This is a true story.
Jimmy!
Little Brother!
Hey Jimmy!
Little Brother, wake up!
Wake up!
Come on!
It's time to get up.
Are you still in pain?
Black girls!
Come on!
- You coming to town?
- No.
Cows busted the trough.
Got ot go fix it.
- You wonder I should leave the horse?
- No.
Are you sure?
My headache is coming...
I have the tickets here
for my brother and me.
The army sent them to us. And
I have an authorization letter too.
You've awake now.
TOPEKA, KANSAS
THE MENNINGER SCHOOL OF PSYCHIATRY
STAFFS and RESIDENTS, 1946
You went blind?
Third time this year, sir.
You don't need to "sir" me.
When it happens
does everything go black, or...
It's flecks of light.
But then they go away.
Where were you injured?
In France.
No, I meant
where on your body.
He fractured his skull in the war.
And the Fort Benton VA said that
they couldn't do anything for us so
they sent us here.
That's a long trip.
They even paid for our tickets.
Well, they damn right to.
The Winter Hospital is the
best place in the country
for brain traumas.
After the war, my brother
lost his job with the railroad.
He couldn't hear the trains
anymore, because of his ears.
And then it was his eyes.
The headache are the worse.
He can't even breathe. It scares me.
We keep him with us now, at my ranch.
My husband says the army
didn't do the x-rays right.
Maybe there is a shard of bone
or something that they missed.
Okay, it's on.
We'll run a whole new set of tests
and get you back on your feet.
You fought for your country.
This is the least they can do for you.
If they open my brain
it will kill me.
Sunday
you can go to church.
Hello, time to go now.
Your brother will be home soon.
It wasn't a life you are living,
you are only half alive.
Next please!
- Name please?
- James Picard.
When were you demobbed?
February 1945.
- Division?
- 66th Armored Regiment. 10 Corp. Corporal.
Do you know your blood type?
No, ma'am.
Are you married?
Divorced.
Any children?
Not exactly.
How can someone
"not exactly" have children?
- Another man brought up my daughter.
- Oh.
Six foot one and a half.
I just want you to describe
the situation you see,
what the people think
and what the outcome is.
You're not answering?
Eyes right.
Down.
What do you see on the card?
I'll tell you about a picture
I see every night.
A picture of a high wall.
Long and deep.
And I was standing on top of it.
I always feel like I want to fall off
but I never do.
And here?
Is this a dream that you're telling me?
It's in my head though...
Our x-ray shows no
sign of a current fracture.
Possible traces but
there's a shadow here.
Your guess?
Diploid vascular markings.
Nothing serious.
He was wounded
during the war, wasn't he?
The records unclear.
He supposedly was in a coma
for more than two days but...
I really can't say.
I saw a scar.
He gets disability compensation.
He's definitely partial
hearing loss in the left ear.
The eardrum?
But I found no physiological
explanation for it.
Cerebral activity is perfectly normal.
We could make him some glasses...
He has diplopia or
narrow gaze, that's all.
Great!
So we have a vet who is
an invalid in perfect health!
Dr. Holt?
He passed his psychologicals?
Patient refused to comply.
He kept saying his head hurt.
Jokl, have you seen our new recruit?
No. Not yet.
I'm seeing him tomorrow.
But I little listed all symptoms
you have described.
Migraines, diplopia,
bright spots, suffocation,
ventricular pain,
temporary paralysis of the left arm,
hemiplegic sensation.
I'm adding catatonia
and autistic withdrawal...
I'm afraid it rather
sounds like mental disorder.
Sometimes
the guys says he doesn't
know if he's awake or dreaming.
So you have, cat and rat case.
You mean... schizophrenia?
Gentlemen, we were supposed
to create a haven here.
For every man.
Have we ever treated an...?
No.
We only have one Indian.
The catatonic.
Shelling in Okinawa.
Dear sir,
Dr. Menninger suggested
that I write to you.
We have an Indian patient
who in terms of our usual criteria,
may conceivably be psychotic.
At the same time, it is possible
that we maybe misevaluating
his psychiatric status
since he maybe merely an Indian,
whose personality and behavior
we do not fully understand.
For this reason, a consultation
with an anthropologist is required.
Dr. RR Holt, reporting to
the the ward physician.
BROOKLYN, NY
It's for me.
(Thank you).
Georges Devereux speaking.
What a pain to have
to call you in a bar.
Oh Karl , my friend.
I'm a bit pissed at you these days,
but it's great to hear your voice.
What's new in Topeka?
Well I'll look into that...
Did you get our letter
from our psychologist?
Dr. Holt got it.
And it happens that
I am free at the moment.
Well don't get carried away.
I still can't bring you aboard here.
All we need is a
psychiatric evaluation.
We have an Indian here.
Which ethnic group?
I'm looking at the report now...
- Siksika.
- A blackfoot!
Don't tell me you know the blackfoot.
Two weeks ago, Margaret Mead
came to town and
told me fascinating
things about the Blackfoot.
The family structure is
so close to the Mojaves.
I'm sure you'll be able
to lend us a hand.
The administration
has agreed to one
or two consultations.
Three days tops.
Yeah I have the flight
schedule right here,
I can be in Topeka tonight.
- You will be taking a train.
- Perfect...
Second class.
And this is not a full time job offer,
it is a one shot consultation.
- See you soon.
- Goodbye.
Goodbye.
Topeka!
On behalf of the
Veterans Administration
and the Winter Hospital staff
I'd like to welcome our newcomers.
Men, we have lots of telephones...
You have to take this.
... encourage you to stay in touch
with your loved ones and
they are free at cost.
If you have any questions about
your compensation or your disability
let us know and we'll
help to the best we can.
We have incoming mail at 8
and mail goes out at 4.
There is a bus definitely twice a day.
If you have any questions,
my door is always open.
Feel free to come and we'll take
care of whatever issues you have.
- What the fuck.
- Come on.
- Come on, get him off!
- Take it up!
Somebody call the duty doctors.
A chance for your light?
That kid scared you
a little, didn't he?
I don't know what I'm doing here.
I can't say grobal.
Boilermaker, please.
Can I see your ID?
If the cops show up, you're Mexican.
So, where were you?
Army, Navy?
Army.
You're at the hospital
for busted heads, right?
I'm in the dark there.
Nobody tells me a fucking thing.
You a Pawnee?
Can't be.
'Cause I'd know you.
What you doing in Topeka?
I have never seen an Indian
nurse at the Winter Hospital.
You must be a labourer.
10 o'clock curfew?
Baby got to go to bed?
Rise and shine!
What's the matter boys?
Time to clean up.
Wakey! Wakey!
Was it necessary?
The alcohol and the tranquilizers.
I couldn't take that chance.
Do Indians commit suicide?
I don't know.
The ticket, please sir.
- Your ticket.
- Uh, of course. Where did I put that?
This?
No. Here it is.
Welcome to the Wild West!
It's good to see you again, Devereux.
Your client is no piece of cake.
He hasn't spoken one
word in two weeks.
Yesterday he went into town and
came back dead drunk,
with a bottle of liquor.
Which have been to closest to war...
- He was violent?
- Oh no.
The guy was very quiet.
Behold our Indian brave!
You already know Dr. Jokl,
our psychiatrist, and Dr. Holt.
This is Dr. Devereux.
Good morning.
He came from New York just for you.
To record, push down.
Oh thank you.
I don't think we will need it.
Have a nice chat.
You can have a seat if you wish.
May I introduce myself.
I am the hospital anthropologist.
I am interested in Indians.
And if you don't mind,
I'd like to find out
a few things about you.
What is your Indian name?
Oh-Gunidep-Puyop.
Oh, I don't speak Pikunni.
May I ask you what it means?
"Everybody talks about him."
Which society does
your family belong to?
"Crazy Dogs" society.
And to what church do you belong?
I am Catholic.
Dr. Holt told me you
dream a great deal.
In what language do you dream in?
In English, most of the time.
What is the blackfoot
word for "dream"?
Ipa-pong-kaa.
As you can hear
I was born in Europe and
my English sounds a bit rough.
- Does it bother you?
- No.
So...
Tell me about your parents.
My father died of heart
trouble when I was five.
I was raised by my older
sister and brother-in-law.
What about your mother?
My mother was very strict.
Was your mother
a 'manly hearted' woman?
Huh.
Did I say something silly?
How do you know that?
In Mojave we say
'manly hearted' woman.
How do you say it in blackfoot?
Mukakya-ki.
My mother ran her place like a man.
My sister is the same way.
Can you talk to me about your sister?
My sister doesn't drink or smoke.
She's a mission school girl.
She is the oldest child.
She married to an important
functionary of the tribe.
His name is Jack.
By what kinship
the rimbulu called him?
My brother-in-law,
Nestamu.
Do you have any brothers?
Yes, but I don't see much of them.
I am the youngest.
You seem to think of your sister
much the same way
you think of your mother.
They are almost the same in my mind.
You admire your
sister a lot, don't you?
Yes
And what do you do
as an anthropologist?
Well...
we study all aspects of human beings.
Language, techniques,
physiology...
That's why you want
to learn Indian words?
Yes.
I lived with the Mojave for two years.
- In the desert?
- Yes.
I was able to learn their
language and their history.
What is life like for the Mojave?
Not as desperate as the Navajos.
But they have a pretty hard time.
Not to offend you,
but whites do not like us much.
That doesn't affect me at all.
It is strange living in a place
where people are soul sick.
- Do you want to smoke?
- No.
First, I brush some ink on the paper.
And then
you can draw with your finger.
Easy, here we are.
What should I draw?
Whatever you want.
I'm not good at drawing.
What is it?
A landscape.
Perfect.
Both drawings are
separated into 3 strips.
But the boundaries are not cut off.
There is a hidden part
here in the buttress.
And a route crosses
through the strips.
So there is no fractioning.
I see no trace of schizophrenia,
neither latent, nor
- Are you sure?
- I'd stake my life on it.
This man is not mad.
He must be removed as quickly
as possible from the closed ward.
George! Two pictures
are all you need?
Oh, more than enough.
At the base of this drawing
a completely repressed
pre-Oedipal stage.
Here, a house.
for a right-handed heterosexual male,
the mother, or a mother equivalent.
Two mountains, are the breasts.
And threatening clouds
above his sister's ranch.
The patient depicts
himself in front of a barn.
He wouldn't talk to anybody,
doctors or patients.
You asked for my opinion, here it is.
Jimmy Picard is not crazy.
Or else you have to lock up
half of our fellow citizens.
So, what is he suffering from?
I guess what we all suffer from.
So what do you suggests we do?
George, you know how I feel.
But the AAP needs
paperwork, anything legal.
No! Karl, they'll get their papers.
Hey, you're not even an MD.
I know, no psychoanalysis.
Just counseling.
Research counseling, got it?
- Control session with Jokl?
- Jokl.
If they don't work out, you
go straight back to New York.
Terrific!
I may have administration wise,
but let me tell you, Mon'Amie...
that doesn't allow
you to break the rules.
Which rules am I going to break here?
Don't be exuberant!
Is your British friend
still in New York?
- Madeleine?
- Trs charmant! (Very charming)
Jeanetta and I were wondering
if she might pay us a visit.
Nah, I bet she would.
If Jimmy is not sick,
then isn't that good news?
Since we found nothing physiological,
we were wondering whether
the illness may be psychiatric.
However Mr. Devereux doesn't
consider you a schizophrenic.
Then...
I can go home?
I think you're in real pain.
You can see Mr. Devereux,
for a while, an hour a day.
He can't treat you, in
the strict sense of the word.
But maybe he can help.
You should not have drank here.
- You should drink less.
- Hello!
Dr. Devereux has asked us to
move you into another ward.
Hello, my name is Alma.
What do we have here?
I have the school records.
Look!
They thought the world of you.
You can take your time now.
The rapport was good
and simplify sufficient.
The patient reacted in a
spontaneous and normal manner.
I decided to study
and counsel the patient.
Come in, please.
Follow me.
It's an unorthodox
setting, but anyway...
You don't look too good.
Just a slight fever.
Don't worry.
Did you dream anything?
I had a dream last night.
I was butchering some beef.
What breed of cattle was it?
White face, Hereford.
Hereford.
What was the locality of the dream?
On my sister's ranch.
Doctor, when I go to bed,
I'm always short of breath.
Could you explain how it feels?
Well, as soon as I lied down,
I'm afraid my heart will miss a beat.
I always have to get up
and get some water.
I also have these
attacks in the afternoon.
Stepping back to your dream.
What does it make you think of?
The other night, I read an
article in a magazine,
about a... couple in Alaska.
And they butchered three moose.
Do you think that's possible?
That's a lot of meat for two people.
Well, I couldn't say.
The night before,,
I had a nightmare.
I had a fight with a man.
I could not run away,
or raise my arms.
I couldn't yell for help.
The man took out his knife
and went through me.
I woke up and
jumped out of bed.
I don't know who the man was.
How would the old Blackfoot
interpret such a dream?
I don't know much about
the old Blackfoot ways.
What did this man look like?
He was big and tall.
That much I remember.
Was this man an Indian or a white?
The man was white.
He was an American.
He wore blue overalls.
- Well, do your brothers dress like that?
- No.
My brothers wear dressy
clothes to go into town.
How about your father?
My father wore a blue
serge suit to go to church.
I was very young when he died.
I don't remember much about him.
Do you see any connection
between the two dreams?
They both have knives.
The Blackfoot believe that
dreams foretold the future.
We think that dreams shed
a little light on the past.
That is why I am interested in them.
Come on, just say anything
that goes through your mind.
I wonder about going back to school.
They offer an AAD in leatherwork.
I got a good record in college.
My sister brought the records.
They're with my papers.
I got a daughter, you know.
I saw that in your file.
I had her very young.
Her mother died three years ago.
Her family is from Spokane.
I married another woman.
What did you call her, the
woman who had a child by you?
I called her Jane.
It tsi kay sha pini akii.
It means:
"Bright Eyed Girl".
Very nice.
I want my daughter
to come and live with me.
She's in high school.
She doesn't like being with her
grandmother, though she doesn't complain.
The two of them live all
alone way out in the country.
Later on, maybe
I'll get married again.
What is her Indian name?
She has none.
- Well, tell me what is her English name?
- Mary Lou.
How old is Mary Lou?
Thirteen.
Is she already a woman?
I mean, is your daughter
passed her puberty?
She visited us...
Two years ago, I lived
with a Kaini woman.
She got along very well with Mary Lou.
Afterwards she went back to Canada.
How old was this Kaini woman?
She was my age.
Do Blackfoot usually marry
a woman their own age?
I never thought about that.
What kind of a wife do you want?
Okay.
I have to leave you now.
It is four thirty.
I come to see you tomorrow.
Doctor...
In the last few days, I
haven't had any headaches.
Well, you see!
Not only are you not going crazy here,
but even your headaches have stopped.
That's right.
I'm .
Good day.
Tomorrow.
Hello Jimmy!
Dr. Devereux asked me to tell you,
he cannot see you today.
He is not feeling well
and need some bed rest.
But not to worry, he'll
be on his feet tomorrow.
Desmond?
Is that where the French doctor lives?
All the new doctors stay there.
Look at this.
Good Lord.
Peace time!
Anyhow, he was on borrowed time.
I'm not getting up.
Please have this chair.
You don't look any better.
No, I'll be perfectly fine,
thank you. Please, sit.
I've been divorced for years.
Yet I feel like I'm just loafing
around waiting for my ex-wife.
What do you feel you
lost with this woman?
I'm sorry about my house.
Well, do you mean house or home?
House and all that land.
900 acres.
You see when I left, Lily got
the house... and all that land.
And she had no kids to worry about.
Then... when I came
back from the war
I got off the train,
I had no place to go.
She had taken up with another man.
And this man was
living off my army pay.
I felt like killing him.
I know how it feels.
My brother-in-law told me not
to ruin my life over a woman.
So instead,
I got Jack's car,
went to the lawyer,
and the divorce came
through in nine days.
I miss her...
How about sexual relations?
I had girls back home.
That's a nice pen, doctor.
Oh, I write down all that you say
to think about it afterwards.
You don't worry, do you?
It's exactly what I said.
Yes.
Lily...
I'm not proud of it, but...
I'm afraid from time to time I've had to
give a woman a good slap, you know.
It helps to clear
the air, doesn't it?
Me, I could never hit a woman.
In olden times a Blackfoot
could beat his wife
and cut off her nose.
Granted, that's pretty violent.
- He could also beat his sister, right?
- Yes.
What kind of woman was
a man not allowed to beat?
My mother's first husband
was Chief White Calf.
But they had no children.
I read that White Calf
was a great chief!
Then he died and my
mother married my father.
My sister also had a
first husband who died.
They had no children either.
What about your ex-wife?
Lily?
She was sterile.
Oh rubbish!
Well I think she was.
Lily said that she
didn't want children.
No one uses it, except during parties.
I don't know if it is in tune.
The day of the partition of Palestine
Jokl was beating away
at it like a madman.
Oh uh. The administration
received a telegram. It's for you.
Please read it.
It's Madeleine.
That's great!
"Believe it or not I'll be
in Topeka in three days."
- Do you know how the war went for her?
- Tough!
She was stuck in
Paris with her husband.
Ligez Lukasz must have
spent three years in the cellar.
Her family?
Madeleine is Christian.
And her family stays in Sheffield.
They won't even change.
You know, I never dared to ask you...
about your mom and dad.
Anyone deported?
It's easy to hide in Romania.
I will tune it.
Focus again.
Better or worse?
- Better.
- Oh, good.
So, we're making him some glasses?
Indeed we are.
Are you happy?
Yes, thank you.
All is well with Mr. Devereux?
Yes, ah...
He's feeling much better.
Good!
I wouldn't have missed
this, for the world.
I brought your English saddle.
It weighs a ton!
Thank you a million!
Is this car yours?
Classy, ain't it?
How's the big city without me?
All your friends love me!
It's... Spartan!
Well, I'm going to teach
some Indian anthropology.
Menninger promised me.
It's for you.
I don't like surprises.
Doctor Freud...
Tell me now, what the
hell are you doing here?
I was curious to see your new place.
Why?
I'm not going to tell you.
Oh, I'll book a nice
hotel room in Topeka.
It's too late!
Everyone in the hospital
knows that a "friend" is visiting.
Menninger even opened up
a bungalow just for you.
Good evening.
A welcome treat.
Compliments of Winter Hospital.
Gorgeous!
Come closer.
I want to kiss you.
Your Indian?
It's a secret, madam.
Looks like a plan.
You wrote all this?
My... what else do you
want me to to do here?
They just give me one session a day.
So after I'm back here,
I pace through and through in my
bed, like a criminal on probation.
Yes, I start to write.
You don't remember everything?
Every single line.
I have all his words
going in my head.
I was worried about your eyes.
To tell you the ophthalmologist
wasn't very optimistic.
My vision keeps getting worse.
For once, not to be, I couldn't read.
Do you see me?
Blurry? Double?
Triple.
I see you very well.
We are at the end of the world.
No, this is not the end of the world.
It is.
What?
And we're lost.
- Good morning.
- It's nice how empty it is on Sunday.
To what church do you belong to?
I don't belong to any church.
You don't believe in God?
I just believe in doing good.
I want to send some
money to my daughter.
She wrote me.
She's pretty mad at me because
I haven't written to her lately.
That's Mary Lou.
Well, it's a very tender letter.
I had a strange dream last night.
But when I woke up
I couldn't remember a thing.
Could you close your eyes?
Tell me the first thing you visualize.
You.
Did you dream of me?
We were out hunting.
I had a gun.
You didn't.
And then...
I saw a bear.
And my gun jammed.
And then the bear started chasing us.
And I kept jerking the lever
and nothing happened.
And... you told me
to put in one bullet at a time.
And I did that.
And then I was in another dream.
Now we hunted foxes.
I had a rifle, a 22
and you had none.
I shot the fox.
And I picked it up.
And you were talking to me.
And then...
A live baby?
He was either dead or asleep.
After that I woke up in a sweat.
I didn't know a dream.
I'm just like the animal headed
person of the ancient braves.
Their protection gave courage.
Old timers say they used
to dream of a beaver.
And the Beaver gave them
advice and blessed them.
Then they would pray to the beaver.
And now you see why you started
today by talking about religion.
Dreaming of me was like
dreaming of a spirit head.
Were you scared when the gun jammed?
No, I wasn't.
In dreams, one tries to
tell something to oneself too.
What are you telling yourself?
You can't kill a bear,
but you can kill a fox,
in your dream.
Maybe the dream says we
ought to start with
your little troubles first.
That's a good interpretation.
In the first dream,
what kind of bear was it?
- A brown bear.
- Male or female?
I don't know.
And the child it was naked.
Boy or a girl?
The child didn't look hurt, and
it had no bullet hole in it.
Make a guess.
A girl, maybe.
And who is this baby girl?
First it was a fox.
And then when I looked down,
it was a baby girl.
Foxes are hairy.
When do baby come out
to something hairy?
Out of a woman?
What happened afterwards?
I let her down.
What does this mean, let down?
That I have done wrong.
But you couldn't help it. You were
so young. You were under pressure.
Maybe you did wrong
with your daughter,
and let her down.
But you couldn't help it.
Come on, you were only 17,
you had nothing.
Today, you're good with your
daughter and you support her.
That's what matters.
I almost have $500 in the bank.
But I can't take a penny out
unless someone else signs for it.
I have to go downtown tomorrow.
I can take you to
the post office, if you like.
That's very nice.
"The central theme of this session
was the aggressive
element in sexual behavior.
It is interesting to note
that the patient denied
that the baby was dead
because it had no hole in it.
This remark further underscored
patient's castration anxiety
and his tendency to define women
as blind or dead."
Where on earth did
you meet such a guy?
It's silly.
My husband first met George
in a waiting room in Paris.
They worked for
the same psychoanalyst.
I was working at the
Muse de l'Homme (Museum of Man).
Do you know how many women
Georges officially married?
Two, just two.
What are they possibly talking about?
I have no idea.
I like France.
I like the people there.
Why?
Farmers, ranchers.
My kind of people.
Did you ever visit Paris?
Two days.
We were camped in...
Vincennes?
Did you have to kill anyone
in the war?
No.
By the time I got to France,
the krauts had already left.
Why can't my friend receive
money without my signature?
I don't make the rules, sir.
I want like to send the money
order to Spokane, Washington.
Okay.
You have to file a form.
- Can you write?
- Yes.
Who taught you all these
things about dreams?
Some man taught me.
I paid him very little because
I had so little money.
Now I do what the Indians do.
When they're young,
they help the old.
And when they get old,
somebody helps them.
Sometimes dreams come true.
Where I live, if you ever come,
suppose a man can't find his horses.
He pays an old man and the
old man goes to sleep and dream.
And the next day, he'll
find your horses for you.
What? You never hear about
dreams that didn't come true.
I remember this
guy on the reservation.
Hey! This guy was a funny one.
He told us he dreamt
that he could fly
if he performed the
ceremony with a dance.
So one day, he tied a buffalo
rope to his arms and legs,
and we all walked to
the top of this sheer cliff.
And he did his medicine dance.
And then...
he jumped and...
He broke every bone in his body.
I could talk about dreams all day.
Gayle,
since I was 16
I've just disappointed you all.
But I can't feel ashamed.
Here, I feel both alone and peaceful.
My life became such a mess.
Everyday I see the French doctor.
He often asks me
to tell him my dreams.
I tell him about the past as well.
This morning,
I remember the accident
that led me to this hospital.
We were in the forest.
There were no German soldiers.
Just frozen corpses.
There's one here
for you too, Greeney.
Alright Jimmy, I got
a present for you.
Got a nest somewhere.
Everybody got letters
from their girlfriends.
Lily didn't write to me.
My letter was from Cousin Dale.
And he told me that Lily had a lover.
I couldn't get that
picture out of my head.
My wife, walking around Browning,
holding hands with another man.
I saw them at my kitchen table.
I saw them laughing at my bed.
Everybody was so tired and worn out.
I just remember how quiet it was.
When I woke up in the hospital,
I could not see.
A nurse was talking to me.
My ear was draining.
It was something
like fat and bloody.
What do you think that was?
Well, it may be pus,
from your middle ear.
Probably from your accident.
Dr. Menninger says my head is fine.
I'd like you to do another
neurological exam.
You think there's something
still wrong with my head?
Oh no, I don't think so.
After dinner I was reading in my
room and the pain started again.
Were you wearing your new glasses?
No, I hate them.
Do you know anyone who wears glasses?
- You do!
- Listen...
I look squarely at
things with my glasses.
You seem to hesitate
to identify with me.
You're always asking me to remember
things that happened before the army.
But I never had a headache...
before my accident.
Maybe Dr. Menninger is wrong
and there's a real
problem with my brain.
Mm hm, your headaches surely
had a physiological origin,
and since the war, they may
have become psychogenic.
Your body has healed.
But when your mind is in pain,
the headaches come back.
It feels pleasant to feel
I'm justly wrong too.
But you must tear
yourself away from the past.
How long will you stay here?
I guess until my patient is cured.
Which means...
A month?
A year?
Ouch!
Oh, it's so good to have you here!
- Do you know what Jimmy's name is?
- No.
Ohonita-e-Puyopei.
It means:
"Everybody talks about him."
You have a hidden name too.
No, I don't hide anything.
No, your name is Gyrgy Dob.
I changed names.
I don't believe it!
You didn't tell your patient
you're French, did you?
My place of birth has no
bearing on Jimmy's cure.
You lied.
He was supposed to be here at 5.
Well, if you went back
and get him away.
- Sorry.
- Oh, this is my friend, Madeleine.
Un bon ami.
(A good friend)
- Jimmy has been to France.
- Enchant. (Nice to meet you)
So, you like museums.
Yeah, um...
Admittance was free.
We're heading back to the hospital.
Can we offer you a ride?
You smoke?
Smoke.
I got secrets, cousin.
Tonight...
I'll be...
flying among the pine trees...
like fire!
You keep on crowning cousin.
Keep on crowning.
- George?
- Oh God.
Lost in your thoughts?
Just loafing.
You know, free associating...
- Are you busy?
- Well...
Not at all.
You know this Blackfoot practice
we call "Pisting"?
The husbands used to
pull the labia of their wives.
Some of the old ladies
had 3 inches long labia!
Alas, no one's playing
this game anymore.
That's a pity!
Jimmy and I, both would
give anything to see just one.
- Can you imagine?
- No.
Listen...
You got a letter this morning.
From France.
Not a very nice letter.
A copy was sent to the American
Psychoanalytic Association.
They don't recommend
accepting you as an analyst.
If you went back to
France, could you work it out?
I don't even know.
Well, at least,
you have worked here.
One patient?
And take good care of him.
Don't be ashamed.
It is important that you
depend on me to access.
It is also important that you
understand it and fix it.
That is what cures you.
If only I knew...
Is there anything that
suggests childhood?
Well, there are things that happened
when I was real small...
that no one knows about.
There were two girls
that lived nearby.
They were sisters.
One of them was younger than me
and the other one was older.
We were playing on the ice
and the younger one fell.
I didn't help for I was so scared.
I ran away.
She drowned.
How old were you then?
I was five or six...
before my father died.
It was bad.
The older sister...
of the girl that drowned...
she used to go and play in the shed.
And she would call me in.
Make me play with her vagina.
I didn't know what it was for.
How old was this girl?
She was about six years older than me.
Did you put it in?
No.
Just your hand?
I always wanted to leave.
But she would drag me back in
and forced me to do it again.
Then one day, my sister caught us.
She beat the living tar
out of me right there.
Filthy!
Filthy!
Then she told my mother.
But I lied.
I never admitted it.
This first, you mentioned
the drowning and fear.
Then
sex and lie.
When you were a, be the
as a sniper, in the army.
Did you have a
telescope on your rifle?
Yes, I did.
Did you ever...
spy on anyone during your childhood?
Sex spying?
About a year after my father died,
one day... I came home from school
and when I went in, I saw...
a woman...
My mother.
In bed with another man.
I don't know who the other man was.
I left her and ran away.
I got to my sister's house.
She was married already.
I was never with
my mother ever since.
Gayle raised me up from then on.
Well, you were punished
for playing with the girl,
whose sister died.
But this man didn't get punished
for being with your mother,
when your father died.
I guess all my thoughts are mixed up.
The child saw himself naturally
replacing his dead
father in the parental bed.
But what a disappointment when he
finds his mother in someone else's arms.
"That's my place!"
The boy sees the lover's penis.
He can't stop looking at the fascin.
I don't believe the little
boy desires that penis.
No, he's Hamlet. He wishes
to take the place of the lover!
Congratulations!
So now, you should shift
to the passive technique.
Just stop interfering.
Jimmy will find his way
through the dark forest.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Atterr.
Busy?
Come on!
Wait.
- Hurry up!
- Yup!
My husband wrote...
- Anything wrong?
- No.
Lukasz and his friends.
He is lost without me.
Last year I was sure he had
an affair with this blonde.
I don't blame him.
Around him I'm so happy.
With you, I'm light.
But in real life I'm heavy.
You don't seem so light to me.
He sent me this ticket.
Your husband is a great man.
FIRST CLASS
The Queen Ann
The Queen Anne leaves
for France from New York
the first Friday of next month.
Madeleine I'm never
go back to France.
Let the stick decide...
Falls back toward me, and
I stay here, as I always do.
Falls forward toward you...
Well, that's the law.
Here it goes Ann.
Well Ann, you win.
It's in the law.
I have always been a
man who let a woman die.
We talked about my
daughter's mother, right?
Jane's family came to
Browning for the winter.
When they started school,
they have charity balls,
card parties, anything
to raise money.
That night there was to be a dance.
That same afternoon, Jane told
me she was gonna have a baby.
She was two months along.
It was our secret.
She asked me to come to the dance.
She was coming with her folks.
I need my best horse tonight.
I got on my good clothes
...and told my sister
I was going to the ball.
Make us all proud.
Come on!
I looked across the room
and saw Jane in the
back with her mother.
She was pointing at me.
I was in the doorway
and another girl said to me:
"I'm sick. I gotta go home..."
"Can you take me back?"
I said sure.
I took the girl to the house,
I rode right back to the dance.
As I tied up my horse
behind a round horn,
I saw a man and a boy...
I mean...
a man and a girl
along the trail coming
from behind the haystack.
At first, I paid no attention.
But then I walked in
and they were right behind me.
My daughter's mother
with another boy.
Then she came to me and started
talking about us having to marry.
Jimmy! I've been looking
for you everywhere.
I had to go.
This afternoon you said you would talk
about marriage. My mother is waiting.
I thought. "Why was she
behind the haystack?"
I felt bad...
I said: "Tomorrow I have to help
my brother-in-law feed the sheep".
And I went home.
Fine, leave!
You can't dance anyway!
After that night, I ducked
every time I saw her in town.
Then the school found out about Jane
and they kicked me out.
When her family asked,
I refused to marry her.
We had a trial.
The first time I met Jimmy,
it was at my uncle's house.
They said the child was mine.
Our cousin Jack was visiting.
It was a sunny day.
And he came to me.
And we knew each other.
Your Honor,
my client comes from one of the
most respected families in the...
Well, I had this lawyer.
He must have been really good
because he won.
He beat that case.
I was free.
But I felt like hell.
Paternity has not been established.
Therefore, in the case of
WhiteCloud versus Picard
a suit of custody brought by
the plaintiff Jane WhiteCloud,
the court finds the defendant.
We say that James Picard is not
the father of the child to come.
After the trial, Jane still
asked me to marry her.
I asking you to marry me. And if you
change your mind and propose to me,
I want you to know, I will say yes.
All I know is what
I saw at the dance.
What did you see?
You're just an idiot,
you're just a plain idiot.
My mother turned on me,
called me many names.
Spring time came.
Her family had to move on.
Later, I heard that
Jane had had a girl.
A year later,
I came across the guy who
was behind the haystack.
His name was Allan.
Jimmy, this is funny.
I thought sure you and
Jane would get married.
Remember the ball?
I was with Jane when she saw
you go out with that other girl.
Oh, she got mad.
I tried to calm her down.
She asked me to go outside.
We were looking for you in the cold.
She could have ripped you to shreds.
Then there was the army...
my accident...
And my divorce with Lily.
If Jane had not told her daughter,
Mary Lou would have not
known I was her father.
I'm begging with you,
please just slow down.
Then one day, we
saw each other again.
Hey soldier! They said
you were back in town.
So many years...
I was another man I guess,
but Jane still wanted me.
You've been
all over the world!
- Is your husband here?
- No.
He stayed in Spokane.
He couldn't get off work.
- Is that her?
- Yes.
I named her Mary Lou.
She has heard about you.
We were together all
that afternoon and night.
I let her go.
She told me she was just
having some gallstones removed.
Tomorrow I have to
go to the hospital.
They're going to operate on me.
I would rather have you there
beside me than my husband.
That night I prayed
she would outlive me.
I mean I drank a lot
back in those days.
Thinking of my dying
made me peaceful.
I was supposed to meet
Jane, after the operation.
So I grabbed some
money from the bank...
At the station there was this girl,
a friend of Jane I knew from school.
- What are you doing in town?
- I'm taking this dream liner
to go see Jane.
I asked her why she was crying.
She said that afternoon a telegram
had come that Jane had died.
I'm so sorry, Jimmy!
That's how it was...
It was Tuesday.
Jane must have died on a Sunday.
They buried her there.
How could someone die of gallstone?
I don't know.
That is the worst thing
I ever did in my life.
I never robbed a bank,
never killed anybody.
She had written to me
before the operation.
But I got the letter after she died.
My love,
I wish I weren't married, so
I can marry you over and over.
My heart belongs to you.
You're the only man who ever counted.
If anything happens to me,
take care of our daughter.
Jane.
See you tomorrow.
My family wanted me to
marry a good Indian girl
who doesn't sleep with
her first boy she meets.
Gayle thought Jane was stupid.
And Lily?
Lily she was...
Lily she made it work.
But she was slippery.
How much longer do
I have to stay here?
How long does it take
to prep runaway horses?
No one could tell.
Perhaps it is time for this
procedure we spoke of.
And what exactly
will they do to me?
- They'll blow air into your brain.
- How?
Through the spinal cord.
They'll see if all the parts of your
brain are joined together properly.
Has anyone died from it?
None that I know of.
We called you here
to let you know that I was ill.
Why is camping here
for if you are ill?
Why not stay home?
And what's the hanging
missionary for?
We're almost through.
If you look far,
you'll see that there's still
one acre left to skive.
As soon as they're finish,
they go home.
I have to get back.
I have a curfew.
Picard, you must move out!
Everyone is leaving.
How so?
Jimmy is sad because
we will soon be parting.
How do you know when analysis is over?
There's are no rules.
You put...
the soul
in the heart.
The heart in the mind.
And mind...
in the body.
And the body...
in the person.
Wah lah!
- Hello!
- Yes
I'm just here to
check about my patient.
We are still waiting for
the oxy-encephalogram
and he is starting to get anxious.
Well, I put it in my
report quite a while ago.
I can't inject gas into the
spinal column of a drunk.
Jimmy hasn't been drinking.
Are you kidding...
Thank you.
Your Indian went on a little
jaunt the other night.
We had to pick him up,
carry him back to his room.
You'd never make such
a fuss about a white man!
This is a gross misconduct!
I demand the oxy-encephalogram
for my patient.
And I demand a radio as well!
The Palace of Theseus
Go, Filostrato
Stir up the Athenian youth to marriages.
Awake hurt and ...
Last night, I went to a show.
Little people worked with fingers.
Every time an act was over...
the bright lights came on and they
gave me a sharp pain in the head.
Remember the rules.
Don't try to think, just let it happen.
I can't think what it could be.
It will come.
Once you're able to stand it.
It is possible that I saw something
that might have triggered the pain?
It's possible.
Well, that play made me mad!
How now Spirit!
With a wandering...
There were two guys
arguing over a woman.
There was a fairy.
There was a guy with a donkey head!
Honestly, I didn't get a
damn thing about that play!
It's rare that you don't
understand something?
What did I see last night?
Two men fighting over a woman.
What does that mean?
You know sometimes we
have scars on our body
and we don't know where
they come from anymore.
There are such scars in the mind too.
It is twelve.
We should stop now.
When I was looking at that show.
There were the puppets.
And there was the guy
who makes them move, right?
Well, one of them stood crooked.
Its legs were folded up.
And I thought :
That's exactly what the doctor says.
I'm not standing on my own feet.
If that little guy
used his own strength
he'd be fine.
I hated comparing
myself to the puppet.
I was over-powered.
Everything I do is wrong.
As though the man above is to blame.
You're a person of dignity and worth.
No one is pulling your strings here.
When we first talked,
why did you bring up religion?
The way I recall it,
you asked about my religion.
No, no.
In one night, you turned me away
from all religions.
Now, my mind is turned
away from all religions
for the rest of my life.
The only advice I ever gave you,
was to be your own master.
You know I was Catholic.
There are lots of
Catholics in this country!
Why you try to cut us down?
You know I have
nothing against the Indians.
So now you imagine I have
something against your church.
I think you're wrong.
Okay.
Explain to me why I am wrong.
Well... when I first started out,
I was as green as that ashtray.
Then you quit talking to me
and I had to figure
it out all by myself.
Religions are courage
builders, right?
Well, I know a guy back home.
He doesn't believe in anything.
Not in the Indian religion,
not in the Christian religion.
And he's the biggest
drunk that ever walked.
And he's a thief.
Well, he does without religion.
And you're afraid of
becoming a thief or a drunk?
I drink.
But I'm not a drunk.
You seem uncomfortable.
You're not afraid of me?
Not that I know of.
I would have preferred,
liked it much better
if you had told me about it...
I mean, about
your getting drunk the other night.
I don't care about
your getting plastered.
Why be afraid to tell me?
Alcohol has nothing to do
with my headaches.
Hell, maybe I'm just plain crazy...
- You never were crazy.
- Okay.
Then why am I in this ward?
You know, on the reservation
we have an "Indian agent"
to tell us what to do.
I have lived all my life
under that shit.
Then I come here,
to the Winter Hospital,
and it's even worse.
I got to get away from all that.
If a man keeps on taking these things,
as time goes on,
they pile up.
And one day it gets to be too much.
Like you said:
it pours out in the
weakest part of the body.
It's like...
pounding
in one spot.
And that spot would be my head.
I'm glad you're longer
scared of criticizing me.
I was waiting for this.
The day after tomorrow at four?
Whenever you want.
I'm the one who's locked up here.
Do you need some help?
My dear...
- Can I take it?
- Well, be my guest.
I woke up drunk.
I've been such a good
soldier up to now, haven't I?
You will be a big hit on the boat.
Doctor Devereux!
My handsome Indian:
My fondest thoughts for you.
I should say goodbye
more tenderly, but...
I forgot which words to use.
I'm abandoning you.
You will soon be a learned doctor.
You'll find a good American wife.
Go for the rich one.
But never forget to
what extent I am the
most precious part of you.
Never severe the delicate
thread that binds us.
We can never forget the
radiant love which was ours.
Will you come and visit me one day...
What nonsense I'm writing here?
You, crossing the
sea, just to see me.
Write to me!
For the love of God,
write to me often.
Madeleine.
Yeah, if we find he's
in perfect health,
I'll have to tell the BA.
What Dr. Braatoy means is,
would your rather get well
or keep your pension?
Without the headaches,
I'm fine.
Good!
As soon as the guy
hears that his pension is cut,
troubles come back.
You're fit, Chief!
Sir.
My name is Jim.
You call me Jim, not Chief.
Miss. I was supposed to
get a check from accounting.
Oh. We have all
the time in the world.
Don't worry, son. I'll take some
blood as soon as I have a second.
They might be closing soon and I'm
afraid they're not opened on Saturday.
They're open Saturday
mornings, sure, I promise.
I'll get my test and you'll
get your check tomorrow.
You can paint the town red!
Accounting Office Hours
Mister!
Are you sick?
Mister, you want me to call a nurse?
Oh Lord!
Well, it's the lungs not his heart.
You think you can get up?
I was half asleep
and the pain was big.
It felt my heart was gonna stop.
I didn't move an inch.
Little by little the pain went away.
Don't know what caused it.
You don't have heart trouble.
I'm sure of that.
Maybe it was the way
the doctor talked to me.
What about this nurse? You
told me something about her.
You wanted to withdraw your money...
Maybe the nurse doesn't know that
the place was closed on Saturdays.
But she has been here
long enough to know.
I thought it was maybe
a test or doctor's orders.
It wasn't doctor's orders.
You just can't fight with a woman.
Can you?
Don't mix me up.
It's not right to yell at women.
But you yelled at me
for this religion thing.
But you gave this nurse
the benefit of the doubt
because she is a woman.
Umm, I swallowed my anger.
Suppose two goddess
did the same bad thing.
One is ugly, the other one is pretty.
What do you think of
more excuses were?
Same for both.
I'm afraid, that for myself,
I would blame the ugly one.
You are strange!
The truth is,
that when I got to
the Accounting Office,
I was mad.
But the anger lasted only a few seconds.
Yes, and then you fell apart.
So this attack came on because
I'm afraid to hurt the nurse?
Not with the front part of your mind.
With the back of my mind.
Two factors :
The fear that you could hurt women...
and the fear that
they could hurt you.
Remember, to be angry is good.
Relapses are good!
Life will still happen to you.
Later on if ever the
headache comes back,
figure it out.
I know myself better
than anyone else does.
You taught me that.
Soldier Picard!
Well?
Can we have the next dance?
So you remembered my address?
Well, I was walking around and...
just like that, came back to me.
Well, fancy that!
- Oh, that's nice.
- Hand made with my hands.
I like you.
You're gentle,
you don't play tough!
Don't bet on it, sweetheart.
You don't seem that crazy to me.
Nope.
So, after you get
out of the bug-house,
you want to stay around?
Maybe I'll head to Seattle.
There are lots of Indians up there.
- Work the shipyards.
- Shipyards?
And tonight.
You gonna stay around?
No way, young lady.
- Are you sure?
- Yup.
Well... it's taking him
quite a while to calm down.
Mr. Picard.
We are here to discuss the
results of your treatment.
Jimmy, do you have any
thoughts you'd like to share with us?
I don't know what to say.
The symptoms originally
presented by the patient,
have probably vanished.
Yes, and we're all happy to see
how much insight
Jimmy has gained.
At Mr. Devereux
request a neurosurgeon
and I will perform one last procedure.
Hello Jim, if the oxy-encephalogram
goes without a hitch,
you'll be on the train
home next Thursday.
Fellows, if these
walls could only talk.
You have both come a long way.
And we had to dig down deep.
- Jimmy?
- Yes, sir...
I've been thinking.
You seem to have learned
so much here at Winter.
I think you'd make a
big psychiatric aide!
Would you consider
staying on with us?
Well, I...
I need to spend some
time at home, first.
Go on. Sure.
Just keep it in mind.
We are very proud.
I feel like all my
complexes have disappeared.
"Complexes"?
Where did you pick up that word?
Oh, I think you said so.
Maybe Dr. Holt.
No, I never use that word!
I'm afraid of big word.
Homely words bring things closer.
Would it help to have a
name for what ailed you?
Well, if there's no word,
you can make up one.
Actually we have a word.
"Psychic Trauma."
It's a Greek word.
It just means:
"soul pain."
My friend, your soul was in pain.
You know, last week
I went downtown.
And I met that girl.
I figure I tried myself out.
- Did you made love?
- Yes.
- So, no trouble in the penis department?
- Oh, no.
That's terrific.!
Are you going to see this girl again?
She's nice, she's a Pawnee.
But I'd better stay away from her.
I have the results.
You don't have a cholesteatoma.
You are in perfect health.
That's great.
Oh, that's great.
You seem sad.
I'm glad I met you.
You kept your promises.
Thank you.
I am glad we got together.
What will you do when you get back?
I will go see Mary Lou.
You should come visit.
We could go horseback riding.
We got lakes at the top
of the mountains with...
fish in it.
You would like the scenery.
I might just come one day.
It would be a nice trip.
My friend, remember your name.
Ohonita-he-Puyope.
"Everybody talks about him."
Any one who's at peace with
himself is at peace with others.
You have a good memory, doctor.
Very good.
We had a nice talk.
Good evening.
Do you miss Madeleine?
No. She has her life in Paris.
Topeka, was just sort of...
delightful holiday.
And Menninger has offered me tenure.
I heard.
It's what I wanted.
You will miss your patient?
Of course.
He didn't want to see you to the station.
No.
Do you feel guilty?
Oh no.
No, I don't feel guilty for America's
crimes against the Indians.
I'm only responsible to myself
for what I myself do.
I rejected communion of the saints
as well as the communion of evil.
I didn't help Jimmy Picard
because he was an Indian,
but because it was in
my power to help him.
What happened between Jimmy
and myself concerns only us.
It was between two men of good will,
looking for common ground.
Surely, we are different!
All men rejoice differently.
But still we should all sit down to
the God's banquet.
You're not looking at me.
Yeah, I'm looking at you.
- Are you angry?
- I didn't know...
if you would visit me one day.
I've been missing you.
You know, I wrote to your grandmother
and asked her about adopting you.
Did you know that?
I knew.
I thought about it for a long time.
And I think it could be a good idea.
So I came here to
talk it over with you.
Okay.
JIMMY P.
Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian
based on "Reality and Dreams" by
Georges Devereux