Padre

In war-torn Normandy, a chaplain’s obsession brings him face to face with the enemy. 1944. Crows scatter within a war-torn Normandy village as armour rumbles in. All halting, weary British troops dismount. A Jeep squeals to a halt. Checking his notebook, the Padre scans wearily around. Dismounting, he administers to his war-ravaged flock. Distant battle rages as black smoke plumes on the horizon. As tanks race away to engage the enemy, the Padre follows in his Jeep. Carnage awaits him as he feeds his obsession, to bury the fallen himself, so as their burnt and mutilated bodies are never seen by the rest of his flock. As he performs his grim task, bullets ping around him. Raising submissive hands, he falls captive to the dreaded SS Panzergrenadiers. Trapped as battle rages around him, the Padre does the only thing left for him to do. Make the tea. As fighting lulls, and tea is served, he bonds with the Grenadiers over German chocolate. The order to retreat arrives. As the Grenadiers pull back, the Padre asks for one last thing. Their help in burying his dead flock. As they do, allied air-attacks roar in. As the Grenadiers die in a hail of bombs, the Padre is forced to comfort his dying enemy in their last, desperate moments. Broken and shell-shocked, the Padre staggers away. As British troops arrive, his flock come around to administer the loving care to him, that he has so selflessly shown to them.