I Am Another You (2017) Movie Script

I left China in 2011.

I left to find something I'd

been searching for all my life.

Along the way, I've learned

I'm not the only one looking.

Traveling was one of the few

freedoms I knew in China.

Every year since I

was 20 years old,

I would celebrate my birthday

by traveling to a new place.

I started this

tradition in China.

On my first birthday

living in New York,

I bought a one-way ticket

and went to Florida.

I was excited to document

every conversation I had.

Welcome to America.

Like this is-- this is

what America is like.

Since I was a teen, I just

wanted to grab a backpack

and go travel, you

know, not knowing

where I'm going to sleep or

who I'm going to be with.

That excited me.

Tell me what's

your next plan-- travel?

I'm going to South

America for six months.

A few days into

the trip, I stayed at a hostel

where I met someone

whose mode of travel

was different from

anyone I knew.

How do you spell your name?

Dylan.

And your last name?

Olsen.

The first

night I met Dylan,

we talked for hours about

our lives and travels.

What did you have when

you first got on the road?

An empty backpack

and no money.

I just began to travel

across the country.

How can you pay the

hostel if you don't have money?

I-- I worked for them.

I-- I came here offering

my work for a place

to close my eyes at night that

was safe and a place to just

to be at peace.

So many

people come and go,

it's hard to remember.

I do know that when

I first met Dylan,

I immediately identified

he was a street kid.

How?

Just because

he's a street kid.

You meet so many people,

you can see certain things.

It's evident.

And so we had a conversation

and made the agreement

that he would leave all those

survival skills of the street

behind.

They have no place here.

We identified that immediately.

And it's very rare

that we'll allow that.

But he's unique-- very

smart, very creative.

He's got one of the best

skills that you can have--

fearless in working--

fearless in doing.

- I

- wanted to experience the life

that Dylan described to me.

When he went back

to the streets,

I decided to follow him with

my camera despite the fact

that I hardly knew him.

Oh, we need a better map.

Being

lost is where I'm found.

Upon arriving the path

that I am happy to tread,

my shoes come off, and I

experience that full connection

with the floor.

It's as if I can breathe better.

Observing everybody else

around in their entirety,

their passions, their

bizarre behaviors,

as well as their observing

me and my bizarre behaviors.

There's no time

living in this sense.

I don't know what day it is.

Every day is now, right now.

Every time is right now.

I taught Dylan

how to use my camera

so he could document

my experiences a while.

This was the first time I ate

food from our garbage can.

It was the beginning of

my short street life.

"Wherever

he goes, he leaves an echo

to show from the pitter

patter of his feet

to the magic incantation

he speaks, a man

from the past living

in the present.

So his presence is

living in the future.

Yesterday and tomorrow-- last

week was seven years long."

Why you choose

to be on the street?

Hmm.

Why are you choosing

to stay on the street?

Well--

Huh?

I guess the only

objective is eating,

and happiness, and community.

What do you mean eating?

And I feed myself,

and I have a good attitude,

and I just go

wherever I want to go.

You can wander around

and see so many things

and meet so many people

that none of that

could ever occur if I were--

if I were just staying in one

place, working for one person.

I've gone through quite a

big portion of North America.

I'm just exploring,

just meeting people.

Hey, man, you got a Sharpie.

I really couldn't

answer and say when

I'll be done traveling or living

on the street in this way.

But anywhere I am, something

likely amazing happens.

My name is Jared.

Jared.

And this is my

buddy here Jong.

My name is Dylan.

Dylan.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, man.

My name NANFU.

That's cool.

So you're from Utah, you said?

- Yeah.

Originally?

Yeah.

What part did you say?

Just north of Salt Lake City.

Did you grow up Mormon?

Uh, yeah, for a minute.

For a hot minute?

Yeah, for a hot minute.

You are welcome

to stay the night.

Neat.

That's a pullout.

She needs a good rest,

so she's earned it.

One of the first people

to buy here in the 1960s.

Jared had

known us for just a few hours.

You guys want a beer?

But he invited us home.

It had been days since

I slept under a roof.

So I've been there.

You know, I've been

traveling by myself.

I've had no place to stay.

So I just figured

I'd extend a hand.

And I like him, you know?

He's a funny cat, man.

You know, he's young,

and he's finding himself.

It's tough living life on

the street and on the roads.

Jared

took us to dinner that night.

I told myself one day I'd

come back and thank him.

But I don't even

remember where he lived.

Am in the camera?

Yeah.

- A beer, right?

- A Budweiser, please.

- Budweiser.

- Thank you.

Oh, OK.

Oh, yeah, yeah.

I hadn't told my family

that I was living on the

streets with someone I just

met and wasn't involved with.

They wouldn't understand

why a homeless person

would be worth following.

The idea that someone

would choose to be homeless

would be inconceivable to them.

But this was a kind of freedom

I had never encountered before.

Everywhere we went, I was

amazed by how many people

were interested in this life.

- Don or Dylan?

- Dylan.

Dylan.

How long are you

planning to do this?

I don't know, man.

I have no idea.

I'll see where

the road takes me.

I'm just fascinated.

So what made you like--

did someone else do

this that you decided to do it?

I wondered

if the presence of my camera

affected how people behave.

So sometimes I would

retreat from Dylan

and wait until

something happened.

This guy met Dylan in

front of a coffee shop

while I was sitting inside

charging my battery.

They talked for hours.

And then he invited

Dylan to his home.

We were just carrying

a conversation,

and we got something in

common with a hostile.

I stayed in a hostile

that was in California.

I just decided that it was good

to have some money to give.

It just makes me feel

good to be able to--

makes me feel good it

you can help somebody.

What part of

his story interested you?

Well, I guess the way--

the choices he makes.

Street life was

free and exciting for Dylan.

But it wasn't that

way for everyone.

Why were people so generous to

Dylan, but not to the others?

I began to realize the

privilege of choosing

to be on the streets,

which includes both of us.

A little

something to get people here.

Who came here a member?

Who

came-- did anybody

come to meet with God tonight?

Well, we're glad that you

chose to come here tonight.

Who has been here

before and decided

they might come back again?

All right, well, I think

we're in the right place.

So let's pray over the meal.

Father, I thank you for tonight.

I think you--

I just love--

I love humanity.

I'm here experiencing

humanity at its most.

Do you have like any

type of like legal issues

in your background that--

that would, you know, add--

I'm just curious, to like--

Nothing extreme.

I mean, I made a

lot of mistakes.

By the time I was 14, I

was on heroin and selling

drugs till about 20 years old.

I mean, I'm

assuming you probably

have maybe some

high school or you

may have finished high school?

I finished high

school-- did some college.

OK.

I quit college,

because I mean,

I can learn more in a library

than I could at a school,

studying what I'm

interested in for free.

The point I'm

trying to bring out

is that it's going to be that

much harder for you basically

putting this on your resume

when you're trying to get a job.

I mean, I'm having a

hard enough time myself.

I don't feel as

if I'm doing wrong.

Maybe I'm doing different

than anybody else would think.

But man-- I'm--

No, it's not that.

I'm whole.

Right, no, I'm not

saying you're doing wrong.

I know that.

I know.

But yeah, no, I'm

just saying, you know--

I'm just telling how

I-- how I feel about it.

You know, it just-- it just

seems like, you know, like--

the easier way out.

For now, I'm only 22.

Fuck, I feel like a

100-year-old person.

I mean, I've been through a

lot, I've lived through a lot,

and experienced a lot of

beautiful and ugly places.

Dylan told me later

that he was angry

for the condescension

he felt from this person.

He told me how much he resented

the judgment religious people

had shown him in his life.

But I was amazed by

how comfortable he

seemed in situations like this.

Hallelujah, holy,

holy, God almighty, great I am.

I'm so sorry.

This is Dylan.

Hi, Dylan, welcome.

God bless you.

And who is your friend?

This is NANFU.

Hi.

- Hi, NANFU.

- And what are you doing?

Just taking some shots.

Filming

yeah, him, yeah.

Oh, is he-- is he--

Our journey.

It's a journey.

Oh, thank you for coming today.

Fantastic!

Come on in.

Well, look who's back in town.

They don't want to

filmed-- those two.

Jesus, we come to you, Lord.

Give us our gifts

of..

It's just like a cast

on us and our mind.

We want to have that fix

that you can give us.

When we ask for

forgiveness for whatever

we've done to somebody--

if we..

For whatever reason you

have him on this journey, Lord

God, we just want to pray

your holy spirit will capture

his heart, and capture his mind,

and capture Dylan, and turn him

into the man that you have--

you have designed

him to become, Lord.

And he is seeking.

He is on a quest, Lord Jesus.

I pray that you will

just give him the answers

that he's looking for, Lord.

We pray your favor upon Dylan.

We pray that salvation,

healing, and deliverance

will come to Dylan's

body, soul, and spirit.

And to his friend, also,

Lord, we just pray for her.

We pray that as they

travel together, that Lord,

you would put a hedge of

protection around them

and that, Lord, your spirit

will fall upon them like it did

when you fell upon.

And we just bleed your blood,

Jesus, over their lives,

over their hearts,

and their minds,

and their emotions,

Lord, and we say

thank you, Lord,

for the opportunity

to pray and bless

them, in Jesus' name.

- I

- typically never make a sign.

But I figured, why not?

A simple sign manifested into

encountering this man, George.

How do you like

the United States?

- You like it?

- Yeah.

He

offered me the $50 bonus

to tour a luxury timeshare

in North Beach, Miami.

Guys, um, I need you to

come over here for a minute--

just initial this.

It

required a bit of paperwork

and fibbing as far as my

occupation and salary.

So what?

I could use $50 to

help myself and to help

this man make a few dollars

off of referring me.

Hey, you got to wash

your hands, all right?

Come on.

There's your ID.

OK?

You've got to finish the tour

in order to get the gift.

So an hour, hour

and a half, they're

going to have snacks up there.

They're going to tell you

about a vacation club,

and you know, if

you like it, buy it.

If you don't-- if you don't make

spur of the moment decisions,

whatever it is that you do

or don't do, it's up to you.

You don't have to buy

anything for the gift.

OK?

Thank you, again.

I'll be here when

you get done, OK?

I'll be here waiting to pay you.

OK.

Maybe

about a 25 minute van ride.

And you end up at this

beautiful facility.

Sure, I'll pretend to be a

hot shot, wealthy young guy,

covered in dirt, stinky.

The pressure of the

older one is always good.

OK, cool.

I told

her I was a master carpenter.

That was my way of

explaining my hands

being all dirty and stained.

Right on.

Yeah?

Oh, that's good.

The $50 Dylan

earned last for a few days,

maybe beyond the few days

I had with him on the streets.

But he decided to go to

a restaurant for dinner.

And the rest of the

money he gave away.

After a few minutes,

not surprisingly,

Dylan became friends

with the people

sitting at the next table.

What's your name?

I'm Dylan.

Dylan? nice to meet you.

Uri.

Uri?

Uri, yeah.

That's my grandma.

That's your grandma?

My mom.

This is my mom.

Nice to meet you all.

They gave Dylan $20

and their contact information,

I promise.

I hope not.

But--

Yes.

All right.

I love it.

Absolutely.

You guys have

a beautiful night.

Thank you.

You too.

Bye.

- I

- was worried that we would

be kicked out of this park.

Sure enough, I got

woken up by the police.

Fuck!

You can cavity search me.

Before we headed north,

I went to a bathroom in the

bagel shop to clean myself.

It took me so long

in the bathroom

that the staff noticed

and questioned me.

I told them about Dylan

and that I was filming him.

Dylan, some

bagels for us on the road.

Do you want to come in

and say thank you to them?

I don't know why

he's in that situation,

but for whatever

reason, he's there.

So why not help?

How much

money did you give him?

Just $5. $5.

Then like a half pack of smokes.

Then we give him some

bagels and stuff.

That was the boss's idea there.

You know, just some bagels

and some cream cheese.

Heard he was living on

the streets and hungry.

So you know, why

not help someone?

Soon after, we

were back on the road.

Dylan decided to

sell the bagels.

No one wanted a bagel.

But many people

gave him the money.

What did you tell him?

I said, you do

you need a bagel for $1?

I'm trying to hit this bus.

And he was like, hold on.

Hold on.

He went inside and bought some

beer and came back with $1.

But he didn't ask for a bagel.

- I

- was annoyed that Dylan wanted

to get rid of the bagels.

I felt that he was

ungrateful for the kindness

people showed him.

I felt disgusted that I

lost interest in filming

and gave him the camera.

When I first met

Dylan, he seemed

like a symbol for

the free America

I had always heard about.

But the longer I spent observing

how he used his freedom,

my feelings changed.

Can you spare a dollar?

I don't eat

that much food.

I don't want to carry

that around for so long,

I don't want to have to

take three shits a day.

I'm not going to get any

money from anybody or food

if I'm carrying a big

bag of bagels around.

My objective is

drinking right now.

And now I have to beg

again, which I never beg.

I have to beg today

to get some beer--

so I can think straight enough

to know what's bothering me.

So you

already knew the answer.

You already knew it, right?

I need to drink

and think about it.

It doesn't involve

you, but I just

still need to think about it.

When

he threw away the bagels,

I couldn't stand it.

We had an argument.

I criticized him for taking

advantage of people's kindness.

But then I thought to myself--

was I the one who was taking

advantage of him by filming?

Shortly after this, my

trip with Dylan ended.

Dylan stayed on the streets.

And I went back to

my life in New York.

Everything looked

different after the trip.

My few weeks on the

streets showed me

that my everyday worries from

before all seemed pointless.

I knew that whatever

happened, I could survive.

I soon became busy making a

film about Chinese human rights.

The survival skills I learned

on the streets with Dylan

became useful as I was on

the run across China chased

by the police.

I often find myself

comparing my experience

filming in both countries.

I felt safer sleeping

on the streets

than I did traveling in

China on buses and trains.

Two years quickly went by.

I often wondered what

would happen to Dylan

and if I would see him again.

I started

doing these around 2013.

What I would do is

in between calls

or when I was on call and

driving around in my work

truck, I would just take the

GoPro to one of the windows

and just say what

was on my mind.

It is a beautiful day.

Got to enjoy those

every chance you get.

I am headed out to do some

scouting on a target house--

a little bit.

And then I got to pick

up some new handcuffs,

because mine got stuck on

the last guy I arrested.

And that's really upsetting,

because I've had that pair

of handcuffs for 24 years--

an entire career.

Two

years after I first met Dylan,

I traveled to Utah

for the first time

for the Chinese human rights

film I was working on.

I remembered that

Dylan was from Utah,

and I was curious to

see if I could learn

more about where he came from.

I have

lots of disks where

I have recorded my thoughts--

just like a video journal.

And there's a lot of things that

are special to me, you know,

that I am glad I

have documented.

ICAC search warrant

Park City, Utah.

Police!

Search warrant!

Police!

Search warrant.

Police!

Search warrant!

I've been a

detective since 2011.

I investigate sex crimes.

I'm also assigned to

investigate internet crimes

against children.

We'll execute a search warrant.

High 90% of the time, we find

evidence of child pornography.

Well, the first

several times, I had

to review material,

because I can't say, well,

I think this is child porn.

I have to review it and

make sure what it is.

And I have to be

able to describe

a number of images and videos.

So the first time I did

have to do those reviews,

I got some vicarious trauma.

And I don't cry hardly ever.

I sat down at my desk one

day and just started to cry.

This was a way to get

those things off my chest.

Even though I'm only

talking to myself,

I couldn't talk to

other people about it.

Every once in a while,

I'd wake up really early,

and I just couldn't

go back to bed.

So I decided just go to work.

I started the camera

from my driveway.

And it was super dark, so

you can't see anything.

But you could hear what

I was talking about.

I have three kids.

My youngest is 15.

He gets straight A's in school--

very smart.

My daughter is working on

graduating from college.

She's so kind hearted and good.

And my oldest boy--

he's 23.

He's been a transient

all around the country.

No parent wants their child

to be homeless on the street.

I think when you're a parent,

you want your children

to be kind like you.

He looks just like I did when

I was his age or younger.

We have a lot of similarities

in our voice and the way

that we really

care about people.

All three of my children grew

up with the same expectations

and the same knowledge.

And they all turned out

so very differently.

I'm kind

of a religious person.

Well, I'm actually a

very religious person.

I wouldn't dream of

breaking the rules.

But Dylan is all

out there happily

breaking all the rules that he

can get away with, you know?

I feel like if he has a sense

of freedom with breaking rules,

you know?

I don't think he likes

to be bound by anything.

Or I don't think he likes

to be told what to do.

The way I see homeless people is

people who made bad decisions,

you know?

And I'm sure if

they could go back,

they'd change those

bad decisions.

The way Ashton feels

was 100% totally his choice.

He can do whatever he wants.

Dylan, the same way.

He has the freedom to choose.

I learned that Dylan

has a very loving family.

I wondered what made him

choose to live on the streets.

Part of

it is he hated Utah.

He hated the local religion.

And so he had made some friends.

And they had different

philosophies.

There was drug use

in those circles.

His drug habit got

more and more intense.

And he'd had some

psychological problems

that we tried to deal with.

He gets his

medications, and he'll

go out and sell it for $300.

So there was a lot

of frustrations,

you know, what

can we do to help?

When you have a child

you want to help,

you've got to

simplify the rules.

And I had simple rules--

don't bring drugs into my house.

And I made him come up

with the consequence.

All right, so if you

violate these rules.

What's the consequences?

He came up with it.

He said, I'm out.

And so there was a time when I

found some things in his room

here.

I just-- and I

pointed it out to him.

And I said, well, what's

going to happen now?

He says, dad, I don't know.

I got to go.

He told me, just drop

me off in the mountains

or driving up on 89--

just drop me off

in the mountains.

I said, I can't drop you

off in the mountains.

He said, it's getting cold,

and you'll die of exposure.

So I bought him a bus

ticket to San Diego.

And I looked up

every social service

program that can help him that

was in the San Diego area.

I printed those up with maps.

I had his whole itinerary

of being homeless planned.

Here's where the bus station is.

Here's where you

can get some food.

Here's where someone can

help you to get a job.

He was excited to go in a way.

And I'm frightened.

I'm terrified at this point.

So at the end of

the day, I took him

down to the Greyhound

station, and I

had that $400 in my pocket.

And I thought to myself, if

I just give him $400 here,

and we part ways, he'll

be in downtown Salt

Lake buying drugs.

So I waited until he was in

line for the Greyhound bus.

Then I gave him $400.

I said, don't lose it.

Don't lose any of this stuff.

I want you to survive.

And I trust--

I trust you.

I trust that you can survive.

And I watched the bus go away.

And I call that one of the

three saddest days of my life--

one of them being

when Brendan died.

My first son passed

away at birth.

And that was tough.

I remember going out to the

cemetery and just crying.

I bathed his

headstone in my tears.

I couldn't believe all

the bad things that have

happened to me in my life--

one of them being when the

woman that I was married

to for 18 years

said she didn't want

to be married to me anymore.

I think the divorce was

really hard for Dylan.

I think it might

have had effects on Dylan.

But his behavior had

more effects on us.

For me, I kind of had a

breakdown, because I didn't

know what to do with him.

John didn't know

what to do with him.

And I think it strained

our relationship.

Dylan's mother agreed

to one interview with me.

But she didn't want

to participate further

in the film, because

reliving these memories

was very painful for her.

There's a lot of moms that

have homeless children that

are addicts.

And you never sleep at night.

You always worry about them.

As any mom with

an addicted child

will tell you that every

time the phone rings,

you wonder if that's the call.

Every time there's a number

that you don't recognize,

your heart drops,

because you know

that someday there's a

possibility that you're

going to get that call.

And that's something I

worry about all the time.

She was always convinced

that he was murdered somewhere.

And I-- I would say to myself,

no, no if something that

bad happened, somebody would--

I know how law

enforcement works.

They would have

figured out who he was.

And I would have

got a phone call.

So no news is good news,

but it was a long time.

And I was just terrified,

worrying like, oh,

my gosh, what did I do you?

You know, I just--

is he OK?

What's wrong?

Until the first

time he called me.

Oh, man, I was so glad

to hear his voice.

And he said, guess where I'm at?

He said he was on

somebody's boat.

And they'd hired him to help

him work on the guy's boat

and was paying him money.

And I thought, oh,

my, gosh, hallelujah!

OK.

So now he's in a

place that he likes.

And he has something

positive, you know?

And that's the first time

I learned this is where

Dylan just started being Dylan.

A few weeks later, he calls me--

guess where I'm at?

Where?

At a mansion in Malibu,

drinking a glass of wine

and looking at the ocean.

And he sends me a text

picture of a glass of wine,

and there's the ocean.

He's up on the hill in Malibu.

Oh, my gosh.

Hallelujah!

What?

What the heck.

San Diego-- Panama City,

Florida, New York,

and all kinds of places.

Heck, he got on a

sailboat and was 80 miles

off the shore in blue water.

I'm thinking this kid is living

kind of a Forrest Gump, Walter

Mitty kind of existence, and--

and I started talking

to my friends about it.

I'm proud of Dylan

in so many respects.

You know?

And so interested.

But on the other side, what's

he going to do when he gets old?

I think to myself, what

are you doing, kid?

I'm confused, and

I don't understand,

and I hope he's happy.

I hope he is always up

for another adventure.

But I hope he's a healthy guy.

I hope he can find

the balance there--

because I don't want

him to die before I do.

Several months

after my first trip to Utah,

John was getting remarried,

and he invited me

to the wedding,

especially since

Dylan would be there.

It would be the first time any

of us had seen Dylan in years.

First, I

would like to welcome

everybody for coming out today.

I could go on all

day talking about how

wonderful my family is.

I just love them.

And my job makes

me grateful even

more for my family every day.

I'm going to focus a little bit

of attention on my children--

Dylan here.

Raise your hand, Dylan.

He's my oldest son.

Dylan is super-intelligent.

He is like one of the

most awesome adventurers

I've ever known--

very resourceful.

And one thing about

Dylan is he knows how

to write and express himself.

Like I read some of the

things that this kid wrote.

And I just want him

to put it in a book.

Kayla, she is the sweetest,

most kindest person in the world

totally.

I love you very much.

Without further ado, I'll

have Ashton play a song,

and in the middle of the

song is when we'll introduce

my beautiful bride to you guys.

By virtue of the legal

authority vested in me

as an elder of the Church of

Jesus Christ of Latter-Day

Saints, I pronounce you

John Corbon Olsen and Wendy

Sue May husband and wife legally

and lawfully wedded for the--

for the period of

your mortal lives.

May god bless you in this joy,

your posterity, and a long life

of happiness together.

And may he enable you to keep

sacred covenants you've made.

Mr. and Mrs. Olsen.

Hello.

I'm grandma.

Yeah.

I hear all about you--

how amazing you are.

Well, I don't think

I'm that amazing.

People are nice

though to say that.

I hear you are.

How long will you be here?

I'll Probably be

here for a few months.

That's good.

Yeah.

I'll be hanging around.

It's good to be

around the family.

I've been away for far too long.

So being around the

family feels really nice.

It's good.

It's good you're going to stay.

Mhm.

Yeah, I'm excited to stay.

There was this

boy whose parents made

him come directly home

right after school,

and when they went

to their church,

they shook and lurched

all over the church floor.

While Dylan was in Utah,

he took me to some of

his memorable places.

Ever since I was a

kid, I've always been so

attracted to the ascetic life--

the guy who lives out of a

backpack and just travels.

This is a little place

we used to hang out.

I ran away from home one

time and stayed here for--

I don't know-- a

good couple of days.

Utah-- this is a place

of geographical wonder--

the high elevation

mountain lakes--

the deserts-- the red rock--

the mountains--

the marsh lands--

the lakes-- everywhere.

This is where I grew up.

This is where I got to explore,

and learn how to be a woodsman,

and learn how to learn

how to swim and fish

and explore exploring itself.

Sadly, this place is very

conservative and very

judgmental,

predominantly populated

by people who want to worship

their Lord and Savior Jesus.

Somebody like me with

tattoos, an open mind, and--

you get shunned out.

You can't get a job.

You're judged.

You're scrutinized thoroughly.

If you smoke cigarettes,

heaven forbid.

If you drink a

beer, heaven forbid.

I love to come here

to visit, but trying

to become part of the inner

social structure of this state

is a bit more of a

challenge than other places.

A man from the past

living in the present.

So his presence is

living in the future.

He only sought the things

that the whole world forgot.

I am he.

He is me.

If you only knew

he is another you.

That night, Dylan

asked me to show his

family the footage I filmed

on the streets in Florida.

Dylan was excited to see it.

Oh I remember this dude.

This cat was weird.

I forgot about him.

That was the bagel

store right there.

I love this man.

Good dude.

But gradually I

noticed that not everyone

was comfortable seeing

Dylan as a homeless person.

Ahh, shit.

Ahh!

He's so awesome!

Oh, fucking asshole.

Son of a bitch.

After the screening,

Ashton told Dylan not to

curse in front of him,

which made Dylan very upset.

You're a pain in the ass.

You realize that?

I just wish that he could

see my side of the world

a little bit better.

If one day he wakes

up and he is like,

wow, the Mormon religion

is fucking bullshit

and my entire fucking

life philosophy is gone.

Just like what happened

to me-- if one day he

realizes that's gone,

what the fuck would he do?

Instead

of sleeping in his parents'

house, Dylan went to do

drugs with his friends

on the mountain.

Dylan left Utah soon

after the wedding.

It was then I remembered

something that John told

me the first time I met him.

He had had

some psychological problems

that we tried to deal with.

He gets his medications.

Then he'll go out

and sell it for $300.

I ignored

what he told me back then.

I dismissed it as

an overreaction

to Dylan's non-conformity.

But I realized my own

bias kept me from hearing

what John tried to tell me.

Part of his mental

issues was severe paranoia.

He starts to tell me that

there's people after him.

And he starts naming names.

And I know these.

I knew one of the people was

here and couldn't possibly

have even known where he was.

So I tried to

convince him that he

was just having hallucinations.

How did you know

it wasn't from the drug use?

Because I've known

a lot of drug addicts

in the course of my career and

people who were blitzed on you

name it.

And that's not a typical

reaction to the drugs.

I know that the drugs

compounded the issue.

I wonder

when Dylan first

had that kind of experience and

then whether he had told you.

It really didn't

come on strong

until he was 17, 18 years old.

He's always been open and

honest with me about bad things

going on in his life.

But I can't guarantee that he

wasn't hiding something that

was bothering him

or that he would

even know that this isn't real

and this isn't the way it is.

I mean, he could have been

experiencing things to this day

that he thinks were real

that didn't actually happen.

Every time

I close my eyes,

I'm mesmerized by

some kind of dream.

Places I've never

seen before, but I

feel like I've seen before.

The first time that I

heard them so vividly,

I just thought I was possessed.

I'd look at somebody,

and I swear,

I could hear what

they were thinking.

And then I'd look

at somebody else,

and I would hear what

they were thinking.

And I was just afraid.

I don't even remember

what happened after that.

I don't even know how I got.

Yeah, I really can't even

remember what happened.

I went blank for like a week.

I could put it on the inside

so it would be hidden.

- Which?

- See how it's got this--

Where?

Oh, cool.

All right, go in

the shade somewhere?

Mhm.

Here is the thing

that I kept wondering

and I couldn't

understand, because we

spent almost a month together.

And I did not notice

anything, whether you behaved

differently, whether

you were nervous,

or panicked, or anything--

was it just that time period--

just nothing happened?

You didn't hear voices.

You didn't see illusions?

No, I just didn't let it show.

Really?

Yeah, I just hide a lot of it.

How could you

hide it if that's so strong?

Alcohol.

Really?

Alcohol helps.

But I mean, for instance,

there was that one time we

were eating the

dinner in South Beach,

sitting next to that family.

And some guy gave me a weird

look-- some like gang banger

looking guy.

He looked at me-- what's up?

And it just-- immediately,

I got this panic going on.

I remember the

first thing I did is

I went and bought some alcohol.

And I got-- we got on that bus.

We were drinking the vodka,

and I was all happy on the bus

after that.

I had been with

Dylan that whole night filming

everything, but I missed this--

this entire narrative that

was running in his head.

I went back to

look at my footage

and finally noticed how much

Dylan had been drinking.

It was constant.

Are you drunk?

He told me that the voices

had always been there.

It's a sensation

that I'm going

to deal with my whole

life, and I'm just--

I'm basically in the, I don't

know, kindergarten stage

of trying to understand these--

this phenomenon going on in

my psyche, in my spirituality.

I'm

trying to understand.

It's-- it's--

yeah, you can't--

it's something really

difficult to explain,

and that's why there's such

little compassion towards it.

- I

- asked Dylan if he remembered

any of the voices he heard.

He said he had

written them down.

And these are

true things that I've

actually heard in the past.

"Look at him.

He's so foolish.

Watch how he's doing it.

Yep, he hears us.

That idiot.

You're always going to be

someone's bitch, Dylan.

This is Project Craft Unit 278.

Your grandpa is dying right now.

Listen to him suffering in

the hospital and the old man

moaning sound and groaning.

He has lasted longer than

most San Diego."

When I

was a child in China,

people in my village used

to say that mental illness

was contagious.

When I grew up, the media

said that people who protested

against the government

had mental illness,

and I had seen how

dissidents were

locked in mental hospitals.

When John first told me

that Dylan was mentally ill,

I was in denial.

But now hearing Dylan

describing his mental trauma,

I started to question my

own perception of reality.

How do you know what

things in your life

are real and are not real?

I can just feel it.

I have physical

sensations in my body,

and I've had enough

experiences where I know it's

not real and thought it was.

I know when it's not real.

No.

I can feel it.

Have you caught anything?

No.

I brought you some fish.

Are you serious?

My relationship

with Dylan

is like boyfriend-girlfriend,

I would say.

He finds so much

beauty on the street.

It's so special that I get

to see through his eyes

directly how it is.

So we love each other a lot.

But we live a lifestyle

that constantly changes,

or we like when it changes.

And we love loving people.

After experiencing this, I feel

like I won't be able to like

live a normal life ever again.

I don't see Dylan

as mentally ill.

We think very imaginatively.

I think that's why

we get along so well.

Maybe he's mentally ill

because he doesn't want

to be part of the status quo.

But that's not mentally ill.

It's just a different opinion.

Over the next few days,

I met some of Dylan's

homeless friends.

What's going on, bro?

How you doing, my man?

Many of

them shared Dylan's experience.

How long have you been living

this kind of lifestyle?

On and off for a lot of years.

I have OCD.

It makes it difficult to--

I mean, I can do

education, but as far

as balancing the things of

the workforce and life place--

I am incapable of doing that.

So this the last all I can do.

I had some

experiences with voices.

I had little tricksters.

They would either

laugh at me, tell me

good things, bad things, and

then there was tricksters.

And you'd hear them

giggling, and I'd

be like taking a shower.

Shut off the water and you

know, and save water, you know?

I'm like, oh.

And then they're

like, look how stupid she is?

She just turned off the water.

- I know.

Right.

It goes on, and

on, and on, and on.

Then finally, you put

yourself in a corner,

and cover your head,

and start crying--

bawling your eyes out like

what did I do wrong this time?

My confidence, you know,

like it went to crap.

If you tell any

doctor that you hear things

and see things that other

people can't, then that's

schizo affective.

That's just what

they're going to say.

So some people are very

afraid of that word.

I don't even like to use

that word schizophrenia just

for that reason.

I'm sensitive to other

energies and forces

in this world that are real.

I'm not mentally ill.

I'm really just experiencing

stuff that's in the ether

that most people can't see.

It was difficult for me

to imagine their states of mind.

I wanted to understand

Dylan's mind better.

So I asked him if

he could visualize

some of his experiences for me.

Dylan came up with the

idea to recreate moments

of mental trauma from his past.

He invited his homeless friends

to create the re-enactments.

So if everyone can

just find a random book,

take a book, and, uh,

just use your intuition.

Somebody will sit there

chair close to me,

and they'll just start reading

aloud just, you know, quietly.

And I get confused

and distracted.

And then it will just go

around in a circle like that.

We've got

one question, man.

Yeah?

What is the

name of the movie?

"I'm Another You."

Yeah.

That described

schizophrenia pretty well.

Yeah, well, I mean, you know,

I'm grateful that all of you

are here for this,

because you know,

I hate to use the word

schizophrenic, or bipolar,

or anything like that,

because we're really

just empathic, sensitive

people that don't

fit into this whole machine.

We're really-- we're

really emotional.

And we see things

other people can't see.

And it's important.

So I'm glad you guys are here.

Right on, brother.

"The homeless are

close to the streets,

to the pavement, curbs, and

the gutters, the concrete,

the litter, the sewer, the

sewer lids, the fire hydrants,

and wastebaskets, and bus stops,

and the store fronts and move

slowly over familiar

terrain, day after day,

stopping to talk to each other,

because time means little.

Stopping to watch a stalled

car under hats and caps.

A new drug deal behind

drugstore sunshades,

a strange face-- like

sentries, they observe."

"The sexual

images."."

"Look at that.

They had him hogtied,

raped him, and then

put a knife to his chest."

I'm

openly expressing the most

sensitive things about me.

If some people understood

me, which I know they would,

I would appreciate that.

This isn't about me.

Most people with these kind

of-- with a mind like mine,

they don't have skills

to explain or illustrate

what's going on actually.

You asked me if I was

homeless by choice.

And I would have said

yes initially but--

because I did make the

choice to be homeless.

But thinking about

it on a deeper level,

it is definitely not a choice.

How am I supposed

to keep a job when

I have these social paranoias

and these hallucinations?

How can I call in sick

maybe once or twice a week?

It's-- it's really not feasible.

By their standards,

I'm mentally disabled.

I came

to Florida to find

out whether Dylan was mentally

ill and what his reality was.

But after understanding

the complexities

of his mental health,

addiction, and homelessness,

the question had

become less important.

How do you spell your name?

Dylan.

I had seen how the mind can

build prisons for itself.

I had seen, through

people's treatment of Dylan,

how they were limited

by their perception.

You see, you and I, like we

don't differ all that much.

Yeah.

I'm just fascinated.

So what made you like--

did someone else do

this that you decided to do it?

I like him, you know?

He's a funny cat, man,

you know, he's young.

He's finding himself.

I see Dylan's face in every

homeless person that I see.

I came to the US in 2011.

I followed Dylan hoping

to find something I've

been searching for all my life.

Along the way I've learned

what I've been searching

for exists only in the mind.

"What

else is there besides this?

Endless kisses from

Mrs. Bliss herself,

escaping the clasp of the

second-hand's ticking task,

kicking back the flask

to bask with no mask.

Wherever he goes, he

leaves an echo to show.

From the pitter patter of his

feet to the magic incantation

he speaks, a man from the

past living in the present.

So his presence is

living in the future.

Yesterday and tomorrow, last

week was seven years long.

The only thought in his mind

was the singing bird's song.

He only sought the things

that the whole world forgot.

I am he.

He is me.

If you only knew,

he is another you."

I Am Another You (2017) - full transcript