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WANDERERS OF THE DESERT
How old are you?
What have you come to this desert for?
I'm a teacher. They've appointed me to the village.
The village, which village?
The bus does go through the village?
There's no village, I tell you.
Don't worry.
It's not far from the road. I'll show you the way.
Don't listen to him!
There is no village!
A film written and directed by NACER KHEMIR
Peace be with you, uncle!
Are you planting palm trees?
I'm the new teacher. I'm looking for the village...
Hey, anyone? Anyone here?
You're most welcome here.
Here's the village... At least, what's left...
They say everything that you see over there used to be green.
An oasis!
There were almond, fig and pomegranate...
medlar and date trees...
Let's go!
We're most remote in these forgotten places...
Be most welcome... – He's the teacher.
But there's never been a school here!
What are you going to do, Si Abdesalem?
Why did they appoint me here, then?
I'll ask the authority.
What authority?
Is there a sheikh, at least? – I'm the sheikh.
If you like, you can use the old koutev for a school.
But it's only walls. As for the rest, you're my guest.
What about us?
Here we are, Si Abdesalem...
My daughter...
Temporarily, you'll use my son Boubakr's room.
The Bourak!
Now, Boubakr is away, far away...
El Hadj sends for you... – Who's El Hadj?
El Hadj is... El Hadj!
What's your name? – Housin.
Good day, El Hadj.
Please don't...!
You are the new teacher? – Yes.
You are exactly as I imagined you.
You see, my son, it's been some time...
that I've been holding death's hand.
But there is still one thing...
I must do.
I was waiting for you.
You were waiting for me?
Not necessarily you!
But I'm happy that it is you.
I don't understand.
How can I explain...
A man is waiting in the desert...
He's waiting for someone.
As soon as one man arrives...
the others follow.
Come back whenever you like. I'm always here.
AND ONLY GOD WILL DEFEAT YOU
Good day, my son, I've come to welcome you.
They're all my children here. What's your name?
Abdesalem.
May peace be in your heart.
I'm happy...
that you've come to educate the children.
I have a grandson.
He's a devil, bright and intelligent.
But the poor boy is an orphan.
His father, my older son, is gone.
Where has he gone?
To the desert.
Where the curse leads them.
Has Boubakr, the sheikh's son, gone with them?
Boubakr followed them.
May God protect you!
Prevent Housin from following them!
I don't understand...
Read, my son, what Boubakr wrote before he left:
"Don't blame me, no blame's worry can touch me."
"Since I'm alone now, Lord, protect me."
"Let anyone who desires take note of my words."
"Read them, and know that I'm a martyr!"
That's all that remains, this image of Bourak.
He who goes with the wanderers never returns.
If only I knew how to write!
I can write for you. – Not now.
I'll come back.
I have to go see the carpet of the girl of the house.
They're passing by!
The life of wanderers is one of rambling...
They'll only see sand...
they'll only beget dust.
Who are the wanderers?
Every day brings its own burden.
I know they're your children.
Later, my son... When the time comes.
Are you looking for someone? – Yes, the teacher. To write a letter.
Will you let go of those poor animals?
They're not animals, they're djins to protect our garden.
Now what do you want? – I want to see my ponytail.
You good-for-nothing!
You're old, you don't need it anymore!
Why won't I need it, you beast?
Are you there, Si Hassan?
Listen...
The teacher doesn't have a school, yet.
To make the garden, we break all the village's mirrors.
I've just broken my grandmother's.
If you leave, I'm still leaving with you.
Who are you talking to?
Go away from this well, I've already told you it's haunted.
One minute, Si Hassan...
They're asking for you in the well, what should I answer?
For God's sake!
Leave this place or misfortune'll befall you.
He's waiting... So...?
Go away from that well!
It's death's angel... He can come, I'm ready.
What are you doing here?
We're here, so...
Shut up!
Why? – You must respect the chief.
Who's the chief?
The one with 10 chameleons. – Excuse me, but that's not all!
There's still the test of the biggest lie.
And who could lie better than me?
The Medeb believed my story about the teapot.
Not everyone's like the Medeb.
Today's Friday. – You can't lie on Friday.
We need many more mirrors. – Shall we make a pearl garden?
We'll sell your grandmother to buy peas.
And yours also!
Forget it!
One minute, I'll be back.
What does your father do? – I don't know.
He has no work? – Yes he has.
So what does he do?
I can't tell. Besides, he's far away.
When's he coming back? – Never.
What'll you teach us? – Grammar, history...
History of the garden? – The garden? No, the country!
History of our village? – No, of the entire country!
Listen, Si Hassan...
Since our teacher's been living with the sheikh, his daughter...
hasn't the right to go out in the skiffa!
The teacher?
He stays indoors all day...
and when he goes out, it's to ask questions about the wanderers.
Do you think he'll be cursed, too?
Come closer, my son...
Don't be afraid!
Close your eyes...
Go, my son, go play. The curse won't get you.
El Hadj! Listen to me...!
You, who knows...
the location of the ancient gardens, tell me...
where the treasure's buried!
Talk, El Hadj...! Talk!
My uncle!
What's a garden like?
Go away, mongrel!
I'm speaking seriously!
So come dig with me!
I don't need any treasure. What's a garden like?
Go to the dogs!
You wouldn't even know what a garden is!
You'll never find your treasure!
What's he doing? – He's looking for treasure...
He'll never find it, even if he digs all his life!
Tell me...
is the treasure like this gold coin?
They say in the village that you found it and hid it.
Goodbye, uncle!
He found it! He found it!
Look what he gave me so I'd keep quiet...
Go tell the sheikh.
He's found the treasure!
What now? Watch where you put your feet!
Assam found the treasure, I wanted to tell grandmother...
Where? – To the east, at Bir El Fay.
You're running after the treasure, too? – They think so.
This is my grandmother's coin. Just a bet between my friends and me.
What a devil! He's upset the whole village!
Where have our lovers gone?
Tell... where have they gone...?
Where is he?
What's he done, now?
Assam almost killed Hanifa's son with a pickaxe.
He's upset the whole village.
Explain... – Later.
You're gonna get it!
Where did you get the gold coin?
He's going to kill my son!
If someone frees him, I'll put him in his place.
Grandmother, take back your coin!
Greed will ruin them all!
Look what a child's made them into!
What's this treasure about?
It's not a treasure, it's a belief.
For Assam, it's fate.
Maybe fate is just a belief...?
But who are the wanderers?
Our children...
They go one by one, at the blossom of their life...
The curse drags them to the sands...
I've been thinking for a long time...
But I need someone.
Maybe you can help me.
Me, El Hadj?
Come quickly!
You saw Assam's treasure? – Free me first.
She's talking to the angels.
Who thinks he can do better than I?
From now on, I'm no longer "Teapot", I'm the chief.
Listen, Teapot... – Want a slap?
Chief, no one's stayed in the village.
What a laugh when Assam charged with his pickaxe!
I knew it was a lie.
Who gave me the coin? – How would I know?
Poor Assam, he swore he didn't find anything!
I won!
We need a lot of mirrors to make the garden.
Tomorrow is the hairdresser's turn.
He's got plenty.
But how to make the garden?
Make your garden in the image of the sky.
You won't cry! – You'll get your ponytail.
How would you go to the sky otherwise?
It's by the ponytail that children go to paradise.
Adults, too? – No, they go by foot.
Hold on, no secrets!
It's nothing, it's for the garden.
You have a beautiful voice, come sing with us.
His mother's sent him for a shave. – Inside!
Damn, he broke my mirror from Samarkand!
Leave it alone!
Let me help you, uncle.
Hide the mirrors well! – No one ever comes here.
We don't have any more mirrors!
Go get one at your house. – There's just my father's.
So go get it! – Go yourself!
Let's choose for it.
Full or empty?
Full. – You lose. Go get the mirror.
I'm telling you to go!
Go on!
It's the last one.
Um Salem will deliver her letter.
Poor Um Salem... She's still waiting for her son...
He left with the wanderers.
The teacher writes the letters delivered to the desert.
Let's go to the garden.
Hurry, grandmother's ill!
Feeling better? The neigbour's coming.
Are you going?
Are you abandoning me?
Housin!
Did you eat, at least?
I'm not hungry.
I'll be back, grandmother...
Is she better?
Still up, El Hadj?
Ah it's you! It's already night...
You said you'd need me...
What can I do? – Listen, my son...
Each year, the villagers leave for 3 days...
on a pilgrimage.
I know that, during those 3 days...
the wanderers come back to the village.
I have a book about the curse.
I spent my life deciphering it.
All the wanderers would have to do, is read it...
to undo it.
But how to give it to them?
None of us can approach them.
It'll soon be the pilgrimage.
Stay in the village, my son...
You, you will give them the book.
Do you need me?
Hurry, grandmother's ill.
I'll put on my turban, and I'll be there.
Hassan, grandmother is very sick.
You'll be better, grandmother.
Housin wants it, and me, too.
A dream must remain a dream.
One can't touch the book without seeing fate's manifestation.
It'll soon be the pilgrimage.
You'll give them the book.
Help a poor beggar...!
Where are you from?
From far away.
What do you want?
A piece of bread.
Grandmother?
Hassan, the beggar stole grandmother's soul!
It won't do any good...
Death's angel goes faster than time.
Come with me, leave this village as your grandmother did.
Come with me, we'll go far away from here.
I'm afraid of the wanderers.
Don't be afraid. I'm here.
Stay with me!
Not now, help me down!
I must go. Farewell, Housin...
Don't forget me. Farewell, Housin...
My God, I don't want to become like them.
I don't want to share their fate.
Endlessly wandering in that desert of sand...
They wander day and night, they wander forever...
The village just waits for their return.
My God, I don't want to become like them!
May peace be with you!
I'm going to die soon...
And the treasure, El Hadj?
The treasure isn't what you think it is.
Many centuries ago...
Several days before...
the Spanish took Cordoba...
our ancestor, the calligrapher...
was young.
At the town's gate, an old man entrusted him...
with a casket containing ownership deeds...
the keys of the palaces, the mansions and the gardens...
He had him swear to bring it back...
and if not he, his son...
his grandson or great-grandson would have to.
Before his death...
the calligrapher buried the casket at the foot of a fig tree.
Years passed, the promise was forgotten.
So the curse stuck!
The curse? – Yes. Listen...
I'm listening, grandfather.
It's not just a tale. Go away!
And the curse?
That's what takes our children away.
The youth leave...
one after another to wander in the desert.
"Three days after he opens the book..."
"the old woman will come for him."
"She'll take his hand..."
"and will lead him through the desert to his beloved."
"On the garden gate, it's written:"
"For lovers only"...
I'm here to ask you if you'll come with us on the pilgrimage.
I don't think so.
We'll be gone three days.
The ancients say anything can happen during those 3 days.
Today...
the house is empty.
It's you? You frightened me! – What's the matter?
Is this where he used to live? – It's Boubakr's room.
He's been gone for 3 years.
Who's Boubakr?
My oldest, my only one.
Has he lived here all along?
Si Abdesalem? Yes, since the beginning.
He was Boubakr's age. Finally, I adopted him.
Did you know him before? – No, not at all.
And you accepted him without knowing him?
There wasn't anywhere else, and as the sheikh...
Who lives here? – Me, my wife and the girl.
How old is the girl? – Almost 15.
Is she responsible for the house, the meals, the clothing...?
Yes, that's it.
So, she knows where he is! – What?
If she took care of him, he must've told her.
Si Abdesalem, talk to my daughter?
What could he have said? God forbid you!
In 3 months, he never stepped into the house's courtyard.
I'd bring him his lunch, dinner and clothes.
Corporal, we're not... – Officer!
Not corporal!
If he didn't talk to your daughter, he must've talked to you.
Did he say where he was going?
He mustn't have planned to go, all his things are here.
We weren't here during the pilgrimage.
Okay, we'll go on later.
First name? – Hedi.
Last name? – Garnati.
Age? – 50.
Profession? – Sheikh.
Now, tell me from the beginning.
We left the teacher at home.
When he came back, he was gone.
Who was the first one to notice?
This is how it happened.
A boat!
It's only a boat!
It's them! The teacher did it!
It's the wanderers' sign.
Your children are back!
Let's go see the teacher.
Your children are back!
So?
How did you do it?
We looked for him everywhere until nightfall.
The sand showed prints leaving the boat.
I sent 2 scouts, but they came back empty-handed.
And then?
I informed the authority, and we waited.
Let's go see the scouts.
You can rest.
For God's sake...!
What's your name?
Are you mute?
What do you want?
I want to go to Cordoba.
To Cordoba?
Why?
Is Cordoba very big?
Very! – Is it far?
You've never been to Cordoba?
Never.
And the teacher? – He's gone.
Oh, will our past...
come back to us one day?
Don't go away.
I'll certainly need you.
Don't be afraid.
It's sweet.
Now, let's get back to the boat.
Tell what happened.
On the sheikh's order, we started the boat.
The prints were easy to follow.
The wind hadn't erased them.
We walked...
3 days to catch up with the teacher.
We caught up with a splendid man, with a pepper-and-salt beard...
He was the boat's captain.
We asked him all sorts of questions.
He didn't know how he'd ended up in the village.
He said he'd met the wanderers...
who'd wanted to help him drag the boat to the sea.
But they fled when we returned.
The man was in a hurry to get to the sea.
He promised to come back one day...
and he trusted us with the boat until then.
What's his name?
So, who does the boat belong to?
Sindbad! Sindbad!
That's not all, Si Sheikh...
Sinbad put down a bag he was carrying.
He took something out of it.
Let me carry it!
Give it to me, you didn't inherit it from your father!
God was right in cutting out your tongue.
Evil face!
Jackal!
You can carry it, I'll tell them everything.
Look at what he's given us, the Chinese bird...
Does El Hadj know anything? – I don't know, sir.
Who are the wanderers? – Our children.
What do they do? – God only knows!
I will know!
By the way, I need gas. Send someone to wait for the bus.
Into the hall. And you, place yourself at the court's disposal.
Your name?
Mohamed.
My ancestor...
is Ali Ibn Mahmud, Ibn Hani, Ibn Otman...
the calligrapher of Cordoba.
You've just said that you no longer had the book.
First, where is it?
And second, what's in it?
The book no longer exists.
It wasn't a book like the others.
It was the wanderers' book.
As for me, it's been quite some time...
since light has gone out of my eyes.
I couldn't decipher the text anymore...
but it was enough just to turn the pages...
and thousands of points glittered in the night...
Like great cities, Cordoba, Seville...
Malaga, Grenada...
Stop speaking in riddles...
Where is the book?
When the teacher disappeard, I buried it in the cemetery.
Do you know where? – Yes.
Then, let's go!
Think!
Think again... Maybe you buried it somewhere else...?
I can't be wrong!
There was a hole dug in the centre, I put it there.
The centre of what? Of this stone pile?
What are you waiting for?
Dig further on!
Stop!
This is no game, Sheikh.
Go on!
Corporal, you won't dig up our dead for a book!
It's an offence to God!
First, I'm not a corporal, I'm an officer!
Then, it's not a book, but a piece of evidence.
Last, I know what I have to do.
What do I have to do, sir?
Dig further on.
Come back over here and dig.
Sheikh, it's a disobedience. You're a witness, clerk!
Go home. If there's anything new, I'll let you know.
Excuse me for keeping you, El Hadj...
It's the officer's orders.
Tell me about the wanderers' book, noble El Hadj.
I've always lived among books...
But fate...
A disaster, El Hadj...
Fire...
Fire reduced everything to ashes...
Now, I've discovered human company.
Excuse me for staying here, El Hadj...
If you want, I can go...
But before, tell me what the book is.
And if the teacher disappeared because of the book?
El Hadj won't talk anymore, he's going to die.
Be careful with the clerk's head!
I'm a good hairdresser.
The clerk'll judge, he's travelled.
It's true, I've travelled.
Tell us about one of your trips...
Ah, it's so long ago...
Memory is painful!
I lived in foreign cities. I'm still nostalgic.
So, sing a song for us...
Sit down, the officer is rehearsing.
Come here!
Forward!
Is this yours?
You like Bourak!
It's just that he reminds me of the story about a young man who...
Don't you think we have enough stories...?
You're all there... Good.
So, did the bus go by?
Be patient a little!
I need gas. Patience, I've got!
By the way, don't have the car disappear like the boat!
I'm warning you, it's State property!
Where's the boat?
Speak up!
It's definitely a habit in this village!
It's hopeless, sir.
He sings sometimes, but never talks.
Then answer for him!
Sindbad, sir...
Sindbad!
Which Sindbad?
The boat captain... he said...
if he wasn't back in 2 months, the village could have the boat.
So we shared it!
Did he really say that? – Yes.
And the sheikh supervised? – He wasn't there.
Where was he? – With Assam and El Hadj.
Who is Assam? – Assam...
He's the man who was digging.
Who was digging what?
Digging holes... holes!
What for?
He thought... He was looking for treasure.
Treasure?
Yes, the treasure!
You're making fun of me! What treasure?
I don't know.
I wasn't even born when he started digging.
Did he dig by himself? – In the beginning, yes.
And after?
The village dug with him.
And then? – Nothing.
What do you mean? – They didn't find anything.
Not even some coins?
Anyway, the rest isn't important.
At last, the key to the story!
A treasure, and the teacher disappears...
Take down their names and addresses!
What's going on?
I know who killed the teacher, and why.
Someone killed the teacher? Why?
For the treasure.
Be generous, it's no use scaring the village.
I'm going to tell you this story about the treasure.
Assam – may he be with God – dug for 50 years.
The entire village made fun of him.
With the boat's discovery, everything seemed possible again.
A wind of madness blew on everyone's mind.
They all started digging with Assam to find the treasure.
May God make me die at this moment of happiness!
May God grant your prayer!
If I catch you, you mongrel...!
First, catch the treasure!
They dug for so long without finding a thing...
So they left Assam...
and they took the boat to share.
As for Assam, he never got over it, and died.
No one knows anything else about the treasure.
The wanderers are coming!
Where are you going? Stop! Nobody move!
We all have a son...
a brother among the wanderers, whom we've never seen again.
Death would be softer than not seeing them again.
Understand us, sir... Understand me.
My son, Boubakr, is among them.
Exactly, I want to understand at last!
Where's Giafar the Mute going?
He's going to join the wanderers?
First, tell me where Cordoba is.
In Andalusia, on the other side of the sea.
Is the sea far away? – Yes.
Will you take me to the sea?
At my age, one doesn't leave anymore.
This is a beautiful place to die.
Is it a trap?
When'll that damn bus get here?
It'll come, sir.
When? When it'll be too late?
Who knows what they're plotting now?
They're honest people.
Honest? But where've you been? They're all bandits!
Did you see how the mute ran away?
He's gone with the wanderers. It's fate!
Fate, my eye!
Surveyors... Brigands!
To convince you, clerk... You like Bourak, don't you?
Look, he says: "Know that I'm a martyr"...
"Martyr"!
It's clear now.
I've already heard that, but where?
I've made my decision. I'm taking the sheikh before justice.
Welcome, Sheikh... What about that bus?
Si Yussef, I've got to talk to you.
Sorry, I must go perform my ablutions.
Gas, at last?
No.
Things are getting worse.
I'm afraid for you.
For me?
I'm not just anybody!
I'm the State's representative!
But where have you been?
Order, security... Don't they mean anything to you?
What century do you live in?
And you, Sheikh, do you advise me to flee?
You're preaching anarchy!
Now it's your turn?
You'll regret it, the whole bunch of you!
Get your things together, we're leaving.
Tonight, sir? – What do you think? Next year?
Of course, by foot!
The sheikh must have an idea...
This vermin, those mad dogs!
They'll get it, I swear!
Soon they'll have a taste of modern discipline...
I'll make a clean sweep of this village.
Be lenient...
with those whom fate has already wounded.
Think of the example!
Of the State's authority!
An example in this sea of sand?
Leave them to their pain, to their children wandering endlessly.
And what about the teacher's disappearance?
The teacher must be fine where he is...
even if you're not able to understand.
They have their order, and it's worth yours.
You're wrong, they killed for the treasure!
It's clear... Didn't the teacher write: "I'm a martyr"...?
I know the poem:
"Don't blame me, no blame's worry can touch me."
"Since I'm alone now, Lord, protect me."
"Let anyone who desires take note..."
Shut up!
That's it, I know, Hallaj wrote it!
Now, who's that?
The great saint Hallaj! It'd take an eternity to tell!
I talk about murder, and you recite poems!
Haven't you had enough with those prehistoric men?
I'm going back to civilization. I'm fed up with riddles.
Goodbye.
Riddle... Only time is riddle...
Only time is riddle...
Come, my son.
And the sea?
Come closer!
And the sea?
Grandmother, can you hear me?
The village is upside down.
The officer has disappeared.
He wanted to chain us all up. Grandmother...
You see, this time, I've nothing to do with it.
You're not angry anymore, grandmother?
I'm going.
I've prepared everything.
I'm going to Cordoba... To Cordoba...
Don't forget to wake me earlier than usual, grandmother...
Don't forget to wake me early.
Oh, my people...
You have abandoned me...
For you, my death was licit...
To fate, you left me...
and your weapons you raised...