Katherine (1975) Movie Script

[MUSIC - CROSBY, STILLS, & NASH,

"TEACH YOUR CHILDREN"]

-Well, I never

thought that Katie

would go to those extremes.

In a word, she was

spirited, impatient.

Katie was always strong minded.

You couldn't say no to her.

She took it as a challenge.

And if she didn't agree with

you, she wasn't one to give in.

That's the kind of American

stock she comes from.

-Um, if she hadn't left

home, maybe none of this

would have happened.

But then, nobody stays home.

She was quite good when she

was young, always giving things

away.

She was pretty.

She had tiny hands, soft skin.

She really wasn't like any

of those other young people.

Selfish, foul-mouthed young

men, they-- they changed her.

-She was very.

Beautiful she was a model

revolutionary soldier.

And by that I mean that

when it really got heavy,

the radicals started

to fade, but not Kate.

She was total commitment.

-It's just that

she got caught up

in that revolutionary

excitement.

She couldn't turn back

even if she wanted to.

Because, well, that

would have meant failure.

She never allow herself

to lose anything.

-I think I should

go and study you.

-Why?

Because you're a man?

[MUSIC - CROSBY, STILLS, & NASH,

"TEACH YOUR CHILDREN"]

-It's set for 9 o'clock.

-OK.

-All right?

-Yeah.

-If you get to the court house

on time, then nobody gets hurt.

OK?

-OK.

-Be careful, huh?

-Relax.

-Good luck.

-Thank you.

-Hey, you've got exactly

one hour till 9:00.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

-I love this country.

I've had the best it

can offer, and I've

seen the worst it could be.

And I'm committed to

making America a better

place, no matter what the cost.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON:

For in your time,

we have the opportunity

to move not only

towards the rich society

and the powerful society,

but upwards to

the Great Society.

The Great Society rests on

abundance and liberty for all.

It demands an end to poverty--

-We were uh, we were supposed

to be the cream, the educated

future wives and

mothers of America.

But we really had no idea

what we wanted to do.

But Katherine was like all of

us, sort of passing through.

At college, she was pretty

competitive and all that.

But she wasn't an

exit or everything.

She was bright.

She had a good sense of humor.

[CHEERS]

-OK, Miss Denver, Miss

Denver, I bet a penny.

[CHEERS]

-You can't a penny!

I've already bet a quarter.

You can call me,

raise me, or fold me.

But you cannot at this

late date bet a penny.

-Look, Kathy, Mark may

be coming down this week.

Want me to ask him to

bring a friend for you?

-I just want to play!

Anyway, Saturday I'm

supposed to teach.

-No!

Well, cancel it.

-She's dedicated, Margo,

a dedicated educator.

-She's just saving her body

for future generations.

-Sewing it up for

posterity, huh?

-Sacrificing himself

to bring enlightenment

to those less fortunate!

-As it just so happens,

ladies, that I would prefer

to spend this Saturday teaching

kids to read than wrestling

with one of Mark's

jerky friends, OK?

-OK.

OK.

WOMAN: Mark

[INAUDIBLE], telephone!

-Oh!

Ooh!

-Oh!

-Play before you go.

-Oh, fine, I will.

Oh!

Look what I did!

Oh, I'm so sorry.

-Look!

A full house!

I just got canned.

-Does that beat four nines?

-Does that beat four nines.

Margo!

-In the West, you'd be dead.

-Oh, last chance for happiness.

Want Mark to bring a friend?

-No.

[SINGING]

-The lion was r-- re-- red.

-How did you feel when you

were in juvenile court?

-I don't know.

I guess I was a little scared.

-Exactly.

-The lion was scared.

-Hey.

-Hi, Katherine.

-Hi.

-Hey, I didn't

think you'd make it,

what, with graduation

and everything?

-I wouldn't leave

without finishing this,

are you kidding?

Hey, thanks for the

recommendation to VSA.

-What's that?

Volunteer Service Abroad.

They accepted me.

-Well, I'm not surprised.

You're good at this.

Are you going?

-I think so.

-Hmm.

Not sure, huh?

Don't go through life

waiting to be absolutely

certain before you

attempt something.

-Kathy?

Kathy, are you up?

-Mhm.

What?

-I'm getting married.

-I know that.

-No, no, no, I'm

getting married now.

Mark's 1-A, and he's

gonna get drafted.

They don't draft married men,

so we're getting married.

-Oh, that's romantic.

-It's not his fault

there's a draft.

-No.

It sounds like you're getting

drafted instead of him.

-Least I'll know what I'll

be doing next year, which

is more than some people

on this bed can say.

-True.

Well.

-Well, congratulations!

Mother!

-Oh, it's delicious.

Oh, Katherine, I forgot.

You received an award

from college today.

They sent it to the house.

-Award?

I didn't get any awards.

-Well, I guess they

just forgot to tell you.

-Thornton, where's the award?

-Award?

Oh, [INAUDIBLE].

Had it on [INAUDIBLE].

I've got it.

"For conduct above and beyond

the duties of a daughter,

we present you with this

Annual Alman Attagirl Award.

-[LAUGHS]

-Thank you, Daddy.

Thank you, Mother.

-And by the way, dear.

Louise wrote and said that

you could use her apartment

while you're at graduate school.

-Well, she didn't

exactly say that.

-But she implied it.

-I don't think I'll

be needing it anyway.

-Well, where will you stay then?

-I'm not gonna go next year.

-You're not going to

graduate school, Katie?

-I wrote you.

I want to work in South America.

-Ridiculous.

What difference can a young girl

in college make in a jungle?

-It's not really a jungle.

-Katie, what's the point of it?

-I want to do something

to help people.

-Noble motive.

Why can't you do it here?

-They need me there.

-They've never

heard of you there.

-Well, I want to go.

-Well, we're not

going to let you.

-You can't stop me.

-Thornton--

-I will run my own life, mother.

-But hold on here, just hold on.

You want to go down there.

We want you to stay.

Let's see if we can work

out some kind of compromise.

Now let's say I were to pay for

two fully qualified teachers

to go, what would

you say to that?

-I'd say that's a

very generous gesture.

-Them, instead of you.

-But I want to

see what I can do.

-Well, you're not doing it for

them, you're doing it for you.

It's obviously not what

we want for you, Katie.

-Obviously, but I'm going.

-Well.

You're old enough to

run your own life.

If that's what you really

decide that you want to do,

that's what you'll do.

-Look, it's not the

end of the world.

I go and teach for

a couple of years,

and most likely I'll come back

and meet the man of my dreams,

get married, and have a family.

And we'll all live happily

ever after, especially Mom.

-I grew up a princess in a

fairy tale-- no suffering,

no hardships, no misfortunes.

It's a good luck.

Everybody should be so

lucky, but they aren't.

Just look at those

kids I taught.

I mean, 14-year-old American

kids who can't read.

I was amazed and angry.

I'd lived in a

protective shell so long.

You see that now

that I know, I felt

I had to do something about it.

Sometimes I wish I'd

been a troublemaker when

I was young that it wouldn't

be such a surprise to everybody

now.

But I was always so damn good.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

LYNDON B. JOHNSON: We

believe that every man

must some day be free.

We believe in ourselves.

I have today ordered to Vietnam

the air mobile division.

-Katherine, she was so

eager to find some way

to be of service

to our world here.

I was worried.

She was over anxious.

She could not get used

to our slower pace.

She was supposed to teach

hygiene and nutrition.

But that was not enough for her.

She began to teach the

children how to read.

-[SPEAKING SPANISH]

-Pepe.

-[SPEAKING SPANISH]

-Bueno.

[SPANISH]

-Katherine, I want

to talk to you.

-I know.

You've finally decided to give

up the church and marry me.

-Katie, the women

are saying you're

telling their husbands

not to pay the rent.

-Filthy rumors.

-It's not true then?

-Well, I didn't say that.

-Well, what are

you telling them?

-I'm teaching them to read.

-The men don't need to read.

Besides, I don't think you

should be with them alone.

-Do you want to go with me?

Don't worry.

I'm pretty strong, see?

Muscles.

-Fuerte [SPANISH].

--[SPEAKING SPANISH] Anyway,

Father, God's on my side.

Bueno.

-[SPEAKING SPANISH]

-Julio.

-El camesino tra-- baja--

trabaja la te-- tierro.

-Muy bien.

[LAUGHTER]

-[SPEAKING SPANISH]

-El trabajo!

El trabajo!

-[SPEAKING SPANISH]

MARGO (IN A LETTER):

Hello from the newlyweds.

Mark and I are

honeymooning, and I meaning

moaning on the romantic riviera.

Mark finished his law

school in January.

So if you need any legal

advice to your peasant friends,

wait until then and

we'll fly to your rescue.

Get this-- Sharon is modeling

in New York for "Vogue,"

far cry from her

philosophy studies, huh?

Listen, kiddo, why don't

you please come home and get

married so we can go

to lunch together.

Don't eat the food down

there or you'll get fat

and I'll have to

hire you as my maid.

I really do miss you and

think of you so often.

I love you.

See ya, kiddo.

Your friend, Margo.

[MUSIC - THE BEACH BOYS, "FUN,

FUN, FUN"]

-[SPEAKING SPANISH] Julio.

-Senor Vega the landlord says we

cannot learn from you anymore.

-Why?

-He says he will

double our rent.

-Julio, he has no

right to do that.

-He has the land.

He's rich.

He's powerful.

-You must resist him.

You can refuse to work.

You could strike.

-No, we can't do nothing.

-Why, are you afraid?

-We are not afraid.

We are poor.

I'm sorry.

Adios.

-Julio!

Julio!

I've got something for you.

-Trabajara!

-Wait a minute.

Julio, these are for you.

-[SPANISH]

-(SCREAMING) Stop it!

Stop it!

-He's gone.

Vega has driven him

away, his whole family.

-Why don't you do something?

Whose side are you on?

-I'm on the side of God.

-And who's side he on?

Senor Vega's?

-[SPEAKING SPANISH]

-Senorita!

I've got something to show you.

It's good price,

senorita, all US products.

Spare a minute.

Good price.

It's all the best product.

-Where did you get those things?

Those aren't

supposed to be sold.

They're gifts of

the American people.

-No se, senorita.

[SCREECHING]

Arto!

-Muchachos!

-[SPEAKING SPANISH]

[GUNSHOTS]

-[SPEAKING SPANISH]

-Who was he?

Why'd they shoot him?

-He's some bandido

from [INAUDIBLE].

[SPEAKING SPANISH]

-Julio.

Julio!

Where are you living?

-In the mountains

with some friends.

Come with me.

-OK, let me get my clothes.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

-[SPEAKING SPANISH]

-Hi.

-Julio says you can help us.

We'll need money to buy

guns and ammunition.

-I'll help you get food

and medicine, but not guns.

-Why not?

-Well, I have nothing

to do with bloodshed.

-Do you think anything

will change without blood?

They're Killing us.

I won't have to

kill them in return?

-You can change things

without bloodshed.

-How?

-You can teach [INAUDIBLE]

to read and write.

Then they can deal

with the government.

-The government in this

country belongs to the rich.

They have the

power and the guns.

They will give us

nothing no matter

how well we read or write.

-Well, at least we can

improve the way of life.

Help avoid malnutrition and

unsanitary living conditions.

-That's nothing.

You only delay the

revolution by such things.

You dilute the

anger of the people

and keep them from rising

up to kill their oppressors.

It is hungry people who make

revolution, poor people.

-Do you really think the

people want a revolution?

-If you were truly one of

the people, if you were poor,

you will not ask

such a question.

-Juan.

-Que?

-Kathy [SPEAKING SPANISH]

--[SPEAKING SPANISH] But we

do thank you for your help.

-Adios.

-[SPEAKING SPANISH]

-Senor Vega, [SPEAKING SPANISH]

-This is Senorita Alman.

I regret that we have

not spoken before.

But I've been hearing a lot of

good things you're doing here.

-Is that why you had Julio

beaten and driven away?

-[SPEAKING SPANISH]

-Si.

-Ah, that fellow?

My overseer says he

refused to the work.

It is not fair to the others

if one would not work.

-He was beaten and drive

away at your orders

because he dared

to stand up to you.

-Senorita Alman, I am

unhappy that you've

chosen me to be your enemy.

I hoped we might work

together to help these people.

-How can you say

that when you won't

pay them enough to live on?

You won't lower their rents.

You won't give them an education

so they can help themselves.

Why is it you're so afraid

of what I teach them?

-Oh, my dear young

girl, I'm not afraid.

How can one so young

be so self-assured?

-If you're not afraid,

then why are you

trying to stop the

men from my classes?

-Senorita Alman, how

long have you been here?

A year?

You live by moments,

days, a year.

But we live by centuries.

These people do as their

fathers and grandfathers did,

just as I do as

my ancestors did.

You will go away.

They will forget.

But nothing will change.

-You're wrong.

Things are changing now.

-Like what, the bandits

up in the hills?

That's a problem we have

had many times before.

It is a problem we

know how to deal with.

-You can't shoot all

of them, Senor Vega.

-I shoot no one!

What right do you have

to come and interfere?

How do you justify

your arrogance?

That you're American?

You think of us as

backward savages

to whom you bring enlightenment?

Tell me, in your own

country, are there

not enough problems

to divert you?

-We don't people and

drive them off their land.

And we don't shoot everybody

who disagrees with us.

-You're a very young

person, Miss Alman.

I wish you a long

and happy life.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

-This is foolish, Katherine.

where will you live?

-In a hut, like the rest

of your parishioners

If I'm gonna understand them,

I've got to live like them.

-I must warn you.

There'll be trouble

if you persist

in your actions, great trouble.

-That's the idea, Father.

-Well, at first we got a

letter from her every week.

I knew she was lonely

and missed home

and-- so I sent her some gifts.

-And then her letters

started changing.

She got very serious, bitter.

She asked for money, a

good deal of it, in fact.

She said it was to help

the people down there.

She asked for books, political

books, Regis Debray and Marx.

She was writing

letters to Congress

and the State Department about

the misuse of American aid.

We began to really worry.

CHILDREN: [SPEAKING SPANISH]

KATHERINE: [SPEAKING SPANISH]

CHILDREN: [SPEAKING SPANISH]

KATHERINE: [SPEAKING SPANISH]

CHILDREN: [SPEAKING SPANISH]

-[SPEAKING SPANISH]

-Katherine, there's

someone to see you.

-Miss Alman, my

name's Ted Mitchell.

I'm from the embassy.

I'm afraid I have

some bad news for you.

In light of several

complaints that we received--

-What complains.

-About your work here, I'm

afraid that the ambassador has

no other choice but to ask

you to leave the country.

-What complaints?

-Now everything is right

here in these documents.

One thing you've

been interfering

in local business affairs.

-Business affairs?

-Also there's some question

about your teaching.

You seem to have been

receiving some very

questionable

literature in the mail.

-How do you know?

Have you been opening it?

-Look, isn't it true that you've

been buying contraband goods

on the black market,

and some of these goods

have turned up in

the hands of bandits?

You seem to have forgotten

that you are here

as a guest of this

country's government.

-A corrupt government.

-A friendly government.

-Oh, a friendly government.

Doesn't matter whether they're

corrupt or honest just as

long as they're friendly, right?

-Look, I'm sorry,

I-- I really am.

-Oh, yeah, I bet you are.

-I've got a plane

ticket home for you.

It leaves today.

I'll help you get

your things together.

-I have no things, just some

people to say goodbye to.

I failed to do anything

down there, really.

I felt empty, weak,

powerless, ridiculous.

I think it's senseless to help

the victims of a cruel system

if you let the

system remain cruel.

But I just didn't

believe then that one

had to kill to

better one's life.

I thought both Vega

the landlord and Juan

the revolutionary were wrong.

There had to be

another alternative.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

LYNDON B. JOHNSON:

I've come here

to recommended that you bring

the most urgent decencies

of life to all of

your fellow Americans.

There are men who cry

out, we must sacrifice.

Are they going to sacrifice--

-Oh, when she came back

from South America,

she was really different,

kind of out of it, you know,

distracted.

She talked about

going to grad school,

which made Mom and

Dad pretty happy.

I could see she was

really miserable.

I mean, hardly anyone

could talk to her.

-You look awfully good

on that stud, dear.

-Such language!

-Well, she did.

Have some lemonade?

-No thanks.

-Katie, you remember

the old MacIntyre place?

You used to ride

down to Mac's pond?

-Yeah.

-Your father's

thinking of buying it.

-What happened to Mac?

-Well, after his wife

died, he start drinking,

and let the ranch go to pot.

It's up for auction, and

I'm tempted to grab it.

-It'd be an awfully

nice place for someone

to raise some grandchildren.

-Mom, your hints are about

as subtle as a battleship.

-What about the MacIntyres?

Where will they go?

-Back east, I suppose.

Mac's got a son back there.

-Oh great.

-What's that matter, Katie?

-Do we need Mac's ranch?

-No, we don't need it.

But I've always had a

liking for that place.

Besides, it's good

rental property.

-Well, if we don't

need it, why don't you

let Mr. MacIntyre keep it?

-Katie, you've-- you

don't seem to understand.

He has to sell.

It's the sheriff's auction.

-Then why don't you buy it

and give it back to him?

-I'm sorry I brought it up.

I thought you'd be pleased.

-Did you think I'd be pleased

to see somebody lose his ranch?

My own father, grabbing it

just because he has the money.

-Katie, that money is

responsible for comfort

and well-being.

-I don't want my

comfort and well-being

to depend on somebody

else's hardship.

You know, when I

first came back here,

I thought there was a big

contrast between down there

and here.

There's no contrast at all, just

done more business like here,

more American.

-Oh, Kate wasn't really

sure what she wanted to do.

Grad school didn't

make sense to her.

She was getting

nuts living at home.

We met for the first time

when she answered an ad

to join a group of

us that had formed

a free school down south.

We were providing an alternative

for the outmoded racist school

systems.

And that was the

first time I met her.

She walked through that door

and immediately got shot.

-Everybody gets

three shots, right?

-Right.

-How many is that?

-One, two, three.

-Right.

Three shots fall down, and

you have to count them to--

-10!

-10.

Here we go, one, two, three.

-Pow!

Bang!

No, you're supposed

to fall down.

-Oh, sorry.

-You're supposed to count to 10.

-Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco,

seis, siete, ocho, nueve, diez.

-You're supposed to count!

-I just did.

-I didn't hear you go one, two,

three [INAUDIBLE] or nothing.

-Oh, Robert, Robert.

You've got to lighten

up on the lady, man.

She was counting in Espanol!

Lillian!

She was counting in Spanish.

Now, do you remember

when we were

talking about other languages,

French, and Spanish,

and German?

Well, this was Spanish.

She was talking another

language, a different language.

-Yeah, you're the one that

don't know nothing, Robert.

-OK, now Robert, if you

give her a little slack,

maybe we can convince her

to stick around and teach

us all how to count in Spanish!

What do you think about that?

-I might.

-Welcome to chaos.

I'm Lillian Coleman.

-Hi.

-Bob Kline.

-Hi.

-I think you made a hit.

OK, now listen up.

This is Kate.

I don't know much about

her, except that she

can count to 10 in Spanish.

Huh, should we let her stay?

-Yeah!

-I think you can

stay, and I think

you all made a

wonderful decision.

-Bye!

-Think you'll survive?

-I think I will.

I'm not so sure

about my eardrums.

-You know how long it took us

to get a peep out of those kids?

First couple of weeks,

they just sat there,

acting like they thought they

were supposed to in a school.

-You did good.

-I think I did.

Thank you.

-That took a while, but we

finally go through to them

that our school was difference.

And [INAUDIBLE] heads batted

in for acting like kids.

-Yeah.

The only problem we have now

is the local school board

tends to identify noisy

kids with a commie plot,

very logical.

After you, ladies.

-I'm glad you're here, Kate.

-So am I.

-By the way, watch

out for that one.

He's known to be a

pretty fast worker.

-Thank you very much

for the recommendation.

You got a place to stay?

-Yeah, boarding house till

I can get an apartment.

-Plenty of room at place.

-You are a fast

worker, aren't you?

-No.

I just think of people see

their lives about this long.

When in reality, their

lives are about that long.

So I think we get

right down to it.

So, do you have, a, a boyfriend?

B, a husband?

C, one or more

[INAUDIBLE] lovers.

Just check one of the above.

-None of the above.

-Oh, great.

-Dammit.

I--

-You wear contacts?

-Yeah.

-Why?

-I don't like the way

I look in glasses.

-Now let me ask you a question.

Wait a minute.

Isn't the point to see

as clearly as possible?

Yeah.

Do you have glasses?

-Yeah.

-Put them on.

-Thank you.

Just put it in there.

See what I mean.

-I think you look ravishing.

-Ravishing!

-Speaking as a

long life ravisher.

-You're too much.

-Get out of town,

you nigger lover!

-Hey, thank you.

That was the mayor.

Probably heard you were in

town, came to say howdy.

-Phew, and I thought South

America was a foreign country.

-Oh, yeah, well, see, that's

'cause you're-- you're new

to these parts, see?

Pretty soon you'll catch on.

See, as a foreigner

in these parts,

you might find it

strange for some folks

to call other

folks nigger lover.

But that's 'cause you don't

understand the nuances, ma'am.

Now, do you know what

I mean by nuances?

-No.

-See, down here they figure

that if a black man rubs up

against a white man, that

white man turns black.

Now some of them just

say half an half.

Now who wants to walk around

living black and white?

Who wants to be a newspaper,

if you get my meaning? [LAUGHS]

[MUSIC - BEACH BOYS, "GOOD

VIBRATIONS"]

-Is them animals fake?

-No, they're real.

Or they were.

-Plastic.

-They're just dead and stuffed.

-Ooh wee!

I wouldn't mind stuffing her.

--[INAUDIBLE] stuffed

animals in here.

-Well, somebody shot them,

and somebody stuffed them,

and here they are.

-How come they shot them?

-Well, so they could put them

in here for people to see.

--[INAUDIBLE] some people

who want to shoot them?

-I wonder which of

them's daddy he is, huh?

-Ain't their daddy.

It's her boyfriend.

She likes them black and

hairy. [MONKEY SOUNDS]

-Hey, honey, how 'bout me?

I ain't black, but

I sure am hairy.

-Come on, get out of here.

Ya'll get out of here.

Ya'll don't belong

in here anyway.

-You all be careful

of those books now!

-Come on, come on!

Let's go.

Come on.

-OK, then what did you expect?

Huh?

What do you think

a kid's gonna do?

No, no, keep this

on your face, Kate.

What do you think

a kid's gonna do

if you slap them in a face, huh?

Not hit you back?

Not hit a lady?

Let me just tell

you something, Kate.

This is not "Gone

with the Wind."

I want to you

something, that you're

lucking that you weren't killed.

I mean, damn lucky.

At least raped.

-Shut up!

-No, I will not shut up.

This is serious, Kate.

Now listen.

You've got to face the fact.

Some of these people hate you.

-I know it was stupid.

I just didn't think!

God, I didn't want

those kids to see that!

-See it?

They know more than you

and I put together, Kate.

They have grown up in it.

I just wish to hell I

had been there with you.

-Oh, god, what would have done?

-(SARCASTICALLY) What

would you have done?

I'll tell you what

I would've done.

I would have looked that

cracker right in the eye,

and I would have

said, so long, buddy.

And I would have been

stone on the wind.

You would've seen

one white shaggy blur

going right through the door.

[INAUDIBLE] Do your stuff.

And I wouldn't have stopped

until I was in Canada, Kate,

I was in Canada.

They don't call me "non-violent

Kline" for nothing, you know.

Huh?

-Oh, Bob!

-What?

What?

-The guy really belted me.

-I know he did.

Is that better?

That's got to be better.

Here.

Here, my sweetie pie.

Yeah.

Get in there!

Oh.

Heya!

Ho!

Shh.

Keep it down.

-What's happening?

-This is Reverend Mills.

He's chairman on

the church board.

-Our landlord.

-And these gentlemen are

from the fire department.

-I'm sorry to say that

we've discovered about two

dozen violations

of our fire code.

The basement is a main

problem down here.

Upstairs ain't

much of the matter.

Now I figured if we could

block off this area that way

we might not have to condemn--

-This is ridiculous.

-We're only doing our job, miss.

-You're doing a job, all right.

-We are trying to

protect these children.

-You're not trying to

protect these children.

You don't give a damn

about these children!

You just want us out.

-You ought'nt to

talk that way, miss.

Won't do a bit of good.

-You've got two weeks to

make up your mind, Reverend.

-And if we don't, you're

gonna throw us out?

Just gonna pick up the kids,

throw them on the street too?

-Mr. Kline, please.

-Why don't you throw

us out right now, huh?

OK, OK, you said what you

wanted to say, not get out!

Get out!

-Please!

-Gentlemen, I--

Gentlemen, I'm sorry.

I'll see you ou

-(WOMEN'S VOICE) Anything

you say, [INAUDIBLE].

Anything you say.

Three guesses what

[INAUDIBLE] is gonna decide.

-You shut up!

You know nothing about

it, so you just shut up.

-Sorry.

It's just that we haven't

lost a school, we lost a room.

We'll find another

room, Lillian.

We'll meet on the

street if we have to.

They're not about

to shut us down.

-The school is shut down!

It is in its present form.

It just speeds things up now.

-What do you mean?

-I'm gonna lay it

on you straight.

We don't want no white

faces teaching black kids.

You understand?

-No, I don't understand.

-Let me ask you a

question, what difference

does it make what color we are?

-It makes all the difference.

We don't want no kids

growing up saying,

whitey ain't so bad 'cause

I dug my white teacher.

Kids got to learn to

think black, act black.

And you the wrong color

in the wrong place.

See, white people got to

straighten their own stuff out

before they go around

helping anybody else.

Do you understand?

You've got to liberate

your own self.

And the first step is for you

realize that you are the enemy.

You were born the enemy.

And you grew up learning

how to be the enemy.

You're responsible.

You've got to face

that about yourself.

-Wait a minute, man.

What do we have to do to prove

that we are not the enemy?

-You've got to die.

Or figure out some way to

get born all over again.

-Do you believe all that?

-Not everything.

-Are you gonna teach

the kids to hate?

-We're gonna teach them

how to love themselves.

Look, you're both my friends.

But right now, hate is the

strongest weapon we got.

Besides, you can't love a

system you're trying to destroy.

If you do, then you

really are the enemy.

-My white skin

has given me a lot

of privileges in this society.

And that fact has been hard

for me to come to grips with.

I didn't want to admit it,

but when those black power

advocates rejected us,

they had good reason.

'Cause I could always go

back home and live off

the profits of an unjust system.

And for them, there

was no going back.

There was nothing

worth going back to.

-Hey lady, spare some change?

-I don't have any.

-Come on, I'll take anything.

I love you.

Oh, come on, lady.

Hey, I love you anyway.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON:

What we expected

to come from the bombing.

We felt that it would

improve the morale

of people in South Vietnam--

[MUSIC PLAYING]

-Kate and I left the South

together and became organizers

for the SDS, Students

for a Democratic Society.

We were like traveling salesman

for the, uh, the movement.

We went from campus to

campus, trying to consolidate

anti-war sympathizers

into a political group.

Then we got into

draft resistance

and added motivation

there was that kids

suddenly became [INAUDIBLE].

-(CHANTING) Hell

no, we won't go!

Hell no, we won't go!

-Bob.

-Yeah?

-I think I want

to see my parents.

-OK.

-And I want them

to see you too, OK?

-Really?

-Yeah.

I want them to see both of us.

-OK.

-I'm pregnant.

-OK.

-Did you hear what I just said?

-Oh, sorry.

Yeah.

You just said you were pregnant.

-Well.

You don't have to worry.

Won't make you marry me.

-I'm not worried about that.

What do you want to do about it?

-I think I want to have it.

Really?

-Really?

-Mhm.

-OK.

-You want it?

-Sure.

Sure, I want it.

-Really?

-Yeah, really!

Can't you imagine

a little curly hair

Ho Chi Kuei running around?

Do I want it?

-You mean it?

-Yeah!

-[LAUGHS]

-Do I want it?

KATHERINE AND BOB

(SINGING): I'm gonna

lay down my sword and shield.

Boom boom.

Down by the river side,

down by the river side.

-Take it, ace.

-Ain't gonna study war no more.

I ain't gonna study war no more.

I ain't gonna study war no more!

No more!

-No more.

-After the revolution,

I'll take up singing.

-Oh, god.

Look at those war planes.

BOB: People live here?

KATHERINE: Only the best.

BOB: Oh.

You gonna tell

them about our kid?

-Sure.

But not away.

They're gonna have

enough problems

just getting used to you, toots.

-Yeah.

KATHERINE: And don't

you tell them either.

BOB: Me?

KATHERINE: You.

BOB: Yeah.

KATHERINE: Ready?

BOB: Bring on the lying.

-Katherine?

-Si!

-Hi.

-Hello, everybody!

It's me!

-It's me!

-What a surprise, what

a wonderful surprise!

-Oh, Katherine!

Why didn't you let us

know you were coming?

What have you done to your hair?

Well, you look so thin.

Are you dieting?

-No, I always look like this.

-Oh.

-Mommy, Daddy, this is Bob.

-How do you do?

-Pardon our manners,

Bob, we've just

had no idea where Katie's been.

It's so good to see her.

Come on in.

-Kathy, why didn't you phone us?

Oh, why didn't you

write us in so long?

Listen, Liz is engaged.

Can you believe it?

-Engaged to whom?

-Well, do you remember that

boy she used to go out with,

Len Coulter?

Well, it's Len's cousin

Alan from Stanford.

-Good ol' Liz.

Where is she?

-She's at Alan's

parents for the weekend.

-Oh, they're

together constantly.

He's such a nice boy.

You know, we're

really very delighted.

-Bob, can I get you something?

A drink or something?

-How about a martini?

-Martini.

Who says the generations

have nothing in common?

-Mr. Alman, this is quite

a table you've got here.

-Play?

-Mm.

-Play a game later.

First, of the drinks.

-OK.

-How long are you gonna stay?

-Oh, I don't know yet.

We have to be in New

York for a meeting.

-Well, we're having a little

party for Liz and Alan

next week.

Now you will stay for that.

-I don't think so.

-She's here now.

That's what really counts.

-Thanks.

-Katie.

-Is uh-- Bob your-- um.

-Yes, Mom, he is.

-Hey, Bob, if you

burned your draft card,

what will happen to you?

Sooner or later, they're

gonna try to bust me.

-And send you to jail?

-No, I'm not gonna

waste any time in jail.

If they come after

me, I'll either go

underground or

split the country.

-Do you think you'll ever settle

down and lead a normal life?

-What's a normal life?

-Now you know very

well what I mean.

And don't get angry.

-Mother.

No, what's a normal life?

Pretending there's

nothing wrong.

-Oh, I'm not going

to get into one

of those kinds of discussions.

Come on, help me.

-Mother, this

country's changing.

You wouldn't believe

how much is changing.

Bob and I've traveled all over.

We've seen it.

We're in a revolution

whether you know it or not.

-Well, I don't know

anything about politics,

and I don't care about them.

I guess I'm just too

ignorant to understand.

-You don't feel any sense of

duty to serve your country.

-Sure I do.

That's why I'm not

going to Vietnam.

-Yeah, but we're

fighting to protect

the peoples of South

Vietnam from invasion.

-You're wrong.

We are the invaders there.

And if you think we

can win by supporting

a corrupt government,

you have to think again.

Excuse me.

-Mother, you play

at being ignorant,

just a poor dumb female.

Whatever Daddy says,

that's what you believe.

-That is absolutely not true.

-It is true.

-It is not.

-It is.

It's not just you, it's

practically all women.

You hide behind that

femininity, gentility.

You let yourself be treated

like idiot children.

Mommy.

-Sandwiches, everybody.

Come and get it!

-Mommy, listen to me.

-I told you I don't want to get

into this kind of discussion.

-You mean you don't want to

discuss anything that might

disturb your little dream world.

-Now if you mean by that

that I'm very, very content

will my life, you're right.

Isn't that what

life is all about?

To be happy?

-No.

Not if your happiness depends

on the oppression of others.

Not if you buy your contentment

with their suffering,

no it doesn't!

-Katie!

-Uh, it's your shot, Mr. Alman.

-Well, I-- oh.

You have a very shrewd

fellow here, Katie.

Bob and I have been having a

very interesting discussion.

Haven't agreed on

a single thing,

but it has been interesting.

-Well, I've had enough of

the politics for one night.

I'm going to bed.

Thornton, will you

show Bob is room?

-Bob's sleeping in my room.

-He certainly is not.

This is our house.

He is not sleeping in your room.

-Mother, Bob and

I've been sleeping

together for nearly two years.

And there's something

else I want to tell you.

-Mrs. Alman, anywhere

is fine with me.

-Thank you, Bob.

-Goodnight.

-We shouldn't have come here.

It was bound to be this way.

-Katie.

Just be tolerant

of us, won't you?

That's part of what you're

fighting for, isn't it?

Tolerance.

But you haven't even

spare for your parents?

-I'm sorry, Daddy.

-You know something, Katie?

This friend of yours turned

my own strategy around on me.

Got me drunk, beat me.

Let's go to bed.

-Shh!

-How's my baby?

-What you want?

-Some day, son, this is

going to be all yours.

-Shh!

-Katie, your great grandfather

was a rebel in his own way,

ran away from Ireland when he

wa 15, fought at the [INAUDIBLE]

commune, came over here

with hardly a penny

and turned it into a fortune.

-Communist turned capitalist.

Sorry I never met him.

-Katie, what do you

really want to do?

-I want to work to change

our political system.

-Into what?

-Well, with racism at

home and imperialism

abroad, anything would

be an improvement.

-I think it was

Churchill who once said,

the democratic

form of government

is a totally inadequate system.

But it's the best

system we have.

Those weren't exactly his words,

but it was something like that.

-American democracy

doesn't exist, Daddy.

It's a myth.

When's the last time

the majority of citizens

even voted?

And when they do,

they're so misinformed,

how could they even vote right?

-Katie, what would you

rather have, a dictatorship

and repression behind

the iron curtain?

-Oh, Daddy, don't start that.

-But an answer?

-Good morning.

-Morning, Bob.

-Been talking about me?

-Egotist.

-No, as a matter of

fact, we've been talking

about Katie's great grandfather.

-He was a rebel too.

-Oh yeah?

What do you think

your grandson will be?

-Don't you think it's a little

premature to talk about that?

-I'm just using my imagination.

I can ask, can't I?

You ready?

-Yeah.

-Well, let's go.

-See you soon.

I'll write.

-Katie, be careful.

-[CRIES]

-My parents are good

people, at least

they're people who

think they're good.

But they're just as responsible

for the system's injustices

as anyone, probably

more responsible.

Their wealth comes

from another's

poverty, their position

from exploitation.

I just wanted them

to understand this,

to see the contradiction

in their goodness.

But more important, I

wanted them to accept me

as I am not the way

they wanted me to be.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

LYNDON B. JOHNSON:

--this political year.

Accordingly, I shall

not see, and I will not

accept, the nomination of

my party for another term

as your president.

-I hadn't seen or heard

from Kat for years.

The word was that she

was combing the country

preaching peace and

working odd jobs.

There was even a rumor that

she was a real revolutionary

and had been to North Vietnam.

This was definitely

not the Katherine

that I knew at college.

My sympathies were with

the anti-war movement,

but I couldn't get

much involved seeing

as how my second baby was due.

And I was approximately

the size of a large tank.

[DOORBELL]

Just a minute!

Kathy!

Oh, and look at you!

-Look at you!

Look like you're read

-Yeah, so how come

you're in Chicago?

-I'm here for the convention.

I had a second, so I

thought I'd drop by.

Where's Mark?

-Oh, Katherine,

successful lawyers

are not home during the day.

-Oh.

-I want to introduce you to

the real power in the family.

Come here, right over here.

Yeah.

This is Abe.

-Abe?

-Yeah, Abe.

-Hi, baby.

Hello, Abe.

-You think he looks like me?

-No.

-We'll fix it.

All right, e enough with Abe.

Abe can take care of himself.

Hey, listen, you want some

tea or coffee or something?

-No.

-Huh?

-I don't know.

-Want to sit down?

-Yeah.

-We'll sit over here.

Have a seat.

-OK.

Thanks.

-The convention, huh?

What candidate are

you supporting?

-None of them.

You've go to change the

system, not the personalities.

-Well, that's a little

extremist, isn't it?

-Repressive societies

need radical changes.

-You sound like a textbook.

-I'm serious.

-I just hope you know

where to draw the line?

-Meaning?

-Some revolutionaries end up

shedding blood, don't they?

-Only when no one will

listen to the truth.

Anyway, it's gonna be a

peaceful demonstration.

It'll be fun.

Why don't you come?

Katherine (1975) - full transcript