Five Fingers for Marseilles

First came the trains.

And with them came the settlers,

bringing their towns with them:

Paris, Roma, Barcelona...

and Marseilles.

And they called it their land.

And for us, who'd been there before,

they put us on top of a hill, out of sight.

And they called it Railway

because most of us were working on the train lines.

When Marseilles was happy,

Railway was fine.

It wasn't much, but it was ours.

But, when the towns started to die...

Paris, Roma...

Marseilles began to worry.

And when Marseilles began to crumble,

they took it out on those closest at hand.

But it wasn't their land.

And some of us were prepared to fight for it.

What now?

Cockroach.

No, man!

Tau!

I'm just playing with him.

Fuck off, Tau.

Some fighter.

You're shooting stones, Tau?

That's enough.

Let's go.

Tau.

Unathi.

Luyanda.

Bongani.

It's the end of the month.

At the end of the month they come.

We need to keep our heads

to make sure no one gets hurt.

When do we stop fighting with sticks?

They have guns.

If we don't give them something to fear,

they won't fear us.

That's enough!

The minute we cross the line, they'll cross the line.

What's the matter with you?

What would Mother or Father say?

We'll never know, will we?

Pastor, is this the time for bible study?

The land is all the scripture we need.

It was here before us and it will be when we're gone.

It's our duty to protect it.

Even from each other.

It's been a long day...

Pastor, do what you do best.

You might have heard this one...

This is a story about five fighters,

and the girls who loved them.

Five friends

who became brothers

with one purpose.

Who made a pact to ride together

until their battle was won.

Zulu, the leader. Fearless.

Lerato, their heart and soul.

Unathi, who they called Pastor,

the storyteller.

With Luyanda, the broken one,

who they called Cockroach.

Fuck off, man.

Bongani, called Pockets,

because he was the rich one.

And Tau, the Lion.

Ruthless, the fastest.

Sometimes, the meanest.

Five fighting for freedom,

while others folded their arms.

Who vowed to stand together,

and maybe fall together, for the place they called home.

The Five Fingers.

Hello, Father.

Hello, Mom.

Is this what time you come home?

I'm sorry, Jonah.

You, go wash.

Tau.

I need your help.

Here.

Exactly what is your problem?

Sheep on the tracks again.

It's the hardest thing to stop a speeding train.

Once it's on its course,

it'll keep going until it crashes.

Only it knows where it will end.

Done.

It's no game, boy.

Looks like you need some company.

I'm waiting for someone.

Oh yes? Who?

Just some girl I meet sometimes.

Some girl?

Some girl.

Sort of pretty.

Dresses kind of funny.

Likes to sing.

"Tau, my love..."

Come back with me.

I like it better here.

You don't need to watch over us.

Your brother...

Zulu's not strong enough.

He thinks he is, but he's not.

But you are?

I have to be strong.

Do you, Tau?

Thank you, sister.

Next month.

Why don't you just leave us alone?

Feisty.

She'll be something when she is older.

Don't disrespect my ladies.

Please.

That big mouth

is going to get you in trouble one day,

Think you can scare us with eggs?

I'll beat you!

You don't own us.

Give our money back!

Come and get it!

Time to go.

Next time, old man.

Jesus!

Come Vorster! Fuck!

We need to get out of here!

Here comes trouble.

It's a brick!

Fuck. Drive, man!

Do you want us to shoot you?

You fucking shits.

Are you happy now, you little fuckers?

Tau!

We need to think!

Lerato.

Lerato.

You did this, boy.

Drop the gun.

Tau.

Forgive me.

Tau.

What have you done?

Tau.

We need to hide.

Father God

There is a fight coming

I need you to turn your eyes away from me

until that fight is done.

Things are going to get bad.

Very bad.

No heroes.

Let it go, boy.

Let it go.

The Lion of Marseilles.

Back into the wild.

God help us.

I'm done with this.

And you, Slim?

Will you go back to the city?

...when they see me, they go crazy.

Anywhere I go... you and you and you...

I remember one time they were pulling me by the ear...

calling, "Oh, brother Thuto..."

"You're a hottie, you drive me crazy."

So I told them, "Wait in line...

I'll attend to you one by one..."

We do whiskey by the bottle.

If I don't want a bottle?

Find somewhere else to drink.

Cough up for a bottle or choose another drink.

What will it be?

Whiskey. In a glass.

Look,

We don't want any trouble-

Welcome to the Grey Lady.

I'm Grey.

The Lady is out.

Girl.

Why don't you lose those uniform stiffs and come hang out with us?

Uh uh. Hold up.

You, whores.

Get out.

Out!

You know the rules, Daddy.

What can I do?

Lerato!

What are we supposed to do now?

Play with each other?

If you want it bad enough,

you can get it in the street.

Maybe you join us a little while.

Sing us a little song.

Oh, wait.