Original subtitles

[bright music]

[dramatic music]

["Koma Koma" by Radio Slave]

[group laughing]

[electronic dance music]

[music fades out]

[tense music]

[door creaks]

[motor revving]

[door slams]

Hey, black pig!

[men laughing]

Don't be a pussy!

[Man] Don't stress yourself, please.

Hey, go home!

[man grunts]

And take your stupid car with you!

[tense music]

[bottle shatters]

[men shouting]

[men speaking foreign language]

[tense music]

[speaking foreign language]

[tense music]

[doors creaking]

[car horns honking]

[door bangs shut]

[speaking foreign language]

[vehicle horns honking]

[men drilling]

[fan whirring]

[speaking foreign language]

[tense music]

[dramatic music]

[keyboard clacking]

[mobile chimes]

[keyboard clacking]

[tense music]

[people chattering]

[Man] Hi, Mei.

Hi, you all right?

Hi, I'll be there in a minute.

[tense music]

[line ringing]

Hello, this is Qianyi.

Thank you for calling me.

What is this about?

I have a message from your mother.

Your mother here in Guangzhou.

Mei, are you there?

Hello?

I don't know any mother in Guangzhou.

[Qianyi] You were adopted, yes?

Yes.

[Qianyi] I am talking about your mother

who had you adopted.

I am a friend of hers.

What message?

[Qianyi] She needs your help.

What do you mean?

[Qianyi] Her son, your brother, is in trouble.

What brother?

His name is Ajun.

He was born after your adoption.

An African man was killed in the street in my city

and your brother was arrested for the crime.

Arrested and convicted.

I am a journalist for a newspaper here, City News.

I reported on the case

and your brother was not involved.

He was just a witness.

Mei?

Yes?

[Qianyi] Can you come here?

To Guangzhou?

[Qianyi] Yes.

What can I do?

Because you are from England, it will help us.

You can stay in my apartment

and I will get everything you need.

Your mother is desperate to see you.

Is she there?

Is she with you?

No, she is in her home and I am in my apartment.

We have appealed against your brother's sentence.

What is his sentence?

One moment.

Careful.

I can organise everything once you are here.

All you have to do is get your flight and your visa.

But tell no one.

Just tell people you're meeting your mother.

This is most important.

Don't worry, Mei, I will take care of you.

You will be safe, I promise.

I will send you the link to my report on his case,

but it will tell you nothing of what really happened.

We will reveal the truth at the appeal.

Trust me, Mei, please.

You were adopted from the Guangzhou Orphanage

on 16th of April 1992, yes?

Yes.

Your adoption number is 2985, yes?

Yes.

And you have a wax burn mark, right side.

I have a birthmark there.

No, your mother told me it is a burn mark.

She made it before you went into the orphanage,

in order to identify you.

In the hope that she would see you again.

Please read my report.

[computer bleeps]

[Mei sighs]

[siren wailing in distance]

[bicycle whirring]

[gentle music]

Bobby!

Hi!

Mum, Dad?

There you are!

Jim!

Ah, how was your journey?

It was fine.

Oh, you look well.

No, you don't, you don't look well, you look tired.

Mum.

Are you working too hard?

No.

You sure?

Mum, I'm just...

No more than anyone else.

I hope so.

Where's Dad?

Busy with his book.

He's scratching himself again,

which means he's got to an important bit.

Jim, Mei's here!

[Jim] Hello, Mei!

Hi, Dad.

[Jim] Be with you in a moment.

Okay.

Maybe I am a bit tired.

Nice, quiet weekend.

I'll take my bag upstairs.

All right.

What would you like to drink?

Tea, please.

Thank you.

[envelope rustling]

[dramatic music]

[Jim] Hello, Mei.

I'm sorry, sweetheart.

I just reached a point where I couldn't possibly stop.

That's okay.

What's the book?

It's a reinterpretation of the Peloponnesian War.

Oh.

[Mum] In which no publisher

will show the slightest interest.

I'm sure they will, Dad.

[chuckles] It's lovely to see you.

Lovely, lovely, lovely.

My tutor thinks I can get a posting in San Diego,

the astrophysics centre.

Hey!

That would be something.

That certainly would!

He promised to see what he can do for me.

That's marvellous!

Their facilities are amazing.

Oh, congratulations.

And I've had a message from China.

From my birth mother.

Not from her directly,

but from a woman contacting me on her behalf.

Oh, well, that'll be a scam.

No, it's not, Dad.

She wants to see me.

Who does?

Your birth mother?

Yes.

Mei, this has to be a scam.

No, it's not.

There was a scam only last year.

Do you remember?

In the newsletter?

I know, but this isn't.

The woman I spoke to had the day of my adoption

and my adoption number.

Well, people can find that out.

And she asked me if I had a burn mark where I have it.

That's a birthmark, Mei.

She said it's not.

She said it's a burn mark.

That my birth mother had marked me before she abandoned me.

In the hope of...

If she were to ever see me again.

And your birth father?

Do you know anything?

He died 11 years ago.

Apparently.

Oh, that's terrible.

How did she know where to find you?

She already had the day she put me in the orphanage.

And the name the orphanage gave me.

The rest of the information she got from there.

[Mum] And what do you know about her?

She lives in Guangzhou.

That's really all I know.

Did she say why she wants to see you?

Because...

Because, I suppose she's been searching for me.

What you want to do?

Well...

Now that she has made contact...

You want to go and meet her.

Yes, I do.

Well...

I think if you want to meet her,

you should go.

[Mei] Is that all right?

Yes.

Oh, yes.

I won't go if you don't...

We'd already put some money aside for you,

should you ever want to make that journey.

Yes, we did.

Do you want one of us to go with you?

No, she doesn't want one of us chaperoning her around

like a 12 year old.

No, no, of course.

You certainly have our blessing, Mei.

Yes, you do.

You don't have to worry about that.

It's important for you to go.

It was always in our mind for you to do this.

And we must make sure that you get a lovely hotel.

Yes!

We'll be in charge of that.

But you stay in contact.

Yes, because we're going to want to know everything.

Not that we wanted to interfere, of course.

I will call you every day.

Well, here we are.

No more wondering who she might be.

Photos!

Yes, you must take some photographs.

I will.

You sure you're going to be all right, going on your own?

We should call the adoption group.

Good idea, why not?

[Mum] They'll have lots of good advice, Mei.

Okay.

When are you thinking you might want to go?

I've finished my coursework for this term,

so it seems like the best time is now.

[silverware clinks]

Come on.

[gentle music]

[dramatic music]

[driver speaking foreign language]

Thank you.

Thank you.

[dramatic music]

[people chattering and bustling]

Qianyi?

Mei?

Hello.

I am very pleased to meet you.

[speaking foreign language]

Oh, you speak Mandarin?

Only a little.

I've been practising that.

Is this where she lives?

In the village, yes.

Further in.

[crowd chattering]

Is this the first time that you have been here?

My mum and dad brought me here when I was 10,

but I don't remember much.

Most of the city was not built then.

[people chattering]

Almost there.

[flies buzzing]

[baby crying]

Is there any way I can see her before she sees me?

[Qianyi] I don't think that is going to be possible.

Her home is very small.

Okay.

[door bangs shut]

[knocks door gently]

[speaking foreign language]

Take off your shoes.

[Qianyi and Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

I was telling her about where you live in England,

that your home is in your village,

[tea pouring]

that you are studying astronomy.

She's very surprised by that.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

She wants to thank you for coming here and helping her.

We managed to get hold of Ajun's case documents.

She wants you to see them.

These are the statements of the witnesses.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

They all say the same thing,

that your brother killed the African.

Mei?

Is this the only reason why I'm here?

No, it's--

She's not even looking at me.

She feels ashamed.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

Every statement is exactly the same,

the same detail, the same lie.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

You will have to be patient with her.

How many of these are there?

[Qianyi] 15.

15 witnesses?

Yes.

The boy who killed the African, his three friends,

and 11 others.

How is that possible?

[Qianyi and Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

This is Guan Xiaopeng, the real killer.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

And this is his father, Guan Peng.

He owns factories in Dongguan.

He has 70,000 employees and he's a very powerful man.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

This is Guan Peng's brother,

the head of Provincial Security Division,

Guan Xin, another very powerful man.

With men like this, everything is possible.

If a member of the family commits a crime,

they will make sure something is arranged.

Their usual way out is to give money to the family

of the victims so the case never goes to court.

But in this situation,

the Nigerian Embassy demanded an arrest.

And so someone had to be found

to take Guan Xiaopeng's place.

Your brother comes from a poor family

and has no connections,

so he was the obvious choice.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

This is Ajun's confession.

He confessed?

He was forced to confess.

Mentally, physically.

It is quite common.

This is the pronouncement of the court that he is guilty.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

And this is the pronouncement of his sentence to death.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

So what can I do?

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

We can work on a plan,

but first I suggest you get some rest.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

What's she saying?

She's begging you for help

because there's no one to help here here.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

She says the appeal is to be heard

in the Provincial Higher People's Court in three weeks' time

and if she's not successful,

then they will execute her son.

But I don't know what I can do!

What can I do, what can I tell her?

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

What's she saying now?

[Qianyi] She's saying the same as before.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

There is no one else to help her,

there are only three weeks left,

and her son is all that she has in the world.

I don't feel well, I'm sorry.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

We can go if you like.

Yes, please, I'd like to go.

Please, I'm sorry.

I will tell her you're tired from the flight.

Tell her whatever you like, I need to go.

[Liu Ying speaking foreign language]

[door creaks]

Mei!

She's not my mother.

She's not my mother!

She is your mother.

I know she's not because I don't feel it.

There's nothing between us.

She's a stranger to me, just a woman.

Any woman.

Didn't I prove to you that she is your mother?

And even if she is, she doesn't want me.

She's only wanting to get her son out of prison.

She won't even look at me.

She's too ashamed to look at you, Mei.

Then why did she bring me back here?

She didn't ask you to come back, I did.

I looked for you and I found you.

I was hoping that you might have connections.

Me?

Your family in government or in business?

My mother translates Russian novels.

My father writes about Greek history.

What connections do I have?

I'm useless to her.

She doesn't even want me here.

[tense music]

This has been a terrible mistake.

She never wanted me to come back.

[Mum] I don't understand that.

[Jim] Why did she invite you?

Because her son is in prison

and she wants me to get him out.

Her son?

Yes.

You didn't tell us she had a son.

In prison for what?

It was a fight outside a nightclub.

[Jim] But why does she want you there for that?

What can you do?

I don't know.

It's difficult to understand.

It doesn't make sense, Mei.

I know.

I told you, I've made a terrible mistake.

Didn't you say you are an astrophysicist?

Why would she say that?

Well, she's not a lawyer.

I know she's not a lawyer.

I know you know, but they don't.

[Mei] I think I need to come home.

[Mum] We can get you home if you want to come home.

That's easily done.

We can sort all that out.

But what I don't understand, Mei is--

Do you want us to get you a ticket to fly back tomorrow?

Why?

Why you weren't told of this trouble

before you went out there.

I was.

I was asked not to tell anyone.

[Jim] Why the heck not?

[Mei] I don't know.

Who told you not to tell?

That Quini, Quini woman?

[Mei] Qianyi, Dad.

Why would she tell you that?

I don't know, I just...

I'm okay, really, I'm just upset.

[Mum] Mei, what would you like for us to do for you?

[Jim] We can change your ticket.

Would you like us to do that?

It's okay.

Do you want us to come out there to you?

You can't, you need a visa.

Okay, should we get you a contact out there,

someone who can support you?

There's a woman at the adoption group,

do you want me to call her?

And then there's the Consulate, the British Consulate.

No, it's okay.

It's just been very stressful seeing her

and a long day and

I have jet lag.

I have a period.

And it was a mistake to do this.

That's all.

The hotel will change my ticket.

I'll come home and forget this ever happened.

Should we go out there?

[Jim] She did say she was coming home.

We should have been more rigorous.

What else could we have done?

[Mum] Ask more questions.

The Adoption Board encouraged her and off she went.

But of course, you're right.

A brother in prison?

What she mustn't do now is

get involved in anything or anybody

while she's still out there.

[Mum] Did we tell her that?

I don't know, did you?

[Mum] I can't,

I can't remember.

I'll call her.

[mobile beeping]

[mobile ringing]

Yes?

It's Qianyi.

[people chattering]

I was worrying about you.

I'm okay.

Do you want to go out and eat?

I've already eaten.

The photograph she tried to give you.

Would you like to meet your brother before you go?

Ajun?

Yes.

In the prison?

Yes.

Can I do that?

I have got you permission.

It was not easy,

but a friend in the prison service fixed it up for us.

[mobile rings]

Sorry.

Hi, Dad.

Sweetheart, I forgot to tell you.

Very important,

don't get involved in anything or anybody

before you come home.

[Mum] Honey, you can't do anything to help anyone there.

So take your father's advice and come home.

Did you hear that?

Yes.

[Jim] If you start interfering

with the way they do things,

they won't like it.

Yes, Dad.

Bye.

[tense music]

Does he know about me?

Yes, your mother told him.

Since he has been in prison, after we found you.

And?

And he's very excited to learn that he has a sister.

And he's excited to see you.

All you have to do is take this authorization

and give a little money to the guard

taking you to the visiting room.

He's expecting it and it will allow you to speak English.

Don't worry, you'll be fine.

[dramatic music]

That is the Higher People's Court,

where we go for the appeal.

Where they will make a final decision.

[dramatic music]

[car door bangs shut]

[tense music]

[guard speaks foreign language]

[knocks on window]

[tense music]

[door bangs shut]

[tense music]

[door buzzes open]

My sister!

All this way from London!

Shh.

We must speak quietly.

Thank you, thank you.

Cool city.

It is.

The coolest city!

Yes, it is a cool city.

I did not kill the African.

Please.

Sister, help me.

I did not kill him.

I saw your mother and--

[Ajun] Our mother?

You meet her?

Yesterday, yes.

I went to your home.

Do you like her?

Yeah.

She gave me this.

Oh, no!

That is not a cool photo!

[both laugh]

She'll think this is cool.

She does, she loves that photo.

That is funny.

She will be so, so happy that you are here.

Will you tell her that I'm always thinking about her?

Yeah.

What do you study? Chinese?

Astrophysics.

It's the planets

and the night sky.

Space!

Yes!

You look at the stars?

Yes.

My friend Eddie says there is a comet coming

and it will kill everyone.

It will destroy the world.

No, I don't think so.

December the 21st.

That is not how to look at the stars.

When you see the stars in the sky,

you must just look and wonder.

Just wonder and think huge thoughts.

In three weeks,

if no one speaks for me, I will die.

It is another boy who killed the African.

It is not me.

I know.

I'll do everything I can for you.

Thank you.

Sister, thank you.

Speak to Tao, he will tell you what happened.

Speak to who?

My friend, Huang Tao.

Ask him to be a witness in the court for me.

He's my best friend.

Okay, I'll ask him.

I was standing next to him when the African was killed.

I know him all my life, he will tell the truth.

Has he not already made a statement?

No.

Why not?

Because they know he will protect me.

Okay.

And then talk to Eddie, the DJ.

He teaches me everything,

how to wear cool clothes,

how to speak cool English.

He is so the cool man.

[Mei chuckles]

The coolest man in the world!

Has he not made a statement either?

He made a statement,

but he was frightened into telling lies.

I know he wants to tell the truth.

Talk to him.

Okay.

Speak to Sam.

Who's Sam?

Samuel Abulu.

Is he also a witness?

Yes.

Where do I find him?

Little Africa, Baiyun Trading.

All the Africans are there.

Baiyun Trading, okay.

They are my friends.

Chinese don't like them, but they are cool people.

I am the DJ assist,

so I am like African now.

[Mei laughs]

So you will talk to my friends for me?

Yes, of course.

Of course I will.

Thank you, sister.

Thank you.

I feel that you will free me.

I feel it in here.

So when I am free, can I go to London?

Yes.

And you will stay with me.

I want to do that.

I want to be a DJ.

A DJ in London!

You will.

In my cell,

there is a little window at the top.

I can see a star.

Every night, one star.

I can see it.

It is you.

In the night.

Every night.

Looking at me.

Yes. I'm there.

Every night.

[guard speaks in foreign language]

Please, talk to my lawyer.

[guard speaks in foreign language]

Save me from this!

I will.

I'll get you free!

And I'll take you to London.

You'll stay with me and you will DJ

and I will show you the stars in the sky.

[door slams]

[guard speaks in foreign language]

[tense music]

Anyone can see that he's innocent.

Anyone can see that.

This is why I had to find you.

[Mei] I want to see his lawyer.

[tense music]

I have to advise you most strongly

not to get involved with these people.

You didn't see my brother kill Mr. Alozie.

I said what I saw.

Go away from here.

You will need to change the evidence of all the witnesses.

The only chance of success is to be

more ruthless than Guan Peng.

And if your friend out there thinks that--

Good God, please!

Get this evidence

and I will make everything else possible.

We will have your brother free.

[dramatic music]

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