Stray Dogs (2004) - full transcript
The story of survival of 2 children in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Their mother has been imprisoned for "adultery" and their father is in Guantanamo Bay.
I couldn't work.
I'll pay you tomorrow.
Don't let me see
your sister here again.
What are you doing here?
We want to see our mother.
- What's her name?
- Shabaneh.
What was her crime?
My father disappeared
for five years.
She thought he was dead.
She remarried and my father
had her put in prison.
She's a whore.
Bastard, it's your mother
who's the whore!
Son of a bitch! Bastard!
Piece of shit!
Your mother's the whore!
Come here, son of a bitch!
Come on, Gol-Ghotai.
Your mother's the whore!
Run, Gol-Ghotai!
He's going to beat us up!
Bastard. Your father be damned!
Stop!
If I catch you I'll kill you!
Don't beat my brother!
Officer, sir,
don't beat my brother!
Tell me,
what happened to your grandma?
What happened to your grandmother?
It was freezing last night.
Gol-Ghotai, come on.
I'll go and watch the TV.
When he gets out of the car,
we won't run away.
That way he'll get us.
I'm scared.
If he sees us, he'll beat us.
Stay here.
I'm going.
When he takes me to prison,
start crying. Say you're my sister
and you'll be arrested.
Come on. There's no one here.
He's locked up the TV.
He'll lock us up too.
Bastards!
I go for a piss
and you take over my house!
Bastards!
I just went for a piss!
You've moved in!
If I piss in the North,
American occupies the South.
If I piss to the South,
the Russians move in
on the North.
You won't even let me
shit in peace!
You want a shit?
Come down here!
I'll wash out the toilets.
Your bombs killed my wife
and my daughter!
Now come and piss on my head,
fucking planes!
Fucking planes, come down here
and piss on me!
This way to the toilets!
I'll wash your stinking asses!
Send us to prison.
We broke in to watch your TV.
It was freezing last night.
Down here if you want a piss!
The airport's right here!
I'll wash your shitty,
stinking asses clean!
Zahed, let's go.
Come on, run!
This guy won't send us
to prison.
Understand what I'm saying,
little doggie?
I'm talking to you.
I told my dad to forgive Mum.
If he doesn't forgive her,
they'll kill her.
I'll really cry a lot
so he forgives her.
I'll tell my dad...
Mollah Rahman's daughter,
approach.
Dogs are not allowed
in prison.
- And me?
- You can come in.
Thank you.
Zahed!
Look after the dog,
they won't let him in.
Thank you.
Tell Dad what you have to say.
Gol-Ghotai,
why are you crying?
Did you tell Dad to forgive Mum?
So why are you crying?
Did you tell Dad
we slept rough last night?
Yes.
What did he say?
"Don't sleep in the street.
Go to my friend's house.
"If he isn't there,
"tell his wife I'm in prison
and she must look after you."
This one?
No.
No... Yes.
- Who is it?
- Us.
Who are you?
Zahed and Gol-Ghotai.
Whom do you want to see?
Mollah Mohamad Razagh.
There's no such person here.
What do you mean?
Open the door.
- Who are you?
- Zahed and Gol-Ghotai.
The children of Mollah Rahman.
Our father sent us here.
Open up a minute.
- Hello.
- Hello.
Come in.
He wants to see Mollah Razagh.
What should I tell him?
Mohamad Razagh isn't here.
Where is his brother?
He's asking
where his brother is.
He's in an American prison.
Where is his wife?
She is dead.
May we stay here?
Thank you.
They sent our father
to Guantanamo Bay.
The Americans sent him.
Who's there?
It's us. We've come to ask you
to forgive us.
Who are you?
Sir, we've come to ask
your forgiveness.
Why have you come back, wretch?
For the love of God,
let us go to our mother.
You called my mother a whore.
Forgive me.
You said the same to me.
What I said,
that was the truth.
Forgive us, Mr. Officer, sir.
But you did call my mother
a whore.
Because she is one.
Bastard!
Your mother's the whore!
Son of a bitch, I'll kill you!
Son of a whore!
If you want to go to prison,
steal something.
If you don't feel sorry for me,
at least have pity on my dog.
If you were a dog...
and if children
wanted to set you on fire,
to kill you,
and if a prison guard
wouldn't let you in,
would you think it was fair?
Stop breaking my heart,
little one.
If you were a prison guard
earning one dollar a day
and forbidden to allow
two children to see their mother,
would you think
that was fair?
If you were like us
and this poor dog, alone,
without any shelter,
who no one will take in,
would you think that was fair?
Don't you feel pity for us?
Little one,
the laws have changed.
The governor won't allow it.
A prison isn't an orphanage.
Do you understand?
I understand.
Gol-Ghotai, come here.
If you want to go to prison,
go and steal!
Come on, Gol-Ghotai.
If you want to go to prison,
steal!
She looks good.
Zahed, don't run!
Let her catch us!
Don't run away!
Let her send us to prison!
Why are you stealing?
Aren't you ashamed to steal?
If you're hungry, go and beg.
Go away! Aren't you ashamed!
Why do you steal?
Go and beg, don't steal.
I begged this bread
for my children.
But lady...
If you take him to prison,
take me too.
Please, put us behind bars.
We're not beggars.
We are thieves!
We stole your bread.
We are thieves!
Can't you understand?
What sort of person are you,
who won't have us arrested?
We've stolen so much
but no one puts us in prison.
Eat, little doggie.
You won't eat bread or meat.
What do you eat?
You'll die.
Is that what you want?
Eat that,
or the other dogs will get it.
Eat.
You'll die if you don't eat.
You won't eat bread,
you won't eat meat.
Eat.
What do you want to eat then?
Do you want to die?
Eat, little one.
The other dogs are coming.
If you don't eat, you'll die.
We stole this meat for you
and you won't eat it!
Zahed, let's run.
They're attacking us.
Calm down, calm down.
They ate up the cow's head
and we weren't arrested.
The dogs ate our cow's head
and we didn't get paid.
I'm going to get what we're owed.
Your dogs ate our cow's head.
You have to pay me.
Pay me for my cow's head.
Son of a whore!
Zahed, come on.
The dogs will eat you.
Come on. They'll eat you.
You want to beat me?
Bastard! Shithead!
Son of a bitch!
Why are you hitting me?
Want me to fuck your stuff up?
Warder, give my mother this wood,
her cell's freezing.
Bring back the sacks.
- Hello.
- Hello.
We stole things
but no one sent us to prison.
Carry on stealing.
We stole bread
and a cow's head for the dog.
They beat us
but we weren't arrested.
We stole lots of things.
Go to the Park Cinema.
They're showing a film
about a lousy thief
who gets arrested.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
I don't want to see
your sister here again.
We want to see this film, sir.
It's an art film.
If you walk out halfway through,
you won't get a refund.
We won't walk out, sir.
Just tell us what happens
in the film.
It's all about a thief.
But there's no action.
It's boring.
If you want to see a real film,
go to my brother's cinema.
Go on.
I go there every night,
when this bloody film's over
to see a real movie
before I go to sleep.
We want to see this film.
The dog doesn't need a ticket.
A cinema with so few customers...
I don't know...
Two tickets.
When there are so few customers,
one person handles everything.
Watch the film, little doggie.
Don't bark.
They'll throw us out.
Thief! Thief!
Bicycle thief!
- Did he steal something?
- Get back!
Officer, sir,
she's my sister.
Come too, Gol-Ghotai.
I'm a thief as well.
Put me in prison too.
This isn't my mother's prison!
I want to go
to my mother's prison!
I want to go
to my mother's prison!
My sister will be lost,
all alone on the streets.
Lock me up
in my mother's prison!
For the love of God!
Take me to my mother!
This isn't my mother's prison!
Who is it?
It's me.
Who is "me"?
I'm the bicycle thief's sister.
Written and directed by
Marziyeh MESHKINI
Director of photography:
Ebrahim GHAFOURI
Sound: Faroukh NEGAHDAR
Editor: Mastaneh MOHAJER
Mix: Behrouz SHAHAMAT
Music: Mohamad Reza DARVISHI
Stills: Meyssam MAKHMALBAF
With:
Gol-Ghotai
Zahed
Agheleh REZAI
Sohrab AKBARI
Assistant directors:
Hana MAKHMALBAF - Kaveh MOINFAR
Executive producer: Mohamad AHMADI
I'll pay you tomorrow.
Don't let me see
your sister here again.
What are you doing here?
We want to see our mother.
- What's her name?
- Shabaneh.
What was her crime?
My father disappeared
for five years.
She thought he was dead.
She remarried and my father
had her put in prison.
She's a whore.
Bastard, it's your mother
who's the whore!
Son of a bitch! Bastard!
Piece of shit!
Your mother's the whore!
Come here, son of a bitch!
Come on, Gol-Ghotai.
Your mother's the whore!
Run, Gol-Ghotai!
He's going to beat us up!
Bastard. Your father be damned!
Stop!
If I catch you I'll kill you!
Don't beat my brother!
Officer, sir,
don't beat my brother!
Tell me,
what happened to your grandma?
What happened to your grandmother?
It was freezing last night.
Gol-Ghotai, come on.
I'll go and watch the TV.
When he gets out of the car,
we won't run away.
That way he'll get us.
I'm scared.
If he sees us, he'll beat us.
Stay here.
I'm going.
When he takes me to prison,
start crying. Say you're my sister
and you'll be arrested.
Come on. There's no one here.
He's locked up the TV.
He'll lock us up too.
Bastards!
I go for a piss
and you take over my house!
Bastards!
I just went for a piss!
You've moved in!
If I piss in the North,
American occupies the South.
If I piss to the South,
the Russians move in
on the North.
You won't even let me
shit in peace!
You want a shit?
Come down here!
I'll wash out the toilets.
Your bombs killed my wife
and my daughter!
Now come and piss on my head,
fucking planes!
Fucking planes, come down here
and piss on me!
This way to the toilets!
I'll wash your stinking asses!
Send us to prison.
We broke in to watch your TV.
It was freezing last night.
Down here if you want a piss!
The airport's right here!
I'll wash your shitty,
stinking asses clean!
Zahed, let's go.
Come on, run!
This guy won't send us
to prison.
Understand what I'm saying,
little doggie?
I'm talking to you.
I told my dad to forgive Mum.
If he doesn't forgive her,
they'll kill her.
I'll really cry a lot
so he forgives her.
I'll tell my dad...
Mollah Rahman's daughter,
approach.
Dogs are not allowed
in prison.
- And me?
- You can come in.
Thank you.
Zahed!
Look after the dog,
they won't let him in.
Thank you.
Tell Dad what you have to say.
Gol-Ghotai,
why are you crying?
Did you tell Dad to forgive Mum?
So why are you crying?
Did you tell Dad
we slept rough last night?
Yes.
What did he say?
"Don't sleep in the street.
Go to my friend's house.
"If he isn't there,
"tell his wife I'm in prison
and she must look after you."
This one?
No.
No... Yes.
- Who is it?
- Us.
Who are you?
Zahed and Gol-Ghotai.
Whom do you want to see?
Mollah Mohamad Razagh.
There's no such person here.
What do you mean?
Open the door.
- Who are you?
- Zahed and Gol-Ghotai.
The children of Mollah Rahman.
Our father sent us here.
Open up a minute.
- Hello.
- Hello.
Come in.
He wants to see Mollah Razagh.
What should I tell him?
Mohamad Razagh isn't here.
Where is his brother?
He's asking
where his brother is.
He's in an American prison.
Where is his wife?
She is dead.
May we stay here?
Thank you.
They sent our father
to Guantanamo Bay.
The Americans sent him.
Who's there?
It's us. We've come to ask you
to forgive us.
Who are you?
Sir, we've come to ask
your forgiveness.
Why have you come back, wretch?
For the love of God,
let us go to our mother.
You called my mother a whore.
Forgive me.
You said the same to me.
What I said,
that was the truth.
Forgive us, Mr. Officer, sir.
But you did call my mother
a whore.
Because she is one.
Bastard!
Your mother's the whore!
Son of a bitch, I'll kill you!
Son of a whore!
If you want to go to prison,
steal something.
If you don't feel sorry for me,
at least have pity on my dog.
If you were a dog...
and if children
wanted to set you on fire,
to kill you,
and if a prison guard
wouldn't let you in,
would you think it was fair?
Stop breaking my heart,
little one.
If you were a prison guard
earning one dollar a day
and forbidden to allow
two children to see their mother,
would you think
that was fair?
If you were like us
and this poor dog, alone,
without any shelter,
who no one will take in,
would you think that was fair?
Don't you feel pity for us?
Little one,
the laws have changed.
The governor won't allow it.
A prison isn't an orphanage.
Do you understand?
I understand.
Gol-Ghotai, come here.
If you want to go to prison,
go and steal!
Come on, Gol-Ghotai.
If you want to go to prison,
steal!
She looks good.
Zahed, don't run!
Let her catch us!
Don't run away!
Let her send us to prison!
Why are you stealing?
Aren't you ashamed to steal?
If you're hungry, go and beg.
Go away! Aren't you ashamed!
Why do you steal?
Go and beg, don't steal.
I begged this bread
for my children.
But lady...
If you take him to prison,
take me too.
Please, put us behind bars.
We're not beggars.
We are thieves!
We stole your bread.
We are thieves!
Can't you understand?
What sort of person are you,
who won't have us arrested?
We've stolen so much
but no one puts us in prison.
Eat, little doggie.
You won't eat bread or meat.
What do you eat?
You'll die.
Is that what you want?
Eat that,
or the other dogs will get it.
Eat.
You'll die if you don't eat.
You won't eat bread,
you won't eat meat.
Eat.
What do you want to eat then?
Do you want to die?
Eat, little one.
The other dogs are coming.
If you don't eat, you'll die.
We stole this meat for you
and you won't eat it!
Zahed, let's run.
They're attacking us.
Calm down, calm down.
They ate up the cow's head
and we weren't arrested.
The dogs ate our cow's head
and we didn't get paid.
I'm going to get what we're owed.
Your dogs ate our cow's head.
You have to pay me.
Pay me for my cow's head.
Son of a whore!
Zahed, come on.
The dogs will eat you.
Come on. They'll eat you.
You want to beat me?
Bastard! Shithead!
Son of a bitch!
Why are you hitting me?
Want me to fuck your stuff up?
Warder, give my mother this wood,
her cell's freezing.
Bring back the sacks.
- Hello.
- Hello.
We stole things
but no one sent us to prison.
Carry on stealing.
We stole bread
and a cow's head for the dog.
They beat us
but we weren't arrested.
We stole lots of things.
Go to the Park Cinema.
They're showing a film
about a lousy thief
who gets arrested.
Goodbye.
Goodbye.
I don't want to see
your sister here again.
We want to see this film, sir.
It's an art film.
If you walk out halfway through,
you won't get a refund.
We won't walk out, sir.
Just tell us what happens
in the film.
It's all about a thief.
But there's no action.
It's boring.
If you want to see a real film,
go to my brother's cinema.
Go on.
I go there every night,
when this bloody film's over
to see a real movie
before I go to sleep.
We want to see this film.
The dog doesn't need a ticket.
A cinema with so few customers...
I don't know...
Two tickets.
When there are so few customers,
one person handles everything.
Watch the film, little doggie.
Don't bark.
They'll throw us out.
Thief! Thief!
Bicycle thief!
- Did he steal something?
- Get back!
Officer, sir,
she's my sister.
Come too, Gol-Ghotai.
I'm a thief as well.
Put me in prison too.
This isn't my mother's prison!
I want to go
to my mother's prison!
I want to go
to my mother's prison!
My sister will be lost,
all alone on the streets.
Lock me up
in my mother's prison!
For the love of God!
Take me to my mother!
This isn't my mother's prison!
Who is it?
It's me.
Who is "me"?
I'm the bicycle thief's sister.
Written and directed by
Marziyeh MESHKINI
Director of photography:
Ebrahim GHAFOURI
Sound: Faroukh NEGAHDAR
Editor: Mastaneh MOHAJER
Mix: Behrouz SHAHAMAT
Music: Mohamad Reza DARVISHI
Stills: Meyssam MAKHMALBAF
With:
Gol-Ghotai
Zahed
Agheleh REZAI
Sohrab AKBARI
Assistant directors:
Hana MAKHMALBAF - Kaveh MOINFAR
Executive producer: Mohamad AHMADI