Original subtitles

Now they don't. But my life.

There's no place for us to go.

You really gonna leave?

Take me with you, Mark.

Anywhere. As long as it's miles from here.

Make love with me one more time.

I want you.

Please, Mark.

You're owed 535 bucks, not a cent more.

You bastard!

You'll regret leaving me. You P .S. Now, that ain't worth shit.

Okay, go on.

Roger, may I remind you our daughter's getting married today?

I ordered this suit for you. I paid for it and made sure it was delivered.

Now please put it on. We'll be leaving for the church in an hour.

Max around today?

He's working on the chopper.

Thanks.

Hi, Max.

What's new?

Oh, yeah. Sorry, pal. I checked with the personnel officer. You don't have the

kind of qualifications we're looking for.

Three years in Vietnam, they wear shit on the outside.

Best thing you can do is re -up.

Looks like you fought the war all by yourself.

The whole Vietnam War.

On your own.

Or were they giving these things away as souvenirs?

How much you say you wanted for these medals?

I didn't.

Yeah, it's a great -looking place.

You see, my wife, she's got the business.

She started out working the shop making brassieres.

She ended up buying the whole factory.

Ah, how about that?

What really gets your mojo working is a chick without a bra. Yeah.

Kind of like big, free -swinging tits.

Just look at them.

They turned up out of the blue.

Father's friends.

We have your daughter's wedding to thank for bringing us together again, fellas.

It's been too long.

Hi, darling. Everything okay?

They're making us look ridiculous, Mother. Please do something.

How's the world treating you, Mark?

Nothing special.

You know, a little bit here, a little bit there.

Up and down, you mean.

I really wish they'd stop making those disgusting gestures.

You know, those ex -Marines are all the same.

They've been trained for combat.

And they're only happy when they're fighting a war.

I guess you're right.

Well, we won't let them spoil our day, honey.

Tuck in, boy. Food's great. Sure is.

Remember that time we hit Blinky Sue's cat house?

Yeah, I wonder what happened to Paul.

Excuse me, honey. I was the one who made out the invitations to the wedding and

the reception, if I'm not mistaken.

And as far as I recall, these gentlemen were not invited.

That's true.

I'm so glad you think so, honey.

I'm sure they feel out of place here.

Well, honey, two words have never been spoken.

Well in that case why don't we help them out of their embarrassment Hmm this

moment this moment No problem, we'll just get up and leave

Now Roger you wouldn't do such a thing on your daughter's wedding day, let's go

maybe I shouldn't do it anyway

No good bar around here, Rog?

You bet.

Your little girl's changed a lot since she was a kid.

Still cute, though.

She's changed a lot.

I just wish she would have married a better man.

But don't all daddies think that way, huh?

Remember the time you lost your wallet with Sue's photograph in it?

Nearly got yourself killed trying to get it back.

That's all forgotten back home.

Yeah.

I never told my wife about that one.

It was too good to miss.

Chance to make a whole barrel load of money.

But I couldn't hack it.

This time a year ago, I was thinking of quitting it all.

Starting again in Canada.

Great country, Canada.

What's it about?

One of our boys left in Vietnam, managed to escape.

Or they let him go, who knows?

Stand back, lady. Can't you see he doesn't want to answer any questions?

Well, how was he treated?

Did they torture him or what? The people want to know.

Marine Staff Sergeant Henry Skye has finally come home, ten years after the

of the war.

The question is, are there any more of our boys still alive in Vietnam?

The American government says no, but there are a lot of folks who disagree.

I say Vietnam is like shit.

The more you stir it, the more it stinks.

If I was running the show, I would put a ban on people talking about it. Out of

three guys drafted, two deserted.

Yeah, the guys who did make it to the front line were so fucking scared that

they could do was shoot up with drugs.

Yeah.

When I think of that winter in the Ardennes, oh, boy, it looked like we

making a down payment on a trip to hell.

One morning, the crowds attacked the Tiger tanks.

It seemed like there was nothing to make them stop pushing us back to Paris. But

God damn it, we held our own. We didn't quit.

Shall we get out of here?

These are questions that demand an answer.

Hang on a second. I forgot to buy some cigarettes.

They look like rejects from Vietnam.

You can smell them a mile away.

I've seen one of them in here before.

Shitty shits.

See how I tried to get a rise out of them?

They were too dumb to do anything about it.

Chicken shit.

Well, I'm not going to be so easy.

Are you going to be long in there?

He never was a fast one.

We're out of cigarettes.

What do you say we go see Major Morse?

Is he still alive?

Yep.

You know, someone can go back to NOM and check it out.

I think we just might volunteer.

They must have gone to the moon to get him.

Surprised?

Colonel Mortimer.

Your last one we expected. We were looking for Major Morris.

Major Morris quit the army.

Weird.

I always figured he'd die in his uniform.

The truth is, he was forced to retire.

Guys like him live and breathe war.

Something personal.

Dangerous for himself and everybody else.

Roger Carlson.

James Walcott.

Mark Adams.

Three men who made me very proud to know them during those living days of hell.

The feeling's mutual, Colonel.

Stay away from Morris.

Forget it. Yes, sir. Keep that in mind.

Why did you want to see him?

Just talk over old times, that's all.

Do yourselves a favor.

Forget him.

Here's to the good old days, men.

They kicked me out of the army.

Want my name forgotten.

So what? So long as they've yet come.

Remember, Major Morris.

They are...

keeping me under surveillance.

They're scared. I might try freeing those poor bastards still rotting in

Cong concentration camps.

You know, guys, don't be surprised if one day you hear that I have died in my

bath. You know, slipped under soap.

You know what kind of jerks we're dealing with?

As far as they're concerned, there are no more American POWs left in Vietnam.

And they freak if anyone so much as mentions the possibility.

Bastards.

Have you seen the state of the vegetable who came back?

Who knows what they did to him?

Electroshock, lobotomy, Jesus Christ.

Just so he wouldn't talk.

But I have proof.

I got it right here.

Complete documentation.

Look, come here.

Concentration camp. Look.

Here.

Here, here, here, and there.

Forty miles from Hanoi. And there are more in the south.

Thank God.

There are some sharp cats around.

Independent agencies in Bangkok, like the one run by Lewis Andrews.

They look around, you know, fish for information.

And they're organizing an expedition into Nam.

Big, too.

Maybe... Guys with guts and balls like you three.

Us?

You've got to be crazy.

It's not as crazy as it sounds, Roger.

It could be done.

You'll be back to the hilt.

Guys like Father Noir. He's won. He's in on everything.

He lives here on the lowest border. Here.

Major, Major.

Come on. It was nice seeing you again.

This is a lot of whiskey talk, you know.

Burns your brain down.

Hey, man, you can't say no.

Think it over. It'll be like old times. You three and Richard.

Hey, man, you were the best.

Well, Richard, how are they treating you in here?

I can't complain.

When I first got here, I wasn't crazy about the idea.

But then I figured, why not play their game?

You know.

Answer their questions the way they want you to answer them.

So I play mad.

I got no problems here.

I don't have to work.

No rent to worry about. No taxes to pay.

How are you today?

See you later, huh?

Hey, nice girl.

Nicer than you think.

Oh. Oh, is that the way it is here?

Yeah.

I'm feeling really good.

And that means you don't want to come with us?

Where to?

To check out Charlie's POW camps.

Just the four of us.

There's only one problem.

How do I get out of here?

That's a problem?

What took you so long to come up with this idea?

Well, maybe it was because we were virgins, but I reckon we spent some of

best years of our lives right here in New York.

Some guys have a war to thank.

Look at Paul.

Without it, he wouldn't have made a fucking fortune and moved to Thailand.

I say Paul will help us. What do you think, Roger?

I don't know. We'll find out.

I bet he can't wait to close up his casino and take another crack at

Welcome, gentlemen.

It is different.

He doesn't recognize us.

But that's impossible.

After all the things we've done together.

He's stoned out of his mind.

Let's get out of here.

You say that?

Without even talking to him?

What do you want to do?

Talk to a goat?

Come on, Mark.

Why? I'm cleaning up. Nobody can touch me at the tables.

Mr. Paul advises you to give up your planning because it's sheer madness.

You will never succeed.

But if you decide to go ahead, he wishes you good luck.

He also hopes that the money allowed you to win will be useful.

It's all there.

The pictures of Philip.

The documents, everything else you know from our letter.

Naturally.

Good -looking boy, ma 'am. PFC Phil Lawson.

We have him on file.

We are sure.

We are sure that he is still alive.

I feel it.

A mother is never wrong about these things.

We'll do everything we can, ma 'am.

If he's still alive, we'll find him.

Yeah, yeah. But we need time and patience. Of course, it's a high -risk

operation. Costly, too. One of our attempts just failed.

You read about Lieutenant Allison, the guy they arrested at the border last

week?

The Thais stuck him in jail here in Bangkok.

He was our man.

We're negotiating with the authorities to bail him out now.

$30 ,000.

I'm afraid it's all we could raise.

We're so lucky that there are men like you who will do all they can for our

boys. We're just doing our duty as Americans.

The young lady will show you out.

Come on, hon.

They'll bring Philip home.

You'll see.

Take my advice and forget it.

You won't be helping. You'll end up dead.

And you'll damage the chances of those like us who are really working hard on

trying to solve the problem.

Is that what you're doing, Lou?

Right.

Your asses have never left this office.

Come again, friend?

He said that you're a suckfish.

You, this office, the fat man in the suit, you'd fuck your own mother for a

dollar.

But I gotta hand it to you. You're doing real well.

Stealing from the families, the Missing in Action Association, and all for a

bunch of empty promises.

I bet you just put a few bones together and sent them over to those poor suckers

in the States to spend the rest of their lives crying over them.

Can't you get it in your mind that the parents are happier that way?

No, I can't.

But I think you guys need a little education.

Richard, shall we take a walk?

I think the four of you should discuss this problem among yourselves.

Easier said than done, friend.

Ask the Viet Cong. They tried and failed.

Asshole. How much did the old man and his wife give you?

$30 ,000.

Where is it?

In the briefcase.

The name of their hotel.

Marley Pellet.

You won't be doing them a favor by giving the money back.

We think different, fly face.

This truck ain't worth shit.

Ain't bad for what we paid for it.

The Mekong's over there, a few miles away.

Beyond that, loud.

What's the name of the priest Morris told us about?

American prisoners of war.

Yes, there are many of them in the various camps.

But they do not deserve to be helped.

They have given up.

They have renounced the holy war.

Abandoned God, who in turn has abandoned them.

We brought the Lord to these people Then

when the rights came we fought them we organized an armed struggle

We had our martyrs But we also had

some victories In this land we are all the soldiers of Christ

And he who takes up arms in Christ's name does not lay down his weapons.

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but in 1956, your friends quit and passed the ball

to us. In 1956, we did not have the atom bomb.

You did.

There's enough for a small army here.

A trusted friend of mine will see you across the border in his boat.

You say you can have someone see us across the border. Is that what you're

saying, Father?

I will try to remain with you for as long as I can, boys.

I know men over there, and a lot about those parts.

Well, thanks for your help, Father.

It is the Lord's help.

um

What the

hell

are you doing? We had everything under control.

That's what you say, friend. One more second and they'd have blown us all to

hell. Shit. The Thais and the Vietnamese are always at each other's faults.

The Thais will get the blame.

Good.

Let's hope so.

For our sake.

This is saving us a lot of walking.

I'm sorry, but this is as far as I can take you. It would be dangerous for him.

We are in the war zone.

The roads that I have marked for you on the map are the best.

It is here that I must bless you.

Let's go.

I bet they're looking for us. How the hell do they know where to find us?

Someone talk.

Open.

Village priest.

See if I can guess.

Forget how it was during the war?

I'll never forget.

Hold it, Richie. Let him get closer.

No! Better not take any chances.

If I was that good commander, I'd want us alive.

What the hell for?

To bring us in front of an international tribunal, accuse the states of

violating a treaty.

Let's check it out.

How the fuck did they get here so fast, man?

Inca, go!

Who's pissing against the wind?

I'd sure like those maggots at command to see this.

This way to America, kid.

Come on.

Let's help him.

Richie.

We didn't come here for just one man.

Remember?

Came to get the whole bunch out.

Right?

Right.

Huh.

Here we go again.

Same old shit.

Maybe he just passed out.

I hope he's dead for his sake. But I'll bury him alive. Those bastards love that

little number.

and made a village.

Safe? We rest.

Tomorrow we'll try and find the camp.

We'll follow the cheap tracks.

He's the Hansel of the village We are a community of four people

you want only to live in That thing go move

yes, but not well it is only car in

You've never seen an American so close not understand

I

Need some food probably some gas this car food. Yes,

that's not possible There is rationing none left

where's his head

That's where it has to be, Stuart.

You're up.

Where are you going?

For a drive.

Crazy. Yep Where are you going? You got a hot date or something?

I'll tell you when I get back Hey, if I'm not here by 10 o 'clock corn without

me

So what did you find out?

Nothing. Nothing?

Didn't you check out the neighborhood?

Yep. I went to annoy.

Annoy?

We fought a fucking war for more than ten years and never even got close to

Why didn't you tell us? We'd all have come.

What was it like? Come on.

A real shitty.

Ready, guys? We're pulling out.

Look, to play safe, why don't we take a hostage?

Wouldn't do any good.

We'll still talk.

They might think twice if we have a hostage. This way we're sitting on a

bomb. What the hell do you want to do? Kill them all?

Would that make you feel better?

Go ahead.

Blow away the whole fucking bunch of them. It wouldn't be the first time.

I believe these people are friendly.

Bullshit. A gook's a gook.

You're wasting your time. It's dead.

Well, no use crying over silt and milk.

It's a miracle we got this far.

All right, let's start walking.

Thank you.

An American product.

The kind of stuff they used to give us.

I don't get it. What is this?

A prison camp or a country club?

They look better off than we do now.

We move in from here.

Jim and I will take out those guys.

Mike.

You and Richard take out the others.

See the gook with a big face?

He's the bastard who used to enjoy torturing me when I was a prisoner. Is

right? To me, they all look alike.

I'm telling you.

That's the guy.

What are you doing, asshole?

What did you do? What do you mean?

We'll bring you home.

You understand me?

Back to America.

Guards are all dead.

What an operation. Right out of the book. Just like the good old days, pal.

We're pretty damn lucky you didn't get us all fucking blown away. You don't

somebody else giving the orders.

Just don't try anything like that again. What's the matter with you guys?

We're here to take you home.

Don't you understand?

You're on your way to the States.

I'll get the truck started.

Didn't you hear what he said? We're here to take you all home. Come on, guys.

You gotta move on.

Yeah, soon this place will be calm as smoke.

Let's get out of here.

What's taking so long?

You don't want to die here, right?

Everyone in the draft, go!

What did you expect?

Dreams of joy at being broken out?

200 miles in this heap of a truck.

And the entire Vietnamese army down our throats at any moment.

Do you know what happens to a prisoner who tries to escape?

They don't kill you.

But you wish they would.

Only the off -wallers try making a brain.

But the guys with brains sit tight.

I don't know what we're doing, going along with you guys.

You ever been caught in a Charlie concentration camp?

Yeah, well, you know what it's like to rot in one for ten years?

Fear. The perpetual shatter.

It's comparable to having your legs cut off.

Yeah. Well, now you're going home, soldier.

That was paradise.

The huts were always clean.

They fed us American style.

Food brought from the state.

They even allowed us to goof around, those sons of bitches.

All show for the U .S. inspection team.

What? Officers, politicians, they'd visit us every now and then.

Tell us unofficially, of course, that we were going to be released any day and

sent home.

Why weren't you released with the rest of us?

They came up with these stories about us being war criminals.

Lies. All of it.

I'm telling you, they were all lies.

The name's Mike.

And I didn't let the fear get a hold of me.

Or believe all that bullshit.

I lived for the day I got out.

Thanks.

You just made the whole trip worthwhile.

The party's on!

This is where the shit hits the fan.

Get down!

Take cover!

I don't want to worry you, champ, but I reckon this truck's a lemon. The bad

guys are catching us.

You guys better get off the next bend. We'll have a better chance cutting

through the jungle on foot.

The next band we're getting out.

We'll make for the village, guys. They will look for us there.

Okay.

Bart says we'll meet up at the village. The last place to look for us.

Okay.

Thank you.

Hey, Mike, what are you thinking about?

Home.

We've got some land, too.

Where are you from?

Richmond, Virginia.

The bluegrass is a home.

No, that's Kentucky, but... I miss it just the same.

31.

18 years trying to figure out how to get away from home. Nine months getting my

ass shot off by the Viet Cong.

And the rest of the time in that concentration camp.

Doing my damnedest not to go crazy.

You know, I've never even been to the Big Apple.

Is that right?

Well, I'll tell you what.

When you get through being yesterday's hero, I'll take you to New York.

Introduce you to some girls that'll fuck your socks off. All right?

Okay, pal.

You've got a deal, buddy.

Count me in.

Okay. Sure.

He's a good kid.

They all are.

At least we managed to save some of them, eh, Roger?

Yeah.

How about that dumb move of mine? I'm sorry.

Hey, look.

Forget it.

Everything turned out all right.

I spent six months in one of those camps.

I was shit scared every minute of it.

They tortured me a week at a time.

I'm just one big scar.

I just wanted to die.

I was going crazier by the minute.

Richard, I want you to get your act together so we can all get home.

All of us get home. You hear me?

All I want to think about is the laughs we're going to have when we get home.

You hear?

It's the safest way.

30 miles to south, west.

And we'll be in Laos. What do you keep looking at your watch for? What's the

point? He should have been back by now.

Somebody's got to relieve Mike.

Guard duty.

No sign yet?

Who do you think I am, grandfather's ghost?

Hey.

You got away. How'd you do it?

You wouldn't believe it.

Is it cold enough for you?

It is.

Where the hell did you get it?

You wouldn't believe it.

The spitting image of a girl I flipped for once in Saigon like 12 years ago she

was wounded in a bombing raid I Picked her

up in my arms and raced her to the nearest American hospital all hell had

It was raining bombs.

When we finally arrived at the hospital, the medic told me she was dead.

I didn't even realize it.

American napalm.

You murdered Mark.

You murdered Mark!

He killed Mark!

I'm gonna kill all you bastards!

out the guy on the boat talking on the telephone.

What's the magic word to get us out of here?

Talk! If you don't talk, I'll cut your nuts off, fucker!

Come on, you suckfishes, get out of here! Not until I'm done with this

Talk!

miles up river but first we got to send off the coded message that that i just

got off that officer there without it his buddies will be after us in a flash

don't get uptight about it man call it my contribution to making sure we get

home

Right around the bend. Stop before we get there.

Yeah, getting across the stretch of jungle takes us down to Sante, where I

there's a chopper base.

That's your department.

How you feeling?

Better. Good.

What did that fish kill, Mark? Can you figure it out, Roger?

I can't.

So we'll never know, right?

What did I say?

We've been going upriver for more than a half an hour and no sign of trouble.

I did the right thing, huh?

Yeah, you did the right thing.

You did the right thing.

Hey, guys, look what I found.

Hey!

What the fuck are you doing?

You want to blow a sky high, man?

Look, Rucker.

Floating mine.

Yeah.

What the hell you want to do with them?

You're the brain.

I just thought they'd come in handy.

For what? World War III?

I'll join you in a minute

Remember during the war? We sneaked through half a B .C. Army and they never

knew we was there.

One.

Two.

Another round for us.

Let's go.

Tampa Bay's about a mile over there.

Yeah.

You better get in before dark.

You guys aren't going soft on me, are you?

Get your act together, good buddy. The best part is yet to come.

You're not expecting them to hand you a chopper on a plate, are you?

No.

New York's a hell of a city, isn't it, Roger?

Yeah. It's a great city.

And if you don't like it, I'm gonna bring your ass right back here.

You hear me?

Come on.

Come on, guys.

We're almost there.

Come on, what are we waiting for? I'm not going back.

What are they waiting for?

Come on, men.

Trump's to take you home.

You're taking us home?

Hey, you, now move it.

Not him.

What do you mean, not him?

You heard.

It's part of the deal. He stays here.

Deal? What fucking deal?

There's no time to question.

In one minute, they start shooting.

I saved his life.

We carried him here.

And now?

He stays here.

I'm not giving that goddamn chopper unless he goes.

It's your funeral.

We're leaving.

Look at him.

Look at him. He's a kid.

And it's cricks like you that sent him out here.

Goddamn it, he won his war.

He survived.

And now you talk about leaving me here alone?

Why, goddammit, why?

It's not my decision.

Your decision?

Whose decision is... Who's the one behind all this fucking shit?

Nothing will happen to him.

They won't hurt him. We'll take him back to a prison camp.

Oh, they'll just take him back to the camp.

Do you have any idea what the fuck will happen?

You trade places with him, all right? You trade places with him. You'll be

Look at him. He's our proof to show American prisoners Vietnam.

Exactly what we don't want.

I should have stayed behind.

Now I know what being chicken feels like.

You wouldn't have done any good if you'd stayed.

Why? Why?

We've always known about the prisoner of war camp.

When war ended, the Viet Cong refused to send some of them back home because

they were war criminals. Were they?

Some of them.

But Charlie used them for an excuse to keep them off.

Just say it was their way of getting revenge on a superpower like the state.

Jesus Christ, we let them get away with it?

What could we have done? Continue the war?

Condemn thousands of other Americans to death?

So we send the medical supplies, you know, food, medicine, and we're in

contact with them.

It's all secret.

Sooner or later, we'll bring them home.

You guys are all heartless.

Until you do that, they're fucked.

You've actually haven't told anything to their mothers, their fathers, their

kids, people who've missed them.

You make me sick.

You know, I put my career on the line.

You guys are swimming in shit. Me with you.

There are a whole lot of people I'm not going to take kindly to the truth

getting out.

I hear you loud and clear.

I'm going back to the bunny farm.

Could be safe there.

I'm not going back to the states. Couldn't stomach it.

I'll find me a job in Bangkok.

Yeah, I may just stay out here for years.

Maybe me and Roger will drop in on you one day.

What do you say, Roger?

What do you do, Rod?

Go home, vegetate, watch TV, listen to my wife pitch about me coming home

again.

It ain't right, Jim.

Forget about it, man.

It's Vietnam.

Excuse me, sir. They're expecting you at your promotion ceremony.