Angola, 1974 One year before independence
Auntie.
Wait, wait!
Let's go.
Get the knife!
Get it.
Stop, that's enough.
If we don't play the drums for three days,
the earth won't contain him.
What do you want me to do?
The white man is listening...
An angry soul will not rest without drums.
Look, his blood is still on your hands.
Do you think he'll stay underground?
Let's sing, then.
Maybe his soul will find peace in our voices
and sleep at last.
Tchissola, you can't leave the clothes on the line today.
It's a death day.
... and the tension increases
between the armed guerrillas and the descendants of the Portuguese...
Open the door, fucking white woman!
They're trying to kill me.
Fly, my little bird, let us go now
My poor bird won't leave the ground
The others fly, you can fly too
My poor bird won't leave the ground
Tchissola.
Tchissola, are you listening?
Have you eaten?
Take this flour to the white lady's. Don't take the road.
Eat with her and come back before dark.
Are you scared of the white men?
Go on, it's a long way.
Pale Death crushes
with the same indifferent feet.
The huts of the poor and the towers of kings.
Life is too brief
for the hopes that take too long.
We are but dust and shadows,
born to glean the fruits of the earth.
Born to glean the fruits of the earth.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
TOMMY GUNS
Prata.
Mercy, master! It's me...
Shhh!
It's not too late.
It's not too late...
Judas!
Who's going to cook?
Who?
Who's going to get food?
You?
Son of a bitch.
Do you want to leave? Go...
Go!
S'kwata!
S'kwata! S'kwata! S'kwata!
Kill!
Wait!
Kill!
No...
Kill!
We'll leave you to the vultures and the hyenas.
Did anyone open the traitor's bag?
No, colonel.
Turra.
May I approach, sir?
Your country is proud of you, corporal.
Your contribution deserves a reward.
What is your weapon?
Heckler & Koch G3, sir.
Corporal, today you'll be promoted to sergeant.
Do you understand?
Yes, sir.
Our country rewards those who fight for it.
I merely did my duty, sir.
If everyone did it,
we would never lose our overseas provinces.
I do not wish any sort of reward, sir.
On the 19th of October,
corporal José was promoted to sergeant,
as a reward for services rendered to the country.
No one could come from the general staff.
The roads are cut off.
I used to have a G3 too.
It's hard not to shoot.
But look...
Walther P38.
Keep it up and you'll have yours in no time.
My father died when I...
when I was very young.
I'm now the only man in my family.
Your mother has reason to be proud twice over.
I know she wants to see me again.
That could be my reward, sir.
Depriving the country
of a soldier like him would be a considerable loss.
He has a bright military future ahead.
He needs to use that bravery
to continue to honour our country, sir.
Our country honours us, believe me.
But it's Prata's bed...
Now it's yours,
sergeant.
I went all the way today.
Then I came back.
Do you remember your mother?
I do.
She's tall,
blonde...
and she gives me lots of nice toys.
Zé...
The world is not what you see here, Zé.
I saw Prata! I saw Prata!
Shhh... Quiet!
"I've seen it all!"
The saying of the Stoics!
The principle of happiness, in Horace's words.
On your arms!
- Down! U I I hey
Down! Up!
17!
Down! Up!
18!
Down! Up!
19!
On your arms!
Down! Up!
On your arms!
Present arms!
Shoulder arms!
Trail arms!
Shoulder arms!
Present arms!
Shoulder arms!
Halt!
What do you see?
What do you see with your eyes closed?
I see the sea, colonel.
We have a sailor among us.
On your arms!
- D own! U - 0! i
- Do wn! v n Up!
- D own! U - 2! i
- D own! U - 3! i
Being able to see the sea doesn't make you free.
Captivity is a state of mind,
something you carry with you.
Get up!
The wall doesn't lock you in here.
It locks the enemy out.
Leave it, leave it.
Don't let the colonel find out about this.
Have you seen her?
Who?
Stay still, careful.
Zé!
Look here.
You're fine.
She was tall,
blonde...
Shut up.
Bandage.
Ready?
He's coming.
You must see her.
Before the current takes her away.
Shhh.
One day the war will end without us ever having been friends.
But this is the loneliness talking.
It's...
this endless wilderness
We're not here to be friends.
Understood?
Understood.
Sir.
I got hurt in training, sir.
Hurry up!
We have you covered.
More to the right.
Turn it.
Come on!
Shhh. He's coming!
News from the metropole?
I left everything behind.
I want them to have all they need.
All's fair in war...
and love.
There are many wars, all alike.
So...
you want me to dance for everyone
and choose who goes first?
The cautious first.
The restless ones last.
Money won't get away.
No guns,
no rush, no brutality of any kind.
Be careful.
It's the first time for most of them.
Don't worry.
I'll leave them all in one piece.
But I won't take responsibility for anyone's heart.
The heart...
The heart is not a problem.
So...
tell me...
what should I dance to?
Does anyone dance to this?
One last thing.
Wipe off your mouth.
Sit down!
Up!
You have fifteen minutes.
News from the metropole?
Rock and roll.
What's your name?
Zé.
You've never seen it?
My name is Apolénia.
She was a martyr.
She lost her teeth under torture.
Easy, easy.
Hold on.
Easy.
Not like that.
Stop, stop.
Wait, stop it!
I'm not your mother.
Didn't I tell you to be careful?
All I get is fucking perverts!
- Silence! - Silence my ass!
Don't touch me!
Get the hell out of here.
Let me go!
Shut up!
Lieutenant!
Where's the key? The key to the gate?
What are we going to do?
The key to the gate.
What key?
The key to the gate. The street gate.
What do we do now?
God rest his soul.
Let's bury him under the mulemba.
Move it! Did you hear me?
Under the mulemba, soldiers!
It was an accident.
I swear.
Where's my purse?
Start saying at once what is this hex you've brought in here.
I just want you to let me out of here.
It's no use crying.
That's the way war is.
Do you know what the outside world is like?
I haven't seen anything,
I don't know anything.
I don't want any trouble.
You can walk as far as you want.
You'll die of hunger
and thirst,
and it serves you right, because you're evil.
How old are you?
How long have you guys been here?
We'll stay until the Motherland says so.
What Motherland?
Let's bury him now.
It's a full moon.
Wait, wait...
Wait.
The keys to the gate...
Blessed Mary...
How do you get out of here?
When you have served your country.
How long have you been in here?
I don't know.
I didn't start counting until long after I arrived.
What are you guys doing here?
The same as everyone else.
Fighting for what's ours.
Fighting against whom?
Fighting against the turras.
Against the turras?
Yes.
The terrorists from the liberation movements
in our overseas provinces.
Don't you know anything?
Please let me send my mother a message.
Listen.
If you go up that pass, it leads to a bridge
that's almost in ruins.
After the bridge,
you'll no longer see the pass.
But crossing the bush to the wall,
you'll find a green gate.
With two padlocks.
I need the key to those two padlocks.
Do you understand?
I need it, and you need it.
If you stay here, you'll die.
I need you to tell my mother that I'm fine.
That the country can be proud of me.
What's your mother's name?
You don't know your mother's name?
Do you know what year this is?
What does the law say?
The law?
Don't spill your brother's blood.
What year is it?
May God have mercy on you, soldier,
for breaking the law.
Help me get out of here
and I'll take you to your mother.
Let's have a minute of silence.
- But the war won't... - There is no war.
There is no overseas.
There isn't.
Do you understand?
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Thy kingdom come,
blessed is the fruit of our womb,
on earth as it is in heaven.
We have to go.
Where is Pedro?
Eight children disappeared this year
Family is still hopeful
You see them too?
Now I see them.
Zé.
Zé!
Did you know, Prata?
What is there to know?
That time goes by?
That wars end so that others can begin?
We all knew it.
The time has come to leave.
Take the car and hurry up:
the past will follow.
What will happen now?
You will find your time out there.
The world that was meant for you.
But what is this world in here?
Let's be pragmatic.
I was grateful too.
I thought he had saved me.
Saved me from the real war,
from misery.
I had nothing.
No country,
and he held out his hand.
And then...
he took everything else from me.
Years on end at the battle front,
and then I had to stay in here.
"Cook, Prata!"
"Sweep the floors, Prata!"
"Bury the dead, Prata!"
"Go to town, Prata!"
"Shut up, Prata!"
And I shut up,
because I didn't have anything else.
I hoped you would grow up
and see.
But no one did.
And now what?
Who among us is the most dead.
Will you forgive me?
Will I ever find rest?
On the day you deserve it, you will find rest.
Now go,
and understand your era.
Render unto the dead the things that are of the dead.
Go your way.
But beware.
There will be consequences.
For nothing that was done here
has been imagined.
You have fifteen minutes.
Flowers for the road.
Did we bring rope?
No.
Lift me up.
Move.
Can I expend ammunition?
At my command.
Fire!
Halt!
Out of the way!
Stop it! Stop it!
Leave everything here.
Leave everything.
Good morning.
Can you get us a ride to Lisbon?
We don't have a tractor.
How far is it to my mother's house?
I want to shower before I meet her.
As though the earth were running In a whole after me
Fear stalks around my senses
Let's go.
As it sneaks viscously
It slithers stickily and leaks out
Through my pores
Through my sighs
It seeps into my bones And parched spills out
Into my winding guts Biting into my insides
It leaps and spreads across the air Comes and goes deliriously
So deliriously
It's like a waking dream
This besmeared figure Revolving in the mud
Slithering from a maggot Emerging deep inside
I'm afraid, oh fear
Take it all, it's yours
But let me go
My love when I die Oh beautiful one
Wear the most garish skirt
If I'm to die on the high seas Oh beautiful one
I want to see you on the shore
But keep those voices away Beautiful
You are frightened of the living And the dead
Cut off by their feet and their hands By the neck and the breasts
Up to the edge of your loins
How you shiver in your flesh, Fernao Mendes
Drag me to the hollow deep Of the great lake of night
Crossing the bars of fire Between heaven and hell
To the wide-open mouth Smitten, after me
After me
It's like a waking dream
These eyes in the dark Of the grieving widow mourners
For the slaughtered father Disemboweled by his son
Who lustfully possessed
His own mother
And his mistress