Something of Value (1957) - full transcript

Darling.

- Papa, have I kept you waiting?
- No, that's all right. Come on.

- Why isn't Peter here?
- He's playing with Kimani, Papa.

That brother of yours
and that Kyuke are inseparable.

Can't he find a white playmate?

Why?

You can't treat an African like a brother
and expect to have a good servant.

When Caroline died,
Kimani's mother raised Peter.

In a way, they are brothers.

When do you leave for England?

Tomorrow, worst luck.
I'm homesick already.



A few years of school...

You won't let him marry anybody
but me, Mr. McKenzie, will you?

Has he proposed?

No, but I have, quite often.

Which of you stole the rifle?
Step forward.

Your religion says it is evil to steal.

Your own medicine shall name the liar.

If you tell the truth,
this will not burn your tongue.

He who lies...

...burns. Peter?

Kimani, my son, shall be the first.

Did you steal that gun?

Did you steal the gun?

Did you steal the gun?



Did you steal the gun?

I will find the weapon
and bring it to you.

Punish him yourself.

The city teaches bad ways
to young men.

How does it go with your wife?
The wife with child?

Tomorrow, the day after...
The time is near.

Papa.

- How does it work?
- Plain old witchcraft.

The Kikuyu is a very religious man.

He fears God, but he trusts him too.

- But hot steel is...
- Will not burn a wet tongue.

But the liar's spit dries up.

Him it will scorch. Ha-ha-ha.

I think you know more
about black witchcraft...

...than you do about the Bible.

- Let me have my way with these devils...
- Poor old Jeff is the perfect colonizer.

What's his is his
and what's theirs is his too.

Well, have a good shoot.

We're not raising cattle
to feed a maverick lion.

Kimani, Lathela.

Tell Kimani not to gut him.

We'll leave a smelly calling card
for the lion.

Kimani, open the animal,
but don't clean him.

Then you'd better service the guns.

When it comes time to kill the lion,
I want to shoot the gun too.

It's Jeff's show.

And you know how he feels
about Africans and guns.

KIMANl:
I want to shoot the gun too.

I'm sorry. Lathela.

KIMANl:
Always when we hunt it is the same.

You have all the fun, I do all the work.

When we were little
and played together...

But we're big now.
And things are not the same.

Hit him.

Hit him. Hit him hard.

Do what he says, now.

And in a hurry.

From now on, when he tells you
to do something, do it.

Don't think about it, just obey.
Understand me?

Well?

Come on, Peter.

I really should've slapped you.

Might have been better all around
if you had.

Heh-heh. Forget it.

You had no right to hit Kimani.

Peter, how many times
have I got to tell you?

Blacks are blacks and not playmates.

One thing you can never do
is argue with them. Never.

You tell them.

Oh, sometimes you can joke with them...

...you can boot them in the tail
sometimes...

...look after them when they're sick.

But you never, never argue with them.

- The world's changing, Jeff.
- Not in Africa it isn't.

Kimani's mother raised both of us.
We grew up together.

You'll never live together on
equal footing. Not in our lifetime.

You can't spend the first 20 years
of your life with someone...

...sharing bread and secrets and dreams,
and then one day say:

"Sorry, it's all over.
We live in different worlds".

I don't believe it and I don't like it.

Wait till you settle down
and marry Holly...

...and have to deal seriously
with the wogs.

Have you heard from Holly?

A couple of letters from London.

She mentioned coming back?

Just stuff about school, things like that.

Hm...

Well, we'd better break camp
and go after that lion. Lathela.

Get Kimani to help you load.

Kimani not here.

Where?

Forget that lion, Jeff.
We're gonna find Kimani, and right now.

All right, all right, all right.

You want Lathela with you?

No, you'll need him to track.

I'll meet you back here at sundown.

- Are you all right?
- Yes, bwana.

- Does it hurt much?
- No, bwana.

You're lying.

- And stop calling me bwana.
- What shall I call you?

"Boss"? "Master"?

Yes, it hurts.
Not where the trap cut me...

...only where Jeff slapped me.
That is where it hurts.

Well, then stop thinking about it.

No one ever struck me in anger before.

Not even my own father.

It wasn't in anger.
He's already forgotten.

Can you forget it?

I cannot forget it either.

We are alike in many things.

You talk Kikuyu same as me.
I speak English same as you.

But you are white and I am black.

And you are the bwana
and I am the servant.

And I carry the gun and you shoot.

- Why is shooting the gun so important?
- It's not the gun, it is...

What is it, then? What?

We cannot talk as friends.

Why?

You said it yourself.

We are not children anymore...

...so we are not friends anymore.

I saved your life as a friend.

I'll always be your friend.

Kimani...

Does it hurt much?

No.

The child doesn't come easily.

It is a curse. This morning,
I saw the dung of a hyena.

Just now a vulture passed over us.

Don't you talk like that.
Just don't you talk like that.

- Suppose the child is born feet first.
- Then it must be killed.

When that child comes, don't
you touch it. You understand?

It is you who do not understand.

I'm gonna fetch my father.

White magic will not remove the curse.

- Perhaps the curse is in your son?
- What evil did he do?

Suppose a snake came into his bed.

Suppose a man struck him
and he did not strike back.

Suppose he broke a law.

The child enters life feet first.

Do what must be done.

Kimani.

Swear him in.

- Which god, please?
- The Christian God.

I worship Ngai,
the god who lives on Mount Kenya.

I will swear by our sacred
Githathi stone.

Your word will suffice.

Oh, no, no.

If I lie before this symbol of God...

...my children and their children and
my home and my land will turn to dust.

And when I die...

...I will have no life hereafter
except to live forever in eternity...

...by the cursed hyena,
cowardly eater of the dead.

I speak the truth.

You're the father
of the dead baby in question?

- Yes.
- Did you tell the midwife to kill the baby?

Yes. It was born feet first,
it was cursed.

Then what was done?

What is always done
according to custom.

Tell His Honor what that is.

We smothered the child
and buried it under a pot.

- You know that killing is against the law?
- God says to murder is wrong.

And when you had that newborn baby
smothered, was that not murder?

No.

A child cannot join the tribe
until he is 1 year old.

Therefore, he's not really born
until his second year.

What was killed was a demon,
not a child.

Yes, yes. And then what did you do?

- What?
- Then what did you do?

We sacrificed a young ram.

Mm.
And that, I suppose, got rid of the curse.

No. No, sir.

Not yet.

I am still here,
therefore the curse is still at work.

Would you do the same thing if another
child were born to you feet first?

Yes, yes.

It would be my duty.

What in the name of Almighty God
are we trying to do to these people?

Preserve the law, Henry, that's all.

Law? Whose law? Not theirs, surely.

All men are equal before the law.

Except some are
more equal than others.

That man is an accomplice to murder.
He's admitted that.

But can we make him understand it?

We take away their customs,
their habits, their religion.

We stop their tribal dances,
we stop them circumcising their women.

Then we offer them our way of life,
something they can't grasp.

We say, "Look how clean and rich
and clever we are".

For the Africans...

...different wages, different life.

We mock their wise men.

Take away the authority
from their fathers.

What are the children going to do?

They'll lose respect
for their elders and fathers...

...and when they do, look out.

Maybe they'll lose respect
for our white Jesus too.

Turn to something else for help.

It won't be to us.

Well, you understand, don't you, Peter?

If we don't make the African
respect the law...

...well, the next thing you know,
he'll be wanting to rule this country.

Imagine that, now.

Whatever could give him that idea?

This is his son.
Can he come in while we're here?

The city frightens me.

- Let us go home quickly.
- Listen, old friend.

The law says
you must stay here in jail for a while.

I'm sorry. We'll do everything we can.

My daughter will visit you.

She'll bring you tobacco
and food to comfort you.

Please keep this for me.

A jail is not the proper place
to keep god's sacred symbol.

And when my son comes of age...

I understand.

I am happy it was not you
who struck my son.

You are still his friend?

Yes.

And yours too,
for as long as you both wish it.

Boy, boy.

I told you. He will not help you.

Our Mathanjuki will purify you.
He will drive the curse from your body...

...and I will be free.
- No.

- You do not believe in god?
- Yes, yes.

But I do not believe in our witchcraft
and black magic.

When Bwana Jeff struck you...

He struck a black man to prove that
the white man is master, nothing else.

You are not in jail because of a curse...

...but only because
we are judged by their laws.

And that is the truth. And I must
follow where the truth leads me.

- Where does it lead you?
- To strike back.

We're men, not animals.

You have much to look forward to,
my son.

You will become headman as I was.

Is that to be my life?
Headman for a white boss?

"Yes, bwana. No, bwana. Yes, bwana".

This land can serve me too.
I want my own land.

Then you must earn it.

I will, Father.

I will.

Who are you?

Who sent you here?

Why you come here?

He told me to come here.

You told me the white man
would put Father in jail.

- You said we had to fight the white man.
- Your father is in jail?

- Yes, and I'm ready to fight.
- You ran away from...

...the McKenzie shamba?
- Yes.

- Why?
- You stole money?

- No.
- Guns?

No, why should I steal?

Then why should you run?

I don't know.

This is my daughter, Wanjiru.
- He can be of no use to us.

He wants to fight the white man.

We can use him.

We will take him to the mountains.

We will train him.

Come, little boy.

First you will learn to steal guns. Hm?

I have no parents and I am hungry.

I need work.

Not a sound. Nothing.

Do not call. Do not answer.

Do not cough or I kill you.

Understand?

You are not alone?

How many are there? One other?

The houseboy?

You will call him by name.
Nothing else, just the name.

Call him.

Migwe. Migwe.

This boy is dead.

Nanyuki Police signing off, 1545.

- Hello, Peter.
- I need some help, Hillary.

If it's about the sentence
of your headman...

His son, Kimani. He's missing.

- When?
- Last night. I want him found.

- What did he steal?
- Steal?

You want him found,
what are the charges?

- He might be hurt.
- You check the infirmary?

And I've chased down his family
within a hundred miles.

He'll show up.

He probably went to Nairobi
on a toot and...

- Age?
- Twenty-one.

- Height?
- Six-two, weight a little under 13 stone.

Wait a minute.
There was a houseboy killed last night.

Buxton shamba,
at the foot of the Aberdares.

A gang broke in,
stole guns and whiskey.

- What's that got to do with Kimani?
- Maybe nothing. Maybe everything.

- Not a chance.
- Why not?

I know Kimani. I know how he thinks.
He's not a criminal.

You mean not yet.

You just find him.
At least send out a description.

Kimani's guilty of only one thing,
captain. Guilty of being born black.

Take one.

Why that gun?

My friend Peter has a gun like this.

It is a fine gun.

I can kill a lion with this.

Or even a man, huh?

There will be no drinking here again.

Never.

Adam is our leader.
Who are you to tell us what...?

Daughter, ask the other women
where to go and what to do.

Kimani.

I see you have earned a gun.

This gun.

To get some of these guns,
one of our own people was killed.

When lightning strikes,
a bystander may be hurt.

Lightning belongs to god.

This was murder by him.

It was the will of god.

No. I do not like your ways.

Sit down.

I go to Nanyuki.

I work there to free my father
in my own way.

Sit down.

Two reasons why you cannot leave us.

That houseboy.

That houseboy who was killed last night,
Adam can hang for this.

So can you. So can all of us.

- That is the law.
- Reason two.

You know our names and our faces.

You know where we live
and how we live.

We would be safe
only if you stay with us.

Or if you were dead.

We will not always live
as hunted animals.

Great men make plans for us.

Plans to drive the white man
from our country.

Plans to take back our land.

Plans to...

Flight 212, BO AC...

... arriving from London, Rome,
Athens, Cairo, Khartoum.

- Cigarette?
No.

- Dad?
- No, thanks.

Flight 212 departing for Dar es Salaam,
Johannesburg and Jamestown.

There.

Two-one-two departing for Dar es
Salaam, Johannesburg and Jamestown.

Each to their own.

Holly, I...

Six years is a long time.

Too long?

You'd better see to her luggage.

- Can't I watch too?
- It's indecent.

That's why I want to watch.

Oh, really.

Kimani.

Hey.

Kimani.

Strange.

I thought I saw Kimani.

You remember Kimani?

Move. Start moving.

Would you mind letting us by, please?

I've come to pray.

This is not a church.

My god does not live in a church.

How do you call yourself?

Kimani wa Karanja.

We are beggars and slaves
in our own land.

The British allow us
in their homes and hotels, yes.

But how?

As servants.

We are millions, they are a handful.

We are strong, they are weak.

How then are they the masters
and we the slaves?

Is it white magic?

Is it god's will?

No.

They have the guns.
We too shall have guns.

Are we ready for this?

The whole colored world burns
with the fever of revolt...

...with the fire for freedom.

Do any of you have any questions?

Is there a doubt in your hearts?

What troubles you?

Kimani. His name is Kimani wa Karanja.

For five years,
he has been in the mountains with us.

He is ready for leadership.

He is very strong and loyal.

Strong men have betrayed us before.

- You have a question, Kimani?
KIMANl: Yes, sir.

- This talk of guns.
Yes?

Is this the only way
we can get freedom?

Yes.

- By the spilling of blood?
- Yes.

We will never drive the British out
with words.

And not with doubts
and not with friendship.

It can only be done with guns.

The white man did not take this land
with guns.

He bought this land.

- This is truth.
- Mm-hm.

And I must follow
where the truth leads me.

You were educated
in white missionary schools?

Yes, sir.

Long, long ago,
to whom did the land belong?

- The people.
- Yes.

Not one person, but the entire clan.

And therefore only the clan
can sell the land...

...correct?
- Yes, sir.

No man of any other tribe
can buy our land...

...unless he becomes,
in our religion, a Kikuyu.

Yes, sir.

And have the British
ever become Kikuyus?

Or have you become one of the British?

Your father was a friend of the British.

But your father died in their prison.

There is only one way
to drive out the British.

By terror and death.

Everyone must either be for us
or against us.

Those who be with us, stand.

Good.

We will need a symbol, a sign, a name.

Here it is.

Mau Mau.

Mau Mau.

Use it, live by it, die for it.

Mau Mau is the machinery that will
carry us to freedom and independence.

Mau Mau.

Mau Mau.

I swear to kill an Englishman...

...or may this oath kill me and my family.

I swear to kill an Englishman...

...or may this oath kill me and my family.

- They make a nice couple, don't they?
- Mm.

She's got good lines for breeding too.

Look.

Mount Kenya.

Lathela, wait here.

No wonder the African believes
that God lives on Mount Kenya.

If I were God,
that's where I'd like to live.

I feel I'm really home now.

I love you, Peter.

I always have. I suppose I always will.

I like the feel of you.

I wish...

Yes?

I wish it could always be
like this moment.

Safe and warm and peaceful.

Always like this.

Home is always like this.

Why did your husband run away?

Did he steal?

Did he do something bad?

Where did he go?

Why didn't you go with him?

- I was afraid.
- Afraid?

Afraid of what?

Hello, my darling.
Hello, my darling.

What did you bring?

Hello.
You didn't forget my rifle?

Yes, it's right here.

Henry.

Bring the children in.
Bring them in.

What do you think? What's it mean?

I don't know.

Two Kyukes disappear from my place.

Jasper, his headman reports one gone
from his farm, rifle missing too.

One gone from your place.

Why?

You saw his wife.

She's afraid.

Why? What of?

Come in.

According to Kikuyu custom...

...we come to speak for Peter McKenzie,
bachelor...

...to Holly Keith, spinster.

- This shy Kikuyu maiden is grateful.
- She doesn't look very shy to me.

How many goats will be paid for me?

Three or four ought to be quite enough,
don't you think?

Oh, I'd say 20 or 30 at least.

Why don't you throw yourself in
and make it 31 goats?

And why has Peter wa Henry
chosen me?

He needs someone to chop firewood
and dig potatoes.

He needs someone
to keep his bed warm.

- He promises not to beat you often.
- Unless it's absolutely necessary.

- He also expects a child every year.
- All of them his.

- A very narrow attitude.
- We shall also have to shave your head.

Do you accept my son? If you do,
we'll drink to the marriage bargain.

If you don't,
I shall have to pour this on the ground.

And waste all that precious gin?

Thank you for becoming
one of our family.

You will swear a new blood oath.

When it is done,
you will be part of the new army:

Mau Mau.

He who refuses to take the oath...

...he dies.

He who breaks the oath...

...he dies.

Cut off the sheep's head.

Fill this calabash with its blood.

Sugar cane.

Sugar cane and banana leaves...

...the first source of food.

Mugere plant...

...best and strongest magic.

The arch...

...oldest Kikuyu symbol.

You will pass through the arch
seven times...

...and thereby enter a new life.

You will receive seven cuts on the arm
to bind you together.

Seven.

All things in seven.

Seven, the unlucky number.

Break the oath
and the evil seven will strike.

Sheep's blood...

...symbol of sacrifice.

Millet...

...seeds of nourishment.

Earth...

...the earth we fight for.

The cause that brings us together.

You will eat this oath.

You will swallow it seven times...

...so that it becomes part of you.

Bitter Sodom apples.

Take off everything
that stinks of the European.

Watch, ring, money.

To give you an easy road.

The endless circles.

Earth.

Hold it to your belly.

That the land may feed us
and not the foreigners.

Hold up your arm.

So that your blood will mix.

Now...

...swallow the oath seven times.

Repeat after me
as you pass through the arch.

If I sell land to any foreigners,
may this oath kill me.

If I sell land to any foreigners,
may this oath kill me.

- I will steal guns.
- I will steal guns.

I will never be a Christian.

I will never be a Christian.

I will drive out all Europeans or kill them.

I will drive out all Europeans or kill them.

It is done.

They've all sworn.

I feel unclean.

I will not let Wanjiru take this oath.

It is not necessary. She is loyal.

To swallow the oath was hard enough,
but the rest of it...

The nameless filth, the shame.
And in front of the others.

Why was it necessary? Why?

To bind us together forever.
Now they will do anything.

Killing of mother, father, son
will be as nothing to them.

They will feel strong
with power and purpose.

- Who gave you the oath?
- No one.

You never took it?

I am too old to change.

I am ready to give up my life,
but I cannot give up my faith.

It is too deep, too strong.

In life and in death...

...I will always believe
in the god of my father...

...the god who lives on Mount Kenya.
- So do I, in spite of the oath.

Your daughter carries my child.

Now, I wish to marry her
before the child is born.

I consider you married.

I will gather cooking stones
with my wife...

...as my father before me gathered
cooking stones with my mother.

Like you,
I cannot tear out what is in my heart.

Do it quickly, then. We need rest.

Tomorrow is the appointed day
of the long knives.

Our first attack should be
on the McKenzie shamba.

- Why there?
- Why not?

Look, that was my home, my friends.

A great leader has no friends,
only a cause.

- You doubt my loyalty?
- I only ask you to prove it.

Let your panga come back
as red as mine.

Thank you for a lovely day.

Lovely wedding day.

- No more anxiety?
- Mm-mm.

- You know why?
- Why?

Because everything's so full of life.

All the animals, the earth...

...and even the air smells of life.
We've done nothing to spoil it.

Someday all this will be farm country.

What will happen
to White Hunter McKenzie, then?

Four years ago,
our crops were hit by locusts.

Wiped out.

Papa put all his savings into cattle.

The next year, rinderpest.

What cattle didn't die had to be killed.

Papa got a loan from the bank.

So part of the time,
I take rich clients on safari.

For the money.

To pay back the loan.

So the land's good to us this year...

...and the crops hold up,
no locusts, no rinderpests...

...I'll be back where I really belong.

On the farm.

You know, that's the most wonderful
wedding present you could ever give me.

- Are you as happy as I am?
- I'm a very lucky man.

I have the two women
I love most in the world.

- Who's the other one?
- Africa.

There are some things I can do for you
that Africa can't.

What is it?

I don't know.

Something strange.

Well, I didn't hear anything.

I'm not certain.

It was something.

Just a feeling, I guess.

I wonder what's happened
to the porch light.

Probably the fuse again.
I'll have a look at it.

Hey, what the...? Ugh!

KIMANl:
Remember me?

Kimani.

- What do you want?
- I've come home.

Jeff!

KIMANl:
No.

Kimani.

Jeff Newton
and two of his children dead.

His wife, Elizabeth, in critical condition.

On the open highway to Nanyuki
in broad daylight...

... Joe Matson and Mrs. Matson
were ambushed while motoring.

Mrs. Matson was killed
by machine-gun bullets.

Chief Waruhiu,
leader of the anti-Mau Mau movement...

... was murdered at Kiambu.

MEYLl:
Yes, bwana.

Were you in your hut last night?

MEYLl:
Yes.

It's lucky your father
and the one boy were out visiting.

Where is Jeff and the kids?

What's your name?
MEYLl: Meyli.

Who was with you?
MEYLl: My husband and my children.

And the mother of my husband.

Did you ever attend
any Mau Mau meetings?

MEYLl:
No, bwana.

Next, please.

Mrs. McKenzie, what type blood are you?

- Type O.
- Come along, please.

Hurry.

Anybody else here with type O blood?

Peter?

Lathela is, I think.

Which one of you is known as Lathela?

Is that you? Come with me.

We need blood
to help Memsahib Elizabeth.

Papa.

Why Elizabeth? Why the kids?

Why?

A state of emergency
now exists in Kenya.

Kikuyus are being sworn into
a terror organization called Mau Mau.

Small gangs are fighting
guerrilla warfare.

There may be Mau Mau on your farms,
in your cities, in your homes.

Any African found with a gun
may be punished by death.

Peter, why do you have to go?

We've been over this a dozen times.
I have to go, that's all.

Yes, but there's the army...

The army is inexperienced in the
mountain and the bush country.

- How long will you be away?
- I don't know.

What am I supposed to do
while you're gone?

What the rest of the women are doing,
help keep the place going.

Peter.

It wasn't very much of a honeymoon
for you, was it?

Are you very afraid?

No, not of them.

Only for us.

It's us I'm afraid for,
what will happen to us.

Mau Mau working
underground everywhere.

Maybe right here in this room,
for all we know.

Now, the government wants information.
Who's forging the ammunition permits?

Who's supplying the guns?
Who's giving the oaths?

So it's prisoners we're after.

It's your job to track them down.

I say kill them, make it open warfare,
bomb them out.

Kill whom,
all 6 million Africans in Kenya?

We're only 40,000.
That makes the odds about 150-to-1.

That's not the point.

We're not at war with the Kikuyu nation.
We're fighting Mau Mau.

For every one of us,
they've killed a hundred Kikuyus.

- Loyal Kikuyus.
- They don't know what loyalty means.

Now, listen, man.
They're trying to drive us out.

What are we to do? Pack up because
their grandfathers were here first?

I was born here too. This is my country.

Killing's no answer.
We gotta give the African a chance...

Black man's had Africa for years.
It'd be a jungle if we hadn't moved in.

It's not a question of
black or white.

That's exactly what it is.
Black or white.

You'll follow orders or keep out of this.

Well?

All right.

I'll try it your way for a while.

No smoking.

And no fires for cooking.

Whiskey?

Jeff.

Talk to me, Papa.

I don't know what to say.

Anything, Papa. Anything at all.

This off-season rain...

...it should do a lot of good.

You're doing a big job, child.

Like my Caroline, a long time ago...

...when the country was new.

She was delicate, but strong, like you.

She helped to make the land and hold it.

Like you.

No, Papa, not like me.

I'm weak.

I'm weak and I'm afraid and I'm lonely.

Papa.

Who said you could get out of bed?

I want to go to Nairobi
to see the doctor.

Is it your arm again?

I know you'll think I'm mad...

...but I'm going to have another baby.

You see, if there's any chance
of it being born...

Well, I mean,
after losing so much blood and...

And I want this baby, Papa.

More than I've ever wanted anything.

It'd be a little bit more of Jeff and...

Holly, will you take me in to the doctor
in the morning?

Hey, you, listen carefully.

You are surrounded by police.

Lay down your guns.

Listen carefully.

Lay down your guns.

You are surrounded by police.

All right.

Waithaka,
do you know any of these people?

- Next.
- A good farmer, no Mau Mau.

- No?
- No, bwana.

You see?

Njogu, soldier of god.

How long were you in the mountains?

One year.

Do not hurt me, bwana.

Who gave you the oath?

I do not know.

If you lie to me again, I'll kill you.

Now...

...who was it?

Who made you swear to the oath?

Waithaka.

Help me. Help me.

Waithaka.

- Help me.
- The woman lies.

I never saw her before, never.
I swear. By my father, I swear.

Here's one of your loyal Kikuyus.

All right. We'll start again.

- You gave the oath to the girl?
- No.

- She knew your name. How?
- She's the wife of my brother.

- Who gave you the oath?
- It was dark and raining, I could not see.

How do you Mau Mau do it?

Since when do we use torture?

The Mau Mau do it. They love it.

- You might even grow to love it yourself.
- I don't like it any more than you do.

But I don't like what happened
to Matson's wife.

Or your family. Or any families to come.

We're not such a big jump away
from being savages ourselves, are we?

Please. Please let me
point him out from here.

Please let me.

This is the man.

- Your name.
- Njogu.

Is he the one? Is he the oath-giver?

You said his name was Njogu.
You said he was here.

He spoke truly.

I gave the oath to him, to all of them.

They know nothing.

And from me, you will get nothing.

Do not let me stay...

Do not let me stay here.

You promised, bwana.

You promised, you promised,
you promised.

Who is it?

Uncle Peter.

Excuse my appearance.

I need a drink.

- I beg your pardon.
- Let me help you, son.

That's right. Absolutely right.

You're gonna help us all.
I need your help.

Government needs help.
Everybody needs help.

It's a big secret job.

Very important.

Toast.

Toast.

I don't think he's taken off
these clothes since he left home.

He probably never had a chance.

Thank God he's all right.

Holly...

...strange things happen
to people in war.

- Inside, I mean.
- Not between us.

- He'll be the same as always, you'll see.
- Nothing's ever the same.

That's one thing you can't do,
stand still.

Look, his sock has rotted away
inside his boot.

I'd forgotten how good our earth feels.

So rich and full of life.

Can you hear the soil
through my fingers?

No.

What's it saying?

How much I love you and miss you
and need you.

Last night, I thought...

Last night I had a nightmare
and it was...

It was a nightmare.

Somebody will see us.

Does it matter?

It isn't the same, is it?

Yes, Holly.

You make me feel ashamed.

We waited lunch for you.

- Sorry.
- Finally gave up.

I didn't realize the time.

Daydreaming?

Yes.

You can pick your
dreams in the daytime.

I'm sorry you've gotta go tonight.

So am I.

It's not fair to Holly.

She's carrying a pretty heavy burden.

No more than you
or a dozen other women around here.

It's not easy for Holly
looking after Papa and little Jeff and me.

It's not easy going to bed
with a rifle by your side...

...night after night
instead of a husband...

...never knowing
if you're going to see daylight again.

Never laughing.

Never loving.

Never knowing if the next footstep
on the porch is yours or...

You're her whole life, Peter.

Don't shut her out.

I feel empty.

Dead.

It's not so bad in the daytime,
in the clean hot sun.

But when it grows dark...

...I'm afraid, I guess.

And then when I think of Holly
and how much I want her...

...and when it's the moment to
touch her and be with her, I can't.

I just feel dirty, I feel unclean.

Filthy business we're in.

Time will wash it clean.

Who knows how much time there is left?

- Ready?
- Yes, yes.

Where's Holly?

She's in the bedroom.

Well?

Don't go. Please, don't go.

You expect me to run out?

Yes. Yes, together.

Somewhere far away,
where there's no war.

We belong here, Holly.

Here, this is our land.

It was worked for and paid for.

Nobody's driving me off this land.

They can bury me in it,
but nobody is chasing me off it.

Peter, darling,
what does a piece of land matter?

Look what it's doing to us,
to everybody.

- Please, take me away from here.
- This is our home.

- They say not.
- They lie.

War is filled with lies.

What they say, what we say, lies.

Our place is here.

My place is with you.

And you have no place for me.

I'm selfish. I don't want to lose you.

Please, let's go away from here
before it's too late.

Do I get the names?

The oath-givers...

...the man who killed my wife.

Joe.

Lathela.

You are not afraid of Mau Mau?

I'm like you.

I'm too old to be frightened by men.

The wrath of God frightens me,
not the brutality of men.

What do you want of me?

How is it you gave the oath to others
and never took it yourself?

I believe in the faith of my father.

Good.

Who are your leaders?

Your oath-givers?

By speaking out,
you can end the war between us.

You leave Africa and the war will end.

Can't we live in peace,
your people and mine?

Go away.

Your soft words are sharper than blows.

Would you prefer violence?

I'm no ordinary man.

Nothing can make me speak out.
They have tried.

They could not do it.
Not with torture, not with pain.

You will fail also.

Well, that's all we needed,
a spell of weather.

Ngai is angry.

What's that?

Thunder and lightning.

When it storms, the Kikuyu believes
he is face-to-face with god.

Thunder is the sound of god
cracking his joints...

...preparing for battle.

The lightning
is god's sword of retribution.

You talk as if you believed
that black hogwash yourself.

The important thing
is whether our friend in there believes it.

If he does...

You'll never break him
with mumbo jumbo.

His kind understands only one thing:
Force.

- Kill him, you make a martyr of him.
- He'll be dead.

Hold it, Joe. Go ahead, Henry.

You gotta fight an idea
with a better idea.

With the help of this weather,
and if I know my man...

Well, give me one more go at him.

Tell me, Ngai, if I do right.

I only wish to do thy will.

Give me a sign that I may know.

Lathela, get some kerosene
and dry wood.

- I am not afraid to face god.
- We will see.

I am the messenger of god.

Did god create Mau Mau?

Mau Mau is the will of god.

Did god tell you
to mutilate innocent children?

Did Gikuyu and Mumbi
ever violate animals?

Since the creation of Mount Kenya...

...has god ever told you
to steal and murder and burn and hate?

Is it the will of god that you eat
human flesh and blood?

- I swear that...
- Wait.

Let your swearing have value
in the eyes of god.

Swear by your sacred Githathi stone.

Hold this symbol of God
in your hands and swear.

Then I'll believe you.

Now begin at the beginning.

Did you ever take the
Mau Mau blood oath yourself?

- No.
- I believe you.

- Did you give the oath to others?
- Yes.

- By force?
- Yes.

You swore to drive the white men
out of Africa, didn't you?

- Yes.
- Did God tell you to create Mau Mau?

Say yes before God and I'll believe you.

I've said enough.

You are afraid to face your god.

- If Mau Mau drives us out, then what?
- Then freedom.

- And faith in god too?
- Yes, yes.

How? What faith?

Mau Mau, the promise to murder?

Will god take back the people
who've eaten the blood oath?

That's why you didn't take
the oath yourself, isn't it?

Because you wanted to be able
to come back to god.

Yes, Ngai, I come to you faithful...

...with no other gods before you.

But you've broken every law of your god.

Tell him that too.

Tell him you gave the blood oath
to others by night, by force.

That you gave it before witnesses,
gave it to women and children.

These are the worst violations.

How can you lead your people
back to god?

Even tonight, more of your people
are being oathed...

...banished from the house of god...

...cursed to live through eternity
as a broken-spined hyena.

Is that the future for your people?

Is it? Is that what you want?

No.

Who's the oath-giver in Nairobi?

Who is he?

If god cannot accept Mau Mau,
Mau Mau cannot lead your people.

In Nairobi, his name is Timbu.

Who gives the oath in Thomson's Falls?

Lorry driver for Bwana Wilson.

Nyeri?

They are even in the home guard.

Are Mau Mau in our telephone service?

- Yes.
- Code words for guns?

- Mti, tree.
- Ammunition?

Makaa, charcoal.

The McKenzie shamba,
who led the attack?

The...

The husband of my daughter.

His name?

Kimani wa Karanja.

The capture
of a high-ranking oath administrator...

... has led to the arrest of many Mau Mau
in the Nyeri District.

Loyal Kikuyu witnesses
are cooperating...

... by pointing out those Africans
who have taken the blood oath.

Witnesses wear white hoods
to conceal their identities.

Shantytown in Nairobi,
cesspool of intrigue and resistance...

... is being flattened and razed.

Ready?

- Where do you think you're going?
- To find Kimani.

I can't spare
the men for that chase.

- Just Lathela and I.
- And when you find him, then what?

- Ask him to surrender.
- Why should he?

Because I know Kimani.

Because he wants peace
as much as we do.

Peace? You said surrender.
Peace means terms.

What terms? His precious life?
A seat in parliament?

You and your pet black boy.
You're just a black liberator, aren't you?

All right, all right.

What terms?

The lives of his people.

- What can we lose by trying?
- Did this Kimani take the oath?

The old man says yes.

You wouldn't have one chance
in a thousand of coming out alive.

The emergency
operations now cost the government...

... more than a million pounds
every month.

Several farmers in the Nyeri District have
quit their farms and returned to England.

Mau Mau gangs are being forced deeper
into the Aberdare Mountains.

The flare, Papa. Send up the flare.

Elizabeth.

Jeff.

Where's Jeff?

Tomorrow,
you can take Elizabeth into Nairobi.

To the hospital.

And leave here?

It's to help Elizabeth.

We'll get you a little flat in town
and you can come and see me every day.

Yes.

Yes, I'd like that.

Are you all right?

No one came here.

Did you make contact? Well?

Did you see Kimani? Will he come?

He's a big general now.

I do not know if he will come.

And if he come,
I do not know if it is to speak or to kill.

I do not know how a general thinks.

KIMANl:
Put down your gun.

Kimani?

KIMANl:
The guns.

And the pistol too.

The pistol.

Now, tell Lathela to build a fire.

Why?

I want my comrades to see you.

We're alone, you have nothing to fear.

I know this.

You have tobacco?

- Cigarettes.
- Pass them here.

Why did you come?

- Can we not talk face-to-face?
- No.

- Njogu is our prisoner.
- I know.

He confessed many things,
told us many names.

- I know.
- He is not harmed.

Then why did he turn against us?

Njogu was braver than any of us.
He was not afraid to die.

He was afraid for his soul.

Can you understand that?

Yes.

The people he named
have been arrested.

- I know.
- You know the war goes badly for you.

It is possible to lose a battle
and still win a war.

Must Africa always stink of death?
Can we not live together as friends?

- Friends have equal rights.
- They will come.

Only when we take them.

- I think we're ready to give them.
- What do you want of me?

Give up.

Surrender.

Bring in your people.

Surrender?

Peace.

On what terms?

Justice. Understanding.

If you stop fighting,
others will do likewise.

You must have faith.
You must try.

We have tried before.

Then try again.
And again and again and again.

Do you not love anyone?

Your wife?

Children who believe in you?

You know of my child?

No.

A man-child?

Yes.

He will find a better world
than you and I.

I sometimes dream
of when we were children, you and I.

- Peter?
- Yeah.

I've not said that name in many years.

How goes it with your father?

As well as age will allow.

He was a good man.

He's a friend of my father.

Yes.

And Memsahib Elizabeth?

She is with child.

- Peter?
- Yes.

I did not hurt her.
I did not hurt her or her children.

It was not my hands that struck them.

I believe you.

What's happened to us?

When did this hatred begin?

Before we were born, I think.

I will talk with my people.

I will tell them that I trust you.

But they must decide for themselves.

This will take time.

Four days hence, you will have
your answer. If they agree...

...we will come to the meadow
by the hidden spring.

- You know of it?
- Yes.

- You will be there?
- Yes.

Until then.

Kimani.

Grandpa.

Peter.

- So you pulled it off.
- Yes.

- I wanna hear about it. You like a drink?
- No, thank you, later.

Holly?

Holly?

Holly is with Elizabeth in Nairobi.

Oh...

- You see, we had another raid here.
- I know.

I asked her to go.

- Don't blame her, son. She was...
- Thanks, Papa.

What we do is stupid.

To surrender
betrays everything we have done.

Our children need food,
our sick need medicine.

All we need is courage.
Let me talk to them.

You cannot talk to a starving people.

Their belly have no ears.

And if they shoot us down?

No, I have the word of my friend.

Your friend is a white man. He hates us.

It is your own hatred
that you see in others.

Holly.

Sister Williams.

I called at your flat.

You shouldn't go
into Elizabeth's right now.

Anything wrong?

No, she's just a little overdue, that's all.

There's nothing to be alarmed about.

You're looking... You're looking thinner.

You don't look so bad yourself.

Was it very bad?

Some days are good, some bad.

- No, they'll see us.
- Let them.

Do you have to go back?

Tonight.

Oh, I wish I could go with you.

We'll go away soon
in that honeymoon we never had.

We don't have to go away
to be on a honeymoon.

But I thought you wanted to...

To run away?

Yeah.

Just when was that?

Let's see, about a month ago?

At least a hundred years.

I want to go home to our home.

With Mount Kenya
and God in the garden.

The war may not be over for a long time.

I used to blame the war
for everything, didn't I?

Somebody else's war is always to blame.

No, I was to blame.

When you grow up, you realize
you can't run away from the world.

You just gotta live in it.

You're a big girl now.

I'm beginning to understand
about that other woman too.

- What other woman?
- Africa.

Oh. She's not the least bit jealous.

And neither am I.

Excuse me.

Your boy, Lathela, he says you have
to start off for somewhere or other.

Thank you.

See you soon.

Please, God, let it be soon.

Can't you make this thing go faster?
We've got to get there by daylight.

Why? It's almost impossible.

- But if Kimani shows...
- He set no hour. He'll wait for us.

Yes, but will Joe Matson wait?

- Matson?
- He got wind of it somehow.

You should have stopped him.

I only heard about him myself
about an hour ago.

How do you keep
a thing like this secret?

How do you keep
Matson off the trigger?

This won't be any ceasefire, it'll be...

...cold-blooded murder.

Doctor?

Yes?

Is there any marks?

Just the mark of a man.

Look at this place.

It's a perfect trap.

What are we supposed to do?

Wait around till they show up?

We'd be caught in the open.

It's a perfect trap,
I don't wanna get caught.

- If they show, it'll be to surrender.
- How do you know?

But they gave their word.

I'm taking cover.

You know how Joe is,
always suspicious.

I know how Mau Mau is too.

Where is your friend?

You there, all of you,
put down your guns.

Wait.

Please.

Yeah, we lost him all right.

Come on.

- When we find Kimani, will you kill him?
- No.

Then why do we hunt him?

He must not think I betrayed him.

If he trusts us, others will do likewise.
If he escapes, if he does not believe...

...Mau Mau will fight harder and longer.

Kimani will not surrender peacefully.
Not this time.

- He will try to kill you.
- Perhaps.

- Don't come along.
- I come with you.

- Why?
- This is my fight too.

Mau Mau has killed a hundred
of my people for every one of yours.

I want the same thing for the African
that Kimani wants.

Mau Mau is not the way to get them.

Kimani?

Stay here and don't move.
And don't shoot.

- Let me talk to you.
- No!

You kill my wife...

...and my people.

We were betrayed.

Both of us.

I'm here without a weapon.

Are you alone?

Lathela is here too.

I'm coming in.

Keep away.

Kimani.

Don't make me do it.

Come back with me.

No.

We'll start over again.

- This time, it'll be different.
- No.

It is too late.

For you and me.

It is too late.

Must I kill you?

Yes.

Give me the child and bury us both.

No.

Please.

He is dead.

- What will you do with the child?
- Take him home.

Elizabeth has a boy, raise them together.

Maybe for them, it'll be better.

It's not too late.