Original subtitles

Miss!

Miss!

The plane has already been loaded. I have to close the counter.

Just a little longer, please.

I'm sorry, Miss.

I'm not coming.

I'm sorry...

I couldn't answer your call.

No point in talking. It'll only make us feel worse.

- Anyway, safe trip... - Are you okay?

Bracelet?

No, thanks.

Japanese?

Only 15 reals.

My boyfriend went to get food.

Enjoy.

Do you know how to order here?

I'm afraid the kitchen is closed.

I'd like to eat something typical.

Do you know caipirinha?

- Another caipirinha, Edson! - Coming right up.

- Visiting? - Yeah.

- Do you like it here? - Yeah, but I just arrived today.

Can I ask you something?

Should I change something about my look?

I want to be more local.

I hate it to be too visible.

Maybe it's because of my shoes.

Maybe something with more colour.

I feel like I'm the only foreigner on this beach.

- I come from Argentina. - I'm not going that far!

I mean, I am Argentine.

- From Argentina? - You know Argentina?

(Spanish) I speak Spanish.

(Spanish) You speak like an Argentine.

My Spanish teacher was from Argentina.

For her.

I thought it's food.

Good?

- Another one? - I'm good, thanks.

(Spanish) Are you also a tourist?

I live here. I'm a translator.

Translator... Portuguese?

Spanish - German.

(German) German!

'The sea is blue. The sea is vast'.

'In the water a cod swims past'.

(German) 'The sea' 'The sea'

(German) 'More'

More.

M-E-E-R: 'Sea'

- (Spanish) The sea. - The bad.

- No, the 'sea'. - The 'bad'.

- 'Sea' - 'Bad'

Do you believe you really understand the people you are translating?

- It's my job. - But why?

Let's go, Argentine!

Coming!

I think it's good to try

even if it fails sometimes.

I don't want to offend you

but my impression is that

we could hardly understand each other in our own language.

I have a dinner.

It was really nice to meet you.

I'll invite you.

Goodbye!

Hello.

Excuse me.

Hello.

Do you speak Chinese?

- You're not from here? - I'm a tourist.

Here?

What's so strange about being a tourist here?

Very few tourists come here.

Do you like the city?

"I only got here yesterday. I think so.

Do you know where I can buy some pliers?

You won't find any downtown.

Pliers.

Pliers?

Pliers.

Pliers.

I don't need them now.

I'll give them back to you soon.

You sell umbrellas?

The weather seems pretty sunny.

But we're already in the rainy season.

It should rain any day now.

Wait a second.

A gift.

Really?

Thank you!

Hey, Fu Ang! What happened to your smile?

Wait till I'm rich.

Wait till I'm rich!

Check this out.

Nice!

Arrived this week. Let me know if you want some.

You're quite the salesman.

That's what I came for.

People here are so old fashioned.

They don't shop online. They like street shopping.

I only sell umbrellas.

I can advance you a few boxes.

Here always same. Nothing changes.

Not even weather.

In China everything changing.

- Changes. - Changes.

Everything changes all day.

- New building. - Buildings.

The most big roads. Biggest roads.

China change all day.?

Everything, all day.

New building, new shopping mall, new road.

You go home and you don't recognise anything.

Not even big roads.

But you haven't been back to China yet, boss.

It's lunchtime. Let's go.

Okay, just a second.

My phone...

Your homeland.

Your homeland.

- Hello. - Hello.

- I borrowed these pliers. - Okay.

- Wasn't this an umbrella store? - Yeah, why?

- Did the owner move away? - No idea.

Can I buy some postcards?

- Take the whole box. - Really?

They were printed for tourists during some World Cup or the Olympics.

- Thanks! - No worries.

Oi, Fu Ang. Everything here sounds strange.

'Oi' sounds amusing and cold at the same time.

All new words sound cold to me.

I'm glad I'm leaving

and I'll never have to use them again.

I'm leaving you my book.

I hope someone can translate it for you.

And I hope you like it. Xiaoxin.

Sleep with Your Eyes Open

I wanted to remember the last things I saw in Argentina, but I forgot.

I was distracted.

The idea that I could forget my Spanish distracts me.

I arrived last night.

Aunt Lin waited for me at the airport.

She made a dinner for me and I went to sleep.

I got up in the middle of the night

because there was a fire in the building.

Listen up!

Listen up!

The fire is now under control.

We can go home but please do so calmly.

You can take the stairs. Or the elevator if you prefer.

Please do so in an orderly...

I didn't understand anything.

But I had to stay close to my aunt and uncle.

I'll bring you the cart tomorrow.

Does Lin live on this floor?

- What? - Do you know my Aunt Lin?

She lives on the 18th floor. Follow me.

Do you work for her?

Where's Bin?

Back to China. Didn't he tell you?

- Did you find them? - Nano

These come from Guangzhou.

My girlfriend works in Guangzhou.

What brand is that, Leo?

She might have made these dresses.

I hope not. She hates this colour.

It would be torture for her to sew so many green clothes.

These wouldn't sell. We'll just burn them.

This is all to go.

I don't know why your aunt printed these postcards.

Tourists don't ever come here.

- It's not here. - Nope.

21...

19, 18.

The building has 32 floors.

We live on the 18th floor.

I found some postcards of Recife but they're made in China.

Everything that made my aunt rich is from China.

The Brazilians in this building are also rich.

The only ones who are not rich are my aunt's workers.

But they can't wait to become "the boss" themselves.

Where's the beach?

Over there. You can't see it from here.

You can't swim because of the sharks.

I can't swim anyway.

Are you okay, Leo?

I'm fine, boss.

I'm a pro.

I've already been robbed 11 times.

What do I tell your girlfriend the day you get killed?

That you died like a hero?

Don't say that, boss. It's bad luck.

Leo's store was robbed today.

But Leo managed to hide the big banknotes in his pockets.

They couldn't see my hands.

Just like in the movies.

If you carry on like that you'll get rich soon.

Shut the window, damn it!

I just brushed my teeth.

Hey, shut the window!

What are you up to? Wanna get sent home?

Don't drag us down with you.

You think the foreigners want to see your piss-stained underwear?

You're not a fisherman anymore. We're not at sea.

Yang Zong.

Tell me.

How's life treating you these days?

It sucks.

This is no life.

How are your kids?

Same old story.

They eat my wife's food, they shit and they grow.

And you?

I don't shit enough.

I got bitten by some mosquitoes in the garden.

I did not imagine this when I was upstairs.

Suddenly, I had a feeling of déjà-vu.

Mind the sun.

You'll get sunburned.

Take this.

Put this on.

You're not going with the others today

Not going downtown?

I'd like to return this.

- We don't accept returns. - I want my money back.

I want to return it and I want my money.

Thanks.

All these clothes they return. I don't like their smell.

- But we don't accept returns. - You could call the police.

The cops are always on their side.

Do they smell different?

Don't know if it's their hair or something they eat.

Is it their clothes or body odour?

Both.

I've been here for years but I still don't like Brazilian food.

But we hardly ever eat local food.

They put 'farofa' on everything.

They mix it all together.

Everything's mixed together. Lots of tiny things on one plate.

I guess it is different.

Back home we'd eat oyster omelettes a lot.

Kompyang buns.

Guobian soup for breakfast.

Lychee with pork, ribs in wine sauce.

Red vinasse eel, braised fish.

Xiamen Shacha noodles.

Zhangzhou braised noodles, Putian braised noodles.

And Mapo tofu.

That's Sichuan cuisine. But still very tasty.

Do you think I my body odour's changing?

Will I smell normal again when I go back home?

Well...

Stop daydreaming. Back to work.

Of all the new things the least I understand is Carnival.

I don't even know when it began.

It feels like Carnival never ends.

Seen my sunblock?

No.

Are you sure? The sun's so strong.

Where's Jinjin?

Back in China.

Jump in.

She can't swim.

And she doesn't speak Portuguese.

Is she new?

She's Jinjin's cousin. From Argentina.

Argentina! Where in Argentina?

- Buenos Aires. - I've been there on holiday.

Why aren't you at the Carnival?

Carnival? I need a break from all that.

No such thing as a break!

Hi, Xiaoxin.

Hi.

Want a beer?

A toast to Xiaoxin!

- To Xiaoxin! - To Xiaoxin.

Not sure why.

This city's so slow.

These foreigners do everything so slowly it drives me crazy.

Don't you find the Portuguese language slow and confusing?

You think the sentence has finished but then a 'no' comes.

People don't say 'no' until the end.

The products arrived at the port... not.

The products went through customs... not.

I love you...

...not.

Bet I wouldn't recognise anything back home.

China's developing so fast.

New buildings, shopping malls, skyscrapers...

You'd get lost unless you take the main roads.

What if the main roads change too?

When you're rich, you can hire your own driver.

Nice fish!

That's the largest banknote in Brazil.

Fishermen! May you always have fish on your plate!

Where is everyone?

You've all disappeared.

My girlfriend works in Guangzhou.

It's already Monday morning there.

If you married a Brazilian...

My girlfriend's parents want her to marry soon.

- I'm running out of time. - So you should marry a Brazilian.

Think she met someone else?

Idiot. What a stupid question.

You go find a Brazilian.

Go learn Portuguese.

Get your papers in order! Become legal.

Whatever.

How dare you!

Piss off!

Hands off!

What a shame.

Yeah.

It was Leo's last night.

He's going to São Paulo to open his own store.

Leo invited Fu Ang to São Paulo

but Fu Ang wants to stay here.

He thinks a new city would change him into a different person.

All places look the same to me.

And people think we all look the same.

No way!

Go away!

Don't be upset.

Hello.

Hey dudes! Want to come over for a drink?

Just a little bedtime drink in my apartment. Please?

I think he needs help.

Do you need help?

Yes, in my apartment upstairs!

Don't make me lose this bet.

Come on!

I'm not going to sleep.

Want some breakfast?

Nice.

Minimalist.

I like it.

It's not an original, is it?

(Made-up language)

Careful with the fish!

You know kung fu?

A little.

Leo says Brazilians don't like saying 'no'.

But the Chinese never say 'no'.

Not even at the end of a sentence.

The Chinese don't say anything.

Everything's normal and suddenly they're gone.

To another city or another country.

Or back to China.

Move it over.

It's a bit cramped here.

Should we move the sofa over a bit?

Thanks.

It's better here.

Those buildings looked better when they were being built.

Now they all look the same.

Back in Fuzhou, when my parents cooked for the builders

I used to play on the building sites.

I used to babysit you when they went to work.

In the port there are containers with new products.

My aunt is nervous because she can't get them out.

Hey, Argentina!

Looks like you're on a cruise ship.

What?

Looks like you're on a boat.

Want to eat something?

Thanks.

Is she your mother?

But she's like part of the family.

What do your parents do?

My mum's a ceramic artist.

My dad's a criminal defence lawyer.

Criminal?

You know he's your uncle's lawyer, right?

Because of the warehouse they set on fire.

My father says he didn't do it. But of course he'd say that.

My uncle is sick.

Yeah. But this was before.

Luckily, it was only material damages.

You don't think he had anything to do with it?

Do you get paid for your work?

Do you have any documentation?

Like a residence permit or an employment contract?

Lin's my aunt.

You should still ask for it.

If not, what's the difference between you and a slave worker?

I sometimes work in my father's office and I get paid.

- You have a cat? - It was my brother.

What's up?

Nothing. Go back to sleep, Uncle.

Who are you writing to?

No one.

I'm writing a book.

A book?

You?

Why not?

You can read it when I've finished.

What's it about?

About us.

Do you feel your body odour has changed since you left home?

I've lived in so many countries.

Fu Ang's teeth are blacker than before.

My aunt asked him to clean the fish tank.

Actually it's a favour because she thinks that Fu Ang is sad.

She thinks spending time with the fish might distract him.

Maybe his teeth were blackened by sadness.

How's the book coming along?

Good.

What are the photos of?

This city.

Do you like this city?

Want some lychees?

Sure.

Are your parents still in Argentina?

They went back to China with my younger siblings.

Those two new guys...

Have they been paid?

Don't know. Probably not yet.

They don't have a residence permit, do they?

What would happen if they stopped working for my aunt?

I doubt that would happen.

We all work for Lin.

But without a contract.

But she needs us.

You shouldn't be littering like that.

Behaving like a fisherman.

The money ended up scattered in the river

during a federal police operation

looking into corruption at the company Embraplasma,

a large Brazilian biotech company.

Was he trying to bribe the police?

...the CEO of the company has been searched.

While the police searched his apartment

agents waiting outside witnessed a curious scene:

Banknotes falling from the sky.

Shame all that money was lost.

The cops will make good use of it.

The police are still not sure if the money was thrown

from the apartment of the CEO of Embraplasma.

In his apartment

the police also seized nearly 70 works of art

by renowned Brazilian and international artists...

Our building's famous now.

I moved to Brazil six months ago and left China seven years ago.

Now I've lost two countries.

I better keep moving.

Fu Ang gets attached to any place.

It must be because he has many fears.

I would say he collects fears.

But if I had a friend it would be Fu Ang.

Hey.

He...

...closed the store.

He was the last one to leave.

He was pushing a cart to go shopping at the market.

It was full of vegetables for dinner.

The robbers probably thought there was money.

It was just vegetables.

One of the robbers tried to grab the cart.

But Leo wouldn't let go.

So the other robber shot him.

You didn't know?

My phone was stolen.

Your...

In this city

you can't walk around barefoot.

You have to wear a shirt, pants and shoes.

You have to close the windows to enjoy being barefoot.

What am I doing here? I'm just a fisherman.

Bad luck follows me everywhere. No idea why.

Why am I the only one to have bad luck?

I thought in the rainy season people would need umbrellas.

I never thought a city business would depend on the weather.

But in the end we're all the same.

Fishermen, farmers, city folk... It's all the same!

Shut up!

Let me sleep!

Leave him. He's had a bad day.

Excuse me!

Do you know someone called Fu Ang?

- He owned an umbrella store. - Umbrella store? No idea.

I got bitten by some mosquitoes in the garden.

I did not imagine this when I was upstairs.

Hello.

You're back.

Where are the others?

I did something new.

I took a bus to visit the shopping mall.

I went with my aunt before so it felt like returning to a familiar place.

Here there are hardly any places where I've been twice.

Hey, Jap girl.

Hey, Jap girl.

This is the last stop!

End of the line.

This is the mall?

Shopping mall? Centre?

This is the last stop.

Where are you going?

Centre.

The centre of Recife?

We passed that ages ago.

Where?

Centre where?

You want the centre of Recife?

My God.

That bus there goes to the centre of Recife.

The bus. Back to the centre.

- Thanks! - God bless you.

Thank you!

At the end of the day Fu Ang always wants to call a friend in China.

But when it's night here, it's morning there.

And Fu Ang doesn't want to give bad news to anyone in the morning.

There are sharks! Get out!

Come on, Freddy.

Everything okay, Fu Ang?

Everything okay, Edson.

The fish okay?

Let's go.

I returned the pliers.

Thank you.

You went for a swim?

It's dangerous.

Your workmate gave me Xiaoxin's postcards.

I tried to read them with the app on my phone.

But the translation didn't make any sense.

Then my employee stole my phone.

I can translate them for you.

This beach is really beautiful.

A bit boring when you're alone.

I think my body's still in a different time zone.

Where has Xiaoxin gone?

What time is it in your time zone?