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God, if he exists, is not good. |
| Notes for the readers: 1. Translation to Serbian was substituted with English, for readers convenience 2. This is a draft version. I'm aware of some inconsistence but feel free to criticize honestly. 3. This is not a shooting script, so there is no indication of shoots and camera angles, even though I mention them in the project description. "TEN" FADE IN: EXT. RIVER - DAY (KOSOVO) "I am the Lord thy God." The Fall day is humid, but gray clouds have blocked out the sun. The FATHER, a middle aged gentleman dressed in his best church suit, stands few meters from the bank of the calm river, holding his year-old SON. Two armed with AK-47 automatic rifles guards are seen in the distance . A gypsy brass band is playing "Ederlezi". On the bank of the river sits a white home goose. A PRIEST, wearing ceremonial robes, sprinkles some water on the baby's forehead. PRIEST (in Serbian, subtitled) ...In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen! FATHER'S P.O.V. As the FATHER lifts his SON toward the sky the sunshine breaks through the storm clouds creating an angelic aura around the baby. There is a sound of celebratory gunfire. A flock of white wild gees scares away. (transition to animation) The camera follows the home goose. It fly into the clouds following the flock. But at one point it turns into the West. EXT. - COUNTRYSIDE - DAY (CANADA) (animation continued) The Spring Sunday is bright and sunny, but the northern wind is a constant reminder that the Winter months are barely behind them. A black car driving down a country highway in the Waterloo Region of Ontario. The goose flies down from the sky and follows the car. The car pulls over as the engine stalls. The goose passes the car and lower down, preparing for landing. It lands on the road. INT. - CAR - DAY "1. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me." Balkan gypsy music is playing on the black Dodge truck stereo. An AROMATIZER in the shape of a STONE TABLET hangs from the rear-view mirror. The SON, a twenty-something youth with typical Slavic features sits in the driver's seat. He wears WHITE clothes. His movements resemble those of a clumsy teenager. He chews a chewing gum. The FATHER, now in his sixties, sits calmly in the passenger seat. He is dressed in the same suit that he wore tho his son's christening, but the years have faded the fabric. He is also wearing an elegant black coat and a black fedora, and he nonchalantly lights a long white CIGARETTE. After a long, deep drag, he coughs heavily. An old-fashioned BLACK BRIEFCASE sits on his lap, upon which he protectively lays his right hand. The FATHER and the SON speak Serbian to one another. SON (O.S.) (in Serbian) American pile of shit! Is it possible that the battery croaked already? The SON switches off the radio. The FATHER presses the RADIO button on the stereo controls, but nothing is heard. For a few seconds both the SON's and the FATHER's hands are positioned such as in Michelangelo's THE CREATION. The display flickers the track name "ONE - G.OD RADIO" briefly, which almost immediately changes into "ONE - GOOD RADIO". The FATHER fiddles with the controls, but no sound is heard from the speakers. He turns the stereo off. FATHER (O.S.) You have no luck. How did you manage to escape that crap back home without "grinning from ear to ear"... The FATHER motions his thumb across his throat. He spits three times superstitiously over the left shoulder. FATHER Your grandfather, may he rest in peace, built his first car with his own hands. He named it Miloš. (coughing heavily) It was back in '52, when nobody had a car! SON (stiffly) I would rather take it to a mechanic. I believe in Progress! FATHER All it takes is one little nuclear "pufff"... And the mankind will be climbing trees again... SON Come on! I don't give a shit about cars. (after a pause) Maybe it ran out of gas? FATHER You're using 87 octane, aren't you? When I was your age and when I had no money, not unlike yourself now, I used to do the same. I took this beautiful goddess out once on my motorbike and... never came back! SON So that's how mom got stuck with you right from the beginning. FATHER (ignoring SON's comment) Maybe it's the oil? Do you change THE OIL regularly? SON I've never changed it. FATHER What do you mean you've NEVER changed it? SON Well, I've gone less than ten thousand kilometers so it's statistically improbable that... FATHER (interrupting SON) Then the black cat must have crossed our road. SON I've only seen a white goose. The goose doesn't bring bad luck, does she? FATHER Who knows... You see, here in Canada the cars either do not work or you need to be an engineer just to start it. I have a much more reliable Russian Lada Niva, built like a tank. The model is older than you are and I could repair it with nothing but chewing gum. But... You always DID want to commute to work by horse... SON I was sick of the the poverty, and the hunger! I wanted to move to Mongolia to become a Buddhist monk. FATHER Buddhists do not believe in God! SON Neither do... A WHITE CAR approaches from the distance, catching the SON's attention. CUT TO : EXT. SIDE OF A COUNTRY ROAD - DAY The SON jumps out of the car trying to flag down the approaching vehicle, but to no avail. The car's license plate reads: ONE 111. SON (Under his breath) Fascist motherfucker! The SON opens the hood of the car. He looks inside. A nearby WHITE ROAD SIGN reads: "SERVICE STATION 11KM". A WHITE GOOSE sits by the sign. FATHER looks at the black suitcase on his knees. He opens it slowly and glimpse at a gun inside. Then he slowly takes it out. Son cannot see him from behind the open hood. SON (in English) What if I forgot to fill up...? Son closes the hood rapidly. The SOUND of closing hood frightens the goose and it flies away. FATHER closes the suitcase immediately and stick his head out of the window. FATHER (in Serbian) What? SON (loud, in Serbian) I might have forgotten to fill up! The FATHER gets out of the vehicle. FATHER Do you mean that you might have forgotten to fill up? SON I hate doing it. I always feel as if though I'm filling up with the blood of Arab children... In the meantime a horse-drawn carriage slowly approaches from the distance. The FATHER re-enters the car, where he prepares his camcorder in hurry and begins to videotape the incoming carriage. CAMCORDER P.O.V. The SON waves to the DRIVER of the carriage. The carriage stops and the DRIVER dismounts. He is a Mennonite in his forties, dressed in typical Mennonite garb. He has a full grown black beard. He notices that the FATHER is filming him with the camcorder and waves his hand with disapproval. The FATHER continues to film, but his attention shifts to the carriage, where five children (two pre-teen boys, and three younger girls) are sitting. The children exit the carriage. SON Dad! Cut it out! Or we will never get out of this hell. INT. CAR - DAY - LATER "2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God The FATHER and SON are seated in the car again. The MENNONITE's five CHILDREN sit in the back. The oldest boy, JOSHUA, plays a counting rhyme game pointing at his siblings one by one. JOSHUA Eeny, meeny, miney, moe Catch the LORD GOD by the toe If he hollers let him go, Eeny, meeny, miney, moe. Children burst out laughing when the youngest girl gets "chosen". They play the game over and over again just changing the roles. FATHER Good God! It reminds me of your grandfather's village where the women used to have at least ten children each... Do you ever think about the pleasure of having a son? The FATHER removes an old leather wallet from his coat pocket and pulls out a faded black and white photograph showing him wearing a partisan uniform with a rifle on his shoulder. His wife and their seven children are standing beside him by the Lada. The oldest son (eight years of age) looks at his father with pride and respect, and perhaps a bit of amusement. The photography slowly fades of, leaving the paper blank. FATHER (CONT'D, O.S.) See how you looked at me... I was like a God to you... The SON pays no attention to the photograph. SON The Earth is overpopulated. And I'm not yet ready to sacrifice the unbearable lightness of my being... Especially taking my job into account. FATHER Lord save me, you've already lost your cultural identity! You don't even have a gun, do you? No self-respecting girl will ever go out with a guy who cannot keep her safe! (after a pause) I understand you though... I'm also not attracted to non-Slavic girls. SON Dad! I swear to God, that is some shit... FATHER Stop swearing! SON G..osh! This is a paradise for male! Do you know how many famous modeling agencies can be found in Toronto? FATHER Slavic goddesses are the best, and that's that! (humming some Russian pop song about girls) SON You'll see... tonight! I swear I will show you two hundred and twenty two amazing goddesses, of all races! FATHER Sure... But why "only" two hundred and twenty two? SON Why not?! OK, maybe just two hundred, if I exclude possible transsexuals... My Facebook account is full of them! FATHER Facebook? All Christians?? SON G...osh! FATHER Are the girls Christians, or not? SON I didn't ask them during the interview! The question is politically incorrect and totally irrelevant! FATHER Irrelevant!? SON You're a bigot! FATHER I am not, I swear on Tito's name! SON OK, would you mind if your youngest daughter married a Muslim... An Albanian perhaps? Damn good question, is it not? FATHER My Jelena would never do such a thing to me... And if she did, I'd shoot them both on the spot! SON That's what I thought! Bigot! G...osh! How can you be so sure about the superiority of Christianity! The Inquisition, the Crusades, the Conquest, our war! FATHER Do not talk that way of your religion! Blasphemer! SON Blasphemer? That's impossible. I'm agnostic!! FATHER My good God! SON God IS NOT good! If he was, how come there's so much pain and suffering, all the hatred, all the WARS?! FATHER Sin is the cause of all suffering. SON Bullshit! What did an infant with a genetic deformation, causing him to suffer unbearable pain, ever do wrong to deserve suffering?! FATHER You urgently need to speak to a priest! You cannot just shamelessly blame God for everything! What have YOU done for the benefit of humanity? SON Not much, but at least I'm not hypocritical enough to call myself a Christian. FATHER So sentence yourself to one hundred years of solitude if that's what your want! Children look at Father and Son with a wide open eyes. EXT. SERVICE STATION - DAY "3. Remember thou keep the Sabbath Day." The FATHER and the SON stop on the hill by the the SERVICE STATION. The MENNONITE is leave them here. The MENNONITE's CHILDREN get out of the car and help their father unhitch the horse from the car. The SON gets out of the car. The Mennonite has finished harnessing the horse to the buggy. His children get back into the buggy. The SON shakes his hand. SON (in English) Thanks so much, man! MENNONITE You're most welcome. God bless you! SON Well, you too! The MENNONITE leaves. The SON leans on the car and start to push it down the hill, towards the station. SON (CONT'D) (to himself, in Serbian) Although God is, of course, dead. Two attractive girls, OLGA and ASTA, stand by a yellow car with OLGA's husband GEORGE, who is a gas station attendant. ASTA wears a very short skirt and a tight blouse even though it is quite cold. George is pumping the air into ASTA's car wheels while chatting with OLGA. ASTA and OLGA laugh at the couple seeing that their car is being pushed. Son stops the car by the gas pump. The FATHER takes out the video camera in a hurry. FATHER What a lack of shame and respect! It's Sunday for God's sake! FATHER CAMCORDER'S P.O.V. The FATHER films the girls, from time to time closing in SON (in English) Hey, babes! Wanna go for a ride? FATHER (O.S.) (in Serbian) What do you think you're you doing?! SON I'm adjusting to local cultural customs. FATHER (O.S.) Good God! All the years I've wasted on rising him! Behave! You're not a cowboy! GEORGE is done with the wheels. He takes OLGA into his arms and kisses her. ASTA gets into her car and drives away. Her car's LICENSE PLATES consists of a series of THREES. BACK TO SCENE OLGA and GEORGE pick up an advertisement board leaning on the wall of the SERVICE STATION RESTAURANT to the right of its entrance. They put it in front of the entrance. OLGA writes on it with a chalk: "Anything you ever desired from $3 and up". When she is done, she ENTERS the restaurant, sending GEORGE a farewell kiss. GEORGE walks away towards the garage. He laughs as if he recalled something funny. He speaks SON (in Serbian) I have to tell you a story. I was trying to get laid... FATHER Get laid? The FATHER's confusion suggests that he did not understand the meaning of the expression "get laid" right away. When he realizes what it means, he opens his eyes with surprise and indignation. FATHER (CONT'D) SEXUAL intercourse, BEFORE marriage?! SON Dad! Get with it! Twenty first century?!! So... A girl I dated was, for some weird reason, interested in philosophy. I told her about some graffiti I saw saying "God is dead" and signed: "Friedrich Nietzsche". Underneath there was another message though... Son pretends he is painting graffiti on an imaginary wall. SON (CONT'D) "I'm OK. Nietzsche is dead though" Signed... "God"! Son laughs loudly. Father remains serious. SON Nietzsche is dead! Ha ha! Funny, 'cause he actually IS dead, get it?! The FATHER's serious facial expression remains unchanged. SON Don't you...get it? FATHER Every child knows that story. It comes from Bertrand Russell's book "On The Life of Nietzsche", page 333, Berlin '33, Third Edition. SON I don't think that every child knows who Nietzsche is to begin with! FATHER And thank God they don't! He never ever attended Mass on Sundays, same as Russell! In that moment George approaches them. He wears a T-shirt with his name in the front and big number "3" on the back. SON (in English, with Serbian accent) Hey dude! George, right? GEORGE Hi! Can I help you? The SON points to the car. SON It won't start. Could you take a look at it? GEORGE Sure, I can look at it. The SON gives GEORGE the key to the car. SON Thanks! Give me the estimation of the repair cost when you know what's up. We'll be in FATHER (whispering with impudence, in Serbian) Is he working on Sunday? They leave GEORGE with the car and walk toward the restaurant. They pass by the wall of the restaurant with graffiti "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'entrate" ("Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.", subtitled). INT. SERVICE STATION - "THE BROKEN TEN" RESTAURANT - DAY "4. Honor thy Father and thy Mother". The SON and FATHER ENTER. The restaurant, furnished with pinkish plastic tables and chairs, is almost full. At the counter a waitress, OLGA, the girl they have seen before, chats with a young and handsome American guy, JACK. The restaurant logo, a number ten broken into two pieces, hangs on the wall over the counter. The FATHER and SON choose the closest table and sit down. OLGA approaches them holding two MENUS. OLGA Nice to see you AGAIN guys! Welcome to "The Broken Ten". Something to drink perhaps? The SON looks at the girl flirtatiously. The FATHER also looks at OLGA lustily. She gives each of them a MENU. SON A diet coke, please. (in Serbian) She asks if you wanted something to drink. FATHER (to Olga, with strong accent, in English) Pleazze one espresso pleazze, Milady. They both open the menu in the shape of Ten Commandment stone tablets. It lists ten items, four dollars each. SON (in Serbian) Go..sh! It's expensive! Motherf... Father looks at the black suitcase. FATHER Don't worry about the prices. I will resolve your financial problems in the way I use to deal with mine. SON (laughing) You? How? Don't you remember that I paid for your flight ticket? You were never able to help me financially. The FATHER is visibly hurt by the SON's comment. OLGA is waiting for their decision. The SON looks at Olga's identification card pinned to her blouse. Her ID number consists of a series of FOURS. From the pocket under the lapel of his jacket the FATHER removes a pack of cigarettes named "Tens". They are labeled with a logo nearly identical to the restaurant's logo. There are exactly four cigarettes in the pack. He pulls out one of them and lights it with the lighter of the same brand. OLGA I'm sorry, sir, but you can't smoke here. The FATHER is confused as he does not understand English. FATHER (in Serbian) What did she say? SON You're not allowed to smoke here... FATHER Hahaha. Tell her that I feel sonn she will allow me to do anything I want... Son does not translate this remark though. There is a moment of confusion, but at last Father gives up and decide to stuffs out the cigarette. EXTREME CLOSEUP .. on the smoldering end of cigarette. The FATHER takes out a mini cigarette "snubber" and slowly snuffs out the cigarette reciting Dante's "Inferno". FATHER (O.S.) (in Serbian) "I am the way into the city of woe. I am the way into eternal sorrow. Abandon all hope, ye who enter here..." With the words "who enter here" the cigarette goes out. BACK TO SCENE. The FATHER puts the cigarette pack back into the pocket. Son is not listening to Father at all. He just goes through the list of dishes. SON Pizza or burger? FATHER I would love to have some pork rinds. SON (ignoring Father's wish) Pepperoni? The FATHER does not answer. SON (to OLGA, in English) A large pizza, crispy and thin with pepperoni, olives, red onion and mushrooms. No anchovies, please. OLGA leaves with the orders. Son follows her sexy walk with his eyes. SON (in English) She... is... smokin'! FATHER (in Serbian) Don't talk in English to me! SON (to FATHER, in Serbian) Ah, just talking to myself about anchovies. Did you know that millions beached themselves in the north of Spain recently? I'm not taking any chances. Better safe than sorry! FATHER Christ almighty! What are you talking about? Are you stressed with your job or what? You never told me what do you actually do SON I work at the University. FATHER That's not a job to be ashamed of! Why you have no money then? SON I... I have money. I'm just having a temporal problems with a credit cart spiral. And my job is, well, definitely better than your first job. Father is hurt with the remark. Son's watching Olga sending the orders to the chef and coming back to JACK, who is still standing at the counter. SON We have a kind of union and everything, but... FATHER I'm proud of you. Are you high up in the hierarchy? SON (V.O.) ...but I don't want to live the immigrant life; being a custodian for the rest of my life... I know a guy who actually made his to the top. He did a PhD on "The flea in literature". FATHER So you're just a cleaner, eh? Son realizes immediately that Fathers earlier appreciation of his job was a misunderstanding. To hide the ironic smile which appeared on his face Father starts to cough. His simulated cough turns into heavy coughing though. Son looks at Father in anger. SON Stop coughing! Are you dying or what? FATHER (still coughing) Everybody dies... But I'm a good Christian. I'll go straight to heaven. You... We'll see. SON If Heaven exists, either everybody goes there or it's completely empty. FATHER Hmm? SON Let's take Bush for example. He'll go to hell for sure, right? But what if you were his father? You die and you go to Heaven. Now, how can you be eternally happy knowing that your son is suffering in Hell? FATHER But what if I did not know that my son was in Hell? SON Then I say "fuck such a fake paradise"... Son notices Olga is alone now. He stands up immediately, preventing Father from expressing his protest against Son's last remark. SON Back in a sec. Son hurries quietly to the washroom, avoiding being seen. ... continue with the part II (in my portfolio). |
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