(BIRDSONG) (WOMAN SINGS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) According to my mother, our islands are a woman. Buka is the head, Choiseul is the legs, and Bougainville is the heart. That's why people got angry when the mining company started digging up our heart. According to Papua New Guinea, we are one country. According to us, we're as black as the night. The Papua New Guineans look like they've leached up out of the red earth, which is why our people call them red skins. My dad used to work with the red skins up at the mine. But then the rebels declared war on the mine, so the company moved him to another one in Australia. We were going to join him later. Mum said we'd leave on the next boat. That's what she said after every boat. All the whites left first. All except Pop Eye that is. Maybe he didn't know he was the last one. Maybe he didn't care to know. But when we say goodbye to our teacher Mrs Siau, we all said goodbye to the world as we'd known it. MAN YELLS TV: Down near Bougainville in the South Pacific, there's a state of siege. Higher! It's as high as I can get it. The last of the evacuee boats have left Bougainville, and supplies are running low for the 160,000 islanders who stand firm in their opposition to financial and environment exploitation by the Australian-owned Panguna mine, the world's largest open-pit copper mine. TV: It's a large worldwide company. Why can't it meet the demands of my people? Comprising of local villagers, the rebels have support of the Bougainville people, but this may be set to change. Papua New Guinea announced today a sea and air blockade on the island, an embargo intended to starve the rebels out. ALL MURMUR Give me some flavonut and a maloprim. That's all that's left? You have to grind the malaria tablets up just like that. CHILDREN: Pop Eye! Pop Eye! ALL LAUGH (SPEAKS LOCAL DIALECT) OPERA MUSIC (LAUGHS) Mind your own business. How come Pop Eye is not going? Grace would never leave the island again. OPERA MUSIC CONTINUE OPERA MUSIC PLAYS CHILDREN LAUGH, CHATTER CHILDREN LAUGH Hey, Gilbert. The PNG government means to starve us out, but Abraham said, 'God will provide the lamb.' PEOPLE: Amen. We still have what we always had. We have our fish. Amen. Our pigs, our chicken, our fruits. Amen. And we have our faith. Amen. (ALL SING HYMN) # Then thank the Lord, thank the Lord # For all He's done # Then thank the Lord, thank the Lord # For all He's done. # Mum? Hmm? (SPEAKS NATIVE TONGUE) We speak English in this house. Do you miss Dad? Why do you ask that, girl? There's not going to be another boat, is there? The blockade won't last forever. Does that make a difference? Sometimes I miss him. Sometimes I look along the beach. There is your father, Matilda. He's walking towards me. And me? And you, yes. Your father is walking towards us both. Get up! Hmm! Come on, lazybones. You've got school. What are you talking about? School's been closed for months. We haven't got a teacher. You do now. (LAUGHS) (KIDS LAUGH) He's coming! Sit down, sit down! (CLEARS THROAT) (KIDS LAUGH) Thank you for coming. (LAUGHTER) I wasn't sure you would. Wasn't sure I would. Look, I'll be honest. (CLEARS THROAT) I... I have no wisdom, I'm not a teacher, but I will try my best. That is my promise to you children. Yes? Yes, Mr Watts. ALL: Yes, Mr Watts! Yes, Pop Eye. (LAUGHTER) Oh, I know that some of you call me Pop Eye and that's fine. I actually quite like Pop Eye. ALL: Yes, Mr Watts! Yes, Mr Pop Eye! BOY: Yes, Mr Watts. (KIDS LAUGH) And I want this place... to be a place of light. No matter what happens. So, the first thing we must do is clear this space for learning. Let's make it new again. I have been saving some batteries for a special occasion. (LOCAL POP MUSIC PLAYS) So, let's open all the windows and we can start to clear all the rubbish off the desks. "My father's family name being Pirrip and my Christian name Philip... "..my infant tongue could make of both names "nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. "So I called myself Pip "and came to be called Pip." Yes? Well, I welcome questions. And if you do have a question, perhaps you'll be kind enough to tell me your name. Daniel, sir. It's nice to meet you, Daniel. So do we call you Pop Eye, or Mr Watts or Mr Pip? Those words were not mine, Daniel. They belong to Mr Dickens. You can put your hand down. They're words that I think can make a difference in our lives. And tomorrow, I will introduce you to Mr Dickens. WOMAN: That's a white man's name. No, Matilda, you heard wrong. Pop Eye is the last white man around here. There's no others. But Mr Watts says there is. Hey, Lila. (ALL LAUGH) (LAUGHTER) (LAUGHTER) (LAUGHTER) (LAUGHTER CONTINUES) KIDS: Mr Watts! Mr Watts! Mr Watts! Mr Watts! Mr Watts! Mr Watts! Mr Watts! Mr Watts! Mr Watts! Mr Watts! Hold on, what's your name? Mabel, Mr Watts. Very pleased to meet you, Mabel. My mother was thinking Mr Dickens might have some malaria tablets. My dad wants some kerosene. (KIDS ALL SPEAK AT ONCE) What about some beer? (ALL LAUGH) Where is Mr Dickens? He's right here. The line you heard yesterday was the first line of 'Great Expectations' by the greatest English writer of the 19th century, Charles Dickens. Now, when you read the work of a great writer, you are making that person's acquaintance. So you could say that you've already met Charles Dickens on the page, so to speak, although you won't know him for a while. When will we know him? Well, I hope some of you will know him by the time we finish the book. The book is 59 chapters long. I'm going to read a chapter a day. 6th of February, 1990. I'm sorry? We'll know Mr Dickens on the 6th of February next year. Alright. Well, I'll take your word for it. Uh...? My name is Matilda. Matilda? That's a lovely name. Where did you get such a pretty name? The Australians at the mine gave it to Dad to give Mum to give me. (SPITS) (SOME LAUGHTER) In a way, you could say that Mr Dickens got Pip's name from his father too. Who knows what else you might have in common? Right. Who wants to meet Mr Dickens? ALL: Me! "I give Pirrip as my father's family name, "on the authority of his tombstone and my sister, Mrs Joe Gargery, "who married the blacksmith. "As I never saw my father or my mother "and never saw any likeness of either of them, "for their days were long before the days of photographs, "my first fancies regarding what they were like "were unreasonably derived from their tombstones. "The shape of the letters on my father's gave me an odd idea "that he was a square, stout, dark man with curly black hair. "From the character and turn of the inscription, "'Also Georgiana, wife of the above,' "I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and sickly." "To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, "which were arranged in a neat row beside their grave, "and were sacred to the memory of five little brothers of mine "who gave up trying to get a living exceedingly early "in that universal struggle. "My first, most vivid and broad impression of the identity of things "seems to me of been gained on a memorable, raw afternoon towards evening. "In such a time, I found out for certain that this bleak place overgrown with nettles "was the churchyard." Who are you? What are you doing here? I came to see my brothers. I'm sorry. I never really knew them. Actually, I used to think they'd been born like that. On their backs with their hands in their trouser pockets. Just never taking them out. I prefer to think of them that way. MAN: You there! Get down! Stay down. Wait! Come here! No, don't do it! Stop your noise. Keep still. I'll cut your throat. Don't cut my throat, sir, please. Tell us your name, quick? Pip, sir, Pip! You know where file is? Yes, sir. You get me a file. And vittles. You bring the lot to me at the old battery. You do it! You do that to live. Now, what do you say? (GIRL'S VOICE) A battery, sir? (GASPS) MR WATTS: Not like the battery of my radio. Battery in this case means, uh... a military encampment. A place with guns. Like the no-war zone? Where the rebels are. Yes. Kind of. Something like that. That's very good. (PIGS GRUNT, KIDS LAUGH) MOTHER: So he stole his mother's pork pie? Pip's an orphan. He lives with his sister. Brought him up by hand. Sounds like she needed to use her hand on him a little more. What would you do, girl? If a man was hiding in the jungle and asked you to steal from me, would you do that? No. Pop Eye should be teaching you kids proper behaviour. From now on, I want to know everything that happens in that book. You hear me, Matilda? Yes, Mum. WATTS: "That was a memorable day to me "for it made great changes in me. "But it is the same with any life. "Imagine one selected day struck out of it, "and think how different its course would have been." (PEOPLE TALK) Where are they taking him? Exile. Sending him to Australia. My dad's in Australia. Do you miss him? I guess I'm lucky. Why? I never knew my father long enough to miss him. MAN: You ready, Pip? We must get back before your sister goes on a rampage. Will I see you again? Hmm. Who's that? She's a friend. Does she have a name? MOTHER: Matilda! What the heck you doing, girl? "Pause you who read this and think for a moment "of the long chain of iron or gold, "of thorns or flowers that would never abound you but for the formation of the first link "on one memorable day." Mr Watts? Yes, Celia. Why does Pip play with Estella when he doesn't like her? Oh, I think he likes her. Don't forget, Miss Havisham is also paying for Pip to play with Estella. Miss Havisham is crazy. I didn't say she's crazy. She's trapped. Trapped by a trauma. A bad experience that she's unable to move past. What happened? Mr Dickens will reveal all in good time. Yes, Matilda. What's a rimy morning? Uh, a rimy morning is a frosty morning. It's a word you don't hear very much these days. What's a frosty morning? It's like before the power went off. When you could stick your head in the freezer and see your breath. (LAUGHS) No, I don't think I like what you're talking about. Well, you probably wouldn't. It's a word you don't hear much these days. Oh, is that so? And what about the word of the good lord? Do you hear that at school? Mr Watts does not use the bible. HELICOPTER WHIRRS DANIEL: Mr Watts. Yes, Daniel? What's it like to be white? (KIDS LAUGH) You mean what's it like to be white or what's it like to be white here? Both. A bit like what the last mammoth must have felt, I suppose. It's lonely at times. I don't know. What's it like being black? No more. (KIDS LAUGH) MATILDA: We only feel black around white people. Yes, well, I'd say the same is true for me. (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING) (SPEAKS QUIETLY) Matilda, would you like to do the honours? This is my mum, Dolores. Dolores Naimo. Mrs Naimo, please come in. Thank you. I know you kids have been hearing some story from Mr Watts, but I'm here to tell you that stories have a job to do. They can't just lie around like lazybone dogs. They have to teach you something. That's why I brought a book. The Good Book. When the missionaries came, they taught us to believe in God. But when we ask to see God, they wouldn't introduce him to us. So many people preferred to live by the wisdom of the crabs and the five fish that are shaped like the Southern Star. One old fisherman told my father that at night he knew where he was by the stars. But during the day, he kept his face in the water and followed the five fish. You could say that his survival was a matter of faith. Now, here are some words to learn by heart. And God said, "Let there be light." And there was light. There is no sentence more beautiful in the world than that one. Yes, Violet? What is the wisdom of the crabs? (CONGREGATION SINGS) # Hallelujah # Hallelujah # Hallelujah, hallelujah # Hallelujah # Hallelujah, hallelujah... # Mr Watts, can I ask you something? Of course. Is it strange to feel like I know Pip? I mean, really know him? I think that's probably the greatest compliment you can pay Mr Dickens. Do you know him too? My Pip is probably not exactly the same as your Pip, but, yes, I believe I do. Today, we are not going to start with 'Great Expectations'. (KIDS GRUMBLE) Today, we are very lucky to have Mabel's mother, Mrs Tagenong. Thank you, Mr Watts. I'm here today hoping to surprise you kids. What if I tell you that some gardens begin their life in the ocean? The huts, see, floats on the water. Then it rises up on the sand. Seven days later, the sun and the wind dry it as light as the husk. Three months later, a little sapling grows. Nine months later, its white flowers open and look back to the sea where it came from. Why am I telling you this, children? Because its stamen makes a fierce flame and keeps away the mosquitoes. Right. Mrs Tagenong, the hearth seed. (ALL APPLAUD) Thank you. Alright, then. (CLEARS THROAT) Uh... (WHISPERS) Yes, of course. Thank you. There's a place in the back. (KIDS WHISPER) Now, where did we get to? The best place to find broken dreams is down on the wharf. All those dead fish with their eyes and mouths open, they just can't believe that they are not in the sea and will never be again. And in the night, the blimmin' dogs and roosters chase the dreams and break them in two. But the one good thing about a broken dream is that you can pick up the threads of it again. By the way, fish, they go to heaven. (KIDS LAUGH) Don't believe any other shit you hear. (LAUGHTER) That's all I have on broken dreams. WOMAN: Silence is good for a lot of things. Sleeping, being at one with God, and thinking about the good book. Boys who shout have mud in their souls. Stay away from boys who abuse silence. (LAUGHTER) Other than that, I don't want to tell you girls where to shop. WOMAN: To kill a pig, you get two fat uncles to hold it down and whack it on the chest. How big do these uncles have to be? Fat ones. Fat is good. Skinny's no bloody good. Poor Watts is no bloody good, eh? (LAUGHTER) Right. (CLEARS THROAT) "Our conference was held in the state parlour "which was feebly lighted by one candle. "It began with the strange gentleman's "drawing the candle to him, "and looking over some entries in his pocketbook. (LAUGHTER) "My name is Jaggers. "I am a lawyer in London. "Now, Joseph Gargery..." (LAUGHTER) "Yes, sir? "I am the bearer of an offer to relieve you of this young fellow, "your apprentice. "You would not object to cancel his indentures?" "What? The answer is no. "Very well. "Recollect the admission you have made "and don't try to go from it presently. "Well, who's a-going to try? "I didn't say anyone is going to try." (LAUGHTER) Hmm. "Now, I return to this young fellow." Anthony. "The communication I have got to make is "that he has great expectations." (LAUGHTER) Shh! Shh! (SILENCE) "It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home. "I had believed in the best parlour as a most elegant saloon. "I had believed in the front door as a mysterious portal. "I had believed in the forge as the glowing road "to manhood and independence. "Within a single year, all this was changed. "Now, it was all coarse and common. "The change was made in me. The thing was done. "Well or ill done, excusably or inexcusably, it was done." I think the sooner you leave here the better. You shall receive a printed address in the meantime. Thank you, Mr Jaggers. Thank you so much. Matilda. (LAUGHS) My dream is out, Matilda. What are you talking about? Well, I believe that Ms Havisham intends me for Estella after all. I'm to be brought up as a gentleman, as a young fellow of great expectations. Matilda, I'm leaving. Leaving? A shrine. Pip in the Pacific. Well, why not? 'Great Expectations' didn't tell the whole of Pip's life. In the end... ARGH! Ugh... Argh! You're quite right. All in good time. Oh, shit. What? There are some things that you just don't expect to lose. Things you think will always be a part of you, even if it just a toenail. A big toenail. Exactly. What will happen to it? It will work itself free eventually. Another one will grow, I suppose. One gains as one loses and vice versa. Mr Watts... Miss Naimo. Pip's different in London. I don't understand why he let Herbert Pocket call him Handel. Well, Pip is like an immigrant. He's moving from one level of society to another. Well, a change of name is as good as a change of clothes. We all need to change sometimes to...help us on our way. He abandoned Joe. Yes, he did. It's not easy to be a perfect human being, Matilda. HELICOPTER WHIRRS MAN SHOUTS Matilda! Come here! Come this way. Matilda! (WOMAN MOANS) It's alright, it's alright, it's alright, darling. It's alright, darling. It's alright. Dolores? (DOG BARKS, GUNSHOTS, DOG YELPS) (HELICOPTER WHIRRS NEARBY) (BABY CRIES) GIRL: No! (SCREAMS) (CRIES) No! (CRIES) DOLORES: Matilda! Matilda! Your husband is to stay away from my daughter! Go and find your own kid! Do you believe in the devil, Matilda? Mr Watts says that the devil is just a symbol, not living flesh. Nor is this Pip. But you can't hear the devil's voice. You can hear Pip's. That's it! You're not going back to the school anymore. Why? So I can be dumb like you? If it wasn't for you, we'd be in Australia with Dad. "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears "for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, "overlying our hard hearts. "I was better after I had cried than before. "More sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle. Is that you, boy? (GASPS) Where have you been, girl? Just playing on the beach. I don't want you out alone at night anymore. "If I had cried before, I should have had Joe with me then. "We changed again, and yet again, "and it was now too late and too far to go back. "And I went on. "And the mists had all solemnly risen now "and the world lay spread before me." My daughter, my lovely Matilda, says she doesn't believe in the devil. She believes in Pip! Well, Mrs Naimo, what if I were to say to you that on the page, Pip and the devil have the same status? Each one strikes out on their own, each one has the chance to make their own mistakes... And to abandon his family? How will Pip even know if he's made a mistake? If there is no God and no devil, how will he know what's right from wrong? Matilda, as a young woman, your grandmother wore her hair in braids. And them braids were thick as rope. The braids were so strong us kids used to swing on them. CHILDREN LAUGH This is true. When the tide was up, we used to hang on to one of her braids in case we stumble on the corals. CHILDREN LAUGH Now, when you bring two strands of hair together, and try to tease them into a strong rope, then you begin to understand the idea of how God and the devil know each other. Mr Watts here thinks you can know all things. But for the rest of us people, and that includes you, my beautiful flower, Matilda, pack the teaching of the Good Book into your person. That way, you kids will be able to save Pop Eye here, because I'm not going to. Thank you, Mrs Naimo, for such an illuminating lesson on the relationship between good and evil. Once again, you've given us much food for thought. (CHILDREN LAUGH) (MEN SING) DOLORES: No, Matilda. Let me. (ROOSTER CROWS) (WHISTLING) Hmm. (WHISPERS) Matilda. Get dressed. (MEN SHOUT OUTSIDE) Hurry up! (BANGS DOOR) (WOMAN SCREAMS) Go! Go! Go! Hurry up! (BARKS ORDERS) (HELICOPTER WHIRRS OVERHEAD) Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go on! (SHOUTS ORDERS) (SPEAKS LOCAL DIALECT) (SHOUTS ORDERS IN LOCAL DIALECT) (WOMEN SCREAM) (SOLDIER SHOUTS ORDERS) (SHOUTS ORDERS) Please...no-one wants to hurt you. We would just like your names for security reasons. You! (SAYS NAME) (SAYS NAME) Hey. (SPEAKS LOCAL DIALECT) Dolores. D-O-L-O-R-E-S. (SPEAKS LOCAL DIALECT) Matilda. I notice there are no young men in the village. Plenty of girls. (SOLDIERS CHUCKLE) Mabel. But no young men. Why is that? We saw a signal on the beach. What is P-I-P? (SPEAKS LOCAL DIALECT) What is P-I-P?! Daniel. Pip! Mr Pip! Mr Pip? Is his name on this list? Pip belongs to Mr Dickens, sir. Who is Mr Dickens? (SPEAKS LOCAL DIALECT) Move! Move! Move! Move! Move! Hurry up! (SOLDIER SPEAKS LOCAL DIALECT) Psst! Psst! You are Mr Dickens? Yes, I am. Where's Pip? Sir, Pip...Pip is a creation. He's a... He's a character in a book. I-I understand the confusion, but if you'll allow me to show you the book, you will see that Pip is a character from the novel 'Great Expectations'. It's a novel, it's a story. A wonderful story. Matilda, would you mind? I've left the book on my desk. SOLDIER: Right! Move it! Move it! The book isn't there. There is no book? There is. I just can't find it. I will not be lied to. Sir, I assure you... No! Stay there! You say there is a book - fine! Find me the book or find Mr Pip! Yes, sir! (SHOUTS IN LOCAL DIALECT) (WOMAN TALKS BACK) (WOMAN SCREAMS) (SOLDIERS ALL TALK AT ONCE) (SPEAKS IN LOCAL DIALECT) Move! Move! Move! (CRIES) SOLDIER: Hey! (SPEAKS LOCAL DIALECT) I will give you one more chance. Bring me this man Pip or I will burn it all. Please, sir, the man you're looking for is...he's a fiction, he's a character out of a book. No. You will speak when I ask you. I am not interested in any more of your lies. (SOLDIER SHOUTS) Go back! Go back! Go back! Go back! Go back! (WOMAN SCREAMS) (SOLDIER SHOUTS) (WHOOSH, THEN LOUD BANG) You have been foolish. You cannot defeat me with your lies. Next time I come here, I expect this man Pip to be handed over. SOLDIER: Move out! (SOLDIER SHOUT ORDERS) (HELICOPTER WHIRRS) (SOLDIERS SPEAK) I'm so sorry. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) (GUNFIRE) (SOLDIER SHOUTS, GUNFIRE) (WOMEN AND KIDS CHATTER) (SPEAKS QUIETLY) Shh! (SPEAKS LOCAL DIALECT) Please. Shh! Shh! (PEOPLE SPEAK OUTSIDE) (DOG BARKS) What's going on? You stay here. MATILDA: No! DOLORES: Matilda! Don't! You foolish girl! Let go! No! It's OK, Matilda. It's alright. Matilda. Matilda! No! Leave it, Matilda! It's your father's! (CHILDREN LAUGH) I know you lost all your books. I wrote some things... ..about 'Great Expectations'. That's very good, Matilda. Would you like me to leave it? Put it in the pocket of my jacket. Thank you. Hey, Matilda. Wake up. I have something to tell you. (WOMEN SING TRADITIONAL SONG) (SINGING CONTINUES) Our Father, which art in Heaven. Hallowed be thy name... Thy kingdom come. And be done in it as it is in heaven. Dust to dust. Ashes to ashes. No wait. Mr Watts, your Grace was the cleverest of all us girls. We all went to school together. Thank you, Dolores. Grace could speak German. And hold her breath underwater for longer than anyone. And remember the day she lost a tooth? She was lying in the canoe watching the fish and the sea wave came and smacked that canoe right in her mouth. (LAUGHTER) When she got her first pair of shoes, she was so proud. She carried them everywhere 'cause she didn't want them to get dirty. (LAUGHTER) She was climbing a tree when she was little, and I climbed behind her. (LAUGHTER) Thank you, Daniel. That's a lovely memory. What about you? My story? Grace lived in a beautiful big house in London. She lived in one part of the house, I lived in the other. But... ..it was very hard not to notice Grace. I'd never seen anyone so black. With teeth so white. With eyes... Her eyes would sparkle with this... This wicked fun that she had. And one night, I opened my door to my part of the house and it was pouring with rain. And there was Grace. And after that she would come by every evening for a cup of tea and she would sit across the table from me. And then one evening... (LAUGHS) ..she... ..she brought her chair around to my side and she took my hand and she placed it in her lap. (LAUGHTER) (SNIFFS) My darling Grace... ..gave me great happiness. None greater than when she gave me a child. A baby girl to whom we gave the name Sarah. And we just couldn't stop looking at her. We had a room in the middle of the house between us for Sarah and we filled this room with our thoughts, our memories, our histories which we'd taken in turns to write it on the wall. And Grace...traced Sarah's lineage from her all the way back... ..to a flying fish. Was I on that wall? Ah, yes, I believe you were. Sarah fell to meningitis before her first birthday. The grief... Gr...Grace couldn't... She couldn't move. Didn't speak. Never left her bed. And I tried... I... We moved homes, we moved countries. Finally, I thought that the best way would be for Grace to re-invent herself. I don't know how many of you here know who the Queen of Sheba was. DOLORES: It's in the Bible. The Queen of Sheba was a very wise black woman. Wanted to see if she could met Solomon's legendary wisdom. And she communed with him all that was in her heart and nothing was hid. (GENTLE MUSIC) Sam! Sam! (WAILS) (SPEAKS LOCAL LANGUAGE) Hey! Who are you? You from Australian government? I'm this boy's teacher. I'm this boy's teacher. Mr P. Hello, Sam. You can't send them away. They're just boys. They're your boys. Not any more. The redskins will be back. Where's Sam? WATTS: We've all lost a lot in recent times. Now, these losses, as painful as they may be, I think we should use them... ..to remind ourselves of the things that we can never lose. The things that people cannot take away from us. Our minds and our imaginations. Where are our imaginations? Out there and in here. Alright, let's try something different. All of you close your eyes. Now, in a voice that only you can hear I want you to say your name. (CHILDREN MURMUR) Just say it to yourself, everyone. (ALL WHISPER) Matilda Naimo, Matilda Naimo, Matilda Naimo... (ALL CONTINUE WHISPERING) No-one ever in the whole history of the world, no-one has ever used your voice to say your name. It belongs to you. ..Matilda Naimo, Matilda Naimo, Matilda... No-one can take that away from you. When Mr Dickens sat down in 1860 and started to write 'Great Expectations' the first thing he had to do was clear a space for the voice of Pip. And that is what my friend Matilda has done. She's started to write the story of Pip. She has given us a special task, a sacred task. We have to retrieve the story of 'Great Expectations'. But we don't know the end. That's where our imaginations come in. So who's with me? Yes, Christopher. Pip wanted to be a gentleman. Yes, he did. So entry number one was Christopher's. Who wants to be brought up as a gentleman. In other words, a young fellow of great expectations. Now, who can remember who said that first? The strange gentleman. The strange gentleman, yes, who was called? Mr Jaggers. Mr Jaggers the... ALL: Lawyer! ALL LAUGH Where have you been? School of course. What? With the dumb bugger Pop Eye? Mum, I know you talked Mr Watts into coming back. What's the matter with you? Don't you have your own shadow to play with? Don't you have your own shadow to play with? Shit. Matilda, what are you doing creeping around here? What Estella says to Pip - "Do you not have your own shadow to play with?" Yes. Very good. Do you want to write this down? Did Mrs Watts read 'Great Expectations'? Grace? Sadly, no. She tried... The thing is you can't really pretend to read a book. Your eyes will always give you away, your eyes and your breathing. 'Great Expectations' gave me permission to... ..change my life, reinvent myself. Grace... She put the book down so often, she was always losing her place. Till finally she said that she would reach the end if I would do the same with the Bible. And that was that. Matilda. There is a boat leaving the night after the full moon. Gilbert's father could take us out to meet it. A few hours on the open sea and you'd be in the Solomon Islands. And Australia? Well, after the Solomons it would be up to you. Your mum too, Matilda. It's very important that you don't tell anyone about this, not even Dolores, till I give the word. You understand? My aunt Josephine said that if you saw a young woman standing on the reef following the flight of a sea bird, it's a sure thing that she'd lost her virginity and has it in her head to strike out to the nearest white-man city. That's disgusting. (LAUGHS) Do you think Dad is thinking about us? Not when you look like this. Imagine if he could see us now. BOTH LAUGH Now, who can remember the conditions? There are two conditions. He has to keep his name Pip. That's right. And the name of his benefactor must always remain secret. Mr Watts? Yes, Daniel, benefactor. Um, a benefactor is someone who gives or provides to another. Like a tree? (LAUGHS) Um. Well, you're thinking of a tree giving palm oil or coconuts. I cannot tree. ALL CHUCKLE Uh, let's just say a benefactor gives money and opportunity. Uh, chance, the window opens, the bird flies out. My dream was out. Yes. I do believe you're right. This gift will remove Pip from the protective comfort of home. to the unknown metropolis. 'Metropolis'? Uh, alright, let's say that this here is our little village and in Pip's time, Greater London would be this immense metropolis. We got a new roof for 'nopolis. (KIDS LAUGH) (PEOPLE JOSTLE AND CALL OUT) (HORSE HOOVES CLATTER) MAN: Get out of the way, will ya! (CHILDREN LAUGH) (HAWKER SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY) (CHILDREN SHRIEK AND PLAY) Tag! I tagged you! (WOMEN CHATTER) Pip! (LAUGHS) Sorry. Would you excuse us, Herbert? What's wrong? It's nothing. I'm just... I'm running late for a meeting with Miss Havisham. I'll walk with you. No. It's the young Miss Havisham. Estella. Anyways, it was very nice to see you. Who was that, Handel? Nobody. His name is Pip! Or have you abandoned that too, along with Joe and everyone else? And you're so much better? I'm sorry, Matilda, but you have no idea what is expected of a gentleman. I do. I just don't see one here. CHILDREN: Goodbye, Mr Watts. Bye. Bye, Mr Watts. Bye. See you tomorrow. Good night, Mr Watts. Have you spoken to my mum yet? No. No, not yet. I won't go without her. 'Course not. I'll talk to her. Can anyone be a gentleman? Yes, they can. Even a poor person? Absolutely a poor person can be a gentleman. A...a gentleman... ..a gentleman is someone who never forgets their manners no matter what the situation is, no matter how terrible, how awful. Money and social standing have got nothing to do with it. A gentleman always tries to do the right thing. (SINGSONG WHISTLE) (VOICES ECHO IN DISTANCE) (SINGSONG WHISTLE) (SHOUTING IN DISTANCE) (GUNSHOTS) (PEOPLE YELL AND SCREAM) (MEN YELL) (GUNSHOTS CONTINUE) (PEOPLE YELL IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) Hurry up! Hurry up! MAN: Move it! Move it! You, move, move, move, move. (SOLDIERS CONTINUE YELLING) Move out, move out. We need medicines. What medicines we had you burned. Last time we were here you were concealing a man named Pip. Have you decided to hand him to me yet? (PEOPLE COUGH) (CHILDREN CRY SOFTLY) I thought not. MAN: Move. Move! (PEOPLE MURMUR) I will ask you again for your name. My father's family name being Pirrip and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip so I called myself Pip and came to be called... (ALL EXCLAIM) (SOLDIERS YELL) (GUNSHOT) (ALL GASP) MAN: Hey, shut up! I'm finished with being lied to. (MEN SPEAK IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) (PIGS GRUNT AND SNORT) (BLADE THUDS) (PEOPLE GASP AND WEEP) (PIGS GRUNT AND SQUEAL) (SOLDIERS CHATTER AND LAUGH) Look up! Who saw this? No, Daniel. I saw it, sir. Sir, he doesn't know what he's saying. He doesn't know what he's saying, sir. Come. No! No! (MEN SHOUT) Please! He doesn't know what he's saying! (SCREAMS AND SOBS) Would you like to go with him? Yes, sir. (CRIES) Come on. Get up, get up, get up. Get up, get up, get up. Get up. Get up. (SPEAKS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) (CONTINUES CRYING) Now... ..once more I will ask you. Who saw the white man die? Who saw?! I did. Sir, I saw your men chop up the white man and feed him to the pigs. He was a good man. I am here as God's witness. I am God's witness. (PEOPLE EXCLAIM) Sir, I will be God's witness. Take her. (SOLDIERS YELL) Stay. You. Are you related to this woman? She's my mother. (FOOTSTEPS APPROACH) OK, girl, move, move. MAN: Come on. Move! Move. Move. (WEEPS) Move. Move. DOLORES: No! DOLORES: No! No! Bastard, let her go. No! Matilda, my darling... MAN: Get down! (WEEPS) (CHUCKLES) Oh, Matilda, my darling. Yeah. No! Let her go! Please! MAN: Stop it! Stand up. Stand up! Please. Please, sir. I beg you. Have mercy. She is just a little girl. Now you beg me? And for what? What will you give me to save your daughter? Take me instead. My men have had you already. You have nothing left for me. Take my life. Did you hear that? Your mother has offered her life for you. What do you say? Matilda, don't say anything. No, I wanna hear. What do you say to your mother? Very well. (YELLS ORDERS) (SOLDIERS SPEAK IN DIALECT) No. You stay here. Come on. (PIGS GRUNT) (DOLORES SCREAMS) (PIGS SQUEAL AND GRUNT) (HAUNTING TRADITIONAL FOLK SONG) (BIRD CHIRPS) (SONG FADES) (LEAVES RUSTLE) (GENTLE MUSIC) (AUDIO FADES) (FLIES BUZZ) (PIG SQUEALS) (SQUEALING STOPS) (WAILING AND MOANING) (ALL WAIL AND MOAN) (PENSIVE MUSIC) (MUSIC RISES) (GASPS) (MUSIC SOFTENS) Hold on to me! Hold on! BOY: I saw something! It is! It's her! (ALL SPEAK IN LOCAL DIALECT) MATILDA: Wait! Joe! MAN: We have to go, Matilda. We have to go. (MOTOR WHIRRS) (MUFFLED VOICES) Keep going. Slowly, slowly. Keep going up... (GENTLE MUSIC) Say, "Ahh." MATILDA: Ahh. Our next port is Honiara. Do you have any family there? Where is your family, Matilda? (PEOPLE CHATTER QUIETLY) Here we are. You've got some eating to catch up on. I bought you birthday cakes for every one I've missed. I guess you were still a little girl in my head. It's nice. Alright. Well, I'll let you settle in. (SOBBING IN DISTANCE) (KIDS CHATTER CHEERFULLY) You alright? I love you. (SCHOOL BELL RINGS) We've got a new student today. Welcome, Matilda. Matilda is from... I came here from Honiara in the Solomon Islands. Oh, right. It says on your form that... My mum couldn't come so I came here to help look after my dad. OK. Right. So if everyone can open their maths books to page 348, we're just gonna pick up where we left off yesterday. So yesterday we were having a look at making up equations with algebra. Today we're just gonna carry on using equations to solve problems. So the first example there at the top of page 348, if I think of a number and then multiply it by seven... ..I get the same result as if I had multiplied the number by four and then added 15... (VOICE FADES) (BOYS CALL OUT AND SHOUT) (SOMBRE MUSIC) (DISTORTED OVERLAPPING AUDIO) TV: It was an early morning arrival for the 50 rebel and Bougainville government representatives, who arrived aboard a NZ Air Force 727. Later in the day, the Bougainville factions were welcomed to Burnham army camp with a full military ceremony and a traditional Maori welcome. Thousands of died in years of fighting on Bougainville, but all sides seem optimistic about this attempt at international mediation. We assure you and your government... They're on peace talks. We could go back now. Great. (SIGHS) So what's this about exactly? Uh, you're aware of the situation in Bougainville since the blockade was lifted? You've been there? How long since you were there? It's been 10 years. I assume you remember Mr Thomas Watts? He was my teacher in Bougainville. Well, Mr Watts passed away during the conflict. Did you know that? I'm sorry. But it seems he left a will, which bequeaths much of his property to you. Mind you, we've had a devil of a time trying to find you. It's primarily his house, half a house. It's a flat, really. The other half reverts to his wife. His wife's dead. No. No, I can assure you June Watts is still very much alive. And where's the flat? In Gravesend in London. (WOMAN SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY ON LOUDSPEAKER) Mrs Watts? I thought you were from Australia. I am. JUNE: I don't get many visitors. I went out and got the strawberry creams especially. Thank you. It was lovely of you to see me today, Mrs Watts. Your husband had a big influence on me. Tom did? He was my teacher... a long time ago in Bougainville. You knew her, then, the other woman. She lived upstairs. Your place now, I suppose. (LIGHTER CLICKS) I married a weak man, Matilda. I don't want to sound unkind, but it's true. Tom was not... ..a brave man. He should've left me properly rather than carry on the way he did. I'm sorry, Mrs Watts. I didn't know about any of that. Water under the bridge now. I suppose you'd like to take a look around the place. Yeah, thank you. This way. Go ahead. It's yours. My husband was a fantasist. I didn't know that when I married him. I met Tom at the Standards Association. That's where we both worked. We were responsible for setting the standards for pretty much anything you can think of. We were young. Everyone was young in those days. I suppose you knew about Tom's theatre thing. There she is, the Queen of Sheba. (SCOFFS) Had some funny ideas, that director. "Avant-garde," Tom said. The Queen of bloody Sheba. I didn't think about Grace much. I didn't give her nearly enough thought. She was always laughing. Huh. It was like living next door to someone who was permanently drunk. I couldn't imagine him on her island. What was he like? When you last saw him? He was a gentleman. He was always a gentleman, Mrs Watts. I'm not going to take the flat. It's not mine. It's yours. Thank you so much, Mrs Watts. I'll pour the tea. No, that's OK. Thank you. You've given me so much already. Take it if you want. But it's yours. Never read it. Tom would want you to have it. MAN: So what brings you to the Dickens Museum? It's a long story. Did you meet Mr Dickens? I've met Mr Dickens and that is not him. Yes, the Dickens I knew told stories too and he wore a white suit and a red clown nose. He collected shells from sparkling blue waters. Pip. (SNIFFS) (SOBS) WATTS: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears "for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, "overlying our hard hearts. "I was better after I had cried than before, "more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle. "We changed again and yet again "and it was now too late and too far to go back "and I went on "and the mists had all solemnly risen now... "..and the world lay spread before me." (SWEEPING MUSIC) CHILD: What is the wisdom of the crabs? Well, my mum always said that wind and rain are on the way if a crab digs straight down and blocks the hole, leaving marks like sun rays. Who is your mum? Matilda! Yeah! (LAUGHS) DOLORES: Sometimes I miss him. Sometimes when I look along the beach there is your father, Matilda, and he's walking towards me. MATILDA: And me? DOLORES: And you, yes. Your father is walking towards us both. MATILDA: My mother's name is Dolores Mary Naimo. My father's is Joseph Francis Naimo. My father worked with the Australians who gave him the name Matilda. He gave it to my mother for her to give me and so they called me Matilda and I came to be known as Matilda. (MAN SINGS TRADITIONAL FOLK SONG) www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2016 SONG: # The rain always comes # And we are not ready # Steady gods # That live upon the highest hill # And though my step is light # I fear the flame upon my back # But nowhere inside # Nowhere inside # You tied up both my hands # And put the key inside my pocket # With a note for me to read # Whenever I forget myself # I'm breathing # Underwater # The funny thing is # I already knew what to do # I have enough warmth # To warm a cold shoulder # And if I turn you against me # I have nothing # At the end of the day # We have to know that # It will be OK # Will be OK # We'll give each other wings to fly # But keep in mind that # We'll always stumble back # Back to earth # Go back to where there's only just # The beating in my breast # It will be our lasting relic # In the morning we'll be fine # I'm breathing # Underwater # The funny thing is # I already knew what to do # I have enough warmth # To warm a cold shoulder # And if I turn you against me # I have nothing # But I am breathing # I am breathing # I am # Breathing underwater. # Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd accessibility@bskyb.com www.able.co.nz