Original subtitles

That's mine.

What's the matter?

Nothing.

Who are the letters from?

From my dad.

Where is he?

He committed suicide.

Not now. We're shooting.

I'm bored.

I don't know what's the matter with me.

Please go. I want to get dressed.

-Take G! -Action!

I who love life and the country, would like to live...

Cut!

That donkey is in the shot!

I told them to stop everyone!

We're losing the light.

What happened? Didn't I do it right?

It's only because we're losing the light.

Can we do one more?

Not today.

That was my best take so far.

It was perfect.

- Are you sure it wasn't because of me? - It's because of the light.

It's useless, we lost the light because of that cloud.

ARAUCAIMA MANSION

Let's go, canelo!

Sit. Sit!

THE GUARD

You know, Lord, better than anyone...

...the uselessness of my footsteps on this earth.

Let me keep my strength... ...let me keep it for my last hours...

...don't let me waste it during my painful vigil.

THE PILOT

THE SERVANT

Every desire is the sum of the vices

that lead us to the vast open spaces.

THE MONK

The man I love is black

MACHICHE

The man I love is black

and has dark hair...

I'll die of sorrow

if he's not at my side...

Coming!

Coming!

Coming, sir.

Machiche, it's time for the bath.

Coming.

-Hurry up! -Coming, coming.

Wake up, my love, wake up.

Graci!

How did my little master wake up today?

What would he like for his breakfast?

Whole wheat bread,

THE MASTER

or maybe unleavened bread

I know, bread from the Cauca Valley.

How did you sleep, my little one?

Damn! What did we drink last night?

Lots of wine. But a bath will fix it.

To our bath with the nymphs!

-Where's Cristobal? -He's coming.

-What's that smell? -What?

- Bonjour, monsieur Graci. - Bonjour.

Today I want to be an emperor.

Camilo!

Come down, bathe with us!

I can't. I caught a cold.

Machiche! A little Wagner, please.

"Machiche, a little Wagner, please".

Stay out. You're wrecking the house.

People rot faster.

You're the rotten one. Your body and soul are rusty.

Stop picking a fight.

Your wars are over.

Shut up, nigger!

To work!

Don Graci?

-What? -Can you look over the accounts?

Is it all right?

Everybody knows how the house functions.

About the reforms for the house...

-I'd like to show you... -The house is fine.

Better change the record.

Reforms, my eye!

That's the monk's doing.

As if the Jesuits didn't make enough reforms!

If he wants changes he should ask Ignatio.

Ignatio of Loyola.

Changes!

The house is fine as it is.

Come on!

I need some money, I'm going to town...

...we need a spare part for the electric generator.

Did you ask Don Graci?

Why do you go there so much?

Who's the boss here, you or Don Graci?

Don't fuck with me! I don't like your attitude..

Yes, Sergeant. Of course.

Give me the money. It's getting late.

I am not from here, I am from Bahia.

I am a sailor, a sailor from San Salvador...

-That nigger... -Cristobal!

Cristobal is going too often to town.

I don't know why.

What do you care?

Better do your job.

Picardo!

Cristobal!

-Here are some sugar blocks. -They're good.

-I made them myself. -How much do you want?

700!

I'm only paying 500,

This one only 400.

-Okay. I'll take 500.

-You have more? -50 more.

-When? -Saturday

But at 500.

It's a deal. Thanks!

I couldn't come earlier.

You don't want to understand...

...that I don't want your business.

Take that up with Don Graci.

-I don't ever want to see him again. -What for?

For the good of all.

I can't trust a man who can't come and face his debts.

I don't want to hear from him.

Let me remind you that everything you have,

you owe to Don Graci:

your shirt, your pants, everything.

Cristobal!

Where did you go?

Close your eyes.

Ok! They're closed.

What is it?

A dress! How lovely.

How did you know my size?

I couldn't ever forget your body.

Too bad. I didn't find one in red...

-...which you prefer. -This is fine.

Think of when you're going to take it off.

-Where were you? -At the market.

-The market! -What did you buy?

My gifts don't mean anything to you, Machiche?

That was Don Graci's money.

And the piece for the spare part?

He doesn't need any more repairs,

he has all the parts he needs...

Machiche, we'll talk later.

Machiche, better save your strength for later.

Isn't pretty?

I don't like that you take gifts from Cristobal.

Why? There's nothing wrong.

And with Don Graci's money.

-Isn't it pretty? -Pretty, that?

I'll wait for you upstairs. We'll talk.

Remember that in mirrors one sees three things.

First: the truth.

Second: lies...

And third: betrayal.

-I'll give you clean towels. -Good, thanks.

-A drink, Cristobal? -Yes!

Every morning.

I wait for...

...a different girl.

You don't have to be king of the world,

...to have a woman...

I wait for you...

Shit!

Damn that bastard!

Why do you laugh?

That song?

-Where were you? -The storage room.

I don't like your stench.

Come bathe with me, but clean.

Go, go!

Don't be like that.

Don't worry about it.

I'll return your manhood.

I don't know what's wrong with me.

Everything was different before.

I fell so alone. I'm scared.

Don't say such things.

I like strong men.

I'm good for nothing.

I'm a pilot without a plane.

Well that's enough!

We don't need anyone else in this house.

You're part of it.

-Poll sound. -Speed!

Camera!

-Polling! -Slate!

Action!

I who love life and the country, would like...

Cut!

You must stop here, otherwise we don't see you.

The mike is here, otherwise we can't hear you.

-Thanks! -Again.

Your friend is not easy.

- She's not a pro. - We gotta rehearse again.

If I knew it would be this boring, I wouldn't have come.

The camera loves her.

Again! You ready?

-Yes. -Okay!

-Angela, you ready? -Yeah.

-Okay. Poll sound. -Speed.

-Camera. -Polling!

-Take 1 3! -Action!

-I who love... -Damn it!

Shit! I can't do that. That path wasn't made for a bike.

Let's wait until Greta Garbo

calms herself. Let's eat.

Shit! We'll have to start again.

Look, Angela once you start, you have to finish it.

Everybody's waiting for you to calm down.

Leave me alone. I'm tired. I want out of here.

We're wasting our time.

Let's have lunch okay?

I don't want to see you again...

...nor this film, leave me alone.

I got you this job. This is going to make me look bad.

Don t you want to be in a feature?

Leave me alone.

-Give me the bike. -Where are you going?

Give me the bike... It's my bike. I lent it for this commercial.

We'll start shooting after lunch.

Don't play with the equipment.

Mind your own business.

Please take the bike and find your girlfriend.

Please find the girl

and tell her that her attitude isn't professional.

THE GIRL

The years swarm around you like bats, Machiche.

You re aging.

Hello?

"IF YOU ENTER THIS HOUSE, DON'T LEAVE.

IF YOU LEAVE, DON'T RETURN.

IF YOU PASS HERE DON'T LOOK.

IF YOU LIVE HERE DON'T PRAY."

You looking for something?

Can I use the bathroom?

-You'd better leave. -I can't; my bicycle chain broke.

May I come in, please?

Go ahead, but please hurry.

-She needs the bathroom. -The bathroom?

Come up.

It's there.

- Good afternoon! - Good afternoon!

-What a lovely house! -Thanks.

The bathroom is over there.

You can wash up and use the toilet too.

But close the door well, it opens by itself.

-You're leaving now, right? -Yes.

"Defecate with love,

that time doesn't count,

but when you add it up, you build eternity."

Hi. I'm Angela.

I'm Camilo.

-How did you get here? -My bicycle chain broke out in front.

It seems strange to me because...

...no one ever comes here.

-Any children here? -No.

-And this? -I make them.

-A present for you. -Thanks.

It won't be possible to fix your bike today.

Besides, it's going to rain and it's late.

You're so far away. Why don t you stay?

-You crazy? -Yes, it's easy.

-Stay here tonight. -Will I bother anyone?

No, I assure you.

Wait one moment, yes?

It's so hot!

Get me an anisette.

Angela. Angela?

-Here! -Angela,

-What a nice name. -Angela Martinez

Let me look at you.

-Where are you coming from? -From the Hotel America.

So far away?

And you wanted to go back on that road? Never!

You'll stay here.

And you'll dine with us. It's been

a long time since we've had guests.

Nigger!

Cristobal.

Add another plate. We're going to celebrate.

Thank you.

So you work in the movies.

I too was once interested in that art form.

The whims of youth!

I wanted to pursue this profession

but my father found out...

...and sent me to the Jesuits instead.

I would have been a great actor...

...if heaven had made us poorer.

That's when you started your brilliant career in films.

On Sunday matinees, with altar boys in the dark.

I was always allowed to do anything I wished.

Have you been in any films?

I've been in a feature film, in a short film and in a couple of commercials...

...but I'm just starting.

I've known Cristobal for ages.

In a sugar mill in Pernambuco.

Since then he's never left my side.

He's like a son.

Some more wine?

Please. This house has a strange name. What does it mean?

It's just a whim of Don Graci's.

He likes to travel, and perhaps

some adventurer...

...or some sailor suggested that name.

You have some imagination, Machiche.

When I inherited this house from my mother,

it already had the name.

To tell the truth, Don Graci,

you never spoke of the house.

Neither did I ask you anything when you came...

...making me believe that you came from the Vatican.

The Brother here was corresponding

with the Pope.

The Jesuits were right when they said that

...wherever there are three,

the devil is present.

"One page is vice.

Two pages make a tree.

All the pages make a woman."

Who's the poet here?

Don Graci. They're all over the house.

Come in.

Ever since we got here... we filled the house with sayings.

Don Graci says they're all lies.

We all got here like leaves blown in by the wind.

And here we are.

Lots of people have passed through.

This is for you. Go to bed now. It's late.

You also made movies?

No. In my time movies had a bad reputation.

Look, girl, the Virgin sees all

and knows what's worthless.

Look, girl, the Virgin sees all.

Camilo, you're wilted.

Cristobal!

Machiche, how can I make this trip?

How can I leave here when everyone

knows I'm a good for nothing.

You couldn't make it with me,

you won't be able to make it with her.

You'll never make it.

If I made it once I'll make it always.

If I made it once I'll do it again.

Machiche, those weeds are growing.

...you've got to cut them or they'll grow and grow.

Machiche!

If I made it once, I can do it again.

Machiche,

if I did it once, I'll do it always.

-Morning, Cristobal. -Morning.

-Miss, when are you leaving? -When I fix my bike.

-It smells good! -Want some?

Hi, slept well?

Yes, I sleep well in the country.

-What's that contraption back there? -My plane.

-You're a pilot? -Yes, I landed years ago.

I was contracted to spray against a plague...

which was destroying the crop...

...on the day I decided to leave,

there was a storm and the only lightning bolt struck my plane.

-You weren't hurt? -No, it was on the ground.

-What time is it? -I don't know.

The only way to tell the time here is by Don Graci's baths.

-Baths? -Yes. Want to see?

Let's go.

Holy whore...

...divine whore.

Great whore of Ninive...

Whore!

Whore!

Whore!

Camilo!

I need your help with the accounting

look what you brought me.

You're adding sugar blocks with papayas.

Don Graci is no longer interested in anything.

But that doesn't mean we should let the house go to pieces.

Not really, right, Father?

I told you not to call me that.

Father.

Do you still have some of that powder for sweaty hands?

There's some...

...but better worry about important things.

Damn it, Canelo...

now I've got to do the ironing too.

You can't imagine what it means to reach

a place where you're sure no one has ever been.

It was then that I understood the real meaning of silence.

You feel the void here on earth not in the sky.

Go on, Camilo.

I remember Lieutenant Abadía...

...once, when he was doing some aerial acrobatics...

...he wanted a real grand finale

so he tried to grab the flag while in flight.

He missed and crashed into the stands.

Come in.

I couldn't sleep.

Shut the door.

You sleep here?

Yes. Books are my religion.

What's that?

It's not loaded.

What's the matter?

My dad killed himself with one of those.

Father of the lemurs.

Pus of the unburied.

Eye of the storms.

Path of the cowards.

Door of the shrunken.

-Wake me Lord. -Wake me Lord.

-Wake me Lord. -Wake me Lord.

For a long time...

...I've been obsessed with a thought...

...which I would like you to clarify.

It's been a long while that my soul is not free.

We've been here for so long like refugees...

...I no longer know why.

But until now...

I hadn't known this despair I feel.

Maybe it's the girl, Angela.

I haven't slept well either, Graciliano.

I've begun to dream.

I see myself in a world that for me was unknown.

Only the dead don't dream, Machiche.

No one commits venial sins in this house.

If you mean that girl, I didn't touch her.

I want to talk to you about that.

I asked the monk to stay away from her.

That girl has changed things around here.

You're the one who should approach her.

I don't like this.

It's the guard's fault for letting her in.

It's too late for that.

Tell the monk I must talk to him.

That's why I gave orders that no one should ever be let in.

Why do you want me to get involved with her?

Because even the whitest flower...

...must bury its roots in the black earth.

Each poem is a step closer to death...

...a fake coin for the ransom...

...an empty shot at target

In the dead of night...

...crossing bridges over the river...

...whose dormant waters travel...

...from the old city to the country...

...where the day prepares its flames.

"This is like reciting the rosary".

"This is like reciting the rosary".

"This is like reciting the rosary".

-What do you want? -The storeroom keys.

-Why? -I need something to sleep.

There's nothing.

Hey! You've seen Cristobal? No.

What am I, the watchman?

Cristobal!

Where were you with that girl?

Is Don Graci up yet?

I'm late today.

I asked you a question, shithead...

Look, Machiche, don't start with me this early.

I hate you! How can you like that little whore?

What are you talking about?

How could've been so careless.

Not knowing you were fucking that filthy watchman.

I know you spent the night with him.

Cristobal,

they're all crazy in this house.

We must do something.

Don Graci agrees with me.

Nobody has any peace in this house.

Last night he wanted to bathe with both of us.

If he wants to play with her, he can do it.

Don't come to me with your ghost stories.

Here, the devil is ourselves, don't you understand?

Don't kiss me. You smell like a slave.

You wish it were my blood, right?

I hope you burn in the depths of hell.

Since that girl arrived,

nothing's been the same in this house.

We must do something.

But I can't do it alone.

I think it'd be better if she left.

She's more likely to listen to you.

Make up anything, tell her

that we're all sick...

...to let us rot in peace.

You're now aware of what is going on, right?

Something is about to explode,

we can't let it destroy us.

The monk is going to talk to her.

It'd be better if she goes.

No, Graciliano...

...it'd be better if she stays.

"Once the two of us thought

that we could make the changes that Rousseau proposed.

And thus we united and parted..."

What movie was that?

No, my girl, it wasn't cinema,

it is theater.

"I need to speak to citizen Marat.

I have important news to give him...

...about the city of Caen, where his enemies are meeting.

Poor Marat, in his bathtub

filled with poison?

Marat named Danton,

Dupré,

Robespierre, Voltaire."

In the name of Orocuá;

the pork has been roasted.

Cristobal cooked it, served, and didn't eat it.

He served it and didn't taste it!

You will be a great actress.

Dinner!

More wine?

Yes, thank you.

Araucaima

we've forgotten what the name of this house means.

One of Don Graci's fantasies.

You're the one with the fantasies, Machiche.

Angela must solve this riddle.

Keep this little ring

in granny's trunk.

Who has it?

Camilo!

This little boy bought an egg.

This one put salt on it

This one had it fried.

This one scrambled it...

...and this little thief ate it.

Angela lost. She lost.

Let's play hide-and-seek.

We all hide, and Angela looks for us.

Start counting, little one. Start counting

Now let's play hide-and-seek. English style.

We all hide,

and nobody seeks.

Are you tired?

Yes, I'm tired.

Are you just tired, or

are you tired of me?

The truth, girl, is that I'm tired of everything.

At first I was attracted to you.

When Don Graci asked that we bathe with him...

...I had no other choice

He supports everyone here.

But I like men, virile men.

I'm made for men to enjoy me.

Women bore me.

They bore me as friends

and they bore me in bed...

...especially you who are so inexperienced.

You know why Cristobal went to bed with you?

Because Don Graci ordered him.

Camilo, Camilo!

Please listen.

Don Graci!

Don Graci!

What happened? What happened?

You always end up doing what you want.

...what I have to say is not taken into account.

Dig a grave near here.

And bury her here where no one can find her.

This time it's everyone's fault.

She must disappear forever.

Once the spider is dead,

the web disintegrates.

Take her down.

You know, Lord, better than anyone...

...the uselessness of my footsteps on this earth.

Let me keep my strength...

...let me keep it for my last hours...

...don't let me waste it during my painful vigil.

Camilo!

Camilo!

Go light the oven right away.

I don't want any trace of this business.

I came from there as a slave,

I am no longer a slave...

"IF YOU ENTER THIS HOUSE, DON'T LEAVE.

IF YOU LEAVE, DON'T RETURN.

IF YOU PASS THIS HOUSE, DON'T LOOK.

IF YOU LIVE IN THIS HOUSE; DON'T PRAY."