The Garden (Ha-Gan)

Shaike Ofir

"The Garden"

"When Jerusalem was destroyed, our sages of blessed memory said:

"Jerusalem is like a garden deserted by its guardian..."

Melanie Griffith

Tuvia Tabi

Director: Victor Nord

"The Garden"

Listen, she's completely mad, that one.

I don't want anything from you.

I've come to apologise. That's all, Mr. Abraham.

Mr. Abraham, Lewis is my aide.

He shouldn't have spoken to you like that.

Because that was a mistake, I admit.

Mr. Abraham, Lewis doesn't know how to speak to people.

All I'm asking is for you to forgive me.

Mr. Abraham, it was a misunderstanding, and I apologise.

Madam Sarah, he doesn't want to forgive.

Sarah!

Mr. Abraham, I want you to know that I respect you very much.

Mr. Abraham, Mr. Abraham, you're simply abusing me.

Mr. Abraham, I ask for forgiveness.

Not yet. - Mr. Abraham.

Not yet. - Mr. Abraham.

Not yet. - Mr. Abraham.

Now, push!

Mr. Abraham, Mr. Abraham, I can come another time.

Sarah, now!

I've forgiven him, but I don't need to kneel down before him.

He doesn't forgive them.

Let him give charity to the poor.

Forgive me.

I told you he's as stubbon as a mule. - Aren't you the clever one.

Maybe I'm wrong, but... - But what?

Our mistake was that we started off speaking with him.

We should have begun by speaking with his son.

Why should we pressure him? Let his son pressure him.

I don't do business behind peoples' backs.

Do you have his address? - 6 Brenner Street, Kiryat Hayovel.

A million and a half lira?

Yes, but the question is to what extent can you help us,

if you want to help.

The garden is your father's?

So what do you say? It's a serious amount of money.

Maybe it's difficult to explain to your father, so let's leave him out of it.

He's a little peculiar...

No, he's not peculiar, he's a good man. He's just very stubborn.

That's exactly why we've come to speak with you.

One moment - are we going to do business, or not?

You're not going to call my father "stubborn", sorry, "peculiar".

All of us put together fall far short of him.

Wait a moment, you don't understand me. But excuse me,

I didn't mean to hurt your father's honour.

I'm very sorry if that's how it came over. Do excuse me.

So, is there any thing to talk about? - I think so.

Maybe add something.

I think not. I'm not part of this deal.

But you can try and talk to him.

I think so. - I think not.

How many do you want?

Hey, lady? Girl? Hey, lady.

One moment.

What, are you making a joke out of me?

Dammit!

How's things? - Hi there, what's up?

Here, take an orange.

Debbie, how's things?

Debbie, how's things? Come here.

Hey babe, so what's it gonna be? What's up with you?

Look at how you're driving! Can't you see a girl running in front of you?

Move her away from here, already!

Nissim!

Nissim, turn on the tap, I'm dying from the stink.

Nissim!

Turn on the tap or I'm gonna die from the stink here.

Sarah, water!

Sarah, water!

I told you, the water today, not tomorrow, today.

Not tomorrow, today.

Nissim! I'll turn it on myself.

Today, the water's good. Especially good.

Last night I had a nice dream.

A house, three rooms.

A ten-floor building.

There was an elevator.

A big, white kitchen.

Isaac brings the children every day.

Mr. Moshe is a snake.

Maybe. Maybe.

The curtains are blue.

With a pattern of small, white flowers.

What flowers?

The flowers on the curtains. - Which curtains?

The house curtains.

Which house?

The house in my dream.

Mr. Moshe is a snake!

But he apologised to you.

He apologised? Five times he apologised to me,

and I didn't say a single word.

Sarah...

I didn't want to tell you before, but it's forbidden to sell the garden.

Why? - Because the garden is not ours.

Not ours? - Not ours.

Then whose is it?

Nissim, come here.

Good lord, wow!

What, this is where she sleeps?

The Rubbish Dump Hotel, four-star.

Shut your mouth, alright?

Maybe we should open the throttle, make her jump.

What do you say, you're no less stupid than she is.

Oh sure, the best ones are on the Honda. - There's

and all that's on his mind is pulling back the throttle.

You've never seen a naked girl in your life, have you? You virgin.

Your limping mother I've seen. - Your limping sister. Go jerk off!

Quiet! Quiet! Go on, squabble, squabble, until she leaves. Idiots.

Can't you see we've got us a girl waiting for us, a guaranteed lay.

She's a lay? She's mad.

If you had some brains, if you had some experience,

mad... whatever you do to her she's not going to open her mouth.

Get it? You've got nothing to worry about. She's out of it, that one.

What, we're gonna screw her now?

No, we're gonna take her to the bridal parlour.

Abraham, Isaac's here.

Isaac my son, just today I said to Abraham, why hasn't Isaac come?

And here you've come.

Hello. - Welcome, welcome.

Hello blossoming sage. - Welcome, welcome, Isaac son of Abraham.

Father, how are you? - How's Rina, and the children?

Good. Father, I want to speak with you.

Words of sages are with pleasure heard.

Mr. Abraham, are you coming to the afternoon prayer?

I'll be coming. - Don't forget, we're waiting for you.

What's up, Isaac, Rina? - That too, but that's not important, father.

I'm tired of it. - Work?

Everything together, you know. - I know, I know.

It's difficult for us too, difficult to rise in the early morning,

going to sleep after sundown.

You think it's easy for your mother? By your sweat you'll eat bread.

But Isaac,

we don't eat charity bread, and we don't go to the welfare office.

That's what I want to talk to you about. - Talk to me? - Yes.

Father, look, you and mother... - Well, Sarah...

Mother and you should have stopped working a long time ago,

not now, but years ago. You've worked enough your whole lives.

At your age you should be eating fruit, not growing them.

How much, how much does a peach cost today in the market? Pennies.

When I ran away from here, you remember, father, I couldn't stand it,

I couldn't watch mother dragging boxes of fruit,

I couldn't watch you, all day long with a bent back and hoe in hand.

I couldn't watch that.

If Rina had not gotten pregnant, I wouldn't have married her.

I would have tried first to achieve something in life.

I'm married, 27, with two children.

What chance do I have in this life, father?

Do you understand me?

Isaac, do you need some money?

Father...

I don't want money from you,

I'm speaking with you about far more important things.

I'm talking about mother, about you, about me.

Why do mother and you have to work at your age, why?

Show me other people who are working at your age.

Look around, father, see how people live.

You're a good man, an honest man. There aren't many people like you.

You think I like hearing what my friends say?

"What, your old folk still working?"

Father, you are sitting on a gold mine in the heart of Jerusalem.

Here they can build a skyscraper. Do you know what you'll get for that?

People make a fortune, not from work, from corruption, from theft.

Father, you know what people say about this garden?

You'll excuse me, but people say it stinks here.

Yes, yes, simply stinks, and that's not nice to hear.

Everyone knows you irrigate with sewage water from the hotel.

I'd like you to come to me for the weekend,

and there'll be a special room for you and for mother.

Do you understand what I'm saying, father? - Of course I understand.

God created water in the six days of Genesis.

And Man created the stink a long time afterwards.

Father, this morning a man came to me. - Mr. Moshe, I know.

Isaac, I cannot sell the garden.

Be well, Father.

Mother, I'll return when father's in a better mood.

Isaac, Isaac, come here. Come here, Isaac.

Come here, Isaac. I love you, Isaac.

Do you want me to sell the garden?

Yes.

I cannot sell the garden.

Father, you know what people say about you? That you're stubborn.

And you really are stubborn.

Don't make noise.

Fuck! I think I stepped on a snake.

You stepped on shit.

On you, you mean.

Shut your mouth already. You found a perfect time to chatter.

Nissim, look after my bike.

You...

Go up top. - Me? Why should I go up?

You should go up.