurence Oates was the worst of the lot.
His feet were frostbitten, gangrenous.
He was slowing down the group,
and he knew
that if Captain Scott and the others wanted to make it out,
they'd have to leave him behind.
So one night,
he walks out of the tent,
right into a snowstorm, it's minus 40,
and the last thing that he said was-
(fart)
(laughing)
Oh my goodness.
Please excuse me, do continue, Raymond.
Will: That reeks.
You're an asshole.
(chuckling)
(humming)
(sighs)
Where did you serve?
Ypres.
Massacre.
You?
Somme.
The infantry.
I fell in a shell hole and buggered up my knee.
Some pals dragged me out before I drowned.
You were lucky.
Four men pulled me out, one brought me back.
Not lucky.
I became an orderly with General Currie.
Carried the Allied colours into Mons.
What was Currie like?
He was respected, Mr. Lambden,
but he didn't win the men over.
Could you call me Arthur?
I reckon a boys' camp is the last place
to stand on ceremony.
Robert.
Mr. Butcher in front of the boys.
Of course.
He doesn't let me smoke in here.
(chuckles)
Sydney: What time are you setting that for?
4:30.
You know, I grew up on a farm
and my dad woke me at five.
Those were the days.
A father taught his son a trade.
Sydney: I hated growing up on a farm.
We were just telling old war stories.
He served at Ypres.
100,000 boys in one day.
(gentle guitar strumming)
In my interview,
they told me you were decorated four times for bravery.
Three, they were being grandiose.
Sydney: He's a humble hero.
A hero's just a man who's too afraid to run away.
(gentle guitar strumming)
Thank god it stopped raining.
What time is it, Mark?
My watch stopped when it got wet.
(coughing)
(straining)
Stop.
Maybe we need more boys.
There's nothing to push us against her.
What?
There's nothing to push on, no leverage, dummy.
Waller: What'd you call me?
I knew this wouldn't work.
It's not a kayak.
Why don't you shut your pie hole, Vern?
Arthur: Boys.
You boys get back on the boat.
Mr. Butcher, we can't break the water seal.
We don't have paddles, anyway.
Gee, Vernon, always with the obvious.
Can't the boys back at camp do something?
Vernon: They probably think we're safe on land.
Come on.
If we overload (mumbles).
How long can these boys stay immersed?
Another hour.
The water gets colder the deeper the body is.
The higher the body,
the less heat you'll lose!
Come on, boys,
keep yourselves up!
We'll take shifts,
on and off the hull.
It's not the water I'm concerned about.
(mumbling) Joseph had a piano recital coming up.
We need to make our way to Grand Island.
It's that way.
Mr. Lambden,
please, we have to try.
Everybody stern.
What?
Robert: You heard Mr. Lambden.
We can do this.
Leonard?
This is a bad idea.
Will: Jack.
Jack?
What?
Oh for chrissake, Will.
Jack: Ah, the water's freezing.
Will: Thanks for taking care of me.
You're
like a dad.
Jesus, Will.
I'm not our goddamn father.
You're what I imagine he would be.
Don't say that.
He was a soldier.
He got shot.
Will: But that made him a hero.
It didn't.
Will: Jack?
Why wasn't he a hero?
He was shot by his commanding officer.
What?
Why?
Why do you think?
Vernon: Wake up.
(harmonica toots) ¶ Wake up, wake up, you sleepy head
¶ Get up, get out of bed
¶ Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red
¶ Live, love, laugh and be happy
¶ Oh, when the red, red robin goes bob, bob bobbin' along ¶
¶ Along ¶
¶ There'll be no more sobbin'
¶ When he starts throbbin' that old sweet song ¶
Hey!
¶ Wake up, wake up, you sleepy head
¶ Get up, get up, get out of bed
¶ Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red
¶ Live, love, laugh and be happy ¶
(laughter)
¶ When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbing along
¶ Along ¶
¶ There'll be no more sobbin'
¶ When he starts throbbin' his old sweet song ¶
Come on in.
Waller: Who's the first one to give me twenty?
(indiscernible chatter)
¶ Get up, get up, get out of bed
¶ Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red
¶ Live, love, laugh and be happy
¶ What if I've been blue
¶ Now I'm walking through fields of flowers
¶ Rain may glisten, but still I listen for hours and hours ¶
(cheering)
¶ I'm just a kid again, doing what I did again
¶ Singing a song
¶ When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along ¶
Okay, okay, okay.
(upbeat jazz music)
And, go.
Go, go, Will!
(boys shouting encouragement)
Sydney: Get your backs in it, come on!
(cheering)
¶ When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
¶ Along ¶
¶ There'll be no more sobbin'
¶ When he starts throbbin' his old sweet song
¶ Oh, wake up, wake up, you sleepy head ¶
(chattering and laughing)
¶ Get up, get out of bed
¶ Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red
¶ Live, love, laugh and be happy
¶ What if I've been blue
¶ Now I'm walking through fields of flowers
¶ Rain may glisten, but still I listen for hours and hours
¶ I'm just a kid again, doing what I did again
¶ Singing a song
¶ When the red, red robin starts bob, bob, bobbin' along ¶
(cheering)
(thump) Robert: Mark?
Mark?
Is he dead?
Let me do it.
Prop me up.
(Arthur grunting)
(sputtering)
You all right, (mumbles)?
Vernon: You're all right, you're okay.
You can get through this, okay.
Robert: Leonard?
We need you in the water.
What?
Mark can't go in the water.
We need you in the water.
It's okay.
I-I can't, I can't.
Don't be a cry-baby.
It won't be long.
We'll take shifts.
My father drowned.
Waller: Mark's gonna drown, ya sissy!
Waller.
(gentle peaceful music)
¶
Can anyone tell me why migrating birds fly in a V?
What?
Gordon?
Gordon: Aerodynamics.
The bird rides the updraft caused by the flapping wings
of the bird in front of it.
So, there's no benefit to being the first bird.
Gordon: There's no aerodynamic advantage.
So how does it make it the whole trip?
They switch.
They take turns being leader.
(breathing heavily)
I think I'll trade places with Mark.
Mark?
Let's switch places with Leonard.
Mark: Yes, Mr. Lambden.
Boy: Come on, Mark.
(shivering and whimpering)
Waller: Wait.
What are you doing?
Leonard,
that was very brave.
Take this.
Go on.
Take it.
When this is all over,
it's yours to keep.
Thank you.
Robert, get on the boat.
No, I'm dead weight.
I'm sinking the canoe.
What?
I'm a hindrance to the others.
These boys need their leader.
They have their leader.
You're not gonna
make it out there with your knee.
Take this.
Don't.
If you think that I fought for my,
my country for glory and honour,
you'd be wrong.
I did it for the man beside me.
Behind me, in front of me.
He is what makes a soldier do what he must.
Will you remember that?
Yes.
(sputtering)
(sombre music)
Will: What's happening?
Is he coming back?
(gentle instrumental)
¶
(distant booming)
(gentle instrumental)
(distant shooting) (distant shouting)
(music swelling)
¶
(soft instrumental)
Boy: What the fuck?
Arthur: Mark, Mark?
Stay awake.
Mark: Sure thing, Mr. Butcher.
Leonard?
Give me the compass.
I dropped it.
Who knows where we capsized?
You, on the end.
What's your name?
You know my name.
Your name.
Ray Allen.
Arthur: Address.
100 Old Norwood Road.
Do you know where we capsized?
I don't know.
It was right after we entered the narrows.
Here.
Vernon: Let me see.
Grand Island was on our right.
Who can find the Plough?
Gordon?
Gordon: There.
Waller: What are you doing?
Arthur: Finding north.
Take the last two stars of the Bowl
and draw a line directly.
The North Star.
Indian Point is north.
Let's keep paddling.
Vernon: It didn't work before.
We have more light now.
Waller, get back in the water.
Leonard, get back on top.
(dramatic instrumental)
Arthur: Come on, Ray.
Yeah.
(dramatic instrumental)
Arthur: Keep out of the water.
Get his face out of the water.
Keep his head up.
Keep kicking, boys.
Keep kicking.
(dramatic music swelling)
¶
Oliver: Hey, what's that?
It's just a deadhead.
Oliver: What's a deadhead?
It's an old log that probably broke away
from a boom a while back.
Gordon: It gets so waterlogged that it floats vertically.
So what's your story, Oliver?
Uh, I'm a payroll clerk at Wrigley's.
Arthur: A solid job.
Yeah.
It makes me popular.
Arthur: Yeah.
Well, thank you.
I'm saving up to go to Europe.
To visit your dad's grave.
Oliver: He made it back all right,
but he died in the epidemic.
I was nine.
(groaning)
Arthur: Okay.
Waller: Get it out, get it out, get it out.
Tackle box.
Fetch the first aid kit.
It's not important.
Pliers.
There you go, boy.
(muffled screaming)
Ray, hold him.
(muffled screaming)
Arthur: There you go.
Sticky plaster?
Oliver: Here.
It's okay, there you go.
Give me your finger.
There you go.
Waller: Ha.
How'd you know how to do that?
You can't go back.
You have to go through.
(boys whimpering)
(grunting)
Jack: I can't see Indian Point.
Vernon: The wind's turning us southeast.
Arthur: Keep moving, boys.
Vernon: This is useless!
Waller: You have a better idea?
Vernon: We're wasting energy.
Arthur: Just five more minutes.
Mark's dead.
Stop.
Ray: Mark?
Oh, my God, he's not breathing.
Mark.
No, no.
Arthur: Mark?
No.
Vernon: Hey wait, wait.
Mark said Will can have his watch.
What?
It might still work, if it dries.
I-I don't want it.
I'll take it off.
He doesn't want it.
It's for his parents.
Ray, take his place.
Teach us, O Lord,
true brotherhood,
in daily thought and deed.
(in unison) That we may tread with humble heart,
the path where Thou dost lead.
Love then shall reign supreme over all,
over heart and mind and hand.
Eternal love and brotherhood.
In all this storm tossed-
Fuck!
What are we doing?
Arthur: Waller.
Thanks, Ray, but praying's not going to help Mark.
It's not gonna save us.
We can't right the canoe.
We got no paddles.
Arthur: You're scaring the younger kids.
(crying) I'm gonna drown.
We can't do anything until we see the shore.
I'll swim to shore.
Even if you guessed the right way,
there's no light to swim to.
But didn't Mr. Butcher swim to shore?
Waller: You know what? Go, Ray.
It's better than praying.
Why not do something useful?
No one's going anywhere by themselves.
As a team maybe.
But not you, Ray.
I see a light.
Momma?
Wait. - Momma?
Ray! -Momma.
Momma, Momma? -Ray!
Momma, Momma? Arthur: Ray.
He won't make it.
Momma. Arthur: Ray.
Ray: Momma.
Will: No, please don't leave us.
No, please!
Ray! -Momma.
Momma.
Arthur: Ray, come back here!
Ray, come back here.
(gentle instrumental)
Ray: Momma?
Momma.
(water splashing) (soft instrumental)
You're the one who made him leave.
I didn't tell him to swim away.
He just wanted him to wise up.
Well if you didn't egg him on,
he wouldn't have swam off.
Leonard: He still might make it,
even if it's the wrong shore.
He could hike back to camp and tell them what happened.
What are they gonna do? They don't have a canoe.
Go to Fenelon? Tell the police?
Waller: Walk all night in darkness?
Vernon: It's probably a mile to shore. He'll never make it.
Mr. Lambden's back.
Will: What about Ray?
I need a volunteer to swim to the Indian Point.
You said no one's going anywhere.
Arthur: Yeah, not alone, with me.
Vernon's the best swimmer.
What? No, no, no way.
I'll go alone if I have to.
Fine.
Oliver: Mr. Butcher left you in charge.
I'll go with Vernon, we-
No, go by yourself!
Because swimming out there is suicide.
You're a pussy.
I can't swim straight in this.
I can't follow a goddamn star!
Or I'll push you off.
Waller!
Whoa.
What the fuck?
What do you think,
you're some kinda tough guy?
You're just a kid.
When are you gonna grow up?
I don't know what to do!
You're the strongest,
you have the most influence.
That makes you my second in command.
Your attitude can save us or sink us.
So what's it gonna be?
(muffled screaming)
Do you hear how scared they are?
(muffled screaming)
Oliver! -Oliver!
Will: Oliver swam away.
He went that way.
Arthur: Oliver?
Oliver!
What'd he say to you?
Oliver!
Oliver?
Oliver!
I killed Joe and Frank.
What?
I messed up the stroke.
It was a wave that blew us over.
(crying) I caused the accident.
Jack: Don't say that.
It was Butcher's fault.
What, Vern?
I said it was Mr. Butcher's fault.
Waller: You dope, what do you know?
There were too many boys.
We set out too late.
His whole trip was balled up.
We should have had cushions or cork.
Then why didn't you say anything?
Because I know how to swim, Waller.
You son of a bitch.
Will: Stop!
Waller, you're making everything worse!
(breathing heavily)
Arthur: Oliver!
Hey.
(coughs)
(distant bells ringing)
Robert: Why'd you join the Brotherhood?
I had a son.
He died in the epidemic.
He would have liked it here.
He loved to fish.
Oh, here's a list of the boys for the trip.
Some of them were hoping that the tuck shop
would be playing the Sam 'n Henry Show.
Beg your pardon?
It's a radio show.
The point of all of this, Mr. Lambden,
is to get them as far away from electrical sockets
as possible.
You're not one for modernity, I understand.
I think electrical things put us further from ourselves.
Hi, Mr. Lambden!
I heard you pulled a thorn from the lion's paw.
Just some old Boy Scout know-how.
You gained some respect.
Not an easy thing to do.
You're not gonna make me chop down a tree, are you?
If he wasn't chopping down a tree,
he'd be at the nickel craps.
He'd be a rum-runner.
He could have hurt himself.
Risk builds character, Mr. Lambden.
Challenge builds character.
So can- -This is a leadership camp.
Not a holiday.
(restrained sobs)
Come with me. Now.
We can't go back, only through.
(sombre instrumental)
¶
Will: Mr. Lambden!
Leonard: Waller!
Mr. Lambden. -Waller, right here.
Jack: Waller.
Over here.
Did you see Oliver?
Waller: Yeah, we saw him but he was-
way ahead of us.
Man, he looked strong.
He was slicing through the water like it was nothing.
Leonard: You should have gone with him, Vern.
I hope he makes it.
Will, Leonard,
take out your shoelaces.
Why?
Because I said so, Willy Killjoy.
Come on.
Yes, sir.
We've decided we're not gonna send anyone else.
We're gonna stick together, wait till we can see.
Leonard?
Make me a slipknot with the lace.
Will, can you make me a figure eight?
All right.
Waller: If you get stuck,
me or Mr. Lambden will help.
Gordon, slide up on the hull,
there's no sense freezing there.
Thanks, Waller.
Anyone know a song to sing?
Something from choir?
Something dirty.
¶ Tickling the ivories on the organ
¶ Running my fingers up and down the keys
¶ Clearing out my throat
¶ Gonna sail my boat
¶ Starting the journey at her knees
¶ I've got a big one, a real kidney cracker
¶ A major bobble whacker
¶ For a salty cracker
¶ I got the goods, the tickler and the lair
¶ Wanna fly my plane back home right into her hair
¶ Adam had an apple at the altar
¶ Eve must have the serpent down within
¶ Then she took a bite
¶ Gave her man a fright ¶
¶ Now we're all obliged to swim ¶
Sydney: All right, boys.
(boys whooping)
Robert: Sydney.
Captain, my captain.
We'll be back in the morning.
Bring me a shaved cherry ice.
It'll melt.
Paddle fast then.
Would you mind
making some copies of this?
Looks good.
Might not sound good.
All right, boys.
Come on, Joseph, you missed the photo!
Why are we heading out so late?
Geez, Vernon, you got something to say, say it.
Arthur: Thank you for joining us, Mr. Edwards.
Sydney: Goodbye, boys.
(marching song) (muffled children's singing)
Sydney: See you tomorrow morning.
Arthur: All right.
Sydney: Goodbye!
Arthur: Everybody set?
Stroke.
In cohesion.
All in rhythm.
Hey.
Do you remember Hamm Smith?
I don't know who that is.
Oh, Hamm Smith, you remember him.
Such a queer fellow.
Who you talkin' about, Vern?
Hamm Smith.
Conserve your energy, Vernon.
I-I can't believe no one remembers Hamm Smith.
He was so funny.
¶ My paddle's keen and bright
¶ Flashing with silver
¶ Follow the wild goose flight
¶ Dip, dip and swing ¶
¶ Dip, dip and swing her back
¶ Flashing with sliver
¶ Follow the wild goose flight
¶ Dip, dip and swing ¶
¶ Land of the silver birch
¶ Home of the beaver
¶ Where still the mighty moose
¶ Wanders at will
¶ Blue lake and rocky shore
¶ I will return once more ¶
¶ Boomdidi ahda boomdidi ahda ¶
(inspiring instrumental swells)
¶
Shoeshine.
Shoeshine, shoeshine, shoeshine.
Shoeshine.
Come get your shoe shine.
(whistles)
Shoeshine, shoeshine come get your shoeshine!
Shoeshine!
Come on, get your shoe shined, sir.
Shoeshine!
Shut up, Vernon.
Waller: No, Vern,
you're all right.
Robert (echoing): I'm pointing at Grand Island, boys.
¶ Speed, bonnie boat,
¶ Like a bird on the wing
¶ Onward! The sailors cry
¶ Carry the lad
¶ That's born to be king
¶ Over the sea to Skye
¶ Sing me a song
¶ Of the lad that is gone
¶ Say, could that lad be I
¶ Be I
(thunder rolling)
¶ Merry of soul, he sailed on a day
¶ Over the sea to Skye
¶ Over the sea ¶
¶ To Skye ¶
(melancholy instrumental)
¶
Doctor: He should be buried as soon as possible.
He should be laid next to his mother.
(melancholy instrumental)
¶
Oh.
I have a girl, Will.
Madeline.
I, uh, I didn't add the address yet.
But it's 783
Prairie Avenue.
You can deliver it yourself.
Just repeat it back to me.
783 Prairie Avenue.
(sighs)
What makes you think I'm gonna make it?
You have a better chance if there's just a few.
Mr. Butcher,
he did the right thing.
You can make it.
We just all can't.
Jack.
Please.
Jack: I made that stuff up.
About Dad, you know?
He wasn't a coward.
I don't understand.
Dad was-
He was part of the creeping barrage that went up Vimy.
The artillery aimed their shells,
right over the marching troops.
Dad, he, he marched up side-by-side with his pals
under a ceiling of gunfire.
They could hear the pounding all the way to England.
He was killed halfway up.
But they took that ridge.
He was a hero, Will.
No, it's just a story.
I'm not a kid anymore.
(sighs)
I know he wasn't brave.
Jack: He wasn't conscripted.
He was a shop assistant
who volunteered.
I think he was very brave.
Is that land?
Where?
Right there.
I don't see...
No, no!
(crying) No, no!
(melancholy guitar strumming)
¶
(distant thunder rolling)
(sneezing)
Ew.
Leonard your allergies.
We're near-
There's land there.
I can see land, Waller.
Get on stern.
(dramatic instrumental)
(music swelling)
¶
Leonard: Stop!
(inspiring instrumental)
¶
Will.
No!
(sputtering, breathing heavily)
(inspiring instrumental)
¶
Leonard, here.
(sputtering)
All right.
(dramatic music swells)
¶
(grunting)
Pull it!
(soft instrumental)
¶
(breathing heavily)
Wake up.
A paddle washed up.
Will: Is this Grand Island?
Wake up.
Leonard.
What are we gonna do with only one paddle?
I'm hungry.
Me too.
There's gotta be a homestead somewhere.
I'll go with you.
No, stay with the boys.
Better stay in pairs, I'd say.
Leonard?
Look along the shore,
see if you can find something that we can use as a paddle.
What if you can't find food?
Then we'll pick berries.
(gentle instrumental)
¶
(breathing heavily)
I need a minute.
Waller: I have to piss.
(breathing heavily)
(stifled sobbing)
He gave me his spot on the canoe.
My own father wouldn't have done that.
It was his fault, wasn't it?
(sombre instrumental)
Leonard: First thing's first, Will.
(sneezing)
Leonard: Goddammit.
We'll eat,
then we'll have the strength to paddle back.
And then the adults will tell us what to do, all right?
Will?
Will!
He's older.
Where are you going?
He's stronger.
We don't get to decide who lives and dies, Will.
There might be boys marooned on the island or on the shores,
but we won't know unless we get back.
Will: No.
They're dead.
They're all dead.
Leonard: Well your mom's not gonna want two dead sons.
Come help me look for wood, Will.
(exhales)
(gentle instrumental)
¶
(sobbing)
(gentle instrumental)
¶
Waller: You don't believe in God, do you?
Arthur: Let's just say I've had a crisis of faith.
I'd only been back from Europe a few months
when the Spanish flu hit.
My wife got sick.
And died quickly, mercifully.
Benjamin soldiered through.
For a while.
Sometimes boys are more resilient than men.
How did you survive?
I didn't get sick.
I was the carrier.
(sniffs)
Arthur: We were in, uh, close quarters.
Unsanitary conditions.
When we came back infected, we didn't know.
We were weapons.
I killed them.
No.
Millions of people died, Mr. Lambden.
But what about those eight boys?
At the bottom of the lake.
What about them?
That ain't your fault, either.
I keep on surviving.
(sniffing)
You saved us.
(watch ticking)
(inspiring instrumental)
¶
Hey.
Let's go home.
(inspiring instrumental)
¶
(music swells)
¶
Hello, young man.
Having a good time?
(soaring dramatic music)
¶
Canon Rutherford: I'll see if they made it there.
You take the other motor to the Rosedale docks.
If you hadn't come-
Come now.
Let's make a move.
Boy: Mr. Manley!
(gentle instrumental)
¶
(lively instrumental)
¶
Robert: Mr. Lambden.
Do you remember in the Somme, the Basilica?
On top of the spire,
there was a tremendous statue.
It had been damaged by the shelling.
It hung there at a 45 degree angle.
People said if it fell from the spire,
the Germans would win.
But some French engineers decided to fix fate.
They installed a cable, so it would remain secure.
So it would not fall.
(melancholy instrumental)
(boys cheering and shouting)
Arthur: Are you telling me
I'm the statue,
dangling from the spire?
Robert: No, Arthur.
You're the cable.
Canon Rutherford: Chief Coroner is here.
The police are here.
The, uh-
firemen have brought grappling hooks.
Where are the boys?
Canon Rutherford: They're outside.
They want to see you.
A greater love hath no man than this.
(muffled prayer)
Arthur: Hello, boys.
Our number one priority
is to get you back to your families.
Waller, Leonard and Will,
go to the hospital.
We're not leaving you.
We're staying right here.
Waller, gather a team and dismantle the tents.
Understood.
Arthur: Leonard,
gather some boys and empty the cookhouse.
Right away.
Will.
Will,
if you could take down the flag, that'd be swell.
Yes, sir.
Mr. Manley, if you could help him?
Of course, Mr. Waller.
Well let's get to work.
(pensive instrumental)
¶
(music swells)
¶