are you ok?
who is this?
did you touch her?! did you touch her?!
do you have keys?
i don't know! show me your keys!
so why haven't you been here!?
are you friends with ivan?
did you call the police?
you didn't call the police?
and you don't know ivan?
he rented us this place. he said it belonged to his friend who was out of town.
shit!
enough! ok. look. we don't want any trouble. we will get out of your apartment. this is all a mistake. i'm sorry.
we will leave, ok?
i don't know but we have to go.
are you ok?
of course. please.
i'm sorry if i hurt you. are you sure that you're ok?
ok. well, we'll pack up and get out.
i know i'm in trouble when she starts speaking wolof.
two months. we will pay you if you want.
is that everything?
here is the coffee you wanted.
ok. so we'll go. i am sorry again. thank you for your understanding. good bye.
look i know. come on man, it'll just be for a night or two until we figure something out. ok.
can you check and call me back? ok. thanks.
what!?
thanks.
yeah.
you like classical music, huh?
me too. do you play piano?
me? no. i play the djembe. well, thanks again for letting us stay. you saved me a lot of trouble.
see you in the morning.
trust me. he's asleep.
so let him hear. the guy probably needs some excitement.
i don't know. we'll figure it out tomorrow. who knows? maybe he'll let us stay. he's not really using the place.
ok. ok. so we'll figure it out in the morning. i promise, habibti.
do you still love me?
really?
not even a little?
so what is this?
but what about our roommate?
hey walter. welcome home.
you're home early.
how was the conference?
sorry about the pants. i've been playing like this since i was a kid.
hey. i think i might have a lead on a place in brooklyn.
really? it won't bother you?
great. thanks. i'll keep my pants on.
hey, zainab's going to make dinner if you want to eat with us later.
i'm sorry. that was my mother. if i don't call her every day she thinks something happened to me.
yeah. i'll have a bit. thanks.
she is a good muslim. i'm a bad one.
so what's the conference about?
that's us. syria. senegal.
so have you written some books?
four books?! great. my father was a writer. a journalist.
no. he died. before we left syria.
so am i.
oh. we have to go. i have a gig tonight.
walter, you can come if you want.
ok. well maybe another time
bye.
we're staying in his apartment. what could i do?
you know you are very sexy when you're mad at me.
cool.
sorry guys. let's go.
it sounded good walter.
don't be sorry. that's what it's there for.
i was lying on my bed listening to my music and then i was like "what's the crazy rhythm i'm hearing?".
sit. come on. i'll show you.
just put your feet flat on the ground.
now take the drum between your legs. like this.
now you want to lift the inside edge off the ground with your ankles. like this.
great. feel ok?
ok. now walter, i know you're a very smart man but with the drum you have to remember not to think. thinking just screws it up. ok?
now just give it a couple of bangs.
not so hard. you're not angry at it.
better. did you think?
good. now one more thing, walter. you listen to classical music so you think in fours. one. two. three. four. da. da. da. da. this is an african drum. so we are gonna play in three's. tat. tat. tat. you have to forget your classical. leave it behind. tat. tat. tat. one. two. three. come on. follow me.
good. good ear. now keep going.
don't worry. start again.
yeah! there it is. ok. good. now keep it going and i will do this.
yeah. that's it. keep it going.
hey walter, what time are you done tomorrow?
cool.
that's good. because the chinese are taking over the world.
it's already happening. one day our kids will be going to china for jobs. ask walter.
you see?
hey, walter!
how did the presentation go?
cool. guess what? i found an apartment in brooklyn. we can move in on monday.
yeah. it's small but it's a nice building. i just hope zainab likes it.
i think you're right. come on, let's go. you should take off the name tag.
yeah. i'm starving. do you like shwarmas?
shwarmas.
here. this is for you. for letting us stay.
it's fela kuti. you know him?
you don't know fela? oh, man! walter, you are in for a treat. he started the whole afro-beat movement. and his drummer tony allen was just scary, man. you want to play drums, you have to listen to this.
good, omar. how are you?
good. playing a lot. new girlfriend?
you have a lot friends
au revoir.
the lebanese. bunch of playboys. you ready?
zev! how are you?
hey honey.
how's business?
her stuff is great, right? she made me this?
you should make one for walter.
so walter and i are going up to the park to play for a little bit. ok?
i know. i know. no problem.
i know. i will not be long. we'll go up and play and then we'll come back to help you. i promise, habibti.
no. not arab time. real time, habibti.
habibti? it means "beloved one".
he's been playing here for a long time.
i have no idea but it's cool. i always wanted to play down here. it's supposed to be good money.
maybe some day we can do it together. split the profits.
what do you think?
come on, walter.
it's easy. you just wait until you feel it. let's go.
shit, we have to get home. zainab is gonna kill me. i'm on arab time again.
it means i'm late by an hour. all arabs are late by an hour. it's genetic. we can't help it.
that's our train!
i got your drum. my card is empty. can you swipe me?
hey. you paid for the drum and not me. here take this.
i think we missed it. zainab is not going to be happy if.
what are you doing?
please, what do you want.
i did not jump it! i paid. i paid! it just didn't work.
no.
syria. why?
why? i'm sorry. what did i do?
walter take the drum. tell zainab what happened but don't let her come for me. i will call you.
don't let her come! i will call her!
walter. thank you for coming.
how is zainab?
you can't give it to me. it has to be sent to me by mail. but you can put it up to the glass.
go ahead. open it and place it up to the glass so i can read it. it's ok. it's allowed.
thank you, walter.
ok. the place is very depressing. there is no privacy. the lights are always on.
no. i just want to get out of here.
yes. what did he say?
you mean when we came here? yeah.
yeah.
yeah. we did everything they told us to.
hey, could you tell darren? i didn't call him.
i have to go. they have to do a bed count. usually, i can visit for one hour. can you come tomorrow?
good. and tell zainab i will call her as soon as i can.
goodbye, my friend.
we did. i remember it.
no. he didn't know yet. he just said that unless he can find a way to reopen the case quickly they're going to deport me.
no. i don't want her to worry. i can handle this.
yeah. three years ago i was working for some guy who said he was going to sponsor me for my green card but then he turned out to be jerk. but the lawyer said that might allow us to reopen the case. i don't even understand it.
walter, there are guys who have been in here for years! i can't do that walter. i'll go crazy.
ok. just please. don't forget about me in here.
are you still practicing?
you should go back to the drum circle.
ok. but listen to that fela cd. that will help you, i promise.
so show me what you've been working on.
show me. on that. come on. i need some music, man.
don't worry. they can't arrest you. at least not yet.
ah. there it is. good. good. you are getting better.
walter, i thought you were leaving.
what? my mother?! where?
when did she arrive?
oh man. why did she come? she can do nothing for me.
walter. listen to me. she can not stay here. she doesn't know anyone in new york. i'm sorry but you must get her to go back to michigan.
you went on the ferry?
my mother too?
did zainab tell you how we used pretend we arriving in new york for the first time?
you know they don't even let us outside here. they just cut a hole in the roof in one place.
yeah. it's crazy stuff.
and they seemed to get along? zainab and my mother?
my mother's not going home, is she?
i know she's thinking about my father. he spent seven years in jail in syria for something he wrote in the newspaper. by the time they released him he was very sick. he died two months later. that's when we came here.
she thinks the same thing is gonna happen to me.
you know i have never seen them together. zainab and my mother.
they keep moving people.
i don't know. i think to other detention centers. two moroccan guys were just moved. they had no idea. suddenly they were just gone.
no one in here knows anything. i'm not a criminal. i have committed no crime. what do they think? i'm a terrorist? there are no terrorists in here. the terrorists have money. they have support. this is not fair!
how do you know?! you're out there!
it's just.  i'm starting to wonder if i'm ever going to get out of here. i sit in here at night and i keep thinking about zainab.
i just want to play my music and live my life. what's so wrong about that?