THE CHOSEN ONE
1. THE ARRIVAL
Come.
You bear my mark.
Follow the siren.
Come.
I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE
-Hi. -Hi.
-Have you seen the others? -Let's go find them.
-What's up? -You scared me!
You got any money for fireworks?
I don't have much.
I know. Elvis!
Let's go, Magda.
-Your braids look great. -Stop it, Hipólito.
-Thought you didn't have any. -Thanks. Have fun.
-What's up? -Enjoy.
Hey, Wagner!
Elvis, how's it going?
What's up? You here to mug me or what?
-What's up? -What are you up to?
Come on. What are you scheming?
Nothing. We're always on our best behavior, right?
I don't buy it.
-Got any fireworks? -Who do you think I am, Jodie?
I'm a proper lady.
Come on!
Thanks.
I knew you brats were up to something.
-No! -Is that from Elvis?
-Shut up! For real? -Shut up!
-Shut up!
Keep it up! Keep going, Santa Rosalía!
Are you having fun?
That's a lot of firecrackers.
Just shut up and light the fuse.
Why do I always have to light the fuse?
Why do you always wuss out, man?
I may be the leader, but it doesn't mean I gotta do everything.
Who made you the leader?
I did.
Let's go! Give it your all!
Hurry, now! Light it up!
Run! Now!
-Run! -Let's go!
Let's go! Quickly!
-Let's go. -There it goes.
Is it a dud?
-Oh, sorry! -Watch where you're going.
Sorry!
You're gonna be sorry.
Hey! Leave him alone.
Magda, you look so pretty today.
You've grown up. All over.
What's wrong with you?
-What are you doing? -You think you're tough? Come on.
-Kick his ass, dude. -Hipólito!
-That's it, dude! -Smash his face in!
-Let's fucking run! -Come on!
-Are you okay? -Hipólito, you good?
-Man. -Are you hurt?
What's so funny?
Did you see Ángelo dance?
I made him dance.
I froze again, Wagner.
Don't worry about it.
We've all got superpowers.
Hipólito is brave.
Magda's really smart.
I can do magic.
Now we just have to find yours.
Guys, Tuka's coming.
What's wrong, Tuka?
My uncle Temastián didn't come home.
He'd never skip out on work.
-Let's go find him. -All right.
-Where was he last seen? -No idea.
-Tuka! -Your uncle!
Uncle.
Chupia.
Uncle!
Chupia.
A siren?
Chupia. A sea monster, but not from this world.
What else did he say?
In the reefs, he heard something weird in the wind.
Then he saw a woman floating face down.
He climbed the rocks to rescue her,
but she locked eyes with him.
She kissed him and tried to eat his soul, but he managed to hit her with an oar.
She was slammed against the rocks and stopped moving.
What if she was a drunk foreigner?
My uncle had a lock of her hair between his fingers.
He's afraid to go back out to sea. He even ditched his boat there.
If my uncle won't fish again,
maybe I…
Come.
Jodie, are you okay?
Let's go.
I'll catch up with you guys.
-Come on, Wagner. Let's go. -You sure?
Attention, all 7th grade students.
Tomorrow's the last day to hand in your permission slips.
Fuck, they're gorgeous.
Otherwise, you won't be able to participate in the pastorela.
Give it back!
-Come on. -Let me go!
Come on, Memo! Give it back!
Come on, you fucking Apache.
I'm not Apache. I'm Yaqui.
Let's see what's in this. You like playing with dolls?
His crazy uncle's going around saying he met a siren.
Leave him alone!
-Jodie. -Asshole!
-I said leave him! -Did his balls drop?
Who are you? The Apache's bitch?
Stay out of this!
He's fucking done.
What?
Don't you speak Spanish?
Get off him!
Stop, dude.
Did you get that?
-Back off. -Or what?
Stop, you bastards!
Let us go!
Stop, Ángelo. That's enough.
Ángelo, stop.
What the hell is going on?
Are you okay?
-Yeah. -You okay, Jodie?
Are you sure?
What's that? Give it to me.
Give it here.
Turns out we won't just have to talk to the principal and your dad
but the police as well.
Your dad will have to pick you up at the station.
If Miss Dolores hadn't shown up, he would've killed Jodie.
He stuck you with the knife?
Doesn't it hurt?
You should've called us.
It was pretty cool of you to stand up for Tuka.
Did Miss Dolores see the knife?
He'll be expelled.
The police came to get him.
He'll kill you if he comes back.
That guy really hates you.
He hates all of us.
He'll kill us.
All five of us.
You sure your uncle was telling the truth?
My uncle doesn't mess around. He wouldn't leave his boat.
Machia was his life.
You know what? Let's go find that siren.
What the fuck?
Tuka, do you have the siren hair?
Yeah.
If we find the siren, or whatever it is,
we'll be famous.
And we'll show those jerks.
-Are you in? -I'm not going.
No way.
-No way. -Tuka.
You ever go there with your uncle?
Sure.
My dad took me to his job on the salt flats.
No one said it would be easy. We'd have to spend a night in the desert.
And we'll forgive all the times you ran away like a girl.
Like a boy, you mean. I'm a girl, and I don't run.
If the card you draw is higher than ten, I'm in.
Or you can wait for Ángelo here.
So? Are you in?
Let's do it.
-Let's go. -Let's go.
Let's go, then.
What did you tell your mom?
At Tuka's?
The stars look prettier at Tuka's house.
Mom, can I sleep over at Hipólito's?
I don't know, Tuka.
I need you back by Sunday to help us fish on the rowboat.
Tomás retires this year.
I talked to the boss so you can take over his job.
-I don't want to be like you! -Then what does the princess want?
I'll tell you what will happen if you don't take that job.
You'll starve to death!
Marisa, open up, please.
Leave me alone!
I don't get how you can live without knowing what happened to Santos.
I'm leaving early tomorrow.
I'm going to a dangerous place with some guys I barely know.
Do something, Daniel!
Open up.
I just want to know what happened to my boy.
MISSING
Calm down. We can't lose faith, okay?
I thought of a story to tell you tonight.
Cool.
Don't go overboard. Last time I didn't sleep for a month.
Let's go.
Let me tell you about all the things I brought.
My new camera, my Walkman,
a compass,
my canteen, and my comb.
Are you ready?
REGIONAL PUBLIC LIBRARY
María la Paz, Paz, Paz Three steps back, back, back
To the side, side
I'm glad you came, bro.
Because, well…
they're all kids.
Is that Elena?
What's up? Going on a desert trip?
You did tell your parents, right?
-Oh, yeah. -Yep.
-Yeah. -Of course.
My dad will pick us up ahead. He works at the salt flats.
Take care.
The desert is alive.
If you make an offering, something you care about,
it'll give you something back.
María la Paz, Paz, Paz Three steps back, back, back
One, two, three.
Hey, wait!
First day looking for the siren.
How are you feeling?
That's as far as we go.
Get out, kids.
It's five pesos each.
Thanks.
I know a way in. We can cut through the salt flats.
Let's go this way.
Through here.
Why are there toys on the graves?
Because this is a children's cemetery.
That can't be a good sign.
We just have to walk five kilometers
until we see a pipeline that leads to the sea.
But if we stick to the pipeline, we'll be just fine.
No one's getting lost.
Don't tell me you're afraid. Shall we?
Good afternoon.
With your permission, we'd like to go through here.
Thank you.
Grant us safe passage.
Slow down!
No! My shoes!
Take this!
Hipólito, how long till we get there?
You said we wouldn't get lost if we followed the pipeline.
But there's no fucking pipeline!
We're almost there.
What does the siren look like?
It's not a siren. It's a chupia.
And that's different?
-It is. -How about we climb on that truck?
We'll be able to see a bit further.
It's gotta be close.
What are you doing?
-I'm eating. -You can't eat yet.
We have a long way to go.
Look! The tube!
Come on!
We found the tube!
See? I told you so.
If we get famous, we'll make a ton of money.
What would you do with it?
I'd get my mom a therapist.
Just confess. Don't be a wuss.
-Your smile is so pretty. -Stop.
I can't.
She's like my sister.
Except she's not, man!
Otherwise, Hipólito will beat you to it tonight.
You never know.
Do you think she knows?
Listen, dear Jodie.
Get a bit closer.
You can see two things from space, all right?
The Great Wall of China
and how much you like Magda.
You're a tough one.
But no, I don't think she knows, okay?
No way.
Is that a hut?
Let's pool our water to see how much is left.
See? I told you.
Are you ready for my story?
-Yeah. -Yes.
Yeah, go ahead.
It's the story of a woman.
She worked at the French Hotel
almost 100 years ago.
Once,
the hotel owner's daughter arrived to stay
because her husband had died
just after she gave birth to triplets.
Perhaps because she was so sad,
the babies wouldn't stop crying.
One day, the woman collapsed and fell asleep.
That was when
strange noises started coming from the walls,
like pipes creaking.
And a strange shadow crept over the hallway.
But no one realized.
The silence woke the mother up.
She realized her children were no longer there.
She looked all over, but they were gone.
But she could still hear their muffled cries
inside the walls.
So they began tearing down the walls until they found a hole
where there was a giant snake
that had snuck into the pipes from the desert.
It was more than six meters long.
Its eyes were darker than a bottomless pit.
She took an axe and cut its head off.
She slit open its belly,
and there, she found her three children,
still crying while the snake digested them.
You can still hear the babies cry when the wind blows.
The snake!
Dumbass!
Let's go to sleep. We gotta get up early.
Come, Jodie.
Come.
Your destiny lies in your blood.
To you guys, this place is like another planet, full of adventure.
To me,
it might be all I see for the rest of my life.
Like my dad.
If I'm still here when I grow up,
I'll kill myself.
At least you know where you come from
and who your dad is.
The only good things about this place are our group and Magda.
Do you think I have a shot with her?
Yeah.
I think you do too.
Come on. Let's wake them up.
Where are you?
PROPERTY OF SANTOS ANDRADE
Come on, Magda.
Can I have some water?
There's not much.
Where's the tube?
-No. -The tube.
It's gone.
-That can't be. -No.
Where's the tube?
Where's the fucking tube?
Where's the tube?
It'll show up.
No way.
This thing should've led us to the sea.
Dad told me so.
Didn't you go with him?
The only way we know is the way back.
I'm not sure we'll make it out alive.
Maybe it comes back out further ahead.
We just have to keep walking in the same direction.
That tube has to lead to the sea.
I've seen it.
If we head west, we'll reach the sea.
Wagner, you got your compass?
We won't have water for the way back.
Or food.
Look, a whale.
My grandfather told me that our Yaqui ancestors
turned into whales to avoid being conquered.
And that whales can travel
between the world of spirits and our world.
They can guide us.
It's empty.
Come this way.
Give me that!
What are you doing?
What the hell?
-Hey! -Get off.
What's wrong with you?
Now you've done it. You idiot.
Hey! Hipólito!
Follow your destiny.
This whole way, following a fucking toy!
Hey! Wagner!
-You got us lost. -Wagner!
Don't you remember?
-Hey! -You killed us!
The desert is alive.
If you give it something you care about, it'll give you something back.
What's wrong with you?
Stop it!
-You got us lost! -Cut it out!
-You're a brat. Idiots. -It's your fault!
Hey, let him go!
Wagner!
-Stay down! -Hey!
I hate you, Hipólito!
Are you okay?
What's this?
-Stop. -Tuka!
Tuka, your handkerchief!
We have to follow that seagull.
It'll take us to the sea.
Why should we follow it? It's a fucking seagull.
Seagulls hunt in the sea.
Trust me.
Let's go.
I'm exhausted.
We gotta keep going.
Hell yeah!
Yeah!
We made it, guys!
We finally found it.
This is El Gatillo, where the sea spits everything out.
Machia should be here.
My uncle's boat!
Yeah!
-Let's go. -On Machia.
There's water here!
Is this good?
Start it.
One, two, three.
-Get on! -Ready!
-Get on! -Hurry, get on!
We'll go get the siren.
That's the baakot cave,
where my uncle found the siren.
Watch your heads.
Hey, we made it to the siren!
Hurry.
Pass me the backpack.
Come on. Don't be scared.
I don't see a siren.
Do you?
My uncle's paddle!
Look, the siren bit it!
I don't see anything.
Let's go find it.
Hey, Magda.
Careful, Magda.
-It's gotta be here. -Wagner, search over there.
Don't go in too deep.
Tuka, are you sure it's dead?
-Careful with the rocks. -I don't see anything.
The tide is rising.
No siren, nothing. This was pointless.
Maybe the siren didn't die when my uncle hit her,
and she left.
She didn't die because there was never a fucking siren.
Let's not play dumb.
If my uncle says he saw it, he did!
It's a fairy tale, Tuka! There was never a siren!
Then what's this?
He got it from one of his old girlfriends.
Girlfriends, my ass!
-Stop! -I'm gonna kick your ass, Hipólito!
-Hey! -Stop it!
Stop. Let him go!
I'm gonna kill you!
Stop fighting!
-Shut up! -Wasn't that a toy compass?
Cut it out!
You were the one that got us lost in the salt flats!
-Hey! -Tell that to my hand!
-Stop. Hipólito! -Fucking kid!
It's your fault the food ran out!
Stop!
-Tuka, stop! -Stop!
-Let it go, Tuka! -Machia!
-You'll drown! -Machia is sinking!
-Leave it! -Let me go!
-It's gone, Tuka. -Machia!
Stop, you're gonna drown!
-Stop, Tuka. -Let it go.
-Stop, Tuka. Stop. -Calm down.
Do you think I came here to hide from Ángelo?
Or that fucking siren?
I came to get that boat.
Without it, I'll probably have to drop out of school and start working!
I thought that if I got lost here, my parents would remember I exist.
I've held on all this time
to the stupid idea of finding my brother in the desert.
What the hell does it matter if the siren's real or not?
We should be fucking dead!
It's a miracle Jodie saved us.
What matters is that we're alive and together.
And we're family.
Hey.
The dock?
It's across the hill.
Thanks, dude.
If you go under the bridge, you'll get there faster.
Thanks.
Last day looking for the siren.
I didn't think we'd make it.
But we're on the way back.
And you should really thank me
because we used my compass,
my canteen,
my Walkman.
And I couldn't use my comb,
but next time.
Hurry up!
Hurry up, Jodie!
Hurry up, dude! Hurry up!
-Jodie! -Help!
Wagner, do something!
-Help me lift! -Jodie!
Can anyone hear me?
BASED ON THE GRAPHIC NOVEL AMERICAN JESUS BY MARK MILLAR & PETER GROSS
Subtitle translation by: Ivan Cukier