The Ugly American

Come on. Yeah.

[Chattering In Native Dialect]

Hurry up. Hurry up.

[Vehicle Approaching, Engine Straining]

My name... Li Pang.

I want to be good engineer...

like Mr. Martinson.

Very good, Li. Very good.

You're gonna be talkin' like an American before ya know it.

- Mr. Martinson? How you call? - That's a wrench.

"Lench"? In Sarkhan: Kun dje luen.

Kun dje luen. "Lench".

No, not "lench". Wrench. Rh-h!

I know that's a hard sound for you to get...

Look out!

What happened?

Punjit? Punjit?

- Yes, sir? - What happened to the truck?

Mr. Martinson. Came from up there.

Was he in it? Yes.

[Man Shouts In Native Dialect]

I work no more this road! Drunk man in truck.

Drunk man kill.

- Punjit, who saw this happen? - Me. I see.

Drink too much whiskey, then truck killJohnny Sumpat.

You not give one big damn what happen to poor Sarkhanese people!

[Murmuring In Native Dialect]

We all feel bad about this.

But that kind of name-calling is not gonna help anybody.

I quit! I work no more for American imperialists!

His neck's broken. He couldn't have felt a whole lot.

Was he really drunk?

I don't remember ever seeing him take a drink, Homer.

Mullins, there's something weird going on around here.

Come on. Let's get him back to the base.

[Continues Shouting In Native Dialect]

Punjit, that guy quit. Get him outta here.

[Punjit Speaking In Native Dialect]

[Man Speaking In Native Dialect Over Bullhorn]

[Native Dialect Continues]

I told them the autopsy proved that our truck driver wasn't drunk,

and I asked for a retraction.

Did they retract it? They did not. They just changed it around.

This may be your last chance to set the record straight.

One clear, sane statement about why we're building Freedom Road.

Those reporters are willing to listen. They'd like to know.

It's not that simple.

I've been sitting here trying to put it into words, but what's the use?

Those reporters twist everything I say.

I know that Freedom Road is good for them, and you know it, and Bing knows it.

But how do you tell these Sarkhanese people? They don't really want to know anyway.

All right. I'll go down and tell them you're sick.

Mr. Ambassador, I understand what you want. I'll ad-lib something.

I'll take the seriousness out.

Don't worry, Grainger. Everybody loves Joe Bing.

- And thank them for coming. - Yes, sir.

You're not going to see them at all, are you?

I've only a couple of days left in this assignment, Grainger.

We should wait till the new ambassador comes.

MacWhite has been named as ambassador.

If the Senate confirms him tomorrow, he'll be here in a couple of weeks.

I shouldn't start something I'm not going to be here to finish.

So... we do nothing again.

Then you gentlemen will report back to the committee...

on Tuesday at 11:00 for a continuation of this hearing.

- Is the ambassador-designate to Sarkhan next? - Yes, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. MacWhite in the room.

Mr. MacWhite. Right.

Keep your vest pulled down.

Mr. MacWhite.

Mr. MacWhite, we are glad to have you say...

why you think we should act favorably on your nomination as ambassador to Sarkhan.

Mr. Chairman, Senators,

I have about 15 pages here which I wrote last night...

in explanation of my qualifications.

As I read them over this morning, they sound so much like my own eulogy...

that I've decided to let my mother publish them privately after I'm dead.

So if you don't mind, I would just prefer to answer the questions.

Have you any speaking knowledge of the Sarkhanese language?

- Yes, a little. - Will you say something, please?

Khor santiseek chong mee kas prachachen tua lak.

- What does that mean? - Roughly that means...

"May there be peace among all peoples of the world".

You were vice president of MacWhite Publications...

in charge of the foreign office, isn't that so?

That's right. Headquartered in Paris.

Would that background qualify you for this position?

One of the functions of my job, Senator, was to interview world leaders.

You probably know what it's like to be interviewed.

I think you can appreciate that a good reporter...

has to win the confidence and trust of people...

if he's to write anything perceptive about them.

I've never read anything perceptive about me.

Well, I... I haven't interviewed you.

I will now yield to my distinguished friend...

from the nation's dairyland, Senator Macon.

Sir, I thought this was a very poor nomination when it came down,

and I still do.

Mr. MacWhite, let's get into your war record.

You were in Sarkhan during the war?

Yes, my plane was shot down, and I bailed out.

Why'd they give you the Silver Star?

- As you know from the citation... - I don't know anything.

The record's blank until you fill it in.

The award was given for sabotage activities behind enemy lines.

Sarkhan was under Japanese occupation at the time,

and I fought with the Sarkhanese underground.

Nothing personal in my attitude, Mr. MacWhite.

I just wanted to see if you'd fly off the handle.

I know Senator Brenner has to leave shortly,

and he's anxious to question this nominee.

I yield to him and leave the rest of my interrogation until he's finished.

I appreciate the senator's generosity and with the chairman's kind indulgence...

I will attempt to curb my oratory and make my questions brief.

Now, I think you mentioned reporting and sabotage...

as things you do very well.

Is it your belief that all reporters are qualified to be ambassadors?

No more than all ambassadors are qualified to be reporters.

Is it your belief that all men skilled in sabotage,

who happen to be in Sarkhan during the war, are qualified to be ambassadors?

Unless I haven't been properly briefed, Senator, I wasn't aware...

that sabotage was one of the qualifications you were looking for.

Serious answers would be more to your benefit.

I beg your pardon, Senator.

I didn't take your line of questioning as having a serious intent.

According to your dossier, your chief qualification...

seems to be your friendship with this man Chai Keong.

- Beg your pardon, sir? - Chai Keong.

Uh, the name is Deong, sir.

It's pronounced with a "D."

- Deong. - Yes.

This man was your wartime buddy,

an ordinary rice farmer who helped you blow up bridges.

He was a rice farmer, Senator.

I think "ordinary" has very little to do with Deong, however.

An extraordinary rice farmer. The record stands corrected.

Does this man hold public office?

He was offered the prime ministership...

which he felt he didn't have enough education or polish to accept.

So he stepped aside after he led his people to revolution.

The answer is no.

Can you say why your friendship with this man who has no say...

in his government's policies should qualify you?

Yes, I think I can, Senator.

Deong is as important to Sarkhan as de Gaulle was to France...

before he resumed the presidency.

He may be the single most popular man in his country today.

He has a profound influence on his people.

When was the last time you saw him?

Uh, seven years ago in Hong Kong.

We spent a day together.

The time before that was 1948 in, uh, Bangkok.

I think it was a weekend. I'm not sure. We...

We'd been celebrating our reunion with a touch of rice wine, as I recall.

Both times were before Sarkhan gained independence.

That's right. What'd you talk about?

- I don't know. Personal things. - Don't you remember?

I think we discussed whatever good friends talk about, personal things.

I think we discussed life,

uh, the ladies, um...

I think we spent most of our time laughing.

But not politics?

I don't recall. We might have touched on the subject.

- Do you write to each other frequently? - Yes, so do our wives.

You influence his thinking?

Oh, yes, I would say so.

In the same way good friends always influence each other.

During the war he was very curious about democracy. I gave him my views.

- Does he share them? - To a large extent. In his own way, Senator.

I would say so. Yes.

- That still prevails? - Our friendship prevails.

As I say, we haven't discussed politics for quite some time.

So in your own mind, this warm friendship still prevails?

You share and respect each other's views?

You feel this common ground will enable you to present the position of this country...

to a sympathetic and influential popular leader?

You agree with my conclusions?

I think you've summed it up admirably, Senator.

Thank you, Mr. MacWhite.

I present the following document for the committee's edification.

"The United States has again taken up the cudgel of colonialism.

"I warn America! Our multitudes are pledged...

"as one man, one voice, one heart...

"to resist the imperialist tide to the end...

and beyond the end. "

- That sounds Red to me! - Not only is that speech out of context...

Do you respect and share those views?

No, I do not share them! Yes, I do respect them. I resent the senator's...

Do you deny that Deong is an out-and-out Communist...

I deny that emphatically, Senator.

Furthermore, I would like to point out to you that...

that speech was made at the Afro-Asian Conference in Bandung...

April 18, 1955, which was three months after Deong had led his people to independence...

and after the United States had postponed recognition of that independence...

and after you, sir, on the senate floor...

spoke out clearly against any foreign aid to his country.