First came the trains.
And with them came the settlers,
bringing their towns with them:
Paris, Roma, Barcelona...
and Marseilles.
And they called it their land.
And for us, who'd been there before,
they put us on top of a hill, out of sight.
And they called it Railway
because most of us were working
on the train lines.
When Marseilles was happy,
Railway was fine.
It wasn't much, but it was ours.
But, when the towns started to die...
Paris, Roma...
Marseilles began to worry.
And when Marseilles began to crumble,
they took it out on those closest at hand.
But it wasn't their land.
And some of us were
prepared to fight for it.
What now?
Cockroach.
No, man!
Tau!
I'm just playing with him.
Fuck off, Tau.
Some fighter.
You're shooting stones, Tau?
That's enough.
Let's go.
Tau.
Unathi.
Luyanda.
Bongani.
It's the end of the month.
At the end of the month they come.
We need to keep our heads
to make sure no one gets hurt.
When do we stop fighting with sticks?
They have guns.
If we don't give them something to fear,
they won't fear us.
That's enough!
The minute we cross the line,
they'll cross the line.
What's the matter with you?
What would Mother or Father say?
We'll never know, will we?
Pastor, is this the time for bible study?
The land is all the scripture we need.
It was here before us and it will
be when we're gone.
It's our duty to protect it.
Even from each other.
It's been a long day...
Pastor, do what you do best.
You might have heard this one...
This is a story about five fighters,
and the girls who loved them.
Five friends
who became brothers
with one purpose.
Who made a pact to ride together
until their battle was won.
Zulu, the leader. Fearless.
Lerato, their heart and soul.
Unathi, who they called Pastor,
the storyteller.
With Luyanda, the broken one,
who they called Cockroach.
Fuck off, man.
Bongani, called Pockets,
because he was the rich one.
And Tau, the Lion.
Ruthless, the fastest.
Sometimes, the meanest.
Five fighting for freedom,
while others folded their arms.
Who vowed to stand together,
and maybe fall together, for the
place they called home.
The Five Fingers.
Hello, Father.
Hello, Mom.
Is this what time you come home?
I'm sorry, Jonah.
You, go wash.
Tau.
I need your help.
Here.
Exactly what is your problem?
Sheep on the tracks again.
It's the hardest thing to stop a speeding train.
Once it's on its course,
it'll keep going until it crashes.
Only it knows where it will end.
Done.
It's no game, boy.
Looks like you need some company.
I'm waiting for someone.
Oh yes? Who?
Just some girl I meet sometimes.
Some girl?
Some girl.
Sort of pretty.
Dresses kind of funny.
Likes to sing.
"Tau, my love..."
Come back with me.
I like it better here.
You don't need to watch over us.
Your brother...
Zulu's not strong enough.
He thinks he is, but he's not.
But you are?
I have to be strong.
Do you, Tau?
Thank you, sister.
Next month.
Why don't you just leave us alone?
Feisty.
She'll be something when she is older.
Don't disrespect my ladies.
Please.
That big mouth
is going to get you in trouble one day,
Think you can scare us with eggs?
I'll beat you!
You don't own us.
Give our money back!
Come and get it!
Time to go.
Next time, old man.
Jesus!
Come Vorster! Fuck!
We need to get out of here!
Here comes trouble.
It's a brick!
Fuck. Drive, man!
Do you want us to shoot you?
You fucking shits.
Are you happy now, you little fuckers?
Tau!
We need to think!
Lerato.
Lerato.
You did this, boy.
Drop the gun.
Tau.
Forgive me.
Tau.
What have you done?
Tau.
We need to hide.
Father God
There is a fight coming
I need you to turn your
eyes away from me
until that fight is done.
Things are going to get bad.
Very bad.
No heroes.
Let it go, boy.
Let it go.
The Lion of Marseilles.
Back into the wild.
God help us.
I'm done with this.
And you, Slim?
Will you go back to the city?
...when they see me, they go crazy.
Anywhere I go... you and you and you...
I remember one time they were
pulling me by the ear...
calling, "Oh, brother Thuto..."
"You're a hottie, you drive me crazy."
So I told them, "Wait in line...
I'll attend to you one by one..."
We do whiskey by the bottle.
If I don't want a bottle?
Find somewhere else to drink.
Cough up for a bottle or
choose another drink.
What will it be?
Whiskey. In a glass.
Look,
We don't want any trouble-
Welcome to the Grey Lady.
I'm Grey.
The Lady is out.
Girl.
Why don't you lose those uniform stiffs
and come hang out with us?
Uh uh. Hold up.
You, whores.
Get out.
Out!
You know the rules, Daddy.
What can I do?
Lerato!
What are we supposed to do now?
Play with each other?
If you want it bad enough,
you can get it in the street.
Maybe you join us a little while.
Sing us a little song.
Oh, wait.
She doesn't sing anymore.
It's a shame.
Left a lot of broken hearts around town.
Watch it, little man.
The little man.
Hey!
You pick on a lady then you stab
a drunk in the back?
Who are you, dog?
Fuck off!
I'm Nobody.
Do you know who I am?
No.
No!
Not in my tavern.
Out.
I said get out!
Fuck.
I can see you don't know where you are,
Nobody.
When my boss gets back to town
you'll know exactly who I am.
And he's coming.
There's a person I'm looking for.
I don't think a man like you
will find much to interest him in this town.
Mosemodi?
Zulu.
Who are you?
What are you doing here?
Zulu.
Zulu.
Mosemodi "Zulu"
Father to a son he never knew.
I stand here humbly, because as the
Mayor of New Marseilles,
I have seen hundreds of new homes built.
Investments and growth within in our town.
But I couldn't have done it without you.
Your hard work,
The same spirit that freed Marseilles.
That spirit of sacrifice.
Pockets?
We have security,
thanks to the good work of our police force.
This is not the old Marseilles.
And with the construction of this borehole,
clean water,
for each and every home.
Nobody.
Forward!
Where are you hiding, China?
Hello, I'm here.
Very good.
Please. It's everything I have left.
I called the police.
Please take it.
Our town. Our rules.
Or we'll kill you.
Trouble, Chief?
Fuck off.
Lerato!
What can I say?
You've earned it.
Lerato.
When are you going
to reconsider my offer?
I can get you any house you want.
Bongani, Railway is my home.
Railway is dead.
Not to us.
I'm giving all I have for New Marseilles.
I can't save everyone.
I can save you. You and your father.
You know what the tavern means to him.
And to me.
That's not all dirt, is it?
You've earned it, Bongani.
I'm proud of you.
Cockroach!
Isn't it your job to keep track of who's
coming in and out of town?
That guy was in the old tavern a
couple of nights ago.
Alone.
Keep an eye on him.
Understand, Chief?
They said that he's coming back.
The Ghost.
Let him come.
Fucking cockroach.
This little town has come a long way.
That belonged to my father.
I knew your father.
Were you a fighter? Like him?
You ride well.
I shoot well too.
You shoot men like that?
I shoot thieves when
they come for my sheep.
It's how my father did it.
Hungry?
Tell me,
How did you know my father?
You been in some real fights?
You shouldn't be here.
This is my father's land.
Gonna drive me out, kid?
Sizwe!
Kid.
How did your father die?
His brother killed him.
Sizwe!
Hey.
Here he is.
Hey, you. Dog.
You got balls showing your face in here.
I said, who do you think you are?
Bringing your shit in here again.
I heard.
Wise guy, huh?
If it has the form of a mongrel,
and it growls like a mongrel...
Beware,
it'll break your bones.
You like it in that cage.
Don't forget, you can't keep a ghost out.
Lerato.
Is this gentleman a friend?
May I sit?
A drink for my friend
and find me a
Sesotho beer, Umqombothi.
No marks.
No company.
Plenty of scars.
I can see you're not a gang man.
Not now.
But I know your type.
This is not the city.
There's only one law out here.
The big dog eats the little dog.
You see, I am blessed.
Anointed.
And I'm cursed.
I can be the Devil.
And I can be the Messiah.
I am a peacemaker.
I am a judge.
Perhaps you've heard of me.
They call me Sepoko.
The Ghost.
My associates call
themselves the Night Runners.
This is where you introduce yourself.
Thanks for the drink.
Don't be rude, dog!
Says his name is 'Nobody'.
Nobody is 'Nobody'.
Boss buys a stranger a drink.
Makes polite conversation.
Stranger fucks off without
even giving his name.
That's rude.
I say he's just a brawler.
Playing harder than he is.
Let's make it a game.
A brawl, for the brawler.
That's as far as it goes.
But why, old man?
This is my place.
You can't just do as you please here.
Damn it, Tau!
Do something!
There are stories you hear.
About hard men.
And there's one they tell, about a Lion.
The Lion of Marseilles.
But what would it take
to bring the Lion home,
after so long?
And could he really stand aside
to watch the people he loved get hurt?
A lot of skeletons in this town.
We're going to stay a while.
How could you?
How could you, you bastard?
What did you become?
We weren't kids much longer.
The police would strike,
then the Fingers would strike back.
Violent.
Hard years went by.
The cops set an ambush.
Zulu...
He never even knew his son.
Our son.
If things had been different...
If you had been different.
We lost so much.
I made my peace.
You're leaving?
We're working on that.
Your wife?
Tau...
I never married.
Too busy.
A town doesn't build itself.
To old friends.
Let's eat.
I suppose you want to know.
The police ambushed us.
They had dogs.
Zulu thought we could
lose them along the gorge.
There was an accident.
He fell.
Luyanda "Cockroach" tried
to fight the dogs off.
They took him.
They had him a long time.
They tortured him.
He blamed you.
He came back changed.
We got the bastards in the end.
I started to rebuild.
It's what Zulu would have done.
He'd be Mayor now.
Tau.
I do the best I can.
Change.
Change takes sacrifice.
The Ghost?
You know, I extended
the invitation to Lerato.
I thought it was the right thing to do.
I wanted to look after
her and the boy.
She refused, of course.
I guess they're my responsibility now.
As Zulu's brother.
Surely, you're not staying?
What is there for you here?
Seems everyone's trying to
convince me to move on.
No, friend.
Well, if your mind is made up,
I suppose they are your responsibility.
You going to stand there all day?
You've got the wrong guy.
I'm not interested.
No. I'm a bad man.
Stay away from me.
He's settling in.
Carrying bottles for that old fuck.
The boy and the lady?
They're close.
Moving in on your territory, Mr Mayor.
This horse is going to break me.
Hopeless.
I don't need to ride a horse.
You do if you want to
keep your animals safe.
Speak your mind, kid.
I know all about you.
What do you know?
I know you're just like the cops.
Or any of those guys at the bar.
My dad wouldn't be afraid.
He wouldn't sit and watch.
He was a fighter.
Kid.
Don't go down that dark road.
You don't want to be anything like me.
You? I'll never be like you.
You know what?
You're a coward.
You betrayed my father.
You left my father to fight alone.
And he died.
He died!
If you touch me again
I'll blow a hole in you.
Take your peashooter and run, boy.
Go.
My mother was struck by lightning
on the night I was born.
I had to fight my way out
of her charred body.
Do you want to know what
I want from this town?
Nothing.
I've seen so many like it.
This new free town.
It's rotten. It's stillborn.
You see it too.
This place needs a hard
man with a hard heart.
To set it straight.
Let me let you in on a secret.
This town wants you gone.
They're afraid to tell you.
Afraid you'll hurt them, just like before.
There's no place for you in this world.
In any world.
We're brothers.
I killed my brother.
I'll show you how hard I am.
Change takes sacrifice.
Gentlemen!
Lets show them who we are!
Old man.
Hiding up on this hill, so many years.
Leaving children to fight.
That cage can't protect you anymore.
So that's it.
Please don't hurt The Lady.
Bongani.
Help us.
Someone do something.
Do something!
Pockets.
They did this, Pockets.
Pockets!
Pockets.
You bastard!
Bastard!
Not a cockroach anymore.
I'm a lion now.
Your gang can have
their way with Railway,
as long as they don't
set foot down the hill.
The police can't touch you.
You offered me your childhood home
to leave your New Marseilles alone.
And look how it's grown
since we made that deal.
I told you...
Don't hurt anyone.
Drive him out, that's all it was.
You got what you wanted.
There's a stench on you, Mayor.
Rotten.
Like shame.
It nauseates.
We'll see each other soon.
What are you?
Just a whipping boy
to these Sotho dogs?
No one can hurt you anymore.
No more fight in him.
We'll see.
Now you're showing your true form.
In this life or the next,
I'll put a bullet in you.
You'll be waiting in line.
Down the hill, boys!
Mayor!
Mayor!
Sell out!
Sorry, Chief.
You aren't allowed down the hill.
Things have changed.
Three chances to walk away.
Last chance.
Scurry away, Cockroach!
Rise!
Wake up!
Free Marseilles!
See what your devious leaders
have brought upon you!
This is still our town.
This is still our town!
This is a story about five fighters.
Five friends,
who became brothers,
with one purpose.
The land is all the scripture we need.
And Tau, the Lion.
Sometimes the meanest...
Water.
What does God have to say?
Why did you come back?
Once you turned the
world upside down and ran.
Now here you are and it starts again.
You were never a freedom fighter.
Just a fighter.
We are what we are because of you.
That day changed all of us.
What about you, Pastor?
What have you done to save Marseilles?
I made a promise to God to
leave that life behind.
Then why are you here now?
For memory.
Sizwe.
Come.
The Salesman.
Can he really find anything you need?
Anywhere it is?
You kept it all?
Someone has to be the storyteller.
Should I confess my sins, Pastor?
God doesn't hear me any more, Tau.
My brother.
You look like shit.
Look at you.
Hiding like a snake in a hole.
From all the wrong you've done.
There are two men who
would have fought back.
Now they're both dead.
You think I'll let Marseilles go?
I've done twice as much for this
town as Zulu ever did.
You're not half the man he was.
You're...
Dead.
What?
Are you going to kill me?
Marseilles was never free, Bongani.
But it will be.
Maybe he's a ghost.
I'm The Ghost.
I'll be waiting.
What are you going to do?
Tau.
Please, I don't want to lose him too.
You're going with her, kid.
Stay there.
No.
I'm a fighter. Like you.
Look at me now, Sizwe.
If I see you down here,
I'll kill you myself.
Go.
Make those bastards pay.
So it's true. The Lion lives.
The time has come.
Your time has come.
We'll be going home soon.
Wei.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five who made a pact to ride together
until their battle was done.
Your father would have
been proud of you.
I'm proud of you.
Nobody and his strays.
You made it at last.
Sizwe.
You asked God to turn
his eyes from you
until your fight was won.
Maybe your fight isn't over.
...come out, Chinaman...
Chief.
Help me.
Help me.
Help me--
Up!
Sizwe!
Ghost!
You killed all my men.
It's over.
I see now, Lion.
You've been sent to judge me.
But I will not be judged.
Now I've killed you twice.
Not yet.
Witch!
Don't...
Sizwe.
Sizwe.
Come on, boy.
Do it if you can.
Finish me.
Mayor.
Mayor.
You ruined me.
Not here.
The land will decide.
It's our duty to protect it.
Even from each other.
Tau.
I'm sorry, kid.
What do we do?
We go back.
We start again.