"DREAMS OF DUST" "You're 20 years too late." "The gold rush is over." "I'm not trying to get rich." "I just need a job." "All right." "Fill out this form." "Do you know how to write?" " Not very well." " Sign at the bottom." "I'll fill out the rest." "Give me your identity card." "You're from Niger?" "Is Mocktar Dicko your name?" "Yes." "Okay." " That'll be 1000 francs." " 1000 francs?" "You want a job, don't you?" "What the heck?" "You're not dressed for mining." "The captain sent him to see Amadé." "All right." "Amadé, you have a new recruit." "I've come all the way from Niger to work here." "Well, if you want to work here, you need to speak up." "I need this job." "Let's see your hands." "What do you hope to accomplish?" "Your hands are almost completely worn out!" "Farmers' hands." "I was a farmer." "Okay," "I get two-thirds of any gold you find." "You split the rest with the other miners." "When these slackers don't find any gold," "I pay them only 1000 francs a day." " That goes for you too." " Who are you calling slackers?" "It must be really tiring just sitting around, picking your teeth all day." "Hey, Techie!" "I don't pay you to interrupt me!" "Issiaka, show the new guy to his hut." "Stop by the Maquis Bleu tonight." "Hold it right there, stranger!" "It's regulation." "All miners get searched before leaving." "The captain didn't mention the smuggling problem?" "We were together." "Did you see me take anything?" "Just do what he says." "Go on, open your suitcase." " Is your family with you?" " No." "All right." "Here you go." "You'll have to find a mat." " Good evening." " Good evening." "I'm here to see Amadé Sana." "Grab a seat and join us." "They call me Old Man Thiam." "I'm the manager of the shaft you'll be working in." "Let me introduce you to the others." "This is Paté." "Tidiane..." "Amadé calls him "Techie."" "My hands are worn out too." "Five years as a computer tech!" " Did you find a mat?" " Yeah." "No thanks." "I don't drink." "What do you want then?" " I'll have some milk." " Milk!" "We don't have any milk." "You can have either a Fanta or Coke, but the Coke is flat." "Fanta." "If he doesn't want any, that's his loss." "Are you like the other farmers who come and search for gold, waiting for the first rain, only to return to the farm?" "On the road to Falagountou, there's a village of farmers." "During the dry season, they all go to work down south in Bobo." "I passed through it on my way to Essakane." "No matter what happens, I'm not going back home." "Once you've touched the precious metal, you'll never leave here." "It becomes a prison." "Hey, baby." "I haven't seen you for days." "I've been working a lot lately." "Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?" " Well..." " Mocktar Dicko." "Mocktar, this is my favorite tech assistant..." "Tassaba!" "In Dioula, "tassaba" means "big pot."" "Figures." "Will Amadé Sana be here soon?" "He never comes here." "He doesn't like Essakane." "He prefers Bobo." "I've always said that Amadé Sana is a crackpot." "So do you dance, new boy?" "No, thanks." "It's not my thing." "We're getting up at 5:00 tomorrow." "Another round for Thiam's table." "It's time to go." "You can show Amadé that your hands can still function." "Put this on." "You look like you're dressed for a date." " Hi, Coumba." " Hi, Thiam." " How'd you sleep?" " Good." " How's it back home?" " Good." " How's Mariama?" " She's fine." " I hope it'll be a good day." " It will be." "Here's your equipment." " What do I need to do?" " It's simple." "You go down there and dig, then bring the rock up in the sack." "How far down is it?" "Not too deep, maybe 40 meters." "40 meters." "Once you reach the bottom, dig along the quartz vein in the gallery on the left." "Here are some matches." "Light one every now and then." "It'll go out if there's no oxygen." "If that happens, climb back up as fast as you can." "Take a big gulp." "It will help you relax before you go down there." " What is it?" " Vitamins." "Vitamins?" "Rubbing alcohol mixed with crushed "blue-blues."" "It will help with the queasiness." "No, I don't need it." "Suit yourself." "I must have passed out." "We're not gonna waste our time waiting for the Nigerien." "Amadé is going to have a fit." "Don't worry about Amadé." "I'll take care of him." "Go with Paté to the enclosure." "I'll catch up with you later." "As you wish." "I slipped." "We have to get going." "We've wasted enough time." "I don't think Paté likes me." "He hasn't said a word to me." "I've never heard him make a sound." "He's just sort of there." "He does the work of 10 men, though." "I broke a flashlight." "Sunday is market day in the village." "Mariama." "The Nigerien is going to put me out of business!" "He just had a small accident." "It's not a big deal." "Besides, it's his first day." "His first day!" "He's lucky it is." "It won't happen again." "Get back to work!" "This is your hole." "All right!" "A long time ago, I made a lot of money on gold." "I went back to Ouagadougou." "I wanted to start a business." "When you have money, you find out you have a lot of cousins." "You have no idea who they are, but they sure seem to know you." "The family got bigger." "They moved into the courtyard, and all my money disappeared." "My family is better off with me here." "What about you?" "Your family stayed behind in Niger?" "This way." "I don't think the bone is broken." "That'll be 1000 francs." "I don't have it." " Are you new here?" " I arrived yesterday." "You can pay me after your first wages." "A word of advice:" "Stay away from "blue-blues."" "Have you heard of them?" "They're amphetamines." "When the work gets to be unbearable, smoke a joint instead." "It's less toxic." "I'll pay you as soon as I can." "Change the bandage every now and then." "Coumba?" "Sit down for a minute." "I can't drink this all on my own." "I think this is the best way to have it." "Maybe you prefer it weaker." "Thanks for the tea." "That's the way I like it too." "Queen." "So tell me, is Mariama Coumba's daughter?" "You're quite perceptive." "Who's her father?" "He died in a mine accident three years ago." "Coumba also lost her father and two brothers that day." "There was nothing we could do." "We waited for several days before bringing up the bodies." "If you go down after a shaft collapses, don't plan on coming back." "You'll die from lack of oxygen." "Queen against queen!" "You're not paying attention." "Since the accident, we've been giving Coumba some of the rock we bring up." "She processes it herself." "What are you doing?" "All your pawns are blocked." "I won't get to Bobo with this!" "Hey, Techie, you sure you didn't leave the other half in the water?" "Not bad for your first wages." "With Tidiane's gold, we made a bit more than usual." "Tassaba will cater to my every whim now." "You seem like a nice guy, stranger." "It's yours for 1500 francs." "Hey, I'm not a white man." "I'll give you 400 francs for it, that's all." "You want to put me out of business?" "400 francs for a flashlight?" "I don't think so." "500." "That's how much I paid for it." "Hey, stranger," "I'll give it to you for 600!" "Here's your 1500 francs, but I'm taking this book too." "I don't think so." "That's probably the only children's book for sale in the whole market!" "Did you see the condition it's in?" "1500, including some batteries." " Batteries?" " What good is a flashlight without batteries?" "You like freebies, don't you, stranger?" "Just take your batteries and go." "I hope you aren't planning on flying away anytime soon." "I've got something for Mariama." "I don't read very well, but the pictures are nice." ""Dear Santa," "Every night in bed," "I secretly dream of coming to see you up in the sky." "Way up in the clouds, riding on your hat, Santa Claus."" "Have you ever wanted to leave?" "I've been here for too long." "When I left Ouagadougou, I was still in school." "Do you miss Ouaga?" "I've been gone for too long." "But when I find my gold nugget," "I'm going to send Mariama to my cousin in Paris." "She'll be able to get an education." "Paris is far away." "How about you?" "Why did you come here?" "No one leaves paradise for Essakane." "Leave paradise?" "I didn't know how to keep it up." "Essakane or anywhere else..." "it makes no difference to me." "Hey, Independence!" "I heard that you struck gold." "That should make the family in Ouaga happy." "The Nigerien brought us luck." " Where in Niger..." "Niamey?" " Tera." "Hey, Oussou!" "Thiam's friend is from Niger." "He could run errands for you." "Where in Tera?" "He drives by Tera every week." "He could bring money to your family." "He's my brother." "Don't worry." "Give this to Moussa and nobody else, do you understand?" "I know, I know." "I should start taking a percentage, Old Man Thiam." "Oh no!" "I'm done for!" "Help!" "The shaft swallowed them!" "Come quick!" "The shaft swallowed them!" "Come quick!" "Come help me!" "Paté!" "Where's Thiam?" "The shaft collapsed while Thiam was inside." "Where's Thiam?" "We came up as fast as we could." "Help me!" "Go get him!" "Don't just stand there!" "Do something!" "Go on!" "What are you waiting for?" "Mocktar!" "What are you doing?" "Mocktar?" "Mocktar?" "Mocktar?" "Mocktar!" "What are you waiting for?" "Why don't you help him?" "You're all cowards!" " Go on!" " Go where?" "Go where?" "Get back to your shafts!" "I'm not paying you to stand around." "The shaft collapsed on Thiam." " The Nigerien went after him." " You let him?" " I tried to stop him." " Listen." "You know we can't do anything for them!" "They need your help!" "Don't listen to Amadé." "All he cares about is his money!" "Coumba, mind your own business!" "Let me remind you that we let you work here out of sympathy!" "Get back to work or I'll replace you!" "Get a move on!" "What are you waiting for?" "Do you understand?" "If you want to give orders, go find yourself another shaft!" "Got it?" "You're abandoning them when they need your help!" "Paté, go to Djibril's shaft!" "Thiam?" "I thought you were dead." "I dug and dug in the dark." "I couldn't breathe." "Then I found myself in Youssouf's shaft." "This accident is a good sign." "What are you saying?" "This accident is a good sign." "We're going to find gold!" "I'll have a Dolo." "I thought you didn't drink." "What's it to you?" "Mocktar, you're an idiot!" " Tidiane!" " Let him be." "Keep the change and bring us more drinks." "Paté will be all right." "He's been through this before." "Don't worry about it." "Why would Thiam say that the accident is a good sign, and that we're going to find gold?" "Because it's true." "After Coumba's father's mine shaft collapsed, we had a period of prosperity." "Everybody around here is crazy." "You're the one who's crazy." "If you don't care about gold, why are you here?" "When I arrived in Essakane, I was as skinny as a rail." "But skinny people are looked down on here." "People think you're sick." "So I started taking these pills to gain weight." "Within a few weeks, I turned into a tassaba." "I've heard of those pills." "Back home, they use them to fatten cattle." "What does it matter?" "It helps me make ends meet." "Maybe I'll meet a man who'll marry me." "You have the luxury of being able to go home." "Youma, my youngest daughter, died last month..." "Malaria." "There was nothing I could do." " So now..." " Now what?" "My children are all alive, but do I still exist for them?" "Their father drove me away." "That's the way it goes." "What about your wife and your other children?" "I found gold." "We found gold!" "We found gold!" "Tomorrow's my big day!" "I'm leaving here." "So eat up!" "It's on me." "Music!" "How about some music?" "My friends want to enjoy themselves." "Pour some drinks!" "They're thirsty." "Look at him shimmy." "He dances like a white guy." "Don't drink so fast or you'll choke." "I have something important to say." "Thiam, I don't like when you talk like that." "Let him speak." " Amadé is off to Bobo tomorrow." " We know." "Now we'll have to find work." "At least we can take our time." "The captain has agreed..." "I can take over Amadé's land." "I want you to oversee the mine shafts." "What do you say?" "Thiam, you're the boss!" "Paté," "I need someone who can keep the miners in line." "Since you don't talk, you'll work in my shaft with Mocktar." "The lucky shaft." "My wife saw me as a father who couldn't provide for his children." "My father was a farmer like you, a "gaou."" "Paté, you're terrible!" "Two years ago, maybe more..." "I went back to Mali." "At the time, I'd struck gold and was rich." "I gave everything to my father." "We hadn't spoken to each other in years." "And that night," "I drank more than usual." "I drank all night long." "I was proud of myself." "My father struck it rich, so I announced it to the world, you know what I mean?" "The next morning... the screams of a woman woke me up." "I was soaked with blood." "My father was lying next to me, his throat slit open." "I was drowning in his blood... my father's blood." "The villagers held me responsible for his death." "The money I'd given him was gone." "I left town in shame." "Put on your torches." "Is this where you found the nugget?" "Count me in." "If we find another one, I'm going home." "I've got a bit of land and a family waiting for me." "They'd love to see me come home with a fat wallet." "So what do we do?" "It's simple." "You just dig and bring up the rock in the sack." "Mariama?" "Come here." "Maybe you should try it on." "What do you think?" "Ah..." "Go give this to Coumba." "Go on." "I hope that's enough." "I don't know what to say." "The gold we risk our lives for goes to whites." "Why not to Mariama?" "All you need is a toothpick in your mouth, and you'll be the spitting image of him." "Get back to work, Techie!" "I liked you better when you were poor!" "So, you're leaving us too?" "To be respected, a boss needs to have his own place." "I'll miss your cooking." "I'd better get going." "Subtitles by LeapinLar"