Original subtitles

[SOFT PIANO MUSIC PLAYING]

[CROWD CHEERING]

[CHEERING CONTINUES]

ANNOUNCER: We are live at the Angelus Temple,

about to witness the main event of another roaring service.

Los Angeles' own angel,

-Sister Aimee... -[CROWD CLAMORING]

...is ready this very moment preparing to perform a miracle.

[BREATHING SHAKILY]

SISTER AIMEE: I confess.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS]

The lost, they flock to my temple.

[BREATH TREMBLING]

[CAMERA CONTINUES CLICKING]

But my gift is fading.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen at home,

Sister is about to heal...

...your radio host that your prayers for Sister Aimee

and this immobile woman in a wheelchair.

Make her walk, Sister.

-[PANTING] -WOMAN 1: You can do it.

WOMAN 2: Heal her. WOMAN 3: Yes, Sister! Yes!

MAN 1: Heal her. MAN 2: Heal her.

[PIANO MUSIC INTENSIFIES]

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

[PIANO MUSIC STOPS]

Did you hear that?

-WOMAN: Heal her. -[CROWD MURMURING]

I can hear you.

Moses, you say?

The sea, you say?

WOMAN: Come on, Sister, heal her.

ANNOUNCER: Well, folks, it looks like the Holy Spirit

has indeed spoken to Sister Aimee, and asked her to...

-Dear Lord. -...speak.

-I can hear you. -[CROWD PROTESTING]

And I shall tell your servant's tale.

[MUSIC PLAYS LOUDLY]

¶ I tell you ¶

...Idaho with a blind baby.

Oh, Sister, a baby!

No.

No blind infants.

God doesn't have it in Him tonight. I can feel it.

What about a case of moderate gout?

SISTER AIMEE: Like Psalm 142,

I am trapped!

The children will be there.

Uh, police will have to shut down the pier, because of last time.

Thirty-eight hundred?

We saved 3,800 souls this month?

HAZEL: Bless the Lord.

MAN: Praise Jesus.

The numbers went down.

-HAZEL: Oh, Sister... -Down.

Maybe...

if we went back to focusing on healing again?

[BLOWING]

SISTER AIMEE: Can't you see?

[EXHALES IN FRUSTRATION]

I'm just like them, now...

Tight fucking...

...waiting for a miracle...

[GRUNTS IN FRUSTRATION]

Uh, um...

Oh.

I'll leave this here for you.

It's...It's chamomile.

My favorite.

[MOANING]

Oh, oh!

The whale, it broke.

Oh.

It was its time, Bobby.

I'm not finished.

I... I'm not Bobby.

-What? -Kenny.

-Bobby... -Had to go back to Kansas.

Oh.

Uh, Kenneth Ormiston.

Nice to meet you, I guess, and your

-blue fingers. -Oh, it comes with the trade.

You actually have a little bit...

-Radio grease? -No, it's ink.

-Oh. -I'm a writer.

Oh.

Anything I've read?

-Well-- -You should talk to Hazel.

Get you published in one of our newsletters.

[KENNY CHUCKLES]

Oh, I'm not...

I don't think that'd be a good fit.

Most people would say, "thank you."

Oh, thank you. Thank you.

I just... I write about,

um, people.

Not the gods that they create.

What about the God?

Um...

He's a god that they created.

Is he, now?

Oh, um... Ms. McPherson...

-[STUTTERS] I mean, Sister-- -Aimee.

Aimee.

Look, I have nothing but respect

for people of faith.

It's just that I write

about everyday folk.

You know? Um...

Their lives, their struggles.

Have you ever read Jack Reed?

Insurgent Mexico? No? Okay.

My work is similar to his, but...

I go more in depth.

I'm currently collecting stories

about the Mexican Revolution.

Why?

You'd have to know Mexico to understand its significance.

Oh, you're from Mexico?

I'm from Sacramento.

But, you know, I feel their passions

from afar.

Their writers and their thinkers...

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

Ethics.

Men... just yearning for freedom.

I doubt they need false idols.

No offense.

[SISTER AIMEE CHUCKLES]

-Mexico? -Mmm-hmm.

And you've never been?

No.

[STUTTERS] No, but I'm gonna go.

When?

Soon.

I have it all mapped out.

See?

-I do see. -[CHUCKLES]

Tell me a story then, Kenneth.

Hmm? Hmm?

From Mexico.

Of the... common people.

My wife never asks me about my work. Um...

-Okay. -Ooh!

Um...

My favorite is called A Hero With No Name,

and it takes place...

Close your eyes.

Imagine.

It was the bloodiest days of the Revolution.

The north is decimated.

Ravaged.

Its people are tired,

starving.

One more defeat, just one,

and their cause is lost.

[SPANISH GUITAR PLAYING]

On a starless night, the great warrior Pancho Villa

is headed to the northern battlefields

to lend his voice and his sword

to the wavering fighters there.

-When out of nowhere... -[GUNS COCKING]

...five enemy soldiers appear.

He's surrounded.

His fate is all but decided. He's...

He's a dead man.

When...

[BLOWS]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING]

Five men, one slice.

Who was it?

No one knows.

Just that he was a tiny fellow,

a boy with no name.

You see, he didn't wanna be remembered as a hero

or a God.

He wanted his greatest victory

as a warrior

to be a victory for his people.

For Mexico.

My God.

You are good.

Oh, my dearest Hazel.

A miracle has happened.

God spoke.

Sister shall vanish.

HAZEL: Sister Aimee! Sister Aimee is gone! Help!

SISTER AIMEE: And I need you, my beloved disciple,

to tell my story.

[SOBS SOFTLY]

BROWN: Tell us what happened the day when you and Ms. Semple McPherson

went down to the beach, Ms. Zalewski.

Hazel. Everyone calls me Hazel.

-[HAZEL CLEARS THROAT] -BROWN Okay.

Hazel?

Well, we went for our weekend swim,

as always Saturdays, at the crack of dawn.

You see, Sister enjoys communing with God's natures on Saturday.

She once said in one of her most widely regarded sermons

that she feels closest to God

when she is swimming in our glorious Pacific.

Exercising the body and mind.

One with the cold underneath,

and the warmth above.

Everything was as it always is.

But then, something peculiar happened.

Sister was there in front of me,

and then she was gone.

An undertow?

Her legs cramped from the strenuous exercise and pulled her down.

[HAZEL SNIFFLING]

She evaporated.

Say, like The Little Mermaid?

["SOMEBODY STOLE MY GAL" PLAYING]

¶ Somebody stole my gal

¶ Somebody stole my pal

¶ Somebody came and took her away

¶ She didn't even say that she was leavin'

¶ Her kisses I love so

¶ The kisses now I know

¶ And gee, I know that she

¶ If she could see poor broken hearted me

[KISSING]

¶ I'm just a lonesome... ¶

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

[CHUCKLES]

Cock-a-doodle-doo.

My ar... My... [CLEARS THROAT] My arm.

You're sleeping on my...

Thank you. Ah!

[BOTH SIGH]

I slept like the dead.

I haven't slept like that in...

I don't even know.

I'll make sure you get your beauty sleep from here on out.

What do you see?

Mexico.

[KENNY CHUCKLES]

Oh, I probably think the real thing will be much more scenic than this.

[CAT MEOWING]

Than a...

a garbage can and two alley cats.

Oh, which reminds me.

Look.

Ta-da.

The new you. [CHUCKLES]

-Dot Ormiston? -Uh-huh.

Wife of Steven Ormiston.

Should we be using your last name?

Sure. It's just as common as Smith or Brown.

-Ormiston? -Yeah.

-[KNOCK ON DOOR] -Oh, hide.

Hide, hide, hide, hide.

Thank you very much.

Just enough eggs for me and myself.

Bye.

I'm Dot.

Dot Ormiston.

-[KENNY CHUCKLES] -Such a pleasure.

I know. Isn't he wonderful?

No, please, please.

Call me Dotty.

[LAUGHS]

Hmm-mmm, hmm-mmm, hmm-mmm, hmm-mmm.

"Assistant claims Sister Aimee evaporated"?

Evaporated.

Honey, evaporated isn't drowned.

Well, I wanted to give her a nice farewell.

Honey, honey. No, no, no, no, no.

"Evaporated" lets people use their imagination.

Well, we need to get out of here.

We need to get out of here.

RADIO NEWSREADER: Mass hysteria in California.

Thousands of people have taken to the roads and beaches...

Sister Aimee will return!

Sister Aimee will return!

[NEWSREADER CONTINUES INDISTINCTLY]

SISTER AIMEE: We can't cross the border here.

[PROTESTORS CONTINUE YELLING]

MAN: [ON RADIO] Let her hear your voice.

Let her know that you believe.

Let her be resurrected.

[KENNY CHUCKLES]

Uh...

Good day. We're in need of, um, a map.

Mexico or California?

Arizona, New Mexico, Texas.

We wanna tour all the south-west

before we wind up down in Mexico City.

My wife only brought the map for California.

Silly little bird. [LAUGHS]

-That's a nice car. -Yeah.

Could easily sit three, or four...

I suppose so. Um...

Do you have a map?

[CLEARS THROAT]

Maps, they cover the main road.

Great.

-But if you got the money. -Uh-huh?

A guide's better.

Oh, no.

Someone who knows the back roads.

No cops to pull you over

I know someone.

SISTER AIMEE: You go meet our cowboy.

Senor Rey?

Senor Rey?

Uh, hello.

Hello. Senor Rey?

[KENNY SPEAKS SPANISH]

Rey.

[SIGHS WEARILY]

Hola, Senor Rey?

Who sent you?

[SISTER AIMEE GRUNTS]

-Who sent you? -[SISTER AIMEE CHOKES]

Fruit stand map person.

Un-hand her.

Oh, I'm sorry.

-You must forgive me. -She...

You need a guide. I'm Rey.

Oh, you're... [LAUGHS]

Oh, you're Rey.

[SPEAKS SPANISH]

Your Spanish is... is wonderful.

Oh. [LAUGHS] Thank you.

-Steve, sweetheart. -Hmm?

She's a little extreme, don't you think?

No, I don't... No, she's a... She's a woman

who'd just taking care of herself.

Hell of a grip. [COUGHS]

I decide the route. I drive.

I don't like to talk a lot, but,

I do know all 49 species of cactus in the south-west,

and I will point them out.

Oh! We need to be in Mexico City in one week.

-Or so. -KENNY: One week.

Give me $50 now and $50 when we get to the border.

That's a little pricey.

But first...

Do you recognize this woman?

She's Dotty.

No, just...

Closer look at her face.

Anything familiar?

Are you famous?

I'm sorry. I don't go to the pictures.

[LAUGHS] Okay.

I'll go get my bag.

SISTER AIMEE: The Lord keeps speaking.

[SISTER AIMEE SPEAKS GIBBERISH]

God speaks to her.

Some people would say she wasn't well.

Well, some people would say that God is dead

and man is king, but that doesn't make it true.

Fits in public.

Spasms, fainting spells.

Tap dancing.

-God in her feet, too? -That's right.

Sometimes he tickles her toes.

Now, why are you wasting your time

trying to torture me instead of looking for my daughter?

Because a young woman died this morning.

One of your daughter's followers.

She saw her in the waves.

Bless her soul.

Don't stop there.

We also lost one of our divers trying to rescue her.

-Bless his... -Bless his soul.

We've now pulled two bodies out of that water,

and neither one was a preacher.

You're a smart woman, Mrs. Kennedy.

You know Aimee didn't evaporate.

Now, I know it's mighty hard to think about, but,

is there a chance she did this to herself?

That she swam out there...

[PANTING]

Okay? Far out.

Where no one will ever find her.

SISTER AIMEE: How's everybody feeling out there?

Are you feeling the lord?

I am.

Oh, I am.

I hear Him calling my name.

"Sister Aimee. Sister Aimee.

"Sister, heal the wounds."

Amen.

I was... I was back there in the woods

and I heard a voice.

SISTER AIMEE: Who here needs to be healed?

Why don't you come inside?

[WORSHIPPERS CLAMORING]

SISTER AIMEE: My hands help to heal this man.

Help me, Lord.

Hear my prayer.

Do everything in Your power

and let me heal this man.

What's your name, son?

MAN: Heal him. Heal him.

SISTER AIMEE: What's your name?

Sister's gathered 134 this morning.

SISTER AIMEE: Oh, Lord.

Take me in your power.

Give me strength to heal young Junior.

WOMAN: Sister, please heal him.

[WORSHIPPERS EXCLAIMING]

[PANTING]

Mother...

Two hundred.

SISTER AIMEE: Who's next?

No.

Aimee wants to be found.

[SIGHS]

[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]

[URINATING]

Are you all right there, ma'am?

-[CAP CREAKING] -Oh.

[WORSHIPPERS CLAMORING]

I could use a nice...

swim.

That's all.

MAN: Well, ma'am. You're headed the wrong way.

There's no water in that direction.

[CAP CREAKING]

Guess I'll just have to make do with stretching in the desert air, then.

Yes, ma'am.

[EXHALES]

[EXHALES DEEPLY]

REY: Peach?

Giddy-up, peanut.

We're burning daylight.

KENNY: Say, have you ever been to Mexico City, Rey?

Mmm-hmm.

Some pretty important people anticipate my arrival.

That's the bluest sky I've seen in the longest time.

KENNY: Their work is very popular in your country.

It's almost turquoise.

Writers, thinkers, political, uh--

-Cobalt. -Azure.

Political visionaries.

Who?

KENNY: Oh, I couldn't reveal their names. [CHUCKLES]

You don't know anyone.

Honey, will you hand me my...

Yeah.

I received a letter

from El Machete.

That's where we're headed to Mexico City.

They're interested in a few essays from my book.

-You got it down? -I did.

You're an observer?

I'm a journalist, a political commentator.

-Mmm-hmm. -Of sorts.

Do you know Jack Reed?

I only met him once.

El Machete?

Mmm-hmm.

-Okay. -El Machete. Okay.

What about your wife?

My, my muse.

That is my muse.

Yes.

The muse.

Azure.

SUNDAY: Mother would have called for a collector of people.

And by "people" I mean men.

Her first husband died mysteriously.

BROWN: He died of malaria.

PREACHER: She probably just swam out too far.

She forgot what God made her.

BROWN: And what's that?

A female.

Whore!

Some say that she was drunk.

-Mr. Sunday-- -Brother.

Angelus Temple. You ever been there?

-Mmm-hmm. -Mmm-hmm?

It's something, isn't it?

Five thousand seats.

I didn't count.

Three services a day, seven days a week.

Sister sure is popular.

She's the second most popular religious figure in America.

The Pope's still got number one spot.

For now.

And you...

are...

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth.

But the word of our God shall stand forever.

-Meaning? -Meaning...

I started out as a baseball player.

Showed real promise in the majors.

I hit a couple of records for stolen bases.

Everyone loves a stolen base.

I was what you would call a crowd favorite.

So, 5,300 doesn't mean that much to me.

[CHUCKLES]

Do you know what position I held?

Afraid it was before my time.

Outfielder?

SUNDAY: Defense.

That's how I started my career,

and that's how I'm ending it now, Mr. Brown.

Detective.

Now, Aimee, she thought herself on the offense

with her 5,300 seats,

and her flair, and her cheap movie flack.

-[WORSHIPPERS CLAMORING] -[TAP DANCING]

Who here to see the Lord?

Who here?

Deliver me, Sister!

Deliver me!

Well, with that...

If you gentlemen would excuse me,

I've traveled a very long way to be in Los Angeles to pay my respects.

And maybe pick off a few of her followers?

You can't tap dance your way into the souls of sinners, Detective.

You'll just end up in their nether regions.

[ANIMALS HOWLING]

SISTER AIMEE: Steve...

Are you awake, Stevie?

What are you... Shh.

She may hear us.

I don't care.

No. No. But, but, but,

you would, sweetheart.

Dotty would.

[KISSES]

Dotty's turning out to be a real bore.

[KENNY SHUSHING]

[GASPS SOFTLY]

REY: I'll be right back.

-Stevie. -Hmm?

Outside.

-Ta-da! -Oh, dear God!

SISTER AIMEE: I knew she was trouble, and you wouldn't listen.

[KENNY LAUGHS EXCITEDLY]

I mean, look at all of this.

Stop...

Put that...

[KENNY SIGHS]

KENNY: ...that car, right?

An old American made Ford.

It was a wedding gift for my wife.

Good.

Uh...

SISTER AIMEE: Kenny.

Kenny.

Come on. Let's get out of here. Now.

What? No. Come here, come here.

How does an artist die an early death?

I know how we're gonna die an early death.

A writer has to have a follow up.

Okay? El Machete, they're gonna close that book,

and the first thing that they're gonna ask me is what am I working on next.

Well...

Ta-da!

I mean, maybe we came across her for a reason.

-Fate? -That's right.

-You don't believe in fate. -Yeah, but you do.

But I do believe that a story finds its writer.

-I object. -Overruled.

KENNY: I have two brothers.

Both in accounts payable back in Sacramento.

And I imagine you must come from a whole litter, huh?

REY: Prickly pear. KENNY: Pardon?

REY: The cactus outside is a prickly pear.

KENNY: Oh. [LAUGHS]

Anyway, there can be a whole chapter about disguises.

At least a gun smuggler posing as a man.

The clock.

This is incredible.

God bless you... sister.

REY: That is a horse crippler.

KENNY: Mmm. Pretty.

Are you from Mexico originally?

'Cause your English, it's perfect.

I guess that's why you're a guide.

Have you been a guide long?

-Too long. -"Too long." [CHUCKLES]

I guess being a guide is dangerous.

Do you have kids?

You like meat, Dot?

Ye... Yes.

You see.

I'm coming. I'm following you. I'm right behind you.

[FOOTSTEPS SCUFFLING]

We... We got it.

Huge rabbit.

[BLOWING]

[GRUNTS IN DISGUST]

It's blood.

[SIGHS] There's so much blood.

[CLEARS THROAT]

[CHUCKLES SOFTLY]

MAN: Gentlemen, if you haven't found a body yet,

might you entertain the notion that

there is none?

BROWN: What do you mean by that, Brother McPherson?

Thank you. "Brother"? [SCOFFS]

No. No, I'm just a...

Harold is fine.

I find it strange that you aren't...

rattled by the disappearance of your ex-wife,

mother of your child.

Fellas,

one summer

I was visited by a red-tailed hawk.

Every morning I'd go out and smoke a cigarette on my porch, and there she was.

This beautiful bird.

Just eyeing me from one of the birch trees next to the pond.

And it got to be quite a habit.

I would leave out a little, uh, piece of meat

at night and it would be gone the next day.

Until one morning,

no bird.

It vanished.

Now, if that happened to you,

you wouldn't be rattled by it, would you?

You'd just think, by golly...

She flew away.

[SISTER AIMEE HUMMING CHEERFULLY]

HAROLD: Are you taking the children?

Of course I am, Harold.

CHILD: Go, go, go, go.

Come on. Come with Mama.

-[BABY CRYING] -It's gonna be fine.

Just come with Mama. Okay.

Bye, Berta.

[CAR DOOR SLAMS]

[ENGINE STARTS]

[BIRD CHIRPING]

You see, Aimee had a...

Well, she had callings.

And she followed them.

BROWN: So, you think she just

swam away?

Figuratively speaking, yes.

In most cases, when a lady swims away,

we look to the husband.

And when she doesn't have one,

we look to the ex.

To the... [LAUGHS]

Okay.

I should take that as a compliment.

[LAUGHS HEARTILY]

The truth is, if anyone tried anything funny with her,

my money's on Aimee.

[EXHALES HEAVILY]

My wife's waiting outside.

Does she have a calling, too?

[SCOFFS] No.

So, you're saying your father taught you how to hunt?

SISTER AIMEE: She didn't say that.

KENNY: Did he also teach you to field dress the hare

with such eficiencia

and, uh, rapida?

[SIGHS HEAVILY]

What?

No, no, no, no, no.

That limp little boob.

Doesn't even wait till my body's cold.

REY: Dot, you okay?

Of course.

I'm dandy.

I'm Dot.

KENNY: Thing about a character

like Rey

is that

she's an onion,

and she must be peeled delicately.

One must look for clues.

You're not gonna smoke that

in here, are you?

You've seen the line of trust

that I've built with her.

Hmm. That's key. The subject

has to believe...

-[LIGHTER CLICKS] -...in the scribe.

There's a story in here. I know it. I just have to find it.

-Let me see it. -Don't! Dotty.

-That's... -Oh.

-"Made tortillas with abuela" -[SHUSHING]

"Rabbit hunt.

"Rabbit dead."

Oh, but, here it is.

"In my observations of Rey,

"I've come to understand that the female criminal mind is..."

What? What is it?

You have me on the edge of my seat.

You don't understand.

It's a process.

I know how to get a goddamn story.

Oh. [LAUGHS]

This is the story.

Oh. [SCOFFS] What is that?

It's the note that the priest gave Rey.

-Huh? -I stole it.

Oh. Um...

Well... Well done.

Well done, my muse.

Can I, uh, can I see it?

No.

-Let me see it. -No.

-Let me see it! -No!

Give me that...

-Ow! -[GRUNTS]

I'm beginning to doubt these observaciones.

[KNIFE SCRAPING]

Do you mind? Mine's empty.

Ooh.

Two sips of that and I'll be flat on my back.

-Give it a try. -Oh, I will.

Mmm!

That's some authentic stuff.

Rey, you a bootlegger?

I notice that's an awfully robust knife for a guide.

Mind if I take a look?

Very intimidating.

Circa 1900?

1910.

Issued during the Revolution.

I see.

Military arms.

Five.

What does that symbolize?

Five, um...

[MEN LAUGHING]

Howdy, sir.

Hope you don't mind, but we saw your fire.

Name's Butch.

That's Peacock, John Jack.

And the Mexican goes by the name Juan.

Who might you be?

Steve Ormiston.

BUTCH: Well, you wouldn't mind sharing refreshments

with some lost men, would you, Mr. Ormiston?

-SISTER AIMEE: Yes. -KENNY: No.

KENNY: Have a seat.

[CHUCKLES]

A nice car you got there, Mr. Ormiston.

Thank you.

Thank you. Yeah, it was a gift for my wife.

I hope you gents don't mind me saying, but,

I bet you got a story or two between you?

I'm a bit of a chronicler of sorts.

You said?

BUTCH: Chronicler, Peacock.

Like a collector.

KENNY: No.

It's like a writer.

You writing them dirty serials?

[CHUCKLES] No.

Uh, no. More like essays.

Well, we got stories.

Don't we, boys?

Peacock, well...

He's known around these parts for some unruly behavior.

None of it's been proven in a court of law, mind you.

[LAUGHS]

John Jack, well...

There ain't a lady he hasn't tasted

from Mexico up to Montana.

KENNY: How about Juan?

He cut them Mexicans up like they were bunnies in the war.

[WRYLY] Ha ha.

Slice.

That's why I ain't screwing around with Juan like Peacock over there.

He ain't one to brag about his conquests,

but I reckon there ain't a man, woman, or...

man-woman

who ain't heard of Juan.

Tell 'em who you are, Juan.

Tell 'em what you've done.

I killed five men

with one slice.

Chopped their heads clean off the shoulders.

One slice.

Come on, now, tell 'em.

It was the bloodiest night of the Revolution.

One more defeat,

and our cause would be lost.

One starless night,

Pancho Villa was on his way

to the northern battlefields,

to lend his voice and his sword to the wavering soldiers.

But out of nowhere,

five men attacked Villa.

[GUNS COCKING]

It was all but decided.

He was a dead man.

-But then... -[SWORD SLICES]

five men...

one slice.

[GASPS]

You're the boy with no name.

[REY SCRAPES KNIFE]

[KENNY CHUCKLING] This is unbelievable.

I need to get my... Get my...

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

But, uh, wasn't the...

the hero a quick and slender fella?

No offence, but you're a...

a little big boned, aren't you, Juan?

-BUTCH: Mr. Ormiston? -Huh?

Is your lady calling our Mexican a liar?

KENNY: What? No!

No.

She's not.

[GRUNTS] Um...

Friends, would you mind

just letting me pick your brain for a little while?

Huh? For my new book.

BUTCH: That's all right, Mr. Ormiston.

I reckon we can figure out some form of reimbursement for our services.

KENNY: Oh, great, great.

Uh, so it's Peacock.

[CHUCKLES] Peacock.

I mean... [LAUGHS]

Uh, if you'll excuse me, I think

I'll retire for the evening, gentlemen.

BUTCH: Have another sip, Mr. Ormiston.

Go on, now. Drink up.

KENNY: Oh, sure. I'll take another swig.

[MEN LAUGHING]

[EXHALES HEAVILY]

[GUN CLICKS]

[MEN LAUGHING]

[EXHALES]

[LAUGHTER CONTINUES]

KENNY: I received a letter from El Machete.

That's why

the three of us are going there tomorrow.

I like it when they fight back.

Peacock, is it?

No.

I've been on the road before.

Tent revivals.

[GUNSHOT]

We need to clean up.

[SNORING SOFTLY]

SISTER AIMEE: We have to go.

Mmm-mmm. No, I have work to do.

The fellas are taking me out on a trip--

SISTER AIMEE: They left before dawn.

Come on.

They're gone.

Come on.

It's all the same to me, I got what I want.

-A chapter at least. -Wonderful.

Maybe even two. Hold on.

You have something. Right...

[MUSIC PLAYING]

WAITRESS: All right.

Can I get you folks anything else?

KENNY: No, thanks.

MAN: Dot, these dishes ain't gonna clean themselves.

Yes, Frank.

WAITRESS: Coffee, Sheriff?

SHERIFF: Just a drop or two.

Thank you.

Good day.

KENNY: Good day.

You driving that sedan out there?

Which one?

What, that maroon one?

-That very one. -Yeah.

Yeah, I am. That's ours. That's mine.

Yeah, sure am.

I'm Steven Ormiston.

I'm Steven. Steve. Just call me Steve.

Looks like you've been out off the roads there.

Off the roads. Yes, indeed.

-We're on our honeymoon. -Yeah.

And my husband, bless him,

has agreed to take me on an adventure tour.

The great yonder.

I see.

SISTER AIMEE: I'm a bit of a wild child,

and my husband is more of a motor court kind of a man,

but he adores me too much.

He even got us this lovely guide. Um...

Rose.

Rose.

Say, in the yonder, you wouldn't have come across a group of men,

unseemly crew,

vagabonds?

-Oh! -We've seen absolutely nobody

in ages.

Other than the staggering variety of cactus

you fine folks have down here.

Did you know that there are 48 types of cactus

in the state of New Mexico alone?

I did not, ma'am.

-SISTER AIMEE: Forty-eight. -Forty-nine.

SISTER AIMEE: Oh, that's right, 49.

But, um,

should we be on the lookout?

Are these men dangerous, or...

Well, on the account of them having their throats cut,

I'd say no.

Good Lord.

Bless their souls.

[REY PRAYS IN SPANISH]

Yep. And keep these ladies safe.

We got a killer out there slicing people ear to ear.

Yeah.

SHERIFF: Well, take care, now.

We sure will keep a lookout and we do appreciate it.

[SIGHS HEAVILY]

-We could have given him a name. -SISTER AIMEE: What?

The police. We could've given

a name. We know who killed them.

Juan.

He could've killed all of us, and now he's out on the loose.

I mean, we could've given the sheriff a name--

If the sheriff asks, it's probably better not to say anything.

Don't you think,

Steve?

REY: I think I'll sleep in the car tonight.

Fine idea, Rey.

Excellent.

[SISTER AIMEE SIGHS]

[EXHALES HEAVILY]

Don't believe everything you read in the papers.

Don't believe everything a drunk vagabond tells you.

You're the boy with no name.

[PEOPLE CLAMORING]

You must have one hell of a story.

[GUNFIRE]

[BABY CRYING]

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

SISTER AIMEE: I'm so sorry, Rey.

What an awful thing for...

No, no, I'm not sorry.

[GUNFIRE CONTINUES IN BACKGROUND]

It fit in my hand, so I took it.

[SPEAKS SPANISH]

And then what?

A week later, I joined Villa's army in the north.

Never looked back.

And who are you fighting for now?

I mean, who are

these weapons for, the priest?

He's one of many.

The government started to issue, um,

a law that restricts religion,

Catholic infantries.

In Mexico?

Oh, in... Mexico.

They're persecuting Christians?

It's a ruse.

They're taking lands. They want a war.

You're doing God's work.

I'm arming the peasants

who fight for God.

You're a hero.

SISTER SEMPLE: How you have fallen from Heaven,

oh, star of the morning,

daughter of the dawn.

-BROWN: Ms. Semple. -Sister.

BROWN: Of course.

-Note this down. -[CHILD CRIES]

The Holy Spirit moved powerfully within my brother.

Aimee was very young when they got married,

and only 19 when he passed away.

And yet, she was already

Aimee.

[CHILD CRYING]

He would have hated this.

Joy.

Joy is what can heal us.

So, joy is what we must find.

[SISTER AIMEE SINGING] ¶ Jesus, I long I long to be winning

¶ Men who are lost and constantly sinning

¶ Oh, may this hour be one of beginning

¶ The story of pardon to tell ¶

WOMAN: Sister Aimee.

[CHURCH ORGAN PLAYS]

SISTER SEMPLE: Aimee Elisabeth Kennedy is nothing more

than a thief.

And I saw where it started.

You shouldn't ask, "Who stole Aimee?"

You should ask, "Whom did Aimee steal?"

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

Cock-a-doodle-do, Dot.

I was getting eaten alive in that tent.

Surprised you could sleep.

I see.

Oh, I wanna get to the border today.

Rey, you said today, right?

REY: Yeah, today.

Excellent.

That's...

[EXHALES HEAVILY]

[BLUES MUSIC PLAYS SOFTLY OVER RADIO]

We have a problem.

SISTER AIMEE: Jesus Christ!

Jesus Christ!

I can't risk it.

Maybe I take the car,

-you two take the train. -No.

No.

He takes the train.

It's my car.

If that works for you.

[BLUES MUSIC CONTINUES]

KENNY: You missed the turn, Rey.

Oh, sorry. Rey, it was a left. Rey, it was a left.

Okay, I'm driving.

Rey, you're going the wrong way.

The border is the other direction.

Where the hell are you going?

[CAR STOPS]

Will you give us a moment, Rey?

[CAR DOOR SHUTS]

[SNIFFS, CLEARS THROAT]

[EXHALES, CHUCKLES]

Hmm!

[CHUCKLES]

[SNIFFS]

Ha! So, they figured it out.

Hmm. We're almost in Mexico, so...

-You're going back. -[LAUGHS IN DISBELIEF]

-What? -You're going back to Los Angeles

to clear this up.

This can't be my legacy.

Ran away with a radio engineer?

But you did.

We're going to Mexico.

I'm going to Mexico.

I am Mexico!

Oh, I see how it is.

First it's Semple, then it's McPherson,

then it's God, then it's Kenny.

Who's next? That Mexicali rose?

Yeah, how about that? Let's get something straight, Dotty.

I'm not going back. I am Mexico.

I am El Machete.

I am the reason that we are all here!

SISTER AIMEE: Gag him.

Bind him. Don't be too gentle.

[KENNY SCOFFS IN DISBELIEF]

[LAUGHS] Wha...

May I have it, now?

I know you think you're going to Mexico.

That El Machete is going to fawn over your observations,

and that you're going to be a great, great writer.

But, sweetheart, there's a problem.

You can't see past your own nose.

Five.

Five soldiers on a starless night,

on the northern battlefields.

Or maybe it's four vagabonds

and one sleeping fool.

[MUFFLED SPEECH]

[SHUSHING]

Oh, Bobby. [SIGHS HEAVILY]

Don't be too hard on yourself.

You really did sweep me off my feet,

if only for a little while.

You're going back to Los Angeles,

and you're clearing this up.

Think of it as your last chance to tell a great story.

You got bamboozled

into a fake radio conference. You lost your money,

your pride.

You're gonna give this note to Hazel.

And you're gonna go back to your wife,

and you're never gonna mention me again.

And if you do,

just think of the hero with no name,

and all the things she can do to you.

[MELANCHOLY MUSIC PLAYING]

SISTER AIMEE: "My trusted friend,

"God spoke to me again.

"Sister shall have no body,

"no resurrection.

"She shall die

"in the ocean."

[REY LAUGHS]

SISTER AIMEE: "Hazel, recant, will you?

"Let Sister die a human,

"so that at least the spirit of her precious congregation

"can live on.

"And I, like Isaiah 42:13,

"shall go forth like a warrior.

I will never return, Hazel.

"I will never return."

Mexico looks exactly like America.

Some parts.

It's a big country.

So, you, uh, just remembered this?

HAZEL: Yes.

You're absolutely certain?

A shark got her.

[SOBS] All of her.

Sister Aimee is never coming back.

[SNIFFLES]

[TELEPHONE RINGS IN BACKGROUND]

[SOBBING]

[SPEAKS SPANISH]

SISTER AIMEE: Anonymous?

Hmm?

I like the sound.

I guess I've never been anonymous.

Not in a long time.

What are you talking about?

You're Dot.

I need a new name.

Or no name.

Maybe there can be two heroes with no name.

[SPEAKS SPANISH]

[CHATTER CONTINUES]

I tried to say my name, but no one listened, so I stopped.

They believe me only in death.

Better if I go alone.

[CATTLE MOOING]

REY: Padre...

Padre.

Hola.

REY: Let's go.

I'm driving.

[WHISTLE BLOWS]

Shit.

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

Relax.

There's nothing left in the car. Relax.

Hola.

Officers, is there a problem with the road?

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

Who's Fernandez?

FERNANDEZ: Mrs. Ormiston.

Would you like to try that again?

I told you. I'm just an entertainer, that's all.

I tell stories.

This isn't the cross of Christ, then?

It bears a certain resemblance,

but it's all a costume.

And look at the beadwork on that robe.

A first class designer in Hollywood made that for me.

An entertainer.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

Rudolph Valentino?

I did mainly stage productions.

Mmm.

You understand

that a punishment for pushing religion

is whatever I choose?

Oh, that can't be true.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

No?

[CONTINUES IN SPANISH]

Please, I'm just an entertainer, I swear.

Prove it.

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

[CLATTERING]

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

You say you are an entertainer.

Entertain us.

Tell us a story that sweeps us off our feet.

For both your sakes.

[CLEARS THROAT NERVOUSLY]

Usually, there's a...

More happening. Um...

Uh, there's a band,

and a spotlight or two.

[CLEARS THROAT]

Who here wants to be healed?

Who here has killed someone?

Well, I have.

Who?

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

She said she's a murderer.

Who did you kill?

Sister Aimee Semple McPherson.

That's who.

I drowned her.

I pushed her

down, down, down, down, down

into the deep, dark,

blue ocean.

I... put...

Sorry, I'm a little rusty.

I believe I've seen enough.

Pedro. [SNAPS FINGERS]

No, no, no, wait. Just one more story.

I... Pedro.

You're gonna love this one.

FERNANDEZ: Your last story, Mrs. Ormiston.

[VOICE SHAKING] Just tell the story.

[REY HUMMING]

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]

[REY CONTINUES HUMMING]

[PIANO MUSIC STARTS PLAYING]

The day I lost him was the day I was born

into this life of healing.

I was a widowed mother.

Lost, forlorn.

Maybe you know the feeling?

¶ But what good

¶ Is being idle

[TRANSLATING IN SPANISH]

¶ And what joy

¶ In being still

[TRANSLATING IN SPANISH]

¶ When a path before me calls

[TRANSLATING IN SPANISH]

¶ With a purpose

¶ To fulfill

[REY TRANSLATING IN SPANISH]

¶ A new man tried to give me life

¶ Yes, a home

¶ The whole shebang

¶ But I proved unfit

¶ To be his settled wife

[TRANSLATING IN SPANISH]

[UPBEAT MUSIC]

¶ I tell you when you hear a calling

¶ You can't help but listen

¶ When you see that golden road

¶ You're walking no matter the distance

¶ When the blind ask for eyes to see

¶ When the dumb search for words to speak

¶ When the chain beg for a key

¶ Someone has to answer

¶ Someone has to answer

¶ And I know they're calling me

¶ If you ask Sunday he'll have his view

¶ Thinks that I'm just a show boat pony

¶ As if my crime was filling every pew

¶ A little flare never hurt nobody

¶ I tell you

¶ When I heard them calling

¶ I couldn't help but listen

¶ When I saw them dulling down

¶ I gave 'em a love that glistened

¶ When the lame need legs to run

¶ When wanderers seek shade from the sun

¶ Oh just relief when life weighs a ton

¶ Someone has to answer

¶ Someone has to answer

¶ I know they're calling me

¶ I gave so much it broke me

¶ And I slipped into the night

¶ Like a bandit I was nameless

¶ Like the guilt out of sight

¶ But there's no drowning out the voices

¶ And no burying them in the sand

¶ God indeed gives you the choice to go

¶ But in the end you'll take my hand

¶ I tell you

¶ Can you hear them call, Sister?

¶ Can you hear them call, Aimee?

¶ Can you hear them call, Sister?

¶ Can you hear them call, Aimee?

¶ Can you hear them call, Sister?

¶ Can you hear them call, Aimee?

¶ Can you hear them call, Sister?

¶ Can you hear them call, Aimee?

¶ Can you hear it? Can you hear it?

¶ Well, I can hear it

¶ I can hear it loud and clear

¶ Who here? Who here needs to be healed?

¶ You? And you?

¶ And you? And you? ¶

[ALL SPEAKING FRANTICALLY]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[ALL EXCLAIM IN SPANISH]

[SISTER AIMEE SIGHS]

[MEN CONTINUE EXCLAIMING IN SPANISH]

[REY SIGHS HEAVILY]

Take this.

For the car.

Give 'em hell, Rey.

Given 'em heaven, Aimee.

[CAR DOOR SHUTS]

[ENGINE STARTS]

["SOMEBODY STOLE MY GAL" PLAYING]

¶ Somebody stole my gal

¶ Somebody stole my pal ¶

Help me!

Help!

I've been kidnapped!

Please!

I've been kidnapped. Please!

Help me!

RADIO ANNOUNCER 1: This is KNSP radio.

A miracle!

Sister Aimee has returned.

RADIO ANNOUNCER 2: Los Angeles show personality Sister Aimee Semple McPherson

-is believed found in Mexico. -[SIGHS IN EXASPERATION]

She was taken from us, held against her will,

but found strength to escape

and come back to us.

NEWSREADER 1: LAPD says it is fully prepared to open another investigation

into the disappearance of preacher and show woman Sister Aimee Semple McPherson,

this time to probe the missing woman's own words.

[NEWSREADER SPEAKING SPANISH]

NEWSREADER 2: Thousands line the streets of Los Angeles

to welcome Sister Aimee Semple McPherson, feared dead--

NEWSREADER 3: A tale that is truly--

[NEWSREADERS OVERLAP]

I've had a long and arduous journey.

But the good Lord guided me back to you.

So, what do you say?

Who here needs to be healed?

WOMAN: I love you, Sister!

[WORSHIPPERS CLAMORING]

[TRIUMPHANT MUSIC PLAYING]

ANNOUNCER: We are live at the Angelus Temple,

about to witness the main event of another roaring service.

Los Angeles' own angel,

Sister Aimee Semple McPherson

is right at this very moment preparing to perform a miracle.

[MUSIC CONTINUES]

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

[MUSIC RESUMES]