Lady Nazca (2025) Movie Script
1
Lady Nazca
Well?
What do you notice
about these lines?
You just need to look,
to observe,
and to tell me what you see.
Thats all.
Hello, Maria!
- Ah! Dolors!
Im finished with classes.
Want to go for a drink?
Oh, no, I cant..
I've something on at the caf
tonight. I have to go.
Thank you.
Hello Diana!
- Hello Maria!
Is Amy here?
No, she's in her apartment.
Thank you.
Have a good day!
In need of fresh air?
You could say that...
Not a party lover?
Not really, no.
Conversations where people
only listen to themselves
drive me to despair.
A sharp statement.
Perhaps, but a true one.
Where in Germany
is that lovely accent from?
Dresden.
- Ah, Dresden!
The Florence of the North.
It's a beautiful city, Dresden.
And how did a young woman from Dresden
come to speak French so well?
I've always loved languages,
and my mother speaks perfect French.
She made sure we could too.
There's a German word I love:
gemtlich.
I love this word.
In French, confortable.
The English say cosy. But...
Gemtlich is...
It's not just cosiness or comfort.
It's an invitation to warmth...
Gemtlich... wonderful, this word!
For some months, I've been leading
an archaeological dig
in the Nazca region.
And before me,
there was a German archaeologist
working there with his team.
Max Uhle, a great archaeologist.
He left all his notes and notebooks.
The problem is that,
other than gemtlich...
I don't know any German words.
I've been looking
for a translator for months.
But I'm not the right person.
I'm not a translator.
I studied mathematics.
You speak German.
That's enough.
I don't need an academic translation.
Just someone to...
to translate these notes and
write a short summary. That's all.
Where did you say it is?
In southern Peru.
A little town called Nazca.
We weren't introduced.
Paul. Paul d'Harcourt.
- Maria.
Just Maria.
- Yes
It's a pleasure to meet you, Maria.
- Enchant.
Tired?
- No, I'm fine.
The public telephone is there,
under the arcades.
Theres a little market too.
Here we are.
We'll find you a room.
Hello, everyone.
- Hello!
May I present Maria? She'll be working
with us for a few days.
This is Charles!
- Hello.
Luciana.
- Hello.
And Jrome.
- Hello, Maria.
Good. Any progress
at the Animas Altas dig?
Yes. I think we've even
found a royal grave.
Show me.
- It's coming.
Very good!
You see those colours?
Wonderful, isn't it?
Yes.
It's a marvel.
Of all the Inca ancestors,
the Nazca civilization is
by far the most interesting.
Not great warriors, but great artists.
Look at this.
You'd say these are nave drawings.
Far from it.
Everything is symbolic for the Nazca.
For example, the hummingbird
was the link
between humans and the gods.
The monkey was abundance.
The Nazca used these animals
to write sentences.
Like the hieroglyphs.
Watch out!
- Sorry!
You can put it there.
Thank you!
- Let me open it.
There.
- Joaquin? Thank you.
Oh, how pretty!
Pass the brush, please.
Thank you.
Oh, but she's beautiful!
She's a young woman, very young.
- Mhm.
Undoubtedly
a member of the royal family.
What era would you say?
Middle Nazca?
I'd say the zenith of the Nazca.
To the highest bidder!
- The Muse de l'Homme will love it!
Or even New York!
That's raising the stakes!
Claude, do we have the photos?
- Hot off the press.
Wonderful!
- I've just developed them.
Oh, that's magnificent!
Send this to Paris and to New York.
Could someone please
bring Max Uhles archives?
Yes.
- Please follow me, Maria.
Here. You can start with this one.
These are his notes
from the 1926 Cahuachi dig.
You don't need to translate everything.
Just a summary of each page.
What interests me the most
is anything about
old irrigation systems.
That's my research focus here in Peru.
- Right.
As soon as it's about
irrigation systems.
Exactly.
Claude!
Western man is a man of domination
He is not a man of harmony...
You can't translate everything
in three days, you know that?
I think I've found something.
- Ah?
Here.
Behind the pyramids of Cahuachi,
climb to the Nazca Desert plateau.
A furrow starts from there.
He even made a small sketch.
This is perfect!
- Yes.
This may be just what Im looking for!
- Yes.
Shall we get water?
- Let's
Look. It's breathtaking...
The Nazca built this well
more than 2,000 years ago,
and it's still used today.
Hello!
Shall we?
Cahuachi was the Nazca capital
for 700 years.
But then, very violent earthquakes
shook the region.
And then? What happened?
They abandoned their city and pyramids
and settled further north.
They were absorbed by the Huari,
who were then absorbed into the Incas.
I'm fine, thank you.
Its always the same process.
Its a cycle!
Can you picture that?
You are in AD 300.
The hubbub of the city.
The sounds. The smells...
According to Max Uhles notes,
the furrow should start over there.
Here, Paul!
That must be it.
But I was expecting something deeper.
The stones have been
moved to either side
to reveal the layer of gypsum,
just beneath.
Thats why its white.
What could this be?
Processional paths, perhaps?
But so straight?
So precise?
Certainly not
an irrigation system, anyhow.
Weve wasted our time! Lets go!
Maria, Come on!
Its a long way!
Ill catch up with you.
Miss?
Miss?
Lesson's over.
Can we go?
Yes, yes...
... it should be here...
Ah, Pizarro.
ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY AND CONQUESOF THE KINGDOMS OF PERU
Account of the discovery...
CHAPTER THREE: LIMA TO AREQUIPA
DESERT OF NAZCA
Nazca!
What can we do?
I'm going to find out.
Here, give it to me, please!
Thank you!
New York are offering 20,000!
It's rare, above all.
Wait.
Maria!
You think about it and call me back.
Back already?
I didnt expect you here so soon.
Im just passing through!
Meaning what?
- I'm going on.
Back to the desert.
To do what, all alone in the desert?
I want to see those lines again.
I want to see where they go.
The conquistadors already
talked about them in the 16th century.
It may be a vast network of lines.
You can't go out
into the desert alone, Maria.
It's madness!
- I'm a strong woman!
I don't doubt it, but...
Ill keep you informed, Paul.
What about my translations?
She's out of her mind!
Good afternoon.
We met the other day.
I was with a gentleman.
May I camp here?
Somewhere near your farm?
What do we tell her?
Can she stay here?
No, she can't.
But why? She's just a woman alone.
Anything could happen.
Its just for a few days.
What could happen?
Just let her stay for a night.
Scared she might take your husband?
Is the gringo with you?
No. Its just me. Im alone.
You can go there.
Under the Huarango tree.
Thank you.
Look at the young gringa!
She turned red.
She looks like a tomato on legs.
Hello.
Exactly the same figures
as on the pottery and fabrics.
But gigantic!
They are dozens of metres long.
The Nazca plateau
is covered in figures!
You can hardly see them
from ground level.
Theyre too big.
Youd have to fly to see them properly!
The features are almost
erased in places.
Making them difficult to see.
They must be restored!
Restored one by one!
Nice work.
Charles, can you enter that
in the Cahuachi archives, please?
Wait a minute!
You... you aren't going
to come and see them?
To what end?
Maria, Peru is full
of archaeological sites.
What do you propose
doing with your designs?
Im sure they're very nice.
But we archaeologists work with pottery,
with fabrics, or mummies.
But barely visible lines
in the middle of the desert?
I mean, come on!
I know you're passionate.
Archaeology, finding treasure,
It's exciting to many people.
- My photographs.
My photographs, please.
Don't take it that way!
Youre young!
You got carried away, thats all! But...
My translations... damn it!
Brooms for sale!
Brooms!
Sir? How much for the broom?
Fifty centavos for the broom!
OK, give me three, please.
Thank you. Good day to you.
Hello! Hello!
Maria, hello!
We have to dash to Cuzco for a party.
But well be back in three days.
All right! Have a good trip.
Come on!
Hey!
Hey!
Stop that now!
Stop!
Hey! Hey! Stop!
Hey! Stop!
Madam, please!
- Hey! Are you crazy!
Why are you here? Who are you?
Alejandro, keep working!
- No! No!
What are you doing?
Piss off!
You are destroying a figure!
You are destroying a drawing, sir!
What drawing?
- You can't dig here!
Shut up, crazy bitch!
- You can't dig here!
Ignore it. Keep working!
- No!
This is Montoya's territory!
No! No! Get off me!
- Let's take her!
Aaaahhh!
Calm down, calm down.
You're crazy.
Hello?
I would like to see Seor Montoya.
Who are you?
- Maria Reiche.
Wait a moment.
- Of course.
Seor Montoya.
Hello there, Lady Nazca.
Have we met?
The German woman who sweeps the desert.
I know everything
that happens in my desert.
Unless things have changed
in the last minutes,
the desert does not belong to you.
Of course it doesn't!
It belongs to the Peruvian state, right?
- Right.
Europeans are so naive.
Make no mistake, young lady.
That desert is mine.
But I'm glad it's being decorated
by such a charming creature.
You know when Peru gained independence?
Oh, very good. 1821.
And who do you suppose the desert
belonged to before that?
For example, this bathtub.
Who do you think it belonged to?
Francisco Pizarro!
Do you know him?
Wherever he went,
his men carried it with them.
200 kilos of stone!
It has his name carved on it.
To what do I owe
the honour of this pleasant visit?
I found figures in the desert.
They were made by the Nazca
civilisation 1,500 years ago.
Yes. And?
Your men have destroyed one of them.
It will be gone forever.
And your plantations will destroy them
one after another.
Do you know that you are a legend?
When my grandchildren misbehave,
I tell them, enough!
And I threaten to send them
to sweep the desert
with the madwoman of Nazca.
Paul!
Paul!
Is Paul around?
- No, why?
Where is he?
- He went back to Lima for a few days.
Paul!
Open the door!
I know youre there!
Paul!
- What?
You knew.
Of course I knew.
Everyone knew!
There must be laws.
Sadly the law says we can do archaeology
provided we don't bother anyone.
But the truth is,
we don't have any power.
But you know people who have.
I do.
And they'll tell you Peru is full
of archaeological sites.
And we can't save them all.
Believe me, I know how it works.
We can't defeat the people with power.
Even less her in Peru.
If only...
if only you had the hint
of a meaning, Maria!
Were they tribal symbols?
Processional paths?
Signs for the gods?
But you've got nothing.
Not one clue.
Absolutely nothing!
But I will find out.
Ill find out how
the Nazca made these figures,
and why.
Ill find the unit of measurement
the Nazca used to build these figures.
And I will understand
why they built them.
If I do find the meaning
of the whole network, will you help me?
Who did this?
Montoyas men.
Why do you think your ancestors
made all these?
I don't know.
When the Spaniards came,
they forced us to worship their god.
We were cut off from our roots.
They destroyed everything.
They left nothing behind.
We lost so much, so much knowledge.
Now there is a great void between us
and our ancestors.
MR BOCANEGRA, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND
THE NECESSITY TO PRESERVE...
... THE PAST ...
MR PRESIDENT...
Four...
Seven. Twelve.
Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three...
thirty-four...
Thirty-five. Thirty-five!
So.
the...the head...
One, two, three, four, five.
From here...
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
It should...
Seven metres. This should work.
The arm is 1.7...
From here to here.
It doesn't work.
But could it be on the other side? Why?
Come back, Maria.
Come back, Maria, come back.
Come back, Maria. Where have you gone?
Where are you going?
We'll use the egg too.
Maria. Why are you afraid?
Where have you gone, my little girl?
She is afraid. The egg reveals it,
Yes. She is very much afraid.
The earth has taken her.
If you leave,
the figures will be destroyed,
and you will lose your soul too.
They will be destroyed anyway.
You must promise to stay
until the Celebration of the Sun.
It is our most important day.
When is it?
June 21st.
The day of the solstice.
Where are you going?
I need to look at something!
Its a calendar.
An immense astronomical calendar.
Surely the largest
astronomical observatory
ever built in the history of humankind.
You're sure?
- Yes!
Show me.
Remember the line
that points towards the precipice?
- Mhm.
It is not pointing at the precipice.
It is pointing very precisely
towards the sunset
on the June 21st solstice.
The straight lines point
towards the Sun,
the Moon and the stars.
I've been able to link this line here
to the star Canopus,
and this one
to the star Alpha Centauri.
According to my calculations,
this one...
points towards the equinox.
The Nazca knew exactly where,
and at what time of the year,
an important star
would reappear in the sky.
They knew the motions
of the stars perfectly.
But this is not all.
The figures are not just
beautiful drawings.
The figures are representations
of the starry sky
as the Nazca saw it.
You mean the figures could be
like a zodiacal calendar?
As we have Leo and Scorpio,
they had their own bestiary?
Exactly.
Jrome, Luciana, come here, listen in.
See this line from the monkey.
- Yes
It points very precisely
towards the Great Bear,
when it reappears in November,
in the southern hemisphere.
And the line from the spider
points towards
the constellation of Orion.
So the monkey is certainly
the symbolic representation
of the Great Bear,
and the spider is
the representation of Orion.
So there.
So this calendar
was capable of predicting
the motions of the Moon,
Sun and stars?
Absolutely.
And, probably, eclipses and
other astronomical phenomena.
Alejandro, I need your
opinion and your help.
How can we stop this project
that will destroy everything?
Look, Montoya is a powerful man.
- I know.
There arent many solutions.
Only one, to be exact.
- Congress?
Yes, Congress.
Would you do that for me?
I could propose to my party
that we bring a motion of censure
at the next session of Congress.
Which would mean...
When is the next session
of Congress, Carmen?
In three weeks, sir.
Three weeks.
We would have three weeks
to convince the majority.
How great that would be.
I'm asking as a personal favour.
Let me think about it.
Miss Maria Reiche, you are next.
Mr. Speaker.
The supporters of the irrigation project
want to make you believe
that these are nothing but
remnants of primitive superstitions.
While it is a complex network.
A true work of art.
It is the testimony
of a fascinating civilization,
of its way of thinking,
and of its culture.
Mr. Speaker, Members of Congress,
The inhabitants of ancestral Peru
have been cut off from their past
for five centuries.
And today, this vestige of their history
can be saved.
Nor is it a vestige
of Peruvian culture alone.
It is a one-of-a-kind work
that forms part of the history
of all humanity.
A masterpiece that will
ask questions of the world
for generations to come.
Mr. Speaker,
Members of Congress,
Not only must we save this piece,
but we must also take care of it.
Just as we must take care
of our own world.
Yes! Just as we must
take care of our world.
Now, let us move on to the vote.
All those in favour
of the irrigation project,
please raise your hands.
Clerk of the House, take the count.
All those in favour
of safeguarding the Nazca lines,
please raise your hands.
Clerk of the Court,
I leave the count to you.
Thank you.
The official count is as follows.
In favour of the irrigation project:
49 votes.
In favour of safeguarding
the Nazca lines: 55 votes.
Abstentions, seven.
Therefore, we order
the immediate suspension
of all construction works.
Everything good?
- Yes, perfect!
I envy you.
- What?
I envy you!
No one has ever
seen them as you will now!
They've been there for 1,500 years!
As of today, the Nazca lines
are a protected archaeological site.
SOUTHERN CROSS
Maria Reiche
worked on the Nazca figures
until her death in 1998.
She was 95 years old.
Her resting place
is a few meters from the figures.
To my son
Lady Nazca
Well?
What do you notice
about these lines?
You just need to look,
to observe,
and to tell me what you see.
Thats all.
Hello, Maria!
- Ah! Dolors!
Im finished with classes.
Want to go for a drink?
Oh, no, I cant..
I've something on at the caf
tonight. I have to go.
Thank you.
Hello Diana!
- Hello Maria!
Is Amy here?
No, she's in her apartment.
Thank you.
Have a good day!
In need of fresh air?
You could say that...
Not a party lover?
Not really, no.
Conversations where people
only listen to themselves
drive me to despair.
A sharp statement.
Perhaps, but a true one.
Where in Germany
is that lovely accent from?
Dresden.
- Ah, Dresden!
The Florence of the North.
It's a beautiful city, Dresden.
And how did a young woman from Dresden
come to speak French so well?
I've always loved languages,
and my mother speaks perfect French.
She made sure we could too.
There's a German word I love:
gemtlich.
I love this word.
In French, confortable.
The English say cosy. But...
Gemtlich is...
It's not just cosiness or comfort.
It's an invitation to warmth...
Gemtlich... wonderful, this word!
For some months, I've been leading
an archaeological dig
in the Nazca region.
And before me,
there was a German archaeologist
working there with his team.
Max Uhle, a great archaeologist.
He left all his notes and notebooks.
The problem is that,
other than gemtlich...
I don't know any German words.
I've been looking
for a translator for months.
But I'm not the right person.
I'm not a translator.
I studied mathematics.
You speak German.
That's enough.
I don't need an academic translation.
Just someone to...
to translate these notes and
write a short summary. That's all.
Where did you say it is?
In southern Peru.
A little town called Nazca.
We weren't introduced.
Paul. Paul d'Harcourt.
- Maria.
Just Maria.
- Yes
It's a pleasure to meet you, Maria.
- Enchant.
Tired?
- No, I'm fine.
The public telephone is there,
under the arcades.
Theres a little market too.
Here we are.
We'll find you a room.
Hello, everyone.
- Hello!
May I present Maria? She'll be working
with us for a few days.
This is Charles!
- Hello.
Luciana.
- Hello.
And Jrome.
- Hello, Maria.
Good. Any progress
at the Animas Altas dig?
Yes. I think we've even
found a royal grave.
Show me.
- It's coming.
Very good!
You see those colours?
Wonderful, isn't it?
Yes.
It's a marvel.
Of all the Inca ancestors,
the Nazca civilization is
by far the most interesting.
Not great warriors, but great artists.
Look at this.
You'd say these are nave drawings.
Far from it.
Everything is symbolic for the Nazca.
For example, the hummingbird
was the link
between humans and the gods.
The monkey was abundance.
The Nazca used these animals
to write sentences.
Like the hieroglyphs.
Watch out!
- Sorry!
You can put it there.
Thank you!
- Let me open it.
There.
- Joaquin? Thank you.
Oh, how pretty!
Pass the brush, please.
Thank you.
Oh, but she's beautiful!
She's a young woman, very young.
- Mhm.
Undoubtedly
a member of the royal family.
What era would you say?
Middle Nazca?
I'd say the zenith of the Nazca.
To the highest bidder!
- The Muse de l'Homme will love it!
Or even New York!
That's raising the stakes!
Claude, do we have the photos?
- Hot off the press.
Wonderful!
- I've just developed them.
Oh, that's magnificent!
Send this to Paris and to New York.
Could someone please
bring Max Uhles archives?
Yes.
- Please follow me, Maria.
Here. You can start with this one.
These are his notes
from the 1926 Cahuachi dig.
You don't need to translate everything.
Just a summary of each page.
What interests me the most
is anything about
old irrigation systems.
That's my research focus here in Peru.
- Right.
As soon as it's about
irrigation systems.
Exactly.
Claude!
Western man is a man of domination
He is not a man of harmony...
You can't translate everything
in three days, you know that?
I think I've found something.
- Ah?
Here.
Behind the pyramids of Cahuachi,
climb to the Nazca Desert plateau.
A furrow starts from there.
He even made a small sketch.
This is perfect!
- Yes.
This may be just what Im looking for!
- Yes.
Shall we get water?
- Let's
Look. It's breathtaking...
The Nazca built this well
more than 2,000 years ago,
and it's still used today.
Hello!
Shall we?
Cahuachi was the Nazca capital
for 700 years.
But then, very violent earthquakes
shook the region.
And then? What happened?
They abandoned their city and pyramids
and settled further north.
They were absorbed by the Huari,
who were then absorbed into the Incas.
I'm fine, thank you.
Its always the same process.
Its a cycle!
Can you picture that?
You are in AD 300.
The hubbub of the city.
The sounds. The smells...
According to Max Uhles notes,
the furrow should start over there.
Here, Paul!
That must be it.
But I was expecting something deeper.
The stones have been
moved to either side
to reveal the layer of gypsum,
just beneath.
Thats why its white.
What could this be?
Processional paths, perhaps?
But so straight?
So precise?
Certainly not
an irrigation system, anyhow.
Weve wasted our time! Lets go!
Maria, Come on!
Its a long way!
Ill catch up with you.
Miss?
Miss?
Lesson's over.
Can we go?
Yes, yes...
... it should be here...
Ah, Pizarro.
ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY AND CONQUESOF THE KINGDOMS OF PERU
Account of the discovery...
CHAPTER THREE: LIMA TO AREQUIPA
DESERT OF NAZCA
Nazca!
What can we do?
I'm going to find out.
Here, give it to me, please!
Thank you!
New York are offering 20,000!
It's rare, above all.
Wait.
Maria!
You think about it and call me back.
Back already?
I didnt expect you here so soon.
Im just passing through!
Meaning what?
- I'm going on.
Back to the desert.
To do what, all alone in the desert?
I want to see those lines again.
I want to see where they go.
The conquistadors already
talked about them in the 16th century.
It may be a vast network of lines.
You can't go out
into the desert alone, Maria.
It's madness!
- I'm a strong woman!
I don't doubt it, but...
Ill keep you informed, Paul.
What about my translations?
She's out of her mind!
Good afternoon.
We met the other day.
I was with a gentleman.
May I camp here?
Somewhere near your farm?
What do we tell her?
Can she stay here?
No, she can't.
But why? She's just a woman alone.
Anything could happen.
Its just for a few days.
What could happen?
Just let her stay for a night.
Scared she might take your husband?
Is the gringo with you?
No. Its just me. Im alone.
You can go there.
Under the Huarango tree.
Thank you.
Look at the young gringa!
She turned red.
She looks like a tomato on legs.
Hello.
Exactly the same figures
as on the pottery and fabrics.
But gigantic!
They are dozens of metres long.
The Nazca plateau
is covered in figures!
You can hardly see them
from ground level.
Theyre too big.
Youd have to fly to see them properly!
The features are almost
erased in places.
Making them difficult to see.
They must be restored!
Restored one by one!
Nice work.
Charles, can you enter that
in the Cahuachi archives, please?
Wait a minute!
You... you aren't going
to come and see them?
To what end?
Maria, Peru is full
of archaeological sites.
What do you propose
doing with your designs?
Im sure they're very nice.
But we archaeologists work with pottery,
with fabrics, or mummies.
But barely visible lines
in the middle of the desert?
I mean, come on!
I know you're passionate.
Archaeology, finding treasure,
It's exciting to many people.
- My photographs.
My photographs, please.
Don't take it that way!
Youre young!
You got carried away, thats all! But...
My translations... damn it!
Brooms for sale!
Brooms!
Sir? How much for the broom?
Fifty centavos for the broom!
OK, give me three, please.
Thank you. Good day to you.
Hello! Hello!
Maria, hello!
We have to dash to Cuzco for a party.
But well be back in three days.
All right! Have a good trip.
Come on!
Hey!
Hey!
Stop that now!
Stop!
Hey! Hey! Stop!
Hey! Stop!
Madam, please!
- Hey! Are you crazy!
Why are you here? Who are you?
Alejandro, keep working!
- No! No!
What are you doing?
Piss off!
You are destroying a figure!
You are destroying a drawing, sir!
What drawing?
- You can't dig here!
Shut up, crazy bitch!
- You can't dig here!
Ignore it. Keep working!
- No!
This is Montoya's territory!
No! No! Get off me!
- Let's take her!
Aaaahhh!
Calm down, calm down.
You're crazy.
Hello?
I would like to see Seor Montoya.
Who are you?
- Maria Reiche.
Wait a moment.
- Of course.
Seor Montoya.
Hello there, Lady Nazca.
Have we met?
The German woman who sweeps the desert.
I know everything
that happens in my desert.
Unless things have changed
in the last minutes,
the desert does not belong to you.
Of course it doesn't!
It belongs to the Peruvian state, right?
- Right.
Europeans are so naive.
Make no mistake, young lady.
That desert is mine.
But I'm glad it's being decorated
by such a charming creature.
You know when Peru gained independence?
Oh, very good. 1821.
And who do you suppose the desert
belonged to before that?
For example, this bathtub.
Who do you think it belonged to?
Francisco Pizarro!
Do you know him?
Wherever he went,
his men carried it with them.
200 kilos of stone!
It has his name carved on it.
To what do I owe
the honour of this pleasant visit?
I found figures in the desert.
They were made by the Nazca
civilisation 1,500 years ago.
Yes. And?
Your men have destroyed one of them.
It will be gone forever.
And your plantations will destroy them
one after another.
Do you know that you are a legend?
When my grandchildren misbehave,
I tell them, enough!
And I threaten to send them
to sweep the desert
with the madwoman of Nazca.
Paul!
Paul!
Is Paul around?
- No, why?
Where is he?
- He went back to Lima for a few days.
Paul!
Open the door!
I know youre there!
Paul!
- What?
You knew.
Of course I knew.
Everyone knew!
There must be laws.
Sadly the law says we can do archaeology
provided we don't bother anyone.
But the truth is,
we don't have any power.
But you know people who have.
I do.
And they'll tell you Peru is full
of archaeological sites.
And we can't save them all.
Believe me, I know how it works.
We can't defeat the people with power.
Even less her in Peru.
If only...
if only you had the hint
of a meaning, Maria!
Were they tribal symbols?
Processional paths?
Signs for the gods?
But you've got nothing.
Not one clue.
Absolutely nothing!
But I will find out.
Ill find out how
the Nazca made these figures,
and why.
Ill find the unit of measurement
the Nazca used to build these figures.
And I will understand
why they built them.
If I do find the meaning
of the whole network, will you help me?
Who did this?
Montoyas men.
Why do you think your ancestors
made all these?
I don't know.
When the Spaniards came,
they forced us to worship their god.
We were cut off from our roots.
They destroyed everything.
They left nothing behind.
We lost so much, so much knowledge.
Now there is a great void between us
and our ancestors.
MR BOCANEGRA, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND
THE NECESSITY TO PRESERVE...
... THE PAST ...
MR PRESIDENT...
Four...
Seven. Twelve.
Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three...
thirty-four...
Thirty-five. Thirty-five!
So.
the...the head...
One, two, three, four, five.
From here...
Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
It should...
Seven metres. This should work.
The arm is 1.7...
From here to here.
It doesn't work.
But could it be on the other side? Why?
Come back, Maria.
Come back, Maria, come back.
Come back, Maria. Where have you gone?
Where are you going?
We'll use the egg too.
Maria. Why are you afraid?
Where have you gone, my little girl?
She is afraid. The egg reveals it,
Yes. She is very much afraid.
The earth has taken her.
If you leave,
the figures will be destroyed,
and you will lose your soul too.
They will be destroyed anyway.
You must promise to stay
until the Celebration of the Sun.
It is our most important day.
When is it?
June 21st.
The day of the solstice.
Where are you going?
I need to look at something!
Its a calendar.
An immense astronomical calendar.
Surely the largest
astronomical observatory
ever built in the history of humankind.
You're sure?
- Yes!
Show me.
Remember the line
that points towards the precipice?
- Mhm.
It is not pointing at the precipice.
It is pointing very precisely
towards the sunset
on the June 21st solstice.
The straight lines point
towards the Sun,
the Moon and the stars.
I've been able to link this line here
to the star Canopus,
and this one
to the star Alpha Centauri.
According to my calculations,
this one...
points towards the equinox.
The Nazca knew exactly where,
and at what time of the year,
an important star
would reappear in the sky.
They knew the motions
of the stars perfectly.
But this is not all.
The figures are not just
beautiful drawings.
The figures are representations
of the starry sky
as the Nazca saw it.
You mean the figures could be
like a zodiacal calendar?
As we have Leo and Scorpio,
they had their own bestiary?
Exactly.
Jrome, Luciana, come here, listen in.
See this line from the monkey.
- Yes
It points very precisely
towards the Great Bear,
when it reappears in November,
in the southern hemisphere.
And the line from the spider
points towards
the constellation of Orion.
So the monkey is certainly
the symbolic representation
of the Great Bear,
and the spider is
the representation of Orion.
So there.
So this calendar
was capable of predicting
the motions of the Moon,
Sun and stars?
Absolutely.
And, probably, eclipses and
other astronomical phenomena.
Alejandro, I need your
opinion and your help.
How can we stop this project
that will destroy everything?
Look, Montoya is a powerful man.
- I know.
There arent many solutions.
Only one, to be exact.
- Congress?
Yes, Congress.
Would you do that for me?
I could propose to my party
that we bring a motion of censure
at the next session of Congress.
Which would mean...
When is the next session
of Congress, Carmen?
In three weeks, sir.
Three weeks.
We would have three weeks
to convince the majority.
How great that would be.
I'm asking as a personal favour.
Let me think about it.
Miss Maria Reiche, you are next.
Mr. Speaker.
The supporters of the irrigation project
want to make you believe
that these are nothing but
remnants of primitive superstitions.
While it is a complex network.
A true work of art.
It is the testimony
of a fascinating civilization,
of its way of thinking,
and of its culture.
Mr. Speaker, Members of Congress,
The inhabitants of ancestral Peru
have been cut off from their past
for five centuries.
And today, this vestige of their history
can be saved.
Nor is it a vestige
of Peruvian culture alone.
It is a one-of-a-kind work
that forms part of the history
of all humanity.
A masterpiece that will
ask questions of the world
for generations to come.
Mr. Speaker,
Members of Congress,
Not only must we save this piece,
but we must also take care of it.
Just as we must take care
of our own world.
Yes! Just as we must
take care of our world.
Now, let us move on to the vote.
All those in favour
of the irrigation project,
please raise your hands.
Clerk of the House, take the count.
All those in favour
of safeguarding the Nazca lines,
please raise your hands.
Clerk of the Court,
I leave the count to you.
Thank you.
The official count is as follows.
In favour of the irrigation project:
49 votes.
In favour of safeguarding
the Nazca lines: 55 votes.
Abstentions, seven.
Therefore, we order
the immediate suspension
of all construction works.
Everything good?
- Yes, perfect!
I envy you.
- What?
I envy you!
No one has ever
seen them as you will now!
They've been there for 1,500 years!
As of today, the Nazca lines
are a protected archaeological site.
SOUTHERN CROSS
Maria Reiche
worked on the Nazca figures
until her death in 1998.
She was 95 years old.
Her resting place
is a few meters from the figures.
To my son