Little Bird (2023) s01e02 Episode Script
So Put Together
1
♪
[GENTLE FLUTE MUSIC]
[SCRIBBLING SOUNDS]
[PAPER RUSTLING]
[SCRIBBLING SOUNDS]
[CHILDREN CRYING]
[WHISPERING]: Dora? Dora?
What? What?
[WHISPERING]: Come on.
- [WHISPERING]: Okay.
- [WHISPERING]: Be quiet.
[CHILDREN CRYING]
Shhh
[WHISPERING]: Come
on. We gotta get Niizh.
Niizh, get up.
- Huh?
- We gotta go, Niizh.
- Uh-huh?
- We're gonna go see Mama.
Okay.
[CHILDREN CRYING]
[SOFT CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[SCRIBBLING SOUNDS]
[PAPER RUSTLING]
[SCRIBBLING SOUNDS]
[PAPER RUSTLING]
[SCRIBBLING SOUNDS]
[ALARMING MUSIC]
[WOMAN]: Hey!
[DISTANT CHAMBER MUSIC PLAYING]
[SIGHS]
[PHONE RINGING]
[GOLDA]: You have reached
Golda and Esther Rosenblum.
We're not at home,
please leave a message.
at the sound of the tone.
[MACHINE BEEPS]
MAN: Esther,
I'm so sorry about my mom. I'm sorry.
She was wrong about all of it
and it doesn't really
matter what she thinks
because that's not how I feel.
To be truthful, I was
like, "Mom is like that."
Okay, I'm gonna go.
I spent a couple of hours
last night telling her off.
Call me back when you're ready.
[MACHINE BEEPS]
[SNIFFLING]
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]
[SIGHS]
[CHAMBER MUSIC PLAYING]
Mom?
♪
[KID]: Bezhig!
♪
[PHONE RINGING]
[GOLDA]: You have reached
Golda and Esther Rosenblum.
We're not at home,
please leave your message
at the sound of the tone.
[MACHINE BEEPS]
MAN: Esther?
Can you please pick up the phone?
Esther, please. Just call
me at the hospital, please.
I love you.
[MACHINE CLICKS AND BEEPS]
[CHAMBER MUSIC PLAYING]
[COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYING ON THE RADIO]
[MAN]: I am so proud of you.
What's Ma gonna do when I tell her?
She's gonna be really
proud, really proud.
She she's gonna cook.
[INDISTINCT COUNTRY
SONG PLAYING ON RADIO]
Lie down, Leo. Now.
Don't move.
- [REPEATED BUZZING]
- [PLANE ROARING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[INDISTINCT PA SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
- [COIN CLINKING]
- [DIAL TONE]
[BUTTONS CLICKING]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- [PHONE RINGING]
[EXHALES]
[WOMAN WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]
[SOUND OF WIND RUSTLING]
[INDISTINCT PA SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
[PLANE ROARING]
[MAN SPEAKING INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE]
["HEY, LITTLE BIRD" SONG
BY BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE]
Hey, little bird, I remember you ♪
You with your dreams up
higher than you could fly ♪
Hey, I remember you ♪
Hey, hey, little bird ♪
Lost in the summer sun ♪
Those were the days when
your feathers were new ♪
And I remember you ♪
Little bird ♪
Now it's all coming back ♪
The whole world is your habitat ♪
But more than that ♪
If we meet again, will you know me? ♪
So, little bird ♪
Flash your colours and I will sing ♪
Glide into time with
the moon on your wing ♪
Little bird ♪
Little bird ♪
Little bird ♪
Like a gull of the sea ♪
Your resting place ♪
Could be heaven or countless oceans ♪
Far from me ♪
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
Stay in the truck no matter what.
[IN ANISHINAABEMOWIN]
- Yeah.
- They took the kids.
- Patti is inside.
- [THUNDER RUMBLING]
[WOMAN SOBBING]
What the fuck they do to you?
Morris? Where are you going?
I'll be right back.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Morris. Morris.
[PATTI CRYING]
Oh! Oh!
[PATTI CRYING]
They're gone.
Oh, they're gone.
[PATTI SOBBING]
They think you don't feed the kids
because you don't have a fridge.
Stay here.
- Please take those cuffs off her.
- Did she calm down?
- Yeah, she is.
- She fought with us.
Hey, you think we don't feed our kids?
- That's the social workers.
- The kids aren't going hungry.
There's no fridge in the house
because we keep it out back.
You want to take it up with
the social workers, that's fine,
if that's what you're saying.
I'm saying we don't need the fridge!
Okay, step back.
I'm trying to tell you we're
taking care of our kids, fuck!
That's my wife in there. Why did
you put those handcuffs on her?
She ran off on us, okay?
We had to chase her down.
How long were you gonna leave
her like that on the floor?
- Are you gonna keep yelling?
- Where the fuck are my kids?!
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
- Don't fucking come off on me!
- Okay.
- Calm down.
- Don't fucking touch me!
- Hey.
- Get the fuck off me!
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
- [POLICEMAN PUNCHING]
- [MORRIS GROANING]
- Nooo!
- Get back!
Back in the house!
- [PATTI SCREAMS]
- [POLICEMAN PUNCHING]
[WOMEN SOBBING]
[POLICEMAN STILL PUNCHING]
- NOOO!
- AAH!
- [SCREAMING AND SOBBING]
- [THUNDER RUMBLING]
- Oh, Morris, no
- [MORRIS GROANING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
- [PATTI CRYING]
- Okay.
There you go.
[PATTI]: No!
Oh, my Morris.
Please. [PATTI CRYING]
[PATTI SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
So where are you taking him?
- [PATTI CRYING]
- [THUNDER RUMBLING]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[PATTI SPEAKING ANISHINAABEMOWIN]
No.
No, no, they're not gone.
I've heard they take 'em to that
that big building on Albert Street.
That's where they take them.
We're gonna go there.
You're gonna go there.
It's gonna be okay.
Look at me.
It's gonna be okay,
Patti. I promise you.
Hey. Hey.
Your boy needs you.
Leo needs you right now, come on.
Come on, let's go.
[WIND GUSTING]
- [PRAYING IN ANISHINAABEMOWIN]
- [THUNDER RUMBLING]
[PATTI WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]
[RADIO]: morning in Regina,
but things are looking up
for the rest of the week
and into the weekend.
Here's another hour
of classical FM to soothe you more.
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO]
[SIGHS]
[CLOCK TICKING]
- [PHONE RINGING]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Esther Rosenblum?
- We're just this way.
- [PHONE RINGING]
- You're from around here, Esther?
- No. Montreal.
Ah. Hope you like prairies.
So you've come about your adoption?
[PAPER RUSTLING]
This is me.
I'm looking for family members.
Well, the thing is your
adoption file is sealed.
All adoption files are.
But why am I not
allowed to be in contact
with the siblings
that I remember having?
I flew here from Montreal.
Well, you should have called first.
I did call. This morning.
They told me to come in.
- I am sorry about that.
- But I must be able to access something.
I was advertised
publicly in the newspaper;
I don't get the sense
this department's overly
concerned with privacy.
I'm sorry.
[TYPEWRITING SOUNDS]
Where was I born?
The place of birth
on my birth certificate is Montreal,
but I wasn't born in
Montreal. I was advertised
for adoption out of Regina.
That's a legal document
that's been falsified.
Look, do you want a coffee?
I will go and I'll pull your file,
and I'll double-check. Okay?
[WOMAN WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]
[PHONE RINGING]
So, Esther, I checked with legal,
and your file is sealed.
But there is a note on your file
that you have a sister, a Dora Mueller,
who wishes to be contacted.
Would you like it?
Your sister's number?
Yeah. I Yes.
I'm sorry, this is all I can release.
[SQUEAKING]
Hey! Open the door!
Open the door! I want my kids!
Madam! Why are you
yelling? Are you drunk?
My kids. I want my kids.
If you push your way past me,
all that's gonna happen is
I'm gonna call the police,
and you still won't have your kids.
Is that what you want?
- I want my kids.
- Then stop.
Because all you'll get is jail.
I appreciate you're upset,
but this is not how you go about things.
You should be going over
to child protective services
over on Broad Street. You go in there,
tell 'em you'll do better from now on.
You might want to get
yourself calmed down
before you go on over there.
[DOOR CREAKING AND CLANKING]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- You still got a fever.
Where is Mama?
At home probably.
You should eat some food.
Where is Mama?
At home, Dora.
- When is she coming?
- Come on, you gotta eat up now.
She'll come when she can, okay?
Listen. Listen to me, Niizh.
Everything's gonna be okay.
Now, you should eat some food.
[WOMAN]: Sit up straight.
Sit up straight.
Don't play with that.
[ENGINE BUZZING]
[DOG BARKING]
Aaaaah!
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
[COIN CLINKING]
[DIAL TONE] [BUTTONS CLICKING]
[THREE BEEPS]
[FEMALE VOICE]: Your call
cannot be completed as dialed.
Please check the number and dial again.
- [COIN CLINKING]
- [DIAL TONE]
[BUTTONS CLICKING]
[PHONE RINGING]
MAN: Mueller residence.
Hi. I'm looking for a Dora Mueller.
I'm sorry, I think you
got the wrong number.
Okay, thank you.
[COIN CLINKING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[PHONE RINGING]
My children were taken yesterday,
and I'm here because I want them back.
Well, okay.
- Your name?
- Patricia Little Bird.
[WOMAN]: How can we help?
Didn't know it would be you.
Well, we're the child
case workers on your file,
- so who else would it be?
- You took my kids yesterday.
Apprehended.
Your children were apprehended.
I want to see if I can get them back.
What you're saying is you
would like to be notified
once the protection hearing is set?
- [PATTI]: Yes.
- You coming in today so soon
really shows how much you care.
The post-apprehension hearing
will be in a few months.
A few months?
With court delays even longer.
I can't see them for a few months?
Are they being looked after?
They are.
Mrs. Little Bird
were you looking after them?
Do you understand that they were removed
from your care because
we deemed you unfit?
Once we apprehended your children,
you forfeit your right to know anything
about their circumstances
or their whereabouts.
They are temporary wards of the Crown.
Do you follow?
They are under the care
and protection of the government now.
- If it was your children
- I wouldn't neglect my children.
Adele, would you would
you neglect your children?
[SOFTLY]: I-I don't have
I I don't
- No.
- I don't think.
I didn't say it properly
when you were in the house
but they are my children.
I look after them.
I feed them.
I'm their mother.
I came today to say
I will do better. Please.
Mrs. Little Bird,
don't you have a fourth child
named Leo?
- Yes.
- Yes.
If I were you, I would be trying
to hold onto the one
child that I have left.
Mrs. Little Bird, are you leaving?
What are you doing?!
Ha!
Well, I guess this meeting is over.
- Ha!
- [PHONE RINGING]
- WOMAN: [HELLO?]
- Where's Leo?
- [PATTI?]
- Yeah.
He's outside. Leo!
You gotta take him somewhere else,
Asin's house. Take him there.
- Okay.
- I'm hanging up now.
Patti, don't hang up. Are you there?
- Hey?
- Yeah, yeah.
Morris is in the Indian hospital.
I got a call from Shannon who
has a cousin who works there.
Cops brought him in, and he's
he's not doing so good, Patti.
Okay. Okay.
Take Leo now.
[PHONE RINGING]
WOMAN: [HELLO?]
Hi. I'm looking for a Dora Mueller.
Dora?
Yeah.
She doesn't live here anymore.
But this is where she lived?
Yes.
Do you know where I can reach her?
No.
I haven't seen her in five years now.
You don't have a phone number?
- A forwarding address?
- She ran off.
And you're her mother?
I was, yes.
I'm her sister.
I was adopted too.
That's why I'm calling.
Do you have any sense of
where I could find her?
No.
Well, I appreciate your time.
You're the first person
I've talked to who knows her.
Um, do you maybe have
a photograph of Dora?
Good luck finding her.
[DIAL TONE]
[COIN CLINKING]
[EXHALES]
[WOMAN]: You should get yourself ready.
The cops brought him in late last night.
They said he kept slamming his head
against the doors in holding.
[NURSE SIGHS]
The doctor hasn't been in this week yet,
but we got him all cleaned up.
Morris? You have a visitor.
[BREATHING AUDIBLY]
I'm sorry.
Shhh, shhh, shhh, shh It's okay.
I'm so sorry.
They they fucked me up and
- You gotta get the kids back.
- I will.
Don't worry about that.
You gotta do it now.
Shh, shh, shh, shh
I'm gonna get them back.
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING ON THE RADIO]
[DOOR OPENS]
Hi.
Hi.
I'm Esther.
We spoke on the phone about an hour ago.
I'm Dora's sister.
Uh, I I [LAUGHS NERVOUSLY]
I didn't know she, um, had a sister.
Are you her brother?
- Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
- I was thinking that if I came in person,
you might want to talk
to me a little more,
- maybe show me a photo of her.
- Yeah,
well, I think there's
a whole pile of them
up in the attic actually. Isn't there?
I doubt it.
Well, a photo would really mean a lot.
Why don't you, um Why
don't you leave a number.
Yeah, sure.
I'm staying at a motel in town.
[PAPER RUSTLING]
You said she ran away.
Why did she do that?
She was a good little girl.
And then she turned bad and
- There was no turning her back
- Mom, that's not
- it's not it went
- Get inside. Go back inside.
Well, what did the police
say when she went missing?
What, you didn't
report it to the police?
I did not, no.
Weren't you worried about her?
Wait, are you closing the door on me?
Well, hey, I'd really like that photo!
[KEYS CLINKING]
[KNOCKING ON CAR WINDOW]
I'm gonna call you, okay?
Okay.
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
Oof
[ENGINE REVS UP]
- [DETONATION]
- Bezhig, come with me.
- [DETONATION]
- Stand up. What's that?
- We'll sew the inside.
- [DETONATION]
It'll just take a minute.
- A minute. Take it off.
- [MAN]: Smile.
[WOMAN]: I know you don't
want to come out. I'm gonna
Just for a second. It's okay, okay?
- I don't want to come out.
- I know you don't want to,
- but it's gonna take one second.
- I don't want to come out.
- Don't want to.
- Okay.
My goodness me. What's
the matter with you?
Come here.
Now stop it, okay?
All we want to do is take your photo.
We just want to make you
look your very, very best,
so that people will
see your photo and say,
"Oh my, what a handsome
little guy that is.
I'd like to take him
home with me and look
after him and make him happy." Okay?
[CAMERA CLICKS]
[PHOTOGRAPHER]: There we go.
Well, are you gonna quit?
Girls who are gonna quit
all have that same look
ON THEIR FACE: melodramatic.
My brother, he has a carwash,
and he said that I could work the till.
Jesus, Adele.
You're gonna let all that
education go to waste?
I'm just finding it
What?
- Difficult.
- [JEANNIE SIGHS]
[ADELE]: All of the crying.
[JEANNIE]: You're not
gonna be able to do this job
unless you can go beyond being nice.
You have to think to yourself,
I'm saving these children
- [CAMERA CLICKS]
- from a life of poverty.
Hmm?
You know,
the best thing to do
at the end of a long day
is do what men do.
Go home, kiss that
handsome husband of yours
or better still, wrap
your legs around him,
pour yourself a drink,
kick your feet up,
and watch something on television.
Not the news.
You know, something funny.
[CHUCKLES] Hmm!
- [JEANNIE EXHALES]
- [CAMERA CLICKS]
And try not to think about
the office too much, okay?
Okay, you're all done here,
so we're gonna go sit
over here, okay? You did
really, really well. Good boy.
- Don't move.
- [WOMAN]: Was that fun
- getting all dolled up?
- We're back, Dora!
Getting your photos
taken like movie stars?
Where is my sister?
Oh
She's gone to a foster home, sweetheart.
- She's gone home?
- What's a foster home?
Um, a foster home?
Um, to a nice new family.
But she's my sister.
I know. I know.
But look, your brother,
you still have him.
But she's my sister!
Oh, sweetheart! We didn't
want to interrupt you
in the middle of your photo shoot.
- But she's mine!
- Shh, shh, shh!
- You're next, don't worry.
- I need her! Go get her!
- She's mine!
- Don't push me.
Don't push me. Hey. Don't hit me.
- Go get her!
- Better watch out, young lady.
You better calm down.
Stop it, stop it right now.
- She's mine!
- Stop it, she's not yours.
She's mine!
[EXHALES SLOWLY]
[BUTTONS CLICKING]
[PHONE RINGING]
[HELLO?]
David?
[SIGHS]
I'm sorry about my mother.
That's okay. I know she probably
She didn't mean well.
You haven't been home.
No one knows where you are.
I am in Regina.
- Regina?
- Mm-hmm.
You're not in Montreal?
Why?
I've been thinking a
lot about my real family.
Yeah?
Okay.
I have memories of them that come.
I can remember that I have
this whole other family,
and I want to know
what happened to them.
But you're in Regina?
- Yeah.
- Like in a in a
In a motel.
Your mother's been calling
me every 10 minutes.
And you walked out of
our engagement party,
and then you flew to Regina?
You know, I've been losing my mind.
Look, I know, it doesn't
make a ton of sense.
I don't know what I'm doing, David.
But I felt like I really needed to go,
and I haven't gone
looking for them until now
because the last time I
brought it up with my mom
on my 16th birthday, she was
very upset.
So, you wanna find your family?
- Yeah.
- That's
[DAVID EXHALES]
That
I mean, of course you do.
I want that for you.
It's just you don't you didn't once
think to yourself, like
maybe I'll give David a call,
let him know I'm flying to Regina?
Fine! I'm sorry. I knew
you'd get all pissed off.
- Yeah!
- Look, I didn't tell you
because I was pretty sure you'd say
that's crazy and why don't
you wait a little and see
how you feel in a
week, and I wanted to go
before you or anybody else
could talk me out of it.
And I felt like if I don't do it now,
before we get married,
then I won't do it at all,
and I'll get all caught up
in us and having kids
Are you planning on coming home at all?
Of course I'm coming home!
I'm going to look for them,
and then yes.
What, so what? In a week? Two weeks?
That meeting we have with the rabbi,
I'll be home for that.
And your mom?
[SNIFFLES]
Can you tell her I'm in Regina
and I'm safe, and I'll call her soon?
Yeah, okay.
[OKAY.]
Wait. In the meantime
just don't forget you love me.
So much that you want to marry me even.
I do love you.
[DAVID EXHALES THEN SNIFFLES]
You got a phone in that motel room?
- Sunset Motel.
- Let me get a pen.
Room 17.
306-555-0806.
Call me again soon.
Bye, David.
[ESTHER HANGS UP]
[DIAL TONE]
[PHONE BEEPS]
[EXHALES SLOWLY]
[CAR DOOR OPENS]
Hi.
It's whatever I could grab.
Thank you.
My mom's at work, so
Do you have any sense
of where Dora might be?
I I don't.
Could she have stayed with a friend?
No.
We would have heard about that.
[BIRDS SINGING]
What was she like?
She
She was
just a really cheerful kid.
And really pretty and popular and
Dora
she didn't run away from home.
She was kicked out.
Why?
You know, um
My mom and dad dad,
they're really strict.
You know like, "Don't talk back.
Don't kiss boys."
There was a, uh, bad bad fight.
If you find her
would you be able to
tell her that I
I still think about her all the time.
- Yeah.
- I miss her for sure.
I can do that, yeah.
Thank you. Yeah.
Thank you.
Yeah. Good luck.
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
[BOX OPENS]
Well
[WIND BLOWING]
[WOMAN HUMMING]
- [WHISPERING]: Please don't go.
- [WOMAN WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]
Stay with me.
[WOMAN WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]
[SOFT CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
♪
[PHONE RINGING]
Esther Rosenblum?
I'm Adele Halpern. Please.
Thank you for agreeing to meet me.
Happy to.
So, Esther,
tell me, do you work? Study?
I am in law school.
That's wonderful.
And you look so put together.
- [ADELE CHUCKLES]
- Hmm.
I realize this is out of the ordinary.
I was adopted in 1968,
and I got this
from my sister's adoptive family.
And there's your name on it,
so I was hoping you might
remember something about us.
Dora and I have two brothers,
and me, I was Bezhig then.
I, uh
Hmm
I would have just been starting out.
I'm sorry.
I've seen so many children.
Well, I was hoping for something small,
even a sense of
where I might have been born.
Even if I did remember,
it wouldn't be legal
for me to tell you. But I wish you luck.
Thank you for your time, Mrs. Halpern.
I'm happy to see you're doing so well.
[WOMAN]: Now, just one
signature, certainly you
Your family crest? I love it.
We're gonna take you home. We're
gonna take you on an airplane.
[MAN]: Oh, we got a gre.
- [WOMAN]: You're gonna love it.
- [MAN]: You're gonna love it.
[OVERLAPPING INDISTINCT VOICES]
[MAN]: Let me ask you
something, you like ice cream?
[WOMAN]: Is there something
that you would like to say
to Mr. and Mrs. Rosenblum,
Bezhig?
[BEZHIG]: Are you going
to be my mom and dad?
[WOMAN]: Of course. Of
course. We're so happy.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[PHONE RINGING]
♪
Wolves don't live by the rules ♪
Wolves don't live by the rules ♪
Valleys to hills ♪
You can hear the cry ♪
They have to fight ♪
To stay alive ♪
No one can change it ♪
Mother Nature knows ♪
The reason why ♪
Oh, wolves don't live by the rules ♪
Wolves don't live by the rules ♪
They're born to kill ♪
And to be free ♪
Their life is hard ♪
But they're meant to be ♪
The cry of the wild is the only way ♪
They can see ♪
Oh, wolves ♪
Don't live by the rules ♪
Wolves don't live by the rules ♪
♪
Wolves don't live by the rules ♪
Wolves don't live by the rules ♪
Valleys through hills ♪
You can hear the cry ♪
They have to fight to stay ♪
Alive ♪
No one can change it ♪
Mother nature knows ♪
The reason why ♪
Oh, wolves don't live by the rules ♪
Wolves don't live ♪
By the rules ♪
They're born to kill and to be free ♪
Their lives are hard,
but they're meant ♪
To be ♪
The cry of the wild is the only way ♪
They can see ♪
Oh, wolves don't live ♪
By the rules ♪
♪
[GENTLE FLUTE MUSIC]
[SCRIBBLING SOUNDS]
[PAPER RUSTLING]
[SCRIBBLING SOUNDS]
[CHILDREN CRYING]
[WHISPERING]: Dora? Dora?
What? What?
[WHISPERING]: Come on.
- [WHISPERING]: Okay.
- [WHISPERING]: Be quiet.
[CHILDREN CRYING]
Shhh
[WHISPERING]: Come
on. We gotta get Niizh.
Niizh, get up.
- Huh?
- We gotta go, Niizh.
- Uh-huh?
- We're gonna go see Mama.
Okay.
[CHILDREN CRYING]
[SOFT CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
[SCRIBBLING SOUNDS]
[PAPER RUSTLING]
[SCRIBBLING SOUNDS]
[PAPER RUSTLING]
[SCRIBBLING SOUNDS]
[ALARMING MUSIC]
[WOMAN]: Hey!
[DISTANT CHAMBER MUSIC PLAYING]
[SIGHS]
[PHONE RINGING]
[GOLDA]: You have reached
Golda and Esther Rosenblum.
We're not at home,
please leave a message.
at the sound of the tone.
[MACHINE BEEPS]
MAN: Esther,
I'm so sorry about my mom. I'm sorry.
She was wrong about all of it
and it doesn't really
matter what she thinks
because that's not how I feel.
To be truthful, I was
like, "Mom is like that."
Okay, I'm gonna go.
I spent a couple of hours
last night telling her off.
Call me back when you're ready.
[MACHINE BEEPS]
[SNIFFLING]
[APPLAUSE AND CHEERING]
[SIGHS]
[CHAMBER MUSIC PLAYING]
Mom?
♪
[KID]: Bezhig!
♪
[PHONE RINGING]
[GOLDA]: You have reached
Golda and Esther Rosenblum.
We're not at home,
please leave your message
at the sound of the tone.
[MACHINE BEEPS]
MAN: Esther?
Can you please pick up the phone?
Esther, please. Just call
me at the hospital, please.
I love you.
[MACHINE CLICKS AND BEEPS]
[CHAMBER MUSIC PLAYING]
[COUNTRY MUSIC PLAYING ON THE RADIO]
[MAN]: I am so proud of you.
What's Ma gonna do when I tell her?
She's gonna be really
proud, really proud.
She she's gonna cook.
[INDISTINCT COUNTRY
SONG PLAYING ON RADIO]
Lie down, Leo. Now.
Don't move.
- [REPEATED BUZZING]
- [PLANE ROARING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[INDISTINCT PA SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
- [COIN CLINKING]
- [DIAL TONE]
[BUTTONS CLICKING]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- [PHONE RINGING]
[EXHALES]
[WOMAN WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]
[SOUND OF WIND RUSTLING]
[INDISTINCT PA SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
[PLANE ROARING]
[MAN SPEAKING INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE]
["HEY, LITTLE BIRD" SONG
BY BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE]
Hey, little bird, I remember you ♪
You with your dreams up
higher than you could fly ♪
Hey, I remember you ♪
Hey, hey, little bird ♪
Lost in the summer sun ♪
Those were the days when
your feathers were new ♪
And I remember you ♪
Little bird ♪
Now it's all coming back ♪
The whole world is your habitat ♪
But more than that ♪
If we meet again, will you know me? ♪
So, little bird ♪
Flash your colours and I will sing ♪
Glide into time with
the moon on your wing ♪
Little bird ♪
Little bird ♪
Little bird ♪
Like a gull of the sea ♪
Your resting place ♪
Could be heaven or countless oceans ♪
Far from me ♪
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
Stay in the truck no matter what.
[IN ANISHINAABEMOWIN]
- Yeah.
- They took the kids.
- Patti is inside.
- [THUNDER RUMBLING]
[WOMAN SOBBING]
What the fuck they do to you?
Morris? Where are you going?
I'll be right back.
[DOOR CLOSES]
Morris. Morris.
[PATTI CRYING]
Oh! Oh!
[PATTI CRYING]
They're gone.
Oh, they're gone.
[PATTI SOBBING]
They think you don't feed the kids
because you don't have a fridge.
Stay here.
- Please take those cuffs off her.
- Did she calm down?
- Yeah, she is.
- She fought with us.
Hey, you think we don't feed our kids?
- That's the social workers.
- The kids aren't going hungry.
There's no fridge in the house
because we keep it out back.
You want to take it up with
the social workers, that's fine,
if that's what you're saying.
I'm saying we don't need the fridge!
Okay, step back.
I'm trying to tell you we're
taking care of our kids, fuck!
That's my wife in there. Why did
you put those handcuffs on her?
She ran off on us, okay?
We had to chase her down.
How long were you gonna leave
her like that on the floor?
- Are you gonna keep yelling?
- Where the fuck are my kids?!
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
- Don't fucking come off on me!
- Okay.
- Calm down.
- Don't fucking touch me!
- Hey.
- Get the fuck off me!
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
- [POLICEMAN PUNCHING]
- [MORRIS GROANING]
- Nooo!
- Get back!
Back in the house!
- [PATTI SCREAMS]
- [POLICEMAN PUNCHING]
[WOMEN SOBBING]
[POLICEMAN STILL PUNCHING]
- NOOO!
- AAH!
- [SCREAMING AND SOBBING]
- [THUNDER RUMBLING]
- Oh, Morris, no
- [MORRIS GROANING]
[THUNDER RUMBLING]
[INDISTINCT SHOUTING]
- [PATTI CRYING]
- Okay.
There you go.
[PATTI]: No!
Oh, my Morris.
Please. [PATTI CRYING]
[PATTI SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
So where are you taking him?
- [PATTI CRYING]
- [THUNDER RUMBLING]
[CRICKETS CHIRPING]
[PATTI SPEAKING ANISHINAABEMOWIN]
No.
No, no, they're not gone.
I've heard they take 'em to that
that big building on Albert Street.
That's where they take them.
We're gonna go there.
You're gonna go there.
It's gonna be okay.
Look at me.
It's gonna be okay,
Patti. I promise you.
Hey. Hey.
Your boy needs you.
Leo needs you right now, come on.
Come on, let's go.
[WIND GUSTING]
- [PRAYING IN ANISHINAABEMOWIN]
- [THUNDER RUMBLING]
[PATTI WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]
[RADIO]: morning in Regina,
but things are looking up
for the rest of the week
and into the weekend.
Here's another hour
of classical FM to soothe you more.
[CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING ON RADIO]
[SIGHS]
[CLOCK TICKING]
- [PHONE RINGING]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
Esther Rosenblum?
- We're just this way.
- [PHONE RINGING]
- You're from around here, Esther?
- No. Montreal.
Ah. Hope you like prairies.
So you've come about your adoption?
[PAPER RUSTLING]
This is me.
I'm looking for family members.
Well, the thing is your
adoption file is sealed.
All adoption files are.
But why am I not
allowed to be in contact
with the siblings
that I remember having?
I flew here from Montreal.
Well, you should have called first.
I did call. This morning.
They told me to come in.
- I am sorry about that.
- But I must be able to access something.
I was advertised
publicly in the newspaper;
I don't get the sense
this department's overly
concerned with privacy.
I'm sorry.
[TYPEWRITING SOUNDS]
Where was I born?
The place of birth
on my birth certificate is Montreal,
but I wasn't born in
Montreal. I was advertised
for adoption out of Regina.
That's a legal document
that's been falsified.
Look, do you want a coffee?
I will go and I'll pull your file,
and I'll double-check. Okay?
[WOMAN WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]
[PHONE RINGING]
So, Esther, I checked with legal,
and your file is sealed.
But there is a note on your file
that you have a sister, a Dora Mueller,
who wishes to be contacted.
Would you like it?
Your sister's number?
Yeah. I Yes.
I'm sorry, this is all I can release.
[SQUEAKING]
Hey! Open the door!
Open the door! I want my kids!
Madam! Why are you
yelling? Are you drunk?
My kids. I want my kids.
If you push your way past me,
all that's gonna happen is
I'm gonna call the police,
and you still won't have your kids.
Is that what you want?
- I want my kids.
- Then stop.
Because all you'll get is jail.
I appreciate you're upset,
but this is not how you go about things.
You should be going over
to child protective services
over on Broad Street. You go in there,
tell 'em you'll do better from now on.
You might want to get
yourself calmed down
before you go on over there.
[DOOR CREAKING AND CLANKING]
- [INDISTINCT CHATTER]
- You still got a fever.
Where is Mama?
At home probably.
You should eat some food.
Where is Mama?
At home, Dora.
- When is she coming?
- Come on, you gotta eat up now.
She'll come when she can, okay?
Listen. Listen to me, Niizh.
Everything's gonna be okay.
Now, you should eat some food.
[WOMAN]: Sit up straight.
Sit up straight.
Don't play with that.
[ENGINE BUZZING]
[DOG BARKING]
Aaaaah!
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
[COIN CLINKING]
[DIAL TONE] [BUTTONS CLICKING]
[THREE BEEPS]
[FEMALE VOICE]: Your call
cannot be completed as dialed.
Please check the number and dial again.
- [COIN CLINKING]
- [DIAL TONE]
[BUTTONS CLICKING]
[PHONE RINGING]
MAN: Mueller residence.
Hi. I'm looking for a Dora Mueller.
I'm sorry, I think you
got the wrong number.
Okay, thank you.
[COIN CLINKING]
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[PHONE RINGING]
My children were taken yesterday,
and I'm here because I want them back.
Well, okay.
- Your name?
- Patricia Little Bird.
[WOMAN]: How can we help?
Didn't know it would be you.
Well, we're the child
case workers on your file,
- so who else would it be?
- You took my kids yesterday.
Apprehended.
Your children were apprehended.
I want to see if I can get them back.
What you're saying is you
would like to be notified
once the protection hearing is set?
- [PATTI]: Yes.
- You coming in today so soon
really shows how much you care.
The post-apprehension hearing
will be in a few months.
A few months?
With court delays even longer.
I can't see them for a few months?
Are they being looked after?
They are.
Mrs. Little Bird
were you looking after them?
Do you understand that they were removed
from your care because
we deemed you unfit?
Once we apprehended your children,
you forfeit your right to know anything
about their circumstances
or their whereabouts.
They are temporary wards of the Crown.
Do you follow?
They are under the care
and protection of the government now.
- If it was your children
- I wouldn't neglect my children.
Adele, would you would
you neglect your children?
[SOFTLY]: I-I don't have
I I don't
- No.
- I don't think.
I didn't say it properly
when you were in the house
but they are my children.
I look after them.
I feed them.
I'm their mother.
I came today to say
I will do better. Please.
Mrs. Little Bird,
don't you have a fourth child
named Leo?
- Yes.
- Yes.
If I were you, I would be trying
to hold onto the one
child that I have left.
Mrs. Little Bird, are you leaving?
What are you doing?!
Ha!
Well, I guess this meeting is over.
- Ha!
- [PHONE RINGING]
- WOMAN: [HELLO?]
- Where's Leo?
- [PATTI?]
- Yeah.
He's outside. Leo!
You gotta take him somewhere else,
Asin's house. Take him there.
- Okay.
- I'm hanging up now.
Patti, don't hang up. Are you there?
- Hey?
- Yeah, yeah.
Morris is in the Indian hospital.
I got a call from Shannon who
has a cousin who works there.
Cops brought him in, and he's
he's not doing so good, Patti.
Okay. Okay.
Take Leo now.
[PHONE RINGING]
WOMAN: [HELLO?]
Hi. I'm looking for a Dora Mueller.
Dora?
Yeah.
She doesn't live here anymore.
But this is where she lived?
Yes.
Do you know where I can reach her?
No.
I haven't seen her in five years now.
You don't have a phone number?
- A forwarding address?
- She ran off.
And you're her mother?
I was, yes.
I'm her sister.
I was adopted too.
That's why I'm calling.
Do you have any sense of
where I could find her?
No.
Well, I appreciate your time.
You're the first person
I've talked to who knows her.
Um, do you maybe have
a photograph of Dora?
Good luck finding her.
[DIAL TONE]
[COIN CLINKING]
[EXHALES]
[WOMAN]: You should get yourself ready.
The cops brought him in late last night.
They said he kept slamming his head
against the doors in holding.
[NURSE SIGHS]
The doctor hasn't been in this week yet,
but we got him all cleaned up.
Morris? You have a visitor.
[BREATHING AUDIBLY]
I'm sorry.
Shhh, shhh, shhh, shh It's okay.
I'm so sorry.
They they fucked me up and
- You gotta get the kids back.
- I will.
Don't worry about that.
You gotta do it now.
Shh, shh, shh, shh
I'm gonna get them back.
[SOFT MUSIC PLAYING ON THE RADIO]
[DOOR OPENS]
Hi.
Hi.
I'm Esther.
We spoke on the phone about an hour ago.
I'm Dora's sister.
Uh, I I [LAUGHS NERVOUSLY]
I didn't know she, um, had a sister.
Are you her brother?
- Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
- I was thinking that if I came in person,
you might want to talk
to me a little more,
- maybe show me a photo of her.
- Yeah,
well, I think there's
a whole pile of them
up in the attic actually. Isn't there?
I doubt it.
Well, a photo would really mean a lot.
Why don't you, um Why
don't you leave a number.
Yeah, sure.
I'm staying at a motel in town.
[PAPER RUSTLING]
You said she ran away.
Why did she do that?
She was a good little girl.
And then she turned bad and
- There was no turning her back
- Mom, that's not
- it's not it went
- Get inside. Go back inside.
Well, what did the police
say when she went missing?
What, you didn't
report it to the police?
I did not, no.
Weren't you worried about her?
Wait, are you closing the door on me?
Well, hey, I'd really like that photo!
[KEYS CLINKING]
[KNOCKING ON CAR WINDOW]
I'm gonna call you, okay?
Okay.
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
Oof
[ENGINE REVS UP]
- [DETONATION]
- Bezhig, come with me.
- [DETONATION]
- Stand up. What's that?
- We'll sew the inside.
- [DETONATION]
It'll just take a minute.
- A minute. Take it off.
- [MAN]: Smile.
[WOMAN]: I know you don't
want to come out. I'm gonna
Just for a second. It's okay, okay?
- I don't want to come out.
- I know you don't want to,
- but it's gonna take one second.
- I don't want to come out.
- Don't want to.
- Okay.
My goodness me. What's
the matter with you?
Come here.
Now stop it, okay?
All we want to do is take your photo.
We just want to make you
look your very, very best,
so that people will
see your photo and say,
"Oh my, what a handsome
little guy that is.
I'd like to take him
home with me and look
after him and make him happy." Okay?
[CAMERA CLICKS]
[PHOTOGRAPHER]: There we go.
Well, are you gonna quit?
Girls who are gonna quit
all have that same look
ON THEIR FACE: melodramatic.
My brother, he has a carwash,
and he said that I could work the till.
Jesus, Adele.
You're gonna let all that
education go to waste?
I'm just finding it
What?
- Difficult.
- [JEANNIE SIGHS]
[ADELE]: All of the crying.
[JEANNIE]: You're not
gonna be able to do this job
unless you can go beyond being nice.
You have to think to yourself,
I'm saving these children
- [CAMERA CLICKS]
- from a life of poverty.
Hmm?
You know,
the best thing to do
at the end of a long day
is do what men do.
Go home, kiss that
handsome husband of yours
or better still, wrap
your legs around him,
pour yourself a drink,
kick your feet up,
and watch something on television.
Not the news.
You know, something funny.
[CHUCKLES] Hmm!
- [JEANNIE EXHALES]
- [CAMERA CLICKS]
And try not to think about
the office too much, okay?
Okay, you're all done here,
so we're gonna go sit
over here, okay? You did
really, really well. Good boy.
- Don't move.
- [WOMAN]: Was that fun
- getting all dolled up?
- We're back, Dora!
Getting your photos
taken like movie stars?
Where is my sister?
Oh
She's gone to a foster home, sweetheart.
- She's gone home?
- What's a foster home?
Um, a foster home?
Um, to a nice new family.
But she's my sister.
I know. I know.
But look, your brother,
you still have him.
But she's my sister!
Oh, sweetheart! We didn't
want to interrupt you
in the middle of your photo shoot.
- But she's mine!
- Shh, shh, shh!
- You're next, don't worry.
- I need her! Go get her!
- She's mine!
- Don't push me.
Don't push me. Hey. Don't hit me.
- Go get her!
- Better watch out, young lady.
You better calm down.
Stop it, stop it right now.
- She's mine!
- Stop it, she's not yours.
She's mine!
[EXHALES SLOWLY]
[BUTTONS CLICKING]
[PHONE RINGING]
[HELLO?]
David?
[SIGHS]
I'm sorry about my mother.
That's okay. I know she probably
She didn't mean well.
You haven't been home.
No one knows where you are.
I am in Regina.
- Regina?
- Mm-hmm.
You're not in Montreal?
Why?
I've been thinking a
lot about my real family.
Yeah?
Okay.
I have memories of them that come.
I can remember that I have
this whole other family,
and I want to know
what happened to them.
But you're in Regina?
- Yeah.
- Like in a in a
In a motel.
Your mother's been calling
me every 10 minutes.
And you walked out of
our engagement party,
and then you flew to Regina?
You know, I've been losing my mind.
Look, I know, it doesn't
make a ton of sense.
I don't know what I'm doing, David.
But I felt like I really needed to go,
and I haven't gone
looking for them until now
because the last time I
brought it up with my mom
on my 16th birthday, she was
very upset.
So, you wanna find your family?
- Yeah.
- That's
[DAVID EXHALES]
That
I mean, of course you do.
I want that for you.
It's just you don't you didn't once
think to yourself, like
maybe I'll give David a call,
let him know I'm flying to Regina?
Fine! I'm sorry. I knew
you'd get all pissed off.
- Yeah!
- Look, I didn't tell you
because I was pretty sure you'd say
that's crazy and why don't
you wait a little and see
how you feel in a
week, and I wanted to go
before you or anybody else
could talk me out of it.
And I felt like if I don't do it now,
before we get married,
then I won't do it at all,
and I'll get all caught up
in us and having kids
Are you planning on coming home at all?
Of course I'm coming home!
I'm going to look for them,
and then yes.
What, so what? In a week? Two weeks?
That meeting we have with the rabbi,
I'll be home for that.
And your mom?
[SNIFFLES]
Can you tell her I'm in Regina
and I'm safe, and I'll call her soon?
Yeah, okay.
[OKAY.]
Wait. In the meantime
just don't forget you love me.
So much that you want to marry me even.
I do love you.
[DAVID EXHALES THEN SNIFFLES]
You got a phone in that motel room?
- Sunset Motel.
- Let me get a pen.
Room 17.
306-555-0806.
Call me again soon.
Bye, David.
[ESTHER HANGS UP]
[DIAL TONE]
[PHONE BEEPS]
[EXHALES SLOWLY]
[CAR DOOR OPENS]
Hi.
It's whatever I could grab.
Thank you.
My mom's at work, so
Do you have any sense
of where Dora might be?
I I don't.
Could she have stayed with a friend?
No.
We would have heard about that.
[BIRDS SINGING]
What was she like?
She
She was
just a really cheerful kid.
And really pretty and popular and
Dora
she didn't run away from home.
She was kicked out.
Why?
You know, um
My mom and dad dad,
they're really strict.
You know like, "Don't talk back.
Don't kiss boys."
There was a, uh, bad bad fight.
If you find her
would you be able to
tell her that I
I still think about her all the time.
- Yeah.
- I miss her for sure.
I can do that, yeah.
Thank you. Yeah.
Thank you.
Yeah. Good luck.
[CAR DOOR CLOSES]
[BOX OPENS]
Well
[WIND BLOWING]
[WOMAN HUMMING]
- [WHISPERING]: Please don't go.
- [WOMAN WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]
Stay with me.
[WOMAN WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY]
[SOFT CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYING]
♪
[PHONE RINGING]
Esther Rosenblum?
I'm Adele Halpern. Please.
Thank you for agreeing to meet me.
Happy to.
So, Esther,
tell me, do you work? Study?
I am in law school.
That's wonderful.
And you look so put together.
- [ADELE CHUCKLES]
- Hmm.
I realize this is out of the ordinary.
I was adopted in 1968,
and I got this
from my sister's adoptive family.
And there's your name on it,
so I was hoping you might
remember something about us.
Dora and I have two brothers,
and me, I was Bezhig then.
I, uh
Hmm
I would have just been starting out.
I'm sorry.
I've seen so many children.
Well, I was hoping for something small,
even a sense of
where I might have been born.
Even if I did remember,
it wouldn't be legal
for me to tell you. But I wish you luck.
Thank you for your time, Mrs. Halpern.
I'm happy to see you're doing so well.
[WOMAN]: Now, just one
signature, certainly you
Your family crest? I love it.
We're gonna take you home. We're
gonna take you on an airplane.
[MAN]: Oh, we got a gre.
- [WOMAN]: You're gonna love it.
- [MAN]: You're gonna love it.
[OVERLAPPING INDISTINCT VOICES]
[MAN]: Let me ask you
something, you like ice cream?
[WOMAN]: Is there something
that you would like to say
to Mr. and Mrs. Rosenblum,
Bezhig?
[BEZHIG]: Are you going
to be my mom and dad?
[WOMAN]: Of course. Of
course. We're so happy.
[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
[PHONE RINGING]
♪
Wolves don't live by the rules ♪
Wolves don't live by the rules ♪
Valleys to hills ♪
You can hear the cry ♪
They have to fight ♪
To stay alive ♪
No one can change it ♪
Mother Nature knows ♪
The reason why ♪
Oh, wolves don't live by the rules ♪
Wolves don't live by the rules ♪
They're born to kill ♪
And to be free ♪
Their life is hard ♪
But they're meant to be ♪
The cry of the wild is the only way ♪
They can see ♪
Oh, wolves ♪
Don't live by the rules ♪
Wolves don't live by the rules ♪
♪
Wolves don't live by the rules ♪
Wolves don't live by the rules ♪
Valleys through hills ♪
You can hear the cry ♪
They have to fight to stay ♪
Alive ♪
No one can change it ♪
Mother nature knows ♪
The reason why ♪
Oh, wolves don't live by the rules ♪
Wolves don't live ♪
By the rules ♪
They're born to kill and to be free ♪
Their lives are hard,
but they're meant ♪
To be ♪
The cry of the wild is the only way ♪
They can see ♪
Oh, wolves don't live ♪
By the rules ♪