| EXT. HILLTOP. DAY.
Richard sits at the lookout.
RICHARD (V.O.)
And the next day, we couldn't meet up either. It was straight
back up. Same scene again: no travelers, no boat, no action, nothing.
Now I thought if this is going to be a regulra situation, I'm going
to have to start hiding from Sal so I don't have to come up here.
But a strange thing happened: I began to enjoy it. I looked forward
to it, I started to explore.
EXT. HILL. DAY.
From a vantage point, Richard looks down on the lagoon, the beach,
the forest, and the clearing.
With the binoculars he can see the details of life in each of
these areas.
EXT. ISLAND SCENES. DAY.
Through the binoculars, various characters are at work or at
rest including Francoise, Etienne, Sal, Bugs, Keaty, etc.
RICHARD (V.O.)
And then I couldn't understand why I'd never come up before.
I got a whole new perspective. They were ants, or rats in an experiment,
but up here I wasn't part of it, I was free. I could do whatever
I wanted. This was my personal adventure playground. There was even
a bunch of local bad guys I could fool around with.
EXT. FOREST NEAR DOPE FIELD. DAY.
Looking through the trees, the four dope farmers (with their
guns) are visible about thirty meters away, relaxing and playing
cards.
Richard appears in a tree, hiding from their view, if they cared
to look.
He steals forward to another tree. He watches them.
RICHARD (V.O.)
Pretty soon, I was starring in my very own war movie. It was
Vietnam 1968, or at least about as close to it as I would ever get,
considering I was born in 1973. But I knew exactly who I was: renegade
special forces officer on a solo mission, search and destroy. I
liked the sound of it "he prefers to work alone," they'd
say, "he's got the stare."
The farmers are oblivious.
Richard advances as far as he dare: a few meters from them.
He peers at them around the edge of the tree.
He notices that the one nearest has left a knife on the ground.
Richard lifts a stone and throws it high in the air beyond the
farmers.
As it falls through the trees to the forest floor the farmers
are startled. They stand and turn away towards the noise reaching
for their guns, cocking them, etc.
The knife is taken by Richard.
The farmers see a bird fly from a tree. Satisfied, they give
up and return to their resting place.
Richard steals away from tree to tree.
The farmer cannot understand where his knife has gone.
EXT. FOREST. DAY
Richard sits in a hollow under a rough shelter he as made from
palm leaves.
He is using the knife to gut a bird of some sort which he then
eats raw.
RICHARD (V.O.)
I hadn't entirely forgotten my purpose up here, but I wasn't
worried about it. I mean I didn't want one of those bastards turning
up with my map sticking out of his pocket, but if they did, it was
going to be a challenge. It was a mission, my mission, to defend
our island.
EXT. HILLTOP. DAY.
Richard watches the empty beach.
RICHARD (V.O.)
The only hitch was - the enemy didn't show up. Now it was probably
a mistake, but I one day I brought Francoise up. I thought I'd show
her around.
EXT. FOREST. DAY
Richard struggles through dense undergrowth, followed by Francoise.
RICHARD
Come on, just through here. Watch out for the thorns. Here: look.
Beneath a tree, a few rotting logs are topped off with palm leaves.
RICHARD
(continuing)
Well, what do you think?
FRANCOISE
What is it?
RICHARD
It's a shelter. I built it. I thought we could move up here.
Get away from it all.
FRANCOISE
We?
RICHARD
Yeah. You'll need to tell Etienne, of course but -
FRANCOISE
Richard, it's horrible.
RICHARD
Primitive, yes, but you have to accept some limitation when you
go for seclusion like this.
FRANCOISE
And to eat?
RICHARD
Whatever I kill, we'll eat.
Francoise laughs.
FRANCOISE
Enjoy yourself, Richard. I'll see you later, back in civilizatin.
RICHARD
Do you want a mushroom?
FRANCOISE
What?
RICHARD
They grow here, all over the place. I picked some. Here.
Richard collects a handful from under the shelter.
Francoise does not think this is funny.
FRANCOISE
No thanks.
RICHARD
Please yourself.
He swallows one.
Francoise turns away. She struggles back through the undergrowth.
Richard watches her. He swallows a handful of mushrooms.
EXT. FOREST. DAY.
Close up: a caterpillar crawls along a green leaf.
Richard, his pupils dilated, is watching, transfixed.
He holds the knife at the end of the leaf.
The caterpillar crawls on to the blade.
Richard sticks his tongue out and swivels the blade around.
The caterpillar crawls on to his tongue.
Richard gently closes his mouth.
He swallows.
RICHARD (V.O.)
When you're a highly trained combat machine, you can't allow
yourself to be distracted by minor problems in your personal life.
And you can't sit around, you have to stay active, otherwise your
energy will dissipate. You have to feed the fear.
EXT. FOREST. NIGHT/DAWN.
Richard, his face disrupted by mud, sneaks towards the rough
shelter of wooden planks and palm leaves under which the four farmers
are sleeping.
INT. EXT. SHELTER. NIGHT/DAWN.
The shelter is several meters long but shallow and is open down
the length of one side.
This is the farmers' home on the island.
It contains a collection of tools, arms, crates, bedding, food,
cigarettes, and bottles of cheap whiskey.
Spaced out within the shelter, the four farmers are asleep on
low pallets or mats on the ground, each with their gun by their
side.
Richard enters the shelter and surveys the scene.
He approaches the nearest farmer who lies asleep. He is wearing
a bandana which has slipped half off in his sleep.
Very slowly, Richard reaches down and lifts the farmer's gun,
a Kalashnikov-type assult rifle.
Richard holds the weapon, becoming comfortable with it.
He lifts the butt to his shoulder and squints down the sight.
He closes in on the farmer, so close that the muzzle is almost
tickling the farmer's nose.
In his sleep, the farmer swats at his nose as he might swat at
a fly. Richard withdraws the gun a fraction.
His finger strokes the trigger.
He moves very carefully around the shelter, pointing the gun
at each sleeping farmer and mouthing "bang" as he goes.
He returns to the first farmer and kneels beside him.
The farmer is on his side, facing away from Richard. He stirs
in his sleep and wakes slightly.
He reaches out behind him to feel for his gun. His hand feels
the metal. He relaxes and closes his eyes again.
Behind him, Richard smiles and releases his own grip on the gun.
Instead he lifts the bandana away from the farmer's head and
puts it on his own.
Now he produces the knife from the back of his shorts.
He kneels beside the farmer and holds the knife firmly.
Abruptly he stabs it into the upright wooden plank behind the
farmer's head.
The blade sinks deep into the wood.
EXT. WATERFALL. DAY.
Richard screams as he executes an exhibition dive from the top
of the waterfall to the pool below.
EXT. BEACH. DAY.
There is no one on the beach apart from Richard.
He walks to the water and dives in.
He surfaces and faces the sun.
RICHARD (V.O.)
I was ecstatic. In a fair contest I had infiltrated their command
and left my mark. I had fulfilled my potential as a warrior, a soldier,
a killer on the loose. I could just imagine them trying to work
how the missing knife got home.
Christo, Sten, and Karl appear walking down the beach with their
fishing gear as Richard walks in from the water.
RICHARD
Hi, guys.
CHRISTO
Hello Richard.
RICHARD (V.O.)
I couldn't wait to tell Francoise about it.
EXT. FOREST. DAY.
Richard's face is slapped twice by Francoise's hand.
They are standing in a small clearing not far from the longhouse.
Francoise raises her hand to slap him again. He retreats a fraction.
RICHARD
Do you want to calm down? I'm trying to tell you about something
exciting. I'm trying to share it with you and all you can do is
freak out because you don't like where I want to live.
FRANCOISE
I don't care about that.
RICHARD
No? Still pissed about the mushrooms. You know Francoise, sometimes
you are so uptight.
FRANCOISE
You liked to me. About Sal.
RICHARD
Oh, that. She told you?
FRANCOISE
She told everyone. She believes in openness and honesty, not
like you.
RICHARD
Come on, you were two-timing Etienne.
FRANCOISE
Because I liked you. I didn't know you were going to screw Sal
twenty-four hours later.
RICHARD
Well if you're going to make such a big deal out of it -
FRANCOISE
Bugs is going to kill you. And you know what - I don't care.
She raises her hand and slaps him again.
Richard does not flinch.
INT. LONGHOUSE. DAY.
Richard enters the longhouse.
Inside are several people, including Bugs, sitting at the far
end.
When they see that it is Richard, all conversation stops.
One by one at first, then en masse, everyone except Bugs leaves
the longhouse, hurrying past Richard at the door.
Richard and Bugs stare at each other down the length of the longhouse.
Richard smiles. He repeats the gesture that he made when returning
with the rice: he clutches his groin and thrusts towards Bugs.
Bugs starts running towards Richard.
Just as Bugs reaches him he takes evasive action, feinting to
one side.
Bugs, cursing, pursues Richard around the longhouse, each of
them trampling over possessions and partitions. Bugs is bigger but
Richard is too sly and nimble for him, taunting and mocking as he
dodges around the narrow upright supports that run down the middle
of the building.
Eventually Bugs has Richard cornered.
They face each other, crouched slightly, breathing heavily.
From outside a loud, horrified screaming begins.
It carries on and on.
RICHARD
Don't you think we ought to go see what the problem is?
Bugs pauses for a moment. He glances towards the door for a fraction
of a second.
Richard slugs him in the jaw.
EXT. CLEARING. DAY.
Richard emerges from the longhouse, flexing the fingers of his
punching hand.
A crowd has gathered as he joins it.
At the center are Karl, on his knees, wailing and shouting in
Swedish, and Sten, who has been savaged by a shark and looks dead.
Despite his appearance, Keaty and Gregorio are attempting to resuscitate
him.
RICHARD (V.O.)
Poor Karl: he didn't speak much English, but he only needed one
word.
KARL
Shark! Shark!
RICHARD (V.O.)
They were trying to save Sten's life although even as a novice
in this field I could tell that just wasn't going to happen.
Richard backs away.
|
