no, no, i understand, baas, but is that all the names? there's no other list somewhere?
but, what about john voster square?
thank you.
you're here too, sis paulina, who are you looking for?
we are all searching. the policeman calls her -- she hurries to the counter. cut to:
what now?
a black lawyer! those boers.  the bastards'll kick him around till they lose him.
where is he? where is he?
thank you very much. you've worked like a man. let's go.
take it easy, boys. hey wellington! wellington comes to the car. he's limping, wearing sunglasses. as he's approaching the car, stanley opens the back door for him.
what happened.  don't tell me.
jonathan is dead.
how's it? i'm stanley! i heard about you! ben feels a little uncomfortable.
you're all right, lanie. ben can just hear emily's soft voice.
come on, sisi. tomorrow it'll all be first-class again.
gordon's dead.
the bastards say he committed suicide.  hanged himself.
they didn't tell her. she heard it on the radio like the rest of us. i contacted lewinson immediately. he then rung the police to ask why emily wasn't informed. would you believe it, they said they were sorry, and they didn't know where to contact her. ben walks slowly out of the garage in deep thoughts -- stanley follows him.
did you understand me? i said, they said he committed suicide.
gordon wasn't a coward.
what do you mean 'but'? what about timol who they said had jumped from a top-floor window? what about ngudle? what about mosala? joyi? malele? they all died in that john vorster square. all suicide, eh? ben stares at him. there is something like a strange silence between them. ben is confused and stanley is staring at him. ben breaks this embarrassing mood.
he's got brothers.
i'm his brother, man, we all are! we'll take care of everything. that's the african way.
don't look for trouble, man. you know there are riots all over soweto. you're out of it. why don't you stay out?
you got to go? of course, lanie.  the last farewell. but we have to be careful.
we expected it.
a guy gets picked up by the s.b.  he's part of history, man.
hope's a white word, lanie.  it's not hope we need.
emily is like my sister.  we go back many years.
i am an african. that's all! comprende?
what?
bullshit! next you'll have me believing we grew up in the same country, same laws, same freedom, same everything!
we are now about to leave the white jungle and entering the land of love and glory. the car approaches a huge perimeter notice:
land of love and glory, lanie! but watch out for the police and army. they're patrolling all the time.
hurry up, lanie.
no sweets today. i'm sorry, babies. the children give stanley a coy disbelieving look as they watch him go with the "white man."
'the living close the eyes of the dead. the dead open the eyes of the living.'
look, we'd took one hell of a chance to get here, let's not push it.
i said don't push it. i have to keep you alive. what's more the house is full of mourners.
what are your thoughts now?
come on. i know you came to see the body. what do you think now?
you either believe what you saw or maybe you still prefer the government version.
okay. it was a simple question. stanley turns his radio on and bantu music invades the car as it speeds away in a cloud of dust.
you know, lanie, when you run a taxi, especially a pirate taxi like me, you have eyes and ears everywhere. even when a policeman farts in his bed you know. people want a reference book, a permit to stay in soweto, a house, anything, we taxi drivers know the routes. i'll tell you something.
shit!
dr. hassiem has been picked up.
dr. hassiem is the doctor we got to represent emily at gordon's autopsy. we wanted the truth. ben suddenly realizes the significances.
a smart move by your boer brothers. they have silenced hassiem.
what's the use? it's one big game and we blacks are merely spectators. hey lanie, can one be a spectator as he's being kicked around? he laughs.
that's what you all say. i have to move man. your neighbors! now, be careful. they will put their marks on you!
you'll find out! in case you need me. don't give your name -- just say 'lanie' phoned -- right? ben gets out of the car.
sharp! at our smart liberal friend's office, yeh!
mfundisi.  .  sisi!
you must understand for us, suicide is a coward's way out, how do they say, it's a 'cop out.'
he! mfundisi, what are you saying now? you mean.
if that's what you preach in your church you will soon be starving.
amen!
wait, let me check the situation. he opens the door and walks out.
take it easy. it's okey, dokey, but hurry.
yes, on the floor man. stanley opens the back door for ben. who crouches on the floor.
okay. kids, time to go home. be careful.
why don't you look for yourself? ben rises and sees that they're at least a mile out. he is not amused.
precautions, lanie.
you will not understand, lanie. they drive off.
don't worry, man. there's another day!
african time.
doesn't matter, lanie -- as long we are on time for the revolution.
the s.b. searches your house? did they take anything?
don't be so sure. they may think you're onto something big.
'lanie' -- don't you believe it -- nothing's as stupid as the old s.b. if they decide it's a bomb they're looking for, you can shove a turd in their face and they'll swear to god it's a bomb. he laughs.  making ben smile.
and did they?
scare you?
hallelujah! shake, man. join the club.
did you hear that, lanie? more kids dying?
a wake for a child; eight months old. she was sleeping and they threw tear gas into it. they drive on. cut to:
on your knees, everyone, prayers time. ben is perplexed. emily closes the door and locks it.
hey man, you should have been a mfundisi holiness oozer.
he's one of the most solid lawyers we have; they've immobilized him, that's the right word isn't it?
sure.
nqakula, that's a hell of a name.
they did not ban you so you could sit on your backside and have a soweto holiday.
let's hope so.
not for me, sis -- too strong for me. no whisky?
tea then.  .  and god forgive me --
how's it? no trouble finding this place? you met sadie. she's one of us.
and this is johnson seroke. the man of the letters.
you know they call this place vrededorp, but we baptize it malay camp. your first time in malay camp, lanie?
the main road, eh?
sure, sadie. and thank you. can i help myself to another beer?
that woman can die for you. we mustn't be long, johnson has to be back on duty.
if they find out he'd be in very big trouble.
it's okay. tell him what you told me.
they handcuff you and manacle your feet then they put a pole between your arms and the back of your knees. then you're like a chicken ready for the oven. they hang you between two tables. then they do what they like with you. the s.b. call it the aeroplane. ben is horrified.
he's sure.
this is strictly between the three of us. don't worry, man.
take it easy. stanley goes to the cupboard for another beer.
a beer, lanie?
what happened, man?
three bloody shots and you crawl on your hands and knees to people like stolz, and say 'i give up.' what is the beginning for you is a version of what we suffer all our bloody life. shit, i thought you had more guts than this, man!
but you thought about it.
it's a hell of a time, lanie, but we'll survive. you and me. i tell you!
of course not, lanie -- but we needn't lose either -- what matters is to stick around.
by the way, man, i'm off on a trip -- botswana -- thought i'd tell you in case you get worried.
business. tell you next week. now for the bad news i've been saving to the last.
julius has been arrested. he broke his banning order and visited his sister. you know what that means? at least a year's imprisonment.
that's the chance he took. and he'll be the last to complain.
so what? lanie, you're not getting guilt complexes now, are you? that's a luxury only liberals can afford. julius will be back, man. all refreshed by a spell in the deep-freeze.
who said we're shrugging him off? best way of remembering a man, lanie, is to carry on fighting.
she's a widow, man. that's what happens in soweto when a woman loses her man. they throw her out of the house and out of the city.
shit! i was about to find her a place, but i had to go to look for robert.
sis emily asked me but it was no use. his mind was made up. he was going to join wellington in zambia.
he'll be back in a few years. and he won't be throwing stones! then, puts the empty glass on the desk.
good evening. i'd like to invite you into my humble home, but it's full of terrorists.
okay, with pleasure. they search and find nothing.
oh! merry christmas, everyone! there's deadly quiet -- not even the clink of a spoon -- as the du toits look on aghast.
'lanie'.  compliments of the season, old mate.
why don't you tell the boer who this kaffir is?
who are these people, anyway?
let him try, leave him, lanie.
lanie! ever in your fucking life seen such a stampede, hah?
jeez, who was that old cunt with the potbelly and black suit, looks like an undertaker?
you joking! shit! i fucked it all up for you. sorry, man.
right. dead right. put the kaffir in his place. ben grabs him by the shoulders and starts to shake him.
emily is dead.
a broken heart. all they said.
take a pew, man.
have what?
that's fantastic, man.
late at night. a knock on the door. he opened and five shots, point-blank range. face, chest, stomach.
what's the score? the nurse is detained; the mortuary attendant has disappeared; the police van driver who brought jonathan to hospital is detained. julius is in jail, and now johnson dead.
hey! are you going soft, lanie? we must keep going even more so now. and for every bloke who's going to die of bloody natural causes in their hands. and for our children's future.
what's happened, man?
and the papers?
man, it's all happening!
like a joint?
they drop the bomb on you! ben walks up to him puts his hand on his shoulder. there's an understanding trace of a smile on his face.