The Giver

After The Ruin, we started over,

creating a new society,

one of true equality.

Rules were the building blocks of that equality.

We learned them as Newchildren.

Rules like:

Injected.

My name is Jonas.

I don't have a last name.

None of us did.

That day, the day before graduation,

I admit it, I was scared.

Tomorrow we'd be assigned our jobs, our purpose.

It seemed everyone knew theirs already.

Not me.

I was lost.

I always felt like I saw things

differently,

saw things other people didn't.

I never said anything.

I didn't want to be different.

Who would?

- - Jonas.

I apologize, we're late.

I got Asher to come say goodbye to Teacher.

I accept your apology.

Asher and Fiona,

we'd been friends our whole lives.

Asher was the boy who made everyone laugh.

Fiona, well,

she was the girl who made everyone smile.

Take that back!

Whoever is listening, please, please,

do not make me Vice Chancellor of Waste Management!

Please!

We lived in a world

where differences weren't allowed.

There was no "popular."

No fame.

No losers and no winners.

Our Elders had eliminated all of that

so there'd be no conflict between us.

Fear, pain, envy, hate,

they weren't words so much as sounds.

Their echoes were gone, to the other side of history.

I'm asked if I should apologize for what I did.

I'll let you decide.

I'm going to miss volunteering here.

Oh, no. If ever there was a person born

to work at the Nurturing Center...

I could be surprised, right?

Jonas, if you had to guess,

of all the positions the elders picked for me?

Nurturing Center.

Welcome to the Nurturing Center.

I got this. I got this.

- Think heavy. Think heavy. - Come on, come on.

We win!

Aren't you my chubby champion?

- Which one was heavier? - Mine.

Asher?

Father, I think Fiona put her finger on the scale.

I did not.

Aw, this little guy didn't qualify for tomorrow's ceremony.

He's just not strong enough to be assigned to a family yet.

He looks so unhappy.

- - Hey...

It's okay, Jonas, you can open it.

Yeah, it's Jonas.

Here, let me.

Oh, There you go. There you go.

- It's okay. - Some people have it, huh?

Well, that's just not fair.

Be strong, Gabriel.

You looked at his name?

Isn't that against the rules?

Yeah, it, it is.

I just thought having a name might help him grow.

So I whisper it to him when no one can hear.

Sometimes I call him Gabe.

But he's usually so restless,

I, I'm not even sure he can hear me.

You okay?

Huh? Yeah.

I'm fine.

So the old man turns to the Elder and says,

"Do you know who I am?"

And the Elder says, "Sir, I know you're old,

but that is no excuse for being prideful."

And then the old man says,

"No, really, I'm asking.

- Who am I?" -

I don't get it.

"Who am I?" like, like he forgot who he was.

Okay, but wouldn't the joke be better

- if the old man says... - Okay, one...

- What? -... two...

-... three! -

- -

Aren't we graduates now?

You do this every time!

- Come on! - Okay!

One, two, three!

There you go.

So, I guess this is it.

The last night of our childhood.

I guess everything is gonna be different.

No.

Tomorrow the only thing that changes is what we do.

It doesn't change who we are.

Quick question: Who are we?

Friends.

- Friends forever. - Yes.

Even when you're both assigned to be Birth Mothers.

Hey!

Well, I guess we'll find out tomorrow, huh?

Citizens are reminded

that evening recreation will end in 30 minutes.

Thank you.

Well, he did need to be rehabilitated.

And I know he was Lily's Teacher, but what was I supposed to do?

Hmm.

I feel...

... disappointment.

What was the Elders' decision?

Released to Elsewhere.

Can I be "Released to Elsewhere," Mother?

Even just for one day?

No, you're too young, Lily Billy.

Jonas, your turn for Feelings.

Well, I guess I'm sort of...

... terrified.

Precision of language.

I mean anxious.

When you were about to graduate,

did you ever feel like there was no position meant for you?

They've been watching since you were a Newchild.

The Elders are never wrong.

You'll find your place.

Welcome, citizens,

to the annual Ceremony of Advancement.

Please stand by for a transmission.

Good morning, Community.

Good morning, Chief Elder.

I apologize for my remote attendance.

We accept your apology.

I can't be at every Ceremony in person.

But here's a secret:

you are my favorite Community.

However, because we do not lie,

I readily admit I say that to every Community.

Beginnings...

From disorder and chaos,

from great suffering, great pain.

From confusion and envy and hatred

came a solution:

Communities.

Serene, beautiful places where disorder became harmony.

Let me get through it.

Oh, fine.

It begins.

The Ceremony.

Ceremony of the Release to Elsewhere,

honoring the elderly citizens who have devoted their work

to the beauty and harmony of our beloved Community,

and are now ready for joyous retirement to Elsewhere.

Celebrating the Newchildren,

proudly engineered by our esteemed geneticists.

Abigail.

Produced by our honored Birth Mothers...

- Aurelia. - ... these infants

will now join their assigned family units.

Caleb.

Reaching their halfway mark towards graduation,

our Nines today receive a symbol

of their developing independence and responsibility.

Celebrating the graduates who, today,

will be assigned their positions in our Community.

Good luck.

You, too.

All of your training has been

to help you fit in,

to curb any impulse that may set you apart from others,

but today, we honor your differences,

for they have determined your future.

Here are the Leaders and the Teachers

and the Workers and Birth Mothers of tomorrow,

and I think we're in very good hands.

Number one, Madeline.

Birth Mother.

Thank you for your childhood.

Number two, Ross.

Instructor of the Middles.

Thank you for your childhood.

Number 51, Asher.

Unruly, careless.

Sometimes those most in need of responsibility

learn best by being the practitioners of it.

Drone Pilot.

Thank you for your childhood.