Original subtitles

He's here. He's here.

Quang has come back. The gates of hell have opened.

If you tap a bowl during Hungry Ghosts month,

a ghost will think you are inviting them to eat with you.

The Drowned Man.

- May! - Jesus, Stella!

NEIL: They're doing a retrospective of my work. The Vietnam years.

Just idiots, digging up the past.

It'd be great if you could stay for it.

Support the old man.

It's Thao.

Where are they? Where has she hidden them?

(SCREAMS)

Mrs Vu, good morning.

- How'd you sleep? - Bad.

- Oh. - Really hungry.

That's no good.

I dreamt of the crossing. I was so afraid.

Not knowing what was happening on the other side.

Well how about we get you some breakfast,

and then I'll find out where your chart's got to

and we'll look into getting you admitted to a ward

where you'll be much more comfy, okay?

Okay.

- Doctor Williams? - Yes.

You treated my grandmother, Phuong Le.

She came here a couple of nights ago.

- She had a heart attack. - Yes, of course. I... I remember.

I really need to speak to you.

_

I'll be right back, Mrs Vu.

Before she died, she said, "He's here."

Yes, that's, uh...

She didn't say who's here?

Anything about, um... maybe a restaurant?

A restaurant?

No, she just said something about, um... bread.

Your grandmother was in heart failure.

She wasn't getting enough oxygen to her brain,

so that would explain why she was speaking irrationally.

If it was irrational, then why did you bother delivering the message?

- What aren't you telling me? - Nothing.

I'm very sorry about your grandmother.

I have to get back to my patients.

Where's Mrs Vu?

- She died, poor thing. - Just then?

No, 3 A.M. this morning.

Synced & corrected by kinglouisxx www.addic7ed.com

Coffee's brewed. You've been busy.

Why don't you stick around for a few days?

I've missed ya.

Good to have a proper catch up.

And to have you at this... thing.

Ah, just get in the way of all those admirers. (CHUCKLES)

This one's not from the war.

- Took it the other day. - I can't believe you still use film.

Old dog.

Capturing ghosts.

What'd you say?

Oh, when I was little, some of your negatives used to spook me.

And you'd say, um, "That's my burden, Lizzie. Capturing ghosts."

You don't remember?

No.

Let me show you something.

That's me. Vietnam, 1973.

- Who's this? - Thao Hoang, my interpreter.

I blew this up...

...from this.

What do you think?

Think it's the same fella?

It couldn't be.

No. Couldn't be.

What happened to him?

I don't know.

_

_

Hey, Lisa, it's me again.

(SIGHS) Look, I've been trying to get a hold of Soph,

but she's not answering her phone.

Khoa?

Khoa? I'm sorry, Khoa.

(SPEAKS VIETNAMESE)

- Ong noi? - I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Khoa.

- Grandpa? Grandpa! - I'm sorry.

What's wrong? Grandpa? Grandpa, it's me. Grandpa, it's me.

It's okay.

Hey, it's okay. It's okay. Grandpa.

(PHONE CHIMES)

PAUL: Hope you don't mind Mum taking over your garden.

Oh, shit.

- Shit. - She just can't help herself.

_

Bet she's been out there since dawn.

When we lived on Barton Street,

she lived half her life in the backyard,

trying to re-create her little garden in Saigon.

All vegetables.

Most of it died that first summer.

Your Mum's garden was lovely.

WOMAN: Can you make sure you get all the dead skin off my heels?

Last time, they felt like sandpaper.

- Oww! - WOMAN: May!

Hello. Come in, come in. Here, sit, sit, sit.

Oh, hi. Um, no, no. I'm just... I'm looking for May Le.

I was told she worked here.

May Le!

- Hi. - Doctor Williams.

Ben, please. Call me Ben.

What are you... what are you doing here?

Is this about my grandmother?

Um, I don't know. It's, uh...

I just need a quick word.

(SPEAKS VIETNAMESE)

When you came to the hospital this morning, I was with a patient.

Mrs Vu. You spoke to her in Vietnamese.

I said, "Sorry for interrupting."

So you did see her?

Yeah, I saw her. So what?

Okay, I have a shop full of bunions to scour, so...

Mrs Vu died at 3 A.M. this morning.

- So, who was the old lady in the bed? - Mrs Vu.

Yep. I, um...

I wouldn't joke about death.

Or one of my patients.

So, what, she... she was a ghost?

I don't believe in ghosts.

I don't know what's happening.

Or what I'm seeing.

What else have you been seeing?

I'm... um...

I'm sorry. I... I... I really...

Wait.

I know someone who can help.

Her name was Rose. She was eight years old.

She came in last week and she died.

She choked on a jellybean.

And I saw her across the road.

She was standing there.

And she was gone.

I'm exhausted, so I thought I was just seeing things.

But...

...you saw Mrs Vu.

We need to do a seance.

What? A se... No. I, um...

You've been seeing dead patients, Ben.

Including Phuong.

Maybe she's trying to get another message through.

I can't do a seance.

I'm a doctor.

Phuong!

I'm calling to you, Phuong,

in whatever dimension your spirit resides.

Let me be your vessel.

My body is your body, my voice, your voice.

I invite you in!

Complete the circle.

Hands, guys, hands.

Mm. Mm.

Ba ngoai?

Ba ngoai!

_

Now you know what I want, hmm? Where are they?

- Ba ngoai? - Find his souls.

Find his three souls!

Where have you hidden them? Hmm?

Somewhere in here?

(CRUNCHING)

(GROANS)

Ba ngoai? Ba ngoai!

Hey, hey, hey, hey!

You shouldn't be in here.

Oh, I'm just here to pay my respects to a dear old friend.

Love your work.

You tranced out on us, babe. Glazed right over.

You kept saying, "Find his soul, find his three souls."

Find his souls? Whose souls?

You're telling the story here. What do you remember?

Water. Um...

A river.

Ba ngoai was there.

And... and someone else. Um... a man, I think.

- I remember a fish. - A fish?

I think she was trying to show me something.

If she wanted us to make sense of it all,

she should have come through me, I'm the medium here.

He's the conduit.

Hey?

Your hand.

The burn. It happened trying to save my grandmother.

Uh... I'm sorry, I've gotta go.

What? No, you can't.

I've been working for 36 hours... and I've gotta go.

- Ben, I need your help. - I'm sorry. I am, um...

The chef in the imaginary restaurant.

He said you had power. That you're the one.

I don't have any power.

DANIEL: That's when I heard him calling out.

He was in the storeroom, on his knees, just... just talking to...

Who?

No-one. There was nobody there.

He just kept on saying, "I'm sorry, Khoa.

"I'm sorry, Khoa."

Who's Khoa? One of the customers?

Beats me.

Bao was freaked out.

Says he won't come back to the shop

till the end of Hungry Ghosts month.

If Dad's too unwell to work tomorrow,

you'll have to work there again.

- It's not like you've got Uni. - I can't do it alone.

I'll see if I can move some meetings around.

Paul, come help me with your father.

- He needs to take the medicine. - (YELLS)

- (GLASS BREAKS) - Paul. Paul! Paul!

Wow. He's terrifying.

I just love this whole Ghost Month tradition.

Uh, it's lame.

Come on, you've gotta get into the spirit of it.

Oh, ha-ha.

Come eat your dinner before it gets cold.

How's your Dad?

Mum's going to need a hip replacement.

Oh.

Last thing she needs to worry about is that bloody shop.

And now Daniel throws away two years of study, like that.

Are you talking about your Mum's worries or yours?

Daniel's got real talent, Paul.

There's a lot of really talented, really poor artists.

I want him to get a degree, too.

But he's stubborn, like you. You push him, and he won't.

I've worked my guts out so my kids could go to university.

- What's a year's deferment? - A lot can change in a year.

Hell, everything can change in a day!

It's impossible to talk to you sometimes.

Holly!

This meeting'll be a couple of hours.

Dinner, then finish him before any screens.

(GUNSHOT)

(MEN CRYING AND WAILING)

(GUNSHOT)

(MAN TALKS IN VIETNAMESE OVER LOUDSPEAKER)

(YELLS)

I've cursed this family.

Grandpa...

...you haven't cursed anyone.

I've eaten too many frogs.

I don't think you can be cursed for eating frogs.

In the bamboo gulag, we would bury two or three prisoners every day.

And wild pigs would always dig them up.

I always dream of war,

but mostly I dream I'm in a grave,

and a pig is digging.

And I can hear grunting, Daniel.

I can feel its wet mouth on my face.

You survived, ong noi.

I'm in Australia.

But the Communists could still arrest me.

Is that who you thought you saw in the store?

A Communist?

Who's Khoa?

He's nobody.

He's nobody.

STELLA: You never believed in Ma's nonsense. Why now?

You weren't there today. It was weird. It was like...

There's no point telling you.

What are you going to do with them?

They're for ba ngoai's funeral.

There are hardly any photos of you and me together.

Photography wasn't my thing.

Did you know she was a sorcerer?

(SIGHS)

What kind of sorcerer was she?

And why didn't she ever tell me? She's my grandmother.

Why do I know practically nothing about her?

- I don't know. - Why not?

Jesus, what is wrong with this family?

We know nothing about each other.

Not true.

Really?

The guy that I was seeing for two years, who I almost married.

What was his name?

Or the business that we had together?

My passion. The only thing that I've ever wanted to do.

What was it?

Something... about...

...make-up?

(KNOCKING AT DOOR)

Oh, hello.

Are you a friend of Phuong's?

- Yes. - Ah, please, come through.

- Oh, Clare, hi. - Hi.

We were going to go through the photos to finalise the display.

Oh, shit, I forgot. Um...

What say I choose some appropriate shots

and courier them over tomorrow?

Oh. Sure, sure.

- Sorry. - No, it's okay.

It's... I look forward to seeing what you...

...pick out.

(MAN SINGS IN VIETNAMESE)

(BOTH SING TOGETHER)

(SINGS IN VIETNAMESE)

(BOTH SING TOGETHER)

_

_

_

PAUL: Mum?

Ma?

Who are you talking to?

I... I came out to see the blossom.

You should be inside. It's cold.

You must be gentle to your father.

He has many burdens.

You are not one of them.

When I die, promise me you'll look after him.

Ma, you're not going to die.

One day, I will.

_

I will.

_

If it makes you feel better, I'll build a shrine.

_

_

Even when I was little,

Ma was more interested in her religion than me.

I spent my childhood following her all around temples.

That's funny. I grew up in nightclubs.

Your Ma had a special bracelet with 108 Buddhist beads on it.

I would like to see it, if I may.

Bracelet?

You're the one who went through her jewellery.

To make sure the ambulance driver didn't steal anything.

Well, they didn't steal the hair comb, I see.

I'm wearing in honour of Ma.

Of course, I'll have another look.

I saw you in a dream.

You found old bones in a cave.

Quang's bones. His tomb has been opened.

- Quang's here. - Who is this Quang?

He was the leader of your ba ngoai's sect.

Wise and gentle, until he got obsessed with ngai sorcery.

He thought he could stop the war and unite the country with his magic.

But its powers sent him mad, and arrogance cost him his life.

And when he tried to return from the dead, your ba ngoai stopped him.

She trapped him in hell and buried his tomb and sealed it with spells.

Who cares if Quang's back?

Isn't that what Hungry Ghosts month is all about?

The dead come back to haunt the living?

Quang has three souls, and he will be looking for them.

Three souls?

When he died, Phuong hid them in the mortal world

as an extra layer of protection.

Now if Quang finds them,

he can return to life and resist the power of hell to draw him back.

And if he does that...

The gates of hell can't close.

And if they do not, then the ghosts will forever wander the earth,

tormenting the living.

Where are they?

Where did ba ngoai hide the souls?

I don't know.

But you must find them before he does.

(POWER SURGES)

(WOMAN SOBS)

_

(GROANS)

- Harry. - Hey, Neil.

- Thanks for coming. - No problem.

I reckon last time I saw you was March '69.

Before I flew out to Nha Trang.

When I heard the 7th was going to An Loc, I said a prayer for you.

Thank you.

You remember that civilian guide I had with me? Thao Hoang?

I'm trying to find out what happened to him.

- Did he get out? - That's what I'm trying to find out.

And you've got a lot more contacts in the community than I have.

Maybe someone would recognise him.

He was married. I don't know his wife's name.

He had two kids,

boys, and his wife was pregnant with a third.

So why do you want to find him?

Maybe it's this retrospective I'm doing.

Brought up a few ghosts.

Maybe best to leave them buried.

ROXY: Ngai sorcery. That's like serious black magic, babe.

You don't mess with it.

You know, ba ngoai told me about bad omens.

Maybe if I'd gone to the temple with her...

It wasn't your fault.

Hey, when it's an inauspicious time, you can't stop bad luck.

How the hell am I meant to find his souls?

Maybe that's what Phuong was trying to show you in that vision.

She showed me a fish, Rox. A fish.

What am I meant to do with that?

Fish.

A fish soap-on-a-rope. Huong Dao sells them at her Dollar King.

(LAUGHS)

(DOORBELL CHIMES)

Diane. Do we have an appointment?

I need to see you.

It's my daughter, Sophie. She's gone.

Gone where?

The water's taken her.

Are you getting anything?

No, nothing.

Show me Sophie's room.

Hoc.

(GASPS)

(BREATHES RAPIDLY)

I don't think this has anything to do with ba ngoai.

Your mother's been worried sick.

I'm so sorry, Mum. I left my phone here.

- Silly. - Why are you wet?

Sophie?

I got caught in the rain.

- It's not raining. - Enough with the questions.

Sophie's home now and that's all that matters.

I'm sorry to have wasted your time, Roxy. I feel really stupid.

Diane, does the name Hoc mean anything to you?

Hoc? I... I don't know any Hoc.

I've got to get Sophie something to eat.

She turns into a total nightmare when she's hungry.

WOMAN: (OVER P.A.) Code Blue in Bay 16.

Repeat, we have a Code Blue in Bay 16.

All doctors to emergency.

Code Blue in Bay 16.

Repeat, we have a Code Blue in Bay 16.

(SOBS)

I'm starting to think this whole thing was a big bloody mistake.

Let my ego get the better of me.

Yeah, wouldn't be the first time.

Oh, God, to think you were in the middle of all this.

You're not careful, it can fuck you up.

Yeah, I remember hearing you pace the house at night.

You hated being home.

Couldn't wait to get back in the thick of it.

I was an insomniac.

How'd you sleep in Khe Sanh?

Mogadishu?

Afghanistan?

I actually spent some time in the Vietnamese community,

not long after Mum died.

Was kind of a personal project.

I, uh... I emailed you a bunch of my photos.

Did you ever get a chance to look at them?

Yeah. I'm just a travel photographer, so...

So, I, uh... spoke to my editor.

There's another boat leaving out of Dunedin in a week.

So, I pushed my deadline.

You'll never get this done on your own. It's...

- Liz, that's... that's great... - Don't get all soppy.

Might need a bed to crash in, though.

We've got a lot to do.

(PRAYING IN VIETNAMESE)

(PEOPLE CHATTING)

You go to lots of funerals for the free food?

What? No.

This is my first...

...patient's funeral.

Thanks for coming.

Since, uh... yesterday, everything's gone back to normal.

I haven't seen a single strange or unnatural thing,

and I'd like to keep it that way.

Well, great.

I better...

- ...keep mingling. - Yep.

Oh, shit.

I know what it is. One of Quang's souls.

- Where's Stella? - What?

The fish is on the hair comb. That's why ba ngoai gave it to me.

It's so kind of you to come. I really appreciate it.

- (PHONE RINGS) - Oh.

- Yes? - Ba ngoai's bone hairpiece.

The one with the painting of the fisherman on it.

You wearing it?

Well, of course, darling. In honour of Ma.

- Where are you? - I'm in the garden.

Stay there.

What's going on?

Stella?

Stella? Stella!

The hair comb. Where is it?

It was...

HARRY: I found Thao's Aunt, Mrs Chau.

She came here as a refugee.

Lives in a nursing home in Springvale.

So you spoke to her? Did she say how Thao was?

Where he is? Is he still in Vietnam?

Thao's dead.

He was picked up by the Communists in the days after the war ended.

They tied him to a lamp post outside his house.

They tortured him and cut off his tongue.

But his sons, they got out.

Tom lives in California. Works for a big company.

And James, he lives here in Melbourne.

- And Thao's wife? - Giang.

Giang.

She died, in childbirth.

Just after Thao was killed.

The baby died, too.

When Saigon fell, everything changed.

The world ended that day for many people.

Neil, Clare Nguyen here. I'm at the gallery.

Just checking in to see how you're going with the last of those photos.

Nothing turned up today

and, well, we've got the press preview coming up,

so, um... just give us a call.

Mrs Nguyen.

- Can I help you? - You in charge of this?

You, uh... actually shouldn't be in here.

My name is Doctor Tran. I work at the West General Hospital.

You've been sending me letters...

I have a lot of Vietnamese patients.

Some old. Veterans of the war.

Some younger. A lot of them know grief, Mrs Nguyen.

First, they lost the war, then their home.

My wife came here in a boat.

No food. Hardly any water.

For eight days, they floated aimlessly on that ocean.

A lot of them died.

Many children.

- I'm sorry. - I worry about my patients.

I worry about my wife.

I worry about how those photos on those walls make them feel!

_

_

SOPHIE: ♪ Row, row, row your boat ♪

♪ Gently down the stream ♪

♪ Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily ♪

♪ Life is but a dream ♪

Where's Sophie?

She just seems a bit distant.

Are you sure she's not on drugs?

Adderall. Ritalin.

You know, a lot of students are doing it these days.

It helps them with their concentration.

Sophie's a good student.

I have a sixth sense when it comes to a guilty conscience.

She's definitely hiding something.

♪ Row, row, row your boat ♪

♪ Gently down the stream ♪

♪ Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily ♪

♪ Life is but a dream ♪

(ETHAN GAGS)

Ethan! Ethan!

- (ETHAN COUGHS) - Hey.

Thanks, Aunt Soph. I'll take over.

Hey, let's get you out before you turn into a big giant prune.

You okay?

(HELICOPTER BLADES WHIRR)

(PEOPLE SHOUTING)

(CROWD CLAMOURING)

What do you want from me?

I wanted to get you out.

I did, your whole family. I looked for you, I swear.

But everything was so chaotic.

(SCREAMS)

(CHANTING IN VIETNAMESE)

Synced & corrected by kinglouisxx www.addic7ed.com

Excuse me?

(GASPS)

Let's do it.

I need to try and contact my grandmother again.

On one condition. You go for a drink with me.

(LAUGHS)

_

_

His name's Thao. I don't know what he wants.

- That is mine! - Sir...

(GRUNTS)