BARBELITH underground
 

Subcultural engagement for the 21st Century...
Barbelith is a new kind of community (find out more)...
You can login or register.


Underground > Creation >

The Barbelith Hong Kong Martial Arts Movie

  
 
We're The Great Old Ones Now
17:10 / 16.04.02
1. No coherent plot.
2. All relationships soap-opera love/hate/tragedy/buddy-buddy type.
3. No actual full sexual activity or nudity, loads of romantic/subtextual simmering and simpering.
4. Honour, revenge, family, justice, truth, innocence, ninjas, swords, acrobatics, silk, ghosts, potions, spells written on pieces of paper, warrior-magician overlords, industrialists, more ninjas.
5. Bad rock music.
6. Did I mention the ninjas?
7. Occasional subtitles: Honour my chi, ignorant pipsqueak somebarbies!

______________________________________________________________________


Open on:

Darkness:

VO: For a thousand thousand years, my people fought the creatures of the shadow. From out of the dark came monsters and chimerae, and we bled and died and held them back, so you would never know. And now we are few, and they are many, and from the crawling billions on the face of this bubble of life, we must find a champion to lead us in the final war, the end of times. We must go to the place most worthy, and find the One who shall hold our standard high in the field of twilight.

But no one knows where that one is to be found.

Fade up:
 
 
grant
19:00 / 16.04.02
INT - CHINESE TEMPLE - SUNSET
An old monk sits on a gilded throne, his long, wispy beard impeccably combed, his eyes old and patient. He nods and points to the door. Before the throne stands an envoy of two young women (MIE and JIE) and two young men (HO and LO). They all wear identical ornate red robes With long, distinctive metal-studded belts. Each man has a single, long braid on the back of his head. They bow to the old monk, turn and march solemnly out of the temple.

EXT - CHINESE TEMPLE - SUNSET
The four monks, wearing backpacks and carrying long staffs, file out of the ancient stone building, nestled into a hillside as if it grew there centuries ago. They march down a worn path, into a dense wilderness. The staffs have distinctive metal heads and feet.

EXT - IN THE FOREST - NIGHT
There is a rustling in the undergrowth around the four travelers. Suddenly, EIGHT NINJAS appear, surrounding them - faces completely hidden, nunchaku and throwing stars at the ready.

MIE
Earth!

The four stand in a square, back to back, cautious but not fearful. They appear to be leaning lightly on their staffs, not bringing them up to a defensive posture.
The ninjas take a step forward. The monks do not react. The head ninja makes a subtle hand signal and a ninja runs at the party, jumps, draws two needle-like stilletos in mid-air.

HO
Fire!

The four monks casually raise their staffs upward in unison - knocking the ninja unconscious in mid-air! The head ninja's eyes show surprise.
Four more ninjas attack, one from each side. Two are swinging chains, two bring blowguns to their lips.

JIE
Water!

The four monks flatten against the floor at the precise moment the ninjas attack. The chains tangle each other over the monks' heads and the blowgun darts whizz into the ninjas - they accidentally shot their friends! Still prone, the monks whirl their staffs along the ground, tripping their remaining attackers and knocking them unconscious.

NINJA LEADER
(yelling)
Hajime! Kiai!
(trans.: Start fighting! AAAAA!)

The two remaining ninjas whirl nunchaku with deadly grace as the leader draws a short sword and a pistol.

LO
Wood!

The monks stand together in a line and lock their staffs together. Suddenly, Lo and Ho are each holding long poles, while Mie and Jie undo the metal-studded cloth belts from around their robes and begin twirling them like deadly weapons. Mie and Jie run toward the ninjas, whisking away their nunchaku and the sword with the belts.
Ho and Lo begin running at the head ninja, poles held out like lances as Mie and Jie take the ninjas on hand to hand. He aims at one, then the other, then back and fires... but as his finger squeezes the trigger, Ho and Lo lower the poles and vault out of the path of the bullets, over Mie and Jie and on either side of the Head Ninja. He is now hemmed in by the poles, which Ho and Lo hold like barriers to his front and back. The Head Ninja unleashes a lightning fast cascade of blows against Ho, who leans back farther and farther, raising the poles up and resting their ends against the ground behind him. We see Lo hanging onto the poles in midair, then sliding down them toward the Head Ninja - who turns around just in time to have his neck locked between Lo's legs. Lo squeezes, there is a wheezing, crunching sound, and the Head Ninja falls, unconscious, to the ground. Mie and Jie each knock out their ninjas. The four nod to each other, the men hold out the poles to the ladies, who take their staffs back, and, without looking over their shoulders, the four march on.

EXT - SHANGHAI CITY STREETS - DAY
The monks walk as before, not noticing the curious stares they get from modern urbanites. They march into an office building with a sign outside proclaiming it a "Travel Agent."
Moments later, the monks leave. They are now dressed in dark suits and sunglasses. The men have fedoras. Their staffs have apparently been folded or disassembled into the framework of their backpacks, which have been folded into cloth suitcases.

INT - SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
The monks pass through security and board a flight. The sign next to the exit door reads "Havana, Cuba".

INT - AIRPLANE - DAY
Strapped into their first-class seats, the monks sip tea.

INT - AIRPLANE - NIGHT
The monks sleep with their sunglasses on.

INT - AIRPLANE - DAY
The monks awaken, sit in a meditative posture. They still look immaculate, unlike any of their rumpled fellow travellers.

EXT - THE STREETS OF HAVANA - DAY
Piled into the back of a rusted 1953 Bel Air with the words "Taxi Linda" handpainted on the doors, the monks are driven through the makeshift madness of the rundown Havana urban center.

EXT - CUBAN COUNTRYSIDE - EVENING
The taxi speeds off into distant mountains, lush with jungle growth. Banana trees line the rutted highway.
 
 
mixmage
04:15 / 17.04.02
SAME SHOT: CUBAN TWILIGHT
With the taxi speeding off into the distance… just as it disappears down a dip in the road, a pair of shadowy figures emerges from the shade between banana trees. They appear to congeal from the darkness on each side of the road… their gaze tracks the vehicle as it rises
the far side of the dip.
FADE TO BLACK

During blackout: sounds of swishing blade… sound continues as detail becomes clearer like the eye becoming accustomed to the dark. We realise that we are looking at gnarled tree bark, just as the camera begins to pull out and pan to reveal the scene.

EXT – RIPENING GRAIN FIELD – DAWN
Silhouetted against the Eastern skyline, the tree (bearing ripeningfruit) is situated on a slight mound to the left. We discern the shape of a horse tethered to the tree and that of a child seated on the mound. As the field of view increases, we see that the sound is coming from a silhouette performing a graceful yet powerful sword-form. Facing the dawn, we are entranced by the glittering blade.

As the form reaches its conclusion, we have come alongside the figure (our back to the mound) the final turn, thrust and ki-ai being directly to camera. We see the figure's face for the first time as ze holds final posture: A middle-aged man, expression of total focus, brows knitted.
Light applause from behind us… we turn to use Man's POV… along sword, to child on mound; androgynous, but no more than 10-11 yrs old… still clapping, smiling broadly, ze laughs musically.
Cut away to westward facing shot of scene [fully lit]… Man's brows unknit and he too laughs as he sheathes his blade and walks over to the tree.
Child holds up metallic bowl – adoration in hir eyes.
Man takes bowl tenderly, and smiles lovingly before taking a draught. He returns the bowl, then picks up the (giggling child) to place hir in the saddle… as he untethers and leads the horse away, we go to BCU of child's hand reaching up to touch the ripening fruit, as if to pluck it… but reconsidering
 
 
We're The Great Old Ones Now
10:14 / 18.04.02
INT. NINJA TEMPLE - NIGHT

Eight NINJAS stand at the points of a compass. One of them is YU, a perfectly handsome, almost beautiful man in his early twenties. The MASTER holds a small cage containing a dove.

MASTER:

The one who cleaves the dove shall go to kill the champion. Upon that one will we place the mantle of our power and the burden of our need. That one shall carry our hope and our rage.

The MASTER steps forward and releases the dove. Eight ninjato slash out, each deflecting the blades away from the dove, each seeking to cut it in half. A free-for-all brawl develops, backflips and deceptions, kicks and punches. YU moves through the melee like a slow-motion figure. He is never hurried, never at a disadvantage. As the other seven strike out at one another, and two of them fall, YU is a pool of silence. He stands, and the dove flutters to his hand. He holds it gently in his palms. The fighting stops. The MASTER watches. YU smiles at the bird, and rips it apart.

MASTER:

The One is chosen.
 
 
Elijah, Freelance Rabbi
12:00 / 18.04.02
INT--Havana Bar--Nightime
--An asian man in a white suit sits at a table in a corner sipping on a ridiculous looking island drink, complete with umbrella.
Enter YU in a dark suit and sunglasses, flanked by shadowy body guard types.

YU--walks to bar--"I am looking for four travelers who came through here within the last few days,"
Barkeep--making the "money" hand signal with his thumb and forefinger--"well, my memories a bit rusty.."

YU's hand fires out, punching into the mans chest. INSANELY FAST zoom in to the eyes of the man in the white suit opening in shocked surprise. Cut to YU holding a pretty fake looking still beating heart.

MAN---standing and reaching into his jacket--"you didnt need to do that"

The man pulls a pair of matching .45 caliber pistols from behind his back and begins unloading at YU, who deflects the bullets with a sword that came from no where. the 2 body guards pull uzi sub machine guns from under their jackets and fill the room with flying lead.

The man in white (from here known as Chueng, the buddy with guns) dives behind the bar shooting at the 2 henchmen, dropping one of them.

YU walks out of the bar, signaling the goon to finish Chueng off. As YU pushes open the double doors a wave of darkness extends from the night, enveloping him as he disappears.

BEHIND THE BAR---Chueng grabs a bottle of liquor and stuffs a rag into it, creating a molotov cocktail which he lights. He then looks at the clip in his pistol, only one bullet left.

BARROOM---the goon is changing magazines in the uzi as Chueng pops up from behind the bar and throws the burning bottle at the goon. Close up of the goons eyes as the widen in suprise.
Chueng takes aim, and uses his last bullte to shatter the bottle over the goons head, instantly enveloping him in fire.
Chueng darts out the back door as the bar catches fire.

WIDE angle shot of the villiage, we see flashing lights of police anf the flames and smoke rising from where the bar once stood. In the foreground is Chueng, dressed as if for a camping trip, as he walks into the jungle and vanishes into the undergrowth.
 
 
Ethan Hawke
13:15 / 18.04.02
INT. Classroom - Day
30 young Cuban children sit quietly writing in their workbooks. A large framed picture of Che Guevara hangs at the back of the classroom.

The Teacher, Ms. Lizzette Buendia, 24, surreptitiously reads "You Only Live Twice" by Ian Fleming instead of the textbook her children are reading from.

A sweaty, portly man, Principal Chavez barges into the classroom, and Lizzette self-consciously slips the spy novel under her desk.

LIZETTE
Comrade Chavez, what-

CHAVEZ
Ms. Buendia, send these children out to recess. Now.

LIZETTE
Children, please go out to the courtyard while I speak to the Principal.

The children rise in an orderly fashion and start to file out. The Principal whispers something to Lizette.

LIZETTE
Elian!

A young boy, about 10, turns and faces her. His limpid eyes show no fear.

LIZETTE
You need to stay here.

Chavez crouches down in front of Elian.

CHAVEZ
Comrade Gonzales, there are some people here who would like to meet you. Are you ready to help the cause of worldwide Socialism?
 
 
Captain Zoom
16:08 / 18.04.02
CUT TO: Exterior shot, overlooking mountains covered with lush jungles. A shot rings out and a black swan flies up from the forest canopy. There is one jarring chord of an orchestra.

(Zoom.)
 
 
grant
14:22 / 19.04.02
CU: A child's mouth chomping into a tangerine segment.

CUT TO: The child, DUE, and the middle-aged man, QUIAN, are riding on horseback through the waving fields of sugar cane, each peeling and eating a tangerine. They pass a beat-up old bus with a small crowd of field hands outside, most black or mulatto, all holding machetes. Some are sharpening blades, others drinking tiny styrofoam cups of coffee and eating fresh bread in the early morning light, preparing for a strenuous day harvesting the cane. They greet Quian and Due with wide smiles. The foreman, HECTOR, steps forward.

HECTOR
Hey, hey! Master Quian! Good practice?

Hector wields his machete playfully, then adopts a martial stance with focus in his eyes.

QUIAN
It's a good morning. Straighten your back, Hector.

Quian uses his scabbarded sword as a pointer, leaning down and tapping Hector's legs.

QUIAN (cont'd)
Move this forward, and this out. Feel the connection?

HECTOR
(laughing)
You know it, Master Quian!
Hey, Due, you got enough to share with your uncle Hector?

Due giggles and holds out a tangerine segment over Hector's open mouth. Like a trained dolphin, Hector playfully leaps up and snatches it from her fingers. Due is delighted. As the horse once again starts slowly walking, Hector puts his hands together and bows to the two of them, then turns to the other cane cutters.

HECTOR
OK, let's get to it! Time to get the day started!

The cutters, singing a work song, march into the field and disappear. Their song gradually fades into the distance as Quian and Due continue riding.
As they reach the end of the field, they turn off the road and onto a winding hillside trail. At the top of the trail, a simple, dilapidated cabin with a weatherbeaten wooden sign swinging outside. The meticulously handpainted letters read: Sifu Quian's Kungfu Academy.

Beside the front door, there is an old woodburning stove. A cast-iron kettle is boiling on it. Due leaps off the horse and rushes into the house. She SCREAMS.

Quian raises his eyebrow and leaps off his horse, drawing his sword in mid-air. Before he can barrel into his shack, however, Due runs outside and hides behind him. Slowly, four figures emerge from the front door. It's the monks, still wearing immaculate suits and sunglasses. The men are not wearing their hats - their braids are visible.

QUIAN
Ho?

Ho bows deeply.

QUIAN
Lo?

Lo bows deeply.

QUIAN
Mie?

Mie bows deeply.

QUIAN
Jie?

Jie bows deeply.

JIE
Quian.

Quian, sheathing the sword, bows in return.

QUIAN
Due, these are your aunts and uncles.

Due emerges from behind Quian and sheepishly bows.

DUE
We don't get many visitors here.

QUIAN
Especially not from the old country. You have come very far.

HO
Yes.

LO
We wasted no time.

A fresh wave of disbelief passes over Quian's face.

QUIAN
It is not... are you?

JIE
We are seeking the one. It is the time of the prophecy.

MIE
And we need you to lead us to him.

QUIAN
He is here? But... but I don't know who he could be!

The four monks exchange glances.

JIE
He is not among your students?

QUIAN
My students are good, but they are not that good.

DUE
Father? What's happening? Who are they looking for?

QUIAN
Let's have some tea. We have a lot of talking to do. All of us.

FADE

EXT - SCHOOLYARD - DAY

Elian, limpid-eyed, is looking up at Yu and a uniformed military officer, CAPTAIN REYES. Principal Chavez stands in the background, unconcerned, fanning away slow-moving flies.

CAPTAIN REYES
Is this the boy?

Yu squints down into Elian's face.

YU
Hello, little man.

ELIAN
He...hello.

YU
Little man, may I see your hands?

Elian holds out his hands, palms down. Yu takes his hands, turns them so they are palm up, and gazes into his palms.

CU: Elian's palms.

CU: Yu's eyes.

CU: Elian's face.

Almost too quickly to see, a blade flashes out and slices the very tip of Elian's finger. Suddenly, Yu is standing upright, holding Elian's bleeding finger over a test tube with one hand. With the other, Yu holds Elian's face up so the boy must look into Yu's face.

CAPTAIN REYES
(wincing)
Is this necessary?

Elian seems hypnotized with terror, staring into Yu's eyes. Yu deftly corks the test tube with one hand, still holding Elian's face with the other. He places the test tube into an inside jacket pocket, produces a black handkerchief and wraps it over Elian's cut finger.

CAPTAIN REYES
Comrade Yu?

Yu hisses at Reyes without breaking eye contact with Elian. After a moment, he drops Elian's hand, releases his face and tucks the handkerchief back into the suit pocket.

YU
Thank you, little man. You are a strong one.

Yu and Reyes begin walking back to their car, sending Elian back to Principal Chavez.

CAPTAIN REYES
Shall we take that to the laboratory?

YU
No. I will perform my own analysis. Take me to the hotel. And assign a man to watch the boy until we return tonight.

CUT
 
 
We're The Great Old Ones Now
16:59 / 22.04.02
I./E. CHEUNG'S VERANDA - JUNGLE - EVENING

CHEUNG stands, wearing only trousers and a blindfold, and carrying his guns. The sun slants down through the trees. A single target dangles on a string. CHEUNG listens, then his guns fire. The target is untouched. A moment later, a large snake drops from the roof behind him, hit twice.

CUT TO:

INT. CHEUNG'S HOUSE - EVENING

He emerges, pours himself a drink - American whisky. He frowns: next to the bottle, a single scroll, tied in blue ribbon, awaits him. CHEUNG glances at it, then throws it away.
 
 
grant
14:44 / 23.04.02
INT - CHEUNG'S BATHROOM - NIGHT
Lit by the warm glow of a bare, low-watt lightbulb, Cheung sits in a hot bathtub smoking a cigar and listening to old salsa on a shabby boombox propped nearby on the sink. From where he lies, he can see the reflection of the bathroom door in the mirror.

MUSIC: a menacing undercurrent, contrasting with the jubilation of the salsa.

INT - CHEUNG'S LIVING ROOM
The front door of the house creaks open, and a pair of black-booted feet enter. They pause, then go toward the bathroom.

CU - CHEUNG'S EYES
...squint suspiciously under beads of perspiration.

Footsteps draw nearer. The bathroom door starts to open.

SLOW MOTION - Cheung leaps from the bath, producing two pistols from under the water, ready to blow away his unseen assailant. The door swings wide to reveal...

MIRABEL SOLAR, an attractive 22-year-old woman holding a bag of fruit from the market. She sees the guns and her eyes go wide in terror.

MIRABEL
I... I thought you had left the light on.

Her eyes fall down to Cheung's obvious nudity. She drops the bag of fruit. Guavas roll across the floor. In sudden surprise and embarrassment, he drops his hands to cover himself. The guns clatter to the floor.

CHEUNG
Sorry! Sorry! I...

He looks around desperately for cover, then sits back down in the bath.

MIRABEL
Hmph! You pointed your guns at me! I told you never to do that!

CHEUNG
You walked in on me, honey.

MIRABEL
You could have killed me! I have told you and told you to calm yourself down, and now, again, you have almost killed me.

CHEUNG
But I thought you were out with your friends.

MIRABEL
Lucinda wasn't feeling well, and Lizette had some business to take care of with one of her students. And I come here to surprise you with pastries, made with my own hands, and you try to kill me?

CHEUNG
Honey, I...

MIRABEL
That's it, you're getting a real job! Tomorrow, you quit this detective business and do something... something normal!

CHEUNG
But sweetie, something has...

MIRABEL
Don't you something me! Don't you dare!

She goes to a closet, gets out a towel.

CHEUNG
No, really, something happened last night at the bar.

She comes back, hands him the towel, which he wraps around his waist.

MIRABEL
You and the bar! Tough guy, hanging out and drinking all night, coming home stinking of smoke!

He squats down and begins collecting the fallen fruit. She takes the bag and he follows her into the KITCHEN, protesting.

CHEUNG
I was there on a case! But somebody came in - somebody I thought I'd never see again.

MIRABEL
If this is about another one of your old girlfriends, I swear, Cheung, I am leaving and not coming back.

CHEUNG
No, it's nothing like that...

He looks over and notices the kitchen window is open.

CHEUNG (cont'd)
Did you open that window?

MIRABEL
Don't try to change the subject!

She picks up a knife and begins cutting the guavas in half.

MIRABEL (cont'd)
I do everything for you! And for me? What do you do? You go to bars and try to shoot me.

She gestures at Cheung with the knife. Suddenly, one of the cabinets behind her erupts open and a NINJA leaps out and grabs her by the neck and knife-arm. He is holding a short sword.

CHEUNG
Yu! You're one of Yu's men! Let her go!

The ninja laughs a dark laugh.

NINJA
You know what we want, Cheung. We want you dead.

CHEUNG
Mirabel! Mirabel, close your eyes!

Mirabel, shaking, squeezes her eyes shut.

NINJA
Try anything, and I will cut her head off.

CHEUNG
(raising his hands)
What can I try?

His towel falls. The ninja is temporarily distracted. Cheung leans over to pick up the towel and, in SLOW MOTION, uses the towel like a whip around the ninja's sword arm, steps forward and forces the arm back. Mirabel slumps down and drops the knife. It clatters poetically to the floor, sending reflected shards of light through the room.

(REGULAR MOTION resumes) The ninja, still holding Mirabel's arm, twists it behind her and painfully picks her up, possibly dislocating her shoulder. She gasps in pain. Cheung and the ninja eye the fallen knife and the ninja's trapped sword. The ninja calculates, then lunges for the knife, dropping Mirabel and his sword. Cheung, grasping the towel firmly, snaps the ninja back before he can reach the knife, and backhands him across the face. The ninja slumps, unconscious. Cheung wraps the towel around his waist, picks the ninja up by his ankles, and opens a kitchen drawer. He rummages around until he finds a ball of twine. He hogties the ninja and turns to Mirabel.

MIRABEL
(wincing in pain)
Who is that man?

CHEUNG
He's not an old girlfriend. Is your arm OK?

MIRABEL
No. I think it's dislocated at the shoulder.

CHEUNG
OK. Wait here.

Cheung drags the ninja out of the room by his feet.

EXT - CHEUNG'S DRIVEWAY

Cheung drags the unconscious ninja out to Mirabel's car, and kicks the back fender. A small box drops onto the dirt driveway. He opens the box and removes a set of car keys, which he uses to open the trunk. He puts the ninja in the trunk, then slams it shut. He turns, thinks for a moment, then turns back and opens the trunk again. He reaches in and yanks off the ninja's hood, revealing his face, then slams the trunk shut again.

CHEUNG
Damn ninjas.

He stalks back into the house. Moments later, he emerges, wearing a pair of shorts and an unbuttoned guaybara shirt, and helping Mirabel toward the car.

CHEUNG
We're only five minutes from the doctor, honey. Ten minutes, outside.

MIRABEL
I don't need a doctor.

She sits on the veranda, woozy with pain.

MIRABEL (cont'd)
Just get me a bottle of rum and a baseball.

CHEUNG
But your arm....

MIRABEL
Am I going to have to get it myself?

Cheung scurries down the veranda, opens a trunk and produces a bottle of rum. There's a baseball out in the yard which he picks up and jogs back to the step where Mirabel sits.

MIRABEL
Open the bottle.

He does so, and she takes it and swigs it. She hands the bottle back.

MIRABEL (cont'd)
Hold this.

She takes the baseball, puts it in the armpit under her injured shoulder, and lowers her arm gingerly.

CHEUNG
Are you sure you want me to do this?

MIRABEL
Go. Now. Do it.

CHEUNG
OK.

He gently takes her elbow, and in a swift movement, jerks it down toward her ribs. There's a loud pop and Mirabel lets out a small whimper in pain. She lifts her arm and the baseball drops out. She tests her shoulder - it's all working now.

MIRABEL
All better.

She swoons. Cheung catches her. There is a sound of wings, and a large black swan abruptly lands next to the veranda.

CHEUNG
Hey, Frederico. You missed some action, you big dumb bird.

The swan honks, echoing across the dark jungle.

FADE
 
 
mixmage
02:26 / 25.04.02
INT QUIAN KWOON

Quian is asleep on the floor... through a veil, we can see the moonlit outline of his daughter. He starts awake [his eyes open suddenly] and he grabs hold of the tattered
dream fragments we see on screen... the death of his wife, her prophecy that their "son" would be a "daughter"... The Horror.
Unable to help himself, he rises and genlty draws aside the veil, not wishing to wake his sleeping charge.
his heart turns to lead as his gaze drifts along her sleepong form and is caught by an unexpected shadow he knew would come.
her first menstrual flow.

it is time to perform Ni tenichi ryu.

he goes to the chest... after respect, he withdraws Katana and her little brother wakazashi.

QUIAN: >tonight... we dance...<


he alks to the tree... not wishing to wake the loyal horse.

he opens the form.
>form< but tremor in force... the form is unaltered but finds new focus behind... final focussed psosture AND POV toward

QUIAN: YU?!

yU holds his hand up like some loyal roman, yet before it reaches full stretch there is a flimsy twig in his fingers.

YU: Kiss?
 
 
grant
14:17 / 25.04.02

QUIAN
You must get out of here, Yu! The monks are here, on the island! They will kill you!
 
 
grant
14:00 / 30.04.02
YU: We know what the monks are doing, my love. We are doing the same thing.

A look of bitter realization dawns over Quian's face.

FADE

EXT - BEACHSIDE - EARLY MORNING

Cheung and Mirabel pull their car up onto the sandy coast. There is a muffled thumping from the trunk as they get out of the car and look out at the ocean. They're standing at the shore of a sheltered bay.

CHEUNG
Your father is going to meet us here?

MIRABEL
This place has been my family's place for years. Hundreds of years.

CHEUNG
I thought your family came from Spain.

MIRABEL
Ay! My mother! She is so full of herself. But my father's family, they're not from Spain. They're from the sea.

As Mirabel speaks, a large sailboat sails into view around a spit of land. The ship is flying a red flag with a shining sun, flapping in the wind above a familiar black flag - the Jolly Roger. A rugged, silver-haired man, AUGUSTO SOLAR, waves from the deck.
 
  
Add Your Reply