The Patience Stone

Synopsis: Somewhere, in Afghanistan or elsewhere, in a country torn apart by a war... A young woman in her thirties watches over her older husband in a decrepit room. He is reduced to the state of a vegetable because of a bullet in the neck. Not only is he abandoned by his companions of the Jihad, but also by his brothers. One day, the woman decides to tell the truth to him about her feelings about their relationship to her silent husband. She talks about her childhood, her suffering, her frustrations, her loneliness, her dreams, her desires... She says things she could never have done before, even though they have been married for the past 10 years. Therefore, this paralyzed man unconsciously becomes syngue sabour, a magic stone which, according to Persian mythology, when placed in front of a person shields her from unhappiness, suffering, pains and miseries. In this wait for her husband to come back to life, the woman struggles to survive and live. She finds refuge in her aunt's place, who is
Genre: Drama, War
Director(s): Atiq Rahimi
Production: Sony Pictures Classics
  4 wins & 5 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.1
Metacritic:
64
Rotten Tomatoes:
86%
R
Year:
2012
102 min
$71,282
Website
167 Views


THE PATIENCE STONE

Al-Qahhar...

Al-Qahhar...

Try to hold your breath.

Just once.

If you're able to breathe,

you can hold your breath.

Hold it!

Can you hear me?

No.

Nothing.

The mullah said that after two

weeks, you would talk and hear.

Today

is the 16th day.

Still nothing.

What else can I do?

I've had enough of praying

all day long.

I must talk to the mullah about it.

Mommy!

Mommy!

I'm coming!

What do you want?

There are no bananas left.

We'll go buy some.

You're killing me.

I'll fetch some more serum.

Okay?

Come on, girls.

We're going out.

We're coming, we're coming!

Bibi!

Come on, let's go!

- Bibi, has the water-bearer been yet?

- No.

Come on!

Hurry.

Here's your medicine.

Sister, you need to pay me.

The pharmacist refused.

We owe him too much.

We'll do the same as before.

Water with sugar and salt in it.

It'll keep you going a few days.

I have to go see my aunt.

To ask her for money.

I'm going, all right?

Why do I ask for permission?

Who is it?

What do you want?

I'm here to see my aunt.

Your aunt? She moved out.

Where is she?

I don't know.

- Where?

- I don't know.

My aunt has left.

She didn't let me know.

No one knows where she is.

I have no one left!

She doesn't know what

has happened to us.

What's going to become of us?

What's going to become of us?

Don't leave me alone.

Don't leave me alone.

Your brothers have left, too.

With your mother.

The brothers so proud

to see you fight.

A mother who'd have sacrificed

herself for a lock of your hair!

They've all left

instead of helping me.

The cowards!

They didn't try to find out

why you were wounded.

They didn't know you fought

because of an insult

just because a man said to you,

"I spit in your mother's p*ssy!"

Someone on your own side!

You get insulted

and end up with a

bullet in the neck.

A fight...

Such an absurd fight!

They've all left.

The cowards!

Come back!

Come back, for the love of God.

My God, help him.

Help him!

He fought so long for you,

and now you abandon him like this!

The mullah won't come tonight.

He's afraid of stray bullets.

The water-bearer

hasn't been either.

I hope he's still alive.

Mommy, it's dark.

I'm scared.

I'm coming. Don't be scared.

I'm here.

Mommy, I'm thirsty.

Me, too.

So is Mommy.

There's no water left.

Mommy, who are you talking to?

Your father.

Why is Daddy angry?

He isn't,

but he will be if we bother him.

Who is it?

It's me, the mullah.

Hello, my sister.

I'm here for the prayer.

- Not today.

- Why not?

Since yesterday, I'm impure.

What?

Impure!

I have my period!

- So did Eve.

- All right, all right.

It was a Tuesday, wasn't it?

A Tuesday?

Perhaps... That's possible.

I'll come back in a few days' time.

If you want your husband

to recover, pray.

May God preserve you.

Daddy?

Are you asleep?

Take this out!

There's a fly!

Yuck! Get it out.

Daddy, tell us a story.

What are you doing?

Get out!

There's a fly in Daddy's mouth!

What have they done to you?

I hope they haven't hurt you.

Just a second, I want

to check on something.

Still not healed.

It's taking so long!

Can you feel anything?

Does it hurt?

No...

It doesn't hurt.

You're not in pain.

You're never in pain.

How can you live with a

bullet in your neck?

You're the one wounded,

and I'm the one suffering.

Brothers,

the enemy plans to

attack our homes.

Come to the mosque!

Our venerable commander

will give you weapons

to protect your families

and your honor!

They're handing out more weapons!

They're going to fight.

They're pleased.

Get up! They'll kill you!

Come on, get up!

I don't know what to

do with my brother.

He refuses to set

foot on the ground.

In God's name, be careful!

What have you done to him?

The poor thing!

Are you okay?

It's better here, right?

You see.

They're behind that wall.

The water-bearer still hasn't been.

The war still isn't over.

There'll be reprisals tonight.

I can't leave you here.

You should be down in the cellar.

But that's impossible.

Your head mustn't move.

If only a stray bullet

could finish you off.

I'll go back down.

I can't leave the girls alone.

Freeze!

Otherwise, I'll waste your ass!

You hear me?

- What's that in his mouth?

- No idea!

Where's your gun?

There are no guns here.

Someone else finished

him off first.

He doesn't need his ring.

Search the other rooms.

Nor his watch.

Go on, get lost!

Can you hear me?

You're dead to the world?

I'm talking to you.

Or you're dead?

Guys, where are you?

What are you doing?

Look, he has a wife.

- I know.

- How? Did he talk?

He took his ring!

Let's go!

Where's his wife?

There's no one in the house.

I think I know him.

- Is he one of ours?

- I think so.

He's a good Muslim.

We didn't bomb the

neighborhood for nothing!

Let's go!

Mommy, have you seen this?

What is it?

Go inside.

What on earth?

Your wedding ring?

Your watch?

Was someone here?

Thieves?

They searched the house?

Bibi djan!

Bibi!

Did you see anyone in my house?

King of kindness!

I weep over my loneliness

It is time to return

King of kindness!

I weep over my loneliness...

The king was here.

He caressed me.

Do you have bread, my daughter?

I gave all my bread to the king.

Where are they?

- Your husband, your son?

- Right there.

In the house.

They're angry. They won't

speak to me anymore.

They'll talk to you.

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Jean-Claude Carrière

Jean-Claude Carrière (French: [ka.ʁjɛʁ]; born 17 September 1931) is a French novelist, screenwriter, actor, and Academy Award honoree. He was an alumnus of the École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud and was president of La Fémis, the French state film school. Carrière was a frequent collaborator with Luis Buñuel on the screenplays of Buñuel's late French films. more…

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