Original subtitles

KANDAHAR

Mohsen MAKHMALBAF

What is your name?

Nafas.

Who are you?

The bride's cousin.

Miss Nafas, you have made up your mind

to go to Afghanistan

I will find you a family who can be trusted

to go with you

If anyone questions you, say that you are

a member of the family,

the wife, or the daughter,

so that no one suspects you

Pay attention, girls...

Today is your last day at school

In Afghanistan, you will not be going to school

There are no schools there

You will have to stay at home

But you mustn't give up hope

If walls are high, the sky is higher still

One day, the world will see your troubles and come to your aid

If it doesn't,

you will have to stand together

Close your eyes. Imagine that you are an ant

If you pretend to be an ant

you can close your eyes

and the house will appear much bigger

Thank you!!

Let's try something

I throw one of them, and I step on it

If there's a noise, I'm dead

I close my eyes and throw the others

One, two, three... Bravo!

Back a bit

Watch my hand

Don't move

Don't move. Watch my hand

Look at me

You see that black head over there?

Yes

For one hundred dollars,

will you make sure she gets to Kandahar safe and sound?

If anyone stops you on the way,

you must say

that she is your fourth wife

Why should I say that? I have two Hazaras wives,

and one Pachtoune My Ouzbeck wife is dead

With a Tadjik wife, I will have married all Afghanistan!

I'm going to take a photo

Don't move. Look at the camera

Put this UNO flag on your car,

it will protect you

Take these dollars

for the journey to Afghanistan

Your photo is in the file

Don't come back for more dollars

Do you understand?

Madam...

The latest news of the eclipse..

The final eclipse of the twentieth Century will take place in two days

It will cross Western lran, Afghanistan

and finish in the lndian subcontinent

It's getting late. Why aren't we going?

Don't you want to eat?

What for? I'm late!

Lower your burga first

It is a matter of honour. We are devout people

No man must see my wife's face

People will ridicule you

if your burga is not worn properly

A burga is not for show

It is a veil, to cover you

To cover you up!

All right, I'll do it,

but I am not really your wife

That is true, you are not,

but what will that matter to scandalmongers?

They will say.. "His wife is improperly dressed"

The burga is not an ornament

My honour is at stake.

Are we going?

I'll call the driver. He's eating

We'll go when he's finished

Tell the women to hurry up

Quickly, it's time to go

Why are you hurrying us, sister.

We'll be going to Kandahar soon enough

I have to be there by tomorrow

Let the girls do their nails

What do you want?

Let go! Let go!

Don't cry! Praise be to God!

Heavens, we thank you!

God is generous. He is great

May he grant you good health!

Thanks be to You for all things!

We have nothing!

God is great and merciful

May he grant you good health!

Thank you, my God!

Silence!

Silence!

What is a sabre?

A weapon which executes God's orders

It severs the thief's hand and the murderer's head

Continue!

Silence!

What is a Kalashnikov?

A semi-automatic weapon

with gunpowder and repeat

It kills the living and destroys those already dead

You are wrong. Start again

A semi-automatic weapon

with gunpowder and repeat action

It kills the living,

destroys their flesh,

and mutilates the bodies of those already dead

Continue!

Silence!

- You are not moving? - My back hurts

Recite the Koran

No. You, go on

Recite it like him

You do not know it

How can that be?

Learn it. You don't know it

You are just copying the rhythm

No, not like that

Like that

No, that's not right. You haven't learnt it. Why?

Recite it properly,

or I will expel you

Your mind is elsewhere

No, not like that. Go and fetch your mother

Continue!

- Mullah! - Yes

Greetings

- Are you well? - Yes, thank you

I am Khak's mother

Why have you expelled him?

If he'd learned his lessons, I wouldn't have expelled him

Help him to learn, Mullah!

Mullah! He works hard!

Don't expel him!

I have suspended him many times

He learns nothing at school. He will never be a Mullah

Send him to work in lran

Finish eating and wash before praying

Khak!

You do not work hard enough to become a Mullah

Go and change

Eat properly, finish the meal correctly

May God bless the Mullah! He has taken my son

Why? He has expelled mine!

My son has no father. He was killed by a mine

We are alone, we have nothing to eat.

My son has nothing to eat either

He has to study. He is too young

He is not old enough to work

You accepted two hundred dollars to take me

and you're leaving me here?

You saw yourself, they took everything

We must return to lran

I have to get to my sister in Kandahar

I have to go back to lran. In Afghanistan, nothing is safe.

Shall I recite the Koran for your dead?

We are the dead. Sing for us

What am I going to do?

Come back to lran with us

Have I come this far just to turn back?

Afghanistan is our homeland. We long to return there

But there is nothing there but famine, suffering and massacre

I must take my family back to lran

And me, what should I do?

You could return with us to lran

If not, go to Kandahar by cart

Shall I recite the Koran for your dead?

Forgive us. Your journey is more perilous than ours

The UNO flag will protect you

Take it, little one.

If you see any dolls, don't touch them

Shall I recite the Koran?

Will you take me to Kandahar?

No. It is too dangerous.

Walk half a day, then go on by cart

- Where are you going? - To Kandahar

- How much for taking you there? - Is it far?

- Three days' journey - I only have two days

Three days if you go slowly, two days if you hurry

One day if you run

I'll run

How much will you pay me?

- How much do you want? - Fifty thousand Afghani

I don't have Afghan money How much in dollars?

Fifty thousand dollars

What are you talking about?

Fifty thousand Afghani makes one dollar.

One dollar is nothing. I want fifty thousand dollars

I'll give you fifty dollars. All right?

Lift your burga, so I can see you

Why do you want to see me?

To make sure it's not a trick

Look at me

- And you, can I trust you? - It's OK

Let's go

- What's your name? - Khak

How do you earn a living?

And you, what do you do?

I am a student. I get paid to study

I earn my living with my voice

What do you mean?

Give me a dollar and I'll show you

I've given you fifty dollars!

That's for being your guide

Take it. Another dollar to hear you sing

OK, I'll sing

- Don't look at me - Why?

I'm shy. I'll sing if you walk in front.

OK

Don't look at me

- Why not? - I'm shy

There are two paths

We have to take the long one

I don't have time. Let's go the short way

Don't be afraid

I'm going the long way

I want to find things to sell so I can give my mother money

Khak! Khak!

Where are you?

I've found a beautiful ring!

A beautiful ring!

I'll sell it for five dollars!

Look how beautiful it is!

You want to buy it?

It matches your eyes!

It matches your eyes!

Only five dollars!

It's beautiful! You want to buy it?

What is your name?

Nafasgul.

Who is sick?

My mother

What's wrong with her?

Stomach ache

Does she throw up her food?

Do you throw up your food?

No.

- Does she go to the toilet a lot? - Do you go to the toilet a lot?

No.

- What has she eaten this morning? - What have you eaten this morning?

She has a stomach ache

Did she eat a heavy meal last night?

- Was your dinner heavy last night? - I didn't eat anything

She was sick, she didn't eat anything

Was she sick yesterday afternoon?

- Were you sick yesterday? - Yes

Has she eaten any spoiled meat?

Have you eaten any spoiled meat?

I was sick yesterday. I didn't eat anything

She was sick, she didn't eat anything.

And yesterday morning?

I was sick, I didn't eat a thing

She was sick, she didn't eat a thing

Tell her to move closer

Open your mouth

Tell her to say "ah"

Cough

Tell her to cough

Tell her to put her eye to the hole

Put your eye to the hole

She is anaemic

- Do you have stomach ache too? - Yes

Since yesterday?

For three days

Here, take this bread

Eat some three times a day. Morning, midday and evening

'Surgery'

- Who is sick? - My sister

What's wrong with her?

It's her stomach

She throws up everything she eats

and keeps going to the toilet

- What has she eaten? - Water and bread

What water?

From the wells

Tell her to drink this

She has a fever

Tell her to move closer

The doctor wants to examine you

Move closer to the hole

It's the dirty water, I'm certain

Tell her to move her ear closer

Tell her to move her mouth closer

These are for you

Nuts. Eat them

Tell her to breathe deeply

Breathe... Iike that...

She is very sick. Tell her to move closer

You are very sick. Move your ear closer

Tell her to breathe deeply

Breathe... deeply

Hello, doctor

- Will you buy my chickens? - If they're healthy

Khak, come here

What do you want?

I have given you fifty dollars

Take another fifty

and go home. I'll go on alone

You won't make it

There are mines and bandits

You're too slow. I'm in a hurry

It's you who's slow. You're sick. I'll go quicker

I am sick, I'm worn out

Go back home

Give me a dollar for the ring

No, you took it from the hand of a corpse

It's clean! The body was clean! Buy it!

- I don't want it. - It's beautiful. Only one dollar

Put it away, I don't want it

Only one dollar

No. Go home

It matches your eyes

Buy it, it's a bargain

I don't want it

Goodbye, then. I'm going

These chickens are diseased. Don't sell them. Don't eat them.

Here, go and buy some bread

- Will you buy the ring? - I already told you, no

It's beautiful, like your eyes. I'll give it to you

I don't want it

Why?

Because it came from a dead body

The skeleton was clean. Here, I'm giving it to you

I don't want it. You took it from a corpse

It was clean. Take it, I'm giving it to you

No

Take it

If you don't want it,

take it for your sister

- I don't want it - Why not? For your sister!

Give it to me and go home

I beg you,

take me to the Red Cross

Take me to the Red Cross

Get in, we can talk

- Where are you going? - To the Red Cross

My wife's legs were blown off by a mine

They gave her a temporary set, for a year

She can't walk with them

Today, I have to change them for a new pair

What misery!

- What's your name? - Hamdallah

- You're a soldier? - No, a farmer

I stepped on a mine

- Does it hurt? - Very badly

- Do you sleep well? - No

We'll give you drugs

You'll have to wait

I've lost my hand. Give me a new hand

Do you walk on your hands?

No, I was going to Kandahar

The ground was full of mines. I wasn't thinking

I touched a mine with my hand

I have no family left. I had four brothers

All blown up by mines, except me

I'm homeless and penniless

I lost my leg. Here, they've given me

two boxes of penicillin, but no leg

They lie to us Always promises

They' don't have enough drugs or legs

I can't get to sleep

I've lost my hand. Please, give me a new hand

We only have legs here

Then give me some legs

What use would they be? You already have legs

We are crossing the desert

There are mines everywhere. It would be good to have some

What happened to you?

I set off a mine on my way to work

I'm in agony

- Your name? - Ebrahim

- What do you do? - I'm a labourer

- How old are you? - Twenty

You'll have to wait

You're here every day

No, only today. Give me a leg

Are you blind? They don't have any. You have two.

We don't make hands here

A mine took my leg, while I was working

Don't touch it! It hurts

I haven't shut my eyes in four months

I haven't come for myself

I can't come every day

At least give me one for my friend. He has no one

His parents are martyrs of the war

I pity him

I lost my legs in my own field

I'm not getting better. No one cares for us here

If you don't have drugs, you can't sleep

My friend has no one

I'll take the legs for him

I swear to you

- I don't believe you - I'm not lying!

If you won't give me any for him

give me some for my mother

She lost both legs I was taking her to the hospital

Ieading her by the arm

She fell to the ground

I stood on a mine, and lost my leg

Try to walk with that

It's agony, even with crutches

- And at night? - Night and day

You have to wait

We have ordered them

Doctor, give me some legs for my mother

She'll have to come herself

She has no legs, she can't come

I don't believe you. Every day it's a new story

I don't come every day

Today is my first time

Give me some legs for her

Follow me

I'll give you a temporary pair

on the condition you don't come back

Do you promise?

Take them

These are no good! You can't walk on these!

Give me a decent pair

Those are the best I have. I don't have any others

No one could walk with those. I want a proper pair

They are for someone else

He's been waiting a year

Give me some proper legs,

I beg you

No. Go on. Now

No. Go on, go!

Does it hurt a lot?

Yes, very badly

Now, or mainly at night?

Day and night

Here, these are for your wife

You must tell her,

if they break, she will have to wait another year

They are enormous!

They're not right for her

They are her size

These are for a man

They have to be sturdy

Your wife has to be able to walk on them

She has to be comfortable on them

Was she comfortable with the temporary ones?

Miss!

They're to big. They're not her size!

My wife has slender legs

- They aren't meant to be elegant - They're heavy

They have to be sturdy so she can walk on them

People have to wait a year to get them,

and you don't want them?

These are for a man, not a woman!

They are to allow her to walk,

not to make her look pretty

Those legs are for a man, not a woman

What are you doing?

I'll take these, they're her size.

What are you doing? They are for someone else!

A woman is coming for them

She has waited a year,

just like your wife

My wife can't walk with a man's legs

What's important is that she can walk at all

Look, miss. These are her size

The others won't do. They're too big

Look, these are the shoes she got married in

They fit these feet, they're the right size

Magda!

Yes

Excuse me, are you going to Kandahar?

No, I've no reason to go there

Look at these shoes. They fit on the feet.

I'll take these

I won't take the others

My wife wouldn't have them. She cries all the time...

Will you buy these legs?

Get in, we'll talk

You want to buy them?

I still have my own, thank God

It's good to have replacements

They belonged to my mother

She has never used them. They're like new

These fields are full of mines, you should have a spare pair

You have to wait a year for them with the Red Cross

I'll let you have them for next-to-nothing

- Are you going to Kandahar? - No

The legs, whose are they?

My mother's. God bless her soul

She was old, bedridden

She never used them

The pennies you give me

will help me bury her

Will you take me to Kandahar?

No, I can't

Why not?

There's a problem. Go with this gentleman

I am a woman on her own

I can't hurt you

Take me to Kandahar

If I go there, people will ask where I lost my hand

If I tell them "At work" they won't believe me

They'll turn me in to the Moudjahedin

They will say.. "What about your head?"

Why won't you help her?

And you?

I'll give you four laks

to take this woman to Kandahar

I can't go there

Buy them for the journey

There's a problem. He can't go with me

You're a coward!

I'm not. Why don't you go?

What if I give you a hundred dollars?

A hundred dollars isn't enough to go there

- You're a coward! - I'm not

- A hundred dollars is nothing. - A hundred and fifty?

I won't go there, even for a hundred and fifty

I'll give you two hundred

- How much? - Two hundred

Two hundred dollars?

I have to think. I'm going to get my things

I'll be right back to take you

Give me four laks for the legs,

then I'll come back and take you to Kandahar

If I don't pay you, you'll come back quicker

Give me the money. You're trying to trick me

Pay me

I'll make sure the road is safe, then I'll take you

- Give me four laks. - When you get back

Give me four laks

Wait here for me

I'm waiting. Hurry up

Don't be scared, it's me

Where have you been?

They're going to a wedding in Kandahar

Hurry up, time's running out

Come on, we'll go with them

Take the four laks. Let's go!

I'm keeping the legs

Something to remember my mother by

Goodbye

If I speak, they will know that I'm a man

Go and tell them we are cousins of the groom

Ask the bride's name, in case we meet a patrol

I'll find out

I am the groom's cousin. What is the bride's name?

I am his cousin. Who are you?

There's some mistake. I am the bride's cousin

What is the groom's name?

His name is Mossafer

The groom's name is Mossafer

We are the bride's cousins

First, she pretends to be

the groom's cousin, then the bride's...

If they question us, we'll say we're married

What's your name?

- Nafas. - I'm Hayat

We'll say we have two children, a boy and a girl

Why are they going that way?

Is that the way to Kandahar?

They're going the wrong way

Ask someone else

I'm taking my sons to lran

If you're going to lran, come with us

No, I'm going to Kandahar

Tell them you're the groom's cousin

Stop!

Sit!

If they ask us say that we're married

- What is your name? - Nafas

I'm Hayat

Be quiet! Don't speak!

Put your baggage on the ground

Stand up!

Search them thoroughly

What is your name?

Search them as well. Look under their burgas

- What is your name? - Burga

- What? - Burga

Go and sit over there

- What is your name? - Zaer

Go and sit over there

What is your name?

Hayat

- What? - Hayat

Go and sit over there

Get rid of your tape recorder

You. You can go

Congratulations on the wedding

The others can go

You, wait here. Search her thoroughly

What is your name?

Nafas

Who are you?

The bride's cousin

With:

Nelofer PAZlRA

Sadou TEYMOURl

Safdar SHODJAl

Mollazaher TEYMOURl

Monica HANKlEVlCH

Zahra SHAFAHl

Assistant directors Mojtaba MlRTAHMASEB

Kaveh MOYlNFAR Hassan SARAJlAN

Director of photography: Ebrahim GHAFOURl

Music: Mohamad-Reza DARVlSHl

A MAKHMALBAF FlLM HOUSE (lran)

and BAC FlLMS (France) production

Scripted, edited and directed by: Mohsen MAKHMALBAF