Taste (2021) - full transcript
Bassley, a Nigerian footballer living in Vietnam, has been unable to make a living since he broke his leg. He and four middle-aged women he sometimes works for decide to escape the disappointment of their daily lives. They go to an old house where together they create a special world for themselves. But this intimate utopia cannot last forever.
I couldn't keep you on the team.
It was a hard decision.
We had a long discussion.
I have never seen
a hot air balloon I made
floating in the sky before.
My father built his new house
hoping
that we would move there together.
We were delighted.
But in the middle of that night,
we heard my father shout in his sleep.
All of us ran
to his room.
On that fateful night...
When we got there,
we asked him,
'what happened?'
but he couldn't speak.
We carried him into the car
and went to the hospital.
When we got there,
the doctors
and hospital staff did
all kinds of examinations
over seven days.
It was to no avail.
He became a spirit.
When we returned home,
we couldn't sleep,
afraid that he would appear to us
in the middle of the night,
as the person that had died.
My mother couldn't sleep, I couldn't
sleep, my siblings couldn't sleep.
My mother decided that we should go
and sleep at her friend's place.
We slept there
till they buried my father.
After they buried him,
we returned to the house.
We then thought,
since we have a new house,
we should live in this new place.
That's how we moved into the new house.
It was upsetting that my father
could not be with us at the new house.
It troubled us every day,
that the person who promised we'd move to
a new house together couldn't be with us.
The world is not one-way traffic,
one can think
he knows what direction he is going,
but it might turn out
another way is the right route.
I have a son in Nigeria,
a child of my loins,
a boy.
It's because of him that I work,
that is what brought me to Saigon.
I am a footballer,
I joined a football club in Vietnam,
that is where
I got my right leg injured.
As soon as I got injured,
they said they didn't want me
and that I should go,
they didn't need me any more.
It was upsetting for me
when I heard this.
That is what brought me
to where I am today,
because taking care of my child
is important to me.
Eating, drinking,
having clothes, going to school
are important.
I put one and two together
about what I had to do
so that my child
will have food on his plate.
But...
Cherishing a melancholic fate in love.
The sorrow we feel.
Your steps have shattered my heart,
Standing here to gaze at you.
I lose this love from here on.
Did I miss anything?
Why did life push me.
Into separation and distance?
My dear,
The end of my dreams.
Your wedding, I do not blame you any more.
My dear, do not be upset.
Mourning cannot prevent
this tearful parting.
Life is submerged into sullen eyes
I am crying for these memories.
That will now die.
As a child
whose penis just started getting hard,
going up, coming down,
I started looking at it, my younger
sibling started looking at it as well.
My mother came out from the house.
She asked 'what are you doing?'
She went back to the house,
brought out a cane
and flogged me thoroughly.
I started crying.
That day,
my mother did not give me lunch.
She did not give me dinner.
It made me sad,
as a child who had just discovered
how a penis becomes hard.
After my husband and son
attended a relative's wedding,
they didn't return.
I still have not found them.
I don't think they will
come back to me any more.
My son was 9 years old.
This was the last time I hugged him.
My son used this potty.
He took a long time to do his business.
When he stood up,
the imprint of the potty
was on his buttocks.
I took the potty to the lake,
disposed its contents,
rinsed it,
and left it out to dry.
In the name of Jesus.
In the name of Jesus.
In the name of Jesus,
God with His abundant power and might,
God that does not change,
God that cannot be compared to anybody,
God who is not a man,
the same yesterday,
the same today,
the same forever without end,
my God that one calls and acknowledges,
God of the beginning and the end,
alpha and omega,
the origin of wisdom,
thank You, God,
God that the whole world bows down to,
that the whole world acknowledges,
glory be to Your name,
Lord, I give You thanks,
I give You praises,
for Your mighty hand,
You did not forsake me.
God, You have been with me,
since I arrived in this town,
You are directing me,
my steps,
You are shining your light,
thank You, living God,
Lord accept my thanks,
Lord accept my praises.
Thank You for where you bring me from,
for where You brought me to,
for where You take me,
for that glorious destination,
thank You, God,
Lord accept my thanks.
Lord accept my praises.
Lord of all sins,
Jesus Christ, Lord forgive mercifully...
It was a hard decision.
We had a long discussion.
I have never seen
a hot air balloon I made
floating in the sky before.
My father built his new house
hoping
that we would move there together.
We were delighted.
But in the middle of that night,
we heard my father shout in his sleep.
All of us ran
to his room.
On that fateful night...
When we got there,
we asked him,
'what happened?'
but he couldn't speak.
We carried him into the car
and went to the hospital.
When we got there,
the doctors
and hospital staff did
all kinds of examinations
over seven days.
It was to no avail.
He became a spirit.
When we returned home,
we couldn't sleep,
afraid that he would appear to us
in the middle of the night,
as the person that had died.
My mother couldn't sleep, I couldn't
sleep, my siblings couldn't sleep.
My mother decided that we should go
and sleep at her friend's place.
We slept there
till they buried my father.
After they buried him,
we returned to the house.
We then thought,
since we have a new house,
we should live in this new place.
That's how we moved into the new house.
It was upsetting that my father
could not be with us at the new house.
It troubled us every day,
that the person who promised we'd move to
a new house together couldn't be with us.
The world is not one-way traffic,
one can think
he knows what direction he is going,
but it might turn out
another way is the right route.
I have a son in Nigeria,
a child of my loins,
a boy.
It's because of him that I work,
that is what brought me to Saigon.
I am a footballer,
I joined a football club in Vietnam,
that is where
I got my right leg injured.
As soon as I got injured,
they said they didn't want me
and that I should go,
they didn't need me any more.
It was upsetting for me
when I heard this.
That is what brought me
to where I am today,
because taking care of my child
is important to me.
Eating, drinking,
having clothes, going to school
are important.
I put one and two together
about what I had to do
so that my child
will have food on his plate.
But...
Cherishing a melancholic fate in love.
The sorrow we feel.
Your steps have shattered my heart,
Standing here to gaze at you.
I lose this love from here on.
Did I miss anything?
Why did life push me.
Into separation and distance?
My dear,
The end of my dreams.
Your wedding, I do not blame you any more.
My dear, do not be upset.
Mourning cannot prevent
this tearful parting.
Life is submerged into sullen eyes
I am crying for these memories.
That will now die.
As a child
whose penis just started getting hard,
going up, coming down,
I started looking at it, my younger
sibling started looking at it as well.
My mother came out from the house.
She asked 'what are you doing?'
She went back to the house,
brought out a cane
and flogged me thoroughly.
I started crying.
That day,
my mother did not give me lunch.
She did not give me dinner.
It made me sad,
as a child who had just discovered
how a penis becomes hard.
After my husband and son
attended a relative's wedding,
they didn't return.
I still have not found them.
I don't think they will
come back to me any more.
My son was 9 years old.
This was the last time I hugged him.
My son used this potty.
He took a long time to do his business.
When he stood up,
the imprint of the potty
was on his buttocks.
I took the potty to the lake,
disposed its contents,
rinsed it,
and left it out to dry.
In the name of Jesus.
In the name of Jesus.
In the name of Jesus,
God with His abundant power and might,
God that does not change,
God that cannot be compared to anybody,
God who is not a man,
the same yesterday,
the same today,
the same forever without end,
my God that one calls and acknowledges,
God of the beginning and the end,
alpha and omega,
the origin of wisdom,
thank You, God,
God that the whole world bows down to,
that the whole world acknowledges,
glory be to Your name,
Lord, I give You thanks,
I give You praises,
for Your mighty hand,
You did not forsake me.
God, You have been with me,
since I arrived in this town,
You are directing me,
my steps,
You are shining your light,
thank You, living God,
Lord accept my thanks,
Lord accept my praises.
Thank You for where you bring me from,
for where You brought me to,
for where You take me,
for that glorious destination,
thank You, God,
Lord accept my thanks.
Lord accept my praises.
Lord of all sins,
Jesus Christ, Lord forgive mercifully...