"(engine starting)" "(distant siren)" " Latte and mocha." " Thank you." "Woman:" "Thanks." "(printer whirring)" " Man: vincent's merger's dead." " Woman: don't worry about it, I." "You'll be out of here in six months." "The "until" job." "How long you been working here, ben?" "Eight years." "Woman: jesus." "I know." "Pretty pathetic." "At least i don't delude myself with hopes and dreams." "He's against hopes and dreams." "He's the antl-everything dude." "The antichrist." "You think getting a job in a tv series is going to change anything?" "In three days, you'll realize it's just the same old crap in a new package..." "you'll still be working for the man, same as everyone else." "Woman:" "The man?" "Who's the man?" "L:" "You know... society, the establishment, the corporate super-organism." " (all laughing)" " Woman: oh, him." "You're one dark dude, man." "(knocks)" " (sports on tv)" " He's here." "Hi, dad." "So what's new in school?" "I don't know." "Math and stuff." "A guru from an ashram in india came to visit us in social studies." "He could remember two of his past lives." "That kid recognizes you." "Probably from one of your c.d.s." "What were his past lives?" "In one he was a prince." "In the other he was a slave leading a rebellion." "That's the trouble with reincarnation... everybody was always a prince or a warrior." "Nobody was ever a museum guard, a paramecium or a bed of moss." "People want to think they were special, i guess." "Yeah, well, that's how they get you." "They figure if they can fill you up with that pie-in-the-sky stuff, maybe you won't notice how much crap you've eaten in your own lifetime." "Ready?" "I think i'm a lesbian." "Why, 'cause you like hockey?" "I like boys, but... not to kiss." "I like hanging out with them." "Oh." "I wouldn't jump to any conclusions." "You haven't even reached puberty yet." "You're programmed from birth." "They have studies." "So... what do you want to do?" "You wanna go ice skating?" "Dad, i like watching hockey." "I don't even know how to skate." "Do you want to go to mcrory's?" "Sure." "Man:" "Very good." "Nice... nice guitar." " Ben: mm-hmm." " Hey, ben, this just came in." "Brazilian." "So fine it almost plays itself." "(strumming)" "You want to play it?" "Go ahead." "Jim and sweeny are in the back." "Do you mind?" "Just for a minute?" " (strumming)" " Maestro!" "All right." "I see you got the brazilian." "Sweet." "It's a shame." "What is?" "To be so great at something no one cares about." "I think i want to sleep in my own room tonight." "Ibou snores too loud and i have a bio quiz tomorrow." "Oh." "Hey, what's the matter?" "She wanted to come home, that's all." "I love you, dad." "Hey, sweetie." "What did you say to her?" "For god's sakes, ben, she's 11 years old." "She still wants to think the world is a nice place." "Hey." "She wants me to feed her that positive-think crap." "We just exited the bloodiest century in the history of civilization." "We got terrorism, atomic bombs, genocide of mythic proportions." "And what have all these horrors produced as we go into the new millennium?" "Positive fucking thinking." "You know what that's about?" "It's about grabbing as much as you can with your greedy little fingers." "So why don't you do something special with her?" "Take her to a hockey game or something." "The only crime left in the whole fucking world is negativity." "Negativity is treason." "They even have a pill for it." "It is a world in which the man is the presiding authority, huh?" "The two worst inventions in the past 20 years... the tv remote and positive thinking." "You know, i... i hear something on the radio today." "It was very interesting." "It was about this game theory." "They say if a man acts in his own interests, that he would act in a way that is beneficial to those around him... if he acts intelligently." "Big "if."" "(laughs)" "I don't know." "So i went on the internet to read a little more about it, you know?" "And the cake is... how you say?" " Mutual game theory." "They say, you know, the game theory between two friends, like each one wanting what is best for the other." "Mmm." "No fret, no fret." "Glucose spike, yeah?" "(grunts)" "Like you are my friend, right?" "So that which you want, i want for you." "I go out of my way for you, ben." "I would do it happily because i know you would do the same." "Great things can come from this game theory... great things." "You know, the wolofs back in senegal, we don't say, "that man has this"" "or "this man has that."" "That is why still magic exists in senegal, yeah?" "What kind of magic is that?" "When it rains, the fish, they fall from the sky." "This happens because we believe." "It is like..." "like a form of game theory, i think." "There's an old wolof saying:" "(speaks wolof)" ""Your thoughts are things."" "And you've seen this?" "You've seen fish fall from the sky?" "With my own eyes." "The fish, they flap about in the grass, trying to get back in the stream." "I told my sister about it in a letter." "She has seen it too, you know." "Check mate." "Every time we play, you get me into one of these conversations." "It's a goddamn decoy." "Maybe you should look at the world as your friend." "Yeah, as soon as i see fish fall from the sky." "Your... your car is supposed to be flush with the pole." "This has been going on since i moved in." "It takes me five swings to get out of my spot." "What do you do?" "Come out here with a ruler?" "Bottom line..." "your car is illegal." "I'm trying to be civil about this, dude, you know?" "I could just call the police and have your car towed." "You know what you are?" "You're a vampire." "You think you're new to the earth, but you're not." "You've been around for, like, 10,000 years." "You were in the bible." "You're indestructible." "You're like an insect." "And when the nuclear holocaust comes, there'll be swarms of you driving around in your s.u.v. S" " informing on each other." " Park where it's legal!" "Shut up." "So 8:30, friday, funny bone." "Everyone's coming, right?" "Cassie?" "Leon?" " Cassie?" " Yes." "Okay." "Claire?" "Funny bone, friday?" "You gotta come." "I rep a comic and he's gonna be on at 10:00, so..." "(snoring)" "Who are you?" "I'm the man." "Are you god?" "No, he deals with the birds and beasties, planetary alignments, quarks." "I just deal with the human element." "Then i have a question... why are there soda machines in schools?" "Why is it all about greed, agenda, money?" "It is easier to keep people in line by appealing to their worst impulses than their best." "Now everyone has bad impulses, mmm?" "Not everyone has good ones." "Maxine, go get dressed." "Lucas, go get dressed for school." "Lucas?" "Thank you." "Go get dressed, sweetie." "(laughs)" "Hey." "Look at this ass clown." " Who is that?" " It's a guy i work with." " In proofreading?" " Yeah." "Did you know that there's a new study that says cinnamon is good for the heart?" "I'm not listening." "You're just trying to get me off my game." "No no no, seriously, though, dark chocolate lowers the blood pressure," " tannins in red wine." " (phone ringing)" "All the medicine we'll ever need is in the food." "20 years from now you will have cancer... the doctor will make you a salad." " (beeps) - hey, ben, cyril g." "Here." "I'm going down the list, and you're coming, right?" "You got somewhere to go, eh?" "All right, i'll see you there!" "He just needs a warm body." "(speaks wolof)" "But of course, the consumables have their own perils... mercury in the fish, caffeine." "Maybe one food will cure cancer, yeah?" "But it also gives you m.s." "Your queen is trapped." "(ibou snoring)" "(distant siren wails)" "You ever wonder what the proctologist thinks about before he goes to sleep?" "(all laughing)" " 'cause the brain's a funny thing, you know?" " Cyril: ben." " Ben." " if you've been spreading ass cheeks open all day, you know what the last thing is you're gonna be thinking about before you go to bed that night." "To tell you the truth, i don't know what i'm doing here." " I hate stand-up comedy." " Oh." "It really moves me that you came, then." "That's a bitch right there..." "proctologist." "You're the only ass clown who showed up." "Those fuckers..." "i can't believe it." " gynecologists." " Cyril: this is my guy." "Yeah, you won't regret you came." "He fucking kills." ""Baby, dinner's ready." And you go, "not tonight, baby." "I had a long hard day looking at pussies."" " i mean, they're coming at you from all different angles." " (laughing)" "It's like big bushy ones, little bitty ones, the little hitler ones, shaved ones... all of 'em." "It's like a big pussy parade." "The dude over here, he's like... he's like, "who, me?"" "This is crazy." "Not you, man." "He's like, "who, me?" "What?" "what did i do?"" "Not you, man." "I'm talking about charlie brown over here." "Yeah, you." "How you doin'?" " I'm good." " Your hemorrhoids flaring up or something?" "You need to watch the show from the back of the room." "You can stand up back there." "You can watch the show from there." "Can we go on with the show?" "Thank you very much." "(all applauding)" " All in." " Cyril:" "You're bluffing." " Call me." " I'm in." "Flush." "Okay, fine." "You know, give ben some chips." "Come on." "Lucas?" "Thank you." "And then run..." "over there, yeah." " Okay." " And then you gotta get that one." "Good." "Yes." "Yes!" "Good rally." "And it's back on the table... good." "Careful." "Don't go in the street." "Ibou?" "(horns honking)" "Where's the weed?" "Ibou: ben." "(grunting)" "(panting)" "Ibou!" " What's wrong?" "Huh?" "Hey." " I'm okay." " Hey, what happened?" " It's nothing." " Nothing, i am fine." " What?" "Did your sugar spike?" "I inject already." " You in... inject?" " Yeah." "I have speaking engagement at "good morning, america."" "(crashing)" " Ibou, come on." "Hospital." " No." " I speak on game theory." " Okay." " I have to go to "good morning, america."" " This way." " We go now, yeah?" " Yeah, we go now." " Okay, come on." " Speak on game theory." "Wait a minute!" "Sir, i need that." "Wait, stay here." "Stay here." "It's okay." "Stay here." "Wait, sir." "I have a medical emergency." "Your vehicle is property of the city, bro." "My friend is diabetic." "He needs to get to a doctor." "Sir?" "Sir, i think he's in shock!" "You should have thought about that before you parked, right?" "Wait!" "Wait!" "Wait, ibou." "Ibou, wait wait wait." "I have to..." "come over here." "Come over here and sit down and wait here, okay?" "I have to call." "Stay here, stay here." "Just stay, okay?" "Don't move." "Oh, shit." "(dialing)" "Operator: 9- 1-1." "What is your emergency?" "(muttering)" "Your friend's blood sugar spiked precipitously, probably while he slept." "He must've woken up and injected himself with insulin." "Is he gonna be all right?" "Mr. N'diyae has gone into a diabetic coma." "He could come out of it tomorrow or it could be months, even years." "Does mr." "N'diyae have family?" "Um... (distant siren)" "(hockey announcer speaking on tv)" "Do the doctors think he'll get better?" "They don't know." "Can i see him?" "You don't want to watch the game?" "(machines beeping)" "He looks like he's dreaming." "Maybe he's dreaming he's back in senegal." "No, there's no r.e.m." "He's a meat puppet." "You took her to see a coma patient?" "Jesus christ, ben, what were you thinking?" "I wasn't thinking anything." "Well, i'm sorry." "I know that you two were close." "What do you tell her... when she asks about things?" "What things?" "I don't know... us, our differences." "You mean like "who left who and why?"" "Well, i lie, ben." "For god's sakes, i lie." "Are you happy here in this house with the gas light?" "You know, sometimes i look at things through your eyes, and i think... what an asshole i am and, you know, i hate my hair." "But then when i look at things through my own eyes, i don't know, i realize that... i'm happier." "You've empowered yourself." ""At the end of missour-er by the great western fir, lies the cold wet town of north happier-er-er."" "Bufford wants to see you." " You wanted to see me?" " Yeah." "We missed the e.t.a. On the pratt/hodges/parradine/ holland/thurston docs on account of you being four hours late friday." "That deal was worth $10 million to the firm." "My roommate went into a diabetic coma." "Yeah?" "Well, we're letting you go." "(knocking)" "Get prepped, all right?" "I've been working here for eight years." " (phone rings)" " Noted." "Bottom line..." "you cost the firm money." "Yeah?" "What's up?" "How was your trip?" "Nah, just putting out fires." "Woman on tv:" "Well, then, i guess this is goodbye." "Man on tv:" "Have you been injured?" "Fired unlawfully?" "Victim of asbestos?" "Harassment in the workplace?" "Never bring a knife to a gunfight." "We come armed to the teeth with every legal weapon available." "We are lawyers, investigators, specialists... everyone to even the odds." "Even the odds!" "Call this number on the screen." "Marty rowe..." "the voice of the victim." "You're accusing the city of depraved indifference?" "The city employee who impounded my car was apprised of mr." "N'diyae's diabetic condition just before leaving him half-conscious in the street." "To prove depraved indifference, you'd have to first prove that the city's lack of compassion is systemic." "Or you could prove the opposite by agreeing to hear my case." "The presumption being that if i refuse to hear your case, i'm guilty of depraved indifference?" "Your honor, motion to dismiss." "This is a waste of the court's time." "May 3rd, 12:00 p.m." "Your honor, this whole lawsuit is completely frivolous." "How can it hurt to hear the case?" "Oh, you must be ben." "I am khadi." "So this is your side of the room." "I'm behind the curtains." "Sorry, we only have one bathroom." "It's okay." "Tomorrow... ben?" "Tomorrow, i... i cook you senegalese meal, tiebou dienne." "It is our national dish." "You eat it and you are wolof for an hour." "You are what you eat, right?" "Look, this isn't quid pro quo." "Just 'cause i'm giving you a roof over your head doesn't mean you have to cook for me." "(door opens)" "I need help." "Please." "Yeah." "Oh, you have a wonderful country." "Anything you ever dreamed of is there for your fingertips if you have money." " Oh!" " Are we opening a foot locker?" "I do not understand." "Shoes." "Even the fruit is beautiful here." "Yeah... genetically engineered not to bruise." "But it tastes like cardboard... courtesy of the man." "I think i like your man." "(khadi snoring)" "Why are you dressed like a pizza delivery boy?" "I just got off work." "Well, what happened to proofreading?" "I wanted something more challenging." "Where's sandra?" "Um, oh, didn't you get the message?" "Oh, no, she's at a sleepover at a friend's, yeah." "I mean, she didn't want to go 'cause it was your weekend, but she gets so few invitations, and i just sort of felt like... no, that's all right." "I'm glad she went." " Okay, good." " I'll see her next weekend." "Um, no." "Actually, you won't because we have the school camping trip, so... you want to... um, you want to come in for a sec?" "No, that's all right." "I'll see you later, eliza." "(machines beeping)" "What is..." "what is happening?" "His blood pressure went down." "Can we clear the room, please?" "I will stay here." "So what's with the sneakers?" "Sneakers?" "The nikes." "Oh, yes." "The nikes." "It is very hard to get nikes in our tiny little spot on the globe." "(speaks wolof)" "It is a wolof expression." ""If you do not have it, it is a treasure."" "Now you tell me, please, american phrase." "Okay." "Well... in america, we have a phrase, "bottom line."" "Bottom line?" "Yeah." "Yeah, it's the line from an accountant's form that tells you your net value, but we use it when we're about to do something that we know is wrong." "Like, we'll say," ""bottom line... she isn't pretty enough," before we dump a girlfriend or, "bottom line..." "he doesn't fit into the company,"" "before we fire a guy with three kids." ""Bottom line... he does not fit into the company."" "Right." "You understand bottom line, you understand america." "In dakar, we all have eye on america." "We see it on tv, in the magazines." "It is truly the land of more." "Senegal is a very very small country." "We all are poor, except a very very few." "Bottom line." "Back to his rugged self." "That doctor is..." "(speaks wolof)." "Hmm?" "Asshole." "She is asshole." "She treats people like they are water... one is the same as another." " Oh." " Excuse me." "(man singing in wolof)" "I will... i will be returning home this afternoon." "Back to dakar?" "Yes." "I am out of funds." "Well, you spent it all on footwear." "Thank you for..." "for everything." "Well, if ibou... when ibou..." "i'll tell him." "Yes, thank you." "Yeah." "This is from your brother's safety deposit box." "He would have wanted you to have it." " (rings doorbell)" " Pieworks delivery." "Oh, yeah." "Can you hold on just one sec, please?" "Yeah, no, it's just the timing is really tough for me." "(girls laughing)" "Girls, no running." "So that's one half mushrooms, one half anchovies, right?" "Thank you." "Thank you." "(car alarm sounding)" "(engine starts)" "Khadi:" "There must be no light except for the votive candles." "It is..." "(speaks wolof), wolof ritual, to make him get better." "You help, no?" "Oh." "No, i'll pass." "Thanks." "Come here, ben." "Seriously, you don't want me." "I'll send bad vibes or something." "Please, it is better with two." "In wolof, we have saying:" "(speaks wolof)" ""Thoughts are things."" "This substance is my brother who we are longing to get better." "We ask his ancestors who are here to think these same healing thoughts." "It has no weight, a thought... no charge, no properties." "Thoughts do not exist, not the way a chair exists." "They cannot die." "We believe in the power of our ancestors because we believe their thoughts and feelings are forever." "It is salt water from the ocean." "It is now a quiet wave... like him." "Move your fingers through the water." "Do it like it is a living thing." "But it's..." "it's sea water." "You do not believe in magic, no?" "But magic is everywhere." "Feelings are magic, no?" "The feelings people have;" "what a feeling can do to another person... it is like chemical reaction." "Put your eyes here." "We both love him." "Let the feelings talk." "Wait." "Please." "We leave now." "You must not look behind." "If you look behind, he will not get better." "I'm sorry." "I don't know why i... hmm." "My first day of school." "Ibou walked me." "He always held a big stick to protect me from snakes." "I was not afraid of snakes, but i never told him." "You were close." "That is fatou, my mother." "After my father left, ibou became our prince." "He could do no wrong." "She save for him to go to u.s. For a better life." "It is all she thought about." "After he left, she was feeling terrible grief, and then there was nothing left." "I can count the number of times i was kissed." "Once when i turned nine, and the other when i turned 10." "I felt a spot on my cheek for days, and it made me sad, tragically sad." "Mmm." "I was a very tragic little girl walking around with my unkissed face." "(dog barking)" "(pan sizzling)" "Excuse me." "Can you drive me, please, to the hospital?" "(pager buzzes)" "Jesus." "(buzzing)" "I heard you the first time." "And you figure what's the hurry, right?" "What could possibly be the hurry in an intensive care unit?" "Man:" "How can i help you?" "Ben: how long has it been since you've changed his sheets?" "What do you figure, "skip the vegetable"?" "Is that it?" "Man: i'll..." "i'll get new bedding." "Oh, thanks." "Terrific." "I'm getting a sandwich." "Do you want anything?" "Oh, no..." "no thank you." "Ben?" " I, uh..." " i'll be right back." "(objects scraping)" " (speaks wolof)" " Yeah, i know." ""Thoughts are things."" "Are you one of those things?" "Is that why you're in my dreams?" "It's all about expectations." "She never told you to back off." "It was pretty obvious." "How much of your life is your fault and how much is the world's?" "That is your big question." "You have no career, you've been fired from your job, your own daughter won't speak to you." "Bottom line... you can't even earn a living." "That's what it's all about for you, isn't it?" "Money." "Let's take money out of the equation." "What would you like it to be all about?" "Hey, there he is." "Hey, i'm glad you came." "I want to talk to you." "Come over here." "Somebody's birthday?" "Cassie got a gig on a show." "So i found that while i was going through my kids' old c.d.s." "(laughs) You're outted, bro." "L... i googled you." "You were the third-biggest kiddie singer in the country." "You played the pasadena civic center." "God, i don't know what happened, but we've got to get you back on that kiddie gravy train." "All right, i know what you're thinking." ""Why me?" Well, i'm gonna tell you." "Uh, because... i have no talent." "None." "Zip." "I used to copy other kids' drawings in art class." "I'm not kidding..." "i cheated in art." "So this is an ego-free zone." "When did you find out about this?" "What difference does it make?" "If i wanted a parasite, i'd eat raw pork." "What?" "Wait." "You're beating your hands against a boulder." "(ringing)" "Hey." " Where's sandra?" " She's at her friend's house." "They're doing a book report together." "I'm sorry." "I should have called you." "(door closes)" "(doorbell rings)" "I want to talk to her." "She's at her friend's house." "Ben." " Sandra?" " ben." " Sandra!" " Is there a problem?" "No, evan, i can handle this." " Let me handle it, okay?" " Yeah." "Okay, evan?" "Go back to the den with your toolbox." " i've got it." " Sandra?" "That wasn't very nice." "Well, i think the director of acquisitiveness can take it." "Director of acquisitions." "Director of acquisitions, vice president of greed..." "whatever." " You know what he is." " ben, get out of the house" " or i am calling the police." " I have a right to see my daughter." "You can't keep her locked up here like a prisoner." "Like a prisoner?" "Ben, she is the one who doesn't want to see you." "You... you want to know why?" "Because you make her feel bad." "You know, you poison the air around her with all of your complaining." "And have you ever ever asked her one question about herself?" "I mean, you can't even see that your own daughter is hurting." "I mean, she doesn't have any friends." "She's confused." "(suitcase rolling)" "You coming?" "So do you want to go to mcrory's?" "No, let's go ice skating." "Dad, i don't know how to skate." "Well, maybe it's time you learned." "Dad, i think the needle's on empty." "Oh." "That means there's a half gallon left in the tank." "They just do that so you'll buy more than you need." "It's a conspiracy between the car companies and the oil companies." "What kind of neighborhood doesn't have a gas station?" "Residential ones, i guess." "I'm sorry." "I really wanted you to have a good time tonight." "It's okay, dad." "It's an adventure... sort of." "(air pump humming)" "God damn it." "(humming)" "Okay, now move the pot sideways." "Yes, and then the other side." "Yes, like that." "Mmm." "What do you do in dakar?" "I, uh..." "i work in hotel." "I don't mean to be ethnocentric or anything, but do you get paid below-subsistence wages, like $5 a day or anything?" "My life is one of misery and pain." "Does that make you feel better?" " I'm sorry." " (laughs)" "I was being shallow and stupid." "I was being a total asshole american." "My country is very different from yours, but we have fun too." "There are clubs, we have music." "We listen to a lot of music." "We senegalese love to dance." "(folk music playing)" "Go on, try it." "I'm so inept at dancing." "There ought to be a special ring in hell for the guy who invented the air mattress." "You are being ethnocentric." "Come on." "I'm a total klutz!" "Try it." "Sandra:" "I know." "It's genetic." "You are making her self-conscious." "You want me to leave?" "Okay." "Okay, yes!" "Yes!" "(laughs)" "(drums playing)" "Wow!" " wow." " Ahh!" "You wore her out." "Here." "That was fun." "Bye." "Khadi:" "This is mistake." "I did not want to do this again." "Ben:" "Why?" "Khadi:" "I do not want to be... how you say?" " Your mistress." "My mistress?" "There is no time for anything else." "I have two weeks left on my visa." "To stay here, i would need green card." "But you... we do not know each other enough." "It is impossible." "We are like different species." "We are like lion and hippo trying to mate." "Which one is the hippo?" "You." "Do i look like a hippo?" "So you don't think there's any hope for us at all?" "None..." " mmm?" "...whatsoever." "I am bad." "I see something i like and i must have it." "I am greedy." "There's nothing bad about you." "You do not know every part of me." "What part don't i know?" "Right here... and here... and here." "I know it a little." "Get to know it better." "How come you quit singing for children, ben?" "The record company said that they'd produce an acoustic solo album if i went on a national children's tour." "And the record company went back on its word?" "No, they produced it, but they dumped it." "They didn't promote it." "They didn't advertise." "They said it wasn't accessible." "Bottom line." "Yeah." "Bottom line." "You have c." "D?" "The one the record company did not want to promote?" "You don't want to hear that." "I would like to hear it." "You're probably one of 10 people who's heard this." "(guitar music playing)" "I see why you got angry." "It is maybe too quiet for the world." "(fly buzzing)" "(buzzing stops)" "Bailiff:" "All rise." "Judge:" "Be seated." "You guys multiply like amoebas." "How could the tow-truck driver know that towing mr." "Singer's car would lead to mr." "Nidia's... n'diyae." " Mr. N'diyae going into a diabetic coma?" "I mean, is he a doctor?" "Is he a trained nurse?" "The fact is, ben singer was parked illegally and the tow-truck driver simply did his job." "Your honor, this is a no-brainer." "I know i'm just a..." "a joke to you, and you only decided to hear my case because you were amused." "Some crackpot acting as his own attorney accusing the city of depraved indifference." "You know what the most crowded room is in the getty museum?" "It's the room with van gogh's "irises."" "Why?" "Because someone bought the painting for $54 million." "There's a reverential silence in the iris room." "Mr. And mrs." "Museum-goer might as well be looking at a framed pile of cash." "Newspapers publish movie grosses." "If a movie earns over $100 million, we assume it must be good." "There's no god." "There's no beauty." "If a painting or a c.d. Doesn't sell, throw it out." "The 910 freeway has a very sharp turn as it winds into the valley from the hills, and every year four or five motorists are killed on this spot." "The city conducted a cost-and-effect study, and the study concluded that the cost in terms of human life was not equal to the cost of rebuilding the highway." "And so this deadly spot on the highway remains, and in five years 20 more people will die." "Well, if this isn't depraved indifference, i don't know what is." "Ibou n'diyae came here from senegal." "He worked as a guard at an outlet store in carson." "He's a great chess player." "He's my friend... and he was thrown away." "Well, what kind of a world do we live in that his life is worth less than this nobody's ability to get quickly into a parking space or the city impound's need for revenue, so that each one of these amoebas" "can have a beach house in miami?" "Is that really the kind of world we want to live in?" "Bailiff:" "All rise." "My sympathy is with mr." "N'diyae and i wish him a speedy recovery." "However, a tow-truck driver is not a trained medical diagnostician and should not be expected to behave like one." "Bottom line... you were parked in the wrong place at the wrong time." "I rule in favor of the defense." "I hope the western world survives." "Can't we just agree to disagree?" "Fuck you." "Khadi:" "I think we made a connection, yes." "Ibou:" "Do you think he will marry you?" "Yes, i think he will marry me." "Get green card then." "You get green card, there is more opportunity for you." "Ah, oui." "Mm-hmm." "That is all good, khadi." "Are you feeling okay?" "Hmm?" "Okay, sir, we're gonna get you up in the wheelchair now." " (khadi speaks wolof) - oui." "Here you go." "(sighs)" "Did you really think that you'd get away with it?" "What are you talking about, ben?" "Did you really think that i was gonna walk down the aisle with you while you were picking my fucking pocket?" "Jesus, you're really something with your bullshit african dancing and your "i'm gonna cook you a wolof meal."" "The whole time, you're nothing but a con artist." "L... i do not know why you are saying these things." "Don't give me that innocence crap." "The whole time you've been playing me." "You've been prostituting yourself for an american citizenship." "Remember that slap." "It's the last time we touch." "(knock on door)" "Eh!" "(speaks wolof)" "(repeats phrase)" "The angry man, huh?" "It's good to see you back in the land of the living." "Eh, maybe i go back into coma, eh?" "(laughs)" "Is she here?" "Khadi went back to dakar." "You know, ben, she was not only after your green card." "It is possible to love someone and to also want something from them." "Game theory." "Ideally, we'd keep you a couple more days, but medicaid stops paying once your vitals are normal." "Any pain, any dizziness or pain here, you call, okay?" "Okay, doctor." "Well, it's all about liability." "They'll release you when your life is still in danger, but you gotta be in a wheelchair." "You know, has anyone ever told you that maybe you are a bit too negative, eh, ben?" "So do you remember anything from the coma?" "Hmm." "It... it..." "it was like the world went away;" "like the whole world was on vacation, yeah?" "It... it was much quieter without the world." "And... and then i missed it." "And now that the world is back, it is kind of like your child that you have not seen in a while." "You know?" "Listen." "(dog barking)" " do you hear?" " (horn honks)" "That... that there..." "the honking of the car, the dog bark... there is something very friendly about it." "It is good to have it back, ben." "Hey, how you feelin', ibou?" "You want coffee?" "(speaks wolof)" "(crying)" "(beeps)" "(chatting in wolof)" " Man: mr." "Ben." " Hello." " Welcome to senegal." " Thank you." "We are over here." "(man singing in wolof)" "(chatting in wolof)" "I am glad you came all the way to dakar." "He would have wanted you to be here." "Those things that i said, i know i can't take them back... but you want to take them back." "Yes." "Ibou talked about you in his letters." "You know what he called you?" ""The good man."" "He answers ad to share rent and you treat him like a friend." "He wrote about you a lot." "You are a good man." "You gave him heart." "You gave him magic." "That is how i will..." "i will think of you." "I don't want you to think of me." "I don't want it to be in the past tense." "I made a mistake." "What do you want?" "Me to come to america with you?" "Get my green card?" "Do you... you want to stay here in dakar with me?" "What... what happened with us was... a fantasy." "This is where i live." "My friends are here." "It has its own smells, this country." "I missed it." "I like it here." "This is my home." "(speaks wolof)" "Excuse me." "(thunder rumbling)" "No no, it's no problem at all." "(indistinct speaking)" "So how are things?" "I mean, at school and stuff." "They're okay." "Some of the kids... make fun of me sometimes." "Well, the world can be a bad place." "Sometimes people act like assholes just to fit in." "You mean it's a defense mechanism, like a chameleon?" "Yeah." "But most people are basically okay." "What about the man?" "He's a schmuck, but he's not adolf hitler." " That's reassuring." " It is?" "Actually it is." "I don't know why, but... it is." "I want you to have good expectations." "You're young." "You're bright." "You're pretty." "Of course you'd say that." "You're my dad." "Well, i would tell you if you were a depressing, ugly little shit." "No, you wouldn't." "Bye, dad." "Bye." "(inaudible)" "(guitar music playing)" "Hey, how you doin'?" "Thanks for coming out." "My name is cyril hedges and i kind of helped put this whole thing together, so i really appreciate you guys coming." "Quick thing, though..." "has anyone seen my lucky socks?" " Kids: no!" "Yeah!" " I don't know where they are and i really... i can't start until i find them." " (kids shouting)" " And i just don't know where... i'm sorry?" "No, socks don't belong in your pockets." "I don't know why you would think that that's... i don't know why you're saying that." "They're not behind me." "Behind me?" "Behind... behind me, with the pink toe." "Okay, i got them." "All right." "All right, we're good to go." "So please welcome to the stage, ladies and groundhogs, ben singer!" "Hello." "Hi, everybody." "L... i guess i'm back." "(vocalizing)" "* late july and it's carnival time * * we're together and the weather's fine... *" " (clapping) - * take my hand and we'll get in line * * this day might never end * * there's a big wheel towering above our heads * * kaleidoscope turning yellow, green and red *" "* "you can see forever from the top," they said * * and summer's here again * * and the world is spinning out in space * * the sun is shining down on your face *" "* think of all that we might do * * ride on the wheel of fortune, spinning too * * we're spinning too. *" "(vocalizing)" "(kids cheering, applauding)" "(guitar music playing)" "* you just go anywhere you want to * * summer wind * you just go anywhere you want to * * summer wind" "* you pay no mind to what we say * * you ramble in and then you blow away * * oh, please come back again and stay * * summer wind" "* you came up here from the south now * * summer wind" "* you came up here from the south now * * summer wind" "* you brought the good times to the north * * you said, "am i welcome?" And we all said, "of course" * * and then opened the windows * * and opened the doors to the summer wind *" "* you take the clouds out for a ride now * * summer wind" "* you take the clouds out for a ride now * * summer wind" "* we lie around and watch them pass * * out in the park with our backs on the grass * * oh, and the clouds they try * * to make us laugh, summer wind *" "* i think of you when the deep snow falls * * summer wind" "* i think of you when the deep snow falls * * summer wind * i can almost hear your breezy sound * * and i can picture anna's hair blowing up and down *" "* the seasons just keep turning around * * in the summer wind" "* oh, summer wind * summer wind" "* in the summer wind." "(mimicking wind)"