The Story of Racheltjie De Beer
Rachel...
What are you doing?
It's almost Easter.
What does rosemary mean again?
Rosemary's for remembrance.
We'd better leave the valley before the storm hits.
Or we'll be in trouble.
Back under the canopy, Jamie, you can sit with Frikkie.
Keep an eye on your brother.
- Come on, Voorlaaier. Come! - Jamie, down!
Come on!
Buskruit!
Hold on tight.
Jamie...
Pa, help! Jamie fell into the water!
Jamie? Jamie!
Jamie, breathe. Breathe!
- Sage is for life. - He was your responsibility!
Jamie! Breathe!
Is Frikkie okay?
Jamie...
I'm sorry, Pa.
Come on, let me pull out your tooth.
It's Jamie's bedtime.
Come, Jamie.
Sleep well, you two.
Night, Pa.
Night, Frikkie.
- Rachel? - Yes?
What happens when I die?
When you die...
you'll go to heaven.
But where is heaven?
Come, lie down.
Heaven's up there. With the stars.
But I don't want to go to heaven.
Nothing's going to happen to you, Jamie.
Tell me about Mama and the secret language of plants.
Shh, Jamie, talk softly. Papa mustn't hear us.
Please?
When I was your age...
Mama told me about a language that everyone can hear
but few people understand.
It's the language plants speak.
What do the plants say?
Every plant says something different.
Aloes...
tell a very sad story.
Proteas say...
"Be brave."
And white poppies...
whisper...
"Sleep."
And what are you looking at?
Remember me, Rachel.
Mama?
Rachel!
I've been worried sick.
I'm drawing the mountains, Pa.
Don't wander so far from the camp, there are leopards in these mountains.
Get Jamie ready, we need to pack up.
Jamie, look.
Pa, do you want some water?
Pour sparingly.
Thanks.
Rachel, I want some more.
Come! Come, Swartland, come!
George!
George?
People?
Strangers.
My goodness, it's our Sara.
No, my love...
Remember, Sara lives here with us.
Oh, is that so?
Remember our rules,
our business is our business.
Come on, come!
Come on, Swartland! Come on!
Good afternoon.
Stop.
- Herman de Beer. - Welcome to Tierkloof.
George Lundt, and... my wife, Jacoba.
And who do we have here?
I'm Rachel de Beer, sir, and this is my brother, Jamie.
And this is Frikkie.
Pleased to meet you, Rachel and Jamie de Beer, and Frikkie.
It's late in summer for a traveller in these parts. How come?
Well, the first cold front is nearly here.
How can I help you?
We've been without water for days.
My wagon's had it, and a standard's strap-iron cracked.
You can stay there.
It's cramped, the roof leaks, but I'm sure you'll forgive me that.
We're grateful for your hospitality.
Lazarus will unyoke the oxen and take Frikkie.
Join us for supper when you've unpacked.
- Please, we can take care of ourselves. - Herman...
Please don't insult my generosity.
And call me George.
- See you two later. - Thanks, George.
Careful...
Snake's head is for danger.
Your room is next door.
Please get Jamie ready for supper.
We must get ready for supper. Where are your clean clothes, Jamie?
You can get them yourself.
Jacobus Johannes de Beer!
Watch it.
Good evening.
- Good evening, I'm Herman de Beer! - Sara Lundt.
You must be Rachel and Jamie? Pleased to meet you, ma'am.
Come inside.
- Your jacket, Mr De Beer. - Thank you.
Good evening, George. Ma'am.
Good evening. How are the cattle?
- Please, take a seat. - Thank you.
Will you please say grace?
- Lord, please bless... - ... the food we eat.
- May we never... - May we never...
... forget Thy name.
- Amen. - Amen.
Salt please, Sara.
Thanks. How long have you been on the road, Herman?
Almost three months.
That's a long time to be travelling alone with two children.
Where's their mother?
They help where they can.
Surely it makes sense to join another party?
Isn't that right, my love?
Yes, a big party has its benefits, but moves at a snail's pace.
Lazarus' people always say, "Ha re tatile, re tsamaya re le bangwe.
Ho ya ole, re tsamaya le batho ba bangwe."
"If you want to travel fast, travel alone.
If you want to travel far, travel together."
What about school? For Rachel.
She can catch up when we arrive in the Witwatersrand at the end of May.
End of May? You can forget about that.
It takes three weeks to cross this mountain range with a wagon, Herman.
The snow will be here in a week or two...
and once it's fallen, no one crosses these mountains.
It's high summer.
Since when is snow that predictable in this area?
When the Orange River lily blooms white, she predicts heavy snow, Herman.
And if her flowers and leaves wilt by the end of February...
rain falls in the middle of March, like now.
And then, in the last week... heavy snow.
Thank you very, very much.
It's been really pleasant, but we really need to go home now.
Mommy? Mommy, Mommy...
we are home.
Oh, I see.
In nearly 50 years on this farm,
I've only seen the white lilies die before the end of February three times.
Whoever heads into the snow rarely makes it out alive.
Ask Lazarus...
if you don't believe me.
What are you going to do in the Witwatersrand, Rachel?
Let me guess... Gold mines.
That's right, sir.
Every man with a dream and a shovel's heading there.
- Fortunately I don't have either. - What do you mean?
I'm a blacksmith, I repair broken tools.
Of which there are plenty on the gold mines. Bravo.
There will be broken dreams too.
How good are you at fixing them?
One first needs to know how to dream before one can acquire such skills.
And I left that to artists and children years ago.
Spoken like a true pessimist. I'll drink to that, De Beer.
- Herman. - Thanks, George.
Thank you, my child.
Jamie.
Ma'am?
Do you know how many days there are until Easter?
Don't bother the lady with questions.
Good Friday is a week from Friday, so... 13 days.
I think it's time for bed.
- All right. - Pleased to meet you, I'm Jacoba Lundt.
Sit down, my love. Have a seat.
Finish your dessert, and let Sara play the piano before we say goodnight.
Oh, Pa...
Excuse me, Jamie.
Well, it's been a long day for you.
Thanks for your hospitality, George.
I meant what I said earlier, Herman.
You can stay here until the snow clears up.
In exchange for food and lodging, you can help Lazarus fix the old stone kraal.
Besides, it will take you at least a week to repair your wagon.
Come, my boy.
Breakfast is at first light.
Goodnight.
What did I tell you?
Our business is our business.
It has nothing to do with them, or anyone else.
Understood?
- Do you understand, Rachel? - Yes, Pa.
Remember me, Rachel.
Drink...
Remember...
Come here, boy, let me see.
He won't allow anyone near his tooth, sir.
Careful...
If you swallow your tooth in your sleep...
a whole mouth full of teeth will grow in your stomach and eat all your food.
Yes.
Our family's been on Tierkloof for nearly 50 years.
I was born on the farm.
And you've lived here ever since?
I was a teacher in town.
But my parents need my help.
- So we can call you "Miss", ma'am? - Miss Sara, yes.
Morning, you lot.
Come, come.
Come, Jamie.
Come and pet him.
Come, sit here.
Don't be scared. If he pecks you, we will have him for dinner.
Pet him.
Catch that one over there. I don't know, the black one...
Careful... catch him. Come here, Blackie!
This is the kraal you must help Lazarus fix.
My dad would've had to hire workers, then you showed up.
So it's perfect timing.
Tell that to the shovels and pickaxes on the gold fields, waiting to be fixed.
Frikkie, keep still.
- He's a naughty calf. - Just like Jamie.
Frikkie doesn't have a mother, just like me.
So I take care of him.
Rachel?
Little turkeys step like this, like that, like this...
Mommy, I must go.
I...
I need your help.
Hello.
I brought you something.
My mother always plaited my hair for church.
May I ask what happened to your mother, Rachel?
I'll walk you home.
Rachel, get up!
Leave me alone, Jamie, I want to sleep.
Let's go and say hello to Frikkie.
Let me show you something Papa taught me when I was your age.
Ew, that's poo!
- It's warm, isn't it? - Yes.
No, don't throw it at me.
Frikkie!
Frikkie?
Frikkie...
Frikkie?
Frikkie!
Frikkie, where are you?
I'm scared.
Stupid calf! What are you doing so far from the herd?
- Jamie, come and look. - What?
What's that?
Termite nests.
What are termites?
They're ants.
Sage is for life.
Nightshade is for death.
Jamie!
Jamie?
Jamie!
Jamie, get out of there!
You can't just crawl into any hole! What if there were a snake?
Do you know what this hole is?
It's an old Voortrekker oven.
People baked bread in here.
What's that?
Licorice plant, it'll soothe the pain.
Are you looking for something, Mother?
Remember to close the front door.
The front door is closed, Mommy.
Listen, um...
It's me, Mother...
Sara.
Why is Aunt Jacoba so confused, Miss Sara?
It's something that happens when one gets older.
I can't recall my mother's face.
Sometimes I dream about her, but...
I never see her face.
Don't you have a portrait of her?
My father burnt everything.
I wasn't allowed to be at my mother's funeral.
He wants us to forget her.
What was your mother's name?
Marie.
Marie...
How did your mother die?
When Jamie was born, a great sadness came over her.
My father said she died of sadness,
but I don't believe him.
She passed away on Good Friday.
That's next Friday.
We mustn't forget her, Miss Sara.
Come with me.
Take a good look.
Tell me, what did you get from your mother?
I have her nose, or...
Maybe her hair.
And Jamie?
What did Jamie get from her?
Jamie has her eyes.
Remember...
wherever you and Jamie are together...
Your mother is there too.
Why aren't you married yet, Miss?
You're so pretty.
I almost got married once.
To who?
His name is Kingsley.
Kingsley?
An Englishman.
And he made me this to remember him by.
My mother told me that in the Middle Ages they buried their loved ones...
by sending them off to sea on burning ships.
Sometimes I wish...
I could send Kingsley to the ocean on a burning ship.
Miss, um...
Jamie and I want to commemorate Mama on Good Friday.
I'd like it if you could come along.
She's bleeding heavily and needs rest. My mother and I will look after Jamie.
Thank you for helping with the children.
They are wonderful.
Thank you for not asking about their mother.
I'm sure they miss her.
But that's none of my business.
- Goodnight. - Sleep well, Sara.
Over my dead body...
- Who's this one? - Voorlaaier.
That's nice.
And where's, um...
Frikkie?
Frikkie's hiding somewhere among the poplar trees.
Oh, those trees beyond the meadows where...
There where the...
- Where the big Voortrekker oven is? - Yes.
And, what'll you do with...
Jacoba, my love, you won't believe who's come to visit.
Kingsley.
Oh, aren't you a sight to behold.
What are you doing?
- When did you return? - A few weeks ago.
You didn't let me know.
You know this farm's in the middle of nowhere.
Hello, sir.
The loft is ready for you, Sara will make up your bed.
Thank you.
Won't you introduce me?
Kingsley, Herman de Beer, his daughter, Rachel.
How long have you been working here? Lazarus has needed help for ages.
- Hello, Lazarus. - Hello, Kingsley.
You can leave it, Sara and I are going riding.
Will you please help with my rifle and the saddle bags?
Great, see you all in a bit.
Come... Don't keep me waiting.
Cocky little...
I've never heard a Pommy speak Afrikaans like that.
Tell me more about this Herman de Beer and his children.
There's nothing to tell.
You were never good at lying, Sara.
And neither were you at telling the truth.
I saw how uncomfortable you were when you had to introduce us to one another.
There is nothing to tell.
And yourself? Have you not met a beautiful young lady
on your wild adventures, who stopped you in your tracks?
Some water, Pa?
Thank you.
Sara and whatshisname are back.
Will you please fetch Jamie?
His name is Kingsley, Pa.
Just go and fetch Jamie.
Well, it's time Jacoba and I went to bed.
Leave it, Sara, I'll manage on my own.
Come, my love.
- Goodnight, you two. - Goodnight, my child.
There's something I want to tell you.
I'm leaving for Argentina next month.
For good.
I wish you all the best.
Come with me, Sara.
Must I leave my father alone with my mother on the farm?
And after five years in Argentina?
Where to then, Kingsley?
If you cannot find your peace here, then you won't find it there either.
We both know that a ship isn't built for the harbour, Sara.
Much less so for this godforsaken farm.
Goodbye, Kingsley.
If you'll let me pull it out, it won't hurt any longer.
Sit still, Jamie.
But it hurts.
- What's that on your tongue? - What is it?
- Open your mouth so I can see. - No!
What the hell's going on in there? Why aren't you two asleep?
Pa, she's trying to pull out my tooth.
I've had enough of this damn tooth of yours!
Jamie, open your mouth! Hold still!
Clean up your brother's mouth.
And not another word from either of you tonight, you hear!
Open your mouth.
I don't want to grow up without a tooth.
Jamie, that was just your baby tooth.
Sometimes you must lose something to... get something better in its place.
"This is my commandment...
That ye love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this...
that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ye are my friends...
if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Henceforth I call you not servants,
for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth,
but I have called you friends."
May Rachel take communion?
"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread,
and blessed it, and brake it,
and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat,
this is my body."
And he took the cup,
and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
"Drink ye all of it,
for this is my blood of the new testament,
which is shed for many...
for the remission of sins.'"
Jamie, wake up.
It's time.
Are you two ready?
Tonight we commemorate our mother and we say farewell.
I have a surprise for you.
This is what Mama looked like.
You have her eyes.
Can I have it?
We're going to bury it.
I have another idea.
Mommy, this is my first tooth.
I remember the language you taught me when I was little.
Your smile.
I remember you, Mama.
What the hell!
What the hell are you doing?
After I asked you not to do it, why are you doing it?
You really want to remember her, don't you?
Very well, then let's remember her.
For every memory you have, I'll give you one of mine.
Do it now, all right?
I remember how she taught me to count with peas from the garden.
I remember how she disappeared for five days after your second birthday...
Because motherhood was too much for her.
More...
- Please stop. - Another one!
I remember how she gave me biscuits to feed the squirrels
that lived in the garden.
I remember her telling me the cuts on her arms were caused by rose bushes.
I remember packed trunks.
Locked in her room for days on end.
Farewell letters.
Do you really think that was her first suicide attempt?
That morning, when I found her,
where she lay in her own vomit, diarrhea and blood...
I remember thinking to myself...
"Thank God...
Now I no longer have to worry about it happening.
It has finally happened."
That's not true.
Tell him it's not true.
It is.
She ate a castor-oil plant.
Seeds, leaves, roots, branches, all of it.
She left me alone in this mess.
- I'm sorry, Pa. - No, don't!
Those words mean nothing to me, do you hear?
Nothing!
You lied to me.
No...
I protected you.
You're just like your mother.
No matter how hard I try to forget her...
every time I see you,
I see her.
And you...
had no right.
Rachel...
what is suicide?
I'll tell you tomorrow.
It's you!
Go away!
Away, Satan!
Go away! Get away from me!
Please just leave me alone, just let me go...
Just let me go.
Let me go.
Morning.
- Morning, my child. - The strangest thing just happened.
Herman came to say he's leaving this afternoon
as soon as his wagon's ready.
The man has lost his mind. The snow's upon us!
Has everyone on this farm lost their minds this morning?
What do you think you're doing?
- Listen to me. - Stay away.
Do you think you're the only one who's ever been hurt?
The only one who's lost a great love?
Herman, Herman, Herman...
Everything's always about Herman, isn't it?
It's never occurred to you that your kids are hurting too.
And while you try to destroy their memory of their mother,
you're pushing them away!
I know what's good for my children.
And you say your wife was selfish.
How dare you?
Frikkie's gone.
He's probably in the barn already.
- What is it, Herman? - I've come to fetch my children.
Please be reasonable, Herman, The cold front is upon us.
Thank you for your hospitality, Mr Lundt.
You don't have to believe me, ask Lazarus.
Jamie, come!
Come, Rachel.
- Where is Frikkie? - Hey!
The little calf isn't with the other cattle,
I'm going to look for him.
We're leaving this afternoon. You can bring my oxen here, Lazarus.
Herman, the snow is here.
Then I'll do it myself.
My father and mother worked here on the farm.
He and George had an argument, and he decided to leave.
The storm was already in the mountains.
And George begged him,
but my father was a proud man, and wouldn't stay a day longer.
Jacoba found me in the veld under their frozen bodies.
The cold...
did this to me.
From that day...
they no longer called me Matla,
but Lazarus...
The fortunate one who came back.
Come.
Pack your things.
We're not going with you, Pa.
Stay if you want, but Jamie's coming with me.
Did you hear what I said, Jamie? Pack your things.
You heard what Lazarus said, Pa.
We're leaving in an hour.
Lazarus will find Frikkie.
God help us.
Jamie, what are you up to?
Jamie?
- Jamie's gone, Pa. - Don't lie to me, where's Jamie?
He climbed out, the window was open.
- Is Jamie here with you? - He's gone.
- I couldn't find the calf anywhere. - I think he's looking for Frikkie.
- How much time do we have? - None.
Sara, go and light a few lanterns.
Rachel, we need you to stay here, in case he finds his way home himself.
Keep the fire going and the house warm.
Stay warm, people, and be back here in an hour.
Jamie?
Jamie!
Rachel?
Rachel, come and look at this.
Jamie?
Jamie!
Pa! Mr George!
Lazarus! Miss Sara!
Mrs Jacoba, if my father comes looking for me,
tell him I went to fetch Jamie at the termite nests.
In the forest next to the meadows.
Do you understand me?
Anthills.
Oven.
Okay.
Jamie!
Miss Sara!
Jamie!
Miss Sara!
Rachel!
Jamie!
- Jamie? - Rachel!
Jamie...
- We've been looking everywhere for you. - I couldn't find Frikkie.
Come, let's go home.
Climb on.
Why is the fire dead?
Mother?
Rachel?
Mother?
Where is Rachel?
Who?
Rachel?
Rachel! Rachel...
I think the house is this way.
I need to rest a bit.
When's Pa coming to get us?
He's on his way.
Come and sit by the fire, Lazarus.
Ant...
Ants...
Rachel went looking for Jamie.
Ants.
Ants...
- Mother, what are you trying to tell us? - Ants...
- Mother! - Ants!
We must keep moving.
Ntate, please keep an eye on the fire.
- Make sure it doesn't go out. - Yes, ma'am.
We're going in circles. What are we going to do?
We must sleep in the oven.
Rachel!
Jamie!
Eat this, Jamie. Sage will give you strength.
I'm cold.
Do you know what I used to do to get you to sleep when you were a baby?
You always cried when you were with Mama.
And nobody knew how to get you to sleep.
Then, one night when it was too cold to rock you to sleep,
I stole you out of their room and put you in my bed.
You slept through the whole night.
Rachel!
Mama?
I remember you, Mama.
Jamie...
It's important that you listen to me now.
I'm about to fall asleep.
And if you wake up before me,
I want you to tell Papa something.
Tell him he must remember.
Rachel...
Yes, Jamie?
Will you sing me to sleep?
Rachel, I'm cold.
Ants...
Ants.
Rachel.
Ants.
Ants...
Rachel!
Rachel?
Rachel, my child, where are your clothes?
Come.
Wake up, please?
Wake up.
Please wake up.
Just wake up.
Please wake up.
Herman?
- Herman, Jamie! - Rachel...
Jamie, come here.
Come here... Come. Come here.
Go.
I'm so sorry.
Pa, Rachel said you must remember...