Rumble Fish (1983)

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Rusty James is the younger brother of "The Motorcycle Boy", a legendary figure amongst the European-American gangs in the area who brokered peace between them. The Motorcycle Boy has been missing for two months, leaving the gangs to start to dissolve as heroin takes over the streets, while Rusty James tries to live up to his reputation. Rusty James fights a rival gang leader and gets the upper hand, but is distracted by the Motorcycle Boy's return, causing him to be wounded. The Motorcycle Boy runs the man down with his cycle before nursing Rusty James back to health. Rusty James's awkward, nerdy friend Steve helps the Motorcycle Boy, but is wary due to his rumored insanity similar to that of his long-absent mother. The brothers spend time with their impoverished, alcoholic father, who notes that the Motorcycle Boy takes after his mother. Rusty James quits school after his fighting gets him suspended and cheats on his girlfriend Patty at a party hosted by his friend Smokey. She breaks up with him and Smokey accosts her, making Rusty James realize that the party was set up so Smokey could take advantage of the situation and date her. Steve and the brothers go drinking and the Motorcycle Boy mentions that he found his mother dating a television producer while out in California and laments not getting to see the Pacific Ocean. Steve and Rusty James are mugged as they leave a bar, and Rusty James is beaten to the point where he has a brief out-of-body experience. The Motorcycle Boy saves them and tries to convince Rusty James to leave the gang life, but Steve decries him as insane, which Rusty James starts to believe. Rusty James finds the Motorcycle Boy in a pet store, where he is taken with the Siamese fighting fish (which he dubs "rumble fish" and are the only element of color in the film, as the Motorcycle Boy is colorblind). Patterson, a police officer who hates the Motorcycle Boy, regards them with suspicion. Rusty James's father tells him that the Motorcycle Boy and their mother are people with an "acute perception" rather than crazy. The brothers ride back to the pet store, where the Motorcycle Boy sets the animals loose while Rusty James fails to convince him to return to gang life. As the Motorcycle Boy asks him to take his cycle to the Pacific and hurries to a nearby river to drop the fighting fish, he is shot dead by a patrolling Patterson. Rusty James takes the fish and finishes carrying them to the river.