The Constant Gardener Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kenya

Justin Quayle, the movie's protagonist, is posted as a diplomat at the British High Commission in Nairobi, Kenya. The movie explores the Commission's various connections within Kenya. Alongside this perspective, the audience sees another aspect of Kenya through Tessa Quayle, Justin's wife, and ultimately these experiences connect.

"The Constant Gardener" also features many scenes of the landscape of Nairobi, in particular, and its people. A number of scenes feature rusty shacks close to the railway line, for Nairobi was first established as a railway camp in 1899.

Answer: "Nothing can grow in concrete."

In this scene, Justin illustrates not only the sadness of Tessa's death, he also shows Tessa's want to continue her connection to Africa, as the quote explains "Tessa expressed a wish to lie in African soil...nothing can grow in concrete. Kindly tell them to please leave, Ghita."

The quote also gives a slight allusion to Justin being "The Constant Gardener", backed up by his hobby of gardening that the audience sees in various forms throughout the film.

Answer: Investment

The Three Bees is an investment company with their finger in many pies in Kenya. In one scene, Justin Quayle is passed by a truck on the street that features prominently an advertisement for Three Bees brand milk. In another scene, Justin is using pesticide in his garden that has the Three Bees logo on it. However, the investment that is featured most prominently in the movie is the Three Bees investment in the tuberculosis drug, Dypraxa.

The investment nature of the partnership between KDH and Three Bees is illustrated by Sandy, a colleague of Justin, when he states that "KDH needed an investment partner here (Kenya)", and later in the movie when the CEO of Three Bees, Kenny Curtis, takes Justin to see where the bodies of those who have died from Dypraxa are buried. Kenny says the reason why he is doing so is because "they want another country's flag flying over my pharma division."

The reason why this partnership was formed was posed by a question from Tess to Birgit, Tess' primary contact at Hippo, when she asks "Why are Three Bees spending $70 million dollars to test Dypraxa for KDH? Is the African market worth that much?" Birgit replies "If the TB market performs as forecast billions and billions are waiting to be earned, and the point to earning them is Dypraxa. If, of course, the preliminary trials in Africa have not thrown up any disturbing side effects."

The actual nature of the partnership between KDH and Three Bees can be found in a quote by Ham, when discussing Tessa's work, he said that she was "trying to find out who brokered the marriage." To which Justin interjects "what marriage?" and Ham replies "KDH and Three Bees". Ham goes on to say "KDH make Dypraxa, Three Bees test it. It is a marriage of convenience."

Answer: Fernando Meirelles

Fernando Meirelles, who also directed the wonderful "City of God", was born on November 9, 1955 in São Paulo, Brazil.

Meirelles chose to change aspects of the original script to "The Constant Gardener" written by Jeffrey Caine, and based upon John le Carré's book of the same name. He has said that the "first script, had a lot to do with the British class society, you know. And I took all this out. I mean, a lot of, so, I took a lot of characters out and I tried to bring the story to Kenya. Watching the film, you see a lot of scenes in the streets, in the markets, and those scenes weren't in the script in the first place. So this is my contribution, bringing Kenya to the film and taking a bit of the British issues out."

Answer: "You can learn me."

It is from this scene that one of the various story arcs that weaves throughout the film begins, namely Justin's and the audience's doubts of the credibility of Justin's and Tessa's relationship.

After Tessa's death at the beginning of the movie, the story explores, in flashback, how Tessa and Justin meet and how ultimately they both come to be in Kenya. In this scene, although they only essentially know each other from one night together, Tessa asks Justin to "take me to Africa with you". He is perplexed by her request, and jokes "that I could roll you up in a rug, pack you in a tea chest...I could put you with these plant boxes. You will be very comfortable wrapped up in a little piece of...I could label you Tessa." Justin, seeing her seriousness, asks "what capacity should I take you to Africa?" to which Tessa replies "I don't mind, you could take me as your mistress, lover, wife...yes or no?" Justin replies "we hardly know one another or anything" and Tessa smiles with the beautiful line of "you can learn me."

Answer: Hippo

The full name of this organisation is Hippo Gegen Pharma, but in the film they are often simply referred to as Hippo. Birgit, who is Tessa's main contact within the organisation, states in one scene that "wherever there are drug companies testing their drugs on people who they think are expendable, you will find organisations like ours trying to fight back."

Answer: Arnold

His full name is Dr. Arnold Bluhm, and he is played by the actor Hubert Kounde. In the film, Arnold is from Belgium and works at the Uhuru hospital as part of Medicin du Monde (Doctors of the World). He highlights the problems that are occurring in Kenya to Tessa, and they co-write a report to try and expose the faulty drug which ultimately ends in their deaths.

Answer: British High Commission

Justin Quayle is a low-level diplomat at the British High Commission in Kenya. Tess is introduced to the Kenyan health minister as the "wife of our Representative for Aid Effectiveness" during a cocktail function, and later in the movie Justin introduces himself to Kenny Curtis as "my name is Justin Quayle from the High Comission."

Answer: Rachel Weisz

This was the first Academy Award for Rachel Weisz whose other films have included "The Mummy" franchise and "The Fountain". She also won a Golden Globe for her performance as Tessa Quayle, and she was nominated for a BAFTA in the category of Best Actress in a Leading Role in the same role, but lost out to Reese Witherspoon for "Walk the Line". She married fellow actor Daniel Craig in 2011.

"The Constant Gardener" was also nominated for three other Academy awards in 2006 which were Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score and Best Film Editing.

Answer: Italy

Aunt Claudia's location is mentioned three times throughout the movie. Firstly with Tessa's cousin Ham; "I've got the address for Aunt Claudia, the old bat in Rome. If you want to get in contact with me, you'd better do it through her. She adored Tess."

Later in the movie, Justin then addresses a letter to Claudia Manzini in Roma. He asks, Mr. Andika, the pilot, for one more favour and when he sees the address Mr. Andika replies "Ah, Rome."

There is also another mention of Tessa's family being in Italy when she chats to Ham via webcam, and says "...then I'll push you into the Tiber like I did when we were sixteen." The Tiber river is the third longest river in Italy.