Red Dust (2004) - full transcript

We will miss you a lot...

Didn't feel bad tonight,
but it was a great day

Come!

It's hot today.
Would it be nice to have a cold beer in there?

Get out!

Hey Piet Müller! You fuckin' pus!
How is it?

Hi Dirk, yai yai yai, just look
what they done to you?

I thought you'd retired, man.

Hey Jaco, unlock the man.

Uh. I left the police. About six years ago. Took a
package. I run a small security firm here in Smits.

Here.
What's it?



Chicken. For you.

What do you want, Piet?

I lead a quiet life.
Keep my head down.

And suddenly I discovered the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission right here on my doorstep. With you as their starter.

It's affirmative, Piet.

I'm applying for amnesty for that persons of
Alex Mpondo. You meet back in 86?

That was fourteen years ago.
Thera are some things that you don't forget.

Bullshit!... What needs to be forgotten,
you forget.

I need this amnesty, Piet.

Yeah!

You know, if I remember correctly
you were never even charged.

So, why claim amnesty for something
you're not even accused of?

Yeah, I'm sitting 18 years in prison for killing Goweni.
Yeah, so?

So... I want to get out, man!



I claimed amnesty but they won't give it to me,
at least I claimed for everything else that was.

So that's why I'm here man.
Come clean.

Just as long as you keep me out of it.
That's all that concerns me.

He has come back!

Alex Mpondo! Good work!

Alex Mpondo

Hey, brother.

I never thought you'd show your
face in this place again.

How's that?
You're in power now, you're a star MP.

Yeah, a shining star.

Hey, Themba!

It' good to be in Pretoria for being well dressed.

I thought everyone had forgotten me.

There might have come a time
when you wish they had.

Auntie!

Alex, my brothers child...
Welcome home!

Hi. How's it?

I'm Sarah. I grew up in this house.
I wondered if I can take a look around.

My husband's not here, I can't let you inside.
But, uh, you're welcome to the ground garden if you like.

Thank you.
You're welcome.

Uh, don't mind the dogs. No no no
they won't bite. Sit!

Cool it, man!

The old fence is gone.

Yeah, it's the first thing we replaced.
lazybones.

What kind of dogs did you have?

Didn't have dogs,
or a gun...

Or a man, can you think of it?
Just me and my mom.

If you ask me, that's
asking for trouble, eh?

I guess we didn't know any better.

It's still here...

Johnny Nyaniso, my first boyfriend.

You're the Barcant girl, aren't you?

Yes

You have quite a reputacion, you know that.
Running around with the kids from the township.

What is wrong with the white boys?
Nothing...

just that I never found one
that turned me on.

So what do you do now?

I'm a Lawyer.

My client, Dirk Hendricks, is here to plead the case
for amnesty before the Truth an Reconciliation Comission.

He freely admits that
in this police station...

between the 5th and the 31st of may 1986...

he did brutally interrogate Mister Alex Mpondo,

in a stance the need for a full franc disclosure.

In fact, mi client is very sorry
of any harm inflicted upon Mister Mpondo...

and sincerely apologizes for the
wrong done to him. Any questions?

You know Mister Mpondo is here to
purse Hendrickses claim?

My client hopes, that in the spirit of the Comission,
Mister Mpondo will find it in his heart to forgive him.

Will there be some light in the case
of the disappearance of Steve Sizela?

Sarah!

Please remain seated.

What took you so long?
I came as fast as I could.

Your top is down!

Yeah

Don't tell me you drove from the airport
with the top down.

All the way.
Across the Karoo? Are you mad?

Dad, I'm here one minute.
You're talking me like a teenager.

All I want to say, my nephew, is:

Here's the goat with which...

I welcome you back home.

Praise the ancesters.

We will send the soul of this goat...

to report to your ancesters...

that the beautiful Mpondomise has
has returned home unharmed.

Even though the beautiful
Mpondomise has returned...

he has forgotten how to speak his
language in the proper way.

Please, forgive him.

He has been gone a long time.

Thank you, aunt.

It gives me pleasure to see...

that I am still remembered as a son of this soil.

So, how long will you stay?
Till the end of the hearing.

And then?
Back to court in New York.

New York!

So, you're an americen now?

Yes, I am.

So let me tell you about the hearing...

I read the statements.
I couldn't believe it was Hendricks.

Well, I first asked Alex to come back here,
he didn't want to go through all this...

but he had a friend, Steve Sizela,
who was arrested alongside of him.

He was never seen again.

I was Alex's and Steves lawyer at a time.

But Steve, he's the reason why
Alex agreed to come back.

It's been 14 years now and James, Steves
father, is desperate to find him.

I want you to put pressure on Hendricks
to explain what happened to Steve.

There's a dozen lawyers in Capetown
who could done this for you.

Yes

I wanted you...

to come back.

Potjiekos. Your favourite.

Mmh, great. Thanks.

I could believe Ben fight this case, if he could.

How is he?

Not well.

I try not to think too far.

The people of this town are proud of you.

You gave nothing to those Boer police.

Make sure they are locked away.

Mister Mpondo?
Who's this?

Sarah Barcant, your lawyer.
Ben gave me your number...

I've just checked into the hotel.

Welcome to smits rivier.

Thank you.

Well, welcome back.

Can we meet tomorrow?
I know it's sunday, but...

Eight o'clock at the pool?
You remember where that is.

Yes.

Will you come with me to see James Sizela
tomorrow afternoon, Stevens father, the headmaster?

Yes.

Good.

Good Bye.

Welcome back.

You recognize me?
Mister Müller.

Mmh.

You're grown up, eh?

Just couldn't stay away from us.
You had to come back, eh?

Miss Barcant?

Come join the party.

No, thank you. I have work to do

Mmh, yes, you've got work to do.

That's the Barcant girl.

Hello, I'm Sarah.

Mister Mpondo, can I talk to you now?
Of course.

Mister Mpondo, what exactly are you
looking to get out of this hearing?

What I'm looking for, Miss Barcant, is to find
out what happened to Steven Sizela...

and to block the amnesty
of a sadistic bastard.

According to this you were
arrested in Sagiesdorp...

on may 5th 1986 along
with your friend Steven.

Yes. And taken to the Smitsrivier police station
where you're beaten and tortured for...

38 days.

31. Beaten for three,
tortured for 28.

And you held out all that time?

Any implication that I have not must be
sled down immediately Miss Barcant.

I understand. But there are
parts that don't sound accurate.

For instance, "The cells had dirt floors"
that's not true. They were made of stone in Smits.

How would you know?

Because I spent a night on them, and
the floors were the coldest I ever slept on.

You were in those cells?

What for?

It's not important.

The there's fire. Did you see
a fire when you were in jail?

I didn't see it...

but I heard it, and I smelled it.

But there's no record of a fire
in Smitsrivier, not in 1986.

Well... I must have got it wrong.

You gotta get it all down accurately.

The more holes there are in the evidence,
the harder it will be for us to prove for us that he's lying...

about what he did to you, and
what he knows about Steven.

It's just too easy to shoot down.

Do you think that they can shoot this down?

The scars a part,
you are in good shape.

It's true. It's up here
that's not healed.

Tell me, why were you trying to take the desk?

You were going to sell the desk
for firewood, weren't you?

Was Mandela a desk burner?

This is Steve?

Ya, that's Sizwe.
Steve.

That's the last picture of him. Ever taken.
He was just 18.

That picture helps thrive
out my last sight of him...

the sight of him lying on the
ground as they kicked him.

Did they that in front of you?

A mother should not
outlive her children.

They throwed out their desks because
they are too lazy to find fire wood.

Aah, teacher, what are you going to do?

I cannot expel it,
thanks to a new law.

If you, aah... will be useful
in Pretoria, find us more desks.

Well. Shall we start?

Teacher, this is Sarah Barcant, Ben Hoffman's
protegé, now a hot shot in Nueva York.

A lawyer?

Yes, like Ben. A criminal lawyer.
Straight from the DA's office.

Ben brought her here specifically to deal with
Hendricks. Hendricks is not a problem here.

Hendricks, "IS" the problem!

He run rings around us
unless we take him seriously.

Oh, and you'd know, I suppose.

So, who do you think, is the problem, Mister Sizela?
Piet Müller.

He was captain of the security police
here, while Steve was detained.

There must be entries in the station log.
The document is missing.

What about whitnesses?

There were two around, officers,
but they gone to ground.

Miss Barcant, will you make an application
to represent our sons interests?

Of course.

Miss Barcant... we would like to find our son

I understand.

You get to the truth... and let our mighty god
take care of the reconciliation.

And you were the one who burned the desks?

He is going to expel me.
No, he won't.

How can you stop him?

Because I am Alex Mpondo.
And the big chiefs from Pretoria.

Well, my uncle says,
you all heads but no cattle.

Who is your uncle?

Oscar... Dumasi. He fought in the war.

People, who fought in the struggle...

don't talk about it.

Can I wash your car?

Of course you can wash my car, my boy, as
long as you promise not to set it on fire...

Wait for me at my aunts house.

James thinks that I have recruted Steve...

took him away from his studies and
was responsible for what happened to him.

I came back here to help him find his son and bury him...

but he takes my participation as an indication
of guilt. That's a good attitude... for you.

The almighty will have to take
care of the reconciliation, Miss Barcant,

because James Sizela is an unforgiven old bastard.

What about you? If Hendricks
comes clean, can you forgive him?

He won't, so the question will not arise.

Is there anything you remember that links Hendricks to Steve's
disappearance, and you think, that I can put my application?

Nothing.

Here's a copy of Hendricks statement for you to read.
I'll see you tomorrow morning, 8 o'clock. At the hotel.

You still haven't told me
why they put you in jail.

Power!

Good Morning.

Have you read Hendricks's statement.

I'm seeing you put it here for food.
Did you read it?

No!

You didn't read it?
I know what's in it. I don't need to read it.

I can't believe it. Will you read it?
"Did you read this? Will you read it?"

Alex, why am I here?

Because of James Sizela.
A man who does not like me.

Then don't think of him, think of his son.
Not a day goes passed while I don't.

Have some coffee.
André, a cup of coffee, please.

So, I found out why you're in jail.

You were dating a black man.

Johnny Nyaniso.

Yeah.

Do you know what happened to him?

No.

Uhm? You know, you gonna have to cross examine Hendricks.
Cross examening? Ha, ha. Yeah.

Miss Barcant, all this was
a long time ago.

I was at times drugged, I was brutally beaten...

My reconnection is, at best... hazy...

it was...

Well...

shall we go?

Today, the Truth and Reconciliation Comission
is in Smitsrivier with only one case into here.

It concerns the interrogation 14 years ago
Alex Mpondo by Dirk Hendricks...

one of the old regimes's most notorious police men.

Those expecting Hendricks to be punished
for his crimes, may guess a surprise.

The TRC procedures are totally
different from a conventional court.

Unlike in a criminal trial, if the commission believes, that
Hendricks is telling the whole truth about torturing Mpondo...

he can never be charged.

The community is hoping that the truth will
include the answers to Steve Sizelas disappearance...

and it is expected that this disappearance
will be raised in the hearing today.

We are here today to support Dirk Hendricks.

I want to read an excerpt from Psalm 91.

"He who dwells in the secret
place of the Most High...
.

shall abide under the shadow of the almighty.

For surely he will deliver you
from the snare of the fowler...

and from the perilous pestilence.

He shall cover you with his feathers....

and under his wings you shall take refuge."

I want you to close your eyes...

take no notice of what is happening behind us...

and pray with me.

Father, today we stand before you.

We place Dirk Hendricks in your care.

Father,

this burden placed upon him is unwanted.

This assault on our people...

we believe, it is unjust.

Father, we ignore the black threat...

we do not recognize this illegitimate government...

Lock him up and throw away the key, comrade.

Good morning. I'm Nonthuthuzelo.

I am here to comfort you.

Order! Thank you.

Good morning.

Please...

Mister Hendricks, do you swear to
tell the truth, the whole truth...

and nothing but the truth,
so help you god?

I do.

I do.

Mister Bester, you may procede.

Thank you Mister Chairman.

Mister Hendricks, you were at one
time a member of the security forces...

until you were convincted in 1992 for
the murder of Mister Goweni while he was in custody?

Correct.

Your part in Mister Gowenis death is the subject of another amnesty application that will be dealt with at a seperate hearing?

That's correct, Mister Chairman.

Mister Hendricks, can you tell us... why you
chose to put in this application for amnesty...

considering that Mister Mpondo has
never threatened to charge you?

Because this is the Truth Commission.
And I must tell the truth.

In 1986 you were posted to the Smitsrivier police
unit under the... uh... command of... Captain...

Müller.

Mmh...

Can you describe the situation of that time?

Chaos.

And what do you consider to be... uh... the main problem?

The shortage of information.
Information.

In may you arrested Mister Alex Mpondo
On the 5th.

Mister Chairman?

And held him for 28 days? 31. 31? Hmh...

Mister Chairman?

Miss Barcant?

Mister Hendricks, where you aware that Mister Steven
Sizela was picked up alongside Mister Mpondo?

Yes.

and three days later was alledgedly turned
loose, he's not been seeing since...

Mister Chairman, with the best will in the world... this hearing
cannot pursue avenues which are not remain to this claim.

Mister Chairman, I'd like to drop the Committee's attention to the fact that I have
been asked to act for Mister and Mrs. Sizela in the matter of their sons disappearance.

Given that Mister Hendricks last statement covers the
period during which Steven Sizela whas last seen...

I would to submit that even if Mister Hendricks
did not interrogate Mister Steven Sizela...

he would work closely with whoever it was that did.

There is hope.

We will look into application is barkened...

but for the moment would you please confine
the questions to the arrest of Mister Mpondo.

Thank you, Mister Chairman.

Good start.

Mister Bester, would you continue?
Yes, thank you Mister Chairman. Mister Hendricks...

Excuse me, but where are the exhibits?

I asked that objects similar to the ones
used on Alex Mpondo be brought here.

There... uhm... there are on the way from the police station.

Did you say these objects are still
held on the police station?

Yes, it would appear so, Mister Chairman.

Not, I hope, still at use?

He he he. No... no no no no.

Uh... while we are waiting, can we get some
of background information on the victim?

Mister Bester, I'm not a victim.

Well, that is the legal term, Mister Chairman.

Don't refer to him as a "victim"
if he doesn't like that word.

Well, what shall I call him?
Mister Mpondo.

Mister Hendricks, uhm... what led you to arrest Mister Mpondo?

I had information that he was involved in the
transportation of incaterest, weapons, from up north...

well, I took off that he was in the Sasgies-drop area.

so we picked him up.

So, how did you said about?

accessing information from Mister Mpondo?

By beating him.

You should die in jail, you dog!

Quiet, quiet.

Severly?

For the record:
That's a "Yes".

I... I got a sense that he... that he was holding back

So had to put more pressure on him.
We decided to break him.

And uh... how did you go about this?

The prisoner would be brought into my office,
we will have a conversation...

and... if that proved unsuccessful...

then... he would be forced
over the table or sustain a between a desk.

And beaten again?

Yeah

For how long?

An hour or Sir. I had a clock

Then, you would question him again?

No, he'd been in no state to talk, he would be send back
to his cell and I would send for him the following night.

But Mister Mpondo he held out.

At which point you introduced the "bag"?
That is correct.

We know what you mean by the "bag" Mister Hendricks,
but for the benefit of those who don't, could you explain?

It is a canvas bag, it's standard issue of all stations.

As an instrument of torture?

No, it's determined for carrying registers and logbooks.

Are you sure you're ok?
I can request a break.

I'm ok.

The suspect will be
forced to the ground...

and I would pull a white bag
very tacky over they.

They say that it gives a sense of drowning...

which is why I would use the clock again...

to make sure that they do not.

Why the suspect can recover quite quickly...

What... guy... are you waking up now?

so you're able to resume
almost immediatly...

you start talking better, mate!

and if that feels unsuccesful...
it can be repeated.

Again?
And again.

But in the end that the use of the
bag gets you what you needed.

He told me what I wanted to know
about where the arms and ammunition were stored.

He didn't Mister Hendr...

Hendricks is a liar!

He's lying

Do you think he really sold out?

It is in Mister Hendricks interest...

Quiet, quiet!

to claim that this interrogation
about Mpondo yield that material...

results, otherwise what would justify the long and
brutal treatment which my client was subjected?

Miss Barcant, will you please keep a composure.

Mister Chairman, my client will refute
these allegations when he comes to testify.

Mister Bester, would you continue please?

Mister Hendricks, are you married?
For the record, please.

I'm divorced.

Children?

Jannie is 16 and Elise is 12.

Where are they now?
Overseas.

My wife she left me.

She said, it wasn't easy living with somebody like me.

Because of the danger?
The fear.

We lived behind a wire.

My son needed a guard to go to school.

Did you suffer psychologically?

I've... I had nightmares.

And the doctor said that I had suffered from PTSD.

Postraumatic stress disorder?
Yes.

What are the symptoms?
Nightmares.

Miss Barcant, is your client unwell?

No, Mister Chairman he'd suffers come by nausea
having listened to claims of victimhood...

from the self reclaimed torture of a filthy...

Mister Chairman, I have here a list of
symptoms characteristic to PTSD:

hiper arousal, bouts of inexpicable anger...

Bring on the violence, Mister Bester.

Ben wants to see you.

I can not sit there listening to him talk about
how much he suffered and his bloody PTSD!

Listen Alex, I've known you for a long time.

We've struggled to hard and waited
too long for an opportunity like this.

Look man, I came back here
to find Steve, but this price...

it's too high.

If Hendrickses version of the truth takes hold
then that's the end for me in politics. I'd finished!

You heard what he said?

That I'd broke?

Is there anything you need to tell me about what
happened that you didn't tell me at a time?

No

I don't know.

I just cannot afford to go down that line.

Are you ok?
Yes, you?

Shall we go back?
Not today.

Why not?
I'm going to look for something.

If I can find it it'll prove I didn't break under torture.

You have to go back to the hearing.
I'll see you tomorrow.

What would you like me to tell the Chairman?
Tell I'm suffering from post traumatic stress disorder!

Now with reference to your obligation
to represent Mister Steve Sizela...

we have come to a judgement which is that...
although Steve Sizela was last sighted at the police station

you have supplied no direct evidence which links
Mister Hendricks to Steves disappearance.

we therefore rule that you will not be permitted to cross
examine Mister Hendricks with the instance of Steve.

What is he talking about?

We want the whole truth!

Order, order!
Stelte tulani!

Order, order, please!

Mister Hendricks, we suggest that you meet with Miss Barcant...

with a view to helping her find the answers that Mister
and Mrs. Sizela are looking for, regarding the assumed.

Mister Hendricks will meet with Miss Barcant.

Ten minutes.

You remember the first time I met you, Sarah?

We picked you up belly dancing in the night with Piet and I.

You must have been... hm, uh...

about sixteen?

And drunk.

You don't recall that occasion.

I recall the stone floor of the cell you fill me in.

Only until that lefty lawyer Ben Hoffman bailed you out.

You were actually lucky to get off
there with a suspended sentence.

Yeah... but my mother wasn't so lucky.

Allying you to consorted people of
other races, eh? She knew it was illegal.

We're not here to discuss my past Mister Hendricks.

You were a wild kid... I must admit.

I never, kind of, ne... pictured you in, ne... as a lawyer material.

Yes, well, it was that experience
that made me the lawyer I now am.

Steven Sizela. You remenber him?

A bad kid. The son of a school master.

Plus, he consorted to Mpondo mmh...
with a the democtace ANC.

About picking them up together, we
were hoping, that they denied each other.

We couldn't break that Sizela.

But we need both turn face to face, Alex
Mpondo identified Steve Sizela as a comrade.

Now if you, persisting pursueing this business with Steve
Sizela, I don't want to be in that added in court, clear?

What condition was his comrade in, during this confrontation?

Miss Barcant...

I do not want to be held responsible for
destroying Mister Alex Mpondos political career.

Now what I said in court, was held to be unspoken.

Was that boy didn't just break, he split in like a water melon.

He told us every single thing that we wanted to know, ok.

Okay.

What?

Can I be frank with you, Dirk?

Yaah

Okay

The reason Alex is opposing your amnesty
is to find out what happened to Steve.

If you could help us in this regard I will urge
my client to drop his objections to your claim.

Earlier... You used the word "we".

Was Müller responsible for Steves interrogation?

Well...

uhh...

I remind you that for amnesty there must be full disclosure.

Full disclosure will ruin your client, Miss Barcant.

Can I refer you to Alexes statement?

Listen, the further discontinuity that
he'd find in a victim of a car accident.

He describes a tap in the corridor, there is no tap.

A door that leads out into a fire. There's no door.

He talks about an office with a dirt floor...

as you can see, Miss Barcant, this floor is made of stone

As I said...

under stress...

the veins can be distorted...

Even imagined...

Okay...

Lategan!

You don't have any regrets, do you?

Sarah, it is a war... and they won... end of.

Thanks.

Ben?

Are you ok?

Oh yeah, yes, yes

Are you sure?
Yeah.

Kids, reacting to what they heard in court today.

This is special. Lay down to hear you left for New York.

It's a bit past his prime now, but who cares?

Your home

Is your mother still in Australia?

Byron Bay. Yup. She's married again...

She has a whole new life now.

So you are in touch?
Mmh, in a way.

So, how is New York?

Great.

Don't look at me like that.

It's not that I've sold out.
I'm doing good work.

It's just that I'm not doing it here with
the truth commission, it gets you.

This country, your country, is coming apart and the Truth
and Reconciliation Comission is helping to hold it together.

It seeks forgiveness, not retaliation,
it's an extraordinary achievement...

Perhaps I don't have the faith in it that you have.

So, how did it go with Hendricks?

He said that Alex denounced Steve.

The message was clear: Stop assueing the
Steve Sizela business or else Alex gets it.

Ah, it won't work.

Tell Alex tomorrow exactly what
Dirk said. I know how he will react.

Don't be so sure; I think Alex is a lot
more damaged than you led me to believe

He'll have to come out with his
statement before Hendricks does.

Well, that could damage him politically.

He doesn't have an option, Sarah.
Because it will come out anyway.

These things always do.

Who are you running away from, Miss Barcant?
Are you running away from the black men, yeah?

You fly back here with your big ideas.
Why do you punish the people that protect you?

It's late at night and you are all alone,
do you want to be scared of us, will you, eh?

No, you'll be scared of them. The same
people you've come back here to defend.

Now we'll protect you from them now,
just like we protected you from then, then.

We'll give you one of them guys to walk you
back to the hotel. It's only one block, I'll be fine.

Come guys, let's go get them.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Sleeped well?

Fine! You?

This is the tin that Steve and I used
to pass messages to each other.

Would you open it? What's in it?
It's rusted shut. I'm... uh... I'm treating it with oil.

What about a can opener?

This contains Steve's last letter.

We'll have the hearing in half an hour.
We need to know, what's in it.

Even if this is never opened...

this proves that the security forces never found it...

which means, that neither Steve nor I told them...

which means, we held out.

It means, we held out.

What do you think is in it?
A list, maybe.

Names?
New recruits from township.

What you are saying contradicts with
what Hendricks said to me yesterday.

He said that you broke.

That you told him everything he wanted to know.

This proves he is a lier.

He also said that you and Steve were brought face to face.

Were you?

Yes.

And that you denounced Steve..

Did you?

I just wanted it to end.

Hendricks thinks this is his trump card.

He said if we continue to pursue him about Steve...

he'll reveal that you betrayed him and
that will be the end of your political career.

But... it's the only way to place
Hendricks in the same room with Steve.

I'm getting a movement here.

May I give you some advice?

Beat him to it. Get it out before he does.

You see...

it didn't need a can opener.

I heard about it.

Whas anyone hurt?

It was just a riot.

It very seems that he's present.

He has brought his own lunch.

Good morning. Miss Barcant, do you
intend to open for Mister Mpondo?

Yes Mister Chairman.

You are Alex Mpondo, member of Parliament
and council member of the ANC?

Yes.

You heard what Mister Hendricks has to say in
respect at this application and you oppose it, why?

I thought he might lie.

And... has he?

He has stated in this hearing... that under
questioning... I gave him information.

and... Mister Chairman, he has stated
in private to my advocat Miss Barcant...

that I, in fact, broke and told him
everything that he needed to know

But you did it, Alex.

So, what about this tin?

It belonged to Stevens father.

Perhaps he recognizes it.
Show it to the Sizelas, please.

What is it?
I don't know what the fuck this is...

Steve would put notes for me inside and hide it.

Only the two of us knew were that place was.

I did not go looking for it until yesterday, but when I did..

it was still there.

And did you open it?
Yes.

What was inside?
A list of volunteers for the township unit.

Can I have a look at it, please?

We had lost a lot people...

mainly due to the activities
of Mister Hendricks and alike.

At the time we've... we needed
new recruits... that is...

Excuse me Mister Chairman, but
what is the signifance of this?

All it does is confirm two things.

One, that Mister Mpondo was indeed holding back...

and two, confirms my clients suspicience that
Mister Mpondo was a key figure in the local resistence.

Mister Mpondo?

Mister Hendricks has lied to this commission.

He has stated, that under questioning I broke and
I told him everything that he needed to know.

Then why he do not know about this list?

Why did he not retrieve it and arrest and continue to
brutally interrogate to the people that are on it?

It is indeed a list.

Xolani Finga.

Yes, I'm present!

Toto Zamdela.

I'm present, your Honour.

Yandisa Bodloza?

Presente.

Oscar Dumasi.

Yes, that's me.

Zach Raziya.

He's my father. He's in Zimbabwe.

Johnny Nyaniso?

Johnny?

Johnny Nyaniso?

He died in jail.

Ezekiel Majola?

Present.

James Bonga?

That's me.

Lihle Mgatshi?

That's me.

Did you know of the existence of this Mister Hendricks?

I did not know about the existence of this list.

Thank you.

Mister Mpondo?

You done good, eh?.

I have... just... one more thing that I
would like to state for the record.

On the fourth day of my interrogation...

Steven Sizela... was brought into Hendrickses office...

and I was asked... to identify him...

as a member of Umkhonto We Sizwe...

the military wing of the African National Congress.

Which you did.

You pointed your finger at see you identified him as a comrade.

And that... sealed his fate?

Yes.

Please calm down!

What did I tell you?

We're gonna take a break!

I've never seen anyone shoot
himself in the foot like that.

How long have I been telling you he's a traitor?

He's a government fool now.

Do you remember what we used
to do traitors in our time?

There's a traitor here!
He must die!

He must die!

I hope the old man is satisfied, because that cost me.

Are you ok?

I'm sorry.

About what?

Johnny Nyaniso.

Thank you.

Time to go.

When we get back in there, focus on Steves
physical state. I take that he was in a bad way?

Just keep jacking it, that like a boxer.

Mpondo, you traitor!

Mister Chairman, with your permission we'd like to
continue the cross examination of Mister Hendricks.

How long will this take, Miss Barcant?

I promise, it will take less than the 31 days
Mister Hendricks lavished on my client, Sir.

Go ahead, please.

On the 4th day you brought me and Steve face to face.

Can you recollect the condition he was in
when he was brought into your office?

No, no I don't remeber.

Well, was he standing up or what?

Naah... my recollection's very hazy.

Let me help you.

He lay on the ground...

just inside the door...

staring out of one eye.

It was... difficult to see the other...

because that part of his head had been so bashed about.

You cannot recall this?

I can't record the details.

Did it concern you...

seeing him like that?

I don't remember beeing overly concerned, no.

You complained...

about the bleeding on your floor.

You called for a broom...
to sweep up the dead.

You took... a bucket of water...

and you threw it over him.

The you decided to go back into the corridor and fill it again.

You cannot recall this?

It's possible that you mistook that he was cleaned...

the floor was swept and the bucket was refilled from the corridor.

I'd like to keep up less tidy.

Let me ask you again:

What condition was Steve in when
he was brought into your office?

Mister Chairman, I object...
No Mister Bester. I allow it. Mister Hendricks, please?

Well, what I remember is, that you
raised your arm and you identified him.

Mister Hendricks...

I was in no state... to raise a finger.

You raised your... arm...

You raised my arm... and pointed it at him...

and then someone said:
"For god's sake, identify him!"

That person is in the hall today.

Perhaps you... could raise
your arm and point him out...

Mister Chairman... I object.
to us.

I don't understand.

I'm asking you to ID the man who brought Steve into your office.

Do you want me to do it for you?

That's him!

Müller!

Inaudible!

Order!

Quiet please!

Quiet... tsulani!

Order!

I apologize Mister Chairman -Order!-
for my client isn't in his incomposure.

Apologies accepted, Miss Barcant.

Let's ajourn for lunch so that we can all regain... in closure.

I had no memory of Müller... bringing Steve in, until just now.

What the fuck was it, Hendricks thinks, he's doing?

No idea. It's your client, man. You are...

You want me to try for him to withdraw his claim?

It's too late for that now. You arsehole.

You just remind him... you saw
Sizela alive last time... just remind him.

But can you explain why Mister Sizela having been
positively identified as a member of MK by my client...

was released from custody?

That decision was not made by me.
By Mister Müller, perhaps?

A superior officer.

Who then informed Mister Müller that Steven
Sizela had been identified as a member of MK?

Mister Hendricks, I do not need to remind
you of the terms for amnesty full disclosure...

Mister Hendricks?

Captain Müller was there when the identification was made.

You say Mister Müller was there when the
identification took place. Where was "there"?

Where did the identification take place?
In my office.

Mister Hendricks, you acknowledge that
water was carried in from the corridor. Yes.

And that your dirt floor had been swept? Yes.

The Smitsrivier police station doesn't have a tap in the
corridor. Your office doesn't have a dirt floor, does it?

No.

So, where did the identification take place?

Let me put in another way: It didn't take
place at the Smitsrivier police station, did it?

Fuck...

For the record, that nod's a "no".

So where?

It was a farm.

That... uh...

Ten K on the N seventeen about two klicks of the tar.

Does it have a name?

Granddads farm.
How was Mister Mpondo taken there?

In the bid of my car.

Drugged?

On occasions.

Why did you not mention this before, Mister Hendricks?

I apologize Mister Chairman.

What was the purpose of the farm?

We need it to hold suspects in peace and quiet...

away from the traps singing their narrative.

their relatives of that...

So, in the case of the suspect who was
unfit to be returned to his relatives...

what would you do?

In the case of Steven Sizela,
what did you do?

Mister Hendricks, you confirm that Mister Mpondos
identification of Steven Sizela sealed Steve's fate.

What was his fate?

I'd nothing to do with the disappearance
of that Sizela, would you understand it?

We understand that Mister Hendricks.

But if he died in custody,
somebody would have buried him.

On the farm?

Where on the farm?

Well, how must I know?

That's it.

The truth will come out.

Thank you Mister Chairman. No further questions.

Ten o'clock tomorrow morning at the farm.

I need to go to the farm.
We'll drive up?

Tonight. Meet me at my aunts place.

Hey, boy. Didn't you I was going to throw it away?

Thanks giving me a shirt,
but my uncle said as you give it back.

Why?

He says, you have disgraced the ANC.

Give it to me. I'll speak to your uncle.

What' going on? Where are you going?

What's happening?

Alex Mpondo is going to fight my uncle.

Did anyone invite you?

What have you been telling this boy?

That we don't need a traitor bribing
our kids with t-shirts.

Look here,

your name was on that list.

You, Zach, Ezekiel...

That was just a piece of paper.

A piece of paper?

I was tortured for 28 days

to reveal that information!

And weo told them nothing.
Together we saved your worthless skin!

Alex, calm down!

You want to know what it was like?

Calm down.

Come, he's drowning my uncle!

You could have killed him.

Who knows, maybe he has used... the clock!

Leave me alone!

One thing you didn't know.

I became the torturer a long time ago.

Your tongue ... readed boy, eh?

You think, you're fucking clever, eh?

Is this it?

Yeah... this is it.

You shit!

You're wasting our time.
Who is this person?

You know this person.

You'll never get out of this fucking place.

Who is this person?

Mpondo, you heard the Captain.

Sizela is your comrade?

Your comrade is a member of the MK, isn't he?

Ok, you've got your ID.
Now get this fucking floffie out of here.

Now he is yours, you sign for him, Piet.

My boys are fighting fire. There's no time, Dirk.

His neck's been hurt deep.

Yeah. Well, you know what to do.

Fuck!

You always push it, Piet.

I always gonna clean up for you, eh?
Not for long.

Say good bye, Alex.

We will miss you much...

See you later, Alex. No beg tonight, but a good day today.

All these years... I thought, I'd killed him.

But he was as good as dead already.

I remember the last time I saw him.

He was being dragged away.

He gave me a look...

Sometimes he seems to be accusing me...

Other times he's saying:
"Hey, bro'...

we made it!"

We held out longer than we could have imagined.

The boys would have been proud.

Did I release him from his pain...

or was I just trying to end mine?

What are you doing here, eh?

What are you doing here?

I'm staying in the security business.
Saw your lights in the dark.

I protect this property, so I came to check on the premises...

we don't want anyone damping with the evidence, now do we?

No need for concern Mister Müller.
We'll be here till dawn.

Still making it with the black boys, Miss Barcant.

Is Steve buried here?

Piet!

There is no way, Mister Mpondo, that
you will ever connect me to that boy...

He was still alive when I left him with Hendricks.

Did you know Müller from before?

He was the one, along with Hendricks...
He arrested me because of Johnny.

I didn't know it was them.

I was only sixteen...

and thanks to Ben I got off on a suspended sentence.

Johnny got nine months.

And that's what they called the equitible law in South Africa.

What did whas my mother's fault to
allowing me to consort with black kids...

so she lost custody.

She couldn't handle being ...unaudible... so she went away.

I hate this country.

I went to live with Ben and I got out as soon as I could.

You never wanted to come back?

No.

Not till now... perhaps.

I spent years... praying to god we would find him.

But right now... I'm hoping he is not here.

Lategan, just take a smoke break. Hear me?

Where did you bury him?

You know, you may not believe this...

I saved your life, man.
That's a fact.

If I hadn't held you back you wouldn't never understand
why Steve Sizela nobody would have given a shit, man.

But by holding on to you Alex, ...unaudible...

I saved your life, man.

You got to live.

You killed more people than me, man.

And will you... will serve power
for amnesty... for what you did?

About us...

you should be buried in that field, not Steve.

Uh... I say this to you...
and to nobody else...

because of what I did to you...

l'd bury that...

about five meters from the sheep pen...

on the line to the house.

I'm sorry...

so fuckin' sorry.

And this is?
A police document.

The top page recalls the arrest of Steve Sizela.

Does it name the case officer?
Yes Sir, Piet Müller.

Piet Müller.

It's my child.

My god, what have I done to deserve this?

Thank you, god.

Who would go to the length of burying a piece of
evidence like this besides the body of a murdered man?

Piet?

Yeah, Christiaan?

I have a warrant for your arrest.

Piet?

It's ok... it's ok.

Piet, what's going on?

Christiaan?

Sorry, Marie.

Mister Chairman, in light of recent events...

my client would like to withdraw his objections
to Mister Hendricks claim for amnesty.

He feels, his concerns have been taken into
account and aired. He does not want to continue.

Thank you, Miss Barcant.

Mister Hendricks, we've had your claim for amnesty with
respect to your interrogation of Mister Alex Mpondo.

Your claim for amnesty... will be... allowed.

That's it.

Thank you Alex.

Piet Müller, you are by charge with the murder of Steven Sizela...

at Rider's Farm on or about the 8th of May 1986.

How do you plead?

Not guilty.

You Honour, before we go any further, I would like
it known that my client will be applying for amnesty...

the article 6 and 18 of the nacional...

Going already?

Will you ever coming back?

I'll see you again, Alby.

Not for me, for Müller.

So he can get off the hook, like Hendricks?

He should be doing another 18 years,
not picking up amnesties like air miles.

Could you still didn't get it, do you? I'm not letting
you go if you don't understand whats happening here.

It's not about putting bad guys away.
It's about bringing communities together.

We've just got a small window of opportunity to open
up the past. Before all these memories get set in stone.

So Hendricks gets his freedom. So what?

And the Sizelas? Do you think they're
ever be able to get over their anger?

Or Alex? His trauma and the damage to his reputation?

How do you ever restore what they've lost?

Or what you've lost, Sarah? Would
punishing Hendricks really bring that back?

Their's some carry their unload.

You have to deal with your anger,
and escaping to live in New York...

is not the answer.

I can only beg your forgiveness...

for what I have done.

I regarded Steve as a brother.

Teacher...

forgive.

Let me just say something.

We only found Steve's remains because of Alex.

So we should indeed be grateful to him.

Forgiveness is great.

Yes, it's true

Come here, miy child.

Thank you, Mama.

Go well, my child.

Hey, boy!

I was just coming to find you.

Looks like I found you first.

Well, I....

I just wanted to thank you.

For what?
For ruining my life.

Are you coming back for Müller?

Are you?

Look, this country...

is changing...

and you should be part of it.

I always felt that what happened to me was such a small thing
compaired to what happened to you, but...

You think I don't know that?

We have the right...

to say that it hurt.

Having looked the beast in the eye,
having asked and received forgiveness...

let us shut the door on the past, not to forget
it, but to allow it not to imprison us. Archbishop Tutu