- Everybody knew that the
word "Xibalba" meant devil,
and King Xibalba was actually
protected by the god of death.
He was the fire and the storm,
the most evil of all kings.
He tried to exterminate the
Kaqchiwa tribe, but failed,
and when he understood his
failure, he preferred to escape.
He waited until dusk, since
he knew how to disappear
into the darkness of the night.
He knew that the twilight is
a fracture between two worlds
and only in that brief
moment is it possible to pass
with the wind from life into death,
but before disappearing,
King Xibalba swore to return
one day to seek revenge,
to tear the heart from the
chest of each Kaqchiwa.
"I will do it with my own hands,"
said Xibalba,
"one by one."
Time to go, Luis.
Let's Y anchor it.
Jose, when is
Xibalba going to return?
- Nobody knows, but it
Is certain to happen
when the blood flows
from the body of a man
who is able to cross the border
of the world of the living
to that one of the dead.
- Why? Do the dead also
have a land of their own?
- Yes, but their land's
very different from ours.
Can one go to see them?
Yes, one can.
- And when they do, can they come back?
- It is a difficult
journey that only a few
manage to accomplish,
to go and to come back.
- I have surrendered, Francisco,
without your help and
without waiting for you.
I know the power that governs my destiny
and I know that I have crossed that border
that we've been researching
together all these years.
I'm frightened, Francisco.
I know that I will not be
able to come back again,
because the mountain
Is waiting for me now.
- Salomon?
Your glasses.
- Ah, thank you, Maria.
I forgot.
- I'll wait for you.
Hell.
- Come on.
- I gotta go.
- Can I have this?
- You like that, Jahaira?
Si, mucho.
- Okay, but not 'til I leave.
I'll let you keep it as a souvenir, okay?
- Why are you so attached to it?
I want it now.
Come on.
No, no.
Peter.
Peter, put me down.
Come on.
- Let me go, Peter.
Oh, Peter, Peter.
- In we go.
Put me down.
Come on.
Heh heh. Cool off, baby.
Hasta luego.
- Bastard.
- Only an hour ago, they were
still in the water, Seor.
These are really fresh ones.
I can already smell the
perfume of a barracuda soup.
It's the tastiest soup you can eat, Seor.
Who knows how many of these
fellows you have found
swimming around you with
all that diving you do?
I would be very scared if I had them
coming toward me with their
sound of chattering teeth.
Oh, Senior. The deal three days
ago... you haven't paid me.
Today is Tuesday.
You see, the shellfish for
the restaurant are $15,
and the lobsters you got were another $15.
I need --
- For the celebration of the dead?
- Ah, si, Seor, for the celebration.
The procession will
also pass by the market.
Now, what about the bill of
last month for the marlin steaks
you bought for the gringo?
I thought I paid you for those.
- No, no way Seor.
You never did.
It's not fair.
You buy my fish
and not pay for them.
- Oh, don't worry about it.
- Seor, you owe me $40.
Seor, what am I going to do?
When are you going to pay me?
- Hey, bueno, bueno.
All right, I'll cover that.
You're on.
Thank you.
You got this, gracias.
- I never gamble, Seor.
I figure if I never gamble, I never lose.
Five dollars for a case of beer.
- Your bill will be paid on Saturday.
Is that okay?
- No, Seor.
Hey, Seor, nobody works next Saturday.
Saturday is the celebration
of the dead, Seor.
You have to pay me that money.
- Come on, Chet, push it.
sh*t, this place is deader
than a church on Monday.
Is there anybody in this filthy place?
Oh, God.
Hot diggity damn, Chet.
Look at that.
Wow, miss enchilada.
Hey, Chet, where did this come from?
- Full t*nk, Seor?
- Mm-hmm.
My, oh my, things are
picking up in this old bird.
Look at this.
- Whatever you like, honey.
Full t*nk, oil, and you
can give me a lube job
while you're at it.
Here.
Hey, Chet,
you're a real pig, man.
You got her wet all over.
Now, don't worry, darling.
I'm going to dry you off.
You got a live one, Larry.
- Why the f*ck you laughing?
You're gonna pay for this, slut.
You're gonna pay for this.
I only wanted to be kind
to you and you do this.
God damn sp*cs.
- Any problems, Jahaira?
- No, no more than the usual.
That bitch just
soaked me with gasoline.
- I think it's better
you go and have a wash.
- Yeah, and I think that's
none of your business, buddy-o.
Now, why don't you just piss off?
sh*t, haul ass, Chet.
- God bless America.
Is this your father?
- It's him.
Who k*lled him?
- This is a quiet place, Seorita.
Good people live here.
- You mean, you don't know who's done it?
- No, not yet.
Seorita Slivak, I've been
a policeman for 20 years.
I used to meet your
father almost every day.
He wasn't the sort of
person who talked a lot,
but he was liked and respected.
He minded his own business.
He didn't have enemies.
I don't know anybody who would
savage a person in this way.
Oh, God.
- I am sorry, Seorita.
I know it's a terrible thing to see.
We found him on the road, near his car.
- Did anyone see or hear anything?
- No one.
I was a good friend of your father.
- This is Dr. Santos, the forensic doctor.
He performed the autopsy.
- I knew you were coming
today for the identification.
Your father often spoke of you.
- It's been a long time
since I last saw him,
since he left New York.
- Let's go outside.
There's nothing more you can do here.
Come on.
Ah, that is Maria.
She lived with your
father since he came here.
- Ah.
We must be more careful, Jayna.
We must protect...
- The profits of our business.
- That's right.
I have a suspicion that too
much is being given away
in this place, isn't that true Laura?
- I'll do it.
- Little to the left, little to the right,
and there we go.
Hell, they're off, off, off, off.
- In one week, you've asked
me for $20 for flowers
to send to your aunt, another
$30 for the extraction
of a back tooth, then you
hit me for another $30
to lift an impacted wisdom tooth.
You'll remain toothless, my friend.
For all the money you owe
me, you're going to be
working for me until October.
So no more now.
- Okay.
Do you work in this restaurant?
- I'm the owner of this restaurant.
- Oh, you're lucky.
I know a lot of people that'd
like to own a place like this.
- Here.
Rum, few drops of lime
juice, plenty of ice.
You'll like it.
- Really?
Instead of having to take
the subway every day?
- On holiday?
- No, it isn't a holiday.
You know, you know
what the Mayas used to say?
No, what did the Mayas say?
- That at the edge of the world,
there is only water and
it's here that the edge of
the world and the sky meet.
That's a good reason to live
here, at least for the moment.
Where'd you find this?
In my father's study.
- You're Salomon's daughter.
- There are many pictures
of you with my father.
- We went fishing together.
- Who are the other people
my father used to see?
- You wanna know who m*rder*d him.
- It's the only reason I'm here.
- He was a loner.
People liked him, though.
- Then why'd it happen?
- I don't know.
Listen, I gotta go.
There are things to do.
We'll see each other around.
It's pretty impossible not
to in a place like this.
Here you go, Larry.
Sure ain't like the,
but it does the trick.
Yeah, just so
it fills up the glass.
Got you covered.
Bang, bang.
- It's time to go to bed, kids.
- What?
You really piss me off, old man.
You always spoil people's fun
in the middle of a party, huh?
Oh, come on, Larry.
Let's get outta here.
Let's go somewhere else.
- Wait a minute.
Wait, wait a minute.
What do you think, that you could treat us
like these shitty Mexicans, huh?
- Go home, the party's over.
- I'm gonna show you something, Sid, yeah.
You know the difference
between your customers and us?
We don't believe in their
superstitions, idols, or celebrations.
We piss on em.
Look, man,
and we are fearless.
Watch this.
Now, this is the reason
why you can't throw us out.
Nobody can, nobody.
Hey, what?
What are you doing?
Ah, ah, god damn.
- We have many diseases here.
You boys better be careful
you don't catch any.
- Yeah, and you let go of my arm.
Shut up, bitch, shut up.
- Hey, Larry, take it easy.
Don't hurt her.
Come on, Larry, play it cool.
I'll hold her for you.
We have plenty of time.
Don't be stupid.
Don't lose your --
- g*dd*mn, shut up.
Shut up.
You didn't know we was gonna have
this kind of party for a time, did you?
Not that it's gonna be a
long party full of surprises.
- You see, we're gonna have fun.
- Rip this off.
Come on, there you go.
On.
- What badonkers.
- Look at those.
Shh, shh, shh, shh.
There we are. Ole!
Now get a load of this.
This is my w*apon, huh?
- Hey, are you trying to scare us?
You're monstrous, Larry.
- Do it quickly.
- Yeah.
- Hey, when you got the right argument,
it's easy to convince people.
Don't you wanna, huh?
Oh, yeah.
- Quit being an assh*le, as usual.
You are an assh*le, man.
- I think she's gonna fill
our t*nk for free tonight.
You better believe it.
Slamming around.
- Oh, come on, man.
You'll ruin the car this way.
I already told you once.
- Oh.
"Oh, come on, man.
You'll ruin the car this way.
I already told you once."
Nah.
Check the oil and the water too.
- Okay, man.
Have you found her yet?
- No, not yet.
Well, what have we here?
Money? Real money?
Money, money.
Ah, chica.
She's hiding around here somewhere.
We'll find you, you'll see.
Hey, Chet?
Hey, Chet?
Chet?
sh*t.
g*dd*mn it.
You're a real dodo, you know?
Hey, Chet.
Come on.
Hey, Chet.
Come out.
Chet, I don't think this is funny.
Chet, come on.
sh*t.
So there's the idiot.
Come on, Chet, quit it.
Wait a damn minute.
Look what I got.
A picture, picture, picture, picture.
A picture of Chiquita banana, look.
Okay, I'm stopping, I'm stopping.
Stop, I'm stopping, I'm stopping.
Damn it, stop.
Come on, man.
sh*t.
sh*t.
sh*t.
All right, good one, Chet.
It looks real.
It looks very real.
Good, good.
Xibalba's shadow spreads over
this valley like a curse.
The menace of his revenge
IS not mere superstition
cultivated by the people
over the centuries.
It is a hidden fear that the
Kaqchiwa have always exorcized,
by any means, from
generation to generation.
It is the devil, death,
the darkness of the night,
the evil that reflects in each one of us.
- The next time I send you the signal,
you must come to the
surface immediately, Peter.
- You want this, too?
- No.
- Got a small present for you.
Just a sample of what's down below.
The wreck's encrusted,
but it's still intact.
Not even a scratch. We're
the first to arrive.
How we doing, Luis?
- It's coming.
It's a real nice helm.
- Yeah.
I opened the passage with the torch.
What we got here, old pal, is a gold mine.
- When I was a child, I could listen
to my father play for hours.
- He didn't play anymore.
It no longer helped him to
relax these past months.
You know, it's strange, Lisa.
Instead of drawing us closer,
this place had gradually
managed to part us.
I was born here and yet,
now, I feel I hate all this.
No, I never managed to
see what the charm was
that this place had for
him, although it's pretty,
but the superstitions,
the legends, the fears
and the false happiness of
these people fascinated him.
He loved these places and all
the evils related to them,
but this ancient land is
filled with ignorance,
sorrow, and strange beliefs.
All this will continue blocking our way,
for a long time,
from what we could be and are not.
- And you never thought of leaving?
- I thought that I'd go away with him.
Then everything changed.
Your father began living in a dream world
and lost touch with reality, I think.
He was looking for something
that I could never possess.
Well, now I can leave.
- Two dollars, Seorita.
Two dollars to learn the
mystery of Xibalba's pyramid.
- Okay, what's your name?
- Luis, Seorita.
- So, Luis, what's the
mystery you want to tell me?
- This is the pyramid
that King Xibalba built,
here in the volcano's crater, because fire
keeps courage warm, Seorita.
He built it for his
sacrifices in the year of 756,
not long before he declared
w*r on the Kaqchiwa tribe,
a long w*r which he wasn't able to win,
even with the help of the evil god.
But Xibalba wasn't captured,
because he managed to disappear
into the fiery sunset as the Kaqchiwa
were climbing towards him.
It is here that they
were going to k*ll him,
yet he disappeared in the wind,
and everybody says that
he will be back one day,
protected by Yum Simil, the god of death,
to tear out the heart
from the chest of all
in the Kaqchiwa tribe.
And you're not afraid?
- No, Seorita.
- You are a courageous child.
- He's a Kaqchiwa, a warrior.
Isn't that true, Luis, huh?
Now, go fast.
Jose asked for you.
- He was telling me the
legend of the pyramid.
- Ah.
Eh, Luis?
- I find it's hard to
imagine that they once
were such cruel warriors.
- Even today, their songs
relate to the bloody legend.
- I found a manuscript of my
father about Xibalba's legend.
- He was fascinated by it.
He researched it for years
and just before he d*ed, that
manuscript governed his life.
His greatest challenge, he called it.
- Yeah, and moving here,
too, was a challenge.
- It's a strange place.
You come here, you fall in love with it,
you want to stay here forever,
and one day, you find the excuse to leave,
just like when you arrived.
Hey.
- Is this a good luck charm?
- No, it's a Mayan symbol,
a present from your father.
Here, it's yours.
- No, I don't want you to --
- No, no, no, no.
Local witch doctors say that
if you ignore your instincts,
you get into deep trouble.
- I also know that there are
witch doctors in New York.
I know an agency that
hires them out by the hour.
- Yeah, but this ain't New York.
- Yes.
You mean here, witch doctors really exist.
Do you also believe the things
that people say in this place?
- Only what I see.
Kiss me?
There.
That's where it is, that
building down there.
- I won't be afraid with you.
Good, but whatever
happens, don't say a word.
- Good morning.
I want to speak with Dr. Santos, please.
- You have to wait, Seorita.
- You shouldn't be here.
- Why didn't you tell me the truth?
What's happening here?
- I don't know.
Nobody knows, at least for now.
- But I saw the same
wounds on those corpses
that my father had, you know.
Have they been k*lled in the same way?
- It's not enough to discover who did it,
or to understand why.
Behind these deaths there's a ritual...
which is part of an ancient legend
where anything is possible.
- Laura...
we'll need $70 for
tomorrow's shopping, huh?
You like all the good things, huh?
- And so do you, and you
like to play, don't you?
Thanks.
Laura, amor.
Ah, muchachos,
Saturday is going to be a day
much different from the
others. A very special day.
- Why a special one?
- The moon will become full
again for the seventh time
since the beginning of the year,
and the people will go to the pyramid
for the celebration of the dead,
and to remember the Kaqchiwa victory
over Xibalba's cursed friend.
Do you know what happened
here on the night
of the first celebration of the dead?
The Kaqchiwas took one of their young boys
and made him climb to the
top of Xibalba's pyramid,
and they sacrificed him to the god of w*r,
and on that very night,
Xibalba was defeated.
That is why we have the ceremony.
- Why all the candles?
Your birthday?
No?
Oh, we can have us a
little party anyway, hmm?
Always ready to oblige.
You always go wild on that stuff.
Yeah, baby.
- Ow!
What the f*ck is it?
- This time, I make the
rules of the game, Peter.
What's the matter?
Are you afraid?
- f*cking bitch.
I'm going home.
- Good.
You'll find your bed made.
- Peter, Peter, Peter.
Wake up, Peter.
It's Jahaira.
Come quickly.
- What is it?
What are you trying to say?
- The police are at Jahaira's house.
- Police?
Si, hurry.
Ah, good morning.
- Hi, I'm looking for Peter.
- He's not here.
Today, we are closed.
- Where can I find him?
- Wherever they're betting.
That's the way he lives.
He doesn't have the soul of a capitalist.
- Have you been living
here for a long time?
- Long enough to understand that booze
has the same taste everywhere.
Eight years.
It's a long time.
You learn many things.
I wanted to build a big hotel
and now, instead, I'm cooking fish.
Want some?
- No.
It doesn't seem so bad to me.
- I thought I'd be the
first to develop here.
I wanted to build a
fine hotel for my wife.
Have you seen her?
Well, I'm sorry to say
I see her very little.
She was convinced I was a winner
and she has bet everything
on me, but she's lost.
No, Seor.
Seor!
- Oh, no, no.
I was the last person to see her alive.
- You were together a long time?
- I don't know if one
could say we were together.
We had a thing going.
- You cared for her.
- Of course I cared for her.
I'd never harm her.
- I'm sorry, Peter.
It's an awful thing.
- Yeah, it's pretty awful.
That's it?
To you, this is just an awful thing?
Santos, they've k*lled
four people in that way.
We're partly to --
- Peter, they've k*lled people this way
for thousands of years,
and tonight, the people
will be going to the pyramid
to celebrate a feast that was a m*ssacre.
We can't stop them.
That's the way they are.
- I could have saved her.
If only I'd stayed with
her, I could have saved her.
No, you
couldn't have saved her.
Nobody could.
- sh*t.
Why did I come to this place?
- Because you thought you
could have a better life.
Isn't that what you used to say?
- Yeah, yeah,
but now I know that's not true, huh?
- Peter, what you're looking
for is only in your mind.
You should know that by now.
Your holiday is long over.
You're no longer a tourist.
Peter, my boy, when you live in a place,
it becomes like any other place.
Only the rules of the game change.
You weren't even born here.
So for you, everything is more difficult,
even for finding out the reasons why.
- Oh, Pico, why are you so nervioso, hmm?
Now, run along.
Who's there?
Where are you?
Pico?
Come out now.
- I know that you're closed tonight,
but I hope that maybe
you can make an exception
for a special customer.
- A special customer?
- A place where one can drink
is like a port for a sailor,
a place that's safe, warm,
where one departs only to return.
The special customers are like sailors.
They can make a fortune
for a place like this.
- Well, in this case, it's also unlucky,
since these customers
don't notice the hours
when we're closed, do they?
- Laura, you are the most
beautiful of all for me.
- Okay.
What do you wanna drink?
- Just a large glass of
straight bourbon and no ice.
- Okay.
What would you say to a dinner invitation,
you and I alone, hmm?
- Don't you know the rules of the place?
We can't take invitations from customers,
not even the special ones.
I already have a date, sorry.
- I'll wait.
I have plenty of time.
- Nine o'clock?
- Nine o'clock.
Oh, hi.
- So you're leaving?
- Yeah.
- Where are you going, New York?
- New York, Australia.
- What was it?
Four of a kind against a royal flush
and you had four of a kind?
Maybe.
- I think the game has
to be played to the end.
- You know, your father
was right about this place.
He said you either accept it as it is,
or you leave, simple as that.
- Yeah, and you're leaving.
- You want a coffee?
Won't be very strong.
- I found this letter.
It was in my father's things.
Do you know who Francisco is?
- Does it really matter?
- It does matter.
It's important to me.
Francisco knows how my father d*ed.
- Francisco doesn't exist.
- What does that mean?
- It means that Francisco is a pseudonym.
It's used to protect someone
who doesn't wanna be known.
- But to protect this person
from whom and from what?
- From everything and everyone.
The one who can make
the impossible possible.
Here.
- But what is all this
to do with my father?
Why did he write to Francisco?
What border was he talking about?
- The Mayans used to
say that a border exists
between our world and the
world of a reflected image.
It's the border between life and death.
That's the border your
father means in his letter.
Look inside.
The local shaman says there are two ways
of looking in a mirror.
There's a superficial way
and there's another way,
one that goes beyond the reflected image.
It's able to cross over that
line beyond which life exists,
just as death exists.
- What is this, one of your games?
- You're right.
That's what I thought.
Began like a game for the three of us,
your father, Francisco, and myself,
but only Francisco knew
the rules of the game.
- You mean Francisco is the wizard,
or as you call it, the shaman?
- Oh, yeah.
I guess you could call him a wizard,
but let's say he was something
more, something different.
He didn't change reality.
He simply was the other reality.
- Oh, oh God, tell me the truth.
- I know it isn't easy to understand,
but it isn't any easier
to explain, you know?
What we were doing is
entering this other reality.
I got scared and I passed the hand.
For your father, this
experience had become
an obsession, maybe a challenge.
He convinced Francisco to
take him beyond that line
and it became so dangerous and impassable,
it convinced even Francisco to withdraw,
but your father pushed
himself even beyond him
and beyond that line, he's found death.
- But where is Francisco now?
Take me to him.
- Forget about Francisco.
There's nothing he can do.
Nobody can do anything now.
- Yeah, Maria's right.
This place is filled with superstition.
In the face of death, you
don't have the courage
to face reality directly and take action.
So you invent a different
one, one that suits you, huh?
The real one frightens you, admit it.
Oh, oh, look at yourself, Peter.
Aren't you escaping,
just like my father did?
Oh, sh*t.
You are late.
I'm here now.
- Ah, si, mi amor.
- No, no porque.
- Why?
- I don't want to.
Why not?
Te quiero.
Te quiero mucho.
- I don't want to see you anymore.
It's all over between us.
We wouldn't have gone anywhere.
- You've chosen a fine
time to get rid of me.
What is it?
You found someone else?
- No, I don't want anyone else.
If this is the last time,
let's say goodbye with a nice moment.
No, no.
No.
No, no.
No.
I don't want to!
- There's some son of a bitch up here.
There's a place in my heart
There's a place in my heart
- We are closed tonight!
I said we're closed.
I said we're closed.
Go away.
Who's there?
Hey.
Who's there?
Who's there?
Who's there?
Show yourself.
- Hello.
Hello?
Ah, buenas
tardes, Seorita Slivak.
- I'm looking for a man called Francisco,
a friend of my father.
- Francisco, you say?
It's a common name.
There are plenty of
Franciscos around here.
- I know it's not his real name.
The person I'm looking
for has a different name.
- You are looking for Francisco
who isn't called Francisco?
That's right.
- Well, Seorita Slivak, you are asking
for something difficult, but
if this Francisco exists,
he will be certainly at the pyramid.
Everybody will be at the pyramid tonight.
It is the celebration of the dead.
- No, no.
No, no.
No, no.
Open up!
Open up.
I know you're in there.
Francisco.
You know what's happening, don't you?
The time has come, my friend.
You're the only one that
can stop this m*ssacre.
There's
nothing left to be done.
- You'll do it now.
I don't give a f*ck if you're scared.
- It's useless.
There's nothing left to be done.
- You do what Slivak did.
You do it here.
You do it now.
You do it now.
I thought I'd seen the last of this thing.
- Let's start.
Here, Luis.
- Mama, I'm scared.
- Oh, come now.
Don't you know all the
boys would like to be
in your place tonight?
It's an honor you were chosen.
- Are you coming with me?
- No, now put this on.
I'll watch you from here.
You are my warrior and
the Kaqchiwa warriors
go to fight without their mothers.
- Now remember, Peter, whatever happens,
keep your hands on the table.
If you can't stand what you
see, you can close your eyes,
but don't let go.
We can cross over the border, I think,
but I'll need your help,
Peter, you know that.
- No. No!
- Peter!
Come on!
Hold the table.
You've got to, Peter.
- Doctor!
No!
No!
- New York?
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
The tickets?
- I gave them to you.
They must be here someplace.
I'm sorry.
Just a minute, I'll find them.
Damn.
- Hey.
Next.
- Hey, kid.
Hey, wait a minute.
Maya (1989)
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