Original subtitles

Lamya?

Lamya?

Lamya!

Do you see Mr. Hamadani yet?

He's here.

Are your assignments ready?

Yes.

Ugh, that collar.

It's okay.

Mama, it's okay.

No texting while he's here.

I know, I know.

You told me a million times.

Assalamu alaikum, sister.

Wa alaykumu s-salam, Professor.

Hello, Mr. Hamadani.

Hello, Lamya.

Would you like some tea?

I can only stay a minute.

I have lots of Lamya's friends to visit today.

We are so grateful that you are doing this.

God willing, the schools in Aleppo will reopen soon,

and I know that I can count on Lamya

to help the students who have fallen behind.

She has the makings to be a very good teacher someday.

I finished the book.

Hmm.

I brought you a new one.

Bring Mr. Hamadani your assignments.

Hmm, very good.

Excellent work, as always.

Aha. Yes.

Do you remember the first word of the Revelation?

Mm-hmm.

Hmm?

"Read."

That's right! "Read."

Our whole faith is based on a book.

A holy book. Books are very important.

That's why I only trust my best students

with books from my personal library,

like this one.

Do you know who Rumi is?

Um...

He lived a long time ago, but millions of people

around the world are still inspired

and helped by his words.

I remember. Jalal ad-Din Rumi.

You told us about him.

You said he wrote 25,000 lines of poetry.

That's right!

This book only has a few of them,

but it's special, very special.

When Rumi was a boy,

he lived in a beautiful city named Samarkand.

Books flew from the pens of scholars and poets.

One of the greatest religious scholars of the time was his father.

But then, a terrible thing happened.

A nation of conquerors called the Mongols invaded.

His beautiful city was destroyed.

He became a refugee.

Here, read this one.

"Listen to the reed and the tale it tells.

How it sings of separation.

Since I was torn from my reed bed,

my song has been a strain of love and pain.

I long for someone who understands the signs

to mingle their heart with mine.

To heal a heart that bleeds,

listen, listen to the reed."

We'll discuss the poems next time.

Maybe you can share them with some of your friends.

- Good-bye. - Thank you so much.

Mama?

Huh.

That was Daddy's favorite song.

Hmm.

Oh.

Hmm.

Why are you burying your flute?

The music was beautiful.

I'm not burying it. I'm trying to plant it.

Plant it?

It can't grow.

I know.

My name's Lamya.

Oh, Jalal ad-Din.

But you can call me Jalal. Everyone does.

Jalal ad-Din?

Rumi?

Are you going to the city?

The... the city?

Yeah, the city.

Um...

You haven't seen it yet?

Come on, I'll show you.

Mama?

- Mama? - It's far away.

Mama, get away from the window.

Mama!

Hmm.

Mm-hmm.

The city.

Jalal.

Jalal.

Father?

We have a long day ahead.

Did you sleep well?

Another nightmare?

The Mongols again?

Why are we running, Father? Why?

We should fight them.

Fight them?

You're still a boy.

What about your studies, your poems?

Poems?

Forgive me, Father, but who cares about poems now?

Jalal.

My heart is too small.

It can't carry so much sorrow without fighting back.

Your eyes are even smaller,

yet they can take in the whole world.

I know it seems hopeless, Jalal,

but try to look beyond this moment.

You were made a writer because someone somewhere

needs your words.

If not today, then tomorrow.

If not here, then perhaps in a place you can hardly imagine.

We live in one form in this world...

and another in a timeless land.

Can I go out with my friends?

- Not today. - Please?

Nothing's going to happen.

Not today, Lamya.

I have a bad feeling.

You always have a bad feeling.

I wish you tried this hard to make Daddy stay home.

Go to your room!

- But... - Go!

I tried to stop him.

I begged him not to go.

You remember.

He said that it was just a demonstration

and I was worrying too much.

Now his wedding ring is all I have left of him.

I'm sorry, Lamya.

This is no way to grow up.

Lamya!

Lamya?

Lamya!

Lamya!

All right.

- Go ahead. - Really?

Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!

Huh?

Didn't I tell you to watch out and be careful?

Look! Everything's...

Please! Somebody help us, please!

Huh.

Everyone!

Gather round!

We have been forced to leave our roots,

all we know and love... Our homes,

our families, our work.

Loss can destroy you,

but it can also be an opening

to find the true source of our being.

Loss is the beginning of all spiritual journeys.

We can continue on this road, always looking back,

missing what is gone, or...

we can turn our sights in a better direction.

Look.

Pilgrims on their way to Mecca.

Let us join our brothers and sisters.

The opening we need might await us there.

Let us declare our intention to make the pilgrimage.

Prepare yourself and make ready.

Let your hearts be open!

Huh?

Hmm.

My turn to buy.

Teacher's book!

Hi, Mom.

Bassam, what have you got there?

Oh-oh, you mean this?

Uh, I found it?

- Found it? - Really.

Hmm.

Fine.

Wha...

Jalal!

Lamya! Lamya!

Lamya?

Lamya! Oh, thank God!

Mama?

Thank you.

Thank you.

I lost the book.

This is the day we brought you home from the hospital.

You keep it.

How are we going to get across the sea?

We'll have to pay someone.

Do we have enough?

Yes...

Yes.

Come on.

Let's do our prayers for the last time in our home.

- I found it! - Lamya.

Mr. Hamadani's book.

Come on, we have to hurry up.

I have to give Mr. Hamadani's book back.

Mr. Hamadani!

Lamya.

You're leaving?

You should come, too.

There are still children in Aleppo, Lamya.

They need a teacher.

- I have your book. - Hmm.

- You keep it. - Really?

I told you, it's a very special book.

A very old book, too.

The man who gave it to me said that it's helped

a lot of people on their journeys,

and you have a big one ahead.

Thank you.

Don't forget, what is the first word of the Revelation?

"Read."

That's right, Lamya.

Read.

Good-bye, Lamya.

Bye, Mr. Hamadani.

May God protect you.

One, two, three,

four, five, six...

18, 19, 20.

I can stop him.

Jalal, no.

I won't miss.

Let me pay them back with something they understand.

Hate can never defeat hate, my boy.

It just grows.

That's why the Prophet tells us to return evil

with something better, something good, like your words.

Where are your poems, huh?

Where are your paper and pens?

They got left behind somewhere.

Hmm?

Jalal?

Let's leave. I don't like it here.

Hmm?

It fits.

Let's go somewhere else.

They're still there, taking what they want.

Someone has to fight back.

Jalal, let's go back to where you were planting your flute.

I'll help you.

Jalal.

No.

Let's go back to where you were planting your flute.

I'll help you.

Watch our things.

How many? Here, show me.

Here, it's all my money.

That's not enough for one of you.

Take... take my bracelets.

Is this enough?

My daughter, she's only 12.

Not my problem.

Please, it's all I have.

"Please, it's all I have!"

I hear that every day.

Hey!

Here, this is all of it.

Not all of it.

No!

Look, do you want a place on the raft or not?

All right.

Be ready when the rafts come or you'll lose your place.

No refunds.

Stop throwing stones!

Huh? Me?

Yes, you.

Okay, okay, okay.

I just wanted to make sure it was...

- Hey, you have it. - Have what?

Your backpa...

Oh, heh, nothing.

So, my name is Bassam.

So, what do you want?

I have something for you.

Huh. Uh, no.

Hmm. Oh!

Uh...

Ah, got it!

My mom says that since we're leaving our home

and under God's protection,

I need to make up for my naughty ways.

Half a candy bar?

It's the best one.

It's got a caramel center.

Aren't you going to take it?

Okay, if that's what you want.

Mmm! Mm-mmm!

Go and bother someone else!

Sorry for wanting to give you a delicious candy bar.

Lamya, come on!

Hurry.

Try to look beyond this moment.

You were made a writer because someone somewhere

needs your words.

Lamya!

Mama?

Mama!

Mama?

Mama!

Mama!

Mecca.

Mama. Mama, please.

Please be on it, Mama.

Please. Please be on it.

Please be on it.

Oh!

Hmm.

"Listen to the reed and the tale it tells,

how it sings of separation.

Since I was torn from my reed bed,

my song has been a strain of love and pain.

I long for someone who understands the signs

to mingle their heart with mine."

Uh, huh?

"To heal a heart that bleeds,

listen, listen to the reed."

Please be on it. Please be on it.

- Turn the boat around! - Get out of here!

- We don't want your kind here! - Go back home!

No, no.

No, no, no! No, don't go!

Mama, do you see me?

I'm here!

No, don't go! Mama!

I'm here! Mama!

What do we do first?

Well, put on the sacred clothing.

Here?

No, outside the gates,

so that when we enter again, we'll enter as pilgrims.

We set aside our everyday identities

to connect with the true root of our being.

It also represents a solemn promise

that we won't harm animals or plants

or any of our fellow pilgrims.

We pledge to keep the peace.

Hi.

Lamya!

You know, I saw your mother get on the other boat.

Really?

Uh, right before our boat came.

It was far out, but I saw her.

Are... are you sure? Was she wearing a headscarf?

I couldn't tell.

Well, did you see her dress? Was it purple?

Uh, yeah, definitely purple.

A purple dress, no doubt about it.

Don't be making this up.

I mean, it was dark.

Hmm.

Okay.

So, what's it about?

Is it a story?

- Hmm? - Your book.

You always have it.

It's all I have left of home.

You got me. I'm from home.

- I guess I do. - So, what's it about?

Wow! I like stories with monsters in them.

Look!

Ugh, my phone.

I hate it here.

Me, too.

I thought at least there'd be fireflies here.

Fireflies?

Forget it.

You can borrow it if you want.

Nah.

No, really. I don't mind.

Uh, it's upside down.

I know!

I said I didn't want it.

You can read, right?

- You can't read? - It's not my fault.

My mom says that something in my brain

just doesn't work right.

Bassam, it's okay.

I can read it to you if you want.

Come on, I'll read you the first one

about why the flute sounds so sad.

It's like us, torn from its home.

Huh?

Come one, come all!

See the giant snake

now embedded in the ice.

You'll be amazed!

Your friends will be jealous!

Hurry, before it's too late!

My friends, my friends, don't miss your chance!

Your friends will be jealous!

Only 20 dirhams.

But for this fine audience, you can see it for 15.

No, no. Ten, ten.

You there, young warrior.

What you seek is inside.

I promise, you won't be disappointed.

Psst.

Psst.

Come on, I want to show you something.

What are you up to?

Just follow me.

Bassam!

Bassam!

Okay, wherever you're going, you'll have to go alone.

I'm staying here.

Bassam!

Ugh!

Bassam! Bassam!

- Boo! - Aah!

Hey! That is not funny.

Come on, we have to go back.

But we're almost there.

Where?

It's a surprise.

Over here.

Come on, let's go.

It's creepy here.

Closer.

Closer, my warrior.

"A huckster went into the mountains

in search of an attraction that would amaze an audience

and earn him some coins.

In the snowy heights, he found a giant serpent

frozen in a block of ice.

He chiseled it out

and brought the terrible creature to town."

"Hoping people would pay to see it,

he called out,

'Come one, come all.

See the giant snake.'"

"A crowd gathered around."

"But the monster was not dead."

"The warmth from the gawkers

brought it back to horrifying life.

The serpent stirred."

"The people standing closest began to scream.

They tried to get away from it,

but it was hopeless."

"The serpent devoured them all.

"No one escaped."

Lam... oh.

Wherever Mama is,

please let her know that I love her

and that I wish I could see her again.

Hi.

Hi.

Do you want me to sit with you?

Yep.

Can you read to me?

Okay.

I brought something for you.

- A candy bar? - Nope.

How about this?

Where'd you get that?

I, uh, found it.

Found it?

Out there.

You went to the city? Bassam, it's dangerous.

What if you got caught?

Pfft! I'm too sneaky.

Bassam, you shouldn't steal.

Hmm.

I'm just worried about you.

Oh, come on.

What do you miss most from home?

Everything.

- Rice pudding. - Huh?

Rice pudding. I miss rice pudding.

- Stretchy cheese. - Mint tea.

- Shish kebab! - With tabbouleh salad!

Arabic coffee.

Arabic coffee?

Silly, don't you know that will give you a mustache?

Aw.

And my phone!

Mr. Hamadani.

Hmm.

Hmm.

It fits you well.

How can you help him?

He is our enemy.

He's a pilgrim, like us.

He is not like us.

He's a foreigner, an invader.

He doesn't deserve to be here.

They're all monsters, Father.

The worst monsters are the ones that live here.

Before we are born, a path is set

that will lead to the people who need us the most.

This is the path of love,

and you must stay on it.

Hold onto the pain

and help other wounded hearts to heal.

Jalal!

Do you see me?

I'm here!

Jalal!

I said back up!

Bassam! Bassam!

Mom!

Shh! They'll find us.

No. No!

- No! No! - Mama!

Stay with me.

No. They've got her.

Now they've got Papa.

Papa!

- Bassam, no! - Papa!

No!

Liar!

I hate you.

"In every ruin, there is hope for a buried treasure!"

Liar!

Lies! Lies!

They're all lies!

"Sometimes the world keeps breaking your heart until it opens!"

There is no love in this world.

"If you seek jewels in a mine, you'll become a mine.

If you hunger for a slice of bread,

you become that bread.

You are what you seek!"

"The wound is the place

where the light enters you!"

"You have an unseen door in your own essence.

It opens to an ocean of light."

"Limitless, it carries you

across time and space...

and connects you to the entire universe.

It did grow.

It needed someone who understood the signs.

We live in one form on Earth

and another in a timeless land.

Well, will we be together in that other world?

Always.

You understand it?

It means the world is full of signs

that we often do not see.

Hmm.

Yet it is not our eyes that are blind,

it is our hearts.

Come, let's join the other pilgrims.

"Hate or love, you find what you seek.

Keep monsters frozen in the ice mountains.

Don't let them be brought to life

by the heat of your anger or fear."

- Read us another one! - Read another one, please?

- One more! - Just read another one!

Another one? Aren't you bored yet?

No!

Okay.

Wait, please.

Have you seen my daughter?

I'm sorry.

- Read, Lamya, read! - Okay.

Read, Lamya, read!

Read, Lamya, read!

"Knock and the door will open.

Banish so you may shine like the sun.

Fall and you'll rise to the heavens.

Become nothing and you'll turn into..."

Lamya?

"Everything."