A Twelve-Year Night (La noche de 12 años)

The man looked at the Convict and asked the Officer:

Does the prisoner know his sentence?

No - said the Officer- He will experience it on his own body.

Franz Kafka. In the Penal Colony.

Uruguay is under a dictatorship after several decades of democracy.

The Tupamaro Revolutionary Movement has been defeated.

Its survivors are in prison.

On September 7th, nine Tupamaro prisoners

are secretly taken hostage by the military government.

This is the story of three of them.

A 12-YEAR NIGHT

Troops!

Proceed!

- Move in! - Quickly, quickly!

Come on, come on!

Come on, come on!

Let's go, move it!

Quickly!

Let's go, keep moving!

Come on! Move in!

I need to take a shit.

Quiet, little shit!

Pepe?

Ñato.

Quiet! No talking!

- Ruso, is that you? - Silence!

Keep your mouth shut, little shit!

Then I'll have to shit right here.

Sorry, guys.

Silence!

Let's go, in the truck!

There's crap everywhere. It stinks.

Come on, in the truck.

Let's go, let's go!

Quickly!

Come on, keep walking!

Excuse me, Lieutenant.

I've brought prisoners.

José Mujica, Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro and Mauricio Rosencof.

Take them away.

Come on, let's go!

Come on, keep walking!

Inside!

Hold him there.

Soak it in gasoline.

More, more...

- Suffocate him. - No!

I can't breathe!

We're going to light you on fire. Hold still.

We're lighting you on fire, hold still.

No!

Son of a bitch!

Shut up.

Hold still. Hold still right there.

On your feet!

Stand against the wall.

Stand still.

Facing the wall without touching it.

Don't move.

Hold still.

Hold still, don't look at me. Face the wall.

Hold still.

ABANDON ALL HOPE, YOU WHO ENTER HERE.

Here, little shit.

MINISTRY OF DEFENSE RESOLUTION

YOU CANNOT SPEAK. NOT TO EACH OTHER OR TO ANYONE.

THE SOLDIERS ARE FORBIDDEN TO TALK TO YOU.

One, two, three, four.

One, two, three,

four.

One, two, three,

four.

One, two, three, four.

Stop, stop, stop.

Right there.

What does he think he is? A gymnast?

He could use a kick in the kidneys.

A gymnasticist!

You stay still. Understood?

12 MONTHS LATER

These guys can't talk to anyone.

Nobody can talk to them.

Remember that they're seditious and subversive.

Traitors to our country.

They're very dangerous.

They can be incredibly convincing.

Contact with them must be minimum.

We're the National Army.

It took us years to win this war.

And remember that humanity was always saved

at the last minute

by a firing squad.

My dear Ruso,

I'm here because your family is pestering us.

I'll let you see them,

but don't make things harder,

because you'll make it harder for them, and for you.

And you love your family a lot, right?

You know what this is?

It's a resolution from Army Central Command.

If any attack happens, we'll have to kill you.

And you know that's easy.

You're not prisoners anymore.

You're hostages.

We should have killed you when we could.

Now we're going to drive you crazy.

You lost the war, Pepe.

Now you are doomed.

And you wanted to change the world?

Just look at yourselves.

I would kill myself.

Why don't you kill yourselves?

Stay still.

I said stay still.

Look, this is barbaric.

A firing squad would be more humane.

Rosencof, get ready.

Dad.

Hi!

How are you, sweetheart?

What beautiful eyes you have.

And school?

How are things at school?

- We brought you food. - Thanks, Mom.

- And notebooks and books... - Thanks, Mom.

- How are you, darling? - Fine.

You're so big!

What a lovely surprise.

What do you do here every day?

We walk.

You have recess?

Yeah, sure.

We brought Alejandrita's new glasses to show you.

Put them on.

Wait, wait. Tell him to close his eyes.

Close your eyes.

I'm closing them.

They're closed.

- Can I open them? - Yes.

They look beautiful on you.

Oh, Dad. These glasses make me cry.

No, sweetie. Don't use them if they make you cry.

They make her cry?

The lenses make her cry.

Isaac...

Hey, Dad. Are you okay?

What's wrong?

- Who is he? - Mauricio.

I came to see my son.

- Isaac, please. - Dad, it's me.

- Where is my son? - Calm down.

- Isaac, sit down. - Where is my son?

- I came to see my son. - Sit down.

- Dad, it's me. - No, please, sit down.

Sit down.

No!

Isaac!

Dad, are you okay?

Dad!

Don't move!

Dad!

- Isaac, no! - Dad!

Dad, it's me!

Dad, it's me!

Let's go!

Come on!

803 DAYS

Be careful!

Quiet, little shit!

Get out of there! Out!

Merry Christmas!

A, b, c...

A, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i,...

D, e, f, g,...

Merry Christmas, Ruso.

Merry Christmas to you too, Ñato.

1074 DAYS

Are we in Solis?

I don't know.

In 5th Cavalry.

How do you know?

By their boots.

Where is Pepe?

No idea.

Checkmate.

Checkmate how?

With queen on D4.

You're shitting me.

Queen D4 I win.

Arguing with you...

is like talking to a wall.

Hurry up. Crap quickly.

I can't like this.

I can't squat, I can't shit.

What do you want me to do?

Loosen it a little bit for me.

I'm not authorized.

So I'll have to shit all over the place...

Corporal, there's a problem.

He can't reach the toilet. He can't defecate.