Original subtitles

[opening theme music playing]

Excuse me.

-Jonathan. -How do you like the sign?

Oh, that's great. I got top billing.

Jonathan, what are we doing here?

We're waiting for an assignment.

Oh, so we just sit around with our feet up on the desk?

Well, that's what all the private eyes do in the books I read.

Jonathan, we're not private investigators.

What's the charade?

Wouldn't it be easier for us just to go out,

get to know our assignment, and get the problem solved

like we always do?

Hmm, wouldn't work with these people.

We gotta wait for the assignment to come to us.

But what if somebody just, you know, needs a detective,

sees that sign, walks in here and tries to hire us?

We'll take the case. It might be fun.

[chuckles]

Well, you sure these people are gonna be able to find us?

No problem. The boss hired a legman.

-I'm tired of these dead alleys. -Well, dead ends.

-What can we do? -I don't know.

But to come this far, and then we are so close.

-But all these official walls-- -Here you go, mister.

-No. No, thank you. -Take it. It's free.

-Throw it away. -I don't think we should. Look.

It could be the answer to our problem.

It could be fate.

It says here that you are private investigators.

-Yeah. -That's correct.

We are not sure that what we seek fits in your category.

Why don't you tell us what the problem is?

We'll help you decide.

We are from Vietnam.

Ten years ago, there was trouble and, uh... for many people.

And the northern invader decided to...

To punish certain undesirable elements in society.

It was a time of great fear and agitation.

We were sure that we would be going to prison

and maybe executed.

-So we... -We gave our children away.

You did what?

We sent our children to an orphanage as if we were already dead,

so they could be adopted.

And were they adopted?

Yes, I heard by an American family.

We were imprisoned by then.

Well, how long were you in prison?

Not quite two years.

We escaped along with others, people, in a boat.

And we landed in Malaysia, and from there we go to Singapore.

And then, I'm a doctor, and I was allowed to be there.

Now, during all this, did you hear any more about your children?

At first, only that they were safe in America.

Once we settled,

I was able to establish my practice again,

and we were able to save enough money

to come here to America.

From what information we have gotten from the government agencies,

we believe that they may be in this city.

But here is a stonewall.

Uh, everyone we talk to in authority says they cannot help,

or they are not able to help, or they are not interested.

And soon, I think all our savings will be gone,

and we would have to return to Singapore.

How old are the children now?

Dinh was eight, so he would be 18 now.

Uh, little Champ is not yet 12.

Twelve? He had to be a baby then.

Yes, a baby.

Well, I'll tell you, my partner and I specialize in this type of thing.

I have a feeling we might be able to help you.

Uh, these are their papers.

Their birth certificates, copies of orphanage records,

Dinh's school records, some pictures.

-How much do you require, retainer? -That's not necessary. Not yet.

We'll wait and see how the investigation goes first.

When my wife said we were running low on funds,

she didn't mean that we would require charity.

I understand. Make the check out for $25.

[Mrs. Truong] But that is not enough money.

[Mark] Well, it's just a retainer, you see?

That's what we always charge in cases like this.

We're gonna have to be smarter than Mike Hammer

to find these kids.

I mean, this is a big city. We haven't got very much to go on.

We're not gonna have any trouble finding the boys.

Oh, really?

The problem comes after we find them.

-Hi, honey. -Hi, Mom.

Here's the mail.

-How was your day, son? -Okay.

What's the matter?

Nothing.

You sound so down for nothing to be wrong.

If I got accepted, the university would have contacted me by now, right?

Well, maybe the letter was lost in the mail.

Come on, Mom.

I think your mother's right. Maybe you should give them a call.

What for? I'm only kidding myself.

Well, if it were me,

I would wanna know one way or the other.

Now, either you call them, or I will.

All right, I'll call them.

[whoops]

[shuts] All right. Full scholarship.

[all] Congratulations!

You guys knew this.

[all giggling]

And you were worried about getting accepted.

You got a full scholarship.

Please forgive us for opening it. We just couldn't wait.

-Way to go, bro. -I can't believe this. This is great.

This is great. Yeah.

-[doorbell rings] -Yeah.

-I'll get it. -Oh, okay.

-Yeah? -Mr. Hopkins?

That's right. Look, I don't mean to be rude,

but if you're selling something--

No, it's nothing like that. We're private investigators.

Oh, my wife's past starting to catch up with her?

-Seriously, how can I help? -It's about Dinh and Champ.

My boys haven't done anything wrong, have they?

No, no. Not at all.

Actually, it's about their parents, their Vietnamese parents.

They're alive, Mr. Hopkins.

Alive?

That's right and they'd like to see the boys.

-Howard? -Hey, Dad.

I'll be right there.

Look, I know this comes as quite a shock to you.

Yeah, that's putting it mildly.

They're here?

Yeah. They've been looking for the boys quite a while.

Well, how did you find us?

It's a long story. The important thing is we did find you.

How do you feel about allowing our clients to see the boys?

Oh...

Well, I don't know.

Look, I wanna talk this over with my wife.

I understand.

These parents, do you know what it is they want?

They just wanna see the boys, you know? See that they're okay.

Are you sure that's all?

As far as we know. I mean, they were the boys' parents.

Yeah, they were.

-[Barbara] Howard? -Coming.

Look, here's our card.

We won't give them your whereabouts until we hear from you.

Okay.

Goodbye, Mr. Hopkins.

Come on, shrimp, don't make a career out of that cake.

It's your turn to wash.

-Wait till I finish. -Come on, let's go.

Mom! Dad!

Mom's not in at the moment,

and your father's relaxing in the living room

and unavailable for intercession.

I'm afraid you'll have to settle it yourselves.

Come on, let's go. You listened, you heard.

I'm coming, I'm coming.

Yeah, so is Christmas. Let's go. Come on.

They do carry on.

[sighs]

When Dinny goes off to college,

it's gonna be awfully quiet around here.

Speaking of quiet, where have you been all evening?

Just thinking, I guess.

Getting a little sad now that Dinny's going away?

Yeah, I suppose.

He has turned into someone special.

They both have.

-Who would've thought, ten years ago-- -[telephone rings]

I'll get that.

-[ring] -Hello?

No, no, no. You have the wrong number.

Howard.

What's wrong?

Come on, tell me.

Today, two men came to the door.

Private investigators.

And?

The boys' natural parents are alive.

They're here, Barbara, and they want to see the boys.

Don't let go, please.

Don't let go.

Yeah!

Don't let go. Don't let go. Don't let go.

That's great. Yes.

I hope we're doing the right thing.

[Dinh] Yeah!

We are.

Put yourself in their place, Howard.

[Dinh] Yeah!

All they wanna do is see the boys, know they're all right.

You can't blame them.

Yeah, you're right, I guess.

Dinny reacted so strangely when we told him.

Well, it was a shock to him.

-Wouldn't it be to you? -[Champ] Yeah!

After all these years, yeah.

[chuckles]

Champ could care less, that's for sure.

[Champ] Yeah!

Champ.

Dinh.

You have grown so tall.

Why don't we all go into the house?

All the way from Vietnam to Malaysia?

That's 300 miles?

I'm not sure of the distance, but it took 27 days.

And you only had an open boat?

[gasps] It's amazing you survived.

Some didn't.

But they had been in prison longer than we and were weaker.

It is an amazing story. Where do you plan to go from here?

-Go back to Singapore. -[Barbara] How soon?

[Mr. Truong] That depends on how soon we can get all the necessary formalities arranged.

Formalities?

To take the boys back with us.

-To what? -Take them back?

Now, wait, let's just back up a second here.

What makes you think that we would let them go with you?

They are our children.

The hell they are.

You didn't just give them to us for a while.

They were orphans, or at least they were supposed to be.

We adopted them. We raised them.

What right have you to come here and ask for them back?

-We are their parents. -[Howard] Not anymore you're not.

I'm gonna have to ask you to leave here.

I wish we should settle this.

It is settled.

You just take us to court and see how far you get.

Look, Mr. and Mrs. Truong,

why don't we go back to the hotel and talk about this?

There is nothing to talk about.

I expect you to honor the promise that you made me.

And we will wait for your answer.

[sighs] I can't believe he'd even think such a thing.

Neither can I.

Dinny.

He mentioned something about a promise.

What promise?

When my father took us to the orphanage,

he made me promise that I would not let anyone

separate both Champ and I.

Whoever wanted to adopt us had to take us both, or it was no-go.

Is that all?

No.

I promised that if they survived the death camp

and came back for us, both Champ and I would leave

whoever had us and go with them.

I expected some sadness,

since they should be saying goodbye to the children.

And I understand how easy it is to become attached to young people.

However, their anger confuses me.

You don't go barging into somebody's house

and tell them you're gonna take their sons away.

-Not their sons, my sons. -Don't you understand?

They belong to the Hopkins now, legally.

What you said has no bearing on this problem.

They are our sons.

And I know exactly they really want to stay with me.

Hey, I wouldn't be too sure of that.

And I know the Hopkins sure aren't gonna go along with it.

I will leave that part to Dinh.

We engaged you how to find our sons,

not to instruct us in how to handle their return.

Do you know that?

Come on.

We should leave now.

[thumps]

This assignment stinks. Why did we get involved?

-Because it was our assignment. -Well, it was a mistake.

If we hadn't butted in, they never would've found those boys,

they'd have gone back home.

After all they've been through, they deserve to see their sons.

A right to see them, yes. A right to try to take them back, no.

Why don't you admit it, Jonathan? We messed up on this one.

We messed up.

Do you believe those people?

Coming here saying our mom and dad aren't our mom and dad?

-They aren't. -Dinh.

Come on, Champ-o, don't turn dumb on me now.

You know we're adopted.

Well, still doesn't make those people our real parents.

-But it does. -Maybe to you, but not to me.

-I don't remember them, so-- -Listen to me--

No way. I don't know those people,

and I'm not going to Singapore, whatever that is.

I don't wanna go either, but we might have to.

What are you talking about? This is where I live. I belong here.

Legally, yes. But morally, we belong to the Truongs.

What they did, they did to save our lives.

Do you understand that?

No. My name isn't Truong, it's Hopkins,

and it's gonna stay that way.

-Dinh. Come on in. -Mr. Smith.

-How are you feeling? -All right.

I would like to see my mother and father.

Would you please tell me where they are?

I'd be happy to take you there.

Um, if you don't mind, I would like to go by myself.

I understand.

I would like you to release me from my promise.

No. Impossible.

Hear me out, please.

In the ten years that I've been here,

I've made a good life for myself, and also for Champ.

We would have expected nothing less.

But it is a life that is here in America.

I've made many friends.

I even got accepted at an excellent university

on a full scholarship,

with the chance to become a doctor, like you.

It's a life with a good future.

If I go back to Singapore,

that would mean I will be starting over again.

You will be with your own family again.

You will be Vietnamese again.

And you'll be called by your rightful name, Dinh Quy Truong.

No.

My rightful name is Hopkins, and I am an American.

You are not an American, you are Vietnamese,

with a long and proud tradition of being Vietnamese.

I don't wanna go to Singapore. I want to stay here in America!

How about your promise?

Has becoming an American made keeping your word meaningless?

Vietnamese children honor their promises to their parents.

And you were born Vietnamese.

I'm going for a walk.

I need some fresh air.

I wish to be by myself.

After all these years,

all that you've been through, he is still the same.

-Stiff-necked, unyielding-- -Be quiet.

Do you have any idea what it was like back then, back there? [panting]

All those months in that filthy prison,

when we were sure we would be executed.

Almost looking forward to it

because the conditions were so awful.

But, one of the things that kept us going

was knowing that, someday, we would see you and Champ again.

It kept us alive.

I'm sorry, Mama, but you must understand how I feel.

Back in Vietnam, when I was little,

he never picked me up, held me like a son.

I felt like a stranger.

Somebody he had to order around.

It doesn't matter. He is what he is:

your father.

-Kind of dark to be shooting hoops. -Yeah.

Why don't you come on inside?

In a few minutes.

Look, son, I think I know how you feel.

I know it's not easy.

He's my father, and I made him a promise.

Come on, Dinny, you were ten years old.

You don't have to keep that promise.

Dinh.

Hey, look at me.

You're not seriously considering going back there with him?

Oh!

Come on, your whole life is here.

Everything that you have is here.

The people that love you are here.

My God, son, your mom and I love you.

I know that, and I love you, too.

But you have to try to understand.

My mother and father have lived only for us,

for the day that we would be together.

They have been through things

that you and I would not even be able to imagine.

Far worse than death.

And if I don't go, I don't think I could live with that guilt.

Guilt that he put on you.

Maybe, but it's there.

I can't erase it, and I can't make it disappear.

What about your mother and me?

What about us?

We have feelings.

God, don't you--

Don't you think I know that?

I'm sorry, but you have Champ, and they have no one.

You've made your mind up about this, haven't you?

Yeah.

I'll tell them tomorrow.

Please don't say anything to Champ, okay?

[crying]

I'd like to tell him myself.

[knock on door]

Father.

Dinh.

I will be going with you to Singapore.

I never doubted that you wouldn't, and your brother.

He will stay here.

You must talk to him. He will listen to you.

No. He doesn't even know you.

It's not right. His place is here.

-I don't understand. Your promise-- -Was to return with you.

I intend to honor that promise.

Champ was just a baby, and he made no such promise.

He's 11 years old. How can he know what's best for him?

I know what's best for him: to stay with the parents he loves.

Now, I don't wanna argue about this.

Either you get me alone, or you get neither one of us.

You do not make deals with your father.

On this point, I do. Take it or leave it.

It's enough.

I'll prepare to leave.

Your work is finished.

What is my final payment?

It's nothing.

I told you, I am in no need of your charity.

It's not charity, Mr. Truong.

I'm paid for services rendered. What have I accomplished here?

A young man forced to leave his life behind

because of a fateful promise he made as a child?

His younger brother forced to live the rest of his life

without the older brother he loved and idolized? A family torn apart?

No, Mr. Truong, I don't wanna be paid for that.

[scoffs]

"Little League batting champion, 1982."

Seems like just yesterday.

Boy, you were some kind of competitor.

You still are.

That's the big difference between you and your brother.

That drive you have.

I've always felt I had to prove something.

To try harder so I can be like the rest.

I know.

That's what made it easier for Champ.

You blazed the trail.

Well, he was younger.

He never really knew he was different.

That's what made you so special, the fact that you are different.

The two of you have brought so much joy into our lives.

I'm glad.

I think that's why it's so difficult for us to understand

why you choose to leave.

My father needs me there.

He needs to say to his friends, "Oh, this is my son Dinh."

And to know that the line of Truongs will continue.

There's nothing I can do to keep you here?

You've taught me that life is about making choices.

Once I make them, I must stick by them.

It's your brother.

Would you leave us?

-[Champ] Hi, Dad. -[Howard] Hi, Champ.

-Hey, bro. -Hey there, Champ.

Look at that mess. What are you doing?

Packing.

Packing? A little anxious to get to college, aren't you?

I mean, you don't leave till September.

I'm not packing for college.

I'm going to Singapore.

No, you're not.

I am.

Dinh, that's crazy. What are you doing?

Maybe when you get a little older, you'll understand.

Don't give me this "older" crap. What you're doing is dumb and wrong.

Look, you're not going to understand.

And I don't have very much time, so let's not spend it arguing, okay?

Fine. I won't argue. Here, I'll help you pack.

You gotta take these, all your big-deal trophies.

You gotta show them off to all your new friends.

-Champ, talk to me. -Hey, no time to talk.

We gotta pack these trophies. They're all you care about.

[voice breaking] Mom and dad don't mean anything. I don't mean anything.

Let me go. Let me go. [crying]

Please, Dinh, don't go.

Don't leave me.

[knock on door]

Jonathan Smith.

-May I come in? -Of course.

Mrs. Truong.

Did you change your mind about your fee?

No.

No, I came here to ask you to reconsider what you're doing.

There's nothing to reconsider.

We are again a family.

And it is very important for a family to be together.

Have you thought about the Hopkins family?

Have you thought about the way they feel?

-You're splitting up their sons. -They are our sons.

A son should be with his father.

You're not thinking about your son, you're only thinking of yourself.

You think that just because I do not act like American father,

I do not care for my children?

That is not true.

I have difficulty being a buddy for my children.

You care, I know that.

Just as I know you cared enough to treat wounded Americans

during the war.

-What do you know about that? -I know all about it.

You treated those men knowing that if it came out,

you'd end up in prison or even worse.

-I am a doctor. I have no choice. -Oh, yes, you did.

And how many of your colleagues turned their backs on them?

-How can you know these things? -It's not important.

Mr. Truong, what's important

is that's the memory you can leave for your son.

The memory of a father who was a dedicated man of medicine,

who risked his life to save others.

Instead of leaving him the memory of a tyrant

demanding that he keep a promise he made ten years ago.

We must finish packing. We leave in the morning.

Mrs. Truong, are you sure about this?

Are you sure about what you're doing to your son?

It is important for Mr. Truong.

I didn't ask you that. How do you feel?

It concerns a promise between a father and son.

But you're the boys' mother.

Doesn't the mother have any say in this?

Please go, Mr. Smith.

Goodbye.

Hey, Dad.

I missed you so much. Hey, you have a little bit more hair.

Hey. Oh, mom's waiting in the car. Come on, let's go.

Oh, man, I missed you so much.

Dinny.

-I love you, Mom. -I love you.

It's all right.

Dinny, don't.

Can we wait till the plane takes off?

Yeah.

Dinh.

You have become a very good and honorable son.

I'm very proud of you.

They--

Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins have done very well with you.

They deserve to continue that task.

Someday,

when the time is right,

I want you to tell your brother, Champ, how much we love him.

And you.

But...

I want you to go back to them.

You...

I'm releasing you from your promise.

It is enough that you were going to honor it.

Thank you, Father.

Hey, Champ.

You gonna stand there all day? Let's go home.

Well, I gotta tell you, buddy, really had me worried for a while.

Me too, buddy. Me too.

[theme music playing]

Sferastudios