All language subtitles for Veredas

The former production Unit of the
lnstituto Português de Cinema presents

PATHS

a film fabricated by

starring

I was going up the mountain
Ahead of my flock

Clanging on my pot
And stitching up my sheepskin cloak

When a she-wolf came my way
She was big and gray

with the co-operation of

The tale of Branca-Flor extracted
from the versions collected by

And took one of my ewe-lambs away
The best one in the flock, I say

texts by

Run up, seven puppies
Run down, shepherd dog

If you grab that she-wolf
You'll enjoy a good supper

And if you do not grab her
You'll taste my bitter crook

production manager

And they ran seven leagues
All seven through ploughed land

And after those seven leagues
The she-wolf was getting tired

I beg you shepherd
In the name of God and your soul

I beg you shepherd
In the name of God and your soul

To call these dogs away
And I will head up the mountain

Dogs, take the lamb
Take it to the flock

We do not want a lamb
Bitten by a wolf

We only want your skin
To make a shepherd's cloak

Where are you coming from?

Let me guide your dreams.

Bridle, like the lenient mane
of trees, clutching the earth,

bridles the sap
and the wind's breath.

To bridle
the craving for the couple.

By wayward paths

vagrancy shall go forth
with no apparent ties.

Over its trail, the oldest signs

of the whole plot and of persecution
leave their print.

They ramble over the elusive path
of unfeasible promise,

absorbed, like gods,
in a lethal hope.

In their speechless privation,
unyielding,

they are created as man and woman:

tongue-fled under the claws and
spread-out flight of large birds,

of the agonizing custom,

of the age-old legend
of a bloodstained reprisal.

Behold how thick with
plain warbles

and crystals of peoples' memory

is the desert of ever-expanding love,

the crossing over shared,
uneven guilt.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

How beautiful she is!

- Like a mooress!
- She looks just like a princess.

I wonder if she's
an enchanted mooress?

In the old days there were plenty
of enchanted mooresses.

The legends said
that when the Moors were here,

they left behind many enchanted
mooresses, with vast treasures,

and some people know
how to disenchant them.

But that's neither for me nor for you.

She looks just like a princess.

If by chance she's
an enchanted mooress

she must be
from the days of Maoma.

The ancient said that
in the days of Maoma...

D'you know who Maoma was?

Mahomet was a king

of the Arabs,

from Damascus, do you not know
where Damascus is?

Damascus was the capital
of Syria,

which is close to Jerusalem.

And from there
came the said Mahomet,

the said Mahomet
who was king of the Arabs.

And later,

he was a servant

to a rich Arab from Damascus.

From Damascus!

And later he became a servant
and then a caravaneer

and then his master died
and he married his widow.

Since she was rich,

with the wealth he got
and the fame he came to have,

he became the king of Arabs.

Later, a commander of his troops,

by the name of Tarik,

told him to conquer
the Iberian Peninsula.

Do you know what
the Iberian Peninsula is?

It's Portugal and Spain.

He did not send him here
to conquer land.

He sent him here because they had
a religion, whose God was Allah.

Like our missionaries,

who marched out to Angola
and Mozambique

to expand their religion.

With the troops he gathered
all over Africa,

Tarik fought against

the lberians...

In the battle of Guadalete,
so the legend said.

And after that, Don Rodrigo,
the king of the Visigoths,

lost the battle of Guadalete.

And then the ancients,
with that dance of the Pauliteiros,

made up a song called
"Don Rodrigo lost the war".

Don Rodrigo was the king,

Pelagius was a prince
but Don Rodrigo was the king

and they made a song about him
that went like this:

Don Rodrigo was invited

There is bread and there is wine
And there is a lamb ready to roast

But might as well not invite him
Not invite him

The ancients already made fun
of each other.

So it was the time of the Moors.

And people said mooresses
carried a gold wire with them.

And they would coil the gold wire
and,

if they didn't make a mistake while
saying those words they knew,

the wire would come out
and make a skein,

and at the end appeared
the enchanted mooress.

If they got the words wrong

the mooress would once again
be enchanted

and it wouldn't do any good.

Each man to his trade.

If I knew how to
disenchant mooresses,

I'd try to grab one as pretty
as the one that just went by.

But I don't know the words.

The mooresses, you have to
disenchant them in the dead of night

and the dead of night terrifies me.
When the wolf's out, I stay in.

An old ballad told that
a treasure is buried

from the Woodpigeon's Rock
all the way to the Moors' Rock,

but for my part I don't want it,
I wouldn't know how to spend it.

- Has your husband come back?
- Yes.

- And what did he bring you?
- A fanner.

- And how much did it cost?
- A quarter real.

Oh my dear little fanner

Which cost him
A quarter real...

I still remember those things,
the dancing in those days.

When Uncle St. Roque...
Don't you remember uncle St. Roque?

When he sculpted saints
up on the cliffs?

Yes, he sculpted saints
up on the cliffs...

And while he was sculpting
the nose and the eyes,

he made us keep
one leg up and hop,

otherwise the saint
wouldn't do miracles.

He'd drag it out and we'd get
tired and put our leg down.

He'd drag it out
and we'd get tired

and put our leg down
and he would scold us,

saying it was our fault
the saint wouldn't do miracles.

I remember... Don't you remember
Uncle St. Roque?

I do, sure I do.

He made so many statues of saints,
carved out of wood.

Saint Anthony holding his crook,
on his window.

Up on the cliffs,
made of stone...

He liked St. Anthony a lot.

I still remember the names
of some of the saints.

St. Callistus.

- He was very fond of St. Callistus.
- St. Callistus was also his friend.

And St. Gregory.

He made us keep one leg up.

We kids were tired
and he wouldn't let us have a rest,

if we did, the saints wouldn't
do miracles. I remember.

Many of those saints
were still around not long ago.

And they were quite well made.

And so was the window.

The window, as it was then,
packed with all those saints,

would be worth good money
nowadays.

There were at least 4 or 5 saints
carved into the wood of the window.

It was quite well done.

The window had a round
star-like thing.

That's it,

and the saints were on both sides
of the wood of the window.

If the window hadn't been wrecked,
it'd be worth good money.

Boys used to throw rocks at it,
on account of the saints.

That's because they were rude.

What about the cross
he made by the bonfire?

It seems it was Aunt Sendinesa
that broke it.

And also further up, in that crag
people called the Grindstone.

That's where the dial was.

We'd put a stone in the middle

and the shadow marked the hour.
- Like a median line.

I remember that.

He was Isabel's grandfather.

- Don't you remember?
- Yes, I remember him.

I still remember when he made
a group of kids dance

on my brother-in-law Filipe's roof,

that open shed we inherited

from the sisters of...

Augusto's father.

I remember when
we kept his sheep for him.

He used to wait for us every
afternoon when we came back.

And when he had the time

he'd sculpt a saint.

He used to carry around
a small flask full of wine.

Yes, always, always.

Thank you.

It's nice.

It's a cold day today.

But look,
such a beautiful sight,

these plants,
this tender grass.

It reminds me of that story
about the little donkey.

Do you know the story
of the little donkey?

Would you like me
to tell you the story?

So I will, listen.

Once there was a little donkey

softly grazing in a soft meadow.

And next to him
its master rested

as merry as the merry few.

But then, a strange noise
fell upon the ears of both

and the master asked:
"Did you hear it or was I dreaming?

It's thieves, I tell you,
and they'll take you with them".

The donkey, slowly chewing away,
turns his sweet eye

says to the master next to him:

"if a thief takes me away

"will I carry another packsaddle
on top of this one?"

"You will not", replied the master,
"if thieves do take you

"and you with thieves depart
forget those silly thoughts,

"for a packsaddle you carry
and another you will not".

And so the donkey said:
"Then you run for it,

"for danger is close and certain.

"I for one will stay here grazing

"for if this bundle I hump
will neither slim nor fatten

"why would I want to flee?"

So this donkey was teaching

to those that play the fool
and take life's blows

that it's foolish to go out of the way
and gallop far and wide

only to end up where we started.

So I tell you:
"Be he tall or be he small,

"my vote he'll never get.

"For after my vote is handed,
he whose hand holds the vote

"will grow and once he's grown
will forget he ever shook my hand."

Given the village's woe,
and his own narrow means,

I ventured to promise the hero
a victory against the evil hordes.

My own fife.

My conjuration gained that spirit

that feeds
the faith of storytellers.

I didn't know

that by steering the young emissary
towards a hesitant vagrancy,

I was dooming myself
to the abjuration of all my powers.

He seized both
my body and my silence,

and we both roamed
through wretched hells

under the benevolent smile of those
that had already forgotten

the magic formulas
for disentangling spells.

I believed myself woman when I
cast him out of the small community

where he traded with the
living and the dead,

promising him a much more
extreme destination.

I did not know that
that royal excursion

would be made through the insides
of my body

in all its terrible metamorphoses.

Like a fatherland,

once more conjuring its legends
of splendour and misfortune,

I furtively suppliant,

chased after the peacefulness
and fecundity of another story.

When the fox
Chases the chickens

It's bad for the parents
Worse for the kids.

Now listen: we're gathered here
because of the cattle that's missing.

What should we do?

Should make a round to look for them
and check for footprints,

or to find out
how they went missing.

But where are the footprints?
I didn't see any,

the cattle doesn't seem edgy,
I haven't seen any wolfs

and just yesterday Xaíco
complained one was missing.

The shepherds didn't see
any footprints either.

Still, we have to go
look for them.

It can't be a villager,
nobody steals around here.

Not even the clothes on the hanger,
or the corn on the threshing-floor.

So, let's make a round
and forget about the village.

We should make that round
during the day.

- And when do you want to go?
- Tomorrow.

And what time should we go, early?

Very early, there's lot of ground
to cover.

Then listen: we get up at daybreak,
eat something and then we go.

We'll take a packed luncheon
and some wine with us

so we won't have to waste time
coming back for it.

You all know what to do:
we leave first thing tomorrow.

Play, rest assured that you have
all the time and all the space.

What happened, young man,
why are you so sad?

Sheep are going amiss.

That's the work of the devil.

Go down this path,
you'll find a stream

where three young girls
are bathing.

Two of them are bad,
one is good:

Branca-Flor;
ask for her help.

Look at me Miguel
How pretty I look

With a frieze skirt
And a flax shirt

I have three children
Not enough to feed them

I start singing
And teach them how to dance

Look at me Miguel
How pretty I look

With a frieze skirt
And a flax shirt

Dance Pedro, dance
Mum, I want bread

Dance some more
And bread you'll have

I have three sheep
And a lamb

I want to get married
But nobody will take me

Let's go to bed
Let's go to sleep

I'll take the wrap
I'll take the oil-lamp

I saw the panpipe coming
But I didn't see the player

O how sad I am
And how my heart bleeds

Look at me Miguel
How pretty I look

With a frieze skirt
And a flax shirt

I'll give you back your clothes
on one condition.

And what is it?

You have to swear to protect me.

And how can I protect you?

Make your father give back
the sheep he stole.

I'll protect you. But you must
never tell my father

that you have seen me
or talked to me.

What do you want?

Give back the sheep
you've stolen from me.

First you have to bring me a jug
with wine made from this bunch.

Don't worry.
Rest your head on my lap.

I bring you the wine.

Have you seen Branca-Flor?

May God strike me blind
if I've seen Branca-Flor.

I'll give you back your flock

if you bring me bread
made from this flour.

May God expand the bread
and His Grace throughout the world.

In praise of the Virgin Mary,
one Our Father and one Hail Mary.

I see Branca-Flor's hand.

May God strike me down
if I've seen her or her me.

I'll give you back your flock

if you bring me a guitar that I've
dropped in the bottom of the sea.

Kill me.

And throw me into the sea.

Then call for me three times.

If by the third time I do not come,

woe for me and woe for you.

Branca-Flor!

Branca-Flor!

Branca-Flor!

I'll give you back your flock
if you marry one of my daughters.

Choose the one
that pleases you the most.

Gee up!

Go on, little donkey.

Go on, move it.

In a poor man's land,
he who doesn't work doesn't eat.

You have to work a lot
just to end up with nothing.

Gee up, donkey, move it!

Do you see this sword?

It's the proof that my father
wants to kill us.

We must run away, now.

As soon the day comes,
when my mother's powers die out.

Kill them!

Go and harness that horse

that flies with the speed of thought,
not the one that runs like the wind.

That way,
nobody can catch up with us.

My boy be changed into garden
and I into a gardener.

Have you seen
a boy and a girl go by,

mounted on a horse
that runs like the wind?

I sell garlic and buy nuts,
I buy nuts and sell garlic,

I buy nuts and sell garlic.

My boy be changed into
an hermitage and I into a hermit.

Have you seen
a boy and a girl go by

mounted on a horse
that runs like the wind?

Ding dang dong! Bells are ringing
and the priest runs to the altar.

Ding dang dong! Bells are ringing
and the priest runs to the altar.

Like a two-men army
we roamed, faltering,

through the most wayward
and narrow paths,

a solitary pair in search
of the great way

where we would find
the simultaneous abolition oi vice,

sovereignship
and worn-out habits.

Befogged by the mist that adorned it
with the great and remote splendours

of stirring waters at sunrise

and of the nocturnal
stellar globes

! chased that shadow,

recoiling from the excessive line
parting days and nights,

from conceited ignorance,

from unfurrowed manliness.

Perhaps it were the waters
of my most archaic memory

that begirded with tears her body
adorned with the tinsels of old,

and I chased the promise
she had goaded me with,

docile and reluctant.

Outlined in the mist of first-fruits,

the density of our drifting bodies

paralleled all possible humane
existence,

out of which the fermentation
of soils and legends

drew sustenance and novelty.

Driven by a very fresh humility,

for she was a woman and a stranger,

holding on to the recent memory
of her witchcraft,

I wrongly thought myself
destined to bring the news

of her advent
and of her harvests

to all the villages,

thus renouncing myself and my kin

in pursuit of those
sweeter than sweet thighs

through the meanders of streams
and ridges of ploughed land,

trusting she knew the safest route.

I did not know that her destination
fattened upon

fattened upon the length of my member
and the calling out of my name.

I did not know that we moved
fleeting mountains

across the retina of our eyes,

simply by having listened, haughtily,
to her candid defiance,

nor that she but pursued
my following her.

I did not know that the bonds
ancestors bequeath

across the insurmountable
had in fact been built

on the dual illusion
that supported us,

this meagre rank, devotedly abiding
the strict law of the arduous path,

skirting the farms of man,
Its joyless succession,

in preparation of love.

Oh oh oh,
Tam tam tam

Paps in your arse

I prepared them
And you ate them...

Great and painful and secular
was men's care

over the damages brought
by the separation of lands,

and over infertility.

Where will I put to rest
my objectless compassion

and the hollowness of my womb?

Some communities and bodies
are condemned

to roam this narrow path from where
one cannot be redeemed.

Having crossed that bridge,
the age-old victory over the vacuum,

the construction of ogives,

the measuring of the stone's tracery
against the passing of the flesh,

we sang songs
of death and oblivion,

as if, between us,
a new body had burgeoned,

and, resplendent as neophytes,

we had left behind
the stigma of origins,

and then the descent
to the entranced territory

and our luminescent bodies' true war

against the suspension of difference
had truly began.

We would either beget
or perish without traces.

Woe on you, younger gods!

The ancient laws
you have overridden.

Rent them from my hands.

But I, disgraced,
whom you have dishonoured,

shall now turn the full weight
of my wrath against this land.

I shall get vengeance

by spreading over the earth venom,

that shall make it barren.

Where it shall fall,
shall leafless blight arise,

affecting earth's offspring.

And over the soils

- O justice! -

therein bearing marks

that shall destroy
all immortal beings.

What cry, I ask,
avails me now?

Will I be made fun of?

Will citizens forlorn me?

A bitter injury indeed.

How sadly and dishonourable
abuse

the misfortunate daughters
of the night have borne.

Dishonoured are you not.

You should not
turn your wrath upon men

and thus make
- ye goddesses -

the earth despiteful to them.

I only of all goddesses,
as Zeus knows,

know of the key to the chamber
where his thunderbolts lie stored.

But there is no such need.

Hear then my advice.

Do not cast upon the ground
your rash threats,

to make them fruitless.

Calm your bitter wrath's
black inward surge.

For high shall be your honour,

set beside me for ever.

The earth's first-fruits
shall be yours,

eternal gifts for childbirth
and for wedlock.

Thus you'll praise
what I'm advising.

! was dishonoured.

Oh, ! and my ancient soul,

forced to dwell in this land, as one
impure and worthy of contempt.

No, the rage and grudge
I breathe

consume me utterly.

O Earth!

My flesh is pierced with sorrow.

My heart is wounded with pain.

O Mother Night, hear me!

Other gods, with craft invincible,

have taken a}! my ancient honours

and brought me to the dust.

I'll bear with your rage,

for you are older than I and thus
your wisdom far exceeds my own.

Yet I have received from Zeus
no small measure of judgment.

But if to other land you go,
you shall regret it.

Heed unto this prophesy:

the rolling tides of time will bring
forth brighter glory to this town,

and if you gain a seat of honour
by the temple of Erechteus,

men and women filing past

shall offer you more than
you could find in the world beyond.

Cast not therefore
on this soil I cherish

those bloodstained darts
that corrupt our youthful entrails,

intoxicated with rage and frenzy,
not with wine.

Nor pluck, as it were,
the heart from cocks,

to make the breast
of my people boil with anger.

Nor give them a thirst
for internecine wars

that may arise between them.

'Tis enough there's war abroad,

for those men
driven by lust for fame.

I want no birds
who fight their wars at home.

That's what I offer you:

share with me this place
most loved of gods,

and thus receive fair mercy,
honour and good care.

! was dishonoured.

Oh, ! and my ancient soul,

forced to dwell in this land as one
impure and worthy of contempt.

No, the rage and grudge
I breathe

consume me utterly.

O Earth!

My flesh is pierced with sorrow.

My heart is wounded with pain.

O Mother Night, hear me!

Other gods, with craft invincible,

have taken my ancient honours

and brought me to the dust.

I will not tire of giving you
words of advise.

That never may you complain
that you, an elder goddess,

was spurned by me, a younger deity,

and disgracefully cast out
from our city by its citizens.

If persuasion's grace
be sacred to you,

if my soft words can soothe
and conquer your heart,

then you will stay.

If that is not your wish,

it would be unjust of you
to vent your grudge and wrath

on this city,
thus hurting its people.

For your are justly entitled to take
your allotted portion of this land

and to receive your share
of honour.

Queen Athena,
how would be my life in this place?

One free from pain or distress.
Do not spurn it.

If I accept,
what honours would I get?

No house shall prosper
without your grace.

Would you grant me
that much power?

I will bless all
who worship you.

This promise,
will you hold to it forever?

Why would I pledge
what I cannot fulfil?

Your words already begin
to soothe me. I renounce my wrath.

If you stay in this land
you win more friends.

What chant should I raise
to bless this land?

Such as would forebode
happy victories.

Let gusting winds from earth,
from wave, from sky,

blow in sunlit days
over the land.

Let our herds and harvests
overflow with plenty,

and the seed of mortals
in this town be protected.

Root out the impious.

As the gardener
fosters what he sows,

I wish to defend this righteous race
from sorrow.

This things are yours to provide.

As for the deadly wars
where men seek glory,

leave them to me;
I'll see this city wins

triumphal victories and
is honoured among mortals.

Then I'll accept to live
at Athena's side.

! will not scorn a city

where Almighty Zeus and Ares dwell,

precious harbour for the altar
of all gods of Greece.

m a}! my benevolence,

t pray that a radiant sun

make burst from earth

bounteous happy harvests.

Behold what my love for this city
has accomplished.

To bind to this place the powerful
and implacable deities,

whose office is to sway the lot
that rules our mortal day.

If there's a man that does not
acknowledge these stern deities,

he's ignorant of where
life's blows arise.

His father's crimes drag him before
these goddesses and there,

and though his state on earth
is high and loud his boast,

in silent anger
they will crush him to dust.

Let no deadly wind whip the trees.

Behold my offerings.

Let no fire
that shrivels budding plants

ever come near this land.

Let no festering Might

waste and wither
the fruit in these parts.

May the earth be fertile
and make the flocks increase,

to every ewe twin iambs.

May the earth be rich in treasure,

thus honouring for ever
the fortunate god-given gifts.

Do you hear that,
you guardians of my city,

the blessings she will bring?

For mighty is the Furies's power

among immortal gods
above as well as below.

As for men, it's clear they weave
their fate decisively,

for some a life of song,
for others a life of tears.

I ban those blows that cut men
down before their time.

Grant sweet maids the joy

of wedded fife.

You too, O Fates, supreme rulers
of mortals' fortunes,

you our sisters, goddesses
who apportion all things justly,

who in every home, at every time,

grant us your
righteous visitation,

most honoured by a}! gods.

I rejoice to hear this love-filled
blessings conferred upon my land.

Blessed be persuasion

that kept watch
on my tongue and lips

when I met such a fierce refusal.

Zeus, god of parley, prevails.

We have secured a lasting victory
in our struggle for justice.

! pray disharmony,

which lusts after evil,
may never roar aloud within the city.

That thirsty dust, moist
with our citizens' dark blood,

in its reckless ardour never more
incite passions for revenge,

which may muse the city to fall.

Let men exchange joy for joy,

united in common friendship
and common hate.

For that, among mortals,

is a cure for many ills.

Are not the Furies
in search of kind words?

I see now that the presence
of these fierce faces

will bring all sorts of benefits
to my city.

Be kind to their kindness,

and raise them to honourable heights,

and you send your land and city

on the path
of righteousness and justice.

Day after day
we trod speechless through

outlying {allows and valleys
with crystalline streams,

akin to restless torrents
that exempt you from things past.

Sleeping and rejoicing on straw,

we ineluctably steered
the deflux of our bodies

towards the unctuousness
of the rust-covered clot

that would reconnect us to the earth.

We came down through bare stretches
oi time and space between cities,

on our way to a greater opacity,

a settled flesh or house,
a wide shore.

We were becoming most youthful,

like wild creatures,
oblivious of any sense of guilt,

childishly mimicking
the manners of paradise,

aloof and hazy
such as carnal angels

resplendent with a primal light.

Good man,
who tied you up?

My Master ordered me
tied to this bucket-wheel.

I work till sundown
and then, to get home...

I need to walk for two hours.

I earn 17 escudos a day,

I have a wife and two children,

what can I do?

And, besides,

the masters have others servants
that have us arrested.

Assassins!

You can go now.

Sit down.

I am truly sorry about the incident,

but I can't tolerate

this kind of disturbance
in my properties.

Our duty is to provide for the good
fortune of these lands,

and hold off the growth
of weeds.

There is an order in this world

and although it weighs heavily...

Upon our conscience,

I am its keeper.

Now you are my guest.

- A man's been murdered.
- I know,

I know.

He once had been
a good worker.

Another man's been humiliated.
Tied up like a beast of burden.

My wife,

my children.

The eldest takes after his father.

Strong character,

well-drilled intelligence.

He's coming to that age
of chasing after their first skirts,

but to all appearance he won't let
himself be caught in the female web.

If he doesn't get spoiled,

I bet with legitimate pride

that he'll become a man
fit to govern this house.

Perhaps the country even.

The mother of my children
is virtue incarnate.

Not a peep comes out of that mouth,

and for twenty years
she's honoured an honest,

though far from warm, marital bed,
as they say these days.

She's pale, prone to migraines,

but a good breeder.

At harvest time, he sends the female
servants to thrash the ripe wheat

and later to feed the fallen corn
to the partridges.

Jesus did many wonders, many,

and people believed them
and saw them,

but only the blessed ones,

you saw them, Thomas,
because you believed.

Jesus told him:

"Achtung!
My God and my Lord".

He told him, and Thomas answered

To be or not to be,

faithful, but sceptical.

Matthaus achtundzwanzig:

Angela's Domini descerit desceridis
et dixit mulieribus:

conquerit ressurerixt
sicut dixit Aleluia.

Mxau, okay, mxau, mxau.

Word of Salvation.

We praise Thee, Lord.

Through this Holy Gospel,
forgive us.

Brothers, sisters,

friends, brothers-in-law and others,

the manna fallen from Heaven

was not one, but three.

It was faith, hope, charity.

Hope is nothing without faith;

faith is nothing without deeds.

Deeds are charity,
charity is alms.

You need people

to give alms to,
and people to receive them.

Because many will be called

but few will be chosen.

Therefore, there must be many
to receive alms

and few to give them,

and those few will be

the ones saved.

I believe in one God...

Almighty Father,
creator of Heaven and Earth,

of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord,
Jesus Christ,

only-begotten Son of God;

and born of the Father
before all ages.

God of Gods, Light of Light,

true God of true God;

begotten, not made,

consubstantial to the Father,
by Whom all things were made;

Who for us men and for our
salvation came down from heaven,

and became incarnate by
the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary,

and was made man.

Thus we show the power
of the Church!

Thus we show the power
of the Church!

Have you got a cigarette?

When are you going
to take me for ride?

One of these days...

One day I'll take you for a ride.

Now I can't because
I have my hands full,

I've got all this to clean up,
horses to tend to...

No way, I haven't got
a moment to spare.

But perhaps on a holiday,
or a Sunday...

Yes, alright,
on a holiday or a Sunday.

But there's a snag...

Your father might come...

We might get into trouble.

What are you doing after work?

After work, what I do is...

I work, my job's here.

My mates, when their time
comes, they leave,

and I have to stay and tend
to the animals, I can't get away.

And where do you sleep?

Over there, in a house nearby,
where the horses sleep.

- I have to keep an eye on them...
- With the horses?

I have to keep an eye on them,
I can't get away.

On weekends,
who do you stay with?

Who do I stay with on weekends?

That's a good question.

I can't get away, on my weekends
I have to stay there.

What's that?

That's the horses' harness,

I'm cleaning them up

so that we can
maybe go for a ride today.

So you are going
to take me for ride?

Come.

I've heard that...

I don't know when it was,
a few days ago,

over on Chimney Hill,
it seems some people...

I don't know, rioted,

they wanted better wages
and then people gathered...

There were these
two scoundrels...

Well, in these situations
there's always, that...

Thank you.

They started doing God knows what,
the National Guard arrived,

killed them, and I was there
to assist them...

Don Miguel was informed,
it was nothing to speak of,

just one of those things
that happen quite often these days.

But the boys went there and...

They took care of it, right?

They had a decent enough ending,
they died a good death.

They died a good death,
with all the...

I stood there watching...

Father, if you forgive
my saying so,

their problem is
they don't want to work.

They want to live
on the fat of the land...

The problem would be taken care of
if we only had more elbow room,

all we'd have to do would be
to lock up a handful of leaders

and the thing would be put to rest.

But they were...

Scoundrels, weren't they?

Just the usual ones, you know?
That handful of them...

- For a while now...
- They're crooks.

Sometimes things go
a little too far.

The guys perhaps just want
some more bread...

No, they don't want more bread,
what they want

is to make others rebel,
make others want more bread...

When in fact they already have it.

But the National Guard
can deal with it?

Yes, they can deal with it,
but it's a stiff job.

What this extraordinary institution...

As our boss says,
that's our job...

And we'll get over this,
eventually. Won't we?

Note that they killed them decently,
not in any odd way...

Well, I want to get this straight,
it wasn't the Guard's fault,

they stirred things up such a way
they had no choice.

It was either the guards or them.

But the Church...

Shouldn't the Church
give support

to the action of a state force
such as the National Guard...

That's exactly right, Don Miguel!

Don't you agree?

Instead of worrying about metaphysics,
and commending souls

they'd better take care
of the living, and clarify...

And young people.

But the truth is they seemed
more like scoundrels to me.

Well, but by young people...
Who is the young people?

Young boys...

They may be young in terms of age,

but not green when it comes
to these goings-on.

No, they should die,
no doubt about it.

I liked the way they died,
because...

It's funny, they were agonizing,

and they even asked for a priest.

Curious, isn't it?
I went there...

My men did everything they could
to get you there on time,

we did everything in our power.
- Which once again proves...

The impartiality of the institution,

which truly respects...

How can I put it,
respects death even more than life.

Calm and order.

That's what order's all about,
isn't it?

Precisely.

That's what order's all about,
respect for death.

Here I am, castaway
on the sandbanks.

This is the place
where lands part,

where musing is at its peak.

Rotund like this stretch of water
flowing around itself,

I lost, due to the heaviness
of my body pregnant with weight,

the faculty to walk on air.

Such grace in my promise

and I imitated the kindest
among goddesses,

condemned to an unrivalled
youthfulness.

Not without tears, O waters, the
sudden interruption to the games.

That friend of mine, much-cited
and adrift, was sent to the gallows.

And I, depending on the appearance
of my state of sovereign origin,

I was given food and worship by the
most unscrupulous among mortals.

Here I am, facing the waters
of endless moaning fervour,

and from here I shall set out
on my way back.

! bring upon myself the crime

that strips men of the abhorred,
lonesome glory.

Like you, great fallen waters,

I shall call
for a resplendent trickle,

of water from such a steep path.

Sustained by lovers'
initial belief,

I have long ago removed from my body
mangled and thrown into the depths

a sublime instrument
to strum against death.

But I have not as yet endured
the wrath,

the injustice
and the mercy of men.

I now retreat to the territory
where the unscathed goddesses

and the most ancient legends
are no longer plausible.

I surrender my body
and its fruits to necessity

and to the most common
of blessings.

O outermost waters,

totally blind
to innocence and guilt,

devourers of humans' burning
passions and their navigation,

give us back the motherly gift
that spurs the reopening of routes,

along the sweet thread
of celebrating brotherly rites,

along the bloodstained chain spilt
from one generation to the next.

This is your son.

With your permission.

Good afternoon.

- Is it cold out there?
- It's very cold.

- Would you like to warm yourselves?
- Yes, for a minute.

Sit down, sit down.

I'm so tired...

And distressed.

I ran into some wolves up there,
and I almost didn't make it.

Such a beautiful girl.

- Would you like a piece of bread?
- Well, we could use a bite...

Go ahead, help yourselves.

That gentleman too, eat up.

We're going to finish it off...

Eat at will.

The fire sure is nice.

- Eat, eat.
- Would you like a piece?

I'm not that hungry,

but bread asks for a drink.

To help slip down the throat.

I wouldn't say no to a bit of water
to go along with the bread.

What about a pork steak?

That would be even better,
but...

Allow me, then...

Let's get down to eating
so the teeth don't get cold.

The fire sure is nice.

Are you cold?
Warm yourselves.

Very, we've come
from up on the mountain.

From Gralheira...

I wanted to bring
a load of logs,

but the slope was too wet,

so I turned back.

It was too much for me
anyway,

they were real logs, you see,
very thick.

- They still had a lot of roots.
- They sure had.

The hoe's what
we used to cut them.

And the hoe and my hands
suffered for it.

They're calloused.

Oh well, nothing comes
from doing nothing...

Suckle the baby, won't you?

- I've fed her already.
- Poor little thing...

The whole day
on an empty stomach.

Madam,
do you live here by yourself?

No, I just dropped by
to rest,

and to suckle the baby.

I was so cold.

It was a good idea to keep
the fire burning, otherwise...

We'd freeze to death.

Woman, what shall we have
for dinner?

We'll have to make do.

You'll boil some potatoes.

What about the pan?

We'll have to borrow one
from a neighbour.

Excuse me, would you mind if I
borrow the child for a second?

Oh my beautiful baby!

My beautiful baby!

The chimney doesn't draw very well.

No it doesn't...

The house burnt down, didn't it?

It's very old.

Yes it did, one day
it'll fall down.

This thing's very old.

Sérgio, look down there!

- Where?
- Down there!

Did you see three men
holding a baby pass by here?

No, we only saw
three wolves pass by.

The bitch doesn't back down.

What's a face
but a crust of gaping earth

if ifs not exposed to another
face that endures it,

to hands that toil and soothe it.

From the tiredness of your eyes,

under the alternation
of light and shadow

and the disrupter of nexuses,

decipher this body
that unwraps itself.

I baptise thee, creature of God,

by the power of God
and the Virgin Mary.

If it's a boy
he will be Gervés,

if it's a girl
she'll be Senhorinha.

Characters and actors
by order of appearance:

Shooting started on the 23/9/75
and ended on the 15/7/77

Locations:

Production cost:
4.000.000 escudos

Duration 123'