Almayer's Folly (2011) - full transcript

Almayer's Folly

Nina.

Nina.

Nina. Nina.

Dain is dead.

BEFORE
SOMEWHERE ELSE

Come quick, Nina!
Hurry! Hurry! Come!

Come quick, Nina!

Nina. Hurry. Come here.

Quick.

Hurry. Hurry.



Hurry.

Captain Lingard?

So?

Not yet. It's getting dangerous.
Especially the jungle.

There are rebels.

So. Chen, still angry?
You'll get over it.

But I'll make it.
Soon, you'll be rich.

We can't leave Nina in this dump.

You came to take Nina from me.

I'll give her back to you, Gaspard.

You'll take her to Europe.

as a rich man.

No-one will think
of her mixed blood then.

In the meantime, we have
to give her an education.



A white girl's education.

Your so-called adopted daughter,
this Malaysian,

you gave her a white education too!

- Wasn't it for the best?
- She forgot it all.

Rejected it all with rage.

Nina is the only one I love
and who loves me.

Yes, she loves me.

I hoped you'd become a man
when I made you marry Zahira.

I hoped you'd both be happy.

I didn't want her.

And I was right.

- Maybe.
- I was right.

When I told you about the goldmines

that you'd have if you married her,
you didn't hesitate.

You married her.

You married the Malaysian,
as you called her.

You couldn't even remember her name
but you married her.

That's true.

- You don't know how to love.
- I tried.

You could've been happy.

With that woman! That Zahira!

That's right, with that Zahira!

She scares me. She disturbs me.

Yes, she does.

She keeps staring at me.
Her... her eyes have something...

Her eyes are deep and beautiful.

No. they're fixed and black.
And they say nothing.

Her fixed gaze, it's like death.

Gives me chills down my spine.

Chills!

You're the one who's cold!

Captain...

when I thought of a woman

alone in my bed at night,

when I felt desire,

a desire that tormented me
in my lonely nights,

I saw a gentle woman,

with hair pulled back,

a big forehead, calm and smooth,

and I caressed her
and screamed my love o her.

And I exploded.

You screamed and you exploded!

You screamed alone
and you exploded alone.

Yes, I screamed.

I never felt like a man with her.

Except when I forced her

so that her eyes would finally

express something, any feeling,

even pain.

And what did you think about
when you screamed alone?

Huh, what, who?

And without forcing her like a brute.

About a white woman, like your mother,
with clear transparent eyes.

You traded your dream of love
for money.

Well, I have to take Zahira away
from you. From your dead body.

I'm going on a new expedition
and you'll have what I promised.

And you'll leave with your daughter.

You've been saying that for years.

And there is still no gold.

I'm the only white in the area.
No one wants to do business with me.

As if I didn't exist...

And I'm here with this woman.

We don't speak.

Ever.

Or else we fight.

Only Nina gives me joy.

You want to take her.
I won't survive it.

- You won't get Nina
- I'm taking her...

She'll go to boarding school.
She'll learn languages, life.

She can't live here like a savage.

When she comes back,
she'll know more than you.

- And you'll go to Europe.
- She'll learn about life... What life?

You'll go to the theatre, the opera,
wherever you want

To the "Café de la Paix" in Paris,
it's next door.

Yes, to Europe.

Paris

London, if you wish.

Paris...

London...

Call her!

Nina..

Nina.

Zahira.

Nina...

Nina.

Zahira must've heard the boat.
She knew, one day. I'd come for Nina.

These fucking palm trees.
Half-rotten.

This humidity.
I can't stand them any more.

This river that burns and shines...

It burns the eyes, this endless river.
At the end, the sea!

She won't leave. She's my daughter.

This green river. Yellowish.
I never liked green.

And the shadows of trees
that lie upon it and move.

If only they'd stop moving

I never liked this yellow green.
This mud.

You made me leave the city.

You told me...

it's fucked!

One can't escape war.

On the first day,
I puked on the bridge,

and you told me,
you'll get used to it.

Get used to it, you said.

Sure, I got used to it.

Rich, rich, you'll be rich.

You'll have it all,
you'll do what you want. Rich.

And I said yes. I still said yes.

Move!

And these mosquitoes!

I've got malaria now!
I am a European, a Frenchman,

I feel alone, like a dog.

You messed with my head.
I didn't want this Malaysian.

But you described a world for me...
full of richness.

Where everything was possible,
where everything was lost. Except money.

Move! They're going to get away!

You put me here, you told me, wait,
you're not made for the sea.

Here, you'll do business
in the meantime. Me, business!

I must find my daughter.

I couldn't sleep

and your words rolled in my head...

Move!

And I said yes...
I was so young, I was tempted.

You will love her, you old me.

Malaysian or not, you'll love her.

And when she loves,
her eyes burn and laugh.

Well, she doesn't laugh with me.

And her eyes are dull.
Her skin, I can't remember.

Move!

Yeah I'm moving.

And you won't get her. Never.

You hear? Never!

She's my daughter. My daughter.
My daughter! My Nina!

No!

I don't want.

No!

It got worse and worse without Nina.

Almayer barely spoke.

And if he spoke, it was to himself,
or in a fever.

The silence in that house was terrible.

He got more and more miserable.

Sometimes he wrote to her
but didn't send the letter.

Sometimes he'd say
"Tomorrow, I'll go see her".

But he thought that,
now that she'd started her studies,

it would be better to leave her there.

It was her laugh that he missed most
in the hostile silence of the house.

One day. I saw Nina

behind the boarding school gate.

She wasn't laughing.

Nina, stand straight.

Nina, be quiet.

Nina, walk slower.

Nina!

We're going to capsize, Dain.

I feel the storm coming.

You'll come with me.

You'll no longer live
in the world of whites.

Yes.

I'm not white.

And I waited for you...

You might've never come.

Never enter my father's house.

I promised him we'd look
for the goldmine together.

And you will?

Yes. It's your father. I'll do it.

And you, will you never change?

No.

Never.

Nina!

We're going to capsize, Dain.
I feel the storm coming.

- You'll come with me.
- Yes.

You'll no longer live
in their world.

I am not white.

You will live with me.

I am not white.

Yes, I waited for you...

You might've never come.

Never enter my father's house.

I promised him we'd look
for the gold mine together.

And you will?

You will never change?

No. Never.

I'm going to leave.

- For long?
- I don't know.

- Will you wait for me?
- Yes.

Where are you going? What will you do?

It's better you don't know anything.

Nina.

Nina.

We're going to grow mangos,

I heard it pays well,

and God knows when Lingard will be back.

- And Lingard?
- He's on an expedition.

That's all I know, Gaspard...

A letter from him.

"All is well, I'm getting there.
I saw Nina,

she's becoming a beautiful young girl.

Soon it will be time to bring her back.

One day, men will flock at her feet."

Captain! Captain!

Captain!

Shut up, poor crazy woman.

Do you know where he put her?

No.

She's not a young girl.

Not yet.

Her teeth haven't grown back yet.

She's still my little girl.

My wife is mad.

I must grow them, I must grow them!

Mangos, Ali, mangos!

Yes, master. They'll grow.
And all will be fine.

I'm not dead yet.

We're closed.

I know. It's for Nina, Nina Almayer.

You're already late.

It won't happen again.

- Otherwise, we won't keep her.
- It won't happen again.

She must stay here.

Become one of us.

One of us...

Never.

So, Chen. Always in my way.

I hit you,

I humiliated you on the boat.

I laughed in front of the others
when you puked.

And then I gave you to Gaspard

to take care of Zahira and Nina.

You haven't forgotten, Chen.

Me neither.

- I'm going to die, right, Chen?
- Yes.

- You'll give that to the Captain Tom Lee.
- Yes.

Nina was getting more and more miserable.

Nina, the first two measures, I said.

What are you doing here?

And in what state!

They kicked me out,

Lingard didn't pay for my board.

He's dead.

Dead.

I thought he was never going to die.

What are you going to do?

I don't know yet.

Work. Like everybody else.

No, I won't go back
to the boarding school. Ever.

They spied on me.

At the table. In my bed.

My accent, my way of walking.

Especially my way of walking.

You had to put the heel down first,
then the toes.

Or the contrary.
I could never get used to it.

They called me Tomboy,
even Savage sometimes.

Not a real girl.

Real girls aren't like that.

Smiling, the head slightly tilted.

Not straight, never straight.

And never ever look into the eyes.

And say yes. Not no.

And the blood, when it happened,

you had to hide it, not to talk about it.
But be proud of it.

Rosa Rosa rosam, it was useless.

And yet, I learned,

if I'm the best, I'll manage,
I told myself.

And I was the best,
but for that too they resented me.

And there was always
that beef with carrots.

Beef with brown sauce. Sticky.

The smell. Made me retch.

De viris lllustribis Urbis Romae.

The wars of Caesar.

The Empero who, in the end,
got killed by the man he loved.

I had to learn everything by heart.
I didn't want to.

Neither the beef,
nor the salad with vinaigrette,

nor the coffee with boiled milk.

Rosa Rosa rosam.
And our Father who is in Heaven.

My father was not in Heaven.
He no longer existed.

The beef with carrots.

Every Thursday.

Friday fish.

That day I always said I wasn't hungry.

But I was hungry. I was starving.
I never had enough.

All the time.

And then I stained my dress.

Rosa Rosa rosam.

And our Father who is in Heaven
with the broken windows.

How come she came back all of a sudden?

I don't know.

And in your place, I wouldn't ask.

You know, mixed-race girls
don't have it easy.

How come?

I mean, amidst white people.
It's not always easy.

Do you have news from Lingard?

You don't know,

he's dead,

He was sick,

he died.

Lingard, dead...

My daughter's come back and something
awful has happened to her. I can feel it.

Lingard is dead and so is my business.

What kind of life will I give her?

A girl raised in the city.

A girl who has heard me
speak of Europe since birth.

I was dreaming. I should never
have dreamed like that.

You dreamed for her.

For her and for you.

Europe.

What makes you think
you would've been happy there?

Nobody. My mother spoke of it
as if it were paradise.

Someone hurt her. I'm sure of it.

Not a smile. A closed face. Like a stone.

Something's happened to her.

Maybe I never should've
sent her to that school.

But she needed an education, right?

A father must educate his daughter.

True, it didn't do her mother any good.

But Nina was luckier,

she's half-white, right?

Or less, maybe.

Less.

And Lingard's dead.

Is he really dead?

- Yes.
- Really?

Yes.

Before he died,
he gave me this diary for you.

He told me you'd understand.

The road to the mines.

I'll find a way.

I'll get my daughter out of this misery.

I love her. I've never loved like that.

She is beautiful.
I've never seen anyone so beautiful.

Have you seen her hair,
how long and beautiful it is!

Before, without her, I was dead.
Living dead all these years.

Now she is here. Now I'll live again.

And I'll find the way.

I'm still young.
Still strong. Yes, I'm strong.

It's Abdullah, he's celebrating
his nephew's return from Mecca.

What a racket.

- The music is beautiful.
- How can you say that!

One day, I'll take you to a real concert.

Chopin, Debussy. Not this racket.

I've forgotten.

I don't know any more.

It's Abdullah, what does he want from me?

Abdullah wanted Nina for his nephew.

Almayer didn't want
to give him his daughter.

Abdullah told him he should be happy,

a mixed-race girl with no dowry,

We all know how such girls end up.

No, Almayer did not know.

In the gutter, Abdullah told him.
In the gutter.

- Master, this man is dangerous.
- No.

Yes. I can feel it. I bet he's wanted.

He's an insurgent.
Or he's smuggling drugs.

No. He's going to help us. He promised me.

He has strong men and a good boat
with at least 100 horsepower.

Hear that, it's Chopin.

You are not white.

At least wish me good luck.

And Almayer started waiting for Dain.

Master, come eat.

I'm not hungry.

The storm is close

and Dain Maroola
won't be able to come back.

He'll come back.

How do you know?

- Dain! Dain!
- Yes, I'm here.

Go to the pier.

What's wrong? Where's your boat?

Has something happened to it?

And your men?

What about your men?

You're not going to abandon me.
Not now. Dain!

It will calm down,

it must.

It will calm down.

Dain!

Dain!

Dain!

There's a dead body!

It's Dain!

How do you know?
The head's been ripped off.

It's him, I recognize him.
Look, it's his ring.

Why are you looking at me like that?

I'm not crazy. Don't look at me like that.

What is it?

You know what it's like
to look to for something...

and never find it? Ever!

Give me some gin...

It's all over now. I give up.

Dain is dead,
no one will ever help me.

And you, Nina, you don't care.

You have no hopes?

You have no heart.

Are you happy to live in this dump?

Say something, Nina.

Say something.

I love you, I love you so much.

It was for you, for your happiness.

Nothing,

not even one tender word.

I don't understand you.
I don't understand anything.

As if you didn't care.

Sometimes, I wonder
if you're really my daughter.

But then I wouldn't feel it
burning inside me.

Yes, I'm going mad.

You're both right. Go away.

Leave!

He fell asleep. Go now.

Go meet Dain by the Bulangi creek.

No, I don't love him.

But he loves you.
And he's in danger. He's wanted.

The night seems threatening.

Like every other night.
But tonight he waits for you.

He waits for me. So what?

So, go. He'll take you
somewhere you can live.

I... I don't feel well.

Go, Nina, go. You have to go. Go...

He won't leave without you.

And if he stays, he'll be killed.

I've lived with a man who didn't love me.

I've been a white man's slave.

You were the only thing bonding us.

Without you, there was nothing.

You're leaving.

I won't see you again.

But you must go. You must save yourself.

You'll never walk
through this courtyard again.

You'll never set foot

in this cursed house.

Someone's there, listening to us.

You're not white.

You'll never be white. Forget their words.

Their thoughts.

Hutry, leave while the river is moonless.

There are two paddles in the boat.

- Mom, will I see you again?
-No.

- And you?
- Don't worry about me.

Master, wake up! Master!

What do you want, what are you saying?

Nina has disappeared.
And Mrs. Almayer too.

She won't come back.
She left to join Dain Maroola.

Dain is dead.

No, and your daughter is gone.
She won't come back.

And you won't ever see her again.
Wake up. Wake up.

They're looking for him.
And your daughter is with him.

Mrs. Almayer left
without saying goodbye.

Dain is dead. My daughter is here.

Nina!

Zahira!

Don't look at me like that.

Stay here.

Father!

You want to kill me, Almayer.

Like an animal... A wild animal.

Nina, come.

Come here.

Come.

Leave him.

Run away.

Come and we will be together.

We'll forget this nightmare.

And you'll be my little girl again.
The joy and meaning of my life.

Do you know what awaits you with him?

He's not a man for you.

He'll mistreat you, he'll cheat on you.

In a few years you won't matter to him.
And he isn't white.

Come with me to Europe
and there, I'll find you a man.

A man who will love you. All his life.
And we'll live together.

It's too late. Nina is my wife now.

Your daughter gave herself
like a woman who loves a man.

Yes, I know.

But she doesn't love you.

She never will. She doesn't love anyone.

Nina, between you and him,
there's a barrier.

A world. Nothlng can make it disappear.

I see madness in your eyes.

Like people who kill themselves.

Don't smile.

You want to break my heart?

If I saw you drowning,
that's how I'd feel.

Don't say that.

I'm asking you for the last time.

Come back to your father.

Your father who loves you
like no one ever will.

Each day I waited for you
to come and get me.

I didn't know.

You should have.

You ask me why I want to leave?

Why should I stay? Why?

Yes, why?

Endless words of love. But actions, never.

I couldn't understand.

I didn't want to be among white faces
who made me suffer...

each day at boarding school.

When you spoke to me, I felt nothing.

And then Dain came along.

I don't love him, not yet.

Not really.

Maybe I never will.

But I want to live.
And I'm going to follow him.

For now, anyway. He loves me

and me,

my heart is dead.

It died in that prison I was locked up in.

He loves me.

And he looks at me
with joy and strength and desire...

For years I was rejected
by people like you,

who dreamed of leaving
and being amongst each other.

They made fun of Asian homes,

found them filthy, crawling with vermin.

That's all they saw.

And they screamed it at me.

I don't believe you.

It's not true.
When you wake up, you will see.

The police are on their way.
They're going to kill you.

Is that what you want?

Well, too bad, too bad,

too bad.

I can't. I can't. I am white.

My daughter!

I'll never forgive you, Nina.

I'll try to forget I had a daughter.

I'll try to forget I had a daughter.

I'm going to take you to the sea.

You'll find a boat.

Careful, it's the police.

Now, let's go, paddle!

I'll never forgive you.
You broke my heart.

I no longer have a daughter.

I didn't raise her for this.
I don't have a daughter.

You'll never forget me.

If I can't, I'll die.

The boat is coming.

Goodbye.

I never had a daughter.

Tomorrow I'd have forgotten.

I'm cold.

The sun is cold.

The sea is black.

Tomorrow, I'd have forgotten.

Don't walk barefoot I said.

You're going to hurt yourself..

The snakes will bite you.

Not barefoot.

It's muddy.