Original subtitles

Mr Aris.

The doctor is waiting to see you.

Hello, Michael. Hello, how are you? Please, take a seat.

It's always very difficult to predict the progress of something like this.

It could be as little as a five months or as long as five years.

Enough time for you to put your affairs in order, I hope.

Shall I ask the nurse to arrange for your wife to come and collect you?

My wife?

Would that she could.

She lives in Burma now, you see.

- Good morning. - Good morning.

Could we pass these around, please?

Thank you.

Today I thought we might talk about,

how the Bhutanese people have always placed great emphasis on family loyalty,

the bonds of community,

and respect for their elders.

- Bloody rain! - Yes, come in.

So it's definitely cancer then?

Prostate cancer, as a matter of fact.

And did they give you any indication as to how long before...

In anything from a few months to five years.

- Good God, Michael. - No, no.

I could achieve a lot in five years.

What about Suu? Surely she'll want to return to Oxford when she hears this.

Anthony! You know as well as I do if she ever leaves Burma,

they will never allow her to return.

What about you, Michael? You haven't seen her for three years.

She's your wife, she's the mother of your children.

The red carpet would be rolled out if she asked to be allowed to come home.

She can't walk away now. Too much blood has been spilled.

Countless lives have been lost.

Millions upon millions of people are counting on her.

Anthony, promise me that you'll keep an eye out for the boys.

Of course! You can count on me 100 percent, you know that.

Yes.

- Hello darling. - Hello angel.

How's the book going?

Slowly.

That smells good.

- We're having Burmese tonight. - All right.

Stop it!

- Did you think of a title? - Yes.

Well, it's original. It's...

- There's storm coming. - Hi, Mum. Hi, Dad.

- Hello, did you have a good day? - It's okay day. I'm starving, though!

Supper's at seven.

- Do you have much homework? - It's all done.

- Kim. - Well, almost.

You'd better get started then. Hello Alex.

Mom.

In Burma today, violence has erupted on the streets of Rangoon...

- Suu? - Hmm?

...an incident in which students were mown down by the authorities.

Eye witnesses at the incident claimed that hundreds of students

taking part in a peaceful demonstration at Inyar lake,

were shot and killed by soldiers at point black range,

many more protestors sustained serious injuries.

They are demanding an end to the military dictatorship

that has ruled the country with an iron fist since a coup in 1962.

Burma's government is known as one of the world's most oppressive regimes.

But despite the authorities' determined attempts to crush this uprising,

it appears that the student's movement,

is rapidly gaining massive popular support.

Hello.

My mother had a stroke.

I'll sort you out a flight.

Be good, won't you? Help Daddy around the house.

It will be hard for me to get to a phone,

so don't worry if it's a while before you hear from me.

- How long are you going to be away? - A week. Or maybe two.

Right, that's it. Come on, come on. We're very late. Come on, rush!

Come on. On time. Okay. Bye.

Bon voyage. I love you.

Driver, please hurry. Please. I love you. Bye.

- Uncle Leo. - You are as beautiful as ever.

The whole uproar started after our General in his great wisdom,

decided to ban any denomination that wasn't a multiple of nine.

Well nine is his lucky number.

The universities can't provide lunch any more.

That's why the students have taken to the streets.

All this just because of the superstitious whims of a madman.

- Call me if you need me. - I will. Thank you for everything,

Suu! Suu!

Mum.

- How are you feeling? - Tired.

- Did you hear about the massacre? - Yes.

The riots, it made headline news across the world.

- What's my little boys doing? - Not so little these days.

Come on.

There's no need for that. Come on, have a good day. Don't be silly.

Come on, have a good day. Off you go.

And Kim, put your collar down. Yes, okay.

- Goodbye. Goodbye. - Goodbye, Dad.

- What are you doing? - They're looking for students. We must go.

Hold on. She can't leave in this condition. She should stay here.

Wait.

Don't do anything hasty. Calm down first.

I suggest we take her back to bed and then go down to see what's happening.

Oh!

All right.

Violence has once again erupted on the streets of Rangoon,

when new demonstrations were met with wave after wave of reprisals.

This morning, soldiers opened fire on protesting students

close to Rangoon General Hospital, killing and injuring many.

A curfew has once again been reintroduced.

- Hello? - Mikey.

- Suu, darling! How are you? - It's so good to hear your voice.

You too. You too.

You managed to dodge the bullets then. I was beginning to worry.

- Sony, I couldn't get away until now. - Don't worry.

- And I've been missing you all so much. - Yes, me too. Of course.

- How's your mother? - There's nothing more the doctors can do.

- So, I'm going to take her home. - I'm sorry, Suu, of course.

But so many other things are happening, I hardly know where to begin.

- Hello? - Hello?

- Hello? I've lost you. Can you hear me? - Hello?

- Hello? - Oh, hello. I can hear you again.

- Are the boys all right? - They're fine.

They're already in bed, but you mustn't worry about them.

Tell Alex many happy returns of the days.

- Yes, of course. - I'll make it up to him when I...

- As soon as I come home. - Of course, darling.

We're trying to organise the visas. We hope to join you soon.

- Mikey? - This is useless. Hello?

Suu!

I'm happy to be home.

So am I.

Daw Suu. My name's Nita May and I have a message from your husband.

He wanted me to tell you that their visas have finally come through.

- They will arrive at the end of the week. - Thank you.

- There is so much to discuss. - Let's start then.

Leo. So happy to see you.

It is good to have you back. C'mon, let's go. Please, after you.

Mum. Mum.

Mummy.

- Oh! - I've missed you.

You better be prepared for complete chaos.

Ch?

Come on, come on.

Wow.

Mon Mon! How are you?

Lovely to see you.

- Ah. - Tom.

- Dr Aris. - Hello.

- How do you do? - You look shell shocked.

Well, I suppose I had taken it for granted,

Suu was leading a solitary life, quietly nursing her mother.

Not all historians get to be a part of history in the making. Enjoy it.

- Please let me know if you need anything. - Oh, thank you. I will.

Bye.

Michael. I'm glad you're here.

Down, down, down, down. A little further.

Okay. Stop, stop, stop. There you go. Step away, step away.

- What is he saying? - He's saying,

that public discontent with government policies can no longer be ignored.

And that because he's not totally free of responsibility,

for the events of the past few months,

and because he's getting on now,

he's going... He's going to resign.

There will now be a referendum on Burma's political future.

- Hello. - Hello?

Mum.

Some men from Rangoon University want to speak to you.

They said it's urgent.

Madam. My colleagues and I are academics from the history faculty,

and we believe you are the only person who can lead Burma into democracy now.

As the daughter of Aung San,

the people will automatically unite behind you.

Your father fought and won independence for Burma.

Here's an opportunity to finish what he began.

Let's seize this opportunity.

Quite apart from having no relevant experience,

as you can see, my hands are more than full.

May I ask that you take some time to consider?

- Madam, we will have to continue on foot. - All right.

Let's go.

- Michael. - Stop the car. Stop.

- Dad! - Boys, come on.

Keep up.

Suu!

Suu!

Dad!

- Dad, we're gonna get some food. - What?

- We're gonna get some food. - Okay. But don't go too far.

Stay right there. We don't want to lose you.

It may be a little late to be saying this.

But you realise I've never actually spoken in public before.

And there's no time like the present.

We'll be watching from the side.

Aung San. Aung San Suu Kyi,

the daughter of General Aung San,

until now an Oxford housewife and mother of two,

emerged today as Burma's bright new hope for the future.

- I was incredible, huh? - Yes. Yes, indeed.

However, a quarter of a century of brutal oppression,

will not be undone in one day.

There is still a great deal to do.

Glory days of the Raj. Used to house a staff of eighty Brits,

before Ne Win had them all kicked out.

Okay, here we are.

Wonderful.

- I think we should go. - No, there's time for a few more.

- Thank you, Tom. - You're welcome.

- What's wrong, Kim? - You already missed Alex's birthday.

And now you're going to miss mine.

It's too dangerous for you to remain here.

And I'd never forgive myself if anything happened to either of you.

Anyway, a new term is beginning. You both need to be there when it does.

Come here.

Please. Try to be brave for me.

- Look after your brother. - I will.

And you. I want you to write to me every day.

Bye. May May.

- Be strong. - We will.

- I love you. - Love you too. Bye.

- Positions please. - No, I think you should be on the...

One, two, three...

We have to unify all minorities, but Rijina is in the middle of the mountains.

Democracy will only work if we include everybody.

They're coming! They're coming!

- Put your gun down. - I think they should leave.

No. Please put your gun down. Put it down.

We shall not respond with violence under any circumstances.

Dr Aris, your visa is cancelled.

- You are to come with us to the airport. - Do I have time to pack?

One minute.

You have a very busy schedule. Pace yourself.

Eat well and get good rest whenever you can, okay?

- We'll be back. - Let's go!

I'll try another one.

Ah! Lucinda, my saviour.

Come in. Come in, dear.

- Anthony's still here? - No, he just left.

- No lumps. - It needs more oats.

No, a little salt.

There.

Here we are. Here.

Looks good.

The arrangements for the funeral of Dhaw Khin Kyi,

the widow of Burma's great national hero, Aung San,

were conducted in lavish style.

While the authorities sought to prevent civil servants from attending the funeral,

locking some in their offices and refusing sick leave,

the gathering was the largest in Burma since the coup.

At least 100,000 people surrounded the coffin on its procession to...

Thank you.

You have been a very dutiful daughter.

Your father would be proud. And now your duty is completed.

You will understandably be eager to get home again.

As soon as you are packed and ready,

our limousine will take you to the airport.

That won't be necessary, General Nyunt.

For the time being my duty remains here in Burma.

There is an election to be fought.

What about those young boys of yours? They will be missing their mother.

Well, the sooner these elections come, the sooner I can rejoin them.

Perhaps on your return, you could urge General Ne Win to make haste.

The soldiers look very serious. We should come back another day.

No. Just ignore them.

We will continue in a calm and orderly fashion.

Stay here first.

We have to go.

In an unprecedented escalation of intimidation,

Aung San Suu Kyi narrowly escaped being shot by the military yesterday

while out campaigning in the province of Danubyu.

Jesus Christ, Suu.

A good day, today. Isn't it U Win Tin?

Daw Suu! Daw Suu! Everywhere we went today,

they were picking people up and taking them away.

Where are they taking them?

Some of them were taken as forced labourers at the borders,

carrying weapons and drugs through the jungle

on the account of the generals.

And the others?

We should write to the UN and Amnesty International,

and tell them exactly how the Burmese people are being treated by the military.

Yes. Pen and paper, please.

My darling. Every day brings new atrocities.