Dispute in Valladolid

Spain has crossed the ocean and found a new world, and in Valladolid the Church has to decide whether the people living there have souls. Bartolomé de las Casas (Jean-Pierre Marielle) argues for the natives against Ginèse de Sepúlveda (Jean-Louis Trintignant), who speaks for the conquerors and colonists, while the Pope's legate (Jean Carmet) listens to both. Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe films it as a debate between two men, letting the argument carry the drama.