Elwood.
Elwood?
El.
Mama, you see El?
He's out back, looking like he fell out.
Damn, Evelyn.
You just gonna lay 'em all out?
Gin is gin.
Y'all know Percy can't count and drink at the same time.
You too tired, Percy?
After this next loss, I'm gonna have to hear
your mouth all the way to Cali.
No, look, she knows she ain't driving.
She complaining already.
You know what I'm sayin'? She... Look.
She knows she ain't driving, she complaining already.
What you need to do is put that boy to bed.
No, what you need to do is mind your business
and get what's coming to you.
What's coming to me?
All right, Elwood. Get on down now.
Knock knock.
I'm gonna get what's coming to me.
I'll clean it, Mama.
Come back and help me win, Evelyn.
You hear?
I said I'd do the washing up, Mama.
At least let the child know you're leaving.
Mmm-hmm.
Ow.
Ow!
Hey, Elwood.
Oh, I'm making me a Elwood bed sandwich.
Oh, Elwood.
Elwood.
Baby, I'm not going anywhere.
I'm not going anywhere.
Come here. Come on.
Nana's not going nowhere.
Come here.
Hattie, don't you look mod.
Nobody gonna call her grandma.
I'd be glad to have a grandson
that would carry my shopping.
You raised a fine young boy, Hattie.
Well, Elwood didn't need much rightin'.
He spends more time reading than anything else.
Uh-huh.
You hear about all the goings-on in Selma?
Mmm-hmm.
Mr. Parker telling us not to talk
about political things on the clock.
Said, "That don't got nothing to do with you all."
Hell it don't. Long as we working,
I don't see how it makes a difference.
And we work hard, too.
Well, Jim Crow just ain't gonna slink off his wicked self.
...however difficult the moment...
Yes, sir.
...however frustrating the hour,
- it will not be long. - No, sir.
Because truth crushed to earth
- will rise again. - Yes, sir.
- How long? Not long. - Yes, sir.
Because no lie can live forever.
Yes, sir.
- How long? Not long. - How long?
Because you shall reap what you sow.
Yes, sir.
- How long? Not long. - How long?
The first order of business in my class will be
to strike out all the latest epithets of white youths,
which are quite imaginative.
Mr. Hill, you a Freedom Rider?
That's how you got that scar over your eye?
Nashville.
White man slugged me with a tire iron.
Hello.
Where'd you come from?
Two of the 850-pound satellites
have orbited the Moon,
photographing and mapping wide areas,
sometimes sweeping as low as 25 miles above the surface.
Here are some of the pictures.
Pictures helping to determine
the height and slope of lunar mountains,
and the depth of craters.
These remarkable views show the crater Copernicus.
Pictures too of the back side of the Moon.
And a view of Earth from 240,000 miles in space.
- Mr. Marconi? - Yes.
Very nice to finally meet you, sir.
- Oh, thank you. - I've heard a lot about you.
Oh, well.
I'm, uh... I'm looking for Elwood.
- I'm his teacher. - Oh. Uh...
Right there.
- Mr. Hill. - Mr. Elwood.
Don't worry. Good news.
You know that colored college just south of Tallahassee?
Melvin Griggs Technical School?
They've just opened up courses
to high-achieving high-school students.
And I thought of you right off the bat.
Well, that sounds great, Mr. Hill.
But I... I don't think we have the money
to pay for classes like that.
Oh. Well, that's the thing.
They're free.
They are?
This fall, at least.
So word gets out in the community.
Imagine a textbook with nothing to cross out.
Here you go, sir.
We pass on the expressway
going to the airport in Atlanta,
we pass by what is known as Funtown.
I didn't wanna...
...have to tell my little daughter
that she couldn't go to Funtown
because of the color of her skin.
To make us feel
that we do not count.
We must believe in our souls that we are somebody,
that we are significant...
...that we are worthful,
and we must walk the streets of life every day
with this sense of dignity
and this sense of somebody-ness.
For the ninth consecutive day,
those students continued their protests
against segregation and...
You can't pull us apart.
Yeah.
Mr. Hill said you might come.
We're organizing bail. Can we count on you, Elwood?
Yes.
I can give half my paycheck.
I'll be back next week.
Glad you felt the need to stand up.
Well, it was a good photograph of him at least.
Now, ain't you proud of your Elwood for steppin' up.
Of course I'm proud he was there.
His mama would be proud of him, too.
Yeah,
she came back now, she wouldn't recognize her boy.
That theater was showing The Ugly American
and Invaders from Mars.
Has everyone in Leon County gone crazy?
All right, yeah, I'll tell him.
- Bye, now. - All right. Bye.
Nana, next time,
I wanna do the civil disobedience part.
I love you, El.
I love you too, Nana.
- You hungry? - No, I'm okay.
- ♪ Walk through With the valley ♪ - ♪ God knows I know ♪
♪ Every child of God Has the assurance ♪
♪ There'll be peace Through the valley ♪
♪ David said, "Though I walk Through the valley ♪
♪ In the shadow of death ♪
♪ I will fear no evil" ♪
♪ Now, I can imagine I hear another Battle-scarred soldier... ♪
Get in the car!
Easy. All right, I'm going.
All right.
Come on.
Stay still.
Though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil. For thou art with me.
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me...
- Going north? - Huh?
Where you headed?
Melvin Griggs Technical College.
I've never heard of that one.
Come on.
There you go. Come on.
This thing always give me trouble.
Oh, yeah, there we go.
Yeah.
What's your name, man?
Elwood Curtis, sir.
Sir?
I like that.
You like my wheels?
Just got 'em.
Headed up to New York to see my old lady.
You ain't but what?
Fifteen, by the look of you.
Already a college boy?
Almost 17, sir.
Still and all young.
Making our race proud, boy.
When I was your age, I was working at a catfish factory.
Hey, kids,
turn in your straight A report cards
for a free admission to Funtown
this holiday season.
Hooray!
Take a ride on the Ferris wheel,
- the Tilt-A-Whirl... - Goddamn. What's this?
Don't look back.
- Be cool. - Try your putting
- skills against dad... - Huh?
...at Goofy Golf.
Why?
You don't know me, do you?
No.
I mean, we just met.
I'll tell 'em that.
Keep your eyes down.
Okay. Okay.
Don't look back.
What do you mean?
Let me deal with this.
Okay.
Well, lookie here.
First thing I thought
when they said to keep an eye out
for an emerald-turquoise Impala...
...only a spook...
...would steal that.
The boy was walking.
He was walking.
The man just pulled up and offered him a ride.
He just... He just...
He just got in the wrong car.
There has to be something we can do.
Why? Why?
Why would a boy his age heading to college...
So that's it?
That's it?
Act out of your station...
and you will pay.
White woman...
accused my daddy...
on his way home...
...from his second job...
My big, cheerful daddy.
I saw you.
I waved at you...
from across the street
on my way home from school.
White woman say...
"He didn't get out of my way."
Two days later, still waiting on the judge,
hanged in his cell.
God was the judge that day.
Lord, I didn't take no more than my portion.
White man teach ya
not to take no more crumbs than he give you.
Nope. I paid.
My daddy paid.
My Monty paid,
protecting others from paying.
Percy paid when he got home.
The Army don't protect you here, honey.
Why?
Because your portion...
is pain.
But not my Elwood.
Not my Elwood.
Nana. I'll be back soon.
Yeah?
You see what Mr. Hill brought you?
Ain't that nice?
Come on, sit down with Nana.
Have some cake.
This a repeat for you, young man?
No, sir.
You two are sitting next to a bona fide car thief.
♪ Long gone... ♪
♪ Ain't he lucky ♪
♪ Long gone... ♪
♪ To Kentucky ♪
♪ Long gone... ♪
♪ What I mean... ♪
♪ Long gone Sam On the Bowlin' Green ♪
Shut up, you hear me? Shut up!
♪ Long gone... ♪
You hear what I said? I said shut up!
♪ Ain't he lucky? ♪
Shut up, will ya?
♪ Long gone... ♪
♪ To Kentucky ♪
♪ Long gone ♪
Look alive back there.
Here we are.
Welcome to Nickel Academy, boys.
Old Nickel.
All right.
You two, let's go.
You stay there.
Now, let's go.
- Good day, Dan. - Hey, John.
Always good to see ya.
- I got two for ya. - Rust never sleeps.
- Hey, how's it going? - Swell.
Fine, if you don't mind sharing a seat next to...
All right.
Let's go.
When Trevor Nickel passed the baton
to the current director, Hardee,
he devised these four ranks of behavior here.
You start out as Grub,
work your way up to Explorer, then Pioneer,
and finally Ace.
Uh, earn merits by acting right,
and you work your way on up this ladder.
Achieve the highest rank, Ace,
you graduate,
and get to go home to your families.
If they'll have you.
That's between y'all.
Now, an Ace listens to the house men
and his house father.
And does his work without shirking
or malingering.
And he applies himself to his studies.
An Ace does not roughhouse.
He does not cuss,
he does not blaspheme or carry on.
He works to reform himself from sunrise to sunset.
It's up to you how much time you spend here with us.
We don't...
We don't mess around with idiots.
You mess up,
and we have a place for you.
And you will not like it.
I'm gonna see to that personally.
That's you over there.
Desmond, show him the ropes.
Yes, sir, Mr. Blakeley.
You know when to say, "Yes, sir,"
which is always.
- Chickie. - You'll be okay.
Chickie Pete.
Don't think I won't be watching you.
Well, so...
Brian has $1.50 already.
On Tuesday, he made, uh, 50 cents.
And finally, on Wednesday, he made a dollar.
How much does he have so far?
He broke!
Zero, ten.
You carry the one.
You carry the one, see?
Okay, here you go. Here you go.
Oh, my God.
- Nice. - Jaime!
We get to play football.
No.
- Jaime! - They do.
Jaime!
Lookin' good, ladies.
Is that kid in trouble?
He's half Mexican.
They don't know what side of Nickel to put him on.
What's that?
What is that?
Ice cream!
Ice cream.
Ice cream!
You get two minutes.
You won't want more.
Hey, give him back his soap.
Hey, knock it off now!
All right, that's enough now.
I said that's enough.
Yo, move, move.
Knock it off!
Big kids aren't allowed to sit at the little kids table.
You eat that oatmeal like your mama made it.
What?
I ain't never seen someone eat this food like that.
Like they liked it.
Dumped a lot of cinnamon in it.
I'm Turner.
I'm Elwood.
From Tallahassee.
Frenchtown.
I don't know why you bein' so loud.
You know they got their eye on you this week.
I'm from Houston myself.
That's a real city right there.
None of this country shit y'all got going on up here.
Hey, thanks for that.
I didn't do shit.
You eat that oatmeal like your mama made it.
What?
I ain't never seen someone eat this food like that.
Like they liked it.
Dumped a lot of cinnamon in it.
I'm Turner.
I'm Elwood.
From Tallahassee.
Frenchtown.
I don't know why you so loud.
You know they got their eye on you this week.
I'm from Houston myself.
That's a real city.
None of this country shit y'all got going on up here.
Thanks for that.
I didn't do shit.
That don't bode well.
I can't help it we don't got
every can of beans he asks for.
Uh, fiver?
Uh, ten. For stress.
I got my draft notice this morning.
You're lucky to be in Nickel.
Gonna miss your girl?
We got molasses back there?
Barbeque joint's next.
- Boss. - Hey, don't bruise 'em.
Boss!
Hey, El.
Start with the ones at the bottom.
Fill the baskets up by the trees
and bring it to the truck.
That's it.
Okay.
You work this side of the row.
What're you gonna do, hmm?
Hey! Leave him alone!
Oh, shit.
Fight!
Damn, Mike, why'd you have to hit him so hard?
Hey!
Back up.
Ain't you the new boy?
He started it.
I don't care who was at fault,
who started it, or why.
Mr. Spencer's gonna deal with this.
Shit.
Dead man walking.
Man, he don't even know.
He gon' learn today.
Come on, boy.
Get up.
Let's go.
Sir?
All right.
Here we go.
Come on.
All right. Let's get up.
You know the drill.
Thought you'd had enough after the last time.
Pissed himself, again.
I'mma hold on... and...
Be... Be still.
I'm gonna...
hold on and...
Shut up, punk.
All right, Corey, come on.
Let's go.
Elwood Curtis.
Grab on to the rail and don't let go.
Don't make a sound.
Or you'll get more.
Elwood, honey, blink.
"Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ?"
"Shall tribulation, or distress..."
"...or persecution..."
"As it is written, for thy sake
we are killed all the day long.
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
"Nay, in all these things
we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us."
"For...
I am persuaded
that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come,
nor height, nor..."
Young man.
Young man, do you know, uh, a student named Elwood Curtis?
Yes'm, I do.
Thank God.
They told me that he can't have visitors.
I just...
Would you please?
Yes, ma'am.
I came all this way.
It's a crime that they won't let me see him.
It's a crime.
What kind of place is this that I...
They won't let me see him.
- I'm sorry, ma'am. - Ah.
Anyway...
I thank you.
What is your name?
It's... It's Turner, ma'am.
Oh.
Turner.
Well, I'm glad I can rely on somebody around here, Turner.
When was the last time you had family to come visit you?
Uh... Um...
Well...
- You know, they don't... - You know...
I came all this way...
And I can't hug Elwood.
So I guess you'll have to do.
Hmm?
What are they feedin' y'all?
You can't muster up a bigger hug than that? You...
I'mma remember that next time.
Turner.
Hug me again.
What are they feedin' y'all?
You can't muster a bigger hug than that?
I'm gonna expect it next time, Turner.
Yes, ma'am.
I'll see Elwood gets this.
Thank you, son.
How you makin' out here, hero?
How you like that witch doctor?
Come in here with your damn head cut off,
and he give you a aspirin.
Come in here, head cut off, both arms,
both legs cut off...
...and that damn witch doctor'll be like,
"You want one tablet or two?"
How'd you get in here?
I ate some soap powder.
I have a stomach ache for a whole day off.
Or two.
I know how to sell it.
Man, aren't you worried
they'll know you're faking it?
Man, I ain't faking.
That soap powder's awful.
But that's me choosing.
Not anyone else.
Go look.
See who it is.
Ask what's wrong with him.
Man, I'm not asking nobody shit.
Scared?
Damn, you don't know.
Pop back there for a look, maybe you have to
trade places with him.
- Like in a ghost story. - Mmm-hmm.
Where's Doctor Cooke? I need to talk to him.
I think he's on a cigarette break.
all right.
Tell him I'm looking for him. I'll be back later.
I've never been sent to the White House before.
I got smacked across the face for smoking once.
Do they do it like this to everyone?
Man, you already got off lucky.
Lucky?
Sometimes they throw you in hell.
Sweat box up in the eaves under that tar roof?
Sweat your soul outta you.
Sometimes,
they take you, we never see your *** again.
What?
Parents ask the school what happened,
and they just say you ran away.
I'll show you sometime.
Show you something that's not in the books.
Where it is.
Boot Hill.
See, the problem is, Elwood,
you didn't know how it works.
You wanted to do some Lone Ranger shit.
Run up and save a boy.
And they punked out Corey a long time ago.
Mike and them play rough.
That's just how they do.
I used to think out there
was out there, and once you're in here,
you're in here.
But now that I've been out, and I've been brought back,
I know.
Out there, in here, it's the same.
Just in here, nobody has to act fake anymore.
If everybody looks the other way,
then everybody's in on it.
If I look the other way, I'm as implicated as the rest.
It's not how it's supposed to be.
Don't nobody care about "supposed to."
The fix has always been in.
Game's rigged.
That's what I'm telling you.
It's not like the old days.
We can stand up for ourselves.
Man, that shit barely works out there.
What you think it's gonna do in here?
You say that
'cause you got no one out there sticking up for you.
I got my grandmother.
I got a lawyer.
Yeah.
When's the last time you heard from them?
You gotta watch how people act.
What they do.
And then try to figure out how to get around them,
like an obstacle course.
I mean, if you wanna walk outta here.
Graduate.
Walk outta here.
'Cause ain't nobody gonna get you out.
Not your grandma.
Not your lawyer.
Just you.
Give me $40... $40...
That'll pay you. Do it again. Do it again.
Watch. Check it out. Check it out. See the ball.
What're you gonna play then?
The ball, the ball, the ball. Find her, which one?
Give me $40.
Hey! Okay. Okay.
See. Forty.
Oh.
An Ace.
He listens to his house men and his house father.
He does his work without shirking or malingering.
And he applies himself to his studies.
He does not roughhouse.
He does not cuss,
he does not blaspheme, carry on.
Why're you doing that?
He works from sunrise to sunset to reform himself.
Now, when Trevor Nickel passed the baton
to our current director, Hardee,
he devised these four levels of behavior here.
You start out here as a Grub.
You work your way up to Explorer,
then Pioneer...
...and finally, Ace.
Earn merit by good behavior,
you work your way up that ladder.
You achieve this highest rank of Ace,
then you graduate.
And you get to go home to your families.
If they'll have you.
But that's between y'all.
I'm not scared of you.
My Aunt Mavis made sure I had nice clothes
for school and three meals.
A guy at the Houston airport started seeing her.
He taught me how to box.
The day I put myself between Aunt Mavis and his fist,
he took me out for ice cream.
"Bring this boy the biggest sundae you've got."
Every bite was like another sock in the mouth.
Hmm.
Guess I wouldn't want them to visit either.
I don't know how I'd feel if my parents turned up here.
Hey!
Hey, look out!
Jack***es!
They know I hate that shit. **** y'all!
Turner.
You know you miss it.
Hey, Turner!
Gotta keep 'em on their toes.
I don't wanna hear nothing
'bout your skin itching,
you're blistered up, it's too hot.
Y'all need to get your counts up,
- else they're gonna say... - Blakeley.
...I ain't working y'all hard enough.
Mr. Blakeley.
Mr. Blakeley, sir,
Elwood's been reassigned.
Reassigned? According to who?
Oh, Ha... Harper.
Mr. Harper, sir.
You know, we need a extra set of hands.
Well, we need extra hands too, son.
So, can we take him?
You keep your nose clean.
Yes, sir.
Well, we down a hand.
But, boys, that can't stop nothin'.
Turner here says
you're not a math dummy,
and you know how to keep your mouth shut.
What are we doin'?
Sometimes the State gives us
more than we strictly need.
So we pass it on.
For a small fee.
Community service.
Used to be a lot worse in the old days
from what my aunt says,
but inspectors kept sniffin' around.
Now, we only lay off the south campus stuff.
You mean the Negro students' stuff.
We had this good old boy, used to run Nickel,
Roberts.
He would've sold the air you breathe if he could've.
That was a real crook.
Had to end up somewhere.
Beats workin' the fields, if you ask me.
Uh-huh.
Beats getting mangled in a machine.
Bad penny?
You keep your nose clean.
I can smell it on him in the morning. Whew.
Keep your nose clean.
Borracho.
Enough reasons to drink here.
You think he went here?
Huh?
They say his name's in the sweat box.
Well, this is so exciting.
Thank you, Mrs. Hardee.
You boys are so nice
to come help out today.
Oh, uh, almost forgot,
I have a box of books to donate to the Nickel library.
Yeah, we can help with that.
The box is in the garage.
It's Trollope, and Austen, and ****ens,
and people with names like that.
Well, ta-ta.
Used to be worse around here.
Used to be, when you graduate,
you didn't go back to your family.
You just had parole.
And they sold your monkey-*** to people in the town.
Had to work off your debt.
Debt from what?
Never thought about it that way.
This can be a three-day job we play it right.
We till the garden and fix up her house.
Shit, she may even adopt our Black ***es.
Well, not you. You got family.
I'd "Yes'm" her for a chance out of Nickel.
That ain't no freedom.
I mean, you know Director Hardee and his wife
ain't supposed to use us like we're slaves.
Man, all those guys on the school board
have us do chores.
Sometimes it's favors, sometimes it's for real money.
And it's against the law.
Man.
The law is one thing.
You can march and wave signs around
and change a law if you convince enough white people.
I saw those college kids in Tampa
with their nice shirts and ties
sitting at the Woolworths.
I had to work,
but they were out there protesting.
And it happened.
They opened that counter, but,
I mean, I didn't have the money to eat there either way.
Gotta change the economics to all this, too.
Hmm.
My grandmother got me that lawyer, man.
Make a move there first.
The courts play both the white and the Black.
They just move us around when they're ready.
Mmm.
Then we have to be like knights.
Checkmate.
How many people you know done that, El?
There are four ways out of Nickel.
Serve your time or age out.
Court might intervene, if you believe in miracles.
You could die.
They could kill you.
You could run.
Only four ways out of Nickel.
Hour late.
I sat down to dinner at that guard's house once.
Roast beef.
His wife made an angel food cake.
I was in the Scouts with his sons.
He taught us how to make a fire.
Take it serious...
What's it about?
A British mother is trying
to marry off her oldest daughter
so they can keep their estate and title.
Nobody wants to marry her?
She ugly?
She's described as having a handsome face.
Damn.
I know my mother loved me.
She just loved liquor more.
♪ If you love me or not ♪
♪ I want you to know ♪
You can use the steps right here,
if you can't swim like your friend.
♪ Things are gonna get hot ♪
Take off your dungarees.
♪ I wish you'd stick around ♪
♪ Stick around ♪
♪ Who's to say I hope that you will ♪
♪ And if there comes a day When you've had your fill ♪
♪ Now just go and wait Remembering still ♪
♪ I wish you'd stick around ♪
♪ Stick around ♪
♪ I found a girl once Who said she'd be mine ♪
♪ Fun every night And my life was divine ♪
♪ Till some guy came by Who had more than me ♪
♪ So she changed her mind And I had to be... ♪
Corey.
Desmond.
Chickie Pete.
There you go.
Elwood.
I ain't seen you lately, Elwood.
You been keeping your nose clean?
Yes, sir, Mr. Blakeley.
You know, you may have...
grand dreams and great designs for yourself.
But if God says
that you're supposed to be sweeping streets,
you sweep streets,
like Michelangelo painted the chapel.
That's Dr. Martin Luther King, boy.
Yeah.
Grandma okay?
She says she visited,
but they wouldn't let her see me.
"He's sick and can't have no visitors."
"What's wrong with him?"
"How the hell should I know, lady?"
How can they do that?
Sick?
I'm sick?
Scientist, engineer,
astronaut, the world.
All followed the progress of Apollo 8.
For this was preparation.
An advance scout
marking the way for those who would follow.
Those who would orbit.
Those who would land, navigate,
track, observe,
record, describe.
Bones would break before they come loose.
They've grown into the heart of the wood.
No matter who you are
or where you wanna go...
...the all-new 1976 hatchback models
provide the ultimate in style comfort, and practicality.
And for a limited time,
at all New York dealerships,
get cash rebates up to $500.
Now, award-winning models of sedans what...
Hey.
You hear me outside?
What?
A rat run across my feet, and I screamed.
- That was me. - Oh!
Denise Hather,
afraid of a little old rodent?
Hush. It was big as a dog.
Hmm.
- Barked like one too. - Yeah?
- Yeah. - Maybe it was a dog.
Look here.
Found one.
- This is it? - Yeah, that's it.
'67 Econoline.
Needs a new finish,
but the guys on 125th owe me one.
I can supplement the Horizon jobs
- with my own work. - Yes.
Weekends,
bring Larry on. Come on.
You think you can count on Larry?
Larry, bellyaching about this child support
is about as dependable as US steel.
If there's one thing he'll do, it's work.
Well, that's great, El.
It's happening.
What'll you name it?
Don't know.
Something easy to find in the Yellow Pages.
Yes.
- That has rum in it. - Ooh, bless.
I got us some sandwiches too.
Mmm.
- Can you turn the TV on? - Mmm-hmm.
Come on, let's go.
Go where?
Pineville. Let's head to Pineville.
It's started already.
Pineville's south. I don't go south.
I used to know a girl in Pineville.
If she's still there, we get this broke.
- Now, come on. - And then what?
"You're married to me now."
- "And here's the ring." - What?
Get off my back, I ain't married to you.
Now what do I care? Come on!
You married to me, all right, Joker.
- Now here's the ring... - You better watch
- what you say, El. - Hmm.
Mmm-hmm.
I'd marry me Sidney Poitier.
- Oh, yeah? - Mmm-hmm.
Yeah.
I believe it.
Come to pick up the turpentine every day.
Come out of the west, enter the swamp,
heading across the line,
to the paintmakers up north in Ohio.
Now we try for that train.
My mother's watch.
A deck of marked cards.
My dad's Purple Heart.
He threw it away.
Feels like I lost it though.
Uh, my big toenail.
That's all you got?
Really got nothing left to lose.
Mmm.
That makes you one dangerous mother--
Tradition go back 40 years.
If you listen to that birdsong...
Let's head on in here.
You gotta understand.
Sometimes, for your greater good,
you gotta do a little bad. That's Shakespeare.
Sometimes a bough,
it's gotta bend...
...so it don't break off from the tree.
No.
Sometimes,
good sportsmanship,
that means letting the other team win.
Sometimes.
I suppose that's right, Mr. Spencer.
All right, you're...
You're not receiving me clearly, here, Griff.
You're gonna have to take a dive
in the third round.
You mean throw the fight?
Lose, sir?
That's right. Third round.
I'm getting through to you now?
- You hear me? - Yes. Yes, sir.
- You hear me now? - Yes, sir, Mr. Spencer.
All right, then.
Now, you know you can beat him.
So that's just gonna have to be enough.
Spirit of the season of giving, Griff.
Good boy. Come on.
Good.
Well, ain't that some shit.
Don't people bet on this?
Every year.
Man, that match ties us
to a whole 365 days of humiliations.
♪ I am dreaming ♪
♪ Dreaming of a white ♪
♪ White Christmas, y'all ♪
♪ Just like the one that ♪
♪ I used to know ♪
♪ Honey, it's where The treetops ♪
♪ Treetops glisten ♪
♪ Little bitty, little bitty Little bitty children ♪
♪ They try to listen ♪
♪ To hear ♪
♪ Before the sleigh bells ♪
♪ That are ringing In the, the snow... ♪
The first Christmas is the hardest.
That's right! Let's go, Griff!
Chet! Chet! Chet!
Cracker looks like Frankenstein.
Square head.
Look at those arms, man.
Those things are pistons.
Smoked hams.
Take him to dinner now, take him, Big Chet!
Damn.
Look at Griff's strut.
If I got all this respect...
When's the next time fools who hate and fear you
are gonna treat you like Harry Belafonte.
Come on, Griff. Come on, Griff.
Right there, right there.
Turner!
Turner, that's a $100 bill!
He's putting the hurt on that white boy, at least.
Makes me feel good.
He's dancing and ducking.
Run straight at it!
Stick! Stick!
Stick! Move him!
Whoo! Yeah! Let's go!
You got it! You got it!
Earl too, huh?
This is it. This is it, El.
Third round.
He's about to go.
He's about to fall. He's about to fall, El.
You don't think Griff could knock down Big Chet
by accident, do you?
He's makin' it look good for sure.
Jab! Jab!
Work that shoulder!
You ain't got me!
Griff! Griff! Griff!
Griff! Griff! Griff! Griff! Griff! Griff!
Turner!
This isn't the fight!
The Nickel Academy Annual Boxing Championship,
by unanimous decision...
the winner is Griff!
Let's go!
I thought it was the second.
I thought it was still the second.
Griff! Griff! Griff!
I thought it was still the second, Spencer.
Spencer, wait, hey, I thought it was the second,
I ain't know! Spencer!
Griff! Griff! Griff!
Mr. Spencer, I thought it was the second.
I didn't know! I swear!
I... I ain't know, I thought it was the second.
Babe, you all right?
When are you gonna give that computer a break?
Just a few more minutes.
They're digging, I'm digging.
Elwood!
Nana!
Elwood.
Elwood!
Can we squeeze in with y'all?
Come on, baby.
It's been a long wait for some good news.
Good news, good news, good news.
Well...
Lyndon Johnson's carrying on
with President Kennedy's Civil Rights Bill.
So you know if that Good Ole Boy's...
doing the right thing...
Things is changing.
Things gonna be way different when you come home.
El. You can pick up right where you left off
with no more hassle.
Hmm.
I'm sure Melvin Griggs will have you.
And them books you've been reading,
they ain't goin' nowhere.
Yeah.
I've been, um, taking less hours.
Spending more time at the church.
And I told that trashman to be careful
with that big old truck the way it blocks the road.
And so early in the morning, when you can really hear
everybody get up.
Nana, what is it?
What's wrong?
You know, Mr. Andrews...
our lawyer who was so excited about your appeal.
I went to see him.
Went downtown, took the bus.
I paid him $200.
It wasn't enough.
But he was so adamant and persuasive
with Mr. Marconi that he...
he and his wife kicked in another $100.
Hmm.
The landlord was showing his offices to a dentist.
A dentist.
When I asked for Mr. Andrews,
they just looked through me like I wasn't there neither.
He picked up stakes,
moved to Atlanta without a word.
He took that $300.
And he knows.
Hmm.
You... You mean he's gone.
He's gone. He... He didn't--
After all this time--
He said...
Elwood.
Look at me, son.
He said what we have here
is a classic miscarriage of justice.
That's what he said.
And I know we hoped to have you home by now, El,
- and I think-- - It's okay, Nana.
It's okay.
I let you down.
I'm okay, Nana.
- El, I let you down. - No.
No, I'm okay.
I'm hanging in there.
I'm sorry, El.
I don't know why I ain't give you that letter.
- I guess I was just... - It's okay, Turner.
It doesn't matter now anyway.
Elwood.
Hey! Come on, man.
Yeah. All right. Got it?
- Ooh. - Yeah. Yup.
This might be solid brass, man.
I've got dibs on this.
Hey!
Somebody died.
What, in this bed?
Come on.
All right.
- You're through? - Yeah.
Almost. All right.
- I'm clear. - Clear?
Come on.
Yep.
Where... Where shall we rest?
Elwood. It's gettin' heavy, man.
Come on, I gotta get this door.
It's weird being out here, man.
Wait till you're "out" out.
How would you do it?
Well, I wouldn't run into the swamp.
Hide in there so the coast is clear,
then hitch a ride somewhere west or north.
All right, that's how they get you.
And you can't wash no scent off.
That's only in movies.
So what would you do?
So I'd come out here into the free world.
Snatch clothes from--
Snatch clothes from the wash line...
...and then head south,
'cause they ain't expecting it.
Put as many miles between me and the dogs as I can.
Tire 'em out.
See, the trick is not doing what they know you gonna do.
Yeah, why wouldn't they think
- that you're not gonna-- - Oh!
And don't take no one with you.
A'right, not one of those dummies.
They'll just take you down with 'em.
- Mmm. - Gotta go it alone.
El, what time you think it is?
Elwood, what--
Watch out, you numbskull!
What the hell, Elwood?
You think Reverend King's out here
in Marianna opening supermarkets?
Here.
You dropped this.
Why you gotta carry that around with you?
Anyone'd think you a student.
I've been writing everything down.
Everything what?
Our community service.
The deliveries, the payoffs,
the yardwork, the chores,
the names of everybody and the dates.
Why would you do a thing like that?
You told me.
No one else is gonna get me out of here.
Just me.
Man, no... No one ever listens to me.
All right, why you gotta start?
Goddamn it, it's not an obstacle course, Turner.
All right, you can't go around it,
then you have to go through it.
And walk with your head up
no matter what they throw at you.
All right, I get it. You mad.
And need to get it off your chest. That's cool,
- but... - No, I'm telling you.
There's a fifth way out.
Get rid of Nickel.
They'd put us in the goddamn ground.
They gonna take you out back and bury your ***.
Man, shit.
Oh, Jesus...
Man, they're gonna take me out back too.
Elwood, I vouched for you, man. The hell is wrong with you?
- Turner! - Where is he going?
Turner!
Get your nig...
Get your *** back over here.
I'm tired of your shit, man.
You got the keys or not?
Goddamn baby.
It's a waste of time.
Head full of stump-water.
Give him a break.
What are you, his girlfriend?
El.
Elwood.
El.
El?
Elwood?
Man.
Holy shit.
Long time, long time, long time.
How you been?
All right.
It's me, man. Pete Evans.
- Chickie Pete. - Chickie Pete. Man.
- Hey. Hey. - How you doing?
You look good.
Yes, sir.
Been ages.
Yeah.
Uh, drinks.
- Hey. - On me.
- I got a early morning. - No.
- So I'm gonna... - You gotta...
You gotta let me buy you a drink.
Excuse me. Excuse me, sir.
Can I, um...
Can I get two? Uh, whiskey neat, please.
Thank you.
Well, you know, I just been
saying the same thing.
I look back on it,
think back on it, and I say that if I...
I could've played professional,
well, if things would've turned out differently.
- You think so? - Oh, man, I know so.
I used to...
I used to hit 'em with...
Hmm.
Oh, man, I could've
been in a funk band,
an orchestra.
I could've been like one them cats, like, uh,
Haydn, Bach, Vivaldi.
Backin' up for Miles.
I could've been a doctor, inventing shit, saving lives.
I got ideas, man.
Mmm.
Damn.
To Nickel.
It's a long time ago.
Yeah, my hands, man.
You know, I spent the last 30 days dryin' up.
- Oh, well... - Um...
My hands, man.
You know, I spent the last 30 days dryin' up.
Oh, man. Uh...
It's okay. It's okay.
I can handle it now.
I always drank, um...
It used to be,
uh, the more I tried to settle down,
the more I would just get blotto every night.
You know?
I couldn't sleep in the dark.
Still can't sleep in the dark, but, um...
I told this guy, last May...
Just tell me
how the jail...
Mmm.
The whole program...
I'm living with my sister up in Harlem now.
You know? Until I can figure out my next move.
I like it up there, but, uh,
you know Chickie Pete gon' be all right, baby.
The one thing that Nickel taught me is
how not to die.
Yeah.
How you been, man?
I've got a, um,
- moving company. You know? - Mmm.
Trucks, employees.
All right. All right, moving on up.
- Hey. - I see you.
I see you.
You got a lady?
Mmm...
Nah, I mean, I did,
but it didn't work out.
Denise.
She, uh... She said I had a lot of work to do on myself.
Yeah, I'm still looking for the one.
I hear you.
I hear you, I mean, it can, um...
it can be tough
trying to find someone who can understand.
- Maybe one day. - Yeah.
You seen any of the other guys lately?
I ran across a few over the last few years.
Black Mike, uh, is a criminal.
Nate, um, strung out,
and, um, Desmond got his arm blown off in Vietnam.
You got out in '67, right?
You don't remember?
Remember what?
You really don't remember?
I mean, I remember...
what they did to Griff.
I remember what they did to me.
How they stuffed that one kid inside the laundry machine.
How they made another one eat a light bulb.
You know what I do remember?
Ghosts.
Yeah.
I remember slippin' on skin,
on flesh,
and, uh, whatever else they had inside the showers.
Yeah.
So, um...
I don't... I don't know
what more you want me to remember.
Nothing, man.
- Time served. - Yeah.
- Mm-hmm.
- They kicked me out. - Mm.
Uh, went up to Atlanta and then trained it up north.
Yeah.
You know, I've been here since '68.
Twenty years.
Yeah.
- That's nice. - Mmm-hmm.
That's real nice. Everybody's welcome up here.
- Mmm-hmm. - You know?
What happened to that one...
To that one kid you used to hang with all the time?
- What kid? - A kid.
Man, you know that, um, kid,
you all thought that hiding spot was so secret.
- Huh. - Yeah.
Okay.
Well, maybe it'll come back to me.
I gotta go leak.
Hey, I gotta take off.
Oh, no, I get it, I get it.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Um...
Look, man, I, uh...
I hate to ask you, but, uh,
if you need a extra hand,
I could use the work.
Staying on a couch right now.
- Right. - Yeah.
You got a card on you?
- Not on me. - Well...
I can handle the work
is what I'm putting out there, okay?
Um...
Now, you just go ahead and give me a ring.
For the old days, I remember.
There we go.
I will.
All right, man.
All right.
Babe? Up so early again?
- Hey. - Hey.
Well, they found more graves.
Unmarked.
Oh, God...
They're asking people to come forward.
- Give witness. - Oh.
Is there gonna be a trial?
Mmm.
Turner.
We need more pants.
This inspection shit, we counting on y'all.
Spit shine 'em real good.
Ain't been eating like this
since I don't know when.
They should inspect this place all the time.
Why're you talking, man?
Just eat.
Not eatin', huh?
Ice cream!
Hey, y'all, you have a seat.
Son, have a seat.
I'mma get to everybody. Hold it down.
Y'all want them to think this some kinda circus
we runnin' over here?
Looking like y'all ain't never had ice cream before.
Lee, put one back, boy.
Matter of fact, put both them back.
Elwood.
What're you gonna do?
What, you think they're gonna put your picture
on the cover of Life magazine?
You think anyone cares what's going on at Nickel?
This is just one place.
There's Nickels all over this country.
You're dreaming.
Mmm.
El.
What the hell?
You gonna pick that up?
Where you going?
- Oh... - Elwood.
Don't do it, El.
No, no.
Elwood?
Hold on a minute, Elwood.
What is it, Mr. Harper?
Need you to head over to the farm
and find Mr. Gladwell.
Those men from the State aren't heading there today.
They're gonna send some other experts for that.
So, you go there,
find him, and tell him he can relax.
I... I like the bleacher repair.
We... We still need to paint, too.
Can you get, like, one of the little kids to do it?
I don't even know what Mr. Gladwell looks like,
Mr. Harper, sir.
Sir, I would rather...
I'd rather work on the bleachers.
You acting crazy today, all of you.
He's got a straw hat and a farmer's tan.
You do what I ask you to do,
and on Friday, it's back to usual.
Elwood, wait up.
What, Turner?
That notebook you got in your pocket,
I'll get it to 'em. I'll...
I'll do it.
Hmm.
Look at you, man. Come on, you look sick.
I'll get it to the inspectors.
I can slip it in their car window
when they're not looking.
They won't even see me.
In Mission Control,
they anticipated loss of signal from Apollo 8.
With the Moon between the spacecraft and the Earth,
all contact would be lost
until it appeared on the other side.
Goddamn.
Okay. It's now or never.
Timmy is scared...
...and that's natural.
But it isn't good for him to stay scared.
Right now, Timmy's beginning to decide
if he's gonna stay scared of things all his life.
Now, Mission Control
and the world could only wait.
Wait for the first contact with Apollo 8
as it emerged from behind the moon.
See you on the other side.
It's mighty hard
to give children the kind of care they need.
Suppose these were your children.
What would you do?
Oye, primo.
They're gonna take him tonight.
Tonight?
Shit.
Goddamn, I told him this would happen.
I ain't hear nobody out for ice cream.
When'd they take him?
They got him right after lunch.
Where is he?
Shit.
Sweat box.
He's been in there all day?
Elwood.
Elwood?
Oh.
They're gonna take you out back tonight.
El.
Yeah?
- El, come on. - Mmm.
El, let's go.
I can't. I can't.
El, come on. We gotta go.
I'm tired.
El, get up. Let's go.
El, please.
El, come on.
El.
El, let's go.
El, we gotta go.
Turner, why?
How long you been planning this?
Shit, they've been running around
like ****roaches, all these lowlifes.
Spencer, Hardee.
Jaime heard them talking about taking you out back.
That was it.
Tonight or not at all.
It sounds ****ing demeaning.
There it is. I call.
They gonna shut us down?
I'll be goddamned
if Tallahassee tells me what to do.
Will somebody open a window?
It's hot in here.
Call.
Let's go.
Why're you coming with me?
They'll snatch you up in a hot minute, dumb as you are.
No outfoxing the dogs once they on your trail.
Most you can do is get far away as you can.
Put miles between you and them.
Tallahassee?
Yeah, good.
We gotta get far by sunup.
We can jump a train
and those dogs gonna need wings to catch us.
They were gonna kill me
and bury me out there?
Sure as shit.
Can you ride it?
I can do it.
You got me out.
Yeah.
Whoo!
That's it, El.
You're doing great.
We got it.
Hey, Turner.
How much further?
Shit.
Come on, follow me!
Let's go, El!
Zigzag, El!
Run zigzag!
Let's go, El!
No!
He's all right!
He's fine!
He's fine, he's fine!
He's fine.
So what's new with this year's fashion?
- How would you-- - Uh, polka dots.
Polka dots?
ACE Moving Company.
- Blam. - Bam.
That's us.
- Yes, the big box man. - Let's look at this...
Oh. How do we see...
- How do we see ourselves? - How's it--
- I think we-- - Hey, what's it looking at?
- Um, two beautiful beings. - Mm-hmm.
- Love you. - I love you, Millie.
Turner, what're you gonna do?
Are you really gonna go?
♪ I left my home in Nashville ♪
♪ Look a-here what I got ♪
♪ Twenty long years on a chain gang ♪
♪ Sweatin' and bustin' rock ♪
♪ Judge, he come from Memphis ♪
♪ Put me in the pen ♪
♪ If I ever do see His face once more ♪
♪ He never get home again ♪
♪ That judge be long gone ♪
♪ To Kentucky ♪
♪ Long gone Don't mean maybe ♪
♪ Long gone What I mean ♪
♪ A long gone judge On a Bowlin' Green ♪
♪ Bowlin' Green ♪
♪ Sewin' machine ♪
♪ A little kitten sittin' ♪
♪ On a sewin' machine ♪
♪ Sewin' machine ♪
♪ Sew so fast ♪
♪ Sew eleven stitches ♪
♪ In a little cat's tail ♪
♪ Bowlin' Green ♪