Original subtitles

Vincent: This is where the wealthy and the powerful rule.

It is her world,

A world apart from mine.

Her name... Is catherine.

From the moment I saw her, she captured my heart

With her beauty,

Her warmth and her courage.

I knew then, as I know now,

She would change my life...

Forever.

Catherine: He comes from a secret place, far below the city streets,

Hiding his face from strangers,

Safe from hate and harm.

He brought me there to save my life.

And now, wherever I go, he is with me in spirit.

For we have a bond stronger than friendship or love.

And although we cannot be together,

We will never, ever be apart.

That's a mysterious smile.

Look.

The moon.

Catherine: It looks enormous tonight.

Vincent: Do you remember the first time you saw the moon?

Who would remember the first...?

Can you?

Mm-hmm.

(indistinct radio chatter)

Broken taillight.

Shall we?

(siren wailing)

Driver gone? Yeah.

Well, maybe he got up onto the roof.

Maybe he called a cab.

You figure it out. I'll call it in.

It's... It's dark.

Would you like to hold the flashlight?

Help me clear this off.

Vincent: It's incredible.

Mouse: Saw one up top.

Figured it out.

Built it.

You've stolen the eye of the storm.

Didn't steal.

Got the stuff from catherine.

So this is why you wanted to visit mouse.

It's a gift from both of us.

We wanted to surprise you.

Her idea.

So that you could always have a piece of sky.

Even down here.

(buzzing)

Arthur, what have you done?

(buzzing)

What is that, mouse?

Old gizmo.

Warning system.

Better than sentries.

(buzzing stops) never finished.

(buzzing resumes)

Uh-oh.

Broken, maybe.

Or working, maybe.

Where does that alarm originate?

Mouse: Lower west side.

Old iron door-- into the well.

That entrance hasn't been used in years.

There are no sentries posted at that tunnel.

Woman: Good to see you.

(voices echoing)

(echoing): What are you doing?

(echoing): Doing... Doing...

Don't be afraid.

There's no one there.

It's just sound.

Man: Hello... Hello... Hello...

Sounds can't hurt you.

When I was a kid, this was my favorite place.

We used to make up stories to go along with the voices.

I like stories.

You can go all around the world...

...Right here.

Here?

(whimpering)

It's just a few steps.

Now, you can do this, charles.

I'll help you.

(moans)

Don't look down.

Don't look down.

Look at me.

Come on.

(voices echoing)

I used to play around here

When I was a boy. Watch this.

See?

You won't fall.

Just take one step at a time.

One step.

Just one.

You can do this.

Good.

Now, one more.

(sudden whispered echo)

(cries out in fear)

It's only echoes.

Ghosts of old sounds.

You're safe down here,

But you've got to cross over.

I... Can't...

I want to go back.

Remember what I told you?

About the secret place where I was born?

It's right over there across the bridge,

Full of music,

And candles everywhere you look.

And... And the people, they're like a family.

I heard them laughing.

They won't want a freak, an ugly freak.

(rustling)

There are no freaks here.

(glass clinking)

Father: Now, this antiseptic is going to sting a little,

But I want to make sure that these cuts

Aren't going to be infected.

Do you understand?

Oh, he'll be all right.

Won't you, charles?

All right.

Good, good. Excellent.

Now, I'm going to cut off your shirt.

No! No, no!

Let him go!

All right. He won't hurt you.

Can't look.

I'm ugly.

Eddie said never

Take it off.

No one will take it off.

Father: Yes, that's right.

You have my... Apologies.

You... Have my... Apologies.

You've come a long way.

Come. Let me show you where you can rest.

Vincent, he needs treatment for his back.

I'll attend to it...

In the hospital chamber.

Go on.

Are you all right?

I think...

I think he's broken my wrist.

He didn't mean to.

He doesn't know his own strength.

I'm almost afraid to ask this.

But how did you and charles happen to meet?

I was working at a carny, doing my knife-thrower number.

The first time I saw him, he was in a cage.

The hideous dragon man.

That's how his manager billed him.

I couldn't stand to see him there.

I... I, uh... Made his owner an offer he couldn't refuse.

Will you let him stay?

Well, that's for the council to decide,

But certainly, if he needs sanctuary for a while.

I meant for good.

You're... Different.

Yes, like you.

No. No, your face-- it's... It's good.

Not like me, vincent.

You know my name?

Dev told me.

Dev's my friend.

Mine, too.

We were boys together.

Like me and eddie.

(groans)

Your back-- does it hurt?

I can help stop the pain...

If you'll take off your shirt.

Oh, no.

If-if they see,

They'll send me away.

No one will send you away.

It's not as easy as all that.

You know our rules, devin.

Tell me, how long have you known him?

A couple of weeks.

And his deformities--

Are they extensive?

Very.

Well, give us some time to get to know him a little.

In the meantime,

If you'd be good enough to run and fetch mary for me,

Before I faint.

Can you remember the way?

Devin...

Even when you were a small boy,

I could always count on you to make life interesting.

Nonetheless, it's... It's good to have you home.

Don't be afraid.

Ah. (slight groan)

"it was the best of times,

It was the worst of times."

That pretty well describes it, doesn't it?

Our childhood?

My life.

This used to be my favorite book.

On tuesdays anyway.

Consistency is the hobgoblin

Of small minds.

I'd expected to see you in the hospital chamber.

How is he?

Better.

He's resting now.

(sighs)

It'd mean a lot if you'd speak for him in the council.

Your voice should be heard as well.

They'll listen to you.

You're part of them.

I'm just a kid who ran away a long time ago.

A kid they barely remember.

Father and I will remind them.

This place brings back a lot of memories.

It should-- you slept here for almost half your life.

Things are different than I remember.

You've moved things around.

You left.

Things change, devin. Years pass.

People change, too.

Some people... Sometimes.

Your friend catherine-- is she still with the d.A.?

Hmm.

Devin...

Is something wrong?

I have to go back up top.

There's a few loose ends I have to take care of.

And charles?

I figured you could watch out for him.

(sighs)

He needs you, devin.

He's a stranger in a strange land.

Lonely, afraid.

You're his strength, his friend.

I'm trying to be.

That's why I have to go back.

(moaning quietly)

Eddie?

No, it's devin.

I've come to say good-bye for a little while.

No, don't go!

I have to. It's okay.

No! You're my friend, dev.

Wh-what... What will I do?

You don't need me to tell you what to do.

You'll have new friends, lots of them,

Like vincent.

Will... Will you come back?

As soon as I can.

I promise.

You be good, okay?

Dev...

(elevator bell rings)

(groans)

Going down, I guess.

Devin?

What are you doing here?

How do you feel about cotton candy?

No, don't look!

I brought you some more clothes.

I'll leave them on the bed.

No, stay.

I'm sorry, I forgot.

You did nothing wrong.

Eddie said never forget

Freaks shouldn't go around

Scaring decent people.

When I walk the city streets,

I wear a cloak with a hood to shadow my face.

But your face is...

A mirror...

Like yours.

Where frightened men see the shape of their own fears,

And small men see only ugliness.

Did you forget to hide?

I don't hide my face here.

This is my home.

My... Home?

If you want it to be.

(subway train passing in distance)

(distant, rhythmic tapping)

Father?

Ah, vincent.

Where have you been?

I, uh, spent the morning with charles.

Mm-hmm. Was devin with you?

No. He went above.

Neurofibromatosis?

Yes. Congenital abnormalities of the nervous system.

Symptoms include

Bone deformities, skin lesions

And the growth of cutaneous tumors--

Fibromas, they're called.

This disease is why charles is the way he is?

Most likely.

I can't be sure without an examination, of course, but...

Can it be treated?

Well, sometimes fibromas can be surgically removed--

In the milder cases--

But if the deformities are

As extensive and severe

As devin has led me to believe...

The tumors are seldom malignant,

So charles could be perfectly healthy,

Aside from his condition.

He could have a normal lifespan.

Life is measured in more than years.

Life in a cage is no life at all.

Of course.

Well, I've sent word to the council.

We'll meet as soon as devin gets back.

Devin may not return for some time.

What?

I see.

I suppose it was foolish of me

To think that devin could behave responsibly for once.

This is just like him.

I mean, he hands over his problem to us,

And then he runs off.

Charles is not a problem, father.

He's a human being in pain.

Believe me, vincent, I do understand his pain.

Do you?

Can you?

I can.

(children screaming)

Hey, syd! Hey! Come on!

Win the little lady a prize!

Three balls for a dollar.

She looks like the kind of girl

Who needs a big fluffy lion.

Forget it, bernie.

Nixon was president last time you parted with a prize.

Syd?

Karl sydney, world's greatest knife-thrower.

You know, even syd

Couldn't knock over one of bernie's milk bottles.

I thought you were going to try

Being devin wells for a while.

Devin wells ran short of cash,

So I pulled syd off the shelf, dusted him off.

Would you mind telling me what this is all about?

Him.

Yesterday morning,

I stole a truck and took him to the tunnels.

Oh, lovely. Grand theft auto and kidnapping.

Technically.

Devin, I'm a district attorney.

I know what you're thinking.

Just try and keep an open mind for a little while longer.

Then make your call.

I figured you'd be back.

No stomach for it, huh, pretty boy?

What's the matter?

Freak go nuts on you?

You just get sick of looking at him?

He's not the one

That makes me sick, eddie.

Get him into his cage.

Tell him to put a move on.

Otherwise, I'm going to whip that freak raw.

You're never going to lay another hand on him.

Who's going to stop me? You?

You see, I'm going to go to the cops,

And then you're going to be the one in a cage.

Oh, yeah.

You are in deep, punk.

You see, kidnapping happens to be a federal rap.

Charles wanted to go.

He'll tell them that.

Charles?

Oh, that's good. I like that. Charles.

Well, you see, charles will damn well tell them

What I tell him to tell them.

What the hell is this?

Who are you, lady?

One of his bimbos?

I'm with the district attorney's office.

I got no beef

With the law.

This is the guy you want.

He's a kidnapper.

He stole my truck.

Look at this! He knifed me all the way through my palm.

Tell her what you were

Holding in that hand, eddie.

I don't have to tell her nothing!

I got the right. He's mine.

Not anymore, he isn't.

And don't even

Think of trying to make trouble.

You take the freak, how am I supposed to make a living?

You've still got a cage. Figure it out.

You got no right. This is a family matter!

Charles and eddie are brothers.

Yeah, we're brothers.

I warned him.

A hundred times, I warned him.

Don't tell nobody, I told him.

But he forgot.

He told me.

And that's why you were whipping him, right?

Right?!

Right. He had it coming.

I warned him!

You don't know what it's like

Growing up, living with him.

The way people look at you all the time,

Like you're a freak, too.

My old man used to make me kiss him.

He was your brother.

You were supposed to take care of him!

I took care of him! I fed him, didn't I?

I cleaned up after him!

Don't you come here telling me I didn't take care of him.

I could have done things.

I wasted my life

In this stinking freak show

On account of him.

Devin.

He isn't worth it.

Hey, go on! Keep the freak! See if I give a damn!

What? You think I wanted him?

Hey, you're doing me a favor!

Oh, yeah. Big do-gooders.

You going to save the poor freak, huh?

Well, I got your game, man.

I know what you're doing.

You going to take him away from me,

You stick him in some hospital or something,

Or some freak farm.

Then you can feel so good about yourself,

Like you're better than everybody.

He isn't better than everybody, eddie.

He's just better than you.

May I come in, charles?

Brought you a book.

A tale of two cities.

It's one of devin's favorite stories.

Charles?

(subway train passing in distance)

You haven't said three words for the last 60 miles.

I haven't felt much like talking.

You run a pretty smooth con, chandler.

That bit about being a d.A.?

I am a d.A.

In manhattan.

You don't have any jurisdiction up here.

I never said I did.

You thinking about charles?

No. Vincent.

Storm.

Mouse: Hey! Get away!

(gasps)

Who are you?

Stop it! Oh!

(screams)

Broke it.

Vincent's sky!

What's wrong with you?

(screams)

Mary: At least no one was hurt; vincent is out looking

For him. I'm sure everything's going...

Shh! Shh! Shh!

(distant, rhythmic tapping)

Oh, my god! Mouse.

Mary, get my bag. Quickly!

(distant, rhythmic tapping)

Did you hear?

Yes. I'm on my way.

The stranger-- kipper saw him

Down in the serpentine near the south well.

We must reach vincent.

Now, tell pascal to put the word out on the pipe.

Come along, mary.

We'll see to mouse.

(rhythmic tapping)

(rhythmic tapping continues)

You got any brothers or sisters, chandler?

No. I'm an only child.

I had an imaginary playmate once--

A pretend sister.

I would make tea for us,

And tell daddy not to sit on her.

And at night, in bed,

We would whisper secrets to each other in the dark.

Like me and vincent.

Sometimes, we would talk too loud,

And father would hear us,

And we would have to pretend to be asleep.

I'm not sure we ever really fooled him.

(sighs)

What would you talk about?

"the time has come, the walrus said,

"to speak of many things,

"of ships and strings and sealing wax,

Of cabbages and kings."

We hatched plots,

Made up stories, called each other names,

Talked about fears you can't talk about during the day.

We dreamed.

Oh, god, how we dreamed!

The things we were going to do, vincent and me.

The places we were going to go-- everywhere,

South of oz and north of shangri-la.

Then I grew a little older.

One day I realized that...

I was never going to do any of them

Unless I left vincent behind.

So, I guess, uh, eddie and me--

We're not so different after all.

William: Father...

This man...

You mean charles?

I feel for him. I really do.

We all do.

(slight groan)

Somebody's got to say this.

I'm not sure this man belongs down here.

We've always been a place of sanctuary,

A safe haven.

This man is a stranger to us,

He means no harm.

He broke your wrist.

Almost killed mouse.

Smashed my stuff.

Big mess.

My fault, maybe.

If somebody gets seriously hurt,

It won't matter whose fault it is.

Vincent: Charles?

Charles.

(soft whimper)

Charles, please?

Stay away!

Charles: Stay away!

I'm not going to hurt you.

I was bad...

Scared them...

Hurt them.

They hate me.

No.

Yes!

Down here, up above...

The same.

Just the same... People

Yelling, crying, looking at me the same!

I'll hurt them!

(voice echoing)

Hurt them all!

(sniffles)

Vincent: When I was young, I only knew these tunnels.

But I would hear the other children

Talk of the world above and all its wonders.

And I wanted to see them, too.

So, one night, devin took me up to the park.

The lights went on forever,

And the night was full of sounds, smells

And music, so much so that it made me dizzy.

And when I looked up...

Was it an airplane?

No.

It was the moon.

(gasps)

It was the most magical thing I'd ever seen.

And I was afraid that if I looked away even for a second,

That it would vanish, and I would never see it again.

The car passed by, no further from me than you are now,

But I never heard it.

When I looked, I glimpsed a face pressed against the window,

There was... A little girl...

No older than I was.

She saw me.

Was she afraid?

She began to cry.

I didn't know why-- not then--

But I knew how much it hurt.

She didn't know.

Didn't mean to hurt.

It hurt just as badly.

I told devin and father, and anyone who would listen

That I would never go back again.

But you went back.

A month later.

Devin made me.

He promised that he would stay close

And he reminded me that the moon would be full again.

I... Can't... Ever... Go back... To see the moon.

Devin: Who says?

Father: Charles needs us.

He needs medical attention we can't provide,

Special education, therapy...

Vincent: No.

Only love.

I...

I'm... Sorry.

You have nothing to be sorry for.

Nothing at all.

You have a place here with us, charles.

A home.

No, thank you.

Charles is coming with me.

Are you sure, charles?

Dev doesn't want to be alone anymore.

Vincent: "they said of him, about the city that night,

"that it was the peacefullest man's face ever beheld there.

"many added that he looked sublime

And prophetic."

Catherine got us the van, charles.

It's up in the park now.

Whenever you're ready.

As soon as we finish.

It's almost the end.

The rest is for you.

"I-it... Is a far,

"far... Better thing that I... Do than... I have ever done.

"it is a far, far better rest

That I go to than... I have... Ever known."

Where will they go?

The mountains, to begin... A place far away from people,

Devin says, where charles can feel the sunlight on his face

And learn not to be afraid.

A place to heal...

To grow...

To feel human.

Somewhere...

South of oz...

And north of shangri-la.