Our Mothers (2019) - full transcript

OUR MOTHERS - US MÈRES

It's me...

Are you back home? - Yes, rest.

I would like to thank the survivors and the victims

to have had the patience to wait for this historic moment.

... publicly in this trial,

which concerns facts dating back more than 30 years,

during the armed conflict in Guatemala.

The trial aims to prove that the military command

considered the entire population as enemies,

resulting in many deaths, rapes, population displacement,



persecutions and bombings,

and hardened the fight against the insurgents,

including an unarmed and defenseless civilian population ...

Stand up.

Hello, Madame Maria.

Where did you find it? - Here at the municipal cemetery.

There are a lot of bodies there,

one of them is your husband's.

We do not know the causes of death but there are traces of violence.

This file contains all the details of the exhumation

and all the tests we have done.

Rest assured, we treated it with the utmost respect.

Read it.

We also found this.



His belt buckle.

I can see him ?

Madame Maria,

seeing the bones can be awesome.

I advise you to wait until you are in your village,

where you will be better surrounded.

But if you want it, you have the right.

I'll give you a moment.

Thank you.

We're going to bury him. - Yes, as it should, with us.

We found you.

I told you, look who's coming.

Do you dance with me?

What are you looking at?

How are you going to get hard?

Your father recommended Viagra to me.

A miracle that your wife let you out!

She takes care of the children, I must take advantage of it.

I escaped my tamer.

Don't fuck with me, motherfucker.

Do you remember the testimony I told you about this morning?

An old lady.

She told me that after having massacred the whole village,

the soldiers forced them to dance on the graves of their husbands.

When I hear that

I think about what those motherfuckers did to my dad.

Me, I'm lucky.

They're going to put my father's name in the cathedral.

Is there still room?

They will add plates.

It would take tons,

half of Guatemala should have his name there.

In this shitty country, you live either crazy or drunk.

I chose: drunk.

Hello.

How are you ?

Pardon ?

Tell me. - Hello.

I would like to speak to an investigator.

You have an appointment ? - No.

Sit down, one of my colleagues is coming.

I come from far away.

I had to take three buses,

I left my house, my field, my chickens,

to come here.

File 19743599, Ernesto González, investigator.

September 8, Forensic Institute of Guatemala.

Let's start with your name, date and place of birth.

My name is Nicolasa Caal from Sic.

I was born in Satexa on April 23, 1956.

I am 62 years old.

Your ID please ?

How can we help you?

I came to ask you

to dig up my husband.

What's your husband's name? - Mateo Sic.

To open the file, I need specific information.

I will ask you some questions,

try to give me detailed answers, okay?

When was the last time you saw Mateo?

It was late 1982.

One morning, the army trucks went up to the village.

They were looking for guerrillas and especially their weapons.

They asked us if there were any guerrillas.

We told them they were there,

that they had asked us for food and water

to spend the night.

How did the soldiers react?

It pissed them off a lot.

They grabbed Mateo and all the men in the village.

They took them to the school where they tortured them.

I heard screams.

I knew it was Mateo.

It broke my heart but there was nothing I could do.

Afterwards a soldier grabbed me,

laughed at me and spat in my face.

Another slipped his hand under my skirt,

and touched me between the legs.

One of the soldiers started to come out ...

to drop his pants.

After the third soldier, I don't remember anything.

Ensuite,

they made us dig a big hole

in a vacant lot that no one cultivated.

And...

They caught babies, children and men.

They shot Mateo and he fell into the hole.

It hurt me even more ...

But what I would like from now on

is that you get Mateo out of there.

So that he was in a place where I could go talk to him.

A worthy place for him.

It's okay ?

Another pit, I think, and not the least.

Don't you want to do it? - I can not.

I'm drowning in work. - Me too, what do you think?

I'll see with the boss, he'll decide.

There you are, madam. - Thank you so much.

Thank you for your answers.

I have to take your picture, okay?

Get in the back of the seat, stand up straight.

I brought a photo of my Mateo.

It will be very useful to us. Which one is Mateo?

It's him.

And who are they? - The guerrillas.

They were in the village when the army arrived.

I kept this photo.

Mateo said he wanted to remember them.

And this guerrilla, what was he called?

I do not know.

A nickname ?

No, they just called him "boss".

And his real name?

I do not know.

I have to give you a moment. Do not move.

Take a good look at this photo.

Do you recognize this man?

I think it's the boss.

And like that ? Do you recognize him?

Yes. - Who is it ?

The same person.

It is not him.

The lady recognized him.

Who is that ?

The one that gave me the photo, the one from San Cristobal.

You know ?

Only in name.

It's unprofessional what you're doing.

You should leave the investigation to someone else.

I don't think it's your father.

Don't waste your time with this.

Was he in San Cristobal?

Forget it, Ernesto.

I do not know.

I want to know if he was there, if it's possible.

I don't fucking know.

Why weren't you with him?

You ask me things

which I wouldn't say even under torture.

Elisabeth and Maria will testify, even if they are scared to death.

Let them go.

You should go too.

Listen, Ernesto ...

The dead are dead, although we do not know where they are.

I officially declare this meeting open.

Please stand up.

Do you swear, as a witness,

to speak the truth in your soul and conscience,

before the people of Guatemala?

I swear.

You are in front of us

to explain to us how, child,

you survived the massacre ...

I don't want to listen to this.

and how you took refuge in the mountains.

There you were arrested along with others ...

I do.

and taken to a military camp.

You are also a witness ...

I turn off. - No, I want to listen.

... other children separated from their parents.

You did see

how they were evacuated from the military camp.

And we never saw them again.

On these facts,

the lawyers will question you

so that your testimony can be corroborated.

We know exactly where the land is.

Did the Indian woman the other day tell you?

And you believed her? - Why would she lie?

To get state compensation, to get revenge,

get rid of her husband, receive an inheritance ...

We have seen everything happen. - She suffered, it shows.

Like thousands of women,

men, children, entire villages.

Suffering is not synonymous with truth.

Cases like that, I have tons.

Why choose this one?

You won't have to do anything, I'll take care of everything.

No, the priority is the municipal cemetery.

There are at least 200 bodies there.

I came to talk to you like a friend, not like my boss.

The wolf comes out of the woods. What's the matter ?

The guerrilla,

This is my father.

It is blurry.

I wouldn't venture to say it's him.

They were in the village when the army arrived.

Did the lady give you this photo on the day of her testimony?

So why is it not on file?

Because you would have sent me shit.

You start to hope again, without thinking.

I repeat to you,

if you can't separate your private life from your work,

if you can't sort it out, you don't belong here.

We scrambled to get the permits for the cemetery.

If we don't finish soon, it will have been for nothing.

So forget about this land and focus on the graveyard.

Thank you for coming with me.

We'll be home before he knows it.

If we get caught, it will be your fault.

You are with.

I am embarrassed to take your hammock.

Don't worry, I'm going to sleep at Maria's.

I will pay you for food and accommodation.

Here, some coffee.

So, lady ...

When we find Mateo's remains,

we will compare his DNA with that of a close relative.

A brother, a son, even a cousin.

They are all dead.

Nobody left?

Have you never had children?

Non.

I am a faded woman

parched.

I have never had a child with my Mateo.

And the guerrilla? Did he talk to him a lot?

Mateo, yes.

He was the link between the village and the guerrillas.

And you ?

Us women? No never.

The uniforms scared us,

those of the soldiers like those of the guerrillas.

They weren't the same uniforms.

They were defending an idea, an ideal.

What ideal? - The liberation of the people.

You speak like them.

Who are they? - The guards of the farm.

Is it private land? - Yes.

How are we going to get in?

We will talk to them, give them some money.

We don't pay anything. - We'll talk to them.

We will have to help us. - Yes of course.

We'll talk to them first.

Hello Luis, how are you? - Hello Nicolasa.

Sorry to bother you.

We would like to go into the field.

Here are Ernesto and Juan.

They come to dig up our dead who are there.

You can't enter.

Let us pass, Luis.

My Mateo is buried there.

No, no one passes.

Let us in. Your family is there too.

I have to get my Mateo out of this place.

It is a private operation, we do not pass.

We want to talk to your boss, he'll let us in.

The boss is not there.

Please let us in.

We are forensic anthropologists.

We just wanna dig up

the people who were murdered here.

We do not pass.

Please. - No.

You don't realize what you're doing.

It is your families who are buried there!

Don't worry, sir, we're leaving.

We can't work like that.

I've known you since I was little

it was I who taught you to work.

Do me this favor. - No, we're not going.

You can't enter.

How much do you earn per day? - 50.

I'll give you triple and you let me pass.

I see with my colleagues.

You go-y.

Pay all at once. - No.

Half now, the other when I go out.

It works.

Come on, open it up!

If you want to come in, it's that way.

Do not do that !

Don't touch the ground!

It's nothing, it's just the surface.

I don't want you to leave traces!

I will put it back as before.

You don't do that!

Go away !

Go!

Why didn't you tell me it was private land?

I didn't know it was important.

I'll have to go get a warrant.

Do you know how long it's gonna take?

I seem to know what a warrant is, me?

Juan !

Can't you hear me, or what?

Did you pay?

Yes why ? - You're really stupid.

Do you know what we risk with your bullshit?

I have my reasons, trust me.

We have nothing to do here, we'll be back tomorrow.

We have just arrived.

Got something?

Nothing. - So we're leaving tomorrow.

Eat a little beans.

Here are corn cakes.

Serve yourself.

How do you manage to continue living here?

I work my field.

I take care of my chickens.

To continue to survive.

And then...

I got used to living with my dead.

But I can't take it anymore.

That night I thought of someone

that could help us identify Mateo.

Who ?

Her daughter.

You told me you had no children.

Yes.

We never succeeded, but he had a daughter with another.

Where does she live?

Here in the village.

Could you introduce it to me?

Non.

They don't want to know anything about me.

When this lady had her daughter,

she wanted Mateo to go live with them.

But my Mateo has never abandoned me.

Hello, Ernesto. - Hello.

Sorry to bother you.

My comrades would also like to testify.

Now ?

We know the government

is obliged to compensate us.

It seems that you can have 24,000 quetzals per death.

Even if it won't bring my Mateo back.

It does not work.

It is a fixed sum per family,

regardless of the number of dead or missing.

I am not the one who decides.

I can just bring your voice up

to the administration, in the capital.

Merci, Ernesto.

That's very nice of you.

Did you organize this circus?

They want to testify.

We can't leave them like that.

It's going to take ages. - I know, so help me.

We start with the oldest.

Sit down.

Nicolasa, tell them to have a little patience.

Each in turn, first the oldest.

I think it will be fine, we will wait.

We will go through one by one.

You will come back ?

I don't know when, but I will be back.

If you don't come back, I'll have to dig up Mateo on my own.

Be patient.

I won't be long.

God bless you.

Have a good trip - Thank you for everything.

To you too.

How did that happen ?

We talk about it later.

Ernesto ?

Everything is fine ? - Yes, we'll talk about that later.

They saw us hiding in the mountain

and they came to get us.

They came looking for us and there they surrounded us.

We heard them fire.

What's the matter with you ?

Do you realize what you did?

What the fuck are you doing?

It took forever to establish a relationship with the judges,

and you mess everything up by flouting the procedures!

It is important to go on this ground. - Are you fucking listening to me?

Have you thought about your colleagues and us at the Institute?

You put us all in the shit! - It's okay, I'm sorry!

This is the last time you did something like this to me, got it?

You can't sleep here. - Sorry.

We're going to have to count the night.

How much is it ? - 200.

Can't you do less? - No, that's the price.

We must leave now. - It's okay, I'm leaving.

Happy Birthday ! - Thanks, Camilla.

Are you okay?

Well, where do I tell you? - Tell me.

This shitty country weighs me down.

We all have the same problem. - Yes, but some more than others.

Pardon.

Have you talked to Cristina? - About what ?

Of the trial.

Honey...

there are things I don't talk about with Cristina.

You should.

You should let her go a bit.

I love you, little motherfucker!

Come on, have fun. - You too.

Don't drink too much.

Hello.

This is the bad example!

Take this.

As soon as I try to stop you appear.

We don't stop this shit, it's like a bad husband.

Come on, indulge yourself.

Come on. - No thanks.

Always true to yourself. - Me ?

I admire you a lot.

Me ?

Because of the lawsuit?

You know, I'm terrified, scared to death.

Just imagine them again in front of me ...

It gives me chills, can't you imagine.

The day it will be mine

where I will take the helm,

I think I'll shit on it.

But we'll all be there.

I'll be there with you.

We're going to get by, we've seen worse.

Ernesto !

Hello. - Hello.

Sign here, please.

Thank you. - Thank you and see you soon.

I knew I would find you here. - I work on the cemetery.

Do not worry.

What is happening ?

I prefer to tell you myself,

so that you don't learn it otherwise.

What?

Juan Manuel's papers have been found.

In one of the mass graves of the municipal cemetery.

At the cemetery ?

Yes, at the municipal cemetery.

Are you sure it's my dad?

We compared his passport photo to that of the file,

it is Juan Manuel.

DNA results shouldn't be long

but you have to be patient.

I also spoke to your mother.

She's on call at the hospital.

Attends !

You want some coffee ? - No

What do you feel ?

I never imagined finding him.

That's all.

It feels weird.

What?

To tell me we're going to bury him.

That we're going to have a grave.

Sometimes at night ...

I imagined this moment.

How did you imagine it?

I do not know.

But it calmed me down.

And are you at peace now?

Non.

Hello.

Shall I make you something to eat?

No, I'm not hungry.

Let's go to the beach.

What?

You wanted to go to the beach, right? Let's go.

Like this?

Now ?

When can you go?

I do not know. - Today ?

Among all the children of Tirsa

The one we call Quincho beats everyone

He will be ten years old

He's a serious boy, for his age

While her mother struggles to find a job

Quincho works hard like a mule

In the morning and afternoon he sells candy on the buses

So that his siblings can go to school

Hi Quincho, Quincho the kite

Child hero of my city

Hello to all the children of my country

Striking examples of poverty and dignity

Hi Quincho, Quincho the kite

His name will not be forgotten

Because through the streets, squares, parks and neighborhoods

People repeat his name

Take another one.

You drink too fast.

Did he drink a lot?

Non.

He didn't drink much.

I don't think I've ever seen him drunk.

I look like him ?

Tell me.

I have his eyes?

You have his gaze.

I have his mouth?

You sound like him.

Am I like him?

Tu as he forces.

It's Juan Manuel.

But it's not my father.

I had to protect you.

You have always been my strength.

I have thought about ending it several times, but ...

Every time I thought of you.

And that gave me the strength to continue.

Protect me from what? - Of the truth.

Shame.

I wanted you to be able to look at yourself in the mirror

without being ashamed of me, or of yourself.

Ernesto...

You are the most beautiful thing that has happened to me in my life.

Would this go well with the jacket?

I like it, but the cleavage is wrong.

And this color that you like?

Show me.

She's torn.

Throw it away, then. - No, it's my favorite.

Show me. - She's pretty, isn't she?

Yes maybe.

You like her ? - Yes, she looks good on you.

It's pretty.

I would like to cut them.

Quiet Please !

I call Cristina Ramirez to the bar.

Do you know the accused?

I know them historically,

but not personally.

Can you share your testimony with us?

I was arrested by the military police in 1982.

They locked me in a clandestine prison for over 6 months.

I was living in a room

where there wasn't even room to sit.

They tied up my hands and feet.

They tortured me with electricity.

They tortured me every day

during these 6 months.

They raped me

everyday

during these 6 months.

When the military freed me,

I was 5 months pregnant.

I'm proud of you.

When you look at me ...

do you remember them?

Don't think about it.

Never.

You hear me ?

Never.

You will always be my father.

OUR MOTHERS - US MÈRES