Post by Cristo on Oct 14, 2008 19:32:30 GMT -5
In Daunting Shadows, part 1.
Hello, and welcome to the first part of my film "In Daunting Shadows". I am posting it in parts for two reasons. First, this film is deep and has quite a few monologues, and no one would sit through it in one sitting. Also, it allows time to seek, to sit and for you to analyze it. Perhaps, read only a few paragraphs at a time. Also, notice that this is rather short. Not all will be this short, some may be quite long. However, I am cutting the film up, based on what happens, not in length. Thus, here you are.
Fade in:
EXT. Alley- Morning
DENMARK, a middle aged man, is sleeping in an alley. It is bright outside and he is slouched against the wall. “Nearer My God to Thee” starts playing as a carriage drives by, waking Denmark up. Slowly he stumbles to his feet and brushes his hand through his hair, looking around nervously. After waking up, he turns and limps down the long alley. The song stops.
EXT. Woods- Morning
Shots of nature and birds are inserted. It cuts to Denmark is peeling bark off of a tree. Cut to him putting it in a pile. Cut to him peeling more. He goes to a fire pit and lights a fire. Cut to him peeling more. He hears a noise and stops, slightly scared, and looks behind the tree. Cut to the fire. Denmark enters the screen, grabs a rifle out of his bag and leaves the screen. Cut to Denmark walking in the woods. He wanders for a bit before finally slouching behind a fallen tree. He raises the rifle, aiming ahead. It cuts to a clearing in the woods. Slowly a wild boar comes into view. It comes closer and closer. Cut to Denmark aiming the gun at the screen. After a while of silence, he fires. He stands and goes to the clearing, looks around, finds the dead boar and grabs it by the legs, dragging it off screen. Cut to Denmark sitting by the fire, eating some meat, the boar roasting over the flames. Slowly it fades to black. A title card comes up that reads “Once Upon a Story…”
Cut to a cabin in the middle of the woods, the large moon silhouetting it. A title card appears which reads, “Faith?” We then see Denmark standing behind some brush looking at the cabin, staring at it. Crickets and animals can be heard. After a while watching, he starts to go forward, but stops when he hears a different noise. He pulls back slightly, behind a bush. An older man of about 40 years, with slightly long hair, and naked, walks out of the cabin. He goes into the moonlight and stares out at it, stretching. It cuts back to Denmark, who is looking at him, nervously. He watches for a while before slightly turning, in which he breaks a twig, making noise. The older man, HERMIT, turns quickly and is looking out in the brush.
Hermit- Hey there, I see you! What are you doing?
Denmark looks very scared as he was noticed. He stays still; his pupils and eyes grow large.
Hermit- There is no point in staying in the dark. Show yourself!
He steps forward and talks with a curious voice.
Hermit- Who are you?
Denmark opens his mouth and answers, but to the viewer it is inaudible, and we just see his mouth moving. It is then as if the reel broke, as the screen distorts for a second or two, only to regain itself and get back into focus. Denmark is walking up the path to the cabin when we can see clearly again. It cuts to them sitting at a campfire. The hermit takes a large sip of water.
Hermit- I know you. You wouldn’t think it, but all of these experiences we share, the lives we live, I know all about you. You are wondering, where my clothes are and why I am out here. The reason is society. I am…split from them, different. My clothes, and yours, represent the society you come from, they are a logo of the life you must lead, trademarks for the rules you must follow. And thus, I shed them; I stripped them of all importance, and became free. Free from society’s constant reining, their constant hunger for blood, and into a world of my own, this nature utopian. I am…alone here, I have no name, no identity, no life to live.
Denmark- My name is…
Hermit- No! No, I don’t want to know your name, we’ve no need for names here. You are “society”. Please. I need something, I cannot be left alone anymore, act as society, be a figure, give me a little support, I can’t…I can’t keep living out here without something, just a trace. Please.
Cut to Denmark’s face, curiously disturbed.
Hermit- You know I used to be a priest? At a town, strictly puritan. I was giving a sermon, and all of a sudden, this unstoppable force entered me, and wouldn’t leave. It kept compelling me towards sin, towards separation from the church, from god, and this power it exerted on me was so strong, too great, I developed an illness. One day, as I walked through the woods, hoping the fresh air would do me good, I had…an experience. It was unlike anything I have ever felt before, a mix of colors and emotions, all for which have been bottled up in me for so long, finally bursting free, pounding out of me, like a heart beat, pushing my essence out for the world. It is at that moment, I decided to leave. To run away, to break free form society and their restrictions, their barriers, and create my own.
Denmark- When was that?
Hermit- Quite a while ago…may I tell you a story?
Silence.
Hermit- Throughout our whole lives, there are points which pass, memories that come and go, as we lose our grip on them, and then there are those which endure, which live on, embedded deep into our brain and our soul, a staple of the life we have lived, and a gift for the future. I will never forget that bright, summer day, that day with the orange sun shining, that day in which the blue water refracted the light, seemingly creating an aura of beauty all to itself. I will never forget, I never want to forget. To lose that would mean losing me, my essence, my thoughts, the past I cherish as history, and a holy grail, a bright and shining light which would help brighten my ambitious journey, a dark adventure. All stories must begin you know, they all do. Few, however, ever end, and that is the glory of this story. It continues, to this day, making me who I am. The wind howled over the deep, blue water, with the waves crashing over the rocks and the birds teasing the fish, playfully flying overhead, performing their duties with a silent graciousness. The shore was dying down, as the water pulled back on the loose sand, exposing more and more of the bare earth that lay beneath. Over the whistles in the air, the lake sounded busy, but calm, maintaining its position in the time of year, while being careful not to rush, holding on to that last breath of summer, and preparing for the fall to arrive. I was lying on the shore, taking in the characteristics of the life around me: the sounds, the smells, and the taste of the warm, summer air, it was all so…magnificent. Thoughts floating, carelessly flowing through my brain, the ending of one leading to the start of another and all the while my mother was there. She has had a disease for quite a few months, and tragically the end was coming. It is an odd feeling to know that an end is near you now, it never seems just right, the end to a life, to a journey, even to a story. However, as I said that stories never end, neither do lives, and people live on through memories and joy, joy of the time here, rather then the time gone. However, not knowing when the end will come is more merciful then knowing the moment, as it feels like an event that took place in some different world, another life, and probably, for her, the end was now, at that moment, as I laid on the shore, feeling the forces of nature, unbeknownst to the fact that a life had just ended. I wonder if there was a feeling, a gut feeling, something which moved me. I cannot remember. If there was, it was shrugged off of any importance, and so I was left, with the world unchanged, the seagulls haven’t stopped, and the red flowers still withered away in the sunlight. My mother was closed in her room, devoid of these pleasures, the delights that the world was giving off, encased between four walls, barriers to another atmosphere of its own, and stripped of the right to experience these wonders. And still, I just stood on the shore, staring off into the distance, the way across the lake, to the shore on the other side, and I thought if they saw the same sun, the same plants and trees, and if there too, they laid on the deck, wondering these things, tying together a cycle which linked the world, still attached, even when a link broke free, free from the bonds and into a world of its own: a peaceful and tranquil paradise. Inside my emotions were bursting with energy, a life so exerted and so uncontrollable that it was almost too much, and then memories came to me, memories of my past, and thoughts of her, my mother. As I stood, looking endlessly into a vast space of thought and imagination, things changed. A carriage drove by on the road behind me, human life resumed as the noise seemed to mark the end of an orchestra, an opera, or a lengthy show, almost informing me that it has come, that it was over. Then reality came back to me, and I was no longer floating around a universe to my own, bare except for myself, and I was left, with both feet on the ground, and trapped in the world I desperately wished to escape. This is when it really hit me, when I really felt the desire, the force to just…drop all of my precious belongings, my few treasures, and just…leave it all, leave everything. You, society, have betrayed me, you know, you have…hurt me, deep.
Denmark- What about your father, where is he?
Hermit- I do think of returning sometimes, I do, I’m not perfect, none of us can be…perfect. However, I try not to, I try…try to…advance myself in this private universe, escape into a new mind-set, a new frame of thinking, bent on nature, and not on work, or religion, or, or, or, uh…death, you know, and life, the antithesis, right? Wrong. What’s the difference! You go from one life, to another life, and it all…it makes me sick, it makes me…unsure, and I think, uh, I think I am ready to die, I think I could just…die. And….really, would you care? Does it matter to you? What are your thoughts on death, do you think of death? Death is everywhere, it is with this modern age, this…progression, if that’s a word, this movement, you know, this big movement, and all these plans, it just…kills me. Not in the ,literal sense, of course, I mean, who gets literal, why dive into that, that’s like…it’s a whole new category of speaking, its pointless, just another diversity, another “race” another factor, you know, we all have these factors, these statistics, these…oh, numeric calculations, of how we act, why we act, how we do things, its all set in stone, its all pre-planned, pre-set, a life laid out for us, like some brick path, and it makes me wonder how carefully it was planned, where is the deviation? Is there any? I mean, suppose I…
The hermit stands up and draws a line in the sand with his feat.
Hermit (Cont…)- …Suppose I crossed this line. What would happen? What consequences would follow? Would the world end? Yes, it would! They say… they say, “don’t cross that line”, and if I do, the world ends, my realism, and I’m left with nothing, no life, no thoughts, just...my fantasy, my imaginative world, this so called paradise, if there is one, paradise. Its all a lie, another lie from society, you want to know what comes after death? Freedom. Freedom from these lies, this society, this….undertaking of the rules, the rules, all of these rules! What do you do?
The camera cuts to Denmark’s face, his eyes wide with curiosity.
Hermit (Cont…)- I mean, what do you…use, how do you…free yourself? Is there a method…a form? It is, uh…required isn’t it, tell me that, society, I need it don’t I? I’m not crazy, I’m not insane, I need it right? It’s all needed, right? It’s, uh, something of me, I can’t lose it, you…yes, you pushed it on me, you forced it one me, it was all you! And for what? To punish me for it, to chastise me for it, that’s….absurd, you can’t torment me for something that I need, you know.
Denmark- I don’t know how I free myself, I…don’t know
Hermit- Don’t know, no one knows, what is freedom after all? Is it in the mind, is it all mental, a process we can trick ourselves out of, fool ourselves out of believing? Here, come here, I want to show you something, I want to….let you see something, experience a form of escape, I uh…
The hermit takes Denmark’s arm and pulls him up slightly.
Hermit (Cont…)- Come on, over here, come on.
There is a tent in the woods, sort of like a greenhouse. A light dims slowly, then finally flickers on and we see plants, lined up, being very well taken care of.
Hermit- This is it, this is the supply, my source, the uh…freedom, to get redundant. They say that these…plants, they are a source of evil. They are really the only true beauty I know of in this world.
Denmark- Cocaine?
Hermit- Cocaine, marijuana, who knows, it is the thought, the idea, the nature of it. Why get mixed up in names, technicalities, why stop the innocence from it, the…purity of it all. Yes, I sell it, it connects me to society, my one connection, I can’t, I mean, I can’t be totally…gone. I need…something.
The Hermit Chuckles.
Hermit (Cont…)- And they have their business, their corporations, they take in money, they give out money, its this cycle, you see. Well, not here, not here, you know, I’m above that, I’m far beyond that, it’s a whole new stage. The level is set, let the games begin, you know, and I’m in the lead. That’s because I know something they don’t know, I know the factors, I know how it is, that the rules are strangling, and they cut off the air for life, for business, not corporations, but business, my business, this knowledge that profit is relative and that money, contrary to popular belief, does in fact, grow on…trees.
The hermit gently fondles a leaf to the plants, snaps it off with his fingers, sniffs it and then eats it.
Hermit- Oh, and look at this!
He bends down and pulls out a sack, taking a box out of it, then showing some joints.
Hermit- Try this
Cut to Denmark who takes it and nervously looks at it. He considers it, looking down at it like a mysterious artifact.
Hermit- Try it, its good, it will do things for you, man, open up new realms, a whole new world for yourself, a new life, one you never even knew you had. Expand your mind, take a dive into that sensual aura of light, separate your mind and body.
Denmark takes a puff, then coughs, not used to the smoke. He passes the joint to the hermit who takes a large puff as well. Everything is dead silent.
Hermit- What was that? What was…who was that? They’re after me, you know, they want to kill me, you know, for freeing myself, for the separation. Its madness, confusion lost in chaos lost in nothingness, and I’m smack in the middle, right. Because of this skepticism; you ask questions, you die, you think, you die!
Denmark- I didn’t hear anything
Hermit- That’s because you are immune. You are so blinded by regulation after regulation, this is what you should think, this is what you shouldn’t, the truth is out of your field of vision, its gone, its somewhere…
He points to the dark sky.
Hermit (Cont…)- …out there, lost out there, in space, you know. Where is it? No one knows, how can anyone know, they tell us god knows, wrong, god doesn’t know, there is no god, there is no second chance, god is a…a myth, you know, it isn’t real, its all made to keep us in place, for more rules. Shhhh!
There is a pause.
Hermit (Cont…)- Get in the grass, down in the grass.
The hermit and Denmark get in the deeps grass, Denmark looking confused. After a long pause of sitting there, the hermit takes of running fast. Denmark stares after him for a second before walking, slowly, to follow him. As he parts through some bushes, he sees the hermit in the lake up to his knees, hands pointed in the air. Crying.
Hermit- God you lie, you fake, take me away, take me away, can you do that! Take me away!
It fades out. When it opens again, Denmark and the hermit are around the same campfire.
Hermit- It’s so…lonely, out here. I haven’t “been”, in quite a while, haven’t had a form of being. I would like… I would like to experience those interactions, but the fear, no one…no one will step forward. Are you lonely, do you wander about searching for lost soul, other spirits, looking for someone to bond with you, fill your heart and save you from this veil of darkness?
Denmark- I understand
There is a semi-medium pause.
Hermit- No, I don’t think so, I don’t…I can’t fathom that you can. It is a…horrible feeling, a mood of depression. Have you ever felt like the sky was a pale, grey canvas, bare of all signs of life, and that the sun would seemingly never come up? It’s…scary. Terrifying really. Sometimes I…I look up, and…wonder, “Where are you. Where is this, so called, power, this divine secret?”. And then nothing. Nothing. Just…darkness.
Long pause.
Hermit- I think that we should…rest, it…it is late.
He stands up, seemingly depressed, and walks off. It then fades out and then in to Denmark sleeping in a tent. The camera stays on him for a while. In the background the hermit, still naked, walks up to the transparent tent door, and stares through. Fade out.
INT. Tent- Morning
We hear birds chirping as the camera fades in. Denmark is sleeping, but shortly awakens. He regains conciseness and sits up slowly, rubbing his hand through his hair. He puts on his glasses, and then gets a curious look on his face. It pans over to reveal that the hermit is lying in the same bed, his hand on Denmark’s thigh. Denmark’s eyes widen, and his face gets a scared but controlled. He slowly stands up, backing out of the tent.
EXT. Woods- Morning
Denmark is still in shock, backing up slowly. He stumbles a little on the ground, and quickly stands up right. He turns down a path in the woods and starts limping down it, a long path that seems to go off in the horizon. Fade out.
To Be Continued...
Hello, and welcome to the first part of my film "In Daunting Shadows". I am posting it in parts for two reasons. First, this film is deep and has quite a few monologues, and no one would sit through it in one sitting. Also, it allows time to seek, to sit and for you to analyze it. Perhaps, read only a few paragraphs at a time. Also, notice that this is rather short. Not all will be this short, some may be quite long. However, I am cutting the film up, based on what happens, not in length. Thus, here you are.
Fade in:
EXT. Alley- Morning
DENMARK, a middle aged man, is sleeping in an alley. It is bright outside and he is slouched against the wall. “Nearer My God to Thee” starts playing as a carriage drives by, waking Denmark up. Slowly he stumbles to his feet and brushes his hand through his hair, looking around nervously. After waking up, he turns and limps down the long alley. The song stops.
EXT. Woods- Morning
Shots of nature and birds are inserted. It cuts to Denmark is peeling bark off of a tree. Cut to him putting it in a pile. Cut to him peeling more. He goes to a fire pit and lights a fire. Cut to him peeling more. He hears a noise and stops, slightly scared, and looks behind the tree. Cut to the fire. Denmark enters the screen, grabs a rifle out of his bag and leaves the screen. Cut to Denmark walking in the woods. He wanders for a bit before finally slouching behind a fallen tree. He raises the rifle, aiming ahead. It cuts to a clearing in the woods. Slowly a wild boar comes into view. It comes closer and closer. Cut to Denmark aiming the gun at the screen. After a while of silence, he fires. He stands and goes to the clearing, looks around, finds the dead boar and grabs it by the legs, dragging it off screen. Cut to Denmark sitting by the fire, eating some meat, the boar roasting over the flames. Slowly it fades to black. A title card comes up that reads “Once Upon a Story…”
Cut to a cabin in the middle of the woods, the large moon silhouetting it. A title card appears which reads, “Faith?” We then see Denmark standing behind some brush looking at the cabin, staring at it. Crickets and animals can be heard. After a while watching, he starts to go forward, but stops when he hears a different noise. He pulls back slightly, behind a bush. An older man of about 40 years, with slightly long hair, and naked, walks out of the cabin. He goes into the moonlight and stares out at it, stretching. It cuts back to Denmark, who is looking at him, nervously. He watches for a while before slightly turning, in which he breaks a twig, making noise. The older man, HERMIT, turns quickly and is looking out in the brush.
Hermit- Hey there, I see you! What are you doing?
Denmark looks very scared as he was noticed. He stays still; his pupils and eyes grow large.
Hermit- There is no point in staying in the dark. Show yourself!
He steps forward and talks with a curious voice.
Hermit- Who are you?
Denmark opens his mouth and answers, but to the viewer it is inaudible, and we just see his mouth moving. It is then as if the reel broke, as the screen distorts for a second or two, only to regain itself and get back into focus. Denmark is walking up the path to the cabin when we can see clearly again. It cuts to them sitting at a campfire. The hermit takes a large sip of water.
Hermit- I know you. You wouldn’t think it, but all of these experiences we share, the lives we live, I know all about you. You are wondering, where my clothes are and why I am out here. The reason is society. I am…split from them, different. My clothes, and yours, represent the society you come from, they are a logo of the life you must lead, trademarks for the rules you must follow. And thus, I shed them; I stripped them of all importance, and became free. Free from society’s constant reining, their constant hunger for blood, and into a world of my own, this nature utopian. I am…alone here, I have no name, no identity, no life to live.
Denmark- My name is…
Hermit- No! No, I don’t want to know your name, we’ve no need for names here. You are “society”. Please. I need something, I cannot be left alone anymore, act as society, be a figure, give me a little support, I can’t…I can’t keep living out here without something, just a trace. Please.
Cut to Denmark’s face, curiously disturbed.
Hermit- You know I used to be a priest? At a town, strictly puritan. I was giving a sermon, and all of a sudden, this unstoppable force entered me, and wouldn’t leave. It kept compelling me towards sin, towards separation from the church, from god, and this power it exerted on me was so strong, too great, I developed an illness. One day, as I walked through the woods, hoping the fresh air would do me good, I had…an experience. It was unlike anything I have ever felt before, a mix of colors and emotions, all for which have been bottled up in me for so long, finally bursting free, pounding out of me, like a heart beat, pushing my essence out for the world. It is at that moment, I decided to leave. To run away, to break free form society and their restrictions, their barriers, and create my own.
Denmark- When was that?
Hermit- Quite a while ago…may I tell you a story?
Silence.
Hermit- Throughout our whole lives, there are points which pass, memories that come and go, as we lose our grip on them, and then there are those which endure, which live on, embedded deep into our brain and our soul, a staple of the life we have lived, and a gift for the future. I will never forget that bright, summer day, that day with the orange sun shining, that day in which the blue water refracted the light, seemingly creating an aura of beauty all to itself. I will never forget, I never want to forget. To lose that would mean losing me, my essence, my thoughts, the past I cherish as history, and a holy grail, a bright and shining light which would help brighten my ambitious journey, a dark adventure. All stories must begin you know, they all do. Few, however, ever end, and that is the glory of this story. It continues, to this day, making me who I am. The wind howled over the deep, blue water, with the waves crashing over the rocks and the birds teasing the fish, playfully flying overhead, performing their duties with a silent graciousness. The shore was dying down, as the water pulled back on the loose sand, exposing more and more of the bare earth that lay beneath. Over the whistles in the air, the lake sounded busy, but calm, maintaining its position in the time of year, while being careful not to rush, holding on to that last breath of summer, and preparing for the fall to arrive. I was lying on the shore, taking in the characteristics of the life around me: the sounds, the smells, and the taste of the warm, summer air, it was all so…magnificent. Thoughts floating, carelessly flowing through my brain, the ending of one leading to the start of another and all the while my mother was there. She has had a disease for quite a few months, and tragically the end was coming. It is an odd feeling to know that an end is near you now, it never seems just right, the end to a life, to a journey, even to a story. However, as I said that stories never end, neither do lives, and people live on through memories and joy, joy of the time here, rather then the time gone. However, not knowing when the end will come is more merciful then knowing the moment, as it feels like an event that took place in some different world, another life, and probably, for her, the end was now, at that moment, as I laid on the shore, feeling the forces of nature, unbeknownst to the fact that a life had just ended. I wonder if there was a feeling, a gut feeling, something which moved me. I cannot remember. If there was, it was shrugged off of any importance, and so I was left, with the world unchanged, the seagulls haven’t stopped, and the red flowers still withered away in the sunlight. My mother was closed in her room, devoid of these pleasures, the delights that the world was giving off, encased between four walls, barriers to another atmosphere of its own, and stripped of the right to experience these wonders. And still, I just stood on the shore, staring off into the distance, the way across the lake, to the shore on the other side, and I thought if they saw the same sun, the same plants and trees, and if there too, they laid on the deck, wondering these things, tying together a cycle which linked the world, still attached, even when a link broke free, free from the bonds and into a world of its own: a peaceful and tranquil paradise. Inside my emotions were bursting with energy, a life so exerted and so uncontrollable that it was almost too much, and then memories came to me, memories of my past, and thoughts of her, my mother. As I stood, looking endlessly into a vast space of thought and imagination, things changed. A carriage drove by on the road behind me, human life resumed as the noise seemed to mark the end of an orchestra, an opera, or a lengthy show, almost informing me that it has come, that it was over. Then reality came back to me, and I was no longer floating around a universe to my own, bare except for myself, and I was left, with both feet on the ground, and trapped in the world I desperately wished to escape. This is when it really hit me, when I really felt the desire, the force to just…drop all of my precious belongings, my few treasures, and just…leave it all, leave everything. You, society, have betrayed me, you know, you have…hurt me, deep.
Denmark- What about your father, where is he?
Hermit- I do think of returning sometimes, I do, I’m not perfect, none of us can be…perfect. However, I try not to, I try…try to…advance myself in this private universe, escape into a new mind-set, a new frame of thinking, bent on nature, and not on work, or religion, or, or, or, uh…death, you know, and life, the antithesis, right? Wrong. What’s the difference! You go from one life, to another life, and it all…it makes me sick, it makes me…unsure, and I think, uh, I think I am ready to die, I think I could just…die. And….really, would you care? Does it matter to you? What are your thoughts on death, do you think of death? Death is everywhere, it is with this modern age, this…progression, if that’s a word, this movement, you know, this big movement, and all these plans, it just…kills me. Not in the ,literal sense, of course, I mean, who gets literal, why dive into that, that’s like…it’s a whole new category of speaking, its pointless, just another diversity, another “race” another factor, you know, we all have these factors, these statistics, these…oh, numeric calculations, of how we act, why we act, how we do things, its all set in stone, its all pre-planned, pre-set, a life laid out for us, like some brick path, and it makes me wonder how carefully it was planned, where is the deviation? Is there any? I mean, suppose I…
The hermit stands up and draws a line in the sand with his feat.
Hermit (Cont…)- …Suppose I crossed this line. What would happen? What consequences would follow? Would the world end? Yes, it would! They say… they say, “don’t cross that line”, and if I do, the world ends, my realism, and I’m left with nothing, no life, no thoughts, just...my fantasy, my imaginative world, this so called paradise, if there is one, paradise. Its all a lie, another lie from society, you want to know what comes after death? Freedom. Freedom from these lies, this society, this….undertaking of the rules, the rules, all of these rules! What do you do?
The camera cuts to Denmark’s face, his eyes wide with curiosity.
Hermit (Cont…)- I mean, what do you…use, how do you…free yourself? Is there a method…a form? It is, uh…required isn’t it, tell me that, society, I need it don’t I? I’m not crazy, I’m not insane, I need it right? It’s all needed, right? It’s, uh, something of me, I can’t lose it, you…yes, you pushed it on me, you forced it one me, it was all you! And for what? To punish me for it, to chastise me for it, that’s….absurd, you can’t torment me for something that I need, you know.
Denmark- I don’t know how I free myself, I…don’t know
Hermit- Don’t know, no one knows, what is freedom after all? Is it in the mind, is it all mental, a process we can trick ourselves out of, fool ourselves out of believing? Here, come here, I want to show you something, I want to….let you see something, experience a form of escape, I uh…
The hermit takes Denmark’s arm and pulls him up slightly.
Hermit (Cont…)- Come on, over here, come on.
There is a tent in the woods, sort of like a greenhouse. A light dims slowly, then finally flickers on and we see plants, lined up, being very well taken care of.
Hermit- This is it, this is the supply, my source, the uh…freedom, to get redundant. They say that these…plants, they are a source of evil. They are really the only true beauty I know of in this world.
Denmark- Cocaine?
Hermit- Cocaine, marijuana, who knows, it is the thought, the idea, the nature of it. Why get mixed up in names, technicalities, why stop the innocence from it, the…purity of it all. Yes, I sell it, it connects me to society, my one connection, I can’t, I mean, I can’t be totally…gone. I need…something.
The Hermit Chuckles.
Hermit (Cont…)- And they have their business, their corporations, they take in money, they give out money, its this cycle, you see. Well, not here, not here, you know, I’m above that, I’m far beyond that, it’s a whole new stage. The level is set, let the games begin, you know, and I’m in the lead. That’s because I know something they don’t know, I know the factors, I know how it is, that the rules are strangling, and they cut off the air for life, for business, not corporations, but business, my business, this knowledge that profit is relative and that money, contrary to popular belief, does in fact, grow on…trees.
The hermit gently fondles a leaf to the plants, snaps it off with his fingers, sniffs it and then eats it.
Hermit- Oh, and look at this!
He bends down and pulls out a sack, taking a box out of it, then showing some joints.
Hermit- Try this
Cut to Denmark who takes it and nervously looks at it. He considers it, looking down at it like a mysterious artifact.
Hermit- Try it, its good, it will do things for you, man, open up new realms, a whole new world for yourself, a new life, one you never even knew you had. Expand your mind, take a dive into that sensual aura of light, separate your mind and body.
Denmark takes a puff, then coughs, not used to the smoke. He passes the joint to the hermit who takes a large puff as well. Everything is dead silent.
Hermit- What was that? What was…who was that? They’re after me, you know, they want to kill me, you know, for freeing myself, for the separation. Its madness, confusion lost in chaos lost in nothingness, and I’m smack in the middle, right. Because of this skepticism; you ask questions, you die, you think, you die!
Denmark- I didn’t hear anything
Hermit- That’s because you are immune. You are so blinded by regulation after regulation, this is what you should think, this is what you shouldn’t, the truth is out of your field of vision, its gone, its somewhere…
He points to the dark sky.
Hermit (Cont…)- …out there, lost out there, in space, you know. Where is it? No one knows, how can anyone know, they tell us god knows, wrong, god doesn’t know, there is no god, there is no second chance, god is a…a myth, you know, it isn’t real, its all made to keep us in place, for more rules. Shhhh!
There is a pause.
Hermit (Cont…)- Get in the grass, down in the grass.
The hermit and Denmark get in the deeps grass, Denmark looking confused. After a long pause of sitting there, the hermit takes of running fast. Denmark stares after him for a second before walking, slowly, to follow him. As he parts through some bushes, he sees the hermit in the lake up to his knees, hands pointed in the air. Crying.
Hermit- God you lie, you fake, take me away, take me away, can you do that! Take me away!
It fades out. When it opens again, Denmark and the hermit are around the same campfire.
Hermit- It’s so…lonely, out here. I haven’t “been”, in quite a while, haven’t had a form of being. I would like… I would like to experience those interactions, but the fear, no one…no one will step forward. Are you lonely, do you wander about searching for lost soul, other spirits, looking for someone to bond with you, fill your heart and save you from this veil of darkness?
Denmark- I understand
There is a semi-medium pause.
Hermit- No, I don’t think so, I don’t…I can’t fathom that you can. It is a…horrible feeling, a mood of depression. Have you ever felt like the sky was a pale, grey canvas, bare of all signs of life, and that the sun would seemingly never come up? It’s…scary. Terrifying really. Sometimes I…I look up, and…wonder, “Where are you. Where is this, so called, power, this divine secret?”. And then nothing. Nothing. Just…darkness.
Long pause.
Hermit- I think that we should…rest, it…it is late.
He stands up, seemingly depressed, and walks off. It then fades out and then in to Denmark sleeping in a tent. The camera stays on him for a while. In the background the hermit, still naked, walks up to the transparent tent door, and stares through. Fade out.
INT. Tent- Morning
We hear birds chirping as the camera fades in. Denmark is sleeping, but shortly awakens. He regains conciseness and sits up slowly, rubbing his hand through his hair. He puts on his glasses, and then gets a curious look on his face. It pans over to reveal that the hermit is lying in the same bed, his hand on Denmark’s thigh. Denmark’s eyes widen, and his face gets a scared but controlled. He slowly stands up, backing out of the tent.
EXT. Woods- Morning
Denmark is still in shock, backing up slowly. He stumbles a little on the ground, and quickly stands up right. He turns down a path in the woods and starts limping down it, a long path that seems to go off in the horizon. Fade out.
To Be Continued...
