Original subtitles

-(MARLON BRANDO IMPRESSION) "Remember that night

in the Garden?

You come down to my dressing room.

You said, 'Kid, this ain't your night.' To go for the price

on Wilson.

You remember that?

-(MARLON BRANDO IMPRESSION) "'This ain't your night.' My

night!

I could've taken Wilson apart, Charley.

So what does he get, huh?

What happens?

He gets a title shot outdoors in the ballpark.

And what do I get?

A one-way ticket to Palookaville."

-(MARLON BRANDO IMPRESSION) "You was my brother, Charley.

You shoulda looked out for me a little bit.

You shoulda took care of me just a little bit so

I wouldn't have to take them dives for the short-end money."

-(MARLON BRANDO IMPRESSION) "You don't understand.

I coulda had class.

I coulda been a contender.

I coulda been somebody instead of a bum, which is what I am.

Let's face it."

[cheers and applause]

-Hey, hey!

Not bad, not bad.

You guys oughta take it on the road.

Whoops.

You know, what was interesting there

is that you do a Brando circa, um, uh, 1954.

-Vintage. "On the Waterfront."

-Exactly.

But you, you do a late-model Brando.

Say, uh, 1972?

-"The Godfather."

-Either way, we're talking genius here.

-Hear, hear.

-Bada bing.

-Merry Christmas.

-Oh, let me get you a drink.

-Hey, Jude, I thought you was outta here.

-What, and miss dueling Brandos?

No way.

But in two hours, boys, I'm headed home to Chicago

for a real Christmas.

-Speaking of which, are you coming with or not?

Club Paradise.

$800 and all the single women you can--- meet.

-Well, that's it.

I'm outta here.

Merry Christmas, Douglas.

Merry Christmas.

-Merry Christmas.

HOFFS: Bye.

-So?

-I already told you.

I'm gonna hang in town, I'm going to my mom's, and I'm

gonna trim the tree.

-Interesting.

Gonna bring Amy to meet your mom?

-Yeah, I think so.

-Well, sorry I'm going to miss that.

BLOWFISH: Watch this!

Watch this!

[honk]

-Hey, what about you, Captain?

You going back east?

-Nah, I'm going to spend a traditional Christmas watching

college football players kick the hell out of each other

in meaningless bowl games.

-Put down a bet for me.

There's no way I'll be able to watch.

I got the in-laws coming.

Hey, maybe I can come to your mom's house too.

-H.T. Ioki?

-That's me.

-Ahem.

I'm H.T. Ioki.

-I'm Miller, Internal Affairs.

This is Ms. Hogan, Immigration and Naturalization.

I realize this is a bad time, but we're

going to have to ask you to accompany us downtown.

-Well, better pack your bags, Iokage.

It's straight to Tokyo from there.

-Want to tell us what's going on?

-Merry Christmas, Captain.

We have reason to believe H.T. Ioki is an alias.

-What are you, nuts?

-And that this gentleman may have

entered the country illegally and committed fraud

in applying to the department.

-Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Wait a second.

He's not H.T. Ioki?

You're not Harry Ioki?

-No.

I'm not.

THEME SONG: We never thought of finding

a place where we belong.

Don't have to stand alone.

We'll never let you fall.

Don't need permission to decide what you believe.

Ooh!

I said jump, down on Jump Street.

I said jump, down on Jump Street.

Your friends will be there when your back is to the wall.

You'll find you'll need us, 'cause there's no one else

to call.

When it looks hopeless, a decision's what you need.

You better be ready to, be ready to jump.

21 Jump Street!

-So?

-So we have this problem.

He is not H.T. Ioki.

-We know that.

-Because the computer says H.T. Ioki is deceased.

-I remember that.

I even paid him some death benefits.

-Which he cashed.

-Wouldn't you?

-Turns out the computer is right.

H.T. Ioki is dead.

Been dead for the last 20 years.

-20 years?

-Few months ago, the department tied into the new Social

Security mainframe in Washington and did a routine confirmation

of social security numbers.

Looked for missed digits like that.

Guess who turned up deceased?

-H.T. Ioki.

"Died December 14, 1967, San Francisco."

Then who is he?

-Hmm.

I don't know.

He won't tell me.

Says he wants to talk to you first.

-OK.

Who the hell are you?

All right, Harry, let's start with an easier question.

Where the hell are you from?

-Vietnam.

-North or south?

-South.

-What region?

-Saigon.

-What neighborhood?

-Ca Nhan Street.

-Over near the embassy?

-You know that's not where it is.

-I meant by the Ritz.

-Closer to the central market and the Caravelle Hotel.

-Not such a good neighborhood.

-We did all right.

[knock on door]

[knock on door]

-Come in!

-Captain Fuller.

-Miller.

I wish I could say it's a pleasure.

-Well, that's the wonderful thing about Internal Affairs.

No one's ever happy to see you.

You ready to talk?

-More or less.

-Let me make this clear, Officer Ioki.

Your best chance department-wise is

to tell me everything right up front.

The last thing you want to do is to lie to me.

-I understand.

-This is David Miller.

Second interview with H.T. Ioki.

Captain Adam Fuller present.

It's all yours, son.

-My real name is Vinh Van Tran.

I was 14 years old in April of 1975, and I lived in Saigon.

It was five days before the fall of the city.

The first thought I had was to find my friend Thai Kieu.

Because if we were leaving, he better know right away.

They weren't really good or bad neighborhoods in Saigon.

They were all bad.

I mean, you could live in a big house and have money,

but you still lived next to people with no money.

As a matter of fact, I wasn't supposed to leave the house.

Thai Kieu was a great guy, my best friend in the whole world.

And he was always saving my ass.

His father used to be the baker, and my mom used to send me down

every morning before I went to school

to pick up a loaf of bread.

That's how me and Thai became friends.

His dad went off to the war.

Then his mom died, so he was sort of passed

around from relative to relative.

His dad never came back.

A lot of dads never came back.

Thai Kieu was smart.

He could hustle.

He was also the captain of the starship "Enterprise."

I was OK, because I was the "S.W.A.T." commander.

I told him I was leaving and, uh, he was cool about it.

He said he'd probably be leaving too.

You see, me and Thai didn't worry too much about the war.

We figured Saigon was the best place to be.

Besides, if the Viet Cong ever broke through the defenses,

we would head over to the Presidential Palace

where all the tanks were.

They would certainly let us in.

I mean-- I mean, what were they gonna

do, turn away a "S.W.A.T." commander and the captain

of the "Enterprise"?

-How did you guys get out?

-That's where the story gets interesting.

-It's pretty interesting already.

-So I don't get it.

If you're Vinh Van Tran, who's H.T. Ioki?

-He's an infant who died in San Francisco 20 years ago.

-That didn't take long to find out, Captain.

-Let me see if I can put it together, Harry.

Right before you applied to the department,

you went to San Francisco and somehow got access

to the death files.

-I posed as a writer for a student newspaper.

-Clever.

Then you found a Japanese infant who had died,

and you stole his social security number.

-Very good.

You should've been a detective.

-And you soon may not be.

-Why'd you do that, man?

-Because I didn't think a Vietnamese refugee

would have a rat's chance of getting onto the department.

-You're probably right.

-Why didn't you just legally change your name to H.T. Ioki?

-I was going to.

Man, I even filled out the papers right in here

in the chapel.

Look, I didn't want to open up a whole can of worms.

-Well, it's open now.

-Whoa, gotta punch out.

Early dinner tonight.

-How are the old in-laws?

-Great!

They got snowed in in New Jersey.

See ya.

-Captain, gentlemen.

-Miller.

-What's the damage?

-Well, there's good news, and there's bad news.

-Tell him the good news first.

-You're not suspended.

-That's good.

-The bad news is you're assigned to a desk pending

an internal investigation which will determine if there's

going to be a review board hearing.

-What's the likelihood of a hearing?

-It's gonna happen.

Until then, you are not to interact

with the public in the manner or scope of a police officer.

-He knows the routine.

-We got a problem, Captain?

-Yeah, I think we do.

-We have another session in the morning.

Don't be late.

-Hey, take it easy, Ioke.

Look, at least you're not suspended.

-Yeah.

And they can't take Christmas away from you.

So come on.

We're gonna be late for Hanson's mom with Amy,

future ex-Mrs. Hanson.

-Look, why don't you guys go ahead, huh?

I'd hate to ruin Christmas for ya.

-Uh-uh.

I passed up Club Paradise to see this thing through.

-Ow.

-What are you gonna do, Harry?

Walk the streets on a cold night,

so desperate and lonely--

-Only to find yourself drinking alone in the bar--

-Hitting on some strange woman who has nowhere to go

for Christmas--

-Who charges you for her company.

I think I saw this movie.

Ioke, or whatever your name is, it's Christmas,

and Mrs. Hanson has a tree to trim.

-I'd really like you to be there, Harry.

[music - "12 days of christmas"]

-I don't know about this.

It's so last minute.

I didn't even get her anything.

-Hey, Amy, relax.

Mrs. Hanson, she introduces us to new guys all the time.

Then they help her move.

-Why don't you give her this?

-Great idea, but I think this little card

that says "Love, Tommy" will give me away.

-Yeah.

-Hey, Ioke, you with us or against us?

-I know, I know, I know.

Christmas cheer.

-(SINGING) Chestnuts roasting on an open fire--

-This is for you.

Merry Christmas.

-Why, thank you.

That's very sweet of you.

-Mine is, uh--

-Still at the store, huh?

-Sorry.

-So I heard about your problem with the department.

-Mom!

-Well, I hope we can straighten it out.

-I hope so too.

What do we call you?

-Harry is fine.

-Can they deport you, Harry?

-Mom!

-It's a reasonable question.

Look, Harry's fine.

He's not depressed.

You said he was depressed.

-Oof.

-Isn't he cute when he's embarrassed?

-I always felt the same thing.

You ever see that look he gets on his face

when he knew he knew the answer to something?

-Yeah.

Yeah, I've seen that look.

-Answer the question, Harry.

-What question?

-Can they deport you?

-No.

We were given immediate resident alien status.

They gave us green cards right away when

we got to the United States.

-Yeah.

Here's your green card.

Go open a restaurant.

-Yeah, exactly.

-Mom, Harry was telling us about TV over there.

They watched the same shows we did.

-Really?

-Oh, yeah.

Um, we watched lot of TV.

Um, "The Wild Wild West," uh, "Voyage

to the Bottom of the Sea," "Combat!"

-They ran "Combat!" on TV in Vietnam?

-Oh, yeah.

It was, um, it was a big hit.

Then the war started coming toward us live and in person.

I could've gotten in a lot of trouble for this.

But what the hell was my father gonna do, leave me behind?

My mood changed pretty quick though when Thai Kieu told me

his relatives were staying.

When I said goodbye to Thai Kieu the night

before, I knew it wouldn't be the last time I saw him.

No way.

He was too good.

What do you think?

-I think it's the most unusual case

I've ever been involved in.

-What's gonna happen to me?

-Well, you lied on your application to the department.

That's cause for immediate dismissal.

-I know that.

I want to know what my chances are.

What do you think they'd do at the hearing?

-I have no opinion.

I just-- I gather facts.

That's something you should be asking your lawyer.

-Captain Fuller?

Jeffrey Liebster.

-Nice to meet you, Liebster.

-I'm H.T. Ioki.

-Pleasure to meet you.

You're quite a celebrity downtown.

-Thanks, I guess.

-Well, listen, it can't hurt.

A high profile puts more pressure on the review board

to avoid an unpopular decision.

-Liebster's department defended me on the drunk driving charge.

-Yeah, I remember.

How are you guys on fraud?

-Well, I guess we're gonna find out, huh?

I'm going to need the officer's complete packet.

-No problem.

-I read the transcripts of your interviews

with the headhunters.

It's quite a story.

-I hope the review board appreciates it.

-A lot will be riding on the testimony.

Plus, of course, a recommendation

from your commanding officer.

-Thanks for the support, Captain.

-I'll do what I think is right.

-I have a feeling there's more going on here

than you being upset because I lied on a piece of paper.

-Maybe.

-I would've thought you of all people, Captain,

would understand where I'm coming from.

-Oh, I understand where you're coming from.

I spent 13 months there.

The problem is I don't know who you are.

We didn't know who you were then,

and I still don't know who you are now.

-Well, then maybe you should think

about what happened to us when you people pulled out.

-Thai!

Thai!

Thai!

Thai!

-I was exhausted when I got to the boat.

It was to hard to climb the rope ladder.

I thought for sure my parents had made it.

It was a big boat.

I looked for several hours, and they weren't there.

They never made it off the beach.

-Where was the boat going?

-Guam.

It was the first time, um, I'd ever been on a boat, you know?

My parents were dead, and, uh, Thai Kieu was dead.

You see, the food situation was pretty bad.

It was like having 150 people show up

for dinner on a Tuesday.

It was like this for days, man.

I mean, you'd be in line for two or three hours.

Then I got an idea.

-Hello.

-Well, hello.

-Hello.

-Hello.

IOKI (VOICEOVER): I had picked up some English,

mostly from a sailor on the boat.

-How you doing?

What's your name?

Your name?

-Vinh Van Tran.

-Hey, Vinnie.

My name's McKay.

McKay.

-McKay?

-Yeah.

-McKay.

-Nice meeting ya.

IOKI (VOICEOVER): Corporal McKay had a kind face.

I wanted to be his friend, but what I really wanted was a job.

No more waiting in line-- I was the line.

It was fun for a while.

Then it became work.

I got tired, but I knew I was on track.

I had started thinking like Thai Kieu.

I had to think fast, because more people were

arriving every day.

We were running out of food.

No one was prepared for this.

-Hey, sport.

How you doing?

-Do good, McKay.

-Good.

-Question.

-Fire away.

-You have food?

-Thanks, I already ate.

I'm full.

-Come, come.

Come.

-Hey, man, where are we going?

You're still hungry?

You've been eating on the line all day.

-Hungry.

-Who?

Who's hungry?

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Wait a minute.

Forget it.

Look, I could get in a lot of trouble for this.

You're not even supposed to be out here.

Come on.

Gimme a break, huh?

-Please?

-All right.

Look, you hide this.

Hide?

-Hide.

-Hide, exactly.

-Hide.

IOKI (VOICEOVER): I could feed the people in my tent.

I was a hero.

But all I could think about was my mom and dad and about

Thai Kieu.

-Harry?

Are you OK?

-Yeah, I'm OK.

I just thought that I had put all of this out of my mind,

you know?

I put Thai Kieu out of my mind.

-You feel guilty, huh?

-Yeah, whenever I think about him.

-Harry, he made a choice.

-But if it wasn't for me, Jude--

-If it wasn't for you, Harry, he'd still be in Vietnam.

Now, you know what went on there after the Cong took over.

What kind of life do you think he would have had?

-At least he would've been alive to live it, OK?

Look, I'm sorry.

So, um, I didn't even ask about you, right?

How was your trip?

-Oh, great trip.

Great.

Uh, there's no snow, but there's plenty of rain.

My parents are fighting, I think I've got caught a cold,

and my best friend's getting divorced

after only two years of marriage.

But other than that, it's been a blast.

-Jude?

-Yeah?

-Thanks for calling.

[knock on door]

-Come in.

-Can we talk?

-Sure.

Close that door.

-It's about Harry.

-What about him?

-He's pretty freaked out about this thing.

-Yeah, I know.

-Well, what are you gonna do about it?

-Well, what do you think I should do, Hanson?

-I think you oughta show him a little support.

-After he lied to me?

-He didn't lie to you.

-You're right.

He lied to all of us.

-You know what I mean.

I think there's more to it.

-Meaning?

-Meaning-- I don't know.

Meaning, uh, there's something else going on here.

I don't know.

Something went on over there.

-Bingo.

A war went on over there.

-Harry was not the enemy.

-Oh, no?

And what do you know about it, Hanson?

I figure you were about four years old

when I was shipped over there.

-I know that we were fighting the Viet Cong and the North

Vietnamese.

-We were fighting everybody!

The only people on our side were us.

-That's bull.

-Let me tell you something, Hanson.

Everybody's got a story about the war.

Mine's about a buddy that lived through two tours, 22 months.

Sargent Reggie Peterson from Roanoke, Virginia.

Reggie saved my butt a couple times.

We're coming out of a cafe one day in Saigon.

This is toward the end of the war.

Reggie goes across the street to get the Jeep while I go over

to a stand to get cigarettes.

Next thing I hear is the Jeep exploding.

A 14-year-old kid is running down the street.

He'd rolled a grenade under the Jeep.

I chased him.

I couldn't find him.

-That has nothing to do with H.T. Ioki or who he is now.

I don't care if he changed his name.

I don't care if he lied to the world!

He did it for a good reason.

Do you know how many Vietnamese native officers

we have in this department?

-How many?

-One now.

IOKI (VOICEOVER): I went from Guam to Fort Chaffee, Arkansas.

From there, I was sponsored out by a Methodist church

in St. Louis, Missouri.

It didn't take long for me to get sponsored,

because I had no mother and father.

I went to live with a woman named Bessie Mason.

Mrs. Mason had a big old house, and all her children

were grown up and had children of their own.

At first, I called her Mrs. Mason.

Then she became Grandma Bessie.

-How are you ever gonna learn English watching

policemen shoot at each other?

-I like this--

-Program.

-Program.

-You're gonna like this one better.

IOKI (VOICEOVER): Now, I must've been the only

14-year-old in the world who had to watch "Sesame Street."

I was the first Vietnamese person in St. Louis.

I went to high school there and did

pretty good once I learned English.

BERT (ON TV): 10 Q.

ERNIE (ON TV): I couldn't hear you, Bert.

BERT (ON TV): 10 Q, 10 Q, 10 Q!

ERNIE (ON TV): You're welcome, you're welcome,

you're welcome, Bert!

IOKI (VOICEOVER): I had started thinking about my future.

And right then and there, I knew what

I wanted to do for a living.

After graduation, I came here.

I had taken a trip to San Francisco

and found a new name, which you know all about.

I didn't think a Vietnamese refugee would

have a very good chance of getting into the department.

Anyway, I was accepted as H.T. Ioki

and went through the academy.

[helicopters and bombs]

MAN SINGING: I wanna be an airborne ranger!

MEN SINGING: I wanna be an airborne ranger!

MAN SINGING: I wanna live the life of danger!

MEN SINGING: I wanna live the life of danger!

-Thai!

-I finished in the top 5% of my class.

I was then assigned to the Jump Street program

under Captain Jenko.

-Thank you, Officer.

What Officer Ioki has left out of the story

is the next four years of exemplary work

in the line of duty, a near perfect jacket,

and three commendations.

And he's part of a unique undercover program.

Moral issues of the war in Vietnam

aside, the people of Vinh Van Tran's country

have suffered plenty.

Yes, he lied on his application.

Yes, that is cause for dismissal.

But let's face the truth, gentlemen.

This police department has two discrimination suits

pending right at this moment.

We don't have an exemplary record in that area.

H.T. Ioki had no real criminal intent.

Fundamental in how we determine what is a crime,

he had no intent to harm, but rather

an intent to serve the public.

I'd like to call Captain Adam Fuller.

Captain, do you have a statement you

wish to make to the review board?

-Yes, I do.

When an officer thinks he's done right

and then suffers the full force of government coming down

on him, it's a pretty terrifying thing.

I understand what he's going though

and have sympathy for him.

H.T. Ioki is a very good police officer.

He has my full recommendation and support,

and I implore you to allow him to stay in this department.

You recognize this, Harry?

-Yeah, this is one of my name change applications.

Where did you find it?

-It was in Captain Jenko's old file cabinet.

Found it last night.

-No kidding.

-Apparently, he stamped it and filed it away before he died.

-OK.

So, uh, what does this mean?

-Well, it means we have one more piece

of evidence for the review board.

-This just might pull your head right off the chopping block.

-Really?

-Really.

It demonstrates the officer's willingness

to correct the original application.

I'm gonna submit it right now.

They're not due for a decision until tomorrow.

-That's, uh, that's great.

-Ioke!

You're as good as back!

Gimme the $10 you owe me!

-Well, guys, happy ho, ho, ho.

-Iokage.

-Thanks, guys.

-Congratulations, Harry.

-Thanks, Captain.

-Um, you guys want to give us a minute here?

-Sure.

-Look, uh, Harry, I just wanted to tell you that,

um, well, I would've done exactly the same thing

you did if the circumstances were reversed.

-I appreciate that.

-I was somewhere I didn't want to be,

and I had no control over it.

-I was forced to go somewhere I didn't wanna go.

I guess I had no control over it either.

-At least I had somewhere to go back to.

-I guess, um, we're just a couple of victims, huh?

-Yeah, I guess so.

Don't you guys have some work to do?

-Hey, relax, Captain!

It's Christmas.

All the kids are out of school.

Whatever crimes they're committing,

they're committing in Florida.

-Yes!

Yes!

Yes!

No, turn in your uniform.

[knock on door]

Yeah, come in.

-You got a minute, Coach?

-Sure.

-Now, I'm not one to be cynical, Captain, but,

uh, a Christmas miracle?

-Well, uh, yeah.

Uh, these things happen this time of year.

-A two-year-old piece of paper from the bottom

of Ioki's drawer winds up in Jenko's old file cabinet?

-Why not?

-Because Jenko never filed a thing in his life.

-Well, maybe he's filing things now.

MRS. HANSON: Sal, you work at the chapel?

-Uh, yes, ma'am.

-Oh, you're the--

-I'm the maintenance engineer.

-Sorry.

-Sal's licensed to work at a nuclear power plant.

-Uh, yeah.

I'm just waiting for an opening.

[kids laughing]

[crash]

-I'll get it this time.

-I'll go with you.

-I remember when Tommy was that age.

I must've gone through three sets of dishes

before we went plastic.

-My kids can shatter plastic.

HANSON: All right, that's enough.

Knock it off!

-Oh, very effective.

-Watch this!

[honk]

[honk]

-That's quite a little circus you got there, Sal.

-I just love getting out of the house.

-So do I.

[clink]

-I'd like to make a toast.

I just think that's it's great that, um, we're

all here together to share the holidays.

And, um, I'd like to make a toast to the family.

-To all of us, however we got here.

-To Thai Kieu, who never did get here.

-To Reggie Peterson of Roanoke, Virginia.

-And to everyone else we left over there.

[MUSIC - "ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH"]