State of the World (2007) - full transcript
THE STATE OF THE WORLD
Last night,
I dreamt that my father paid me a visit.
Last night,
I dreamt that my father came.
I was very happy...
I was overjoyed.
Look, look…
He's coming over here.
Wow, the Naga serpent is also here.
Why are you playing with my hair?
Look at her dimples.
Now…
Father…
There's an old saying…
Oh, very sorry, Abbot.
Now…
Father…
There's an old saying…
Split a rock in two,
wrap the halves in silver...
Brother, don't touch me.
Just a little.
- Just a little touch...
- No.
I dreamt of my father…
The monk has gotten fatter.
I dreamt my father paid a visit.
I was very happy.
I was overjoyed...
that I could see him.
That I could see his face.
Last night I dreamt that
my father paid me a visit.
I was so happy, I ran to embrace him.
Now...
Father...
There's an old saying...
Split a rock in two,
wrap the halves in silver.
Preserve them in fermented fish paste.
Then my father paid a visit...
The wind is so cold and lonely.
He's embarrassed.
Don't look at me.
My nose really flared up.
Now...
I placed my arms around him.
Blood coated his skin.
I cleaned it with a cloth.
I wanted to take a photo,
so I ran to get a camera from Mom.
But he was gone.
He floated up and disappeared.
Father...
If it's true...
Father...
Damn! Why'd you go and die?
What the...
It's true, this guy's
in a boy band from Laos.
He's going to be famous.
He sings hip-hop...
..like that Thai guy
who just released an album.
Mr D.
But this guy is more famous.
Let's hear it in Laotian.
Look, look over there.
Where are we?
It's very peaceful on the other side.
They turn off all the lights at night.
You're three months in arrears!
Three months with my boat
and I've nothing to show for it...
but losses!
The bay's very dirty!
The water's full of oil!
There are no more sardines.
But, look, Adamastor,
I promise that tomorrow...
Enough of your promises!
If you don't give me sardines,
at least pay rent for the boat.
If you can't pay rent,
give me back the boat!
Why don't you go out
beyond the bay, like everyone else?
You're crazy, Adamastor!
The state that boat's in,
we can't go out of the bay!
Plus, the engine's always breaking down!
The engine's good!
Fernando assured me it was good.
You have one week
to bring me something of worth.
If not, I'll rent to someone else!
Right, old man!
That's one more repair job
on that bloody engine.
One mends here, the other mends there.
At least water won't be leaking into it.
This week at least!
- Hey, uncle!
- Hey!
Adamastor wants his boat back.
What, uncle?
Adamastor wants his boat back.
You're joking, right?
I spent all weekend fixing the engine,
mending the hull,
to give it back now?
The catch is bad here in the bay!
You can't live off sardines alone!
What is he thinking?
What will I live off?
If things are bad now,
what will it be like without the boat?
- Noronha...
- Yes.
It's all over here.
If you want a good catch,
you have to go out there!
One year!
One whole year
without going out of this bloody bay!
The fridge at home is broken.
I have to buy a new one,
have to buy things for my daughter,
she's school age.
And this won't bring in much, will it?
Fernando, go help Noronha.
I gave up the football
because my uncle said
being a fisher was a job for life.
And now he tells me
that fishing is over too!
Adamastor is right!
A fisherman who doesn't go out
beyond the bay is not a fisherman!
See them there?
They're to blame.
They've destroyed the bay.
First, they dumped all the waste
from the tanks into it.
What do they think this is?
Their own back yard?
And the authorities are
nowhere to be seen!
They come from all over.
Russia, Japan, Singapore, Panama
and God knows where.
To leave their dirt here.
To fill our bay with shit!
If I could,
I'd throw bombs in
and sink them all!
They convinced me I was good,
a good football player.
Just imagine - a team that had
Gasperim, Chiquinho, Duílio,
Everaldo, Moreno,
Elói, Batalha, fuck!
I was 17. I didn't have much luck.
A substitute for Chiquinho in the Rio Cup.
A boy, right?
They made me play defence.
And they broke me, the bastards.
It was 2-1 against Vasco.
What a match!
That was some match, wasn't it, uncle?
- Right?
- Yeah.
I came forward on the right.
The goalie palmed the ball out to me.
I looked up... and that fucking bulldozer
appeared from nowhere...
Shut up!
Just shut your trap!
Go and take a look
at the fucking engine you repaired.
In a while we'll be leaving the bay.
Old man! Inside the engine?
It could have broken in there!
Some day this is going
to kill you, old man!
This shit won't hold out!
Let's go back, boys!
Shitting yourself, old man?
Shitting myself? Like fuck!
I've spent more time
out beyond the bay than you have lived!
With your crap repairs,
we'll be going under.
Let's get out of the way here!
We're fucked if we just sit here!
Along comes a big ship and...
When you two stop fighting
we can throw out the nets.
Big pussy!
Your mother! Fuck you!
You think because you're big
I won't beat the shit out of you?
Bring it on, old man!
Watch you don't fall now!
Can you make it here without falling?
Watch me do a handspring kick!
OK. It's over now!
Old man!
Give me a windlass
to see if I can catch something big.
Here!
Give me a little one to use as bait.
Catch!
Germano...
Yesterday my daughter Marilza
came to see me...
What about?
She's worried about me.
Says I'm old. And this isn't good for me.
What does she expect you to live off?
She...
She wants me to go work with her...
in her market stall.
- A street vendor?
- Yes.
Are you mad?
Give all this up
to be left out on the street?
Holy fuck!
The fucking hook
ripped open my finger again!
We're jinxed!
No fish here either! What a crap day!
Let's go back!
Turn on the engine
and let's go back, Germano!
Here's just as bad as in the bay.
Besides, his finger is bleeding!
Don't worry about my finger!
Old man,
you're right.
There's nothing here!
Uncle,
he's right, there are no fish here.
We're very close to the sewage outlet.
There's nothing but shite down there!
Let's take the boat out there!
Holy fuck!
Christ, Fernando!
What did you do to the engine?
Who me?
It won't start!
Fuck it!
You're right, old man!
This here is over!
You remember the time you asked me
what I would do if I ever gave up fishing?
I would open up my own football school!
My brother-in-law has a piece of land
in Caxias, near the hills.
Who knows, I might discover a star,
a star I could sell in Europe.
Another Ronaldinho, a Robinho!
I'd be happy selling
pirate CDs with my daughter.
I'd be on firm land and I'd be with her...
Just imagine, from fisher to pirate!
Fuck this! Fuck this for a lark!
You two are crap fishermen!
We've only been drifting for one hour
and you want to give up.
We will always have this!
Stop talking shite!
I'm tired, Germano.
We've worked together a long time.
You know I'm not the kind
to throw in the towel.
But there's no future in this.
Do you not see that?
Uncle!
The old man's right!
There's not enough in this for us.
I don't want to depend on that
bastard Adamastor the rest of my life.
Adamastor can go fuck himself!
This is the work you chose.
I'm not going to give it all up
because of a broken engine!
You're the one who fucked up!
And another thing...
Where did you hide the cachaça?
- Me?
- Yes.
- It was Noronha!
- Noronha, you. Who cares?
It's nothing personal, uncle.
But is it not better
to give back the boat?
Go to hell, both of you!
Leave me alone!
Stubborn as a mule!
My father was a fucking great fisherman!
Before him, my grandfather.
This here is the Atlantic.
The Atlantic!
Tomorrow, a boat or a launch
will be here to tow us.
And Fernando, you'll fix the engine.
And we'll be back out here!
We sail and sail.
And don't leave the spot.
Look at the Marvellous City!
The Marvellous City.
OLYMPIC FUTURE
THE FORMER "ADMIRAL URUSEVSKY"
THE LAST OIL TANKER BUILT
IN THE LENIN SHIPYARDS IN THE USSR.
Holy fuck!
Where did that monster come from?
Shit! Captain, look!
- What?
- Look, there!
The fucker's coming right at us!
Germano, we have to get off the boat!
- I'm going nowhere!
- Come on, Noronha!
- Come on, Germano!
- No!
Madness!
Germano, take the life jacket.
- No!
- Put the fucking thing on!
I don't want to.
Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch!
I should fucking throw you overboard!
Go fuck yourself!
These Brazilians are crazy!
Stop the engines!
Stop the engines!
Come, uncle! Come!
- I'm going nowhere!
- I'm not leaving you here!
Leave me, I tell you!
We have to change course.
We must divert the tanker.
We have to change course.
Put it into reverse!
Reverse!
It would have to be a tanker!
Uncle, jump! I'll catch you!
Sink, bastard! Sink!
We'll split them in two!
They'll make a bigger mess
than this tanker!
Uncle, get out!
Come with me!
Don't be so stubborn!
Jump! I'll catch you!
Uncle! Uncle!
Germano, you're mad,
you almost destroyed my boat!
You won't be getting anything else
around here so quickly.
What are you going to do now?
I don't know...
I'll be out there... looking.
Don't worry, Adamastor.
I'll find something!
In 1975,
the Iraqi-flagged oil tanker Tarek
dumped 6 million liters of oil
in the Guanabara Bay
and it was there that the fight of
the fishermen against these ships began.
When I came here,
I was ready to do any kind of work.
I have worked as a security guard.
I didn't judge the work I did
as good or bad.
I just needed to work.
I came from Nepal.
I came via Almora.
We would start walking from the village.
Walk from morning until night.
When it got dark, we would stop,
and sleep under a tree,
in a shop, wherever.
In this way, it would take us
6-7 days of walking.
Once we reach the Indian border,
we get a bus.
In those days,
Delhi to Bangalore
by train cost 63 rupees.
I've worked on construction sites
as a guard for 12-13 years.
I've worked in 8-9 buildings.
When I moved here to this site,
we lived at the gate,
in a plywood hut for three years.
When the building is almost finished,
I have to move to the first floor.
When the first floor is ready,
I move to the second floor.
When the second is ready,
I move to the basement.
As the walls get built,
the place is full of cement,
sand and water.
It's my job to splash water
on the cement for 'curing' it.
We gather all our belongings in a pile...
and cover them with plastic sheets.
Then I spray water on the walls.
I get up at 6 o'clock.
Then I clean the cars.
I then go and sit at the gate.
I pay the electricity bills.
Telephone bills.
Or someone's mobile bill.
I have to do all sorts of jobs.
In the past, Bangalore didn't have much.
There were no shops down these streets.
Now, every small street has a shop.
There are so many of us Nepalis here
and we stick together
Everyone in our village works on farms,
There is food to eat
but no money to buy nice clothes,
shoes or a watch
So we leave the village to find work.
Not everyone can find work these days.
It is not like it was before.
Often, we only get temporary work
and if we are told to leave,
we just have to go.
The future of our kids
should not be like ours.
We hope they can be happy
and improve their lives.
This is why we have been away
from home for almost 13 years.
The god Ram was in exile for 12 years.
We too have been in exile for 13 years.
We will put up with all our difficulties
and our sadness
to educate our kids
so they can move ahead.
This is our philosophy.
We are not interested in the politics
of the Maoists or the King.
If they had the poor in mind,
this would not have happened.
Nepal was once the most peaceful
and virtuous country in the world.
Now in a house, brothers are fighting
and blood is being spilt.
That's your brother.
Yes, that's my brother.
Here is your son.
This is Dinesh.
This is Arjun.
Where are mine, son?
I think democracy would be good for Nepal.
If there is freedom to come and go.
Development plans for water
in the village.
For a high school.
For a college, maybe.
Our kids and families
could come and go freely.
People would fear walking out.
Now, there would be no need for fear.
Then and now is as different
as night and day.
So many more people, so many more cars.
Now, it's confusing.
In the past, there were no double roads.
No one-ways.
You could go anywhere as you please.
Now, this feels like a foreign land.
In 35 years, I've been back 5 or 6 times.
Now, when I go, I feel scared.
It feels so steep and mountainous.
You reactionaries...
you're what Chairman Mao meant
by "the enemy within".
Tell us about this
counter-revolutionary club of yours.
How many conspirators were involved?
Your husband Chen Tiande
was the mastermind, wasn't he?
Write down a list of the names.
Give us the names!
Write!
If you don't start writing,
I'll have to smash
those pretty teeth in.
I won't write it. I won't...!
Do you know how many
counter-revolutionaries I've killed?
Getting rid of one more
would be a public service!
Write!
Whatever I write,
you'll use it against my husband.
You'll kill him, I know you will...
I'd rather die myself
than let you kill him!
On your knees!
Scream all you want!
Go ahead, scream!
That's enough.
This isn't working.
Give us the names!
Who did you dance with at the club?
Just my husband.
Fucking liar!
I'll kill you right now,
toss your body in a pit!
That's enough. Let her speak.
What did you talk
about at your meetings?
If you won't confess,
so be it.
Bury her alive.
Get her out of here.
On July 14, 1967, counterrevolutionary
Chen Tiande
smashed his skull into a brick wall.
His suicide proves his guilt.
But he deserved to die
ten thousand times over!
If you denounce him now,
The People will be merciful.
Mama, when you go back,
where will you live?
When you go back to Cape Verde,
where will you live?
I'll build myself a home.
- Close to your mama's?
- Right on top of hers.
Her house only has one storey?
You would raise a storey?
- Is that it?
- I guess so.
- Is there space for a garden?
- A garden?
Not even for a decent house,
never mind a garden!
- But is there no yard?
- The house was built on the yard.
And papa's old house?
Forget papa's house.
It's a wreck.
It's up on the hill in Mourão.
There's no-one there.
It's no use.
- Is it abandoned?
- Abandoned.
A hangout for rats and lizards.
- Then I could have it.
- What for?
To be there on your own?
I'd live there. Do it up.
And papa's folks?
Your uncle Santo's the only one left.
He's in Milho Branco.
- In grandma's house?
- You should see the garden he has.
- Manioc, potatoes, the lot...
- What about our house?
- I told you, it's abandoned.
- Is it really yours?
- No-one else has lived there.
- How come?
Everyone is gone.
- Then let's go there.
- Who, me?
Out in the sticks with no water,
no light, no nothing?
Here I have water, light,
and all I need!
- Maybe I could live there.
- No way!
All alone with an oil lamp?
No lamp could lighten that darkness.
That's why everyone left.
It's no life.
- But our house is still there?
- Course it is! It's big.
Three bedrooms.
A large living room.
Looking onto a nice avenue.
A marble floor. All fixed up.
My old place! I miss you!
I spent loads of money on it.
- And can we not sell it?
- Who would buy it?
They've all fled
and won't be going back!
Maybe some poor bastard
who's sent back there...
Whoever's sent back
will find nothing but misery.
- What's it called again?
- Mourão.
It's in Montinho.
Montinho or Montijo?
Montinho,
Achada Ungueira, Raçatchó,
Montinho de Cima, Montinho de Baixo,
Milho Branco.
Papa's house was here,
grandma's was here, right?
Together?
All this talk is making me want
to go back. Rest these bones...
Mama, is it far from Santana?
A friend of mine is in Santana.
Santana is over by Assomada.
He's in Cape Verde?
He was sent back.
He was in prison.
Now they've sent him back.
Must be hard for him...
Listen to her,
answering all Cape Verde...
It makes me all warm thinking about it.
What about that guy who sends people
to meet their maker?
He only kills grown-ups.
He slips them a letter
without them noticing.
He slips it into their pocket?
He hides it on their motorbike,
in their car. No-one notices.
Then he appears and asks
for what they were given for him.
He says, "Search your pockets."
The person finds the paper
and he says, "Come with me."
And they go with him.
Then he bores a hole in their head,
sucks their blood
and goes on his way.
Holy shit.
He doesn't eat them.
Just sucks their blood and goes.
He takes the people to...
To the bush, to the wilds...
- So, he's a bit of a devil?
- He's terror in person!
- We must follow him?
- Yes!
When he says, "Come with me!",
he has taken hold of their spirit.
They're at his mercy.
All they can do is go with him.
To their sad fate.
Then he's off again.
They say he approaches children,
"Take this letter to such-and-such."
He doesn't go near children.
But a kid might take the letter
to those who are going to die.
Like when a person goes shopping...
- And he's in the cafe?
- Yes, in the grocery store.
The person is in the shop.
He weighs the sugar or the rice
and wraps the sugar or the rice
in the paper.
It's his wicked ways.
Or you're walking along
and meet the man.
"Give me what they gave you for me."
"I haven't got anything."
"You have it right there."
And if you don't give it to him?
He shows you it
and then kills you.
- I would pretend...
- It's no use.
You're already a goner!
I would fool him...
You're already a goner.
Once, a woman asked a boy
to do some errands for her.
The poor boy went into town,
did the shopping for her.
He came out of the shop.
And there he was.
The man said to him,
"Take out of your bundle
what was given to you for me."
The boy took out the paper
and gave it to him.
The woman was never seen again.
And the boy went after the man.
He was found three days later,
down by the sea,
behind some rocks.
His head was split open. Dead.
But he came back to say
he was given the thing that kills.
"That night I went up the hill,
I fell and died.
"But it was he who killed me."
My condolences, José Alberto.
Is he drunk or what?
Life nowadays is a funny thing!
I went working abroad
The boss gave me the sack
My wife went and left me
With but the shirt on my back
He'll never catch a rabbit like that!
Your father was a good bricklayer.
He was a good friend.
My father never gave me a thing.
Not even a pair of underpants.
At the weekend
he would take all my brothers out
and leave me behind.
When he died
I was doing time, open system.
They called me to say he had died.
They gave me leave,
so I could go to the cemetery.
I saw those men who bury people,
the gravediggers,
I took a shovel and buried my father.
You had a fall far from here.
It was Friday.
I was all confused.
I wandered through all that wasteland.
I didn't know where I'd landed.
I didn't know anybody,
nobody knew me.
I wandered around for hours.
Night fell.
I found a restaurant
and went in to eat.
I ordered soup, food, wine.
They brought it.
I ate it,
then stayed there for a while,
chatting to the people.
Then I got up and left.
The man came after me,
"You eat, drink,
and then leave without a word?"
He called the police.
The police grabbed me.
They took me away
to the station...
I don't know what they did with me.
They left me lying
by the train station,
on the wasteland there.
Nobody knew me
and I knew nobody.
- So, they killed you?
- I don't know about that!
Look, Ventura, a rabbit!
That's a female.
Néné used to cook good rabbit for me,
with potatoes.
- Real rabbit?
- You bet!
With bay leaf and white wine.
Néné is dead too.
He died young.
Forty-something, wasn't he?
A bit older, I think.
They didn't bury you
with your gold tooth.
They must have used it
to pay for the funeral.
Your face was all smashed up.
When I first came here
there were no houses.
Those buildings over there?
At the time
you couldn't come here at night.
- They would beat you?
- Beat you, kill you!
Whites or blacks?
The white guys were doing it.
HOME OFFICE
IMMIGRATION OFFICE
José Alberto Tavares Silva,
born 17/08/1976,
a Cape Verdean national
resident at Rua de Fontaínhas, no. 49
is hereby summoned
to present himself
for the purpose of a hearing
with respect
to the Expulsion Order against him.
The citizen has taken knowledge
of the contents hereof,
which were read to him
in Portuguese,
and which he has signed
in the presence of witnesses.
Lisbon, 10 January 2007
NIGHTFALL IN SHANGHAI
Last night,
I dreamt that my father paid me a visit.
Last night,
I dreamt that my father came.
I was very happy...
I was overjoyed.
Look, look…
He's coming over here.
Wow, the Naga serpent is also here.
Why are you playing with my hair?
Look at her dimples.
Now…
Father…
There's an old saying…
Oh, very sorry, Abbot.
Now…
Father…
There's an old saying…
Split a rock in two,
wrap the halves in silver...
Brother, don't touch me.
Just a little.
- Just a little touch...
- No.
I dreamt of my father…
The monk has gotten fatter.
I dreamt my father paid a visit.
I was very happy.
I was overjoyed...
that I could see him.
That I could see his face.
Last night I dreamt that
my father paid me a visit.
I was so happy, I ran to embrace him.
Now...
Father...
There's an old saying...
Split a rock in two,
wrap the halves in silver.
Preserve them in fermented fish paste.
Then my father paid a visit...
The wind is so cold and lonely.
He's embarrassed.
Don't look at me.
My nose really flared up.
Now...
I placed my arms around him.
Blood coated his skin.
I cleaned it with a cloth.
I wanted to take a photo,
so I ran to get a camera from Mom.
But he was gone.
He floated up and disappeared.
Father...
If it's true...
Father...
Damn! Why'd you go and die?
What the...
It's true, this guy's
in a boy band from Laos.
He's going to be famous.
He sings hip-hop...
..like that Thai guy
who just released an album.
Mr D.
But this guy is more famous.
Let's hear it in Laotian.
Look, look over there.
Where are we?
It's very peaceful on the other side.
They turn off all the lights at night.
You're three months in arrears!
Three months with my boat
and I've nothing to show for it...
but losses!
The bay's very dirty!
The water's full of oil!
There are no more sardines.
But, look, Adamastor,
I promise that tomorrow...
Enough of your promises!
If you don't give me sardines,
at least pay rent for the boat.
If you can't pay rent,
give me back the boat!
Why don't you go out
beyond the bay, like everyone else?
You're crazy, Adamastor!
The state that boat's in,
we can't go out of the bay!
Plus, the engine's always breaking down!
The engine's good!
Fernando assured me it was good.
You have one week
to bring me something of worth.
If not, I'll rent to someone else!
Right, old man!
That's one more repair job
on that bloody engine.
One mends here, the other mends there.
At least water won't be leaking into it.
This week at least!
- Hey, uncle!
- Hey!
Adamastor wants his boat back.
What, uncle?
Adamastor wants his boat back.
You're joking, right?
I spent all weekend fixing the engine,
mending the hull,
to give it back now?
The catch is bad here in the bay!
You can't live off sardines alone!
What is he thinking?
What will I live off?
If things are bad now,
what will it be like without the boat?
- Noronha...
- Yes.
It's all over here.
If you want a good catch,
you have to go out there!
One year!
One whole year
without going out of this bloody bay!
The fridge at home is broken.
I have to buy a new one,
have to buy things for my daughter,
she's school age.
And this won't bring in much, will it?
Fernando, go help Noronha.
I gave up the football
because my uncle said
being a fisher was a job for life.
And now he tells me
that fishing is over too!
Adamastor is right!
A fisherman who doesn't go out
beyond the bay is not a fisherman!
See them there?
They're to blame.
They've destroyed the bay.
First, they dumped all the waste
from the tanks into it.
What do they think this is?
Their own back yard?
And the authorities are
nowhere to be seen!
They come from all over.
Russia, Japan, Singapore, Panama
and God knows where.
To leave their dirt here.
To fill our bay with shit!
If I could,
I'd throw bombs in
and sink them all!
They convinced me I was good,
a good football player.
Just imagine - a team that had
Gasperim, Chiquinho, Duílio,
Everaldo, Moreno,
Elói, Batalha, fuck!
I was 17. I didn't have much luck.
A substitute for Chiquinho in the Rio Cup.
A boy, right?
They made me play defence.
And they broke me, the bastards.
It was 2-1 against Vasco.
What a match!
That was some match, wasn't it, uncle?
- Right?
- Yeah.
I came forward on the right.
The goalie palmed the ball out to me.
I looked up... and that fucking bulldozer
appeared from nowhere...
Shut up!
Just shut your trap!
Go and take a look
at the fucking engine you repaired.
In a while we'll be leaving the bay.
Old man! Inside the engine?
It could have broken in there!
Some day this is going
to kill you, old man!
This shit won't hold out!
Let's go back, boys!
Shitting yourself, old man?
Shitting myself? Like fuck!
I've spent more time
out beyond the bay than you have lived!
With your crap repairs,
we'll be going under.
Let's get out of the way here!
We're fucked if we just sit here!
Along comes a big ship and...
When you two stop fighting
we can throw out the nets.
Big pussy!
Your mother! Fuck you!
You think because you're big
I won't beat the shit out of you?
Bring it on, old man!
Watch you don't fall now!
Can you make it here without falling?
Watch me do a handspring kick!
OK. It's over now!
Old man!
Give me a windlass
to see if I can catch something big.
Here!
Give me a little one to use as bait.
Catch!
Germano...
Yesterday my daughter Marilza
came to see me...
What about?
She's worried about me.
Says I'm old. And this isn't good for me.
What does she expect you to live off?
She...
She wants me to go work with her...
in her market stall.
- A street vendor?
- Yes.
Are you mad?
Give all this up
to be left out on the street?
Holy fuck!
The fucking hook
ripped open my finger again!
We're jinxed!
No fish here either! What a crap day!
Let's go back!
Turn on the engine
and let's go back, Germano!
Here's just as bad as in the bay.
Besides, his finger is bleeding!
Don't worry about my finger!
Old man,
you're right.
There's nothing here!
Uncle,
he's right, there are no fish here.
We're very close to the sewage outlet.
There's nothing but shite down there!
Let's take the boat out there!
Holy fuck!
Christ, Fernando!
What did you do to the engine?
Who me?
It won't start!
Fuck it!
You're right, old man!
This here is over!
You remember the time you asked me
what I would do if I ever gave up fishing?
I would open up my own football school!
My brother-in-law has a piece of land
in Caxias, near the hills.
Who knows, I might discover a star,
a star I could sell in Europe.
Another Ronaldinho, a Robinho!
I'd be happy selling
pirate CDs with my daughter.
I'd be on firm land and I'd be with her...
Just imagine, from fisher to pirate!
Fuck this! Fuck this for a lark!
You two are crap fishermen!
We've only been drifting for one hour
and you want to give up.
We will always have this!
Stop talking shite!
I'm tired, Germano.
We've worked together a long time.
You know I'm not the kind
to throw in the towel.
But there's no future in this.
Do you not see that?
Uncle!
The old man's right!
There's not enough in this for us.
I don't want to depend on that
bastard Adamastor the rest of my life.
Adamastor can go fuck himself!
This is the work you chose.
I'm not going to give it all up
because of a broken engine!
You're the one who fucked up!
And another thing...
Where did you hide the cachaça?
- Me?
- Yes.
- It was Noronha!
- Noronha, you. Who cares?
It's nothing personal, uncle.
But is it not better
to give back the boat?
Go to hell, both of you!
Leave me alone!
Stubborn as a mule!
My father was a fucking great fisherman!
Before him, my grandfather.
This here is the Atlantic.
The Atlantic!
Tomorrow, a boat or a launch
will be here to tow us.
And Fernando, you'll fix the engine.
And we'll be back out here!
We sail and sail.
And don't leave the spot.
Look at the Marvellous City!
The Marvellous City.
OLYMPIC FUTURE
THE FORMER "ADMIRAL URUSEVSKY"
THE LAST OIL TANKER BUILT
IN THE LENIN SHIPYARDS IN THE USSR.
Holy fuck!
Where did that monster come from?
Shit! Captain, look!
- What?
- Look, there!
The fucker's coming right at us!
Germano, we have to get off the boat!
- I'm going nowhere!
- Come on, Noronha!
- Come on, Germano!
- No!
Madness!
Germano, take the life jacket.
- No!
- Put the fucking thing on!
I don't want to.
Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch!
I should fucking throw you overboard!
Go fuck yourself!
These Brazilians are crazy!
Stop the engines!
Stop the engines!
Come, uncle! Come!
- I'm going nowhere!
- I'm not leaving you here!
Leave me, I tell you!
We have to change course.
We must divert the tanker.
We have to change course.
Put it into reverse!
Reverse!
It would have to be a tanker!
Uncle, jump! I'll catch you!
Sink, bastard! Sink!
We'll split them in two!
They'll make a bigger mess
than this tanker!
Uncle, get out!
Come with me!
Don't be so stubborn!
Jump! I'll catch you!
Uncle! Uncle!
Germano, you're mad,
you almost destroyed my boat!
You won't be getting anything else
around here so quickly.
What are you going to do now?
I don't know...
I'll be out there... looking.
Don't worry, Adamastor.
I'll find something!
In 1975,
the Iraqi-flagged oil tanker Tarek
dumped 6 million liters of oil
in the Guanabara Bay
and it was there that the fight of
the fishermen against these ships began.
When I came here,
I was ready to do any kind of work.
I have worked as a security guard.
I didn't judge the work I did
as good or bad.
I just needed to work.
I came from Nepal.
I came via Almora.
We would start walking from the village.
Walk from morning until night.
When it got dark, we would stop,
and sleep under a tree,
in a shop, wherever.
In this way, it would take us
6-7 days of walking.
Once we reach the Indian border,
we get a bus.
In those days,
Delhi to Bangalore
by train cost 63 rupees.
I've worked on construction sites
as a guard for 12-13 years.
I've worked in 8-9 buildings.
When I moved here to this site,
we lived at the gate,
in a plywood hut for three years.
When the building is almost finished,
I have to move to the first floor.
When the first floor is ready,
I move to the second floor.
When the second is ready,
I move to the basement.
As the walls get built,
the place is full of cement,
sand and water.
It's my job to splash water
on the cement for 'curing' it.
We gather all our belongings in a pile...
and cover them with plastic sheets.
Then I spray water on the walls.
I get up at 6 o'clock.
Then I clean the cars.
I then go and sit at the gate.
I pay the electricity bills.
Telephone bills.
Or someone's mobile bill.
I have to do all sorts of jobs.
In the past, Bangalore didn't have much.
There were no shops down these streets.
Now, every small street has a shop.
There are so many of us Nepalis here
and we stick together
Everyone in our village works on farms,
There is food to eat
but no money to buy nice clothes,
shoes or a watch
So we leave the village to find work.
Not everyone can find work these days.
It is not like it was before.
Often, we only get temporary work
and if we are told to leave,
we just have to go.
The future of our kids
should not be like ours.
We hope they can be happy
and improve their lives.
This is why we have been away
from home for almost 13 years.
The god Ram was in exile for 12 years.
We too have been in exile for 13 years.
We will put up with all our difficulties
and our sadness
to educate our kids
so they can move ahead.
This is our philosophy.
We are not interested in the politics
of the Maoists or the King.
If they had the poor in mind,
this would not have happened.
Nepal was once the most peaceful
and virtuous country in the world.
Now in a house, brothers are fighting
and blood is being spilt.
That's your brother.
Yes, that's my brother.
Here is your son.
This is Dinesh.
This is Arjun.
Where are mine, son?
I think democracy would be good for Nepal.
If there is freedom to come and go.
Development plans for water
in the village.
For a high school.
For a college, maybe.
Our kids and families
could come and go freely.
People would fear walking out.
Now, there would be no need for fear.
Then and now is as different
as night and day.
So many more people, so many more cars.
Now, it's confusing.
In the past, there were no double roads.
No one-ways.
You could go anywhere as you please.
Now, this feels like a foreign land.
In 35 years, I've been back 5 or 6 times.
Now, when I go, I feel scared.
It feels so steep and mountainous.
You reactionaries...
you're what Chairman Mao meant
by "the enemy within".
Tell us about this
counter-revolutionary club of yours.
How many conspirators were involved?
Your husband Chen Tiande
was the mastermind, wasn't he?
Write down a list of the names.
Give us the names!
Write!
If you don't start writing,
I'll have to smash
those pretty teeth in.
I won't write it. I won't...!
Do you know how many
counter-revolutionaries I've killed?
Getting rid of one more
would be a public service!
Write!
Whatever I write,
you'll use it against my husband.
You'll kill him, I know you will...
I'd rather die myself
than let you kill him!
On your knees!
Scream all you want!
Go ahead, scream!
That's enough.
This isn't working.
Give us the names!
Who did you dance with at the club?
Just my husband.
Fucking liar!
I'll kill you right now,
toss your body in a pit!
That's enough. Let her speak.
What did you talk
about at your meetings?
If you won't confess,
so be it.
Bury her alive.
Get her out of here.
On July 14, 1967, counterrevolutionary
Chen Tiande
smashed his skull into a brick wall.
His suicide proves his guilt.
But he deserved to die
ten thousand times over!
If you denounce him now,
The People will be merciful.
Mama, when you go back,
where will you live?
When you go back to Cape Verde,
where will you live?
I'll build myself a home.
- Close to your mama's?
- Right on top of hers.
Her house only has one storey?
You would raise a storey?
- Is that it?
- I guess so.
- Is there space for a garden?
- A garden?
Not even for a decent house,
never mind a garden!
- But is there no yard?
- The house was built on the yard.
And papa's old house?
Forget papa's house.
It's a wreck.
It's up on the hill in Mourão.
There's no-one there.
It's no use.
- Is it abandoned?
- Abandoned.
A hangout for rats and lizards.
- Then I could have it.
- What for?
To be there on your own?
I'd live there. Do it up.
And papa's folks?
Your uncle Santo's the only one left.
He's in Milho Branco.
- In grandma's house?
- You should see the garden he has.
- Manioc, potatoes, the lot...
- What about our house?
- I told you, it's abandoned.
- Is it really yours?
- No-one else has lived there.
- How come?
Everyone is gone.
- Then let's go there.
- Who, me?
Out in the sticks with no water,
no light, no nothing?
Here I have water, light,
and all I need!
- Maybe I could live there.
- No way!
All alone with an oil lamp?
No lamp could lighten that darkness.
That's why everyone left.
It's no life.
- But our house is still there?
- Course it is! It's big.
Three bedrooms.
A large living room.
Looking onto a nice avenue.
A marble floor. All fixed up.
My old place! I miss you!
I spent loads of money on it.
- And can we not sell it?
- Who would buy it?
They've all fled
and won't be going back!
Maybe some poor bastard
who's sent back there...
Whoever's sent back
will find nothing but misery.
- What's it called again?
- Mourão.
It's in Montinho.
Montinho or Montijo?
Montinho,
Achada Ungueira, Raçatchó,
Montinho de Cima, Montinho de Baixo,
Milho Branco.
Papa's house was here,
grandma's was here, right?
Together?
All this talk is making me want
to go back. Rest these bones...
Mama, is it far from Santana?
A friend of mine is in Santana.
Santana is over by Assomada.
He's in Cape Verde?
He was sent back.
He was in prison.
Now they've sent him back.
Must be hard for him...
Listen to her,
answering all Cape Verde...
It makes me all warm thinking about it.
What about that guy who sends people
to meet their maker?
He only kills grown-ups.
He slips them a letter
without them noticing.
He slips it into their pocket?
He hides it on their motorbike,
in their car. No-one notices.
Then he appears and asks
for what they were given for him.
He says, "Search your pockets."
The person finds the paper
and he says, "Come with me."
And they go with him.
Then he bores a hole in their head,
sucks their blood
and goes on his way.
Holy shit.
He doesn't eat them.
Just sucks their blood and goes.
He takes the people to...
To the bush, to the wilds...
- So, he's a bit of a devil?
- He's terror in person!
- We must follow him?
- Yes!
When he says, "Come with me!",
he has taken hold of their spirit.
They're at his mercy.
All they can do is go with him.
To their sad fate.
Then he's off again.
They say he approaches children,
"Take this letter to such-and-such."
He doesn't go near children.
But a kid might take the letter
to those who are going to die.
Like when a person goes shopping...
- And he's in the cafe?
- Yes, in the grocery store.
The person is in the shop.
He weighs the sugar or the rice
and wraps the sugar or the rice
in the paper.
It's his wicked ways.
Or you're walking along
and meet the man.
"Give me what they gave you for me."
"I haven't got anything."
"You have it right there."
And if you don't give it to him?
He shows you it
and then kills you.
- I would pretend...
- It's no use.
You're already a goner!
I would fool him...
You're already a goner.
Once, a woman asked a boy
to do some errands for her.
The poor boy went into town,
did the shopping for her.
He came out of the shop.
And there he was.
The man said to him,
"Take out of your bundle
what was given to you for me."
The boy took out the paper
and gave it to him.
The woman was never seen again.
And the boy went after the man.
He was found three days later,
down by the sea,
behind some rocks.
His head was split open. Dead.
But he came back to say
he was given the thing that kills.
"That night I went up the hill,
I fell and died.
"But it was he who killed me."
My condolences, José Alberto.
Is he drunk or what?
Life nowadays is a funny thing!
I went working abroad
The boss gave me the sack
My wife went and left me
With but the shirt on my back
He'll never catch a rabbit like that!
Your father was a good bricklayer.
He was a good friend.
My father never gave me a thing.
Not even a pair of underpants.
At the weekend
he would take all my brothers out
and leave me behind.
When he died
I was doing time, open system.
They called me to say he had died.
They gave me leave,
so I could go to the cemetery.
I saw those men who bury people,
the gravediggers,
I took a shovel and buried my father.
You had a fall far from here.
It was Friday.
I was all confused.
I wandered through all that wasteland.
I didn't know where I'd landed.
I didn't know anybody,
nobody knew me.
I wandered around for hours.
Night fell.
I found a restaurant
and went in to eat.
I ordered soup, food, wine.
They brought it.
I ate it,
then stayed there for a while,
chatting to the people.
Then I got up and left.
The man came after me,
"You eat, drink,
and then leave without a word?"
He called the police.
The police grabbed me.
They took me away
to the station...
I don't know what they did with me.
They left me lying
by the train station,
on the wasteland there.
Nobody knew me
and I knew nobody.
- So, they killed you?
- I don't know about that!
Look, Ventura, a rabbit!
That's a female.
Néné used to cook good rabbit for me,
with potatoes.
- Real rabbit?
- You bet!
With bay leaf and white wine.
Néné is dead too.
He died young.
Forty-something, wasn't he?
A bit older, I think.
They didn't bury you
with your gold tooth.
They must have used it
to pay for the funeral.
Your face was all smashed up.
When I first came here
there were no houses.
Those buildings over there?
At the time
you couldn't come here at night.
- They would beat you?
- Beat you, kill you!
Whites or blacks?
The white guys were doing it.
HOME OFFICE
IMMIGRATION OFFICE
José Alberto Tavares Silva,
born 17/08/1976,
a Cape Verdean national
resident at Rua de Fontaínhas, no. 49
is hereby summoned
to present himself
for the purpose of a hearing
with respect
to the Expulsion Order against him.
The citizen has taken knowledge
of the contents hereof,
which were read to him
in Portuguese,
and which he has signed
in the presence of witnesses.
Lisbon, 10 January 2007
NIGHTFALL IN SHANGHAI