Original subtitles

Well, B, let's go, mijo.

People can't eat their lunch off a paper plate. Come on.

It's too heavy for you, papa. No, no, I got it, I got it.

It's too heavy. You get left here, carne asada.

Is something on your mind, Miss Wayne?

Do you think there's a hint of spring in the air?

Do I look like a groundhog to you? It's just that winter seems to take so long

and everything is cold and bare.

Some people like the winter.

It's true. I know that snow can be beautiful.

And the sounds of the wee ones laughing as they go swishing down a hill on its

lake can be very uplifting.

And there's a certain elegant grace in the moves of an ice skater.

You know, I suppose you're right, Tess.

Winter has its own lovely qualities.

You're happier now?

Yes.

You've gone from cold and bare to lovely in a span of ten steps.

Now, which one is true?

I'm not quite sure what you mean.

Well, you kept lovely and you forgot about cold and bare.

Yes, I was trying to feel better about winter. You see how easy that is for an

angel to do? It's even easier for the humans.

They're always making little revisions in their lives and adjusting their

memories. It's the only way they can live with themselves sometimes.

You remember that because it's a part of the problem for our new assignment.

Where are we going?

Where winter doesn't end.

That's Carla Robinson, Miss Wings.

She's your new assignment.

She seems so cold and hard.

Winter does that to people.

Till the sun don't even shine.

Walk with you.

Every time I tell you I'll walk with you.

Walk with you. Believe me, I'll walk with you.

We've had all kinds of new voters come through here. They've organized choirs

and book clubs and bread groups.

It's all been a waste of time.

You think...

Putting on a show is going to change things.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

A prison drama program can give the women some hope, a chance to picture

themselves outside of these walls, and perhaps then they can live more

peacefully inside.

Well, the powers that be say we have to do it, so we do it.

But understand this, Monica.

I am a corrections officer, not a preacher.

I don't believe in miracles.

This is A -Block, toughest bunch in the place.

Guard.

Good morning, Warden Davis.

Isn't this a lovely day?

This is Tess.

Last officer we had running this block suddenly decided he had to take a leave

of absence.

Tess here dropped out of the sky just when I needed her.

Like a miracle.

She'll show you in. Thank you.

Visitor on the block!

I love saying that.

Wait a minute. We're going to do what?

Everyone on the cell block is going to work together to put on a play.

Oh, you mean like Romeo.

Oh, Romeo.

What's up with that Romeo?

Yeah, something like that.

Why should we?

Well, because sometimes you can learn something about yourself when you see

world through the eyes of someone else, even if you're just playing Juliet for a

little while.

You can't make us do it, you know.

I mean, we've got rights, even in here.

Carla likes to play lawyer.

Oh, really?

Did you go to law school, Carla?

I said play.

She just clogs up the system with a bunch of I didn't do it paper, like

somebody's going to believe it. Shut up and shock her.

Ain't enough paper in the world to get you out of here, girlfriend.

Oh.

What kind of play are we going to do?

I'm not dressing up like some cat or nothing.

Well, before we decide which would be the best play, I thought that each of

could tell me something about yourselves first.

Anything at all?

Who'd like to go first?

Did I mention that anyone who participates will get out an hour early

shop each day?

My name's Nshake. I got a baby boy back home named Advan.

He looks just like his daddy, but I love him anyway.

And that ain't no pretend thing.

And Shakay.

That's a beautiful name.

I'm next.

I'm Suzanne.

And I caught my old man going out on me, and I sent him to intensive care.

I'm Dee Dee.

People did things to me for a long time.

And I guess I just started making stuff happen back.

Jan? I kind of got an anger management issue.

You better shut up.

I'll pass.

Are you sure?

She ain't got no special story.

Murder one, girl was high as a kite, killed some poor stupid bystander. Now

ain't going nowhere for 25 to life.

Oh, wait.

One more thing.

She didn't do it.

I am innocent.

I didn't kill that kid.

Someday I'll prove it.

Mr. Gonzalez?

Come on in.

The door is open.

Mr. Gonzalez?

Who are you?

My name's Andrew. I've been assigned to you by the hospice agency.

Oh, no, no, no.

Where's Lucy? They always send me Lucy.

Well, Lucy decided to take a little time off.

She didn't want to be here for the end, huh?

She just needed a break, that's all.

It's not personal.

Death is never personal, is it?

My beautiful wife, Madrigal, died from a bad heart ten years ago. It wasn't

personal. It was just bad genes.

My son, Orbego, was killed.

It wasn't personal.

That evil woman didn't even know him.

People come and go, and that's all there is to it.

Oh.

How long are you going to be around, Andrew?

I'm going to be here the rest of the way, Mr. Gonzalez.

Agnes of God?

Why not in Shaki of the South Side?

It's a beautiful and haunting play about a sad and confused young woman, Sister

Agnes, who lives inside a convent.

Yo, see, I told you there were worse prisons.

There's a big difference between commitment to God and being committed by

state of Illinois.

Sister Agnes has to face a terrible tragedy that she has convinced herself

miracle from God.

She must be nuts.

Let's turn to page one, shall we?

Where do you think babies come from?

From their mothers and fathers, of course.

Well, I think they come from when an angel lights on their mother's chest and

whispers into her ear, what's up with this nun?

When locked up 16 years, I still remember how babies get made.

She was raped, stupid.

She wants to forget what happened, so she makes up a story about angels

babies. It's the only way she can live with what really happened.

Think you can do better?

Better than that.

Bring it on.

Well, I think they come from when an angel lights on their mother's chest and

whispers. into her ear.

That makes good babies start to grow.

That's very good, Carla.

I did a little bit of drama in high school.

Yeah, I went to high school. I'm not trash.

I mean it. Really. That was very good.

Thank you, you two. Look, why don't we go back to the part where Agnes first

starts talking about the baby.

Remember, Agnes is trying to separate herself from the truth.

I don't know what you're talking about.

You want to talk about the baby. Everybody wants to talk about the baby.

But I never saw the baby, so I don't believe in the baby.

I've been talking for weeks, and nobody believes me when I tell them anything.

And one night, I heard the most beautiful voice imaginable.

For six nights, he thanked me.

Songs I'd never heard.

Charlie's neat.

Charlie's sweet.

Charlie, he's a dandy.

Every time he goes to town, he gets his girl

some candy.

There's something about her, Tess.

Something so vulnerable and deeply wounded.

Perhaps the reason that she's so angry is that she's really innocent.

Twelve people found her guilty, baby.

I know, but just because they found her guilty doesn't mean that she is.

Monica, I was there.

Carla killed Orby Gonzalez, and then she stood there and she laughed.

But she said she didn't do it.

Is Carla lying?

Do you remember me telling you about people adjusting their memories?

Carla doesn't want to remember that she pulled that trigger.

So she's got it buried deep inside so she can ignore it.

And Mr. Gonzalez is one of the witnesses against her, but he never saw the gun.

He never saw her shoot his son. And as long as she denies it, he'll never have

peace of mind.

There's no closure.

And he doesn't have a lot of time, Monica.

Okay.

Okay,

let's take a deep breath.

All right.

Are you in a lot of pain? Because I can up the dosage a little bit if you want.

No, no.

Pain is all I have left.

Oh, come on.

What about your friends, huh?

And your chess club and old afternoon walks in the park?

Oh, distractions, that's all.

Nothing has really mattered since that woman killed my boy.

It was a hard work.

Sounds like it runs in the family.

We worked together in the little restaurant downtown.

Orby had a lot of friends.

He was always running around with somebody, but he always made it sure to

home in time to watch the Bulls game with me.

Sounds like you guys had a great relationship.

Oh, yes.

After Madrigal passed on, we only had each other.

And then there was only me.

You want to know what was the last thing I said to my son? I said,

people can't eat their lunch off of paper plates.

Paper plates.

What kind of last words are those to hold on to?

Paper plates.

Oh, God.

You know, people say I love you in all kinds of different ways.

I'm sure he knew.

That woman, that terrible woman, she took my son from me.

And I, every day, I prayed for her to die, Andrew.

I pray every day.

Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, not yours, Santos.

If you want to pray for something, you pray for peace.

And you pray to find the strength to forgive.

Forgive.

Never.

Never.

You've got a visitor.

Visitors aren't allowed in the cells in violation of penal code number... Don't

quote the rule book to me, Missy.

Especially when I'm trying to help you.

You have a gift for understanding the truth, Carla.

I heard it when you were speaking the lines of Sister Agnes.

I saw it in your eyes.

The pain was real to you, and I'd like to know why.

You want to know what hurts me?

I got a daughter out there.

Last time I saw her, she was just out of diapers.

She's in the fourth grade now.

My Aunt Rachel takes care of her.

Do they come and visit you?

No. I don't want my kid to see me in here.

I'd rather she forget about me completely than have to remember me in

place.

This is the argument for my fourth appeal.

It's the only thing that helps me believe that I'm going to see my little

Meredith again.

The only thing that keeps me from cutting up.

Cutting up?

I'm doing 25 to life.

I decided early on that a life sentence didn't have to mean a long one.

How did you end up in this place, Carla?

All kinds of mistakes.

I got married right out of high school, which lasted about 10 minutes.

But that's how I got Meredith, so that's a mistake I can live with.

And Jimmy came along.

Jimmy? I met him at the Cozy Corner Lounge in 1992.

He had one of those Brad Pitt smiles that you could see a mile away.

Jimmy was big into guns.

Made him feel powerful or something.

The day it all happened, he and I were on our way back from target practice in

the woods.

Jimmy decided that he wanted to score some drugs.

The guy was like 20 minutes late, and Jimmy was getting edgy.

And he pulls out the gun. I told him to put the gun away, but he said it was

just in case.

He always said this stupid thing.

No problemo.

Everything happened so fast.

It felt like slow motion, though.

The dealer started yelling.

Jimmy started yelling.

I didn't know what to do. I screamed for him to put the gun down, but my hands

were shaking so bad I wasn't even sure I'd be able to pull the trigger if I had

to.

All I wanted was for the guy to just take off so we could just get out of

I thought it was all over, and then the door opens right behind us, and the poor

kid was just standing there.

He didn't pop. I just never saw his face.

He was frozen.

And then Jimmy panicked.

He just left me there, and I didn't know what to do. I couldn't move. I wanted

to scream, but it was all so absurd.

I laughed.

I couldn't move.

And that's how you remember it?

That's how it happened.

But if Jimmy was the one who actually pulled the trigger, why did the police

arrest you?

They found gunpowder on my hand. I tried to tell them it was from target

practice that morning, but they didn't listen because I had two eyewitnesses

that saw me standing there.

What happened to the gun?

There were storm drains all over the place.

The D .A. told the jury that I must have dropped it into one of them and it

disappeared into the river.

But... But the gun disappeared with Jimmy into thin air.

Don't ask me how.

You don't believe me?

Well, that doesn't even matter, Monica.

Because I know I didn't do it.

And my daughter knows.

And that's all that counts.

His name was Orbe Gonzalez.

I know. I didn't do it. His father's name is Santos.

Why are you telling me this, Monica?

Santos is dying.

Santos Gonzalez testified against me in court. He is the reason I am here.

Why do you think I'd care if he's dying?

Mr. Gonzalez is not the reason that you're here.

Why are you here, Monica?

What do you even care about any of this stuff?

I care because I think you're in a lot of pain.

Why is this door open? Monica, what are you doing in here?

No visitors are allowed.

I'm sorry.

Well, I guess it doesn't matter anyway.

Apparently, your old boyfriend just got arrested for committing a crime with the

same gun that killed Orby Gonzalez.

Appeals court overturned your conviction.

You should take it out of here.

19 hours, you'll be a free woman.

Oh, my God.

Hello,

Warden. I hope you enjoy the show.

Well... I have to hand it to Monica. I can't believe he pulled it off in two

weeks. Not with this bunch.

Sort of like a miracle, huh?

Maybe, a little.

Sometimes that's the best kind.

Say, I'll have your attention, please.

Excuse me.

Hey, don't make me mad!

Pay attention now.

Thank you.

What you're about to see represents the hard work of a group of very special

women. Women who weren't afraid to look inside for the truth and to find a way

to express it. I hope that you'll consider their example when you watch

performance. Thank you.

The baby was discovered in a waste basket.

The mother was found unconscious, suffering loss of blood.

She was indicted on manslaughter.

The case was assigned to me, Dr.

Martha Livingston, court psychiatrist, to determine whether she was legally

sane.

I wanted to help.

Dr. Livingston, I presume.

I'm Mother Miriam Ruth.

In charge of the convent where Sister Agnes is living.

They're allowing her to stay at the convent until the trial.

You're unhappy.

Everybody's unhappy.

You're unhappy, aren't you?

Sometimes, yes.

Only you think you're lucky because you didn't have a mother who said things or

maybe did things that weren't always nice.

That's what you think.

Because you think my mother was bad, don't you?

Yes, I do think your mother was wrong.

But that was because of me.

Because I was bad.

Not her.

Agnes, what happened to the baby? She doesn't remember.

Don't do this to her. What happened to the baby?

I don't remember. I don't remember.

What happened to the baby?

I don't remember.

It was alive, wasn't it?

Wasn't it?

It was alive, wasn't it?

Wasn't it? Yes!

She's remembering, Tess. What happened?

Mother Miriam was with you, and then what did she do?

She, um, left me alone with that little thing.

I looked at it, and I thought, this is a mistake.

I thought

I

could save her.

I could give her back to God.

I want to see my daughter in less than half an hour.

I'm sure it'll be a wonderful moment for both of you.

We're going to have every kind of ice cream shake that her little heart

And after that?

I don't know.

I guess we'll go home.

What will you tell her about Orby Gonzalez?

Nothing. I'm innocent and I'm going home.

Sorry, Monica.

You've lost your captive audience.

Find somebody else to fix.

Tess, I'm ready to go.

My daughter's waiting.

All right, Carla, let's go. Guard.

Drink one for me, Carla.

Hug that baby girl of yours.

Here we go, girl.

Don't come back.

I'll go with you, baby.

Hello, baby.

What are you doing here?

Moonlighting. Have a seat.

How does it feel?

Well, my daughter ought to be here any minute. I don't really know what to do.

Oh, don't worry about it. He'll come back to you sooner than you think.

Carla? And Rachel?

Meredith?

This is your mommy.

Princess, you're so beautiful.

I miss you so much.

I have a picture of you in my room.

Aunt Rachel said I prayed for you every night that you'd be okay, and someday

I'd get to see you again.

I love you so much.

I'm never going to let you go again.

Do you hear me, baby? Never.

I

don't

believe it.

But you didn't do it.

Well, when they arrested her old boyfriend, they found the gun that

All these years, I have hated that woman, Andrew.

You asked me to forgive her, and I cursed the woman.

I'm a terrible person.

No, Santos, you are a good man.

I have to talk to her. I have to tell her that I'm very sorry.

And ask her to forgive me.

Did you think you could find her for me?

Yes, I can.

Okay. You know what we're going to do now?

We're going to walk out that door, and we're going to walk back in, and we're

going to walk back out. How come?

Because we can.

Miss Robinson, I am Santos

Gonzalez, Orby's father.

Do you remember me?

Rachel, can you take Meredith to the car?

I'll just be a minute.

Hi. Hi.

Listen, I don't know what you want from me, but I'd really like to be left

alone.

Look, I don't blame you for hating me or turning me away.

For years, I thought you were a liar.

And I prayed that God would strike you dead for killing my boy.

But you didn't do it.

So I've come to say I'm sorry.

Can you forgive me for thinking such terrible thoughts?

For praying for such terrible things?

Hello, Carla.

What is this?

What's going on here?

It's closure time.

Did I say the wrong thing, Andrew?

No, Santos.

You said exactly the right thing.

How does freedom feel?

What do you people want from me? I mean, why can't you just leave me alone? I'm

out of prison now.

You're out of prison now, but the truth didn't set you free.

The facts set you free.

And the facts can lie.

You don't know what you're talking about.

Yes, I do.

What's going on?

What is going on?

Don't be afraid.

I'm an angel God sent me to you.

God.

God.

Just go away. Just leave me alone.

I can't talk to God. He knows that you can't, and he knows why.

You can tell a lie, you can live a lie, but you can't pray a lie.

And he knows that's why you can't bring yourself to talk to him.

So he has brought himself to you.

I don't need God.

I'm out now, and I have my daughter, and I'm just... Everything's fine, all

right?

No, it's not.

Because somewhere deep inside of you, there's a part of your heart where you

won't allow yourself to go because you're afraid to see what you've been

there.

And you have closed a door on that part and you put a great big lock on it.

And that's why your heart feels so heavy.

And that's why you aren't able to give all of it away, not even to your little

girl. Can't you feel it, Carla?

I don't want to think about it. I can't think about it. But you must think about

it.

Agnes, oh God, finally had to face the lies she created to live with herself,

didn't she?

Yeah. Only you... can decide to remove the locks and go into that dark room.

if you decide to do it, Carla, if you can put your faith in God, he will go in

there with you.

I don't want to go in there again.

I don't want to go in there again.

I know that you don't.

But it will be different this time, I promise.

Help me.

I can't remember.

He came out of nowhere.

It was a reflex.

I did see his face.

I just wanted to forget because he kept talking to me.

I did see his face.

I saw it.

God.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

Oh, my God. I did.

I killed him. I killed him.

I didn't mean to do it, please, God.

Forgive me, God, please.

Do you truly know what you have done, Carla?

Oh, yes.

And do you truly, with all your heart and soul, repent of what you have done?

Oh, yes.

I want to die.

Let me die, please. I want to die.

I know that you do.

But God wants you to live and he wants you to live knowing the truth.

And the truth is that you did take another human's life and nothing you can

will ever change that.

But with God's help, you can change your own life.

That's all that you can do now. That's the best that you can do now.

But I'll never forget.

You will always remember what you did that day.

And then you will remember what God did this day.

Almighty God, who has the power and the right to punish you, has shown you

mercy.

He has forgiven you for taking the life of his beloved child, Orby Gonzales.

But why?

Because you are his child, too.

And he loves you.

Hello.

Mr. Gonzalez?

I want you to know that my... My release from prison, them overturning my

conviction, is a mistake.

Excuse me?

I'm not innocent.

I need you to know the truth.

I was on drugs.

I never meant to kill your son.

It was an accident.

But I was holding the gun when it went off.

I understand if you can never forgive me.

But I need to ask your forgiveness because it's the only way.

That I can forgive myself.

I don't know what to say.

Right before... Your son... Right before

Orby died... He said... Tell my

papa I love him.

I think he wanted me to tell you this.

I'm so sorry. If I could change places with him, I would.

I know you would.

I know.

But you can't.

But... There is...

Something that you can't do.

You have a child.

Promise me something.

That every time she walks away from you, your last words to her will

be... I love you.

I'm ready now.

Take me home, Antoine.

What am

I

gonna do?

That's up to you.

The law says that you're innocent.

But whatever you decide...

Remember that God will be with you.

Can we go now, Mommy?

Not yet, sweetheart.

Mommy, what's the matter?

Mommy did something wrong.

And I've got to go.

Talk to the people at the court.

And I've got to be honest with them.

Because telling the truth is one of the most important things that you can ever

do.

I just, I've got to do what's right and I hope someday it's going to make you

proud of me.

And one more thing for this.