Queer (2024) Movie Script
1
(ALL APOLOGIES
BY SINEAD O'CONNOR PLAYING)
(MUSIC FADES)
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-(MUSIC PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS)
You're not queer.
Usually, if I get this far
with an American kid,
I can get the rest of the way,
but with you there's some...
obstacle.
Your mother wouldn't like it.
I had a friend, um,
a homosexual Jewish friend
who lived in Oklahoma City.
I asked him,
"Why do you live here?
"You have enough money,
"you could live
wherever you like."
You know what he told me?
(IN DEEP VOICE) "It would kill
my mother if I moved away."
(LAUGHS HEARTILY)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
-(WHISTLE BLOWS)
-(TRAM BELL DINGS)
Good luck, Lee.
(MAN SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(SIGHS HEAVILY)
(VEHICLES PASS BY)
(NOISES FADE OUT TO SILENCE)
-(VEHICLE HONKS)
-(DOG BARKS DISTANTLY)
(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
(SERENE MUSIC PLAYING)
-LEE: Gracias.
-Gracias.
(STATIC NOISE)
Everything in this country
falls apart.
Wouldn't surprise me
if I picked up a boy
in the Alameda and his...
Someone stole my typewriter.
It was that Brazilian,
or whatever he is.
You know him. Maurice.
The wrestler?
You mean the gym instructor,
Louie?
No, no, no.
That's another one.
No, Louie has decided
all that sort of thing
is very wrong,
and he tells me that I am
going to burn in hell
but he is going to heaven.
-Serious?
-Mm-hmm.
No,
Maurice is as queer as I am.
If not queerer... (BELCHES)
Excuse me.
But he won't accept it.
I think stealing my typewriter
is a way he takes
to demonstrate to me
and to himself that he is just
in it for all he can get.
Uh-huh.
As a matter of fact,
he's so queer
I've lost interest in him.
Not completely though...
(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
(NOISES FADE OUT)
(STATIC NOISE GROWS LOUDER)
(CLOCK TICKING)
(TICKING GETS LOUDER)
(FLIES BUZZING)
(STATIC NOISE)
(DISTORTED FEELING)
Hello.
Nazis.
I'll probably invite him
back to my apartment
instead of beating
the shit out of him
like I should.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
LEE: ...think how much
it would cost you
to shoot a major
in the Mexican Army!
You know what?
I'm going to get a bottle.
Well, um, no.
You see, we're hoping
to work on the plans
for this boat
we're going to build.
A boat?
MOOR: Yes. At Zihuatanejo.
All right. Well, how about
meeting me for a drink
tomorrow at the Rathskeller?
Say around five?
I expect
I'll be busy tomorrow.
Yes, but you have
to eat and drink. (CHUCKLES)
Well, you see, this boat
is more important to me
than anything right now.
It will take up all my time.
Suit yourself.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Thanks for running
interference, Tom.
I hope he got the idea.
I like the guy, but I can't
stand to be alone with him.
He keeps trying
to go to bed with me.
That's what I don't
like about queers.
You can't keep
it on the basis of friendship.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(COME AS YOU ARE
BY NIRVANA PLAYING)
(CHEERING AND SHOUTING
INDISTINCTLY)
(SQUAWKING)
(COME AS YOU ARE
CONTINUES PLAYING)
(SONG FADES OUT)
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
One absinthe.
BARTENDER:
Hola, Lee.
(INHALES SHARPLY)
(GIGGLES)
(MAN LAUGHS)
Fuck you, Tom!
MAN: So touchy!
I don't take it personally.
(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
-(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
-(WOMAN LAUGHS)
Yup.
(DOOR OPENS)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(CHIMU BAR ARTISTS
SING LA MALAGUENA)
-Mezcal!
-BARTENDER: Si, senor.
(BARTENDER IN SPANISH)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(CROWD CHEERING)
(LAUGHTER)
(IN SPANISH) Why so sad?
(SPEAKS SPANISH)
I'm not sad.
Not really.
I'm okay.
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
You been aqui before? Mm?
-Yeah, of course, you have.
-I've been aqui.
(DOOR CLOSES)
(SPEAKS SPANISH)
Do you carry a pistol?
Yes, I carry a pistol.
(CLEARS THROAT)
(SOMBER MUSIC CONTINUES)
(CHUCKLES)
(MAN MOANS)
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
(SPEAKS SPANISH) I have to go.
There's a brawl out
of the Chimu.
I'm going there
to drink something.
(LEE CLEARS THROAT)
-Adios.
-Adios.
Get a load of this.
"After he killed his wife
and three children,
"he takes a razor
and puts on a suicide act,
"but resulted
only in scratches
"that did not require
medical attention." (CHUCKLES)
What a slobbish performance!
And on the subject of murder,
I'm going...
Sit down on your ass!
(SIGHS)
Or what's left of it after
four years in the Navy.
(SCOFFS)
Lee.
I gotta go.
What are you, henpecked?
Yeah, no kidding.
I've been out too much lately,
Lee.
Lola's, Ship Ahoy,
the other places...
My old lady says
I gotta be home
for dinner every night.
Fuck, Jim!
JIM: Lee, wait...
LEE: Hi!
Hi.
I just... Uh, I just wanted
to tell you that, um...
Mary was in Lola's
a little while ago.
And she asked me to tell you
that she'd be
in the Ship Ahoy later on,
around five.
-Oh.
-(CLEARS THROAT)
Thank you.
-Will you be around tonight?
-Yes, um...
I think so, yeah.
(AND THE ANGELS SING BY BENNY
GOODMAN PLAYS OVER SPEAKERS)
-Who is he?
-(SCOFFS)
I have no idea.
-Tequila. (CLEARS THROAT)
-BARTENDER: Yeah.
(MARY CHUCKLES)
(SPEAKS SPANISH) Another.
Another.
(MARY CHUCKLES)
(BARTENDER IN SPANISH) You're
drinking so fast, Mr. Lee!
(SATURDAY NIGHT FISH FRY
BY LOUIS JORDAN PLAYING)
Two rum and cokes.
(BARTENDER IN SPANISH)
(COINS CLINKING)
(CHUCKLES)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(CONVERSES IN SPANISH)
Come sit with us over there.
the accuracy
of your information?
That... That doesn't...
-Actually, uh, we didn't.
-What?
So the Counter-Intelligence
Corps got sucked in
on a lot of phony deals
when I was in Germany.
And, of course,
we cross-checked
all information
with the other informants,
and we had our own
agents in the field.
Now, most of our informants,
they would come back
with some phony information,
but this one character,
he made it all up.
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
I mean, he had our agents out
looking out in the field
for a whole fictitious network
of Russian spies, right?
So, finally, reports came back
from Frankfurt...
-it's all a load of crap!
-Oh.
-But instead of clearing...
-(BOTH CHUCKLE)
Instead of clearing
out of town
before the information
could be checked,
-he came back with more.
-Oh.
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
(VOICES FADE OUT)
(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
You're here?
(ALLERTON GRUNTS)
Yeah, I have a sack here.
LEE: Uh-huh.
Good night.
(LEE LAUGHS)
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
-Good night.
-Night.
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
(CLOCK ALARM RINGS)
(SIGHS)
-There she is!
-Yes.
The trouble with me is,
I like the type that robs me.
Where you make
your mistake is,
bringing them back
to your apartment.
That's what hotels are for.
Well, you're right there,
but half the time
I don't have
money for a hotel.
-(LEE CLEARS THROAT)
-Besides, I like someone
around to cook breakfast
and sweep the place out.
Uh. You mean
clean the place out!
I don't mind the watch
and the radio,
but it really hurts
losing those boots.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
They were a thing
of beauty and joy forever.
(LAUGHS HYSTERICALLY)
I don't know whether I ought
to say things like this
in front of Junior here.
-Go ahead.
-(BELCHES) No offense, kid.
Did I tell you how I made
the cop on the beat?
(INHALES AND EXHALES SHARPLY)
He's a vigilante,
the watchman out where I live.
Every time he sees
the light on in my room,
he comes in for a shot of rum.
About five nights ago,
he caught me when I was drunk,
and stoned,
and horny.
Well, one thing led to another
and I ended up
showing him how the, uh...
cow ate the cabbage.
(LAUGHS)
JOE:
The night after I make him,
I'm walking by the beer joint
on the corner.
He comes out borracho
and says, "Have a drink."
I said,
"I don't want a drink."
So he takes out his pistola
and says, "Have a drink."
I proceeded to take
his pistola away from him.
He goes back
into the beer joint
to phone for reinforcements.
So I had to go in and rip
the phone off the wall.
Now, they're charging me
for the phone.
So, I get back to my room,
which is on the ground floor.
He'd written "El Puto Gringo"
on the window with soap.
(LEE CHUCKLING)
I didn't wipe it off.
I left it there.
It pays to advertise.
(LAUGHING)
(IN SPANISH)
Would you like more?
(LAUGHS, RESPONDS IN SPANISH)
Yes.
You think he's queer?
Now I've been seeing him
for a few weeks.
-Seeing him?
-Yeah, spending time with him.
Like... I can't tell.
You could always just ask.
No, no, no, no, no! No!
Well, he must be queer
if he's talking to him.
Dume's part of that little
clique of queers
who go to that beer joint
on Campeche,
-The Green Lantern.
-I know who he is.
He's the only one of those
Green Lantern boys
who'd be welcome
in a place like this.
The rest of them are just
a bunch of screaming fags.
Would you excuse me?
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
Hey. Tequila.
How do you
like this character?
He comes over and asks,
"I thought you were one
of the Green Lantern Boys."
I said, "Well, yes, I am."
(LAUGHS)
He wants me to take him around
to some of the gay
places here.
Hmm.
Truth be told, I don't take
people to the Lantern.
I mean, either you're
going there or you're not.
Something about the way
he asked,
I just couldn't say no.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
-You don't know him, do you?
-Mm?
He's always in here,
playing chess with the girl.
-Mary.
-Mary! That's right, yeah.
-She seems nice.
-I wouldn't know.
DUME: Supposing
she's his girlfriend,
then she's in for a bit
of a surprise. Right?
(LAUGHS)
-What?
-Are you all right, Lee?
Yes, I'm fine.
Well, I just asked if you
knew the boy
and I'm still
waiting on an answer.
I... Yes, I...
I mean, no.
A little.
Thank you as always
for the enlightening
conversation.
-Oh, Tom, darling.
-Yes, my dear.
Let's talk Puerto Vallarta.
-It's very nice.
-Okay.
A few of us are thinking
about going.
It's on the west coast,
there's a gorgeous climate.
-Yeah.
-Beautiful men.
(CHARACTERS SPEAKING SPANISH)
(MYSTICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(COIN CLATTERS)
(CLICKS)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(MARIGOLD BY NIRVANA
PLAYS ON JUKEBOX)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(LEE CHUCKLES)
I presume Dume told you
about my proclivities.
Yes.
A curse... (CHUCKLES)
Been in our family
for generations.
The Lees have always
been perverts. (CHUCKLES)
I shall never forget
the unspeakable horror
that froze the lymph
in my glands,
the lymph glands that is,
of course,
when that baneful word seared
my reeling brain.
Homosexual!
(CHUCKLES)
I thought of the painted,
simpering female impersonators
I had seen
in a Baltimore night club.
Could it be that I was one
of those subhuman things?
I walked the street in a daze,
like a man
with a light concussion.
I might well
have destroyed myself,
ending an existence
which seemed to offer
nothing but grotesque misery
and humiliation.
"Nobler," I thought,
"to die a man than to live
on a sex monster." (SCOFFS)
(MARIGOLD CONTINUES PLAYING)
It was...
It was a wise old queen,
Bobo, we called her,
who taught me
that I had a duty to live
and to bear my burden proudly
for all to see,
you know, to conquer ignorance
and prejudice and hate
with knowledge,
and sincerity...
and love.
ALLERTON: Hmm.
Bobo's words
came back to me from the tomb,
the sibilants cracking gently.
(MIMICKING BOBO)
"No one is ever really alone.
"You are part of everything
that is alive."
(IN NORMAL VOICE)
The difficulty is to convince
someone else
he is really part of you.
So what the hell?
Us "parts"
ought to work together. Reet?
What I mean is, Allerton,
is...
(SIGHS)
We're all parts
of a tremendous whole.
There's no use fighting it.
The queer bars here
don't compare
to the Stateside queer joints.
-I mean, that is depressing.
-Uh, I wouldn't know.
I've never been
to any queer joints
except those Dume took me to.
I guess there's
kicks and kicks.
You haven't? Really?
No.
Never.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
(17 DAYS (PIANO & A MICROPHONE
1983 VERSION) BY PRINCE PLAYS)
...there's a gorilla
in a cage...
After you.
...masturbating, and, um...
Should we go back to my place?
I've got some Napoleon brandy.
-All right.
-Hmm.
-Hello! (LAUGHS)
-Hola.
(IN SPANISH) Good evening.
Insurgentes, Monterrey.
Three pesos.
-Four pesos.
(IN SPANISH) You fucking
gringo, son of a bitch!
Get in the car,
fucking gringo!
Son of a bitch!
I'm sorry, I can't hear you.
Shit! (GRUNTS)
Fuck, man.
Sometimes I think
they don't like us.
Oh?
Let's walk, come on.
(BOTH LAUGH)
(17 DAYS CONTINUES PLAYING)
Welcome. Welcome.
-ALLERTON: Oh.
-Yes! Yeah. (CLEARS THROAT)
(SONG STOPS ABRUPTLY)
(KEYS CLATTERING)
(LEE EXHALES)
Well, uh, welcome. It's a...
I'll fix you a drink.
(BOTTLES CLINKING)
(SHELVES OPENING AND CLOSING)
LEE: Ta-da! (CHUCKLES)
(POURS DRINK)
(GLASSES CLINKING)
(SNIFFS)
ALLERTON: Mm.
(COUGHS)
(LAUGHS)
ALLERTON: Oh, good Lord!
Napoleon must have
pissed in this one.
Oh, I was...
I was afraid of that,
an untutored palate!
Your generation has never
learned the pleasures
that a trained palate confers
on the disciplined few.
(CHUCKLING)
(COUGHS AND LAUGHS)
It is godawful.
Still, it's better
than a California brandy.
It does have a suggestion
of a cognac taste.
(SIGHS)
Oh, yeah. (CHUCKLES)
(ALLERTON GRUNTS)
Can I... (CLEARS THROAT)
show you over the house?
This is the, uh...
bedroom. (CHUCKLES)
I'll... I'll get you
some more brandy.
-(EXHALES)
-(CHUCKLES)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(GRUNTS)
Oh, this is... (LAUGHS)
Sweet stuff, dearie.
This wasn't made in Mexico.
-No, I bought it in Scotland.
-(CHUCKLES)
-(GAGS)
-Are you...
(RETCHING)
(GROANS)
(FLUSHES TOILET)
(TURNS TAP ON)
(RINSES MOUTH)
I wonder what
the matter could be.
You didn't...
You didn't drink that much.
-Are you okay now?
-Yes, I think so.
(SIGHS WEARILY)
(GROANS)
(ALLERTON GROANS SOFTLY)
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
(BREATHES HEAVILY)
-Let's get this sweater off.
-Okay.
That rib's broken.
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(KISSES)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
Do I smell like vomit?
No.
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(MOANING)
(MOANING IN PLEASURE)
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(GRUNTS)
(ALLERTON BREATHING HEAVILY)
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(EXHALING)
(BOTH BREATHING HEAVILY)
ALLERTON: Wait, wait, wait.
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
(CHUCKLES)
(LEE LAUGHS)
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(LEE BREATHING HEAVILY)
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
(LEE MOANING IN PLEASURE)
(GROANS AND BREATHES HEAVILY)
Fuck!
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
(ALLERTON SIGHS)
(LEE BREATHES HARD)
LEE: I know
telepathy to be a fact
since I've
experienced it myself.
What interests me is
how I can use it, you know?
In South America,
at the headwaters
of the Amazon,
grows a plant called "yage"
which is supposed to increase
telepathic sensitivity.
Medicine men use
it in their work
and a Columbian scientist,
whose, um, name escapes me,
isolated from yage
a drug he calls "telepathine".
I read all this
in a magazine article.
Later, I see
in another article
the Russians are using yage
in experiments on slave labor.
It seems they want to induce
states of automatic obedience
and ultimately,
of course, thought control.
(LAUGHS)
How about
the T-bone steak for two?
(IN SPANISH) We're closing.
Oh, they list baked Alaska.
-Ever eat it?
-No.
Real good.
It's hot on the outside
and cold inside.
That's why they call
it "baked Alaska," I imagine.
You know... (CLEARS THROAT)
I got an idea for a new dish.
You take a live pig and you
throw it into a very hot oven
so the pig is roasted outside
and when you cut into it,
it's still alive
and twitching inside.
Or, if we run
a dramatic joint,
a screaming pig
covered with burning brandy
runs out of the kitchen...
(IMITATES PIG SQUEALING)
-And dies right by the chair.
-(LAUGHS)
You just reach down,
you pull off the crispy,
crackly ears and...
eat them with your cocktails.
Well, if you insist...
(ALLERTON BRUSHES TEETH)
(LEE CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
-I want a rum and coke.
-Sure. Why not?
Let's go to the Ship Ahoy.
Come on.
Oh, yes.
(17 DAYS BY PRINCE PLAYING)
(PEOPLE LAUGHING)
MAN: I was treated, you know,
by the therapist in the Army.
JOE: What did he say?
He said I'm an Oedipus
and I love my mother.
Fuck.
Everybody loves
their mother, son.
I mean, I love her physically.
(LEE COUGHS)
I don't believe that, son.
Lee, did you hear Jim Cochran
has gone back to the States?
-Mm-hmm.
-He plans to work in Alaska.
LEE: Oh, thank God
I am a gentleman
of independent means
and do not have
to expose myself
to the inclemencies
of near-Arctic conditions.
But never mind...
I've got bigger fish to fry.
What? (LAUGHING)
"Bigger fish" is right.
Cold...
slippery...
hard to catch.
(IN SPANISH)
How about dinner?
I think I'll work tonight.
Like the Wallace
administration,
I subsidize non-production.
I will pay you 20 pesos
not to work tonight.
Need a drink?
No, not now.
Anyway, I have to go.
Um...
I'll see you tomorrow.
(CLEARS THROAT)
Yes, good night.
Eugene...
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(SUI GHIACCIAI
BY VERDENA PLAYING)
(SONG STOPS ABRUPTLY)
(ZIPPER UNZIPS)
(DO I WORRY?
BY THE INK SPOTS PLAYING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
WOMAN: There you are.
-LEE: Oh.
-Darling!
(LAUGHS) Look at that!
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
Oh. (EXCLAIMS)
(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
JOE: Tall, handsome,
blissfully stupid...
Guys like us have to look out
for one another.
(WOMEN TALKING AND LAUGHING)
(LAUGHING)
-(MARY SHOOTS TOY GUN)
-WOMAN: Yes!
(LAUGHS)
(CONTINUES SHOOTING GUN)
-(WOMEN SCREAM)
-WOMAN: Careful!
(LEE MUMBLES)
Apologies. (CLEARS THROAT)
-You guys all right?
-(LEE CLEARS THROAT)
Yes. Yeah.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
I want to talk to you.
Without speaking.
And I wanna touch you...
like... like...
like the Russians...
Yeah.
Like the Mayans...
TOM: All right, Bill,
let's take it easy, huh?
Hey. Hey, Tom.
-TOM: Come on. Yeah.
-(LEE GIGGLES)
-You got a drink, Tom? Mm?
-Yeah.
-I could use a couple.
-A cup of water, maybe.
(THUDS)
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(SQUEAKING SOUND
INCREASES GRADUALLY)
(SQUEAKING SOUND CONTINUES)
(BABY'S CRY
ECHOING IN DISTANCE)
(TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(MUSIC ENDS ABRUPTLY)
(LEE BREATHING HEAVILY)
(EERIE MUSIC PLAYING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(CHUCKLES)
Aren't you queer?
LEE: I'm not queer.
I'm disembodied.
(LAUGHS)
(EERIE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(DOGS BARKING DISTANTLY)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
How are you?
(YAWNS)
Sleepy. I just got up.
See you.
(SLOW DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
-(LAUGHING)
-(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
I was thinking
about going down
to South America soon.
(GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
PLAYING)
Why don't you come with me?
Won't cost you a cent.
Perhaps not in money.
(SCOFFS)
I'm not a difficult man
to get along with.
We could reach some
satisfactory arrangement. Mm.
What you got to lose?
Independence.
Who's going to cut into
your independence?
ALLERTON: Mm.
You can lay all the women
in South America,
if you want to.
All I'm asking is, um...
to be nice to me, say...
twice a week?
That isn't too excessive,
is it?
Besides, I'll, um...
I'll buy you
a round-trip ticket
so you can leave
at your discretion.
(GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
CONTINUES)
I'll think it over.
This newspaper job I'm doing
runs ten days more.
So, uh, I will give you
a definite answer
when the job folds.
Your job is...
(SIGHS)
All right.
-(CHUCKLES)
-MARY: Hello.
(SMACKS LIPS) Oh!
Well, it's in the wrong place.
(BLOWS)
(EXHALES)
(LEAVE ME ALONE
BY NEW ORDER PLAYING)
(LEAVE ME ALONE
CONTINUES PLAYING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
LEE: How was your trip
to Morelia?
ALLERTON: Oh...
It was all right.
You know, I'm thinking about
buying a half interest
in this place.
-(CLEARS THROAT)
-Hmm.
You exist on
credit here, right?
Tom says you owe 400 pesos.
Maybe, if I was half owner
of the joint,
you wouldn't be
in a position to ignore me.
(ALLERTON SIGHS)
So how about this trip
to South America?
It's always nice to see places
you haven't seen before.
Can you leave anytime?
Anytime.
(RIDERS IN THE SKY
BY VAUGHN MONROE PLAYING)
LEE: Come on, come on!
(RIDERS IN THE SKY
CONTINUES PLAYING)
What did you say it was
that you are looking for
down here?
No, not here. In Ecuador.
Yage.
Never heard of that.
-You heard of H and C, right?
-Hmm.
(WHISPERS) Heroin and cocaine.
-Ah. (LAUGHS)
-(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
You can get those in the city.
-Oh. Oh, okay.
-In Canal.
Adios.
Gracias, adios.
(MUSICOLOGY BY PRINCE PLAYING)
(EXHALES)
-Oh!
-(WHISTLES)
(YELLS)
Fuck you!
(SPEAKING SPANISH)
(MUSICOLOGY CONTINUES PLAYING)
(TREMBLING)
(WIND HOWLING)
(SHIVERS)
(MUTTERING)
(CHURCH BELLS RINGING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(SOBBING)
(GROANS)
ALLERTON: It's not
that much further, all right?
Just a little bit up the road.
(SLOW DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(LEE SHIVERING)
Are you awake, Gene?
Hmm?
Yes.
LEE: Cold? You cold?
No.
Can I... Can I come over...
over there with you?
All right.
(LEE GRUNTING)
You're twitching all over.
Yeah. (SHUDDERS)
Christ almighty,
your hands are cold!
(BREATH TREMBLING)
(SLOW DRAMATIC MUSIC
CONTINUES)
(LEE GRUNTS SOFTLY)
LEE: Love is...
(ALLERTON BREATHING DEEPLY)
(LEE MURMURING)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(GRUNTS)
Fucking stairs!
ALLERTON: Stairs are fine,
Lee. They're fine.
-DOCTOR: Take a seat.
-Thank you.
Just over here.
(GROANS) Oh, God...
Dysentery?
LEE: Mm-hmm.
Can you describe me
your symptoms?
Uh...
Bloody diarrhea,
cramps, and, um, vomiting...
ALLERTON: High temperature.
LEE: Yeah, right,
high temperature.
Please.
LEE: Yeah, the, the...
(CLEARS THROAT)
The prescription
that works best is...
(CLEARS THROAT)
Paregoric with bismuth.
(CHUCKLES)
Tell the truth now.
Um, are you addicted
to opiates?
(LEE SIGHS)
Better you tell me
or I cannot help you.
(SIGHING)
Yes.
Uh-huh.
And how long
has this addiction lasted?
Oh, just too long,
sir, too long.
Um...
It's why I left the States.
Um, my condition makes me
a criminal there.
You must stop this habit.
Better you should suffer now
than lose your life.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
I want to stop.
It's just... (SIGHS)
I... I need to get some sleep.
I'm going to the coast
tomorrow, to Manta, so I...
You must stop this habit.
I know.
Here.
(CHUCKLES)
Thank you.
LEE: Three CCs?
What the fuck am I supposed
to do with three CCs?
ALLERTON:
Maybe we'll convince them
to give you something else
at the pharmacy.
LEE: Yes, those ladies are
so nice, they'll understand...
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
PLAYING)
-(GROANS)
-(SPITS)
(COUGHS)
(BIRDS SQUAWKING)
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
(GROANS SOFTLY)
(GRUNTS)
(GROANS)
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
(GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
CONTINUES)
LEE: Should we grab a drink?
ALLERTON: Um... No, I'd rather
stay here and take pictures.
(ALLERTON SNORING SOFTLY)
(GROANS)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(SERENE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
PLAYING)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(LEE BREATHING HEAVILY)
What's the matter?
I thought you were going
to run your hand down my ribs.
I wouldn't do that.
You think I'm queer
or something?
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Frankly, yes.
(BOTH LAUGH)
LEE: Scooch over.
(SERENE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
CONTINUES)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(KISSES)
(BOTH MOANING IN PLEASURE)
(KISSING)
(BOTH MOANING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(BOTH MOANING)
(BOTH BREATHING HEAVILY)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
Do you...
Do you mind it?
Not terribly.
But you do...
enjoy it sometimes?
Hmm?
The whole deal, I mean.
Oh, yes.
Oh, yes.
(SERENE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
CONTINUES)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
(LEE CHUCKLING)
LEE: Christ! Fuck!
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have tried so soon
after last time.
(CLEARS THROAT)
It was a breach of contract.
I don't like people
who apologize at breakfast.
Really?
Hmm?
Aren't you taking
unfair advantage?
Hmm? Like someone was, um...
Like someone was junk sick
and...
I don't use junk,
and I say, "Sick? Really?
"Why do you tell me about
your disgusting condition?
"You might at least have
the decency
"to keep it to yourself.
"You must realize
how distasteful it is
"to see you... you sneezing,
and coughing, and retching.
"Why don't you take it
someplace else
"so I don't have to
look at it? You know?
"I mean, have you any idea
how tiresome you are,
"or how repulsive?
"I mean, have you no pride?"
That is not fair at all.
Well, it isn't
supposed to be fair.
It's just a routine
for your amusement,
containing a modicum of truth.
Can you hurry up
and finish your breakfast
so you don't miss
the Salinas bus?
You're not coming?
No. I'm going to Quito,
remember?
Oh... Oh, right.
DR. HERNANDEZ: Yage?
And why would you say
you were interested
in this plant, Mister...
Lee. I... I read about it
in a magazine.
It said that Yage increases
telepathic sensitivity and...
You know,
the Russians are using it
in thought control
experiments and...
And yeah,
probably by the CIA as well.
-Are you with the CIA?
-(CHUCKLING) No.
And then why
would you be interested
in thought control
experiments?
I'm not. I'm not.
I'm interested in telepathy.
-Telepathy? Why?
-Hmm.
Oh, I...
(SIGHS)
I suspected that it was
only a matter of time
before North Americans
like yourself
would start coming to Ecuador
seeking out Yage.
Well, yeah, yes...
You think it can fix things
for you.
It is not a drug in the sense
you understand it.
It is not recreational
like cocaine or heroin.
LEE: There is nothing
recreational about heroin.
My point is that Yage does not
provide a pleasant "trip."
It is not something
to be done casually,
without the proper
supervision.
Well, can you provide me
with that supervision?
Do I look like an Indian
in the jungle?
(LAUGHS) No, but...
I'm sorry. I can't help you.
How much would I have
to pay you for a map?
I think you misunderstand
the nature of the telepathy
that can be achieved
with Yage.
LEE: Communication
without speaking,
on the level
of intuition, it's...
Who is it that you're trying
so desperately
to communicate with?
Your wife?
No.
DR. HERNANDEZ:
There is an American botanist
living a few hours outside
of Puyo, deep in the jungle.
Her name is Cotter.
She's mad like you,
trying to develop
some medicine.
Perhaps if you pay her
a visit, she can help you.
I warn you, though.
Yage is not a portal
to some other place.
It is a mirror.
And when you look into it,
you may not like what you see.
By the time you realize
you are not ready,
it may be too late.
Come, I'll draw you the map.
(PSYCHEDELIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(GRUNTING)
Careful, careful!
(PANTING)
(GRUNTING, PANTING)
Hello?
(PANTING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Hello?
(HISSING)
You hear that?
(BIRD CHIRPING)
Hello?
(HISSING)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(HISSING CONTINUES)
Hello?
-(HISSES)
-(BOTH SCREAM)
(SCREAMING)
Help! Help!
-(HISSES)
-For the love of God, help us!
Announce yourselves,
or prepare to suffer
a fate worse
than whatever
that viper was gonna give you.
Right, I'm...
-Right there is fine.
-(GUN COCKING)
My name is, uh, William Lee.
This is, uh, um...
Get up! Get up.
Eugene Allerton.
We've come a long way
to talk to you.
Doctor Cotter...
I presume.
Mmm.
Mmm.
(CHUCKLES)
My apologies about the viper.
Oh, please, it was just...
No, no...
It is there for security,
of course.
Security? Why...
Why would you...
(CLEARS THROAT)
From prowlers.
Oh.
Coming after my research.
LEE: Hmm.
Why did you say
you boys came out here?
(INHALES DEEPLY, CHUCKLES)
Oh, we wanted to ask you
about the, um...
The... The vegetation
in the area, um...
-The... (WHEEZES)
-(LEE CHUCKLES)
The vegetation?
(ALL LAUGHING)
I would be the right person
to ask about that.
(LAUGHS)
(DR. COTTER SIGHS)
Uh-huh, yeah...
Those are all gifts
from the Shuar people.
LEE: Mmm.
My "tribe," so to speak.
LEE: Can I... Can I ask you
about the bowls?
DR. COTTER: Yeah.
They're for
a healing ceremony.
-LEE: Right. Mmm-hmm.
-Yeah.
(LEE CLEARS THROAT)
Involving a brew
that's made from one
of the plants in the area.
Yage.
Maybe...
Maybe out here, it's, um,
it's called, um,
Ayahuasca?
I hear the... (CHUCKLES)
The Russians and the Americans
are using it
for different experiments.
The truth is...
That's why we came out here.
I want to explore
the properties of this drug.
I'd be willing to take some.
As an experiment, you know?
We both would.
Yage...
is connected to brujeria.
Right.
-Witchcraft.
-Uh-huh.
(CHUCKLES)
To get some,
you'd have to develop
a relationship
with the local brujo.
-Yeah?
-Right. (CLEARS THROAT)
It'd take years...
to gain his confidence.
Do you have that confidence?
(CHUCKLES)
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Come here! Come here.
(CONTINUES LAUGHING)
I've been out here
-a long time.
-Oh.
(BOTH CONTINUE LAUGHING)
LEE: Yeah...
I think the boys
must be tired, no?
Yeah.
I expect they are!
Thank you again
for the supplies.
Oh, that's just... It's a...
(CHUCKLES)
Come on!
Yeah, come on, let me show you
where you'll sleep.
Okay.
-Thank you.
-Good night.
(VOICES FADE)
(MUMBLES INCOHERENTLY)
Mmm!
Your friend's already up
having coffee with hubby.
Here!
-Why don't you take this...
-(YELPS)
...and explore the area today?
Try and kill us something
we can eat tonight.
Huh?
(GRUNTING SOFTLY)
(GROANS)
I'm all right. Ah.
(GRUNTING SOFTLY)
Cotter says... (EXHALES)
Cotter says the Indians
have cleared
most of the game
out of the area.
They all have shotguns
from the money they made
-working for Annexia.
-Shh!
(ANIMAL GRUNTING)
(WHISPERS) What's that?
(GUN COCKS)
I'm gonna go try and shoot it.
(DISTANT RUSTLING)
-ALLERTON: What is it?
-What?
-What is it?
-How should I know?
It's alive, isn't it?
(DISTANT RUSTLING)
-No! Oh, shit!
-(GUNSHOT)
-(KNIFE THUDS)
-Gene! Gene!
Tell the truth now.
You boys really here
for the Yage?
I mean, I appreciate
the supplies you brought,
but if I find you trying
to run off with my research,
I'll kill you,
-and dump you in the jungle.
-(CHUCKLES)
No one will miss you out here.
(CHUCKLES)
Doc...
Doc, I... Ouch!
(CLEARS THROAT)
With, with... (SIGHS)
With all due respect,
I couldn't give two shits
about your research.
I've already forgotten
everything
you told me about it.
You know it doesn't
get you high, right?
Not like you're used to.
I'm a medical doctor.
I can spot a junkie
from a mile away.
I'm not interested
in getting high.
DR. COTTER: Mmm.
What are you interested in?
Telepathy.
HUSBAND: He likes you.
ALLERTON: Yeah?
-Usually, he bites.
-HUSBAND: Hmm.
Hmm.
(DR. COTTER SIGHS)
I'll help you.
You know where I can find it?
(WHEEZES)
It's everywhere!
You tripped over it
in the jungle this afternoon.
Yeah.
Banisteriopsis caapi.
The Indians call it...
Yage.
(EXHALES)
(SNIFFS)
(EXHALES)
(INHALES, EXHALES)
(ETHEREAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(DR. COTTER CHANTING IN SHUAR)
(INHALES)
(DR. COTTER
CONTINUES CHANTING)
(ALLERTON CHUCKLES)
(CHUCKLES)
(ALLERTON SIGHS)
LEE: Mmm.
You feel anything?
No. (SIGHS)
-You?
-No. (CHUCKLES)
(SIGHS)
I think we just drank a bunch
of leaves and twigs
-from the ground.
-(LAUGHS)
(GRUNTS SOFTLY)
(MUFFLED RETCHING)
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
(MUFFLED RETCHING)
(THUMPING)
(LEE GROANS)
DR. COTTER: There they are.
Come on over, boys!
There you go. I've got you.
LEE: Mmm.
-Easy.
-(LEE GRUNTS)
(INSECTS CHIRPING)
(DARK MUSIC PLAYING)
ALLERTON: I'm not queer.
Lee...
I'm not queer.
LEE: I know.
ALLERTON: I'm disembodied.
(CRACKLING)
(INAUDIBLE)
(INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(HEART BEATING)
(INSECTS TRILLING)
Gene...
Gene...
Go to sleep.
(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING)
You boys should stay
a couple more days.
For most people,
the first time's
just an introduction,
the opening of a door.
But for you two...
it was something else.
It'd be a shame not to see
where it might take you.
I need to be getting back.
What are you so afraid of?
Hmm?
Door's already open.
Can't close it now.
All you can do is look away.
But why would you?
(SOFTLY) You should have
seen yourself last night.
Yeah.
(MUG CLATTERS SOFTLY)
(SNIFFLES)
(BIRD SCREECHING)
(GRUNTS)
(SCREECHING)
(HISSES)
(UPBEAT SONG PLAYING)
(GRUNTS)
(SONG STOPS ABRUPTLY)
Lee?
Hi, Joe.
Anybody else
you'd like to ask me about?
Mmm-mmm.
No one?
-A kid named Allerton, maybe?
-(GRUNTS)
It's why you came back,
isn't it?
-I was getting around to it.
-Hmm.
He went down to South America
or some place.
With an army colonel.
How long ago?
About six months.
Allerton went along as guide.
They were going
to sell the car in Guatemala.
A '48 Cadillac.
I felt there was something
not quite right
about the deal,
but Allerton never said
anything definite.
-You know how he is.
-Hmm.
No one's heard from him
since he left.
He said something
about joining you down there.
He never said anything to you
about it?
(CHUCKLES)
When did you get this?
Oh, you know... You know...
You know what happened
to my camera, right?
-Stolen.
-Stolen by this
Colombian kid I was getting
acquainted with. (SCOFFS)
Took a bunch of my socks too,
the little bastard!
So what's the story?
You making it with anyone
these days?
(SIGHS)
Chimu's still here.
Why don't we go
check out the local nightlife?
-Please...
-Yes, I'm not really
-feeling up for it either.
-(CHUCKLES)
Green Lantern?
(CHUCKLING)
Those guys are still here?
All of them,
if you can believe it.
-All except Dume.
-Mmm.
He's, uh... He's gone.
-He died?
-Mmm.
No, he had to go
back to Virginia
to take care of his mother.
-Oh. (CHUCKLES)
-(SIGHS DEEPLY)
It's funny thinking of him
having a mother.
Yes. Well,
he doesn't anymore. She died.
Right...
You look good, Lee.
-I do?
-No.
But it's good to see you.
-Yeah.
-Hmm.
You too.
Yeah.
(INAUDIBLE)
(UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL
ROCK SONG PLAYING)
(SNIFFLES)
(WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY)
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
(BREATHING DEEPLY)
(SIGHS)
(KEYS JANGLE)
(ETHEREAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(GUN COCKS)
(GUN CLATTERS)
(LEE BREATHING HEAVILY)
(WINDOW CLATTERS)
ALLERTON: Lee...
(ETHEREAL MUSIC CONTINUES)
(FAINT CLICKING)
( VASTER THAN EMPIRES
BY TRENT REZNOR PLAYING)
(FAINT WHOOSHING)
(ALL APOLOGIES
BY SINEAD O'CONNOR PLAYING)
(MUSIC FADES)
-(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
-(MUSIC PLAYING OVER SPEAKERS)
You're not queer.
Usually, if I get this far
with an American kid,
I can get the rest of the way,
but with you there's some...
obstacle.
Your mother wouldn't like it.
I had a friend, um,
a homosexual Jewish friend
who lived in Oklahoma City.
I asked him,
"Why do you live here?
"You have enough money,
"you could live
wherever you like."
You know what he told me?
(IN DEEP VOICE) "It would kill
my mother if I moved away."
(LAUGHS HEARTILY)
(BIRDS CHIRPING)
-(WHISTLE BLOWS)
-(TRAM BELL DINGS)
Good luck, Lee.
(MAN SHOUTS INDISTINCTLY)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(SIGHS HEAVILY)
(VEHICLES PASS BY)
(NOISES FADE OUT TO SILENCE)
-(VEHICLE HONKS)
-(DOG BARKS DISTANTLY)
(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
(SERENE MUSIC PLAYING)
-LEE: Gracias.
-Gracias.
(STATIC NOISE)
Everything in this country
falls apart.
Wouldn't surprise me
if I picked up a boy
in the Alameda and his...
Someone stole my typewriter.
It was that Brazilian,
or whatever he is.
You know him. Maurice.
The wrestler?
You mean the gym instructor,
Louie?
No, no, no.
That's another one.
No, Louie has decided
all that sort of thing
is very wrong,
and he tells me that I am
going to burn in hell
but he is going to heaven.
-Serious?
-Mm-hmm.
No,
Maurice is as queer as I am.
If not queerer... (BELCHES)
Excuse me.
But he won't accept it.
I think stealing my typewriter
is a way he takes
to demonstrate to me
and to himself that he is just
in it for all he can get.
Uh-huh.
As a matter of fact,
he's so queer
I've lost interest in him.
Not completely though...
(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
(NOISES FADE OUT)
(STATIC NOISE GROWS LOUDER)
(CLOCK TICKING)
(TICKING GETS LOUDER)
(FLIES BUZZING)
(STATIC NOISE)
(DISTORTED FEELING)
Hello.
Nazis.
I'll probably invite him
back to my apartment
instead of beating
the shit out of him
like I should.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
LEE: ...think how much
it would cost you
to shoot a major
in the Mexican Army!
You know what?
I'm going to get a bottle.
Well, um, no.
You see, we're hoping
to work on the plans
for this boat
we're going to build.
A boat?
MOOR: Yes. At Zihuatanejo.
All right. Well, how about
meeting me for a drink
tomorrow at the Rathskeller?
Say around five?
I expect
I'll be busy tomorrow.
Yes, but you have
to eat and drink. (CHUCKLES)
Well, you see, this boat
is more important to me
than anything right now.
It will take up all my time.
Suit yourself.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Thanks for running
interference, Tom.
I hope he got the idea.
I like the guy, but I can't
stand to be alone with him.
He keeps trying
to go to bed with me.
That's what I don't
like about queers.
You can't keep
it on the basis of friendship.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(COME AS YOU ARE
BY NIRVANA PLAYING)
(CHEERING AND SHOUTING
INDISTINCTLY)
(SQUAWKING)
(COME AS YOU ARE
CONTINUES PLAYING)
(SONG FADES OUT)
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
One absinthe.
BARTENDER:
Hola, Lee.
(INHALES SHARPLY)
(GIGGLES)
(MAN LAUGHS)
Fuck you, Tom!
MAN: So touchy!
I don't take it personally.
(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
-(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
-(WOMAN LAUGHS)
Yup.
(DOOR OPENS)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(CHIMU BAR ARTISTS
SING LA MALAGUENA)
-Mezcal!
-BARTENDER: Si, senor.
(BARTENDER IN SPANISH)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(CROWD CHEERING)
(LAUGHTER)
(IN SPANISH) Why so sad?
(SPEAKS SPANISH)
I'm not sad.
Not really.
I'm okay.
(SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
You been aqui before? Mm?
-Yeah, of course, you have.
-I've been aqui.
(DOOR CLOSES)
(SPEAKS SPANISH)
Do you carry a pistol?
Yes, I carry a pistol.
(CLEARS THROAT)
(SOMBER MUSIC CONTINUES)
(CHUCKLES)
(MAN MOANS)
(INDISTINCT SHOUTING)
(SPEAKS SPANISH) I have to go.
There's a brawl out
of the Chimu.
I'm going there
to drink something.
(LEE CLEARS THROAT)
-Adios.
-Adios.
Get a load of this.
"After he killed his wife
and three children,
"he takes a razor
and puts on a suicide act,
"but resulted
only in scratches
"that did not require
medical attention." (CHUCKLES)
What a slobbish performance!
And on the subject of murder,
I'm going...
Sit down on your ass!
(SIGHS)
Or what's left of it after
four years in the Navy.
(SCOFFS)
Lee.
I gotta go.
What are you, henpecked?
Yeah, no kidding.
I've been out too much lately,
Lee.
Lola's, Ship Ahoy,
the other places...
My old lady says
I gotta be home
for dinner every night.
Fuck, Jim!
JIM: Lee, wait...
LEE: Hi!
Hi.
I just... Uh, I just wanted
to tell you that, um...
Mary was in Lola's
a little while ago.
And she asked me to tell you
that she'd be
in the Ship Ahoy later on,
around five.
-Oh.
-(CLEARS THROAT)
Thank you.
-Will you be around tonight?
-Yes, um...
I think so, yeah.
(AND THE ANGELS SING BY BENNY
GOODMAN PLAYS OVER SPEAKERS)
-Who is he?
-(SCOFFS)
I have no idea.
-Tequila. (CLEARS THROAT)
-BARTENDER: Yeah.
(MARY CHUCKLES)
(SPEAKS SPANISH) Another.
Another.
(MARY CHUCKLES)
(BARTENDER IN SPANISH) You're
drinking so fast, Mr. Lee!
(SATURDAY NIGHT FISH FRY
BY LOUIS JORDAN PLAYING)
Two rum and cokes.
(BARTENDER IN SPANISH)
(COINS CLINKING)
(CHUCKLES)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(CONVERSES IN SPANISH)
Come sit with us over there.
the accuracy
of your information?
That... That doesn't...
-Actually, uh, we didn't.
-What?
So the Counter-Intelligence
Corps got sucked in
on a lot of phony deals
when I was in Germany.
And, of course,
we cross-checked
all information
with the other informants,
and we had our own
agents in the field.
Now, most of our informants,
they would come back
with some phony information,
but this one character,
he made it all up.
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
I mean, he had our agents out
looking out in the field
for a whole fictitious network
of Russian spies, right?
So, finally, reports came back
from Frankfurt...
-it's all a load of crap!
-Oh.
-But instead of clearing...
-(BOTH CHUCKLE)
Instead of clearing
out of town
before the information
could be checked,
-he came back with more.
-Oh.
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
(VOICES FADE OUT)
(CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY)
You're here?
(ALLERTON GRUNTS)
Yeah, I have a sack here.
LEE: Uh-huh.
Good night.
(LEE LAUGHS)
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
-Good night.
-Night.
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
(CLOCK ALARM RINGS)
(SIGHS)
-There she is!
-Yes.
The trouble with me is,
I like the type that robs me.
Where you make
your mistake is,
bringing them back
to your apartment.
That's what hotels are for.
Well, you're right there,
but half the time
I don't have
money for a hotel.
-(LEE CLEARS THROAT)
-Besides, I like someone
around to cook breakfast
and sweep the place out.
Uh. You mean
clean the place out!
I don't mind the watch
and the radio,
but it really hurts
losing those boots.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
They were a thing
of beauty and joy forever.
(LAUGHS HYSTERICALLY)
I don't know whether I ought
to say things like this
in front of Junior here.
-Go ahead.
-(BELCHES) No offense, kid.
Did I tell you how I made
the cop on the beat?
(INHALES AND EXHALES SHARPLY)
He's a vigilante,
the watchman out where I live.
Every time he sees
the light on in my room,
he comes in for a shot of rum.
About five nights ago,
he caught me when I was drunk,
and stoned,
and horny.
Well, one thing led to another
and I ended up
showing him how the, uh...
cow ate the cabbage.
(LAUGHS)
JOE:
The night after I make him,
I'm walking by the beer joint
on the corner.
He comes out borracho
and says, "Have a drink."
I said,
"I don't want a drink."
So he takes out his pistola
and says, "Have a drink."
I proceeded to take
his pistola away from him.
He goes back
into the beer joint
to phone for reinforcements.
So I had to go in and rip
the phone off the wall.
Now, they're charging me
for the phone.
So, I get back to my room,
which is on the ground floor.
He'd written "El Puto Gringo"
on the window with soap.
(LEE CHUCKLING)
I didn't wipe it off.
I left it there.
It pays to advertise.
(LAUGHING)
(IN SPANISH)
Would you like more?
(LAUGHS, RESPONDS IN SPANISH)
Yes.
You think he's queer?
Now I've been seeing him
for a few weeks.
-Seeing him?
-Yeah, spending time with him.
Like... I can't tell.
You could always just ask.
No, no, no, no, no! No!
Well, he must be queer
if he's talking to him.
Dume's part of that little
clique of queers
who go to that beer joint
on Campeche,
-The Green Lantern.
-I know who he is.
He's the only one of those
Green Lantern boys
who'd be welcome
in a place like this.
The rest of them are just
a bunch of screaming fags.
Would you excuse me?
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
Hey. Tequila.
How do you
like this character?
He comes over and asks,
"I thought you were one
of the Green Lantern Boys."
I said, "Well, yes, I am."
(LAUGHS)
He wants me to take him around
to some of the gay
places here.
Hmm.
Truth be told, I don't take
people to the Lantern.
I mean, either you're
going there or you're not.
Something about the way
he asked,
I just couldn't say no.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
-You don't know him, do you?
-Mm?
He's always in here,
playing chess with the girl.
-Mary.
-Mary! That's right, yeah.
-She seems nice.
-I wouldn't know.
DUME: Supposing
she's his girlfriend,
then she's in for a bit
of a surprise. Right?
(LAUGHS)
-What?
-Are you all right, Lee?
Yes, I'm fine.
Well, I just asked if you
knew the boy
and I'm still
waiting on an answer.
I... Yes, I...
I mean, no.
A little.
Thank you as always
for the enlightening
conversation.
-Oh, Tom, darling.
-Yes, my dear.
Let's talk Puerto Vallarta.
-It's very nice.
-Okay.
A few of us are thinking
about going.
It's on the west coast,
there's a gorgeous climate.
-Yeah.
-Beautiful men.
(CHARACTERS SPEAKING SPANISH)
(MYSTICAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(COIN CLATTERS)
(CLICKS)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(MARIGOLD BY NIRVANA
PLAYS ON JUKEBOX)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(LEE CHUCKLES)
I presume Dume told you
about my proclivities.
Yes.
A curse... (CHUCKLES)
Been in our family
for generations.
The Lees have always
been perverts. (CHUCKLES)
I shall never forget
the unspeakable horror
that froze the lymph
in my glands,
the lymph glands that is,
of course,
when that baneful word seared
my reeling brain.
Homosexual!
(CHUCKLES)
I thought of the painted,
simpering female impersonators
I had seen
in a Baltimore night club.
Could it be that I was one
of those subhuman things?
I walked the street in a daze,
like a man
with a light concussion.
I might well
have destroyed myself,
ending an existence
which seemed to offer
nothing but grotesque misery
and humiliation.
"Nobler," I thought,
"to die a man than to live
on a sex monster." (SCOFFS)
(MARIGOLD CONTINUES PLAYING)
It was...
It was a wise old queen,
Bobo, we called her,
who taught me
that I had a duty to live
and to bear my burden proudly
for all to see,
you know, to conquer ignorance
and prejudice and hate
with knowledge,
and sincerity...
and love.
ALLERTON: Hmm.
Bobo's words
came back to me from the tomb,
the sibilants cracking gently.
(MIMICKING BOBO)
"No one is ever really alone.
"You are part of everything
that is alive."
(IN NORMAL VOICE)
The difficulty is to convince
someone else
he is really part of you.
So what the hell?
Us "parts"
ought to work together. Reet?
What I mean is, Allerton,
is...
(SIGHS)
We're all parts
of a tremendous whole.
There's no use fighting it.
The queer bars here
don't compare
to the Stateside queer joints.
-I mean, that is depressing.
-Uh, I wouldn't know.
I've never been
to any queer joints
except those Dume took me to.
I guess there's
kicks and kicks.
You haven't? Really?
No.
Never.
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
(17 DAYS (PIANO & A MICROPHONE
1983 VERSION) BY PRINCE PLAYS)
...there's a gorilla
in a cage...
After you.
...masturbating, and, um...
Should we go back to my place?
I've got some Napoleon brandy.
-All right.
-Hmm.
-Hello! (LAUGHS)
-Hola.
(IN SPANISH) Good evening.
Insurgentes, Monterrey.
Three pesos.
-Four pesos.
(IN SPANISH) You fucking
gringo, son of a bitch!
Get in the car,
fucking gringo!
Son of a bitch!
I'm sorry, I can't hear you.
Shit! (GRUNTS)
Fuck, man.
Sometimes I think
they don't like us.
Oh?
Let's walk, come on.
(BOTH LAUGH)
(17 DAYS CONTINUES PLAYING)
Welcome. Welcome.
-ALLERTON: Oh.
-Yes! Yeah. (CLEARS THROAT)
(SONG STOPS ABRUPTLY)
(KEYS CLATTERING)
(LEE EXHALES)
Well, uh, welcome. It's a...
I'll fix you a drink.
(BOTTLES CLINKING)
(SHELVES OPENING AND CLOSING)
LEE: Ta-da! (CHUCKLES)
(POURS DRINK)
(GLASSES CLINKING)
(SNIFFS)
ALLERTON: Mm.
(COUGHS)
(LAUGHS)
ALLERTON: Oh, good Lord!
Napoleon must have
pissed in this one.
Oh, I was...
I was afraid of that,
an untutored palate!
Your generation has never
learned the pleasures
that a trained palate confers
on the disciplined few.
(CHUCKLING)
(COUGHS AND LAUGHS)
It is godawful.
Still, it's better
than a California brandy.
It does have a suggestion
of a cognac taste.
(SIGHS)
Oh, yeah. (CHUCKLES)
(ALLERTON GRUNTS)
Can I... (CLEARS THROAT)
show you over the house?
This is the, uh...
bedroom. (CHUCKLES)
I'll... I'll get you
some more brandy.
-(EXHALES)
-(CHUCKLES)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(GRUNTS)
Oh, this is... (LAUGHS)
Sweet stuff, dearie.
This wasn't made in Mexico.
-No, I bought it in Scotland.
-(CHUCKLES)
-(GAGS)
-Are you...
(RETCHING)
(GROANS)
(FLUSHES TOILET)
(TURNS TAP ON)
(RINSES MOUTH)
I wonder what
the matter could be.
You didn't...
You didn't drink that much.
-Are you okay now?
-Yes, I think so.
(SIGHS WEARILY)
(GROANS)
(ALLERTON GROANS SOFTLY)
(GENTLE MUSIC PLAYING)
(BREATHES HEAVILY)
-Let's get this sweater off.
-Okay.
That rib's broken.
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(KISSES)
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
Do I smell like vomit?
No.
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(MOANING)
(MOANING IN PLEASURE)
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(GRUNTS)
(ALLERTON BREATHING HEAVILY)
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(EXHALING)
(BOTH BREATHING HEAVILY)
ALLERTON: Wait, wait, wait.
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
(CHUCKLES)
(LEE LAUGHS)
(GENTLE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(LEE BREATHING HEAVILY)
(MUSIC INTENSIFIES)
(LEE MOANING IN PLEASURE)
(GROANS AND BREATHES HEAVILY)
Fuck!
(MUSIC FADES OUT)
(ALLERTON SIGHS)
(LEE BREATHES HARD)
LEE: I know
telepathy to be a fact
since I've
experienced it myself.
What interests me is
how I can use it, you know?
In South America,
at the headwaters
of the Amazon,
grows a plant called "yage"
which is supposed to increase
telepathic sensitivity.
Medicine men use
it in their work
and a Columbian scientist,
whose, um, name escapes me,
isolated from yage
a drug he calls "telepathine".
I read all this
in a magazine article.
Later, I see
in another article
the Russians are using yage
in experiments on slave labor.
It seems they want to induce
states of automatic obedience
and ultimately,
of course, thought control.
(LAUGHS)
How about
the T-bone steak for two?
(IN SPANISH) We're closing.
Oh, they list baked Alaska.
-Ever eat it?
-No.
Real good.
It's hot on the outside
and cold inside.
That's why they call
it "baked Alaska," I imagine.
You know... (CLEARS THROAT)
I got an idea for a new dish.
You take a live pig and you
throw it into a very hot oven
so the pig is roasted outside
and when you cut into it,
it's still alive
and twitching inside.
Or, if we run
a dramatic joint,
a screaming pig
covered with burning brandy
runs out of the kitchen...
(IMITATES PIG SQUEALING)
-And dies right by the chair.
-(LAUGHS)
You just reach down,
you pull off the crispy,
crackly ears and...
eat them with your cocktails.
Well, if you insist...
(ALLERTON BRUSHES TEETH)
(LEE CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
-I want a rum and coke.
-Sure. Why not?
Let's go to the Ship Ahoy.
Come on.
Oh, yes.
(17 DAYS BY PRINCE PLAYING)
(PEOPLE LAUGHING)
MAN: I was treated, you know,
by the therapist in the Army.
JOE: What did he say?
He said I'm an Oedipus
and I love my mother.
Fuck.
Everybody loves
their mother, son.
I mean, I love her physically.
(LEE COUGHS)
I don't believe that, son.
Lee, did you hear Jim Cochran
has gone back to the States?
-Mm-hmm.
-He plans to work in Alaska.
LEE: Oh, thank God
I am a gentleman
of independent means
and do not have
to expose myself
to the inclemencies
of near-Arctic conditions.
But never mind...
I've got bigger fish to fry.
What? (LAUGHING)
"Bigger fish" is right.
Cold...
slippery...
hard to catch.
(IN SPANISH)
How about dinner?
I think I'll work tonight.
Like the Wallace
administration,
I subsidize non-production.
I will pay you 20 pesos
not to work tonight.
Need a drink?
No, not now.
Anyway, I have to go.
Um...
I'll see you tomorrow.
(CLEARS THROAT)
Yes, good night.
Eugene...
(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(SUI GHIACCIAI
BY VERDENA PLAYING)
(SONG STOPS ABRUPTLY)
(ZIPPER UNZIPS)
(DO I WORRY?
BY THE INK SPOTS PLAYING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
WOMAN: There you are.
-LEE: Oh.
-Darling!
(LAUGHS) Look at that!
(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
Oh. (EXCLAIMS)
(SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY)
JOE: Tall, handsome,
blissfully stupid...
Guys like us have to look out
for one another.
(WOMEN TALKING AND LAUGHING)
(LAUGHING)
-(MARY SHOOTS TOY GUN)
-WOMAN: Yes!
(LAUGHS)
(CONTINUES SHOOTING GUN)
-(WOMEN SCREAM)
-WOMAN: Careful!
(LEE MUMBLES)
Apologies. (CLEARS THROAT)
-You guys all right?
-(LEE CLEARS THROAT)
Yes. Yeah.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
I want to talk to you.
Without speaking.
And I wanna touch you...
like... like...
like the Russians...
Yeah.
Like the Mayans...
TOM: All right, Bill,
let's take it easy, huh?
Hey. Hey, Tom.
-TOM: Come on. Yeah.
-(LEE GIGGLES)
-You got a drink, Tom? Mm?
-Yeah.
-I could use a couple.
-A cup of water, maybe.
(THUDS)
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(SQUEAKING SOUND
INCREASES GRADUALLY)
(SQUEAKING SOUND CONTINUES)
(BABY'S CRY
ECHOING IN DISTANCE)
(TENSE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(MUSIC ENDS ABRUPTLY)
(LEE BREATHING HEAVILY)
(EERIE MUSIC PLAYING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(CHUCKLES)
Aren't you queer?
LEE: I'm not queer.
I'm disembodied.
(LAUGHS)
(EERIE MUSIC CONTINUES)
(DOGS BARKING DISTANTLY)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
How are you?
(YAWNS)
Sleepy. I just got up.
See you.
(SLOW DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
-(LAUGHING)
-(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)
I was thinking
about going down
to South America soon.
(GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
PLAYING)
Why don't you come with me?
Won't cost you a cent.
Perhaps not in money.
(SCOFFS)
I'm not a difficult man
to get along with.
We could reach some
satisfactory arrangement. Mm.
What you got to lose?
Independence.
Who's going to cut into
your independence?
ALLERTON: Mm.
You can lay all the women
in South America,
if you want to.
All I'm asking is, um...
to be nice to me, say...
twice a week?
That isn't too excessive,
is it?
Besides, I'll, um...
I'll buy you
a round-trip ticket
so you can leave
at your discretion.
(GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
CONTINUES)
I'll think it over.
This newspaper job I'm doing
runs ten days more.
So, uh, I will give you
a definite answer
when the job folds.
Your job is...
(SIGHS)
All right.
-(CHUCKLES)
-MARY: Hello.
(SMACKS LIPS) Oh!
Well, it's in the wrong place.
(BLOWS)
(EXHALES)
(LEAVE ME ALONE
BY NEW ORDER PLAYING)
(LEAVE ME ALONE
CONTINUES PLAYING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
LEE: How was your trip
to Morelia?
ALLERTON: Oh...
It was all right.
You know, I'm thinking about
buying a half interest
in this place.
-(CLEARS THROAT)
-Hmm.
You exist on
credit here, right?
Tom says you owe 400 pesos.
Maybe, if I was half owner
of the joint,
you wouldn't be
in a position to ignore me.
(ALLERTON SIGHS)
So how about this trip
to South America?
It's always nice to see places
you haven't seen before.
Can you leave anytime?
Anytime.
(RIDERS IN THE SKY
BY VAUGHN MONROE PLAYING)
LEE: Come on, come on!
(RIDERS IN THE SKY
CONTINUES PLAYING)
What did you say it was
that you are looking for
down here?
No, not here. In Ecuador.
Yage.
Never heard of that.
-You heard of H and C, right?
-Hmm.
(WHISPERS) Heroin and cocaine.
-Ah. (LAUGHS)
-(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
You can get those in the city.
-Oh. Oh, okay.
-In Canal.
Adios.
Gracias, adios.
(MUSICOLOGY BY PRINCE PLAYING)
(EXHALES)
-Oh!
-(WHISTLES)
(YELLS)
Fuck you!
(SPEAKING SPANISH)
(MUSICOLOGY CONTINUES PLAYING)
(TREMBLING)
(WIND HOWLING)
(SHIVERS)
(MUTTERING)
(CHURCH BELLS RINGING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(SOBBING)
(GROANS)
ALLERTON: It's not
that much further, all right?
Just a little bit up the road.
(SLOW DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(LEE SHIVERING)
Are you awake, Gene?
Hmm?
Yes.
LEE: Cold? You cold?
No.
Can I... Can I come over...
over there with you?
All right.
(LEE GRUNTING)
You're twitching all over.
Yeah. (SHUDDERS)
Christ almighty,
your hands are cold!
(BREATH TREMBLING)
(SLOW DRAMATIC MUSIC
CONTINUES)
(LEE GRUNTS SOFTLY)
LEE: Love is...
(ALLERTON BREATHING DEEPLY)
(LEE MURMURING)
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(GRUNTS)
Fucking stairs!
ALLERTON: Stairs are fine,
Lee. They're fine.
-DOCTOR: Take a seat.
-Thank you.
Just over here.
(GROANS) Oh, God...
Dysentery?
LEE: Mm-hmm.
Can you describe me
your symptoms?
Uh...
Bloody diarrhea,
cramps, and, um, vomiting...
ALLERTON: High temperature.
LEE: Yeah, right,
high temperature.
Please.
LEE: Yeah, the, the...
(CLEARS THROAT)
The prescription
that works best is...
(CLEARS THROAT)
Paregoric with bismuth.
(CHUCKLES)
Tell the truth now.
Um, are you addicted
to opiates?
(LEE SIGHS)
Better you tell me
or I cannot help you.
(SIGHING)
Yes.
Uh-huh.
And how long
has this addiction lasted?
Oh, just too long,
sir, too long.
Um...
It's why I left the States.
Um, my condition makes me
a criminal there.
You must stop this habit.
Better you should suffer now
than lose your life.
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
I want to stop.
It's just... (SIGHS)
I... I need to get some sleep.
I'm going to the coast
tomorrow, to Manta, so I...
You must stop this habit.
I know.
Here.
(CHUCKLES)
Thank you.
LEE: Three CCs?
What the fuck am I supposed
to do with three CCs?
ALLERTON:
Maybe we'll convince them
to give you something else
at the pharmacy.
LEE: Yes, those ladies are
so nice, they'll understand...
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
PLAYING)
-(GROANS)
-(SPITS)
(COUGHS)
(BIRDS SQUAWKING)
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
(GROANS SOFTLY)
(GRUNTS)
(GROANS)
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
(GENTLE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
CONTINUES)
LEE: Should we grab a drink?
ALLERTON: Um... No, I'd rather
stay here and take pictures.
(ALLERTON SNORING SOFTLY)
(GROANS)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(SERENE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
PLAYING)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(LEE BREATHING HEAVILY)
What's the matter?
I thought you were going
to run your hand down my ribs.
I wouldn't do that.
You think I'm queer
or something?
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
Frankly, yes.
(BOTH LAUGH)
LEE: Scooch over.
(SERENE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
CONTINUES)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(KISSES)
(BOTH MOANING IN PLEASURE)
(KISSING)
(BOTH MOANING)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(BOTH MOANING)
(BOTH BREATHING HEAVILY)
(CHUCKLES SOFTLY)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
(BOTH CHUCKLE)
Do you...
Do you mind it?
Not terribly.
But you do...
enjoy it sometimes?
Hmm?
The whole deal, I mean.
Oh, yes.
Oh, yes.
(SERENE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC
CONTINUES)
(OBJECTS CLATTERING)
(LEE CHUCKLING)
LEE: Christ! Fuck!
I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
I shouldn't have tried so soon
after last time.
(CLEARS THROAT)
It was a breach of contract.
I don't like people
who apologize at breakfast.
Really?
Hmm?
Aren't you taking
unfair advantage?
Hmm? Like someone was, um...
Like someone was junk sick
and...
I don't use junk,
and I say, "Sick? Really?
"Why do you tell me about
your disgusting condition?
"You might at least have
the decency
"to keep it to yourself.
"You must realize
how distasteful it is
"to see you... you sneezing,
and coughing, and retching.
"Why don't you take it
someplace else
"so I don't have to
look at it? You know?
"I mean, have you any idea
how tiresome you are,
"or how repulsive?
"I mean, have you no pride?"
That is not fair at all.
Well, it isn't
supposed to be fair.
It's just a routine
for your amusement,
containing a modicum of truth.
Can you hurry up
and finish your breakfast
so you don't miss
the Salinas bus?
You're not coming?
No. I'm going to Quito,
remember?
Oh... Oh, right.
DR. HERNANDEZ: Yage?
And why would you say
you were interested
in this plant, Mister...
Lee. I... I read about it
in a magazine.
It said that Yage increases
telepathic sensitivity and...
You know,
the Russians are using it
in thought control
experiments and...
And yeah,
probably by the CIA as well.
-Are you with the CIA?
-(CHUCKLING) No.
And then why
would you be interested
in thought control
experiments?
I'm not. I'm not.
I'm interested in telepathy.
-Telepathy? Why?
-Hmm.
Oh, I...
(SIGHS)
I suspected that it was
only a matter of time
before North Americans
like yourself
would start coming to Ecuador
seeking out Yage.
Well, yeah, yes...
You think it can fix things
for you.
It is not a drug in the sense
you understand it.
It is not recreational
like cocaine or heroin.
LEE: There is nothing
recreational about heroin.
My point is that Yage does not
provide a pleasant "trip."
It is not something
to be done casually,
without the proper
supervision.
Well, can you provide me
with that supervision?
Do I look like an Indian
in the jungle?
(LAUGHS) No, but...
I'm sorry. I can't help you.
How much would I have
to pay you for a map?
I think you misunderstand
the nature of the telepathy
that can be achieved
with Yage.
LEE: Communication
without speaking,
on the level
of intuition, it's...
Who is it that you're trying
so desperately
to communicate with?
Your wife?
No.
DR. HERNANDEZ:
There is an American botanist
living a few hours outside
of Puyo, deep in the jungle.
Her name is Cotter.
She's mad like you,
trying to develop
some medicine.
Perhaps if you pay her
a visit, she can help you.
I warn you, though.
Yage is not a portal
to some other place.
It is a mirror.
And when you look into it,
you may not like what you see.
By the time you realize
you are not ready,
it may be too late.
Come, I'll draw you the map.
(PSYCHEDELIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(GRUNTING)
Careful, careful!
(PANTING)
(GRUNTING, PANTING)
Hello?
(PANTING)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
Hello?
(HISSING)
You hear that?
(BIRD CHIRPING)
Hello?
(HISSING)
(CLEARS THROAT)
(KNOCKING ON DOOR)
(HISSING CONTINUES)
Hello?
-(HISSES)
-(BOTH SCREAM)
(SCREAMING)
Help! Help!
-(HISSES)
-For the love of God, help us!
Announce yourselves,
or prepare to suffer
a fate worse
than whatever
that viper was gonna give you.
Right, I'm...
-Right there is fine.
-(GUN COCKING)
My name is, uh, William Lee.
This is, uh, um...
Get up! Get up.
Eugene Allerton.
We've come a long way
to talk to you.
Doctor Cotter...
I presume.
Mmm.
Mmm.
(CHUCKLES)
My apologies about the viper.
Oh, please, it was just...
No, no...
It is there for security,
of course.
Security? Why...
Why would you...
(CLEARS THROAT)
From prowlers.
Oh.
Coming after my research.
LEE: Hmm.
Why did you say
you boys came out here?
(INHALES DEEPLY, CHUCKLES)
Oh, we wanted to ask you
about the, um...
The... The vegetation
in the area, um...
-The... (WHEEZES)
-(LEE CHUCKLES)
The vegetation?
(ALL LAUGHING)
I would be the right person
to ask about that.
(LAUGHS)
(DR. COTTER SIGHS)
Uh-huh, yeah...
Those are all gifts
from the Shuar people.
LEE: Mmm.
My "tribe," so to speak.
LEE: Can I... Can I ask you
about the bowls?
DR. COTTER: Yeah.
They're for
a healing ceremony.
-LEE: Right. Mmm-hmm.
-Yeah.
(LEE CLEARS THROAT)
Involving a brew
that's made from one
of the plants in the area.
Yage.
Maybe...
Maybe out here, it's, um,
it's called, um,
Ayahuasca?
I hear the... (CHUCKLES)
The Russians and the Americans
are using it
for different experiments.
The truth is...
That's why we came out here.
I want to explore
the properties of this drug.
I'd be willing to take some.
As an experiment, you know?
We both would.
Yage...
is connected to brujeria.
Right.
-Witchcraft.
-Uh-huh.
(CHUCKLES)
To get some,
you'd have to develop
a relationship
with the local brujo.
-Yeah?
-Right. (CLEARS THROAT)
It'd take years...
to gain his confidence.
Do you have that confidence?
(CHUCKLES)
(BOTH LAUGHING)
Come here! Come here.
(CONTINUES LAUGHING)
I've been out here
-a long time.
-Oh.
(BOTH CONTINUE LAUGHING)
LEE: Yeah...
I think the boys
must be tired, no?
Yeah.
I expect they are!
Thank you again
for the supplies.
Oh, that's just... It's a...
(CHUCKLES)
Come on!
Yeah, come on, let me show you
where you'll sleep.
Okay.
-Thank you.
-Good night.
(VOICES FADE)
(MUMBLES INCOHERENTLY)
Mmm!
Your friend's already up
having coffee with hubby.
Here!
-Why don't you take this...
-(YELPS)
...and explore the area today?
Try and kill us something
we can eat tonight.
Huh?
(GRUNTING SOFTLY)
(GROANS)
I'm all right. Ah.
(GRUNTING SOFTLY)
Cotter says... (EXHALES)
Cotter says the Indians
have cleared
most of the game
out of the area.
They all have shotguns
from the money they made
-working for Annexia.
-Shh!
(ANIMAL GRUNTING)
(WHISPERS) What's that?
(GUN COCKS)
I'm gonna go try and shoot it.
(DISTANT RUSTLING)
-ALLERTON: What is it?
-What?
-What is it?
-How should I know?
It's alive, isn't it?
(DISTANT RUSTLING)
-No! Oh, shit!
-(GUNSHOT)
-(KNIFE THUDS)
-Gene! Gene!
Tell the truth now.
You boys really here
for the Yage?
I mean, I appreciate
the supplies you brought,
but if I find you trying
to run off with my research,
I'll kill you,
-and dump you in the jungle.
-(CHUCKLES)
No one will miss you out here.
(CHUCKLES)
Doc...
Doc, I... Ouch!
(CLEARS THROAT)
With, with... (SIGHS)
With all due respect,
I couldn't give two shits
about your research.
I've already forgotten
everything
you told me about it.
You know it doesn't
get you high, right?
Not like you're used to.
I'm a medical doctor.
I can spot a junkie
from a mile away.
I'm not interested
in getting high.
DR. COTTER: Mmm.
What are you interested in?
Telepathy.
HUSBAND: He likes you.
ALLERTON: Yeah?
-Usually, he bites.
-HUSBAND: Hmm.
Hmm.
(DR. COTTER SIGHS)
I'll help you.
You know where I can find it?
(WHEEZES)
It's everywhere!
You tripped over it
in the jungle this afternoon.
Yeah.
Banisteriopsis caapi.
The Indians call it...
Yage.
(EXHALES)
(SNIFFS)
(EXHALES)
(INHALES, EXHALES)
(ETHEREAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(DR. COTTER CHANTING IN SHUAR)
(INHALES)
(DR. COTTER
CONTINUES CHANTING)
(ALLERTON CHUCKLES)
(CHUCKLES)
(ALLERTON SIGHS)
LEE: Mmm.
You feel anything?
No. (SIGHS)
-You?
-No. (CHUCKLES)
(SIGHS)
I think we just drank a bunch
of leaves and twigs
-from the ground.
-(LAUGHS)
(GRUNTS SOFTLY)
(MUFFLED RETCHING)
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
(MUFFLED RETCHING)
(THUMPING)
(LEE GROANS)
DR. COTTER: There they are.
Come on over, boys!
There you go. I've got you.
LEE: Mmm.
-Easy.
-(LEE GRUNTS)
(INSECTS CHIRPING)
(DARK MUSIC PLAYING)
ALLERTON: I'm not queer.
Lee...
I'm not queer.
LEE: I know.
ALLERTON: I'm disembodied.
(CRACKLING)
(INAUDIBLE)
(INTENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
(HEART BEATING)
(INSECTS TRILLING)
Gene...
Gene...
Go to sleep.
(PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING)
You boys should stay
a couple more days.
For most people,
the first time's
just an introduction,
the opening of a door.
But for you two...
it was something else.
It'd be a shame not to see
where it might take you.
I need to be getting back.
What are you so afraid of?
Hmm?
Door's already open.
Can't close it now.
All you can do is look away.
But why would you?
(SOFTLY) You should have
seen yourself last night.
Yeah.
(MUG CLATTERS SOFTLY)
(SNIFFLES)
(BIRD SCREECHING)
(GRUNTS)
(SCREECHING)
(HISSES)
(UPBEAT SONG PLAYING)
(GRUNTS)
(SONG STOPS ABRUPTLY)
Lee?
Hi, Joe.
Anybody else
you'd like to ask me about?
Mmm-mmm.
No one?
-A kid named Allerton, maybe?
-(GRUNTS)
It's why you came back,
isn't it?
-I was getting around to it.
-Hmm.
He went down to South America
or some place.
With an army colonel.
How long ago?
About six months.
Allerton went along as guide.
They were going
to sell the car in Guatemala.
A '48 Cadillac.
I felt there was something
not quite right
about the deal,
but Allerton never said
anything definite.
-You know how he is.
-Hmm.
No one's heard from him
since he left.
He said something
about joining you down there.
He never said anything to you
about it?
(CHUCKLES)
When did you get this?
Oh, you know... You know...
You know what happened
to my camera, right?
-Stolen.
-Stolen by this
Colombian kid I was getting
acquainted with. (SCOFFS)
Took a bunch of my socks too,
the little bastard!
So what's the story?
You making it with anyone
these days?
(SIGHS)
Chimu's still here.
Why don't we go
check out the local nightlife?
-Please...
-Yes, I'm not really
-feeling up for it either.
-(CHUCKLES)
Green Lantern?
(CHUCKLING)
Those guys are still here?
All of them,
if you can believe it.
-All except Dume.
-Mmm.
He's, uh... He's gone.
-He died?
-Mmm.
No, he had to go
back to Virginia
to take care of his mother.
-Oh. (CHUCKLES)
-(SIGHS DEEPLY)
It's funny thinking of him
having a mother.
Yes. Well,
he doesn't anymore. She died.
Right...
You look good, Lee.
-I do?
-No.
But it's good to see you.
-Yeah.
-Hmm.
You too.
Yeah.
(INAUDIBLE)
(UPBEAT INSTRUMENTAL
ROCK SONG PLAYING)
(SNIFFLES)
(WHISPERING INDISTINCTLY)
(OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
(BREATHING DEEPLY)
(SIGHS)
(KEYS JANGLE)
(ETHEREAL MUSIC PLAYING)
(GUN COCKS)
(GUN CLATTERS)
(LEE BREATHING HEAVILY)
(WINDOW CLATTERS)
ALLERTON: Lee...
(ETHEREAL MUSIC CONTINUES)
(FAINT CLICKING)
( VASTER THAN EMPIRES
BY TRENT REZNOR PLAYING)
(FAINT WHOOSHING)