"The Ancient Ones said that Jauja was a mythological land of abundance and happiness." "Many expeditions tried to find the place to verify this." "With time, the legend grew disproportionately." "People were undoubtedly exaggerating, as they usually do." "The only thing that is known for certain is that all who tried to find this earthly paradise got lost on the way." "Father, why can't I have a dog of my own?" "You will, Inge." "But not until we return home." "What kind of dog would you like?" "One that follows me everywhere." "I see..." "One like that..." "That certainly won't be easy." "I'm sure we'll find a way." "My sweet girl." "Would you like a drink?" "Aquavit." "When are we leaving for the desert fort?" "In two weeks." " It's high time we left." " Yes." "I'll be in charge of the convoy." "There are several wagons." "I'll prepare a special carriage for Ingeborg." "So she can travel comfortably." "Or are you leaving her here?" "No, she'll come with me." "Is it true, everything they're saying about Zuluaga?" "He's an extremely competent officer." "And brave." " But isn't he a bit crazy?" " People around here talk too much." "Do you know him?" "Have you spoken to him?" "Many times." "We've covered many miles together and fought side by side." "He's very brave and level-headed." "He's dependable and law-abiding." "And now we're going to his fort, right?" "Is he there now?" "I heard news that he was in the big fort nearby." "But as soon as the invasion took place, he rushed to be with his men." "He must be there by now." "He's a very experienced soldier." "In the desert, he can make himself invisible and travel at the speed of sound." "And he's a very disciplined military man." "You will like him." "Does he live alone?" "Alone?" "Does he have a wife?" "Children?" "Or is he like you?" "On the desert frontier, one is alone." "Relationships and comforts are debilitating." "As you well know, it's a strange way of life, to build up a place, a country, a family." "But one must embrace an idea and push ahead with it." "That's what sets us apart from the coconut-heads." "They wander from place to place, stealing and killing like complete animals." "Why do you call them coconut-heads?" "That's not a tribe, a coconut..." "We consider all of them coconut-heads." "But it's not a proper name." "The name doesn't matter." "But if we don't know their name, how can we understand them?" "We don't need to understand them, we have to exterminate them." "We have to kill them all." "I see..." "Lieutenant Pittaluga," "I have a little problem between my men and your soldiers." "There's a lot of... hostility..." "Could you talk to my surveyors tomorrow?" "Of course." " Thank you." " Of course." "You remember tomorrow there's the ball being given by the Minister of War?" " It is quite an event." " Yeah?" "I'd like to invite your daughter." "My daughter?" "Birrita could come along as chaperone." "No, but she..." "She's not a..." "She's my daughter." "Captain Dinesen..." "It would be an honour for me to give you a horse as a gift for your daughter." "In these parts, the man who rides is king." "I could teach her to ride." "No, she already knows how to ride." "All the better." "I'd like to invite you to the ranch where I breed them." " Thank you." " I have some gorgeous horses." "I'll give it some thought." "I have a chestnut horse." "A real beauty." "Thank you." "But first we have work to do, right?" "Ingeborg!" "Inge!" "You know Lieutenant Pittaluga, don't you?" "You know who I mean?" "Yes, the man with the short assistant." "Exactly." "Wherever he goes, his assistant follows." "Or else the assistant leads the way." "And he follows." "Yes, that sounds right." "In any case..." "The other day, just as I was returning to the house with Dora, the little man was at the fort waiting for us." "What did you say?" "And the Lieutenant was sitting inside." "He said he was waiting for you." "Really?" "Is that what he said?" "He was in full dress uniform." "No!" "I'll be damned!" "It wasn't me he was waiting for!" "It was you he came to..." "He came to see you." "Now, you listen to me." "He is much too fond of young girls." "He's a filthy pig!" "I won't have you anywhere near him!" " Is that clear?" " Why would I go near him?" "Well..." "Yes, of course... you're right." "Why would you?" "Forgive me." "But..." "Oh, my poor girl." "We don't belong here at all." "We'll go home to Denmark soon." "I love the desert." "I like how it fills me." "I beg your pardon?" "Captain!" " Your horse is ready, Captain!" " Yes, yes!" "Just a moment!" "Ingeborg!" "Wait a moment!" "Damn it!" "Birrita!" "Corto, come here!" "Take your boots off!" "Miss Ingeborg, please return to the camp." "This I shall keep." "Good day." "How are you, Ángel?" "Thank you." "Corto..." "Would you like some cold "mate"?" "We drink cold "mate" here." "Father." "Not now, Ingeborg!" "Look what I found." "Yes... that's fine." "But now you can go..." "go back to the tent." "Go on!" "Move along!" "Tell us what you told the administrator." "I want to hear it from you." "Speak up!" "You've much to tell us." " About the colonel?" " Exactly." "Zuluaga is leading a band of thieves." "The strange thing is he's dressed like a woman." "I already told this to the other officer." "Did you see him?" "No, I heard it from some locals who were with the coconut-heads." "Listen to me, Corto." "Colonel Zuluaga disappeared in the desert while trying to reach his fort to help his soldiers." "He was later seen in two relay stations, where he changed horses and had a meal." "He was in perfect shape." "That is all we know." "No news since then." "He never arrived, and no one saw him again." "Nor has a body been found." "We infiltrated the coconut-heads, but we learned nothing from them, right?" "Either they've hidden him, or Zuluaga just vanished into thin air." "The second search party returned yesterday, all experienced men, empty-handed." "One of Zuluaga's horses was spotted up near the forest." "The horse was in good condition, grazing calmly, with saddle intact, carrying the colonel's saddlebags as if its master were nearby." "But they never found him." "I find it strange that such an experienced man could get lost in the desert." "Perhaps we overestimated him." "The desert devours everything." "That's when people began spreading rumours." "You're telling us that they told you they saw him leading a band of men, dressed like a woman." "And what's even stranger," " the dog... his dog..." " Jersey." "His dog Jersey disappeared from his pen the same day as his master." "And therefore, I'm now asking you... why would Zuluaga desert?" "Why would he dress up like a woman?" "What kind of shit-for-brains are you people?" "Search for him." "Go into the desert and bring back something from Zuluaga." "Something tangible, something material." "Use your contacts." "Something material?" "Yes." "Something material." "Do you understand?" "Material." "Something like..." "Something like..." "the dress he's wearing." "Birrita!" "Any news on the supplies?" "Yes, they're on their way, Pittaluga." "It's always the same story." "We're constantly asked to do the impossible." "I don't understand a word you're saying." "They've been on their way for six months." "Don't be vulgar." "Come now, gentlemen." "Well, that was fun..." "Are we going to eat now?" "A bit later." "It seems that you've heard the rumours too." "The rumours, yes." "But they are only rumours." "Rumours spread quickly in the desert, don't they?" "I've heard a lot of far-fetched things about Zuluaga since I got here." "Do you know what I think?" "He was an unpredictable officer." "Don't you agree?" "No." "Come on, Lieutenant." "Calm down." "This is no time to get upset." "We should be relaxing and enjoying ourselves now." "Are you going to the ball the Minister of War is giving?" "They say it'll be very elaborate." "We are all going to the ball, sir." "I hope to see you there." "Get a good night's rest, Pittaluga." "Ingeborg?" "Ingeborg!" "Where the hell are you?" "Inge!" "Mr. Milkibar!" "My daughter is not here!" "She is invisible!" "Captain." "Captain!" "Let me take care of it." "I know how to find her." "Thanks for offering, Lieutenant, but she's my daughter." "Captain Dinesen, I advise you not to go." "Corto won't dare to flee, not even for your daughter's great beauty." "Pittaluga... you're not going anywhere." "You're staying here." "We must go to the Minister of War's ball." "Does it hurt?" "It's a birthmark." "It looks like a constellation." "Or a falling star." "Where is your mother?" "I have a feeling this has happened before, that we've been together before." "Where did you come from?" "Is that man your father?" " Hello, Captain." " Good afternoon." "Do you see how the work's progressing?" "Excellent work, Engineer Malaespina." "Tell me, have you seen my daughter?" " Your daughter?" " Yes, did she come this way?" " Alone?" " No..." "Did you see her or not?" "I didn't see her." "I didn't see her, Captain." "Could you give us some water?" "Of course." "Go over there." "There's a barrel of water." "Drink as much as you can." "Thank you." "Keep digging!" "Would you give him a little water, please?" "Perhaps in the mountains..." "Thanks." "The time I went away, the time I went away" "My girl wished to come with me, yes, she wished to come with me" "No, you cannot go, my dear" "It's to war that I am bound" "And if I do not fall, it's to you I shall return" "If no danger lay in store, I'd stay right here with you" "But all of Denmark's girls are counting on me now" "And so I wish to fight, a soldier brave and true" "Hurrah!" "Hurrah!" "Hurrah!" "Zuluaga!" "No, please!" "Where is she?" "Where is she?" "Where is my daughter?" "Where is she?" "Zuluaga..." "Where is she?" "Where the hell is she?" "No!" "God damn it!" "Rot in hell!" "Ingeborg!" "Inge!" "Where are you?" "Ingeborg!" "Can you hear me?" "No, no..." "No." "Oh, God, no." "Inge!" "What the hell?" "My sweet girl..." "What a shit country!" "Come here now!" " Good evening." " Good evening." "Do you have a little water?" "The water is for everyone." "Go up there." "You'll find a spring back there." "Just go over there." "Is there anyone here?" "I was looking for the owner of the house." "Well, you've found her." "Have a seat." "Do you live alone here?" "Yes." "Well, with my dogs and my spring." "Please help yourself." "Eat, eat." "Did the water taste good?" "Splendid." "The well is 50 metres deep." "My husband discovered it." "My husband was bitten by a snake and died." "Do you like snakes?" "They're not very well liked, but I can't fault them." "No, I don't actually like them much." "You must forgive me, but I'm used to talking to my dog." "It's strange for me to talk to a man." "Are you a man?" "Yes, I think so..." "Where are you going?" "Is it far?" "I don't know." "I'm looking for my daughter." "I thought you might have seen a blonde girl somewhere around here." "What did she look like?" "Blonde..." "Very young..." "She was..." "She is... 14..." "No, 15 years old." "No." "What did my mother look like?" "Your mother?" "I mean, what did the girl's mother look like?" "Why?" "I've always wanted to know." "She was quite tall." "And beautiful." "Unbearably beautiful." "Rather highly strung." "She was like a carnivorous plant that grows at night, focusing all of its energy on the insect it wants to devour." "Perhaps she's happy." "She left us just after you were born." "It's rather unusual for a mother to abandon her child." "And now the girl is gone?" "Yes, she's gone now too." "So it seems." "Where did she run away from?" "From nowhere." "You see, she doesn't have a home." "Neither do I." "We travel from place to place." "Doesn't she have any family she could go to?" "No." "I am her only family." "All families disappear eventually, even if it takes a long time." "They're wiped off the face of the earth." "The desert swallows them up." "I think it's for the best." "I'm looking for my daughter." "If you'd like to come back sometime for a longer visit," "I'll always be here." "One man is not all men." "I now remember a boy..." "I saw one evening after sunset." "It was an ordinary day, like all other ordinary, dull days." "The dog was leading him." "Because dogs like to make friends." "The little girl in me dreams of dogs, and wild animals and wild men." "She dreams of blood running over the cliffs, into the sea." "But the little girl became a woman and lives in the desert." "And she doesn't put up with any nonsense!" "What is it that makes a life function and move forward?" "I don't know..." "What is it that makes a life function and move forward?" "Good morning, dear Wilbjørk." "Have you seen Henrik?" "No, I haven't." "He said he was going to the hockey game." "The dog is doing a lot better now." "I put ointment on him and gave him some antibiotics." "So that's a good thing." "It's the first time he's had something like that." "I'd heard about this, but none of my dogs had ever had it." "It's a hot spot." "A hot spot?" "It's a nervous reaction in the animal." "Like smoking?" "When he doesn't understand something, he scratches himself furiously." "It irritates him, and he can injure himself." "What is it he doesn't understand?" "He doesn't understand why you go away for so long." "I'm here now, though." "I'm home again." "These creatures know a lot more than people realise." "They make plans." "I'm going for a walk."