“The Peddler”
Directed By: Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Reel one
The happy child
Man: Hanieh.
Hanieh: Yes?
Man: They are here, Hanieh. Hurry up.
Hanieh: I don’t want to give birth to my baby in a hospital.
Man: I went through a lot of trouble to get them to accept you. You will go in a car, you will bear the baby in comfort and you will return in a car. Come on, hurry up.
Hanieh: I am scared. Besides I don’t know how to bear a baby in a hospital.
Man: What do you mean you don’t know how to bear a baby in a hospital? Do you want to have another crippled child? They are coming; you have to moan a lot, so they won’t realize you feel no pain at child-birth.
Nurse: Does the lady who has given birth to three crippled children live here?
Man: Four crippled children, Miss. Welcome, come on in. She is in pain.
Remember, Hanieh. You have to leave the baby behind and come back home alone.
Hanieh: Al right.
Man: After you, Miss.
Nurse: You don’t have to stay so close to me. How many offsprings do you have to have?
Man: I am sorry.
Nurse: Well, bring her then.
Man: Let us go, Hanieh.
Male nurse: Let her walk if she can. It will do her good.
Man: Actually she only looks she is fit to walk. She barely survives child-births. Let me help.
Female nurse: How is your nutrition during pregnancy?
Man: Answer the lady. She has been kind enough to come over to you. How is your nutrition?
Nurse: Do you eat enough?
Man: Her appetite is good.
Male nurse: Lie down, please.
Hanieh: It is embarrassing.
Man: Lie down. There is nothing to be embarrassed about. Tell me, Miss. Why are all my children cripples?
۱st male nurse: You don’t get enough sunshine in your room. It is not clean enough either.
Male nurse: It could also be due to blood tie. Is she your cousin?
Man: Yes, she is.
Male nurse: Well, that is it. Why did you have to marry your cousin?
Man: Whose cousin could I have married? Her family was the only people I knew.
Nurse: Have you had your children vaccinated against paralysis?
Hanieh: Take good care of children.
Man: Hanieh. Hanieh!
Hanieh: take care of the children.
Man: Remember what I told you. Enjoy yourself, eat well.
Man: What do you want here, in our house? Be off with you.
Man: Hanieh, You are back. Did you have a good time? Did you eat well? I told you they served very good food at the hospital.
Hanieh: Take it!
Man: Why did you bring the baby?! But I have told you to leave it there. It will become crippled if we keep it.
Be careful, Reihanah darling.
What are we going to do now, Hanieh?
Hanieh: Don’t worry. I got the address of a place where they keep crippled children.
Man: It’s moving it’s legs, Hanieh.
Hanieh: They all moved their legs at first.
Man: It is beautiful, though. But it has not taken after you or me.
Anyway, Let us not waste time.
Is it a boy or a girl?
Hanieh: A girl.
Man: Hanieh, shall we put her in a basket and cover it?
Hanieh: Do you want to suffocate my baby?
Man: You don’t want the neighbors to find out what we are doing, do you?
Listen, Reihaneh. If the neighbors ask after your mother, tell them she has not given birth to a baby.
Let me see the address of that place.
Hanieh: Here. Let us go.
Man: Alright.
Man: Hello.
Addict: Their baby is a girl.
Man: Fix your Chador, Hanieh.
Man: Hello, ma’am.
Woman: Hello.
Hanieh: Hello ma’am
Man: We are told they keep crippled children here. Our baby will be a crippled very soon, like our other children.
Woman: We accept only mentally retarded children here. Go to the information desk.
Man: Where?
Woman: The information desk.
Man: Listen, Hanieh. You have to make them accept the baby; Kneel before them, beg them, do whatever you can.
Sit down. Hold the baby. I have to find out what is to be done.
Reel two
Hanieh: The lady said I shouldn’t have any more babies. She said the cause of our children’s paralysis is either malnutrition or our blood tie.
Man: That is nonsense. If I had not married you; would she marry you? You should have told her to mind her own business.
Hanieh: where shall we take the baby now?
Man: She does not provide for us. God is the provider.
Please pray for us. The train must be taking them on pilgrimage to Mashhad.
Hanieh: I hope my baby leads a happy life.
Man: I hope so. I used to work for a family whose children were healthy and rosy-cheeked.
Hanyeh: where were they living?
Man: I don’t remember the name of the place. It was somewhere in the uptown.
Hanieh: I would not leave my baby with a rich but Godless family.
Man: Let us hope the best.
Man: Hallowed and blessed be the holy spirits.
Beggar woman: help a poor little orphan.
Man: Look, the child is a source of income for her.
Beggar woman: give relief and God will protect your child.
Man: I will keep watch here. Leave the baby over there and come back.
۲nd beggar woman: Help a poor old woman. May God grant you prosperity.
Man: Let us go. Why are you still hesitating? She should be brought up by a rich family; she will become crippled if we keep her.
Hanieh: where is the baby?
Man: Let us go. She will be better off without us.
Hanieh: Where is my baby. There she is.
Man: She does not look like a bad sort. She probably can’t have a baby.
Woman in Chador: Are you crazy?
Hanieh: My baby.
۲nd beggar woman: Give alms. Help this poor little orphan.
۲nd beggar woman: May you end up in hell.
Hanieh: I left her over there.
Man: This one seems really poor. He is a beggar, too. He will exploit the child.
Hanieh: She will become crippled if he does not take her to the doctor.
Man: Let us follow him.
Hanieh: If she becomes crippled, he will kick her out.
Man: Maybe he is going to sell her to kidnappers. They say kidnappers kill babies and make bread with their blood.
Where are you taking my baby? Give her to me.
Man: Is she alright?
Hanieh: Yes.
Boy: Winston cigarettes.
Man: How much is it?
Cigarette vendor: It is too expensive for you.
Man: How much do you gain on each pocket?
Boy: He is not a customer.
Cigarette vendor: The profit is not worth the trouble.
Boy: Actually we are planning to change our line of business.
Man: I guess I should stick to the farming. Harry up before I lose my job.
Hanieh: There is no other place to go. Let us go back home.
Man: We can’t take her back. She will become crippled.
Hanieh: They must be very well off.
Man: They have got a lot of gold.
Hanieh: I wish one of these Jewelers would take her.
Man: They usually go to mosque near here. Let us go there.
Man: I left her where she will be easily seen.
I wish somebody like him would take her.
Hanieh: No, he looks like a miser to me.
Man: Let us get away from here before they see us. What are you waiting for?
Hanieh: I have to feed her.
Man: Anybody who takes her will feed her.
Reel three
Man: Hello.
Man: Hello
Man: God, help us.
Man: Let us go, Hanieh.
Hanieh: They are looking at her. Which one do you think will take her?
Man: The younger one.
Hanieh: No, the older man looks like a more kind-hearted person.
Man: She will be happy.
You wished it was you, I hadn’t thought of that earlier.
Hanieh: They are talking about her.
Dealer: I swear it is the best quality. Try one. Cheers.
Man: Cheers, But our baby is pretty, isn’t she.
Dealer: Those are top quality pistachio from Kerman. I will give you a ten Rial discount.
Merchant: It won’t pay off.
Dealer: Don’t say that.
Hanieh: Nobody wants my poor baby.
Man: Don’t worry. I will bring her back.
۱st passer-by: there he is again.
۲nd passer-by: I saw him.
۱st passer-by: He is coming.
۲nd passer-by: He is going to abandon the baby.
Rosary vendor: Come back, sir. I will give you a discount.
There is a baby in the basket. I will stop the man, and you take care of her.
۳rd passer-by: Leave it to me. Catch the woman.
Mosque servant: Wait a minute.
Crowd: Catch him. Stop him.
Hanieh: Leave him alone. Stop beating him.
۴th passer-by: What shall I do with the baby?
Servant: One does not abandon one’s legitimate child.
Last passer-by: Get along with you.
Crowd: you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Man: You wanted them to take me to the police-station? I should have known better than to follow a woman’s advice. One day I will leave you and go and live alone.
Hanieh: Is it my fault nobody wants the baby? Shall we take her home now?
Man: Alright, stop crying and just follow me.
Hanieh: But where are we going?
Man: A nice place where she will have a bright future.
Hanieh: Where is it?
Man: Look, Hanieh. They are rich; they won’t let her become crippled.
Don’t you want her to be happy? I have worked in this house.
They are very rich.
Hanieh: But will they adopt her?
Man: of course they will. They don’t have a daughter. The wife is dying to have a daughter. Hey baby, you are very lucky. Put her down, Let us go now.
Female nurse (off): These babies were abandoned yesterday. Take this one to bed No. 23 and this one to No.13.
۲nd nurse: Yes ma’am.
Reel Four
The birth of an old woman
Crowd: boo... He is mad as a March hare.
Boy: No, not yet. You promised not to come out until I had finished. For once I would like to do it the right way. What is it, now? Have I hurt your feelings? Well, say something. I smell that odor again. So what you have done? The food is burnt. Does a simple dish need more than one chef? Pooh! You never let me finish anything properly. You take pride in your feminine touch. But I can prove to you that I have a stronger feminine touch. Ouch! I burnt my hand.
You are always causing me trouble. You kill happiness in this house. I comb your hair, and you tousle it as soon as I turn my back to you. You interfere in my cooking and the food gets burnt. You don’t behave yourself when I take you for a walk. You incumber me with difficulties so that you can find fault with me. But I will go on yielding to your whims until you yield to me. Have I been grumbling too much? Alright dear; you ready for lunch? I will open the door now. Come out my pretty lady.
Well, how do you like it, mommy? I bet you can’t find any excuse for complaint.
You can never bring yourself to thank me though. You are always grumbling about how miserable we are. Dust? There is no dust.
Now you are behaving really like a child. Look like you never grew up. You are neither a child nor a grown-up, and I have to do everything for you. What would you do if I died? Who would take care of you? Why don’t you eat anything? Is the food tasteless?
Is it burnt? Well, maybe it is burnt a little. Aam, Aam, Aam. But tomorrow everything is going to be all right. Tomorrow is the pay-day, we will become rich again. I will buy you hamburgers and pills. It is your fault it took your pills by mistake. You shouldn’t have left them near my plate. And I am going to have a long life. But you are going to die very soon. Because you don’t eat anything and you don’t take your pills. Then I can get married. I am still very strong. Look at my arms. Now we will start over again, one spoonful for mommy, one spoonful for me. I ate mine; now is your turn. Why don’t you eat yours?
Now you have gone too far, mommy. Was I wrong to devote my whole life to you? Would you like me to get married and leave you alone? Shall I tell you how many important jobs I refused so that I could stay home and take care of you? But one of these days I am going to take a job, unless you stop behaving like this. When will you come to your senses? Look at me. Do I look like human beings? Damn my misfortune. And it is all because of you. You ungrateful old woman! I am growing old, mommy. I am tired.
Boy: What do you want here? Why won’t you lunatics leave us in peace?
Crowd: Boo... He is mad as a March hare.
Boy: Have you been dreaming of daddy again? He was handsome, wasn’t he? You have always been wanting someone else besides me. I wish you had miscarried me instead of your first child. Why am I wasting my life on you? You always preferred daddy to me. You deserved to be ill-treated by that drunkard. You want to do the laundry, cook and sweep? All right, go ahead… it’s two o’clock; time to go to the toilet, mommy.
Boy: Mommy, do you remember the trip to the countryside with daddy, before he died? Daddy and I went swimming. You were smiling. Then there was that man who told us to put out the fire.
Oh, that is a lot of money. Listen, mommy. A big house is up for sale. Would you like to go and see it? We are cramped here. It says here a boy left his ill-tempered mother in the street. Don’t you think I could do the same thing? What are you thinking of, mommy? Do you think I am that crazy to throw you out of the house and be left alone by myself?!
Driver: Catch the thief! Stop that car!
Crowd: Boo... He is mad as a March hare.
Boy: Time to go to bed, mommy.
Boy: It is morning, mommy. Today is the pay-day. How is this suit, mommy? Is good for my wedding? It is daddy’s. I am going to get married and leave you. You thought I was going to get the salary and buy you pills? I am going to get married and be happy. Goodbye, mommy.
Boy: What do you want for lunch, mommy? Hamburgers? With no sauce?
۱st man: Mahmoud agha.
Mahmoud: What is it?
۱st man: Come back here.
Mahmoud: What is wrong?
۱st man: This is short by two hundred tomans.
Mahmoud: But you counted it yourself.
۱st man: It is not enough. Is he with you?
Mahmoud: What do you want?
Boy: I want to cross the street.
Boy: Hello, sir.
Man at counter: Hello. Stand back.
Boy: I don’t know you, have you replaced the other gentleman?
Man at counter: only the owner of the account can withdraw.
Boy: But she is ill.
Man at counter: she can come when she gets well.
۲nd man: How are you? You are late this month.
Boy: I meant to come on the first day of the month.
Man: But today is the seventh. Where is your account book?
Boy: Here it is. I saw you passed by our house the other day. I told my mother you were the gentleman whom pays me money when I sign.
۲nd man: sign here.
Boy: My new signature is prettier than the previous one, isn’t it?
۲nd man: What did your signature look like last month?
Boy: Like this.
۲nd man: This one is the best.
It is all right. You can pay him.
Take care of your money.
Boy: I will sir. Sir, I have to buy my mother pills. Doctor said if her pills are late, she will die.
Boy: Hello, sir. Can I have a science magazine?
Newspaperman: It is over there.
Here is your change.
Boy: Hello, Mr. Vartan. I want two hamburgers with a lot of sauce. Oh no; for mom with no sauce.
Vartan: So it is pay-day again and you want hamburgers. Well, what day of the week is it?
Boy: Saturday. The first day of the month is always Saturday.
Vartan: Did you marry the girl whose picture you cut out from the newspaper? Or you postponed it till charismas?
Boy: Mommy wants me to tell her when I am going to get married so that she knows she has to die and leave me alone. But I am going to stay with her. Mom is a nice girl.
Boy: It is getting late, Mr. Vartan.
Vartan: Here you are.
Boy: Ah!
Driver: Are you all right?
A Man: His heart beats doesn’t seem normal. We have to get him to the hospital.
Farid: All right, boys. Let us get him to the hospital.
Man: let me carry him.
Abbas: What is this?
Behzad: It is a newspaper.
Farid: Search all his pockets.
Abbas: Now, throw him.
Policeman: Now I have to wait here for two hours and guard. Have you got a cigarette? Where is your friend tonight? What do you have to eat?
Boy: I am happy, mommy. I am happy.
Boy: Suppose, I were to die, shouldn’t you clean the house?
Boy: What do you want for lunch, mommy? Shall I make soup? What is going on in this house? There will be no lunch until the house is clean first. Someday I am going to leave you. I will travel to another town, where I can be happy. I am tired. When will you change your ways? I am tired. Tired…
Reel Seven
The peddler
Behzad: Fifty Tomans a piece; hundred Tomans a pair. Wash and wear. No ironing needed. It’s a bargain...
Custumer: I will give you ninety Tomans For this pair.
Davoud: That leaves me no profit margin. Give it to me.
Fifty Tomans a piece. Wash and wear.
Jafar: Let us go. He will take your place.
Farid: I brought you a car load of goods.
Davoud: Fifty Tomans. Don’t miss the bargain.
Jafar: Where are you going?
Farid: Stop!
Jafar: Don’t think of escaping. You can’t get away.
Hossein: I am not trying to.
Farid: He is probably thinking of the other day.
Hossein: Get on.
Customer in teashop: Well, What are the poor Afghanis to do? Aren’t they human beings?
Snake charmer: Just touch it, it is as soft as rose petals. Did you ever see such a beauty?
Well-digger: I didn’t say the Afghanis were not human beings. The problem is that they work at half the price and ruin the price and ruin the labour market.
Customer: You don’t know what you are talking about. Last year he was working at a lower price than the Afghanis do. He just does not like competitors.
Snake charmer: I don’t think you want to buy a snake, and I don’t think you have ever seen anything as beautiful as this creature.
Hossein: I swear to God, Ghassem. I didn’t say anything. I did not report to the police. I am not a traitor like Abbas; to be killed. We have worked together for a long time. Believe me for god sake. How could I… Don’t look at me like that.
Kolahi: I brought you velvet trousers to sell. Drink… its getting cold.
Hossein: believe me, Ghassem, I didn’t give you away. I would do anything for you. You asked me to sell the clothes and I did. I have no peace of mind. I expect to be arrested at any moment. I swear to God I did not tell anyone about murder of Abbas. I would be considered an accomplice. I am not like Abbas. He was a traitor, I am not.
Kolahi: I want you to look at the goods. How do you like the shirts? Are you able to sell them? Would you like to see the rest of them? Stop crying, it’s not good. People will see. Drink it! It’s getting cold.
Snake charmer: You are not a buyer. You are just wasting my time.
Kolahi: We will sort it out together. I brought you a lot of goods. Get inside the store.
Hossein: They are going to kill me, officer.
Kolahi: What are you thinking of? Don’t waste time, get in there.
Officer: Stay where you are. Sit down.
Policeman: Sit down. We know Abbas Zaboli, who has been murdered, frequented this place. You all know him, so you’d better cooperate. Stand up. Do you know this man? He is Abbas Zaboli.
۱st Afghani: No.
Officer: Take him away. Stand up. I want Abbas Zaboli murderer. Do you know him?
۲nd Afghani: No.
Officer: Take him away.
Policeman: Let us go.
Officer: Take away all the Afghanis. Stand up. Do you recognize this picture?
۱st boy: No.
Officer: I am talking about Abbas Zaboli.
۱st boy: No.
Officer: Are you a smuggler?
۱st boy: No.
Officer: Did you know him?
۱st boy: No, I did not.
Officer: Didn’t you ever see him? You are all under suspicion. You have to tell us who killed Abbas Zaboli. What do you do? Do you recognize this picture?
۱st boy: No.
Officer: I am talking about Abbas Zaboli.
۱st boy: I didn’t see him.
Officer: When did you arrive here?
۱st boy: Today.
Officer: Take him away. Stand up. What is your profession?
۲nd boy: Afghani.
Officer: Do you recognize this picture?
۲nd boy: No.
Officer: He is Abbas Zaboli. What do you do here?
۲nd boy: I don’t know him. I just arrived here today.
Officer: Do you have an identity card?
۲nd boy: No.
Officer: Take him away. Is there any other Afghani here?
Officer: You turn around. Are you an Afghani?
Hossein: No.
Officer: Do you recognize this picture? Where do you come from?
Hossein: Mashhad.
Officer: Search him.
Policeman: Yes, sir. He has got a knife, sir.
Officer: Did you kill Abbas Zaboli?
Hossein: No, I didn’t. They killed him.
Officer: Why don’t you talk? You shouldn’t be carrying a knife with you.
Hossein: Yes, sir.
Officer: Let’s go. Get out of here. I want to talk to anybody who knew Abbas Zaboli.
Teashop-keeper: Yes, sir. Actually He does not come here very often.
Kolahi: Sit down. Sit dwon.
Hossein: I am scared, Ghassem.
Kolahi: Stop being a baby.
Hossein: I am nervous.
Kolahi: Why ?
Hossein: But I didn’t tell anyone.
Kolahi: Forget it.
Hossein: I didn’t say it to anybody.
Kolahi : I said forget it.
Hossein : I swear to God, Ghassem, I didn’t talk to anybody.
Kolahi : All right, I believe you. We are still friends. Let us go now. I want to show you the goods. Everybody thinks we only sell shirts. Nobody knows anything and you have not told to anybody, I know that. But I am not sure if you can keep your mouth shut anymore. You wanted to be a big success, but you were not man enough for it. You haven’t got the guts for big operation. You are confused. You don’t know what you want to do. You are not reliable.
Hossein : I am reliable.
Kolahi : No, you are not.
Hossein : I am.
Kolahi : No, you are not.
Hossein : I am.
Kolahi : Anyway, we are enlarging the operation. There are overcoats, too. Take one for yourself and carry on with your job…
Hossein: I heard something.
Kolahi: Keep this.
Jafar: He is dead.
Hossein: Stop, stop. They are going to kill me.
۱st soul: What happened to you?
۲nd soul: Have you just arrived?
۳rd soul: What is your name?
۴th soul: Is that you, Hossein?
Hossein: Abbas, I thought you were dead.
۴th soul: Yes, I am dead. I don’t feel comfortable here either.
Farid: He is dead.
