When I first come to America, I know nothing. How to dress, what to eat. I sleep in a closet with a stuck hanger in my jacket so I don't fall down. On the street, I hear this phrase. You know this phrase: American values. And I think what does it mean? Financial values, I understand. Money, what a thing is worth. Human values, this also makes sense. The things we love. Family, i bambini. But this American values, land of the free, home of the brave. This I don't know. And then I learn the history of this country. Your slavery, the smallpox in the blankets, how you stole the land from the natives. And I realize to be an American is to pretend. Capisce? You pretend to be one thing when really you are something else. And I can do that. Lie. Hide. But what I will not do is pretend we are at peace when really we are at war. Are we at war?
Not yet, but we're trying real hard.
Goodness. Your mind's a clutter of grievances. Here I am talking about waterfalls and you're making a list of nemeses.
Friends or enemies. That's the world, hm?
Oraetta Mayflower's enemy to no man.
You're a dame. Where I come from, we sleep with one eye open and a razor in our teeth. You got any more of that fluffy whiz bang? Get my head on straight?
And here I thought you liked me for my vocabulary.
Well, it's not your vocabulary that just took a ride in my lap.
[Josto smacks Oraetta on her behind]
Hey! Rude! We fly elevated in this house, mister! Proper ladies and gentlemen, which is a lesson you should take to heart in your other lives. And you sleep with a mouthful of razors, it's your own throat that gets cut, believe you me.
That's a lot of greenbacks, Thurman.
Well, sir, I'd rather not say. [Loy stares at him] It was, uh, the loss of a loved one, if you must know. My dear Uncle Boolie. He passed last week, left me this money, and since you were nice enough to give us that loan, I figured I should bring it you straight away.
So he left you this bag of cash. Your uncle...what was it?
Boolie. No, sir. His bequeathment came in check form. Uh, I just figured cash should be easier for you.
Thurman, Thurman. Always thinking. I got to tell you, I can't remember the last time a white man tried to make my life easier.
Here's you. [Loy takes a long, suspicious stare at Thurman, making Thurman nervous] Well, okay! Thanks for stopping by.
Okay then. [Thurman stands up] That's...hoo! I got to say, I really thought you were gonna shoot me there, money or no.
[chuckling nervously] I'm gonna go now.
[Thurman heads to the door, then turns around]
You have a lovely home. Uh...
Listen, this Miss Mayflower. She's....she's not really...I mean, I'm sure she's real nice, but she's not someone you should be hanging around, huh? We got a real precarious situation here, living outside the law and all, so... Not to mention, I think she might've poisoned that pie she baked us. Anyway, steer clear.
Aunt Zelmare, what would you do if you saw something wrong? Something you could fix?
ZRZelmare Routlette
Nothing.
ZRZelmare Routlette
I mean nothing.
Because you're a criminal?
ZRZelmare Routlette
I ain't a criminal.
You're innocent, you're saying?
ZRZelmare Routlette
Girl, I ain't been innocent since Uncle Charlie cornered me in the shed when I was nine.
SCSwanee Capps
She's saying we ain't criminals. We're outlaws.
ZRZelmare Routlette
See, criminals play the game.
SCSwanee Capps
Life. The earth.
ZRZelmare Routlette
Society, right? They got their rules. Banking and family. An honest dollar for an honest day's work. Politics and voting. And the criminal, he on the other side of that, but still he play the game. And if he plays it long enough, he even starts to talk about going legit.
SCSwanee Capps
The outlaw, on the other hand...
ZRZelmare Routlette
The outlaw, on the other hand, well, we reject the game. Society. Ain't nothing organized about our crime 'cause our crime is freedom.
ZRZelmare Routlette
And nothing's ever broke and there ain't nothing to fix.
SCSwanee Capps
All we want is to live while we're alive and die with a gun in our hands.
ZRZelmare Routlette
You a bit of an outlaw.
ZRZelmare Routlette
Yeah. Your mama sees it, too. In the eyes. That's why she say, "Keep away."
SCSwanee Capps
Then which are you - a convict or a square?
I'm not either one of those things.
ZRZelmare Routlette
What are you then?
I'm Ethelrida Pearl Smutny. One of a kind.
I just came home to change my shirt.
What? [to Buel] What's wrong with her? Where you off to?
BCBuel Cannon
They arrested your son.
BCBuel Cannon
The same way you're handling your other son, lives in an attic with an Irishman?
Come on now, we talked about that.
BCBuel Cannon
We did, and there he is, eating someone else's food still.
Doc's gonna bail the boy out this morning. He got his bell rung pretty good, but he's alright.
BCBuel Cannon
I'll get him.
He's not the only boy I got in there. They all need bailing out. Now, Doc's gonna sort it.
BCBuel Cannon
You best get out of my way.
[to Narcissa] You got something to say to me?
BCBuel Cannon
Don't take this out on mama.
You ain't going down there.
BCBuel Cannon
Loy Cannon, you know better than to come between a mother and her child.
BCBuel Cannon
Oh, you handling it. Well, send a letter to the Pope! You hear that, mama? Daddy's handling it!
BCBuel Cannon
I got two baby girls upstairs sleeping. You're gonna handle them, too? Maybe into the hospital or the cemetery? Pretty soon, all we're gonna have around here is a house full of clothes.
I said I'm....You like that coat you're wearing? The food you're eating? [to Narcissa] How about you, your majesty? You like the view from your room? Your fancy blankets? Where do you think all that comes from? [to Buel] The razor's edge! What, we're supposed to get rich and stay rich? How? By saying our prayers? The boy went to the club and the bulls lit him up. You act like that can't happen just walking down the street. Acting like the I'm the villain when all I do is fight for this family! You don't like how it's going? You scared to take the risk? Too bad. We're on the ride now, and we can't get off until the roller coaster stops! Now take off your damn coat and get me some fucking coffee! [Buel takes off her coat and slowly walks away. Loy turns to Narcissa] Can I get a "mmhmm?"
[final words] Like I tried to tell you, I don't know how they do it in your country, but here in America, respect is earned. Ebal, he earned my respect. But you? You... You're just boys making a mess that one day I'm gonna have to clean up. [Doctor stands and heads for the exit, paying the waitress] Thanks for the coffee, Nadine.
I'm losing this war, Odis. People are being taken from me. People I trust. Things I've earned. You see, I'm not just fighting a few Italians. I'm fighting 400 years of history. I'm fighting a mindset. [Loy notices a large set of Hummel figurines] You like those dolls, huh? You collect 'em?
How do you think they feel, being owned? Imagine if these dolls rose up and became citizens of this apartment. Imagine if they asked for equal rights? You might say, "Man, fuck these dolls. I'm gonna crush these dolls, thinking they all human, thinking they equal." 'Cause that's your mindset. And look, maybe you feel like these Italians own you, but you got no idea what it feels like to be actual owned, to be property. Until now. 'Cause I own you. You're gonna help me win this war or I'm gonna put you in the ground, you hear me?
ADAntoon Dumini
The Americans, when they capture me, I was cooking my belt.
ADAntoon Dumini
I already eat my shoes. Monte Cassino. They send me here, to Kansas. Did you know they bring war prisoners here? I think I was dead. A corpse, they shipped. A skeleton. It was the food, the smell, that bring me back. Fields of corn, bread for every meal. Land of plenty. That's in the Constitution. Every day the sun come out. That big, yellow American sun. It make me grow again, like a winter weed. And then, I am alive again. I took the blood oath, carve my name on the stone there. "Antoon Dumini, American." This I would become.
Yes, but don't look away. This is what men do. Snap out of it. We have to go. It's war now, for real. You're not safe here.
You're not safe there, either. You trust me? [Satchel nods] I never got to choose. A child soldier, that's what they made me. But that's not gonna happen to you. Understand?
So we're gonna find someplace quiet, wait 'til the dust settles, and if you want to go home - if that's your choice - I'll take you home. Understand?
