Original subtitles

A team of surveyors and road-engineers

left the valley...

for the track-less heights on the hills.

The man who was walking ahead of the line...

had began with admiring the beauty of the mountains,

and had soon drifted into describing his love...

for this land... this vast, open country...

that possessed a force of magic...

in all its serene and vacant hills and deserts,

its broken villages and meagre fields.

His friend agreed with him and said:

"Yes. This is a beautiful region."

"Pity it is all so wild and lonely."

The man who was now thinking of the road...

that was to be built, looked around...

to find a suitable spot...

to place the surveying gears.

It seemed to him that where he was was good enough.

So he ordered the tripod to be placed there.

THE GHOST VALLEY'S TREASURE MYSTERIES

A view arranged by Ebrahim Golestan

Where are you, beast?

Get along. It's finished.

Move! We finished.

Get along, bastard! It's over.

Get moving, damn you!

Ma Ali!

It's daddy. Hide yourself. We'll tease him.

Ma Ali, you can't guess! You don't know!

Wonderful. Wonderful. You can't guess!

The Knife! Knife. Knife. Knife.

Where is the knife? The beautiful knife?

Come on. Come along!

Help! Oh, God! Help!

He's gone mad!

My husband's gone nuts!

Help me, Rajab. He's gone silly.

Where is my brother, Seyed? Where is he?

What's the matter?

Ali's father's gone nuts.

Mr. Abbas, help me, my husband's gone crazy.

None of my business.

Mr. Mayor, please help me. My husband's gone nuts.

He was nuts.

Mr. Mayor, please, he was about to kill our cow.

Nonsense.

I tell you, he drew the knife.

To hell with him!

I tell you, do something, please.

Where is he now?

Near our home. He was about to cut the throat of the beast.

God damn this job. They don't even let you eat your fruit in peace.

Where is the Reverend?

Oh, God! Please, father, help me!

My husband's gone crazy. He wanted to kill our animal.

Please stop this praying. Help me.

He wanted to kill me, too.

- Brother, brother! - What is it, Sis?

Help me!

Come on, speak! What is it?

He came home dancing, then he jumped on me.

Then he went for the animal.

What for?

How could I know? He's gone mad.

If the animal dies, if he is injured,

then we will be finished.

Why did you kill it?

Why did you do this?

Why did you kill the animal?

Beat the devil out of him. He's crazy.

Go get the donkey.

Pull, God help you!

Daddy? Come. Where have you been?

- I won't. - Come.

What's wrong?

Don't cry, my dear Ahmad-Ali.

Why crying? A man does not cry.

You think they beat me? To hell with them, how could they?

Beat me? Don't be a child.

Don't. I will buy you things.

- What do you want? - Nothing.

- What do you like? - Nothing.

You mean you want new clothes? Beautiful clothes? Toys?

Nothing.

- A big knife? - No.

- Slings? - No.

- Fire-works? - No.

A flute? All right. It'll be a flute, then.

Do you smell?

They're roasting meat.

It's the smell of grilling, coming from all over.

Don't cry. Listen to what the animal is saying.

The animal is saying: "You sacrificed me for them..."

"you killed me to thank God and to give them a piece of my meat..."

"but uselessly, because they snatched me from you..."

"And they cut me up themselves; they stole me..."

"to fill their bowels - with your silly intention."

What is your name?

What do you need my name for?

What was your name, you said?

I didn't say. I said what do you need it for?

If you don't want it, give it back.

This is stolen goods.

Stolen goods? Yes.

Do you buy stolen goods or not?

You're firm -

I said you're firm. Listen.

This is the fourth time you're bringing such things to me.

Fact is, you scare me.

Yeah, I'm scared.

I see that you're firm, wise, intelligent.

I'm afraid of you being wiser than me.

I can't accept anything from you before I could trust you.

Take them back, and take them to those...

others you have been dealing with.

I haven't done any business with anybody.

If you want to sell them to anybody, be careful, be cautious.

Why cautious? I have not stolen them.

Be cautious.

What sort of price did they offer you?

Who're They? You're the first.

And those before me?

I tell you you're the first. I was passing by, I saw you.

I thought you're wise-looking...

trustworthy, and I told myself go to him.

When you bought the first lot nicely, I brought the others to you, straight.

Didn't I tell you you're wise. That's why I am scared of you.

You're wise.

Thank God you're wise.

We can work together, if you have some more.

I have!

Do I?

I wouldn't know. I don't know how much you have, or...

who has given these to you, or what.

Enjoy having them, and thank your God.

Is there anybody who knows that you have these?

Myself and my God.

He has washed them this time.

He has also started to ask for higher prices.

Never mind, weigh them. Don't buy by piece.

Don't let him know what he's got. Pay him by grams.

Suppose he makes them heavy by putting dirt in them?

Shake it off, and don't be over-greedy.

What does he look like? How old is he?

A very tall man, heavy set. About fifty years old.

From which part of the country?

South-east, I gather from his accent.

He says from the central parts, though.

Perhaps he's not the main man, only a cover.

Wish we could know the main man.

If we could, things would become easier.

I fear somebody snatching it from us.

I fear you bungling it up.

I have done my best so far. This is the eighth lot.

I fear you bungling it up. Bring him to me once...

or I may come to you when he is coming.

He does not say when he is coming.

It is better if I take him to you.

- Let's hope. - Why hope?

If he comes. He should come to you only if he's wise!

You know well...

You should know well... You should know...

that if he goes away from you, it'll be you the loser.

I know that he wants to scare me,

but he is not bluffing, either, I think.

He looks like someone that has high connections.

There is no big deal without high connections.

It's useless to be scared.

- I fear failure. - It hasn't been a failure.

So far I have done my best. I have washed...

all objects he's given me.

I have said he's from the South...

and I said he claims he's from the central parts.

Actually he's from the North.

He didn't look believing the objects being from the South,

but he did not show that he thinks I'm lying either.

But if he finds out that I was lying, it'll be over.

He is on the trail of the peasant and he watches my moves, too.

And he has his connections with the higher-ups.

Come on, have guts, screw your courage up to the sticking-point.

Push on as far as you can...

if there'll be a difficulty, we'll see it ahead of time.

Time is now.

If it was only once, we could gamble...

and do it and do away with it.

But now it's different. A slightly wrong step

and you skid the whole way, right down to the bottom.

This is the bottom. Pull yourself together. Put on the pressure.

Sometimes you press on... but nothing comes out.

Oh, how I am sick of your soft nature!

It's too full of yoghourt.

You can't find the short-cuts. You want to be somebody.

You have the ambition but not the guts to get it.

You fear to do things, yet you want the things to get done.

Fate has come to you, and you want me to use it for you?

Fate was drunk, giddy when it called on you, wrongly!

If it wakes up, it'll turn green and pale by seeing what he's done.

Did that peasant come to you, or to that antiques dealer?

You think it's practical to be straight and simple minded...

in a business which is all crookedness?

The antiques-dealer threatens you? Fool him then.

See which way the wind blows and set your course that way.

You are ahead of him, now. Don't let him overtake you.

What he knows of this, we know. But all that we know, he does not.

Don't let him know this peasant and where he comes from.

Don't sell all to him. Sell the smaller objects.

Bruise and break the objects, deface them. Sell gold, not antiques.

The main thing is the peasant himself. We must keep him.

We must guard him.

We must let nobody have him.

There he comes again!

Come on in.

Thanks.

Come on. You'll get tired standing there.

- Good morning. - Good morning to you.

Lovely day, have some tea.

Would like to sit inside?

No thanks, I must get a car.

Where is the tea?

Which way you're going?

Teheran.

- Here's the tea. - Thanks.

Come on, it's good.

- Where do you come from? - Hossein-Abad.

You work in town?

Hossein-Abad. We've been around this area for so long...

and yet I don't know where it is.

On the other side... The second village.

You run a shop.

Oh, no. Shop!

I thought you're going to town for supplies.

I'm on business, though.

I thought you're getting supplies,

because I've been seeing you often, recently.

I thought you could perhaps get some supplies for me, as well.

Why did you get up?

How much is the tea?

Why do you get up?

How much?

It's nothing. Besides no car has come. Have more tea, then.

You have quarreled?

Why quarrel? I want to help you.

Shucks! You're finishing him off, if you're not lying.

Why lying? Am I crazy? He wouldn't ever, never, go into the hills...

now he goes regularly, so many times. It's either opium or heroin, surely.

You've seen it yourself? At all?

Of course I haven't. See what? It's obvious.

You're sure?

What do you mean? If you want to chuck me off...

and claim you've discovered the case yourself, well, that'll be another story.

I thought I am doing you a service.

Service my foot! You're grabbing the bastard's business.

Suppose I am. Will I be alone in this, partner?

You're a civil servant.

I am not, I am a teacher. I won't spy on people.

Come on, get off that. You're not in favour of selling heroin, are you?

This is spying, I won't do it.

Look here. An employee of the State should help the State...

especially when It is to the good of the Society.

What do you mean "spying"? His assistant says he is doing it.

Are you O. Kaying him? He's either doing it or not.

If he is, it's bad. Society is harmed, people are in danger.

The duty of every honorable citizen is to intervene.

I say you owe it to your God, to your intelligence...

to your mother-land to do what you must.

Is this spying or treason?

And if he is not involved in such activities...

then you'll find that out and the innocent is saved.

Which again is good and honorable.

Which part of this is spying?

Spying is a crime when it is for a foreign power.

I am the State, not a foreign power.

You're a gendarme and I am a teacher.

Have I ever asked you to teach these boys?

I won't do a thing against the public.

What contraband, dear fellow? The man is not even from the village.

You're right. The poor man was only asking about my sister's husband.

His only concern seems to be that jerk,

as he's asked everybody only about him.

I think the jerk owes him money.

I haven't seen him myself. He may be an undercover agent.

It's all tricks.

Certainly it's a trick.

They make you spy on me and me spy on you.

Drug traffic is just a sham pretext.

Surely you're right. You're educated.

Hey, boy! You, there!

Good day, Mr. Mayor.

What was he telling you, that gendarme?

What gendarme?

The one who comes here often recently.

Haven't seen him.

He investigates your brother-in-law's complaint that you beat him up.

I beat him up because he'd gone crazy.

You were there, yourself. What complaint?

You beat him up and you took all his belongings away.

What belongings? He had nothing. My poor sister...

she neither dares to return, nor if she goes, there is anything to live on.

And the jerk, he's never there. He is roaming...

the neighboring villages for work.

We must send him to a mad-house.

I am sure he will do us some harm if we let him free.

Please do something, sir.

You mean the gendarme did not call on you at all?

Not at all.

What does he want then?

You're the Mayor. How should I know?

Perhaps he comes here to spy on us?

You mean our charcoal-making?

Honestly this Government is anti-public.

Throughout the centuries our ancestors...

used the woods to make charcoal.

Now they say it's illegal, you must have permits!

Perhaps the gendarme comes here on this account.

Bright boy! Of course. Can't you see?

And I am called the Mayor!

A Mayor who cannot cut the trees!

What is the use of being a Mayor if you cannot cut the trees?

Really!

Fed-up! Just fed-up with all this old rotten junk.

One does not live forever! I need money...

I need good life, I need happiness.

Hurry up and finish with him!

What can I do?

It is useless if you let him to be on his own.

Suppose something happens to him.

Suppose he changes his mind.

Suppose he is arrested or grabbed by somebody else...

or falls from a window, or simply explodes, or something.

What could I do?

Fool him, scare him, cheat him, put him on dope, I just don't know...

Do something!

Where is my blasted cup of tea!

Invite him over. Ask him to come over.

In our village we use charcoal.

Oh! That's old fashioned.

In our village it's very cold.

What is the weather when you have money? Buy kerosene stoves.

People there would be jealous and may cast evil eyes on me.

Who are the people when you have money?

With money you can shut their eyes, you can turn them into your slaves.

One should live right. Good life, nice home, good food,

and above all a good wife.

She should be faithful, full-bodied, satisfying - not of course a wrestler.

Wife I have. I have a wife.

You do? How many?

Is not one already too many?

One? Just one? One is God, only.

How many eyes do you have? One? Two!

How many fingers? One?

Ten!

Hour many teeth? Thirty two!

How many hairs? God knows!

God himself - how many prophets did he have?

One hundred and twenty four thousand.

They were all His tools.

Woman is the tool for a man. The more, the better.

Come on in.

Come in and sit.

They'll be here soon.

Shit! Do you swap your chastity with one skewer of grilled liver?

Do not overfeed your body.

You should keep this moveable.

Charge as much as you want, but 50% is my commission.

Let's go, it's raining.

Let us praise the God and the Prophet.

Believers praise the God.

Bad Omen!

Look at these, Mr. Majid.

Don't get involved!

Don't you see it's stuck.

Much better! They be damned!

Nonsense. Help!

Me helping this? To hell with its owner.

What do you mean the owner? Help the animal.

Help the driver. He hasn't done anything wrong.

So you're here. Good!

Come on rain! Pour! I'll buy some more.

Where are you? Come and see, Mr. Mayor!

Reverend! Ma Ali! Come and see!

Come my dear Ali. I've brought you the flute!

- Be careful! - Boy, bring my chair.

Bring also that flute.

Wonderful, wonderful. God be praised.

Oh, Mr. Mayor. How are you?

Oh, papa!

Come, come to me.

Look, I've brought you your flute.

It's big, isn't it?

It shines like gold.

You happy now? Didn't I promise a flute?

Why did you come?

I've come.

Where have you been all this while?

You were away,

you stay only a day whenever you come.

I am always here. I am here.

We were told that you're in town, that you've gone nuts.

Nuts yourselves. Could a person who owns these be nuts?

Stupids! Whoever is richer is wiser.

We never knew you had money.

Know now, bastards! Am I nuts?

I'm the one chosen by heavens.

When you killed the bull, everybody said you're nuts.

I killed the bull to have my luck rise!

No one knew one's luck would rise if a bull is killed.

The bull's luck would rise, you thought?

Go again to those who thought I'm nuts.

I want to stay here with you.

Stay with me? Where have you been when the plough broke...

when I was sweating in the hills?

When the beast was moaning and the knife was too dull to cut?

When the bull was kicking, trying to push his horns into me?

"Stay with me", huh!

What are you doing here? Let's go.

- I won't. - Come, I say!

I won't, this is my home.

Don't be fooled by this rubbish.

Rubbish yourself, silly!

I'm telling you, these will bring you bad luck.

Shut up, stupid!

- I say come! - I won't, I won't, I won't.

My dear sister, my sweet sister, these are all tinsels.

Sir, if you allow me I'll kick them out.

These are all sham; dirt, sister, dirt!

That's you, dirt. Get out!

I won't. Let go.

Get the hell out of here.

Come, let me tell you something.

It's not even worth spitting on.

You don't fit with my new life.

Stay, if you want to,

but don't expect much.

I was not told it needed water.

Of course a bath needs water, and the heater needs oil.

The fridge runs either on kerosene or electricity.

And a gas-cooker needs gas.

I never thought of that. I thought they're all...

automatic.

But of course there are no problems...

once the money's there.

Oh, money!

But such equipment don't match such houses.

New instruments change the situations,

they change the forms and the essence.

And it's good, too. Take the bath for example.

The mud walls do not withstand the spilling of the showers.

We'll need plumbing,

we'll need drainage, we'll need water, and also tiles.

We need tiles?

Yes.

From floor to the ceiling?

The telly was saying this when I was in Teheran.

By the way the T.V. set is not working, either.

Allow for the time, and be willing to spend money.

We'll do.

It's the end, by God.

I can't take it anymore.

Why do you nag? Nothing has happened.

What else do you expect, worse than this?

Nothing's wrong. Your sister returned to her husband.

And her husband has become rich.

- To hell with him. - You're jealous.

What jealousy? Everything is falling apart.

And the jerk, with his golden chair and his chandelier...

with his colorful contraptions is fooling you all.

All of you, from that silly girl to the mayor to the reverend, all.

And that teacher, Majid, who used to shout a lot...

He has now become the jerk's docile servant...

building for him silly shaped buildings. Look at that!

You're blind to bigger things.

And look at him, he is coming.

God damn times like this!

And you're happy with digging holes to plant saplings...

when on the other side roots are being cut up and trunks sawn off.

I tell you the end is here.

This is not a place to live in.

I'm leaving this place.

To go where, silly man?

I'm going.

I'm going to the other side of the hill where a road is being built.

Don't be silly, don't. Why should you?

What's happened?

He's piqued because his sister's husband has made it rich.

He mentioned my name.

He thinks it's bad you're leveling off the hill and are building the house.

But he was saying he was going to join the road builders, himself.

Well, that's the human nature for you.

He has a passionate nature, otherwise he is a good boy.

He's loud-mouthed. He doesn't know how to behave.

One should not get piqued and quit one's own place.

We are the grass of this land, we grew here. Why going from here?

He won't go anywhere.

Go to where?

To get to where?

All our ancestors stayed here, patiently, quietly.

People who are passionate and shouting don't get anywhere.

They only shout.

First we'll flatten out all this.

The house that we are building must match the spirit of our time.

Must match what?

The spirit of our age. As for the national tradition,

the heritage of our glorious past...

must always be our guiding light...

the basis of our endeavors, our inspiration...

In fact a superior infra-structure -

How many times you say these? Talk about the house!

We'll cut up all this. We'll flatten the hill-top here.

Nonsense! I say the house, you keep saying the hill!

We must change its interior, to make room... for the kitchen, the shower.

However, we'll keep the exterior, the façade as traditional as it is.

The important is the exterior and you only talk of the interior.

It is the exterior that attracts people, that people will see.

But people have seen the exterior.

Hell! Let them not see it anymore!

Well, we can always retouch the exterior. It's easier, you're right.

One gets used to interior. But it is the exterior that counts.

It should look pretty. Marble or tiles?

- You require a prompt performance? - What?

- You want it quickly? - Yeah, double quick.

Plastofoam. This synthetic material resembles stone from a distance.

- Where does it come from? - Beg your pardon?

- Comes from Europe? - Comes from the oil.

Why have you covered this?

Excellent, now! Well done! You understand me now!

You're a learned man, but you also know how to use your knowledge.

You're useful.

By the way, I've heard that you're been winking at my wife.

Don't deny. Also don't fear.

It's all right.

I am about to marry again.

Marriage?

Yes, marriage.

Sir, the poles are all cut and ready for the ornaments.

Ornaments?

Could I forget what they did to me? They beat me, threw me out.

If they ever come close, close will be...

these barbed wires.

Paint! Paint 'em white! Everything white!

All kinds of white!

I won't come.

I won't come with you.

Shut up! You do what you're told!

I won't, I won't, I won't!

Leave her alone! Such a sweet girl.

And you're standing there, silly man? Do something!

Well, she does not feel like it. She has a right.

I won't. I cannot say yes to his marrying a second wife.

Oh, don't be rash, have a little patience.

I won't.

Come, Majid.

Don't go back on your word. People are waiting.

To hell with people! You must not force her.

Nobody has explained to her the reason. Have you?

Come on, hurry up! Enough!

What are you waiting for? Make her go!

What are you waiting for? Make her go!

The wedding, my dear child, is just a pretext.

We want to show to other people what a lovely place we have...

and what a lovely building; and so obtain new prestige for our village.

It'll be excellent for our village. You must help your native land.

It is to your own good.

Accept! One must be committed, engaged, responsible.

You must submit to the Will of God.

People have come from all over. Don't keep them waiting.

Let go of your individual concerns for the sake of the community.

It's a sin not to comply. Lots of expenses are involved.

I'll arrange for divorcing her the way I arranged for her wedding.

- She spoiled her dress. - And she hasn't got another one.

Bring her her original dress.

Fine! Everybody's here.

Allo, allo. One, two, three, four.

Ladies and Gentlemen. It is my utmost honor

to submit humbly and happily to your eminences...

the greetings and feelings of the noble masses of our village...

on the occasion of this august feast.

But where are the villagers? Nobody's behind the barbed wire.

Today we celebrate not only...

the joyous wedding of our eminent couple...

but also the eye-boggling achievements lavished on us...

coming from the blessed fount of our beloved bridegroom.

If our tongue is short for praise, long is the expression...

of this proudly erect structure that tells with its golden brilliance...

of the power and glory, the wealth and the might,

the will and the mind of its dearly beloved founder.

A structure coming out from the fertile womb...

of our ancestral traditions to fuse with the latest techniques...

and aesthetics of the great American masters...

such as Buckminster Fuller.

Do you understand a word?

If our proudest achievements in the past...

consisted of one dome and two minarets,

the exigencies of the modern times require...

one minaret and two domes.

Domes that are not hemi - but full spheres.

Their roofs not prone to rains, since water...

does not collect on curves.

Their windows small and few, to prevent infiltration...

of light and seasonal changes.

Such qualities are not only in tune with climatic conditions...

but also with our historical chastity

and ancestral wisdom of closing one's eyes...

on extraneous elements!

This is our clear cry for today

and our legacy for the future!

He talks much. He always talks much.

Let him talk so. People get impressed.

Furthermore, the duality of these domes indicates...

the duality in the cosmic order.

It stands for the day and the night...

the Good and the Evil, the New and the Old,

the Right and the Left.

The East and the West, the Thesis and the Antithesis.

The God and the Devil, and etc & etc.

He knows a lot, but he's an ass, still. I know.

This soaring, scintillating tower is the symbol of...

a man standing between two worlds...

like a rocket penetrating the celestial heights...

a light-house on the shores of the turbulent seas

and, in a word, a MAN between two beautiful maids!

Here comes our poet-laureate, Sahba.

He is a top man in the PEN club.

On behalf of the literary world I would like to offer...

congratulations to the beautiful bride and the happy groom.

If poetry has any function, it is to extol occasions like this...

the marriage of Beauty and Benevolence.

I am in deep ecstasy and inspired.

Therefore I must recite. However...

usually I read my poems.

This time, to embellish and to accentuate the word...

I am procuring you with this charming muse...

who will read the Ode.

Why the villagers are not there? The barbed wires were for them!

They are not here, anyway. They are behind their own wires.

Hell! I wanted them behind my barbed wire.

Well, theirs is more safe, with less trouble for you.

It's cold, start up the fires!

Why are these artists

Only the blind ones would come

Oh, you all! Do not dance about so much!

Why are you here? Go home.

Enough with your silly acts; you fools!

Yes, laugh! Make them dance...

be happy as long as you can buy them.

But watch the shaky legs of your chair.

Well, he was shouting all the time.

He was "protesting", "demonstrating"!

What was that?

It's the road-builders, dynamiting the rocks.

Well, yes, he was nagging really.

You always need a strong man to get things moving.

When we were building the house,

the village boys would sneak in at nights...

to piss on the cement powders.

They never asked themselves about the capacity of their bladders.

Which is the more productive - their bladders or the cement factories?

Well, take it as their way of expressing themselves.

Against what? The man is rich, so they're against him.

Where does his wealth come from?

That isn't the question.

The question is what to do with his wealth.

What does he do?

He does not. I am trying to. Difficult, though.

He's surrounded with crooks.

Have you seen the Lady?

His wife's mother?

Mother? My foot! It's all tricks.

She's got plans for everybody, from old folks to babies.

She's sent the man's child to a boarding school

and now wants to send him off to Switzerland!

She's opened a fashion boutique for that sissy relative of hers.

As for her husband, her book-keeper really.

She is preparing a night club in the capital...

with red velvet wall-covers, cushions on the floor,

and mirror-covered ceilings. With this man's money!

And she is playing with the man's first wife,

and manoeuvres to have me, too.

And you brought me here to paint a portrait!

This is the least if one has greater plans.

This is not a simple pleasant.

He is an opportunity. He must be grabbed.

To do what?

Something worth doing. Before all else...

to eradicate the parasites.

Then to build, to develop, to use the occasion.

This is the secret of success, to exploit the opportunity.

How long does the opportunity last?

As long as you can spend money, and could work.

When everything depends on one single man's money...

how could you be sure he'll keep you, and let you work?

I'll satisfy him. I'll pretend that I don't want to be here.

You mean you will bluff? But you haven't got cards.

I'll play with theirs. The whole thing is my pack of cards.

You don't believe? You're against?

I'm a painter.

You're a pessimist. You have no faith.

I have my beliefs, I have my thoughts.

You are half-hearted.

I have my doubts. I question.

To question is to waste time. To use time is the thing to do.

By the way, what happened to the inn-keeper who guided you here?

He also goes about with a lot of questions.

My boss does not like him, does not trust him.

Dirty old man! At his age!

Finally the bird went back to his mother...

telling to himself "I was a fool to go beyond my limits."

And he began to cry...

After a while the bird began to worry...

fearing the big black bird swooping on him.

There's the spade.

I'm dying under this load.

What are you doing?

I'll give you half.

Only half, you?

Be generous!

- Who're you? - Who do you think I am?

Are you a ghost?

I'm the gendarme.

I'm scared.

You should be. And me thinking you were in narcotics!

Who's with you?

Speak! Come out, all of you!

You scared me.

Why did you come here?

Is it forbidden? Why did you?

I'm the gendarme.

How should I believe you?

Are you blind? I'm a commissioned officer.

I am too.

You are? Where from?

Don't you see? I'm a plainclothes man.

You're bluffing. Where is your gun?

Detectives don't have guns. They've got brains!

Where are your papers?

Beat it!

I'll throw one at you if you're not careful.

A grenade?

All gold. Let's have it together.

Shut up you dirty thief!

These are all archeological relics.

You should have informed the Ministry...

of Arts and Culture, and not...

steal them yourself. Let's go!

- Don't come close! - Put it down!

Beat it!

I said put it down.

If you had any degree of honor...

you would have known that these objects should be safeguarded.

Because they are the fatherland; they are the history

and Fatherland means the history of the Past!

O.K. Go on, but don't come close!

Not close? Are you threatening me?

Was this safeguarding?

Don't, don't throw. I say, don't.

You shoot, if you can.

I won't shoot at my fellow-country men.

Oh, come on.

No, I won't. I don't fire on my compatriots.

You have no fire.

What is this then?

- It's empty. - It's very much loaded.

Then fire if you can.

I don't fire at you. I don't shoot thieves.

Then shove it up your ass.

It was really loaded, I say. Then shoot some more.

Don't make me shoot.

Shoot as much as you can.

Why should you really shoot at all? Let's talk.

I don't have anything to talk about with you.

A duty-abiding man of law has nothing to say but the law.

How many bullets are there in your gun?

Our supplies are unending, you stupid ass!

Perhaps you are a duty-abiding man. However, you're not polite.

Gendarmes should not be foul-mouthed,

especially in a place like this. On the ground, it is different.

But underground, it hardly befits your status.

You mean that being a crook is permissible if it is under the ground?

I mean to say that we all must be bonded together...

helping each other, and co-existing in peace.

There is gold under this land, lots of gold.

There is gold instead of pebbles. Lots of jewels.

Instead of jumping at each other, we'll divide them between us.

God has given it to us. Let us thank and praise Him.

We're the bond of brothers, the fewer we are, the happier we are.

And nobody will know what has happened in here...

or will happen. Then be done with it!

Why so much mixing?

- You were against asking questions? - No, really, why do you do that?

Because shades of colours come from mixing with other colours.

- He was a nuisance. - Finish him off.

You pretended you wanted to open a shop in the village.

You knocked me out.

If he gets up again, he will be a nuisance again.

You were partners in this.

Look at me who never thought a mayor could associate with thieves!

I tell you, finish him off!

You were together in this for a year now,

and now that you have fallen apart you abuse me.

Finish him off!

And you want me to eliminate him for you?

The main thing is for us to get together.

I never meant any harm to you.

I was trailing him.

Shoot, man! Had he not come here we could've used him. But now...

What are these?

It's only half an hour that I am here.

Half an hour? It's a year now that you're prowling.

So you were not trailing me?

No, upon my military honor.

He's lying. He trails everybody - including himself.

What is he doing here, if he isn't trailing people?

Don't worry, I'll bury you!

- Where do you go? - Watch him.

Come back, I say. I'm thirsty.

I'll do it if you're afraid of guns. You smoke a cigarette.

Don't give him the gun.

Give me a cigarette.

You don't have a cigarette, but you do have a...

spade, and a radio. And it's only half an hour, yeah?

Don't go near him, he may use Karate.

- What is Karate? - A Japanese trick.

Transistorized?

It's a form of wrestling!

This is no time for wrestling.

- I beg your pardon. - Thank you very much.

- You're welcome. - Bastard!

Sit down. Tell me what is this place?

I don't know.

- You don't and you're here? - You don't either, and you're here.

- Do you? - I came here trailing him.

I was trailing you, you were trailing him;

who were you trailing?

Suppose there's hashish in the cigarette.

Don't confuse me, bastards!

Bury him.

Shut up, you. Don't keep asking me to bury him...

as though I am the Angel of Death, or the executioner,

or grave-digger, or funeral man. I'm the Mayor!

What's the difference?

Eventually we have to get rid of him.

The essential is to bury. The body should not be left on the ground.

Are we here on the ground?

Well, under. Still we must bury him.

Don't! Do you know where is he leading you?

Don't! Do you know where is he leading you?

Do you think the mayor is a child? You're belittling him.

You mean he does not know what is here...

just because it's below the surface? He is the mayor...

and he knows whatever there is - either above, or below.

May God take your tongue away!

You, Mr. Mayor, do not be fooled. These are all your ancestral heritage.

He has come from the other side to snatch these away.

Don't let him. Don't become his stooge.

You must keep these. You must cherish and honor these.

Your sole duty is only and only...

to maintain the traditions of your ancestors

and to hand them over to the next generation.

Stuff and nonsense! Is Mr. Mayor just a store-keeper?

He is fooling us with his words to snatch all this from us.

If you let him have his way he'll gang up with some big shots,

and he'll hand over the lot to them in return for kick-backs.

Then we'll have to sit aside and sigh for what we lost.

Our ancestors! Your ancestors!

All right, I'll make you join them.

Tell me how you found this place?

Don't waste time, please.

We may have yet another visitor.

You watch each other while I go for a look.

What about the boys?

Oh well, they're all satisfied, but Abol had his leg broken.

- Really? - Yes, skiing.

- Should break his neck. - Next time,

I went to visit him at the hospital. Who do you think I met there?

- The heavenly host? - No, Dr. Kosh-Kat.

Which Kosh-Kat?

The one who studied surgery in Paris.

Is he back? He wanted to be a political exile, saying one must fight.

Well... now he was saying that a pregnant woman was brought to him,

who had her pelvis cracked in a fall.

He said he didn't know what to do, since an operation...

was impossible with her pregnancy.

What did he do? A new technique?

Not so new. He sends the woman over to another surgeon in another hospital.

Oh, come on. How people change!

No, he hasn't. He still reads the European leftist weeklies.

How do you think you could get out, out of here?

How many bullets did you have in your gun when you came?

You're hurting me. You're heavy.

I have counted the number of your shots.

You only tell me how many bullets you had.

- Why do you unbuckle my belt? - Speak low!

I'm bleeding. Don't.

Are there any more shots in the gun?

When I was telling him to shoot it was because...

I wanted him to run out of bullets.

If the gun is empty, then we can finish with him.

He's a parasite. He never knew what was there under his own village.

You must not let your gun be in the hands of the villagers.

You're big. You hurt me.

It is my turn to take over here. Your side is with me.

You are soiling my honor!

You mean it is really me? Where are my eyes, then? Don't I have a mouth?

Sir, you're all mouth.

Where is it, then?

It'll come. Later... gradually.

You're kidding. Oh, I see!

You mean firstly the mountains, then the building...

and then the rest.

She's still asleep, snoring.

Her Grace is having a nice time.

Are you sure that you're dying?

To die in the course of fulfilling one's duty is to live on.

It's an honor to die defending the glories of the past.

I'm murdered, yes,

but with the gold-crusted dagger of the ancient heroes.

Fratricide with paternal dagger? Give it to me.

Don't worry. I promise you to clean up the place, make everything shine.

We'll install electricity.

We'll put in a lift for the comfort of the tourists.

That louse-ridden, long-haired lot of pot-smokers?

We'll put a sign. No hashish smoking allowed.

You bumped me out with that basin.

It was a misunderstanding. Don't we have some tea?

That was a golden, antique basin, too.

The head of our great legendary hero, Slavush, too, rolled in a golden basin...

Although his blood is still boiling.

For centuries, we, the heroes, have been sacrificed...

but our line has lingered on, and will last.

Only it's a pity that the line of crooks...

such as you also lasts and lingers.

They are dynamiting the mountains

and soon we'll have roads.

You must hurry up with the projects that you have.

We've finished removing the top of the hill.

Except for that part which is to indicate the original height.

What did you do with the cut trees of the orchard?

We burned them at your wedding.

It was lovely, wish you were there.

- You burned the trees? - We cut the apple-trees.

You cut and burned the fruit-trees?

Oh, we'll eat compote. On the site we are building a casino.

Casino, yes? People must have entertainment. We're developing.

Have you got a bright mind like your friend?

Not quite.

Oh, he is bright. He has plans.

Have you described them to your friend, the master?

No, he hasn't. But he was talking about a certain cabaret.

The cabaret?

But the casino must be more beautiful.

The cabaret is here, the casino is mine.

How about that? That was the only thing to do.

I was sure the gun was empty.

I was trying to get some cartridges but he wouldn't let me.

Better win them over than to knock them off.

Yes, provided what they say is not coming from what they believe.

But he believed in what he was saying. He was old-fashioned.

So he was of no use.

Now, throw away that useless gun and come help bury the two dead.

This with that - makes two.

With you makes three.

You silly ass! You think you're superior just because...

you're from the other side of the hills!

For generations we have seen and suffered things here silently...

to be able to endure. We know how to be patient, how to be silent.

We have been silent and patient always.

Now the problem is to get rid of that bloody bragging bastard...

who got hold of everything, pillaged everything.

Why this?

I'll kill you! What has remained for me?

What sort of a building was this?

Well, this left unfinished, that fallen apart -

Pity. Work of a long time coming to such ends...

with a few shakes, just because roads are being built!

Well, it was sham, it was flimsy,

No, the earth shook.

It didn't shake by itself. It was shaken.

Shake is shake. Comes to same thing.

No, if it shakes by itself it's fate. This was shaken by men.

Oh come on, it comes to the same thing - destruction.

Oh no.

The first destruction is tragedy,

the second is, sometimes, even a farce.

Small people, when they're caught up in farce...

call it tragedy, to fool themselves, to brag.

Oh, what's small, what's big?

What a cheek! They're laughing?

Why don't we go?

On foot?

What if they can't get enough jackasses?

Don't worry. There are enough of them.

Well, it's easy to joke and ridicule at the end.

But in the beginning my intention was to be helpful.

What do you want to do now?

What could I do? I'm going with her.

Why not? What else is there?

Why not, of course. It suits with what you've been doing.

You're not much different from me. You also came to work.

Well, yes. You asked me to come and I did.

But then I came to paint what I saw the way I saw.

But you couldn't. The roof fell and the canvas collapsed.

Anything better than that? It finished better than I thought.

The brush swept over the figures. The tripod crashed against the floor...

the paints flowed over the canvas, the roof tumbled down

and whatever there was went under the debris. Anything more complete?

More vivid and more spontaneous? It was a "happening".

But if the building had not collapsed,

your work couldn't have been completed.

Its kind of glitter ensured its collapse...

and I showed it.

But you don't have much share of credit in this.

Oh, what is my share? Credit!

The essential thing is doing the work, not working for the credit.

Where are you going?

I won't let you, you're my wife.

Oh, fuck off.

We were wed. A hundred thousand people were there. They all saw.

And they ate, and they went away...

and they are not there any more.

The people of the village?

Behind those barbed wires?

Oh come on, finish it off.

I married you.

I divorce you.

Come on, Majid. Finish it off.

You think this is a noble reluctance? Or a respect for the boss?

Well, I know the Majids of the world. They are puffed up puppets, all.

You did me in.

Where are you going? I say where?

I'll kill you!

What should I do?

Actors: P. Sayyad, M. Apik Loretta Shahpaz

B. Zarrinpur, S. Bahrami, M. Bahrami, Goudarzi

Sahrarudi, Bakhshi

Production Team: R. Assadi, A. Karari...

K. Golestan, M. Hanawal

Music: F. Mechkat Statues: K. Golestan

Paintings: B. Dadkhah Sets: Ostad Kazem

Written, Produced, Directed, Photographed & Cut by: E. Golestan