THE HOUSE OF SAND
MARANHÃO STATE BRAZIL, 1910
Pedro... come here!
There are some donkeys nearby.
This is the place. The map is right.
We've been here before.
These are the lagoons.
There will be water all over here.
We found. Come on!
We're settling here!
We've found it!
Come on, come on!
Vasco...
I know I agreed to come here with you.
I never thought it would be easy.
I'm expecting a baby.
I waited to tell you until I was sure.
It'll be a man and he'll help me here.
This is no place for a child, Vasco.
This...
This is no place for anyone.
Please, Vasco, let's go back home
Let's go back?
I never thought it would be like this.
It's the only child I'll have All in my life, let's go back?
What?
No way back, Áurea,
No way back.
Look... there's somebody over there.
There's some people, mother. Come on.
Tell them to load the grain on the animals.
My wife and her mother will stay in camp.
You, Tonho, and two men;
follow me!
I bought this land with the lagoons around.
I have the papers.
Here...
Here's my name.
This land is mine.
You better leave, mister.
Can you read?
- This here is a deed! - Easy, boss!
Massu!
- They're fugitive slaves! - Come on, let's go.
We're packing everything up and moving out, everybody.
They're fugitive slaves!
Let's go.
- Vasco? - We're moving out.
Why are they leaving?
What's going on?
Tonho, who gave the orders? Stay put, come back everybody.
Those are fugitive slaves.
You go and trade all this for lumber and palm leaves.
Sorry, mister, but I'm not going back there.
Is it money you want? Take, take the money.
Take it. Everybody stay and set up camp.
Now, that's an order.
We're all staying. Everybody!
Get in, Get in there!
That's all I have.
We wandered around these dunes for more than a month.
We can't go back now.
My wife is pregnant, and her mother's sick.
Got anything else?
But I want lumber and palm leaves.
We can sleep in the house tonight. Go get Áurea.
Your husband told you to go inside.
I'm not staying in this house.
Bastard!
- I refuse to live here! - We'll see about that.
- Let go of me.
I had my own house!
You only had debts!
Living here is too high a price for my debts.
I paid a high price for you, too.
Get in the house
Go inside.
Lie down.
This man is crazy. He'll kill my daughter.
He'll kill me and everybody else.
You have to get us out of here.
Ma'am, you know it's dangerous.
Take it. This is all I have.
Look.
Can you get us out of here?
You get us out of here?
You thieves! Bastards! I'll get you!
Go to hell,
Go to hell, I can do the work myself I'll do it myself...
Ran away. They ran away.
Ran away!
Go back inside, go on,
I can do it myself. I don't need anyone.
Áurea, Áurea...
- Come on, mother. - Go,
I can't go any farther. Go, on.
You go ahead.
Come on, mother.
Go, you go ahead,
Go, on...
Come on, daughter,
Go...
Let's go back, mother.
Are you looking for fish?
I'm trying to leave with my daughter.
This is open sea. The boat is just for fishing.
Doesn't anybody ever come here?
I've never seen anybody coming... or leaving.
Mother of God. Holy Mother. My Jesus Christ.
Thank you.
No use crying, ma'am.
Better eat something... until the rain stops.
Mr. Massu... Is your name Massu?
It's salty...
The fish is salty.
Do you make the salt?
No.
Where does it come from?
From my father's store.
Where's that, Mr. Massu?
On the island.
Island?
God bless you.
Áurea!
Mother!
Áurea!
Mother!
That's the island.
Let's go.
Good morning.
Good morning, everybody. Good morning.
Where is... Massu's father's store?
Anybody home?
Go get them.
Grandpa.
- Good morning - Good morning
Could we have some water?
And something to eat, would you have?
We need help.
The men ran away with everything.
Everything.
Even the food.
I have something here...
I have another question. Don't you know of a village or small town...
A small town... Nearby
I was born here. Never left this place.
But this man that brings you salt...
couldn't he take us...
out of here,
to some town or maybe a road?
I don't know. You'll have to ask him.
When is he coming?
I don't know.
My father came here as a runaway.
He came and stayed.
People told him that slavery had been abolished...
and that he could go back but...
he never went back to check it out.
I think he was afraid it was a lie.
In case anyone shows up...
anyone who could take you both... somewhere else,
I'll let you know.
Excuse me, ma'am.
Come in, Mr. Massu.
Has the salt man arrived?
Has he, Mr. Massu?
Only after the rains...
if the lagoons don't flood over.
If you'd like... anything here,
that might be useful, please help yourself
Take this tablecloth; your wife will love it.
She's passed away.
She died giving birth.
But you do have a house.
A house and a son.
So take it for your son... And put it on the table,
for eating dinner.
They're photographs.
Do you want... to keep it?
No.
Can I put it away?
Salt the fish before it goes bad.
Can you bring me some salt?
It's right here.
Your house will sink, ma'am.
It's a bad place for a house.
We're not staying here.
Neither is the sand. It sweeps everything away.
This sand moves.
Now they'll know there's someone here.
Mrs. Maria... Mrs. Maria!
Good afternoon ma'am.
I brought Mr. Chico.
Mr. Chico...
It's a pleasure.
Massu, is this all he's brought?
Doesn't he have a cart?
- What cart? - Mr. Chico,
Don't you have a cart,
or animals, or anything?
Áurea, get this crazy idea out of your mind!
Don't even think about leaving pregnant.
Where are you going from here?
Don't even think about leaving pregnant!
- Where are you going? - To the countryside.
- And then you're coming back? - No, I'll go to the coast to get salt.
The baby will be born in the middle of the dunes.
- Can we take a boat from there? - No, the waves are too rough.
It's open sea, like here.
- When are you coming back? - After the rains.
We'll have to wait.
We'll wait.
Mr. Chico...
Hey, Mr. Chico.
The dune has come closer. The sand will drift down.
Let it drift. Did you bring my donkeys?
How long will it take for the goats?
It's hard to tell. It depends on the trail.
Was it hard to get here?
There's a lot of sand out there.
You can only trade the goats for cash.
You only accept cash.
Listen, some goats always get lost on the way.
If you bring me the money, we'll talk later.
Is Massu selling his, too?
He has nothing to do with this.
He has to come with me on this trip.
I can't make it on my own.
I'll ask the boys to help you.
They're useless, ma'am. I can only count on Massu.
He's the right man for this journey.
You're actually sinking.
Where do you want to take me?
Hello, Massu. To sell some goats.
Until the island I take you, I live there.
If it'd be until the island I'd go alone by myself.
I want to trade the goats for cash.
- No, you don't. - I'm going to sell my goats.
No, you aren't going to sell nothing, my daughter.
We have nowhere to go.
She's already got the donkeys.
You...
Did you trade our goats for donkeys?
Massu.
I'll leave you everything.
What about me?
You're coming with me.
I'm not going anywhere.
Massu... She'll pay you with sand.
Don't take it!
This... This is a property deed.
It states who the owner of this land is.
This belonged to Vasco.
It says here José Vasco de Sá.
And after he died, I inherited it.
But it was never actually mine.
I signed it...
and the land
belongs to you now Massu.
This is yours.
Massu,
I don't know what...
what would've happened to us here without you.
But I need you to help us one last time, Massu,
Last time.
I need you To sell this goats...
Please sell the goats and bring me the money.
Mr. Chico will take us later. I've already spoken to him.
You've been struggling to get out of here for ten years now.
Have you forgotten how things were out there?
No, I haven't.
But I don't miss it anymore.
You got used to it.
This sand, this sun, this place. This house is falling apart.
We can build another one.
What do you expect out there?
What good could life offer to you, out there?
I refuse to bury myself here.
How can you live off 50 or even 100 goats?
Have you thought about it?
I'm leaving this place.
And you and Maria are coming with me.
I like it here.
Here, no man tells me what to do.
No?
No.
What about Massu?
Want to eat something?
Do you know what time it is?
Don't even know the month.
She doesn't wake up until dinner time.
To do what?
She can play, help us...
Why can't she be like everybody else?
Because she's not!
Since she was born,
I've been waiting... for her to grow up to leave this place.
Come here, Massu.
I'm coming, Chico.
Where is Mr. Chico?
He's dead.
What?
He's dead.
Where did he die? How did he die?
From a cough.
A day and a half from here.
Where?
A day and a half from here.
I want to go there.
He was laughing... joking, talking normally.
Suddenly he started coughing.
Coughing and coughing. He got all red in the face.
I pounded on his chest.
I blew into his mouth.
But it didn't work. He couldn't breath.
I'll go by myself, Massu.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Is this... Is this yours?
Where did you find this?
On the sand, close to my house.
House? I didn't see any house around.
No, It's...
It's a two-day walk from here.
You walked for two days just to return it?
Yes.
The victory we celebrate here... is not only ours
but of all mankind.
This is a joyous moment that makes us forget our sorrows.
Let's celebrate with song...
a lively song. Through music, we overcome our grief...
and enjoy a happy life.
As the Bible says, "To each day, its own troubles".
Are you from around here?
No, I'm from the capital.
I came because my husband bought a piece of land here...
and my mother came with us. But he died.