I'm glad to see you.
Please.
THE TWINS
Last will and testament of Dr. Nawal Marwan.
Opening of the will to her two children,
Simon Marwan and Jeanne Marwan.
"In accordance with the will,
regulations and rights of Nawal Marwan,
the notary, Jean Lebel,
is named executor."
Hmm ... I must tell you here
that it was your mother's decision.
I was personally against it, but she insisted.
You know ...
... your mother was more than an employee.
To my late wife and me
you felt more like part of our family, so ...
I could not refuse.
Hum! "All my assets are to be shared between the twins,
Jeanne and Simon Marwan."
"The money is to be equitably shared"
"My furniture distributed by mutual agreement."
"Burial"
"Notary Jean Lebel will
bury me without a coffin, naked
and without prayers."
"My face turned towards the ground, my back against the world."
"Tombstone and Epitaph"
"No headstone is to be placed on my grave
and my name engraved nowhere."
"No epitaph is deserved for those who do not keep their promises."
"To Jeanne and Simon"
"Childhood is like a knife stuck in the throat
which cannot be removed easily."
"Jeanne, notary Lebel will hand you an envelope."
"This envelope is for your father."
"Find him
and hand him the envelope."
"Simon, the notary will hand you an envelope."
I've heard enough.
Oh ... but it's not finished.
Continue.
"Simon, the notary will hand you an envelope."
"This envelope is for your brother."
"Find him and hand it to him."
"When these envelopes have been handed
to their addressees, a letter will be given to you."
"When the silence is broken, and the promise kept
a stone may be placed on my grave
and my name engraved on the stone."
I admit it's a bit strange.
Is there stuff to sign?
No, not today.
OK.
Thank you, Jean.
- Shall we? - Wait.
You know, the history of our father.
You know, we have no brother.
Why did you let her write this?
I understand your surprise.
It's ... it's very surprising.
Stop pretending to be innocent!
We know that we speak of, there is nothing surprising in this.
We did not make these things up, Simon...
They are part of a will.
There's that, too.
Well, this morning your mother gave us something rather special.
We'll sleep on it, then ...
We'll meet again, huh?
I'll wait outside. Thank you, Jean.
Sit down, Simon.
Look, Jean ...
your secretary, she loved working for you.
She did this well all her life, congratulations.
Your secretary, however, was also my mother.
Then her job as a mother, that's another story.
Simon ...
You can bury your secretary in any way you wish.
But my mother, I want her buried in the normal way.
For once in your fucking life
make it something normal.
This is not negotiable.
Take your time.
And come see me when Simon has calmed down.
I know it's very unusual, but ...
your mother was not crazy, Jeanne.
We have a large family now.
She spoke of a traitor?
In a big family, there's always a dog.
How long will it be before we find the traitor?
Fucking crazy woman!
I'll fix that with Jean.
Fix what?
We'll give her a normal funeral.
We'll take care of her, then I'll take care of you.
Where are you going?
You bury her any way you like!
Oh, stop!
You feel guilty because you were not there
when she died.
You feel guilty because you were there
when she had her accident.
You need to stop you feeling guilty for everything!
I am not feeling guilty about anything.
Do you realize the significance of what he just read?
Well, she's gone!
It's over, I'm at peace!
I have fucking peace!
I'm at peace now.
Yes, I see.
Mathematics as you have known so far
have aimed to achieve a precise and definitive response
to precise and definitive problems.
Now, you are about to enter into entirely different adventure.
The subject will be intractable problems
that will always lead
to other problems just as intractable.
People around you will repeatedly insist
that what you are doing is hopeless.
You'll have no argument to defend yourself,
because they will be of an overwelming complexity.
Welcome to pure mathematics,
the land of loneliness.
This is my assistant,
Miss Jeanne Marwan.
Hello!
We will start with the conjecture of Syracuse.
What does your intuition tell you?
Your intuition is always right.
That's why you got potential
to becoming a real mathematician.
But over there, you'll need help.
Do you have any family there?
- Contacts? - It's ridiculous, Niv.
You've come to learn that a) your father is alive;
and b) you have another brother.
This is ridiculous
What is ridiculous to question the inevitable.
You need to know.
Otherwise, your mind will never be at peace.
And peace of mind has nothing to do with pure mathematics.
You need a starting point.
My father died during the war in Daresh.
That's the unknown variable in the equation.
You never start with the unknown variable.
My mother used to speak about a village
called Der Om, in Fouad.
She graduated in French
at the University of Daresh.
If she studied, there is hope.
Said Haidar.
You'll go knock on the door Said Haidar
an old friend of mine who teaches at Daresh.
You can trust him.
What are you doing?
Mom! Are you Okay?
Madam, that's my towel, please.
Mom?
Mom!
Mom?
What happened?
Where's Jeanne?
Mom?
Does she suffer from migraines?
No.
- Memory loss? - No.
Loss of balance?
No.
Absent-minded?
She's always absent.
No, she was never absent.
Wahab, come.
Just get out of my sister's way.
Son of refugees, where do you think you're going?
Nicolas, stop!
Go back to your country.
Wahab!
We'll leave your hide in your camps, believe me.
Give me.
- I want to kill her. - It's mine to do.
You have sullied the family honor.
- Enough!
Go home!
Outside.
What have you done!
You have humilliated us! You have sullied the name of our family!
Why God have you plunged us in the dark?
My God, what have you done? Why did you do that?
What will I do with you! You want me to kill you?
I'm pregnant, grandma.
- My God, everything is black. Why?
Why have you done this?
Do I have to kill you?
What will I do with you?
Come.
Eat if you want your child safe.
Listen to me.
There's nothing here for you.
I'll help after the birth.
I want you to go away.
You'll go to live with your uncle Charbel.
There, you'll go to school.
To learn to read, to learn to think
out of this misery.
Promise me and I'll help you.
Promise me you'll go to school.
I promise you, grandmother.
I promise.
Shh.
Look carefully at your mother. You'll have to recognize her.
I'll find you one day. I promise you, my heart.
Be careful. Don't worry.
Come on, it's time for you to go.
I feel that something terrible is coming ...
One day I'll find you, my son.
I received a message from my friend Niv Cohen
but I can't help you
because at the time,
I taught
History of Mathematics in Paris.
Specifically, the period
where Euler had succeeded
to give the first
formal mathematical resolution
to the problem of the seven bridges of Konigsberg, yes.
Diderot defied the Court
saying:
"Gentlemen ..."
I-ft plus
Equals zero.
So, God exists!"
Niv, Niv, Niv ...
Hello! Do you speak French?
- Yes, of course! - Can I help you?
Uh, yes, I am looking for someone who would have known this woman.
She studied here maybe 35 years ago.
Are you kidding me?
I wasn't even born.
Well, you're in the wrong place...
I'm not kidding.
I'm sure you know someone who can help me.
I have come from far away.
Please. Her name is Nawal Marwan.
You are very kind.
I'm not nice, I want to get rid of you.
Najat, that's me.
You have time to waste?
That tells me something.
She may have worked in the campus newspaper.
It's been a long time.
People who leave usually change identities.
It is striking nonetheless.
Your mother was photographed in Kfar Ryat.
Look here.
This is a sign of Kfar Ryat.
It is a prison in the south.
You do not know Kfar Ryat?
- No.
You're definitely not from here.
You don't know the South.
If the international community
does not intervene now
The refugees in overcrowded
camps at the border ...will be massacred.
She has arrived.
OK.
We, the students, are oppose against the Nationalist Party
that are trying to evict the refugees across the borders.
The National Party supports
militias of the Christian right,
who make open threats against the refugees.
In the South, the refugees are now armed.
And have the support
of much of the country's Muslim population.
But you ...you're a Christian.
We are for peace.
Religion has nothing to do with it.
Nawal!
Put the radio! They've come to close the University!
The Nationalists have closed the campus!
Nawal, come back.
Stay here.
Uncle Charbel, the Nationalists are closing the campus!
There will be clashes.
Stay with me.
There is shooting outside ...
To the table, girls!
Mom, they're attacking the university!
It's not a reason not to eat!
Aioua?
Christian villages were attacked in the South this morning.
May God protect us!
That's why they closed the university.
In short time, it will explode here as well.
We'll go to the mountain until it calms down.
For how long?
We start tomorrow.
The rest of the family is already there.
And the school?
Anyway, the school will close.
Only God knows how long.
And Le Journal?
Don't be afraid.
Le Journal can survive without us for a while.
But ideas only survive if someone is there to defend them!
Exactly, Rafqa.
Exactly.
There are only two orphanages in the region.
I will join you soon.
You will not go there now!
You had promised Grandma you would finish your studies.
You heard your father.
It's going to explode across the country if they attack the camps.
The studies are finished.
I think of him every day.
That's my child.
I want to find him alive.
I'm going to fetch water from Shadia.
Hurry, Nawal.
- Your name? - Nawal.
- Nawal what? - Nawal Marwan.
Where are you going?
South.
What for?
To meet my husband.
Wahab.
You have only daughters?
The older boys are in Kfar Kout.
You should go with us. Kfar Kout was attacked yesterday.
Looking for the orphanage. You know where is it?
There.
The children? Where are the children?
You should speak with those who were there.
The muslim villagers fled to the camp Deressa.
They fear reprisals will come.
The children may be with them.
Chamseddine and his men killed all the Christians to avenge the refugees.
Perhaps the children are in Deressa.
Can you take me to the camp in Deressa?
I am a Christian.
My daughter! My daughter!
Mom!
Hi, Simon, it's me!
I am in Mama's village.
I wish you were here with me.
Listen.
Oh, I'm sorry, I do not understand.
I told you never to come here again!
Hello!
Souha?
Ahmed loves you! Ahmed loves you!
I told you not to say that again!
Hello.
Can I help you?
Hello.
Does anyone speak French or English?
Where's Sami?
Marhaba! Marhaba!
Hello! Hello!
Uh, Jeanne.
Jeanne.
Uh ...
Thank you.
- You speak French? - Yes, hello!
Hello.
My name is Samia.
I am Jeanne Marwan.
Thank you for helping me.
Marwan? There are many Marwans here.
Really?
Well, I'm from Canada.
I'm looking for Souha.
She is Souha.
She is my great-grandmother.
- Oh! Marhaba! - Marhaba.
The people in the corner shop told me to come see you.
I am looking for my father.
His name is Wahab.
Uh ...My mother's name is Nawal Marwan.
She was born here.
We do not know her.
Of course you know her.
The Marwan family was struck with shame.
When the war came.
Uh, I'm looking for Wahab.
She does not know Wahab.
I can not help you. Sorry, I'm tired.
If you're Nawal Marwan daughter,
you're not welcome here.
Go home.
She is looking for her father,
but she doesn't know who is her mother.
I arrived at the end of the massacre in the Deressa refugee camp.
Everything was burning.
I looked for my son amid waves of blood.
I was disheartened by what I saw and heard.
You claim to be against our enemy.
That does not make you our friend.
Chamseddine. why would he trust you?
My son's father was a refugee from Deressa.
My son has been swallowed by the war.
I have nothing to lose.
My hatred is great toward the Nationalists.
This is not what you wrote in Charbel's journal.
My uncle Charbel thought to encourage peace with words and books.
I believed that.
Life has taught me something else.
What are you going to do now?
Teach the enemy what life has taught me.
That's goog. That's good.
You've just forgotten it. Let's go.
So in French?
I ... I am much better, Dad.
They say "a lot" or "best"
but never both at the same time, my darling.
I want my son to learn to speak several languages.
I want him to understand others without an intermediary.
How are you, Nawal? It's Nouchine.
Good evening, Nouchine. How's your mother?
My mother is very well. 10:00 o'clock tomorrow.
Tomorrow.
Marhaba.
Hello, beautiful.
Good morning.
Then you will be going out with us on Thursday?
No.
Friday?
No.
Saturday?
No.
We are patient!
Me too.
Never forget:
"Always" is "always".
Fucking bitch.
The prison at Kfar Ryat was comdemmed in
several reports by Amnesty International.
Here is the women's section.
The cells are larger.
Some prisoners remained there up to 15 years.
- It has existed since when? - At the time of the massacres.
Just after the war began.
They have 600 political prisoners jailed.
You can come in, eh?
I'll take a picture.
You know this woman?
No.
She was imprisoned here.
I don't know her.
It was a really long time ago, you know? I...
Maybe you know someone who worked here.
Hello.
I'm looking for Harrsa Fahim.
I am the school janitor.
Yes, but before, what were you?
Before, hum!
That was before I became the school janitor.
It's been a long time since I'm caretaker of the school.
You know this woman?
She was in Kfar Ryat.
I am a school janitor. Bess! That's all.
I am looking for someone who knew her.
Someone who could tell me about her.
This is my mother.
This is the woman who sings.
Number 72.
It was she who murdered the militia leader
of the christian right.
They made her pay dearly.
Very, very dearly. Fifteen years.
They used to call her the woman who sings
because she sang all the time.
Han, you are sure it's her?
I spent 13 years as a watchman.
Have you ever spent 13 years overseeing someone?
They did everything to make her break.
In the end, she was still standing,
She looked ...
Ah! Never seen anything like it.
She never broke.
It was exasperating.
And then they sent Abu Tarek.
Who's that?
Abu Tarek...
You know, sometimes it's better
not to know everything.
Sir, I live with it anyway.
Continue.
Abu Tarek...
Abu Tarek was a investigation specialist.
He raped her repeatedly
to break her before being released.
To stop her from singing.
Eventually she became pregnant.
It was like that.
I'll never forget it.
Number 72 pregnant by Abu Tarek.
They waited ...
for her to give birth in prison
then they let her go.
The child? Did you see the child?
There was a doctor who came sometimes.
I think he's crazy.
Others say he has a restaurant in Tel Aviv ...
That's bullshit.
He went mad and died.
His nurse, I know her.
She lives in Daresh.
In Daresh?
Listen, Simon, I'm calling you!
I'm calling you, no, shut up, OK? Shut your mouth!
Mom, she was in prison. Simon, mom, she ...
Mom, she was raped.
Our brother, she had him in prison.
I need you here.
THE WOMAN THAT SINGS
This, Simon, are notary Amyott contracts
from 1868 to 1892.
His son took over, Édouard, until 1925.
All the contracts are hand-written.
My grandfather, Charles, my father, Henry.
And me.
Yeah, well, it stops there because as you know,
I am the last of the Lebel.
I'll show you the will of a man ...
... which took several lives.
His heirs have discovered
he had three wives, all at the same time.
One here, one in Miami,
and another in Honduras, where he did business.
No, no ...he not longer has three children in the file there, no
There are eight.
That is sport, my man.
Look. Hum!
Death is never the end of a story.
There are still traces.
If you want to find your brother,
you'll have to go back into your mother's past.
Jean, I'm going to fetch my sister, that's all.
I'll take care of that.
Two, three small matters to take care,
then it will take no time.
Well, get your business ready
we should go in ...
My passport ...
"We"? Don't you worry that you already done enough already
Exactly, this is not the time to let you down.
Make a man out of you, Simon.
I know that you need me.
We'll get it, then come back.
I promise.
Then, promise, Mr. Marwan,
a notary is on the order of the sacred.
Sing now.
Gently, gently.
He is coming out.
We can see the head.
Push, push.
Go, girl.
The first came out.
Rest now ...
I'm proud of you.
Get ready for the second.
Stop.
What are you doing?
You are going to dump them in the river as usual.
- It's dangerous. - No.
You've done your duty. Throw them in the river.
I want to take care of them.
These are the children of the woman who sings.
Oh, this country is a war zone after another, eh!
It's not complicated.
If the notary had existed at the time of Noah,
we would not be here.
We need only to find the original contracts.
That's up to you, that's up to you. And a right of passage there.
And we talk more about it.
Everyone would be happy.
Notaries have existed only in the last 1,000 years, Simon.
That's the problem.
I should have been here from the beginning.
Thank you again for your help, Me Maddad.
The pleasure is all mine, my dear fellow.
I have the result
that you have requested via email.
Simon my file on the seat beside you.
Could you give it to Lebel, please?
You are very nice, but the delay and everything ...
I think I'll wait until later.
But I'll summarize.
For the father, it is rather difficult
because I can not find the death certificate.
For the brother ...
Excuse me, but what are we talking about here?
I asked for help, Simon.
Me Maddad kindly gave us a hand
to speed things up.
I told you, Jean, we came for Jeanne.
Your sister is the one person in your family
easiest to find.
I'm so glad you're here.
Me too.
OK, that's the nurse's name.
which helped your mother give birth in prison.
We can go today.
Jeanne, that's enough.
No, you shut up, then follow me.
It's your job to find our brother, not mine!
Then, if you don't do it for her or for you,
the, do it for me!
She is at the American hospital.
I'm glad you're here, Jean.
Me too, my owl, me too.
If she is sleeping, you must return later.
Ms. Maika?
Lebel, Jeanne Marwan, Simon Marwan.
Bonjour, Madame!
Thank you for having us.
We seek someone you know.
Nawal Marwan, do you know her?
You worked in the Kfar Ryat prison as a nurse?
She says she knows your mom.
You helped our mother give birth in prison?
Yes.
Madame, the child we seek is Nawal Marwan's son that was born in prison.
Can you help us?
She worked in the prison of Kfar Ryat.
She assisted her during childbirth.
She gathered the children.
Then she gave them back to the woman who sings
when she got out of prison.
Nawal Marwan gave birth to twins.
Hush, hush, hush.
You really know the woman who sings?
You don't know what it means to me.
Nawal Marwan worked for me
as a secretary for 18 years.
My wife and I, we had taken a liking
to her and her children.
But I confess that I
didn't really know her till the end.
- Ready? - Ready.
Hmm ...
Me Maddadi has conducted an investigation, at my request,
to track your brother and your father.
For the father, Abu Tarek,
I still have not found a death certificate.
The country has a lot of certificates missing.
He could have gone abroad.
That's what happened with this kind of characters.
They are dead or have disappeared.
You have to see.
Maybe it's better that way.
For the brother ...
your client, Ms. Nawal Marwan,
comes from the village of Der Om.
She gave the child to a midwife who's named Elham
who herself returned it to the orphanage in Kfar Kout
in May 1970.
The main task was to trace the registry records.
Many documents have been lost in the war.
But I found the records
which were recovered and donated
by the Sisters of Charity to the National Archives.
In May 1970, the midwife at Der Om, Elham
filed a petition for adoption of a male child.
This is the only boy in the orphanage filed in that month.
Look.
It was registered under the name Nihad.
The dates match.
That's him.
Ha! It's your brother! Nihad.
Orphanage Kfar Kout,
Nihad May.
It's his name in the registry.
Nihad from the month of May.
They gave him a temporary name
with the month of arrival.
There was no adoption during that period.
It was the beginning of the war.
The orphanage was destroyed four years later.
We must ask those that destroyed the orphanage in Kfar Kout
to know what happened to the children.
Between you and me, with what happened in the region ...
there is not much hope.
They are probably also dead.
I'm not saying they're dead.
I say we lost track of them.
They are both dead.
We open the envelopes, that's it, then.
That I will not allow, Simon.
This kind of thing is sacred.
Luckily, I have a history.
Excuse me.
It is still worth exploring.
But it is a little radical.
The warlord
that demolished the orphanage at that time is still alive.
And he may know what happened
to Nihad's children and where they went.
It's already been an eternity.
You must understand
that during this period there were a series of reprisals
which fit one another in a sort of inexorable logic,
A warlord is exactly
the type of man who has a long memory.
And he will remember, believe me.
Wallat Chamseddine,
is his name.
We can find him here?
If we don't find him, he will find us.
But we can try something.
Would you like tea, Mr. Marwan?
It's your turn.
You will go
to the Deressa refugee camp.
You will come to tea
anywhere in the camp
with the person that invite you.
And you say you are the son of the woman who sings
and are looking Nihad May.
You can not go there alone.
I'll find someone
to accompany you.
Welcome to Deressa.
Ha! Ha! You know where you are going, Simon?
I know.
How are you?
In the name of God, you've grown!
I have finished my engineering studies.
I cannot find work, so I'm a taxi driver now.
What brings you here?
I am with some foreign visitors, who asked me to bring them here.
Welcome, come.
No, thank you, we're in a hurry.
Please, come.
He is inviting us to tea.
Oh, good!
Uh, I wonder why you have come to Deressa.
I am looking for someone named Nihad de Mai.
He does not know Nihad de Mai.
He asks me what are your names.
My mother comes from the village of Der de Om, in the South.
My mother is the woman who sings.
Yes, that's fine. Done.
Wait for what?
- Sarwan Marwan? - Yes.
We are here to offer help.
You will be back in an hour.
Can I tell my sister?
No, you'll be back in an hour, I promise.
I'll put on a shirt, just a second.
He will call.
He's going to go.
Ok! Do not worry, you can follow.
Ah, I told you: the South, a spark and it exploded.
Oh, okay.
You have been luck with us, we'll help in our own way.
You must leave the country.
It'll be easier.
We will find you a house and a job.
I want your life to be better.
We have many contacts in America.
You gotta go with your children.
I know they are alive. Take them with you.
The children will help you, you'll see.
You cannot ask me.
Your children are our children, Nawal.
Your family is our family.
Trust me.
I'll help you.
I'm here for you and your children.
Hello, Sarwan.
Excuse my introduction, but it is for your protection.
They call me Wallat Chamseddine.
Tell me, what can I do to help, Sarwan Marwan?
You knew my mother.
They say she worked for me.
What can I do to help?
I am looking for a man named Nihad de Mai.
Why you are looking for Nihad de Mai?
He's my brother.
My mother asked me to find him.
And how can you prove that
Nihad de Mai is the son of Nawal Marwan?
My brother was placed for adoption
at the Kfar Kout orphanage.
We found the registry with the original file.
The dates ... Everything fits.
Nihad de Mai is my brother.
Me and my friends, we attacked
the christian village at Kfar Kout ...
In response to attacks
that our brothers, the refugees, were victims of.
There was an orphanage in Kfar Kout.
I saved the children.
I took them with us.
And Nihad was among them.
We have trained and prepared
them so that they can fight alongside us.
Nihad, he had a gift.
He was at unique.
And soon it became a formidable fencer.
But he wanted to find her mother.
He sought her for a long time.
Nihad, I do not know what he saw or heard.
He started ...
a crazy war.
He came to see me, he wanted to be a martyr
so that his mother should see his picture everywhere
on the walls around the country.
But I refused.
He went back to Daresh.
He became a maverick,
one of the most dangerous in the region.
A real machine.
He pulls on everyone.
And then there was the enemy invasion.
And one morning ...
They captured Nihad.
He killed seven gunmen.
They did not killed them.
They captured him
and sent him to the prison in Kfar Ryat.
He has been in prison?
Yes.
He is the executioner.
He worked with my father?
- No, he did not work
with Abu Tarek, your father.
- Are you okay?
One plus one ...
that makes two.
What?
One plus one makes two.
You can not make one.
Hey, you have a fever.
Jeanne?
One plus one, does it make one?
Are there are empty seats, no.
Oh, move ahead if you want.
Can I help you, ma'am?
Excuse me.
By becoming a hangman
your brother has changed its name.
He became Abu Tarek.
Nihad de Mai is Abu Tarek.
We know that he now lives in Canada
under a new identity.
Nihad Harmanni.
Mr. Harmanni?
Yes?
This is for you.
My hand is shaking while I am writing this.
I recognized you.
But you didn't.
It's a wonderful miracle.
I'm your number 72.
This letter will be delivered by our children.
You will not recognize them
because they are beautiful,
but they know who you are.
Through them, I want to tell you
you're still alive.
But soon, you'll be quiet.
I know.
Because silence is all to the truth.
Signed: The whore 72.
I speak to my son.
I am not talking to the executioner.
Whatever happens, I will always love you.
That's the promise I made you at birth, my son.
Whatever happens, I will always love you.
I've searched my whole life.
I found you.
You, you could not recognize me.
You have your tattoo on the right heel.
I've seen it.
I recognized you.
And I found you beautiful.
I'll remember you with all the sweetness of the world, my love.
Console yourself because nothing is more beautiful
than being together.
You were born of love.
Your brother and your sister were also born of love.
Nothing is more beautiful than to be together.
Your mother, Nawal Marwan.
Prisoner number 72.
"When these envelopes have been handed
"to the addressee,
"You will be given a letter."
"The silence will be broken,
"a promise kept,
"A stone may then be placed on my grave,
and my name engraved on the stone facing the sun."
My love ...
Where did your story begin?
When you were born?
Then she starts in horror.
At the birth of your father?
Then she begins a great love story.
I say that your story begins with a promise
that will break the thread of anger.
Thanks to you, today I finally managed to do it.
The thread is broken.
And I can finally take the time to rock you in my arms...
and softly sing you a lullaby
to comfort you.
Nothing is more beautiful than to be together.
I love you.
Your mother, Nawal.