The Storytellers (2003) - full transcript

Could I have a coconut, please?

- Want do you want?
- A coconut.

Give him a coconut, then.
Close that book, mom.

Don't fret, kid.
There's another boat at five.

- I know. Not till five, right?
- As punctual as clockwork.

Not always, Zaqueu!
Sometimes it arrives at six, seven.

- Sometimes it doesn't come at all.
- Ah, Souza!

It doesn't! But don't worry, folks sleep
in a little room I have out the back...

if the boat doesn't show up.
- Another shot for me, Souza, please.

No. First finish that one,
then I'll give you another.

- But there's nothing left!
- Boasorte feeling down on his luck?



Don't worry, being
cuckolded is a man's job.

I'll take your word for it, Souza.

Ei, mom! The coconut.

Close that book, mom.
Learning to read at her age!

- Can be useful.
- Useful for what, Zaqueu?

You never know. Even l,
not that I can read or write,

but I can tell you a tale about
what writing is capable of.

The most amazing thing l...

- Well you wouldn't want to hear it.
- Go on! Out with it, man!

Come on, the kid's got
hours to wait anyway. Days!

So listen carefully, then:
It happened in the Valley of Jav?.

- The Valley of what?
- Jav?.

In the village where
I was born and grew up.

It was when the most terrible...



tragedy came to pass.

That's right: they're going to
build a dam, and Jav? lies...

in the path of the water, before
long all this will be a reservoir.

We'll all have to leave!

No way! They can't make
us leave our own homes!

They can.

Vado was with me.
Tell them, Vado!

The engineers spread
the maps out for us...

and explained everything
down to the last little detail.

Lots of numbers, photos,
so many of them!

They told us all about the benefits
and the progress the factory will bring.

It's the sacrifice of the few for
the benefit of the majority.

I don't know who the majority are,

but we're the few who come in with
the sacrifice. Right, Zaqueu?

So I asked them if there was
anything on earth we could do...

to save Jav? from the waters, because
if there was, I swear, we'd do it!

So, Zaqueu? Is there a way?

They said that they only
don't flood places with some...

great hist?rical importance.

When the houses are listed and
become patrimony, or something.

- Then no one can touch them!
- We've had it then!

This place isn't worth
what a cat buries!

You've got what a cat
buries for a brain, idiot!

Because, Firmino, contrary
to what you may think...

that was exactly where a flicker
of hope lit up inside me:

because if
Jav? is worth anything...

it is because of the stories of its
origins the first fighting people...

who came the stories you're
forever telling and retelling.

And that, folks, is history
and patrimony, great history!

And did you tell the
engineers that, Zaqueu?

Like you told us just now,
really convincingly?

- Did I tell them? Sure I told them!
- Damn right!

It was no use. No use at all!

No use my telling them there's
plenty of land and property here...

acquired through
verbal agreements.

But that's all right, we can tell
them who owns what verbally!

But Zaqueu, what the hell
is a verbal agreement?

Well, folks would climb up onto a
hill, and see the valley below,

and say: "From this rocky bend to
the stream where everyone bathes;

and from there as far as Jo?o
Fub?ia's land, everything lying...

within that stretch is my land,
signed so-and-so."

That was how the lands were divided
up, and passed from father to son.

I'll do that, then, I'll come
along and say:

"From the river bank to Z?'s store.

From the bridge to the parabolic
antenna, that's all mine.

Signed, Souza."
Ei, mom! I'm rich!

None of your modern thieving!

Each man only ever spoke a portion
which he'd be able to cultivate.

So how could the folks
of Jav? defend lands...

which were only
owned by word of mouth?

It wasn't easy.
But when everything seemed lost...

an ideia saved me and
began growing in my mind.

Wait a minute!

Listen!

The men said they wouldn't flood
hist?rical patrimony, right?

- Right!
- So I know what we have to do!

What are we to do?

To this day, no one's written it
because we haven't needed to.

But now we're gonna write the
great story of Valley of Jav?!

Let's put all the stories
down on paper, folks.

Dig out all the goings-on of value.

Put them in words.
Collect everything of importance...

to show the authorities why
Jav? has to be preserved.

That's right. No shortage of great
stories of value, right folks?

There's just one thing, though:

they told me it will only be
valid, if it's... scientific!

What's scientific, Zaqueu?

Scientific means...

it means not all those tall stories
you're always making up!

All those dubious
tales you like telling!

Ei! Everything I say
happened in real life!

And how are we meant
to collect stories,

if they're all spread about
in the minds of all the folks?!

Whose sacred hand is going to act
as scribe, and put words to paper?

- Get Antonio Bi?!
- No!

- Not Antonio Bi?!
- But to act as scribe?

Who's the only one
that knows how to write?

It's Bi?! Get Bi?, ei, you! You lot
can't even write your own name!

ANTONIO BI? - DEAD IN 1950
BORN IN 2025

INTELLECTUARY AND ALCOHOLIC

Villain! You're no good, Bi?!
A good-for-nothing!

All rlght,Zaqueu,but what
the hell dld thls Bl? do?

Folks were dying to
get their hands on Bi?!

He used to work at the post office.

But what would a place with
no one to read or write...

be doing with a post office?
So the office was to be closed.

So,In orderto save hls job,
Bl? declded to write a letterto...

all the towns In whlch he Knew
someone. And In orderto provoKe...

these people,he started Inventlng
storles uslng the IIfe of the vlllage:

he exaggerated thlngs whlch
went on,IIed and mallclously...

slandered a few of
the unhappy vlllagers.

All done with great wit,
he Knew what he was dolng.

What happened was that the
amount of post Increased,

and he Kept hls job.

But the storles,once planted
In the mouths of folKs,

spread fasterthan the wlnd!

When the people of Jav? found
out, there was no forglveness!

They wanted to thrash and
beat poor Antonlo Bl? to a pulp.

In the end,he was chased
out of Jav? for good.

Antonlo Bl? IIved alone
somewhere In the reglon.

But now folKs needed hlm.

We brought the villain!

Look, Vado, Zaqueu.
I brought what you ordered.

Sit him down.

Wait! Leave him alone! Stop!
Right, calm down.

I thought we'd agreed?
Let's do this properly.

Look here, Antonio Bi?.
Right here.

Folks don't forget, Bi?.

Here's the proof of your cunning.

The meddling letters you
spread across the region.

I've managed to recover
plenty of them, on my trips.

Read it, Antero.

"Dear friend, there's one case here
of an old man who acts like...

a majestic stud, strutting
at anything in a skirt.

But the poor fellow no longer
has any use or competence...

in that department
so dear to all men."

- You shameless villain!
- Take it easy, Vado!

We must agree that although
Antonio Bi? only ever wrote lies,

he wrote very well.

So now, Bi?, the village will
give you a chance...

to exercise your job as scribe,

and to carry out the
greatest deed in your life.

We want you to write the great
story of the Valley of Jav?.

You want me to write... What?

We have to make a dossier, collect
in writing the important things...

which occurred here.
Isn't that right?

- That's about it.
- But Zaqueu...

Everyone!

What the hell of importance
has ever happened in Jav??

The way to find out is by
listening to our people telling...

the stories. And writing them down.
Listening and writing!

That's how you'll help us.
Only there's one thing,

they can't be invented
stories, made up.

The stories have to be true.
Scientific.

And how long have I got to
give birth to this dossier?

I'll be off to see the authorities
tomorrow to tell them...

the people of Jav? are meeting
and preparing the documents.

When I return, you'd better
have made good progress.

I don't know.
It all sounds pretty crazy.

Look, Bi?, you once saved your
job at the cost of the folks here.

Now you're going to save the
folks at the cost of your work.

See? Either you accept, or you
get the hell out once and for all...

leading the way before
the water starts rising.

Bring me a large bowl
for making soap.

- I'll pay when you get back.
- All here, lady!

Ei, Zaqueu!

Lord, the man's been
brushed and polished!

Like it?

You can travel and rest assured,
Zaqueu, I've given my word,

and the promise will be kept.

Good morning, Dito.
I haven't forgotten what you ordered!

Ei, Sr. Dito, say good
morning to the poor, man of God.

Good morning, Bi?.

- Is that the book of salvation?
- Exactly.

Look, I never even touched it.

Move it around in your mouth.

- It's a bit big, isn't it?
- It's great, like a corn on the cob.

Let me see. Smile.

No, it's not big.
It's your cheeks that are small.

And it makes you look
more cheerful, smiling.

Just like an alligator in love.

You can even start dating
again, you're looking gorgeous.

Not sure for how long.

It wasn't easy convincing
folks to have you back.

Don't betray my trust in you!
I'll return as fast as I can!

Teresa! Ter?!

Ei, Teretetetei!

Teresinha!

- Is your father in?
- No.

- Is your mother in?
- No.

Excuse me, then.

Bi?, you shouldn't have come in.

I'm always wrong: I enter
without asking permission...

and will only
leave if I'm told to!

What mad longing: mine so
great, yours so small!

I mean, I love you more than you me.

- My father!
- To hell with your father!

I've been looking for
you all over, Vicentino.

I wanted you to be the first!

Please be so kind
as to take a seat.

Well now, Vicentino, I came to
hear and note down all your...

important memories of Jav?,

the history and pre-history,

to put in the book "The Odyssey
of the Valley of Jav? - Part One"

I don't use pens. Can't get used
to them. Have you noticed?

Pens hurry across the
paper without brakes,

and if you make a mistake,
they make a terrible mess.

An ink diarrhea.

But not pencils.
Pencils are marvelous.

Pencils grip the page, you can rub
them out, they obey hand and thought.

I'm the sort of man who can only
think in pencil, Vicentino.

But coming back to Jav?...

Look, if anything I wrote in those
letters offended you, you will tell me.

I've been offered plenty for this gun.

I wouldn't sell it for anything,
nor exchange it for a favor.

This butt was once held by Indal?cio.

- Indal?cio? The founder of Jav??
- The very same.

As you probably know, I'm
almost certainly a distant...

relative of that noble warrior.

Indal?cio was a tough, dry,

systematic man who never
said yes when he meant no.

To him, there was only ever
one way of doing things.

They say he never
dismounted his horse.

That he slept sitting on it in
order to always be ready for war...

- Aren't you going to write?
- Of course, Vicentino!

In-da-l?-cio! There!

The history of Jav?
begins with Indal?cio.

He gulded our forefathers,a handful of
vallant men left over from a lost war.

They had been expelled from
thelr land of blrth by orderof the...

Klng of Portugal, who wanted to
taKe the gold that was thelrs.

So Indal?clo,although wounded,
brought hls people far,

In search of a safe place.

But Indal?clo couldn't
flnd the rlght place.

He wanted to go further,out of
reach of the government and Klng.

They walKed for days,months,

even,carrylng the bell,
thelr most sacred possesslon.

Indal?cio entered that sea of cattle,

chose the best animal,

and killed it to satisfy the
hunger of our people.

He didn't say a word and... ei!

- Why aren't you writing?
- What do you mean? I am writing!

What am l, blind?

I can see you're not moving
your hand over the paper!

But I can't write it all
down at once, Vicentino.

And look, forgive me, sir,
but this story about Indal?cio...

taking a bull, just like
that, that's no good!

- What's no good?
- No one would let him just go...

and take a whole bull like that!
You've got to improve that part.

Improve it, how?
You want me to start making it up?

Not make it up, just give
it a few frills. Let's see.

Let's see now.

The days seemed
never-ending to...

those hungry fighting folk who...

could no longer breathe anymore.

So, then the herd of cattle
passes them, well fattened,

that sea of cattle...

which was enough...

to make a man weep,

just seeing those fat rumps, ribs,

the humps hissing on the spit,

dripping fat into the flames.

But there were many armed
men guarding the cattle,

so Indal?cio thought of
a special battle plan:

he waited until nightfall and
when the cattle were quiet...

and the cowboys stretched out,
in the middle of the darkness,

he took two men from
his gang, the bravest.

Only he didn't call them by name.

He used "onomatopoeias", which
is the language of the animals.

One was called Rolinha
and the other Z? da On?a.

And he told them to sneak up quietly,
crawling in among the herd, and...

- And? And what?
- Hold on! Hold on!

And... And so they took off their
sandals and put them on the four...

hooves of the fattest bull.

Having shod the animal
they slowly lead it out,

not making any noise, without
firing a shot but with plenty of...

bravery and cunning.
- Would you do me a favor?

Go back and write
exactly what I dictated!

But wouldn't it be better like that?

They take the bull
by the horns, Vincentino.

Look! And who do you think is
going to believe in somebody...

putting shoes on a bull
without making any noise, Bi??!

What happened is one thing, and
another is what you write down.

The facts have to be
improved in the writing...

so that folks believe what happened.
- I don't like the sound of this at all.

But let's not quarrel
over all that. Look!

I have your story
recorded in my mind.

Later I'll write it down at my leisure,

do a grand job. And then
I'll show it to you, all right?

- But I haven't even finished!
- You can finish later.

For now I just need your
name, surname and...

Christian name for the book.

Vicentino...

"Indal?cio"...

da Rocha.

Ei, Bi?!

Please, take a seat and enjoy it,
cause today it's on the house.

- Free?
- Free, like I said!

Heavens above!

Apart from women, it's
the barber's hands...

which are the most
gentle with a man's face!

So, Bi?. How's our book coming
along? Are folks collaborating?

Sure, folks are collaborating,
folks always collaborate.

Look, I want to help, you know.

I'd like to give you a little
story to put in your little book.

I have one, it's not exactly
a story of great value...

I can imagine.

Yes, but you're a man of ideas,
aren't you? And write nicely.

Close your mouth. I thought...

Thought what, Dirceu?

I thought a beard's not something
you can just do the once.

It grows every day. So you could
put my name under a great story...

in that book of yours. Even if
you had to doctor it a little bit!

Wait a minute, Dirceu!
That's not how it works!

You're mixing up habeas
corpus and Corpus Christi.

My work has its
responsibility, the truth.

Don't get me wrong,
for the love of God.

And the world these days
isn't like the old days,

when if you had a man,
a field and a donkey,

you already had a good story.
Not nowadays!

Telling stories these
days is very difficult.

I want a year of free
shaving, at least.

A year, Bi?? I was thinking
of six months, at the most.

- Or I'll shave you every second day.
- Certainly not.

You think again and make me a
proposition worthy of my efforts.

Morning, Bi?.
I thought I'd come with you.

- What for?
- You might need help.

And to hurry you along
if you're taking too long.

Damn!

How did he do it?

Anyone home?!

Hello, Deodora!

Either you're very courageous
or you've no shame. Out!

I am already out, Deodora.
I want to come in!

I wouldn't let you in by
order of heaven or hell.

You deserve a good beating.
You inventive villain, lying dog!

I'm not inventive!
I just showed that there was fire,

where all anyone could see was the
smoke. The written word is like that!

A bent man becomes a hunchback,
I call people with a squint, one-eyed.

If a man limps in real life, in my
story I say he's only got one leg.

That's what the rules of
writing are all about.

Well my rules are different, Bi?! You
look here, now get out of my house!

Otherwise I'll crack your
skull open. Get out, Bi?!

- Vanish! I can't stand you.
- Don't exaggerate, Deodora,

chickens who peck too
much risk finding a snake.

If you don't want me to,
I won't record your story.

Or I'll write down the first thing
which comes into my head!

Sit down, Dona Bij?.

And you get on your broomstick
and fly to Salvador, go on!

Now listen! Listen carefully.

I was minding my own business
when they came to fetch me.

I'm only doing my job.

If you have nothing to say for me
to put in the pages of the great...

story of Jav?, then
good-bye and "sayonara"!

Right, Deodora, bare your heart.
I want emotion!

I know about emotions.
Start writing, Bi?.

You know as well as everyone else
that Jav? began with people...

fleeing from the war. I can't
now recall which war that was.

The war against the crown.

The king of Portugal wanted the
land because there was gold.

Ah, yes, the war against the crown.

But the fact is, our
people were fleeing...

- Not fleeing! They retreated.
- Isn't it the same thing?

No it's not!

Fleeing is when the men turn their
backs on the enemy and run off,

like cowards.
A retreat is different.

There the men walk
backwards, slowly,

but with their heads turned
towards the enemy!

And what if the enemy's
isn't on either side?

Look, Firmino, do us a favor!

Wait! If frogs in the swamp all spoke in
turn, there wouldn't be such a din!

- It's too early for such a rumpus!
- Bi?, let Deodora speak.

- Shut up, you old hen.
- You should have more respect Bi?!

Old crow, then, is that better?

Have you no respect?

Right, well they walked for many
days, exhausted. Indal?cio was...

You can skip that part, Deodora.
Vicentino already told the first bit.

But he probably told his version of it.

I bet he never even
mentioned the name Mariadina!

Yes, but everyone knows you
think you're related to Mariadina!

Not just think, sir.
I really am, and I can prove it!

All of Mariadina's
descendents have this birthmark.

See, Bi?? See?
We all have it!

Yes, and a very
fine mark it is, too!

So... robust!

Too bad I can't stick you
in the book as proof.

So now let's get on with the facts!

Let's get on with the facts!

The fact is, a lot of folks here don't
give Mariadina the credit she's due!

And do you know why?
Just because she was a woman.

They walKed for days,

there was little to eat and
many dled along the way.

Although wounded,
Indal?clo led the group,

but nowhere looKed rlght
for hls people to settle.

Marladlna dlsappeared
for a day and a nlght.

But the next day,Marladlna
returned to gulde her people to...

a place the blrds of the
nlght had shown her.

And there, in the great valley,
she spoke the boundaries of Jav?:

Towards the southern cross
as far as the eye can see,

the land shall be ours.

In the other direction, as far
as a man can march in a day,

the land shall be ours.

And here, where the
valley ends, this is Jav?.

Here Is where we shall
ralse ourchlldren.

Yes, folks, Mariadina sure
was an important woman.

Write that, Bi?! Ei, are you
asleep? Sleep at your place!

Write that:

Mariadina sure
was an important woman.

Uh-ah, things which never
happened are becoming the truth.

What do you know about it, Firmino?

I know I'll not invent things
just to please my relations.

I'm not inventing anything!
Really!

I know that Indal?cio
never died on horseback.

He died crouching down because
of a knot in his intestines.

And do you know what Indal?cio's
last words really were,

upon departing this world?

"To live a life so fair, only
to die shitting everywhere!"

And look, Bi?. I'll go further:
Mariadina!

Mariadina was never in
Indal?cio's gang.

Because soon after he came
bringing his "retreetees"...

you hear, Vado? "retreetees"!
- "Retreetees".

She was already running around
the valley like a wild dog!

Don't you start on
Mariadina, will you?

Well, I can prove everything
I'm saying. Scientifically!

But the real story, the
truly true one, was this.

With finger or without.

Mother, when I dle
Bury me on a corner!

Under a jujube tree
So cattle walKover

Leave my hand out to
Wave to the glrls

This is a good place to stop.

Hold this.

My god!

- Who's there?
- Heavens! What's that, it even speaks?

It's not an it. It's a she!
Mariadina.

Who are you people? Who are you?

We are glorious fighting people,
who are fleeing... that is,

not fleeing, but in retreat,

expelled from our land of
gold and have walked far.

It's a sign.

And you, sir, for I have to
guide and "illuminate"!

But the everyday sun is enough
to guide and illuminate me!

But at night you've
nothing to illuminate!

You all stay here
because at break of day,

not a bird will be singing.

But when the other night comes,
the birds will sing and fly,

inverted, on the contrary,
mistaking night for day.

Mistaking night for night
and leading you all.

To lands which will be yours.

For you to live in grace
and bury your dead.

And take you to the living hell!

Come on.

Get up, you rascal!

That's the biggest load of
nonsense I've ever heard!

Making Mariadina a
crazed vagabond!

Write the story I told you, which
is the right one, will you?

A true story is what happened,
not what you made up.

I already told you I'm not making
anything up! Stop that nonsense!

I heard tell that
Indal?cio died shitting.

He was a brave man, but
he died taking a dump!

I couldn't give a damn, sweetheart.
It was his asshole!

I can believe that about
Indal?cio, but not Mariadina!

She was a fighting
woman, and strong,

not some old woman with a
screw loose, like you folks!

What's to be done, Bi??

I don't know.
Unless I write them both down.

Ah, no! No way!

If I were you, I'd put mine,
which is true history, Bi?.

Not yours! Mine!

- Put Firmino's! Firmino's!
- Put them both! Both are true!

Calm down. Let's vote on it.

Whoever thinks it's Deodora's
Mariadina, raise your hand.

And Firmino's?

You raised your hand
twice, Dona Maria!

It just happens that both
stories have some truth.

You can't exclude one
without harming the other.

But you can't tell both
stories in the same book.

Yes you can!

Wait a minute! Wait!

Look, folks. This matter
deserves more thought.

This is a scientific job and
you're not used to that.

That's understandable, so later on
I'll return to take down more details,

notes and proof. Because that
is how science is conducted.

You can't do it like this.
One against the other.

Deodora shows what's what,
but not with the emotion I want.

Not to mention you! You're like
a tambourine. A silicone fish.

You talk like the devil
and a dog eating mango.

This is more like a mosquito's
New Year party!

You will put my story
in the book, won't you, Bi??

I know people who can prove
everything, word for word.

Vermin! What can you prove?
The dried turd of Indal?cio?

You've had your
chance, let the man rest!

Look, Antonio, these
folks talk too much!

If you like we can go over there
in the shade, nice and quiet,

just the two of us, and I'll give
you a summary of the entire story...

of Indal?cio, Mariadina,
and many others besides.

People who talk too much start
saying good morning to horses.

You know everything in this world.

You're geniuses:
Einstein and Saint Augustus.

You probably even know
where ants piss.

- Wait a minute, Firmino.
- What is it?

Fag!

- Did he say "bag" or "fag"?
- Fag.

You son of a gun, I'll get you!

Give me a diet-liquor.

What are you sniffing at?

Don't be such an idiot!
These stories are ours.

The stories are yours,
but what's written is mine.

Antero, give me a box
of matches, please?

Certainly, Firmino.

Do you like books? Are you an
"intellectuary"? A bookworm?

Well none of this is your business.

- Ah! I've no change.
- Then I'll pay later.

You know I never sell on account.

Then take the money and
I'll fetch the change later.

And I can't take what
belongs to others.

So keep your matches,
thank you very much!

I can't do that either,
you've already used one.

- So what am I supposed to do?
- How am I to know?

You shouldn't have
been so hasty!

Who said you could strike
the match before paying?

That's right, Antero. Quite right.
I've a lot of respect for such wisdom.

I'll be back to write
your biography,

because you're a genius
of Jav?'s economics.

I'd rather drop dead, dead,

than share a drink with
a man of Bi?'s class!

"To live a life so fair, only to
die shitting everywhere!"

And by the way, Vado, while
we're on the subject,

you know young girls'
farts are really tight, pffff.

And old ladies come from an
altogether larger instrument,

looser, like this: poooufff!

And some come out startled.

And there are those bad ones,
you think they're weak,

but they're like this.

Just think, Vado, if our farts
gave us propulsion!

Like this:

Ei, Bi?! Get up!

Come on, you tramp! It's late in
the day and you're still not up?

Wake up, the sun's up, man!

Bi?!

What's going on? Is this the
time to be waking a Christian?

We Christians are already up.
Do you think you're better than others?

- Let's go! Get to work!
- What am l, a slave?

A workhorse? A ninja sperm?

You're no Christian, you're
a yokel, a microwave hoof!

Let me sleep!

ENTRANCE FORBIDDEN
TO ILLITERATES

What's going on?
Haven't you got anything to do?

Good morning, Bi?. Ready?

First you're going to
finish what we started!

No, no, no.
Bi? is going to hear Gen?sio!

Bi? will hear the twins!

Other!

Ei, Other! How rude!

The man isn't here just
to serve you, you know!

He's there.

Can you go any slower?

Ready.

You tell it.

You probably know, Bi?,

that land is worth what it produces,

but it can also be worth
what is hidden in it.

Good start.

But could you be more objective?

The plans I drew up of my property,
inherited from my ancestors.

For everyone knows that
it is in these lands,

that the remains of Indal?cio,
the founder, are buried.

I thought it was Indal?cio?

- Indal?cio, you idiot!
- That's what he said! Be quiet!

Indal?cio, o founder...

Look, Bi?: our mother, Margarida,
when she was a girl...

Wait, Other!
Let's not get into that.

- How lovely.
- She doesn't look like your mother!

And these were our fathers,
Cosme and Dami?o.

They are behind everything.

Even the fact that my brother
is called Twin and me Other!

- The Other!
- But you are the other, Other!

- That's what my father called you.
- Our father!

I'm just as much
the son of Cosme as you are!

No. You're Dami?o's son!

Cosme and Dami?o were twin
brothers, and very close.

But it was Cosme who managed
to get a lot of land...

So Cosme managed to get plenty of
land and Dami?o wasn't as lucky!

One day, he met Margarida, my mother.

- Mine, too!
- They immediately fell in love,

both brothers in love
with the same woman!

But Margarida chose Cosme.
And they were married.

They married.
Cosme and Margarida.

Here's the invitation, look.
And the certificate.

Look at the wedding photo,
the bride and groom.

It's all there, see?

What happened was,
everyone dranKtoo much.

And neither of the twins
remembered anything,

but Margarida was sure
that, in the dark,

she'd given herself to one of
them. She didn't know which.

Cosme threw Dami?o out,
and he disappeared...

and denied him,
the son of doubt.

A year later I was born, the
legitimate, proven son of Cosme.

- And?
- So you tell me whether...

I can give half my
inheritance to a person,

who might be my brother,
son of my father and my mother;

my half-brother,
son of my mother only;

or my cousin for being the
son of my uncle Dami?o!

So, the fact is, it isn't right
that other inherit...

the lands my father left me!
- Our father!

So prove you're Cosme's!
Where's the certificate?

Hold on, folks, this isn't
a story for the book.

Just look, Bi?, I look just
like my father, Cosme!

- The mouth, nose, eyes!
- What's he supposed to be comparing?

They were identical twins!

If you can't see the difference,
then it's you who isn't his son!

All right, fine.

You can decide who's the son
of the father, uncle or neighbor.

For all I care, you could be
cloned from a breadcrumb.

But the only scientific thing
you've shown is this map,

and here I am staring at nothing like
a donkey. What am I doing here?

You're the one writing down
the stories, aren't you?

Well then; put in the book that...

"in the land of Armando Pener?,
that's me, know as Twin,

only legitimate son and
heir of Cosme Pener?,

put that really big,

is where the bones of Indal?cio,

the founder, are buried,
along with the arms he hid..."

He's my father by right, too.
So put my name in the book,

to share the inheritance!
- Son by adultery!

Don't speak of our mother like that!

I was talking about your father,
who was a trouble-maker!

Margarida was a Saint, but you
turned out a son of a bitch!

You'll see who's the son of a bitch!

- Wait!
- What is it?

You can stop the fuss,

I've got to go and find
a twin rope and hang myself.

And you stay here, to
sweep the devil's house,

because you two are Cain
and Abel, only without Abel.

Well, adieux, sayonara, and salaam!

- Now look what you've done!
- You made him go!

- It was because of you!
- You!

- No, no. Calm down.
- Yes, calm down.

- Take a deep breath.
- I am calm.

- Bi?!
- What?

Come back! Come on!
Everyone's calmed down!

And you can stay right
there, you hear?

I'm going crazy with all this biting,
chewing and swallowing! I'm no saint!

Am I the Holy Spirit, amen?
Am I Jesus's Pokemon? Well then.

Centipede's manicurist!

Ei, Bi?! You've got
to finish our story.

Look, Vado!

Excuse us, Daniel.

What's the rush, Bi??

- Rush?
- Yes!

That's a pretty dumb question, Vado!

Someone has to work
around here, don't they?

While you're
all... aimlessly bickering,

like a bunch of menstruated bees.

Like hell. You're running away.

From what? Your Patagonian
intelligence, perhaps.

I came here to speak to Daniel.
It's about the book, Daniel.

That dossier with the history
of the Valley, Bi??

Exactly! It's in everyone's
interest, if you've time,

I'd like to have a few words.
- Look, Bi?, I've not much to tell.

But if you'd put in a few words
about my late father, Isa?as,

I'd be most grateful.

Here, Bi?. This was the bed in
which he slept. And died.

When I was a boy, Bi?, I'd
stand where you are now,

looking at him in this bed,
his feet down there.

Sometimes he'd spend ages by the
window, looking at everything.

That's his chair, all his things.

The photo was taken
3 months before he died.

He died of a broken
heart for Santinha.

Santinha didn't deserve his love.

Mother was so restless,
she never stayed home long.

She was itching to travel across the
world, she'd disappear for months,

among the rivers and caves.

A woman like that doesn't know
the love of a son or husband.

Nice, isn't it, Bi??

As a boy, I was always so
scared, scared of everything,

of the dark, of fights, of ghosts,

until one day I lost my fear all
at once, and that was that.

Have you ever heard of someone
losing their fear, just like that?

Shoo! Get out!

And from that day on, l
suddenly lost all my fear.

Now I'm not afraid of
anything at all, Bi?.

I'll only leave this house feet first.

I MET A FELLOW
WHO WAS SO CRAZY...

THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE HAIR,
HE HAD GRASS

Bi?! Ei, Bi?!

Are you home? Come out!

When we most need more
tlme, the more it flles.

Antonlo Bl? was no longer
In command of hlmself,

people came from all overto
tell storles,nlght and day.

Ei, Luzia!

Ei! Is the man with you?

We're coming!

Tell him the coffee's ready!

No need, lady!
I heard you!

He says that a long time ago
our people were brought...

to this part of Africa.
- Africa?

Yes, Brazil.
He thinks Brazil is part of Africa.

Like a big village in Africa.

Sure, sure. We'll get on
to the geography later.

I want to know whether
you belong to the folks...

who arrived here with Indal?cio.

Ask him!

He's saying that Indaleu was a
war chief and wanted to take...

our people back to the
land whey came from.

But he didn't know the way back.

What? Indaleu? Is that the
same as Indal?cio? Forget it.

If he isn't, it's nearly the same thing.
Ask something else about the story.

Samuel, can you, very
nicely, ask Cari?...

to skip this voodoo singing bit
and come straight to the raw facts?

No, he's telling it his way.
That's how he speaks!

Then you're not translating very well.

Go on! Now he's paused, ask him
whether there was any real life...

woman like Mariadina,
Marideu, Maridum, Marichum.

Ask him, go on!

- He says there's Oxum.
- Oxum? A woman?

A beautiful woman.

The god of the waters, rivers
and streams. Any good?

Things are getting a bit complicated.
But later I'll fix it somehow.

So far the stories are pretty
similar. So ask him if...

Durlng all that tlme our people
walKed and were led by Indaleu,

and by the eyes of If?,
who could see the paths.

Untll one day they came to
the place where Oxum IIved.

Now Afrlca was rlght there with them.

That's torn it.
Now he won't say anything else!

What are you talking about?
Of course he will.

He'll be like that for 3 days
now, he won't say another word.

See what you've done, now? See?

Now we'll have to wait all that time.

I'm sorry, but you haven't
done a good job!

Me?! I did everything just right, didn't
l? Look here, I got the two horses,

we crossed that field
in the hot sun to get here.

Everyone can see, and now you
tell me I didn't do a good job?

Easy now!

Just spell all your names for the book.

- Starting with you.
- Look here, I don't want...

- Samu?lis.
- No, not Samu?lis. Samuel.

Name, surname, and Christian names.
Samuel.

Ah,Esturlana,
Esturlana my love

Esturlana,Esturlana

CONSTRUCTION OF THE DAM
IN THE VALLEY OF JAV?

Ei, Bi?! Look at this.
See if this is possible.

The engineer's already taken
over. They own the place.

- What about the book, Bi??
- It was Gaud?rio brought them.

- The "Killer"?
- That villain. That dog's dinner!

Look, those men.

- And that one there, who's that?
- That's Cirilo.

He's been living among the rocks
at the leopard's cave for years.

- I thought he was dead.
- He was forgotten.

But he's alive and well,
right there!

- Ei, Antero, give me some liquor.
- Have you seen them, Bi??

They're everywhere, taking notes
and photographing everything.

- They came without any warning.
- We should kick them out.

And who's going to kick out Gaud?rio?
He's no good.

Like there's a black
cloud hovering over him.

The worst thing that can happen
a man when he drinks...

surrounded by people,
is hearing himself swallow!

It's certo, but it isn't easy!

This dam has been getting
everyone very upset.

It's going to be one hell of a
flood, there'll be nothing left.

These engineers take note of
everything they come across:

rocks, plants, animals, and they...

even catch insects in jars!

And which one of you is this Bi?
everyone talks about so much?

- I am. Flesh and blood!
- Sure.

And what are you,
what do you do?

I am a prose writer and am
currently writing the history...

of the great deeds of
the Valley of Jav?.

History, as you well know,
which is often told and heard,

but to this day has never
been written and read.

Very well! I respect
such work very highly!

Especially the history of a place
which will no longer exist.

I'm sorry to tell you this,
but Jav? will not be drowned.

We may seem like hicks,
but only in appearance.

Our people are descendants
of brave, fighting folk.

The book will prove it, scientifically.

Ei, go and play over
there, will you?

Wait a minute, I want to film this.

Come to recelve your branch,Jesus,

That you gave St. Francls

Folks who pray a great deal are
the ones who are deepest in debt!

Kneeling down with your
head bent is no good.

And I'll tell you something else,
I don't believe in God. No, sir.

How could I have faith, believe
in a guy who's such a coward...

that he didn't come into the world,
but sent his son instead!

He wouldn't take the bull
by the horns himself!

- Hi, can I film you a bit?
- Sure.

- Can I see?
- No, no.

I'll tell you what, stand
there and I'll film you.

- You can stay where you are, girls!
- Can I say somethlng qulcKly?

lwant to tell you and your boss
that my house Isn't for sale!

Are you recordlng?

I've sald my bit. Now get out!

My parents,my husband,
they're all burled...

at that cemetery overthere.
I've a daughter.

We want to stay so we can always
put a candle on thelr graves.

We don't... the englneers
won't get us out of here!

No way!

I came here,just me and my mother,

my chlldren were born here,

so I feel at home here In Jav?.

But now I've my chlldren,
I lost my mother,

lost my son.
I can't leave thls place.

I also want to tell the englneers
that we're preparlng...

a sclentlflc dossler
to defend what's ours.

We can't. We can't IIve underwater.

You thlnKwe're golng
to IIve underwater?

Not even the dead can
IIve underwater. No way!

We've been here for so long.
Really!

I'm not leavlng. To IIve where?
To bulld a house where?

You've no houses or land for all
the people who IIve In Jav?.

How can you maKe us leave?
Get out of here!

Come out, villain! Be a man!

If you're brave enough, then fire!

- As you wish.
- Easy now!

Shut up! This is between
me and the mad fool!

He's upset.

We should drive out these
people sent by the dam,

and whoever else comes here!

- I'm not leaving my house.
- Calm down, Daniel.

- You needn't do that.
- Give me that.

Please, don't do that.

I'd like to see who'll stay.

No one.

- Look, folks are all leaving.
- Where's Zelito going?

He's going to some
relatives who live nearby.

Says he's not staying
to watch the tragedy!

What's that, folks?
The church bell.

Ei, what's going on?
It's not time for Mass!

Come on, folks, let's go and see!

Grab him!
Don't let him!

Stop this!

St. Cirilo, the saint of Jav?,

these folks just want to
hear your divine words.

- Your divinology.
- Have you gone completely mad, Bi??

Can't you see that man's
lost his senses?

Stop! Shut up!

Easy, don't hurt him!

Stop talking! Stop.
You all talk and talk! Stop it!

Shut up, spider's beard!
For God's sake!

You've had your turn, he's had his,
you and your amateur radio voice...

spoke longer than anyone.
Let him speak! Out with it!

Speak, Cirilo, we'll here. Speak.

Take it easy, Cirilo! Slowly,
you're not used to speaking.

Tree! He said tree!

Wait a minute, Vado.
Don't fluster him, he'll speak!

Go on, Cirilo, out with it.

Your cow will drown,

it'll fill with water
till its hide bursts!

Your house will fill with water
all the jars, all the buckets, rooms,

right up to the top.
- Ah, what do you know?

This man's crazy.
He doesn't know a thing!

Your bed will be flooded,
your pots will overflow.

Your street will be a river
and then the sea.

What the hell's going on here, Bi??

It's already over, Zaqueu!
They've already set foot in the village.

They think the streets are
theirs, the houses theirs,

the town is theirs, the river,
everything, theirs!

Calm down! There isn't
much time, but there's time!

Where's the book?

- It's here.
- So give it to me.

No. Not yet! I still need to
finish two or three pages,

four or five at the most.

So let's see what you've
already scribbled down.

If you wish.

Unload your things and meet
me at the store a bit later,

and I'll deliver what I've
already written down.

And if everyone so wishes, we
can start reading the book to see...

whether the majority is in
agreement and satisfied!

Hurrah!

Tonight! Tonight we'll
meet at the store.

Fine.

He's late.

WHAT YOU IMAGINE
IS NOT WHAT YOU SEE

- I found this lad on the way...
- Wait, calm down!

Wait!

So you tell it.

- This is the book Bi? sent.
- Bi? sent? And where is he?

I don't know, sir. He told me to
give it to you personally.

I asked him to show
me, but he wouldn't.

He said only you could look.

Bi?'s made his escape
by now, I'm sure.

- Read this.
- Marquinhos! Come here!

"l declare that l,
Antonio Bi?, I've a face,

teeth and nose out front! And
ass, back and heel behind!

I exonerate myself as scribe,

I'm absent in order to preserve
health of my body and mind.

Regarding the stories and all that,
they're better left in the mouths...

of the people because there's not
a hand could make head...

or tail of them on paper..."
- I knew it!

Damn him!
The devil can't be far!

I'll Dra. Bi? back here, the scoundrel,

and he'll explain this offense or
there'll be no hide left on him!

That's right!

Get everyone and catch him, folks!

Have you heard whether
they've caught him?

- Not yet.
- They haven't caught him yet.

Where's Zaqueu?

I want to see that desgra?ad,
and smash his face!

- We caught him!
- They've got him!

Wait!

Bi?! You desgra?ad! Villain!

Hi there, termite's omelet!

Gather round, folks!

Look, there he is. Come here.

I might have guessed the desgra?ad
would do something like this.

It's now that the knot
will break or untie.

We should do away with him.

Drive that herd!

Desgra?ad! Villain!

Let me go.

You'll not get away
this time, you villain!

Hi, Zaqueu!

Is that all you have to say to me?

To say to everyone,
you dirty scoundrel?

With all due respect...

You think you have respect?
You're a blackguard,

a common fool, a man who doesn't
deserve the company of a dog!

You are what you've always been,
Antonio Bi?, a vagabond!

- Don't insult me!
- I'll shut your mouth, damn you!

And to think I invited
you into my house!

Do you really think that writing
these stories will stop the dam?

Well it won't, and do
you know why?

Because Jav? is just a lost
hole in the pit of the world.

So what if Jav? grew out
of a fighting people?

If today all this is,
is a miserable place,

with a dirt road, with dumb, ignorant
people like me, like all of you!

What we are is crude people who
can hardly write our own names,

but who invent grand stories, to forget
our shallow lives without a future!

And you really believe the men
are going to stop the dam...

and progress, just for bunch of
halfwits? Well they're not.

That's a fact.
It's scientific!

Jav? may not be worth much
to you, but the fact is,

without Jav?, Antonio Bi?
is worth even less!

And it's not worth
dirtying one's hands...

with a lost son of a bitch like
you! Here, take your book.

Really? Turning your back on me?
I'll leave backwards too.

To see you all forever.

The only good thing Jav?
has is the way out of town.

It's a fine place for
raising werewolves.

Amphibians! Amphibious folk!
Shrimp folk!

Is that all?
Is that how it ended?

Time passed, but folks didn't
have time to do anything.

- And one day, they came.
- They who, damn it?

The waters.

The waters rose qulcKly.

But there were those
who reslsted to the end.

Squeezed In at the foot of the dam,
they couldn't belleve thelreyes.

It was Is If they were
allve In thelrown grave.

That's no use anymore, Bi?!

- Ah, it's you!
- I'm here too.

Sure.

I haven't forgotten you two, either.

You're mentioned, more
in the first part.

What do you mean, mentioned?
What first part?

What part?
The part about old Jav?.

Because now, I can't
see you doing much.

Seems you're just letting
everyone else get on with the work.

But you weren't there
when the water came.

I pulled the bell out all by myself.

- Alone?
- Alone!

You just gave orders, it
was the men carried it.

It was Antero and
myself did the diving.

And Deodora and I helped, Bi?.
Put that in your book, too.

Look, you'll be in the chapter
called "The Viper's DNA".

Slnce then, that's the story of
Jav? whlch Is usually told,

but it can also be
read and re-read...

throughout these
endless hllls and caves.

It's In a booKgolng round
the world,neverto be forgotten.

That's it. There's no more. Anyone
who wlshes can write it dlfferently.

Subtitles translated from the
Portuguese by Hugo Moss.