Port Moresby Quotes in The Sheltering Sky (1990)

[first lines]

Port Moresby: Well, terra firma.

Tunner: We're probably the first tourists they've had since the war.

Kit Moresby: Tunner, we're not tourists. We're travelers.

Tunner: Oh. What's the difference?

Port Moresby: A tourist is someone who thinks about going home the moment they arrive, Tunner.

Kit Moresby: Whereas a traveler might not come back at all.

Tunner: You mean *I'm* a tourist.

Kit Moresby: Yes, Tunner. And I'm half and half.

Kit Moresby: Other people's dreams are so dull.

Port Moresby: Kit has days when everything in the world is merely a sign for something else. A white Mercedes can't just simply be a white Mercedes. It must have a secret meaning about the whole of life. Everything is an omen. Nothing can just be what it is.

Tunner: You've been to North Africa before, Port. Kit and I will just follow your plan.

Port Moresby: My only plan is, I have no plan.

Port Moresby: You know, if Tunner didn't take such long siestas, I'd never be alone with you. I think he's in love with you.

Kit Moresby: Port, don't be silly.

Port Moresby: Sillier things have happened. The way he hangs around making inane conversation, the way he looks at you when he fingers his DDT can...

Kit Moresby: What else?

Port Moresby: Oh, the ferocity with which he counts your luggage.

Kit Moresby: Oh, he counts yours too.

Port Moresby: It's not the same.

Kit Moresby: Someday they're gonna kick the French out of this country.

Port Moresby: Well, with trousers like that, who can blame them?

Kit Moresby: According to Port, everyone eventually gets used to anything.

Tunner: If that were true, it would be the end of progress.

Kit Moresby: No, I'm sure it's true. I just don't know whether it's good or bad.

Port Moresby: Neither.

Port Moresby: Could you be happy here?

Kit Moresby: Happy? Happy? How do you mean?

Port Moresby: I mean, could you like it here?

Kit Moresby: How do I know? God, I wish you wouldn't ask me questions like this! Really! I can't answer them. What do you want me to say? "Yes, I'll be happy in Africa"? I like Ain Krorfa so much, but I can't tell whether I want to stay for a month or I want to leave tomorrow.

Tunner: You couldn't leave tomorrow even if you wanted to. Can't get any information about how to get out of this place. No buses, not even a fruit truck. Nobody speaks English. Anybody for a nightcap?

Kit Moresby: Is that the plan?

Port Moresby: More or less, yes.

Kit Moresby: More or less?

Port Moresby: Uh... Less, actually.