All Three of Us (2015) - full transcript
Hibat Tabib and his wife Feresteh live in a small village in the South of Iran. They are young, full of life, idealistic and militate actively for democracy. They are not afraid to rise against two successive despots, the Shah first, and later on the Ayatollah Khomeini. In 1984, they are forced to flee their country with their son. After a long, difficult and dangerous journey they end up reaching France. They settle down in the Île-de-France region where, after a period of adjustment, they manage to integrate into the French social fabric, particularly by getting involved in the local community.
- Is it good?
- Who'll swap?
Not me.
- Me neither.
- I'll swap.
- For?
- Your sweater.
Meet my father.
Seyed Jawad Tabib-Ghafari.
Seyed means we descend
from the Prophet.
He was proud of that.
My mother.
She knows thousands of poems,
without schooling. She learned
to write at 67 and died at 68.
She was religious
but never forced us to be.
She said...
Do your best, children,
I'll sort things outwith God.
There were 12 of us.
Even without half of those kids,
it's still a big family.
We had Muhammad,
Mahmoud,
Soraya,
Parvin, Hedayat,
Enayat,
Fatima,
Faflde,
Monire, Mojde,
Aziz,
who loved school so much,
he always left last...
I mustn't steal
the other children's clothes.
And this is me, Hibatollah.
With 12 children,
every meal becomes a war.
This is the smile
of a strategist with a plan.
I was thinking,
"From here, I can reach the dish.
My little sisters eat less,
so I have a chance
of getting their leftovers."
Just for rice.
Hibat, get that.
My uncle managed our fortune.
He loved poker, unfortunately.
Impossible, that's ten times now!
You're useless.
We lived in Dezfoul,
a village of 10,000 in south Iran,
a country of 33 million.
I didn't learn that
from my schoolteacher.
Nasser asked...
Sir, where's Belgium?
Belgium?
It's near...
It's between...
Between here and here.
I wanted to be a lawyer.
Luckily, I was a good student.
Good, Hibat.
Bravo, Hibat.
Great, Hibat.
Hibat Tabib.
Accepted.
200 places for 11,000 applicants.
I was in the 200.
I discovered politics at university.
As I grew older,
I saw the injustice
caused by the Shah of Iran.
The people hungered for freedom.
- They cried...
- We're hungry!
- He said...
- Don't give a shit.
- Thirsted for equality.
- We're thirsty!
Don't give a shit.
- Wanted fraternity.
- We want it!
Nearly gave a shit.
I did give a shit.
Why a revolution?
To shame the family,
father, mother, all of us?
Imagine what it's like for Dad.
You choose:
politics or family.
My family-
The people of Iran.
Let's go, Aziz.
Yeah, let's go.
My sweater, Aziz!
The inevitable finally occurred.
Propaganda!
Arrest them!
We both got a 10-year stretch.
How long now, Nasser?
How long have we been here?
Chokri and me, 7 years now.
You and Aziz, 2 months less.
- Life is crazy.
- Why?
- When did we meet?
- As kids.
- Ages ago.
- Yes.
We're from the same village,
with the same politics,
both arrested
and now in the same cell.
Crazy...
You arrived 2 months earlier.
So?
You chose your mattress.
Not again?
Hold on, I don't blame you.
First guy here
takes the first mattress.
But maybe you'd like...
Spit it out.
To swap beds.
No one swaps beds here.
Exactly.
Let's be the pioneers of a new era
where people...
First,
your lawyer talk won't fool me.
Second, my mattress sucks like yours.
How do you know mine sucks?
You tried it
and chose the best.
- We're in jail.
- Fink.
We're in jail.
Everything sucks.
Clothes, food, cell, everything!
- It's jail.
- Hibat!
Visitor.
Your brother, Muhammad.
My visits suck too.
How are you?
What do you want?
To see you both.
No, really.
I've been promoted.
I have contacts.
I can get you out.
Apologize
for insulting the Shah.
- You don't get it.
Haven't you hurt our family enough?
Aziz is in jail. Enayat
and Faride too. Thanks to you,
Mom has 4 kids in jail.
She has 7 left.
8, there are 12 of us.
No. There are 11 of us.
Let's go back, Aziz.
Yeah, let's go back.
Ask Aziz.
He sat there opposite me...
"I work for the government now.
I can get you out if you apologize."
You're no traitor.
Hold on, want to see a real traitor?
- Look over there.
- Cyrus?
Yes.
Why's he being freed?
He did 2 years of 10.
He'll be a cop within days.
Guys who join the enemy should die.
Or have their clothes stolen.
You have a problem with clothes.
We were 12!
Behzad!
Your dad's calling you.
Cut it out, guys.
He's the one stealing the pistachios!
Come on, it can't be him.
He has plenty when we don't.
Behzad!
These men are Communists.
They're scum.
He means you, Chokri.
Frequent Muslims
or you'll become scum too.
Thanks.
He comes over here
and talks about cleanliness
with that beard!
They're sick.
That's Rafsanjani,
one of our chiefs.
Your chiefs.
We're not lslamists.
The beardie?
He's new. He arrived last week.
Last week?
His beard looks like
it's been locked up for years.
That beard was on the streets?
It arrived this morning.
Separate sentences.
They just reunited.
Gather together!
- What?
- Gather in the yard.
Come on!
Today is a special day.
It's the birthday of your ruler,
the Shah of Iran.
In his generosity,
his Majesty offers you a cake.
And you will eat it
in honor of your king.
Saw.
Reza.
Nader.
Ali.
I'm not celebrating his birthday.
No one wants to,
but we have no choice.
At least we get some cake.
Behzad.
Abass.
Bijan..
Fuck, it's good!
Chokri.
Hibat.
Hibat!
He's calling you.
- What's going on?
- Fuck...
Eat.
Eat!
Eat.
Take him away.
Hamid.
Farid.
Let people know what's going on.
We've been trying for 7 years.
The only phones
are in the guards' office.
And it's locked.
Meaning they have the keys.
We need to steal one.
I'm no thief.
Are you kidding?
You're always stealing.
Only clothes.
It's a childhood trauma.
I'm no thief.
Just a key.
- I'm no thief!
- Ok.
He's no thief. Got that?
Calm down.
They carry the keys in purses.
If you steal a purse,
technically...
it's not theft.
It's not clothing.
- It's an accessory.
- It's trendy.
- Very trendy.
- And classy.
The male accessory.
The ideal one.
- It's classy.
- It'd suit him.
It'd really suit you.
No purse?
No.
He doesn't have a purse.
I won't do it.
Hide it.
Not too sleepy?
Are you ok?
Why didn't you eat it?
I'm allergic to yeast.
It's no game.
They'll kill you.
If they do, promise me something.
Tell me.
Anything-
The guy who replaces me...
Yes.
Swap your bed.
They're gonna kill you.
Refusing the cake
insults the Shah. Eat it
and live.
- Nasser was right.
I spent months in solitary.
Anyone there?
Inheritance.
Filiation.
I talked to preserve my memory.
Let's start with filiation.
If you have any questions,
go ahead.
Chokri?
Manocher.
I can't hear you.
There's a huge crowd!
Go on.
You'll be out soon.
Listen, Chokri.
Listen!
Death to the Shah!
Majesty,
is it true
the opposition is growing?
You're misinformed.
Everyone loves me.
The people are demonstrating.
Only a handful.
How many? Just...
Several million people shouting,
I quote, "Death to the Shah."
You're naive.
They have tapes.
Tapes?
If just one person demonstrates,
but has a tape-player,
with a tape that has
crowd noises recorded on it,
you have the impression
of a crowd,
when the person is alone.
It's the volume...
Tapes?
Is he serious?
We'll see who has tapes.
Death to the Shah!
We're not tapes!
Death to the Shah!
We're not tapes!
We want clothes!
Why clothes?
Aziz's orders!
Death to the Shah!
We're not tapes! We want clothes!
How come a prisoner
is defended in the French press?
How did they get this photo?
Your prisoners have a means
of communication.
Jean-Paul Sartre published it.
Sartre.
A French philosopher.
The international community
is abandoning us.
They're ruining my reputation.
One gets published,
another refuses a cake...
I've tried everything.
Let me execute them as an example.
No, that's impossible.
The people are angry.
The opposition is in jail.
If you eliminate them,
there'll be a revolution.
Use their relatives.
When my mind faltered,
my body resisted.
He's fainted again.
Still nothing?
Why be so obstinate?
"A prisoner refuses
to eat the Shah's cake."
Still nothing?
So offer him...
a ministry, a house,
money...
- He doesn't want that.
- What then?
- What scares you most.
A shark?
A democracy.
What?
A free democracy.
Oh, come on...
Have him killed.
The people back him.
If he dies, there'll be a revolution.
The people
want political prisoners freed.
Burn the prison.
Make it look like an accident.
No one will believe it.
And the people
would never forgive you.
So what do I do?
Release them. In small groups.
Give them what they want
to end the marches.
The gate.
The revolution had begun.
Majesty, we must leave.
The Shah was gone.
His supporters took our place.
And we eagerly awaited the one
who embodied our hopes: Khomeini.
Khomeini...
I don't trust Khomeini.
Your wife trusts no one.
Don't be negative, Maryam.
He represents us
and opposes the Shah.
And he's a Seyed.
But is he a democrat?
No, he said,
"The Islamic State is incompatible
with dictatorship
because the foundation of Islam
is democracy."
Our revolution
is neither nationalistic,
nor democratic.
The people have risen up for Islam
and we shall export our model
throughout the world.
We had replaced a dictator
with an even worse one.
Aziz, steal clothes,
but don't steal my pieces.
Just don't.
And the others.
It's a calm, discreet neighborhood.
People work all day.
We'll be left alone.
This is it.
- Good, huh?
- Excellent.
How much?
Not a lot.
Don't worry,
my father won't want much rent.
- I said we were friends.
- Aren't we?
I don't know him.
Fereshteh, meet Hibat.
The comrade
who refused the Shah's cake.
What for?
It was too dry.
My dad doesn't know we're into
politics. I said you were a lawyer.
But I am a lawyer.
- You've never practiced.
- I was in jail.
See, you've never practiced.
How was your lawyer?
He was on their side,
so I defended myself.
So you lost your only case.
The trial was rigged.
I got 10 years.
You must have been useless.
See you.
But...
Bye.
She's nice, huh?
She's perfect.
- I'll marry her.
- Meet her parents first.
So you want to marry my daughter?
Using that accent to scare him?
Not at all, I'm just trying...
You want her hand?
Yes.
Isn't it a bit rushed?
What's your problem?
You want to upset her?
- Or rule my life?
- To sell her?
Then take my kids?
That's no good, dear.
To make them feel guilty,
keep it realistic.
So...
You want to marry my daughter?
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
It would be an honor.
Yes, sir.
It would be an honor
for she is the sweetest
and most wonderful person
I have ever met.
And?
And I'll never thank her enough
for casting out
of my life...
suffering,
SO [TOW
and free will.
If you're mad enough to bear her,
it's fine by us.
A lawyer?
Yes, I am.
A lawyer...
A fine trade.
Weird.
Whenever I call your firm,
you're never in.
- Leave him be.
- He works a lot!
You'll watch him like some Islamist?
There! That's good!
Listen, if you stay out of politics,
it's fine by me.
Don't put my daughter in danger.
- Your in-laws?
- They're ok.
He thinks you're a lawyer?
What is this?
I am a lawyer.
You never practiced.
I was in jail, with you.
And him too.
Behzad.
He's part of the government.
The pistachio thief too.
I don't believe it.
The new prison warden.
Beardie?
Beardie's running the prison?
Depressing.
Hello! How are you?
It's our daughter's wedding
tonight.
Wonderful.
Do we know the boy?
No. He's not a local.
He's a lawyer.
He's very discreet.
A fine boy.
We'll give him a surprise.
We're planning...
A bachelor party?
A funeral.
Wanted
Hurry!
Hurry... I am hurrying!
We have to disguise him.
There.
Was the beard necessary?
No, it wasn't.
So the funeral's off?
Turn it down.
- It's a wedding!
- They'll arrest us.
Everything ok?
Couldn't be better.
I love you.
I saw your portrait...
- What portrait?
- On the market wall.
I don't have a beard.
My dad added it.
He knows.
He didn't say.
He's fond of you.
But he's scared.
Tomorrow, it'll be worse.
Bearing your name
will link our destinies.
Sorry about all that.
Thank you for all that.
What? What's wrong?
No...
That's terrible.
No more music.
The party's over then.
Too bad.
The following year was very tough.
For protection, each of us knew
just one comrades address.
Lateness was bad news.
- When's the rendezvous?
- At 1.
- And?
- It's two minutes after.
We're leaving.
We didn't know who to trust.
Some friends were enemies.
Trust me. I just want
to help you.
Some enemies were friends.
Carrying cyanide,
we moved house often that year.
25 times? 30?
No ties.
No indispensable belongings.
They arrested Chokri.
We had no time to mourn.
We had to think of the survivors.
We expected a lot from Ghassemlou,
head of the Kurdish resistance.
It was time you met.
We want to see Khomeini go too.
I'm very glad to meet you too.
But I have bad news.
Can't Hibat drive you
to the hospital?
He's at work.
Give me a break!
I know he's wanted.
- So why ask?
- If I know, I can protect you!
No, Dad.
If you know, I can't protect you.
Aziz, put the bag in the car.
She needs things
for her and the baby.
Manocher, get the bed
and clean this place.
Iraj, tell Hibat
his wife's gone into labor.
He doesn't know.
And buy me flowers.
Buy you flowers? Why?
Because you love me.
Come on, move it!
Shit.
We can't get in.
We'll try another hospital.
No,
a colleague's helping me give birth.
I'll only be safe here.
I don't believe it...
How did it happen so fast?
Meningitis is like that,
lightning fast.
Why didn't he say?
Most people don't know.
They think
it's an ordinary headache.
Chosen my grandson's name?
- We're mourning.
- So?
Even if we're mourning,
he needs a name.
Manocher.
His name's Manocher.
Too long. Nouchi.
Hibat, I have good and bad news.
The bad first.
It's getting too dangerous here.
We'll fight from abroad.
And the good news?
There is none.
It's all bad actually.
Sounds worse.
Saying good and bad...
- Evens it out.
- Yes.
You think we should flee Iran?
"We" means Hibat, Aziz and me.
You haven't done time.
As if he'd leave without me.
When do we go?
It's for the party, the struggle.
You'd go without me?
It's only temporary.
I don't want to go either.
You'd go without me?
You're right.
I won't go without her, Nasser.
In that case,
leave the baby with your folks
until things improve.
- Suits me.
- Shut up.
You'd leave without your son?
It's too dangerous.
He'll join us later.
Once he's old enough
to know we abandoned him?
Listen up, Hibatollah Tabib-Ghafari.
You know my voice?
You know this tone?
Yes.
So, yes,
it's dangerous to take him
but what do I always say?
- You say...
- What do I say?
- You say...
- What do I say?
Fear
Fear
Feat“
...won't make you safe.
She says that.
And?
It's...
I don't know.
It's better...
to be to...
Tolerant?
Together.
Better together in hell
than alone in heaven.
Sorry.
He comes too.
He refused to eat the Shah's cake?
Yes. Why?
He's scared of her.
I'm sorry.
She scares us all
more than the Shah did.
Nouchi.
Nouchi.
Baby?
Nouchi.
All right...
I'll put you down.
We have to leave!
It's full of lslamists.
Hold on...
You can't move
each time we see a beard.
This is Iran,
not Finland.
- It's a country of beards.
- Want us to get killed?
They won't look for us here.
That's a good thing.
Who is stupid enough
to hide among
the people looking for them?
Good question.
Who is stupid enough?
Your dad.
It's not that stupid.
Your husband too.
Two days later...
Goodbye.
Yes, see you soon.
Assholes.
Just look at these assholes...
What's this?
It looks bad.
What's this?
All our compromising documents
were in Nouchi's pants.
No one searches a baby.
Bravo, Nouchi!
January 1st.
Fereshteh is 23 today.
My gift to her is our escape
across the mountains.
He's asleep?
Yes, the valium's working.
Good.
No, it's really dangerous.
- It's dangerous if he wakes.
- What if he doesn't?
I'm a nurse, he'll wake.
Don't worry.
- Are you ready?
- Yes.
Fereshteh, please.
Let go.
- I'm letting go.
- No.
- I am.
- No, you're not.
Turn your hands.
Just turn them.
- I'm not holding him.
- I can't take him.
Look at my hands.
- I'm not holding him.
- Look at your elbows.
You're resisting.
That's gravity.
We're in the mountains.
- It'll all go well.
- Yes...
Look at me. It'll all go well.
It'll all go well.
It'll all go well.
It'll all go well, right?
Are you ok? Nouchi?
He's in the car. He's sleeping.
I said it'd go well.
Let's hurry.
It's another two days to Istanbul.
I'll be right back.
Are you okay?
What are you doing?
I'm taking photos.
I'd just left Iran
for the first time.
See you again soon.
I've never been back.
We have to go.
- The horse too?
- Three days of it.
Istanbul, Turkey
Thank you.
Are you sure? It's risky.
Maybe their phone's tapped.
Excuse me.
Do you have a phone?
Who was it?
Your daughter.
And...
They're alive.
After a year as illegals in Turkey,
we asked for asylum in France,
the home of Human Rights
and the Revolution.
Nouchi...
First stop:
Stains, Seine-Saint-Denis.
It's really ugly.
We'd return home
once the lslamists were ousted,
but for now we had to survive here.
We started from scratch.
New country, new language, new life.
Our place before we moved in.
And our place after.
We couldn't afford furniture,
but a traditional home needs rugs.
We had 3 plates, 3 glasses,
3 forks, 3 knives,
3 spoons, next to nothing.
The struggle continued.
Out with the beardies!
French was tough.
At first, we heard...
We learned to understand.
He needs a transplant.
Isn't it risky at his age?
Trust us,
we must give him that orgasm.
The struggle continued.
We had to work.
Work hard.
Work really hard.
We're rich!
No, sweetheart, it's for Iran.
We're not rich!
...see how they run
They all ran after the farmer's wife
Who cut off their tails
With a carving knife
Did you ever see
Such a thing in your life
As three blind mice!
Bravo!
Let's give him a big hand.
Now you, Manocher.
Your favorite song.
Now comrades come rally
And the last fight let us face
The Internationale
Unites the human race!
Good. Let's all clap.
Give him a big hand.
"A complaint...
"on an international level,
filed by a state..."
No capital.
"...filed by a state,
for damage endured
by an individual..."
Maybe I should use "person".
- Which one?
- "Person".
No, use "individual".
"...by an individual
who holds both
nationality of the suing state
and of the sued state..."
Spot the subtlety there?
- Great.
- It's good.
I like it.
"...is inadmissible
unless the concerned party..."
Why am I writing your thesis?
We can't afford to get a computer.
And you write badly.
After being in jail
and getting tortured,
you write badly.
You wrote badly before.
I saw your lawyer's letters.
See, I was a lawyer!
After these sleepless nights,
you'd better pass.
It's a 2-year course.
I won't last two years.
Pass this year.
- It takes 2.
- This year!
Hibat!
You passed...
You passed!
L 90'! my diploma!
No, we got your diploma.
- We got it.
- We got my diploma.
But the struggle continued.
Out with the lslamists!
Mullahs and beardies too,
the same goes for you!
Dictators, oppressors,
you're all...
- Fuckers!
- "Fuckers" doesn't rhyme.
- What was that?
My son's alone!
Calm down!
Calm down, then we'll talk.
Our son's alone out there!
Don't drive off!
Our son's out there!
Let go of me!
He's out there! We'll lose him!
Please, calm down.
Calm down.
Calm down!
He's all alone!
We've found him.
We've found him.
Calm down.
Calm down, please.
We've found him.
Let go of me!
He was all alone.
Dad, it's me. How are you?
Sorry, wrong number.
It's your daughter.
I don't have a daughter.
We're in France.
We can talk over the phone now.
I keep forgetting!
My diploma...
How are you?
Tell him I passed.
Did you get
the photos of Nouchi?
They must be lost
in the mail.
My diploma.
Hibat passed
his law exam.
Really? So he's a lawyer now.
That's good.
I knew he would be one day.
I have to tell you
we're staying in France.
It was temporary at first but...
But with Nouchi...
the struggle, it's...
It's not easy.
We're far away.
- We feel as if...
- No.
Listen carefully.
Do what you have to do.
Live your lives.
Everyone will understand.
Be happy-
Thank you, Dad.
Thank you.
They won't be back.
Then we met Jeannette,
incredibly kind, a little deaf,
ok, very deaf,
who saw potential in two immigrants.
How are you?
I'm not thirsty.
I work with a group called
"Women in the Projects".
No, "Women in the Projects".
I want you to work
on health awareness.
- As an ex-nurse?
- No, as an ex-nurse.
I'll give it a try,
but only one week.
She stayed six months.
After that, she took over
and she's still there now.
Hibat, you interest me too.
We need
to set up a group
that isn't just for women.
And we did it.
We worked with the community,
which got me noticed
and, a few years later...
Hibat! Hi.
- Daniel. How are you?
- Fine.
Daniel Bioton.
My wife, my son.
The mayor of Pierrefitte.
The next town.
You shop in Stains?
I'm incognito here.
Excuse me...
Yes, it's me.
Could you let me by?
Modesty.
I'm glad I ran into you.
I'm opening a social center
in a neighborhood
where I have few fans.
Voters.
Admirers.
Supporters.
Worshipers.
I need someone with legal training.
He's a lawyer.
And experience in social work.
Interested?
- Well...
- Is it paid?
You were a volunteer?
- Yes.
- No.
- I was.
- Let me negotiate.
Yes, he was a volunteer,
that's right.
But as a temp.
Mostly part-time.
So with a salary, of course.
With basic pay at...
- I wasn't paid!
- You don't know that.
I never had a pay slip!
So you can't know.
This is a news flash.
Ayatollah Khomeini is dead.
At the imam's place of residence,
a huge crowd has gathered to pray.
With Khomeini dead,
we had a chance of ending the regime.
Iran was calling us
to rebuild and resist...
So, do I hire you?
But our life would be here
from now on.
Welcome to Pierrefitte North.
Burglaries, vandalism,
drug trafficking.
30% of the apartments empty.
No one wants to live here.
Good night, Mum.
Kissed your mum?
Yes.
Your real mum.
She adopted you.
- It's a joke, sweetheart!
- It's not funny.
You ruin it by telling him too soon.
It could have been funny.
I don't like upsetting him.
You're improving,
but it's still too soon.
All right, teacher.
How was your day?
I don't get it.
At home, it's five wives.
Polygamy is illegal here.
It's one wife.
Madam Fereshteh,
I'll let my daughter go on the trip
with you.
But you have to make sure
she returns a virgin.
I'm so ashamed.
I'm a bit worried.
Because of my daughter.
She's nearly 16.
With no boyfriend.
I know what boys are like.
They buzz around like flies.
I'll make an effort,
you make one too.
Make it four.
Not a single boyfriend.
Three!
And leave it at that.
Will she kill herself?
No buzzing with my daughter.
I said I was ashamed?
Can I say it again?
I'm ashamed.
A good day.
All the same...
- Four wives.
- In your dreams.
I nearly cut myself...
- Hello.
- Hello, Hibat.
Someone smashed a window.
No one knows who did it,
as usual.
Those guys...
We could ask them.
Bad idea.
Especially the middle one.
Elyess, he's dangerous.
He first did time at 15.
He's been in and out since.
Hello.
I'm Hibat,
the center's manager.
- And?
We want to know how you feel
about the broken window.
Who gives a shit?
Who gives a shit?
Who gives a shit
who did it?
Accusing us?
Not at all.
It's weird.
It's your center too.
Why don't you care?
Nothing is ours here.
We just got out of jail, ok.
If we go back, it'll be for more
than beating you up.
How long?
- How long in jail?
- 6 months.
Joker.
Hibat was tortured more than 7 years
in an Iranian jail.
No football,
no TV. You clown.
Once again,
no one's accusing you.
But this is your center.
More than 7 years?
Goodbye.
Stone by stone, step by step,
we worked to save the neighborhood.
A new guy-
Why was Hibat jailed?
He fought.
He said no to the Shah's cake.
He wasted a shark
for refusing a cake!
Adama became a key figure locally.
The school often used him
to contact parents.
Now then, Mrs. Diara.
All his teachers,
even the sports teacher,
say that Salimou is, I quote,
"like a house plant.
His use
has not yet been discovered."
His absences
shatter all records.
Our software doesn't recognize him.
When we enter his name,
it tells us he doesn't exist.
He says I'm a budding plant.
I've shattered
all records for grades.
The software can't believe it.
Liar!
A liar and a bad student!
It's not true!
- Part them.
- Wait a while.
Let's go, guys.-
Where?
- To see Hibat.
- A meeting with the cops.
- Seriously?
- Yeah.
Those bastards?
We'll tell them they're bastards.
Come on.
Ok, stay there, man.
We're Blacks and Arabs, that's why.
We don't judge your appearance
or origin, but your acts.
Why keep checking us?
Not true.
We check everyone,
but you're not there to see it.
Why handcuff us
before asking for our ID?
You'd run.
An innocent doesn't run.
If you handcuff us,
you see us as guilty!
Guilty isn't innocent
in your eyes
Why do you stone us?
Why change the subject?
They hate each other.
But they're talking.
Beautiful, Maimouna!
- Like the colors?
- Yes. Why?
- It's for you.
- Really?
Thank you. I'm touched.
How can you let your husband
have several wives
and say nothing?
It's tradition.
Tradition?
If mine brings another wife home,
I'll spit in his food.
That'll stop him!
Our men don't have mistresses,
but several wives.
Good point.
She's right, Rachida.
But it's risky,
hygiene-wise.
- STDs
- Text messages?
Those are SMSs.
- That's candy.
- M&Ms.
Martine?
Could you turn the light off?
Having multiple partners
without protection
is dangerous for everyone.
Don't call on God with each slide.
It's biology.
God save us from biology!
Understand her.
Because of you, she has seen
more nude women in 10 minutes
than in her whole life.
Your husband lives with four wives,
you're used to it.
Fereshteh, does the man
decide the child's sex?
- Not at all.
- No way,
we'd have died out if he did.
He doesn't decide the sex,
he determines it.
With X chromosomes, women
can only give birth to daughters.
Man has both X and Y.
If his sperm contains X,
it'll be a girl. If it's Y,
it'll be a boy.
So if we can't have boys,
it's not our fault.
Of course not.
- All right, back to sewing?
- That's ok.
I was sewing too.
I tried to weave ties.
That guy's pretty cool.
Way cool.
He'll help with my résumé.
He's kind.
- He's good.
- I heard this tune...
Heavy stuff.
The guy remixed an Edith Piaf song.
You know "Come to my door"?
"Milord".
- My door.
- What?
My door. The chick
tells a guy to come to her door
so she can bang him.
You're nuts.
Edith Piaf sang porn songs?
- Jerk.
- Jerk yourself.
"My door"...
Your résumé?
I forgot all about it.
The AFPA needs it.
- What?
- A training program.
Someone's missing.
Yeah, Elyess.
- He's in his village.
- On vacation.
He goes there a lot?
He goes, he comes back...
He goes.
He comes back.
Give him this message:
It's not too late.
For what?
He'll understand.
Our comrades had followed us.
The mountains, Turkey
and asylum.
Iraj and Maryam were in France,
Nasser in Sweden
and Aziz in Germany.
That's where they shot him.
- When did you get here?
- Just now.
What happened?
A party meeting
at his restaurant.
I thought he had a clothing store?
He kept stealing the stock.
He made nothing.
He stole his own stock?
Two hooded men
killed everyone except Aziz.
Since he was serving, he wasn't hit
in the head or heart,
but in the legs and belly.
I have to see him.
What's up?
I have good news and bad news.
I know that trick.
It's all bad.
No, it's true.
First the good.
You're alive to hear the bad.
You lost a kidney.
There's a bullet in you.
You'll set off alarms.
Life won't change.
You can carry on as before.
Stealing your stock!
When do you leave?
This evening.
Guess who's coming to dinner
tomorrow.
1st clue.
- Back in the day, we said...
- Ghassemlou.
Fantastic!
Why...
My friends...
Thanks for coming.
He asked why I dressed
like a chef.
He did?
Can you do a magic trick?
Give me a coin.
He loves magic.
See this coin?
I put it in this hand...
It slowly descends...
- Incredible.
- Good trick or bad?
You shouldn't have.
Beautiful...
Won't you stay?
People are expecting me.
Ok.
Thank you.
The Kurdish independence leader,
Abdul Raman Ghassemlou,
killed in Vienna.
He was meeting
three members of his party
when gunmen burst in
and shot them at point-blank range.
The shooting occurred during
a meeting between two Kurdish groups.
Ghassemlou,
leader of the Iranian Kurds,
opposed the Iranian government
to obtain independence.
I can't.
You're not serious.
I did all I could to get your subsidy
but I can't renovate
the neighborhood.
What?
- I have no choice.
- Not true!
I can't do anything.
You don't want to.
Hibat, give me your hat.
What hat?
You can't, you don't have a hat.
I don't have the money.
I'm sorry.
That's ok.
Here.
Thanks, Daniel.
When he sees this...
Even the foosball...
Hibat,
fuck your mother
Even the foosball, huh?
Nice and comfortable?
Try to pick her up, Abdel.
Perfect timing!
Think it's funny?
Hide your grin, it's not funny.
This is your center.
All this is yours.
We'll shut down.
No more center. No more résumés.
No more outings.
No more projects.
No more workshops, nothing!
Manage on your own.
Want to come to Fontainebleau
tomorrow?
No thanks.
The center shut down a month ago.
It'll do you good.
We'll look at paintings,
sculptures...
Roof beams...
Grass...
Come on.
- I'll get on board.
- Ok.
Come on, girls!
Hurry it up.
Got your sandwiches?
No one mentioned sandwiches.
I said to bring a packed lunch.
A packed lunch, not a sandwich.
What else can you bring?
We brought this.
- I said I was ashamed?
- Yes.
Welcome to my life.
Everywhere! I'm shocked.
There.
He's in briefs.
Beautiful, isn't it?
Sorry, I'm miles away.
It's ok. It'll pass.
I'll resign.
Hi, it's your wife.
Aminata.
Not her.
- Neither.
- You're a drag!
You're sure?
Yes.
You're hesitating.
You hate abandoning people.
Mom!!
Come out of there!
Rachida, get up!
Fereshteh, I'm tired.
It's the queen's bed!
She has great taste.
Rachida, want my seat?
Maimouna,
that's Napoleon's chair.
That was the answer.
To revive the neighborhood,
we had to swap places.
The only work I've been able to find
is at nights.
So, please, make less noise
so I can get some sleep.
You make more noise
with your music!
- Shut your mouth.
- Be polite.
That's all bullshit.
You date his sister
and stir up trouble.
Hey, she's not your sister!
It's not his business!
My son has to show respect
at school
- We agree.
- I insist on it.
But he gets blamed.
- Your zouk music...
- Try dancing to it.
That's not the problem.
It's better than Arab music.
You don't dance at midnight.
He lets his kids hang out...
10,000 of them everywhere.
They won't let us live our lives.
We're not doing any harm.
Quite simply, I'm sick of it.
Waste him, man!
If they carry on,
how will they manage?
They'll be parents too one day.
Who's going to replace us?
Them, right?
If they start like this,
how will they end up?
- Next!
- Go ahead.
Great.
Awesome. Next!
No illegality
My life is reality
That sucks.
What're you doing?
I'm waiting in line.
What a load of losers.
Let's split.
What's the line for?
Hash. It's free today.
How's your uncle?
Your sister? Your mom?
The baby? The other baby?
This stuff must be really good.
Anyone here? Shit!
It's bustin' my fuckin' balls!
Shit!
Think about it.
More than 7 years.
I'd need to go wild to get that much.
His wife makes shark cake.
Bullshit. He wasted a shark.
To make a cake!
So that's why...
They eat shark in China, not in Iran.
Where's Iran? In Asia.
In Asia, where the Chinese live!
All right!
I had a call from your son's teacher.
The class trip is going well,
but he fought.
He never fights.
His roommate wouldn't swap beds.
I hope he wasted the kid.
I hate these people
who won't swap beds.
Cut it out!
By the way,
he's changed his name too.
- He's Kheiron now.
- What?
A stage name or nickname
or something.
He rejects the name we gave him?
I'll disinherit him.
You own nothing.
I'll get rich
just to disinherit him.
Good idea.
Give me a minute?
How's it going?
It's not too late?
Our story began in Iran
and will end in France.
We have our definition
of integration.
We have our story, you have yours.
We'll write a new one together.
- With the kids...
- Getting acquainted?
Is she really deaf?
Is he really dumb?
I like all these stands.
- He's cute. What's his name?
- Cinnamon.
I'd eat you if I could.
Can I hold him?
I'm going to eat you up.
Nice necklace! Is it Aztec?
No, but thanks.
It suits you.
Don't buzz around my girl.
I saw him buzzing!
What the fuck?
People bust their asses
cleaning up your shit.
They're not fucking idiots.
Don't give me that look.
Get outta here!
When I arrived here,
someone said,
"Nothing is ours here."
But it was theirs.
They just had to take it.
And a few years later...
Hibat?
Why didn't you water the plants?
- I'm getting the Legion of Honor.
- And the plants?
I need to call Nouchi.
Am I disturbing you?
I'm calling to say
I'm getting the Legion of Honor.
I just got the letter.
Thank you.
On...
July 12th.
No...
He's performing in Montreal.
In that case, we'll postpone it.
No way.
It has to be all three of us.
ALL THREE OF US
In 2006, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine
became Europe's first mediation town.
Hibat is now a European expert
in mediation and education.
He still lives in the Paris suburbs.
After graduating top of her class
in Social and Urban Development,
Fereshteh became
a municipal executive in Stains.
Aziz has retired.
He lives
between Tehran and Dusseldorf
and has finally settled his problem
with clothes.
Nasser is a political analyst
on Iranian issues.
He still lives in Sweden.
Fereshteh's parents
have settled in France.
Maryam and lraj live in France.
He has his own company
and she is a doctor.
Behzad was imprisoned in 2009
for contesting Ahmadinejad's election
as president.
He was freed five years later.
Daniel Bioton died at the age of 64.
At 27 years,
he is still Pierrefitte's
longest-serving mayor.
He was modest and,
according to his wishes,
no school or street bears his name.
Adama died of a heart attack in 2001.
During urban renovation
in the neighborhood,
his fresco was destroyed.
A collective recovered the pieces
to put the work back together.
Hibat hired Abdel
at the center as a sports coach.
He stayed there 5 years.
Mamadou still lives
in the neighborhood.
Luckily for everyone,
he has given up rap.
Elyess returned to prison
for the ninth and last time.
A job offer signed by Hibat
got him out early.
He is now an assistant director
in a social center
in the Paris suburbs
and the father of three children.
Subtitles: Ian Burley, a.s.i.f.
Subtitling: Eclair Media
- Who'll swap?
Not me.
- Me neither.
- I'll swap.
- For?
- Your sweater.
Meet my father.
Seyed Jawad Tabib-Ghafari.
Seyed means we descend
from the Prophet.
He was proud of that.
My mother.
She knows thousands of poems,
without schooling. She learned
to write at 67 and died at 68.
She was religious
but never forced us to be.
She said...
Do your best, children,
I'll sort things outwith God.
There were 12 of us.
Even without half of those kids,
it's still a big family.
We had Muhammad,
Mahmoud,
Soraya,
Parvin, Hedayat,
Enayat,
Fatima,
Faflde,
Monire, Mojde,
Aziz,
who loved school so much,
he always left last...
I mustn't steal
the other children's clothes.
And this is me, Hibatollah.
With 12 children,
every meal becomes a war.
This is the smile
of a strategist with a plan.
I was thinking,
"From here, I can reach the dish.
My little sisters eat less,
so I have a chance
of getting their leftovers."
Just for rice.
Hibat, get that.
My uncle managed our fortune.
He loved poker, unfortunately.
Impossible, that's ten times now!
You're useless.
We lived in Dezfoul,
a village of 10,000 in south Iran,
a country of 33 million.
I didn't learn that
from my schoolteacher.
Nasser asked...
Sir, where's Belgium?
Belgium?
It's near...
It's between...
Between here and here.
I wanted to be a lawyer.
Luckily, I was a good student.
Good, Hibat.
Bravo, Hibat.
Great, Hibat.
Hibat Tabib.
Accepted.
200 places for 11,000 applicants.
I was in the 200.
I discovered politics at university.
As I grew older,
I saw the injustice
caused by the Shah of Iran.
The people hungered for freedom.
- They cried...
- We're hungry!
- He said...
- Don't give a shit.
- Thirsted for equality.
- We're thirsty!
Don't give a shit.
- Wanted fraternity.
- We want it!
Nearly gave a shit.
I did give a shit.
Why a revolution?
To shame the family,
father, mother, all of us?
Imagine what it's like for Dad.
You choose:
politics or family.
My family-
The people of Iran.
Let's go, Aziz.
Yeah, let's go.
My sweater, Aziz!
The inevitable finally occurred.
Propaganda!
Arrest them!
We both got a 10-year stretch.
How long now, Nasser?
How long have we been here?
Chokri and me, 7 years now.
You and Aziz, 2 months less.
- Life is crazy.
- Why?
- When did we meet?
- As kids.
- Ages ago.
- Yes.
We're from the same village,
with the same politics,
both arrested
and now in the same cell.
Crazy...
You arrived 2 months earlier.
So?
You chose your mattress.
Not again?
Hold on, I don't blame you.
First guy here
takes the first mattress.
But maybe you'd like...
Spit it out.
To swap beds.
No one swaps beds here.
Exactly.
Let's be the pioneers of a new era
where people...
First,
your lawyer talk won't fool me.
Second, my mattress sucks like yours.
How do you know mine sucks?
You tried it
and chose the best.
- We're in jail.
- Fink.
We're in jail.
Everything sucks.
Clothes, food, cell, everything!
- It's jail.
- Hibat!
Visitor.
Your brother, Muhammad.
My visits suck too.
How are you?
What do you want?
To see you both.
No, really.
I've been promoted.
I have contacts.
I can get you out.
Apologize
for insulting the Shah.
- You don't get it.
Haven't you hurt our family enough?
Aziz is in jail. Enayat
and Faride too. Thanks to you,
Mom has 4 kids in jail.
She has 7 left.
8, there are 12 of us.
No. There are 11 of us.
Let's go back, Aziz.
Yeah, let's go back.
Ask Aziz.
He sat there opposite me...
"I work for the government now.
I can get you out if you apologize."
You're no traitor.
Hold on, want to see a real traitor?
- Look over there.
- Cyrus?
Yes.
Why's he being freed?
He did 2 years of 10.
He'll be a cop within days.
Guys who join the enemy should die.
Or have their clothes stolen.
You have a problem with clothes.
We were 12!
Behzad!
Your dad's calling you.
Cut it out, guys.
He's the one stealing the pistachios!
Come on, it can't be him.
He has plenty when we don't.
Behzad!
These men are Communists.
They're scum.
He means you, Chokri.
Frequent Muslims
or you'll become scum too.
Thanks.
He comes over here
and talks about cleanliness
with that beard!
They're sick.
That's Rafsanjani,
one of our chiefs.
Your chiefs.
We're not lslamists.
The beardie?
He's new. He arrived last week.
Last week?
His beard looks like
it's been locked up for years.
That beard was on the streets?
It arrived this morning.
Separate sentences.
They just reunited.
Gather together!
- What?
- Gather in the yard.
Come on!
Today is a special day.
It's the birthday of your ruler,
the Shah of Iran.
In his generosity,
his Majesty offers you a cake.
And you will eat it
in honor of your king.
Saw.
Reza.
Nader.
Ali.
I'm not celebrating his birthday.
No one wants to,
but we have no choice.
At least we get some cake.
Behzad.
Abass.
Bijan..
Fuck, it's good!
Chokri.
Hibat.
Hibat!
He's calling you.
- What's going on?
- Fuck...
Eat.
Eat!
Eat.
Take him away.
Hamid.
Farid.
Let people know what's going on.
We've been trying for 7 years.
The only phones
are in the guards' office.
And it's locked.
Meaning they have the keys.
We need to steal one.
I'm no thief.
Are you kidding?
You're always stealing.
Only clothes.
It's a childhood trauma.
I'm no thief.
Just a key.
- I'm no thief!
- Ok.
He's no thief. Got that?
Calm down.
They carry the keys in purses.
If you steal a purse,
technically...
it's not theft.
It's not clothing.
- It's an accessory.
- It's trendy.
- Very trendy.
- And classy.
The male accessory.
The ideal one.
- It's classy.
- It'd suit him.
It'd really suit you.
No purse?
No.
He doesn't have a purse.
I won't do it.
Hide it.
Not too sleepy?
Are you ok?
Why didn't you eat it?
I'm allergic to yeast.
It's no game.
They'll kill you.
If they do, promise me something.
Tell me.
Anything-
The guy who replaces me...
Yes.
Swap your bed.
They're gonna kill you.
Refusing the cake
insults the Shah. Eat it
and live.
- Nasser was right.
I spent months in solitary.
Anyone there?
Inheritance.
Filiation.
I talked to preserve my memory.
Let's start with filiation.
If you have any questions,
go ahead.
Chokri?
Manocher.
I can't hear you.
There's a huge crowd!
Go on.
You'll be out soon.
Listen, Chokri.
Listen!
Death to the Shah!
Majesty,
is it true
the opposition is growing?
You're misinformed.
Everyone loves me.
The people are demonstrating.
Only a handful.
How many? Just...
Several million people shouting,
I quote, "Death to the Shah."
You're naive.
They have tapes.
Tapes?
If just one person demonstrates,
but has a tape-player,
with a tape that has
crowd noises recorded on it,
you have the impression
of a crowd,
when the person is alone.
It's the volume...
Tapes?
Is he serious?
We'll see who has tapes.
Death to the Shah!
We're not tapes!
Death to the Shah!
We're not tapes!
We want clothes!
Why clothes?
Aziz's orders!
Death to the Shah!
We're not tapes! We want clothes!
How come a prisoner
is defended in the French press?
How did they get this photo?
Your prisoners have a means
of communication.
Jean-Paul Sartre published it.
Sartre.
A French philosopher.
The international community
is abandoning us.
They're ruining my reputation.
One gets published,
another refuses a cake...
I've tried everything.
Let me execute them as an example.
No, that's impossible.
The people are angry.
The opposition is in jail.
If you eliminate them,
there'll be a revolution.
Use their relatives.
When my mind faltered,
my body resisted.
He's fainted again.
Still nothing?
Why be so obstinate?
"A prisoner refuses
to eat the Shah's cake."
Still nothing?
So offer him...
a ministry, a house,
money...
- He doesn't want that.
- What then?
- What scares you most.
A shark?
A democracy.
What?
A free democracy.
Oh, come on...
Have him killed.
The people back him.
If he dies, there'll be a revolution.
The people
want political prisoners freed.
Burn the prison.
Make it look like an accident.
No one will believe it.
And the people
would never forgive you.
So what do I do?
Release them. In small groups.
Give them what they want
to end the marches.
The gate.
The revolution had begun.
Majesty, we must leave.
The Shah was gone.
His supporters took our place.
And we eagerly awaited the one
who embodied our hopes: Khomeini.
Khomeini...
I don't trust Khomeini.
Your wife trusts no one.
Don't be negative, Maryam.
He represents us
and opposes the Shah.
And he's a Seyed.
But is he a democrat?
No, he said,
"The Islamic State is incompatible
with dictatorship
because the foundation of Islam
is democracy."
Our revolution
is neither nationalistic,
nor democratic.
The people have risen up for Islam
and we shall export our model
throughout the world.
We had replaced a dictator
with an even worse one.
Aziz, steal clothes,
but don't steal my pieces.
Just don't.
And the others.
It's a calm, discreet neighborhood.
People work all day.
We'll be left alone.
This is it.
- Good, huh?
- Excellent.
How much?
Not a lot.
Don't worry,
my father won't want much rent.
- I said we were friends.
- Aren't we?
I don't know him.
Fereshteh, meet Hibat.
The comrade
who refused the Shah's cake.
What for?
It was too dry.
My dad doesn't know we're into
politics. I said you were a lawyer.
But I am a lawyer.
- You've never practiced.
- I was in jail.
See, you've never practiced.
How was your lawyer?
He was on their side,
so I defended myself.
So you lost your only case.
The trial was rigged.
I got 10 years.
You must have been useless.
See you.
But...
Bye.
She's nice, huh?
She's perfect.
- I'll marry her.
- Meet her parents first.
So you want to marry my daughter?
Using that accent to scare him?
Not at all, I'm just trying...
You want her hand?
Yes.
Isn't it a bit rushed?
What's your problem?
You want to upset her?
- Or rule my life?
- To sell her?
Then take my kids?
That's no good, dear.
To make them feel guilty,
keep it realistic.
So...
You want to marry my daughter?
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
It would be an honor.
Yes, sir.
It would be an honor
for she is the sweetest
and most wonderful person
I have ever met.
And?
And I'll never thank her enough
for casting out
of my life...
suffering,
SO [TOW
and free will.
If you're mad enough to bear her,
it's fine by us.
A lawyer?
Yes, I am.
A lawyer...
A fine trade.
Weird.
Whenever I call your firm,
you're never in.
- Leave him be.
- He works a lot!
You'll watch him like some Islamist?
There! That's good!
Listen, if you stay out of politics,
it's fine by me.
Don't put my daughter in danger.
- Your in-laws?
- They're ok.
He thinks you're a lawyer?
What is this?
I am a lawyer.
You never practiced.
I was in jail, with you.
And him too.
Behzad.
He's part of the government.
The pistachio thief too.
I don't believe it.
The new prison warden.
Beardie?
Beardie's running the prison?
Depressing.
Hello! How are you?
It's our daughter's wedding
tonight.
Wonderful.
Do we know the boy?
No. He's not a local.
He's a lawyer.
He's very discreet.
A fine boy.
We'll give him a surprise.
We're planning...
A bachelor party?
A funeral.
Wanted
Hurry!
Hurry... I am hurrying!
We have to disguise him.
There.
Was the beard necessary?
No, it wasn't.
So the funeral's off?
Turn it down.
- It's a wedding!
- They'll arrest us.
Everything ok?
Couldn't be better.
I love you.
I saw your portrait...
- What portrait?
- On the market wall.
I don't have a beard.
My dad added it.
He knows.
He didn't say.
He's fond of you.
But he's scared.
Tomorrow, it'll be worse.
Bearing your name
will link our destinies.
Sorry about all that.
Thank you for all that.
What? What's wrong?
No...
That's terrible.
No more music.
The party's over then.
Too bad.
The following year was very tough.
For protection, each of us knew
just one comrades address.
Lateness was bad news.
- When's the rendezvous?
- At 1.
- And?
- It's two minutes after.
We're leaving.
We didn't know who to trust.
Some friends were enemies.
Trust me. I just want
to help you.
Some enemies were friends.
Carrying cyanide,
we moved house often that year.
25 times? 30?
No ties.
No indispensable belongings.
They arrested Chokri.
We had no time to mourn.
We had to think of the survivors.
We expected a lot from Ghassemlou,
head of the Kurdish resistance.
It was time you met.
We want to see Khomeini go too.
I'm very glad to meet you too.
But I have bad news.
Can't Hibat drive you
to the hospital?
He's at work.
Give me a break!
I know he's wanted.
- So why ask?
- If I know, I can protect you!
No, Dad.
If you know, I can't protect you.
Aziz, put the bag in the car.
She needs things
for her and the baby.
Manocher, get the bed
and clean this place.
Iraj, tell Hibat
his wife's gone into labor.
He doesn't know.
And buy me flowers.
Buy you flowers? Why?
Because you love me.
Come on, move it!
Shit.
We can't get in.
We'll try another hospital.
No,
a colleague's helping me give birth.
I'll only be safe here.
I don't believe it...
How did it happen so fast?
Meningitis is like that,
lightning fast.
Why didn't he say?
Most people don't know.
They think
it's an ordinary headache.
Chosen my grandson's name?
- We're mourning.
- So?
Even if we're mourning,
he needs a name.
Manocher.
His name's Manocher.
Too long. Nouchi.
Hibat, I have good and bad news.
The bad first.
It's getting too dangerous here.
We'll fight from abroad.
And the good news?
There is none.
It's all bad actually.
Sounds worse.
Saying good and bad...
- Evens it out.
- Yes.
You think we should flee Iran?
"We" means Hibat, Aziz and me.
You haven't done time.
As if he'd leave without me.
When do we go?
It's for the party, the struggle.
You'd go without me?
It's only temporary.
I don't want to go either.
You'd go without me?
You're right.
I won't go without her, Nasser.
In that case,
leave the baby with your folks
until things improve.
- Suits me.
- Shut up.
You'd leave without your son?
It's too dangerous.
He'll join us later.
Once he's old enough
to know we abandoned him?
Listen up, Hibatollah Tabib-Ghafari.
You know my voice?
You know this tone?
Yes.
So, yes,
it's dangerous to take him
but what do I always say?
- You say...
- What do I say?
- You say...
- What do I say?
Fear
Fear
Feat“
...won't make you safe.
She says that.
And?
It's...
I don't know.
It's better...
to be to...
Tolerant?
Together.
Better together in hell
than alone in heaven.
Sorry.
He comes too.
He refused to eat the Shah's cake?
Yes. Why?
He's scared of her.
I'm sorry.
She scares us all
more than the Shah did.
Nouchi.
Nouchi.
Baby?
Nouchi.
All right...
I'll put you down.
We have to leave!
It's full of lslamists.
Hold on...
You can't move
each time we see a beard.
This is Iran,
not Finland.
- It's a country of beards.
- Want us to get killed?
They won't look for us here.
That's a good thing.
Who is stupid enough
to hide among
the people looking for them?
Good question.
Who is stupid enough?
Your dad.
It's not that stupid.
Your husband too.
Two days later...
Goodbye.
Yes, see you soon.
Assholes.
Just look at these assholes...
What's this?
It looks bad.
What's this?
All our compromising documents
were in Nouchi's pants.
No one searches a baby.
Bravo, Nouchi!
January 1st.
Fereshteh is 23 today.
My gift to her is our escape
across the mountains.
He's asleep?
Yes, the valium's working.
Good.
No, it's really dangerous.
- It's dangerous if he wakes.
- What if he doesn't?
I'm a nurse, he'll wake.
Don't worry.
- Are you ready?
- Yes.
Fereshteh, please.
Let go.
- I'm letting go.
- No.
- I am.
- No, you're not.
Turn your hands.
Just turn them.
- I'm not holding him.
- I can't take him.
Look at my hands.
- I'm not holding him.
- Look at your elbows.
You're resisting.
That's gravity.
We're in the mountains.
- It'll all go well.
- Yes...
Look at me. It'll all go well.
It'll all go well.
It'll all go well.
It'll all go well, right?
Are you ok? Nouchi?
He's in the car. He's sleeping.
I said it'd go well.
Let's hurry.
It's another two days to Istanbul.
I'll be right back.
Are you okay?
What are you doing?
I'm taking photos.
I'd just left Iran
for the first time.
See you again soon.
I've never been back.
We have to go.
- The horse too?
- Three days of it.
Istanbul, Turkey
Thank you.
Are you sure? It's risky.
Maybe their phone's tapped.
Excuse me.
Do you have a phone?
Who was it?
Your daughter.
And...
They're alive.
After a year as illegals in Turkey,
we asked for asylum in France,
the home of Human Rights
and the Revolution.
Nouchi...
First stop:
Stains, Seine-Saint-Denis.
It's really ugly.
We'd return home
once the lslamists were ousted,
but for now we had to survive here.
We started from scratch.
New country, new language, new life.
Our place before we moved in.
And our place after.
We couldn't afford furniture,
but a traditional home needs rugs.
We had 3 plates, 3 glasses,
3 forks, 3 knives,
3 spoons, next to nothing.
The struggle continued.
Out with the beardies!
French was tough.
At first, we heard...
We learned to understand.
He needs a transplant.
Isn't it risky at his age?
Trust us,
we must give him that orgasm.
The struggle continued.
We had to work.
Work hard.
Work really hard.
We're rich!
No, sweetheart, it's for Iran.
We're not rich!
...see how they run
They all ran after the farmer's wife
Who cut off their tails
With a carving knife
Did you ever see
Such a thing in your life
As three blind mice!
Bravo!
Let's give him a big hand.
Now you, Manocher.
Your favorite song.
Now comrades come rally
And the last fight let us face
The Internationale
Unites the human race!
Good. Let's all clap.
Give him a big hand.
"A complaint...
"on an international level,
filed by a state..."
No capital.
"...filed by a state,
for damage endured
by an individual..."
Maybe I should use "person".
- Which one?
- "Person".
No, use "individual".
"...by an individual
who holds both
nationality of the suing state
and of the sued state..."
Spot the subtlety there?
- Great.
- It's good.
I like it.
"...is inadmissible
unless the concerned party..."
Why am I writing your thesis?
We can't afford to get a computer.
And you write badly.
After being in jail
and getting tortured,
you write badly.
You wrote badly before.
I saw your lawyer's letters.
See, I was a lawyer!
After these sleepless nights,
you'd better pass.
It's a 2-year course.
I won't last two years.
Pass this year.
- It takes 2.
- This year!
Hibat!
You passed...
You passed!
L 90'! my diploma!
No, we got your diploma.
- We got it.
- We got my diploma.
But the struggle continued.
Out with the lslamists!
Mullahs and beardies too,
the same goes for you!
Dictators, oppressors,
you're all...
- Fuckers!
- "Fuckers" doesn't rhyme.
- What was that?
My son's alone!
Calm down!
Calm down, then we'll talk.
Our son's alone out there!
Don't drive off!
Our son's out there!
Let go of me!
He's out there! We'll lose him!
Please, calm down.
Calm down.
Calm down!
He's all alone!
We've found him.
We've found him.
Calm down.
Calm down, please.
We've found him.
Let go of me!
He was all alone.
Dad, it's me. How are you?
Sorry, wrong number.
It's your daughter.
I don't have a daughter.
We're in France.
We can talk over the phone now.
I keep forgetting!
My diploma...
How are you?
Tell him I passed.
Did you get
the photos of Nouchi?
They must be lost
in the mail.
My diploma.
Hibat passed
his law exam.
Really? So he's a lawyer now.
That's good.
I knew he would be one day.
I have to tell you
we're staying in France.
It was temporary at first but...
But with Nouchi...
the struggle, it's...
It's not easy.
We're far away.
- We feel as if...
- No.
Listen carefully.
Do what you have to do.
Live your lives.
Everyone will understand.
Be happy-
Thank you, Dad.
Thank you.
They won't be back.
Then we met Jeannette,
incredibly kind, a little deaf,
ok, very deaf,
who saw potential in two immigrants.
How are you?
I'm not thirsty.
I work with a group called
"Women in the Projects".
No, "Women in the Projects".
I want you to work
on health awareness.
- As an ex-nurse?
- No, as an ex-nurse.
I'll give it a try,
but only one week.
She stayed six months.
After that, she took over
and she's still there now.
Hibat, you interest me too.
We need
to set up a group
that isn't just for women.
And we did it.
We worked with the community,
which got me noticed
and, a few years later...
Hibat! Hi.
- Daniel. How are you?
- Fine.
Daniel Bioton.
My wife, my son.
The mayor of Pierrefitte.
The next town.
You shop in Stains?
I'm incognito here.
Excuse me...
Yes, it's me.
Could you let me by?
Modesty.
I'm glad I ran into you.
I'm opening a social center
in a neighborhood
where I have few fans.
Voters.
Admirers.
Supporters.
Worshipers.
I need someone with legal training.
He's a lawyer.
And experience in social work.
Interested?
- Well...
- Is it paid?
You were a volunteer?
- Yes.
- No.
- I was.
- Let me negotiate.
Yes, he was a volunteer,
that's right.
But as a temp.
Mostly part-time.
So with a salary, of course.
With basic pay at...
- I wasn't paid!
- You don't know that.
I never had a pay slip!
So you can't know.
This is a news flash.
Ayatollah Khomeini is dead.
At the imam's place of residence,
a huge crowd has gathered to pray.
With Khomeini dead,
we had a chance of ending the regime.
Iran was calling us
to rebuild and resist...
So, do I hire you?
But our life would be here
from now on.
Welcome to Pierrefitte North.
Burglaries, vandalism,
drug trafficking.
30% of the apartments empty.
No one wants to live here.
Good night, Mum.
Kissed your mum?
Yes.
Your real mum.
She adopted you.
- It's a joke, sweetheart!
- It's not funny.
You ruin it by telling him too soon.
It could have been funny.
I don't like upsetting him.
You're improving,
but it's still too soon.
All right, teacher.
How was your day?
I don't get it.
At home, it's five wives.
Polygamy is illegal here.
It's one wife.
Madam Fereshteh,
I'll let my daughter go on the trip
with you.
But you have to make sure
she returns a virgin.
I'm so ashamed.
I'm a bit worried.
Because of my daughter.
She's nearly 16.
With no boyfriend.
I know what boys are like.
They buzz around like flies.
I'll make an effort,
you make one too.
Make it four.
Not a single boyfriend.
Three!
And leave it at that.
Will she kill herself?
No buzzing with my daughter.
I said I was ashamed?
Can I say it again?
I'm ashamed.
A good day.
All the same...
- Four wives.
- In your dreams.
I nearly cut myself...
- Hello.
- Hello, Hibat.
Someone smashed a window.
No one knows who did it,
as usual.
Those guys...
We could ask them.
Bad idea.
Especially the middle one.
Elyess, he's dangerous.
He first did time at 15.
He's been in and out since.
Hello.
I'm Hibat,
the center's manager.
- And?
We want to know how you feel
about the broken window.
Who gives a shit?
Who gives a shit?
Who gives a shit
who did it?
Accusing us?
Not at all.
It's weird.
It's your center too.
Why don't you care?
Nothing is ours here.
We just got out of jail, ok.
If we go back, it'll be for more
than beating you up.
How long?
- How long in jail?
- 6 months.
Joker.
Hibat was tortured more than 7 years
in an Iranian jail.
No football,
no TV. You clown.
Once again,
no one's accusing you.
But this is your center.
More than 7 years?
Goodbye.
Stone by stone, step by step,
we worked to save the neighborhood.
A new guy-
Why was Hibat jailed?
He fought.
He said no to the Shah's cake.
He wasted a shark
for refusing a cake!
Adama became a key figure locally.
The school often used him
to contact parents.
Now then, Mrs. Diara.
All his teachers,
even the sports teacher,
say that Salimou is, I quote,
"like a house plant.
His use
has not yet been discovered."
His absences
shatter all records.
Our software doesn't recognize him.
When we enter his name,
it tells us he doesn't exist.
He says I'm a budding plant.
I've shattered
all records for grades.
The software can't believe it.
Liar!
A liar and a bad student!
It's not true!
- Part them.
- Wait a while.
Let's go, guys.-
Where?
- To see Hibat.
- A meeting with the cops.
- Seriously?
- Yeah.
Those bastards?
We'll tell them they're bastards.
Come on.
Ok, stay there, man.
We're Blacks and Arabs, that's why.
We don't judge your appearance
or origin, but your acts.
Why keep checking us?
Not true.
We check everyone,
but you're not there to see it.
Why handcuff us
before asking for our ID?
You'd run.
An innocent doesn't run.
If you handcuff us,
you see us as guilty!
Guilty isn't innocent
in your eyes
Why do you stone us?
Why change the subject?
They hate each other.
But they're talking.
Beautiful, Maimouna!
- Like the colors?
- Yes. Why?
- It's for you.
- Really?
Thank you. I'm touched.
How can you let your husband
have several wives
and say nothing?
It's tradition.
Tradition?
If mine brings another wife home,
I'll spit in his food.
That'll stop him!
Our men don't have mistresses,
but several wives.
Good point.
She's right, Rachida.
But it's risky,
hygiene-wise.
- STDs
- Text messages?
Those are SMSs.
- That's candy.
- M&Ms.
Martine?
Could you turn the light off?
Having multiple partners
without protection
is dangerous for everyone.
Don't call on God with each slide.
It's biology.
God save us from biology!
Understand her.
Because of you, she has seen
more nude women in 10 minutes
than in her whole life.
Your husband lives with four wives,
you're used to it.
Fereshteh, does the man
decide the child's sex?
- Not at all.
- No way,
we'd have died out if he did.
He doesn't decide the sex,
he determines it.
With X chromosomes, women
can only give birth to daughters.
Man has both X and Y.
If his sperm contains X,
it'll be a girl. If it's Y,
it'll be a boy.
So if we can't have boys,
it's not our fault.
Of course not.
- All right, back to sewing?
- That's ok.
I was sewing too.
I tried to weave ties.
That guy's pretty cool.
Way cool.
He'll help with my résumé.
He's kind.
- He's good.
- I heard this tune...
Heavy stuff.
The guy remixed an Edith Piaf song.
You know "Come to my door"?
"Milord".
- My door.
- What?
My door. The chick
tells a guy to come to her door
so she can bang him.
You're nuts.
Edith Piaf sang porn songs?
- Jerk.
- Jerk yourself.
"My door"...
Your résumé?
I forgot all about it.
The AFPA needs it.
- What?
- A training program.
Someone's missing.
Yeah, Elyess.
- He's in his village.
- On vacation.
He goes there a lot?
He goes, he comes back...
He goes.
He comes back.
Give him this message:
It's not too late.
For what?
He'll understand.
Our comrades had followed us.
The mountains, Turkey
and asylum.
Iraj and Maryam were in France,
Nasser in Sweden
and Aziz in Germany.
That's where they shot him.
- When did you get here?
- Just now.
What happened?
A party meeting
at his restaurant.
I thought he had a clothing store?
He kept stealing the stock.
He made nothing.
He stole his own stock?
Two hooded men
killed everyone except Aziz.
Since he was serving, he wasn't hit
in the head or heart,
but in the legs and belly.
I have to see him.
What's up?
I have good news and bad news.
I know that trick.
It's all bad.
No, it's true.
First the good.
You're alive to hear the bad.
You lost a kidney.
There's a bullet in you.
You'll set off alarms.
Life won't change.
You can carry on as before.
Stealing your stock!
When do you leave?
This evening.
Guess who's coming to dinner
tomorrow.
1st clue.
- Back in the day, we said...
- Ghassemlou.
Fantastic!
Why...
My friends...
Thanks for coming.
He asked why I dressed
like a chef.
He did?
Can you do a magic trick?
Give me a coin.
He loves magic.
See this coin?
I put it in this hand...
It slowly descends...
- Incredible.
- Good trick or bad?
You shouldn't have.
Beautiful...
Won't you stay?
People are expecting me.
Ok.
Thank you.
The Kurdish independence leader,
Abdul Raman Ghassemlou,
killed in Vienna.
He was meeting
three members of his party
when gunmen burst in
and shot them at point-blank range.
The shooting occurred during
a meeting between two Kurdish groups.
Ghassemlou,
leader of the Iranian Kurds,
opposed the Iranian government
to obtain independence.
I can't.
You're not serious.
I did all I could to get your subsidy
but I can't renovate
the neighborhood.
What?
- I have no choice.
- Not true!
I can't do anything.
You don't want to.
Hibat, give me your hat.
What hat?
You can't, you don't have a hat.
I don't have the money.
I'm sorry.
That's ok.
Here.
Thanks, Daniel.
When he sees this...
Even the foosball...
Hibat,
fuck your mother
Even the foosball, huh?
Nice and comfortable?
Try to pick her up, Abdel.
Perfect timing!
Think it's funny?
Hide your grin, it's not funny.
This is your center.
All this is yours.
We'll shut down.
No more center. No more résumés.
No more outings.
No more projects.
No more workshops, nothing!
Manage on your own.
Want to come to Fontainebleau
tomorrow?
No thanks.
The center shut down a month ago.
It'll do you good.
We'll look at paintings,
sculptures...
Roof beams...
Grass...
Come on.
- I'll get on board.
- Ok.
Come on, girls!
Hurry it up.
Got your sandwiches?
No one mentioned sandwiches.
I said to bring a packed lunch.
A packed lunch, not a sandwich.
What else can you bring?
We brought this.
- I said I was ashamed?
- Yes.
Welcome to my life.
Everywhere! I'm shocked.
There.
He's in briefs.
Beautiful, isn't it?
Sorry, I'm miles away.
It's ok. It'll pass.
I'll resign.
Hi, it's your wife.
Aminata.
Not her.
- Neither.
- You're a drag!
You're sure?
Yes.
You're hesitating.
You hate abandoning people.
Mom!!
Come out of there!
Rachida, get up!
Fereshteh, I'm tired.
It's the queen's bed!
She has great taste.
Rachida, want my seat?
Maimouna,
that's Napoleon's chair.
That was the answer.
To revive the neighborhood,
we had to swap places.
The only work I've been able to find
is at nights.
So, please, make less noise
so I can get some sleep.
You make more noise
with your music!
- Shut your mouth.
- Be polite.
That's all bullshit.
You date his sister
and stir up trouble.
Hey, she's not your sister!
It's not his business!
My son has to show respect
at school
- We agree.
- I insist on it.
But he gets blamed.
- Your zouk music...
- Try dancing to it.
That's not the problem.
It's better than Arab music.
You don't dance at midnight.
He lets his kids hang out...
10,000 of them everywhere.
They won't let us live our lives.
We're not doing any harm.
Quite simply, I'm sick of it.
Waste him, man!
If they carry on,
how will they manage?
They'll be parents too one day.
Who's going to replace us?
Them, right?
If they start like this,
how will they end up?
- Next!
- Go ahead.
Great.
Awesome. Next!
No illegality
My life is reality
That sucks.
What're you doing?
I'm waiting in line.
What a load of losers.
Let's split.
What's the line for?
Hash. It's free today.
How's your uncle?
Your sister? Your mom?
The baby? The other baby?
This stuff must be really good.
Anyone here? Shit!
It's bustin' my fuckin' balls!
Shit!
Think about it.
More than 7 years.
I'd need to go wild to get that much.
His wife makes shark cake.
Bullshit. He wasted a shark.
To make a cake!
So that's why...
They eat shark in China, not in Iran.
Where's Iran? In Asia.
In Asia, where the Chinese live!
All right!
I had a call from your son's teacher.
The class trip is going well,
but he fought.
He never fights.
His roommate wouldn't swap beds.
I hope he wasted the kid.
I hate these people
who won't swap beds.
Cut it out!
By the way,
he's changed his name too.
- He's Kheiron now.
- What?
A stage name or nickname
or something.
He rejects the name we gave him?
I'll disinherit him.
You own nothing.
I'll get rich
just to disinherit him.
Good idea.
Give me a minute?
How's it going?
It's not too late?
Our story began in Iran
and will end in France.
We have our definition
of integration.
We have our story, you have yours.
We'll write a new one together.
- With the kids...
- Getting acquainted?
Is she really deaf?
Is he really dumb?
I like all these stands.
- He's cute. What's his name?
- Cinnamon.
I'd eat you if I could.
Can I hold him?
I'm going to eat you up.
Nice necklace! Is it Aztec?
No, but thanks.
It suits you.
Don't buzz around my girl.
I saw him buzzing!
What the fuck?
People bust their asses
cleaning up your shit.
They're not fucking idiots.
Don't give me that look.
Get outta here!
When I arrived here,
someone said,
"Nothing is ours here."
But it was theirs.
They just had to take it.
And a few years later...
Hibat?
Why didn't you water the plants?
- I'm getting the Legion of Honor.
- And the plants?
I need to call Nouchi.
Am I disturbing you?
I'm calling to say
I'm getting the Legion of Honor.
I just got the letter.
Thank you.
On...
July 12th.
No...
He's performing in Montreal.
In that case, we'll postpone it.
No way.
It has to be all three of us.
ALL THREE OF US
In 2006, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine
became Europe's first mediation town.
Hibat is now a European expert
in mediation and education.
He still lives in the Paris suburbs.
After graduating top of her class
in Social and Urban Development,
Fereshteh became
a municipal executive in Stains.
Aziz has retired.
He lives
between Tehran and Dusseldorf
and has finally settled his problem
with clothes.
Nasser is a political analyst
on Iranian issues.
He still lives in Sweden.
Fereshteh's parents
have settled in France.
Maryam and lraj live in France.
He has his own company
and she is a doctor.
Behzad was imprisoned in 2009
for contesting Ahmadinejad's election
as president.
He was freed five years later.
Daniel Bioton died at the age of 64.
At 27 years,
he is still Pierrefitte's
longest-serving mayor.
He was modest and,
according to his wishes,
no school or street bears his name.
Adama died of a heart attack in 2001.
During urban renovation
in the neighborhood,
his fresco was destroyed.
A collective recovered the pieces
to put the work back together.
Hibat hired Abdel
at the center as a sports coach.
He stayed there 5 years.
Mamadou still lives
in the neighborhood.
Luckily for everyone,
he has given up rap.
Elyess returned to prison
for the ninth and last time.
A job offer signed by Hibat
got him out early.
He is now an assistant director
in a social center
in the Paris suburbs
and the father of three children.
Subtitles: Ian Burley, a.s.i.f.
Subtitling: Eclair Media