1
00:00:05,048 --> 00:00:08,093
["Che Garmi Che Khobi" playing]

2
00:01:25,128 --> 00:01:26,463
[song ends]

3
00:01:27,631 --> 00:01:29,549
[boss] Yeah,
I sent the check two weeks ago. Yeah.

4
00:01:29,633 --> 00:01:31,343
Hey, hey, boy, boy, boy.

5
00:01:31,426 --> 00:01:34,262
Why are you going so slow?

6
00:01:34,346 --> 00:01:37,557
I was out for half an hour.
You should be done with all this.

7
00:01:38,350 --> 00:01:42,103
-Yes. But to get the consistency--
-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

8
00:01:42,604 --> 00:01:45,482
And how long that guy has been there, huh?
How long?

9
00:01:47,025 --> 00:01:49,110
I'm so sorry for this wait.
How may I help you?

10
00:01:49,694 --> 00:01:52,239
Yeah. I wanna return this.

11
00:01:52,322 --> 00:01:56,743
Sir, it is not possible to return it
if you eat it already.

12
00:01:56,826 --> 00:01:58,495
This is the policy, as you can remember.

13
00:01:58,578 --> 00:02:00,330
No, no, no, because I didn't eat it.

14
00:02:00,830 --> 00:02:04,501
I sampled two of those drumsticks,
I took half a bite of this thigh,

15
00:02:04,584 --> 00:02:06,044
and I did not like it.

16
00:02:06,127 --> 00:02:07,671
I'm so sorry for you.

17
00:02:07,754 --> 00:02:09,631
But then why do you keep coming to buy it?

18
00:02:09,713 --> 00:02:11,424
I thought maybe today might be different.

19
00:02:12,050 --> 00:02:13,468
Just one second. Thank you.

20
00:02:13,552 --> 00:02:15,679
My friend, is there anything else
I can help you with?

21
00:02:15,762 --> 00:02:20,183
I already told you! This fricking breast,
I didn't touch it, I didn't eat it.

22
00:02:20,267 --> 00:02:24,271
Maybe that leg bone rubbed up against
that biscuit, so I'll-- I'll pay for that.

23
00:02:25,063 --> 00:02:27,649
Okay, okay. I refund you
for one tender and one wing.

24
00:02:32,654 --> 00:02:33,655
All right.

25
00:02:33,738 --> 00:02:36,449
Hey, hey, hey, hey!

26
00:02:37,158 --> 00:02:39,619
Does this look like a charity here, huh?

27
00:02:40,287 --> 00:02:43,290
I'm sorry.
But he was driving away other business.

28
00:02:43,373 --> 00:02:49,546
Zahir, get your head out of cloud,
for God's sake.

29
00:02:50,130 --> 00:02:51,172
[sighs]

30
00:02:51,673 --> 00:02:53,592
And stop burning the chicken!

31
00:03:14,070 --> 00:03:16,323
["Moonlight Sonata" playing on piano]

32
00:03:46,561 --> 00:03:49,898
[train brakes squealing]

33
00:03:49,981 --> 00:03:52,984
[train announcer] Stand clear of
the closing doors, please.

34
00:03:53,068 --> 00:03:55,320
[train announcer 2]
This is Flushing-Main Street.

35
00:03:55,862 --> 00:03:57,364
[commuters chattering]

36
00:04:20,845 --> 00:04:23,848
[playing rubab]

37
00:04:25,392 --> 00:04:27,227
-[in Dari] Hello.
-What's up?

38
00:04:27,310 --> 00:04:28,895
[in English]
You're back already. What time is it?

39
00:04:28,979 --> 00:04:31,606
8:45. It took me more than two hours.

40
00:04:32,190 --> 00:04:35,402
There's construction on the 7.
I waited forever.

41
00:04:35,944 --> 00:04:41,616
♪ Construction on the 7 ♪

42
00:04:41,700 --> 00:04:44,327
♪ How much chicken you burn last night? ♪

43
00:04:44,995 --> 00:04:46,079
I did not burn any.

44
00:04:47,455 --> 00:04:50,125
[chuckles] Just like three or four pieces.

45
00:04:50,208 --> 00:04:52,168
But that crazy guy, he come again.

46
00:04:52,878 --> 00:04:54,713
I gave him money back for the white meat,

47
00:04:54,796 --> 00:04:56,756
so you can thank me
he won't come for your shift today.

48
00:04:56,840 --> 00:04:58,341
[in Dari] You are a martyr.

49
00:04:59,217 --> 00:05:00,844
[in English] Hey, I saw another piano.

50
00:05:00,927 --> 00:05:03,263
Just sitting in a hotel lobby,
no one even playing it.

51
00:05:03,346 --> 00:05:04,890
That's three I see this month.

52
00:05:05,515 --> 00:05:07,684
They're everywhere. New York is crazy.

53
00:05:07,767 --> 00:05:10,186
If I start playing piano
in some hotel lobby,

54
00:05:10,270 --> 00:05:11,605
they'll probably arrest me.

55
00:05:11,688 --> 00:05:14,232
-[chuckles]
-And I don't have time. I have to work.

56
00:05:14,816 --> 00:05:17,694
Where I'm going to put my mother
when she comes? In the closet?

57
00:05:17,777 --> 00:05:19,821
[friend] I don't want my mother
to sleep in the closet either.

58
00:05:19,905 --> 00:05:21,907
-[stammers] Maybe sometimes.
-[chuckles]

59
00:05:21,990 --> 00:05:24,910
[friend] But I still find one hour
per week to practice rubab.

60
00:05:24,993 --> 00:05:26,286
It remind me.

61
00:05:27,245 --> 00:05:30,498
You go too long, you start to forget.

62
00:05:30,582 --> 00:05:32,751
[inhales deeply, sighs]

63
00:05:33,335 --> 00:05:34,544
Maybe I want to forget.

64
00:05:35,962 --> 00:05:37,797
[in Dari]
The piano is why I am stuck here.

65
00:05:38,465 --> 00:05:39,966
It's why I missed my father's funeral.

66
00:05:40,508 --> 00:05:42,636
What son misses his father's funeral?

67
00:05:42,719 --> 00:05:43,720
[sighs]

68
00:05:47,390 --> 00:05:48,391
Zahir…

69
00:05:50,101 --> 00:05:51,561
Your father loved the piano.

70
00:05:53,271 --> 00:05:55,273
The only thing he loved
more than the piano was you.

71
00:05:56,316 --> 00:05:59,319
-[inhales deeply, sighs]
-[in English] It's been nine months.

72
00:06:00,946 --> 00:06:02,239
Your father would want you to play.

73
00:06:07,619 --> 00:06:08,620
Hey.

74
00:06:10,163 --> 00:06:11,748
Tell the boss I send my love.

75
00:06:11,831 --> 00:06:14,542
[friend sighs]
Yeah. I'll pick up the roses on the way.

76
00:06:16,503 --> 00:06:19,130
[door opens, closes]

77
00:06:32,227 --> 00:06:34,688
[Zahir's parent 1 humming]

78
00:06:41,403 --> 00:06:43,822
[in Dari] ♪ It's no one's business ♪

79
00:06:43,905 --> 00:06:46,408
♪ If I'm wandering around
And I'm happy ♪

80
00:06:46,491 --> 00:06:47,742
♪ It's no one's business ♪

81
00:06:47,826 --> 00:06:49,286
♪ It's no one's business ♪

82
00:06:49,786 --> 00:06:52,414
♪ If I'm breaking a bottle ♪

83
00:06:52,497 --> 00:06:53,623
♪ It's no one's business ♪

84
00:06:53,707 --> 00:06:55,375
-♪ It's no one's business ♪
-[shushes]

85
00:06:56,042 --> 00:06:58,336
The windows are open. They will hear you!

86
00:06:59,087 --> 00:07:00,672
We can sing in our own home.

87
00:07:00,755 --> 00:07:02,591
Have you invited the Taliban for tea?

88
00:07:03,425 --> 00:07:07,387
♪ If for tonight you could be my Juliet ♪

89
00:07:07,470 --> 00:07:08,763
♪ It's no one's business ♪

90
00:07:08,847 --> 00:07:09,890
♪ It's no one's business ♪

91
00:07:09,973 --> 00:07:11,391
♪ It's no one's business ♪

92
00:07:11,474 --> 00:07:13,810
-They will kill you twice.
-♪ Romeo is in love with you ♪

93
00:07:13,894 --> 00:07:15,729
[Zahir's parent 1]
Mother, sit, here is tea for you.

94
00:07:15,812 --> 00:07:16,730
I'm tired, dear.

95
00:07:16,813 --> 00:07:17,939
I know. I know.

96
00:07:18,773 --> 00:07:20,984
[Zahir's grandparent speaking Dari]

97
00:07:24,696 --> 00:07:25,989
[Zahir's parent 2 speaking Dari]

98
00:07:28,116 --> 00:07:29,910
[Zahir's parent 1 breathes deeply]

99
00:07:29,993 --> 00:07:32,954
[Zahir's grandparent speaking Dari]

100
00:07:33,038 --> 00:07:34,915
Time to get up, light of my eye.

101
00:07:35,498 --> 00:07:38,793
-[siren wailing in distance]
-[vehicle horn blares]

102
00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,797
[in English] Mr. Nadiri? Mr. Nadiri?

103
00:07:43,590 --> 00:07:46,718
Can you tell me why you're here?
What are you doing in this country?

104
00:07:46,801 --> 00:07:50,472
I just come here for two weeks
for a music exchange.

105
00:07:50,555 --> 00:07:52,140
We played Carnegie Hall.

106
00:07:52,807 --> 00:07:56,061
But while I'm here,
the Taliban is attacking again,

107
00:07:56,144 --> 00:07:58,939
and it is not safe
for a musician to return.

108
00:07:59,773 --> 00:08:03,318
When I was growing up,
the Taliban make it illegal to play music.

109
00:08:03,401 --> 00:08:05,445
Yes. No, I'm aware.

110
00:08:05,528 --> 00:08:07,906
And have you ever committed acts
of terrorism?

111
00:08:09,366 --> 00:08:10,784
No, no. Nothing like this.

112
00:08:10,867 --> 00:08:12,410
I'm sorry. It's not personal.

113
00:08:13,078 --> 00:08:14,955
It's the law. They make us ask.

114
00:08:15,664 --> 00:08:19,042
You said a music exchange.
What instrument do you play?

115
00:08:20,293 --> 00:08:21,545
I played piano.

116
00:08:21,628 --> 00:08:24,881
Oh, my daughter plays piano.
She's studying to be a musician.

117
00:08:25,674 --> 00:08:27,676
Is it possible
you also help with my mother?

118
00:08:29,219 --> 00:08:32,347
I am working double shift,
six days per week,

119
00:08:32,429 --> 00:08:34,515
to save money so she can come.

120
00:08:36,142 --> 00:08:37,269
I understand. [sighs]

121
00:08:37,351 --> 00:08:39,813
Let's focus on getting
your asylum approved,

122
00:08:39,895 --> 00:08:43,900
then we can start the process of bringing
your mother over to join you. Okay?

123
00:08:43,984 --> 00:08:45,527
[Zahir sighs]

124
00:08:45,610 --> 00:08:47,612
[pop song playing on speaker]

125
00:08:49,197 --> 00:08:52,033
[rap playing on speaker, overlapping]

126
00:08:52,117 --> 00:08:54,411
[Mandarin ballad playing
on speaker, overlapping]

127
00:08:54,494 --> 00:08:56,288
[people in market shouting, chattering]

128
00:09:05,463 --> 00:09:08,466
[in Dari] ♪ Get me drunk ♪

129
00:09:08,967 --> 00:09:12,095
♪ So I can feel alive ♪

130
00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:15,807
♪ Give me a drink ♪

131
00:09:16,391 --> 00:09:18,768
♪ Save me from my sadness ♪

132
00:09:19,561 --> 00:09:20,979
♪ Bartender-- ♪

133
00:09:21,062 --> 00:09:22,856
Old man, I had warned you
not to sing again.

134
00:09:23,356 --> 00:09:25,191
Next time I hear you sing,
I take out your tongue.

135
00:09:25,275 --> 00:09:26,943
[shoemaker grunts, coughs]

136
00:09:28,987 --> 00:09:30,363
Brother, excuse us. I'm sorry.

137
00:09:30,947 --> 00:09:33,742
[shoemaker groans, coughs]

138
00:09:36,953 --> 00:09:39,497
Dad, he said "cut out your tongue."

139
00:09:42,876 --> 00:09:43,752
Son,

140
00:09:44,252 --> 00:09:45,253
listen to me.

141
00:09:45,337 --> 00:09:47,964
The right answer to a fool

142
00:09:49,382 --> 00:09:50,383
is silence.

143
00:09:50,467 --> 00:09:53,011
If they think they can stop music

144
00:09:53,094 --> 00:09:54,930
with guns,

145
00:09:55,889 --> 00:09:58,308
they are all fools.

146
00:09:58,850 --> 00:10:01,728
They don't even know what music is.

147
00:10:02,437 --> 00:10:03,438
Close your eyes. Listen.

148
00:10:03,521 --> 00:10:04,397
Go ahead,

149
00:10:04,898 --> 00:10:06,233
close them. It's okay.

150
00:10:06,733 --> 00:10:07,651
Hmm?

151
00:10:07,734 --> 00:10:09,819
Now, do you hear the sound
from the shoemaker?

152
00:10:09,903 --> 00:10:12,113
[rhythmic hammering]

153
00:10:14,449 --> 00:10:16,117
What else do you hear?

154
00:10:16,201 --> 00:10:18,328
[rhythmic thumping, grinding]

155
00:10:31,883 --> 00:10:33,051
You see?

156
00:10:33,134 --> 00:10:36,388
Imagine your own private symphony.

157
00:10:38,682 --> 00:10:41,560
Come, your mother will start to worry.

158
00:10:44,271 --> 00:10:46,273
[Zahir's mother]
There was another attack today.

159
00:10:47,357 --> 00:10:50,318
A truck bomb at a hotel.

160
00:10:51,778 --> 00:10:53,238
[sighs]

161
00:10:54,364 --> 00:10:55,782
You look skinny.

162
00:10:56,950 --> 00:10:58,326
I am exactly the same.

163
00:10:58,952 --> 00:11:00,036
Did the money come through?

164
00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:02,289
I told you, keep your money.

165
00:11:02,372 --> 00:11:03,748
I have everything I need.

166
00:11:03,832 --> 00:11:04,749
It's nothing.

167
00:11:04,833 --> 00:11:07,210
They pay musicians well here.

168
00:11:07,752 --> 00:11:09,421
Have you eaten today?

169
00:11:09,504 --> 00:11:11,673
I've eaten enough in my life.

170
00:11:11,756 --> 00:11:13,508
I have something to tell you.

171
00:11:14,134 --> 00:11:17,512
They will give me a green card soon!

172
00:11:17,596 --> 00:11:19,014
And then you will be able to come
to America.

173
00:11:19,097 --> 00:11:20,015
Green card?

174
00:11:21,182 --> 00:11:22,100
Really?

175
00:11:23,310 --> 00:11:27,105
It's been so long since I've seen you,
light of my eye.

176
00:11:28,732 --> 00:11:32,277
Will you send me a video
of your next concert?

177
00:11:33,403 --> 00:11:35,488
It's too quiet here

178
00:11:35,572 --> 00:11:36,781
without you.

179
00:11:36,865 --> 00:11:37,782
Mother,

180
00:11:38,658 --> 00:11:39,743
I told you.

181
00:11:39,826 --> 00:11:42,037
In American concert halls

182
00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:43,371
they don't allow recording.

183
00:11:43,455 --> 00:11:44,956
It's part of my contract
with the orchestra.

184
00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:47,375
[Zahir's mother]
Yes, it's okay, it's okay.

185
00:11:48,168 --> 00:11:49,211
[sighs]

186
00:11:49,294 --> 00:11:51,087
If your father was alive,

187
00:11:51,171 --> 00:11:53,381
he would be so proud of you.

188
00:11:54,007 --> 00:11:57,135
[Zahir's father]
You haven't seen your mother like this.

189
00:11:57,219 --> 00:11:58,094
Ah! Here! You see?

190
00:11:58,178 --> 00:11:59,179
[Zahir's mother chuckles]

191
00:11:59,262 --> 00:12:00,847
I was never a jealous woman.

192
00:12:00,931 --> 00:12:02,098
Until your father

193
00:12:02,682 --> 00:12:03,683
met a piano.

194
00:12:04,476 --> 00:12:05,894
[Zahir's father chuckles]

195
00:12:05,977 --> 00:12:09,064
When I was your age,

196
00:12:09,147 --> 00:12:11,816
the Taliban were not here.

197
00:12:11,900 --> 00:12:12,734
It was the Russians

198
00:12:12,817 --> 00:12:14,986
that tried to destroy our culture.

199
00:12:15,487 --> 00:12:16,446
Don't tell anyone.

200
00:12:17,113 --> 00:12:19,741
The Russians did one good thing.

201
00:12:19,824 --> 00:12:22,202
They brought pianos.

202
00:12:22,702 --> 00:12:25,872
Most have been destroyed now.

203
00:12:27,290 --> 00:12:28,500
Maybe

204
00:12:28,583 --> 00:12:32,420
only a few left in the whole country.

205
00:12:32,504 --> 00:12:34,798
Will they ever come back,

206
00:12:34,881 --> 00:12:37,008
the Russians with their pianos?

207
00:12:37,092 --> 00:12:38,176
[chuckles] No.

208
00:12:38,718 --> 00:12:40,971
They bowed their heads and fled.

209
00:12:42,097 --> 00:12:44,808
And one day, so will the Taliban.

210
00:12:44,891 --> 00:12:50,438
Even until eternity,
no one can tell Afghans what to do.

211
00:12:50,522 --> 00:12:51,356
Understood?

212
00:12:52,440 --> 00:12:53,441
[chuckles]

213
00:12:59,155 --> 00:13:00,615
[explosion]

214
00:13:00,699 --> 00:13:02,117
-[breathes shakily, speaks Dari]
-[neighbors clamoring]

215
00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:03,118
It's going to be okay.

216
00:13:03,743 --> 00:13:05,579
-Zahir!
-Get down! Stay there!

217
00:13:07,247 --> 00:13:08,790
[boss, in English] Hey, where are you?

218
00:13:09,499 --> 00:13:11,751
-[clicks fingers, claps]
-Hey! Zahir, where are you?

219
00:13:12,460 --> 00:13:15,380
Picasso, Picasso.

220
00:13:15,463 --> 00:13:18,758
-Will it kill you if you go a bit faster?
-[laughs]

221
00:13:18,842 --> 00:13:19,843
[imitates paintbrush]

222
00:13:22,929 --> 00:13:24,264
Why doesn't he bother you?

223
00:13:25,265 --> 00:13:29,769
Because I am… [imitates chicken]
…chicken king.

224
00:13:30,353 --> 00:13:31,897
-[laughs]
-[chuckles]

225
00:13:31,980 --> 00:13:32,981
Yo.

226
00:13:34,733 --> 00:13:36,276
[whistles] Your turn.

227
00:13:38,069 --> 00:13:39,738
Yeah, man, I wanna return this.

228
00:13:40,322 --> 00:13:42,616
Sir, I'm very sorry. I-- I cannot.

229
00:13:42,699 --> 00:13:46,786
Come on, man. You can see,
I haven't touched the tender or the wing.

230
00:13:46,870 --> 00:13:48,705
Look,
they're still separated by the paper.

231
00:13:49,205 --> 00:13:52,375
I cannot today. I will be fired.

232
00:13:52,959 --> 00:13:55,170
Whatever happened to
"The customer's always right"?

233
00:13:55,670 --> 00:14:00,008
I don't know. It's not possible
for someone to always be right.

234
00:14:00,091 --> 00:14:01,927
Yes, it is.

235
00:14:02,010 --> 00:14:05,055
I mean, that's the whole point
of being a goddamn customer!

236
00:14:06,765 --> 00:14:11,937
You know what, man? This is what is wrong
with this goddamn country!

237
00:14:13,021 --> 00:14:15,023
There's no accountability!

238
00:14:16,858 --> 00:14:18,860
Huh? You looking at me?

239
00:14:21,154 --> 00:14:23,990
A corporation has got to protect
its community.

240
00:14:24,908 --> 00:14:26,326
[shouting] You know I live here?

241
00:14:27,202 --> 00:14:29,454
This is my neighborhood!
Where'd you come from?

242
00:14:30,455 --> 00:14:32,040
You got a problem with me, man.

243
00:14:33,375 --> 00:14:36,294
Look at me! You got a problem with me!

244
00:14:42,217 --> 00:14:44,469
What'd you say to that guy, man?

245
00:14:44,553 --> 00:14:46,471
He's totally crazy. [chuckles]

246
00:14:51,893 --> 00:14:54,145
Zahir. Zahir!

247
00:14:54,229 --> 00:14:55,480
[in Dari] He's got a gun!

248
00:14:56,064 --> 00:14:57,065
Zahir!

249
00:14:57,691 --> 00:15:00,235
[grunting, yelling]

250
00:15:00,944 --> 00:15:02,529
-[customer] Hey!
-[speaking Dari]

251
00:15:02,612 --> 00:15:04,281
Get down! Get down!

252
00:15:04,364 --> 00:15:05,532
What should we do?

253
00:15:05,615 --> 00:15:06,491
Get down! Stay down!

254
00:15:06,575 --> 00:15:08,535
-[breathing heavily]
-[in English] Hey! Let me in!

255
00:15:08,618 --> 00:15:10,453
-[banging]
-What's going on in here?

256
00:15:10,537 --> 00:15:12,581
Get down! Get down! Stay there!

257
00:15:12,664 --> 00:15:15,292
Come on, man,
I just wanna tell you that I'm sorry!

258
00:15:16,084 --> 00:15:17,794
I can tell you're still in there!

259
00:15:17,878 --> 00:15:19,921
[banging]

260
00:15:20,005 --> 00:15:21,172
-[customer] Let me in!
-[muttering]

261
00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:24,968
[friend grunts, mutters]

262
00:15:25,051 --> 00:15:26,261
Assholes!

263
00:15:26,344 --> 00:15:29,139
-[friend breathing heavily]
-[siren wailing in distance]

264
00:15:29,806 --> 00:15:32,100
[grunts, breathing heavily]

265
00:15:34,060 --> 00:15:36,062
[siren approaching]

266
00:15:38,899 --> 00:15:41,651
We used to play with the bullets
we found in the street.

267
00:15:43,194 --> 00:15:45,614
We went to the roof
to watch the artillery fire.

268
00:15:47,198 --> 00:15:48,909
We were born in a civil war.

269
00:15:50,744 --> 00:15:52,871
We survived two bombings in our school.

270
00:15:53,872 --> 00:15:57,417
But we nearly get killed
for three and a half pieces of chicken.

271
00:15:58,835 --> 00:16:02,339
When we decided to stay here,
this is not how I thought it would be.

272
00:16:03,882 --> 00:16:05,884
We came here for the American dream, but…

273
00:16:05,967 --> 00:16:07,594
[indistinct]

274
00:16:12,766 --> 00:16:15,393
[breathes deeply]

275
00:16:19,272 --> 00:16:21,983
[rhythmic clicking]

276
00:16:25,904 --> 00:16:28,240
[rhythmic slurping]

277
00:16:31,076 --> 00:16:33,536
[rhythmic tapping]

278
00:16:36,915 --> 00:16:38,583
[foot tapping]

279
00:16:40,001 --> 00:16:42,462
[friend]
It's not like it's even a full chicken.

280
00:16:42,546 --> 00:16:45,131
It's for three and a half pieces
of chicken that--

281
00:16:47,175 --> 00:16:49,427
-What?
-[breathes deeply]

282
00:16:50,971 --> 00:16:52,430
I need a piano.

283
00:16:53,390 --> 00:16:54,975
-[breathes shakily]
-[slaps leg]

284
00:16:56,643 --> 00:16:58,353
[people chattering in Cantonese]

285
00:16:59,771 --> 00:17:01,356
[in English] How much for this?

286
00:17:01,439 --> 00:17:02,482
[in Cantonese] Eighty dollars.

287
00:17:03,358 --> 00:17:04,191
Eighty dollars.

288
00:17:07,445 --> 00:17:08,405
You want speakers too?

289
00:17:08,487 --> 00:17:10,114
-I'm short. Twenty dollars more.
-What?

290
00:17:10,198 --> 00:17:11,032
[in Cantonese] Great speakers.

291
00:17:11,116 --> 00:17:12,867
Very good quality.

292
00:17:17,747 --> 00:17:18,582
Thank you.

293
00:17:30,552 --> 00:17:32,846
[in English] Um. Oh, yeah.

294
00:17:32,929 --> 00:17:34,890
[in Dari] Perfect. We'll put it there.

295
00:17:37,350 --> 00:17:38,685
Here you go.

296
00:17:40,270 --> 00:17:42,439
-[exhales deeply]
-[in English] Okay.

297
00:17:45,108 --> 00:17:46,192
[sighs]

298
00:17:46,776 --> 00:17:48,445
[breathes deeply]

299
00:17:51,239 --> 00:17:53,700
[upbeat music playing]

300
00:17:53,783 --> 00:17:55,785
-[laughs]
-[chuckles]

301
00:17:55,869 --> 00:17:57,871
Looks like you have
a whole orchestra there with you.

302
00:17:57,954 --> 00:18:00,832
Now I know why this is so cheap.
You cannot play this.

303
00:18:00,916 --> 00:18:03,835
Okay. Okay. Let's see.

304
00:18:04,544 --> 00:18:06,171
-Ah, "Piano tones.
-[music ends]

305
00:18:06,963 --> 00:18:09,591
Grand? Classical? Rock? Jazz?"

306
00:18:10,967 --> 00:18:13,386
-Grand.
-Good choice. Good choice.

307
00:18:13,470 --> 00:18:14,888
Hmm. Grand.

308
00:18:15,597 --> 00:18:16,598
Um…

309
00:18:17,599 --> 00:18:20,477
You are sure you don't want to wear
something more… [clicks tongue]

310
00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:22,103
…appropriate for the setting?

311
00:18:24,564 --> 00:18:26,107
[chuckles] Okay. Okay.

312
00:18:26,858 --> 00:18:28,485
[in Dari] Take it away. [grunts]

313
00:18:30,946 --> 00:18:32,322
[exhales deeply]

314
00:18:34,574 --> 00:18:35,951
[improvising on keyboard]

315
00:18:45,961 --> 00:18:48,129
-[Zahir's family cheering]
-[keyboard continues]

316
00:18:48,213 --> 00:18:50,340
[Zahir's father, in Dari]
Long live Afghanistan!

317
00:18:50,423 --> 00:18:51,716
Zahir, come!

318
00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:53,426
Come look!

319
00:18:53,510 --> 00:18:55,845
The Taliban are gone!

320
00:18:55,929 --> 00:18:58,932
[Zahir's father] Long live Afghanistan!

321
00:18:59,015 --> 00:19:02,018
-[people cheering, applauding]
-[keyboard continues]

322
00:19:04,938 --> 00:19:09,150
[Zahir's grandparent]
Thank God, my children. Thank God.

323
00:19:10,110 --> 00:19:10,944
Thank God.

324
00:19:11,027 --> 00:19:11,903
[chuckles]

325
00:19:11,987 --> 00:19:14,406
["Für Elise" playing on speaker]

326
00:19:15,615 --> 00:19:16,783
[Zahir's father] Whoo!

327
00:19:24,457 --> 00:19:25,792
[asylum officer, in English]
Did something change?

328
00:19:25,875 --> 00:19:28,003
-[chuckles]
-["Für Elise" ends]

329
00:19:28,086 --> 00:19:30,839
No. Well, yes. Well, maybe. [chuckles]

330
00:19:30,922 --> 00:19:31,965
Thank you.

331
00:19:32,048 --> 00:19:35,427
And also, for seeing me
on such short notice.

332
00:19:36,136 --> 00:19:39,014
You tell me your daughter goes to a school
to study piano.

333
00:19:40,265 --> 00:19:42,893
Do you think it is possible
I also can go to a school like that?

334
00:19:44,060 --> 00:19:45,061
Um…

335
00:19:46,313 --> 00:19:50,108
Well, these schools are
very difficult to get into.

336
00:19:50,191 --> 00:19:51,693
Yes, I understand this.

337
00:19:52,903 --> 00:19:55,780
You would need time
to prepare an audition.

338
00:19:55,864 --> 00:19:57,866
Yes. I will do this.

339
00:19:59,451 --> 00:20:02,829
Well, there is someone I know
who you may be able to play for.

340
00:20:03,955 --> 00:20:06,458
-But how serious are you about this?
-Very.

341
00:20:08,668 --> 00:20:10,921
-Okay, then.
-Okay? Thank you.

342
00:20:11,004 --> 00:20:11,838
[chuckles]

343
00:20:11,922 --> 00:20:15,342
And also, about my mother.
When do you think she'll be able to come?

344
00:20:17,719 --> 00:20:18,929
The process takes time.

345
00:20:19,429 --> 00:20:21,348
We're doing everything we can right now.

346
00:20:21,848 --> 00:20:25,894
[playing tentatively]

347
00:20:45,413 --> 00:20:48,291
[playing variations on theme]

348
00:20:54,881 --> 00:20:56,925
[keyboard continues]

349
00:21:10,105 --> 00:21:11,398
[groans]

350
00:21:11,481 --> 00:21:13,483
[tempo increasing]

351
00:21:18,822 --> 00:21:21,616
[keyboard continues]

352
00:21:21,700 --> 00:21:25,078
[rhythmic rattling, footsteps]

353
00:21:27,706 --> 00:21:28,748
[horn honking rhythmically]

354
00:21:28,832 --> 00:21:30,333
-[dissonant chord]
-[music stops]

355
00:21:34,379 --> 00:21:35,380
[groans]

356
00:22:14,211 --> 00:22:15,670
[exhales deeply]

357
00:22:17,631 --> 00:22:18,632
What are you doing?

358
00:22:19,841 --> 00:22:21,301
I don't know what I'm doing.

359
00:22:21,384 --> 00:22:24,262
My audition is tomorrow,
and I'm not prepared.

360
00:22:24,346 --> 00:22:25,430
You're not prepared?

361
00:22:25,513 --> 00:22:27,724
I have seen you prepare so much
even I am prepared.

362
00:22:27,807 --> 00:22:30,477
My mother thinks
I have a contract with the orchestra.

363
00:22:31,394 --> 00:22:33,563
What happens
if I cannot get into a school?

364
00:22:34,481 --> 00:22:37,108
She will come here,
and she will see that I'm making chicken.

365
00:22:37,192 --> 00:22:38,401
[laughs]

366
00:22:38,485 --> 00:22:41,112
She won't see you making chicken.
She'll see you burning the chicken.

367
00:22:41,196 --> 00:22:42,280
[laughs]

368
00:22:44,658 --> 00:22:48,703
Zahir, you will get into that school.

369
00:22:49,955 --> 00:22:53,166
And when she comes, you will play for her
like you have promised.

370
00:22:54,584 --> 00:22:57,337
Now get back to work. Not too loud.

371
00:22:57,420 --> 00:22:58,630
[grunts]

372
00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:04,761
[exhales deeply]

373
00:23:20,652 --> 00:23:23,405
They're just running behind.
She'll be here in a minute.

374
00:23:25,574 --> 00:23:30,036
Have you heard any more about my mother,
about my progress?

375
00:23:31,204 --> 00:23:32,914
Let's talk about that after. Okay?

376
00:23:33,415 --> 00:23:34,791
So you have heard something?

377
00:23:36,001 --> 00:23:39,170
We're here for your audition.
Let's just focus on that.

378
00:23:39,254 --> 00:23:41,423
If it's about my mother,
then I need to know now.

379
00:23:41,506 --> 00:23:44,509
-[breathes shakily]
-There's just been some policy changes.

380
00:23:44,593 --> 00:23:46,428
How much longer before I can bring her?

381
00:23:48,179 --> 00:23:52,309
[sighs]
They're classifying certain countries as--

382
00:23:53,894 --> 00:23:55,645
Look, it could be many, many years.

383
00:23:56,271 --> 00:23:57,522
[door opens]

384
00:23:58,189 --> 00:23:59,441
Zahir, this is Karen.

385
00:23:59,524 --> 00:24:01,651
She works in admissions
here at the school.

386
00:24:04,738 --> 00:24:07,365
Reena tells me
you've prepared an original composition.

387
00:24:08,158 --> 00:24:09,492
Yes, that is correct.

388
00:24:09,576 --> 00:24:10,952
Do you have a title for it?

389
00:24:11,995 --> 00:24:13,622
[shakily]
It is called "Poem for My Mother."

390
00:24:13,705 --> 00:24:16,333
-[chuckles]
-Well, I'd love to hear it.

391
00:24:18,501 --> 00:24:20,420
[sniffles, breathes shakily]

392
00:24:23,840 --> 00:24:24,883
[Zahir groans]

393
00:24:41,608 --> 00:24:42,609
[plays foul note]

394
00:24:49,824 --> 00:24:52,285
-[inhales deeply]
-[Zahir's father] Zahir. Zahir.

395
00:24:53,161 --> 00:24:54,579
[in Dari] Come! Come! Come quick!

396
00:24:54,663 --> 00:24:55,914
I have a surprise!

397
00:24:57,123 --> 00:24:59,084
Excuse us. Please, make room for my son.

398
00:24:59,876 --> 00:25:00,919
Please, make room.

399
00:25:02,712 --> 00:25:04,506
Excuse us. Please move.

400
00:25:05,465 --> 00:25:06,466
Excuse me, brother.

401
00:25:06,550 --> 00:25:07,634
[diggers grunting]

402
00:25:10,762 --> 00:25:11,846
[digger 1] We found it!

403
00:25:11,930 --> 00:25:15,016
-[laughing]
-[digger 2 speaks Dari, laughs]

404
00:25:15,100 --> 00:25:16,685
[exhales deeply]

405
00:25:44,379 --> 00:25:46,923
-[diggers, onlookers chattering]
-[piano continues]

406
00:25:52,762 --> 00:25:53,763
[speaks Dari]

407
00:26:00,604 --> 00:26:04,024
[diggers grunting]

408
00:26:09,112 --> 00:26:11,948
[chuckles]

409
00:26:26,504 --> 00:26:28,506
-[piano continues]
-[chattering in Dari]

410
00:26:46,483 --> 00:26:49,778
[straining, grunting]

411
00:26:49,861 --> 00:26:52,030
[onlookers cheering]

412
00:26:55,909 --> 00:26:58,161
[cheering]

413
00:27:38,368 --> 00:27:40,245
[intensity increases]

414
00:27:40,328 --> 00:27:42,372
[chattering in Dari]

415
00:27:53,174 --> 00:27:54,175
[music ends]

416
00:27:54,259 --> 00:27:55,385
Go on, my son.

417
00:27:55,468 --> 00:27:56,595
Touch it.

418
00:28:02,350 --> 00:28:03,727
Don't be afraid. I am here.

419
00:28:22,078 --> 00:28:25,415
-[in English] So?
-[breathing heavily]

420
00:28:25,498 --> 00:28:26,416
[in Dari] You did it?

421
00:28:26,499 --> 00:28:29,169
Oh brother, come here!

422
00:28:29,252 --> 00:28:30,378
Well done!

423
00:28:30,462 --> 00:28:31,671
The boy's going places!

424
00:28:32,422 --> 00:28:33,548
Come eat.

425
00:28:33,632 --> 00:28:36,676
-[in English] What is all this?
-We are celebrating your success.

426
00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:39,679
There's nothing to celebrate.
I'm turning it down.

427
00:28:41,890 --> 00:28:45,143
-What? W-W-What you are talking about?
-My mother. They changed the rules.

428
00:28:45,227 --> 00:28:48,146
They're making it impossible
for her to come. I have to go home.

429
00:28:48,230 --> 00:28:50,649
No. No. No, no, no, no, no, no. You c--

430
00:28:51,483 --> 00:28:54,319
You can't leave. You can't leave.
[stammers] They won't let you back in.

431
00:28:54,402 --> 00:28:56,780
-It's not safe for you back home.
-It's not safe for us here.

432
00:28:56,863 --> 00:28:59,115
We almost got killed
over some chicken bones.

433
00:28:59,199 --> 00:29:01,076
[in Dari] I missed my father's funeral.

434
00:29:01,159 --> 00:29:03,620
[in English] If I stay here…
[in Dari] …I will miss my mother's too.

435
00:29:03,703 --> 00:29:06,539
[in English] Zahir, you don't know that.

436
00:29:07,123 --> 00:29:09,125
The only thing for certain is
they change rules

437
00:29:09,209 --> 00:29:10,961
a-and then they change them again.

438
00:29:12,087 --> 00:29:14,589
You have been lying to your mother
to make her happy, yes?

439
00:29:15,131 --> 00:29:17,175
-Now this, the truth, will make her happy.
-[sighs]

440
00:29:17,259 --> 00:29:19,094
This. This is what she wants for you.
Zahir…

441
00:29:20,470 --> 00:29:22,597
[in Dari] The Prophet was exiled.

442
00:29:22,681 --> 00:29:23,890
They tried to kill him.

443
00:29:23,974 --> 00:29:24,891
He lost his sons.

444
00:29:25,642 --> 00:29:27,143
But he always knew his calling.

445
00:29:27,769 --> 00:29:29,729
-[sighs]
-Zahir.

446
00:29:30,272 --> 00:29:33,191
You could never be who you were
supposed to be in Afghanistan.

447
00:29:33,984 --> 00:29:37,237
That is why you have been delivered here.
So do what you came to do.

448
00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:38,488
[in English] Okay?

449
00:29:38,572 --> 00:29:39,573
[in Dari] Come here.

450
00:29:41,116 --> 00:29:42,242
[in English] Crazy.

451
00:29:43,994 --> 00:29:44,953
Yeah?

452
00:29:45,453 --> 00:29:46,454
My mother's recipe.

453
00:29:46,538 --> 00:29:48,373
[in Dari] Come eat. Sit.

454
00:29:48,456 --> 00:29:51,334
[grunts, sighs]

455
00:29:55,213 --> 00:29:56,214
[in English] Zahir, come on.

456
00:29:57,340 --> 00:29:58,174
[in Dari] Eat.

457
00:29:58,258 --> 00:29:59,843
[exhales heavily]

458
00:30:03,263 --> 00:30:07,183
[in English]
Eat well. Dress well. Life is short.

459
00:30:08,602 --> 00:30:10,729
-[chuckles]
-[chuckles]

460
00:30:14,190 --> 00:30:16,234
[both cough]

461
00:30:16,318 --> 00:30:17,402
[clears throat]

462
00:30:17,485 --> 00:30:18,486
-What is this?
-I don't know.

463
00:30:18,570 --> 00:30:21,573
My mother always uses these spices.
[coughs]

464
00:30:21,656 --> 00:30:24,034
I can only make fried chicken.
[inhales sharply]

465
00:30:24,117 --> 00:30:26,286
-I can't even do that.
-[friend laughs]

466
00:30:26,369 --> 00:30:29,080
Oh, no more burning chicken.
You are now big musician, yeah.

467
00:30:29,164 --> 00:30:30,498
[laughs]

468
00:30:45,222 --> 00:30:46,723
[Zahir's mother gasps]

469
00:30:46,806 --> 00:30:49,935
[in Dari]
Light of my eye, you grew up so fast.

470
00:30:51,853 --> 00:30:52,854
What is it?

471
00:30:52,938 --> 00:30:53,939
Hmm?

472
00:30:56,650 --> 00:30:57,943
It isn't too tight?

473
00:30:59,236 --> 00:31:00,403
What if…

474
00:31:00,487 --> 00:31:05,033
What if I'm not good enough
to play in America?

475
00:31:05,116 --> 00:31:06,785
[chuckles]

476
00:31:06,868 --> 00:31:08,328
This is not up to you.

477
00:31:09,287 --> 00:31:11,122
It has already been written,

478
00:31:11,873 --> 00:31:17,671
just like the music.

479
00:31:17,754 --> 00:31:18,588
[chuckles]

480
00:31:18,672 --> 00:31:21,258
Before you even saw a piano,

481
00:31:22,008 --> 00:31:24,427
you were better than most pianists.

482
00:31:30,684 --> 00:31:32,519
[students chattering]

483
00:32:32,537 --> 00:32:34,497
[Zahir's father vocalizes]

484
00:32:35,665 --> 00:32:38,126
♪ That was G ♪

485
00:32:39,544 --> 00:32:41,713
Fifty-two white,

486
00:32:42,297 --> 00:32:44,549
thirty-six black.

487
00:32:44,633 --> 00:32:47,177
Now there is one more piano in Kabul.

488
00:32:47,260 --> 00:32:48,553
Pick another one.

489
00:32:49,262 --> 00:32:50,889
♪ C… ♪

490
00:32:50,972 --> 00:32:51,890
Mmm.

491
00:32:51,973 --> 00:32:53,308
One of my favorites.

492
00:32:53,391 --> 00:32:56,019
-♪ C… ♪
-[vocalizes]

493
00:32:56,102 --> 00:32:59,105
-[singing scales in Dari]
-[vocalizing]

494
00:33:07,781 --> 00:33:11,618
-[Zahir's mother laughs]
-[singing scales]

495
00:33:12,869 --> 00:33:13,703
Play some more!

496
00:33:14,287 --> 00:33:16,706
[piano playing]