How's everybody back home?
Good, as usual.
I can imagine.
Hildajust called.
She wanted to know if you had a good trip.
First time you travel on your own?
Yes, and the last one.
Why? You don't work with Hilda anymore?
No, I'll start working with my mom.
At the new shop, when it opens.
The same shop where your granddad had the hairdresser's, right?
Yeah. We're remodeling it.
Your mom says you're good with your hands.
So she says...
It's beautiful!
It's for our anniversary, you know?
What about you?
You're all grown up now. Are you already gathering things?
Yes, I have some.
Pots, sheets, a shower curtain.
My mom buys things and saves them for me.
And a microwave oven. I won it.
- And a boyfriend? - No. No boyfriend.
Well, at least you have something. That's good.
- So you're leaving today? - Yes, at 8.
- Yes? - I have a delivery from Hilda.
Yes... Hilda.
- The crafts. - Yes, yes.
It's a bit dented.
But come in!
- How many are they? - Three.
Three, okay. Here, I think they left this for Hilda.
- I'm taking these too. - These?
HABl- the Foreigner
Well, then I promise to be there but a little later.
Yes, do come. It's going to be nice.
Those women have been working so hard. I really hope you can make it.
Okay.
Come in, come in. The Sheij is about to finish the prayer.
- Well, I'll see you on Saturday then. - Yes, yes.
God almighty is truthful.
The blessed prophet of Islam, the prophet Muhammad,
may Allah bestow his grace and peace upon him.
And upon his pure and immaculate descendants.
He said:
"Live this life as if you were to live forever.
And live the other life, the eternal,
as if you were to die tomorrow."
Think about the balance we must have.
He also said...
that our behavior in this life
should be similar to that of a stranger,
a traveler who arrives in a place that doesn't belong to him,
and from which he can take just the bare essentials to subsist,
and continue the journey to reach the final destination.
- Thank you. - Thank you for coming.
- You're welcome.
Is Mr. Elía in?
I don't know him. Ask the woman that's handing things out.
- Madam... - I saw you.
I'll give you something in a minute.
Hello?
I need a room.
Mom!
Take care of her, Karina. Give her the one upstairs, Mamani's.
Hello.
Just one night.
Just visiting or work?
One minute.
- Just one night. - Give her Mamani's room.
- How much is it in dollars? - 100 pesos. Why in dollars?
Because I think she's not from here.
- I don't know, 30 dollars. - Okay.
- The keys. - They're there, Karina.
It's 100 pesos or 30 dollars.
I only have pesos.
You have to pay now.
Hello, mom.
I'm fine.
No, I didn't catch it. I was late.
I'm okay, mom.
Yes, in a hotel.
I don't know, a guesthouse.
Yes, tomorrow.
The bus leaves at 8 pm.
My battery's running out. Can you please call Hilda?
Tell her that the address is wrong, that Elía doesn't live there,
and that I got paid.
I didn't have time today, but I will go tomorrow.
Yes, I'll buy some, for sure.
Yes, mom.
Yes, I'll take care of myself.
Bye. Bye-bye.
"Atahuid..."
"At Tahuid."
- Hi, can I help you? - I need to buy a set of scissors.
- For you? - Yes.
I don't have any assembled set of scissors,
but I can show you what I have.
- Polish or cutting scissors? - Just hairdressing scissors.
Okay. I have this one. It's national, 80 pesos.
It's a very good pair of scissors. 250 pesos, German, excellent.
Then we go to another price range.
500 pesos, it's the star of scissors.
Listen to this sound.
This one will never let you down. Try it, it fits perfectly.
Or I can show you a line that exceeds 2000 pesos. I don't know...
I'm taking this one.
Great.
That is for a raffle.
You can win hair extensions and a straightener. It's cool.
Fill it out. There's the box.
Well, here I wrote down all the prices and codes.
80 pesos.
"Tripoli..."
"Beirut..."
- They'll call the police. - No...
I want you to lift me up like a bride.
- Give me the key. - I don't have the key. It's inside.
- Liar. Give me the key, Horacio. - I don't have it! You have it.
Get the key!
Come on!
- Who's there? - Occupied!
No, it's not here. Sorry!
- Sorry! - Sorry!
- Who is she? A neighbor? - I don't know who she is.
Might be a neighbor.
- Horacio! - What?
I think I saw the cops!
Hello?
Hello, mom.
In the street. In a public telephone.
No, I didn't check my messages. My battery died.
It's just that there's a raffle, mom.
It's for a hairdo course, just what you wanted.
I don't know if there's a bus in the morning.
Hello?
Can you hear me?
Hello, mom?
Hello?
Can you hear me?
Yes, mom.
I'm fine, don't worry.
Hello?
Salam Aleikum.
I'll go get a notepad. Be right back.
Habiba Rafat.
Salam Aleikum.
Sadam.
Can I help you?
Yes, I'd like to attend a class.
I was here the other day, and I saw you were in class.
But I don't know who I have to talk to.
You can come in now.
Okay.
Girls, we have a new friend.
- Hi, how are you? - What was your name?
Habiba.
Habiba, come in, come in.
Come in, sit over here.
- Hello. - Hello.
- Welcome. - Thank you.
As we said, in the Masbaha,
the first division would be Allahu akbar.
We repeat it 34 times, okay?
We count the separation. The second separation: alhamdulillah.
- Have you got a pen? - No.
- I can give you a pencil. - Thanks.
And the last one, subhanallah.
What if we don't have the Masbaha?
If we don't have the Masbaha, we can do it with our fingers.
We have ten fingers, three separations in each finger.
- That would be 30. - You don't need to copy that.
If we add one more finger, that'd be 34 fingers.
- Here, look. - 34 times, sorry.
Then we say alhamdulillah 33 times,
subhanallah 33 times.
What is better than to praise God? Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
- Who is it? - Miss?
- Yes? - I want to ask you a question.
Hi.
How long are you staying?
You're not from here, are you?
I noticed.
What I owed you and one more day.
Okay.
Bye.
Here it says
I'm supposed to dial 555...
asterisk.
Don't hit it, press reset. Press reset, that's the button...
- Give me a pen! - No...
- I don't have any... - Give me a pen. I need a pen.
- I don't have a pen. - Here.
There you go. 49 pesos.
- It works. - Finally!
Here. This is yours. Thanks.
I'm here about the ad requesting an employee.
I need a man.
I can do the job.
I have experience in delivery.
Yes? Where?
In the streets, here and there, anywhere.
- Where do you live? - Afew blocks from here.
But I need a man.
Try me. You'll see.
Hassan Habibi, help her, please.
- Hi. - Hi.
Thanks.
- Good morning. - Hi, good morning.
Hello?
Here it is.
Yes, that's fine.
You're new.
Yeah.
Were you speaking Arabic?
Yes.
- Do you understand it? - Yes.
Barely.
Is he your dad?
No.
- What does "papa" mean? - Baba?
It means dad, but he's not my dad.
- Next time, bring the lavan. - Yes, for sure.
Good morning.
- I already paid. - To whom?
Karina, get over here!
Awoman came into my room.
Can you please tell her she should pay me here?
I have no idea how to say that!
You owe two nights. Don't try to be smart.
Tell her.
Two nights, okay?
- I'll pay tomorrow. - Today.
Lucho who?
Lucho, the mechanic.
We won't have the car ready? Shit!
Excuse me.
- Hello, I'm Margarita. - Habi.
I don't know if it will be ready or not. I will find out in a while.
Hello.
I'll know when I'm there.
How pretty! Is it from your country?
Who is this? Who put it here?
- Oscar. - Oscar. Speak correctly!
Oscar.
- Is this yours? - Yes.
- Where was it? - By the locker.
- Who sent it to you? - My grandmother. It's a recipe.
- But it's not sealed. - It's a keepsake.
Do you know what that is? It's a Lebanese dish.
It's delicious. It's called Fatteh.
Do you have any family there?
No, just distant relatives.
- And here? - No, here neither.
Where can I get one of those clocks?
- It was a gift. Do you like it? - It's imported.
I can get you one if you want.
I don't know. How much is it?
If possible, I'd need some money in advance. Remember?
Yes. How much was it?
500, if possible.
- You went up, it was 300. - You can discount it later.
For what?
- Personal reasons. - Well, what do you know!
You try.
Good. Good.
The hardest one is the "H".
As if you tried to steam up a glass.
Good, better.
You can take it if you want.
Yes, I'm interested.
Shukran.
You learn fast.
- That's for counting cattle. - Yes.
What do you count?
I use it for a promise I made.
- How? - I say prayers and count them with it.
- How many? - A lot.
I promised one thousand.
I would have never thought of using it like that.
- Is it a custom? - It's my custom.
What a surprise!
I'm here to pick up the check for Mr. Khalil.
- Are you in a hurry? - No, I've just got out of work.
I think I've seen your face before.
- Where could it be? - I don't know.
Your eyes.
They're pretty.
They're going to call the police. Where are my clothes, Margarita?
On the street.
Did you really throw my clothes onto the street?
I'm going to smash your face! Go out and get my clothes, Margarita!
Where were you?
Motherfucker! Son of a bitch!
Stop it, stop it! Stop, stop!
What are you doing! What are you doing! No!
Don't hit me! I'm going to smash your face!
I'm going to jump! I'm going to jump!
Don't jump on the car! Margarita!
- The car? - Margarita, come here!
Don't leave, please...
Kiss me, son of a bitch!
If you're still awake when I get back, I'll kill you.
Any!
Help me!
Please!
He's going to kill me!
Open, please!
Come in.
- Do you want one? - Okay.
But what really catches his attention is that in order to get water,
he doesn't need to go to the river with two buckets.
All he had to do was to open the tap.
So he decides to take this wonder of science to his village.
He buys the hose, he buys the tap, of course, and he goes back home.
He installs the whole thing,
and calls his wife, his kids, his neighbors...
to show them what he'd done.
Very much to his surprise, he opens the tap and nothing comes out.
Of course, the system was not connected to water, the source of life.
Hi. One lemon ice cream, please.
I left the order there.
I didn't know you played.
- Can you play? - No.
What about paddle or tennis?
What's that?
Would you like to try?
No, I wasn't born for sports.
Well, if you weren't born for it, you can learn.
Really?
- I'll poke my eye out, or yours. - You think?
Your legs, flexed, ready.
Good. Don't go down so much.
Don't lose your balance.
So, you reach for the ball from the sides, not up front.
That means in this case, you'll move your left leg to the right.
Yes. Don't bend your hip.
Good.
The arm holding the paddle should always be stretched out.
And you reach down for the ball.
Okay? So...
Yes...
- Something like that. - This isn't a good idea.
Good.
Better.
- I don't know your name. - Habi.
Habiba.
What's yours?
Hassan.
Hassan is a pretty name.
Habiba what?
Habiba Rafat.
It wasn't such a big deal, right?
Everything that goes in the fridge is on the counter.
Hi, I'm your neighbor, Margarita.
Are you busy?
I'd like to talk to you.
Can I come in?
Your room is very nice. It used to be a mess before.
Do you ever feel homesick?
Sometimes I do, but it was shitty there too.
Would you like to go for a drink?
Thanks.
My treat.
I just came by to say hello, since we are neighbors.
He's not always like this.
He gave me this necklace.
Do you like it?
- How old are you? - 20.
I left home when I was 15.
The day after my birthday party.
Do you have a party here when you turn 15?
Yes, we celebrate every year.
And how is it there?
- The same. - Here too.
What are you?
You ask because of my clothes?
Muslim.
I've never seen a Muslim girl before.
- Marga! - What?
I'm here!
What do you want?
You're really behind on your payment, Marga.
Really behind. You said Horacio was going to pay me.
He didn't.
I won't cut out your cable.
- I like watching TV. - I know you do and on full volume.
Hi.
- Do you want cable TV? - I don't have a TV.
But you could come watch it with me.
Give me my money back.
I really, really apologize.
- There was a mistake. - Yes.
I don't have the money now.
- You went wrong. - I didn't go wrong.
Pay her.
- What? - Pay her what you owe me.
Okay? And everybody's happy.
- Sounds good? - Yes.
Any! You made yourself clear. Come, come.
Bye, Any. You're very pretty.
Don't be so modest.
- Yas, do you have a boyfriend? - No. Why?
No. Why?
- Have you ever had one? - I've had no luck.
I met a boy.
- And? - I like him.
I think he likes me too.
And since I never went out with a boy...
His name is "Hassán".
- Hassan. - Yes.
- Hassan what? - I don't know.
What do you want to know?
- Can you tell me what it says? - What's this?
Hassan, that boy, gave it to me.
- You saw him? - Yes, at the market.
Wow!
Come on, read it.
"Miss Habi: I love you.
You are a flower. The most wonderful flower..."
No. Keep cutting!
- Give it to me. - Wait.
Some things I can't understand.
It's a date.
This Friday. I like it.
"I have something important to say. I think this is a miracle."
He seems pretty serious.
Do you want me to go with you?
- Where? - To the date.
No, silly.
How should I say hello? With a kiss?
Wait and see what he does.
If he shakes your hand, you shake his.
And if he gives you a kiss, you won't turn your face away, will you?
Should I put on some makeup?
A little on your eyes.
He might not think it's right.
Of course. I don't usually wear makeup anyway.
Yes. A chocolate and cream ice cream for me, please.
And for her, lemon and...
Lemon and chocolate.
Thank you.
How did you guess I was going to order lemon?
I didn't guess. I knew it.
Isn't that the same?
No.
I didn't know your name was Habiba.
- Do you like it? - What?
- My name. - Yes.
It's not that.
It's no coincidence that I noticed you.
Hassan and Habiba...
- Thank you. - Thank you.
- How old are you? - 20. You?
It's weird that I haven't seen you before.
I haven't been in town for so long.
How old are you?
24.
Where are you from?
My grandparents are from Lebanon, but I've never been there.
You're from here, right?
Yes... and no.
We were born in Lebanon but came here when we were very little.
That's nice.
Do you remember anything?
We were little.
What about your family?
I have no family.
What do you mean? That's not possible.
I never met my dad, and my mom...
She died.
Who raised you?
Awoman.
But that was a long time ago. I'm fine.
Why did you write to me in Arabic?
- I wanted to see if you understood it. - Yes, some.
What's that?
- Pictures. - Let me see. Can I see them?
Yes, I was going to show them to you.
It's hard.
Shall we go?
Can we finish the ice cream first?
Yes.
Habiba Rafat.
- What's your last name? - Mine?
- I'm sorry. - No, it's okay.
Idiot!
Thank you for coming with me.
- You should have gone in. - I'm squeamish. I told you.
It wasn't such a big deal.
You don't know me.
- Are you tired? - Let's go on.
Where were we?
Let's see...
Here.
Close your eyes so you can concentrate better.
"What do you prefer? Tea, coffee or none?"
It's one of the questions in the test. Close your eyes.
None.
"Out of these three, what's more important in your life?
Health, money, love, I can't decide."
Love.
- When I'm sick, health. - Pick one.
Love.
"Which one of these careers would you choose?
Doctor, journalist, elite sportswoman,
artist, builder, hairdresser."
What's wrong?
You didn't tell me how it went.
- I didn't go. - Liar.
Why?
Why would I go? I don't even know him.
Because you like him. It's a start.
- You're such a fool. - Forget it.
You won't get a boyfriend that way.
I've heard that before.
What result did you get?
Number 2.
Your hands fresh as the river
Your smile wide open, your hair to the wind
Your eyes as bright as fire
For you, the moon For me, the sun
The stars were for both of us
The river and its two banks, our shelter
And on a full moon night
Among fine dances and the sweetest kiss
As light as the air of your immobile time
Hi, Any!
Come down! We're going out with some friends.
Come down!
Wait, wait!
Come on!
Would you like to dance?
No.
- Any, come on. - No.
- Come here, Any! - Habi!
Raúl?
Raúl, let me talk to "Negu".
Margarita!
Margarita, Raúl! Don't you recognize me?
Good evening.
They're bullshitting me.
- Here, make your call. - No, it's okay.
Make your call.
What's the matter?
- Let's go. - I'm going home.
Do you know what time it is?
Yes, I know. It's late, but I need to see her.
It's 1 am. Either you go or I'll call the police.
Yes, I know it's 1 am. Tell her I'm here or...
I'm calling the police right now. Get out of here.
Hi.
Give me my cell phone.
Come this way.
This way.
I couldn't tell you the other day.
It's alright.
I can't find the words.
I never thought I'd find you.
Habi...
It's me, Hassan.
- Do you recognize me? - Yes.
Habibet Baya.
Do you understand?
No.
Dad's favorite.
That's what mom used to say. Dad's favorite.
You're confused.
I have no dad, nothing.
Don't say that.
- Do you remember anything? - No.
Remember what?
You were a baby.
We had an accident, with mom.
We never really knew what happened to you.
I wasn't in any accident.
Go away. I don't know you.
I'm sorry.
I was five years old.
Imagine dad.
He died too.
During a trip to Lebanon some years ago.
I'm not Lebanese. I'm Argentinean.
I'm Argentinean too,
but you were born in Lebanon, like us.
I have pictures. Do you want to see?
What pictures? No.
I know it's hard.
It's weird for me too.
I understand you.
No, you don't.
I'm not her.
Come here.
Hassan...
I'm not your sister.
Habiba Rafat is my sister.
My name is not Habiba Rafat.
But you said Habiba Rafat.
Why did you say Habiba Rafat?
Where did you get that name from? Who are you?
I'm not Habiba Rafat.
- I don't know where the money is. - You don't know?
You don't know? Then we must call the police,
because someone is stealing here!
Someone is stealing.
There's a thief in the guesthouse, right?
- Yes, there's a thief! - No!
Watch out, everybody, there's a thief in here!
- Horacio, stop it, stop it! - You will hit the streets,
with your new shoes, and you're going to walk
- around Buenos Aires until... - I don't care!
The car!
This is how my mom used to bathe me when she wanted to govern me.
- What? - When she wanted to calm me down.
It must be nice to be born in a family like yours.
I want to make a promise too.
Go ahead.
- I don't want to... - No, don't tell me.
Your commitment is with God.
How nice!
Hi, congratulations, Fati!
How pretty!
- Hello. - You made it, Habiba.
How are you, Habiba?
For your promise.
- No... - It's yours.
I love you.
I'm going to the bathroom.
Hello.
It's me.
Say something, mom. Can you hear me?
I'm fine.
I just wanted to let you know.
In a telephone booth, in Buenos Aires.
Don't treat me like a baby, mom.
I'm fine.
Yes, I will. I'll go visit you.
We'll talk about it later.
No.
Someone else could do that job.
I don't like it.
I brought you the pictures. I wanted to give them back to you.
Why do you have her name? Who are you?
What you see.
It's not what I wanted to see.
I'm leaving.
Marga...
Are you there?
I'm sorry about yesterday.
Let me know how much for the rear window.
He took my shoes.
- What for? - So that I won't follow him.
I don't know what he thinks.
- Here. - What?
They're not for you to follow him.
What's that?
It's a clock that summons you to prayer.
As if God was knocking on your door.
You have to be quiet, right?
I don't like this place either.
I hope he comes back and finds nothing.
Can you imagine?
Why don't we go out, Any?
My name is Analía.
You don't want me to call you "Any"?
Yes, it's fine.
There's a party! Let's go.
I don't want to stay here crying.
I'm staying.
Can I return them tomorrow?
Take them.
You're not leaving without saying goodbye, are you?