Hyenas (1992) - full transcript

Lat Kura! As much of a rascal as ever.

You're more of a rascal than I am!

You know who I saw yesterday? Penda Gueye.

She's pregnant again. Your doing?

More likely yours! - You kidding?

We haven't seen each other for some time.

Let me buy you a drink.

Peace be with you.

How are you? - Fine thanks.

Peace be with you.

Thank you.



And my little fianc?e? - She's here!

How she's grown!

For you, my little darling.

And how are your husbands?

Everyone's fine.

What would you like? - Rice, Dramaan.

It's all here!

I hope the price hasn't gone up.

Not much! But it's good!

I'm glad you come here to shop.

I'll go to Saraba to get

rice at a better price.

Here, Dramaan. For the three of us.

Thank you.



My greetings to Corgui Sarr

and Corgui Sene.

I'll come and visit you

with my wife, Khoudia Lo.

My friend from Saraba!

Hey, Dramaan! Bring us the wine

you promised us yesterday.

Everyone's waiting.

We're dying of thirst here.

You see! It's the same every day.

No wonder! You're too generous.

Don't worry. Things are going to change.

You're not making things easy for me, guys.

You're our pal, Dramaan, you know that.

What do you want?

You want to ruin my marriage?

Don't count on it.

One thing's for sure,

you'll pay before this evening.

Seems to be a good wine.

Hey! Did you pay for this drink?

Of course! - How much is it?

Because of you, my wife despises me.

Show some dignity!

Don't worry, we'll pay.

Let's drink to Dramaan's health...

I'll complain! I'll tell everybody!

I'll complain to the mayor!

Take the whole building

while you're at it!

It's nasty, nasty!

To seize the town hall of Colobane!

A beautiful town like Colobane!

Wait! Wait! We can negotiate!

You don't have the right to do that!

Come back! It's unfair, unfair!

They've seized the town hall!

We can't let that happen!

I'll complain to the mayor!

Lingu?re Ramatou!

Back in Colobane, after 30 years!

People of Colobane!

Hear the good news!

The poor but dignified people

of Colobane will welcome her!

She's coming to help us!

Our once beautiful town will live again.

Lingu?re, who had left here,

is coming back to us.

All right, I'm going to Saraba!

Go to hell!

I'm fed up too! Damn you!

Don't ever set foot here again!

Your Honor!

A catastrophe! - What catastrophe?

Colobane!

What about Colobane?

Seized? - Seized!

The town hall? - Colobane!

Lingu?re Ramatou,

who left Colobane by the back door,

is coming back to us rich,

richer than the World Bank.

She's expected before sundown, coming

on the Xaar Yalla road.

Lingu?re Ramatou, here in Colobane?

That's milk and honey!

All our problems are solved.

Did you know her? - Not very well.

She was born here in Colobane.

Her roots are here.

I want you to

assemble all the town councillors.

Tell them to meet me at the town hall!

But the town hall has just been seized!

That's true. What shall we do?

Have them join me

at the Hyena Den.

Hurry! Right away!

At the Hyena Den!

The end of our penance!

Lingu?re Ramatou!

Fly, fly, climb on high.

Fly, fly, higher and higher.

Friends from the same hut,

girls from the same courtyard.

Fly, fly, climb on high.

My friends!

I have called

you to this meeting

to save our dear town of Colobane.

We have fallen

into an abyss so deep

that only the lady who is coming

today can drag us out of it.

It is all in your hands.

God willing.

Leave God out of it!

He's not the one paying!

Head of protocol!

Will the Golden Leaf Inn be ready?

The lady will certainly wish to stay there.

She is coming before sunset

by the Xaar Yalla road.

No one has ever taken us by surprise.

Perfect.

I'll need a few details

on the lady for my speech

at the banquet in the Golden Leaf Inn.

Teacher, she was in your class?

I've looked through the school's old books.

A series of zeros in math.

That didn't prevent her from

becoming richer than the World Bank.

I'll mention her sense of initiative.

We cannot do any better.

However, she had brilliant

marks in recitation.

She never forgot anything.

A phenomenal memory! Phenomenal!

Thank you, teacher.

That's good for my speech.

Lingu?re Ramatou,

courted by the greats of this world

still remembers her humble home, Colobane.

Noble spirit. I've taken note!

I heard

her father was a mason.

Can anyone remember anything he built?

Wait...

One of us

used to know the lady very well.

See who I mean.

It's true, I knew her well.

I loved her deeply.

We were still young.

I can see her now.

She was like a light in the shadow.

Life... Life tore us apart...

the way it can happen.

Your Honor,

I think I can help you.

You must mention

her love of justice.

Once, a bum was arrested.

She attacked the officer...

..with stones.

It was some sight!

Never seen before, Your Honor!

Love of justice!

That will sound good in my speech.

And she was generous.

She used to share with everybody.

A propensity to kindness.

This, gentlemen...

I'll absolutely have to mention.

Dramaan Drameh, you have long been

the most popular personality

in Colobane.

I'll resign before the rainy season.

I have contacted the parties

and we agreed

to present you as my successor.

You want to appoint me mayor? - Yes.

Here's our man! - Dramaan Drameh!

Now I know what you want!

You want Lingu?re Ramatou

to pour her millions into Colobane

and give us renewed prosperity.

I'll first tell Lingu?re Ramatou

of our miserable condition, the famine.

Then she'll give us her money!

People of Colobane,

you really are good people!

Once again, you are proving

your love for Colobane.

It is with pleasure

that I come to introduce to you

your future mayor, Dramaan Drameh.

Thank you. I'll help you.

I'll help you.

I'll protect you.

I promise I will.

I promise I will.

My friends, thank you.

This gathering touches my heart.

Today is a great day for Colobane.

We are going to welcome Lingu?re Ramatou.

And you can be sure she's worth it.

Wave your handkerchiefs!

Keep the hyenas at a distance!

Don't shout,

as for the Secretary's visit.

It would make a bad impression.

No delirious joy.

A few tears in your eyes.

The tenderness of a town

that has found its lost child.

Who set off the alarm?

Gaana, who's that guy?

I wasn't going to jump off the train!

I protest in name of the railroad company!

You could have taken

the Xaar Yalla bus.

What's he talking about?

I should ride through this dust in a bus!

You'll regret it!

Gaana, give him a hundred thousand.

A hundred thousand?

Add three hundred thousand

for Colobane's

Lonely Women's Association.

There is no such association.

Create it.

Create it?

Who? Ramatou?

You are Lingu?re Ramatou?

Madam, take your money back.

Keep it!

Keep it! Keep it!

It goes without saying, had we known,

we would have stopped in Colobane

We apologize, Madam.

Unload my luggage and

get out of here with your slow train!

Madam, as Mayor of Colobane, I am ...

honoured to welcome...

That's enough!

Thank you for your beautiful speech.

How wonderful you came back to Colobane.

I've always told myself that I would.

All my life. And you?

Did you think of me?

Always... You know that, Ramatou.

Call me what you used to call me:

my little wild cat.

I also called you my little witch.

And you were my black panther.

Ramatou, I still am.

And you stayed the same,

little witch, as beautiful as ever!

Me? I am old and decrepit.

And I've lost my right leg.

An accident.

But my artificial limb is impeccable.

Don't you think so?

My little wild cat...

I never would have guessed it.

Bravo, Your Honor, Colobane's reviving.

It's for Colobane,

for Colobane only.

Your children, what are they doing?

Like all the kids here, no ideals.

Don't worry, it'll come to them soon.

I lead a ridiculous life. Never left

this hole. Not like you.

As for me, the whole world is mine.

Hunt me some zebus like you used to.

Look, it's like old times!

Ever since you left me,

I've been living in hell.

My whole life is hell!

My family keeps blaming me...

for not being richer.

You haven't been happy?

The main thing is ...

that you're happy.

This is the place where you ...

first undid my cloth.

I was seventeen,

and you were not yet twenty.

You dumped me to marry Khoudia Lo.

You preferred her money to my happiness.

And I went far away into exile,

until today.

Ramatou! I married Khoudia Lo ...

for your own good.

That's not true. She had money.

I wanted your happiness. You were beautiful.

The future was yours.

Now, the present is mine.

If you had stayed here,

you would be as poor as I am.

Are you that poor?

As poor as a bankrupt grocer

in a bankrupt town.

Now I'm the one with money.

Wait. We don't even

have gas for our lighters.

My child,

Colobane has its eyes on you.

Buy a black bull. Sacrifice it.

Wash in its blood.

Divide it in seven pieces.

and give them to these beggars.

The gods will protect your house.

I know everything will be all right.

Of course!

We need millions and millions.

Trifles!

Little wild cat. - Take your hand ...

off the hinge of my artificial limb!

Look at the sky!

The same birds!

Who can abolish time?

I can!

Ramatou,

are you artificial all over?

Almost.

Take a look!

But you're all metal!

Almost. After a plane crash.

I crawled out of the wreckage.

I was the only survivor.

All the others were dead.

I'm not that easy to kill!

Thirty years ago, you left

our little town of Colobane,

once founded by Ndeuning,

the blue-mouth princess,

and which lies peacefully

in the bend of the river.

Thirty years,

that's a long time.

Lingu?re, to speak

of your sense of justice and

generosity, it would take

days and days.

To speak of you, Lingu?re, of your

grandeur, of what you represent,

it would take nights.

It was our little Lingu?re

who saved an old lady from starvation

when she bought her potatoes

with money hard-earned

at the house of some neighbours.

All our hope lies in you, Lingu?re.

Colobane is waiting for you.

Your Honor, people of Colobane.

The unselfish joy

my visit inspires in you

goes straight to my heart.

But what the mayor said

is far from being true.

To be honest, I would add this:

my childhood was not blessed.

The potatoes for old Faat Bigu?,

I stole them together with Dramaan,

not to prevent the old hag from starving,

but to finally sleep

just once in a real bed with Dramaan.

But to contribute anyway to your joy,

I will give you 100 billion.

One hun... dred billion!

50,000 billion for the town,

50,000 billion for you.

But on one condition!

May I know it?

For 100 billion

I buy the court.

But justice is not for sale!

Everything is for sale.

How is that to be understood?

Exactly as I said.

I don't know...

if anyone among you recognizes me.

Gaana M'bow!

The former presiding judge!

It's the end of peace!

Many...

many years ago I was...

the presiding judge in Colobane.

Then I was appointed to Saraba.

That's where Lingu?re Ramatou

offered me a job working

for her as a butler.

Come to the point!

Gaana, to the point!

As you just heard...

Madam Lingu?re Ramatou is donating

100 billion... provided...

you clear her name for all eternity

until she's clean...

100 percent...

Dramaan Drameh!

Would you please come forward?

Me?

What do you want from me?

What do you want from me?

As presiding judge in Colobane,

I had to pass sentence...

in the case

of the young Lingu?re Ramatou.

She claimed you were

the father of her child.

She was seventeen.

You denied this paternity

and you produced two witnesses.

Ancient history! I protest!

I've never seen these people before!

In the court of Colobane I had to try

the case of Lingu?re Ramatou.

Dramaan Drameh, here are your two witnesses.

What did you swear in front of the court?

That we had slept...

with Lingu?re Ramatou.

You swore it in front of the court.

You swore it under oath.

Was it true?

Lies, lies!

Tell us now...

what Lingu?re did to you.

She tracked us down

all over the world.

And she found us.

And what did she do to you?

What did she do to you?

Lingu?re ... Lingu?re Ramatou

She handed us over to the black men

of the Orient.

They castrated us.

They made women of us.

Such was the case.

Lingu?re! ... Is it correct?

The limitation's over!

It's ancient history. Absurd.

This judgement doesn't hold any more.

Ramatou, what's going on here?

We ask...

Lingu?re Ramatou,

what has happened to the child

Dramaan Drameh

refused to recognize?

What happened

to the child?

The child lived a year.

And you, Lingu?re Ramatou,

what happened to you?

I became a whore.

From continent to continent.

A prostitute!

Why so much suffering?

The court had branded me...

forever!

And now?

I'm buying justice. 100 billion

for the death of Dramaan Drameh.

I'll pay the price!

Ramatou! My little witch...

you can't demand that!

You survived it!

Yes, but I haven't forgotten anything!

The pain is carved in my heart.

I have forgotten neither our love,

nor your betrayal.

Both of us are old, now.

You are decrepit

and I'm butchered all over.

I want us to settle

our accounts here and now.

Dramaan Drameh!

You chose your life,

and you imposed mine on me.

A little while ago, you

wanted time to be abolished.

Well, I've abolished it. I want justice.

Justice for 100 billion.

You'll have to kill me first!

Lingu?re Ramatou,

we are still in Africa,

but the draught hasn't yet

turned us into savages.

In the name of Colobane, in the name

of humanity, I refuse your offer. We'd ...

rather be poor than have blood on our hands.

I'll wait.

I wouldn't mind marrying her,

I wouldn't mind marrying her.

Lingu?re Ramatou,

I wouldn't mind marrying her.

You're on time today. - Good thing, huh?

Thank you. Thanks a lot.

Hey guys! Early birds this morning!

peace be with you!

What, Di?gan?

I'd like some cigarettes, Dramaan.

Camels?

No, I want the red pack, over there!

Di?gan, they're very expensive!

But I want them. Just charge it!

Because it's you. But it's ...

the last time.

Hello, my dears! What brings you here?

What would you like?

Two cans of milk... skimmed milk!

Dramaan, two packs of butter.

2 kilos of white bread and 3 of rice!

You've inherited this morning, ladies?

Put it on our tab, Dramaan!

Two bars of chocolate.

You too? - No, four rather.

Hey, chocolate lady, we were here first!

You were just fighting.

Give me the milk, Dramaan! My milk!

Calm down!

I want my two cans. - Here they are!

Give me my chocolate!

My chocolate!

All right, beat it now!

Some bread, fast!

Powdered milk. Charge it!

Here, take it and beat it!

I've done enough writing.

We'll pay!

Write it down! - The tab is full!

Write! We'll pay!

I hope you'll digest your chocolate.

I'll digest it with you.

It smells good here! A new perfume?

Dramaan has everything!

Peace be with you.

I swear the old lady is crazy.

We're not in America!

We don't kill for nothing.

Dramaan has incense.

I have only good quality here.

I hope you can afford it!

Coffee! Don't worry, we'll pay.

What? More credit? Always credit!

What have I done to you?

I get the feeling someone is holding a grudge.

Fucking magistrate!

The old lady seems to be

settling in for some time.

Two liters, Dramaan!

A bottle of oil! And vinegar!

Khoudia Lo! Khoudia Lo!

Come down quick!

Yes darling. - Look at this!

What's wrong? - Nobody was showing up ...

now look how crowded it is!

Solidarity, Dramaan.

In life as in death, solidarity!

In life as in death. - In life as in death.

You're Colobane's

most beloved personality.

This lady's gone mad!

When the rainy season comes ...

we're going to elect you mayor.

Mayor of Colobane.

Dramaan Drameh, Mayor.

It's as good as done.

I would like you to know something!

From now on, I only drink

Simon Calvados.

Simon Calvados? - Calvados!

It's expensive!

One needs a treat from time to time.

Add some tobacco for my pipe.

Grey?

No, not grey!

Prince Albert!

Grey is bad for my lungs.

My God!

You owe me 2380!

How are you going to pay?

Write it down. - Write it?

Write it!

Okay, I'll charge it. - Exactly.

But pay me by the first of the month,

when you receive your benefit.

I'll be there!

What's that?

You've got new shoes!

Boots from Burkina Faso!

Is there a law against new shoes?

You too, Birima?

One can't always go barefoot.

Where did you find the money?

We're still behind you, Bramaan!

Dramaan has gone mad!

Serves him right!

The bastard! It's his turn!

Ah! The time has come!

They're raiding the store!

Already?

The reign of the hyenas has begun!

Are you crazy?

It's me, Dramaan Drameh, the future mayor.

Soldiers don't vote.

I'm telling you, I'm

Dramaan Drameh, your future mayor.

I want to speak to your officer.

What do you want here?

A serious matter brings me.

Tell your men to lower their rifles!

Lower your rifles!

Beware, a shot is easily fired.

I want to see your officer!

Take him to the officer!

What brings you here?

What's wrong? You're trembling?

I demand the arrest of

Lingu?re Ramatou, immediately.

That's very strange, Dramaan.

I demand it as the

future mayor of Colobane.

The election hasn't taken place yet.

Arrest her ... right away!

She's inciting the people to kill me.

We can't arrest someone on a

mere accusation.

It's your duty. - Very strange.

But it's logical!

My dear Dramaan,

this is not a simple case.

Yes, the lady offered 100 billions ...

in exchange for ...

you know ... But that is no reason

for the police

to arrest her.

It's an incitement

to murder.

Careful, Dramaan.

Careful!

There's nothing serious in all this.

What else do you need?

Evidence! We need evidence!

This offer isn't meant seriously.

100 billions for your head,

admit it, that's exaggerated.

Exaggerated or not...

her offer remains a threat to my life.

Things are not so simple.

In my store,

all my clients are buying

better bread, better milk,

better cigarettes.

Where did they find all the money?

Your business

is getting better!

Di?gan, the beggar, has bought cognac!

They're all wearing shoes from

Burkina Faso, yellow and brand new.

Where did they get them?

So what?

I have new shoes too.

You have anything against yellow shoes?

You too?

Yes. They're the fashion! From Burkina.

You too! - Of course!

Sergeant Bagaya here ... Hello?

The general speaking.

Shipments to escort

on the Xaar Yalla road.

Soldiers!

Excuse us. - Officer!

You have a new gold tooth!

You're mad! Defend yourself!

Soldiers, on your horses!

No time to waste!

Refrigerators ... I want seven!

Washing machines, I want seven!

TV sets, I want seven! Sign!

Sign! But who's going to pay?

You know who!

Sit down!

Your Honor,

I must talk to you.

What's bothering you, Dramaan?

Tell me all you have to say.

What's that you're smoking, Your Honor?

If you asked for its name,

the answer is: Havana.

And your usual tobacco?

Too strong.

But tell me what's wrong.

You look harassed.

I'm scared.

Scared?

I demand official protection.

And what for? - You want ...

to exchange my head for 100 billion.

Go to the police!

I saw a brand new gold tooth

in the sergeant's mouth.

Dramaan, we're here in Colobane!

It was here that Yande Codou Sene

wrote her poems, and that Senghor

took a walk with Elizabeth II,

Queen of England.

If we were savages, they

wouldn't have come here.

A gold tooth, let's not make a

big deal out of it!

The typewriter, Your Honor,

is it a Remington? - Brand new.

Dramaan, here in Colobane

we've always lived within the law.

So arrest this woman!

It's really very strange.

Here we go again!

God knows, the way this lady

acts is rather understandable.

When you think of it, you pushed

two boys into perjury

for two jugs of palm wine,

and you threw

a young girl into deepest misery,

and all that to save your own neck.

A misery worth billions.

Dramaan, let's speak frankly.

Please.

This lady is suing,

and you are suing.

A decision must be reached!

I'll go see reporters in Saraba.

If I talk, I might have a chance.

But who is threatening you, Dramaan?

One of you is.

Who do you suspect? - Every one of you.

Give me just one name! - All of you.

We refuse the lady's offer. But we

don't approve of your crime, either.

It goes without saying that you

can no longer be appointed mayor.

I'm sorry!

You have plans for the future! - So what?

That's the new town hall!

Don't you want Colobane's good?

Does he know what he's saying!

You speculate on my death.

You know what?

You see that road?

It's the road to paradise!

That's all I've got to say.

Dramaan Drameh,

I know what brings you here.

But you must not lose faith.

There's a train that stops

tonight in Colobane. Take it!

Dear ladies of Colobane.

Lingu?re has brought us progress.

Everything you see here

has been imported.

Dear friends, as predicted,

the temperature is rising!

And you know why!

Because Lingu?re Ramatou is among us!

Ladies, throw away your fans!

From now on, they are useless.

With air conditioners, no need for them!

You've heard of refrigerators.

Well, here's one!

There are two doors. A top and a

lower one. One to keep food fresh,

and one for ice cubes.

I want a refrigerator to

keep my husband fresh! And a TV

to keep my children at home!

Yes ... that's what I want!

Presents for the Mayor's wife from

Lingu?re Ramatou.

Air conditioners, fridges, electric fans!

Take your pick, Madam!

I want TVs, refrigerators,

washing machines, air conditioners.

You see how the

Mayor's wife appreciates

Lingu?re's presents.

Lingu?re has done all

this to help our lovely town!

Here's Madame Dramaan!

I'll take all that's left,

absolutely all!

All of it?

You have something in mind!

Everything. All of it.

As old friends ... the whole town!

The whole town ... the whole town.

As old friends,

we'll accompany you ...

As old friends! Just as old friends!

Why are you following me?

We were just passing by!

Dramaan Drameh!

Colobane wishes you a safe trip.

Good luck in Ethiopia. - Good luck.

Who said I was going to Ethiopia?

Who told you?

Our regards to Ethiopia!

Go away!

Out of the way!

Let me go!

Someone wants to keep me here!

Leave! Get on the train!

Why are you so close to me

with your torches?

Let me go!

You're the one leaving! Get on!

Let me go! - Get on!

Let me go! - Make up your mind ...

Get on the train ... go on!

Waly Tine, help me. - Climb up!

Waly Tine ... get me out of here!

There, it left right under your nose!

The headmaster!

Colobane's doctor!

They want to see you, Lingu?re.

Warn them! If they dare see me

with my naked head, let them in!

Lingu?re says you can come in now

or come back later,

when she's ready.

Our visit is in connection

with the case of Dramaan Drameh.

Have they already killed him?

No, Madam. What an idea!

We hold firmly to the

principles of our civilization.

What do you want, then?

The people of Colobane are in debt.

Despite your principles?

Madam,

we have survived for so many years

because we had one hope left.

There is oil

in the ground under Xaar Yalla,

and minerals on the other

side of the river, more

phosphate than anywhere else.

Madam,

we have not come to beg,

but to talk business.

We need credit, trust, and orders,

then our economy will again flourish,

and with it our cultural and

humanitarian tradition.

Reopen the abandoned factories, and

Colobane will prosper anew.

Madam, allow us to believe we

haven't waited all our lives in vain.

The problem is, I can't buy something

twice. All these riches already

already belong to me.

The factories, the land, the depression

of Xaar Yalla, the whole town,

street by street, house by house.

I had my agents buy

the whole lot.

I made the factories stop.

Your hope is crazy, your tenacity

absurd, your whole life

uselessly messed up!

Do not give blow for blow.

Give up your plan of revenge. Don't

push us to the last extremity.

We are poor and weak people,

but honest.

I left Colobane under the

sneers of the people and with

an advanced pregnancy.

And here I am. Without children.

I am the one offering the deal

and dictating my conditions.

The world turned me into a whore,

I'll make the world a whorehouse.

You don't walk into the jungle

with a ticket to the zoo!

To partake in the lion's feast,

one must be in the same league!

Proper people

are those who pay.

And I pay.

You'll cover your hands with blood,

or else remain poor forever!

My respects, Madame Drameh.

Hello, Hibou.

Where were you?

With your husband.

You say with my husband? With Dramaan?

What do you mean?

Look, Madame Dramaan!

Do you like it?

Barely dry!

Hibou! But that's my husband!

Can I afford it?

Cheap! Thirty thousand!

30,0007? I can't afford it.

I can wait!

Okay, I'll take it!

I'll hang it in our bedroom.

Dramaan is getting old. You never know.

What do you want? - Cigarettes.

Which ones? - Camels!

And aspirin for my headache.

Are you at peace? - Always!

Madame Drameh, how are you?

I'm fine, Teacher.

Where's your husband?

Upstairs.

I need a strong drink.

I have a new kirsch, will that do?

Give me that bottle!

My friends of Colobane!

I've come to talk to you about

Lingu?re's visit to Colobane.

What's he saying?

People of Colobane! - Get down!

Have courage and listen!

Let me talk!

You're drunk, teacher. Shame on you!

You should be ashamed!

Throw him out! - Get down!

Get him down!

Get the truth down ...

and have lies triumph?

From today on, you'll

be roasting in hell!

What's going on here?

I protest in the face of the

world. Monstrous things are happening

here. As your teacher, I want to tell you

of the disaster awaiting you.

Teacher, what are you doing on my bags?

Go sit down!

If you knew what's awaiting you!

Quiet, Teacher, quiet!

I will not keep quiet!

Excuse him,

he drank too much kirsch!

Here's your head, Dramaan ...

Your wife wanted

to hang it in your bedroom.

If I were you, my friend,

here's what I'd do

when all of this is over:

I'd pay my debts.

And then I'd go to Saraba.

I have a cousin there.

You're still young ...

because it's soon going to be hell here.

Mory,

you've got a nice car.

I saw you in it from the window.

Where did you find it?

I got it on credit!

How will you pay for it?

It's not expensive.

Lend it to me?

Here are the keys. Go for a drive.

It's Sunday. I'd really like to.

I haven't driven a car

since the Saraba war.

Dramaan,

the other evening at the station,

I wanted to help you, and they hit me.

It doesn't matter.

But now the ...

hundred shameful

billions burn in our hearts.

This mess is all my doing.

I made Ramatou into what she has is

and me into what I am.

Do you want me to play the innocent?

No!

There's nothing more I can do,

for me or for you.

Even you, Dramaan, you're giving in?

To Lingu?re Ramatou ...

this superwhore,

this indecent caricature of justice

who is seizing our souls,

one after the other?

I'm the only witness to my life!

The game is over.

All at once I'm lucid.

You're right.

It's all your fault, all ...

that's going to happen to us.

And now I'll tell you something.

They'll kill you ...

I've known it from the start.

You've known it for a long time, too.

Even if no one will admit it,

they'll kill you!

Dramaan Drameh, they'll kill you!

The temptation is too strong, Dramaan,

our misery too bitter.

But I know even more ... you know what?

I'll be an accomplice.

I feel how I am slowly turning

into a murderer.

You're delirious, Teacher.

The lion heart that beat in me ...

beats no more.

The reign of the hyenas has begun.

Twenty years old, Teacher!

I write it down? - Yes.

Hear the good news!

Monkeys are smiling, hyenas are sneering.

The red lion is dead.

The reign of the hyenas has begun.

Dramaan, are you at peace?

Only peace.

It's loaded. - So what, Your Honor?

Unnecessary.

We'll meet this evening

at the Elephants' Cemetery.

I'll be there.

All those informed will be there.

We'll judge your case.

We're in a predicament.

I think so too.

Lingu?re's offer will be rejected.

They won't kill him here!

This has been dragging on too long.

But I could be wrong.

Of course.

However improbable, Dramaan,

would you submit to the sentence?

Yes, Your Honor.

Good, Dramaan.

I'm glad you

will accept the judgement

of your fellow citizens.

You have some sense

of honor left.

But...

is it really necessary ...

to assemble this tribunal?

What do you mean?

You said a while ago

you did not need this rifle.

But it could come in handy.

The affair would be settled

and we'd still get the money.

Believe me, this suggestion has

caused me sleepless night.

It would be your duty

to end your life.

For love of your native town.

Your Honor! I've suffered unbearably.

At every sign of your increasing

prosperity, I felt death drawing nearer.

If you had spared me that anguish,

who knows?

Things might have been different.

It was hard, but it is done.

There is no going back.

I retreated into myself and

defeated my fear all alone.

For the love of you all, who knows?

I might have taken the gun.

You will be my judges,

I'll abide by your sentence,

whatever it is.

For me, that is justice.

What it will be for you,

I don't know.

May God ...

spare you feelings of remorse.

You can kill me.

I'm not complaining,

I'm not resisting.

But I cannot

relieve you of your action.

I can do nothing more for you.

Thirty years old. I'll write it down?

You miss the train again!

Too bad! You're missing the chance

to leave us the memory

of an almost honorable man.

People of Colobane,

I have something to say.

I'm going to an

appointment, I'll be right back.

The store is open. Help yourselves!

But don't forget my family.

What are you doing here

by the sea, Dramaan?

Does the sea also belong to you?

Nice ear!

All of Colobane's children have one.

You see! Ideals have come

to them after all.

Life is strange.

You had ... I mean, Ramatou ...

we had a child? - Yes.

A boy or a girl? - A girl.

What did you name her? - Goudi.

Starry night ... a pretty name.

I spoke to you of our girl ...

Now tell me about me.

You?

What was I like at 17 ...

when you loved me?

Like now. The loveliest!

You too could have been named Goudi.

They wait for me at the Last Judgement.

I'm at the end of a life lived in vain.

I'll take you to my island over there.

The sea is blue and the gods keep watch.

You will be mine forever.

You belong to me.

You'll be next to me forever.

But I'll be dead!

Die in peace, then come join me.

My friends!

I give the word to an honorable

and outstanding man,

a man of morals,

a man of great knowledge,

the teacher of Colobane.

May I ask you to speak?

People of Colobane, we must keep in mind

that Lingu?re, in giving this donation,

wants something quite precise in return.

What is her intention?

Lingu?re Ramatou wants truth!

Do you think that Lingu?re Ramatou,

in showering us with gold,

wants only to satisfy our desires?

No, she thinks we have lived a life

of deception.

Have we ever been unjust?

No, never.

Citizens of Colobane!

Have we ever let a rascal

get away with it?

No, never.

Or ever tried a scoundrel

with leniency? - No, never.

Has a perjurer ever

escaped our judgement?

No, never!

Have we ever tolerated lies?

No, never!

Dramaan Drameh, it's because

of you that Lingu?re Ramatou

has given us this donation.

Are you aware of that?

Does anyone wish to ask him a question?

My friends,

does anyone

want to comment on Lingu?re Ramatou's

donation?

Let's proceed to the vote.

Let all the pure-hearted

who want justice achieved

raise their hands.

My friends,

the donation is accepted.

But not because of the money.

Not because of the money.

But to be in agreement

with our hearts.

To be in agreement

with our hearts.

Only truth is worthwhile.

It's not because of the money.

Dramaan Drameh,

your time

has come.

Cigarette?

Your Honor,

do you have a cigarette?

Excellent ones!

Here, give it to him!

Aren't you scared? - Of what?

May I pray for you?

Pray rather for Colobane

and leave me in peace.

This ballad from Africa is dedicated
to the great Friedrich, 1922-1990.