Original subtitles

�Բ���.

Sorry.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

That morning, Xi saw the ugliest person he'd ever come across.

She was as pale as something that had crawled out of a rotting log.

Her hair was quite gruesome...

...long and stringy and white, as if she was very old.

She was very big.

You'd have to dig the whole day to find enough food to feed her.

Go away.

Although it was a hot day, she was wearing skins...

...that looked as if they were made from cobwebs.

She was doing strange and magical things.

It struck him that she must be one of the gods.

He wondered what she was doing on earth.

He was glad he met her. He'd give her the evil thing...

...and go home to his family.

He said tactfully that he didn't need the thing, and she could have it back.

But she was very rude, and she walked away.

-That's a Bushman. How'd he get here? -I don't know. He's rude.

There was another god. He had a fire inside him.

The smoke came out through his mouth and nostrils.

Xi said politely, ''It was kind of you to send us this thing...

...but it made my family unhappy. Please take it. ''

Sorry, no sabe.

Where's the truck?

I'll try and get it down.

There was a peculiar sound, and Xi saw a most amazing animal approaching.

lts legs went around instead of up and down.

And there was a weird-looking god on its back.

He wore blue skin on his head and red on his body.

And hair grew on his face.

What the hell happened? Where have you been?

The funny thing was that they couldn't speak.

They made sounds like monkeys.

-Hi. -What happened? Where's the antichrist?

What the hell did you do that for, huh?

I'll tell you later. Let's get it down.

And the little Bushman? What's he doing in these parts?

I don't know. He was trying to tell me something.

-You speak Bushman? -Yeah.

The hairy one could speak.

He says, ''Thanks for the bottle, but you can have it back.''

I didn't give it to him.

-Well, he don't want the bottle. -Then he'd better throw it away.

The hairy one said, ''We don't want it. You'll have to throw it away yourself. ''

Xi was very disappointed.

It was unfair of the gods to make him throw it off the earth.

ln fact, he began to doubt whether they really were gods.

Get out! Get out! Get out! Get in there.

Get in there! Move it! Move it!

Let's go! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!

Yes, yes, yes. Here comes the great white hunter to the rescue.

Miss Thompson, I presume.

Hello, Steyn. How would you like to travel in style for a change?

Yes, thank you.

How do you open this thing? With a can opener?

Quaint. Milady?

-Thank you very much, Mr. Steyn, for.... -Bye-bye, Steyn.

Goodbye, Miss Thompson.

By the way, I am Jack Hind.

The Reverend's worried. He got to me on the short-wave...

...so I offered to look for you. That was very sweet of me.

-It sure was. -Would you like to sit over there?

Sure.

Thank you, Mr. Steyn.

See you, Steyn. See you, Mpudi.

I don't want to talk about it.

She thinks I'm a lunatic, and I don't blame her.

You know, she asks me what do I do, and I say I collect manure.

I don't tell her I analyse it for my doctoral thesis.

I bet you she thinks I shovel the stuff.

Was it rough?

I'd rather not talk about it.

That rough.

It won't be long now, and your suffering will be over.

When you get there, you'll have to stand there and look beautiful...

...while the whole tribe sings their welcome song at you.

Then you can relax, have a bath and a nice breakfast.

ls it true that when a rhino sees a fire, he stamps it out?

Where did you hear that one? Did Steyn tell you?

Why would he tell you that?

I'd rather not talk about it.

-Here. This'll put hair on your chest. -That's all I need.

She wouldn't believe me about the warthog and the rhinoceros.

-What rhinoceros? -I don't want to talk about it.

So how did this thing get up the tree?

She got stuck in a watape tree and I had to....

You know she's got flowers on her panties?

So that's how this thing got up the tree.

Yes.

Don't I wave or take a bow or something?

No.

Notorious Communist guerrilla leader Sam Boga and his band...

...have crashed through into Botswana.

-They are heading for Mozambique. -Well, how many?

Not even 300.

I told you bastards, don't waste ammunition!

Now we can't even fight back anymore.

All of you switch your guns over from automatic to single-fire.

Anyone withholding information which could lead to their capture--

That's automatic. That's single.

Citizens are warned that Sam Boga is a dangerous person...

...and that he and his gang are well-armed. So it'll be unwise--

And why are you so beautiful?

I'm going to the school to give her these.

You gonna look like that?

-Like what? -Like it's a funeral.

You've gotta smile and tell her she looks good.

How are you an expert on women?

I got seven wives. How many you got?

-Why aren't you at home with them? -I know how to marry them.

-Nobody knows how to live with them. -So, what did you marry them for?

Someday I have to tell you the facts of life.

''And yet we all agree that every plate we break...

...was cracked by Mr. Nobody.

'Tis he who tears our books, who--''

Come in.

Good morning, Mr. Steyn.

Morning, class.

Good morning, Mr. Steyn.

I-- I brought--

Please, just leave it.

I brought you your shoes.

Come in.

Come in.

Shoe.

You don't want to talk about it, huh?

Shame.

The animals looked ridiculous but good to eat...

...and he was hungry.

Suddenly a young boy made chattering noises at Xi.

So he said, ''I shot one of those animals.

It'll go to sleep soon, and then we can eat it. ''

But the boy ran away, maybe to call his family to join in the feast.

There was a weird sound...

...and another of those strange animals with the round legs appeared.

The young boy and a grownup got out of it, and seemed very excited.

Xi said, ''Come, sit down. There's enough meat for all of us. ''

But the man was rude and greedy. He took the whole animal.

He said, ''You have very bad manners.

lf you eat the whole thing, I'll have to shoot another for myself. ''

The man shouted, but he didn't want anything to do...

...with such an uncouth person, so he ignored him.

Suddenly there was a thunderclap.

The animals ran away, and he ran after them. He was very hungry.

Do you speak English?

You are free to remain silent until you have seen your lawyer.

lf you speak now, whatever you say will be taken down as evidence against you.

And why are you so beautiful?

I got to go to court.

What did you do?

The cops were here. They say they caught a little Bushman for stock theft.

They say all he can speak is ''Xixo,'' so they want me to interpret.

Xixo.

Xixo.

They brought Xi into a place with several people.

He smiled at them in greeting, but nobody smiled back.

lnterpreter.

You, Xixo, are hereby charged with wrongfully and unlawfully slaughtering...

...one goat on the 2 1 st of September, 1 980, in Oniamatokwe.

How plead you? Guilty or not guilty?

Mpudi found it difficult to interpret because, in his language...

...there was no word for ''guilty. ''

Finally he asked, ''Did you shoot an animal?''

Xi said, ''Yes, I did, but that man took it. He did not want to share it with me. ''

-Well, what does he plead? -Not guilty.

-They gave him the death sentence. -For killing a goat? No.

Three months in jail, same thing. He gonna die for sure.

He never seen a wall. Now, he got walls all around him.

But didn't you explain to them?

-They said, ''Silence in court.'' -Yeah, but surely they ought to know.

Nobody knows the Bushmen.

Nobody ever goes into the deep Kalahari.

How come you know so much about them?

When Botswana belonged to the British, I hit a policeman for insulting my father.

So I fled, right into the Kalahari.

I died, you know. Dehydration.

Some of those little buggers found me, and buried me.

Only my head stuck out.

For two weeks, they pushed water and food into my mouth.

And when they dug me up, I was nearly white.

Like you.

I lived with them for three years. They're the sweetest little buggers.

He gonna die for sure.

Can I go to Mahadi tomorrow?

You wanna go and see little what's his name?

I want to get him out.

Now, don't do anything silly.

They got to let him out.

Maybe if we explain to them.

-You coming too? -Yes.

Says he's sorry. He try to eat the food tomorrow.

-Has he eaten anything? It's been a week. -No.

Of course we're worried. We can't force-feed him.

-You've got to let him out. -He's got 1 1 weeks to go.

Well, is there no way? Can't we buy him out or something?

Well, if somebody wants to employ him as a convict-labourer.

But he has no experience, no qualifications.

He got qualifications.

He can teach you things about plants and animals.

Yes. We want to employ him as an ecological expert.

He will have to remain in your employ for the full 1 1 weeks.

lf he leaves, we will hunt him down and lock him up for a long time.

Okay, thanks.

We can't put him inside.

No, you're right.

I understand the words, but the meaning....

Talks about a bad thing, an evil thing.

And about the end of the world.

Well, explain to him he has to stay with us for the full 1 1 weeks.

-He doesn't know from weeks. -We'll tell him when it's okay to go.

-Hello, Andrew. Mpudi. -Hello, Jack.

I hear a Bushman's working for you.

Yeah, his name is Xi.

-Are they good trackers? -Best in the world.

Mind if I borrow him?

One of my guests wounded a cougar. My trackers can't find it.

This is where we lost him.

You'll see, he'll find him.

Hey! Hey!

Scram, go away!

Get!

Go away!

-I'm sorry, I didn't realise-- -I don't want to talk about it.

What do you want?

Hurry up. Hurry up. Get them out.

Come on. Get him. Hurry up, man.

You can drop those guns.

Bastard.

You want me to let fly?

Now get out. With your hands up.

Bring out all the kids.

Sergeant, I'm going to walk due east from here to Motambe...

...and I'm taking all these kids with me.

lf I see one truck or one aeroplane or one policeman...

...or one soldier or one person...

...we'll mow these kids down.

-Have you got shortwave in there? -Yes.

Now get on to headquarters, and tell them I want a corridor 1 0 miles wide.

The army and the police better clear out everybody.

And they've got to put down food and water every 20 miles.

And then get the hell out of the way before we get there. Tell them that.

All right, get them into a circle. I want a big circle around me.

Leave the small ones. It's miles to Motambe. They'll never make it.

Okay, now buzz off.

Clear out the people from this end...

...because I want to start marching in two hours.

And I warn you, you better clear out everybody.

Clutch.

Brake. Brake.

Clutch. Clutch!

I'm teaching him to drive. Just for the hell of it.

Nothing else to do around here anyhow.

-Still mooning about the schoolmarm? -Sort of.

I want to move up to Nioko for a few days so we can do a game count.

-How will this get us through the jungle? -We strip it down.

Come on, Xi. Come on!

He don't know from doors.

Stop playing that bloody game.

Okay, it's time. Let's go. Move them.

Come on. Everybody up.

Come on, let's go. Keep them going.

Keep them in a circle around me.

Move them! Don't leave any stragglers.

-Keep your paws to yourself! -Shut up.

Get them into a circle. A circle, a circle!

-Stop yelling at them. -That's not a bloody circle.

-Can't you do anything right? -I can't get them into a circle.

They keep coming up in a square.

Then, make it a square. Let them walk in a square.

Keep them going. Don't let them straggle.

Who says they'll come this way?

He says he wants a corridor 1 0 miles wide.

I'm sorry. We'll have to get out of the way for now until he passes this point.

Where can I find Andrew Steyn?

You'd better warn him too. He's five miles that way.

You turn right at the....

Damn it, I'll come and show you.

Johnny, will you take them to Machadi?

Tell them to sing. Come on, everybody. Sing, sing!

Wouldn't you know?

Now where do we find him?

They left this morning.

Come on!

They went through.

They'll meet up with Boga for sure.

-ls there a way around this? -It's a hell of a long way.

Well, let's go.

Mpudi.

One, two, three, four, five...

...six adult oryx.

He says there are people things down there.

-Where? -Down there.

Army truck. Unloading something.

I wonder what they're up to.

Looks like food. Cooking pots and stuff.

Maybe it's a picnic.

Funny. They're going away.

-They went away and left their stuff. -Yeah, funny.

Oh, well.

One, two, three, four, five, six....

You've got to let them rest.

The smaller ones can't keep up.

They can rest when they get to the food.

-You're driving them too hard. -It's a long way to Motambe.

You said 20 miles. They can't walk 20 miles without eating.

Halt!

Look at that!

I told you, stop playing that bloody game!

You've got to let the little ones turn back.

Nobody turns back.

Next thing, everybody's gonna get sore feet.

Next one drops out, I shoot him!

You, you, help her. lf you got to carry her, carry her.

lf I catch you playing again, by God....

March!

They can't march 20 miles. They're not soldiers!

lf they want to eat, they'd better march 20 miles!

Are you scared it'll spoil your image if you admit you made a mistake?

Halt!

You! Come here!

See that hill over there?

Go to the top, and wave this thing until the army people see you.

Then you go down to them, and tell them Sam Boga made a mistake.

Now I want them to leave food every 1 0 miles.

-Understand? -Yes.

Now, get going. Move!

March!

One ostrich and four, five...

...six, seven, eight--

A lot of children. The food must have been left there for them.

-What the hell? They've got guns. -The kids?

No. There are men down there with guns. It's no picnic.

I think those kids are hostages.

What was that on the news about Sam Boga?

That man said I must go to the top, and I must wave my conga.

So Miss Kate said 20 miles is too much.

-ls she down there? -Yes.

We'll have to immobilise them.

-Are Bushmen good stalkers? -Best in the world.

Let him have a look at them.

All right.

Explain to him that the men with the guns are bad. We have to put them to sleep.

He want to know how did those people get in there?

No, no, they're not....

You explain.

One hour, then we move!

I'm gonna have a snooze.

''Dear Miss Thompson:

Your abductors have been injected with an immobiliser.

When they go to sleep, you must disarm them.''

Tell him he must give her the note only after he's shot all the men.

When he shoots, he must pull back on the thread quickly...

...so the man can think it was a horsefly or a wasp that stung him.

He's fast. It'll work.

He must dip the needle each time.

I can't see the little bugger.

Yeah, I see him.

Now, look at that.

Yeah, he's clever.

Nothing's happening down there.

It takes time.

Who are you?

Some of those guys are down. She'll need help when they wake up.

Hey, wake up, man. You gotta wake up.

Come on, you can't sleep now. Come on.

We need some rope. There's plenty in the Land Rover.

He can fetch it. I didn't teach him for nothing.

Says he don't understand the gears.

-Told him he can drive in any gear. -Let's go!

And you take that one.

And you, that one.

And I'll take--

There's only six. There should be eight.

Maybe they're asleep as well. I don't know.

All right.

I want you to circulate among the children.

Quietly. And tell them that when we grab the guns...

...they must run fast into that crevice behind us and take cover.

Okay? Good.

Ready? Go!

Come on!

No! Get down, get down!

And stay there!

Get back! All of you!

-Hey, watch it! -Sorry.

We've got to outflank them. You go around. I'll keep you covered.

Get back! Get back!

Hurry up!

-You okay? -Yep.

-Who are they shooting at? -I don't know.

Four, five, six.

Two are missing.

This one here, and I heard shots from over there.

Look.

Roll over.

Mpudi, hold him.

What's happened?

Have you got water in there?

Hold these for me.

-Get up. -But what happened, man?

Oh, it's a long story.

What happened to those guys? Are they all dead?

Did you kill them?

They've been immobilised.

Where's Kate and the kids?

They're hiding back there. They can come out now.

Oh, my God. Mpudi.

Keep that guy covered.

Kate! It's okay. You can come out now!

We've got everything under control. You can come out!

-Jack? -Hi there. The marines have landed.

It's okay. You can all come out.

All right, come on. Come on.

You're safe now.

Better collect those men before they wake up. You were right.

-Did you fix him good? -Yeah, get up.

Walk.

Boy, you had a tough time, huh?

Watch out!

Stop fooling around, Steyn.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

It's all right, Steyn. Move.

Milady.

Sergeant, get on the radio and organise some buses to take the kids home.

How come suddenly he the big hero?

We'd better get back to our equipment.

Says thank you, goodbye and hopes you have lots of children.

-Tell him thanks. I'll miss him. -He can't use that.

-I have to-- -Bushmen don't know about money.

-What can I give him? -There's nothing here he can use.

-Bushmen don't need things. -He's gotta take the money. It's the law.

He's going the wrong way. The Kalahari's that way.

Says he got to find the evil thing and get rid of it.

I don't know.

-I'm going to miss the little bugger. -Yeah, me too.

-You gonna look like that forever? -Like what?

Like Jack Hind is better than you.

-No, I'm going to talk to her. -Tell her you were the big hero.

No, I can't do that.

But I do want to talk to her.

I'll tell her....

I'll say, ''Look, Miss Thompson...

...I know you think I'm an idiot...

...but normally I'm quite normal.

It's only when I'm in the presence of a lady that I....

It's really just an interesting psychological phenomenon.

lf a man who is susceptible to a type of para-Freudian syndrome like this...

...encounters a nubile female, what happens?''

I suppose another big word happens.

-Too erudite? -Yeah, whatever that means.

Okay. I'll put it more simply. I'll say:

''Look, Miss Thompson.

Kate. Kate.

It's really only an interesting psychological phenomenon.''

She'll understand that bit. She's a schoolteacher.

I'll say, ''When there's no lady present...

...I can catch an insect without hurting it.''

lf she knew me better, she'd see I'm not a stumblebum.

-All I need is a little practise. lf I-- -Wait for me. You need moral support.

There she is.

You better do your thing before the pupils come.

Yeah.

Morning.

Morning, Miss Thompson.

Morning.

-How are you? -Fine, thanks. How are you?

Fine, thanks, and how are you?

I'm fine, thank you.

Kate...

...I know you think I'm an idiot...

...but I'm not really like that. It's...

...only when I'm around wom--

Around you. I'm sorry.

Normally, I'm quite normal.

But whenever I'm in the presence of a lady...

...my fingers turn into thumbs, my brain switches off.

Watch it!

It's flour.

I noticed.

It's actually--

Actually, it's really only an interesting psychological phenomenon.

Perhaps it's some Freudian syndrome.

When I brought you your shoes, I came to apologise...

...for the stupid things I did when I met you at Mabula.

To explain that I'm not as stupid as that.

But then, of course, I blew it, and I....

So I don't blame you if you think....

But it's really only an interesting psychological....

When you get to know me better, you'll see that I'm not always stumbling.

It's really just an interesting psychological phenomenon.

Yes, you are a very interesting psychological phenomenon.

And I think you're very sweet.

Xi was beginning to think he'd never find the end of the earth.

And one day, suddenly, there it was.