| EXT. BEACH. NIGHT.
They surface, kissing passionately.
EXT. CLEARING. DAY.
Under a shelter in the cooking area, the Chef walks up to two
sacks of rice and slashes them open.
He picks out two clumps of green, rotten mush and holds them
out towards Sal who stands nearby.
EXT. CLEARING. DAY
The inhabitants of the community are sprawled around the area,
generally facing towards Sal who addresses them. Francoise is sitting
with Etienne but turns to acknowledge Richard with a smile at some
stage.
SAL
Alright, I've got some bad news. As some of you may have heard,
a couple of sacks of rice have gone rotten. Now this is not a disaster
-
VARIOUS
Oh, no.
SAL
Yes, that's right: I need a volunteer to go to Ko Pha Ngan with
me to buy some rice. So please don't all volunteer at once.
There are no volunteers. Everyone avoids Sal's eye.
SAL
(continuing)
Keaty?
KEATY
I went two months ago.
SAL
And so did I. Anyone else?
Still no volunteers.
SAL
(continuing)
Richard?
Richard has been scrutinizing Francoise's back.
RICHARD
What?
SAL
What about you? Will you come to Ko Pha Ngan with me?
RICHARD
Sure. Yea. I'll come with you.
SAL
Great.
She smiles at him.
INT. LONGHOUSE. DAY
Richard is sitting on his mat with a pencil and a piece of paper.
A line of people wait to pass him some crumpled baht and their order.
Their recitals overlap.
MAN 1
Toothbrush, toothpaste, sixty cigarettes, a new hat, some elastoplast,
a pair of swimming trunks, four bars of chocolate and some razors.
WOMAN 1
One hundred aspirin, one hundred paracetamol, six boxes of regular
tampons, toothpaste, soap and some shampoo.
MAN 2
Toothpaste, a ball of string, four double-A batteries, and twenty
condoms. No, make it forty.
WOMAN 2
Six bars of chocolate, moisturizer, four boxes of tampons, assorted
sixes, two bars of soap and some toothpaste.
MAN 3
One tin of beef curry.
WOMAN 3
A newspaper, some boiled sweets, shampoo and conditioner, two
hundred cigarettes, a pair of plastic sandals, small, a new swimsuit,
size ten, bright but no flowers, a plain T-shirt, a jar of Vegemite
and three cigarette lighters.
The last to sit down opposite Richard is Bugs. He sits close,
their knees almost touching.
Richard is posed with his pen, ready to take note.
RICHARD
Anything I can do for you?
Bugs smiles.
His right arm whips out and he grabs Richard by the testicles.
Richard buckles forward in pain.
BUGS
Yeah. When you get to Ko Pha Ngan, keep your hands to yourself
and your dick in your pants.
He releases Richard.
Preplexed and in pain Richard watches Bugs walk away.
INT. LONGHOUSE. NIGHT.
Everyone is asleep. Track along past the sleeping forms to stop
at Richard.
The figure looking down at him is Sal.
EXT. CLEARING. DAWN.
Sal and Richard are walking away from the longhouse in the early
morning light. Sal has a small parcel of cannabis wrapped up in
a plastic bag.
RICHARD
Why are we leaving so early.
SAL
If you hang around, people take advantage of you, give you orders
for all sorts of shit - clothes, condoms, Vegemite and God knows
what else.
RICHARD
Right.
SAL
We go to Ko Pha Ngan, sell the dope, buy the rice, and come back.
That's all.
EXT. BEACH / Water. Day.
Sal walks into the water and begins swimming out towards the
cliff.
Richard watches then dives into the water.
EXT. LAGOON / CLIFFS. DAY.
Sal waits for Richard as he catches up with her at the base of
the cliffs inside the lagoon.
RICHARD
Over?
SAL
Under.
RICHARD
Anything I should know?
SAL
Don't breathe till you get to the other side.
Sal submerges.
Richard watches her disappear into an underwater tunnel into
the rock.
He takes a deep breath.,
UNDERWATER. DAY.
Richard enters the tunnel, passing from the light into the dark.
He enters near total darkness.
Far ahead is a narrow point of dim light.
He swims towards it.
INT CAVE. DAY.
Richard surfaces, breathing deeply. He is in a cave within the
cliffs, from which a small entrance opens on to the sea beyond.
Within the cave is a large flat rock and moored beside that is
a small narrow boat with an outboard motor.
The ceiling of the cave is high and opening into it is a chimney
(which will be in use later). Additional light enters through this.
As Richard surfaces, Sal is already in the boat.
SAL
Welcome to the garage.
She pulls the start cord. The small engine's loud roar reverberates
around the stone walls.
EXT. SEA / CLIFFS. DAY.
The small boat emerges from the cave on to the sea, Richard at
the front and Sal at the helm.
EXT. BEACH. NIGHT.
By the light of the moon, they come to land on a deserted stretch
of beach. Richard jumps into the shallows as Sal cuts the engine.
Lights dance in the sky some distance away.
Sal and Richard drag and shove the boat up the beach.
The full moon shines brightly. The insistent beat of dance music
is heard.
RICHARD (V.O.)
All the way I was sort of looking forward to the party, but when
we actually got there -
EXT. BEACH RESORT. NIGHT.
The street is lined with bars each pumping out western music
on its own sound system.
Richard and Sal walk along the strip.
They turn towards a bungalow complex. Sal is still carrying the
parcel of dope.
RICHARD (V.O.)
- I couldn't be bothered. It all seemed kind of trashy and out
of place. This was why we kept the secret. If these assholes ever
found out about our island they'd take just one night to spoil it
forever.
EXT. BUNGALOWS RECEPTION. NIGHT.
The reception area is covered by an awning. An old warped pool
table stands in the center. Sal and the receptionist, SUMET, greet
each other and speak in Thai. There are no subtitles but when they
discus sthe number of rooms they indicate with their fingers: this
is not seen by Richard.
SAL
Good evening.
SUMET
Good evening, how are you?
SAL
Very well, thank you.
SUMET
You brought something?
SAL
As always.
Sal puts the parcel on the desk. Sumet weighs it in her hand.
SUMET
Good.
SAL
We'd like to stay one night.
SUMET
Two rooms?
SAL
One.
Sumet looks at Richard.
SUMET
A good choice. Young and strong.
She squeezes his arm and laughs.
SAL
She says she's got two rooms. No problem.
RICHARD
Great.
INT. PHONE BOOTH. NIGHT.
Richard is in one of a line of booths in an international call
office/general tourist store.
RICHARD
I don't know. I just don't know. Maybe this year, maybe not.
I like it here. Things are different out here.
RICHARD (V.O.)
I phoned home and discovered that I couldn't communicate. I realized
that I was no longer the person they knew.
RICHARD
You don't understand.
He hangs up.
He steps out of the booth. On the other side of the store are
racks of patterned shirts and hats.
Richard walks across and stares just beyond them.
He is looking in a mirror, at himself, tanned and weathere-beaten.
INT.SUPERMARKET. NIGHT.
Richard browses, selecting the items on his list, then spending
time choosing soap, eventually opting for a brand marked "Genuine
French Soap".
RICHARD (V.O.)
In fact the more I thought about it the more I realized that
none of this world made any sense to me. I'd left it behind. We
all had, and in its place we'd found somewhere special, and we were
determined to keep it that way.
He drops the "French" soap in his basket.
EXT. BEACH. NIGHT.
The music is far away now. Richard and Sal struggle along the
deserted beach to their boat carrying a pallet laden with sacks
of rice.
They arrive and drop the pallet.
RICHARD
Now I understand why no one wants to come for the rice.
INT/ EXT. BAR. NIGHT.
The bar opens out to a street just back from the beach. It is
busy.
Sal and Richard stand at the bar with their drinks.
SAL
So how does it feel to be back in the world?
RICHARD
It's not like I remembered it.
SAL
It gets worse every time.
A hand rests on Richard's shoulder, gently pushing him aside
to create space at the bar. It is Zeph.
ZEPH
Excuse me, please.
He does not see Richard's face but concentrates on the barman.
Richard recognizes him and conceals his face.
ZEPH
(continuing)
Excuse me! Four beers please. Heinneken.
The barman serves him.
Sammy and two German girls stand behind Zeph. He passes the drink
back to them and turns to speak.
Richard and Sal listen in.
ZEPH
(Continuing)
OK, where was I?
SAMMY
The beach.
ZEPH
Right, the beach: it's on this secret island, in the middle of
the national park where no one is allowed to go. It's paradise.
GIRL 1
Sounds cool.
ZEPH
What's even better is we got the map of how to get there.
GIRL 1
Can we see it?
SAMMY
Sure. Let's go back to our place. We can smoke some dope, drink
some beer, loosen off these tight clothes we're wearing, then check
out the map.
ZEPH
But hey it's secret - if we show you the map, you have to come
with us.
They laugh. Zeph and Sammy high-five each other.
ZEPH
(continuing)
Back in a minute. Just going to conduct a recon of the local
sanitation facility.
Richard watches him leave the bar.
|
