"Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said:" "There is a man child conceived." "Let that day be darkness and the shadow of death stain it." "As for that night, let the wind bear it away." "Let it not be joined unto the days of the year." "Let it not come into the number of the months." "The Pilgrimage of Students Peter and Jacob" " Whoa, whoa!" " Steady, girl." "Imro!" "Bongilaj!" "It's me, Jacob." "What's up with him?" "Why did you run away?" "Lmro, do you hear?" "He's scared I'll turn him in." "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." "Amen." "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." "Amen." "Eržika!" "Why have you left us and gone into the night?" "May God forgive her sins!" "May he take her hand and protect her!" "... so always ask for Always for comfort and protection when you most need it..." "Have a drag." "Always... for the freedom to be yourself... always." " Get Adidas aftershave..." " Here." "Such a tragedy." "Come on, all of you." "Follow me." "What shall we do?" "What's he done, the fool?" "It's a terrible blow - and worst of all for me." "God, what have you done to me, letting her be killed?" "Where's lmro?" "Show yourself, murderer!" "Poor fools!" "Should I kill lmro myself?" "Where is Eržika Šugárová?" "So where's your granddaughter?" "Who was in that coffin?" "Present address 12 Radimova St, Prague." "Occupation?" "Student." "I study law at Prague University." "Ah, a future colleague." "What do you know about Eržika Šugárová's death?" "She lived with lmro Bongilaj." "He went to Ostrava to work." "Then Fero Berki started courting her." " You're well informed." " I was their friend." "What happened when Bongilaj came back from Ostrava?" "Something happened between Eržika and lmro in the church." "In the church?" "What?" "I know nothing." "I swear." "You're lying, Berki." "That's all you people ever do - lie." "When did you last see Eržika?" "At a wedding." "Bongilaj came looking for us." "I got scared and ran away." "'We didn't know what he'd do." "We ran after him.' Carry on." "Eržika and Fero were lying on the grass, by the wood." "Imro saw them." "Fero ran off." "Then lmro took out a knife." "So you saw Bongilaj kill Eržika?" "I didn't see anything." "Anything!" "I was drunk." "Eržika's body had seven stab wounds, two of them fatal." "Do you recognize this knife?" "Yes." "It was lmro Bongilaj's." "I've never seen it." "You realize that making a false statement is a criminal offence?" " You already told us." " Well?" "Did Bongilaj kill Eržika?" "Yes." "Bongilaj killed Eržika." "Do you know what you've just done?" "We Šugárs are everywhere..." "in Bystrany, Žehra, Krompachy..." "Don't you want to punish your granddaughter's murderer?" "There are lots of us." "What hast thou done?" "The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground." "And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand." "A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." "This is all we have." "Has he lost his tongue?" "He's still asleep." "When he wakes up he'll kill himself." "Imro didn't kill Eržika - Gypsy killed Gypsy." "How do you punish a vow?" "Enough blood's been shed." "Nobody will touch lmro." "The white courts will never reach a verdict." "His own soul will punish him." "Go!" "My sin is too great to be forgiven." "Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth;" "And from thy face shall I be hid and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth." " I was telling the truth!" " That's your idea of the truth?" "There is only one truth." "Imro killed Eržika." "Sure." "You know the crime." "But do you really know the murderer?" " Do you know the unwritten law?" " Don't talk rubbish!" "What makes you so sure he'll get a fair trial?" "He will." "But first the court must know all the facts." "Crazy fork!" "I need somewhere to live." "I can pay..." "I'm freezing." "I might know a place." "It'll be at least 5000 a month." "But that's not much these days." "I've got my Moral Phil exam tomorrow." "The Enlightenment." "I know bugger all." " It's a piece of cake, Viki." " Four extra dumplings, please." "The Prof's only interested in British philosophers." "Hutcheson's Ideas of Beauty and Virtue." "That's about me!" "Locke's about personal ethics." " Hi, you two." " Mind if we slip in?" "First food, then philosophy." "Shaftesbury's more about social ethics." "No thanks, Jacob." " How do you spell that?" " As it sounds." "Adam Smith says selfish capitalism is good for society." "Ferguson claims philosophy must come before ethics." " Ethics make me sick." " Don't be sick here." "Ciao." "See you." "Enjoy your lunch." "Today it's Ferguson and dumplings." "What?" "See you, Gabi." "This place sucks." "What's bitten him?" "Quiet, please." "This is an important announcement." "Today's winner is... this!" "My latest work." "Just look at that composition!" "Don't touch, please." "See those proportions?" "A painting without proportions is crap." "Zuza!" "The murderer was ostracized, or cursed, as in ancient Greece." "This is what happened to Orestes and Alcmaeon." "Today this system survives in some less 'civilized' societies" " in Albania, for example, or among Romanies." "But Romanies must live by the law of the country they live in." "Are you saying the two legal codes should co-exist?" " That's hardly likely..." " Excuse me." "I've never heard of a case involving a blood feud." "In my country, Macedonia, the gypsies have their own laws." "And it's a problem - a society within a society." "Some victims are ritually humiliated:" "I've seen it myself." "I'm not an ethnographer." "You say they judged the murder by their own law but handed the murderer over to our judiciary." "Maybe in their eyes he ceased to be a gypsy." "No, but his family disowned him." "For a Gypsy that's like dying." "Humiliation isn't a trial - it's an expression of our moral sense which is a vital part of our sense of identity." "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." "Who can know it?" "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, to give every man according to his ways, and his fruit." "Such as are for death, go to death;" "such as are for the sword, to the sword;" "and such as are for captivity, to captivity." "Have some milk." "Go on." "Take it." "It's yours." "Excuse me, Professor." "Good morning." "I'll be right with you." "Come in." "Your friend Jacob is obviously confused." "Nelly, get down." "He feels a moral obligation but existential anxiety robs him of the strength to fulfill that obligation." "Conscience is the awareness of obligation, of duty." "And it is man's lot to do his duty." "You have done no more and no less than your duty." "Yes." "But I'd feel terrible if Bongilaj was locked up for life." "Nonsense!" "You know there's no chance of that." "But if..." "Why must it be me?" "Listen..." "You know fuck all about gypsies." "What should I know about them?" "And why should I anyway?" "Why?" "Because gypsies need to be given a chance." "A chance to live their own life in this lousy world." "A world full of gypsy whores and gypsy thugs and drunks." "We taught them to be that!" "They're forgetting their own law." "So do something about it." "What can I do?" "Nobody listens." "Not even you." "The politicians talk a lot of bullshit about gypsies, get loads of money for them, then line their own pockets." "Leave your shoes on." "Come on in." "This place is a right mess." "You're a real expert in this." "Don't act like you've never seen it before." "Why can't they heat this place?" " What's this?" "Ethics and the Law?" " Forget it - it's a load of shit." "The law says crime's OK - it just depends who you are." "What's ethics got to do with it?" "Fucking waste of time." "Registered letter?" "A court summons!" "I'm not going anywhere." "There." "Now I don't have to." "What's the game anyway?" "Snooping?" "Don't be daft." "If it wasn't for me you'd be on the streets." "We'll make a vow." "As many times as I stab this candle" "I'll stab you if you touch Fero again." "You'll stab me if I touch Fero again." "No, no, no!" "Jacob, what is it?" "Stop it!" "Jacob!" "Jacob!" " Come round the back." " Did you tell her we'd be here?" " Great wig!" " No, from behind... careful." "Don't get it in a mess..." "Careful." " Not bad, eh?" " Not so loud!" " It's okay." " This'll shake them up." "A bit of action at last!" "Come on in." "This way, folks." "Damned hooligans!" "Young louts - ought to be locked up and shot!" "What is this filth?" "What a load of crap." "No!" "Stop!" "Stop!" "Lvana, calm down." "Turn the bloody lights on!" "I can't breathe!" "Idiot!" "Lva, take a deep breath." " This one's better." " We'll use both." "As long as he doesn't go squealing to the Dean." "Give it a rest, Viki." "It's my fault." "I just couldn't take it." "That was the whole point." "It wasn't a bad show." "There was just... something missing." "Sex and drugs?" "He'll be OK." "The worst they can do is stop his grant." "Right, Viki?" "We must all act as if nothing happened." " I could do with a rum." " Alright - just for you." "Get two bottles!" "Mr Lukavec..." "Have you ever thought about giving up your PhD studies and getting a job in a circus?" " There have been complaints..." " So we have to take action..." "No need." "I've already decided." "Admit it - you've run out of arguments." "That's right - just run away!" "Hide in the loo like a kid." "You fucking idiot!" "And what are you?" "You and your precious law." "Why don't you call the law?" "Stop it!" "It's not funny." "Someone's going to get killed..." "Peter, no!" "Wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?" "O Lord, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear!" "Cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!" "And there are that raise up strife and contention." "Therefore the law is slacked, and judgement goes not forth." "Help!" "Repeat after me:" "When man departs this life His body is torn with strife." "When man departs this life His body is torn with strife." "The weary soul must sigh As the bitter end draws nigh." "The weary soul must sigh As the bitter end draws nigh." "Dear Lord, if it be Your will Let me die" " I trust you still..." "Jacob!" "Jacob!" "Jacob..." "Imro wasn't the killer." "Infidelity was the killer." "The same Christ is today that always was." "He is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end." "Oh Lord, protect and preserve us with your holy wounds." "Christ our Lord." "Amen." "May the resurrection of Christ turn our darkness into light!" "Christ, light of the world." "Thanks be to God." "I baptize you Jacob." "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit." "Amen." "Take a deep breath." "Hold it." "Now push." "Great." "You're doing fine." "That's wonderful." "Try again, a teeny bit more." "Go on - that's the way." "And again." "Slowly." "Lovely - here we go." "Goodness, look at the size of that head!" "Come on, little one." "What fine big boy!" "Just look at him." "He'll be called Jacob." "What would you do if you knew a man had killed a woman?" "I'd pray for both of them." "For the murderer too, to give him the strength to be penitent." "He killed for love." "You don't kill for love." "Love is joy." "I lied for his sake." "Now I must go to court." "The lords of nations rule over us and judge us." "Christ came to save, not to judge." "But we are subject to human laws, as St Peter tells us." " You must go to court." " What will I say?" "That I'm sorry?" "Or go to jail for perjury?" "Christ says:" "I shall give ye words and wisdom." "Get lost!" "I said get fucking lost!" "Give it a rest, for Christ's sake." "I'll murder you!" "The horses need seeing to." "Come and see me next week." "Both of you." "Is she with you?" "Why not?" "Well - not bad for a couple of beginners." "You'll be dry in there." "Come on then." "It's better then we deserve." " My clothes are soaked." " Take them off then." "It's alright." " Well..." " Oh, come on." "Mr God won't see." "He's feeding the horses." "Quite a tough nut, your Mr God." "He's one hell of a vicar." "Tending his father's flock." " He's a great guy." " I'm sure he's a bunch of fun." "Don't worry." "Well it's a roof, isn't it?" "And there'll be food in the trough." "Is that all?" "There is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked;" "to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean;" "to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not:" "As is the good so is the sinner;" "as the liar, so the man of truth." "But where shall wisdom be found?" "And where is understanding?" "Man knows not its price; nor can it be found here on earth." "...the accused lmro Bongilaj is guilty of murder." "In view of the exceptional brutality of the crime and the extreme unlikelihood of his ever being rehabilitated." "I am recommending the maximum sentence." "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world" "Have mercy upon us." "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world" "Have mercy upon us." "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world" "Grant us peace." "Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world." "Blessed are they who are called to the feast of the Lamb." "Lord, I am not worthy to receive thee under my roof, but speak the word only and my soul shall be healed." "Soul of Christ, body of Christ..." "May your suffering give me strength..." "I request a new report on the defendant's mental state, because the existing report fails to take into account the traditional attitudes and values of the Romany community, which, though different, are no less valid or morally binding." "So I believe that the decisive testimony is that of Jacob Lukavec, who knows the Romanies well, and not that of Peter Mácha." "Given these objections," "I ask the court to rehear the case and recall Mr Jacob Lukavec for further examination." "Your request has been noted." "But lmro was holding the knife!" "You don't even know what fidelity is." "Imro knew!" "And that's why the whole village condemned him?" " Not condemned, punished." " And they knew why." "A vow is a law." "It's all sorted out, Father." "So nothing happened." "Is that it?" "Right." "In that case let's ask these two." "Me?" "I didn't see a thing." "Nor me." "I was playing darts." "What if someone had got killed?" "You'd still have seen nothing?" "I thought you were going to forgive them, not judge them." " I'm not in confessional now." " Neither are we!" " You damned!" " Hold your tongue!" "Get out!" "You two as well." "I'm against a plea of insanity." "This is murder, after all." "But surely it's obvious that the man is emotionally unstable." "You can quote me:" "'At the time of the crime the subject was aware that his action was a danger to society.'" "If you're saying he's sane, your report is really a verdict." "Not so fast, my friend." "Our job is to give evidence." "It's the court's job to judge." "But they rely on your advice." "You decide whether he goes to the gallows or the asylum." "But we can't have our asylums overflowing with murderers." "Who'd look after them?" "You?" "In the end the courts are helpless." "So they turn to us." "But even you admit you can't always be absolutely certain." "Certain?" "Nobody can ever be certain." "Never." "Not even you." "Anyway listen." "Why don't you drop in again sometime?" "You can talk things over - sort of like a patient." "This is the best medicine in the world." "Here." "What if the psychiatrist gets it wrong?" "Errare humanum est." "I must say, their conclusions are often quite extraordinary." "According to Jacob there are things about Romanies we can't ever understand - and don't want to." "Maybe he means that each person must aim to be himself." "If Romanies try to copy us they're sure to get into a mess." "It's quite common." "Anyway, who says our way of life is the best or only way?" "The courts should realize that." "Otherwise how can they be fair?" "Read this." "You are just the sort of man who should specialize in legal theory." "I'd like you to be my assistant." "You can't change the world unless you have power." "Then I want power." "Isn't he gorgeous?" "So lively!" "He's lively 24 hours a day." " Pick a card." " OK." "With your left hand, Mum." " Sorry." " Good." "And another." "She says I'm going to have twins." "Another present, girls." " Who's it from?" " Grandma." "Well, no stacks of cash." "Ha!" "The ace of hearts - that'll be some woman of Peter's." "I am a model." "I've really screwed up." "College... everything." "You need to get away..." "a change of air." "I heard that." "Don't go giving her ideas." "I've got to go." "Here, this is for you." "Thanks." "Hi, Mr Breadwinner." " Nice..." " Everything'll be OK." "How's that?" "I've got a job as assistant at the university." "That'll be a big help." "Jacob!" "Jacob!" "Wait here." "I'll be back in a minute." "Please stand clear of the approaching train." "Jacob!" "Tell the truth." "Tell them what you saw." " What I saw?" "Is that the truth?" " Of course it is." " Truth isn't something you see." "You feel it." " That's bullshit!" "You know fuck all." "You don't give a shit about anyone else." "Just go to hell!" "Eva!" "Here we are." "The VIP lounge." "I'm cold." "And I look terrible." "Let's go back." "Back?" "Where?" "What are you missing?" "Or who?" "Well?" "Who is it?" "We keep moving, but nothing ever happens." "Nothing?" " You have to go back too." " I don't have to do anything." "I can't go back, anyway." "Don't you see?" "I don't want to!" "Eva!" "Since when do we take taxis?" "What's it to you?" "Since today." "What's up?" " Leave me alone." " What's the game?" "Well?" " Leave me alone." " Where've you been?" " Jacob..." " Never mind the baby." " Mummy's home, darling!" " Just tell me where you've been." " Let me be." " Tell me." " Piss off." " Listen..." " I said piss off!" "Piss off!" "If only I was lmro." "If a man come on his neighbour, to slay him with guile;" "thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die." "Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." "Mr Mácha, tell us exactly what you saw at that wedding." "I don't remember much." "Imro came out of the pub." "He was looking for Eržika and Fero." "Then" " I don't know." "I was talking to a friend." "That is not what you said in your previous evidence." "I can't remember what happened after that." "Was your earlier evidence given under duress?" "No." "Not at all." "May I remind you that we have a second eye-witness." " Your Honour?" " Yes." "After we have heard the next witness, Mr Lukavec, we may wish to charge Peter Mácha with perjury." "Who did you see there?" "Eržika Šugárová." "Did you see anyone else?" " Maybe." "Let me think..." " You'd better!" "We went to a lot of trouble finding you!" "He who looks finds." "I found without even looking." "Don't be impertinent." "Remember you are in court." "Screw your court!" "Go on, put me in jail!" " That is contempt of court!" " Freedom is only for the rich!" " Your Honour..." " Shut up, you jerk!" "I don't need a court to tell me what's right and wrong!" "Fuck your stupid questions!" "And fuck you!" "Jacob, I can't get in." "You can't get over the wall." "Find the gate." "Jacob, I want to talk to you." "I have to talk to you." "I'm not allowed to get excited." "You're more sane than the rest of us put together." "Only people who think they're sane go crazy." "Walk round the wall." "Just keep walking till you reach the gate." "But which way?" "Can you hear me?" "Tell me which way!" "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world." "But men loved the darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." "For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light." "If the light in thee be darkness how great then is the dark!"