[Creaking Noise]
[Creaking Continues]
[Creaking]
[Match Striking]
[Horn Blowing]
[Seagulls Screeching]
[Thunderclaps]
[Man] Move the net. This way?
Yeah, yeah.
[Seagulls Cawing] [Men Grunting]
We're not supposed to take these. Don't worry about it.
Just get the net in.
Oh, Jesus!
Kinda tough.
We're not pullin' at the same time.
Jesus! [Gagging]
Did any more of you guys see Carl out at Ship Channel Bank last night?
What do you wanna know for?
To see if anybody talked to him. Fish went sour when the fog rolled in. I got out of there.
We got Ferry, Hartwell, Molton, Miyamoto.
Anybody else? Japs!
I figured you'd have heard by now.
All right.
If you see any of these guys... Art's starting to sound like a real sheriff.
[Man] Think this was just an accident. Of course it is.
But a man's dead. I've gotta write my report. Guys!
Chambers, tell me.
I'm not gonna pick up your newspaper and read some article...
about an investigation, am I? You want me to lie?
No, no. I just wanna be off the darn record.
That's what I want.
I mean, if there's a killer, why would you want them all alerted?
So there is a murder investigation. I didn't say that!
[Squawking]
[Indistinct Chattering]
Catch him. Better hurry up!
Hi.
Hatsue?
You all right?
Go away, Ishmael.
I just wanted to tell you... Go away.
There you go, Miyamoto.
Sir.
Morning, Kazuo.
I've come to get you off.
Good morning, sir. Counselor.
Sorry I'm late. That's all right.
Looks like we have a good turnout.
How 'bout that jury? What a bunch of yokels.
Have you seen the Silent Review rag?
Guy writes like this trial is the biggest thing ever happened.
[Man #2] Tell me why this is news in Seattle?
[Man #1] Because he's a Jap. Simple as that.
[Man #2] Hey, take a look at that.
[Whistles]
[Laughing]
[Child Chattering In Japanese]
[Hooks] Would you tell us please, Sheriff,
what was your first impression as you and your deputy...
inspected the Susan Marie that fateful September morning?
[Sighs] Mainly, how quiet it was out there.
And things just didn't add up.
"Add up. " What do you mean? Afisherman drowned. It happens sometimes. You know.
But Carl Heine... I got to thinking.
He was so meticulous. He did everything right by the darn book.
His lights are on, Art, every single one.
And his net's out.
I got a bad feeling about this. Don't say that, Abel.
Don't even think like that. Jesus.
[Creaking]
There's nothing in the hold, Art, apart from fish.
You wanna pull up the net?
[Hooks's Voice] So looking at the evidence there,
you determined this was no accident.
Well, no. I didn't determine much of anything at first.
I just kept wonderin' what I was gonna say to his family.
After all, I knew the guy. I knew his wife and children, and...
[Chickens Clucking]
Hey. Hi.
Is your mother home? She's inside.
Go on and play now.
[Ticking]
[Knocking] Susan Marie?
[Susan Marie] Come in! I'll be right down.
[Door Creaks, Closes]
[Clock Ticking]
Hey. What can I do for you, Art?
Carl's not home yet. That's why I...
That's why I'm here.
I'm afraid I've got some very bad news to tell you.
The worst kind of news.
Carl died last night out at Ship Channel Bank.
No, no. Carl's just fine.
I found him, Susan Marie.
I found him tangled in his net.
[Child Coughing]
That's what happened?
I warned him. [Child Crying]
[Crying Continues]
[Nels Gudmundsson's Voice] Well, Sheriff,
you said there was no sign of a struggle.
Nothing out of the ordinary.
Uh, well,
as I said, with a fella as particular as Carl,
there were a couple of things that struck me as odd, yeah.
You mentioned the coffee cup on the floor.
[Clears Throat] Was there anything else out of place?
Uh, there was a dead battery just lying around.
The cover to the battery well didn't fit right.
[Nels's Voice] A battery cover that didn't fit.
What did you make of that? Objection.
Asking the witness to speculate.
Gosh, Alvin, was I supposed to object...
every time you did that?
That's quite enough horseplay, Nels. Try and act your age.
If I did that, Your Honor, I'd be dead. [Laughing]
- [Judge] Proceed, gentlemen. - There's an objection, Your Honor.
And it's overruled.
You may answer the question.
I looked under the lid, and one of the batteries was bigger than the other.
[Nels's Voice] Didn't that also strike you as odd,
that he would have a battery that didn't fit, a man as particular as Carl?
Oh, yeah. No, I wondered. But...
he'd done some on-the-spot work, you see.
And the flange was kind of banged away...
to make room for the one that was too big.
Would this "too big" battery have fit, say,
in Kazuo Miyamoto's battery well?
It was the exact same type as Miyamoto's. That's for sure.
But, he had both of his batteries in...
when we searched his boat later on, so, I...
[Coroner Whaley's Voice] When you fall off a motorcycle, the injuries look different.
Now, in this case, the injury had been inflicted...
by a long, narrow, flat object.
Like a fishing gaff, for example? That's very possible.
Yeah. [Hooks's Voice] Now, um, you say...
it was a laceration about two and a half inches long, He was hit hard.
over the left ear. Wanna play Sherlock Holmes?
The bone under it fractured over a four-inch area.
What would've caused that? I'll tell you what...
a head wound like this puts me in mind of.
I've seen wounds exactly like this...
many times in the war.
Have you seen this specific kind of wound before?
Frequently. As a result of hand-to-hand combat with Jap soldiers. I told Art,
"You wanna play Sherlock Holmes, look for a Jap with a bloody gun butt. "
[Hooks] What led you to that conclusion?
[Whaley] I've seen these kendo wounds many times. Exactly like this one.
Could you tell us what kendo is?
[Shouts Command] Hah!
[Sticks Clicking] [Child Whining]
[Whaley] Kendo is Japanese stick fighting.
They train as kids, you know, to kill with sticks.
Hmm.
[Hooks] No further questions. Thank you.
[Shouts Command]
[Shouts]
[Child Whining]
[Nels] Your report states it was death by drowning, not a kendo wound.
How did you determine this? As I've already testified,
I found foam in the deceased's lungs. Ah, yes. This foam.
I'm not sure I understand about this, Horace.
What would cause that again?
It occurs when water, mucus and air are mixed by respiration.
Breathing, that is. I believe I said that.
But you can see why I'm confused.
Because a drowned person doesn't breath, so...
Of course not. The foam means that he went in breathing.
That's why the autopsy report indicates drowning as the cause of death.
I see. Meaning that he wasn't murdered first,
say on the deck of the boat, and then thrown overboard. Well, you can always...
Thank you, Horace. That's important. That's good.
But there's something else I'd like to ask you about. [Clears Throat]
Something in your report. Um...
Go ahead, ask.
[Nels] About the wound to the deceased's head. You say here...
that it was made by a long, narrow, flat object.
Is that what you saw, or is it just your inference?
It's my job to infer. That's what coroners do.
We infer. That's my area of expertise. Inference.
Of course it is. Of course, Horace.
Can you infer, then, whether an object was propelled...
against the head of the deceased,
or if his head moved against an object, or would both look the same?
The same.
So if the head struck something narrow and flat,
like the gunnel of the boat, or net roller, a fairlead, could that have happened?
If the head were moving fast enough. But I don't see how it could be.
- Nonetheless, it is possible? - Sure, anything is possible.
Is it fair to say that you don't know for certain which it was?
Didn't I just say...
I already said that! But you are certain...
that he died by drowning.
For the third time, yes. Can I say something?
No, thank you, Horace. You've been more than helpful.
No further questions. [Judge] The witness may stand down.
We'll take our lunch recess now. Reconvene at 1:30 sharp.
How are the kids? They made a snowman to welcome you home.
Wow, that's great!
[Kazuo] Anyway, just a few more days.
You look beautiful. I'm not going until you smile.
[Japanese]
I think it's dangerous with this jury.
[Child Laughing]
Hatsue!
[Speaking Japanese]
[Japanese]
[Man And Girl Chattering]
[Thunderclaps]
I'm sorry I kissed you on the beach.
Let's just forget about it. Forget it happened.
Don't be sorry. I'm not.
Me neither.
Do you think this is wrong?
Your friends would. Your dad would kill me.
My mom is the problem.
[Woman Speaking Japanese]
[Japanese]
Stay away from white boys.
Marry one of your own kind whose heart is strong and gentle.
The hairpin should be better placed for a girl to find the right husband.
[Hatsue's Voice] She teaches me to beJapanese.
What does that mean? Dances, calligraphy, how to do my hair.
How to sit without moving.
What's the point of that?
It's a part of grace. You boys don't understand.
Try me.
She doesn't let me get away with anything.
It's the same for me, except it's my dad.
Know what would happen to an operator who got his sleeve caught in the press?
Huh? Do you?
He'd be popped open in one instant like a balloon, splattered all over the walls.
Even his bones would disappear,
to be discovered later on the floor like strips of white confetti.
We'll make a newspaperman out of you yet.
[Laughing]
[Giggling]
[Mother Speaking In Japanese]
[Band: Marching Music]
Hey, James!
[Bicycle Bells Ringing]
Did you ever wonder why the Strawberry Princess is always a Japanese girl?
Not really. I'm sure your father will explain it to you anyway.
She's sort of an unwitting virgin sacrifice...
to the concept of racial harmony.
And for a while it seems to work.
[Ishmael's Dad] That's the Fujita girl, isn't it?
No, that's Hatsue Imada.
Oh, yes. She's lovely.
[Hooks] Mrs. Heine,
you were acquainted with the defendant and his family, were you not?
Ja. Him and his folks worked our land.
They lived in one of our cabins at first.
So the defendant knew the deceased, your son, even then.
[Child Chattering]
They fished together.
They went to school. My boy Carl treated him...
like a white person.
Just like any friend.
[Hooks's Voice] So tell us, Mrs. Heine, where did things go wrong?
[Mrs. Heine's Voice] My husband went and sold...
his father seven acres of our land.
That fence to that fence, and then down to the road.
That's seven acres. Yeah? No.
Where, to the edge of the mountain? Ah!
All right.
[Mr. Heine's Voice] All right, all right.
You drive a hard bargain.
And that's where all this trouble started.
But how can this be? Hmm?
Since we all know that it is against the law...
forJapanese born to own land.
Even leasing is illegal.
So now, what was the point of this payment plan?
[Mrs. Heine] Their kids was born here. So, when the oldest,
that one there, was 20,
and last payment gets made, he could own it.
But they missed their last two payments, so that was that.
Missed their last two payments...
after years of hot missing one?
[Mrs. Heine] It was the war. They were gone.
They were sent off to the camps...
with all the other Japs.
We must leave everything. If you like, you can work our fields.
Sell berries, keep money. Otherwise they will rot.
Today I have half money for next payment.
Absolutely not. I'm not going to take your savings. No, no.
You take money. $ 125. I will send more from where I'm going.
If not enough, you sell my seven acres of berries, keep money.
I thought you was giving us those.
Didn't you come in here giving them away?
Now you want to make up the other half in berries you expect us to tend and pick?
Is that what you come here hoping for? [Scoffs]
You want more coffee?
No, thank you. Take money.
Etta has been rude to you.
For that I apologize.
Keep this money.
[Mr. Heine's Voice] As payment we'll work out...
[Hook] The arrangement was those payments would be made... somewhere down the road.
[Hooks] somewhere down the road.
The road ended when my husband passed away.
I couldn't run the farm by myself.
So I sold...
all 30 acres to OleJurgenson.
But for a fair price this time.
And I sent back their equity...
to those Japs down to that camp in California,
which I didn't have to do.
[Hooks] So they got all their money back.
That was that. Or, did you hear from the defendant's family again?
Oh, yes, I heard from them. I heard from that one there.
That one sitting there just showed up at my door.
Carl's overseas. He's fighting the Japs.
What is it you want? I came to get our land back!
It isn't yours. It's Ole Jurgenson's now. Go talk to him about it.
I just did. He didn't know it was our land.
You didn't tell him Mr. Heine promised my father...
I'm supposed to tell him there's some illegal contract muddling things up?
You people didn't make your payments.
In America, the bank comes in and repossesses your land.
- I didn't do anything wrong. - Nothing illegal. Wrong is a different matter.
Get out! You took advantage of the fact that we were gone!
You sold the land out from under us while I was fighting the Nazis!
[Rifle Shots]
[Explosion]
[Man Groaning] No!
[Screaming]
[Speaking German]
[Hooks's Voice] Your witness.
Well... [Coughing]
Uh, just three questions.
Uh, the Miyamoto family bought your seven acres...
for $4,500.
[Mrs. Heine] They tried to. They defaulted on their payments.
Second question: What did Ole Jurgenson pay you per acre?
A thousand.
I guess that makes what would have been $4,500...
into $ 7,000, doesn't it?
So, if you sent the equity back, you had a profit...
of $ 2,500.
Is that your third question? It is.
You've done your math right.
You too, Mrs. Heine. No further questions.
[Judge] You may step down, Mrs. Heine. Before we adjourn for the day,
there's one more thing.
This court takes judicial notice of the fact that tomorrow...
is the ninth anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor,
which has no relationship whatsoever to this trial.
Which is why I mention it.
[Pounds Gavel] 9:30 tomorrow morning.
Stay warm.
They plowed clear out to the point. What's the attraction?
I'm checking lighthouse records to see if it's the biggest snowstorm.
Where were you in '29? That was a snowstorm.
A real blizzard. Is that right?
You don't believe me, check those Coast Guard records if you want proof.
There should be a story in it.
Scribble, scribble, while the rest of us have to work for a living.
Always a pleasure, Dave.
[Meows]
Everything's dated. That's how we do things. By dates mainly.
Radio transmissions, shipping logs, weather reports.
The whole nine yards. Those stacks go clear back to Noah.
Not that anyone pays them any mind.
You monitor all radio activity? Fishermen, that sort of thing?
Pretty much. Anything significant, anyway.
Some of these guys don't know when to shut up.
Well, just yell if you need me.
Left is this. This is right.
Your move.
[Wind Whistling]
[Muttering]
Correcting course via Ship Channel Bank.
If this is correct... [Muttering]
[Ishmael's Voice] At 1:48 a. m., made a corrective dogleg to the northwest.
Ship's navigator took three insurance readings, Boards 58, 56, 60.
[Creaking]
Hey, Levant?
Here's the shipping channel. Any freighter off course can dogleg back through here.
But that only happens if we're really socked in.
Don't the gill-netters work off this bank?
Not even they're crazy enough to hang around in a bad fog. They get the hell out.
[Levant's Voice] What's this got to do with your snowstorm story?
[Ishmael's Voice] Nothin'. Just curious, that's all.
[Ishmael's Mother] Doesn't make him guilty.
The island ought to be ashamed. [Ishmael] It's not as simple as that.
I followed every second of it. The evidence sounds very solid.
This prosecutor has his facts all lined up.
You haven't heard the defense case yet.
You sound as if you're ready to hang him.
Besides, you can't depend on facts, not by themselves.
What else is there? Emotions?
Facts you can cling to. Emotions just float away.
Then let them.
[Laughs]
[Wind Howling]
[Ishmael's Voice] Hatsue.
I love you.
You smell like cedar.
So do you.
[Hatsue Whispering]
I can hear your heart beat.
[Hatsue's Voice] Dear Ishmael. I can't think of anything more painful...
than writing this letter to you.
I feel I have to tell you the truth.
[Ishmael] I know it's late. I went by the lighthouse and found a report that stated...
Just came across some information I thought might be relevant to Kazuo's case.
I went by the lighthouse and found a report that stated...
a giant freighter passed through at the exact time that Carl...
Which I think is something that should have been discussed...
[Ishmael's Voice] Hatsue.
I love you.
[Ishmael and Hatsue Laughing]
Hey.
Not just Hawaii. They're attacking all over the Pacific.
The whole fleet's destroyed!
The F.B.I. is in Seattle right now, arresting Jap traitors.
Spies and everything.
The Defense Commission reckons anything can happen.
There'll be a black list.
[Typewriter Keys Clicking] These people are our neighbors.
[Bus Driver] Make sure you paper up your windows...
so theJaps won't find us.
[Ishmael's Father] They've sent their sons to the United States Army.
They're no more an enemy than...
our fellow islanders of German descent... of German or Italian descent.
You get the message?
Mr. Lambertson?
We get the message.
[Ishmael's Father] Let us live that when it is over we can look each other in the eye...
and know that we have acted honorably.
[Typewriter Keys Clicking]
Set that for me, would you?
[Ishmael] Let us live...
that when it is over...
we can look each other...
in the eye and know...
that we have acted honorably.
The F.B.I. has arrested Mr. Surosake, and his family can't leave their house.
Hey.
Everything will be all right.
I promise.
[Car Door Slams Shut] [Men Chattering, Laughing]
We are loyal.
It's for our defense. Everyone on the island has these things.
They'll hold on to this stuff a little bit, then ship it back to you.
Nothing to worry about.
You folks have been real polite.
Be out of your hair in just a second.
That's very nice. From the old country, it appears.
Very high-class.
[Crying]
These are, uh, real nice things.
They'll take special care of ' em.
Any old-country stuff we have to take.
[Whistling]
Strawberry princess, huh?
You must've been flattered by that.
[Investigator #2] Hey, Crawford, guess what was in the shed?
Dynamite.
Twenty-four sticks.
This for tree stumps.
For clearing land. Maybe, but this is still bad, you see.
It's illegal contraband. You're supposed to turn that in.
Now we've gotta arrest you and bring you to Seattle.
We don't need those. Mr. Imada-san is a class act, a real gentleman.
You can't do this. He's done nothing wrong!
Best for an honest man to clear his name, for good and all.
Excuse me. Would you mind?
No, no, no, no, no.
[Chime Tinkling]
[Men Chattering Quietly]
[Family Crying]
[Ishmael's Voice] Journalism is the facts. Which facts?
You can't print them all. Journalism is making choices.
Culling out what's unimportant.
[Man #1] Jap lovers get their balls cut off, shoved down their throats.
[Dial Tone]
[Ringing]
[Man #2] Better watch your step.
[Dial Tone]
It's unbelievable to me. I don't know, Mom. The P.T.A. honors 23 women.
Dad singles out three names and they're all Japanese.
That's not journalism. It's propaganda.
[Helen] This is dangerous, Arthur. [Arthur] It'll blow over.
[Helen] Did you see the letters?
"Seems like you're favoring the Japs, Art.
"Your newspaper's an insult to all white Americans.
Please cancel my subscription. " What are you gonna do?
Send him a refund.
What happened to the Petersen ad I put together?
They pulled out. So did the gas station.
And Larsen, and the cafe.
What now?
Print four pages instead of eight.
"Please tell Sumiko to help her mother with the garden work.
[Girls Giggling]
"We are digging trenches for a water system.
I am folding and ironing clothing in the laundry. "
- The hikujin, they are no better than animals! - Not all of them.
How would you know?
Because I live here among them. So do you!
You speak with great assurance.
The words fly from your mouth. I don't care what you say.
Do you hear me? I don't want to be Japanese!
[Crying]
[Ishmael's Voice] Marry me, Hatsue.
[Bell Ringing] [Crying]
Please say yes.
We'll leave here. Are you crazy?
I want you to marry me.
[Bell Ringing Continues]
[Ringing Stops]
[Bicycle Bells Ringing]
[Ringing Continues]
[Seagulls Squawking]
[Chattering]
[Singing Quietly]
So, Dr. Whitman, sir, you found...
[Thunderclaps] blood on the gaff. [Clears Throat]
It was not fish blood at all.
It was human, yes?
- Type "B" positive. - Carl Heine's type.
Yes, but you can't say with any certainty that the blood was his.
[Whitman] No, but as I say the type is rare.
Ten percent of Caucasian males. Whereas the defendant is type "O."
[Nels] Yes, sir, you told us. No one is contesting that.
But you also told us that you scraped the dry blood...
from the handle of the...
An object was propelled against...
[Indistinct Chattering]
[Gavel Bangs]
The State calls Mrs. Susan Marie Heine.
Can you think back for me to the morning of September 8?
The morning after your husband...
purchased theJurgenson farm.
One week before his death.
[Inaudible Dialogue]
Did the defendant come calling that day to speak to your husband?
[Carl's Voice] It's no big deal.
It's a long story.
He wants to buy seven of Ole's acres.
The ones his family had. You know that thing my mother talks about?
Had a feeling it was that. What did you tell him?
What could I tell him? There's my mother to think about.
You know her. Uh-huh.
I said I'd think it over, and have a talk with you.
He go away angry?
I couldn't tell. Kazuo's a Jap. You can't read Japs.
Don't say that. You don't mean that.
You fished together. You and he were friends.
We were kids then.
[Baby Coughing]
[Children Chattering]
[Chattering Continues]
[Nels's Voice] So your husband said he'd think it over.
He encouraged Mr. Miyamoto to believe he might...
I... Well, I wouldn't say encouraged.
But he didn't say no. He didn't say no hope existed.
Not in those words.
So the defendant was encouraged to hope.
How could anyone know what he hopes for or anything else he's thinking?
But, Mrs. Heine,
you really think that's fair? Objection!
That's totally irrelevant. There's nothing more relevant in this courtroom!
You know that as well as anybody. Your Honor.
Gentlemen, please! Back to your corners.
Mrs. Heine, I'm very sorry for this little interruption.
I have no further questions.
[Judge] Thank you, Mrs. Heine. You may step down.
The State rests, Your Honor.
[Judge] Very well. Mr. Gudmundsson, the defense may call its first witness.
The defense calls Mrs. Hatsue Miyamoto.
[Hatsue's Voice] My husband came home excited.
He woke me with the news.
He told me he helped Carl at sea.
And Carl had agreed to sell us the land.
We started making plans right away.
[Nels] When did you first learn that Carl Heine had drowned?
[Hatsue] 1:00 that afternoon...
from a clerk at Petersen's.
[Hatsue] Kazuo? Kazuo?
[Baby Crying] What is it?
Carl Heine's dead. It's all over the island.
What do you mean? He drowned! They found him in his net.
I'm scared. I can't believe it. How horrible.
[Baby Crying]
Gotta get to the boat, replace that battery. What are you talking about?
I was on his boat last night, remember?
[Hatsue's Voice] Yeah, but you were helping him. Tell the sheriff.
[Kazuo's Voice] Are you kidding? You think they're gonna believe me?
It's the truth, isn't it?
[Kazuo's Voice] That's right. Let's just leave it at that.
[Wind Blowing, Banging, Creaking Noise]
So,
your husband came home agitated after his encounter at sea with the deceased?
[Banging, Creaking Continue]
I said "excited," not "agitated. "
He was excited in the sense of being overjoyed.
You were, um, overjoyed yourself to hear the news?
Happy for him, and relieved.
Uh-huh. So then you and your husband, you must've called,
well, uh, friends and relatives...
to tell them the happy news, yes?
No.
[Hooks] Really?
You didn't call your mother, your sisters about starting a new life?
Your husband, he never tells his family that the family honor's been vindicated?
No.
We decided not to tell anyone...
until we signed papers in case something went wrong.
Then something did.
Carl Heine was found dead.
With his head crushed.
Yes. And then, what was there to call about?
Everything was up in the air.
"Up in the air. " Was that your reaction?
So, apart from your concern about a land deal evaporating,
what was your reaction...
to the news that a husband and father to small children was dead...
with his skull bashed in?
If you mean to imply that we didn't care about Carl's death,
that is wrong and insulting.
I see. I see. Then did it occur to you to come forward...
and tell Sheriff Moran what you knew about this encounter in the fog?
The dead battery, was it?
We discussed that, and decided not to.
Why not?
Because things looked bad. Very bad!
Kazuo and I knew that.
We thought he could end up here on trial for murder.
And that's exactly what has happened.
But, but if truth was on your side, whatever were you worried about?
Trials... aren't only about truth, Mr. Hooks,
even though they should be.
So you hid the truth deliberately. You lied, didn't you?
We were afraid to come forward. Seemed like a mistake.
Doesn't it seem to you that your mistake was in being deceitful...
and deliberately concealing information during the course of a sheriff's investigation?
It seems human to me.
I suppose you mean that somehow excuses your lies?
[Banging, Creaking Continue]
I don't know, Mrs. Miyamoto. I just...
I, I don't understand. I'm completely at a loss.
I mean to say, how on earth can you expect any of us to believe you now?
Question withdrawn, Your Honor.
Wait a minute! I haven't had a chance. No further questions.
That's enough, Mrs. Miyamoto. Not another word.
The fact that you wish to speak, that you might like to give Mr. Hooks a piece of your mind,
that just isn't allowed, Mrs. Miyamoto.
[Judge] Very well. Mr. Gudmundsson, will you redirect...
[Gavel Banging]
[Judge] Under the circumstances, we will adjourn early.
9:30 tomorrow. [Gavel Bangs]
[Car Radio, Jazz]
This is a very fine car.
Much better than the new ones.
Well, it was my father's.
[Hisao] He was a good man.
I know it's caused you trouble, but the snow's beautiful, isn't it?
Yes, very beautiful.
This trial is unfair.
Your father would have written about that in his paper.
What would he have said?
How this trial is wrong! The whole thing is unfair!
Sometimes I think unfairness is a part of things.
I'm not talking about the whole universe.
I'm talking about people. The coroner, that prosecutor.
You! You could do something to help.
Is that what you think?
Maybe I should write an article. Yes.
About unfairness.
About all the unfair things people do to each other.
[Swing]
[Swing Continues]
[Organ]
Excuse me, Mrs. Chambers.
The Japanese people of the island are saddened by this loss.
Your husband was a man of great fairness and compassion for others.
A friend to us and to all people.
We know you will follow in his footsteps, Ishmael,
and honor his legacy.
Thank you.
[Door Opens]
You should stay the night.
Don't drive back through this. I've got an early start.
This room is full of ghosts, isn't it?
I hate to see you this way.
I don't know what you mean.
She's married, Ishmael.
Look, it's awfully cold in here. Let's talk in the kitchen.
I don't wanna talk about anything.
You'rejust like your father.
I'm not just like my father! I know everyone wishes I was.
Whenever they look at me, I hear them thinking, "He's only half the man his father was. "
I was only going to say he never minded the cold.
It's not such a terrible thing,
being your father's son.
[Tea Kettle Whistling]
[Whistling Stops]
[Radio Deejay] Well organized rhythm, as the men of the dance band...
take over and start the airjumping to the tune of "My Blue Heaven. "
[Sounds of Children Chattering, Laughing]
[Laughing]
Pardon us, Your Majesty.
Who's your lover boy?
[Chattering]
Give it back!
Does this explain your eagerness to walk in the woods every day?
Does it?
Answer me!
"Dear Ishmael,
"I can't think of anything more painful...
"than writing this letter to you.
"I feel I have to tell you the truth.
"When we met the last time in the cedar tree,
"and I felt your body move against mine...
[Hatsue's Voice] "When we met the last time in the cedar tree... "
"And I felt your body move against mine,
"I knew with certainty...
"that everything was wrong.
"I knew we could never be right together.
"And that soon I would have to tell you so.
And now, with this letter... "
[Hatsue's Voice] "I am telling you. "
[Sounds Of Explosions]
[Hatsue's Voice] This is the last time I'll write to you.
I'm not yours anymore.
I don't love you, Ishmael.
I can think of no more honest way to say it.
When I heard your heart beating...
as we lay together,
I felt closer to you than I had ever been to anyone.
And I knew...
when I heard your heart beating, it could not possibly...
This is the last time I'll ever write to you.
I knew with certainty...
that everything was wrong.
I loved you, and I didn't love you at the same moment.
I can think of ho more honest way to say it.
[Continues Indistinct]
I don't love you, Ishmael.
I knew it. I can think of ho more honest way to say it. I loved you.
And I didn't love you at the same moment.
I'm going to move on with my life as best I can.
And I hope that you will too.
I don't love you, Ishmael.
I can think of no more honest way to say it.
Whenever we were together, I knew it.
I loved you,
and I didn't love you at the same moment.
[Artillery Fire, Bombs Exploding]
[Artillery Fire Continues]
You must have.
I must say good-bye to you.
[Sounds Of Explosions]
I know you will do great things in this world.
You have a gentle heart.
A good heart.
I will never forget you...
and the time we spent together.
[Woman] Scissors.
Retractor.
A clamp.
Fuckin'Jap bitch.
[Ringing Noise]
[Humming, Chanting]
[Excited Chattering, Laughing]
[Hatsue] Are they really gonna send you to Europe? I think so.
Why did you have to volunteer?
[Girl Speaking Japanese]
They'll hear everything. Wouldn't some music be nice?
[Female Singer] Moon over Burma
Smiling above
They say that you
Are the one little garden of love
Moon over Burma
Heavenly light
[Continues Indistinct]
Have you ever done this before?
Never. You're my only.
[Moaning]
Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth
and nothing but the truth, so help you God? I do.
[Kazuo's Voice] I heard an air horn and saw a lantern in the fog.
[Carl] Is that you, Miyamoto? And another one in Carl's hand.
What's up, Carl?
My batteries are drawed down, both of them. The generator belts were loose.
Lantern and air horn's all I got. I'm dead here.
[Kazuo's Voice] No problem.
We'll pull one of my batteries and get you started.
That thing's big, but it'll fit if I bang the flange out of the way.
We can use this to hammer with.
For the life of me, I cannot imagine why you kept this story from the sheriff.
Why? I didn't have a lawyer.
Even after you had an attorney, you still claimed to know nothing.
You claim not to have seen Carl.
Am I correct? Yes, initially.
Well.
"Initially. " That's an interesting word. You'd been arrested.
You had a lawyer. You still claimed ignorance.
I should've told everything right away. I wouldn't be here if I had.
"Should've told everything. "
Meaning you should've told the truth.
[Nels Voice] But is that the truth? The whole truth?
Is it?
[Kazuo's Voice] You don't wanna hear the whole truth.
Why don't you try me?
The whole truth is, I wanted to kill him.
- But did you? - [Grunting]
Nothing to say?
[Carl] It'll take me a while to charge up.
[Kazuo] We'll catch up on the dock.
[Hook's Voice] Nothing to say?
I didn't know that was a question. Oh, my apologies.
- Do you regret not telling the truth? - I have told the truth.
You mean this morning. The battery story. That one is the truth?
- That's a question, sir. - Yes.
And I told it long before this morning.
You said in your testimony that...
"I slept until 1:30 when my wife woke me with the news.
We talked for a while, then I went straight to my boat. "
You didn't go anywhere else. Just straight to your boat.
Is that the truth? Yes.
Well, the sheriff found two batteries in your well.
If, as you claim, you left one with Carl,
how's that possible? I had a spare battery in my shed.
I brought it down and put it in just before the sheriff showed up.
Conveniently... in your shed.
Why does the battery story change every time a new question's raised?
You asked me if I went straight to the boat. I did, with the battery.
And the new line too? Was that in your shed?
You have a regular chandlery in there?
When you have no answer, you sit in silence with no expression?
You're a hard man to trust, sir.
- [Nels] Objection! - [Judge] Sustained.
You know better than that. Either ask questions that count for something or sit down.
[Judge] Mr. Hooks!
Shame on you.
No further questions.
[Hooks] Believing that Etta Heine's son...
would never sell him the land...
Land that in his mind, belonged to his family.
His only chance to get that land, would be to eliminate Carl Heine.
Thus believing that cold-blooded murder...
was justified, he trailed Carl Heine...
Leapt aboard, striking the treacherous blow...
he had been trained to strike by his father's hand.
After a series of lies, the defendant at last...
admits he was there, alone on the boat, in the fog.
Carl Heine's blood on his fishing gaff.
[Carl's Voice] Seven acres.
I just wonder what you'd pay for 'em. Just curious, is all.
What are you selling 'em for? Why don't we start there? Did I say I was sellin'?
If I was, I guess I'd have to figure you want 'em real bad.
I ought to charge a small fortune, maybe.
All right, I'm sorry about it, okay?
About the whole damn mess.
Twelve hundred an acre.
That's what I paid Ole. You got no choice on that.
[Hooks] Look clearly at the defendant.
See the truth... self-evident in him.
And in the facts of this case.
Look into his eyes, ladies and gentlemen.
[Hooks] Consider his face.
Ask yourself,
each one of you,
"What is my duty as a citizen of this community?
"Of this country?
As an American?"
[Nels Clears Throat]
[Nels] There's no evidence of anger at Carl,
much less rage, much less murderous rage.
No reason for premeditation.
No evidence of it anywhere.
He had asked his childhood friend Carl to sell him some land.
Carl was considering it. Carl's own wife testified...
that her husband had not made up his mind.
[Clears Throat] A strange moment to follow and kill a man.
Don't you think?
What Mr. Hooks asks you to believe is that no proof is needed...
against a man who bombed Pearl Harbor.
[Sighs]
"Look at his face," the prosecutor said,
presuming that you will see an enemy there.
He's counting on you to remember this war,
and to see Kazuo Miyamoto as somehow connected with it.
Indeed he is!
Let us recall that First Lieutenant Kazuo Miyamoto...
is a much decorated hero of the United States Army.
Now,
Kazuo Miyamoto did... one thing wrong.
He wasn't certain he could trust us.
He was afraid that he would be made the victim of prejudice,
as Mr. Hooks, indeed, is urging you to do.
And there's reason in his uncertainty.
Why? Well, we sent him and his wife,
and thousands of Americans, to concentration camps.
They lost their homes, their belongings, everything!
Should we now be unforgiving of his mistrust?
[Sighs]
Now,
our learned prosecutor will have you do your duty as Americans.
Proud Americans.
And, of course, you must!
And if you do, Kazuo Miyamoto has nothing to fear.
Because this great country is supposed to be founded...
on a set of principles of fairness,
of equality and justice.
And if you are true... to these principles,
you'll only convict a man for what he's done, and not for who he is.
I, I'm an old man.
I, I don't walk so well anymore.
One of my eyes is close to useless.
My life is drawing to a close.
Why do I say this?
I say this because it means that I ponder matters...
in the light of death,
in a way that most of you do not.
And I feel like a traveler descended from Mars,
astounded by what I see here.
The same human frailty...
passed on from generation to generation.
We hate one another. We are the victims...
of irrational fears, of prejudice.
[Sighs]
You might think...
that this is a small trial in a small place.
Hmm? Well,
it isn't.
Every once in a while, somewhere in the world, humanity goes on trial.
And integrity.
And decency.
Every once in a while,
ordinary people just like you, ladies and gentlemen,
get called on to give the report card for the human race!
In the name of humanity, do your duty as jurors.
Return this man to his wife and children.
Set him free...
as you must!
[Quiet Chattering]
Good night, Mrs. Miyamoto.
[Ishmael's Voice] Please.
I know you'll think this is crazy.
But all I want to do is hold you,
and I think that if you'll let me do that just for a few seconds,
I can walk away, and never speak to you again.
Hatsue, can you please look at me?
[Seagulls Squawking]
I did a terrible thing, Ishmael.
[Hatsue's Voice] But you have to hear this.
I can never touch you.
You have to let go.
That's the way things are!
Things end, Ishmael.
They do.
You have to let go.
[Knocking]
I went by the lighthouse, and I found a report...
that stated the freighter passed through the Ship Channel Bank...
at the exact time of Carl Heine's death.
Which I think is something that should have been discussed at the trial.
I can't believe I let you rope me into this.
We've been over these boats a dozen times.
If there's a lantern on Carl's mast, then Miyamoto's story's true.
See? No lantern.
What are those?
- Nothing, bits of twine. - Bits of twine aren't nothing.
Maybe we should take a look at those. Yeah.
Don't touch anything up there. It's still a crime scene. Remember?
Don't ever touch something at a crime scene.
Don't the phrase, "The jury's out" mean anything to you?
They're lashings, Art.
[Abel's Voice] Figure-eight lashings all cut through.
And you know something, Art?
These stains here on the mast, they could be blood.
The cut on his hand.
See this?
[Ishmael] Art, I think you better come down here.
Something you should see. What the hell is it now?
What? Take a look at this.
Hmm.
[Knocking]
[Judge] This better be good.
I can admit evidence at this point only if required in the interest of justice.
Only if it changes everything.
Nels explained that to you? Yes, he did.
[Judge] Very well then. About this second lantern and the freighter.
[Ishmael's Voice] After Miyamoto left, and Carl's engine was up and running,
he must have remembered the lantern, so he climbs up to cut it down.
[Ship's Engine Chugging]
[Screams]
[Ishmael's Voice] Everything fits: the coast guard report,
the lanterns, the freighter's course,
the coffee cup, the time on Carl's watch,
and Carl's blood on the fishing gaff.
Your Honor, that is the rankest speculation.
Alvin, please spare me.
With all due respect... You listen here!
We're going to hear this theory out.
And if justice demands it, we're gonna let the jury hear it too...
just in case it might be the truth!
[Judge] The head wound? [Ishmael] We found a small fracture in the gunnel.
Just below the mast. Anything could've caused that.
- [Ishmael] Anything with human hair. - [Hooks] Why?
May I?
This isn't a legal case.
There's no way to prove any of this, Your Honor.
This certainly warrants a fresh look.
I want to think about it.
By the way, this coast guard report,
when did you come across it?
Was it today you went out to the lighthouse?
Day before yesterday.
Oh.
You're wondering why I held on to it.
Perhaps I have some... idea.
Could it have anything to do...
with the way you look at her?
It, it takes a rare thing,
a turning point,
to free oneself from any obsession.
Be it prejudice or hate or... even love.
I had to, really.
I had no choice.
You're sounding just a little like your father.
Did I ever tell you how much I liked him?
I keep thinking about Carl. How unfair it seems.
An accident. Just like that.
Things just bear down on us, I suppose.
A freighter in the fog.
Or a war.
Accident rules every corner of the universe.
Except maybe... the chambers of the human heart.
Morning, Horace. Reminds you of 1930, doesn't it?
1929, Nels. I believe you're thinking of 1929.
Of course it was, Horace. Winter of'29.
All rise. The Superior Court for the State of W ashington,
County of San Piedro, is now in session.
Members of the jury, this court thanks you for your diligence...
in the task you have performed under difficult circumstances.
However, in the light of the new forensic evidence we have heard,
you are hereby discharged from your responsibilities.
[Murmuring]
Order.
[Judge] Order. You will resume your seats.
Settle down.
Let us not forget...
we have been considering the death of one man,
as well as pondering the fate of another.
Will the defendant please rise?
Kazuo Miyamoto, in the interest of justice, the charges against you are dismissed.
You're free to go home.
It's been a pleasure serving with you.
[Reporters Asking Questions]
[Hatsue] Ishmael?
Can I hold you now?
I'm so grateful for your gentle heart.