Original subtitles

- Trade relations between Finland and Chile are improving

even though internal tensions in Chile are growing.

- There is no reason to believe that a civil war will break out.

[explosion]

- Today, the commander-in-chief, Augusto Pinochet, has announced

that the army has taken control.

- They burned my house. Who the hell does that?

- People have come here over the fence.

- We do not interfere with the country's internal matters.

- All right...

- I've tried to reach you.

- These soldiers are here to keep refugees out.

- I see.

I've been making acquisitions.

- I can help. - No, I'm fine. Thanks.

- The secretary is going back home. Shall we keep the embassy open?

- Goddammit. Yeah, let's keep it open.

I located Seija Sandoval. Have you found the rest?

- Yes. - Good, good.

- Anything else? - Yeah...

"Once again we ask you,

are you harboring Chilean citizens? If you are, how many?"

"How many of them are politically significant?"

"When and how are you going to get rid of them?"

I'll answer that there's no one in the embassy nor at home.

- Can you hold these?

Come in, Ilkka.

- Hello.

- Hello there.

Come here for a second.

This is not good.

We'll lose our jobs. They'll throw us all out.

What about the plans we've made, the work we've done?

Take them to a Latin American embassy where they have right of asylum.

- Thesleff scolded me already. I know the protocol.

- You do? - I have to get rid of them,

but I can't throw them out on the street!

- They'll get killed in an instant! - Peru, Argentina, Mexico.

Those are the closest ones. Do it now!

The letter continues:

"Finland will send a delegation to see what is going on in Chile."

What? - - The chargé d'affaire will be the host.

- When? - As soon as they get tickets.

- Let's go.

[dramatic music playing]

- Excuse us. Let them through.

- Please, help us.

- How can they all be full already?

- Mexico is the only one left.

[dramatic music playing]

[indistinct chatter]

- Goddammit!

- He shot him. He shot him.

- No, no!

[dramatic music playing]

- I've got to go.

- Good afternoon, comrade. - Comrade.

- Good afternoon. - Good afternoon.

- It's not safe for you to be here. - I won't be long.

- Good afternoon, comrades. - Hello, comrade.

- Salazar. - How are you?

- Good. I came quickly.

I wrote this speech last night. It's important.

I hope you can read it on the radio today.

- It depends on how good it is.

- It's about courage and spirit that we need...

- I need you to leave. We'll contact you.

- Sure. Of course.

- [thuds] - [screams]

- Shit. Get out at the back.

[gunshots]

- Shit, the soldiers are here.

- On the floor. Hands behind your head. - No one moves.

- Move it. Hurry up.

- We have to get the refugees out, or they'll send someone who will.

- Or maybe the Foreign Office can change.

- While Finland is trying to get to EEC and with the Soviets watching us?

- Should I call President Kekkonen? - You said it yourself.

They told us to follow Sweden's example.

- Ciao. - Bye, Tomi and Tina!

[dramatic music playing]

- Welcome.

- Thank you for the invitation. - It's good to have you all gathered.

- To get to know all your sheep, right?

- Exactly. The sheep are spread out all over the town.

Occasionally the shepherd has to bring them together.

To keep the herd united.

To make sure that no one is missing.

- Enjoy the good company. - Thank you.

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

- Have you seen Edelstam? - No.

[indistinct chatter]

- So... finally!

The rock 'n' roll generation's reinforcement

to us old fossils from ancient times. Welcome.

- Harald. - The beautiful northern queen.

- Not an ice queen, I hope? - Not at all.

But look. A Norwegian, who is wearing both braces and a belt.

How can you trust a man, who can't even trust his own trousers?

- Listen, I need your help. Is there room in the Cuban embassy...

- I'm sure he'll ask help from Mexico.

Mexico's embassy is already full.

I'll be right back. Excuse me.

[indistinct chatter]

- Hands behind your head. Move it.

[dramatic music playing]

- [gasping]

- Walk.

- Listen to me, you shit. You're going to tell us everything now.

- Yes, sir. - Where are the weapons?

Where are the weapons?

- Where are the weapons? - I don't know, sir.

indistinct chatter]

- Water. It's hot.

- What? - It's hot in here.

- Indeed.

- Andreas Voss. German Democratic Republic.

- Nice to meet you.

You're a part of Ambassador Trappen's group?

- Yes, exactly. - Tapani Brotherus, Finland.

- I know. I'm looking forward to our cooperation.

- What? - I look forward to our next meeting.

- Imagine! These so-called diplomats are waiting

for their government's permission to think!

I guarantee that they'll have a long wait.

- Don't we work for our governments, too?

- Yes, we are our governments' eyes and ears,

and sometimes we see more than they want us to see. It's our job.

- Finland's role is different. - What do you mean?

- Our goal is to stay completely neutral.

- Hey.

- Is there room in the Cuban embassy? - Tapani.

Don't tell me that you've become one of them.

Look around. What do you see?

Why do you think they invited you to this "party"?

Everyone is just smiling and saying that everything is okay!

Everything is not okay!

[indistinct chatter]

- Thank you.

It's 9.43 a.m.

The first international group of journalists,

after dozens of attempts, is finally in Santiago.

Greeted by soldiers.

The atmosphere is peculiar. Soldiers follow us everywhere.

You can't even go to the bathroom alone.

Obviously they don't want us to see what is really going on here.

[camera shutter clicks]

- Move on. - Yes.

- Against the wall.

- The press. - Documents.

- I'm from Finland.

- Get out. - Okay, okay.

[camera shutter clicks]

- Look happy when you give the jewelry to me, Mrs. Patricia.

And act briskly. Just give me a moment.

- Thank you. - What's your name, miss?

- Patricia Hamilton. I'm a widow.

My intention is to do whatever it takes

for a better future of our nation.

We Chileans look for a change towards better times.

- Thank you so much. How beautiful.

This will always remind you of us.

This is your certificate from the state of Chile.

- Many of the Chileans in embassies, that you call asylum seekers,

are only opportunists.

They saw an opportunity to travel for free to Europe with the family.

Everyone who hasn't been legally charged can stay in Chile.

I guarantee, all innocent people will be released.

- Is the National Stadium a detention centre or a concentration camp?

- A concentration camp...

Let's see...

You were allowed to enter the country

to see with your own eyes

that Chile has nothing to hide.

Nothing.

You can go to the stadium to witness

the good health of the detainees, and by that...

And for once,

you can forget the smear campaign

that has clearly been financed by international communism.

- I've already seen it with my own eyes.

I interviewed a 15-year-old boy

at a police station.

He was wounded.

His brother had been murdered in front of him.

- I don't know your name or where you are from,

but you have no reason to be at a police station.

They are doing their work.

We want other countries to respect Chile's internal affairs.

As what they are: internal affairs.

- Is murdering a minor their work? - Let's drop it.

Learn to speak Spanish first, and then you may ask.

- Goodbye.

[dramatic music playing]

- There's nothing more convenient than these left-wing intellectuals.

Did you see his face? They're all the same.

Weak.

Stupid.

Useful for the Marxist campaigns, goddammit.

- Excuse me. - Come in.

- Minister. We have our hands full of applications

for safe conduct and courtesy visas.

The process takes time. It's complicated with one secretary.

- We're living in austerity, Castillo.

Forget about the second secretary.

Take all the time you need.

Just check every case carefully.

- The embassies are getting full of people. And it's getting worse.

- That's why we chose someone experienced like you.

- Just follow the protocol strictly.

And the most important thing. Don't let the communists escape.

Much less the ordinary criminals.

- They are the easiest to find.

The biggest criminals are not in high positions.

- Postpone them as much as you can.

[dramatic music playing]

- Excuse me.

[siren blaring]

[phone ringing]

- Lysa Brotherus. - Määttänen.

So glad you answered. Is Tapani there?

- He's unavailable right now. - What's our position in the coup?

What will Finland do?

Everything we see here raises so many questions.

- I can't comment on that. We only have our own narrow point of view.

- Yeah. Finnish people are in shock. They want to know.

- We're all in shock.

The chargé d'affaires will answer your questions

- as soon as he's available. - Are you getting refugees?

Can we set up an interview at your house? Right now?

- Mr. Määttänen. Can you call back later?

[indistinct chatter]

- We have to give an interview.

Määttänen suspects we're hiding refugees.

The whole Finland wants to know what's going on in Chile.

- I know. But it's not just Määttänen, who is coming here.

- A parliamentary delegation as well. - Members of the parliament?

- Yes. From all parties.

I'll get some wine.

[indistinct chatter]

- The Soviet Union didn't abandon Vietnam, and they won't abandon us.

- Altamirano said that people will defend themselves with stones.

- What good are rocks against bombers?

You saw it yourself. It's a flawless operation.

- Only international pressure will end this shit.

- It's the only way the army will agree to an election.

- Fuck the elections. The only way out of this is to fight.

- We don't have any weapons.

- If Määttänen can't come here, he'll write an article anyway.

And our guests will become cannon fodder.

- A barbecue.

- What?

- Let's have a barbecue. We'll invite journalists and politicians,

but we'll keep them in the garden.

They'll go back to their hotels

when we say that the curfew starts.

- Soldiers! - Put it down, you bastard.

- Relax. Put the gun down. He saved me.

- Listen... - Eliana?

- You are here too.

- Listen. Don't hit the comrade. He saved me.

- Let him go. She's Eliana Aguilera, a deputy. Trust her.

- He was sent to kill me, but he saved me.

That's why I took him with me.

- I don't even know what's going on. I would never shoot a woman.

- No one. - You won't have to shoot anyone.

- You can stay here.

- Okay. Let's all go inside.

Please.

- No way.

We have to get rid of this.

[dramatic music playing]

- I hope you are doing well, sir.

- How are you? - I'm glad to see you again.

- Seems like business is up and running again.

There it is.

- Do you have meat?

Something for you...

How marvelous.

- Come here, little Pepe.

For you. Let it grow.

- Thank you.

[pop music playing]

- Sir...

- What do you have there, sir? - This?

It's a political refugee.

- There you go. Thank you. - That's plenty of meat.

- I think we'll be fine. - Yup.

Oh... Did I mention that this is a really crappy idea?

- You did. - Yeah...

- I'm sorry. I just came to get my book.

- Do you like my room? - Yes, a lot.

Thank you for letting me use it.

- The bed is a bit too small for you. - A bit.

- Does the radio work? - Would you like to listen to it?

[radio static]

- We have sad news.

Pablo Neruda has died of cancer at the Santa María clinic.

- Are you feeling well?

[dramatic music playing]

- They finally silenced him.

- I'm so sorry.

- Come in.

- Do you have everything you need?

- We'll be fine. Don't worry about it.

- The guests will arrive soon.

- I'll take the kids to Pati.

[indistinct chatter]

- All right, hello there. Come in.

- Thank you. - Welcome.

Take a glass. Welcome.

- Hello, I'm Leena Jaamala. Nice to meet you.

- Hello. - Hello.

- All right...

Welcome.

- Welcome. - Thank you.

- This is really good.

- Is it local? - It's from those mountains.

[dramatic music playing]

- Oh, my. This smells so good.

- You can start eating the main course. - Yes. Bon appétit.

- You've got plenty of beef, I see.

- I'm glad we do. - There's food in the shops again.

- Listen. In Finland, there's this popular thing called solidarity.

Even the president has condemned the junta's actions. Thank you.

- When did he say so? - At a promotional event in Turku.

- Okay.

- But are Kekkonen's ministers and diplomats as solid as he is?

Or do the big shots in the Foreign Office agree with the Chilean junta?

- What exactly are you trying to say?

- Be honest, have you had any asylum seekers here?

- Finland doesn't recognize the right of asylum.

- Not on paper.

But in practice?

- I'll let you know if the practice changes.

- Osmo, you like music. - Well, it runs in the family.

- But it's really great to hear some local music. Thank you.

- Where's the bathroom? - I'll show you.

[Latin music playing]

- No! Not there.

- You could've shown me around. - I thought you needed to go.

- You have a beautiful home, Lysa. - Thank you.

- I'm sure you've received asylum seekers. Are they here somewhere?

- Our daughter has a fever. We should let her rest, okay?

Go on, use the bathroom.

- I get you, Brotherus. You're between a rock and a hard place.

I'd like to help these people too.

- We do what we can. - Indeed.

- Come on. - What?

- "What?" The Finnish foreign policy.

People pretend to be indignant, and the president passes judgment.

But does anyone do anything? Does anyone have the guts to act?

People are totally blind to what's going on in this country.

The working class has taken up arms!

They defend Allende's ideals with their lives.

And what's going on in the embassy?

- People eat roast and drink wine. - Okay, calm down.

- Osmo, I'm not finished. - I see.

- You should all be ashamed.

Shame on you!

Bravery and solidarity,

they are nowhere to be seen. They're somewhere else.

Where? I'll tell you. Among the Swedes.

The Swedes are civilized folk. They have the guts.

Is it so, Tapani, that you just don't have the balls to help?

- You've got no idea! - Okay, let's chill out.

- This is what you're good at.

Dinner parties, day in, day out.

When push comes to shove, what does Finland do? Throws a party!

Meanwhile people are getting killed on the other side of the fence.

- They are shooting women and children. - Enough.

Will you make it to the hotel, or shall we walk you?

- Finland takes care of its boys.

- That's enough. - All right, I'll go!

- I think we have to go. We'll take Sakari to bed.

- Thanks. And sorry.

[dramatic music playing]

- They were born when a rough fist of dead woodcutters and miners

gave a countless life to clean the crooked cathedral,

the deranged grain,

the filament that tangled our avid plains.

- I'm going to the funeral. - That's impossible.

- Neruda would have wanted me there.

- All kinds of manifests of the public opinion are forbidden.

Including all public gatherings.

I'm sure the army will prohibit the funeral.

- The army wants to humiliate the name that everybody adores.

- I wrote a few words that I'd like to dedicate to him at his funeral.

I need to return this book to him.

Neruda hated it when people didn't return his things.

- You are an easy target.

One of the most wanted people.

They keep announcing your name in the radio.

They'll catch you for sure. And then what?

Everyone who goes to the funeral becomes a target for the junta.

I don't recommend it at all.

- Aren't you going, Mr. Ambassador?

- His country won't honor the poet.

[dramatic music playing]

- All of us want to say goodbye to the poet, but Tapani is right.

- What'll happen to us if you get caught?

- This is a very old recipe. Rodrigo loves it.

- Isn't it good?

Look, Ricardo. It's your birthday cake.

- He should have arrived by now.

- Yes.

- Happy birthday, my sweetheart.

[knocks on door]

- He's here.

- I need to get in and find out where my husband, Rodrigo Sandoval is.

- We don't give any names. - I'm a foreigner. Tell me.

- You should choose your company better.

Please go away.

- You hear shooting all day.

They're killing people in there.

- Rodrigo! Rodrigo Sandoval!

Rodrigo!

[dramatic music playing]

- Excuse us. A Finnish diplomat.

Finnish diplomat.

We have a meeting with Commander Espinoza.

- Wait here.

- Listen. You are wasting your time and mine.

This is a big place.

Therefore I have a great responsibility.

- Do you have foreigners here?

- They are a part of an official, ongoing investigation.

I can't give you any details.

Look. Some of the prisoners have false names.

Prisoners who don't want to speak. So we know nothing.

That's all.

- I'd like to see a list of the prisoners.

- People are coming and going.

We don't have an official number yet.

- Can't we visit the prisoners? - No, sir.

- The husband of this Finnish lady has been arrested.

The Finnish Foreign Minister needs to know

where he is and why he has been arrested.

Personally this is a very important matter to me.

And I'll make sure that I find him

and that you tell me where he is and how is he doing

before it's too late.

- Is he a communist? - He's the husband of this woman.

Could you please tell me now if he's here?

- His name is Sandoval, right?

- He's here. - Is he alive?

- He's under investigation.

- That'll be all. I'll go to eat now. - Seija, let's go.

[indistinct chatter]

- Wait. Hey!

- Calm down. - Turn away, bastard.

- Hey.

Help me please.

My name is Pablo Pino. Tell my family that I'm fine.

- Please tell my family that I'm fine!

- Get out of here!

[car door shuts]

- We need a list of all the residents in the embassy.

- Okay. I can do it.

- I need it now. - No problem.

- I'll take it to the Protocol Section of the Ministry as required.

Tomorrow I'll hand it to the Chief of Protocol, Tobías Castillo.

Or to Minister Huerta.

[indistinct chatter]

- Is it correct? Thanks.

[dramatic music playing]

- They didn't even respect the embassy sign.

- In your embassy? - Cuban.

Half of the buildings have been vandalized

by civilians, the police, and the army.

Harassment, gunfire.

Those who go inside are threatened.

- I've been thinking...

If you need help, I'm ready to do it.

We've already housed some refugees,

but it feels like we should do more.

- Way to go! That's what I wanted to hear.

- Excellent! - Okay.

- What happens next? - First we try to get exit visas

for as many people as possible.

Airports are not safe,

so we have to escort them all the way.

One of my protégés was thrown out of a plane the other day.

- People are starting to gather. - Yes.

Did you know that I was the last person to see him alive?

- Neruda?

- It's going to be a tough day.

So keep your passport close by.

- Shall we? - Yeah.

- Let's be cautious. We haven't been invited. It's the Interior Ministry.

- I know. - That's the reason why

no one has asked our opinion about the funeral.

- I'm aware of it.

[dramatic music playing]

- There are a lot of family members and press on the streets.

- Yes, Minister. More and more people are joining the procession.

We have soldiers along the whole route.

Tell him that this is the best moment to intervene.

- We are all set and waiting for your authorization. - No.

There are lot of people and photographers.

- Shall we just wait that they'll start the resistance?

- Comrade Pablo Neruda! - Present!

- What shall we do now?

- We keep going. Take out your passport.

- Comrade Pablo Neruda! - Present now and forever!

- Comrade Salvador Allende! - Present now and forever!

- Comrade Pablo Neruda! - Present now and forever!

- Colonel. Lots of people are gathering in big groups and shouting slogans.

- The press is around, right? - All over the place.

- Are they filming? - Yes, sir. Foreign cameramen.

- Let them have their funeral.

- Minister Huerta suggests that we do nothing.

- Comrade Pablo Neruda! - Present now and forever!

- Comrade Salvador Allende! - Present now and forever!

- Once we get through the gate, we're safe.

- No.

I didn't mean we do nothing. Let me talk to him.

It's an opportunity to show to the world

that Chile respects people and peace.

A person who claims otherwise is wrong and lies.

- Santiago de Chile. 25 September 1973.

To the head of department, Mr. Tuomi.

Because temporary guests were allowed,

some people remained under my protection.

It turned out the Chilean government could not guarantee

their safe conduct to a country,

which would accept Chilean refugees.

So we had to keep them safe.

- This means they'll accuse you of breaking the protocol.

And we'll be replaced by someone who can follow the rules.

- Yeah, except...

No.

I sent it in second-class mail.

No one will get it tomorrow.

- But it can take a couple of months.

- Exactly. And we'll find a solution before that.

[dramatic music playing]

- I don’t sing for the love of singing,

my voice doesn’t sound beautiful.

I listen to the language of the guitar,

I follow its heart, its mind.

It has a heart of earth,

and the wings of a dove.

Its chords are like holy water,

blessing my sorrow and grief.

My song has found a purpose

as Violeta would say.

Guitar hard at work,

shining and smelling of spring.

[dramatic music playing]