1
Lesbos island
November 2016
We'll fix you up
so you can go back to sea.
You'll be as beautiful
as the Turkish boats in Simi port.
Come down.
Cut out this naughtiness!
Let's go.
Well, did you find him?
Your mechanic...
has shut up shop.
Odyssea!
Hey, Kakourgos, how's it going?
We need the hoist for Solon.
I'll bring it tonight. I'm avoiding the
taverna, he's always on the ouzo.
I'm sending you to Istanbul.
I know a forge
which can do us a connecting rod.
Never show them the money.
You go there, pay for the part,
and don't bother anyone.
Understood, you little bitch?
Understood...
smelly old man.
You'll check into a one-star hotel
near Kassim Pasha.
The address is in the envelope.
Don't talk to yourself.
They'll think you're cracked.
And they'll be right.
Don't give any dickheads
the come-on, OK?
None of those silly smiles.
- OK.
Don't worry.
Buy me 20 knives too,
from Korcan's shop,
by the Galata Tower.
Why don't you go?
The bank's dogs are circling
Maria's taverna. I have to be here.
They're capable of anything.
And who'd look after the boat? You?
And get some Turkish delight
from Haci Bekir.
Fuck!
Maria?
What?
- Ouzo.
Maria? Ouzo...
Where are you going?
Come here.
Come back with my connecting rod.
On the way back, go to
your granddad's house in Kavala.
Bring all the records,
books and photos. Understood?
Understood.
Smelly old man.
- Off you go.
And don't go out
without knickers!
Like the sun,
she burns us from inside!
For fuck sake!
Now that's French!
Can you put me up?
What are you doing in Istanbul?
Me and my boyfriend were going
to Gaziantep, on the Syrian border,
to volunteer in a health center.
Come on.
Come on.
So what's your name?
Avril.
Where are you from?
The suburbs.
I'm Djam.
I'm Greek.
We'd be better off in a park.
As soon as you fell asleep,
someone'd nick your shoes.
No one'll hassle us up here.
We're free on the roofs.
What's that instrument?
A guitar for Barbie dolls?
It's a baglamadaki.
Is that Turkish music?
It's rebetiko.
A mixture of Greek and Turkish.
It's really old.
We have a rebetiko taverna
in Mytilene. Do you know it?
You don't know Lesbos?
Lesbos...
- No.
Music!
Give her passport back!
This is breaking my back.
It's a piece of steel that weighs
fifteen kilos. Take it out.
Careful with the baglama.
What is this?
A fucking connecting rod.
What's wrong?
Give it to me!
Give it to me!
Give it to me!
Here, five.
- No.
All right?
- No.
Here, this is all I have.
When I give them the money,
shout for the police.
All right?
- Yes.
Five, five,
twenty... forty, OK?
Police!
Oh, God, she screwed us!
From a Russian engine.
- Russian, yes.
He's your uncle?
Five hundred euros.
What are you doing?
What?
How will you pay?
You got some money?
I didn't know I'd have to pay.
- You didn't know?
No, he sort of just look them off me.
You've seen all the gold?
You think he just works for free?
I haggled to get the price down,
and you get a shoe-shine!
I'm sorry.
- Yeah, so am I.
But what do we do?
- I didn't know!
Thank you, thanks for everything.
Stop following me!
You don't owe me
for the clothes and everything.
Stop following me, I said!
Your hair's a mess.
- You reckon?
Like a scarecrow.
Hang on.
I want to come with you.
Why are you always scowling?
What is there for you in Greece?
You were going to the Syrian border.
Go, then!
Money's not hard to find.
- I'm scared.
I don't know where to go.
Fucking hell!
Don't come home with me
I'm too angry
You didn't give me a kiss
I'm mad at you...
What's wrong?
There's something not right
down there.
Can you have a look for me?
No, no...
- Come on, we're both girls!
I can't see for myself.
What a fuss
for a girl from the suburbs!
I'm not making a fuss.
I can't see anything.
You need a trim!
Someones coming, quick!
Djam. What's a connecting rod?
A dildo for a boat.
It moves the pistons,
one up, one down.
One up, one down.
PAZARKULE - Turkish border
Do you have...
a return ticket?
Yes... No.
The truth? No.
You should have a return ticket.
I should have a...?
- Yeah.
Are we in Greece now?
- No.
We're in no man's land.
- In what?
It's not anyone's,
it's neither Greek nor Turkish.
Give it here.
We can walk across
because we have passports.
Lots of refugees
go into Greece on the River Arda,
in inflatable boats at night.
The people smugglers
call it the Silk Road.
You know what, Djam?
I don't give a toss.
About what?
- That he took all my stuff.
KASTANIES - Greek border
No trains. There's a strike.
Can we stay in the waiting room?
No, I'm locking up.
Did the refugees leave that?
That.
They wrote on the walls.
They must have come this way.
Do you speak Arabic?
- I'd like to.
It sounds nice.
Proud of coming from Sham
Freedom
The blood flows in Aleppo
and all over ldlib
Where did you learn French?
In Greece?
I worked in Paris
in my uncle Kakourgos' restaurant.
He's my stepfather,
he was my mum's boyfriend.
But I call him "uncle".
My mum was a great rebetiko singer.
She died in Paris.
Why did you bring that up?
I'm sorry.
Wait.
Wail...
- Go away!
How are you?
- How about you?
Avril... Seray and Panayotis.
- Pleased to meet you, Avril.
The strike brought us together.
- Great, eh?
But what are you doing here?
We're going to Bulgaria,
to a women's music festival.
It's about revolutionary women
this year.
Here, look.
Can I keep it?
- Of course.
Does this girl speak Greek?
Or English?
No, only French.
What does she do?
Is she a musician?
Found her in Istanbul.
She was lost.
Her face reminds me
of women you see in paintings.
She looks like those women
from the time of Louis XVI.
Please, Doctor
My heart needs a cure
For all the pain
Please, Doctor
For all the pain
that this society heaps on me
Give me some hashish
To cure my pain
A remedy for my grief,
against all the barbarity
Drink wine
And smoke weed
Hold on, my heart,
the cure is in the music
Please, Doctor
Please, Doctor
They say the good man
will go to paradise
I'm not so sure
They say the good man
will go to paradise
I'm not so sure
Please, Doctor
My heart needs a cure
For all the pain
For all the pain
that this society heaps on me
I need wine and cannabis
To drive this darkness
from my soul...
Are you coming?
What are you doing?
I'm going to shave it.
No.
- Come on!
Come on, do it.
- No!
Come on.
Quick, I'm cold.
Stop!
- Avril?
No, no!
It's cold.
What do you want, a Brazilian?
No, pointed.
Pointed?
- Yeah.
Can you see anything?
Yeah.
- What?
A mole, I think.
What?
- There..
A mole?
Sexy, eh? Real hot!
I've got a problem with the wheels.
I was about to leave.
All right, then.
- Thanks.
What's that face for?
Look at you!
Something's wrong.
You're not nice.
It's not nice,
what you've done to Kakourgos.
He's waiting by his boat
and you're spending all his money.
You blew it all.
That's not right.
Shit! What are they doing?
Wait!
Stop!
Stop!
Wait!
My baglamadaki.
The connecting rod. He'll kill me!
Oh, no, a nutter!
Don't go!
Please, I need you!
Come back!
Djam!
Djam!
Help me!
Let's go.
I cant, I've got that girl.
My son...
- I have a customer.
Please.
- I can't.
He has to get to hospital.
I've been driving her
all over the place for an hour.
My son...
- Find another.
Start the car, please.
Please, my son's in danger!
Just do this for me.
Tell her to come along.
In you get.
His son has a problem.
Understand?
Stop, stop, please! Stop!
Djam!
- Avril!
Why did you get off the bus?
You got my stuff?
- Yeah, in the boot.
Why's that nutter there?
He was crying
in the middle of the road.
He got in the car.
Come on, please!
Come on, get in!
- Take it easy!
Get in!
You get in too.
- No!
Let go of me!
You don't understand.
All my life...
I've been bent and submissive.
Bury me standing upright!
Pano, look at me.
It's me, your father.
Bury me standing!
- What are you saying?
Bury me standing!
Calm down, son.
Look at me.
Pano, please.
Get out of that hole, son.
Get out of that hole, son.
Please, Pano.
Come on, Pano.
Do it for me.
I want to be buried standing upright.
I've lost everything.
Lost everything.
My family,
my house,
my business...
Everything-
The bank swallowed everything up.
Drove us into the ground.
You're all I have.
You're all I have left.
Please, my son.
Get out of here.
I didn't feed the dog.
I left without feeding the dog.
Toilet?
The bogs? They're that way.
There, and there.
What are you doing?
No, no, no!
Hey, come back!
Open the doors!
I hope your dick shrivels up,
you bastard!
Help!
What are you doing?
- The bastard locked me in.
Where is he?
- Gone for a piss.
Where are the others?
They kept them in, the dad too.
- The dad too?
He was in a bad way.
You see the meter?
You owe me 130 euros.
Do you understand?
Got any money?
- No, I haven't.
Then why did you get a taxi?
- To look for you.
I don't have any money,
I've spent it all.
I'll offer to pay him in kind.
Heads or tails for who goes first.
- First at what?
Shagging him.
Now I know you're mad!
Wait! Avril!
Avril!
Pay me first.
I don't give credit.
You see?
- Yes, yes.
I've blessed it, comrade.
You're insane!
What are you doing?
Where are you going?
This is the way back to Turkey!
What about the money you owe me?
My trousers, my jacket...
My hoodie.
Hang on.
Stop it.
Stop it!
They're mine!
- What are you doing?
I bought you that thong too.
- It's a tanga.
Fuck!
Wait!
You and your pussy!
Can't you talk about something else?
Wait!
Where are we going?
I'm sick of all this walking!
Are you sure we're even in Greece?
You're doing my fucking head in!
I can't take much more!
You're doing my fucking head in!
I can't take much more!
If you don't like it,
Arabia is that way!
We're going
to my granddad's village, Kavala.
How old are you?
- What do you care?
Are you a minor?
- No, I'm not.
Show me your passport.
Why are you following me?
What are you planning?
You're hiding something.
Are you still sulking?
Shall I sing
your favorite song?
Shall I sing
your favorite song?
My daughter,
I'm giving you this world
My daughter,
I'm giving you this world
My daughter,
I'm giving you this world
Take it and cherish it
It's totally mad, it scares me
It's totally mad, it scares me
No, Daddy,
I don't want this world
It's totally mad,
it scares me
No, Daddy,
I don't want this world
No, Daddy,
I don't want this world
My daughter,
it's a wonderful world
My daughter,
it's a wonderful world
My daughter,
it's a wonderful world
For those who know how to take it
For those who know how to take it
No, Daddy, I don't want this world
The world today is so cruel
No, Daddy, I don't want this world
No, Daddy, I don't want this world
The world today is so cruel
My daughter, it's a beautiful world
with its moonlit nights
My daughter, it's a beautiful world
with its moonlit nights
My daughter, it's a beautiful world
with its moonlit nights
And its days of bright sunshine
This world is oppressive,
it suffocates me
This world is oppressive,
it suffocates me
No, Daddy, I don't want this world
This world is oppressive,
it suffocates me
This world is oppressive,
it suffocates me
No, Daddy, I don't want this world!
Wait here for me, OK?
Get out of here , damn dogs! Shoo!
Get up.
Fucking ouzo!
Sober up or the hotel won't take us.
Fucking ouzo!
Clear off!
Stop it.
So many dogs!
- Calm down.
Here.
Was that rubbish there
when we got here?
I don't think so.
We'd like a room.
We're closed
because of the financial crisis.
We're closed
because of the financial crisis.
There are no guests in the hotel.
I've just buried my father
and I haven't slept at all.
I'm so tired,
I have to get some sleep,
If only for two or three hours.
Please.
Please.
No fucking water!
It's cold!
Stupid fucking system!
That is awesome!
It feels so good.
It feels so good.
What are you doing?
I asked you what you're doing!
- I like it when you laugh.
I asked you what you're doing!
- I like it when you laugh.
What the fuck are you doing?
What's wrong, my little pussy cat?
Where are you, pussy cat?
Where are you, pussy cat?
I'm not a lesbian.
- Neither am I.
What is it?
Listen.
Do you remember me?
How are you?
Fine, and you?
- Better, better.
How about an ouzo?
Come on, it's on me.
Let's have a drink.
- OK, let's go.
Let's have a drink.
- OK, let's go.
Give me your bags.
How are you?
- Fine. Sit down.
Giorgos! Bring some glasses.
What are you drinking, ouzo?
- Of course.
How are you?
I'm really pleased to see you.
How are you?
I'm really pleased to see you.
Is your father better?
- He's OK.
He'll be fine with a bit of lime.
He'll be fine with a bit of lime.
We'll all get over it.
Cheers.
Cheers.
I'm going to bid farewell
to my country.
Tomorrow I'm leaving.
Going where?
Norway!
Come and visit if you like.
It's minus fifteen degrees.
Here's to Norway!
Norway, here I come!
Well done, lads!
Come on!
Like this,
We can warm Norway up!
Like this...
We can warm Norway up!
What does it matter to you
where I come from?
Whether I'm from Karadasi
or even Kordelio
You're always asking me
which village I come from
What does it matter to you,
since you don't love me?
Where I come from,
the people know how to love
They know how to mask their sorrow
and have fun!
Pano, where are you going?
Pano.
You've forgotten your cigarettes.
You ever heard of the colonels?
- No.
My granddad worked for them.
They were fascists.
He was in the police.
We'll take anything interesting.
All of this
leaves the taste of blood.
Djam, look.
Cool.
- That was my gran's.
My granddad's grave.
You're pissing
on your granddad's grave?
I piss on those
who ban music and freedom.
That's Kakourgos' boat.
'Aman Doktor'.
That's Kakourgos' boat.
'Aman Doktor'.
It's 18 meters long.
It used to take 80 tourists
around the island.
Since it broke down,
it's been tough.
There are no tourists
any more, anyway.
That's Turkey over there.
There?
- Yeah.
What is it?
Bastards.
Scum.
Thieving bankers.
I'll fuck your mothers!
Men of no honor.
Maria, come here.
Come here, the apple of my eye.
I'm here.
I'm here.
We have to take care of the benches.
We'll put them in Yannis' cellar.
As you like.
Kakourgos!
Come and see this!
The flooring is in a bad way.
Better take care.
It's OK, Solon.
Uncle...
Why did it take you so long?
Everyone was on strike.
No boats, no trains, no buses...
Don't insult my intelligence!
Where's my rod?
I don't have it.
What? You don't you have it?
I was robbed.
At Kassim Pasha's shit hotel.
You told me to go there.
You're dishonest.
You gave me a fright,
you little bitch.
From now on, you little bitch,
you and I can share our underwear!
This is my friend, Avril.
From the suburbs.
Her boyfriend dumped her in Istanbul
and nicked her money.
Lovely!
Solon, where are you?
Come meet Solon,
our island's living memory!
What are you doing there?
Are you watching me?
Clear off!
Where are you going? Stay.
Come and sit down.
Come here.
These are your mother's songs.
These records
have never been outside Greece.
When your mum came to Paris,
she left everything behind.
For all those years,
it was all in your granddads cellar.
She put you on her back
and came to see me.
Well, "came to see me"...
She came.
One day, as I opened the restaurant,
I saw her.
"I'm looking for work.
Are you a Greek restaurant?"
"Yes, it says so."
She said: "I want to work."
I said: "OK, come in."
"As a waitress?"
She said: "Yes, as a waitress."
One day, in the kitchen,
I heard her singing.
My heart just slapped.
I said: "Is that you singing?"
She said: "No...
That's my exile singing."
"It's not me."
She sang the very next evening,
I think.
She sang... Even that first night,
everyone came to hear her.
Everyone.
Armenians, Kurds,
Algerians, who had also fled
from fascism.
Assyrian-Chaldeans...
They all came to see her.
As animals in a burning forest
go towards water,
they came
towards your mother's voice.
Your mother's voice
was their homeland.
They found their own homeland,
their own south.
It was exile
that ate away at her heart.
It was exile that poisoned her life.
That's what killed her, exile.
She used to say...
"I myself wept the ocean
on which I sailed here."
She made a man of me, you know.
She made a man of me.
I sold the restaurant,
and I came here with you, for this.
I brought her with me.
She's here, she's there.
She's there.
Do you understand?
Kakourgos, come and dance with me.
In the mountains of Izmir
And its cold waters
I, Tsakitzis, bandit of honor
With the heart of a lion
Protect the poor...
Hi.
- Hi.
Can I help?
- Yes, thanks.
No. Do the potatoes, if you want.
Where are you from?
- France.
I can hear that. But where?
Chatenay-Malabry,
the Butte Rouge suburb.
Your granddad's a good singer.
- He's my dad.
There are lots of broken boats
on the beach.
That's nothing.
Last year, there were hundreds
arriving every day.
It was like a nightmare.
Avril!
Avril!
Stavros, have you seen my friend?
Not since last night.
Why are you hiding?
When you have faith,
you help others.
When I met you, I was lost.
I don't know why.
But I followed you.
And now I do know why.
What can we do?
Watch them.
And not bow our heads.
Where are you going?
The toilet.
Want to seize my shit too?
Aren't you ashamed
of working for those jackals?
We're just doing our job.
You have no shame!
Look me in the eyes
and say that again!
You've screwed us.
You've stolen all our hope.
I no longer believe in anything.
Liars! Bastards! Motherfuckers!
Now leave!
You understand?
Motherfuckers!
You've dumped us in a world of shit!
Stop it, Djam.
- I don't want to.
I'm never going to stop!
You understand?
Motherfuckers!
Tell your son
there's no hope for him.
Tell him to give up hoping.
Stop now.
I don't want to stop.
Put that gun down, it defiles you.
Stop it!
- What do you want to do with it?
Put it down! We're better than that!
Look at me! Put the gun down!
Put the gun down!
Nothing'll change!
Put it down, please. Put it down.
It's only money. Only money.
They can have the walls.
Who cares about walls?
We'll go on singing,
making music, living together...
We'll go from port to port.
Panayotis, come here.
Take the helm.
- We're heading north, skipper.
- Yes.
We exist, we're here!
We're here.