All language subtitles for Snow.Falling.On.Cedars.1999.BluRay

Move it up.

- Is this right?
- Yes.

- We're not supposed to take these.
- Don't worry about it.

- Just get the net in.
- I don't think you're...

Jesus.

We're not pulling at the same time.

What? Jesus!

Did any more of you guys see Carl
at Ship Channel Bank last night?

- Why do you want to know?
- To see if somebody talked to him.

Fish went sour when the fog rolled in.
I got out of there.

We got Ferry, Hardwell,
Moulton, Miyamoto.

- Anybody else?
- Japs.

I figured you'd have heard by now.

All right...

- ...if you see any of these guys--
- Art's starting to sound like a real sheriff.

- Do think this was just an accident?
- Of course it is, but a man's dead, William.

I've gotta write my report.
God, I hate this.

Chambers, tell me...

...I'm not gonna get your newspaper and
see an article about an investigation, am I?

- You want me to lie?
- No, I want to be off the record.

That's what I want.

I mean, if there is a killer,
why would you want him all alerted?

- So there's a murder investigation?
- I didn't say that.

Hatsue? You all right?

Go away, lshmael.

- Look, I just wanted to tell you--
- Go away.

There you go, Miyamoto.

Just a minute.

Morning, Kazuo.

I've come to get you out of here.

Good morning, sir.

Counselor.

Sorry I'm late.

That's all right.

Looks like we have a good turnout.

How about that jury?
What a bunch of yokels.

Have you seen this lsland Review rag?

Guy writes like this trial is
the biggest thing ever happened.

- Why is this news in Seattle?
- Because he's a Jap. Simple as that.

Take a look at that.

Would you tell us, please, Sheriff...

...what was your first impression...

...as you and your deputy inspected
the Susan Marie that September morning?

Mainly...

...how quiet it was out there...

...thingsjust didn't add up.

- "Add up?" What do you mean?
- Fishermen drown. It happens.

But Carl Heine...

I got to thinking, he was so meticulous.

He did everything right by the darn book.

Every single light is on and his net's out.

- I got a bad feeling about this.
- Don't say that, Abel.

Don't even think like that. Jesus.

There's nothing in the hold...

...apart from fish.

You wanna pull up the net?

So looking at the evidence there
you determined this was no accident.

I didn't determine
much of anything at first.

I just kept wondering what
I was gonna say to his family.

After all, I knew the guy.

I knew his wife and children and...

- Hey, men.
- Hi.

- Is your mother home?
- She's inside.

Go on and play now.

She's right in there.

Susan Marie?

Come in! I'll be right down!

What can I do for you?

- Carl's not home yet.
- That's what I...

That's why I'm here.

I'm afraid I've got
some very bad news to tell you.

The worst kind of news.

Carl died last night
out at Ship Channel Bank.

Carl's just fine.

I found him, Susan Marie.

I found him tangled in his net.

I knew this would happen.

I warned him.

You said there was no sign of a struggle.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

As I said, with a fella as particular as Carl...

...there were a few things
that struck me as odd.

You mentioned the coffee cup on the floor.

Was there anything else out of place?

There was a dead battery
just lying around and...

...the cover to the battery well
didn't fit right.

A battery cover that didn't fit.

What did you make of that?

Objection. Asking the witness
to speculate.

Was I supposed to object every time
you did that?

That's quite enough horseplay.
Try and act your age.

If I did that, Your Honor, I'd be dead.

- Proceed, gentlemen.
- There's an objection, Your Honor.

And it's overruled.

You may answer the question.

I looked under the lid and one
of the batteries was bigger than the other.

Didn't that also strike you as odd...

...that he would have a battery that
didn't fit, a man as particular as Carl?

Yeah, I wondered.

But he'd done some
on-the-spot work, you see.

And the flange was kind of...

...banged away to make room
for the one that was too big.

Would this "too big" battery have fit, say...

...in Kazuo Miyamoto's battery well?

It was the exact same type as Miyamoto's,
that's for sure, but...

...he had both of his batteries in
when we searched his boat later on, so...

Ifyou fall off a motorcycle,
the injuries look different.

In this case, the injury had been inflicted
by a long, narrow, flat object.

- Like a fishing gaff, for example?
- That's very possible.

You say it was a laceration about
two and a half inches long...

...over the left ear.

The bone under it
fractured over a four-inch area.

What would've caused that?

I'll tell you what a head wound like this
puts me in mind of.

I've seen wounds exactly like this...

...many times in the war.

Have you seen this specific kind
of wound before?

Frequently, as a result
of hand-to-hand combat with Jap soldiers.

I even told Art:

"You wanna play Sherlock Holmes,
look for a Jap with a bloody gun butt."

What led you to that conclusion?

I've seen these kendo wounds many times,
exactly like this one.

Could you tell us what kendo is?

Kendo is Japanese stick fighting.

They train as kids, you know,
to kill with sticks.

No further questions. Thank you.

Your report states
it was death by drowning...

...not a kendo wound.

How did you determine this?

As I've already testified,
I found foam in the deceased's lungs.

This foam.

I'm not sure I understand about this.

What would cause that again?

It occurs when water,
mucus and air are mixed by respiration.

Breathing, that is. I believe I said that.

But you can see why I'm confused.

Because a drowned person
doesn't breathe, so--

Of course not. The foam means
that he went in breathing.

That's why the autopsy report shows
drowning as the cause of death.

Meaning that he wasn't murdered first,
on the deck, then thrown overboard.

- Well, you can always--
- Thank you. That's important, that's good.

There's something else
I'd like to ask you about.

Something in your report.

Go ahead, ask.

About the wound to the deceased's head.

You say here...

...that it was made
by a long, narrow, flat object.

Is that what you saw,
or it is just your inference?

It's my job to infer.
That's what coroners do, we infer.

That's my area of expertise, inference.

Of course it is.

Can you infer, then...

...whether an object was propelled
against the head of the deceased...

...or if his head moved against an object...

...or would both look the same?

The same.

If the head struck something narrow
and flat like the gunnel of the boat...

...or net roller, a fairlead, could that have--

If the head were moving fast enough,
but I don't see how it could be.

- Nonetheless, it is possible?
- Anything's possible.

Is it fair to say that you don't know
for certain which it was?

Didn't I just say--

I already said that.

But you are certain
that he died by drowning?

For the third time, yes.

- Can I say something here?
- No. You've been more than helpful.

- No further questions.
- The witness may stand down.

We'll take our lunch recess now.
Reconvene at 1:30 sharp.

How are the kids?

They made a snowman
to welcome you home.

Wow, that's great.

Just a few more days.

You look beautiful.

I'm not going until you smile.

I think it's dangerous with this jury.

I'm sorry I kissed you on the beach.

Let's just forget about it.

Forget it happened.

Don't be sorry. I'm not.

Me neither.

Do you think this is wrong?

Your friends would.

Your dad would kill me.

My mom is the problem.

Stay away from white boys.

Marry one of your own kind
whose heart is strong and gentle.

The hairpin should be better placed
for a girl to find the right husband.

She teaches me to be Japanese.

What does that mean?

Dances, calligraphy, how to do my hair...

...how to sit without moving.

What's the point of that?

It's a part of grace.

You boys don't understand.

Try me.

She doesn't let me get away with anything.

It's the same for me.

Except it's my dad.

Know what would happen to an operator
who got his sleeve caught in the press?

Do you?

He'd be popped open like a balloon,
splattered all over the walls.

Even his bones would disappear...

...to be discovered later on the floor
like strips of white confetti.

We'll make a newspaperman
out of you yet.

James!

Ever wonder why the Strawberry Princess
is always a Japanese girl?

- Not really.
- Your father will explain it to you anyway.

It's sort of an unwitting virgin sacrifice.

A concept of racial harmony, you know...

...and for a while it seems to work.

- That's the Fajita girl, isn't it?
- No, that's Hatsue lmada.

Yes, she's lovely.

Mrs. Heine...

...you were...

...acquainted with the defendant
and his family, were you not?

Him and his folks worked our land.

They lived in one of our cabins at first.

So, the defendant knew the deceased,
your son, even then?

They fished together.

They went to school.

My boy Carl treated him
like a white person...

...just like any friend.

So tell us, Mrs. Heine,
where did things go wrong?

My husband went and sold...

...his father seven acres of our land.

That fence to that fence
and then down to the road.

- That's seven acres, yes?
- No.

Where, to the edge of the mountain?

All right. You drive a hard bargain.

And that's where all this trouble started.

But how can this be?

Since we all know...

...that it is against the law
for Japanese-born to own land?

Even leasing is illegal.

So what was the point
of this payment plan?

Their kids were born here.
So, when the oldest...

...that one there...

...was 20 and the last payment got made...

...he could own it.

But they missed their last two payments...

...so that was that.

They missed their last two payments...

...after years of not missing one?

It was the war. They were gone.

They were sent off to the camps
with all the other Japs.

We must leave everything.
If you like, work our fields.

Sell berries, keep money.

Otherwise they will rot.

- Today I have half money for next payment.
- Absolutely not.

I'm not going to take your savings.

You take the money.

$125. I will send more
from where I'm going.

If it's not enough, sell my seven acres
and keep the money.

I thought you were giving us those.

Didn't you come in here giving them away?
Now you want to make up the other half...

...in berries you expect us
to tend and pick?

Is that what you come here hoping for?

You want more coffee?

No, thank you.

- Take the money.
- Etta has been rude to you.

For that, I apologize.

Keep this money.

Those payments will work out...

The arrangement was,
those payments would be made...

...somewhere down the road.

The road ended
when my husband passed away.

I couldn't run the farm by myself...

...so I...

...sold all 30 acres to Ole Jurgensen.

And for a fair price this time.

And I sent back their equity...

...to those Japs down to that camp...

...in California, which I didn't have to do.

So they got all their money back?

That was that.

Did you hear from
the defendant's family again?

Yes, I heard from them.
I heard from that one there.

That one sitting there
just showed up at my door.

Carl's overseas. He's fighting the Japs.

- What is it you want?
- I came to get our land back.

It isn't yours.

- It's Ole Jurgensen's now. Talk to him.
- I just did.

He didn't know it was ours.
You didn't tell him it was promised--

I'm supposed to tell him there's
an illegal contract muddling things up?

You people didn't make your payments.

In America, the bank comes in
and repossesses your land.

- I didn't do anything wrong.
- Nothing illegal.

Wrong is a different matter.

Get out!

You took advantage of the fact
that we were gone!

You sold the land from under us
while I was fighting the Nazis!

Your witness.

Just three questions.

The Miyamoto family
bought your seven acres...

...for $4,500?

They tried to.
They defaulted on their payments.

Second question:

What did Ole Jurgensen pay you per acre?

$1,000.

I guess...

...that makes what would have been
$4,500 into $7,000, doesn't it?

So if you sent the equity back...

...you had a profit of $2,500?

Is that your third question?

It is.

You've done your math right.

You too, Mrs. Heine.

No further questions.

You may step down.

Before we adjourn for the day,
there's one more thing.

This court takes judicial notice of the fact...

...that tomorrow is the ninth anniversary
of the attack on Pearl Harbor...

...which has no relationship
whatsoever to this trial.

Which is why I mention it.

9:30 tomorrow morning.

Stay warm.

They plowed clear out to the point.
What's the big attraction?

I'm checking lighthouse records to see
if it's the biggest snowstorm in history.

Where were you in '29?

That was a snowstorm.

- Real blizzard.
- Is that right?

If you don't believe me,
check those Coast Guard records.

There should be a story in it.

Scribble, scribble, while the rest
of us have to work for a living.

Always a pleasure.

Everything's dated.
We do things by dates, mainly.

Radio transmissions, shipping logs,
weather reports. The whole nine yards.

Those stacks go clear back to Noah.

Not that anyone ever pays them any mind.

You monitor all radio activity?
Fishermen...

- ...that sort of thing?
- Pretty much.

Anything significant anyway.
Some of these guys never shut up.

Well, just yell if you need me.

Left is as good as right.

Your move.

"Correcting course via Ship Channel Bank.

"S.S. West Corona...

"...pilot relays position
somewhere off south buoy 56.

"At 1:48 a.m., S.S. West Corona made
a corrective dogleg to the northwest.

"Ship's navigator took
three insurance readings. "

Hey, Levant?

Here's the shipping channel.

Any freighter off course
can dogleg back through here.

- That happens if we're really socked in.
- Don't the gillnetters work off this bank?

Not even they're crazy enough
to hang around in a bad fog. They get out.

What's this got to do
with your snowstorm story?

Nothing. Just curious, that's all.

That doesn't make him guilty.

- This island ought to be ashamed.
- It's not as simple as that.

I followed every second of it.
The evidence sounds very solid.

This prosecutor has his facts all lined up.

You haven't heard the defense case yet.

You sound as if you're ready to hang him.

Besides...

...you can't depend on facts...

- ...not by themselves.
- What else is there?

Emotions?

Facts you can cling to.
Emotions just float away.

Then let them.

I love you.

You smell like cedar.

So do you.

I can hear your heart beating.

"Dear lshmael...

"...I can't think of anything more painful...

"...than writing this letter to you.

"I feel I have to tell you the truth. "

I know it's late. I went by the lighthouse
and I found a report that stated that...

Just came across some information.
It may be relevant to Kazuo's case.

...a giant freighter passed through
at the exact time that Carl died.

I think it's something
that should have been discussed.

I love you.

Not just Hawaii.

They're attacking all over the Pacific.
The whole fleet's destroyed.

The FBl's in Seattle arresting Jap traitors.
Spies and everything.

The defense commissioner
reckons anything can happen.

There'll be a blackout.

These people are our neighbors.

Make sure you paper up your windows...

...so the Japs won't find us.

They've sent their sons into the U.S. army.

They're no more an enemy than...

...our fellow islanders of German
or ltalian descent.

You get the message?

Mr. Lamberson?

We get the message.

Let us live that when it is over we can
look each other in the eye and know...

...that we have acted honorably.

Set that for me, would you?

"Let us live...

"...that when it is over...

"...we can look each other...

"...in the eye...

"...and know...

"...that we...

"...have acted...

"...honorably."

The FBI has arrested Mr. Shirasaki...

...and his family can't leave their house.

Everything will be all right.

I promise.

We are loyal.

- It's for our defense.
- Everyone on the island has these things.

They'll hold onto this stuff for a while
then ship it back to you.

Nothing to worry about.

You folks have been real polite.

We'll be out of here in just a second.

That's very nice.

From the old country, it appears.

Very high class.

These are...

...real nice things.

They'll take special care of...

...any old-country stuff we have to take.

Strawberry Princess?

You must've been flattered by that.

Crawford, guess what was in the shed?

Dynamite.

Twenty-four sticks.

That's for tree stumps...

...for clearing land.

Maybe, but this is still bad, you see.

It's illegal contraband.
You're supposed to turn that in.

We've gotta arrest you
and bring you to Seattle.

We don't need those. Mr. lmada-san
is a class act, a real gentleman.

You can't do this.
He's done nothing wrong!

Best for an honest man
to clear his name for good.

Excuse me, would you mind?

Journalism is the facts.

Which facts? You can't print them all.
Journalism is making choices.

Culling out what's unimportant.

You know what happens to Jap lovers?

Jap lovers get their balls cut off
and shoved down their throats.

Better watch your step.

- It's unbelievable to me.
- I don't know, Mom.

The PTA honors 23 women. Dad singles
out three names and they're all Japanese.

That's not journalism. It's propaganda.

- This is dangerous, Arthur.
- It'll blow over.

Did you see the letters?

"Seems like you're favoring the Japs, Art.

"Your newspaper's an insult
to all white Americans.

- "Please cancel my subscription."
- What are you gonna do?

Send him a refund.

What happened to the Petersen ad
I put together?

They pulled out.

So did the gas station...

...and Larson, and the cafe.

What now?

Print four pages instead of eight.

"Please tell Sumiko to help her mother
with the garden work.

"We are digging trenches
for a water system.

"I am folding and ironing clothing
in the laundry."

The hajukin,
they are no better than animals!

Not all of them.

How would you know?

- I live here among them. So do you!
- You speak with great assurance.

The words fly from your mouth.

I don't care what you say.

Do you hear me?
I don't want to be Japanese!

Marry me, Hatsue.

Please say yes.

We'll leave here.

Are you crazy?

I want you to marry me.

So, Dr. Whitman, sir, you found...

...the blood on the gaff...

...was not fish blood at all.

It was human, yes?

- Type B positive.
- Carl Heine's type.

Yes, but you can't say with any certainty
that the blood was his.

No, but as I say the...

...type is rare.

Ten percent of Caucasian males.
Whereas the...

- ...defendant is type O.
- Yes, sir, you told us.

No one is contesting that.
But you also told us that...

...you scraped the dry blood
from the handle of the gaff.

An object was propelled against...

...found on Carl Heine's boat...

But, the strange thing is...

You asked me to explain it--

The State calls Mrs. Susan Marie Heine.

Can you think back for me
to the morning of September 8?

The morning after your husband...

...purchased the Jurgensen farm.

One week before his death.

Did the defendant come calling that day
to speak to your husband?

It's no big deal.

It's a long story.

He wants to buy seven of Ole's acres.

The ones his family had.

You know that thing
my mother talks about?

Had a feeling it was that.
What did you tell him?

What could I tell him?
There's my mother to think about.

I said I'd...

...think it over, and have a talk with you.

He go away angry?

- I couldn't tell. You can't read Japs.
- Don't say that.

You don't mean that. You fished together.

You and he were friends.

We were kids then.

So your husband said he'd think it over.

He encouraged Mr. Miyamoto...

...to believe he might--

Well, I wouldn't say encouraged.

But he didn't say no, did he?

He didn't say no hope existed.

Not in those words.

So, the defendant was encouraged to hope.

How could anyone know what he hopes for
or anything else he's thinking?

But, Mrs. Heine...

...you really think that's fair?

- Objection. That's totally irrelevant.
- There's nothing more relevant!

You know that as well as anybody.

Gentlemen, please!

Back to your corners.

Mrs. Heine, I'm very sorry
for this little interruption.

No further questions.

Thank you, Mrs. Heine.
You may step down.

The State rests, Your Honor.

Very well. Mr. Gudmundsson...

...the defense may call its first witness.

The defense calls Mrs. Hatsue Miyamoto.

My husband came home excited.

He woke me with the news.

He told me he helped Carl at sea...

...and Carl had agreed to sell us the land.

We started making plans right away.

When did you first learn
that Carl Heine had drowned?

1:00 that afternoon...

...from a clerk at Petersen's.

- What is it?
- Carl Heine's dead.

It's all over the island.

- What do you mean?
- He drowned. They found him in his net.

- Poor Susan Marie and those kids.
- I can't believe it.

Gotta get to the boat, replace that battery.

- What are you talking about?
- I was on his boat last night, remember?

But you were helping him. Tell the sheriff.

Are you kidding?

You think they're gonna believe me?

It's the truth, isn't it?

That's right. Let'sjust leave it at that.

Your husband came home agitated
after being at sea with the deceased?

I said "excited"...

...not "agitated."

He was excited in the sense
of being overjoyed.

You were...

...overjoyed yourself to hear the news?

Happy for him, and relieved.

So then you and your husband,
you must've called...

...friends and relatives to tell them
the happy news, yes?

No.

Really?

You didn't call your family
about starting a new life?

Your husband never tells his family
the family honor's been vindicated?

We decided not to tell anyone...

...until we signed papers
in case something went wrong.

Then something did.

Carl Heine was found dead...

...with his head crushed.

And then, what was there to call about?

Everything was up in the air.

"Up in the air."

Was that your reaction?

So, apart from your concern...

...about a land deal evaporating,
what was your reaction...

...to the news that a husband...

...and father to small children was dead
with his skull bashed in?

If you mean to imply
that we didn't care about Carl's death...

...that is wrong and insulting.

I see.

Did it occur to you to come forward...

...and tell Sheriff Moran
about the encounter in the fog?

The dead battery, was it?

We discussed that...

...and decided not to.

Why not?

Because things looked bad.

Very bad!

Kazuo and I knew that.

We thought he could end up here
on trial for murder.

And that's exactly what has happened.

But if truth was on your side,
whatever were you worried about?

Trials...

...aren't only about truth...

- ...even though they should be.
- You hid the truth...

...deliberately. You lied, didn't you?

Coming forward seemed like a mistake.

Doesn't it seem to you
that your mistake was in being deceitful...

...and deliberately concealing information
during a sheriff's investigation?

It seems human to me.

I suppose you mean
that this somehow excuses your lies?

I don't know.

I don't understand.

I'm completely at a loss.

How on earth can you expect
any of us to believe you now?

- Question withdrawn, Your Honor.
- Wait a minute!

- I haven't had a chance.
- No further questions.

That's enough, Mrs. Miyamoto.

Not another word.

The fact that you wish to give
Mr. Hooks a piece of your mind...

...that just isn't allowed.

Very well.

Mr. Gudmundsson, will you redirect--

Under the circumstances,
we will adjourn early.

9:30 tomorrow.

This is a very fine car.

Much better than the new ones.

Well, it was my father's.

He was a good man.

I know it's caused you trouble,
but the snow's beautiful, isn't it?

Yes, very beautiful.

This trial is unfair.

Your father would have written
about that in his paper.

What would he have said?

How this trial is wrong!

The whole thing is unfair!

Sometimes I think unfairness is...

...a part of things.

I'm not talking about the whole universe.
I'm talking about people.

The coroner, that prosecutor.

You could do something to help.

Is that what you think?

Maybe I should write an article.

About unfairness.

About all the unfair things
people do to each other.

Excuse me, Mrs. Chambers.

The Japanese people of the island
are saddened by this loss.

Your husband was a man of great
fairness and compassion for others.

A friend to us and to all people.

We know you will follow
in his footsteps, lshmael...

...and honor his legacy.

Thank you.

You should stay the night.

- Don't drive back through this.
- I've got an early start.

This room is full of ghosts, isn't it?

I hate to see you this way.

I don't know what you mean.

She's married, lshmael.

Look, it's awfully cold in here.
Let's talk in the kitchen.

I don't wanna talk about anything.

- You're just like your father.
- I'm not just like my father!

I know everyone wishes I was.
When they look at me...

...I can hear them thinking,
"He's only half the man his father was."

I was only going to say
he never minded the cold.

It's not such a terrible thing...

...being your father's son.

Pardon us, Your Majesty.

Who's your lover boy?

Give it back!

Does this explain your eagerness
to walk in the woods every day?

Does it?

Answer me!

"Dear lshmael...

"...I can't think of anything more painful...

"...than writing this letter to you.

"I feel I have to tell you the truth.

"When we met the last time
in the cedar tree...

"...and I felt your body
move against mine...

"...and I felt your body
move against mine...

"...I knew with certainty...

"...that everything was wrong.

"I knew we could never be right together...

"...and that soon
I would have to tell you so.

"And now...

"...with this letter...

"...I am telling you.

"This is the last time I'll write to you.

"I'm not yours anymore.

"I don't love you, lshmael.

"I can think of
no more honest way to say it.

"When I heard your heart beating...

"...as we lay together...

"...I felt closer to you
than I had ever been to anyone.

"And I knew...

"...when I heard your heart beating...

"...it could not last forever.

"This is the last time I'll write to you.

"I knew with certainty
that everything was wrong.

"I loved you...

"...and I didn't love you
at the same moment.

"I can think of
no more honest way to say it.

"I don't love you, lshmael.

"I knew it. I can think of
no more honest way to say it.

"I loved you...

"...and I didn't love you
at the same moment.

"I'm going to move on with my life...

"...as best I can.

"And I hope that you will, too.

"I don't love you, lshmael.

"I can think of
no more honest way to say it.

"Whenever we were together...

"...I knew it.

"I loved you...

"...and I didn't love you
at the same moment.

"You must live.

"I must say good-bye to you.

"I know you will do great things
in this world.

"You have a gentle heart.

"A good heart.

"I will never forget you...

"...and the time we spent together. "

Scissors.

Retractor.

Reticular clamp.

Fuckin' Jap bitch.

- They're sending you to Europe?
- I think so.

Why did you have to volunteer?

They'll hear everything.

Wouldn't some music be nice?

Have you ever done this before?

Never.

You're my only.

Do you swear to tell the truth,
the whole truth...

...and nothing but the truth,
so help you God?

I do.

I heard an air horn
and saw a lantern in the fog.

That you, Miyamoto?

And another one in Carl's hand.

What's up, Carl?

Both my batteries are drawn down.

The generator belts were loose.

Lantern and air horn's all I got.
I'm dead here.

No problem.

We'll pull one of my batteries
and get you started.

That thing's big, but it'll fit
if I bang the flange out of the way.

We can use this to hammer with.

I can't imagine why you kept this story
from the sheriff.

Why?

I didn't have a lawyer.

Even after you had an attorney,
you still claimed to know nothing.

You claim not to have seen Carl.

- Am I correct?
- Yes, initially.

"lnitially."

That's an interesting word.
You'd been arrested.

You had a lawyer.
You still claimed ignorance.

I should've told everything right away.

"Should've told everything."

Meaning you should've told the truth.

But is that the truth?

The whole truth? Is it?

You don't wanna hear the whole truth.

Why don't you try me?

The whole truth is, I wanted to kill him.

But did you?

Nothing to say?

It'll take me a while to charge up.

We'll catch up on the dock.

Nothing to say?

- I didn't know that was a question.
- My apologies. Do you regret...

- ...not telling the truth?
- I have told the truth.

You mean this morning.
The battery story. That one is the truth?

- That's a question, sir.
- Yes.

And I told it long before this morning.

You said in your testimony...

...that...

..."I slept until 1:30
when my wife woke me with the news.

"We talked for a while,
then I went straight to my boat."

You didn't go anywhere else
but to your boat.

- Is that the truth?
- Yes.

The sheriff found two batteries
in your well.

If, as you claim, you left one with Carl...

...how's that possible?

I had a spare battery in my shed.

I brought it down and put it in
before the sheriff came.

Conveniently, in your shed.

Why does the battery story change
every time a new question's raised?

You asked me if I went straight
to the boat. I did, with the battery.

And the new line? Was that in your shed?
You have a regular chandlery in there?

You have no answer,
you sit in silence with no expression?

You're a hard man to trust, sir.

Objection!

Sustained.

You know better than that.

Either ask questions that count
for something or sit down.

Shame on you.

No further questions.

Believing that Etta Heine's son...

...would never sell him the land,
land that in his mind...

...belonged to his family.

His only chance to get that land...

...would be to eliminate Carl Heine.

Thus believing that cold-blooded murder
was justified...

...he trailed Carl.

He strikes the treacherous blow
he'd been trained to strike by his father.

After a series of lies...

...the defendant at last admits
he was there...

...alone on the boat in the fog.

Carl Heine's blood on his fishing gaff.

Seven acres.

I just wonder what you'd pay for 'em.
Just curious, is all.

What are you selling 'em for?

Did I say I was sellin'?

If I was, I guess I'd have to...

...figure you want 'em real bad.
I ought to charge a small fortune, maybe.

All right, I'm sorry about it, okay?
About the whole damn mess.

$1,200 an acre.

That's what I paid Ole.
You got no choice on that.

We'll sign off tomorrow.

Look clearly at the defendant.

See the truth self-evident in him...

...and in the facts of this case.

Look into his eyes, ladies and gentlemen.

Consider his face.

Ask yourself...

...each one of you:

"What is my duty as a citizen
of this community?

"Of this country?

"As an American?"

There's no evidence of anger at Carl,
much less rage...

...much less murderous rage.

No reason for premeditation.

No evidence of it anywhere.

He had asked...

...his childhood friend to sell him
some land. And Carl was considering it.

Carl's own wife testified that...

...her husband had not made up his mind.

A strange moment to follow and kill a man.

Don't you think?

What Mr. Hooks asks you to believe
is that no proof is needed...

...against a man who bombed Pearl Harbor.

"Look at his face," the prosecutor said...

...presuming that you will see
an enemy there.

He's counting on you...

...to remember this war
and to see Kazuo Miyamoto as...

...somehow connected with it.

Indeed he is!

Let us recall that...

...First Lieutenant Kazuo Miyamoto
is a much- decorated hero...

...of the United States Army.

Kazuo Miyamoto did...

...one thing wrong.

He wasn't certain he could trust us.

He was afraid that he would be made
the victim of prejudice...

...as Mr. Hooks, indeed...

...is urging you to do.

There's reason in his uncertainty.

Why?

Well, we sent him and his wife and...

...thousands of Americans
to concentration camps.

They lost their homes, their belongings...

...everything.

Should we now be unforgiving
of his mistrust?

Our learned prosecutor
will have you do your duty as Americans.

Proud Americans.

Of course, you must! And if you do...

...Kazuo Miyamoto has nothing to fear.
Because...

...this great country is supposed
to be founded on a set of principles...

...of fairness...

...of equality and justice.
And if you are true...

...to these principles...

...you'll only convict a man
for what he's done, and not for who he is.

I'm an old man.

I don't walk so well anymore.
One of my eyes is close to useless.

My life is drawing to a close.

Why do I say this?

I say this because it means
that I ponder matters...

...in the light of death...

...in a way that most of you do not.

I feel like a traveler descended...

...from Mars, astounded by what I see here.

The same human frailty...

...passed on from generation to generation.

We hate one another.
We are the victims of...

...irrational fears, of prejudice.

You might think...

...that this is a small trial in a small place.

It isn't.

Every once in a while,
somewhere in the world...

...humanity goes on trial...

...and integrity...

...and decency.

Every once in a while...

...ordinary people just like you,
ladies and gentlemen...

...get called on to give the report card
for the human race.

In the name of humanity...

...do your duty as jurors.

Return this man to his wife and children.

Set him free...

...as you must.

Good night, Mrs. Miyamoto.

Please.

I know you'll think this is crazy...

...but all I want to do is hold you.

I think that ifyou'll let me do that
just for a few seconds...

...I can walk away...

...and never speak to you again.

Can you please look at me?

I did a terrible thing.

But you have to hear this.

I can never touch you.

You have to let go.

That's the way things are.

Things end, lshmael.

They do.

You have to let go.

I went by the lighthouse,
and I found a report that stated...

...a freighter passed through
the Channel at the time of Carl's death.

This is something that
should've been discussed at the trial.

I can't believe I let you rope me into this.

We've been over these boats
a dozen times.

If there's a lantern on Carl's mast,
then Miyamoto's story's true.

See?

No lantern.

What are those?

- Nothing. Bits of twine.
- Bits of twine aren't nothing.

Maybe somebody should
take a look at those.

Don't touch anything up there.
It's still a crime scene, remember?

Don't ever touch something
at a crime scene.

Doesn't the phrase, "The jury's out,"
mean anything to you?

They're lashings.

Figure-eight lashings all cut through.

And you know something?

These stains here on the mast...

...they could be blood.

The cut on his hand.

See this?

I think you better come down here.

- There's something you should see.
- What the hell is it now?

- What?
- Take a look at this.

This better be good.

I can admit evidence if required
in the interest of justice.

Only if it changes everything.

Nels explained that to you?

- Yes, he did.
- Very well then.

About this second lantern
and the freighter.

After Miyamoto left,
and Carl's engine was running...

...he must have remembered the lantern,
so he climbs up to cut it down.

Everything fits: the coast guard report,
the lanterns, the freighter's course...

...the coffee cup, the time on Carl's watch
and Carl's blood on the fishing gaff.

Your Honor,
that is the rankest speculation.

Please, spare me.

- With all due respect--
- You listen here!

We're going to hear this theory out.

If justice demands it,
we're gonna let the jury hear it...

...just in case it might be the truth.

- The head wound?
- We found a small fracture in the gunnel.

- Just below the mast.
- Anything could've caused it.

- Anything with human hair.
- Why?

May I?

This isn't a legal case.

There's no way to prove any of this,
Your Honor.

This certainly warrants a fresh look.

I want to think about it.

By the way...

...this coast guard report,
when did you come across it?

Was it today you went out
to the lighthouse?

Day before yesterday.

You're wondering why I held on to it.

Perhaps I have some...

...idea.

Could it have anything to do...

...with the way you look at her?

It takes a rare thing...

...a turning point...

...to free oneself from any...

...obsession. Be it prejudice or hate or...

...even love.

I had to, really.

I had no choice.

You're sounding
just a little like your father.

Did I ever tell you how much I liked him?

I keep thinking about Carl.

How unfair it seems.

An accident. Just like that.

Things just bear down on us, I suppose.

A freighter in the fog.

Or a war.

Accident rules every corner of the universe.

Except maybe...

...the chambers of the human heart.

Morning, Horace.

Reminds you of 1930, doesn't it?

I believe you're thinking of 1929.

Of course it was.

Winter of '29.

All rise.

The Superior Court
of the State of Washington...

...County of San Piedro, is now in session.

Members of the jury:

The court thanks you for your diligence
in the task you've performed...

...under difficult circumstances.

However...

...in the light of the new forensic evidence
we have heard...

...you are hereby discharged
from your responsibilities.

Order.

Order.

You will resume your seats.

Settle down.

Let us not forget...

...we have been considering the death
of one man...

...as well as pondering the fate of another.

Will the defendant please rise?

Kazuo Miyamoto...

...in the interest of justice...

...the charges against you are dismissed.
You're free to go home.

Can I hold you now?

I'm so grateful for your gentle heart.