Jirga (2018) - full transcript
Former Australian soldier, Mike Wheeler, returns to Afghanistan, seeking redemption from the family of a civilian man he killed during the war.
Sector 1910.
Sector 1910, repeat.
Repeat, yeah, 420
and 427, repeat.
Delta 55 this is Alpha 20.
We are approaching
southern compound now.
Confirmed location
of small arms fire.
Over.
All down to 427, over.
Alpha 20, I confirm
we have small arms fire
on the compound, copy.
022 copy, echo, copy.
Delta 55 this is Alpha 20.
We are moving towards
southern compound,
towards small arms fire.
I am moving at first door.
My 9 o'clock, confirm
door has been cleared.
Over.
Affirmative, affirmative.
Door is clear.
Copy.
Delta 55 this is Alpha 20.
Contact Whiteout.
Contact report.
I have one civilian WIA.
No weapons.
Alpha 20, keep moving.
Do not stop.
Do you copy.
Okay.
Thank you.
This one here please.
Thank you.
Sir, I have old British gun.
- Sir, please, do you know about this?
- No, thank you.
Okay.
I have old knife.
Sir?
Please take this.
No thanks, mate.
Okay.
I have a guitar sir, in my shop.
Please take this?
Sure, a guitar, thank you.
Sir, you drink tea?
- Green tea?
- No tea.
No, thank you, thank you.
Hello?
Who is this?
It's Mike.
You are here?
Yeah.
In Kabul?
At the hotel you said?
Yeah, can we meet?
There's a bar market nearby.
Go there, four o'clock.
I'll find you.
Stay like that, Mike.
You didn't get my last message?
No, why?
I told you not to come.
It's impossible
what you want to do.
And the heart is
full of Taliban.
They'll kill you.
You said you'd help me.
War is like this.
Forget about it, Michael.
Can you get me a driver?
Driver?
Yeah.
I want to go here.
Here, here?
Yeah.
- Kandahar?
- Yeah.
No, Kandahar is very danger.
Okay.
Where's, where south can I go?
Bamiyan.
Bamiyan is very beautiful.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
Sounds nice.
Can you call a driver now?
- Now?
- Yeah.
Okay, okay, okay.
Okay, he is driver.
Take the luggage?
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you, goodbye.
Thanks.
Whoa!
Whoa!
One, two, three, four, five.
For you.
- No, no, can't.
- Please.
Please.
No, no, no,.
- No, no, no, no.
- I need you to help me, please.
Please.
I need you to help me, please.
No, no, no.
Taliban.
You just drop me, I go.
No, no.
You drop me close, I go.
Take it, take it.
Please.
Ah, no, no, no.
Please.
No, please.
Scrambled eggs?
Good, good, yeah.
Yeah, very good.
Please.
I know, I know.
No, no, no, no, no.
- No, no, no, no.
- Please.
Taliban, Taliban,
Taliban, Taliban.
Quick, go, go, go!
Breaker 13, come in.
Breaker 13, come in.
No!
Yeah.
Lunch, eat, eat.
Are you tourist in Kandahar?
I was a soldier.
Three years ago, with the
Australians in Uruzgan.
We did a raid on a village.
Gaz-i-kar.
A man stepped into his
doorway and I shot him.
A woman and children dragged
his body back inside the house.
That money's for them.
This is compensation?
Yeah.
Why do you
care about one dead Afghan?
Your people have
killed thousands of us.
Get up, get up.
Water.
Face.
English?
Little bit.
What's your name?
Amir.
Amir.
Yes.
Come with me.
Not too far.
One of my brother died here.
He had a shop in Kabul.
He come back to see
his wife and children.
Everyone was murdered here.
My brother and his wife
and three children.
They murdered by American drone.
For us they are all our father,
grandfather, uncles, children,
wife, brothers, sisters.
But for your people this
is just an accident.
This is special for you.
We Pashtun say death,
honour, fuller stomach better
than a life of hunger.
Eat.
Janaat?
Janaat make
this for you special.
Good.
Please tell him thank
you, it's very good.
Just eat and no worries.
You want to give this money
to the dead man's family.
To a Pashtun it's like
selling you his dead.
Pride loves revenge.
Where are you taking me?
We are taking you to Rasigah.
Why are you helping me?
You are our guest.
I'm a hostage.
Same thing.
If you want to say sorry
to these villagers,
you need to say.
No.
Let's go.
The village chief,
his name is Dawood Khan.
This money is a curse.
Why you come here for?
For what you come here?
I've been here before.
I took part in the raid.
Why you come back here?
I killed one of your brothers.
I'm here to confess.
We came in from over here.
The helicopter
dropped us over there.
Three of my team were with me.
The rest came in from behind.
Men were firing from
a compound over there.
I know now they
were not Taliban.
Just your men protecting their
homes and their families.
We passed the edge
of this building.
We came to this wall.
There was a burst of gunfire.
And as I turned,
a man stepped into
that doorway there.
Before I knew it, I shot him.
A woman and children dragged
his body back inside.
But I knew he was dead.
This is the place.
The man that was shot,
his name was Atta-Ulah Khan.
Just a musician.
Sector 1910, repeat.
Repeat, yeah, 420
and 427, repeat.
Delta 55 this is Alpha 20.
We are approaching
southern compound now.
Confirmed location
of small arms fire.
Over.
All down to 427, over.
Alpha 20, I confirm
we have small arms fire
on the compound, copy.
022 copy, echo, copy.
Delta 55 this is Alpha 20.
We are moving towards
southern compound,
towards small arms fire.
I am moving at first door.
My 9 o'clock, confirm
door has been cleared.
Over.
Affirmative, affirmative.
Door is clear.
Copy.
Delta 55 this is Alpha 20.
Contact Whiteout.
Contact report.
I have one civilian WIA.
No weapons.
Alpha 20, keep moving.
Do not stop.
Do you copy.
Okay.
Thank you.
This one here please.
Thank you.
Sir, I have old British gun.
- Sir, please, do you know about this?
- No, thank you.
Okay.
I have old knife.
Sir?
Please take this.
No thanks, mate.
Okay.
I have a guitar sir, in my shop.
Please take this?
Sure, a guitar, thank you.
Sir, you drink tea?
- Green tea?
- No tea.
No, thank you, thank you.
Hello?
Who is this?
It's Mike.
You are here?
Yeah.
In Kabul?
At the hotel you said?
Yeah, can we meet?
There's a bar market nearby.
Go there, four o'clock.
I'll find you.
Stay like that, Mike.
You didn't get my last message?
No, why?
I told you not to come.
It's impossible
what you want to do.
And the heart is
full of Taliban.
They'll kill you.
You said you'd help me.
War is like this.
Forget about it, Michael.
Can you get me a driver?
Driver?
Yeah.
I want to go here.
Here, here?
Yeah.
- Kandahar?
- Yeah.
No, Kandahar is very danger.
Okay.
Where's, where south can I go?
Bamiyan.
Bamiyan is very beautiful.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
Sounds nice.
Can you call a driver now?
- Now?
- Yeah.
Okay, okay, okay.
Okay, he is driver.
Take the luggage?
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you, goodbye.
Thanks.
Whoa!
Whoa!
One, two, three, four, five.
For you.
- No, no, can't.
- Please.
Please.
No, no, no,.
- No, no, no, no.
- I need you to help me, please.
Please.
I need you to help me, please.
No, no, no.
Taliban.
You just drop me, I go.
No, no.
You drop me close, I go.
Take it, take it.
Please.
Ah, no, no, no.
Please.
No, please.
Scrambled eggs?
Good, good, yeah.
Yeah, very good.
Please.
I know, I know.
No, no, no, no, no.
- No, no, no, no.
- Please.
Taliban, Taliban,
Taliban, Taliban.
Quick, go, go, go!
Breaker 13, come in.
Breaker 13, come in.
No!
Yeah.
Lunch, eat, eat.
Are you tourist in Kandahar?
I was a soldier.
Three years ago, with the
Australians in Uruzgan.
We did a raid on a village.
Gaz-i-kar.
A man stepped into his
doorway and I shot him.
A woman and children dragged
his body back inside the house.
That money's for them.
This is compensation?
Yeah.
Why do you
care about one dead Afghan?
Your people have
killed thousands of us.
Get up, get up.
Water.
Face.
English?
Little bit.
What's your name?
Amir.
Amir.
Yes.
Come with me.
Not too far.
One of my brother died here.
He had a shop in Kabul.
He come back to see
his wife and children.
Everyone was murdered here.
My brother and his wife
and three children.
They murdered by American drone.
For us they are all our father,
grandfather, uncles, children,
wife, brothers, sisters.
But for your people this
is just an accident.
This is special for you.
We Pashtun say death,
honour, fuller stomach better
than a life of hunger.
Eat.
Janaat?
Janaat make
this for you special.
Good.
Please tell him thank
you, it's very good.
Just eat and no worries.
You want to give this money
to the dead man's family.
To a Pashtun it's like
selling you his dead.
Pride loves revenge.
Where are you taking me?
We are taking you to Rasigah.
Why are you helping me?
You are our guest.
I'm a hostage.
Same thing.
If you want to say sorry
to these villagers,
you need to say.
No.
Let's go.
The village chief,
his name is Dawood Khan.
This money is a curse.
Why you come here for?
For what you come here?
I've been here before.
I took part in the raid.
Why you come back here?
I killed one of your brothers.
I'm here to confess.
We came in from over here.
The helicopter
dropped us over there.
Three of my team were with me.
The rest came in from behind.
Men were firing from
a compound over there.
I know now they
were not Taliban.
Just your men protecting their
homes and their families.
We passed the edge
of this building.
We came to this wall.
There was a burst of gunfire.
And as I turned,
a man stepped into
that doorway there.
Before I knew it, I shot him.
A woman and children dragged
his body back inside.
But I knew he was dead.
This is the place.
The man that was shot,
his name was Atta-Ulah Khan.
Just a musician.