This is the valley of Ling...
... as it was in the early summer of 1937.
The people who lived here were farmers.
They'd heard there was a world beyond the hills that bounded their little valley...
... but as yet, no one had climbed those hills to see for himself.
Perhaps it is because they were more fortunate than most.
The land was rich, and their bellies were full.
On this farm, lived Ling Tan and his family.
And they were among the most fortunate.
They were neither too wealthy, nor too poor.
And they were greatly respected in the nearby village.
They owned a strong house...
... and tilled the soil that belonged to their ancestors.
They were both good and bad, both wise and foolish...
... and sometimes all these things at the same moment.
And therefore, they were very much like such families in any other land.
It was time for the rice seedlings to be planted...
... and Ling Tan was eager for but one thing:
To finish as much of the work as could be done...
... before the sun was gone from the sky.
But Ling's first and second sons were eager for many other things as well.
For they were young.
Hey!
- Is that your mother? - Yes, my father.
Come, old man. I want to speak to you.
Time enough to speak with women when the sun is gone.
I know you hear me, you old turnip.
You two do not stop for anything until the field is done.
Ease your heart about that, Father.
What is it, old woman? What is it?
You grow deaf? Must I bawl like an ox to make you hear?
There is work and you call me from the fields.
Come. Come.
You work too hard and too long. You have sons to labor for you.
What nonsense is this? I'm not yet so feeble.
You're no longer young and you must not strain.
I do not strain myself. I'm as much a man as I ever was.
Come now. Wash your legs.
The very weight of the mud can tire a man of your great age.
Well, perhaps a younger wife with a softer will might be added to a man's household.
Bring her on, old man.
I shall have someone to help me with my work.
And you shall be in your grave before your time.
I think I would survive. I may try it to see.
What of those teeth marks behind your right ear, old turnip?
A hill tiger bit me. It was a long time ago.
I was the hill tiger.
You made the mistake of treating me like a tame house cat.
It could happen again.
Not so long as the scars remain to remind me.
Is it not good with me here?
Yes, it is, but a man with his juices still in him should not so indulge himself.
- I should go back to the fields. - The field will be finished without you.
Here. If you must be useful, help me prepare these ducks for market.
Ducks. That is woman's work.
If heaven sends a woman too much work, heaven will also send help to do it.
How is it, old woman, that heaven's will and yours are always the same?
The grass is good in the hills and the ox grows fat.
Which is the ox and which is our brother?
Is our brother dreaming?
No, that vacant look is his usual expression.
You are very dirty. Have you been playing in the mud?
We have. It was very pleasant. Why do you not join us tomorrow?
Oh, you ask too much.
Where you find hard work, you will not find our brother.
There is work for all. For those with strong backs and for those with strong minds.
If the mind is strong, the back need not bend.
Nor need the feet get muddy.
He has no mind, only a temper.
Brother, your mind is absent these days. Why is this?
I think, and my thoughts trouble me.
What is a brother for if not to share your troubles?
Well, then, here is one of the things:
Women are not the same as we are.
Married four months and you just found this out?
But here is another thing: Women do not think as men do.
Women should not think. They're not equal to it.
My wife Jade is equal to it.
You worry too much about that one of yours.
When she has a son, a son will be more important.
A son. I have not yet a wife... As I would have her.
She is like a western wind. When I reach for her, she's gone.
Even western wind can be caught and tamed.
I do not want her tame. Only, I do not understand her.
She is mine and yet she is not mine.
When I touch her, it is as if her spirit goes and only her body is left.
She is beautiful and sweet-smelling. Is that not enough?
It is your fault. I've watched you.
When the men sit and smoke, you're the first to leave.
Can I help it if the desire for sleep overcomes me?
Do you not know that with a woman, eagerness passes for weakness?
- Sit with the old men until the last as I do. - That is easy for you.
I've not found Jade in the same place twice.
And never waiting for me.
- Do you think that is the answer? - Yes.
Then I will not go to her until dawn. And perhaps not even then.
Jade, Orchid. The men of the house are at home.
Now, where are the women my sons married?
Jade, Orchid. Oh, there you are.
- Your husband comes. Attend him. - I go, Mother.
Take this clean towel I have made ready.
Mother, I must tell you about my youngest child.
My grandchild? What about her?
She was lying there and all at once, she opened her mouth and I thought...
I thought she was going to speak.
You are surely one of those who has given birth...
...and remains in a daze at what you've done.
- Your husband waits. - Yes.
Jade.
- Take care. - You take care.
I wish you would take that squealing thing from him.
You should get him a wife. It's time he brought grandsons into this house.
- In time. In time. - If you told him to marry...
...you're not sure he would obey.
- So you spare yourself dealing with him. - There is no need to deal with him.
- Shall I tell you a secret thing in your heart? - No.
Our third son is the son you love best, but most uneasily.
He's different from the others. You fear that.
That's why you go on the far side of an argument.
Our sons wait for their towels.
Jade. Jade, where is my towel? Jade?
Thank you, Jade.
I've not seen her since the sun was in the middle of the sky.
The matchmaker cheated us.
- What? My wife is not in the house? - I could not find her.
This comes of women having their feet free. Nowadays they run around like goats.
- May I help you, Mother? - Have you ever done so?
Or has your worthless one?
All that is done in this house, I do.
- At least my wife stays at home. - Jade has a reason to go to the village.
When a woman knows a man wants her, she will ever display herself.
That is true. Have you not seen our fourth cousin look at Jade?
He resembles a sick cat:
I would beat her until she was not so good to look upon.
If more of that were done, there will be less trouble with wives.
Only men should make sure first they are able.
These new-fashioned women are not easily beaten.
I will dress and go find her. Then we will see who is able.
Eat first, my son, and your arm will be stronger for all this beating.
Who tries to see within our house without himself being seen?
Are you eating, wife of my third cousin?
Our rice is poor and scanty. And we have no pork at all.
- But will you share it with us? - Thank you. But I cannot.
Are you alone, then? Is my fourth cousin not here?
My son is not home yet.
But your third cousin, my honored husband, is here.
How are you, sir? What new thing have you found in your book?
Nothing his family can chew, swallow and grow fat on, I can tell you.
My fourth cousin is in the city perhaps?
I do not know. My son has been gone since the noon meal.
Well, I must get on. I have business in the village.
He lies.
He has no business in the village at this hour.
He looks for his wife, Jade.
And if he finds her with our son, as he well may...
Jade is married to Lao Er. The thing my son felt for her has ended.
It will never be ended until one of them is dead.
You old book fool, it is your fault. It is your fault we starve.
It is your fault we did not get Jade for our son.
- Can I control a woman's choice? - A woman's choice?
Did not your cousin Ling Tan give you 30 silver dollars?
Did you not tell our son he could not have the girl?
Quiet, woman. I read.
Out of all this, something terrible will happen.
We are students who have come from the university...
...to travel through the country and tell you and others like you...
...news of the war in the North.
The Japanese march toward us.
These are two pictures of what the Japanese are doing.
They are doing it now.
While you sit here and watch, these very things are happening.
Shen, have you seen my fourth cousin?
These are your people they are murdering and mine.
This is our country they are looting.
The enemy is ruthless. He regards us only as slaves.
We cannot deal with him. We must resist him.
- I'm sorry. - Seeking someone perhaps?
- Not the one who would sit near you. - If she were my wife...
It is with pleasure that I leave you.
When the Japanese reach your village...
...they will come with lies in their mouths and death in their hands.
And you must resist them, even to your own deaths.
And beyond.
Are you able to do this?
Tell me you are. All of you rise and tell me you are able.
We are able.
See? There is one who speaks.
Are there not others? Tell me. Come.
Yes. Come.
You come. I'm hungry.
The woman should have food ready when her man is hungry.
My wife is at home where she should be.
Am I speaking into the wind?
Have you not understood what you have seen and heard?
I know you have. Tell me you will resist the enemy when he comes.
- How then can we resist? - Can we fight machines with our hands?
Why do you shame me by showing yourself off to everybody?
I come home, my belly roaring like a hungry lion.
Why did you not eat and silence it?
How can I when you're not in your place? I'm ashamed before my parents.
- I wish you'd not go in the street alone. - Why?
- Other men will see you. - I do not look.
I do not want them to look at you. You're my wife.
But I cannot stay always in the courtyard. These are not ancient times.
I wish it were those times. I'd like to lock you up.
If you lock me up, I wouldn't eat and then die.
I would not let you.
But these are the new times, and I will come and go as I please.
- I should beat you. - I have done nothing.
But you are not where a woman should be at...
At home, waiting for her husband.
And there is this thing.
Before we were wed, when the choice was put to you...
...why did you not choose me above my fourth cousin?
If you could choose now, which would it be?
You both have two arms and legs, and all your fingers and toes.
Neither of you are scabby-headed, nor cross-eyed.
- What, then, is the difference between you? - You used me very ill.
You look so pale and so thin. You are so to be pitied, you big turnip.
I wish I were a man of learning.
I wish I knew the words to ease myself so I could tell you what I feel.
What do you feel?
I know, but...
I do not have the words.
I too am not very learned.
Is that why you do not often speak to me?
Two must speak for understanding.
If I tell you everything that is in me, will you tell me all that is in you?
- Yes. - Then tonight we will speak together?
Yes.
Fetch me my food. I will eat here in the courtyard.
- Yes, my husband. - And since you did not cook the meal...
...you may clean up after it. - Yes, my husband.
He must have beaten her.
I do not take too much credit to myself...
...that I'm the only man in these parts who can read and write.
But how would I find time for my books if you did not send me rice...
...and a new coat now and then, and sometimes even meat?
You are a scholar and my honored cousin.
It is only proper that your needs and comforts be supplied.
My land yields enough for all.
Orchid, it is time my grandson was in his bed.
- Yes, my mother. - But, cousin, have you ever thought of this:
When your time comes to go into the earth yourself...
...shall you divide your land between your sons?
Yes, I have thought of that.
You have made a good beginning. Do not spoil it.
Will there still be enough for all?
Or will they quarrel because their bellies are not full?
As my eldest son, you must answer our cousin.
Can this land feed three men and their wives and children after I am gone?
It can. For I will eat less meat, if my brothers will, and leave in peace with them.
If I have taught my sons that peace is good, I am content.
If you had been with me today, you would not speak so easily of peace, my father.
If it were proper for a man to speak to his daughter-in-law...
...l'd ask her why should not peaceful men speak of peace.
Forgive my wife, Father, for speaking so boldly, but today at the teahouse...
...students came and showed the magic pictures and talked.
They told of the war in the North and how the dwarfs...
...from the East Ocean islands burn cities and kill our people.
I wonder if my daughter remembers...
...when other students brought the pictures of flies.
I remember. Flies as large as water buffalo.
Yes, and they told us they were more dangerous than tigers.
And everyone knows that our flies...
...are as small as a grain of rice and as harmless.
And so does it not follow that today also perhaps...
...both words and pictures were made too large to be either truth or life?
Does that not quiet the woman's fear of my daughter?
Of course it does. And it is time she was in her bed.
But we who are men know that there is killing and suffering in the North.
And do you not believe it will come here, Father?
I believe something else.
If a man lives his life in decency and as he should...
...and then evil comes to him, it cannot harm him.
And he can conquer and overcome it. This, I live by.
And so I think do all the kinsmen in our village.
- We are men of peace. - True, true, true.
Also, the North is a long way from here. And so is my bed, and I must get to it.
She still is not cured. Wait 500 heartbeats. Then go to her.
I will have my shadow to walk home with.
Yes, the moon is round tonight and the color of a ripe peach.
I have read that the Earth, too, is round.
You have told me that but one thing troubles me.
How is it then if the world is round that men on the bottom side can walk?
Everything is opposite there.
Children are born with white hair and blue eyes.
Scholars begin to the write from the wrong side of the page...
...and youth is admired instead of age.
So why can we not believe they walk with their heads hanging down?
And enjoy it too.
Old woman, have you ever thought that somewhere very far below...
...the spot where we stand, our land goes on and on...
...until at last a stranger stands on it?
And plants seed and takes his harvest from it as though it were his own?
But it is not. It is ours. And our sons' after us.
Yes, the land is ours as deep as it goes beneath our feet.
And the stars above our heads belong to us, and whatever there is beyond them.
But I'm troubled about that stranger on our land.
Somewhere he reaps his grain without telling you.
- You should ask him for rent. - That I would do.
I would have the law on him if I knew how to tell him so.
Do not be troubled, my son. It is often good to beat a woman.
Oh, yes. Yes, my mother.
Old man, there is something here and now that troubles me.
It is Jade.
Orchid is stupid but she does what I tell her to do.
While Jade... I do not think I like her.
Do you know why? Because she is the same as you are yourself.
No man can tell what will come out of her. And here is another thing:
Our second son will never tire of her as I have never tired of you.
This is the first time I found you waiting for me.
Who will speak first, then?
You. Ask me what you will.
Well, then...
What are you thinking all day?
I think 20 and 30 things at a time.
My thoughts are like a chain, and one is fast to the other.
- But what are they? - I think of the bird and how it flies.
And why is it I cannot lift myself above the earth.
But now, what are you thinking now?
Now?
I think nothing.
Well, then...
...what did you think of me the first time you saw me?
- I cannot remember. - No, I mean... I mean...
...after we were married.
I was glad you were taller than I. For a woman, I am too tall.
No, you are not. Then what did you think?
And then I wondered what you thought of me.
But you knew that I wanted you.
- And then I wondered... - Yes?
I wondered if you would give me the thing I would have.
Tell me. I will buy it for you.
Buy?
Perhaps all the things I want cannot be bought.
All women like presents. Tell me what it is.
I want...
Earrings.
Yes, that is it. A pair of earrings.
I will buy them for you tomorrow.
- Now have I made you happy? - Yes.
No. You have not made me happy. I do not want earrings.
But there is something that can be bought that I would have.
- Buy me a book. - A book?
- But you cannot read. - I can read.
- Women like you never read. - I learned.
A word or two at a time. My brother could read and I learned from him.
A little every day.
But I have no book of my own.
I never thought to see a woman read in this house.
There must be changes even in a household if there is to be life and growth.
I do not know that. My mother and my father have done well.
- But they are of the old. We are of the new. - Oh, I am not sure if I am of the new.
I will buy you the book.
- You are angry? - There is no room in my mind for anger.
It is...
It is just that I do not understand.
- Ten thousand greetings, Mr. Chow. - Thank you.
- You are well, young sir? - Yes.
- I would see my brother-in-law, Wu Lien. - He is within. He takes his morning rest.
Are all asleep in this house?
I greet you, my brother-in-law. And your honored mother.
Welcome, welcome. Sit down.
Here's your second brother, mother of my children.
- Sit down, sit down. - Thanks.
Well, then, you're a farmer and one who looks it.
The dirt is still beneath your fingernails.
My brother, how are the old ones and all of the others?
- Well, thank you. - Tell me...
...is my sister-in-law, Jade, with child yet?
Can it be you take no interest?
It would seem you take interest enough for both.
- My interest will never make him a father. - No.
But you are hungry. I can tell.
In each generation, a city man should do as I have done.
Take for a wife a woman from the country.
Thus the line... Thus the line is kept strong and hard.
And here is the proof of your wisdom.
Brother-in-law?
Will you dip into your wisdom and tell me a thing?
- Yeah? - I know you're a man who reads.
Yes. Yes, I read.
Often in the winter to warm my blood. Sometimes in the summer to cool it.
If you were to buy a book, what book would it be?
Well, there are books for every need.
If a man wishes to read secretly for his own private pleasure...
...there are books for that.
No? Well then, for what is your book wanted?
I married my woman thinking her like any other one and...
Now I find out she can read and wants a book.
So.
You're only a woman, mother of my children...
...but if you could read, what would you like to read?
- I never thought... - I have thought of the one.
It has everything in it. The good prosper and the wicked are punished.
The name of the book is All Men Are Brothers.
- Thank you. I will remember what you... - Sir.
Sir. Sir, there is something.
- As before? - Worse than before. Much louder, sir.
They said they have warned you many times and their patience is at an end.
These students cause trouble.
An honest merchant cannot live in peace these times.
Well, what is this?
We ask you once more, do not deal with the Japanese.
We're at war. You cannot buy and sell Japanese goods and call yourself a patriot.
Do you ask me to stop breathing in and out?
There's a call for these, and a profit in them.
Save your breath for arguments you can win.
Then we must speak to you in words you can hear.
- Leave nothing. - Stop. You are vandals. Stop.
Destroy all Japanese goods.
We must make him understand what he has done.
Bandits. Thieves. You'll pay for this. Thieves.
This is the only way to make him see.
What's happens here will happen to every shop that sells Japanese goods.
No. No.
Wu Lien walks hand in hand with those who deal in your blood.
I'm only a merchant. Why do you destroy my goods?
He pays for Japanese goods in money that'll come back to us in pain and death.
No, no, I deal only in innocent things that harm no one.
This man, Wu Lien, loves his cash box above his country.
That is not true. That's not true.
Turn away from this traitor as you would turn from the Japanese.
Come.
How can you say that?
Can it be that the thing I have done all my life...
...is now held against me as a crime?
Did you see...?
Did you see those merchants turn away from me as from a bad odor?
- They are of my own kind. - Be of stout heart, my brother. It will pass.
No, no, I do not think it will and I'm not a stupid man.
I must turn this thing over in my mind. Decide what to do in the days I see ahead.
I must think and weigh what comes out.
And think again.
And then this strange young man jumped down, ran away and was gone.
- Was he a bandit, then? - No, it was said he was a student.
First you encounter this trouble and then you buy a book.
This book that Jade now has, what is it?
- Books have names. - So has this one.
- It is called All Men Are Brothers. - All Men Are Brothers?
What of the stranger who lives on the other side of the earth...
...and reaps his grain on my land? Is he my brother? I think not.
Today I pulled a turnip. They grow small this year.
Can it be this strange brother is pulling at the roots to plague us?
It's good to have him to blame.
A book. And Jade can read in it.
You see? An idea spreads. A book.
I have said and say again it is wrong to give a woman such a dangerous thing.
It is unnatural and mine will never have one.
What if a child comes? What will your woman do if she has not finished the book?
Will she read on and let the child be born anyhow?
She will manage.
The day has been full.
There's work tomorrow.
Yes, my son. Your eyes are heavy with weariness.
Your wife waits for you, brother, with a book in her hands.
Even a book can be closed and put away.
It is but a book, and yet it keeps your eyes from me.
Come sit beside me.
I will tell you what I have read.
How shall I know if you read truly?
You will know I could not make up such things.
In this place, it tells what happens when men know only greed.
It tells how peace is then lost, and what men may do to each other.
It is magic.
Your eyes pick up those bird tracks and your eyes give them to your voice...
...and your voice gives them to my ears.
And here, it tells how then there is killing...
...and fighting and even torture.
Oh, it is wrong to torture.
- That is what it says. - It is magic.
You do not listen.
I try.
You must try harder.
Money was spent for this book. We must not waste it.
We must waste nothing that is given to us.
Neither money, nor the hours we have together.
I cannot read when you keep watching me.
Since I cannot look at the book and know what it means...
...I must look at you...
...so the money will not be wasted, and nothing else.
Then I will teach you to read.
There is word here...
...of how men must rise up and resist the things that make them weak.
That is advice I cannot take.
Can you?
Well, you will not listen.
And now you place the book where my hand cannot reach it.
- Shall I put it back within your grasp? - Yes.
No.
I will rest my eyes now.
I will teach you to read another time.
I will remind you when I'm ready for reading.
Let the gods forgive me for saying this but I am wicked.
I love you more than I love my father and my mother.
I am more wicked than you. I want to hear you tell me this.
If there were food enough only for them or for you...
...I would give it to you and let them starve.
You turn to me of your own will, and it is the first time this has been so.
Yes, for this night, you have told me the thing my heart needed to hear.
Now I know that you'll care what I think and feel, and what I am.
Not only that I give you children and make your food.
I know that I'm not only to belong to your house...
...but I am to be yours.
And I am content.
You're late. Did you once more have trouble...
...escaping my mother's eyes?
From this day on, I will come to you openly.
She will say nothing.
I cannot believe my mother will change that much.
No. But I have changed.
Do you not see it?
Your eyes are as soft.
Your hair as pleasant to my touch.
No, I cannot see this change...
...and I do not wish a change.
It is within me.
But it is so great I thought it must show on my face.
What is the cause of this great difference? And when did it begin?
On the night we first opened our hearts to each other, my husband.
Even if it is only a girl, I shall be very happy.
We shall be ancestors?
- Oh, it will be a son. - I shall ask the gods for one.
But if it is only a girl, she still will be welcome?
If you're her mother, she will be welcome.
And she will be taught to read...
...even if her father is always too busy with lesser things.
Where would this upstart daughter be...
...if I did not busy myself with those lesser things?
Oh, this is a good moment.
The best in my life so far.
- Something falls. - It shines like silver.
Look at the earth. It's a black fountain.
A hole big enough to bury 50 men.
And smokes still comes from it.
If one of us had stood near here, he would no longer live.
I've wanted to dig a pond on my land for 10 years, and here it is.
It would be better if the barbarians did use the sky ships...
...to dig ponds and wells.
- Maybe it is an idea. - Look. Look, rolling smoke.
It was the same in the magic pictures.
There are many fires over the city wall and small ones outside.
- Flying ships come out of the smoke. - What shall we do?
Someone of us should go to the city.
My... My wife thinks of our elder sister and what happens to her.
We should all think of that. I'll go.
I would not be hasty, cousin. If it is good news, it will not spoil.
The more slowly one hears bad news, the better.
My woman wouldn't let me rest if I didn't go, nor could I rest.
- Let me go in your place. - All right, go quickly.
Do what you can. The rest of us should go back to our work.
Can it be our son at last? I'm afraid to believe it is.
We're all but dead. We're all but dead.
We might have been killed had we been 10 feet nearer to street.
There was such noise. There was such noise.
The shop half gone.
We have nothing but our bare lives in our hands.
We're lost. All is lost. All.
All day the flying ships came.
And everywhere the silver eggs dropped, they burst the buildings into dust.
And the shops and all the goods within are waste.
- But what of the people? - The people...
Into pieces, as if they were made of clay.
- Here an arm, there a head, there a piece... - But why? Why?
How can men do this to other men? The sky is over us all.
Our own servants and the clerks are dead.
And one such an honest young man. Where shall we find one like him again?
What is the use, even of an honest man, if there's no shop to put him in?
Our shops, our goods, gone, all gone.
I'm a man who can prosper only in peace.
Can it be those students who cried out spoke the truth?
The truth? Now, what is the truth?
Each men sees it differently.
The truth I see is that the East Ocean people will come...
...and enter the city, and the city will fall.
- Yes, and so will the nation. - Can that be?
The nation is only the people, and we are the people.
- And while we remain, so does the nation. - We're not strong enough.
Why are we not strong enough? Why do we not have things to kill with too?
They have no use to people like us who love only to live.
Then we will die.
Death is each men's natural end, and that I know. But not this kind.
This is beyond the mind of man unless he sees it for himself.
That I must do.
Hurry. It is my husband.
He's here beneath this rubbish.
It is his hand! I would know it anywhere.
Oh, my God!
It is too much to bear, and I do not blame you.
We must see what can be done here. Come.
Our village has become an island in a river of fleeing people.
But they cannot run fast enough to forget the horror behind them.
My grandfather will speak to you now.
I know that you are looking to me to save you from this great trouble.
I've been trying to find a way but I cannot.
I cannot save myself.
I know that what today was will be again tomorrow.
You, my three sons, are men. And you, Wu Lien, are older than they.
- If you have anything to say, then say it. - I...
I have not yet thought of any way to save any of us.
There are two things which can be done.
One is to escape the evil by running away.
And the other is to let it come down and bear it.
In this, my father, I ask, what will you do yourself?
Stay here where I was born and where I have lived.
Then I say I will do what you do.
I, too, will stay.
But I, my father, will escape it.
I will say nothing to any who do go.
Let those who will stay with me, and those who would go, let them go.
You blame me, my father?
No, no. I do not blame you, my son.
Then do as I will do. Leave this place.
If I could roll up my land like a cloth and take it with me...
...but that is impossible. No.
No. I stay, my son. You are free to go.
I do not run away because I'm afraid.
I only fear for my coming child.
A grandchild?
That is good news, my son.
And I think it well that you go.
When will you leave us, brother?
We have yet time.
We will wait until we find those we would go with.
I do not like this talk. I do not see why Jade should be taken away.
It is only that I may finish what I was made to do, my mother.
But who will look after you when your time comes?
Why should our grandson be born somewhere in a field like an animal?
It may be better that they go.
We do not know what lies ahead. Strange feet may enter our gate.
If my son wants to go, he will go. But let Jade stay.
- Her duty to you comes first. - I think it does not.
A woman should go with her man.
There are so many who flee these past weeks.
The whole face of the earth must be changing.
Cousin, what comes now?
These carry different burdens.
Move along!
Keep to the road!
What foolishness is this?
Only a city man would break his back under the weight of iron...
...when he might carry a bag of rice.
Why did you not take two wheels and make a cart and ride?
Look at those fools. They will eat iron if they eat at all.
This is not iron, my wise country friend. This is a factory we carry on our backs.
And you may as well get used to seeing such things...
...for a whole city follows behind us.
These are not as the others were. They seem to have a plan.
- Halt! - Halt!
- We will rest now for a little while. - Halt!
- Rest! - Rest!
I've never been so tired.
Why do you not sleep here in our land?
There is water, and we will share what we can with you.
You are good to us as all have been, or we could not have come this far.
We will rest here tonight with these, our friends.
These are the people we will join, my father.
Yes. They are the ones we have waited for.
They are strong and full of courage.
I would ask you, my friend, where do you go?
Our eyes are on the mountains, a thousand miles from here.
What will you do there, sir?
We'll set up these machines we carry, and they will be a factory.
Then we'll make bullets and guns for the army.
Where is our brave army now?
They fight between you and the Japanese.
Many thousands of them have already died to delay the evil dwarfs from coming here.
My son would join you in your journey if he is welcome.
We would be happy to take something of yours with us.
And what is a man without his wife?
I, too, am strong and can be of help.
You are welcome also.
The wind has brought rain. It is good for our land...
...but is it not bad for travelers? - If it helps you, then it must help us.
Now that we are to go, I wonder if it's too far.
I will be on my feet when others drop.
- I wish I could carry the child for you. - One of these days you shall.
I never thought a child of mine would be born anywhere...
...except here on this land.
He will find a place of his own.
It is very meaningful to a man where he is born.
We must mark the place.
A man begins his life before he is born.
So, what better place to mark for him than our tree.
There. Now it will be his also.
All right, take your places!
- Take you places. - Take your places!
We must cross those hills before the midday rest.
Take your places!
I've looked everywhere but I cannot find our mother...
...to say goodbye.
Tell her it is our sorrow that we could not find her.
I will tell her. You must not keep your friends waiting.
Send me word somehow when the child is born.
If it is a boy, send a red cord in the envelope.
If it is a girl, let it be a blue one.
Remember, my child...
...that the woman is a root, and the man the tree.
The tree grows only as high as the root is strong.
I will remember, my father.
Go.
This place is yours.
- March! - March!
So this is where you have been.
They looked for you.
I would not come to see him go.
Pulling, straining like an ox and bawling like one.
- You have been weeping. - I have not.
Splashed water on my face.
He looked so small beside the others.
He did not. He was the largest by far.
You are the best mother in the province. Where is there one better beyond the seas?
I'm a fool.
I miss them already. Even Jade.
Yes, yes, some sort of strength has left the house with their going.
I would not say I want them back.
They want to go, they go.
I would not have you a cool, thin soul. I like you hot-tempered and gusty.
You old turnip.
Come here, old man. Let me see that spot on your neck.
- See if you have boil after all these years... - It's where a mosquito bit me.
Do not tell me what it is. I can see for myself.
Well, can you not catch a mosquito anymore?
Must you be bitten like a child?
You're clumsy.
I like your quick tongue even when it is turned on me.
Old woman, I tell you this.
If you should die before I die, even then I would not marry another.
For after you, any would be like a carrot dried without salt.
The guns of the enemy came ever closer.
And still the people fled before them.
Some of the kinsmen of Ling Tan fled also.
But most of them stayed and went into the fields to reap the grain.
And each man helped his neighbor...
... for the harvest was at hand, and they were farmers.
And war or no war, they knew they must bring their food from the earth...
... so that whatever came, they could feed their families.
Day after day, the flying ships came...
... and then flew on and bombed the city.
The people of the valley of Ling were afraid.
But they stopped only to look up and then turn back to their work...
... for they'd heard that the Japanese had taken the land...
... a hundred miles deep from the sea...
... and were even now approaching the nearby city.
Time, too, had become their enemy.
It seemed nature itself was against them.
The rains were early that year.
And the farmers fought the wind and the water as they always had.
Here was a thing they understood and, understanding, could defeat.
But they could not defeat the fear that was in them.
For always in their ears was the sound of the bombardment.
A sound that was louder now...
... and they knew that the enemy was storming the gates of the city.
Then the day came.
The day that Ling Tan dreaded above all others.
The guns were silent...
... and the flying ships were gone from the air.
I fear this quiet more than the noise of battle.
It does not mean peace.
It means but one thing, and we must face it.
The defenders of our city have been overcome.
And even now as I speak to you, the enemy is at our gates.
- Within hours, they will be upon us. - That is true.
The enemy moves swiftly, and we have no arms.
How can we resist him? Are we to fight him with our hands?
I speak for myself but you are welcome to listen.
We cannot stop the Japanese, no.
But as soon as they have occupied a city...
...I believe we shall be able to deal with them.
How can you say this?
I bought and sold their goods as did my father before me...
...and I have found no great evil in the face they turned to me.
I did find evil in my own people, in green boys...
...who burned my goods without reason.
Wu Lien, if when they come, you are right, I will say you are.
But even if you are not, what can we do but take their rule for ours also?
All we want is peace and to be left alone to live.
- Our time is short. What is the plan? - How shall we meet them?
How can we show them what is in our hearts?
What ways do we know but our own? Let us do what we would do...
...for any new ruler coming to our village, but let us keep our pride.
But they are machines.
How can you talk to machines when they're belching smoke?
- Speak, here is the enemy. - Do not use that word.
Sirs...
Sirs, I am come...
We are come, sirs...
Sir, we are only farmers...
...a small merchant or two, and my cousin here the scholar.
- We are men of peace and reason... - Where is your inn, farmer?
- Lead us there. - But...
Waiter. Waiter. Service for my soldiers.
You there, line up against the wall.
- Steady, now. Give us no trouble. - Let's get out of here.
Get him over here, right now.
- You are ill, my father. - No, no, no. It's nothing.
- Wine with it. - Wine, wine.
Over here.
- Wine. - Bring the wine or we'll shoot you.
Tea. We want wine, not tea.
- Wine? - Yes, wine.
We... We have no wine.
We have that only on feast days.
Oh, no wine, huh?
And where are your women?
There are other things than wine.
Women.
Bring them. Bring me a young one.
I do not care if mine is young or not. What matters so long as they are...
Does anyone else care to run?
We have wine in our homes. Good wine.
We will have our women bring it to you.
See that they do, then.
No, do not stop.
Get to your homes.
Old woman. Old woman.
Get the household together inside quickly. The enemy comes.
Orchid, eldest daughter, all of you.
- What? - Bring the children.
- Lao San, my son. - What of the speech?
Our mouths spoke into the mouths of guns.
Come with me.
You must scatter over the lands. Each man look after his own.
My third son, his mother. I'll stay with the house.
- I'll stay by you. - No, you cannot.
- I'll climb the rafters and hide there. - Then I'll climb also.
They come by the road.
- Mother. - Oh, no, no, wait.
No, this way. They will see us there.
We must hide. Find the hole in the wall.
Here. My son.
Orchid. Take the baby.
Come, my son, you must be brave. We will be soon be safe.
Safety. Where is safety?
Mother, please. Please, Mother.
She can go no further.
- Go. I will do my best for your mother. - Yes. Yes, I...
- My mother. - Remember...
...let each look out for those in his charge and pay no heed to the others.
We must hide safely, and each group to itself.
Yes, yes. Then if one is found, only they perish.
Go. We must hide you. Quiet, quiet.
Do not move. Do not speak. We will not be far away.
- Old man, hermit. - The door is locked.
Our old dog. They will kill him.
Take what you want and destroy the rest.
Is there anything here worth having?
All of them are gone. No one is in the house.
You will stay here, my eldest son, like a man and by yourself.
Lie down, make yourself small against the ground.
And you here, my wife. Do not move for anything.
Where will you go?
Back a little, between you and the evil thing there.
Yes, my husband.
You tremble.
Your nose twitches like a little rabbit.
Come, do not waste time here. Find the farmer.
Search the courtyard.
And the first woman we find belongs with me.
Is there a way out of this courtyard?
Here. Here's a hole in the wall.
Pull aside the vine. Someone has crawled through here.
Come, see what I found.
Something they left behind.
No wonder. Look at it.
Here is the first woman and she belongs to you.
No. She is old.
There are the young to think of.
Do not be afraid.
My husband.
Come, my son, we'll be safer in another place.
I heard a child.
Where there is a child, there is a woman.