Original subtitles

(EAGLE SCREECHING)

(HORSE GALLOPING)

BERTRUM: Mel!

You meathead!

Mel! You're going to kill us both!

Whoa!

You son of a bitch!

God damn it!

You're going to be dog meat when this is over!

I'm selling you at the killer's price!

(SHOUTS) Mel!

Whoa!

(GRUNTING)

(WOMAN CHATTERING ON PA)

Pregnant?

Dad?

You are, aren't you?

I can smell it.

Pregnant women have this sweet smell they put off.

Could you at least open your eyes when you talk to me?

I mean, it makes me feel like we're in the same room together.

I do not need my eyes! I can smell it!

(SIGHS) Well, we're off to a good start.

Here.

I brought you some lemon drops.

Your favorite kind, you know, those hard kind, that stick to your teeth.

When are you going to get married?

Or is that still too old fashioned for you?

It don't matter.

Just try to make it a boy, if you don't mind.

Too damn many girls in the family as it is.

The family is thick with women! Never used to be like that.

It used to be men! All men!

Would you mind opening your eyes?

I have been flying for hours. I'd like to see your eyes.

Thanks.

Drop one in my mouth, would you? I'm seized up.

You had a wreck, huh?

Bastard tried to kill me.

Mel? Yeah, Mel. Who else?

He's had a grudge against me since the day he was foaled.

Well, it's no wonder, the way you treat him.

I treat him like a horse! I don't pamper horses the way you women do!

What do you know about horses anyway?

You're a big city girl now, aren't you?

Oh, come on, Dad. Knock it off, will you?

You're gonna have to shoot him for me. You know that, don't you?

You are the only one I can trust to get it done.

(SCOFFS)

I am not going to shoot your horse!

Dad, I left my work.

I dropped everything to come here and see you.

That's what a daughter is supposed to do.

Yeah, well, I'm not shooting your horse!

You're the only one mean enough!

Now you take that .30-06 out of the cupboard...

Get Uncle Dane to do it or something.

You honestly don't think that I am going to get a gun...

That drunk!

Uncle Dane. Ha!

He's across the hall right now in detox.

He couldn't hit a horse with an A-bomb!

Well, I'm not doing it!

I didn't come all this way to shoot a horse!

(SIGHS)

Look, Dad, you just got to relax now.

It is not good for you to get so excited.

I mean, you are supposed to be taking it easy now. The horse can wait.

It can't wait!

He won't know what he's getting shot for if we wait!

Well, I'm not shooting him!

(MUTTERING)

(SIGHS)

You were my last hope.

What I deserve for not having a son, I suppose.

How is the rest of the family?

Anybody else in the hospital?

Not the ones who deserve it most.

Oh, like Mama, for instance.

(EXCLAIMS) She is beyond the hospital.

Gramma, I suppose.

There you go. On the brink of a hundred.

About to turn a round century this weekend. Can you believe that?

Oh, God! I forgot her birthday!

Katie, Katie... Huh, what?

I haven't asked you for many favors in my time, now, have I?

Now, don't start up with that again!

Well, somebody's got to avenge me! You're the only one left!

Avenge you?

It's just a horse, for Christ's sake!

It's a dumb old horse. He didn't know what he was doing!

He knew, all right.

Here's what you want to do.

You draw an X. You take a piece of chalk,

and you draw a line from one ear to the opposite eye.

Then you do the same on the other side of his head.

And where those two lines intersect,

that is where you want to put the bullet!

(CHUCKLES)

I'll be back to see you tomorrow, Dad.

You try and get some rest now.

You take the panel off of the kitchen cupboard. You know that secret panel?

Mmm-hmm. The rifle is in there.

Eat your lemon drops.

The ammo is down in the basement.

Make sure you get the right ammo.

I don't want any slip-ups now!

(SIGHS) Oh, boy!

(INDISTINCT CHATTER ON TV)

(SPORTSCASTER ON TV)

(DANE SHOUTING)

Oh, my God. Oh! Look at that move! Oh!

Oh, man! All Right! Now you got it! Come on! Come on!

Through the turn! Through the turn!

Come on! You got it, Manila! Come on! Come on! Come on!

Come on, Manila! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! You got it!

(LAUGHS EXCITEDLY)

Uncle Dane! Oh, look at that!

(KISSES)

Uncle Dane?

Manila! My Manila! Did you see that, honey?

Oh, I knew he could do it.

That was a horse race.

(GIGGLING)

♪♪ Camptown Races all day long

♪♪ Doo-dah, doo-dah

♪♪ Camptown Races all day long... ♪♪ Stop! Uncle Dane!

It's me!

It's me! Katie!

(EXCLAIMS) Well, of course it's you.

Katie! Oh!

Beautiful, beautiful Katie!

Well, who else could it be?

You don't think I'd dance with any old gal

that comes down the hallway, do you?

Oh, I'll get that.

Well, what are you doing in here, Dane?

Me? Oh, nothing, just a little check up, you know.

The usual. Routine. Heart, lungs, liver. Yeah.

Nothing major. How about yourself?

Oh, you know. Dad.

Oh, yeah. Mr. Horseman.

Serves him right.

That horse should have killed him, the way he treats animals!

One of these days, a horse is going to kill him.

You wait and see. He has it coming.

Did you put yourself in here, Dane?

Me? No, no, not me. A friend of mine.

I just went along with it, figured, what the hell?

A few free meals, a chance to watch the big race.

Now and then, you need a breather from the outside, don't you think?

Slacken the pace.

Yeah, I suppose.

Well, you look fantastic!

How come you haven't been up to see us in so long?

Well, it's only been a month!

A lot can happen in a month.

Yeah, it looks that way.

Don't you let that big city steal you away from us, now.

Dane.

Have you ever shot a horse before?

Only the losers!

(AMY LAUGHING)

RITA: My goodness, Katie, where did you find this?

Well, I found the negative up in Mama's old suitcase. So I had it printed up.

I thought maybe we could give it to Gramma for her birthday.

Oh, my goodness! Would you look at that dress!

I cannot even remember owning that dress!

We'll have to get this framed.

Gramma will just love it.

Thanks so much, Kate.

Kate, what are you looking for, anyway?

(KATE EXCLAIMS)

Got it.

What are you doing up there, honey?

Well,

Dad wants me to shoot his horse.

What?

The horse he got in a wreck with.

Mel?

Yeah. Mel.

Well, you... He just bought that horse, didn't he?

No, Mama, we've had Mel for a long, long time.

Don't you remember Mel?

Well, he wants me to shoot him.

Well, you're not going to do it, are you? You are not going to shoot Mel?

Well, I don't know.

I mean, I have never shot anything before in my life,

I do not even know how to shoot a gun.

Well, you can't shoot Mel! That's murder! It's not the poor horse's fault!

Of course it isn't!

I'm surprised you would even consider this, Kate!

It surprised me, too, Rita.

He told me I had to avenge him.

Oh, my goodness! The cookies!

RITA: Katie, you are not serious about this, are you?

I mean, you know how he is! He is always wanting to shoot something.

As soon as something goes wrong, he wants to shoot it. Doesn't mean he will.

He shot all our dogs.

(SIGHS) No, Mama.

Do you know, is this the .30-06?

I'm not telling you if it's the .30-06.

Mel used to be my horse, don't forget.

I learned to ride on Mel. Don't point that thing in the house, it could be loaded!

Are you crazy?

Oh, Katie, don't play with guns in the house!

We do not do that in the house!

All right. Take it easy.

Let me see this. He is always leaving loaded guns around

and you shouldn't take a chance with it.

Well, now, what is the trick to it, anyhow? I mean...

You know, say somebody wanted to shoot something with it.

You mean, like a horse?

How do you aim it?

You see that bead up at the end of the barrel?

Yeah.

You line that up so it's right in the middle of the backsight.

That is this V thing right there.

(GUN FIRING) (ALL SCREAMING)

(EXCLAIMS)

Dane?

That you?

(JILLY LAUGHING)

(SCREAMING)

Come on, God damn it! It's my turn, Mike!

I don't give turns! I just give head!

(JILLY LAUGHING EXCITEDLY)

KATE: (WHISPERING) You've got to go out there!

I am not going out there. Are you crazy?

I am not making a fool out of myself in front of a bunch of teenage assholes.

It's your own daughter!

Well, I will wait until she gets in the house, if you don't mind!

Then I'm going to go.

No! Katie!

You can't go out there!

She could be getting raped!

She is not getting raped. Believe me. They're getting raped.

That's a horrible thing to say.

RITA: You can't go out there, Katie!

Put that gun back!

(SHUSHING) You don't know how to use a gun!

Get out of the way! You proved that already!

(GUN FIRING)

Shit!

Oh, Jilly, you come out of there!

You get out of there right now!

Kate! Put that thing down before you kill somebody!

Jilly, if you don't get out of that car right this minute,

I am going to shoot the tires off it, you hear me?

Oh! (KATE GRUNTING)

Well, I always wondered what you did for recreation up here.

Aunt Katie?

What are you doing here?

I just came to shoot a horse.

Bertrum!

I brought you some medicine!

Hundred and ten proof.

It is going to open your plumbing for you. Guaranteed!

Bertrum! (SHOUTS)

Put the halter on him! Get that halter on him! (SHUSHING)

It's me, Dane. Don't be making all that noise.

You'll send everybody in here.

Where's Kate? Did she get him?

Look what I got you.

What are you doing in here?

Get off of this bed, you meathead!

I thought you might like to celebrate my winnings with me.

I won today.

In case you didn't know.

You won what?

Where did you get that bottle, anyway?

I've got my connections.

(JILLY GRUNTING) RITA: No more dates for six weeks! Have you got that?

(JILLY SCREAMING)

That's it! No phone calls, and no letters!

I am cutting you off, sister.

Keep it down, you guys, you're gonna wake up Mama.

If a boy so much as calls this house, I am telling him you moved.

Far away! To another country where they don't even speak English!

Jilly. Jilly. Stand up now and drink this. It's going to settle your stomach.

You think you're lonely now!

You are going to wish you'd never been born in the Great North Woods.

Oh, shut up, Rita!

She needs some help now. Will you stop preaching at her?

Stand up, Jilly, and drink this now.

RITA: Get up off the floor, girl! (JILLY GROANING)

Is Bertrum home?

No, Mama. We've got everything under control here.

Now you go on back to bed now.

Oh.

There was so much noise. I thought he might have come home.

KATE: Come on, Jilly. Stand up and drink this now. Come on!

JILLY: Oh, I am going to be sick!

Did she lose something on the floor?

No, Mama, she is just a little bit sick.

Please, go on back to bed now.

AMY: Oh, Jilly!

She's the young one.

(CHUCKLES) They're always sick.

BERTRUM: I never thought there would come a time, Dane,

when I would stop missing women.

I just don't miss them any more.

Now why is that?

Well, you've got other things on your mind, Bertrum.

That's right. Other things.

More important.

You've got some plans, now, don't you?

Plans. Yeah.

I have some plans.

But there was a time

when the only thing I ever had on my mind was Amy.

She was the only thing. Can you believe that?

That was a while back now, wasn't it?

Yeah.

A while back.

On the railroad.

Nothing much to do on the railroad but think about women.

Mmm.

Now, look at these gals of mine. These two daughters.

Neither one of them has got a man.

They got kids, all right, they get knocked up.

But they've got no man.

Where is the man?

Well, that's what I'd like to know.

Where in the hell is the goddamn man?

Used to be when you got a girl in trouble that was it.

You got married. That was all she wrote.

That's right.

That was pretty much the end of the line in those days.

Mmm-hmm.

You didn't run off and ditch her, leave her to her own devices.

Who the hell knows what they do on their own these days?

They go away to the city, come back pregnant, and they got no goddamn man.

Well, don't you worry, Bertrum.

They'll get a man.

Those are good-looking gals you got.

Well, where?

Where are they going to find one?

Not up here, that's for sure.

No men left up here. No man in their right mind is going to

stay up here in this Christless country.

Except us.

And not a whole lot left of us.

Well, we were born here.

This is where we were born and raised, Bertrum.

You don't have to tell me where I was born and raised.

I know damn well where I was born and raised!

I was just saying. That's the reason we're here.

What's the reason?

The reason we never left is 'cause we were born here.

(GROANS) Oh.

You are a piss-poor excuse for a relative, you know that?

(GROANING)

I don't want to raise my daughter in the same house I grew up in.

Oh, I can think of worse things.

Like what?

Well, like, I don't know, not having any place to come back to.

(SIGHS)

You know, when I first left here, I didn't have anything in my mind

except getting as far away from this place as I possibly could.

I didn't care if I never saw another birch tree as long as I lived.

So? Why'd you come back then?

Dad.

Dad is in the hospital, in case you've forgotten.

Well, I know Dad's in the hospital! Christ, Kate!

No, I don't know. It's more than that, I guess. It's family.

You know, ever since you called me about his accident,

I don't know. I've been feeling this thing.

What thing? (GRUNTS)

Wait a minute. Got it?

Like, time is running out or something.

Like this might be my last chance with him.

Last chance for what?

To do something for him.

Well, you know him. Whatever it is, he won't be satisfied.

Maybe. There's no harm in trying.

(SIGHS) Ah.

(EXHALES)

Kate,

if you kill that horse, I'm never going to speak to you again in my whole life.

He told me I was the only one mean enough.

Hmm?

MAN 1: ...and thunderous.

WOMAN: ...90,000...

MAN 2: ...personnel carriers swung into action.

BERTRUM: The main issue...

The main issue of the world today

is one thing, and one thing only.

And you want to know what that one thing is?

There isn't any main issue. There never has been a main issue.

Just keep it down, Bertrum!

You're supposed to stay in bed now.

Injustice! (SHUSHING)

That's the main issue!

And what's the flip-side of injustice?

Justice!

That's it in a nutshell.

Justice and injustice.

That's the two main issues of the world today.

I thought there was only one main issue.

Now, in a case like government,

big government, United Nations kind of stuff,

do you think they give a rat's diddly-ass

about a lone, single citizen like myself, for instance?

Up here on the frontier?

Locked away from the world in the far north of America?

A man who's fought in the trenches of Italy...

...slime... ...in the slime of Korea,

who broke his back on the railroad tracks of Lake Erie.

Do you think they give one diddly-poop

about his own personal sense of justice?

Eh? Huh?

Not on your long johns.

MAN 1: People who live on the slopes of the volcano

know they are taking a chance.

WOMAN: ...have been evacuated by rescue teams.

In neighboring Mississippi...

MAN 2: By US Naval and air attacks last...

MAN 3: ...restore law and order and pave the way for...

And that is exactly the reason

why I'm going to shoot that horse in the head.

That's exactly the reason, right there.

Oh!

(JILLY MOANING)

RITA: Jilly, if you don't stop that moaning, you can go out to the barn.

Well, maybe you ought to take her in some juice, honey.

RITA: Oh, let her suffer. It's the only way she'll learn.

Well, you don't want to let her get dehydrated.

There's a difference between suffering and torture.

I am going to have to hide the gun.

Oh, now, honey, you know Katie is not actually going to do anything.

(CHUCKLES) She could no more shoot a horse than fly.

You know how Katie is, she just talks. Just like her father.

Well, she's got this crazy idea in her head

that she owes Dad something, and I don't trust it.

Well, they've always had a strange relationship.

It will pass, don't you worry.

This thing has done enough damage as it is. I am going to take it out to the barn.

Well, wait till after breakfast, honey, it's almost ready now.

I want to get this out of here before she gets up.

Rita, everything is going to get cold!

Mom,

are you sure you made enough stuff, huh?

(JILLY MOANING)

(SHOUTS) Pipe down in there, sister!

It's your own fault you got a headache!

Ow!

(SIGHS)

Oh, well.

Carry on as though you're still in the land of the living.

(CHUCKLES) That was always the thing.

That was always the thing with Mother.

Bless her heart.

Only difference today

is a notable lack of men folk.

There always used to be men.

Always.

A giant big ring of men.

(CHUCKLES)

Elbows.

Big, beefy legs and knees.

Had to serve them above their heads.

Over and above with the gravy.

You could never squeeze between.

They wouldn't let you get between them and their food.

No room at all.

Not that we minded.

Who could stand to eat beside them anyway?

Kind of miss it, though.

Just the smell of them.

Miss that sometimes.

I don't know whatever became of them.

What became of them, Kate? Where'd they all go?

They are in the hospital, Mom.

They used to be at the table.

Where is your man, Kate?

Don't you have a man?

Sure!

He's in the city, Mama.

Business, you know. I had to come here so fast because of Dad.

Have I ever met him?

I don't think so.

Do you think I ever will?

Sure.

(EXHALES)

Boy, Mama, look at this breakfast!

You really outdid yourself!

Are we having company or something?

Well...

You can take whatever is left over to the hospital,

when you visit.

Some sausage and biscuits. The men will like that.

Hey, Mama, why don't you come back to the city with me?

Huh?

What city?

New York.

Oh. Oh, no!

I could never go to the city.

Oh, come on. Just for a visit?

It would do you good to get out of this place.

What would I do in the city?

Well, there's lots of stuff we could do.

I mean, we could go to concerts and museums.

Operas? There are lots of things to do.

Operas?

Yeah. You've never been to an opera, have you?

Huh?

But they are in a foreign language, aren't they?

Yeah.

What?

No.

No, I could never leave Bertrum and Mama here alone.

Well, why not?

They need me.

Yeah, but Mama, you've got to do something for yourself once in a while.

I mean, lookit, Dad's a full-grown man, he can take care of himself.

He's in the hospital.

(SIGHS)

(JILLY MOANING)

Oh, God, I bet she's got a head as big as a tire today, huh?

Oh. Rita wouldn't even take her in some juice.

(CHUCKLES) I just don't understand that.

She must be so dehydrated by now.

Where is Rita? (JILLY CONTINUES MOANING)

She took that gun out to the barn.

Afraid you were going to kill something with it.

She took the gun to the barn?

Now don't you leave the table, too! Katie!

Gosh, she never could mind her own damn business!

Katie! Come back here and eat your breakfast!

Rita!

RITA: What are you doing?

Mom!

(SCREAMING)

Are you crazy? You could have killed us both!

Where is the gun, Rita?

Breakfast is served!

(SCREAMING) Get me out of Minnesota!

Oh, this is terrible. This is the worst.

Where is my Katie? Is my Katie here?

She wouldn't allow this to happen to me. She wouldn't allow it!

She is at the hospital, Mama. With Dad!

She's not injured, is she?

No, Mama. Dad is injured.

Oh. He was born injured.

She is going to be here for your birthday, Mama.

Birthday? Mmm-hmm.

I'm not having a birthday, am I?

This Sunday, Mama.

This Sunday is your birthday.

Sunday? I can't have a birthday on the Sabbath.

Check the calendar. That's not right!

Somebody has made a mistake about that.

No! This Sunday is your birthday, Mama.

Well, that couldn't be right. Is Rita here?

She is at the house.

Well, you ask Rita or Dane. They will tell you.

It's never been on Sunday before. It's not right.

How could it fall on a Sunday! There's church!

No one will come!

We are having a big party planned for you.

No one will be there. You'll see.

No one is going to miss church to go to a party.

Oh! Oh, this is terrible.

Can we go back inside?

You need the sun, Mama. It's good for you.

Oh, it's torture.

(SNIFFLING)

This family loves to torture me.

Why is that? Where are my girls?

Ow!

Maybe I should call a doctor. Maybe you really messed up your back.

No! No doctors. I hate doctors.

Do you want some tea? (GROANING)

Jilly, listen to me. We have to save Mel.

You and me.

Mel? What's the matter with Mel?

He seemed fine to me.

(WHISPERS) Katie is trying to kill him.

You want some Alka-Seltzer, maybe?

(RITA CLICKS TONGUE)

Jilly, you're not listening to me.

I am, Mom. Aunt Katie is trying to kill Mel.

That's what you said, right?

We've to get him out of here fast, before she gets back!

Mom, why would Aunt Katie want to kill Mel? That's crazy!

Well, she's crazy, that's why!

She is!

I mean, look at this. Look what she did to me!

If she could do something like this to her sister,

what is she going to do to a horse? I don't know.

Jilly, I can't let anything happen to Mel!

He's part of this family!

I know, Mom, I know, but...

Listen. Go out to the barn, and you get a bucket,

put some grain in it, and shake it.

He always comes when he hears that bucket.

He's way out in the woods now.

He's halfway to Duluth.

He'll hear you! He always comes when he hears that bucket.

I'm not feeling so hot.

You want me to go out in the woods

and catch a horse?

Come on! I can't believe this!

All right. I'll do it myself.

Fine, then, fine! I'm going, okay?

Just sit still. Jesus, I thought this was supposed to be a family.

NURSE: He collapsed earlier this morning.

We have no idea how he could have gotten hold of liquor,

but there was a very high alcohol content in his blood.

Dad?

I brought you some sausage and biscuits.

Mama made this huge breakfast, you should have seen it.

It looked just like Thanksgiving.

I don't know what she was thinking about.

You can hear me, right? Can you hear me, Dad?

What did you have to go and do this for?

You were getting so much better.

They were going to let you out of here in a couple of days.

It was Uncle Dane, wasn't it? Huh? Dane had a bottle.

(CLICKS TONGUE)

(SIGHS)

Dad? I've got to tell you something.

Can you hear me?

It's about Mel.

Something happened at home. I mean...

Mel ran away.

(GROANS)

Now, don't get upset, Dad. I'll find him for you. It'll be all right.

Don't worry about it. I'll get him back.

Okay?

He just ran off a little ways into the woods.

Rita turned him loose.

(GROANING)

Well, she's real attached to him, I guess.

I mean, I didn't realize how much Mel meant to her.

You can't really blame her, though,

I mean, she used to ride on him all the time.

I'll find him, Dad. Don't worry about it.

The thing is, look, Dad...

The thing is, I just don't know if I can shoot him.

I just don't know if I can do that.

I'd like to do something for you, I really would, but I don't think I can do that.

Isn't there anything else that you could ask me to do?

I'll do anything you want.

Huh?

(GRUNTING)

Now, listen, don't get excited. Come on. Come on.

Don't get excited! You're not supposed to get excited.

It's all right. Dad! Listen! Are you listening to me?

I'll do it, okay?

I'll shoot the horse, all right?

I'll do it just like you said, is that what you want?

I'll take him out to the woods and I'll tie him to a tree and I'll shoot him,

all right?

(SNIFFS)

(EXHALES)

And, then, maybe...

(SOFTLY) Maybe we can be friends?

JILLY: Mel.

Come on.

Come on, you little knucklehead.

You don't have to be afraid. No one is going to hurt you.

Look! Look what I brought you.

Some oats. Come and smell these good old oats, Mel.

These are some really good oats.

See?

(SPUTTERING)

Oh, my God. I can't believe I'm doing this.

That's a good boy.

You don't have to be afraid.

Nobody is going to hurt you. Grandpa's not around.

You put him in the hospital. He isn't anywhere near here.

It's just you and me and I'm not going to hurt you.

That's a boy! That's a good boy. Now just take it easy.

(NEIGHING SOFTLY)

Shit!

(SHOUTING) Mel! You get back here right now!

Mel! Oh! I hate horses!

Mel!

(SCREAMING) Mel!

(HUFFS)

You line up the little bead...

No.

Yeah, yeah.

You line up the little bead in the front

with the V in the back.

Oh, God, I can't do this!

I can't do it, Dad. God damn you for asking me to do this.

You did it on purpose, too, didn't you? I mean, you knew I wouldn't be able to do it.

It's another one of your tests, right?

Just another one of your stupid tests.

Like throwing me off the end of the dock.

(INAUDIBLE)

You remember that one?

Or how about putting me up bareback on those wild ponies?

(CHUCKLES)

Or how about the time you let me drive that old John Deere

straight into the tree before you'd tell me where the brakes were?

You remember that one?

(EXHALES)

You remember all those tests, Dad?

Well, let me tell you something, Dad,

let me tell you something right now.

They never did me a damn bit of good.

I mean, I learned to swim on my own and I learned to ride on my own

and I learned to drive...

Well, I never did learn how to drive that tractor, but it doesn't matter.

I mean, the fact is that none of your tests ever did me a damn bit of good.

Not one of them! The only thing it ever taught me

was how to fight back.

(EXCLAIMS IN FRUSTRATION)

So, I guess I owe you for that,

but I am not going to shoot your horse.

I am not going to shoot your goddamn horse!

You can shoot him yourself.

(HONKS)

(EXHALES)

(MEL SNUFFLING)

KATE: Oh, no!

Oh, Mel!

What are you doing here?

Go on! Go on! Get out of here!

Don't you have any sense?

Mel! Go on!

Beat it!

(SIGHS) God.

I'm not kidding, Mel!

See, you just don't understand something.

I'm the one that's supposed to shoot you.

God!

Oh, brother!

You are a dumb horse, aren't you?

Really, really dumb.

What am I going to do with you?

Why didn't I catch him myself?

I should have done it myself.

She's no good with horses.

Well, I wouldn't worry too much, honey. Jilly knows the woods.

Not like she used to.

She's a teenager now, she doesn't know anything like she used to.

She gets lost in her own bedroom now.

(CAR HONKING)

There! You see? Somebody has found her, I bet.

She probably walked out to the road and hitched a ride.

I have told her a thousand times not to hitchhike.

(CONTINUES HONKING)

KATE: Good boy, come on.

(KATE CLICKING TONGUE)

Come on, Mel.

Oh, such a handsome boy. Come on. (CLICKING TONGUE)

Come on, Mel.

Good boy. Come on.

Whoa! Good boy!

Look! I found Mel!

I almost hit him with the car. He was right out on the road.

What was he doing on the road? That's no place for a horse.

Now, look, Rita, before you get excited, I thought this whole thing out.

Give me this horse.

Well, here, take him. You can have him.

I brought him home for you.

Look, I just wanted to tell you, Rita,

that I have changed my mind about this whole thing.

Do you hear me?

Rita! You answer your sister!

We can give him to someone.

We'll give him to somebody in another county and Dad will never know the difference.

Of course he won't. Yeah.

Rita, where are you doing?

I am going to look for my daughter.

Come on, now.

KATE: Why? What's happened to Jilly?

Where is Jilly, Mama?

I can't keep track of it any more.

Nobody stays in one place like they used to.

KATE: Hey, Rita, wait up!

You can't go out in the woods all by yourself.

Come on, Rita!

Now they will all be lost.

We'll be right back, Mama.

Why did Jilly go off?

RITA: She went to look for Mel.

Mel's right here.

You don't go off in the woods by yourself, Rita.

Rita!

(KATE CONTINUES CHATTERING)

ANNOUNCER: And around the fourth turn, it's Success Express!

Now the leader, Fine Two...

DANE: Keep moving, Miguel! Keep moving, come on.

Come on, come on! Keep going, keep going, keep going!

All right, come on. Come on, come on, hold him, come on!

All right, come on, come on, you got it, you got it, come on!

Drop the hammer on him, Miguel! Drop the hammer!

Don't hold on his mouth!

(SCREAMING)

Look how he's holding him.

Did you see that? He is holding the son of a bitch!

Hey, Bertrum! What are you doing?

Bertrum. Come on, no, no! You got to keep this oxygen stuff on.

You gotta stay hooked up on this thing!

You stay clear of me!

You're going to die without air, Bertrum! You're in critical condition!

What's that? What?

That! What's what? What?

Out there!

That's Lake Superior, Bertrum. It always has been.

Oh.

Come on, now.

Hey, where's Kate?

What?

Where's Kate?

Well, she's home, I guess.

What's she doing at home? I could die here, and she's at home?

What the...

This is a hospital, Bertrum.

They take care of you in the hospital.

It is the best place to be if you die. Come on, now.

This is a hospital? Yes!

You got your bell rung pretty good. Don't you remember?

This is a hospital?

Right.

A hospital!

Now, come on, Bertrum. A hospital?

Yes!

What am I doing in a hospital?

Well, you... Where's my clothes?

I got a business to take care of.

No, no, no, no, you can't do that.

Nobody else is going to do it.

You can't walk out of here.

Kate's not gonna do it, that's for sure.

They're not gonna let you do that, Bertrum.

I got no... Come on.

Give me my clothes! Give me my clothes!

Come on, you have to stay hooked up to this thing! You're in no condition...

I got a job to do!

Bertrum! Come on!

That horse is not going to get away with this.

Bertrum! You...

Bertrum, you can't just go out like that.

He is going to pay through the teeth!

Well, take your boots!

Wait...

Bertrum, wait up!

ANNOUNCER: Mini Apple on the inside with On the Line for the lead...

Oh...

Bertrum, wait up!

On the Line has the lead by a half, after him is Mini Apple...

If they catch you, Bertrum, they're just going to toss you back in there.

You know that, don't you?

Have you got any idea how many miles it is from the hospital to your place?

Have you got a rough estimate in your mind?

Or are you just hoping for the best?

We could still be walking by morning, Bertrum!

We could walk all through the night and still not be there!

If you don't shut up,

I am going to find a large rock

and beat you to death with it! Now get away from me!

There aren't any large rocks.

This is the city.

That is what I am trying to tell you. We're in the city here!

(GRUNTS IN ANGER)

You... You immigrant numbskull!

(GRUNTS)

You never listen to reason, Bertrum. That's your whole trouble.

It's a bad sign. Sign you're losing.

Always wanting to beat something to death.

Shooting your horse ain't gonna solve anything.

What's that gonna solve?

All you'll have is a dead horse on your hands.

The thing is... The thing of it is, you're never going to make it.

They'll find you by the side of the road,

bloated up like an old groundhog.

I'll make it.

All you gotta do is follow the tracks.

I know these tracks like the back of my hand.

(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING IN DISTANCE)

♪♪ Oh, roll on, buddy

♪♪ Don't you roll so slow

♪♪ How can I roll

♪♪ When my wheels won't go

♪♪ Oh, roll on, buddy

♪♪ And make your time

♪♪ When my wheels roll down Can't keep from trying ♪♪

KATE: So you think it's just superstition, then?

RITA: Well, yeah. That is like believing that if you listen to Beethoven

when you're pregnant,

that the kid's going to automatically be born a genius.

Why? You're not pregnant, are you?

Yeah. I think I am.

(CHUCKLING) Kate!

You're pregnant! Why didn't you tell anybody?

Well, Dad knows. He knows everything.

So, you're going to have it, then?

Well, yeah. Of course I'm going to have it. Why wouldn't I have it?

I don't know.

What's the pain like?

(JILLY MOANING)

Jilly!

Get off! Get off me! That's my mom!

BERTRUM: Trouble with you, Dane, see,

is that you're never going to be a leader of men.

That is your big problem. You're too soft.

You gotta learn to look life in the face and not knuckle under.

Not run to the goddamn bottle every time you lose on the ponies.

A man is a fool to throw his money away on horses anyway.

A horse is not an animal to be trusted.

You can mark my words on that.

RITA: What were you doing out here with a strange boy anyway?

Oh, Jilly. Jilly, just stop this whimpering.

We spend the whole night searching around the woods for your clothes,

you got no right to whimper.

All I want to do is have some fun.

Nobody in this family wants to have any fun. You are all nuts!

Jilly, if you don't stop it right now, I am going to put you down, off this horse...

Good! Good! ...and make you walk home.

I want to get off this horse. I want to get off this fucking horse!

I never asked to be put on this fucking horse!

You watch your language.

KATE: Take it easy, Jilly! You are going to hurt yourself!

Let go of me! I'm not your prisoner!

You are not getting off this horse until we get home.

(SCREECHING) I wish I was dead!

Have you ever thought about what you're going to do

once you shoot your one and only horse, Bertrum?

Huh?

Now, who's going to pull your buckboard then?

(LAUGHING WICKEDLY)

Just the ticket.

I warned you. I warned you.

Run, you...

No, Bertrum!

Run! Run, you stupid!

Run, you goddamn fiend!

(GROANING)

(GRUNTS)

Goddamn relatives.

(TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWING)

Nobody will be there.

RITA: Don't you say that. Don't you ever say that.

(JILLY SCREAMING)

That's an insult to me and everyone else in this family.

Well, this family is an insult to me.

You'll only wish you were dead for about another year or so,

and then it'll change.

Honey, you'll see, it'll all be different once you get out of here.

I'll never get out of here.

Did you use any protection?

Ah! (EXCLAIMS)

(LAUGHING)

That was close!

Next one is going to take your head off, Bertrum. Clean off at the neck!

You've lost your mind!

This one's got your name on it, Bertrum! Moosehead!

Might as well give up the ghost.

You're crazy.

I'm crazy, all right. Now it's your turn to run.

Run, you fat grout! Run!

You maniac!

Got you.

(LAUGHS TRIUMPHANTLY)

(SIGHS)

Are you sure Mel can find his way home, Rita?

He's never failed me yet.

Well, yeah, but that was a long time ago.

You haven't ridden him out here since you were a kid.

The woods haven't changed, they're the same woods.

He can smell the barn from miles away.

I hope so.

Sure. He can do it. You're a good horse, aren't you, Mel?

Oh, I know he's a good horse. I mean, I have no doubt he's a good horse.

It just seems to me like we've been out in these woods

an awful long time now.

Mama is going to wonder what happened to us.

Look, he can find his way. You just wait and see.

Lord have mercy.

You can kiss tomorrow good-bye, Bertrum.

It's in the blood, that's what it is. Bad blood.

Mentally deficient. I should have known it from the get-go.

Her whole side of the family. That Nordic blood, that's what it is.

Deranged!

(SINGING IN SWEDISH)

I could see it in her eyes a long time ago.

Every one of them had the same mark. Every single one of them.

Those slanty eyes.

Mongolian! The Hordes!

Invaded by barbarians!

(YELLING)

(BOTTLE SHATTERING)

That's where they got it. The tribes! Mongols!

Just look at their mother if you don't believe me.

(CONTINUES SINGING IN SWEDISH)

Nobody in his right mind would marry into eyes like that.

They've all got it! They keep passing it on like some disease!

Barbarian women!

KATE: Do you see anything?

RITA: No!

God! We can't be that far away.

Look all around, Rita!

I am looking all around.

What do you think I'm doing up here, anyhow?

Well, how about the radio tower?

Can you see the radio station tower?

RITA: No.

JILLY: (MUTTERING) What is going on?

Oh, we are trying to find our way out of here.

Where's Mom?

She's at the top of this pine tree.

Isn't there anything you recognize, Rita?

How about the grain elevator?

Rita! Answer me!

There's somebody out there.

What?

I just saw somebody go running across that clearing out there.

I think he's wearing a cape.

Well, yell to him.

I'm not going to yell to him! He's wearing a cape!

Rita, we're lost!

Well, I am not going to yell to him. That's crazy.

That could be anybody out there.

There's two of them.

(SHOUTING) Help!

Dane?

Is that you?

KATE: Help!

I'm heading for the highway, Bertrum.

I don't know about you.

Which way is the highway?

KATE: Help!

Wait up!

Just hang on a second, Dane!

Stop that screaming!

Jesus! Here we are, three women, alone in the middle of nowhere

and you are screaming at strange men with capes?

We're lost, Rita. We've been lost for hours, now.

We're lost? I thought we were going home.

We are going home. We just have to let Mel find his way back.

We need a little patience now.

Well, how much time does Mel need? A week, maybe?

He can do it. How long have we been lost?

Mel couldn't find his own tail.

He doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.

He was lost when I found him out there on the road 50 yards from the house.

JILLY: Did we bring any food?

He's a good horse.

Oh, shut up about he's a good horse!

I do not want to hear "He's a good horse" anymore, Rita.

He's as dumb as a post!

And I am not letting him get us any deeper into the woods.

Well, don't leave me up here.

He is not dumb!

Oh, he's an idiot!

And you're an idiot for thinking he's going to find his way home.

Well, don't leave me up here, I don't know how to ride!

Just hang on to his mane, Jilly.

JILLY: I don't know how to ride!

Kate! Kate!

Where are you going?

I'm walking.

Katie! Get back here!

We have to stick together now.

(SCREAMING) Don't leave me on this horse!

Mom! Kate!

Kate!

(BOTH GASPING)

KATE: Help!

That was a woman's voice, huh?

Sounds like a woman to me.

Maybe we ought to go see what the trouble is, Bertrum.

I don't want to know what the trouble is. I've got plenty of my own.

Maybe she's getting, you know, about to get murdered or something.

What are you going to do about it, Mr. Hero?

RITA: So that's the way things are, huh?

When the chips are down you just walk off and leave us? Jump ship?

I'm finding a way out of here.

I am not going to wander around on that worthless horse all night.

You never did like Mel, did you?

Oh, stop being so pathetic, Rita!

You act like you gave birth to that damn horse.

You would have shot him.

If you'd known how to use a gun, you would have shot him.

Okay. Yeah, yeah. I would have shot him. How is that?

Just to piss me off.

Just out of spite. You are worse than Dad.

Well, at least I paid him a visit.

At least I brought him some lemon drops.

That's more than I can say for you.

You never even gave him a call.

You've always been on his side, haven't you?

I can appreciate his point of view.

Always looking down your nose at me and Mama and everybody else.

Big city career girl.

Oh, yeah? Beats living at home with Mama.

Now you have gone and gotten yourself knocked up

and you don't even have a man, do you, Kate?

(EXCLAIMS IN FRUSTRATION)

Where is your man, Rita?

I don't need a man.

I am going to belt you.

I am going to belt you right across the head.

Why don't you shoot me instead?

Oh, you better run, sister.

(KATE GRUNTING)

JILLY: Help!

Help me!

There's two of them! That's a different voice, Bertrum.

Just keep moving. Keep it moving.

(PANTING) I'm running out of air, Bertrum.

This is all on account of that damn horse, you know.

That horse is at the root of this whole mess.

I don't see how you can blame a horse for us being lost out on the highway.

He started this whole thing.

(BOTH GASPING)

There's a car coming.

Maybe we can flag him down, Bertrum. There's a car. Look.

So what?

Start waving your hands. Wave your arms, Bertrum.

You wave your arms. I am about to have a heart attack here.

He's not slowing down.

It don't matter. I'm ready to die.

Come on, we better get off the road.

Bertrum, what's the matter with you? He's not slowing down.

Let him come.

He's coming right for us, Bertrum!

You better run. Now!

Bertrum!

This is not an honorable way to die.

No one is gonna remember this!

You're just gonna get squashed like a cone.

(HONKING)

Bertrum!

This is for Korea, sucker,

and the railroad

and everything else that happened before you were born.

DANE: Bertrum!

(TIRES SCREECHING)

Bertrum?

Bertrum?

(SHOUTING WAR CRIES)

That's

my horse.

That's my horse.

He tried to kill me.

He's coming for me, Dane.

He's coming...

Bertrum. ...to take me away!

(SHOUTING WAR CRIES)

Bertrum. Bertrum.

Bertrum?

(HOOFBEATS SLOWLY APPROACHING)

Bertrum?

Bertrum.

Dad?

Is that Dad?

DANE: ♪♪ The blind hoss sticken in a big mud hole

♪♪ Doo-dah, doo-dah

♪♪ Can't touch bottom with a 10-foot pole

♪♪ Oh, de doo-dah day

♪♪ Goin' to run all night

♪♪ Goin' to run all day

♪♪ I bet my money on a bob-tailed nag

♪♪ Somebody bet on the bay

♪♪ Just see them horses around the bend

♪♪ Doo-dah, doo-dah

♪♪ I guess this race will never end

♪♪ Oh, de doo-dah day

♪♪ Goin' to run all night

♪♪ Goin' to run all day

♪♪ I bet my money on a bob-tailed nag

♪♪ Somebody bet on the bay

♪♪ The long-tailed filly and the big black horse

♪♪ Doo-dah, doo-dah

♪♪ They fly down the track and they both cut across

♪♪ Oh, de doo-dah day

♪♪ Goin' to run all night

♪♪ Goin' to run all day

♪♪ I bet my money on a bob-tailed nag

♪♪ Somebody bet on the bay

♪♪ The Camptown ladies sing this song

♪♪ Doo-dah, doo-dah

♪♪ The Camptown racetrack's nine miles long

♪♪ Oh, de doo-dah day ♪♪

(SINGING IN FINNISH)

(ALL CHEERING)

Come on, Gramma, blow out your candles.

Oh, I'm not going to blow any candles out.

Oh, come on, we'll all help you.

Candles are stupid!

Everybody, one, two, three.

(ALL LAUGHING)

God doesn't count the years. Only people count years. It's stupid.

How about a toast to Gramma?

(SPEAKING FINNISH)

(ALL IMITATING ROOSTER CROWING)

(GLASSES SHATTERING)

Who's going to clean up the mess?

Mama, why don't you give Gramma our present?

Oh, you bet.

This is really from Katie, Mama.

Well, it's from all of us.

Why is everyone here on a Sunday?

I told you they would be.

Doesn't anyone go to church?

(ALL CHUCKLING)

It's not me, is it?

AMY: No, Mama! It's me!

And the girls.

Where's all the men?

(ALL LAUGHING)

(LAUGHTER CONTINUES)