Genesis (2016)

[bunniefuu]

Jochebed narrating:
Here we are...

in the same place you left us.

If we reach out,
will you reach back?

We want to trust you.

[ crickets chirping ]

Do you have everything you need?

Yes.
Thank you.

I'll come back
with something to eat.

If they find you here,

I'll say you came on your own.

That I don't know you.

Don't make me sorry
for helping you.

I won't.

Jochebed:
My son...

Carry these words
for all of your days.

The Creator scattered beauty

across the face of the earth

and throughout the skies.

He wove the stars and the
earth together with the seas

and gave us a home.

[ gasps ]

God made man in his own image.

And man lived free in his heart.

The whisper of creation
led him up to high places.

And he saw the earth
spread out below.

[ yelling ]

[ voice echoing ]

[ yelling ]

[ voice echoing ]

[ laughing ]

[ sound of water rushing ]

Jochebed:
In the depths of those waters

he found something.

A memory.

A reminder.

Always God was with him.

It wasn't always this way.

We didn't always hide
in the darkness.

Once,

we stood in the light.

But that was long ago.

Eden is still in our blood.

And all of our lives we spend
trying to return home.

But God has always been trying
to bring us back to him.

Jochebed: Did all the earth fall
silent in the ears of Abraham,

as it does before a storm?

You give us the blessing,
so that we may be a blessing

to all the nations.

This God is different
than others I've heard

men speak of.

He said he would lead us.

We will follow.

He said that through me,

all the earth will be blessed.

He's giving us a child, Sarah.

He's giving us a new hope.

He's giving us a new life.

Jochebed: You invite
us into your story.

You place the cup in our hands,

to be spread over all the earth.

Just as you once did to Jacob.

[ fire crackling ]

Joseph slept,

and you sent him
dreams of greatness,

that one day he would rise

to the places
you set aside for him.

You cannot

speak to us in such a way.

Your brother's
won't stand for this.

I won't stand for this.

It was just a dream.

That is all.

A dream in which you rise up,

and the rest of us
bow down before you?

And a second dream of the same.

Do you really think
you shall rule

over the sons of Israel?

It was just a dream.

I can see in your eyes

you think this is more
than a dream.

You think this shall
come to pass.

Look at me.

Look at me.

Know your place, little brother.

Jochebed: Our lives become a
reflection of your heart.

[ no audio ]

Your danger.

Noah's voice:
You are my strength.

You are my song.

You are my savior.

Jochebed: And to Noah, you gave
the strangest journey of all.

That a flood would come.

That life would begin again.

[ crickets chirping ]

I heard something today.

From God.

He told me he's going to destroy
the earth with a flood.

And he wants me to build an ark.

You lead us to the edge
of all things...

where darkness
and light collide.

There, you ask us to die.

There, you promise,
that we will be reborn.

He is beautiful.

Thank you.

Are you hungry?

I've just received the news

that they will be here by dawn,

or sooner,

depending on how many boys
like yours they find

along the way.

I trust you've made
arrangements.

What is your plan?

You're just like the other girls

who come through this place.

Who lay their heads
on that pillow

and hold their sons close,

thinking that somehow
you will be spared.

- We will.
- You won't.

A moment comes for each
of you when you realize

that this life, these people,

this country owes you nothing.

And they will take everything
away in an instant.

So my suggestion is that you go.

Whatever you are
planning, go now.

I'm not ready.

I know this
is difficult to accept.

I once had a son.

And this...

is all that's left of him.

Dirt from the place

where they laid him
on the ground

and ran a blade
through his belly.

Pick it up.

Hold it with your hands.

Do not be so foolish
to suffer as I have suffered

when you still have
a chance to spare him.

I am telling you to go.

Not yet.

Not yet.

Are we guilty?

Of what?

I think of the darkness

in the heart of a man
who would slay a child.

You and I would never
do such a thing.

No.

But how many in Egypt
raise their voices

against the murders of our sons?

And how many are silent?

Are they not just as guilty
as those who hold the blade?

We are not responsible

for what others do,
or do not do.

But I question if the
darkness is in us all,

just the same.

Perhaps it is v*olence,

or silence,

but it is a darkness,
nonetheless.

Don't wait too long.

There's nothing left
for you to give him.

I can give him our story.

You don't have to tell me,

but I'd like to know
where you plan to take him.

God told me
to put him in the river.

God told you this?

And what else did God tell you?

That I should trust him.

Jochebed:
God of light.

We look out across
these horizons

and realize
how far we have to go.

So bring us to the ones
who will stand with us

in the night.

A flame to warm ourselves.

[ twigs breaking ]

I want to give you something.

What is it?

I don't know.

A memory.

It's beautiful.

Your sister made that for you.

You look like her.

And your father, too.

They love you as I love you.

Sometimes I wonder

if I'd rather you die in my arms

than live in the arms
of someone else.

I don't want to go on
without you.

That is why I pray for courage.

Jochebed:
You bind our hearts together

with a thread
that cannot be broken.

But when we open
ourselves to love,

we also open ourselves to pain.

Where am I?

This is my father's land.

His name?

His name is Laban.

If you wait here,
I'll take you to him.

And what's your name?

My name is Rachel.

Laban: Here is my
other daughter, Leah.

I'm sorry?

This is my oldest daughter,

Leah.

Jochebed: When Jacob saw the
light in Rachel's eyes,

he knew that he would stay.

And so he began to work.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Jochebed: And Laban
began to lay his trap.

My son.

In the beginning
we're filled with hope.

The fear and the doubt

come after
the journey has begun.

Our father, Noah,
welcomed the madness.

He laid the foundation of a ship

in the face of mockers.

And one season
faded into the next,

but Noah kept going.

So don't let us turn back now.

Let our direction hold true

and our hope remain.

Let us come to find
that this darkness

is just your shadow
hovering over us.

Mama.

Mama.

Mama.

Mama.

Mama.

Stay with me, Mama.

Stay with me, Mama.

You're dreaming.

[ cooing ]

Jochebed: Adam and Eve
spent their nights

looking into the stars

wondering, what else?

What more lay
just out of their reach?

I want to show you something.

[ birds chirping ]

Jochebed:
You once told Abraham

that he would be a great nation,

as numerous as the stars.

But his skies remained clear
for many years.

Not yet.

Soon.

Soon.

Jochebed: So don't be angry
when we take your plans

and replace them with our own.

Jacob.

We don't have much time.

Father.

Who is this?

It is I, Esau.

Bless me, Father.

Father, what's wrong?

Your brother.

It is I, Esau.

He came.

Are you Esau?

It is I.

He deceived me.

What are you saying?

I gave him your blessing.

May God bless you,

and nations serve you.

May you rule over your family.

May those that curse you

be cursed,

and those that bless you

be blessed.

No!

Esau, wait.

Jochebed: Jacob seized the
blessing from his brother.

And then he ran from his family

to the land of Laban.

Jacob!

Jochebed: Your plans become
less important than our own.

Brothers, we do nothing

and he will rule over
our families.

Is that what you desire?

Our inheritance
will not fall into his hands.

Our brother, the dreamer.

His words must be reconciled.

If we do this,

there can be no chance
he comes back.

There's no profit
in k*lling him.

What price can we fetch
for a man like him?

Jochebed: You gave Joseph
dreams of greatness,

then made him nothing.

You let his life drift away
as sand blown

from the palm of your hand.

He was sold into sl*very
by his own family.

[ gasping ]

sl*ve.

That is your name.

You will do as your masters say,

or I will gut you like a dog

and feed you to the birds.

Do you understand, sl*ve?

Yes.

Do you know what
got you to this place?

Three things.

Your fates have left you.

Your gods have left you.

And last,

your brothers have left you.

Now what is your name?

sl*ve.

Good.

How am I gonna do this?

It's impossible.

Oh, Lord.

Oh, Lord.

How am I gonna do this?

[ wind whistling ]

[ wind increasing ]

[ thunderclap ]

[ panting ]

Jochebed: We tell you that
our sin is an illusion.

Our darkness is temporary.

But you know the sound
of our lying.

[ sobbing ]

Be still.

[ echoing ]

Who are you?

Give him to me.

Give me back my son!

[ gasping ]

Father?

Judah?

Something's happened.

This is all that's left.

We can't find his body.

- What?
- We've been searching everywhere.

A beast must have taken him.

[ crying ]

No. My son.

I'm sorry.

My son... Joseph.

Jochebed: Sometimes in this
darkness we forget where you stand.

We clamor through the fog
and cannot find you.

Do you find me beautiful?

Yes.

And yet you do not look at me.

Look at me now.

Tell me I'm beautiful.

You're beautiful.

Do you desire me?

I am my master's servant.

Yes, but he's gone.

And he won't be back
for many days.

sl*ve.

You will come to my bed.

sl*ve!

[ water dripping ]

[ flies buzzing ]

And you.

What led you over here?

I had a dream.

[ laughing ]

Dreams do not lead men
in prison.

Jochebed: There is pain
in the wilderness.

Your face is hidden.

It's not easy for me
to ask you this.

But we need children.

If God is gonna
use this family...

we have to make hard choices.

Jochebed:
Sarah no longer believed

God could place a child
in her womb,

so she sent her servant
into Abraham's bed.

We hunger for assurance.

But you are a God
of the unknown.

Is this the dance of faith?

Or is this rebellion?

[ wind whistling ]

[ animals stirring ]

Noah's voice:
You are my strength.

Your are my song.

You are my savior.

What do you want here?

What do you mean?

Most men that come through
here stay a day or two,

and move on.

I don't really have
anywhere else to go.

I've seen the way
you look at her.

Rachel.

And now you want to marry her.

I do.

As soon as I saw you
I knew you'd ask.

Here's what I can offer.

Work for me for...

seven years.

And I'll give her to you.

Jochebed: This is our
inheritance from Adam.

The remnant of Eve.

You gave them
all of the garden to roam,

with one exception.

And their feet grew tired of the
path you placed before them.

For everything we've been given.

And everything we haven't.

Mama.

[ men approaching ]

[ gasps ]

[ baby cooing ]

No, no, no!
[ crying ]

I'm asking you for mercy.

Please.

I'm asking you for mercy.

- [ cooing ]
- Shh. Shh.

Jochebed: You held Noah
in that quiet place

between life and death.

He floated the waters
forty days and forty nights

believing that you
had not forgotten

the promises you once made.

Are you a God who punishes
our weakness?

Do you repay deceit with deceit?

Woman:
Put out the light.

Rachel?

Woman:
Put out the light.

Jochebed: Laban sent his oldest
daughter Leah into Jacob's bed

in the middle of the night.

The deceiver had been deceived.

And somewhere Rachel awoke
with a broken heart.

Your ways are a mystery.

In time, Joseph became a man

who was known
to interpret dreams.

Word spread throughout
all of Egypt

of the man who heard
the voice of God.

His name even reached
the ears of Pharaoh.

I am not the kind of man

who likes to be confused.

If I'm troubled by a dream,

someone should be there

to explain its meaning.

Last night the gods
sent me a dream.

And this morning,

no one could tell me
the meaning.

I have been told

you're a man
who hears the voice of God.

I am.

Egypt will see
seven years of abundance.

That'll be followed
by seven years of famine.

Terrible famine.

- And what should I do?
- Please.

I am just a simple prisoner.

Speak openly.

Take one fifth of everything
from the years of abundance

and store it away
for the famine.

Then find a wise leader

and put him in charge
of distribution.

It's the only way the people
will survive what's to come.

I've already found him.

Come with me.

Jochebed:
You make kings into slaves

and slaves into kings.

Sometimes I imagine
you moving across

the tops of the mountains,

carrying your cup that
spills over onto the world.

Let there be another way
so that we may be restored.

That's good for today.

Trader: No more today.
Come back tomorrow.

Traveler Please.

I have nowhere else to go.

I said no more today.

Come back tomorrow.

My family is desperate.

We have no food.

Don't make me beg you.

Did you not hear me, sl*ve?

No, I'm not leaving
without something.

Enough!

You.

Where are you from?

Canaan.

We have no food there.

And how many of you
have come to Egypt?

Myself, and my nine brothers.

How many brothers?

Nine.

- You are a spy.
- No! What?

Seize him!
Take him away.

Why?
What's my crime?

What have we done?
Please, please have mercy.

Have mercy!

He still doesn't know
who you are.

Jochebed: Joseph held the lives
of his brothers in his hands.

Vengeance stood before him.

But he sent them back to Canaan

to bring Benjamin to his table.

How can a heart learn
to forgive the guilty?

I've seen you before.

In a dream.

We stood in the middle
of the river

and a peace came over me.

It filled my heart.

Like nothing I have
ever felt before.

This peace,

it came from God.

And I knew...

I had to help you get back
to the place you came from.

Jochebed: After they
rebelled against God,

Adam and Eve were banished
from the garden.

All of life became a reminder

that they could not come home
until a price was paid.

It's enough.

It's not enough.

It's never going to be enough.

No!

No, no, no.

No! No! No!

No!

No!

Jochebed:
Cain m*rder*d his brother

and death walked into life

and made himself at home.

Who will carry the burden

of all we have wrought
on the earth?

We ask to be reconciled.

We want to come home.

Soldier: Where will
you go from here?

God told me
to put him in the river.

You will follow me.

I will show you a way.

Why are you helping me?

Because this child...

will change the world.

Pack your things.

We will leave at first light.

Jochebed: I send my son with
a story of who you are.

We stand between these horizons,

watching for the light
to show us which way to go.

[ sniffles ]

There you say, "Wait."

There you say,
"Trust me."

Joseph brought
his brothers to Egypt,

and they sat at his table
without knowing his face.

And how is you father?

He's well.

Tell me about him.

His name is Israel.

He is a man of God.

And you?

Are you a man of God?

I'm a man who's made
many mistakes.

What is your greatest mistake?

I don't think I could say.

Joseph: You brought
your youngest brother.

As you wished.

Good.

Then we're all here.

This is all that I could find.

They leave before light.

Let's go home.

Would you steal from the man

who showed you mercy?

Would you take from me
after all that I have done?

- No, no, no, no, please.
- Go tell your father that one of his sons is a prisoner.

- That he is a sl*ve.
- Don't take him. Please?

- Judah: Have mercy.
- Joseph: Mercy?

You're asking me
to show you mercy?

Please.

Take me instead!

Take me!
Take me!

Look at me.

Look at me.

Hey, look at me.
Look at me.

Look at me.

What you have for evil...

God meant for good.

[ sobbing ]

Jochebed:
We cannot lose hope.

We cannot lose sight
of where we are going.

We pray to finish
the journey you gave us.

To trust you.

We'll get off this boat.

Jochebed: In time,
everything will fall

into the places you have made.

Jacob worked fourteen years
under Laban's watch

to take Rachel as his wife.

To you, a moment.

A single step towards
building us into your people.

You put the dream in our hearts.

Don't abandon your promises.

Sarah:
Abraham?

Abraham!

- Yes?
- Yes!

- It's happened?
- Yes.

It's happened.

Jochebed: Always you are
shaping our hearts.

Keeping watch over our days.

Weaving one life into another.

Giving us another chance.

God told Abraham

to take his son
up on the mountain

and make a sacrifice of him.

The son he loved.

Isaac.

Wait here, my son.

[ twigs snapping ]

Jochebed: All of this time
you've been pointing us to a day

when creation will be restored.

When a price will be paid
on our behalf.

Jacob?

My name is Israel.

Jochebed: Because in the
light of this fire,

we see ourselves
for the first time.

[ fire crackling ]

[ sound of water rushing ]

You have saved us.

And you will save us again.

What you have done for me,

for Egypt,

can never be repaid in full.

I was a prisoner
staring death in the face.

My wrists in chains
and my stomach empty.

And now,

I have more than
I could ever need.

I've been repaid.

Perhaps.

But I'd like to give you
one more gift.

This place.

For your family
and all of their descendants.

I open Egypt to them

as their home.

There are many of us.

Good.

Let them come.

My son.

This is where we came from.

This is where we're going.

[ crying ]

[ crying ]

[ sobbing ]

Jochebed: So let us build
an altar and sing.

Let us tell stories
and admire the stars.

Let us dream of those we love

and those we have lost.

We will rise by light

and face the wilderness
once more.

We find that the river
flows slowly

for many years,

and one day has left a canyon.

The rock cannot withstand
the mysterious deep,

and gives itself away
until it is reborn

as something
beautiful and majestic.

You are the river.

And I, the stone, have been
trying to withstand this flood.

We die a thousand times
in this wilderness,

but you give us strength
to overcome.

Here you are,

my creator.

Here you are,

my maker.

You are not only merciful,

you are mercy.

You are not only loving,

you are love.

You are not only beautiful,

you are beauty.

Take us back to the
place we started.

Near you.

Pay our price.

Lead us to the garden.

Let us trust you again.

Mama.

Miriam.
My love.

Why are you crying?

Where'd you get this?

Miriam, where'd you get this?

Come with me.
I'll show you.

[ coos ]

Do you trust me?

**

Miriam:
Father,

Who is like you?

You stretch out your hands

and lead us in love.

You guide us
to the holy mountain.

You are my strength.

You are my song.

You are my savior.

**