All language subtitles for The.Sympathizer.S01E05

(film projector rolling)

- (indistinct chatter)
- (muffled music playing)

- (rewinding)
- (muffled explosions)

Captain: This is the last
moment for some time

that I remember
with any clarity.

I'll forge ahead,
but be forewarned,

there will be lapses.

- (explosion)
- (tense music playing)

Nicos Damianos (over megaphone):
Cut. Fan-fucking-tastic!

We got that, people.
We got it.

(muffled)
Hey! Who is this fucker?

♪

(siren wailing)

(machine beeping)

(light, tense music playing)

(thunder rumbling)

(groans)

(siren wailing)

♪

(thunder crashes)

♪

(groans)

(panting)

(boys speaking Vietnamese)

♪

(chanting continues)

(yells)

♪

(thundering)

♪

(music fades out)

(speaking Vietnamese)

(Capitan speaking Vietnamese)

(Bon speaking Vietnamese)

(Bon sighs)

(crying)

♪

(grunting)

- (indistinct yelling)
- (grunting)

(ambient nature sounds)

(screaming)

(screaming)

(screaming)

(all screaming)

(chuckles)

(ambient nature sounds)

(spits)

Hey.

(chuckles)

Hey.

(friends chanting)

- (soft gasp)
- (chanting continues)

Sir, there's no smoking in here.

Yes, yes.

- (lights click on)
- (heavy breathing)

(sighs)

(Bon speaking Vietnamese)

(siren wailing)

(ambient hospital noise)

How do you feel?

- Yeah.
- Studio Lawyer: Hm.

What a shame.

Sorry, who are you?

Uh, I represent the studio

a-as Violet's just explained.

- Oh.
- Uh, first off,

we want you to
know that the studio

will be paying
for your stay here.

Nicos sent me in his place.

He couldn't make it,

but he sends his well wishes.

Uh, according to
your medical report,

you suffered, uh,
smoke inhalation,

uh, bruising, uh,
second-degree burns.

But, um, the computerized
tomography scan was clean,

so we're not liable,

but the studio does offer

a flat rate
for compensation of...

intangible, nonmedical
injuries, such as your, uh,

as-yet-undefined
psychological disturbance.

Is that supposed
to be an apology?

No. No, it's supposed
to be $3,000.

A very generous amount.

Lawyer: Of course, we
would love to offer you more,

but frankly, it's difficult to
make a case for compensation,

uh, unless there's
tangible loss.

Tangible?

Well, uh, like
an eyeball or a toe.

But I have lost
something tangible.

- Lawyer: What?
- Captain: I-I don't know, I...

I've lost my way, uh...

- Lawyer: Uh-huh.
- I-I don't know who I am anymore, I...

I don't think I can
go on like this.

You sound like
my ex-wife. (laughs)

Captain: I've lost myself.
That's tangible.

- This isn't me.
- Lawyer: Unfortunately,

sense of self is immaterial

- in the eyes of the law.
- Law?

I'm, I'm sorry.
Who are you exactly?

- Well, I...
- He's the lawyer for the studio.

(softly) They said he
might get confused.

Captain: He didn't
say he was a lawyer.

I don't want your check.

I want an apology from Nicos.

I can certainly try.

And $30,000.

- $5,000.
- If I was only thinking about myself,

then $5,000 would suffice,
but as an Asian, I...

- Familial obligations.
- Exactly.

For you people,
family is everything.

I get that.
I'm Italian.

- $7,000. - And when word gets around
that I've been compensated,

they'll come out
of the woodwork.

$50 for an aunt,
$100 for an uncle.

So, for their sake,

I can't accept anything
less than... $20,000.

You lose a finger,
that's 15 grand.

For $20,000, you'd have
to lose a whole hand.

Or, or a foot.

Or the internal equivalent.

Maybe one vital organ.

Or-or one or two of your
five senses. No, no, no. No.

$10,000.
That is the best I can do.

I'm sorry.
What was that?

I think I lost
my sense of hearing.

$15,000, final offer.

(suspenseful music playing)

In cash.

♪

And an apology from Nicos.

15,000 bucks.

Plus the world's first apology
from Nicos Damianos.

Not bad for losing your way.

♪

(thunder rumbling)

(ambient nature sounds)

Hey.

(spraying sound)

Hm?

(birds chirping)

Hm?

Howdy.

- Huh.
- Claude: You look like shit, kid.

Like a morning glory
ravaged by Aphidoidea.

(groans) How long
have you been here?

Long enough.

And you've just
been watching me?

Well, what the fuck
else am I gonna do?

- Just like you've been doing
for the past 11 years. - (chuckles)

You pluck me out of my village

and send me south to school

and watch me, mold me, push me.

Ah, sometimes you
need a little push.

I'm sorry. I'm just a
little shell-shocked.

- Literally.
- Ah, give me a break.

Doctor says your burns
have almost healed.

Captain: Meaning you want me to
suit up and get back in the game?

Claude: The General's been busy.
Let's put it that way.

He hasn't been to visit.

- How is he?
- The General?

Oh, General's fine, generally.

Except that, generally speaking,

he's proving somewhat erratic.

- And you want me to check in?
- No, I want you to check out.

This invalid routine
just plain doesn't suit you.

Wait.

And I hear you've
been homesick, hm?

Here you go. Comes with a
complimentary bottle of champagne.

And I hear rumors there might
be some surprises on the program.

So, congrats
on your early discharge.

(light applause)

...FantASIA!

...the city
of stars.

Ladies and gentlemen...

(applause, cheering)

(soft piano music playing)

- Captain: Wait, I was distracted.
- (pauses, rewinds)

I skipped a whole section.

My mind may have been
damaged, but I assure you,

that when I was released
from the hospital,

I had more pressing things
on my conscience.

I didn't feel guilty for doing
my duty for the cause,

but I felt I could ease
the consequences with a, uh,

redistribution of wealth.

(Bon speaking Vietnamese)

(babies crying)

(speaking Vietnamese)

(babies crying)

(Crapulent Major's
mother crying)

Oh...

Ah.

(sighs)

(softly) Uh...
(sighs)

(clock ticking)

Captain: Like I told you,

I have a bad association
with those French...

biscuits.

(indistinct chatter)

- (car engine starts)
- (bicycle bell rings)

(slurping)

(Madame speaking Vietnamese)

We have business to discuss.

(Madame speaking)

Our countrymen are starving

for a taste of home.

How much money are you making?

Enough.
It will be enough.

- Enough for...
- (door opens)

(door closes)

Who knows about this?

Everyone in there, I suspect.

Our people keep mistresses

better than they keep
(laughs) secrets.

Do-Do-Do you think that's wise?

I mean, letting this
be an open secret?

General: Ah, people come here
because their soup is spiced

with the excitement that
they're aiding the revolution.

I'm giving them hope.

And is everyone
aware of the fact

that this revolution
to reclaim the homeland

is, in fact,
a military operation?

No, to them, for now,
it's just a campaign

for awareness and agitation.

Is Claude aware of this?

Claude?

Well, he came by the hospital,

told me I should
check in on you.

To spy on me?

Well, he didn't
put it like that.

Tell him you won't do
any spying for free.

And if he pays,
bring the money to me,

so we can use it
to fund my operation.

(laughs)

(sighs) I'm sure you were
disappointed that I did not visit,

especially when Claude did.

Frankly...
I did not because...

- (softly cries)
- Oh!

S-Sir, I told Lana to go home.

I swear, I did not in my...

(cries)

I'm so sorry, sir.

(Captain sighs)

I offered the compensation

that I received from the studio

to the Major's wife,
but she, uh...

she wanted me to donate
to your great cause.

What?

Why would you give
that woman the money

you almost paid for
with your own life?

Ahh...

you saying you feel
sorry for her?

I'm sorry for feeling sorry.

(Captain speaking)

Such a cowardly move.

I always knew you had
that streak of weakness.

But no matter,
I'll make the best use of it.

Your life's ransom has landed

in the right place.

(light, tense music playing)

Think your clock's set
to the wrong time.

Off you go then.

(patrons chattering)

I stopped by the hospital...

only to be told you'd
already been discharged.

Fortunately, every Vietnamese
refugee can now be found here.

You stopped by the hospital?
W-Why?

Just to pay me a friendly visit?

Why shouldn't I visit
you in the hospital?

Because I was in the
hospital for three weeks

and you didn't visit me.

People in the community...
they've been talkin'.

- Vietnamese people? Gossiping? (chuckles)
- Yeah.

Word is that the General
has been formulating

some kind of ridiculous

secret operation...
to take back Vietnam.

Well, that's news to me.

Don't play dumb.
You're the General's man.

Well, the General's man has
been in the hospital for three weeks.

Besides, even if
I did know something,

why would I tell a communist?

- Who said I'm a communist?
- You're not a communist?

I only ask because
I'm writing a story.

Is the General
cooking something up?

Well, if he was, I'm sure
you're the last person

- he'd ever tell.
- He's giving these men false hope.

Setting the clock
to Saigon time,

what a pathetic gesture.

The war's over.

It's done. There's nothing
left to reclaim.

Even the Americans couldn't
defeat the communists.

Wars never really die.
They just hold their breath.

Wow.

I'm not your enemy.

Wish you could see that.

Sonny, I've never
considered you my enemy.

Why would you...
(chuckles)

(sighs)

(light piano music playing)

(Emcee speaking Vietnamese)

- (applause, cheering)
- (singing in Vietnamese)

♪

(pours drink)

(Lana continues singing)

- (song concludes)
- (applause)

- (instrumental piano continues)
- (applause, cheering)

Ladies and gentlemen...
I am pleased to announce

we have a special guest
in the house today.

It's your first time, right?

He's very special to me,

but I suspect the rest
of you feel the same.

A kind, generous guy

who's experienced
discrimination like all of us,

but has endured it
with grace and dignity.

Ladies and gentlemen...

- Jamie Johnson!
- (applause, cheering)

Yeah, come on.

♪

(speaking Vietnamese)

- (audience exclaims)
- (applause)

Forgive me, Que-Linh
has been teaching me,

but, uh, I know my
Vietnamese is still terrible.

Probably 'cause I have such

a distractingly
beautiful teacher.

Hopefully one day, I'll be able
to sing you a song in Vietnamese,

but until then, I
hope this will suffice.

- (singing) ♪ Every night together ♪
- (applause)

♪ Now, just me alone ♪

♪ When we're happy,
the moon's bright ♪

♪ Sadness makes it dark ♪

both (singing):
♪ See the city of stars ♪

♪ So many memories
we've made ♪

♪ Love in the heart
of the city ♪

♪ It's gone, I'm sad to say ♪

- ♪ See the city of... ♪
- Wow.

♪ So many memories
we've made ♪

♪ Love in the heart
of the city ♪

♪ It's gone ♪

- ♪ I'm sad ♪
- ♪ I'm sad ♪

♪ To say ♪

(audience murmuring)

(song concludes)

(applause, cheering)

Lana, uh, look,
about the movie, uh...

- I never should've...
- Been responsible

for the most
embarrassing day of my life?

Yeah, yeah, uh...

- Well, I think we can agree
you got your comeuppance. - (scoffs)

Well, I'm sorry too...

for never visiting
you in the hospital.

Let's call it even.

Yeah.
(chuckles)

You know, our stint
in the movies

made you a grown-up
and me a kid.

Monique's "Hamlet" set.

That place, it brought me back

to my childhood village...

to my mother.

(sighs)

I'm sorry.

I needed a stage name so
Mom and Dad couldn't trace me.

Uh, it had nothing
to do with your mother.

I only used it 'cause
it was my character

in my first
professional acting job.

Jamie's out front.

You wanna join us for dinner?

Oh, really? What, you want
me around as a third wheel?

(scoffs)
Third wheel?

Come on.
Me and Jamie?

(chuckles)

I'll let you two have your fun.

Uh, someone's expecting me.

(TV playing)

I know it's improper
for a dialectic materialist

to set an altar
for the departed, I do...

but I am telling you
everything with full disclosure

so that you can
understand just how fragile

I'd become by this time.

(sighs)

- (ambient street noise)
- (birds chirping)

(knocks on door)

- Mr. Hollywood.
- Oh.

(Captain sniffs)

- Sofia Mori: Why didn't you call?
- That smell. (sniffs)

- Oh, your skin.
- A cactus?

What was that bullshit, huh?

It doesn't care if
it's watered or not.

Oh, jeez.

What a surprise, uh.
You could've called.

Sofia: Relax, Sonny.
Our friend has returned,

older and presumably wiser.

I haven't heard from you
in half a year.

You can build a
skyscraper in less time.

It wasn't six months.

It was five months and one week.

And if you'd visited me
in the hospital,

it would've been four
months and two weeks.

So, what kinda skyscraper could you
build in four months and two weeks, huh?

(chuckles) Hell, you
couldn't even build this, uh,

this romper room.

Romper room?

Wow.

Shall we?

(skillful guitar playing)

- Sofia: It's my family.
- Sonny: That's Judith, Sofia's mother.

Here's her brothers, George
and Abe, when they first arrived.

Poor Abe.

Did you say he,
uh, died in the war?

No. No,
he was imprisoned

with the rest of us in the camp.

Well, it's been 30 years and
the war still consumes my brother,

even though he never fought it.

No, he, he fought it, all right.

No, but just so much
anger and resentment

just for being Japanese.

And the irony is...

- W-W-We don't know for sure.
- No, no, no, but you did find

those gaps in my family
tree. Intentional gaps.

Yeah, yeah. Like her
mother was hiding something.

- Some injustice. That's my hunch.
- Sofia: Mm-hmm.

- We, uh, we wanna go to Japan to get
to the bottom of it. - (Sofia chuckles)

Oh, this is what
happens when you date

- an investigative journalist, huh?
- I guess so.

- (chuckles) Is that right?
- Sofia: Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I mean, back in college,

Sonny was great at getting
to the bottom of things.

He made great speeches, Sofia.

Should've heard him
railing against the war.

Oh, I wish I had.

- I really do.
- Mm, but if you had heard him,

you might've asked yourself
why didn't he go back

and fight for the revolution
himself? (chuckles)

So, why are you
still here, Sonny?

Why don't you go back
and help rebuild the homeland?

Is it because you're...
so in love with Miss Mori, huh?

Or is it because you're afraid?

Afraid to lose
the comfort of America.

His home is here.

No, not this...
"romper room."

Not yet, but his
home is here in L.A.

His people are here too.

- Refugees like you.
- Refugees like me?

- Mm-hmm.
- Captain: I'm his people?

You know who made me a refugee?

Communists like him.

But he's got important
work to do for me?

Okay. And what kinda
work is that, Sonny?

Sofia, he's, he's right.

I came here, like you, to study.

I promised my parents
one day I would come back

and help our country
with my American degree.

I'd, I'd use that knowledge to
liberate our people from the Americans.

I am a coward and a hypocrite...

and you're a better man than me.

I-I don't agree
with your politics.

I-I despise 'em, but...

you went back to your homeland
and fought for your cause...

your people...
and for that, I respect you.

I take back what I said before.

You are more
Vietnamese than I am.

Sofia: What am I?

A secretary for some
white man who thinks

"Miss Butterfly"
is a compliment.

Do I ever tell him to
"fuck off and go to hell"?

I smile, say nothing,
and type, type away.

I am far worse than you, Sonny.

- I respect you.
- (scoffs)

Captain: Looks like your cynical
edge got dulled while I was away, Sofia.

I always had a softer side.

You never stuck around
to see it.

(melancholy music playing)

(sighs)

(water splashing)

(tense music playing)

- (alligator grumbles)
- (gasps, exclaims)

♪

(Nicos panicking)

Sit.

Seems to be enjoying
its newfound freedom.

- Nicos: Did you try to kill me?
- Did you try and kill me?

Even if I told you the truth,

you wouldn't believe it.

Parrot: (squawks)
Don't fuck up my movie.

- So, that's why you're here? Some
kinda sick revenge? - (scoffs) I've imagined

- about a thousand ways to kill you.
- Really? Such as?

Landmines. You step on one,
your head rolls off.

I kick it like a soccer ball,

it rolls into a second landmine.

You know, that sorta thing?

Well, I hope you're
feelin' better.

I hear you've been
generously compensated.

Not in full.

There's still something owing.

Oh, Christ. That's
why you're here.

He wants an apology. Very well.

I am truly, deeply sorry.

No, no, no, no, no.
I want something else.

An apology from you
isn't worth shit.

You keep all the
Vietnamese lines in the movie.

(Nicos scoffs)

Brother, even the
studio doesn't tell me

what to do with my final cut.

Captain: Do you want
my blood on your hands?

Nicos: Come on,
don't even joke about it.

I just need to know
that all those months

away from L.A.
weren't all in vain.

Nicos:
Get the fuck over here!

You don't know how
fast Dorothy can move

when she puts her mind to it.

Look, I get where
you're comin' from...

but it's undermined by the sacred
mystery of the editing process.

I'm tellin' you, one day you
love a shot, ya throw it in, right?

And the next day, it
doesn't work. You rip it out.

Nobody knows what'll be
in the final cut. Not even me.

Hell, we might even lose that multi-million
dollar explosion for all I know.

So, I'll tell ya what.

I'll try.
Honestly, I will try

to keep the Vietnamese
in the movie, for you,

but the thing is, I can't
predict the journey

in my own mind,
let alone the movie.

You see, editing...
(sighs)

It isn't about
clarifying the story

or hammering home the theme.

It's about rhythm, impulse, sex.

Better yet, jazz.

It's like that alligator.
Primal instinct.

Just talkin' about all this
shit makes me wanna improvise.

I'm like Dizzy.
(imitates trumpet)

I'm like Miles.
(imitates trumpet)

(continues trumpet scatting)

(funky pop music playing)

(singing)
♪ Go sister, soul sister ♪

- Vocalists: ♪ Hey, tell it ♪
- ♪ Soul sister ♪

♪ Go sister, soul sister ♪

♪ Tell it, tell it,
tell it, sister ♪

- Vocalists: ♪ Gitchi, ya, ya, ya ♪
- ♪ Mm, yeah ♪

Vocalists:
♪ Gitchi, ya, ya, ya ♪

♪ Come on, come on, come on ♪

(singing "Lady Marmalade"
in Vietnamese)

(music distorts, rewinds)

(muffled song plays)

(chuckles)

♪

(chuckles)

(slight chuckle)

♪

(gasps)

- Jeez, what's up with you?
- (vocalist singing on stage)

(indistinct chatter)

That song got me
through my teen years.

Oh, so not The Isley Brothers?

That was your thing, not mine.

You liked The Isley Brothers

and Steve McQueen
and Diane Arbus.

- I can enumerate your interests at length.
- Hm.

What do you know about mine?

Uh, well, uh, now's your
chance to tell me anything

and everything about you, then.

Sounds like a dare.

I don't know anything
and everything,

but whatever I am,
no one can stop it.

(chuckles)

Tell that to my mom and dad.

Why don't you
tell them yourself?

- Isn't that what I'm doing?
- Mm.

- Hm?
- You're their wiretap, right?

I'm not a spy.
That's insulting. (chuckles)

(quietly) Mom, Dad,
can you hear me?

Miss Que-Linh...

have you seen Lana around?

- Lana?
- Mm.

Never heard of her.

- Oh, really?
- Mm.

Because you two share
a strong resemblance.

She's very much more
immature than you.

She's a...

a girl who cried to me...

- (chuckles)
- ...because she was scared of America

and said she didn't
wanna leave Saigon.

You're one to talk about crying.

(mockingly) I'm so
scared of the General.

- (chuckles)
- Boo-hoo.

- That's you sniveling into your
girlfriend's shoulder. - Oh, really?

Well, you know, she's not
my girlfriend anymore.

- Hm?
- We broke up.

To be more accurate,
she, uh, she replaced me.

Oh? Well, then
does that mean

you need a new
shoulder to cry on?

(footsteps approach)

Bon:
He can cry on mine.

Uh, uh.

(applause in theater)

Not a spy, huh?

(tense music playing)

Captain:
"Ma chère tante,

"I apologize
for not writing sooner.

"I'm happy to report that for
the first time since the accident,

"I'm finally feeling
myself again.

"The General is planting the
seeds of a military campaign.

"I pray that this precious seed

will bloom into
a genuine victory because..."

Anyway, that's what I wrote
as an anti-communist

in the open letter
to my Parisian aunt.

♪

(camera clicking)

But as a communist,
I encoded my words to Man.

This is what I wrote:

"These pathetic refugees
cannot see this campaign

"of the General's
for what it actually is:

a fool's errand."

♪

The prints were awkward to hide,

so I sent a film of the
General's plans to Hanoi.

The photographs
went somewhere else.

♪

And that's why I signed
my coded missive as follows:

"Don't worry.
I'm taking care of it."

(blows)

♪

I hope your Parisian
aunt's doin' well.

- Oh, yes.
- What, are ya headed off somewhere?

The General.
He-He needs a lift.

- Huh.
- Hm.

- (dog barking)
- God, you are really not

an animal person, are you?

Congressman called,
who in turn had a chat

with our rogue director friend.

Happened to mention
that you dropped by

despite my explicit
instructions to the contrary.

- Right. - Whatever you said
to that ingrate, it worked.

His mojo's back full force.

We'll see a cut next month.

I don't get it.

- What?
- W-Why do you and the Congressman

care about some crass

Viet-sploitation flick so much?

Because movies are
important, right?

Especially if made by
a significant director.

It's imperative for us to keep
an eye on these artist types.

They need reassurance
that they're subversives,

but we can't allow them
to flip all the way.

Long as we can keep them within
the nebulous bounds of humanism,

but with no actionable
political ideology,

they're completely harmless.

Take "The Hamlet."

Our guys, they slip up
every once in a while.

But in the end, all it takes
is one morally upstanding,

heroic American soldier
to straighten everything out.

That's the true strength
of this country.

A country that lives and
dies by its conscience.

(laughs)

That girlfriend of yours, Mori?

- What's her name? Mori...
- She's not my girlfriend.

Yeah, yeah, whatever.
Oh, free love and all that.

The woman that you do
or don't occasionally

or not so occasionally hump?

(sniffs) Yeah.
Aspire to better.

Kid, trust me.
You know she's been

sleepin' with that liberal
mudslinger, Sonny?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Do I need to remind you to watch
your mouth when you're with her?

Do I?

Those two are intimate,
and I mean that

in the most dangerous sense.

They actually talk.

You never know what
might leak out. (clicks tongue)

(dog barking)

- (tense music playing)
- (dog barking)

How the fuck does
Sonny know all of this?

♪

(chuckles)

Someone's been feeding
information to this scumbag.

Well, do we need to push
the timeline back, sir?

No, no. Now that this
treacherous scoundrel

has published this
shameful article,

we must expedite everything.

Uh, do we have
enough volunteers?

How are you doing
with the training?

Sir, from what little
plans I've seen,

I don't think we're ready.

Wait. Sir, I think
someone's following us.

General: How do we know
he's really a newsman?

Half the newsmen in
Saigon were sympathizers.

How do we know the communists
didn't send them here to undermine us?

Well, in college, some
may have referred to him

as a left-wing radical.

That has always
been your problem.

You're too sympathetic,

too kind to spot a communist
sleeper agent right under our nose.

Hm?

Pull up over here.

(tires screech)

Something must be done, Captain.

Don't you agree?

Yes. Something
must be done.

(engine stops)

♪

(ambient nature sounds)

♪

(army shouting, grunting)

(shouting, grunting)

(dramatic music playing)

(Young Bon grunting)

(muffled shouting)

(shouting, grunting)

♪

(grunting)

(panting)

♪

(percussive music playing)

♪

♪

♪

(music fades out)