The Crying Conch (2017) Movie Script
1
How did it begin?
It began when a boat
arrived in Guinea.
A lot of people with fair skin...
...green eyes and blue eyes.
With arms on their backs.
What did they want?
They came to buy
the children of Guinea.
To buy the children of Guinea!
And why?
To work on the other side
of the ocean.
Well, some say it's work.
I say it's slavery.
I say it's working
like an animal.
When they came to Guinea...
...they looked us over
and they bargained.
They bought the children of Guinea.
They bought men...
...they bought children...
...they bought women.
They packed them into the boat.
They packed them up.
They stacked them up.
Men on men! Women on women!
Boys on boys!
Children on children!
Worse than animals!
They took them by sea.
Far away from Guinea.
Guinea, the kingdom of kings.
Land of the Mandinka,
country of rebels.
The boat sailed to Haiti.
After many waves and many winds...
...many suns,
many moons, many nights...
...and many rains on the sea.
Inside the boat, the children
of Guinea were put in the hold.
In darkness.
They couldn't see the sun
or the clouds.
But sometimes, the master
would let them up on deck...
...to see the sun and the sky...
...and the sun would
cover them like clothes.
Mackandal was there.
Mackandal was far from Guinea.
Far from his kingdom of order...
...his place of birth.
Do you have a job?
No.
What will you do?
You've asked the spirits
and they haven't answered you?
Have the voodoos answered you?
You're going to work as a slave?
Go to the city and find work.
If you find work, stay there.
But if you don't...
...you must go back
to where you came from.
When they arrived in Haiti,
the slaves were put to work.
In the sugarcane fields,
as servants in homes...
...and in factories,
working with animals.
Here are the rules of the game:
Fair skin, green and blue eyes,
these are the masters.
Work begins before sunrise
and ends when the master says so.
But!
The rules of the game
don't end there.
Rebels who run away will be beaten.
50, 100, 300 lashes.
Drums!
Mackandal was never afraid.
If you run away again,
they cut off an arm.
The third time,
they cut off a leg.
Mackandal was never afraid.
I am Mackandal!
Imagine!
The King of the Mandinka...
...forced to work like an animal.
I could not bare this.
Cutting sugarcane
morning, noon and night.
I was there.
But one day, I escaped.
You have free time these days?
No, I don't.
- You are working on a new album?
- It's almost ready.
- Is it expensive?
- It doesn't matter.
How famous are you?
No, we are new.
What's your style?
Do you play merengue?
You don't know what style you play?
Leave me alone.
If it's Creole crap, you are screwed.
Hey! Hey!
- What are you doing?
- I'm working, boss.
And you?
Is this what I pay you for?
Is this what I pay you for?
He can't do that.
He should punch him in the face.
- Shut up and work!
- I have the right to speak!
Sir, sir!
Please, I need help.
She's giving birth.
Come!
Help me!
Hold on to her!
Hold her.
Push! Push!
Be patient now.
Now push. Push!
He's on his way.
Breathe!
Place your bets.
Bet everything!
Don't touch!
What's wrong with you?
Twelve!
I escaped to the woods.
My friend Ti Nwl
was waiting for me.
I was alone, then we became two.
I looked around
and I saw we were two.
Two became many.
So we decided to return,
to face the masters.
We found some mushrooms,
some djon-djon.
When we ate them,
they almost killed us.
But we were strong.
We went back with the mushrooms.
We feed them to our master's dog.
They killed the dogs.
We fed them to our master's cats.
They killed the cats.
If we can kill beasts,
we can kill men.
If we can kill men,
we can kill masters!
How did it begin?
It began when a boat
arrived in Guinea.
A lot of people with fair skin...
...green eyes and blue eyes.
With arms on their backs.
What did they want?
They came to buy
the children of Guinea.
To buy the children of Guinea!
And why?
To work on the other side
of the ocean.
Well, some say it's work.
I say it's slavery.
I say it's working
like an animal.
When they came to Guinea...
...they looked us over
and they bargained.
They bought the children of Guinea.
They bought men...
...they bought children...
...they bought women.
They packed them into the boat.
They packed them up.
They stacked them up.
Men on men! Women on women!
Boys on boys!
Children on children!
Worse than animals!
They took them by sea.
Far away from Guinea.
Guinea, the kingdom of kings.
Land of the Mandinka,
country of rebels.
The boat sailed to Haiti.
After many waves and many winds...
...many suns,
many moons, many nights...
...and many rains on the sea.
Inside the boat, the children
of Guinea were put in the hold.
In darkness.
They couldn't see the sun
or the clouds.
But sometimes, the master
would let them up on deck...
...to see the sun and the sky...
...and the sun would
cover them like clothes.
Mackandal was there.
Mackandal was far from Guinea.
Far from his kingdom of order...
...his place of birth.
Do you have a job?
No.
What will you do?
You've asked the spirits
and they haven't answered you?
Have the voodoos answered you?
You're going to work as a slave?
Go to the city and find work.
If you find work, stay there.
But if you don't...
...you must go back
to where you came from.
When they arrived in Haiti,
the slaves were put to work.
In the sugarcane fields,
as servants in homes...
...and in factories,
working with animals.
Here are the rules of the game:
Fair skin, green and blue eyes,
these are the masters.
Work begins before sunrise
and ends when the master says so.
But!
The rules of the game
don't end there.
Rebels who run away will be beaten.
50, 100, 300 lashes.
Drums!
Mackandal was never afraid.
If you run away again,
they cut off an arm.
The third time,
they cut off a leg.
Mackandal was never afraid.
I am Mackandal!
Imagine!
The King of the Mandinka...
...forced to work like an animal.
I could not bare this.
Cutting sugarcane
morning, noon and night.
I was there.
But one day, I escaped.
You have free time these days?
No, I don't.
- You are working on a new album?
- It's almost ready.
- Is it expensive?
- It doesn't matter.
How famous are you?
No, we are new.
What's your style?
Do you play merengue?
You don't know what style you play?
Leave me alone.
If it's Creole crap, you are screwed.
Hey! Hey!
- What are you doing?
- I'm working, boss.
And you?
Is this what I pay you for?
Is this what I pay you for?
He can't do that.
He should punch him in the face.
- Shut up and work!
- I have the right to speak!
Sir, sir!
Please, I need help.
She's giving birth.
Come!
Help me!
Hold on to her!
Hold her.
Push! Push!
Be patient now.
Now push. Push!
He's on his way.
Breathe!
Place your bets.
Bet everything!
Don't touch!
What's wrong with you?
Twelve!
I escaped to the woods.
My friend Ti Nwl
was waiting for me.
I was alone, then we became two.
I looked around
and I saw we were two.
Two became many.
So we decided to return,
to face the masters.
We found some mushrooms,
some djon-djon.
When we ate them,
they almost killed us.
But we were strong.
We went back with the mushrooms.
We feed them to our master's dog.
They killed the dogs.
We fed them to our master's cats.
They killed the cats.
If we can kill beasts,
we can kill men.
If we can kill men,
we can kill masters!