< Light Millennium: "A Kiss for Joe", A Film Script by Pedro Mallol & Edgardo Viereck
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"A Kiss for Joe"

A Film script
by Pedro MALLOL & Edgardo VIERECK

Adapted from the novel "Muriendo por la dulce patria mia" by Roberto Castillo

 

EXT. CITY OF IQUIQUE. BAY/BEACH. DAWN.

Daybreak at Iquique´s bay.  The early morning light hits the ocean calm surface, making it shine beautifully.

A large metallic buoy holds a Chilean flag that gently swings along with the waves.  There is an inscription engraved over the buoy dedicated to the Chilean sailors defeated on Iquique’s naval combat in 1789.  A title printed over this image reads: Iquique, 1920.

A small group of fishermen by the seashore drag a boat into the water.  A bare-footed 8-year-old boy watches the operation dressed in rags and a thick, worn out coat.  It is ARTURO GODOY, who in despite of his age and rugged appearance looks healthy and strong.  One of the fishermen gives Arturo a hard look, making a gesture for him to leave.  Arturo nods his head and touches the water with his bare feet.

FISHERMAN

Stay there I said!

Arturo steps back, the fisherman jumps into the boat.

FISHERMAN

Go stay with your mama.....This thing ain’t for little boys!

Arturo gives him a proud look.

FISHERMAN 2

(from a distance)

Bye Arturo!  Don’t pay attention to Neque!  Next time you come with us!

 

The fishermen wave goodbye.  The boat quickly separates from the shore.  Arturo stands still, motionless.  Suddenly he notices another kid who watches the scene from a distance.  The boy, CHOLO, 8, has dark skin and is as raggedy as Arturo.

CUT TO:

 

EXT. BAY/BEACH. DAY.

 

The same metallic buoy previously seen, now silhouetted by a cloudy sky background.  The wind and the surge announce an imminent storm.

 

Is now raining at the beach, where Arturo still waits.  Next to him is Cholo, the dark skinned boy.  Arturo takes off his coat to cover himself and his new friend.  Over this image we hear the strokes of a church bell.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT/INT. CHURCH. DAY.

 

It is a bright sunny day in Iquique.  Wide shot of a Spanish colonial church. 

 

Inside the building, a PRIEST sprinkles holy water over a coffin.

 

A crying WOMAN stands with a pack of five boys next to her.  All boys wear barely proper, oversized clothes.  The oldest and biggest kid is Arturo, who watches his mother weeping inconsolably.

 

PRIEST

Let us prey for the eternal rest of these men whose bodies lay at the bottom of the sea, so their souls will be lifted up to encounter the father, our Lord....

 

MOTHER

(whispering to Arturo)

You should have been there with him!  Shame on you!

 

Arturo glances at the empty coffin.  There is more anger than sadness in his eyes.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. BAY/BEACH. DAY.

 

Montage sequence.

 

Arturo looks insistently at the horizon, like waiting for something to show up any second.  Then he sees Cholo approaching.  Cholo signals Arturo at a distance inviting him to go swimming.  Then both quickly into the water as Arturo takes a lap, sinking himself completely.  A few seconds later he comes out swinging his arms desperately.  It is obvious that he doesn’t know how to swim, but somehow he manages to keep his head above the water.

 

Successive images show Arturo swimming better and better every time.  His arms become stronger, his face older.  By the end of the sequence Arturo has turned into a young adult.  Swimming fast, he’s about to reach the old metallic buoy.  When he touches it, screams exited lifting his arms high.

 

ARTURO

Cholo! ... Cholo, you damn wimp, I won, I won!

 

Cholo arrives shortly after.  He also looks older, turned into a dark, tough Iquiquean.  Playfully they try to sink one another, laughing.  Cholo manages hold Arturo under for a moment and then escapes swimming back to the beach.  Breathless, Arturo comes up to the surface and follows.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. ARTURO´S HOUSE. DAY.

 

Arturo’s mother serves a modest meal to the brothers.  She looks weary and deteriorated, the BROTHERS now a few years older.

 

Arturo enters the room with his clothes still soaking wet.  A scratchy old tango can be heard at low volume.

 

MOTHER

Neque, you’ve made it at last!

 

The woman recognizes Arturo.  She sighs.

 

MOTHER

Oh, it was you...

 

Arturo swiftly touches his brothers’ heads on his way to turn up the volume of the old record player.  Then he takes his mother from the waist bringing her right up against his body.  Arturo leads an improvised dance, she reluctantly tags along. 

 

MOTHER

Why you didn’t you come home with your father?

 

Arturo does not answer, just continues dancing.  Sheer insanity can be seen in her eyes.

 

MOTHER

The old man said to me you didn’t want to go fishing with him...What’s the matter with you?

 

Arturo tries harder to distract her with the dancing.

 

ARTURO

See?  Your feet are gettin’ loose with the tango...Uh?

(to the brothers)

How do we look boys?

 

The boys laugh.  Arturo makes a sudden, funny move sticking his knee in between his mother’s legs.  She slaps him across the face.  Arturo just smiles and offers the other cheek.

 

MOTHER

Dirty disrespectful punk!

 

The woman slaps him again.  Arturo shrugs.  She tries to hit him once again, but Arturo graciously avoids the blow with a quick, agile movement.  The brothers laugh, as she gets angrier.  Then she gives them a hard, freighting look.  They stop the mockery and start digging into their plates.  Then she points out the table to Arturo.

 

MOTHER

Sit there and eat!

 

Arturo obeys but does not eat.  Sadly, he just looks around.

 

ARTURO

I lost my appetite mamita.

 

The mother sits at the table.

 

MOTHER

Tell that to your father when he gets home. 

 

The woman takes Arturo’s plate and distributes the food amongst his brothers.  Arturo holds up, biting his tongue for a moment.  Then he gets up.  Before leaving the room, Arturo hits the wall with a hard fist.  A framed portrait of his father falls breaking into pieces.

 

CUT TO:

 

INT. MOVIE THEATER. DAY.

 

There’s a full house at the movie theater.

 

Arturo and Cholo are entranced watching King Kong in the screen.  The giant gorilla is hanging from the top of the Empire State building, while planes fiercely attack him.  The monster holds in one of his hands a terrified young girl.

 

ARTURO

Come on, get down, duck yourself!  Not like that you stupid ape! 

 

Kong’s finally deadly wounded producing a horrid, blasting yell.  Everyone in the theater scream, sympathetic to the victimized monster.  Suddenly the screen shuts off.  The audience start to whistle in the dark.  The house lights come up.

 

ARTURO

Goddammit!  The movie stopped again.  Shit, we’ll never get to see the ending!

 

A uniformed FAT MAN comes along and stands in front of the audience.  Everybody is booing at him.

 

FAT MAN

Excuse me.  Please bear with me.  We’re just having a slight technical problem.

 

Frustrated, Arturo nods his head.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. BOX OFFICE. DAY.

 

A blond and fair YOUNG GIRL gets her reimbursement at the box office window.  A tall, lanky man who seems to be her father stands next to her.  Arturo stares at her from an angle and through the glass of the box office.  She has fine features and a virginal, innocent air.  Arturo is flabbergasted, fascinated by her.  Suddenly she looks at Arturo and playfully sticks her tongue out at him.  Arturo blushes, she smiles.  Then the father takes her hand and both walk away.  Cholo "awakens" Arturo.

 

CHOLO

Lover boy likes la gringa, uh?

 

ARTURO

Shut up, leave alone.

 

CHOLO

(pinching Arturo’s cheek)

Arturito's in love.

 

ARTURO

Stop it, damn brownie.

 

Cholo gently taps Arturo’s back.

 

CHOLO

Come on, let's get outta here.

 

Arturo looks at him annoyed.  Cholo makes a funny face making Arturo laugh.  The two friends shake hands and walk away.

 

DISSOLVE TO:

 

EXT. BEACH. NIGHT.

 

A beach at night.  Colorful fireworks fly the dark sky.

 

At a distance there is light and music coming from a large, moth-eaten CIRCUS TENT.

 

Arturo and Cholo run across the beach, taking off their clothes.

 

ARTURO

I bet the ape from the movie drops the girl and she dies!

 

CHOLO

Hell no, I bet he saves her!

 

ARTURO

No he won’t!

 

Cholo stops very close to the water.

 

CHOLO

Whatever.  Now we need to be really quiet.

 

ARTURO

Why do you make such a big fuss

About this?  Everyone is at the fair anyway.

 

CHOLO

Straight ‘till the buoy, don’t lose the trail.  Gotta do it quick ‘cause I think bigmouth Fernandito tipped off the coast guards.

 

ARTURO

How do you know?

 

CHOLO

Got my sources.

 

ARTURO

Cholo, do you think the gringa could be at the fair?

 

CHOLO

Sure.  She's probably be waiting for you.

 

ARTURO

You dying of envy.  Ugly bastard.

 

Both plunge into the water and disappear in the darkness.

 

CUT TO:

 

EXT. BAY/OCEAN. NIGHT.

 

Arturo and Cholo swim swiftly.  Loud water splashes can be heard.  Arturo stops frightened, Cholo laughs.  Suddenly a large wooden box emerges from the sea bottom and almost hits Arturo.

 

ARTURO

Damn!  The ship came pretty loaded today it seems.

 

Another box pops nearby.  Then another and another from the ocean depths, as if propelled by a mysterious force.  The floating boxes now surround the two friends.  Cholo smiles happily.

 

CHOLO

Thank god for the full moon.

When the tide is high, spits out anything that sinks under.

 

Cholo swims a little further.  Arturo follows.

To be continued...

_ . _

Treatment of the script

   
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