Black Robe

In 1634, the settlement that will become Quebec City exists as French presence in New France amid Beaver Wars. Champlain assigns Father LaForgue to join a Catholic mission traveling to a distant Huron village. The mission is planned to take place over a grueling winter journey.

LaForgue leaves the settlement with Daniel and a group of Algonquin travelers that includes Chomina, his wife, and Annuka. The expedition begins across lakes and forests toward the Huron village. Winter approaches, making the journey arduous.

The caravan meets Montagnais for the first time; Mestigoit, their shaman, distrusts LaForgue and implies he could be a demon. He urges the Algonquins to abandon the French and head to a winter hunting lodge. Tension builds as cultural and religious differences come into play.

To appease the shaman's suspicions, Chomina and the Algonquins decide to travel to a winter lodge, abandoning the two Frenchmen. LaForgue accepts his fate while Daniel chooses to stay with Annuka and follows the Algonquins.

Daniel's decision to remain with Annuka leads him to join the Algonquin group on their march across the forest. LaForgue remains with the idea of the mission, waiting for guidance.

Chomina, feeling guilt over betraying Champlain's trust, convinces a few Algonquins to return with Daniel in an effort to locate LaForgue. The separation creates a fragile alliance and a renewed sense of purpose.

A Mohawk Iroquois party ambushes and massacres most of the Algonquins, capturing the remainder and taking them to an Iroquois fortress. The group is forced to run the gauntlet and witnesses brutal consequences, including the killing of Chomina's wife.

That night, Annuka distracts a guard by seducing him and helps the prisoners escape. She strikes the guard with a caribou hoof, rendering him unconscious and enabling a successful breakout.

Chomina dies from his wounds in the snow after a fatal battle. In his dying moments he glimpses a familiar grove he had dreamed of, where he believes his death is fated. He also perceives a vision of the She-Manitou.

As winter tightens, Annuka and Daniel guide LaForgue to the outskirts of the Huron settlement and leave him to enter alone, following Chomina's dream.

LaForgue discovers that almost all French inhabitants have been murdered by the Hurons, who blame them for a smallpox outbreak. The last survivor asks the priest to save them by baptizing the Hurons.

LaForgue agrees to baptize the Hurons, expressing love for them when asked. The moment is framed by a golden sunrise, symbolizing a new faith amid tragedy.

An intertitle reveals that fifteen years later the Hurons, having accepted Christianity, were routed and killed by the Iroquois; the Jesuit mission was abandoned and the Jesuits returned to Quebec.