In memory of my friend Gabriel Buchmann
- Nyove! - Yes?
Come.
- What for? - Come!
- I found the white one. - What? Where?
There.
Really?
- Here? - Yes.
He's dead, my friend.
- Are you sure? - Yes.
Dead as can be.
With all his belongings.
What do we do?
We try to find some coverage and call.
Call for help.
He wasn't killed, he has all his belongings.
We leave everything?
Yes, let's hurry.
Leave everything.
Come, let's go.
We'll make a call and see.
A plane searched the mountain and he was there all along?
Incredible.
GABRIEL AND THE MOUNTAIN
Chapter one
KENYA
70 days before
Good morning, Gabriel.
Good morning, Alex.
Mzungu!
What does “Mzungu" mean?
Mzungu means “the white man".
But I'm Brazilian, so I'm not a Mzungu.
Even if you are Brazilian, in Africa
someone of your color is called a Mzungu.
First of all, Gabriel...
was a man who smiled a lot.
He was a very simple man,
very sociable.
He was doing research on poverty in Africa.
And he used to eat a lot.
He really ate a lot,
at least three or four plates of food.
He was very generous to my family
which is why I decided
to call my son Gabriel.
I'm a Brazilian Mzungu,
so it's kind of different.
With drenched clothes and a shining soul
Every artist must go where the people live
If it is so, so it will be
When singing, I disguise myself and I never tire of living
Nor of singing...
Thank you.
My dearest Mom, my sweet love and João,
fellow travelers on this fantastic journey
and my little sister, Nina...
After a week of total immersion in the heart of Africa
I found a cybercafé in Jinja, Uganda, at the source of the Nile,
and I'm writing to say that I'm doing great.
After spending a few days with my Congolese refugee friend,
in a shanty town in Nairobi,
I ended up, God knows how, amongst a remote Maasai tribe
with whom I chased after giraffes, zebras and antelopes
in "roots" fashion.
I dress in colorful printed fabrics,
I carry a stick and a steel sword.
Since I arrived in Africa, I've met no other Mzungus.
I travel as I've always dreamt of doing,
in a non-touristic and sustainable manner,
spending 2 or 3 dollars a day
and giving 80% of my daily budget
to the locals who feed and shelter me.
Here, with almost nothing, you can really impact people's lives.
My Congolese friend, for example... With 12 dollars,
I paid his rent.
With 40 dollars,
I paid for a year's schooling for a Ugandan child.
Every day, I meet fascinating people,
who introduce me to others,
and encounter by encounter I delve into the soul of Africa.
I could write for hours.
I'm very happy, as everything is beyond my expectations.
But I'm writing, above all, to say I'm alive.
Hey, brother. How are you?
Thank you.
Good day
Good day, everyone
How are you?
Very well
Strangers, you are welcome
At Kilimanjaro, no worries...
I drink a draft of incredible power
That shows us all in its very truth
Up I went, up and up
I rose with joy
And when I reached the summit
I found the Virgin Mary
When I reached the summit
I found the Virgin Mary
Up I went, up and up
I rose with love
Until I found the Eternal Father and Christ the Redeemer
I found the Eternal Father and Christ the Redeemer
Up I went, up and up
As I'd been taught to do
Until I found...
Long live the Eternal father and the divine beings
On the way down,
we met an old Chagga, from the Marangu region,
like me.
He said to me: "This man is rich.
Do not judge him by his poor man's clothes.
Take good care of him, because later,
this man will change your life."
When I heard his words,
my heart was glad.
Chapter two
TANZANIA
What's this outfit?
You took ages.
I didn't know the hotel's name and I was last through immigration.
I sent you at least 30 emails!
So what's with the costume?
- It's not a costume. - Yes, it is!
I missed you.
I have to get this bag off.
You dropped your magic wand.
It's not a magic wand.
Jump!
Everyone's looking at us!
Careful!
Like it?
The advantage oi dressing like this, with this sword,
is that it creates empathy.
As if you needed extra empathy.
Which hand?
Both, it looks big.
What is it?
Open it.
A sarong?
What is it?
A necklace!
The Maasai,
for their rite of passage
at the age of 13 or 14, head out into the savanna
and hunt down a lion.
They encircle the lion, and the strongest Maasai
grabs it by the tail,
while the others kill it with their spears.
No kidding.
Yeah, my friend Brian, Lenny's brother,
grabbed a lion by the tail when he was 13.
Or 14...
You believe that?
It's true, baby.
What else? Tell me more.
I want to see you...
dressed as a Maasai.
You'll be a Maasai too,
my Mzunga Maasai.
Let me see you for real.
Let me see you as you are,
I've forgotten.
I've not been with anyone since we parted in India...
I love you.
I missed you so much.
I met Gabriel
at a party I organized with three friends of mine.
I saw him from behind.
He was talking with a friend.
But I noticed
that they were in deep discussion.
So I gave up and went to the kitchen.
Later on, Gabriel came into the kitchen.
Stop.
We began to chat.
He was kind of awkward.
He suggested we go outside, so I agreed.
And he began...
to recite a poem by Mario Quintana.
We hooked up
that day.
And a month later
he set out to travel the world for a year.
- We go down? - No, let's do it.
Quickly.
I already know how to say: "asante sana",
"hakuna matata",
"pole pole",
"sawa sawa"
What else?
"Tutu-nana"...
- What does that mean? - "Bye".
Ah, "kwaheri".
Århus. Where were you in Denmark?
Vordingborg.
He charged me triple, he paid for everyone!
That wasn't the deal.
Can't he cancel it?
I was very sad when I heard the news.
No one wishes the death of another human being,
even if that person is your enemy.
2000, it's okay...
You're paying Mzungu price.
My Mzunga.
How did your presentation in South Africa go?
I thought you'd never ask.
At last!
It went fine.
I'd forgotten my suit, so I was a bit ill at ease.
Dressed like a hippie.
Otherwise, it was fine.
So what was it about?
On the importance of public investment for Brazil's economic development.
Obvious, no?
No, otherwise 100 people wouldn't have come to listen.
That's not what I meant...
Sure, you must invest in infrastructure,
health, security, education...
You're minimizing the issue.
The logic of public investment has nothing to do with efficiency.
Not at all!
What did you present, a mathematical, analytical model?
No, just a historical overview.
So you proved nothing!
Since when do we need econometrics to prove an argument?
No, Gabriel.
Baby, I'm not denigrating your work.
But I think the state should play a role of regulation, not of production.
It's impossible to have a discussion with you,
as you're totally formatted by your education.
I studied in the best schools in Rio,
perhaps even in the country!
My God, listen to him!
If heterodoxy was as important as you say
it wouldn't be frowned upon in the top universities.
In the top universities,
people have different points of view.
The problem is that the world's political elite
has a doxa based on individualism and profitability
instead of redistribution and it's totally absurd.
Not out of bad faith, just pure ignorance!
I don't see why you get so worked up.
When you're annoyed, you're not clear.
You get riled and it's not clear...
It's perfectly clear!
No, neither your argumentation, nor your discourse.
It's not clear to you because you just don't get it!
- You explode... - Damned orthodox!
Just to keep up your reputation...
- Reputation as what? - A radical.
Is that what your neo-con friends say?
It's crazy, you talk just like them.
Like the one you slept with?
That was before India.
Don't start on that.
So why did you tell me?
If it was before.
So as to be honest...
Well, it hurts!
I preferred that you heard it from me!
Than on your return, goddammit...
He was my roommate in Brazil.
How can I ever look him in the face? It's so embarrassing.
Are you with your roommate now? No, you're with me! So stop.
It bothers me, sleeping with my buddies...
Shut it!
Go find yourself a spotless little virgin
on a par with your own self image!
This image of the super man... It's ridiculous!
Honestly!
For example...
After you let everyone down, what did you do?
You ran off to Africa, to hide!
Who's this "everyone" I let down?
- I ran off to Africa? - Yeah, to hide!
What's up, Tonny!
I'd been planning this trip for ages
and at last I'm living my dream,
- not running from anyone. - Sure you are.
You're the one who's running.
It's funny.
You compare me to my neo-con friends,
and yet they call me a "poorologist".
Did you know that? We're worlds apart.
If I wanted to work in finance, I'd earn as much as them, if not more.
But I don't!
I want to work in education, with social programs
for those who need them and don't have access,
instead of wasting my life on theoretical models.
But I hate American culture
and Los Angeles really typifies it.
Are you listening?
Isn't it ridiculous to study poverty and public policy
in Beverly Hills?
It makes no sense, it's absurd.
It's like talking about squalor in a five star hotel.
You wouldn't say that if you'd got into Harvard.
Two months on a waiting list.
The worst two months of my trip.
I had my computer stolen,
I split my skull on the Mekong in Vietnam...
You'll get over not getting into Harvard.
Too bad for them. So stop dwelling on it!
I wasn't refused, I was on a waiting list.
Well, UCLA is great.
- You think so? - Everyone thinks so!
Want to live with me in Los Angeles?
I'm serious.
Me, I don't have a scholarship.
You'll find work.
There's nothing for me in LA.
- What do you mean? - Apart from you...
And I'm not enough?
Of course not.
How beautiful!
A present from my lover.
He must love you a lot.
You think so?
Sure.
Take a shower?
No, there was no water.
No water...
Shit!
You spilt the kerosene!
Is it wet?
I don't know.
Damn.
Your notebook is wet?
Yes, but it's okay.
Doesn't matter.
I'm sorry.
- What's in it? - The lot.
What do you mean?
All my travel notes, everything.
He's only explaining to us.
Want to pay him?
You don't know about this stuff.
- So you'll pay him after? - Yes.
I'm going to buy one for my mom.
For my sister too.
I don't like the color.
They have it in green.
The green is nice.
I lost.
I need medicine for malaria.
How much?
Leave it, I'll pay.
- You sure? - Yeah, I'm sure.
It was my father's favorite song.
A toast to your father!
To the prettiest girl on the island!
To our first year together!
A toast to...
Three days without a shower!
I love you.
Will we order something?
Why?
We could've ordered a snack.
Yeah, but...
I don't like feeling as if...
I'm being preyed on... I'm not a tourist.
- I hate tourist traps. - But this is a tourist restaurant.
So why did we come here?
- For you. - Ah, for me...
I think there's a snake.
- Stop! - Why not?
Il y a du monde.
Let's go, I'm cold!
- What's up? - I lost my Maasai stick!
Can't you leave it for the sea spirits?
It's cold!
Forget it!
Tomorrow then...
Let's go!
Chapter three
ZAMBIA
The only traveller who recognized the sacred jersey
shouted: "Flamengo, Cairo!"
"Flamengo!", in Cairo.
I misread it.
"May 22nd, 2009"
It's blotched...
with the kerosene.
But it's still legible.
How long have we been on this bus?
- Twenty hours or more. - Millions of hours.
That sun is so hot.
My God, that music!
Even Jesus would hate that music!
True.
I'm baking.
I think we're dead.
But they forgot to tell us.
We're in purgatory.
Think they told my mom?
Bad news travels fast.
We're the only ones who don't know.
Purgatory!
Let's get off.
We're in the middle of nowhere, there's nothing here.
"Randomization." Let's just get off.
Pass me the camera.
Taking one of me?
Strike the pose.
Look.
- You managed to make me handsome. - But you are!
My mom thinks so too.
You've been handsome ever since you recited Mario Quintana for me.
At Milla's?
Friends, check not your watches
When one day I shall leave your lives
Lives lost in so many futile problems
That they seem more like necrologies
Because time is an invention of death
It knows not life, true life
As a single moment of poetry
Is enough to give us the whole of eternity
Whole, yes
Because this eternal life
Is only divisible by itself
It cannot be fractioned
And the angels
Trade looks of bewilderment
When someone, awakening in the afterlife
Happens to ask them
What time is it?
Thank you, Victoria Falls!
Nina,
your state of mind and emotions depend only on you.
You are a strong girl
and you must find that inner strength.
Happiness, beauty,
truth, love...
are to be found everywhere.
You only have to see that
and then choose happiness.
And when you truly decide
to seek within
you will find it, as it's already there.
Shall we go?
Just a minute.
It's my sister's birthday.
It's my last day, I want to ride an elephant.
I'm backing up my photos, I don't want to lose them.
- They really matter to me. - Yeah, like the Maasai stick...
"Please, think about all this,
and try to really feel it."
Can I read it for you?
I've been dreaming of riding an elephant since India.
Be nice, come.
Can't I read it for you?
"A big kiss
from your brother
who loves you
so very much."
You can't ride elephants in India.
- But in Zambia you can. - "Gabiruba."
Take a picture of me.
We take a bus to the bungee jump?
We'll take a taxi.
No, over here.
So let's go.
Wait, Cris!
Sorry.
I never thought it'd be so cold in Africa.
I'm a Corinthians supporter!
But the Flamengo jersey really suits you.
No, I have my period.
That never stopped you before.
As we'd argued a lot during the trip,
he asked me if it was
because...
I thought it'd be easier, if we argued,
to say goodbye.
I answered, yes, perhaps,
maybe that was why.
We kissed and he asked me:
"Will you come with me to Los Angeles?"
I answered:
"I don't know, we'll see.
We'll see when you get back to Rio."
We looked at each other and I remember
I could see his feet through the...
And I don't know, but...
I felt that...
it was like a farewell.
See you soon.
I love you.
Me too.
Hi, my little Mzunga,
I hope you got back safely.
Yesterday, I got up late and went to the museum.
It was like a science fair, but nice.
Then I strolled in a market and went to the station.
I spent 4 hours reading the guidebook
and decided to go straight to Malawi.
I'd thought I'd stay in Zambia, but it was just like in India:
I can't be alone in a country where we've been together.
I miss you so, my love.
I'll soon buy my ticket home.
Lots of kisses, see you soon.
Thank you.
Dear Cris and Mom...
After hitchhiking to the far north of Malawi,
sleeping at the home of a trucker who became a good friend,
I took a ferry that crosses Lake Malawi north to south in 3 days
and that stops in 13 villages along the coast.
Amazing.
Sleeping up on deck beneath the stars,
I'm the only Mzungu on board.
I've just arrived at the famous Nkhata Bay
and as I've only got three hours to enjoy it...
Big kisses.
Chapter four
MALAWI
Gabriel Buchmann disappeared on July 17th, 2009.
His body was found 19 days later by Luka Waiti and Benard Nyove.
Subtitling: DACODEC