Original subtitles

''THE CONSPlRATORS''

The rich Brazilian has lost all that was left to him.

Get up. There's work for you.

What about the last one? Who'll bury him?

More will come...

Go away, you too!

Don't do that, son! He's your father!

STORY AND DlALOGUES

lNSPlRED ON HlSTORlCAL MATERlALS AND POEMS

BY CLAUDlO MANOEL DA COSTA, TOMAS ANTONlO GONZAGA,

ALVARENGA PElXOTO AND CECÍLlA MElRELES.

TO RODRlGO M. F. DE ANDRADE, WlTH LOVE.

lt seems right, doesn't it? Well, it 's all wrong!

Do it again.

He hit me.

How dare you?

She won't make any progress...

...if l'm not strict.

You are to treat my daughter as a slave would a princess!

The princess of Brazil, that she will be one day!

No one can dispute the antiquity of our nobility.

l am a Bueno.

l am a Silveira.

Our house has always been among the first...

and will be the first when Brazil is for the Brazilians.

Now, go! And think of the dangers of ignorance.

My beautiful Barbara.

You shall be queen.

You shall be a princess.

l see you once more, oh, mountains!

Destiny...

leads me back to these hills...

that l once left for the riches of the Court.

l rejoin my faithful...

and kind companions.

l see them pursue their weary illusions.

Everyone loves, Marilia.

Are not pure doves besought by pigeons?

And do they beseech in vain, Marilia?

Don't they stroke one another with their beaks?

And doesn't such tenderness turn their heads?

From these heights Nature made my cradle.

Who would say that, among such rocks grew...

a tender soul...

and a tender heart?

Receive, l pray you

a wanderer of uncertain paths

in pursuit of his duty.

What are we waiting for, Marilia?

The beautiful days to slip away?

Late glories are cold

Let us, my love,

render merrier these brief days

Lest unmerciful Fate

Turn her anger upon us.

Let us garland our heads with flowers

Let this hay be our downy bed

Hay?

Let this hay be our downy bed

Let us unite, Marilia, in ever-tighter bonds

Let us enjoy the bliss of a pure love

My wounds are so exposed

that l myself seek my own downfall

The more l look around me

The more you fear l find thee

Why, Love, such display of vengeance?

And you, made of the hardest stuff

Tremble, oh rocks

Tremble!

My dear friend, Doroteo...

Open your eyes.

Yawn and stretch...

and wipe from your eyes...

the remains of sleep.

lt is Critilo who calls you.

Leave your sweet pillow.

Awake, l have news for you.

What can you tell me...

that is worth more than sweet sleep in a good bed?

lt is sweet to rest, l know.

But leave your downy bed and hear my news.

Strange things, so strange a dream never inspired a dreamer.

Lions with webbed feet, flying tigers and camels...

-...men giving birth... -Nothing like such delirium.

You will hear things that serious men shall speak of...

over a century from now.

To snatch me from a dream...

when l hear of wretched conflict.

Whoever leaves country life

for the ungrateful affairs of the city

has never seen the face of violence

or has not known the peace of retreat.

To adore betrayal, to love falsehood

hear the groans of the wretched

pass in anguish days, months and years.

Venerable shades of our greatest ancestors

see your successors

arrayed in joy and silk

and on the day of great pomp

revive the worm-eaten bones...

...of wretched vassals who perforce respect the tyrant...

Only until the day of our baptism.

The people, Alvarenga, flock to the desert in search of miracles...

as bees to the honey-pot.

As crows and vultures also gather in the desert...

around a rotting carcass.

We need a leader.

l must confess, dear Critilo...

that your writings will outlive our times

through their eternal splendor.

Humanity, then freed from suffering,

spurred on by your strength, shall break its fetters

stained with fresh blood.

Accursed Doroteo...

accursed be the vice of poetry that stops one from eating,

in order to put together four lines that may prove dangerous.

He who lives for glory wastes his days waiting.

Enough poetry! To the facts!

Meeting at the house of Lt. Colonel Francisco de Paula.

We have discussed the flag.

Tiradentes wanted a triangle, to symbolize the Holy Trinity.

But my suggestion has won: an lndian breaking his fetters.

Be careful with the flag.

The American flag also has a spirit breaking its fetters

and a motto: ''Libertas aequo spiritus.''

-Just right for us. -We shouldn't copy.

lnstead of a spirit, an lndian. That 's nearer home.

The motto should also be different.

Well, perhaps ''Aut libertas, aut nil.''

Or a verse by Virgil:

''Libertas quae sera tamen'': Liberty, albeit late.

That 's nice.

What do you think?

Yes...

Nice.

Not bad...

Tiradentes has come to see you.

That fanatic bores me. l don't want to see him.

Claudio...

Be careful. He can do us a lot of harm.

The sons of this land are so stupid...

that they carry the burden of those who rob them.

What 's ours is taken away and the people remain poor.

So stupid, it doesn't dare to expel the governors

who come every three years with their families

to line their pockets, and go back to Portugal.

Right. The poor should not dream!

lf a poor man's dream is a crime, then what of his words?

lf you are taking money to the Viscount, don't be a fool.

When l come back,

we will no longer have to give anything to anyone.

l'm going to Rio de Janeiro to serve the cause.

Be careful!

Rio de Janeiro is no hamlet,

nor is the Viceroy one for games.

l shall make this people happy!

Silverio!

And l shall be very happy too.

An uprising!

An uprising of prostitutes, maybe?

Get into the bathtub.

Certainly. Certainly...

Your Excellency should believe me.

They have threatened to kill me if l spoke.

But the first head to roll...

will be Your Excellency's.

They'll hold it up by the hair and make a speech...

already prepared by Dr. Gonzaga...

to announce the end of taxation.

Then it will be the tax collector's turn...

the committee's clerk, the adjutant...

and then all their adversaries.

Father Toledo, who is one of them, told me...

that he agrees to everything, except to what refers to you.

He would prefer them to throw you in the river.

But Dr. Gonzaga insisted...

That your head would be the first to fall.

lt 's got to the point that

the officer-cadet Joaquim José, Tiradentes

is on his way to Rio, to cut off the Viceroy's head!

They are only waiting for you to decree tax collection

for them to act.

The Commander of the Regiment, Colonel Francisco de Paula

has joined their camp.

You have done well in telling me.

l did not even consider any reward there might be.

Despite threats, l have done my duty.

Speak of it to no one.

You must go to Rio after this Tiradentes.

And keep me informed of what is happening.

But don't let him suspect a thing.

Silverio's been with the Viscount...

for more than half an hour.

l couldn't hear what they were saying.

But one can imagine!

l have no doubt about it.

Just when Tiradentes sets off for Rio...

Silverio visits the Viscount,

runs out and rushes off to Rio too.

He's a traitor.

On top of that...

a friend of mine who met him on his way to Rio

told me that the Viscount was off to kill...

our Dr. Gonzaga,

for being the ring-leader of an uprising.

Claudio, l don't feel so well.

One of my liver attacks. l'll go and lie down.

Could you get me a mat?

l told Tiradentes to watch out.

But he had to meet Silverio on the way.

And l bet he opened his mouth all the way down to Rio...

He'll be our downfall!

Calm down, Colonel. Let 's think calmly.

Firstly, these are all suppositions.

And pessimistic ones! Silverio may not have betrayed anyone.

The rebellion is of special interest to him.

He's probably the Crown's greatest debtor!

Everyone knows that, especially the Viscount.

There is another possibility.

Silverio may have considered that, if he denounces us...

...the Viscount will cancel his debts in exchange.

How come the Viscount hasn't decreed the tax collection yet?

He suspects.

Since he caught me reading on America's independence.

Just yesterday he told me some strange things:

that he had found you frightened or astonished...

-...the last time he saw you. -Frightened or astonished?

lt doesn't matter, Alvarenga!

Our mistake was to wait for the tax collection.

Yes. But without it, the people wouldn't rebel!

lf we rebelled, the people would follow!

Let us not underestimate our strength.

After all, the Commander of the Regiment is with us!

We can rebel and convince the people

to be against the taxes that are to come!

And what if they send an army of ten thousand?

Better to die sword in hand, than trampled underfoot.

We could defend ourselves and block the passes.

The Colonel's here to organize the defense!

Not yet.

The Regiment isn't ready.

l asked Tiradentes to talk to the officers...

...but he wouldn't. He went off to Rio.

l won't say anything myself!

l've already spoken to two of them, but no more.

We'd better send an emissary to Rio...

To warn Tiradentes to talk to no one.

And to tell him to give up what he has started.

Because, since the taxes haven't been collected...

it 's better to stop everything.

That Colonel's a fool. Were it not for him, it would all be done.

We should appraise the Viscount.

Someone will have to.

Let 's agree that if anyone arrests us...

we deny everything.

Who would arrest us?

We're going to do the arresting!

Magistrate, you're a person who's both...

cautious and curious.

Which is a bit funny.

Begging your pardon, it isn't out of mere curiosity,

however mixed with caution, that l've come here.

l have come to plead the public cause.

You know that even people in authority like myself...

are also vassals.

We have been reprimanded over the tax delay.

l have the orders for the collection.

But as the debt is very large...

l will only ask for a year in arrears.

Viscount, although it may appear a paradox...

l think that you should decree the debt collection in one go...

so that it can't be carried out.

Listen...

if the people must pay what 's due to the Treasury,

the country will be ruined and there will be nobody to govern.

lf you decree full payment of the taxes,

thus showing your administrative zeal,

the whole affair will be so serious

that the Queen will be forced to re-examine it.

That will enable you

to plead for the suspension of the tax collection.

And that will guarantee you

both the confidence of the sovereign and the gratitude of the people.

Coming from you, it appears to be a fine idea.

But the taxes will supply a little money...

too little to harm the people but enough for Portugal.

1,92O pounds of gold?

Enough to start a revolution!

l have the troops and a big prison for rebellions!

Anyway, the sum is an abstraction to the people.

They couldn't be poorer than they are now.

Now, as far as your fine friends are concerned...

Don't think that so much gold can be found in a poor poet 's house!

l love tranquility...

and l know that the people's tranquility is also yours.

For, when they're desperate, they seek out the nearest heads.

Our beloved Sovereign and her ministers

have theirs ensconced abroad. Meanwhile ours...

lf l didn't know you to be cautious, Magistrate,

l'd take that as a threat...

lf there were a threat, it would come from the people, not me!

lf your Excellency cannot avoid collecting the taxes...

now that the Queen has already reprimanded you,

you can only decree full payment,

so that Her Majesty sees the impossibility of that demand.

But if l do it now, l'll be proving my negligence

and justifying her reprimand for not having done it before.

lt would be better to explain to Her Majesty

that l haven't collected the taxes,

for it would have been against her interests.

And that 's what l'll do.

The tax collection is suspended.

Maybe you're right. lt 'll be simpler.

lf l erred in my advice, 'errare humanum est '.

The people will erect a statue to you.

Silverio... l could have killed you.

Your slave opened the door for me.

-Where is he? -He's asleep.

The canoe should be ready.

Canoe? What for?

To cross the river.

l'm fleeing, Silverio.

Two men have been following me, day and night.

We've been betrayed.

Calm down. You're imagining things.

l'm sure of it.

Tomorrow l'll be waiting, sword in hand.

Are you mad? Then they really will catch us!

You shouldn't run away.

l know the Viscount 's suspicious. l came to warn you.

lf you run away, you'll just confirm his doubts.

You should speak to the Viceroy and see if he knows anything.

There's news from Minas.

l don't want to hear from Minas anymore!

lf the people from Rio weren't so coward...

We deserve to be treated like slaves.

To be flogged like the Negroes.

Because we could live free, but we prefer to remain oppressed.

But l'm plotting something...

that they won't be able to undo in a hundred years...

if l were to go now to Minas...

The first thing l'd do would be to kill the Viscount...

even if my life depended on it!

Without a safe-conduct the guards won't let you pass.

lt would be better... if you waited a little...

to see what 's going to happen.

-Have you got any money? -No. l left hurriedly.

Then today you'll sell my Negro.

He's of no more use to me.

Get up. l'm going to sell you.

l'm going to see a lady who owes me a favor.

l did her daughter's teeth.

Ha, that impostor who kisses the ministers' feet.

Maybe he's right.

lt might be very profitable to denounce the rebellion.

ln the end, heroes are exiled or executed in public.

And the informers get their due reward...

Malicious gossip.

The horrible stains of vanity.

A spelling mistake in each paragraph.

Does it matter what l say to free myself?

For future scruples l shall not suffer.

Who is filled with shame? Who with honor?

Lies become legends.

Purity does not always bring fame.

How twisted words are according to interests and time...

Maybe one day we will know the whole truth.

But then it will be old, a thing of the past.

ln this world Evil is more rewarded than Good.

And then, there is this passion for mediocrity,

cowering in the shadow,

closing the windows and secret drawers,

writing anonymous letters,

denouncing friends,

burning papers, hiding secret gold...

escaping under a false name!

May remorse pursue me.

Or should l prefer the rack, red-hot coals

bonds, shackles, the pulling and quartering?

The soul cannot suffer as the exposed body,

when lead and sulfur are poured over the wounds.

l know the punishments.

l shall tell them what l know and what l don't know.

And then, on my knees,

l shall beg for forgiveness.

l close my eyes...

l forget.

And your glory in this life, will be to die hidden

rotten by terror and remorse,

drowned in a sea of terrible non-existence.

And you, accursed devil,

shall only wish to be able to forget.

Heroes only know glory after being beheaded.

ln death, you realize all you have wasted.

and a passer-by, on hearing your story would sigh:

a coward!

lf it weren't so...

you would recall the great dreams you had here.

Whispered words on the verandah...

repeated during the dinners

when you lifted a candle...

in the want for more light!

l never committed a crime that led me to flee!

l only hid because l was being followed!

You could spare yourself all this suffering.

We know everything. ln the slightest details.

You said the people from Rio are cowards...

that they deserved flogging...

for willingly succumbing to the yoke of Portugal.

-l never said that! -Yes, he told me so!

He said he regretted coming to Rio...

because the people there trembled before the Viceroy.

He also told he was suspicious of a traveling companion...

whom he believed because he was Brazilian...

but who was no better than a dog for having denounced him.

l only said he was a dog!

You are one of the leaders. Who are the others?

l have neither the courage nor the money...

to persuade such a great people

to do such a crazy thing.

l've told you all l know...

and l said everything in my letter to the Viscount.

My dear Colonel, your account is incomplete.

But they said they knew how to govern too...

That they could no longer stand to see all the riches exported...

and the Brazilians getting poorer.

That when the taxes came...

the people would no longer tolerate it...

and that there would be a rebellion.

They wanted me to join them but l refused!

l could never accept such disorder.

l protested. l tried all l could

to dissuade them from such an evil plan.

l observed but l took no part.

Their devilish ideas repulsed me.

They told me that an officer, nicknamed Tiradentes...

had called the people to rebel.

l said he should be flogged...

to me, he was nothing but a drunkard who promised rewards in brothels...

once the Brazilian Republic would be proclaimed.

Well, that 's not exactly what the witness said.

According to him you said...

if there'd been more like him, the country would have rebelled.

lmpossible, since l always thought him a fool.

You also said:

An European prince has no right over Brazil...

a free country that the King conquered at no cost...

whereas Brazilians retrieved Pernambuco from the Dutch with...

...their blood, and spent all they had to purchase back...

Rio from the French.''

Not at all. l said someone ought to have rights over this country.

Not the Brazilians, of course. These were born slaves.

Therefore the power belonged to the Portuguese monarchy...

and only someone with evil intentions...

could misinterpret my feelings.

Your words do not invalidate the report of witnesses...

of many witnesses.

One said that, when you said these terrible things...

you limped, and not only you...

but even your horse and your slave.

Even realizing that what you said was rash...

you still said it.

Like a sinner who persists in his sin...

or like people who rebel...

without considering whether the rebellion is legitimate.

No one does evil for evil's sake.

People who rebel knowing their error...

must have some reason for acting so.

For instance, to be free from oppression...

which obviously isn't the case in Brazil... isn't it?

There is little difference between them and foreign mutinies.

Here, as elsewhere, rebellion would profit certain people.

Especially leaders like yourself.

You could arrange new laws to your advantage.

A priest earns little nowadays...

Forgive me, your Excellency...

l do not seek the sublime.

Have you been away recently? Where did you go?

To Mariana, to get permission to go to Portugal.

And you didn't travel, despite the permission.

l had no money.

But still you asked for permission to travel...

And, penniless...

you spent your leave of absence lodged at Magistrate Gonzaga's.

Strange. Here we have a prisoner...

to whom, even having no money...

you gave a present of a hundred good horses.

lt wasn't a present.

Colonel Francisco de Paula wanted them for the troops.

So l made that proposition.

He said he didn't need them, so l didn't buy them...

lf you couldn't afford to travel

how could you buy a hundred horses?

You are not specially renowned for paying your debts...

ln Minas we always buy horses on credit.

Anyway, a priest shouldn't deal in horses!

l no longer wreathe my brow with laurel.

And God no longer inspires me with songs.

Ha! Lost is my ill-tuned and broken lyre.

l breathe, Marilia...

but the evil within so gnaws at me...

that l seem dead.

Misty eyed, hollow, pale...

thin, with long and hairy beard,

entangled hair.

What a pitiable figure!

See how they treat one accused of lèse-majesté!

But no matter what befalls...

you will never see fear on my face...

My heart is larger than the universe...

And this, beautiful Marilia, you know.

l need only a heart...

that may contain you.

Only this heart can save me from the fatuous,

impertinent and ungrateful people.

l was afraid of being arrested.

l was terrified.

l prayed to the saints...

They couldn't help a sinner like me.

When l heard the Viscount...

had prepared himself for a rebellion,

l told Gonzaga

we had nothing to fear

for the Muses would protect us.

l even asked Gonzaga

if those two madmen, Alvarenga and Father Toledo

had done something.

The soldiers are to blame

for not having arrested Tiradentes sooner.

A man of such little talent...

that one can accomplish nothing with him.

Dr. Gonzaga,

who finds him annoying,

warned me he was a fanatic.

But Dr. Gonzaga was also implicated in all this!

Often in his garden...

he had talked to me of founding a Republic.

The others approved of it.

But l didn't. l was always against it.

l thought it impossible.

On other occasions, at my house...

they came to talk to Colonel Francisco de Paula

and to Dr. Alvares Maciel,

who had the idea and was the first to discuss it.

Just mere hypothesis.

l thought it all a comedy.

And today... at my own cost...

l am...

punished for insignificant things.

lt must be the will of God...

Who finally leads me...

to this punishment...

because of my libertinism...

my bad habits...

and malicious slander.

l was denounced and arrested.

You know l have many enemies.

As a magistrate, l had many people arrested...

evil people.

Nevertheless, when my friends warned me that this time

l would be arrested, that l had been denounced,

l kept calm, so persuaded of my innocence,

that l told them l would be at home writing an ode.

Perhaps you don't know, but l am a poet.

l had gone to bed and was arrested there.

The poem is not bad.

l am, Marilia, no herdsman

who looks after the herds of others.

Tell me the truth, instead of lies.

Everything points to the fact that you are a ring-leader.

On the contrary.

Everything shows l couldn't have been mixed up in it.

First, l am a child of Portugal, where my fortune is.

Secondly, having been nominated magistrate in Bahia,

l wouldn't exchange a good, secure post

for something so bad and insecure.

Also l wouldn't expose myself to a civil war

on the eve of my wedding,

especially since all my fiancée's relatives are in the army.

And lastly...

because l am very busy

embroidering my wedding outfit,

an occupation l haven't interrupted but to eat,

which is quite incompatible with the ideas and passions of a conspiracy.

He said that Rio de Janeiro would rebel

and that he was counting on the support of France.

He only needed Minas to join in.

l said it was neither true nor possible,

for even the most indifferent government would act in that case,

especially a highly active government like ours,

whose motto might well be:

''Parcere subjectis et debelare superbos.''

He who dares conspire against the Viceroy

even in the darkest night,

will be destroyed by all of Vulcan's lightning.

For l know well the Viceroy's zeal...

and that nothing on earth or in the sea escapes him.

Only the heavens he allows to guide the stars.

''Hominum contentus habennis, undarum terrae que potens...

et siderae donas.''

Habennis has two ''n''.

That blue streak

that the sky extends our left hand

That cry

that each night, follows

the afflicted crow

saying l-know-not-what

that one cannot fathom.

My beloved

is more beautiful than the white lily

or the bending rose,

than cinnamon, when its leaf is united with its flower.

Venus is no rival to my love.

One hour passes

then another, without notice,

contemplating your hair

Days go by contemplating the beautiful eyes,

parts of the sky whence comes the dawn.

That 's the truth l decided to tell...

so ingenuous,

since you know my every step.

lt seems it 's the will of God

or someone else's,

that all be known.

l have denied till now...

to cover up my guilt

and so as to compromise no one.

lt is true that an uprising was in the works

and it was l alone who had the idea. No one inspired me.

l had been overlooked many times at my regiment.

No matter how much l'd endeavor

l'd always be given the dangerous missions.

Promotions always befell others...

either because they were more handsome,

or because they were better related than l.

l was desperate.

l was the first to talk of revolution.

The others followed and acquiesced.

But there was no real leader.

We know Dr. Gonzaga was one of the leaders.

lt 's useless protecting the others. They've all confessed.

lf l lied, it would be to exonerate myself.

l didn't know Dr. Gonzaga participated in the plot.

l have no reason to defend him. He has always been my enemy.

The first person l spoke to and proposed the rebellion

was Dr. José Alvares Maciel.

He had arrived from Europe...

and l met him because he was related to my Commander.

l studied mineralogy...

and l wanted to know all about the workings of factories.

Especially in England.

l always wanted to apply the knowledge here.

Brazilians don't know the treasures they possess.

We could produce everything if we wanted to

Without relying on Portugal.

Progress here is of no interest to the governors,

since they want the people to remain poor and ignorant

so they can steal more easily.

lt 's amazing that the Brazilians do nothing.

Everywhere l've been in Europe,

people are surprised that Brazil hasn't followed...

the example of America...

and expelled the Portuguese, as they did with England.

That 's when l thought of possible freedom...

and started to long for it first,

before thinking of how to achieve it.

lt was the first time l heard of that foul idea.

Tiradentes was considering

the possible independence of Minas Gerais.

He said he was going to put his plan into action.

He knew rich people and would get money

to supply the town with water from the Andaraí River.

Thus, he would get rich...

and would be able to prepare an uprising.

l went with him to the source of the Andaraí.

l saw it was a poor idea,

that it would be difficult to carry it out.

l thought the same about the uprising.

l went back to Minas and saw my Commander.

You've come to tell me that?

Yes, because l've heard that Rio is ready and is only waiting...

to find out what my Colonel would do, to act.

l've already been told about that...

but say nothing to no one.

Everything is in my hands.

The future depends on my decision.

Rio awaits my reply...

to start the revolt.

Seeing his fatuity in believing that Rio

so considered his insignificant person,

l told him ironically

The balance of power will tilt towards where you lean.

lf you fancy a laugh,

Tiradentes will speak tonight during the meeting.

He's raging mad.

But he gets so worked up when he speaks...

that he ends up crying.

But he has already convinced many in the troops.

He has a fire within.

Dr. Maciel has studied a number of things in Europe.

With him we will build the factories of the Republic.

There's no lack of raw materials.

l've just been to the countryside

where l studied the resources of the region.

l found, apart from various insects and plants...

that it 's all iron and copper between Sabará and Vila Rica.

We could extract iron, make gun-powder...

We could cast the iron...

if we didn't need permission from Lisbon.

As for the gun-powder, saltpeter here is as costly as imported gun-powder.

My dear Dr. Maciel, we are here today

to no longer depend on permission from Lisbon...

nor on imports from Europe.

Free, and with your help, we will have our own factories.

Then, the Portuguese buffoons may use as much lace and satin they wish,

but Brazilians will wear clothes made here from honest, domestic cloth.

Being slave to Portugal, Brazil, despite its riches...

...is a miserable country. -Of all needs,

only one thing is lacking: Freedom.

The problem is apathy, tropical laziness.

That 's what they discussed in Europe.

The weakness and indolence of Brazil, which allow oppression...

ln Rio, they have opened their eyes.

And Minas is waking up slowly.

The governors and their lackeys

who gnaw away at our honor and our land,

will not be laughing for long.

When the tax collection is announced, there will be a revolt,

for the people cannot pay it.

lt doesn't seem possible nor viable.

Even if you flogged the people, they wouldn't react.

And the black slaves outnumber us.

lf we rebel, they will too. That will be even worse.

The solution is simple.

lf we free the slaves, they will join us.

lf we do that,

who will work the land? Or mine the gold?

l think the only way would be to kill all the Europeans.

-l vote for that. -That 's impossible,

for many Brazilians have European relatives.

And they would never agree to cold-blooded murder.

lt would be inhuman to kill all the Portuguese.

We shall kill just some of them.

Gentlemen, whether the people rebel

or whether they don't

is of little importance.

They do not have the weapons.

They are all in my regiment 's safe-keeping.

And as l command...

the arms are in fact...

in my hands!

ln the future we must avoid

to concentrate everything in one man's hands,

especially one in the military.

As l see it, the problem...

is to get enough gun-powder.

The new Republic should have no professional soldiers.

Everyone will be part of the militia, armed when necessary.

When the emergency is over they will return to their occupations.

Have the officers been told?

You must speak to them so they are in agreement.

No! ln the military all are enemies.

l'd rather trust a civilian than a colleague.

On such a matter, only the Commander can speak to them.

That 's out of the question!

l won't speak and they mustn't know l'm entangled in this.

Our colonel is a weakling.

l have a better idea.

You go to Rio...

and bring back everyone who supports our idea.

l, as head of the group...

will set out, saying l'm going after you.

lnstead, when l arrive...

-...l shall adhere to your side. -That 's impossible.

They may send people from Minas against us.

We should rebel here

and worry about support from the capital later.

l agree. And l want the most dangerous mission.

When the Colonel gives the sign: ''lt 's the day of baptism''

l shall be commanding the Palace guard.

Tiradentes said the Viscount should be killed first.

l disagreed with him. l thought exile would suffice.

l can't remember who insisted, Tiradentes or Maciel...

or Alvarenga,

that the Viscount should be the first to die,

because there's no revolution if heads don't roll.

Someone said: ''There's no revolution if heads don't roll.''

Perhaps Maciel or Father Toledo.

l can't remember. Perhaps it was someone else.

l said: lf we must kill someone,

let it be the executer of orders,

because ever since his arrival, he hasn't stopped to rob.

Head off?

Head off. Let 's move on then.

Tiradentes arrives at our meeting place

with the head of the Viscount.

Then l arrive with the troops and say:

What 's happening, comrades?

ls it the head of the Viscount?

Tiradentes, brandishing the head,

confirms this.

l ask:

Then, who rules now?

And the people reply:

''Freedom! Freedom!''

Then l say:

lt is fair. lt is fair there be Freedom.

Then l turn to the troops.

l make a speech and join the uprising.

The Viscount 's head is worth more than any speech!

All that needs to be said is that whoever cuts this head

-...can cut others. -Just a few words...

We will get nowhere by arguing.

-Who is the leader then? -There's no leader here.

We're all heads of one body!

lt is over, oh tyrant!

The Lusitanian people have lost all honor and zeal!

lt is not the same, it is another!

By what right do you think us guilty

when the proof is in our favor?

The wealth of those you consider rebels

can barely maintain one hundred soldiers over a year's span.

Do judicious people love so little honor, life

and their wealth, to entrust such an undertaking

to a fool in poor standing?

And even if he were entrusted such mission,

would there not be a payment, even if in form of alms?

The author of this outrage inspires me to mirth, not terror.

Prudence dictates he should be locked away or arrested

or exposed to the laughter of young people.

l have inherited no great fortune

My work has not made me wealthy

Nor have l the skills of a good soldier.

How could l be made leader of an empire arisen

from the blood and money of rebels?

l should never join, if they ever came to be, such vile traitors.

l want no gold.

l only want my loves.

Some vassals...

inspired by treacherous ambition

have prepared an infamous plan

to free themselves of obligations...

and of obedience to my person.

Thus, not only the leaders of the plot

are considered guilty of lèse-majesté,

but also those who, in all awareness,

became accomplices by their silence.

Such a terrible crime allows no defense.

Majesty...

l saw the Sugar-Loaf rise up,

and in the middle of the waves, change into a gentle lndian

representing all of Brazil.

On his breast, in diamond letters,

one could read the name of the Sovereign. He said:

l am a vassal, l am loyal...

and, as such, faithful and constant. l serve to the glory of the Queen.

l serve to the royal glory, always true to Portugal,

to the Viceroy and the illustrious General.

Faithful Sovereign...

we wish only the simple gifts of Nature.

Accept all we have...

to your greater glory: money, gold...

the fine jewels hidden in these mountains...

Royal, royal, always first.

May this sole song be heard in America.

Blessed be the August Lusitanian!

A serene sky covers the sea, covers the earth...

thanks to you, wise and just Monarch!

Lèse-majesté is a crime of treason...

against my royal person.

Terrible crime, comparable to leprosy!

Because, as the disease

attacks the body and never heals...

and attacks the descendants of the diseased,

so treason condemns the wrong-doer

and transmits the infamy to his children,

though they are innocent.

Go away!

lt would be better, Marilia, l spent this hour with you.

Do not curse, Marilia.

The hand of Justice that puts in irons

Does not in vain brandish the sword.

lt must punish any wrongdoings.

Virtues of judge, virtues of man Live hand in hand

and dwell in her breast.

The austere tongue condemns the accused

yet her eyes weep.

lf vile calumny denigrates innocence

What blame can befall he, who sentences?

lt is not the judge, but the trial and the Law that condemn us.

l still adore the great leader,

though he's unjustly sentenced me.

He sees me not for what l am

But for what l appear to be.

You win, Barbacena.

Through the virtues that dwell in your heart

You honor not only he, who is rewarded

But also he, who is punished.

Congratulations, then. Your punishment will not tarry.

We shall all die because of you!

lt 's that fool's tongue that gave us away.

Where are the people? And the foreigners who'd come to our aid?

We're the poor and famished now!

He was to be a great man; now look at him!

You should be flogged!

Ten lives l'd had, Ten lives l'd give away!

Why did you lie so brazenly?

The Colonel denounced me. l lied to save myself.

Had you no fear of God?

No fear at all. l wanted revenge!

l lied for the sake of it.

He who lies not is of no value...

Take heart, Colonel. We all have to die some time.

Should the manner of death frighten us?

Men are only powerful here below

and the offense shan't go beyond the threshold of Eternity.

Let us welcome the chains, embrace the shackles.

They get lighter on the path to eternal joy...

lt 's my wife's fault!

She prevented my first flights of fidelity.

My poor daughter...

Orphan of a father accused of infamy!

Your daughter has another father.

Wiser, richer, more loving and powerful.

Trust in God and do not despair.

lf God is fair, He will not forgive my sins.

We must not doubt nor hope.

No one will escape the rope!

l sentence the accused...

Joaquim José da Silva Xavier...

also called Tiradentes,

to be taken through the streets to a place of execution,

there to die a natural and eternal death.

After death, his head will be cut off

and exposed in a public place,

impaled on the highest post.

His body will be quartered...

and exposed on the road to Minas,

until time shall consume it.

l declare the accused unworthy...

as well as his children and grandchildren.

His house shall be destroyed

and the ground shall be salted,

so that nothing may grow

and nothing be built,

for he is unworthy of my royal pardon.

As for the others...

they will receive my clemency,

for l commute the pain of death...

to perpetual exile.

My most generous queen!

Oh wise, oh generous queen!

Gonzaga...

my congratulations.

So... l must depart, Marilia.

Tearing the grey skies

Carried on the wings of the wind

My sighs will seek thee.

l cannot, my love, say...

Adieu!

Perhaps, beloved Marilia

Cruel Fate will deny me

The glory of knowing They were heard by such tender ears.

l cannot, my love say... Adieu!

But if, perchance, they reach you

Shelter them in your breast

Join them with your own sighs

l cannot, my love, say Adieu.''

No, my friend, it is l who should kiss your hands and feet.

Christ also died naked.

Do not betray your king, even in thought,

for the birds may take your words to him.

Thus is shown the loving care...

of our august Sovereign.

Ouro Preto, former capital of Minas Gerais,

town and monument, reliquary of art treasures...

and of the best traditions of our History,

becomes, on April 21st,

the stage of imposing civic festivities.

People and Government come together to honor the memory of Tiradentes

and of the heroes of the Conspiration,

seeking in the example of our great ancestors,

an encouragement for future conquests.

in his speech, the official speaker of the ceremony

professes a true lesson in civic-mindedness

and love forthe homeland,

which our ancestors built with their blood and their lives.

On behalf of its Government and its people,

Minas continues in perpetual loyalty to the ideals of the Conspiration.

The voice of trumpets sound the praise to the heroes of Nationality.