WAR IS CRUELTY
WAR IS CRUELTY
THERE IS NO USE TRYING TO REFORM I THE CRUELER IT IS, THE SOONER IT WILL BE OVER
~ ~
WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, UNION ARMY GENERAL
THE AMERICAN SOUTH
~
THE KEEPING ROOM
Heard you shoot.
What was it?
Somethin' small n' fast.
Rabbit?
Maybe.
I don't know if it was
even really there.
Once that gun goes off,
everythin' livin' is gone.
Why's it so hard when the only thing
there's you and the rabbit?
The wood is big
and the rabbit's small.
Can I start?
Yes, we all goin' to.
I was asking my sister.
No need to talk
to Mad like that.
Don't you want to eat?
I'm cold.
What?
What is it?
I saw 'em.
Saw who?
Daddy and Nathaniel.
It's only a dream.
But I was right there.
Go back to sleep.
I can't stop hopin'
they might come home.
Our father and brother
ain't desertin' no duty.
It was like it was
really happenin',
they needed me.
What happens when
you sleep ain't real.
Come here.
Come sleep next to me.
I look like her.
You do.
This dress feel so
nice on my skin.
Almost fits me now.
You should take it off.
But I just put it on.
Louise, I best not see
that dress movin' again.
Thought I told you
to take that off?
I didn't feel like it.
Louise, I'm asking you, please.
- Why you care so much?
- Because you gonna ruin it.
Don't feel like hoein'.
Don't like her lookin'
at me that way either!
Go change and come back to work.
She's the nigger,
she should do it.
Like I told you, Louise:
We all niggers now.
Augusta!
Louise!
What happened?
- Louise, what happened?
- Raccoon.
She was suppose to
be workin' with you!
I can't keep eyes
on her all the time.
There's work to do and sometimes
she's gotta learn what's right.
We best get her inside.
One, two, three.
We need medcin'.
Maybe they got somethin'
at the Weaver place.
Let me.
You should go.
Clara?
Hello?
Mary?
Clara?
Mary?
Thank you, girl.
- Augusta.
- Caleb.
You shouldn't be here.
Have you seen anybody from out of the
Weaver place? Have you seen Clara?
Mary was the last one I saw.
Mary's dead.
No.
- Drank herself some poison.
- God forgive her.
She just sitting up there.
You come out here
just to tell me that?
No.
Louise. Raccoon bit her.
You need to turn around
and get yourself out of here.
- Here.
- What's this for?
You'll know it soon enough.
Good girl.
I went to the Weaver place
lookin' for medicine.
Came here hopin' for better luck.
There ain't been medcin'
here in a long time.
- You should go 'fore they sober up.
- I can't go back with nothin'.
Wait here.
- Thought you said there wasn't no...
- I wouldn't call that medcin'.
But it'll work?
It might work.
Where you ridin' to?
Due east.
Night's ride.
- What you ridin'?
- A dead horse.
You're gettin' Captain.
He's a good horse.
Why are you bein'
so nice to me?
I knew your daddy.
He was a good man.
He was alright.
Hey, how much uh
that you gonna...
We're only savin' it for
someone who needs it.
- I see you found more liquor.
- Sure thing.
Yeah.
Here you go.
Oh, what'd ya know?
Eh, Moses. This place is
luckier than we thought.
I didn't think they still made them...
... pretty as this.
You comin' over?
Maybe later.
- This' half empty!
- Yes.
I have got some more, yeah.
Plenty more at... back.
Go upstairs.
You boys hungry for me?
I bet you want some too?
Hmm.
Hey, where you goin', honey?
Ain't nothin' up there.
Better things to do with
your mouth than talk.
Don't think the dog
likes what you're doing.
From what I seen that dog
don't like much 'uh anything.
Battle.
What?
The dog.
His name is Battle.
He sure sounds like one.
That's a mighty big horse
for a girl like you.
You go on now, Augusta.
Some place you got to be?
I do.
All on your own?
No.
She's got people.
You should go.
Go on now.
Go.
Go on.
Don't cry.
You should try 'n sleep.
Don't want to.
I can just keep talkin' til you do...
I remember daddy tellin' a story
about a girl 'n her sister.
A girl was goin' to
be killed by a king.
What king?
- I don't know, some king somewhere.
- Why was he gonna kill her?
I guess she musta done
somethin' he didn't like.
Anyway.
The whole town shows up for the
execution, includin' the girl's sister.
And the sister goes over
to the girl, who's crying now,
and she says,
"When the king asks you
if you have any last words,
you tell him that you want me
to tell you a story."
So the king asks
and the girl says,
"I want my sister
to tell me a story."
And the king grants the request.
The sister gets up
to the scaffold..
She starts tellin' a story so good,
the king can't help himself but listen.
And dawn has come and gone
and now its twilight.
And the whole town
is still standin' there
stock still,
their hearts in their throats.
And all of a sudden,
at just the most excitin' part,
she stops.
- Why?
- She says to the king,
"You want to know the end?
I'll tell you tomorrow.
If you give my sister
one more day."
Now the town's people know that mean
old king is goin' to kill 'em both for sure,
but the King,
needin' to know the end,
says yes.
What was the story she was tellin'?
I only remember the part
'bout he tellin' it.
Did the king kill the girl after?
But, the next day, just as soon as
the sister finished telling that story,
she starts another one, and she
stops that one 'fore the best part.
and the same thing happens
the next night
and the next night
and the next night
for near a thousand nights.
What happens to the girl?
Well.
As long as her sister
kept tellin' stories,
she never dies.
And her sister...
I think after she told
all those stories,
the king married her.
Didn't know you needed
your mouth to walk proper.
If you were the one bit, wed still be sitting
back at the whorehouse instead of moving.
I won't actually call
what youre doing moving.
- You sure were going the right way?
- Road only goes one way.
You know as well as I do, you can
go any way you want to on a...
On a what?
Road.
We're going the right way.
- Maybe we should stop a minute?
- Uh, Henry?
What's he got?
Looks like we're going
the right way after all.
Days half over.
Didnt wanna wake you.
She up too?
No.
Comin' back to life aint easy.
She needs the rest.
We got anything to drink?
Yeah.
Goat's milk.
Thats not what I meant.
Gets easier the more you drink.
Gets real easier.
I like the way I feel.
Bill was the only one
your Daddy let drink it.
He used to come back
at night stinkin' and proud.
You was with him?
Bill?
I was.
You wanted to have his babies.
Oh, lord.
You miss him?
I do.
Was he...
Go on.
With this moonshine in me Im fixed
to answer any question you got.
What's it feel like?
You'll know.
What If I don't?
What if all the men
kill all the other men?
What if its the end of the world
and we're the last ones left?
It aint the end of the world.
Think 'bout all the women
sittin' in their houses.
Were supposed to be taken,
but aint.
Learned to shoot a gun
'fore they learned to bed.
Learned to be men
instead 'uh a wife.
I'm hungry.
Did she say...
...hungry.
- What did you say?
- I'm hungry.
Say it again.
I'm hungry.
- She is hungry!
- She is hungry!
Im gonna cook you
somethin' so good, Louise.
Come-back-from-the-dead stew,
thats what.
Come-back-from-the-dead stew!
Best stew I ever made.
Fern.
Hey.
- Mad.
- What?
Shhh.
- Why you wake me just to be quiet?
- Listen, just-just listen.
Probably a ghost.
Come have a look with me?
Who's firing?
Show yourself!
Get inside!
Go, get inside now!
Louise, wake up!
- Louise, wake up!
- Whats goin' on?
We got men here.
They are soldiers. Yankees.
How you know that?
You shot this dog!
He was just a dog.
Same as you and me.
You went and shot him down.
Couldnt let him be.
And now theres no more drink.
And theres no more dog.
We only have this gun.
And Im through with my song.
We got any other guns?
Downstairs.
In one of the drawers.
I'm goin' to go get
it and come back.
- Lets get to the Keepin' Room.
- We aint leavin' this house.
-Too many doors and windows and rooms.
- We goin' to fight.
I don't wanna fight.
We can hide.
They dont know we here.
I just shot their dog,
they gonna come lookin'.
How you know what dog
belong to what Yankees?
'Cause they followed me.
Don't leave us.
We ain't goin' to wait all night.
Augusta.
- You want them here?
- No.
Then I gotta go down.
Girl.
Who else you got in there?
You got men?
Negros or cowards?
Girl!
Where are you?
No!
Moses!
Moses!
Help me!
Moses!
- Sorry.
- Here.
Shhhhh.
Why you naked?
There was a fire.
I had to put it out.
What?
Get over here.
This is your gun.
I gotta reload.
Watch me and do as I do.
Take the powder.
Take the powder, put it in.
Take the ball,
put it in.
Push it down.
Pull this back.
- You hold steady.
- All right.
And you pull this.
Yeah.
All right.
- You got it?
- Yeah, I got it.
- You sure.
- Yes. Yes.
Girl!
Girl!
You got ten to come out
or were coming in.
One!
Two!
Im gonna try n' draw 'em
away from the house.
No, don't.
No.
You bar this door behind me.
If a man comes through,
no matter what, you shoot.
Four!
Five!
Six!
Seven!
Eight!
Nine!
Ten!
Shhh.
Shhhh.
You followed me?
Yeah, I did.
Why didnt you kill me
with Caleb and that woman?
I wanted to keep
you for a while.
Damp powder.
Must be as old as this gun.
Something about you
makes me wanna..
sit down.
Then why you come
like you want a war?
I dont know how to stop.
Why don't you come on out?
I wanna see you.
Why dont we just
put down the guns?
We can get a lot closer
without them.
Well.
Maybe it's just you and me now.
If you don't stand still,
I just might have to shoot you.
Quiet!
Don't make me hurt you.
Go on.
At my second farm,
there was this one shed
we wasnt allowed at.
All the other buildings
had their jobs.
One for feed.
One for tools.
But there was this one shed
we was told never to go in.
Not to play near it.
Not to get curious.
We made up all sorts of stories.
Gold.
Ghosts.
God.
Then, one day when I was 'bout ten
the man told me to go to the shed.
I was goin' to the shed.
I would get to know.
I walked to the shed,
my heart comin' out my dress.
I was gonna get to know.
I was gonna get to know.
I was gonna be the one
to tell all the others.
I opened the door.
Only thing in there was
a low cot and no windows.
I stood there a minute
so unsure.
So sad.
Wonderin' why we wasnt
supposed to know for so long.
And then the man come in.
And he had me.
He was so big
and I was so small.
So small that I didnt even know
what was happenin'.
That was the first time.
And there were many more.
Some times they cut the baby out.
Other times, they keeps them.
I don't know where they are now.
There are many kinds of
monsters in this world,
you never know which one
goin' to be yours.
Dont know what happened to mine.
Probably died old and happy.
But yours...
You killed him.
- That right?
- Yes.
Your monster's dead.
You come back.
Yeah.
I just wanted to hear
that old voice again.
It's over.
- It's all over.
- What you mean?
You take shelter.
They comin'.
They...
Where is Augusta?
Mad?
Whats goin' on?
He come back.
I aint angry with you, Augusta.
I's angry 'cause I come close
to killin' him myself.
But we wanted him dead.
He'd never forgiven me
if Is the one done it.
When you gonna learn
what dont happen dont matter?
You just goes on.
Might be another man
out there want us dead.
Aint no time
to think on love.
There is another man out there.
We aint goin' to wait for him.
We goin' out there to hunt him.
And we aint come back
'til he ours.
This some fine moonshine.
Our daddy made it.
Your daddy made
some fine moonshine.
I've been waiting for you.
I've been looking for you.
You found me.
I like this room.
I like it too.
What's your name?
Moses.
Like the baby.
Yes, just like.
Why're you doin' this, Moses?
Me an' him are bummers.
We...
We're sent ahead to forage
the land for food and deserters
and survivors.
Whole army is behind us.
Already took Georgia.
Uncle Billy's coming.
Burning down every thing
in his path.
Rest assured,
itll be cruel.
And the crueler it is
the sooner itll be over.
We can hold 'em.
Girl, I believe you can.
You know how many
battles I fought in?
Dont seem like many,
easy as you went down.
No.
It don't.
But it was.
And yet, here I sit.
Fuck.
You are beautiful.
I'd like to know your name.
Augusta.
Augusta.
Augusta and Moses.
Things could have be different.
But they ain't.
I know that it's over.
Truth be told,
Im heartened.
Don't think I know
my way home from here.
Id appreciate it if youd
show me the way.
You 'bout finished with your drink?
Just about.
How strange he show up
here lookin' like a Yankee.
Maybe he was free.
And he came back.
I didnt know people looked the same
whether they was dead or alive.
He gone.
But he dont look so bad.
Like hes sleepin' maybe.
He look dead.
But he look good.
You sure you dont wanna
dig him another hole?
Ain't time.
Ain't strength.
Dont think he should go
in the same place as them.
Dont worry.
They aint goin' to the same place.
Augusta!
Looks like the skys on fire.
Looks like the whole worlds on fire.
They comin'.
This our home.
We gonna have to fight.
This our home.
We gonna defend it.
What if we didnt stay here?
What if we went?
Went?
Out there.
No.
All 'em Yankees walkin' right for us
we can't just walk right back.
They walkin' here on the way.
I don't see what a few bullets
is gonna do to keep them out.
We can keep it safe.
Keeping Rooms just walls, Augusta.
Aint nothin' safe.
Three women comin' 'gainst
the Union army dont mean nothin'.
What if we was men
instead 'uh women?