Original subtitles

Here's your father's death certificate.

Edward James Parker,

died on November 19, 2016,

in Real de Catorce.

The cause of death was cardiac arrest.

Would you sign here, please?

Nice.

Good choice.

My name is Rubén.

Yes, I understand you.

Yes.

Look.

The process begins with sows like this one; they are fatter.

They are meatier; have more fat.

They're fuller. The skinny ones are no good for slaughter.

This one is pretty good also.

We stab them in the heart with an 11-inch knife.

They suffer less.

This is where we do it. We take them inside,

and that's where we kill them.

Usually, we put them on a table to skin them.

'Lupito? yes?

Bring that sow over here, and give these some more water.

Yes.

We skin them.

We extract all the cuts, loin, legs, ribs,

carefully, so they don't get contaminated

by the intestines.

The gall bladder is what makes the meat bitter.

We do it carefully so that won't happen.

Then we take the meat to the butcher in town,

and that's where our part of the process ends.

Mr. Jose'?

- Morning. - Good morning.

- Welcome. - Thank you.

What language do you speak?

A dye factory?

You mean the Russian lady?

There was this Russian lady,

who lived here with her daughter many years ago.

No, no. She was Russian, I'm certain.

I heard her speaking Russian with her daughter

No, it was a long time ago.

My memory's not so good anymore.

There was a man who lived with her.

They were together for a long time.

He didn't work.

He went from one place to the other, like a drifter.

She was beautiful.

Beautiful...

but very sad.

Want some beef?

- For me? - Yes.

Thank you.

My hearing's not so good.

For 20 points. Which is the capital city closest to the equator?

Quito.

Quito, capital of Ecuador.

Next question.

Up to 2012, how many countries were part of NATO?

- Twenty eight. - Twenty four.

Wrong.

They are twenty eight.

How many feet above sea level is France's

Mount Aigoual Meteorological Observatory?

Five thousand one-hundred and forty-one.

Five thousand one-hundred and forty-one.

You're as smart as your father

Do you know Steven Spielberg?

"Saving Private Ryan".

I'm sorry.

I don't know how I can help you.

You could try the Mayor's office, if he's in.

No, not yet.

I became a priest in 1992.

My predecessor

would've held that position at the time.

Afterwards, he moved to another state, but he died in 1999.

- Is that so? - Yes.

Well...

it might be only half.

That is still fifty million people.

This is not California.

The population has multiplied fivefold

in the state of San Luis Potosi since 1910.

We should look elsewhere

to find out what draws people away from the Church.

What lures people away

from a life of morality and devotion.

There are many answers to that.

Religion is not redundant.

God's love is omnipresent.

People don't listen to His voice anymore.

He speaks to people's hearts, but people won't listen.

Hatred and envy for material goods

runs rife in men's souls.

There are many addictions.

God's love knocks on the door of men's souls.

It is up to them to let Him in.

Likel said...

you're more likely to find this woman's daughter

by inquiring at the Mayor's office.

You can find out all you need to know about this village there.

What exactly is that?

Of course.

Hey.

Want a beer?

Take it.

Thank you.

Lemme see.

No luck, either of you.

Hey, mister.

Is this yours?

Good afternoon.

Something for headaches?

Sure, here you go.

Ninety-five.

How much is this?

A thousand pesos.

I'll take it.

A thousand pesos.

You can pass now.

What?

All set?

- D'you have a smoke? - Yes.

Let's g0!

Which one do you think was the most corrupt?

The fourth one.

Agapko Baranda Caters.

Agapiro...

Alright.

That's him, right?

Most probably.

Hello.

Good day.

- How are you? - It's a pleasure.

- Nice meeting you. Welcome.

- Thank you. - Everything okay?

Yes, fine, thank you.

I only have ten minutes.

They tell me you're shooting a film here.

- Right. - It's actually a documentary.

Right, a documentary.

I don't get it.

We've been shooting for two months in the Gulf of Mexico,

and we're here to finish the documentary.

But...

why here? We're in the desert.

We're dealing with extreme environments.

It's a story of opposites, that's why we're here.

So you're doing a film about this town?

No, we're not.

We're trying to come up with some structural principles

that'll give us the opportunity of having more...

Freedom.

Yes, more freedom, more autonomy from any preconceived formality.

It's something like structured chaos.

So you're sure you're not making a movie.

Well, yes, but it's not fiction. It's a documentary.

What we do is portray reality as it happens.

I don't know if you'll find anything here, though.

We will. Don't worry about that.

Alright.

You know? There's a magnet factory here.

It's abandoned.

Do you wear digital watches?

Digital watches don't work here.

The factory-- it's an old factory, but...

We're only staying here for ten days. I don't think...

It also affects mobile phones.

Samsungs, Blackberries...

The factory affects digital watches.

By the way, there's someone here who's like you.

Like us? A filmmaker, you mean?

No, he's a musician.

A com poser.

- Mexican? - No.

American.

He doesn't speak Spanish.

He has this machine...

that translates for him...

He has an earpiece that...

helps him hear things better

- Get it? - Yes, yes.

- Convenient. - Sure.

- So are we all set? - Yes.

Thank you very much.

Did you know there was no Gulf of Mexico a million years ago?

You could walk to Miami.

- Is that so? - Yes, it is.

- Thanks for everything. - Have a good one.

See you around.

- Ready to go? - Yeah.

See that Allende? He looks like a little monkey.

Very ugly, though.

Well, it's a monkey.

Stop right there, ma'am.

Keep rolling, keep rolling.

Hello, ma'am. How're you doing?

I'm fine.

Would you do me a favor?

We're doing a documentary.

Could you walk up again, without looking at the camera?

Act naturally, like you just did.

Alright.

Would you take a few steps back?

Thank you.

Cut, cut.

Very good.

Thank you, ma'am. Have a nice day.

Wanna see?

She glanced at the camera, didn't she?

What?

- She looked. - She did fine.

Was she looking at the camera?

Yeah, but... it came out nice.

Show me.

- Good afternoon. - Good afternoon.

- Are you the owner? - No, he is. Ruben

- Come on in. - Hello.

- How're you? - I'm, fine.

Nice meeting you. I'm Daniel.

Hello. I'm Fernanda.

We were wondering if we might interview you

about the work you do here, with the animals.

If you have the time and it's not an inconvenience.

Come on in, please.

Ruben, would you tell us about the slaughtering process?

We start by selecting the fat sows, like that one.

We take them in there, where Lupe is.

We have an 11-inch knife.

Is it a special knife, or is it...?

Yes, it's slimmer, so it goes straight to the heart.

Death is instantaneous.

Do you think we could film in here, maybe one kill?

No. The animals get very upset, they get very stressed.

We could do it very quietly, so they wouldn't notice us.

No. Because besides, you didn't tell me you were shooting a film.

Well, we are, but it's a documentary, not fiction.

It's all the same. You're filming.

Daniel?

We have enough, right?

Alright, cut.

Cut. Cut.

Did you use the zoom?

I asked if you've used the zoom.

Not yet.

Do you know how much we paid for it?

Yes, why?

I dunno, maybe you should use it.

We're going to. That's why we brought it.

Right. Tell Gilles, then.

Are we going to the church tomorrow early?

You want to go early?

Yes, I think it's better.

Okay.

In August 1797,

the temple was already in use,

and mass was celebrated in it.

On 7 September 1800, though,

when the sanctuary was nearly finished,

the dome caved in,

and a woman was buried in the rubble.

Her son interpreted this as a blessing.

- A blessing? - Yes.

Tell me.

How do you put the images and the sound together?

We do that in the editing room.

My question is, how do you connect them?

We use the camera and the mike, and then we sync them together.

Two voices, one hand.

I guess you could say that.

An American composer came by last week.

We talked.

He did something I've never seen before.

What was it?

He spoke to the invisible.

And the invisible replied.

It's down there. I think we have a nice view of the mountain.

Alright.

And right there is where the five streets converge.

It's pretty good, I guess.

It opens up here.

Sorry, ma'am.

No?

Nothing.

No service at all.

We're ready.

Let's move.

- Peanuts? - No, thanks.

Let's g0!

Coming!

I don't get the thing about the watches.

There are so many things we don't get.

Excuse me!

D'you know what time it is?

I don't speak Spanish.

He's alright, isn't he?

- What did he say? - He's the composer.

I understood that much.

He said we should look him up.

There she is. Let's go.

So there's the camera.

We'll be following you. Just act naturally, though.

Which way are you going?

Fer, just tell them to walk as if we weren't here!

I know, Daniel.

Sorry. You just act naturally. We'll follow you.

Thank you.

We start panning when we get to them. Okay, Gilles?

Yes, sir.

Rolling.

Go ahead, walk naturally.

Gilles?

Gilles, you got that? Gilles?

Yes, I'm getting it.

You got that, Gilles?

Please tell me you did.

Yeah, I did.

Want me to cut?

Wanna see?

The problem is... we have a miracle on tape.

We're sure we saw what actually happened,

but the moment we show it to anyone they're gonna laugh at us.

Miracles and documentaries don't go together.

I get your point...

and we're gonna send the footage to be reviewed,

but we do need to make a decision.

So...

do we forget it and move on?

It would be best for now. We're almost done here, anyway.

- We got nice footage of the Gulf. - Yes.

We can go through it together, decide what's best.

Let's do that, then.

Did you book the place for later?

There we are, perfect.

What do you think?

Tilt it down a bit.

There we go.

Roll it.

Go on.

We're rolling.

Fucking shit!

What's wrong?

It switched off.

How come?

This shit got switched off.

Did you charge the batteries?

They were charging all night.

Come on, Gilles.

It's this place.

What place?

Do you think she's alone?

Why don't you go and ask her?

What should I say?

Tell her you're a filmmaker.

Then you can fuck her in the bathroom.

What?

I can hardly hear you over the music.

Don't you think the best ideas people come up with, in this world,

through a clever choice of images and words,

belong to everyone once they go public?

In theory, yes, but not in practice,

which is why copyright laws were invented, right?

No. Copyright laws were invented to protect ideas that make money.

Like this piece by Beethoven...

The disco mix.

I don't think Beethoven wanted it played in a place like this.

Who knows?

Perhaps he'd be here, dancing, we'll never know.

Shaking his mane...

No, my point is...

I believe your documentary has notions

anyone could've come up with.

You're just presenting them in a... more formal way.

Don't you find it strange?

I don't know. It's not what I set out to do when we started.

Told you a million times already.

I just wanted to film real life as it happened.

No, no, no.

- Do you believe in miracles? - What?

Do you believe in miracles?

Why do you mean?

A guy who wears sunglasses at night should believe in miracles.

I don't know yet.

Here's another idea, Daniel.

Actual and pretend miracles as witnessed by men in sunglasses.

Perhaps we should look for that.

A pretend miracle that anyone might believe in.

I thought we had that already.

50...?

Here's another idea.

It's not very original, but it's definitely mine.

Had it just now.