Touched by an Angel (1994–2003): Season 3, Episode 5 - Written in Dust - full transcript
TESS: Dust, dust and more dust.
We start out with dust,
end up with dust.
And in between,
people go through the dust
trying to find out how old it is
and what it really means.
We're gonna be kind of like
archaeologists this time too,
angel girl.
Gonna help people...
sift out what to keep
and what to leave behind.
Fascinating.
The story of a thousand years
in a handful of dirt.
MAN: That's just
what got me hooked.
When I was a kid, I-I loved
reading people's diaries.
Don't tell my wife.
And one day I realized
that archaeology
is like reading
people's diaries.
It's just... what's written
in... In bits of clay.
Well, right then I knew
I'd found my profession.
Learning to read all this is
going to be very exciting.
Unless you'd rather be
reading the Boston Globe...
in Boston.
Six more weeks, Roseanne.
Yeah, I can buy back issues
when we get home.
So does this look like
an ancient Native American
campsite to you, Monica?
Well, maybe a few more feet,
and it will.
ROSEANNE ( chuckling ):
Oh, she'll do fine.
She's starting to
sound like you.
I don't know, prof.
We could be almost
a quarter mile off here.
MONICA: Hey, Dillon?
Did you use the legends of
your people to locate this site?
No, no, no.
State of the art,
high-frequency sonograms,
carbon-dating,
charcoal residue analysis.
We have the technology.
Remember, Dillon,
this is her first week.
It took my last
research assistant a month
to tell the difference
between charcoal residue
and coffee grounds.
Speaking of coffee?
It's coming, prof.
( Man yelling indistinctly )
What?
Zaideh?
What's he doing here?
I don't know.
How you gonna handle this?
( Stammering )
I mean, he's come all this way.
Um, I've got to
at least hear him out.
You're always hearing
him out, Henry.
But nothing's gonna change
until you start listening.
I'm staying out of this.
It's up to you this time.
Roseanne.
Zaideh!
Do you know what "Zaideh" means?
Yeah, it means
"grandfather" in Yiddish.
He must be very hot
in that suit.
Well, if love can keep you warm,
it can keep you cool.
Zaideh, my God!
What are you doing here?
Ah-ha-ha-ha! ( Chuckles )
Whoa! Oh, boy.
Hey. What a schlep.
You okay? How did you get here?
Oh. "It ain't far,"
the bus driver tells me.
By him, it ain't far. By me,
believe me, it's a schlep.
Anyone know you're here?
Why didn't you let me know?
( Groans )
Full of questions, as always,
huh, boychik?
( chuckles )
Listen, you got water? Yeah.
I'd like a nice glass of water.
( Sighs )
TESS: This is a very
special place, baby.
There's a history lesson
waiting to be unearthed.
What has happened here,
and what is going to
happen here,
has to be sifted through.
And we're going to
have to do it together.
And we're gonna have to
do it very, very carefully,
or we could miss the most
precious discovery of all.
( Della Reese & The Verity
All-Stars' "Walk With You" playing )
REESE: ♫ When you walk ♫
♫ Down the road ♫
♫ Heavy burden ♫
♫ Hea-ea-eavy load ♫
♫ I will rise ♫
♫ And I will walk with you ♫
REESE: ♫ I'll walk with you ♫
CHORUS: ♫ I'll walk with you ♫
♫ Till the sun
Don't even shine ♫
♫ Walk with you ♫
♫ Walk with you ♫
♫ Every time ♫
♫ I tell ya I'll walk with you ♫
♫ Walk with you ♫
♫ Believe me
I'll walk with you ♫
Ah. Oh.
It's been a long time, Zaideh.
Yes, a long time.
Frankly, I... I didn't
expect to hear from you.
Ah. So...
This is how you live? Hm.
For... For this you went
to college?
For years and years.
It's a dig, Zaideh.
An archaeological dig.
They... They pay you to
dig up sand?
Oh, you must need money.
No. Here. Come on.
No, no, no. No, no.
Look, I got it. Here, take it.
Hey...
Hey. Zaideh...
You haven't changed.
I missed you.
You look good. You're
gonna outlive all of us.
Heh. Baruch HaShem.
"Bless God," indeed.
And a good day it is for it too.
What? You have
Hebrew-speaking Irish people
working for you?
This is my research
assistant, Monica.
Monica, this is Sam Moskowitz.
Ahh. Pleasure to meet you.
Well, it's nice to meet you.
Please, please join us here.
Thank you.
You know, he's a
very important man.
( Chuckling ): Zaideh.
You're working for a great
scientist, my grandson.
This is Dillon New Eagle.
Hello.
He's a student intern,
but he's a great scientist
in his own right.
My grandfather has decided
to honor us with a visit.
A short visit.
Welcome to the archaeological
site of something historic.
We don't know what it is.
So far we found this.
Oh.
Oh. If I'd known there was
gonna be a group, huh,
I would have brought, uh,
an assortment.
HENRY: A mezuzah.
I don't have a door
to hang it on.
So you'll pin it on your tent.
W-what is it?
MONICA: A mezuzah.
It has a... A tiny scroll inside
with a prayer.
It blesses the home.
Hey, they must have
very good schools in Ireland.
( laughter )
Well, um,
where I come from, they...
They teach you a little bit
about everything.
Huh.
Sam, come on.
I'll show you around.
Thank you. ( Grunts )
Henry. I, uh...
I would like to see Roseanne.
Well...
You know she loves you.
But she thinks that
you and I should
talk without her.
I should talk.
You should listen.
HENRY: She says that too, but...
Oh, she did? Smart lady.
I always liked Roseanne.
What?
Oh, Henry. It was...
It was never personal.
Well, so, show me around.
Okay.
Well, There's something
going on there.
I wonder what the story is.
( Mysterious tribal
theme playing )
What is it?
There's a guy waving out there.
You see someone up there?
Yeah. Don't you?
That guy...
I don't know.
It must have been a mirage.
Wow. This desert's dangerous.
I'm gonna get some water.
Navajo lived here for centuries.
Then about 100 years ago,
this little community died out.
We don't know why.
Disease, perhaps.
Or maybe a hard winter.
Whatever it was,
it was complete and final.
ROSEANNE: Maybe they all just
stopped talking to each other.
That could finish off
a family pretty fast.
Roseanne.
( Chuckles ) Roseanne.
Oh.
How you doing, Sam?
Well, for the shape I'm in,
I'm in pretty good shape.
Hey, Roseanne. Yeah?
You see what Henry's doing?
He's saving out the wood
and the metal,
just like the junkyard.
He's in the family business
after all, your husband.
No, Zaideh, I'm not.
What I do here has
nothing to do with the family.
When did you decide
to acknowledge
that we were husband
and wife, huh?
Hey, wait a minute.
What did I say?
Look, I'm not gonna
start this all over again.
Monica?
Can you take my truck
and drive my grandfather
back to the city, please?
You have a return ticket,
Zaideh?
Henry, this is not
the way to do this.
What is this?
What?
( Tribal theme playing )
Hm.
A piece of cloth.
Where was this?
Right here.
Well...
The Navajo stopped making
this design around 1890.
Henry. Don't change the subject.
How can you
pack him off like that?
You heard him starting again.
First with the family
and the family business,
then the crack about
"your husband."
Before you know it,
we'll be right back into it.
He wasn't starting anything.
He's proud of you.
And he called you
my husband because you are.
And maybe he's ready
to accept that.
I'm not gonna get back into it
with him.
( Sighs )
Maybe he doesn't want to.
Henry, he's holding out
an olive branch here.
He came all the way
to the desert,
where you couldn't ignore him.
I think maybe he wants to
forgive you.
I don't want his forgiveness.
I don't need to be forgiven.
My family turned
their back on me.
Have you forgotten
what they put us through?
No, I haven't forgotten.
And I'm not saying that
that didn't hurt.
But Henry, I also realize that
that had absolutely
nothing to do with me.
Sam just wanted what
was best for you.
And he couldn't believe that a
Catholic girl from Boston was it.
So he disowned me.
( Sighs ): You dared
him to disown you,
and he was just
stubborn enough to do it.
It runs in the family,
by the way.
Oh, honey...
This isn't about being married
to a Catholic.
Your marrying me
was just your final blow
for independence.
( Car engine stopping )
( car doors slamming )
I love you.
I love you, Roseanne,
and I-I always have.
DILLON:
Henry, you better come out here.
( Sighs )
( wind blowing )
Hosteen Edison
will speak for us.
EDISON:
My grandfather gave this to me.
SAM: Ooh, let me see that.
Zaideh.
Oh, that's... That's a beauty.
Finer than anything
you'll dig up here.
I'm not here to dig up jewellery.
I'm here digging up history
to enrich our understanding
of your people
and of this land.
How can you tell me
of this land...
when you have not lived here,
as my people have?
I see one Navajo face.
What are you doing here?
Getting my archaeology credit.
This is your land.
No, I'm...
I live in Phoenix.
Hosteen Edison,
this place has so much
to tell us about your people.
There's a... A mystery here.
Something happened here...
in this place.
And we don't know what it was.
He's always asking questions,
this boy.
My grandfather, Shi-Cheeh...
always told me
about the troubled spirits here.
( Speaks in Navajo )
"Spirits."
( tribal theme playing )
They should not be disturbed.
You must stop this dig.
If you stay,
your spirit...
will become troubled.
It is wrong to disturb
this place.
It is dangerous.
It is not your right to be here.
I'm not gonna argue with you.
I...
I have my dig permit.
And I have a perfectly
legal right to be here.
Government permits,
government legal rights...
have always been used
as a shield for cowards.
I beg your pardon?
All right, everybody, hold it.
A big smile now.
( Camera clicks )
Oh, that's gonna be a nice one.
Wait till they see that
back home.
So you're a professional
photographer.
Well, not exactly.
Actually, I just developed
an interest for photography
very recently.
Very recently.
Oh, yeah?
Um, what's that button
there for?
Which one?
This very
technical-looking button.
Oh, that button.
Um, uh, that's the button
for the thing that, um,
adjusts the part that, uh...
that changes things
when you snap it.
It's...
It's very complicated equipment.
But I couldn't think of
another place to try it
other than this desert.
This very hot,
dry... hot... desert.
Well... if you'll excuse me,
I feel an inspiration coming on.
( Mumbling ): Hot, dry desert.
HENRY: Roseanne?
I can't find her anywhere.
Roseanne?
Oh. She left this for you.
She left this for me?
Yes. She... She got a ride out
with the water truck.
Roseanne? She's gone?
She had some, uh,
business in Boston.
MONICA: Uh, Sam?
Do you want beans tartare...
beans primavera,
or beans à la Henry?
Beans.
Don't think about it
too much, Sam.
With pork?
I don't know.
Well, you should know.
It makes no difference to me.
Well, to me it makes.
It should make
a difference to you too.
Give me a break, okay?
All that religious stuff...
it don't work for me.
Hm. It works for God.
Huh. That's not enough?
It's a closed subject, okay?
What? Look, what are
you talking?
You spend every day
digging for dead things.
Every shard, every artifact...
brings the past
to life, you say, huh?
So keeping kosher,
saying Hebrew by rote,
well, what's that?
Empty ritual.
Empty?
( Mournful theme playing )
Empty.
This is what you call
your heritage?
This is what you call
your people?
I'm an archaeologist...
not a Jew.
Henry.
Henry, listen to me.
I'm an old man, Henry.
My family is...
heh... Is like broken china.
I would like to see it
put back together
before it's too late.
My wife is my family.
And she's gone.
Yes.
Look, after your parents died,
did you say Kaddish for them?
Did you come
all the way out here
to get me to say Kaddish
for my parents?
No. I came here to ask you
to say Kaddish for me.
What's a Kaddish?
The Jewish prayer for the dead.
Sam wants Henry to say it.
For whom?
For Sam.
He's dying.
( Mysterious theme playing )
Excuse me.
I overheard Sam asking you
to say Kaddish for him.
I'm so sorry.
Oh, don't be.
He's not dying.
( Mumbling ): He's not dying.
Ha. Heh-heh.
You know, back there
was not so pretty.
Mm. Such tsuris it gives me.
Ah.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
You know, for my Zaideh,
this would be forbidden.
( laughs )
Yes. He was very frum.
"Orthodox."
Outside of marriage,
you didn't touch a woman.
Of course for me...
I-I don't follow that tradition.
Things change.
The world changes.
Maybe Henry will too.
Henry? Heh-heh.
Henry has a problem...
of doing anything
that makes sense.
He can't imagine that anyone's
ever been there before,
that everybody's done it before,
that anyone has lived before,
that they have loved before.
No.
He can only imagine
that somebody
has made pottery
and blankets before.
It's not me that
Henry is mad at, you know.
It's God.
God? Yeah.
Authority figures
make him crazy.
He hates the fact that
there's somebody out there
running things,
who's bigger, smarter,
knows all the answers.
Of course, he can't see God,
but he can see me.
So...
( car engine stopping )
He takes it out on his Zaideh.
( car door slamming )
Did you know that
the highest form of respect
for the Navajo is to
call someone grandfather?
Mm-hm.
In fact, some tribes even
address God as grandfather.
God as grandfather?
I like that.
( Chuckling )
( men talking, laughing )
Oh. Excuse me.
Get any good pictures, huh?
"What's that teeny,
tiny technical button?"
You pull a stunt
like that again,
that halo's comin' down
round your neck.
( Giggles )
I got you going though,
didn't I?
( Chuckling )
So, Tess, did you see
Andrew out there?
No, but I heard he was coming.
And Sam really is dying?
The Angel of Death
has many jobs, baby.
Sometimes it's to bring us
good news,
and sometimes it's
to bring us bad news.
Now... did Dillon see Andrew?
Yes. I think he did.
Mmm.
Look at that.
A Navajo tribal elder meets
a New York tribal elder.
Now, that ought to be good.
Thank you.
I'm walking on
stilts for legs here.
Ooh! I'm telling you.
After 70, it's krechts,
krechts, krechts.
Uphill... one walks slowly.
Downhill, one rolls fast.
( Chuckling ): That's right.
( Speaking in Yiddish )
That's Yiddish.
A dying language.
Like Navajo.
You know...
I was a code talker
during the war.
28th Marines.
That was the last time
the world heard us.
I heard about you boys.
Sure. You sent secret messages
in Navajo all over the Pacific.
The Japanese couldn't
break the code.
Ha-ha-ha.
Oh, I wish I could have
seen their faces
trying to figure you guys out.
( Melancholy tribal
theme playing )
Our language
served this country...
and it serves our people.
But the children...
They're beginning
to forget our ways...
and our language.
Well, my Henry hasn't forgotten.
He just doesn't want to know.
Perhaps if he learned
to understand
the ways of his people...
maybe, just maybe...
he would appreciate
the ways of ours.
Appreciate? Well,
he already appreciates.
What do you think
he's doing here in this desert?
I am afraid to find out.
Your grandfather's coming back.
Of course he is.
Looks like the Navajos have
settled in for the long haul.
Great. Just great.
Well, they can't
stay there forever.
( laughs )
Can they?
They're gonna do
what they have to do.
Dillon, do you think we
have any right to be here?
I-I don't know.
( Mysterious tribal theme
playing )
HENRY: Hey!
What is it?
I don't know what to make of it.
It's a... It's a bullet.
Dillon, come here.
Single-shot Springfield?
Hmm.
Army issue, late 1860's.
What's it doing here?
Hey, Henry, are you in a mess.
Your Zaideh is dying, and the
Indians are resisting out there.
Native American Navajo, Zaideh.
They're demonstrating
peacefully, hopefully briefly.
And you are not dying.
All right.
All right. You can't handle
the truth, I understand.
It's a lot to take in.
But that Hosteen...
you should listen to him.
He's not so different
from us, you know.
I say something in Yiddish, he
says the same thing in Navajo.
Yeah, Dillon. Dillon.
Your people have a saying:
"The crop is worth more
than the seed."
Uh, my grandfather used to
say that about his children.
Ha! So.
"The interest is worth more
than the principal."
I used to say that
to Henry all the time. Hm.
Ah, you know...
the worst thing about dying...
is knowing that you'll never
see your grandchildren again.
Even though you hardly ever
saw them when you were alive.
Even though you disowned them
for a little while, heh-heh.
But missed them
when you saw them...
( weakly ): You saw them
again before you died.
( Coughs )
Sam... are you all right?
( Grunting )
Did you think about it,
Henry? Huh?
Saying Kaddish for me?
No, I didn't, because
you're not dying.
And I don't speak
Hebrew anymore.
Ah. Ah, I didn't think so.
So I brought along
a little prayer book,
so you could start practicing.
No, Zaideh. Uh-uh. Um...
This act on me,
because it's not going to work.
Don't come here,
and try and guilt me
into religion, okay?
I don't want your prayer book.
I don't want...
your mezuzah.
I don't want your God.
( Somber theme playing )
( mysterious tribal
theme playing )
( man speaking Navajo )
( softly ): Grandfather.
Are you a ghost?
I can't...
I don't understand you.
I don't speak Navajo
that well anymore.
ANDREW:
He wants you to listen, Dillon.
This is a dream.
This is the memory
of your grandfather.
You've forgotten
about this place, I guess.
Your grandfather brought you
here when you were a boy.
And you walked around those rock
formations outside.
And he told you something...
that he wanted you to remember.
He passed on to you
the truth about this place.
And he placed it
in your heart, Dillon.
For safekeeping.
And it is time for you to
remember what this place is...
and what it means...
to the Navajo...
and what it means
to you, Dillon.
Now, how do you get this
to taste like cappuccino
without a cappuccino maker?
Oh, it's just a little
desert survival technique
I picked up along the way.
Of course, nobody actually needs
decaf mocha latte to survive,
but it makes surviving
so much nicer.
( laughter )
Oh, no.
They've gone too far.
Okay, move.
Move.
I said, move!
Henry, you can't...
Hosteen Edison...
may I speak with you alone?
You are speaking alone.
All right.
( Exhales )
Well, then we can
talk right here.
That's right, talk.
I'll kibbitz a little.
It's taken me three years
to get my dig permit.
I am not gonna stop
this excavation
because of some story
your grandfather told you.
For me...
my grandfather's words...
are more than just "some story."
See? Someone still thinks that
grandparents count for something.
Zaideh. Stay out of it.
See? You should have
taken him back when you could.
He wanted to stay.
Who are you working
for here, him or me?
Well, actually...
Henry, uh, there's something
I need to tell you.
Excuse me.
Is it some secret
Navajo password
that'll make them leave?
Um, not exactly.
All right. Well, I've got one.
Henry...
Okay listen... people. Huh.
I'm not interested in your...
In your spirits.
And I'm not interested in your...
Your instincts about this place.
As a matter of fact...
if you would leave me alone,
I just might find something
that would substantiate
all of your spiritual hunches.
Our spirits don't need
the white man's science
to tell us this place is sacred.
My science needs something
better than that.
Now, if you're not out of here
by tomorrow morning,
I'm coming back with help...
more workers.
And we'll just tear this place
up right out from under you.
You'll wish you never
heard from me.
We already do.
Okay, guys. Let's go.
( Tense theme playing )
Oh, man.
I should have seen this coming.
Monica?
Sometimes things can be
sacred to someone, Henry,
even if they're not
sacred to you.
Maybe this is
one of those times.
Henry, how would you feel if
somebody burned our temple?
This is not a temple.
This is an old campground,
for God's sake.
How do you know?
Dillon tells me
you found a bullet.
Great. Yes. Yes, I did.
And that changes
everything, I guess.
You should understand
these things, Henry.
You should have respect.
Oh, sonneleh.
You are a disappointment.
Well, there's a newsflash.
My God, Zaideh. You want to
know from disappointment?
Let me tell you.
You and your religious crap.
"Eat this. Wear that.
Don't eat this. Say that."
It's got nothing to do with me.
That is your history.
That's your history!
You can keep it.
The only history I'm interested
in is... Is right here.
This is all I care about.
And here you are again,
trying to stop me
from doing what I want.
Well, this time
I disown you, Zaideh.
You are out of my life
as of now.
I want you gone
by tomorrow morning.
( Reflective theme playing )
Ah, what a beautiful night.
Hmm.
It feels good, everybody
gathered around the campfire.
Eh, not everybody.
Well, the night's not over yet.
EDISON: It is a good fire,
my young friend.
Thanks.
Fire guards
and gathers us together.
It makes me feel like singing.
♫ Down in the valley ♫
♫ The valley so low ♫
( coyote howling in distance )
♫ Hang your head over ♫
♫ Hear the wind blow... ♫
That's a good idea.
Let's hear the wind blow
for just a minute.
( Singing in Navajo )
( mysterious tribal
theme playing )
( ground rumbling )
Whoa!
( Tense music playing )
( groans )
Help!
Help!
Oh, where's Monica?
She had some work to do.
Mmm.
This is good. Do you
pick the herbs yourself?
No. It's red zinger.
I get it at my local market.
Now, I had this dream
last night.
Dreams carry great power.
Tell me about your dream.
Well... I dreamt
of my grandfather.
And he told me of
when I was young,
and he took me
to a place of red rocks.
And when we got there,
he told me a story
that his grandfather told him.
Once there was a village there.
Then Kit Carson moved
his men against the Navajo.
They burned the fields,
burned the orchards,
burned the hogans.
Carson's men used
single-shot Springfields
to kill resisters.
They dumped the bodies
in a cave and sealed it up.
There is truth in dreams
and in old men.
Too many massacres
have happened on this land.
The walls of Canyon de Chelly
are stained with
our people's blood.
Most of our Navajo nation
were rounded up here
and force-marched over 300 miles
to Bosque Redondo in New Mexico.
Hundreds died on that long walk,
and many more at Bosque Redondo.
It was like
a concentration camp.
Whole families perished.
Men, women and the children.
DILLON:
I think this is the place.
The bullets, the pieces
of cloth, the child's moccasin.
People died here.
Children died here.
Both of our people
have survived holocausts.
We survive, yes...
because we got children to grow.
For them...
we find what is still
beautiful in the world.
It all is beautiful, my friend.
We have a song...
and it says:
"May the house
be beautiful within.
"May the house
be beautiful without.
"At the doorway...
"where our mother, the Earth,
"holds my house in her palm,
"may it be beautiful.
In beauty may I walk."
You know, every Pesach of my...
Every Passover of my life...
I always said,
"Next year in Jerusalem.
Next year in the Holy City."
But now that I'm
an alter cocker, I see...
every place can be holy.
Hosteen Edison...
I've always dreamed of
becoming an archaeologist.
But how can I dig
if the Navajo believe
that everything is sacred?
If I can't dig, I can't prove
the... existence of sacred sites.
It will all lie
buried under dust.
And I value...
the Navajo history.
I want the world to know
about my people.
There is a balance.
And we will find it together.
We must.
Excuse me.
I gotta find a handshake too.
TESS: ♫ Swing low ♫
♫ Sweet chariot... ♫
Sonneleh?
Henry. Henry!
Henry?
♫ Swing low ♫
♫ Sweet, sweet, sweet chariot ♫
♫ Coming for To carry me home ♫
Henry! Henry!
♫ Swing low ♫
♫ Swing low, sweet
Sweet chariot ♫
♫ Coming for
To carry me ho-ooome ♫
♫ Swing low-oh-oh ♫
♫ Sweet, sweet chariot ♫
♫ Coming for To carry me ♫
♫ ho-oooome ♫
God, I got a question.
( Somber theme playing )
Before I die,
I want my little Henry
to embrace me again.
But... But more importantly,
I want him to embrace you again.
How do I do that, God? Hmm?
I don't know anymore.
Where? Where are the words?
Tell me, please.
Tell me what I should do.
TESS: What if he
says "Do nothing"?
Uh... I was just having
a little conversation here.
So far, I... I wasn't
getting an answer.
Well, maybe you are right now.
Oh, no.
What, am I getting
cataracts now?
No.
Now you're seeing just fine.
I'm an angel, Sam.
Of course, I should have known.
Sure, you come into the desert,
you see a burning bush.
Angel...
you came here to tell me
about my sonneleh, heh?
All right. Please, tell me.
How can I bring him back to God?
That's not your job to
reconcile your grandson and God.
That's between God and Henry.
What, you're telling me I came all
the way out here for nothing?
I'm a failure?
Oh, no. You're not a failure.
Not in the sight of God.
You've been a good
and faithful man.
You've raised both your children
and your grandchildren
the way the Book
of Proverbs says.
Train up a child in the way
that he should go,
and when he's older,
he'll not depart from it.
God said that, Sam.
And it will happen...
whether you're there
to see it or not.
God said this.
He said this to you personally?
From his lips to my ears.
Oh.
Baruch HaShem.
Eh, angel, it's been
very nice, but...
I have to go now.
God and Henry, they can
make their own reunion.
But first, Henry and me...
we have to make ours.
( Soothing theme playing )
Henry. Henry!
HENRY ( yelling ): Help!
I'm gonna die down here!
Somebody help me!
( Ground rumbling )
Help! Help!
Can you hear me?!
Sonneleh!
Henry!
Zaideh! Is that you?!
Oh. Oh. I'm coming. Oh.
( Grunting ):
Henry, I'm coming, son.
Ugh!
Henry! Zaideh!
Thank God! I have
so much to tell you.
All right. Come on.
Take my hand.
I used to have
the strength of a lion.
God give me that strength.
( Moans )
Zaideh, are you okay?
Ooh, the pain.
What?
Forget it. I'll pull you up.
No. Zaideh!
( yelling in agony ) Zaideh!
No!
( Whispers ): No.
( Intense theme playing )
I hate you. I hate you!
MONICA: Believe it or
not, that's a good start.
You hate God. God loves you.
But at least you're talking.
Monica? How did you...
get...
I could get here
because I'm an angel.
An angel?
Sent by God, in answer to
Sam's prayer.
And in answer to yours.
This is not what I prayed for.
You see, now, it's...
I can't make my peace
with him. It's too late.
It's too late. I can't do it.
Yes, you can.
Because the peace
your Zaideh prayed for
was not peace with him,
but with God.
It is not faith in your fathers
that survives
from generation to generation,
but the faith of your fathers.
And it lives here now.
And it's yours to grasp, Henry.
It's the real help
in times of trouble.
It's the legacy that
Sam has left you
and the gift
that God has given you.
For where there is faith,
it is never too late.
I don't know how to
show that faith.
Yes, you do.
It's a gift God
gave to his people.
The Kaddish.
( laughter )
SAM ( chuckling ):
So this is what it's like, huh?
Well, it's not as bad
as I thought.
ANDREW: It is...
It is beautiful.
( Slow, melancholy
theme playing )
I'm Andrew.
You're the Angel of Death?
You're so young.
( Chuckling ): Oh, I'm
older than you think.
( Chuckling ):
A young fella comes for me.
Hey, you know something?
You're in collections too.
Sure. We're both
in the junk business.
( laughing ): That's a good one.
( laughs )
This is where I heard it.
It was right there.
Henry!
Grab my arm. I'll pull you out.
( Grunting )
Oh. Zaideh.
Sam would want a simple burial.
As quickly as possible.
That's the Jewish way.
It's the Navajo way too.
It is an honor to share this
sacred burial grounds with you.
Thank you. Mm.
I was wrong.
I know that was
hard for you to say.
That's the right thing to say.
Mm.
And as far as my work
is concerned...
here's my dig permit.
I have learned that this
is a sacred place. Mm.
I wish to honor all the
people who died here.
Ashes to ashes.
Do you know what it means
in English, "Kaddish"?
No.
It's a prayer that praises God
by saying that God
is above all praise.
I thought it was
a prayer for the dead.
It's a prayer for the living...
a gift of peace
to help you carry on.
This was Sam's prayer book.
It's yours now.
( Slow, melodic theme playing )
EDISON: I'm not a Jew,
but that never bothered Sam.
He is a good man.
He loves the Creator.
We are honored to have him here.
Wherever you walk, may it
be beautiful, my brother.
Shalom, Sam.
( Speaks in Navajo )
( speaks in Yiddish )
Baruch HaShem.
Amein.
Amein.
( rousing orchestral
theme playing )
( cooing )
( heartfelt theme playing )
We start out with dust,
end up with dust.
And in between,
people go through the dust
trying to find out how old it is
and what it really means.
We're gonna be kind of like
archaeologists this time too,
angel girl.
Gonna help people...
sift out what to keep
and what to leave behind.
Fascinating.
The story of a thousand years
in a handful of dirt.
MAN: That's just
what got me hooked.
When I was a kid, I-I loved
reading people's diaries.
Don't tell my wife.
And one day I realized
that archaeology
is like reading
people's diaries.
It's just... what's written
in... In bits of clay.
Well, right then I knew
I'd found my profession.
Learning to read all this is
going to be very exciting.
Unless you'd rather be
reading the Boston Globe...
in Boston.
Six more weeks, Roseanne.
Yeah, I can buy back issues
when we get home.
So does this look like
an ancient Native American
campsite to you, Monica?
Well, maybe a few more feet,
and it will.
ROSEANNE ( chuckling ):
Oh, she'll do fine.
She's starting to
sound like you.
I don't know, prof.
We could be almost
a quarter mile off here.
MONICA: Hey, Dillon?
Did you use the legends of
your people to locate this site?
No, no, no.
State of the art,
high-frequency sonograms,
carbon-dating,
charcoal residue analysis.
We have the technology.
Remember, Dillon,
this is her first week.
It took my last
research assistant a month
to tell the difference
between charcoal residue
and coffee grounds.
Speaking of coffee?
It's coming, prof.
( Man yelling indistinctly )
What?
Zaideh?
What's he doing here?
I don't know.
How you gonna handle this?
( Stammering )
I mean, he's come all this way.
Um, I've got to
at least hear him out.
You're always hearing
him out, Henry.
But nothing's gonna change
until you start listening.
I'm staying out of this.
It's up to you this time.
Roseanne.
Zaideh!
Do you know what "Zaideh" means?
Yeah, it means
"grandfather" in Yiddish.
He must be very hot
in that suit.
Well, if love can keep you warm,
it can keep you cool.
Zaideh, my God!
What are you doing here?
Ah-ha-ha-ha! ( Chuckles )
Whoa! Oh, boy.
Hey. What a schlep.
You okay? How did you get here?
Oh. "It ain't far,"
the bus driver tells me.
By him, it ain't far. By me,
believe me, it's a schlep.
Anyone know you're here?
Why didn't you let me know?
( Groans )
Full of questions, as always,
huh, boychik?
( chuckles )
Listen, you got water? Yeah.
I'd like a nice glass of water.
( Sighs )
TESS: This is a very
special place, baby.
There's a history lesson
waiting to be unearthed.
What has happened here,
and what is going to
happen here,
has to be sifted through.
And we're going to
have to do it together.
And we're gonna have to
do it very, very carefully,
or we could miss the most
precious discovery of all.
( Della Reese & The Verity
All-Stars' "Walk With You" playing )
REESE: ♫ When you walk ♫
♫ Down the road ♫
♫ Heavy burden ♫
♫ Hea-ea-eavy load ♫
♫ I will rise ♫
♫ And I will walk with you ♫
REESE: ♫ I'll walk with you ♫
CHORUS: ♫ I'll walk with you ♫
♫ Till the sun
Don't even shine ♫
♫ Walk with you ♫
♫ Walk with you ♫
♫ Every time ♫
♫ I tell ya I'll walk with you ♫
♫ Walk with you ♫
♫ Believe me
I'll walk with you ♫
Ah. Oh.
It's been a long time, Zaideh.
Yes, a long time.
Frankly, I... I didn't
expect to hear from you.
Ah. So...
This is how you live? Hm.
For... For this you went
to college?
For years and years.
It's a dig, Zaideh.
An archaeological dig.
They... They pay you to
dig up sand?
Oh, you must need money.
No. Here. Come on.
No, no, no. No, no.
Look, I got it. Here, take it.
Hey...
Hey. Zaideh...
You haven't changed.
I missed you.
You look good. You're
gonna outlive all of us.
Heh. Baruch HaShem.
"Bless God," indeed.
And a good day it is for it too.
What? You have
Hebrew-speaking Irish people
working for you?
This is my research
assistant, Monica.
Monica, this is Sam Moskowitz.
Ahh. Pleasure to meet you.
Well, it's nice to meet you.
Please, please join us here.
Thank you.
You know, he's a
very important man.
( Chuckling ): Zaideh.
You're working for a great
scientist, my grandson.
This is Dillon New Eagle.
Hello.
He's a student intern,
but he's a great scientist
in his own right.
My grandfather has decided
to honor us with a visit.
A short visit.
Welcome to the archaeological
site of something historic.
We don't know what it is.
So far we found this.
Oh.
Oh. If I'd known there was
gonna be a group, huh,
I would have brought, uh,
an assortment.
HENRY: A mezuzah.
I don't have a door
to hang it on.
So you'll pin it on your tent.
W-what is it?
MONICA: A mezuzah.
It has a... A tiny scroll inside
with a prayer.
It blesses the home.
Hey, they must have
very good schools in Ireland.
( laughter )
Well, um,
where I come from, they...
They teach you a little bit
about everything.
Huh.
Sam, come on.
I'll show you around.
Thank you. ( Grunts )
Henry. I, uh...
I would like to see Roseanne.
Well...
You know she loves you.
But she thinks that
you and I should
talk without her.
I should talk.
You should listen.
HENRY: She says that too, but...
Oh, she did? Smart lady.
I always liked Roseanne.
What?
Oh, Henry. It was...
It was never personal.
Well, so, show me around.
Okay.
Well, There's something
going on there.
I wonder what the story is.
( Mysterious tribal
theme playing )
What is it?
There's a guy waving out there.
You see someone up there?
Yeah. Don't you?
That guy...
I don't know.
It must have been a mirage.
Wow. This desert's dangerous.
I'm gonna get some water.
Navajo lived here for centuries.
Then about 100 years ago,
this little community died out.
We don't know why.
Disease, perhaps.
Or maybe a hard winter.
Whatever it was,
it was complete and final.
ROSEANNE: Maybe they all just
stopped talking to each other.
That could finish off
a family pretty fast.
Roseanne.
( Chuckles ) Roseanne.
Oh.
How you doing, Sam?
Well, for the shape I'm in,
I'm in pretty good shape.
Hey, Roseanne. Yeah?
You see what Henry's doing?
He's saving out the wood
and the metal,
just like the junkyard.
He's in the family business
after all, your husband.
No, Zaideh, I'm not.
What I do here has
nothing to do with the family.
When did you decide
to acknowledge
that we were husband
and wife, huh?
Hey, wait a minute.
What did I say?
Look, I'm not gonna
start this all over again.
Monica?
Can you take my truck
and drive my grandfather
back to the city, please?
You have a return ticket,
Zaideh?
Henry, this is not
the way to do this.
What is this?
What?
( Tribal theme playing )
Hm.
A piece of cloth.
Where was this?
Right here.
Well...
The Navajo stopped making
this design around 1890.
Henry. Don't change the subject.
How can you
pack him off like that?
You heard him starting again.
First with the family
and the family business,
then the crack about
"your husband."
Before you know it,
we'll be right back into it.
He wasn't starting anything.
He's proud of you.
And he called you
my husband because you are.
And maybe he's ready
to accept that.
I'm not gonna get back into it
with him.
( Sighs )
Maybe he doesn't want to.
Henry, he's holding out
an olive branch here.
He came all the way
to the desert,
where you couldn't ignore him.
I think maybe he wants to
forgive you.
I don't want his forgiveness.
I don't need to be forgiven.
My family turned
their back on me.
Have you forgotten
what they put us through?
No, I haven't forgotten.
And I'm not saying that
that didn't hurt.
But Henry, I also realize that
that had absolutely
nothing to do with me.
Sam just wanted what
was best for you.
And he couldn't believe that a
Catholic girl from Boston was it.
So he disowned me.
( Sighs ): You dared
him to disown you,
and he was just
stubborn enough to do it.
It runs in the family,
by the way.
Oh, honey...
This isn't about being married
to a Catholic.
Your marrying me
was just your final blow
for independence.
( Car engine stopping )
( car doors slamming )
I love you.
I love you, Roseanne,
and I-I always have.
DILLON:
Henry, you better come out here.
( Sighs )
( wind blowing )
Hosteen Edison
will speak for us.
EDISON:
My grandfather gave this to me.
SAM: Ooh, let me see that.
Zaideh.
Oh, that's... That's a beauty.
Finer than anything
you'll dig up here.
I'm not here to dig up jewellery.
I'm here digging up history
to enrich our understanding
of your people
and of this land.
How can you tell me
of this land...
when you have not lived here,
as my people have?
I see one Navajo face.
What are you doing here?
Getting my archaeology credit.
This is your land.
No, I'm...
I live in Phoenix.
Hosteen Edison,
this place has so much
to tell us about your people.
There's a... A mystery here.
Something happened here...
in this place.
And we don't know what it was.
He's always asking questions,
this boy.
My grandfather, Shi-Cheeh...
always told me
about the troubled spirits here.
( Speaks in Navajo )
"Spirits."
( tribal theme playing )
They should not be disturbed.
You must stop this dig.
If you stay,
your spirit...
will become troubled.
It is wrong to disturb
this place.
It is dangerous.
It is not your right to be here.
I'm not gonna argue with you.
I...
I have my dig permit.
And I have a perfectly
legal right to be here.
Government permits,
government legal rights...
have always been used
as a shield for cowards.
I beg your pardon?
All right, everybody, hold it.
A big smile now.
( Camera clicks )
Oh, that's gonna be a nice one.
Wait till they see that
back home.
So you're a professional
photographer.
Well, not exactly.
Actually, I just developed
an interest for photography
very recently.
Very recently.
Oh, yeah?
Um, what's that button
there for?
Which one?
This very
technical-looking button.
Oh, that button.
Um, uh, that's the button
for the thing that, um,
adjusts the part that, uh...
that changes things
when you snap it.
It's...
It's very complicated equipment.
But I couldn't think of
another place to try it
other than this desert.
This very hot,
dry... hot... desert.
Well... if you'll excuse me,
I feel an inspiration coming on.
( Mumbling ): Hot, dry desert.
HENRY: Roseanne?
I can't find her anywhere.
Roseanne?
Oh. She left this for you.
She left this for me?
Yes. She... She got a ride out
with the water truck.
Roseanne? She's gone?
She had some, uh,
business in Boston.
MONICA: Uh, Sam?
Do you want beans tartare...
beans primavera,
or beans à la Henry?
Beans.
Don't think about it
too much, Sam.
With pork?
I don't know.
Well, you should know.
It makes no difference to me.
Well, to me it makes.
It should make
a difference to you too.
Give me a break, okay?
All that religious stuff...
it don't work for me.
Hm. It works for God.
Huh. That's not enough?
It's a closed subject, okay?
What? Look, what are
you talking?
You spend every day
digging for dead things.
Every shard, every artifact...
brings the past
to life, you say, huh?
So keeping kosher,
saying Hebrew by rote,
well, what's that?
Empty ritual.
Empty?
( Mournful theme playing )
Empty.
This is what you call
your heritage?
This is what you call
your people?
I'm an archaeologist...
not a Jew.
Henry.
Henry, listen to me.
I'm an old man, Henry.
My family is...
heh... Is like broken china.
I would like to see it
put back together
before it's too late.
My wife is my family.
And she's gone.
Yes.
Look, after your parents died,
did you say Kaddish for them?
Did you come
all the way out here
to get me to say Kaddish
for my parents?
No. I came here to ask you
to say Kaddish for me.
What's a Kaddish?
The Jewish prayer for the dead.
Sam wants Henry to say it.
For whom?
For Sam.
He's dying.
( Mysterious theme playing )
Excuse me.
I overheard Sam asking you
to say Kaddish for him.
I'm so sorry.
Oh, don't be.
He's not dying.
( Mumbling ): He's not dying.
Ha. Heh-heh.
You know, back there
was not so pretty.
Mm. Such tsuris it gives me.
Ah.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
You know, for my Zaideh,
this would be forbidden.
( laughs )
Yes. He was very frum.
"Orthodox."
Outside of marriage,
you didn't touch a woman.
Of course for me...
I-I don't follow that tradition.
Things change.
The world changes.
Maybe Henry will too.
Henry? Heh-heh.
Henry has a problem...
of doing anything
that makes sense.
He can't imagine that anyone's
ever been there before,
that everybody's done it before,
that anyone has lived before,
that they have loved before.
No.
He can only imagine
that somebody
has made pottery
and blankets before.
It's not me that
Henry is mad at, you know.
It's God.
God? Yeah.
Authority figures
make him crazy.
He hates the fact that
there's somebody out there
running things,
who's bigger, smarter,
knows all the answers.
Of course, he can't see God,
but he can see me.
So...
( car engine stopping )
He takes it out on his Zaideh.
( car door slamming )
Did you know that
the highest form of respect
for the Navajo is to
call someone grandfather?
Mm-hm.
In fact, some tribes even
address God as grandfather.
God as grandfather?
I like that.
( Chuckling )
( men talking, laughing )
Oh. Excuse me.
Get any good pictures, huh?
"What's that teeny,
tiny technical button?"
You pull a stunt
like that again,
that halo's comin' down
round your neck.
( Giggles )
I got you going though,
didn't I?
( Chuckling )
So, Tess, did you see
Andrew out there?
No, but I heard he was coming.
And Sam really is dying?
The Angel of Death
has many jobs, baby.
Sometimes it's to bring us
good news,
and sometimes it's
to bring us bad news.
Now... did Dillon see Andrew?
Yes. I think he did.
Mmm.
Look at that.
A Navajo tribal elder meets
a New York tribal elder.
Now, that ought to be good.
Thank you.
I'm walking on
stilts for legs here.
Ooh! I'm telling you.
After 70, it's krechts,
krechts, krechts.
Uphill... one walks slowly.
Downhill, one rolls fast.
( Chuckling ): That's right.
( Speaking in Yiddish )
That's Yiddish.
A dying language.
Like Navajo.
You know...
I was a code talker
during the war.
28th Marines.
That was the last time
the world heard us.
I heard about you boys.
Sure. You sent secret messages
in Navajo all over the Pacific.
The Japanese couldn't
break the code.
Ha-ha-ha.
Oh, I wish I could have
seen their faces
trying to figure you guys out.
( Melancholy tribal
theme playing )
Our language
served this country...
and it serves our people.
But the children...
They're beginning
to forget our ways...
and our language.
Well, my Henry hasn't forgotten.
He just doesn't want to know.
Perhaps if he learned
to understand
the ways of his people...
maybe, just maybe...
he would appreciate
the ways of ours.
Appreciate? Well,
he already appreciates.
What do you think
he's doing here in this desert?
I am afraid to find out.
Your grandfather's coming back.
Of course he is.
Looks like the Navajos have
settled in for the long haul.
Great. Just great.
Well, they can't
stay there forever.
( laughs )
Can they?
They're gonna do
what they have to do.
Dillon, do you think we
have any right to be here?
I-I don't know.
( Mysterious tribal theme
playing )
HENRY: Hey!
What is it?
I don't know what to make of it.
It's a... It's a bullet.
Dillon, come here.
Single-shot Springfield?
Hmm.
Army issue, late 1860's.
What's it doing here?
Hey, Henry, are you in a mess.
Your Zaideh is dying, and the
Indians are resisting out there.
Native American Navajo, Zaideh.
They're demonstrating
peacefully, hopefully briefly.
And you are not dying.
All right.
All right. You can't handle
the truth, I understand.
It's a lot to take in.
But that Hosteen...
you should listen to him.
He's not so different
from us, you know.
I say something in Yiddish, he
says the same thing in Navajo.
Yeah, Dillon. Dillon.
Your people have a saying:
"The crop is worth more
than the seed."
Uh, my grandfather used to
say that about his children.
Ha! So.
"The interest is worth more
than the principal."
I used to say that
to Henry all the time. Hm.
Ah, you know...
the worst thing about dying...
is knowing that you'll never
see your grandchildren again.
Even though you hardly ever
saw them when you were alive.
Even though you disowned them
for a little while, heh-heh.
But missed them
when you saw them...
( weakly ): You saw them
again before you died.
( Coughs )
Sam... are you all right?
( Grunting )
Did you think about it,
Henry? Huh?
Saying Kaddish for me?
No, I didn't, because
you're not dying.
And I don't speak
Hebrew anymore.
Ah. Ah, I didn't think so.
So I brought along
a little prayer book,
so you could start practicing.
No, Zaideh. Uh-uh. Um...
This act on me,
because it's not going to work.
Don't come here,
and try and guilt me
into religion, okay?
I don't want your prayer book.
I don't want...
your mezuzah.
I don't want your God.
( Somber theme playing )
( mysterious tribal
theme playing )
( man speaking Navajo )
( softly ): Grandfather.
Are you a ghost?
I can't...
I don't understand you.
I don't speak Navajo
that well anymore.
ANDREW:
He wants you to listen, Dillon.
This is a dream.
This is the memory
of your grandfather.
You've forgotten
about this place, I guess.
Your grandfather brought you
here when you were a boy.
And you walked around those rock
formations outside.
And he told you something...
that he wanted you to remember.
He passed on to you
the truth about this place.
And he placed it
in your heart, Dillon.
For safekeeping.
And it is time for you to
remember what this place is...
and what it means...
to the Navajo...
and what it means
to you, Dillon.
Now, how do you get this
to taste like cappuccino
without a cappuccino maker?
Oh, it's just a little
desert survival technique
I picked up along the way.
Of course, nobody actually needs
decaf mocha latte to survive,
but it makes surviving
so much nicer.
( laughter )
Oh, no.
They've gone too far.
Okay, move.
Move.
I said, move!
Henry, you can't...
Hosteen Edison...
may I speak with you alone?
You are speaking alone.
All right.
( Exhales )
Well, then we can
talk right here.
That's right, talk.
I'll kibbitz a little.
It's taken me three years
to get my dig permit.
I am not gonna stop
this excavation
because of some story
your grandfather told you.
For me...
my grandfather's words...
are more than just "some story."
See? Someone still thinks that
grandparents count for something.
Zaideh. Stay out of it.
See? You should have
taken him back when you could.
He wanted to stay.
Who are you working
for here, him or me?
Well, actually...
Henry, uh, there's something
I need to tell you.
Excuse me.
Is it some secret
Navajo password
that'll make them leave?
Um, not exactly.
All right. Well, I've got one.
Henry...
Okay listen... people. Huh.
I'm not interested in your...
In your spirits.
And I'm not interested in your...
Your instincts about this place.
As a matter of fact...
if you would leave me alone,
I just might find something
that would substantiate
all of your spiritual hunches.
Our spirits don't need
the white man's science
to tell us this place is sacred.
My science needs something
better than that.
Now, if you're not out of here
by tomorrow morning,
I'm coming back with help...
more workers.
And we'll just tear this place
up right out from under you.
You'll wish you never
heard from me.
We already do.
Okay, guys. Let's go.
( Tense theme playing )
Oh, man.
I should have seen this coming.
Monica?
Sometimes things can be
sacred to someone, Henry,
even if they're not
sacred to you.
Maybe this is
one of those times.
Henry, how would you feel if
somebody burned our temple?
This is not a temple.
This is an old campground,
for God's sake.
How do you know?
Dillon tells me
you found a bullet.
Great. Yes. Yes, I did.
And that changes
everything, I guess.
You should understand
these things, Henry.
You should have respect.
Oh, sonneleh.
You are a disappointment.
Well, there's a newsflash.
My God, Zaideh. You want to
know from disappointment?
Let me tell you.
You and your religious crap.
"Eat this. Wear that.
Don't eat this. Say that."
It's got nothing to do with me.
That is your history.
That's your history!
You can keep it.
The only history I'm interested
in is... Is right here.
This is all I care about.
And here you are again,
trying to stop me
from doing what I want.
Well, this time
I disown you, Zaideh.
You are out of my life
as of now.
I want you gone
by tomorrow morning.
( Reflective theme playing )
Ah, what a beautiful night.
Hmm.
It feels good, everybody
gathered around the campfire.
Eh, not everybody.
Well, the night's not over yet.
EDISON: It is a good fire,
my young friend.
Thanks.
Fire guards
and gathers us together.
It makes me feel like singing.
♫ Down in the valley ♫
♫ The valley so low ♫
( coyote howling in distance )
♫ Hang your head over ♫
♫ Hear the wind blow... ♫
That's a good idea.
Let's hear the wind blow
for just a minute.
( Singing in Navajo )
( mysterious tribal
theme playing )
( ground rumbling )
Whoa!
( Tense music playing )
( groans )
Help!
Help!
Oh, where's Monica?
She had some work to do.
Mmm.
This is good. Do you
pick the herbs yourself?
No. It's red zinger.
I get it at my local market.
Now, I had this dream
last night.
Dreams carry great power.
Tell me about your dream.
Well... I dreamt
of my grandfather.
And he told me of
when I was young,
and he took me
to a place of red rocks.
And when we got there,
he told me a story
that his grandfather told him.
Once there was a village there.
Then Kit Carson moved
his men against the Navajo.
They burned the fields,
burned the orchards,
burned the hogans.
Carson's men used
single-shot Springfields
to kill resisters.
They dumped the bodies
in a cave and sealed it up.
There is truth in dreams
and in old men.
Too many massacres
have happened on this land.
The walls of Canyon de Chelly
are stained with
our people's blood.
Most of our Navajo nation
were rounded up here
and force-marched over 300 miles
to Bosque Redondo in New Mexico.
Hundreds died on that long walk,
and many more at Bosque Redondo.
It was like
a concentration camp.
Whole families perished.
Men, women and the children.
DILLON:
I think this is the place.
The bullets, the pieces
of cloth, the child's moccasin.
People died here.
Children died here.
Both of our people
have survived holocausts.
We survive, yes...
because we got children to grow.
For them...
we find what is still
beautiful in the world.
It all is beautiful, my friend.
We have a song...
and it says:
"May the house
be beautiful within.
"May the house
be beautiful without.
"At the doorway...
"where our mother, the Earth,
"holds my house in her palm,
"may it be beautiful.
In beauty may I walk."
You know, every Pesach of my...
Every Passover of my life...
I always said,
"Next year in Jerusalem.
Next year in the Holy City."
But now that I'm
an alter cocker, I see...
every place can be holy.
Hosteen Edison...
I've always dreamed of
becoming an archaeologist.
But how can I dig
if the Navajo believe
that everything is sacred?
If I can't dig, I can't prove
the... existence of sacred sites.
It will all lie
buried under dust.
And I value...
the Navajo history.
I want the world to know
about my people.
There is a balance.
And we will find it together.
We must.
Excuse me.
I gotta find a handshake too.
TESS: ♫ Swing low ♫
♫ Sweet chariot... ♫
Sonneleh?
Henry. Henry!
Henry?
♫ Swing low ♫
♫ Sweet, sweet, sweet chariot ♫
♫ Coming for To carry me home ♫
Henry! Henry!
♫ Swing low ♫
♫ Swing low, sweet
Sweet chariot ♫
♫ Coming for
To carry me ho-ooome ♫
♫ Swing low-oh-oh ♫
♫ Sweet, sweet chariot ♫
♫ Coming for To carry me ♫
♫ ho-oooome ♫
God, I got a question.
( Somber theme playing )
Before I die,
I want my little Henry
to embrace me again.
But... But more importantly,
I want him to embrace you again.
How do I do that, God? Hmm?
I don't know anymore.
Where? Where are the words?
Tell me, please.
Tell me what I should do.
TESS: What if he
says "Do nothing"?
Uh... I was just having
a little conversation here.
So far, I... I wasn't
getting an answer.
Well, maybe you are right now.
Oh, no.
What, am I getting
cataracts now?
No.
Now you're seeing just fine.
I'm an angel, Sam.
Of course, I should have known.
Sure, you come into the desert,
you see a burning bush.
Angel...
you came here to tell me
about my sonneleh, heh?
All right. Please, tell me.
How can I bring him back to God?
That's not your job to
reconcile your grandson and God.
That's between God and Henry.
What, you're telling me I came all
the way out here for nothing?
I'm a failure?
Oh, no. You're not a failure.
Not in the sight of God.
You've been a good
and faithful man.
You've raised both your children
and your grandchildren
the way the Book
of Proverbs says.
Train up a child in the way
that he should go,
and when he's older,
he'll not depart from it.
God said that, Sam.
And it will happen...
whether you're there
to see it or not.
God said this.
He said this to you personally?
From his lips to my ears.
Oh.
Baruch HaShem.
Eh, angel, it's been
very nice, but...
I have to go now.
God and Henry, they can
make their own reunion.
But first, Henry and me...
we have to make ours.
( Soothing theme playing )
Henry. Henry!
HENRY ( yelling ): Help!
I'm gonna die down here!
Somebody help me!
( Ground rumbling )
Help! Help!
Can you hear me?!
Sonneleh!
Henry!
Zaideh! Is that you?!
Oh. Oh. I'm coming. Oh.
( Grunting ):
Henry, I'm coming, son.
Ugh!
Henry! Zaideh!
Thank God! I have
so much to tell you.
All right. Come on.
Take my hand.
I used to have
the strength of a lion.
God give me that strength.
( Moans )
Zaideh, are you okay?
Ooh, the pain.
What?
Forget it. I'll pull you up.
No. Zaideh!
( yelling in agony ) Zaideh!
No!
( Whispers ): No.
( Intense theme playing )
I hate you. I hate you!
MONICA: Believe it or
not, that's a good start.
You hate God. God loves you.
But at least you're talking.
Monica? How did you...
get...
I could get here
because I'm an angel.
An angel?
Sent by God, in answer to
Sam's prayer.
And in answer to yours.
This is not what I prayed for.
You see, now, it's...
I can't make my peace
with him. It's too late.
It's too late. I can't do it.
Yes, you can.
Because the peace
your Zaideh prayed for
was not peace with him,
but with God.
It is not faith in your fathers
that survives
from generation to generation,
but the faith of your fathers.
And it lives here now.
And it's yours to grasp, Henry.
It's the real help
in times of trouble.
It's the legacy that
Sam has left you
and the gift
that God has given you.
For where there is faith,
it is never too late.
I don't know how to
show that faith.
Yes, you do.
It's a gift God
gave to his people.
The Kaddish.
( laughter )
SAM ( chuckling ):
So this is what it's like, huh?
Well, it's not as bad
as I thought.
ANDREW: It is...
It is beautiful.
( Slow, melancholy
theme playing )
I'm Andrew.
You're the Angel of Death?
You're so young.
( Chuckling ): Oh, I'm
older than you think.
( Chuckling ):
A young fella comes for me.
Hey, you know something?
You're in collections too.
Sure. We're both
in the junk business.
( laughing ): That's a good one.
( laughs )
This is where I heard it.
It was right there.
Henry!
Grab my arm. I'll pull you out.
( Grunting )
Oh. Zaideh.
Sam would want a simple burial.
As quickly as possible.
That's the Jewish way.
It's the Navajo way too.
It is an honor to share this
sacred burial grounds with you.
Thank you. Mm.
I was wrong.
I know that was
hard for you to say.
That's the right thing to say.
Mm.
And as far as my work
is concerned...
here's my dig permit.
I have learned that this
is a sacred place. Mm.
I wish to honor all the
people who died here.
Ashes to ashes.
Do you know what it means
in English, "Kaddish"?
No.
It's a prayer that praises God
by saying that God
is above all praise.
I thought it was
a prayer for the dead.
It's a prayer for the living...
a gift of peace
to help you carry on.
This was Sam's prayer book.
It's yours now.
( Slow, melodic theme playing )
EDISON: I'm not a Jew,
but that never bothered Sam.
He is a good man.
He loves the Creator.
We are honored to have him here.
Wherever you walk, may it
be beautiful, my brother.
Shalom, Sam.
( Speaks in Navajo )
( speaks in Yiddish )
Baruch HaShem.
Amein.
Amein.
( rousing orchestral
theme playing )
( cooing )
( heartfelt theme playing )