Original subtitles

Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.

How can a man spend his life loving God,

and then betray him?

Go on with your confession.

It began on the Rio Negro ten years ago.

I journeyed with my guide and translator, Raimundo

from the city to San Isabel.

A parish of Wai-Kai Indians scattered over hundreds of miles and one priest.

Father Mahoney.

I was visiting Mahoney on official church business.

A reprimand to a friend I was concerned about.

But I remembered clearly how I felt that day

on the river as we entered the jungle.

How unofficially, like a dreamer

being ferried in a boat into another world.

A mythical realm, for a reason that had yet to be revealed to me.

-Body of Christ. -Amen.

-You're here! -Yes.

-So you got my letter? -Yes.

-And what did you think of my ideas? -Yes.

It's good to see you, Jim.

-Bring my books? -Engineering books, construction manuals, science,

not one religious book.

Have you read any of them?

No, I haven't.

I think God puts her there every day to test me.

The same woman?

No. No, not the same woman.

You never quite get used to it though.

Hang on a second.

This is it.

This is the hospital, and this is the schoolhouse here.

It's a fine notion.

Your move.

If you let me start now, I can complete construction before the rains.

Every six months I visit, you always lose.

Is it possible now that you're losing to me on purpose, Father?

It's been almost a year and a half since you were here.

Jim...

You haven't come here to give me your blessings, have you?

Yes...

And no.

There are brilliant ideas in your letter,

and this... This is very interesting.

Jim, everyone has dreams like this in this place.

But that's not why you're here.

Salvation. We are seekers of the soul.

"He who gives to one of the least of these..."

All I give here is the host.

There's not enough need here in Santa Isabel.

If I were going to build something, it would be in the city.

That's not to say the church someday wouldn't fund

something like this, but it's too soon!

King me.

- It's your move.

Hear my prayers, Jim.

I felt that I had failed Mahoney.

There was heaviness in my heart.

I was apprehensive leaving, not knowing when I would see my friend again.

He went up river in a canoe.

At the place where the water turns black, a dolphin appeared.

It changes into a beautiful woman.

She lured the priest for her bed.

The woman bore his child and lives at the edge of the black water.

The father lives there?

No, it's just the child and the dolphin,

who changes into a beautiful woman.

But what happened to Mahoney?

They hurt for the love of the dead, Father.

They searched for his spirit but they couldn't find it.

Now he's full of loneliness.

As are all men seduced by the dolphin.

He's dead.

-Do you believe that? -I'm sure.

I felt a terrible sense of loss over Mahoney.

So would the Indians.

After Mahoney disappeared,

gold was discovered in the Serra Pelada.

-Man would start pouring into the jungle.

- Men driven by greed and lust... - What's the matter?

Men who would take advantage of the Indians, and leave in their wake

-misery and suffering.

I can't believe this! You plotted it, though.

Just look at this.

-What's going on? -We're stuck here.

What's going on?

- I can't believe this.

You can't even shoot right.

-A woman. -Where?

-Over there! -I don't see no woman.

Well, I did.

Come on over there, I'll show you.

I told you! I found gold in the jungle!

(WOMAN SHOUTING IN LOCAL LANGUAGE)

Watch out, she's got a spear.

Put that thing down. Oh, I want you, you're beautiful.

-Come on, do as I say.

Grab him! Grab him!

-Get him out of here!

-Get him out of here!

Shoot the bitch, shoot her!

No!

Get rid of him.

They're building a road across the Amazonas

I heard.

The mines bring many, many people now to San Isabel.

-Mahoney's little village has changed. -Yeah.

Do you know, he lives?

Who?

The Dolphin Boy.

The one the fishermen speak of.

Yeah, I've been drunk off and on, Father,

but now it's true!

I hear they've seen him riding a dolphin.

They say it was beautiful.

Dolphins all around him.

They didn't want to get too close because the dolphins protect him.

Where did they see him?

Upriver, where the water turns black.

What could have become of the boy?

In the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit...

Damn.

Hurry, Father! Hurry! Hurry!

They've got him. The Dolphin Boy, Father!

He's in the market place. Hurry!

Attention, everyone!

I want everybody to listen to me.

There lies the boy's father.

Now among us.

The Bogulsai alone guarantees its owner

great powers of women.

Puts a hex on his enemies.

Your Holiness.

It's bad luck to treat a dolphin's so.

You risk your soul.

I saved the boy's life.

He was about to be snapped in two by one of them.

-Take the boy, Raimundo. -Me, Father?

Put the dolphin in the water before it dies!

Mother of God.

I am a poor man.

No, no! No.

Oh, mighty heavenly Father.

You're Mahoney's child.

How's he doing?

Thank you.

Raimundo.

He's the one.

Leave us alone.

I will call you Lazaro.

Because you have risen from the dead.

What am I gonna do with you?

I baptize you, Lazaro.

In the name of the Father...

And of the Son.

And of the Holy Spirit.

No, no, it's all right. You drive.

Lazaro.

Ow!

Lazaro! It's all right.

It's all right.

It's all right. It's all right.

It's all right.

Lazaro, this is Sister Ana.

Hello, Lazaro.

Come.

Sister Ana will take care of you.

Don't be afraid.

Come.

That's it, boy.

I'll come see you soon.

You're a brave little boy.

He's from the jungle, Reverend Marta.

Our misfortune.

He speaks a little Wai-kai.

That doesn't do us much good, does it, Sister Ana?

He seems a very bright boy.

He's a savage.

Bathe him.

Clothe him and cut his hair.

Where will he sleep?

In the quite room.

He took his clothes off.

We have to put them back on him.

I will hold him. You do the rest, Father.

Silence!

Bring them both to me.

I don't know how that thing got under my bed.

Segundo, you're a hopeless little thief.

I was framed.

You've disrupted the order of this entire orphanage.

As God as my witness,

both of you pose a severe threat to us.

There is a solution.

The two of you will be inseparably linked.

And separated from the rest of us.

Segundo will be responsible for Lazaro's initiation into the world of rules,

and decorum, and order.

-Me? No. -Yes.

What if he doesn't learn?

Then you'll be punished.

That's not fair.

For every infraction by either party, Segundo is to be punished.

That is not fair.

Put them both to work.

LUIS: Can I trust you?

Don't worry.

One hour.

We got everything under control, Luis.

You're gonna do a terrific job, Lazaro.

You wanna try this?

This is fun!

I'm telling you, you wanna try, huh?

Yeah. Good.

Good. The whole floor, you got it?

Huh? The whole floor.

I got a lot of beautiful confidence in you, Lazaro.

I trusted you.

So?

For once, I thought you wouldn't mess up.

What're you gonna do, take me to court?

-Where is Lazaro? -I don't know.

-You understand I have to tell Mother? -Yes.

She will find out anyway.

I know.

You're just doing your job, Luis.

You're sorry, huh?

You mean it?

Do you really?

I forgive you.

Say "Thank you."

Come on now, Lazaro, no more jungle talk.

You have to talk like me now. Just say, "Thank you."

"Thank you".

For once, just say, "Thank you".

"Thank you".

Thank you.

Okay, you're welcome. Now, go to sleep.

How is he?

He's made some small progress.

But...

But? What?

I can't really hold any expectations for him, Father.

It is difficult to hold expectations.

I'd like to have a visit with him.

Well, what about the rest of the boys, Father?

I just want to see and be with him.

But why?

I can find the way myself.

Thank you.

As you wish.

And the earth was without form and void.

And darkness was upon the face of the deep.

And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, "Let there be light,

"and there was light".

Thank you, sir.

You are most welcome.

You ever think much about your past, Lazaro?

What do you mean?

-Your life with the dolphins? -No.

Or your parents?

Your mother or father?

I knew your father well.

He was good.

Kind. A gentle man.

With a sharp mind like yours.

Is he dead?

Yes.

Who killed him?

He disappeared.

Someone killed him, probably.

Is that how your mother died, did someone kill her?

-A man. -Do you know who?

No, but whoever it was, he deserves to die.

God teaches forgiveness, Lazaro.

Everyone must look to his heart.

To forgive.

What does that mean, "Forgive"?

That means forget?

Yes, in a way.

I loved Lazaro.

I felt as if that child were my own.

I wondered how he would be when I saw him again.

Welcome.

Welcome to the Alfonso Antonio Lemus.

I am honored, Reverend Mother.

Who are these men?

They're from the newspaper, Reverend Mother.

How can a political candidate avoid them, hmm?

A gift to your orphanage.

You're a very generous patron, Senor Santos.

Pleasure.

I've made tea for us, Senor Santos.

I'm so anxious to see your boys, Reverend Mother.

Shall we, gentlemen? Mother?

I love children.

Go for the goal, Lazaro! Go, go!

Hey, Lazaro.

That was beautiful.

Lazaro?

Lazaro?

What's the matter with you?

Where are you going?

You're running away without me?

That man today.

Yeah, what about him?

He killed my mother.

I'm going to find him.

And then what?

Kill him.

Yeah, right.

You're just gonna walk in there and kill him.

We're orphans.

Ain't that enough trouble?

Hey! Psst!

Wait for me. I'm coming with you.

-No. -Hey.

If you happen to know, this is your buddy Segundo here.

And if you happen to know, buddies stick together.

No!

Yes!

He's run away.

He's what?

He's gone.

Do you know where I can find a man named Santos?

No.

-You done already? -Yes, sir.

Okay.

How much do we have?

Not much?

Father.

Come on, let's go! If he finds us, he is gonna send us back to the orphanage.

Come on!

Vote for Orlando Santos.

That's him.

Vote for Orlando Santos.

Oh, how are you?

-See him? -No.

Ladies and gentlemen.

Could I please have your attention just for a moment?

I ask you only one thing.

To vote for Orlando Santos for governor!

Okay, now we've got him. What do we do?

I am not going to talk a lot

and interrupt our party, your party.

Most of all, I want you to have a good time.

Enjoy yourself!

We'll kill him.

I have been lucky in the mines.

Lazaro?

What're you doing? Lazaro!

No!

-To...

Get him!

Get him!

-Segundo. -Go!

Get him!

Get him!

Do I have to say it? There were two of them.

Where's the other one?

What is your name, friend?

Your name?

You talk.

All right. All right.

Let's be friends.

I could be your friend. I could help you,

if you help me.

Help me find your friend. It's all a misunderstanding.

You know...

You think you're being a good friend.

But you're mistaken. You're mistaken.

You killed Lazaro's mother.

Take him to Serra Pelada.

We're going to avoid any more unpleasantness, especially before my election!

And find me the other boy, now!

You're certain?

These were the same ones who ran away from the orphanage?

-Well, I was taken into the house immediately.

But I was informed that these two boys

had been seen around the neighborhood before.

And I don't think they're yours, Father.

Uh, there's lot to be thankful for there.

-I'm running out of places to look.

Well, don't worry. They'll turn up sooner or later...

When they're hungry.

If I may say, Father.

I think only a man of your position would do this much

for two poor children who have no parents in a country like ours.

Just full of the likes of them.

Thank you for your help, sir.

You know, I was thinking...

-You said one of them is a jungle boy?

Well then, maybe...

He just went back into the jungle.

Remember me at the altar, Father.

I didn't want to believe Santos.

I sensed he was right.

That Lazaro had vanished into the jungle.

Would be an easy enough thing to accomplish.

Everyday trucks left the city,

packed with desperate men and boys,

journeying to the Serra Pelada seeking gold.

With the mines so close to the Rio Negro,

I thought Lazaro would try to find his way back to the jungle.

Over there is Hill Negro.

How far?

Not far.

Order! Order this!

They get paid enough money.

I am tired of discussing this every time!

That's... No, no, no. Tell them that they can't have the day off.

Wake up, wake up!

-Please... -Wake up!

Please let me sleep...

Wake up...

It's nothing.

Get up. Get up! Time for work, get up!

Run! Run, Lazaro!

Run! Run!

Come on.

-Lazaro! -Segundo, let's go!

Come on, come on, have to run!

What's going on?

Let's go!

-What was that? -What?

-That noise! -A bird.

No, that was a very big noise!

Watch out for jaguars, there are many here.

What do we do if we hear one?

Climb a tree.

Oh, man. This is where you hung out when you was a kid?

Shh! Yes.

It's only a monkey.

What'd that old monkey say?

He says the river is near.

Come on, you think I believe that? Monkeys can't talk...

Can they?

I tried to leave the workings of fate to God's will,

but something inside me, something stronger than faith

took me back up the river,

to the spot where it all began.

Hey!

Is this your home?

Dolphin.

Would you do something about your friend?

Nobody can stop me!

What are you doing? What are you doing?

Stop it! Santos!

Santos! Santos!

Lazaro!

You all right?

Help me...

He didn't come up.

I could have saved him.

I hesitated.

He drowned.

God, forgive me.

The boy? You saved the boy?

Segundo returned to the city.

Lazaro remained in the jungle, as he should have been.

But the journey they took together made them friends forever.

Go in peace.

The Indians tell of a legend

of a boy who lives at the place where the water turns black.

They say he is the son of a priest and a beautiful woman

who changes into a dolphin.

They say they see the boy swim with the dolphin and play with them.

They say the dolphin protect him.

They say his spirit is sacred and powerful, and protects the Indians.

It is a happy spirit, full of laughter,

bright and shiny like gold beneath the water surface.

As endless and wise as the river itself.