Original subtitles

Working in the store Sunday all day.

Can I help you?

I want to drink this Mexican boy, Johnny Alonzo, from L.A. near Riverside.

He makes my heart throb...

♪ Thumpety, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum ♪ when I see him.

He says he's 18, but he could be 16.

Do you want some chips?

All I want to do is caress him. I want to hold him.

- What's that? - He has these Hickeys on his neck.

- What have you got there? - He likes men.

What's that? That looks like a Hickey.

Gonna be your friend. Su amigo.

He's out on the street with friends staying in a three-dollar-a-night...

cheap hotel room on Sixth off skid road.

- And he speaks almost no English. - Hey, tell him I'm not the Immigration.

Como Se llama?

Me llamo Johnny Alonzo.

And you don't have any place to stay, do you?

Look here, man. Let me have a pack of Top, will ya?

That's all I wanna hear.

- There you go, huh? - All right. Thanks a lot.

Thanks.

Hey, Johnny.

Hola.

Que pasa?

Es muy frio.

Come here, you little cutie.

You need a place to stay tonight?

I mean, there's always my place.

Okay?

And it's right across from the Y.W.C.A. over there.

Hey. Wait a minute. Come back.

No way.

I'm in love with this boy.

- Really. - You are always in love.

No. I mean, Sarah, he just came into the store.

I mean, I'm sure he just got into town.

You see people come into the store all the time.

Let me invite him to dinner.

Okay.

So where are we gonna find him?

- I don't know. - Hmm.

The street.

How old is he?

- He says he's 18, but... - Oh.

I don't know. He's probably...

Vegetables and rice.

Sounds good.

I don't care. Even...

Even if it jeopardizes working at the store...

I have to show him that... that I'm gay for him.

I have to show him how I feel.

What are you doing out here by yourself, honey?

Oh, I... I'm waiting for some friends of mine, actually.

- Oh, okay. You're all right? - Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks.

Hello. Hola.

You ran out without paying?

Are they looking for you now?

Are they after you?

Um, we're gonna be leaving pretty soon actually.

I'm sorry. I didn't know you're... Are you married?

Well, no. It's a... It's some friends of mine.

You know, usually people cook, you know, they're married.

- It's kind of dumb. - No. Um, you're gonna get hit, you know.

Oh, God. I've been hit before, you know.

Hey. What are you doing under my car?

Johnny.

No, we'd like to invite you over... Excuse me.

We'd like to invite you for dinner. We're gonna make you some good food.

We're hoping to cook him for dinner tonight.

You're gonna cook him for dinner?

Gonna make something for them to eat actually.

Tienes hambre? Are you hungry?

Come on.

Sure. Sure. Come on.

- Take care, okay? - Okay. You too, lady.

- Be careful. - Bye-bye.

Wow!

Hey. Hey. What are you doing?

I am gonna be making you some good food. Where'd you get this stuff at?

No, no. I'm gonna be cooking some vegetables.

Listen to her.

All right. All right. He is a sugar freak.

Permiso?

Si.

It's okay. Sure. We can go back. It's all right. Don't freak out.

- What's the matter? - He wants to go back to the hotel.

It's okay. Si. Es posible.

Okay. I'll take him back. Then we'll... Si. Es posible.

Hey.

Sure. Sure. Tell him to come. Let him get in the front. Get in the front.

There's room up here.

Hola.

Un momentito.

Shh.

What'd he say?

Well, he says that when, um, they first came on the train...

they had another friend with them, and...

and the police came... Tres policia?

Si. There were, like, three police.

Jumped him, and they...

They hurt their friend. Killed him?

- That's horrible. - I think he, like, killed him.

- What's this... - The biggest pro...

The biggest problem is you get too far removed from the death aspect.

It's like you walk into McDonald's, and they just line the cows up...

and they bump 'em all off for you and you never have to see it happening.

If you had to go out there and kill every piece of meat that you ate...

that's a... that's a little easier for me to buy, you know,

because you experience the death.

You see it happening, and you realize what you're doing when you eat it.

But when you walk into a McDonald's and say, "Uh, give me a Big Mac"...

you know, you're just getting dead cow and you never see the cow die.

All those poisons release at the time of death too.

Bad for your karma.

So it's not bad to eat food without meat in it. You know. You can survive.

- Nice meeting you. - Adios.

- Gracias. - Gracias. De nada. De nada.

We returned downhill through the tunnel curves fast.

Jesus Christ. The boy's insane, like all Mexicans, about driving fast and crazy.

In the front seat next to him I cover my eyes, tell him to slow down.

It's too late to get control of the wheel.

The look on his face is pure ecstasy.

The incredible, beautiful, turned-on face of an ignorant Mexican teenager.

His friends laughing in the backseat...

driving a maniacal machine downhill as fast as he can go.

I'll give you $15 if I can sleep with Johnny.

Quince dolares.

Si? Para me and Johnny.

Is okay? Bien?

Quince dolares. I wish I had more. I wish I had a hundred.

I love you.

Come on.

Ask him.

Mm-mmm.

I'd give you 50 if I had it, but I only have 15.

Quince dolares para Tu.

Fifteen dollars?

Come on. Angel face.

- I want to sleep with him. - Okay, vamos.

Where the hell do you think you're goin'?

- Upstairs. - No visitors.

No, we're not visitors. Uh, I'm with him. We're going upstairs.

Got a key?

The key.

- Doesn't have it. - No visitors.

- Oh, come on. We're going upstairs. - You're not going anywhere.

- He lives here. - Where's his key?

- Get out of here. - We're going upstairs.

No, you're not going anywhere.

- Open the door. - No.

- Come on. Just open the door. - Get out.

What's it gonna hurt you? Just open the door.

Get out. Get out.

Bitch!

You fat cow!

Shit!

Damn slut!

Fat cow!

What are you gonna do? You're locked out too.

You want to stay at my place?

You can stay there. It's better than out here.

Okay?

Fuckin' bitch!

I have to go work for about an hour. I'll be right back.

Make yourself at home.

Mas lento. Mas lento.

Slow down.

He said he needed to tomar agua... get some water.

Is that when he slips the $10 bill from my pants, or did I lose it?

I think he got it.

They need money... Johnny and him. I hope they got it.

Though I was upset that I'd been fucked, violated and lost the money too...

for a few moments, thinking about it, in the morning...

of the Mexicans gloating over having fucked the gringo puto and got his money too...

talking about it and laughing, my ass sore.

And the more I think about it, the more I know I asked for a reckless evening.

Johnny'll probably never look at me or talk to me as a friend.

He probably wouldn't have in the first place. I had to find out...

to get as close to him as I could...

even if it turned into a shit-bad night.

Hey, buddy, how's it going?

- All right. What can I get ya? - Oh, we need a fifth of Night Train.

- Fifth of Night Train. - Yeah.

He said he was gonna return to L.A. in 15 days...

as soon as he got traveling money together.

He lives with nine or ten brothers.

Maybe when they're making love they can think about Roberto having fucked me.

Roberto's cock fucks Johnny fucked me.

That's about as close to Johnny as I'll ever get.

Unless I had the money. Poor boys never win.

Who fucks whom? Mala noche.

Every street Mexican on Sixth will think he can stick it in me.

Well, they're wrong.

But they never were too smart to begin with, or they wouldn't be here.

Chingalo. My ass is sore.

It's true.

I think he tried to use his cock like a weapon on me, macho fucking prick.

Johnny comes into the store often.

An acquaintance of mine brought a camera into the store the other day...

and I gave him $10 for it.

We decided to go out and see if it worked.

It does! Hey!

Pepper talks to a dog we find on the street...

and I say, "You lead a dog's life."

I don't think he understands.

Johnny doesn't want... doesn't want to be in our movie...

and tells me Ro... Roberto wants to learn to drive the car.

- Tell me. - Randy. Is that your name?

No no, my name's Walt.

Walt. Ok, Walt.

- I'm Dieter. - Yeah.

- This is my cousin Franz. - Ah. Good to meet you, Franz.

We went through the Second World War.

Yeah, can I have some Night Train?

- Right where his daddy was born. - Buck and a half.

Hola. What happened with the police?

Are they after you, or...

Can I get you something? Tienes hambre?

Cuidado.

Veinticinco.

Para Tu, nada.

- Yeso por Que? - Cuidado.

Un momentito.

Hey!

Hasta luego.

- Shut up. - Hey. Little brother.

Come here. Me speak a little English.

"A circuit court jury in Portland unanimously

convicted 22-year-old Armando...

'Zamora Flores, a transient, of murder and first-degree robbery...

in the slaying of William Somerset, 53."

Night... "1543 Bidwell Street."

Hey, hey, hey.

Look. "Flores, through a Spanish-speaking interpreter"...

"maintained that they thought they were going to another tavern...

but went instead to Somerset's house."

- Hey, hey. - Wait a minute. Wait a minute.

"He said there a man made homosexual advances towards him...

"and when he refused, came at him with a knife.

They struggled, and Flores said he stabbed Somerset."

Friend of yours?

You see how sad that is?

Nope.

- Vamonos. - You any...

Great. You got a gun, huh?

You can't just carry it around like that. What are you trying to prove?

You're gonna shoot your balls off.

What if... What are you gonna do if somebody

pulls a gun on you and you have to use it?

Look. Don't point that thing. It's not a toy.

Take it out of here.

Man.

Get it out of the store. You're just gonna get in trouble.

Take the pie. Vamoose.

Take it and go.

Roberto never acknowledges the fuck of the night before.

It's as though it never happened.

Johnny has two tiny pimples...

zits from bad food on his chin.

And he looks sleepy all the time.

Look, driving's not a game for kids. All right? It's serious.

Johnny!

No!

Muchachos!

The police are gonna pick us up.

Muchacho!

Pull over right now. I'm gonna drive.

You can drive later. I just don't want you to kill me.

We can't stay here forever. Get in the car.

Get back in the car.

We're heading west towards the Pacific Ocean.

Johnny will never, never go anywhere with me alone.

I find that sad and absurd.

But it's part of the game that he and I play in having a relationship at all.

I don't take it personally.

He feels more comfortable surrounded by his friends.

I don't want to interfere with their lives.

If these two friends are happy, that's the way it should be.

A gringo like me has an easy life... a privileged life...

and just because I see someone attractive like Johnny...

doesn't mean I should be able to have him...

to buy him or whatever, just because he's hungry and on the street...

desperate, good-looking.

That wasn't my intention exactly, but it could be misunderstood that way.

Get back here!

Cough 'em up, you little nino.

Muchacho.

Give me the keys, you little shit!

Open the door! Open the... Open the door.

Open it. Where you goin'? Sto...

What are you doing?

Oh, great.

Look. Open the door. Open it up.

Open the fucking... Stop the car! Bring it back here!

- Here's my... - The drink's...

- That's for credit. - No credit. I'm sorry, buddy.

It's 3.69. You got cash, I'll sell it to you. No credit.

Credit's like sex. Some get it, some don't. Sorry, man.

The plan is simple.

I go to his room at midnight.

He opens the door, sees that I want him that badly...

I lay down at his feet like a dog.

Or rather, at the feet of Roberto and him and...

And after an hour or so, when none of us knows

what to do any longer, I get up and I leave.

My point is being made, that I want to see him badly, right?

That must mean something. How many gringos...

have acted that dramatically toward him ever?

And whether or not he could respond in any meaningful way doesn't matter.

He would think of it as a dramatic macho act.

Oh shit... ssshh.

No. Look, no... I'm not... I'm not Immigration.

Yo no migras.

Que... No. N-No. No... Shh! No, wait. Wait.

It's okay. I'm not the Immigration. All right?

It's a mistake. Shh! No! W...

What the hell are you doin' out there?

- Look, I'm just looking for some... - Get off of there!

- I was looking for some friends of mine. - Get off of there!

I got the wrong apartment. It's a mista... Don't you remember me from the store?

Goddamn sleazeball.

Get out of here! Get!

Okay, I'm leaving. I'm going, all right?

It was a mistake. I'm sorry.

J-Just...

Damn!

I think there was one kid. He moved out this morning.

Do they know that I'm here because I'm in love with the boy?

Why would a gringo be here? Who would he be looking for?

A junk dealer?

A whore? A queer?

Well, at least I tried.

Excuse me. Have you seen a guy come in here, a Mexican kid?

He's about this tall, he's got long hair,

he's wearing a... a jean jacket and jeans...

and, like, a plaid shirt, and he's got boots...

I seen a lot of... a lot of Mexicans coming in here.

It's, like, Saturday and Sunday we were so close...

and then, phfft... it's all over.

I don't know, I really thought he was starting to like me.

But I guess not. Just another fantasy.

Or maybe we can only communicate to a certain point.

I've always had that problem with you.

I go to the Grecian Gardens raving, "Johnny's gone."

I have a couple of beers and tell my old buddy George...

about the impossibilities of love.

So, is he gonna come back and get you, or what?

No Se.

Where did they go? Thanks.

- What do you need? - No Se. Maybe Idaho.

Um, get me a big bottle of Night Train.

- All right. A big one. - And a pack of Pall Malls.

$2.60... Buck and a quarter.

Well, I can't believe that they just took off and left you here.

You sure he's coming back? What do you need?

Hey, you can't bring that cart in here! Take that out. Take that out!

- I'll take it out. - Yeah, right.

- Yeah? - Yeah.

It's worth about two bucks. I don't... I can't use it, though.

Yeah. Veinticinco. Veinticinco.

Right. That's the price tag. That's what people pay in the store for it.

But it's worthless unless you want a pot like this.

Por Tu, quince pesos.

But it's not worth anything unless you happen to want a pot like this...

and then you go into the store and get it.

I can't do anything with it.

Don't you have a place to stay?

No.

You're welcome to stay at my place.

- No Se eso. - No, no, it, um... We'll have a beer.

This is my amigo... my friend Pepper.

Habla espanol?

Okay, Pepper, this is... this is Esther, and this is Mike.

- Hi. - Mucho gusto.

This is Frank the homophobe here.

That's Henry, Hannah Duncan, Betty...

Don Chambers... the incredible Mr. Don Chambers...

Yeah. This is Sharon, and this is Marty.

- Marty the poet. - Marty the poet extraordinaire. Right?

You're never gonna remember that.

How can you remember one name to 40 names, huh?

The deal with Marty is...

Que es Tu problema?

Tu es muy serio.

Preocupado?

- Que es Tu problema? - No problema.

- So... - Que tal?

No.

I'm off.

Hasta luego.

Hasta luego.

Fuck it. Do I need him that badly? Am I that desperate?

Of course I am.

Okay, you wanna pick up a couple extra dollars?

You go up to this club, okay? It's up on Fifth Street.

You go up there, be nice to the guys, they'll pay you a little bit. All right?

Okay? Got that?

If that don't work out for you, you go up to another club up on Sixth Street.

Just about a block up. Go down about a half a block. Okay?

Do some nude dancing, maybe, pick up a couple extra dollars, no problem there.

If nothing like that works out for you, go talk to a guy named Bill. Okay?

He'll take care of you. Just be nice to him.

He'll do everything for you. All right? That's all you gotta do. You got that?

You understand what I'm saying? Okay.

A poor Mexican has a snowball's chance in hell, man.

It's because disaster is right around that corner.

Hope Johnny comes back.

Look, take care of yourself, man.

Come by the store and I'll give you some cough medicine, all right?

Look, I wanna be your friend, your amigo.

I'll help you any way I can.

Wait a minute.

Take care of yourself, all right?

Gracias. Hasta luego.

What do you want?

What?

Look, Juan, we can't go driving now.

Later. Despues.

Is Johnny back?

Shit.

Hola.

Hi.

♪ Adios, adios ♪

Everything comes out beautifully with Spray 'n' Starch.

Hey.

Pizza, taco, burrito.

Comida... Como Se llama...

Mil... Milk shake.

Andale!

Hello!

Hello?

Howdy.

My friend's looking for work. Do you know if there's any work?

I remember your friend from last year. He's a good worker.

But you guys came at the wrong time of the year. It's the wrong season.

And I'm not really the guy to talk to, y'know.

We don't really have a lot of work right now.

Donde vas?

What are you doing?

What's that stuff?

- What is that? - Es por granos.

Granos.

Que es Tu problema?

Granos. Granos.

- Granos? - No me molesto.

- En su boca? - Por favor, no me molesto! Para.

Pobrecito.

- Me lo hago? - Para!

What... Oh.

Para, para. No me molesto.

Hey!

Mo mas! Para!

- Pendejo. - H-Hold...

- No mas! No mas! - Pendejo.

All right, stop!

Stop! Hey!

Look! Wait! Look, all r...

Hey! Alto.

Go.

Puto.

Tu eres un pendejo.

He only wants to have sex at night, not during the day.

And certain aggressive acts... that's what he wants and needs.

That's not what I want.

I mean, I'm not an invert.

His sexual desires are very stereotypical, and mine aren't.

These buggers. Little varmints.

Shh-shh-shh-shh.

I love the countryside here.

This is great. You're doing good. You're doing real good.

This is your first curve coming up right up here. It's your first one. Do you see it?

Now, all you're gonna want to do is turn to the left.

It's real easy. All right, get ready. See it there?

Okay, turn... Turn... No, turn...

Turn the car! Turn What are you doing? Turn the car!

Why would... Look!

What? All you had to do was turn the car!

What did you do?

Shit! You drive like you fuck!

Get...

How...

It's a simple little thing. All you had to do was turn the car.

Thanks a lot.

For $300, the Ebony store gift certificate.

Okay, that is... What? That is 401.

I can't help feeling that his well-being depends on Johnny coming back.

I know he accepts me and that we're friends, but...

Johnny may have been arrested.

He says one of their friends told him that he saw him in the back of a police car.

So, your grandfather sent you out for milk?

Es pepino.

That's a cucumber.

Cucumber. Cucumber.

Cu... cum... cumber?

They make pickles out of' em.

- Leche. - Mm-hmm.

Huevos.

- Huevos. - Right.

We're gonna have some beans.

No Se ese. No Se ese.

- Garbanzo beans. - Si.

Shall we put 'em in the... in the tortilla?

- Tortillas aqui. - Tortillas aqui. Si.

Manteca.

Butter. Margarine.

It's not margarine. It's shit.

And Pepper has girlfriends too.

I don't think he likes me that much.

I don't blame him.

We're just not compatible.

But why isn't it easy for them?

I mean...

they don't have any imagination about sex or anything else...

like fantasies or erotic friendship.

Friendship?

I guess it's not their fault.

Let me in. Let me in.

- Who is it? - It's me, Polly. Let me in.

What do you want now?

There's a guy... There's a weird guy upstairs.

He followed me in.

What kind of... Did you look?

There is a guy who makes Son of Sam look like Tweety Bird.

We've gotta call the cops.

He's a derelict, man. We gotta call the cops.

All right, I'll call the cops. But, look, you handle it.

- Okay. I will. - You talk to 'em.

- I don't want anything to do with this. - All right, all right.

Hey! Let me in. Wait a minute.

Oh, I like it!

- You must love that flavor. - I've never had that.

Officer 2, where is the Code 5?

Barney's, 14th and Davis.

- 14th and Division? - Davis.

Horton, are you there?

We'll be out talking to him.

Freeze, or you're wallpaper!

Second man down.

They're people like we are.

I found out they call him Papas, not Pepper,

because he likes to eat papas... french fries.

El Loco Papas is smart like a fox, staying off by himself...

but they got him anyway.

This kid shouldn't be out on the street, man. They get into trouble that way, man.

Dealing marijuana... The cops are gonna get him, man. You know that.

Jesus Christ. It ain't fair, but...

Hello, everybody, goddamn it.

Senor.

Amigo... Mexico.

I'm gonna have to boot your ass out of here pretty soon if you don't mellow out.

Go ahead. Make me go...

Watch out.

- Sorry. - All right.

- Love a... - Love a duck.

You see?

So, what I told him was the story about the lady with one in her bedside stand.

I said, "What the fuck is that?" And she said, "That's for burglars."

And I said, "You will not blow a burglar away with that.

You'll blow him into little pieces."

And she said, "That's what it's for, George."

Okay, great.

Everybody knows that?

Looking for Johnny, I saw no sign.

I think they got you too. You have no place to go or to hide.

I don't know what's gonna happen to you.

Or, I do know what's gonna happen to you, and so do you, probably.

And that's why I fell in love with Johnny in the first place.

And that's why Roberto was silent most of the time and chased white butt...

if you know what I mean...

hoping some of that sticky good comfort, luck and security might rub off on him.

Or at least he could make it squeal.

Are you all right?

Hey!

Are you all right?

Man, don't be afraid. I'm your friend.

Hey, assholes! Shut the fuck up! I'm tryin' to get some sleep!

Give me a break! I gotta work for a living, huh?

- Damn! - Johnny!

Hey! Johnny!

Hey! What happened to you?

They didn't get you.

Were you in Idaho?

Shit!

So, come on. Tell me what happened.

All this time we think Johnny's on vacation in Idaho.

Well, it seems that Immigration picked him up and shipped him back to the border...

not to Idaho.

Swimming the Rio Grande by moonlight, he's back in less than two weeks.

He rode the rails, hopped the freights.

Toro! Toro, muchacho!

Ole! Ole!

Toro! Toro!

Whoa!

The police came.

I told you to get rid of that gun.

How you doing?

Hey, how you doing? Good to see you.

Hey!

I'm thinking of leaving for Anchorage tomorrow.

What's in Anchorage?

I can do nude dancing in just about any bar in town...

and make 150 bucks a night.

Why do you wanna do... look!

I can't believe he's there.

Hey, hey! What are you doing?

Hey, come down to the store and see me sometime. All right?

Come... Come down to the store and talk to me. All right?

♪ I'm gonna see your face appear ♪

♪ Like mirrors shown to a blind man ♪

♪ Once a black sheep of the flock ♪

♪ Will you stop ♪

♪ When they come for the rich man ♪

♪ Are you ♪

♪ An answer to a rich man's prayers ♪

♪ Will you stop ♪

♪ When they come for the rich man ♪

♪ Standing there ♪

♪ Waiting on the corner ♪

♪ Your kiss gives a ♪

♪ Lift on the shoulder ♪

♪ How, girl is he ♪

♪ Comin' and goin' ♪

♪ Will you stop ♪

♪ When they come for the rich man ♪

♪ Are you ♪

♪ An answer to a rich man's prayers ♪

♪ Will you stop ♪

♪ When they come for the rich man ♪

♪ In and out ♪

♪ To in front of us ♪

♪ Eat me Not like in the restaurant ♪

♪ Beg her to tell me I didn't warn you ♪

♪ Will you stop ♪

♪ When they come for the rich man ♪

♪ Are you ♪

♪ An answer to a rich man's prayers ♪

♪ Will you stop ♪

♪ When they come for the rich man ♪

♪ Will you stop ♪

♪ When they come for the rich man ♪

♪ Are you ♪

♪ An answer to a rich man's prayers ♪

♪ Will you stop ♪

♪ When they come for the rich man ♪

♪ History police ♪

♪ Can't keep it from exposure ♪

♪ Runnin' wild child ♪

♪ Peaceful streets ♪

♪ Can't go along ♪

♪ These thin enrichment streets ♪

♪ Will you stop ♪

♪ When they come for the rich man ♪

♪ Are you ♪

♪ An answer to a rich man's prayers ♪

♪ Will you stop ♪

♪ When they come for the rich man ♪♪